Why can we live our life as simple as Anomali Coffee?

A cup of coffee a day shoos your trouble away...
 -Anonymous

 

Today I’m treating myself a nice breakfast, at Anomali coffee. Anomali always been my sentimental destination for the needs of serene place to work. Open very early, and usually packed by a lot of people from various nationality. It reminds me of a small coffee shop at the corner of Norway’s street, another one-night-stand favorite during my short trip to Oslo. Not to mention that Anomali’s coffee is good (it’s people said, I rarely tried coffee there J), the green tea latte is so creamy, and my iced chocolate is perfect, as always.

 

My favorite: Iced chocolate
It taught you that even the coldest thing can have sweets in it

 

Anomali supports local coffee. I can see on their wall several options of local coffee; from Sumatra mandailing (strong body with tobacco hints and earthy aroma, low acidity) to Flores Bajawa (medium body, with citrus hints, medium acidity), and of course Java coffee (light body, nutty, with chocolaty herbs, strong acidity). But after being here for so many times, I realized one thing: the one who ordered Indonesian coffee the most is usually foreigner. Kinda ironic when people who appreciate local taste is actually them. But then again, when we see deeper, taste never lies. It’s not about nationality per say, it can be personal preference, it can be the lack of information, it can be…. As pragmatic as price they need to pay. Because we can never judge reasons, from the outside-look. You can never assume alibi. We should never. Because there always be a bigger story behind every reason, and there always be a bigger why #haizzz

Morning visitor

 

My favorite spot here is red couch on the corner, nearby huge window with street view of busy Rasuna Said, Kuningan. Anomali coffee is not as cute as Nanny’s pavilion, but it’s comfortable. No power plug here, love it. It forced me to sit here for only 2 hours at the latest. So more people can take my seat and more people can enjoy this place. The minimum power plug also allows me to move downstairs to starbucks, where power plug holes stands like umbrella at Kuta Beach. Haha, hidden message is: the easier you let things go, the easier you can be grateful for what you have. Because all things will go back to the Ultimate Creator anyway. Why keeping things as if you’ll have it forever? #padahalcumacolokan



The Nachos:
With a splash of bolognaise sauce, cheesy cheese, and sprinkle salt.
Can't complain.

 

Anomali is one of my favorite spot for simple sandwich or the greeny Caesar salad. Or like this morning, I ordered simple nachos. Anomali always find a way to season their food well. Not too much, it’s just sufficiently adequate. So that, another life lessons I learn from this cafe, too much is overwhelming. Yet, as a human being, we always be taught to push and push beyond the boundaries. Maximizing effort, go further, do extra miles, stretching our self. May be not all aspects in life needs that extra push? Let’s name some of the things as the result of over-stretching action: terrorism, vandalism, slavery, tuna-hunting, and the list goes on and on and on. Maybe we take things for granted. We live in competitiveness era, when we need to do things better than everybody else. So maybe, we do things a little bit too much. And maybe we push it a little bit too hard.

 

Why can we live our life as simple as Anomali Coffee?

 

 

Anomali Coffee

Gedung Setiabudi One 1^st floor

Unit A 201-202A, Jakarta

Telp. 021-7194742

www.anomalicoffe.com

 

 

Nachos: IDR 44545

Chocolate (R): IDR 36336

Excluding tax

Grilled Gindara with Mashed Potato, Sautéed Broccoli and Teriyaki Sauce

Juggling between being a career woman, a mom, and a wife (please don't say an ibu-ibu komplek, a friend to hang out with, a daughter-in-law, a socialite muahaha, etc etc.) taught me to survive between adjacent schedules and find a way to do things faster and faster. I think the champion of any productivity issues should be a female with multiple role since we used to find ways to make things more efficient! ;)

I went to wet market (read: pasar tradisional) once a week. My husband (sometimes Qisya too), have been the best companion during the short trip ;) his eyes on fresh ingredients, and his instinct to pick fresher, brighter fruit/veggies is way better than mine, of course his out-of-the-box idea of cooking is a pleasure for me. He is such an inspiration.

We are lucky to have a very neat and structured wet market in Depok, near by my high school. And we are so lucky to have our favourite tukang Ikan, pak Wahyudi in one of the stall. The man always have quirky kind of fish to sell, from 180,000 IDR/kg salmon (in Carrefour the price is double!), gindara (or white cod), mackerel, fish egg, super huge shrimp, super huge calamari, super fresh tuna, and many mores.

Today the theme would be how to transform ikan Gindara into decent meal. After googling around some recipes, I decided to ehm.. “elevate” the recipe into a better version, using ingredients that I have in my kitchen

 

Grilled Gindara with Mashed Potato, Sautéed Broccoli and Teriyaki Sauce

Portion: 2 portion

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 15 minutes

 

Ingredients:

• 300 gr Gindara fish (or 2 big slices, steak shape)
• Broccoli
• Potato (2 big potatoes, or use Knorr Mashed Potatoes instead)
• Garlic (2-3 siung yang gede)
• Ginger (2 cm)
• Teriyaki sauce (I use Kikkoman) à 2-3 sdm
• Honey (1sdm)
• Olive oil (or any oil)
• Butter (or Blue Band margarine)
• Milk (can be liquid, or powder) à I use dancow hehe..
• Salt & Pepper
• Daun bawang untuk taburan

How to Cook:

Mashed Potatoes from Scratch:

1.       Bersihkan kentang dengan cuci pakai air mengalir, kalau perlu disikat sampai bekas tanahnya luruh à JANGAN kupas kulitnya biar matangnya lebih cepat

2.       Rebus kentang (atau kukus) sampai empuk à ciri-ciri kentang udah matang adalah kalau ditusuk pake garpu bisa masuk sampai ke tengah dengan mudah dan pas ditarik garpunya bersih

3.       Kalau udah empuk, baru kentangnya dikuliti (sobek aja), lalu ditumbuk dengan tumbukan kentang (kalau gak ada bisa pake getokan sambel) sampai halus dan gak ada lump-nya à kalau susah, bisa disaring pake strainer biar jadinya lembut (tapi lama)

4.       Biar rasanya tambah endes, pindahin kentang lumat diatas panci dengan api kecil à tambahin salt & pepper, terus tambahin butter 1 sdt, terus biar creamy tambahin susu bubuk 1 sdm. Aduk rata

5.       Kalau suka bisa tambahin ijo-ijo kayak thyme, peterseli, atau daun bawang iris halus. Kalau nggak juga udah enak.

Tapi daripada lama bikin mashed potatoes from scratch, I use Knorr Mashed Potatoes (KMP) instead. Ini adalah potatoes flakes yang super quick. Stepnya sbb:

1.       Tuang 30-40 gr KMP into a bowl, tambahin air panas, langsung dari dispenser juga gapapa),

2.       Langsung ke langkah 4 dan 5, hehehe..

Pake KMP bisa menghemat waktu 30-45 menit, karena gak harus bersihin kentang, nunggu dikukus, dsb. Lagian KMP juga sehat banget, bahkan aman dikasihin ke Qisya pas dia masih MPASI karena dibuat dari kentang asli yang dikeringkan. So, I’d prefer use KMP (KMP bisa dibeli di lottemart, Carrefour, atau giant yang gede di kota-kota besar atau buka www.ufs.com for further info)

Penampakan KMP

 

How to create Grilled Gindara

1.       Gindaranya yang dari kulkas harus dicairkan dulu ke suhu ruangan, tambahin jeruk nipis dikit biar gak amis. Terus atasnya ditabut salt & pepper (be generous on the pepper! Biar sedep!). Kalau aku suka ditambahin rosemary & thyme leaves juga, tapi ini optional sih, biar ala ala masterchef aja.

2.       Bawang putih & jahe yang udah dikupas bersih di cincang halus, terus dibagi dua (yang satu bagian buat pan-seared ikan, bagian yang satu lagi buat bikin sauce).

3.       Tuang sedikit butter (1 sdt aja, yang penting basah), ke wajan anti lengket, panaskan sampai cair, terus masukkan garlic & ginger. Aduk sampai harum

4.       Kalau sudah harum, put your gindara in sampai warnanya berubah jadi kecoklatan di satu sisi terus dibalik ke sisi lainnya.

5.       Kalau suka during the process boleh diolesin sedikit saus teriyaki Kikkoman (jangan banyak-banyak nanti bikin gosong dan warna ikannya gak Cantik)

6.       Proses pan-seared ini sekitar 2 menit. Jangan kelamaan kata Gordon Ramsay, ntar over-cooked

 

How to create teriyaki sauce

1.       Di wajan bekas masak ikan, tambahin olive oil dikit, terus masukin sisa garlic & gingernya, aduk sampai harum dan bawangnya berubah warna jadi rada kecoklatan

2.       Tambahkan 2 sdm sauce teriyaki, 2 sdm kecap asin, 1 sdm madu, terus sedikit air jeruk nipis (2 tetes aja kali ya), biarkan sampai mengental

3.       Kalau gak kental-kental tambahin tepung dikit (maizena atau terigu, dikiiit aja). kalau udah kental disaring pake strainer biar sausnya bersih. Yang disaringan JANGAN dibuang!

How to sauté the broccoli

1.       Broccoli dipotong secukupnya, lalu dicuci bersih di air mengalir

2.       Masukin ke mangkok kecil, terus siram pake air panas (air dispenser juga cukup), terus biarin sekitar 30 detik, lalu buang air

3.       Masukkan broccoli ke panci bekas bikin sauce, masukin jahe bawnag yang tadi kamu saring biar sedep! lalu di oseng-oseng. Tambahin sauce teriyaki kalau perlu. Jangan kelamaan tumisnya, biar warnanya masih ijo Cantik, terus angkat!

Yang paling penting plating biar Cantik, but I suck on this! Haha, so I just pour everything into the plate :):):)

Penampakan makanan dari atas, biar kekinian fotonya

This is close up version, so messy!

 Kalau suka tambahin mayonnaise (the best mayo for this dish adalah Best Food Real Mayo karena rasanya enak banget, teksturnya lembut dan aromanya wangi banget.) dan saus sambal. Kalau mau rasa ori juga udah enak banget sih ini à I swear!

Haha, dan kalau kamu ngeh, during the cooking period, cuma pake pancinya satu tapi dipakeeee terus, jadinya nyucinya hemat. Terus bahannya juga ga ada yang kebuang, semua kepake terus sampai akhir. Bikin rasa gindara + sauce + broccoli jadi nyambung dan sedep karena kaldunya udah nyampur semua #alesan #gamaurugi

 I don't know how to post recipe, this is my first time, hopefully this is clear enough hahaha..

See you on the next post, feedbacks are welcome!

Cooking: Between Qisya and Masterchef

Having Qisya and watching Masterchef is the killer combination to shape me into a cooker. Cooker? Yes, not chef (yet!!). Hehe…

Qisya’s need of healthy (and delicious food) forced me to cook without MSG (although I would post an eye-opening article saying that actually MSG is helpful for you who wants to reduce the salt level), with minimum interference of sugar and salt; of course without compromising the tastiness. Why? Qisya is actually not a picky eater, she’s just smart enough to choose over a more delicious food :) She likes savory dishes, she loves crunchy texture, she adores little-pennies-inside-jar kind of stuffs, and she worships any cool snacks/beverages just like other thousands kids do. And for the sakes of sensory development (cih!!!) hahaha, I allow her to eat krupuk, eat ice cream, munch tempe goreng, and chew mixed nuts. My job is not to forbid, my job is to ensure that everything she eats are in the healthiest way possible.

Masterchef, on the other hand, undoubtedly has shaped and motivated me that even a plumber, a drummer, a stay-at-home dad, can be a killer cooker. Some things I realized from watching Masterchef for the last 6 seasons are:

1.       The key of good dish is good quality of ingredients

2.       The unforgivable failure is raw meat. Other than that, no failure is really a failure.

3.       The most important thing is seasoning. And seasoning can be as simple as salt and pepper

 

Berbekal itu, I tried to do couple of recipes. Some for Qisya, some for our family. Sometimes I remember to take notes, sometimes I just pour everything into the bowls, sometimes I forget to take picture until it’s already half-eaten. So from today, I will randomly post recipes/ dishes / meal / anything, hopefully it will be valuable for you.

Because I learnt from Qisya, if you want, you can, and you (eventually) will. And I learnt from masterchef, pretty much the same thing. So, I’d try to post any progress I’ve made during my cooking journey. I'd be very happy to share, and be happier if others can learn from my post too! Happy cooking!

Because she called me “Nda..” and that’s the best music to my ears.

Because parenting is not about being parents, it’s about being kid again to accompany your kids

- Anonymous

 

In the next 3 months, Qisya will be 2 years old. How rare my post on this blog pretty much explained how busy my life with this almost 2 y.o baby girl. But my busy life in the past 2 years is completely different with “busy life” I had earlier. This busy life is not merely about papers, phone calls, emails, meetings, but rather busy with smile and laughter. And poo, and pee. And don't forget, tears too. Tears of joy :)

I never imagined my life 4 years ago. A single lady, running with time, competing with traffic, contesting with outlook and S Planner. After hours of works, just arrived home to watch America’s Next Top Model (now still!!!), and eating chips, sardine and instant noodles. And weekend is still busy with meeting up friends and hanging out, hopping from one café to another. Stopping by some spas and salons. Or crawling behind bed cover and wake up late just to call any fast food chain and eating on the bed, watching Castle and CSI marathon.

And 3 years ago, these habits eventually changed (a bit). A warm-hearted husband changed my routines :) he is a husband, I’ve never dated with. Hehe, only 3 months from intro to marriage, we never went for a decent date. So every single day after-marriage was full of small trip, to ace hardware, to Informa (thank God there’s no Ikea yet :)) and Mitra 10, DVD marathons, and snacking time. I started to cook, I started to care with household, I started to clean up myself, and our house. A great credit should be addressed to my hubby, for his patience to guide and build me from a child into a grown up. He is the one to hold my hand and gets me into the iron board, he is the one to softly forced me to watch him do gardening, he taught me that not every ceiling hole needs tukang, he is the one who always reminded me to eat better, encouraged me from hundreds of cooking failure (or disaster!!!) so that we can have a healthier life. He is pretty much my center of gravity. He is the one who caressing me, the most.

Then I got pregnant. The nesting instinct took over and the motherhood arisen. I think this is my turning point. This is the time when I finally realized, I don't live for my own life. There is small tiny creature depending her life on me. Her smile will depend on my smile. Her bright eyes will depend on carrots and tomatoes I ate. Her complete fingers will depend on milk I drank. And I started to love her before I meet her.

The remaining 8 months (yes, Qisya born a month earlier than she supposed to) passed like a sprinter, effing fast and I didn't even realize that a super pretty baby finally came. She was so tiny, calm, and serene. I almost cried whenever I saw her. But she was so strong and so tough. She ate a lot, she moved a lot, she shouted a lot too ;) she is the best baby in the world, I can’t ask for a better one. And I can’t thank God enough to give me her.

Now she already transformed into a little girl. She smiles a lot, she laughs a lot, and still shouted a lot ;) She holds my hand to accompany her looking at the fish pond. She holds my hand and ask to open fridge so that she can sit and feel the breeze. She holds my hand to open the cookie jar and only ate the white cream between Oreos.

Now that she can run, now that she can use her own sandals, now that she can pick her own dress. She’s very busy writing, she’s very busy in exploring bags and cabinets, she’s very busy in shouting to the cat and running away while the cat’s approaching. She’s busy dancing around music from Disney Junior channel. She’s busy playing with compact powder case as if she’s having make up session. And I’d love to accompany her during her super busy schedule.

I promised myself, I will be the best assistant for this little boss.

Why?

Because she called me “Nda..” and that’s the best music to my ears...

Review: Kiki Catering the Ultimate Wedding Catering!!!

Halah, lapuk banget postingan yang satu ini. Udah setahun lebih sejak gue kawinan dan baru sempet ngereview vendor makanan. Secara vendor makanan adalah vendor wajib yang kudu banget direview, maka gue merasa berkewajiban untuk nulis tentang pihak yang paling berjasa dalam perkawinan gue ini, hehe..

Sambutlaaaah.. the ultimate Kiki Catering!!!

Diawali dari perjalanan saya mencari tempat kawin yang bisa mem-feature catering kesayangan mama Laut tawar (bisa dilihat disini) tapi nyaris gak nemu, makanya akhirnya kita berusaha nyari alternative lain.

Pendek kata, si mas yang getol banget sepedahan sama bapak-bapak uzur, ternyata punya partner sepedah yang keyeeen, yang mana adalah suaminya bu Minerva. Siapakah bu Minerva? Hayo tunjuk tangaaan yang tauuuu! Iyak betoooooll…Yang punya KIKI CATERING!!! Uhuyyy.. Untung ternyata si Kiki ini adalah salah satu vendor rekanan di Sucofindo. Yang mana sangat pas, yang mana sangat jodoh sama kita.

Pendek kata, akhirnya diputuskan kita pake kiki. Dari harga paketan sucofindo, kita nambahin duit 5000 perak untuk tiap porsinya. Tapi karena ga mau rugi makaaa kita test food (calon penganten yang aneh, ada juga yang lain test food dulu baru bayar, ini mah kebalikannya).. So, pas banget ada pameran wedding di JCC yang mana ada kiki cateringnya, makaaaa… kami berburu test food.

Broooo, enak banget makanannya ciiin. Bahkan buffetnya juga enak banget, dan terutama buffetnya adalah enak bang-to-the-ngets…  Terus pilihan menunya juga lucu-lucu, nggak biasa dan yang penting: ENDANG SOEKAMTI cyiiinnn…

Langsung aja yaa, ini daftar menu BUFFET yang kita ambil:

·         Nasi Goreng Keju à Konon kegurihannya luarrr biasaah, dengan topping yang buanyuak..

·         Soup Jari Kepiting à Perpaduan yang oke banget, super seger (katanya) –gw ga nyoba

·         Ikan Dori Asam Pedas à Ohhh, cyiiin, yang ini ga nahaaannn..

·         Baby Buncis Daging à Enak P-A-R-A-H

·         Ayam Besta àGa nyobain, tapi konon kata orang rasanya enak. Kayak semacem cordon bleu

·         Krengseng Daging Cabe Hijau  à yes yes yes, deliciousoooo..

·         Salad Buah, kerupuk, buah, snack à Book, masak kokinya dateng langsung dan ngukir-ngukir papaya dan semangka on the spot doonk.. jadi kayak pertunjukan gitu..

·         Pudding (tiramisu, banana strawberry) à ini penyajiannya cantek sekaleeee..pake cocktail glass gituuh

·         Juice (dondong,sirsak, mangga) Air es à juice-nya super ga pasaran. Lucu maksimallll..

Gratisan dari Gedung:

·         Bakwan Malang (Pangsit-nya krispi nian..)

·         Sate Ayam (lumayan-lah.. Cuma bumbunya nonjok sekali.. warna ijo lontongnya sesuai dekor #penting..)

Gratisan dari Kiki (karena kenal, hihi)

·         Siomay (Siomay Kiki Lezat tiada tara, ini signature dish-nya Kiki..)

·         Ice Houseà Men, segala es podeng, dawet, cincau, es campur, es teller,  all in here mamennn…

·         Kambing Guling à No bau kambing, yes rasa kambing (Apaaa coba)

·         Choco Melted à Melted paraaah, kayak lava gunung merapi yang meleleh-leleh minta dijilat

Sedangkan untuk gubukannya yang gue bayar:

·         Soup o Soup à Macam zuppa soup dengan topping khusus

·         Gindara Teriyaki à *Speechless* *no comment*

·         Aneka Pasta à Spaghetti, Lasagna, Macaroni Scottle, you name it (ini juga signature dish-nya doi..)

·         Korean BBQ à Cita Rasa Asia Masa Kini *Ceriwiis yowis*

·         Lontong Cap Gomeh à Strategi biar tamu pada kekenyangan, MUAHAHAHA

Others:

·         Nasi gandul à Ini gue cari tukangnya sendiri. Jadi abangnya dateng ke gedung pake piring tradisional, semacem pikulan, piring rotan dengan daun pisang, dan segala macem rupanya.. dipincuk-pincuk lucuuuk gituh..

Overall:

1. Performance & Dekorasi: 9,00

Sudah siap dengan segala ice-carving, taplak yang bagus, baru, licin, ga lecek, dan sudah rapi semua bahkan ketika gue mau gladi resik. This is a truly professional attitude. Like this.

In term of decoration, Kiki saved my life!!! Setelah pengalaman dengan vendor dekor yang kurang begitu mengesankan (bisa dibaca disini), Kiki helped us by giving bunga-bunga cantik, ice carving nan manis, dengan foto pulaaa.. Kalau ga ada kiki, matilah awak. Sayangnya gubuk Kiki kurang hebooh..

2. Harga: 9,00

Ini simply karena gue banyak dikasih diskonan dan gratisan. Fixed. No more comments needed. Loph you puul.

3. Kerapihan & Kebersihan: 9,50

Ga ada piring tabalatak torotoktoktok di gedung. Pas gue main ke tempatnya juga semua serba mengkilat, bersiiiih banget, steril, higienis, super tertata rapi. Mas-masnya juga berpakaian rapi. Sayang, warna seragamnya biru, padahal dekor eke ijo *gapenting*

4. Kejujuran: 9,00

Semua makanan dikeluarin, semua makanan yang ga habis (iya lhoo, porsinya guide ternyata), dibungkusin dengan rapi dan dibagi dua (satu buat pengantin wanita, satu buat keluarga temanten pria). Auuu..Auu.. thoughtful sekali kaaann..

5. Rasa: 9,00

Ah, udah dibahas diatas. Tapi konon katanya gak semua performance Kiki standard-nya sama. Ini perlu diconfirmed lagi ya. Tapi di acara gue rasanya maksnyus semua. No complain from my side.

Overall: 9,00

Recommended. Tapi mungkin harus kenal sama yang punya biar dapet service kayak gue, hihihihi..

Things You Must NEVER Say to a Working Mom

Being a working mom is never been easy. Udah dari jaman dulu yang namanya jadi emak-emak, sambil kerja itu dilematis banget #bahasanyaCiinnn..

It’s already hard and I don't need more people to make it worse. Here I say: I don't feel bad because I’m a working Mom, I’m proud of myself and my daughter would be too!!!

Here is my list of the top things you must NEVER say to a working mom (and just for fun, I have included my sarcastic responses (that I have managed to keep to myself)):

1.       “I could never let someone else raise my kids.”

Yes, I let others make all the decisions for my children. I have little to do with anything… their parent teacher conferences, birthday parties, homework, doctor appointments, playdates, or offering any sort of parental guidance. Heck, I don’t even hug and kiss them, cuddle them, or have any part in tucking them into bed.  I am never the first face they see in the morning, and I never do anything fun with them like have picnics on our carpet, or watching the same animated movie 100 times. And, I never ask them about their day. Nope, I have nothing to do with my children.

2.       “I don’t know how you do it. I’d feel too guilty.”

We do feel guilty, but we can feel great, too.

3.       “You trust your babysitter, right?”

Oh no, I actually never considered her/his credentials. I just put out a job post on Craigslist and took the very first applicant based on price. But thanks for making me suspicious!

4.       “Good for you for putting your career first!”

Yes, every single day I get up and I think to myself: The most important thing in my life is my career. To hell with my family, that has nothing to do with why I work.

5.       “I’d give anything to get away from my kids for an entire day.”

 If you really mean this, send me your resume and I can help you out. But remember, this “freedom” comes with its own issues. We are not getting away and going to the spa. It is called “work” for a reason.

6.       “I’d miss my child too much to be away from him all day.”

Well, I have no idea how you feel because I am an impersonal and non-maternal mother. I have no feelings and never miss my kids. 

7.       “I don’t know how you do it. It must be so hard.”

It is. I don’t know how I do it. But I don’t think work is the problem because parenting is hard whether you stay at home or go off to the office. I don’t know how any of us do it. It’s glorious and rewarding and full of love and it is the hardest thing I’ve ever done.

8.       “You must be so organized to be able to balance everything.”

I love this and hate it at the same time. I think I am organized and I do think I accomplish a lot during a week’s time. But I also know I am one parent-teacher conference away from a full meltdown (like all moms working inside or outside the home).  Last week, Parker went to school and brought his toothbrush to show and tell. I have runs in my panty hose, and I never write thank-you cards for my children’s birthday presents. I don’t exercise as often as I should and every day something slides. There really is no “balance,” just organized chaos. I am no different than anyone else.

9.       “You look exhausted.”

Wow, thanks! I feel even better now! Want to watch my kids this weekend so I can hit the spa, get a manicure, and sleep in? No? Then let’s not say this to a working mom.

10.   “There’s always time to work later, these early years are so precious.”

Why oh why is this never said to fathers? I actually get many special moments with my kids. When Parker climbs into my bed and tells me “I am the best mommy in the whole world,” or when Emily smiles and says “I love you,” those are all special moments and I cherish them all.

11.   “Aren’t you concerned about not being there for your kids?”

Just because I am at work does not mean I am not “there” for my kids. Please get some perspective.

12.   “I’m surprised you went back to work. Your husband seems so successful.”

Why would you assume that you know why I am working? Some women like to work outside the home and I am sorry you are not one of them. 

Here is what we should say:

The questions and words should not be filled with judgment, but with support. After all, we are all mothers, we all adore our children and we all want what’s best for them. We are all doing what we have to do for our families and we are all different. So, let’s give each other support and understanding no matter if we stay home, work from home, work outside the home or somewhere in between.

Inspired from article here