Extras by Women!!!

Truly impressed by the multi-faceted talents of all ILs who have posted here and of those other ILs who have not posted here; I know they do many things worthwhile, but may not have the skill to pen them down skillfully or may simply not have the time to do so...

@hrastro @Shanvy @Saisakthi @karanu @Laks09 @Vanivyas @iyerviji @suryakala @joylokhi @SGBV @brahan @Viswamitra clap

Now, what do I do? Am I even doing something? I wanted to do this post, mainly as an introspection.. ideasmiley

I am a working mom with a DD 2y. Dh is in a busy job. So this DD-work-family-household chores by itself is a super tiring paradigm on all days! I get leave from work, but not from the other 3 areas. Nowadays, I am getting better at taking care of myself also amidst other stuff. Read 'better time management'

Apart from DD- work- family- household chores-me;

Yes, my first job was teaching kids Mathematics and English for almost no pay. I used to go about 4-6 hours per day.

Now, I Take DD to the park every single day, and actually supervise the whole set of about 8 kids while they play. All are less than 5Y.Meanwhile, also prevent their fights, teach them good values, how to play with each other, how to share, how to care for their friends etc.

The one good thing out of the above is the children are all very fluent in their language. They speak English when they are together (The children's first language is usually not English; and English is not spoken widely in this part of the country, unlike India, UK and US)

Language and Relationship skills are easier and beneficial to impart when they are still kids!

I make sure I avoid all plastic bags, boxes, bottles and cups. I even avoided diapers as maximum as possible after reading is not degradable quickly.
I am a BF , cloth diaper mom! I cook home made all the time, and like @karanu mentioned, my DD will eat all vegetables, fruits and grains, different types of diary too. My baby sitters and DD too have been immensely cooperative on this aspect!

I counsel students for their higher education, secondary school level. Many of my relatives also seek advise on education related matters. I have been helping them to prepare for placement exams, apply at various places, and choose the best one for them.

I am also working on a project which secures job placements for students after they graduate, Top graduates usually don't have a problem to secure jobs; but I am working on placements for all the others too, average students and below..

Help students who are in their tertiary education level, those who are still unable to read and write fluently in English.. Helping them to Learn a language and making them overcome their shyness and stage fear. Soft skills training

An In-house software development for the place where I am working. It is challenging to be the programmer, database designer, DBA, Software Tester and Support engineer for the system which I am also the super admin of. Anything will be sent to my table, and I have noone to escalate my errors in the software to!

I have been preparing for my research on and off in the past; but starting actively full time from next week! That's the biggest project in the near future.

Finances: I think 5 times before spending; Take care of shopping, bills, EMI, investments too. Usually make surprises for most occasions with handmade gifts in addition to store-bought ones.

I write technical book reviews for some popular publishers; hoping to author my own book some day.

Help out friends when they are newly married and settled in this country with no access to driving; feeling home sick or so on.

And being a Forum moderator in IL has helped me to share the little I know with those who are in need of those stuff!