Art, Science, Toddlers and Sleep.

It has been more than a year since I had AC. More than a year of having two kids.

I had been a mom of one for six years before my girl came. I think I have raised a well-mannered, healthy, smart boy.

But nothing prepares you 100% for another new child.

The drills I have concocted on JG when he was a baby did not all work with AC. I had to find other ways to make her stop from doing something short of a disaster, make her sit on the car seat without any fuss and, yes, make her sleep.

It has been a year of theories, experiments, success and failures.

While I am no expert mom (again I only have two), I hope to share some of the ways I found to be effective in making my babies, actually toddlers, sleep... so the Mom can sleep well, too.

The Science of Pattern. This other moms swear by. And it has been effective on my two kids. Babies need to understand that there is a time for everything and having a pattern signals when the next activity is coming up. If you give him/her a bath or read a book before s/he sleeps, repeat that every night at about the same time leading to that quiet hour when they need to close their eyes.

Now, the tricky part is to deal with how your kid reacts to the signal for sleeping. My JG took it as it was - a segue to sleeping time. AC dreaded it.

The Art of Isolation. It is indeed challenging to have their playmate be in the same room while it is sleeping time. By playmate, I refer to their Dad. The sight of Mr. Mascot/Clown/Magician does excite these little creatures so the dad really needs to get into the program.

Again, JG with one stern look managed to simmer himself down. AC, on the other hand, does not back down while her father is within reach.

I have managed to be in control by putting the daddy (and AC's bro) to sleep first - which he, of course, welcomed wholeheartedly. Further to that and even if I love the feel of our bed, I have moved to the sofa bed with AC so she has no distractions but me. I missed my bed but I love my sleep more.

The Science of the Expensive Diaper. This worked for both kids. I am a cheapskate so I stock on cheap diapers used for the day and then stock on the expensive 12-hour dry feeling ones for the nighttime sleep.

Weighing the pros and cons of the expensive diaper was an easy one since as you may have realized by now, I value my sleep more than a pair of diamond earrings. So netting it all off, I think I have gained.

The Art of Suggestive Selling. This goes hand in hand with setting a pattern. And has worked with my little girl. She, as with other tots, always wants to have a bottle before sleeping. A few hours before bedtime, I bombard her with our codename for bottle - "didi". She laughs, I say "Didi?". She shouts, I say "Didi?". She dances, I say "Didi?". And then finally, she gives in and says, "Didi?". Sold.

The Art of Pretending. Worked well on both of them. I wanted my kids to sleep, my kids wanted me to play with them. It's all mind games - whoever is stronger in mind, wins. Of course, there were days when I was tired from office work and I just wanted to be still. These are the best times to pretend - pretend that I am asleep. Eyes should be super shut because of the serious eye poking attempts.

And because I have the stronger mind (and eyelids), the little critters just give up. And sleep. 

The Art and Science of Letting Go. If all else fails - where my cognitive and physiological strength cannot handle things anymore (we have our days), either I go ahead and sleep, or I do a bit of drama. With both kids, it has never failed, the Daddy wakes up and intervenes.

Peace and quiet.

This is how I am surviving two kids of different sleeping personalities.

'Like' Notes.

I can't believe notes like these have been written by a Grade 2 girl. And I am amazed that the notes were personally given by the Grade 2 girl to a boy classmate.

While I was proud that this was given to my JG, I was scratching my head... confused that kids, actually, LITTLE GIRLS nowadays are capable of professing love or shall I say like to boys they fancy. 

I was trying to remember if I had the same kind of fondness for a boy when I was 7. There were flashbacks where I was being teased to random boys and being so mad about it. But I do not recall having the courage to give a note of sweet nothings to the opposite sex.

Now, JG is talking about having his first girlfriend. Ha! I was speechless for a few seconds.

What a brave little girl. I hope to see her soon.

Home Made Top Hat.

My niece just turned one recently and Neverland was her party theme.
She was Tinkerbell and her Kuya was Peter Pan.  For my boy, it was a choice between Captain Hook and John Darling.  I chose the latter because of 'value for money' reasons.
A camisa chino in Daddy's size worth around P200 served as the sleeping attire.  It can be considered a sunk cost because Hubby will be using it as an undershirt. Then, I got this 'japorms' nerdy glasses for P150.

The trouble was John's Top Hat - (1) I could not find one in convenient places and (2) if I find one, it is highly possible that the hat is more expense than the rest of his costume.

DIY was the solution.

Here are my materials - not all I used.  The only materials I bought for this purpose are two black cartolinas that cost P16.00 each.
Here is how I did it.

1) Roll one cartolina and staple the ends.  Make sure that the hole fits the head of a person/kid.
2) Using the other cartolina, cut out a big square for the hat's peak or visor.
3) Carve out a circle in the middle of the square cartolina.  The circle should be a good fit of the rolled cartolina.
4) Insert the rolled cartolina to the square cartolina (visor).  This will also set the height of the hat's crown so adjust the square cartolina to your desired height.

5) Cut strips of the rolled cartolina then fold and stick them to the visor using a stapler.
6) It should come out like this.
7) Turn it upside down then cut the visor to achieve a circular shape.
Now, we have a hat!
Okay... it looks too long on my boy's head.  I did trim it, about 3 inches.  Also, the visor.
A Php32 top hat which I will re-use in our village's Trick or Treat.  Now, that's value for money.

A Change of Heart.

For more than half of his existence, my boy loved Thomas the Train.  He has long lines of Thomas character trains and all kinds of track configurations.  He would wear Thomas shirts, socks and, yes, briefs.  He has Thomas spoon and fork, Thomas toothbrush, Thomas bag, Thomas bedsheets, etc.

Just recently, he had a change of heart.  Thomas, which he still loves, is not his number 1 anymore.  It has been all Star Wars lately.

His fascination started with Angry Birds Star Wars where he first knew about Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader.  He has now abandoned the game but leveled up his Star Wars obsession.

For rewards and gifts, he would always ask for Star Wars toys.  He now has a decent collection of toys -- not as massive as his Thomas collection yet but I think we will reach that level.  Here are some.

This is one of his favorite shirts.  I think you have an idea of the what the other shirts look like.

We wanted to put this addiction to good use so we bought him a book.  Yes, it did work.  This is his motivation to learn how to read.

Hubby bought him a set of Star Wars movies.  He has watched them ALL!  Not once but countless times.  This is his most favorite scene - The Battle of Mustafar.  He memorized and recites the lines of both Anakin and Obi-Wan.  I am not sure he understands what they mean though.

It was good that Hubby is taking time to watch the movies with him.  I am, unfortunately, not up for Star Wars movie marathons so I have given his Dad the responsibility of explaining the essence of Star Wars and the good lessons people get from it.

When will he have another change of heart?  I don't know - I am actually enjoying (and dreading) the shift of passion from baby stuff to boy stuff.  Considering that I know a lot of adult friends who are still amazed by Star Wars, this may go on for quite a long time... perhaps, until he is all grown up?!  As long as he will buy me a "good" bag first before he purchases this P38,000 Lego Star Wars toy, he would continue to get my full support...

And I would thank George Lucas for it (the bag).

Lovable Distraction.

My little boy's nanny of 4 years is leaving tomorrow.

He adores his 'Ate' a lot so the next few weeks will be difficult for him.  We really cannot stop her... she has planned to go abroad years ago.  Now, she intends to make her dreams come true.

The replacement 'Ate' is coming soon but I am sure it will take a while before he warms up to her.

And so... we bought a dog.  A yellow Labrador.

My little boy named him Percy... after Thomas the Train's best friend.  

I have always wanted my kid to have a pet dog because it would teach him unconditional love, responsibility and compassion.  This is indeed the best time.  I hope that with his new playmate, he will not miss his Ate badly.

Liking each other seemed not too difficult.  The boy shared his trains right away.

I hope Percy would prove to be a good distraction for the kiddo.  I am pretty sure they will be best friends soon.

Now, hubby and I just need to learn the ropes of being a pet owner. 

Welcome Back, Mommy!

It was as if the virus was waiting for me to come back.

I arrived from China with my two boys picking me up at the airport.  We were all excited to see each other and had fun telling/listening to stories.

You know me, by now... fearful of airplane rides.  The weather did not help so I experienced the longest runway approach of my flying life... around 30-45 minutes of circling around until touchdown.  By the time, I saw my boys, I was having a bad headache because of airplane ride stress.

So, I was extremely yearning for a good night sleep when suddenly the little boy asked for the blanket... quite surprising since he loves the air-conditioning.  A few minutes later he started to have chills.  And then, temperature shot up to the 39s.

After two sleepless nights, he got better, thank God.  He is actually playing with my pasalubong as I speak.

How did we survive?  A little bit of my Mom and Dad's tricks, a compilation of the doctor's instructions from way back and some inputs from the ever reliable Google. (These have worked for me and my kid but each child is different so better to always keep the pediatrician informed.)

• Temperature check is very important.  Whenever it goes up to 38.8 and above, I check it every 15 minutes.  The ear thermometer is not so reliable but it is the quickest way to make the check and it will not disturb the patient that much.
• Fluids indeed help.  It is actually the cheapest medicine.  To make things a bit more fun for the sick kid, the powdered juice would be the best alternative to water.  If there is no sore throat, it helps to keep the water/juice a bit cold.  Use a colorful straw -- they would appreciate not giving too much effort when drinking.
• Throwing up is not really bad.  It is even one way to lower the fever.  If the kid wants to throw up, welcome it (even if it means having to change the sheets).  Better if you have a bowl or mini "palanggana" ready to catch the mess.
• Calpol tastes better than other paracetamol syrups.  My kid hated medicines for the longest time but he can tolerate Calpol.  Hallelujah!
• Never bundle up when fever is high.  The idea of overdressing a sick kid is passé.  It will just make the temperature go even higher.
• Based on experience, fever usually peaks at night.  Be prepared not to sleep.  Paracetamol does not work sometimes... so thanks to the ancient way of "punas" (read: washcloth treatment).  Cloth should not be too wet and not too cold.  The vinegar mixture is still reliable.  But I read in some internet materials never to use the alcohol as it can cause shock.
• Aim for the kid to have the longest uninterrupted sleep.  It has proven to make wonders for my kid every time he is sick.  Whenever he goes beyond the 6-hour borderline, he gets better the next day.  
• Lastly, the moms should take multivitamins.  Sleepless nights can really make you vulnerable to the circulating virus.  The next thing you know, you are the new patient.

So yes, I am starting to rest and enjoy my return only now.  Thank goodness for the holiday, else I would be a walking zombie in the office.

I am not complaining at all.  It's part of being a Mommy.  And I am lucky to have an appreciative kid.  Aside from the constant Thank Yous, the best compliment of the weekend was -- "Mommy, your punas is very, very good."

The Greenery

My little boy and father-in-law celebrated their birthdays this year in a nice place.  It's a resort tucked in Baliwag, Bulacan called The Greenery.

The place is not your usual resort.  It is picturesque and the setting seems to place you out of the country.

They have a pavilion where the Grand Ballroom is located.  We did not bother to visit the insides of it.  Our target was the mini train which lit up my little boy's eyes.

There is a mini golf course plus a driving range somewhere.

The villas are cute.  They look like houses in an American suburb.  We stayed in 2 of these.  While the outer designs are nice, the interiors looked a bit neglected.  If you are the high maintenance customer, you might be disappointed.

I super like the Grand Villa.  It's a house with 5 rooms in it.  I hope the interiors look much better than the smaller villas.

My little boy and his cousins enjoyed feeding the pigeons and playing with them.

But, I guess, the best part of the holiday was swimming in the infinity pool!

The place has lots more to offer especially for those looking for venues of events and pre-nuptial photo sessions.  For more information about The Greenery, please visit them here.

New Playground.

There's a new landmark in town.  It's called High Street South.

We all know High Street by now, the open air mall at the heart of the Global City.  They added a new block that will let you walk further south.  The shops, they say, would be more high end.

As of now, only restaurants are opened... shops not yet.  But the open area is now available to the public... especially to the the kids.  They have a new playground that could get them very wet.

Amusing for the kids.

Not too fun for the yayas, unfortunately.

My little boy was too wet for a picture.  I did not even attempt to take a shot.  Good thing, his nanny was a girl scout... ever so ready for splash fun times like this.

Makes Sense.

My little boy is about to turn 4 soon.  I must agree with what others say that this the funniest stage.  Kids express themselves without care and somehow understand what grown ups tell them.

-----------------------------------------------

I am beginning to teach him how to deal with strangers.  Our very first conversation about it went this way...

Me:  If a grown up you do not know goes near you and gives you candy, what will you say to him/her?

Little boy:  Happy Halloween!!!

-----------------------------------------------

Hubby just arrived from the office and was trying to relax.  Without expecting anything, he threw out a question to the little boy.

Hubby:  If you can change anything in this world, what would that be?

Little Boy:  I am going to change diaper!

-----------------------------------------------

The little boy was in his rowdy mode while I was having a not-so-good day.

Me:  Hey, please behave.  Mommy is not feeling well.

Little Boy:  Wait, Mommy, I will just go down.

I was relieved because that meant some time for myself.  After a few seconds, he entered the bedroom bringing something.

Little Boy:  Here, Mommy, you drink Calpol.  This will make you feel better.  Now, let's play trains.

-----------------------------------------------

One sunny afternoon, we were about to go to the playground.

Little Boy:  Mommy, is it hot outside?

Me:  Yeah, I think so.

Little Boy:  I am going to wear my sunglasses.

Enchanted Day.

The last time we brought the little boy to a theme park was when he was around 1 and a half years old.  The 3 of us went to Hongkong Disneyland and stayed in the Disney hotel.

It was November so it was winter time -- HK recorded the coldest November in the last 10 years.  Because of this, hubby and I did not have the Disney time of our lives but at least we knew that the little boy had a blast.  He had the best time with the Disney characters, the Magic Kingdom castle, and the Disney hotel room.  We knew that because he still remembers going to Disneyland up until now.  (I would have to exclude the fireworks which at that time was his pet peeve.)

After 2 years, hubby and I thought it was time for the little boy to experience the theme park once again.  We are on tipid mode so no HK trip this time.  The Enchanted Kingdom was the next best bet... and what better time than the Christmas season!

Our first stop was the Grand Carousel, of course.

He surely loved his first carousel ride eva'...

The trains MUST NOT be missed.  I think it was his favorite ride of the day.

Next stop was the hot air balloon which Daddy did not like.

The little boy loved looking at the Ferris Wheel... and this is the closest he could go, for now.

Enchanted Kingdom sure is lovely during Christmas.

May not be as cold and as hip as HK Disneyland but for a kid like my boy, it was the most delightful place on earth.  He said he will be back soon... perhaps, next Christmas.

Halloween For Real...

I have been missing out on blogging again because there really is so much on my plate now.  We have no cable at home today (waaah!) so God must have been pushing me to get back into writing again.
-------------------------------------------------


It was technically his third Halloween but this is the first TRUE BLUE celebration not only for my little boy but also for us.


Last year, my little boy attended the Office Halloween only where there were a gazillion other kids waiting for candies and stuff.  He was Handy Manny which was the least creative since his only props were a hard hat and the tools/toolbox.  To top it all, Handy Manny was not his favorite.


This year, we made it a bit special... yeah, still not creative, but at least he was a superhero.  Meet our SUPERMAN!
And this time around, we had the authentic Trick or Treat activity where houses were decorated in scary themes, village kids wore their tributes to the Halloween and adults were excited to give out candies / treats.  Of course, because we are Pinoys... we always give the Western culture a twist -- there was a pre-Trick or Treat party/show for everyone to see.
See how our neighbors made their places as scary as can be.
And here's how our place turned out so Halloweeny...
The bats - drawn, traced and cut by me (with the help of my angels).
The gravestones - conceptualized and made by, again... me.

Hubby's contribution... but with no picture... A Friday the 13th doll seated in the car right next to the candies.  Cool, huh?


There were tons of candies/treats.  Everyone was excited since this was the first ever Trick or Treat in our place.  Most importantly, the little guy had the best time ever... feeling like Superman even for just one day.