Work-Life Balance

Early this year, after almost 15 years of running the rat race, and climbing up the corporate ladder, I jumped off the ladder altogether. My title changed from "Senior Manager" to "Home Manager" and eventually got promoted to "Stay-at-Home Mom".

Despite what it sounds like, staying at home does not equate to bumming around. There is always, always, something that needs to be done. The dishes, the meals, the laundry, the cleaning, the organizing, the washing... add to that the baby's bathing, feeding, changing, burping, cuddling & carrying. I realize that keeping house is just as busy and just as time-consuming as a regular 9-to-5 job.

A lot of mothering books tell you that it's easy to lose yourself in the routine of caring for a home and a child. They remind mothers to take time off for themselves, to be the women they were before this other calling took hold of them. To nurture themselves as much as they nurture their family.

In that sense, even SAHM's need work-life balance. Sure, the work is slightly different now, but the need for a life doesn't change.

It doesn't even have to come in the form of anything grand, like vacations, or causes or altruistic projects. Anything new and different can be refreshing.

In my case, it was just being able to try a new recipe.

With a 2-mo. old around, it's hard to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. Prep work takes more time now as I do it in between looking after my son. (Dinner preps start as early as 3pm and can end as late as 6pm, with everything getting done in stages.) But thankfully, I have a mother who moonlights as Mary Poppins. After a 2-week hiatus in the Philippines, she heard my distress call and is back to spend (another) 2-months with us. By being able to share baby duties, I have a little more time to experiment with dinner.

After months of wanting to, I got to revisit my recipe/scrap book. By no means was I making a gourmet meal. But it  is certainly liberating to cook with the peace of mind of knowing my son wouldn't be neglected and dinner didn't have to take a whole day to make.

Presenting... Thai Chicken Bites. (Thank you Wenkgirl for the recipe.)

Step 1: dredge

Fully coated and ready for frying

The final product.

At this point, it's not even about the taste, just about the fact that I can.  

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Slow progress

One week after my last post, even with my mom now around helping me out, finding time to sit down and write has not gotten easier.

Just goes to show that I am living on borrowed time. Borrowed from a tiny little emperor that packs a powerful pair of lungs, a demanding feeding schedule and loves being held to sleep.

Sige na baby, pagbigyan mo naman si mommy....

:)

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A mommy tale

I am willing to bet that there are days in every mother's life when the responsibility of motherhood becomes a heavy burden to bear. I have only been a mother for a little over 9wks and I've had those moments already.

Two nights ago was one of them.

It was late, I hadn't showered or eaten and my son was having a cling-y moment, refusing to be put down in his crib, his rocker, the bed, the floor or on the sofa. He wanted to be carried, he wanted to be rocked, he wanted mommy to dance with him around the room non-stop. In fact, he wouldn't even let mommy sit down. Because the moment she did, he would scrunch up his face and whimper. A tell-tale sign that crying was soon to follow.

Hungry, tired and at the edge of my patience, I put him down on his crib despite his protests. I made sure there was nothing nearby he could grab or could hurt him and then I did what no mommy wants to do, I left him. I went downstairs, prepared my dinner plate and I started to eat.

I ate to the sound of my son's escalating cries. From the baby monitor, I could see that he was safe. I knew he wasn't hungry (we had just finished nursing), he wasn't cold or too warm, and he hadn't soiled himself. But I could also see that he was unhappy being up there alone. To be honest, I wasn't happy downstairs either. But it was either be unhappy eating, or be driven mad with the crying.

My husband was out late that night and I ate while constantly looking at the driveway willing him to finally come home. I needed someone to either take baby and stop his crying, or at least tell me that I wasn't being a bad mommy for wanting 15mins of relative peace.

By the time I was done and took him again, he had tears in his eyes and sipon running down his nose. Sigh.

A few minutes of soothing, kisses, rocking and singing later he had fallen asleep, head against my chest, his favorite position with me. I like to think it's because he can listen to my heartbeat.

A few more minutes later, daddy comes home and takes him from me. Finally I could shower.

One day down. A lifetime ahead.

Hello, Stacey. Welcome to motherhood.

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backlog

It has been almost a year since my last entry.

A lot happens in a span of almost 12 months. If I were deluded enough to believe that there are readers of this blog who don't know me personally, then I would probably try go through a brief backstory of the last few months.

But I'm not deluded. :P

Plus, I know myself and although I would have the intention, I would never be able to condense the recent events into a blog entry. Mostly because there has just been so much. And partly because I'm a lazy type person, I am.

So, let me tell the story in two pictures:

Big Event #1

Big Event #2

In between Event #1 and Event #2 were mini events. All exciting, meaningful and memorable. Each worthy of a blog entry, if I had ever gotten around to it. And it's not even over yet. Right now I'm in the midst of preparing for Event #3, which is really just a variation of Event #1, if you think about it.

The one thing I am sure about is that my life is no longer the same.

Hopefully,I can take you on the journey with me.

Now if you'll excuse me, Event #2 is asking for attention.

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This is a photoblog...

...of my 35th birthday "celebration", or at least part of it.

Yes, I am 35 this year. I am now officially in my mid-thirties! *gulp*

O_O

To celebrate this milestone, I did something I've always wanted to do: go on a stay-cation. I wanted to relax, run after nothing and just enjoy my time. And that's what I did. I want to tell you all about it, but I think I'll just show you the pictures.

I managed to play with a Canon EOS60D that weekend so I went around and played "photographer". I didn't use any digital filters (no, I do not use Instagram) and these are all unedited (except for a few colour enhancements). All depth-of-field and focus settings were manually done by me, which would explain why they're a bit off. But still, I'd like to think I didn't do so bad. :)

THE SOLE INDOOR SHOT

THE INDIGENOUS WILDLIFE



THE LOCAL FLORA

THE MISCELLANEOUS

I did other things on my birthday too. And those had pictures as well. But I'll tell you about it next time.

All photos were shot on location at Sonya's Bed & Breakfast in Barangay Buck Estate, Alfonso, Cavite, though most people would probably consider Sonya's to be part of Tagaytay. You can The room was the Rosemary. For more information go to http://www.sonyasgarden.com/ or call them at +(63)917-5329097  or +(63)917-5335140 or +(63)917-5231080 .

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admiration

While taking a quick break from work I decided to do a little cybersnooping. Now before you go all judge-y on me, hear me out. ;)

Once, while talking to our staff analyst, I noticed on her computer an open web page. As someone with a similar cyberproperty, I immediately recognized the telltale signs that said the page on her screen was a blog. And I knew intuitively that the blog was hers. There is something about being a blogger that makes you feel an immediate connection with other bloggers. When you find them amidst the randomness, it is like finding your kin. You're bound together by the connections of the worldwide web. So I developed this compulsion t find her page.

Further fueling me on was the fact that she has never said anything about her little passion on the side. But then again, neither have I. If she is like me, then I suppose she wishes to keep part of her personal life separate from her professional life. Or perhaps she's just biding her time. At any rate, today I decided to finally go take a look.

I was delighted by what I saw. It wasn't even the contents of the page that tickled me because her subject is something I have absolutely have no knowledge or skill on. But I loved the vibe of her blog. It was fun, feminine and happy.

And I couldn't help but admire that she had such a passion for her topic. Enough that her posts came in quick succession. I can barely get one out a month! Which is silly when I think about how blessed I am to have so much I could possibly write about.

The problem, I think, is that I have pressured myself into writing "perfect" pieces. I'm harboring some notion that because I could (could, could) eventually try to monetize this blog then I must have some bigger, grander theme to it. (See entry: Show me the Money). But it seems that harboring that notion has not helped me become a better writer. Or at least it hasn't made me more prolific.

Maybe it's time to change my mindset. A little less of the "perfect", a little more of the me. That's what I always wanted anyway.

But just to make sure, come back next month and see if I manage to successfully churn out more entries.

write, darn you, write!

In the meantime, check out Candidly Pretty. It's the blog for DIY arts and crafts lovers. Oh, and by the way, she has no idea I discovered her "secret". ;)

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