Conserve Energy!

As part of newlywed condo living, my very mathematically inclined husband purchased several automatic timers that he had put on a number of our appliances - particularly the TV and the water dispenser - to save on electricity. He had set the timer to turn the appliances off about the time we leave for work, and turn on approximately the time we get home. (He had also computed how long it would take to be earn back via electricity savings - what we had spent on the timers.)

Now that we have a toddler who could keep his eyes peeled to Playhouse Disney for hours on end, we've found a new use for those timers!

We've set the timer to allow the TV to turn on from 6:50-7:30 am - just long enough for his favorite show (Little Einsteins) and some trailers, and while we get dressed for work; and again from 9:00-9:30 pm - when we're home and just before his bedtime at 10pm.

This works out perfectly for us because not only are we able to limit his TV viewing (and choose the shows too!). The big plus is that when the TV automatically turns off without us touching it, he doesn't throw any tantrums! He just gives us a look and asks, " what happened to the TV?". We simply say, "it turned off already - we can watch later/tomorrow". No sweat!

Next we have to figure out how to peel him away from the iPad without a fight.




Meet our friend, the automatic timer.



Decluttering the mind

I love Mind Maps! Ever since one of my colleagues introduced it to me about 5 years ago, it has done wonders for organizing my very cluttered thoughts in developing programs and projects. I suspect the top reason I must like it is because I am a LIST person! My MBTI profile shows I am a very strong "J" (judging")! I love lists, planners and calendars.

I suppose the second reason Mind Maps and I get along so well is because of all the colorful icons and ways that you can make the map so visually appealing. While I am not the most creative of the bunch, I certainly enjoy artsy fartsy activities!

Lastly, it just feels good and productive to "release" and just do a bit of personal brainstorming after weeks of feeling stumped. If you haven't done any mindmapping before, do give it a try the next time your ideas are all a crazy mess in your head. It might just work for you!

Mind Map shown above is not my own. :)

Mommy-made lesson plans!

Probably one of the most common (and in my opinion, grounded) fears of a working parent is leaving their baby with the 'yaya' (nanny) the whole day, while they spend most of the day's decent hours in the office. There's so much to worry about! What is baby is doing all day? Is he picking up all this nonsense from watching noontime shows? Watching cartoons all day? Listening to those terribly annoying radio stations? What is he/she learning from 'yaya'?

Of course, I went through the same. And so ever since my son Nico was an infant (or at least, old enough to understand simple phrases and words), I tried as often as I could to prepare a 'lesson plan' for yaya  to go through while my husband and I were at work. Nothing grand - just simple stuff everyday --  the alphabet on one day, counting to 20 on another, knowing the difference between big and small, identifying colors, shapes, animals and their homes, identifying body parts, practicing reciting his full name, the list goes on!  Am thankful for a hardworking yaya who ensures that Nico goes through the lesson and more.

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
eyes, nose, belly	neck, feet, hands	cheeks, ears	mouth, elbow	eyebrow, back
circle	triangle	square	oval	diamond
red	blue	green	yellow	orange
dog	cat	bird	mouse	horse

Now that we're done with the simple things like colors and shapes that all babies know, however, I find myself at a loss on what else to leave as part of the 'lesson plan'. And so you can imagine my excitement about my latest purchase from http://www.amazon.com/.

I saw this book for sale at Lakeshore Learning, but it was cheaper on Amazon (with a feature to preview some pages) -- hooray!  While designed for the classroom, I now have so many new ideas on what else we can teach Nico at home! I can't wait! Stay tuned for future posts about what I've actually done ! ;)

Makes me wonder about taking the dive into homeschooling (which is a post for another time)!



In search of balance

I am fortunate enough to work for a company that supports flexible work arrangements and working from home as the need arises. While I do enjoy that perk, I can only do so every so often as my 2-year old son seems to assume that once I spend the day at home (including work days), my time is his. He insists on sitting on my lap, using the laptop to visit http://www.starfall.com/, and tugs my arm every other minute to "watch me, mommy". So we know who always wins that battle.

And so this blog (which finally came to, after much internal debate about privacy issues vs. the desire to"journal") is for all those working moms (and dads) finding their own balance between being the boss and having one (at work and home, respectively.) Or for those who simply care to read. ;)