A Slice of Working at Home

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I work at home. Many people still couldn’t get what that means. I’m tired of explaining. Now, I just let them think whatever they want to think and not give a damn. Oh, how life has become simpler since then.

Working at home, in squatting position, in front of TV and with kids running all around

Neighbors thought I work nights somewhere. That’s because they see me at home during the day, wearing shorts and tending my garden. My eyes go up each time someone mentions I work nights. But I have learned to cope with the punishment by saying, “Yeah! See you around.”

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I’ve blogged passionately about parenting stuff in 2008 and 2009. Then it stopped.

Today, 30 months later, the blog’s still here and I’m not. Well, until a few moments ago, that is.

The stillness of chaos by Darwin Bell

What happened in between was a story by itself. We long for the day when we would tell the world about it. Suffice it to say at this moment that never had our marriage and family been as strong, oozing with love and full of adventures.

That was a wake up call, indeed ...

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A homeschool colleague named Oliver was following this blog and I didn't realize it. I ran across him in a homeschool gathering. Then he asked, "What's up? I've not read anything new in your blog."

Aluminum Apple Keyboard by Andrew*

That was a wake up call. I had not updated this blog regularly as I used to. For a time, I thought that was, "Ok." Deep inside me, something said, "No, Marvin, that's not Ok. You're out of integrity here."

Bloggers like me put up blogs like this with a vision. In my case, I've been envisioning this blog to be read by fathers like me. There's just a lot of stuff out there that fathers could munch during breaks, to make them better parents of Filipino kids, especially in the information age.

Our Fantastic 2011 Family Vacation

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The last two weeks have been hectic and exciting for my family. Sponsors in my big family took me, my wife and my kids to a two-week big family vacation that included trips in Cebu, Bohol, Camiguin, Bukidnon and Cagayan de Oro City.

Some of the places we visted

I have summarized the places we visited in the diagram above. It was a mix of air, land and sea travel. There were lots of sight-seeing, fun photos, swimming and snorkeling. I'll be blogging about each of them in greater detail in future posts.

Jump! And the Net Will Appear

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"Jump! And the Net Will Appear" -- That's the title of a book I read a few years back in time. It's also a title that roughly describes what I just went through the last two months. That explains a pause in my posting.

"Star Jump" by Stuart Anthony

To cut my recent story short, I have seen that a business venture that I have spent time on has not been working. It has been either that the business concept has been the problem, or our marketing approach has failed or perhaps I simply wasn't suited for it. I don't know. I have simply acknowledged that I need to move on.

Parenting Tips and the Ways to Bring Up an Awesome Grownup

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Parenting Tips and the Ways to Bring Up an Awesome Grownup
By Chloe Bilboa Platinum Quality Author

It might look like a classic Western flick, but tots will involve you in standoffs, OK Corral-style. Effective parenting advice for youngsters 2 to 12 years of age would include you bringing up excellent children who'll succeed during their grownup lives, along with you surviving to tell the tale. It is a difficult task with no instruction manual, but seeing your toddlers mature into wonderful individuals will provide you with profound happiness in the long run.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lomoholga/

Raising Kids -- Surprisingly Smart Parenting Tips for Dads and Moms

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Hats off to these smart parenting tips for new mums. Here they go (emphasis mine):

1. You won't need half the crap that you bring to the hospital with you. And it will be a pain in the butt to carry it all home.
2. There are tons of stupid baby gadgets out there. Don't get suckered into things like baby wipes warmers, knee-pads for crawlers, etc.
3. It will be much harder than you ever expected, and so much more rewarding than you ever expected.
4. Let your partner help. Insist that your partner helps.
5. Even with a newborn, you need time alone. Give the baby to your partner, a grandparent, anything, and get out of the house for an hour, ALONE! Get a pedicure, buy a book, or just go grocery shopping by yourself, at least once a month.

Source: What advice would you give to a new mum about raising kids? at Yahoo! Answers

What I like most about these tips is that it says, "Let your partner help. Insist that your partner helps." This is a cool call for husbands (like me) to help in parenting, isn't it?

Raising Kids and Swapping Parenting Tips? Five Reasons Why This is Cool

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I pray this initiative to swap tips on raising kids through a magazine in Sioux Falls succeeds. Every parent needs tips. Come on, we exchange tips about golf all the time. Why not about raising kids? Doing that right may mean far more to us in our last breath than a series of holes-in-one.

New Magazine Offers Resources For Parents

SIOUX FALLS, SD - Online groups and play dates help parents swap tips about raising kids, and now Sioux Falls parents can find that same kind of advice in a magazine. With children come questions, and the answers can sometimes be hard to find.

"We really don't have anything right now that we can get lots of good information about parenting, tips, lots of advice from other parents, which is hard," mother Leigh Jerzak said. But a group of local parents hopes to change that.

Source: keloland.com

Gosh, how true. We have marriage and family gurus filling up our channels. Tips from other parents are as good. I remember a movie about someone closely following the advise of a popular parenting counselor. Later, he discovered that the counselor had no child and never had one. What a funny story.

Homeschooling -- Building a Family Who Loves

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A fundamental homeschooling attribute found expression in one of the blogs I stumbled upon. Building a family was mentioned in the third paragraph of the Guest Family Homeschool Mission Statement:

Give generously to each other as we honor others above ourselves, building a family who loves, encourages and enjoys one another. As a family we will give generously to others, instilling a purpose that is outward and sacrificial in God’s love.
Source: Waiting for Perfect @ aisforanteater.com

One of the most common objections encountered by parents who go into homeschooling is this: "How about the socialization of your kid?" To answer that question, here's a picture for immediate gratification:

Learn Filipino Book for Filipinos and Foreigners Alike

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This Learn Filipino book available in Amazon is a fascinating find. Being a non-Tagalog native speaker myself, I see the importance of this book.

It's not just for foreigners. It is also for Filipinos who don't speak "Filipino." Yes, there are many Filipinos in the Philippines who do not speak "Filipino" as their native language. They need this book as much as foreigners.

How come? You might say.

In the latest (1987) constitution of the Philippines, the word "Filipino" got a new meaning. From then on it also referred to the "national language" of the Philippines.

The thing was, the national language up until 1987 used to be Tagalog. It was spoken by people in Metro Manila and adjacent provinces. So, the "Filipino" language referred to by the constitution was actually Tagalog, but with words incorporated from other Philippine dialects.