Momsie's Me: Time does Fly ! (And Sometimes I Just Hate It)

Momsie's Me: Time does Fly ! (And Sometimes I Just Hate It)

Time does Fly ! (And Sometimes I Just Hate It)

It has been more than two months since I last wrote an entry here. The past weeks and days have been filled with so many activities and adjustments and I feel like I have not slept a wink at all.

How time flies! And I am even more alarmed when I see the many changes that have transpired in my children. "Ate" has indeed grown up. I can see the comprehension in her eyes whenever we speak to her. She knows when she has done wrong and makes effort to butter it up to mommy and daddy.

My little one is also quickly following up. He is now more mobile and interactive with the things, people and activities that are happening around him. When once he used to just gaze directly at me, now he claps his hands in glee, or cries when he thinks that he is being left alone.

Much as I revel in these achievements, I feel fear creep in when I think of the time that has passed. Soon school will start, and the little ones will learn about people and things that are beyond the little group that includes mommy and daddy. And I fear that other people will become the apples of their eyes - and we will no longer bear the spotlight of their attention.

But there are so many things to celebrate now, and I must focus on them instead of feeling sad. Time does fly yes, but I am here with my family now, and I am not going anywhere soon.

Status: Enjoying the peace and quiet with my babies and husband.
Crossing Oceans

After Party Hangover

Now don't get me wrong. I am not reeling from the effects of swinging until the wee hours of the morning, or even from imbibing more alcoholic drinks than I can handle.

I am actually recovering from the party fever after my son and daughter celebrated their birthdays together last weekend.

I tell you the advantages are numerous. Instead of hosting two separate parties for each one - we decided to make do with one celebration. And instead of having a pool party at a resort, we brought it back to the house.

This is the first time that me and my husband experienced buying groceries for the stuff that we are going to use for the party. There were times I did not know what I was doing but thankfully we got by.

Of course in the area of the kitchen, kudos must be given to my mom and sis. Even with my sister based outside of the country, they were still able to come up with a truly great, kid-friendly menu.

Now I am looking forward to the next celebration in sight. I am itching to try my events planning skills once again!

Typical Mommy Day

Seven days to go before my daughter's second birthday and exactly nine days before my son turns a year old, and I am at home tending to my daughter's who has been with fever since Sunday morning.

I think I have only slept a total of five hours in the last 72 hours, before she had a fever, I was up Saturday night to Sunday cleaning our bedroom, and it has been a whirlwind of activity since then.

In between my busy schedule at home and work, I have been able to squeeze in some time to go to the Ate Myra's and Kuya Budz' house to discuss and reserve for the kids' birthday cakes, go to Mr. Pinlac's to reserve for chairs and tables, ask my husband to accompany me to the store to send payment for online purchases and so on.

Today is my least busy day of the week and I am watching over my baby while I write this entry.

I just wish that before their birthday's the two kids will be up and about. I would hate for anything - be it illness or bad weather, to mar the day of the celebration.

Which reminds me, in an hour or so, I will be bringing Kaeva to the doctor.

Busy day? Not really. It's just the normal way a mother's day goes.

"dias"

Just a while ago, my daughter learned her first Spanish word. After numerous instances of watching Dora and her Explorer adventures, she has finally learned how to say "morning" in Spanish. My daughter and son both love watching Dora, as well as listening to the many songs that is included with the show.

I think one of the best investments my husband and I has ever made was to buy a Dora video. Based on my observations, the music, the colors and the cute characters are slowly helping them build their perception of the world, as well as their vocabulary. Of course, we are very careful in exposing them to too much video. I have read up a lot of material that says that videos and related media are not truly beneficial to shaping a child's growth and learning. Though I am not such an expert, what I do is listen to my inner voice.

I am a firm believer of shaping someone based on the characteristics and traits that person show, and it is no different with my children. As early as now, both of them display streaks of individualism and show traits that are completely different from one another. They often clash, because they are still so young and so near in age, but in good moments, you can already see the close bonding and love these two babies have for one another.

I try to be careful and give them proper care and space to grow their individual strengths. My husband and I mix discipline and gentle care to remind them when they are doing something wrong or hurting one another. And not leaving everything to Dora, we explain bits and pieces of the story to them.

When the song says "share, share, share", I explain to them that this means that they should share their toys with one another and not be mad when one happens to borrow the other's favorite toy. Of course, the reality is far from perfect. More often I would her my daughter say no than give her toy to Nan, but they are getting there.

I am excited to see what next Spanish word K will say. After all it is not everyday that I hear her speak words in three languages - umaga, morning and dias.

Kukuk becomes Chicken

As a working mom, the toughest thing I face is not the criticisms and reactions of colleagues and bosses at work, but the face of my daughter that I see in the side view mirror every morning before we drive off to work.

For me, becoming a working mom was not even a conscious choice. It was something that simply developed out of habit. After all, before I got married, I was already working so it just seemed a natural progression of things for me to continue on after giving birth.

Lately though, I have to struggle and force myself to move to the door every morning when we say goodbye to the kids. Looking at their woebegone expressions, especially in our eldest' eyes who is starting to comprehend the way things work, is completely heartbreaking.

I have to keep on reminding myself that there is another reason why I must work, so that I can, together with my husband, support our family and have the funds to give our children the kind of future every loving parents want -- secure, well balanced and happy.

I have to remind myself that there are other opportunities for me to spend with them, but when work claims the weekends, I feel a clutch in my heart. Because in my heart and mind, weekends are for my babies, and it is as much as I can do it - a non-negotiable thing.

There are a lot of advantages to becoming a working mom. But when I go home and realize that my daughter's Kukuk has progressed to "Chicken", I often wish I could have stayed home and see it happen.

Finding Mentors

One great advice that I got from my constant readings is that in order to succeed in life, one must find mentors who will guide you in making your best decisions in the different aspects of your life.

Now unfortunately, getting the best mentors is an expensive business. Mentoring programs often comes with a fee -- and right now, adding more fees on my already tight budget is not an option.

But because I really want to spend more time with my kids and husband, I have to try to make things work. So here is what I did:

1. Looked around for my friends who have started their own businesses - and are successful at it
2. Went online to get snatches of wisdom from my favorite preacher (Bro Bo for one TrulyRichClub.com - Do You Want to Gain Financial Wealth and Spiritual Abundance at the Same Time?
)
3. Prayed for God to nudge me in the right direction :) :) :)
4. Pushed myself beyond the limits of my ignorance - taught myself to understand bits and pieces of earning passive income in order to understand how I can make it work for me

Right now, I'm not exactly there yet, but I am doing good and having fun trying :)

Mommy times two!

There is nothing tougher I have yet to face than being a mother. When I had my first baby, I was completely 100% enamored. Of every scent, every little gesture. I was truly in love with all associated with that tiny being who happened to come from me. As time went by, she grew into a cuddly and naughty baby who loves hugging and playing games with her dad and grandpa - her greatest admirers in the whole wide world.

My husband and I have decided early on that we wanted to have another baby before our eldest was too old to get to play with him or her, but we were truly surprised and pleased when we learned that we were expecting, again. Unlike my first pregnancy, my second one went fairly well. I was able to eat the food I wanted to eat, and I did not need bed rest. Also I was able to go to work until two weeks before my scheduled operation.

When my second baby was born, we learned that he was suffering from pneumonia - it could have only come from me but we could not remember an instance that I was down with flu or even colds. But it was a time coincident with AH1N1 fever and the like and we believed that the virus I had imbibed was passed on to our baby who was then inside my tummy. It was a relatively easy pregnancy but after the birth, the days spent waiting, watching from the window of NICU, speaking to him through the incubator walls and seeing him intubated, with a dextrose attached to his umbilical cord was heartbreaking. Even when we went home, we were at the hospital twice daily, without fail. My husband and even our baby girl would go to the hospital and view our Nan from the window.

We were simply the happiest parents when our little boy pulled through and we brought him home with us. The initial adjustment was hard, my daughter still a little baby herself was confused that mommy's attention was no longer on her 24/7. Although already weaned from the breast, she had bouts of tearful tantrums because of this.

But after a while things settled down. We all established a routine and built a strong network of support. Little by little, day by day, we made it.

I am thankful for all the blessings we received especially my family and friends.

I am a Mom

I find that my greatest achievement is not the fact that I graduated from a special science secondary school, or the premier university here in the Philippines for college. It is not even the fact that I hold a good paying job and still finds the time to teach students. For me, the best thing I have accomplished is to give birth to my wonderful children who never ceases to amaze me with their charm and intelligence.

Being a mother is not a walk in the park, and more so in my case where I hold two jobs both for necessity and as a way for me to get in touch with my creative self. Unlike other parents who are fortunate to see their kids 24/7, my husband and I have to be content to see them after work (fortunate in the case that they are still awake when we get home) and during weekends. Which is why we really try to make good use of the time that we spend with them. Especially in my case, I make it a point to be at home for the majority of my time away from work. Because for me there is no greater regret that I can imagine other than the realization that time has flown and the children have grown up creating their own niches in life. Without me in it.

Every day is a constant challenge for me to be a better parent than the day before. Join me as I walk through my experiences and be with me as I celebrate this wonderful opportunity of being a mother.