What A Saturday!

This must be my worse Saturday ever! I even need to blog about  it because my rants will not fit a shoutout box (lol!). Last night, I was already gushing with disappointment. Well for the past weeks the garbage people changed their time for garbage pick-up from mid-afternoon now, early morning. "I can't believe that I need to wake up early just to take out the trash, ON A SATURDAY!" If only we could take it out the night before, but sadly, it's not allowed in our place. The homeowner's association won't allow it, and there's penalty for it. What can I do right?

So, I'm all awake and ready to face another day. The sun "was" up. After preparing breakfast, I started with my laundry. In just a few minutes, my washing machine stopped, error was detected, and it started raining. In other words, something went wrong with my washing machine, I didn't even finish my first batch of laundry, then it started raining hard. I was like "Come on, Give me a break!" I just can't believe that all these are happening on a weekend.

Facts of life, there's no such thing as a perfect day. Might as well laugh it off. A few hours ago, I was really grumpy. Now, I don't see the point on being cranky at all, it will ruin the rest of my day.  Found it pretty hilarious later on. It's one of those days that you just can't control or predict on what's going to happen next.

Went to my kitchen instead, prepared a good meal for lunch. Now, I see hope for the half day remaining to be awesome. Have a great weekend!

Our Bedtime Routine With Johnson's Baby Bedtime

Share with us your bedtime routine and win JOHNSON´S® Baby Bedtime products!!! (click to join)

Sleep is one of the most important factors in releasing growth hormones, most especially for very young babies.While your baby sleeps, her little body produces 3x more growth hormones.

The good news is there is a way to promote better sleep for your baby: through a consistent nightly bedtime routine.

Learn more about the JOHNSON´S® Baby Bedtime Routine, clinically proven to stretch your baby´s sleep by as much as 23%.

In addition to the JOHNSON´S® Baby Bedtime Routine and products, there are countless other ways you can help your baby fall asleep and even share bonding moments in the process!

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Getting ready for bed is one of the things that I truly enjoy with my son. As parents, my husband and I consider this as one of our precious bonding moment with our child. And since birth, bath time is the most anticipated by my little boy. I have been using Johnson and Johnson products as a kid and believe me, up to this very moment it's part of my shopping list. I have my own baby lotion, cologne and the ever soft Johnson and Johnson baby powder. When the bedtime collection came out, I immediately tried it and without a question, it became  my ultimate J and J product.


Our nightly routine starts with my child finishing dinner, brushing his teeth and taking a warm bath with Johnson and Johnson Bedtime Wash. The sweet scent of Lavander relaxes the body and soothens the mind. From my son's bedtime wash to his baby powder, down to his lotion, it's all Bedtime products. When all set to take a good night sleep, I read him his favorite book. Sometimes, it's the other way around, he's the one reading it to me. We also say a good night prayer and we take a little time talking and giggling. As he closes his eyes, I give my son a good massage. It's a routine ever since he was a baby and I still continue it now that he is 5 years old.

Early last year, I received a book, a gift from my parents. It serves as a guide on massages for children. There are spots in the child's body that's needed to be reached and areas should be handled with great caution.

Please read a related entry here: Healing Touch For Children a book by: Mary Atkinson

A massage routine is considered as a healing method.

1. Encourage better-quality sleep, leading to an improved temperament.
2. Encourages a healthy immune system, helping to prevent fight infections.
3. Provides a valuable opportunity to share time together---having fun.
4. Builds trust and intimacy through non-verbal communication.
5. Tales away child's mind from worries and doubts.

Basic Massage Routine---head, shoulder and back

This series of movements takes around 7-10 mins. Perform it gently with soothing strokes.

• First fold---resting your hands on your child's shoulders
• Back Circles---Stroking your hands up and around your child's back at the shoulder blade area.
• Back Rubbing---Rubbing across the upper back, tops of the shoulders, upper arm in small zigzag movements. 
• Shoulder Kneading---Gently knead the soft flesh beneath on your child's shoulders.
• Beating On The Upper Back
• Back Stroking 
• Arm Patting
• Arm Kneading 
• Shoulder Stroking 
• Neck Rubbing 
• Head Rubbing
• Hair Shampooing 
• Tabla On the Head---Gently drum the pads of your fingers in a random fashion all over your child's head. 
• Head and Shoulder StrokingTemple Circles 
• Forehead Stroking

Best with Johnson and Johnson Bedtime Lotion. A good massage helps with the development of the skeletal, muscular and psychological aspects of the infant/child. 

 My little boy sleeping well at 8 months

A mother or a father's touch helps make them feel relaxed and at ease.  The gift of security is important for the child's early growth and development.

GT: How Emotional Can You Get

How emotional can you get? Let's put it this way, when I became a mom, I always "try" to control my feelings. I need to be stronger and wiser on gauging things, to a point that most of the time I just laugh  at certain situations or I simply ignore them. 

When I talk about situations, these are scenarios concerning my son, my husband and the whole family. It's the same when it comes to my  personal encounters. I used to be a cry- baby, I 'm not a fighter. When I get into situations, I just turn my back and cry. Most people underestimated me being that emotional Being. It's different now, motherhood blessed me to become a stronger person. I don't think twice anymore, if you hurt me and  I think you're not worth my time even to talk things out with, that person or situation is bound to be left out and to be forgotten. "Sometimes", it's better to always put in mind that we have better things to do in my life,  than waste time on something that's just holding us back. This way, I end up being more productive, I hurt less people and I encounter less situations. Result: I am more happy. I move-on in life faster.

It was nice to be able to share my emotional side. We all have our differences, even with what I've said, respect for yourself and for others has always been the key to be emotionally stable.

Girls Talk

Migraine and Me

Here I am with my glasses again... My migraine has worsen for the past weeks. For some reason, I get headaches and the pain goes down to my eyes. My glasses works as protection which was given as an easy option to lessen it. I stopped wearing them in 2009. If you will notice, my eyes looked tired. Even with enough sleep, I still look wasted. My migraine started when I took up Nursing back in 2002. It's just terrible, maybe my brain couldn't handle the stress of memorizing terms and studies with regards to medicine. I even thought that I was already having some eye problem. But thank God, my eye sight/ vision is still normal. 

Instead of getting a prescribed medicine, I was advised by my doctor to cut down on caffeine which is one of the main causes of migraine. Next is to get a computer monitor protector, third is to have more light every time I use the computer, fourth, is to wear eye glasses, fifth if you can , sunglasses will give better results.

I tried using a monitor protector and I even wore sunglasses but  both made it harder for me because I couldn't view the screen properly. Aside from adding enough light, I resulted on using eyeglasses. Late last year, my husband bought me a new computer monitor. He made me choose between a 21" Samsung from a 19". I wanted a bigger screen, but the 21 inches was overwhelming, ended up with the 19 inches. I can't imagine a bigger migraine scenario if we bought the 21 inches.

What causes migraines?

Some people who suffer from migraines can clearly identify triggers or factors that cause the headaches, but many cannot. Potential migraine triggers include:

1. Allergies and allergic reactions

2. Bright lights, loud noises, and certain odors or perfumes

3. Physical or emotional stress

4. Changes in sleep patterns or irregular sleep

5. Smoking or exposure to smoke

6.Skipping meals or fasting

7.Alcohol

8. Menstrual cycle fluctuations, birth control pills, hormone fluctuations during menopause onset

9. Tension headaches

10.Foods containing tyramine (red wine, aged cheese, smoked fish, chicken livers, figs, and some beans), monosodium glutamate (MSG), or nitrates (like bacon, hot dogs, and salami)

11.Other foods such as chocolate, nuts, peanut butter, avocado, banana, citrus, onions, dairy products, and fermented or pickled foods.-source-

And with the causes stated above I'm guilty with Cause nos.  4, 6, 9 and 11. My medication? I only take pain killers like Advil or Ponstan. Paracetamol doesn't work for me. I'm lucky in case somebody comes home from GA, I get Excedrin Migraine. In a few weeks, I will be visiting my eye doctor. I would probably go under a specific test this time. I wanna make sure my brain and my eyes are in good condition.