My do-nothing-much routine

I’ve been on leave for 19 days and there are 17 more days before I start work again. Besides the vacation in Istanbul for 4 days, I basically spent the rest of my time being a full time mom. After Istanbul, we stayed in Ashgabat for 4 days 4 nights in a staff transit house. On 1 Dec 2009, we flew to Turkmenbashy. When we arrived, we ‘checked-in’ into our rented house here. So here my routine as a full time mom really starts.

After already 10 days staying in Turkmenbashy, my routine mostly consists of the following:

Morning

• Prepare breakfast using whatever minimum food supply we have. I brought some Brahim instant food, instant gravy, instant soups, nasi goreng powder & instant noodles from Malaysia. Other raw food stuff my husband bought here are rice, onions, chicken, sausages, eggs, potatos, carrots, salad & cabbage. We also have instant pizza, some biscuits & plenty of teabags. That’s about all, estimated to last for 3 weeks.
• Do the laundry. I’d dry the clothes in front of the fireplace.
• Bathe my lil son.
• When all kids have all eaten and bathed and were doing something (watch TV, reading, play PSP or toy blocks), I’d start logging on the internet, either checking e-mails or blogging. I am a Facebook semi-addict, unfortunately I cannot access FB here :(

Afternoon

• Prepare lunch, again with whatever ingredients available. Somehow the simple meals are really enjoyed by my kids. Maybe it’s the cold weather which keeps them hungry.
• Eat lunch with the kids.
• Clean up the kitchen.
• Continue being online or watch BBC World News. Luckily we managed to find a channel we can understand.
• Put my lil son to sleep, and sometimes ending up sleeping with him.

Evening

• Do something with my kids.
• Fold up the dried clothing.
• Tidy up the house after messed up by my boys. And shortly after that it gets messed up again…
• Prepare dinner. Sometimes my husband brings back food from his office canteen, so that’s an extra dish for us.

Night

• Eat dinner with kids & hubby.
• Clean up the kitchen.
• Self grooming, i.e. apply beauty cream, body lotion, eye cream – these things I don’t normally have time to do in my normal life in Malaysia, except the basics…
• Relax with hubby n kids until bedtime.

So, each day goes on with similar routine, with the occasional vacuuming the carpets and throwing the garbage. Not a very heavy routine indeed. When I dunno what to do, I’d just bug my kids at what they’re doing, or log on the internet again and again, some light reading, or just lie down and rest. Sometimes we would also stay at my husband's little room at the work camp site, Kiyanly (see photos). He normally stays here as single status. The rented house was only for 1-2 months to accommodate our visit. The room is small, yet comfortable, with TV, Internet (here I can access FB after office hours, yeay!) and we can have meals here like the other staff. Here again, I rest most of the time, besides managing the kids and their occasional tantrums... 

Right now I am 30 weeks pregnant, so I think some extra rest is acceptable. Particularly considering what a hectic routine I had back in Malaysia several weeks before this holiday, being a temporary single mom to 3 super active boys and working as an engineer in KLCC.

 

Hurm, my normal routine in Malaysia would be:

• Going to work Monday to Friday by LRT (squeezed amongst loads of people and has to do loads of walking – quite painful for a preggy lady sometimes) or drive (stuck in traffic jams – which can be quite stressful as well). After work I usually fall flat out of tiredom.
• Doing groceries or other necessity shopping for the household during weekends.
• Some cleaning around the house.
• Some cooking.
• Laundry, ironing and the likes.
• Checking son’s homework.
• Occasional visits to dentist, clinic and hospital for check-ups.
• Occasional family visits and events to attend.
• Everything else that needed to be done, being in charge of the family in the absence of my husband.

Comparing the 2 routines, I think I well deserve this rest, perhaps rejuvenation as well. So I’ll take good rest, tell myself it’s ok to do nothing much for now, take this opportunity to take care of myself, spend time with my kids and accompany my husband who will have to be alone again when I return to my normal life in Malaysia in 1-2 weeks time. And I will also be back to being a single mom after that.

 

So just enjoy this while it lasts... :)