Tag Archives: janina
A TAYLOR FAN
Janina’s a Taylor Swift fan! Had I known that her concert tickets will sell out in 2 days I should have lined up at Ticketnet. The ones we got were just SRO tickets (priced the same as the seated ones in Upper Box A at P3,700 each!!) but at least Janina gets to see her.
Janina too wants to be a singer someday! We’re hoping that this concert will give her a vision of what she could be in the future.
WE LOVE CHRISTMAS
The smiles that make all the preparations worth it!
WE LOVE CHRISTMAS
The smiles that make all the preparations worth it!
NO MORE CAST
After 6 weeks of xrays and visits to the doctor, we are so happy to be told that Janina’s fracture healed very well. So well that she wouldn’t be needing rehab anymore. We thank God for her complete healing! Thank you to all our family and friends who prayed for her as well!
Janina with her orthopedia, Dr. Michael Bengzon
ENCOURAGING OTHERS
Parents these days are so competitive. That includes me. We’ve been bombarded by the media with “winning is everything” slogans. We want our kids to win every spelling bee, singing contest and basketball game. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to win. We want our kids to always be motivated to win. But let’s not overlook the importance of our children’s attitude towards winning and towards their opponents. They can have a mantle full of trophies but if they have lost the friends they’ve competed with because of their nasty attitude, then what is it really good for? Relationships are more important than trophies.
Below is a story that Janina’s Grade 5 Adviser shared with Paolo and me:
Janina with her friends, Betthia, Sofia, Cleyanne and Aya
“Go Cleyanne!” Janina’s voice was heard across the room as her friend stepped in front. It was the elimination round for the Linggo ng Wika singing contest, where Janina was also one of the contestants. “You can do it!” she cheered again, a huge grin plastered on her face. Cleyanne sang the Ryan Cayabyab classic, Kay Ganda ng Ating Musika. Toward the end of her song, she committed a mistake and slumped back to her seat.
“You did great!” Janina whispered to her as she reached her seat.
“I was horrible!” Cleyanne replied. She covered her face with her hands and bowed her head low. Janina went over and patted her friend on the shoulder.
What really stood out during the competition was how great Janina was as a friend. Though she was also a contestant herself, she didn’t become consumed with her own performance; instead, she chose to show her all out support for her friend, giving her comfort and encouragement. She is a great performer, but I believe that she’s even a greater friend.
Janina won that singing competition. But I am even happier that she won the hearts of the people around her.
HOME-MADE NAIL ART
After Janina’s initial excitement over her cast wore off, she started to feel the weight, literally and figuratively, and the inconvenience of having to carry that cement mold for at least 4 weeks. I thought of a way to get her mind off her predicament and channel her energies into something that will distract her and make time fly faster. Nail art! I told her that with each week that passes, i will get her different colors of nail polish and we will experiment with our own nail art at home. The idea seemed to work because she was complaining less and less about her cast and getting more and more excited about expanding her nail polish collection. We also managed to make our own inexpensive nail dotting tool. We’re still a bit messy and shaky, but here are some of the stuff we did:
Strawberry design
Minnie Mouse design
Janina and her cast win 1st Place in their school's Linggo ng Wika singing contest
No doubt, our children will go through difficult times. It is our role as mothers to think of ways to make tough situations more bearable for them.
MY NEW MOMMY CHALLENGE
Janina in the recovery room with her dad and anesthesiologist, Dr. Joey Banzon
Motherhood is an adventure. This week I learned about bone injuries. The terms I’ve long forgotten in science class were brought back to memory, like ulna, radius, closed reduction and the like. Janina fractured her arm while playing in the playground last Friday. It’s amazing how a split-second fall can cost you thousands of pesos in medical care and weeks of recovery. Now her whole left arm, from the wrist to the armpit, has to be in a cast for at least 4 weeks. My already independent daughter is now once again, very dependent on me. She needs assistance for basically everything, from fixing her hair to feeding herself.
My new challenge is: How do you bathe a child in a cast? I tried it tonight by using cellophane and taping it around her arm. Well, I guess it worked because I managed to keep her cast dry. But I hope to get better at this in the next few weeks.
It’s been a tiring and stressful weekend but thank God for His grace. I will not allow this situation to bog me down but I am praying it will make me a better mom. I am praying God will give me the wisdom and creativity I need to help make things easier for Janina during her recovery. I am praying that I will not fail to see the blessings in every situation that God allows us and our kids to go through.
DISCIPLINE MYTHS part 2
This is part 2 of a 3-part series. For part 1, click here.
2. MY CHILD IS GOOD. HE DOESN’T NEED DISCIPLINE.
That’s what I thought too. My first baby looked so angelic I didn’t think he could do anything wrong. The first few months, all he did was eat and sleep and coo and make us smile even when he was asleep. He was such an adorable baby! He was the easiest, happiest baby I’ve seen. But when he started walking and talking, he learned to assert his will and insist on what he wanted. One such incident was when i told him to stay away from the electric fan. Inspite of my warnings, he was so mesmerized by it he decided to stick his little finger inside while it was running. Until now, his finger bears the scar of his foolishness.
I remember when Janina was 2 years old, everyday I would give her chewable vitamins. I thought she loved it because everytime I put it in her mouth, she would give me a smile and walk away happily. One day when I was cleaning her room, I looked under her bed to check for toys that were left there, and to my surprise, I found a tiny pile of moist, sticky chewable vitamins. I realized that everytime I would give her a tablet, she would rush to her room, take it out of her mouth and hide it under her bed. How could my sweet 2-year old princess do that to me? Where did she learn to deceive her own mother like that?
I could go on and on with my stories. There is no denying it. Our children have the sinful nature. Well, our kids will always be adorable to us no matter what, but even with the cuteness factor, they are still sinners.
Prov.22:15 says “Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far from him.” The bad news is no one is exempt. Even your easy, good-natured, happy baby has foolishness in his heart. It’s only a matter of time that this foolishness will manifest itself. The good news is, God has given us the tool to drive that foolishness out of their hearts: discipline. The sooner we recognize that folly, the sooner we can drive it away.
Practical tips:
1. Whenever you see foolishness, or willful disobedience, always discipline them for it. Consistency is the key. The challenge is when we are tired, because we normally just let them get away with it. At the same time, you also need to consistently praise them and reinforce obedience.
2. Be careful not to mistake immaturity for foolishness. Immaturity is not knowing any better. If both my 7-yr old and 1-yr old make a mess during dinner, surely my 7-or old will get disciplined. But my 1-yr old is still too immature to have a mess-free meal.
3. The first few years are the telling stage. This is the time when you establish most of the rules and boundaries. Be patient to remind them. “Do not touch, do not hit, do not bite, do not eat the goldfish…”
Click here for Part 3 of Discipline Myths.
A CHILD’S BOLDNESS
Oh my! Have you ever given permission to your child to do something but at the back of your mind, he really wouldn’t do it anyway?
This afternoon I had a meeting in Ateneo with one of Nathan’s teachers. I told my other 3 kids to just wait in the car with the driver and helper. When I came back, Janina exclaimed, “Mom, I finally did it!” So I asked, “What? What did you finally do?” She saw a man smoking and she went down the car to tell him “Hi! Please stop smoking because not only are you killing yourself, but you are actually also killing me and my brothers. If you don’t want to die of bronchitis, tuberculosis, emphysema, lung cancer and other sicknesses, please stop smoking now. And also please don’t throw your cigarette on the ground but look for a trashcan. Thank you.” And Janina said he actually stopped smoking after that.
I didn’t know how to react. Did I do the right thing? I do remember her asking me if she could tell people who smoke to stop. And I did give her permission. (But really, I didn’t think she would actually do it.) Well, for one, at least I know I could admire her boldness. Not very many kids her age would approach an adult and confront him like that. And secondly, I was impressed at her knowledge of respiratory diseases (he he).
Well Janina did have a point. Smoking is bad and it harms our children as well. If Janina is that passionate about it, should I stop her?
