4/23/13

a handyman for a husband


I remember back then when Stephen and yours truly are about to get married, the real estate agent we have been talking to asked me if my fiance is a handyman. This is in anticipation of home improvement and repairs that will be needed in the next few years. I wasn't really quite sure about my answer back then since I really didn't get to witness him personally how he fixes things in their own home; although I knew he used to watch his late grandfather do some minor repairs in his parents' house. I was told that if my husband is a handyman, we would be able to save a few bucks if he doesn't rely always on professional services for minor things that he can do himself. True enough, he is a real handyman. The self-help videos on the Internet have also been a great help to him. Curiosity always drives him to learn how to fix things here and there. In fact, just recently, he's done a great job attending to a plumbing issue at home. He said he has already fixed the leaks to our pipe with the use of band clamps along with other tools. This definitely saved us money because we didn't need to hire a  professional plumber. For this and other reasons, I can really say that the guy I chose to be my husband a few years ago is indeed a real keeper! :-)

on educating our children

We really appreciate it a lot that most schools nowadays are encouraging parents to work closely with their teachers when it comes to educating kids. After all, we are expected to know our kids' behavior better than they do. Because of that familiarity with our kids' attitude, we parents should know better how to discipline our kids and to get them to diligently do what is expected of them academically. In the case of our daughter who is taking a summer class in writing, we can't really expect her to quickly absorb all the techniques being taught by her teacher at once. Usually, it takes some practice for her to be able to write correctly. Her summer class is just for a month. This is certainly not long enough to cover everything. This is why we are also expected to polish what she has learned in school and to motivate her to improve her writing. With that, we are thankful for teachers who try to make sure that our kids have assignments to do at home so that we parents can also find the time to teach them and to monitor their progress.

4/17/13

practical remedies for prickly heat on kids

If there is anything I hate about summer, that would have to be because of the prickly heat it brings on my daughter's skin. After all, at her age, there is a good chance that her sweat glands might not be fully developed yet. The itch and discomfort she's feeling can be totally bothersome that it almost kept her up at night. This unpleasant thing she's feeling went on for a couple of days until I tried some of the tips I ran into while looking for remedies for prickly heat on kids.

Below are some practical tips I used to get her relief from prickly heat:

1. Switch to a milder soap. Prior to the prickly heat attack, she has been using the same brand of bath soap we are using. However, the harsh chemicals seemed to add more trouble on her skin. That's when we decided to use a mild soap which will not wash down her skin's natural oils and cause it to dry and itch.

2. Pat dry skin with a soft towel or fabric made of soft cotton. I learned that we should never rub it directly on to our child's affected skin after taking a bath or when she's sweating as this can be painful for her.

3. Let her skin breathe with loose clothing. A tight and thick clothing can trigger itching and discomfort when she sweats and perspires.

4. Let her drink more water to keep skin hydrated.


5. Use prickly heat powder as necessary to get her the relief she needs and to prevent her from sweating a lot.

6. Prevent her from getting long exposure to the sun's scorching heat. You don't want to aggravate her skin's condition any further. Use an umbrella if she must go out when the sun is up.


That's about it. If there are remedies for prickly heat that you might want to add, feel free to share them here.

4/16/13

something to smile upon

I love this picture of my late mom with her parents and siblings. They have don themselves as cowboys and cowgirls. I like it that they are putting effort to achieve this kind of look. Their picture together is really something I am going to show to my daughter again when she's bigger. :-)


Inspired by this photo, I think I am going to have to convince my siblings and my dad to have some pictures of us taken wearing equestrian outfit because that is probably the only time we get to wear something like that, unless there's a costume party we could attend with an equestrian look for a theme. I wonder if we could look taller in this kind of outfit. However we would turn out in the photos soon, surely it should be something that we and our next generation can smile upon.

a work in progress

My 4 year old is learning this song from that classic fairy tale movie "Cinderella". The title of the song is "A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes". I love it that she takes the effort in learning how to sing the lyrics to the song. Hopefully, as she practices more, she will improve her diction and her singing. At her age right now, I am already happy that she knows how to project everytime she performs. Definitely, she is  a work in progress. One proud mommy right here. :-)


4/15/13

planning for that summer vacation

Last night, I noticed my husband looking at a leather briefcase for men at GotBriefcases.com and then I wondered if he ever thought of getting one. Unless he had a change of heart, I thought he's not into this type of bag because he is already comfortable with an old school backpack to get to work - comes in really handy for him because we use motorcyle as our means of transportation. Anyway, I asked him what he was really looking for in particular and that if he's thinking of getting it as a gift to a family or a friend. He said he was looking for a new laptop briefcase that we could hopefully use so we can safely bring our little piece of gadget when we're vacationing or traveling elsewhere. Hmmmm, that was quite a hint! I am so happy to know he's planning on a summer vacation for us. Yipeee!!! I now hope he finds what he's looking for; although, it's also okay to leave the laptop at home so that this won't interfere with any of our planned activities.

best cure for the gloom

One thing I like about summer, apart from having that fun beach time with family, is seeing a lot of flowers bloom everywhere. Despite the summer heat, plenty of flowers of varying colors are still poised enough to show off their beauty, elegance and radiance. These blooms certainly sends out a message of happiness to any onlooker.

Whenever a woman feels unhappy or uninspired, one can usually get her out of that gloominess and brighten her day with just a bunch of flowers. I guess, our garden would be a happy sight to see if it is kept really well and are filled with flowers of various kinds.



Seeing lots of flowers, especially orchids and gumamela, brings back good memories of my late mom. The garden is her favorite place at home. Among others, I remembered she used to collect different colors and variety of gumamela and she had each one named after every member of our family. In fact, as a way of welcoming my husband to our family, she had her yellow gumamela named after him. By doing that, she only had to look at her garden when we're not around and this would already be enough to keep her from missing us. God, I miss her. I wish she had the chance to hold my little girl in her arms.

4/3/13

Try Hydroponics For a Change

Quality carbon air filter are crucial to the hydroponics process, as well as making sure they are the right type of charcoal filter for your planting needs. If you are unsure as to where the best are located, TheLaShop.com has some quality products. There are tons of different nutrient additives that you can add to your hydroponics set-up to make your plants successful. Happy plants are healthy plants and you can be sure that with the right nutrients, you will be growing a fantastic indoor garden. With the right supplies and the right amount of knowledge, anyone can turn into a super hydroponics grower! If you want plants that will be grown in stable environment as opposed to outdoors where weather can harm them, try hydroponics! You don’t have to wait for a certain season, you can start growing tonight if you wanted. There is lots of information available online for people to learn about indoor plant growing, and it is continuing to be a growing trend in many communities. This is very helpful to those cities that dwell in colder areas since crops are harder to grow outdoors. Hydroponics is the answer to most of outside gardenings problems! Having a hydroponics garden is extremely smart if you want to start growing food for your family all year round to save on groceries, as well as for hobby growing! No matter what the plant, with the right grow lights and nutrients you will have a wonderful garden and collection.  Hydroponics doesn't have to be difficult, so don't make it that way!

4/2/13

flowery thoughts in the garden of my mind

We left home last Sunday to visit the in-laws. It was great to see them again. My little girl was also happy she got to play with her cousins. However, I forgot to transfer our potted pink rose into a less sunny place when we left. So, when we went back home, it has almost withered and looks a little dehydrated. Poor little precious thing! I wish it was easy to bring it along with us. Otherwise, I should have asked or hired someone to water it for us. Good thing it has survived. In fact, I checked the garden today and look what I found - a blooming pink rose!


 I guess I am like that rose plant that blooms, loses petals and grow new ones. I am definitely a survivor; but without the love and care of family and friends, I don't think I will ever bloom or come this far.