7 Things Mothers Can do in 60 Minutes ...

This pair of appliances became my best friend when I became a mother. They just make laundry time shorter and more convenient. What usually takes time is sorting out whites from colored. Once that's done, the washing action begins. After one cycle, the drying magic happens... and so on. There are things mothers can do well and I believe I just earned my top honors on this one.

I'm smiling as I write this part because I do not particularly like folding clothes. My Mom told me she used to do it while watching TV. What? How is that possible?! I'm terrible as a clothes folder so I often tell myself to just get the job done by setting a time limit. All it takes is 10 minutes to fold the clean clothes. Yes, the washer and dryer are put to work every day so I only fold 10 to 15 pieces in one sitting.

I learned how to cooked huge portions of one-dish meals and store them in the refrigerator since the Mommy tasks piled up. For example, I make a lot of lasagna, eat some for dinner then divide the leftovers into meal-sized portions. I put them in steam bags inside the freezer. When I'm hungry, all I need to do is to take out one of these steam bags. Let it sit in the counter for a while then microwave it. I do not do this every meal but trust me, this strategy will come in handy when you have kids around. There isn't much time left to cook when you have screaming, running tots in your abode.

I have mastered the art of a two-minute shower. Five minutes is already a bath for me. I do take longer showers and baths but on a daily basis, a tub filled with water and scented rose petals is near impossible because of dirty clothes and messy diapers.

I wash feeding bottles twice in a day - once in the morning and once in the evening before I go to sleep. I go crazy if I don't follow that schedule because I have twins and the bottles to wash pile up if I don't do my twice-a-day routine. The ten-minute task involves an average of six feeding bottles washed and air-dryed. Bottle brushes must hate me because they do a lot of work.

I stopped my full-time work last year so I don't really have major tasks to accomplish, so answering emails is a breeze for me. I always make a mental note to categorize my email to: (1) URGENT meaning reply at the very moment the email is opened and read; (2) LATER meaning reply within the day; and (3) TOMORROW meaning reply the following day or the next day. The emails I answer within 10 minutes are the urgent ones and normally do not take a long time to compose.

I started my 30-minute writing challenge a few days ago. Basically, I should write something within 30 minutes everyday. Usually I finish after 10 minutes. I write about anything that pops in my head. Once I start writing, I don't stop. I just let my train of thought travel and take me wherever it wants to go. I publish these stories on my personal blog.

Motherhood is the toughest job in the world where the practitioner is not paid for getting the job done. It's the only job in the world too that doesn't accept resignation or requests for retirement. Mothers find satisfaction and happiness in smiles and "thank yous" from their children. Have you said "thank you" to your Moms? How do you express your love to them?