Mommy Moments - Look At That Mess!

Here is my entry for this week's Mommy Moments theme: "Look at that Mess!"

Jacob was 1 year old here taken on his birthday where he was eating his cake :-).
Jake's toys scattered all over the living room!
He was about to go to bed here when I asked him to put away his toys away.
Loving his favorite spaghetti enough not to care the mess on his face :-)!

Jake's Birthday at Friend's House

Jake finally has his birthday ice cream cake over at friends house. His gifts and the birthday cards from family!

With Buzz lightyear before blowing the candle.

With us after blowing the candle.

His first bite...

the birthday cards...

and his presents!

Foods Your Heart Loves

They’re easy and delicious -- who knew your heart had such good taste?

If you think heart-healthy eating means bland, boring food, your taste buds are in for a shock. With a few smart and simple substitutions, you won’t even miss the unhealthy fats, salt, and extra calories making your heart old before its time. In fact, you can still eat some of the old standards if you modify them -- and you’ll have new, delicious options to choose from as well.

6 Must-Eat Foods
To help prevent high cholesterol, high blood pressure, inflammation, and arterial aging, eat these delicious foods for your heart’s sake:

1. Strawberries -- and just about any other colorful fruit or veggie you can find. Why? Because fruits and vegetables like red grapes, cranberries, oranges, plums, and tomatoes are bursting with flavonoids -- antioxidants that help quell inflammation. And that’s a good thing, because inflammation is one of the many processes involved in heart disease. Eat them fresh -- sliced or whole. What could be easier? Aim for 2 1/2 cups of vegetables and 2 cups of fruit a day. Know what the highest antioxidant fruit on the planet is? Find out here.

2. Rye bread -- and any other grain product made from whole grains. Whole-grain breads and cereals, brown rice, quinoa, flaxseeds, and whole soybeans are full of heart-protective fiber and magnesium that can help keep your cholesterol and blood pressure in a healthy range. Try for six or more daily servings of whole grains. Think you know your whole grains? Take this quiz.

3. Avocado -- and other healthy vegetable-based fats. Use mashed avocado, olive oil, and nut butters in place of unhealthful fats. Mashed avocado makes a good sandwich spread if you mix it with a little salsa. And olive oil is a great butter substitute when you’re sauteing veggies. Use nut butters and peanut butter in place of butter and cream cheese. Substitutions like these are delicious ways to bring down “bad” LDL cholesterol and boost the “good” HDL kind. Just remember to limit portion size as you would with any other oils or fats.

4. Salmon -- and other fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids. A strong body of research shows that eating fish (as long as it’s not fried) helps lower your risk of heart attack, stroke, arrhythmia, high triglycerides, arterial plaque buildup, and inflammation in your arteries. Opt for three portions per week of oily fish rich in heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids.

Find the top five low-mercury, heart-healthy fish.

5. Nuts -- yep, not only do they make healthy nut butters, but they make a great snack, too. And eating nuts regularly can cut your risk of heart disease by 20% to 60%. Almonds, pistachios, and especially walnuts are loaded with heart-friendly fats and are a great source of vegetable protein. Just stick to one handful per day to keep your calorie count down.

6. Dark chocolate -- see, you don’t have to avoid sweets entirely. In fact, a little dark chocolate every day is good for your heart. Find out why dark chocolate is such a heart-smart treat.

Source: ReaAge.com

Fall Kid's Jobs

1. Tutor

Tutoring takes a lot of dedication, patience, and planning. You need to be able to listen to your students and encourage them to ask questions, making sure that they understand everything before you move ahead. Be kind, follow up with them on previous sessions, and give generous praise. The most important thing you can do is make your students feel comfortable. Parents will be impressed and spread the word.

2. Help with the Harvest

Try picking produce on farms or in orchards, or simply help your neighbors harvest their gardens. To go the extra mile (and get extra money), help get the food ready for storage by washing, canning, or drying it. You can also prepare the garden for winter by removing old plants and picking up rotten fruit or vegetables.

3. Organize a Bake Sale

Aim for variety. Provide some non-baked goods, such as hot chocolate, wassail, candy, or cookie mix. Try decorating baskets or plates of treats with gift tags. This will allow you to sell more at a time and give customers a chance to buy great homemade gifts for their friends.

To maximize profit, gather a good-sized team of your friends. Divide the work and expenses into equal portions, and then split the profits evenly.

4. Rake Leaves

Ask your customers if they would like you to bag the leaves and remove them, or if they would prefer you to leave them in piles for their children to play in. Offer to spread the leaves in your customers' gardens or make a home composting station. Decomposing leaves can make a good fertilizer.

Source: LDS Living Magazine

Summer Jobs for Kids

One of the best ways to teach your children the value of a dollar is to let them earn one. A lawn-care service is great, but what do they do after summer is over? Read over these suggestions with your kids to give them ideas for earning extra income all year round.

1. Clean Barbecues

Use a grill brush to scrape off debris and grimy build-up. There are many different grill brushes, so be sure to select one that is suited to the surface you will be cleaning. When you are finished cleaning the inside of the barbecue, polish the outside and replace any briquettes that have cracked or are collecting grease.

2. Wash Cars Inside and Out

Go beyond a regular street corner car wash. Advertise that you can give the cars a fine, detailed cleaning. Pay close attention to windows. Wash and dry the inside and outside of each one carefully, leaving them sparkling and streak free. Dust the dashboard and control panel. Use disinfecting wipes to clean the door handles, armrests, and the steering wheel. Vacuum the floors and seats thoroughly.

3. Start a Lawn Care Business

A lot of kids want to mow lawns for money in the summer, so you need to make your services stand out. Include edging and trimming services in addition to mowing the lawn. Start at one corner of the yard and pay attention to keeping your lines parallel and straight to create a professional, diagonal stripe in the lawn.

4. Host a Story Hour

Organize a neighborhood story hour once or twice a week. For a reasonable fee, parents could send their children to your home to listen as you read a new book aloud. You might also consider putting on puppet shows or short plays.

Source: LDS Living Magazine

We've Found an Ideal Place to Live!

Modern technology has gone so far when it comes to finding a place to live. It makes our lives and move easier especially when it comes to searching for an apartment or rental property. We don't need to drive around, just use the computer to check for listing. This made it easier for my husband to find an apartment for us when he used My New Place and started searching for apartment rental in Texas. He used filtering to search for city, state, zip code. There he found the place we now call home now because of them!
My New Place will not only help you find place to live, but also give you directions to the place by sending it to your email. They even allow you to share information and photos to your family and friends using Facebook! They have many filtering of search results such as number of bedrooms and bathrooms, amenities, policies, distance from schools, hospital and more. I was glad we've found the ideal apartment we are looking for. I t made our move easier and less stressful.

Small Talk Six!

Want to join in? Go here to learn how and to view the weekly list Small Talk Six topics for 2009.

Today’s topic is “6 flavors or types of ice cream that you love or hate” You can answer this with a list of 6 words, 6 phrases, 6 sentences, 6 paragraphs, 6 photos, 6 videos, etc . . .

Here are the six that I LOVE . . .

1) Chocolate

2) Buttered Pecan

3) Rocky Road

4) Pistachio

5) Cookies n Cream

6) Vanilla

Mommy Moments: Playtime

My son has a routine schedule; he has time for everything. Playtime is one of his favorite. So here is my entry for this week's theme: Playtime! Thanks for looking and have fun!

This was at NE Pacific Mall in the Philippines...

At Collin Creek Mall playplace.

At home playing baslketball...

...with his trike...

with his binky :-).

Playing with with Gradma Audrey's present....

...during one of his school field trip at the Children's Museum.

Taken last year, winter with snowman...

in one of the nice park in VA.

With his cousin, Cody during one of our visits in North Carolina.

Facts About My Son

1. Born on the morning of July
2. Birth weight: 4 lbs. 7 oz., was a preemie baby!
3. First word, Dada.
4. First steps: 14 months old
5. Loves watching video/animated movie Pocahontas, Toy Story 1 and 2, The Incredibles, and Winnie the Pooh!
6. Was a "Tow head" for about the first 3 yrs.
7. Loves playing, bike riding, and reading books with Mom or Dad.
8. Is starting Kindergarten this fall (i can't believe that my baby is growing so fast!). He can read ABC's and 123's, write his name, write numbers and letters (both the capital and lower case), solve simple Math.
9. Is the sweetest kid! He's kind, patient, giving, and considerate and loves being with friends.
10. Does pretty good in school. He is smart, though he has just finished Pre-K.
11. He's a sister who is in Heaven.
12. He is loved by his whole family, Mom, Dad, Grandparents, lots of Aunts and Uncles, and cousins.
13. My littleman will be turning 5 this month! Happy Birthday, my little pumpkin :-)!

10 Benefits of Smiling

1. Smiling Makes Us Attractive. We are drawn to people who smile. There is an attraction factor. We want to know a smiling person and figure out what is so good. Frowns, scowls and grimaces all push people away -- but a smile draws them in.

2. Smiling Changes Our Mood. Next time you are feeling down, try putting on a smile. There's a good chance you mood will change for the better. Smiling can trick the body into helping you change your mood.

3. Smiling Is Contagious. When someone is smiling they lighten up the room, change the moods of others, and make things happier. A smiling person brings happiness with them. Smile lots and you will draw people to you.

4. Smiling Relieves Stress. Stress can really show up in our faces. Smiling helps to prevent us from looking tired, worn down, and overwhelmed. When you are stressed, take time to put on a smile. The stress should be reduced and you'll be better able to take action.

5. Smiling Boosts Your Immune System. Smiling helps the immune system to work better. When you smile, immune function improves possibly because you are more relaxed. Prevent the flu and colds by smiling.

6. Smiling Lowers Your Blood Pressure. When you smile, there is a measurable reduction in your blood pressure. Give it a try if you have a blood pressure monitor at home. Sit for a few minutes, take a reading. Then smile for a minute and take another reading while still smiling. Do you notice a difference?

7. Smiling Releases Endorphins, Natural Pain Killers and Serotonin. Studies have shown that smiling releases endorphins, natural pain killers, and serotonin. Together these three make us feel good. Smiling is a natural drug.

8. Smiling Lifts the Face and Makes You Look Younger. The muscles we use to smile lift the face, making a person appear younger. Don't go for a face lift, just try smiling your way through the day -- you'll look younger and feel better.

9. Smiling Makes You Seem Successful. Smiling people appear more confident, are more likely to be promoted, and more likely to be approached. Put on a smile at meetings and appointments and people will react to you differently.

10. Smiling Helps You Stay Positive. Try this test: Smile. Now try to think of something negative without losing the smile. It's hard. When we smile our body is sending the rest of us a message that "Life is Good!" Stay away from depression, stress and worry by smiling.

A Package from Dhemz!

Once again, I got a package from a very good friend of mine and yours, (Dhemz). It took awhile for me to get it because the office forgot to tell us that we have a package waiting for us before we even get here in Texas. Then, my laptop gave me hard time to download the pictures from my camera. So here are the contents of the package. Thank you so much once again, Dhemz for your kindness and thoughtfulness :-)! To me, you are indeed my younger sister, I adopted you already like it or not :-)!

I haven't used the kare-kare mixed yet, but the dried fish (bulad), candies (which Matt loved so much that he ate most them all), and sinigang mixed were already gone :-)! I love them all! Bells were added to my collections, yehey! Isn't she (Dhemz), an amazing person? Opps, Matt said: Thanks!

Friendship Chain

This was given by Tetchie of Pensive Thoughts and Race of My Crossroads; thank you guys for this one and for the friendship :-). Sure appreciate the thoughts.

~~Begin Copy~~

This is the easy way and the fastest way to :

1. Make your Authority Technorati explode.
2. Increase your Google Page Rank.
3. Get more traffic to your blog.
4. Make more new friends.

Rules :
1. Start copy from “Begin Copy” until “End Copy” to your blog.
2. Put your own blog name and link.
3. Tag your friends as much as you can.

1.Picturing of Life 2. Juliana’s Site 3. Hazel-My Life, My Hope, My Future.4. Jeanne-The Callalily Space5.My Family is my Life 6. The Simple Life of a Baghag 7. On A Wonderful Day Like Today 8. House Everything 9. The Creativity in Me 10. Travel and Photography 11. Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow 12. You Are My Sunshine 13.Song to Remember 14. Super Blog 15. Philiippine Tv Marathon 16.Simply Blue 17. Breaking the Boundaries 18. Top Five 19. A Simple Life 20. Simple Happy Life 21. A Great Pleasure 22. Glossa~licious 23. Time Goes By 24. Sweet Nothings 25. Thoughts and Obsessions 26. Beng’s Entertainment Spree 27. Pensive Thoughts 28. Life is good and Beautiful 29. You're Next!
~~End Copy~~

I’m passing on this Friendship Chain to the following whether they were already tag or not: Ams, Dhemz, Shy, Liza, Lisa, Race, Redge, Umma, Niko, Beng, Jane, Chuchie, Cacai, Kittykat, Shy and Chel and all those who are on my bloglists.

Mommy Moments - Encounter with the Animals

Here is my entry for this week's theme: Encounter with the Animals :-)! I couldn't find Jake's first encounter with the animals at the Dallas Arboretum when they had Animals Petting once.

These pictures where taken at Richmond, Zoo in VA

Feeding the goat...we were so surprised when he let the goat eat from his hand!

How to Clean Your Room in 10 Minutes

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Steps:

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1. Pick up as you go. As you start gathering the materials to clean and organize, pick up any items dropped on the floor or on the back of chairs as you walk by. Don’t bother putting them away in their right place just yet but instead pile them up in the right room. You’ll come back to them later, when time allows.
2. Get into a routine. Instead of going over every single corner of a room before moving into the next, simply vacuum everything, then move to dusting and then to organizing.
3. Start with the main rooms. If you’re having guests over and you’re trying to clean before they arrive, concentrate on the rooms they are most likely to see up and close, such as the living room, the kitchen and the bathroom. Leave bedrooms and other rooms until the end and clean them only if time allows.
4. Vacuum. Nothing will give a better impression of a clean room that freshly-vacuumed rugs. Buy a perfumed vacuum powder to improve the overall air smell of the room as you clean. This will save you time in the long run. Don’t bother vacuuming the curtains or the upholstery. It will take too much time and it will pull you away from other, more important tasks.
5. Dust the furniture, starting with anything that is dark wood, as dust shows more clearly on dark surfaces. Don’t use a dry rag; instead, buy wood cleaners or simply use a rag wet in warm water and a mild soap. Cleaning this way will prevent dust from flying around the room as you clean.
6. Buy cleaning solutions that can be sprayed on and require no scrubbing. This way, you can spray them on and move on to clean somewhere else while you wait for the chemicals to work on a particular surface. Come around later and simply mop the dirt away.
7. If you want to, spray some air freshener around the room. Done!

Source: www.wikihow.com