Getting Used to Potty

When at home I only put training pants on my little tot to encourage him to use his potty. It's been successful so far, he would always tell me if he wants to go pee-pee. But the poo-poo part is another story. He wouldn't and couldn't go even if he really needs to. But as soon as I put a diaper on him, he would go right away.

Today he earned two stars for staying dry at naptime and at church. He managed to not wet his bed during naptime even if he was just wearing training pants. Then when we went to church he was also just wearing underpants and no accidents happened. I'm really so proud! Since he earned enough stars, he got a reward. I gave him few pieces of M & M's and he was ecstatic. I have this reward board on the fridge where I give him stars for good behavior and achievements. He even reminds me to stick a star on the board when he hears me say that he earned one.

And just today he started peeing standing up. I hope that poo-poo in the potty will come sooner.

Little tot enjoying some M&M's that he's dispensing himself.

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A Fruitful Sunday, Nevertheless

We were supposed to still try our luck on Duck Tours in Boston today, but hb was tied up on the phone. He was up all night on a 'bridge' with his co-workers and client monitoring the system-upgrade they installed recently. He must have been on the phone for over 12 hours, so he was really tired. But even as he dragged the phone (on mute) around the house for long hours, we still managed to enjoy the day. We played in bed with the little tot who loves to crawl up and down his dada's tummy. Little tot endlessly requested to do the "Five Little Piggies" on his toes and then did it too with his dad's. He was very thrilled, his laughter was infectious. Then at naptime, little tot even requested that both dada and mommy took a nap with him too, so we did.

While my two boys were asleep I snuck out to continue packing and do some more chores. I didn't want to leave any chores for hb to do anymore. I got so exhausted making the house spick and span that it would have been nice to rest my back on one of those comfortable outdoor chaise lounges on the deck. But since it was very hot and humid, I just decided to stay indoor with a/c. It's good that I've done enough chores before little tot woke up, he took my time away from everything in a flash. After an afternoon snack and play we all then got ready for the 5pm mass. Even if what we've planned for the day didn't materialize, it was still a fruitful day nevertheless.

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Weekend at New England Aquarium

This weekend will be our last with hb because in three days my little tot and I will be flying to my homeland Philippines. Hb has been so busy with out-of-town business trips that we seldom get time to go on our regular weekend family outings. So yesterday we went to Boston originally to go on Duck Tours but unfortunately all trips for the day were sold out. So we decided to drive to NE Aquarium instead. It was a hot and humid day, and the line to ticket booths was very long. We waited for a good 30 minutes in line before we got our turn to get the tickets.

I felt a little bit claustrophobic inside the aquarium because it was really full packed, so we decided to grab something to eat first and hoped that people would ease out when we come back. We walked to Faneuil Hall and dined at Kingfish Hall. Hb and I had Fish and Chips and I must say it was the best we had in New England so far, just enough batter and so much fresh fish in it. Little tot had Mac and Cheese with orange slices on the side. The Mac and Cheese was very salty to our taste so we asked them to change it to something subtle for my little tot's palate.

After our lunch we were ready for our under the sea adventure in the aquarium. Little tot was very high with energy and didn't want to be held anymore. But the place was still full with spectators that he would get lost easily in the crowd, so you can just imagine how stressful it was to run after him. Anyway, little tot had the best time of his life. At one exhibit, he suddenly screamed "Look at Nemo!" pointing to a clown fish in a tank. That made the people around us laugh. His favorites were the penguins, turtles, sharks, jelly fishes and stingrays.

Here are some of the shots I took of our weekend outing.

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Fun at the Summer Camp

I only have exactly three days left before we leave for our two-month vacation. While I'm busy getting ready for this long vacation, my son is also busy with his summer camp. It's good to have a 3-hour free time to myself, I can do as much errands and chores as I can. He's been attending the camp for three weeks now and he's really enjoying it. Though we're already leaving on Wednesday, I still enrolled him for next week. He can still attend two more days of fun play and other activities, while I still have more time to finish up packing.

The camp has different themes every week, and each day he comes home with different projects he made himself. The team for the first week was all about the beach and he came home with art projects like treasure chest with sparkles, whale's tale with water color, bottle aquarium, and fish art. The second week was about going green where he planted peas, made organic key chain and coin bank. The third week was about camping and he glued cut out pictures on a a cut-out paddle and water-colored fish cut-out. Next week will be about outdoor games.

He's ready for another fun day at the camp.

Playing at the water table.

At home, showing off the art projects he made at the camp.

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Tight Schedules

Days really fly by so fast, I can't believe my son completed a week of summer camp already. Believe it or not when I took him to his second week at the camp today, I was teary eyed again. Well, maybe because hb is also not home, he's away on business trip again and he'll be back on Thursday. Hb works from home most of the time when he's not out-of-town. Last week, both of us brought and picked up our son from the camp. Our son was actually the only one with complete set of parents there with him all the time. Now that hb's away, I'll be in my lonesome. Actually he will be home for only two days only to leave again for another 4-day trip. I wish we could squeeze in our plan for some Florida vacations before we left for our trip to the Philippines, but hb's schedule is really tight. Hopefully when we get back in two months we can still push through with it.

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We Will Miss Dada

Two of the nice traits that I love about my hb are his thoughtfulness and generosity. He always gives me something special on my birthdays or on our anniversaries. He used to give me jewelries and one of my favorites was a heart pendant necklace that I wear on special occasion. But for the past years, he's into electronic gadgets like GPS and Nintendo DS. On my birthday last month he gave me a personalized red Sony Vaio laptop.

I'm not in any way bragging about the things I receive, actually even if it is as simple as a funny card from him, I'm already very happy. But I just want to brag about how wonderful to have a hubby like him. My little tot and I will surely miss him when we leave for our vacay in few weeks. It's our first time to be apart for two long months. Yesterday, he was thinking about following us in September. Hopefully his new boss will let him take some time off to join us in the Philippines.

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4th of July Cookout

Over the weekend we had a great 4th of July celebration with some of our close friends. I was so glad that Saturday was spared with thunderstorms despite having a lot of them the days before. It was a potluck party and we had as many desserts as we had main dishes ;-). We grilled pork ribs; chicken bbq; and mixed veggies. We also had Pancit (sauteed noodles); corn on the cob; green salad; Sinigang na Butu-buto (Ribs in Tamarind Soup); white rice and Indian rice. Desserts were fruit salad; cassava cake; purple yam; ice cream cake; key lime pie and leche flan.

While my son enjoyed strumming the guitar with Tita Pin, the adults enjoyed the show and fireworks display on TV. Some friends left at past 11pm and I'd say we had a great laugh and time together. Here are some of the pics of the get-together.

Little tot with one of his girlfriends, Paulina

Little tot is a regular audience of Tita Pin when she plays the guitar.

Cheers for America!

Watching the fireworks display on TV.

This is part of the group posing for a pic at the deck.

Wait 10 seconds and say cheese, don't blink!

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Take Your Website to Higher Rankings

I used to maintain several websites just for fun without thinking about the technicalities of increasing rankings or maximizing search engine optimization. But with the trend nowadays of generating income through ads and posts, it seems that better ranking and improved SEO are very important factors in keeping websites more competitive.

There is a free independent website called FreeWebDirectories.org that offers free directory submissions that will strategically help you build links to the right web directories. There are hundreds of free web directories at FreeWebDirectories.org where you can receive essential web directory links without any requirement for reciprocal links. The tools provided at FreeWebDirectories will let you submit your website to as many web directories as you require. This process will definitely help you maximize search engine optimization thus increasing the ranking of your sites.

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I Had Separation Anxiety

My little tot started his first day of summer camp yesterday. Hb and I were as excited as he was. For the past days he's been pretending like he's going to school carrying his new backpack and lunch box around the house. I prepared him well so he will look forward to the day. I told him he will have a great time playing with other kids; doing arts and crafts; listening to stories and most of all playing in a 'giant' sand box.

I woke up early and got his lunch box ready. I made him heart-shaped ham and cheese sandwiches; some apple slices; and few pieces of wheat crackers. He's got a bottle of water; a little thermos of cold apple juice; and change of clothes. I was praying that he won't cling to me and cry. As soon as we put his stuffs in the cubbyhole, he darted towards the play area and forgot about me. I kissed him goodbye and couldn't control my emotion. I cried! I was the one having separation anxiety ;-).

I didn't think it would be this hard to leave him in the care of other people without me hanging around. But it was a good 3-hour-kid-free time for me, I was able to make several phone calls to doctors without a screaming tot trying to get my attention by grabbing the phone from my hand. I was able to reply to some e-mails without an eager tot asking for his turn to watch a video clip in my laptop.

Summer camp is 4 days a week and 3 hours a day. This is a great break for me to catch up with my projects at home before we leave for our vacation in three weeks.

He's so ready for his first day at summer camp

A healthy snack of ham and cheese sandwich, apples and wheat crackers

At the camp playing at the water table.

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A Simple Plan

I've been planning how we would celebrate the 50th wedding anniversary of my parents. If only money is no object, I would throw them a grand second wedding ceremony with my mother wearing a long train while my father wears a tuxedo. But with the present economic condition that has no promise of improving sooner, I feel guilty spending money mindlessly. I am just thankful that my family will be complete to celebrate this great milestone. It's not very often that my brother and I are in town at the same time. I planned to just have a simple celebration, with our priest friend celebrating the mass for my parents' renewal of marriage vows and only close friends and relatives in the guests list. I planned to hire a videographer and photographer to cover the event and to have a family portrait for souvenirs.

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EC Top Droper Day - June

I would like to thank the following avid droppers for last month. Thank you guys for always coming back here despite not being able to return most of your drops, ;-).

Life's sweets and spices
A work-at-home-mommy who loves to cook, bake and read. A frustrated chef, now a dedicated blogger. Blogging makes me happy and this is where I share my thoughts, ideas, [sometimes] feelings, my love for food and then some…
Yummy-as-can-be
I’m a mom and a wife to picky eaters which prompted me to search for yummy and healthy recipes, and modify so my family can enjoy them.
The Modern Mom
Moms like me are becoming more and more housekeeping savvy. From stretching the family budget to diy's, smart solutions and more.Being a wonder mom is now no sweat with all these wonderful alternatives.
A Simple Life
A 40 year old mother of two who likes to write just about anything. A baking enthusiast, a crafter and a hobbyist. This is about me, my views, my interests and my favorites.
Mommy's Little Corner
A blog that talks about my adventures of being a wife and a mom. This blog also focuses on food, nutrition and health.
moms..... check nyo
I’m a 40ish year old mom of two. I love to bake, cook, plant herbs (in pots cause i don’t have a garden), cross stitching, hardanger embroidery, bowling and just like any typical pinay moms i love watching telenovelas.
Cacai's Step and Journey
My personal blog talks about my own wits, views, reviews, thoughts, beliefs, happiness, and my day to day experiences in this beautiful world we're living in, of good quality standard for which everyone of all ages is welcome. ***Adverts, I welcome you all, feel free to ad. (~_~) ***
Online Marketing
I Learn Online Marketing
my review
My review about anything
Zero
Zero's Blog

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