Booksale Madness

I was really bent on either getting a massage or body scrub this afternoon but I happened to pass by Booksale at Rob Malate. And there I remained for over an hour. Sigh. Plus, I also spent the same amount of time at National Bookstore, comparing book prices and wondering if I could find the same books at Booksale.

Sigh.

I ended up buying three books there. I swear, you can visit the store everyday and find daily deals. But what I do is visit different branches so that i'd be sure to find great finds. Have I said that I found Quidditch Through the Ages in one, in mint condition, for only P40? :)

I did resist in buying this Maiasaura storybook :D I don't want to overwhelm Yakee with dinosaur stuff, lest he loses interest. Three books for now is enough.

Marlene Aguilar Is A Mom

Marlene Aguilar is a mom. But for the life of me, I cannot sympathize with her just now.

I've always remembered this mother before in the panel being interviewed by Mel and Jay at the height of the Vizconde Massacre/Webb Trial who admitted to probably also hiding her son and sparing him from a life in prison. That, I actually understand. A parent doesn't have to be in denial of her child's crime for her to want to protect said child.

But Marlene not only kept her son from facing up to his crimes, she armed him and ended up harming him more. I seriously doubt NBI folks would have opened fire that much if Ivler was unarmed. But Ivler was armed and he 'defended' himself by shooting at law enforcers. How is that not a recipe for disaster?

And now I see Marlene detailing the many injuries he got from the shootout and all I can think of is, she armed her son. The same son who ended the lives of other people. Worse, she compromised her other children's lives because she was protecting this one. The others could have been easily home and hurt... and the trauma alone is more than an average kid can handle.

Seems like a classic case of a mother knowing/believing she failed a child and making up for it in any way possible, while invoking motherly love.

I don't have an enabling bone in my body and I've always felt that you can't say you're a mother if you can't be a mother to other creations. Being a Mom is a title that not everyone fully deserve.

What If Wednesdays

What If Wednesdays is something I thought of to hold for my kids someday, and hopefully during mealtimes. Experts say you shouldn't be discussing family problems at the table and What If Wednesdays is something I think will tickle my kids' fancy and boost their creative, thinking, imaginative skills.

Basically, one just says, "What if this is that?" and the others will think about it and voice out possible scenarios. Samples:

What if there's no more water? (then we'd all die, then we'd evolve to not need water anymore, then we'd recycle water more, then we'd melt the polar ice caps, etc)
What if farts are visible? (then nobody can deny it, then I wish it'd be colorful, then it's not gas anymore and will be gross, etc)
What if we have three feet? (then shoes will be more expensive, then we'll be walking bent a little forward, then we won't be easy to stumble, etc)
What if everybody was deaf? (then we'd all know sign language, then there won't be music, then we'd all be expressive, then we can't whistle at dogs, etc)

I hope to make thinking and learning and bonding fun for my family. I don't mind if my kids will be into rocket science or rv repair or baking clay, but I really hope they'd have a passion for learning greater than the one I have, and a passion for family greater than the one we'll raise them in.

Playing With Baby

Playing with your child is just the hardest thing to do. Because you shouldn't be directing the play and just letting him do what he wants, letting his world unfold naturally while you watch and glean what you can from what he does.

Plus, it's been proven time and again that when they're the ones making the connection, they learn the idea better.

Take for example a remote control car... I sometimes really want to grab the remote control from my son's hand to show him that the car can be made to move forward as well. Or when we're playing with clay, I sometimes want to insist that the molds are there so we can make pretty stuff with the dough. 90% of the time, I resist and let him be. And because I do, the rewards just keep coming and coming.

Because play with them is a serious, serious thing. It's how they make sense of the world... even if we can't make sense of their play.

Siblings' Diabetes Increases GD In Your Pregnancy

If you have a sibling with diabetes, that increases the likelihood that you will develop gestational diabetes during your pregnancy. The odds are even bigger compared to just having one or both parents with diabetes. This is based on a study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

The study found that having two parents with diabetes increased a woman's likelihood of having diabetes eightfold but only doubled the likelihood of gestational diabetes. When a woman has a diabetic sibling, there was a sevenfold increase in the risk of gestational diabetes but only a slightly elevated risk of Type 2 diabetes. The results were based on a study of 4,566 mothers who participated in the National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey.

Source

At a time when even children are being diagnosed with diabetes, this is especially helpful for women of child-bearing age. Hopefully, people from families with a diabetic history will be more vigilant with their diet and lifestyle and will get themselves tested regulalry. And pregnant women from such families would do well to follow a strict diet and lifestyle plan during their pregnancy to avoid gestational diabetes, which brings about so many pregnancy and birth complications.

Breastfeeding Conversations on Facebook

It's really funny that once upon a time, I only ever talked about Sweet Dreams novels with this girl in class. She had to migrate to the US after our second year in high school and I have never heard of or from her since... Facebook. Now, we're both married. And both moms. And it's refreshing to see her commenting on most of my breastfeeding-related posts.

Another girl who was once a classmate is also now a regular commenter when I talk, rant or rave about breastfeeding. :)

I know some of my friends can't relate (especially the unmarried guys) and I know other women really just give breastfeeding a token go, but it's still nice that Facebook allows us to bring breastfeeding into the mainstream. Hopefully, each day, at least one person becomes a convert enough to save a child's life and health someday.

Hair Loss and Mommyhood

When I first got pregnant, my hormones acting up meant that I had lots of falling hair. Then that stabilized and I had real shiny hair. Yup, I had the pregnancy glow so much, I have never been more beautiful!

Then after I gave birth, I had months when I really wondered if I already had alopecia. Then I also thought the stress of adjusting to a new baby will get me bald! It was really yucky having to sweep hair off the floor everyday. I felt I could get a wig made every day! Ugh. I consulted doctors if I needed hair loss treatment but that was not prescribed.

Now I still suffer a lot of falling hair, but mostly because I use warm water for bathing. See, I also take a bath at night, so even if I don't heat water during the day, I'd surely heat some at night. But since I made the connection of hot water and more falling hair, I made sure that the water we use is not overly warm, just enough for our bodies not to be cold. I don't want more hair follicles dying on me.