Popoy Approves! Spiderman Lightup Timer Toothbrush

My son has this weird habit of changing names and naming things/people. Just last month, he insisted that we call him "Nani". While I didn't really like it, we went along with it and in no time, everyone in the household referred to him as "Nani". I thought it was that sometimes I call him "Noni" for no particular reason however, the other night, he came up with yet another name to call himself. this time, it's "Popoy"

of course, I was aghast!

then his yayo is now named "Berting" which used to be "Jujun" (his real name is Jun). Please don't ask me how and where he got these names because I really don't know.

Anyway, I saw this blinking toothbrush and decided to get one for Popoy since he's into Spider-man and Batman these days (goodbye Cars!) The light blinks for full 60 seconds which is good since it entertains Popoy while I go deeper into his mouth without risking a bite. With a regular toothbrush, a full 10 seconds would be a miracle already so for me, this is godsend!

has soft bristles and this is very important because I don't want Popoy hurting his gums while brushing his teeth. He's getting good at brushing his front teeth by himself but he gets gigil so I make sure his toothbrush has soft bristles.

According to package, when the light no longer flashes, it is time to change the toothbrush (approx 3 months)

no problem so far in using this toothbrush. That is if you don't count the number of times I had to look for it come brushing time since Popoy took it and played with Spiderman somewhere.

Overall, I'm happy with this lightup timer toothbrush since we're having a huge success in using it. I'm thinking now maybe I should include this into my toddler inaanaks' gift bags!

#excitedforwednesday! Yay! :)

When Nanny-less and Busy, Call Errand Runners!

Y'all know that I'm yaya-less (nanny-less) right? This is something I have been adamant about - not hiring a fulltime, round the clock help for the whole family -, eversince my firstborn's yaya left us to care for her grandchild instead - that was about 6 years ago. My daughter was 4 or 5 years old at that time and to be honest, if I had a choice then, I would not hire a nanny to begin with. It's just that I was too young to care for a child (read:  ZERO patience) and my working hours were so stiff and demanding, I accepted help. Good thing she was good with kids so I didn't really regret that I hired her.

Anyway, my not hiring a nanny all boils down to principles. I believe that a nanny or help, would only encourage my kids not to help at home thus hindering their growth as a person. This, I also believe, doesn't encourage independence in kids and their natural instinct and simple know-how to do things on their own. I certainly would not like to grow needy kids, needing help in everything they do. I want well-rounded individuals for kids, thank you very much.

However, as a mom, I must admit, things are a little tougher when it comes to accomplishing errands especially if one has to work almost fulltime from a computer. You just have to send someone out there to do things for you while you take care of the homefront or have someone look over the home while you run errands that can't be done by anyone else but you. It's a tough job, if you ask me. Finding a good errand runner takes time, it's more like finding yourself a good personal assistant. Your errand runner should be efficient and reliable. You should be able to trust this person fully since he or she will have to act on your behalf when situation  calls for it. While I remain nanny-less, I have a group of people whom I consider as my errand runners to help me get out of sticky situations - and fast!

So how to put together your own team/errand runners? Start with your own family members. Since my daughter is already 11 years old, I can easily ask her to look after her baby brother when I'm away or simply busy with work and household chores. Your friends can also act as your errand runners once in a while so as your neighbors if they are up for it. Some of my errand runners were found online, both local and overseas. For example, I need to check something in San Francisco, say, a company or some important documents, but it's physically impossible to do it myself right away. My next move would be to consult ads sites like Zaarly, type in keywords "errand services san francisco" then browse through ads to see if something fits my needs. You can also post ads, if you want, then just wait for service providers to contact you. This can also be done using your mobile phone - a big plus especially when you're on the move.

Going nanny-less is hard, but it is indeed doable. You just need reliable people around you.

Random Tuesday: Moonleaf Post-It Wall, Free Donuts, Car-Carts, Brownies and Buko Shake :)

Hello everyone!!! Did you miss me? Anyway, sorry for the short hiatus, things just turned from slightly bad to bangs-curling crazy. Don't worry though, I still believe what doesn't kill me only makes me stronger (to which a dear boss of mine once retorted, "good thing you're not working in a nuclear plant")

Onto my Tuesday randomness..

This post-it wall at Moonleaf is simply awesome! It's really interesting to look at, sometimes I find myself just standing there, reading short messages and grinning like an idiot while waiting for my milk tea. I think every branch has one :)

I love, love, love freshly baked donuts! more so if they are FREE. ^^ Krispy Kreme, every once in a while, surprises their patrons by giving away free freshly baked donuts. I must say, there's nothing quite like it - the taste of freshly baked AND free stuff ^^

My son used to shy away from these car-carts BUT now, he has turned into one eager beaver who couldn't wait to get in and be pushed around. Talk about bipolar characteristics of toddlers! My daughter R was the one pushing him around as Mr. C here didn't want the cart to stop even if I needed to, to inspect and pick up some things.

I'm a sucker for sweets - you must know that by now. These brownies came from Becky's Kitchen - Taft. I hold fond memories of that place. My ex-bf aka hubby used to take me there for a slice of cake and a cup of coffee - shared. ^^

Good thing the summer heat is now abating. Still, I'm hooked on cold drinks, particularly this one from Bahay Buko. ^^ Refreshing and at the same time, healthy :) For some reason though, I am not really comfortable with their bottles. I don't know, maybe it's the punched cap to make way for the straw? I don't know if that's a wise thing to do.

So, that's it ^^ 

#goodvibesonly!Kisses!

C's First Ever Big Screen Experience: The Avengers

Yesterday marked a very important milestone in C's life. It's his first ever big screen experience! Yey!

Yep, it was a success and I'm very proud of my son because at 1 year and 7 months, he was able to finish the whole movie without any fuss. Okay, I had to let out my boobies twice - thank goodness, it was dark and the cinema was not that full as it was a Thursday afternoon. lol.

Photo from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0848228/

It was a really nice movie, The Avengers. We had fun! It was an impromptu movie date for me as I was not really planning to go out that day (I was all cough and sniffles -.-) but all three of them were too excited and they practically dragged me out of the house - which explains the uneven eyebrows and haphazardly applied makeup. lol :D

There was a point when C got restless and he started walking side to side but he didn't really go far. Then he got bored and decided to sleep, which means "dede" time. He climbed up onto my lap and fell asleep soon after. He spent the last half of the movie sleeping. lol :D We didn't mind, we were just happy we could concentrate on the movie instead.

If you are planning to bring your baby to a movie house too, just make sure the baby is not afraid of the dark to begin with. And bring his or her favorite munchies. And lots of distraction - ours was an iTouch loaded with his beloved apps and videos. lol :D

#yeyforsuccessfulfamilymoviedates!kisses!

No Fluoride Toothpaste For Your Little Ones!

I don't know if I was the only one who didn't know that you are not supposed to give babies/toddlers a non-fluoride toothpaste! I just learned about it the other day while interacting with other moms on MomCenter Philippines.

Just FYI,  when my daughter was a tod, I failed to monitor her teeth cleaning activities as she grew up with a yaya. I was still working outside of home at that time, I was confident that her yaya was strict in implementing my teeth cleaning instructions, only to find out (too late) that there were days when the little girl refused to brush her teeth and the yaya didn't really push hard enough. So, this time around, with my son, I personally attend to his teeth cleaning ritual and got really frustrated when I saw some stains on his teeth. His dad even accused me of not cleaning it right. I was really devastated.

On top of regular brushing, I wipe his teeth (and all around inside his mouth) with a clean cloth. I do this every single day,without fail. SO just imagine my surprise when I saw a dentist commented on a thread saying that the culprit was the FLUORIDE TOOTHPASTE I was giving my son! We were using Hapee with Elmo on it, the strawberry one, and it seems this toothpaste is not really fit for toddlers since most of them don't know how to spit the toothpaste/foam out and tend to just swallow. Now the ingested fluoride causes the mottling, or stains, on developing teeth. *wow, henyo moment*

What's maddening though is that these kiddie toothpaste companies didn't even bother to put that warning on their labels (if there were warnings, I definitely didn't see/notice them!) Don't get me wrong, you can still give a child a fluoride toothpaste IF he or she knows how to spit out, if not, you ABSOLUTELY don't wanna give them a fluoride toothpaste or else your bebe's teeth will still rot - brushie or no brushie. I'm playing it safe from now on, since there are two BUTS on this fluoride toothpaste thingy 1) spitting baby, not swallowing and 2) developing teeth. I'm going to keep Mr. C on non-fluoride toothpaste until his PERMANENT TEETH come out, spitting or no spitting. lol. :D

Your best bet in finding a non-fluoride toothpaste is in drugstores. If not, try baby section of your favorite department stores. We're trying SansFluo from SM, as this seems to be a cult favorite. I was looking for gum wipes but they were OOS so I'll try again next time.

SansFluo toothgel Strawberry

87Php for 50ml

A little expensive than Hapee Kiddie toothpaste but a little goes a long way AND hey, it's going to save my kid's teeth from rotting so I'm not one to complain about the price!

#booforfalseadvertising!kisses!

What's This Baby Doing?

That's my son watching a how-to-make-a-Serenitea-milk-tea video. Counting how many times a day he watches that video, I wouldn't be surprised if one day he serves us milk teas mixed by him. lol :)

justmesharing. :)

Supermoms, Prettify Every Chance You Get

I must admit, that whole 12 months of caring for the baby has left no room to prettify myself. My hair and my skin have gone dry that no amount of lotion can revive it anymore. I wear lousy clothes to bed knowing that it will still end up bunched around my neck upon waking up just because I was too tired and too sleepy to be pulling it up and down everytime the baby wants milk (breasts don't sleep, you know, it's a milk factory 24/7. It's a conspiracy, if you ask me) I get in and out of the shower in 3minutes tops. I was forced to do some dramatic changes on my working hours just because it wouldn't accommodate my baby's "playtime" thus making me look and feel like a walking zombie most of the time. My income has gone down to half the amount it used to be so I have to skimp a lot on my "kikay" allowance.

I get no rest. I get no sleep. I get no love :(

I am also not kidding when I say I get  no love. Seriously, how on Earth could I ever turn "romance" on and off just like a light bulb switch? It's crazy! You're either a mom or you're a wife, there's no meeting halfway sweetheart. You can never survive motherhood wearing lacy thongs underneath your mumus - and that my dear, only happens in Harlequin novels, never in real life.

Now imagine me with eyebags the size of your coin purse, unexplained skin discoloration in face and neck areas, fullblown war against white and blackheads combo - they are winning as of last tally, btw - allergy that is not going anywhere soon, and desert-dry skin and hair. Yikes!

This is what you get if you let go of yourself in 12 straight months, so don't make the same mistake, supermoms!

Because of these injustices, I was compelled to strategize. I made myself a promise to set aside some time for myself even if it means a measly 10 minutes before sleep time. Within this time, I should be able to squeeze in my beauty rituals such as nose and face packs, diy hair color - which should take at 30 minutes, lol -, paint nails, etc. This should be my "me" time. I mighty hope I would be able to add some more minutes as my son grows up! however, the mommy in me likes the baby in him and hopes he'll forever be a baby. lol.

Oh well.. pains of  motherhood, i guess ^_^

Moroccan Oil Hair Treatment 3.4 Oz Bottle with Blue Box sounds lovely, hmm..

Lactacyd's Our Baby Turns 1 Birthday Contest

Just a quick post for supermoms out there with bubs turning 1 real soon: Here's a chance to win your bub a 1-hour portrait session with Shutterbugz studio.

It's quite easy to join, you just have to sign up for their mailing list which automatically makes you a member of the Mums and Tubs Club too, then like their Facebook page: Mums and Tubs Club, Email your bub's cutest photo with a short description to info@mumsandtubsclub.com and you're all done! :)

Deadline for submission of entries is September 17, 2011. Make sure you keep an eye on their Facebook page and website as names of winners will be posted there on September 22, 2011.

Cheers! :)

First Birthday Party Planning Tips For Almost Deranged Moms

Don't worry, you'll be hearing it from the pro. Yep, that would be me.

My son's first birthday party is in two weeks and if you ask me now what was already accomplished, I would tell you straight that I have no idea. Nada.

I do know that I have already paid the downpayment for the venue so you could tick that off the list. I have also sought help from my friend, who happens to be a godmother of my son and an awesome party needs supplier, for host-cum-entertainer to keep them kids busy while the adults keep their tummies busy with food and gas (food from the buffet table, gas from never ending nonsense talking a.k.a chismisan) and although she notified me the other day that our first choice for entertainer is not anymore available for the said date, I trust my friend to come up with someone cool and worth the bucks.

So that leaves me the invites and tarp and cake and costume and my "mini-assignment" of asking the venue if they will allow us to put up balloon pillars. Unfortunately, the email address that was given to me by the contact person was incorrect (oh, I hope I was not duped. oh God...)

ran..tripped..dunked..rummaged for that darn invoice.. 

Yep I'm good, invoice bears the right company header so I guess I'm good for now :)

I keep putting it off - contacting the venue, I don't know, it just slips my mind all the time. Promise tomorrow I'll work on it even if it kills me. lol :)

My bestgirl will do the invites layout so I'll just have to follow her up on that. I just have to remember to ask the venue if they could print our layout for the streamer too instead of their not-so-good looking one. no offense meant dears, it's just too..i don't know bland?

Anyhoo, the layouts will then go to those who will print it and tomorrow I still have to look for someone who can sew a race car driver costume or else we will have to buy the one we saw on sulit.com which is priced at 2,500 if I am not mistaken. Ouch.

So where are the tips?

Well.. make sure you have a list for what you need:
1. Venue. This comes first since everything else will depend on it i.e date, theme, time, etc
2. Basic party needs like sound system, etc. ask the venue's contact person as they usually have packages offered for this.
3. Invites. You can opt to use the ones provided by the venue but they are usually unattractive.
4. Costume. Of course, it should be according to theme.
5. Balloons. "To make the place more festive." as quoted from my kumare-cum-supplier
6. Host/entertainer. You can hire separately or find someone who does both.
7. Additional party favors. If you feel the provided ones are not enough. These can be booths, balloons, entertainers, giveaways, souvenirs etc..
8. Kids. What are children parties for if they don't have kids?
9. Parents/Adults. Who will eat your cake if they don't come?

As for me, I am going to write these things on my handy dandy notebook so I won't forget anything and kick myself in the future for not remembering!

Next, seek help from pros i.e party planners, layout designers, etc. everything can now be ordered off the internet and be shipped to you even if you don't have credit card or if you're not so comfortable using it online. Most shops accept bank transfers and in the Philippines, cash transfers through third party payment providers like PayPal and Gcash. Order them off when possible and just nag your way until your package comes! lol :)

Wish me luck supermoms. Cheers! :) 

E-radio Portal For All Those Working Nights

Wondering what's keeping me company during those working nights/early mornings? This is:


e-Radio Portal 

Cute huh? We've been together for about 2 years now and yes, there were times he failed me but he's a decent enough company so I'm not complaining. lol :)

My friends from the US are getting quite a kick out of this site as they were able to tune in to popular Philippine FM and AM stations such as 96.3 DWRK (Easy Rock), 90.7 Love Radio, 89.9 Magic FM and 101.1 Yes! FM. My personal favorite is Easy Rock. Yeah, I'm sentimental like that :)

My Handy Dandy Notebooks ala Blue's Clues

Goodbye old handy dandy notebook. You've served your master well..

Hello cutie handy dandy notebooks, I hope we'll have a very fruitful relationship!


you too, new pen..

Homemade Ice Lolly

Ate absolutely loves anything that is iced hence this homemade coffee ice lolly when a proper ice cream is not within reach. 

Cross my heart, ice cream is a staple in our home. The family just cannot live without an ice cream inside the fridge! It may seem impractical for some moms out there but for us who constantly crave chocolates, this is the next sensible thing to have. 

Of course there were also times when the ever-present ice cream is unavailable so we settle for ice lollies. Here you can see my left-over instant coffee (Great Taste 3 in 1) from breakfast, put in the freezer the whole day and devoured by my daughter after school!

nomnom :)

A Day In The Life Of A 30something Mom :)

6:00AM: Wake Ate up. Push her to the bathroom if need be.
6:05AM: Choose between ironing clothes (including uniforms to be used the same day) and washing baby clothes. Start washing machine to spin on her own.
6:30AM: Breastfeed baby while ironing. BE extra careful not to burn the clothes or the baby.
6:45AM:  Push everybody out the door except the baby.
7:00AM: Drain dirty water from the washing machine, replace with clean water and spin again. Hang clean but wet clothes from yesterday's washing while taking the dry ones off the drying rack.
7:30AM: Pickup scattered toys and shove all others under sofa. Sweep floors in preparation for baby onslaught in 2 hours.
8:00AM: Plug in water boiler for cereal drink while listening to AM radio for news and nasty commentaries.
8:10AM: Breastfeed baby while turning the computer on.
8:30AM: Start working online while trying to enjoy breakfast. Do everything silently so not to wake the baby up.
9:30AM: Baby starting to toss and turn, pacify by offering breast while fighting the urge to sleep. Put computer to sleep. Read ebook instead.
10:00AM: Start with new batch of washload. Fold clean, dry clothes and separate those needing some ironing.
10:30AM: Baby now wide awake. Play with baby. Pray for hubby to come back home so he could take the baby out and allow me a couple of minutes to  rest.
11:00AM: Hubby comes home with lunch then quickly goes out of the house like his pants are on fire leaving a wailing baby in his trail.
11:10AM: Try to distract baby by offering toys and putting Elmo on. Try to go back to online work.
12:00PM: Grab quick lunch. Dry-Spin washload, soak new batch of washload with soap and a little bit of bleach.
12:30PM: Feed/Breastfeed baby.
1:00PM: Baby still awake and very much irritated. Try to sneak online work from time to time while trying to calm the fussy baby.
2:00PM: Bathe baby while soaking baby clothes for washing tomorrow.
2:30PM: Put baby to sleep. Work online.
3:30PM: Give in to droopy eyes. Nap for 30minutes.
4:00PM: Ate comes home. Hubby comes home. Baby wails begging to be taken out of the house - again.
4:30PM: Breastfeed baby. Nag about messy house. If by God's glory the hubby gave in and takes the baby with him, then I would be back working online. If not, I'm stuck with a whiny baby and one hungry, near-crazy preteen.
5:00PM:  Merienda time. Whatever happens to be inside the fridge.
5:30PM-7PM:  Either minding the baby or working online, depending on, again, God's glory.
7:10PM:  Answer inquiries from my online stores. Fulfill orders. Schedule deliveries and bookings.
8:30PM: Watch favorite soap, have dinner, feed baby.
10:00PM-12AM: Put the baby to sleep. Nag everybody else to sleep too. Read a book. Nap a little.
12:05AM-3:00AM: Work online
3:30AM:  Sleep. Finally.

Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

Meet Dodo

FYI, I have a daughter who's turning 10 this December and a baby boy turning 1 this September. Although I was quite pleased with their age difference, considering the troubles I might have if I were raising two tots at the same time, the role of being the primary - more of overall - caregiver of the baby fell unto my already-overworked shoulders, despite protestations. I would like it to be a family effort unfortunately it didn't turn out that way. Ate wants to be left alone; Dad won't be bothered when resting (which takes 2-3 hours everytime he comes home in a day and he comes home 11am and 7pm so you could just imagine how much time that leaves me to deal things without the baby in tow) Sometimes, the dad gets the baby out of the house - and out of my hair - but that would mean just a measly 1-2 hours window time, barely finishing household chores by the time they get home.

You see, I adamantly oppose the idea of hiring a yaya for the kids. I believe that it will only encourage laziness at the same time defeat the idea of self-independence. I would like my kids to grow as self-reliant, independent human beings capable of deciding and doing things for themselves. Well that backfired, thank you very much, as I am now a certified "momya". That is mommy+yaya to you.

To make my momya duties a little easier (more of distracting the whiny baby), I have enlisted help from some friends.  Today you get to meet, Dodo:

Dodo, Chino's friend :)

Dodo keeps Chino gum-satisfied whenever the baby feels the urge to bite and my skin no longer has the patience for it. So, thank you Dodo and  I hope you live long :)