Zoe's first cinema experience: Monsters University

Zoe had her first movie experience last Saturday when we watched Monsters University along with my 2 nieces. We were a bit worried at first since she doesn't really watch TV for hours and we were thinking that she may want to get out of the movie house mid-movie so we opted to watch it at SM cinemas where movie tickets are quite reasonably priced. 

True enough, Zoe started walking around our seat area at the middle of the movie. Good thing we sat at an area where there was a wide space in between the next row. We were able to finish the movie peacefully though and she was quite proud of her cinema experience. 

'I don't like you'

Have you ever been disliked by your kids? I'm sure most of the time they do, they just don't voice it out all the time. Mine had, just recently.

So we were at the mall last Saturday and Zoe told us she did a number two only to find out that she didn't. When I was telling her that she should not tell me something that isn't true, she started screaming inside the bathroom for no apparent reason. Obviously, we emerged from the bathroom as enemies and she sought alliance from her daddy who was waiting for us outside. When my husband picked her up to ask her what happened, she suddenly bursted out 'I don't like Mommy'. And so there it was, the phrase that I had been dreading to hear.

I think I was caught off guard at that moment and wasn't able to handle to handle myself properly. I sort of had a little tantrum myself and my husband had to play referee between me and my daughter again. Gosh, it's so hard to be a parent when your child is always the teacher. 

The following day, we had to run some errands and we took Zoe with us. While my husband went to pee, we waited by a cellphone store and Zoe started knocking at the glass displays. I asked her to stand beside me but she refused so I took her hand. She refused again and started tugging her hand out of  my clasp until she started screaming again. So at the middle of the mall, I had a screaming toddler who was letting go of my hand as if I was a kidnapper trying to grab her. I let go of her and she went to face the corner with her arms crossed in front of her chest. I asked her calmly to hold my hand and she said 'NO, I'M MAD.' I said 'Why? Who are you mad at?' and she said 'I'M MAD AT YOU!'. I honestly didn't know if I was more amused or surprised when I saw her with her back facing me and her arms crossed on her chest. I could even see her lips pouted from her reflection. Boy, she was really upset. I backed off, remained where I was and asked 'Why are you mad at me?'. She didnt say anything so I just told her 'Alright, since you're still mad at me, I'll just stand here until you're not mad at me anymore.' Then she caught a glimpse of my reflection from the glass displays in front of her and she tried to hide a smile. Just a few minutes after that, she ran to me and gave me a hug and I knew we were ok. 

I've read a lot of parenting books and they're pretty helpful but it's very difficult to remember all those pointers when you're in a tricky situation flooded with emotions. I guess at the bottom of it all, it narrows down to respecting your child the same way you respect grown ups. 

Acute Viral Infection

Last weekend was the longest weekend of my life. Zoe was admitted to the hospital for suspected dengue. 

Last week, I noticed that Zoe would get low-grade fever intermittently everyday. There were no other symptoms -- no cough, no colds, no changes in her energy and eating pattern. I dismissed the first 2 days as fever due to her low water intake but the following days became more alarming to me especially because there weren't other symptoms manifested. On Friday night, we decided to take her to the ER for tests as per advice from her pediatrician.

She went through CBC, urinalysis, and dengue tests. Her dengue and urinalysis turned out negative but the ER doctor was concerned about the drop in her platelet count which normally suggests an infection or possible dengue. After talking to my pedia over the phone, the ER doctor suggested confinement to further observe Zoe's platelet count. 

The first 2 days that Zoe was confined, her platelet count continued to drop. We were in a daze cus she seemed normal and happy. Even her appetite remained the same, although we were advised to refrain from dark food. She had CBC tests every single day and I tried to stay positive and happy for her when they were extracting blood even though deep inside, I wanted to extract blood from the med-techs :S Finally, Zoe's platelet count soared higher than normal yesterday and we were given a go signal to return home. Her pedia's final diagnosis was acute viral infection. Thank God, praise you Lord.

At this time when the weather is all confused and moody, we all have to be extra careful with what we eat, where we go, and who we interact with. I have heard and read horror stories about dengue and other diseases and it really doesn't hurt to be more paranoid than needed and take your kids (or self) to the hospital when you feel a bit ill. 

My daughter's bath ritual

I'm a proud morena beauty and I have never been ashamed of my skin color even when I was younger. I've always stood by with my belief that it's not the skin color that's important but the skin health. 

Zoe's quite fair and people always tease Dan and I where she got her skin color. Well, Dan's family is Chinese and his mother is really fair but I need not explain that to every single person who asks me why my daughter isn't morena like me. While I don't have any plans of making her fairer than she is, I'm quite particular in caring for skin's health and ensuring that it remains smooth and soft. So I'd like to share my daughter's bath ritual that's proven to make her skin supple and smooth.

Things that I use:
1. Green tea bag (it can be clear green or green tea jasmine. The latter just has a more favorable scent)
2. calamansi 
3. 1/4 cup evaporated milk (can be any brand, can be fresh milk too)
4. J&J milk lotion

How I do it:

1. I steep a bag of tea in a cup of hot water for around 5 minutes. I pour the tea into Zoe's bath water and let the bag sit there until the pail of water is full. Be careful not to tear the tea bag.

2. I lather the milk all over Zoe's skin -- back, chest, arms, armpits, thighs, legs, groin and butt area, feet. NEVER ON THE FACE.

3. I squeeze the calamansi on my palms and apply directly on Zoe's skin. I skip this step if Zoe has a wound or scratch as this can sting. If she has fresh mosquito bites, I still do this provided that the bites have not been scratched.





4. I let the milk and calamansi sit on her skin while I brush her teeth.

5. Bathe as usual. Apply J&J milk lotion on her skin after bath.

This ritual has proven to be quite effective in making her skin nice and smooth. As a matter of fact, Zoe had around 6 mosquito bite marks on her legs last Sunday because my husband forgot to put her jammies on before they went to the living room. I was so depressed and beyond irritated when I saw how unsightly bite marks were. I just went on with this daily process and come Wednesday, the bite marks were already gone as if they never existed there in the first place. 

Say what, Saab?!

Pol Medina, the creator of Pugad Baboy was recently sacked by PDI due to controversial comic strip. While I don't really have any care for this issue, someone seemed to have very strong feelings about this and attempted to write a smart article about it. I say 'attempt' because what started out as a 'smart opinion' on the issue turned out to be a shallow, superficial post on why she hates Assumption Antipolo. One might say 'what??? how's that related to the topic?'. Oh well, here are her points that didn't really make sense to me:

First of all, if you have the money to go to Assumption Antipolo, you very well have the budget to buy simple ponytails worth P5-10 perhaps. Setting that shallow ponytail issue aside, does she even know why there are rules like that in exclusive schools? Obviously she doesn't cus she might be too busy wallowing in her angst for the past several years. One of the basic reasons for this is to prevent jealousy among the students. Some schools now even include meals in their fees because they want to avoid the 'pasiklaban ng lunch' among students. Seriously, you couldn't understand girl? 

My response to point number 6 is this:

Honestly, I wouldn't have cared (and prolly a lot of people wouldn't have either) if she didn't name drop the school. Assumption Antipolo deserves far more respect than this. Chill, Saab Magalona. If you hate Assumption Antipolo so much, don't worry, I'm sure they hate you back. Next time, study well, read well, and most importantly, investigate before you react negatively. 

Zoe's 3rd birthday party: Photo coverage

Ok, so I know I said that this McDonald's party will remain small and simple. However, I realized that I didn't want my attention taken from the party by worrying about who will take the photos or what the photos will look like. In the past, I've already mentioned that Dan and I are quite challenged artistically and that includes taking pictures.

I lurked at the Photo and Video thread on GT and read good reviews on For Keeps Photo. I checked their website and was pretty pleased with their portfolio. Their rates are as follows:

PHOTO FOR KIDDIE BIRTHDAY PARTY  PACKAGE 1 - { P3,000 }
Maximum of 4 hours
30pcs 5R size matte finish photo prints
Photos stored in DVD medium as proof
Photos are edited 
Free Delivery via courier

PHOTO FOR KIDDIE BIRTHDAY PARTY  PACKAGE 2 - { P3,500 }
Maximum of 4 hours
30pcs 5R size matte finish photo prints
Photos stored in DVD medium as proof 
6 X 8 Picturebook ( Softbound )
Photos are edited 

Free Delivery via courier


I sent them an inquiry through their website and got a response immediately through email (same night) and text (following day). David Lim quoted P3,500 since the location is quite far from his place. However, as a bonus, this rate includes 40 print outs instead of 30. I was suprised that he didn't require a deposit to block off the date. He just sent me a form through email which I filled out and sent back immediately. Just like that, I was able to book them for Zoe's party. 

Planning Zoe's 3rd birthday party

We initially planned on taking Zoe to Hongkong Disneyland on her 2nd or 3rd birthday but realized that we needed to focus our finances more on something else. It was only early this year that my husband and I decided to throw a small party for Zoe at McDonald's for her 3rd birthday in September.

I put my foot down on the guestlist and decided on a max of 40 people. I only really planned on inviting immediate relatives (read: parents and siblings on both sides). Dan's family is quite big and if we are going to invite them all, we might as well just pursue our Disneyland plans. 

Our next step was to choose which McDonald's branch. We first thought of the one along Libis but later on realized that all of our guests will be coming from the East so what the heck, we'll have it at McDonald's Marcos Highway. Super lapit! We went there last weekend to inquire and I ended up booking the date right there and then. We also decided on the food items and I was quoted P179 for the following:
- chicken and spaghetti with drinks
- cheeseburger
- sundae
- french fries

We made Zoe choose a party theme a long time ago and she chose Toy Story. The party fee for this is P3000 which includes the following:
- 30 party hats, party mats, and balloons
- 30 lootbags
- gift for the celebrant
- game prizes
- party hosting
- mascot appearance

Since this is a failry small and simple party, I'm foregoing on a lot of things and just focusing on the party basics. One of the things on my list is a party cake and of course, it would only have to be from my beloved cake supplier, Nadine of Swirls N Sprinkles. I ordered a 1-tier 9x3 cake with a Jessie topper for only P2000. She surprised me by saying that she will give 1 dozen cupcakes for free as her birthday gift to Zoe. I was super touched and grateful! I love free things :P

For now, those are the only things that I have accomplished. I dont think I will be adding more party details though. I just want Zoe to experience a McDonald's party since I know that she's been looking forward to it =)