Mommy Profiles

EC was living in LA writing screenplays and taking a course on film directing when she became a pregnant.  She enjoyed working, spending time with family & friends, doing yoga & aerobics, traveling, eating good food, and watching good movies. She also played games such as Poker, Scrabble, Settlers of Catan, Mahjong, and Euchre.

EC now lives in San Francisco with her husband & 3 boys, ages 3 ½ years, 16 months, and 1 month.  She continues to have delusions of being able to do her own work from home.  Her usual routine changes daily based on what’s in the best interest of her kids.  Everything is scheduled around their naps, meals, classes (gym, music, preschool), library story times, play dates, doctor's appointments, birthday parties, etc.  She pumps or nurses every 3 hours, and is constantly trying to spend quality time with each child.  Amid the chaos, she has always tried to maintain a bedtime routine:  bath/shower, drink milk, brush their teeth (hopefully), read books, and lay down with them until they fall asleep.  Afterwards, she’ll have some time to watch a movie with her husband.  Then, she’ll try to go to bed, but will end up going online or doing housework.  EC does have help with childcare, which helps immensely.

EC’s commitment to being green saves money because she doesn't like to buy or waste things.  She makes some money from investments...and poker winnings.  :)

To teach her kids about their culture, EC encourages the grandparents to speak, read, and sing songs in Chinese with the kids; and the kids are frequently exposed to Chinese cuisine and Asian friends.  Also, she plays Chinese cassette tapes for them (archaic--she knows), and she started Tivo-ing “Ni Hao, Kai-Lan“.  She hopes that her whole family can go on vacation to Taiwan someday soon.

For fun, other than watching, hugging, kissing, holding, and playing with the kids, EC and her husband still like to watch movies and play cards. They went through a phase of nightly Sudoku puzzles, which ended with the birth of their third baby. Two months ago, she joined a green mommy book club, which meets monthly.  Composing scrapbooks from genuine scraps and mementos for her boys is one of many things on her fun, wishful to-do list.

Revised Friday, March 6, 2009

KK was a paralegal working in downtown Chicago when she became a mommy. She loved to sleep in on the weekends and do Tai chi. KK decided to stay at home because she wanted to be with her kids.

Now, KK lives in a house in the suburbs with her hubby & 2 kids, a 6-year-old boy and a 3-year-old girl. Her day consists of eating breakfast, doing dishes, eating lunch, doing dishes, eating dinner, doing dishes again, and then getting the kids ready for bed. Sometimes, KK and the kids leave the house for extra fun, and she leaves the dishes in the sink!

KK's kids had been taking Mandarin classes to learn about their culture. These days, the kids are in Kindergarten and preschool, music classes, and soccer, tennis, or swimming.  KK sometimes volunteers in her son's Kindergarten classroom.

Sometimes, KK participates in market research focus groups to earn a little extra money. She has also babysat a friend's baby. She has hosted Pampered Chef parties for extra goodies. She especially likes to dance for fun.

When KK remembers, she gets things organized ahead of time, to make her life easier. At one time, she enjoyed going to a meal preparation service, where she would make 8 meals in one night to freeze and use later. What a time-saver!  Sometimes, KK's mother-in-law will babysit so she and her husband can spend a nice weekend away together.  How nice!

XC was a banker living in Seattle when she became a mommy.  She had enjoyed traveling, reading, dancing, golfing, and meeting friends in her free time.  She eventually decided to stay at home because of her husband's busy schedule with work and post-grad studies and because she wanted to give their children the best quality of life. 

XC now lives in a western suburb of Chicago with her husband & two kids, ages 5 & 2.  On a typical day, she'll drop the kids off at preschool, run errands, do housework, then take the kids to various activities, such as ballet, piano, soccer, and swimming. 

Once a week, XC sets aside time to attend a Rotary Club meeting, where she serves as the Treasurer and works on projects to benefit the community.  She's also studying for the Certified Financial Planner exam, in preparation for returning to work someday.  She saves money by buying clothes only when they're on sale (especially her own).  Nowadays for fun, she knits and plays Scrabble with her friend online.

XC makes Chinese food at home and speaks Mandarin to her children as much as she can, in order to teach the kids about their culture.  She also brought the kids to China last year to visit their family, and she brought back some Chinese books and computer games for the kids to enjoy.  This year, XC visited her daughter's school to teach her classmates about Chinese New Year customs and the Chinese zodiac calendar.  The kids loved receiving their red envelopes with a gold (chocolate!) coin inside.

To make her life easier, XC teaches her children to be more independent.  She encourages them to dress themselves and to help out with simple chores at home (her 5-yr-old loves it!).  She also doesn't cook separately for the kids (from the time they were able to eat solid foods), which has worked extremely well, especially when they travel. 

JT was a pediatrician living in suburban Virginia, when she became a mommy.  She liked to watch movies, do aerobics, and go jogging in her free time. 

These days, JT stays busy with her 2 children, ages 5 and 2 1/2.  JT stays at home with them to try to raise her kids in the same way that she was raised.  Her days are filled with playdates, errands, mealtimes, and classes.  She also spends time reading, coloring, and playing games with the kids.  She sometimes volunteers in her daughter's classroom, trading babysitting duties with her neighbor, who volunteers at the school in her son's classrom.  She saves money by shopping wisely at sales, consignment stores, and yard sales in the neighborhood. 

To teach her kids about their culture, JT sends her daughter to a Taiwanese language school once a week, and they also spend as much time as possible with their grandparents. 

These days, JT watches TV for fun.  To make her life easier, she has an occasional babysitter, and a cleaning lady comes to her house biweekly.  Nice!

PC was an accountant (among other things) working in LA, when she became a mommy.  She liked to go hiking with her hubby & their 2 dogs, see movies, and go shopping.  She decided to stay home with her 2 kids, ages 6 and 3, to spend more quality time with them.

Now, PC lives in a house in Orange County and is busy taking the kids to school, mommy & me classes, and playdates at the park.  She has made extra money in the past working part-time/seasonal hours at a cooking store.  For fun, she jogs or goes for walks, meets with friends, cooks (& loves to eat), and still finds time to go shopping. 

To make her life easier, PC manages her time better by: grocery shopping and running errands in the evening (after her hubby is home and the kids are in bed), giving the kids a bath in the daytime (before evening crunch time), and making Rachael Ray’s 30-minute meals. 

To teach her kids about their culture, PC tells them that they should be proud of their Taiwanese and Irish heritage, and she shows them where these countries are on the map.  She also loves reading books to them that are set in Asia, like The Greatest Power, The Empty Pot, and The Magic Fan.  She says, “Those are wonderful books for children & adults!”