Parenting Archive

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

Blogging Today: I’m Levitating

This my official entry to LEVY’s contest: LEVYtate and wina total of $500.

Host: Hello everyone!!!! It’s been a while since my last episode. I wonder what happened to the management, but anyway, it’s not my job to talk about those things.. right?

So why are we here today? Again Pehpot asked me to interview her about Levitating. On what are the things or situations that would make her feel like levitating. So readers, welcome again to another episode of Blogging Today!

Pehpot: (waves and smiles) yeah it’s been a while.. you know how life it is. no helpers, 4 kids and so many blogs.. but anyway, Hello everyone and thank you once again for letting us be here and patronizing Blogging Today.

And also thank you my dear host for always answering my call..

Host: (blushes) I will do anything for you Miss Pehpot.. but before this discussion turns anywhere else, let me ask you the question: What are the things/situations that would make you feel like levitating?

Pehpot: Levitation (from Latin levitas “lightness”) is the process by which an object is suspended by a physical force against gravity, in a stable position without solid physical contact. OK that’s wikipedia talking there.. in layman’s term, LUTANG! as in para kang nasa ALAPAAP or SABOG (grins)

What makes me like I am floating? Like I am in the clouds? Them: (flashes photo)

Host: aww that boys are so cute! but why them? or why only them?

Pehpot: Actually not just them but all of them.. Kayil, Mico, Chico, Sati and of curse my two nephews Kieth and Dylan.

Every day I face the day with so many complains, my body is aching from too much house hold chores. My mind is aching from too much online gigs.. everything of me is aching. I feel like I have no right to rest, I feel like a horse driving a thousands carriage. The kids asking something for me is non stop. Kayil will ask for his eyeglasses, Mico will ask for food, Chico will ask for milk and Sati will ask to be fed..It’s very tiring and very energy draining..

That happens every single day.. makes you want to think where else I get the energy to wake up the next day. Well it is as if I have a short term memory loss, because every night those tiredness, those pain just simply melt away and I am again in clouds.

How?

The kids of course! every night when I check them before I sleep, my heart feels like ready to explode. The feeling is overwhelming. You know the feeling of being the luckiest person in the world? Yes, every night I tell that to myself, that I am the luckiest mom on earth.. and that makes me high.. high above anything else.

I have four adorable kids! four ADORABLE and LOVABLE kids! What more can I ask for? I feel so loved. Seeing them together makes me feel dizzy with happiness (yes more than the dizziness my vertigo gives). They are my everything. And every night I thank the Lord for giving me this kind of happiness, this kind of high, the very reason why I feel like levitating. Just a look at them makes me go against gravity and floats in the air.

Host: Ohh that is a very touching answer Miss Pehpot. I am sure when your kids are older and they read, they would also levitate because of this.

Pehpot: Oh I hope they will, I hope when they get older, they will also feel the same way I did to them, that they are lucky to have each other.. and I hope that as they grow older they would feel how much I love them and that they would share they love to each other.

Host: I am sure they would Pehpot.

Pehpot: And that’s how I end my day.. glimpse of heaven.

Host: It is heaven on Earth indeed.

Thank you Miss Pehpot and thank you everyone with us today.

Catch us again on the next episode of Blogging Today!

What To Bring During Field Trips/ Educational TourWhat To Bring During Field Trips/ Educational Tour

Since tomorrow, I am off for my son’s educational tour, I am to write my what to bring in a sheet of paper. I realized, why not write it here and share to other moms. For a first time mom like me (in terms of field trips and educational tour), I am really excited. So here’s What To Bring During Field Trips/ Educational Tour list:

What FOOD To Bring During Field Trips/ Educational Tour:
Lunch food such as rice and dishes that are not easily spoiled. Don’t bring tomato based food. Stick to vinegar based. Yup that is the reason why Adobong Manok is very famous on field trip lunches. Adobo dishes are not easily spoiled. You have to be cautious though, never close your container when the food is still hot. It will cause the food to perspire and thus will lead to food spoilage.

Bring lots and lots of water. You are seated comfortably in a bus and you won’t be travelling in a public transportation. Use this to your advantage and bring at least 1L of water per kid. Bring drinks such as juices and cola too. The night before put them in the fridge and then use thermo bag on the day of your trip to maintain its coldness.

Cookies and other finger foods. This will keep the kids busy. And you know how kids, they like to eat almost every minute. Save yourself by having a lot of chips and cookies in handy.

I will be bringing 4 bottles of Minute Maid Pulpy Orange, 4 cans of Coke, 4 bottle of 1L minera water and tetra pack mango juice (buti na lang Magnolia gave us a thermo bag)

For the food: adobong manok (half kilo), salted egg, rice, pancit canton and puto. Chocolate chip cokies, pringles, lays (as I promised them.. they don’t get to eat this kind of food, only when I allow them)

What CLOTHES To Bring During Field Trips/ Educational Tour:
When joining any educational tour, it is somewhat expected that the kids will play and will sweat a lot. So bring at least 3 set of clothes for the kids, you can bring their nba shirts. And bring hand towels too.

2 sandos and 2 extra shirts, 1 extra pants for each. 4 small towel for each boys and 2 big hand towels.

What other things To Bring During Field Trips/ Educational Tour:
First Aide kit that includes paracetamol, pain reliever, alcohol, baby wipes, betadine.
Also don’t forget to bring insect repellant lotion for the kids.
Bring a menthol inhaler or any rub that can soothe motion sickness.

Biogesic (10 tablets), alcohol, betadine, petroleum jelly, Off Lotion, baby wipes and of course the ever friendly mefenamic acid.. and vicks and white flower..

Oh! though I never use plastic, this has to be an exception. We need it when someone starts throwing up (me?!?)

Fight Against Child Violence

Change your facebook profile picture to a cartoon character from your childhood and invite your friends to do the same. Until monday (Dec. 6) there should be no human faces on facebook, but an invasion of memories.(FOR THE FIGHT AGAINST CHILD VIOLENCE!)

For a mother of four kids, it’s not hard for me to just change my profile picture, it says fight gainst child violence, so be it. But what does it really mean? To create awareness, I think. But where it begun? Who initiated it? And how can changing your profile picture to a cartoon character will help infight against child violence?

In my search for the culprit, I first look in the website of Unicef. I knew there was one last week,National Day of Prayer and Action for Children in Makati City.UNICEF joins religious leaders to launch global initiative to promote exclusive breastfeeding. Clearly it’s about breastfeeding and not fight against child violence (I will ask some people if Unicef initiated it). I can’t find a site that offers explanation on how changing the profile pic will help in fight against child violence.

When you say it is to create awareness, it is to make the knowledge be known to public. It is to make the public understand a certain issue and in this case, child violence. So how can this profile change campaign creates awareness? Is it the curiosity that arises from other users? But really how many users will take time to research or even read about Child Violence? Or is it a way to show you support the Fight Child Violence? But what is Child Violence all about? And after the given time frame? What happens? Will the number of child abuse cases be lessen?

This maybe another case of social networking hype, but it’s fun nonetheless.

On with the more serious topic:Child Violence.

Based onRepublic Act No. 9262 ,Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children, Act of 2004; “Children” refers to those below eighteen (18) years of age or older but are incapable of taking care of themselves as defined under Republic Act No. 7610. As used in this Act, it includes the biological children of the victim and other children under her care.

Violence is an act or a series of acts that result in or will most likely result in physical, sexual, psychological harm orsuffering. This harm includes (but notlimited) the following:

Physical
Sexual
Psychological
Economic Abuse

Physical violencecan be easily identify. It refers to acts that is done physically.Sexual violenceon the other hand refers to act that are sexual in nature. But how can one say that is sexual? Below are some acts that are considered as sexual abuse (again fromAnti-Violence Against Women and Their Children):

Rape, sexual harassment, acts of lasciviousness, treating a woman or her child as a sex object, making demeaning and sexually suggestive remarks, physically attacking the sexual parts of the victim’s body, forcing her/him to watch obscene publications and indecent shows or forcing the woman or her child to do indecent acts and/or make films thereof, forcing the wife and mistress/lover to live in the conjugal home or sleep together in the same room with the abuser;
acts causing or attempting to cause the victim to engage in any sexual activity by force, threat of force, physical or other harm or threat of physical or other harm or coercion;
Prostituting the woman or child.

But the acts are not limited to the mentioned above.

Psychological violencerefer to acts that results to mental or emotional suffering.

There is no exact day for fight against Child Violence but November 19 is theInternational Day for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect.