Friday, May 18, 2012

Reflections on being a SAHM

It has been about 2.5 months since I left my full time job, to spend more time with the kids. Just thought I'd pause, and think about how the last couple of months have been. I've taken Nathan out of day care. He goes to school for 3 hours in the morning, and I get to spend the rest of the day with him. He comes home after school, has lunch with me, takes a shower, and we'll spend some time reading/crafting/writing/playing before he takes his afternoon nap. After nap, we either run errands, go for enrichment classes, or spend more time reading/crafting/writing/playing. Noah still attends day care, primarily because I cannot cope with having him with me at home the whole day. He clings to me like a koala bear when I am home with him, and starts whining when I venture more than 1 metre away from him. He was down with HFMD a month ago, and it was tiring caring for him because he wanted to be carried ALL THE TIME. That said, I believe that having friends to socialise with at day care, learning to take turns and play nicely with his peers, and having structured activities to keep him occupied is good for him, so I'm planning on keeping him there for the time being. He's just started crawling and crusing confidently, and is less clingly now that he's more mobile. So thankful for that!
A good part of my first month at home was spent researching on enrichment classes for Nathan, as well as finding materials and ideas for us to use in "home schooling". I've gotten our materials in order, signed him up for some enrichment classes and we've gotten a good routine going. I am insprired by the numerous creative activities that other mums have done with their kids, and I hope to introduce more varied activities in the months ahead. It's been great that I can spend more time with him. He's picking up new words everyday, and cracks me up with his comments sometimes. I enjoy snuggling up with him at nap times, and having him in the back seat of the car, asking for the same music CD to be played over and over again. Even though it means having to plan my day around him, I wouldn't want it any way else.
Having just moved to our new home, I was also busy with unpacking and getting our new house in order. We had about 100 boxes (of which about 85 are packed by me) for our move. Till date, I think we still have about 10 boxes left waiting to be unpacked. They are left sitting in what's supposed to be the kids' playroom. I hope to be able to unpack and tidy up that messy room, so that we can begin setting up a playroom for the kids. It has been tiring packing, unpacking, meeting contractors, getting furniture, etc. Am glad that we are slowly settling in, and most glad that we are now living so much nearer my parents, who are a great help with the kids. :)
And of course, a good part of the last 2.5 months has been spent on setting up Mama Shoppe. It is almost like having a new baby. Giving birth to the idea, learning the ropes, consulting with the more experienced, stumbling along... and now, finally, the store is live. Read more about why Mama Shoppe was started here and have fun shopping at our webstore. If you / your friends are expecting a new baby, get them to set up a gift registry. I did not find any online store / department store that offers a gift registry service when I was expecting my boys. It'd be so much easier if one existed then. :)
There's lots more for me to do to get Mama Shoppe in order... uploading products, sourcing for more products, marketing etc. I'll get round to that after I pick Nathan up from school. It's easy to get caught up with work, and I have to constantly remind myself that my main reason for quitting my full time job, is to spend more time with the family. 

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