Presidential Parenting

I found this article by Sara Kugler very interesting.

It seems that Sasha and Malia Obama are not exempted from doing chores even in 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Being the presidential daughters (and having access to all kinds of household help) does not give them the license to neglect fixing their beds or cleaning up. And with the hunt for the new presidential dog, walking the dog and scooping the poop would be on the to-do list soon.

Apparently, First Lady Michelle Obama is trying to work out a plan with the White House staff to get the kids to do their chores.

This is a great day for parents, especially the moms. Hooray! This is what I call presidential parenting.

Now, I can safely say this to Kuya and Kowi: If the leader of the free world can get his daughters to clean up and fix their beds..."

Channeling Martha

I’ve been holding on to quite a few Christmas brooches for three years. My pack rat grandmother finally decided to get rid of her personal storage unit and sent them over in several batches of balikbayan boxes. I kept the brooches for no apparent reason.

While decorating the house for the holidays, I found them in a Tupperware container. The time has arrived to put them to good use. To be honest, I haven’t a clue what to do with them.

I spent several days leafing over my Better Homes and Gardens, Good Housekeeping and Southern Living magazines. If I could just find some sort of inspiration -- just one picture to copy from. Haha. And I did.

Voila! Introducing my first DIY Christmas wreath. Most of the materials I already had at hand, the straw wreath, green garland, ribbons, twist wire, small disco balls and the Christmas brooches. I just hot glued the garland and disco balls together and stuck the brooches into the straw wreath and pinned a red ribbon on it.

I am officially announcing my Christmas wreath will grace the front door starting December 1st. (And rightfully so, don’t you think?)

Hubby was delighted that I am, at last, channeling my inner Martha Stewart. And he’s expecting a few more DIY projects for the holidays. Oh no!

Cafe Living Room

Hubby stayed home for eight days after his three-month stint. It was just in time for Kuya's school vacation. Being the November holidays, family schedules were jammed. We tried to fit everything we could in a few days day to spend more time at home and with each other. It was really mission: impossible.

I wanted him to stay home to do a couple of home maintenance projects with me. But more than that, I just missed having him home and being with the kids. I gladly took a back seat for a couple of days and let him be in charge of everything.

Night times are my favorite. I think we may have even developed a ritual. We'll put the kids to sleep before 9 pm. I'll make a cup of coffee for him and a cup of tea for me. We'll sit in the living room with only the Tiffany lamp as light. And we'll talk about the kids, the house, our plans or reminisce about the past. He jokingly refers to this as, "Cafe Living Room." It sure beats Starbucks even if he's just having instant coffee.

Now, he's back at work. And we're back to the original routine which is seeing him one night a week and on the weekends he's off duty. I suddenly realize that eight days is short. I had hoped to do more home projects with him or just to do more stuff with the kids. It ended too soon.

Three days a week isn't too bad. I think it makes us appreciate our family even more. The kids are excited when they know he's coming home. "Yay, Dad's coming!" Kuya will bring out stuff he made in school. Kowi will show off the new nursery rhyme she learned.

But I especially look forward to the opening of the Cafe Living Room. When he has plans to come home, he calls to ask if there's coffee. Instant coffee or not, Cafe Living Room will be brewing--something. Somehow having only the Tiffany lamp for company is not the same.

Yes, I'll gladly take those couple of days a week that he's home any day.

A Bite Of Twilight

There is a very BIG buzz about the movie, Twilight, which is due in theaters in roughly a few hours. It is based on the book series by Stephenie Meyer who apparently was inspired to write after a vivid dream. Twilight is about the young but forbidden romance between Bella and Edward. Yes, forbidden because Edward is a vampire. This is the extent of my knowledge.

I don't know if I can get myself to start reading the saga. Vampires really freak me out. In college, Anne Rice was a favorite author among my classmates. I couldn't even pick up a copy of Interview With A Vampire and buy one! But I did watch the movie and fell asleep through most of it.

Actually a lot of things freak me out. The Sixth Sense didn't make me sleep for a whole week. After watching it I had to call my parents (they were out of town) at 2 am. My dad had a paperback of The Shining and I could even look at it because of the yellow eyes on the cover! After reading The Red Dragon, I walked flushed to the wall to make sure no one was behind me when I had to get out of bed in the middle of the night.

Or maybe I just have an overactive imagination.

But with all the hype with the Twilight movie showing and all maybe I can muster enough courage to watch it. Or I just may sink my teeth into reading the book. Who knows?

Funnly Little Quote

As I was surfing the Net, I saw this funny little quote:

"Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway."

It is incredible funny yet so profound. Life really is too short to get caught up in the details. Women, especially moms, tend to think about everything and everyone at once. We're always rushing along through life that we could miss out on the simple yet important things in life like savoring that cuppa joe (or Nesvita in my case.)

Indeed, life is too short for the nitty-gritty. Stop and smell the flowers. Spend the whole day in jammies. Eat PB&J for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Carpe diem!

Who would've thought that a funny little quote could make me think about life?

Do It Myself

Every time Hubby goes away on his eight-week trips, the kids and I stay in the house. We don’t get to travel with him as much as we would like. But when he returns, we get to back to our routine, which is seeing him on the three weekends a month and one night on weeknights plus special occasions if applicable.

There are a few disadvantages to Hubby being away. Aside from me and the kids missing him, there are jobs around the house that a stay-at-home mom’s touch can’t cure. There are just things that he can do better just because he can. One prime example is opening of jars and bottles. He has the firmer grip so he can open them easily. I miss him when I can’t do it myself, like opening a jar of peanut butter.

Busted light bulbs have to wait for Hubby’s return before replacement. Although we have a four-step ladder on hand for purposes like this, I can never get around to changing them. I just put that on Hubby’s to-do list when he comes home.

I know that some things I just have to do myself and can’t wait eight weeks. Information like unclogging drains and toilets, I am finding out, is a must for stay-at-home moms like me. I am getting to know Mr. Plunger quite well these days.

Stay-at-home moms really need to be DIY experts. With two curious kids and a military Hubby that takes eight-week trips two to three times a year, I can’t afford to hold off important house maintainance until he returns. So it’s either I become adept at DIY or know of a really good handyperson to call for emergencies.

For now, I’m learning to do it myself…
and storing an important phone number on my cell phone just in case. You never know.