She was sitting on her potty, reading a book, when I suddenly heard chomping and munching sounds in our room.
Puzzled, I watched closely if her jaw was moving or if her cheeks were bulging, and much to my surprise, they were! She was chewing!
But chewing what?!?
“SPIT!!! SPIT IT OUT!!!” was my loud demand though I had no idea what it was. Continue reading
It has been so quiet on the blog lately and it’s because we are on a long vacation here in Bohol and our days have always been FULL!
I’ve been wanting to write about our activities but they have piled up and I can’t choose which one to post first! So I guess I’ll just throw them out in random and let the pictures tell. 🙂 Continue reading
First kid grabs a toy and all the other kids want THAT same toy even if there are tons of other beautiful toys around to choose from. Sounds familiar? Second kid finally decides to grab a different toy and they all of sudden ditch the first toy and go with the new grab. Why kids, why? LOL.
This always happens to us whenever we hold or attend playdates. The kids gravitate to a favorite and fight over it. ALWAYS. If they can’t resolve it on their own, we break them apart and tell them to take turns.
But how exactly is turn taking done? When does one’s turn end and start? Continue reading
Remember when she insisted on singing with the show band of Bellevue Hotel earlier this year? This summer, we took the opportunity to nurture that spark. If you missed that story, here it is: I’m Taking Note Of Today. (Come back here after! 😉 )
March came and we started scouting for performing arts workshops. Which one to go with? We thought. There were so many to choose from! Many factors to consider too – fees, proximity, schedule, reviews, and the age group as most would only accept 6-year-old kids and above. Continue reading
I woke up today and found a video and a few photos on my phone that I was pretty sure I didn’t take.
I quickly checked it and to my surprise, it was a spooky recording of a little girl in the dark. Continue reading
Single moms, working moms, stay-at-home moms, teen moms, adoptive moms, daddy-moms, grandmoms, let there be no competition today!
Whether you’re breastfeeding or formula-feeding, using cloth diapers or disposables, baby-wearing or just happy to push the stroller along, there is no reason to prove who is winning and losing in this parenting thing. We all have one GREAT thing in common and that’s our LOVE for our children. Continue reading
We are giving away (3) CROCHET HATS to (3) lucky SUBSCRIBERS!
These custom made cutees, designed and handcrafted with love by Noemi of Handicraft Corner, are soooo pretty and adorable! I fell in love the minute they arrived at our door! Continue reading
The other day I posted how Mia cried over a Frozen book that a little girl at the mall refused to share with her. That was Strike 1. In case you missed that, here it is: To Share Or Not To Share (Part 1).
Just 2 days after that, we met another non-sharing kid again, this time at the playground, whose unexpected meanness opened our eyes as to how families differ in views when it comes to sharing.
Strike 2: Play day at the park. Continue reading
Whichever side you are on, you are welcome to express WHY.
We had 2 non-sharing encounters this week that fully brought my child to tears and here’s how we have learned that it’s okay TO SHARE and NOT TO SHARE.
Strike 1: Sunday Mass at the mall Continue reading
Addicting app! Some of my friends even stay up late to rehearse. LOL.
Sharing two recordings that we did yesterday. We will certainly make more. hahaha!
Because she loves the stage… we are giving this a try!
First day. Children’s Theater (3 – 6 yrs. old). Continue reading
Toothbrush – check! Bedtime story – check! Prayer – check! Lullaby and sweet kisses – check! We were right on time for bed hour.
Good night, Mia!
Mommy, wait, I need to poop.
Oh. Geez. Continue reading
Cold apples and green beans combo? Pears blended with fresh peas?
It sounds kind of weird and I did get a lot of where-on-earth-did-you-get-that-combination look from several people when I first served it but those were actually the first solid foods that Mia tried and loved!
For someone who doesn’t have a good kitchen background and whose only related skill is eating, Continue reading
It has been an incredible year of firsts for my kid and for me as a mom too.
Do you still remember how it felt when you first put your child in school? Continue reading
Today, I’m officially off the calendar! My oh my. Ganito pala ang feeling! LOL.
Allow me to post the things that I’m grateful for today. Continue reading
Last week, a very caring parent was worried about what Mia and our kasambahay were arguing about when she saw them walking home from school.
She wasn’t sure what was really going on and so she took a video of them and sent it to me. Continue reading
Preschoolers. One minute they’re as sweet as candy and the next minute, they’re an unstoppable volcanic eruption. It really drives me crazy.
Do you have days like this? When everything is going so smoothly and in just a snap, boom! Gone. They go limp and it’s suddenly thunder and lightning.
A few days ago when I picked Mia up from school, I was surprised how our quality time was cut short.
Mia: Please don’t make your eyebrows meet, Mommy. Don’t be an upset mother Mommy…
This was after I caught her skipping the soap (for the 3rd time) during hand washing. I knew for sure that she would immediately suck her dirty thumb afterwards, so I stood by the bathroom door looking as upset as I could be.
Mia: Smile now Mommy. Be happy.. Continue reading
You probably think I’m nuts for introducing this early. Their fingers cannot even hold crayons correctly yet and I’m teaching to play an instrument? Well, my explanation is quite simple.
“Doc, I think Mia may have swallowed some of my lipstick, lip gloss, lip balm, mascara, and cologne!”
I was trembling while I was talking to our pediatrician on the phone. She strongly advised to immediately take Mia to the ER and have her vital signs checked. Continue reading
Did you take Aspilets when you were little?
They must have renamed it to Kiddilets. 🙂
I remember hiding under the bed and eating those candy looking tablets because Mama would only give me 1 every 4 hours when I was sick. Continue reading
When I was little, my mom would try to put me to sleep every afternoon.
Sigh. I wish it was that easy. Continue reading
You know how it is when children suddenly sing and dance on their own but when you ask them to do it again in front of family and friends, you get an outright “No!”? And you end up convincing or begging them please because it would be so much fun if only they would?
We get that most of the time too.
Except on one particular day. January 1st. Continue reading
Did you take photos while your kids were opening their gifts?
Their smiles were immeasurable!
I often play the moment back in my head (in slow motion and with background music) when kids rejoice and jump in excitement at the sight of a toy peeking out from the wrappers. It is so beautiful I sometimes wish it’s Christmas all year! Okay, maybe not. Haha. It’s not a very relaxing month for parents to say the least. I actually wish we could get what we’re hoping for too. Rest and alone time maybe? Right, not happening. LOL. Okay, so while our kids are busy enjoying their new toys, I hope you’ll join me in unwrapping another gift before the year ends.
I am actually very happy I am posting this topic this Yuletide season.
Our children are our greatest gifts aren’t they? And because they are, we try our best to get them what they wish for. But have you ever thought that alongside Frozen dolls, talking Ninja Turtles, and Adventure Time toys, another great present to give is to help them discover their gifts? By that I mean the ones they already have in them. Their innate gifts.
I have recently attended a seminar-workshop hosted by Chi Sigma Iota entitiled Counseling the Gifted and I am so excited to share to you all the valuable things I learned for the whole day I was in UP Diliman for it. It was such an eye-opener and I wish I could write everything down without turning this into a 20-page post! So I guess I would just give out the points that struck me the most.
To start off, this post is not limited to parents of gifted kids. I believe the wisdom that resource speaker, Dra. Leticia Peñano-Ho shared would benefit every parent, every family, gifted or not.
In fact, you might actually discover that you (and not just your child) are possibly gifted too. You might actually wish your parents knew so you could have possibly done something about it.
Up to this day, many are still unaware of what giftedness is all about. People (teachers included) only pay attention to “intellectual” ability i.e. very young children identifying the flags of the world, naming countries’ capitals, or reciting the periodic table of elements backwards (what?! haha). So let’s do some quick descriptions to understand it better.
What exactly is Giftedness? Continue reading…
The past month hasn’t been so good to us.
Just the week after I launched this site, Mia got sick. She was vomiting and we didn’t know why. Her face was thinning and she was losing the pounds we worked hard to gain. And I found myself eating a bag of potato chips (in hiding) everyday while dealing with it.
Yes, I’m a stress eater and I find comfort in food. Salty food. Okay, unhealthy salty food. Tsktsk. Continue reading
DING!
For some magical reason, our daughter obeys that sound more than my voice.
That may have sounded like it’s not in my favor but if you have been reading my posts, you can tell that I’m all for easy, tear-free, and no-fuss methods. Anything that can do those, I’m willing to test.
So when I heard that timers help ease transition from one activity to another, we gave it a try. As always, I was skeptical about it Continue reading
It was 7 in the morning and our child was crying in the bathroom. She was upset because…
I helped her rinse her hair.
Yep, didn’t think that could start a tantrum too. I’ve read that toddlers and preschoolers have different ways of asserting their independence and ours have chosen the bathroom version.
These past days, I have been trying to recall how our parents and grandparents did it without smartphones. Let’s enumerate quickly shall we?
They used snail mail and telegrams to connect; they used landline phones, beepers, and bulky cellphones to keep in touch; and they waited for radio announcements and the TV news hour to get the latest headlines. Looking at this, I say, they get information only on certain times of the day, and not all day.
Even if we have an early talker, there are times when I still can’t get the answer I need, such as when I ask how school was or what they did on certain days. All I get is, “Umm many things” or “It was okay.” Well… that’s not okay.. Moms need detailssssssss.
To solve this, I incidentally found a way that does not involve rephrasing our questions but teaching them one character trait. And it is.. (drumroll please) Continue reading
Babies cry a lot and we often need to guess why. Do they want more milk? Do they need a diaper change? Is it colic? Are they too tired? Are they feeling sick? If only they could tell us! Well of course, they won’t start talking until they’re about 8-10 months old, and even then, their words still won’t be as clear as we want them to be.
In our country, many parents “baby talk” their kids thinking they are not capable of understanding adult conversations yet. I don’t blame them. Even I thought kids could only start saying understandable words by age 3 or 4. But Mia proved me wrong. Continue reading