Telling My Son About the Weather

(Image source: Amazon)

This is one of the books that my darling mother sent us with the balikbayan box and my son absolutely loves it when I read this to him. Of course, it's the SNOWMAN book for him.

I especially love it because it has these transparencies pages.

Whenever I'm reading it though, I really can't help but wonder how I can make it more relevant for him. You see, I grew up reading American textbooks and had always wanted to see seasons changing and the like. Unfortunately, I have yet to see autumn and I have yet to see snow. I have yet to enjoy outdoor fireplaces and go sugaring. So yeah, sometimes I feel a little sad that my son might end up like me. Then again, not everyone will travel the world for real, and I have always been thankful for reading because I got to be in different places and time.

Well, son, Mommy will do her best to give you the world but if she can't, I hope I raise you well enough to go get it for yourself.

Homeschooling Looms

I am still on the fence whether I would enrol my son in the Reading Program of CFA this year. I'm thinking that since he's already able to recognize some letters, then I may just be able to teach him to read without the guidelines the program will offer. Then again, other households get their children enrolled in playschool at age two even so I really shouldn't shy away from the reading program which promises to have a child reading in three months.

One other reason I have is that bittersweet feeling of having just one year left before the textbooks and actual instruction begins for my son and I. I am not yet overwhelmed by the responsibilities I will face... it's just that this is more proof that Yakee is no longer a baby.

Anyway, we're breaking ground with attending Church more regularly this year. Faith is the basic foundation of homeschooling anyway.

Zero to Ten Temper

I'm one of those people whose temper goes from zero to ten. No in between. I'd be patient and calm one minute and suddenly, am mighty angry and rabid as hell.

Unfortunately, it's not good if am parenting my child because he doesn't get any warnings at all when am going to combust. So there I was, patient and loving one minute, trying to help a post-Holiday Yakee to settle back for his afternoon nap when I suddenly lost it because Yakee kept trying to poke my eye out. I started spanking. And it wasn't calm, controlled, numbered spanking either. I was not screaming but my voice was raised also and I was shaking with anger. Then later on, with guilt.

Sigh.

I was spoiled with over a week of having others to help me care for him. Pappie was there, for one. He was also spoiled with having other people to entertain him. Today was the first day that we're left to our own devices and Yakee didn't wake up happy to start with because I was not in bed with him, I was out hanging the clothes I washed last night.

After my son has calmed down, he started telling me again and again "I Love you" (Awahu). Sigh. Then we played with clay, and he asked for HOT MILK and bread. Now he's there, playing the drums. And am very calm again. But I also hate what happened.

I vowed to be a better Mom and am not making good on that promise.

Dreaming of Daybeds

Yakee is old enough now for me not to be worried that he might fall off a bed. Plus, I sort of really want a sofa of sorts in our living room already. Of course, getting a day bed would mean less space for him to move and dance around in our living room. Plus, good ones are will be as expensive as our bed upstairs. Hmmm... should I get some Minka Aire lamps instead?

Sigh. Can't wait to move in our own place. It would make decorating a breeze if I know that we're staying there on a more permanent basis. Right now, there's that mindset that we're leaving this place anyway so why invest in it.

The Diet Begins

It's not like it's anything drastic. But i've cut down on rice. I plan to do things slowly and ease myself into the healthier eating. I'm seriously craving bananas too. Sigh. Hubs, on the other hand, hit the treadmill again. I am trying to arrange my routine so that I'd have time to do that in the early hours of the morning while hubs is still here and our son is still asleep. But that means I shouldn't be working in the wee hours of the morning anymore.

The lack of sleep is really exhausting me. I can't keep up with other things anymore and constantly feel as if am going to get run down by a bus. Wonder if I should purchase an online life insurance already, just to make sure. Hehe. But really, it's such a mark of how old i've gotten. I used to thrive in just a few hours of sleep. Now, I seem to not get enough.

But like what I said, the diet begins. Good luck to me.

Alexander von Furstenberg

Most women probably know his mother more, the luminous Diane von Furstenberg who repeatedly amazes and challenges Project Runway contestants. And certainly, his lineage is far from shabby, having descended from the adoptive family of Emperor Napoleon I and William Thomas Beckford, with both parents well-known fashion designers and a bloodline that literally spans Europe and Australia. But Alexander von Furstenberg is famous in his own right for being an astute businessman. He was able to turn Diane von Furstenberg Studio, LP (a global luxury lifestyle brand)'s annual revenue, for example, into $200 million.

He is also famous for being one of the more visible philanthropists of our time. He currently serves as Director and Secretary of The Diller - von Furstenberg Family Foundation which supports education, communities, disease research, children, the environment and human rights issues world-wide. Just last September, he made a donation of $150,000 to Heal the Bay. And just a day before Christmas, it was reported that he made a pledge of $50,000 to the Roy W. Roberts, II Watts/Willowbrook Boys & Girls Club in Loas Angeles. The funds will be used to jumpstart a music program for the kids in the Boys and Girls club by allowing them to purchase instruments as well as get trained by world-renowned music teachers from Venezuela.

I just chanced upon his name and the news and decided to read it to my son. Apart from intending to read to him of inspirational legends like Washington and Shakespeare and Rizal, I also hope i'd be able to offer him enough modern-day heroes to emulate and learn from.

Gifts Mommy Liked

Gifts Yakee got, that is.

Well, first of all, I am really thankful for everything he got. It's great that people are thoughtful and he is loved. But of course, there are gifts that literally made Mommy smile.

1) Books (it showed consideration of my kind of parenting, plus, it's really a gift he enjoys again and again and again)
2) Whiteboard/Blackboard/Magnetic Board (gift from Tita Ninang Gang... which he can't wait to use)
3) Leather Chest and Seat (gift from Momsy which I hope to turn into his learning chest, just have to figure out what things to put in there and where it will be stationed)
4) Color Palette Learning Set (it's made of cardboard but teaches colors in a really fun way, we both had a blast playing with it already, and Yakee is trained enough not to crumple the cardboard anymore, gift from Andie)

What about you, what gifts did your kid got that you liked?

And were there gifts that you really wished weren't given? Ahehe.