Neo’s Curiosity Led Us to ER

Our little boy has lots of toys – of different kinds.  We want him to explore and be imaginative.  Some of his toys are good for one sitting and some are toys he plays with from time to time.

He has a small box of Legos (and Cogos, the cheaper alternative).  He creates different kinds of vehicles using those Legos and his imagination.  But his imagination went wild last week when he decided to insert a small Lego piece in his right nostril.

We tried to get the small piece out of his nostril using a tweezers, but Neo won’t keep still.  We then asked him to sneeze it out.  He can’t.  We read stories that if a child swallows a small piece of something, they will just poop it out, but the risk of choking comes to mind that we decided to rush him to the hospital. 

It took eight (8) people to hold Neo still.  He was wrapped in a blanket like a mummy.  Luckily the ENT was able to get the small Lego piece out after so much struggling, crying, and shouting. 

We’ve learned two lessons in this incident.  One is that this is not an accident because this is a result of Neo’s curiosity.  Two, if the label says choking hazards, we as parents should be attentive.

Neo’s Fun Day at Fun Ranch Alabang

Neo is a little boy with so much energy inside.  Every afternoon, he gets to run around our small village and play.  He would sometimes end up hurt because of too much activeness.  The mommy in me sometimes feel bad that the little boy is hurt but most of the time I feel proud and pacified once he told me that he is okay and he would go on telling stories about his fun day.

Since he is so happy running and playing around, we decided to treat Neo to a day at Fun Ranch Alabang.  I was able to score a Deal Grocer coupon for unlimited play at their indoor playdium costing Php190.  

Fun Ranch Alabang’s indoor playdium is big. 

The big slide where the little boy is banned (due to age).

Here’s the rate for Fun Ranch Alabang. 

Guardians of kids 3 years old and below are free of charge.  The hubby kept on following the little boy, but then decided that the playdium is safe with all the foams surrounding it, and decided to sit with me at the tables near the playdium.  Parents can eat and do their stuff here while their kids have all the fun they can.

The little boy had so much fun as evident of the photos we weren’t able to capture because he wouldn't keep still.  I asked him if he was happy and he answered “yes”.  I playfully told him we won’t be going back, and he was very firm that we will.  I really know he had so much fun.

The First Week of Preschool

Neo officially entered pre-school last June 9.  After finishing a year at Barangay Day Care, we were able to enroll him for pre-school. 

Since the launch of K-12, DepEd has imposed a rule of thumb when it comes to the age of the kids entering pre-school.  Kids born until September 30, 2011 were allowed to enroll in Kinder 1 (or Nursery in Neo’s school).  Neo, who is born December 2011, was technically acceptable for Toddler Stage but he was given consideration by the school’s teacher-in-charge since he already finished Barangay Day Care.

Let me document Neo’s first week of school.

Day 1 – Tuesday.  The whole family sent Neo to school.  When the flag ceremony started, Neo also started running.  Neo’s new school spends almost 30mins in flag ceremony since they have all sorts of rituals: Prayer, Flag Ceremony, Panatang Makabayan, Greeting Teachers and Classmates, and the Holy Rosary Time.  Neo spent the whole 30mins running around the school.  I could hear a lot of mommies hushing “hindi pa siguro ready” (he is not yet ready).  When the flag ceremony ended, he went inside the classroom (where No Parent or Guardian is allowed).  He tried to outrun his teacher and was caught by a worker.  He went back and was inside the whole time.

House Notes:  We talked non-stop to Neo about behaving and keeping still during class hours.  He answered OPO in all our discussions.

Day 2 – Wednesday. Mama and Ate Espie accompanied Neo to school.  The second day is so much better than the first.  Neo still ran during the Flag Ceremony but ran only half of the school grounds.  When he went inside the classroom for his lessons, he didn’t go out until the end of classes.  He went out with his bag open and all his snacks consumed.

Day 3 – Thursday. Mama and Ate Espie accompanied Neo to school.  The third day is so much much better than the first and second.  During the Flag Ceremony, Neo didn’t run.  He just went on roaming around all his classmates’ area.  He was inside the classroom for the duration of the classes.  He went out with all his snacks consumed and his face towel was left behind at school.

Neo can’t seem to contain his activeness at school, so we decided to look for a sport where he can put all his energy.  We bought him a ball and hoop and hopefully, he can focus on it.

I went to his school for Day 4, and found this activity they did last Thursday.  Neo is really not accustomed to being called Nathaniel, his first name, and thus he wrote NEO in the upper left corner.

It’s a long academic year ahead.  Praying that this will be a fruitful one for Neo.

Carl Cedz Grill and Restaurant

Our family loves to try something new with regard to food and restos.  We are lucky that when we passed by Kawit Cavite, along Centennial Road, there’s an eat-all-you-can buffet restaurant called Carl Cedz Grill and Restaurant.

We arrived sometime around 12noon and found the place full. 

The place is small, most probably a former house converted into a restaurant.  The area is not big and it can be a bit crowded.  They offer minimal food choices though of different varieties. 

A suggestion for improvement is that they refill food as soon as the platters get empty.  Since Carl Cedz is a small place and has a lot of customers, the food platters get empty agad (the reason I don’t have so much food photos).  They need to refill it as soon as possible.

Buffet price is at Php279 per person and Php220 for children 4ft below.  Children below 3ft get to eat for free.  They also offer 20% discount for birthday celebrants who will dine at Carl Cedz a day before, during, and a day after their birthdays.

Independence Day Weekend

June 12 this year fell on a Friday and most working class people are treated for a long weekend.  Since we didn’t plan ahead, we just spent most of it at home and went to SM MOA for some relaxation and bonding.

This beautiful flowers greeted us good morning last weekend.  So nice. 

This is Neo’s first weekend since the classes started.  And during the course of his first week, the hubby and I realized that the little boy needs a sport.  He is so active and can’t seem to contain himself.  He needs an outlet to release all his energy.  Thus we searched for the “sports” he will be into until such time he decides what sports he want.

We ate our lunch at Carl Cedz Grill and Restaurant at Kawit, Cavite before heading to SM MOA.  

Upon arriving at SM MOA, we did some shopping, and was able to buy a hoop and ball for the little boy.  Take note, we didn’t mean this toy to be a reward but instead we bought this for him to have a sports to focus his energy.

We then went to SM by the Bay where the little boy run to his heart’s content.   He also tried the Kiddie Wheels.  This cost Php80 for 8 minutes.  Since Neo is still small, he needed Papa to be his guide.  The little boy loved every bit of the ride.  The Papa didn’t; because he kept on running and increasing his pace to catch up with Neo.

I am working near SM MOA but this is the first time I was able to complete watching the fireworks show.  We waited for it and was really happy we did because according to Chinese beliefs, this wards off bad vibes.

We later ate at Seafood Island’s Biker’s Café. 

It was a very happy weekend spent with the whole family.  J  Looking forward to the next time.

Google Prevents Suspicious Sign In

A lot of us have a lot of different online accounts.  Most of us have known someone (a friend of a friend) or personally has had issues with online security.  Accounts are being hacked because of lax in online security.

Last week, Google sent me an email with the title:  Suspicious Sign In Prevented.  The email stated that somebody tried to sign-in in my gmail account.  The details in the email include the date and time, the IP Address and the location where the suspicious sign-in was done.

Apparently someone from California tried to log-in to my gmail account.  And kudos to Google for preventing it.  Why did Google think it was suspicious?  One, because of the location the sign-in took place, and second, because of the IP address (device) used.

In case you have not yet tried, you can check Google account to see the device you use and the location the sign-in took place.  Just click My Account -> Under Sign-in and Security -> Device Activity & Notifications.  It would show you the list of devices you use and the location you are using it.

So how do we prevent hijackers from hacking our accounts?  Regularly change your password.  Even Google suggest this. 

Some accounts asks security questions to protect the owners, however, keep in mind that the security questions are basic and some are even answerable by Yes or No only.  50% chance of hacking. 

When I logged in to my gmail account, Google prompted me with another notice and asked if this was indeed me and asked me to change my password.

PS:  That suspicious person in California who tried to sign-in to my gmail account was the hubby.  He told me Google didn’t even let him in smoothly.  Google asked him my security question before proceeding.  He didn’t bother to answer (even though he knew the answer) and just shut down gmail.  That prompted Google to send me an email to protect me.

The Food Club

Food is something I don’t want to scrimp on, because other than travel, this is something that you create good memories on.  And since the hubby and I are still young we want to taste as much food as we can, because time will come that there will be foods that we are no longer allowed to eat.

Lucky are we because a lot of eat-all-you-can restaurants are emerging everywhere.  We were able to try quite a few already.  One of them is The Food Club.

We were able to score a deal with Ensogo (because I love shopping at group buying sites), a weekday dinner for two for only Php999.  That’s quite a steal.  We only need to reserve our slot a week before (though according to the fine print, we need to reserve three days ahead, whenever I try to call, it would always be fully booked three days ahead, hence the one week notice).

We arrived early and were seated the moment we gave our voucher to the receptionist.  The Food Club has a very intimate and nice set up. 

They offer lots of food choices though not as plenty as other buffet restaurants I’ve been too.  However, only The Food Club offers lots of seafood.  The whole time we were there, they never ran out of seafood.  Crabs and shrimps galore.

Happy tummies J

We will sure to come back again, next time bringing our whole family with us.