travel plans

Comparing life insurance quotes is not on my priority list right now.  We’re planning to go on vacation to Philippines this July and we need to save all the money we can for our fare.  Since our family has grown to four, our travel budget has also increased.  Our little girl is already 2 years old which means she will be charged for airfare.  Our second child, though he is still an infant, has to be charged with taxes.  

I spent few hours last week looking for the cheapest fares I could find.  I am glad that the one I found only has 1 stop over.  Some of my friends bought cheap ticket to Philippines but they have to go through minimum of 2 stop overs.  I wouldn’t mind if I am traveling alone or with hubby but with two kids in tow, more than 1 stop over is already a big hassle.  

Now that we have booked for our flight, we should allot money for that immediately coz the due date for paying is already next month.  Whew!  I hope we can come up with the amount.  

warts!

Being always busy, I haven’t really scrutinized my face until recently when I was experimenting with a new cream to clear the millia growing there.  I noticed that I have some small warts on my left cheek.  This alarmed me coz I know that warts unlike treatment for acne, can’t easily be treated by creams or lotions; some people even have to resort to surgical procedures to remove it.   

I don’t mind trying their suggestions, but not on my face!  If something goes wrong, any damage to the facial skin is obvious.  I hope the vitamin C I’m taking will at least stop the warts on my face from spreading.  Huh!

playing with the moisturizer

Here’s my little girl smearing her face with my moisturizer. Such mischievous smile!

Oh well, if she only knew that she doesn’t need to moisturize her young baby face like mommy does. I just hope she won’t have skin problems when she’ll be in her teens. I know most kids in their adolescent stage have problems with their faces. Some would resort to all sorts of cure, from facial scrubs and ointments to skin supplements such as acnepril to  seeking professional treatment.

tantrums

Yesterday hubby brought little C to a swimming class, but came home with a sour mood.  The little girl threw a fit in the place and wouldn’t listen to her Dad.  She was crying and shouting and couldn’t be pacified. Hubby was embarrassed by the stares from other parents that he vowed not to go back there anymore.  No more swimming lessons for her then.

Little C is still young and has to learn more how to control her emotions.  I wonder what triggered her to act like that.  Maybe she was sleepy? or hungry?  I really don’t know.  A parent has to be patient when this kind of thing happen and has to understand the child.

That night, I read from the internet articles about tantrums so I can be enlightened and educated about our child’s behavior.  Now I know how to deal with it next time she acts that way.  

fashion-conscious?

Like most little kids, C is not fashion-conscious and doesn’t mind whatever I put on her as long the dress is comfy.  There was a time though when she saw me arranging her clothes and asked me to dress her up with her two pink coats, pink shoes and pink cap. She looked cute in her chosen attire. Well, my little girl doesn’t know about dressing up in designer Prada’s outfits but I thought it was a great color combination idea!

the joys of motherhood

I could be tired all day caring for my two kids but who says I am not happy and content about being a mom? Just seeing my kids grow up, watching them as they sleep or eat enthusiastically are just few of a mother’s joys. I can just remember when it was just me and hubby, after all the excitement as a newly married couple have died down, with our wedding clothes already kept, after all the wedding favors have been given out and our guests going back to their homes, I can’t visualize that time the idea of raising a family. Now that I’m seeing my two kids, healthy and active, I realize one can’t really describe how it is being a mom unless she experiences it herself.

are your kids picky eaters?

I’ve watched advertisements on TV about kids not so enthusiastic about the food set on their table particularly with veggies and fruits. There’s this commercial about a kid who’s always having fried chicken for his meals, and another toddler who’s more focused on a nearby musical toy than the spoonful of food being shoved into her mouth. So how do parents feed their kids with nutritious meals when most of them are picky eaters?

According to nutrition experts, here are some ways to feed picky eaters with nutritious meals:
- Introduce a new nutritious meal together with the kids’ favorites
- Avoid feeding your kids with junk foods that are high-calorie and high in fats (more…)

wishful thinking

I haven’t read any books lately.  I miss those times when I can just in the room and read in silence, uninterrupted and get lost in another world.  These days, it’s not possible, unless I send hubby and the kids out for a whole day out which is even unlikely to happen.  I breast feed my baby, so I can’t be away from him for that long.  And when I do get some time to be alone at home, I’d most probably spend it ironing or folding our clothes, cleaning the house or surfing the net.  Hayyy… I have to laundry, iron and fold 4 times of clothes’ number now that our family is growing.  The kids easily soil their clothes, a change of outfit twice a day is already a miracle.  All those things I want to do before kids will have to be set aside.  Maybe when the little one is already 2 years old, I’ll have more free time for myself.  Or maybe when we’re very rich, we can hire a maid (ha! maid in Europe?)… wishful thinking na sad!

gold is the best!

Early this year, we saw Greece’s financial situation in crisis which caused euro to hit five-year low.  The Greek government assured its people that an action plan is in shape to save their economy but despite of that, the country’s financial problem has already brought a rippling effect across the continent.

And now it’s the US that’s going bankrupt!  Yikes!  A friend who’s residing in America posted in her Facebook about her worries.  She was asking “How can we fix this?” Who will help us? Well maybe for a start they should be saving, investing and make their money grow.  How about this suggestion my friend: buy gold bullion.

People anywhere in the world  can invest in gold, which has been proven to be a good hedge over inflation.  It’s tangible and real, something that one can hold on to through the years and can be passed down from generation to generation without losing its value.  In fact, gold’s value is increasing through time.  

Hmmmm… That made me think. Perhaps hubby and I should increase our gold investment.   We have a little collection of gold coins, but it would be nice if we can add more for our family’s security. 

baked beans and fish fingers

Being a busy mom, I choose foods that are easy to prepare and cook.  Canned goods come in handy when I’m out of time and I have hungry mouths to feed. So one Friday night, when I ran out of ideas what to cook, I was glad to find a can of baked beans that has been sitting for a long time in the pantry. 

Great! I thought to myself.  This one doesn’t need any cooking.  I have the option to heat it in the microwave or serve it immediately from the can.

It has an easy to open lid, which saves me from using and washing the can opener. A time saver!

Then I paired it with fish fingers. Not really a quick food to cook coz it takes time to fry it but while it was cooking in the pan, I kept myself busy doing other things, so it’s still okay.  

Unfortunately, little Caity didn’t like the baked beans but her dad did!  I’d still buy it next time, for the hubby and myself lang.

who says moms don’t want an Apple iPad?

As a mom staying at home, taking care of a little baby and a hyperactive toddler, you might think I’m not interested about the latest gadgets and anything techie for that matter. But well, I do! And the Apple iPad is one of my dream gadgets. While some might drool over gaming consoles or electric cigarettes, I’d like to have a small and handy computer where I can upload lots of photos and videos of my kids and our family for easy viewing.  According to Apple, it sold more than 300,000 iPads on its launch date in the US. Over 1 million applications have already been downloaded to Apple’s iPad tablet computers and more than 250,000 e-books as well. Who doesn’t want to join the fun, huh? 

how to maximize family finances

As times are hard these days, minimizing family expenses is always the main challenge. Thus, most couples would usually go to the mall and look for household items that are on sale such as discount shades and other basic items. They would even go to garage sales to look for clothing and other items that are not that hard on the pocket.

For responsible parents, I’m sure they will have the same opinion on this: no other person can substitute for the mother’s care of their own children. With this, the option to take is to find an activity which could be the most successful home based business for the mother to engage in, to settle the issue. With a setup such as this, the wife can take care of the children and still help in the family finances.