Posts from — October 2008

Finding the right career or work for a busy mom is probably one of the more common issues floating around. Especially in countries where household help is uncommon or impractical, having moms at home is still the best solution. Perhaps another step further to that ‘best’ solution is to get some bits and pieces of work or business done such as that of a
home based business. Though if we were to find a really good one, I’m sure dads will be happy to hop along.

Parenting comes in different stages. There maybe various ways of categorizing the stages. Though generally, it just outlines the various experiences of parents as time moves on. The experience and challenges of becoming a first parent (as in from the moment pregnancy or conception is discovered) is certainly different compared to a stage when the time comes to manage a teenager (yeah, that may include helping them out on their acne cures), or even further on. I guess the best thing to do is to enjoy every step of these stages.

Today is CN’s first day back in school after the school holidays. When we told her yesterday that she’ll be back in school, she got really excited. She went on packing her (Dora) backpack. We also told her that it will her turn in the ’show and tell’ portion of class. It wasn’t really a surprise as she picked up her Dora light wand which she got from the Dora show which we watched a couple of weeks back.

One evening, we were trying to explain to our daughter RD some facts about taxes. It is not really a technical level. It is a but a simple ‘how things work’ kind of thing. At one point, we had to show her receipts of a few things we purchased recently and how for almost all items, a corresponding tax has to be paid out and how they are given back to the people as services, etc.

As an afterthought, I realized how some things just seem to work automatically without us giving much attention. It’s just like a how computers and the internet work. To end users, it’s as simple as booting up and using an application or browser. Behind the scene are things technical and all such as servers, maybe IBM AS/400 iSeries, cables, UPSs and so on. Not a real techie myself, I went for a quick browse and found how much stuff is really involved. Performance Data Resources has a number of these things listed out.

In the midst of all the challenges in life, perhaps a lot of people wake up in the morning figuring out what their day will be like: “Is it new?” Life has sometimes become a routine for many. Wake up in the morning, eat breakfast, go to work or do chores, have some meals in between, and end the day with sleep. If we think about it, that routine is even a good one. I’m sure we’ll feel blessed if we think that there are a lot more people have far worse days than that which I have mentioned. Is it new? Yes definitely it is! Whatever circumstance we may all be in, the Bible says “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.” I took a photo of this grass one new morning and hope that it reminds of the fresh days God will surely give.

Tagalog Translation:
Sa gitna ng lahat ng pagsubok sa buhay, marahil maraming tao ang gumigising sa umaga na nagtatanong kung ano ang araw na humaharap sa kanila: “Bago nga kaya?” Ang buhay ay parang paulit-ulit lamang para sa marami. Gising sa umaga, kain ng almusal, punta sa trabaho o mga gawain, huminto upang kumain sa gitna, at tapusin ang araw sa pagtulog. Kung iisipin natin, yang pag-ulit nay an ay maganda na. Tiyak na mararamdaman natin na tayo’y pinagpala kung iisipin natin na mas maraming tao ang may mas di magandang araw kaysa dun sa aking nabanggit. Bago nga kaya? Oo tiyak ito! Anuman ang ating kalagayan, sinasabi ng Bibliya na “Sa mga kaawaan nga ng Panginoon ay hindi tayo nalipol, sapagka’t ang kaniyang mga habag ay hindi nauubos. Ang mga yao’y bago tuwing umaga, dakila ang inyong pagtatapat.” Kinuhanan ko ng litrato ang damo na ito sa isang bagong umaga at umaasa na ito ay magpapaalala ng mga bagong araw na tiyak na ipagkakaloob ng Diyos.

When my mother planned on coming over in Sydney for a visit, one of the things we asked her to bring are t-shirts. It’s not that there are no shirts sold here. It’s just that they tend to be pricey. As a mom, it’s probably natural to be practical about things. For daily wear shirts, then cheap t-shirts should be enough. Besides, there can be good quality once without the hefty price tag. Fine, it’s okay to have some more fancy ones but they should be more of an exception than a rule.

I just ran across a magazine featuring some celebrities who were known to be slim but somehow suddenly put on some weight. To some of these people, losing weight is not really a big deal and some come even do it in no time. The high profile would likely go for some surgical means while others simply go for a good workout. Others would preach about a secret diet while others would simply point to diet pills that work.

It was last Christmas when we first saw the trailers of ABS CBN’s ‘Lobo’, a TV series in the Philippines that’s already been aired. From the title itself to its trailer it suggests that the story will evolve around a woman who transforms into a wolf (lobo) at certain times.

Last night we’ve finally watched the first of the series from TFC Now. I know my kids were challenged understanding some of the Filipino words but I guess that they enjoyed viewing it as much as I do. We opted to continue on with the second episode on the same night. Hopefully we’ll finish the whole series when given a chance.

When we moved to our new place, I noticed a surge in the number of people knocking on our door trying to sell, advertise, solicit sponsorship, etc. Probably the law of averages is just kicking in. The street is generally very quiet, so some nuisance has to happen to keep some balance. I was thinking it might actually be easier handling similar phone calls as there may be a way to report annoying callers.

As parents, we always think of what’s best for our children. Keeping them on the right diet is just one of those things. Recently, there has been some hype on preparing healthier snack alternatives. That means goodbye to those potato chips, cheese balls, and all other sorts of junk food. We, too, have generally knocked those items off our grocery list. Some of the recommended snack list now include slices of fruits and vegetables. Nuts are also classified as one of the healthier snacks. One time I bought a pack of cashew nuts and was surprised how much CN loved it. It is unfortunate that she can’t bring some in school (yes, not even peanut butter) because there is heightened awareness on peanut allergy in Australia.

It will be our first Christmas here in Australia with another member of the family: my mom. I do have a cousin here but his family is staying up there in Brisbane, Queensland. But hey it is a pretty small world. Doing some further digging on genealogy may lead me to more family members here in Oz.  Publicgenealogy.org provides great tools to get anyone started on the right track of building one’s family tree.

Quite recently, my daughter CN has been popping the question ‘What time is it?’ From my understanding, she still does not have a good grasp of time. Or is she just immitating her elder sister RD? At times, even if we already told her what time it is, she would insist to see the clock/watch. Is there something I’m missing here?

We caught up with some friends over the weekend. One topic while we were chatting was a comparison of health experience now and maybe a few years back. Talk about aching backs and the like. There seem to be an endless list of things we can sort of blame it on. At one point my husband dropped the line “maybe it could just be age”. Indeed maybe that’s the case. Or maybe it’s just a mix of various things we have in this generation. It is good that nowadays, there are more and more people, groups, products (yes, from vitamins, supplements, to Diabetic Socks), systems, companies, or organizations who try to help people achieve better health.

School kicked off today for my eldest daughter RD. Last night, I asked her to prepare her bag. I am training her to be responsible for these small things. I guess the key word there is ‘responsibility’. I believe she is doing a good job. There was some slight ‘hiccups’ though as we discovered that she forgot to take out her lunch box from the bag when school term ended a couple of weeks ago. Maybe it was due the excitement of going to school holidays that she was knocked off her routine. Anyway, all is well and she is back on track.

Having one’s own home is probably every family’s dream. Though with today’s financial challenges, getting that dream home may take years to be realized. Since that is the case, part of the strategy should be to plan early. Other than planning out the finances, I think it I also a good idea to start looking around model houses. I was looking at sample layouts at Schumacher Homes Louisiana to find out what makes sensible for our family. Even our children give some inputs on what to check when looking around. There’s more work (and time) needed to make these plans come to flesh. But in God’s perfect timing, we’ll get there.