Spinning Lovely Days

Just Cuz I Can't Fall Asleep

noreply@blogger.com (spinninglovelydays) — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 21:39:00 +0000

I've been up since 10 last night (I napped from 8:30 to then). It's now 5am. I have to report for work at 9. Why didn't I just continue sleeping when I was sleepy? Hmph.

News. I had a papsmear before Christmas. I forgot to get the results. Anyway, I thought the results would be fine. My OB-GYN said the color was very clear. So, I was too confident. Turns out I had moderate inflammation and needed medication.

Other news. Cameron had his 5th month well-baby visit last Saturday and baby boy is fine. In fact, he's above the 95th percentile when it comes to length, and in the 50th to 75th percentile for weight. Our pedi, the nurse, Mark and I all agreed that he's a handsome boy. :D

Bourne Legacy and a Lot of Hot Air...

noreply@blogger.com (spinninglovelydays) — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 01:03:00 +0000

Like I said in a previous post, my family spent last weekend in Clark. It was Cameron's first trip out of town and I think it went pretty well. Then again, the travel took just about 2-3 hours one-way (probably shouldn't be more than 2, but getting out of the city contributed a lot to it). We booked a hotel room with a kitchen so that we didn't have to eat out for every meal (eating out - now, that's stressful). Let it be put on record that Mark is pissed with the Bourne Legacy people (they were shooting in the city market - a street over from where we live, and no, I didn't even try to catch a glimpse of Matt Damon or Rachel Wiesz... side rant: I grew up reading Robert Ludlum because my dad is a fan - first book: Icarus Agenda, back in 5th grade - I was too young for it, but I wanted to read a grown-up book because I was pretentious like that... oh right, the rant... I don't cotton to the idea of Matt Damon being Jason Bourne. I don't know. Matt Damon... with him, it'll always be the '80s and he's this kid actor... yeah, anyway, that wasn't really a rant... back to Mark's issue) he wanted to get grapes as a car snack (it's just something you pop in your mouth, how convenient is that!) but, no, the market was closed to the public because of the shooting. He could have gone to the supermarket - we have 2, both also just a street over, but nooooooooo, Mark does not buy fruits from the supermarket if he can help it. Anyway, moving on to our actual trip. It was thrilling to see para-gliders and hang gliders and skydivers and hot air balloons... from outside the actual airfield. You can tell from the pictures that we didn't go inside the actual fair grounds. The ticket line was enough to discourage me. The crowd was another thing. We just joined many others who opted to just park their cars outside the airfield and we actually had a better view of the exhibitions. We were also more comfortable either sitting in our cars or outside them in folding chairs or on picnic blankets. The aerial exhibitions were what we were after anyway. Maybe when the kids are bigger and would appreciate the museums, etc. we'll brave the lines and crowds -- or not. I really won't tolerate crowds if I have a choice.

Update: Mark has just told me that Matt Damon isn't doing this Bourne installment, so that just goes to prove how unconcerned I was/am with all the shooting hoopla that happened... I don't know who Jeremy Renner is, and when I tried to google him, the first key phrase that dropped down was "jeremy renner gay"... anyway...

Happy Birthday, Dear Aya!

noreply@blogger.com (spinninglovelydays) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 14:42:00 +0000

To celebrate Aya's first birthday, which falls on Valentine's Day, her parents invited their family and friends to participate in a bit of random revelry - a sort of life-embracing gesture, an act of love...

First, a cake (you'll probably have to click to see)

and a flower (I think this one could actually pass for a marguerite, hee)

and a balloon (that one actually says Cameron Balloons, but by the time I pointed it out to Mark, it had already turned)

actually, balloonS

We were in Clark for the Hot Air Balloon Festival. We already saw the Friday dusk balloon rise, but thought we'd be too tired if we went for the dawn rise the following day too - and, you know, it would basically just be the same thing we'd already seen, AND there would be the much bigger crowd to deal with as well - but after much vacillating on my part in the wee hours of Saturday morning, I decided to wake Mark up. We packed a picnic breakfast and carried that and our sleeping kids to the car.

So here we are in our jammies and our bed hair (mine was quickly combed through with fingers and messily bunned up), watching the balloons and a beautiful sunrise...

Marguerite in the sunshine...

BIRTHDAY GREETINGS FROM THE GOZES, AYA DEAR! <3 <3 <3

Happy to Have These Pics... and Check out the Afterthought

noreply@blogger.com (spinninglovelydays) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:13:00 +0000

Hello. My blogging momentum has taken a little dip for the time being as I've been so busy and got even busier recently doing overtime to make up for missing last Friday (my aunt was visiting from the States) and this coming Friday (we're going out of town). Still incredibly busy, but I just had to share these pics from our company Christmas party last year (I just got to see them). Anyway, I'm so glad I got copies of these since I hardly have any pics from that night (Marguerite got to take home a printed copy of a photo booth shot of her and the other kids at the party, and Mark got to take a few pics of the baby, and that's about it...).

Johan Sy, a colleague of ours, took these. I'm not sure if I recall right, but I think he specializes in children's portraits. He's definitely great with kids from what I observed that night. Anyway, Marguerite's are particularly beautiful as you can see. And I love the shot of her kissing her baby brother! Precious! You can see some more of Johan's work here: http://studiyo.wordpress.com/

While I'm at it, I might as well share this recent (as in just a few minutes ago) exchange between Marguerite and myself.

Marguerite: Yesterday I got to see the most famous movie ever!

Me, curiously: Which movie is that?

Marguerite, with awe in her voice: Tinkerbell and the Lost Treasure.

Me, getting increasingly amazed as the exchange progressed (first, I wasn't aware that M knew the word "famous" and that that movie was considered - by her anyway - famous...): Oh, really? How did you like it?

Marguerite: It brought tears to my eyes.

What the...? I don't think I expressed myself similarly at 5. That definitely didn't come from Mark either, unless he was chattier and more melodramatic as a kid...

As Fun as an Impeachment

noreply@blogger.com (spinninglovelydays) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 19:22:00 +0000

It's impeachment season once again and I'm really trying not to tune in as I still have work during those hours, but I told my mom to let me know when something exciting goes on, hee. I don't want to talk politics, but just for the record, I'm actually against this impeachment, as opposed to the one that happened a decade ago (I was definitely for that one). It has nothing to do with the fact that my cousin is one of Chief Justice Corona's defense lawyers (clue: uh, it's not retired Chief Justice Serafin Cuevas). Anyway, impeachment trials can be very entertaining if you prefer to ignore the implications it actually has, and this one has already had some fun parts (basically when the prosecution is bumbling around). We really can't help but be reminded of the events that unfolded 10 years ago. In the words of a certain Latino penguin (I'm not sure which one), I feel like reminiscin'. Just as much as the previous impeachment had me going around saying stuff like sub poena duces tecum (I took up Latin - a requirement for European Languages majors, so I know the right way to pronounce it, but I preferred to ape the worst ways in which this phrase was mangled at that time) and Mr. Specker (I'm so sorry, to those who cannot relate, lol), I'm now calling my mom, the Honorable Lady from Marikina or my husband, the Distinguished Gentleman from Quezon City. Many of the characters now also played roles in the last impeachment and I can't help but notice what a big difference 10 years makes. Basically, everybody's so much older. The lead counsel for the defense is an octogenarian; so is the Senate President, and so is Sen. Joker Arroyo (incidentally, 3 of the best legal minds in that venue). I wonder how this one will end. Anyway...

To the Pool

noreply@blogger.com (spinninglovelydays) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:11:00 +0000

Marguerite’s set to have swimming lessons, probably sometime before summer officially starts. She’ll take them at the nearby sports complex (incidentally where I also learned how to swim, but I was much older than she is now). She’s fascinated by water and often pretends now that she’s swimming under the sea (Look, Mom! I can brief underwater!) because, if you didn’t know already, she’s a mermaid (on top of being Plum Pudding and Rapunzel). Remember her Halloween costume last year? She actually wanted to dress her brother up as Urchin (from the Little Mermaid) so they could both be merpeople. Anyway, as you may or may not know, we’re deciding on what kind of dwelling to invest in. Condo units usually mean we’d have easy access to a swimming pool, but I’m not sure I’m that fond of living in a building - waiting for elevators, parking several stories below in a common parking lot (your slot in which you have to pay for separately), no room for homesteading… Anyway, here’s an idea that’s easier thought out than carried out. How about we buy land on which we gradually build our small home and then have a pool put in? It sounds so easy, lol. What do we know about maintaining pools anyway? I’m pretty clueless, but I’m pretty sure it’s not just a hole you fill up with water, hee. There’s drainage and filter and general pool supply, etc. Of course, there’s always the community pool. The idea of not having to take a trip, no matter how short, to get to the pool is just appealing, I guess. However, if I could really have my choice, I'd prefer a natural stream or brook over a pool any day. Of course, over here, I wouldn't trust natural bodies of water to be safe and clean, so we don't really have a choice when it comes to swimming.

Car Rides with Kids

noreply@blogger.com (spinninglovelydays) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 17:31:00 +0000

Traffic and kids... the potential for going berserk is pretty high in a setup involving these elements. I think I reported more than a year ago that Marguerite had already discovered that charming travel mantra (mantra as repetition is key) "Are we there yet?" and she hates being caught in a traffic jam. We deal with her by trying to find something fun and entertaining to do while in the car. How about the baby though? Cameron has decided that he absolutely would not stand for an unmoving car. He would be sleeping and as soon as we're stuck in traffic, his lids shoot up and we have an indignant baby on our hands. Distracting him usually does not work. He knows what he wants and that is a moving car; he won't stop the racket until he gets what he wants. What works sometimes is feeding him, but that means getting him out of his carseat, which is boring to do, hee, and besides the novelty wears off after a little while, especially if he's not hungry in the first place. It really makes you dread hitting the really busy spots of the metropolis. Mark and I are crazy to always be talking about going on roadtrips, lol.

It's Now a Tandem

noreply@blogger.com (spinninglovelydays) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:49:00 +0000

Kids. I have kidS. Plural. Sometimes, I still get amazed that I'm now a parent to two kids. And their affinity with each other is so clear. Marguerite is delighted in her brother. She has issues about the way things are now, but she has never showed resentment toward Cameron. She's actually very possessive of her brother. The baby, on the other hand, adores his big sister. He loves watching her dance and he thinks she's very funny -- well, 5-yr-old humor would be very sophisticated as perceived by a baby, lol.

Well, folks, Mark put me to shame yesterday. Remember how I said he'd take forever and a month to fix the video for uploading? Lookit! All resized and uploaded.

Pics for Lola's Birthday

noreply@blogger.com (spinninglovelydays) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:54:00 +0000

Hi. I'm posting pics we took of the kids to send especially for my mother-in-law's birthday. She's in Zurich and it has been years since Midge got to see her (there are webcam visits, of course) and Cameron has yet to meet her.

Just in case you don't get the captions, that's just me being stupid. Cameron's are references to Zoolander and Tangled. You'd think I have too much time on my hands, snort. There's also a video, but it's taking me forever to resize it. If Mark were to do it, it would take maybe forever and a month...

Gōng Xǐ Fā Cái

noreply@blogger.com (spinninglovelydays) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:51:00 +0000

Time to eat tikoy/niangao once again. If anybody wants to throw some (filled) ang pows this way, I wouldn't object either...

I was born in another year of the dragon. I don't believe in luck, but I'm definitely praying that lots of wonderful things happen for me and my kith and kin this year.

These don't have anything to do with the lunar new year, but I'm posting them... More baby pictures... Happy Chinese New Year!

Take Advantage of Walgreens Prescription Savings Club

noreply@blogger.com (spinninglovelydays) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 22:00:00 +0000

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Walgreens for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

When we stayed with my aunt in Fresno, there was a Walgreens close to the house so it was easy to make quick trips for any drugstore need we might have had. As frequently as we dropped in for small purchases, it would have really helped to have what Walgreens is offering now, which is a special discount on annual membership for its Walgreens Prescription Savings Club. This comes in really handy for anybody who has a Walgreens close by, but especially so for big families and people with diabetes or other medical conditions. Members receive discount prices on their prescriptions. Benefits also include:

- Savings on more than 8000 brand-name medications, and on all generic ones (which is great news for those who prefer to shop generic, like I do)

- Discounts on flu vaccines (if you believe in vaccination, this is really helpful because they come up with updated versions every year that target new strains, etc.), pet prescriptions (pet medication usually does not figure in the budget, so this could prove to be very useful), diabetic supplies and nebulizers

- Bonuses when you buy Walgreens brand products and avail of its photofinishing services

For just $10 a year, you can get a family membership for everyone in your immediate family - spouse, dependents who are 22 years old and younger, and even pets. For $5, individuals may also join.

You can show support and keep updated by following Walgreens on Twitter @Walgreens, and liking Walgreens on Facebook.

Snarl-free

noreply@blogger.com (spinninglovelydays) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 17:34:00 +0000

I wish I were talking about my parenting. Guess who got a haircut...

We got tired of snarls and constant reminders not to let her hair touch the toilet bowl...

She likes beauty salons (you know, like Lemon Meringue's from Strawberry Shortcake -- she's always giving us a makeovers. I'm seriously pissed that she learned about that stuff this early.) and there's an okay one at the corner, so off we went. This was her first trip. Previous haircuts were done by her Nannie.

Her hair has never been this short since she was probably about 2 years old...

She promised not to cry about missing her long hair, and then she tried to extract a promise from us that we would buy her a Rapunzel wig. Or a Plum Pudding wig because it's purple, and you know, she's frequently Plum Pudding -- e.g. We were at Hobbes and Landes and a clerk at the play area was going around asking the kids their names... everybody else was Nikki or Joaquin or Lindsay, but she gave Plum Pudding as her name, so the poor clerk had to call her that...

I keep on talking about the "last child in the woods" type of exposure, but who am I kidding? The outdoors usually has us breaking out in hives. :(

La Vache Qui... Regarde

noreply@blogger.com (spinninglovelydays) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 17:19:00 +0000

Here are more pictures of the baby. They were actually taken right after the two I featured yesterday had been taken. Babies can get away with wearing cow-inspired outfits to church, because believe it or not, Cameron was about to attend our Thanksgiving Service here on the night before New Year's Eve.

Speaking of cows... Marguerite has inherited my love for cheese... Wait. That sounded like I was calling Marguerite a cow. For the dense, the connection was with cheese, not my daughter. Anyway, she goes around nibbling on all types of cheeses. She particularly likes the soft ones. She was also very involved in the preparation of our holiday fondue. I'm not sure if it was age-appropriate considering there were heat and a sharp object involved (this quote from Friends came zipping to me -- Ross: Like I said, I was thinking of taking Emma to the Museum of Knives and Fire...), but the kid's a pro. Okay, I did fret and supervise a lot, but wielding a fondue fork and dipping baguette pieces in melted cheese came naturally to her. Sorry, no pic from those nights. I don't know why. Everybody was too busy pigging out, I guess.

Sensitive Skin Woes

noreply@blogger.com (spinninglovelydays) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 23:40:00 +0000

Two posts in a row? I must have time on my hands. Or this is a scheduled post. :)

It's not. I'm just blogging against my better judgment. And I actually do have some time. The kids are sleeping. I'm eating breakfast as I do this. I could be working on our slings instead, but it's easier to type in the dark than it is to sew.

So, thoughts... How is it that it felt natural before to share my every thought, rant and rave here? Now, it feels a little forced... Does that mean I had way too much time on my hands before?

Anyway, we're experiencing skin trouble in these parts. Marguerite has some sort of irritation on her legs. I don't know why, just really sensitive skin probably. Remember the itchy grub episode? She and I came out of a playdate with welts from those wretched caterpillars (they weren't on us; we just happened to be where they also had been) while our dates suffered no such discomfort. Anyway, Cameron seems to be having an allergic reaction to something as well; it could be his own drool... Anyway, I'm religiously ministering to Marguerite's irritation with aloe vera (we have some in the garden) and being all finicky about the baby's stuff - we changed his detergent, I've stopped using lotion on my hands (it's a compulsion of mine, my hands feel dry if I don't apply some every couple of hours -- anyway, I switched to petroleum jelly for now), I also stopped using the toner and emulsifier set my sister gave me, the ac's on more because sweating makes Cameron's bumps flare up, etc., I stopped eating chocolates...

So, I've shared some thoughts; now, the pics...

These pics are a couple of weeks old, but...

Cake All You Can

noreply@blogger.com (spinninglovelydays) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 20:15:00 +0000

I have blurry pics! And I announce it as though I expect anybody to be excited about that, lol.

We were up in the mountains again Saturday night. First, we stopped by the nearby sports center to inquire regarding karate lessons. Mark and Marguerite did that while I stayed in the car and nursed, so yeah, basically they came back with details on taekwondo lessons and some vague information on ballet lessons, just the stuff I was expecting to learn... What about karate? Well, folks, we will just change the topic... hee! Next, we drove by the dinky little mall where the dance studio Marguerite took ballet lessons in was located, and now I know why both its landline and mobile numbers were unreachable; there is now a church where the studio used to be. So, it turns out that unexpected (very vague) information on ballet lessons could prove to be useful.

Then we headed on to the mountains because the last time we had been there (last Wednesday, I believe), we had found out about the Seven Suites Hotel (turn left at the corner where The Old Spaghetti House is) and their dessert bar Sugar. We had seen a sign saying something like "All you can cake and coffee", so we thought we'd try it out. That night there were only four choices - carrot, double chocolate, Swiss Alps and caramel. I only had 3 slices, mainly because I had a baby to temper down my full enjoyment. I wasn't going to let shame or fear of diabetes stop me from committing gluttony, but fortunately Cameron was unwittingly saving me from my own foolishness. Mark had to run up and down with Marguerite, so he had an excuse for consuming who-knows-how-many slices. The main draw for Marguerite was the observatory. And the other kids, of course. She said she was going to have a pool party at the hotel for her birthday. Good plan. Our wallet can be thankful that it's crazy typhoon season around that time; pool parties are very rare.

There was a 3-yr-old kid who immediately walked up to Cameron as soon as she got there. While she was playing with the baby, I asked her, "What's your name?" and I heard her say something like, "I cannot say." I felt rebuffed, but impressed. "That's right. You shouldn't tell me because I'm a stranger. Very smart." I did find out her name though. Sort of. I heard her mom call her a name that sounded like Chon-say (Chauncey?) I was telling Mark about the name snub thing, when it occurred to me that she was actually tell me her name (I'm Chon-say). I just misheard. What an idiot! lol I'm sure her parents heard me too, hee.

Anyway, here are the blurry pics, as promised. You have to excuse Marguerite. She's all about the wacky shots these days. It would have been nice to have some pics of the cakes here too, but oh well, it didn't occur to me to take pictures of those.

Dinner out

noreply@blogger.com (spinninglovelydays) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 17:52:00 +0000

I'm all about the pictures these days. If I have none to share, then I probably won't blog, lol. Anyway, these are some taken last Thursday when my little family went out to dinner. I won gift certificates at our church Christmas party raffle (which was pretty amazing considering I normally stink something awful when it comes to raffles) and one of them was for The Old Spaghetti House. Mark and I opted to go to the one in the mountains, one of the branches nearest us (we live in a valley). I've blogged about eating there before here. Did you look? Marguerite was still so little. That was more than 3 years ago. They changed their playground equipment, but the one they have now is still crappy. I'm thinking it's not kids who busted those pieces. After hours, the place turns into a watering hole, so what would you like to bet that adults (presumably - they don't ask for IDs in this country) who've had one too many and decided to get silly at the swings are culpable? Anyway, here are the pics:

Weighing in on Being a WAHM

noreply@blogger.com (spinninglovelydays) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 23:27:00 +0000

"This is my entry to Stay at Home Blessings Adgitize 4th Year Blogging Giveaway. Join and win one year domain name and one-month advertising."

I think that with 5 years of work-at-home experience, I have a pretty good grasp of what is involved in the pursuit. I was a schoolteacher before I became a mom and two months before I gave birth, I had resigned my post to become the primary caregiver of my soon-arriving daughter. A few months into motherhood, I decided to help out my husband with our family income by taking on freelance writing work. I've always freelanced as a writer, mostly of feature stuff and short stories, but writing usually takes a back seat when I'm regularly employed. In any case, I started writing CMS manuals for a web development company. After that, I became aware of online writing gigs - mostly SEO/keyword-oriented writing through a writing egroup I was a member of. In the past 5 years, that has been the major source of my work-at-home income. I've had other gigs such as transcription work, translation, being a voice talent of sorts doing Spanish recordings for call centers, content writing, etc. I've been employed part-time to write, encode, proof, edit... stuff for a tutorial website, and now I'm employed full-time as a press release/article writer... It's hard to work from home, but as long as I can afford to do that, I'll do it because of my kids. It's of the utmost importance to me that I be around for them not only as their primary caregiver, but also as their primary teacher and influence. I'm exhausted though. No, I don't have hired help, although my family, esp my mom, help a lot. Still, I'm really tired. I haven't had a decent night's sleep since my third trimester of pregnancy, and it is only by the grace of God that I function reasonably well. It's really pretty amazing, considering all the things I have to accomplish in a day. It's not anything extraordinarily spectacular for moms, but mothers are amazing creatures anyway...

So Long and Thanks to Adgitize

noreply@blogger.com (spinninglovelydays) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 20:31:00 +0000

I'm really sad about Adgitize closing. I do feel guilty about not being more active in the past months. With the baby and everything else going on, I just couldn't hack blogging in general. I was planning on being active again come January, take a month-long ad as usual, but obviously I was too late. The same thing happened with CMF a few months back. I was inactive for a really long time because of being pregnant sick and pregnant lazy, and then one day, there was an announcement that it was soon closing. I know it couldn't have been just me, but these were programs I really appreciated for making the blogging experience a little bit more lucrative, and through them I met so many wonderful bloggers and got to know of so many fine blogs; I wish I had been more zealous in supporting them. I just thought one inactive member wouldn't do much damage, but of course, collectively, members who thought that way could. Anyway, I just wanted to give a shoutout of "thanks" to these two programs. I guess I'll be concentrating on Entrecard, memes, blog hops, etc. for more visits. Does anybody know if there's a similar program for bloggers? What would you recommend?

Some Pics of My Kids

noreply@blogger.com (spinninglovelydays) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 10:24:00 +0000

Once there was a time when I had a post everyday... EVERYfrigginday... I can barely remember that time. That was probably just a few months ago, but I only have a vague memory of what that's like. And I actually thought I was busy then.

Here's a humdinger: I am not THAT desperate for sleep. When Marguerite was a baby, I got to sleep some at night, and then my mom would let me sleep for about 2-4 hours in the afternoon while she watched the baby. I didn't have regular work then; I wasn't blogging - oh wait, I was. On MySpace. Remember MySpace? Anyway, I went around being all starved for sleep. Now, with Cameron, I sleep about 4-5 hours at night and get no nap during the day. I'm also tending to two kids (not very competently, but they get fed and bathed at the very least). I'm working full-time; the baby's latched on practically the entire time... And I'm pretty okay. Just when I'm thinking I'm all awesome and about to take full credit, I get reminded that I get plenty of help, and that God has made it all possible...

So basically, I'm just going to link to two albums...

Noël

noreply@blogger.com (spinninglovelydays) — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 17:38:00 +0000

Not too busy to post a Christmas greeting...

Win a Copy of "News from Dead Mule Swamp" by Joan H. Young

noreply@blogger.com (spinninglovelydays) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 01:58:00 +0000

If Joan aka Sharkbytes hadn't reminded me on Facebook, I would have totally forgotten that I turned 35 a few weeks ago -- So what? Here's what... that's midlife... not according to statistics I know, but according to the Bible (I think). I'm wondering if I should go have a midlife crisis...

Speaking of Sharkbytes, did you know that she's about to publish her own mystery? She's going to give away copies of "News from Dead Mule Swamp" (the first of hopefully many installments of Anastasia Raven mysteries) to winners of a contest she's sponsoring on one of her blogs. You can read the mechanics here. Deadline for entries is before midnight EST on November 30, 2011. I'm definitely joining, and I hope I win. I'm really excited to read it.

Go to the Nearest Forest for Kindergarten

noreply@blogger.com (spinninglovelydays) — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 23:53:00 +0000

I was going to write a longer intro for this video, but it's hard to type while nursing...

School's Out: Lessons from a Forest Kindergarten from Rona Richter on Vimeo.

Finally, a Post

noreply@blogger.com (spinninglovelydays) — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 01:52:00 +0000

I've been so flippin' busy and I know I've been horribly neglecting this poor blog. I'm still busy, so I'll just basically give you a rundown of what's been going on in my life.

- I've been breastfeeding all this time.

Okay, so that's not all I've been doing, although it certainly feels like it.

- I've been working. FULL TIME. It's been 5 years since I last did that. And I didn't have children then

- The baby blew an accidental (but solid) razzberry about two weeks ago, so now I think he might be a genius! (Moms!)

- Sometimes the baby goes mamamama when he cries or nenenene... which leads me to think that he's already talking (MAMA, obviously, and NENE, which is Taiwanese for boobs - my Taiwanese students told me, the words they choose to teach you, right?), so not only is he talking, he is a freaking polyglot... so my suspicion that he is a genius is further reinforced.

- Have you noticed how I still refer to the baby as the baby? Callhimcameronwhatswrongwithyougah!

- My first-born is officially neglected and has been acting up and therefore has been pronounced "not normal" (which is probably "evil" in their minds), but has been absolved from blame because she is just the victim of bad parenting, God, I want to get out of here!

- I cry a lot, but that has been a regular feature ever since I got pregnant with my first child.

- Speaking of which, Cameron may have a blocked tear duct since his right eye has been watery for the past couple of days.

- I had a slight cold, Marguerite had a worse version, Cameron had a runny nose one day and a crusty nose another day... I thought breastfed babies weren't supposed to catch bugs.

- Things are more or less fine, other than the fact that I'm exhausted and guilty and resentful of some people...

- I'm praying that God help me overcome these weaknesses... and also the hormones...

So here are my kids. I don't really want them to be "normal".

Gentle Discipline, Competition, Etc.

noreply@blogger.com (spinninglovelydays) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 03:48:00 +0000

Slight cold, trying to squelch the little buggers with, uh, overeating... I'll let you know if that works. Moving the baby's well-baby visit to the pedi to Sat because, this gal's no longer a freelancin', freewheelin' agent. Who am I kidding? When was I ever freewheeling in my life? No such pentecostal, I believe, lol...

We were doing our groceries last Sunday and Cameron began to throw the mother of all fits, and there was only one way to calm him down. The nursing station was 3 floors above, so I opted to just find a bench where I could feed the baby, but all the benches nearby were occupied, so I ended up at a Books for Less (thanks to the super nice clerks there), nursing and browsing through the parenting section (the chair was right next to that shelf). Anyway, I was thrilled to find Dr. Sears' Discipline book... As I've mentioned here ad nauseam, I'm doing gentle discipline, but my efforts kind of got derailed ever since we moved back in with my parents. It's a lame excuse, but I just don't have a thick enough hide for certain people's disapproval... So essentially, there's my naturally fiery temper and then the fact that my child's behavior is under scrutiny, so I've kind of strayed from what I believe in just to prove that I'm in control of my child (which is not what I want in the first place -- I want to be in charge, but not in control...) Anyway, with the book, I can get some support and guidance. Mark is also reading it, so at least, we could be a team about the discipline thing. In the past, he was pretty clueless about the method, but he trusted me to have chosen well and to know what I was doing (so unfair, right?)...

Also, here's an article I really like: Striking the Right Balance. I first heard this philosophy from the TV show Dharma & Greg. Dharma's dad Larry was against Dharma entering a ballroom dancing contest because he'd taught her to disapprove of competition -- what he said really struck a chord with me, something about not having to be better than others to feel good about one's self. For somebody who could be a little cut-throat, I found myself really liking the thought behind that. I was the dorky kid who had to have the highest scores, who had to win all the contests (not raffles though as I've always sucked and continue to suck at those... more like the bees type of contests -- you know, spelling, quiz, etc.)... I know this is not a popular belief, but it's what I adhere to...

The Case of the Mermaid and the Missing Doughnut

noreply@blogger.com (spinninglovelydays) — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 09:45:00 +0000

It has certainly been a long time between posts, but look! Pictures!

Before cute kiddie pics, here's one of mine. I don't go out without my nursing cover. I made it myself. I just re-purposed an apron using corset boning. Incidentally, I also don't go out without this exhausted, drab, washed-out look. It's my signature look these days.

Here are pics taken at a dedication and birthday party at our church. I think my mom will have to go blonde soon; easier to disguise roots.

Here are pics of Marguerite trick-or-treating. She had been talking about going as a mermaid, specifically Ariel, for the longest time. I asked Mark to look around for a costume, and if he couldn't find one, I'd just make the costume myself (them's brave words -- uh, hello? Time? Sewing skills?). Anyway, it was apparent that neither of us had time to look for and buy an Ariel costume or sew one, so Mark just got the first mermaid costume he found. Thankfully, the little girl had no complaints. Cameron was supposed to go as a doughnut. I made that costume, but we never got around to putting it on him. When he was happy, we didn't want to ruin the mood, and when he was cranky, we didn't want to aggravate things, so... the thing stayed in my bag. Anyway, his socks were a little costume-y. Oh, I'm getting to be good friends with the nurse at the mall's breastfeeding station too. I was there so often that I could have started paying rent.

More Cameron... That was Marguerite's carrier-cum-stroller. Mark had to put it together in a hurry Halloween morning, so he failed to put in all the parts, like the carrier's hood and some cup holders. I think the straps have an extra fastener too. He's so over this stroller though and is talking about getting a lighter, less unwieldy one. Look at the little guy! Does he look like he's a month and half old?

We went to UP afterwards to meet up with Mark's brother's family. See the little boy? That's our nephew Matthew. This was him. How time flies. He's so big now.