The answer to 'To work or not to work?'

Lucas read this blog. He is well aware of what I wrote on the blog. Just now, he read and came to me and said,
Lucas: Mom, I know the answer to to work or not to work.
Me: What's the answer?
Lucas: You work, earn lots money and then you don't work and take care of us.

How cute.

And he went on to comment that Chloe has more than 6 waking hours cause she starts school at 8.30am and finishes at 1.15pm, and she goes to bed at 9.30pm.

And he went on again saying that I will write in the blog when he turns 6 in 2 days saying 'Lucas is 6. Happy Birthday', just like what I wrote for Chloe.

Well, he is already dictating what I should write.

Lucas, I know you are reading this!!

To work or not to work??

My maid's contract is ending April 2013 and she is not extending. Her reason was her husband has found a job and she need to take care of her daughter while the husband is working. She helps me take care of my kids when I am not at home or while I work from home. With her, I can have a job. Now that she is going to be gone, I'm not sure what should I do. My dilemma - should I get another maid and continue working fulltime or just quit working and take care of the kids myself?

My kids only have 6 waking hours at home on weekdays. Lucas gets home at 2.30pm and sleeps at 8.30pm. I don't really want to waste their growing up years busy myself with work. I want to be able to spend some time with them. They grow fast.

On the other hand, I want to have some adult intellectual talk and use my brain a bit differently. And having 2 incomes does help - hopefully Dominic and I don't have to slave until we are in our 60s.

What should I do? Not get a maid replacement and see what kind of part time job I can find?

7 Days to Christmas

Yes, only 7 days to Christmas and we have yet to buy the most important presents i.e. presents to my in-laws. We have no clue what to buy!
I survived my first week of work....yah! I had to go office everyday but luckily the traffic was good as most people are on holidays. I won't dare to say the same in January. The job, the boss and the colleagues are not bad at all, but I can't work from home all the time....bummer. I'll see how I balance my time and office as I go along. The first day where both of us have to go office, Lucas was telling his father 'It is not fun when both of you are not at home'. Chloe got rather confused and asked 'Why are you going to Daddy's car?' Sigh.....When school starts in January, it is going to be a challenge sending and picking up the kids from schools. Sigh again....need to find alternative transportation.

The kids have been watching this cartoon called Peppa Pig. So, one day Lucas came to me and said, 'Mom, we have to put a glass of milk and mince pie near the Christmas tree so that Santa Claus can drink and eat them when he comes to deliver the present. And we will also know that Santa has come'. Guess who has to drink and eat on behalf of the Santa?? Daddy of course.

Putting up the tree.

Proud of their work.

Deep in concentration. What were they watching?

Watching carolling.

Back to Work

After almost 6 months of being unemployed or lady of leisure, depending on how you look at it, I'm going back to work full time next Wednesday. I managed to find a job which is supposedly virtual aka work from home. I grabbed the opportunity fast and I hope it does turn out to be so. However, I need to be in the office at the beginning to show my face, to know who's who and how things work. Then I hope I can do most part of the work from home. Keeping my finger crossed.

Ah....I have so much errands to do and also much errands had been accomplished. Last list to do is to clean up my store room so that I can store more junk into the store room - make any sense?? I need to sort out all the kids' outgrown clothes, car seats, baby cot, playpen, toys to be given away.

Oh....looking forward to new challenges or not? I'm not sure. I will be able to tell in a month's time.

Back to Work in 2010

My previous boss wrote to me and asked if I am interested in returning to work next year. I gladly said yes. This job is work from home and it's the most ideal for mothers with young children. So, now here I am looking for babysitter / nanny again. The place that I am living now must be in a middle of nowhere. I couldn't get a cleaning lady with car to come even once a week. Her reason was too far. Then I rationalize that nobody will want to come daily! I have tried asking around but all to no vial. So, the next solution is to get a live-in maid. Sigh...having a stranger living under the same roof is no fun. Loss of privacy, and have to take care of her (like another big child at home) and all the headaches she is going to bring!!
So, now here we are looking for a Filipino maid. We just got rid of one and looking for another one. Isn't it like jumping from one hot pot to another hot pot? Trying our luck again...isn't there another option? It will be a waste to send Lucas and Chloe to full day-care right? That really defeat the purpose of working from home where I can keep an eye on them.

Full time working mom

Now that I have been working for 2 weeks after my one year maternity leave, I can share some thoughts as working mom.

1. THEN: I used to take my shower, blow dry my hair, put on some makeup and leave for the office. All these would take half an hour. If I have extra time, I can have a cup of coffee and a slice of toast.
NOW: It takes much longer to prepare (if I have to go to the office).I have to prepare Lucas first. Have to time his feeding time, sleeping/nap time, nappy time. Then, I will have my shower, blow dry my hair and no makeup. I would say I am lucky if all these take an hour, and not forgetting anything behind. (I send Lucas and the nanny to my in-laws's place if I have to go to the office).

2. THEN: It was not a big deal to forget some items from the grocery shopping. Dropping by the supermarket is an easy task.
NOW: Being able to do grocery shopping twice a week is a luxury. By the time I am done with Lucas's grocery (his list goes like this- broccoli, spinach, cauliflower, pumpkin, carrots, mushroom, cheddar cheese, macaroni, sweet potatoes, eggs, apples, strawberry, banana, papaya, grapes, mangoes, fish, chicken, minced meat), I am too tired to think what I should do for my own meals. So, grocery usually means Lucas's food. We will just do take-away or Dominic's parents are kind enough to share with us their home cook meal. Bless them.

3. THEN: I have Lucas the whole day and usually wish he sleeps more so that I have more time to do my own things.
NOW: Officially, I have Lucas an hour before I starts work, an hour during lunch, and an hour and a half after office hour, before he goes to sleep. Now, I treasured his waking hours more, and I understand what it means to have quality time.

Looking back, taking a year off to take care of Lucas was a good decision, and can be better. I raise him the way I wanted it to be. There is no worry if the nanny or day care will change his routine/diet and confuses him. Now, I tell the nanny his routine and still manage to keep an eye (the beauty of working from home). The downside is, Lucas is extra clingy to me. He is like glued to me. Whenever he sees me, he will crawl to me, asking for attention. Hope this will not make him less independent.

First two days

Lucas greeted my first day of work with his running nose! It started on Sunday but got worse on Monday. He did not sleep well as his nose was blocked. He is breathing through his mouth now. We almost took him to the doctor yesterday but changed our mind after that. Thought maybe we should let his body build up his immune system by fighting the virus without any medication. When he woke up and cried again just now, we decided to take him to the doctor tomorrow for sure. Poor boy. Feel sorry that we let him 'suffer' .

First day of work was okay. My eyes (I was wearing contact lenses) were very dry after staring the the computer for 8 hours. I have a lot of e-training to do on my first week. By today, my second day, I had my notebook all setup for remote logon. From now on, I will be working mostly from home .. clap clap clap...
I am coming down with a sore throat..another sickko at home...

Urh..no time to upload pictures of Lucas. Will do it when I have more time hopefully.

Gearing for 1st Oct

I've received an e-mail today asking me to go to office on the first day of work (1st Oct) to collect my notebook, secure ID, and sign some document. And the next 1-2 days in the office with my team members. It looks like I need to be in the office a bit more frequent in the first few weeks to familiarize with the office environment/procedure, getting to know who is who etc.. I am worrying and missing Lucas already just with the thought of leaving me for so long ( more than 4 hours??) a day!!

I 'review' my wardrobe this week to see if I have enough clothes for the few days I need to be in office. Amongst things I have done:
- Threw away a big bag of clothes. They are either too 'old fashion' or not in so good shape anymore.
- Put my maternity clothes in a corner.
- Send 2 trousers and 2 skirts to be altered. All 4 are too big. I bought them when I was at my fattest, and now I am 4 kg ~ 8.8 lbs less. However I told the seamstress not to make it too tight - I know I will put on some weight soon.

I need to buy some jackets. I lent my sisters mine when I was pregnant, and now it seems the jackets belong to her.