Hover board...cool or fowl?!?

Hello there everyone,

I hope everyone's day is going well. Let's talk about what everyone else is talking about:

http://www.hoverboard360.com/collections/all-hoverboards

The "Smart Balance" hoverboards. Let me be honest here, this thing has got me thinking...no, really it has.

Did we really need it? I mean like, we're already lazy with all the technology around us.

We were hardly going outside, we hardly worked out, we hardly moved our bums, and now this?

No really? Just think about it...

How doctors say that we have to move around and not sit still for too long, because it will harms our muscles/bones.

We shouldn't even be sitting in front of a computer for too long without moving around or stretching...

and now we have this, which means we will soon stop walking too!!!

REALLY??

Yeah, it's cool and stuff, but do you REALLY REALLY need it in your lives??

We hear/read everywhere that we should walk regularly and walking is a great exercise,

If we/our children have this, would we/our children want to walk when we/they can hover?? Honestly, ask yourself!

For me, this is a flop invention which will drag down our health faster than it already is.

The decision is yours to make, obviously!

Don't forget to share your thoughts and until next time... :)

More indoor game/activity idea for rainy days

Good day everyone,

It's been a very, very, very long time since I've written a post suggesting some games. Actually, I realize that I've only written this 1 post about it, which makes me want to go and hide. But I won't, because I FINALLY have some more ideas on games to play/activities to do with you child(ren) for rainy days.

The activity I've planned is called beading necklaces or something similar, but we'll call it that for now. I really like this game because I've seen different age groups enjoying this activity. This is how it goes:

You need: tube pasta, string/yarn, child paint, plastic containers, and newspaper
Activity: First, cover your work area with newspaper, because who likes paint all over their work area? Well, to be honest I don't want paint all over our work area. After you've covered your work area, you and your child(ren) can now go crazy with the paint. :P Haha, I'm just kidding.

Pour paint in how many ever plastic containers you've got (I've got 4) and divide pasta in the containers. Toss and turn the pasta until all of it is well covered with paint, then lay it out on the newspaper and let it dry (I prefer overnight).

Now is where the fun begins! Cut out a big piece of yarn/string, long enough so that you have plenty to work with and to tie around the child(ren)'s neck. PLEASE have a extra long piece because if you tie a s short piece of string in a child's neck, it is a choking hazard!!! After you've got the LOOONNNGGG piece of string/yarn, take one "bead" and tie it at one end of the string, so that "beads" don't fall off. Your child can then "bead" the string and make a beautiful colorful necklace with the pasta. For making "beading" easier, you can tape the other end of the string.

Source: http://www.hellowonderful.co/post/FEATHER-PASTA-NECKLACE-CRAFT

I really like the idea in the picture above. I do have some feathers and other crafty items at home, we might try with things we have. 

I really like this activity because even the older age group can enjoy this activity, like they can use the actual beads or their favorite charms and so on. So really, just try with whatever you have or whatever your child(ren) want to make a necklace of. 

This is the activity we are excited to do some day soon and we want to hear from you, too. Here's a post about some of the activities we tried and enjoyed. Are you excited about trying this with your child(ren)? Please let us know in the comments below and have fun! 

See you later, alligator. 

It's THE day!!! It's her birthday!!

Happy Birthday to Ar!! Happy Birthday to Ar!!

Hello everyone,

I hope you are having a wonderful day! It is the day we've been waiting for (or were we?), Ar is 2!! She now had 2 candles to blow.

She knew something was up today and she kept saying "happy happy". :D

I can't believe the time just flew by...and yes, I'll say this every year! We just don't want our kids to grow; because we love them so much when they are young, not to say that we don't when they are older. It's just something about infants/toddlers/preschoolers that is just too adorable and innocent and beautiful.

Growing up brings so much challenges and changes in the child. Some changes are good and some are not too good?!? For example, the child(ren) will finally say "I love you" (good change), and they will also call you "mean" (not so good change).

Nonetheless, I can't imagine who Ar grows to be and I am so confident in my upbringing that I know, I'll be proud of her day after day.

Today, I was happy and sad. Happy because she's growing up and sad because she's growing up. :P

No seriously, I was happy because I am so thankful to God that He gifted me such a gorgeous, beautiful and adorable daughter. She's the best thing/person that God EVER gifted me, after my husband of course.

I was sad because she was growing up and that she's going to be independent and that she'll go away one day. :( Not that being independent is wrong and I don't like independence, in fact, I am a strong believer of independence. I'd love my daughter to be independent, but I don't know what it is. And of course, I'll be happy when she's happily married and living in her own house, but I'll miss her.

Oh well, that's years and years away but just thinking about it makes me tear up. My love for her is something I've never experienced before, NEVER! (well of course, she's my first child, so obviously I wouldn't have). It's like when I think of her deeply, I tear up like in even less than a minute and I get a lump in my throat and I want to cry. It's just that kind of love. I don't know if this is something every parent feels or I'm just overacting, but it is true!

Anyway, as you can see in the picture, we just had her blow out 2 candles and we just cut a plain cake to celebrate the day she was born. On this very day, I was, unfortunately and sadly, not feeling too well to dress her up and just make it a little special. But you, and I, both know her party is coming up and I will make up to her. So, we'll just have to wait. ;) :P

Till then, ENJOY EVERY MOMENT WITH YOUR CHILD(REN), they won't be like this forever!! Oh, and if you're looking for games to play with your child(ren), I have this post where I suggest 3 games. I will upload another game soon, so stay in touch. 

Good night.

Change of plans again....sorry?!?

Good day everyone,

Hopefully everyone's having a wonderful day.

I had to think quite a bit before posting this...but then I thought one day or the other, I will have to let you know.

So here it is...
I am planning on changing my blogging platform from Blogger/Blogspot to Wordpress.

Not that Blogger is not good or lacks in services or anything....it's just personal preference. I've already moved much of my content to Wordpress but it is still a private site. I am currently working on it and as soon as I have it running up, I'll let you guys now.

But, what do you guys think? Should I make the move? Or should I stick around with Blogger until I'm ready to buy my own domain and then host with Wordpress? I really need suggestions right now, please help me.

I really like my current blog, I remember I spent way too much time working on it. And I love the layout, the appearance, the name, the logo, almost everything and I don't want to have to move to another platform where I won't be able to make it this beautiful. So really, really need your help in this.

That's all I got to say for now and stay tuned because I am coming up with the birthday party ideas I've gathered up. Also, you might want to check out my About page, because there's been some changes. ;) :P


Stay blessed!!! And comment below with your suggestions.

And....once again, I'm thankful!!

Hello everyone,

I wrote a post a while back which was very similar to what I'm going to write about today. It was actually written on Thanksgiving Day here in Canada and since it is Thanksgiving Day everywhere else today, I will say it again...Happy Thanksgiving Day to those celebrating.

Although I don't religiously celebrate this day, I think it is one of the most beautiful holidays. I like to take my time to offer my thanks to everyone I can, specially on this day.
Often times, we forget to be thankful for each moment.
I was scrolling through my Facebook's newsfeed when I saw a post which I really liked and I thought why not share it with you guys.

It was about being thankful to your spouse for any and everything.

The idea was to spend some quality time together with you spouse. It went like:
Take a paper n' a pen; and write down 1 thing about your spouse you are thankful for. You had to do this everyday until Thanksgiving Day. On Thanksgiving Day, wrap a ribbon around the paper or put it in a bottle and put it on the table; and when both of you have time, read it out to each other.

I thought this was a great idea.
Instead of waiting for an year to read it out to each other, we thought we'd do it every month. This was a way for us to connect and be faced with things about ourselves even we thought didn't exist.
We spent such a quality time doing it and you know how much I love spending quality time with my family and friends.


I have some parenting tips on how to limit your child(ren)'s screen time so that you could spend some quality time with them, check it out.

And if you are not married, or you'd like to do this with someone else, by all means...go right ahead and be surprised/amazed about the qualities even you didn't think existed in you.

For now, that's all I got to say. Comment below on what you would like me to talk about next.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING DAY!!

What in the world is going on?

Greetings my friends,

I hope everyone's day is going great. Today, I want to talk to you about what's happening with me and in my life. So, if you are not the kind of person who is interested in reading about what others have to say about themselves or their lives, stick around (see what I did there) ;P. And if you are, then read on...

First of all, let me start about talking about the party we are planning for our daughter. You might remember that a month ago, which was basically when I disappeared, I wrote this post about my plans for this year and what happened last year.

Her birthday is in December, but unfortunately we are postponing it again like last year. There are reasons and one of them is budget. Remember, I mentioned in the last post something like we want this year's party to be the best it could be? That is what exactly we are trying to do. I don't want to throw a crappy party again, just because we currently are on a tight budget. So we thought that if we want to throw her party on her birthday (which makes SENSE!), that's how it will be! CRAPPY! And if we wait, it will be like how we have thought and planned! The best party it could be!

However, I do have a lot of ideas and plans, at hand, ready to go! I would love to share them with you if you like.

Next, I want to talk about what's going on in the world. This may be a very sensitive topic to some people, so I'll try to be careful with my words. It is a sensitive topic for me to write as well, and I'm looking for words to talk about it.

The thing is that the things that are happening around the world are saddening me and every time I see something bad happens to anyone, I feel so sad. I, currently, feel like there's just too much negativity going on right now. And somewhere this negativity is impacting me too. I am a very positive person, I will always think about and look at the positive side of everything. I rarely take things in a negative way, but some issues are depressing to see for me. I think that's what was going on with me and kinda still is. I think that's what stopped me to write, but I'll try my best to give my best.

On the positive side, this negativity has encouraged me to know more. I feel like I know more about things now, as compared to I ever did before. I know more about what's going on around me, I know how to handle situations better, I can stand up for myself and my fellows, etc.

Well, that's all I can say without going too much into details and hurting my or someone else's feelings. I know I was too vague and you had no idea what I was talking about, but now I feel light. I feel a burden has been lifted from my chest and I'm back to normal.

Let me know if you'd like me to talk about it in details, but be cautious because it is a extremely sesitive topic!!! I really don't want to say something which would hurt anyone's feelings. Talk to you guys later.

Last but not least,

Another review?? Sure, why not!!

Hello beauties and handsies, I hope everyone's day is going well. Let me just talk about what's been going on, before I move on to the actual topic of this post. Well, I think we'll leave that for another day ;)

So, here I am again, with another product review. Yes, I know!! So handsies might be like nooo, not again! But sorry guys, come back another day? Or, if you like stay in and read on...

I got this product to review from BzzAgent, free of charge! I didn't pay shipping, I didn't pay postage, nothing!! So after reading this post, go and check it out. I think it is only a Canadian, US and UK website, but I am not too sure, so again check it out! This was the campaign:

Now, on to the main purpose of this post! I got a COVERGIRL Outlast Stay Fabulous foundation to try out and give my honest reviews. By the way, if you are wondering about product size, almost everything I got up until today was full size product!! BONUS!!!

To be honest, this was my FIRST EVER foundation with a pump! Yeah, I know...you are like no way! But, I'm like yes way. :P
I have just recently started using makeup and I already had 3 foundations before I got to try this one out. I like to keep more quantities of things at hand, just in case. 1 was in a form of a tube, 1 was in a bottle just like this one but no pump, and 1 was in a round jar.
So, I was definitely excited to try this out because I had heard positive reviews about foundation bottles which came with pumps. It was definitely convenient to use because I could control how much I wanted out of the bottle.
Second, I read the back of it and I was even more excited. Well, it is a 3 in 1 kind of foundation, the 3 in 1 functions were; "Lasting power of primer, coverage of a concealer, and blendablity of a foundation". This made me think WOW! I won't have to buy 2 more things, great!
But when I tried it on, I noticed the foundation was flaking on my nose after a few minutes. Haha, why on nose? I don't know, but I waited and watched, what would happen next.
Oh, and, the color was pick and choose, so I picked the one I thought would match my skin tone/color. However, it is a shade or two lighter than my skin color, and I don't mind that because it was no one's fault.
Next, after a few hours (maybe around 3 hours), I felt like I had to reapply but I didn't because I was home. I didn't think that it had the "Lasting power of a primer" at all because it only lasted about 3 hours! My other foundations I have, last more than that for sure!
AND, unfortunately, I felt that I had to put on my concealer. To me, it didn't give me enough coverage as a concealer. Maybe, I have extreme dark circles (which THANK GOD, I don't).

 

There you go, now you have it! My honest first-hand opinion on COVERGIRL Outlast Stay Fabulous foundation. Give it a try and maybe, you'll have different results! And don't forget to share!!

NOTE: this was my first time trying it out, so I'll give it a few more tries and see if the opinion changes. Let me know if you want me to report back after a few more tries. 

"STAY FABULOUS"

I'm back...

Hello everyone,


I hope everyone's having a wonderful day. Let me start off by apologizing...for not writing, for disappearing, for not letting you know anything, for everything. I am so sorry I didn't write because I was feeling very low once again. I don't know what it is that is bothering me and what phase I'm going through, but I do know that I am sorry. :(

I hope you will forgive me because this time I really am sorry. I haven't written a single post in ONE month and that makes me so sad. I didn't want to return because of the guilt I was feeling but then I thought you people deserve to know. But honestly, I have nothing to tell you other than that I am sorry.

I promise to deliver my best and perform like before and write like before. I need you help, please comment below and tell me what you would like me to talk about. I made this blog for you, and for me, I was there but you were not. I need you guys! Remember, if you don't want/like to comment, you can always contact me.

FORGIVE ME??

Birthday party planning and bloopers from last year...

Good day beautiful people of this beautiful world,

I hope everyone's day is going well; sending you all the wellness, if for any reason it is not.

You may be wondering why haven't I posted in a while. To be honest, I was planning for my daughter's birthday and trying to decorate my apartment (on a budget).

Hold on, before you think my daughter's birthday might be right around the corner, it actually isn't.

It is in December. I know it is 2 months away and that seems like I'm going ahead of time. I actually don't think so, because I really want to be prepared for this year.

Now, what do I mean by 'be prepared for this year'?

Well...you see, I am the kind of person who does everything at the last moment (which I hate and try not to, but somehow end up doing it anyway). So, that's exactly what happened last year!

Since it's my beautiful daughter's second birthday, her first ever birthday was last year (OBVIOUSLY!). First birthdays are special, or maybe they are not. For the family it is, but for the child, it doesn't really matter until like 3rd or 4th birthday. So, it was supposed to be the best birthday it could be, but it was a disaster!

Yes, it was!

We hadn't planned, we didn't know what we were doing. We were just like huh?

In addition, we had planned 1 month later. So let's say her actual birthday is December 20th, we planned for Jan 20th, thinking that if we have more time, we'll do it better.

But a year later, and after some days had passed, we realized it was a horrible 1st BIRTHDAY party anyone could ever throw!

I feel so bad for the families that had to attend! No, seriously I do! I had no party food, no games, no personalized cake, no theme, basically it was just blah!

The food I had was like actual meal, children were playing on their tabs/ps/electronics that they had brought with themselves (I guess they had a feeling :D).

This year, I want to make up for last year! And we are scared that what if no one comes this year? What if they got too scared last year, that they never would want to come to any party at my place? We will be heart broken!

But I have faith and I know people will come; despite what they experienced last year! :D They know that:

At least, I hope they do! :D

Stay tuned to find out what I have planned for this year's party and the home decor I was talking about. Talk to you soon.

STAY STRONG!

How I put my angel to sleep without any hustle and bustle (tips/tricks)

Good day (or should I say good night?) everyone,

I hope everyone's day is going well. In my Hush little baby blog post, I discussed about how my easy it is to put my angel to sleep. But, I did not discuss any techniques on how I do it or how I started. While I was writing that post, I thought this should be a separate post in itself, so here we go.

It's not that complicated. I had to start little, like I said in that post. How it goes:
1. I would sing a clean up song and she would know it is almost time
2. We clean up together
3. Then we brush our teeth
4. (Attempt to) use the washroom
5. Take bath (every 2nd or 3rd day)
6. Read a book together (usually the same one everyday)
7. And magically, she knows it's bedtime; I put her in her crib and boom! She's sleeping in the next 5-7 minutes or even less, some days.
 

Yup, I know! It is that simple, it really is! Give it a shot and you'll be surprised too. Now, I am not saying it will work all the time, everyday. I've had some days when I had to struggle to put her to sleep, like today.  On those days, I try to stay calm (because it is hard to do when I'm used to her sleeping early and without all the fuss). I just pick her up and lie down on our bed together and I just pat her back for a minute or two or more and when she's calmed down a bit, I put her back in her crib and she's gone off to her dreamland within a few minutes (that was a long long sentence with too many ands). Oh and I forgot to mention blankies, my daughter has 2 blankies she has to have while sleeping no matter what! She will NOT sleep without them (not even 1). So if your child(ren) has a soft toy or a blankie they like to sleep with, BIG bonus! Just make sure that the blankie is not too big, to avoid suffocation.

Also, just want to mention that the reason I don't give her bath everyday is because I don't take bath everyday too, nor does my hubby. All of us are dirty little creatures! Haha, no I'm just joking. The reason being us taking shower/bath every other or third day is that I feel that is sufficient. If we take shower/bath everyday, I believe, our skin dries out and the natural oils (which our body needs) are just getting washed off every single day and the result? Dry, itchy and patchy skin. Ugh! Well, not everyone thinks like me and that is totally OK, I respect everyone's opinions.

Talking of opinions, I just remembered that we haven't talked for a long time. Remember my post where I asked you how was/is your day? I haven't had a response from many of you. :( But that's OK, because you now have a new post to comment on or if nothing sounds fun, here try this.

Also, I just noticed the other day, that I don't encourage you guys enough to comment. I think why I don't do it because I don't want to be pushy and seem like I want something from you guys. Instead, I want to be offering you guys information and whatever I feel like. I signed up for the blog, you guys didn't sign up to comment, so I really should push you guys into doing so. But if you did, it would make me happy and we might end-up chatting.

Have a wonderful, wonderful week and we shall talk soon.

SWEET DREAMS!

Happy Thanksgiving my Canadian(and every other) fellows

Would it be wrong if I start my post by saying "Happy Thanksgiving"? No? OK, then...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

I hope everyone's day is going well. It is Thanksgiving, here in Canada today. I don't really know the history of this day, but I really like this day. Actually, it is one of my favorite holidays.

 
This day makes me so happy, no matter what! It is the day I get to thank God, my family, friends, and everyone else out there.

I am so thankful to everything in my life; pain, relief, sorrow, happiness, everything. I believe in pain bringing relief, and sorrow bringing happiness.

Nothing in this life is to be ungrateful for. If you have one complication in your life, count how many blessings you have! I bet, you will run out of numbers when you start counting the blessings in your life.

Yes, when we are going through rough and tough times, we start counting how many problems and obstacles have been thrown at us. But we forget to count our blessings and we become ungrateful. Been there, done that. Got me nothing but more pain and sadness.

So, whenever you think you are surrounded by obstacles, dilemmas and complications, instead of focusing your attention on counting them; divert your attention to positive things that's happened in your life.

Yes, it is hard to do that at times, but just try! Diverting your attention won't really solve your problems; but it will, for sure, make you feel better. Whereas, if you start thinking about the storm you are going through, you will feel worse, believe me.

And what are you gaining through felling worse anyway? Nothing! Rather be positive than negative, negativity has caused disasters! Focus on the positive side! Take it as a test, a challenge, which if you pass may bring you life full of happiness. Look at it like half full glass, other than half empty.

Above all, be thankful for what you have! Be thankful for the little and the lot! Be thankful for the smallest and the biggest!

This weekend spend some quality time with family and friends. Thank them for what they did, thank them for their love, support, everything. And, keep those tech out of it! Quality time is not quality time, if there is technology involved. Of course, if your quality time includes watching a family movie together or to play heads up, by all means, go right ahead. Unless, you really really need your gadgets, keep them away for this weekend and spend some time together.

Is it wrong to end my post with Happy Thanksgiving, too? No? OK, then...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

Hush little baby...

Yup, you guessed it! We're talking about sleep today. Let's chat about how I learned to get my child to bed swiftly and maybe you can learn something too.

Got it from pixabay.com

A few years back, when I was pregnant with my beautiful angel, I had a friend stay over at my place. I noticed how disciplined her children were, specially her daughter. She has a girl, 11ish and a boy, 6ish.

They knew when it was time for bed and they wouldn't fuss over it, not even on weekends. They usually went to bed at 8pm and weekends would be 9pm.

It was not only her children, she was also very strict on her sleep schedule as well. Me and my husband would be awake until like 1am, usually until 2am. But, she was in bed around 10pm or 11pm the most.

I was amazed and very much sure that, that's what I want my child to do. I want her to be in bed when she knows it is bedtime without fighting to sleep.

I have seen and heard so many situations where children wouldn't be in bed until 10pm and they still fuss over it even after 10pm. In my family and in my husband's family, we've got children like that and oh boy, that's a chore putting them to bed. I knew I wanted my child in bed around 8pm, without all the fuss and buzz!

I talked to her and was curious how she's done it. She said, we usually have to set a routine for them when they are young, because then it becomes a habit and they know they are going to bed when it is time. Of course, I knew that before; but someone you know does it without any hassle, is like magic!

So when I had my daughter newly born, she was sleeping the whole day. I even had to wake her up to feed her, even in the nights. She was just sleeping day and night. And, was I not happy? :D

Then, as she got older, she started staying awake until 10 pm. I think it was kind of my mistake too, because I wanted to play with her and I just wanted her around. But then, I had some friends tell me that if I keep her on this routine, I would be regretting it later.

So, I decided to listen to them and set up a routine for her. What I did was I started small; first I started putting her to bed around 9:30pm, then 9pm and so on. That way, she didn't feel the difference between the time and I was glad I did, because now we can have some time to ourselves. Now she is happily sleeping at 8pm, now-a-days is heaven, because she is sleeping (happily) around7:30PM.

That's her when she was 1 month and 1 week old.

We'll discuss more about the importance of your and your child(ren)'s sleep in another post. But for now, that's all I got to say. Let me know in the comments when is your child sleeping and it is like a chore or is it easy peasy? :)

DREAM ON!!

Don't really have anything specific to talk about...

Hello everyone,

I hope everyone is doing well. Let's talk about what I've been up for the past few days.

To be honest, I didn't have anything specific to talk about because every topic I came up with, had already been discussed elsewhere. Of course, every topic is covered here or there. So, then I thought it is not about what I talk to you about, it's about how I convey the message.

Not everyone sees things the same way, everyone has their own perception of seeing things. Then I thought let's talk about

Would you like to talk about that?

Hello everyone,

I hope everyone is having a wonderful day/evening. As you might know, I have a feedback page where I gather your feedback and try to follow up on it.

Recently, I posted some goals for this week. Currently, I have only 3 surveys inputs, my goal was to have 10 people vote in this week. I am happy with the 3 votes and I thank you, whoever did those. :)

However, I am kind of sad that I don't even have half of what I asked for. And that is OK, because I understand that everyone is busy. No one's got time for my stupid survey! AND I totally understand that.

So I thought, why not try to ask all of you here about what you would like me to talk about. Basically, that's what the survey is; what you would like to see more of. It is not long (if that's what keeping you from completing the survey), it is only 5 questions long. No short answer/questions, no fill in the blank, no essay type, etc. :P Just some simple questions, and I really want to hear from all you great people reading this.

I wouldn't really get in details about what is in the survey, you'll have to check it out. :P But, I did want to make a separate post about what everyone would like me to talk about.

I don't think all of you are really 'that' interested in my life, which is basically what I figured I write about most often. I do try to come up with parenting related topics and some of the times I do.

Once, I wrote a product review and 1 or maybe 2 of the readers liked it. I would write more product reviews if I could only have 3 more people say "DO IT!". :) I would really appreciate if only 3 more people would say yes, go ahead and do it. But if I don't get any response, I guess I'll do it anyway because I don't want to disappoint the other 1 or 2 who wanted me to (but maybe, they'll be the only ones getting access to it, you never know).

So, the post is about what you want to see more of, or what else would you like me to talk about other than parenting. Or, is that the only thing you want me to talk about: parenting? I don't mind doing that, but just an option, you know? :P

Comment below and let me know. SMILE!

Set an example and be fearless!

Hello everyone,

I was reading an article in the Parents Canada - Me & Mom magazine, it just says 2015, no month on it. I was so fascinated by the article, it was about play. Like before, I was nodding in approval while I was reading it. I have learned so much about play in ECE that I could talk for hours about it, I love to refresh my memory on the things I've learned and forgotten, I am very forgetful and possess short memory. :P

While I was reading, one quote hit me and I was like YES! This is what I encourage every parent do and what I should do too! The quote:

Face your fears: Be tough! Set an example for your kids by jumping in that pool, riding that roller coaster, or saving that spider.          Parents Canada - Me & Mom 2015 (p. 21)

Got it from Pixabay.com

I am a bit (or maybe a lot) shy when it comes to doing anything in public. I used to hate presentations in school, but I used to love the creative parts of the presentations, which I still do (love creativity). I will be so wild and silly with someone I know very well, but as soon as I'm in front of unknown people, I am so shy! I guess that's how most of the people are? I don't know. 

I don't want my daughter to be shy; I want her to do what she wants, how she wants, wherever she wants, without fearing anyone or anything. But I need to set an example for her, no one is going to teach her to be fearless other than her parents. My husband is quite fearless, he doesn't fear about doing anything in public! I want to be like him, that way both of us can role model for her (maybe one parent isn't enough?). :P 

Sometimes, I really don't care about being in public and I'll do what makes me happy, but most of the time I am. And I've noticed my daughter observe me very carefully when in public. She observes me and sees how I respond to situations so that she can respond the same way. If she says that I'm OK with other people around, she'll be too and vice versa. She is very shy and introvert, I don't want her to be like that. I want her to be outgoing and friendly and make friends. For that, I'll have to change myself and open up, and just not be afraid. I need to get out of my shell first and help her out as well.

Let's all get out of our shells and help our children do the same and be strong by setting an example. 

Got it from Pixabay.com

I just like this picture so I thought I'd share it! Who would not LOVE this picture?!
 

Got it from pixabay.com

 HERE'S TO US GETTING OUT OF SHELLS! 🍻

What just happened today?!

Good day everyone,

Let's discuss what happened today!

I woke up this morning, picked up my phone from beside my pillow, and went to blogger.com to see if anything was up. And guess what?

My blog was locked!!
 

Got it from Pixabay.com

WHAT?! I know, that's what I said!
I told my husband what happened and he was like why is it locked?
I was like because I have forbidden content on my blog!
No, I didn't say that!
I said I don't know (the actual answer).

I didn't panic at all! Yes, I didn't. Seriously, I am not joking! I didn't panic because I knew I didn't do anything wrong.

The first thing I did, when I saw the message that my blog was locked, was I appealed the decision (obviously).

Then I reread their Terms of Service to make sure I didn't violate any of their Privacy policy or Terms of Service and I didn't (obviously)!

I knew I didn't do anything; all of my content was my own, I didn't copy anything from anywhere and all the pictures were given credit (even though I got them from a site which does not require me the credit them, but I do!).

Knowing these facts, I still started to panic thinking that what if they really want to remove my blog and just come up with a (invalid) reason to delete it.

I started worrying and thinking about all the time I had put in building it and all the content I had in it. And started thinking what if they decide to delete it, everything (all the effort, time, content, etc.) is gone FOREVER! But deep in my heart, I knew I was right.

I started reading all the scary articles on Blogger help form and everywhere else which troubled my thoughts even more.

Then I thought, why worry about it when I didn't do anything. I thought to just relax and even if they do decide to delete my blog for whatever reason, I can make a new one and just the thought of starting over excited me. Why?

Because I had learned a lot in the past few weeks from participating in the 201 course of Wordpress Blogging University and learned through my own trial and error, so I wasn't afraid to start all over again.

But if I had the blog for over a year or so and had a lot of content in it, I would surely be angry and panicking and worrying.

Google has built its faith in me again by giving my blog back. Thank you to Google and Blogger and everyone else involved.

All in all, I am glad to have my blog back and I am excited to start writing again. :)

How to reblog in blogger

Hello,

I was searching a way to add a button or something similar to my blog so that the readers can reblog my posts. Well honestly, I was actually looking for a way to reblog some awesome blog posts, on my blog, from the blogs I am following.
I have been following some awesome blogs and all of the ones I'm following are hosted by wordpress. I really wanted to reblog their posts on my blog, but I couldn't find a way. So I did what all of us do when we don't have an answer:

Yup, I hit up Mr. Google to see if I can find something, unfortunately I couldn't.
The only way I found that possible, is just to copy some of the blog post and paste a link to the original post with all the credit to the original blogger (obviously). I knew of that already, but I wanted an easier and direct alternative. But I couldn't find it, maybe I'll try again sometime.
And while I was digging around, I was curious to know how can other bloggers reblog my posts (if interested)?
So I went on to searching around for that and I found some complicated ways to add a reblog button, and the like, under your posts. They provide you with a CSS and HTML code and you paste it in your template.
I did that and tested if anything appeared and nothing was there. I rechecked the code I pasted and everything was fine. Then I thought I don't care, I didn't want it anyway.
Then I thought why not check out what is in the footer of my posts and there I saw it! The reblog button! I don't think it was from the codes because I am sure I've seen it there before, but never really paid any attention to it. Here it is for those of you who are searching for it too, like I was:

See the beautiful pink arrow pointing towards the "B" button? That's what it is, it is a reblog button! I know right?! It was always there and we (or at least I) didn't even know! Well now we/I know! So go ahead and use that button and I will dig around more until I can find an answer to my original question (how can I reblog someone's post who are hosting with Wordpress, and not Blogger).

If you know please let me know, I'll really appreciate it. :) I know how to reblog Wordpress blog posts, but that is reblogging on my Wordpress blog not on blogger's blog (this blog), where I actually want it reposted. Any help is really appreciated. And if you are reading the line "So, are you brave enough to ditch the stroller...." then head onto my last post to read what I mean. AND, I would really appreciate your help in reaching my blogging goals for this week.

LOVE! :)

Ditch the stroller for a walk in the park!

Good day everyone,

As you may have noticed, I have been working on the overall look of my blog. I was chatting with another blogger in the commons of Wordpress Blogging University 201 about it. We were talking about how the smallest of things "worry us the most" and our blog design/look was one of them.

That made me realize that I am spending way more time on the look of it rather than the actual content of it. I think why that is because I want the first impression to be good. If you click on my blog and the design/overall look is horrible, you are going to click that back button right away without giving a second thought on the content. However, if the design/overall look of the blog is pleasing/inviting, you are going to want to see what the blogger/author has to offer.

So since, I am satisfied with my blog's look/design, I think I can now concentrate on providing quality content. I will try my best, but I cannot promise anything YET! This does not mean that you will not have quality content, you just have to wait and see. There are many opportunities and I love learning. :)

Let's hop into the topic now!
We went to the park, closest to our home, with Ar yesterday.
I always take the stroller with me whether she's sitting in it or not, most of the time she is not.
I always felt like I might need it anytime and I don't want to carry her.
She's got heavier for me to carry her and I don't want hubby to be too tired carrying her around AND I really want her to walk.
But yesterday, hubby said to leave the stroller home because we're coming back in an hour or so (when Ar is almost tired).
The park is right in the next corner of our house, so it is not so far away. If Ar becomes tired and I/hubby has to carry her home, it won't be a long walk.
So I listened to him and left the stroller home.
I felt kinda weird not having to hold onto and push the stroller. You know, how you get used to doing something, when you've been doing it for quite a long time? That's what I mean.
So we walked, she held our hands.
I was missing the stroller (for sure), but I had this strange happy/proud kinda feeling.
I really felt she was growing which made me so excited/proud but at the same time, I felt sad because I want my little girl who is the cutest human being on this planet!
I don't know what I'm saying is making sense to you or not, but I don't know how else to phrase it.
She played, we watched, talked and played with her.
I was so happy! I don't know how to describe it, but all the parents would understand.
And after a while, I don't know how long we were there for, we started walking home.
She was walking too.
She wasn't carried around anytime; the whole time we were in the park AND going to and from the park.
I was, and still am and will always be, so proud of her.

In the end, I say go for a walk and...

DITCH THE STROLLER. (You'll be so proud of your baby!)

Got it from pixabay.com

 So, are you brave enough to ditch the stroller? Let me know in the comments. :)

Would you PLEASE just let them have fun now?

Evening/morning/afternoon fellas,

The other day I went to see my friend at her place and of course, Ar was with me (hubby dropped us off). Ar was playing in the little backyard, while we chatted and sipped tea. By the way, have I ever mentioned to you how much I LOVE tea? No? Well now you know. :P So, she was playing when my friend noticed something and so did I. I always thought/believed the opposite of what we noticed.

I guess I'll stop with the suspense for you now (that was fun though),

WARNING: I have broken the rules

So...since I haven't heard from any of you about what to do (my last post), I am going to assume that it is OK for me to go ahead and do what I am about to do.

What am I about to do, you might be thinking. I am about to break the rules! Yes, that's right! I made the rules and I am going to break them, and I heard/read somewhere that rules are meant to be broken. So here I go...

I am going to review a product I received from a product reviewing website. So, if you only clicked on the post thinking you will get some parenting tips/tricks, you have been warned. However, if you are looking for that kinda post, here's where you'll find it. But if you still are interested in knowing what it is that I have to say...then come right in. :)

Can I break the rules?

Hello there beautiful,

I was going to apologize and start the post by saying "I am sorry" for not writing yesterday. But then I thought why do I always have to start my blog post with "I am sorry" if I miss a blog post? Why can't it be something interesting and then apologize?

So the thing is that, I don't know, I feel like I am not putting up with my words, the words I said in About Me. I know I am not, and I feel bad about it. I felt like not coming back, because then if I did how would I face all of you reading this. You will feel cheated and you will not trust me anymore. I have realized that posting everyday is kind of hard to start of with. I try my best, I really do(!) to post something everyday, but some days I can't think of what content to write about. I have focused/targeted my blog on parenting and I feel I can't talk anything other than that on my blog. I don't know what to do, I would really appreciate any help.

I was wondering...

Why did I start?

Hi there,

I am afraid this post won't be about parenting and anything related to that, instead it will be me ranting. So if you are into that stuff, sure, hop in. Today I woke up with a fresh mind and a topic in mind to write about. I was all set to start blogging, but I got busy so I couldn't post when I wanted to. Then as the day went by, I felt a sudden mood drop (I have no idea why). From being excited to write about something, to feeling down and just leaving it. I felt so sad that I literally wanted to cry and I was also confused that why am I feeling that way, I still am (confused, not feeling sad). I felt like sharing what I felt so I thought what better platform than blogging. So, I headed over to Blogging U. which is hosted by Wordpress and I posted this:

Don't shove it in their faces!

Hey friends,

How is it going? So did you comment on the last post? DID YOU?? :P No, let's just get straight into the topic. We all know how important nutrients are for us and of course, for our child(ren). We all want to be healthy and want the same for our child(ren). Yes, we get worried when our children are not eating well and the biggest of all, we worry about our picky eaters. Thank God, I don't have a picky eater, or do I? Well, for now I can safely say I don't.

We get stressed on very little issues, almost on no issues at all. So many people get worried, which is fine, when their children are not eating "on time". I know, we all have a set daily routine and breakfast, lunch and dinner are included in that routine. What we do is that we "expect" our child(ren) to eat only in those set routines; by doing so, in my opinion, we are pushing our child(ren) away from loving food and from eating. What I like to do is that I let Ar be hungry so that she asks me for her meal. I have a time frame, not a set routine, in which I know she will be hungry so I keep the food ready. But I don't sit her down and try to shove it up her mouth, I wait for her to ask for it. I do that because I have seen mothers "running" after their children trying to feed them. The food may be good, but when a child is not hungry, he is not hungry! Period.

How can I not add this photo when we are talking about food?

In this case, ENJOY! :)

This is hard work! And how was/is your day?

Hello,

How are you doing? I am not just asking this, I really want to know...how are you? How was your day? I hope you are having a wonderful and blessed day. I want all of you reading this tell me (in the comments) how is your day going? I haven't had a lot of people comment on my posts, so I was wondering if anyone is even reading my blog. :( And if you are, let's be friends? I would like to chat with all of you reading this, about anything and everything.

And while we are chatting, I would love

Appreciate and display the artwork!

Good day,

Before anything, let's talk about this: I have such awesome readers. Thank you everyone for taking the time to read my blog. So, I posted goals the other day and 2 of them are broken (been hit by rocks real good), but there is just one more to complete the goals and then we can have new goals. I am excited about the new goals, I bet you will be too. The one that is left to complete is the poll one, I only need 1 more person to vote in the poll and we're done with these boring goals you've been seeing for the past few days.

Now, let's get into the topic here, shall we? What do I mean by 'appreciate and display the artwork'? Am I talking about the great art of Picasso? Leonardo De Vinci? NO!!! Of course I am not. I am taking about the masterpieces your child(ren) make(s). Remember the masterpiece my angel made? Find it here: Ar's Artwork. I talked about displaying it, I haven't displayed it yet (when I do, you'll know) but I know I will. The reason I want to display it and the reason I am encouraging you to do it is because doing so will increase our child(ren)'s self-confidence; when they see that their works are displayed on your house's walls, they'll feel proud (which is what I want my child to feel). It doesn't have to be displayed on your living room wall, or dining room wall, do it where it feels right and where it is visible. The work wouldn't be too good (or it could be), but if you add a punch of color/creativity in it yourself, you'll be quite pleased.  It can be a abstract piece of art (abstract is really anything, I believe).

Now, that is a some nice art, but it is abstract, see! How I am thinking of displaying the great piece, is in silver frame with some details in the frame. Silver will hold the whole picture together. I am thinking it will look really good. If you have studied visual arts, I would love to know your thoughts on it. I have studied some art, not in such great details. Share some artworks of your child in the comments and what are your thoughts on displaying your child(ren)'s artwork around your house? I would love to know.

BE BRAVE AND BE ARTISTIC!