Faith or stupidity?

The Philippines is full of traditions and practices.  In the family, Holy week is a time of family get together in the ancestral house.  We spend sleepless nights enjoying the Bisita Iglesia (church visits).  We can walk 10 long kilometers without being tired.  We stop at each church and sing the Passion of Christ.  We fearfully watch people who practice penitence, carrying of the cross, the Nazarene, people scourging themselves.

   And when we know that somebody has done that he may be treated with respect because they are sinful people who are sorry for what they did and they want their sins washed so they share the passion of Christ.
It was so unfortunate that youngsters nowadays are doing just it to show their macho image.  They do not "know" what they are doing.  They want to prove to the audience that they can do it as well and they are brave.  Before when a penitent is passing by, we keep quiet.  We were made to believe that if we talk about the person, his sins will be transferred to us.  Very Filipino! Now, people make a fool out of them, because we know they just make fools out of themselves.  No respect at all!  Except for a chosen few whom we know who still have faith and are doing it for a reason.  Why no respect?  Simple stupidity!  After they pass by carrying the cross or hurt themselves through scourging, we find them drinking alcohol and making trouble.  We even saw some kids who were walking along the street with their costumes on and smoking, shouting and laughing.   They never thought (or never knew) that Jesus was not like this in his time.  He did not do it to show off!

It is seldom that we see people carrying the cross, because I believe it is harder than scourging.  Scourging is done when the back is numb, while walking all they feel is the heat.  They cannot make their body numb when they are carrying a cross.  Do I have point?  I believe I have!
This is one of the reasons why the Philippines is still a developing country.  When will people realize that it is up to them if they will succeed in life?
Have a marvelous life!

The homemaker of the century

Yes! I am a housewife! A homemaker! I've always wanted to be one.  I often told myself once I am out of the office, I am going to be free, free to do the things I wanna do! Have my own business, travel here and there, go shopping, etc. etc.
But...........I think I forgot something................I need to set my priorities.  I wanted to have my own business at once. AT ONCE.  I joined a Christmas bazaar with friends.  It was only near the house, but I barely had time for my family.  I have a four kids.  During this time, my husband had his gall bladder removed to avoid further complications.  I was attending to the store at the same to my family.  It pretended it was OK, but I know somewhere out there it wasn't.  I had to feel OK, because my friends are and I am enjoying what I am doing.

I told myself I am not going to look for a job, I will have my own business.  

After Christmas, the big questions were, WHAT NOW? What are your plans my dear? Where is your business.  It's somewhere along the way! LOL!

I am busy all the time.  Busy with what?  With my family.  I bathe them, I play with them, I pray with them, I eat with them, I send them to school and I attend to all their needs.  I am a busy mom!  From the time I left my job, I was not able to travel, the farthest place I've been to was Tarlac.  Shopping? Yes, I go to the malls all the time, but not to shop for myself, it's for my family.  I do the groceries.  I do not have a boss!  I have BOSSES! My kids!  I am more fulfilled, I am with them, they have me.  I cannot look for a job, because my eldest would tell me, "Mom, I am happy you are with us! Don't go to the office anymore, we are going to miss you!"  You should always be with us!" He did not want me to join the bazaar anymore because he said he didn't want me going home very late at night (it was a midnight bazaar).  

I have to come up with ways on how to earn money while at home.  To start with, I need to have good goods to sell in the internet, I need to have a network and a market, and I need to have a supplier of stuffs to sell.

It is hard to be at home ONLY.  I am busier now than when I was working.  Before I know it, the day has ended with a smile on my face, I know I was able to show my love to my family another day of my life. I can say there are the busiest days of my life.  Sometimes, I cannot even open the computer to write my blogs or read books, my four kids are all around me, and I love it.  I can write right now because all of them are all asleep. 

I am still planning my next steps and I know I am going to succeed with my kids as my inspiration.  

HUGS!!!

The Heat is on!!!

Holy week has just passed.  Every vacationer is back to reality like us.  I went home to my hometown in Tarlac, Philippines (Central Luzon) to take a simple vacation during the Holy week.  My kids were so excited to be back to the provinces because they wanted to play with soil, as simple as that.  But what I really want is for them to see what really happens in Tarlac during this time.  I want them to see our tradition which they won't see in Manila. Now that we are back in Manila, they are all sick because of the heat yesterday.  Manila is said to have the hottest temperature yesterday so far.  I heard it was 37 degrees.  We left Tarlac at 1230pm, we arrived Manila at about 4pm.  I was really hot.  At 9pm, my Twinkle started vomiting, followed by Halo.  Star and Uel had loose bowel movement starting this morning.  Today all of them were vomiting and making poop except for Uel, he never got sick.  The same thing happened to my nephew Ben, he was vomiting and had loose bowel movement starting 3am, my brother in law feels the same until now.  My Halo did not want to drink his milk anymore because he is afraid that he might get sick again.  Uel told me he goes to the toilet every time he eats.  Poor kids.

At times like this, I asked the sick person to take water with lots of sugar.  For the kids, I have pedialyte ready.  I advise them to take lots of liquids but not so muck milk because it can trigger vomiting.  Poor kids, and poor mom.  I don't want to panic.  When my husband arrived from office last night, Halo started to vomit, he was asking me.  "What did I feed my children?"  He has nobody else to ask except me.  It wasn't the food.  The food I ate was also the food that the affected people ate, also the drinks. 

I am blaming it on the heat.  Yes! The heat!  But the thing is, all those affected slept in rooms with aircon on.  All my kids were sick because right after the travel, they slept with the aircon on, practically all night.  My nephew and brother in law were at the hotel with the aircon on the whole night as well.  It was hot then sudden cold, it makes people sick, I know that now.  All we want is comfort for our kids, we didn't want them to be sick.  If only I knew!  

I am happy my Halo ate well during dinner tonight.  He, Twinkle and my nephew Ben were the most affected.

I pray that they're gonna be alright tomorrow.  

Breastfeeding Rules

Hi! Some people think that breastfeeding is just plain breastfeeding.  I will bluntly say it's not.  Breastfeeding is not a joke.  It is passion, a mother's desire.  It a big decision that a mother has to make before bearing a child.  It has it's own rules.  Some may think these rules are old fashioned, maybe they are but they are effective.
Here are the rules:
1.  Believe in what old people says, it matters.  They know better because they've been through it.  There was no formula milk in the past.

2.  Drink lots of liquids.  No cold drinks please.  Hot water, hot soup, name it. It stimulates milk production. Believe in the power of "malunggay" or ben oil tree.
3.  Allow the child to feed anytime he/she wants.  More will be produced if you do so, because it is  replenished.
4.  Bath with hot (bearable) water.
5.  Always wash your nipples before feeding, or wipe it with hot well towel.
6.  No eating of sour fruits like mangoes and guavas.  It will lessen your milk, take it from me, I experienced it.  It causes mastitis too.
7. A back massage helps in the production of milk.
8.  A mother should be proud that she breast feeds her baby.  It has its own benefits and advantages (more on that in my next posts).
Complaining is not the solution to successful breastfeeding.  It is sacrifice.  You may have sore nipples, wounded nipples, painful breasts and others.  But these are only a few compared to the future benefits the  mother and the child gets after.
I'll give one example.  I believe in this one.  The child is more intelligent if he/she was breastfed.  My kids are.
Have a good life.

BREASTFEEDING 101

Motherhood is the best thing that ever happened to me.  I have four kids.  2 boys and 2 girls (twins).  The eldest (Uel) is turning 6 in July, the second (Halo) is turning 3 in May, and the twins (Twinkle and Star) are turning one year old in June.  Yes, it is May, June and July.  My husband's birthday is July and I was born in August.
I can proudly say that I was able to breastfeed these 4 little ones while working.  How did I do it? I told myself "I CAN"!  Some thought I can't but I went the other way.  I chose to do it because I wanted to prove others that I can and I will.  Well, it was basically a challenge for me.  When I was pregnant with Uel, I prayed hard so I would produce milk after giving birth, I have the fear of having none, because most of my officemates never breastfeed.  Lucky for me, my mother guided me right after I gave birth.  When he was roomed - in, I had the first drop of milk.  My mother would literally climb up my bed to assist me and my son.  My husband was so frustrated because he thinks that my son was tortured.  In-laws never really match, believe me.  I can barely move that time because after 16 hours of labor I gave birth via Ceasarian Section. I was never hospitalized so just imagine what I have gone through in this experience.  When I did not have enough milk yet, he was given formula at the hospital. When we got home, I decided that I should exclusively breastfeed my son, (I am the mother so I will decide) so I asked my husband to throw away the formula left over.  I was successful.  I never left my son's side so I am available when he needs me.
When I went back to work after 3 months on leave (maternity and extra vacation leaves),  I brought with me my feeding bottles, breast pump, and cooler with ice.  Everybody was so amazed at what I was doing every 3 hours....expressing my milk.  Some were laughing at me, and I ignored them.  I am not doing it for anybody else but my loved ones.  My son has available stored milk all the time.  My father in law had to buy his own refrigerator because there is no space left for his beers inside the ref.  When he was nine months old, I went out of town on a conference, some would think how can I store the milk for 3 long days.  That was easy.  I made use of the coolers and freezers of the hotel.  The hotel crew was supportive. 2 weeks later, I went to a team building activity in Dumaguete, Negros Oriental (southern part of the Philippines).  I already got the support of my officemates so I am excused every time I need to express milk, or whenever I need to took for ice while on tour.  Again, the resort's kitchen was so useful.  I made use of their freezers.  Good thing it wasn't mistaken for cow's milk or ice drop.

When I gave birth to Halo (my second), perhaps I knew better.  I had more milk.  During that time, I was tempted to buy a freezer exclusively for breast milk, because our refrigerator had no more space.  I left the milk I expressed in the office freezer and I bring them home on Fridays.  I was able to travel to Palawan 3x (once in Coron and 2x in Puerto Princesa), I also went to Baguio when he was 2 months old. Wait till I tell you this.  I was able to travel to Hongkong for 4 days and he was fed on pure breast milk.  Actually I can leave the house for more than 2 weeks, without buying any formula.

Feeding my twins on pure breast milk has been a big challenge for me.  When I was still on maternity leave, they were exclusively feeding from me.  But when I got back to work, it was hard.  I had to produce for two.  I was always told by elders that it is impossible for me not to buy formula.  I believed them.  They are 10 months old now, I gave up working and unfortunately I cannot exclusively breastfeed them.  Maybe because I believed what others have said, "I cannot do it!"  They were successful, my mindset was different this time.  I cannot even leave the house for 12 hours straight, I worry.  I came to realize it is how the mother thinks.
Breastfeeding is rewarding and at the same time, I had learned so many lessons.  I am fulfilled because I know my children are healthy, and I am happy because I inspired others to do the same.  Believe me when I gave birth to my first son, it was only me who was breastfeeding in our office, but when I gave birth to my second, there were seven of us who did.  Some even made it longer than I did.  My longest was 1 year and a half, others did it for 2 years.
Wait for next post.....I will be telling more about breastfeeding.  How I did it, what helped me.  The advantages and benefits of breastfeeding, my rewards and experiences as a mom and  more.......... 
Stay fulfilled and be happy.