Monthly Archives: October 2010

halloween humbug

Posted on October 29, 2010 by Dalton Dorné Posted in holidaze | Leave a comment

Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays. Dressing up, trick-or-treating, and of course, candy! I remember the haunted houses set up over town, and even at church (which was super fun), and all the great decorations my Mom would put out. What is not to love? I don’t know if I’m simply unable to grow up (my husband has suggested I might mentally be frozen age 10), or if living abroad makes me exceptionally determined to create American … →

its the little things

Posted on October 26, 2010 by Dalton Dorné Posted in mommyhood, singapore | Leave a comment

Unpacking some of the remaining boxes yesterday, Dom came across a wrapped gift I had bought Niamh as we left China. It’s a gorgeous photo album by Chinese designer brand, Shanghai Tang. While I know she won’t really appreciate this, I thought it would be a beautiful album to put her pictures in from her last year in China, sort of a farewell China gift. She loves looking at her baby photo album, and this seemed something she would enjoy … →

a slight case of Beijing nostalgia

Posted on October 25, 2010 by Dalton Dorné Posted in china, mommyhood, singapore | Leave a comment

Over the last couple weeks, I’ve been really frustrated with Niamh’s school here in Singapore. It has made me even more nostalgic about Niamh’s school in Beijing, Ivy Bilingual. Niamh’s first week of school last year   In my nostalgic haze, I started looking at their website again, and the parent journals. Basically, each family has a password login, that is a journal updated every Friday. This has a school note on things like upcoming holidays or events, a class note … →

the great escape

Posted on October 18, 2010 by Dalton Dorné Posted in mommyhood | Leave a comment

Despite being a fairly good sleeper as a baby (thanks to babywise) Niamh has really not been an easy toddler when it comes to sleep. The problem really started when unbeknown to us, the nanny (Ayi) started sleeping in Niamh’s room in Beijing. Back then, we had Niamh’s crib, and a single bed in her room. The single bed was meant to be the transition as the big girl bed, not a place for the nanny to sleep (who by the … →

sleeping beauty

Posted on October 18, 2010 by Dalton Dorné Posted in mommyhood | Leave a comment

How do you sleep so deeply, that you manage to turn yourself completely around? This is Niamh in bed shortly before she woke up in the morning (notice the pillow on the other end, which I’ve circled in red). I’ve heard of waking up on the wrong side of the bed, but only in the figurative sense. Niamh has managed to pull it off, literally. Have you ever slept so deeply that you’ve turned completely around in your sleep?

my flavor’s real

Posted on October 14, 2010 by Dalton Dorné Posted in marketing mumbo jumbo, singapore | Leave a comment

“My Flavor’s Real” is a tagline from a Coca-Cola campaign, and this came to life for me last night. Most people know how I feel about Coke, I heart them. I love diet coke and it just makes me think of sunshine, the south, and bubbles! Add a slice of lime, and I’m a happy woman. Last night in a store in Singapore, Dom spotted these: In case you are wondering, those are Coca-Cola branded lipgloss, chapstick, etc. They come … →

best friends

Posted on October 14, 2010 by Dalton Dorné Posted in mommyhood, singapore | Leave a comment

One of my biggest qualms with Niamh’s school in Singapore is not just the bad organization and communication from the school, or their total lack of ability to apply common sense when working with children – its the fact that she doesn’t like school and can’t name a single friend there. She’s the only foreigner at this school, but that was the case at her playgroup in Beijing when she was two, and she enjoyed the other children. In fact, … →

trouble with a capital T

Posted on October 4, 2010 by Dalton Dorné Posted in mommyhood, singapore | Leave a comment

The week before we moved out of our house in Singapore, I thought we should take advantage of the unusually large yard (by Singapore standards) since our new place has just a ‘patch’ of grass. So I whipped out the hose and as Niamh was jumping on her trampoline, shot her with a lil blast of water. Well she acted all bent out of shape, and I just thought, ‘surely no child of mine dislikes a good ol play in … →

talk about a 180

Posted on October 4, 2010 by Dalton Dorné Posted in politickin', travel | Leave a comment

Last week we spent five days in Bali for my birthday, it was a big one… More on the fun and surprises of last week later… One of our first impressions was a large piece of artwork on the side of the road on the way from the airport to our villa, that was a painting of President Obama and Michelle Obama. You don’t expect to see paintings of the US President and his wife being sold on rural streets … →