Parenting Archive

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

How To Make 7th Birthday A Blast On A Tight Budget

My first born turned 7 years old last October 24. It was a blast birthday though we were on a tight budget.My seven year old boy enjoyed his party so much. Except for the cake (which was a last minute decision), I think I only spend less than 8000 Pesos for all. Included there was food for 50 kids (for his 7th Birthday party n school), food for house party, loot bags (for 20 kids, for house party), candy bags for 50 kids (for school party) and the candies and toys for pinata and pabitin.

How To Make 7th Birthday A Blast On A Tight Budget?

First, don’t splurge on food. As I observe it, kids are not into food that much. About 10% will ask for more food, around 60% will finish their food and the rest will just taste it. It would be better to serve them as little food as possible. Would you believe that I only bought a kilo of pasta (makes two kilos of spaghetti) for 50 kids and at there was still some left overs.

Don’t forget the hotdog or the chicken to be paired with spaghetti. Never include a sandwich as kids never really liked it.

Second, buy more candies and treats. Did you know that your 1000 Pesos can go a long way when it comes to candies and treats? Buy the usual, some chips, some jelly ace, some mallows, some lollipops.

Make 7th Birthday A Blast by making big on games. Pinata or palayok is a sure winner. The part where guests try to hit the pinata or the palayok is fun. And of course the moment it was hit and kids try to snatch the goodies is a perfect kids party scene.

Lastly, splurge on loot bags. The succes of a 7th birthday party is the smile you get from the celebrant and of course the guests. And since it is a 7th birthday party, go for items that a seven year old kid would love. That may include coloring book, pencils and even yoyo. Don’t forget the stickers, you can never go wrong with stickers.

And oh, to make it more and memorable, create a wall and design it with the theme of the part and use it as your back drop for photo ops.

Mommy Is Ready

It has been 2 months since school started here. And for sure some of you have been busy for your kid’s first examination. We will be having ours next week and yes, it will be going to be a busy week. Aside from that, there are more and more projects coming, I had to assist my first born in doing his. Although they haven’t started studying about essays and composition, I thought of writing about essay guide, just for future preference. To start with, Ia m no good on making an essay, in fact, I dreaded that moment when I was in college. There is something about that word that makes me scared. Yeah, I never enjoyed writing then, that is why, I want my kids to know about it even before it intimidates them.

There are different Essay Types based on form and style. Narrative essay is the most common type. In this essay type, the author or the writer talks about their experience. Although the author write about personal experience, this essay is not an easy task. The author should present a very entertaining and interesting essay. This is done so that the readers will be engrossed and will not get bored reading the essay. It would be better to read first on some tips on how to write narrative type essays. Exploratory Essay is another essay type and this one is a very interesting type of essay. In this type, the author ask some questions in the first part of the essay. And through that essay, the writer gives answers but not the definite one.

Another essay type is Analytical, this is done by writing an essay that deal more on facts. It uses descriptive language. Other than that, the writer also presents cause and effect on the essay body. Argumentative on the other hand is a type of essay that deals with reasons. The author presents an argument and a counter argument and then it counters the counter argument. This type of essay is supported with facts, statistics and testimonies.

I am not sure yet what type of essay my kids will encounter in the future. It may not be as difficult as I perceived it but at least I am ready (in a way) to deal with it and to help them with it. That’s the best thing I can give to them, my support and my preparedness.

Breastfeeding Month

August is breastfeeding month.And if you must know, I support breastfeeding and I advocate it. There is so much benefits breastfeeding can give. Imagine being able to feed your baby even if you’re only on your lingerie. If you are on bottle feeding, you need to wear your robe, your shirt before even standing up to prepare a formula for the baby. That’s actually the most convenient benefit of breastfeeding. No need to get up in the middle of the night to feed the baby. All you have to do is open your shirt or clothes and the baby will know where it is.

Of course in terms of health, breastfeeding has a lot of benefits. I can attest to that as all my kids are breastfed. I breastfed them exclusively for a year. And during that time and until now, they seldom got sick (except when they were infected with Primary Complex). And though they are always on the slimmer side, they are healthy and they are very active kids.

Then there’s the financial benefits of it. Imagine not buying baby formula for a whole year? You can save a lot! And also, when you breastfeed a baby, they seldom wet their diapers, so that’s another one. You won’t have to change their diapers often.

Emotionally, in my own opinion and in my experience, I feel bliss whenever I breastfeed my baby. There is so much contentment on it. Imagine being able to give life and being able to nourish that life, that is just too much. I am talking here on the emotional benefit on me.

Breastfeeding is not easy. I have been there and it was really hard. You need to be focused on your goal. You need to exert effort. You need to know that if you choose to breastfeed you have to work hard. Not all woman are lucky enough to express milk right after their baby’s are delivered. Like me, I worked two weeks before any milk comes out of my breast. It was painful but I am determined to breastfeed my baby. All my efforts were all worth it.

I don’t criticize moms who did not breastfeed their baby but to me, it’s the most natural thing to do, so why not feed your baby.

I hope in the future, I will be able to help new moms on how to breastfeed and how not to give up on it.