Marty is overweight @ 4yrs old

At four, Marty is already 23 kilos and is overweight for his age.
As his pediatrician evaluated him as obese, Marty needs to loose a significant
amount of his weight.

Here are some of the advises of his pedia which I agree to be followed
not only for Marty but for our family for a healthy living.
1. Have to change milk to a non-fat.
2. Avoid trans fat which is common in chichirias, chips, and cookies.
3. Lessen on meat due to the cholesterol it gives. More on vegetable and fish.
4. Avoid sweets (candies, chocolates, etc.)
5. Less on fried meals, instead try broiled and steamed ones.
6. Eat vegetables & fruits rich in fibers(beans & legumes, nuts and seeds, fresh
    and dried fruits) and try oatmeals to help in the lowering of cholesterol.
7. Engage in sports activities such as badminton, biking and swimming to
    burn fats.

Wondering why all the donts(change, lessen and avoid) are first on the list?
Of course, we have to take out old bad habits before we can fill it with good
ones to be absorbed by our system.

But in today's world wherein parents have fewer times to prepare for nutritious
meals, as well as kids are spending less time in exercising and more on
sitting down for computer games, I think this is a GREAT CHALLENGE for any parent. 

Yes, it may be a great challenge but if its the health of my son which is at stake,
I don't have to think twice. As one of my goals this 2011, I have to search and
prepare for healthy meal recipes for my family. At least, 2 new recipes every
month which I hope to share through this blog once I've tried them.

I wish I could be a SUPER MOM!!!

Just like any other super heroes, I wish I could have the powers to perform my
duties as a mom, a wife and a working mom with a luxury of quality time and
within the boundaries of my comfort zone.

In short, I want to be a SUPER MOM. 

As a SUPER MOM, I want the powers of:
1.  Superman to carry and fly with my son
     Marty every time he portraits Superman
     with his matching costume.

2. Batman and Robin to have the energy to
    play with him all night and as the dynamic
    duo in all his playing tricks

                                                      3. Aqua Man to swim with him to the Ocean
                                                          Floor to show him the beauty
                                                          of the Ocean Life - sea grass beds,
                                                          coral reefs, mammals, sea lion, etc.
                                                          My greatest weakness - I don't know
                                                          how to swim.

                                                     4. Spider Man to have a webbed hand to
                                                         get hold and catch him when he runs fast
                                                         from me.

5. Have the power to heal and comfort him when he is sick.

6. The power to make the world a peaceful and better place for Marty to live in.

7. Power to turn back time to do the things I was not able to do when Marty
    was growing-up.

8. And the power to see Marty's future.

9. The power to clone or myself so that when I'm in the office, I can also
    wait for Marty until their class ends and cook for my husband's dinner.

10. If not a clone, maybe I want to be Ben 10 who can transform into
     any character to select the power I need to help my loved ones and
    others as well.

How about you?  What powers do you want if given the chance to be a SUPER MOM.

You may post comments and share them here...

Excited for Korea again!!!

My sister just got us Cebu Pacific promo airfare tickets for Korea this April. It will
be a 4-day vacation for Marty again.  This time, our top on the list to visit is the
EVERLAND Resort and a city tour.  Unlike our first trip there when we were not
able to roam around due to preparations for my brother's wedding, this time, it
would be ALL FUN.

For the meantime, I'm holding on with my excitement, have to have an extra saving
for this grand vacation, and prepare for a fun-filled 3day itinerary.

Marty's date with his LIBRARY

It is a fact that reading is a fundamental part of a child's education.  And I also
agree to this article which I read from the net that children who learn to read from
an early age excel on academic areas. I see it now with Marty. At 4, he can read
paragraphs and stories. That is why I am very happy and thankful that Marty has
developed his love for reading and books at an early age of 3.

It actually  started when  his papa bought him comics of  superheroes which was
one of his  favorite to watch when he was  2. That time, after watching the dvds
of batman, superman and alike, he turns to his comics and murmuring words with
matching actions in which as if he can read the story. His grandma(who is a
teacher) noticed it and gave him the ABAKADA paperbound book. The one in
tagalog and being used in teaching pupils how to read in public school. They had
one-on-one session one weekend and presto, Marty was able to read tagalog
3-syllable words at 3.

From then on, even when we go to Toy Kingdom and groceries(with mag/comics
stands), his interest was on the books and comics and just a little on toys. I buy
the ones he chose, he read it orally and aloud and sometimes we read together at
home.  So to boost more his interest in reading, I introduced him the Fully Booked
in The Block @ SM North. When we went there the first time, I saw how his eyes
smiled after seeing all his favorite cartoon and superheroes characters books.
He immediately picked up some and went to one corner, sat down and read
without asking me if he can read there.  Maybe, he saw other kids
sitting down and reading also. And the rest was history.

Now, he is always looking forward to a weekend of reading in Fully Booked.
This excitement and eagerness for me means he is considering it as a hobby.
For me, that's really a great one.  Sometimes, if he really loves the book, he
requests me to buy  it. So aside from his toy collection, he has plenty of
books, mags and comics at home which he reads every now and then. I may
spend a few bucks going there but I could never pay that experience for Marty.

Also, I really thank this bookstore - Fully Booked which is one of the instruments
for my Marty's education. As a gratitude, I recommend this to my friends to
bring their kids there. Aside that it offers hard-to-find books, it is very conducive
for pass-time reading,  whether you buy or not. Marty also loves to read on their
branch at the Bonifacio Global City.

Today is Thursday late night and I am looking forward for Marty's date with his 
library for the nth time...

Let HIM speak to you...

I do pray. When I wake up in the morning, while on a trip, before meals, at bedtime and hear mass on a Sunday. I always thank HIM for all the blessings and ask for HIS guidance, blessings and help always.  But seldom that I give HIM time to speak to me.

In today's homily, we are all in search of light.  A light of hope and guidance in our
lives.  Though most of us find hope on temporal and material things, blessed are
those who are searching for light from our dear LORD.
But how do we find for the light? It is not enough that we just thank and tell what
we need from HIM then end our prayer.   Just as how our parents want to catch
our attention from our busiest life and talk to us, the Lord also wants to speak to
us through HIS words - BIBLE.  For it is through the Bible that we will be guided
to search the eternal light - his creations, humble works, all his healing and blessings.

So when we pray for 10 minutes, let HIM speak to us for 3 minutes by reading
the holy Bible.

My 5 Fingers - A constant reminder for praying...

Praying is actually one of the easiest things to do because you can pray anytime,
anywhere and in whatever way you want - no hard rules. And yet, I admit I
sometimes find no time to pray and worst I just pray for myself and my family
and relatives only. 

Before the 2010 ended, I told myself that praying is one of the things that I have
to improve on this 2011. 

Surprisingly, just this morning, I recieved this text from a friend which I
consider a wake-up call for me in terms of praying. This was the first time that
I read about this but when I searched the net, this prayer already had an
overwhelming comments for over a decade now. A shame to myself.

This is all about the "5 FINGERS OF PRAYER"

1. Your thumb is the nearest to you, so pray for those who are closest to you...
   -I do agree with this. Its natural for us to pray for the ones we love and
    dear to us(our families, relatives and friends). What about our enemies who
    are also near to us?  We should also pray for them so that they will be
    enlightened like us. 

2. Pointing finger: pray for those who teach, instruct and heal...
   -They need our support even in prayers that they may be instrument of wisdom,
    healing and spreading the word of God to others. 

3. The tallest finger: pray for our leaders, they need God's guidance...
   -Let us pray for our leaders that they may be guided by our Lord in leading
    and shaping our nation. 

4. Ring finger: weakest finger, so pray for those who are weak, troubled or
    in need... -This reminds us to pray for those who are sick, weak and in
    trouble. 

5. Little finger: the smallest to remind you to pray for yourself...
   -Just wondering why the little and the last/farthest finger?
    Does this mean I have to pray for myself the least and the
    last priority? But after going through nos.1 to 4 again, I realized that
    most of my personal prayers are already said after I pray for the 4. 

I really thank my friend Janeth for sharing this to me -  a PRAYER GUIDE and
a CONSTANT REMINDER (my 5 fingers) for praying.

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Recollecting... A better way to start the new year.

There is no better way to start 2011 for me than to recall and assess first the
things that transpired last year - have to thank the lord for all the blessings and
pick-up the pitfalls.

Here is a rundown of the important events in my family's life last year:
   January:-We welcomed the 2010 new year with the family complete in
                    my parents' house.  Marty was awake enjoying the fireworks and
                    the food.

 

                  -Challenge for budgetting family's expenses and savings. Thank god
                   our target savings was met. Also, we acquired a pioneer saving and
                   insurance.

                - Setting new goals both in our (my husband) personal lives and of our
                  family.  At work, to continue aspire for a career growth.  I was tasked
                  to temporarily head our section, thus, exposed me to bigger
                  responsibilities.
                  In the family, no plan of acquiring new asset, but focused more on the
                  schooling of my four-year old son.  Also, one vacation for the family
                  by the end of the year. Moreover, need to increase savings by 10%.
                  With these goals, all possible means of saving may it be small, were
                  explored.

                -Weekends were always time for bonding with Marty. He loves going
                  to bookstores to sit and read esp. in Powerbooks at SM Megamall
                  and Fully Booked in SM The Block and Serendra. While weekends
                  is for Marty, every Friday is for me and my husband.  Grocery and
                  dinner date.

   February:-Thank the lord for each day that passed that my family is safe and
                   healthy.

                  -Feb. 7, we went to 8 Waves with Dennis and Sunwha's visiting us
                   from Korea.

                  -Just have a date with the family for the Valentine's day.

   March:  -At work, more responsibilities and preparing for our involvement in
                   a multi-million big big project of the company - the SAP.

                - Scouted a good pre-school for marty and atlast found MSA. Backed
                   up  with good reviews and feedbacks for this school, as early as
                   March, we were already decided that we will send Marty to that school.

                - Its my sister's bday(March 3), my mother in-law's bday(March 18) and
                   my husband's great day(March 20). What a plenty of fun and eating.
                   Quite gained weight.
  
   April:   -We enrolled Marty to summer class for Phoenix in MSA.  At first, it was
                really a struggle since it was Marty's first time to come out of his comfort
                zone - from the house. It is a classroom type summer class thus, Marty
                has to deal not only with his teacher but also a lot of kids which he was
                not used to.  He was used to playing alone. But kudos to Teacher
                Glaiza, he made Marty participate in class on the 2nd day.

              -Aside from Phoenix summer class, Marty was also enrolled in Voice
                Power for singing, dancing and modeling.  This played a big part in
                Marty's coming out from his shell.  He improved a lot and every day
                he gets TODDLER OF THE DAY.  They had their show at SM
                Fairview Storey Land to complete the course. And yes, Marty did
                great!

              -At work, very busy preparing for SAP.

              -Went in Iba Zambales with my family for 2 days stay in Bakasyunan
                Beach Resort.

              -Another big day we celebrated was the birthday of my 2 brothers
                (April 13).  Just have a dinner without the 2 celebrators. One is in
                Dagupan and the other is in Korea but yes, we were one in spirit.

              -Had a 2-day get-away in Tarlac and Baguio last April 17-18
                sponsored by my brother Ronald.  We loved the great lunch  at
                Isdaan in Tarlac.

                We went up to Baguio and stayed in the Teachers' Camp. Had
                a buffet breakfast in Manor Hotel and went to Baguio Country Club
                for the pastries and bread.

             -Another 8 waves for Marty during our Rebisco's company outing last
               April 11.  Marty won in Bingo games that we played in the bus on
               our way to the 8 waves. Most of  all, he really enjoyed swimming.

    May:  -Marty enjoyed the Safari at SM North Edsa Sky Garden with his
              tito Dennis.

            -Another date to remember was May 20-24 when we went to South
              Korea to attend my brother Dennis's wedding with Sunwha. Via Cebu
              Pacific we arrived in Incheon Korea night of  May 20 Since its
              buddha's day, we strolled first in the downtown and had our first dinner
              before heading to their house in Seoul. We liked the hot and spicy food
              served and grabbed the free coffee available on every resto there. On
              the 2nd day we went to to Busan where the wedding was held and had
              an accomodation in one of the 5 star-hotels there - Guerinari Hotel. This
              was also the venue of the wedding.
              Then came the big day. Wedding was so formal with all guests
              dressed-up.

              There was the 2nd ceremony wedding - the korean traditional wedding.
              It was very touching that I cried when it was my turn to give speech and
              wishes for the newly wed. Following after was the reception with mix of
              asian specialties.

              It was all dining, no program at all. 4th day was our Busan tour and
              bought souvenirs in the downtown.  Then at night was our trip going
              home, Busan to Cebu then to Manila. Marty was so sad because his lolo,
              lola and tita doods still stayed for another week there.
              Marty bought Thomas engines set in Busan airport Duty Free to add to
              his collection.           

            -Marty completed his summer class successfully - he is now good in
              spelling and in reading.

            -This was the start of my temporary work assignment in Ortigas.
              Everyday was a struggle to wake up at 4AM, prepare for
              breakfast and lunch and baon of Marty.  Have to leave the house
              by 6AM to catch the service going to Ortigas by 6:30.

   June: -Marty turned 4 on June 12, 2010.  Can't imagine how this young
             boy who was once inside my womb grew fast to be a big and
             smart boy.  Until now, he loves Barney, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse,
             Blues Clues, Dora the Explorer and Super Heroes as additions to
             his all-time faves. We had a lunch date at MAX Roces with his
             cousins in Kamuning. The cousins enjoyed their pictorials.

            The following day, we went to Subic with lolo, lola and doods for 2
             days. Marty enjoyed the sea lion and the dolphin show in Ocean
             Adventure and stayed overnight at Venezia Hotel.

            -At 4, he already had collectibles of different super heroes
              (superman, batman, spiderman, flash, etc.). He also collected
              Power Rangers.

            -Had quite difficulty in waking up so early for Marty's first month
              of schooling.  He woke up at 6am, eat, take a bath and dress-up
              for 30 minutes before the service arrives.  His class is at 8am.

            -Marty did fine on his 3 major quizzes for the 1st qtr.

            -At work, I completed my training in SAP-ABAP - another new
              language to be further explored and will surely be used once SAP
              is in place. This was the start of the many ABAP programming
              assignments that we have to finish before October Go Live. 

   July:   -It was Marty's lolo's birthday. Just dine out at Tong Yang
              SM Fairview.   

            -Marty did great on their assessment video and completed the
             1st qtr as top 3 in their class of 15. As usual, the subject that
             he loves most is Reading.
           
   August-Community helpers costume for Marty last August 5.  Marty
               was just so smart on his engineer costume.  His hard-to-find
               costume was courtesy of his lolo.

              -Another dining at Tong-Yang for Jec's birthday last Aug. 3.

              -Marty gracefully danced on their Linggo ng Wika presenttion
                last Aug. 22.  It was held in Casa Milan.

   Sept:   -Thank god, my cousin provided me a helper.  Atleast I was
               relieved from waking up by 4AM and just woke up an hour
               later.

             -As the weather becomes colder, its not easy for Marty to sleep
               and wake up at 6AM. He usually slept at 1-2AM watching DVDs,
               thus, very difficult to wake him up.             

   Oct:   -Oct. 1 Variety Show of MSA.  Marty played well as Sebastian on
              their Little Mermaid play at SM Fairview Cinema 9.

             -We attended my god daughter's(Meg) 7th  birthday party at Shakeys
               Centris last Oct. 16.  Marty enjoyed the party very much by showing
               his talent in dancing and joined all the games.

             -Lola's big day last Oct. 30 at Dory's.  Its good that Dennis and Sunwha
              were on their 4 months vacation here in the Philippines.

             -Again another challenge for me to wake up at 4AM everyday to prepare
               breakfast and lunch. Our helper did not return from her day-off anymore.

   Nov:  -Marty was on his favorite BATMAN costume again on the Treat or Trick
              at Robinson Novaliches. He got lots of candies and toys.  Hope we can
              join his cousins for the Trick or Treat this 2011.

            -Nov. 6 was MSA fieldtrip at Sand Magic, Ayala Museum, lunch at MOA
             and Enhancted Kingdom. I went with Marty and as expected, we were just
             able to ride a few in EK due to plenty of fieldtrips. This was his 2nd visit  in
             EK.  Just bought souvenir shirts and wizzard hat for Marty.  Overall, Marty
             enjoyed the day with his classmates.

   Dec.:-Dec. 1 was my 37th year. I can say that I had lived my life the way I prayed
             and hoped it to be. With the guidance and blessings of our dear Lord
             surrounded by my ever loving family, relatives and friends. I THANK THE
             LORD FOR EVERYTHING..... My family just organized a dinner for me.

            -Visited Manila Ocean Park atlast last Dec. 12.  Had a great time with the
              Oceanarium and Jellies. Had a great lunch at Gerry's.

            -Its MSA's Christmas Party in Lagro last Dec. 18.  Marty with his
             classmates, presented their song and dance christmas carole.

            -Dec. 18, attended Jollibee party of my inaanak Thea Tagorda in Lagro.
              As usual, Marty enjoyed the party by joining games.

            -Marty was just fond of Transformers as his new collection. Thus, he
              requested his tita doods to give him bumblebee and optimus prime
              on Christmas.

            -Dec. 24 & 25 - We spent the day with Marty's cousins in Kamuning.
              Brought our gifts and Marty recieved his gifts too.  Then we went
              straight to his lolo's house and spent the Noche Buena there. 
              Marty was the Santa Claus who distributed all the gifts for everybody.

              He had received lots of gifts from his lolo, lola, titos and titas.  As
              expected, he received his new collection - the Transformers.

              Dec. 25 morning, we went back to Kamuning to visit lola Ming.

            -Departed for Singapore last Dec. 28 via Singapore Airlines with my
              husband's family side.  Had 6 days and 5 nights stay there. We were
              able to see their newest attraction - Universal Studio Singapore,
              went to Singapore Zoo and the Marina Bay Sands SkyPark.  Had 2
              nights accomodation in Festive Hotel in Sentosa and 3 nights in
              Mandarin Orchard.  We celebrated the new year in the hotel with
              Marty's cousins.  This was really a family trip to cherish.  Big thanks
              to Marty's Tita Baby for this grand vacation. We hope we can return
              there soon and swim in Marina Bay Sands SkyPark's infinity pool.
              Though no shopping, we really enjoyed the great food, accomodation
              and great views. Jan 2, we went back to our homeland.

              Universal Studio Singapore

                 Singapore Zoo

              Marina Bay Sands SkyPark

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About this blog...

I decided to name my blogsite with "From a Mom's POV" simply because I want my
thoughts to be heard more of as a mother.

I will be sharing my point of views as:
  a. a working mother - loving raising a 4yr old boy while enjoying loving my work
  b. an imperfect but a happy and contented wife
  c. a finder - loved to search and share freebies(credit card promos, resto
      and mall promos and discounts, etc)
  d. a traveller-wanna be - becoming to love travelling even if only through reading
      but always hoping to be one.
  e. a person - who loves to bond and enjoy things with family and friends in
      anytime and anyway possible
 
With that, you are very welcome to comment and share your thoughts too.  Let us
exchange views and make this as an instrument for additional knowledge and
on-line acquaintances.

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The long wait is over...

At long last, I was able to find time to create my blogsite and be able to publish WHATS-UP with my family, what I think of sensible things, good reads and great finds that I was able and will be able to compile.

Just like I am used to having a daily to-do-list and a diary at work, I also have one for all the things that are happening to my family most esp. to my son - Marty. 

I document the WHATS-UP with us simply because of these 2 reasons:
   [1] I love reminiscing but as early as now, I am already in my early stage of
         memory gap.  Atleast I have my diary and this blog to turn to when
         I want to recall. 
   [2] I want to share some of my thoughts & experiences and hoping that some
        can find them useful. 

With that, I am sharing with you my blogsite:
       http://gpcatalan-fromamomspov.blogspot.com with title of   
      From a mom's POV

I hope this blog can share and help you in a way. If not, just be nice to respect my POINT OF VIEW.


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