Little Lady Mom

Being a mom isn't easy.  I don't think it is whether you're a stay at home mom or a working mom, I've tried both and they both have challenges even with full time help. It's physically and emotionally exhausting and there are days when I alternate between feeling like I'm losing my sanity and wallowing in guilt.  Guilt for being short tempered, guilt for letting the house get messy, guilt for not pumping enough milk, guilt for not making more of an effort to stay connected with my friends, guilt for gaining weight or not painting my face, or not using hair conditioner-- oh the list goes on and on and on. It all comes down to not having enough time.  Say what you will about time management, and I will tell you this:  there are a finite number of hours in a day and there is only so much multi-tasking and hacks you can do to get the most out of them. 1.5 hours to get ready for work, eat, pump milk 1.5 hours travel time to work 10.5 hours of work 1.5 hours ...

A month into maternity leave. My second child was born on July 19, 2017.  He's a healthy baby, large for me at 8 pounds and 60 centimeters.  Soon to be Pinay mommies must have heard about the new maternity bill approved by both congress and senate and are probably jumping for joy.. just like I was up until June this year. Sorry ladies, the bill still needs the president's approval and it doesn't seem to be a priority right now.  There hasn't been a relevant update on the bill's status and implementation since March 2017. Under the new bill, Senate Bill 1305, the Expanded Maternity Leave Law of 2017,  mothers can avail of 120 days maternity leave from the current 60 days regardless of civil status or the child's legitimacy.  30 days of these may be transferred as well to an alternate caregiver and fathers'paternity leave will go from 7 days to 30 days. Here is the proposed bill: Expanded Maternity Leave What is unclear under the new bill is the SSS ...

I work for one of the companies of a very wealthy family.  Today, I was called to the matriarch's office.  I didn't expect it was more for a short chat than it was to address a complaint or receive instructions. The lady is 88 years old.  Far from being a "sweet old granny" she holds a formidable reputation of having equally contributed to building their conglomerate alongside her husband.  Stern, sharp and frank, she's considered quite scary actually.  Our conversation was short, but what struck me was how warmly she spoke of her husband and how she missed him still a year after he passed.  The statement was simple, but it got me thinking, after 50 or more years of marriage, this lady missed her husband still.  I passed a glass enclosed jar with portraits of the husband on my way out and I presume those are his ashes. I love my husband.   We've been married for a little over a year but have been together for 5 years.  I don't feel any le...

  Marriage is a choice for a lifetime that we both made, but the wedding itself.. its my biggest project! I got married at a cost of 180k, 183k to be more exact. It was great wedding, with enough pouf and ceremony to mark it as an important day in our lives but it was low key enough that 1.) it didn't empty our bank account and 2.) we didn't need to solicit anything from anyone. We'd been living together for a year when we got married.  Out little boy had just turned 3 a few days before the wedding and was the cutest, most solemn ring bearer.  With the new expenses of maintaining our own house, a child, 2 cars and anticipating incoming school expenses, an expensive wedding just didn't seem practical to us. So how did we do it?  There are so many wedding blogs and magazines out there showcasing beautiful weddings, and I wanted that.  I was on Pinterest daily looking for inspiration and trying to firm up the details in my mind.  The thing with t...