New Beginnings

Today marks the start of my much awaited season - Spring. While the cold winter weather still brings chill to my spine, today, I was awaken with a brighter and better sunshine. During the winter, the nights are longer - sun sets at 5:30 PM and rises at around 6:30-7PM. Today, the sun greeted me earlier than usual. Today, everything seemed brighter and happier.

These cherry blossom are just reminiscent of everything that I felt today - calm, beautiful and hopeful. As the new season begins, a new chapter of our lives unfolds. As I am now offered a permanent role on my current job, I feel so grateful and blessed for the Lord has given me a tool to help my family. With Paolo and I gearing on applying for a permanent residency status here in Australia, we need to increase our finances to afford the expenses. Everything happened on sync - after lodging our PR application, I was offered the role, allowing us to afford this without hurting our savings.

Applying for Permanent Residency

In case you are wondering how much is the cost for PR application, it ranges from 3,000-8,000 AUD. For us, we have o spend roughly 8,000 AUD (for the three of us) for this. However, since we had to use legal services, we have to spend an extra 5,000 AUD (to expedite the process). As these things are lodged earlier than we expected, I had to help my husband bring in more income. (PS: Individual application usually costs 3,000-4000 AUD, in case you plan to appljy here.)

Adjusting to Childcare

The past month had been very hard to Leon as well. From staying at home and spending the whole day with his mom, he suddenly had to go to childcare and spend the whole day there. While it breaks my heart to send him there, we are left without a choice for we both need to work extra hard to afford our expenses. However, after a month, I can see that Leon is finallyt adjusting to the routine and slowly enjoying his time in school. I appreciate the fact that now, he basically eats a variety of food, he listens to us and shows more patience on things. We also appreciate the fact that he spends less time on gadgets but more time socializing and exploring different things.

Managing Time

I've always thought that my job and my set-up in the Philipines was exhausting. However, it was nothing compared to the exhaustion I feel here. I suddebly realized how lucky we were in the Philippines. With help around - yaya, nanny, help, mommy, daddy, auntie, ate, - someone is always -there to help you with chores. Sa Pilipinas pag-uwi mo may pagkain ka na, pwede ka kumuha ng labandera o plantsadora, pwede ka humingi ng tulong kahit kanino. Here, its a different story. Wala kang katulong dito You have to do everything by yourself. Literally, you'll run out of time.

There are times I would stay up late so I could iron our clothes, or cook our baon the next day. Since I cannot do everything now, my husband and I are sharing chores. Usually, Paolo is incharge of the vaccuum, dishes, windows and mirrors. Me, I'm incharge of cooking, bathroom cleaning, laundry and ironing. While I still do most of "Leon stuff," he also helps out whenever he can. Teamwork is now our key.

Starting Anew

Indeed, things are changing for our family. We all had to work together to a routine that will be beneficial for us. These changes may be hard but we are all willing to make the necessary sacrifices for the better. Paolo and I have big dreams for our family and we really pray that through our hard work, we'll be able to make it come true.

Outfit Details:

Top: KMART | Pants: Apartment 8 | Coat: Thrifted | Boots: Vinnies | Hat: Target

xx, 

The Mommy Roves