Things I wish my mom should have told me

There comes a point in life that you look back and reevaluate everything that is happening to your life. It's so funny to think that we thought that we knew everything, we actually do not! Our moms knew more, and a lot of those I just wish she should have articulated more...
 

I wish my mom should have told me that breastfeeding sucks! and I didn't mean that in a literal way  :). As much as she said that it's an excellent choice for the baby. It is still hard. No wonder how most moms settled with the infant formula. Expensive yet E A S Y. Don't get me wrong though, my kid was fully breastfed for a year but it was, indeed,a challenge.

I wish she should have told me that TO DISCIPLINE A CHILD IS AN ART. If you scream at the kid, you tend to lower their self esteem. If you just talk to them, you feel that they don't seem to understand. If you hit them ( poor baby! :( ), you go to jail. I'm sure there are a lot of ways of how to discipline your child, you just have to pick which one works for you and stick with it.

I wish she should have told me that doing household chores is ain't fun at all. Thinking back, my life seemed to be so easy. Everything was provided for me. My mom was always there to cook, to make sure that everything that I need is ready. She used to iron our clothes, even the towels and bedsheets! Seriously, the towels and the bedsheets? Imagine, home cooked meals, a clean house, neatly pressed clothes (including towels and bedsheets, or curtains!). I remembered her finishing around 9 in the evening, but she still had a smile on her face. How did she do that?

I wish my mom should have told me that my kid will mean the whole world to me. That I would always miss everything that I do to my kid.. cooking for him, giving him a bath, hugging him, carrying him. No matter how tired we are, at the end of the day we are still longing for them.. to kiss them... to hug them.. Our kids are our world! Right now, I'm enjoying the moment that I feel that I'm the best in his own little world, that it's my face that he wanted to see as soon as he wakes up in the morning. There will come a time that somebody will mean the world to him.. will take good care of him. I dread those days to come, but I have to face it when the time comes.


I wish my mom should have told me that life is not easy. You have to work hard, even harder to survive. And at times that life kicks you hard, you have nobody to count on but yourself. Thank God that through the years, my mom taught me to believe in me. To believe that I can do anything, that I can survive anything. That's probably the reason why I can still keep my focus even when the going gets tough. Ciao!

Working out... just fine

I've never been a believer of working out to lose weight. Call it laziness but it really doesn't do anything for me. Years ago, I used to starve myself to shed off some pounds. After I achieved my desired weight, I'll start eating again. Obviously, I'm not a health freak, I just eat whatever I want to eat. Steak, cake, ice cream, chocolate, coke, gummy bears.. vegetables? No way! that's too healthy! LOL. I would even have my dessert first before my main meal, those moments drive my colleagues crazy. But I didn't care that much until... I gained 70 lbs. So from size 2, I had my post natal body in size 12. There are times that when I look at the mirror, I would justify my bulging body and tell myself that "I just had a baby". I think this type of reasoning is only good for the first 6 months of the baby's life. If you're still saying it when your "baby" is already 6 yrs old, like in my case, then we have a problem! lol

So I started looking for ways to shed off my extra pounds. I tried Pilates for 2 weeks, it's too much for me, so I stopped. I tried Yoga for 2 days, I find it too boring. I tried Hiphop Yoga just to make it more funky, it still didn't do anything for me, so again, I stopped.

Then there was Zumba. I tried it because a lot of people were saying how fun it is. And it is, indeed, FUN. Fun in a sense that I would want to do it everyday if I can. It is actually a mixture of latin dance, caribbean, bollywood, hiphop, etc rolled into one full hour of working out. Zumba is more like attending a party than just working out. I usually go to the regular zumba classes and zumba toning. Zumba toning is your regular zumba dance class with weights.

Slowly, I see my weight going down and for just 3 months of  doing Zumba I went from size 12 to size 8 now, which is pretty phenomenal. I still eat whatever I want to eat though! I didn't starve myself. I didn't try those slimming tea. I lost weight while I'm having fun, which is great! Now, the clothes fit better, when I look at the mirror I'm happy to see the healthier me. I have included some links that I find useful if you guys want to try zumba classes. Enjoy!

                         Zumba Fashionistas                      Zumba Classes near you

Extreme Couponing

I love to shop! I think most women are. I must admit I'm a bit of an impulsive buyer especially when there's a big ongoing sale. So, I try to stay away from stores as much as possible but what can you do? I just thank God that I have a job that can support this .. err.."guilty pleasure". Then I've learned using coupons or the online deals available throughout the net. It makes your purchases look sweeter.

Have you heard of Extreme Couponing?

Extreme Couponing is a show from the TLC channel where people collect coupons from newspapers, mails, or magazines, then use them for their purchases. It's amazing how these people can actually save. In an episode before, one mom actually lowered down the total amount from $600 to $2 with the use of her coupons. It's just too bad that this can only be done in the US. I watch this show religiously.

Anyway here in Canada, we have our own source of printable coupons too, or those that you can just sign up and have it delivered on your mailbox.

Frugal Shopper


Smart Canucks 

Save.ca 


What about online deals? Here are the ones that I used already and swear by it!

Teambuy            Living Social       Groupon        Tuango      Dealfind

  Deal of the day

For free licensed softwares  -->         Giveaway of the day

I'll add some more. I think I have a lot more in my mailbox..
 
There, you can buy vouchers of everything from hotels to restaurants, from a year of gym membership  to your kid's classes, from a spa to your kid's haircut, from a grand vacation to a night out with your family. What makes it better is that you get to purchase a voucher in less than a quarter of the original price.

Beauty under IPL

2 years ago I had electrolysis done on my upper lip. It took 2 years for it to be completely done. It was long but it was effective. I loved it! The only thing that I didn't like was on the first few months that I did it, it left black spots on my upper lip. It stayed for the first 8 months, then vanished right after.

Last week, I bought a coupon for IPL from one of those deal coupons available on the net.

But what is IPL? I didn't know what that is until last week..

"It is a method of hair removal from the body most commonly employed by medical practitioners and estheticians. It involves the use of a specially constructed xenon flash lamp and focusing optics.

IPL hair removal is cheaper and faster than laser hair removal. Although the precise effectiveness of IPL compared to laser epilation is debated by scientists, equipment manufacturers and practitioners, their results are generally accepted to be roughly equivalent. IPL can also be used as a skin treatment in a process known as photorejuvenation." (from Wikipedia)

I'm planning to have it done on my underarm. I'm just a little concerned because I have a very sensitive skin.. I'll keep my fingers crossed.