Tantrum-pitching Toddlers Alert

And I still insist on doing gentle and positive discipline. Every morning, I read this to guide me in my dealings with a headstrong toddler. It has specific instructions on how to diffuse a potentially scream-inducing (for both the mother and the child) situation. Anyway, it has been a blessing to me and I'm sharing it.

Up There with Clowns and the Creature from the Black Lagoon

You know the Baby Einstein logo? The kid with about five strands of hair standing straight up and wearing eyeglasses? Well, it freaks out Marguerite. And, yes, I still let her watch Baby Einstein despite all the studies that say my kid is better off without it. I always watch it with her and point things out and generally keep up a steady stream of mundane chatter about what we're seeing on the screen. I don't just park her in front of the TV while I get on with my chores. We're mostly doing Wordsworth (has signs too, btw) and Da Vinci right now and I really believe it benefits my daughter to watch them. Yeah, so it has mostly been good, except for that logo. She anticipates them at the beginning and at the end, so she hides behind something or snuggles up to me. I used to touch the screen, demonstrating that it's just a drawing or a picture, but now I just scoop her up for a hug. I've also been fastforwarding and stopping the DVD right before the credits, but maybe I shouldn't do that. What do you think? How does one help a toddler overcome what seems to be an irrational fear? Anybody else's kid afraid of the logo?

The Hundredth Post

Hello. How are you? Fine? Great. So this is my one hundredth post. I ought to do something special to celebrate somehow, so I'm going to ask you how you prepare carrots for a picky toddler. My repertoire is pretty limited, just glazed or au gratin and Marguerite snubbed both. If you have an idea, please put a link in the comments section.

Also, only because I was tagged. I'm not going to tag anybody else:

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? No

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Yesterday

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Sure

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? No favorites

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? The Marvelous Marguerite

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? It would depend on my (the other me) personality, wouldn't it?

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Sadly, yes.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? If somebody were going to pay me a million dollars...

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? No faves

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Most of my shoes don't have laces.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Physically, not really.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? No faves

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? I don't really "notice" people particularly until they've shown that they're interesting in some way. I'm usually nice, but I'm sadly very oblivious.

15. RED OR PINK? Red

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? That I grew up feeling the need to act all affected, that I can be a jerk

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? Great friends from the past I've lost touch with

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? I'm putting this on my blog, so I break this path of the chain.

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Pants? shoes?

20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? Carrots au gratin

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? These Are the Days (10,000 Maniacs)

22. IF YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Something that sounds pompous, but is just good old red.

23. FAVORITE SMELLS? cinnamon, vanilla, baking...

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? That girl from Citibank who was actually looking for Husband

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Sure

26. FAVORITE SPORTS? I just like to watch - basketball, volleyball, surfing, gymnastics, diving, swimming... well, almost anything, except for golf

27. HAIR COLOR? I'll have to check the box.

28. EYE COLOR? Brown

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? No

30. FAVORITE FOOD? Italian, lots of cheese

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy endings

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? The Holiday (at home)

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Shirt?

34. SUMMER OR WINTER? Will have to be sun or rain and the answer's sun.

35. HUGS OR KISSES? Depends on whom they're coming from

36. FAVORITE DESSERT? No faves

37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? N/A

38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? N/A

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? Rereading "And Then There Were Five" by Elizabeth Enright - love those Melendy kids

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? Don't use one.

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT? Didn't watch TV.

42. FAVORITE SOUND? Marguerite's babble, holiday sounds, and Parisian café muzak

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Beatles

44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME??? Hmm, I have no idea as to the actual distance, but I've been both to Europe and the US.

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? Still hiding

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? In a hospital

Touring Our Backyard

A short time back, we offered to take a friend who was visiting from the US to the Angono Petroglyphs. It was to be mine and Husband's first time to see it as well. I'd been meaning to go for ages, but I somehow always ended up at the mall. Our friend remarked on the number of malls in the country and their obvious popularity. Forget parks or museums, the Filipinos are a malling people. How's that for a third world culture? Personally, I think it's mainly because of the airconditioning. People in the tropics seldom appreciate their climate. Anyway, back to prehistoric writing...

We had fun trying to find the figures that were supposed to be there. The turtle, frog, and snake were pretty easy to spot, but I think at one point we identified the same figure as a person and a lizard. Before the site became protected by the government and some other international agencies, vandals had been able to leave their mark. There's the innate instinct to do something for posterity's sake, let future generations know that "Lino was here". There was one wiseacre who thought he would add another creature to the menagerie and etched the word "DOG". He probably went home and told his friends to see if they could spot a dog.

Anyway, the petroglyphs weren't the only attraction. You know the shy grass that we just trample without a second thought? It held the utmost fascination for our friend. Nerd that I am, I had to give its latin name and offer tidbits of herbal information. She also saw huge (normal-sized for the locals) red ants (if you can identify what kind it is, please leave the name in the comments section) with their butts tilted up in the air, like little scorpions. Then there were the butterflies with their amazing colors (even the locals were in awe), lavender, electric blue, mint blue with a chocolate lace trim, red, orange, bright yellow... Wouldn't you know it? Husband failed to take a picture of them, but I promise I'm not making this up. I introduced our guest to the sweet nectar of santan. As kids we used to pluck the little flowers and sip from their straw-like stalk(?). Husband told her about sticking a star-apple leaf to her chin. The sap is like glue. I didn't get the fun in doing that, plus it makes your face dirty. Trust a boy.

For lunch, we went to Balaw Balaw, a restaurant-cum-gallery that used to serve exotic dishes, but has stopped doing so upon the orders of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Our friend was interested in trying out a python, but the restaurant doesn't serve it anymore. Happily, she was still able to find a couple of things that were on the exotic side: Soup No. 5 (Ever heard the joke about the man who ate in a restaurant near the arena where a bullfight had just happened?) and snails (which were pretty common to us locals).

After that we took her to the UP campus (Happy Centennial to us, btw), where her dad had also gone to for college. It's so weird to note that I was, in fact, ten years older than the students around us. I didn't feel older. It was just like looking at my classmates. That was me though. I didn't see myself (hips that have given birth, older eyes with a hint of crow's feet, the extra twenty pounds...) with their eyes. Whatever. It was strange. Have you ever gone back to your college and felt that the current students were just clones of your batch, that you could swear that that boy or that girl had been in your Humanities class?

Anyway, we had so much fun that day, mostly because of our friend. She was a lovely guest, brimming with enthusiasm and bonhommie. I'll remember to be more like her when I'm someone else's guest.

B-b-b-b-blogroll!

I added a list of blogs that I follow in the right margin-space-thing. It's not even nearly done as I have to remember the others. I haven't had much time lately to indulge in this hobby, but it is really one that I enjoy. I learn so much from these blogs. You can guess where my interests lay if you'd give each one a visit. Generally, they'd all have something to do with homeschooling, parenting, homemaking, frugal living, or natural living.

And we'll call this post a "Weekly Whimsy".

Kevin Spacey in "The Usual Suspects" Had It

"The toes knows (sic)."

Just from glancing at my feet, Chip's doctor was able to tell me that I needed to stay longer in the bathroom. That telltale part was actually not the toes, but somewhere around the ankles. The temperature of the feet could also say if there's something wrong with the heart(?).

Anyway, basically, Chip has to make herself stronger with positive thoughts and proper nutrition, but lately, she has been throwing up everything she ingests as she is way too acidic. My Dad finally got around to installing the alkaline water system that he had bought months ago and as he was watching the accompanying promotional video, he ruefully turned to me and said, "It's our fault. Maybe Chip wouldn't have gotten sick if we had installed this right away." Our...We?!?! He was the one who had to find the time to build a rack first. Anyway, no point in pointing fingers (or sharing blame). Hopefully, the alkaline water would do the trick and help Chip keep things down by getting rid of the acid reflux. Specific prayer request: fix ascending diaphragm so Chip can get properly nourished and be on her way to strengthening her immunity.

Marguerite is back to normal. Skin is clear again, temp just fine, and toddler is now leaving mild chaos in her trail here at home.

You know what I have been neglecting since Chip got sick? Weekly Whimsies... and Marguerite's daily Spanish hour. Spanish hour will resume today. Weekly Whimsies? We'll see. I don't think I have time for them just yet.

Edited to add: I initially put "Seven" in the title, my bad.

We Are Cutting Molars Here

Fever coming in spurts and then breaking out in a heat rash and being extremely fussy and screaming as though she wants the roof to cave in - those molars really know how to make an entrance. Thoughts coming in spurts and in a very random manner being conveyed in blog - this is all I can manage in the five minutes I'm allowed to go online, so if this post is incoherent, nobody's stoned, just sleepless and exhausted, is all.

Almost out of biter cookies. Will make some more. Recipes on wholesomebabyfood.com (no time to embed link). All teethers and binkies in the fridge. Husband suggested making frozen juice chips (he read it somewhere). Lots of water to flush fever. No need to starve it (and I wouldn't) as appetite's low. Baking soda mixed in bathwater. Creativity seriously challenged by constant need for redirection. Does anybody know if it's okay to reuse Koolfever as I notice that the gel cools again? Bye.

Neurological Alphabet

We've started Chip on laser treatment. The concept was favorable with our family because it goes beyond western medicine, which focuses on drugs and surgery. With this method, there's no need for hospital confinement, drugs, exhausting and painful tests, etc. She actually hasn't been tested with the ARDK yet since she's not generating enough electricity (that's how I understood it anyway), but her doctor says she's exhibiting both symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis and Guillain-Barré (Ascending Paralysis). The pain points to MS (GB would be more numb than painful), while her gag reflex indicates an ascending diaphragm. She has thus far already had two days of treatment. Please pray right along with us that the lasers be successful in correcting all her problems. The doctor says that for any treatment to be effective, the patient's attitude should be positive and healthy. I think we might have a problem right there, so please also pray for Chip to overcome her frustration and impatience. Thanks.

Marguerite's 15th Month Well-Baby; Chesca's Birthday

Marguerite turned 15 months on December 22, but we decided to let the holidays pass before taking her. Anyway, we've got a healthy daughter although her milk and food intake is still 50/50. The child loves her milk. She's in the 50th percentile (American standard) when it comes to her weight, and the 75th when it comes to her height. She can walk and dance. She sleeps more than 12 hours a day. She's very chatty, definitely more than ten words to her repertoire, plus she signs. We're switching vitamins from Nutrilin and Ceelin to something more natural from Healthy Options. We're not getting the MMR vaccine. Our pedi lets us know what the mainstream practices are regarding immunization, but supports our decision to selectively vaccinate. She practices natural medicine as well and discourages introducing chemicals into the baby's body.

Anyway, as we were about to leave, it occurred to me to ask her if she could recommend somebody who could look into my sister's case. She sent us down to the 16th floor to her husband and we were introduced to ARDK. I've already told my Dad about it and he seems very interested as the lumbosacral MRI didn't seem to point to anything conclusive either and yet my sister continues in terrible pain despite all these good results from numerous and expensive tests. I feel hopeful about this. Some good news, my sister was able to stand and take two steps this morning according to my Dad. Please continue to pray for her.

After Marguerite's check-up, we went to her cousin Chesca's 7th birthday. Here are some pics:

De Gustibus Non Est Disputandum

There's really no accounting for taste. Last Christmas, I made gingerbread cookies following the standard recipe using molasses and everybody save one boy hated them. This time, I used corn syrup and my cookies were a hit! We were able to do the traditional decor icing on New Year's Day, kinda late, I know, but better late than missing it altogether this season. You can see the kids' effort here. For icing, I just used milk and confectioner's sugar with a drop of whichever extract I preferred.

Things haven't gone back to normal around here. My sister seems to be getting worse. She's scheduled to go through another MRI again today, in fact. It has been over a month now, but we continue to hold on to God's promises and just trust Him to have control over the situation. Here's a pic of Marguerite in her nightie, giving her Aunt Chip early morning entertainment.