Malls on Holy Week

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I am becoming a fan of the blog chuvaness.com:) I find it informative. I am liking it more now than FashionPulis.com. Anyway, i just read the mall schedules for the holy week in chuvaness.com. Somehow, I realize that going to the mall has become indispensable for most people. I, myself, like going to the mall. Now that I am a housewife, I miss it a lot. It may seem selfish of me to think about it now that i have 3 children to look after to. But don't get me wrong. I would not trade my 3 energetic kids for that:) 

During the holy week, on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, all malls are closed. It is a sacrifice for some people who love spending time inside the malls. When I think of it, I feel guilty of thinking of it as a 'sacrifice', when in fact, it should not be seen as one, since it's 'just going to the mall'. I have noticed, that during this time of the year, people would flock to the mall to shop and buy their groceries. It's funny how a lot of people would wait for the long queue in the cashiers of department stores and supermarkets. I mean it's just two days of not having the 'usual' things that we enjoy. So we may not be ready to 'sacrifice' after all:) Again, don't get me wrong, I asked my husband to go to the supermarket awhile ago *.

*This is written on Holy Wednesday

Happy Sunday

When you do something, do it with love

20 Ways to Get Good Karma

• 20 Ways to Get Good Karma

  1. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
  2. When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.
  3. Follow the three R’s:
  - Respect for self,
  - Respect for others and
  - Responsibility for all your actions.
  4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
  5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
  6. Don’t let a little dispute injure a great relationship.
  7. When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
  8. Spend some time alone every day.
  9. Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.
  10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
  11. Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and
  think back, you’ll be able to enjoy it a second time.
  12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.
  13. In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don’t bring up the past.
  14. Share your knowledge. It is a way to achieve immortality.
  15. Be gentle with the earth.
  16. Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.
  17. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.
  18. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.
  19. If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.
  20. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.

  http://www.spiritualnow.com/articles/25/1/20-Ways-to-Get-Good-Karma/Page1.html

  • Dalai Lama
  • karma

  • 3

    
    

All about Skin Asthma

My eldest daughter was diagnosed with Atopic Dermatitis (Eczema/Skin Asthma) when she was six months old.  I remember that it started with a round, pink patch on her cheek. When I first showed it to our pediatrician, she said it was ringworm. So she prescribed skin ointments for it. Three months have passed, and my daughter's skin patch just worsened: it became a fresh-like wound. It was not easy to look for a good doctor. Luckily, I was able to meet a young and friendly dermatologist. She prescribed Physiogel, Elica and an anti-histamine for my daughter. It worked! She told me that my daughter cannot eat seafood, chicken, eggs, citrus fruits, etc. So i asked myself: What am i going to feed her? One great challenge for kids with skin asthma is the limitation on food. But being a mother, I did not listen to the doctor and just gave what my daughter wanted. So she continued eating chicken and seafood.

Several months later, when she ate chicken from KFC, her skin asthma re-appeared, and it became really worse. She was itchy all over, rashes all over her body, and her face was covered with patches of dried wounds. What was worse, her hands were so itchy, it became wet and wounded. It was really hard to describe. I remember bringing her to the doctor, she was having difficulty moving, specially her hands, and she was crying. The people were looking at us, thinking that she has severe chicken pox. When the doctor saw her, she said it was still skin asthma, and it just became worse. She prescribed mixing Physiogel and another ointment, and taking Celestamine. And it worked again! 

Looking back now, my daughter still has skin asthma, but not that worse compared before. Her skin becomes dry and flaky when the weather changes. She still eats seafood but on a limited basis. Since we have moved to the countryside, I decided to change doctors. She is now under the care of a pedia-allergologist. According to the doctor, who is very nice and accommodating, my daughter can eat chicken. She conducted skin tests to know which food she is allergic from. It showed that she is allergic from eggs. So she doesn't eat anything that has an egg ingredient in it. Aside from Celestamine, she prescribed using Dove Sensitive and Petroleum Jelly to her entire body every day.

For now, everything seems to be fine. Her skin asthma has become manageable so far. I hope it stays that way.

Part time Online English Teacher

Aside from being a housewife, I am also an online English Teacher. This is my part time job. I've been working for my company for 3 years. I used to work for a Korean company. Now, I'm working for a Japanese company. The difference: Japanese are more polite than Koreans. But don't take it negatively as this is just my personal opinion. I teach using Skype and usually work from 20:00 to 23:00. I also have two morning classes, from 8:30-9:30. Working at home is not easy since I have small children to take care of. Luckily, my two daughters already understand the need to give me peace and quiet during my work. I just have to think of my son, and I just need to make sure that he is already asleep when I work. Aside from teaching business English, I make materials for the class. My boss in Japan sends me books to read and instructs me to make lesson plans after. I also correct students' business letters and essays. 

It's not a very difficult job. It's quite fulfilling in a way that I do not need to work outside anymore and leave my kids. The salary that I am receiving is almost the same as the usual salary paid to office workers. In addition, I appreciate that my boss is very understanding and kind. That's the main reason why I am still working in the same company for 3 years, given that it's only a part time job.

What kind of parent are you?

Parents only want the best for their children  A mother knows best. These may sound cliche. And kids these days may say, "Oh, I've heard of that before" ("Narinig ko na yan"). No matter how much explaining a parent does, kids would just realized the truth of these words when they become parents themselves. My decision to be a stay-at-home mom was brought about by my mother's lack of time for me and my sisters. When I still think about it now, I still get teary eyed. I don't blame my mother. Maybe she had her own reasons. What I have become was brought about by my decisions in life. It would be unfair to blame my mother for my own shortcomings. When I became a mother, I told myself that I would devote my time to my children. It was never easy to give up my job. I have dreamt of it several times. I wished I could have done some more things when I was working. A lot of what ifs, but it's ok.

Now that I have three children, balancing my time for them is never easy. I also have my bouts of anger and frustration. Life is not perfect you know, and it will never be. When my kids do not listen, I also shout. When they do not follow, I also get angry. When they commit mistakes, I also get frustrated. But it's ok. Being a mother is all about acceptance. Accepting the flaws of your child would make you love him more. I discipline my kids by the 'face the wall' method. You see, when they have become too hardheaded, I ask them to stay in one corner and face the wall. At that time, I deprive them of anything. It's hard to see them crying. But I want them to realize that they cannot always have it their way.

It is easy to say that 'I am a parent'. What is more challenging is "I am a good parent". And in the end, it is only our children who can judge us in the end.

That Conversation

With three children, my husband and I are still trying to divide our time equally for our kids. It is not easy, and will never be easy. Sadly, our own relationship as husband & wife has to take a backseat for the sake of the kids. Last night was different...

I don't remember anymore the last time we talked about 'us'. And I was a bit teary-eyed last night because for the longest time, we talked about the past and the present. Our relationship was never perfect. Until now, I am asking him to just be honest and admit his cheating in the past. He still doesn't want to admit it. But i realized that it didn't matter at all. For what is more important is 'now'. Admitting something will not change anything. So you may ask why i still bothered to make him admit. My answered would be "Wala lang" Oh the stupid me! It's just that whenever I ask him that, we'd talk about the happy and sad things of our relationship, and we would just laugh like kids:)

Then I realized, our relationship has become stronger. I am happy that I married someone who's willing to listen and share stories with me:)

The Girls: KK & CC

I am a mother of 3. Two girls and one baby. Raising them has been very challenging. When I was still single, I told my then-boyfriend-now-husband that I wanted 6 children. At that time, I thought that raising kids was just very easy, meaning I would just feed them and bathe them, etc. I never realized that being a parent is a big responsibility. Fast forward today, I thank God I don't have 6 children. I am already happy with 3! Now that the kids are growing up, yes, they grow up so fast!, I am now facing bigger responsibilities. You see, I worry a lot. And because of all the negative news these days, I worry for my two girls. I've been praying that they would always be safe and strong. 

Yesterday, since it was my eldest daughter's birthday last March 19, I promised that I would bring her to Jollibee. But I realized it would be heartbreaking to imagine leaving my other daughter, I decided to bring her also. Yesterday was the first time to go somewhere with my daughters alone. Since I've become a housewife, I don't go out that much anymore. KK, the eldest, was quiet, remembering all the things I told them like "Hold my hands", "Don't talk to strangers", etc. All along, she was just quiet, looking around, excited to be out of the house. CC, the second, was so hyper. She was jumping while walking, not holding my hands, and trying to walk away from me to see what else was there to see. It became so stressful for me. It was too difficult that I wished my husband was with us. But he decided not to join because he wants to take care of our son at home. So I was left with the two girls. 

In the end, when we reached home, I was happy to see how happy they were with our short trip. In my mind, I had hope that they would grow up faster, so that I don't have to carry either one of them:) It has made me realized also that I cannot impose all the things that I want them to adhere to. I also saw how different they are from each other:)