I don’t usually throwback my photos but today I am. I just realized, instead of putting photos on Facebook, I want to save this photo here.
What are they doing on the photo? My husband and our youngest daughter used to hang a piece of string (named “Wormy”, yes it has a name) on a pushpin pegged on our wall. This started when hubby was tasked to bathe our little one. She was about two years old at that time. We tried to find something that will make the bathing routine fun and easy. The key was to find something or someone that will make us look forward to bath time everyday.
We purposely took a picture one night to record this moment and show it to our daughter when she gets older.
Growing my own sprouts was an idea I learned from my brother. I researched about it and how beneficial and healthful it will be for me and my family.
I invested on a Victorio 4-Tray Seed Sprouter, I read the manual, watched YouTube tutorials and with my daughters, we enjoyed germinating and growing our sprouts.
Our first harvest proved really effective. The best discovery I had was that our girls love to eat them. Growing sprouts being easy and money-saving plus fun simply makes it a worthwhile experience we will be doing from now on.
The next challenge was how do I make my children eat these. We are not vegetarians but our children adapts well to new tastes and textures. How do I make them eat it? First I let them try a little piece of what they planted on their own. That makes it more meaningful for them. Then I prepare, cook or mix the sprouts with their favorite recipes like plain micro-greens mixed with their favorite soy dressing (see Mei’s cute YouTube video on top of this page), add it to my daughter’s sandwich for school lunch or make our children’s favorite: Vegetable Pancake made of sprouts and a lot of other simple dishes I am sure they will love.
I can’t wait to learn to grow sprouts from a Jar. That will come next on my blog.
Back in 2005, it took me a while to find the sippy cup that will work best for our first child, but after several purchases, we finally found what we were looking for. Now, I’m back to hunting and spending and frustration. All these new sippy cup technology and features are just way too frustrating that’s the reason why I am sharing my experience and hopefully give light to other parents who are now in the same boat as I was.
This was one of the first cup I used after weaning my baby from using baby bottles. By the way, for infant bottles, we always loved Dr. Browns but because of cleaning and washing issues, we ended up with Avent Infant Bottles. I introduced Born Free Training cup to my baby and here’s the verdict:
POSITIVE:
Baby loved the handles
Easy to sip water
No leaking when used for younger babies (6-12 months)
Easy to clean
NEGATIVE:
When baby learned to shake the bottle with all might, she discovered that water can come out from the spout and she enjoyed playing with the leaking water. One day, I just saw our carpet all wet with water. I discovered that my baby spilled the water by just tapping and tossing and turning her Born Free training cup until it leaked out all the water.
The slit/whole on the spout got bigger eventually after a few use (2 months of use)
One of my favorite sippy. I guess since my baby used Avent when she was an infant, I’ve been leaning towards her using an Avent sippy cup too. Anyway, I saw this online. Not available in stores anymore (except I think at Sears) so I ordered this at Amazon. It’s a little bit pricey but I get three, 9 oZ. cups with cute designs and colors. I am keeping these for when my baby is about two years old. I am sure she will use this because she likes it now except that it’s too big for her to hold.
POSITIVE:
Cute colors and design
Super EASY to clean (dishwasher safe)
Very durable
Comes with a flip-top lid
I especially love the Non-spill bite resistant spout with valve to conrol flow
NEGATIVE:
A little expensive and hard-to-find (Amazon still sells this)
Too big to hold for very young toddlers like mine (14-month-old)
I honestly don’t like this cup as much as my baby doesn’t like it. Even if you look around on the web, the consumer reviews for this cup is not so good.
POSITIVE:
Nice Design
Handle loved by my baby
NEGATIVE:
Terribly LEAKS around the nipple/spout area
Hard to sip for my 14-month-old
Spouts with valves are hard to clean – need special tools just to be sure it’s clean inside
LEAKS LEAKS LEAKS – Simple very disappointing for the price..
Their claim that it is non-spill is a NO NO… but because of the soft spout, easy-sip technology, I’d give this cup an 4 Stars out of 5. It serves our purpose so I like it. My baby loved her Avent baby bottle nipple so she really likes this cup too.
For us, it was a GREAT STARTER CUP!!!
POSITIVE:
Easy to find (Toys R Us, Babies R Us, etc.)
Easy to clean
Handle for easy holding
Easy transition from Avent baby bottle for easy weaning
Very light and cute design
NEGATIVE:
When thrown, the soft spout in squished and leaks (but this only happened to us after using if for a couple of months already)
Nipple eventually became loose and falls off from it’s snapped position of the cup.
I got this only because I saw that it has a soft silicone spout and the spout is my top priority in choosing a cup because of my very picky toddler. Nuk wasn’t as we expected it to be…
POSITIVE:
Cute design
Lightweight
Nice on-the-go cup
NEGATIVE:
Spout was soft but it looked like my baby was still drinking from a bottle (defeats purpose of bottle-sippy transitioning)
Leaks
Spout was too soft my baby ripped the tip after a few use (I guess she has sharp front teeth)
We loved this cup for our first daughter. This was her favorite cup back in 2005. Not only was it very cheap, it was easy to clean too.. But here’s the story now in 2012…..
POSITIVE:
Lightweight and easy grip for toddlers
Easy to clean
Very very affordable
No spill
NEGATIVE:
For my baby, the spout was too big … she didn’t like sipping from this spout. It was hard for her
Non-insulated
Because we liked this bottle years back, I still recommend other parents to try it. It’s really cheap and nicely designed. My first daughter liked the spout so it’s worth a try if your child will like it too.
Sorry to say this but I HATE this cup! It was so disappointing and each time I washed it, I was frustrated and upset and I wanted to throw it to the wall. My review might not be accurate for others who had a good experience on this cup but I still want to express my frustration so that others new to this cup will be warned.
WARNING: STAY AWAY FROM THIS CUP!!!!!!!
POSITIVE:
Cheap… ($8.99 + Tax at Target for two cups)
Looks and feels durable (didn’t use it too long to prove that it is durable)
NEGATIVE:
Too HUGE for toddlers to hold
HARDEST in the world to clean because of too many parts that not easy to assemble. And even if you can assemble properly after reading the manual, the straw inside falls by itself when bottle is shaken.
Baby gets upset and frustrated when while drinking, she suddenly sips air and no milk when the straw inside detaches from the attachment with just a light shake (NOT GOOD with sleepy, hungry and tired babies… too upsetting I tell yah!)
Too big to fit in standard cup holders for strollers, carseats, or even diaper bags
Very cute designs (our is Backyardigans but it also comes in assorted animals, Dora, Spongebob, Elmo, Thomas the Tank and I think even NiHao Kai Lan)
Insulated (and works perfect too)
Easy cleaning, assembly of parts is a breeze…
Baby sips well. Not too easy – not too hard
Perfect grip for my baby… it’s not too wide to hold.
Most importantly – LEAK PROOF!!!!! Plus I love the Click-Lock Leak Proof Technology
NEGATIVE:
For now, I don’t see anything negative – that’s why it’s the WINNER!!!!!
For more information on Munchkin’s Click Lock Leak Proof Technology, here’s a quoted paragraphs from Munchkin’s website:
Munchkin’s new line of Click Lock™ Cups are just right because they just CLICK. These cups feature a simple click-and-lock lid to securely close for a leak proof seal – guaranteed. Parents will see, hear and feel the cup lock, so they have triple assurance against dribbles and drips. Munchkin is so confident these new cups are mess-free, we are backing up the promise with a 100% replacement guarantee.
I hope my short review on different sippy cups will help other parents buy the right cup for their use. I have yet to try the Thermos Funtainer. I bought a Ni Hao Kai Lan Funtainer for my incoming Kindergartener back in 2009 and it lasted really long. It was very durable and it kept her drinks cold for a long time. I will buy one for my toddler soon.
That’s it for now! I am done buying sippy cups except for the Funtainer and maybe some extra Munchkin cups for back-up.
Morning has broken, like the first morning
Blackbird has spoken, like the first bird
Praise for the singing, praise for the morning
Praise for them springing fresh from the Word.
Sweet the rain’s new fall, sunlit from heaven
Like the first dewfall, on the first grass
Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden
Sprung in completeness where His feet pass.
Mine is the sunlight, mine is the morning
Born of the one light, Eden saw play
Praise with elation, praise every morning
God’s recreation of the new day.
Remedios Quintos Ferranco was featured on a local Philippine show called Storyline. This documentary shows us the Remy Ferranco we all know and how much she loves being an Elvis Presley fan.
If you have twenty minutes available, keep on reading and watching. This is a video of my Mom when she was featured on TV in a show called “Storyline.” It was during their season 3 when this show was broadcasted on Philippine TV, I think in 2008 if I remember well.
Being away for my Mom, and watching this video makes me feel so enthusiastic about seeing her soon when we visit her this summer. To all of her friends who will be watching this.. feel free to send her a message through me.
She’s strong, she’s hardworking, she’s proud, she’s loving and she’s an avid fan. My Mom.
I first learned about this musical when I was a sophomore back in high school. Each class was to perform a broadway musical presentation and our class picked Les Miserables. I played Cosette. It was a memorable day…. too bad we didn’t have a video camera then. Find me on the photo below…
During those younger years, I never heard about Les Mis before and I only knew and heard songs from The Sound of Music, Grease, and Cats. It was during these years when my passion for music was at it’s best.
University of the Philippines Integrated School – 9 Silver (1990)
I took voice lessons since I was 8 and it was during my early teens in 1989 was when I first attempted to audition for a musical and sang On My Own (from Les Mis) and I Still Believe (from Miss Saigon)
In 2001, my husband and I watched Les Misérables at the Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco. Once the orchestra started playing their ensemble, I had tears in my eyes. Literally, tears pouring down my cheeks. It was a dream come true.
At present, as a mother who loves this production, I have greatly influenced my “almost” 8-year-old daughter and she can now sing most of the songs from this musical. Now I have to work on my 13-month-old 🙂
Here’s my daughter singing Castle on a Cloud (2010)
I can’t wait to see this movie and own a DVD. I am proud to be a Les Miz fan!
Before I was a Mom … I never felt how it was to instantly love a stranger the moment you held them in your arms after birth. It was a feeling of unfathomable love.
Before I was a mom … I had a shower in the morning and before I went to bed.
Before I was a mom … everything I saw my Mom did for me was a mystery. I questioned every decision she made for me, protested against her strict ways of running the household, felt embarrassed with her when she just wanted to spend time with me, and never quite appreciated her sacrifice for me.
Before I was a mom … I had my career and my professional social life. I wore tailored clothes and high-heeled shoes. I blow-dried my hair everyday and I didn’t smell like baby powder, chicken teriyaki, or Clorox spray.
Before I was a mom … I never had to check on anybody at night and made sure they are warm and snuggled in their blankets. I slept all night long and woke up late specially on weekends.
Before I was a mom … I ironed my jeans.
Before I was a mom … our home was completely clean and neat. No hand prints on the sliding glass doors, no toys under the bed, no rubber duckies in the tub, no colorful mismatched utensils in my kitchen, no dolls and knick knacks anywhere in the house. It was truly immaculate.
Before I was a mom … it wasn’t a diaper bag or an extra-large purse for me…
Before I was a mom … I loved to go window shopping. Spent hours driving around town, store-hopping and shopping.
Before I was a mom … I only have two to three loads of laundry in a week. I didn’t care about the cost of laundry soap, the price of bringing clothes to the cleaners, and the cost of clothes even if I didn’t like the style.
Before I was a mom
~ I was ignorant and life was incomplete. Motherhood taught me honor and made me selfless.
However, this post is not about me nor is it for me. It is for my Mommy.
My Mommy who tried her best to provide us with everything we needed. She sacrificed a lot, thinking that what she was doing was always for the good of her children. She taught me to be ambitious, thrifty, compassionate, honest, God-loving, hardworking, and most importantly, she made sure I know how to love my family with all my heart and commit myself to being a good mother and wife.
Spring recital 2011 she was 7 years old and played “The Skaters’ Waltz” by Emile Charles Waldteufel.
Awesome melody to my proud Momma ears. Hard-work and perseverance are what it takes to enjoy this kind of performance at home. I am glad and really overjoyed that my baby loves her music.
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