My daughter wants to be a nurse

My youngest daughter Tala wanted to be a nurse like her Aunt Star. When she was three years old, Star gave her a miniature scrub uniform or uniform scrubs that was similar to the one Star has been using at her work at Capitol Medical Center. The nursing uniforms were pink in color and have Spongebob drawings. According to Star, that’s her pedia ward uniform. My daughter got it in her head that she should be a nurse also and though she outgrown her miniature scrub uniform, she still uses it every now and then. She said she wants to be a nurse because she wants to take care of me when I’m old.

It’s tough to be a parent of a child with a very early career aspiration. I had kept all of Star’s nurse’s books hoping that my daughter will be able to use it someday. I imagined myself saving money for the expensive costs of sending a child to a nurse’s school.   I just laugh on the thought I am starting to worry yet she still has a long way to go before she can be a nurse and be able to wear women’s scrub, scrubs for women or women’s scrub as she was still in pre-school! But if you knew her, you’d learn that no matter the age you are, a career aspiration is a career aspiration. But for now, Star said she will be giving Tala again another set of mini scrub uniforms as she was assigned in another department and she will no longer use the old ones. I guess its going to be green scrubs. 

An Open Letter To My Son

My Ever Dearest Mochi,

Happy 1st Birthday! I hope you’re enjoying eating your jellies and not pulling-out your sisters’ hairs. I write this in the year 2010 and by the time you read and understand this, I may be gone because life is just too short. And when I’m gone, your sisters will be taking care of you. Don’t worry; they would because they promised me.

A year has passed since the first time I saw your little face. After a series of miscarriages and anticipation, you finally arrived in my life and from then on, everything’s changed. I had mixed emotions when I first held you in my arms. You awakened in me a kind of feeling that’s so weird, so new. A different kind of love that so different from the love I felt for your sisters.

Like any other parent wanting the best for their child, I want the best for you and I want you to be the best son everyone have ever had. I wanted to teach you all the lessons that I had in my life. Life has so much to offer to you. What your mind can think, your body can do. With the power of mind and willpower, you can get wherever you want to be. We may have misunderstandings and I might spank you every once in a while. But that won’t mean I’ll love you any less. I love you and I just want you to be on the right track.

I know it would be unfair if I demand you to be what I want you to be because I knew you have dreams of your own. Though not all of your dreams can be fulfilled, I still want you to continue dreaming and continue doing what you love doing and what drives you. But if you think that you want to become what I became, I just hope that you learn from the mistakes that I have made.  No matter what professions you choose make sure you feel passionate about it and that it makes you happy.

It will come a time that you will start liking girls and when it comes to girls, be kind to them. Don’t be arrogant and conceited. And don’t ever, ever be abusive of them.  Respect them like the way you’re going to respect your sisters.

Then you’ll have your own set of barkada. I have absolutely nothing against it. But I don’t want you to do silly and stupid things. I’ll know and I’ll be watching you.

As I write this and am slowly forming the kind of person that I want you to be, there you are sleeping like an angel. You see, in spite of being up all night, frequent diaper changes, colic, and you biting my shoulders, you’ll always be my perfect son born in an imperfect world.

I love you so much.

Mommy

PS.

I hope you are not going to think your name is stupid.

DKNY Be Delicious Giveaway!

Nuffnang, the Asia Pacific's First Blog Advertising Community is announcing the DKNY Be Delicious Giveaway!

The first 50 Nuffnangers who will get the chance to fill up the form will get one (1) DKNY Be Delicious Deluxe Sample Fragrance and also one (1) DKNY Be Delicious Lotion for free or  you can join the Delicious Core Club and design their own Be Delicious bottle.

Of course, you have to be a Nuffnanger to be able to join as it is a requirement for you to supply your blog URLs when claiming from Nuffnang office

For the complete details and mechanics, please visit the Nuffnang site. Goodluck Nuffnangers!

BC Bloggers

Dadtronic
WAHM sa Pinas
Dadedidodu

It's Not Always About ME
Drama Queen
Scientific Blabber
Creative Thoughts
Family Memories to Treasure
Famous Circle
Happy Home and Family
Earthfriendly Momma
MommaWannabe
Celebrity Diary
Healthy Fab Life!
Pink Spree
Crushed Pink
Women Talk & Shopping
Sissy's Pastime
In This Side of Town

Simple Happy Life

Happy Thoughts
Handy Reviews
Mommy Diary
Paula's Place
Diva Fabulosa
Life of Filipina Blogger
Anything Davao

Sissy's Pastime
Zoie's Mom Blogging
Little Zoie's Steps
Cacai's Steps and Journey
Cacai M.'s Place
Thoughts, Ideas and Resources
The Manic Mama
Various Words Mixed Thoughts
My Discoveries
Married and Happy About It
Pensive Thoughts
ferry'zWILL

This is My life
Pinay Blogger sa America
My Home, My Kitchen and my Garden
Lucky Zoan
Shamrocks and Shenanigans
Sherry Rambling
Journey of Life and Profession
Some Things Are Free
Woman’s elan vital
Happy Home Working
Come Dine In
Cheeky Munchkins
Join My Stroll
Lizee's Secret Garden
Surreal Princess
Attalife
oBizz

Blog Fusion
Milestones
Worths Road
The Pinay Blogger @ Home
Health and Beauty Diva
Moms Write Stuff
Runaway Blogger
Best Vacation Places

Name Sherry
My Mom's Best
Fab ♥ Momma
Azumi ★ My Kawaii Prinsesa's Story
Beyond Feron
Free Affiliate System
Debra Jill's Diary
Topics on Earth
Mom’s Ups and Downs
Arts, Crafts and More
Kitchen Essentials
The Business Minded Mom
Lourdes' Mia
Life and Scraps
Moolah Musings
I Luv Contests and More
The Ruby Posts
Reviewer's Haven
Online Biz and Resources
A Woman's Blog
Chika Buzz
Posh Thoughts
Ivory Tasks
The Digital Post
Rubz Online
Survivor Mom
Scoops 2 Buzz
Musings and Ramblings
The RICAFS Chronicles
The Pink Post
The Home Diva
All Things Kawaii
Best Pinay Mom
Mommy Rubz
Photo Memeries
Blogging Mama
Following Freedom
Friendship and Smiles
The Movie Mommy
The Business Minded Mom
Micah Izabel
Johann David
Bella Grace
DigitalCatharsis
InigoBoy
Chic & Fabulous
Nutrition & Healthcare Info
My Dream Destinations
Managing Finances
Fitness & Sports Info
Pets and More
MySmartHub
Live, Love, Laugh
Bloguardian Hellsite: Overcashed
Pinkville: Pink and Magic Convergence Zone
Spread the W.O.R.D!
The Sexy Techie Liz
Fortune Sharing
Blog and SEO Tips

This Farmville Thing

It was 2 years ago that I started playing this game in Facebook. I was one of the early users that played this game when it was first available. I even used my paypal cash in buying game coins. In the beginning it was so addictive. I even used the chickens as fences and lined then one by one .Even the graphics are so cool that the plots looked like graham crackers. There were “arborists”, “farmhands” and “combine” that I need to harvest each tree and animal and tend each crop one by one. Then I began to dislike it.

It was when they started to ask for a certain amount of cash/coins when they offered something new like a new building or a new decoration. At first, I worked hard in my farm just to save some coins to buy these decorations then they began selling this “mansion” that costs 5,000,000 coins! Now it’s impossible for me to get such thing unless I used my paypal again but of course, no way I’m gonna touch my paypal again! It’s hard-earned money that’s in there.

Another thing, the graphics slowed down my computer and I found out that my CPU usage goes up to 80% and it always, always kills my browser although I am using Google Chrome. I needed to click that “refresh” button just to deal with this “losing internet connection thing” and it’s stressing me up!.  And besides, recent studies showed that most employees are spending an average of 68 minutes each day in playing Farmville (yes, I am one of them). The only remedy that companies did to stop the employees to play Farmville was restricting Facebook.

If you have lots of neighbors that are giving you gifts then you don’t need to buy these from the market. If not, you need to use money to acquire them or you won’t be able to level up. Anyways, I therefore concluded that if there weren’t enough goods reasons to continue playing Farmville, you can say goodbye to this addiction. Just quit.

ATokens what?

The ATokens is a new application that is similar to Entrecard advertising network only that with Entrecard, your blog is being promoted through advertising while ATokens is a social payment program or a virtual currency.  When paying, instead of using real money, ATokens are used.. Each token is equal to $.05. Tokens can be given as payment, donation, or as a form of appreciation or gift. ATokens stand for “Appreciation Tokens”. It’s like when you want to thanks somebody for reviewing your blog, or for following your posts, you can just click the atokens widget and give tokens. ATokens seem tempting because you can exchange tokens back to cash but they charge 10% fee or $1 upon redeeming and you can purchase tokens or you can earn them when you participate in any activities that ATokens is offering. Though I know that it will take time to earn and I’m not so sure how it will work, I am still giving it a try. Joining is easy. For more details about ATokens, please visit their website by clicking here or you can go to http://atokens.com.

A Taste of Zong

After our coordination meeting last Thursday, we agreed to treat ourselves to a better lunch. My lady boss insisted to go somewhere exceptional since its payday the next day. Since we’re about to meet another boss at The Fort, we opted to stop over there and look for the best restaurants. Then we ended up finding one of the finest Chinese restaurants - Zong.

Unlike other Chinese Restaurants, Zong seems to be more. At first I mistook it as a Japanese restaurant because of the Zen-like interiors. When the attendant handed me the menu, I searched for the typical foods that are normally served by Chinese restaurant and I was surprised that they don’t serve beef mami or siomai. Since I know nothing about Chinese food and I don’t like Chinese food much, I let my boss do the ordering.

And we had the Yang Chow rice, a lot better version that any Yang Chows out there. The shrimp bits, egg strips and toasted garlic toppings were remarkable.

 Yang Chow

A Hotpot of Eggplant - Slow simmered eggplant and minced pork topped off with fresh scallions. I never tasted eggplant this good. It actually tasted like pork!

 A Hotpot of Eggplant 

Malaysian-Style String Beans -Sautéed string beans and minced meat, a Zong classic they say. The texture of the string beans was just right. And it has the spicy, tangy flavor that I like.

 Malaysian-Style String Beans

Roasted Suckling Pig-A Zong signature, open flame roasted, prepared fresh daily. The meat is so tender and so crispy that I ate almost half of the serving!

 Roasted Suckling Pig

Zong’s dishes were almost salt-free and totally MSG free. Compared to other restaurants, Zong is a little cheaper but what I don’t like is that the servings are so little that it only occupied one-third of the plate!

On the whole, though I won’t be spending my money again on Zong, I’ll give it 5 stars since the taste of their food is really good, the prices are rational, and the ambiance is relaxed. 

Relieved

A week ago, my niece Patricia was rushed to a public hospital because of severe abdominal pain. At the hospital, the doctors gave her antacids then sent her home because according to them, it’s just “kabag”. At home, my niece still complained of continuous pain, this time accompanied by back aches, fever, and frequent vomiting. Her abdomen had bloated and she lost appetite. The pain got aggravated even with a simple body movement.  Then last Saturday we rushed her again, to a private hospital because she can’t walk anymore and the pain intensified. We get to see a pediatrician and advised us that my niece should undergo Ultrasound. And from the ultrasound, we found out that my niece’s appendix had burst - a week ago.

Upon hearing what the pediatrician said. We we’re all shocked. My sister even collapsed. Surgery was made at once since it’s the only treatment for appendicitis. A large incision was made on my niece’s abdomen. Appendix burst surgery is complicated. According to the surgeon that made it, an appendiceal abscess is formed surrounding the appendix which had been full of pus. They drained the pus first by inserting a drainage tube through the abdominal wall. It was needed before the surgery was made to empty the pus from the belly. Then large doses of antibiotics were given to treat the infection inside the abdomen. The incision was kept open to heal up the infection completely. We were all relieved when the surgeon said that my niece is now safe and we should not worry anymore. She just needed to be confined for a week more to ensure that all the bacteria inside her abdomen have been killed.  After our talk with the surgeon, I cried.

Burst appendix is really a very, very serious health condition that we cannot afford to ignore. Once you find that any of your loved ones is experiencing similar symptoms which my niece had, it is essential that a thorough medical attention and quick diagnosis should be given. Burst appendix if left alone can lead to a much worst condition I cannot imagine.

A Blog Post

So small it could almost be a miniature elephant.

Buying a new car

The company I’ve been working is planning to buy another car to be used as service vehicle of staff. As the accountant I was tasked to check with different car companies the requirements that need to be met. I found out that buying or loaning a new car requires owners to have instant car insurance quotes.  Some car companies give free car insurance quotes while you shop around for a new car. Though these help you decide which model to buy, car insurance premiums vary depending upon which car model is purchased. Our company’s existing cars have car insurances that were updated by our agent. We were also advised that it is better to purchase the new car from the same car company where we got the other cars since we can receive discounts. But aside from the discounts that we can get, I’ve been also checking in the injury liability limits. I’m not so familiar with cars and free auto insurance quotes but I knew that when involved in an accident and you do not have enough this liability limits, the lawyers of the other party can go after you that you and obligate you to pay for all of the damages. Glad I stumble upon these cheap car insurance quotes. I’ll be able to get additional ideas on how to get car insurance. There are really so much factors to be considered in buying a new car. Of course if I ever get to have my own car I’ll get a car insurance too as it’s for my own good.

Win Tickets to The Little Big Club Live in Concert at Aliw Theater

Paula of Happy Thoughts is giving away tickets to The Little Big Club Live in Concert feturing Barney, Bob the Builder, Thomas, and all their friends!

Joining is so easy!

1.  Leave a comment on her blog post on why you deserve to win 3 VIP Center Complimentary Tickets.

2.  Leave your full name and email address together with your answer

3.  One winner will be chosen every two weeks from October 11, 2010 to December 13, 2010

For more details, please visit Happy Thoughts or simply click here. Goodluck! 

Music in children

My daughter came home one afternoon smiling, humming, swaying and saying she wanted to learn how to play a violin or a piano. Though I just gave her a blank look, she kept on talking and said that early that day, her music teacher asked her If she wanted to be a member of the school band but she told her teacher that she doesn’t know how to play any musical instrument. Her teacher said that she’ll be having a music class where she would teach students.

My daughter said that her teacher showed her the musical instruments. My Mikaela said she gazed in awe at the piano that she wanted to grasp it and start playing it. It looked like that Tunes of piano music floated in her head and she pulled my hand and said, “Mommy I really want to learn how to play the piano!!!”

I just said, “Let’s see. Musical instruments are expensive.”

Then, a week after, she came home teary-eyed. The music lesson had just started. And she wasn’t on it. Seeing her looking like that broke my heart. I called Stanley and asked what can we do and he said that he’ll borrow his brothers Yamaha organ. In a phone call, my problem was solved. Mikaela was able to enroll in the music class.

As Plato once said, “Music is a more potent instrument than any other for education”.

I believe that music helps my Mikaela gain self confidence and helps her improve with something educational than sitting in front of the computer playing games. It’s been a month since she enrolled in the music class and I found out that she enjoyed it a lot. I observed that music soothes her and relieves her stress during school days.  She also does her assignments and reviews her notes without my nagging and pushing. Music has a positive effect on my Mikaela.

Music is a gift you can give your child that will last their entire lives. Make it a part of your child’s life too.

Sore Eyes

Photo source

I’ve been paranoid lately. It’s because three of my officemates contacted “sore eyes”. I am worried that I might get it too. Well not for myself but for my kids! I had sore eyes once and I knew how irritating and embarrassing it was.

Sore eyes or conjunctivitis in medical terms is an inflammation or infection of the transparent membrane (conjunctiva) that lines your eyelid and part of your eyeball. It is commonly a viral or bacterial infection.  Bacterial conjunctivitis often produces a thicker, yellow-green discharge. Both viral and bacterial types are very contagious

When you suspect of having sore eyes and you can’t see a doctor right away, here are some remedies that did helped me a lot when I had it. Hope it’ll help you too.

1. Apply a cold compress to your eyes. It may help you relieve the gritty feeling and the burning sensation in your eyes

2. Try eye drops that can be bought from a nearby drugstore. It also helps relieve the symptoms.

And when it’s really sore eyes that got you, please prevent it from spreading my goodness!  Remember that you transmit bacteria from your eyes to your hand and when somebody touches something that you touched, he or she might get it too.  So practice proper hygiene.

1. Don't touch your eyes with your hands
2. Sanitize your hands often.
3. Don't share clothes and towels.
4. Change beddings often.
5. Don’t share cosmetics.
6. Don’t kiss/hug your kids!

If you think you have sore eyes, it's vital to find out ways to treat it. Sore eyes left untreated can lead to a more serious problem.  And when you suspect you kids of sore eyes, just don’t take it for granted, see a doctor.

I am a Funky Mom!

I am a funky mom! Are you?

Then Like FUNKY FEET and Make or Break and post this in your wall:

Tag FUNKY FEET and Make or Break (use @ then type Funky Feet, use @ then type Make or Break), I am a Funky Mom! (then attached the link of this post) and SHARE it. 

They will be raffling off 3 FUNKY FEET sets!

For more details, click here. Goodluck!

When preschoolers fight

Preschoolers tend to have aggressive feelings which they cannot control yet. They push, hit, bite or scratch others. This is common and usually occurs during the child’s 12-18 months of age. But when this behavior persists when the child reaches preschool, it might be a sign that the child has some behavioral problems. He or she might not taught well by the parents or worst he or she may be a victim of abuse or had witnessed or exposed violence from movies and TV. Children who had shown aggressiveness at a very young age tend to be more likely to carry this behavior when they are older.

Early this morning, my friend’s preschool daughter was hit in the head by a classmate. The hitter tripped-up that made the other preschoolers laughed. Then the upset kid started hitting other kids and one was my friend’s daughter.

This also happened once in a while with my kids. One time my mother got emotional and confronted the hitter at once and told him that if he do it again my mom will hit him too 10 time harder. I know that’s not the proper way to deal with it as there are more effective ways of handling a hitter.

Here’ what I think we should do to prevent hitting in preschools:

·         It is better to interfere before a child starts hitting.

·         Do not ignore fighting between younger siblings. 

·         Do not hit a child if he or she starts hitting because this will impart aggressive behaviors.

·         Teach the child how to be compassionate by saying “When your angry don’t hit because hitting hurts”

·         Preschool teachers should closely monitor a hitter.

·         If hitting happens, separate the children then attend to the one hit and comfort him/her.

If a child has a constant problem with hitting or aggressive behavior, it should be better that the parents ask for professional help from a child psychiatrist who would be able to help treat such behavioral problem in young children.

Helping kids battle exams

I didn’t’ go to preschool. I went straight to grade 1. Maybe that’s the way it was.  Preschool are just for well-off kids. I remember my sister when she was five she just went “saling-pusa”. “Saling-pusa” was like preparing the kid for grade school. The kid will “seat-in” a grade 1 class for free provided that the kid will enroll with that class when he or she turns grade 1.  And life was so easy. Just do your assignments and you’re done. You didn’t need to review. Unlike now...

I have one daughter who’s in preparatory and one in grade 6 and this week is their quarterly exam week. And I’m so occupied with the task of preparing their reviewer! And it’s a very unpleasant rite for me. It’s like I’m back to elementary days. A few months ago, I found a way of encouraging them to do well on the tests especially my 6-year old daughter. I made studying rewarding. Whenever they got perfect score, I give them money to buy from their school canteen. So far it was the best motivation for them because I don’t give them money as “baon”. I give them snacks and this is their best chance to get money from me. If they got a score of 10 out of 10, I give them 10 pesos, if it’s 15 out of 15, its 15 pesos for them. Whatever the score provided it’s a perfect score. And it’s working. Almost everyday they’re giving me perfect seat works, perfect assignments and perfect quizzes. And as promised, I gave them money but with the condition that they will only buy from the school canteen since they’re not selling junk foods.

Remember that our children need parental involvement and we should be pro-active in helping them study. We can help them underline the important parts of their notes, we can also give quick and short quizzes based upon those notes, and we can also teach them how to make their own reviewers. I believe the being involved in our children’s study habits will benefit them for years to come

Friday Quotes

Picture taken during company outing in Eagle Point (thanks Ian for helping me Photoshop)