Sparing the Rod:
I slept with a heavy heart last night. I think it was one of those days that I had to cry because I really felt bad :C Alvin tried hard to comfort me saying that it's alright but I still felt bad. The reason? I spanked Liam last night.ANd I knew he got hurt because he didn't cry.
Before I got married I was dead set that I will discipline my kids the way my parents did (no offense meant to my in-laws but they are just too mabait to even scold their kids)...meaning I will spank them if I have to if that is the only way for them to learn their lesson.
Liam just turned 3 last December and I feel that he is now at the peak of the terrible 3's age. There are days that my patience was being tested but yesterday was the day of all days. It started when we were in the bank and I was talking with the bank employee, he insisted on something he wanted even if I wanted and told him to wait already. I had to cut my conversation with the bank employee three times because he was really distracting me. When I wasn't paying attention to him he would deliberately make his voice loud and it was very annoying! This is just one of the little things he does to attract attention. Throughout the day he did bits and pieces and at night time I lost my patience already! :C After I spanked him he kept quiet when I felt he was ready we had a heart to hearT talk and told him the reason why I had to do it. I reassured him as well of my love.
I cried when we went to bed because Liam has been a good boy. Even when he was still a baby he didn't give me and his Papa a difficult time. Now that Sam is here, he has been a great help as well and he still proves that he is no difficult kid. I guess he was just being a 3 year old during the times he was acting silly and that is why I felt soooo guilty.
After that incident I felt that he learned his lesson already. I also learned mine. I hope that the coming days will be better days for him and for me as well. I love you Kuya!
Balikbayan Box.
When we migrated to Sydney, Alvin and I decided to bring along with us our collection of books. Him -- his ME, TM, Seminar notes, and Finance books. Me - my sandamakmak na mga visual aids, LEAP materials, teaching books, SPecial ED books, my collection of pocketbooks, my children's classics book collection --Roald Dahl, Disney, Dr. Seuss, Narnia are just some of them. They were kept in this big balikbayan box which we have kept in our "harry potter" room only to be touched now after almost 2 years!
Ang daming basura! Naisip ko and dami ko na namang tinabi di ko naman alam kung magagamit ko pa! One classic example, my admission letters from UP MAnila, subject change forms at UP Diliman, I mean, to I really have to keep all of these? It's been what, more than 10 years! I don't know what is it in me that hinders me from letting go of these things! But I want to already! MAybe I am just afraid that what happened in the past might happen again now -- you know, the need for that will only arise only when you have just disposed it! Kainis di ba? Ang tagal tagal mong tinago tapos nung tinapon mo biglang dun dadating yung pagkakataon na kailangan mo na pala! I will most probably be buying a paper shredder this afternoon and a file cabinet probably tomorrow because I just want to get rid of all these stuff and keep the essential things already. The funny thing is some of these books will be brought back to Manila! I will just ask my Mama to donate it in a public library. That way more people will get to benefit from it. And I won't be buying books for the next 12 months! I will just borrow in the library. ANyways, I already have the essentials :D and the collection of books in the library are far more complete! NOw, moving on, moving on...I need to move on!
Multi-REading
I borrowed plenty of books about raising boys and girls. Now I am multi-reading two books that will hopefully help me and alvin become good and better parents. Why not take advantage of the opportunity these books present to help? They say kids are not born with a manual, well, if there are books like these that will make the "task" easier, why not read? Of course, I don't absorb and will not be doing everything that I read. I will be critical but it helps to know more about the differences and the ways on how to raise boys and girls. I have one of each so I have to read both. At the end of the day it will still be just the four of us, yes, but I just don't want to be put in that situation where I will tell myself that I didn't do everything I can to equip myself with the things that could've helped me become a more effective parent. If we spend hundred of hours studying and preparing for an exam how much more if we are to tackle this very challenging task of being parents, right? I am just happy that Alvin is open to these kinds of books as well :D
