Nightmares vs Night Terrors...

For almost a week now, my little girl has been waking up middle of the night screaming at the top of her lungs angrily with bouts of kicking and punching her pillows. I thought she was having a nightmare so I always go to her bed during fits like these and try to comfort her. But oftentimes, the more I give her attention, the more she resorts to screaming and kicking. 

I had no idea what my little girl was going through. I am not only losing sleep but getting worried whenever she has nightmares. Then, just last night, she was having another episode.

The Big Shift - Working Mom to Stay at Home Mom

Just recently, I was visited by one of my BFFs who is a busy career woman and mom who works for the Australian embassy. She informed me that she was granted a one year indefinite leave. Whew! Talk about being one of the fortunate ones in the corporate world. She was about to resign but her boss decided to grant her a one year leave instead! :) And so I started reminiscing about my days working as a corporate slave before

Is Life fair?

Whoever told you that life was fair? The fact that we were born was proof enough that life isn’t fair and that our existence has nothing to do with our choice. I have yet to meet someone who can tell me that being born was his own choice.  And so, given this dilemma, life in itself is not a choice given to us but a gift given to us by our Creator. I say gift since we may do with it as we please.

The case of the snuffles...

Come hell or high waters, when the time comes for the flu season...we mommies are really praying hard that our little ones will be spared. Even a simple case of the snuffles sometimes causes us extreme worry especially at night when our wee ones are having a hard time sleeping. I've compiled a few of my personal tried and tested list of things to do in case your child has the cough and the snuffles...

Tips for Travelers with Kids in Tow

On my way to Singapore, I was seated behind a young couple with a 1year old who cried almost the entire way. The couple obviously first time parents seem to be clueless on how to pacify and comfort their little girl. The only time the toddler was quiet was when she fell asleep, tired from crying. 

I myself am a first time parent to a four year old little girl. We also had our share of the trouble that comes with traveling with an infant. Since I am originally from Manila, every time we go home for the holidays, we have to take 1.5 hours plane rides and an hour or so car ride from the airport to my mom’s house. Also, since hubby and I love to travel, there are times we had to endure long car drives with an infant in tow. Yep since my baby was eight months, we brought her along wherever we went. Her first trip abroad was also at Singapore (our favorite travel destination) when she was just a year and eight months old.

So during our travels, I’ve learned a few things here and there. Here are a few tips for all the new couples out there who have to go through traveling in airplanes with infants or toddlers in tow… 

The Most Revered Mother and Intercessor of All

For most devout Catholics, the Blessed Virgin Mary is the most revered saint and intercessor of all weary souls, our direct line to Jesus. For me, the Blessed Virgin Mary has played a very significant role in my life and the life of my one and only daughter.

photo credits to: deacondance.com

I've always believed that the Blessed Virgin Mary has always played an important role in my life.

Preparing a Survival Kit

With the recent disaster that struck Japan, it made me think of how powerless each of us can be in the midst of a calamity of this magnitude. We can only pray for God to even out the odds a little for us to survive. So my "praning" old self was suddenly thinking of the inevitable.. what if mt matutum, a supposed dormant volcano suddenly decides to wake up and join the current hoopla? what if the big one suddenly hit gensan?

In the event of the inevitable,

Life's Silver Lining...

Life has its shares of ups and downs. Often it happens you find yourself swimming in a sea full of sharks, with the constant worry of how to keep yourself afloat while thinking about how to defend yourself with no crude weapon but your own hands.

Life is filled with problems from just worrying about a teenage crush who never seems to notice you to more serious ones like how to make ends meet at the end of a grueling day at work to grieving over the loss of a loved one.

And then you start to wonder…

A Clutter-Free 2011

For this year, I think I would like to free myself from all the clutter in my life. Now when I say clutter, I meant not just the physical mess I get myself swamped in but the non-physical clutter in my life as well. Meaning, all the people and negative emotions otherwise referred to most of the time as "excess baggage" that make you feel bad about yourself.

First, let me analyze the physical clutter one at a time:

the reawakening of the kikay in me...

before i got hitched

I really don't consider myself as the "kikay" type of girl. In clothes, I wear clothes that are comfy, shoes well..slippers more like it and wear almost close to nothing when it comes to makeup....nah! Sometimes I like to look a bit stylish, I still miss those days when people especially guys do a double take just to have second look (hehe feeling diyosa..feeling lng naman). Those were the days when I was still a corporate slave, wearing fancy corporate clothes and shoes. Going to the salon on weekends, having my hair and nails done, even wearing make-up. That was life in the metro. My life as single unattached me.

Clown Phobia

We were invited to attend the 1st birthday celebration of a friend's daughter. And so the three of us - me, dada and beaboo trooped to the party. Upon entering the gate, the hired clown was performing magic tricks for the party guests. One look at the clown and my little girl went wild, literally shaking with fear, shouting and crying "No clown!" and then she ran out the gate, pushing a dog that was blocking her way! O my galigas! I have not seen her so scared like that.

Confessions of a Photographer's Wife

Two years ago when hubby and I were in the middle of an event in Cebu, our point and shoot camera suddenly died a natural death. Probably due to old age or to the numerous bruises it got due to misuse (hehe..i have the habit of dropping it when i have something exciting I want to take a picture of), at that time, it just decided to stop working. So on the spot, we decided to purchase a DSLR camera, but later did I discover that hubby has been researching the net beforehand about photography and using a professional camera so you can imagine how good he was at that point in convincing me to buy that dslr cam on the store window we were looking at. And I guess after that, you can say the rest was history...

How a bag pocket made a mommy’s life more easier...

When my baby was born, I had a tough time picking out a baby bag. It was because I have one very important prerequisite – it has to have a lot of POCKETS. Call me an organize-freak or your occasional OC but I really want to have the contents of my bag organized. I don’t know, I just like to have everything inside my bag and all the items accounted for from time to time. I hate to leave something behind a friend’s house for example just because I forgot I placed it on my bag in the first place.

My Bag: BEFORE POCKETS

So it was like an OC-mommy’s dream come true when I discovered “Bag Pockets”.

the magic of yakapsul and kisspirin

Kids are truly the gentlest of creatures. their innocence and beliefs sometimes leaves me in awe. its amazing how a simple hug brightens up their day. i've even read somewhere that to raise a confident and well-rounded individual, his or her childhood must have been filled with a lot of hugs from parents. of course one would ask the question why a simple gesture such as a hug can contribute to a child's well being in the future..for me i guess it just reassures them that they are loved. Kids after all are hungry for affection and attention especially from parents.