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Posted by Mommy Woobie on June 19th, 2008 in Baby Quirks, Family Quirks, Kids' Imagination, Mommy Thoughts

Recently, several costume play events took place in Manila, including Toycon etc. Browsing through photos showing kids in cosplay, I’m conflicted whether to encourage the same with AJ. There are mini Mario Bros and babies in Ironman masks. The ever-present justice league costumes will remain the cosplay favorites for kids. Video game character costumes are the most difficult to assemble, though it’s easy enough to buy some online with the major costume producers finally realizing that modern cosplaying geeks love Tekken and Streetfighter characters. But enough of this, I want my son to consider sports, not video games!

Can two geeks spawn a social-worthy athlete? Can two nerdy parents who spent most of their childhood reading dictionaries and encyclopedias spawn a child that will be more interested in sports? I seriously doubt it, but I’ll try my best.

Some baby costumes and halloween costumes are just too cute! Throw in a homemade headgear, and voila, our son will be cosplay worthy and he may even win an award (with mom’s prodding of course). Sometimes, though, I wonder if the old adage about “living your dream through your kids” was true. Maybe my goal isn’t really to make my son live a life that is far from mine, but I hope his interest diversifies.

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Posted by Mommy Woobie on June 18th, 2008 in Baby Quirks, Kids' Imagination, Proud Mommy

For as long as I can remember, parents have been pushing ponies as the single most cute animal in the world to their kids. Lately, the hubby and I have been bouncing the LTP (little pinoy devil) on our knees to …

1. reduce the energy he could use to climb the television and other dangerous places, and
2. because he loves it.

One time, while he was channel surfing (he utters the numbers of the channels while he surfs, by the way), he saw a horse and he started jumping around… then approached me while i was working and bounced himself on my knee. It hurts to say the least.

Now maybe the pony stories should stop. After all, there aren’t really ponies available in the general stores are there? Or I and hubby could just buy saddles so that it won’t hurt so much.

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Posted by Mommy Woobie on May 31st, 2008 in Kids' Imagination

Remember Slum Baby? Yes, it’s that LPD (little pinoy devil) who has an attachment to boxes. Guess what? He strikes again!

A neighbor went to our house asking if we have some of those huge Balikbayan boxes (people from other countries call them moving boxes) because some other neighbors told them that we regularly receive boxes like that from the US. Our neighbor is moving house, see, and they need lots of those to put their stuff in.

I answered the door, said “Yes, we have those. Come choose the best size for you.” and let the neighbor in. I proceeded to remove some of the stuff from the less cluttered box and distribute them to other boxes.

Just then, the LPD woke up, went out to collect his toys from the boxes as he does daily and saw the neighbor going out with one of the boxes. He threw a tantrum to my chagrin! He doesn’t want any of his boxes gone. Not even a single one. I begged him (you should have seen me trying to reason with a 2 year old).

To no avail. Goodness, I apologized profusely to the neighbor and suggested that they buy some boxes from a nearby neighborhood grocery.

Is that embarassing or what?

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Posted by Mommy Woobie on May 29th, 2008 in Baby Basics, Baby Quirks, Kids' Imagination, Mommy Alert

Moms are funny. Last week I had a chance to go to the mall for some alone time, and because I am a mom, I immediately went to the baby section. I see some brand names have gone on sale and moms are all over the counters. Not just clothes, but cribs, strollers and such. Sometimes I wonder if moms buy brand name baby products because of the security of tenacity. “Oh this is Branded, it’s like the Rolex of all stroller brands, it will NOT break under my son while we’re in a mall.”

Well, the argument is that better brands create more sturdy things, which justifies the high price. But there’s a conspiracy theory in my mind. What if the price is expensive because most of their money went into advertising?

Of course any mom will feel guilty at not providing the BEST to her child, so when salesmen approach and tell her that the more expensive brand is much more sturdy, she will buy it!

How the marketing people exploit the Mom-hood of girls eh?

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Posted by Mommy Woobie on May 23rd, 2008 in Baby Basics, Baby Quirks, Kids' Imagination

Baby tastes vary as they grow up. I realize that their needs for mental stimulation get tougher and tougher as they grow. You know what elese? Their television show choices also vary.

Let me describe a typical AJ day. He wakes up, goes around the house, going through most ‘toy’ boxes and collects his favorite toys from those boxes. he spends time mulling over one, considers it deeply (his head tilted to one side in intense concentrations) and deems it unworthy for playtime so he puts it back (or leaves it on the floor, depends if I’m looking). With an armful of toys he waddles over to his favorite empty box and shoots all his toys inside. He then climbs inside the box and stays there for a good 2 hours just playing.

I don’t know where he got the habit to stay in a confined place to play. I call it “slumming”. Maybe he sees kids doing it on the streets during the rare times we walk around the more congested area of our city.

Today, however, he rejected every toy he held with a barely concealed ‘tsk’. It thrilled me that he wants other toys to play with but the frugal mom inside me is worried. There are some toys that we just bought, and they became favorites for a day or two, then set aside now.

Must do retail therapy for AJ, I tell myself, while opening a browser window to Buy.com’s weekly sale. Then I opened another browser and looked for parental support at Minti. After all, maybe this is just a phase. Maybe the hundreds of toys we bought for him before will still be loved after a while.

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Posted by Mommy Woobie on April 6th, 2008 in Baby Quirks, Family Quirks, Kids' Imagination, Proud Mommy

Remember how I told the story of our hero (my son) beating an army of duckies on a pail boat? Well, those duckies have more clout than we thought. They enlisted an army of ‘evil splashers’, other kids who hang out in pools and splash water heroes like AJ.

We went to a swimming resort and the evil splashers’ agenda came into play. As soon as our hero entered the pool, the kids were splashing… sending AJ back into my arms crying. In fact he was that way for the rest of the trip. Scared and panicky because of how mercilessly these other kids splashed him.

Here’s a snapshot of our hero plotting his revenge.

“Wait ’til I get on my turf. These minions won’t stand a chance”

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Posted by Mommy Woobie on April 3rd, 2008 in Baby Quirks, Family Quirks, Kids' Imagination, Proud Mommy

The table that’s supposed to be for training our kid to eat and study has been owned!

It now serves as a display place for his cars. AJ lines them up nice and rearranges them when he feels like it. When bored, he goes under it and bumps his head upwards or knocks ’til some toys fall off. We got in a panic earlier when he did this the first time. We were looking all over for him and he sat crouched beneath his table … very quietly preparing for the big “Ta-DAAA!!!” I was screaming “Where are youuuu” before I thought of looking beneath the table.

He laughed his ass silly at my reaction. I spanked him playfully but am very relieved that he’s ok.

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Personal News

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Posted by Mommy Woobie on March 25th, 2008 in Baby Quirks, Family Quirks, Kids' Imagination, Proud Mommy

The hubby and I talked about teaching our child the concept of responsibility. The first thing I suggested was to buy a bag for our baby, which we will let him carry on his back when we go out, even if it’s just to go malling. We will still bring his baby bag, for sure, but his ready-to-drink milk, his water sippy cup and his toy for the day will be in his bag, and under his care.

One time, we went on this set up and he did not try to remove the bag like an annoyed boy. Instead, we found him putting the bag beside him or behind him on his chair and reaching inside to get his water when he felt thirsty. We did not compliment him or comment on his actions, but did look at each other and exchange a smile.

What’s funny, and elicited a smile from the restaurant manager and the waitresses, is that he shoved his new ‘finds’ inside his backpack for further appraisal when we got home. The plastic spoons that he used to eat (mangle) his dinner, the folded paper flower that his daddy made out of his paper placemat… all made their way somehow inside his bag.

We caught him bringing these little treasures out when he thought we were busy on our respective computers. He turned one spoon over and over, inspecting it, with a quizzical look on his face. Maybe he was thinking of why the spoon was in a different color (blue) compared to those he usually plays with (white). He puts them on a neat pile and does not get rid or keep them again until he’s finished inspecting the last item.

The origami that his dad creates, he always keeps for some reason. Usually, I throw some out because they have been saturated with spilled milk and become ant-magnets. The hubby seems pleased with this habit. He claims that he has a gift of creating ‘personalized toys’ that no other toy that I buy will equal them.

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Posted by Mommy Woobie on March 21st, 2008 in Baby Quirks, Family Quirks, Kids' Imagination, Proud Mommy

The Indoor Pool Battle Saga

For forty-five minutes yesterday, our baby the Cars addict turned summer pool monster, waged war against an army of rubber duckies. The battlefield was a small rubber pool artificially inflated using an automatic inflator and Daddy’s breath.

The baby was splashing happily in the pool when I arrived with a Mommy rubber duck and a baby rubber duck. I placed these inside a small orange pail and floated the whole thing inside the pool alongside the splashing baby.

The baby did not take this well and struggled to move away from the duck army. The problem is, the ripples he caused while walking around the pool propelled the orange pail and the ducks closer to him, so that it seemed as if they were following him.

The baby won’t have any of it, and while swimming (walking) to the far end he realized one grave reality: he cannot out run the ducks.

He then set out for plan B. He sat in one corner of the pool and waited for the ripples to subside. After which, he patiently made slow but magnificent waves on the water using his arms, waves he sent out to the duck army. The orange pail which was the duck army’s vehicle of choice capsized under the onslaught of the waves. The mommy duck struggled to stay afloat but the waves were too great. She too capsized.

Not one of the ducks survived the baby water monster, who screamed and kicked when we told him that he was shivering too much to continue playing in the pool.

THE END.

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Survey: Gas Prices

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Posted by Mommy Woobie on March 21st, 2008 in Baby Basics, Kids' Imagination

I am writing about this site that sells wedding invitations, baby announcements, birth announcements and holiday photocards because of several features that caught my attention. First off, the invitations they sell are unique, cheap and diverse. They sell worldwide and on short notice. The designs are customizable, and best of all, can be used on several products. Example, the bride and groom (or their event planner) can choose one design and use it on the invitation and the thank you note, for consistency.

What I loved most is that there’s an etiquette section where tips on how to word an invitation are are provided. My Emily Post decorum knowledge is limited to the debutante section, as I was forced to read on that when I was 18 and planning my debutant ball, so I am a bit rusty. Here’s an example of an invitation tip I got from this site.

The best idea I got was this: invitations that are shaped like your county, state or country. Not only does it tell people at a glance where the party will be held, it also provides for creative presentation of a simple event to make it seem like the grandest event of the year in the locality.

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