Working from Home

It may seem like a great idea for a mummy with a toddler to work from home. Yes and no. Its great that my boss has allowed me to work from home, especially cos of H1N1 now and cos I fall into the "high-risk" category, I need to take extra care of myself. Its also good cos I don't have to move around so much at home. In the office, I have to walk to the toilet and pantry, go downstairs to grab tea etc. Its also great cos I get to see En all the time if I want to! The downside is that he knows mummy is at home. He is much more accustomed to me working from home now, having done it for a few weeks, but he will come and bug me every now and then.

I do feel quite sorry for him as I know that he really wants me to play with him and must be wondering why mummy prefers the computer to him! Everytime I take a step away from my laptop, he will look at me with much hope and anticipation and say: " Mama finish work already". No matter that I had just started working on the laptop an hour ago or whether its toward evening time. I will let him know that Ma Ma will play with him soon, in half an hour's time or an hour's time.

When I was a full-time worker, you are fully at work. At that time (before En reached 6 months), I was quite focused at work and never really worried or thought about En at home cos I knew he was in my MIL's good hands. Perhaps it helped that I did not have to see his cute little face and hands waving to me, cajoling me to play with him. Now that I am working part-time, it feels like I have part of the deal. Partly at home, partly at work.

Stay home mum?

I am becoming a mummy all over again! I am now 4 mths pregnant and thanking God that he saw me through a trying first trimester.

When I first became a mummy, in En's case, with much prayer and support from hubby, I decided to do part-time work. Now that I am becoming a mummy the second time round, the the thought to become a stay-home mum is beginning to sprout in my mind. I am not the first woman to "give up" her career and stay home to invest her time in the home and the kids. My mother in law did it and she did a wonderful job with her 3 children. I do wonder if I can do an equally good job.

I was educated all the way to university, worked for a good 7 years now in legal practice, only to become a full-time stay home mum? My paternal grandmother used to tell me: why do you need such good grades, afterall you will get married one day. (grin, maybe her prophecy will come true!) Well, times have changed since her days! God has given me the opportunity to be thus educated, to have joined the marketplace and learnt many practical lessons of life, about people. These are invaluable to a person's moulding of character. May we never dismiss what God has done in our lives for everything can be used for his glory.

Thank God that His ways are different from the ways of the world. He teaches in His word the roles and responsibilities of woman, wife and mother. A wife is to be a helper to her husband. She is to take good care of the household, including the kids (the famous Proverbs 31). She encourages and teaches the younger women in church.

Thank God for real-life examples of ladies in church who have chosen to work part-time or be stay home mums to take care of their familes, to bring their children up in the ways of the Lord, to invest their time where the souls of the little ones will last for eternity.

Of course, I have my struggles: what if I cannot use my time well at home? what if I lack the creativity and dynamism to be a cheerful contented stay home mum? what if we struggle with finances? Only God will be able to help our family if we decide to take this step.

May God guide my and all Christian women's decision-making process in this area of their lives.

Reading again...

Yes, I have been missing for quite a while. Its time to give a little update and insights into what I have been up to for the past two months or so.

I have re-acquired the art and love for reading books. To be exact, the classics. I am content to read passages from a book late at night instead of surfing the net or blogging away. I started off reading JD Salinger's "Catcher in the Rye". Its a book about a American teenager ranting his head off. The story begins with him in a boarding school and in a matter of a few chapters, he has leaves the school and makes his way to the streets, looking up old friends, mere acquaintances, even a social escort, out of his sheer frustration of not being able to invite anyone out for a drink. I thought he was a crazy boy but other reviews I read simply said that it was a book about angsty teenager with very real, forceful and idealistic thoughts about the world, about people.

The next book I read was a memoir of a teacher: Frank McCourt's "Teacher Man". It is a autobiography of sorts which is very funnily written. McCourt takes jibes at himeself throughout his teaching career. He tells stories of his Irish immigrant story to students and that is what they learn the most about in class. He speaks of a teacher entering a classroom and taking the right posture as many pairs of student eyes are sizing him up, to see if he is a softie or the hard taskmaster type. Maybe the teachers out there will be interested in this book :)

The wonderful story I read next was "Anne of Green Gables", by L.M. Montgomery. Its a lovely heartwarming story of a red-haired orphan who finally finds a home in Green Gables where this old brother and sister adopt her. The book is full of her vivacious and sunshines personality, her every-so active imagination and her non-stop chattering. She is so endearing. Following this, I started watching on YouTube the drama serial. Its lovely. Please check it out.

I am also ploughing through "Middlemarch" by George Eliot. Its my second time reading it so I shall take my time. I first discovered this author when doing my S-Lit papers during JC. She is able to describe ever so insightfully a character's thoughts and that is what fascinates me about George Eliot's writings. Middlemarch is available online as the author's copyright has expired some time back. The beauty of the internet and being able to read some books online for free!

Interestingly enough, its only now that I can bring myself to read novels again. I used to disdain reading (apart from my law textbooks and cases, for which I had no choice but to pore over them, and of course the bible for daily sustenance) for quite a while after I entered law school and started work. It is a professional hazard. I suppose this has something to do with part-time work and having more space in my mind to accommodate other types of writing.

Lotus

Got this shot of a white lotus this morning at Botanic Gardens.

Think its so lovely. Reminds me that God created all things, including such a beautiful flower. Have been teaching En to sing this simple kids' song on the things God made. If I inserted the Lotus flower into the song, its lyrics would read like this.

"Who made the Lotus?
God did, God did!
Who made the Lotus?
Our great God!"

Love the song. Ask me if you need to know who the singer is so that I can go dig it out.

A letter from the devil's wife to a minster's wife

My husband subscribes to The Briefing, which is a monthly magazine from Australia Mattias Media http://matthiasmedia.com.au/

Their intended goal is to serve Jesus and the growth of his gospel by producing bible-based resources (read their mission statement for the full details).

I wish to commend one of the articles published this month to Christian wives. The article is written in the style of the renowned C.S. Lewis' book, "The Screwtape Letters", as advice from a senior demoness wife to a minster's wife on "10 ways to Discourage your Husband".
http://matthiasmedia.com.au/briefing/library/5398/

It is a very engaging read and particularly so I suspect due to the style in which it is framed. It should not only be for wives of ministers but also Christian wives of Christian husbands. For our husbands are like us, also ministers of the gospel.

Some of the demoness' tips include keeping a messy home, gossiping with your husband (or rather inducing gossipy talk with your husband), complaining instead of appreciating your husband.

I did pick up quite a few pointers from the article and I confess that I am certainly practising some of the demoness' advice which I need to repent of. May God help us Christan wives to respect our husbands as unto the Lord and be his reliable helper.

Montessori Ideology and Methodology

I have never really thought much of the Montessori school system. However, doing part-time work gives me more time to read up on education for toddlers and pre-schoolers. I recently laid my hands on "Montessori from the Start", by Paul Polk Lilliard and Lynn Lilliard Jessen.


http://www.amazon.co.uk/Montessori-Start-Paula-Polk-Lillard/dp/0805211128/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1226373977&sr=1-1

The book contains the basic ideas behind Maria Montessori's philosophy and research into how children develop once they enter this world. Her view is that the child is to be developed in such a way so that he can contribute to the world.

What I find interesting, and perhaps due to the fact that En is also 15 months of age, is her observation that toddlers at 15 mths of age should be given practical life training to prepare them for self-independence (which is the ultimate goal of educating a child).

In a Montessori classroom setting, the child will be taught how to put on their own clothes, prepare the table for a meal, learn how to do housework, cut apples and so on and so forth. The reason why she thinks the child is ready is because their hands and legs are fully functional now and perform as they were meant to. The child is also eager to imitate the adult in the things they do. As I look at En, I find it so true. Encouraged by her observation and her successful results in training children in practical life, I have been trying to do the same for En recently.

For meal times, En is to feed himself. It helps that the food he eats consists of porrdige, soggy rice, sticky pasta or cous cous. This way, the food tends to stick to the spoon and does not fall off easily. When you have a maid, its easy to make the maid feed him so that the feeding session is over and done with without too much time wastage. However, I now realise that I should aim to make him more independent and since he has demonstrated that he is capable of eating by himself, I should create the environment to let him do so. I intend to get En a fork next, so that he can learn to eat with both spoon and fork :) Another thing is, before meals, I ask him to go and get his bib from his cupboard. So far, he comprehends and has been co-operating in this respect. Its true. Young children this age need routine. If we keep doing it as a matter of daily life, he will soon learn to make it part of his daily routine.

Also, am trying more "practical life" training for En in areas of wearing his shoes, choosing his clothes before he goes out, preparing for bathtime etc.

Maria's ideology is noble and admirable. To develop the child to be a useful agent of change in the world. However, as a Christian, I know that there is more to life than just contributing to social good in the world. Our goal in life should be to love God and love the neighbour as we love ourselves. Our aim and desire should be to live such godly lives and preach the gospel so that the lost may be brought into the marvellous truth and light of Jesus, so that we will see the nations worship the lamb who was slain at the end of all times. Montessori methods will help make the child more independent, which fits well into my current thoughts on toddler-rearing :)

How frail the human body

My son, En, came down with flu a few days ago. It all started when I bought a very healthy En to his padaetrician for a chicken pox and flu jab. The padae told me that it was ok for the boy to have two jabs. But it turned out not, cos after the jabs, he vommitted out his orange juice (maybe that was a mistake) and his breakfast. Thereafter, he had high fever (ranging from 38 degrees plus to 39.1 degrees) that lasted for three days and two nights.

When you become a parent and your child has fever, its a very worrying thing. You worry that the fever will affect his brains if it burns too high. My MIL and I took turns sponging poor feverish En for two whole nights. En's fever finally subsisded on the third day, thank God! MIL and I came down with fever and runny nose. We now have a household full of viruses floating around!

As always, when I fall ill, I feel very tired, weak and incapacitated. Then I realise how frail the human body is. How much I take for granted my good health and strength that God has given me on a daily basis.

I will endeavour to build up a stronger body so that my body has higher immunity against diseases. Its really no point falling ill as a mother cos that means you cannot take care of your son when you do. I hope to be better tomorrow.