{Tips For Moms} by Work-From-Home-Mom Rachel

Being a mom is one of the toughest yet most fulfilling jobs in the universe.

If you were to ask me if I have ever imagined how my life would become as a mother 7 years ago – well… nope, never. And honestly, it’s difficult to imagine till the very day we step into motherhood.

Voila! The culture shock on top of the many stresses a new mother has to deal with – I’m a mom to 2 young boys – Dylan (7 yrs old-to-be) and Devan (4 yrs old-to-be).  And I’m their primary caregiver since my elder boy turned 1. From Day 1 with me as a Stay-At-Home-Mom (SAHM), we survived pretty well with no helper or childcare assistance. But we’re blessed to have my parent to help babysit the boys once in awhile when I need to run some errands or a few hours of ME/couple time. In 2010, my job status changed from a SAHM to a Work From Home Mom (WFHM) when I started my online business – Scrappin’ Love. Oh wow, how exciting and challenging it is to work in the comfort of my home that is full of temptations, distractions and of course tons of disturbances (from the boys)! On top of the daily routine we’ve around the house and caring for my boys, I’ve now a whole lot of new responsibilities to handle. Life has become quite hectic at some points where I had to give up many hours of sleep just to complete some tasks and check them off my forever endless to-do-list.

With work on one hand and family on the other, it isn’t and never will be an easy task to achieve a balance. There are days when I want to do nothing but to play and snuggle up with my boys or catch a drama series. And days when I’m a little under the weather but yet have to drag myself around the house to get the house chores done and projects to complete.

Unlike being away in the office, working from home requires lots of discipline and planning. The temptation to sink into the sofa with a nice book or to watch a tv program is always there. Plus a treat of an afternoon nap never seems to appear in my schedule. Time is never enough and how I wish to have more than 24 hours a day!

For the past two and a half year being a WFHM, the number one thing I always stick to is a time-table – a rather detailed one too with the hourly schedule, having to consider the amount of time needed to prepare a meal etc. (yup, we practically have home cooked food during the weekdays). I work around our daily routine, finding pockets of time in the day to reply emails, prepare invoices, doing marketing planning etc. It is only when night falls, after putting the little ones in bed and all is quiet in the house, then do I start crafting and working on my projects. It is only in the night that I’ve complete silence for me to focus instead of having an energetic bunny coming to me like every 2 minutes asking for some fruits to eat, wanting some water to drink, screaming for help to find his missing pencil or wanting to poo when I’m in the midst of brain-storming.

Still, there are hiccups every now and then and the routine goes haywire. It is only wise to be flexible and not to get upset with the mess but to play around the situation that is best for everyone at that point of time as no matter what, family is our top priority.

And, do know when to ask for help. Being alone in the day to care for the boys might not be fun after all. Learn how to be flexible and take the time off when needed to.

Well of course, there are those chaotic and hair-pulling moments. But it’s a blessing to be able to work from home, as it has always been our intention to have me being home to care for the boys while at the same time doing the things I love. Till date, I still am fine-tuning my schedule every now and then, playing along with circumstances and enjoying the day-to-day routine being around the house with my boys, and pursuing my passion in crafting.

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Do you have tips you’d like to share? If you have, link up here for this series of Tips for Moms – by Moms, and stay tuned for more tips from other Singapore Mom Bloggers!

Tomorrow, we have Geraldine who will share 8 ways to simplify life for working parents!