My Weekend Journal

Are you thinking of having a family vacation with this car? A family vacation should be relaxing. It should be something that rejuvenates and exhilarates a person. With a little preparation and some creativity, you can plan an affordable family trip everyone will enjoy. Family vacation is easy with a Ford Explorer . Before hitting the road, make sure that your car is in proper working condition. It can help you avoid an unnecessary detour to an auto repair shop. If, for any reason, you meet car problems like a blown head gasket , bring your car to a reliable auto repair shop. If you happen to be in California, this list of Los Angeles auto repair shops may help you solve your problem. Regardless of where your final destination is, remember that the most important thing on a family vacation is to have fun and get there safely.

I am now facing the greatest challenge as a mother (I think). I have to make a choice between leaving my work to personally take care of my baby or keeping my work and let other people I do not even know do my job as a mother. How I wish I could have both. If only I could have my present job at home, taking care of my baby would not be a great concern anymore. Our last two nannies, Rose and Julita, were a nightmare. My baby got sick two weeks after Rose started to (mis)handle him. Whenever we come home from work, there were plenty of mosquito bites on my baby's skin. Luckily, he did not get the most dreaded Dengue Fever. A month later, when she collected her first salary, she did not come back after she asked to go out with her mother. She sent her boyfriend to get her clothes and personal belongings. What a face! Far worse is Julita. In just as short as five days, my baby had a fever. A neighbor told us, Julita leaves the house an hour or so, after we leave for work, comes back

Weekends are fun! It should be! This is the only chance that we spend the time together with my kids. We always see to it that we spend quality time with them however little it could be. My kids love to sing. Maybe they got it from their father. I love music but I do not love to sing. (I will just keep the reasons for myself.) However, I really love to listen to good music. Music lifts my spirit when I am down and beats with me when I am happy. We only have a few music selections at home. My kids would always ask to have this song or that song. I do not even know the songs exist until they would request for one! Well, that is basic generation gap. Luckily, there is the internet. The net has always been my partner at work and at home especially when they have assignments and school projects. Now, whenever they would ask for a song, I could readily download them from the Internet! MP3 Search Engine has a great number of music ready for download. Getting a copy is as easy as countin

At last, the long wait is over. Last February 21, 2010 at about 11:00 am our little angel, Walter Jared was finally baptized in San Roque Parish (Poblacion, Cordova Cebu) and now he is a full-bloodied Christian. My husband and I were actually planning this event last September 2009 but due to financial constraints, we had postponed it many times. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all who attended and who became part of this important chapter of our child's life. To all our family and friends who were always there to support us, morally, spiritually and financially, a million thanks to you all!

Teaching your child to practice good hygiene habits at a young age helps them maintain it throughout their growth. Aside from keeping them healthy, having good hygiene promotes a child’s self-esteem, sense of responsibility and good appearance. Here are some simple tips to help you make good hygiene a lasting habit of your child’s life: Teach by example. Children naturally imitate adults. If you show them you practice good hygiene habits, they would likely follow you. Help your child make hygiene a habit. Make sure they do their hygiene practices regularly to the point of making them a routine. Make it fun. Liven up bath time with tub toys, puppet washcloths or crayon soaps. Allow them to make choices. Encourage your child to select its own shampoo, toothpaste, or toothbrush. This is fun. More importantly, this will help develop their sense of responsibility for and interest in personal hygiene. Reward with words. Always compliment your child’s efforts at good hygiene, even if

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Charter . All opinions are 100% mine. As a mom, I find it important to spend some time with my kids. Since my kids are fond of movies, we spend our weekends watching movies together. I would like to share something to you, in case you may not know it, but if you have Charter digital, you have On Demand. Moreover, it is free to access. Charter on Demand have over 6,000 movies and shows to watch anytime you want. There is definitely no waiting and no schedules. If you missed one of your favorite shows like Heroes, 30 Rock and The Office, there are many of your favorites the day after they air on TV, and you could watch them free! They bring you all the best new release movies right to your TV without going to the video store or waiting for the DVD in the mail. They have dozens of free movies for you to choose from anytime. If you are a busy mom, having this service at your fingertips is much easier. You may want to learn more at ch

Strengthening family relationships provides a better quality of life by enhancing health, safety, support, and a nurturing environment in which families can grow. It is therefore important for people to nurture family relationships to keep them happy and healthy. Here are things you can do today to bond with your loved ones: Brighten your loved one’s day with a smile and simple messages like "Take care!" and "I Love You!" Show support on something they are interested in. Send flowers! Do not wait for an occasion! Compliment them even for the little things they do. Listen when they talk and give your undivided attention. Play a game with them. Share a meal and enjoy the conversation. Help your kids with their homework. The challenge of strengthening our family life depends on our knowledge about strong and healthy families. Make family life your number one priority.

A child's world is filled with expressions of creativity and imagination. With a bit of encouragement from parents, most children happily paint, sing, dance, make up stories and play make-believe. They learn best when actively participating in tasks, rather than passively receiving information. Children take the complex world around them, reduce it to manageable portions by creating little stories, and pretend games. Children are natural imitators. They can make meowing and purring sounds just like their pet cat. They can imitate their mother's expression or their father's gait. Imitations help them get the "feel" of the person or thing they are imitating. These creative activities were once considered "mere play," but are now known to have meaning and purpose. Studies show that children who engage in creative play are likely to have larger vocabulary and greater empathy for others. They tend to be more resourceful when left on their own. Playing

Doing things together is one of the foundations of a happy family life. Some of the things we love to do are watching movies on DVDs, going to the mall and entertainment centers, and swimming. Here are simple guidelines on planning successful family weekend activities. Keep the activity simple. Choose a simple activity and relax. It does not need to be elaborate or expensive. Children need only time and attention and it does not really matter to them what you do, as long as you do it together as a family. Be flexible when some things go wrong. Do not fret when things do not go according to plans. Always remember that you are doing this to have fun so just go with the flow and try to be spontaneous. Schedule ahead of time taking notes of the individual schedules and set a date far ahead so everyone can block it off. Prioritize your family (however hard it would be) and keep your promises. Take time off for scheduled family affairs and find ways to reschedule other appointments that

Summer is almost here and there is no better time to bond with the whole family than summer! The kids are on vacation from school and they have all the long weekends throughout the summer months. Make this summer a memorable one by planning a family outing where everyone, especially the children, can look forward to fun activities and interesting places to visit. It is important to have a plan however simple it may be. Raise your family’s anticipation for the outing by getting their help in deciding where to go and what to do. Involving the children in the event planning is a good training for their decision-making skills, while compromising and arriving at a common decision brings about democracy. Choose your destination considering the expenses involved and set your budget ahead. Get as much information on the place, the accessibility and available facilities especially those that will interest the kids. The children can be a great event planner and even help make an itinerary they

Mom, can you please help me choose between the two bottles on the table? Oh, never mind Mom, you seemed pre-occupied. Oh, my big sister is coming to my rescue. Ate Angel, could you please give me that brown bottle? I would like to try that one. My taste buds are getting used to that white you always give me. I think I need some break. Thank you, Ate! Ate Angel: Okay little brother, I'm going to hold the bottle for you. No, No, No! I want to take it by myself! I have to teach myself to become independent and I will start as early as now. Ate Angel: That's enough for now little bro. I don't want you to get drunk. Waaahhh! Give it back to me! Give it back to me! One last drop and I'm good. Well, I think this would be enough for now. I could feel my head spinning and my eyes are already dropping. Time to have a good sleep! [A note from Mom: My baby did not really drink the beer. He's on the stage where he puts anything he holds in his mouth.]

My children are the only treasure I have in life. However, unlike most treasures, I could not keep them locked inside a treasure chest. I have to let them go and let them explore their childhood. My kids are hyperactive and they seem to be always engrossed into something. As much as I wanted to protect them from harm and illness, I cannot keep an eye on them every second of the day. We all can imagine what children are capable of when they are alone. Being sick is no fun to both the child and the parents and we all know that many times it is unavoidable. The health of my children is my top priority. I want to provide them the best health care possible. As a parent, I recognize the need for health insurance. I believe that no child should have to go without adequate health care. Any parent needs to know how to find the best health insurance for their children. Fortunately, we already have health insurance under a group plan offered by our employer. However, for those who do not have

Getting your children into the habit of reading is one way of enriching their knowledge about life. Reading allows them to explore and expand their world, challenges them to think from a new perspective and see the world beyond their daily experiences. Encourage your children to start reading. Set yourself as an example. Let them see you poring over books, magazines or newspapers. If they see you reading, they are likely to join in. Books contain new words that would help improve their language and understanding. Libraries and bookstores carry a wealth of good books and magazines your children can pick out. Give them the freedom to choose what they like and read them together. Reading together is fun and helps build relationships with your children. Reading with your children or talking about what they have read is a wonderful way to show them that it is a remarkable and worthy way to spend free time together.

Last Christmas, my kids handed me a handcrafted Christmas Card. They designed a very simple card on their own. Simple it may be but the efforts they exerted made the card more special than store-bought ones. Their thoughtfulness touched the mother in me that I would love to treat them to a movie; but no one would look after my now six-month old baby. I checked our DVD collections but they have watched everything we have. So I checked for some of their favorite movies on the Internet. Through Rapidshare Search Engine I was able to find what we were looking for with less effort. Thanks to their numerous lists of movie files, I was able to reward my kids for their thoughtfulness and they were able to enjoy the holidays. Have you ever thought how you felt when you received a surprise gift last Christmas or when somebody handed you a present on New Year's Day? Receiving a gift is something that gives anyone pleasure and joy. It makes you feel good that someone cares about you. Howe

I feel a little dizzy today. My head is throbbing so hard and my eyes seem to roll on their own. I did not have enough sleep for three days now. My five-month old baby has changed his sleeping pattern. Normally, he sleeps at around 9:00 pm and wakes up at around 11:00 pm but sleeps again after drinking his milk. Now, he still sleeps at 9:00 pm, wakes up at 11:00 pm but would never sleep again even after drinking a bottle or two; and stays awake until at most 3:00 in the morning. Last night, he turned from one cute little angel to a fussy baby. I gently rocked him, sang a lullaby, gently patted his back and tried all things I know about calming a fussy baby. It did help for a while but then again he would continue crying. I wonder why he is not himself anymore. I checked his body for some causes of irritation but found none until I noticed that his tongue keeps on flipping his lower lip. I checked his gums and was surprised to see a tiny white speck. My baby is teething; and he is tee

Tiger Woods has been dodging rumors of infidelity. Every day, more and more women come out of the woodwork, revealing intimate details of their affairs with Tiger; and reports say that at least 14 women had affairs with the golf icon. It seems his marriage is irreparable now. There were reports that Elin Nordegren, the Swedish nanny and former model who married Tiger Woods in 2004, is shopping for divorce attorneys. According to media reports, Elin will divorce the billionaire golf icon following the $candal that halted his career. An unnamed source close to Elin told ABC News, "Divorce is 100 percent on. She's not rushing to divorce, however. She’s going to take her sweet time. She wants all the dirty laundry to be out on the table before she signs anything." People magazine reported she has met with lawyers to renegotiate her prenuptial agreement with Woods. US Weekly reports the couple has a prenuptial agreement worth $300 million, which would make this the most expen

Couples experience stress-related arguments that may be due to finances, outside influences, and unmet expectations. Instead of finding acceptable outlets for stress or developing coping skills for anxiety or relationship management skills, spouses tend to personalize pent-up emotions toward each other and eventually become a recipient of unspent anger and frustration through nagging. Nagging is defined as the bothersome, annoying, incessant, irritating fault finding or voicing of unmet expectations or tasks that need to be done. It takes the form of verbal reminders, requests, and pleas said in a number of different ways repeatedly. For years, this has been a problem between men and women and some would want to end the relationship just to escape the feeling of being under constant pressure. Through time, women have earned the reputation of being the “nagger” and men the recipient of the nagging. However, there are some cases were the roles are reversed. Male nagging is not discus

The audio of Tiger Woods leaving a voicemail message for his alleged mistress, Jaimee Grubbs, was released on December 2, 2009, by US Weekly. Any doubt that he had been unfaithful to his wife, Elin Nordegren, was immediately erased. Audio: Tiger Woods Voicemail Message "Hey it's Tiger, I need you to do me a huge favor. Can you please take your name off your phone? My wife went through my phone and may be calling you. So if you can, please take your name off that. Just have it as a number on the voicemail. You got to do this for me. Huge. Quickly. Bye." However, even if Tiger grovels for forgiveness, you cannot blame Elin if she questions whether he can be faithful in the future. Will Tiger — and other cheaters — stray again? The answer may put nerve shocks but makes total sense. “A small number of men have an addiction to cheating — regardless of what their relationship is like. But most men stray because something is lacking in their union, be it $e×, attentio

Last night, hubby and I were discussing about the Christmas gifts we would give our manito on our company Christmas party. Our kids were with us and they heard our small talk. They asked me, " Ma, what Christmas gifts would you give us? " Well, I never really thought about that lately, not that I would not give them any Christmas presents but because Christmas is still too far away on the calendar. I have no other great Christmas gift ideas for them than what I could give right now, my love and affection. I answered them, " I will be giving you my love and lots of hugs and kisses! " They reacted over the idea and asked for some "material things" as Christmas gift. I told them, " Love is the greatest gift of all! It's the best Christmas gift I can give you. Don't you want Mama to love you? " They answered back, " We do! But it would be better if you love us and give us Christmas presents, too! " I laughed and asked them, "

In building family relationships, it is important for family members to eat together at least one meal a day. Mealtimes are special moments of sharing stories and forming family memories. Sharing meals helps strengthen family relationships and encourages bonding. A sense of belonging and mutual trust foster when adults and children eat together and enjoy each other’s company. Eating meals together boosts emotional health. Laughter often happens at the dining table . Mealtimes allow adults and children to express their feelings freely and help the members get along better. Each member knows about the others’ lives and is able to help each other get through difficult challenges. A good mealtime experience nourishes the mind, body and soul. It provides a setting for moral and intellectual discussion where family members share family values. When children help with meals, they learn skills such as setting the table, preparing food, serving food and cleaning up. Children learn to share, b