Everyone in my generation knows who Martha Stewart is. I’m not really a fan but I’m slowly becoming like her minus her being in prison.

When I say becoming Martha, I’m turning into this very domesticated woman. Although I’ve always been known to become “The Mother” or the “Domestic Goddess”, it’s only now that I am taking this to heart. I always knew that I’d be that stay-at-home wife and mom. I never imagined myself going up the corporate ladder. I guess it’s because I have always admired my mom, The Ultimate Housewife, for me–that I wanted (still want) to be like her. I know I will never be. It’s going to be too difficult to surpass her.

I never imagined it would also be possible. When I left my office job more than five years ago to help a business and do consultancy, I didn’t think it would work. It was a big leap of faith for me. Little did I know that my first few months of “working from home” would be God’s way of preparing me for marriage. During that time, my parents were staying with my sister’s family because Daddy was recuperating from his stroke. My brother and I, together with my grandmother and a 4-year old niece, were left at home. Of course, I had to step up and be “The Man”. Back then I found it too easy because my mom would still be the “General Manager”.

When I got married the next year, I was prepared….a bit. I knew how to clean the whole apartment, wash the dishes, and cook (read: fry eggs and cook rice). Being an architect’s daughter, I was very handy.

It’s only until we moved to our own place early last year that I realized that becoming a Martha isn’t at all easy. It’s only now that I’m realizing that it takes a lot of effort and energy to do all the stuff around the house and not have a maid and a nanny. Only after two months of moving in that I thought the hours I spend doing the household chores could be better spent with my son. We hired a cleaning lady who comes thrice a week. I’m still not prepared to get a stay-in maid because I know it is also a big responsibility. And besides, my husband also works from home so I’d have an extra pair of hands to help with the baby. And yeah, we don’t want other people living at home..at least not yet.

As for not having a nanny, it’s our decision not to get one. My husband prefers that we care for Noah on our own. My mom was a very great help during the first two years. We could never thank her enough for taking up the challenge to coming in to our place or pick up Noah on weekdays during my “office hours”. Now, it’s my sister’s turn to be with this blessing we call ‘Mommy’ (Lola Vishi to her grandkids) to care for the new baby in Bangkok.

It’s been a real challenge but I love the fact that we are living in our own house. Well, we don’t own this as we are still renting but I like the fact that we are responsible to pay for our own bills and learn to trust God alone for provisions. I also love the fact that I can decorate the house! We have a second floor. Ha! We have our own garage, two bathrooms, a spacious living area, and two bedrooms. The other room is big for us that I even have space to convert into a “walk-in closet”. Noah can run around and even drive freely his car. I have a kitchen where I can cook, bake, etc. You get the point? It’s been a blessing too that we get to entertain family and friends over without having to worry where to sit them.

In our home, I’m a diva–a Domestic Diva. I finally learned how to cook. We used to buy all our meals or I’d buy and fry whatever processed food was available. But then I realized it’s not healthy. I have time and my boys deserve their own cook so I learned how to cook. I simply follow the recipes from the Internet, magazines, and cookbooks I’ve inherited and try them. And when I learned, there’s no stopping me that I’d prepare in advance and really spend time searching for what food to prepare next. Suddenly, our grocery budget increased. I have yet to learn how to bake though because I’m still in search of what oven to buy.

What I love the most these days is that I can be “crafty”. Not the deceitful kind but I learned to enjoy fixing stuff and creating things. Again, it’s the architect’s daughter in me, who’s very interested now in design plus the fact that I have my mom to emulate.

This love for design has taken on a dent on our budget especially during the first few months of our living here. I like to create. I’m okay with D-I-Y’s and I enjoy looking at design blogs (Apartment Therapy, Design Sponge, Bright Bazaar, Dwell Studio among others) and of course, the numerous mommy/design blogs based in the Philippines (my favorites being Daphne, Chuvaness, Jenni Epperson, Topaz Horizon, and Switcheroom) as they all inspire me. I’m no interior designer although I would love to attend a few classes. More often than not, our house is a mess with Noah “redecorating” all rooms with his stuff.

I love to create. Problem is, I would start a few at the same time and I’d always end up not finishing any of them. I enjoy going to bookstores, hardware stores, and the living section of malls. I love Ikea and checking out the furniture stores around the city. Basta, I like to create.

So am I becoming Martha? Maybe. But more than a Martha, I’d like to become a Proverbs 31 woman. More on that later. 🙂

[IMAGES by Anne Taintor]

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