Webshots vs Flickr

I've been maintaining a webshots account for years now, and i have uploaded almost all pictures i've ever taken... which is a good thing since i lost my copies when my HDD got busted. i've been thinking of a pro account with webshots, the only problem is that they don't accept payment thru paypal. they only accept credit card payments. this makes me apprehensive. i trust paypal more, after having many transactions with them....

i am also considering a pro account in flickr, but i am just more used to using webshots. hmmm...

i'm thinking, i'm thinking...

Terrific Toddler Tips: Understanding Your Toddler

Every person is unique. We have heard this time and again.  We all have our own peculiarities. We react to situations differently. We all exhibit our individuality. Our dear toddlers are no exception. In fact, it is around this age when they start to develop and show their own personality. We see a particularly jovial child and compare him to a somber, serious looking one… and we have the tendency to judge him as a cheerful child, while the other one is called moody.

This is important advice: parents, don’t label your child. Being called a “difficult child” or a “shy child” is very limiting. We should aim to be encouraging rather than restraining. Being labeled is like being judged for life. It is like your future is laid out already. A difficult child’s” actions may be dismissed as acting up or just misbehaving as usual, instead of being addressed. A “shy child’s” parents may go around saying that their child is an introvert since childhood…always has been, always will be. So instead of encouraging the child to get out of her shell, reaching out to others, and making new friends, they are conveying a message that she has always been like that… and will most probably be the same for the rest of her life. This leaves very little room for her personality improvement.

Don’t confuse understanding and getting to know your child with excusing and accepting problem behavior. Understanding her doesn’t mean that you will side with her no matter what. It doesn’t mean spoiling her rotten and expecting the world to adjust to her quirks and impulses. Yes, you love her, and you will stand by her no matter what, but she will still have to find a way to fit into the world, no matter how unique and wonderful she is. An example: if by chance, your child has a tendency towards aggressive behavior towards others, her parents should find ways to modify her conduct rather than making excuses for her. It part of our obligation as parents to make sure that our children can happily and successfully thrive on their own and peacefully co-exist with others.  

Also, don’t compare children. Comments like “I wish you were more like your sister” or “you’re brother is …, why can’t you be more like him?” may only be words to us. After a while we’ll forget about it, but the damage it can do to our toddler’s self esteem is inestimable. Let us not assume that she’s too young to even understand. Words are powerful, and they can get into one’s subconscious and contribute to that someone’s life programming.

Our toddler is a little person. She has the ability to think and feel. It is only right to make an effort and try to understand our toddler. Rearing a child doesn’t only involve feeding, and bathing a child but also getting to know her, and encouraging her to be the best that she can be. =)

 

 

Give Children Love

Give the choice of love. Commit to love because it is right, not because it feels good.

Give the words of love. We all need regular verbal assurance, children need it the most.

Give the touch of love. Research has confirmed the human need for physical touch. The need to be held and cuddled is especially critical for babies.

Give the encouragement of love. Put courage into those little people but letting them know you are their best fan and cheerleader.

Give the comfort of love. In times of pain or sadness, provide love's healing comfort.

Give the laughter of love. Laughter sets a pleasant mood, a bright tone. Make merriment a daily dose of love in your home.

Give the discipline of love. Discipline establishes boundaries for children, making them feel safe and secure.



Donna Otto
from "finding a mentor, being a mentor"


Telling our children is not enough. There are so many ways to love them and making them feel loved...

I Still Love You But...

Recently, we’ve been having troubles with our nanny. When it comes to her work… there is nothing I can say. Well, it’s definitely far from perfect.. but acceptable. The most important thing is that it is evident that she genuinely cares for her ward. Lolo R used tells me that when he scolds Bea, he can see that the nanny is the one who is hurt =(  we’ve been having problems with her attitude in general. Well, she’s just nineteen and this is the longest she’s been away from home (Mindanao). She sometimes has the tendency to act up. At typical teenager, I guess. During candid times, she’d even tell me she is like my eldest, and that Bea was our bunso (youngest). They are both

I consciously try to talk/reprimand our nanny when the little one is not there to witness it. Of course I’d still want her to respect her nanny, and even now she’s starting to have an idea of who’s the boss. I guess she must have heard last night’s episode between her daddy and yaya R. this happened before going to Church. When we were in church, she kept on asking me “Di mo na love Ate R?” (Don’t you love Ate R anymore?) I answered “Love pa din” (Yes I still love Ate R). After a few minutes, “Daddy di na love Ate R?” (Daddy doesn’t love Ate R anymore?) I said “Love pa din” (yes he also loves Ate R). Then I tried to explain to her that the reason why daddy scolded Yaya R was because she did something daddy was not happy with, and so he had to scold her to correct her wrong doing. She just nodded and didn’t speak of it anymore.

Early this afternoon, I called home to check up on them…the nanny said that early this morning, when they were left alone in the house, my Bea told her, in all seriousness: “Ate R, love pa din kita…pero…wag ka na kukulit” (Ate R…I still love you… but stop being naughty) huh?!?

Kids are so like sponges, I swear!

Photohunt : Sports


Last year we attended a birthday party which had a sports theme. Little Bea came in a tennis outfit. Isn't she a cutie? As you can see, weapon of choice is not really a tennis racket.. but a little red balloon. hahaha!

There games and surprises, and even the then-2 year old Bea was able to win some prizes. Sure she was the youngest and smallest among the participants.. but that didn't sway her. She sure has some spunk in her!

We definitely had a great time that day! =)


Bea and Typhoon Ondoy

Last September 26, 2009 (Typhoon Ondoy) was Bea’s first experience with flooding. In her almost 4 years of existence, she has never encountered a flood. Actually, the same goes for me… I’ve lived in Marikina almost all my life…and in my 30 plus years of roaming this earth… no flood at all.

That fateful Saturday, we were supposed to go somewhere in Manila. When we were about to get in the car, we noticed the streets were already a bit flooded. My father had to device a way for us to get in the car without getting wet. The whole thing was such a production number! My sister first had to get her car out of the garage so that hubby can pull in the garage. Bea’s lolo took pieces of wood that we could step on just so our feet wouldn’t get wet. We were able to get in the car successfully dry. We were on our way soon enough. All this time, the rain continued to pour. As in! Steady, heavy downpour.

When we reached the Batasan Bridge in San Mateo Rizal, we realized it would be too dangerous to push through with our plan to leave for Manila. One side of the bride is closed off since it was flooded already. We decided to just go home, fearing we might get stranded if we continue.

Bea would’ve been terribly disappointed if we went home immediately… she already got all excited. Getting on the car and going out with mommy and daddy is such a major happening for her… I guess that’s usually the case of kids with working parents. Anyhoo…I decided to drop by Puregold before going home, just so Bea can roam around a bit and maybe even buy a toy of her choosing. Bea and daddy went in while I waited in the car with the nanny. When they got back, the little one was beaming, she charmed her way into daddy’s heart once again. Daddy bought a plastic cooking set for her. =) Then we went on our way home.

When we turned to the street leading to the entrance of our subdivision, we were surprised to see that the water has risen already! Hubby decided to park the car near the church since it was on higher grounds. We walked to our house. The flood waters reached up to our calves. Hubby carried little Bea, while I carried other stuff that we had in the car. (bags, books, laptop etc). We had to walk slowly since it was hard to wade through the waters… plus the rains continued to pour heavily.

Inside our home, water reached up to our ankles only. Ninang A and Lolo R were busy trying to stop the water from coming in… and trying to get everything to a higher surface.

When there was nothing left to do… they turned their attention to Bea, who was perched on the sofa. We didn’t allow her to go down and wade through the still clear rain water in the house for obvious reasons. Typical toddler, she also wanted to wade with us. She tried everything to be able to get down from her safe spot. She’d purposely drop stuff in the water and try to get them, “accidentally” getting wet in the process. =) At last, I decided to let her down and experience how it is to wade through flood waters. =) After all this is a first for us! We will surely talk about how our house got flooded in for years to come… why deprive her of the experience? She happily splashed around, walking to and fro, relishing the experience…good thing daddy was not in the room. He would definitely be against this! Hehehe…Only when Bea started to act like she was about to dive in did I stop her and ask yaya R to clean her up. Lolo kept on telling her that it was a swimming pool… that’s why she wanted to dive in… hay!

Anyway, never in my wildest imagination, thought that Typhoon Ondoy was the disaster it would turn out to be. I was just amazed that this happened to us for the very first time. And I was also concerned about its effect to Bea, I didn’t want her to be traumatized or something… so I tried to make it a fun thing for her. The atmosphere at home was relaxed and casual. No panic at all. I even made paper boats for her to play with and set adrift in our sala. =)

The waters continued to rise as the rain just wouldn’t let up. The Nangka River soon overflowed and what was once clear rain water in our home turned into murky, mud water.

Soon Bea was marooned on the sofa. She couldn’t go down, and it was pretty heavy to carry her around all the time. So I placed her there and gave her stuff to be busy with. I gave her art paper, glue, scissors and bond paper. She happily cut and glued the afternoon away, bursting into impromptu, made up songs…I think it’s safe to say she’s not traumatized at all. =)

As it grew dark, we gathered around in the sala and talked, as if it was the most natural thing in the world… talking while knee-deep in mud. =) Bea made us laugh when she shared with us her contingency plans. She said “lipat na tayo bahay mommy sa malaking malaking bahay para wala tubig” (let’s transfer to a bigger house mommy, to a big, big house so that the flood won’t reach us) then I asked her where she intended to go. She promptly replied “Maureen”. Maureen is our next door neighbor whose house had a second floor. I really found amusing that in her young mind she was able to assess our situation and come up with a plausible solution. What a bright baby!

Thankfully, we were able to survive unscathed. Some belongings got ruined, but generally, we’re now ok. Hopefully things go back to normal soon, especially for our fellow Marikeños badly hit by Typhoon Ondoy.

Bangon Marikina! Bangon Pilipinas!

Let me share with my fellow Marikeños and others who were affected by the floods brought by Typhoon Ondoy a part of a book that I’ve read recently:

“Good is underneath every single thing that appears to be negative. If we can know that good is all there is, including in a negative situation, then we will see a negative situation transform into all good. Most people keep the good away from themselves because they label something as bad, and then, of course, that becomes their reality. But there is no bad in the universe; it is just our inability to see things clearly from the bigger perspective.

Peace comes from knowing that good is all that exists.”

-The Secret - Daily Teachings

Let’s try to believe that there is a bigger plan for all of us. Typhoon Ondoy is a mere bump on the road. Don’t get derailed. Just look forward and continue moving forward. Don’t wallow in the sadness and loss, for you’ll attract more sadness and loss. Be grateful…be proactive…and attract only the good things. Bangon Marikina! Bangon Pilipinas!

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