Ants bite???

I dunno if any of you has ever experienced this...

My Benedict have red, swollen areas in his body, particularly in his arms, ear and forehead. It's so huge, I got scared and thought a cockroach must have bitten him. I dont think it's a mosquito bite coz it's different from before.

Given that my little boy is allergic (to so many things, including dust), I was so concerned bec. he might react to the insect bite. I am so worried that I had been keeping an eye over him. Hmmm, he seems normal though...except for the scratching part...he seems to be waking up a bit more than usual to scratch the itchy areas.

We are going to his pedia tom...for our peace of mind. I dont think it's mosquito...and we moved our mattresses and cheked on all the pillows and blankets to rule out the possibility that a cockroach may have done the biting. Marlon thinks the culprit may be a teeny-weeny ant... haaay, blame me for allowing the little boy to eat biscuits in bed.

We did find a tiny little ant when hubby inspected the area, but it was dead na. Hay, i just hope it's only ant bite lang. But as always, erring on the side of caution, we will be seeing his pedia in the morning.

I feel a it sad coz we had to start Benedict on Singulair again for the whole month of May. Last Sunday he started coughing (occassionally lang nuon). I think it might be due to over-exhaustion. He was with us malling and was left in a daycare with yaya for a while. It's really difficult to leave the kid with only the nanny, no matter how well-meaning and capable she may be. And just today, he had been sneezing and showing signs of having acquired the colds. I just hope he gets better in time for our trip to Cebu.

Happy Mother's Day!

...in April? you must think I have gone crazy or lost track of time...(very much possible as it can happen so many a times that being a SAHM as i am, I can get in & out of my PJs and lost track of time) I guess, i relate to time as breakfast for Benedict, email time for me, lunchtime...bath time, book-reading, nap time...(time for me to check emails some more ) snack time...time to play outside...tv time...and free play for my Benedict. And then dinner time, book-reading again and finally, time to pray before bedtime. Haaay, that enumerates the activities for the day for a SAHM like myself.

But you will be really surprised how time flies for mommies like myself. I have barely finished answering queries/emails and my little boy is up and about na, refreshed from his naptime, while me, the mommy is feeling tired and sleepy from staring too much at the computer-screen pa. But for Benedict...time can stand still...I wouldn't ever trade a moment with my little boy...and his sloppy kisses and big hugs! I relish the fact that I am his best friend in the whole, wide world...and that he goes to me when he doesn't understand the drawing in his book...or forgets the name of an object or toy or colors. I feel so needed albeit very much at this point in my little boy's young existence.

Oh, but what does it have to do with the title of my post? Oh well, it's bec. again, my sweetie first love (dear hubby, who else?) reminded me that no matter how I get so engrossed with motherhood and pre-occupied with our son, there must be time for ME and US too. Although, the US part, I must totally admit, we still have to work on it. But the me time, I have found a way to make time for an online biz and squeeze book-reading too on the side. I have regained the confidence and independence I have so enjoyed when I was single yet. True, motherhood fulfills in us women a certain something, but it's only a part of our being...a very integral part but just the same, only a part and not the whole point of our existence.

I love my life-patrner so dearly bec. he is not only a husband to me and a Daddy to our son, he is also my best friend for 14 yrs. and counting... my only boyfriend ("ex" na diay of 9 yrs), and my trusted supporter and # 1 cheerleader all the time. And after all these years, he does not fail to make me feel sooo loved. He shows it in so many ways...either by supporting my dreams...sometimes to a point of giing me a shove when i get cold feet...or providing me a much-needed push when i get scaredy-cat for no reason at all.

Oh indulge me for going gaga over the man I have married and promise to spend the rest of my life with...he has after all bought me an advance mother's day present. And I am currently using it to be able to post this particular blog. weeehhh, i got my very own Asus eee pc courtesy of my dear husband...and I am currently enjoying it!

It's a bit of a challenge at first getting used to the uber teeny tiny keys...and I was not so happy with Linux when I got it. Good thing Marlon got me an 8G so having Windows XP installed means I still have enough space left for my very precious pics.

I can't wait to bring it with me when we go on vacation to Cebu and Bora soon. I so love my hubby bec. now, he became a mind reader... bwahaha!

Oh, I hope the rest of the world is enjoying mommyhood as I am...and not only bec of the teeny-weeny laptop :-) I am also looking forward to sharing the day with our dear Mama. it's rare that we get to be with her on such day. My Siobe and I will definitely think of something extra special...weeehhh, thinking of such pa lang makes me oh-so-happy na.

Happy Mother's Day in advance to all my mommy friends...God bless all moms!

Benedict's Summer Play School experience

My little munchkin is not alien to a play center...as we often bring him to Wonderland for a brief play time where he gets to be with kids his age, while we get to do some chores like groceries too...or window shopping...or in my case, my fave activity is book-hunting.

But since we saw a play group offering a summer class in Kidy Park (still within the SM Mall), we got interested. And upon learning that the morning class (10AM to 12NN schedule) has an age range of 1-2 y/o, I have gotten more and more interested. The whole package would have cost less for the entire summer class which would last til May 16, but since we will be going to Cebu for a vacation, we opted to have the per-session option na lang. And taking into consideration also the fact that my little boy might not like it there at all. Oh you know how it is with kids...

On our first day though, I got myself a very eager little "student". He lugged around his baby cow backpack (a pasalubong from Nana from a Cebu trip not so long ago) and refused to part with it thus we had a difficult time fitting 'em both in his car seat

He enjoyed his first day, esp. since his cousin, Chloe joined him too. Both had fun during the free play and even participated enthusiastically in the "activities" like coloring using crayons (which my little tyke is familiar na) and singing nursery rhymes. They also enjoyed sharing a snack with their new friends.

Except for a rowdy 3 y/o, the rest of their class is quite manageable. I feel for their teacher, Jo (who also happened to be a friend of mine...we are in the same BLD class way, way back), but she is very capable and trained. She also displayed utmost patience. But I am still undecided about the fact that the 3 y/o is quite a handful and is clearly lacking in some areas of discipline. He started acting up and knocked their monobloc chairs. I fear that he might hurt my little boy.

But all in all, it was a fairly nice experience for Benedict, as well as for his cousin Chloe. She was more participative considering that she is older and the activities are more aptly suited for her age group. Both toddlers were happy and grinning from ear to ear when Teacher Jo stamped their hands with a heart bec. they were cooperative and behaved.

My little one quickly run to where I am and proudly showed me his stamp as they were told by their teacher to show Mommy & Daddy their stamp...and he was quick to search my hand as well...hmmm, he must have thought that I went to school too...as I was there with him the whole time...hahaha

After class, they had more free play downstairs...still within the area, and after a while we brought them over to Ketkai na for more fun rides and to meet Chloe's parents there. We left after we have had a few picture taking sessions with Teacher Jo.

On Wednesday, we attended another session again, not with Ate Chloe na this time as they went home to Pagadian na on Tuesday. Same as the first day, they still have free play, followed by "color" activities...they taught the color "violet" and "orange" and my tiny tike quipped "puh-ple" when he was asked by Teacher Jo what's the color of Barney...haha...I had to explain that at home we call it purple instead of violet And again, he got two stars...on his hands.

After the class we brought him over to his pedia for our family's routine flu vaccine which would now include Benedict, his Daddy, me and Yaya as well. I was a bit concerned as his temp. raised a bit, maybe bec. he has a runny nose na to begin with in the morning. Hmmm, but his pedia checked him man before giving the vaccine and he found him to be fit for such. I then remember that there were some kids who were sneezing in their play group, and we think the carpeted area is not also as clean as we thought 'em to be coz in the two times we have been there...oh men! our socks are oh so gross-looking! maybe they have not vacuumed as frequently. I had to check with Benedict's pedia on what to do and when I explained that the little boy now has sneezes frequently, in addition to the clear, runny nose...she prescribed Virlix drops coz the allergic rhinitis might get worse. Thus the decision of not making the little boy go back to play school was made.

In as much as we loved exposing him to play groups and other kids his age, we don't also want to compromise his health. So we're back to Wonderland na lang for now. But we are looking forward to Gymboree in Cebu in a few weeks...

Chloe's Visit (Day 2)

It's the first day of Summer Play School at Kidy Park in SM. And we have invited Chloe to join Benedict in attending a trial class there...at 9am, Marlon fetched Chloe & her Yaya from their Kauswagan home, and we all headed to SM for their 10:00 AM-12:00 NN class.

We were the first ones to arrive! Wow, what a great start...and immediately, the kids warmed up to the place...what with all the toys they have . They have tried out the slides, the see-saw...the ball pit...shooting hoops and running here & there, while waiting for the rest of their "classmates" and their activity. According to Teacher Jo (who happens to be a friend of mine too), they will have free play from 10:00-10:30AM, then at 10:30, that's when they will all go upstairs for their activities (which is learning the color "red" & "yellow" for that day), then snack break at 11:00AM then more activities (usually singing a song or nursery rhymes w/ the kids)...and it all ends at around 11:45AM. After which, they are still free to use the facilities and toys downstairs for more free play.

Both Chloe and my little boy enjoyed their first "trial" day at school...since they have participated in the coloring activity...with my little one dipping his fingers on the food color mixture they have used to show the kids how a clear water turns colored when a few drops of liquid food color is added...the kids were all thrilled to see it! Ah, kids..so innocent! I wish we grown-ups can be more like 'em . Then they had crayon activities...they were given a page with drawings that can be colored w/ red and yellow, respectively...

Then they were asked to go get their snacks and gather around the table for prayers. Teacher Jo patiently showed them how to make the sign of the cross...and prayed the grace before meals. Now the kids are happily munchin' on their "baon", Chloe loved her Yakult & graham crackers, while my Benedict wolfed down a jarful of Gerber carrot. That's his lunch na! After eating though, Chloe (assertive girl that she is) approached Teacher Jo and told her to pls. show her how to make the sign of the cross, which Teacher Jo happily obliged. Chloe was polite enough to say thank you right after the teacher showed her how-to. She is such a darling little girl and so smart too... Can you believe she speaks in English (grammatically correct too, at least most of the time)!!! And to think she isn't even schooled yet. She learned it from her educational videos lang! So I guess, tv is not all-harmful after all...

Now, after every kid has finished his/her snack and settled down, Teacher Jo started to sing "I'm a Little Teapot" to them. And most had gathered around her to listen. My friend here is lucky, except for 1 super-duper hyper kid, the rest of her class is manageable. After a while, it's time to go na...so Teacher Jo again taught them their "good-bye" song.

And since both Benedict & Chloe participated, at the end of the session, they both got a heart shaped stamp on both hands. Hurray!!! All kids were ecstatic with the marks they got. My proud little boy quickly went over to me to proudly show me his "heart" and to check mine...if I have it too...

They were allowed to play some more downstairs but since it's lunch time na for Chloe and her Mom & Dad are waiting for her na at Ketkai (they came from a doctor's clinic), we told them that we are going for rides at Ketkai. So, before chow time, we have to fulfill that promise. And to World's of Fun arcade we all went, where the cousins had the time of their life trying out all the rides available there. And we happily let them be...after all, they are only kids once. And it's not everyday that they get together.

My Benedict especially loved the experience. His Ate Chloe made him try a few new rides he never dared try before. Perhaps being bold enough to follow his cousin's lead.. It's really good to have the little boy exposed to kids his age.

We had lunch at Pancake House at about 1pm na, by then Benedict fall asleep in his stroller as it is his nap schedule. And we headed home agreeing to meet again later for swimming date at Apple Tree Resort.

Around 4pm twas pouring down but we still decided to indulge the kids and have a quick swim (and snack too)...but Ate Chloe is afraid of the pool. Benedict enjoyed "swimming" with Momm though...my tiny tike is a true-blue water baby! But when it started pouring really hard, we have to take the kids off the pool...so we headed home and spend the rest of the day in our place.

Both enjoyed the slides and sharing toys...I am amazed at how the two of them got along really fine. So much so, that the morning after...my little one quipped "A-chi...Tetet" perhaps looking for his Ate Chloe and confusing his Ninang's name for his cousin...poor boy!

'Til next time guys...we love having you over! God bless you Mark, Celeste & Chloe!!!

Chloe's CDO visit

My little one had a rare bonding time with cousin Ate Chloe and her family last week-end. They arrived on Saturday and we had dinner with them at Dynasty hotel. Instantly the two toddlers bonded (Chloe's 33 m/o while my Benedict is 19 m/o). Ayyy, they had fun chasing each other around sa Dynasty lobby pa lang. And watchin' the "sleeping fishes" as Chloe said of the goldfish and guppy swimming about the miniature indoor pond.

On sunday, right after we attended the 10:30 AM mass at Ketkai, we met up with Tetet, Mark & Chloe again at SM for lunch and malling. While waiting for us, Chloe enjoyed riding the train and all the other rides at SM.

Right after a late lunch at KFC, we brought the two kids over at Wonderland, where "Dora's bridge is.." according to dear darling Chloe. They were there for about an hour before we had them join a storytelling session organized by the Jaycees that week-end. As it was conveniently just beside Toy Kingdom, we had them try out the activity before shopping for toys. Ah! the pictures will show how the two were enjoying the book-reading.

Benedict got tired of the hustle and bustle of activities that he immediately napped while in my baby pouch....but we, the parents are a bit kinda tired too with all the walking around, esp. since Tetet is pregnant also, that we opted to snack at Pizza Hut as it has a play house which Chloe can explore while Benedict snuggly napped in his Mac Quest pa. While my little one is still asleep, Ate Chloe amused herself by checking out the pink playhouse and gamely posed for my camera... And after a full 2-hour nap, my tiny tike is up and about ready for more fun activities, and so is Ate Chloe... They pretended that they own the playhouse (sosyal ha! Little Tikes pa) and they have a pink car (the one you can rent in the malls). Ate Chloe had a blast! But we're tired na...It's no joke running after 2 toddlers let lose in a mall... We finally had to head home after a brief stop at the grocery as the following day is the first day of play school...and Benedict as well as Ate Chloe are both trying it out..

Brussel Sprouts featured my little tiny tike ;-)

I was not able to check out my emails for the last few days, mostly due to our hectic schedule...relatives of Marlon from Pagadian (Mark, Tetet and adorable Chloe) visited CDO and we spent most of our time with them. And also bec. for some reason or another, my SmartBro connection got so slow it's almost impossible to be able to connect. Such a waste of time!

But when Charmaine texted me last night that they have blogged abt my little one in their site, I have to call SmartBro hotline at the soonest possible time... I can't wait to view my son's feature. (as if twas not me who emailed & sent them the same pics...hahaha

Just the same, every mom would be proud to see their little ones in a blog site, other than their own

To view the entire blog about my tiny tike, click here http://brusselsprouts.multiply.com/journal/item/86/LITTLE_CEO-IN-THE-MAKING_BENEDICT_ONG_IN_BRUSSEL_SPROUTS_SPIFFIES_TOO_HAHA

Thanks for the free advertisement Mommy Rica & Charmaine! We will definitely be going back for more...Hope you will have more items for toddler boys like my Benedict in your next stocks.

God bless!

First Attempt with Art

As I am a self-confessed artistically-challenged individual, I was having a hard time looking for ideas on how to start my little one with the arts & crafts.

Luckily, I found some very enthusiastic, not to mention gifted mommies (Tanya http://tanyakarina.multiply.com/ & Tintin http://christineeverth.multiply.com/) on the net. With their suggestions and ideas, I was able to innovate a bit. So here's Benedict's first attempt with the paintbrush.

He is actually just mixing colors...I got this idea from a Parenting magazine...give them an empty white container (such as an ice cube holder) with clear water and watch them amuse themselves with how the water will turn into a different shade when they would dip the paintbrush in.

How my Benedict enjoyed this particular activity! We were not actually able to do actual "painting" on paper as he was more amused with the dipping the paintbrush into the holder & watching it turn into diff. shades. We were only able to manage a few smears here & there... But I suppose it's already a good start?!

Incidentally, the idea was from one of newest toy...the Little Leaps. It has the Creative Baby CD which featured colors & babies holding a paintbrush. And my tiny tike immediately took notice and told me,,,"My-my...pheynt, pheynt" Oh my! How my heart gave a leap...

But I was determined to try this one out, if only for my son's sake..hehe. So the next malling trip was to pick up some art supplies at NBS and the stationer section of SM Dept. Unfortunately, there were sooo few choices available lang. I was specifically looking for the washable & non-toxic variants of the paints & watercolor and crayons. But I was only able to buy the Crayola washable crayon. This has become my obsession lately, to look for such stuffs...coz the little one had started to scribble on his growth chart & some Mickey posters on our bedroom wall. Good thing, only a few streaks went to the wall itself. But I am not taking any chances. Repainting is not on my budget for the next 5 years or so...

A mommy pal http://christineeverth.multiply.com/ shared with me her recipe for a homemade paint, so we will definitely be trying that one our soon...

My Benedict now knows the Alphabet ^_^...hurray!!!

I remember posting before that I got pissed off 'coz a mom made a comment which to me came out as somewhat belittling my tiny munchkin's ability as he is not yet familiar with the alphabet. And is not even a bit inclined to learn it at that time. This was a few months ago. Honestly, I was so tempted to drill on him the letters of the alphabet then. Coz I really felt that I was not a competent mommy bec of a single, careless comment.

But my husband told me to just let it pass. And he validated that I am a good mom (best mom pa man gani, he said ^_^) and no amount of a stranger's comment can ever change that. But just the same, I still felt offended.

It took all of my willpower not to take out all the wall charts & stick it on every possible area in our bedroom. As I have them all these time. My SIL is very excited that he bought em all for his dear nephew long before my little boy can hold his head up...hahaha.

Looking back, I may have over-reacted. But when I took that careless remark positively, things began to turn for the better. How I did this? Not me really. All I can ever take credit for is that I prayed...so hard...that I may not turn to be a pushy mom..that I may have the patience to see my little boy through his milestones & wait for the time that HE is ready & capable & not push him bec. everyone else is doing/achieving such milestones na. Hmmm, I simply rested in God's care trusting that He is all-knowing & that verything happens in His time.

How did we learn that Benedict is ready for the alphabet na? Here's the scenario...twas Good Friday, we have nowhere to go...and sooo hot & humid. We decided to visit my SIL and so we hang out in their bedroom. As theirs is quite a small place, the tiny tike got restless & bored in no time. No amount of videos and singing can distract him. He took fancy on the markers in my BIL's computer table, so we took out a few pieces of bond paper and made him doodle. He was drawing circles "round and round" or so he says...twas more of a few streaks here & there in reality...hehe. Then my SIL thought of drawing letter A telling him "Benedict, this is letter A" and my boy nodded and repeated her Ah Ko's word "A..." We were actually surprised. That was the first time we ever realized that he has started to learn the alphabet na diay. Though the past few days he would nonchalantly quiz me on the the 3 letters (A, B & C) found on his (mine, handed down to him) cabinet...I never really seriously taught him that. When he would point to letter A, I'd just tell him "That's letter A", and "this is letter B and C" when he would point to B & C, respectively...but then he would also promptly lose interest so I guess I've never really taken his query as interest in the alphabet.

The most I did is to play Brainy Baby ABCs and 123s occassionally. But this is along with Dora, Barney & Mickey Mouse Clubhouse...plus some other videos like Jollibee & Bumblebee. It's more for variety rather than to make him learn the alphabet. Oh, he would sometimes mimic the sounds in the Leap Frog DVD that we have, I mostly credit this one for his learning fast the letters of the alphabet. Thanks to my Siobe for sharing this with us.

Anyway, back to my SIL & his beloved nephew, my son... we started writing B, D, E, F, M, O, P, Q, S, T (not necessarily in this order), and Benedict got all these letters right no matter how we would jumble it up. We were impressed! I'd really risk the fact of being called a smug, but I am so mighty proud of my little tyke...And who would not be? He learned all these on his own! I was not wrong after all, my Benedict is smart, if I may say so ...hahaha, now I am definitely loving my own...

Over the past few weeks, he learned the rest of the letters --> C is still "kha", but he can differentiate A from E, as well as M from N . And he added the ff. letters to the rest (H, I, L, R, U, X and Z).

To date, he only has to learn the letters V and W to complete his alphabet and he would still sometimes get confused with G and J. I'd say he is indeed a fast learner. He may be a late bloomer (though my SIL would definitely argue saying that he is less than 2yo) but he easily catches up, and when the interest hits him, he can learn it all overnight (such as the case of the animals chart)...uhm, not really on the alphabet though, but still, it had been less than a month since he started learning them.

Way to go Benedict!!! My-my is mighty proud of you...oh bdw, he now calls me "my-my" instead of mama...haay, I couldn't quite get him to say Mommy but he has no problem saying "daddy" all the time.