Unconsolable Mama

When you tried your best, but still, it failed. I can't get over it.

More than a week ago, I got a call for a cover shoot for Simone. I was ecstatic because it's a popular magazine. From there on, I play with her expressions, on how to smile, that she will get to wear pretty clothes and wear makeup, and takes photos and be on a "book" (she refers this to the magazine cover she had done the last time). She know the concept. She has done these before, and I'm just reminding her because the last time was a few months back. As a usual reward, she will get toys after the shoot, if she smiles and behave.

Day of the shoot, she was really jolly and all at the set. But once the changing of clothes had begun, it was all "I DON'T WANT!!!" It was really hard. I can't scold her, because we want to be positive, and besides, if she cries, her eyes would get swollen and red. Gave her what she wanted like sweets and her dolls to play but compromised with her. But still, she was bratty. She was running around laughing, thinking it was a game. I'm so mad, but I can't scold her in front of the staff and it will embarrass her. We played games while the photog is snapping, but not good enough. When it was finished, I asked the Director whether she had any nice shots and she replied, "Very little, we'll see if it will be approved." My heart broke. I was so disappointed in Simone, myself, well, especially myself. Should I have been strict there? Ugh.

Don't get me wrong, it's not about the cover that matters to me. She is only 3 years old and there will still be many many opportunities, but I'm super frustrated on how she suddenly changed mood from happy to bratty and I couldn't even control it. I had all the patience in the world that time, and it all went down the drain. I'm pissed because she knew I wouldn't scold her there.

After that, she was in a bad mood and started hitting me. That's when I burst my bubble. Because after all the patience i had and dealt with her brattyness, she still had to hit and yell at me. I did tell her that I didn't like her attitude a while ago, and since she didn't smile, we will not go see toys, as I have compromised with her. She cried so bad and all, and I had to endure it (yes) because it was our deal.

I cried too, blaming myself of course. I can't blame a child for not cooperating. I'm still frustrated now. I checked my phone and saw a photo of her smiling really nice, and cried again. Why can't she even manage to smile like that there, not even once? :( For now, that will be her last shoot! I was literally and emotionally super exhausted.

ps. I don't appreciate negative comments for now.

x,
chicmom&baby

Hiatus Ends!

Been super busy since I started studying and working again... and a bun in the oven!  All at the same time! How do I keep up? Sleep, sleep, sleep literally everywhere!

Simone is now 3 years and 9 months old and she is just so amusing to talk to! A while ago after she washed her hands from paint, she went to me and said, "Mommy, my hand is BACK TO NORMAL!" , in straight american english, and the way she talked was like I may not understand her clearly!

She also likes to correct me whenever I say something wrong or something... so cute! I try to test her with grammar and she can identify. She uses past and present tense words and the like.  It's super fun to talk and teach her with grammar cos she can follow it..

I still have a lot of stories to catch up!

xx,

chicmom&baby

Defiant Phase

These past few days have been challenging. The hitting phase has begun. Well, worse. She has learned how to scratch, use her legs to kick me, or other people, uses her fists to punch. It is a development, exploring how far her fists can go, how strong her kicks are, and how painful can her scratch get. It depends on the victim-me! haha.. I was super calm when she first did those to me. Just, "Simone, that's painful. It's not nice." She would apologize, but would do it again, over and over. There was a time she did it non-stop, no matter what I do. So I asked, "You want mommy to do it to you?". She still continued. I just gave her a small dose, just to let her feel how unpleasant it is. She stopped and cried.I explained to her, "It is painful right? That's how mommy feels when you do that. So are you going to stop already?" She nodded and apologized. Other positive guidance words like, "Hands are for helping, feet are for walking, jumping, etcetera." I tried testing her on how she would react if I say it's painful, or completely ignore her, then she would stop. Well, if I say painful, more or less she will continue, and if i ignore her, she would do more and more!

Ha! It doesn't stop there. Again and again. It's starting to wear me out. Next, I taught her to stomp her feet instead of physically attacking people when she is mad. She felt better with stomping,but would forget and starts hitting again. I guess she couldn't control her emotions, obviously. Distracting her will do, for a while only. The statement, "Simone, I understand that you are frustrated and upset, but you don't need to hit" is a broken record already. Believe me when I say that I don't hit back when she does it to me. I'm more of a I-understand-you-are-upset-mom and let her frustrations out first, but sometimes, I feel like throwing her on the bed LOL that is a joke in my head alright?

So, I wonder where she learned it from? Never mind, I will always go back to my book, The No Drama Discipline. Thank God I have that book to guide me. Parenting is a life long learning! I'm thankful I'm studying Early Childhood now, it really helps me sooo much. And this, blogging. Helps me pour out my struggling emotions! Simone, kalma lang! And me- "konting-konti na lang!"

xx,
chicmomandbaby

Reading and Writing Milestones

I can't believe it's almost half of the year! April, is my busiest, stressful month so far. After all the waiting... tadah! I'm officially a student again woot! I'm just so happy to learn that I am on the right path- in taking care of Simone. My professor told us, "Please, tell your children's parents that PLAY is more important than studying." They want the children to learn how to write, but how can they learn if they don't practice their fine motor skills, which is again through play. Best way to practice the pincer grasp? PLAY- DOH! Which Simone is highly addicted to. I can't help but feel proud to hear those things. You can also use tongs, clothespin, do sorting. And you all know how I prioritize outdoor play (minimum 1 hour at the playground everyday, with her bicycle or scooter and ball in tow, plus water play at home)

This month is a pretty huge milestone for Simone (3yrs 4mos)- she can write her name (without tracing)! It's still messy, but readable! I have not taken a photo yet, but I will update and upload a photo soon. She will write it herself, and show me, and ask me to write my own name too. She can also write letters, some numbers, shapes, the sun, rainbow, happy face. She can also read as well! Easy sight words like boy, tree, sun, box, fox, cake, yogurt, and a lot more. We read books every night, including sight words from Letterland, and handmade number flashcards. She knows the mandarin numbers from 1-30, but still improving. I need to tell you guys that these are NOT forced teaching... She herself will get the books or flashcards and will tell me that she wants to read. There are days that she will say, "mom, I don't want to do already", or "mom, I want to read some more." Most of the days, I ask her if she wants to read, and it's always a yes. The key to getting her to read and write is being FUN, not boring!

All-time favorite books:

Thanks Angela for this book!!

Those yoga books are a must!

The book Where the Wild Things Are, I did not expect that she will love that book!

The Disney Princess book is great for early readers.

I read her these books when she was younger and now I can't believe she is able to read them herself!

I also let her try a few classes at Kumon. And then on her third trial class, she told me she didn't want to go. "Mom, you teach (taught) me already, it's the same when I go to Kumon" wahaha! (In case some of you don't know, Kumon has homeworks everyday, tsk) I guess Kumon's repetitive method bores her. But she has Kumon workbooks as well so I think she does not need the classes:) Don't worry, they are super easy-peasy and not stressful for toddlers! just connecting dots, maze, drawing lines , etc.

Just now before sleeping, she told me, "mommy, next time daddy give you money, then we share okay?"

That was just the cutest thing! I mean, how can she think of that haha!

Now I'm signing off just as I have finished downloading Shrek 3 for Simone and the baby daddy for his off day bonding haha! These two love Shrek nowadays.

Tatah!

Chicmom&baby

Toddler Photo Shoots

...are not glamorous, well all types of shoots.  It is twice as exhausting, especially for this hyperactive three year old lil monster of mine. Today wraps up our 4th shoot in THREE months. I know it's too much and overwhelming, I must say, for Simone. I didn't expect she would be chosen to do these projects, but we just go with the flow!

Her first one was memorable :) I had to prepare a gazillion looks (own styling), and make her smile and cooperate with the photographer. It was only when I brought out her princess toys and her stuffed toy cat, she started to play with the him. I must say he is the best out of 4 because his efforts were 110%! He got the best shots, I have some free photos, and I have options to buy all of them! Very expensive, but I will!

I won't go to the details of the rest first, maybe I will post a blog for each one, once they are out!

Well, I'm allowed to share this one though!

*Hated myself for forgetting to curl her hair into waves for this boho-chic look.

So, what have I learned from kiddie photo shoots?

Of course I can take great shots of her, because I'm her mother. But kids act differently when other people take their photos, and when people direct them on what to do (like, duh "who are you and why are you taking my photos!"). Simone does not like guy photographers, gets shy and will cling on me. Thank God the last one was a lady, so it went soooooo well!

Kids are very smart, and you can't fool them! Her third shoot didn't do well at all. She was bribed so much and they tried to please her, and she hates it. She didn't want to wear the clothes, put makeup and did not listen to me either. It was not her day, in short. Photographer didn't interact with her, he just waited for her to smile. I'm definitely not blaming or bashing them (I actually praise them for 100% effort in making her smile!),  but maybe instead of doing that, they could have just played with her, so she can be comfortable with them. She was actually playing while waiting for her turn, but when it was already, she threw tantrums. I totally get the feeling, but she was just so..arghhh I was ready to explode that time LOL!

Enough rest and eaten well helps put her in good mood! No chocolates or sugary food prior to shoot, or she will get super active (read: she will run around like crazy) ! I give her in-between or after.

It is good to bring her favorite things, snacks, toys, if she feels uncomfortable,distracted, or if she has a short break. Definitely not bribing, but it will make her feel better. Her Disney princess dolls, green tea, some gummies, and biscuits helped A LOT!

Reward system sometimes work. I try to tell her that if she is a good girl and follows the photographer, we can go "see" toys. Not even saying the word "buy".

Redirect her to other positive thoughts when she is being "active" (meaning doesn't want to follow). This is a bit tricky, since you constantly have to think creatively on what to tell her if something distracts her.

I didn't know when to jump in to help, but I realized that Simone gets super distracted when I'm involved so much, that she won't follow me! So I just let them (staff) do the talking/playing, and I also listen to them so Simone will follow me, while the photographer snaps (or sometimes the photographer himself plays with her and I just sit and watch.) That trick worked pretty well for us.

Lastly, make it fun. That is the ultimate goal. If kid is happy, photos are great!

And for parents, get ready to be a PA (personal assistant), stage mom/dad, and prepare 200% patience. haha.

I'm ready to crash anytime soon!

xx,
chicmom&baby

Microgreens!

Late post>>>My newest babies-literally! These little veggies are more powerful than you think! They are very easy to grow, fast to harvest,  are up to 40 times more nutrient dense than mature veggies, and of course, pretty! They are mostly used for garnishing/plating, but they are more than just that! What I love most is that I can just cut them anytime I need it! Can you spell f-r-e-s-h? You can check out their facebook if you are interested!

Hello babies!

Great idea, right?

More ideas from the net!

She loves watering them!

It is recommended to use spray only to avoid overwatering them

I also think it's the best way to involve Simone into teaching how vegetables grow, and how to take care of them, and of course eating veggies makes you healthy and strong!

Picture from my visit to Farmer's market

My beautiful kale!

Trial test-they are very tasty, see if Simone approves

*That's southern lentils with garlic, tomatoes, cumin & thyme with quinoa.

Waiting for carrots

Boom! Carrots are the tastiest ones.

"Mommy, I want to eat the plants." haha!

Cheesy salmon baked rice with microgreens!

They're soo tall now!

I need to cut,cut,cut!

Hello carrot shoots!

Harvesting! 

I bring it to work as well :)

I can't keep up with them, they grow soooo fast! So that's a motivation to eat veggies everyday!

xx,

chicmom&baby

Donuts and Cupcakes!

With much interest in baking, I bought a Mayer donut and cupcake maker for Simone! I thought it would be more fun to do.

Here is a compilation of healthy vegan donuts!!!! For starters, I used #17, whole grain strawberry donuts, but replaced it with chocolate frosting (melted Ghirardelli chocolate chips + coconut oil) and added sprinkles!

It is actually so much faster to bake in this Mayer donut and cupcake maker. Like, 5 minutes? Really. They were more than golden brown! haha

When I finished preparing the ingredients, I called her out and.....

*photos are from my iphone only. apologies!

But first, #MOTD! aba!!!

Played with my makeup again. I need those Poppy chemical free kids cosmetics!

They cook really fast! haha

 She did all the mixing of ingredients, cracking eggs (her fave part), and putting batter in the donut maker. Yep...that's quite a mess, but I don't mind at all. She is learning! I'm being positive here. haha

Favorite part

She was like, sooooo ecstatic!

Looks yummy, right?

Aftermath!

Well, that's just one out of 28 recipes! Now... time to clean up. double mess for this toddler!

xx,
chicmom&baby

#thirtyisthenewtwenty

Gaaaah!

I'm already thirty, but my weight is still the same as I was when I was twenty. Or even at 17! I seriously thought I would "keep" the baby weight, but it disappeared within a year after Simone was born! What's sad to think is, I only had big boobs and booty for a year in my 30 years! HAHA! but SERIOUSLY, gaining weight is just as hard as losing weight, I swear. Moving on! haha

I don't have room for negative vibes anymore, Live the life you love, Love the life you live, as what Bob Marley said! LOL

I didn't like dungarees/shortalls til I saw this from Topshop. Biased!

I wasn't in the mood for festivities (only shopping!), but hubs wanted to have a dinner BUFFET at Rise. What? I only planned our annual korean BBQ buffet. I guess maybe it's been a long time since we had buffet! Our second time there. No hor d'oeuvres, churrasco, spanish tapas, roast beef (it was roasted ham when we came!), nor hot japanese/korean cuisine.  I guess my best buffet resto still goes to Spiral at Sofitel Luxury Hotel in Manila (where I last worked, and has 21 stations! and at least S$100++), and The Line at Shangri-La near Orchard road. I hope I can try Melt The World Cafe next!

Buffet on weeknight

My plating sucks haha

This guy only attacks the cold station, as always. Ate a LOT of oysters and crab!

Parma ham, port salut & provolone

small delicatessen

I literally finished the spread.

And again. hahhaha

I only ate salmon sushi--- I eat unlimited salmon, but whenever I think about the farmed salmon (farmed salmon has a lot of pesticide and GMO, and wild salmon is preferable), which is always obviously used, my brain quickly tells me to cut back. I also had a lot of parma ham, and port salut cheese (melts in my mouth!) I haven't eaten continental food since forever!!!!!

The next day lunch, I finally stepped foot at Sin Lee Foods! I was contemplating between that and Clinton Street Bakery. Saving the latter for next month!

The waffle sucks but Simone finished it haha

Wahaha!

Chicken & waffles, sweet potato fries in salted duck egg sauce, and skillet roasted pork chop was the bomb! 

Simone<3

 Me and Simone rode the Sampan ride at MBS because she kept bugging us the night we had buffet and cried when we passed by it was closed already.  "Mommy, I wanna ride the boat" over and over again. Why nat?

photo by David Montasco

photo from here

We actually have pictures but it was sold for $20 per picture or $30 for 2! My card didn't work, so it was a sign not to buy haha!

"Mommy, I wanna ride the boat" 

She was SOOOOOO ecstatic!

"mommy, I want to touch the water"

Helped paddle the boat LOL

After that, I spent the rest of the day (wahaha) at Topshop thanks to my jie-jie for the voucher! Simone fell asleep inside the fitting room! And used my bag as her pillow haha please forgive me it's my birthday naman!

Where I always only end up! (only where clothes fit me!)

First day of being thirty was great indeed!!!

xx,

chicmom&baby