A great Birthday Bash! Part 1

We gave my mother in law a birthday bash last Saturday starting from 4PM and ended up to 2AM the next day! Gosh, that was a very exhausting but fulfilling day. I am glad that my mother in law was so happy and enjoyed her party. A lot of friends came, who brought food and presents for Mommy. Lots of kids too! The house was full, that some people sit on the floor, but no complaints, everybody was happy and busy.

Mom said that I was her first birthday party in her 64th years, and she had it here in the US! Dad was teasing her, "You are very lucky to have your first birthday party and in the US!" LOL All my weariness and exhaustion was gone knowing that she had a blast in her party. I cooked almost all the food! I started cooking from 10AM up to 3:30PM. Good thing the baby in my belly was asleep the whole time and did not give me any trouble while I was on my feet the entire time. I think she knows that we are preparing for her Lola's party. Good girl!

I will post some pictures tomorrow. For now, it is time to hit the bed.

Fantasy Football @ WaiverWire

Are you a football fanatic?
Have you ever heard of Fantasy Football?
Have you tried it?

My husband was always watching football and sometimes, I watched with him too. Little by little I was able to learn the mechanics of the game. I only watched football here in the USA, since we don't have football in Philippines.

Have you heard of fantasy football? I only heard about it, a couple of weeks ago when a friend of ours Eric, mentioned to me that he wanted to ask my husband if he will be interested to join fantasy football. He asked hubby to sign up and create his profile online through WaiverWire. My husband had never done it before, but was curious on how it works and wanted to try it. I think WaiverWire can help him because their website has a detailed explanation on what to do and how you should do things. They even offer a Fantasy Stimulus Package for free! I think this is good for my husband who is a newbie and wanted to try how to play fantasy football. He knows a lot of people who is into fantasy football and wanted to check how good it is. WaiverWire.com has everything you need to win your fantasy league. They have fantasy football draft software, news, analysis, research, ranking, player comparison, players who are injured and even the player of the week! They also have a forum where you can ask questions and exchange ideas with other people. Everything about football is there.

So, if you know someone who is into fantasy football, asked them to check out WaiverWire.com. They have great offers; their In Season pass is only $9.99, which is originally at $49.99. And their full season pass is only $29.99, originally at $99.99. You save a lot of money while playing your favorite sports!

How do you teach your toddler Phonetics?

I am not a teacher and I don't have a single clue on how will I teach Gabz how to read. My sister, who is a teacher, teaches her kids how to read at the age of three to four. I always read books and stuff to Gabz, and she loves it to the point that she was able to memorize the stories in her books. The last time, I borrowed a DVD Phonetics at the library, just to check if she will be interested. She was watching it the first time but got bored the second time. I thought, maybe she was not ready yet. But one day she surprised me by saying the sounds of the alphabet, the way she watched it in DVD. So, I encouraged her and taught her some other alphabet sounds. Next thing she did is to make rhymes. She would tell me, "Mommy what rhymes with bed?" and I will find a word that rhymes with bed. This became a game for us. Then she would tell me, "Mommy, B is for Bath!" At first I was surprised, thinking maybe she just heard it somewhere? But then, she would tell me a word and then another word that she could think of. She could only find words that start with B and P. But it is a good start right? Sometimes, we just find words in the house and let her guess the beginning sound of the word. It is fun and she enjoyed it a lot. I just hope her enthusiasm will always be there.

A perfect gift for my mother in law

My mother in law will be celebrating her 65th Birthday this 1st of September. We are supposed to give her a surprise party this coming Saturday 29th of August. But then something happened last weekend when we attended a birthday party and one of our friend suddenly told my mother in law (when we were saying goodbye); "Ok Mommy Aning see you on your birthday party next week"! Suddenly, she looked at me and realized that maybe it will be a surprise party and she said it out loud to my mother in law. She felt so guilty after that and kept apologizing to us. That is why it will not be a surprised party anymore.

Last night, me and my husband was discussing what gift can we give to his mom. If we can only afford to buy this watch, I think this will be a perfect gift for her. She is a very sweet woman, who is always concerned on other people well being. She always makes sure that everyone is alright before she attends to herself. Other people would say that it is difficult to live with your in laws, but not with me I guess. My in laws are great people and I love having them here.

This beautiful piece here is a Tag Heuer watch. I think tag heuer watches are very durable and sporty. I used to have one long time ago and I just love it because it is water resistant.

Running out of books to read!

Yesterday, I was looking for some books to read. I tried to grab the New Moon book by Stephanie Meyers, planning to read it again before the movie comes out, but got bored by it. I love to read books, sometimes I borrowed from the library and sometimes I tried to buy at half price book. After reading them, I sold them again, but the good ones I send it to my sister in Philippines. She loves to read books too and always looking forward to whatever I sent her.

Now, I need something to read and I cannot go the library nor half price book yet. Does anyone has any soft copy of any books that is interesting? Please let me know :-) Even though computer copy hurts my eyes, but I am desperate!

Are you looking for more HD Channels?

When we were trying to buy a new television a few months ago, it took us hours to decide on what to buy. My husband had specific specifications on what kind of TV he wants and had to explain those features to me. Being a not so technical person, he had to explain to me in what we call layman terms the difference of a high definition TV versus the ordinary TV. He said that high definition TV has much better sound and definition especially if you are watching live sports events. He wanted to buy high definition TV so he can truly enjoy watching sports; will it be basketball, football or boxing. Of course he was able to convince me, now we have a 46 inches high definition TV on our wall. I will tell you that it really is different compared to our old TV.

But, how good is your high definition TV if you have limited HD channels? You will not enjoy it so much right? But if you subscribe with Direct TV you will enjoy more than 130 HD channels. Especially now that football season is coming, you can follow your favorite star and watch every game you want in high definition. Check out Directtv.com now. If you subscribe to them today, they will be giving away a free HD DVR upgrade. What is good about DVR is that, you can record your favorite game and watch it anytime you want with just one click of a button. I always record some of my favorite shows then watched it on my own time because it helps me relax and I can focus more on the show. DirectTV has a lot of packages to offer that will suit your budget. Why don't you check it out?

Painting time

Sunday afternoon was spent in outdoor beautification. My husband mowed the lawn and started to paint the fence. This was his long time project but was waiting for his Dad to come so someone can help him. Now that his Dad is here and the weather is good we bought a pail of paint and started the project.

It is good to paint the fence, as it looks nice and neat, secondly your fence will last longer. You can see the difference between the fence that has no paint on it and the one that has. Looks better right ?

Accessories

When I started earning my own money, I love to buy bags, shoes and accessories. Yes, I am the typical woman who loves to shop! Buying accessories became my great obsession to the point that I taught myself how to make my own. I used to buy stones and make them into a bracelet, necklace or earrings. Of course, I still buy other blings when I see something very unique and interesting. One thing I have not tried yet is Iced Out Jewelry. I saw some on the Internet and they have a lot of very unique designs that you cannot find in the store. Maybe, one of these days I will check them out again.

They are not forgotten - I just can't do it!

When you are pregnant, there are lots of things you cannot do anymore. No matter how much you wanted it, sometimes you just have learn how to let go. Gardening is one of the things I love most, love to plant flowers, talk to them and water them everyday. Now that I am pregnant, it is quite difficult to bend and pull those weeds out in my plants territory. I just can't take good care of them anymore. The only thing I can do is water them, but I know that it is not enough.

Look at this flower above, it is beautiful right ? Yes, because it received a lot of tender loving care from its owner. Unfortunately this is not from my garden! I took this picture from my neighbors garden yesterday. LOL

Below is the picture of my plant that is almost dying :-(

This is the worst of it, dead. :-(

I feel so sad looking at them, but then little I could do about it. I just promised myself that next summer I will overhaul our garden.

Her Love of Music is Certain

I mentioned on my previous post how much Gabz love to play musical instrument and how she could easily hum a song she heard. Today, while walking at the mall, we passed through the lounge area of Nordstrom where a woman was playing the piano. Gabz suddenly stop, listen and looked intently at the piano. She saw a lot of piano in the mall, but it was her first time to see a person playing the piano and I think she likes it. We were there for 10 minutes until the woman finished playing the music. Then off we go to continue our window shopping.

On our way home, she suddenly asked me, if where is her Dad. I told her that he is somewhere else. She said, "Is he buying a piano for me?" I was surprised to hear that she wanted to have a piano! I explained to her that we cannot buy a piano right now because she is still little and that when she is old enough, we can enroll her to a piano class if she wanted too.

Her Dad loves music ever since I met him. He always told me that when Gabz is old enough, he will enroll her to a piano lesson. It has been his dream that one day one of his kids can learn the piano chords and play the piano. I do not object as long as the kids will show interest and will not be force into something they did not love.

I guess it will be easy, with Gabz showing her interest in music as early as now. I just hope that this is not one of those transitory stages of a toddler.

The Beautiful Mt. Rainier

Going to Mt. Rainier during the summer here in Washington is one of the best trip, and one of the must see places. That is of course if you love mother nature creations. The trip going up the mountain is awesome, the view is just amazing. You would see the beauty of GODs creations and how should we treasure all these gifts.

This was the view of Mt. Rainier when we went there summer of 2007, a few weeks after we arrived here in WA.


And this was the view of Mt. Rainier last week when my husband and his parents visited Mt. Rainier. The sun was up when they left Seattle, but they said that when they reach the top, it was all foggy. You could only see things like 100 feet away from you, after that it was all fog!

They have nice pictures from the view going up and down though. At least they were able to see some of it's beauty. But the highlight was not there, that is why the entrance is free! LOL. Me and Gabz was not able to go because I do not want to travel quite far when my due date is so near. I might gave birth on top of the Mountain ! Even though that would be a life time experience, still I do not want that to happen to me and my baby.

Making it more personal

Have you ever wish that you could put your personal touch every time you send out mails or greetings cards to family and friends? Putting your own design, name and return address the way you wanted it rather than the ordinary way? I always wanted to have a personalized return address labels for our family. So that every time we send out greeting cards during holiday season, you don't have to write the return address on every envelop. All you have to do is just peel the sticker and stick it to the envelop! It looks neat, fun, cute and with personal touch on it too! I always admire an envelop with personalized address labels every time I received one on the mail. I makes me think that the person who send it really makes an effort to make the mail more personal. The design and style reflects the personality of the person sending it, because you create the design according to your own preference.

This coming holidays, I will definitely get one for our family !!

Gabz love of music

Ever since she was small, her love of musical instrument and music is apparent. She love to play any musical instrument, hum a tune or sing. If she does not know the lyrics of the song, what she do is to hum the tune. Sometimes, in the car I could hear her singing a Beatles song! LOL. Her Dad loves the Beatles, so I guess because she hears it a lot, she was able to sing some of the lines.

Gabz drumming the drums in Kidz Quest Factoria Mall.

Playing the trumpet that her Tita gave.

With a flute.....

with a Maracas.....

I don't have her picture playing a Harmonica though. That is one of her favorite instrument, a gift from her Tita as well.

The Benefits of Coupons

Saving money is one of my goals since we moved into our new home. With mortgage and a second baby on the way, we need to make sure that every penny we have is being saved. Being frugal is not one of my traits but with an expanding family, I need to be one. Ever since I started this blog, I have been posting several tips on how to save money. How I got hooked on getting coupons every time I need to purchase something. I learned how to sort out mails and set aside any coupons I could find and put it in as small bag. These coupons are placed in the car so every time me and my husband need to buy something, we can check if we have available coupons or not. Honestly my husband became a coupons guy as well, because I always told him how much money I saved when we go shopping by using coupons.

Having Coupons can really save you a lot of money ! Overtime you can save hundred of dollars without even knowing it. Try looking for coupons online, if you cannot find one in the mail. There are a lot of websites that offers different kind of coupons, from grocery items to appliances and furniture, thegrocerygame.com is one of those. You can download free coupons, recipes, saving tips and much more.

Collect one now, one day you will be glad you did!

Living Life in the USA

My Father in Law trying to maw the lawn this afternoon. My husband was letting them experienced our way of living here. Mawing the lawn, grocery shopping, vacuuming the carpet, those kind of stuff. These are the things that we do not do in the Philippines. We also, let them try to eat different kind of food, from American, Chinese, Vietnamese, Mediterranean, Indian and so on. At least they will be able to experienced life in the USA, something they could treasure and remember when they go back home in Philippines.

It is most Filipinos dream to come and live in America. I said most because I'm pretty sure that not all of us dreamt of being here. So far they have been here for three weeks now and they enjoyed it a lot. They look forward to winter and experience the snow! LOL. Once winter begun, and they could feel the cold, I would doubt if they would still love it. At least it is another experience they could tell.

Are you travelling with your kids?

There are hundreds and thousands of hotels to choose from every time we travel. It confused us which hotel is the best for us. But with parents who always travel with their kids, they should find a kid friendly hotels in their area of destination. Check what other parents say about the hotels and which hotel to choose from. It is important that we choose the right hotel when we travel to make out trip remarkable.

Have a good trip!

Our first date - again

Hubby and I had our first date again after four years! After having a baby, we never had a date (just the two of us) and that was four years ago! Now that my in laws are here, we were able to watch a movie (G.I. Joe) yesterday. I really miss those times where we go out and have fun, spending time together, going out in the movies or eat out. Yesterday, that feeling was back, I felt different, I feel like a teenager! LOL. I think I just miss the old times.

I believed when people say that husband and wife should take time off from kids to spend some time together. Even for just a couple of hours watching a movie. It rekindle the couples love and relationship. I wanted to look forward to another date with hubby, we might as well grab this opportunity while my in laws are here, so somebody could watch Gabz and of course while the second baby is still taking her time to meet us.

My Baby's safety is my priority

Every time we travel for a vacation or just an out of town get away, we always make sure that our baby's car seat is safe for long drives. If we travel by plane, we always have her car seat with us just to make sure that she has something to use when we arrived at our destination. We are confident as well that the car seat she is using is safe. You have to plan in advance and anticipate things your baby might need for you to be able to enjoy your vacation without so much fuss.

If you are worried that the hotel you might be staying is baby friendly or not, you can check out BabySafe Travel.com. They indicated all the hotels with their amenities, and tips on Hotel Safety and Baby Proofing Techniques. They even give travel tips to parents if they have a baby or a toddler. I love their tips on Recommended Baby Gear for Happy Travelling. So much information in this site that would help you travel with baby safely and full of fun!

They even have baby products from bath gear, diaper bags, baby carriers to strollers. I love their feeding time products too. Very unique!

Got my Terabyte Last Night!

Wow! we got our terabyte last night. I was talking on my previous post how slow my computer is and that we have to order online a trabyte so we could store all our pictures and movies in there? We got it last night, sooner that I have expected!

Here it is !

This terabyte could store 440 hours of DVD, 250,000 MP3s and 285,000 JPGs! Wow, ins't that great? Now I have transferred all our pictures in this and my computer is back to its normal shape! Back to blogging again :-)

All Day Saturday at Kmart!

Are you looking for a backpack for your kids? Or a notebook and other school supplies?

September is just around the corner, it means that school season is coming soon. It is time to shop for school supplies for our kids. Gabz will be going to school this September and I have not made any shopping for her school supplies. It is a good thing Kmart Bluelight special is back this Saturday, August 15. This is a one day event only. You can find more than 40 great deals, both in store or online at Kmart.com.

This will be a good savings for all of us, imagine you could get a kids backpack for just $8? A 70 count notebook for buy 2 get 1 free? You cannot get that kind of deals anywhere else, only at Kmart Bluelight. They have great deals not only on school supplies, but with patio furniture too. All their Patio Furniture is 70% off! (+ an extra 20% off during bluelight!), you will almost have it for free. Their diamond jewelries are already 70% off this week but during Bluelight special, you can take another 10% off! Get an American Fare Vita-Water 2 for $1. These offers are unbeatable! We can save a lot of money with these deals and can buy clothes, shoes and other things that the kids need when they go back to school.

Follow Kmart on Twitter and receive the latest updates on Kmart special events, upcoming sales, coupons, deals and news. Don't forget Kmart Bluelight special this Saturday!

My Laptop is soooo slow :-(

Have you ever experienced having to rush something and your computer choose that time to be sooo slow? I have this computer for two years now, and I have the best time all those years. Never had a single problem with it, but lately this computer became so slow that it gets into my nerves. How I wanted to scream and asked whats wrong with it. This drives me nuts to the extent that I have to wait for my husband to come home in the evening and borrow his computer so I could blog and drop Entrecard :-).

Of course my ever helpful husband diagnosed my computer and found out that the memory left is too small because of so much pictures stored in my hard drive. All our pictures for five years is stored in my computer! What he did is ordered online an external terabyte hard drive so I could transfer all those pictures in there. Still waiting for it though :-( Hopefully, I could have it this week, so I could use my laptop again in its full speed and power !!!!

Do you need DC31 Vacuum Cleaner?

Having a carpeted house is not so easy to uphold the cleanliness that you desired especially, if you have kids who play everywhere. Scattered toys and food crumbs are all over the place, not to mention spilled juices and water colors. No matter how much you clean the place, it would just take a few minutes for them to make it look like to never clean in a week! Having a clean house is what every mother desire.

Having a powerful vacuum cleaner is a must if you have a carpeted house. It is crucial to invest in a good vacuum cleaner like DC31. A good vacuum that could penetrate the dust in the heavy carpet and could suction all the food crumbs that sticks on it. Some vacuum though light weight could only get the dirt on the surface of the carpet.

Bake Salmon

I love Bake Salmon a lot, not only because it is delicious but also it is easy to cook. The ingredients are very simple. Good for parties and pot lock,very well known with our friends too. Our good friend and neighbor gave us this Salmon fresh from Alaska. So we cooked this one for lunch today. Match with a molo soup, original from Iloilo Philippines.

How to prepare:

Wash the salmon, pat it dry with paper towel and put it in a baking dish. Spray the baking dish with non stick cooking spray. I love to squeeze some lemon on it to remove the smell of the fish.

Ingredients:
Salmon
1 cup of mayonnaise
1/2 cup of parmesan cheese
2 tablespoon of white wine
1/8 teaspoon of salt
1/8 teaspoon of pepper
1/3 teaspoon of thyme leaves

Mixed all ingredients and put it as topping on the fish. Baked on 375 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes. Try to make the sides of the fish gets golden brown. Enjoy!

Are you moving again?

Are you moving again?
Need a hassle free service provider?

We have just moved into our new home four months ago, and I know how stressful and difficult it is. You have to give noticed for the change of address, disconnection or transfer of your service providers, etc. All these things just add up to the packing and moving things into your new place. Good thing that Direct TV allows you to continue your service. All you need to do is just call Direct TV and let them know when and where you are moving. Just packed you receiver and remote control, and since your Directv dish is quite big, you can leave those behind and off you go. They will provide a new dish and professional installation at your new address, hassle free!

When moving, you have to take advantage of all the services your service or utility providers could offer when applicable. This way, you minimized the stress and reduced the number of your to do list. If you are moving a lot, this kind of service from Direct TV comes very handy.

Don't forget to call Direct TV in Texas or in any state you will be moving. They have special packages; from free installation up to four rooms, with 255 digital channels, to free DVR or HD. Call now and start enjoying your favorite shows!

Exploring Washington Part II

Last Sunday, we went to downtown Seattle to visit Space Needle. Space Needle is a 520 feet building built in 1862 and became the symbol of Seattle. The Space Needle had the second revolving restaurant in the world. The first one was in the Ala Moana shopping mall in Hawaii (now closed). There are now hundreds of turntables throughout the world. The original name of the Space Needle was "The Space Cage." The original name of the restaurant was "Eye of the Needle. When you visit Seattle, you have to go see the Space Needle, otherwise you could not say that you have been here.

Mom and Dad taking a pose at the foot of Space Needle.

A picture taken by my husband from the top of Space Needle. The view is awesome, breathtaking! The beauty of the lake that surrounds it just magnificent. You can see the Snow-capped Mt. Rainier to the south and the Cascade Mountains to the east, the majestic Olympics to the west. You can also see cruise ships, cargo ships and ferries cruising along Elliot Bay.

The view is just endless. You could see the beauty of Seattle from the top of this building.

Looking for the best web hosting provider?

When I was thinking of getting my own domain, I really don't know where to start looking. I spent hours searching the Internet for the best webhosting provider. If you are new to this blogging world, sometimes it is difficult navigating your way around, knowing what is best for your blog. You have to take the risk when getting services of a certain provider without knowing how good they are.

When the time comes that I would need a webhosting provider for my second blog, I now know where to look. Webhostingrating.com has a list of all webhosting providers . They even ranked the best webhosting providers for 2009, with their prices, ratings, space and traffic capacities. They even have the list of new and upcoming providers. Awards received by each provider could be seen in their website too. Almost all the information you could find in a certain provider could be found in their website. This is a good place for those new blogger like me who are looking for a webhosting provider, they give tips and alternatives from free web hosting to a more customized platforms.

Don't forget to visit the site; you will get a lot of information especially on their articles. I learned a lot from that page. They discussed topics from tips in enhancing your SEO, how to look for a good webhosting package and how to maximized the use of your control panel. They even made a comparison on the best hosting platform; between Windows, Linux or Mac.

Improve your childs memorization skills

They always say that a child mind is like a sponge. It absorbs everything they hear, see and learn. I wanted to share my experienced as a mom how Gabz developed her memorization skills.

We used to borrow books from the library almost every month. There is one particular book that Gabz loves to read (or rather memorized). She is three and does not know how to read yet, but since she loves books, I always read to her any books we could grab. There is one book "Where is the Green Sheep?" which I read to her in the car while waiting for her Dad. I was surprised when we arrived home she started to read the book by herself, exactly the way I read it. She loves the book, that is why it was so easy for her to remember everything.

Another thing is repetition or constant practice. When we were teaching her how to answer questions like, What is your name? How old are you? and How are you today?, we asked her these questions many times a day. Sometimes she got mixed up that when you asked her, how are you today?, she would answer you "I'm three years old!" LOL But eventually, asking her many times a day, she was able to answer these common questions properly.

Make things fun or incorporate things in a game. We do this with Gabz when we teach her how to do addition. For me it is quite early to teach her, but she has a book that has simple addition and subtraction on it, and she would always asked me to teach her. So every time we are in the car, we always plays addition game to pass the time.

I think, the most important thing for them to be able to memorized things, is to make them get excited or interested. Once you have their attention, it becomes easier and fun.

Pamper Yourself!

Every woman wanted to look younger than their age, and I must admit I am one of them. Being a busy mom, I have very little time in my hands for beautification and pampering myself. When I got pregnant with my second child, I started to see discoloration under my eyes and wrinkles in my forehead. That, makes me realized that I have to give some time to take good care of myself. I tried to find some toner products for my discoloration and the Best Wrinkle Treatment for my face. I wanted to look and feel good about myself, no matter how busy and frantic motherhood brings.

To all busy moms out there, take time to pamper yourself ! We need it to make our sanity intact!

Annie - The Musical

Yesterday, we went to see "Annie" the musical at Mercer Island Youth Theater. It was the first time for Gabz to see a musical show. I was quite worried that she will get bored because, her attention span is still very short. The show starts at 2:00PM and we were there around 1:15, quite early huh? So we spend time taking pictures outside and checking things used by the original Annie.

Here is Gabz with her BFF and Danniela.

During the show, Gabz keeps telling me; "Mommy, I like it. This is nice." I was glad that she did like it. The show was really good, all the kids are very talented. I am happy that at the age of three, she was able to appreciate the musical show. The show runs for one and half hour, with a break after an hour. But after the break, the kids starts to get jittery already. They could not focus on the show anymore. Good thing, it was only half an hour left.

A the end of the show, the kids have their picture taken with the girl who portrayed "Annie".

"Mommy I want some cookies"!

Gabz, loves cookies a lot! This is one thing that we have in our kitchen counter most of the time. It would either be bought from the store or I baked it. She does not have a sweet tooth because she is not found of eating cakes and candies, but when it comes to cookies, she could finish 5 or more in one sitting.

Every time we go to Bellevue Square, she would always ask me to buy cookies at Mrs. Fields. She likes the one with sprinkle on it or anything that has decorations. They have a lot of varieties from bite size to big cookie cakes, brownies, croissant or smoothies. It is always freshly baked!

If you love cookies and wants to have your own store, Mrs. Fields is offering a cookies franchise. All you need to do is go to their website and fill up the secured online application. You can check in their website the whole franchise process as well and how they go through with it.

Goodluck!

Gabz Finally let go of her Bottle!

Weaning Gabz from her bottle has been a struggle for me. She is three years old now, and I have been trying for a year already. These week, she was able to do it finally.

Ever since when she was a baby, she never used zippy cup, she goes straight to a glass every time she wants water or juice. She only drinks milk in a bottle and gagged every time I put milk in a glass. Good thing though, she drinks milk in a bottle very quickly. She never played bottle in her mouth and could finished her milk in two or three minutes. I guess one reason why her teeth is still good.

How did I do it?

1. When her big tooth was about to come out, she complains that she has a toothache. At first I thought that her tooth is rotten, so I used it to make her stop drinking milk in a bottle. I told her that the worm is eating her tooth, so she should stop drinking milk in a bottle. That works a little, she stops using bottle during the day and have it only before she goes to sleep. We are one step forward!

2. Since I'm pregnant with our second daughter. We always told her that she would be a big sister soon. She is thrilled with the idea. We used that to make her act as a big sister, by telling her that big sisters does not drink in a bottle anymore. Only baby's drink milk in a bottle.

3. Sometimes, she still asked for her bottle before she goes to sleep at night, but I asked my husband to be firm not to give her. Instead we gave her milk in a glass, it needs a lot of coaxing for her to take a sip.

4. Every time she asked for her bottle, I told her that I throw them in the trash since she would not be needing it, because she is a big sister now. She tried to look for it, but I hid it so she could not see anymore. Finally, it is more than a week now that she is not drinking milk in her bottle nor asking for it. I could say that she is finally weaned!

I want to go to Italy!

Are you dreaming of going to India, Greece, Italy or France?

Or a chance of winning $10,000 in cash, or a Digital Camcorder maybe?

Stouffers-panini is having a contest to globally launch their four new product: Bistro Meatballs & Peppers, Bistro Chicken Souvlaki, Lean Cuisine Grilled Vegetables & Goat Cheese, Lean Cuisine Mango Chicken Tikka. Enter today and have a chance to take the trip of your dreams, three grand prices are to be given away. You can choose a trip to India, Greece, Italy or France. Aside from that they are also giving away instant daily prizes. You can invite your friends too!

Register here, and they will give you one free entry pass, but you are entitled to one unique UPC code per day. This offer unfortunately is for Canadian residents only.

For more details about this contest, please visit; http://www.stouffers-panini.ca/world_of_taste/default.aspx

It is so easy, what are you waiting for, join now! This might be the opportunity that you have been waiting for. Travelling to the country you have been dreaming about for free. Italy, has been a dream for me ever since I was a kid. I hope someday, I will be able to explore it. Of course it would be great if you went to your dream vacation for free! Who does not want a free vacation?

Starting to Explore Washington

Last Sunday, we started to brought my in laws around. Since we were so tired with previous night party, we decided to go to Snoqualmie Falls just a stones throw away from here.
Snoqualmie Falls is one of the most popular scenic destination here in Washington. More than 1.5 million visitors come to the falls every year. It is a 270 foot waterfall with viewing deck, a park and the thing I like about this place is the hiking trail. I was not able to hike this time though, but my in laws, hubby and Gabz did. Unfortunately, they only did 1/4 of the trail as the weather was so hot and Gabz does not want to walk anymore. The trail goes to the foot of the falls, and you have to pass through a forest. It is quite a stiff trail, going there and back is quite a hike!

It was a very short visit, but they enjoyed it.

Sears could help

This post was sponsored by Sears. All the opinions are mine.

When we moved into our new home a couple of months ago, we bought appliances and furniture from Sears, starting from the TV, refrigerator, washer and dryer, mattresses, etc. Almost everything necessary to furnish your home could be found from Sears. Sears could help when you move into a new home, apartment and even teens when they go to college and move to their own dorm room. Moving from one place to another needs a lot of adjustments, on your outside environment as well as the feeling of being at home in the new place.

Sears created a website where parents could help their teens move into a new life; their college life, easier and hassle free. This website could help parents and teens CampusReady by decorating their dorm room even before they arrive on campus. They can choose the type of furnishing, colors and style they want, from funky femme, vintage chic to all around athlete. They give tips on how to save spaces and organize clutters too.

If you are concerned about budget, you can automatically see prices on each product by just a click of a mouse. If you want to go shopping in store, you can easily download a checklist to guide you through, to make sure that you have everything they need when they move to their first home away from home.

Don't forget about the clothes! They need lots of it, and you could get them from Sears too. You can shop from their latest trends of tops and tees to jeans and accessories. Just a one stop shop!

So, we have been talking about shopping and spending, it's time to find ways how to save and earn money. With all the moving, tuition fees and miscellaneous expenses, our children have to learn the value of money. Sears has some tips on how college kids could have some fun without spending, saving money on groceries and books, and how to live smart. They even partner with Upromise to help you with tuition fees. You can have a chance to win a total of $25,000! For complete details and full rules, please visit sears.com/campusready.

Your teens could be a fan of CampusReady on Facebook.