What big shoes you have!

Alyssa insisting on filling up Daddy's shoes. She just can't wait to grow up! Sigh!

Look who found her Ates' toy lipstick

We were all busy doing our own thing when we realized that the little one was awfully quiet. Turned out that she found her ates' play lipstick and smeared it on her face. I guess she couldn't find her lips. Hehehe!

Two-way street

I got this as a forwarded email in one of my egroups. I am astounded with the powers of breastfeeding and the bond a mother and child is truly intended to have! Allow me to share:

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Two-way street
By Fr. James B. Reuter, SJ
February 28, 2009
Philippine Star

  The Armed Forces of the United States of America, after intensive investigation for two full years, came to the conclusion that babies, who were nursed at their mother’s breast, never got battle fatigue.

Battle fatigue, during World War I, was known as “shell shock.” It is insanity, brought about by the pressure of war. It was especially terrible, because those soldiers who “went off”, years later, in civilian life, from shell shock, saw the enemy everywhere. They fought, for survival.

The US Army was so disturbed by the high incidence of “battle fatigue” in World War II that they said to the medical corps: “Find out the cause of this, so that we can defend ourselves against it.”

The medical corps went at it. Their first report was: “It is nothing that we do to these boys! We take two boys from the same town. We feed them on the same food. We train them in exactly the same way. We put them in the same battle, under the same pressure, and one breaks, and the other doesn’t! It is nothing that we do to these boys! It is something that happened to them before we got them!”

Then they investigated the homes from which they came. And they discovered that the boys who nursed at their mother’s breast never got battle fatigue! They were immune. All the boys who came down with battle fatigue were artificially fed!

When they had this finding, they did not know what to do with it. They did not release it, for two years. During that time they investigated what happened when a mother breastfed her baby.

In the middle of their investigations they felt they had it! It was basic metabolism! The transubstantiation of the food you eat, into your body and blood. They always thought that basic metabolism was determined while the baby was in the womb! But they discovered that it was determined only in the days, and weeks, and months, after delivery!

So they felt that their investigation was over. It was: mother’s milk! They checked this. They took the real mother, with a breast pump, and fed it to her baby in a bottle. It did not work! The basic metabolism of the baby came out very rocky. Better than if it was purely artificial feeding, but far from normal!

The doctors thought: “What is this? We know it is breast feeding, but it is not the mother’s milk!”

They got their lead from this: some babies have insomnia. They lie awake at night, as tense as a drum. You can put these babies to sleep with injections, but the doctors do not want to do this, because the baby is a delicate little instrument. If you put too many chemicals into him, he will die.

In practice, every nurse, in every nursery, knows what to do. She takes the baby from the bassinet, brings him to his mother, and puts him on his mother’s breast. When he is pressed against her, when she is holding him, and talking to him, he relaxes, and he sleeps.

The doctors said: “What is it — about the mother — that does this to the baby?” They investigated this, for months. Now they have about five things that they can prove, scientifically.

It is the skin of the Mommy! The skin of the mother is the sweetest skin in all this world, to her baby. It is his safety blanket. That is why a baby, nursing at his mother’s breast, puts his hand on her other breast. The touch of his Mommy makes him feel safe, and secure.

It is the smell of the Mommy! To a baby, the scent of his mother is the sweetest scent in all the world.

It is her heartbeat! The beating of her heart is the music of his life. He has been living to the music of his mother for nine months, in her womb. When he is separated from that heartbeat, he is frightened!

It is the sound of her voice! Every woman has a frequency. The baby is tuned to that frequency. There is no chemical, known to men, that can relax a baby so completely as the sound of his mother’s voice.

When the baby breastfeeds, the milk is the best! It is designed for the baby by God! He has the touch of his mother, the scent of her, the sound of her voice, the beating of her heart — everything is right! His basic metabolism comes out “normal”, which is the doctor’s word for “perfect.”

When a baby feeds in a bassinet, with a bottle, the food is only food and it is not as good as it ought to be. He is a delicate little instrument, and every door that slams frightens him. He does not have his mother — the touch of her, the scent of her, the sound of her voice, the beating of her heart. He feeds in panic, in terror. His basic metabolism comes out very rocky. Twenty years later, when these two boys go into battle, the one who fed at his mother’s breast comes out normal. The baby who fed in the bassinet comes out shattered.

When the doctors had this finding, they said: “This we know about war. How much pressure is there, in times of peace? How many boys blow up, who might not have blown up, if they were given a fair start by their mothers?”

What the United States Armed Forces discovered was that a baby needs his mother!

But the mother also needs the baby! When her child is born, for the first time in her life, a mother is loved without calculation! Her husband, who marries her, chooses her out of all the women in the world, and this is beautiful, but he measures her beauty! He knows if she is as pretty as Miss Universe, or prettier, or not as pretty. He calculates!

Her baby does not calculate! A mother took the wrong baby home from the hospital. In the hospital, she only saw the baby when he was brought for breastfeeding. And she was so happy with him, here! He was always hungry. He would consume all her milk. He would snuggle. And he was a laughing baby. She never heard him cry.

But when she got him home, he would not breast feed! She was hurting! She felt that she had to nurse, but the baby would not nurse! And he was weeping and wailing! And when she tried to hold him close, he would pull away from her! Finally, in the evening, he developed fever. She thought: “Oh, my God! He is going to die,” She brought him to the doctor, and the doctor said: “You have the wrong baby!”

When they found her real baby, he was doing the same thing! He would not breast feed! He was weeping and wailing! He would not snuggle! When she got him home, he consumed all her milk, and then - not only did he snuggle — he put both hands into her hair, and hung on to her for dear life, afraid that he would lose her again!

Mother, your baby is a one-woman boy. He is not interested in any other mother. Only you. He loves you, without calculation. Because you are his, and he is yours. And this is love.

Your baby needs you. And you need your baby. It is a two way street.

Project 365

I have to be more diligent in taking my photos. Now that I've organized them, maybe it will motivate me to record our memories. :D Hopefully...

Look who's giving Alyssa a bath!

We gave Anie, our very dependable helper, a much needed afternoon off. So while I was preparing dinner, Daddy decided to give Alyssa a bath. I guess he couldn't stand her "asim" smell. Hehehe! Or I think she pooped. Anyway, the little girl was thrilled! She kept on calling, "Daddy, Daddy!" And even refused Anie when she finally arrived and offered to finish the bath. She definitely enjoyed the bonding session. :D

Summer is officially here!!

Today is the beginning of summer in our home. Nadine and Raya had their last exam yesterday and we celebrated by hanging out in SM the whole afternoon. Harharhar! They played in the children's play area for an hour then we had a snack in Dunkin Donuts. The girls and I road the train and they had their share of toy car rides. We bought art stuff in National Bookstore for their summer projects and waited for Daddy to join us for dinner after his work.

Nadine and Raya worked on their art stuff this morning. Later this afternoon, we'll be having a swimming party. I am challenged to come up with meaningful activities for them and I'm looking forward to 2 and a half months of bonding with my girls. :D

They'll be having their Recognition Day on March 27 and Lolo and Lola will be coming from Manila to attend that. Definitely both girls are on the honor roll. We are so proud of them! Next week, they'll be having their practices for an hour or two a day. So much to look forward to!

Gatang Manok

Description:
This is one of Mier's all time favorite dish. The first time I cooked this before, it didn't turn out the way he wanted it so I put off cooking it for the longest time. Tonight, I tried it again and was finally successful! Mier likes the sauce thickened very well and according to him, this dish tastes better when cooked earlier and then reheated lang. He had 3 servings tonight so I rate this a VERY successful meal. :D (Sorry no picture this time. Naunahan kami ng gutom namin. Hehehe!)

By the way, this dish is best with natural gata. I actually sqeezed the coco cream myself. It was worth it! :D How to get the gata from coconut: 1st exctraction --- just squeeze the coco meat with your hands. For the 2nd extraction --- pour a little water (about 1/4 cup) over the coco meat and then squeeze again.

Ingredients:
gata - 1st and 2nd extractions
garlic
pandan
sili panigang (optional)
chicken, liver and gizzard
salt
pepper
little sugar
vinegar

Directions:
1. Mix the 2nd extraction of gata with salt, pepper, pandan, garlic, vinegar, little sugar, liver and gizzard.
2. Boil then simmer until the meats are almost tender.
3. Add chicken then continue to boil. Simmer again until chicken is almost done.
4. Remove all the meat and let sauce boil until desired thickness (Mier likes the sauce really thick)
5. Return all the meat and pour gata 1st extraction. allow to boil then turn off fire.

Nadine Wins First Place

We had a pleasant surprise when we learned that Nadine won in her grade level's poem writing contest. We weren't surprised that she won, she has always been a good writer. But this was the first time we read a poem of hers and we didn't know there was such a contest. :D We are so proud of her! :D

Pinangat na Isda

Description:
I thought of cooking more fish and seafood not only because of the Lenten season but for a healthier lifestyle too. I got this recipe from my Mother-in-law who is a wonderful cook, by the way. Even the girls enjoyed it. :D

Ingredients:
fish (I used 2 med tilapias. I tried it also with flat fish before, not sure of the name)
kalamnsi juice
patis
pandan
sili (optional. I don't put because of my girls)
little water
little sugar
butter
tomatoes cut in round slices

Directions:
1. Mix all ingredients together excpet fish and tomatoes.
2. Bring to boil.
3. Add fish and put round tomatoes on top.
4. Put to high heat then simmer until fish is cooked and tomatoes are wilted

Sleep Deprived

It doesn’t really take much to understand that having children will definitely get in the way of a good night’s sleep. Obviously with a newborn, parents find themselves getting up a lot of times at night to respond to crying or hunger. To some, sleep might get easier when the baby gets a little older. To others, like me, who are ‘blessed’ with high need babies who ‘hate’ sleeping, it might take a while longer for uninterrupted sleep to come.

By the age of 2 and a half, both my older girls would be sleeping well already through the night. They would occasionally get up with night time dreams or may ask for milk but more or less would go back to sleep with no fuss. Oh, I can’t wait for Alyssa to get into that stage!

Alyssa has never been a sleeper. My mom thinks she has super bionic ears that wake her with even the slightest noise. You might think that living in a house with 2 older sisters, who can be quite talkative if given the chance, would make her used to noise. But no, Alyssa turned out to be a light sleeper since Day 1.

She has a certain music type that helps her lull to sleep. Nope, she doesn’t go for those lullaby songs for babies but would prefer loud and pop songs. Here is a girl who used to sleep with the music of Michael Jackson blaring in the speakers!

Today, she turns 18 months and still her sleep patterns are as erratic as ever. She literally hates to sleep no matter how tired she may be. In her mind, she feels that sleeping will hinder her from precious time of being with others and experiencing stuff.

Actually, she is more like Nadine in that aspect as Nadine too was not much of a sleeper when she was younger. And up to now at age 7, Nadine would try to put off going to sleep whenever she can. One time, she told me that she doesn’t like sleeping because it is so boring, “You do nothing but lie down and close your eyes.” Hence when it is time to sleep her mind becomes active and she thinks of so many other things instead.

Raya is a lot easier to deal with in the sleep department. When she’s sleepy she would just let us know then lie down in bed and within seconds, she’d be snoring away. Oh, if only all my children would sleep like her. I guess that would be wishful thinking on my part.

Lately Alyssa would really refuse sleeping at night. No matter how much talking and explaining I do, she would fight me and whine and cry. And when I have finally put her to sleep and think that I would have a little time in my hands, she would be awake again. She still insists on breastfeeding even if I know and feel that my milk has decreased considerably already since she is more into solid foods now. I do give her Lactum milk once in a while but on most nights, she would refuse it.

I checked in the Internet and found out that a lot of mothers have experienced a break in sleep patterns usually at this age and that it would get better by age 20 months. I do hope that Alyssa gets to sleep better soon for my sanity’s sake. And maybe, just maybe I’d be able to sleep a little more at night until the girls become teenagers --- by then, I’m sure I’d be having interrupted sleep again.

Beef Stew

Description:
Have been looking for a good beef stew recipe for a long time. There's a certain flavor that I've been wanting and searching for in the Internet. I finally found something a little similar to what I wanted. I tweaked it a bit and had a very good hearty dish last night. Mier loved it! :D

Ingredients:
· Olive oil and some butter
· 3/4 cup Flour
· 1 teaspoon salt
· 1 teaspoon pepper
· 1 kilo beef short ribs
· 1 onion, quartered
· 2 clove garlic, minced
· 2 cups beef broth or bouillon
· 1 tsp. salt, or to taste
· 1 tbsp. lemon juice
· 1 tsp. sugar
· 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
· pepper
· salt
· 2 bay leaves
· carrots, cut in pieces
· med. potatoes, cut in pieces
· can of button mushrooms

Directions:
Combine flour, salt and pepper in a food storage bag; add beef ribs and toss to coat. Brown coated beef in hot oil with butter in a large skillet; transfer to the Crockpot. Add the remaining ingredients except for vegetables and mushrooms. Cook until meat is tender then add vegetables and mushrooms. Continue cooking until vegetables are done.

Lion King School Presentation

The Preschool Department of Rosevale School culminated their Literary Month today with a program showcasing songs from The Lion King. Raya, as part of the Junior Kinder class, was a giraffe. She was part of the "Circle of Life" and "I Can't Wait to be King" songs. Here are some pictures I took. :D

Loved loved the show! The Lion King has always been one of my favorite animations. Watching them dance literally gave me goosebumps. Ang galing galing talaga! My friend and co-Mommy, Hannah, said it was better than Broadway. Hahaha! Siempre, because our kids were in it. :D