We were amused by Z’s prayer tonight.  He prays every time he goes to bed but his prayer tonight was different.  He thanked Jesus that Mommy is working at home and he also wished that his Dad works at home too so that we “could be together always.”  I admit this is my particular dream.  My hubby is not too keen on the idea because he is still not sure we can survive with our income only coming from online jobs but you know my stand on this.  I’m perfectly sure we would.  Now, if only I can convince hubby so he doesn’t have to wake up so early just to be able to go to work.

Usually when I wake up in the morning I feel refreshed and ready to work but this morning when I woke up it felt as though I hadn’t rested at all. It’s a Sunday so I was able to take a break from my online activities and we went to Church but I still wasn’t feeling well outside. Good thing we went home right away after the service. At home, I wanted to start working but I felt I was too tired. So I took a 3 hour nap which helped me feel better. I felt a little bit better but when I looked at the mirror I was shocked to see I was so pale. I looked like a vampire, really with all the blood drained from my face. Last month when I consulted a doctor for another illness she remarked that I’m not anemic but my RBC count is in the low treshold. She urged me to eat green leafy vegetables or take iron supplements which I did not heed. Maybe I should really start taking care of myself. Who said working at home is easier? I am working harder now than I used to when I was working in the office but one thing was different I love working at home so I have the motivation.

Working at home means you can be flexible with your schedule. It also means you can have more than one job as long as one doesn’t interfere with the other. For me, I have two sources of online income right now. It works okay because the second one has a one week deadline so I don’t feel that much pressured. On my quest for other streams of income I tried yet another one to add to my already two. I started today but it was more difficult than I thought. The hours dragged and dragged but it seems I can never finish it. Finally, thank God I was able to finish it but not without almost giving up and a neglected kid beside me. It made me wonder – did I just bite off more than I could chew? I don’t want to give it up especially now that I proved to myself that I can do it. Let’s see if things will be better the following days.  If it gets worst then I must let go of one.

I’m not working today but that doesn’t mean I don’t have work. On the other hand, I have tons of work to do. One drawback in being a work-at-home mom is there is even work during the weekends. In fact, I spend more time working now than when I was an employee. I work first thing in the morning and right before I go to sleep. I work even on Saturdays. Except on Sundays. Even if I’m buried with work I stop working on Sundays so we can go to church and spend some family time together. It’s the only day in the week that we get go out of the house and eat out. It’s the day of the week that we visit our relatives and love ones.

Work-at-Home Mom in the Philippines. That’s what “WAHM sa Pinas” means. I’m so happy being able to work at home and earn while watching my son grow up so that’s why I decided to put up this blog.

Being a Work-at-Home Mom in the Philippines is definitely not easy. Finding work can be difficult because unlike in the US where telecommuting is already quite a norm, in our country there are only a handful of companies that offer telecommuting jobs. Although it’s not a slice of cake finding homebased jobs from Philippine-based companies we are still fortunate because the internet allowed us to seek for work opportunities from other countries.

I have not always been a Work-at-Home Mom. I was a call center agent three years ago but I quit because I felt it was not right for a mother to leave his son with the care of someone else. That has been always my opinion since the beginning that’s why I resigned from work when I was about to give birth to my son. I took care of him from birth but when he was 10 months old I was forced to go back to work because of financial constraints. Working away from home was not easy and I was constantly racked with guilt every time he cries when I’m about to go to work. I blamed myself for being weak and not being able to balance my work and my family just like every mother I know so I refused to  give up my work.

Then something happened that made me realize my son needed me and me alone and not a yaya to raise him. A year after I started working again he got hospitalized for pneumonia. He has never been sickly and never got sick the entire time I was taking care of him. He was confined for a week while I still continued working. Then a month later we went back to the doctor and was told that he was in the danger of getting hospitalized again. That was when I decided to give up my work once and for all.

Working-at-home became a dream a year after being a stay-at-home mom. I was happy being with my son all the time but my mind crave for mental stimulation. Of course, we also could use the extra money to spend at home. I wanted to find work through the internet but I personally didn’t know anyone back then actually working at home and earning a decent income. Then last March 2008 with the blessing of my husband we had internet installed in our home and I started looking for an online job.

I thank God for that day because now I’m a happy WAHM! I get to experience the best of both worlds – earning while staying at home and being there whenever my husband or my son needed me. Life is not perfect as there is still the constant balancing act that I need to do every day but it can never dampen the fact that I was able to achieve my dream. Yes, being a WAHM is my dream job and as long as there are opportunities for mothers like me I would forever be this way.