Free 325ml Select bottled water

Who among us really believe they would win in raffles, lottery and the like? I'm pretty sure most of us go through the motions of filling out the stubs, dropping them and forget. Just this morning before I tear opened the peel-off card, I asked for God's favor. Guess what? The two cards contain free bottled waters! It is really not much but the fact is I won ;-D God answers our most trivial prayers. Thank You, Jesus!

snapshots

here are some pictures of my boys. thank God for camera phones and for helps who know how to use them! these are really precious. my husband almost cried when i sent him a copy.

In fashion: Breastfeeding

During the time of our grandparents, there was breastmilk. When our parents became parents, they had a choice: breastmilk or formula. At that time, I am a bit inclined that the preferred choice was the latter. Nowadays, more and more people become aware of the benefits of breastmilk. Here are some of them:

• for the baby - fewer and shorter episodes of illness; colostrum (the first milk) is a gentle, natural laxative that helps clear baby’s intestine; delays the onset of hereditary allergic disease, and lowers the risk of developing allergic disease; helps the baby’s immune system mature, protecting the baby in the meantime from viral, bacteria, and parasitic infections
  
• for the mother - increased levels of oxytocin stimulate postpartum uterine contractions, minimizing blood loss and encouraging rapid uterine toning; because breastfed babies are healthier, their mothers miss less work and spend less time and money on pediatric care; breastfeeding increases the rate of weight loss in most nursing mothers (taken from medela website)
• Best of all, it is free!

I am a mother of two. I breastfed my first born until we found out we were pregnant with our second child, that was around 8 months of pure breastmilk for him. Now, with my second son, I am breastfeeding again. Gone are the days when we hide someplace to feed our child. I nurse my little one while chatting with friends or having discussions with my prayer group. All we need are the right clothes / gear and we are good to go. Check out some of the nice to haves of breastfeeding moms.

This is the nursing wrap in chocolate brown.
Here is a hoodie,

a short sleeved blouse,

a tank top,

and a shrug to match.

Another good thing is that when we travel, we don't need bottles and nipples to clean. We just have to bring ME!

Little Flower

"St. Therese, the Little Flower, pick me a rose from the heavenly garden and send it to me with a message of love. Ask God to grant me the grace I implore. Tell Him I will love him each day more and more."

Early this morning, my son gave me a tiny flower he picked from our backyard. It was such a sweet gesture. I did not know if his "ate" (that is how he calls our help) instructed him to do so. Just the same, I took it as a sign of an answered prayer.

I wanted to have a snapshot of the flower but unfortunately it wilted before I had a chance (sigh)

Homemaker Tips

Over the years, I have accumulated clutter. I have saved all my bills and receipts since I have no idea which ones to dispose and to keep. Good thing I stumbled upon this site http://www.nestle.com.ph/recipe/nclub/hometips.asp. My initial intention is to look for new recipes instead I ended up looking at some useful tips for the home and family. Here are some of them which I plan to do this year:

• hold a garage sale - We just moved to a new apartment and got a chance to revisit our old stuff. Some of which we have not touched and forgotten. We therefore decided, it is time to sell the stuff. Who knows, someone might be in need of these things. It is a win-win situation. As with Clean House, everything left will go to charity.
• create bonding moments - I believe that family time need not be expensive as long as you are together. I have a 21-month old boy that is full of energy. He is happy to help everyone. After our grocery shopping, he helped out to sort the groceries and put them in their designated storage. We had fun, got work done and spent quality time! This weekend, we plan to visit the cemetery near the airport where we can see the planes take off and land. I'm sure we will again have a blast.
• outdoor fun - For our kids, we are trying to implement a no television policy until age 3. Studies show that television is harmful for a child's development. We therefore commit ourselves to playtime with our babies, a fitting reward after a long day in the office. For weekends, it would be nice to run around or fly a kite and have picnics in the park.