Creative lunchboxes, Lois Billionaire, No toothbrush near the toilet, stressed parent equals stressed kids

My two kids are not great eaters. Our family is not. So it's really a gift for me that their school encourages healthy eating - fruits and vegetables. Sometimes I get reprimanded by my own daughter. "Ayayay, Mommy! This is not healthy food."


Lunchbox staples
So I normally pack cut fruits - apple, mangoes, melon, watermelon. Bananas and grapes are sure winners.


I also serve them raw cashew nuts/peanuts mixed with raisins and cereals. On some days, they get peanut butter sandwiches shaped in triangles, ovals, squares and hearts. They love it!

I want to be a billionaire

To encourage doing things on their own, I started posting chore charts for my two kids. The reward was money. Since they love APPS, they may use their money to buy. I was particularly targeting my little boy to do this.

However, my plan backfired. My son was not at all interested in his chores nor his prizes. Instead, it was his sister who religiously checked and asked for her rewards. She was able to get quite a few, almost halfway her piggy bank, until she told me one day: "Don't give me anymore coins. I'm already a billionaire!"

Secretly giggling to her declaration, I confirmed if she knows what a billionaire is. "My classmate Edward said a billionaire is someone who has lots of money."

Yes, my little girl! You are indeed a billionaire.

Restroom tip

I first heard about this while riding the metro train to a meeting.

Flushing the toilet can cause germs to fly anywhere from 6-10 feet. At the very least, keep your brush as far from the toilet as possible, and protect it in a plastic container or holder.

Since we don't have the luxury of space, I have instructed everyone to pull down the lid before hitting the flush button. Hope that helps?

Child stress

My kids copy me, especially my bad traits. I am working hard on it. Though I haven't gotten very far. Lately though, when I read about the top causes of stress for children, I got a solid punch. I should really pull myself together when the kids are watching.

Parent having problems.
Fight with a friend or a sibling.
Taking a test.
Wondering if someone thinks you're attractive (teens especially).
Not having enough privacy.
Birth of a brother or sister.
Moving to a new school.
Re/marriage of a parent.
Not having enough money.
A teacher who doesn't like you.

Source: Mind/Body Medical Institute

Favorite iPad App, solar powered water bottles, sleeping bag coats, green bags from unwanted plants, and crave foods' healthy options

What happened to my kids?

How do you turn a treasure of games and entertainment tools into something beneficial? Allow use after a chose has been finished. That has been my rule in letting my kids use the iPad.

They love the gadget so much, even more than the old version because of the built-in cameras. They go crazy taking funny pictures of themselves through Photo Booth and recording video narrations.

However, to limit their use, mommy has to give the go before they can use it. I may get it back from too if the time is up, or if what they're doing isn't nice anymore. Most usual conditions I give my 5-year old is to write her complete name in a whole sheet of bond paper. I interchange this with having her read a book, and she chooses the small picture books with just less than 30 words on them.

Living my dream
I have always carried this desire in my heart to be an entrepreneur. I am living the dream now, being a freelance web/graphics designer and an all-around raket-eer. Yet I am still not satisfied.

It could perhaps be because my business pursuits haven't taken off. My projects are fine, yet I am not literally running a profitable business with regular employees. My closest shot with being an entrepreneur is leaving the corporate world and exiting the rat race.

Perhaps a more compelling reason is the fact that, like Bill Gates, I would like to pursue more humanely projects. Money-generating activities that don't solely exist to collect paychecks but more importantly, to give back to those who have no idea how to make it.

Here are a few inspiring stories:

• Coat or Sleeping Bag

Explaining what the coat is, as quoted from Veronika Scott, the designer:

"self-heated, waterproof, and transforms into a sleeping bag at night.

It is made by a group of homeless women who are paid minimum wage, fed and housed while creating these coats made for those living on the streets. The focus is on the humanitarian system to create jobs for those that desire them and coats for those that need them at no cost. The goal is to empower, employ, educate, and instill pride. The importance is not with the product but with the people.

Find out more about this project: The Empowerment Plan

• Furniture and bags out of unwanted plants

Stools, bags, pillows and more woven from water hyacinth in Cambodia, by people living in that community. This is not just green, it is also community-friendly.

These invasive plants thrive and choke waterways causing floods and loss of agricultural produce. I have seen them floating over lots of Metro Manila's rivers and they are nuisance, to say the least. I laud what these designers have done and wish that more efforts towards this same direction be taken in different countries.

Know more about this designer here: Aissa Logerot

Solar lamps from recycled soda plastic bottles filled with water

I came across this ingenious invention through Tumblr and research how this seemingly simple trick is done:

In 2002, during a long electrical shortage, at Uberaba, São Paulo, Brasil, Mr Alfredo Moser discovered a way to gather sun light in the house through plastic bottles hanging from the roof. First shown at the Globo Reporter in the 25th May 2007.

Now, I am pleased to know that a lot of Filipino families have benefitted from the sun through the Isang Litrong Liwanag, a non-governmental agency which promotes this innovation that help empower poor families.


Sorry, Captain Hook
Avoiding the 'yes-no' response, we've been rephrasing our remarks with the kids. One day, daddy was asking little boy what would the crocodile say to Captain Hook when it gets near him.

Carlos: He'd say sorry.
Daddy: Why sorry?
Carlos: Because he bit his hand.

I didn't think of that.

Want tobacco? Have Silicon
Craving for something? Beat your taste buds with these healthier options.

Want cool drinks? Have manganese. This is abundant in walnuts, almonds, blueberries.

Want salty foods? Have chloride. This is abundant in fish, unrefined sea salt.

Want soda or carbonated drink? Have calcium. This is abundant in broccoli, kale, legumes.

Update on Enopi and wushu classes

“If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.” ~ Albert Einstein

Both my plans of enrolling my two kids to Enopi and wushu were foiled this month. Better and more appropriate ones came along and I had to go with them.

My kids' school offered after-school tutorials with actual preschool teachers giving the lessons. I enrolled my 3-year old to academic tutorial there. Our schedule is thrice a week for 45 minutes per session. The fee is P2600/month.

I let my 5-year old girl do wushu for body exercise and peer interactions. However, she cried on our way to her trial session. I had to really beg her to just try. She obliged me but told me and the coordinator after the one-hour workout that she doesn't want to come back.

It will just be swimming lessons for her - again.

Un-birthday traditions, heart eggs, preparing for PTC ala Kenneth Cobonpue and Ferran Adria's El Bulli movie

How to make heart eggs

I grew up not celebrating birthdays. I understand my parent's reasons and I don't resent it, we are 12 in the family - not including the extended members. To not celebrate is the safest and most economical way to go for a farmer village family sending children to school.

With my own family now, we celebrate our birthdays very simply. Cake and a huge serving of spaghetti, though I prefer pansit. I cook great pansit! There would be times when we would invite some family and/or friends to share a meal with us at a place we haven't visited to commemorate the special occasion.



El Bulli
If you're a foodie, I'm sure you've heard of the greatest restaurant in the world. Closed six months of every year to prepare for the next season, reservation list is endless. The Spanish chef, Ferran Adria calls his cooking avant-garde, elevating it as an art. Isn't it amusing that he's no French?

You may want to catch this movie about him and his restaurant, which means The Bull. The guy is passionate and a perfectionist, which goes along, I think.

I once ate a chocolate bar infused with bacon bits. The maker studied and has been greatly influenced by Ferran Adria. I didn't like it, though it was fine. I didn't totally catch it.

PTC armaments
I haven't totally got passed the last PTC sessions, they kept a scar mark in my soul that will only be healed if I see my kids doing better. I thought, for the next PTCs I would be ready with my notes. I will observe my kids for their strongest and worst point to tackle with the teachers. The next parent-teacher conferences (PTCs) will be about both parties engaging over the kids' performance and how they may be better individuals.

Since then, I have been encouraging my kindergartener to read a book out loud daily, practice writing and choose iPad games that are educational. I have been stricter with our schedule, I admit. With or without a freelance project I see to it that the kids do activities that will build on skills they need to be better - not just at school but also in life in general.

I give punishments more often too, unlike before that I let things pass because I have other more important things to do.

Yes, the last PTC engaged me so much about parenting that tomorrow we'll be starting Wushu lessons even if it costs more than my monthly gym membership, which husband and I forego due to tight schedules, thank you very much.

Doing world-renowned furniture designer Kenneth Cobonpue's three questions: who am I, why am I on earth for and what am I good at - I am definitely, positively engaged in parenting.

Yeah!

Kid funny moments
Husband and little boy are in search for a barber shop. They've been sporting long hair-dos and want to have it trimmed. Pointing out the iconic spiral of blue and red to our preschooler, husband said "Look at that moving colors. Whenever you see that, it means it's a barber shop."

Our little boy replied, "Ah, like the 'loading' symbol?"

Correct way to sneeze

Good thing I came across Yahoo's banner story for today: US Health Secretary teaching a NBC's reporter how to correctly sneeze during a presscon. I guess it really makes sense to learn it and teach it to kids - everyone for that matter.

The proper way to sneeze or cough: use your elbow to cover your mouth. This is the most sanitary, as shown in a video I've researched. After you've seen this, you will not clasp your hands to cover your mouth and nose or any other way to sneeze.

Practice and share it: