Summer Time with the Kids

We’re right in the middle of the summer and the kids have been bumming around for the most part. So glad that the two older ones are nearly the best friends and don’t really fight as much. The youngest one is a different story. At two years old, she demands her time and wants for everyone to hear much to the dismay of the “ates.” It is a lesson being learned for her to ask properly and learn how to get along with her sisters. Sometimes she complies, sometimes she doesn’t, lots of time-outs for her in the process.

We haven’t been doing much since Recognition and Graduation Day during the last week of March. No travel plans for us this year as being in the family way has made it difficult for me to travel and go around. My in laws were here for Holy Week and we spent a weekend in Opol frolicking in the beach and pigging out on fish, shrimps and crabs. Yum!

Last week, Nadine and Raya once again began their Junior Golf Sessions at the Pueblo de Oro Golf Estates. We were surprised that they expressed interest in golf again as I can still remember their complaints of heat, perspiration and tiredness last summer. But honestly, I’m happy that they wanted to go through it again. We’ve always wanted them to get into sports and this might be the sport they’d be good at.

Although two days after they started, Nadine started complaining about tiredness and muscles aches again. She said she didn’t want to continue golf anymore. I told her that since she hasn’t been using her muscles for a long time it is expected that they would hurt in the first few days but will improve after a while. I reiterated that it isn’t nice to get into something and bail out in the middle of it all. I think after a few more sessions and she’ll start enjoying the game again.

During their first day, we could see that both girls have improved in their form and skill even after months of absence. I think it won’t take long for them to get into the groove again.

Raya has been the busiest among the three girls. Early on she had expressed her desire to take painting and arts lessons being offered in their school. She’s thoroughly enjoying the three times a week session. Likewise, I’ve asked my sister to give her enrichment activities to prepare her for Grade One next school year. So far, so good.

We still have the full month of May to think of other activities to do to keep the girls busy. Then we’ll have to be getting ready for school. How fast time flies!

Baked Chicken with Thyme

Description:
This dish is one of my mom's favorite dishes because it is sooo easy to make. Easy and yummy too!

This goes well with mashed potatoes or potato salald. :-)

Ingredients:
Chicken cut into pieces -- I usually prefer chicken thighs but any part would do.
Pepper
Dried Thyme
Soy sauce

Directions:
1. Wash chicken thoroughly and put in a baking dish
2. Sprinkle pepper and thyme around each part of chicken
3. Put enough soy sauce to soak chicken (but not too much) then leave to marinate for 30 minutes while turning it around.
4. Cook in oven (or I use a turbo broiler) for 45 minutes to an hour.

Things to do During a Brownout

So with the scheduled brownouts now five hours everyday and school  already out, what are we to do to entertain the kids? I’ve always believed that TV and computer shouldn’t be at the center of a child’s life. So here are some activities we do during the brownouts:

• Read – Well, whether there’s electricity or not my kids read everyday so this isn’t anything new. But they do enjoy the time just looking and browsing through their picture books. Nadine reads junior novels already so her time is pre occupied with this.
• Play with their toys – Again, nothing new for my kids. They can spend hours and hours just playing with their toys in their room. Even Alyssa has her own imaginative play already. Yup, the toys are all worth the price.
• Board and card games – I came out of the room one day and saw Nadine and Raya quietly playing Word for Word (similar to Scrabble) then moved on to Chess afterwards. Don’t think they finished their games though but it was nice seeing them do stuff to entertain themselves. They would play their Pokemon cards too or Lucky 9 with ordinary playing cards.
• Give the dog a bath – Or just simple play with the dog. Nadine had fun soaping and washing the dog and getting wet too in the process. She went straight to bathe herself afterwards. Another time, Raya asked permission if she can just stay outside with our dog Max. Mier found her quietly patting the dog and removing the ticks. Hahaha!
• Go to the park – A day at the park definitely spells fun for the kids. They enjoyed the swings, slide, seesaw and monkey bars. You can also pick flowers, blow bubbles, catch insects and kick the ball. Or even fly a kite on a windy day.
• Arts and Crafts Projects – The kids set up a table outside and brought out their paints and crayons. They just drew, colored and painted the afternoon away good thing we bought newsprint paper for the kids to use. Even Alyssa enjoyed drawing and coloring.
• Batya Swimming at the Back – Ahhh, another favorite pastime of my girls. They wouldn’t mind spending countless hours just lazing around in our laundry basins at the back of our house. We ask them to wash their shoes too or choose some stuff toys to bathe too so at least they are cleaning and doing something productive as well.
• Shadow Play – For those nighttime brownouts, the girls created paper puppets and used the back of the couch as their stage. They made stories and came up with little plays. We also made shadow animals with our hands and even Alyssa enjoyed trying to guess the animal.
• Tell Stories – My girls always love hearing how they were born and how they were when they were smaller. We look at photo albums and see how they have grown all these years and read what they use to do.

There are countless other stuff that can be done during the brownouts. We are challenged to be more and more creative to keep the kids entertained especially with the summer rolling in. But I do hope government officials will do something about the power crisis. It isn’t enough to think of stuff to do for the kids but the heat can be unbearable too.

Facebook for Kids?

About a few months back, Nadine was asking if she could get a Facebook account. According to her, a lot of her friends and classmates and cousins have already and she wanted to join the bandwagon. I think the main reason why we had to think twice about this is because the Internet is not entirely safe. And especially for children her age, I would rather that she get into it when she’s a little older already.

But after a lot of thinking, I thought, well, we don’t want her to be left out also with her friends and as long as it’s regulated and supervised maybe it would be ok. Besides, a lot of people I now allow their kids for the games only. And I’ve read about an article how parents can monitor their children through Facebook. But when we tried signing up, we found out that there is an age limit --- only for people who are 13 and above.

What did this mean? All these classmates and friends and cousins of hers have changed their ages so that they can get Facebook account. With this information, we decided that no, we would not let her join Facebook. We don't want to teach her to be dishonest even if it is as simple as changing her age just so she can get what she wants. The minimum age requirement was put there for a good reason.

Now I don’t want to sound high and mighty or righteous about this. I just feel that sometimes we aren’t aware that our actions are magnified heavily by our children. As they say, children live by example. And what lesson will she be learning if we allow her this Facebook account?

I know that this is just a simple case but will teach her values that I hope she will adopt in the long run. It isn’t easy to be a parent. We have to choose our battles and our actions carefully because these have an impact on our children. But we have to do it because they are our responsibility. In the end, I want to face my God and tell him that I did all that I could to bring up a good and upstanding person.

Project 365

Last year, someone in my circle of egroups suggested doing Project 365. The goal is to take a photo everyday for the whole year. Since most of us are into memory keeping and scrapbooking, this was meant to photograph a highlight of one’s day and journal about it and eventually creating a photo diary at the end of the year.

I just found out that this challenge has been going around photography groups for years already. For photographers, using the camera everyday can help make one a better photographer, help you compose shots better, be aware of lighting and become more creative in photography.

Likewise, this enables one to document the extraordinary and the mundane aspects of your life --- travels, accomplishments, haircuts, relationships, etc. Having this documentation will help you recall what happened on a particular day and what made that day special.

Anyway last year, I tried doing the Project but sadly wasn’t able to follow through. I think I stopped mid May and got really busy to take that photo a day. Or maybe I just wasn’t really into it since I wasn’t able to start on Day 1.

This year, with the encouragement of my dear friend Christine Gooding, I decided to try again. This time, we are a group of women doing it and we motivate and encourage each other into finishing it until the end of the year. Wouldn’t it be nice to look back and see what has happened in the past 365 days?

Life is short and time moves very fast. I want to be able to appreciate each and every day and makes sure that each moment counts.

I don’t intend to create a diary of sorts or to enumerate what happened for the whole day. I just want to document a highlight of the day, something significant that made my day special. A friend of mine does it like a gratitude journal; something to be happy about for the day like good weather, healthy family, etc.

The nice thing about the Project 365 is that it makes you take stock of the little things in your life. The stuff that you usually take for granted is given more meaning. I think the challenge should be more than just documenting your life but to be able to appreciate life more. If this is the goal, I think it would be easier to follow through.

It may or may not even be a photo journal. Just a small note in a calendar or a pocket diary would suffice. And if you miss a day or two, don’t fret. Just go on and continue where you left off. The important part is that you are aware of what is happening in your life and what you are going through.

Sinigang na Tadyang ng Baboy

Description:
This is our family's all-time favorite dish. Nothing tastes like home like this soup. Although pork liempo would be good for this, we prefer pork ribs.

Ingredients:
1/2 k of pork ribs
tomatoes
onions
garlic
sinigang mix (I prefer Maggi)
kangkong
okra
eggplants


Directions:
Saute the tomatoes first until soft. Then add the onions and garlic. When all soft, put the ribs and a little patis and allow to simmer with all its juices. After 10 to 15 minutes, add water and the sinigang mix. Allow to boil then simmer. When meats are soft, add the talong and okra, then the kangkong leaves. let simmer til vegetables are cooked. Serve hot.

Project 365 - January 2010

My family was complete for New Year's Eve. My sister, Marla, her husband, Gerry, and her baby, Margaux, are here to celebrate the new year with us. Today, New Year's Day, we decided to have our family picture taken at my Mom and Dad's house. This is our wacky photo where everyone should make a funny face. This is my favorite!

I tried doing the Project 365 last year but wasn't able to follow through. This year, with the encouragement of friends, I hope to be able to capture everyday of our lives through photos. Sayang naman my DSLR di ba? Hahaha!