trippingdifferently

So we did that disappearing act again. It was a busy month for the book biz – it has been good sales – Thank God!
Now we are back in cyberspace & i’m happy to show off several nice new things we have acquired in the last month 😉

My darling hubby – who was away in Canada for about 11 or 12 days in September – bought us a nice new laptop – it was cheap cheap in Canada – it’s what i’m using to write this blog now 😉 It’s an Acer Extensa 5620Z, with Windows Vista – interesting OS.
DH says it’s a belated anniversary present – our 6th! Can’t believe it has been 6 years already. Am happy 😉
Here’s a picture of it:

i treated myself & bought myself "funny shoes" @ half price – MBTs – Masia Barefoot Teachnology – they are supposed to mimic the way the Masai walk barefooted on natural ground – it’s good for your back, increased muscle work in legs, improved posture etc… check it out.
It took awhile to get used to walking in them – muscle fatigue in muscles of my legs, i never knew i had, for the 1st few days but it did my back good. Lessen back pain, more leg workout… are good results i can attest to. However, as i have a protruding bone in both my ankles (had this for as long as i can remember) – it gave me some pain – which i went to the local store to ask about today – the lady said i should have been prescribed custom insoles since i was a child & the bone will continue to stick out more & more till i get the insoles. It’s not as gross as it sounds. Anyhow, she sold me universal insoles & fitted them for me as my jaw dropped when she told me how much custom ones would cost. Though she said that health insurance would cover it – but i needed to get a prescription from my doctor – too much trouble in my mind. So another round of getting used to walking with these insoles or arch supports.
These are my MBTs:

i think they are the most "girlie" looking shoes i own besides heels which i almost never wear now.

Tobias also got new shoes (also @ half price – my friend took us to a big sports goods sales in Thun) – Crocs!
i’ve always wanted to gte him a pair but found them way too expensive – so since there was a sale i bought him a pair – but had to tell him that he can’t wear them outside now (too cold). He has taken to wearing them in the house though.
Here are his dark red Crocs:

Oh i also got new display stands for my book biz – they are made of cupboard, dismantled after each use, light & easy to carry around. Am really happy with them. Hmm…. i wonder – maybe i did write about them before – it’s been way too long since i last wrote. Maybe not?

We are off to the annual Swiss Toy Fair in Bern tomorrow – hopefully we don’t come home with more new stuff – don’t think DH would like it too much if we spend more – hhehheheee 😉

Well, that’s it for now – more soon.
syc

So what are you? A 1-child person? Maybe you like 2 so they can play together? Or maybe you want more??

i used to be the 1-child person & i’m still happy to keep & stay with my one & only cutie-pie. However, after a few years of hearing people say 2 is better & more importantly my darling hubby wanted another one… so anyhow, after a few years, i decided at the beginning of this year – maybe another one would be fun – why not? BUT… Now hubby wants to wait – so we’ll have another one at some point in time – just not quite now.

Why talk about this? Well, my Expat_Moms_In_Switzerland shared an interesting “rant” ( not quite an article) about how mums of 1-child are constantly questioned by mums of more-children. Read the “rant” here.

i can see both sides of the argument which is why i have gone from a firmly “1 & done” to a “maybe another one”. Why was i on the 1-&-done side? Well, i was an only child for 12yrs of my little life before my bro came along & i think that my parents only wanted 1x. i was never really lonely during my growing up years – i sometimes feel more lonely now that i’m all grown & living hundreds of km from family & friends i grew up with. i had me & lots of friends to play with. i also loved reading & read tons! i don’t think i would be such a book worm if i had siblings to “distract” me 😉

Of cos, the flip side is i only had people to play with when i went to school or when my neighbours could come out & play – but i never felt that i missed out in anyway at all – in fact, i loved being the only child – the princess of the house ;p But most definitely i can see how having a sibling when i was growing up would have been a lovely thing. i would have had someone to get up to mischief with – hahhahha 😉 & perhaps someone to put the blame on when things went wrong – like when i broke my mum’s nice plate & hid the pieces at the back of a cupboard – when mum found them, it was no use denying – there was only me – hehhehehe 😉

But back to the question – what would i want for my little bud now? What would i want for my own little family now? i want the best! i have always felt & still do feel that the 2nd child would never have the same love & time & privileges showered upon him/her. From the moment he/she is conceived, everything would have to be shared. Of cos, people tell me that it would be made up for with the love from his/her sibling. & sharing would become a big part of all the children’s lives.

Would my little boy grow up to be a selfish person if we don’t have another one? i don’t think so. i was all grown (12yrs) by the time my bro came along & i’m completely the opposite of selfish – that’s not to say i’m a completely selfless person (i can be extremely selfish) – it’s just that i never learned to say No – so have always taken on more than i can handle & it has been a long hard road to learning that i can’t do everything & help everyone & make everyone in the world happy – which was what i strived to do most of my teen years (still sometimes do now thot less).

Of cos there’s the question of sibling rivalry – is it all that good? Can we have siblings without fighting? Can sibling rivalry really teach us to give & take? Don’t we already do that when we have friends? i don’t know – although i have a brother now – he is 12 whole years younger & yes we played & love each other very much but the fighting was different – most of the time, i knew better than to fight with him & i think i dote him more than fought with him. i used to always save my pocket money to buy him sweets almost everyday on my way home from school.

i know siblings who absolutely hate each other, i know kids who get blamed for everything just cos they are the middle child or the oldest. i know siblings who are only very cordial towards each other as adults – that’s really not what i want for my family – i know it is all in the upbringing … but i wonder if i’m up to it – teaching 2x little persons to be good, nice decent grown people??

ok now i’m just babbling… so i’ll get off my soap-box & leave the rest of the comments for you to fill in…

Oh what’s my personal conclusion? Everyone should do what is best for themselves, their family & their personal situation. i love to see how different family situations work & how sometimes they don’t work. It goes to show that there is never a 1x perfect solution/answer that would work for everyone.
syc

So this is Tobias’ 3rd week at the Kangaroo Club… He likes it but he doesn’t yet love it as he does the Daycare which he goes to on Fridays.
The lady running the K.Club is really nice but i think he is a little confused as she speaks both Swiss & English. So far he’s always had people who speak only 1x language to him – no one really converses in both to him or at least he hasn’t heard people converse in both on a regular basis. We’ll have to evaluate at the end of this term/semester (still confused which term to use).

Here are some pics:
Here’s one of Tobias outside K.Club – i love the big drum she has painted with the name of the Club on it – it’s a little faded now but u can make it out. That drum helped me find the place – i would have driven straight past that 1st day if i hadn’t seen the drum.

Here’s one of the house itself – lovely little house – she uses the 2x front room (see the 2x downstairs front windows) for K.Club.

Here’s a view of one of the rooms & Tobias getting a book to read – guess what the book is about? 😉 Airplanes … that’s my “flight-crazed” boy – hahaaa :p

The drive there takes us 30mins – so not too far – & it goes thru some lovely swiss countryside – i must try & take some pictures one day – when i’m not rushing back & fore.

Ok better stop here – still have a little of that headache since being ill last week.
syc