..Being a mom is a 'Job'

Lagi menghirup kopi pagi, pagi ini aku pilih aroma 'creme brulee'...sok Perancis dikit lhah,...rasa dessert yang satu ini bisa dibilang udah mendunia...eeh..sambil agak merenung,...apa minggu ini aku sudah jadi 'ibu yang baik'....atau setidaknya berusaha jadi ibu yang baik. Sudah sebulan ini sejak tanggal 31 January, aku punya 'rule' baru untuk anakku, Grace, yaitu, tidak nonton tivi di 'day time' (siang hari), sore hari dia boleh ngikut nonton kalo daddy-nya pulang kerja, paling juga dia get bored easily, soalnya sore sudah ga ada/jarang kids program lagi. Dia lebih tertarik bermain dengan daddy.
I'm sipping my morning coffee, this morning I select 'creme brulee' flavored... sometimes I need a little bit "French" to start the day, beside...you can't beat this famous dessert in every nice restaurant.. and with a little reflection, what happend this week ?... am I a 'good mother'..?.... or at least trying to be a good mother. It's been a month since January 31st, I have a new 'rule' for my daughter, Grace, she can't watch television in the 'day time' from Monday to Friday. In the evening arround four o'clock she can watch DVD about learning numbers, words or letters, but not everyday because I don't want she gets bored. When her daddy got home from work, she is more interested in playing with daddy than watch tivi.
Aku nggak menganggap bahwa tivi itu 'buruk', atau membawa dampak yang jelek buat anakku, bahkan Grace belajar some words juga dari menonton tivi, dan caraku ini belum tentu bisa diterapkan di keluarga laen, apapun alasan-nya. Dia boleh nonton tivi atau DVD setiap weekend, bagaimanapun juga aku ingin dia tumbuh normal dan cukup pengetahuan tentang apa yang lagi 'in' sekarang. Apa jadinya kalo dia ketemu temannya nanti dan mereka ngobrol dan Grace tidak tau siapa itu Mickey Mouse, atau Sponge Bob, atau Dora dan teman teman-nya, aku ingin dia tumbuh percaya diri dan seimbang antara belajar dan nonton hiburan.

I don't think that television is 'bad', or bring a bad effect for my daughter, even Grace learned some words from watching television, and this 'rule'  can not necessarily be applied in other family , for whatever reasons. She may watch television or DVD every weekend, however I want her to grow normally and are knowledgeable about what is more 'in' now. What will happen if she meet her friends later and they chatt and Grace do not know who is Mickey Mouse, or Sponge Bob, or Dora and her friends, I want her to grow up confident and balanced between the study and watch the entertainment.

Crayon Time

Lumayan juga, sekarang dia lebih fokus, lebih tertarik untuk membuka majalah anak 'HighFive'-nya yang sengaja aku sign up berlangganan,...agak mahal juga setahun $35, dibandingin majalah 'Everyday'with Rachael Ray...
Kalo mau jujur sebenernya aku yang lebih banyak dapet 'pressure' dengan sistem ini, bayangin aja, biasanya bisa nonton GMA atau Today Show atau Early-nya CBS....walopun harus share kids program dengan Grace, tapi dengan 'NO TIVI' time kayak gini, ...bisanya ya cuma nyetel radio..atau nyetel CD music kalo bosen. Lumayan sich dapet berita dikit dikit dari Stasiun radio lokal Seattle. Selebihnya aku harus get creative, playing and learning sebanyak mungkin untuk Grace. Dari sejak dia bangun, ngajarin baca dari flash cards, baca buku atau majalahnya, math macaroni..alias belajar matematika dari macem macem pasta pendek, seperti fusili, macaroni, rotini, macaroni shell, rigatoni..dll,..trus back horse, dia naik kepunggungku pura pura naik kuda...fhhh burning calories dech!...terus salah satu favorite-nya 'blanket bear'..membentangkan selimut bayi-nya, salah satu teddy bear ditaruh diatas selimut dan digoyang goyang..bisa bikin ketawa ngakak dech!,..drawing pake crayons, melukis...dan laen laen dech!. Dan yang penting juga, menanggapi omongannya, yang sekarang kosa kata-nya tambah banyak!..

To be honest I actually get a lot of 'pressure' with this system, imagine, I usually watch GMA or the Today Show or  CBS Early although I have to share the program with Grace, but with a 'NO Tivi' time like this, yes ...what I can do is turn on the radio or CD music, get dancing with her if I'm bored. And got a little news from Seattle radio station.  The rest is I have to get creative, playing and learning as much as possible for Grace.

To me, being a mom is a 'job' , so if you're working sometimes you need a break, and you can do what ever you want to be in 'relax' mode, you can do facebooking, blogging, exercising, ..etc. Enjoy your motherhood without neglecting yourself, after long hours become 'a good mom' you deserve to have your 'me' time.