tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91707294952221052882024-03-06T03:37:33.697+08:00My Happily Ever AfterThe life and musings of a geeky, pink- and 50's-loving wife, mother, photographer, and blogger in training.The Career Housewifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06292452915222108105noreply@blogger.comBlogger323125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9170729495222105288.post-81683854442946117982016-02-01T21:00:00.000+08:002016-02-01T21:00:20.844+08:00Yet another reformatI seem to do this often lately, as though I'm trying to work through some kind of past quarter life identity crisis. Which, I'll be honest, I feel like I have been going through since my first child was born.
While I haven't done that much work revising this entire blog yet, I am contemplating one final move and making that the final, solid identity for myself online. About time, right?
This The Career Housewifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06292452915222108105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9170729495222105288.post-22382929576948038172016-01-15T21:00:00.000+08:002016-01-15T21:00:14.005+08:00Parenting RewardsI told myself I would post regularly, at least twice a week, beginning 2016. Unfortunately, my body said, "It's time to take a break," and I have spent most of the first week of 2016 sick and poorly.
And that's actually what this one is about.
There have been so many days when I've felt I failed as a parent. My son doesn't behave as well as I would like him to, he yells, he hits, I've yelled The Career Housewifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06292452915222108105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9170729495222105288.post-67215718785892231372016-01-11T21:00:00.000+08:002016-01-11T21:00:19.823+08:00Reclaiming My SonWow is this about to get very personal.
In my part of the world, it's actually quite common to hire household help for whom we provide room and board in exchange for their services in cooking, cleaning, and general household maintenance. The labour isn't exactly cheap and it wasn't until just two years ago that the government saw fit to mandate proper laws on the matter. Plus, depending on theirThe Career Housewifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06292452915222108105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9170729495222105288.post-7299931813885967662015-12-15T21:00:00.000+08:002015-12-15T21:00:00.351+08:00TraditionWhen I was a little girl, my mom decided to start a little Christmas tradition for me. Each Christmas, a new angel was hung up on the Christmas tree, a marker of how many Christmases I've seen in my lifetime.
When I had our eldest son, I decided to continue the tradition but I had no idea how. I wanted to do a play on his Chinese zodiac--the Dragon--but where in the world would I find dragon The Career Housewifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06292452915222108105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9170729495222105288.post-63513025787483757612015-12-14T21:00:00.000+08:002015-12-14T21:00:12.299+08:00Being MamaMOMMY MONDAY
Last week, I failed my kids in the most horrible way possible.
It was one of those bold yet bad moves, really. My older son was sitting by himself in the back row of our car and I was in the middle row with our younger son. At night. That time when at least one of them (read: the younger one) should be sleeping.
You can already see where this is going. I didn't. This story has theThe Career Housewifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06292452915222108105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9170729495222105288.post-29754595247577728272015-12-02T21:00:00.000+08:002015-12-02T21:00:00.062+08:00December Daily PhotoLate post but I guess it's better than not managing to fulfill this particular goal I set.
I asked to get a new camera early this year because I wanted to re-train my photography skills. I've gotten rusty, I admit, and my eye isn't as sharp or quick as it used to be. So I have set out to take daily photos again.
For this challenge, I'll be editing them into squares, Instagram style. There will The Career Housewifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06292452915222108105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9170729495222105288.post-786770964234418192015-11-20T21:00:00.000+08:002015-11-20T21:00:07.179+08:00Little VictoriesYes, we celebrate those. The little things that we do or that happen that just happens to turn things around when everything has gone pear-shaped.
Last week Thursday (yes, I meant to post about this last week but...kids) we went grocery shopping with our two kids. By "we" I mean myself and my husband, plus the two kids. It was our mid-month run* and with my mom making her own rounds elsewhere The Career Housewifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06292452915222108105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9170729495222105288.post-88199555422779015612015-11-10T21:00:00.000+08:002015-11-10T21:00:00.084+08:00Almost thereLet me get this off my chest: yes, I started singing the Disney song immediately after I typed that.
Locally we've now got an allotted 100 days paid maternity leave but I voluntarily gave myself eight weeks off before setting myself up to work again just so I don't go crazy here at home. In a funny way it still works out as 100 days of maternity leave for me since my leave started in October (I The Career Housewifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06292452915222108105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9170729495222105288.post-39673598103346869842015-11-09T21:00:00.001+08:002015-11-09T21:00:01.987+08:00Girl CrushesI realised just now that some of my girl crushes are moms. Maybe as a high school student, I was right about what I said to one of my friends: that we get girl crushes on women we aspire to be like. The term itself is rather funny especially at this point where there are all sorts of gender preference variations. Believe me when I say I don't mean to be insulting/demeaning/whatever you wish to The Career Housewifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06292452915222108105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9170729495222105288.post-4136888773416927912015-10-30T21:00:00.000+08:002015-10-30T21:00:03.627+08:00Human AgainPlease tell me I'm not the only mother who's felt this way!
WARNING: Early cut because what follows could be considered too much information (TMI) for some readers. I'm giving you this chance to leave this entry now.
When Llew was born, my amniotic sac burst early and I wasn't allowed to get up for anything because of the leaking fluid. It took nearly 24 hours of lying in bed with a mattress The Career Housewifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06292452915222108105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9170729495222105288.post-22639042516981067862015-10-29T21:00:00.000+08:002015-11-05T18:07:21.277+08:00Day by DayThis has been my favourite thing to say lately. "We take it day by day."
There is no way to fairly compare our experience as first time parents with our experience now. If anything, the exhaustion is probably double that of our experience the first time around since we need to balance our time and attention between two children. To be honest, my recovery feels so much longer this time around The Career Housewifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06292452915222108105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9170729495222105288.post-92065795605947927752015-10-27T21:00:00.000+08:002015-10-27T21:00:00.091+08:00RestlessAlmost a month since I gave birth. I told myself that I would take two months off for my "maternity leave" but I'm not sure I can handle it. The good news for me is that my newborn's temperament seems to take well to me working while he naps in the stroller. Kind of makes me wish we had a crib, actually, so he can rest on a cooler surface. I suppose I can put him beside me in the co-sleeper The Career Housewifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06292452915222108105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9170729495222105288.post-92195681954532684452015-10-26T21:00:00.000+08:002015-10-26T21:00:05.516+08:00Taking time to breatheTime has been quite paradoxical these past weeks. I can't believe that my newborn will be a month old in just one more week, and yet it feels like it has been an entire lifetime since I was wheeled into the delivery room.
The difference between the brothers is remarkable.
At this same age, we could barely leave Llew down in the stroller but here I am now, blogging, while Kian sleeps soundly in The Career Housewifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06292452915222108105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9170729495222105288.post-63711530233636695162015-10-12T21:00:00.000+08:002015-10-12T21:00:09.700+08:00Child-rearing Round TwoThere are, apparently, many things about newborns that I'd forgotten about.
Like how often they spit up, and that if you have a little boy, you need to be prepared for mid-diaper change "showers".
It's been a week and a half since we finally held our newborn in our eager arms. It was as magical as the first time but more relaxed in a way. We had fewer photos in our hospital room but I've no The Career Housewifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06292452915222108105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9170729495222105288.post-23218210522073599012015-09-28T21:00:00.000+08:002015-09-28T21:00:03.442+08:00D-I-Y: Cornstarch PaintCredit to Trish Kuffner for this lovely Cornstarch Paint that I made two weeks ago! The link to this particular recipe (and five other paints to try with your kiddo) is here.
I've made cornstarch paint before in the form of, well, basically coloured oobleck a.k.a. liquid sidewalk chalk. My problem with it is that it separates when left overnight and is a little difficult to shake and mix the The Career Housewifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06292452915222108105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9170729495222105288.post-86896807590580673842015-09-25T21:00:00.000+08:002015-09-25T21:00:06.266+08:00The Postpartum Recovery ListWell, we're almost there.
I swore to myself that I would be a more fabulous mom this time around. My first task was actually to choose pretty clothes to wear for the duration of my hospital stay. I hadn't known before that I could actually already change out of my hospital gown as soon as I'd returned to my room after giving birth. I'm prepared this time.
I must say Victoria's Secret is The Career Housewifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06292452915222108105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9170729495222105288.post-26297549127473023382015-09-24T21:00:00.000+08:002015-11-05T18:07:14.325+08:00This is it!I had my check up last Tuesday and apparently we are almost there!
It's something of a double-edged sword, to be honest. It's exciting and frightening at the same time, not knowing what adjustments we will be making and how.
So if there's an extended silence, we all know why. Let's hope it's only silence this time and not dropping off the face of the blogosphere like I'd done before.
The Career Housewifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06292452915222108105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9170729495222105288.post-82263813246577598502015-09-22T21:00:00.000+08:002015-09-22T21:00:05.547+08:00In the matter of disciplineSo far, I believe it's working, this attempt of mine to try and spread out my writing, whether for blog purposes, work, or fun, throughout eight hours in a week. It doesn't feel like it's something I need to do; spreading it out and being flexible with how long I do it keeps it fun. And I'm one of those people who needs to keep seeing work as something fun.
I first got the idea of writing aThe Career Housewifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06292452915222108105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9170729495222105288.post-65976218007588734952015-09-21T21:00:00.000+08:002015-09-21T21:00:01.174+08:00D-I-Y: Adventures in Play DoughI'm a typically crafty person. I love poking around the house doing little crafty projects for various purposes (storage, home spa, art), the most recent one being to make non-toxic, occasionally edible, play materials for my kid.
I don't have the photos of the original set of playdough I made for him on me--I may have them locked up in my old hard drive which I still need to unlock somehow--butThe Career Housewifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06292452915222108105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9170729495222105288.post-68547657427112679912015-09-18T21:00:00.000+08:002015-09-18T21:29:46.251+08:00Product Review: Olay Deep Moisture Body Wash with HoneyLast week I received this lovely little surprise care package from Belle de Jour and Olay Philippines. I said I would begin using it over the weekend which, truth be told, the use for which began Sunday night. I've been a late afternoon to evening bather lately so commentaries and observations will stretch from the afternoon or evening of the previous day to the morning of the next. Mornings I The Career Housewifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06292452915222108105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9170729495222105288.post-38433560754485216242015-09-17T21:00:00.000+08:002015-11-05T18:07:07.499+08:00Pen and Ink Adventures Review: Elias PadFirst time I'll be talking about my return to art!
Allow me to dive right into what I've been obsessed with of late: watercolours, mixed media, and the aforementioned Elias Pad.
Now, normally I would pick up either a Corona or Canson sketchpad for my art. I'd been using the former since I was eight and the latter beginning college. But I needed something that would serve two purposes: doodling The Career Housewifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06292452915222108105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9170729495222105288.post-64953690834170282512015-09-15T21:00:00.000+08:002015-09-15T21:00:05.373+08:00Getting the feeling backLast Sunday, I submitted the first feature article I've written in a very long time...two years if memory serves. Complete with photos, too, which is part of what I aim to train for as a writer.
I've been doing freelance work for various clients for a few years now. It's not been my steadiest work--my involvement in our businesses and investments has still been the greater focus along with the The Career Housewifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06292452915222108105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9170729495222105288.post-74089190365133339232015-09-14T21:00:00.000+08:002015-09-14T21:00:03.014+08:00Another one for "What's not in the books"I am an only child with limited chances to observe real-life siblings. For most of my life anyway. But I did always think that having siblings would be a wonderful thing, despite all my friends' complaints about theirs.
I understood that there were a lot of things different between myself and my friends who grew up with siblings. I don't believe I missed out on anything but even as a child, I The Career Housewifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06292452915222108105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9170729495222105288.post-85247360730058898632015-09-11T21:00:00.000+08:002015-09-11T21:00:06.482+08:00Product Review: Olay Products via Belle de Jour Power PlannerI received these in the mail today.
FULL DISCLOSURE: These products were received as free items, I believe upon answering a Belle de Jour survey. (I know, I know--I'm terrible for forgetting, mea culpa.)
I have had a thing for sticking to cruelty-free products as much as I can but I've never freebies just to say that I gave them a chance.
I intend to begin using these this weekend and compile The Career Housewifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06292452915222108105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9170729495222105288.post-60127187982189672372015-09-04T21:00:00.001+08:002015-09-04T21:00:06.548+08:00VoiceIt's been a very long time since I was last here regularly. I'm trying to find mine again.
I restarted as I always have: rather shallowly, speaking of whatever is "of the moment", whether the thoughts were complete or not. It something that I learned from being in Creative Writing: JUST WRITE.
Motherhood has been the biggest game changer with regard to my blogging. I cannot seem to stop myself The Career Housewifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06292452915222108105noreply@blogger.com0