Month: January 2013


Jan
2013

Schatzi Homeschool: Bible time

categories: Education

Sunday is always church day. While hubby and my kid are downstairs hearing mass (and chasing each other around the church), I play for my children’s choir on the choir loft.

So we prepare Aria by singing this song:

Here is the church, here is the steeple,
Open the doors and see all the people
Here is the person climbing upstairs
And here he is a-saying his prayers.

Complete with hand gestures! I got it from a book filled with songs for one and two year-olds, which I will show on a different post.

I also taught her to read the bible, through this:

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I bought this at an LRT station where the Philippine Bible Society once set up a booth. It’s a board book, and filled with different bible stories. They got to summarise some books into one paragraph stories. Pretty hard, but they did an awesome job.

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My husband got this from Filbar’s a few days back. Very timely. Lent is fast approaching and Easter is what we should prepare more for. Few words for every picture which makes it very easy to read. Also a board book.

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Okay, this is not a book but an iPad app, the Carry along Bible. Really easy read. A male recording of the text can be played, and you can record your own voice, too. Aria memorized almost all bible characters presented here–Adam, Eve, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Samson, David and Goliath, and Jesus, among others. She can even recite some stories already.

We let her choose what she wants to read. When she shouts ‘read the bible’ in increasing intensities, it must be the iPad app, cos usually it’s about bedtime when she picks up the iPad while nursing at me (yeah we still nurse at 29 months!)

She also knows a bible song, which I learned as a kid during Vacation Bible School. Oh how I love that bible school, even if it’s another religion! Allow me to end this post with that song:

Read your bible, pray everyday, pray everyday, pray everyday
Read your bible, pray everyday
And you grow, grow grow (3x)
Read your bible, pray everyday
And you grow, grow, grow.

~ Touringkitty


Jan
2013

Food tales: Galbi style

categories: Food

During my first trip to Korea back in 2004, some of my choirmates tried Galbi (cook-it-yourself smokeless grill) maybe twice or thrice in the entire trip. It cost a lot, but filled our tummies so well.

Here in my neighborhood, there’s a small Korean community and a number of Korean restaurants have sprouted. I always see this small Korean resto and I knew it had Galbi.

I tried it out one night. Here’s a look at what I had devoured.

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My order included the meat (I got the smallest plate which had five thin slices of life-threatening pork belly. Along with the side dishes, plus hot kimchi soup and rice, it was more than enough for hungry me!

The waiter forgot to give me the greens though. I realized this after he gave a basketful to the mother-daughter customers across me. I was halfway through my meal by then, and I didn’t mind anymore because I was getting full!

Price is P250 for the smallest serving good for one. Add P50 for rice. Fair enough, I said, as I was sipping the soup while waiting for my meat to cook. Just like as I was in the Galbi restaurants in Korea.

From Korea, let’s go to Japan! No, I haven’t been here, sadly, but I discovered another cook-it-yourself grill, and probably a lot of people know it: Pepper Lunch.

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That was my then uncooked plate of Beef Pepper Rice, their most basic plate and the cheapest there was. For about the same price of the Korean Galbi, you could experience cooking your own pepper rice, in less than two minutes! Just mix, mix, mix!

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And I devoured the plateful by my lonesome. I tried this before 2012 ended, when my husband and I scheduled our separate me-times. Must go back with the fam soon!

So take your pick: Korea one day, then Japan the next. Let me know what you’ve tried.

~ Touringkitty

The Korean Restaurant is located at Leveriza Street that borders Manila and Pasay City. There’s no signage but the gate is orange and near Wesleyan College of Manila.

Pepper Lunch has lots of branches already. I went to MOA on a weekday so the service was quick.


Jan
2013

No other way

categories: Breastfeeding

One night, my daughter tested my patience.

She does every single night that I put her to sleep anyway, but this particular night, it was horrifying. I was horrifying. And it wasn’t me.

As she was literally tumbling from mattress to mattress (our beds are two floor mattresses linked together), I cried out, “anak, para kang nasapian” (seems like a bad spirit entered). Our helper chuckled, and turned off the lights. My husband slept ahead because he was not feeling well.

So I started dragging my daughter to her sleep area, and she cried all the more, banging her head on the rubber mat-protected walls. I was appalled, really frustrated, that she still hasn’t slept after an hour of chasing her round the room then some Skype-ing with my sister and mom (who just live on the other street).

I forced nursed her just to get drowsy. It worked.

I have skipped days of not nursing her to sleep, and succeeded with just singing and hugging. But this night she so wanted to nurse, specifically on the right side, which I have made her avoid for the day because it was hurting after she pinched and bit it waaaay hard. It’s more painful nursing her now at 28 months and with complete set of teeth than when she was just a newborn.

Besides, nursing her reconnected us after being away for eleven hours at work. It’s how she communicates with me that no one else would understand. Just us.

Sometimes, though, I did wish I didn’t nurse at all, if only to avoid her being clingy. There are times I can’t eat nor pee or poo and end the day being dehydrated because my daughter would nurse for most of the day. Even if she had just eaten or drunk. It might be an isolated case, pregnant moms who consider nursing, so don’t get discouraged. I knew of some families who also exclusively breastfeed and their kids grow mature and independent early on.

As for us, we will continue nursing. That’s what helped me avoid most sickness because of the immunity we pass through the milk and through her suckling. I also didn’t get huge after giving birth! Quickly I lost the packed pounds during pregnancy. It is a great diet pill actually.

No other way but to breastfeed. And I’d be very delighted if more families at least try. We pray for you and your babies.

~ Touringkitty