My precious. My inspiration. My life.

Being a mother is never easy. Though, I’m new to this role and responsibility, I try my best to find enough time for my son to make sure that I’ve provided enough love and care for him, time for my husband to be the good wife he deserves and time for my career since I need my job to provide for our family. Managing one’s time is never easy, so I’ve posted 10 tips on my blog on how to balance Motherhood and Work by Lisa Druxman (source: http://www.entrepreneur.com) for the benefit of all mothers whether employed, self-employed or housewives. I hope these tips can help mothers in any way it can or at least alleviate any difficulty in managing their time.

1. Get–and stay–organized. Your work time is precious and not as dependable as it would be if you worked in a traditional workplace. You can’t afford to waste time looking for files, sorting through junk mail or even finding a pen. Keep everything clean and organized from the start. Have supplies available and in a place where you know you can immediately put your hands on them.

2. Have a plan. Some mompreneurs use paper organizers and some use tech gadgets, but all of them use some sort of planner to balance their work life with their family life. (Personally, I love the “Chaos Companion” organizer by Mommy Hulabaloo. It’s a complete mom-inspired day planner.) Ideally, you should keep both personal and work appointments on the same calendar so you don’t overbook or double up. And while it doesn’t always work, you need to set aside hours for when you’re going to get your work done. If you just wait for it to happen, it never will. Of course, you’ll have to be flexible as your child-care provider will inevitably cancel, your kids will get sick and your spouse may occasionally need to work late.

3. Work with your family, not against them. When your children are little, make sure your office is kid-proof. Get covers for your computer and child-safe drawers on your filing cabinet, and keep your paperwork out of reach if you don’t want your reports and invoices covered in crayon. Some women I’ve spoken with set up a child’s office space within their office so that crayons, paper and activities are available to keep their kids busy. As your children get older, find ways to get them involved in your work. When they’re old enough, let them stamp envelopes, fold fliers or shred paper. Just never let them answer the phone!

4. Think nap to nap, not 9 to 5. Break out of the 9-to-5 office hours’ tradition. Your hours as a mompreneur might start before your family wakes up, continue during nap times and go on into the wee hours of the night. Prioritize appointments that need to be accomplished in person during the traditional day time hours. But understand that e-mail, filing, reading, and a lot of your other office tasks can be done at any hour of the day or night.

5. Stay ahead of the game. By the time evening hits, yes, you’re exhausted. But take a few minutes to set out school clothes, set up the coffeepot, prepare lunches and clear your desk. You’ll be so grateful to have a less chaotic morning if you do all this the night before. You might also want to consider getting up a little before your family does so you can exercise, take a shower or get some work done.

6. Suzy Homemaker who? You don’t have to be Suzy Homemaker to be a good mom. Let go of your need to be Martha Stewart. Your priorities are your family and then your work. You don’t have to be the mom that bakes the school brownies from scratch or hand-makes the costume for the school play. Choose your priorities–your kids will care more that you’re there!

7. Schedule a mommy day. Every Tuesday used to be so stressful for me because I didn’t have a nanny or my husband to help out at all. I prayed for long naps and few interruptions. Needless to say, most of the time, it didn’t happen. So I finally decided to make Tuesdays a “mommy day.” I worked more on Monday night and Wednesday to make sure I could have Tuesdays to myself. Now when I get work done on that day, it’s an extra perk and not a source of distress.

8. Stay focused, and don’t get sidetracked. One of the hardest things for work-at-home moms is getting sidetracked by children, laundry, dishes…well, you name it. Make a list each month of what you intend to get done. Then break the list down week by week, then day by day. If you stay focused, you can stay committed to getting things done.

9. Get help from your partner, then thank him for it. It’s very difficult to succeed without help, so communicate with your partner about how he can help you–you both need to remember you’re juggling two full-time jobs. Figure out how to parent and chore-share so you’re both on the same page. Then tell your spouse how grateful you are for all his help.

10. Take care of you. How can you work out when you don’t have enough time with your kids? How can you take a bubble bath when you’re behind on a report? Realize now that there will never be enough time in the day to get everything done. Your in-box will still be full when you die, so learn to accept that fact now. It may seem like a cliché, but in this case, it’s the truth: You have to take care of yourself in order to take care of your family, your business and your home. Just mark it in your calendar!

Me and my Baby Vaughn

We just got back from our province in Oriental Negros, which is typically 4 1/2 hours travel by bus from Cebu. That was 4 days ago, and now, we’re back since me and my husband have shifts tomorrow night. I’m kinda sad because our vacation had to end but there’s really nothing much I can do about it since we need to maintain our jobs to support our little boy.

Well, going back to the very reason for this entry, It’s my son’s birthday today. But, we already held a party at my in-laws place since it was the only time we can celebrate my son’s birthday with our families. The party was nothing fancy nor extravagant but rather simple and special since we only invited people who were actually close to our families. Also, we didn’t have a lot of time to prepare for the celebration since we were unsure of WHERE we would celebrate it in the first place, considering the fact that it’s hard to get vacation leaves approved when you’re working in a call center. But eventually, we got our VLs approved, thank goodness!

Time flies fast. It was just yesterday when I recall how my son looked like when he was still less than a month old and how much I feared of hurting his tiny body every time I carry him. Though, the experience was a lot difficult than I’ve anticipated but motherhood was so far the best thing that ever happened to my life.

So I’ll share a few pictures that were shot during my son’s party just to share my joy and happiness during the celebration!

Vaughn's very first birthday cake!

Special thanks to Rhea Lyn's creations for this very delicious cake!

Vaughn and Me outside my in-laws house

Snack time for Vaughn =)

Guess wheres the birthday boy? Well, he fell asleep! My hubby took the liberty of blowing the candles for him.

Baby Vaughn and my Hubby, Val

My sister-in-law, Vanessa and her cute little angel, Grace!

Yummy spaghetti!

This is what we call Sinugbang isda in the Philippines or Grilled Fish in English.

Val's favorite, Pork Chop!

My favorite, Baked Macaroni!

Hmmm...shrimps!

Our guests

More guests

Hanging out by the terrace.

How to Baby Proof our Homes

As I quote from one of the articles in webmd.com, we cannot really create a environment that’s 100% safe for our kids. There’s no substitute for somebody watching your child — that’s the best way to prevent an injury in babyhood and childhood. Each year, more than 4.5 million children are injured in the home, according to the National SAFE KIDS Campaign. And parents can prevent many common serious childhood injuries by knowing where the dangers lie and how to protect children from them.

Here are a few ways which we could do to keep our homes baby proof.

Bathroom

• Start by turning down the water temperature on your water heater, advises Cronan. “When you put your baby in the bath tub, it’s easiest to avoid any burning problem by keeping [it] at 110°.”
• Consider purchasing and installing toilet lid locks, she says. “Babies are fascinated by water,” Cronan says.

Doors

• Put decals on sliding-glass doors so your child won’t run into them.
• Use doorknob covers on doors that you don’t want your child to open.

Windows

• Install window guards or adjust windows so they cannot open more than six inches.
• Tie up the cords to blinds so that a child doesn’t get tangled up in them.
• Do not place a crib, playpen, highchair, or bed anywhere near blind cords.
• Install safety glass in low windows and French doors so they won’t shatter if a child falls into them.
• Don’t place furniture or anything that can be climbed on near a window.

Electricity

• Cover all unused electrical outlets with safety plugs that snap into outlets. “As soon as toddlers start crawling, they will try to put their fingers or a bobby pin in exposed outlets and can get a serious burn,” Cronan says.
• Check for exposed outlets behind furniture that you may have overlooked.

Fireplace

• “Purchase a fireplace hearth cover because once kids learn to walk or crawl, they run a risk of falling into a fireplace,” Cronan says. Ready-made or even homemade cushiony devices that go around the hearth also can keep them out of harm’s way.

Stairways

• Install gates once they start crawling. “Put them at the bottom of stairways to prevent them from getting up the stairs. And if you are worried about them getting out of a bedroom, put a gate on that doorway,” Cronan says.
• “Don’t put a gate at the top of the steps, because some babies can climb up a gate and fall from an even higher height,” she says.
• Place the safety gate bar latch on the side away from your child’s reach.
• Never leave anything on the stairs that you can trip on while carrying your baby.

Furniture and Accessories

• Put away any unstable or rickety furniture your baby could pull over.
• Fasten high bookcases or other tall pieces of furniture to the wall so your child can’t pull them down.
• Keep all drawers closed completely so your baby can’t shut fingers in them or climb on them.
• Keep all medications and cleaning products stored in a locked cabinet. “You especially want to lock [low cabinets] that contain household products that are dangerous because once your child starts crawling, he or she can get out cleaning fluids and drink them,” Cronan says.

Appliances

• Turn the handles of pots and pans toward the back of the stove or counter.
• Use the back burners for cooking whenever possible.
• Don’t let your baby play at your feet while you are cooking.
• Never leave a boiling pot or sizzling skillet unattended on the stove.
• Teach your child that the oven is “hot” and not to touch it.
• Keep plug-in appliances, such as toasters and can openers, put away where your child can’t reach them.

If you need more info. you can check http://www.webmd.com for this article.