ExtraSuperMom

Little Girl No More

2011-09-29T22:02:00.002+08:00

Menarche... the first occurrence of menstruation in a female. I was in high school when I had my menarche. I was 14 years old. Most of my friends had their monthly periods already by then and so I expected it to happen to me at any time. I knew what it was all about and although it still came as a surprise it was not scary at all.

At 10 and a half years old my daughter had her menarche. I saw the changes in her body and was expecting it but at the same time I was hoping for it not to happen this year. It did happen and psychologically, my daughter is not yet ready. She is still very much a kid. She got scared when she saw the blood the first time but everything went well during the first month. On the second month she cried. She thought there was something wrong with her. I had to explain to her once again that it is something that happens every month.

I am not yet ready. I know that my kids will grow up and reach milestones in their lives but I realize that I'm not ready to let them grow this fast. Although most changes happen only physically, it cannot be denied that there will also be changes in how we deal with them.

Although my daughter is still a child in so many ways, she now experiences more restrictions due to her bodily changes. It's like a small kid trapped in a woman's body. I feel sorry for her.

More girls now experience menarche at an early age compared to the girls during my younger years. Could it be related to their diet? Processed foods are aplenty, hormones are introduced to livestock. Who knows what's in our food nowadays? One thing is for sure, my daughter is now a lady but she's not yet ready to be one.

Allergy Mystery

2011-07-26T22:58:00.002+08:00

My daughter came home from school irritated with her itchy palms. I did not pay much attention to it. Truth is I got annoyed with her because she kept grumbling and getting mad with the itchiness.

It was a Friday and we went to the mall afterwards and ate at Yellow Cab. She was still complaining about her itchy palms and her Dad told her to just wash her hands properly. After eating we went to the toilet and it was there that I was able to see the tiny rashes on her hands, arms and even her body.

We immediately went to a pharmacy and I bought a loratadine tablet for her which is what I usually give her when she has allergic rhinitis. We then decided to just go home instead of buying groceries.

At home I took a good look at her rashes. They were all over her body. They were tiny, raised and looked a lot like heat rash. They looked similar to the rashes she got when she took amoxicillin. When I touched her skin it was very rough. We can't figure out where it came from since she did not take any medications prior to the rashes and I suspected the food she ate but I don't know which one.

The next day she had a low grade fever and her rashes were redder and warm to touch. A doctor friend suggested giving her Iterax and paracetamol and to observe her condition. It eased the itchiness a little but the rashes continued to abound and her fever went on and off.

She underwent lab tests and thankfully they did not find anything serious. She is still not well but I noticed today that her rashes are mostly on her extremities and are fading on her torso. Her hands and feet are very warm and I made her put them in cold water. I think it helped.

I am hoping that she's on her way to recovery. I'll post updates and more info next time.

Photographs and Memories

2011-07-04T14:04:00.002+08:00

Lately my husband and I have been looking at some of the old pictures of our children. It was a bittersweet experience for me.

The old photographs brought back wonderful memories of baby smells and sounds, of warm and soft bodies, of innocence and wide-eyed amazement at what Mommy can do. But at the same time they brought tears to my eyes. How time flies.

I am blessed to have enjoyed and witnessed my babies grow. I was with them in every ache and pain, in every achievement, in every milestone. In all their ups and downs I was there.

I love who they are now but I terribly miss the time when they were still babies. They were so dependent on me and it seemed like I was the most important person then but now they have their own friends and activities. How they have grown but they will forever be my little ones.

I never regret giving up my career to have kids and be a full-time mom. Every moment with my family is a wonderful experience that no money can ever buy.

A Father

2011-06-19T10:12:00.001+08:00

A father carries pictures where his money used to be.

Love...family

2011-06-15T09:55:00.003+08:00

Last weekend while we were dining out I looked at my daughters and my husband and felt a great swell of love for them. Being a wife and a mother is not easy but I realized that I would not have fully known myself and what I'm capable of if I remained single.

My single friends get to do lots of things that I also long to do but when I really weigh things, I end up choosing my family over those activities. I cannot imagine myself without my husband and my kids. I prefer to spend time with my family than with my friends.

My husband and I have been married for more than 12 years now and still we are very much in love with each other. Two weeks ago my husband shared to me that when he was in the bathroom and saw my stuff he tried to imagine not seeing them and he felt lost. He does not want to think about living life without me. I feel so loved.

I thank God for my husband and my children. They are not perfect, and they stress me out but I love them very much. I am not perfect and yet they love me too.

Quote by Cicero

2011-06-01T09:38:00.000+08:00

Diseases of the soul are more dangerous and more numerous than those of the body.

Being patient

2011-05-30T09:36:00.001+08:00

Patience is the ability to count down before you blast off.

Taking Responsibility

2011-01-24T09:28:00.000+08:00

"I must do something" always solves more problems than "Something must be done."

Author Unknown

The Value Of Having Someone

2011-01-22T09:24:00.000+08:00

Shared joy is a double joy; shared sorrow is half a sorrow.

Swedish Proverb

Happy New Year!!!

2011-01-21T07:00:00.000+08:00

Another year, another opportunity for me to better myself in all aspects of my life. Looking back, last year was a hectic but fulfilling one. I had more responsibilities and more opportunities to share God's blessings to others.

This year I am looking forward to improve myself. I would like to learn how to cook more dishes, acquire skills in sewing clothes, learn how to play the guitar and piano, do more exercises and be a better mother to my kids and more loving wife to my husband.

I am also looking forward to go on a vacation with my loved ones. I really hope and pray that we will not have any problem with regards to finances and time.

I thank God for another year He has added unto my life. I will not worry about what's going to happen tomorrow. I will try to live my life to the fullest everyday.

Happy New Year everyone!

Patience

2011-01-20T09:22:00.002+08:00

One moment of patience may ward off great disaster. One moment of impatience may ruin a whole life.

Chinese Proverb

Psalm 127:3-4

2010-12-09T12:53:00.001+08:00

Behold, children are a gift of the LORD,
The fruit of the womb is a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
So are the children of one's youth.

Perseverance

2010-11-12T15:15:00.001+08:00

Don't be afraid to give your best to what seemingly are small jobs. Every time you conquer one it makes you that much stronger. If you do the little jobs well, the big ones will tend to take care of themselves.

Dale Carnegie

Wishing and hoping

2010-06-29T08:06:00.004+08:00

I haven't written in my blog for many months now. With 2 kids in school, I find myself lacking in time. I'm the first one to get up in the morning and usually the last one to sleep at night.

I'm not complaining at all. I love being a mother to my kids and a wife to my husband. Sometimes though, money is short (with two growing kids and rising prices of commodities, what can you expect) which makes me want to have a regular work. But the way things are now, having a regular work presents a problem. I am torn between being there for my family and my desire to earn.

I still do some odd jobs online but not as much as before. What I really dream is to have a business that I will enjoy. I would like to put up a day care or preschool but I would like to have a masters degree in education first and I am not prepared to go back to school yet. Another idea is to put up a play area in a mall or maybe a snack shop. So many possibilities, but not enough funds, lol. Maybe I can make soap, fabric softener or dishwashing liquid at home and sell them. If you're reading this and you have a recipe, I hope you'll share them with me (an environmentally-friendly one please).

God is good! I know that in His perfect timing everything will fall into place.

Proverbs 31:30

2010-06-29T08:03:00.002+08:00

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

Quotable Quote from Tenneva Jordan

2009-10-29T15:54:00.001+08:00

A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.

Quotable Quote from Golda Meir

2009-10-19T07:00:00.000+08:00

At work, you think of the children you have left at home. At home, you think of the work you've left unfinished. Such a struggle is unleashed within yourself. Your heart is rent.

Quotable Quote from James Fenton

2009-10-17T17:52:00.003+08:00

The lullaby is the spell whereby the mother attempts to transform herself back from an ogre to a saint.

Kite Flying and Whistling

2009-08-27T08:46:00.003+08:00

Flying a kite is our new family activity whenever the weather is fine. It's an exhilarating as well as frustrating experience especially for my husband who is the official 'kite flyer'.

Long before we had our store bought kite, my husband and I attempted to make our own simple kites. I made mine out of paper but it had a poor balance and did not even take off. My husband did his out of plastic but the stick he used as a backbone broke. So, we bought a kite instead which was on sale.

Armed with our kite we excitedly prepared for it's first flight. The weather was fine for an outdoor activity but not really for flying a kite. There was just not enough wind.

This is where the whistling part comes in. I remembered when I was still single, I went kite flying with some friends. We looked pathetic trying to make our kite fly (although we were still having fun) and some kids (around 9 or 10 years old) came to our rescue. They offered to help us fly our kite.

The kids informed us that it's not windy enough and then they began to whistle. "Why are you whistling?," I asked. One boy answered, "We're calling the wind." Then... there's the wind and our kite took flight.

Now, I don't believe that you can call the wind by whistling but it was a happy memory for me so I told my older daughter to whistle. Whistling became her responsibility and after a while there was enough wind and our Hannah Montana kite soared up in the sky. It was fun to see our kite flying but all of a sudden the wind died sending Hannah Montana back on the ground.

Life is full of ups and downs. You can not control the circumstances but you have full control of your own reactions. One moment your kite is soaring up in the sky and then plops back on the ground in the next instant. Don't lose hope, keep whistling. The God who created the wind has good plans for us. Keep the faith!

I'm Back

2009-08-24T08:32:00.004+08:00

Wow! More than 5 months passed since my last post. So many things happened to me and my family that I don't know what to blog about anymore.

Let me just share with you something I experienced that I never would want to go through again.

It was just another ordinary "grocery day" for me and my family. Most of the items in our grocery list are in the cart already and because there are lots of people queuing to the check-in counters I asked my husband to take his place in the queue while I get the other items in the list.

Our younger child was sitting in the cart so she stayed with her dad while my older daughter went with me. We went to get some canned goods and while I was busy comparing prices my daughter was busy looking at some stuff beside me.

Maybe I got too engrossed with what I was doing that I did not realize that my daughter was no longer beside me. I calmed myself and did not panic. I called out her name but there was no response. I then thought that maybe she went to her dad so I went to see my husband. By this time more people are lining up and I even had a hard time looking for him. I did not go near him but just tried to see if my daughter was with him. I did not see her at all and I was thinking that if I had a hard time locating my husband then It's more likely that my daughter will have a hard time finding him too.

By this time, I felt myself go pale and cold and my heart filled with fear (brought about by news of abductions I see almost everyday). I went back to where we were last together and still there was no sign of her. I searched the other aisles and I just can't find her anywhere.

Feeling helpless, I took a pause and sought the Lord's guidance. Then I heard a tiny voice in my head saying, "Go to your husband." I took a peek once again to where my husband was but I did not see my older daughter. I did not know what to say to him so I did not talk to him at all. Between the two of us, he's more likely to get anxious and I fear he'll get a heart attack if I tell him that our child's missing.

I took another look around (the place was quite big and there were lots of shoppers) and heard again the tiny voice saying, "Go to your husband." I just can't ignore it anymore, so I steadied myself and prepared to tell my husband about what happened.

I kept praying while I was approaching him (by this time it was nearly his turn to pay). About one and half meters away from him, I saw my older daughter with my younger child busy sorting out the toothbrushes and other stuff on a rack. You can just imagine the relief I felt when I saw her.

After feeling relieved, I felt my anger surfacing. I felt the need to confront my daughter for making me go through all that. Then I heard again that tiny voice telling me to calm down. I realized that my daughter is safe -- that is what's important.

God works in mysterious ways and He knows what you're going through. Listen to that small still voice. God bless you!

Still Can't Say Goodbye!

2009-03-21T08:29:00.002+08:00

Yeah, I've been meaning to start writing about my Aunt's journey with Multiple Myeloma but I realized I still have not fully internalized the fact that she's no longer with us. Some days I expect her to enter our home and play a bit with my kids or maybe bring them a surprise like an injured bird or a wiggly worm.

Every time we pass by the hospital where she spent her last days, my younger daughter will encourage us all to say goodbye to Nana. We do miss her a lot. She's been a part of our lives for many, many years that her memory will always stay with us.

Bear with me my friends! I will soon have the drive to write about what she went through! God bless you all!

For My Aunt!

2009-01-17T16:01:00.004+08:00

My Aunt who suffered from Multiple Myeloma died on the last week of November 2008 at the age of 70 after being in the hospital for about 10 days. She would have wanted to live longer but her body just can't handle it anymore. We, her family, terribly miss her but we get comfort from the knowledge that she's no longer in pain.

As I put her things in order after her death, I came across some of the notes she had written about what she was going through especially during her chemotherapy. I just can't help but shed some tears as I read them. How I wish I was more patient with her. How I wish I did more for her.

But wishing will get me nowhere. I have decided to blog about my Aunt's journey with Multiple Myeloma instead. It is my hope that it will help others, especially those who has a loved one with the same condition.

Geographic Tongue Update

2009-01-16T15:24:00.005+08:00

My daughter's GT has improved a lot. There are still occasional red patches on her tongue but they don't bother her much anymore. As a matter of fact, she now enjoys eating some spicy foods but keeps away from acidic fruits, especially pineapple. When I looked at her tongue today I only saw one red patch (Hooray!).

So what helped her? I really don't know! She takes Vitamin C occasionally, uses ordinary toothpaste, occasionally takes antihistamine (loratidine) for her allergies and stays away from acidic fruits. Nothing special at all. I completely forgot about it until I checked on my blog and realized that my post about Geographic Tongue got the most number of comments.

To help those who have GT or those who know somebody who's suffering from it I will list down comments from my readers who learned to cope with it. Read on...

stephsali said...

I also have geographic tongue. I seen a doctor for it when I was a teenager. He assured me that I was fine and that the cause was unknown. He told me taking a multivitamin daily would often put it into remission or at least help somewhat. It worked!! If i take my vitamin daily I rarely have an episode, and if I do it is very mild. If I stop the vitamins, my geographic tongue returns in just a few days. I hope this info helps, it sure helped me!

Alyson said...

I'm 32 now and have had this for almost 10 years (my 5 year old nephew has it as well).

Took me a long time to figure out that Oregano is the actual culprit in a lot of the foods that irritate my tongue.

Photoshop Diva said...

I've had GT for as long as I can remember, since preschool maybe? My mom & dad BOTH have it so I didn't stand a chance. I am now 28 and find my irritation 'spells' are more frequent. SImilar to others, I react to tomatoes, pineapple, walnuts, eggplant, most citrus/acidic foods and who knows what else.

I was just reading suggestions on another site that involve switching to non-tartar-control toothpastes, swishing with peroxide, and applying the contents of a broken Benadryl capsule directly to the patches.

Anonymous said...

I think I have a cure. It is working for me. First, I bought a natural toothpaste with NO SLS. Next I always swish hydrogen peroxide around in my mouth before I brush my teeth. I took the following supplements. You can get them at a health food store. L-Lysine- 1000 mg. 2 x a day. Super Quercetin 500 mg 2 x a day. Homeopathic Sulfur 12c as directed on bottle. You must take it regularly for at least 3 weeks. I took it for about 1 month. I have been free of pain and the markings for about 3 weeks. My doctor recommended the supplements.

Anonymous said...

Well, I was reading about this and realized that not too many people actually suffer from this. I found out what it was called when I went to a dentist checkup about 6 years ago. I knew it was worse when I ate things that were spicy or acidic. Also I noticed someone commented about it becoming worse when they drank and smoked. I quit smoking about 5 years ago because of it. It used to cause infections on my tongue. I definately don't recommend drinking or smoking if you suffer from this condition. You'd only be asking for problems.

Anonymous said...

I suffer too from geographic tongue and fissured tongue. I'm now 31, but I have had this condition since I was a child. Like many with GT, my mother was told not to worry about it.

At present, I now also deal with burning mouth syndrome (may or may not be related). I know that drinking orange juice caused me to get canker sores. I stopped drinking it because of that. I decided to recently start (again) Vitamin C supplements. Geographic and fissured tongue came back (it had been gone for a long while). So now I am going to test a 2 week no Vitamin C diet. To see if the tongue clears up entirely, and if the burning mouth calms down.

It's worth a shot, but I am telling you folks, Vitamin C definitely has a drastic impact on my mouth.

renea said...

My 6 year old son has had this for years. He also has rally bad eczema and I was told that GT and eczma could be a milk allergy. So I took him off milk and with in a few days it was gone. He has never had any pain in his tongue with foods. And his fav food is pineapple.

Mike said...

I've had GT for over 5 years now and after going to several doctors, my dentist was very helpful as far as steering me in the right direction. Here's what I do: brush teeth and tongue (and scrape tongue with tongue scraper) twice a day and floss at night. I also use the prescription mouthwash Periogard which has a generic brand as well--this is the hard part because it tastes AWFUL, especially sitting in your mouth at night. My theory, at least in my case, is that my tongue is extra sensitive (allergic, really) to bacteria and over-reacts leading to GT.

I still get occasional flare-ups but only when I don't follow the regimen religiously. Getting back on the regimen gets rid of it quickly. It also has the benefit of impeccable oral hygiene! Anyway, this worked for me.

The Backyardigans Fever

2008-11-03T10:11:00.004+08:00

I really don't know why but my 7 year old got hooked with The Backyardigans once again. Her recent favorite is "Into the Deep" which has the Bollywood music style. It's amusing to see her dance and sing the song "Our Garden" with Tasha and Uniqua who are mermaids in the episode. It's not an easy song to sing (according to her daddy) but it's fun for her.

To help her out I searched for the lyrics of the song and for those who are also interested here it is:

Our Garden (by Tasha and Uniqua)

Uniqua: If you’re a fish that’s kinda fishy, or a thief out there in the reef
It’s time to turn and swim the other way!
Tasha: If you’re a coral that’s immoral, or a shark out in the dark
Goodbye and have a pleasant day!
Uniqua: To all you sketchy mollusks and you interloping clams
Tasha: You underhanded turtles with your underwater scams
Uniqua: To all you thieving catfish and dodgy lobsters, too
Tasha: Our garden’s not for you!
Uniqua: Hey, hey...
Tasha: We shout...
Uniqua: Go away...
Tasha: Keep out...
Uniqua: Excuse me, beg your pardon!
Tasha: Whoa, whoa...
Uniqua: We yell...
Tasha: Please go...
Uniqua: Farewell...
Both: It’s time to leave our garden!
Tasha: If you’re a bass that likes to trespass, or an eel that wants to steal
You’ve come to the wrong place!
Uniqua: If you’re a salmon who is scammin’, or a perch who likes to lurch
Then do an about-face!
Tasha: To all you shady tuna and misbehaving groupers
Uniqua: You murky deep sea robbers and underwater snoopers
Tasha: To all you shifty mackerel and creepy clownfish, too
Both: Our garden’s not for you!
Uniqua: Hey, hey...
Tasha: We shout...
Uniqua: Go away...
Tasha: Keep out...
Uniqua: Excuse me, beg your pardon!
Tasha: Whoa, whoa...
Uniqua: We yell...
Tasha: Please go...
Uniqua: Farewell...
Both: It’s time to leave our garden! Yes, it’s time to leave our garden!

Successful Weaning!

2008-09-23T15:27:00.003+08:00

I had blogged about weaning my younger daughter from breastfeeding here and I realized it's nearly a year since I first attempted to wean her. She's turning 4 years old next month and it's only been 5 days since I stopped breastfeeding her.

Yeah, yeah, it took a long time before she finally stopped but because she's the only baby and I'm a full time mom and housewife, I really did not feel the pressure to wean her until now. She still tries though, especially at night, to get me to give in to her but I have resolved not to. To make up for it, we supply her with her favorite yogurt drink as well as chocolate milk.

Weaning my daughter has given me a bit of freedom. Not much really, but just enough for me to have continuous sleep at night. There are times though when I miss the closeness that we had when I was still nursing her. But then again, our kids have to grow and slowly learn to be independent and this is one step my daughter (as well as her Mommy) has to go through.

The transition went well and I'm pretty sure we'll both have our weak moments but I will make certain we will not give in and stray.

Kudos to us mommies who are for breastfeeding. We know and offer the very best for our little ones!

I Need a Break!

2008-08-13T07:56:00.004+08:00

Last night I remembered about my blog. It's been more than 2 months since I updated it. I thought about the reasons why I haven't been blogging -- I have lots to blog about but I just don't have the time.

Lately I have been getting less than 7 hours of sleep everyday. I wake up early to prepare my older child for school and I sleep late because of the oh-so-many things I need to do with the added responsibility of taking care of my Aunt who has Multiple Myeloma and is on chemo.

My Aunt lives alone next door. She has been diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma 5 years ago. Lately, it's more difficult for her to move around and so she's always in bed. We have been on the lookout for somebody to take care of her needs but with my Aunt's "micromanaging" it's hard to find someone who has the patience to be with her. So, until we do find somebody, the responsibility to take care of her falls on me.

I love my Aunt and I don't mind taking care of her, however, the added responsibility has robbed me of my "life" as well as that of my family. We can no longer go out whenever or wherever we want like we used to. We've been eating canned goods lately because we don't have time to go to the market. It's been really a stressful situation for all of us these past 6 weeks. I feel like a prisoner in my own home.

I need a break and I'm really hoping we'll be able to hire somebody to be with my Aunt soon. That does not mean I no longer have a part in taking care of her -- I will continue to have a part in providing for her everyday needs but I will sleep better knowing somebody is with her especially at night.

Extra Cash For Moms

2008-06-04T08:20:00.003+08:00

For Stay at Home Moms like me, earning something extra for our family is a big thing. With soaring fuel prices, everything goes up as well. I therefore find it a blessing when I get to join sites where I can earn extra cash to help pay the bills.

If you're like me and you'd like to earn something while taking care of your family then SWATcash is for you. It's actually an enjoyable way to earn extra cash. Truth is, it is a pleasant diversion for me especially when I get too stressed out with the kids.

So far I've been paid more than $200 by SWATcash and I'm expecting a bigger paycheck this month.

It's free and fun, more so if you're a Mom. Join now!

Here's proof of payment I received from SWATcash.

Breastfeeding -- Smarter Kids

2008-05-07T11:39:00.003+08:00

Another reason to breastfeed exclusively -- smarter kids.

A new study offers some proof that breastfeeding produces smarter children. Mothers who exclusively breastfed their babies scored better on intelligence exams.

It seems that mothers who choose to breastfeed are different from those who choose not to breastfeed. With breastfeeding taking more time, mothers who do these invest more time with their kids and interact more with them.

If you breastfeed, your baby will not only enjoy the health benefits of breast milk but can also be smarter too.

Read more about breastfeeding and smarter kids here.

Warm Cycle

2008-05-05T11:57:00.000+08:00

My little girl loves eating noodles. One time her dad got the leftover noodles from the refrigerator which elicited much glee and excitement from her.

"It's still cold," my husband said. "What are we going to do?" he asked.

"Put it in the washing machine," my daughter seriously replied while pointing to the microwave oven.

Funtastic Art

2008-05-01T18:14:00.007+08:00

My two kids attended a 3-week art workshop held at our local museum. It was a fun, educational experience for my daughters as they freely expressed themselves using watercolor, crayons, pastel, paint, natural clay, stones, canvas and all sorts of materials.

My older daughter was very expressive in the execution of her artwork but she wanted to work fast and was unmindful of whatever mistakes she had committed. My younger daughter had only 2 subjects in mind -- cats and pigs.

I was with them all throughout their workshop and and I have seen how they interacted with their art teacher and classmates and how intent they were in doing their work. Both of my kids enjoyed making pictures using paint. They love mixing the colors and coming up with different effects. They were both pleased with what they've created and I was happy to see them looking proud of their handiwork.

My main objectives for enrolling my older daughter was for her to improve more her socialization skills and to discover her artistic abilities. With my younger daughter, it was more about improving her fine motor skills and also to encourage her to express herself through drawing and painting.

I don't expect my kids to be great artists but I would like them to be well-rounded individuals who know they have the freedom to express themselves in whatever form they choose. As their teacher would say, "Kids should be free to learn and express their ideas and not be limited by what adults expect them to do."

One Sandwich Only

2008-03-28T09:56:00.004+08:00

Although my older daughter is not fond of junk food she loves to eat and is now overweight. I've talked to her about it and she knows that she has to do her morning exercise daily as well as cut down on the amount of food she eats.

One day, I prepared chicken sandwich for her breakfast. She loves chicken sandwich and given the chance she'd have more than just one. But she knows she has to control herself. After eating the sandwich I prepared for her she looked at me sadly and said, "My tummy is still hungry." She then looked at her tummy and said, "Stop it tummy. You have to wait for lunch. Mommy will cook yummy food."

I'm glad that my daughter understands her situation and is making an effort to lose weight.

Bedtime Story

2008-03-04T18:57:00.005+08:00

Last week we bought new books for our kids. When it was time for bed, my husband got one book and started reading to my older daughter who was already getting comfortable lying on the bed. She did not seem interested to listen but my husband still read the story to her since he felt it was ok even if she fell asleep in the middle of it.

Out of the blue my daughter faced her dad and said, "Are you crazy? I'm sleeping."

Moral of the story: Don't read to a sleepy child if she's determined to go to sleep. :-)

Health Issues

2008-02-26T10:48:00.003+08:00

The past weeks had been very stressful with my older daughter being febrile for a week right after my younger daughter got sick for 3 days. She had occasional colds and cough and no other complaints. When we paid a visit to her doctor, white spots were noticed on her throat indicative of strep infection.

It really baffled me because my daughter did not complain of a sore throat at all but I did see the spots and saw exactly the same image when I did my research online after our visit to the doctor. Because of a previous allergic reaction to penicillin, my daughter was given erythromycin and it took 2 days before we saw the effect.

While she was sick, my daughter missed school as well as seeing her friends. When she was younger it was very hard to make her drink her medicine but last week she eagerly took her medications because she really wanted to attend school. After being absent from school for 3 days she became depressed and occasionally was seen crying silently. It was heartbreaking to see her so sad that I even prayed that her illness will just transfer to me so that she could resume her normal activities.

But God has other plans and now she is able to attend school once again. I'm hoping and praying that she'll continue to enjoy good health. The same prayer goes for our whole family.

A Relaxing Weekend

2008-02-19T12:07:00.005+08:00

So much for New Year's resolutions... I still am not able to update my blog weekly. There are so many things I love to do but I just don't have the time to do them at all. I am glad though that I was able to watch the Lord of the Rings Trilogy again for 3 consecutive days (Friday to Sunday).

I love the Lord of the Rings trilogy and I really enjoyed watching them again with my family. My kids, young as they are were also engrossed in the movie and I was amazed to note that they did not get scared at all by some of the characters in the movie. My older daughter showed maturity as we watched the fight scenes together.

When she was younger, she used to imitate angry or fighting characters that she saw on TV but not so much now. Comments like, "It's not nice to fight," can be heard from her while we were watching the movie. She also talked about what she think the characters' moods and emotions are.

I had fun watching the LOTR and it renewed my desire to read Tolkien's books once again. Now that my older child is getting better in her reading, she's also getting more interested in books and reads anything that she sees on our TV screen. My younger daughter also loves browsing books and she makes up her own stories based on the pictures.

I am looking forward to a relaxing afternoon with my family reading books. The love for reading is one thing I hope my kids would develop.

It's 2008

2008-01-25T11:44:00.001+08:00

Happy New Year!

Wow! It's been more than 2 months since my last post. So many things happened to me and my family (I forgot some already) but I just did not have the time to post them. I'm just happy to say that we're all in good health and we feel so blessed in many ways. God is really good!

Hopefully I'll be able to post at least once a week for this year.

Busy, Busy, Busy

2007-11-19T10:24:00.000+08:00

November has been a terribly busy month for all of us so far. Personally, I feel like I need an extra couple of hours daily just so I'll be able to accomplish all the things I need to do for myself and for my family.

To my mind, among the four of us in our family, my 6 year old is the one mostly affected by the busyness of life. I never knew being a preschooler could be a stressful stage. Everyday she needs to work on at least 20 pages of assignment in different subjects. Needless to say, she needs parental guidance to accomplish her task which means I need to devote at least 2 hours to help her with her homework.

Doing her assignment is stressful for both of us. Being a child, she'd rather watch TV or play on the computer or play with her toys but these past weeks playing has become more of a privilege than a right. I'm trying to remedy this situation by making myself put more importance on my daughter's childhood than on her role as a student. I hope we'll be able to strike a balance and make my daughter enjoy being a child and at the same time learn to be responsible and not be overwhelmed by different tasks that may come her way.

We are all so busy but I hope not too busy to know and value more important things in life.

Long Absence

2007-10-25T09:45:00.000+08:00

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

2007-10-05T08:29:00.000+08:00

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

2007-10-01T09:01:00.000+08:00

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.

A Mother's Separation Anxiety

2007-09-20T10:09:00.000+08:00

When my 6 year old was still a toddler, she used to sleep beside me. Even after I had weaned her, she wanted to sleep with her body close to me and her leg usually up on my hip or leg. She loved having my arms around her and sometimes her hand is on my armpit.

When our second child was born, I placed the new baby on my right side while my older child was on my left. There were times when I had to nurse the baby and could not cuddle my older daughter to sleep since I have my back to her. Not wanting to make her feel bad, I just encouraged her to hug me instead while I'm holding her hand. It worked! She did not feel left out and she still felt close to me.

Months passed by and our second daughter grew and developed her own mind. Even though I still placed her on my right side, she preferred sleeping beside her older sister and have some "tickling fun" with her before going to sleep. Because I wanted them to enjoy bonding with each other, I did not discourage my younger daughter to sleep beside her big sister. It put a stop however to my bedtime cuddles with my older child.

With her younger sister between me and my older child, we contented ourselves to just plain hand holding. After a while, I encouraged her to be cuddled to sleep by her daddy until she pushed me away when I tried to cuddle her to sleep while my younger daughter was with my husband. I felt really bad. I felt like my older child no longer needed me. It was at that point I thought about having my own separation anxiety which led me to think about what's going to happen in the future when my kids are older and have their own families. I felt like crying then.

With my anxiety in mind, I slowly tried to renew bonding with my older daughter. While in bed, I lovingly rub her arms and tummy and hold her hand. I also tell her I love her as often as I can. At first she would push my hand away but lately she does not mind anymore. Whenever possible, she would like for me to cuddle her and hold her hand. I hope we'll stay close even when she's older, same with my younger child.

Health Concerns

2007-09-12T19:40:00.000+08:00

Healthwise, everything's not well in our family these past weeks. My older daughter never completely got over her cough and colds. During the day, she seems fine but it's a totally different story in the middle of the night and around 7 in the morning. During these times she either coughs or sneezes continuously.

As a mom, my heart bleeds for her. Her sleep is disrupted and she's having a hard time. Hers is not just a simple case of cough and colds anymore. Like me, she coughs and sneezes as allergic reaction to whatever allergen is found in our environment. Sad part is, we have no way of completely shielding her from these allergens without disrupting her everyday life as a young child.

Nowadays, fresh and clean air is not something you can easily enjoy. We are having these allergies because of dirty air. Sometimes neighbors' activities are the cause or contributing factors to our polluted atmosphere. Just imagine what it would be like ten years from now. I hope all citizens of the world will open their eyes and do their part to save our planet. Just think about our children and their future.

Preoccupations

2007-09-04T11:09:00.000+08:00

My nephew has been asking me to update my blog as he enjoys reading about his cousins and what's happening in our home. It was my intention to post at least 3 times a week but I had lots of things to do lately. An Extrasuper Mom has limitations too, you know.

Aside from being busy with my online work, I've been having allergic rhinitis almost daily. I try not to take my medications for it since I usually end up feeling groggy and sleepy. Add to that, my toddler has been more of an attention-seeker lately. These past days and weeks, she's been acting more like a baby. She prefers me to spoonfeed her even though she can easily feed herself. One time, she handed me a piece of bread that she was eating and motioned to me that she wanted me to put it in her mouth. I can't say she's lazy. She just wanted to be given more attention, not that she lacks attention in my opinion.

With so many things to do, I'd rather play or do something that does not require much thinking whenever I have free time. Not that I don't enjoy blogging anymore. I just need some time to rest my mind.

To my dear nephew, I hope you will not grow weary visiting my blog. I'll try to be a better blogger but please don't expect me to have a new post daily. If I do have something interesting to post, you can be sure you'll read it here.

Keratosis Pilaris

2007-08-28T12:11:00.000+08:00

I consider my older daughter's geographic tongue as more of a cosmetic problem than a health threatening condition. Well, it's not enough that she has a geographic tongue. She also has keratosis pilaris, another non-life threatening condition affecting the skin. It's another cosmetic problem to either deal with or to simply ignore.

Keratosis pilaris is a benign skin disorder characterized by rough bumps on the skin. Just like in geographic tongue, keratosis pilaris occurs in otherwise healthy persons and has no known cure. It commonly appears on the upper arms and thighs and sometimes on the face, which is true in my daughter's case. Keratosis pilaris results from a buildup of protein called keratin in the openings of hair follicles in the skin. This produces small, rough patches, usually on the arms and thighs.

I first noticed the rough bumps on my daughter's arms and thighs when she was around 4 years old. I first thought it was part of the allergic reaction she had with one of the medicine prescribed for her. But then the bumps persisted long after her other skin rashes (allergic reaction to antibiotic) subsided. Truth is I am more bothered by the goose flesh appearance than my daughter is. I'm thinking that maybe she'll be more concerned about it when she's older but at this time she's not giving much thought about it.

Keratosis pilaris, sometimes also called as chicken skin, is more common in women, can affect people of all ages and tends to improve with age. It's difficult to treat so it can be frustrating at times. The symptoms usually improve during warmer months and worsen during colder season.

In keratosis pilaris the keratin, a protein in our body, builds up within the hair follicles on the skin causing small acne-like bumps. Although it is very tempting to do so, scratching or picking on the bumps is not advisable as it could lead to scarring. Our dermatologist prescribed cleansing milk wash, AHA cream and anti-wrinkle cream for my daughter's keratosis pilaris. Her doctor jokingly said that she was his youngest patient who needs anti-wrinkle cream. She was also encouraged to eat food rich in Vitamin A which is not an easy task considering her dislike for veggies.

My daughter call her keratosis pilaris bumps as her "spots" and she usually directs my attention to them when they are very prominent. "We need to put medicine lotion on my spots," she would say referring to the creams that our doctor prescribed for her. The aim in keratosis pilaris is to prevent excessive skin dryness.

Did I say it improves with age? I did? Well, I just need to remind myself about that lest I continue to let myself be bothered by it. There's a possibility it could worsen though but I will not focus on that.

Geographic Tongue

2007-08-21T11:48:00.001+08:00

When my older daughter was still a baby I noticed some reddish patches with white borders on her tongue. Being a first time mom then, I thought it was just a sort of residue from milk. Still, I directed our Pedia's attention to it on one of her regular check-ups. The doctor simply said that my daughter has mapping on her tongue. She did not elaborate and did not put much emphasis on it so I presumed it was nothing to be bothered about.

When my daughter was older, there were instances while we were eating when she would cry and say, "I have ouch on my tongue." Upon inspection, I would notice the smooth like patches on her tongue again. It really puzzled me because there were times when the patches are not there at all. After some time, I had observed that my daughter would complain about hurting her tongue especially when we were eating food with spices or with sour taste. This prompted me to do a bit of research which led me to sites about geographic tongue. Finally, my daughter's condition has a name.

Geographic tongue or benign migratory glossitis, a condition affecting the tongue has no known cause but tends to run in families. I don't have it and no one in our family has it. My husband doesn't have it so does his parents and siblings. So, I really don't know where my daughter got it from.

Geographic tongue is a benign condition. It is not dangerous to health, it is self-limiting and it does not require treatment. There are foods though that could aggravate the condition as I had observed with my daughter. Avoidance of foods that could exacerbate or cause pain to the tongue is therefore recommended.

Geographic tongue is common to people with psoriasis and also to those who have allergies, eczema as well as asthma. It occurs in around 2% of people in all ages, sexes and races and affects females three times more than males and more often appears in adults than in children.

If you observe closely someone who has a geographic tongue, you will notice that the pattern changes every time. It does look like an ever-changing map. In my daughter's case, sometimes there are bright red patches, sometimes they simply look like bald spots and there are also times when I don't see anything at all.

I'm no longer worried about my daughter's geographic tongue after learning more about it and I'm instilling in her the idea that it's not something she should be ashamed about. I do hope however that it will completely go away so that she could explore more her taste in food.

Not So Good

2007-08-17T10:17:00.000+08:00

My daughters and I are not feeling well these past days. It seems they both inherited my tendency to develop allergic rhinitis. We all have cough and colds. I don't have much drive to move around or even think, hence my inability to do some blogging. Yesterday my husband is complaining that he's not feeling well too. Sigh... it's all in the family. I hope we'll get better during the weekend so that we could go out and have fun as a family.

Surrogate Mother (Part 2)

2007-08-13T09:14:00.000+08:00

My sister is back and is happily reunited with her daughter. Our normal routine has resumed and my toddler enjoys the fact that she's the only baby in the house once again and I can devote more time with her. So, how did my experience as a surrogate mother go?

I've heard a breastfeeding advocate say it's not a problem breastfeeding another baby who is 6 months or below. Usually babies 6 months and younger will allow anybody to hold them, even virtual strangers. But how do you breastfeed a one year old child who is very attached to her own mother? A child who cries when I hold her even for just a short time while her mother is still around?

After my sister left her daughter in my care, my niece attached herself to me and I did not have much difficulty breasfeeding her. I think she was presented with no other choice so she readily accepted what I offered her. The only problem was she was more possessive than my own daughter. She cried whenever she saw me breastfeeding or even just holding my toddler. There were even instances when she pushed my daughter away while I was breastfeeding them both.

Yes, you read it right. There were times when I breastfed them together at the same time. I would have preferred to breastfeed them one at at time but there were occasions when it was better to give in. My niece has the tendency to hold her breath while crying, making her lips turn blue and I didn't like her to do that while she was under my care. At the same time I don't want to make my daughter feel like I'm abandoning her. So when they wanted to be fed at the same then I allowed them to do so. It felt strange but I survived it.

My niece had the tendency to wake up very early in the morning and she wanted to be rocked back to sleep while listening to music, preferably bossa nova. Her early morning habits made me feel like I had a month old infant in my care once again. What's so painful, is her tendency to pull my hair when she wanted me to get up. Arrrgggggg. I have very long hair so you can just imagine the amount of hair she was able to grasp.

All in all, the experience was bittersweet. Taking care of my niece limited my free time for personal endeavors but seeing her smile, hearing her giggles and enjoying herself with my family made up for the difficulties.

I am mighty proud of my daughters. They have been very understanding when I was still taking care of my niece. I am especially proud of my toddler who did not mind at all that I was breastfeeding another baby. She even enjoyed playing with her younger cousin. I have to admit that it was also tough on her since I am unable to respond to her needs right away when I'm taking care of the other baby. I am also proud of my husband who was always there to help lighten the load.

Surrogate Mother

2007-08-08T09:48:00.000+08:00

Oh how I miss blogging. I have been so busy lately I barely have enough time to do something for myself. These past few days, I have been taking care of 3 kids. Yeah, you heard me right-- 3 kids. You might be asking how come I now have 3 children when I only have 2 kids? Well, my sister entrusted her one-year old daughter to me for a week while she attended a conference abroad. Given the chance, my sister would have taken her baby with her but it's just not possible. Her two other children, aged 6 and 10 are with her husband. Hmm... she could have left her baby with the daddy too, right? Well, I have something that her daddy doesn't have. Have you figured it out yet? You're probably right, I have breastmilk.

My niece has not experienced being fed from a bottle so expressing milk for feeding is not really an option. Having refused to stay at their home for a week (my family also needs me at home), my sister travelled by plane last weekend to deliver her baby to me. For more than a year of her life, my niece has seen me for a total of about one month during 4 separate occasions, half of it during her infancy. In essence, she doesn't really know me that well.

I have talked about how clingy my toddler in my post here but my niece is the runaway winner in my opinion. Having chosen me as the next best thing in the absence of her mommy, she doesn't ever want me out of her sight. Sometimes I need to heed the call of Mother Nature and if she's awake, she'll insist in being with me in the toilet when I do my thing. Privacy is certainly not in her vocabulary, not that she's got one yet.

Cooking food is not something I can easily do anymore. Yesterday, I was holding my niece the whole time while cooking for lunch. Oh, I assure you it's not something I relish doing. It's dangerous and physically taxing. Add to that my niece's desire to help me out by grabbing the pan. So from now on, we'll probably just have takeaway.

More about my experience as a surrogate mom on my next post.

Cat's in the Cradle

2007-08-03T22:58:00.000+08:00

Have you ever heard of Harry Chapin? If you haven't, then you're not alone. I've never heard of him until I searched for the song "Cat's in the Cradle." The lyrics really moved me but I've never really listened to the song until I took the time to know more about it. The first time I learned about it, I thought it was a poem. My husband knew about it from a rock group called "Ugly Kid Joe."

Cat's in the Cradle's lyrics was written by Sandy, Harry Chapin's wife after their son was born. I don't know if it has any connection with their family life but I feel that the song is a good reminder for us parents and would-be parents to really know about our priorities in life.

My child arrived just the other day,
He came to the world in the usual way.
But there were planes to catch, and bills to pay.
He learned to walk while I was away.
And he was talking 'fore I knew it, and as he grew,
He'd say, "I'm gonna be like you, dad.
You know I'm gonna be like you."

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon,
Little boy blue and the man in the moon.
"When you coming home, dad?" "I don't know when,
But we'll get together then.
You know we'll have a good time then."

My son turned ten just the other day.
He said, "Thanks for the ball, dad, come on let's play.
Can you teach me to throw?" I said, "Not today,
I got a lot to do." He said, "That's ok."
And he walked away, but his smile never dimmmed,
Said, "I'm gonna be like him, yeah.
You know I'm gonna be like him."

How many parents missed their kids many firsts? First smile, first word, first step? Promises that were broken because there were far more important things to do?

Well, he came from college just the other day,
So much like a man I just had to say,
"Son, I'm proud of you. Can you sit for a while?"
He shook his head, and he said with a smile,
"What I'd really like, dad, is to borrow the car keys.
See you later. Can I have them please?"

How would you feel then when you have all the time to spend with your child but he no longer has time to spend with you?

I've long since retired and my son's moved away.
I called him up just the other day.
I said, "I'd like to see you if you don't mind."
He said, "I'd love to, dad, if I could find the time.
You see, my new job's a hassle, and the kid's got the flu,
But it's sure nice talking to you, dad.
It's been sure nice talking to you."
And as I hung up the phone, it occurred to me,
He'd grown up just like me.
My boy was just like me.

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon,
Little boy blue and the man in the moon.
"When you coming home, son?" "I don't know when,
But we'll get together then, dad.
You know we'll have a good time then."

There are some things in life that you can never go back to again. Our kids will never be kids forever. Before you know it, you are no longer the hero in your child's eyes and he'll consider other things and activities more important than spending time with you. Don't wait before it's too late. Don't let the busyness of your work put your family to the sidelines. Expensive toys can never replace your presence and guidance in your child's life.

Real Age?

2007-08-01T19:36:00.000+08:00

I was web surfing today and came across this site. I don't know how accurate their real age calculator is but the result I got was that physically I'm just 19 years old while my husband is 22. Of course, I'm glad with the results. It just goes to show I'm doing something right.

However, if I'm only 19 then I should feel like one, but sad to say I really feel old right now. I've been swamped with so many things to do lately but just before posting here I was reminded that I should strive to be happy and not dwell on the negative things. Life is too short to worry about the future. We really don't know what tomorrow will bring so I'll seize the moment and make the most of what I have now.

I have a personal relationship with my Creator and I have my family and loved ones to enjoy. I eat three times a day and I'm sheltered from the storm. What more can I ask for?

A Family That Plays Together Have Fun Together

2007-07-30T10:58:00.000+08:00

Lately, I got hooked with playing puzzle games such as Travelogue 360 Rome and Death on the Nile. The objective of these games is to look for and click the objects in the given list. It could be fun and a good exercise for visual acuity. But it could also get boring and frustrating, especially if you have a hard time looking for the objects. Good thing there are hints to help you out.

I enjoy doing the puzzles by myself, but I derive more pleasure when the whole family is playing together. Everybody helps out in looking for the missing objects and even my toddler does her share. It's quite humbling to know that my kids can see some of the objects easily and if they can't find anything anymore they usually cheer me on. My 6 year old usually says, "Good job Mommy. You found it." When I place the cursor on the object to be found, my kids will both say, "There it is," as if they also helped in finding it.

Playing is fun and more so when there are others having fun with you. As a family we are a team and anything that we do together, whether work or play, is an opportunity for us to bond and appreciate one another.

What's My Worth as a Mom?

2007-07-28T12:38:00.001+08:00

According to Salary.com, I should earn around $134,121 for being a stay at home mom. That's fantastic but not really accurate. After all, how do you put monetary value to genuine love and concern?

It's gratifying to know that my "job" as a homemaker can fetch more than $100,000. Of course, nobody's going to pay me that much as a homemaker. Truth is, I still need to do work outside of homemaking in order for me to earn a few bucks which will be used to keep our home in good shape.

Still, the fact remains that no one can really put monetary value to what a Mom does at home for her family. It's true that a professional housekeeper can do the cleaning, washing-up and everything, but can she lovingly kiss the hurt away from a bruised knee? Can she offer a prayer of protection to the owner of a shirt as she tries to remove the stains from it? Can she offer warmth from her loving arms as she comforts a child from troubled sleep?

To a professional housekeeper, housekeeping is just plain work. To a mom, it is a loving commitment for the holistic growth of her family and continued joy of living in their home.

How's School?

2007-07-26T07:24:00.000+08:00

During my daughter's first few days in school, I constantly inquire about her school activities. Once she gets home from school I usually ask, "So, what did you do in school?" Her usual response was, "Oh, nothing." It was so hard to get any details from her. I was actually getting frustrated.

One time, instead of asking about what she did in school, I asked, "How was school?" With a pleasant smile she replied, "I had fun." I was pleased and excited, I was finally getting something from her. I then asked, "What fun things did you do in school?" Without any hesitation, she answered, "Nothing."

Confessions Of An ExtraSuper Mom

2007-07-24T13:55:00.000+08:00

Out of the blue my husband asked what my dreams in life were when I was younger. He asked whether I dreamt about being a successful executive dressed in business suits and working in plush business offices. I gave this one a thought and I realized I am where I dreamt to be.

As far as I can recall, I never wished to be rich, powerful or even famous. When I was younger, I imagined myself as a wife and a mother and I really thought I would find fulfillment in being a homemaker. I do. I love being a wife and a mom to my 2 kids.

Although I have a college degree and I passed the board exam, having a successful career was never my top priority. Not that I'm no good as a career woman. I was considered an asset by one of our clients in my previous workplace. Even now that I'm a stay at home mom, I still try to give my best in everything that I do, whether in my online work or in taking care of my family.

Being a homemaker is never easy. I tend to become a catchall for everybody and everything around me. Others think that because I am always at home I have all the time in the world, but this is not true. Often, I don't have the time to do the things I need to do. There are times when I feel like I'm too busy doing things for others that I have no time for myself anymore.

But I am happy where I am now. Being who I am today gives my life a purpose and defines my reason for living. God is good! Life is good!

Big Things Come From Small Things

2007-07-23T11:08:00.000+08:00

My daughter has been complaining about the bird's poop on our car's windshield for 2 days now. So, I made up my mind to get rid of it. My initial plan was to simply remove the bird's poop.

I told my husband about my intention and he directed my attention to another poop on top of the car. Fine. I can do both. It's no big deal.

I got a bucket of water and a squeegee and started cleaning up. As expected, the poop made a mess so I decided to clean the whole windshield and also included the car windows. The water dribbled and caused some marks on the car's body so I got more water and with a sponge, resolved to give our car a good wash.

It was in fact my first time to wash our car. It is usually my husband's responsibility since our car is his baby. Still, I was able to do it. Maybe not expertly but an accomplishment just the same.

Now I'm tired but mighty proud of myself. I just hope I still have the energy to do the laundry, not to mention the floor and the cooking. Who knows what big things you can do coming from little things out of small intentions. Oh well, that's what an Extra Super Mom is all about.

You Don't Save By Being Cheap

2007-07-21T16:01:00.000+08:00

My 6 year old hates to write. This week she has been taking home writing assignments almost everyday and she did not enjoy doing them at all. It took her 2 hours just to finish one page of her writing assignment.

Seeing the need to improve on her fine motor skills, I bought a pack of 2 dozen clothespins. Making it like a game, I let her clip the same color of clothespin on a piece of cardboard. She was eager to do it but complained after a while.

"I'm hurt," she sadly said. I thought she had difficulty handling the clothespins. It turned out she broke some. It's either she's super strong or simply uncoordinated. My husband had this to say, "You have been too much of a penny pincher. You bought the cheap kind."

So much for being practical. Now I have to buy another pack of clothespins. This time I will not look at the price but give more value on the quality.

Sleep Talking

2007-07-20T14:37:00.000+08:00

My husband sometimes talks in his sleep, so does my 6 year old daughter. Between the two of them, my daughter talks more clearly. My husband usually mumbles.

I have read that sleep talking or somniloquy is pretty common, occurs more often in children than in adults and runs in the family. It is really not something to be worried about but could be irritating if it disrupts somebody else's sleep, especially mine. According to my husband, he seldom talks in his sleep and I should be thankful he is not snoring as that could be more irritating. I have to agree with him on this but it's still no fun to wake up from a deep sleep because somebody is sleep talking. I have to admit I got used to it and I no longer feel frightened when somebody starts talking loudly, it seems loud because everything is quiet, in the middle of the night. Sometimes it could be fun too.

One time, I woke up when I heard my husband talking. I immediately realized he was sleep talking. Out of curiosity, I asked him to repeat what he said and he did. He repeated the same unintelligible talk while still sleeping. I should have asked him some of his secrets but then again I still wouldn't understand because he was mumbling.

As for my daughter, I woke up hearing her call my name one night. I thought she wanted me to go with her to the toilet but was puzzled why she did not get up at all and instead said something else (I already forgot what she was talking about). It turned out she was just sleep talking.

I don't know if laughing is also considered sleep talking but I have witnessed my daughters and their dad, on separate occasions, laughing while sleeping. It's not the kind where you wake up in the midst of your laughter because they still continued sleeping. Now, I don't know if I'm also guilty of sleep talking because everybody in my family is a sound sleeper except me.

Colds And Vitamin C

2007-07-19T10:54:00.000+08:00

It seems I've been wasting good money in buying Vitamin C supplements for my family. I've always thought it helps in warding off colds but the latest result of Australian and Finnish scientists proved otherwise. The Vitamin C we get from our meals is enough. Since I make sure I serve fruits and vegetables, I don't need to buy supplements at all. My kids enjoy drinking orange juice too so I'm assured they get an ample supply of Vitamin C.

Read more about this here.

Hawaiian Pizza

2007-07-18T22:11:00.000+08:00

My two kids complement each other when we eat Hawaiian pizza. My older child loves the ham while her younger sister loves to eat the pineapple. They both love to eat the cheese. They seldom fight over cheese and they certainly don't fight over ham and pineapple. Now what about the crust? Well, that's all we, my husband and I, ever get to eat.

So how does the pizza taste? If you ask my older child she'll say, "It tastes good." My younger child will say, "Mmm... delicious." If you ask me, I'll say, "It's boring." My husband will say, "It tastes like bread with tomato sauce."

Are we full after eating pizza? I'm full. My husband is also full. My two daughters are complaining. They are still hungry.

Separation Anxiety

2007-07-17T15:33:00.000+08:00

Lately my toddler has been very clingy to me. She doesn't want me out of her sight and she prefers to hold my hand when we're walking rather than her daddy. She has this irritating cry, more like a whimper actually, whenever she's calling for my attention. In some ways, it feels good to be wanted but on the other hand it's annoying especially when it hinders me from doing my other responsibilities.

I was buying medicine for my Aunt while my kids and their daddy were left in the car. There were lots of people buying at the pharmacy so I had to wait for my turn. More than 10 minutes passed and I felt somebody touching my shoulder. It was my husband carrying my toddler who was whimpering. She was a sorry sight with tears streaming down her face. She only stopped crying when she saw me. I learned from my husband that she was crying the whole time they were waiting in the car.

Another time, my two year old stirred in her sleep and I saw her edging to one side with her hand patting the bed. I guess she was still looking for me even in her sleep. After some time she woke up whimpering when her searching hand did not find me.

Whenever we go out somewhere, my daughter won't step out the door until she's sure I'm going with her. Sometimes she wants to be with me even in the toilet. I can no longer respond to Mother Nature's call privately.

It seems like my daughter has an on and off switch in her. When she's crying for me, she instantly stops as soon as she sees my face and magically turns back into a fun kid to be with.

I know this is just a phase and she will grow out of it. It's nice to be needed and wanted but it has its down side when I can't do what I need to. I'm not complaining. It's better this way rather than not being needed nor wanted.

Patience Is A Virtue

2007-07-15T16:01:00.000+08:00

WordWeb defined patience as the "good-natured tolerance of delay or incompetence." Yesterday, my whole family's patience was put to the test. Surprisingly, our kids were more patient compared to me and my husband.

Here's what happened. We decided to buy food from a drive-thru restaurant. We could not get in immediately because of a slow walking pedestrian and a van hurriedly got in front of us. Ok, so he got to order first. That's fine with us. What we noticed was, even though we could not hear what was being said, he was either ordering a lot of food or making complicated instructions about his order. It was taking him forever to finish and pay up.

We were still pretty patient up to this point. Things like this happen and the restaurant crew was cheerful when it was our turn. Our kids were very patient too. They did not make any complaints or whine about the delay and my 6 year old even said hello and thank you to the crew. It took us less than 2 minutes to order and pay up.

My husband drove the car to the next window to pick up our food and the van was waiting there as expected. We saw the restaurant crew motion the driver to move forward to a waiting slot so others can move on. I guess their order was not yet complete. We got our food shortly but could not get out. The van was parked in front of us in such a way that its rear was at an angle, it would seem impossible to pass.

There we were ready to leave but we couldn't. My husband honked at the van to let it know we can't pass and patiently waited for the driver to move even just a little. The van did not budge at all. We assessed our situation. There was about 4 inches of clearance for either side of our car if we decide to go ahead and pass. If my husband makes a mistake, we either scrape the van or a concrete wall.

As much as possible, we don't want to take the risk because we have 2 small kids in the car. We were forced to sit there, waiting again. This time, we don't know for how long. The car behind us got their food and was ready to leave too. My husband was getting impatient. I have to admit, I was also getting restless. So my husband asked me to check once more how much space there was on the right side of the car, while he checked on the left side. There was about 4 inches. It was very tight.

We moved very, very slowly, watching the wall and the van close in on us. It was a bit scary but the kids were cheering their daddy on. Finally we were free. It was a relief.

What happened to us is a plain example of discourtesy and selfishness. The van driver could have moved just a couple of feet and it would have made a big difference. But he was protecting his space without thought for others behind him. Maybe he was thinking we can pass without problem if we wanted to. Well, we did, but it was an unnecessary risk that was forced on us. We felt he was very selfish and unreasonable.

My husband and I did not lose our tempers but impatience got the better of us. Although they were eager to get home and eat their food, I'm thankful our kids remained patient throughout the whole thing.

Hainan Chicken Rice

2007-07-14T16:12:00.000+08:00

I got this recipe from another blogger. I haven't tried this yet but I hope I will soon. I forgot to ask her, but I think it's also called Hainanese Chicken. Maybe this one is simply Malaysian style.

Ingredients:

1.5 kg whole chicken
2 cups long grain rice
14 shallots
12 pips garlic
half inch long ginger
1 tsp salt
half tsp pepper
4 tbsp cooking oil

Ingredients for Chicken stock: I'll probably use a store bought one to save time
quarter kilo of chicken bones
750 ml water
salt to taste

Ingredients for Chilli Sauce:

5 red chillies
4 pips garlic
1 lime
1 Tbsp sugar
half inch long ginger
one-fourth tsp salt

Garnishing Ingredients:
1 cucumber
1 tomato
1 sprig spring onion
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp light soya sauce

Preparation:

Boil chicken bones with water to obtain chicken stock. Add salt to taste.
Smash 8 shallots, 6 pips garlic and ginger.
Clean the chicken and stuff it with the smashed ingredients. Rub the skin with salt and pepper.
Finely slice the remaining shallots and chop the remaining garlic.
Pound red chillies, ginger and garlic together. Extract lime juice. Add lime juice, sugar and salt to the pounded ingredients. Set aside mixture.
Finely slice the cucumber and tomato.
Cut the spring onions into 2 cm lengths.
Mix the sesame oil and light soya sauce together.
Wash the rice grains.

Cooking:

Heat oil in wok. Fry the chopped garlic and sliced shallots until golden brown. Then add in the washed rice grains and continue to fry until fragrant.
Transfer the fried rice grains into a rice cooker. Add in the chicken stock and continue to cook until rice is done.

Steam the chicken in a wok or steamer for about 20 minutes or until the chicken is tender.
Once the chicken is cooked, remove from heat and cut into bite-size pieces.

Presentation:

Arrange the cucumber and tomato slices around the edge of a serving platter. Then place the chicken pieces in the centre of the same platter. Sprinkle the spring onions over the chicken and pour the mixed sesame oil and light soya sauce over it.
Serve chicken with the steamed rice and chilli sauce.

I'm thinking about just having plain rice so my kids can eat this dish too.

There are more recipes on WanNo's site. Do check it out.

Terrible Two

2007-07-13T16:16:00.000+08:00

My toddler has been terrible this week. She is not agreeable to seeing empty spaces. So all her toys are on the floor. There's a thick carpet of books and toys. Arrrggg... you can't move without stepping on something. Her older sister gets irritated too as I usually ask her help in putting back the toys in place. And what's more, after cleaning-up the place, sorting the books and the sets of toys, my 2 year old will spend all of one minute to restore her mess.

Last month, my daughter was not this mess lover monster. Well, not that much anyway, and she doesn't really look like a monster. She still looks deceptively sweet and she still has lots of "I love yous" for us. She was also scattering her toys then, but not to this extent. There are times when I don't want to look at her mess anymore and just pretend it's non-existent. But then again, if I don't clean up she or somebody in our family could get hurt.

We're in a dilemma here. My husband suggests we bury all her toys underground until she is old enough to clean up after herself. Of course, he was just joking. But I don't agree with the idea of keeping the toys away. She is a child, a toddler in this case, and this is her time to enjoy her toys. But at the same time I don't want to spend too much time cleaning up. Just seeing the mess makes me feel tired already. So, what to do?

As I was gazing at my charming little girl gleefully pouring the toys out of a box and pondering on my next move, I realized that she was really enjoying what she was doing. This was a game for her. She was not scattering her toys because she wanted to mess up things. She was simply playing and having fun.

I got up from my chair and started putting back the toys inside the box while singing Barney's clean-up song. My daughter sang along with me and picked up a toy from the floor and placed it in the box. After a while we finished our cleaning-up game and I happily moved on to my other tasks. CRASH!!! Hmmm... burying the toys underground doesn't sound like a bad idea after all.

Money Matters

2007-07-12T08:29:00.000+08:00

Although my kids sometimes get money for presents, they are still very innocent with what it is really about. My 6 year old knows it's for spending but she's ignorant in terms of its value. She actually gives more value to coins than bills. If you let her choose between a coin and a bill, she'll eagerly have the coin and consider herself rich.

My children don't usually whine or have temper tantrums whenever we don't buy them the stuff they fancy. Often, there are toys they'd like to have and we merely let them play with the toys inside the shop. They don't really feel bad if we leave the shop without buying anything. My kids, especially the older one, know why we are not buying the toys. During her Blue's Clues days, she would say, "We need Blue dollars." Nowadays she would say, "We need to buy money." Sigh!

One time, I was telling my first child of our plans to go visit her cousins. Being very attached to my sister's family, she was excited about it. I told her we don't have our plane tickets yet and asked her to pray to God to provide us with the means to purchase them. She readily complied and prayed about it. Later when we were in the supermarket, she found a small coin on the floor. She was very happy about her find and excitedly said, "Mommy, I found a coin. Now we can buy our tickets." I simply hugged her and said, "One coin is not enough. We need lots of coins in order to buy our plane tickets." Without any trace of disappointment she smilingly replied, "Yes! I'll go find some more." How I wish we all could view life through the eyes of a child.

Bond of Sisters 2

2007-07-10T21:09:00.000+08:00

My older child has a penchant for eating and she's a fast eater too. After she is done eating her food, she usually stations herself beside her younger sister. Why? So that she can eat my toddler's leftovers. When my 2 year old is already full, she enjoys giving her food to her older sister. She carefully spoons out whatever food is left and lovingly feeds it to my 6 year old who gleefully opens up her mouth.

It's somewhat hilarious and at the same time heartwarming watching them together. God bless my children!

A Touching Moment

2007-07-10T14:24:00.000+08:00

My 6 year old daughter was given a time out and she was made to face the wall for doing something she was not supposed to do. She was crying and her little sister was observing everything. While she was facing the wall, my 2 year old daughter approached her. She was very concerned and asked, "What's the matter?" She kept on saying, "Don't cry."

Her concern for her older sister was so real and touching that a parent just can't help but smile at that tender moment. The smile was covertly done however, lest my older child think she was already off the hook.

Baby's Breath

2007-07-08T22:36:00.000+08:00

Have you ever smelled a baby's breath? I'm not talking about the flower but a little baby's breath. Did you ever wonder why it smells good (my husband says it smells sweet) even though a baby doesn't wash his or her mouth or even brush teeth (if they have the teeth to brush)?

I have always loved the smell of babies. They smell good all the time. My husband doesn't agree with me on this one, he says babies don't smell good when they have poo-poo but exclusive breastfed babies don't have foul smelling excrement. I should know, I'm the one changing nappies most of the time.

My two year old daughter is not exactly a baby anymore but she still has that sweet baby smell. It's just lately that I really took notice of her breath. It does not stink in the morning upon waking up even if she goes to sleep in the evening without brushing her teeth. Come to think of it, my 6 year old does not have stinky breath too. It makes me wish they will always have sweet smelling breath, but such is not the case. When they grow up, they'll have stinky breath too.

Remember the movie America's Sweethearts? Julia Roberts and John Cusack woke up with bad breath, prompting them to talk with their mouths covered by the blanket. I think that was the only real thing in that movie, the rest was well... too Hollywood.

Knowing that my baby's sweet breath will not last forever, I have been taking every opportunity to enjoy it. My kids will grow up someday but I have this moment now to enjoy them in their youth. I will therefore embrace this moment and savor it.

Learning From TV

2007-07-06T15:58:00.000+08:00

There are times when I don't really pay much attention to my kids, especially when they are watching good TV shows. So it's really a delight for me when they learn something new.

It caught me by surprise when my 2 year old showed me a yellow toy and she said, "Amarillo." Another time, she was trying to reach something and she called for my help saying, "Mommy, help. Ayudame." All these she learned from watching "Dora the Explorer." As we are not Spanish speaking people, it's good to know that my kids can learn a new language just by watching TV.

My older daughter learned about fortissimo, adagio, crescendo and other musical terms. She also became aware of different classical compositions from watching "Little Einsteins." I sometimes catch her humming classical tunes while playing with her toys.

Because of "Elmo's World," going to the dentist was a breeze for my 6 year old and she actually had fun while having a prophylaxis. Watching an episode about babies also helped prepare her for the birth of her younger sister when she was just 3 years old.

There are so many things a child could learn just by watching television. I just hope more child-friendly and educational shows will proliferate on TV. Truth is, even I, do learn something new from watching these shows.

Armpits and Breastfeeding (Part 2)

2007-07-05T09:33:00.000+08:00

I have talked about my kids having a penchant of placing their hands in my armpit while breastfeeding, but it's actually more than that. They also liked smelling it as well as rubbing their faces on it. Even though they only did this at home, I still feel embarrassed by their actions.

My 6 year old still likes to do things with my armpit. One time, she smelled it so I laughingly asked her, "How does it smell?" She cheerfully answered, "It smells good." She's like an armpit inspector who tells me "very good" whenever my armpits are newly shaved.

The sense of adoration they sometimes shower on my armpits is really laughable, not to mention embarrassing. But children are driven by their active senses after all. It is important for them to see, hear, touch, smell and even taste special persons in their lives.

Thinking about all these things brought back to mind what I had experienced when I was about 7 years old. I remembered taking my mother's used nightgown and smelling it. The smell was very comforting to me and I can honestly say it smelled really good then. She was breastfeeding my younger brother at that time, so maybe the smell of breastmilk has something to do with it also.

I am curious to know if bottle-fed kids do these things too. Feel free to post your comments.

Armpits and Breastfeeding

2007-07-04T17:55:00.000+08:00

One thing I have to cope with while breastfeeding my daughter, is having her hand in my armpit. She likes to roll the back of her hand or sort of scratch my armpit which is not really painful but uncomfortable. Sometimes I feel like my skin will peel off because of her constant rubbing. Most often it's just one hand but there are times when both hands are busy in my armpits.

Both my kids tried nipple twiddling but I did not allow them to continue, so having a hand in the armpit is actually more of a compromise. Sometimes an errant hand gets lodged in my mouth but more often its the armpit that gets the honor of being given the loving attention.

I have read of this action being referred to as the free-hand habit. With no bottle to hold on to, the hands are free to explore and do things that could be soothing for a child. I can still remember clearly when I was about 3 years old and I love to twiddle my mother's nipple. She used to slap my hand so I will stop doing it.

I discourage my child from touching my armpit whenever I'm breastfeeding her. I usually remove her hand and put it somewhere else. Sometimes she whimpers, especially when she's very sleepy, but more often she allows her hand to be removed and slowly she'll place it back in my armpit when I'm not paying attention to her. Nowadays, it has become more of a game with her.

Chicken Vermicelli Soup

2007-07-04T14:18:00.000+08:00

My toddler is starting to get picky with food lately, so I always make sure I cook something she'll enjoy. She loves eating noodles, any kind of noodles, that's why it's not uncommon to see a dish with noodles during mealtimes in our home .

With a quarter kilo of chicken, carrots, cabbage, vermicelli, garlic and onion, I can be assured that my 2 year old will enjoy her meal.

Saute the chopped garlic, then add the diced onions and then the thinly sliced chicken strips. Once the chicken turns brown, add the chicken stock and let boil. Add the vermicelli and wait for it to be cooked before adding the julienned carrots and shredded cabbage. You can add other vegetables if you like. Season to taste.

This is fast and easy to make, just the kind of thing for extrasuper moms who have lots of other things to do.

BedWetting (Part 2)

2007-07-03T14:25:00.000+08:00

Bedwetting or nocturnal enuresis is a pretty common occurence for kids 6 years and below. Most children will eventually grow out of it so it's not something that should bother any parent too much. However, it could be stressful to both parents and kids.

Although my daughter does not seem to feel any embarassment everytime she bedwets, she still does not want it to happen since she has to wash and change her clothes after getting herself wet. Personally, I don't worry too much about her bedwetting, it's the need to change the sheets as well as wash the soiled bed linens that I don't like.

Bedwetting is hereditary. It's more likely that a child will bedwet if a parent or both parents wet their beds when they were still kids. In my daughter's case, I think she got it from my side.

I remembered when I was about 7 or 8 years old, I woke up from a deep sleep with a wet bed. If my memory serves me right, I got up from my bed, covered the wet spot with a blanket, changed my clothes and went back to sleep.

My Aunt had her own story to tell. She laughingly recounted her experience when she was already in her teens. She remembered dreaming about going to the toilet with a need to urinate. "It just kept going on and on and on without giving me any satisfaction until I finally did it and felt relieved," she said. She woke up soaked but just laughed off the incident.

The Uniform

2007-07-02T19:22:00.000+08:00

My 6 year old was very happy with her new set of school uniform. My mother, her grandmother, had sewn it for her. I called up my mother to thank her and my daughter excitedly took her turn over the phone. She sweetly said, "Thank you Nana. Thank you for the unicorn."

The Pothole

2007-07-02T10:12:00.000+08:00

Feeling tired and sleepy after our trip to the mall, we had limited conversations in our car while on our way home. We were contented listening to Psalty the singing songbook when suddenly we ran over a pothole. My 6 year old looked at her daddy and said, "Daddy, you have to be very careful. I could get a booboo on my head and I will cry." My husband just had to apologize after that.

That's Life!

2007-06-30T18:42:00.000+08:00

I got allergic rhinitis so I took my anti-allergy medication. One effect of the drug is that it makes me very sleepy. I felt really groggy so I decided to take a nap. Because my husband had other things to do, my kids were with me while I took a rest.

My eyes felt so heavy that I had a hard time knowing what my kids were up to. When I opened my eyes, I saw my little girl on top of a plastic toy box, singing and dancing with delight. Groggily I got up and had her get down but before I could even lay down my head on the bed, she was up on the box again. Not having enough strength, I called on my husband for reinforcement. He took out the box and I figured, I'll probably get the rest I needed then.

Without the toy box to amuse her, my toddler got on the bed and began poking my eyes saying, "Mommy! Wake up, wake up." Arrrggg... I just want a little rest and it seemed like I'll never be able to get a good one. She then snuggled up next to me and said, "I love you, Mommy." Sigh! Who can remain irritated after that? "I love you, Baby," I said, and then she began jumping on the bed. Oh well, that's an extra super Mom's life.

BedWetting

2007-06-29T21:58:00.000+08:00

I woke up from a restful sleep when my daughter shouted, "Daddy, finished! I have weewee in my panty." It was around 6 am. My husband readily got up from bed and went inside the bathroom where my 6 year old daughter was waiting, sitting on the toilet.

Between my two daughters, it is my first born who occasionally wets the bed. Sometimes I would wake in the middle of the night sensing her to be uneasy. I would either wake up my husband or assist her myself to the bathroom so she can relieve herself.

Sometimes my husband and I are just deep in sleep and wouldn't know whether she feels like going to the toilet. There are times when she gets up on her own and proceeds to the toilet all by herself. I noticed she prefers to be accompanied when it is still dark but goes to the toilet alone when there's light from dawn coming inside the room.

My daughter drinks water a lot, and I'm thinking it's one of the reasons why she needs to wake up in the middle of her sleep in order to pee. Her little sister is not much of a water drinker and seldom needs to go to the toilet in the middle of the night.

As my husband was the one assisting my daughter in the toilet, I did not bother getting up anymore until I heard her shout, "There's weewee on the bed." Oh dear, my toddler is nearly lying on the wet spot and I have to clean up the mess. I guess, it's time to get up now. What a good morning!

Bond Of Sisters

2007-06-28T18:04:00.000+08:00

My younger daughter was already up and about when it was time for my 6 year old to go to school. She knew that her daddy and sister were leaving so she asked for her shoes and started to panic, afraid she'll be left behind as usual.

Not wanting to make her cry, I decided that we will all go together in the car and bring her older sister to school. She was very happy as she sang along to some Disney songs being played on the car stereo.

At the school, only my husband and my 6 year old got off. My toddler started to panic again but because I was with her, she calmed down. When my husband came back to the car alone, my 2 year old started to cry and called out for her sister. She cried and shouted her sister's name all throughout the trip home.

Back at home, she kept on crying and calling for her sister. I tried to amuse her with her favorite videos but she just kept on crying. She literally cried herself to sleep.

My 2 year old was in a much better mood when she woke up but she still kept calling her sister's name and asking, "Where are you?"

She was very happy when her older sister got back from school and they hugged each other. I found out from my husband that according to the teacher, my 6 year old also cried after we left her. She had hoped that her sister will be with her in school.

It's heartwarming to know that my children truly care for each other. I hope their sisterly bond will grow stronger each day.

The Star

2007-06-27T20:45:00.001+08:00

My 6 year old came home from school with a star stamped on her hand. Upon seeing it, my youngest daughter looked worried and said, "There's a star. What happened?" It was so funny seeing her so concerned over her elder sister while the latter is proud of it.

I asked my daughter what she did why she got a star and she answered, "Uh, nothing."

Saline Solution

2007-06-27T10:56:00.000+08:00

I usually use a store bought saline solution for our family to save time and effort (an extrasuper mom has lots of things to do, you know). But you can actually make one in your home. Here's a very simple recipe to make a saline solution.

Mix a half teaspoon of salt (preferably kosher, canning, sea or pickling salt) and a pinch of baking soda to a cup of water (room temperature). Place the mixture in a clean container and use as necessary. It is better to make a new batch everyday, but you can actually store this mixture up to a week.

For my kids, I normally use 2 to 3 drops per nostril and then let them blow through their noses. For infants and kids who don't know how to blow their noses yet, a nose suction or aspirator is a handy tool. You can do this 3 to 4 times a day.

Evolving Viewing Preference

2007-06-26T19:22:00.000+08:00

I'm not sure how it happened but right before my very eyes, my 6 year old's TV viewing preferences have evolved. I got so used to her watching Blue's Clues, Dora, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Maisy Mouse and the like that it felt strange seeing her a little bored with these shows and opting to watch shows such as Pokemon, Totally Spies and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I'm not even certain if she understands what she enjoys watching nowadays.

How do you keep your child from being exposed to TV shows with questionable content and still give her freedom to explore her taste? I don't want to be super strict because this could lead to rebellious acts from her which could worsen as she gets older. At the same time I don't want to be too lenient because I'd like her to develop good values. So what to do?

The best solution is to watch TV with her. I have to discuss the shows with her and point out what's good and what's bad. It's time consuming but it's the only way I can think of to give her a bit of freedom and allow her to discover her own preferences while making sure that good values are in place.

Dealing With A Cold

2007-06-26T09:37:00.000+08:00

I have posted about my eldest daughter getting a cold, now my youngest child caught it. It is inevitable considering they are playmates and they sleep beside each other. I wouldn't mind too much about it really if only my youngest daughter would drink her medicine. As of now, making her drink her medicine is like a torture session, both for her and for me...arrrg.

My eldest child was like this also when she was still a toddler. When she was sick, I had to try every trick in the book in order for her to take her medicine with only 50% success rate. Now, I have to relive this stressful experience with my youngest daughter.

A nose suction and a bottle of saline solution is essential for an extrasuper mom who has a child with a cold and who refuses to drink her medicine. Although my toddler already knows how to blow her nose, I still use a nose suction to effectively suck out the mucus especially before bedtime. I prefer using a nose suction which has a little bottle and a long tube (like a straw). Suctioning her nose is essential for her (and for me too) to have a good night's sleep.

Television and Kids

2007-06-25T16:24:00.000+08:00

Nowadays, television is a common fixture inside a household. Admittedly, it is a good entertainer of kids and could be valuable to extrasuper moms like me. With the television taking hold of my children's attention, I am free to do the oh-so-many things that I have to do in order to keep our home well-oiled.

But dangers do lurk in TVs. If you're not too careful, your kids could absorb things that will not make them better persons. Sometimes TV channels, supposedly for kids, carry programs that I deem not child-friendly at all.

My eldest daughter learned to say "stupid" and other nasty comments from cartoons. I saw her hitting her toys as well as shouting at her younger sister while pretending to be angry. All these offensive acts were acquired from watching television.

It is very much necessary for me therefore to be fully aware of what my kids are watching on TV. If I chance upon a show that has a nasty element, I usually tell my kids, "It's not a nice show." I then try to explain to them why I don't like them watching such shows. My eldest child understands what I'm saying but she tries to reason out that "it's a nice show" whenever she is caught watching a particular show that I told her not to watch. She will then proceed to tell me the story and why she likes watching it. It's really tough to reason with kids.

With the proliferation of children's videos, I am able to, more or less, control my kids exposure to television. I buy them videos that impart good values and learning and they enjoy watching. It's just a pity that my eldest daughter has learned to operate our video system. She's able to switch back to watching TV whenever she wants to.

Mom's Day Off

2007-06-25T07:54:00.000+08:00

Sunday is "Family day." This is the day we go to church, go malling, buy groceries, and most importantly, it is my day off from being a cook.

During Sundays, we usually eat out or buy take aways. Sometimes we eat leftovers. Being spared from cooking, even for just one day in a week is already a big relief for me. It gives me more time to relax and get a chance to watch television. And because it's also a non-working day for my husband, he gets to do more household chores, like washing the dishes (way to go, Honey).

It is really important for me to have this bit of day off from being an extrasuper mom. I don't want to get burned out because I am swamped by too many household chores. A little relief is all I need to continue doing what an extrasuper mom does for the rest of the week.

School and Getting Sick

2007-06-23T22:07:00.000+08:00

Now that my eldest daughter is in school, she is more vulnerable to getting sick. My fears were realized this week. She missed a day in school because she got the cold. She had difficulty breathing and sleeping at night and she woke us up crying while saying, "Please help me."

The most obvious source of infection was found in school as the only places she has been to this week were home and school. Nobody in our home has a cold except her.

I don't want my kids getting sick but it's a fact of life that we cannot completely protect them from it. Even with all the immunizations, they will still get sick one way or another. One thing we can do is arm them with our prayers and if they do get sick, give them all the tender loving care that we could give.

Children and Dealing With Death

2007-06-22T22:27:00.000+08:00

My grandfather died recently and we attended his funeral. It was the first time for my children to see a dead person. I was curious to know how they will react upon seeing him in the coffin.

My youngest daughter took a look at my grandfather and did not bother looking again. My eldest daughter after seeing my dead grandfather asked, "What is he doing? " I told her that her great grandfather died and is already with God. I also explained to her that we were there because it will be the last time we will be able to see him physically and we are going to say goodbye to him.

When the coffin was being put inside the tomb, many people were seen shedding tears and some were even bawling. My 6 year old daughter was also moved to tears and she kept on crying until we got back to our hotel. She cried because she was saddened to see people who were also sad.

In all, it was a smooth experience for my children unlike what I had to go through when I was a child.

I was around 7 or 8 years old when I first experienced going to a wake. My aunt brought me with her when she went to pay her last respects to a friend. On our way there, she was scaring me with ghost stories and she told me that I will be visited by the spirit of the dead because it's my first time to see one. I tried to look brave but it took all my guts just to take a peek at her friend inside the coffin. I had a hard time sleeping that night. I kept hearing creepy sounds and I was afraid that something will appear beside my bed.

Now that I am a mom, I have realized the folly of my aunt. I would never want any child to go through what I had experienced.

Earnest Prayer

2007-06-22T19:14:00.003+08:00

One time I had a terrible headache and I was groaning while cradling my head. My eldest daughter asked, "What's the matter Mommy?" I told her about my headache and I asked her if she could pray to God to take it away. She readily agreed and started to pray, "Dear Jesus, thank you for this food..."

Breastfeeding (Part 3)

2007-06-22T19:14:00.001+08:00

Before giving birth to our first child, I had initially planned on expressing my milk and let my baby feed through a bottle occasionally. This is primarily to let my husband get his share in bonding with the baby during feeding as well as allow me to go out for some hours. I was discouraged by our pediatrician against doing this as it could lead to "nipple confusion." I took her advice and decided to completely do away with the bottle.

Having decided not to feed my baby through a bottle left me no choice but to constantly bring my baby and my husband with me wherever I go. I experienced feeding my baby while shopping (I literally breastfed while browsing from one shop to another), while attending a church service, while waiting at the doctor's clinic, while eating in a restaurant, while onboard an airplane, bus and car, and in many other places while doing my usual activities.

I have learned the art of breastfeeding in public. Most people don't realize that I'm breastfeeding at all. Maybe it's because I don't make it too obvious. The only thing I need is a wide baby blanket coupled with a happy disposition.

Admittedly, breastfeeding is not for everybody but it is something which should be encouraged. I had my ups and downs with regards to breastfeeding but I never regretted doing it. For me, the benefits far outweigh the inconveniences.

Breastfeeding (Part 2)

2007-06-22T19:13:00.003+08:00

Before we had our first child, I had already resolved on becoming a full-time mom while our kids are still young. When I got pregnant, I stopped working and devoted myself to reading books. Having been breastfed by my own mother and having an older sister who exclusively breastfeeds her kids, I have decided to do likewise.

I have read and heard about the pains experienced when breastfeeding so I have mentally prepared myself regarding these.

My sister has been plagued by mastitis while breastfeeding her kids. It was distressing seeing her moan in pain and trying to alleviate it by applying warm compresses. I did not look forward to experiencing it but I have prepared myself just the same.

I did not have mastitis but I had a similar, if not more painful, experience.

Because my baby was not properly latching on to my breast during feeding, I developed a tear on my nipple. It grew bigger and bigger and breastfeeding became painful more and more each day. Later my other breast got a tear too. I remembered kicking the bed and groaning in pain while feeding my baby.

I sought the help of our pediatrician and she gave me a cream to be applied on the affected parts. It did not make much difference so I made my own research.

It was a blessing that we were living with my sister's family at that time. She agreed to feed my baby before we went to bed at night so that my breasts can take a bit of rest and be encouraged to heal. I wet the affected parts with my breastmilk and airdried them. Once in a while I expressed milk by squeezing my breasts in order to prevent more painful problems.

After a 12 hour rest, my breasts began to heal. I resumed feeding my baby and I made sure she was latching on properly. Slowly, the pain ebbed until breastfeeding no longer became a painful ordeal but a wonderful bonding experience.

More about my breasfeeding experiences later. Watch out for Part 3.

Note: Some people may be grossed out by what I have posted but I am only stating my own experiences. Things like these do happen.

Breastfeeding (Part 1)

2007-06-22T19:13:00.001+08:00

Both my daughters were exclusively breastfed. They never learned to feed from a bottle and they have never tasted any infant formula. This is something that I am very proud of.

I had no milk yet 2 days after giving birth to my firstborn. My daughter got her first feeding from my sister who had a four month baby at that time. This was not the only time that my sister breastfed her (more about this on the second part). I think my mammary glands got jealous because I was able to express milk just hours after my sister fed my baby. I breastfed my eldest daughter until she was 2 years old.

I was able to start breastfeeding my second daughter hours after she was born. She is not yet weaned and she doesn't seem to have any plans to stop at all. My heart breaks everytime I attempt to wean her and she gives out a painful cry. But I have already resolved to wean her when she turns 3 years old. I just hope it won't be very hard when that time comes.

Breastfeeding my kids has given me a sense of achievement and satisfaction. I have developed a special bonding with them and they made me feel important. It has allowed me to have more cuddle time with them and plenty of eye contact.

I have seen the healthy advantage of breastfeeding. Both my kids seldom get sick. Breastfeeding is also very economical. No need to spend on infant formula as well as baby bottles and all those gadgets associated with bottle feeding. We also have less things to pack and carry whenever we go on a trip.

There are also many sacrifices. More about that later.

Be Careful!

2007-06-22T19:12:00.001+08:00

It's my 6 year old daughter's first time to go to school. The school is located near a busy street so we kept reminding her to stay inside the school and to never go out on her own or with other people in the absence of her Mommy or Daddy. She was constantly advised to wait inside her school and not to venture out to prevent accidents.

After oh-so-many times of reminding her, we asked her again what she was supposed to do to prevent accidents like getting hit by a car and she promptly answered, "I will stay at home." Smart girl!

My Lovely Daughters

2007-06-22T19:10:00.002+08:00

Now, I'd like to talk about my two beautiful kids. Without them, I wouldn't be the extra super Mom that I claim to be.

My eldest daughter is now 6 years old. She's got very expressive eyes and wonderful lips. She enjoys having cuddles with me, her daddy, as well as with her little sister. Her usual line is, "Give me my hug." She's got a very good appetite and she adores babies.

My second daughter is nearly 3 years old. She loves to sing and has a good memory for different tunes. She enjoys parroting whatever her elder sister says. In fact, she repeats what she hears from songs, television as well as from us, her parents. Her favorite show is Maisy Mouse.

My first daughter came into this world without much ado.

I started to feel the contractions around 8 am and I gave birth to her before 3 pm of the same day. As far as I can remember, the labor pains were bearable. I was just disappointed when I first saw her. She looked ugly! She had puffy eyes and appeared like she came from a boxing match. She turned out to be a pretty little girl.

I had a totally different experience with my second daughter. What I went through during her delivery convinced me not to have another baby.

My amniotic fluid started to leak so I was advised by my doctor to stay in the hospital. I stayed inside the labor room for more than 24 hours without feeling any signs of labor. Finally, my doctor decided to induce my contractions. It took nearly 24 hours before I felt the labor pains. The contractions I had were unbearable. Had I not thought it embarrassing, I would have shouted to my heart's content. But I did make it through without making a raucous scene. I just wished I had thought of having an epidural beforehand.

Both my daughters have given me so much joy. Having them made me realize the importance as well as difficulty of being a good mom. Their presence in my life made me appreciate my own mother more.

I Will Never Forget...

2007-06-22T19:10:00.001+08:00

I mentioned that I am a mother to 2 beautiful girls but I got pregnant thrice. I had a miscarriage before I had my second daughter.

Having a miscarriage was a painful experience. I was already 12 weeks pregnant when I visited my Ob-Gyne. No heartbeat was heard so an ultrasound was advised. I had to harden my heart and open up my mind to the possibility that the baby inside me no longer has life.

Fetal demise... these words were written in black and white on my ultrasound result. I felt numb but I had to be strong for my eldest daughter and for my husband.

After 2 days of taking some medications prescribed by my doctor I started to bleed and had to go to the hospital for a D & C (Dilatation and Curettage). While waiting for the surgery, blood kept gushing out and I felt something solid came out. It was my baby.

My baby already looked human, complete with a head (with facial features), legs and arms. I felt like crying then, but I could not.

My second baby did not make it, but I will never forget...

A Little About Me!

2007-06-22T19:07:00.000+08:00

Finally, I got the nerve to make my own blog. I am hoping this will help me cope with stress related to being an extra super Mom.

Hmmm... what can I say about myself? I'm an extra super Mom who's in her 30's and blessed with 2 lovely daughters and a loving husband.

Why am I an extra super Mom? Well, I am a full-time mother to my 2 kids... that's the Mom part. The "extra super" part comes from being the cook, dishwasher, dressmaker, secretary, housekeeper, teacher, nurse, counselor, entertainer, and a lot more.

My blog will chronicle my adventures and misadventures as a Mom, inside and outside my home.

Enjoy reading!

I am now in Blogger

2007-06-22T16:04:00.000+08:00

I am planning of making Blogger my new blogging home.