My Mommyology

June 17, 2012
by mymommyology
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The Features of a Family-Friendly Car

For Father’s Day, I thought it might be fun to have a guest post from a Daddy Blogger. 🙂

Sean Grey approached me a few months ago with the topic above — something that could be quite useful to expanding families. He is a father of three children himself, and he hails from San Diego, CA. Sean has been in the automotive industry for over twenty years, so he is pretty knowledgeable about the topic. Thank you Sean for such an informative post!

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Photo credit: bottomline.msnbc.msn.com

Buying a new car is a very exciting process. Choosing the appropriate vehicle for one’s family is the most adventurous part of the deal. Anyone who has children should try their best to purchase a family-friendly vehicle. A family-friendly vehicle is one that provides more comfort and conveniences than the average automobile. Certain features make it simpler for families to get around together to work, school, vacations and doctor’s appointments. From personal experience I believe a family oriented auto shopper should seek the following attributes when comparing family vehicles for purchase:

Extra Seat Belts. Having an extra seat belt in the back allows for more children. Families who have car seat aged children would best benefit from a vehicle that is very roomy in the rear and has three seat belts. The children’s safety and comfort are the two most important elements of family-friendly vehicle ownership. The children should have enough space in the back not to feel restricted and enough protection to be safe.

Fuel Efficiency. In the current economic situation most modern families are trying to save money. I’ve seen families save an immense amount of money by purchasing a fuel-efficient vehicle, which definitely helps decrease their overall budgets. Fuel-efficient vehicles come in a wide variety of engine displacements and sizes. The customer can find information on gas mileage in the vehicle specifications. I’d recommend purchasing a vehicle that can run on electric and gas, because using electric energy can save a lot of gas.

DVD Player or CD Player. Entertainment is important for going on family excursions and expeditions. I believe it makes time pass very fast for children, making the ride a lot smoother. Many vehicles come with special options such as CD players and DVD players. An auto shopper should ask about these special options and attempt to select a vehicle that provides this kind of entertainment for the family.

Built-in Navigation System. A vehicle equipped with a navigation system can help families get around to important places. Quite a few vehicles come with this special equipment integrated into the dashboard. This will not only save the consumer money, but also it saves him or her the time spent searching for a GPS before a trip. A GPS is simply convenient, personally I always rely on one to get from point A to point B.

Special Safety Features. Extra safety features add a higher level of protection for the entire family. A family-friendly consumer should look for features such as anti-lock brakes, side curtain air bags and electronic stability control. Each of these features will make the risk of injury less likely during accidents and unstable weather conditions. I always try and look out for my family, I believe anything that can protect them better is a necessary purchase.

Choosing a family-friendly vehicle is not a difficult process. It requires patience and diligent consumer research. The individual should match vehicle options with his or her family needs.

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Author Bio: Sean is an automotive enthusiast who has an immense amount of knowledge in the automotive industry. He currently writes for www.cashfortrucks.com, an automotive company that helps people remove vehicles. If you’d like to learn more about Sean visit the company’s site.

June 15, 2012
by mymommyology
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My Mommyology’s Thoughts on Boxing and Manny Pacquiao

I will just say it: I cannot stand boxing.

I can’t fathom how people can take pleasure in watching two grown men beating each other to a pulp, causing brain damage and irreparable facial scars… all for money. I can’t stomach it! I never watched the Rocky series. The only two boxing stories could take were Russel Crowe’s Cinderella Man and Mark Wahlberg’s The Fighter (and admittedly it was also because of the incredibly hot actors, Christian Bale included!).

That said, I was never a big Manny Pacquiao fan; even if in the last few years he’s put the Philippines on the map and has been the biggest news in Philippines sports history. Even if he’s broken all sorts of world boxing records (see, I don’t even know what they are) and has “spread his wings” and gotten into acting , singing and politics (Oh don’t they all…). I couldn’t understand how people could call him a local hero, or how he could be an inspiration to people if he lived an incredibly lavish lifestyle! I know that his is the Cinderella “rags to riches” story where hard work, talent and luck all come together and pay off (in millions), but I just felt something wasn’t right. I don’t deny he is talented (and I still can’t believe he’s younger than me! He looks so much older), but there is something about his story that just didn’t sit well with me because of what I’d heard and seen thus far.

In preparation for the Pacquiao-Bradley match up my husband watched the HBO 24/7 coverage of the fighters’ lives. He always does that before a Pacman fight, and as my computer is next to his I hear the stories and catch a glimpse of some of the shots shown. The few that have stuck in my head were those of Manny’s big mansion, his extravagant car and how much money (it seemed) he was throwing away. Then there was the public knowledge of his womanizing and his gambling! Come to think of it, that’s probably why I couldn’t teach my girls about him. How can you put someone like that on a pedestal, no matter how talented he is at his profession?

This 24/7 though, had parts which highlighted the big story on how he’d spiritually reformed all the aspects of his life. He’d given up his gambling businesses, his womanizing and other vices, and now has a wonderful relationship with his wife and kids. He also holds regular bible studies and practices being a good Christian, and has apparently started to preach even to his entire boxing entourage.

Funny enough, it did seem like he had this very calm aura about him during the fight (Yes, against my better judgement, I watched. Well, I coerced my husband to buy the Pay Per View showing of it –not an easy feat on its own! — so as a compromise I sat with him through all 12 rounds — tense and squeamish the whole time!). It just felt like a more sedate version of the Manny Pacquiao that I’ve come to know over the media.

Kind of funny when you think about it.

Even with my highly untrained boxing eye (and highly stressed nerves), I felt that he had that match in his corner. It could have looked like he didn’t care as much if he won or lost, but I didn’t quite get that same sense of cocky air that I could “feel” came across on the TV. He just seemed grounded and confident. Even the commentators, as controversial as they normally are, noticed that he was different — in a good way. Of course we all know how that controversial bout ended, but then again he took his loss very gracefully, like a true champ indeed.

What did stick with me though was his new Nike shirt (good one, Nike!), which read, “Fight for a Better World.” The wit behind it is pretty good copy writing for me, but more than that of course is the message that it sends. I hope that it is true and that Manny will now use his position and his influence in all that he does, to try to make the Philippines and the Filipino people a better race. I hope that he can be a living and breathing inspiration of using one’s talents for the greater good.

He had me with his shirt.

And maybe… just maybe, I can give boxing — and Manny as a “hero of the Filipino people” — a second chance.

A related article worth reading: Honoring Manny Pacquiao

June 12, 2012
by mymommyology
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I Speak “Mouse”… and Occasionally “Monkey” Too

Our home is a multilingual one; and I must say that it keeps things very interesting.

There’s the obvious and most used English language that we use all the time. Then my husband and I speak Filipino to each other, and are slowly teaching the girls little words and phrases. There’s also the occasional Spanish phrases and words here and there. I comprehend the language since I took over 14 years of lessons (and somewhere in my blood there is a drop of Spanish heritage), but I need practice. I can get us around enough in Spain for us not to get lost, but everyone would know that I was a tourist (There is a lag between when a Spanish sentence is spoken to me and when I can respond). Dora and Diego also are our regular Spanish teachers and even I pick up a few new words and phrases now and then.

Then there’s Chinese. Sam’s school hired a Chinese teacher, Miss Hua, to give the kids lessons every Friday. Ms. Hua has approached me several times already to tell me that Sam is a super Chinese learner. Sam has also taken a liking to the Ni-Hao Kailan show and repeats the words and phrases she learns from there. As a result, I try to learn them too. I don’t mind; my brother speaks Mandarin and maybe one day he and Sam can have simple conversations together.

Generally when it comes to languages, it’s a case of us the adults speaking it better than the girls so we can teach it to them. I learned that there are various benefits in teaching children multiple languages, so I encourage it at home. Sometimes I let Sam pick up the context of what I’m trying to say.

But the more interesting ones are the ones Sam speaks fluently, or the ones that she and Elie make up (I’ve heard only twins do that!). They speak to each other in what sounds like gibberish, but somehow they can run a conversation back and forth and keep it going with a matching dance or some actions. Helene and I ask each other quite often what this or that may mean, and both of us are confused and amused!

Sam also likes to play a lot of pretend games (as would a normal imaginative three-year old), and a lot of the times we are monkeys or birds or butterflies – you get the drift. “But they don’t speak english,” Sam says to me, and proceeds to sputter out tweets, or neighs, or oooh-ooh-ahhhs as we act out whatever group of animals we are at the moment.

Chirpchirp chirp chirpitty chirp chirp. Chirp?! 🙂

Often times the game carries on past it’s actual intended time and while I turn back into a Mom, she still remains a bird. “Tweet tweet twe-tweeet tweet. Tweet?! Tweeeeet!” she’ll chirp out repeatedly expecting me to understand. And that in turn becomes our next guessing game, what is it she’s trying to say. A long “tweeeeeet!” with a smile and a nod really means a yes and a short staccato-like “tweet” is no.

I will admit it can get very hard on the ears when it goes on the whole day, particularly in the car when we try to carry out conversations to pass the time and all I hear is, “Meow meow meeeooowie meow. Meow!” or and excited burst of “Squeeeak! Squeeeak! Squeeeak!” with a finger pointing out the window. It’s supposed to mean “Look I saw an airplane!” — I think. Sometimes. Or, “please pass my milk.”

Growing up I remember my friends and I would speak the “P” language (where you add a p in between every syllable) or Horse language (where you add “tigidig” between syllables) – I suppose it is the same concept for younger toddlers. I know we do that in Kindermusik too as sometimes Rebecca has us singing / barking / purring / tweeting hello every now and then. It’s fun, entertaining, and of course interesting, and it keeps my mind alert as I need to translate and interpret based on context (We don’t want a squeaking toddler mouse to get frustrated after all).

Well — at least Sam knows her animal sounds by heart, and has a great interest in animals too. And, if it’s a sign that Sam is a smart, imaginative child… then carry on I say. As always my husband and I are happy animal accomplices and we bounce and bark and chirp on command.

And so with that I say to you: “Buzzity buzz buzz buzzzz. Buzz buzz! Buzzeee buzz!! Buzz-buzz?” 😉

June 6, 2012
by mymommyology
8 Comments

Thankful for My Eczema (Skin Allergies)

For a large part of my childhood I had to live with dry, itchy, splotchy, scratchy skin. Atopic Dermatitis they called it, or as it’s commonly known — Eczema. I remember trying all sorts of medications, steroids, antihistamines, skin tests and what not to try to keep it in check. I also remember seeing so many different dermatologists since every “second opinion” had a different course of treatment (or lack thereof). One of them said I was allergic to dust, and therefore nothing could be done except have me live in a bubble. One of them said I would outgrow it at the age of 10. I did eventually outgrow it — 13 years later than what he predicted (Of course, I got bits of it again over the 18 months that I was pregnant with both girls). Another shot me up with steroids and told me to eat rice in the mornings (?!). I only remember gaining so much weight after that and when I stopped the steroids, my arms and legs were all painfully red and terrible inflamed from rashes.

My friends used to call me the human barometer, because each time I’d start to itch and scratch, it meant that the weather was changing (from sunny to rainy and vice-versa). More often than not I was right about rain or sun coming along. It was funny and eventually I got used to my weather-woman role, but it was still hard to live with! I couldn’t take long baths with nice foamy scented soaps since it would all dry my skin. I also had to moisturize constantly and I developed a very strict regimen (Maybe that’s why I’m OC?). I had to stay away from chicken when growing up, KFC was my favorite fastfood chain. I never learned to put make-up on myself, since after any application of the stuff (even the hypoallergenic ones), I’d wash it off and have a splotchy swollen face (so if I put on make-up for you and your special occasion, then I do love you very much, ;)).

Growing up my skin allergies were really a pain and a nuisance. And even if I learned to live with it and I changed my lifestyle accordingly, I just wondered why I had to learn to grow up with it. My mom always says I should be thankful that it’s not the respiratory type of asthma (My doctors called it Asthma of the Skin, and I was told it was this, or the full-blown well known Asthma), and she’s right about that. I just could never see why anyone had to go through what I went through.

And now I know why!

The sun and the sand and the sea were not kind to my little baby's skin!

I am now thankful for the 20 years I had to live with my skin allergies. As it turns out – Jamie inherited my skin. We saw hints of this when she was an infant and she had some skin rashes (That I treated with breastmilk! We’ll get back to this later). The pediatricians said it was too early to tell and she could grow out of it easily, but all the same it was best to keep an eye on it.

Now that she’s a little older and all the seasons have come full circle, particularly after this summer beach trip when she was exposed to a lot of sand and sun, I know that Jamie also reacts to weather changes. Her skin would dry up as the temperatures changed and she would be scratching herself more frequently if it suddenly became too cold, too warm, or to humid. In the last few days post beach, Jamie has “scratched herself into oblivion” and developed splotchy rashes in the creases of her neck, ears, arms and legs as a result — the exact places where I used to get mine when I was a child. I noticed it a few days ago and have been treating the poor thing ever since. She shrieks because the lotion and the hydrocortizone sting her and I can definitely relate to her pain. I still remember running around the dinner table in our old home’s library because I was fanning my arms to make the stinging sensation stop. I also have this image at a Brazil airport where my now-brother and sister-in-law had to hold my arm out so that we could all apply medicine and bandages to soothe my irritated skin (since I had scratched myself into oblivion as well).

My husband was stressing out about her reaction and kept telling me to check with the pediatrician, but I’d seen it and treated it a million times before…on me! And true enough when I called the pedia’s office, they told me things I already had been doing (Note: their main concern was that she did not have a fever or pus oozing from the open wounds as that would mean there was an infection and she would need to be seen immediately.). Nonetheless I am still bringing her in on Friday to get checked and to see if she is old enough to see a pediatric allergist.

Thankfully Jamie is feeling much better now and apart from the added routine of applying lotion and medicine onto her thrice as frequently as I used to in the past, she is pretty much her happy little self.

If I hadn’t gone through that experience growing up I probably would be in a panic frenzy at this point. Also, Sam never had it on her (thank God!), so it would’ve be a medical first on my kids (and medical firsts are never settling to a mom’s stomach I can tell you that!).

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In case you are experiencing something similar with your children, here’s what works in our home. PLEASE know that this is not medical advice, but rather just one mom trying to help the next. When in doubt, a consult with the pediatrician is always best!

Give them extremely quick, lukewarm baths with mild moisture bars (we use Dove unscented bars). Soaps and baby washes with scents dry the skin, from what I know.
Bathe them in filtered water. You may not feel or see the difference immediately, but I promise you it helps. I know this firsthand!! And change your filters regularly — an unchanged filter is just like using none at all.
Pat skin dry with a soft fluffy towel. Never rub. Leave the skin slightly moist too.
Apply thick unscented lotion, such as Eucerin. It will already sting, but anything scented will sting worse.
For red, splotchy areas apply the over-the -counter hydrocortizone cream as a first aid remedy, and leave the areas uncovered if possible to aerate it. In Jamie’s case, my husband lightly covered the worst scratches at night when she was asleep, since that’s when most of the scratching happens.
As mentioned earlier, if you can cover the areas as well with breastmilk then that would be the best course of action. It is truly the miracle cure-all, and it is the mildest of all remedies!
If they’re really uncomfortable at night, check with your nurse practitioner if it’s okay to give them Children’s Benadryl — just to help them sleep better. You’ll need the correct dosage for the age as well as the frequency. It’s not something you want to use on a prolonged basis either.
Don’t allow the skin to get dry at any time during the day. Wash quickly to clean area and moisturize more often than you would normally do.
Help with skin hydration by giving them a lot of water and fluids.
Try to prevent the kids from scratching it over and over again. This is the hardest one to do!

Here are some other suggestions from sites I’ve come across that talked about Atopic Dermatitis in children.

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June 2, 2012
by mymommyology
4 Comments

From Beach Bum to Beach Mom

A wise mommy friend Tanya recently sent me tweet that said “Tired is a mom’s perpetual state of being.” I couldn’t agree more, particularly when you take your kids on a beach trip.

Here in the confines of our Myrtle Beach resort room, I find myself thinking about how the entire being of our beach trips have changed since the girls have come into our lives. My husband and I are beach / water folk and we would frequent these places whenever possible. We’d go diving or to the beach even just for the day, just to enjoy the sun, sea and sand. They were all fairly uncomplicated, easygoing and relaxing excursions.

As we moms know by now, the world turns on its head once you have a child (To borrow the words from the Chapel Hill Creamery’s tour guide, “It is only after the female has given birth does she truly become a cow.”), and apparently so do the nature of beach trips. As a parent I don’t find them as easygoing nor as relaxing – which is ironic since the purpose of such a trip is for the family to “get away from it all“.

Who are we kidding right? Family vacations are of course all about the children. At least in our case, the girls dictate the destination, the itinerary, and the schedule. Thankfully, the type of hotel too!

Staring longingly at the beach from our room while I (take forever to) disinfect and unpack.

When our girls were “still a possibility”, my husband and I would pick resort rooms based on bathroom decency (that was my non-negotiable) and cost (his). That’s because we would only use the room as a place to store our things, shower and sleep, and would spend the entire day out and about in our beach attire. We’d carry a minimal amount of things, we’d let the sun dry us off and we’d survive on one tube of sunblock for several trips.

Nowadays (much to my husband’s wallet’s dismay), my decent resort room standards have err… gotten more complicated, to put it mildly. That’s because I hardly leave the immediate vicinity of the resort –Jamie’s sleep schedule and Sam’s frequent bathroom breaks rank as the top two reasons why. Between the two girls I am constantly shuttling back and forth into the comforts of quarters that I have personally painstakingly disinfected. So now I need a place that I wouldn’t mind spending a lot of time in.

Then there’s the food. I never used to pack more than chips and soda for my husband and myself; but now I have crackers and bread and cookies and pretzels and bananas and gallons of water and milk (the chips and soda are buried somewhere) and everything else in between. I also take home food from restaurants, just in case one of the girls gets cranky hungry — it is the fastest remedy to an empty stomach. I never used to do that.

As for packing in general – I can never stop laughing when I hear my husband muttering under his breath and scratching his head, “WHAT did she bring this time?!” as he loads half the house into the car. In my defense… Jamie is a very sensitive being and has trouble sleeping in new and unfamiliar places (in Filipino we say, “namamahay”), so I try to ease her into it by bringing her pillow and stuffed friends. Sam knows a certain routine and will not let up unless it’s in place; so we bring her books and her stuffed friends along too, among other things that she wants to take with us. I like to give her a say in what we need to bring too.

And then there’s the worry. And the stress. Do they have on enough sunblock? Should I re-apply again? In most cases, because I think I’ve applied so much sunblock already so many times, I forget I didn’t put any on me!

Will they get sunstroke? Heatstroke? They need shades to protect their eyes (added inventory). Should they wear a hat (yet another thing to run after when the wind blows it off)? Is there too much sand in their bathing suits? Will they step on a jellyfish? Should they wear water shoes?

Sam my little adventure-seeker doesn’t hesitate to run into the water to catch the waves, and I am constantly calling after her and running in after her, all fully clothed. I’m afraid because she runs in quite far and doesn’t know how to swim. To think, when I would run and jump into the waves, I wouldn’t look back. It is pure karma my friends.

Jamie loves the water too, and will sit and wait until she gets splashed on. I am afraid she will roll over when the wave hits so I’m constantly holding on to her in the most awkward positions (in case I need to haul her up and jump in after Sam).

Between the two of them, the beach toys, the wardrobe, the accessories and the endless inventory of things to keep track of for four people, my heart is constantly in my throat and my head is everywhere. At the end of the day when they are wiped out and peacefully snoring in their (disinfected) bed, I am ready to collapse too.

I suppose all I’m saying is: Three years and two children later, I am still in shock as to how so much of my life has changed in such a short span of time. This beach trip is just another concrete example of that.

Yet… we do it anyway, over and over again. My girls LOVE the beach. As any mom will tell you, there is no greater joy than seeing your children completely and utterly happy. If the beach and the sand and the water does that for them, then off we will go and I am more than willing to take on the role of Beach Mom. Besides, when it comes to your kids, when is anything “work” anyway? It may not be as relaxing, but who says it’s not fun… especially if it gives you the excuse to jump waves with all your clothes on. 🙂