The Non-Halloween

I know a lot of people have been waiting for Henry's Halloween costume. Thank you for those who have given their ideas and suggestions. I think the Joker costume idea won hands down.

I was really excited about dressing Henry this year, but alas, something came up and the idea was not brought to life. See, I had been in the hospital for 5 days due to a dengue scare. Thank goodness it was only a systemic viral infection. But it was really scary finding out that my platelet count was going down.

Hopefully next year we get to pull off the Joker costume. This year, Henry chose to wear his Chinese boy outfit to roam around the village.

Thanks for dropping by,

Ditas

Mommy Duties: The UN Day Celebration

October is indeed the month for costumes. Aside from Halloween, Henry also needed a costume for his school's United Nations Day celebration.

Classes in the casa level were divided to represent each of the 7 continents of the world. Henry's class got Asia and he was assigned to represent China.

Here's the costume that he needed. Aside from this he was also required to have a sash with the name of the country written on it. Parents were also given the freedom to modify the costume.

Good thing I found  My China Dolls easily online. They sell imported cheongsams for kids directly from China. I chose this emperor outfit with red vest. I also purchased the head dress from them. The owner was very easy to talk to and I even picked up the costume at her house.(If you want to order from My China Dolls then you better hurry because she mentioned that she will stop importing them to concentrate on her kids and day job. So stocks are very limited now.)

I DIY'ed his sash by creating a stencil with my Silhouette Cameo since my penmanship is really bad. 

And, here is my little Chinese emperor all dressed up with his costume and sash.

The program started with a parade with each class coming out one by one and being introduced on stage.

After which, each class performed a song and dance number. Here's Henry with his classmates after their performance.

The program finished with the whole casa level singing "I want to teach the world to sing". I was especially proud of Henry during this portion. See when I went closer to the stage to take a video, it was so obvious in his face that he was feeling very uncomfortable. But, he was still singing and doing the actions to the song. When they finished, he stood up and ran up to me to tell me that he needed to pee. No wonder he had that face, he was fighting his urge while at the same time he was trying to give a good performance. Such a trooper. At this age, he already knows that the show must go on no matter what.

Closing Song with the whole casa level

Here are more pictures from today's event. 

Me with my little trooper

Kung Fu Panda

By the way, I have to commend everyone who made this production possible. The backdrops were really amazing and all the kids were so cute in their costumes. 

So now that we're done with this, it's now time to work on that Joker costume. 

Thanks for visiting today,
Ditas

Mommy Dillemma: Who will he be going as this year?

The search for the next costume is on.

Since Henry turned two, Halloween has become one of my favorite holidays. It's that time of the year when I can turn him into something scary.  See, I wanted to do away with the usual kiddie costumes, i.e. super heroes, animals, cartoon characters. It's a given, all kids are cute, so I didn't find it a challenge to make them even cuter with these costumes. But turning a cute kid into something scary, now that's a challenge. 

Henry's first Halloween party was at preschool when he was two. Since this one was at preschool, I just turned him into a little devil. I know he wasn't at all scary in this but all I could think of when I got this was Junior from Problem Child. Now who wouldn't be scared to have a child like him?

Henry, my little devil.

Junior from Problem Child

However, when it was time for the Trick or Treat party at our village that year, I turned him into this... 

Yep, I turned my son into Toshio. And, the only things that I needed were baby powder, lipstick and eye shadow.  Most of the small kids,and some of the big ones, got scared of him. He almost won the scariest costume that year. He was the 2nd placer. 

Last year, everyone was talking about The Walking Dead. So, I turned him into a zombie doctor. Again, baby powder and lipstick did the trick. The scrubs were pasalubong (gift) from the States. 

His dad was one of the judges for best costume that year, so obviously, he didn't get to win. But he did end up in 2nd place again. 

I still have do not know what Henry will go as this Halloween. Here are some of the ideas that I have:

Hopefully, we get to pull one of these off. And, maybe finally win best costume this year. What do you think? Do you have any suggestions? 

My New Favorite Courier: BayadPo.com

After the habagat took a toll on my regular courier, they never really recuperated. This meant I had to look for an alternative courier, that can do a better job. So when Multiply.com announced their new courier partners, I tried BayadPo and loved them! Since then I have been using BayadPo for a couple of months now for shipping my products. 

BayadPo offers the most affordable rates starting at P45 for next day delivery. And it's so easy to schedule a pick-up with them online. So far, they have been doing a great job - on-time pick up, no late deliveries. 

When I first tried their service, I scheduled a pick-up a little bit before 4:00pm (their cut off time). And lo and behold, just an hour later, a rider was already knocking at my door ready to pick up my package. They are that fast!

Customer service is awesome as well. It is so easy to call their hotline number for inquiries and booking. Their people are very pleasant to talk to and very accommodating. Although they do not have an online chat system on their website, they respond quickly to inquiries on their Facebook page. 

Among all these things, what really got me to write this review was what happened yesterday. You see, I needed some supplies for Party Impresssions. To get them, I had to go all the way to Quezon City from Mandaluyong (which meant two cab rides for me, ugh!) Suddenly, I remembered that Bayad Po also offers Same Day delivery, and they also have this option that the receiver of the package pays for the shipping fee. This looked exactly what I needed. So I called my supplier, placed my orders and paid them thru BPI Transfer to anyone (another service that I love). I also advised them that a rider from Bayad Po will be picking up my package and I will be the one paying for the shipping fee. After this, i booked a pick up online and waited for my package. Again, after just an hour, my package arrived. And get this, I only paid P120 for shipping! That's less than how much 2 cab rides would cost me. 

So, Kudos to the people behind Bayad Po and keep it up. 

Taming Toddler Tantrums: Tips that Really Work

photo credit: tacit requiem (joanneQEscober ) via photopincc

Young parents get scared when they hear stories about the terrible twos. Take courage, though, you will survive the toddler stage.  It's not easy to understand why your toddler has a tantrum but at such a young age, a child is consumed with thoughts of themselves.  Everything is about them and how they feel.  Until they are taught how to share, every toy or piece of food they see automatically belongs to them.

Toddler temper tantrums can have a variety of effects.  Your first thought might be that everyone is focused on you and your screaming child, but getting embarrassed wonít diffuse the situation.  Besides, as a parent, you have many more years of embarrassing situations to look forward to courtesy of your children.  So worrying about what others think during this situation is simply going to stress you and make you feel worse.

Here are a few tips to help you cope during tantrums:

1. Ignore the tantrum.  This technique works best when at home.  In public places, you don't want to ever leave your child unattended as a form of punishment.  Good behavior in public begins at home.  Ignoring a toddler is not harsh.  If your child is squirming on the floor screaming for a cookie, continue to talk to them as if you never noticed.  Eventually, they will get the hint and stop screaming.

2. Avoid instant gratification.  In public, toddlers throw tantrums when they are denied something that they want.  Some parents give in to keep their child quiet but a child learns quickly.  Tantrums will continue if they know you will cave.  Simply tell them ìnoî and keep moving.

3. Don't get angry.  When you scream and they scream the situation is wildly out of control.  Youíll end up crying and your toddler will still be screaming.  In any situation, raised voices mean civilized conversation has ended in favor of basic primal instincts.  Donít revert back to the days of early man.  Keep using the same calm voice you use when they are behaving to get your child to calm down as well.

4. Praise your toddler when they behave well.  Positive reinforcement is better than negative.  In the absence of positive attention a child will behave badly just to get some attention at all.  Acting out and throwing tantrums may be a cry for attention.  Don't let it get to this point.  Clap and celebrate when they go to the potty successfully and when they put away their toys.  Good manners such as saying "please" and "thank you" deserve a smile and a hand clap as well.

5. Run errands after nap time.  Kids get punchy when they get tired.  A toddler misbehaves more often if they are dragged around when they are tired.

6. Carry snacks with you.  Low blood sugar can lead to tantrums.  If you are out longer than anticipated and lunch or dinner time is close at hand, let them eat a healthy snack to keep their hunger pains at bay and sugar levels stable.

7. Be consistent in your punishment.  At home, you might use "time out" to deal with a tantrum for bad behavior.  In public do the same.  Sit your child on a bench for five minutes or take them to the car.  Eventually they will learn that you are not a pushover and they will begin to behave.

You will survive the toddler years.  Nip temper tantrums in the bud with the above tips.

BC Bloggers

When I was in college, everyone had a blog. Back then, my blog posts were about boyfriends, my gimmicks, rants about things not going my way, and stuff like that. Now that I've become a mom, I've found myself reading mommy blogs everyday. So now, I decided to join these mommies and blog again, mostly to document my little Henry growing up.

I've noticed that most of the mommy blogs that I visit have this BC blogger badge. I became curious and clicked on it. BC Bloggers was started by Paula of Mommy Diary. According to Paula, this club will help you meet with like minded bloggers and maybe even earn a little on the side.

I'm most specially excited about the BC Blogger Meme, where they give you an interesting topic to write about.


If you want to join BC Bloggers as well, just click on the badge.

Henry says the darndest things

Henry was a late talker.  Even at the age of three, he would still baby talk and he was having a hard time trying to be understood.  But this year, Henry had a "vocabulary explosion". He has finally been able to say his mind in complete sentences. Since then, I started to post them on Facebook and I decided to share them all of you here. 

June 15, 2011
Here's Henry's first perfectly constructed sentence:
"Mommy, I want an orange laptop."

January 31, 2012
Henry telling the dog to go inside the cage:
"Bugsy! Go to your room!"

February 14, 2012
Me talking to Henry
Me: What's your name?
Henry: My name is Henry.
Me: How old are you?
Henry: I am 4 years old.
Me: Where do you live?
Henry: I live AT HOME. 

April 17,2012
Me: sinong umutot?Henry: Yung pwet ko. 


June 17, 2012
sweetest thing I heard today:
"Mommy, put your cellphone down. Hug me!"

September 3, 2012
Me: Good night baby.
Hery: I'm not a baby, I'm a kid. Say Good night kid.

September 11, 2012
Henry: Mommy, ang kulit nung pancit canon. Ang init!

September 12, 2012
Henry: Mommy, sa birthday ko shout kayo ng "Surprise!!" tapos madaming bata.

September 14, 2012
Me and Henry arguing about what he'll wear
Henry: No mom, that's for babies
Me: But Henry, you're still my baby
Henry: No, I'm a kid. Bata na ako. Bata!

September 19, 2012
I don't know if I should be happy about this
Henry talking to his dad about me:
"Hindi yan sexy, maganda lang.


And here's the latest, just last night, October 5, 2012
Henry: "Daddy, I'm hungry!"
*checks the cookie wrapper in front of his dad*
"Oh! You UBOS-ed it. Hmph!"


Oh my dear Henry, please don't grow up too fast. I love having these conversations with you. 

Welcome to my Blog!

Hi! Welcome to new blog, I'm Ditas. I'm a medical student, a part-time WAHM and full-time mommy to my 4-year old boy, Henry.

This blog will be about my adventures or (misadventures) as student and a mom at the same time. Henry is growing up so fast that I want to document everything that has been happening. I started a blog after Henry was born but it did not progress. Hopefully, I will be able to maintain this one.

Thanks for visiting and drop by again soon.

Love,
Ditas