Slow and Steady Get Me Ready

I just love being a part of my egroups! We get to share lots of information and tips, like this one which I am sharing with the rest of you.

It's a link to June Oberlander's Slow and Steady Get Me Ready book. It's got about 330 pages and has loads of activities for kids age 0-5 years. It certainly looks like a good home program for parents who want to give their children more stimulating activities.

While you can view the book in its entirety on Google, unfortunately, it is not downloadable (at least to my knowledge). Just the same, I hope you may also find this as a great resource. :)

Click here to view the book in Google Book Search.

Mommy Academy's 16th Pregnancy and Baby Series

Mommy Academy is sponsoring another event for all pregnant women and new mothers out there.

16th Pregnancy and Baby Series

When: November 15, 2008 (Saturday); 8:00 am - 12:00 nn

Where: Grand Ballroom Dusit Thani Manila, Makati City, Philippines

**Exclusive to pregnant moms and moms with newborn child

To register, please visit the Mommy Academy website.

Thoughts on Shopping

Shopping for the little person in your life can be a joy! We recently got word that my sister-in-law's niece is 13 weeks on the way, and it definitely brought back fond memories when I too was pregnant with Erin a couple of years ago.

Apart from anticipating the arrival of our first born, I also was pretty excited to get some serious shopping done, from furnitures to clothes to Ju Ju Be bags. Ah yes, it certainly was a good excuse to be in the shops more often. :)

Breastfeeding 202 (Sustaining Breastfeeding) Class

I received this annoucement from my N@W egroup. Mothers based in Manila who are currently breastfeeding may want to attend this.

The Breastfeeding Club will be holding a breastfeeding 202 (sustaining breastfeeding) class this Saturday, October 25, 2008, 1-4pm, at the function room, 6/F Classica Tower, 114 H.V. Dela Costa St., Salcedo Village, Makati, Philippines. Topics to be covered include: at home with baby, pumping and storing milk, going back to work, nipple confusion, introduction of solids, teething, and lots more.

Please RSVP to (63)9228692268. Also indicate if you are already a member.

Driving Dilemmas

Now that the exam is all behind me, I look forward to all the opportunities that could open up for me career-wise. I've always wanted to help contribute to the family income but I had to sacrifice that in order to be a full time mother to Erin, until she is old enough to be placed in Child Care.

I've going through job ads ever since I could remember and I do honestly miss working. But in order for me to do that, I must learn how to drive first! My potential job here requires that I must have a current driver's licence as OT's do community work every now and then.

At the moment, J and I are contemplating on replacing our old car (and probably considering carports as well). It's a stick shift and although I know how to use it, it's just going to take me a bit longer to learn everything considering that I also have to get used to the right hand drive orientation here. Getting an automatic one would surely make things easier and I will be able to drive more independently the soonest. The question really all boils down to our budget. Ha! Decisions, decisions, decisions...

19 months

Our little girl turned 19 months last Saturday. And as promised, that same day, we went out to have lunch at La Porchetta to celebrate the 2 occasions -- one for Erin and of course, the other for me, having passed my examination successfully.

I still sometimes cannot believe how much she has grown in the last few months. I was looking at some of her old baby pictures last year, and there is such a huge difference in even the way she looks now. She is definitely no longer our little baby!

Don't get me wrong. I do miss those cute baby days. But I also do love at how she is growing to be a very smart and beautiful kid! Ah yes, here I am talking like a proud Mama. :)

Holiday Plans

There are days when you just want to grab your passport and fly out to somewhere distant to escape. It's almost summer here and J has two to three weeks of downtime. We want to get out of Canberra for a change, but we have no idea at this time where our destination will be.

I took another meme at blogthings just for fun, and to see where we must head for the summer holidays.

You Should Spend Your Summer in Europe

You're in to almost all forms of culture - art, music, architecture, food... And spending a summer at the beach sounds pretty darn boring to you. So head off to Europe, where you can have your tiramisu (and even eat it on the beach!)

Where Should You Spend Your Summer?

I love Europe! But, I think that's way out of our budget right now. Somewhere local would have been better. :)

October is Learning Disabilities Month

I posted an entry some time ago on developmental milestones and what red flags to watch out for. These red flags may also indicate a learning disability in children.

I reckon not many people know that there is such a diagnosis as a learning disability (LD). Some who are not aware of it just say that the person is retarded or slow. Let's start defining things, shall we?

What is a learning disability?
Some individuals, despite having an average or above average level of intelligence, have real difficulty acquiring basic academic skills. These skills include those needed for successful reading, writing, listening, speaking and/or math. These difficulties might be the result of a learning disability.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), a federal law, defines a learning disability as a condition when a child's achievement is substantially below what one might expect for that child. Learning disabilities do not include problems that are primarily the result of intellectual disabilities, emotional disturbance, or visual, hearing, emotional or intellectual disabilities. The official definition is here.

Many children with LD have struggle with reading. The difficulties often begin with individual sounds, or phonemes. Students may have problems with rhyming, and pulling words apart into their individual sounds (segmenting) and putting individual sounds together to form words (blending). This makes it difficult to decode words accurately, which can lead to trouble with fluency and comprehension. As students move through the grades, more and more of the information they need to learn is presented in written (through textbooks) or oral (through lecture) form. This exacerbates the difficulties they have succeeding in school.

~ Lifted from LD Online's article entitled Learning Disabilities: An Overview

LD Online has also declared October as LD month. To help raise awareness on this condition, LD has provided tons of information about it here. I hope you can take the time read through at least some of them and forward them to your friends and relatives.

Good News

Well, all our (and everybody else who offered) prayers has been answered. I just found out earlier today that I passed that nerve-wracking exam, which I took last Friday. Not only was a thorn removed from me, but I am completely relieved from all the stress that I had to undergo because of that test. Ah yes, that elusive OTR title is now finally mine. J says we should go out and celebrate, diet pill or not. I so heartily agree! :)

Mommy Guilt

I have hardly been away from my little girl. If I have to, they are only short periods of time. The longest time I've been away from her was 24 hours and I had missed her soooo much. Mommy guilt is what they call it, and I am sure every devoted mother out there knows what I am talking about and can easily relate to it.

There is a reason for everything and this article from Mother and Baby has helped shed some light on why this phenomenon occurs.

The need to satisfy all

Clinical psychologist Leanne Clarke says that says women, in particular, feel they’re responsible for other people’s feelings – which, in reality, is a pretty momentous and impossible task to take on.

“Women have been socialised from childhood to take on responsibility for others’ feelings and to put their own feelings last,” she says.

“The pressures on women in our society are enormous. Women work hard to satisfy the many competing demands in their lives and the needs of those around them – caring for children, intimate relationships, work, the household. The world around us seems to expect we can do it all, so we expect this of ourselves too.

“The pace of life is so rapid we rarely, if ever, take a moment to slow down and look at the pressures we’re placing on ourselves. Unfortunately there is one reality that keeps challenging us – there are only so many hours in a day and only so many balls we can juggle at once without dropping one, or all, of them.”

Leanne suggests rather than agonising over what else you could or “should” be doing, cultivate an increased awareness of – and fulfilment in – your experiences in the moment, whether you’re reading to your child, working on an important document or walking to the shops.

Ah yes, the culprit -- society's expectations! What's new,eh? But at least you can find consolation in the fact that you are not alone in this, as it is very common in all mothers. So chin up, moms! If you are thinking of taking one of those Disney vacations, just take the kids along so you can bond more and be guilt-free! :)

Click here to read more of the M&B article.

Getting Ready for Summer

It can get pretty hot here in our land down under. The sun can be pretty punishing so it really helps to stay indoors if you are not much of a sun worshipper.

It is basically mid-October already but we still get low temperatures especially in the morning. There seems to be no sign yet of summer as of this time. But, we should be getting ready for it soon, and checking out our air conditioning compressor to see if it's working is on our to-do list.

Oh, and of course, don't forget to slip, slop and slap some sunscreen as well, and fight the big C.

Signing In

I am back. I took the exam yesterday and I am glad that's over. It's like a big thorn was removed from my side. I don't care much of worrying over the results now. I did what I could and it is all up to the Big Guy upstairs if He wants to give it to me.

I'll try to update the blog later on. Right now, I have been feeling pretty lazy, and just want to relax. I reckon I need to take a holiday and check myself in one of those las vegas hotels. I think I soooo deserve it. :P

Being My Own Boss

Every now and then, I dream of just staying at home, taking care of the family and managing my very own business. Though the first two things are what I am doing at the moment, I need to step up a bit to find more ways of augmenting our income by setting up a business of my own.

I do earn from blogging and it is a nice sideline. However, I reckon it is not enough to make me stay at home and not get employed, because definitely working for an employer still pays better money at this time. I am not giving up on my blogging career (if you can call it that) though as I am very much enjoying it and would want to see if I can really make a living out of it with my bpm skills. This is a challenge for me, but at least I'll get to be my own boss when I make that a reality.

Thicker Than Water

You Are Somewhat Closer to Your Family

Your family isn't perfect, but you wouldn't trade them for another family. And when it matters, your family is there for you. You have great friends, and your friends do play an important role in your life. But with your family, your connection is deeper and stronger than it could ever be with friends.

Are You Closer to Your Friends or Your Family?

Well, as they say, blood is thicker than water.

Mommy Academy's "Keep Your Cool" Seminar

Parents are humans too. We are not perfect and sometimes we just lose our cool, especially when we've had a rough day. I received this announcement from my N@W e-group and I am sure this will be helpful to parents like me.

Do you lose your cool...
...when your child throws a tantrum at the mall?
...when he doesn't follow your orders?
...or when he doesn't eat any of the food you prepared for him?

If you answered 'yes' to any of these questions, then it's time to join Mommy Academy's 31st Pedia Talk Live! entitled Keep your Cool and get tips from our guest experts on how to deal with some child discipline dilemmas, and getting your kids to eat right.

When & Where
Saturday, October 18, 2008
8:00 am 'til 12:00 nn
Grand Ballroom of Dusit Thani Manila, Makati City, Philippines

Admission is FREE, but pre-registration is a must! To register, call (632) 820-5070, 825-7454, thru SMS, simply key-in PTLyour contact numbers and send to (63)928-5067306 or log-on to www.mommyacademy.com.ph.

Think Pink

When we were in Manila, earlier this year, I went to see my old OB-GYNE to get myself checked, most importantly, for endometriosis. She also told me to have a breast ultrasound just to check. Well, after saving the scan on their tape drives, they found a small lump in my right breast, but the attending physician reassured me that these fluid-filled cysts usually go away. However, on the same day I had the scan done, I was told by my mom that an aunt of ours succumbed to breast cancer.

I was scared really. I mean, who wouldn't be, even if the doctor reassured me that I was going to be okay. Well, I am still scared today but I am not giving it much thought as was before. I guess all I could ever really do is be well informed and have myself checked regularly, just to be on the safe side.

So here are some facts to get you by for the entire month.

• 1 in 11 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer before the age of 75.
• Breast cancer is the most common cause of cancer related death in women in Australia.
• The incidence of breast cancer has risen over 30% from 1993 to 2003.
• In Australia in 2004, a total of 12,126 women and 109 men were diagnosed with breast cancer and there were 2,683 deaths.

Source: Breast Cancer Australia

October, as most of us know, is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. And here in Australia, to celebrate that, the Cancer Council has designated the 27th of October as Pink Ribbon Day.

Monday, 27th October is Pink Ribbon Day – a day when we ask all Australians to come together and support the special women in their lives either by buying or selling one of our special pink ribbon gifts.

The Pink Ribbon is the international symbol of hope for women with breast cancer, which is what makes it so special to Australian breast cancer patients and their families.

Source: PRD

Raffle at PBF

Well, the weekend is upon us, and we've got so much planned with three days to spare as it's a holiday on Monday. But before I head off to bed and read up on this colon cleanser thing, allow me to post an announcement from Pinay Bloggers' Forum (PBF).

There's a little raffle going on at PBF. If you are not a registered member yet, I suggest you become one so you can participate in this exciting contest. For more information on this, please click on the image below.

Hope everyone has a great weekend ahead! :)

PPBC 9th Edition Call for Articles

Joey will be handling PPBC's 9th Edition this time and she has already called for article submission for those interested to participate. Her topic for this edition is on Birthdays.

Deadline for article submission is on October 5, 2008. The round-up is scheduled on October 6, 2008. Click here for more information.

Glued to the Tube

The television is an important appliance in our house. Although we could need a couple of home theater sconces but, yes, we love our TV! And Erin loves her DVDs as well. And she can clearly say to us (in her own little way) when she wants them played on our TV.

She is absolutely smitten with Jollibee (apart from her first love, Huckle Cat of Richard Scarry fame), ever since we got back from our long vacation in Manila that she can actually say the word "Jollibee" clearly. And because of this, we made sure of getting two of his VCD's. Sorry, but Dora and the rest of the bunch do not stand a chance with our little girl. Phew, what a relief!

I don't know what it is with these characters that make them so appealing with the kids. It could be the power of media, but hey, what's a one year old to know about it? I reckon it is the colors and the songs that come along with it that's got my Erin hooked. Actually, I think it is more the songs as I know how much the little girl loves music ever since she was an infant and could dance and sway her hips before she even turned a year old.

Well, all I can say is thanks to people who create these fictional characters because it has definitely made Erin's world a much happier and fun place to be in. :)