Hey! Howās everyone doing? Howās the pandemic treating you? Iām writing this down at 3:41 on a Saturday morning (although in my work hours, itās 2:41 PM central time on a Friday) after 3 quick months of grueling schedule in my home/work life! Man, those 3 months just really flew me by! Iāve been working, and studying,Ā and taking care of our household, helping Mahal with the biz, and of course, being a mother to an almost 5-year-old boy who still has a very irregular body clock just like his mom! LOL! Iāll probably be babbling a bit at first about how tired Iāve been, how Iāve just gone through a week of depression towards the end of this 3-month-work-study-life marathon; how I thought I was acing this pandemic because for the most part, Iāve been grateful for the boatload of work and opportunities coming in; that I really donāt have the right to be sad because I am still VERY blessed. We are still alive, healthy, productive, and living good lives considering the world situation we are in.Ā And after those 3 months of being on blogging hiatus, I feel like I’ve just come up for air… I’m starting to feel alive again; I’m starting to make new plans for the future… Anyway, let me breathe a little here and give you an overview as to whatās been happening to me the past 3 months that I havenāt had the time to blog here. So here are my updates…
Continue readingCategory: Motherhood
Work-At-Home Mom to a Hyperactive 4 Year Old Son [Challenges of a Day Old Single Mom!]
I took this video the day after I was almost done editing the Real Talk video I did last time. And all I can say is, I salute all single parents out there, especially those who raise their kids with no help whatsoever from helpers and relatives. It is quite rare that I get to be alone with Tuz since Mahal and I are together for the most part of our relationship. But on those days that he is not with us, I can really feel the stress that comes from being a single mom even if we only have one kid!
Tuz is 4 years old now and is so hyperactive (as you will see on the video later) and this is just 1/10 of how he truly is when there’s no camera around taking a peek at our home life.
It started out as a happy video with Tuz being his normal makulit self, then I got irritated, then angry, Tuz cried a bit, then we were friends again with him showing his genius side (naks!)… Then it starts all over again… 24/7! Lol!
Without further ado, here’s what happened…
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How to Celebrate Mother’s Day in This Time of Pandemic? [4 Tips]
I think this is the hardest time in recent history for all kinds of moms out there —>Ā for moms who are forced to be at home with their children 24/7, especially school-aged ones; moms who are forced to be away from their grown-up children because of the quarantines and lockdowns; moms who are pregnant and about to give birth and are scared of finding themselves giving birth in overcrowded hospitals; moms with babies, with sickly children, with big kids, with teenagers⦠basically all kinds of moms.
The pandemic has placed us all in situations that are new to many of us, and for this reason, I salute all moms out there. There is a saying that goes āI can imagine no heroism greater than motherhood.ā by Lance Conrad, The Price of Creation, and I do think itās true.
Just the other day, Mahal jokingly asked me: āSo, where to this Motherās Day?ā I just laughed! Of course, there is no other place to go but to stay home. Whether you celebrate Motherās Day in the kitchen, in the bedroom, the living room, the bathroom (LOL)⦠staying home is still the safest place to be in this time of the pandemic. Though some quarantines have been eased in some parts of the country (like in Cagayan de Oro City, some malls have already opened, to the dismay of many residents), it still feels unsafe to do any kind of celebration outside. So we must stay at home. What can we do to celebrate this special day? I have listed a few things I would love to do as I celebrate my special day as a mother. Feel free to add more as you see fit in your situation.
Here goesā¦
Hustle and Bustle of a Momtraneur’s Life
Hiiiii!!!! Iām back!!!! Howās the holiday season going for you so far?
Back in September, when I said my calendar was fully booked, I didnāt realize that that was nothing compared to what was ahead of me the following months ā October, November, December. I know Iāve always been the busy kind of gal ever since I can remember (Iāve been a busy bee since my grade school years, lol!) but really, the past few months until today (and I predict including the coming days ahead until April at least!), have been nothing but a blur⦠Iāve been ultra, mega, super, duper booked with activities, business stuff, family hooplas, usual work, and other extra-curricular activities that a week would pass me by and I donāt even feel like it’s been a week! One week is like one long day for me! And there are times when all I wanted was sleep because honestly, I don’t know anymore how I’m still alive with so much lack of sleep in my system. I feel like one day, I’ll just drop dead from all this overfatigue!
THE ABBAāS ORCHARD, A MARIA MONTESSORI SCHOOL: A REVIEW
To homeschool Tuz or to enroll him in a real school?
I already shared with you a homeschooling seminar we attended November of last year. The month after that, December, right after we went on a 9-day tour of Siargao (which I have yet to blog about), we enrolled Tuz in a 3-day free immersion class at The Abbaās Orchard Montessori School. I was thinking if we have the budget for it (we must make a budget for it!), why not just enroll Tuz in a Maria Montessori school? And according to my research, The Abbaās Orchard was considered by parents as one of the best in the Philippines. And after that 3-day free immersion class Tuz went to, I fell in love with the system as wellā¦
Homeschooling in the Philippines – A General Overview
We attended a homeschooling seminar here in Cagayan de Oro sometime last November 2018 before Tuz turned 3. It was the very first time we attended such an event as we have begun thinking about homeschooling Tuz instead of enrolling him in a traditional school.
I remember way back in 2013, when I was traveling here in Cagayan de Oro with my then “bessy” (Mahal), and we were watching this celebrity show on TV. It was showing Brooke Burk, building her new house at that time, including an area in their basement where she could homeschool her kids. That was the first time the thought of having a kid quickly crossed my mind and I thought “If I am going to have a kid in another life, maybe I will homeschool him/her.” I guess the thought of being with one’s child was just so attractive to me because I grew up with my mom working all the time and other caregivers were left to take care of me. I would have loved it if my mom was there for me 24/7. I don’t blame her though. She had to work because my dad was jobless and was the one left at home to take care of our needs.
Anyway, going back to that CDO Homeschooling event we attended, we learned that there are 3 general styles of homeschooling: Continue reading
Rants of a Sleep-Deprived Mom
Hello Monday!
As usual, when I havenāt been blogging for several weeks, it just means that the next time I will, I have to rant my way into blogging first as a form of catharsis before I get on with my regular programming. Itās part of my OCness. I have to recognize in written form what have I been up to the past month so I can let it all go in my head and happily blog again.
So⦠the past month since I last posted here has been nothing but super busy. I always tell myself that Iāll blog tomorrow, or Iāll finish that vlog entry this coming weekend⦠until 4 weeks have passed and Iām still where I left myself.
I canāt believe itās been a month of mostly just 2-3 hours of interrupted sleep every day. How did I survive??? Iāve been handling more and more tasks for my clients (which means more pay so for that I am grateful, more money to save and set aside for our farm business) and Tuz has been so much needier and hyperactive from the time he wakes up until the time he falls asleep. He has no downtimes at all. Itās either 10-12 hours of sleep when I also do most of my work and 10-12 hours of hyperactivity and neediness! When do I get to fully rest??? Either I sacrifice my work, I sacrifice my time with Tuz, or I sacrifice my sleep! Yeah, you guessed it right. My sleep is the one thatās taking the most hit. No more peaceful slumber for this overfatigued mom and itās been basically going on since the time I gave birth to him 3 years ago. OMG! Continue reading
Going Limitless ā Thoughts About Building Businesses and Life We Love
Yesterday morning, before the trip to the farm, Mahal and I had a talk. I told him I was feeling overwhelmed with everything thatās been going on. We are still in the beginning stages of the farm even if itās already been more than a year since we started setting it up. Thatās coz farming is so dependent on the weather, the availability of āingredientsā for the mushroom fruiting bags, the people we hire and fire, the availability of water in the natural spring, etc. We havenāt yet really fully set it up, and weāre already thinking of setting up another business in Oslob ā a bar ā to complement their existing mini resort, Oslob New Village…
How to Travel with a 3-Year-Old Kid (A 2018 Travel Recap)
It’s March 1 already? How time really flies when you’re oh so busy and enjoying life’s ups and downs! I can’t believe that summer is here (despite the cool weather we’ve been having, which I’m grateful for, less use of air conditioning at home, lol) and it’s again time to head to the beach and travel some more! Actually,Ā weāve been heading to the beach since the start of the year (you can read a bit of background here): but of course, itās a lot more fun when done during summer. Weather’s about to get hot (hopefully!) and perfect for the beach;Ā Vacation from school is coming up for many students; and the Holy Week (April 14-21) seems to be just around the corner which means more holiday break for Filipino working parents. Whether you spend it at home, or visit churches, or explore places youāve always dreamed of, summer is really the peak of travel activities in the Philippines and for some, it starts today. As I look back at the places weāve traveled to in 2018, you might also get some ideas on where to go next.
Writing about how to travel with a baby / how to travel with a toddler has now become my tradition since I started this Momtraneur blog. It makes me look back with fondness at the previous yearās travel adventures weāve had as a family and it makes me all the more excited to explore some more places weāve never been to before or go back to our favorite destinations because theyāve simply become our second and third homes. It’s also a reminder for me to blog about those places we visited so expect more travel posts from me soon. I’m serious this time. This is also the 3rd gratitude post I was talking about in my Jan. 6 blog post – A LOOK BACK AT 2018⦠GRATEFUL FOR THE YEAR THAT WAS.
Moreover, itās been different every year since our son, Tuz, was born. Traveling with a 0-1-year-old baby has been a little different from traveling with a 1-2-year-old baby, more so now that heās three years old! Tuz has always been a hyperactive child and he just gets more and more hyperactive every single year! God help us! (Lol)
So without further ado, hereās how you can travel peacefully and happily with a three year-old-kid in tow: Continue reading
After the Storm Comes the Rainbow (I’m Back and Feeling Better Than Ever!)
Each year, it has always been my goal to write more, journal my thoughts and feelings more, and share my life on my blog. My blogs (both old and new) have always been my alter ego, my memory bank, my soul. Iām a loner. Iām an introvert. I have very few quality friends by choice and even in my young adult years as I was surrounded by so many friends and colleagues, I really didnāt open up much except to a chosen few. So blogging, for me, is very personal. Having said that, I can say that my blog has become my sounding board, my confidant, my best friend (apart from Mahal of course) and I am quite happy about it. My blog is just always here to listen to my woes, adventures, and excitements and it doesnāt judge. It just is⦠even when I donāt get to update it as much as I would like to. But when I do, like right now, it can be very cathartic. And if you happen to visit and read my blog, thank you. I appreciate it. I hope it wasnāt a waste of your time and you get something good out of it somehow. You can check out my self-help posts, I find them the most helpful if youāre not into purely travel and lifestyle posts.
I mostly blog for myself, partly because I easily forget things Iāve experienced, lol. No, really, it’s true! Whenever people would ask me, where to go or what to do in this place, etc., my first mental reply would be āVisit my blog coz Iāve already forgotten!ā or my mind would automatically go āShit, I need to check my blog coz I think Iāve already written about it.ā LOL! Aside from documenting my experiences through photos, Iāve accumulated through the years, itās still better to always have organized documentation of my experiences through my blog. At least other people who happen to drop by can get some information they need or some sort of inspiration when they need to. And whenever I need the same, I can always go back to my old blog posts.
However, whenever I feel down, exhausted, overworked or depressed, which Iāve been feeling since the second week of January⦠(first week was super fun since we were still on a Christmas and New Year high!), I find it hard to write. I am simply overcome with not-so-good emotions and it takes a while for me to get back on track. This is because whenever that happens, Iād go into survival mode and whatever positive energy I have left in me (if there is still some left), I would spend it on my main priorities which are my family and my work. I still want to be the best mother I can be for Tuz, the best partner I can be for Mahal, the best I can be for my clients. Everything else has to wait its turn based on its relative importance.
Thatās what happened to me this first two months of the year, hence, my absence here and on my Facebook page and other social media accounts. To summarize: Continue reading
A Look Back at 2018… Grateful for the Year that Was
I am just full of gratitude these days. Arenāt you? And why shouldnāt we? Being able to wake up every day, be with our family and do meaningful work are actually more than enough to thank God for this wonderful gift of life He has given us. This is why my previous post was all about gratitude, for allowing me to have a career in the online worldĀ and live a dream lifestyle that I have chosen since retiring from government service in December 2007.Ā This post will also be about gratitude as I look back to all the previous yearās blessings. And I believe, I have one more gratitude post to write after this. My heart is just brimming with joy that I need to express all of them before I burst out of utter bliss. ā¤
Before I look back at 2018 though, I want to look back at the last 3 years since weāve had Tuz.
In a nutshell⦠Continue reading