ANY PARENTS NIGHTMARE

A parents worst nightmare is seeing their child get hurt. But how would you feel and react when your face in a situation that you are seeing your child body floating in water or be it sinking in the water? Sarah a friend of mine went through that nightmare. She had just put her youngest son Joey for a nap when she could not find her oldest. She found her floating face down in their swimming pool. She jumped in and just got her out and just administered CPR to her little girl. I can't imagine the horror she was in, she said it was her living nightmare. I don't know if I would have reacted the same way if it was me but when a parent is faced with that kind of situation our instinct kicks in. Just like what the dad and the good samaritan did on that miraculous day . According to an eyewitness who was able to take a video of the incident the father jumped in to save his two year old little girl in the freezing water. The picture of him with holding on to a rope with his daughter lifeless on his chest was just heartbreaking. This news did not end in tragedy, the child started crying a few minutes and both father and daughter are fine. I hope to God I will never be have a situation in my hands like that. Accidents happen no matter how much keep we keep and eye on our kids, all we have to do is to be prepared and calm and rise up to the challenge when the situation calls for it.

Here is a clip of the interview of one of the people who witnessed the rescue of the 2 year old little girl :

JOINING A GYM

In the 3 years that I have been living with my MIL I would never thought she would join a gym. She has Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) and has had it since she was 40 years old. Due to her RA she could not walk extra long and had to use a cane for a long period of time. But that was 2 years ago. Before Kaitlyn was born she already had 2 knee surgery to replace the cartilage in between her knees. Both Ralph and I was so surprise when she told us she join a gym so she can go exercise. Ralph was a little miffed since she never uses her stationary bike in her room and the elliptical exercise equipment in the basement. She knows that she has been steadily gaining weight and didn't want to consider fat loss supplement due to the many pills she is taking for her RA. Her reason for joining was so that she can get out of the house and strengthen her bones with a supervision from a professional who knows what they are doing. MIL is right and I am support her decision and I just hope she sticks to it.

RUNNING RAGGED

Tomorrow is Good Friday a time for all Christians to reflect. Tomorrow is also the day Ralph will have his surgery to remove the cyst on his back. We have been busy as a bee the last couple of weeks running errands, going to doctors appointment, painting the house. Trying to finish what needs to be done before tomorrow. At least the grass has been mowed for the first time this year in preparation for the Easter Egg Hunt we will be hosting on Easter Sunday. We had a hunt last year and watching my kids smile and scream with joy was just priceless. I wanted to cancel the egg hunt with Ralph out with his surgery and he will not be able to move very much, but kids are already expecting it. I can just imagine the smile on my kids face on Sunday. I know I will be running around like a chicken without its head but I think I will be able to manage it. I'll just make a rainbow cake and Easter cupcakes for the kids to eat after the hunt.

DRY SKIN,POLLEN AND SPRING

I don't know about you guys but I have been experiencing dry skin now more than ever. My legs and knees are specially bad. I didn't have dry skin problem last spring so I don't have a clue what changed. At least my face is not as dry and I don't have any breakouts, so far so good. Just in case I do get the occasional breakouts I have an acne cleanser that I use regularly.I have also been using a certain kind of facial scrub and it seems to be doing a great job on my face. My only main worry about spring is the allergies. Last year it was so bad that I could not breathe through my nose, it was so clogged. It gets worse when I go outside where the pollen is so bad with the trees just starting to sprout leaves. Even though I hate taking Benadryl for my allergies I am going to suck it up so that my kids can go outside and play in this gorgeous weather.

MY PICK IS RED

We are finally done painting the inside of our house. We started off painting last weeks with the dining room and since we still had a lot of pain left over we decided to paint the bathroom. The kitchen, dining room and downstairs bathroom is painted in ALOE VERA color. Its actually a nice, soft and bright color. We were doing such a good job painting so we tackled painting the rest of the house. I really didn't want to do it but we have to. Ralph will be having his back surgery to remove his cyst on Friday that is tomorrow. After his surgery he won't be able to do much at all. His best friend will be the bed and I will be his servant until he can get up and out of the bed without help. Mind you painting is not an easy task but its not that hard either. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to paint the inside of your house, all you need is common sense, lots of tape, wet rag and a steady hand.

Last night was the last day of painting the inside of our house. We did the hallways, the stairs and also the family room. What is left is the formal living room/ playroom of the girls. We will have to do that last in the autumn season. We celebrated our success by going out to our favorite Chinese restaurant. Afterward I cajoled Ralph into taking all of us to the furniture place so I could show my MIL the couch we got. I never thought Ralph and I were going to agree so quick on a couch but if we hadn't we would still be looking for the right design furniture for our family room. The couch we picked is a sofa recliner with cup holders in between seats. I just fell in love with the red microfiber couch. I can't wait until it will be delivered to our house and I will finally be rid of the horrible couch we have had for the last 3 years.

TOOLS, GADGETS AND GALORE

Nowadays everything is easier, faster, efficient and convenient. I have asked myself so many times why Americans have so many gadgets for almost everything. Housewives have so many tools and gadgets to help with cleaning. Since most Americans don't have maids or cleaning crew to clean, we do it ourselves. Inventions and gadgets make things easier and faster. It also applies to technology and the WEB. There are programs and software to help with business, schools, household,church, offices and many more. It even amazes me how people can do their own taxes in there own homes with just a simple software program. Business is easier to manage with software like project management software it helps small business owners and major companies run smoothly. I should have really studied more about computers and the Internet since there is such a big field to knowledge that is available out there waiting to be searched. I may not be a computer geek but I sure so admire them...

SHE TURNED 77

My Grandmother turned 77 years old yesterday March 31, 2010. Let me tell you something about her. She is smart as whip, sharp as a sword and soft as a jello. My grandma is what people would say a tough cookie, she works hard for everything she has and takes good care of her family. She may have a sharp tongue but her words always rang true and always looks out for you. I love her for taking care of me and my sister when my dad left us, I love her for her cooking but most of all I just love for loving us in return. I talked to her yesterday and I could not help but get teary eyed. Both my maternal grandparents are getting older and it hurts to know that I am not there when they need me, for someone to watch them, do errands for them as such. I am counting down the days until I see them again. Don't worry La, your dollar is already saved and in safekeeping until I hand it to you this summer. I love you so much....

WILL I EVER DRIVE?

Having 3 cars is by no means an easy feat. Their is maintenance, gas, insurance, monthly payments and what not. When we got our latest car, a Jaguar Ralph probably got a lot of auto insurance quotes from different insurance company. I am stumped as to why my husband got a third car. He insists that he got the 3rd car for me, I know its a load of crap because I don't even know how to drive,lol. I am not to miffed abut it though since we did get the car at a good price and the interest was very low from hi credit union. Ralph does use it when going to work since its more efficient on gas and saves him money. I just worry about the payments and the burden that it puts on him. He assured me that in 4 years time we will be free from any payments when it comes to our cars. All we have to worry about is the insurance after all the cars have been paid off. I just hope that this year I will finally be able to drive. I just want to be able to drive myself somewhere or help out with errands so that I don't have to depend on my MIL to drive me around. I am really crossing my fingers on this one.

PLANNING FOR NEXT YEAR

The other day while we were doing our running around and stopping by the furniture store Ralph talked about the plan for next years vacation. We can't do anything this year since I will be going home to the Philippines this summer. Because of that we may as well plan our vacation ahead so we have other options and choices. He talked about doing a time share on a cruise to the Bahamas and of course the Disney vacation. We should probably include Outer Banks vacation homes in our plans. The main purpose for the vacation is for the kids to have fun and so we can bond as a family. Ralph wants to go somewhere were the kids can ran free, and swim to their little hearts content. I know its still early to plan things but its better this way so we can put aside some money for our next impending vacation.

SUPER SWEET 16

Who watches My Super Sweet 16 on MTV? I just finished watching the episode where Lil' Mama was coming out for her 16th birthday. I have never heard of her though maybe coz I am an old fart already? But anyway she is apparently a singer or rapper. The theme of her party was about coming out of a Princess. She wanted it big but most of all she wanted to celebrate it with her family. She wanted to make sure that her family looked gorgeous and nice for her big day so she got tuxedo for the male members of her family. I think it was cream or off white but the guys did look elegant and sophisticated. Of course every one looked great on the big day specially the birthday girl. I really don't approve of this show and how this young men and women and partying like crazy and getting cars like it was nothing. A part of me is sorry that this kids are growing up spoiled by the parents. I just hope this kids grow up to be successful persons not just spoiled brats.

EYE SEE YOU

March has been a very very busy month for all of us. We have had about 2 appointments for the kids. One with the dentist and the other one to check out their eyes. Its was just the three of them that got an eye check-up, Daddy, Kayla and Kaitlyn. Yes, Kaitlyn is still young but with Ralph having eye problems we wanted to make sure that our kids have perfect vision of if they have problems it can be treated right away. This has Kayla's 3rd check up and so far so good she has normal 20/20 vision. She was so good and just did exactly what the technician wanted her to do.

The Picture below is when she had her eyes checked. They took pictures of her eyes to make sure that their was no abnormalities or whatever.

The second was the part where they had to blow air into her eyes to check for Glaucoma. I was kinda worried but she just laughed when she felt the air hit her eye.

Third picture is of me holding the princess bruiser Kaitlyn coz she was to small and they wanted her to feel comfortable while she was being checked. She is a very independent little girl. She refused to have me hold her head steady while she was looking into the machine. I finally gave up and just let her do it on her own.

Last part was when she was actually being check by the Ophthalmologist. Again, she refused help and wanted to just sit on the chair by herself. She had to kneel on the chair since she was to small but she was fine with it as long as she get to do it by herself.
She also has 20/20 vision on both eyes. The doctor said it was good to see parents bringing in a child early for eye check up. Kaitlyn will have to go back after a year this way she can interact better and her eyes is more developed. All in all I am just happy my kids are growing and developing healthy...

DISTORTED VIEW

While at Kmart today I happened to glanced at the many tabloid magazines near the check out counter. I happen to notice this article of Heidi Montag and Heather Locklear side by side. They were saying that the bombshell that has becomes famous for her notorious procedure done could looks like Heather Locklear when she is older. I always wonder why she thought she had to get 10 procedures done. I thought she already looked beautiful and sexy before she had all those surgery done. She looks good not but a much much older version of herself. Do you think women in Hollywood are obsessed with looking younger and more beautiful? I bet you they probably have a little booklet full of beauty secret that includes, skin firming creams, best anti wrinkle creams, acne products, eye cream and so much more. I do not know why we women put such burden on ourselves to look something we are not. It's a pity that we are sending out the wrong message to our young girls today. I hope that when my kids are older they will realize that beauty comes in different shapes and sizes. It is up to us to teach our kids that Beauty is not only physical but how you perceive it and let it come out.

A MOUTHFUL OF CHEMICALS

We have been out since 10 a.m. this morning and just got home about an hour ago. Spent probably 2 hours in Kmart just browsing around and getting the kids some stuff. While there I stopped at the cosmetic isle to check out the make-ups and some facial cleanser for my skin. There was a whole bunch and an isle full dedicated to women's facial skin care. I don't even know half what of them are for, It makes me leery about reading all the chemicals that are in the product that I can't even read,lol. I am better off on making my own home remedy for acne, this way I know what I am putting on my skin. It's probably not that hard to do, I know of some by browsing and reading some blogs that specialize in home made products ranging from soap, shampoo, lotion and many more. Its also cheaper making your own remedial solution for your skin and this way you can personalize it just for you.

TROOPER

That my friends is a picture of Kayla lying down on a dentists chair. We got her out of school early this month for our routine dental check up. Kayla was a trooper while being cleaned and examined by the dental hygenist even though I nor her daddy was not around. We had an appointment for all three of us and Ralph got called first. He took Kayla with him to let her see and assure her that when it was her turn she has nothing to be scared of. I was in the waiting area with Kaitlyn until I was informed by the staff that they were already working on Kayla and wanted to inform me. Of course I wanted to be there so Kaitlyn tagged along with me to where her big sissy was. I was so proud of Kayla for being so good and cooperative. Because she was so calm and happy about it, Kaitlyn in turn got the vibe that it was not scary at all. That was one of the reason why we took the little one with us so that when she will finally be seen by our dentist the next year she won't panic and have any fear of dentists like me. Seeing how relaxed her big sissy was while they were cleaning her teeth I am pretty sure we won't have a problem with Kaitlyn being seen by the dentist. I am really crossing my finger that Kaitlyn won't be scared of dentist like I was at her age.

EARLY DETECTION

Watching my favorite shows is just one of the ways I entertain myself. While I was pregnant with my youngest I used to watch medical shows like crazy, although I won't exclude my other non medical show. The one show that had me really laughing was My Wife and Kids starring Damon Wayans. One episode was about Michael (Wayans) getting a Colonoscopy to check his Colon for any abnormalities or problems. It was just so darn funny when it came to the part where the doctor was holding the instrument to be used for the procedure and breaking out into a song number. Mind you it just had me laughing like crazy. But before he had the procedure I think he had to prepare his body by taking some colon cleanse products. If a remembered correctly after the show ended Damon encouraged people specially of African American race to have their Colon checked. It was a funny episode but It also carried a public health service to make people aware that having routine Colon check up can help detect and catch Colon cancer at its earliest stage and have early treatment done. My MIL herself is thinking about getting her Colon checked and has been talking to Ralph about it. Whatever her decision is she know that she can always count on me and her sons to be their for her.