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Jing Cuciohttp://about.me/jingcucioCuddleholic. Hands-on. Over-caffeinated. Work-from-home mom. Former Technical Writer. Ex-Segment Producer. Music lover. Potato junkie. Aspiring world traveler.

Kids Can Read Earlier Than We Think

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Mia with Bible BookTo begin, we never intended our daughter to read early. I didn’t see the need for it. I always thought that reading is something we learn in school and not before school. However, all this changed when I caught her trying to read the word LIGHT. This was at a time when she already knew the sound of each alphabet letter because of the phonics videos we let her watch. I’ll tell you more about how she had early exposure on that in a little while.

Anyway, I was working online one afternoon, she was holding a book, and she said, “La – I – Guh – Huh – T”. She was trying to sound off each letter from the word LIGHT. She had a questioning look Continue reading →

Kids Do Everything to Delay Bedtimes

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“Read one book before sleeping Mommy. I promise to read just one book. Not two. Promise. Read one book please. Just one book, promise..”

This was after we had a full day at the mall and I knew she was already too tired and sleepy. She knew I wouldn’t agree because she doesn’t want to read just one, but two, or three books! We will totally be off schedule if I give in. So NO.

“Once there was a little old woman and a little old man..” Continue reading →

The One Important Thing I Learned After My Kid’s Birthday Party

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Ribbon on Surprise GiftIt’s crazy how we get so busy preparing for our kids big day. We want to make it special for them. We want to make it fun and memorable. After all, it’s their most awaited day of the year. I for one, though tight on budget, still tried to pull one.

Customized cake, colorful balloons, loot bags, birthday banner, invitations, lots of kids, and all of those other party favors that spice up children’s parties. Continue reading →

Potty Training: 9 Tips Before You Start

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potty chair with chartTo be honest, I never even knew they call it “potty” until I started reading about toilet training. My mom called it Arinola and I grew up knowing that is what it’s called. Not one in our family even called it chamber pot (boinks!). Also, the only similar experience I had is when we litter trained our late cat, Naf, and that only took a day to do. So I had to read on how it goes for kids.

If you’re at this stage and you’re contemplating on bidding diapers goodbye, here are the things we did that may help you prepare for potty training. Continue reading →

On Raising Smart Kids

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I honestly believe that all kids are smart. Just in different ways. And given the right nurturing, they will shine in their own ways. Oftentimes, parents we come across with would ask what milk our daughter drinks or what shows we let her watch, believing that these products do the magic on kids. While I agree that what they take in and what they view have significant effects, I sometimes wish I could tell them more! Continue reading →

Super Why Themed Party: Mia’s 3rd Birthday Celebration

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Birthday BalloonsHoooooooooray for 3 years of life! I can’t thank God enough for giving us the best blessing ever! It has been the most exhausting and yet most fulfilling years of our lives. And it’s that moment when we can’t help but say, has it really been 3 years??

We should probably celebrate our 3 years in parenthood too! Woooohooo! We survived! Lack of sleep, unending baby expenses, dirty diapers, toddler tantrums, and lots of sour-smelling pukes! Well, not that we’re really done with all those. But at least, things are not as erratic Continue reading →

5 Things To Add To Our Parenting Duties

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kids choresThere are plenty of things I learned from my mom that I would certainly apply in raising our daughter. I remember telling her while I was still pregnant that I wish I could raise this baby the way she raised us. I admire how she provided our needs without spoiling us, and how she gave us the freedom to play and explore and yet kept us disciplined. I have always thought that those were really hard to balance.

However, as I’ve come to get to know myself more and reflect on my weaknesses as an adult,  Continue reading →

Our Potty Training Success

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IMG_0634As a first time mom, it feels like an accomplishment! We are now reaping the rewards! And it is bittersweet to watch her pee and poop by herself. We still have a few accidents once in a while but I can proudly announce that our 2-year-old is now potty trained! Wooooot! It is really worth all the effort and the mess!

If you haven’t read my first two posts on how we went about it, here they are: Potty Training: 9 Tips Before You Start and How To Potty Train Your Toddler: 10 Useful Tips. In this post, I will tell you more on how the potty training tools helped us along the way.

Continue reading →

Is Your Child Over-Praised?

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I was pretty much in awe with how fast babies grow and develop during the first year of life. I cheered like a stage mom for all her developments – first roll over, first crawl, first solid foods, first words, first steps, and all the other cute things babies do. We kept on praising as she discovered and gained new skills. It was fun and amazing to watch.

When she was nearing her 2nd birthday, however, I noticed that we were probably overdoing it already. I would hear myself say Very Good to her several times a day even on “not so” very good things. Continue reading →

5 Things Nobody Told Me About Breastfeeding

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Sleeping babyI never thought there’s a whole science behind breastfeeding. I seriously thought you just have to point your breasts to your baby’s mouth and Voila! Meal is served!

Lucky for you if you are one of those moms whose babies latched on quickly. But for me, it didn’t come easy. I have heard some moms say it would hurt when the baby’s teeth come out but I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone say it would hurt even without teeth! Continue reading →

How To Potty Train Your Toddler: 10 Useful Tips

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potty_curious boyBoy was it messy! But it was truly rewarding when peeing and pooping (however you may call it) on the potty finally became a normal – everyday thing for my kid.

We actually had 3 failed attempts prior to this success: ages 1.6, 2, and 2.6. We tried every time our kid showed some signs of readiness and stopped every time we felt she wasn’t really into it yet. On our 4th attempt, at 2.9 years old, we finally did it! If you are a first time mom like me and you want potty training to be a fun learning experience for your toddler, here are the things I’ve learned while we’re on it that might be helpful to you. Continue reading →

Our Hands-on Daddyow

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daddy and mia on grocery cartWhen Mia was born, I was really thankful that Chris was by my side. He wasn’t the most experienced when it comes to babies, in fact he has no experience at all! LOL. But I witnessed how he tried his best.

For a person who grew up in a house with helpers, I certainly could not imagine him cleaning up baby poop. Sure there was that uneasy look on his face when he first changed Mia’s diaper in the hospital, Continue reading →

Ice CreaMedicine

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ice_cream_popsiclesOh how I hate it when babies get sick. Not only do we have to deal with all day crankiness, but also have to force their mouths open and swallow awful tasting meds. Not just once, but often thrice a day, for about 3 to 7 days!

Giving medicines wasn’t a serious problem for us before. And this was because we seldom feed her sweets (except for fruits which are naturally sweet). That may have sounded weird but infrequent exposure to sugary food made the syrups appealing to her as it has a sweet mix into its bitter taste. So with just a bit of explaining that it would make her better, she happily swallowed!

But not until she had Impetigo and we were prescribed antibiotics. Continue reading →