Posted by Mommy Woobie on August 19th, 2008 in Baby Basics, Baby Quirks, Family Quirks, Mom Entrepreneur, Mommy Alert, Mommy Thoughts, Proud Mommy
When I first decided to leave my job and be a work at home mom for real, I was very scared. There’s a part of me that’s doubting everything I was doing. Until I opened one of my pregnancy books and started a prayer written there. Here’s a part of that prayer:
God, please do not let me miss those moments that I could have spent with my child. Let me carry him more often and feel his tiny body gently wrapped in my loving arms. For someday I will not have the strength to pick him up anymore.
It’s the small things that I share with AJ everyday. It’s holding him when he’s trying to sleep. And, being with him when he feels too scared (usually when one of his favorite TV characters get blown off in a cannon)… I don’t want to be too stressed to be with him anymore.
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Posted by Mommy Woobie on August 10th, 2008 in Baby Quirks, Family Quirks, Mommy Alert, Mommy Thoughts
We need a stereo cabinet. No, we need a stereo cabinet that has space for a huge television way up on its shelves. But then again, I think we’ll just settle for television that doesn’t have an off/on button on its front part.
The baby hogs the television at home! I know I talked about this before in this blog, but the situation has gone from bad to worse. If you will remember, our girl maid left us because of boredom, and the fact that she cannot watch television because my son won’t let her has worsened the case of intense lack of things to see and do in our small, quiet village. The only time there’s something to do here is when the nearby Church holds a feast for one reason or another.
Now that we have a new maid, our son is at it again! Maybe I’ll just buy the new maid a television of her own inside her room, but I’m afraid my son will hog that set too.
Posted by Mommy Woobie on July 28th, 2008 in Mom Entrepreneur, Mommy Alert, Mommy Thoughts
I bought a laptop to replace my company-given personal computer. This is a big move, and cements my present status as a freelancer. I worry though that the size and look of my flimsy laptop will attract a little pinoy devil. He has always respected my PC and left it alone, but a laptop could be viewed as a toy (i.e. it does look like a toy).
Regardless of how tempting some dell memory deals are, I went for a Compaq because of the price and … well that’s it. 
Being technically jobless means I have to save whatever I earn from my writing gigs. Hence, I am now officially “extra frugal”.
Maybe I am contradicting the points I raised in my previous posts, but having all these tech gadgets around does have its benefits. It’s a lot easier for moms and dads to both work longer because the children are busy getting entertained by these gadgets. And another thing; with the children playing at home, a parent does not need to worry about her kids meeting shady individuals on the streets. Child minding is easier now with technology.
Posted by Mommy Woobie on July 28th, 2008 in Mommy Alert, Mommy Thoughts
One other issue is the willingness and perseverance of children to start and complete craft projects such as decorating the tree house, scrapbooking, painting, coin collecting and kite making. While it’s true that Amazon books makes buying our favorite bestsellers very easy, getting children to actually read these books is another challenge. Some kids will sullenly say, “I can always google that and read it online, Mom” and the parent will helplessly realize that the information from the internet has become more important than books to this generation because of accessibility and ease of use.
This reminds me of the Amazon Kindle and how some people (the more traditional ones) detest not having to turn pages, and bookmark a page with dog ears.
Technology need not isolate parents from their kids. As long as a parent realizes the importance of staying up to date with trends and things that keep children preoccupied nowadays, she is assured that she can follow her kids’ interests. Parenting has always been a challenge, and if parents will simply view technology as a necessary change, there is no reason to fear that it could take away a ‘normal’ childhood.
A parent can sit down with a child and learn about how he or she did in a game she is currently playing, learn the game and play! Getting on the technology craze means being closer to the current generation, and this means the world to a working mom who wants to spend some time with her kids.
Posted by Mommy Woobie on July 28th, 2008 in Mommy Alert, Mommy Thoughts
Parents often compare their childhoods to that of their kids and are often shocked at the changes. Simply put, children nowadays do not live in the simple times of yester-years. Back then, kids did not have this much technology and most of the gadgets we enjoy now used to be the components of sci-fi movies and novels. Does anyone even remember the family computer? It used to be the only thing that is remotely geeky in a normal household, but now, there are so many gadgets that parents and kids can buy for family entertainment.
While children still play outside with other kids, the frequency of neighborhood children playing with each other has decreased over time. Most households own at least one personal computer with internet access, family gaming gadgets such as Wii, other console games, MP3 players, DVDs and other entertainment implements. Some kids nowadays will go out to meet with friends, but playing with the neighbors has become a secondary option, done only when there is nothing else to do.
Back in the days, children more frequently enjoyed playing house, hide and seek, and tag games because there was no option to just stay at home and dance on a Dance Revo pad. Perhaps it is too extreme to say that technology has turned some kids into loners and geeks with little or no interaction, but if a parent does not make sure to remind her kids about the importance of social interaction off the internet and off the games they play, this might just happen.
Posted by Mommy Woobie on July 15th, 2008 in Mommy Alert, Mommy Thoughts
Now that I have been exposed to some weight loss pills (such as Phentermine 37.5 mg), their good effects and related risks, I can’t help but reflect at how I viewed weight loss when I was younger. In college, I and my friends would go on food trips and tell each other that we needed a lot of food because we’d burn everything fast anyway. It’s funny how the one who always said that had the fastest metabolism then, and she just kept on getting thinner the more she ate.
For fleshy women like I and some friends, having a waistline and/or an ample bust line was enough to get us by. We went to the gym when we wanted, binged when we wanted, and starved ourselves when we wanted. Little did I know that my weight loss secret then is something that I will never have now.
Youth.
So… I’m not giving up. Getting older means putting more effort on getting the waistline narrower. Now, if only it were that easy.
Posted by Mommy Woobie on June 24th, 2008 in Mommy Alert, Mommy Thoughts
I was always a tech dyslexic. By choice, mind you. It’s just that sometimes the curiosity to learn about computer and gadget hardware and software gets too boring. Do you know what I mean?
It helps that I have a techie guy for a hubby who will go to the farthest reaches of the earth to know what a CAT6 cable is, how it works and what it could do to make my life better.
Lately though, I’ve decided to make myself more tech savvy. I’ve been learning the trouble shooting stuff, and even the which-socket-connects-with-what stuff. As my hubby is so fond of telling me, my machine is my livelihood, I should know how to take care of it.
I don’t argue, but deep inside I’m answering back, “My mind and my creativity are my livelihood, I shouldn’t clutter it with systems that have a call-tech-support-for-help button”
Posted by Mommy Woobie on June 7th, 2008 in Family Quirks, Mommy Alert
School time is when parents shine the most. When we were growing up, our parents would be awake at 5 am preparing breakfast, waking us up (several times) and putting on school clothes to those who are still very sleepy. I don’t know how they do it.
My dad will be very alert on the breakfast table with his usual coach stance telling us that today is going to be the best day, and that we will learn so much. I remember listening through half of it then letting my mind wander to recess and dismissal as early as 6:30 am. That I managed to graduate with honors is something that I attribute to my dad’s early morning pep talk. I really think the “You can do this! You just have to get the gist of the lesson then you study at home” that he said over and over again hypnotized my barely awake mind into doing it every day of my school life.
What else could parents do for their kids during the school days? One unique suggestion would be to buy a bus, a small one, and be the carpool service for neighborhood kids. School bus service is expensive, and having a small service of your own could benefit your community as well as your school kids. Particularly now that the bad elements are around trying to get to Filipino kids to steal their organs.
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?
Posted by Mommy Woobie on May 10th, 2008 in Mom Entrepreneur, Mommy Alert, Mommy Thoughts, Pregnancy
My preggy best friend is really preggy now. I say “really preggy” to describe the really big state that becomes our reality during the second to third trimesters.
The best advice I can give a really preggy girl? Exercise, walk, don’t eat junk food and put your feet up. I have viewed like a hundred videos and how-to guides on pregnant women exercising and how successful their births are … testimonials of course from students of gym coaches and personal trainers. Did I exercise when I was preggy? Err… can you consider malling as an exercise? I do! It means walking and walking is good! It also means getting tempted by soda stands and candy shops that seem to sell ‘live’ candies that whisper “…eat… me… buy… me…”
it’s almost funny how some of us go through gazillions of diagnostic tests and expensive consultation fees just to find the safest diet pills that we can use, when we can exercise anytime and get the same results. XD
