Parenting Archive

My thoughts on parenthood, and what it's like to be a mom in the Philippines.

Ways To Be A Fun SAHM

As I have said before, being a Stay At Home Mom is not a blissful ride. It was bumpy and sometimes you go through downfalls and depressing state. I was able to pass those phase by having fun along the way. I have some doubtful moments with my motherhood but it was the laughter that brings back my trust on myself.

Here are some of the things that you can do to take that wrinkles away from you and be a fun stay at home mom:

Play with the kids. Yes, play with your kids. It’s childish and it’s fun. It takes the barrier between parent and offspring and yet it build a greater kind of bonding. It can make you younger too and laughter can keep that frown wrinkles away. The best time to play with them is before they go to bed. Bedroom is cozy and very inducive for a tickle party.

Make bath time, fun time. Don’t stress yourself too much when it takes them forever to sit so you can shampoo their hair. Don’t bicker at them when they accidentally pour some water on you. Instead of stressing your self too much, why don’t you join their childish way of taking a bath.

Let them baby you. We love this. I would lay down at the sofa while the kids take care of me. We would pretend that Mommy is the baby and one of them is Daddy and the other is the doctor. It was so much fun speaking like a baby. And they enjoy it too, specially the part where I feed on bottle (yes I do that at times for the sake of our play pretend).

Dance with them. I am not a good dancer but I use dancing to sweat out some carbs. When I dance reggae, they do reggae with me. When I do swing they are my partner. Have you seen three people doing the swing?

And when all else fails, the very minute they close their eyes (to sleep), take their PSP or DS lite and play your favorite game (mine is Mario)

How about you? What are your ways to be a happy stay at home mom?

Insecurites Of A SAHM

It was not hard for me, being a stay at home mom. This has been my dream ever since, remember my flashback photo? It feels like I was destined to be a full time mom. That’s not always the case though. There was a time when I feel like motherhood is my scape goat. To put it simply, I was insecure. I was depressed with what I am. I thought, I chose to be a mom because that’s the easiest thing to do. You don’t require high grades to be good at it. You don’t need a diploma to be qualified as one. It was depressing thinking about it. As if adding insult to injury, lack of social interaction made it worse.

Are you a stay at home mom like me? Here are some of the reason why I was insecure before and tell me if you have been to this phase too:

Lack of social interaction makes me feel like I do not belong. There was a time that talking becomes really hard for me. It feels like I could not express myself that much and ideas are not flowing anymore. In other words, my brain was not functioning to think.

Being a stay at home mom prevents me from going outside thus I don’t dress that much. I don’t shop because I thought there is no use to it. How can I buy a nice shoes or a cool bag if in fact the farthest I was away from the house is 2 meters (and that is to hang wet clothes).

The job is tiring and frustrating. This is the hardest of it all. Here I am, thinking, momhood is the only career I have and I am failing. There are really times that I can’t do anything about the kids. I can’t soothe them, I can’t be there for them and the idea of me being their mom and yet I can’t do anything is a killer.

Of course all of this are way behind me now. I’m done with this phase and I can say that I passed it with flying colors. Now, I know that this job is the hardest, most fulfilling and highest paid (hey, smiles and I love yous are the most precious thing) job in the world. I am very proud to say that I AM A STAY AT HOME MOM. I learned that a successful mom is all about FUN. And how to keep that fun inside the house? We’ll talk about that later 🙂

Let’s Chill Out

After the exam week, the stress (mostly mom related) and the non stop reminding of how to use she or he, parts of body, numbers etc, it’s to chill out. We promised the kids that Saturday would be their day. Their time for fun, fun and fun. Somehow, this treat is a tradition to me. I remember when we were kids, my mom would treat us to Cindy’s or NE (no Jollibee and Mc Donald’s in our place then) after our exams. It was really fun for us kids then. That small gesture my mom did made us feel whole and deeply appreciated. I think this is helpful specially for older kids. The stress of exams and the fear of failing is really demoralizing. Treating the kids after exam can give a boost on your kids morale.

So now, the question is, where we’re up to this Saturday? Initial plan is to spend the day at Tom World’s but it may change. The kids have been asking for a picninc in a park. You know, the works, with basket, mat and all. Another suggestion is to have a camping trip, but, I don’t think it would be possible soon. Then a fellow blogger, Earth of Earthlingorgeous suggested visiting the Nido Fortified Science Discovery Center.

The Nido Fortified Science Discovery Center is the Philippines premiere science museum located at the Southside Entertainment Mall of SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City. The center features over 400 exciting and interactive exhibits in nine walk through galleries and houses the country’s most advanced planetarium and dome theater. It is open daily from 10am to 10pm. It is also a proud member of the Association of Science Technology Centers Incorporated (ASTC), the international association of science center and museums that promotes understanding and appreciation of science. ASTC has more than 540 members in 40 countries and was founded in 1973.

Things to be seen and to visit at the Science Center:

1) Spaceship Earth
2) Life Clock
3) Robot Inc.
4) Digistar Planetarium
5) Virtual Reef
6) Grossology
6) Image Port
7) Transport Nation
8) City Science
9) Smart Media Center

Thanks Earth for this 🙂

Seems interesting enough.. actually, not just interesting.. I think the kids will have a blast here. Now let’s have a toss coin boys.. (me: MOA!MOA.. never been to that plae.. hehe)

Treating the kids after exam is fun for me too, another reason to be out of the house and breathe some fresh air. My tummy’s getting bigger everyday. Sitting down in front of the PC is not helping me. LOL