A Balanced Diet

Being healthy shouldn't stop at eating nutritious food. Our meals should also be well-balanced. Here's a list of the food groups that should comprise a toddler's daily food intake according to USDA. Younger ones aged 2-3 yrs old are required at least 2/3 portion of the following:

Grain group: 6 servings
(Serving size examples: 1 slice bread, i/2 cup of cooked rice or pasta; 1/2 cup of cooked cereal, 1 ounce of ready to eat cereal)

Vegetable group: 3 servings
(1/2 cup of chopped raw or cooked vegetables, 1 cup of raw leafy vegetables)

Fruit group: 2 servings
(1 piece of fruit or melon wedge, 3/4 cup of juice, 1/2 cup of canned fruit, 1/4 cup of dried fruit)

Milk group: 2 servings
1 cup of milk or yogurt, 2 ounces of cheese

Meat group: 2 servings
(2 to 3 ounces of cooked lean meat, poultry, or fish, 1/2 cup of cooked dry beans, 1 egg counts as 1 ounce of lean meat, 2 tablespoons of peanut butter count as 1 ounce of meat

Fats and sweets: Limit calories from these

Here's another guide I got that we try to adapt at home once in a while (it's for vegetarians and we aren't). It's comprised of indigenous kinds of food that's actually better as they're locally available and most are chemical-free:

Great News, Good Memories, Healthy Stuff

The Alphabet Mom has been very happy the past days. I can't reveal the details yet but as of late last week, I was already granted permission to work from home. That means, I will have a fuller devotion to my other career, which happens to be my most favorite thing to do in the world at the moment: Mothering.

While counting the days though, I have made use of my time wisely. Well, I've still been going to the office for the past two days while I wait for my new contract to be drafted, however, I've also been giving myself some pampering by going to Core Yoga for my long-overdue fitness regimen. I bought a coupon for a week long unlimited yoga classes  from Deal Grocer a few months ago but I had to wait for the perfect timing to use it which happens to be this time of the month, before the coupon expires on May 30.  I've gone to two classes last week and tried both their Bikram and Vinyasa routines.  Although I missed their weekend classes and yesterday's (forgot to bring my mat), I'm looking forward to going tonight after work. I think four days of yoga are well worth the 600 bucks I paid already. Imagine 90 minutes of pure sweating, stretching, and concentrating. It was my first time to try Bikram and I thought I was gonna pass out some time between the 70th to 80th minute but I survived it. I felt divine having finished the session. While I was already doing Vinyasa before, as part of my pre-wedding fitness activity (naks), it wasn't easy coming back to doing the postures perfectly (at least in my standards). The instructor had to coach me in some of the postures and it felt like I was doing yoga for the first time again. Well, I don't mind much, what's important is that I'm giving the alone time we all deserve while I can. I really wish there's a yoga studio as nice as Core Yoga in Malate area that I and my husband (yes, he wants to try!) can go to.

Meanwhile, we were at Sta. Elena Fun Farm last Sunday for the Balik Bukid Country Fair. We had a terrific time and I can tell from the face of the little one he found the whole place A.W.E.S.O.M.E. He laughed really loudly when we took him near the carabao resting beneath the tree but was really quiet when we rode the carabao-driven cart that took us around the farm. We decided to hang around the Kids' Playground where he enjoyed sitting on the swing, jumping on the trampoline, and balancing on the bamboo bars. Here are some of the photos we took from our phone (forgot to bring the digicam, geez). Our friends though brought their very nice DSLR so we are waiting for them to upload the pics on Facebook.

Daphne blogged about it and that's where we learned about the place. I also saw a big banner along the highway on the way there. The parking lot was full but the place is vast so I hardly felt the crowd. When we arrived there was a band playing and it felt just like Saguijo, my husband joked, only it's more General Patronage.

As it was also a country fair, there were so many local goods being sold. I was giddy to see the colorful flowers and cute paper weights made of stones and covered in crochet pictured above. I also took home some organic vegetables from Holy Carabao which I cooked with the organic beef and chicken we bought from Landmark. I've been a fan of free range chicken of Bounty fresh for quite some time now and have also been buying Farm Organics meat whenever we shop at Landmark. The chicken and beef are packed with flavor and with just little salt, the flavors are even more enhanced. I love serving not just nutritious food to my family but also those that are artificial flavoring-free, hormone-free, and preservatives-free! Now if only they would do away with the styro and plastic packaging of these meats, that'd be perfect!

UP Naming Mahal

I've been meaning to write sooner but things get really depressing when you finally have to leave home and work at your faraway office again. Forty-five minutes going to the office + 8 hours straight work + one to one and a half hours going home. That's ten hours and 15 minutes away from Iñigo. Heartbreaking for a super attached mother like me, I know. So we did a couple of things to bid my one-month work from home arrangement farewell, I bought a blazer and we went to Sunday Car-less Oval at UP Diliman! Being a Malate resident for three years now, it's a real treat for me to go to Quezon City once in a while. With my little family, including a very fun-loving two-year old, it's even more fun to go visit my Alma Mater again.

Iñigo was so well-behaved during the trip. He sat on the car and even let me put on his seatbelt. I say, he was in a really good mood that afternoon. We passed through EDSA and luckily, there was no traffic. I was amazed to see how Quezon Avenue cor. EDSA has changed. There's a new mall there now and lots of establishments. We passed by Quezon Memorial Circle and wished we could be brave enough to pay it a visit soon. I heard there's a nice playground for kids tucked there somewhere.

Being in the UP Campus where I spent four years of college evokes so much good feelings and fond memories. Almost nothing changed, the trees were still luscious green and the smell of grass was addicting.

I suggested we hang out at the park behind the Admin Office and we were not disappointed. It was big enough for our Iñigo to run around and kick the ball we have brought with us. 

We even got to try taho. Iñigo exclaimed, "Eat, eat" upon seeing me and his Dad buying taho from the vendor. So although I have packed some snacks, I let him have some of the delicious soy snack. He loved it but I had to restrict him from having too much as it was a bit on the sweet side. 

 

He loved the grass so much he didn't mind sitting on it. Seeing him enjoying so much in this green background made me wish we lived in a house with a garden, with well-trimmed grass, trees and plants around.  It made me miss my childhood a bit, too.

Thinking he'd get bored from playing, I packed the bubble machine we recently got on sale. It was perfect in this setting. He enjoyed chasing after the bubbles and I didn't have to worry about cleaning up bubble puddles in our room. Haha! Here he is looking so mesmerized with the "Babows".

The bubble solution that went with the machine lasted a good forty-five minutes of not stop bubble blowing.  Sulit na sulit yung two hundred pesos! Hehe. 

Lots of bubbles, eh? After all, the packaging promised a gazillion bubbles.

And because I can, I'm posting my outfit that day. Top from Betty, Shorts from Juana, Sandals from Payless.

Here's what Daddy wore: Top from Gap, Shorts from Robinson's Department Store, Shoes by Nike.

So after an hour we decided to head back to the car. Must I say, it was perfect timing because it rained soon after we got in the car. We took one last photo of the trees before it rained.

We love UP. We promise to be back. (Play UP Naming Mahal in the background. Fade.)

Her Day

Happy Mother's Day, Mom! We love you, to infinity and beyond...

Baby Wordsworth

He's probably saying 100 words by now and Mum's too slow to keep track.

At 1 year 10 months, he's able to put two or more words together, like "Can I de-day (nurse) Mommy?", "Get car", "Buzz Lightyear", "Choo choo Train" and "Careful, Mommy, Careful, Daddy".  He's also developed the habit of taking my hand (or his Dad's) whenever he thinks we don't get what he wants to say and he'd show the thing to us, like the DVD player for example, or his toy box, or the closet (where I keep the rest of his toys).

Tonight, he sees the burger patties that I just cooked for dinner, along with the red sauce pasta. We are just setting the table and getting ready to eat when he points to the food and says, "Eat, eat". We call his Dad right away as I detect an urgency to his request to eat. Kids these days, haha!

When I got pregnant, I bought this book called, "What Babies Say Before they Can Talk" by Paul C. Holinger MD. Basically, the book helps parents in discerning what babies feel through nine easily identifiable signals --- interest, enjoyment, surprise, distress, anger, fear, shame, disgust, and dissmell. I mean, who wouldn't want to start communicating with their babies the soonest possible time? I believe this book switched on the button in me that comprehends baby language. Well look, this Mum isn't just a milk maker but a baby whisperer at that! 

How to Have a Great Summer Vacation with your Toddler

1. Take the time off work (ask your husband to do the same) and schedule your vacation when you don't have a yaya or when she's taking her vacation to her own province in tralala. You'll never ever going to feel you need one and you get the privacy you have waited for so long. Be ready to do your own cleaning up and cooking though.

2. Book your flight tickets ahead and make use of those mileage! For accommodations, the deal sites not only offer discounts but also make it easier to look for quality resorts.

3. Choose a location where the beach is near and accessible (approximately 10 to 15 mins from the airport). That way, you save a lot of travel time and literally be in the beach as soon as your plane lands.

4. Don't hesitate spending a little on newly-opened resorts (ideally, two to three years of operation). This way you get the best facilities and service! We stayed at Crimson Resort and Spa. The entire place was vast, rooms were spacious, very nice ambiance and accommodating staff who spoke like they can qualify to be in the call center industry.

5. Pack just right. You have every excuse to pack a little more since you have a toddler (think floaters, beach toys, and other paraphernalia) but please be considerate of your husband too, who will be carrying your luggage.

6. Breastfeed. Although its not the first time our baby took a plane ride, I was more cautious and worried that he'll get fussy with all the wait in the airport, not to mention the noise in the plane and all that. When my son was about to get upset, he'll just turn to me and ask for "dedey". You avoid getting stared at in the plane with a noisy child because yours will be sleeping peacefully the entire flight.

7. Bring hotdogs*, bread, and an apple for lunch. Our flight was at 12:45 pm and we arrived at the airport two hours early to check-in our baggage. We would have been so hungry and cranky if we didn't eat at the airport despite having a full breakfast at home. Good thing, I was still able to pack us some lunch which we ate during the two hours of wait after check-in. A can of soda at the airport costs 50 pesos. We didn't bother checking how much the other food there costs.

8. Have your iphone or any android gadget ready to take pictures and upload to instagram right away. You'll never know when that Kodak moment may come and when you get started with the pic collage app and start making digital scrapbook real time. It's also always nice to have your family and close friends know where you are at the moment and how much you're having fun.

9. Call your mom. No matter how far you are or how much fun you are having, you never stop needing your mom. I told my Mom how his apo's favorite word at the moment is "sim" for "swim" and how much he giggled when he first heard the crashing of the waves.

10. Relax and seize the moment. It was the best vacation with my family so far. Stress-fee, absolutely relaxing, very nice place and food. We couldn't ask for more. Oh, wait, could we ask for this vacation not to end?

Here are some pictures of our trip. Captions by my husband (based on our favorite, Dr. Seuss)

*havent had hotdogs in a loong, loong time. Oh, and our pact to "no canned goods" has just been broken this week (separate story to follow). 

Here's to our last infant-without-seat booking.

"It's opener there in the wide open air."

He found the sound of waves crashing terrifically funny.

I tried, but I couldn't wipe the smile off my face.

Don't worry, I can't swim too.

We belong to the kiddie pool.

Remember this when you grow up a little and go crazy over those gaming consoles.

Beach breastfeeding

A nice view, a lounge chair and a box of Champion raisins.

Obligatory jump shot. This is why I am not a photographer, mum.

"You'll be on your way up! You'll be seeing great sights! You'll join the high fliers who soar to high heights."

"Just never forget to be dexterous and deft. And never mix up your right foot with your left."

What are you up to now, Daddy?

Post-foot spa glow