These past few weeks

I’ve been pre-occupied these past few weeks with a few things.

(1) Credit Card Crazy: I suppose it must be the recession, but suddenly I’m acutely aware of all the great discounts and deals arising from certain credit cards. I’ve always been a one-card gal. You know, the type that only uses the credit card when she absolutely has to. Which is typically hardly ever. I’m mostly into NETS, or direct debit. But what with the recession and feeling the bite especially when it comes to fancy eating, I’ve discovered a whole new world of card-dependent discounts. All of a sudden, I’ve acquired two new cards, with another two on the way. This more or less covers us for the bigger promotions out there. Now the key is to remember to cancel when they present us with the annual fee….

(2) UNIQLO: I’m actually excited about this. I, the one who does not shop, actually cares that a new shop is coming to town. I suppose it’s the fact that a large proportion of S’s cute baby clothes came from the UNIQLO outlet below my beloved Akachan Honpo in Tokyo. I don’t recall getting anything substantial for myself, however, and am disappointed to see that they don’t have the kids’ range in at first go, but perhaps over time they’ll bring in the kids stuff. I won’t dress myself in trendy clothes, but I love it when the kids look sharp.

(3) Birthdays: S and N, to be exact. One past, the other coming up. I’m not terribly excited about birthdays, but I do have to do the expected. Gifts, party, goodie bags. You know, the works. Suffice it to say that I managed to pull a party off a piece which garnered enough happy faces. It’s a little sad that I treat my children’s birthdays as a chore, but honestly, it is. The fact is birthdays are a small deal in my family, so having to make a big deal out of something that’s mostly treated like an interesting fact in my family, is a little weird. But as I say, we are strange that way. Kids LOVE birthdays and it wouldn’t be right to deprive them of a proper celebration.

(4) Move: No, we’re not upping and going again. Not yet, at least. No, we’re just moving house, but staying country. This time, I have a lot of help, no language barrier, no air tickets, visas, foreign currency and hotels to deal with, so this move is easy-peasy. In theory. Of course, we are now one baby more, so it does make things a little less predictable. More on the move after we move.

(5) Baby: M is turning into a little screaming monster. I need to train him, but that’s not happening, what with all this mad running about I do all day. I need to be home to train him, and that’s only ever going to happen once we move. So in theory, I allow him to be this screaming brat for a little while longer till I can take him to task.

It’s tax season once more and that’s really what I should be doing right now, rather than blogging….