Plurk Mommies

Finally got to meet more of the Plurk Moms I keep chatting with everyday. Twas so much fun, we didn't realize we have been gabbing for hours already!



Photo courtesy of Jen T. :)

Meanwhile, my son strutted towards the Jollitown event at Shang.

Worried About Little Girls

We were watching Wowowee when the camera panned onto a dancing girl who was probably not more than 6 years old. She was dancing like a whore in a girlie bar. Willie interviewed the Mom and she said her little girl learned it from their gay neighbors. Willie had the girl dance again and she did with gusto, complete with horrible f*ck-me facial expressions. I was aghast! And enraged!

Willie did say that if she were her daughter, he'd have shaved her head (or something like that).

Anyway, that is the really weird thing about parents these days. They dress up their kids in slutty outfits, can't wait to buy them makeup and such, and then ten-fifteen years down the line, they will rage over teenage pregnancy and their daughter's promiscuity. Wtf!

It's the moms especially who must be clear on how they want their daughters to grow up. Letting them watch Hannah Montana and hung up on Bratz and Barbie isn't helping them any! And no, i'm not against little girls playing princesses and beauty queens exactly, I just want them to be raised to know they're worth more than their looks, and their ability to attract attention (sexual or otherwise).

Mompreneurs Tip

One thing I know mompreneurs can do that would help them start out with their business (or expand) is to frequent trade shows and bazaars. Some only require a minimal fee of P30-100 after all, and you usually get canvas bags and brochures. Plus, you usually spend more at the mall anyway, so spending it somewhere that provides research is surely a great alternative.

And it doesn't always matter if it's in the same field as your interest or business. Sometimes, the industrial equipment being showcased in a big agro fair can be a source of inspiration for other products. Or maybe, this certain fair will have exhibitors of better storage and containing systems. Plus, the food is also usually great. And you can even get free massages (on Lazy Boys you can't afford to buy, no less!).

Just check SMX and World Trade Center for its calendar of exhibits.

It Takes Imagination

The tech-savvy moms of today usually employ the use of ipods to entertain their kids. They save favorite songs there, and favorite videos. And they just sit and cuddle and watch.

Well, I don't have an Ipod. And when I do get around to using my mp4 player, I really don't like having to share it with my son because it's quiet, ME time for me. So I have to be imaginative when I want to bond with him. Sure, we watch videos together (how else would I also learn sign language and all the Signing Time songs?) but we also read a lot together. He already knows Amelia Bedelia books (his favorite is the one with the baby). And we play ball, a lot. I throw and catch, he jumps around watching me play.

He also makes me ride one of his toy cars while he rides the other. And he uses my body as a play gym. The point is, it takes imagination and a lot of willingness to play with him. Bo Sanchez said that "it is not bonding, not quality time, if hearts aren't engaged". So I keep that in mind and make sure, we're engaged.

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Just create an account and grab this nifty, cutesy Expecting Collection by Scarpbookflair :) It is just plain lovely!

*~*

I am still stressing over my son's constipation. I am such an unhappy Mommy these days!

Happiness Over Poop

It sounds crazy but it's true. My son's poop spells my happiness somewhat. And since i'm a SAHM, I know my son's constitution very much.

It was end of May when Yakee started being constipated. His poop just wasn't what it used to be eventhough there wasn't a big change in his diet. We still mostly ate homecooked meals and he drinks lots of milk. Then we bought some apples last Wednesday and he became constipated big time after that. Enough to really be straining and only pooping small pieces at a time.

I was so stressed. Since I was constipated as a kid, I knew how terrible it is to strain. So it broke my heart when my son would strain and nothing will come out, when he didn't even have to really strain before. Sigh. I go for hours just thinking about his poop.

I have been close to force-feeding him yogurt and probiotic drinks everyday. And after lunch today, he pooped without noticeable strain. My heart started singing again. No more apples for him and certainly, more papaya shakes!

If You Have A Son

Read This: Teachers Don't Like Boys, Mom.

"Boys want to get their feet wet and their hands dirty. They want to build things and take them apart, trap small animals and climb tall trees. Or jump up and touch whatever they can. "

I am guilty of this disservice sometimes... or most times. I hate it when my son creates a mess. I hate it when he gets dirty. I am creeped out by the fact that he chases frogs and lizards and cockroaches and eats moths.

I forget that he is a child exploring his world. I forget that he is a boy who learns with his body, not just his mind.

Shopping with Baby

Despite the rain and threat of Swine Flu, I decided to chance things and bring my son and cousin along with me to the land where products do not pass barcode scanners when you buy them: Divisoria.

Because my son likes music instruments so much, I decided to give in and spoil him a little by buying him a trumpet and drum set, as well as a true-blue harmonica. The Anding's building was filled with so many toys that I can't help but wonder when i'd have a reason to go there again to shop for party favors. See, i've already vowed to give books for Christmas and that I wouldn't give away candies anymore.

Good thing Yakee mostly slept during the commute. And he loved the Divisoria Mall foodcourt so much!

Bad Trip Kate

What a b!tch right? She's all excited and whatever over the interview and denied her girl water (when it's her kids that actually made them famous anyway) while she had some!

And the laughable thing is that she and OctoMom are sniping at each other when they're really both crazy! In a bad, mean way.

A Mommy Challenged

SIL was hormonal (PMS).

And we had a long day previosuly, one where none of the kids ate meals on time and they binged on sugar (ice cream, meringue, etc.)

And it was her birthday.

So I couldn't blame her if she felt that for brunch, her daughter had to eat a proper meal of rice and viand. And I also couldn't blame her for thinking her daughter would love the lechon paksiw because it was really delicious.

So when her daughter refused to eat, and kept on ignoring her to watch TV... and later on ran around the dining table while making sure everyone was watching her mother running after her, I also couldn't blame my SIL for bringing her upstairs where they 'talked'. Mostly, my niece howled. If she was spanked, am sure she didn't get much of it. But she howled and threw a tantrum and they struggled over the food for hours.

Remember, SIL had PMS and it was her birthday. And they were at my in laws, where every daughter or son-in-law would be naturally defensive.

I sort of saw myself having a similar episode with Yakee in the future. Yikes.

Later on, I shared with SIL what I learned from a parenting book and a parenting seminar:
1) Opt instead for a week of generally satisfactory meals for a child, instead of getting anxious daily. Just don't offer unhealthy alternatives (meaning, don't make EATING the lesson, but EATING WELL). Us adults have off days too.
2) For the can afford, no child has died of hunger yet. So if a child doesn't want to eat, do not make in into a power struggle. Een if you win, you lose, because the child would hae only eaten because he/she felt forced or controlled.
3) Opt for small snacks every 2 hours or so (especially for smaller children) instead of the three main meals. Just keep the unhealthy stuff at a minimum.

But I shared those things with her, not to correct or judge her, but to help her be less anxious. Because as a fellow Mom, I know how it feels sometimes as if it's crucial that our child finishes a bowl of food... like our life depended on it. But i've also really learned that in relaxing my attitude about feeding my son, I got more positive results.

Happy birthday SIL. Like what I told you, good luck to us in parenting our kids because it's really, really tough.

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Hammock Fancy

These are hammocks at the Arugaan Creche run by a serious lactivist that i've grown to admire, Nanay Innes. She's a grandmother with a mission, to make breastfeeding the norm, two breasts at a time, and to protect the Filipino culture and health through the consumption of organic food. She's a vegan who always appeals to her audience to patronize local produce and support our Filipino farmers.

Anyway, she had these custom-made in Nueva Ecija, I think. They can accommodate babies up to three years and are supported by low, wooden structures. It's actually a very wise design, for in the event a child falls off the crib, he wouldn't have that far to fall from. Same reason why some setup their hammocks right over the family bed: sleeping parents can swing it while half-asleep, mommies need not get up to get to a hungry baby, and babies won't fall from a high place in case they get too wriggly in the hammock (usually made from a blanket).

I've told hubs I want one like this for our next child. Hopefully, we'd have the space for it (maybe some plastic chests can go).

Yakee's didn't really work for us eh.

Feeling Doula

My friend gave birth last Saturday night and I have been at their beck and call to succeed in breastfeeding. It's great to have this privilege of influencing a new Mom and I sort of wish there was someone who was like that with me.

Hopefully she becomes as attentive to someone else. It would be like passing an invisible torch of empowerment, where clueless moms as I was are given the confidence to trust our instincts and parent as only we can, and to not let our fears dictate our choices and decisions about this new life.

Eating Healthy

Eating healthy need not be as serious as reading nuphedra reviews online. It can be just as easy as basic math, adding up the number of calories per serving that you get from the usual products that you buy and feed to your child.

A good example is the branch Oishi which has started appealing to the health buffs in moms. They have now come up with vegetable-derived chips and cheese-soaked crunchies that may convince someone they're healthy snacks. Well, they're not. Sure, they may contain less calories and sodium than the average junk food but they're far from being healthy. Moms are encouraged to get cereals instead, or cut up fruit sticks, to get their crunch fix from.

Weather Please Get Better

Aside from coming very close to using ephedra for my hay fever caused by the drastic weather change last week (from super steamy to daily rain), the household are all sprouting varied symptoms which can only be allergies. My sister has hives (then again, she took the Nursing board exam) and a really bad cold. She uses up an entire pack of tissue in half a day! Hubs has a mild migraine and sinus congestion. And my son is either sneezing or scratching. Worse, when he scratches, his skin breaks out in these welts for a while. Very sensitive skin, that one.

So weather please, get better!

Drawing An Age Line

I know I cannot really comprehend the longing for a biological child, because I was blessed with one. And I do commend those who put themselves out there to try and have one, because every child should be so wanted. But true, I also hope sometimes that people will choose to adopt more than spend years and money and emotions in trying for a biological child.

And despite the leaps and bounds medical science has made where obstetrics and gynecology and pediatrics are concerned, I still think women should draw an age line (as well as medical people and institutions) for becoming mothers. Preferably between 20-45? So that no child will become just some baggage from a teen pregnancy and hasty first marriage... and no child should have to actually grow up watching their parents succumb to ill health and death?

Britain recently reported a 66-year old first time Mom who went to another country to pursue fertility treatments. I think that's just wrong. I think wanting to have a child is a plain, selfish reason. Wanting to be a parent is the better reason, and part of being a good one is to be able to give the best you can offer to your child. To actually be there to raise him. In this case, before the son even enters first grade, his mother could be dead. How is that responsible? How is that love?

Source

Britney's Babies Dancing to Toxic

You have to admit they're cute! :)

I Don't Have a Girl (yet)

But I hope that, sons and daughters of mine will grow up with a healthier attitude towards beauty and self-esteem. That they won't measure a person's worth by apearances, and that their perceptions won't be perverted (like thinking an unwrinkled face is beautiful).

The news of a Mom addicted to Botox (seriously, don't the friends and family of people like her tell her she actually doesn't look good at all?) who gifted her 18-year old daughter with Botox injections (making her teener addicted as well) is making the rounds. It's actually very laughable if it also isn't very sad. Because this is the kind of society where our sons and daughters are growing up. Men aren't even turned off by breast implants anymore. They even gift their girlfriends with them. There are sites even where women without money for the breast augmentations can sign up and greet donor men.

Sick. Perverted. Hopefully, my kids won't be like them.

Source

Pex Mommies Dinner at Gotti's

Twas fun having dinner and coffee with the Pex Mommies last Friday. I really had great fun being out and I really, really love the food at Gotti's.