Marriage and Beyond

I received an email two days ago from the PayU2Blog admin, I just won $100! Now I know why I never had that widget removed from my sidebar. Of course that would be aside from the fact that I  love that they give me complete freedom in doing the tasks they send my way, requiring the shortest minimum number of words from amongst the number of paid for blogging platforms I am a member of.  I am so loving PayU2Blog, you can very well say that. 

As if winning the hundred bucks wasn’t enough, I am given a chance to win $100 more. I was given the honor of being one of the four chosen recipients of their generosity to win the additional bucks at stake. I was told to choose from amongst their players for their Badminton championship to play for me and if my players win, I get to receive that extra $100 to my PayPal account on the next payday! Sweet! What an early birthday gift for moi.

The hubby and I love badminton.  We used to regularly play when the little guy was not around yet.  I actually miss playing.  And I love that PayU2Blog picked me to participate in my first badminton tournament (albeit virtually)  in years and with the hundred bucks to my account.  Tell me now, what could be sweeter?! My first choice were Feeve and Jason, but I received an email that the two have been picked already. My second choice were Derek and David. These guys are set to play Friday or Monday, weather permitting. Whether double D win or lose, I am already a winner. My heartfelt thanks to PayU2Blog! You are a channel of God’s blessing to me and my family.  That’s  almost half of what we need to raise for the full payment of our car makeover!

Right from when our son was in utero, the hubby and I were convinced that we are going to raise up not just a child we can live with, but a child who will be a blessing to others. Despite the many controversies Baby Wise has with a lot of attachment parenting groups, we held on and we have since seen the benefits it reaps our family, especially our little one. He is more social, bright and confident than children his age.

It is just logical that parents set the rules because children do not have the slightest clue on what’s right and what’s not. One basic foundational thing we have as an anchor in child rearing is, “freedom comes with responsibility.” The child has to know his restrictions primarily because he doesn’t know any better.

11 mos.                              1yr.                     1yr., 3mos.

      1yr.,6mos.             2yrs.,9mos.      3yrs.(current)

Even now that he is just past three years old, he knows and understands why he is not allowed to play with things that are not toys. He has also learned a certain level of discipline that even if we eat outside the house, he remains seated on his chair until he is done. All of us have seen enough adults chasing kids to eat their meals. Discipline and self-control is taught from childhood. It parallels with how the Lord wants his children to stay under the umbrella of His protection, because once we step out, we subject ourselves to heartaches and pains that sin brings.

When our son grows up, we will allow him to decide for himself what he wants to be or if he wants to go to a school just like the Nouveau Riche College. Continue Reading »

I just love the articles that a fellow homeschooling member from Y! groups shares with us periodically. Thanks again, Karen! These snippets of wise stuff could really come in handy, especially when we parents just find ourselves in some kind of a power struggle with our little ones. For us, it’s not often but it does happen. Even our bright and shiny little guy could test our patience sometimes and it is important to know how we should respond to his attempts of defiance.

Do you find yourself yelling sometimes just to be heard? Does the yelling frustrate you but you feel there’s no other way? We find that parents often yell when they don’t have a plan. Some parents don’t know how to fix a problem with their kids so they become louder, thinking that the intensity created through yelling will have some kind of positive effect. It doesn’t work.

 

Motivating with harshness can keep children in line or get them to accomplish a task, but that method damages family relationships. In Jeremiah 10:24, Jeremiah prays, “Correct me, Lord, but only with justice—not in your anger, lest you reduce me to nothing.” In the end, it is closeness that provides parents with teachable moments and the relaxed enjoyment of family life. Yelling and harshness discourage trust, essential to help young people learn valuable principles about life. Continue Reading »

The hubby and I were three years in our marriage when our little guy arrived. He was everything we ever prayed for. Right from the time he was two months old, he was already sleeping through the night! He is such an easy baby. The hubby and I prepared ourselves with childbirth preparations and studied the varied views of parenting and we applied Baby wise right from day one. It worked for us, despite the fact that there are people who are against its principles, I can only say how it worked for us and we will always be glad that we stuck it out. Only those who have not actually read the book from cover to cover will label it as rigid. This much I can say, its principles are backed by what the Bible teaches.

People around celebrated with us and made sure they made themselves available for just about anything we needed. We were blessed to have been lent all those baby furniture that we did not have to buy. From baby travel cots, baby prams, bassinet, bouncer, crib, baby pushchairs to playpen. All of these are pricey. I mean if we could very well afford it, we could have bought, why not. But then again, people around us offered to lend us their baby stuff and we were more than grateful. Besides a lot of them told us that babies outgrow everything all too soon, so we figured it was really more practical to just borrow. And that too, like Baby wise, worked for us just fine.

1. Discipline calmly. Do not discipline in anger. The Bible says in Proverbs 29:11 that, “a fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control.” Doing this helps us communicate love to our children while disciplining them. It also helps us check our motives while we are applying the necessary disciplinary action to our children. Continue Reading »

The Bible talks about how God responds to His children when they do wrong. It clearly teaches that God disciplines them, not punish them. Continue Reading »

As ministers, we have met so many hurting parents who are disheartened at how their children chose the path they took. We are not just ministers to these people, I have also emphasized that we are proactive parents to our toddler son. We choose what we do now to make sure our son’s foundation from the critical stage of development is right. We do not just want to raise a son who we can live with, but also we want him to be a blessing to the people around him.

There is one website that I have especially bookmarked for this very concern – PreventDelinquency.org. Continue Reading »

My son has this fascination lately on this oven glove flash card. He always takes time out to read out to me each of his flash cards everyday and would especially take this one out and go to our kitchen area, point to the Ove glove I use for cooking. He is now into associating and defining things. Continue Reading »

Author: Susan Alexander Yates

And yet another great find from BOOKSALE. For now, I’m posting a review done by a fellow mom posted on the amazon site for this book. I have yet to finish reading, but even before my pupils reach half of what’s written, I’m already all into it. Feeling with the author and getting all excited with everything that’s in it. So for the meantime even as I read on, I hope to share this with you. . . Continue Reading »

Why is disciplining a child very important? The Bible shares two practical reasons. First, disciplining our children is an evidence that we love them. Continue Reading »

As proactive parents to our almost three year old toddler, me and dear husband are always on the lookout for great ideas that will allow our son to reach his maximum potential. Our son sure has a lot of energy and he would often pull his papa to go on a roundabout for their usual adventure games. Continue Reading »

I remember starting leaning towards natural when I first got pregnant. I became very careful in the things I took in because I knew the baby in my tummy gets everything I take in. My being conscious regarding this matter all the more manifested when the baby finally came. I made sure everything I had him eat was organic. Continue Reading »

Last night was our son’s first night to sleep on his big boy bed, in his very own room. It took him quite a while before he dozed off to sleep. He made just one trip to the potty but went right back to his bed. Around midnight when both me and dear husband were off to retiring, we heard our son call his papa and when he carried him and was ready to put him down on our family bed. He then appealed and told us that he wants to sleep on his new bed. Continue Reading »

Genre: Parenting & Families
Author: Barbara Candiano-Marcus
This book is very entertaining, and written in a manner no other book I have read with regards to parenting. It does include the usual milestone stuff, activities in given ages. Continue Reading »

Even before my son was born, my husband and I have considerably prepared for his birth. Believe it or not, from day one of finding out we were pregnant, we were already doting pro active parents. I have even read about La Leche League, the authority on breastfeeding and even acquired their special edition book. We attended all the child care classes preparation we could get our hands on.

Breastfeeding tops all our major essentials that we were set on conquering, at all cost. Continue Reading »

This project dates back to the seventies and is unsurprisingly still relevant to this age. This was a ten year study of children between 8 to 18 months. The researchers were led by Dr. Burton White, intently studied the young children to find out how experiences in the early years contribute to the development of a healthy, intelligent, competent human beings. These are the conclusions, as originally reported in the American Psychological Association Monitor: Continue Reading »

At last after attempting to finish several books that I started reading, I’m finally done with a book in many years tonight and I feel excited to finish the next book I started a few minutes ago. It’s the book that was reviewed by Jennie a few posts back. I just finished reading the foreword and I am itching to get back to it. My spirit is willing but my flesh is weak, so I think I’d resume reading it tomorrow - I just got back from our football team’s training at Marikina Sports Park then at Starbucks with Jennie where I finished the foreword (after finishing another book, “World Famous Battles”) of this book I’m talking about. Continue Reading »

In the spirit of Christmas, I’m jumping on this taggin’ train. The idea is to make a list of all your godchildren. I will try my very best to recall each and every one. I will have to dig in really deep (blame the anaesthesia!) and might probably just have to get back to edit this list when a name gets back to me. I’m jotting down my own godchildrens’ names, not counting the ones I acquired through Jeff. Continue Reading »

The Little Children’s Bible Storybook by the Scandinavia Publishing House has long been a staple in our bedtime routine. My sweet sister, Rose regularly showers Jed with all the gifts any loving Aunt can give, and this is one of our favorites. Continue Reading »

Category:Books
Genre: Parenting & Families
Author: Dr. James Dobson
First, the Book Description:
2005 Gold Medallion Award finalist!
Dr. James Dobson has completely rewritten, updated, and expanded his classic best seller The Strong-Willed Child for a new generation of parents and teachers. The New Strong-Willed Child follows on the heels of Dr. Dobson’s phenomenal best seller Bringing Up Boys. It offers practical how-to advice on raising difficult-to-handle children and incorporates the latest research with Dr. Dobson’s legendary wit and wisdom. The New Strong-Willed Child is being rushed to press for parents needing help dealing with sibling rivalry, adhd, low self-esteem, and other important issues. This book is a must-read for parents and teachers struggling to raise and teach children who are convinced they should be able to live by their own rules! Continue Reading »