Monthly Archives: June 2015

Mr. Hospitality

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I want Joshua to be a good host, so I invested P88.00 in Daiso and bought this liquid container with lid and handle and 4 colored cups. The idea is to teach my toddler how to prepare his own juice and to pour it in cups and serve.

Joshua was quite excited and he willingly cleaned the new juice container and cups with water and soap. After, I showed him how to put the juice powder and water, he mixed it and we closed the lid. 


That was the easiest part. The next most important part is the pouring of the juice in the cups. It is suggested to have a little tray so that spills would just be on the tray. Then it’s also good to prepare towel for any spill.

  
 Joshua had some spills and has to learn to control how much juice to pour. Having more than one cup was great because it helped him master the control of his hands in pouring. The best part for me is teaching him to serve others. So each cup of juice he served to other people and the last cup he reserved for himself! 

   
 It is a great routine for the afternoons and encourages Josh to get excited about having his afternoon snack and share it with others!  He now has the making of a very hospitable host!!

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I want to go to heaven

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One of my heart’s desire and prayer is for my children to believe in Jesus in their youth. I take seriously the command of the bible in Deuteronomy 6:5-7

  
Joshua and I have conversations about God and Jesus because we get to read the toddler’s bible. We get to explore who God is through the stories in the Old and New Testaments. His favorite stories are Moses who prayed to God and the Red Sea opened, David and Goliath, the birth of Jesus, the Cross and Jesus’ Resurrection.

At night he sleeps to this song which his nanny has taught him -“Kay Buti Buti mo Panginoon” (God, you are sooo good). He can sing it too. 

But as of recent, our conversations have become more interesting. I explained to Joshua that heaven is a beautiful place and Jesus is in Heaven. He has prepared heaven for those who believe In Jesus and ask Jesus to come into their hearts. So I told him to ask Jesus to come in his heart and he said it… “Jesus, come in my heart”.  Then for how many days since our conversation… He has been asking about Jesus and he has been saying, “I want to go to Jesus. I want to go to heaven.” My response is, “me too, I want to go to heaven and to Jesus”.

 
The bible tells us that heaven is not only beautiful and perfect… It is also a place where we are in complete fellowship with God.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” (‭Revelation‬ ‭21‬:‭3-4‬ NASB)

Joshua seems really excited to go to heaven because he was asking if we can ride the car and go there. I told him, we have to wait for Jesus to come and to take us to heaven. 

I know many probably freak out with this kind of conversation. But, if you believe in God and His Word, then heaven is where we all should desire to go. Even as young as 2 years old, my little boy is beginning to desire that too! (Who desires to go hell?  Not many I hope!)

In my quiet hours, I am thanking God for the opportunity of being able to share these moments with Joshua. It made me think, if parents do not teach God and their faith with their kids, then the world will teach them many confusing and (often) cruel things. 

I pray by God’s grace, I can raise my children in the fear and love of the Lord. My other prayer is that they grow up committed to love and serve the Lord, and influence others to do the same. 

How to save your play doh! 

Eversince my son got introduced to play doh (which was when he was about 20months old), it has become part of our daily playtime routine. We have successfully taught Josh not to mix colors so that he can enjoy his play doh for a longer time. We have also emphasized the importance of him putting the play doh back in the canisters so it won’t dry up.

But as much as we try, this play doh dries up… So what I do is, I budget to buy about 4 new colors every month. Thats about P175 a month! I’m thinking, this is too much buying. There must be a way to extend it.  So I tried putting water while in the faucet and squeezed the dough. It felt gross and yucky! I think I placed too much water. But as of recent we found a much better way of saving the play doh with my  toddler to assist me.

 1. First get the dry or semi-dry play doh and pinch it into small pieces. Put it all inside a plastic bag or better if you have a zip-closable plastic bag.
2. Use a dropper (I got mine from used medicines) and then prepare some water in a container. Get some water using the dropper and place just enough to wet the dough. Why a dropper? You may wonder. It is to control the water you put in so it won’t be too wet.

  
3. Close the bag and start kneading it from the outside. Keep patting, squeezing, and kneading until you feel the dough softening. 

   

Once it is back to the original play doh consistency, you can leave the dough in the bag for at least  half a day before transferring to the canister. Then you can use it again for play! 

This is a great bonding activity with your toddler. Plus, the dropper is a good motor skill activity. The kneading is good sensory activity. And getting the play doh back from its dryness is such a reward for any little kid! 

 
 

 

Thank you for being daddy!

My husband, Steve, is a public servant and he is a very busy man.  So most of the day, I spend with the kids taking care of their needs, teaching and disciplining my toddler (because I catch the moments of disobedience). However, despite his very busy schedule and the stress that comes with his job, he makes it a point to spend time with the kids every day. I really appreciate that about him.

He is the type of dad that wants to be the first one to make his children experience something different or new in their life.

   
  He likes to buy gifts and play, but he is also stern in discipline.

  
When he gets home, he likes spending time being in one room  doing nothing (ok, maybe watching TV).

  
He also likes to hug and kiss the kids.  He loves holding them!

  
When we are away, he keeps saying, “I miss you guys, and I keep dreaming of Joshua”.

The most stressful part about being married to Steve is when any of the kids get sick. Even just a slight fever can be like the worst has come!  He just wants all of us to be well and happy!

  
As a father, he prays for his children.  He lays his hands on them and releases blessings in their lives.  So I know that our heavenly father is listening and will grant his prayers.

  
It seemed like a blink of an eye, that time in our life when we prayed to the Lord for our children.  I recall the day when we found out we were pregnant and weeks later, that first pregnancy was going to be terminated because it was ectopic.  The night before the operation, Steve embraced me to sleep with his hands clasping mine, as I cried to the Lord for the loss.  He was crying too because we both wanted to be this baby’s parent.  The Lord in His faithfulness, on the 7th year of our waiting, made us parents.  Steve was finally a legitimate father. A daddy to Joshua, and now a daddy to our little Anna.

  
I thank the Lord for the privilege he is giving my husband to be a father.  I thank God because Steve is experiencing a different kind of love.  He is experiencing another dimension of joy.  Most of all it is making him know God more as our father.

This day, I thank God for all fathers, who make themselves available for their children.  To dads who are ever present, who provide for their children, who love and discipline their own kids, who prays for their children, and who thinks about their future.  God bless you and may God increase your joy! I love and thank you Steve, for being that kind of daddy.

Happy Father’s Day! 

Home made paint can be fun

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Joshua was getting very bored one afternoon. So I had to find something to do. Thank God for google! I looked online for home recipes to make home made paint and luckily we had all the ingredients at home.

  • 1/2 cup salt
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup water
  • Small plastic cups with cover
  • Food coloring (red, blue, yellow)

Mix the Ingredients (salt,flour, and water) using an egg beater. When smooth, put them in little cups. I made 6 colors with double the recipe. Paint brushes are convenient to make the artworks. You need paper and stick on some paint whether in droplet style or brushed through. Then close the paper in half and spread the paint by patting it. When you open the paper you will have a surprise and some great abstract art!    For working out fine motor skills and math. I used 24 pcs of cotton buds. Dividing it to 4 pieces for each color, I let Joshua count how many pieces and the place their cotton tips on the paint and set asides on a paper plate.      Then after counting and dipping we set it out to dry. Meanwhile I bore holes on the cotton buds container cover with an ice pick. This way he can insert the cotton buds in the hole. This is good practice for his motor skills as he puts the colored buds in the holes.   This is fun and my son enjoyed it so much! He is frequently asking if he can paint again. These crafts are inexpensive and easy to do with your toddler.

Group Schooling

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I am praying God will enable me to homeschool my children. I have seen many of my mommy friends who do home school and their children are intelligent, well mannered, and highly sociable kids. They are able to carry conversations with adults and with other kids. 

When I was in Manila, I met other homeschooling moms. They were doing a group school in CCF. Moms take turns to teach homeschool kids different topics. I was excited to go and observe. They taught values, alphabets, and guided play to toddlers within 2-3 yrs old.  

Values – they take a bible reading and teach a life application from it. That day, they taught about God’s house and how to behave in church. So each child was made line up and pretend they were going to church and sit in their places quietly. 

Alphabets- they teach one alphabet at a time. So this time it was the letter V.  They had the kids paste pasta over the letter V. This helps in memory retension. 

   
Then, on the guided play, they had a game about frogs and how each frog jumped in the water. The game had a little math too! They had to count how many frogs we’re left. Then at the end each one had to make their frogs using a spotted green plate. 

  
I really got encouraged seeing my other mommy friends homeschool their kids. It also affirmed that what Joshua and I are doing at home is pre schooling already. I am praying for grace and patience to do this. My desire is to really homeschool Joshua.

I’m seeing the unspoken fulfillment of each mother in this group. I dream for this kind of parenting in Gensan and Sarangani too!
  

 

Learning to swim

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Joshua just loves the water! We have a small inflatable pool given to him as a gift and he swims in it pretty frequently. He has always enjoyed the fun in the water.      Joshua is a beach lover too!  He loves the sand and the sea… He also enjoys rivers! My 2 year old is a pure waterboy!       However, despite his exposure to water, he is not yet able to confidently go underwater or swim unassisted.  Because of that, we want Joshua to take swimming lessons. While on vacation in Manila, we are glad that we were able to find him a swim teacher who specializes on children. He is known as teacher Alvin.    Teacher Alvin is like a pre-school teacher but does it in the pool. He sings “wheels on the bus”, “humpty dumpty” and many other nursery rhymes to make the swimming experience fun and kid-friendly. For 2 year olds like Josh, sessions are one on one. It must be done according to the child’s readiness and pace. Plus, it has to be within a child’s attention span.  Alvin lets Joshua wear a back floater and he used about 4 foams at the start. After 5 sessions Joshua got more confident and now has graduated from 2 floaters to just 1! He is now able to carry himself and keep himself afloat with 1 foam on his back!  Just like anything practice is key to getting it right… In due time our little guy can be a confident swimmer without the floaters. And who knows, he may be a swim athlete like I was in my younger years. 🙏🙏🙏 Here is a short video of his single foam swim and how far he has improved!