remembering my childhood through an old picture

I am so glad my mom took good care of our old photos, especially those pictures of my childhood. I want to show them to my little Dippy so she can see how I look like back when I was as young as her. There are photos that I can say for sure that she looks like me or I look like her. Sometimes, when she looks at one particular photo, she would surprise me by asking if it was her. If I would tell her that it was me in the picture, she would insist that it was her. Below is a picture I dug in my drawer today that kept me somewhat smiling today because I have remembered my childhood.

I believe mom was the one who took this picture (me in green)

Looking at this picture sends me back to the summer times when our family and some friends would usually go to the beach to unwind. At the beach, we would take a whole day swimming, eating, and singing along while someone in the family or a friend plays the guitar. This picture is just one souvenir from one of those enjoyable beach times I had with family and my parents' close friends.

preparing for a family beach outing

The other night, my husband received a call from mother-in-law. She called to inform him/us about an important itinerary that we shouldn't miss this month - the annual family beach outing. It was so sweet of her to have called to make sure that we could be available on a particular day. We were told we were going far South this month but the specific beach venue is still something that needs a final say. Wherever that is, as long as the family is together on this activity, I'm sure it's going to be fun.

When the little girl learned about the beach outing, she got really excited. In fact, last night, she has already decided what outfit to wear to the beach. Thanks to the little girl, husband and I realized that there are things we needed to prepare for this family beach activity. Last year, we forgot to bring our own sunblock. That's quite a major offense, indeed. It was a good thing that one auntie brought one with her - but it was just a small bottle that needs to be shared with everybody. Yes, that's how prepared we were last year. :-) This year, we need to be a little more prepared. It's definitely time to check on important stuffs we needed to bring to the beach . This weekend, we intend to score a kiddie life jacket for my daughter. I also wish our beach budget for this summer still has room for a marc jacobs sunglasses but I guess this can wait until the next scheduled beach activity or until all other priority purchases are made.

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.

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.