My Kids are Sick

I haven't been able to post in this blog for several days because my kids are sick, and I'm tied down taking care of them. As most work-at-home moms experienced, when anyone in the family gets sick, the family becomes the priority and writing is put to the side for the meantime.

Thankfully, my girls are getting better. Except for the occasional whining, their health is improving and soon enough they will get back to being active and energetic.

My children got the cold virus from their cousins when they came to visit us. No matter how much we try to limit exposing our kids to other people during the flu season, they still got sick without warning. It's one thing that really frustrates me because it is not fun to take care of them when they're sick, nor it is easy to see them suffer from the illness.

I haven't given them any medications which I think is wise to do. I'm sure the doctor will advise the same (we didn't take them to the doctor either). As long as they're not very weak and still eats, they'll be okay. So far, my children handle the colds very good; I am looking forward they'll be done with it in a few days.

Having children and experiencing moments like this is one of the best things about motherhood. You got to be involved in the action, you get your endurance tested, your love expanded. Yes, it's the hardest job in the world, yet the rewards in seeing your kids grown-up, healthy, and happy are priceless.

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Natural Remedy For Baby Constipation

My six month old baby is recently having constipation. I'm figuring the recent switch from breast milk to formula, and the introduction to solid foods are the culprit because she never had problems with her bowel movement before.

Unlike her older sister who didn't experience being constipated even with the switch at around the same time she does, my little Jasmine is. It is not everyday though, but I remember it happened during the day I feed her baby food. Since the introduction of solid foods is gradual at this time, I decided to feed her cereal with veggies or fruit  every other day, and planned to increase the duration in 2 weeks or so until her tummy gets accustomed to it.

Normally, after feeding with baby food, I usually wait at least 30 minutes before giving my daughter formula. This is where I made a mistake, which I just realized lately. I should have given her water to aid in the digestion and waited few more hours before giving her formula milk.

Now I learned my mistake. I have discovered that the best natural remedy for baby constipation is WATER! Yes, no kidding. It's the most natural fluid there is.

So for three days now, I've been giving my baby at least 2-4 ounces of previously boiled water in her bottle and let her drink it. That's the day when she doesn't eat solid foods. I increase it to 6-8 ounces when I'm feeding her solid foods plus formula milk. That gives her enough fluid to digest her foods and so far I am happy with the results. No more fussiness and crying because she has a hard time passing her stool. The consistency of her poop improves significantly. It's much softer and easier to pass.

If you have a child with constipation problems, try increasing his water intake. I'm sure it will help fix the problem!

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Celebrating Valentine's Day

Today is Valentine's Day and many couples are busy thinking of ways to make this day extra special. What better day to show how much you love and care for your sweetheart (or loved ones) than on Valentine's Day? Well, that's how most people think at least.

Valentine's Day is just like any regular holidays  for me. It comes and goes and I don't put too much thought about it. It's nice to have a special day for love, but I don't think the act of loving and its expression should be confined to only one day. I believe it should be a continuous process and must be practiced on a daily basis as long as you live.

I don't choose a day to express love and affection to people I care about. I love them every single moment and strive to show how much they mean to me to the best of my ability. I made a commitment to love my husband, my kids, my family, and my friends everyday even if sometimes they do things I don't like. The real essence of loving is to give your unconditional love without expecting something back, and to keep on doing that unceasingly.

Tonight we'll celebrate Valentine's Day together as a family. We'll probably buy some Chinese foods and order some desserts, then watch movies till bedtime. It sounds simple but we'll be making memories as family. After all, it's not how much money we spent that counts, it's the time we spent together that are wonderful and priceless.

Happy Valentine's Day to All!

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The Best Diaper Rash Cream There Is

I'm a mom of two girls (the oldest is 2 years old and the youngest is 6 months) and I've changed diapers countless times since my daughters were born. It is not easy for me to see my poor babies cry and whine due to diaper rashes.

A diaper rash is preventable by changing wet and soiled diapers as soon as it happens, but sometimes we don't pay attention too much or there are times it's impossible to do the task (such as when you travel with the kids non-stop).

My eldest had diaper rashes when she was younger and it was caused by prolonged contact between a dirty diaper with poop rubbing against her delicate skin. As much as I tried my best to change her as often as I wanted, it did not happen, so my poor baby had to suffer.

I tried different brands of diaper rash cream but I settled with Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula with Vitamin E because it has the ability to heal the affected area very fast, plus it has a nice scent. The cream is yellowish and has a watery consistency unlike most creams that looks white and feels like toothpaste when you apply it. This diaper cream is different. It's just like rubbing lotion into your baby's affected area. I noticed that one-time application is enough to remove the redness. Of course, you can apply the cream as often as you want, either to prevent future rashes or to heal the existing ones completely. I love this cream so much that I bought backups in case I ran out. It's the best diaper rash cream that I have tried, and as a mother, it's my pleasure to share the experience with you.

As I've said, you can prevent diaper rash by making sure your baby's diaper is changed often. However, if it's beyond your control and your little one got a rash on his bottom, don't punish yourself. Invest in an effective rash cream and make sure to apply the cream as often as needed.

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How I Make Money Online

Since I migrated to the United States, I have been making extra money on the side to supplement our family income, and I do all of that from home--through the internet.

It is now possible for moms to stay at home yet still able to work and take care of her family. After I got married, I thought I will be confined to rearing my kids and rely solely on my husband's income. But when I find out that it's possible to work from home and make the same amount of money (and more) that I earned before, I feel so blessed.

Making Money Through Writing Articles

Writing articles comprise a big chunk of my monthly income. I write for both up front pay and residual income. Writing for up front payment means I write articles for a publisher that pays me a certain amount of money per approved article. The publisher then owns the rights to my articles.

On the other hand, writing for residual means I write articles for myself through free article publishing sites such as eHow, Bukisa, HubPages, InfoBarrel, Triond, among others. I don't get paid as soon as I published the articles. But the earnings accumulate over time, and I got a consistent amount of income every month from these articles. I get paid based on the amount of views, ad earnings, article popularity, and other earnings factor based on the site's revenue sharing model. The good thing about it is that I own my article's copyright and the earning potential is indefinite.

Blogging is another method I adopted to make money. I maintained my own blogs both in a hosted domain and free blogging service such as Blogger. This post you are currently reading is an example of a blog post. I have few niche blogs and couple personal blogs, all building up passive income for me.

Making Money Through Ads

The ads that you see on the right side of this blog is an example of Google advertisements that has the potential of giving me income. I got paid through page impressions and actual ad clicks. Depending on the cost-per-click (CPC) amount of the keywords in the article, I get a certain amount of money in my Google Adsense account every month.

The other form of advertisement I used are in-text advertisements. These are the ads that pops up when you click the underlined words in green. Similar to Adsense, my income depends on the cost per click of the highlighted keywords.

Making Money Through Affiliate Marketing

I also make money through affiliate marketing. By affiliate marketing, it means that I get a percentage of product sales from  companies by sending customers to their site. So far, I use Amazon's affiliate link and ClickBank, and also small affiliate companies that offer to pay a small commission per every sale I made.

So far, these are the money making methods I have adopted that work for me and consistently bring monthly income to our family. There are plenty of other ways I'd like to try such as selling on eBay, multi-level marketing (MLM), home business, etc. But writing articles has by far given me a lucrative opportunity to make money on the side.


If you are interested to start making money online through article writing, feel free to ask questions. If you'd like to publish articles to free sites that earn you passive income over time, click on any (or all) link below and sign up:

eHow
Bukisa
HubPages
InfoBarrel
Triond

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Sauteed Spinach for Lunch, My First Time

It's funny, but today is my first time cooking spinach and I'm surprised how easy it was to make.

Earlier today, I went with my husband grocery shopping. After picking up a variety of fruits, I decided to buy some vegetables as well. Checking for some greens that I thought would be easy to cook, I grabbed 2 bags of fresh spinach. Honestly, I only knew how to eat raw spinach in my salads. I haven't tried it cooked yet, so I thought this would be the day.

When I got home, I checked online for some spinach recipes and found several variations. Realizing there's no strict guidelines on how to cook it, I decided to go with sauteeing.

First, I rinsed the spinach in cold water, then, grabbed a big skillet and melted 1 tablespoon of butter into it. The leaves goes next followed by seasoning about 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. I let the spinach wilt for little bit, then removed the pan from the stove and scooped the veggie onto my plate. So here's my lunch for today:

The dish after it's cooked looked and tasted exactly like the Philippine vegetable "kangkong", also known as swamp cabbage or water spinach, except that you cook the latter with stems intact.

Spinach is loaded with valuable nutrients and antioxidants. It is a rich source of vitamins A, B2, B6, C, E, & K. The vegetable is also a rich source of magnesium, manganese, folate, betaine, iron, calcium, potassium, folic acid, protein, phosphorus, niacin, selenium, omega-3 fatty acids, and zinc.

Thinking about all the benefits I get from eating this healthy veggie, I vowed to include spinach in my diet on a regular basis.

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Dalaguete Fiesta 2011 - Celebrating 300 Years

(Photo Credit: Fritzie Faith Navarrete-Abangan)

Today is my hometown's (Dalaguete, Philippines) annual fiesta, and I'm feeling like I miss a huge part of the celebration. It's supposed to be 300 years since the town was established and so the local government made efforts to make it a huge one.

I watched in envy as my friends in Philippines posted photos of the events through Facebook, and broadcast to everyone they knew how alive the festivities are. Fiesta this year will last for a week, which means folks back home will get to enjoy the event for a much longer period than what was customary.

I pictured all the scrumptious Filipino dishes prepared in every household where you can eat whatever you want. You don't go on a diet during fiesta. That is unheard of in our culture. You eat to your heart's content and worry about weight later on.

Roasted pork (lechon) is common, as well as other meat dishes like humba, chicharon, dinuguan, embutido, etc., as well as some sweet treats that you only prepare during special occasions such as torta, tostado, sweetened macaroni salad, etc. I love my mom's humba, lumpia, hamon, pinatatasan, and ginaling. I miss those foods that even spelling them out makes my mouth water. *sigh* :-D

It heightened my homesickness more when I remember celebrations in my native hometown. Christmas, fiestas, birthdays, and the like evoke feelings of longing in me. I wanted to be with my family and old friends so much, that I wish I can just pack my bags and go home. It's part of human nature to feel attached to his old way of life especially when there are so many beautiful memories and wonderful times shared with loved ones.

My life is so much different now that I have my own family, and living in a foreign land. I'm still adjusting to the change and the environment, but once in a while my heart still goes back to my past. I made my choice to marry a foreigner and start a family in a strange country. So far the entire experience is rich and wonderful, with all its ups and downs. In spite of it all, I am most proud of being a true Filipina and a Dalaguetnon by heart.

Happy fiesta to my family, friends, and to all Dalaguete townsfolk! Long live everyone!

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Get Cash Back When Shopping Online, Guaranteed!

Do you enjoy shopping online and love getting cash back for the purchases you made? I do.

There is a website that offers online rebates and coupons at over 1,200 stores. It's called Ebates.com. All you have to do is create an account, select the online store you want to go, and then do your shopping. Three days later, you will see the cash back amount in your account. The amount you get depends on the cash back percentage that the store offers at the time of your purchase. Cash back percentage is from 1% and can go as high as 20% of the total amount per transaction. Also, you can find online coupon codes you can use during shopping in addition to the cash back percentage they offer. That is a lot of savings!

I've been shopping online for some time now and just came across this website recently. I'm sharing this info with my friends and anyone interested  so they can benefit from their online shopping experience. Small savings add up you know. When I created my Ebates account, I received a $10 Target gift card which is not bad at all!

Ebates will send cash back payment every 3 months for purchases posted during the previous quarter. You can choose to receive payment by check or PayPal. The site also offers referral program by giving members rewards in cash or bonuses for a certain number of people who signed up an account and purchased online.

Start getting cash back while online shopping today. Click here to create an account. Enjoy shopping!

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Yay, I Won a VMV Holid "dew" Set!

I'm a huge fan of VMV Hypoallergenics, even when I was still in Philippines. They have an awesome array of products that cater to your specific skin needs like acne, wrinkles, dark spots, etc. This product line is not only super effective, but everything they sell is hypoallergenic (doesn't irritate the skin whatsoever).

In this post, I'm not going to write a product review (I already did half-way, lol!) but to announce that I won a prize from them. Yes, I was one of the lucky 3 who won VMV's exclusive Happy Holid "dew" set. It includes a travel-size cleansing scrub, a primer, moisturizer,  a tube squeezer, and a headband. These items come in a beautifully-decorated tin can. (See photo below).

Although I expect to receive the Moisture Rich SuperSkin Care mini-set, I got the Hydra Balance SuperSkin set instead, which is still fine with me since that's what I am currently using. The small sizes are perfect for traveling, and I am so happy I receive them.

VMV Hypoallergenics is regularly giving away special treats to their loyal fans. Fan their page on Facebook and make sure to join their contests. You'll be on your way to winning one of the fabulous prizes they'll offer in the future!

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You're Fat, Can't You See?

Do you really care when somebody tells you "you look fat?"

If I am to answer the question, it would be Yes and No. YES, because it annoys me to think that of all other features I have, my weight becomes the focus. And NO, because I knew I'm overweight and I know how to deal with it without somebody rubbing it on my face.

Interestingly, women put so much emphasis on her physical appearance and regard each other as competitors (a lot may deny this but there are studies proving it to be true). Putting the other down appearance-wise is supposed to make the person better.

From the country where I came from (Philippines), women are so crazy about getting thin to the point they don't eat right. Girls are petite there and they take so much pride in being slim because being one is synonymous to sexy.

As I was growing up, I always belong to the "chubby" side. Round and fleshy, but I didn't care much. I'd rather eat right and have little bit meat in me than starve myself and look like a skeleton with flesh on. I only took measures to go "dieting" when I met my man, and for some time get carried along into the "get-skinny-he'll-think-you're-sexy" bandwagon.

Yes, it felt good to be thin for few years but boy, it never was easy! There were so many limitations in what I can eat, and that part was tough because I'm a food junkie! Good thing, my husband saved me from my misery and taught me how to eat right and be happy about my appearance.

Now, I have two babies and I'm 30 pounds heavier than my ideal weight. I admit there are days I'm not happy thinking about it, but right now I tried to change my outlook and focus on something more productive--like taking care of my kids and making sure their needs are met. The extra weight will come off in time and it's going to be done naturally--with right eating habits and exercise.

So how do I deal with people telling me I look fat? Nothing! I am aware of how I look and there's not much they can say to put me down. Either those words are said without thinking, out of concern, or a lame attempt to make themselves feel better, it doesn't matter to me.

I move on with my life and be grateful to be alive!

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Jeans That Fit You Perfectly!

Attention ladies who are having a hard time finding the perfect jeans that fit!

There is a website that allows you to order and customize jeans, according to your preference and body type. The site is www.indicustom.com.

I stumbled upon this site today while looking for pants and jeans that fit a 4'11 woman (yes, that's me!). Height-wise I mean. My search led me to the web site, and I'm so excited to share it with you.

If you are going through same predicament as  me, then you can check it out and see for yourself. They have an online jeans designer software where you can input your preferences like the fabric you want to use, features such as thread color on the fabric, the type of pockets you want to have, and of course the fit and length of the jeans. Prices start at $155 per item ( a little pricey, I know, but it's to be expected for custom-made   apparels) and shipping is free within the United States.

I tried building my custom jeans at the site and I'm surprised how easy it is, and it feels wonderful to be in control of how I want my jeans to look like. Though, I didn't order yet, I bookmarked the site so I can go back to it later when my budget is a little bit better :-)

The website caters to both men and women and they also accept custom-made shirts. If height is not your problem but with the fit because of your curves, you can easily customize it there too.

Let me know if you try the site, purchased, and actually used the custom jeans you ordered.

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