Septem-BER means Birthday Prep!

-BER month na po...

For other parents, this would mean that Christmas 2014 is soon to be rolling in. For me however, before I jump on to that particular bandwagon, there is another significant event that is being propelled by this quarter --- the kids' birthdays!

Let me get this straight. I do not have twins. I just happen to have the fortune of having kids born almost exactly a year apart, with their particular birth dates ONLY ONE DAY apart.

When I was pregnant with my son, I would always pray that his arrival not coincide with my older kid's birthday. I wanted them to have their own unique dates arriving into the world - because my belief was, they would begin to value their own selves, and bask in their individuality, if they did not share such a special date together (the year immaterial).

And as usual, GOD answered my prayers in a very special way.

A day after celebrating my daughter's first birthday - there I was again at the hospital giving birth to our baby boy.

Almost five years later, here I am (here we are). And now it is again -BER month.

In the earlier years, this would mean preparing for two parties, and worrying about bills/expenses associated with kiddie parties times two.

Not this year.

This year - both kids will have a shared, and simple family celebration - a real toast of gratefulness for the lives that God have entrusted to us. This year, the birthday celebrants will not have a big party, but will instead celebrate life by having some bit of fun with their friends, and special bonding time with family.

It will not be much of a party, but it will be a very special celebration..

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.