A Homemaker’s Diary

These days whenever I have the chance while taking care of the little one playing on his play mat in front of the TV, I will watch National Geographic channel. Today I managed to watch about the legendary Sinbad voyage from Middle East to China. It took the captain and his crews 12 months to reach the harbour of China, did their trade with people of Tang dynasty and on the way back they vanished in Belitung area in Indonesia due to bad weather. Only recently the whole treasures were founded and sold to the government of Singapore for USD22 mil.

I was never into history but this kind of new knowledge makes me think that as a mother who will one day be asked by my son of many trivial things in life, it’s surely be beneficial..heh! Oh, the Montessori books I ordered have arrived last week. I’ve started reading a few chapters every night when the little one falls asleep (read: after 1-2am) I also found another good book about raising boys that I want to buy and read next.

On personal interest, I found a blog about clay flowers. Actually I was browsing about making dip flower using Fantasy Film (yes, people in the US have been making bunga dip since the 70’s before the liquid was banned due to toxicity..heh!) when I stumbled upon another craft blog that sells paper and clay flowers. I guess it’s about time that I venture into new realm in handmade flower making..well you know, as the book says look for New Cheese before the Old Cheese run out..hehe!

Hopefully as things are progressing, I really wish that I have more time to spend on my crafts but as of now, my son is the main priority..it won’t be long I know, the time will come when he will spread his wings and fly, gaining his independence into the wide world, leaving his Mama behind with her flowers..haha!

Available for order before 17th August 2009. Priced at RM20 per box, consists of 30++ pieces of kurma madu. The ribbon and flower decoration is subject to change according to stock availability.

If you are interested for a lower budget pack i.e RM15, RM10, I can customize the order with lesser amount of kurma and smaller plastic container. 🙂

Please leave comment with a valid email address or contact number for me to get back to you.

I am currently reading this book by Naomi Stadlen’s titled What Mothers Do: Especially When It Looks Like Nothing.

Check out this product description taken from Amazon.com:

Have you ever spent all day looking after your baby or young child – and ended up feeling that you have ‘done nothing all day’?

Do you sometimes find it hard to feel pleased with what you are doing, and tell yourself you should achieve more with your time? Maybe it’s because you can’t see how much you are doing already.

In this unique and perceptive look at mothering, Naomi Stadlen draws on many years’ work with hundreds of other mothers of a wide variety of ages and backgrounds. She explores mothers’ experiences to reveal what they – and you – are doing when it may look, to everyone else, like nothing.

If you are a mother, and have ever felt: that nobody understands what you do all day; overwhelmed by your feelings for your baby; tired all the time; that nothing prepared you for motherhood; uncertain what your baby seems to want; short-tempered with your partner – you will find this the most reassuring book you have ever picked up.

Gosh..it’s already August..huhu! Time flies though at times I feel like it’s forever..huhu! Soon it will be fasting month and I am still way behind with my puasa ganti, doubt that I can ganti them all this year before the coming Ramadhan..with breastfeeding, lack of time to have proper meal, sleep deprived and all, I don’t think I will have the energy to fast daily. I will try my best to have one complete month this Ramadhan anyway…but if it affects my milk supply then I won’t take the risks..huhu!

We went to Floria Putrajaya 2009 last weekend after I conducted my craft class. This year flora fest was not as grand as the previous years..huhu! But despite the hot weather, we had great time with the little one, commissioning the artist to draw a caricature of his “masam’ face, haha! Once we went inside the air-cond tent he felt much better, siap tarik bunga lagi, most of the pictures we snapped were with him busy watching the flowers..tak nak pandang the camera langsung..hehe!

Oh, we bought some jajan from the food stall – popia pintal, rempeyek mini and kerepek bawang..sedap! Next time if I want to get supply for hampers, I know where to get..heh! Oh, our son loves kuih bakar, he munched it all with all the sesame seeds…the seller at the jajan stall has samples, we were not really into kuih bakar but we did try..very tempted to buy the whole kuih bakar for him after watching him really enjoy the slice, but I know it’s sweet and full of fattening ingredients.

We went to pasar malam after that. After ages of looking for Yusuf Taiyub kurma, I finally bought a box..ceh! We also bought the kampung made tempe, wrapped in daun pisang. Hubby fried them and it tasted very fresh..but as before, our son hates tempe..masuk je mulut terus nak muntah..aittt..tak boleh kawin dgn Jawa la mcm ni, sayang…haha! NVM, I will try again in a few months time..heh!

The books that I ordered through AcmaMall will arrive in few days time. Can’t wait to check out the Montessori books and the book about motherhood. Will review those books later once I managed to read them all.

Anyway, while bloghopping I found another book: In Praise of Stay-at-Home Moms by Dr. Laura Schlessinger.

I like what one of the readers wrote:

I purchased this book for my daughter, who is juggling a job with three small children. I read it from cover to cover before I passed it on to her. It brought back many poignant memories of my youth, and the attitude in the late ’60s and early ’70s towards being a housewife and “stay-at-home” mom. I think my personal story may bring things in perspective, and support the value of this book.

In the ’60s-70s, the Feminist movement was in full swing. Of course, this movement had its rightful place, as did the Civil Rights movement that ran concurrently to the Feminist platform, since so many women were discriminated against and denied their rights in the workplace. We definitely have to understand the rage that minorities and women experienced when they were denied advantages given the white male majority. That goes without argument.

I am a woman of 60 years. I, too, as Dr. Laura, became a “Feminista” in those years, as I was outraged that women were not given the same guidance and advantages as our male counterparts. However, we were also very much brainwashed into thinking all men were evil and manipulative. We were not taught the joy of a true loving partnership with our husbands. In fact, we were encouraged to be in competition with them!

In that tumultuous time in our history, had I expressed among my friends and associates the desire to just be a loving wife and mother to my family, I would have been denigrated and dismissed. Actually, despite the Feminist movement, I opted for full time motherhood in the early 70s. Despite my happiness at staying home to nurture my children, I always felt embarrassed when I was asked, “Well, what do you DO?” In those days, your position or career determined your worth as a female..NOT your value as a mother.

When my children were in their early teens, I unfortunately became a single mother and was forced to return to the job force. I worked over two decades for a company that summarily dismissed me a few months ago. They found a younger, cheaper version of myself, despite my giving 100 percent to this company for so many years. So much for all the “glory” my career ever brought me. I’m wondering, how many working mothers are toiling for similar companies, who discard them when their usefulness is over?

What fools these mortals be, thinking that their mundane jobs provide self worth? There are exceptions, of course, but I do encourage all those working mothers out there to think about what they truly are contributing to “society” and how much they should be contributing, instead, to their own children.

They might think about this: After a certain age, when their neglected children are adults, they may find, as I did, that my stellar “career” brought me neither fortune or fame. Of course, if you are a famous brain surgeon or space scientist, this may not apply to you. But let’s face it, probably 90 percent of working mothers are employed in jobs like I had, where we are just working stiffs doing our job for the sake of some company and our pay checks.

Finally, and most importantly, what remains of my “stay at home” years is the beautiful relationship I still have with my beloved children. Those years gave me the opportunity to bond and raise them in serenity, with wonderful moments that cannot be described here. In sum, my personal glory (after my significant “career”) is in my dear, well-adjusted children and my grandchildren. My daughter, incidentally, is making great strides in becoming a stay-at-home mom, and I am proud of her!

Of course I realize there are some circumstances that are beyond a mother’s control, and she is forced to work to feed her family. But how many women are out there who are working just for more income to buy that bigger house, those flat-screen TVs, designer clothes, and all those electronic gadgets, etc. etc. etc?

Furthermore, I venture to write that if a woman is so committed to a career that she wishes to devote her entire life to that venture, she should choose, as Kathryn Hepburn did so long ago, not to bring children into the world that she could not personally raise.

I truly commend Dr. Laura for having the courage to tout this new argument to the nation. It is high time. I was a Feminista. I’ve been there, done that, and I know deep in my heart that a mother’s place is with her children. If we could bring every mother back into the home, our country would be in such a better place, removed of so much turmoil because this nation’s children would be infused with love, and not the pain of neglect.

Thank you for allowing me to express this opinion.

Now I know why there are many who are not happy with my decision to be SAHM, they are stuck with the mindset of people in the 60’s and 70’s…haha!