2007 has been one of the biggest years for us.  At the beginning of 2007, I noted down one thing I hope to start and try.  And I did.

2007 has been a year of change for me, for our family, for my husband.  It has affected every one of us and every changes we faced had allow us to learn more about accepting, coping and accommodating one another amongst all the changes.

I started off in January by continuing to be a full time stay at home mom with JD and Chloe, following a 12 months maternity leave from work since mid 2006.  During the 12 months of my maternity leave, I carefully planned out what I wanted to do at the end of my leave. 

In my situation (though not unique), with my family overseas and very little support around me and hubby, having both of us balancing a job and home can be hard.  Usually, it gets harder when the family expands.  Since having Chloe, I came to accept that changes have to be made.  Motherhood is a life long journey and I can’t risk myself being run down by juggling all different roles.  So, I had to find a way that allow me to be at home more, and possibly still doing something I would enjoy and better still if I could earn some income!

In January 2007, I put in an application for a business and childcare license to run my own daycare from home.  After many hours of studying in the night time, attending courses during the night and weekend, workshops, exams, interviews, inspections, reference checks, I was finally awarded the license in April 2007.  It was a lot of work involved in setting up my own daycare business.  My husband and I spent many hours talking over this idea, working out the pros and cons, how it is all going to work and etc.  It wasn’t easy.  I used all my spare time during the day and night, usually when both kids are sleeping to do my planning and preparation.

In June 2007, I started my business officially, taking enrolments and accepting children into my daycare.  Being a daycare provider is a job with full responsibility.  Parents entrust their children in my care, and it is my utmost responsibility to care, to nurture, to love them unconditionally, to discipline, to teach, to guide and almost be like a mother for them when their parents are away at work.  It also comes with challenges when a young child becomes unsettled, and I have to find ways to work around it.  Or when a child becomes disruptive.  It also comes with some headaches when parents are late in picking up their children, or in their payments or becoming difficult. 

It has been a steep learning curve.  It is no difference to running a big daycare centre, except in my case, I am the owner, the sole proprietor, the boss, the administrator, the daily bookkeeper, the sole carer for the children but also the cook, the nappy changer, the story teller, the referee, the listener, the disciplinarian, the driver, and many many more titles.  It is not babysitting, but providing a quality childcare experience to both the parents and children. 

The biggest part came in December 2007, when I officially resigned from my previous job as a Marketing Analyst!  It took a lot of time and considerations to make that decision because it was a big step.  I have been in that industry for over 10 years and to swap it for a totally different role is a frightening experience.  I mean how scary it can be when I am swapping from analysing numbers, charts, graphs, trends, writing reports, giving presentations, dressing up in nice sexy work clothes, make ups, with heels into t-shirts, jeans, flat shoes and surrounded by 4-5 kids all day, sometimes covered in paints, glitters, on all fours looking for that missing puzzle piece, Lego block, singing Incy Wincy Spiders , Twinkle Twinkle Little Stars, wiping pooey bottoms, rocking an unsettled baby to sleep…..it is a change. A big change indeed.

I remembered getting lots of different reactions.  And I still get them all the time.  Some looked at me wide eyed.  Some said and still say wow.  Some think it’s cool.  Some wish me luck.  Some think I must really love kids.  Some were stunned.  Some were just speechless.

But as I said to many “When you are a mom like me, in a situation when support is not usually within reach or a quick phone call away, you have to think of a way out and make the situation works for you.”  So this is the way out for me, when I make the situation works for me and our family,  a temporary change for the next few years until my kids are older, and then I can think of another career change again or not.

Yes, I know 2007 was going to be a transition year, a year of change and growth.  And I have made that change and I have learned and I am still learning.   

Looking back, it has been also one of the best.  I have been able to create something for myself.  Allowing me to be at home more with my kids, but also making an income and supporting the family when I am working in my own home.  I have been able to attend many of JD’s school performances during the school term by taking all my daycare children with me, and not having to take time off work.  I am able to send and pick up JD from pre-kindy while working, making dinner for my family in the early afternoon and taking the evening rush away.  The rewards I get when I see JD’s smiling face when I turned up at his school gate is priceless.  Hearing him talking about his day right after pre-kindy is also priceless.  The joy he gets when he sees me, his sister and all our daycare children when we pick him up from the school gate is a rewarding experience.  The time I spend with JD and Chloe are priceless.  They will never be this age again and I am glad I am here to witness and share these moments with them. 

One of the best things is also setting my own working hours and I stick to it.  By continuing to work also means that the financial shoulder is not entirely on my husband.

There are some other drawbacks, such as when I fall sick and I have had to cancel work.  But this is the way it is.  I am sure all of us that are self-employed faced the same drawbacks and challenges. 

Apart from that, we have had many other blessings…

I was awarded a certificate just before Christmas for providing a quality daycare in the first 6 months of my business and service.

We also sold a house this year which has allowed us to enjoy some of the earlier seeds we sow.

We bought a bigger car for the family which we have taken with us on a few family holidays.

We have been able to renovate our kitchen and have now a really cool kitchen to use.

Phil and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary.

We just came back from a really nice family holiday and we look forward to more.

We have been able to give and support other families with the rewards we had.

But more importantly, to my parents, my sisters whom have been with me every step of the way, though not in persons, but always close enough through SMS, emails, and the many many online chats we have had.  Thank you!

I am looking forward to 2008.  A year when I hope to continue with the changes I have made in 2007. 

We have had a great Christmas, really enjoyed the day, and spending lots of good time with hubby and kids.  In OZ, our Christmas is usually HOT - around 38 deg c! 

So our Christmas is spend with air conditioning on a full blast, lots of cold drink, salads, and having the kids run around throwing water balloons!  I had to roast a turkey though, and it’s just funny because it is so damn hot out there and I have my oven going at 180 deg c for 4 hours!

Hey, this is OZ!

Happy shots of the kids…Merry Xmas to all, and from the kids especially to their Waigong, Waipo and Aunties back home!

This is the first year when I have to involve many little kids in Christmas crafts. 

This year, it’s all about stars, glitters and telling our loved ones that they are the “stars” of our lives. 

As a parent, we are always there for our child/ren.  Like a star that always shine, we always do our best to be the shining stars for our kids.  Times when they are sick, sad, needing comfort, lost, or even happy, that they know to find us for the comfort, love, care that we always have for them.

Christmas is a special time.  Apart from the celebration, gifts, family get together, it’s also about being thankful and grateful for those around us.

This year I get the children to do sets of handprints, and helping them to write a little letter to their parents and thanking them for what they have done.  Some children have been really ill and we take this opportunity to thank the parents for bringing them to the doctors, waking up at night for them.  Some children whom may have gone through a family separation, and we take this time to thank the parents for remaining there for their children and visiting them every week.  Some celebrate their major milestones..but most of all is helping the children to be thankful for their dads and mums.

At the end of the day, I get each child to present their gifts, and not only did it bring tears to their parents, it also did to me. But I am happy to have been part of their lives.

This is the 2nd time I make this.  The first time was 2 years ago, when newly pregnant with Chloe and during my sister’s visit to Perth on Christmas Eve. 

Last week, I saw some frozen lobster at the seafood shop, bought 4 at $14 each, and make this yummy lobster again.  The sauce is rich, so half a lobster is usually enough for me.   My husband, my MIL and JD finsihed all the rest, burp!

For recipe, please visit here.

After dinner, Phil and JD had a game on Wii with Chloe joining in by cheering them on and MIL laughing her head off watching the 3 of them.  As for me, I went back to the kitchen to ice this gingerbread biscuits.

Remember I blogged about having your child going through your tupperware drawer, and it can be many hours of fun for them, heehee.  In Chloe’s case, she spends a great deal of time just sorting through all the bowls, cups in the drawer.

Well, here’s lil Chloe busy going through the plastic plates, cups, bottles and etc.  The good part of this is, she will walk automatically to the drawer, pull it open, grab her bowl and cup, hand it to me for food to be served during meals time.  What a joy!

Oops, did I just get caught?

Chloe was thinking…

“Ooooo, crackers, my favourite, I like it”

“Quick, I better eat a few more before someone sees me”

“What, okay so I overeat!”

This is our new kitchen that we have been happily using for the last 2 weeks.

And see the transformation from this…it’s amazing.  The new kitchen is brighter, bigger and I love it!  The whole house looks and feels different with the new kitchen.

It has been so well designed, and working in this new kitchen has just been such a bliss.  It was all a a bery unfamiliar term the designer first mentioned building a ”functional” kitchen for us.

However, in the last 2 weeks, I fully understand what she means by a functional kitchen.  Everything I need, from the pots, wok, utensils, sauces, plates, bowls and etc is all easily accessible without me having to bend over, or stretching my arms reaching deep into the cabinets to access anything at all.  It is one of the best things we have done to our home.

And the dishwasher, oh yes, it has been a bliss too!  All I did in the last 2 weeks was scraping off any food bits from the plate, give it a quick rinse and put it into the dishwasher.  We have no more dirty dishes piling up in the sink, and after dinner each night,  with the push of a button, the dishes get washed and dried!  Brilliant!  For the time I previously spend in washing the dishes each day, I could have a cup of tea, put the laundry in, catch up on emails, blogging, build blocks with my kids, read them more stories and have more fun!

It’s 80% done because we are yet to replace the current lighting with downlights and the glass splashback will be installed in the new year.

As for now, it is looking great, works wonderfully well for us all, and I am looking forward to cooking, baking more wonderful meals, cakes, cookies….good times ahead!

I have said this a few times before, but 2007 really has been a big year for us.  My husband and I have both been so busy with work of our own, home duties, children’s activities, family commitments and etc etc.  Sometimes our own family time is compromised as a result, and is not always a good thing.  But then again, we are just 2 individuals trying to fit so much into our lives and sometimes there’s really not much we can do about!

So when we can, and is usually an impromptu thing.  We will ring up one another, meet each other from different ends of town and ended up together at the same place for dinner!  Afterall, a family that eats together stays together, hee!

We went out to Madmonk again last week, we enjoyed ourselves, kids love their meals. 

JD kept playing with my camera and managed to take a decent shot of me!

After dinner, Phil brought JD to Timezone for a play.

Whilst I sat next door at the Gelatino outlet having an ice cream with Chloe!

The very first batch of Xmas baking started last night.  In between I was chatting to my sisters on Yahoo, showing them the cookies through webcam.  Also torturing them while I tasted the cookies with them watching on, kekeke!

The house is beginning to smell like Christmas with the aroma of the shortbread baking in the oven!  Nevermind the tree that’s not up, at least it is smells like the festive season to me.

Last week was the end of pre-kindy for JD at Stepping Out Kindy.  We celebrated with a Xmas concert and party at his kindy.  It was a special moment for me as I reflected on his achievements from this year.  I am just so glad I enrolled him there and it’s such a lovely place with great teachers.

Remember the first week when he cried?  Well, it didn’t take long and he settled right into the care of his two very loving, patient and kind teachers.  He has met some lovely little kids whom later on in the year became his very good friends at pre-kindy.  He talked about them all day long, ran towards them at the school gate, goofing around, digging together in the sandpit, and I am just so glad he had made some really good friends there.

He has learnt so many different songs, doing different versions of the same song, such as “I am a little teapot” into “I am a little robot” to “I am a little aeroplane” and so forth.   He has listened to so many stories at mat time that he has been telling me to get the same story from the library.  He has been given more opportunities to develop his creativity with lots of building toys.  Along the way, he has also been introduced to the nature, insects,  protecting the earth we living on, caring for the little chicks by seeing them hatched, insects and many many more festivities such as Christmas, Easter and not forgetting special days like Father’s Day and Mother’s Day.

JD will be off the big boys school next year (as he calls it) and I am sure he is ready for it.  I look forward to 2008 when he starts school and I can’t believe what a big boy he is now.

So here’s a video of  the children’s singing.

And why were they clapping?

Yay, here comes Santa!

Each child gets a book prepared by their parents, and it was fun watching tem tearing up the wrapping papers.

And it wouldn’t be a party without his cheeky face posing with his report card!

Teacher’s comment for 2007 ” Jayden, what a star you are!  You can be very proud of your achievements and knowledge and also at the improvements you have made with conflict resolution.  You are concentrating for longer at the tables and are really enjoying playing with your friends and joining in with our games.  Keep up the good work Jayden at your new kindy in 2008!”

PS - Picture in his report card was a picture he draw of himself!

Earlier on in the terms, JD used to cry when a friend snatched his toy, hit him in the face or not letting him have a go.  Over the last term, we have worked very hard at home to help him overcome this hurdle.  JD and I talked about what we should do if someone hits us in the face, or snatches our toy.  Instead of crying as the first step, we help him develop his confidence by saying out loud “Stop, don’t hit me, it hurts!” or “I have that toy first, you can have it when I am finished.”  For some children, it’s hard for them to do so and this has to come with confidence.  But lots of role play at home has definitely helped.  As JD’s teacher said, he has come very far in just the final term and has since found his ways in dealing with such situations.  Sometimes he just shrugged his shoulder and said “Oh well, I will just go get another toy to play with.”

That’s great!

As the school year finished, all other extra activities have also ended for the year.  JD will be moving onto the intermediate swimmng class next year and will pick up with gymnastics again in 2008.  To me, it’s almost like a sigh of relief, I can slow down a bit,  not so much of driving around and focus more on doing things at home with the the 2 of them! 

I am beginning to feel year end is rounding up!  What a big year it has been.