How are you?

Gosh I have been very delinquent in writing! 

My baby is already 7 months and is standing. She is very malikot. She even pulls to stand while breastfeeding. 

Then she has started screaming and shrieking.

She actually started babbling at around 2.5 months and  started jabbering "mumumum" (albeit infrequently) by the end of 4th month. After that she seemed very happy and quiet. That actually worried me.  (I have lots of worries) 

She was more interested in making weird razzling sounds and moving around. But she would let all her consonants and her voice out when she was complaining. 

Then at exactly 7 month she just started shrieking.

So imagine a malikot and a happy shrieking baby.

My hands are full.

Imagine me lying down to breastfeed and her drinking my breastmilk as if she is sipping buko juice from a coconut. She feeds either kneeling or standing. 

You know, every morning when I wake up...I thank God for the night and every night before I sleep, I thank God for the day. I have so much happiness, sadness, fears and gratefulness that my head hurts from all the emotions I feel...

Have you all read the book "Someday" and "Wish?"

Gosh, grabe. Iyak ako talaga.

Xoxo,

L

Tupperware

Has it been more than a week since I last posted?! Grabe! Time flies!!!! Too fast! too fast!

Anyway...this will be a quick one.

I really don't know how to be plastic. I just can't do it. If there's someone that I don't like, I can't bring myself to be around them. 

Perhaps I can naman for a few hours but it really causes me stress.

 It's like every molecule in my body moves fast and starts overheating.

Is there anyone is particular that has this same effect on you? How do you deal with it?

Xoxo,

L

Brunch for Less

If we dine out for brunch, we normally would spend around 1,000+. Sometimes I feel bad for paying a hefty price for something I can easily make at home.

So this morning, I prepared brunch.

Nothing fancy. 

I made blueberry pancakes using Maya's pancake mix. The tip on how to make them fluffy is to separate the egg white and egg yolk. Then you beat the egg whites until it stiffens and you fold it into the pancake batter.

The sausage, I got from Earl's Delicatessen. The sandwiches are just Tuna Sandwhiches that I grilled.

Masarap naman lahat!

I had 2 leftover pancakes. One I already packed for my husband's baon tomorrow. The other I gave to the yaya.

I made a konteng echoz in presentation. Leftover na nga e. The least I can do is to make it visually pleasing.

Xoxo,

L

My First Hermès

Actually Herpes yan e. Fake.

Jokes.

My husband gave me an Hermès Evelyn Bag for my 34th birthday. 

It felt quite strange to receive this because we had a tampuhan a couple of days before my birthday. It's worth noting I'm always cranky and depressed everytime I turn a year older.

This is a very generous gift so I'm very grateful. Pero sabi nya, wala na akong gift sa Christmas.

This beautiful bag now rests comfortably inside the cabinet. I don't go anywhere fancy. I only go across the street to do my groceries.

OA naman if naka Hermès ako to buy gulay.

I don't really buy expensive bags. I own a few lang.

BUT! I indulge myself in expensive shoes... which I also never wear. Minsan pag sa bahay, I wear my Ferragamo pumps. Hirap na magasgasan sa labas. Cheap ko talaga!

I don't buy expensive stuff to impress others. I buy them and I look at them. Kung baga for my own satisfaction only. Weird no?

Xoxo,

L

Desired Response

In marketing, when you make an ad it is important that you are clear with your DESIRED RESPONSE from your material. 

After watching your TV commercial, do you want your audience to..

- Buy your product versus competitor

- Buy more of your product (from small pack to big pack)

- Try the new product /variant

- Find a new usage for an existing product

...and many more.

There are many TV commercials, print ads, billboards that does nothing more but bring awareness. That's it. They spent millions for something that will not really lead to action/purchase.

As an individual, I always keep in mind this principle of "Desired Response". 

If I have a problem, I think twice before I share it with others because I always ask myself..."What response do I want to hear from them?" As I result, I usually share some problems with people who I know are credible enough to give me advice or assurances. I don't go around sharing my woes to everyone.

If I plan to comment, I also think twice before I say anything. "Will this comment be well received by the person?" , "Will this comment improve the quality of my life?" Depending on my answer, I will package my words to get my desired response.

In short...I am always calculating when it comes to my words.  I think about my desired response, my target audience and my key point before I say anything.

While this is a very good thing, I occasionally use this insightfulness to hurt.

If my desired response is to break ones spirit or to rip apart ones soul, I always find the perfect words to scar someone for life.

The best thing I do however is to keep silent. With silence and distance, the desired response is almost  too confusing. How can you hate someone who is silent? How can you hate someone who doesn't do anything bad nor good? 

Last night I asked my husband, "Many moons ago, when you told your friend what I told you about her husband what was your desired response from her? How did you want her to react to what I told you in confidence?  Did you want her to get mad at me? If she got mad at me, would who have left me?"

He said, "Honestly, I wasn't thinking. I just blurted it out of anger."

There in lies that problem with most people. When people get too emotional, they say things without thinking of the outcome.

Like when some women complain about their boyfriends or husbands. They make their partners look bad and yet they are unwilling to leave them.

To the person listening to them, they will appear weak. How can you choose to stay with someone who cheats and hurts you?

In short, if you don't plan to take any action except to rant, best to keep quiet because what you say can reflect badly on you.

That being said...I hope the next time you talk, you think twice or thrice about your desired response. Then you choose your audience and then weave your words in such a way that you can get the response you are aiming for.

Remember what you say, helps people form their opinion of you.

Xoxo,

L

Start Them Young

My mom told me a girl who can't do household chores won't make a good wife. That was her view of women...

So she taught me how to do my chores at such a young age.

Here's a picture to prove it...

Xoxo,

L

Yayaless in Iloilo

This Christmas, we are going to Iloilo with the baby. I planned it in such a way that the nanny can take a ferry and celebrate Christmas with her son too. It has been nearly a year since she last saw him.

The tickets are now crazy expensive, 5,500 per head. If I didn't book early, it can cost me as much as 8,000php/pax.

Now, that'll be the first and the longest time that we will be yayaless and someone indirectly expressed her concern that I may not be able to handle the baby on my own.

According to my own mother... "If you know how to make one, surely you should know how to take care of it."

I agree. 

I'm a very hands-on mom. I know how to bathe, feed, carry and take care of my own baby.  Sure, there are somethings I don't know. Like...what is the best way to cure rashes and those things I learn from the yaya. But I do know the basics of child rearing.

There is such a big difference from the previous and this generation of parents. In the past, they real mostly on yayas and baby formulas. Nowadays, breastfeeding is the norm and direct latch feeding is preferred. Yayas also don't stay long so moms are more hands-on in preparation of their abrupt departure.

My mom taught me how to cook, clean, wash and iron clothes, budget expenditures and how to care for a baby even before I got married. Unlike most Fil-Chi girls who grew up sheltered and provided for...I grew up as if I was trained to be a Spartan!

My biggest flaw lies in my emotional maturity and my default reaction to escape from problems. But if we talk about the "basic deliverables" of being a wife and mother, rest assured I know my craft.

Xoxo,

L

Breasts and Breastfeeding

They say it's a myth that breastfeeding will cause your breasts to sag. They say pregnancy and genetics are the culprits and your breasts will sag regardless if you breastfeed or not.

Well, I think this is untrue. I think breastfeeding really had an impact on the shape of my breasts.

Because I'm right handed, I automatically breastfeed on my right. I think when I'm on autopilot mode, I just let my right boob out everytime my baby cries. 

After almost 7 months of absentmindedly feeding on my right, my right boob is noticeably bigger and lower than my left. In Ilonggo we call this "bingkong".  How do you say this in Tagalog?

I can't blame anyone for this. I've been warned. A breastfeeding counselor from La Leche went to the house to teach me how to breastfeed properly. But, I tell you at 3 am, pag hibang ka na, feeding is very instictual. Wala ng right position position.

I still direct feed until now. That's because I'm too lazy to pump.

I don't regret the effect on my breasts. It's one of the things I have to sacrifice for motherhood. 

Xoxo,

L