tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36036153754285757222024-03-13T12:06:21.507+01:00These little ones of GodSocraticmomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10380071465510284526noreply@blogger.comBlogger150125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3603615375428575722.post-23358801991620198222013-03-20T00:01:00.001+01:002013-03-20T15:41:26.236+01:00my negative one thousandth friend
Parents often paint sibling-hood too romantically or comically, so much that the apparent cuteness tends to conceal its real picture. I am talking here about the reality that stares elder kids in the face, like the one that Kuya Bugey had to come to terms with shortly after Ading came. Sure, he bugged us for a baby brother for months with no end, but I do know that at some point in Socraticmomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10380071465510284526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3603615375428575722.post-78272862440291256222013-03-11T00:58:00.000+01:002013-03-11T02:39:44.762+01:00Philosophical wrestling with my 2nd grader
Over breakfast one day, Bugey told his Dad the following remark, "Mum is a lot stricter than you, but you are much more scary when you get angry." And then he went on thinking aloud, "When I become a parent one day, I will not make any rules for my kids. I will let them do whatever they want!" These words were followed by a premise that worried me a bit : "I will let them do Socraticmomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10380071465510284526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3603615375428575722.post-75423352815925881192013-02-06T22:14:00.000+01:002013-02-07T05:22:07.618+01:00Won a ticket todayBecause this is my last year for my PhD, things have been very very very hectic for me. It's been so stressful that one night I just suddenly burst into tears. Lakay held me, while the boys just looked on. I was sorry to let them see me like that. But I think there's also value in letting them see that mum's human too.
I was extra mindful of de-briefing my eldest son on this, he who is so Socraticmomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10380071465510284526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3603615375428575722.post-79343048689843835182013-02-05T09:55:00.001+01:002013-02-06T23:06:34.764+01:00"The center of our lives...
...lies outside of our selves." - Gabriel Marcel, The Mystery of Being
A high school friend once remarked that I don't seem to have a sense of self apart from my loved ones. And I grew up thinking that that was a bad thing. Until I realized after a while that she had it all wrong.
We live weaving ourselves from the threads of love that surround us. Those who pretend that they can subsist Socraticmomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10380071465510284526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3603615375428575722.post-87782578834629392472013-02-04T16:38:00.001+01:002013-02-04T16:38:36.850+01:00The globeTo motivate Kuya Bugey for his math exercises at home, I came up with a point system that would let him earn up to 100 stars which he can use to claim a reward. I had to think of a really to-die-for kind of reward to keep him sustained. And so I thought of a globe.
It was the perfect choice. It got him focused and determined. Earning as high as 5 stars a day is no joke if you have to save it upSocraticmomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10380071465510284526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3603615375428575722.post-7932691789169834042013-01-28T14:44:00.001+01:002013-01-28T15:15:12.776+01:00Hanging onThis is me, literally hanging on to the sky of Grace. Please don't let me go. Socraticmomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10380071465510284526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3603615375428575722.post-13312635532147875352013-01-27T13:08:00.001+01:002013-01-27T13:11:56.826+01:00Split parenting personality
Having two boys seven years apart is like having a personality split in two directions.
For instance, when your baby drools on your phone, drops the tv remote or tears your favorite book, you just pull him up, pinch his cheeks, tickle him like crazy with "You are sooooo cute."
But when your 7-year-old does the same, you give him the dagger look, put him on the corner, lecture him on the Socraticmomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10380071465510284526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3603615375428575722.post-92189892186672701432013-01-26T08:32:00.001+01:002013-01-26T10:28:53.397+01:00Morning muray muray
My day's stability ALWAYS depends on how my morning begins. Lately, that means spending cuddle time with Kuya at the couch after my breakfast. And facing this window that opens up to that magically changing garden outside . 5 minutes of this. That's all I need to get through the day.
Socraticmomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10380071465510284526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3603615375428575722.post-39438909702846672382013-01-25T07:42:00.001+01:002013-01-25T08:09:17.048+01:00My energy booster
I don't remember my mom doing this when she was finishing her PhD herself. But I sure can attest that working beside your sleeping baby can give you a sense of calm and determination you almost thought you didn't possess. It must be their energy.
Socraticmomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10380071465510284526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3603615375428575722.post-27113307361664590882013-01-23T17:45:00.001+01:002013-01-25T21:52:10.497+01:00When they're sick
You know your seven-year-old is really sick when he loosens up those I'm-a-big-boy-now defenses and just comes down to your lap to be your baby again.
Only that when the sibling gets the clue, that baby moment, well, is short lived.
Socraticmomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10380071465510284526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3603615375428575722.post-34060998492085201902012-12-13T22:39:00.001+01:002012-12-14T09:41:55.787+01:00You know you loved well when
you see it written on their faces.
Socraticmomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10380071465510284526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3603615375428575722.post-8123748892760236752012-11-11T03:55:00.003+01:002012-11-11T06:14:25.072+01:00Tribute to a brother
Rex suddenly died last Friday. I don’t remember ever meeting him personally, and our only real link was my husband, who shared four college years with him in the seminary. It was a great shock when we heard the news, but I only got a sense of how much a blow it was to Lakay when I heard him absent-mindedly tell our 9-month-old baby, “Anak, a brother of Daddy just died.”
A brother.Socraticmomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10380071465510284526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3603615375428575722.post-16306969227817017172012-10-27T04:31:00.003+02:002012-10-29T03:21:56.922+01:00parenting by kids' standards
I admit, with his baby brother taking up more time and energy, I have been anything but fun around Kuya Bugey. Right now, I'm thanking my lucky stars for Lakay who's doing a great job in compensating for Mum.
Now, if there's a good thing that comes from being sidetracked by a demanding 6-month-old, then that would be an extra doze of mindfulness for the mother to spend great, albeit Socraticmomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10380071465510284526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3603615375428575722.post-55038152316416754362012-09-09T07:45:00.001+02:002012-09-09T07:52:39.898+02:00Those days
You know how they go. You walk into a bus full of people (especially known for smile deficiency) and you wish you had better days. Off the bus and to the people in the street, you meet those you would've wanted to see on another day, but no. There they are, radiating those negative energies at you and you just feel the churn in your guts. And then you walk into an office to inquire about Socraticmomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10380071465510284526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3603615375428575722.post-10271099889054794592012-07-29T09:46:00.002+02:002012-07-30T01:52:01.422+02:00A thousand stories in a doodle board
We bought this doodle board on a visit to my sister in Germany last 2009. I never really fully appreciated how much this toy has accompanied my Bugey through the years until a few weeks ago. Bugey's doodle board is about to break down. For the first time in my life, I have felt the 'tug' that others talk about when they lose an object that 's close to their hearts. It felt like aSocraticmomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10380071465510284526noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3603615375428575722.post-34350580731507805502012-06-20T01:44:00.002+02:002012-06-20T03:40:17.359+02:00the sun is out...and some random thoughts
It was a great day for a walk today, so I cradled baby in my Tricot Slen and off we went to join Dad and Bugey at the nearby park.
You might wonder how it was even possible for us to do this on a Tuesday, at a time of the day where every other parent was probably still at work, or kids were just on their way home from school.
I'd say everything just fell together Socraticmomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10380071465510284526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3603615375428575722.post-1996984052711788102012-06-14T00:40:00.000+02:002012-06-14T00:40:53.625+02:00Some things just bear repeating
December 2005
May 2012
Socraticmomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10380071465510284526noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3603615375428575722.post-69516561974745108082012-06-12T21:33:00.001+02:002013-03-17T04:43:26.883+01:00Four months in a nutshell
Been very quiet for a long while, I know. That's because I've been nesting and waiting for the coming of a new angel in the house. I have to say, though, that the big brother to-be was more impatient than I was.
And so it all happened on Easter night. We tried to stay calm and poised while waiting for the cab and the friends who'd take over Bugey for us. He, however,Socraticmomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10380071465510284526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3603615375428575722.post-28701580743063195492012-02-03T16:18:00.000+01:002012-02-03T16:18:00.468+01:00The No-TV rule on weekdays
I might be sending a message here that conflicts with my previouse post. In that entry, I did try to redeem some good points about exposing our young toddler to television. But I also did say that back then Lakay and I had no choice but to give in.
Now our situation here in Belgium is dramatically different, because no matter how busy Lakay and I are as students, the whole job of parenting is Socraticmomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10380071465510284526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3603615375428575722.post-13375502285869903392012-01-27T12:13:00.000+01:002012-01-27T12:13:12.904+01:00The TV question: my own take
Time and again, I would find articles featured online on the harmful effects of TV viewing on very young children. And I would honestly say that I've read a good number enough to make me feel guilty. Yup, Lakay and I are among those parents who exposed their children to television too early by piling up on Baby Einstein and Brainy Baby dvds. But our intention was then to at least mitigate Socraticmomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10380071465510284526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3603615375428575722.post-87314590968172065512012-01-24T12:06:00.000+01:002012-01-24T12:06:58.741+01:00The Story of 6
Johann talks about the story of 6 from socratic mom on Vimeo.
Socraticmomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10380071465510284526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3603615375428575722.post-62073906706281459142012-01-21T12:09:00.000+01:002012-06-14T00:45:54.747+02:00Parenting a school boy: Imposing a fixed routine
More and more I am beginning to understand that one of the greatest challenges of parenting comes at the point when education becomes a serious matter for children. I'm talking about the transition from the play-and-learn style in kindergarten to a more regimented one in grade school. I thought of noting down some of the things I have been doing to take up this challenge, especially those Socraticmomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10380071465510284526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3603615375428575722.post-32869812588357471992011-12-21T23:37:00.001+01:002012-01-17T03:27:16.014+01:00the strangeness of a rule
At dinner today, my son declared that he wanted to become a teacher one day. This made me smile since I myself am a teacher.
I asked, "What will you teach?"
"Lots of things, " he said. "I'll teach Math, how to swim, how to go to the outer space."
I smiled again.
Until he said, "I'll teach all of that to my self."
I raised an eyebrow bewildered . "What do you mean by that? Aren't Socraticmomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10380071465510284526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3603615375428575722.post-47740022102977236232011-12-14T11:40:00.000+01:002012-01-21T17:35:24.805+01:00Tantrums
The weirdest, most inexplainable thing happened last night.
My son threw a fit, something that Lakay and I hardly ever saw.
He accused me of grabbing him to his bed, which I didn't do.
Then started saying with those heavily furrowed brows that he hates everyone. He hates "the universe!" (Imagine Hatey of Smurfs? That's exactly how he said it.)
I asked, "Socraticmomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10380071465510284526noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3603615375428575722.post-78795512360945592472011-11-27T10:46:00.001+01:002012-06-11T03:14:07.483+02:00Sesame Street vs Blue's Clues
So one direct result of this childhood regress is my son's renewed interest for the dvds he used to play eternally. I'm talking about his one-time enthusiasm for Sesame Street, which was my closest attempt to exposing him to the Filipino show that dominated my childhood - Batibot (Both shows actually had the same producers. Learn more about it here).
the little one in his Elmo phase
Socraticmomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10380071465510284526noreply@blogger.com0