A Message to All Women

Financial Independence.

I believe it should be something that mothers and wives alike should try to achieve, whether you are happily married with two beautiful kids living in the outskirts of town or a fierce businesswoman living in an uptown condo with your lawyer husband.

Given our double-standard society, buying power is the ultimate equalizer. Your husband will not have complete control over you if you have a loud say on the monthly expenses at home. During untoward marital circumstances, you will not hesitate to call it quits because you have the capacity and the resources to feed you and your kids and put a roof above all your heads while at it. If you can buy a dainty Demi Curve or a pair of Givenchy without asking your husband's approval or his credit card, you remain a free woman.

I am not trying to desecrate the value of marriage or the partnership it entails. All I'm saying is that, there is nothing wrong with having your own money outside the wonted "marriage money". You can use it to fund for family emergencies. And when push comes to shove, you can also use the money to speed your way out of the house and pay for a nice hotel room where you can think things through.

Financial independence. Think about it.

About that Mosquito Patch

I promised to make a follow-up about this mosquito patch I mentioned in one of my previous posts. So here it is.

Well, D has been using the patch for almost a week now and I can confidently say that the patch worked! D has no new bite marks on her legs and arms, which I think is because of the patch. (Either that, or the mosquitos here at home suddenly went vegan.)

The mom-friend who recommended this patch to me also gave me another brilliant tip - put the patch at the lowest possible part of the child's body. That is because dengue-carrying mosquitos usually bite on the legs, so by putting the patch somewhere in the buttocks you can make sure your kid is free rom attacks. Clever huh?





These are actual photos of D wearing the patch. I took this last night, after I clipped her nails.

Yeah about that, what's with children and their rapidly-growing nails?! I think I'm clipping D's every two days. Will research on that. I'll tell you if I find something interesting.

Faith

If there is one thing that I want D to have and take a full grasp of, it is faith. I will not ask her to be religious, instead I will raise her in a home that has faith.

Religion can be easily questioned by science, and it can easily grow weak. Religion can be staged, tampered with. Religion can be faked.

And that is not something I want my kid to grow up believing in.

Every Mom's Best Friend

Coffee.

If you are like me who practically can't function without having (at the very least) one cup of good coffee, then perhaps you will understand where I'm coming from. But let me just tell you right off the bat that for me coffee is coffee, regardless if you pay 150php for it or made it from your ever-reliable stash of instant ground at home. I take coffee in whichever form. No judgement.

For mothers who are yet to discover the boons of drinking coffee, it is not too late. And the things below may just give you the final nudge you need to cross to the dark side.


Coffee wakes us up. 

         We all may be up at five in the morning (thanks to our kid's screaming) but it is only when we take our first sip that we become officially awake. And by awake, I mean sans the yawning and the bedroom hair.

Coffee helps us function through the day. 

You have probably heard of people getting cranky if they don't get their daily dose of caffeine. Have you met a mom at 10 a.m. who hasn't had her first cup of coffee yet? Did you like her? No? QED.

Coffee gives us a reason to be with friends. 

Not all mothers have the luxury to retain their pre-baby life, so it is one of a mother's little joys to be with friends once in a while. And what better way to spend time with your friends than talking over a good cup of coffee!

It stays with you through good times and bad. 

Whether you are reading an absorbing book or are silently weeping over some deep frustration, you can always count on a cup of coffee to be there with you without needing any reciprocation. 

Tummy Blues

D's been weird this past couple of days. She suddenly lost her appetite, and trust me when I say she's one helluva foodie. It runs in the genes, being foodie and all. But lately she refuses to eat anything usual, all she had was milk, some fruits, and lotsa water.

Then this morning I found out she has another molar coming. So that's why!

Since I was in the mall this afternoon, I decided to take a quick trip to Healthy Options and buy her Earth's Best Organic baby food thingies. I bought her the same thing when she first started eating solids, and luckily they have a separate variety just for toddlers!

I can't decide what flavor to get. But I thought she might want to eat something sweet after her tummy blues, so I got her Apples & Bananas and Sweet Potato Apricot. If she likes them, I'll buy more. For those days when she doesn't feel like eating rice. Or maybe for healthier afternoon snacks.

Mosquito Patch

Insect bites are nasty, especially if your kid gets them. D, my daughter, has been the favorite platter of insects and mosquitos for a couple of weeks now. I've tried everything - from anti-mosquito lotions and creams to clip-on repellents - and all have failed me and D.

But recently a mom-friend of mine recommended using insect repellent patches. Her 9-month old son has been using it since day one and no creepy-crawly has touched his skin since. That sounds like something I need! My mom-friend told me she bought the patches in BTC (6 patches for 50php) but I happily found the same thing in Rustan's Ayala for waaay cheaper (18 patches for 99php). I bought three sets. 

I immediately adhered one on D's shirt, and within seconds it was impossible to not smell the citronella. Awesome! 

Will write a follow-up entry if the patches are effective.

This is how it looks. 18 patches for 99php. So roughly that's about 5php a piece. Not bad for a 12-hour protection against bugs. 

The package says the wearer is protected within a full meter. Attach the patch on the child's clothes or stroller and you're set. 

Each patch comes in a cutesy design, which I think is a plus!