Sharing in a toddler's point of view

My husband and I taught (and constantly teaching) Lyle about sharing. "Share your toys with your baby brother", "Sharing is good" that's what we'll always say. This would be a perfect world if he will just do as we say and would always let his brother play with his toys. When Lance wants to play with the toys he is playing he will put it under the chair or table where his brother can't reach it - this is the reason why Lance is so good going under chairs and tables (see this very cute photo below) or sometimes he would give a toy to Lance but it's because it's not he's favorite and doesn't want it.

I remember a funny mommy experience, Lyle was playing with my umbrella  and I need to get it from him and when I'm taking it out of his hand he said "Mommy, share". He knows the concept of sharing its just that share means sharing things to him and not him sharing things to others. I did let him play with the umbrella because the moment called to lead by example. Sharing is a skill that develops over some years. Knowing that Lyle is just acting his age helps to keep us sane =) We just need to be patient and keep on teaching him and soon he'll get the knack of it. 

Budget and Savings

When your baby is born, your financial picture changes drastically. Now it's more important than ever to create, maintain and stick to a budget. You now have someone depending on you to keep the family financial matters in order. A well-thought-out budget will be your most valuable tool in managing the family money.

I came across this site and found the above lines in the first paragraph. Well, looking back when we had our first child the way we look and handle our money matters indeed changed drastically. We started creating a spreadsheet to make it easier to see and plan our budget. Making and planning a budget is the easy part. Sticking to our budget is the challenging part. As years goes by I can say we are getting wiser and smarter. At first the money we save is the amount that's left when all bills are paid and all expenses are made. Here is the formula: Savings = Total Income - Total Expenses. At end of each month we usually saved little or most of the times none. If in case, this is what you are still doing in handling your finances I suggest that you make changes as soon as possible. So after some trial and error and taking advises from books and friends the best way (for us) to save is to treat the amount we save as part of our monthly expenses and make it automatic. We opened a special type of savings account - MySavings account at POSB. In this type of savings account you choose the amount and savings date, and the savings will be made automatically each month. So when savings has been made we'll have to live within what's left - for bills, food, house rent, groceries and others.

A cute little boy - Rolando Ng III

I saw this video of Rolando Ng III in youtube. This was his performance last Saturday for the 3rd batch of semi-finalist. My youngest son Lance liked Rolando's performance. He sings and dance along during the entire song. But sadly he didn't made it to the finals because he lost to the Velasco brothers (whom are really deserving to get the seat at the finals). Rolando's best talent is his charm and being 'bibong bata' (smart kid). It broke my heart to see him go and his speech made me cry. Saying thank you and that it's okay even if he
had lost his chance to win. He has a big and understanding heart for a seven yr old. I can relate with his mom caught in cam raising her hands with two thumbs up and saying I love you to his son. The love and support of his mom is very much needed at that moment. Every child needs all the support and love from their parents.
But I have a feeling I wouldn't miss Rolando much because I'll be seeing him on TFC soon because FMG and Ms. Kris Aquino told him that he'll have a show in abs-cbn. I'll be looking forward to that =)

One Lazy Sunday Afternoon

It's a sunny Sunday today and the weather is good outside but here we are staying inside the house. Lyle and Lance are watching the tv "baby can read" videos and at the same time playing. Lance already had his afternoon nap and I'm waiting for Lyle to get sleepy and fussy (well that's his sign that's its time for his nap). It means that he had enough and got tired of the day's activities. He now only take 1 nap a day usually around 1 - 3pm while Lance takes 2 naps a day. Those naps are very important not just for them but for me too =) The house will be quiet for some time while they take their naps and I can do other chores or I can also take a mommy nap. More about naps here at BabyCenter (Naps: The Basics).


Here are some pictures I took while they are busy watching and playing.

Today is Mother's Day!

This day is specially dedicated to the very special woman in our lives - our mother. Don't forget to greet and show your love to your mom, grandmoms and all moms you know =)
Motherhood is an experience that opens your eyes and heart to how great and amazing life is. I started my journey as a mom since 2007 and I have learned many things I didn't know before and I know I still have a lot more learnings ahead of me. Many challenges will surely come along the way. May I be ready to face these challenges and be able to survive and strive to be good or even great mother to my kids.

Sharing this beautiful poem to my fellow moms.

Being a mother is wanting to pickup your children each time they fall,
but teaching them to pickup themselves instead.

Being a mother is wanting to keep your children from all hurt and harm,
but knowing that they must be taught to take care of themselves.

Being a mother is wanting to give your children the best of
everything,
but knowing they will value life more if they wait and work for many of
their rewards.

Being a mother is wanting to love your children with every aspect of
yourself,
but knowing that some of the best love is given quietly, secretly
and in ways that they can understand.

- Karen Kolpien-Bugaj

Swensens

It's my sister's off from work and since its been quite some time that we haven't spent much time with her since she started working some months ago we took the opportunity to go out and have dinner. I left office at 7pm and my sister together with my mom and 2 sons met me at Northpoint mall. We decided to eat at swensens, this is our pre-Mother's day celebration so it should be a bit fancy =) We ordered baked mussels, mega burger, beef lasagna and banana split for dessert. Lyle & Lance had fun playing with the balloon that was given for free. So they didn't mind even it took about 10mins before our food was served. See them playing in the video below.

Lance enjoyed the food he liked the fries and he tried the burger he also like the wafer that was on top of the banana split. But Lyle as usual didn't eat any, he busied himself playing and walking around. It's really hard for him to stay in one place for a long time. It's not easy to eat in a restaurant with a very active toddler. You have to be creative on how to keep him still or bring toys that will make him entertained for some time while you eat =) But overall we had fun and enjoyed our food.. burp! ^-^

Sense of Time

I receive a weekly email from BabyCenter.com for my babies' development and here's the mail I got for this week for my 2-year-old son:

Your child is just now beginning to develop a notion of time. She gets
the idea that things happened in the past and will happen in the future, and she
marks the hours according to her daily routine. Hey, it's a start! And while
she's learning this abstract concept, take time to teach her a concrete new
skill: Hand-washing. Doctors have found
washing hands to be as or more effective than antibacterial sprays — and it
hardly costs a thing.

My mom & I noticed that when Lyle asked to turn on the TV to watch his favorite shows and will tell which show he wants (special agent OSO, Dibo, little einsteins or tigger & pooh) when we turn on the TV he sometimes got it right because the one showed on TV is what he had requested. Now that's sense of time! About hand-washing Lyle already mastered this skill he would get a chair put it near the sink then turn on the faucet and wash his hands. My problem now is how to limit his handwashing because he would always wash his hands to get a chance to play with water. Well that's for another lesson =)

Lyle's art works

Lyle loves to watch Little Einsteins in disney playhouse channel. He likes to sing the theme song and I did search for the lyrics so I can sing with him. We sing this song so many times in a single day.

I printed out pictures from disney playhouse website and he colored them. I took pictures and here they are ^-^