Get your sizes, get your children's sizes,Last October 31, Sunday, the whole family went to SM Megamall for the annual trick or treat. This year was definitely a treat for the whole family, since Lolo and Ninang came with us.
This year ,we had trouble in choosing her costume. I was already resigned on just letting her wear her costume last year (Japanese Girl with Umbrella). Thankfully, the night before, I was doing my usual window shopping at the bookstore when I saw a cute little pumpkin outfit, complete with glittery mask. I instantly knew it was perfect for her! All the while I was confident that the size we chose had a few inches allowance on the sides, but to my surprise when she tried it on, it was already snug on the tummy area! My baby girl is definitely growing fast! I also bought a cute spider headband to complete the look. Four years a go, we bought a sturdy plastic pumpkin to hold trick or treat goodies, we just wiped off the accumulated dirt and was ready for this year’s trick or treat.
Anyway, while at the mall, we went through the usual going in and out the stores, greeting them a cheery “trick or treat!” only to be told that all the candies had ran out and apparently they were implementing new rules this year: they designated certain times when they would give candies. It started at 11am and the next one would be at 1pm. That’s when we decided to have lunch first. We had Lolo with us and we thought he’d appreciate the old school menu of Savory Classic. True enough, we all had a hearty lunch. We went on trick or treating right after…
We all had loads of fun, especially with Ninang and Lolo around! Bea got lots of treats and we all went home tired but happy!
A new mother’s body is going through many physical and hormonal changes. A new mom is often stressed and lacking from a good night’s sleep. This is where massages can come to the rescue. A combination of aromatherapy and lymphatic drainage massage will help you restore your body shape and firm up the skin tissue stretched and strained during the pregnancy. Proper post natal massage will help you regain your body’s tone, firmness and elasticity.
My daughter is still suffering from the ill effects of her GERD. She still has food aversion and is still spoon-fed with milk. Although she is now able to east some solid food, her main source of nutrition is still her milk. 
I remember when our little Bea was just an itsy bitsy baby, we had trouble looking for the right pediatrician. We knew we had to look for someone we would trust with our daughter’s health. I remember we had to go through 3 doctors before we finally found the right pediatrician for her. We were getting really frustrated because no doctor could address her feeding problem, they just attributed it to the milk and they just kept of changing her milk from S26 to a hypoallergenic brand to soya milk… to no avail. Finally, we decided to just go to St. Luke’s Medical Center in QC, looked at the doctor’s directory and randomly chose the first available doctor who had a Saturday clinic (hubby and I are both working). Of course, I also asked for divine guidance, because we had no other choice…we had to find a pediatrician as soon as possible. I just prayed that we be guided to the right one. Guess what, our prayers were answered! We found the best pediatrician who cared enough for our Bea to really try and figure out what we do to ease her feeding problems (acid reflux and food aversion).
Opens for all Fashionista Kids out there! Be Fab! Get Noticed! at SM Makati
Halloween is fast approaching. I wonder what Bea’s costume will be this year. In the previous years she went trick or treating as a fairy princess, a witch, a Japanese girl…I’m thinking of buying her a costume but I would rather choose a cutie costume rather than a scary one ( Malls are teeming with scary costumes of vampires and monsters). Maybe she can come as a pirate, a super hero or a Disney princess.
She’s already excited and keeps on saying that she will be trick or treating soon.
Hubby wants to go all out and have a yellow track suit made for her, similar to the one I had made when I went to a costume party as The Bride from Kill Bill. I still have the sword at home.
We’ll see.
Recently, the entrepreneurial bug has bitten our daughter Bea. Her ninang (godmother) gave her a toy cash register complete with play money. She is enjoying this plaything so much that she has decided to become a mafia/mob boss of sorts in our home. She’d block the door and refused to let us pass until we pay her some pretend money. She also holds impromptu garage sales with her toys, sometimes with my stuff. The scene usually goes like this:
Mommy: How much is this? (holding up a toy giraffe)
Bea: Eight thousand!
Mommy: That’s too expensive. Don’t you have anything cheaper?
Bea: (holds up a toy cup) this.
Mommy: Ok. How much is this cup?
Bea: Eight thousand!
Oh well.
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Although this was already the second time that Bea experienced this blood test, the first time was when she was still a wee baby, so she doesn't remember anymore. I was so proud of her when the doctor pricked her finger, she put on her brave face and barely reacted... although i could see fear in her eyes...Thankfully the pediatrician said it was only flu. (sadly, we were remiss with Bea's annual flu shot this year). Note to self: update Bea's flu immunization shots!
Bea started attending nursery class last June, and she just loves every minute of it! It has made her feel really grown up, especially whenever she brings homework from school. This makes her feel like a “real student” and all grown up. The only problem, is as much as I would love to spend time with her and explain her lessons to her patiently, we had troubles with time constraints.
Bea sleeps early. This is something she’s been used to even as a baby (plus I’ve always doubted this as her yaya’s ploy so she can watch her prime time telenovelas early). My daughter is off to dreamland by 7:30pm. The earliest time hubby and I can arrive home is 8:00pm.So we had no choice but to do her homework in the morning. The only problem is hubby and I also had to rush to get to work in the morning, and that leaves me only 15-30 minutes to sit with my Bea and help her do her homework. It’s ok if she only has to do 1 subject, but lately she’s bringing home 2-3 home works a day with tasks varying from coloring, cutting, writing etc. This just won’t do. We had to rush doing everything. I’m not even sure whether Bea absorbed her lessons, plus I’m not as patient with her as I want to be since I keep on looking at the time, fearing I’d be late to work..
So hubby and I decided to change our strategy, we will do her homework when we get home. For two weeks now, I’ve instructed our yaya to let Bea stay up and wait for us at night. At first she kept on yawning and her eyes were all droopy, but after a few days she adjusted and was back to being her usual bubbly self again. I admire her enthusiasm in making her homework! Now we are able to do her homework at a more relaxed pace and I don’t have to rush her whenever she has to practice writing her letters or color different pictures. I can be more patient with her when she answers incorrectly. More importantly, after doing her assignments, we now have the chance to tuck her in bed, kiss her goodnight and say her night prayers with her.
Less stress, more learning. Less rush, more bonding. I guess the new strategy works! =)
I often watch my Bea as she goes about her daily routine. When I see something I don’t like, I don’t hesitate to tell her ‘no” and to correct her wrong doing. Like me, well-meaning parents grab every chance to teach their children good behavior. I think our children actually don’t mind that we reprimand or correct them, what irks them is that we give the same sermon repeatedly. Yep, we don’t notice that we have developed the tendency to nag…
If only we don’t spend all our time in reprimanding our kids. We should be reminded that when a child lives in criticism, hostility and fear, he learns to live with doubt in himself. When all we notice about his actions are the bad ones, this will definitely affect his self esteem.
We shouldn’t only be conscious of correcting their bad behavior; we should also do our best to encourage and reinforce their confidence and self-belief. Often, parents are on the look out for bad conduct so we can correct it, when in fact we should be spending our time in looking for good behavior so that we can reinforce those. Hey, isn’t that a great idea? Why not nag them into self confidence and independence!
Start now. Spend time watching out for good deeds. Our children NEED praise and affirmation. =)
It has been a year since we've been to the beach. Bea had such a grand time at the Sunset Cove, Morong Bataan, i just had to make a layout about our experience. Too bad we are scheduled to visit the beach anytime soon but we are planning to go swimming with the whole family next week. Bea is so excited already!
One Friday morning, we were busy getting ready for work when we received a text message from our nanny that she will not be coming to work. My husband and I looked at each other blankly. “Now what?” We couldn’t just leave our daughter at home with her grand father; he’ll be too stressed out. Both my husband and I have pending things to do at the office and we just couldn’t go on leave. We had no other choice but to bring Bea with us to the office.
On our way, we were discussing whether who will take Bea to the office. We decided that I would just drop by my office to submit my pending report then we’d head on over to hubby’s office where I will take care of our daughter, while hubby goes about his day.
This is a great idea, theoretically, but an entirely different matter in reality. My daughter’s feeding problem has been the primary source of tension in our family. My patience can only be stretched so much. My daughter and I often have shouting matches about this. Why can’t she just open her mouth and drink her milk? At four years old, milk is still her primary source of nutrition and she is still not taking it willingly.
The moment of truth: Breakfast. I fixed her milk and started to feed her…. To no avail. She kept on protesting, her arms flailing up and down, side to side, preventing the milk from reaching her mouth. And then it happened… miracles of miracles, my Bea simply said “ara (kutsara) na lang Mommy” (let’s just use the spoon Mommy).
I started scooping the milk, and she opened her mouth willingly! OMG! We finished our
glass within 30 minutes. (We used to spend 3 hours to down 1 glass, and sometimes we can’t even finish everything). This day made me believe that prayers can truly move mountains! Everybody has been praying for our Bea to get over her feeding problem, or at least for our feeding sessions to stop being the battle it often is. Thank you Lord!
Though this day started off at the wrong foot, it is slowly becoming one of the best days of my life…
To be continued…
Last night, I got really mad at our nanny. She did something that’s extremely disappointing. Anyway, it was already late and my daughter is already sleeping. I was so mad that I sat on the bed ranting at my husband about the incident. I kept at it for almost an hour. Poor sleepy hubby, but almost 10 years of married life has taught him that asking an upset, riled up woman to stop talking is like having a death wish. I didn’t even notice that I woke my daughter up. I’m not even sure if she opened her eyes but I’m sure she didn’t stir, because I would’ve stopped talking (or at least lowered the volume of my voice by a few decibels). I really thought that she was in deep slumber. I was so surprised when Bea woke up this morning and the first thing she asked me was “Mommy bakit ka nagagalit kagabi?” (Mommy why were you angry last night?”)
Note to self: Just because a child is sleeping, it doesn’t mean she can’t absorb the feelings and words surrounding her, good or bad. Try not to get mad in her presence, she is like a sponge whether she’s awake or asleep.
Last Saturday, Bea and I went to the nearby school for her interview. We decided to transfer Bea from a toddler school to a “big” school.
Initially Bea didn’t want to leave her old school. She said her old teachers will cry if she leaves. I told her she has a lot of things to look forward to in the big school: new friends, bigger classroom, new toys, but she just won’t be swayed. She still maintains she prefers her old school. That is until I said the magic word “computer”. In her new school they will be teaching the kids basic lessons about the computer. This got her really excited! “Ater!” (computer!)
Now she is excited and really looks forward to the opening of classes. She is excited at the thought that like mommy, she’ll get to tinker with computers!
Head lice are something that is often associated with summer. For children, the joy of summer vacation will not be complete without spending hours playing under the sun. And the humidity, sweat, prolonged exposure to the sun and other sweaty, not-sure-if-they-take-a-bath playmates increases your child’s risk of getting head lice.
This is the metal spiral plant holder found in our garden. This actually my parents' garden, sadly my sister and i didn't inherit their green thumb. My participation in the garden is limited to being asked by my mom to carry the pots from one side of the garden to the other side. This bonding moment with my mom will eventually end up with shrieks coming from me... by then i would've seen garden "friends" like a frog or an earthworm.
measles documented in less than two months. This prompted them to declare an outbreak in six areas, namely: Baseco Compound and Moriones in Tondo, Manila; Barangay Pulang Lupa in Las Piñas City; Central Market in Dasmariñas, Cavite; San Francisco town in Quezon province; and Balabagan town in Lanao del Sur. This is a scary statistic, especially for moms like me. The thought of my child suffering from such a notorious disease is simply unbearable!That's why i really made sure my Bea received her childhood vaccinations against Measles.
Bea was asked by her godfather to be a flower girl at his wedding. Everyone in our family is of course super happy! hehehe... Here's a pic taken while she was having her fitting... cutie huh?
Forcing your child to go for a time out is a good way to stop a child’s misbehaving. This also allows her to regain her composure. But you can’t just shove your child towards a corner and let her stare at a blank wall, there has to be rules to be set.
MISSION VISION:
A loving home and environment for each child.
Compassionate, professional and responsive staff and volunteers who are committed to the caring, healing, recovery and development of abandoned, surrendered, neglected and sexually abused children and their families.
Together, creating opportunities for each other to become whole and empowered instruments for changing their social reality.
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