Posts from — September 2008

What is really a gold color? As I attempted to look around, I have managed to reach this article in wikipedia which describes and illustrates the different shades of the color gold. Thanks to this article that my search for a photo with the theme gold has been made a bit easy. This is a golden yellow dandelion at our backyard. My kids love to pick these flowers and play with it all the time.

Tagalog Translation:
Ano nga ba talaga ang kulay ginto? Sa aking paghahanap, natuntunan ko ang isang akda sa wikipedia na naglalahad ng iba’t ibang uri ng kulay ginto. Salamat naman at napadali nang kaunti ang aking paghahanp ng larawan na may temang ginto. Isa itong ginintuang dilaw na dandelion sa likod bakuran. Lagi itong gustong kunin ng aking mga anak upang paglaruan.

Have you ever experienced getting a call in your mobile and for some reason, the name of the caller does not show up? Even though most modern mobile phones can now store hundreds if not thousands of contacts, there is no way you can know all of the callers. A Mobile Phone Reverse Lookup may come to the rescue.

I still have one and a half bag of nappies lying around unused. They’ve been around for about 2 months or so. My youngest daughter seemed to have had a great jump start in learning not to use them, there was hardly a transition. There should be some use for them somehow. Actually, one I can think of right away is to just to pack a couple in the car in case of emergency, particularly for long trips.

Have you ever played a real life shooter game? Well, it is a video game that can be seen even in game arcades in several shopping malls. And of course, with the proliferation of game consoles, it is not surprising to find this game in several households. A pistol or gun is usually the main ‘weapon’ in this game. A common theme will find a solider or shooter, usually dressed in tactical pants and gear, trying to rescue hostages by shooting the bad guys. Some would say that these shooting games are not good for kids. And I would tend to agree on that especially for children of very young age mainly because of the usual violence associated with such games.

My daughter CN just couldn’t get enough of Dora, the Explorer. Last weekend, we bought a Dora backpack that she could also use as her school bag. Upon getting home, she got a bit of help from her elder sister RD to wear an orange shorts and pink t-shirt. To top things, RD also set CN’s hair to be just like Dora’s. With the backpack, then it just seemed funny that I have a little Dora around the house.
I didn’t get a chance to take a photo… but next time, I will.

Yesterday, I realized how much I need to take more time trying to tell my kids about our roots. As they have been out of the Philippines for more than half of their life, they could only recall a small bit of information about it. My husband challenged my eldest daughter RD to sing the national anthem in exchange for a ‘prize’. However, she could not sing the song from start to finish. Well, perhaps a little more ‘field trips’ will help them to gain appreciation of these things. We have actually done this in the past. Last year, we went to Cebu and told them about Philippine history that unfolded there. We also told them about how much Spain has influenced the country.

That gives me an idea! Why not go to Spain so that we (parents) could also go for an educational trip! Maybe it is a lame excuse. But nonetheless, staying in Madrid hotels for an experience of that nation’s heritage should be interesting. There are cheap hotels around so I do hope that someday we could have this holiday. The kids should also have a great time. They have always enjoyed the sights, sounds, and experience wherever we go.

Last weekend, we bought a tub of vanilla ice cream to match the warming temperature of Spring. The kids really love ice cream. They couldn’t wait for dessert to come right after dinner time.

Vanilla ice cream is nice as you could add a few things to it to have a different ice cream flavor each time. Yesterday, my husband took out the cream tub and with it came the jar of creamy peanut butter. I guess I wouldn’t have to put much detail on how to prepare it. Just get some ice cream and top it with peanut butter! I have a bit of sore throat so I didn’t get a chance to taste it. But RD definitely had a good time with the peanut butter ice cream.

We learned more about dust mites a few years ago when we moved to Singapore and our daughter RD, then 2 years old, started to have some itch on her skin. The doctor advised that it could be an incident of dust mites allergy. After that we had to make sure we take all necessary precautions including having the entire house go through some dust mite treatment as well as having an air filter around. Dust mites are different from other ‘almost-invisible’ insects that bring about bed bugs bites.

We had a picnic with friends from the church today. We had great barbecue, some ice cream, and a great chat. It was a great time to go out without the jackets and just enjoy the outdoors. The kids really loved it though complained that it is too hot. As I mentioned in an earlier post, it does seem like we just skipped spring and fast forwarded to summer. But I’m not keeping the thick blankets yet as the weather forecast says we will still have some lows of 8 degrees sometime middle of the week.

One of the things we like here in Sydney is how people of different origins or race are able to live together harmoniously. Everywhere you go, everywhere you look at, you’ll probably see a mix of people. But that does not stop people from working together for the good of all. And besides it is also good way to learn new things. Interracial Chat Room sites are also a means to get a glimpse of a world happy being together.

We watched Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas on DVD today. It’s just a time for us to relax after a pretty warm day. The animation is good but the more important thing for me as a mom is that I can just let my kids watch it with minimal parental guidance. Considering that the central character is (or was) a thief or a pirate, then there are some (mild) violence on the film. But as the story unfolds, Sinbad’s real character evolves and displays the good deep inside. Though a ‘cartoon’, I would have to remind the kids that the characters are fictitious. It’s a good family watch as even my youngest daughter CN was entertained and stayed up until the end of the movie.

I have written previously how having a car is becoming less of a luxury in today’s lifestyle. Well, at least that is true here in Sydney. Having said that, it is probably another challenge to find the right kind of vehicle that would suit the needs of a typical family. That means that a two door family car is almost a no-no as it will prove to be a challenge in seating a baby or toddler. I am not an expert in cars but I should say that a four door sedan or hatch car is probably a good choice. Of course a station wagon, a people mover, or an SUV will mean a bigger interior and that could mean better comfort especially for the kids. Auto Loans will be handy when choosing the right car for the family.

Nope, I am not talking about the natural spring that produces warm water where we can have a dip and relax. I am referring to the high temperature this day reached considering spring season has just started. Suddenly we felt so hot that we had to change our warm clothes to a more comfortable one. This may also mean that we may now stop using our heaters and replace it with electric fans and coolers.

Tomorrow is Sunday. It is always a special day of the week for our family as we go to church together. It is also a time for us to come together with other Christians as one big family. I believe that having regular fellowship with other believers is important. There are other ways we can reach out to others in other days of the week. Christian Chat is an alternative way to meet and share.

My daughter CN is so active that she is quite prone to slips, trips, and bumps. As a mother, I couldn’t help but wish of a way to put bumpers on my children. Funny as it may seem, it seems to be a great way to protect kids. No, I haven’t thought of a design of how that would work. Of course there are helmets, knee pads, elbow pads, and so on. But surely, kids won’t be bothered wearing these inside the home! A more realistic way to handle this situation is to kid-proof the entire home.