Random Thoughts

When I was still in Secondary school, I used to write for the school paper. As the Associate Editor of the school paper, I had my own column and that column was a collection of my random thoughts about the events that have happened in campus. I remembered it a few days ago as I tried to think of what other topics I can write on my blog. Some topics were too long to be a status update on my facebook account, while more topics were too short be an interesting blog article.

So now, I decided to write the way I used to write, random thoughts about certain things; reactions to somethings I have came across through reading or through conversations; and my obersvations about the things around me.

I think this might become a series in my blog, but it is still too early to tell. So here it goes, my random thoughts for the day:

cramming is not really my thing! after spending almost the entire day working on my paper, now I have a migraine! ***

my favoriet season has just begun! it's the BER months already and Christmas for me starts on the 1st of September! Christmas is a joyous occasion that is why I like to celebrate it the longest possible way! exciting, this Christmas we have two babies at home already!

speaking of babies, sometimes in my quiet moments, I still can't believe that I'll soon be a mom of two...I am honored that God has chosen me to be in-charge with two of His creations! praying that I'll do good ;)

each pregnancy indeed is really different...been more emotional with the 2nd one than in the first one ;0

i came across a nice quote, "your smile is your enemy's greatest fear" ... i think it is very true...especially in this age of facebook and twitter where you can document everything good that is happening in your life! sometimes those that seem to envy with what you have take everything in silence -- no like buttons, no comments, no reactions...signso of bitterness?

what are the signs of bitterness? I don't know, cause I am not ;P

3rd tri discomforts starting already...hope I can still manage until I give birth!

time to park my keyboard now...looking back with what i have written, Im still so far from the way I used to write...see you on my next blog about my random throughts, hopefully by then, I'll manage to write with more animation and humor (while trying to impart a serious message!)

Look Good, Feel Good

Many people say that when one is pregnant, the mom-to-be should try to always be happy and as much as possible think happy thoughts. In addition, they should always try to feel good and look good. As they say, whatever the mom feels, the baby also feels. So if you are one happy mom-to-be, then chances are, your baby will be one happy baby as well. (This is quite a challenge since most moms experience a roller coaster ride of emotions althroughout the pregnancy due to the hormones).

Well, I believe that yes, one should make an extra effort to look good during pregnancy but I think, we should also strive to look good after the pregnancy as well.

I am not the type who wears make up whenever I go out, but what I mean looking good, is trying to go back to your usual size after the baby has arrived. Some moms tend to be so hands on and focused with the baby that they forget to take care of themselves. Believe me, when you look good and feel good about yourself, you'd have a more positive attitude especially during those "gloomy" days. On my first pregnancy, there was really a big effort on my part that I'd still look the way I look before I got pregnant. I made sure that my old clothes still fit after I gave birth. I was able to do it. Many of my friends joked that I just "farted" my first-born. While I was pregnant as well, I took care of my tummy by applying Palmer's religiously. Lucky me, even after two pregnancies, I still don't have any stretch marks. My friends commend me nowadays when they see me, telling me that I really didn't grow big in the last 7 months, only my tummy did :) I try to look good by dressing well too. Not expensive clothes, but clothes that still show the happy aura that I have as I await the arrival of my child.

It will really require some extra effort on our part to look good during, and more especially, after the pregnancy. But hey, we do not only do it for others (so we don't receive any harsh criticisms), for our hubbys (so we can still be very appealing and the apple of their eyes), but most importantly, we do it because we owe it to ourselves! Let us take some time to love ourselves, let us try to feel good, by looking good!

Terrible Twos and Threes

Hyper. Tantrums every now and then. Testing. Whining every now and then. Terrible. That is how people usualy describe this stage in a child's life aged 2 or 3. My little boy happens to be in that stage.

In my Early Childhood courses, I have read and studies about this stage and how to deal with it. But just like in teaching, theory, is different from the actual thing. Observing at how my little one behaves, I can say that I am one of those lucky parents who didn't get to experience all the disasters and the tantrums and the whinings. Yes, he does have his own share of mood swings and "katarayan" moments, testing moments, and "topak" moments...but I can say that they are all manageable. After all, it is only in these moments that I am reminded that my son is still a child. I am to adjust to him and try to understand his world and not the other way around.

Instead of focusing on those terrible experiences, I try to dwell on the good things and the sweet things he does. Like when he just tells me out of the blue that he needs me, or he loves, or he has enjoyed our activity for the day. Each day is different and challenging for me as a parent, in less than 4 months, he'll be three and as I await what is in store for me when he does turn three, we'll continue to enjoy this part of our journey as mother and son. :)

Excited!

Yes, that is the perfect word that describes how I feel as I started washing Samantha's clothes. By far, this would probably be the shortest blog I will write, because I will just be sharing the excitement that I feel now that I have a baby girl coming. What makes me excited? Well, the fact that I can already dress up my little girl! :)

Unlike with Liam, it was only just shirts, polo, jumpers, jackets, and shoes. But with my baby girl, the options for having a good outfit is endless! Of course I have to prepare my pocket for that.

It is a good thing that we were able to keep most of Liam's baby stuff. The ones he got only to wear once or twice and then he outgrew it already. Yes, the color might be blue, but I don't think that letting my baby girl wear those blue-colored clothes will affect her being a girl. The funny thing though is, I tend to avoid pink. I think it doesn't have to be automatic that if you're having a girl, she should wear pink clothes! I'd prefer lavander or purple clothes for my Sam. Of course, my little girl has her own set of new clothes and she is one lucky girl!

Some of my early favorites are her Baby Gap onesies and H/M onesies, care of her Uncle Jay (all pasalubongs from his US and London Trip), her Baby Gap leggings and the socks, booties (especially the Lavender one), mittens (from my Mom). Here is a glimpse of her new clothes. I haven't started buying for her, because I know once I start, I might not be able to stop! :)

Unbelievable

Unbelievable. I still can't believe that three days ago, on our way home, after a family dinner, my sister called me up and told me the good news that Liam won in the CFC raffle! His prize? A two-way ticket from Aus to Manila (off-peak season)! Truly another blessing!

Alvin and I agreed that after every two years, the whole family will be travelling. Of course, this is what we want but this will depend on some factors, like our finances. The first on our list of destinations is of course, the Philippines. We would love to go back and visit our families and friends. For some weeks now, we have been toying with the idea of going "home" next year. No concrete plans yet. But we always include our plans to go home in our prayers and that God may make things possible for us. Well, God has answered our prayer in a way we least expected!

Looking back at all the raffles we joined, especially when we were in Manila (thru Supermarket raffles at that), and not having won anything, I didn't expect and I can't believe that we will win something like this!

Of course, we still have to spend for three more fares but getting one free seat is a big help already! We can already add the money we were supposed to use for Liam's fare to our travel funds. And Liam winning the raffle somewhat has put a "pressure" on us that we already have to push thru with our plans and a confirmation that He agrees that we come "home" for a visit. I am happy and excited as well. It is definitely one trip I look forward too.

God is good. He answers our prayers in different ways and suprising ways like the one we had. Let us just keep the faith and who knows, tomorrow might be another lucky, oh, make that another blessing-filled day! :)

"Us" Time

On one of my blogs, I have written about how I value my "me" time, especially after becoming a mom. Now, I would like to zero in on "us" time. "Us" referring to me and my hubby.

Since becoming parents we suddenly found our hands very full and always occupied with a lot of things for the kids. Conversations always included or are always about the kids. Aside from taking care of my little boy, we also had jobs and house chores to juggle as well. It is indeed a challenge to find an "us" time for the two of us. I am pretty sure many parents can relate with us. Liam is always with us, he sleeps between the two of us every night, and soon, Sam will join us. On weekdays we sometimes find ouselves already too tired at the end of the day to even have a long conversation like we used to during our "courtship" days. We try to catch up with one another by having short phone calls within the day, updating one another of how the day has been for us, but talking more about our children. On weekends, we also have quality time with our children, we go to shops, or we have long drives every now and then or we just stay home, trying to catch up with the pending house chores as well. Busy days and happy days indeed for the family. But again, it is quite rare that we find ourselves alone to spend "us" time.

Last weekend, as we explored around Sydney Botanical Gardens, I finally found ourselves doing HHWW(holding hands while walking), just the two of us, no strollers, or Liam in between. In addition to this, we had the chance to talk, crack jokes and laugh about some things that don't concern our kids or the family. Just two adults having fun while strolling together. We were just enjoying each other's presence like we used to when we were still not married. And I felt good. Finally an "us" time! Probably you are asking where Liam is, well, while we were strolling, he was with his Lolo and Lola the whole time.

I believe that as a parent, a "me" time is essential. But as couples, an "us" time is as important. I realized that there are a lot of factors that come into the picture that hinders us from having the "us" time -- career, house chores and kids! Especially the kids! We sometimes find ourselves to engrossed in becoming the best parent and best provider for our children that we sometimes fail to realize that we shouldn't neglect the "us" time. Personally, having the "us" time doesn't have to be expensive. Just having a cup of coffee or breakfast together while Liam is still asleep can be a venue for us to have our "us" time. It can be as simple as me extending my waking hours so we can have those usual conversations about life, about how our day went, or about the movie that we saw, something to laugh about, something to be "kilig" about. I remember watching an interview of Maricel Laxa-Pangilinan before I got married. She said that she and her hubby try to make it a point to go out at least once a week just by themselves and talk about everything except about the kids. It nurtures their relationship with one another. It is very ideal indeed and I would love to have that as well. But looking at our situation, where there are no helpers available, we might just do away with the simple things I have mentioned, and later on, when the kids are a bit older, then maybe we can have more chances of having our "us" time. We can also grab opportunities, like the one we have now, our parents being here with us to help in taking care of the kids, to have our "us" time more frequently.

As a parent and an individual, "me" time is important. You feel refreshed and recharged, which in turn benefits the kids and the family. Likewise, I believe that as couples, we should also strive to have our "us" time. It will also benefit our kids and the family as well.

Mommy Worries

To start with, I am already a worry wart and since becoming a mother, I found myself becoming increasingly worried about a lot of other things, especially in the aspect of my child/children's future.

I worry if I can make them good Christians. I am worried if I can overcome the great task of teaching them the basics, praying the rosary, the traditional prayers, etc., especially after observing that even in Catholic schools here, they don't teach it to the students anymore. I am worried when I see my students play rough games and get hurt somewhere along the way. I especially get worried for my boy, Liam. I get worried when I see the girls in my classes becoming more agressive, modern and less conservative. I think of Sam.I am worried about bullying both for Liam and Sam. Especially now that we also have cyber bullying emerging. I worry if we can raise them as good individuals. I worry if we can nurture the gifts God has given them. I worry if we can make them the people God would want them to be.

I worry and I worry, endlessly. I know that there is no use worrying. I just tend to waste time when I just think about them and what the future has prepared for them. I will try not to worry. I will try to worry less. But I will pray. And I will pray more. More and more each day. In my heart I think it is the only weapon I have. The only thing that can give me peace and assure me that all will be well, especially during the times that we are not with them.

I hope that just like in Harry Potter, the great love I have for my children, will be more than enough to protect them from harm's way.