I’m so blessed to have friends here in Prague who care. With my current situation now, having a newborn and a toddler to tend for, it’s difficult for me to go out anymore and meet up with them. I’m glad I have friends who take time to visit me and keep me company in spite of all their busy schedules. They have work, lesson plans to make, resumes to update and send out, families to take care of, etc. but they still remember me. They even cook or bring food so I don’t have to do the kitchen work myself. They know that there are times I can’t barely even cook for myself especially when both kids are awake. And they babysit for little Caity too! Caity on the other hand is overly excited and happy to have people in the house other than mama who can’t anymore give her all the attention she needs.

Lilian, the volunteer cook for the day.

And Caity with her playmates, Jane and Floe:

So whenever my friends ask me if they can come to the house, my answer is a big YES. Even if it means giving up my afternoon nap.

Today our little baby boy, Adrian Martin turned 3 weeks old. :)  I gave birth to him through Ceasarian operation in the morning of January 24, 2010, a week earlier than expected.  He weighed 3.5 kilos; 50 cm. in length.  His first few days were critical but he was able to get over it and thank God, he got better.  He was released a week after…

Our family of three has now become a family of four.  Weeee! Life might not be easy for M and I, especially for me who’s left alone at home most of the day to take care of the kids and do the house chores, but it sure makes me happy to have another addition to the family.

Caity, the big sister with her little bro.

I’ve been so busy lately (juggling house chores and breastfeeding every 2-3 hours), there’s sometimes not even enough time to rest.  I hope all these hard work will reduce belly fat or bulge. They said breastfeeding helps a lot in doing that.

After spending days in the hospital few weeks ago, I’m back to my daily routine at home now, but this time we have little A, our new addition to the family. Whew! Life’s getting busier every day for me. With all the tasks at home, I hope they’re enough to keep me active and lose those unwanted tummy fats. I am not considering bariatric surgery at least, but I do want to trim down my waist after giving birth to little A.

Every mom has her own style of coping up with her kids’ mess, whether it’s an ice cream smeared on a newly washed white shirt or red crayons scrawled all over the wall. Some mothers can be so strict even up to the point that the kids can’t enjoy being at home anymore, while other moms don’t mind the mess at all. I know a mom who keeps her house spotlessly clean and even her décors, indoor plants, televisions, computers and other appliances can’t be moved or touched. So just imagine how her kids feel so restricted at home, they can’t move about or else her interior design arrangements will be ruined.

IMO, for responsible parents, it’s a matter of keeping a balance. While it’s okay to be tolerant with kids playing at home, it’s also essential to teach discipline and inculcating in them a sense of responsibility and respect for order at home and learning how to keep things tidy. One good idea is to teach them how to keep and store their play things after a game or how to fix and arrange the room. If a kid did something wrong, e.g. doodled on the wall, or poured some sticky liquid on the floor tiles, don’t blow off your top, but just point out their mistake and let them clean it up properly instead of doing it yourself.

I’ve not heard much news from my beloved home country lately, but the most shocking mass murders of the Maguindanao massacre has not escaped me. It saddens me to think that this can happen in our country. This must have affected much the concerned families and the government as well. Though this may have occurred in a far-away remote place, still they are a part of us, being one as a Filipino.
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I’m back! Actually I’m home from the hospital (just delivered my second baby!) since last week but haven’t been online as regularly as I can because of the myriad of tasks piling up at home plus I’m taking care of two kids now. So aside from energetic little C, we have a new addition to the family, baby A and we thank God for answering our prayer that it would be a boy this time.

Hmmm…I wonder how the other busy moms cope up with the household chores and caring for their kids. I bet there won’t be time for extra activities such as taking up medical coding training courses or learning a foreign language. Well, unless they’ve got some househelp or babysitter to take care of the kids while they’re studying. For now, I am just enjoying being a second-time mom.

Let’s say your friend’s baby shower party is almost here and you’re still thinking about what to give. Well, I didn’t have this dilemma because I was the one expecting a child and my friends organized the party for me.

Here are some suggestions from a second-time Mom:
Baby pillows, blankets, and beddings
Diaper cakes (yes, they’re not only practical but cute as well)
Baby bath products
Terry washcloths, cotton towels, and burp pads
Car seat
Bob stroller
Baby hats, gloves, socks and booties
Baby books and educational toys

There you go! Just take your pick and choose something that’s creatively designed and baby-friendly. Hmmm… anything else to add to the list?

My little girl is growing up fast! And she’s still as active as ever. There’s never a moment that you can see her stay put in one place, except when she’s sleeping of course. She loves to sing and dance along with kiddie songs while watching the video. She still enjoys flipping through pages of books or magazines as if reading them.
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On the first month of my pregnancy, I looked like this:

Last month, you can see that my face has already become round :

And because it was the Christmas season, we were feasting on high-calorie foods here and there. Also with my sister and her family here at home, every meal was like a party.  It’s nice to eat along with a bunch of eaters with hearty appetite; something I don’t get to enjoy when it’s just me and Caity at home.

I kept telling myself that I’ll stay away from sweets and fatty foods and eat only foods that burn fat but I still failed. I’ll confess I’ve been eating a small piece of chocolate almost everyday. Huhuhu! Let’s see after giving birth if I’ll be determined in eating healthy again.

There’s a funny TV ad about a techie grandma who’s very much into computers. There’s one episode where she talked to her nephew on a webcam and mentioning some social networking sites, another ad showed her playing computer war games, and an ad where she ordered some techie stuff on the phone while asking for senior citizen discount! Lol. Cool grandma huh. I bet she’s not a newbie to the Internet and we can even learn some website infos from her such as SEO, page rank, Adsense or directory submission services. It’s nice to see the older generation catching up with technology instead of the narrow-minded “I don’t need to learn that” attitude.