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Parenting Tips

Michelle Obama As a Mom

Photo from MSNBC

Photo from MSNBC

While watching the loving family of Barack Obama on the stage of Grant Park, I wondered what lay ahead of their family. Her interviews with media shows her active mommy role. In a Newsweek interview, she hopes that ““…we do some of what we’ve been doing for the last year and a half. That we really treat our family life as separate as you can, that we keep the girls’ lives very set apart from this whole experience.”

The future first lady frequently adjusted her schedule during the presidential campaign so she could return to her home in Chicago at night to be with her daughters.

In the same interview, she hoped that her mom could come live with them. ““The girls are going to need her, as part of their sense of stability. And what is true for my mom is that she does anything for us and her grandkids. All they have to do is look at her with sad eyes and she’s done for.” I agree with my friend, Cathy that this is very similar to our Filipino trait. As Filipinos, we often want a caregiver or loving relative watch over our kids when we are away for a long period of time. I know Michele may have to be with her husband for Official dinners or visits. Some things can’t be helped just like all working mothers have business to attend to.

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The Hope of Obama and A Mother’s Hope


Lauren arrived from San Francisco early yesterday morning. She left about the time that Barack Obama was unofficially announced as the elected 44th President of the United States. Naturally, she brought along an Obama souvenir tshirt which says “HOPE” with a hopeful-looking Obama at the front and “Nope” printed at the back with a frowning McCain. I could have worn it but the sleeves make me look fat in it.

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Home Sweet Home

I woke up to the sunlight streaming down my face. A bit dazed, I thought “Where am I?” As the bay window shape loomed in front of me, I smiled and realized I was back home. Oh home sweet home, back to the arms of my sweet husband despite the sore right shoulder. I felt I never left home. The vacation in America felt like a brief respite from the humdrum of my daily grind in Manila.

The day after Lauren arrived in San Francisco, she wanted to spend her time with her good ole mama at the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) instead of the malls. I yelled “let’s shop at the Sephora!” but she refused. This good ole mama just had to agree with her daughter. But the MoMA was closed on wednesday.

The Golden Gate Park was a better plan because it was a few blocks away from her friend’s pad. I just knew there was something for young and old alike from the green oasis of gardens, museums, and over 1000 acres of flower beds, meadows, lakes, playing fields, hills and forests.

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The Filipino Mom Blog

Once upon a time, seven mothers, all bloggers eagerly went out with their kids to meet up, just for fun. They all seemed to have a common ground. They all loved to eat. It seemed but natural that they would convene for this very reason so they could feed (literally and figuratively) their same interest to their hearts’ content. Never mind that they risked expanding their waistlines, the company was just too delicious to resist.

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Groovy Mama Sez Hai

Let me explain.


It started when I exclaimed “That’s awesome!” to a plurk. Was it Baddie or Pau who noticed that I said that? I forgot who, but Helga begged that I utter LOLcat words. Lauren seemed visibly “annoyed” that her friends were encouraging me to LOLcat speak. If you don’t know yet, LOLCat is an image combining a photograph, most frequently a cat, with a humorous and idiosyncratic caption in (often) broken English—a dialect which is known as “lolspeak”, or “Kitteh!”. The truth is I find LOLcat so funny. I love our cats and I sort of speak LOLcat to these furry creatures. I know my limits. I will sound ridiculous at my age to utter LOLCat words.

Many years ago, I believed it would have been far out . Can you dig it?

Being a seventies child, I often heard the word “generation gap” from my high school classmates. It occurred to me that one day I’d be a mother.

I’m not going to be that kind of mother.

I’d “betcha by golly wow” will strive to bridge that generation gap. I was gonna be in the groove of things. I twirled and peered into the mirror as I admired my long, waist-length hair, Hot Pants and neon orange top.

Yup, I will be a groovy mom. I will be their mother and maybe their best friend.

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Breastfeeding in the Philippines: Hoffman Study Promoted by Doctors on +7IQ points is Misleading & Inaccurate

This entry is a continuation of PR Companies and the Milk Formula Manufacturers (Part 2)

I still remember my son tugging at my sleeve “Mom, did you do that to me?”

He led me to the room where Maan, his former caregiver was breastfeeding her son.

“Of course, I breastfed you.” I hugged my boy.

“Are you sure mom? Breastfeeding is good for babies.”

My son didn’t seem to believe me. Too bad I didn’t have photos of our breastfeeding moments. I pointed out the cross stitching projects in the kitchen .

I explained “When I breastfed you, I did cross stitch projects because it took you an hour to feed.” He seemed satisfied with my answer but the next day, he nagged me with the same question. Memories like these often make me nostalgic. I will never forget his words.

breastfeeding mom
Breastfeeding Lauren at 5 months old

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PR Companies and the Milk Formula Manufacturers (Part 2)

This entry is a continuation of PR and New Media Publishing.

A few months ago, I got invited to watch the presentation of a scientific study that correlated DHA and ARA (components found in Breast Milk which Milk companies now add to their formula) to the increase of the IQ of a child to 7 points. I was quite puzzled by the presentation of Dennis Hoffman’s Recent Evidence that Dietary Supply of DHA and ARA in Early Infancy Leads to Possible Trends in IQ of 4-Year Olds. Though no milk company was mentioned or direct promotion of the infant formula, I noticed that a popular celebrity was around to host the event. An idiot can easily put two and two together and correlate it to that milk company. I felt sick to the stomach because I thought I was attending a parenting seminar.

No problem there because like I told you, if I don’t believe in the product or event, I am not compelled to blog about it. So I left it at that.

Three months later, I got a call from the PR company. I could have said NO from the start of the conversation. But I listened out of sheer curiosity. She admitted that she was being candid and was exploring the possibility for mom-bloggers to be an advocate.

Hm, an advocate? How?

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Children in Philippine Jail

Lauren dragged me to watch a special viewing of Bunso (The Youngest) last saturday. Bunso is a poignant documentary film by Filmmakers Ditsi Carolino and Nana Buxani about three boys – Tony, 13, Diosel and Bunso, 11 – struggling to survive in a crowded Cebu jail alongside adult rapists and murderers. The two streetsmart boys paint us a picture into the surreal world of children caught between extreme poverty and the law.

These boys talked about their hunger and how they resorted to stealing just to survive. One boy stole from a sari-sari store because he could not bear the hunger pangs any longer. The owner did not press charges but the father wanted to teach his son a lesson by sending him to jail.

The boys are in prison for petty theft and robbery. Anthony claimed that he stole huge amounts of money to feed his family when his mother neglected his siblings. Bunso was on the streets because his mother did not “send him to school or care for him”. He resorted to begging for money at first, but when he couldn’t get any money, he stole. Then he started sniffing glue and needed more money to fund his addiction.

“I’d sniff first then eat,” he said in the film.

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Mom the Backseat Driver

Lauren started driving at 18 years old, rather I enrolled her at a driving school when she turned 18. I figured that she’d learn to drive a car using stick-shift just like I did at her age, instead of an automatic. We didn’t own an automatic car that time. I pride myself in being a teacher to my kids in (practically any topic) ever since they were babies but not driving. No, no….no

I want you to watch this youtube video of Happy Slip and Kevin as the latter learns to drive a stick-shift car. View it till the end because that’s the way I felt after I went on a practice driving session with Lauren the first time.

Put it in Purse

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