What a Busy Week!

I can't believe it's already Friday.

On one hand, I am relieved that it's already Friday. On the other hand, I realise that I still have a lot to do over the weekend. For starters, I need to report to work tomorrow to cover up for my absence last Wednesday. Thank goodness I work from home and don't have to go out!

This week has been very busy for me. It was a mix of good busy and bad busy. Let me tell you about it.

Busy for Work

I have been given new responsibilities at work, which is a really great thing because it shows they trust me enough. I've also been made in charge of the Filipino content team. In fact, another Filipino has been added to the team this week. I interviewed her on Monday and she got hired immediately!

Busy for License Registration

But as busy as I am for work, I had to work the afternoon shift on Tuesday and be absent on Wednesday because I was taking care of my license registration. The hurdles - not to mention the steep fees! - really don't end with the board exam. But it's alright. We have no choice because we have to get our license!

What made the process fun and bearable was the fact that I came with a friend, Ate Elaine, who was also my classmate, and I also met my old friend, Sonny, who is also my brod from the counterpart fraternity. We're all brokers now, yay! I told them we should form a corporation or something. It's really all for my benefit because Ate Elaine is a CPA while Sonny will take the bar exams this November. Bwahahaha!

By the way, I'm finally a licensed real estate broker. I don't have the physical license yet, but I have a license number!

Busy because Yuri was sick

I've also been busy because of "bad" reasons. For one, Yuri came down with a fever last Wednesday, which did not subside until this morning. He's barely sick, but when he's sick, he's really weak and doesn't move much. He needed some rest and nourishment.

Today, Friday, he's feeling much better, although we keep going to the bathroom because he's having a mild diarrhoea. He says his tummy doesn't hurt though. I think it's because his food intake for the past days is mostly liquid. I won't worry until he says his stomach hurts.

And busy because my laptop is sick

And my trusty laptop is not doing well this week, too. Talk about bad timing! I don't know what happened to it. It was doing well on Tuesday night, but when I came home Wednesday evening, it was suddenly not turning on. It functions but veeeery slowly. In fact, yesterday morning, it took an hour and a half for it to start!

So I PC-refreshed it. The computer promised that the process won't harm the files, but after around an hour of refreshing, when it came back on, all of my blog photos were gone. I wasn't worried much because I could download them from the blog, but I hope it fixes the problem. It's still going a little slow now, but I'll monitor it.

EDIT: The photos are gone from my drive, but when I re-installed Picasa, all my photos are there!!! Every single one. Good guy Picasa is good!

How was your week?

_________________________________________________________________

Do you like this post? Never miss out again when you click on the cute bunny below:

Or by entering your email here:

Enter your email address:


Delivered by FeedBurner

You can also follow me on Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest for daily updates on my mundane musings.

The Ultimate Summer Trip (Day 3): Bantay and Vigan

Read about the entire 6-day trip here.

Early the following morning, at around 4:30 am, we checked out from the house and started gathering by our van. However, we weren't able to get out because our neighbor's car was blocking the driveway. We were finally able to start traveling to Ilocos at 5 am. We were so excited!

Call me naive, though, but I didn't expect Ilocos to be sooo far. I thought it would be, like, 3 hours away, but 3 hours passed and we were still in La Union! We slowly began removing our jackets and cardigans and realized we were not in Baguio anymore. Haha!

Tirik na ang araw when we finally arrived in Bantay, the town before Vigan. We got off our van for a photo op at Quirino Bridge.

Quirino Bridge

Then we headed to 

St. Augustine Parish

...this grotto of 

Our Lady of Charity

...and 

Bantay Bell Tower

We then proceeded to our hotel in Vigan, which is a budget hotel called Green-R (I'll write a separate post about our accommodations. Because everyone was so tired from the travel, we decided to rest first in our individual rooms but not before eating lunch at a nearby carinderia.

Why did we choose to eat in a carinderia? We wanted to experience genuine Ilocano dishes and foolishly thought we could eat genuine dishes there. But the dishes turned out to be average, and the owner charged us exorbitantly. Imagine, it was a really shabby place that lacked chairs, and for just our table alone, we were charged P500 for 4 viands - and the servings were really small! (Plus I still think I got stomach flu from the food there.) 

So much for that rant. At 3pm, we went out from the comfort of our rooms and toured Vigan.

Baluarte

The Ultimate Summer Trip (Day 1): Baguio Part 1

Read about the entire 6-day trip here.

After more than 2 weeks, I finally found the time to write about our 6-day trip. I kept writing 5 days in some of my old posts, and when I did the math, I realized 6 days pala. Oops!

We temporary said goodbye to Davao on March 21, a Saturday. You must know that I have classes on Saturdays and Sundays, so I was actually absent for two days. I didn't like to be absent from class, but we already had our trip booked last year when we expected real estate brokerage classes to begin in January and be done in February or early March. Long story short, buti nalang a maximum of 2 absences is allowable.

This is Yuri's second flight (first flight was to Cebu when he was just 7 months old), but this was the first time he got his own seat! He didn't stay in it, though.

We arrived in Manila at around 12:45 pm, and we haven't had any lunch yet save for the sandwiches we ate during the flight. However, we headed straight to our waiting driver and rented van to save time. We figured we can just pass by a drive-through and be on our merry way. Because some of us were late (ehem), we weren't able to leave NAIA until 2 pm.

There were 15 of us in our group, by the way, not including the driver. We went on this trip with my aunt, my cousins, my nephew, and some family friends.

But grabe ang traffic sa Manila that we never found the opportunity for a drive-thru. Grabe, I get annoyed here in Davao when I get stuck in traffic for 3 minutes. Dear Manileños, I admire your patience! As for probinsyana me, I'll stay here. Hee hee.

It was fun taking photos of milestones along the way, thanks to a hyper-zoom camera. I think we were more than 40 feet away in a moving vehicle when I took this shot. But I stopped taking photos when hyper-acidity hit me!

Obviously, everyone was getting hungry. We were munching on our snacks, but those are not enough, right? Ang tagal naming nakalabas sa Manila; it took us almost 3 hours yata. (Matagal na ba yun?) We were able to eat lunch only when we stopped over at Bulacan.

Our trip from there to Baguio was still long, obviously, but relatively easy because there were no more traffic jams especially along NLEX. Now, that's the kind of road trip I can tolerate!

It was already dark when we reached La Union and even darker when we entered Kennon Road. I swear, I will never go through that road again. The next time I need to visit Baguio, I will just hop on a plane. Road trips are not for me, so having to endure the winding Kennon Road for what must have been an hour was torture! I had a toddler with me pa, so double the torture. #chicken #carsickproblems

Are You a Nagger? (Review of "Motivate Your Child" by Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller)

Sometimes, I have no choice but to subscribe to the nagging and bribing academy of parenting.

When my toddler was still a baby, I swore I will never nag or bribe because I know these will never result to anything good. But now, out of desperation, I find myself either nagging to death or bribing my son with a toy or a treat to make him follow me.

The book, "Motivate Your Child" by Dr. Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller, RN BSN, is what I need.

Image from Amazon

The book basically focuses on how many parents today are using external methods of motivating their children. Yes, these include nagging and bribing, and these are very misdirected. These result to short-term effects where the child obeys just to either avoid punishment or get the reward.

Nagging is tiresome. On the other hand, if your child was exposed to a reward system that is basically bribing, you have no choice but to "outdo" the last reward. I actually see this in my sister today who, before obeying, will ask, "What is in it for me?"

The book then ultimately says that the best way to motivate a child is to motivate them internally. The writers call this form of parenting "heart parenting." What does it mean?

This approach entails removing the external reward-consequence system and looking into the root of the matter: the heart.

What You Were Like When You Were 32 Months

I began this blog a little over 2 years ago mainly to document my life as a mother, my life with Yuri. I imagine that in the future, he can read this blog and say, Oh that's what I used to do! Or What? My mother did what?!

But I realize it's been a long time since I really wrote about him. I think the last time I fully devoted a post to just talking about Yuri was during his second birthday. He's 32 months old now!

I miss writing about my little boy so I'll be doing it now.

The Little Big Boy

At 32 months, I feel grateful to be yaya-less. Why? I am able to see all of his single accomplishments. Yes, I have always been a WAHM but Yuri was not under my direct care when I work so even though I witnessed all the major milestones, there were little victories that I didn't get to see.

At 32 months, sometimes, when we're alone in the house, I feel like I'm with an older boy, not a toddler. Apart from the continuous explosion of words, the personality is becoming much clearer: perfectionism that needs taming, patience that needs a lot of improvement, obedience that needs to be more consistent, and an overprotective spirit that will benefit his lady someday.

I have no problems with sharing yet. He shares his toys even when the playmate sometimes just grabs a toy from him. No fits, no tantrums. He does forlorn for a moment but when I tell him to just play with another toy, he does happily. At home, even when it's the last bite of his favorite food, he would gladly give it to any of us! (We're not heartless enough to actually eat it haha.)

And I also see a toddler with a genuine love for learning (doesn't every child?), a child who just doesn't stop moving, and a little boy whose passion for trucks doesn't wane.

Stuck with Trucks

Potty Training Yuri: The Success!

I was supposed to publish this yesterday but I had to deal with the bane of my existence: no internet connection.

It has been more than 4 weeks since Yuri has been relatively successful in using the potty during daytime.

I say "4 weeks" because Yuri had finally consistently used the potty chair a week before his 2nd birthday, which was 3 weeks ago.

Sorry for the foul language; I couldn't find one more accurate hahahaha!

Yes, I couldn't still believe it. My boy was daytime potty-trained before his second birthday, and, well, I did it single-handedly. Yeah!

*accepts medal of valor*

*accepts gentle but firm slap by the Holy Spirit and returns to seat*

Anyway, I say "relatively" because ther are still, as expected, accidents. Especially the time when he ate too many slices of watermelon during dinner. The next morning, there was poop everywhere! To give Yuri credit, though, he did say "potty" before he helplessly pooped down my shorts. And he looked more mortified than me! Poor boy!

So how did we achieve this relative success? Here are some tips I can give you:

1. Do not force the child.

My kid is used to schedules and routines because both I and his yaya are sticklers for routines. However, in the case of potty-training, I let him be mainly because I know Yuri can be easily discouraged. I just bought a potty chair and let him be familiar with it.

One thing I did which you shouldn't do is be visibly stressed around the child. Stress is contagious and he can easily see the act of pooping and peeing as incorrectly stressful.

Also, don't ever force the kid to sit on the potty chair. Gently guide him to it and encourage him to sit down but don't ever do what I once did which is physically restrain him to the seat. Choose your battles, momma!

2. Do not stress yourself about the 2-day or 3-day methods.

Like what I mentioned, Yuri is familiar with routines and is visibly becoming a schedule-person. However, these routines, like naptime and outdoors-time, were established over months. While I heard of 2 and 3 days methods, I know it wouldn't work for Yuri.

Why? Because it's pretty shocking. I mean, the boy was pooping and peeing in his diapers all his life! Suddenly making him do these stuff seated on a chair can be downright scary. It wouldn't be fair to make them shift into this new stage in life in just a couple of days.

Then again, some babies really do learn to potty in just a matter of days. If yours does, congratulations! If yours does not, high five!

--- Okay, what I gave you were more on mental and emotional tips. What about physical and material preparedness? Here are more of my tips:

3. Potty-training is most stress-free if the child can communicate.

I'm pretty blessed to have a talkative child, and to be honest, it made the process of potty-training a lot easier. This is because he can easily tell me if he needs to go potty.

I'm not talking about just verbal communication either. Some smart mommas teach their babies sign language which makes communication easy and efficient. Even if your child can't talk yet but can easily relay to you the poop and/or pee message, then I say go for it!

Not all will agree with me, but if you're not yet very comfortable about your child's communication skills - but he'll get there! - I really suggest you be patient. Save yourself and your child from the unnecesary stress. Again, choose your battles!

4. Choose the right potty chair.

Thoughts on the Mommy Wars

I am not a fan of the so-called mommy wars. I must admit that I am passionate about the choices I make (i.e. breastfeeding, attachment parenting, and open-ended play) and I have a strong opinion about them, but I will never think of having an actual argument with another parent about these choices.

I am only human so there are times I catch myself judging other parents, but God made me realize I could be easily like them have my circumstances been different.

Now, I've been lucky that in the first two years of Yuri's life, I haven't encountered anyone who debated my beliefs. Sure, I received a couple of comments when Yuri still wasn't walking at 12 months old, but those were from family and family friends. They don't have the right to judge, yes, but I'd rather hear comments from them than from actual strangers. I considered myself lucky for never having them.

But I recently realized that as the child grows up, the "war" becomes less about you and your parenting style and more about the child and his milestones.

Unfortunately, I learned this in one weekend and in two different incidents.

None of these incidents were really harmful - in fact, they were bordering on petty - but it made me see how easy it is to judge other people.

First one is from a dad, an American neighbor, who just happened to pass along our house one Saturday afternoon. He had his son with him who was just a couple of months older than Yuri.

He asked me how old Yuri is and I asked him about his son, too. Then he asked me how many words Yuri can already speak.

You see, at that time, Yuri was just making random noises while playing with the other child.

I hesitated, frankly because I have already lost track. And also because I had to speak in English haha. I started, "Well..."

But he cut me off and said, "Oh he can't speak yet."

"What?"

"He can't speak yet? My son can already say many words. English, Filipino, even some Bisaya words. He (pointing to Yuri) can't speak yet?"

Yuri is 2: 24 Random Things About You

Dear Yuri,

You're 2 today! To mark the first hour of your birthday, uh, you fell from the bed. It's okay because, well, I placed a cushion on that side of that bed. You woke up alarmed with large eyes, and I said, "Okay lang, baby." You closed your eyes again but not before you replied, "Okay nan."

To say I'm absolutely in love with you is an understatement. I completely adore you and I thank God every day for giving you to me, to us. I cradled you back into my arms again (we cosleep), and as you settled down to nurse, I smiled and then I thought of all the random things that you, in all of your two years, have or have not done.

Since you are 24 months today (2 years!), I decided to write down 24 random things about you. I hope you enjoy reading them when you're older!

1. You never drooled. Ever. I remember seeing little babies with bibs which seemed to be permanent parts of their outfits, but not you. You never wore a bib when you were little. Even when you started eating solids, the only time you had to wear bibs were during mealtimes.

2. You were never fussy when teething. In fact, I didn't even notice when your first tooth erupted. Recently, I only noticed that four of your molars were already present. You didn't even make a peep, not a sound. Well, to be honest, you could have been clingier during those times, but I was none the wiser.

3. You were a colicky baby. To this day, I never found out the reason. All I know is that during the first three months of your life, you would cry straight for three hours each night. I did everything I could do, but nothing could stop your crying. You suddenly stopped after three months.

Really?

4. You started sleeping through the night when you were four months old. It was as sudden as when you stopped being colicky. One night, you just slept through the night, of course, while nursing a few times. By then, I stopped being fearful of being alone with you.

5. Yes, I was afraid of being alone with you the entire night. I was only 23 years old, living the life of a single mother, with a colicky baby to boot. This is why we slept in the living room for 3 months.

6. For the first three months of your life, I slept on the couch while you slept on your stroller. The crib was too big for you then, and I was afraid you would feel insecure in it.

7. You are 24 months now (2 years old!), but you have never been to the beach yet.

8. You had to spend the first six days of your life in the hospital because, er, you went out of momma's tummy late (I had to get cut up), and by the time you were out, you already ate meconium, your first poop. So cool, right? I bet you couldn't wait to tell this to your playmates. But remember that it could have caused different complications, and through the grace of God, you came out very very healthy. (Birth story here)

9. Even if I breastfed you for 2 years (and counting), you had S26 as your first food. Nobody taught me how to breastfeed in the hospital (as neither of your lolas were there, and your lolo doesn't know the first thing about breastfeeding).

10. You spoke your first word when you were around 16 months old, and it was "car."

11. You went on your first airplane flight when you just turned 7 months old. We went to Cebu to visit some relatives. I was anxious, but you were very behaved during the flight. In fact, you only cried because you already wanted to nurse, and after nursing, you were fine.

12. Your first tooth erupted when you were 11 months old. It was late compared to other children, but that's okay. Your teeth erupted one by one during the next months anyway.

13. You used to be so wary of strangers, but now, you're warming up. Whenever another baby or kid visits the house, you go out of your way to make him or her feel welcome. You even consider your ninangs as friends now!

With Ninang Teena (or Nina Tina)

14. During your first months, momma wasn't so style-savvy yet, and there was a month when you wore hand-me-down girls' shoes. Don't worry; you still looked so adorable. Of course, you also had boy shoes hihi.

15. You never tore a single page from any book, unlike a certain sister I know who tore almost all of my Clueless books. I still preferred giving you cloth books when you were very little, though, because I was afraid of the chemicals in the ink. After your first birthday, though, we began reading many books!

16. You became obsessed with cars after your first birthday and until now. You even recognize specific neighbors' cars now.

17. You are a carb-monster: You're a fickle eater but your love for carbs remains consistent. Your favorite foods are pasta (w/o red sauce), pancit, bread, crackers, cake... In fact, when we were at Vikings, all you ate were ramen and mantao.

18. Speaking of carbs, your latest favorite food is the humble but glorious suman.

19. You took your first step at 13 months, which is later than some children, but again, it's perfectly okay! You were running a few months after anyway.

20. You are always mistaken for a girl. No matter where we go, someone almost always mistakes you for a girl. Even when you were looking like this:

Seriously?

21. You had a very wide vocabulary even before you turned 2. I always say that you might have been a late walker but your talking skills compensated for it - not that we need compensation!

22. You were potty-trained a couple of weeks before turning 2. Save for a few days of regression, everything else went smoothly. Yay!

23. You currently love dancing and singing. You would dance to any tune you hear on the radio (using your signature rolling hands dance step), and you would try to sing whenever you hear a song you like!

Don't stare at my tongue.

24. You are turning out to be a very sweet and affectionate little boy. A few months back, I prayed that you would show affection more because, well, you're a bit rough like a little boy should be. Now, you're fond of giving kisses, hugs, and you even occasionally tell us "I love you." I love you, too.

___________________

There is more of you and more to you than these 24 random things, baby, and you should know that these are but a few of the things that I hold dear to my heart. I'm pretty sure I will spend a big part of my life telling you more about the things that make you so special to me. Happy birthday and I hope you have fun this day (unlike last year hee hee).

Photo: http://oldbarnrescue.com/

Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

I pray you grow up to be a man after God's own heart. God be with you!

_________________________________________________________________

Do you like this post? Never miss out again when you click on the cute bunny below:

Or by entering your email here:

Enter your email address:


Delivered by FeedBurner

You can also follow me on Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest for daily updates on my mundane musings.

I Have An Almost 2-Year Old

Just saying the phrase, "2-year old," amazes me. Oh my gulay, I have an almost 2-year old in my hands! It will only be a matter of weeks before my Yuri officially turns 2. My golly banana!

Time really does fly so fast. I still vividly remember the days when I can hold Yuri in the crook of one arm. And while newborn babies are completely adorable, I don't think I miss that stage because, seriously, I think I only got around 40-50 hours of sleep during Yuri's first three months. No wonder I lost weight so easily! Haha!

This time, though, I have a little boy who's completely different from that colicky newborn (who cried 3 hours a night, every night, for 3 months straight - no kidding). I have a little boy whose personality begins to emerge.

During his early toddler age, I used to think Yuri was only a rough boy. Well, I think all boys are rough. Hehe. Today, however, I can see the other facets of his personality:

1. I can see his being malambing (to me).

Despite his aversion to hugs from other people, he does welcome kisses hehe. However, as of this date, I'm the only one he kisses without prompting. When we're reading books, he would scootch into my arm and say, "Tabi mama." Awww!

2. I can see his being generous.

Okay, so you moms of older toddlers may see this will change in the (near?) future, but allow me to revel in this stage of generosity. When another child or baby comes over, as in he's the one who will go back and forth from his toy shelves to the said visitor just to know what he/she would like to play with.

For example, last Sunday, when Niña was here, he kept offering her toys and books. When she finally found one she liked, she actually snatched it from Yuri's hands. I expected Yuri to get mad but he didn't. He laughed and sat beside Niña as she played with the toy. Being the intervening mom that I am, I offered Yuri another toy, but even without it, I can see he's happy seeing another baby play with his toys. Awww.

EDIT: His Ninang George insisted I include her experience with Yuri. Haha ang dami nating testimonials, baby! During her most recent visit here, Yuri ate crackers for snacks. She jokingly asked Yuri to give her a cracker, and knowing Yuri, I expected Yuri not to give her any. He was holding two in his hand: one had a bite, one was whole... Surprisingly, he gave his Ninang a cracker. Even more surprisingly, he gave her the cracker without the bite! :D

3. I can see his friendliness (and cautiousness).

Long Day Friday

On Thursday night, I prayed to have these things in my heart: patience, wisdom, understanding and compassion. To be honest, I pray for these every night (more often during workouts), but I didn't know I will be fully tested come Friday.

1. Yaya Woes

It started  during the morning, when it wasn't 9:30am yet and I have already "spoken" to Honey three times. I do not really scold her (I leave that to the elders), but I do make "sermon." The first one was when she took forever in the bathroom taking a shower. She's really vanidosa, and I've come to accept it. The problem was that we were alone in the house, and I tried to teach Yuri to pee in the bathroom. Inevitably, he peed on me. We couldn't change because all our clothes are upstairs and we were dripping wet. I called to Honey and told her na bilisan ang pagligo.

So after around 40 minutes, she finally came out of the bathroom. I thought we could change na. Hala, she took another 20 minutes upstairs. What is she doing? Fixing her hair? Doing her makeup? Haller, andito lang kami sa bahay. I was really exasperated because Yuri and I stunk with pee already, and she, the yaya, is applying creams whatsoever pa on her face. Lord, help.

The second time that morning that I sermoned was when she ate all freshly cooked chorizo, while the rest of us ate the leftover pancit from last night's dinner. I left some pancit for her, but yes, she chose to ate the freshly cooked food which was supposed to be our lunch. The third time she got another sermon from me because she and the neighbor's yaya spent maybe around 20 minutes chismisan. I looked out the window and saw that she just carried Yuri over her arm and her entire attention was directed toward the other yaya. I didn't want to scold her right then and there para hindi mapahiya. Hay Lord!

2. Neighbor Woes

Some of you might have already known na kontra ko talaga ang maingay. I understand if it's noisy in school, inside the classroom, in the mall, or where else, because noise is perfectly acceptable in these places. However, I really get irritated when people bawl out at the karaoke in the middle of a guarded subdivision. I even wrote about this before. The problem with before is that the people singing (or just plainly making noise) lived outside the subdivision, so I couldn't do anything about it.

Yesterday, though, the noisy people lived just on our street. In fact, they live just after a vacant lot beside our house. Naman, tanghaling tapat, they're singing their hearts out to music like Pusong Bato. And it's Yuri's siesta time, so the Tiger Mom in me was really irritated. Actually, I felt insulted because these people have no regard for other people. Worse, they don't even live here. They are just visitors of the woman married to this foreigner.

I called the guards first. I told them of my complaint, and would you believe the guard who answered me only said, "Ma'am, wala pong nagvi-videoke." Can you believe that? May CCTV ba kayo sa bawat bahay? My gosh! I didn't have a choice but to take the matter into my own hands. I went to the neighbors' house and told them that we get disturbed by their singing, and it would have been okay, but my son is already sleeping. Keep in mind that I spoke to them in a very reverent manner. Just when I was about to return home, somebody made parinig. I didn't really understand what she said, so I'll leave you to your imaginations with that.

Of course, I called the guards again and told them they should not have dismissed my complaint so easily when my complaint was true after all. Hay Lord. However, they did quiet down after I went to their house, so all's well that ends well.

After that, I was so stressed that I resorted to eating this fruit bar:

My only consuelo was that one bar has only around 80 calories. Say what?

3. Teeny-Bopper Woes

What I Learned from our Separation and Love Triangle

Image: kre-do.tumblr.com

Today, let's talk about love. I'm not going to talk about boring finances. Let's talk about what I learned from the 2 months separation I've had with Job and the love triangle that formed within our relationship.

I know, I know. So anti-climactic and anti-romantic, right? Well, help me pray that on the next Valentine's Day, I'll be talking about something mushy and lovey dovey. We all want that, right?

But for now, I have accepted my season of waiting and planting. I have come to appreciate it, actually. Although the sting of "separation" is there, I am able to go through this phase with the grace of God. So let's talk about the separation first.

Last December, weeks before Christmas, Job and I have come to the decision to stop communicating. That was God's command. Now, it's a long story and I don't want to delve into the details, but you can read this blog post if you're interested.

It's been 2 months, and there are still days when I don't think I can get through the day without feeling the urgent need to talk to Job. It's a good thing we schedule weekly talks where we talk like crazy (I, mostly), but waiting until Sunday is hard. Then I realized this command is actually an exercise of faith. Much like physical workouts, this phase we are now in stretches our faith muscles. We grow in faith through struggles like this.

Image: faith1stministries.com

I learned and am learning a lot of things, and, being the sharer that I am, I'm going to share them with you (along with the prayer that God blesses you, too):

1. I need to cling onto God.

Last December and January, a couple of storms passed through Mindanao. They made landfalls during the days when Job and I didn't allow ourselves to talk to each other. And given the damage Yolanda had just brought to the country, not being able to know how the other was doing was driving us crazy!

In my case, all I heard were reports about damages in some parts of Surigao. Ironically (quite funnily, too), all Job heard on his side were news about Davao. The funny thing was both of our places were spared, so we were worrying about nothing.

But of course we didn't know that. All I did was worry and later on prayed. I prayed really hard that Job and his family would be safe and dry. It wasn't until Sunday when Job made me realize that we were helplessly clinging on to God. God placed us in a situation where we really could not do anything, and our only option was to cling onto him. And guess what? That's what God loves His children to do!

2. I need to exercise patience.

Patience is a virtue I practice, but I realized I needed to practice it more. On the other hand, while Job struggles with discipline - he sometimes finds himself struggling against not messaging me outside our designated day - I don't find this a problem. However, I struggle with waiting and, more importantly, waiting with a good attitude. 2 months later and I'm still counting the days before Sunday! Not that bad but I really need to be more patient.

3. I need to make the most out of limited time.

I have written in some old posts that my most often committed sin would be my short sweet temper. Unfortunately, Job had found himself on its receiving end many times. Now, though, because we only get to talk to each other one day a week, I find myself setting my pride aside to avoid anger.

There are still times when I get annoyed or provoked by something Job said (unintentionally usually!), but knowing the limited time we have, by God's grace, I am able to put my own emotions to the backburner.
And you know what? This applies not just to our own situation but also to life in general. If we always keep in mind the truth that our time is limited, perhaps we could be spending more time loving than getting frustrated!

Image: http://everlastingjesus.tumblr.com/

4. I need to value myself.

Like most moms, I often forget myself because I put others' needs before mine. This is not the statement of a martyr. It's the statement of an ordinary mom as I know most moms are like this.

Thankfully, God made me realize that I should love myself, too. God is the source of love, and if I have a personal relationship with Him, I need to absorb as much love as I can.

Don't get me wrong; Job fulfills my need for romantic love. However, I cannot depend on another person to complete me. It's God's job, and my job is to make sure I am able to fill myself with love so that I can also fill others' tanks with it.

I'm starting with the easy tasks. Reading actual books, eating healthy foods, exercising. And I love it. Who knows? Maybe I can actually visit a salon soon! Hee hee

5. I need to be value my other relationships.

This is a realization I have had even before we reached The Decision. I'm pretty sure God is making me wait now because I've been such a cr@ppy daughter, sister, and friend during the first year of my relationship with Job.

I know Job didn't have anything to do with it, but somehow, I was under the impression that I could treat anyone the way I wanted to because I was so secure in his company. And I really did treat everyone cr@ppily! I was barely home, ignoring calls from churchmates, breaking friendships with college classmates. The works.

Now I'm slowly building up what I alone have torn down, and Job has been awfully supportive. I call this my "reconciliation year" because i'm working on reconciling broken relationships.

6. Trust is an aspect God controls.

Many ask me, especially those who don't know Job and don't know me very much, how we could last in a long-distance barely-there-communication relationship. Simple: I don't know.

All I know is that there is a faithful God that sustains us. Honestly, there never was a time when I doubted Job's fidelity, and he tells me he never did, too. Although there are some pangs of insecurity, all we do is, again, cling onto God.

You see, you could never control a person. Even if you see each other everday, if a person wants to cheat, s/he will. This is an aspect that only God can control. Because we leave this to God, we don't have trust issues.

I can say that I trust Job because I know in my heart that he fears and loves the Lord. I don't want to sound conceited, but many women have tried to, you know. But I was never bothered not because I was confident of myself. Not because I was confident of his love. But because I am confident of his love for God.

I know and he knows he's accountable to the Lord. He often tells me that nothing could keep him from cheating, but he doesn't because he doesn't want to hurt God.

Yes, folks. He says he doesn't want to hurt God, not me. I guess this is the secret? Find a man with integrity and with a genuine fear of sinning. Find a partner who loves God before you.

He can say the same for me, too. He once told me that he has full confidence in me and had never doubted me even once. I can do whatever I want with the money he sends me! But I don't. To tell you the truth, I don't even touch it. This is not because I'm good but because Jesus is good, and I want to imitate him.

Image: http://borntomakeanimpact.tumblr.com/

7. A love triangle needs to be formed - with Jesus in the center.

It used to be just Job and me - period. Like what I mentioned above, I shunned all the other people around me. Well, aside from that, I also shunned God. In reality, He should not just be included in a relationship: He should be right smack in the middle of it.

It's easy to say but difficult to follow. What does placing Jesus in the center of a relationship really mean?

It means making Jesus the first and true love of our lives.

It means taking a step only when Jesus says "yes."

It means not taking a step when Jesus says "no."

It means clinging onto faith in something that is not seen (I'm pertaining to not only God himself but also our future).

It's denying ourselves of our selfish tendencies.

It's taking up our crosses - and our partners' crosses, too.

It is building our partners up even when we're down and broken.

It's understanding our partners even if they don't understand us.

It's respecting them when they're not respectable.

It's loving them when they're least lovable.

Why? Because that's how Jesus loves us. And when He's in the center of the relationship, we are supposed to love one another with the love of Jesus Christ.

It's hard. But the good news is that when Jesus is in the center of the relationship, He sustains us. Even if the love of our partners is undependable and imperfect, we always have Jesus' perfect and unfailing love.

Our situation is hard. I'm not claiming that I have the most difficult life because I don't, but this is one of the hardest things I ever had to do. It's not easy. It's an everyday battle, a battle that requires me to have a strong and steady front even when my heart is crumbling. It's a battle I (we) silently fight.

But I know that with God's grace, everything is gonna be okay.

Image: gwynethinprogress.wordpress.com

That's it. Happy Valentine's Day. :-)

_________________________________________________________________

Do you like this post? Never miss out again when you click on the cute bunny below:

Or by entering your email here:

Enter your email address:


Delivered by FeedBurner

You can also follow me on Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest for daily updates on my mundane musings.

Cloth Diapering Updates

We only got into the cloth-diapering bandwagon recently when Yuri was already 20 months old. Now, I realize that I should have cloth-diapered him a lot earlier! It's one of my mothering regrets actually.

It has been almost 2 months since I first used a cloth diaper, and I still love it. Here are the reasons:

1. Cuteness

Must I begin with something as superficial as cuteness? Yes, I must. You see, one thing I despise about disposables is their limited designs. Also, they tend to look really bad when Yuri has worn them long enough. Sometimes, he wears one, and in less than one hour, laylay na. Why?! On the other hand, this is never the problem with CDs. They still fit well no matter how long you wear them (not too long naman), and there are so many cute designs to choose from!

These inserts take forever to dry! But they do well in keeping Yuri's bum dry.

2. Dryness

At first, I thought I would be changing Yuri from hour to hour. Well, that was not the case. I didn't even have to change him every two hours. In fact, I only have to change him twice a day!

Here's our setup: Bath in the morning, wear CDs at around 8am, change it at 12nn, and change it again at 5pm. I use two inserts (microfiber and bamboo), and I've never experienced leaks.

*This setup might not be applicable to your baby. Yuri is already a 22 month old potty training-ready toddler who does not anymore urinate like an old man. He already has more control of his bladder, so he pees twice in the morning and twice in the afternoon.

3. Ease of Use

One thing that prevented me from buying cloth diapers when Yuri was (a lot) younger was intimidation. I was afraid they would be hard to use. When I got to try one for the first time, I realized it wasn't so hard at all! In fact, what you only need to do is insert the inserts and wear it on the baby like you would with a disposable. Easy peasy!

Another thing that held me back from buying CDs before was the pain of laundering. Now, here's what I need to tell you: I work at home full-time and I wash Yuri's cloth diapers. Why? Because they're actually easy to wash!

After almost 2 months of using CDs, I have delegated the task of washing the unsoiled nappies to the yaya. Meanwhile, since I'm the one washing Yuri's pwet when he goes poopoo (which is, well, 2-3 times a day), I also wash the soiled nappies,too. I do grumble sometimes, though, when it's time for me to work but I still have to wash a diaper, but in reality, it only takes less than 15 minutes to do so. And it's not hard, promise!

A day's worth of diaper laundry

4. Economically-wise

Yuri-isms: Funny and Sweet Anecdotes

The photo above has absolutely no connection to this post (nor do the other photos below). I just especially love that photo because I caught Yuri mid-fall. I was about to take his photo outside the house when he ran toward me, lost his balance, and I was able to capture it on camera! He looks like a break-dancer, no? Hahaha. I love it!

Anyway, here are the different "conversations" I've had with Yuri that I want to remember:

What does the utot say?
Me making large farty noises while Yuri laughs
Me: Pooooot!
Yuri: Hahaha!
Me: Brrrroooot!
Yuri: Hahaha!
Me: Ikaw naman. What does the utot say?
Yuri: (silent for a while, after 5 minutes)
Pft.

Naks! Demure! (More laughing ensues)

______________________________

Yuri takes book from me and intentionally turns it upside down:

Me: Baliktad baby
Yuri returns it to its right position. With a tiny voice, he says: Tama?
Me: Yes baby!
Yuri: Yeys! Ayus!

______________________________

One night, before sleeping, Yuri lined up all his stuffed toys to rub noses with them. In Pinoy-speak, nose to nose.

Yuri: Ader (Tigger), nose nose. *rubs noses*
Yuri: Pooh, nose nose. *rubs noses*
Yuri: Jawi (Jollibee), nose nose. *rubs noses*
Yuri: Opus (Octopus), nose nose.

Then, before he could rub noses with Octopus, he turned to me in shock.

Yuri: Opus uya (wala) nose!

This is the stuffed toy in question:

______________________________

We recently started selling load here in the neighborhood, and since I was home every day, I was in charge of the actual selling.

It is a good thing I have an assistant...

Me double-checking the customer's number before sending the load: 0922--
Yuri: Tama, tama!

______________________________

When Yuri was a little newborn baby, I used to sway him back and forth in my arms while humming the lullaby my dad sung to us when we were young (that's around 30 years since he started singing it to my older brother).

Of Answered Prayers, Salvation, and Little Sisters

When I first gave my life to Jesus in 2010, one of my most fervent prayers was salvation for my family. I backslid and returned to my old ways, but here I am now with renewed faith and hope in my Savior. Four years later, I cry out for the same thing: salvation for my loved ones.

The most unexpected thing happened last Saturday. My sister wanted to use the laptop and didn't ask permission from my parents, so she asked me. My parents were out so I was the "person in authority." Yes, kailangang naka-quotation marks. I allowed her on the condition that she only uses the laptop for 2 hours. She agreed.

More than 2 hours passed and she still wanted to use the laptop; she wanted to extend. Knowing her tendencies to get addicted, I stopped her. She got mad. I resorted to texting Mama, and she got even madder. To cut the long story short, she didn't speak to me for the rest of the afternoon.

By 4pm, we were talking again. If you have a sister, you'd know how these fights go. Meanwhile, I was still mad inside because she called me "liar" earlier when all I did was tell Mama the truth (long story). Still, God told me to show compassion to my younger sister, so I did - even though it was against my human nature.

(In hindsight, if I didn't listen to God then, I think the next events wouldn't have happened!)

That night, she asked for my help for her assignment. I was already fully recovered (much thanks to God's grace) and willingly helped. The assignment was to look for 3-5 Bible verses to turn into bookmarks. I thought to myself, "Oh, this might be a nice way to encourage her to read the Bible." But God has an even greater plan.

Since my sister is not much of a reader, I Googled websites containing verses that are made easy to understand for children. The page loaded and I allowed her to look for verses that spark her interest.

Lo and behold, this was the first verse she chose:

Acts 16:31
They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”

When she showed it to me, it felt like I was bopped on the head. Well, it wasn't like that really, but I strongly felt God's urge for me to share the Gospel to my sister. It's like God was saying, "This is it, Maan. My divine intervention! Go for it! I'll be with you."

Wow, Lord. You continue to amaze me. I have asked for an opportunity to share the Gospel with my sister, and there it was, handed to me on a silver platter!

As if on cue, my ever-curious sister asked me, "Ate, anong ibig sabihin ng saved?"

My Mothering Regrets (Shoulda Woulda Coulda)

Let me get this straight: I do not regret being a mom to Yuri. Sure, things have gone unplanned, but thanks to the Grace of God, I do not only manage parenting but also enjoy it! Yes, it is hard to believe, but I'm really enjoying mothering a toddler in my early 20s. Just to set things straight hehe.

However, if I can turn back time and do it all over again, there are several things that I would do differently. Looking back, I can think of several things I regret doing and not doing. Back then, I felt as if I was doing okay, but sometimes, I can't help but cringe when I think how ignorant and incapable I was!

Honestly, when I look at Yuri and how he turned out, I realize I must have done an acceptable job, but if I had a chance, there are several things that I would have done when he was born or before he was born. Here are those things:

5-day old Yuri

1. Feeding formula to a newborn Yuri

What? An exclusively breastfeeding mom for almost 2 years fed her baby with formula? Before I go on, let me clarify that I have nothing against moms who formula-feed. After all, I was formula-fed. I am thankful that I am able to breastfeed so easily. However, many of you don't know that Yuri's first food wasn't from my breasts; it was from a can of S26.

You see, I gave birth with complications. I don't have time to tell the whole story, but here's a blog post you might want to read. While I was confined in the room, Yuri was confined for 6 days in the NICU. When the doctor finally gave me the go-signal to feed him, despite the pain, I carried myself to the NICU to breastfeed. However, my mother was not with me. The hospital (I only knew later) wasn't a BF advocate, so the nurses were not equipped to teach me how. The midwife told me to just point my nipple at my son's mouth, but surprisingly, he wouldn't take it. By then, I didn't know that I had to latch my baby. I didn't know how. I thought we could just let nature take its course, but, as expected, it didn't. The impatient midwife took the baby from me and told me to just buy formula. In the end, for the first days of his life, Yuri fed on formula and not on my breast milk.

It might not be a big deal to you, but for an EBF mom like me, I regret that so much. Until now, I still have the sneaking suspicion that Yuri wasn't able to take colostrum at all, which my mom would always negate. I hope she is right. It doesn't really matter now, but I feel as if my newborn child was deprived of something he deserved just because I wasn't informed. (Which explains why I over-inform myself now!)

The average number of cloth diapers I wash daily

2. Not using cloth diapers from the beginning

Many of you might know that I only bought cloth diapers for the first time recently. Yuri was already 20 months old by then. This is because I had a lot of misconceptions about CDs. I read a lot about it, and I know its benefits, but somehow, I wasn't convinced. All I could think about was the pile of laundry!

Fast forward to now and I regret not taking the plunge to cloth-diaper when Yuri was still a newborn. Now, I don't have to rush to the store whenever Yuri's diaper supply is running out. Also, I don't have to look at money going down the drain (Yuri is notorious for pooping just when his diaper is freshly changed). I do have to launder his CDs (yes, I wash his diapers!) everyday - even twice a day - and I'm working full-time. Surprisingly, it's not as heavy a chore as I originally thought! I find it easy and even fun because they're cute.

While it's not too late to begin cloth-diapering a child, I would've maximized the benefits if we started early!

We should have had more of these high-quality shots!

3. Not investing on good photos (and a good camera)