A Person Fit for be Called a "Mother"

Accept it or not, not all who have given birth are fit to be called a Mother.  To be fit for the title, one has to be strong yet mushy at times.  One has to be firm yet willing to kiss away the pain.  One has to know how to see serenity in the middle of chaos.  To give birth is let's say a quarter of the trick, the other three quarters is for the lifetime duty that is tied to being a mother.

I was facebooking last night when I saw a video posted on one of my friend's wall.  I never actually liked clicking on links for a video because I know that most of them (especially the ones that have a description in a different language) contains nasty things.  But the description of the video really caught my attention.  So there, curiosity has taken over me and I clicked on the link to the video.  It was a video of a mother holding her baby while she flashes papers with writings.  She was telling the story of her life.  She started with how she met the father of his son and how they got married.  She tells the story of how she knew that she was pregnant and how happy they were.  You can see how happy she was each time she shows the papers.  But the happiness was actually shortlived.



When the news always speaks about fetuses being left here and there or children beaten by their own moms, it is such a relief knowing that there are women out there that has a pure heart which bears the essence of being a mother.  She was told she should have aborted the baby but she didn't.  She chose to bring him into this world.  But his birth is not the end because he was ridiculed, laughed at and sometimes feared by others.   But she continue to be the strong mom that she is.  She made sure that his baby feels loved and she assured that even though he is born blind and with cleft palate, he is still beautiful and he is a blessing from God.

It is not always that I am deeply moved by what I see over the internet.  But, to say that I wept a lot while watching this video is an understatement.  I wanna share this to all of you because I believe that they will also touch your hearts.  She does not beg for money, not even a cent.  All she asks is for us to look at our own blessings (our children ) and continue loving them.

Being a mother is one of the hardest profession in life, but it is something that I would not trade for anything else.  Just seeing my kid with a smile or a glimpse of happiness on his eyes, 'yun lang, quota na ko!


To my Mom in heaven, thank you for showing me how to become a good mother.  You are the most beautiful (syempre carbon copy mo ko eh!), most patient, most kind and most forgiving mother of all.  I would not be the mother I am now, if it wasn't for you.  To all the mothers out there, Happy Mother's Day.  Let us continue building a better planet by nurturing our family well.  Cheers to us all!

My Latest Addiction

I am not the type of person who frequents the salon to pamper myself, that is just not my way.  I'm more of the foodie type.  Drag me to one foodie nook to another and you will definitely see me smiling.  Not that I am not kikay, it's just that I don't want others to do the make-up, manicure and all for me.  But my sister-in-law insisted we try nail arts.  I was very hesitant because I do not want to get hurt with the cleaning tools.  What she did though, was to try to do everything for me.  Yes, she did not drag me to a salon but instead we went to Divisoria to get all the tools.  She already owns a basic manicure set so what we really need where the special ones.  It's more than six months now since we first tried nail arts for our own and I am really glad with all the outcome.  My sister-in-law is now making a living out of this. She now services most of her neighbors.  As for me it has become my latest addiction, I ask her to do my nails at least twice a month.  And this is what she did just recently.

We went to a party after my nails were done and they were a big point of conversation. Everybody seems to love my teddy bear nails. And whenever I tell them that they are made freehand, the next thing they are asking are the contact numbers of my sister-in-law.  Looks like, we are heading for a new business here.

The Four-eyed Kid

I was not able to join Mommy Moments last week; not because I do not have something worthy to share but mainly because my schedule was so hectic I was not even able to tend to this blog at all.  But needless to say, I am now back.  I have a new internet connection which I so adored , but that will be another story.  

A few weeks back, Jian was complaining about headaches.  At first ,we shrugged it off and we were telling him that it is because of the weather.  But the occurrences of his head aching became frequent and we noticed that it always happens after he reads or watch TV.  Since Hubby needs to go to the optometrist to get his eyeglasses fixed, we decided to let Jian join with us.  After hubby got his eyes checked, we asked the optometrist who is a good friend of ours if she could perhaps check Jian's vision.   

After checking his eyes, using this equipment, his eyes were dropped with some medicines to dilate his pupils.  And then he was asked to read the Snellen chart to further check his visual acuity.

Yes, the kid will have to wear corrective glasses.  The left eye was diagnosed with mild astigmatism while the right one is hyperropic.  I am definitely not so happy about this at all.   Hubby even asked if we could perhaps delay the use of the eyeglasses but the optometrists said that delaying the use will also hinder him to enjoy on a lot of things.  The astigmatism could cause him to have frequent bouts with headaches which could further evolve to migraines.  And we don't want that for our kid.

 So, yes, a few days from now the kid will be getting his eyeglasses.  We will have regular check ups with an optometrist and an ophthalmologist.  For other moms out there, I'd like to tell you that visual problem can be easily corrected as long as it is detected earlier.  The doctors said that we should get our younger kids to have eye check ups, too.  They said that as early as five or six, they can already run visual acuity checks for kids.  And another thing, it does not necessarily mean that if a kid is diagnosed to have visual problems at a young age that they will forever be tied to using eyeglasses.  Some visual problems (like astigmatism) can be corrected if diagnosed and treated early in life.

As the saying goes, "An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure."

Pinoy Summer Food

With the temperature in the Metro going to as high as 36 degrees celsius, what could be more happy that digging into something cold. Ice candy, ice pops and shakes are what defines pinoy summer food.  But the ultimate favorite is still Halo-Halo.  With all its sweet ingredients, the milk, the shaved ice, no doubt that it is the ultimate among all summer foods.  There has been a lot of stores selling these foods even the neighborhood sari sari store carries it nowadays. 

Halo Halo Special from Iceberg's

Just be cautious where you get your halo halo.  A lot of unsanitary ice making plants are also taking advantage of the current heat.  Whether you get your halo halo from your friendly sari sari store or from big restos, just make sure that the ice being used is safe for consumption.

Of course, it's better sharing this with your loved ones!

Ikaw, what's your summer food cravings?

Churches and History

My husband was the one who introduced me to Visita Iglesia. We were still dating then when he asked me to go with him one Maundy Thursday to visit churches in Manila. Eversince then, it has been part of our holy week routine year after year to visit churches on Maundy Thursday. We have been visiting churches in Bulacan for two straight years now. But I make sure that we'll get to visit a new church every year. Now that we have a kid, our visita iglesia is not confined to just contemplation and devotion. For the kid, it doubled as a history lesson. Old churches play a big part in our history. Most of them have been silent witness to how the katipuneros work their way to ensure that our dear motherland will be free again from the Spaniards.

This year, we were able to see the historical Barasoain Church. It feels nice to walk on the very same place that first ever congressmen were able to walk. My kid started bombarding me with lots of history questions.

facade of the historical Barasaoin Church

inside Barasoain Church

Another historical church that we visited was Nuestra Senora dela Asuncion in Bulakan, Bulacan. According to the history of the church, it was in here that General Gregorio del Pilar gave out copies of La Solidaridad to the locals of Bulacan.

the scenic Nuestra Senora dela Asuncion

I hope my son could pick this family tradition and that he will do the church visits when he gets his share of parenting.