Wordless Wednesday

On Smart Parenting: 6 Things To Try With Your Kids This New Year

The New Year is now upon us, and many of us have already gone back to the daily routine of going to work, doing household chores, and taking care of our children (not that the latter stops during the holidays – parenting, after all, is a 24/7 task!). Most of us too, have probably made our New Year’s resolutions (and hopefully, have not broken any of them yet); and taken steps to improving ourselves. It is a new year after all!

Since we’re on the subject of “new,” we might as well try out new things too –stuff we’ve NEVER experienced nor done before. This year, we suggest six things you may want to do with your kids to make this year one of your most memorable yet!

1. Create your own storybook(s).
If your children are anything like mine, they probably love pretending to be the hero or heroine in the stories you read to them. This year, why not make your kids’ fantasies in a way come true – by making your own storybooks with your kids and other family members as the main characters? 
 
As a family, come up with different “plots” for your stories. You could base them on your family’s personal experiences, or draw inspiration from other books. 

You may also want to choose which “genre” you’d like your book to focus on – inspirational, biographical, comedy, horror, general fiction, etc. Don’t pressure yourselves, though – remember that you’re doing this just for the fun of it! 

If you have older kids who can already write and draw, involve them in the “creation” of the book by having them write parts of the story or illustrate the story.  Smaller children can contribute by having their own “pages” in the book – let them scribble or draw to their heart’s content on blank pages that can be “page breakers” in your book. 

If you’re really ambitious, or find yourselves enjoying this activity, you may even want to write sequels to your book in the future. You never know - your literary creations may even get published, like the Giuliano family’s book “All the Way to God”, which stemmed from a simple family bedtime routine.
 

2. Make your own documentary film or music video.
If you’re not the writing type, you may want to have a go at making your own family film instead. This could take just a few minutes of your time; alternatively, you may want to make it a year-round project. 

Here are some ideas for your film or video project:
•    Make a documentary about your family and include interviews of different family members. You may want to make your own family tree before doing this. This would be a great way to teach your kids about their grandparents, ancestors, and other relatives.
•    Make a family video with compiled recordings of each family member completing these sentences (or something similar): “In five years’ time, I will ______________,” “I can change the world by ______________,” “I am grateful for ________________,” “I will stop _____________.”
•    Make a music video by getting each family member to sing certain parts of a favorite family song or hymn. You may opt to sing your parts in a certain way – dramatically, wackily, rocker-style, opera-style, etc. Have fun belting out the lyrics and dancing to the rhythm of the music! If you’re not shy about doing so, upload the video online for posterity - who knows, you and your family could become the next YouTube sensation!


3. Build your own family time capsule.
According to the U.S. Library of Congress, a time capsule is “a collection of objects put together to preserve the memory of a place, experience, or group of people at one point in time. People often make time capsules for special public occasions, and for others to open many years in the future.” People can make one to celebrate a family event, to remind them of a special experience, or to remember friends, family, or school – or something else important to them.

Building a family time capsule will enable you and your kids to go back in time and see your “past selves.” This will especially be a good thing to do if your kids are still very young. For detailed tips on how to make your own family time capsules, click here and here.

(This is the first part of an article I wrote for Smart Parenting Philippines' website. To continue reading the rest of the article, please click here.)

Ideas for Celebrating Advent: Preparing for His Coming!

Advent is upon us! But what exactly is this blessed season all about? Let's take a look at just ONE of the definitions of Advent, from Catholic.org:

The word Advent derives from the Latin word meaning coming. The Lord is coming. We may reflect that every year at this time we celebrate his coming , so that in a sense we can lose the feeling of expectancy and joyful anticipation, because at the end of the season, everything seems to return to pretty much the same routine. If that is the case, then our preparation may have been lacking and we have therefore been robbed of much of the true meaning of this season.

During Advent we recall the history of God's people and reflect on how the prophecies and promises of the Old Testament were fulfilled. This gives us a background for the present. Today we can reflect on the past track record of God and so begin to understand what it means to us now for the sake of what is to come, in our own future and that of our world.

© Liguori Publications Excerpt from Advent - A Quality Storecupboard The Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer

And what better way to prepare for His coming than starting (or for some families, continuing) our own Advent family traditions? 

Here in the Rodriguez home, we're excited to do the following:

First up is the Advent Calendar from the Story of Christmas book set I bought at Fully Booked in Gateway Mall (I don't usually buy new, expensive books but I made an exception for this one!) 

You can also buy this on Amazon.

Raising smart savers is a Catholic thing to do!

Ever since hubby and I attended free financial education lectures last year, we have been more conscious about how we spend and invest our money. We have also been trying to teach our kids about the value of money, even if they are JUST almost 5 and 2 years old respectively. We believe that raising our kids to be good Catholics also means raising them to be good stewards of the resources and blessings we receive from the Lord. This includes being "smart savers."

Photo from familybudgetideas.com

How we celebrated Mama Mary's birthday

Photo from whenmomspeaks.com

Here is what we did aside from incorporating "tidbits" about Mama Mary's birthday in our homeschool lessons for the day (I had to report to work today though - thank God for my mother, who for us who are blessed to know her, consider her as a modern-day Mama Mary in many ways! She became "Teacher Lola*" for today.):

 - Cupcake decorating for Mama Mary's birthday "cake"
I brought home supermarket-bought cupcakes and blue and white icing (ready for decorating) from Goldilocks bakeshop and let Tim and his cousin Gabby (one of his FAVORITE playmates!) decorate them. Rysse and Gabby's brother (born a month apart, they love playing with each other too - when they aren't fighting over toys and books! haha!) participated in the fun by trying to decorate their own cupcakes too - though they ended up eating their share too early! haha!

- Candle-blowing ceremony for Mama Mary
After the kids were done decorating the 10 cupcakes, we arranged them on a plate, placed the plate in front of a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary, lit and placed a single, white candle beside it, and sang "Happy Birthday" for our dearest Mother. The kids had lots of fun taking turns to blow out the candle!

- Eating and sharing the "cake"
Once we were done with that, the kids (and some of the adults present!) enjoyed eating the cupcakes! :-)

- Praying the Holy Rosary
This morning at the office we had a recollection focusing on "Moments with Mary" (one of the perks of working fulltime for our Catholic community) and I was reminded again of the power of God's grace manifested through the sacramentals attributed to Mary, one of which is the Holy Rosary. 

It was wonderful then for the kids and I to pray the Rosary together with my parents (after such a loong time, especially since we don't live with them anymore!), and brother and his kids. (Hubby was at a Thanksgiving Event for our community's "Build My House" project, heading the Logistics Committee).

To my delight, our almost 5-year old son Tim occasionally led us in praying the Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be, and would even lift up his own intentions when my dad would offer up prayer intentions before each decade. (Of course, towards the end, he was already getting restless and asking me "Are we almost done Mama?" hehe). Praise God!

All in all, it was a great way to celebrate our dear Mother's birthday, and bond with extended family members too! ;-)

I'll be posting pics from my dad's camera soon :-) hehe.

Once again, dearest Mother Mary, thank You for your love and for saying "YES" to God's will! May we imitate you in all we do! WE LOVE YOU!

How To Deal With Your Temper

What a timely, refreshing, "ouch-this-hits-me-where-it-really-hurts-coz-it's-so-true!" reflection from one of my favorite Catholic lay preachers, Bo Sanchez. I MUST REMEMBER THIS AS WE START HOMESCHOOLING NEXT WEEK! Gaaaahh! Pray for me please! ;-) God bless everyone!

How To Deal With Your Temper

       Do you lose your temper quickly?

       When you’re caught in traffic, do you lose your cool?

       Do you have shouting matches with your spouse?

       Do you yell at your kids often?

       Do you use degrading language?

       Do you not speak to people you’re angry with for days, weeks, or even months?

       If your answer is “Yes” to some of these questions, then you have a problem with patience. And you need to hear what I’m going to say today.

Lego Pilipinas Exhibit at SM Mall of Asia

I received an e-mail yesterday from Janice of Mommy Mundo, inviting me to the formal unveiling of the first-ever LEGO Filipino theme event, with guest of honor, Secretary Alberto Lim, to join in the celebration of the Department of Tourism's campaign, Tara Na, Pilipinas! The unveiling will be tomorrow, August 18, 2011, Thursday, at 1:30pm at the SM Mall of Asia Atrium, Pasay City.

Sadly, I don't think I will be able to go, as we are gearing up for the ANCOP Global Walk on August 21. I am helping out to document the event (via live streaming too hopefully!).

Anyway, the LEGO exhibit runs until August 27, so maybe we can bring the kids for a visit there another day! ;-)

The LEGO Pilipinas, Tara Na! Exhibit

Travel the spectacular Philippines with an 18x30 ft Philippine map with famous regional landmarks such as Luneta, Fort Santiago, El Nido Resorts, Vigan, Batanes, Bohol and other interesting Filipino sites – all built with LEGO bricks!

 

Together with the Department of Tourism, we will promote the Philippines in this fun and exciting family event!

Wordless Wednesday

Sibling Revelry

Tim with his newborn sister Rysse :-)

Yes, you read that right. Sibling revelry, not rivalry. (If there is such a term! haha).

I am so grateful to God that our kids, aged almost 5 and just-turned-2, though they do have their bouts of fighting and jealousy, are overall very fond of each other and love being together.

This was displayed especially during Rysse's 2nd birthday. Tim was/is just the BEST Kuya (big brother) ever! He insisted on helping his Papa blow up her birthday balloons, decorate our tiny living/dining/kitchen area for our small private family birthday bash, and kept coming up with his own "gifts" and "surprises" for his little sis! Hubby and I are so so proud of our little man! And of his little sister of course!

I'm glad sibling revelry is more prominent in our home than sibling rivalry. Thank You God! *smiles*

Wordless Wednesday

Confessions of an Imperfect Parent

Since it is still the season of Lent, which is known to be a time for going to confession and changing one’s sinful ways and bad habits, I thought it would be apt to make my own confession of sorts here. It would be my way of seeking “absolution” for everything that I have done wrong lately.

At my blogs (Truly Rich Mom and Teachermama Tina), I try to be positive and upbeat in most of my posts, though there are times when I can’t help it but be honest about my feelings of sadness and disappointment. This is one of those blog posts where I am going to be honest.

I have been struggling a lot these first weeks of Lent with questions about our parenting style. Honestly, I have no right to claim being a “perfect” parent to our kids, especially to our eldest, our strong-willed little boy. In fact, I am far, far, far from being the mom (and wife! Haha!) that I want to be. People who read my blogs and Facebook updates may think otherwise, but I am coming clean here. I AM TOTALLY NOT PERFECT.

In fact, I am ashamed to say that there are times when I can be a downright nasty, mean, people-should-report-me-to-child-protection-agencies mom. There are days when I end up losing my patience, snapping at the kids, and being physically harsh. Honestly speaking, I am NOT a fan of corporal punishment and believe that discipline is about teaching more than punishing. However, there have been many occasions when I have failed to “practice what I preach.”

There are times when I end up feeling like I am a Tiger Mom in the worst sense, and can only pray that my kids will not end up broken and bitter like the many young people I have encountered, especially during my time as a missionary to the youth. I don’t want my kids growing up thinking that I don’t love them or am always angry at them.

What I hope and pray and wish for is that our kids will grow up to be God-fearing, secure, confident and emotionally stable individuals, no matter how imperfect I am as a mom (and Hubby is as a dad). I want them to know that our decision to have them in Timor Leste on mission was born out of our desire to witness to God’s love and faithfulness, and that our decision to finally settle in Manila was born out of our desire to share God’s message of hope, forgiveness, peace and love in our own homeland.

Our family in Timorese attire during our CFC Timor Leste community’s farewell party for us

To continue reading this post, please go to my article on Philstar.com's Unblogged section by clicking here. :-) God bless all parents everywhere! :-)

February At A Glance And Our New Home School

Haven't been blogging for quite some time now. Been a bit busy with events the month of February, to name a few: the Filipinos Unite for Life Pro-Life Rally, the Aprica Media Launch (which reminds me, I should really write Part 2 already! LOL!), free financial education lectures, the Jason Evert Real Love Revolution Conference plus the other activities we regularly attend for our community. We've also started attending Bo Sanchez's The Feast gathering at Valle Verde, mostly because they have weekly gatherings for kids (their kids' ministry is aptly named Awesome Kids!) and we've been wanting to get Tim involved in a Catholic kids' group that meets weekly and not just monthly. (But of course, he and Rysse will forever be Kids for Christ!) So far, he has attended 3 sessions and seems to be enjoying! (Hopefully he is learning too! hehe)

I've also been having difficulty trying to adjust to working from home. And juggling my sideline writing jobs. I swear, I have no idea how other work-at-home moms do it! I salute you all, especially those who are homeschooling, have more kids than we do (I know a few moms who are homeschooling 5 kids of different age levels! Wow!), AND have no household help to boot (we are blessed to have two right now, but am thinking of letting one (or both!) go soon)! Grabe! How do you supermoms DO it all?!!! Honestly, sometimes I find myself thinking that working 9 to 5 may be better for me - but when I look at our kids, despite all my complaints, imperfections, weaknesses and seeming "Tiger Mother" moments, I would not trade my situation right now for anything! (Except of course, having multiple passive income streams! Now that would be GREAT! hehe. In God's time!)

Anyway, February came and went by so fast! It was truly a whirlwind month for us too, in the sense that we ended up moving to our own place (You can read more about it here!). One of the main reasons was so that we could have a proper place to homeschool the kids.

So far, so good. :-) We have been able to work more on Tim's writing and reading, and he has started to enjoy coloring more (he used to dislike coloring before for some reason). Praise God for all His goodness!

Here are a few pics of the kids enjoying their "homeschool room" :-)

Tim LOVES his wooden trains and blocks! 

Fun fun fun!

Choo-choo! He likes making up his own stories as he plays. He even does different voices for the trains as they "say their lines"! Sometimes, it's like listening to a Thomas and Friends episode! LOL!

Our little scientist :-)

Rysse, future doctor? :-) Whatever you choose to be, we will always be proud of you and your Kuya!

She loves playing with this microscope - a steal at P200! Bought on sale at Toys R Us.

Playing dress-up - Tim: "I'm going to the office, just like Papa."

Papa and his little man :-)

Playing dress-up with our Timorese tais

Future model? :-) (Incidentally, check out her modeling pics here. Here's a sneak peek below. hehe. Thank you Lilymoms!)

Our two angels :-)

P.S. Feel free to read about my take on International Women's Day (March 8) here. To all you fabulous women out there, especially you moms, thank God for you - you are making the world a better place by your love, gentleness and kindness! :-)

On being kind

This is a picture that I saw on Alex Blackwell's blog. 

Photo from www.thebridgemaker.com

It is a timely reminder for me as a self-professed Teacher Mama who has not been kind many, many, many times - especially to my strong-willed little boy Timothy, with whom I have been engaging in many power struggles lately. At this moment, I feel like I am the worst mom (I am making a public confession here). I have not only been unkind - I have been downright mean. I have been overly physical when it comes to disciplining (or trying to discipline) Tim. I have said things that I should have not. I have done things I only regret. 

Today's first reading (Genesis 3:1-8) talks about how Satan deceived Adam and Eve, opening up the human race to sin and all its deadly effects. In the words of the writer in the Companion by Shepherd's Voice Publications:

"Now the horror story begins! We have read the story of Creation; we now read of its near destruction through the choice of humanity to allow sin to enter into the world. This decision is couched in terms of pride and arrogance – a refusal to admit that we are to submit our lives to God’s will and an insistence upon controlling, or at least attempting to control, our own destiny. Sin will affect every aspect of our existence."

I feel so much like a sinner today. And very much an unworthy mother to my children. But I am encouraged by today's psalm (Psalm 32: 5-7). 

Then I acknowledged my sin to you, my guilt I covered not. I said, “I confess my faults to the LORD,” and you took away the guilt of my sin. For this shall every faithful man pray to you in time of stress. Though deep waters overflow, they shall not reach him. You are my shelter; from distress you will preserve me; with glad cries of freedom you will ring me round. 

So this serves as my confession of sorts, but of course I will go to a priest to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation soon.

I also pray that like the deaf-mute man in today's Gospel (Mark 7:31-37), Jesus will say to me "Ephphata!" So that all that is closed to goodness in me will be opened; so that my life will be open to more of His grace, healing, forgiveness and kindness. 

Do pray for me, please. And pray with me and my hubby for our kids, especially Tim, that they will grow to know, love and serve the Lord, despite the unkindness that they experience.

For it is true that in the end, only kindness matters. But more importantly, it is the kindness that springs forth from God's love and mercy that prevails.

1st Sunday of Advent - Happy New Year!

I rejoiced because they said to me, “We will go up to the house of the LORD.” (Psalm 122:1)

For our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed; 12 the night is advanced, the day is at hand. Let us then throw off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light (Romans 13:11-12)

Happy New (Liturgical) Year everyone! :) Just sharing with you some pictures of our simple celebration of the 1st Sunday of Advent :) 


We went to mass in the morning. In the evening, Tim and I made our family advent wreath using this link from Catholic Mom: http://www.catholicmom.com/advent_wreath_craft.htm.

Look what we made! :)

This is fun! :) Even if I am sleepy already! 

I modified the craft a bit and we used some real wax candles (previously used) instead of making paper ones. We just covered them in purple paper, and the pink one we used one that was left over from my niece's baptism (she's 10 years old now! haha. Talk about saving one's memorabilia!)

Our family Advent wreath

Then we prayed as a family together. Lolo Mon and Lola Tita led us. We used the prayers from this link: http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/prayers/view.cfm?id=952 and the readings from this one: http://www.amazingmoms.com/htm/christmas_advent.htm.

Lolo leads the prayer

Papa helps Tim light the first Advent candle

Lola reads the Bible reading with the theme: HOPE

Singing Isaiah 60 together

Kuya Tim accompanies Papa on the saxophone

Good job Kuya!

Time to blow out the candle!

It's always nice to celebrate Advent and the coming of Jesus with family, especially by creating your own family traditions. Now I'm thinking of something else to do to make CHRISTmas more meaningful for the kids, and us kids at heart too of course!

How about you dear readers? How are you celebrating Advent and CHRISTmas this year? :)

How To Prepare Your Family For CHRISTmas

Advent is fast approaching and this means CHRISTmas is near too! :) Yehey! :) But sadly, a lot of families are blinded by the glitz of Christmas decorating and busyness of gift-shopping that they don't give importance to the TRUE reason behind the season i.e. Christ. Let's bring back the Christ in CHRISTmas by sharing with our family members, especially our kids, the richness of our Catholic traditions during Advent.

One of the ways we can do this is by having our own Advent wreath at home. Teacher mom Lacy shares two great new ideas for Advent in the links below:

Edible Advent Wreath for Kids http://catholicicing.blogspot.com/2010/11/edible-advent-wreath-for-kids.html
Make Pink and Purple Advent Candles http://catholicicing.blogspot.com/2010/11/make-pink-and-purple-advent-candles.html

To view all her posts related to Advent/Christmas you can click on this link: http://catholicicing.blogspot.com/search/label/Advent/Christmas

Last year, Tim and I made this Advent wreath using his handprints by following instructions from Catholic Mom's link (http://www.catholicmom.com/advent_wreath_craft.htm). He really enjoyed making it (sorry, I can't seem to find our pictures of it!) and to our surprise he still remembers doing it to this day! So we will probably be doing it again, along with some other crafts. A Jesse tree perhaps?













Or maybe make a Baby Jesus in the manger craft?

How about YOU dear friend? How will you be preparing your children and family for CHRISTmas? :)