I was wracking my brain the whole afternoon yesterday thinking of a gift, any gift for that matter, that my son Justin has given me. I can’t come up with anything material because my son is too young to understand the concept of giving mommy a gift. Right now, the only person he knows who should be given gifts is himself. LOL!

But my son loves me, that much I know. I’m the first person he wants to see in the morning when he wakes up. When I’m not beside him when he rouses from sleep, he calls for me to pick him up from bed or runs to me for our morning kiss-and-hug time. At night, he can’t sleep without mommy by his side who will sing to him his current favorite song, “You Are My Sunshine.” And even when I turn into a monster mom at times, he continues to love me without falter. Sometimes, I feel I don’t deserve his love because he doesn’t seem to remember my faults.

God has been kind to me because he gave me a son when I never thought I would conceive, a wonderful little bundle of joy who loves me unconditionally. I’m so blessed to have him in my life. He gives me so much joy (and headaches, too!) that yes, I would consider his love the most precious gift he has given me.

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When Justin reached the Terrible Twos stage, I found myself always raising my voice and hyperventilating because he was quite a handful then. My son is now 3 years, 3 months and 3 weeks old; he has officially entered the Troublesome Threes stage. He now knows what he wants and always wants to get what he wants. The more that we tell him to stop doing something, the more that he does it, perhaps to show us that he’s a big boy now and that he can do whatever he pleases. In short, he almost always gets on our nerves.

We used to spank him as a form of discipline, but when we learned about timeouts, we started using that tool instead. Parents can use timeouts to help their children regain control when they are angry or frustrated or when their children exhibit an extremely disruptive behavior. Parents can assign a place or a corner in the house where their children can stay for timeouts. In our case, we make Justin stand by our main door for 3 minutes. The 3 minutes here corresponds to his age.

When we put Justin into timeouts, however, we realize that he’s crying all the more, and he won’t stop unless we rescue him and take him away from his timeout place. To make his wailing stop, we put an abrupt end to his timeout. The next thing we knew he doesn’t take timeouts seriously anymore. Nowadays, when he would misbehave and won’t listen to Mommy, I will simply call his Daddy. I think he listens more to his Daddy because he knows his Daddy will never relent, unlike Mommy who easily gives in to his wishes.

How about you? How do you discipline your kids?

One of the places I’d like to visit is Bali, Indonesia. This island is famous for its sandy beaches, lush tropical forests, breathtaking rice terraces, and sacred caves and temples. Now is the perfect time to travel because air fares across the Asia Pacific region have reached record low. This means we get to see some of the world’s most beautiful cities at reduced rates.

I’ve been badgering my husband for an out-of-the-country trip for the longest time, and he says yes but only if we can find an inexpensive but cozy place to stay. Luckily, I found my lifesaver. I came across Accor Hotels 3-Day Super Sale Asia Pacific where travelers can take advantage of great savings when they book online from October 27 to October 30, 2009 for stays between December 9 and April 10. More than one million room nights will be on sale, and you can get room rates for as low as US$30 per night.

Accor’s various brands, such as Sofitel, Pullman, Grand Mercure, Novotel, Mercure, Ibis, and All Seasons are offering different rates so you have many options to choose from. Bali is included in the country list as well as Thailand, Korea, China, Japan, Hong Kong, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, New Zealand, Fiji, Indonesia, Taiwan, and India. Now, my husband doesn’t have a reason why we shouldn’t travel this year.

I received a text message yesterday that really brightened my day. It was the secretary of Justin’s pediatrician informing me that Justin’s chest x-ray result is negative. This means his lungs are clear, and he has no primary complex (tuberculosis for kids).

I’ve been getting worried because his cough won’t go away. He was diagnosed with upper respiratory tract infection last week of September and was given an antibiotic together with cough, cold, and anti-fever medicines. He’s still coughing after he’s done with his antibiotic and even after we’ve tried different cough remedies. Nothing seems to work.

Last Saturday, we went to Justin’s pediatrician again, and she confirmed what her reliever told me when we went to the same clinic two weeks ago. Justin’s breath sounds are clear; he has no phlegm and no wheezing. What Justin has is only allergic cough. Just to be sure, she said Justin needed to undergo chest x-ray, which turned out okay. Thank heavens!

Justin is now taking Montelukast. He was also given a different cough medicine that he’ll take for two weeks and new vitamins.

We all know that breast milk is best for babies. There are cases, however, where mothers could not breastfeed their infants, such as when the mother is sick and takes medications that may be harmful to her newborn. That’s when mothers resort to formula feeding. However, we should be wise in choosing what infant formula to give our babies. It should not only be nutritionally complete, but it should also be budget-friendly.

Did you know that store-brand formulas are as nutritionally equivalent to name-brand formulas? Parents can also save up to 50% when they buy store brand formula. Take Parent’s Choice, for example. This infant formula meets the nutritional guidelines set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Parents can also save up to $600.00 when they buy Parent’s Choice.

This is good news for many mothers out there because the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program is now reallocating funds for all currently provided foods, which includes infant formula. This could spell a 20-percent reduction in infant formula subsidies, which means parents will now have to shoulder the cost of infant formula, which had been previously paid for by WIC. This is the reason why WIC encourages breastfeeding now more than ever.

You’ll be glad to know that Parent’s Choice is currently on sale at Walmart. You can buy two cans for just $10.00. Parent’s Choice Milk Infant Formula 15.5 oz and Parent’s Choice Gentle Infant Formula 12.9 oz are now selling for $5.00 each. You need to hurry, though, because this offer is good for a limited time only.

Last Friday, Justin’s school celebrated Halloween, one week in advance because they’re having their midyear break from October 26 to November 3. Kids are encouraged to come to school in their Halloween costumes. In anticipation of this event, we bought Justin a skeleton costume two weeks ago, which we found out later was a little too big for him. We were in a rush to buy it at Toys R Us because Justin might find new toys in the store that he’ll ask us to buy for him again. LOL!

Because I don’t want my son to feel uncomfortable wearing an oversized costume, I bought him another one, a Zorro outfit this time. Too bad the costume didn’t come with a hat and a sword. He didn’t want to wear Zorro’s mask because it was a bit tight, although I managed to take a picture of him in school wearing it. And because they’ll be trick-or-treating in school, I also bought him a pumpkin basket for all the sweet treats he’ll be receiving.


My Little Zorro


With Teacher Gwen


With Teacher Kara


Wearing Zorro’s mask


Standing proudly with the other superheroes in school


His Halloween loot

Did my little boy enjoy his first trick-or-treating? You be the judge of that.

Do you have Charter digital? If you do, then you have On Demand. With On Demand, you can watch over 6,000 movies and shows anytime you want. You also get to see many of your favorite shows, like Heroes, 30 Rock, or The Office the day after they air on TV. What’s great is that you get to enjoy all of these things for free!

My husband is a movie addict. When he sees a film he likes, he wants to have a DVD copy of it as soon as one becomes available. Waiting for these film releases takes forever sometimes, and he gets frustrated when he doesn’t have access to his favorite movies. He’ll surely be glad to hear about On Demand.

My three-year-old son, on the other hand, loves watching Dora and Spongebob. The thing is he wants to see his favorite characters on TV whenever he feels like it. He doesn’t realize that these shows have specific air times. I think we’ll have lesser arguments now with On Demand.

You’ll also be glad to know that there are hundreds of HD shows on On Demand. Television viewing has never been this fun and exciting! You can learn more at charter.net/ondemand. You can also get updates and fun extras on Charter’s Facebook page.

Race of Bravenet Blog and Shy of Simple Happy Life gave me this Sister’s Week Tag. Thanks so much, sisters!

Start copying here:


Be the kind of women that when your feet hit the floor each morning,
The devil says "Oh Crap, She's Up."
Sister, life is too short to wake up with regrets.
So love the people who treat you right.
Love the ones who don't just because you can.
Believe in everything happens for a reason.
If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands.
If it changes your life, let it.
Kiss slowly. Forgive quickly.
God never said life would be easy.
He just promise it would be worth it.
Today is sister's day.

To the cool women that have touched my life.
this is for you.....LOVE U!!!

Rules:

Tag all your sisters, mothers, daughters, aunts, girlfriends,
Including me if I am like one. If you get tag back seven times, you are loved.
Happy sister's day! LOVE YA SISTA!!!
Girlfriend and sisters WEEK.

To all my sisters and girl friends in the blogosphere, please feel free to grab this very nice tag.

Kids, like adults, have bad days, moments where they display ill temper, anger, or frustration. When Justin was just a baby, he would have tantrums when the adults around him would not understand what it was he’s crying about. When he started talking (he talks well for his age, by the way), he had lesser tantrums because he could already express what he wanted. Now that he’s three years old, his tantrums are more an expression of frustration, such as when he doesn’t get what he wants because Mommy and Daddy forbids it or when he’s put in timeout, like the photo below. He hates timeouts because he knows he’s being punished for something he did wrong.


We made him stand by the door for 3 minutes after he misbehaved. He looks totally disheveled here.

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“Desperate times call for desperate measures,” so they say. In this time of belt-tightening and penny-pinching, people are always on the lookout for good deals, always finding ways to save their hard-earned money. Some would even try free products or services, such as free webhosting services.

Free hosting may look good on the outside, but it doesn’t come without a catch. Most free hosting sites will allow you limited control of your web site that will prevent you from making major changes that your business needs. Don’t be surprised, too, if free hosting providers will place advertisements on your site because that’s part of the whole package. What’s worst, free hosting doesn’t have support systems to help you when you have problems with your site.

I didn’t know much about these things until I researched about them myself. Knowing what I know now, I think I need a new web hosting provider for my blog. Web Hosting Geeks is a good place to start. This site provides valuable web hosting tips. It even has a list of the best web hosts for 2009, making it easier for you to find the most reliable web hosting provider for your blog or business site.

Spaghetti is one of Justin’s favorite foods. It’s no wonder then that he eats it with gusto. I have learned from my little boy that there is a fun and enjoyable way of eating spaghetti. Let these pictures show you how.


Inhale


Dunk


Shove


Burp

Is this how your child eats spaghetti, too?

I pride myself on having a very high tolerance for pain. I’m not really the type of person who would always resort to medications when I have body pains. The only time I take oral drugs or use topical solutions is when I can’t bear the discomfort any longer.

A few years ago, I went to see a doctor because I was having a tingling feeling in my right pinky finger whenever I’m working with my hands. It turned out I had arthritis. I was advised to stay away from certain foods, to put hot compress on the affected area, and to apply topical gel twice a day until the pain and swelling subside.

I know there are people out there whose tolerance for pain is too low that the only means to alleviate what they’re feeling is to receive medications. It is a known fact, however, that not all drugs are without side effects. Is it possible to relieve musculoskeletal pain without drugs?

The answer to that question is a resounding yes. Egoscue Inc., a pain management clinic, introduces a unique and highly effective program of providing pain relief. Instead of using drugs, surgery, or manipulation, the Egoscue Method involves stretches and egoscuecises (“e-cises”) that strengthen specific muscles in the body. This serves to properly align the body and help prevent musculoskeletal pain. They have clinics in the U.S., Mexico, and Japan.

Justin’s school celebrated United Nations Day early (October 16) because they’ll be having their midyear break in the last week of October. That means they’re also celebrating Halloween earlier (October 23). The students are supposed to have two costumes for both events. However, because of the recent typhoons that crippled many of our kababayans in the past weeks, the school administrators decided one costume is enough for both occasions.

Luckily for Justin, he has a Chinese suit at home that he can use during their United Nations Day celebration. It was the same Chinese suit that he wore on his second birthday. Of course, I took a picture of him wearing the same costume, and I was amazed at how my son has grown from an innocent-looking two-year-old tot to a naughty-looking (but still cute and adorable) three-year-old boy.


My two-year-old baby


My three-year-old young man
Do you think he looks Chinese?

As a mom, I always worry about my son’s health. I hate seeing him sick; that’s why I make it a point to monitor the food that he eats. For instance, I don’t usually include junk foods and candies in my grocery list. Instead, I try to incorporate healthy snacks into his diet because I know for a fact that good nutrition equals good health.

This year will be my son’s first time to go trick-or-treating. We already bought him a skeleton costume for Halloween. I know this will be a fun time for him because he’ll be receiving lots of candies and junk food, things that I usually deprive him and the very same things that young kids, like my son, find delightful.

Now, this got me thinking. Is there something we parents can include in our trick-or-treating fodder that kids will love and will be good for their health, too? I found the answer to my question in Trick or Treat Me blog. This site offers valuable healthy living tips even during the Halloween season.

One of the healthy Halloween treats we can give our kids is chocolate milk in shelf stable Tetra Pak cartons from Hershey’s and Organic Valley. Chocolates are a guaranteed hit among kids, while milk provides them with calcium, which is essential for strong bones and teeth. What’s more, cartons are made from paper and are recyclable, so this product is also good for the environment.

Parents can join in the fun, too, by sending a Halloween tweet to family and friends. So go ahead, Twick or Tweet Me. You’ll be glad to know that for every trick or treat you send out (up to $30,000.00), Tetra Pak will give a $10 donation to World Wildlife Fund.

We are certified mall rats. Our week isn’t complete if we haven’t gone to the mall to dine, shop, or play. Justin always looks forward to the end of the school week, Friday, because he knows that the next day is mall day. I have already posted most of our trips to the mall in my previous Mommy Moments' entries. I tried to look for pictures that I haven’t used yet in my previous posts, and I found these.


At Shangrila Mall when Justin was just 4 months old


5-month-old Justin at Tom’s World, Robinsons Galleria


At Glorietta Mall Activity Center


At Festival Mall riding a train


At Bigby’s (Megamall) with his Ate Ayie


Busy with the trains at At Toys R Us

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Mangosteen, a tropical fruit known for its exquisite flavor, is naturally rich in xanthones. Xanthones are biologically active plant phenols, which are known to prevent various diseases. Because the fruit contains more than 40 xanthones, mangosteen is known for its healing properties. It can ward off fatigue, prevent pain and inflammation, cure allergies, slow down aging, and prevent cancer among others. However, mangosteen is not readily available everywhere, which makes it impossible for others to avail of the fruit’s health benefits.

XanGo realized this problem and came up with a brilliant idea of capturing all the goodness of the mangosteen fruit and turning it into a delectable mangosteen juice that everyone can now enjoy. Made from high-quality mangosteen, XanGo Juice has no artificial flavors and colors and has no added sweeteners. You can be assured that you'll get all of the fruit’s nutrients with every bottle of XanGo Juice you consume. Place your order now and try this product for yourself.

Justin can now pee by himself in the toilet bowl, but our first attempt at making him wear briefs to school today was unsuccessful. When I was getting him ready for school this morning, I asked Justin if he wants to wear briefs when he goes to school. He said yes, and I was glad to do as told. I asked his teachers to assist him when he wants to use the bathroom and to ask him from time to time if he needs to pee.

I made my graceful exit afterwards and stayed awhile watching my son through their classroom window. I saw him playing with blocks (Their first 30 minutes in class, Mondays to Thursdays, is playtime). Then, he was talking to one of his teachers. Apparently, he forgot he wasn’t wearing diaper today. He peed in his briefs and pants.

I hurriedly went home to get him a new pair of shorts/pants. Good thing, his school is very near our place. When I came back, Justin was already back in his classroom wearing new briefs over his diaper. He wasn’t ashamed to be seen without his pants on because his usual getup at home is sleeveless shirt and diaper when he sleeps or sleeveless shirt and briefs when he’s awake.

I therefore conclude that Justin is not yet ready to wear briefs to school. We’ll try again next week. Wish us luck!

Are you an animal lover? Do you get affected when you see an animal being abused or maltreated? If given the chance, would you like to work in a place that involves caring for animals? Do you find animal welfare careers appealing? If you answer all four questions with “yes,” then Animal Welfare Jobs might just be what you need. At Animal Welfare Jobs, you can upload your resume for free and browse job openings in your preferred cities and states.

No, not me, but our five-year-old desktop computer. You see, our PC has acquired a very bad habit of conking out every once in a while. Without any warning, the monitor screen will shrink to about one-fourth of its original size, making it impossible to view the entire screen.


This has been going on for weeks, and this has caused major delays in my work. We found a temporary solution, though. We tilt the computer monitor left to right until the screen goes back to its normal size. We’re not really sure what the problem is. Could there be loose parts inside?

We’re not too keen on buying a new PC yet for as long as the one we have is still working. I’m not sure, however, how long our outmoded PC will hold out.

It’s my pleasure to receive this Most Inspirational Blog Award from Kat of Mom’s Place and ITravel.


Now, I’m passing on this award to my friends whose blogs inspired me as well.

Chris of Inspirational Insights
Enchie of Sweet Nothings
Mommy Jac of Mom’s Special Diary
Willa of Smart Mommy
Seiko of Seiko’s Diary