minamimusings

This used to be one of my favorite clips on Sesame Street. I show this to my son right after we do simple counting fingers exercises.

My husband, for the latter part of my pregnancy, renewed his long-standing addiction to the Pokemon games by buying Pokemon Black and spending hours upon hours playing. He would alternate between that and Pokemon Platinum which he had finished previously, and even bought an extra Nintendo DS unit so we could play separate titles. This went on until our baby was born. Because of his little obsession with Pokemon, hubby gave us designations: He identified with Snorlax. It was one of his favorites, plus he had a similarly bulging tummy. Because he was Snorlax, he dubbed our little one "Munchlax", the unevolved, younger form of Snorlax. Funnily enough, this does resemble my baby after he's been fed. One day, I told him about how, when my breasts are full, the milk would end up flowing out in a steady stream, sometimes spraying our baby's face during feeding times when he'd suddenly unlatch to take a breath. That's when hubby started calling me "Squirtle"...

Last year I meant to visit the Travel Expo in SMX. I never got to for some reason. This year, I won a ticket to the expo from a Facebook promo held by travel agency Rajah Travel Corporation . I was to go on Friday but had to prepare for an event on Saturday. (That, and I couldn't leave my baby.) I was prepared to miss it again this year, until my sister mentioned it on Sunday, so we drove down to MoA at the last minute to check it out. It was pretty packed. Almost all the travel agencies that offered international travel packages were swamped with people, and there were lines for the booths of local airlines PAL and Cebu Pacific. (Considering we got there at around 5pm and the expo was supposedly closing at 7pm, the population still milling about was impressive.) My sister and I threaded our way through all the booths and perused the prices on the trips. Needless to say, we went home with a ton of flyers AND catalogs by the popular tour companies Insight, Trafalgar, Contiki and Co...

I know it's too early to expose my 3-month old to TV, but sometimes I search for Sesame Street clips on Youtube on the iPhone to show him. That's how I came upon this gem. Obviously, it's been a long time since I watched Sesame Street and I remember they used to invite actors and musicians to guest. It's great that they were able to do a mini-collaboration with Bruno Mars. I think his vocals and colorful monster-backup to simple lyrics is a good way to teach children the lesson of perseverance. :) And the tune is catchy! When you want to do something that's new And it seems really, really hard to do You feel like quitting, you feel you're through Well I have some advice for you Don't give up Keep on trying You're gonna make it I ain't lying Don't give up, don't ever quit Try and try and you can do it Don't give up, yeah If you want to catch a ball But you're having no luck at all The ball hits your head, it hits your nose It hit...

I'm not sure if it's just a sign of the times, but for some reason, kiddie birthday parties with all the trimmings are "all the rage". They have definitely evolved from the simple parties I was used to. Sure, there's still cake, ice cream and candy, games, magicians, balloons and souvenirs. But now that party organizers and suppliers are available, it's possible to turn a simple kiddie party into one big production. Sometimes complete with mascot and engraved invites. I don't begrudge this of parents, of course. If they have the funds and the bevy of friends with kids who will enjoy the offerings, then why not? I CANNOT HELP raising my eyebrow though when I think it's... a little "over the top"? I mean, really? Does your kid NEED to have his ONE-YEAR OLD party at Shangri-La Makati? And why the birthday cake that looks like a freaking wedding cake? (Unless, okay, maybe you guys like cake...) Personally, as much as I love and adore my kid and w...

While pregnant, I was already decided that I would breastfeed. I had the encouragement of already-mom friends, my OBGyne and even my dermatologist who were insistent that it would be the best thing. The proof was in my husband who was breastfed until he was two and he rarely gets sick! So, I said, Psshaw. Breastfeeding. How hard could it be? The first few days with our baby were definitely a struggle. He was crying all the time, and I would try to feed him but NOTHING would come out. It worried me, because my mom said she wasn't able to produce breastmilk, so my siblings and I weren't breastfed. I thought, well, maybe it's hereditary and I might not be producing milk, too! I kept saying this to people who would listen: my husband, my mother-in-law, the nurses and the midwives who would come in to the room to help us soothe the baby.   Then there was the pain part. Can I just say? It HURT.  I had no idea a newborn's jaws could have so much chomping power! I h...

It was around this time last year that I conceived. Of course, I only found out a month later, late March, that I was really "enceinte". There was a lot of denial involved, even when the pregnancy test results were in front of me. Not even the ultrasound could convince me at first, until the third month when the monitors started showing arms and legs in addition to the pair of irregular blobs. This post will not be about the waiting parts though. If you're curious, long story short: I did not crave anything and I basically stayed home and slept more than usual. Nothing spectacular. I think because my pregnancy wasn't too extraordinary that my labor made up for it by being eventful. 11-11-11 My husband, Paul, said that if I ever got pregnant in 2011, we'd need to conceive in February so our baby would be born in November, and maybe, just possibly, have that birthdate. Guess what? He got his wish, helped along because I had placenta previa and therefore,...

Aha! I am caught creating a Valentine's-related post! I couldn't resist as it was too tempting to answer this somewhere. Lucy of the Fully Booked twitter account  RT'ed this article from the Huffington Post  where some of today's authors share the fictional men and women who made their hearts go thump-thump. I am by no means an author. (Although, a girl can dream, right?) But I read. I spent my childhood "nose in a book" much like Belle of Disney's Beauty and the Beast. And because I'm very much a romantic, my high school years introduced me to and had a preference for the romantic novel. Gratuitous picture of Matthew Macfadyen as Darcy. Because, you know, this is a post about literary crushes. Besides, that article by the Huffington Post had one. Naturally, romance is probably the perfect genre to look for someone fictional to crush on. Famously, there's Mr. Darcy of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Admittedly, though, I only felt totally en...

(Note: I wrote this last year. Forgot to publish it after. This is a small post for people who want to know what to expect during their DFA appointments.) Before anything else, make sure you read very well all the reminders, such as Dress Code and their page on What to Expect written on the Department of Foreign Affairs' passport site . It's a good thing I really took note of my DFA appointment March 22. (My previous blog post on getting the appointment is here .) Almost panicked because I thought I was lacking requirements, such as NBI clearance. It turns out, I didn't really need it. Anyway, this is a "What to Expect" based on my experience: 1. You have to get there 30 minutes before your schedule. If you're early for that, they supposedly won't let you in. However, when I arrived, there was already quite a line of people for the 11am slot. No worries. There are seats, and the people are segregated into their appointment schedules. The seats ar...