Parenting Archive

My thoughts on parenthood, and what it's like to be a mom in the Philippines.

Is Facebook For Kids?

A few months ago I posted a few things about what is right and wrong on child photography. What prompted me to write something like that is a photo I saw on my Facebook stream. A little girl, sleeping with her legs wide spread. There is nothing wrong with that? Maybe, but not for me.

Now, what prompted me to write about Kids and Online reputation is the fact that my two boys are now into social networking. But before that, let me just say that I was always against kids having their own Facebook account. Though it does not show that much, I am but a very conservative person and very traditional. I just don’t think social networking is for kids. But what can I do? Their friends are on Facebook, they communicate with their teachers on Facebook, they share photos and what not on Facebook. So with a heavy heart I created their Facebook account and set my rules:

Rule number 1, they can only open their Facebook account with my consent and that as much as possible no Facebooking on school days.

Rule number 2, I have full control over their Facebook account, their log in details and I will have to approve their FB friends and will delete anyone that we do not know.

Rule number 3, I will delete their Facebook account if I think I need to or when they are being hard headed.

It does not end with my rules, I also have to manage their online reputation. And when it comes to handling their reputation, I have a set of simple guidelines:

Ask mommy before you click.
Ask mommy before you post.
Ask mommy before you upload.
Ask mommy first before anything else.

It is hard not to worry about our kids safety and reputation whenever they sit in front of the computer but I think with our close supervision, internet and our kids can be really good friends.

Olympian Mom Speaks Out

I used to be a track and field player.. it was not something that I was born with.. it just came suddenly and as sudden as it came, I was off the track that fast too. I guess I was not destined to be a track and field player, maybe I was destined to be an Olympian mom, just like Momsky or Jessica Ennis’ mom:

When the time comes that my kids would need my support, sports wise or not, I can promise to them that I will be there.. well for me, it is a privilege for us moms to be there with our kids.. to be able to show them our love, support and cheer for them.

That reminds me of the time when I did not sleep for 2 days just to finish my first born’s campaign paraphernalia.. exhausted, tired and cranky.. but when my son said thank you, it was more than enough to take my tiredness and crankiness away.

Afternoon Walk At Binondo

been planning for this walk since time immorial.. and finally! spent an afternoon with my girlfriends walking around Chinatown..

First stop (after a quick Divi shopping) was Waiying Fastfood at Benavidez Street:

We had Fried Noodles, Fried Rice (2 orders), Hakaw (3 orders), Pork Asado (1/4 lang), Fried Wanton (4 orders) and Hot Salad + Buko Pandan for dessert. We also ordered Cold Milk Tea (5 glass) as suggested by our waiter. Our total bill was 1505 PhP. ang mura di ba? at ang sarap! nag take out nga ako ng buchi (which my husband liked so much), buchi is 60 PhP for 3 pieces. Food and price aside, I think one of the reason why this restaurant is very popular is their staff.. every one of them is very accommodating and helpful. Our waiter suggested on what we should order and how much we should, like the Pork asado.. which he suggested we order just a quarter first. He was the one who mentioned about their fried wanton, which turns out to be a favorite.. we ordered another serving and another 2 for take out! Not only that, when we asked him to wrap the asado sauce for take out, he said he’ll just give us new sauce for take out.. nice! And they were really nice to take our photos even though the place is full:

argh! I know, plastic bag! haays.. food take outs.. I still don’t know what to do with them..

After our feast (Levy has to leave early.. kaines!) we started walking again.. from benavidez to Salazar and then to Ongpin street. Just before the bridge at Ongpin, we found a small store that sells Melona Ice Cream.. at nagulat kami! 25 PhP lang pala isa.. ignorante mode lang.. akala namin mahal LOL

And while Melona melts in our hands, I thought of asking this joke I found online:

3 women are eating popsicles, one is biting, one is licking, and one is sucking, which is married?

Which one? Tell me on the comment section!

Off to Ongpin, to look for Sati’s earrings and we end up at a store almost in front/side of Sta Cruz Church (if I remember correctly, this is also the place where I bought our now gone wedding ring haha).. a few inquiries here and there and I got the little girl a 14K standard gold for 900 PhP (originally 1500 PhP.. ay oo mga teh, ako ay reyna ng kabaratan!).. a few more walks and we stopped for a quick rest and water refill.. then we head back to the stall where we bought Sati’s earrings.. found a really cute earrings for me..got it for 300 PhP, original price is 500 PhP.. turns out, pag alis namin, may pumakyaw sa paninda nya. Maganda daw akong buena mano kaya pumayag sa tawad ko na 300 at totoo naman, based on my expereince pag nilapitan ko ang isang tindahan, dinudumog hehe

kaya ko naman nagustuhan ung hikaw for Sati (kahit wala sa budget) eh dahil sa de roskas sya (tama ba spelling ko) ay basta un, parang de tornilyo ba.. at least hindi na madali maalis ung pakaw unlike sa mga dati nyang hikaw.. mura nga halos every month naman nagpapalit kame..aysus! The swan earrings for me, I bought it kase feeling ko ugly duckling ako dati.. I mean hindi lang feeling, ugly duckling talaga ako.. and it has my birthstone! and yes, I feel I’m a swan now.. hehe

We end our walk with fried siopao..we found it along Ongpin street corner Bahama street (near Metrobank). It’s small store, almost unnoticeable but their fried siopao is very famous. I bought 8 pieces at 16 PhP each.. 4 pieces for my kids and 4 pieces for my “other” kids aka Kieth&Dylan.

Here’s our route during our Binondo Walk:

Green dot is Waiying Fastfood, Purple Dot is where we bought fried siopao and the yellow dots is the gold center.

It’s not the usual Binondo Walk and we did not even have enough photos to say we did walk on the streets of Binondo..first timers! hahaha so in our next visit, I will make our itinerary and as early as now, here’s our must stop list:

Chinatown Welcome Sign
Binondo Church
Binondo Fountain
Sta Cruz Church
Ride a Kalesa
Food trip (Waiying, Quick Snack, Estero, Shin Tai Shang, President’s Grand Palace etc)
Ongpin Bridge
Gold Shopping/window shopping (I saw this uber cool engagement ring and forgot to take a photo.. so next time..)

Any suggestion?