3rd Grade Picture

One of my friends just posted our 3rd grade class picture in facebook and it just brought back a lot of fun memories. I was able to get in touch with one of my classmates that I tripped before and he fell hard on the table. He cried really hard I remember and I apologized to him again for being a little rascal back then. Now we can really just laugh about it. I told him having kids tamed me. Looking at our classroom in that pic made me sad. It was not even much of a classroom. Just some plywood walls separating the classroom from the hallway and I can see some fans attached to the wall on top of the blackboard. But as kids we didn't really care about the appearance of our school. We still had a lot of fun back then. My teacher Miss Ruth was really nice and patient after going through 2nd grade with a terror like Miss Evelyn...we used to call her Evilyn...hahaha.

Fresh organic produce vs junk food

I have been closely monitoring a lot of the products that I've been buying in the supermarket. I'm not only watching my budget very closely but I'm also really trying to feed my family healthy organic foods as much as the budget allows. I know with our economy right now, a lot of people are trying to manage their budget but how far would we go with stretching our budgets? Lately, I've been trying to get as much fresh organic produce as I can. When I start buying those and feeding my kids with the good stuff before we go to the "other treats" then it really gets them used to eating healthier stuff rather than starting to eat the sweets and chips before the actual meals. I know we are spending as much money buying junk foods as buying fresh fruits and vegetables. I'm most certainly not a SAINT on this. I still give my kiddos treats but I'm trying to make it a lot more harder for them to get it but NOT BUYING THEM ALL THE TIME. And it really makes a big difference. It's absolutely hard to say no to them when it's just right on the cubbords. I've also noticed that my kids eat more when they're eating healthy foods and I don't feel bad giving them more food because it helps them grow.

Eating Right

I just read this article in Yahoo about foods that speeds up your metabolism. It's pretty much suggesting that we eat foods that are fresh and it's nothing different than what's in the food pyramid really. We just need to keep a well balanced diet. Eat more vegetables like spinach, broccoli, carrots, asparagus, cabbage, beet roots, assorted beans and dark and leafy vegetables. As for the fruits, eat more blueberries, melons, apples, citrus fruits and tomatoes. Skinless poultry, eggs and peanuts are good sources of protein and fish is very rich in omega 3 and will boost your metabolism by burning up to 400 calories a day. Of course don't forget your whole grains like brown rice, cereal, barley and oats.
Drinking lots of water, 6-8 glasses per day and exercise at least 3 times per week will help a lot too. Right now, since it's summertime we really need to make the most out of the fresh fruits and veggies that are available in our market. And what better way to exercise than to engage yourself in outdoor activities. It's fun, healthy and it won't even feel like you're working very hard since you're enjoying the outdoors.

Busy Busy Weekend

We recently just started taking the kids biking and they love it. That's another thing we can do as a family in the weekends. We have a couple of bike trails in our area we'd love to go to and it has nice views of the lakes and mountains. We really just have to take advantage of living here in Colorado with lots of outdoor stuff to do. The kids would love to feed the ducks and birds but we told them that they should obey the rules of the WILD and that is to not to take the WILD out of the WILD ANIMALS. Lots of signs everywhere about foxes in the area and I'm sure that's not all that's there so we just really stay on our path. This is what's great about Colorado...we can just be minutes from the mountains and from the city. We got the best of both worlds if you ask me. =)

Recycling

I recently just showed my two kiddos how to recycle. I told them how important it is to recycle things that can be recycled, eg. plastic bottles, cereal boxes, news paper etc. I got them a bin to put in the kitchen so they can recycle stuff easily. We have been to the Childrens Museum and I've showed them what we can do with recycled items. Make cars, boats and other fun stuff for them to play with. They thought it was cool. Yesterday, they caught their dad throw out an orange juice bottle in the trash. My oldest son screamed, "you're polluting the environment!" My poor husband got all startled and his face turned red. That was funny! I'm glad my kids are starting to like recycling. Good things should always start at home. =)

Jon & Kate plus 8

Oh, my heart just breaks everytime I hear about what's going on with the Gosselins. They're a beautiful family with 8 kids. It's tragic to see that Jon and Kate's marriage didn't work out. They keep saying that they're going to do what's best for the kids but so far, I don't see it. Jon's in France dating some lady already. It's just messed up. They didn't even give it a year before they start seeing other people. It's the kids, in the end, who are hurt...the kids who pay for this. My parents would always tell me that, "No success in life can compensate failure at home". I know it's true. I really stand by it.

Working Moms

I just don't know why some people perceive moms who are staying home as people who are not working. Heck I've never worked so much in my life till I had children. It's an on going thing and it's almost non stop work 24/7. We have aquired so much knowledge, skills and abilities being "stay at home moms". We do household chores, child care, heath care, secretarial jobs, we've been plummers, drivers, teachers, etc...the list just goes on and on...
I'm grateful I'm a mom above all else. It's a very rewarding job. Somedays I'd lose my hair and some days...well, you know some days are better than others =) Lots of Kuddos to the moms who are working non stop, putting our family first and no amount of job can top that.

sooooooo tired

This whole week has just been hectic. Taking care of my inlaws dogs...all 3 of them plus watching their house, watering the plants, etc...was added on my to do list this week. On top of taking care of my home, 2 kids, chores, errands, swim lessons...ugh! But I made it. I surely have learned how to manage my time well. Now I can't leave the house without my to do list. It's a have to just so I get to do everything I'm supposed to do that day. Time management on top of budgeting, cleaning, fixing stuff around the house....these are the things I really should put on my resume when I get back to work someday. Just because I'm a stay at home right now doesn't mean I really just stay home eating bonbons all day. I could barely sit at all during the day. Oh, as long as my kiddos are happy and well fed, I'm happy too. I actually have added a lot more tricks to my trade when I stayed home than when I was working. Now I know how to unclog sinks, fix bathroom doors and closet doors, etc. hahaha...didn't learn that at all in college.

Patster's Summer

So far my summer has been great. My kids are growing up so fast and I realized that we are starting to do more stuff as a family. My oldest son is doing TBall and Swimming right now and he really enjoys him. I tend not to put too much in their schedule because I still want them to play on their own too and use their imagination. Growing up in the Philipines I'm always with my cousins, friends and family. We always seem to find a way to get together almost everyday. But I live really far away from my family and friends that we can only keep in touch thru emails and phonecalls...I really want my kids to have cousins close by but for now...having friends around helps keep them occupied for the summer. Colorado is such a beautiful place to live. We have so many outdoor stuff to do .... we've been to Colorado Springs and have gone to Cave of the Winds, Gardne of the Gods, Air Force Base, etc. and recently we went to Heritage Square. It's like an amusement park...with miniature golf, paddle boats, roller coaster, etc. We are also planning on going up the mountains to drive around Vail, Winter park, etc. I'm sure it'll be a fun time for our family.
I can't believe my oldest son is starting kindergarten soon. I know once they both start school, we'll really be looking forward to summers when we can just kick back and relax and have fun like what we're doing now.