"It's Working"

Me: Do you need to go to the toilet?
DD3: No.

After several minutes...
Me: Do you need to go?
DD3: No
Me: Are you sure?
DD3: Oh-kay...I go do it.

She sits on the toilet and hears a tinkling...
DD3: You hear that? It's working Mom! It's working! I have wee-wee!

Happy 40th anniversary Sesame Street!

I must admit, I did NOT grow up with Sesame Street. I watched it sometimes in my youth but I do not have the same affinity to it as I do to Batibot, the local counterpart in the Philippines. Yeah, now songs from Batibot, they bring a smile to my face as memories come to mind. Kuya Bodjie, Ate Sienna, Pong, Kiko, Manag Bola atbp.

But I gotta hand it to CTW, the group that developed Sesame Street and also helped with the development of Batibot. Thank you for the hard work you put. You've touched so many children's lives all over the world. Great job!

Can you tell me how to get, how to get to Sesame Street?

International Digital Scrapbooking Day

Yup! It's a real holiday for us digiscrappers! All shoppes are having sales and different sites have planned a whole array of challenges and activities and contests. And we can all feel good that we're scrapping green - no wasted paper, we're saving trees. ;)

There's a lot going on at ScrapArtist too!

There are the sales of course!! And the debut of Anne Dejong as the shoppe's newest designer artist. Come check out the ScrapArtist shoppe and grab some of the beautiful kits you've been eyeing.

On the SA blog, there are 2 Scrapper's Guide CD/DVD tutorial giveaway - all you have to do is leave a comment to be entered into the drawing. Easy peasy, yeah?

Mothering Advice

I read this blog post last week and could not stop nodding my head in agreement. It is nice to be reminded of the important things once in a while.

Faith & Family Live! : This Mother's Rule of Ten

1. Touch them. It’s easy to get physical with your kids when their dimpled bottoms and chubby cheeks are just begging for you to pinch and hug them. When kids get older, though, it can be surprisingly easy to fall into a habit of skipping regular touches. Of course we moms are limited in what some of our big kids will allow, but we should make a good effort to show physical affection to each of our kids every day. Kiss them goodbye and goodnight. Put your arm around their shoulders. Offer hugs. Tousle their hair. Engage in some playful wrestling, even. Touch matters.

2. See them. In the blur of busy family life, it can be easy to lose sight of little details. Make an effort to really look at your kids and take in some of their tiny details every day. Gaze at the baby’s toes, note the greenness of your son’s eyes, and take in the graceful curve of the back of your daughter’s neck. They are fearfully and wonderfully made, these children of ours. We should pause every now and then to recognize that.

3. Hear them. Do you look your kids in the eye when they speak to you? This is not always possible, of course, but our kids really feel their worth when they don’t have to compete with a telephone, TV, or computer screen for our attention. If a child is telling you something, it’s worth interrupting whatever you are doing to look him in the eye and listen. Hard (at least for me) but definitely worth attempting.

4. Praise them. We sometimes get in a habit of only noticing and pointing out the negatives in our daily routines. We tell our kids what they forgot, what they neglected to do, and all the little ways they can improve. But children crave affirmation and approval from their parents. Shouldn’t the underlying theme of our daily interactions be one of unconditional love and acceptance? Even if there are negatives to talk about, make sure to look for and point out the positives—even the small stuff—on an ongoing basis.

5. Laugh with them. Laughter is a great stress reliever. Even when things feel their un-funniest, we can look for a way to poke fun at ourselves. We parents often take ourselves way too seriously. And guess what? Family life is funny. Don’t be afraid to loosen up and get a little goofy with your kids now and then.

6. Break the rules. Some of the most fun memories I have of time spent with my kids are the times when we “broke the rules” a bit. I let them stay up late or eat too much junk food or watch too much TV. As long as we are usually meeting the guidelines we set for ourselves, it can be a great change of pace and an easy way to make an event feel “special” when we make exceptions to our own rules and spend some time enjoying “indulgences” together.

7. Give them to God. Our kids belong to God first and foremost. In the busy-ness of our day to day living, however, we can fall into the habit of thinking everything—from their grades to their wardrobes to their dental health—falls on our shoulders. Remembering that God loves our children even more perfectly than we do and wants only what is best for them can relieve us of needless worry and anxiety. Give your kids back to God. And ask Him for the grace to help you raise them.

8. Decide what’s best for your family. And then just do it. Get comfortable in your own skin. You don’t have to raise your kids exactly like you were raised and you don’t have to do things like your neighbors do—even if you admire them. God made lots of different kinds of good Catholic families that live out the faith in lots of different kinds of ways. Find what works for you and ... go forth with confidence!

9. Love their dad. Children feel secure and loved when they see their parents loving one another. Give your kids the gift of a family founded on a happy, loving marital relationship. Let them see you loving their father and never let them hear you put him down, especially when you are angry.

10. Pray for them. Even if you pray with your kids, it’s important to remember to pray for them as well. Pray for their future spouses and vocations. Pray to their guardian angels for protection. And let them know you are praying for them in little things too. Telling them or leaving them a note that says “I prayed for you to do well on your test today” or “I have been praying that you will solve the problem you are having with your friend” will be encouraging to your kids—even if they are reluctant to admit it.

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What resonated with you? Personally, I feel I have to be better at #3. More often than not, I hear them along with all the other sounds that make up a family of 6. I really have to make time to look them in the eye and stop and listen and not always have to go, go, go.

If there was something I would add, it would be to enjoy them as they are now at the age they are. Sometimes, I pine for the baby days when they did not make as much of a mess or there was more peace and quiet in the house. Sometimes, I wished they were a little older because it seems like it's going to be so much easier to handle. In the meantime, I forget to enjoy them at they stage/age they are in. Before I know, they've passed that age and I wish I had enjoyed it more.So, yeah, I'm learning to enjoy them as they are.

SA Blog Train stop

Welcome to this stop of the ScrapArtist blog train. I'm glad you're riding along with us. Here is a QP I've made for you. You may grab it by clicking on the preview below. Hope you enjoy the treat.
Let's get the train moving along again and chug-chug your way into Karen's blog where she has another goody waiting for you. Happy Halloween!!!

'Twas a Dry Day

I don't wanna jinx anything but DD3 has managed to stay dry the whole day!!! Woohoo!! Yep, even when she took a nap. In the past, she would manage to keep herself dry in the morning but would ask to put back her diapers/pull-ups when she would get ready for her nap. I've tried to keep her diaper-free through her afternoon nap but always ended up wetting the bed - until today!!! I am sooo excited! Do I see the end of the diaper era in our home? LOL!

I'm actually pretty laid-back when it comes to potty-training the kids. I feel that when they're ready, the process does not become stressful. I've noticed that DD3 had been ready for a while now. I let her walk around the house uncovered because it was only then that she would go to the toilet when she needed to. When she was covered up (diapers or undies), she would not go to the toilet. There were a couple of times that she would walk in bath room too late but still insist on sitting down.

Well, it seems like she was finally ready today. I am happy, of course, but can't help but feel a little sentimental - my kids are growing up!!! Sigh...

Beautiful You

This page was inspired by the song "Beautiful You" by Jonny Diaz. The message of the song is really beautiful!!

"Little girl fourteen flipping through a magazine
Says she wants to look that way
But her hair isn’t straight her body isn’t fake
And she’s always felt overweight

Well little girl fourteen I wish that you could see
That beauty is within your heart
And you were made with such care your skin,your body and your hair
Are perfect just the way they are

There could never be a more beautiful you
Don’t buy the lies, disguises and hoops they make you jump through
You were made to fill a purpose that only you could do
So there could never be a more beautiful you"

It is such an important message to convey to our young girls. My own daughters have not doubted their own beauty yet and I really would like to keep it that way until they reach their teenage years and beyond.

Personally, I do have issues with my body. When I was in high school and even through college, I felt fat. I had never been the skinny type. I was curvy. But I look back at pictures of me back then and see that I had a beautiful physique. I was not fat at all! I wish somebody back then told me that.

Even today, I continue to have body issues. I may feel more confident but deep inside, I still have those same insecurities about my body, particularly right now. Funny how I read up on these different diets, weight loss secrets, cleansing diets, health supplements, colon cleanse reviews, latest workouts but never really follow up on any of them. I am not that motivated to do anything even when I know I absolutely have to! I read somewhere that sometimes deep in our psyche is a troubling voice that says we cannot do it even if we tried. Do I have that same voice within me? I hope not. What I do know is that it's a voice I do not want my girls to have within them.

"there can never be a more beautiful you..."

A Variety of Layouts

Haven't shared many scrapbook pages lately so here are some I've done in the past month or so. I'm happy that I'm at least able to scrap again - certainly not as often as when I first started. I'm aiming for at least a page a week right now. In the summer, even that measly number was not achieved! Ugh! But I think I'm learning to balance stuff right now so I'm able to create again. It really is such a stress reliever for me. As usual, to see my product/credit list for the following pages, you may go to my SA gallery or click on my Flickr set in the sidebar.
I've really been trying to scrap evenly among my kids but I just realized that I have not scrapped a page on DS for this year at all!! Tsk! Tsk! I don't get to take his picture very often anymore but I should. So my next challenge for myself is to scrap a page about him.
Just a note on the 3rd LO, those are pics of DH and his siblings when they were kids. I'm actually thinking about turning this into a picture tile to give as Christmas presents to them. I saw some granite tile in the home improvement store one time and I think the dark speckles of the tiles might be a nice background for the colors of this page. Hmmm...I can feel the idea machine churning inside my brain now. LOL!
Thanks for looking everyone and allowing me to share my art with you.

Moving into our 2nd Quarter

Would you believe that we are on our last week of the first quarter of the school year?! It's been 9 weeks already! How fast time has flown!

We're doing well. We have a daily routine now. I've become a lot more lenient too in regards to what time school officially starts. On paper, I had planned on starting at 9 am. On some days, however, I find that the girls are playing together so nicely that I let them be. They play house or other dramatic plays. They put puzzles together. Sometimes, they write and draw together. I really believe that this part of their learning. They are kids right now and they primarily learn through play. They may not classify it as school but I let them be because I know they are learning. It may not be paper and pencil academic learning but what they are doing helps their cognitive development somehow.

I am happy with the curriculum I am using. It seems to flow so easily. Sometimes, it feels too easy that I question whether I am doing it right or if my kids are learning anything at all. But then, one of them will come up to me and make a comment about a lesson we had learned a few days back. I can't help but smile and pat myself on the back, "See, they are retaining something!" LOL!

Our science lessons are very much hands-on. with a lot of experiments. The kids enjoy this a lot! Simple experiments that draws on their natural curiosity. "Will this sink or float?" Then sometimes, topics come up that are not yet in the lesson plan but we discuss anyway because they're interested. One such lesson was the water cycle. Somehow, they became interested in the rain and where it comes from, etc. I decided to explore that and discuss that with them instead of what I had planned for that day. I think that this is the beauty of homeschooling. We are free to follow the child's natural curiosities and use that to teach the children. Because we are not bound by what HAS to be taken up, we allow ourselves to move away from the planned path and discover new paths.

So, here's to discovering more with my kids. I am learning as much as they are!

Consumer Panel

I've been a member of a consumer panel for over a year now. It's a little different from the usual household surveys that I've encountered over the years. With this company, we are given a barcode scanner and are asked to scan all our purchases - groceries, clothes, home improvement stuff or anything that we buy that has a barcode. Every week, we are supposed to upload our data then we are awarded points that we can redeem for cash.

My younger brother who works in the Philippines was quite impressed that we had our own personal scanners. As far as he knew, our counterparts in the Philippines would have to list their purchases one by one. Now that would be tedious!!

Anyway, if you're interested in joining and are living in the US, let me know, ok?