Wrap Style

Choose a good fabric that is properly sized for a wrap. Determine the center and tie the cloth around your hips with both ends ending at the back. Wrap it in a crisscross pattern at the back then pull it over your shoulders towards the front. The ends of the fabric resting on your chest should be crossed then tied at the back. To secure the wrap, you should wrap the ends again towards the front of your hips, cross them and pull them towards the back then finally tie them together.

 

Backpack

This kind of sling tie will allow you to carry heavier babies. First, position the cloth on a bed and carefully put the baby on it making sure she is comfortably positioned. The cloth should cover her back down to her buttocks so she will not slip off. Then, pull the baby up on your back by holding the two ends of the cloth. You need to bend back a little to be able to do this correctly. The last step is to pull the ends of the cloth towards the back and tie a knot under your baby’s buttocks. 

 

X-shaped

Position the center of the cloth from behind then place both ends over your shoulders in a crisscross over your chest. At the back, insert one end under the band of cloth at your waist then tie both ends together. Once you have tied the ends securely, you can already place the baby on your stomach. The baby’s bottom should be resting on the X and her legs on two opposite sides. The X-shaped tie can be used for discreet breastfeeding. 

 

Lying Baby Sling

The lying sling is very useful for breastfeeding. Determine the center of the cloth then place it on your shoulder. Tie the ends at the hip opposite to the shoulder where you positioned the cloth. Gently place the baby into the sling from your shoulder or from under, whichever is easier for you. To adjust position of the baby, turn the part of the cloth that rests on your neck inside out so that it now rests on top of your shoulder. If you want to pull the head of the baby up, pull the cloth from your shoulder. Secure the wrap by tying the rest of the cloth to your waist.

I'd love to know if you got any of this right. I never could. Ugh. 

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I just got a text message from my sister: “We’re watching a horror movie.” 

“Which one?” I asked.

“Some Asian horror movie. Will text you again later. I forgot the title. Ha-ha.”

“Okay, bring that when you come here next time. Hush now, we’re also watching, ” I replied.

“What?”

“Insidious,” I answered curtly.

My son finds it bizarre that the people closest to him put horror movies on top of the list when choosing a weekend or an after-dinner movie. “Why don’t you just watch something that’s nice? A nice movie?” he reiterated.

“Horror movies are…nice.” I answered, not really sure what on earth I just said.

“Explain that,” Cole demanded.

“My fear exactly, ‘coz I I'm not sure. I really don’t know how to explain that, Cole. Let me see…Some kids my age liked watching "Ferris Bueller’s Day Off", "Indiana Jones" and stuff like that while I liked “The Exorcist”, "Children of the Corn"…"Amityville"…

My voice trailed off as I looked far away.

“Regan Teresa MacNeil was my…hero.”

“Who’s that?”

Suddenly, turning to him and with the best Linda Blair voice and expression I could muster, I said, “The Exorcist!”

Laughter erupted in the living room where my husband and my cousin were seated. After Cole recovered from the surprise, he started laughing and told me, “Mommy, you are the weirdest!”

I was quick to remind him that Linda Blair did not play the exorcist but the possessed young girl. 

“The priest,” I said, “was the exorcist.”

But really, I can’t explain why I like watching horror films. And I have company. Everyone in my family has a penchant for scary stuff. Even Cole. He might complain sometimes but he does like watching horror movies.      

We gathered after dinner to watch “Insidious”. Read Cole’s review of the movie here. He has an awesome blog called “We Have Hippies for Parents”. 

If you’re ten years old you’ll find some cool stuff there. If you’re older, you’ll find it cute. 

                                           

They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day because it fuels the mind and body. Health-wise, I don’t think anybody should argue with that. There’s another meal during the day though that I feel is more important for three reasons. One, it’s well-planned. Two, it’s well-attended.  Three, everybody’s ready for long conversations at this time of the day. 

Well-planned lunches

I have memories of the women in my family sitting down during a mid-morning coffee break planning the day’s lunch. We lived in the province where LUNCH BREAK meant coming home from work or school and eating lunch with the entire family. That’s the reason why lunches had to be well-planned — everyone in the family looked forward to it every single day.

My grandmother would sometimes call over the phone asking us what we’d want for lunch. So even if we did not live in the same house, she’d have our “orders” delivered by one of the ever-reliable househelps and the driver. I have loved crispy pata (pork’s leg) since I was four so when I was in the mood for it I’d let my mother dial the phone so I could call Lola Didit and ask for my crispy pata. That was my food delivery service back in the 70’s.

Attendance is a must

My grandparents were rather strict about lunch attendance. Everyone would be expected to be at the table a few minutes after my grandmother would ring the bell for a meal. Their home, the Villa Mercedes in Bohol, was a huge Spanish house sitting gracefully between two spacious gardens. You could be anywhere when the bell rang — you just had to make sure that you’d be at the table before the second call. It may sound a little austere but I’ve been thankful for all those moments because now I have wonderful memories of family time well-spent, eating together the most delicious home-cooked dishes one could ever imagine.

My father carried this on at home. You could never be doing anything more important than a family meal. It didn’t matter if Duran Duran was playing on MTV. You’d had to leave those guys to be at the dinner table when it was time for a meal.

Every bite counts

I’d be seated somewhere on the right side of my grandfather and they’d have to put a can of biscuits for me to sit on because I was tiny. My grandfather initiated all conversations and I still clearly remember how all the adults would politely answer him when he asked them questions. He was a judge and carried an air of intimidation in him.

The talk would slowly become animated in the middle of lunch so everyone would start easing up. I’d remain quiet, hardly eating anything but tremendously enjoying all the conversations that would go on around me. Theirs was a 14-seater antique table and you could just imagine the buzz that went on there especially when desserts were about to be served.

What are your lunches like? I'd love to hear about your memorable experiences with food. Share them here!

All the memories I have of food and the people who made them are all amazing. That’s what my husband and I have been trying to let our son (and now our daughter who obviously loves to eat) experience in our home.

From time to time we’d gather family around and cook for them and share the wonderful experience I had when I was little.

We gathered together recently, and as usual, cousins requested for Roastaman’s roast chicken. Roastaman of course, could not refuse.

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Taken during my trip to Cebu City

A plant will never mess on your rugs.

When we moved in to our home in September 2011, I got unbelievably busy with so many things. Attika just turned three-months old; Cole was still attending regular school then; hubby had an important job to take care of; and I had an entire house to unpack. I wasn’t doing everything on my own but OCness is not something you just can shrug off, so I was carefully arranging and rearranging things (and sometimes repeating the entire routine when "something looked like it was in the wrong place") to the amazement of my (superwoman) friend Christie who was visiting at that time. 

I couldn’t get any luckier. I had a fairy godmother staying with us and showering my kids a lot of love. But it was me, really, who needed her more than anyone else. I needed her to be there to laugh with from the time we'd wake up in the morning until we'd fall asleep late at night. With her around everything seemed funny. Now thinking about it, Christie’s the reason why I never had to suffer from postpartum blues. 

So while all that love was being passed around in our household, our plants were out in the verandas suffering from brutal neglect by yours truly. Not that I intentionally did that but for weeks I completely forgot that besides my little one, there were others waiting for me to feed them, too. They all looked withered and  their leaves were starting to fall out. Some of them were on the verge of dying, some looked weather-beaten, all of them looked thirsty and hungry, some of them looked…sad. I was panic-stricken when I saw what I’ve done (or haven’t done) for them. I promised them my White Dwarfs, Snow White, and all the living things we owned that I’d start feeding them regularly and that I’d talk to them more often than I should. 

Another friend of mine, Anna, left me with two boxes of books before she left for Canada. One of the treasures in that collection is Lynn and Joel Rapp’s “Mother Earth’s Hassle-Free Indoor Plant Book” published in 1973. I love the old book dearly because it was written for dummies like me who love plants but don’t know how to grow them. It’s so comprehensive and a fun read, too. 

I’m sharing with you the Rapps’ reasons why you should become emotionally involved with your plants.

A plant will make you happy.

A plant will beautify your home.
A plant will freshen the air.

A plant will make a friend feel good.

A plant will never talk back to you.

A plant will never mess on your rugs.

A plant will love you if you water it.

A plant will give you something to talk about.

And best of all—You don’t have to walk a Begonia!

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