Parenting Archive

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

The Summer Ride

Once in our trip in San Juan, La Union, I saw a few locals riding an ATV in the sand. I am guessing it’s the best best atv in the area, it looks new too! Now, that makes me wish, I have one or we can rent one to complete our beach adventure.

All-terrain vehicle (ATV for short) is also known as quad bike. Usually this kind of vehicle is single seater but atv side by side are designed to hold not just the rider but one passenger as well. As the name says it, this vehicle is made to handle any kind of terrain which other vehicles cannot. I am not sure if it is legal to drive an ATV on the road but I have seen a hisun atv here in our subdivision. Maybe on national road, it is not permitted, more on super highways.

I maybe generalizing, but I would like to call ATV as the summer ride. We know how summers are; swimming, outing, trekking and almost any adventure one can imagine. And with the ATV being able to navigate in almost any kind of terrain, this is your perfect ride. Use it in the beach, on dirt roads or even when visiting towns (just make sure that it is legal).

Here in the country, ATV rentals are popular near beach resorts. In Boracay, if you want to trek Mt Luho, you will need an ATV. ATV rentals in Boracay ranges from 300 PhP and up. In La Union, ATV rentals is 350 and up and depends on the number of kilometers you will use it. In Tagaytay, ATV rentals is at 400 for 30 minutes and 700 for an hour.

If you are thinking of buying an ATV, the prices goes from 400K and up. And yes, like any vehicle, you need a driver’s license to drive one.

Chico’s Diet Shift And How We Overcome It

There was a time when my two older boys would eat nothing but their favorite meals.. sinigang na hipon for my oldest and corned beef for my second. A few months after, they were back on track eating healthier food, vegetables, fruits and the likes. I think it was just a phase and thank goodness, my two older boys went through that phase without me worrying that much.

The story is different with my 3rd boy.. well you know, we had a situation before where I almost neglect him..it was kinda hard dealing with him, specially with eating.. since bumabawi ako sa kanya sa lahat ng pagkukulang ko, I have this tendency to give him what he wants.. There was a time when he’d prefer eating donut over meals o minsan naman mas gusto pa nya ang popcorn kesa kumain ng kanin..it was a hard phase.

Later on, I learned that this kind of phase is normal to kids ages four to seven years old.. it’s called the “diet shift” phase, where they develop a preference for unhealthy food and therefore, becomes at-risk of important nutrients he needs for proper growth and development. Obviously, my two older boys went through this phase too.

Medyo madugo with my 3rd son.. ang hirap niya iplease! But now, he’s better in the eating department.. through a series of experiments and close observations, I was able to handle him better. For one, I noticed that he eats a lot when our ulam is soup based or if the dish has a lot of sauce. So, I started preparing dishes that he would like, sinigang, kare-kare, menudo, and anything with sauce. Little by little, he learned to love eating more.. and though he still loves eating donut, he knows now that he can only eat those after eating his meal.

he even eats like his dad! how a true blood novo ecijano eats!

I know a lot of moms have a hard time battling this phase, here are some practical tips on how to overcome diet shift:

Know your kids, just like what I did, observe and observe. Take note of the healthy food that he likes and from there work your magic
Always make sure that you eat with your child. It will encourage him to eat better since he can see you eating, but make sure that what you are eating is healthy. This was effective with my third born, he would sit beside his dad and eat whatever his dad eats, hence he now prefers Filipino dishes (it’s daddy’s favorite!)
If your child does not like vegetables, slowly incorporate veggies on his food.. like a fried rice with a few carrots, spaghetti with more veggies.. just make sure that he won’t see the veggies.. minced everything if you can.
Establish a routine in terms of eating, do not commit the mistake of giving them snacks before meal time. Make sure that there is time for meals and time for snacks.
In terms of snacks, ask them to prepare it with you, give them healthier options like sandwich instead of chips.

Another thing that helped me overcome my 3rd son’s diet shift is the fact that his older brothers eat healthier food.. aside from his dad, he have his two kuyas to look up to in terms of eating.

Anniversary Getaway Part 3 + Rama International Beach Resort Review

I choose Rama International Beach Resort over the other resorts in Botolan because it has a cooking facility, swimming pool with kiddie pool and from their website it looked really nice. Poor judgement.. as the resort may have international on its name, it is far from being one. The resort is old..needs a lot of improvement. And the room we stayed (sea view apartment) was really old.. clean yes, but old. We can’t help but joke around about the resort’s policy of charging their guests. We were charged for extra head as the apartment we book is only for 6 persons (charge is 350 per head per day.. a 3 days 2 nights stay is for 3 days.. which I can’t understand why), there is a corkage fee of 50 per head per day (3 days again) and gas range (300 per day..3 days too). Kulang na lang pati paghinga at pag utot mo may charge hahaha.. If you ask for extra mattress, that’s another charge.. not included in the extra head you paid (err??).. Charge overload! The resort’s name should be changed to Rama Charge Beach Resort hahaha

The only consolation we had was the apartment we book is sea view.. and a few feet away is the shore.. we were able to cook our meal and don’t mind the kids.. as soon as we settled, they started playing in the sand in front of the apartment:

Sige na nga, that’s not our only consolation.. we arrived during lunch and much to our surprised, hubby found a lobster! What a treat! Lobster for our Anniversary lunch. He got it for 300 PhP.. the kind of lobster you can buy at Farmer’s Cubao for 1500 PhP or more..

Another good thing about the resort, the place is very peaceful.. quiet.. serene.. and their restaurant is beach front. Perfect place to have a morning breakfast. The resort have a lot of tables and benches fronting the beach. You can just seat in any of the bench and watch the day go by..

The sea in front of the resort is nice too.. clean and though wavy when we went there, it’s safe to swim and there’s a life guard nearby.

The swimming pool was smaller than I expected.. and looks dirty.. but actually very clean..and the kiddie pool.. small but perfect for the kids.

The room we stayed is fan room but the air is cold during night time, so it was not a problem.. and though the kitchen area is small, in front of the unit is a big table (though old looking, it is functional) where we had our meals.

On our last day, we tried a few snacks from the resort’s restaurant.. Aussie burger+ Pizza (freshly made):

Both are tasteful and priced just right.. extra charge if you want your food to be delivered in the pool area 🙂

There’s a small playground beside the pool.. where the kids stayed as we pack our things..

By 12 noon, we’re on our way home..

Our anniversary getaway is successful nonetheless.. and for the first time, I enjoyed the outing not because of the thought that my kids had fun.. but because I enjoyed it first hand.. the beach.. swimming with the waves.. making sand castles, being buried in the sand… swimming non stop on the pool.. and most of all not worrying much about the safety of the kids.. the trip was worth it despite my complains on the resort we stayed.

And of course, the kids had a blast! Non stop playing and swimming.. even the little girl braved the pool.. and now she’s asking for more!

If you ask me, if ever we go back in Zambales, we are going to stay maybe at West Coast Beach Resort, not in Rama again..

But La Union is our top, still.. hopefully this May, La Union will be cleared from oil spill.. I miss Banggar.. Bacnotan..Luna.. and yes the shore of San Juan and Normi2’s Resort which is far more accommodating (and cheaper!) than Rama’s.