the challenges of parenthood

Last Thursday, Joaqui came home from playing downstairs near our condo's swimming pool saying that he had let a child dive in the swimming pool. I was surprised and I asked him if he pushed the child or he just asked him to dive (a mother's instinct really made me thought of that). He looked at me and said he did not push him. So I rest my case since I trusted that he was telling the truth. After a while, one of his playmates knocked at our door and told us that Joaqui did push a child into the swimming pool. I was not angry at first, but really shocked because it was the farthest thing that I would imagine him to do - pushing another child into the swimming pool. I looked at Joaqui and he just said, "Sorry mommy! Sorry mommy!" We went downstairs and I asked Joaqui to apologize to the poor boy. Good thing he was not harmed and two older boys were with him.

Of course I scolded Joaqui and explained to him of what could have happened to the boy if he drowned or bumped his head on the steps going to the pool. I was disappointed because Joaqui is a good kid and I could not remember seeing him fight or push another child, even in school. I asked him why he did it, and he said that "he wanted the child to become a fish."

As a parent this made me asked myself how could this happen despite our constant reminders about not hurting other people. And I realized that while Joaqui already has a big imagination, and as we encouraged him to be anyone he wants and to make things come out the way he wants them to be, this is the time for a reality check. Now we explain to him carefully the limits of his imaginative play - especially if it can be hurtful to others. We also lessened his time for watching DVD (he watches Superman 1 to 5 over and over) and now I only let him watch age-appropriate DVDs like Blues Clues or Hi-5. He is grounded for a week, which means he cannot go outside our house to play. And while this seems a little harsh to others, I already saw an improvement in his behavior. He is more calm and not as restless as he used to be.

Parenthood is such a challenge, but I am up for it to ensure that my little one will grow up to be a caring and well-behaved person.

TLC through car insurance quotes

Last Friday was a fun day for us as we got to spend a day with our longtime friends and their families by going swimming. It was nice catching up with what's going on with each other, plans for the future and of course reminiscing old memories. One of our friends was surprised to see that our good old car is still in very good condition, despite it being flooded. Other than hubby's tender loving care, we owe our car's good condition to a reliable car insurance. Many people think that finding the right car insurance is a tedious job, but with today's technology, you can get car insurance quotes via the internet. It is a fact that people are searching for the best deal for their money by shopping online, and getting a free car insurance quote is no exception.

And speaking of best deal, we got this promo for Splash Island on the internet through group buying coupons. We got the all-day pass with Mongolian lunch buffet. Was it worth it? Oh yes, especially for the kids and the adults too who got to experience the thrill of the giant slides. I know that it could be a long time before me and my friends get to see each other again, but I'm sure that we will pick up where we left off because we made new happy memories at Splash Island.

Hotdog Casserole

When we moved into our new home and I am the one who does all the cooking, I realized that planning a week's menu takes a lot of creativity and management skills. Even though I'm thankful that my son likes to eat Sinigang (Pork in Sour Broth), Tinola (Chicken Ginger Stew) and Nilaga (Boiled Beef and Vegetabales), I make it a point to add variety in our menu. I was browsing the Del Monte Kitchenomics website when I stumbled upon this dish and tried it. It's a very good way to spruce up hotdogs and make it a healthy dish, plus preparation is a cinch.

Here's how to cook it:

Saute about 1/4 kg of hotdogs cut into 1/2-inch diagonal slices and 1 large sliced onion. Add 1 pouch (200-g) Del Monte original style tomato sauce (or Sweet Style spaghetti sauce like what I did) and 1/2 teaspoon iodized salt. Let it simmer for 10 minutes. Add 1/4 cup water, 1/2 cup canned whole corn kernels and 100 grams diagonally sliced Baguio beans.

Mommy Moments - Preggy Tales

Happy Mother's Day to all my fellow mommy bloggers! I hope that you have a great day planned for this day, although I think that it will be a little overshadowed by the Pacquiao-Mosley fight, I think all Moms deserve a special treat for Mother's Day. : )

This picture was taken on December 24, 2006 which was just 4 days before I gave birth to Joaqui. I had an uneventful pregnancy - no morning sickness, no dizziness and no cravings, so hubby was a happy husband to a very pregnant woman like me. The only thing I had to watch for at that time was my weight because I was gaining a little more that what I should, so even though I was pregnant I was on a diet. Up until a week before my delivery, I was doing my usual activities, even doing a lot of shopping because it was the Christmas season at that time. On December 28, I had a little bloody show so we went to our OB-GYNE and when she did an IE, she told me to go the hospital already. After trying for 1-1/2 hours to deliver normally, I had to give birth via C-section and the first thing I said when Joaqui came out was, "Hay, salamat lumabas ka din." It was as if all my worries, pain and fatigue had gone away when I first saw him, and hubby and I and the rest of our families have never been happier for God blessed us with a wonderful child.

More preggy tales here.