- Use this chart to gauge how much exercise is appropriate during pregnancy.
- Practice your posture.
- What's in the hospital bag?
pinkpistachio.com - The bare necessities (also what to ask for on your baby registry).
pregnantchicken.com - Learn how to swaddle the babe.
- What to eat while breast-feeding:
healthfulmama.com - A simple child harness safety guide
- More tips for rear facing car seat.
- Know your infant CPR
depts.washington.edu - Baby reflexology guide
how-do-it.com - Sizing charts for popular baby clothing brands makes shopping infinitely easier
- A simple nutrition guide
toddlertastes.blogspot.com.au - Teething Chart
finds.hellobee.com - Baby Proofing Checklist
hellobee.com - What your baby is communicating to you
drmomma.org - A newborn survival guide
mygofer.com - Stages of teething
howtobeadad.com - The formula feeding guide
babble.com - What to feed your baby at different stage
katherineholly.com - Weaning Chart (download it here) design-kat.com
- Use this chart to determine how much sleep is appropriate for your child
familysponge.com - What to expect from your baby's development
pacenet.org
Tuesday, 18 March 2014
22 Incredible Diagrams for Mom to Be
Source: Buzzfeed
Wednesday, 12 March 2014
Journey In Becoming A Triathlete
Three years ago, Labsie and I started our first run together at University of Santo Tomas Pasay .
Since then, he began to train himself more and entered into running races. Depending
on his training, he would run 5k, 10k and on a good day – a 21k.
 |
| Our first run at UST |
He likes put variation on his training. After taking a run, we would rode on a bike. Personally, I like riding on a bike
better than running because I get tired easily. Labsie also began reading books/magazines and browsing
the webs about running and biking. He would research anything from
prolonging his endurance to increasing his strength. For those who knew him, he
doesn't like to read very much, but Labsie meticulously go through pages of pages
of the magazines and books that he and I brought, since I refused
to read for him. Reading has become his relaxing habit (don’t ever lend him
any books that’s not related to his interest!).
 |
| Biking around the subdivision |
Labsie was never a fan of monotony. He would always look for some
ways to train and challenge himself. So he enrolled in a swimming lesson at Bert Lozada to
learn the basic of swimming and little did he know, he was preparing himself to become
a triathlete. Watching him improved session after session made me proud of him because every stroke he makes, seems to make a difference to his confidence. Mostly, I just want to watch him smile and absorbs all lessons that the instructor made him do.
For someone whose working hours is erratic, he always finds
time to train. On his off days we would see him swimming away at YMCA or at
some other pools. He says it was the only way for him to relax, so, I didn't
budge him to take a rest on his off days. All those hard works, discipline and
perseverance paid off. No longer a lanky boy – he was now a triathlete. Added
to that, he was also full of knowledge and wisdom.
He joins TriUnited 2014, his first triathlon event. He joins not because he
wants to compete, but to enjoy the experience. I am proud to say that he finished the race
with no glitch at all.
I am proud of the man he become. He was always so full of energy it's no wonder he chose this kind of sports. And what's my role in all of this? I am always waiting at the finish line to cheer him on.
I am proud of the man he become. He was always so full of energy it's no wonder he chose this kind of sports. And what's my role in all of this? I am always waiting at the finish line to cheer him on.
 |
| TriUnited - Labsie finally a TRIATHLETE |
Tuesday, 4 February 2014
How To Make Your Relationship Work
Being in love is the most cherished and pure feeling in a person’s life.
The foundations of our emotional and mental stability are termed as relationships. No human can remain in isolation for long, and it is this need of connecting with people that helps us to survive and enjoy the web of life. The modern relationships have a different meaning all together. “Gone are the days where you dated in high school or college and then he slapped a ring on your finger after graduation.” The present generation relationships are often meaningless, short lived and at times only use and throw. The true essence of love seems to be lost somewhere. For, the now generation love is blended with lust and in this process they tend to loose on their morals and ethics. Ridiculously high expectations from each other render the relationship baseless and increase on the depression rate.
How to make your relationship work:
- Never use your relationships as a means to fulfil your expectations.
- Acknowledge the other person’s individuality. Grow and let grow.
- Don’t doubt the other person’s love all the time. Trust is an essential ingredient to a successful relationship.
- Step beyond the “me first” conflicts and feel the oneness of the universe.
- Check where you went wrong, rather than finding faults in the other person. Listen to each other as communication strengthens a relationship.
- Take the first step in resolving a conflict without worrying who is right and who is not.
- Love and trust yourself, and don’t depend on the other person. Neither let the other person depend on you.
Love abides in everybody, and we need to learn how to value and respect people. Love has lost it’s meaning in this fast paced world, and we need to recreate the passion of love. Value, care and forgive and make the world believe that there is nothing more beautiful in this world than to love and be loved.
Since ages lot has been said and written about love but what makes this particulars emotion so important in our lives. Love is a wonderful for it inculcates within us different emotions such as hope, longing and the dream to provide our near and dear ones with a good life. When we talk about love different people have different opinions but all of us agree to the fact it creates a positive reaction specially when you know you’re being loved by some one and you love some one. It knows no boundaries and most importantly it can’t be confined in water tight compartments of single and universal definitions or formulas. A person can love his country while others can share a special relation with any kind of material entities, animals, or activities.
When we talk About Love Relationships Interpersonal love defines such kind of love as it is confined between two individuals as it is a simple liking for another and characterized by strong interpersonal relationships. Such is usually seen l between family members, friends, and couples who share a mutual understanding and co-operation.
For the ones in love, everyday in the calendar is a celebration of warmth and togetherness. Everyday holds a new promise of love and gives a new reason to love. However, there some special gestures that perhaps are reserved for Valentines Day only. All of us sure have heard of “Valentine Specials”. There is no fixed category as to what they are or what they can be. Anything you plan for your beloved adding romance, care and magic in it becomes a Valentine gifts or special act. More than the “wow” that your beloved utters, it’s the sparkle in the eyes and the childlike grin that touches you the most. As lovers proudly claim, it’s these expressions that make them plan something special for their partners.
Source: http://blogs.mydearvalentine.com/relationship/relationships/
Thursday, 30 January 2014
Celebrating Chinese New Year 2014
The Chinese New Year is rich with myths and traditions that has been passed through the years.
Here are some of the practices that you can follow during the 15 days celebration (Chinese New year begins on the first day of the Lunar Calendar):
- Get a haircut
- Clean the house - Before the New Year arrives, the Chinese consider it very important to give the house a thorough cleaning, sweeping away any bad luck that may have accumulated over the past year. (Don't clean for the first few days of the New Year - if you do any sweeping during this time, you risk sweeping away your good luck.)
- Offer a Sacrifice to the Kitchen God - Many families have a poster of the Kitchen God in their kitchen. The custom is to offer a ceremonial sacrifice to the Kitchen God, to make sure that he gives a good report on the family's behavior when he returns to heaven. Sticky Cake (Nian Gao) is popular, or children may rub honey on him.
- Go shopping for the followings:
- Chinese New Year food: dumplings An important tradition on New Year's Eve is for families to gather together and spend the evening preparing Chinese dumplings (Jiaozi). According to Chinese Culture Guide Jun Shan, it is common to hide a coin in one of the dumplings. Whoever gets the dumpling with the coin will supposedly have good luck in the coming year.), Tikoy (sign for unity), White fish (symbolizes wealth), chiken (good luck)
- Clothes
- Gifts - gifts to avoid are clock (symbolizes time is running out), handkerchief (symbolizes a farewell greeting), towel (usually given out at funeral), umbrella (symbolizes end of friendship), sharp objects (sever a relationship), Gifts in set of four (四 (sì, four) sounds like 死 (sǐ, death)), shoes-particularly straw sandals (ending friendship or break up), anything in black or white.
- Wear New Clothes - some people still follow the more traditional Chinese clothing called 旗袍 (qipao) but many opt to wear lucky red underwear.
- Worship Ancestor - go to temple and offer fruits, dates, and candied peanuts. Also, burned stick of incense and stacks of paper money.
- Give 紅包 (Red Envelope) - married couple gives red envelopes to unmarried adults and kids.
- Launch Fireworks - it is believed that more fireworks and noise equals more luck.
- Eat a big family meal - dumplings (wealth), fish (it must be good to leave extra fish on the plate), Hard Liquor (longevity), chicken (good luck)
- Candies are thrown away on the street to attract prosperity
- Prepare pansit (longevity), use incense (to purify the whole house), coins (wealth), rice in a bowl with rolled paper money (wealth prosperity)
- Prepare a Tray of Togetherness - This is a circular or octagon-shaped tray with eight compartments, each containing symbolic foods such as lotus seeds and lychee nuts, that provides a sweet beginning to the New Year.
Chinese New Year Decorations:
- Couplets or 春联 (Chun Lian) - usually red in color. However if there is a deceased relatives one must use white paper for the first year, green paper in the second, and yellow in the third.
- Chun Lian for fu and Chun are often hang upside down
- Common characters in Chun Lian
- 富 (fù): Fortune
- 春 (chūn): Spring
- 雙喜 (shuāngxǐ): Double Happiness
- Kitchen God
- Wood Block Print - called door gods, which are pasted on the gates at Chinese New Year to protect home.
Tuesday, 21 January 2014
Surviving Long Distance
In a few more months, Labsie and I will enter into a long distance relationship, should his application be approved. He has been under study for work in Victoria, Canada at Tim Hortons for the duration of 2 years. So, in order to prepare myself for the temporary separation, I while away my time on the internet, browsing articles about long distance relationship.
Manila is 16 hours ahead of Victoria, Canada, so that means when its 12 a.m. (midnight) in Victoria, its 4 p.m. in Manila. So our time difference will be a huge factor in our relationship. However, due to today's technology, keeping in touch won't be a problem. Application such as Skype and We Chat will play a huge role in our lives. Also, social networking like Facebook will keep me up-to-date with what's happening in his life, provided that he will update his Facebook now and again. There is also an android application for couples, which is COUPLE.
People in long distance relationships can have a hard time staying connected, because couples are limited in what they can do together. Many are limited to phone calls, emails, instant messaging, and texting which can become a bit humdrum over time, if you ask me. It is important to keep things interesting.
Here is a list of things you can do with your boyfriend/girlfriend as well as things you can do for them from a distance. Source: Loving from a Distance
- Get a Webcam
- For Skype! or Gmail video Chat
- Learn new things about each other with 1000 questions
- When it's one of those days where you guys just can't think of anything to talk about, try asking questions. Here's a good site with 100 questions to ask your love.
- For even more questions check out 1000 questions for couples.
- Say Cheese!
- Take picture occasionally so that he could see you. You may send it through email or through Facebook.
- Listen to music together
- Why not listen to music as you chat?
- Make Something
- Homemade gifts are the best! Not only will your boyfriend/girlfriend love that you put in the effort and time to make something for them, but you can also have a lot of fun making something.
- Watch them walk by
- Search for Public Live Webcam.
- Love letters
- Send them a text
- Free texting websites: TextEm.net and OnlineTextMessage.com
- Write a letter on love day
- Make a card
- Send your scent
- The power of scent on our memories and emotions is amazing.
- Write a poem
- Keepsake boxes
- Make conversation
- Many people have written questions to us and I'd say that one of the more common complaints we hear is that their conversations get dull over time. If you find yourself having a lot of silent pauses and don't know what to say, here's a list of conversation starters you might have fun with: Conversation Starters... What If?
- Send a message in a bottle
- Okay, so here's what you do...
- Write an amazing message.
- Get a plastic bottle.
- Put your message in the bottle.
- Put any other little trinkets you can fit in the bottle or even fill the bottle with pretty shredded paper or easter grass.
- Cap your bottle and apply your "to" and "from" addresses to the side of the bottle.
- Go to the post office to determine the appropriate amount of postage to stick on.
- Mail it!
- Record a story
- Make a countdown
- Set goals for each other
- This simple idea is a great way to show you love the other person and helps you cope with separation!
- Track the weather
- Create a timeline and predict your future together
- An awesome website that lets you create timelines online is TimeToast.com It also lets you share your timeline by providing an embed link that you can publish anywhere online. If you want to print your timeline, make sure your javascript is turned off when you visit your timeline.
- Exercise together
- Share a virtual bulletin board
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)