SAYING SORRY TO THE KIDS

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Matthew 11:28-30

When was the last time you said sorry to any one of your kids? How did it go? Do you remember your own parents apologizing to you back then?

For individuals who grew up with authoritative or disciplinarian parents, experiencing their mom or dad apologizing beyond the occasional accidental mishaps could be unheard of. This is because as the person in authority at home, some parents may feel that they make the best decisions and carry out the best judgments simply because they have the best interest of their children at heart.

But we all know that this could sometimes be untrue. As human beings, we parents are bound to commit mistakes that unfortunately could scar our children for life. We could even model this bad behavior on them, making them misbehave towards their peers or other people. And now we wonder why they have a hard time saying sorry to their sibling or friend whom they have hurt?

Our Heavenly Father, who is also our Wonderful Counselor (Isaiah 9:6) invites us to follow His example in dealing with the rigors of life, and in our case daily motherhood struggles. In Matthew 11:28-30, He invites us to unburden all our earthly worries and follow His example of gentleness and humility.

The Lord knows that when we are anxious about provisions, finances, parenting schedules, illnesses, and failing relationships we tend to clam up and make bad parenting decisions like snapping on to the children when they commit even the tiniest mistake.

Jesus tells us to come and rest in Him, by seeking His presence in our lives. He asks us to take up His yoke by abiding His commands and following His will. Our Almighty Father prods us to be gentle and humble when dealing with others, and we can do this by following His example — He is Sovereign, He is the Lord of Lords yet He chose to humble Himself for our sake. Let us allow that to inspire us to be gentle and meek especially towards our little ones.

Regularly seeking the Lord through daily intentional quiet time, bible reading and reflection, plus bible study and weekly community worship could help us grow to become the gentle and humble parent that God wants us to be. And when we have peace in our home, we will definitely get rest for our souls. 

Thank you for reading through our devotional today. I invite you to read Isaiah 54:13-17 so we could dig deeper on today’s topic.

Reflection Question: When was the last time you made a parenting mistake, and did you apologize to your child? Do you have an emotional wound inflicted to you by your parents, that until now they have not apologized for? Have you forgiven them for it?

Conversation with the Lord: My Almighty Father, thank you for giving me the best example of meekness and humility towards little ones. May You be merciful enough to make me conscious of my parenting mistakes, and give me the grace to be humble and apologize to my children for these. I desire a good life-long relationship with my children and I know that humility, and modeling such virtue to them will be one of the keys to keeping peace within our family. I also pray that you take away whatever pains inflicted by the emotional wounds that I have sustained as a child, so that I could forgive my own parents too. Amen.    

Thank you for stopping by and till next post!

A happy homemaker is a Happy Pinay Mommy!

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Daily Devotional for 29 July 2023:

The Lord is with us in our daily motherhood journey

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you.

Psalms 32:8-9

One of the challenges of parenting grade-schoolers (or any older child for that matter) is being prudent about what we say. As parents we have to intentionally speak gentle words to children no matter the situation to show respect to them and of course to model good behavior.

This is however challenging especially during times when we are frustrated about their behavior, when we are too tired, when they act up because they are overtired, or when we have our own personal issues to deal with and cannot handle yet another difficult parenting situation.

The good news though is that the Lord promises to guide us in our parenting journey. His guiding hand is visible during the hardest seasons of motherhood, and also during the daily grind. He does not abandon us as we try to disciple the children that He entrusted to us.

Let us keep in mind His words of wisdom found over at Psalm 32:8-9 where He promised to be there for us, and tells us to keep our mouths and temper in check as we deal with the sticky life situations, which for us mothers mean every parenting day of our lives.   

We should intentionally seek Him and His guidance through regular bible study, daily quiet time and reflection, and Sunday worship with fellow believers.

Thank you for reading through our devotional today. I invite you to read James 3:1-12 so we could dig deeper on today’s topic.

Reflection Question: Are there areas of improvement in my parenting life where our bible reading today could guide me? How could I use it as an inspiration in navigating parenthood especially when the children are not as unlovable as I want them to be?

Conversation with the Lord: Heavenly Father, I hold on to your promise to guide me through my motherhood journey. I recognize my weaknesses, and I know only You can help me get past these so that I could be the best mom that you designed me to be. Help me become humble enough to ask for forgiveness from my children if ever I have said things that have hurt them, and let me follow your example of meekness, loving kindness and compassion. Amen.

Thank you for stopping by and till next post!

A happy homemaker is a Happy Pinay Mommy!

The post Daily Mini Devotional: The Lord is with us in our motherhood journey appeared first on Happy Pinay Mommy.

One of our duties as mothers is to disciple our children and plant in their hearts, the seeds of faith that will help them become followers of Christ. As a new mom back then, I was not able to take this seriously other than the usual religious rites my children must go through. The daily rigors of meeting their basic needs such as breastfeeding, bathing, and then later on cooking, tutoring, among other activities were the front and center of my motherhood journey.

But now that they are growing and developing their own personalities and character, I was roused to the fact that I should start taking discipling even more seriously. I figured that investing in their spiritual growth is intrinsic since life is short, and no parent can say that they can always be there for their kids when they face life’s challenges. Life happens, we can all get called by our Creator anytime.

Investing on our child’s spiritual growth

One of the reasons why I am eager to invest in my children’s spiritual growth is the fast-paced changes of this modern world. It really is scary that we are living in the present times, and depression and suicide are but common solutions despairing people turn to when life’s challenges seem to overwhelm them.

By trying to help my children nurture a personal relationship with the Lord, I get the peace of mind that even if I am no longer here on Earth, they know whom to turn to for guidance. They will know whom to run to when their problems are too big for them to handle. They would not have to resort to vices, to other people who might break their heart and not truly look after their good, and they would not even think of ending their lives. 

Encouraging kids to follow Jesus

I want them to know that by following Jesus, and abiding by the Lord’s commandments, they get shielded from huge troubles. While they could not understand this principle fully given their young age, there are ways to explain it to them that they could understand. And as moms, that will be our challenge.

And the good thing about taking on this challenge is we get to accomplish God’s commandments while we are at it. Deuteronomy 6:7 says “Teach them to your children. Repeat them when you are at home and when you are away, when you are resting and when you are working.”

Moreover, teaching our children (and others) to abide by the Lord’s commands also come with a promise to those who teach. In the Gospel of St. Matthew, it was said that “Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:19)

Four ways to plant seeds of faith to children

So here are some ways we can plant the seeds of faith into our children’s hearts. No matter what age they are, I am sure you can adjust these suggestions based on how they could understand and absorb it:

1. Introduce Jesus to them. Talk about Jesus at home by teaching your kids how to pray and making a habit out of it. I taught my children to pray before and after meals and before sleeping at night. Tell them about your past experiences and how God has helped you with all that. Teach them to thank the Lord for everything.

2. Bring them to church. No matter what religion you belong to, it is important to bring your kids to church. And it is not just enough to bring them and to make them observe the religious rites. Explain it to them, and try to explain the priest or the pastor’s message for the week in terms they will understand.

3. Expose them to the Word. If there is a catechism or Sunday School in your church, then by all means bring the children to them. It is important to expose them to the good news of salvation in a way that they will understand. Read the bible with your children and try to impart some snippets of messages that they could understand. If they are into gadgets then download a bible app for them to discover and use. 

4. Make learning about Jesus fun and understandable. Purchase or borrow kids bible story books and read it with your children. If they are older kids, then buy or borrow age appropriate devotionals that they could read during their daily quiet time. Let them watch films and videos about Jesus and the Bible. The Chosen is one of the best series to stream and watch as a family. You can watch it for free online in their official website here.

All the above mentioned ideas will be more effective if you become a good example of Christ follower to your children. If they see Jesus’ light in you, then they are bound to bask in that light. “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16). As parenting experts say, “children will follow your example, not your advice.”

Thank you for stopping by and till next post!

A happy homemaker is a Happy Pinay Mommy!

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For individuals who have yet to start a bible reading routine, spending time with the scriptures may seem daunting or intimidating. It’s common to feel at a loss as to how to start. For us moms, creating a bible reading routine, and sticking to it can be intimidating too, and challenging especially  since everyone at home relies on us for almost everything.

So, granting that you have already set aside a time for this, how then would you start? Of course it is best to have a bible that will not be too hard to read and understand. If the bible is too small then our eyes could strain reading and highlighting the Written Word. It is best to get at least an NIV or ESV edition bible that is easier to understand compared to the King James Version which contains old English phrases such as thou, hath, beseech etc.

Start reading the bible

You do not need to buy a very expensive bible if you do not have the means yet. You can check out second hand bookstores though like Booksale which sells bibles that are slightly used and have bigger fonts. Other stores where you can buy bibles apart from bookstores are religious stores like St. Paul’s and OMF Lit. Most of these stores have branches in major malls. While you are in the Catholic or Christian bookstore, choose a devotional or ask about a bible reading guide to help you with your new quest

It is also best to have a small journal and a highlighter and of course a pen and a couple of bookmarks to use.

How to begin your bible reading journey

My favorite preacher says you should give yourself the grace to read the easier parts of the bible first before delving deeper into the techy-ish contents of the scripture. If you are new to the habit, he said you can be like a child eating fish — starting with the fleshy parts first like the four gospels (books of Mark, Matthew, Luke and John) before going to the other books that are a bit harder to digest.

If you have been listening to your priest or your pastor then for sure you can pick up a book that you like and read a chapter or two each day. When I was really, really new at seriously reading the bible, I find myself dedicating a lot of time reading the Epistles of St. Paul (example: Colossians, Thessalonians etc.), and then in the Old Testament I found myself delighting over the Book of Psalms, Ecclesiastes, and the Book of the Prophet Isaiah.

Do you start from page 1?

Our parish priest does not advise first timers to read the bible from page one until the end. He says using a devotional could be helpful since it provides an inspirational story and a bible passage that could help you start reading the bible. The Catholic Church also has a liturgical guide on the mass readings for the day, you as a new reader can use this as a guide on what to read during your daily bible time. I’ve written about this in a past post here.

Christian bookstores on the other hand offer free pamphlets that provide a bible reading schedule for a whole year. Take advantage of this and use it as a guide. There are also bible reading plans like this that are available online or downloadable as an app. But being the old school person that I am, I choose hardcopy stuff any day

What to do before and after reading the bible

It is best to have your prayer time or quiet time before reading the bible. It does not only prepare you for reading the scripture, it could also help you discern answers to the questions, prayers and concerns you have lifted up to the Lord.

While reading the bible, try to highlight verses that stand out to you. Copy it in your journal if you like. If you have questions about the reading you can jot it down in your journal too and find answers either from your parish priest, pastor, or bible study group leader the next time you get to see them. You may also write down your gratitude points and prayer requests in your journal.

So to sum up, here is a brief guide:

1. Choose a bible with a font size that you can easily read, and a translation you can easily understand.
2. Have other materials that could help you in your journey: A devotional book, a liturgical guide or bible reading pamphlet (free in Christian Bookstores like OMF Lit).
3. Prepare other tools you will need like a pen, a highlighter, and a notebook dedicated for your bible time.
4. Designate a quiet and mess-free bible reading space in your home: Your study table, dining table, coffee table, garden, or wherever you are not going to be distracted and be comfortable at the same time.5. Choose how you will daily approach bible reading: Per book that interests you, per devotional message and suggested reading, or by following a scripture or bible reading guide. What is important is you stick with this and grow in delighting the word.
6. Note passages that stand out to you — you may want to copy them in your notebook, or memorize them or put them on a post it and paste it anywhere visible in your home.7. Jot down questions you may have and ask your priest, pastor or bible study leader for the answers the next time you get to see them.
8. Before starting your bible reading time, it is best to start with a quiet time or prayer with God. Seek His guidance as you try to understand His words.
9. More importantly, live a life consistent to what you have read

Thank you for stopping by and till next post! Leaving you with this bible passage that highlights the joys of regularly reading the Lord’s words:

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness'”

2 Timothy 3:16

A happy homemaker is a Happy Pinay Mommy!

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In my motherhood journey, one thing I have learned is that no matter your situation, mom life will never be too easy. It is the best thing that can happen to you yet it can bring about challenges that are not for the faint of heart. For both the joys and challenges that it brings, I believe having a consistent prayer routine is the most essential habit we need to develop and nurture so that we could be the best moms that we could be.

Having a consistent prayer routine in our daily life means we know where our strength comes from. It is like having a home amid the busy rigors that motherhood brings. Whether we work out of the home from 8-5, we work from home, we are a full time housemom, or we work part time, we all need to go back to our Creator, worship Him, thank Him for every blessing, seek His counsel and ask for His help.

Consistent prayer routine benefits the whole family

I remember our Parish Priest quoting a saying that we should pray at least 30 minutes a day, but if we are too busy, then we should pray for an hour. Some may find it counter intuitive to have quiet time with the Lord first thing in the morning, when everyone is supposed to be rushing or preparing for the day ahead. But really, devoting one’s time to talk to our Sovereign King will help transform our lives for the best.

Since we moms are the “ilaw ng tahanan” we need a source of energy. We could not afford for our light to go dim. Moreso, we cannot afford to be broken. The whole family will be affected if we lose our “light.” Jesus is the light of our lives, and we moms should go to Him consistently for a recharge, and filling of energy or the Holy Spirit. This can be achieved through a consistent prayer routine.

The routine that transforms family life

Once we moms get transformed, our homes will even be better managed, our kids and husband will be better cared for, and our whole family will be centered to the Lord. If you think there are areas of improvement in your character as a mother, a wife, or a family member, or if you want to grow spiritually, or simply need fortitude as you face challenges in your life then this consistent quiet time with the Lord will carry you through all your difficulties. It will not remove problems in your life because problems are a given in life; but it allows you to cling to the Lord who will be with you through deep waters, raging rivers, and flaming fires (Isaiah 43:2).

So how do we carve out a consistent time for prayer?

We all have different situations, but we as humans are creatures of habit. What time do you usually pray? Every morning? Before sleeping? You can keep this prayer time and just augment it to add a quiet time with the Lord plus bible devotional and reading so you could go deeper in prayer. Need a prayer guide for your routine? Please check out this past post on how to start a personal relationship with God.

If you do not have a usual time for prayer then identify first if you are a night owl or a morning lark. If you are a night owl, then that means that you could dedicate some time to pray to God when everyone is asleep and you can be alone in one area of your home. If you are a morning lark, then that means that you can dedicate time for prayer before everyone else is up in the morning.

Cannot find the opportune time early in the morning or late at night?

We are all at different phases of our lives. Those who have super young children could schedule consistent prayer times during their child’s nap time. Those with school children could dedicate time while their kids are in school. Those working 8-5 could eat a bit quicker and allot time during their lunch breaks.

Most office buildings do have chapels, empty conference rooms during lunch break, a roof deck, or a nearby garden where we could spend time with God and read the word.

If we get disrupted a bit by our children then we should know that the Lord understands. It may be best to get them fed already and address some of their needs during the time we will take so that they will not cut into our prayer time. I remember a bible reading when Jesus was supposed to go somewhere to pray and then the people saw Him so he had to address the needs of the sick and the hungry first, and then He left to go pray (Matthew 14:23). I am no bible expert but to me, this means that we can take some time to take care of urgent needs no one else could address for our children, and that He would understand that. Moreover when our kids see us devoting consistent time for prayer, it becomes a tangible and powerful message to them that they too should set time for prayer and fully rely on Jesus.

Finding the energy to maintain a consistent prayer routine

Once you have identified the best time for you to have quiet time with the Lord, then the next challenge is being consistent.

Some may ask how will they find the energy to wake up at least 30 minutes earlier or stay up 30 minutes later than they should when they already lack sleep as is? Well discipline is key. Maybe we should turn off the TV or put down our phones a bit earlier than we normally would so we could get enough sleep or have the time to thank the GREATEST PROVIDER who gave us all things in our life for us to enjoy. Isn’t it about time to prioritize quiet time with Him? As the Gospel of St. Matthew says: “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33

Importance of a prayer routine

Setting aside time for prayer and bible reading reminds us about our humanity. That our lives are fragile and it needs anchoring because without it we could easily get shaken. Even Jesus modeled the need for quiet time with the Lord. One of these instances where recorded over at Mark 1:35 “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where He prayed.” And this goes on because He excuses Himself to be alone with His Heavenly Father, to pray and seek His counsel.

As for my parting shot, I would like to share with you another bible verse that could hopefully encourage you more to have a consistent prayer routine: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength.” Isaiah 30:15

Thank you for stopping by and till next post!

A happy homemaker is a Happy Pinay Mommy!

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As moms, we have a lot of relationships that are going on in our lives. Relationship with our spouse, our children, our parents, our siblings, friends, neighbors, churchmates, officemates, name it.

But do you ever prioritize the most important relationship in your life? Does it even exist in your everyday life?

Relationship is different than religion

I have learned that having a personal relationship with the Lord is different than practising one’s religion. We can all be going to a church every Sunday, but do not have an intimate relationship with the Lord. But what does it mean to have an intimate relationship with God?

Having a close relationship with the Lord is much like cultivating a relationship with a fellow human being. If you want to establish a relationship with someone what do you do? You try to talk to the person, spend time with him or her, find out about his likes and dislikes, and try to please him. It is the same with having a relationship with the Lord.

How to cultivate an intimate relationship with God?

The best way to cultivate a relationship with the Lord is to have daily quiet time with Him. Start the day communing with God exactly like how the scripture tells us over at Matthew 6:6 “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

So what do you tell Jesus? Tell Him what is in your heart. Talk to Him like how you would talk to the Creator of our universe, the best father on earth, the most merciful boss, the greatest teacher, and your “bestest” friend ever. Pour your heart out — your fears and anxieties, joys, and every little thing you want to thank Him for. Do not just jump the gun with a laundry list of all your prayer requests.

Should there be a prayer format for all these?

If you are not comfortable praying spontaneously yet, and have been accustomed to prayers that are taught to you in Church or school then by all means start with those, and then add your own personal thoughts.

I remember a teacher saying that a good acronym to remember is the word ACTS, as a good guide for a prayer format:

A – Adoration (Show adoration to the Lord by worshipping Him as soon as you start your prayer time. You can start by saying “All powerful and ever living God, I praise and worship you for this opportunity to talk to you today. You are my Sovereign King, my Almighty Father…” and then add all the titles of the Lord that have been true to your life. Tell him that all glory, honor and praises are His and that you will bless His name for all your life.)

C – Confession (Confess your sins to Him and ask for forgiveness. Ask Him to reveal to you your character flaws that you should work on, and then repent on these sins. Example: “Lord God, I am deeply sorry about my failure to stop myself from being covetous about my officemate’s new Luxury bag. I will try my best to not be materialistic and just be plain happy for her for the gift she bought herself…”

T – Thanksgiving (At this point, you can already thank the Lord for everything He has done for you. Specific things, little things, big things, everything you want to thank Him for)

S – Special Prayer Requests / Supplication (Lastly, you can mention your special prayer requests. Some people have a prayer list that they bring to the Lord every time they pray. Whatever these are, please do not forget to say intercessory prayers for people you know and people you don’t know).

Inter what?? Intercessory. These are prayers that you pray for people other than yourself and your closest family members. For example, praying for flood victims, for the orphaned, the abandoned, the incarcerated, those who have passed on etc.     

One of the best preachers I have encountered said that another good guide to use is the word CAST. Yes, the CAST which St. Peter mentioned in 1 Peter 5:7 “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” And guess what? The meaning of all the letters in the acronym of CAST is exactly the same as the ACTS acronym that the teacher I am quoting mentioned above.

What to do after praying

After praying, I strongly suggest that you have a bible reading time. My favorite preacher says if a person reads the bible for like 15 minutes a day, he would have finished the whole bible by the end of the year. Well you do not need to do that if you are unwilling to devote that much of a time.

Just have a daily devotional that you can read, and then dive deeper with the suggested bible reading for that specific entry. I have earlier written a blog post on how to start a daily devotional, and you can read it here.
It may take some time for you to get used to the routine, but once it becomes a habit, you will not only get to know the Lord Jesus Christ more, but you will also attain the Peace that only our Almighty God can offer.

Thank you for stopping by and till next post!

A happy homemaker is a Happy Pinay Mommy!

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Hello mommies! Just thought of sharing with you some comforting bible verses for when you feel broken-hearted. This collection of passages have time and again embraced my soul as I journey through life.

Motherhood does not free us from the brokenheartedness that we have experienced when we were young and free. In contrast, motherhood brings about brokenheartedness that is of another level. Heartaches do not only come from marriage problems — it could be because of failures in balancing career and family life, death of parents, close friends and family members, loss of contact with friends, financial and health woes — name it.

Jesus will heal your broken heart

And so it is important to know where to anchor one’s heart and life — in both good times and bad. It is crucial to build a relationship with the one true King and Redeemer who pieces broken hearts and makes things new!
Setting a time to pray and read the bible is key to arming oneself with the best knowledge that could help you navigate this world through eternity. In our blog, I have posted ways on how to start a bible devotional, and you can find it here.

So without further ado, here are five comforting bible verses for broken hearted moms:

What a heartbroken mother can find in the bible

Psalm 34:18
“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”

Psalm 94:19
“When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.”

Matthew 11:28
“Come to me all you who are weary and heavily burdened and I will give you rest.”

Psalm 147:3
“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds“

Revelation 21:4
“And He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will be no longer any mourning, or vrying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”

Trusting God as the Divine comforter

When brokenness weighs us down
Brokenness can weigh down even the toughest of moms. The only way to accept such is to deny oneself and accede to the will of God. Living one day at a time, and holding unto God’s promises until such time, we could see the rays of light once again.

It may be heard to understand, but knowing that there is a God that has pre-planned everything, should at least help comfort us and give us hope that everything will work out for the best.

Thank you for stopping by and till next post!

A happy homemaker is a Happy Pinay Mommy!

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Hi fellow mommies! Happy Easter to all of you and hoping you all had a meaningful and restful holy week. Like most of you, our little family has little traditions in commemorating our Savior’s week of Passion, Death and Resurrection.

This of course were put on hold physically because of the pandemic. This year however we are very happy to resume these activities face to face

Finally back in Physical Church

Now that there are physical masses already after two years of pandemic, I am just as happy that I could finally bring my children to attend the Ash Wednesday Mass, Palm Sunday Mass and all other Eucharistic Celebrations during the holy week.

During Ash Wednesday, my two littles were a bit surprised by how they look after the priest marked their forehead with ash. I remembered they were so young during our last Ash Wednesday Mass.

During Palm Sunday,  they are as usual happy to have their own Palm Fronds or Palaspas. My two younger ones even shrieked a bit when they too got sprinkled with holy water.

Of course, we also attended the Maundy Thursday Last Supper Mass, and then the Way of the Cross the next day. On Saturday, we attended the Easter Vigil Mass, and then the next day, joined our Church’s Easter Festivities.

Annual Family Tradition

We also had our own Easter Celebration at home — one which we do annually. We set up a little egg hunt for the kids. Over the years, we have gathered dozens of plastic eggs which we just store and reuse the following years. We of course add more or replenish whenever there is a new kid, or if we lost some.

This year, I am packing happy yet simple surprises that could hopefully make the kids Easter this year sweeter and more fun. As usual, I found the exercise so relaxing. There is something with packing in candies and sweets in plastic eggs — finding its pairs and all, and hiding them in little nooks and crannies in our little abode.

Thanking the Lord for the Opportunity to celebrate with the Family

I thank the Lord for giving us the opportunity to do this for the kids every year. I am just hoping that in time, they will remember this and do this with their own. If you are having trouble with bringing kids to church, hope you can find time to read this previous article we posted on bringing babies and young children to church.

Special remembrance to my mom who really takes time to boil eggs, task us to color them, and then hide them early in the morning our garden for us to hunt. Family traditions and simple faith wins

Food for the soul

At this point, I hope you can allow me to share with you one of the bible passages that I hold on to, this time from the Book of Proverbs:

“A man shall not be established by wickedness: but the root of the righteous shall never be moved.”

Proverbs 12:3

Thank you for stopping by and till next post!

A happy homemaker is a Happy Pinay Mommy!

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My daily devotionals took a twist today as my two younger kids decided to join me. My little boy made a bookmark featuring one of my favorite bible verses, particularly that from Deuteronomy 28:5 — “Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.” This verse is posted in our refrigerator, as I find it so special given that I am an amateur home baker and I find myself needing to fill my basket to continue preparing food and nourishing my family.

I am so proud that little shot tried his best to make his bookmark look good. He used his sister’s brush pens. Shob on the other hand did her own devotional. I gave her a guide before on what to do during this time. It is basically a set of questions that I wrote in the back cover of her devotional notebook. There is nothing so hard about the guide questions, it is all age-appropriate and can help her reflect on God’s words and write about her thoughts in her journal.

Quiet time with the kids

I am just happy that while I was in my “Dalmanutha” Shob suddenly approached me and asked for a bible passage. Since she knows how to locate passages just by having a copy of the bible address, she got to read Isaiah 43:4. which reads:

“Because you are precious in my sight, and honoured, and I love you. I give people in return for you, nations in exchange for your life.”

She reflected on this verse and wrote in her journal. As for me, I proceeded with reading my devotionals, study prompts, and my bible. This is all followed by journaling. The littles were happy, and I am happy too. I didn’t realise that they have grown enough to have a quiet time with me already. time indeed flies. Just a heart-warming day for me, and I am sharing it with you.

How to encourage the kids to devote time to the Lord

I am no expert in this topic, but like what our Parish Priest says, “we can never tell our children what they should do, we can only influence them.” So if they see you routinely reading The Word, they too will likely get interested in it. Of course exposing them to church and church activities, as well as lessons in school will also help deepen their faith. Singing praise songs also help and seeing scripture around the house are encouraging as well. In fact answering even their simplest of questions helps too.

It will also help to get them their own bible. There are kid-friendly bibles out there – not the bible stories for kids but real bibles where they can learn to find verses using bible addresses. Give them highlighters, a small ruler, pencils, and a journal notebook intended for their own devotional. Sticky notes are inspiring too!

Journeying to God’s heart with young people in tow

Anyway, knowing in your heart that you have younger people willing to go with you in your journey to God’s heart is but enough fuel to keep on going towards the light. But as they say, progress over perfection. Baby steps in faith do count

May you have a peaceful day ahead. Shalom!

A Happy Homemaker is a Happy Pinay Mommy!

The post Kids and my daily bible devotional appeared first on Happy Pinay Mommy.

Hello fellow Mommies! Sharing with you the books and materials I use for my daily devotional. I am sharing this to hopefully encourage other moms like me to start allotting quiet time with our Creator, and how to start doing it. I have been at such a stage before that I wanted to start a devotional but I do not exactly how to go about it. So I am thinking that maybe some moms are in the same place too, so I should share what I know and how immensely this devotional time has helped me.

But why should I start a devotional?

Well, allotting time for a daily devotional reminds you of the power of God in your life. How our loving creator has helped you and has been faithful to you through the years. It will guide you through life and will make you realize that His Words will sustain your life.

Materials I use in my devotional

I am of course not saying that these are the materials that you should use. It will all depend on you. I think as long as you have a bible, and a devotional guide that will prompt you which bible passages to read, then you can start your journey. I remember our parish priest telling us that the bible is not supposed to be read from page 1 onwards. It is ready by chapters based on the prompts. For Catholics, there is a liturgical guide that contains all the readings in all the daily masses that are held, and this is a good place to start, Read the three readings everyday — usually one from the Old or New Testament, a Psalm, and then from one of the four Gospels.

In the picture above, I am showing you my resource books. Of course, first and foremost is The Bible. I got mine many years ago, an NRSV Catholic Bible that i got for less than Php 500 I think at the National Bookstore.

The other book “Come Follow Me” is my favorite devotional written by Matt Koeic. It contains 365 letters from the Lord, which I find very uplifting and assuring. It also has suggested bible readings for the day, where the assurances and comforting messages have been derived. It is a second-hand book that I got from Booksale for less than Php200.00.

My next resource is the liturgical guide that I mentioned which features all the readings for daily masses. I use the scripture guide for my daily bible readings during weekdays and Saturdays. On Sundays I use it for preparing for Sunday Mass.

Anyway, the next book that I showed is Our Daily Bread. I think a lot of people use it. I got the habit from my late grandmother who reads it every single day. Before she died, she sent all of her ODB collections to our house for me to read. God bless her soul.

The last book that I showed is Thrive, which was gifted to me by a good friend. The reflections are all encouraging and heart-warming and leads you to delve deeper into the scriptures. It also features scriptures where the article is based.

How I do my devotional

So here is what I do: I pray before I start my devotional. And then, I read a topic for each day in each of the books, locate and read the corresponding suggested scriptures, and reflect on them. I note my reflections on mini sketchbooks, because I like unlined and blank papers.

Apart from the sketchbook, I also use pens, highlighters and a ruler for my daily devotional. I also have a notepad and a bunch of sticky notes for when I want to post the specific passage as a reminder for me, or as a memory verse for my children. Again I am not claiming that it the right way, but I am just sharing with you how I do it. Here’s another possible resource on the topic.

Thank you for stopping by, and I hope you could continue to read reflections and blog posts here in my website. At this point, I hope you can also allow me to share with you one of my favorite bible passages, this time from the Book of Psalms:

“Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.” – Psalm 127:3-5

Again, thank you for stopping by and till next post!

A happy homemaker is a Happy Pinay Mommy

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Been Missing in Action here in our blog for a couple of months and I am sorry dear ladies. I know you fully understand our season of life right now, and the busyness of the days on end. I also made a conscious decision to keep weekends almost chore-less, doing just the most minimal of chores so I can enjoy hanging out with the kids.

I know in time, ill be able to update our little website on an almost weekly schedule just like when I only had one youngster. And although that may seem relaxing compared to the frazzled busy days I have right now, I am not looking forward to the quiet because I know it will be kind of sad to not have anyone tugging at you to ask to nurse, or to demand for food or help with something.

Enjoying weekends at home

One of the things that keep us busy during the weekends is coloring. We each have coloring books to work on, but as you know, my not-so-little-Shobe likes to get her hands on mine. Hence the picture I uploaded as image for this blog post. Isn’t it wonderful?

My second daughter beams with pride as she showed this drawing to me. She has recently memorized Psalm 23 and was so happy to have found a passage from it in my coloring book. She asked me if she could color it for me and there you have it .

Clinging on to God’s Word

I was so proud to see Shobe reading and genuinely enjoying bible passages. I told her that when I was a teenager, I used to recite this particular Psalm whenever I felt scared. In time, I will tell her the story of how I recited Psalm 23 over and over again to her grandpa as he waited for the time he could be with our Prince of Peace.

The comfort of reading and reciting Psalm 23

I am sure you already are familiar with this Psalm, but still I would like to share it with you:

PSALM 23

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters; He restores my soul. He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. 

Eventhough I walk through the valley and the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. For you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies, you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Thank you everyone an till next post!

A Happy Homemaker is a Happy Pinay Mommy!

The post Enjoying Coloring Books with Kids appeared first on Happy Pinay Mommy.

Hope everyone is having a great day so far. Sharing with you my daughter’s artwork. Well we all love our kids’ artworks right but this one is very special to me. She gave it to me when she heard me trying to troubleshoot a situation so that things will go well with our home schedule.

It made me thankful because in her young age she knows the value of scripture and trusting the Lord. As adults we get to struggle on that when we try to make sense of what is happening around us.

Little hearts that trust the Lord

I am just thankful that God has given me this little soul, a lifelong bestfriend, that reminds me that He has my back and the whole world in His hands.

Sharing with you the bible passage I keep in my heart as I try my best to teach my kids about God, His words, and His powet. Hope it will inspire you too.

DEUTERONOMY 11:18-20

“Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 19 Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 20 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, 21 so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth.”

Thanks for stopping by everyone, and till next post!

A happy homemaker is a Happy Pinay Mommy!

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Hope this post is not too late for the Breastfeeding Month. I have been talking about my experience in tandem feeding in snippets but I have yet to write a full post about it.

So allow me fellow mommies to share with you my experience in tandem feeding, in this post.

Tandem feeding could just be one of the most challenging things that I have done as a mom especially on those early days. Little guy was born when Shobe was still little too! So many sleepless nights, backaches, super thirsty and super hungry post nursing moments, and self pity/iyakan moments when i literally felt I had no time to recuperate from my c-sec.

Actually up until now sleepless nights and backaches are my bestfriends. It turned out that my older nursling was more demanding than my then newborn. If they werent nursing together, they nursed one after another virtually leaving me with close to zero sleep throughout the night, and zero rest during the day.

Breastfeeding Support

But I was able to carry on, thanks to the support of my dear Capt Barbel who cheered me on and showed appreciation towards my eagerness to tandem nurse, helped me with other parenting duties, gave me all the food that I ask for, and listened to all my rants and pagod dialogues. My eldest Achie, who was alway there to get me my water bottle or a piece of diaper, a bib or burp cloth or entertain the youngest or the toddler while I am nursing the other one.

The listening ear of my BFF J, who was patient enough to listen to my gushing about the babies and their milestones, my realizations and virtually support me as I recuperate from child birth and adjustments. And of course for the love of my MIL and my Tita who supplies me with fresh malunggay, and for sending over to out house a never-ending slew of padalang ulam and countless merienda / midnight snacks. And syempre sa walang kamatayang #malunggay. Truly, it is a team effort!

Overcoming tandem breastfeeding challenges

So mommies out there in the deep trenches of tandemfeeding AKA first few weeks, it will go by quickly and you will just realise that you have surpassed those sleepless nights and restless days.

Catholic mommies — pray for the intercession of our Lady of ala Leche. I have written a post on her novena — click here. The baby phase go by sooo fast that I now realised that I havent stopped nursing since my eldest was born. She and shobe overlapped for a bit until she self-weaned from her full-term breastfeeding.

With my eldest Achie, i was able to experience pumping milk every three hours in the office or in Official Business Events to take home to her so I could still exclusive breastfeed her even if i was working back then.

Now that I am a stay at home mom, i still face breastfeeding challenges like this tandem nursing pero as they say laban lang

So cheers to us #padedemoms who just keep going and going!

For more local information on breastfeeding — where to buy hardworking and efficient pumps, fabulous nursing bras, lovely pump bags, breastfeeding and pumping supplies, where to buy nursing supplements and lactation cookies that could help increase output, recipes of soups and drinks that could support breastfeeding moms please check out our website happypinaymommy.com (link in bio) or follow our Pinterest Breastfeeding board. Salamat po and till next post.

A Happy Homemaker is a Happy Pinay Mommy!

The post Tandem Breastfeeding Chronicles appeared first on Happy Pinay Mommy.

Great Read: Why every mother should have a will.

A last will and testament is a legal document that gives specifications on who inherits your cars, jewelry, real estate bank accounts and other property after you die and the terms surrounding that inheritance. You can do it however you want, such as leaving everything you own to a single person or dividing it into specific portions that you distribute to people. Your sister, for example, could inherit your cookbook collection while your best friend inherits your sweaters. A will is much more than this, however, besides distributing your property. As a mother, a will helps you ensure the future of your children.

Choose the Guardian for Your Children

It is important that a mother has been able to choose the best guardian for their child/children.

Making a will as a parent is one of the most important things you can do to ensure that your children are taken care of by people that you trust to do the job if anything were to happen to you. You can designate such a person in your will as the legal guardian for your children if you die before your children attain the age of legal adulthood. You can designate a guardian for your property or a trustee who undertakes the task of managing the property you have bequeathed to your children until they reach adulthood. You can have one person to be the guardian to your children as well as the property they inherit, or you can have two different people carrying out the separate roles.

Appoint an Executor for Smooth Distribution of Property

Find the right person who can execute your will.

Also, if you would like everything to be handled in a smooth manner and your property distributed among your beneficiaries in the most timely fashion, you can appoint an executor for your will. This is the person that pays your taxes and debts after you have passed on and then makes sure that your remaining estate goes into the correct hands, which are those of the people you have chosen in your will.

A will can be sued for a variety of purposes, such as including a living will or health care directive to state your preferences when it comes to such matters as life support, making specific funeral arrangements, donating organs and making charitable contributions.

Noteworthy Considerations

Factors to consider in drawing up a will.

A word of warning, however: there are certain assets which have beneficiary forms that the courts give priority to over your will. These include your individual retirement accounts and life insurance policy. For these forms, the people who you named as beneficiaries are the ones to receive the funds in the accounts when you die, regardless of who you named as beneficiaries in your will. Make sure to align the beneficiaries you name in your will with those named in these accounts.

When you die without a will, you have virtually no guarantee that your property will go the people you would like it to go to. You also have no guarantee that your children will get the care you want them to have. In some states, the state-appointed administrator becomes in charge of your children’s inheritance until they attain legal adulthood, which means your spouse may find it difficult to access the money they need to raise the children. To avoid this, it is essential that you prepare a will early in advance, so your children are taken care of

So there you have it, hope you have somehow learned a thing or two from this post. For more reads on mommy-reflections, hope you can head over to the reflections section of our website. Hope you can also follow us over at Instagram, Pinterest or Facebook for regular website updates.

A happy homemaker is a Happy Pinay Mommy!

Leaving you with a video on happy parenting:

Super Easy Chicken Curry Recipe

The post Why Every Mother Needs to Create a Will appeared first on Happy Pinay Mommy.

This is a lengthy mother post. i just want to vent cause I wept over this the other night.

Parenting is something I am truly passionate about. I dream of raising good boys, good men. I am more than certain they will be. And I will do my best, to equip them with all that they need to stand up for themselves, on their own feet someday. For now we will continue to guide and teach them the way we know how. I may have shortcomings, I will fail at times, but I will raise them to be the kind we’d be proud of.

Nanay will never get tired of you. I love you both, no words.

Mommy Reen Bau describes herself as a Blessed Minister’s wife, a full time nanay, and a UP Maroon.

for your work to be published.

The post Guest Post: Every Child is Unique appeared first on Happy Pinay Mommy.

(All Images in this Blog Post have been provided by Mommy Seema Savoie, and are approved for publication)

It has been more than two months since my last post, and my ideas for the topics that I should be writing about is getting longer as weeks pass. As I was trying to organize these titles and topics, I came across fellow mom blogger, and natural parenting advocate Mommy Seema’s post on her little Zacha’s “smileversary.”

I thought of asking her if we can share her reflection here, as her experience will surely inspire us. So without further ado, sharing with you Mommy Seema’s reflections on –

Zacha’s Second Smileversary

By: Mommy Seema Alexa Maryetta Savoie

Hi mothers! I wanted to share with you our story and hopefully inspire you that whatever it is that you’re going through, kung tingin mo man, sobrang bagsak ka na, may dahilan ang lahat. Just be strong and magtiwala sa Diyos.

Today is Zacha’s second Smileversary. To those of you who are not familiar with the term, Smileversay is the day Zacha had his Cheiloplasty (Cleft Lip Surgery). I feel very senti about today because I miss his first smile. His first smile will always be his best smile for me.

To lighten my mood, I created a slideshow of his pictures from Day 1 up to date. Achievement unlocked po ito, I feel very proud of myself because it’s the first time na gumamit ako ng Windows MovieMaker and I survived! I wanted to share with you how Zacha is in 32mos.

Being a cleft mom taught me a lot of things. This experience has shook but strengthen my faith in God. It made me realize that anything can happen to you and you have to face it, deal with it and come out stronger than you’ve ever been before.

Let me share with you our Cleft Journey.

I think it was the worse day of my life. When you’re a first time mom, you want everything to be perfect, you are scared and excited at the same time. You dread the day the baby will come out because of the horror stories you hear that it will be painful but you also can’t wait for that day to come because the pain will be worth it!

It was the 5th of March, and on the 5th month of my pregnancy. I was going to have a Congenital Anomaly Scan. We knew the baby is going to be a boy the month before. Honestly, I was excited to have the CAS done. Ang worry ko pa noon ay baka kulang ang mga daliri niya sa kamay or paa. Never did it cross my mind that something wrong was going to happen.

My OB is a chatty person. Lagi niya ako dinadaldal during check up, would even ask random questions and not related to my pregnancy but she was awfully quiet that day while she was checking me. She checked the fingers and toes at kumpleto sila. Tumawa pa ako. She checked the body, bones, stomach, lungs etc. When she reached the head, she stopped talking. I knew something was wrong.

She let out a sigh. The next thing she said tore my world apart. “Parang may cleft si baby.” Hindi ako makagalaw, nanlamig ako, my heart stopped. Totoo pala yun. Yung slow motion. Yung malabo silang lahat sa paningin mo. They are talking pero di mo sila maintindihan tapos umiikot ang paligid.

My OB was telling me something but I couldn’t understand. My husband and OB were talking about solutions and what might have caused it. OB said that up to this day, there is still no known cause ng pagkakaron ng baby ng cleft. It could be a number of things daw. Lack of folic acid, smoking, took antibiotics, genes. Yung pagkadulas po ay walang kinalaman dun.

Inside the examination room, I did not shed a tear but I couldn’t think straight. Ang naaalala ko, I asked my OB if it can still be fixed while the baby is growing inside me. Hindi daw, we have to wait until the baby comes out and get bigger.

Tinanong ko rin kung makakapagbreastfeed ako. It was important for me. Kaya lang hindi daw sigurado. Slim chance dahil nga sa cleft. Paglabas namin sa Exam room, and I saw my mom sabi ko “may cleft si baby”, niyakap ko agad siya at dun na bumuhos yung luha na kanina ko pa pinipigil.

Sobrang sakit. Masakit pa nung time na naghiwalay ang parents ko. Mas masakit nung nalaman kong may ibang babae yung ex ko. Humagugol ako. Naglupasay pa. Nakakahiya nga thinking about it now, but then, I didn’t care. I just wanted to let it all out. Si Doc, yung nurse and ibang pregnant moms cried with me. Sabi ng pinsan ko na kasama namin, okay lang daw, si JC De Vera nga daw may cleft pero naging artista. I knew she was only trying to make me feel better but it didn’t help ease the pain.

We kept it in the quiet, close family members lang ang may alam. They kept telling me that it was okay. That it’s not something that can’t be fixed. And I wanted to yell at them, that they don’t understand the pain I was going through.

Ang nasa isip ko nun, hindi pa man siya pinapanganak, he already failed at something. And I already failed him. I wasn’t able to take good care of him. Nagalit ako sa Diyos. 1 out of 700 babies na pinapanganak ay nagkakaron ng cleft, so why me out of 700 mommies? I kept asking him, Why me? I have been a faithful servant. Masipag ako magsimba, my whole life, I served him. So why me? Sinumbatan ko siya. Sobrang sumama talaga yung loob ko kasi I believed, I didn’t deserve this.

Ito na yata yung pinakamasakit na mangyayari sa isang nanay, give birth to a child with special needs. Kasi you will keep asking and blaming yourself. Where did I go wrong?

Nagpasecond opinion pa kami. We had a 3D utz. My husband wanted to go, ako ayoko. Hindi na ako umasa kasi I knew it in my heart that I was going to have a cleft baby. And I saw his face and my heart broke all over again. Hindi ako nagpaprint ng copy kasi I didn’t want to see my baby that way. (which I totally regret now, btw. Sorry na, depress ako that time.)

The next few days was hell. Nawalan ako ng gana sa lahat. Eat, work, the things that I used to love doing, nawala ang appeal sa kin. It was even our wedding month pero wala akong gana magprepare, how could I be excited at a time like this? I was a bitch to everybody. But my husband was my pillar. He was so positive about everything that it hurts. My family too. They all believed that it will all be okay.

I felt abandoned. I thought, I was alone in this pain. In my quiet moments, I talk — no scream at God. The never ending Why me’s. Pero kahit galit ako, I never stopped talking to him. I find comfort in talking to him. There must be reason. Lagi ko naiisip yan. Why do I have this baby? There must be a reason.

“Biruin mo, God gave me an important task, he trusted me to take care of this extra special baby and I was not about to prove God wrong. I want to show him that, I deserve this baby.” — Mommy Seema

And then one day, I woke up and I felt light. I wasn’t as sad anymore. Parang naenlighten ako. Na, oo nga. God chose me, out of 700 mommies, God decided to give him to me. There must be a reason. Yung “Why me” ko, naging “Why not?” I found my purpose.

Biruin mo, God gave me an important task, he trusted me to take care of this extra special baby and I was not about to prove God wrong. I want to show him that, I deserve this baby. That Zacha deserves me, a flawed person, to be his mom and I won’t let him down. Gusto ko na after everything ay maging proud ang Diyos sa akin at masabi niyang hindi siya nagkamaling ibigay si Zacha sa akin.

Mommy Seema promised to herself: “sabi ko sa sarili ko, babawi ako buong buhay niya. I am going to be strong for him. I will protect him from the bullies. As much as possible, shelter him from all the bad things in this world. Kapag nagkaisip siya and started asking about his cleft, I will tell him that he is not different. That he is beautiful.”

I felt guilty rin because I have been neglecting my baby dahil lang sa nalaman kong my cleft siya, sabi ko sa sarili ko, babawi ako buong buhay niya. I am going to be strong for him. I will protect him from the bullies. As much as possible, shelter him from all the bad things in this world. Kapag nagkaisip siya and started asking about his cleft, I will tell him that he is not different. That he is beautiful.

I’ve learned a lot from being a cleft mom. It made me stronger. I found my purpose. I see the world differently now. I empathize now with people I see on the streets na may special needs baby. Especially yung mga may cleft. Parang gusto ko sila lapitan at yakapin at sabihin na, everything is going to be okay.

My husband and my family was right. Everything is okay now. Zacha is 32months old two days from now and so far I can say that I’ve done a great job. We have a few more surgeries to go but I know, with God, we can make it.

Happy Smileversary Baby Z!

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So there you have it, I hope you have all been inspired by Mommy Seema’s story. Thank you Mommy Seema for allowing us to share your story. To my dear readers, let me know if you would like to contribute an article, a poem, or even a song you composed, so that we can share it with our fellow moms. You may get in touch with me by dropping by my Facebook page. Hope you can also hit the like button while you are there so you can receive regular updates from Happypinaymommy.com direct on your newsfeed.

Thank you so much!

A Happy Homemaker is a Happy Pinay Mommy!

Leaving you with this video:

Filipino Budget Ulam Ideas below 100 Pesos 2017 Edition

The post Happypinaymommy Reflections: Zacha’s Smileversary appeared first on Happy Pinay Mommy.

Ask any wife, and she would likely say that one of the most crucial relationships in a marriage, apart from that with their spouse is that with their mother-in-law. And this does not just apply in our culture – join mothering forums in the US, watch a Mexican telenovela, or follow a koreanovela series and you’d notice that issues surrounding the relationship with the Mother-In-Law or MIL is a constant topic.

And this is the reason why I got inspired to ask Mommy Paula if I can publish in this blog her open letter to her fellow moms on their relationship with their respective mothers-in-law.

So without further ado, sharing with you Mommy Paula’s open letter to fellow moms, another happypinaymommy reflection, this time on relationships between a mother-in-law and a daughter-in-law:

*******************************************************************

#biyenankomahalko

By: Mommy Paula Judi Nangyo-Algoso

Hi mommies! I have been hearing issues regarding MILs or kahit na sinong inlaws. Medyo, nakakabother at some point. And this I have to share. I was once in a situation na di din ako okay or in good terms with my in-laws especially (my) MIL. And tumira din ako sa house nila pero for six months lang. And eto ang natutunan ko:

1.Hindi mo mababago kung sino ang in-laws mo, especially your MIL or FIL.
2. Hindi mo sila mabubura sa buhay mo, hangga’t asawa mo ang asawa mo or kasama mo ang partner mo.
3. Yes, hindi mo sila mababago but the Lord can. Pray for them na baguhin yung attitude nila sayo. Ikaw din, pray for yourself na mas maging patient and loving (ka). And makita mo yung kabutihan nila and makita din nila kabutihan mo. This was one of the most effective ways na ginawa ko. Inadvice sa akin to ng DGroup leader namin.

Mommy Paula with her Mother-in-Law Mommy Rose. Mommy Paula says “I have good relationship with my MIL now. Dati I super hate her and she super hates me… (Now) I love her just how my hubby loves her.”

4. If you are living with your inlaws, why not LEAVE AND CLEAVE??? There can’t be two kings and two queens in one palace. So technically, yung mas matatanda ang king and queen. Isa din to sa effective moves na ginawa namin mag-asawa. Kinaya namin magkaroon ng sarili namin. We started with a very small place since isa pa lang naman baby namin that time. Tiis-tiis kung ano meron. Basta may peace of mind. Mahirap talaga makisama at makitira.
5. Respect. Show respect for the elders kahit ‘di ka nila irespect. Show some love for them too kahit ‘di ka nila love. Then continue praying, one day magiging respectful and loveable din sila. Remember, parents sila ng asawa mo. Kaya wala kang choice. Unless palitan mo asawa mo.

6. Try to talk with them especially to your MIL. The more nilalayo mo sarili mo, the more lumalaki yung gap. Tayong mga manugang gagawa ng move, hindi sila. Hanapin mo ung kiliti sabi nga nila..effective din to. I give my MIL small things. Simpleng cheeseburger napakasaya na nun. Basta nakikita niyang mahal mo din pala siya. Take time to bond or hang-out din. Kahit kwentuhan lang ganun over coffee or cake.

Bonding with the MIL. Mommy Paula says hanging out with her mother-in-law has also helped strengthen their relationship.

7. In the end, talo ka kung magpapatalo ka sa inis or galit. MILs/FILs are born to be spoilers lalo sa mga apo. Or kontrabidas parang sa pelikula. But until you know them more malalaman mo may good heart pala sila.
Let’s reflect, ano nga ba nagawa natin para kaayawan nila tayo? Ano ba nagawa natin para mahalin din nila tayo? Ano ba nagawa natin bakit ganun sila? Or ganun na talaga sila?

I have good relationship with my MIL now. Dati I super hate her and she super hates me. Nakilala na namin isa’t isa. Hindi na siya pakielamera at kontrabida. I love her just how my hubby loves her. We go out once in a while and pinagmamalaki niya ko sa ibang tao, based sa kwento nila saken kasi alam nila before kung gaano kaaayaw ni MIL saken hahaha. Kaya, wag niyo isiping wala ng pag-asa kasi meron pa yan. Kailangan lang i-work-out and pray, pray, pray.

Love and respect wins. Mommy Paula shares wiith happypinaymommy.com a screen grab of her MIL’s birthday greeting to her.

I hope this helps. Salamat sa nagbasa ng novela heheh. #biyenankomahalko

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Thank you Mommy Paula, for allowing us to re-post your Open Letter. To my dear readers, let me know if you would like to contribute an article, a poem, a song you composed, or even your random thoughts so that we can share it with our fellow moms. You may get in touch with me by dropping by my Facebook page. Hope you can also hit the like button while you are there so you can receive regular updates from Happypinaymommy.com direct on your newsfeed.

Thank you so much!

A Happy Homemaker is a Happy Pinay Mommy!

Leaving you with this video on how to have a great relationship with your mother in law:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xvu_RJWwzKI

Where to order Smash Cakes

The post Happypinaymommy Reflections: #BiyenanKoMahalKo by: Mommy Paula Algoso appeared first on Happy Pinay Mommy.

Hi Ladies! Came across this open letter to moms, written by Mommy Sheng Paredes-Paiton, and upon reading, I immediately knew that I am one of the intended recipients of this open letter. Being in the trenches of motherhood is never easy, and inspiring letters like this should be disseminated to as many mothers so that those who can relate could be inspired too.

Mommy Sheng wrote her Open Letter after she sent off her 13-year old daughter Sarah to Highschool, as she will have to stay in a dormitory.

With the permission of Mommy Sheng, I am publishing her Open Letter for us:

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“Dear mommies,

I am one of the mommies who woke up today with a bleeding heart to take my girl home. I am one of the mommies who woke up crying because our girl’s bed is well kept but empty. She has moved on to the next chapter of her life at 13 years old and it’s just so sad.

“Mommies, love your littles, hug them tight because time goes by so fast.” Mommy Sheng’s daughters: 13 year old Sarah, and three-year old Zoe.

I have all eyes on her since day one. I knew that mole on her left shoulder was the first and the one on her neck is her latest. I knew that she got that scar on her knee when she and her friends crashed her bike on our neighbor’s gate. I knew Bubbles and Angel, Sachy, Julia and Jas — they are her BFFs since she was little. I knew she said “palatastas” even at 13. I knew she loves books and music and outdoors. But why does it feel like I’m missing on a lot of things?

Mommies, love your littles, hug them tight because time goes by so fast. Let them play with their toys, mess around. Just close your eyes when you step on them, feel the pain, because one day soon you will keep that toy away. Let them paint the tables, draw on your walls because you will be staring at them, loving the moment. Let them cry over toys, hate you for a while, don’t get furious mom, these will give you a good laugh as you go along the memory lane. Say good words, kind words, I love you’s and goodnights — these will become corny in time.

Mommy Sheng and her family: eldest daughter Sarah, Three-year old daughter Zoe, and her husband Dhandy.

Seize the moment. Grab it because when they start chasing their dreams there is no more stopping. All you can do is hug and let go, and you will hear them say, ‘i love you mommy i will be okay, ikaw yung hindi e.’”
‪#‎chasingdreams@13
‪#‎pshsbatch2022dormlife

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Thank you Mommy Sheng, for allowing us to re-post your Open Letter. To my dear readers, let me know if you would like to contribute an article, a poem, or even a song you composed, so that we can share it with our fellow moms. You may get in touch with me by dropping by my Facebook page. Hope you can also hit the like button while you are there so you can receive regular updates from Happypinaymommy.com direct on your newsfeed.

Thank you so much!

A Happy Homemaker is a Happy Pinay Mommy!

Leaving you with this video on how to be a happier mom:

School Lunch Baon Ideas – Part 3

The post Happypinaymommy Reflections: An Open Letter to Moms by Mommy Sheng Paiton appeared first on Happy Pinay Mommy.

Ten Things I Learned as a First Time Mom

All about being a First Time Mom

They say that there are many ways to spot a first time mom among a crowd of mothers. She is usually stereotyped as the jittery, overly-hovering, excited lady that has in her arsenal all the bells and whistles that come with motherhood. And looking back in my first year as a mother, I can say that yes, those stereotypes CAN be true.

But there is more to first-time moms than being that cheery mother celebrating all her baby’s milestones with blow-by-blow types of FB posts, and non-stop chatter about the new babe. There is an amazing change that is happening inside her that will change her life forever, and will affect how she sees the world, and treat the people in it.

Allow me to share with you the experiences and pure joy of my fellow mom blogger, Mommy Nel Geremia of mommahlicious.com, in her GUEST POST aptly entitled “Ten Things I Learned as a First-Time Mom.”

Here Goes:

Ten Things I Learned as a First Time Mom, Written by Mommy Nel Geremia of Mommahlicious.com

It was around this time last year that Babylicious was conceived inside my womb. In other words, it’s been a year since I became a mother. Being a mother is a very challenging journey, starting from the pregnancy itself. Imagine having to endure morning sickness, food aversion, easily fatigued, feeling bloated and being super sleepy while working as a preschool teacher from 7am to 5pm, and also preparing everything for our upcoming wedding! When I think about it now, I can’t remember how I used to do it. Now that Babylicious is here, I realized that all the sacrifices I’ve made, all the stress and fatigue that I had to endure are all worth it.

With Babylicious in our little household, our worlds turned upside down but with so much unexplainable joy! I have learned so much now that I became a mom and I’m still learning through this little teacher of mine.

I’m sure all the first time moms out there are excited to hold their little ones, and I’m telling you, that precious moment will be priceless! But there’s so much to learn, so much to know, so much you’ll only discover when your baby comes. Now I’m here, trying to write about the things I learned as a first-time mom. I know this doesn’t apply to all first-time moms but I hope it gives you even the slightest idea.

Here goes…

1. SLEEP IS FOR THE WEAK. And with a newborn in the house, you can’t be weak! This is really one of my struggles since Babylicious came. It made me realize how I regret taking my nap time and sleeping time for granted. Maybe you’d say “oh, good thing I’m nocturnal”, “I’m a night person”, “if I can stay up at night marathon-ing my series, I can probably stay awake to take care of my baby”. Yeah, I said that too, but believe me, this time it will be different. This time you have a baby to take care of. This time you have to feed him, nurse him, hold him, play with him, change his nappies and comfort him when he cries. And what if he just won’t stop crying? You being nocturnal won’t help you with that. This I can assure you, there will be nights where you just want to cry with your baby. You have to be really strong. You have to keep in mind that this shall also come to pass, so say goodbye to your decent sleep! PS. My last decent sleep was when I was sedated for my CS operation. Hahahaha! Oh how I miss it.

2. PRACTICE BEING PRACTICAL. I know first time moms can get overwhelmed especially with the baby coming in a few months. It’s true, it can get pretty overwhelming. You’ll want to buy every single baby gear you’ll see on the internet, but trust me when I say this: YOU DO NOT NEED TO BUY THEM ALL. Some baby gears can be pretty expensive, but they won’t be of much use. Let’s say before the D-Day, you got all the things ready and bought a stroller for your little one. You tried to put him down on the stroller. What if he doesn’t like it there? What if he cries the whole time he’s in there? Then you’d have to buy a carrier. You researched and researched and found this particular brand and you liked it. However, it’s quite a bit pricey. You still bought it but when you tried it, your little one won’t stop wailing because he’s not comfortable. What about a crib? Why buy a crib when you’re cosleeping? Things like these need to be thought through to save time, space and money. Don’t give into that impulsiveness caused by your pregnancy hormones!

3. “ME-TIME” NO MORE. It’s always going to be baby time, daddy time, family time, cooking time, cleaning time, a little sleeping time, but bid adieu to your me time. Remember when you were so stressed with work, with family, with your friends, with your relationship, with everything… and you just want to unwind? It was easy to book a hotel somewhere for a quick staycation or getaway in the near beaches or simply just go to the salon to have yourself pampered. You only had to think about yourself. Now that you’re a mom, you’ll have to consider a lot of things: do you have milk stashed for your little one, have you cooked food for your husband, are you done with the laundry and all the other things needed to be done at home and all among other things. Believe me, even if you had the chance to be on your own even for just half a day, you’ll still be thinking and worrying about your baby and your husband and you’ll probably cut your me time short just to go home. Or if not, you’re probably flooding your husband or your caretaker with a lot of messages asking for updates.

4. NEW LIFE, NEW FRIENDS. Maybe you’ll lose some friends, but the good thing about that is that you’ll gain more. Now that you’re more focused on your family, your priorities and preferences will change. If you used to go out with your friends every Friday night, this time you just want to go home and be with your baby. Some friends may ditch you if you don’t always ride along with their trip but good for you, you can find a support group even on the internet. As for me, I found Breastfeeding Pinays, Babywearing Philippines and TBDM Mommy Club where I met Mommy Ria of HappyPinayMommy.com who inspired me to blog about this. She even asked me to guest post on her blog! These mommy groups (or “mommy frat” as what some dads call our group) can be of big help especially when you’re confused or curious about something. You are all complete strangers to each other but you all have something in common: you have a child/children to take care of and who else can help you better than anyone who has been in the same situation as you, right?

5. YOUR BABY, YOUR RULES. That’s right. No one else has a say on how you take care of your little one. No one else gets to make a decision when it comes to your little one aside from you and your husband. Some may give suggestions but it’s always going to be your call.

6. SUPER-DUPER-STITIONS. If you’re a first time mom, you’ll definitely hear a lot of superstitious beliefs and traditions done with babies, especially from the elders around you. You have to do this so that your baby will be like that. Don’t do that so your baby will not be like this. Seriously, I’m getting tired of hearing all these things. It’s just that I don’t really believe in superstitions so let’s apply number 5, your baby, your rules. But it wouldn’t hurt to try noh.

7. MOM NEEDS MOM. When I blogged about how I always wanted to talk to my mom when I got married, I didn’t realize it will even get more intense when I became a mom too. My mom and I never really got along well for most parts of my life while growing up. We usually disagree on a lot of things but I never thought I’d think of her parenting skills as a role model to what I am portraying to my son. Now I would always ask for her suggestions and opinions before I make my decision.

8. YOU WORRY 1000x MORE THAN YOU DID BEFORE. Suddenly, you see a red mark on your little one. Is it a mosquito bite? An insect bite? An injection? Does it hurt him? It is dangerous? There could be a simple reason behind that red mark, but you will always think about the worst case scenario. That’s paranoia… Um, I mean, motherhoood.

9. YOUR STRENGTH, YOUR WEAKNESS. Once you become a mom, your family, your husband, you child… They will be your everything. They will be the ones to give you strength to last throughout the day, they will be your motivation to finish what you started. But they can also be your weakness. Your sick baby can make you ditch work any day, any time.

10. NOT LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT. It’s not true when they say moms fall in love with their babies at first sight. The truth is, we, moms, fall in love with our babies the moment we find out we’re pregnant. We fall deeper much in love when we hear their heartbeat for the first time, when we feel their first kick. And no matter what happens, we, moms, will always be in love with our little ones and they will always be our babies even when they grow old.
Being a mom is not an easy task. Actually, it’s hard because we have to make sure the family stays full, the house stays clean and in order, and most of all, we have to make sure they all feel loved and taken well care of. But even if it is the hardest job in the world, even if I don’t get paid for it, I would give up everything in a second if it means I can take care of my family for the rest of my life.

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I am Nel Geremia, formerly known as darnalicious.com…but now I’m back as mommahlicious.com

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Thank you Mommy Nel, for the guest post. To follow Mommy Nel’s adventures, head on to her website mommahlicious.com

To my dear readers, let me know if you would like to contribute an article, a poem, or even a song you composed, so that we can share it with our fellow moms. You may get in touch with me by dropping by my Facebook page. Hope you can also hit the like button while you are there so you can receive regular updates from Happypinaymommy.com direct on your newsfeed.

Thank you so much!

A Happy Homemaker is a Happy Pinay Mommy!

Leaving you with this video on being a new mom:

Happypinaymommy.com’s Reflections: How To Be You Po? by Mommy Aizh Geron Celis

The post GUEST POST: “Ten Things I Learned as a First-Time Mom.” appeared first on Happy Pinay Mommy.

Photo Credits

I was scrolling through my FB Newsfeed when I stumbled upon this poem made by a fellow mom. It really hit home, as with the many frustrations, challenges, and back-to-back-to-back errands and endless chores that wear out our minds and bodies day in and day out.

I also love that it is mostly written in the vernacular, and that although it tugs the heartstrings, it remains to be a light read.

The poem is entitled “How to Be You Po?” written by Mommy Aizh, who said that she wrote the poem and finished writing it within 15 minutes. She explains she wrote it during the time her husband had to leave really early for work and despite running a fever and nursing a cold, she had to get off her feet to prepare her little kids for school, and ferry them both.

Mommy Aizh with her husband Daddy Rodel, and kids kuya Abry and little Bryle.

Apart from her own experiences, she also took inspiration from her Mother who single-handedly raised her and her three other siblings, as their dad worked overseas. She also thought of her best friend who is also caring for her four children, all under the age of six.

Here’s her poem:

How To Be You Po?
By Aizh Geron Celis

Mga nanay na simula’t sapul ay primerang tagapangalaga ng kanilang mga anak na walang kasambahay kundi sya at asawa nya lang,
How to be you po?

Mga nanay na kahit madaling araw na natutulog matapos lang ang paghuhugas ng pinagkainan ng hapunan at mga bote ni bunso, how to be you po?

Mga nanay na hihiga na sa wakas bandang alas dos ng umaga ngunit babangon din sa pag-ingit ni Nene at makakabalik sa pagtulog pagkatapos ng tatlong oras, how to be you po?

Mga ilaw ng tahanan na sa araw-araw ay sinisiguradong nakaligo, nakabihis ng maayos at mabango ang kanilang mga anak kahit makalimutan na ang sarili, how to be you po?

Sa mga nanay na ipinagpalit ang mga pansariling lakad kasama ang dating barkada para makipaglaro kay bunso ng taguan, how to be you po?

Sa mga nanay na may sakit, inuubo at nilalagnat ngunit babangon pa rin ng alas singko ng umaga para ipaghanda ng baon sa eskwela at mainit na tubig pampaligo si kuya, how to be you po?

Sa mga nanay na asawa rin ng kanilang kabiyak at kasabay ng pagaalaga sa kanilang mga anak ay kailangan ding plantsado ang uniporme nito bago pumasok sa trabaho, how to be you po?

Sa mga nanay na dating postura noong dalaga pa sila ngunit ipinagpalit ang magarang damit at pampaganda sa pambili ng mga gamit ni bebe kahit wala ng matira para sa kanya, how to be you po?

Sa mga nanay na walang damot na inuuna ang kanilang mga anak at asawa kahit walang sapat na pagkilala sa kanilang mga gawa, kahit walang timpalak na magpupugay sa kanilang dakilang sakripisyo, kahit walang sweldo, how to be you po?

Sana maging i’m like you po.

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Thank you Mommy Aizh, for allowing Happypinaymommy.com to publish your poem.

To my dear readers, let me know if you would like to contribute an article, a poem, or even a song you composed, so that we can share it with our fellow moms. You may get in touch with me by dropping by my Facebook page. Hope you can also hit the like button while you are there so you can receive regular updates from Happypinaymommy.com direct on your newsfeed.

Thank you so much!

A Happy Homemaker is a Happy Pinay Mommy!

Leaving you with this video on being a new mom:

Where to buy Maternity Gowns Pregnancy Office Clothes Dresses in the Philippines

The post Happypinaymommy.com’s Reflections: How To Be You Po? by Mommy Aizh Geron Celis appeared first on Happy Pinay Mommy.