The Filipino Mom Blog

The summer season officially started in the Philippines on the last week of February.  Summer vacation for the students started around second week of March.  I am sure between these dates a lot  of us, Mommies, have started jotting down on our planners the different activities our families will enjoy for the next two months of sun and clear skies. Oh, yes, the occasional rain showers are welcome respite from the scorching heat.

Parents and children greatly anticipate vacations. For all Moms (and Dads too), whether working or stay-at-home, it means more free time with the kids and a little more free time for oneself.  Perhaps there is less hustle and bustle in the morning while preparing for work  because the kids are still sound asleep.  There is more play time the whole day and after work too with the family since there are no school assignments or projects to take care of.  It feels good to talk about things randomly without any rush.

Vacation fosters family togetherness. It is a great time to bond and enrich ourselves while having fun.  For the month of April, the Filipino Mom Blog shares with you summer tips and fun time to perk up your summer with the family.  If there is anything we need to do for the summer, plan to have loads of wonderful time!

We will be sharing summer learning activities where  your children can join for further enhancement of their skills and talents.   No pressure for the kids.  This should be fun for them.

There will also be articles on how to teach our children to be young entrepreneurs. Every centavo counts.  A part of their summer can be spent earning some money at least for a movie date with mom and dad.

FMB will also be giving you some quick recipes you will enjoy doing with your little ones.  Great for snack time and desserts!

Thinking of moving to a new house? Most parents start doing this during summer when there is no school.  It’s a good time to let the children be involved and get them excited about their new room, the new neighborhood and the new friends they will get to meet and play with.  We will walk you through house hunting on summer days.

The Dalai Lama said, “go to a place you have never been at least once a year”.  New surroundings liven up the spirits. So if you have not visited Palawan or Davao, this could be the perfect time to explore the wonders of our country.  We will be giving you travel ideas and summer destinations from the different parts of the Philippines with budget tips on the side.

A lot more is in store!  We would like to hear from you too. Let’s take time to share and exchange stories about the best days of our summer vacation.

*Image from Getty Images.

Establishing study habits is probably one of the most difficult or trying times between a parent (or both parents) and their child(ren).

Why is this so?

Children would rather play than study their lessons.

Children would rather watch their favorite television show than do their home works.

Children would rather read comic books than read their reference books.

Children would rather do other things like play games on their gaming console or chat with friends or even surf the internet rather than study.

So what should parents do?

Read the rest of this entry »

Valentine’s Day has come and gone but still the feeling that love is in the air pervades.  So to further this “loving feeling” lets share more stories of love for our third week of The Love Month Meme.

For this week, lets share some of our favorite date places with our special someone.  Just to make it more exciting, how about telling us about your favorite destination when you were still going steady and when you finally got hitched.

Its our second week for the Love Month Meme and things couldn’t be more heart-filled and romantic.  Valentine’s Day is just a few days away and love is definitely in the air.  I’m pretty sure that we’re all looking forward to spending some quality time with our significant others and even with our precious kiddies.

So for this week, lets talk about our most memorable Valentine’s experience.  Lets take a walk down memory lane and try to recall those giddy moments.

And before I forget…here’s wishing you a…

Update :

Here is this week’s round-up of entries…

Maver - “For Heart’s Sake”

Wenchie - “Memorable Valentine Experience”

Cookie - “My First And Last Valentine”

(Because of the current number of stork visits that we at FMB have been receiving, I felt it appropriate to repost this article which I wrote, about a year ago, at my site. I am in the hope that this will serve some sort of purpose to my co-editors (and other mothers) who are now patiently awaiting the arrival of their bundles of joy.)

Read the rest of this entry »

Hello Mommies!

For February, we will be sharing love.  Starting tomorrow and every Thursday of this month, we would like for you to share something that will spice up our married life or suggestions on where to go, what nice gifts to give or how to celebrate the V-day.  Isn’t this meme exciting?

First on this week’s theme is love story.  Is yours like Barack-Michelle Obama’s or Angelina-Brad Pitt’s?  Or the Cinderella type of story?  Were you swept off your feet the moment you met Mr. Right?  And how did you know it’s the time to tie the knot and spend your life with the chosen “lucky” one. We would love to read all your stories.

Come on Mommies, get down the memory lane, play the song Lucky (by Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat) and share your entry for this Love Month Meme.

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Here are the participants for our Love Month Meme:

Cookie’s Treasure in The Garbage

Dyes’ God’s Best

Jen’s A Love Story

Lynn’s Thank You For The Music

Mauie’s How I Met My Dadijun

Meikah’s You’re My Piece of Mind… In This Crazy World

Rachel’s Love Story

Wenchie’s When Cupid Strikes

Zriz’ Someday My Prince Will Come

Wants are things that we love to have simply because. It is something we desire.

It has been said that people have unlimited wants, an endless list of what-to-haves.

When a want has been fulfilled, the next want is next in line. These wants may be important in our perspective or useful in some ways or in the latest fad/fashion or because the want is so desirable the urge to get it is so strong, even if there is really no need to do so.

Needs, on the other hand, are things necessary for us to have in order to live comfortable lives.

We need food, shelter, proper clothes, education, and medicines to make us well and healthy.

Wants versus needs is one important aspect that I feel I have to teach my children. Not just MY children but all children should know about these too.

Why? At their young age, children need to be discerning in knowing the difference between these things.

Why? To help them not to fall prey in desiring things that are not really important and to set their eyes on things that are more important.

Why? Needs are what motivate people to work more purposely towards a certain goal. Needs give purpose as well as directions to our behavior.

One can probably say that wants can give motivation, purpose and directions to behaviors.

Yes, it’s true. But meeting one’s needs may prove satisfying than getting one’s wants.

For in the long run, we learn to value things that are more essential, more important than things that may just be momentarily or fleetingly satisfying.

My husband and I feel we need to teach our children in being able to distinguish needs versus wants as they grow older.

How do we do teach these values?

We start with ourselves.

It’s the 4th and final week (for now) of the Lunch Box Meme. Share what you’ve got up you sleeves, moms and wives! Posting of links will be on Friday.

In February, we’re giving the lunch box a break, so we’re doing a different meme. Stay tuned, or better yet, come around next Tuesday to find out. We’ve got some nice things a-brewing.

~o0o~

Mauie’s Bigger Boy’s Korean Beef Stew

Maver’s Pancit Efuven

Lynn’s Chicken with Sweet Peas (Guisantes)

Julie’s Baked Mussels and Home-Baked Bread

iMom’s Chicken Tocino and fresh pineapples

Cookie’s Karne Frita and Broccoli and Mushroom with Garlic Cream

One of the things that can enhance the memory would be food. Now why would we even consider this as important?

Memory is a thinking process for recalling information among others. This is one of the many thinking processes that we need, that our children need too, when we face the day’s challenges.

So what does this mean? It means we should eat more of these kinds of food so that we can improve our memory skills. Ahem, there’s no denying we have these “duh!” moments or memory gap moments or, sige na nga, senior moments then

Do you have these in your lunchboxes?

• Foods rich in B vitamins and folic acid (dark leafy greens, strawberries and melons, beans and legumes among others)
• Antioxidants like vitamin C, E and beta carotene (berries, nuts, green tea, sweet potatoes among others)
• Omega-3 fatty acids (from fish, walnuts and flaxseed among others)

Source: http://www.helpguide.org/life/improving_memory.htm

Ok, now are you ready to tackle the challenges? For more tips, don’t forget to click that -> Feed Your Head.

Round-up will be done for posts that will make it till Friday

UPDATE :

Here’s the round-up of those who participated this week.

Mauie’s Picnic Lunch

Cookie’s Ginisang Ampalaya and Pork Steak & Fries

Maver’s Economical Chicken Curry

Lynn’s Chopsuey with Quail Eggs

TeacherJulie’s Fried Cream Dory Fillet

Imom’s Pork Patties & Mushrooms

Parents of children with special needs go through some steps in caring for their child.

First is DISBELIEF.

Who would have thought that their child has special needs? Who would have thought that their child would be diagnosed with Autism, ADHD, mental retardation, learning disabilities or other conditions? They ask, “God, why does it have to be my child?”

Alongside disbelief is DENIAL.

Parents see nothing wrong with their child. It might just the child has more energy than others, or their child may just have a slower rate of understanding than other children their child’s age. Is it?

They suddenly ask questions “Maybe because children develop at different paces so my child is not exempt with this? Why are children different from one other? Why do children have their own specific talents and interests? What is my child’s special talent and interest?”

Then there’s GRIEF.

Yes, parents grieve.

They grieve the loss of their dream for their child who can never be the doctor they wanted their child to be. They grieve because no matter how much treatment or intervention is given to their child they feel that their child may not be capable of living a life like others.

They have the nagging question, “What would happen if we die (first)? Who would take care of our child?”

Questions too difficult to answer for now.

Time flies.

Parents cope differently. Read the rest of this entry »