ABC's Of Me!

Already thirty years on earth and I am still learning so much about myself. There are a few discoveries I found regarding my likes and dislikes in the context of wife-hood and mommy-hood. I know these will change in a few years, but for now, I'm living in these moments. I am sharing these in voiceBoks' ABC's Of Me! I am new in this parenting community but hopefully, I could gain friends and insights as a parent.

Apple is one of my least favorite fruits.
It's my first time to really get into Breastfeeding. It's been six months and it's still going on. Having the correct information, a breastfriend and support really helps.
I cannot eat Chocolate everyday, I need a break from it, too. Therefore, I am not a chocoholic after all.
I missed having Dogs, but ever since I became a mom, I am kind of scared of the allergy that their dander could cause.
I like soft-boiled and poached Eggs.
I don't fancy eating Fish.
I was addicted to Facebook Games once.
Heaven is very real for me.
It's good to always have Ice cream in the freezer.
Jesus values me so much. He preserves me with His love.
My Kids are fun and make me feel young at heart.
I don't want to sleep Late but I always end up doing so.
Being a Mommy is so darn hard. Glad my children are cute and worth it.
New stuff makes me giddy and excited. I'm sure that goes for most people, adults and kids alike.
I wish I could bake yummy dessert and snacks using the Oven.
I still like Princesses and fairy tales. Like my daughter.
Quality time spent works wonders for my children, they get upset less.
Rest and relaxation are luxuries for a mom.
I don't like Scary movies.
My children telling the Truth is very important to me. As with every parent.
Marriage needs a lot of Understanding.
I hope my parenting could instill Values in my children. C. S. Lewis said: "Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil. "
I am happy that my kids love to drink lots of Water. They don't ask for juice or soda.
I have never imagined giving my child a name that starts with the letter X.
I love it when my daughter says "Yummy" when I present to her some snacks.
I don't think I'll ever try Zipline. I think I am less adventurous after having children.

Summer Plan Ideas on Alter Space

It's my three-year-old daughter's summer vacation and I am contemplating on what we could do to let her learn while playing or enjoying. Another visit to the zoo, perhaps? Roll on the grass somewhere, maybe? Visit a park where she could ride her trike, an idea (I like this!)? Go swimming, of course! She has been telling me since before school ended that she wants to go to the beach. But it's so hot at the beach, I'd rather go to the mountains during summer.

Summer last year

So far, we haven't done any of the activities mentioned above. We did take a walk in Bonifacio High Street one Sunday, but she didn't roll on the grass. Mostly, we have been cooped up at home, lessening the carbon footprint left by a car. Things we do at home include:

• Watching TV, but we're cutting down the hours by playing (with her little brother and Barbie dolls) and doing arts.
• She's expressing herself by scribbling and drawing caterpillars & cockroaches (ew!). We use the back portion of bond papers that have been printed on. At last, she is getting used to the idea.
• She takes baths in the tubby versus showering.
• She loves to eat mango-flavored ice cream. Yum!
• She also loves strawberry-flavored crackers or cookies. She throws the wrappers in the trash can without being told.
• Play Alter Space. OK, actually it's just me, but she watches me play and I explain to her what's going on in the game. One mini-game I find interesting is the Switch Chaser. I discuss with my little girl that we need to turn off appliances when not in use with this mini-game as a visual aid. Alter Space is the 1st Filipino environmental awareness game on Facebook. Special Agent OSO, a TV show on Playhouse Disney, has an episode where the little girl was taught to turn off lights, TV, running water, etc., when they are not in use. I am also instilling this, so most of the time, she turns off the TV and electric fan when we leave the living area or when going out. I'm proud of her!

• Believe me when I say it is hard to teach a three-year-old not to leave her toys and papers on the floor. I feel like a nagger when I have to tell her not to have her things strewn all over the place. As with other "responsibilities" a kid must learn, the instructions must be repeated over and over, again and again. That's how redundant it should be!

I hope these summer plans could push through, so we could get some fresh air once in a while and appreciate nature with my little ones. I believe that when my daughter sees how lovely the greens of a picturesque view are, she will be conscious about preserving them. 

A Best Mom Award For Me?

Thanks to a wonderful Christian mommy, Chris of The Mommy Journey for handing me this award.


Rules:
1. Show the award logo in your post.
2. Pick a picture you have with your kiddo/s.
3. Post should include your best experience as a Mom.
4. Nominate other blogger moms out there that you consider the best mom, like yourself.

I have been a mommy for about a year and seven months now. It might be just be a short time with which to measure being the best mom, but only my little daughter could be the judge of that.
I was not expecting to get pregnant immediately after we got married. My hubby and I were not super prepared like some parents who buy so much stuff ahead of time, they even bought toddler things already! But after she arrived, we listed what we still needed and shopped for them. This activity enhanced my relationship with my hubby. I enjoyed it.
I did not feel like the best mom when I cannot soothe Elhaym's cries. This was when I learned to be more attuned to her. To listen not just to the sound, but to the feelings. Sometimes it's just trial and error. And there are books, magazines, and other moms to turn to. I did feel postpartum blues, but with the help of Rix and other family members and friends, they turned into baby pinks and motivate me to care for my baby more.
I did not feel like the best mom when Elhaym is being mischievous and does what is instructed NOT to do because I get angry and sometimes raise my voice. I do not want to hit her, so I shout instead, or growl at times. I know that both methods in disciplining are not proper. This teaches me to be stretch my patience, especially since she's just a one-year old and wouldn't discern right from wrong. To avoid her getting hurt, sometimes I want to go away. But being a mommy is a job that I couldn't quit. And, it's a job that I am beginning to love.
The moments I treasure most when spending time with my daughter are:

• when she calls me "Mama"
• when she calls herself "baby"
• when she looks up at me and smiles ever so cutely
• when she suddenly kisses me or asks for a kiss
• when she would hug me tight, with the sound effect "mmm!"
• when she is asking for something and saying "please" with a hand on her head
• when she tries to converse with me with her babbles
• when she looks at me with her inquiring round eyes
• when she clings to me and doesn't want me to leave for work
• when she would lean on parts of my body while playing
• how she likes animals especially dogs
• when she shares with me what she's eating
• how fast she learns new things and new words
• when she dances energetically
• when she pretends to read out loud from a book
• her funny facial and verbal expressions
• how she could entertain herself with mundane stuff at home
  

Now, I want to pass this award to great mom bloggers I know.

• Sandy of Momisodes
• Kmommy of The Poopie Patrol
• Tara of If Mom Says OK
• Lindsey of Mommy Chronicles
• Vicki of Starter Mom
• nova-san of Coffee Du Jour
  

Awarded and Tagged

This award is from Chris. It's my first ever award, and it comes with a tag, too! Thanks, Chris!

Here are the rules:
1. Each blogger must post these rules.
2. Each blogger starts with ten random facts/habits about themselves.
3. Bloggers that are tagged need to write ten facts about themselves. You need to choose ten people to tag and list their names.
4. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they've been tagged and also to read your blog.

10 Random facts/habits about me.

1. I like to wear colored contact lenses. The ones I use now is colored Amethyst, the next one I'd buy would be Cinnamon or Coffee.
2. I work at a bank, but the course I graduated from is Interior Design. Nope, I don't design banks.
3. My hubby was my first and last BF.
4. I love potatoes, cooked in any way.
5. I feel so fat but I'm just too lazy to exercise.
6. When I was younger, I didn't want to get married because I'm afraid of the pain that childbirth would bring. But, look at me now! I just couldn't resist the call of being a wife and mommy.
7. I have over 200 poems, which I started to compose when I was about 10 years old.
8. As a kid, I go out of our house to look for stray kittens left by their mommies. I bring them in and care for them, I even put milk in small plastic bags then I cut of the corner for the kitten to suckle. My mom doesn't like the idea.
9. And I cry when these pets die.
10. Speaking of crying, I don't like to watch drama movies because I would cry and cry, and my hubby would just roll his eyes like I was insane.

I'm tagging Meg, Vicki... Sorry, I can't come up with ten.

Pink in November

October, the breast cancer awareness month, has come and passed and I haven't posted an entry about something that could possibly affect me.
There were times I fear having breast cancer. It took away my grandma when I was little. I barely had memories of her. I just remembered one moment in her funeral, when I wiped my tears with the hem of my skirt, after I was carried to view her coffin. They say it skips a generation, so I've always thought I would have it in time. Years passed and I would occasionally be haunted with the thought of having my breasts removed. A woman without breasts seem awkward. A few months before, I detected a lump on my left one. I was relieved to hear the doctor say that my twin peaks were just fibrocystic. But I may have to have an ultrasound, which I haven't attended to yet.
Here is my chance at posting an entry on breast cancer. I was tagged by little miss firefly.

* One in eight women or 12.6% of all women will get breast cancer in her lifetime.
* Breast cancer risk increases with age and every woman is at risk.
* Every 13 minutes a woman dies of breast cancer.
* Seventy-seven percent of women with breast cancer are over 50.
* Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in women between the ages of 15 and 54, and the second cause of cancer death in women 55 to 74.
* Risks for breast cancer include a family history, atypical hyperplasia, early menstruation (before age 12), late menopause (after age 55), current use or use in the last ten years of oral contraceptives, and daily consumption of alcohol.
* Early detection of breast cancer, through monthly breast self-exam and particularly yearly mammography after age 40, offers the best chance for survival.

Facts taken from Women’s Health

PINK Sisterhood

1- Fara 2- Massy 3- N.O.Y 4- Mariuca 5- A Great Pleasure 6- LadyJava 7- Kim 8- Pink Thoughts 9- Turn-u-Off 10- Roxiticus Desperate Housewives 11- STAY AT HOME MOM 12- Fida Abbott 13- Also Mommy 14- Janice Ng 15- Juliana’s Site 16- The Painted Veil 17- Heart of Rachel 18- Mga Muni-muni 19- littlemsfirefly 20. cazzapoeia 21. YOU

Here are the rules for this meme:

1. Put the logo in your blog.

2. Add a link to the person who shared it with you.

3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs

4. Add your link to the list of participants below

5. Leave a message for your nominee on their blog.

I am tagging anyone who wants to be tagged. He he!

tag from Meg

1. What color is your toothbrush?
white and magenta

2. Name one person that made you smile today?
Elhaym

3. What were you doing 45 minutes ago?
playing with Elhaym then surfing

4. What is your favorite candy bar?
any chocolate bar

5. Have you ever been to a strip club?
nope

6. What is the last thing you said aloud?
Elhaym, no!

7. What is the best ice cream flavor?
I really don't have a preference

9. What was the last thing you had to drink?
water

10. What are you wearing right now?
PJ's

11. What was the last thing you ate?
peanuts

12. Have you bought any new clothing items this week?
nope

13. When was the last time you ran?
two weeks ago

14. What is your favorite flavor of popcorn?
salted

15. Who is the last person you sent a comment/message on friendster?
Cecille

16. Do you take vitamins daily?
before, I haven't replenished my supply yet

17. Do you like Chinese food better than pizza?
yep, more variety

18. Do you drink your soda with a straw?
yep, if I drink from a bottle

19. What did your last text message say?
"Payday na, Mommy Ceemee! blah... blah..." from Pampers promo

20. What are you doing tomorrow?
working

21. Where is your dad?
QC

22. Look to your left, what do you see?
Elhaym's toy cabinet

23. What color is your watch?
I'm not wearing any right now

24. What do you think of when you think of Australia?
blonde guys

25. Do you use chapstick?
nope

26. What is your birthstone color?
transparent? Diamond is my birthstone.

27. Do you go in at a fast food place or just hit the drive through?
both

28. What’s your favorite number?
9

29. Do you have a dog?
nope, I want to have one

30. Last guy you talked on the phone with?
Rix

31. Last girl you talked on the phone with?
my mama

32. Have you met anyone famous?
I don't think so

33. Any plans today?
the remaining plan I'd have is to have dinner, play with Elhaym, then sleep

34. Ever go to college?
yep

35. Do you dye your hair?
nope

36. Last song listened to?
the Boom De Ah Da song from discovery channel

37. Can you say the alphabet backwards?
I could sing it backwards before

38. Do you have a maid service clean your house?
yep

39. Favorite pair of shoes you wear all the time?
I usually wear my Tribu thong slippers

40. Are you jealous of anyone?
sometimes

41. Is anyone jealous of you?
I don't know

42. Do you love anyone?
yep, of course

43. Do any of your friends have children?
yep

44. What do you usually do during the day?
work

45. Do you hate anyone that you know right now?
nope

46. Do you use the word ‘hello’ daily?
when Elhaym pretends to answer the phone

47. Do you like cats?
yep

48. Have you ever been to Six Flags?
I think so, I can't remember if it is Six Flags

49. How did you get your worst scar?
I was running after my boy cousin when I tripped and fell and my plastic bracelet broke under my wrist

50. What is it that you wanted to have in a long time but haven't?
a vacation in Ireland

I'm tagging Hearthur, and whoever wants to be tagged.

Taggety taggie!

This is my first tag for a meme.

Tagged by Hearthur.

4 Simple rules:

1. Copy
2. Paste
3. Enter your answers
4. Tag 4 people

• Four places I go to, over and over:

1. Home at Caloocan
2. Work place at Caloocan
3. Trinoma where Rix and I go buy our grocery
4. My parents' home at Q. C.

• Four people who email me regularly: (only 2 are real persons)

1. Achi Gyn
2. Marco D.
3. My subscriptions
4. Friendster notifications

• Four of my favorite places to eat at:

1. Causeway at Banawe
2. Pasta places
3. Fast foods
4. Actually, any place is fine with me

• Four places I’d rather be:

1. Ireland
2. New Zealand
3. China
4. Anywhere with no taxes

• Four TV shows I could watch over and over:

1. CSI Las Vegas
2. Care Bears
3. Totally Spies
4. Kim Possible

• Four people I am tagging: (if it's OK with them?)

1. Meg
2. PM
3. Who else?
4. I can't think of any