winning the vegetable war

Feeding veggies to kids is a challenge to any parent. Dinnertime is almost always a battle of wills with parents usually waving the white flag. And I am no exception. I've had my share of healthy, lovingly-prepared dinners spilling on the high-chair tray and ending up on the floor. Luckily, I am winning this battle with Kuya. With Kowi, well, she does have an opinion on what goes in her mouth.

Kuya, I am proud to say, eats his veggies. Give him salad with lettuce, cucumber, celery, mushrooms, he'll eat it. Broccoli is not a problem, it's his fave. He even likes boiled camote tops with tomatoes and onion plus a little bit of fish bagoong. He's willing to try a dish just as long as it looks and smells okay. In fact, just the other day, he ate anchovies, capers and olives on pasta night with an experimental puttanesca recipe and asked for seconds.

I'm definiely having a harder time with Kowi. I've practically tried everything, from pleading, bribery, coercion, to downright deception. I've been secretly putting carrots in the pasta sauce. So far, its existence hasn't been exposed. Shhh!

But my persistence is finally paying off. She recently ate carrots and beans in her pancit, on her own. The trick? I just told her that carrots and beans will make her healthier, prettier and stronger. And that did it. Probably the word 'prettier' did it more than the others.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Hopefully, the veggie eating will continue and that I never have to wave that white flag anytime soon.

my fellow bloggers

Thanks Cee and Jane for this tag. So sweet!

I'm passing this on to my newfound friends:

Kat, Joy, Anig, Reana, Ivan Girl, Berna, Sab, Jam and Chiara.

Describe my day tag. How's yours?

I got this tag from Nanay Belen. Thanks!

Here are the Rules:

1. List 6 things that describe yourself today or yesterday.
2. Add your blog to the list. Feel free to add all your other blogs.
3. Tag other online friends you know.

I would like to describe what happened to me yesterday, here it goes:

1. Yesterday, I woke up very early at 3:30am to send Hubby off . He leaves very early for work to avoid morning traffic.

2. I did the regular Thursday laundry.

3. Prepared breakfast for the kids, sausage and eggs. Before Kuya left for school, I had to review him a little bit for his long test in Science. I'm hoping he did well.

4. Played Leapfrog Fridge Phonics with Kowi. Today's activity was pairing the "mommy" letters with the "baby" letters. She's still confused with the letters B, D, P, Q and L.

5. I made my very first sponsored post and it got approved. Yay!

6. And now I’m tagging my friends – Shimumsy, Melisse, Jane, Jody, Michelle, Tet and Yenzz. Hope you have a happy weekend!

GailAdi/Momeen/Emmyrose/Dennis/Dette/Jirl/Janny/Nanay Belen/Carol/ YOUR BLOG HERE

Everyone, vocalize!

According to a Yahoo News report, the Finns officiallt set the new record for the world's longest karaoke session. The Kouvola Karaoke Club began singing on July 2 and sang non-stop for an amazing 446 hours. That is more than 18 days! And they would've kept on singing if they hadn't sung the same song twice.

The Guinness Book of World Records awarded them with the certificate on July 11 after beating the previous record of 214 hours set by the Chinese.

We have got to do something about this. We should not take this sitting down. Every Filipino unite and grab a mic! 5...6...7...8...

Reunited

Good news! Matthew is now safe and unharmed. He was found yesterday in Laguna by a security guard. He is now in the loving care of his family. Click here for more details.

About me

32 facts about Carol

1. I am a domestic goddess in training.
2. I am a stay-at home mom to Kuya and Kowi, 7 and 3 respectively.
3. I am a happy wife to Hubby who is a military aviator.
4. I graduated from DLSU with degrees in Psychology and Business Management.
5. I've just discovered the wonderful world of blogging thanks to Melisse.
6. I'm allergic to pineapple, fruit AND juice. It gives me a rash around the lips.
7. My foot size increased after my first pregnancy. It used to be a size 5.5, now it's 6-6.5.
8. Hubby gave away ALL my shoes after giving birth to Kuya. =(
9. I used to have a dog named Michael and my cousin Michael didn't like it.
10. I love watching House MD.
11. I know karaoke is cool!
12. I come from a military family. Two grandfathers, my dad, an uncle and a cousin on my dad's side, four uncles and two cousins on my mom's side.
13. I love peanut butter on bananas. Yummy!
14. I'm listening to Motown on my Ipod.
15. I've never had the mumps.
16. I got my butt pinched inside the LRT.
17. On 11.11.11, Hubby and I will have our 11th anniversary.
18. I had a regular, 3D and 4D ultrasound to make sure that Kowi was indeed a girl.
19. I used to drink tequila like a horse with no chaser. But now the smell makes my tummy turn.
20. I had my last cup of coffee in 2002.
21. I can rescue Princess Toadstool twice in Super Mario without using any warp zones in one take.
22. My mom got my second name from Marilyn Monroe. (and no, it's not Marilyn)
23. I can eat an entire bowl of Spareribs Rice from Le Ching.
24. I "proposed" to Hubby within an hour of meeting him. ;P
25. I labored for 3 days before finally giving birth to Kuya via C-Section. Ouch!
26. I hate the smell of buttered popcorn.
27. Given the chance, I think I can win 1 million in The Singing Bee.
28. I am currently homeschooling Kowi.
29. I love the smell of freshly cut grass and antispetic.
30. I watched My Bestfriend's Wedding on the big screen 7 times and cried every time.
31. I love going through the baby section of department stores. Hubby just patiently waits.
32. I am a self-proclaimed practical parent and bargain hunter extraordinaire.

Abduction in Festival Mall

As a parent who lives in the South, I find this very alarming. Festival Mall is very near our home. It's one of the places where I do the grocery, pay bills, dine, etc. Of course, my kids tag along, I don't have any outside help. And more often than not, they're difficult to manage when they're stimulated by sights and sounds. This is a reminder to hold them tight and never to take my eyes off them again.

As a matter of public service, I am reposting this in here. It might help save a life. Please click here for more details.

I pray that all goes well.

My two cents is really worth more

I have a confession to make. I have been introduced to the wonderful world of blogging a little too late. No time for regrets, though. I guess I’m just a late bloomer. So at the ripe old age of 32, I got my first blog courtesy of a newfound online friend who introduced me to blogging.

Now that my blog is up and running, I’ve been posting left and right, finding friends and reading other interesting blogs. Through my blog hopping efforts, I then discovered an online secret: You CAN actually get paid to blog! I was completely floored. Getting paid to blog? Yes! This is an answered prayer to a stay-at-home mom like me who’s trying to earn extra gas money.

The secret is PPP. Payperpost is a venue where bloggers and advertisers meet. With all the good feedback I was getting about how happy my online buddies are as Posties, I immediately submitted my blog for approval. When I finally got that “your blog has been approved” email, I logged on without delay. And when I saw how much money other Posties were raking in, well, let’s just say it got my creative juices flowing.

The best thing about PPP is that I have the option to write about things that really interest me. Oh, and I get to earn extra cash for putting in my two cents’ worth for blog reviews. As a Postie, I don’t have to work that hard to get paid, I just get opinionated. Is that really a bad thing?

What melts my heart

Since I've decided to stay home and be with the kids, I noticed they became more expressive. Always hugging, kissing or just trying to stay close. In fact, Kowi has been my little shadow. She's there when I cook, she's there when I do the laundry. I definitely draw the line at the toilet, but she still hangs outside the door waiting for me to come out.

One day while doing the dishes, Kowi comes up to me and says, "Mom, I love you." Just out of the blue.

I was so touched. I put the plate down, dried my hands, knelt down and gave her a hug.

When the hugging fest was over, I started to get back to doing the dishes and then she added, "You're my best friend."

Kuya shows his affection differently from Kowi. It's not as direct. Well, maybe because he's already seven, he doesn't follow me around like a puppy. He prefers to do his own thing, like reading his K-Zone, draw or play with his action figures. But there are moments when he says he loves me without saying it.

Last week while I was tucking him into bed he said, "You know what, Mommy?"

"What, Kuya?" I said.

"I'm glad I am human 'cause I get to have a mom like you."

I hugged him and said, "Well, I'm glad I'm human, too. I love you."

These words truly melts my heart like chocolate in a double boiler. I just pray they stay that way forever. Lord, please...

Little Artists

Artist: Kuya

Title: The Red Robot

Medium: Crayon on Paper

Artist: Kowi

Title: Oh No!!!

Medium: Crayon on Living Room Wall

I went grocery shopping last weekend and found something totally cool. I'm not sure if they're new here, but I certainly haven't seen it before.


Mop slippers! Who would've thought you could walk your way to clean floors?

I'm going to give it a try and see how it holds up to my tiled floors. But I'm not going to retire my conventional mop just yet.

Kowi and I can do our morning dance to High Muscial hits and mop the floor at the same time. Now, if I could just get one in Kuya and Kowi's size...

On being pregnant

When I was 4 months pregnant with Kuya, Hubby was assigned somewhere in Zambales. He only got to come home about every 2 weeks and only on the weekends. He'll catch the bus Friday afternoon and be home late Friday night. Sometimes he'll even arrive Saturday early morning. Then on Sunday afternoon, he'll catch the bus back to Zambales.

It was my first pregnancy and Hubby wasn't with me. I hated it, hated being pregnant without a husband. There were times that I would even cry myself to sleep from missing him (or maybe they were just hormones). I vowed that I would not become pregnant again (well, this and the fact that I was in labor for 3 days).

After 3 years, I broke my vow and became pregnant with Kowi. And Hubby was assigned somewhere in Palawan. Now, he only came home every 2 months if we're lucky.

During that time we were also in the middle of constructing our house and I had to decide on everything virtually alone. I would go to Home Depot and choose paint, doors, bathroom fixtures and tiles alone, driving my stick shift pick-up truck which I still drove even on my 8th month! It was really depressing.

I never really enjoyed being pregnant because I never got to fully experience the joys of having Hubby massage my feet, rub my back or just feel my tummy whenever I wanted. All I had were a phone calls, texts, MMS and huge cell phone bills.

Although there is a lot of pressure from my mom and dad to give them their third grandchild, I am still apprehensive about having a third baby. Don't get me wrong, I love my kids. I just don't want to go through pregnancy alone--again.

Lost in Translation

Hubby and I decided early on in our marriage that we were to raise our kids bilingual. It was my job to speak to the kids in English, he was to speak to them in Filipino. But recently Hubby noticed that Kowi wasn't speaking in Filipino at all. I didn't really notice until he pointed it out. Actually, he was right.

Hubby called Kowi and spoke to her in Filipino. "Kowi?"

"Yes, daddy?" she said.

"Sabihin mo maganda ako." he said. (Say this: I am pretty)

"I am pretty." she said.

"Hindi, sabihin mo ma-gan-da a-ko. Ma-gan-da a-ko, ganoon." (No, repeat after me, I am pretty)

"I am pretty," she said again and then left.

Well, at least we know that Kowi understands Filipino and her translation is correct. Now, we just have to get her to speak the language.

Magic Words

Saying the "please" and "thank you" is a very big deal for Hubby and me. We enforce these magic words on Kuya and Kowi because we want to teach them about respect. Kuya has gotten it down to a tee. With Kowi, well, it's a different story.

Since Kowi is just three, she still forgets to say her pleases and thank yous. The house rule is that without the magic words, it's an automatic NO to whatever they're asking us to do. Sometimes Kowi can't understand how Hubby and I could turn down a simple request all because she forgot to say them.

Last night at the dinner table, Kowi asked me to get Stick-O for her. She didn't say "please" so I decided to remind her.

"Kowi, what do you say when you're asking me to do something?" I said.

"Mom, get me Stick-Oooooo." she said in a whiny tone.

"Not until you say the magic word." I reminded her.

She was quiet for a while. Hubby decided to join in.

"Mommy will not get anything for you because you forgot the magic word." He said. "Now, what do you say?"

At this point, Kowi was already making faces.

"What do you say, Kowi?" I added.

She said very quietly, "Hocus pocus?"