Rewards for Kids

Kids will always be kids no matter how strict you impose rules  inside the house.  Hubby and I don't give our children material rewards very often but there are  certain instances that we do such as  when they behave well  in public or  when they volunteer to help us around the house.  I used to give them stickers then at the end of the year, they count their stickers and  we convert it into cash.  Now that they are bigger, one of the   favorite  rewards they  ask is go to Dunkin Donuts and have some  donuts.  This does not happen very often  but it is always a treat  when they get it.

 Play date with their friends is also a great reward for them.  They get to be with their friends and do things that they love.  I don't let my kids go on sleep over  but  we do  play date once in a while.  Today was EJ's second play date.

His sister always go on a play date  so he is kind of jealous about that so we made sure that he has some as well.  Glad  he had a great time with his friends at the park today.  When we got home, he took a long nap after he showered.  

Special Day for Fifth Graders

Every  grade at St. Joseph has their own saint.  They celebrate their saint day by  learning  everything about the extra ordinary   deeds that the person did in the past which led them to become a saint.  The fifth graders had their Saint Day celebration  last April 6th.  I always attend the mass during their saint day because it makes   my kids feel  very important when  my husband and I  are there.  Most of the times, my  husband is at work so I tried my best  to be there for them.  

Having this kind of activities in school  teachers the kids so many things.  They learn  to speak in public as they  participate in the readings and it help them  conquer their  stage fright.  It also teaches them the religious aspect of life.

She read the responsorial psalm.

They also played the bell.  Rylie joined the bell choir last year and she likes it.

I am glad that  music is a big part of St. Joseph because that's where my  daughter's interest  is.  She is not much into sports but she  loves participating in  arts and music activities.

Come June, our parish priest will be leaving.  We will have a new priest.

I like it that we  are given the chance to take pictures after the mass.

With Fr. Manny and their religion class teacher, Ms. Granato.

Spartan's First Volleyball Win

The SJS volleybal team had their first game  last April 5th at Bishop John King Mussio Central.  Their opponent was the BJKM's volleyball team.  Rylie was very  nervous as it was her first game.  Unlike most of her  classmates, this is the   only game that she play so she doesn't have much expierience when it comes to sports.  She is the  smallest and the shortest  among her team so she find it hard to serve but she tried her very best during the practices.

 Entrance fee was $3 for addults and $2 for students.  I was surprised that most of the audience was from our school.  That's  probably why the morale of our  players were pretty high.

 After we   signed in and paid our fees, the players had the chance to warm up.

 I am so glad that  our Baby Girl have found a sport that she likes.  She never wanted ti  try sports but I kind of talked her into trying volleyball as I love the  sports.  I played volleyball in high school and college although I wasn't very good at it lol.  I even played with my  co-workers when I was already working in school.  We used to   get together during the weekend and played volleyvball.

 I think that's one of the convinxing factor  why my daughter tried it.  She used to say she doesn't want to try sports because she is so little.  I told her that being little is not an excuse if you want to try  sports, it is in your will and determination.

 So glad that she tried it because now she really loves it.  She look forward for every practice.

 Aside from the physical aspect of the sport, I think the valuable lesson she will learn on playing with teams is the ability to work with other people.  Teamwork is crucial to success when you are playing this kind of sports.

 We were so ikpressed of how  all the girls played so well  on their first game.  Being a guest on other school can be intimidating sometimes but  it didn't seem to affect them.

 Even the  siblings were big supporters of their sisters.

 I was very surprised that  Rylie served so well compared to what I've seen during the practices.  I think she is getting better each time.

 I love that they were communicaing with each other really well.

 In this picture, she called  it "Mine!" which made me so proud.

 Here's Lizzy, she hits  the ball really hard.  I've seen her do it during the practices that it would topuch the ceiling lol.

 During the game, it was no different.  LIzzy hit the ball and went up and never came down lol.  It was awesome!

 All of them were laughing like "What just happen?"

 Here's our little one  serving.  I was very proud when the ball  went over the net, yeah!  I was worried about it because during the practices, she was getting so frustrated because she couldn't get the ball to go over the net.  But during the  actual game, she was able to do it  many times  wich boosted her confidence.

 

For some reason, the  scorers mislabeled the scores.  The 25 should be the guest and  home should be 14 but it's okay, we won!

 Chilling out after the game and  savoring the victory with one of her BFFs.

Spartans won four games that day.  Their next games will be next week  at the same school  and will play against the same  teams, the BJKM.  Hopefully, they would do  well again.  That is it for now, it's time to practice again.  Go Spartans, congratulations on the first win of the season.  

Monitoring Teen Cell phones

Being a parent is a hard enough job in itself, through each stage of your child’s life you think it will get easier as they get older, but the fact of the matter is, each stage brings its own set of problems and complications. Until your child reaches the age of 18, they are your responsibility and one of the most difficult years for parents can be when their children reach their teen ages. It is not entirely the kids’ fault, with them going through puberty and all those hormones causing changes to the body and sometimes to the mind as well; teenage can be considered the age of rebellion and parents find it very hard to keep tabs on their kids during this time. Having a tool that helps in monitoring teen cell phones is not just good thinking but a necessity.

In fact, there is much emphasis being put on monitoring by parents, not only do law enforcement agencies suggest that parents spy on their kids’ activities through XnSpy and other similar apps, but also some governments have made it mandatory. The government of South Korea made it compulsory that all smart devices being sold to minors be installed with monitoring software so that parents could track their children’s activities.

Some Scenarios:

Teenagers as mentioned earlier also have a difficult time – they are trying to understand the changes that they are going through both physically and mentally; thoughts about sex, peer pressure, individuality and personal space, career and adulthood start to be a major part of the teenage. During this time they are susceptible to external pressures and manipulation. They can be victims of cyberbullying or be the ones carrying it out, due to peer-pressure, frustration, etc. Also, the same goes for inappropriate behavior such as sexting and other similar activities. In a worst case scenario, they can fall prey to sexual predators or other dangerous people.  The smart devices our kids use today is a great tool for learning and a part of social learning and development if used in moderation, as the excess of everything is bad. Therefore along with monitoring teen cell phones with apps like xnspy, keeping an open dialogue is important as well. Our kids should know that we are there to listen and help, but we are also watching if they do anything wrong and there will be consequences.

How to monitor?

Smart devices have become a necessity for people regardless of them being adolescents or adults, they don’t leave home without them. Parents can use this to their advantage and spy on device to monitor their child’s activities. As they probably use it for IM chats, browsing, taking pictures and general calling and messaging, all of these communication channels can be monitored by parents through tools like monitoring and tracking apps.

 

Things to keep in mind

First, before making your purchase it would be wise to make a list of features you require such as call records, call recordings, location tracking, text message tracking, etc. Also, make sure that the app you are purchasing supports the device you will be installing it on. It will not work if you have an Android device and the app you’ve purchased only works on Windows Mobile devices. Also, it is important that while doing your research that you make sure that the app is small in size, is discrete – having stealth functionality to maximize the spying effect, and it should not be resource hungry i.e. drain the battery or slow down the device. Since it would really be a pain if your kids complained that their device is slow and that they have to recharge the battery over and over again.

 

A Suitable App

In order to further elaborate the spying process, we will use an app that fulfills most of the aforementioned criteria – xnspy. Xnspy works on both Android and iOS devices, no windows. This app is small that means it can quickly and easily be installed onto the device you wish to monitor. The installation process requires physical access to the device in case of Android (rooted/non-rooted) and jailbroken iOS devices. For a no-jailbreak device, you will just require the iCloud credentials for installation.

Once installed you can use the online web-based dashboard to control the app and monitor the device. Among its many features, you will be able to listen to all calls that are made from the device and read all text messages either sent or received through various channels such as SMS, IM chats, and email. This will allow you to check for suspicious messages – you can counter cyberbullying, sexting, etc.

Xnspy will allow you to spy on the pictures and videos in the device you can check what kind of material your child is being exposed to and what kind of pictures they are taking. The location tracking feature is another powerful feature that lets you know where the device has been and where it is currently at.

Having mentioned all the features of this app if you would like to get more information we suggest that you visit their website xnspy.com as it truly is a powerful tool to monitor teen cell phones.

Feathers for Peacock by Jacqueline Jules is a great Book to Read for Kids

During the Easter break, my kids got the chance to read some books that they bought  fat the school's book fair and this  special book that Wisdom Tales sent them.  The book is called  the Feathers for Peacock.  This book will teach the children how powerful kindness can be.  This is  not only a colorful book that would entertain young  reader's mind  but it will also instill core values  of  generosity and a community that help each other out.  

If you ever wonder  why  peacocks have such  beautiful feathers, this book would sure enlighten you as you and your child enjoy unveiling the  tale of  friendship and kindness that is full of charm.  This is written by  an award winning author  and storyteller, Jacqueline Jules.  The illustrator, Helen Cann is also  a big name who graced  a lot of children's books.  She  won several international awards for his  colorful and lively illustrations and paintings.

I love when my kids  can read and enjoy  what they read in the book.  I encouraged  them to write a short reflection of what they think about the book and what they learn from the story.

Both of them wrote a short narrative  after they read it.  Both of them thinks that kindness  towards other  really  produces great results.

I definitely think that this book is great to read with  your children.  There's a lot to learn on this book.  As parents, we always tell our kids to be kind to others right?  This book is a great example to reinforce  that.  If you have a child who love to read, I highly recommends this.

This will be out in the bookstore this coming April.  You can buy it for $16.95.  There's a great offer from the site where you can win one copy of this beautiful book.  Just  click the link above  to enter the giveaway.

You can watch the trailer  of this book below.  

Disclosure: The owner of this blog was NOT financially compensated to write this review.  I was provided with the product/s mentioned  to help me  facilitate this review but  opinions are my own.

Unsure of What You Need for Your Child? Read my Tips!

When you are pregnant, there are so many things that you get, so that you are ready to bring a baby home. Somethings are completely necessary for a new baby; somethings are not. You need to get a stroller for your baby and a car seat. Other than those, oh-so-obvious things, it can be a little tricky to know what to get. What is useful and what isn’t? When it is your first child, you will have no idea what is needed. Then there are the things as your baby grow up that they will need in their life. At least, when they are toddlers, you have had a little experience as a parent, and roughly know what you do and don’t need! Here is a quick guide to a few of those things that you should get for your children.

When you first have a baby, you will need to decide how they are being fed. Whichever way they are being fed, there are things you can get to make it easier. If you have decided to give nursing a try, then the best things to get for that is to get a nipple shield. You should also invest in a nipple cream as in the early days they can get sore and cracked. When your routine has been established and if your baby gets on with it all well, it will be so much easier for you. Nursing pads are a good idea to get too. You will use these right from the beginning so be sure to have some ready. It might even be worth taking them with you to the hospital. Getting a few nursing bras and tops is a good idea too. You want to feel comfortable to nurse in public, and these make it a lot easier. They will need to be washed almost daily, at first, you have a few in, ready to go.

As well as all of those things, a nursing cover is a good idea. I bet you never imagined there would be so many things that you need, just to help feed your baby! A nursing cover can help so much. It means that you can use both of your hands to help with the baby and make sure that you are all covered. When you are first feeding, the worry of flashing everyone is a bit of a concern. A nursing cover helps with that a lot. A blanket can slip and fall down. Plus, there is a slight paranoia, that the baby can’t breath with their head underneath a thick blanket.

If you have chosen to bottle-feed, it is a good idea to get a big supply of bottles. You will want to have plenty washed and ready to go. A big sterilizer is a good idea as you can clean several at once. You don’t want to have to wash up every few hours when you have a newborn baby.

Something that I know a lot of moms find useful for feeding is muslin burp cloths. They are a must have for whichever way you have chosen to feed your baby. They are so good because they are so thin. They dry quickly so perfect for wiping up spills and baby sick. They are lightweight so you can make sure that you have a lot of them ready to throw in your diaper bag. They can double up as a nursing cover in desperate times too.

Clothing is a must, for obvious reasons, whatever age your child is. At first, it is a good idea to get a handful of the same types of clothing in. Onesies, vests and cardigans are a great idea with tiny ones. As they grow and start to crawl and walk, more ‘regular’ clothes is a great idea. I find that you do so much laundry, that you don’t need to get too many clothes for them. Then you can just get new clothes for them, as and when they grow out of them.

There is a such a variety of clothing for kids these days. You can pretty much dress them in any style that you like; or any style that they like! You might be thinking that going clothes shopping with kids is hard work. I guess it depends on the age of your children. If you can’t face the idea, then shopping online is a great option. It is easy to browse everything all at once then. For birthday gifts, a personalized item of clothing is a great idea. It would work well for a gift for a friend’s new baby too. You can get all different clothes personalized, from jackets, hats and shoes. You can browse for personalized jackets here and see if there is one suitable for your little one.

There are some things that you need to get for your child, that you might not have thought of. If you love to travel, how about getting them their passport early on? You won’t want to have to wait a while to go on vacation if you are waiting for their passport to come back. It can be easy to do when they are so small. They don’t even need their eyes open in the passport picture.

Plenty of books are a great idea to get in, even when they are tiny. Reading and singing to your baby helps them in so many ways. Making reading time a special time will help them to be enthusiastic about reading as they grow up. Making a cosy reading nook in their room is a great idea. Then it will help them to get excited about reading time even more. All you need is a small book shelf and some bean bags or cushions.

What are your must-haves for babies and younger children? I’d love to hear what you loved and needed. It would be interesting to hear what you thought was a useless baby gadget too. Let me know in the comments!