Posted by Mommy Woobie on August 21st, 2008 in Mom Entrepreneur, Mommy Alert, Mommy Thoughts
As a stay at home mommy, going to the gym every once in a while is easier said than done. Sure, we don’t have to go to the office daily, and we have more time to sleep, but planning an exercise regimen could be one of the challenges facing us. If you have self control and won’t let the pillow talk to you and entice you to lie down again, planning an exercise routine should be easy. Running is one of the premier WAHM (work at home mom) exercises because…
You can do it while everyone else in your neighborhood is preparing for work (no lane competition)
You can do it before you prepare your baby’s breakfast (and even before he’s awake)
It’s free, no gym memberships
It’s an excuse to go out (you don’t really get to go out often as a WAHM eh?)
No expensive gym equipments, just a pair of good shoes (those Clarks shoes look good).
It’s better than sex (Ok, maybe not. lol.)
Have fun!
Posted by Mommy Woobie on August 19th, 2008 in Baby Basics, Baby Quirks, Family Quirks, Mom Entrepreneur, Mommy Alert, Mommy Thoughts, Proud Mommy
When I first decided to leave my job and be a work at home mom for real, I was very scared. There’s a part of me that’s doubting everything I was doing. Until I opened one of my pregnancy books and started a prayer written there. Here’s a part of that prayer:
God, please do not let me miss those moments that I could have spent with my child. Let me carry him more often and feel his tiny body gently wrapped in my loving arms. For someday I will not have the strength to pick him up anymore.
It’s the small things that I share with AJ everyday. It’s holding him when he’s trying to sleep. And, being with him when he feels too scared (usually when one of his favorite TV characters get blown off in a cannon)… I don’t want to be too stressed to be with him anymore.
———————————-
Want to learn Corporate performance management? Click here cpm
Posted by Mommy Woobie on July 28th, 2008 in Mom Entrepreneur, Mommy Alert, Mommy Thoughts
I bought a laptop to replace my company-given personal computer. This is a big move, and cements my present status as a freelancer. I worry though that the size and look of my flimsy laptop will attract a little pinoy devil. He has always respected my PC and left it alone, but a laptop could be viewed as a toy (i.e. it does look like a toy).
Regardless of how tempting some dell memory deals are, I went for a Compaq because of the price and … well that’s it. 
Being technically jobless means I have to save whatever I earn from my writing gigs. Hence, I am now officially “extra frugal”.
Maybe I am contradicting the points I raised in my previous posts, but having all these tech gadgets around does have its benefits. It’s a lot easier for moms and dads to both work longer because the children are busy getting entertained by these gadgets. And another thing; with the children playing at home, a parent does not need to worry about her kids meeting shady individuals on the streets. Child minding is easier now with technology.
Posted by Mommy Woobie on July 3rd, 2008 in Mom Entrepreneur, Mommy Thoughts
In remembrance of our friends and relatives in the USA who could be out there planning their Fourth of July BBQ party as early as now, here are some tips I came up with to help you out. Adobo, the Philippine national dish, is not just stewed meat boiled in its own sauce. One nice way of serving adobo is to boil the meat in adobo sauce then grill it.
You will need:
800 g to 1kg Chicken cut up
one cup of soy sauce
half a cup of vinegar
laurel leaves
5 garlic bulbs crushed
whole peppercorns
Salt or Fish Sauce
Five Spice Powder
Sesame Oil
salt
Combine everything except the sesame oil and five spice powder in a bowl and let stand for an hour. Transfer everything in a casserole and boil for 3 minutes before simmering for 15 minutes more. Do NOT stir. Remove the chicken from the sauce, drain and set aside. Add five spice and sesame oil to the still boiling sauce just before turning off the heat. Fire up the grill and arrange the chicken so that the heat sears the outer parts quickly (remember that the inside is already cooked). Baste generously with the sauce until the chicken is golden brown or grilled to perfection!
For a spicier variation, one can add tabasco sauce during the basting phase.
Grilled chicken like these make moms like me carbo load more than any other cooking style. Sticky, delicious adobo can make one forget to take her wieght loss pills. But the heady All-Filipino taste is definitely worth it!
Posted by Mommy Woobie on July 3rd, 2008 in Mom Entrepreneur
Meeting my mom again after several months brought up memories of my childhood. I used to think that a part of my growing pains has always been being scolded for not helping out much in the kitchen. Being the family geek is kinda funny in retrospect. My face was almost always buried in a book, while the rest of the family ran around preparing for a big catering event. Every once in a while, my mom will remember to call out and make me do things in the kitchen.
Every few minutes, utensils and bowls pile up in the sinks. This has always been a side effect of cooking. My task was to clear everything from the sinks so that the faucets are free for various cleaning needs. It makes me wonder if heavy duty Delta faucets are better for kitchens. They are usually for big western baths, but then their size could easily be put to use in a kitchen sink that needs water everywhere at the same time.
Once that’s done, I’d go back to my little nook and read the dog-eared book that I always had nearby. I had a few minutes of peace before being asked to get up again and do the same things all over again. Cooking for a big group was always a passion for my mom and my sis. I thought that the same passion was absent in me, being a geek and all, but now that I’m a mom myself and constantly looking for means to earn for my family, I realize that the years of being in a caterer’s kitchen could have planted some thoughts of going for it myself.
Thanks, Mama, for the lessons.
Posted by Mommy Woobie on June 30th, 2008 in Mom Entrepreneur
One of the most common home businesses for moms in the Philippines is the sari sari store, or mini-grocery. If you live in a village very far from ‘civilization’ like I do, you’ll notice that there’s a mini-grocery at every corner. What differentiates one from the other?
It’s the goods. Some stores offer necessities that others don’t think of. One example is combs. If you have a child who hides your comb just because he thinks it’s funny if you look all over the place for your comb, you probably know what I mean.
A nice way to discover what others like is via a poll or a survey. That, or you could attend community gatherings and ask stay at home moms like you directly.
I found a nice free survey place over the net, which I can use on my blogs: www.easy-poll.com - free online polls
Posted by Mommy Woobie on June 26th, 2008 in Baby Basics, Baby Quirks, Family Quirks, Kids' Imagination, Mom Entrepreneur, Proud Mommy
Back in nostalgia lane. I can’t help but compare how much my childhood differs from AJ’s. In our village now, I don’t see many kids playing tag or hide-and-seek. There’s a park, sure, but with the way things are right now in the Philippines, it’s a risk to let children play on their own in parks. Right now, it’s so hot inside the house. I want my son to be friends with other kids in the neighborhood like I used to in La Union.
We used to draw circles on the pavement and shoot stuff inside those circles. We’d ask some cranky old neighbor to share his Hibiscus flowers so we can mash and mix them with soap, for bubble blowing. More importantly, we’d go catching dragonflies and then let them go when we got bored.
Maybe progress now means having your child inside the house all the time playing video games on an expensive gadget and watching DVDs, but I can’t help but realize just how my son is missing out on all the fun of outdoor playing.
My resolution now is to earn enough from my freelancing so that I may be able to buy swing sets for AJ on Christmas. Since a second baby isn’t possible now, I’ll just be his playmate ’til he gets tired of playing with someone who says “No, too dangerous!” all the time.
Posted by Mommy Woobie on June 20th, 2008 in Family Quirks, Mom Entrepreneur, Mommy Thoughts
In one Oprah quote, she said “It doesn’t matter who you are and where you come from. The ability to triumph starts with you, always”. This touched me to the core, particularly with my current career situation now.
Don’t get me wrong, I loved my job. Loved it like a lover that I nurtured. But there really is a point in a person’s life when she has to prioritize. Will giving this up mean I will be able to teach AJ how to speak properly? Will quitting give me the chance to spend more time with my son? Deep inside me, the part of me that fear of money issues doesn’t touch, I know I made the right choice.
According to Oprah, anyone can excel. I live by her example as she is a smart lady with humble beginnings (and yet unmarried too). Because my choice was difficult, I prepared myself for a more difficult time ahead. I went out of my comfort zone (extremely stressed but with a regular paycheck) to pursue my dream of being the whole mom package to my son.
They say that if you follow your passion, money won’t be shy with you. Oprah inspires me in that I am 100% sure my passion for writing and helping others will get me far. So here I am. Thank you, Oprah.
It’s funny, though, that I think of Chicago travel whenever talks of going to the US comes up. Could that notion be Oprah-influenced too?
Posted by Mommy Woobie on June 18th, 2008 in Mom Entrepreneur, Mommy Thoughts, Proud Mommy
My first attempt at poetry and it’s about Moms!
I suddenly felt very poetic tonight as I was cooking dinner. Like the floodgates of my creativity burst open. The keyword there is “burst” so the hinges are rusty, but it’s created with pure love.
A Mother’s Love
A mother’s dreams for her kids outlives the trees.
They live within us as we grow older,
No matter how we mature or get richer
Mother’s Love will never cease
A mother is how God shows his blessing
How he smiles to us from up above
With mommy’s touch we feel His love
So warm, so close and always forgiving
It takes a Mother to make a lovely place
Where a baby may play and learn to give
And know the happiest way to live
All with mommy’s everlasting grace
—————————
“Being a full-time mother is one of the highest salaried jobs… since the payment is pure love.” -Mildred B. Vermont
Posted by Mommy Woobie on June 18th, 2008 in Mom Entrepreneur
Have you seen the sheer volume of internet cafes near schools? This computer rentals business must be lucrative eh? It’s a business that’s not going to die, as others have predicted in the past. This is because the internet is booming and so far, even barely 10-year-olds are being sent to the internet by their teachers for research!
Investing on a computer business was in my mind when I quit. After all, the hubby and I do LAN at home so we’re used to the nuances of setting up a network of PCs. Maybe I could spend my time working on my PC while minding the shop
