How My Day Off Went

After debating on whether to go out shopping, or tend to my yard, or update my blogs, I finally ended up going out with my two girlfriends to eat and shop. I called my 'adopted sistah' Lea to ask her if she wanted to go out shopping with me, but she was not picking up. I thought that maybe she was in the office again working on a Saturday, yikes! 'Oh what the heck, I will just go shopping alone' I said to myself. I should better get ready before the day is over. As soon as I got out of the shower, my phone rang, it was Lea asking me out for lunch. She picked me up and then we picked up another gf Joan, and we went to eat in a Japanese resto. I didn't know that it was a belated birthday treat for me. So thanks guys for treating me to my fave food, I had a great time. Then we went shopping at DSW and TJ Maxx.

But while at the resto, I kept looking at my watch and wondering where my two boys were and what they were doing now. Hb told me not to call them to check every 20 minutes ;-), that's how I am sometimes - I'm physically present in one place but my mind is at home worrying about my son. Anyway, I called hb after we shopped and then he told me to invite the two girls over for some impromptu cookout. He grilled some back ribs, boiled some corn and tossed some salad. Wow, it was really a perfect day for me, I love having day offs like these. I guess I should make this a regular Saturday event, LOL.

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Great Way To Earn For Mommy Bloggers

For stay-at-home-moms like myself, home-based-business or working-from-home is a much preferred way of working because not only can we still be on top of things at home especially with our kids but we can also earn some money on the side. With blog advertising becoming the trend nowadays, bloggers are mushrooming like crazy. People who are maintaining blogs just to write about their personal journeys or about their hobbies and making crafts are now blogging for money.

Ever since I became a stay at home mom, most of my time is spent rearing my son. But on my spare time that is, when my son is taking a nap or after his bedtime, I can freely do anything in my computer and blogging is my outlet to keep my sanity in place. Writing is my passion and I find that blogging is a perfect avenue for me to express what's on my mind and earning some dollars is a great bonus that comes with it. I don't feel guilty leaving my son with other people so I can work somewhere. I can earn money right at home and still spend quality time with my son.

So what are you waiting for mommy bloggers? Hop in the band wagon now. If you maintain a blog and you love to write, why not put it to a profitable use? Join SocialSpark now and earn some money doing exactly what you love. Work from home, raise your children and make some money - what a perfect scenario!

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It's Good To Be Alone!

It's Father and Son Day today, my two 'boys' are out to Arnold Arboretum in Boston and mommy was not invited, thank God! ;-). Well, I've been in a dilemma lately where my son is always clinging to me, he doesn't like playing by himself and he wants interaction all the time. Even if daddy is around he still wants mommy. It gets to a point where he whines when he sees me falling asleep on the sofa while playing with him, LOL. Who wouldn't be? I don't blame him. But mommy gets so exhausted keeping up with a toddler full of energy! This week we were out most of the time to the park, to swim at a friend's house, to visit old friends and to playdates. I talked to hb and told him he should spend more time with our son especially during the weekends to break the routine of Mikey always wanting mommy. So there.

I have the house to myself, but I'm thinking of what to do with my day. Part of my brain is telling me to go to the yard and tend to my plants; but another says 'hey pamper yourself!". Oh well, maybe I will just go out to shop till I drop. I will just savor this day when there is no little guy grabbing my arms, pulling my hands and wrapping himself around my legs. Oh its just so good to be alone!

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Auto Body Tucson

Nobody would want to be in a car accident, but no matter how careful one drives accident may still happen in a flash. Don't trust your damaged car to just any auto body shops, choose an expert that can restore your collision damaged vehicle to its pre-accident condition, go to auto body tucson.

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Our Week

This has been a busy week for Mikey and I. I am making the most of the warm weather by taking him outdoors which he loves. We went to different parks; went to lunch with other moms and playmates and were invited to swim in another friend's pool. Today we visited my dear friends whom Mikey calls 'wowo' (for Lolo - grandpa) and 'wowa' (for Lola - grandma). They are very nice and sweet people, they took us to a very nice park with zoo today and we had lunch in their house. We had such a good time. Mikey loves visiting them, he enjoys playing with 'wowa' who is very fond of him.

At a local park, Mikey likes being around with older kids.

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Strawberry Picking

Last week Mikey and I attended a strawberry picking event in Ward Berry Farm together with our group 'Moms and Little Ones'. It is strawberry season once again and the weather was just perfect. There was a big crowd in the farm wanting to get the first chance to pick the best strawberries. Mikey and I were there ahead of everybody else but already the parking lot was filled and we had to park all the way to the end. Mikey got excited to see actual tractors for the hayride but was not happy about the roaring sound of the engine he kept covering his ears when they pass by . Then one after the other, the other moms and their kids arrived in time for our 11am time slot for the hayride.

We had several stops in the farm as part of the tour where the guide showed us the different produce that they grow in the farm. Each stop, Mikey would pull me by the hand crying and begging me to get off the ride. He kept saying 'out'. And each time the engine would start again he will cry helplessly. Poor thing didn't really like the engine's noise. Anyway, when we got to the strawberry patch, most strawberries left were either unripe or squished. We got very few good ones and Mikey got most of them. At the patch, Mikey was still cranky but still followed my cue for photo ops ;-). After the hayride, we had snack in the picnic area and Mikey enjoyed it most of all. He played with his Korean friends Daniel and Alex.

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Pregnancy Pact Among Teenagers

I heard in the news today how some teenage girls in one Gloucester MA high school made this ridiculous pact of getting pregnant and raise their children together. Some of these young girls are in their freshman and sophomore years and obviously don't even realize the big responsibility of being a parent. Apparently, some got themselves pregnant by guys in their 20's, one even got pregnant by some 24 year old homeless guy. So do we hear statutory rape in the offing here? Talk about how the minds of teenage immature girls can be manipulated with these crazy thoughts - of wanting to get pregnant at the same time. Getting pregnant is one thing, raising a child is another. I just wonder where their parents were all those times. Do parents have some kind of accountability here? Do they even still communicate with their young children nowadays? I wonder if parents and children still see each other eye to eye on family values?

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Click to Give Free Mammograms

If you haven't done mammogram yet, I'm sure you wouldn't have a clue at how much it costs to get this procedure done. Even if my insurance covers for the cost of the procedure anyway, I still find it very expensive. I always wonder how other women who are low-income or perhaps without other means of getting medical attention would ever get this procedure. Mammograms are among the best early detection methods of breast cancer, yet 13 million US women 40 years of age or older have never had a mammogram. If detected early, the 5-year survival rate for breast cancer exceed 96%.

All of us can help these poor women get a mammogram with just a click of the pink button, and without any cost to us. Yes it is all FREE! Click the image above to take you to The Breast Cancer Site and you now have the chance to click once a day to give free mammograms. For every click that you make, a site sponsor will pay and mammogram funding is provided to clinics throughout the US through the efforts of the National Breast Cancer Foundation. If clicks reach 8 million, the site sponsor Bare Necessities will donate $10,000 for more free mammograms. The Breast Cancer Site needs our help, please spread the word, Click for Free Mammograms, it is totally free!

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Father's Day Weekend

DIMSUM, FRIEND, SHOP, ICE CREAM, CHURCH
Saturday, we went out to lunch at our fave dimsum resto again (you must be getting tired of reading about us eating at this resto huh ;-), we're just dimsum lovers). We didn't pass by the Oriental store like we always do, I still got tons of food in the fridge. And then we stopped by at my friend Lanie's place to drop some chairs and table that she was borrowing. We were supposed to just stop and go, but decided to hang out for a little bit. We've been thinking of buying a small kiddie pool for Mikey and we saw the pool that they've got and it is exactly what Rob was looking for, so off we went to Target to get one. But unfortunately, they didn't have this one, and hb didn't want to go anywhere else, so we just put it off for next weekend. Hb was hurrying to get home to finish up with his school project. But since I've been nagging him to go to Flint Farm for some home made ice cream, he couldn't refuse me so there we went. It was a bit crowded, we parked along the road already. Aside from fresh produce and other garden needs, Flint Farm is popular for their freshly made ice cream. I got Chocolate Kahlua with Brownie and hb got his favorite Black Maine Bear. Mikey hasn't acquired a taste for ice cream yet. Its so funny how he puckers up when the cold ice cream touches his lips. He also doesn't like candies and chocolates. He prefers fresh fruits, which I really appreciate ;-). After that we went home and rest for a while and then got ready to attend the 5:30pm anticipated mass.

FATHER'S DAY, HAMBURGERS, GET-TOGETHER
Sunday morning, as soon as Mikey woke up we surprised his dada with a musical card and a gift of 4 different color shirts. Hb was thrilled but Mikey was even more thrilled, he kept opening and closing the card to hear the music over and over until dada can no longer stand it, LOL. We hanged out with dada in bed for a while and then decided to get ready for a little cookout. We planned to grill some hamburgers for lunch instead of going out to eat again. I called up my close friend Josie's hubby Jason to greet him and then invited him over to join us for lunch. He's just by himself since Josie and daughter are still on vacation in the Philippines. Then I called my 'adopted sister' Lea to join us too, she just came back from her vacation herself and we were glad to see her again. We had fun time eating and chatting at this impromptu cookout.

How did you celebrate your Father's Day weekend?

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Autism's False Prophets

There's a new book called Autism's False Prophets - Bad Science, Risky Business and Search for a Cure written by Dr. Paul Offit, MD. In this book Dr. Offit will show the reader the incredible history of how greedy lawyers, doctors, and unknowing parents have helped prevent the search for the real cause of autism. Dr. Offit is a pediatrician specializing in infectious disease medicine, an internationally known expert on vaccines, immunology, and virology, the Maurice R. Hilleman Professor of Vaccinology, Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania, Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, and the Director of the Vaccine Education Center at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. He developed a vaccine for rotavirus.

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Tribute To Dad

SPECIAL TRIBUTE TO THE GREATEST DADA

Hb is not the most patient person I know, but when it comes to Mikey at home, he seems to have tons of it. Hb and Mikey are both very fond of each other, "dada" was actually the first word that Mikey uttered. He likes goofing and horsing with Mikey around - playing rough is their game. Hb likes doing silly facial expressions and funny sounds too that Mikey enjoys and loves to mimic. Hb likes sitting Mikey on his lap when he works in the computer, and even taught him how to plug and use the earphone and roll the mouse around. Whenever hb does little handy work in the house, Mikey is his audience watching intently while he installs wires or fixes cabinet doors and explains to him what's going on. I know this is silly but when Mikey was still very young, I was not comfortable leaving him with hb alone, but then I realized that hb is in control and Mikey is actually more behaved when around dada ;-), he knows dada means business all the time. Hb is always thrilled when bedtime comes and Mikey gives him a big hug and a wet goodnight kiss. I know that hb is always busy at work during the week but I'm proud that he always makes up on weekends to spend time with us. To the best dada to our little one, happy Father's day, we love you!

Fun time with Dada

Learn and play time with Dada

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Calling All Parents

After a long exhaustive week, I look forward to weekends when hubby will not work and we can spend family time together with our little toddler. Time spent together is the most precious time of all. Unless really necessary or if my family can go, I usually don't accept invites on weekends when we can bond, get together and have some fun family activities together. I always come up with things to do with family to make it more exciting or read through family oriented website to get some ideas. At RD.com - Family Life, there are tips on how to create a happy, healthy, and stress-free household to make the most of our family time. This is really great!

From all their useful and practical tips, I was interested with the less-stress family vacation. We are really big on vacation and since summer is almost here, it means going out of town or out of the country. This year will be different though, we are traveling for the first time with our little son, and some great tips will really help. While it can be very exciting for my husband and I, I'm not sure about how my little tot would handle it. I am more interested on the safety issues and keeping the vacation happier for everybody. According to the Rd.com tips, young kids are notoriously difficult to keep restrained, prone to embarrassing temper tantrums, capable of getting lost in a flash, and exhausting to themselves and their parents. Yet this age group does very well when scheduled activities are short in duration and allow for plenty of movement and time to investigate and ask questions. Activities that take advantage of a young child's natural sense of curiosity and wonder -- hands-on museums, nature walks, zoos and farms -- are ideal. If you take the time to view the world through your child's eyes instead of trying to get your child to view it through yours, everyone will invariably be happier.

Safety is another big issue with kids, they're fast, they're small and they're oblivious to their limitations, which means some environments pose major threats to their well-being. Dangers can be minimized by taking preventive measures, like using a stroller to keep a toddler safe at a crowded theme park; a Coast Guard-approved flotation device is literally a lifesaver for children around water. We are also planning to do some camping. Outdoor trips can be exciting but may pose hazards. Be sure to stay in an established campground in a national or state park where you can still enjoy nature but have access to roads, phones and nearby medial facilities.

As a first time parent, the tips about RD.com - Parenting really come handy. Even if I'm equipped with books on parenting, personal experiences you read from other moms are still the best tool to consider as guide to parenting. Parenting is really a great challenge for any parents and Rd.com offers tips on how to make it more exciting and easy. I love that article on Inspire Your Kids, 7 things to say or not to say to your kids. You just have to watch what you say in front of a toddler because just like mine, he mimics and repeats words he hears from us, so it is best to be wary about words coming out of our mouth. At Rd.com it gives you the proper way of saying things that your children can understand.

Reader's Digest has great must-read tips to make family time meaningful and enjoyable and to make us better parents.

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Obsessed With Cars andTrains

My son is obsessed with cars and trains. Whenever he's in the car with me, he would scream 'kah' or 'choo-choo' when he sees cars passing by and when we get to the train station. Funny how he drives his books and other toys like cars. He sees everything as cars or trains. 'Car' was one of his very first words. He can sit forever just browsing through his books about cars. When he sees a picture book and gets to the picture of a car, he would scream 'car'! I guess boys are like that, I wonder what his interests would be when he gets to pre-school?

Screaming 'choo-choo' as he took the train's parts apart, uh-oh!

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AccuCharge Way of Cleaning

As a mom I always find ways to simplify my life especially when it comes to cleaning so I would have more time to spend with my toddler. Finding the right cleaning tools can be a daunting task because there are numerous cleaning gadgets out there that promise a lot of things but always fall short of their effectiveness to clean. Thanks to Dirt Devil for their latest product called AccuCharge Stick Vac and Hand Vac which use 70% less energy - making AccuCharge the first cordless cleaning technology to earn Energy Star approval.

With the economy's downturn and the prices of prime commodities skyrocketing, anything I could do to save money I would, to help in the household expenses. I would alternate between manually sweeping the kitchen floor and using the bulky vacuum cleaner to hopefully save money. But I guess I'm just hurting my back more than I'm saving even a penny. Thank heavens for the arrival of AccuCharge. Cleaning swiftly and conveniently using AccuCharge is really an icing on the cake and saving energy is the cherry on top! Using Dirt Devil AccuCharge is definitely the better way to save energy. You will never look at cleaning as a chore anymore, AccuCharge way of cleaning is the way to go!

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My Special Day

I was back and forth about whether I will write a post about my birthday today. And since my brain is not working for some reason and not up to writing any paid posts, (oh well it is because I was upset about Celtics losing Game 3, LOL) maybe I'll just make the most of this time when I can't still sleep anyway.

I celebrated my birthday very quietly this year. I woke up early to go to church and thank God for all these years full of blessings and bliss. There were few bumps along the way but there's no reason to complain, blessings are really outpouring. When I came back from church, I got a bunch of red roses and a funny card from hb and my little one. Hb is fond of giving funny cards, he's not the hopeless-romantic-kind-of-a-guy when it comes to giving cards, instead he's the crazy funny one. And then I got myself and Mikey ready for Gymboree. At Gymboree Mikey was not in his element, he was sweeter and clingy and didn't care much about the play. That must be his birthday gift to mommy, to hug and be closer.

Hb worked from home today to celebrate the whole day with me. And since I've been craving for Japanese food since over the weekend, when hb asked me where I wanted to go for lunch, I told him anywhere with sushi and sashimi. We have a local seafood resto in town called Fresh Catch that serves Japanese food as well, so I settled for that one. Hb couldn't go anywhere far because obviously he needed to work from home. Then we went back home, put Mikey to bed for his afternoon nap, I actually took one myself too ;-). When we got up, we went to McDonalds for a snack and blew some bubbles in the yard afterwards. Thank you hb for making this day more special.

I was thrilled to get a lot of birthday greetings from friends from way back, as far as Spain and Rome. Old colleagues from the bank where I used to work for called me overseas last night; another sent e-mail and another left a message in my voice mail. I got a call today from my brother in HK and a text message from my sister in the Philippines. Then some friends sent e-mail greetings and others YM messages and Chikka texts. And then of course I got snail cards from my family, friends and relatives. I can't thank them enough for remembering me on this special occasion.

I thank God for all these forty four years of my existence!

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Lap-Band Surgery

If you are from Cincinnati, OH and you think that obesity surgery is the last route to take to losing weight, and yet hesitant to take the plunge, JourneyLite can help you make an informed decision to go for it. It offers a comprehensive weight-loss surgery program that will guide you through every step of your journey - from evaluating whether the LAP-BAND system is right for you, to finding an experienced lap band surgeon Cincinnati, to insurance approval, and extensive follow up and aftercare that is specially tailored for you. At JourneyLite Cincinnati, your success is always in their mind. Enroll now for a free seminar.

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Sunday Brunch

Today, we went for a brunch at our fave China Pearl in Quincy. We haven't been there for a while and hb woke up craving for some dimsum, so he asked me if we can go there early for a brunch. I've been craving for some Japanese sushi and sashimi myself, but I guess dimsum would be a great alternative for now. There's no good Japanese resto close by, we have to drive to Boston just to get authentic sushi and sashimi and hb was not up for a long hot drive.

China Pearl gets really crowded very early, so we left around 10:30am to get there by 11am. At this time of the year when the weather is scorching hot, driving out can be really a hassle not to mention finding the perfect place to park the car. We drove around looking for a spot under the shades of trees, even if its a bit far from the resto. We found one and it was worth the walk.

See how Mikey bites steamed shrimps wrap with gusto!


His favorite of all is spring roll, he can finish 4 pieces of this skinny one.

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Luau Time With Friends

Weekends are always family days. I seldom accept invites on weekends unless it is really necessary or when the three of us can go together. You see hb is always busy at work during the week and weekends are the only quality time spent with us, so we make it a point to have some fun family time together.

Today, we were invited to our friend's 50th birthday celebration and the theme of the party was Luau. Finally after drizzling rain during the week, the weather finally got much better but was in the 90's and very humid. You get very sweaty and sticky when you stay out for a while and even after exerting very little effort. I was out most of the time watching the kids dipped in the kiddie pool. You wouldn't believe how cold the water was but the kids were having a grand time, it was very hot afterall. They were screaming while splashing and stomping in the water. There was a slide with water jet too, so the two girls kept switching from pool to slide and Mikey would slowly follow. But he didn't like the water spritzing to his face so he'd motion to go back to the pool. After the kid's pool time, we went in for some snack and went out again for some photo ops. Then we sat on the grass, had some chips and watched the adults played voleyball. We had really great time at the Bargan's as usual and we enjoyed their company, their hospitality and generosity.

Mikey with Shannara and Elisha

Mikey screaming really loud while Elisha made a big splash


Dada pushing hesitant Mikey to the slide


We wish we were this skinny ;-)

There were at least 2 people taking shots so we're looking at different way ;-)

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Finally A Tearless Haircut

Yesterday Mikey got his third haircut at Stylin' Kids and I was so proud of him because unlike the first two ones he's had where he cried from beginning to end, this time he was so calm, cooperative and very relaxed. It only took maybe less than 5 minutes to finish the cut. He just moved some when the hairdresser used a razor to even out his sideburns and the back of his head, but didn't cry anyway. He was happy after the haircut because he got to pick out a duck from the fish pond with corresponding toy prize. He got a yellow car, just perfect to make his day.

He was entertained with a Mickey Mouse toy

Tina using a razor on his sideburns made him uncomfortable and distracted

Ta-daa, the new Mikey, he looked like a big boy now

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From Playpen To Crib

What a relief when your tot willingly goes to his crib without a fight to take his afternoon naps. He used to take naps in the playpen downstairs in the family room. But when he started climbing out to escape, I decided to fold it up and train him again to sleep in the crib. It was a battle during the first week and he would scream and cry himself to sleep. I was firm and didn't mind the crying although I was close to the monitor listening. He'd cry for two minutes and then dozes off to sleep. Oh what a relief. Napping is easy as 1-2-3. I let him press the button to play the lullaby cd; kiss and hug him and then put him in the crib and leave. He naps for two precious hours. I look forward to his naptime and bedtime because then I can do something else.

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Monday at the Zoo

Yesterday, we joined a meetup event with my group "Moms and Little Ones" at the Capron Park Zoo in Attleboro, MA. The weather was really nice, very warm with a little cool breeze, thank God! The little ones really had a great time not only with the animals but with pushing the strollers around. Funny, boys are fascinated with pushing the strollers instead of sitting in it, not wary at all about hitting anything and people too. So you could just imagine how we chased after them.

Anyway, Mikey was looking for monkeys because he adores Curious George but we didn't see any, at least not in the area where we went. I saw on their website that they have snow monkeys though. So he just settled to sit in a coin powered car next to a monkey! We had fun time and stayed for quite a while chatting with moms while kids were at play. It's good to have this kind of moms event and have some adult talks once in a while.

Feeding the goat

Up close with a Llama

With the other kids looking at a big bird

Looking through a dinosaur's peek hole

Sitting next to a monkey in a coin powered car.

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