Long Absence

I just realized that I've been absent from blogosphere for more than 2 weeks. So many things have happened since my last post. I've been meaning to write about some of them but there are more important things than blogging that needed my attention.

One of the things that happened these past weeks is that my toddler turned 3 years old. To celebrate it, we had a mini birthday party during Sunday School. I was the assigned Sunday School teacher so I was able to plan out things to accommodate my daughter's birthday celebration. We belong to a small church so there were only about a dozen kids (usually there are less than 10 kids during Sunday School) who joined our mini celebration.

After telling them the story of David and Goliath, I let the kids watched VeggieTales' Dave and the Giant Pickle. While they were watching the video I prepared their snacks (spaghetti and hotdogs). Before serving them their snacks, we had a game similar to Pin the Tail on the Donkey. In keeping with our Bible story for the day, I prepared 'Hit Goliath with a Stone' game for the kids and one other party game which they did after eating. As expected, they had lots of fun.

While the kids were eating their snacks I inflated some balloons for them as well as readied their loot bags. In essence, they came to church for Sunday School and went home with memories of party fun. It feels good to share your blessings with others and this is what I aim to instill in my kids.

To Wean or Not to Wean

My toddler is turning 3 years old in less than 2 weeks. She's pretty small for her age but she's smart and very active. She likes climbing up and down the stairs, jumping off from the table and sofa and scattering her toys on the floor. And she's got lots of hugs and kisses for her sister and parents.

I have planned to wean her from breastfeeding when she turns 3 and because she's nearly that age, I'm slowly trying to limit breastfeeding her with emphasis on the word 'trying.' It was a breeze weaning my older daughter but it's been an uphill struggle when it comes to my younger daughter who is 'tantrumatic.'

Tantrumatic is a word that I coined for my toddler. It simply means she automatically has a tantrum whenever she does not get what she wants. Her usual style is to drop down on the floor and spin around like a breakdancer while stomping her feet and bawling like it's the end of the world. I just let her be whenever she has her tantrums. I just make sure she does not hurt herself.

I'm used to her tantrums and most often she stops having one when she's distracted or if it's been quite a while and no one is paying attention to her. But it's entirely a different matter when she uses her dramatic flair to touch my heart.

The other night, while we were in bed, I told her, "That's enough!," after nursing her for about 15 minutes. She readily stopped but she cried as if she was really hurt emotionally. I hardened my heart and just allowed her to cry but my defenses crumbled when she started pleading with me. "Please mommy, please." I just can't ignore my daughter and say no to her after that. After all, she said please.

Some of the older folks here encourage me to just continue breastfeeding my daughter for as long as she wants to since I don't have plans to have another baby anyway. Well, I can do that but at the back of my mind there is something in me that wants to reclaim a bit of my freedom. But then again, my daughter will probably be weaned in due time without me even trying to. So, I'll just play it by ear and just let it be for now.

Family Comes First

My 6 year old missed school for 3 days because she got the flu. She wanted to go to school and I would have let her go if she was not febrile but she had a slight fever and I did not want it to worsen. Being at home for several days bored her and she looked forward to seeing her classmates and teachers again. By God's grace she's now feeling better and all set to attend school.

I haven't been able to update my blogs too because of all these health concerns. But more than anything else, the welfare of my family comes first so please bear with me. I have already some posts in mind, I just haven't written them yet.