mommy moments #17 - Haircut

                                 T's first professional haircut

When my kids were little, I was the one who cut their hair.  I didn't do a bad job either, I think. ha ha  Son T had his first professional cut in this photo.  As usual, he was good and stayed still.  The hairdresser was surprised considering other boys his age would be moving around. He has some curls in his hair so at first, I always let his hair grow a little longer.  Nowadays though, he sports a shorter cut, very short.  This second photo with his grandfather shows his hair now.  He looks more handsome I think.  But of course, I am very biased. 

Onto other things.  I've been pretty busy with the kids' activities these past few weeks.  Finals are next week and there are a lot of projects for A.  I'm also occupied with research on subjects like starting a vegetable garden and about Mesothelioma cancer.

                                    T with grampy

See more Mommy Moments HERE.

Shopping for My Growing Kids

I've been saying all along that my kids are growing like weeds. You know what I mean, just like weeds that grow without fertizers, my kids outgrow their clothes so fast. I find myself shopping for good deals for quality children clothing. It can take up a lot of my time since I try to find nice yet inexpensive kids clothing. That is one of the reason why I prefer to shop online. I started doing this a couple of years ago. I shopped for cheap infant clothes when my daughter was born. There weren't a lot of online stores then. Nowadays, there are hundreds of stores to choose from. It can get tiring surfing the internet for good deals on children's clothing.

That is why websites like ShopWiki.com is very useful for online shoppers like me. For busy parents, this website is a goldmine. Instead of searching Google and go to individual girl or cheap boy clothing websites, all you need to do is go to ShopWiki.com and type in what you are searching for. You will see all the photo, description and current prices of the items you are interested in. This will save time from your online shopping experience. You don't have to worry about the search being limited to paying advertisers, which is the case on other shopping sites. At ShopWiki.com, you will get ALL the search results available whether they get income from it or not.

I love the price slider feature which narrows down your search, pretty cool. The one thing that I really like about this website are the helpful information on whatever it is you are looking for. It has infant and toddler clothing buying guides which is really useful for first time parents. It has a lot of helpful tips on choosing the right size and fit for your child. You can also use ShopWiki.com for searching other items like popular childrens books like the Junie B. series and more. Start shopping now and see what I am talking about.

Giving Kids Age Appropriate Chores

Growing up in the Philippines, we always have maids to do things for us. That doesn't mean that I grew up not knowing how to keep a clean house. My parents made sure that we know how to do jobs around the house, well, maybe with the exception of washing the clothes. So when I migrated here in the U.S. 20 years ago, I did not have problems adjusting to the way of life (no helper to do things for you.) When I moved in with an aunt to be closer to school which is in San Francisco, I helped around the house and even did all the cooking for her so dinner is ready when they come home from work. Come to think of it, I helped her out in everything. Thank goodness she doesn't have any copper kitchen sinks or else it'll be a pain to clean it.

Now that I have my own kids, I want them to grow up knowing how to do their own laundry and clean up after themselves. Of course there are many times when they would complain but I just brush it off. Kids complain about anything and believe me, I've gotten used to it. The first chore they have is helping me sort out the laundry; I started my son with this one. It is easy and doesn't require much effort. For my daughter, I've taught her how to fold her clothes the right way. They also put away the dishes and silverware from the dishwasher. My daughter has also started vacuuming her own room. It helps that we have a Dyson which is very light. I don't hear much complaint from her compared to the old vacuum we have. Next up on my list is teaching her how to cook although she seems more interested in baking. Just like any other parent, I want to raise my kids to be responsible adults. Teaching them how to do chores around the house is definitely an important part in reaching that goal.

Field Trip Through History

A couple of weeks back, dh and I were among the parent chaperones for A's field trip to Boston. It wasn't a perfect day for a field trip but we all enjoyed it. The 3rd and 4th graders of St. Marys school went on the Freedom Trail. So what is the Freedom Trail? From Wikipedia: The Freedom Trail is a red (mostly brick) path through downtown Boston, Massachusetts that leads to 16 significant historic sites.

The kids already went through half of the Freedom trail last year so this year, we went through the other half. The tour was led by a tour guide who wore period costume as you can see from the photo. He said that his name is Jeremiah Poof, I don't know if it;s just a stage name but the kids found it funny. He's a very good tour guide since he kept the attention of the kids (and the parents) with his historical knowledge coupled with funny anecdotes. It was a cold Spring day, it was misting the first hour of the tour but thankfully it stopped. We went through two graveyards and I learned that Mother Goose is a real person! Who would've thunk? Anyway, it was a fun day even though dh and I took the wrong exit going to Boston Common (darn GPS LOL).

After the tour, A went home with us and we picked up T from school. We got home just as the UPS truck was pulling up the driveway. The LCD HDTV we ordered using our airline mileage came. I was so looking forward to this since it is for the master bedroom. A got the old TV we had which was a 32-inch, it replaced the smaller 20-inch she had. Now, I am a happy camper since I like to watch some shows before going to bed.

Mommy Moments #16 - Silly Moments

Mommy Moments - Silly

For this week's Mommy Moments, I am sooo late. Better late than never, right? I couldn't find any photos of my daughter being silly. She probably has some photos when she was smaller but it would be such a chore to get it from storage. My son, on the other hand, has a lot of silly moments since he's the clown of the family. These are some photos I have in my notebook.

The first photo is of him with his Optimus Prime mask on. It has a voice changer so he sounds like a Transformer whenever he talks. He says funny things and hearing it in this voice is hilarious! The second photo is where he was pretending to be in parade. He was walking around the house beating his drum. It was noisy alright but it was great seeing him having a grand time. This last one is a recent photo. He put on this funny glasses and asked me to take his picture.

See more Mommy Moments here.

Give Me Your Links

I was having problems with my blog layout yesterday since Photobucket was doing some sort of maintenance of their servers. Can you believe they didn't even give any warning? I was caught off-guard when I opened this site. Anyway, with all the confusion yesterday, I forget to back-up my blogger links. So to all my blogger friends who have exchanged links with me, please leave me a comment so I can add your link. I remember most of you so when I drop an EC in your blog, I'll add you. Thanks a bunch!

Problem with Photobucket

I am having problems with my Photobucket account. My blog layout for this one and my other blog is not showing up. It's not a bandwidth exceeded problem though. All the images in my layout are hosted by them so as long as it is still down, this will be my temporary layout. I emailed them yesterday and I got a reply that they are doing some kind of maintenance. I wonder if it's just a handful of users or maybe just the 'free accounts'. I am thinking of upgrading to a paid account but before I do so, I want to be sure that this problem will not occur again. It's not cheap either, they charge $40 a year. I'll look into Google's Picasa. Any suggestions on where to host blog images?

Manila Auditions for Universal Studios Singapore

You may know someone who might be interested:

Audition Date: May 16 Saturday

Looking for:
- Singers
- Dancers
- Actors
- Stunt Performers
- Stilt Walkers
- Celebrity Look Alikes
- Vocal Impersonators
- Puppeteers
- Technical Staff
- Stage Managers
- Audio Video Managers

Please call New Voice Company (production company of Monique Wilson) 899-0630

Braces = Perfect Smile

My daughter had her semi-annual dental check-up yesterday and as expected, her dentist gave us a referral to an orthodontist. He already talked to us about it last year; my daughter has a slight overbite. If you look at her teeth, you will not notice unless you're really looking for it. He said that if we want her to have a perfect smile, then she needs to have braces. When I talked to my daughter about it last year, she wasn't too keen on the idea. I can't blame her, who wants to smile and have a mouthful of metal? It's good though that her older cousin got braces a couple of years ago and she now has a beautiful smile; so I always remind her about it. It also helped that two of her classmates just got their braces a couple of months ago. At least she's not going to be the only one wearing braces. We're planning to see the orthodontist sometime this month and ask that she gets her braces sometime before school starts. I have a feeling that other kids in her class will be wearing braces sooner or later. Now for the cost, I think our dental insurace will pay for a portion, well, I hope it is covered. Fingers crossed!

Look No Further For Tibetan Crystal Bowls and Gongs

If you are into Ethnic decors and handicrafts, then you need to check out this website called Silver Sky Imports. All the products are authentic Tibetan and Nepali handicrafts.
This website specializes in products from the Himalayas. Think of the Dalai Lama, the movie " The Lost Horizon" and of course, Mt. Everest. If you are looking for Tibetan singing bowls and crystal singing bowls, they sell authentic products from that part of the world. One thing sets them apart from other websites is they have music files and photos of each individual Tibetan or crystal singing bowls so you know what exactly you are getting. This is important when purchasing a Tibetan or crystal singing bowls. If you are particular about the sound of the singing bowl, then you should opt for one made of crystal. The crystal bowls from this website is made from pure quartz assuring you of a high quality product with a clear sound. The crystal bowl sizes range from 8 inches to the largest bowl at 20 inches.
You can also purchase accessories for the singing bowls like cushions and the striker tool. Among the other Himalayan products they have are Tibetan Mala prayer beads, prayer flags, Nepali Gongs and even Felted wool handbags and purses. You can check all these and more from silverskyimports.com

Dangerous Lead Paint in Houses

I remember when my daughter had her first physical here in our state. Her doctor ordered a lead test among other usual lab tests. We just moved here from California and this is the first time I've heard of a lead test. I learned that many houses, usually old ones, have lead paint. Many years ago, the paint used has lead and this was found to cause health problems (lead poisoning). Children are most susceptible to this because of the habit of putting fingers in their mouths. One other health concern is when remodeling old houses is the hazard from asbestos. When the fibrous material is inhaled, this can cause health problems one of which is very dangerous called mesothelioma. If you live in an older house, it is important to check for these dangers.

Mommy Moments # - Happy Mommy moments

                                        Happy Mommy Moments

For this week's theme, happy mommy moments, I had a hard time looking for photos.  I need to be in photos more often.  I'm the photographer in the family so I don't have a lot of photos. (Note to self: ask dh to take photos of me and the kids.)  So here are some of my happy mommy moments, do you know which photo is my favorite?  It's the one on the bottom right.  I'm very happy when my kids help out and do their chores.  Yup, they're unloading the dishwasher when I took this photo, now wouldn't that make any mom happy?  See more of Mommy Moments here.

It's Mother's Day this Sunday, do you have any special plans?  We are going to a Mother's Day brunch at this chi-chi restaurant and then get some ice cream from Baskin Robins, my kids' fave.  Dh and the kids asked what I want but I told them that other than a Kohler faucet  to replace my old one, I don't really want anything.

Happy Mother's Day to all moms out there!

No Smoking and No Drugs Please

I am not a smoker and neither is my husband. I think that being non-smokers gives our kids an advantage. Aside from living in a healthy smoke-free household, our kids are less likely to pick up the habit. My daughter is 10 years old and she knows about the bad health effects of smoking. I remember talking to her about it a couple of years ago. I even made an example out of my ex sister-in-law since she's a smoker. I still talk to her about the consequences of smoking every now and then.
Now that she's at this stage, I think that it's also the right time to talk to her about the dangers of drug abuse. More often, drug abuse starts from peer pressure. If we educate our kids early about drug abuse, we are giving them a head-start and they are well-prepared when faced with that choice. Usually, parents don't talk to their kids about it until it's too late so starting early is a good idea in my opinion. Who would want to see their child in a drug rehab? Nobody of course. I found some helpful information from the National Institute of Drug Abuse website. There is a page for parents and teachers with facts about the effects and consequences of drug abuse and addiction.
As parents, it is our responsibility to prepare our kids to all the danger they might encounter, not doing so is a failure as a parent.

Mommy moments # - Doctor, doctor, I am sick

                                         mommymoments_sick1

                                               mommymoments_sick2

This week's Mommy Moments theme is not easy since I don't have much photos of my kids when they're not feeling well.  As usual, our summer Europe trip last year saved me (again!).  On our second day in Rome, my son had a fever and was clearly not feeling well.  He is quite the traveler, through it all, he didn't give us any hard time.  On the first photo, we were visiting the Vatican museum and I didn't hear any complaints from him in the more than three hours we were in there.  He was just quiet, walking when he wants to and other times carried by dh.  In this second photo which was taken the next day, we were in St. Peter's Square waiting for the Wednesday Papal Audience.  You can see the dark circles under his eyes in this photo.  I always travel with  the kids' medicines so we were prepared.  My daughter also got sick during this trip.  We were in Trier, Germany when she had a high fever.  We brought her to the doctor where they prescribed antibiotics.  We were lucky that the doctor was fluent in English so there was no language barrier.  Visit other Mommy Moments entries here.


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