Lady Bug and House Fly Are Buggers

Can you imagine how grose it is to see lady bugs and flies in your house? It was kind of scary to me to watch them dots on the glass window. I thought that they may get into my nose as I work. It was crazy to hear the fly buzzing....ewww. I don't think I can't stop them because the insulation upstairs is not done. Even how new the window is, there must be a hole somewhere where they are able to sneak in (of course!). I opened the whole window so they will fly out and with my surprise they were gone after 20 minutes. They really are buggers.

How Can You Tell Your Toddler Needs Your Attention?

I have a pretty active and healthy daughter. She is one year old and she is inclined to books and music. She uses her pointer finger to describe every picture she sees in her book. She would try to speak the word as she describe everything. When the music is playing she will sing,dance and clap. When she's done reading or dancing, she will walk to her toy box and go all through of them. When she's done she will start walking around the house. She will check me out, her brothers and dad. When she notice that everybody is busy, she will keep walking back and forth checking everybody until somebody notices her. It is pretty sad because she won't fuss for attention even when she needs it. She will keep herself quiet and keep walking - her manifestation when she is bored.

I get sad to see her bored. I had to pick her up and hold her. I will play music and we dance together. She would raise her hand and sing. Or I would open the window and watch the birds outside which she really loves to do.

I know every toddler is different and parents have good instinct to determine what their toddler needs. With our daughter, I am thankful that I know exactly what to do to meet her needs.

Athritis

When it is cold, I think you experience more joint aches and muscle ache. This is sad because this is something serious that hinders people to perform their job or to do anything that they would love to do.

I learned from my mother-in-law's sister that it gives her trouble to efficiently do her work when her arthritis occur. She said that it is more painful when the weather is very cold. Her fingers and feet swells and are painful. She take arthritis medication to ease the pain. It's good that the medicine she is taking works on her. However, my mother who is suffering arthritis really experience severe pain and her medication are not effective. But at least she is not here in the U.S to experience the cold weather and be miserable with her joint aches and muscle aches.

I probably won't retire here, I would love to move to a tropical place since I feel the same way to my aunt and my mom only mine is not that serious.

International Divorce

Is there such thing like this? Is it possible to have this kind of divorce? I am not talking about myself just to clear it out because I know my friends will start to wonder why I am writing and asking about this. I know somebody who is going through a difficult situation with marriage and they have children. I don't know a lot of stuff about divorce unless if I really spend time to search and read in the internet. But it would be nice to hear it from somebody who went through international divorce so I can share information that may be helpful to my friend

Birth Control Pill

Every couple who are not planning to have a baby would look for certain options to prevent the wife from getting pregnant. I, myself, chose to take birth control pills so I won't get pregnant while our dughter is too young and we love to give her all our attention. I am using Yaz birth control pill which is good for non-nursing mother. When I was nursing my daughter I had Erin birth control pill and I changed it to Yaz. There are certain side efffects to watch for and I am pretty sure you will recognize it right away. If you are uncomfortable with the effects, call your doctor to get some advice.

Do The Vaccuum Cleaner Annoy Your Ear?

Vacuum cleaners are great cleaning gadgets to have in the house. It is very convenient to use. There are different kinds though to choose from. Some are light, heavy, loud and some are not that loud which can be annoying to yourself or anybody in the house. My daughter doesn't like the one vacuum cleaners I have. She would start screaming and cover her ears once I turn it on. We have four vacuum cleaners in the house and the loud one which is heavy also is my favorite. It catches dirt/dust really good but I have to keep my daughter in her bedroom and close the door when I use it. When I use the other vaccuum cleaner, Dare Devil kind, she won't care of the noise, she would even want to hold it when it is running. I think its noise depends on how they are made

Pine Cones

It is fun to watch our daughter walking outside in the yard. She was picking pine cones which was the highlight of her day. She looked so cute carrying her basket around and filling it with pine cones. It was a real treat for her. But with all that, it takes a lot of care to make sure that she is bundle up and her ear is well-protected from the cold air/wind.

Your Child's Security Blanket Makes You Crazy

Have you ever cried for losing your child's favorite toy?

It's not really the lost toy that crushed your heart when your kid miss his/her "security blanket". We are affected with how they feel. Just imagine watching your kid talking in his/her asleep calling his/her lost favorite toy. It happened to us.

Our little girl lost her stuffed yellow bunny. She could hardly fall asleep that I had to rock her. I thought she was okay when she finally fall asleep but as soon as I put her to bed, she started calling her bunny, "Bun, Bun.....". It broke my heart and I sobbed. What's gonna happen tomorrow when she wake up and the bunny is not around. My husband went to the store to look for the yellow bunny. He found it with the help of the store workers.

Now, I have to watch her bunny whenever we go to the store or somewhere else. She loves her bunny even how gray it is that I have to watch it we won't lose it again.

Sitting On The Computer Makes Me Tired

Everyday I check my inbox, write blogs and send messages. I can spend hours and hours in the computer reading current events as well. I sometimes watch YouTube funny videos or read the news from the Philippines. As I keep going, I realize that the longer I sit infront of the computer the more I get tired and my back hurts.

I try not to do so much in the computer but it seems that this is my way of relaxing when my daughter is taking a nap or when everybody are sleeping at night. All I need to do is to control myself not to indulge too much.

Pizza For Dinner

My husband hurried home for dinner since I told him on the phone that we're gonna have pizza. The pizza was still in the oven when he came and it should be done after 15 minutes. He was anxious to eat that he checked it in the oven. He sighed, it was not the kind he likes. He likes Frescheta kind but the one I was baking was Red Baron Supreme Deluxe and it's the kind that I like. He did not have a choice, he ate after picking the olives and mushroom out. We enjoyed our meal together.

Fried Fish, Tilapia

This was our lunch yesterday. It was breaded pre-cooked tilapia and I fried it. I boiled some noodles and boiled some beans with carrots in another pot. I wanted to get it done before my husband wakes up. I know he won't be home all day so I wanted us to eat together and while our daughter is still awake (she was going to take her nap pretty soon). As soon as I was done, we checked him if he is awake. He played with our daughter for 10 minutes and then hurried to the table.

He like the fried fish but not that much. He said it has a certain smell that bothers him. It was the first time though that I bought tilapia. I just get so excited because this kind of fish is really good and I use to have this a lot in the Philippines. He is fond of Haddock fish which I'm gonna get next time. I can get the kind that I like and get what he likes. But it was not that bad though. He even had two pieces of fried fish.

Our daughter liked it. We were worried about any allergy reaction from seafood. It was her first and I am thankful she was fine.

Get Organize

Yesterday, I spent hours organizing my husband's clothes. It was surely dusty in his closet but I had fun working while our daughter was in her play area. She knows that I was working and really busy that she stayed there for three to four hours. She is is good that way, she won't fuss when she sees me working hard. But if she sees me sitting infront of the computer she will fuss for my attention.

Anyway, I am not use to have different clothes for every season until I came here in the U.S and get married to my wonderful husband. When winter is over, I would organize our winter clothes in a big plastic box and put it away. I will take the spring and summer clothes out. Hang them in our closet and fold some of them and keep it organize in the dresser.

It's kind of fun and very relaxing to know that you accomplish something for that day.

Child's First Birthday

It always depends on the parents how to celebrate their child's first birthday. It has nothing to do with what the child want. What do they know? They won't even remember about his/her first birthday. With our child, we did it simple and inexpensive. I did not worry about how many guest we're gonna have, what to cook, giveaways, making the house look nice or rent a venue and never thought about how much to spend for the celebration. Yes, it was her big day and ours too. Imagine, she was just a little baby who is turning one year old. What we did on her first birthday was great. Her siblings were her guest. We had a simple dinner. I baked simple meal. I baked and decorated her birthday cake by myself. It looked nice and good to eat.

Entertainment for Toddlers

My 1 year old daughter is not crazy about TV shows. She won't care when I am watching a certain show unless if she sees somebody singing or dancing. I find it good that she is not a nut with television and I don't want to raise her with addiction into it. We only watch TV at night when my husband relax in the couch with his ice cream and our daughter likes to sit with us not to watch the show but to mooch her dad's ice cream. She would rather watch Barney for an hour. She loves to watch the kids play and sing. I am not sure if it Barney's face that she like or the kids. I am just wondering because when I let her watch cartoons she won't go for it, but with Barney she go nuts. As soon as the intro music played I'd see a big smile in her face. It's a real treat for her to sit in the floor and learn something from Barney and his backyard gang. Barney is a good entertainment tool for toddlers like my daughter. She learns ABC, songs, animals and numbers from it. How did I know? I am a mother and I am always with her 24/7. She tried hard to say ABC by saying, "Eduhbuh....Eduhbuh......Eduhbuh. When I sing Barney's songs she would ask me, "Up, up, up", which means to pick her up and dance with her and sing together. Of course she sings on her own way. Barney is not only an entertainment for your toddler but very educational also

Baby's Diet

Do you watch what your baby is eating and how much she eat daily? I do. I tried to be watchful with what she consume everyday from solid food to liquid. She is 1 year old and ready for some table foods like mashed potato, tiny slices of chicken, chopped green beans and carrots, diced banana and grapes, but most of her foods are in a jar (baby foods). This is what she eat everyday:

1) Her breakfast is normally at 9:30 and she eat 3 oz. of rice cereal with mashed banana and mix them altogether with cow's milk and she will drink 4 oz of cow's milk after meal.

2) Since her nap is 11:30 or 12:00 she won't eat any solid food but her formula which is 6 oz. She will nap for two to three hours.

3) When she got up from her nap which is normally 3:00 p.m, she will 4 oz. of vegetables and 2 oz. of fruits and 3 oz. of apple juice mix with water.

4) At 6:00 p.m, she will eat 3 oz. of rice cereal, 3 oz. of fruits and 4 oz. of cow's milk.

5) At 8:30 p.m or 9:00 p.m she will go to bed. Sometimes she will fuss for her formula and sometimes not. I try to minimize giving her bottle because she is doing fine with cow's milk anyway and her doctor advice me to do it with her.

6) At 4:00 a.m she will ask for her formula and I would give her and she is good until breakfast.

I don't have any problem with how much should I give her or what time because we already establish a good routine. With regards to allergies, my husband and I are watchful on that area. She is allergic to raw eggs but there's nothing serious more than that.

Kitchen

My husband's project is to put up new cupboards in the kitchen. He is anxious to get it done. It is kind of tricky though finding the right stain and tools to finish his project. The other day he went to the hardware store and he find a saw that he needs and he got it. Now he is excited and he set his goal to finish the cupboard as soon as he can.

The first thing he did before he start the project was to draw a layout of how he wants his project to look like when it is done and to give him an idea how to do it. He measured the kitchen to know the size and how many cupboards we need. He took one of the cupboards' door to the store to look for the right stain. He do some research on the internet for some helpful ideas and he got the perfect tools to finish his project.

Death Row

Who can ever compare the punishment that Jesus paid due to our sins. He died not for one alone but for all because He loves us. With His love, He did not remain in the grave. He give us hope and future. Imagine, He promise that He will come again. We are grateful and blessed to have Him as our God who sacrificed His body to save us. He was tortured, He bled, betrayed and denied but He assure us His unending and unconditional love.

God's death row was our gain.

Pine Cone

Today my daughter and I went for a walk in the yard. Since she loves to pick pine cones, I gave her a small basket and she filled it up. She carry her basket all around the yard while we were walking. I tried to help her by taking it away from her but she won't let me. She will not take few steps unless she have her basket on her hand.

My stepson helped to pick the good ones, he thought I was going to use it for decoration. I smiled because he knows that I collect pine cones and spray paint on it for our Christmas Tree. But today, it was just for fun. It was a great quality time I spent with my daughter and stepson.

Husband, The Helper; Wife The Boss?

We women sometimes are very demanding with our husbands. And husbands are very kind to do what we want or help us out with anything like in the house, about the car, money, etc. But sometimes we seems to be bossy towards them that we don't even realize it until they tell us so. We may not have the intention to be bossy but we women are always occupied with stuff that needs to be done. So when the husband is around, we would ask help for one thing and surprisingly we keep asking to help us more with something else. We may sound bossy while they're helping because we are particular, specific and detailed with the kind of help we need from them. It's funny but it's true.

Couple's Alone Time

Spending time with your spouse is really great. Even how busy your schedule it is important for the couple to have time for each other. There are days that I am super busy and realize how I miss my best friend, my husband.We can sit for hours and talk about his work or about his and my childhood or we would recall how we met. We would laugh like crazy. It is fun to watch ourselves talking. We would dream and plan things. It is great and I enjoy it.

My Birthday

I am 27 already....not bad. I'm still young. Wow! It's great to be in this new page of my life.God really walk with me all this years. I can count all the blessings He poured out to me and I can count all the heartaches that I did against Him. I never been perfect but I desire to please Him. I never been that bad though.He is happy I am sure to see me happy and content from what He's doing in my life. I am thankful that He gave me a good, loving, supportive and caring husband who I couldn't imagine will be able to put up with my moods. My husband is just so good to me. Of course, I praise God for giving me wisdom on how to be a good mother to our daughter. I learn a lot and I am very watchful with my attitude when it comes to dealing with her tantrums, crankiness, etc. At least she is a good baby. We could even make another one but we are not sure if it will be just like her.God is just so good. Once He is in your heart, you think and do the right things. He is an amazing God. And this is how I am going to celebrate my birthday to give Him thanks.

Looking Forward for the Spring Time

I see snow flurries in the air early today. I thought winter is over but it seems like the cold days does not want to leave in our area. I am hoping to see the sun shining more often and feel the humidity.

I see my tulips coming out already. I sprayed deer and rabbit repellent on them yesterday to make sure they will bloom. I am so excited to see my flowers bloom all over the yard. My daughter will love them too.

Spring Cleaning

It's time to start cleaning up the attic, throw old toys away or give it to Goodwill when it is still good. It's a lot of work but I rather clean up and get the house cleared up and organized that way it won't be stressful for me. I have to take advantage to do it right now while my daughter is taking her nap or else I won't have anything accomplish today. I have a to-do-list and I am hoping to accomplish at least two to three projects today. When you are the woman in the house this is exactly what you would love to do, clean and organize.

I Finally Got My Driver's License

I am glad that I got my driver's license on Friday. It was a great experience to be in the car with an officer checking my driving skills.

It was funny though. When the examiner asked me about the "four ways" thrice I did not get it so he just gave up and got in the car. If he use the word "emergency button" I probably understand what he was talking about.

I did not know that my husband heard what was going on. We laughed in the house. He told me that he watched me do the parallel parking (the difficult part of the test). He was nervous that I was too close to the curve but I did a good job and he was so happy about it.

My husband really supported me with my driving lessons. I got yelled at sometimes whenever I practice or we'd argue but he never gave up on me until that day I had my road test. He tried to be patient even if my driving could have caused him a heart attack. With his excitement for my road test, he washed the car, vacuumed it, clean the windows and get the papers I needed for the test ready.

Egg Allergy

I baked Lemon Meringue Pie today and it turned really good.What was not good about my baking was when our daughter had some skin rash from the meringue I prepared. My husband and I let her lick the spatula covered with raw meringue. We did not expect that she will have skin reaction since we give her scrambled eggs or egg omelet sometimes.The rash was all over her mouth, neck, few spots under her eyes and ears. We could not give her Benadryl until the doctor advice us to do so. Good thing it was not that serious but my husband take it seriously because allergy issues run in the family.

God

God is a good God and He will always be a God. When things go wrong we intend to blame Him and get mad. We would reject Him as our revenge. We would disconnect ourselves towards Him. We would ignore His words because we thought He does not care.

We don't realize that when we do things that are not righteous and unpleasing to His sight, it does not makes us powerful. Whatever we do, either it's good or bad, God will always be God. He is who He with or without us. But us, we are nothing without God.

Violence

Violence is everywhere. Where mean people are, there is violence. Even how much you try to avoid it, it happens. It is very difficult to deal with especially when the one who is violent against you is the one you love and trust. You may not want to leave the one you love but you have to. Who do you think would love to stay in a house where you are beaten black and blue? This is sad but you have to do the right thing, to leave, ask some help, and move on.

Good thing that domestic relation is always ready to help these women who are in this crisis. Shelter homes are provided for those who are in immediate need. This kind of aid is really amazing which provide the needs of domestic violence victims.

Money

Money is something that we need to get what we need. We need it for food, clothing, medical stuff, to give and for future use. Once you have children you need money not just for yourself. You think about your kids' future and your finances. It is a good idea to start saving for the future. We don't know they may want to go to college and ask for a car. While the kids are young, start saving for later.