Post-October 2012

Last October, my babies both turned 4 and 3 respectively. Their birthdays marked another year of renewed learning, and countless fun discoveries every day.

Compared to their younger days, they are now more interactive; and can follow most directions with unerring accuracy (of course, during the times they don't - it's usually a combination of not understanding the instruction, as well as not wanting to follow. Actually).

My husband and I, together with the rest of our family all have special moments that are truly unforgettable - be it as simple as receiving a hug, a kiss and an "I love you" from our babies, to bigger events like receiving crumpled flower petals as "pasalubong" when they get back from their walk at the park.

It feels so exciting thinking about the days to come. Amidst the daily grind of meeting deadlines for reports, and dealing with the different characters at work, going home to two adorable darlings at the end of the day is definitely a breath of fresh air.

Now, if I can just speed up the time a wee bit....

I am a Slow Learner and proud of it

Can you actually believe it? 

It is actually very ironic when I realize that I have spent practically more than a year being a stay-at-home mom, and then realize at the same time that most of the stuff that are supposed to be part of being "motherly wisdom" was formed the past months only.

Seriously. Was I wasting my time (or having a fun time of it, you might ask?)

I guess I am, what sir Francis Kong would refer to as a "slow learner" in his book (DUH?!! Why do intelligent people Develop Unhealthy Habits? How to get out of it and WIN!). When it comes to being a hands on parent, there were some aspects of being a stay at home mom that I never got to understand and appreciate until recently, after I have started my planning to be an active part of the privately employed sector once again. But just as Francis Kong said it, "...I am a slow learner because I want to internalize everything I learn. I want what I learn to become a part of me."

Now, I realize that moms really do wake up at dawn, and prepare stuff for their husbands and kids. I optimize my time and ensure that my babies' change of clothes are immediately washed after they take them off. I have stringently scheduled a bath time and set a routine for the nanny to follow so that when I am at work, I will be assured that my babies are getting cleaned the way I expect them to be cleaned.

I have even immersed my kids in a regular 5 minute reading time so that their love of reading will be nurtured as they grow older. Watching television is strictly monitored and limited and instead, I encourage them to be more active in playing and moving around, dancing and singing so that healthier and a more active lifestyle is introduced to them while they are still young.

Two days ago, my three year old daughter saw me set the table, and went to the utensils cabby and got the spoons and forks. Now when it is time for a meal, she is the one setting the utensils beside everybody's plate. And she is great at it too.

My two year old son knows when it is time to take his vitamins. He knows well enough where to get the vitamins and spoon, and he brings both over to me as he waits for me to give him and his sister their dosage for the day. My husband and I taught them the value of thinking for themselves, so that they can develop comprehension about the world early on their own.

All in all, I feel happy at all the learning - things not only my kids have and are learning, but those that me and my husband are picking up along the way. There is still much ground to cover but I am just so happy to get the chance to be able to learn this way. I am not recommending that everyone take a sabbatical like I did in order to be a better parent (which I believe I have become), but in my case, it really worked.

Keeping up with Babies and their Techie learning

Have you noticed that the days seem to be so much shorter these days? Or is it just that my little terrors are just growing up so fast?

Barely a month past my last post, and my kids have learned so much in that time - my baby girl can now sing along to almost all the songs in her baby CD and use my iphone with great dexterity, while my little boy has become so keen on different cars and their makes.

Today, every ride in the car is a learning/teaching trip, with the two babies trying to outdo one another in raising my hair and stress level to the very top! I am not sure if the concept of "behaving" is too difficult to grasp for the babies of this generation - or my little ones are just exceptionally intelligent and naughty.

Sometimes I fear that I am missing on moments - and that's from someone who never gets out of the house without one form of camera to snap pictures with. The growth spurt is just so fast, and I pray, and wish that I have captured as much representation as I can on digital data.

Today, both my babies can use touchscreen phones and navigate YouTube seamlessly, the only thing limiting them is their inability to write and spell words. Baby girl would come up to me and say, "Mommy hello kitty please" or "Barbie" - simple instructions to search for those baby friendly videos she loves to watch. When before she was satisfied with Dora's adventures, now she wants to learn and see baby cooking videos and styling tips. And my son? He used to sleep the day away, but now he's in a constant tug of war with ate to see who will get the chance to use mom's iphone (of course, so far he's always losing out).

Funny but when previous generations had wooden toys and baby bears to entertain the kids, the generation now is just into visual and advanced stuff. I better learn more and ASAP about this internet parental control - or there just may be more things to raise my hair on end by next post.

Minsan lang kita mamahalin...

Two days ago, my family was relaxing inside the bedroom, I was using my netbook, my husband was playing with his PSP and the two kids were playing when suddenly, a very feminine and melodious voice sang out: " Minsan lang kita mamahalin..."

I looked around at my husband who was smiling at me. With his head he indicated our eldest daughter who was lying on the bed. To both our surprise and delight, it was she who came out with that piece of Tagalog song.

Over the day, she would come out with that line. Later before sleeping I asked her where she learned it and she shyly told me that she heard the song from her nannny's cellphone music library (it was my nanny's practice to turn on the cp music while cleaning up and arranging the room with the kids).

Right now I am thinking what next song to teach my baby girl - I just love it that she is slowly starting to grasp new and more complex concepts and tasks and is slowly coming into her own.

3 years and 10 lifetimes after

More than three years into motherhood - I feel like I have aged several lifetimes.

There is definitely more into the mothers being paragons-of-virtues thing. After being a mother for more than three years now, I realize the humble truth that there is no job task or business as demanding, and as perfection driven than raising children.

Unlike jobs that revolve around routines and hitting your targets, raising children is an ever-evolving task. Kids are unpredictable and uber lovable creatures who act and react on whatever is happening around them with such spontaneity and simplicity. Unlike adults, they do not know how to shield nor monitor their thoughts yet.

They will ask someone - "Are you a mommy?", "Are you a daddy?", without thought that their innocent questions can make the person they are speaking with uncomfortable. And at their young age, they believe in everything that we tell them.

Along with the monumental task of seeing to their needs, we as adults have the responsibility to shape their minds and character. This I believe, is the most significant task that we have as they go through their early formative years but sadly - this can be the most overlooked task as well.

Adults and parents have our life's goals. And often, in our pursuit of making that job or business endeavor successful, we lose sight of the fact that our presence is also needed inside our homes - not just during dinner time and breakfast, but during the day when the kids go through the most significant learning phases in their young lives.

I learned this simple truth after days of spending my days and almost nights at our family shop - driven by the desire to make the business achieve success in the shortest time possible, I lost track of time and my precious time with the kids.

It took some discussions and arguments between me and my husband, and a friend's common tale of what happened to her and her family, to make me stop and take stock of my situation. Lucky for me that I was not yet too deep - I still have the time to pull out and re-plan my days and time.

These days, my time outside the home starts after lunchtime. Though I spend time at the computer blogging, and communicating with the head office for stocks requirements and orders processing, I can stand up anytime and brush the babies teeth after they eat, or I can redirect the browser and see that elephant video that my daughter loves so much. I can stop tinkering at the keyboard and cuddle my son close to me.

There are so many learnings that I continue to get from the passing of years. Yes I definitely aged lifetimes but the great thing about it is that I am learning - and having fun doing so at the same time.