Hey there good lookin’ I’m sorry that I’ve been remiss with my posts. Well as you can see from what I wrote below, I’m trying to deal with issues. I’ve talked to friends and BDW about this and now I turn to you for your sage advice.  Thanks in advance dear friends and hope the long weekend allows you all to recharge and be with family and good friends.

I’ve been in Corporate for 12 years. 10 years in the same company where I found and eventually married the wonderful father of my kid.  I couldn’t believe I lasted 10 years but looking back it was all because I found a team and a family here. Things have changed quite a bit in the last 3 years as  now I have my own family to take care of. My day job entails intense, pressure-filled work in the 2^nd  and 4^th quarter of the year. By intense I mean, “wiwi lang ang pahinga”, 12-16 hour days, weekend work and the absence of long holidays. It used to be manageable then because I was younger, I had the stamina and the energy. But now, it’s all different because when I come home, I put on my mom hat and my mom hat does not really do much if the kid I’m supposed to be a mom to is asleep. My mom hat  is useless when all I could tell my little kid who wants Mama to stay behind  and eat breakfast with him is “I need to go to the office”  My kid has dropped words like “dito ka na lang mama” or “mama wag ka nag mag-office” and they have stabbed my heart and I couldn’t  concentrate on my work any longer because I just want to be home.

Some would say that those words would motivate them to do their best and be the best. Some would see this as a signal to reassess things.  The past few months have just been a challenge for me work wise and it’s not just because of the actual work but because of the issues that I’ve had to deal with.  I think at some point every parent, not just moms, has to deal with these cross roads.

I have a co-manager at the office that has moved on to another team. Her main reason, she didn’t want to do the same mistake she did with her first son with her second son. She didn’t see her first kid grow up because she was stuck in the office, doing the same work I am doing now.  It broke her heart when her kid got a star on his hand but he had to wash it because it was bed time and Mommy wasn’t home yet.  It drove her to tears when her kid asked why she wanted to spend more time at work than with him. Her kid is just 5 years old.

Of course, let’s not get into the nitty-gritty of the other details that make corporate life uhm exciting but yes, those too add to the pressure and sometimes become more unbearable than the workload itself.  And to be honest, it is this last thing that’s making me reassess my options. Yes I am truly sad because certain events are beyond my control now and it all happened in the span of one month.

I’m sorry to be a bit cryptic, it’s just that I don’t want to give away too much as it involves my day job

I want to ask you moms out there who have quit the Corporate Life, what is that moment when you made that big leap? What was your exit strategy?

 To fellow working moms, how do you deal with issues like this??

DW came as a pilot for his class’ trick or treat two Fridays ago. The little dude is on semestral break  now (diba?! 3 hours a day and he goes on a 4-week sembreak! I want to be a toddler again). BDW and I couldn’t join their class because we had our dayjobs to wrestle with *booo!* but I asked Yaya Ann to take pictures of DW’s first candy hopping event.

Here’s the little pilot checking his flight schedule. We bought his outfit at mothercare a year ago even if it was still too big for him. (I blogged about finding the outfit here)

Here’s DW with his trick or treat bag that I hastily put together at around 12:30 am the night before. I came home from a long day of work and I was ready to pass out but I had to finish taping Halloween-y stuff on an Osh Kosh paper bag. Not my proudest mommy crafting moment for sure.

DW’s class went to a house near the school that was decked out in Halloween decorations. I was happy to see that the school made a lot of precautions in ensuring the safety of the kids even if the house was just a minute away from the school. The class walked and held on to a rope while doing so.

DW went home with a lot of candy. I’m not sure if he understood what they did that day though. I think he took his outfit seriously too becaseu when we dropped him off at school that day he told us “Mag-drive ako ng plane!” before saying goodbye.

There’s still one more Halloween trick or treating event that we’d be going too and we won’t be missing that. I want to dress DW in his barong tagalog, black slacks and give him a clutch bag. He’ll be dressed as an “ahente” or “kolektor” and if people ask what he is, he’ll bring out a Meralco bill and ask people to pay. Cash is better than candy naman.

Trick or Treat!!

So on our trip to Bellarocca, I really dreaded waiting in the pre-departure area of the Manila Domestic airport but then I saw these….

Aba! Aba! Aba! I was pleasantly surprised to see that the Manila Domestic Airport has a Kiddie Lounge and a Breastfeeding Area! Given that families are staple travelers and frequent flyers, these areas are (to quote the kids) “full of win!”

I didn’t care that the Kiddie Traveler Lounge was spartan.

There was a cute playhouse there that kept DW preoccupied. The toys however are old and are in need of a good scrub I can almost see OCMominManila freaking out and giving the toys a good scrubbing.

The floor was covered with a thick padded mat and the walls had these rubber puzzle pieces.

I went next door and checked out the Breastfeeding lounge.

The room had its own air conditioning unit and several comfy couches and chairs for moms and babes to hang out in. I see this as a room that you can use to change your baby’s nappies as well. When I went to the room no one was using it so the lights were all turned off. I however have never used a breastfeeding room, we do have something similar in our office and it has a small sink, refrigerator and comfy chairs. So, breastfeeding mommies, is the breastfeeding lounge at the airport up to par?

These rooms are in desperate need of an update but you know what I’ll take them. The terminal had a facelift and is actually pretty good looking now. They didn’t have to do these two rooms but they did. Maybe the terminal fees can go to new toys and books for the kiddie traveler lounge?  Anyway DW and I are thankful