Truly Rich and Blessed

On #TheParentFiles: Family Traditions

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TPF

Earlier this year, my husband and I were blessed to be invited by #TheParentFiles team as guests for their third season. (Thanks to Maricel of The Parenting Emporium for recommending us, and for snapping the BTS photo above!)

In case you have never heard of it, here is the description of this unique online parenting show from Industree.TV’s website:

Welcome to the exciting journey of raising little humans. #TheParentFiles is here to help by sharing the informative opinions of parents, teachers, medical experts and respected childcare practitioners through a variety of topics. Produced by blogger, educator and mom, Cat Juan-Ledesma, there’s certainly something to learn for everyone.

We shared a bit about our family traditions in the first episode below, and I am so happy that we got to mention our “nameday” celebrations, even for just a few seconds (yay for #LiturgicalLiving)!

Each family is unique and has its own traditions, of course, and it was so nice to hear what other families do to make memories with their kids. I hope this encourages you somehow to create (or add to) your own family traditions! After all, our relationships are part and parcel of “the ‘riches’ we already have”!

What family traditions do you have? Feel free to share in the comments!

3 Suprising Ways Virgin Coconut Oil Can Bless Your Family

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benefits of virgin coconut oil

You might find the title of this post funny or a bit weird but I really meant to word it that way. Because the truth is using virgin coconut oil has really blessed our family in different ways.

And since we believe that being “Truly Rich and Blessed” is all about “GROWING OUR FAITH, LOVING OUR SELF, STRENGTHENING OUR RELATIONSHIPS, MAXIMIZING OUR RESOURCES, AND DELIGHTING IN OUR DISCOVERIES AND EXPERIENCES,“ I’d like to share some benefits of virgin coconut oil, which we count among our “discoveries.”

Disclaimer: What I share here should not be considered medical advice or anything like that. I am merely sharing information based on what I have researched and on our family’s personal experiences. Incidentally, while we’re disclaiming things, please know that this post is sponsored by VPharma but all opinions remain my own and I was no way influenced by the company. 🙂

So, without further ado, here are a few surprising “blessings” or benefits of virgin coconut oil:

1.  It has “antimicrobial” properties.

I first discovered this soon after I gave birth to our second baby, who developed a fungal infection when she was still a newborn. Since our family was still based in Timor Leste at the time, I researched on different ways to help speed up her recovery.

I was leaning more towards natural remedies and eventually discovered that virgin coconut oil is commonly used to treat fungal infections. Doctors from the Department of Medical Microbiology & Parasitology, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria even conducted a study about this, stating that “Coconut oil should be used in the treatment of fungal infections in view of emerging drug-resistant Candida species.”

benefits of virgin coconut oil

Besides its antifungal properties, virgin coconut oil or, more specifically, its components lauric, capric and caprylic acid, is also anti-bacterial, as seen in a study conducted by researchers from the School of Biomedical Sciences at Kent State University in the U.S. 

This is most probably why many natural health advocates recommend applying virgin coconut oil to cuts, wounds, and even insect bites. We personally do this on our selves and our kids when needed, especially in “sensitive” areas like the face.

2. It helps enrich and boost the milk supply of breastfeeding moms.

I personally did not know about this unique property of virgin coconut oil until I had our fourth child, who had some health issues as a baby (but everything worked out, by God’s grace). When he became underweight, his doctor advised me to try drinking virgin coconut oil to help make my breastmilk “fattier” and more nutritious. This is because virgin coconut oil contains essential fatty acids like omega-3 fatty acids.

Because of that piece of advice, I did some research and found out that omega-3 fatty acids also help in the production of the hormones responsible for breastmilk production. I also recently discovered this interesting study by Indonesian researchers that shows how virgin coconut oil intake in breastfeeding mothers actually helps improve the medium chain fatty acid content of breastmilk — so cool!

benefits of virgin coconut oil

Image courtesy of VPharma.ph

Of course, it’s always best that breastfeeding moms remember the “law” of “demand and supply” when it comes to breastfeeding, i.e. that the best way to increase one’s milk supply is to “remove more milk from the breast,” as IBCLC Kelly Bonyata says. I also recommend seeking a breastfeeding expert’s advice if you are having breastfeeding challenges (and by expert, I mean a professional like a breastfeeding advocate pediatrician/doctor, a certified lactation counselor or certified lactation consultant).

3. It may be consumed by infants who need to gain more weight.

You may (or may not!) know this already but our two youngest kids both had weight gain issues as newborns. They both became very underweight, and we had to work extra hard at helping them gain more weight.

In addition to addressing the underlying reasons for their conditions, plus checking on possible breastfeeding problems, their pediatrician advised giving virgin coconut oil and heraclene. For our youngest, we chose to give him Naturali Premium Cold-Pressed Virgin Coconut Oil  (VCO) upon the recommendation of our friends from . (I also ingested Naturali VCO upon the pedia’s advice, as previously stated, and it is the best VCO for me so far, primarily because of its mild taste compared to other VCO brands that we have tried!)

benefits of virgin coconut oil

Image courtesy of VPharma.ph

Apparently, many Filipino pediatricians prescribe virgin coconut oil for underweight babies, and this 2005 study published in the Philippine Journal of Pediatrics even shows “a trend towards an increase in weight gain and other growth parameters among those [low birth weight infants] whose feedings were augmented with VCO [virgin coconut oil].”

(Again, please remember that this post should NOT be considered a form of medical advice or prescription in any way. Kindly practice due diligence and consult a medical professional you and/or your child before using anything mentioned here. Although I advocate natural remedies and/or supplements, please note that I always consult medical professionals like doctors when it comes to my kids’ care.)

So, there you have it — just a few ways virgin coconut oil can benefit you and your family. And when I say “benefit”, I also mean “bless” because we all know that whatever is good or beneficial for our loved ones can be considered a blessing from our good Lord, right? 😉

Now, I’d like to know: Have you ever used virgin coconut oil? How? Why? Do share in the comments!

*This post is brought to you by VPharma. All opinions remain the author’s. The author was in no way influenced by the company. All images in this post are from Pixabay.com, unless otherwise stated.

10 Fantastic Summer Activities You Should Make Your Kid Try

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summer activities for kids

It’s summertime here in the Philippines and we all know what that means, right? More time for kids to be kids! (Though generally, if you’re a homeschooling family like we are, kids really have more free time. 😉 )

Parents are usually on the lookout for great summer activities for kids so I am very happy that my friend and fellow mom blogger Pehpot Pineda came up with this list — I hope it will help our fellow parents out there somehow!

Pehpot and me at the 2015 Bloggys Awards Night. We were both still preggy at the time. Gosh, how time flies! #TeamBuntis FTW! (Photo from MommyPehpot.com)

Pehpot and me at the 2015 Bloggys Awards Night. We were both still preggy at the time. Gosh, how time flies! #TeamBuntis FTW! (Photo from MommyPehpot.com)

10 Fantastic Summer Activities You Should Make Your Kid Try

Your child will not stay young forever so let him try these 10 fun-filled summer suggestions that he will surely never regret and never forget! Have fun, the both of you! Don’t forget the sunscreen!

1. Go to a festival and play traditional games.

Seek a nearby town where a festival is ongoing. Look for fiesta games and rides. Try the Ferris Wheel and the caterpillar; your kid will have lots of fun there! You can also try the lucky games there like the color combination and bingo games.

2. Play hide and seek in your backyard.

Turn off your Wi-Fi, keep your gadgets, and play the traditional hide and seek in your backyard. You can also try “Bahay-bahayan,” “Piko,” “Langit-lupa,” etc. You will get refreshed, and your kid will get to know how rich Pinoy culture is.

3. Pick fruits or vegetables on a nearby farm.

It is an unforgettable experience! If there is no nearby farm, consider going on a trip to Baguio and try fruit picking at Benguet’s Strawberry Farm.

4. Build a sandcastle and have a Smores bonfire camp.

The beach is for fun memories. Make it unique and let your kids explore their imagination and you will be surprised at how creative they are! Try building a sandcastle during the day. At night, light a bonfire then have some Smores snacks.

5. Plant flowering and fruit-bearing plants.

Teach your kids some science at home, plant some seeds and let the child see how they will grow and bear flowers and fruits. You can let them experience harvesting the fruits of their labor later on.

6. Go fishing.

It is a very sweet summer activity that not all kids can experience. Look for the nearest fishing amenity that you can find and let your child have fun.

7. Stargaze in your backyard.

Set up a mini camping area in your backyard and wait for shooting stars. Put a thick blanket on the ground and lay your head there as you watch the stars glow in the sky.

8. Go hiking.

Go out for fun and try hiking on a very easy trail that is suitable for your kid. Let your kids experience how fun it is to get close to Mother Nature.

9. Swim in a lake, waterfall, or river.

It is unusual that you will find a lake in your place so get out of town and seek a lovely lake, waterfall, or river. Try swimming there but be sure to stay safe! You and your kid will surely love how different these bodies of water are compared to the beach.

10. Enroll in an unusual summer class.

Every summer, your child is always looking for new things to try so let him try things he hasn’t tried yet. Look for summer activities, workshops, and classes where you can enroll your kid. Mommy Blogger Pehpot has a list of some exciting activities for kids and teens. Some of the summer activities are very tempting to try.

What summer activities for kids do you have lined up? Feel free to share in the comments!

40 Ways to a Meaningful Lent

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Lenten activities

Lent is upon us so I thought I would try to share some ideas for meaningful Lenten activities. You can pick just a few suggestions from this list of course — I leave it up to you, but I do urge you to ask the Holy Spirit to guide you as you choose what you will do! (I am actually writing this as our family is experiencing an early “Lent-of-sorts”, with one child after another falling ill — see my Instagram post below! — I initially thought that I shouldn’t even bother doing it, but I could not help it. I feel this needs to be written!)

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Anyway, here is the list of suggested Lenten activities:

1. BEFORE Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, bury or hide the Alleluia.

2. BEFORE Lent begins, decide as a family or on your own what you will “give up”/abstain from/fast from during Lent. (We did this last weekend. If it’s already Lent by the time you read this post, you can still do this. It’s never too late!)

3. Related to No. 2, if you have kids, talk about WHY we Catholics observe fasting and abstinence during Lent. Since fasting and abstinence apply to only certain people, “giving up” something we enjoy/like is an activity kids can do even if they are not required to fast.

4. “Decorate” for Lent: Use purple cloth (or, in our case, crepe paper 😉 ) to cover the altar/s in your home. Use a cruficix as the “centerpiece” for your altar/s to emphasize that Lent is all about Jesus’ crucifixion, death and resurrection. (Take a peek at how we did this 4 years ago. Admittedly, that was the ONLY year I went “all-out” in decorating for Lent! 🙂 I don’t know if I have the time nor energy to do it this year, given our current situation. Let’s see!)

5. Print this to help you get started on “easy” Lenten activities.

6. If you have kids, you can also print to help them count down to Easter.

7. Go to Mass on Ash Wednesday.

8. Read the Bible passage about Jesus’ 40 days in the desert.

9. Make (and use!) a …

10. …or a Now cross. Either is a good way to remind us of the true meaning of Lent.

11. Use a Family Chart to track your family’s progress during Lent.

12. Intentionally do at least ONE good deed every day during Lent (and beyond!).

13. Intentionally make at least ONE sacrifice every day during Lent (and beyond!). (We’ve done sacrifice beans before to help the kids remember to do this.)

14. Involve other family members in your Lenten plans — you can find great ideas for Lenten activities for kids .

15. Consider making a Lenten scrapbook.

16. Make an almsgiving box and use it to bless others. (Use Google for more ideas on how to do this!)

17. Learn about the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary in relation to Lent.

18. Pray these Mysteries as a family and/or on your own. If you have young kids, you might want to start with praying a decade first.

19. Set aside time daily for personal prayer. If you already do this, add extra prayers to your routine.

20. Related to no. 19, if you have kids and they are old enough, encourage them to do the same. (We are hoping our older kids can be consistent in starting this year. Lent is the perfect time to start teaching/encouraging them to do so, don’t you think?)

21. Go to a weekday Mass, i.e. go to Mass on one day during the week in addition to regular Sunday Mass. If you can, go to daily Mass — and how privileged you are if you can do so!

22. Pray the Stations of the Cross.

23. If you have kids, teach them how to do No. 22 by using resources from the Internet. You can start here if you want.

24. Make a heartfelt Examination of Conscience… ideally, in preparation for no. 25 (see below).

25. Go to Confession. If you have older kids who can do so too, bring them along with you. And bring the younger ones too, so they can learn firsthand about the beauty of this Sacrament! (I’ve actually gone to confession a few times with a baby in tow, or a preschooler, who usually just listens quietly while I confess my sins to the priest! 😉 )

26. Join a Lenten retreat or recollection. Parishes usually hold this but you can also join retreats online. Loyola Press has one, as does Creighton University. Locally, Pins of Light usually has online Lenten retreats every year.

27. Learn a Lenten hymn. Here is one suggestion, though you can try listening to the playlist below for more ideas (it’s one of my favorites for Lent; been listening to it for the past few years!):

28. Read and/or memorize one (or all!) of the Seven Penitential Psalms. (Note to self: Include this in our homeschool routine for Lent!)

29. If you’re a homeschooler or afterschooler, consider doing a picture study of a Lent-related artwork, like The Baptism and Temptation of Christ, The Last Supper or The Crucifixion of Jesus.

30. Learn and practice the Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy.

31. Pray the Divine Mercy chaplet as a family.

32. Make meatless meals.

33. Volunteer somewhere as a family.

34. Give out sandwiches and drinks to streetkids. (We’ve done this a few times before and the kids still remember it!)

35. Set aside time for Scripture reading and reflection. Do this alone and with your family, whether you’re married or not. (If you’re single, try doing it with those you share the same home with.)

36. For those with kids in their homes/lives, the Holy Heroes Lenten Adventure is an easy, inspiring way to observe Lent.

37. For the 40 days of Lent, choose one person or group of persons to pray for. E.g. Day 1: The sick, Day 2: The victims of war, etc.

38. Watch Lent-related movies. Yes, I know less screen time is the ideal for Lent but you can still reflect a lot on the reason behind Lent while watching a good movie. Check here and here for some movie suggestions. (D0 note that some titles might not be suitable for kids.)

39. Observe Holy Week, especially the Easter Triduum, with your family. You can find some useful resources here and here.

40. Make plans for celebrating Easter, the most important feast in the Liturgical Calendar. It lasts for 50 days, so there is plenty of time to celebrate!

And there you have it. Whew! Praise God, I didn’t think I would be able to finish this post. Anyway, like I said, it’s up to you how you want to use this list. I just pray that you and your loved ones will be blessed by it somehow, and that your Lent will be very meaningful. Praying the same for me and my family! God bless us all!

Did you find this post useful for having a more meaningful Lenten season? If so, please do share it with others!

How a “Yes Space” Can Bless Your Family

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I have a confession to make: I have been a mom for over 10 years but I had never heard of a “yes space” until my friends from The Learning Basket and The Parenting Emporium (TPE) mentioned it during one of our conversations a few weeks ago. We were looking at one of the latest items included in TPE’s ever-growing line of carefully curated products and Sanne mentioned that it would make for a great “yes space” for babies.

The item was, in fact, a JollyBaby playpen. Coupled with another TPE-curated item, the convertible playmat-cum-playsack (on which the playpen is located; pictured below), the two make for a comfortable “yes space” for little kids like our baby-now-turning-into-a-toddler.

yes space

This photo was taken a few weeks AFTER I first saw the JollyBaby playpen at TPE. FYI. 🙂 In case you start wondering why Titus has a shaved head here in the photo, as opposed to his long-rocker-hair look in the next photo!

If you don’t know what a “yes space” is, here is how occupational therapist Christie Kiley — who blogs at MamaOT.com — describes it: It is basically a safe space in your home where you can say “yes” to everything in it.

When that little one is in the “yes” space, she can freely explore and crawl and pull to stand and cruise and do whatever her little heart desires. — Christie Kiley

So, inspired by what I saw at TPE and what I learned about “yes spaces”, I spoke to my husband and he set about making a “playpen-of-sorts” for Titus’s “yes space”; one that would go well with the ultra useful and comfortable Comflor playmat we had received last month from Babycare Philippines for review. We especially saw the need for it after Titus’s surgery for his undescended testes and hernia, because he was starting to return to his usual active and playful self. We wanted to make sure that he could move around safely and comfortably.

This is what Anthony ended up making (out of PVC pipes 😉 ):

yes space

I love, love, love how Titus’s “sort-of-playpen” complements our Comflor mat! The mat has double-sided designs and both help provide learning opportunities for Titus. He especially loves it when we point to the different animals on the mat and make corresponding animal sounds!

Comflor mats are made of eco-friendly, non-toxic, BPA-free materials, and are waterproof and oh-so-easy to clean, too. Check out the video below for more info on Comflor (and Bebedom, another Babycare Philippines’ brand) mats, and visit the Babycare Philippines website for more info on their products:

Our other kids loved keeping Titus company in his “yes space”, even if it meant that there was not much space for anything else in our living area (you can’t really call it a “living room”).

However, after having company over a few times (namely my parents and other relatives), we realized that Titus’s initial “yes space” needed some “downsizing” — because it was so hard for other people to move around our little apartment! 🙁

So I prayed for a solution and, by God’s grace and generosity, He came up with one via the kindness of one of Titus’s ninangs (who gifted him with a playmat-cum-playsack), and the importer of here in the Philippines (who sent us an extendable playpen for review). God is SO amazing this way; He truly provides for our family’s needs!

yes space

Made out of solid pine wood for strength and security, with durable corner connectors for added stability, the JollyBaby playpen also has rounded edges and corners for added safety. It’s also quick and easy to assemble — Anthony was able to put it together within 15 minutes or so.

Below is a photo of how another JollyBaby playpen looks like, with more panels. (I’ve included the contact details of the importer as well.)

yes space

So what about our Comflor then? Well, it is still being maximized as Titus’s playmat whenever we visit my parents and other places. We will also “rotate” using it and the playmat-cum-playsack from TPE for Titus’s “yes space”, so we can wash the playmat-cum-playsack (it’s made out of cloth, compared to the Comflor, which is made out of unique elastic polymer that has passed strict European and Australian standards. There is no need to wash the Comflor — you can just wipe it with a cloth and a cleaner like  {which is also available at TPE}.)

How the “Yes Space” is blessing our family

Now that we have a dedicated “yes space” for Titus, it is easier for me to leave him for longer periods of time while I attend to other matters like chores, work-related tasks and homeschooling-related tasks.

Understandably though, he seems to be happier inside his “yes space” when one or more of his siblings are with him, or when I am with him. I noticed that he tends to be more clingy now, since his surgery. I am praying that this will pass, so let’s see how it goes!

Despite his clinginess, I still consider the “yes space” as a blessing because it gives him a safe place to practice being independent, plus engage in self-directed play. It’s also a place where he can bond with his siblings, and with us, his parents.

So, if you are interested in a “yes space” for your own kid/s, I would really recommend the products mentioned in this post — all of which are also available at The Parenting Emporium (the Comflor play mat, the JollyBaby extendable playpen, and the playmat-cum-playsack). If you want to see them in person, drop by TPE’s store at No. 29, 1st Street, New Manila, QC. You can also contact them via / / for inquiries and orders, or e-mail the .

 Did you find this post useful? If yes, please feel free to share it! God bless you.

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