Archives for March 2011

Learning Teamwork and Developing Creativity Through Edmark Smart Cube

Electronic toys abound in toy stores nowadays.  Plenty claim to offer children hours of entertainment.  Some claim to be educational and would do wonders in improving children’s thinking abilities.  Although some are indeed very helpful in teaching some skills,  these toys are still quite expensive.  Add to that the costly batteries that need to be replaced often and you have a veritable money drain in your hands.

Another reason why we don’t usually buy electronic toys for our toddlers is that they seldom encourage imaginative play and are often meant to be played alone.  Puzzles, building blocks and even shape sorters on the other hand challenge children’s creativity and also encourage them to play together.  These types of toys are what my toddlers usually ask for during playtime.

One of their favorite toys is the Edmark Smart Cube which was given as a gift for Jade’s first birthday.  I once checked the store for its price and it costs only around 200 per set.   As for durability, we have been using our set for almost two years now.  It has withstood being thrown across the room, being smashed against the wall, being bitten by Jakei, and whatever else you could imagine a toddler doing with a toy.

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Jakei used to just throw the pieces around or smash whatever his Ate Jade has built.  But he has outgrown this destructive phase and can now create figures by himself.  I really love seeing them working together to build something.   They are now able to take turns putting the pieces together.




The Hunt for Toddler Shoes

The toddlers needed new shoes and we wanted to get them some rubber shoes they can use for jogging or other sports activities.  Alas, those reliable and sturdy pairs of toddler shoes proved elusive! What we did find though were three pairs of shoes for my husband and I.

I was eyeing a couple of elegant boots but thought that buying them would be impractical since I’m often just at home and wouldn’t have much use for them. Although I would love to find a pair of those gorgeous english riding boots that I see on magazines. We’ve never ridden horses ourselves and actually have no plans of raising equestrians but those lovely boots do make a great fashion statement.  It would be wonderful to have matching pairs for all four of us.

Back to our hunt for toddler sports shoes, well, we didn’t find any in the nearby mall so we’re scheduled to resume our hunting in a much bigger mall (which would hopefully have more and better choices) tomorrow.

Cowboy and Cowgirl Wannabees

Though my children are of different gender, they share many interests one of which is horses.  They both love to shout yee-haw! and pretend to be cowboys and cowgirls with their Woody and Jesse toys.   Whenever they see a carousel, they would pull on my arms in earnest toward the carousel and plead to be allowed to ride the horses there.  Oh, and they would ride a carousel forever if they had their way!  Even the horsecart at the mall doesn’t escape their eyes.

They’ve never been on a real horse though.  Although they have seen horses several times, they have yet to experience riding one.   Now, if I were to allow them to go horseback riding, I’d definitely make sure that they have the proper equipment for it. This includes an SEI certified helmet, riding pants with knee and seat patches, jodhpur  breeches, and comfortable riding boots.

Maybe a couple of years from now, we can go back to Tagaytay and they could try riding the horses there.   We were there last year but they were still too young (and a bit too scared) to ride real horses.

WBFC#9: The Tottering Mama

The Weekend Blog Follower Caravan is back and I wouldn’t want to miss joining it this week!  This week’s caravan is all about getting to know the bloggers behind the great blogs that we visit.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful to finally know more about the people behind the inspiring stories we read.

Welcome to my one-and-only blog!  It’s a fairly new blog as I started blogging only this January and have moved from Blogger to WordPress barely a week ago (thanks again to Mommy Rubz!).

I’m Olga to many, Adee to some, Mama to my two toddlers and Gah to my loving husband Hon.  My Hon and I got married 3 years ago and have been blessed with three children.  One of them is our angel. Our little Jake, Jade’s twin sister, went to God’s garden after seven days of life.  Her siblings, Jade and Jakei, continue to make our humble home the happiest place on earth.

I’ve been working as an academic tutor to grade school and high school students for the past 12 years.  This has enabled me to keep the child in me alive as I’ve been spending almost everyday of my life with tweens and teens. It has also sheltered me from the world outside as the kids I tutor come to our house which serves as our informal tutorial center.  So, pardon me if I may seem naive for my age.  I’ve been a child half my life and i’ve been mostly with children the other half of my life.

My husband and I are celebrating our 3rd wedding anniversary this month.  The past three years have been one heck of an emotional roller coaster ride.  We’ve had to deal with two unplanned pregnancies, to cope with losing a child, to fight my severe postpartum depression(twice!), and to hurdle countless obstacles in our marriage.  Thank God, we are still together now and still working on making our marriage work to firmly establish our family.

Now, I am a stay at home mom – my toddlers’ 24/7 yaya, cook, playmate, nurse, teacher, and human jungle gym. I still tutor a couple of kids who come to our house after school but my main priority remains being a mama to Jade and Jakei.  I am enjoying my on-the-job training as homemaker and though I still can’t seem to manage running the household fluidly, I find that I am managing it much better now.

I totter. I stumble. I fall. I’m the TOTTERING MAMA.

Still clumsy in the kitchen and prone to botching up lunch and dinner. Still learning how to manage my time better to be more efficient in running the household. Still somewhat unsure whether I’m raising my children well enough; But perfectly certain that I love them more than anything else in the world!

my husband and I with our adorable “mini-me’s”

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