big & huggable

great opportunity to know his talent

admin_bighuggable — Fri, 04 May 2012 12:23:51 +0000

Currently, my fourth child is into doing some band activities although he doesn’t forget playing basketball and computer games. It’s a good addition to his activities and a great opportunity to know his talent. It’s been a month since he started liking this thing. I have nothing against it as it might lead him to his better future. No one knows he might become a great musician after sometime.

Honestly, I wanted to give him some support by purchasing one of those visual sound guitars. I’m secretly looking for the best priced guitar. I don’t want him to know about it because I don’t want to frustrate him if I can’t afford it. If I can afford it, it will be a great surprise for him. I’m very sure it can make him really happy and failure to buy it after he learns my intention will surely frustrate him. So, it’s better to keep it discreet so not create expectations. Hopefully, I will find the best one.

wearing good looking glasses

admin_bighuggable — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 05:40:31 +0000

It’s not like I don’t want to grow old, the thing is growing old has a lot of disadvantages like wrinkles, difficulty in losing weight, aching joints and bad vision. Yep, I no longer read without my eyeglasses on, letters are just like scattered ants in a piece of paper. I guess this what they call aging. All I can do now is live with it by having a great looking eyeglass.

It’s my daughter who said that I should be wearing good looking glasses. Actually, I can just do with an ordinary one so long as I can read. But, she insists that I should at least have a little sense of fashion. Well, part of me growing old is to be contented with what I already have. Since she said that, I started searching for the best eyeglasses frames that led me to greatglasses website. Hmmm, I’m impressed with the number of eyeglasses I found from single vision glasses to progressive glasses in different shapes and sizes. It also comes in different design and materials. All I have to do now is to find the best one that suits my taste, the size of my face and the needs of my eyes.

keeping on blabbing over my weight

admin_bighuggable — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 15:11:00 +0000

Ever since I started this blog, I keep on blabbing over my weight. It’s not that I’m not doing something about it, but it’s really difficult for me. I’m a little old to cope up with the pace of youngsters who can do magic with their sizes. My joints are already aching whenever I do strenuous exercise. People tell me it’s not too late, well, I know it’s not. But, I have to take it slowly because it’s too painful for my part.

I’m reading a lot of diet pill reviews because there’s so much to learn more about it. But, I’m a little afraid to use it. Like I said I’m not that young and there are things I feel. I would need to consult the expert before going for supplements.

Oh well, I’m sure with patience and commitment, I know I can still lose weight even for a little. Looking like models isn’t the plan, just having healthy body is enough especially for my age.

Tips on Balancing Technology and Media

admin_bighuggable — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 01:51:00 +0000

According to the research when children are “plugged in” all the time, they’re not as happy as kids who spend less time using media and technology. The challenge for parents is not to prevent children from using media and technology, but to achieve a healthy balance between the times spent connected to technology and having it unplugged at home. Developing a family media use policy is an excellent way to achieve balance in the amount of time your children spend on cell phones, watching TV and using computers. So, here are some Family media use policies:

Who: Decide who can use a computer, TV and cell phone in your home. Consider the ages of your children to determine whether or not they are old enough for a cell phone or to use the computer independently. If your child is younger than middle school-age, he may not have a need for a cell phone. Make a decision that reflects your understanding of your child’s maturity and needs.
When: Set limits on when your children can talk or send texts on their cell phone, watch TV and use the computer. Consider taking your children’s phones away at bedtime so they don’t stay up late sending texts that you can’t monitor.
Where: Make sure your children understand where they can and can’t use cell phones and computers and watch TV. Discuss, for example, that church, school and the dinner table are inappropriate places to talk on the phone or send text messages. Remove TVs from the bedrooms in your home, or at least from your child’s bedroom. Encourage TV and computer usage to occur in one common area in your home, as this will help you monitor usage and stay connected as a family.
What: Develop expectations about what your children can and can’t do online; who they can and can’t talk to on their phones; and what they can and can’t watch on TV. Ask them what their friends are doing online or talking/texting about on their phones. Discuss the harmful effects of gossiping or slandering people, for example, online or over the phone.

Embracing technology and helping your children understand how to use it in a safe, healthy manner is the best way to prepare them for life as adults, which will surely involve using media and technology. The time spent and work you do setting and enforcing your expectations regarding media usage will pay off by preparing your children for adulthood.

nice to be online once again

admin_bighuggable — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 14:58:22 +0000

It’s nice to be online once again. It’s been ages since the last time I posted something here. I get a little busy with so many things, which I’m not going to list here. Anyway, today I have time to take a lot of rest that is no laundry and cleaning to do. I have all day to do whatever I want to start with manicure and pedicure, which I finished early this morning. The cooking is already dealt with.

So, for this afternoon before taking a nap I do some window shopping where I find a number of cell phone accessories. It’s not like I’m so fond of phones. I just need some stuff to upgrade the looks of my phone. Well, I did not just find the item I’m looking, but I also find lots of cute accessories like the handset for iphone. The looks of it is so nostalgic like the 1950s model. Though handset is quite big for a smart phone, the popping colors are really amazing. Oh well, I’m not sure if I will be getting that one because I’m not using a smart phone. But, there are other items that are already in my shopping cart.

Ways to Teach Kids on Money

admin_bighuggable — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 07:36:52 +0000

Children aren’t born with an understanding of how money works; all parents learn that one quickly. A young child sees the things they want or need just appear from Mommy and Daddy. The fact that Mommy or Daddy gave money to the sales clerk means nothing to them. So how do you teach your kids about money?

You have to consider your child’s age first. My daughter, for example, is three, going on four. Right now she knows the names of the various coins, but the difference in value between a dollar and a quarter, for example, is completely unclear to her.

To help her learn, we are letting her spend just a little bit of money. We gave her a $3 budget to buy her baby brother a birthday present a couple months ago. She struggled quite a bit finding presents in her price range and had to settle for something other than what she had wanted to buy for him. Specifically, she wanted to buy a farm for him, but most of those we saw were in the $20 price range. She finally found a variety of small gifts that fit her budget. She was so delighted to be able to give the cashier the money we had given to her.

Now, obviously this taught her very little about the value of money. She didn’t have to earn it, and she really didn’t understand why some things cost too much. But it was a very early lesson in sticking to a budget.

You need to decide when you give your children money and why. Some parents prefer to give a regular allowance with no association with getting chores done, etc. Others have a set rate given provided chores are done, while still others have a set rate per chore completed. There’s no right or wrong way, but you do need to be clear on when your kids get money. Don’t forget to consider ways in which your kids may earn extra money.

Also consider making rules on how allowance may be spent. Many families have their kids put their allowance in multiple containers – one for immediate use, one short term savings, one long term savings, one for charity, or any combination of containers. Saving money is a habit many parents have trouble keeping, but it is a great one to teach your children.

By the same token, try to avoid teaching your kids to rely too much on credit. Some parents will let their kids borrow money against their next allowance. Now, managing credit well is a vital skill, but it is one best saved for after kids have managed to learn how to save money well, in my opinion. On special family trips it may be appropriate to loan your child some money, but if it something that can easily be bought later it is far better that they learn the value of saving toward a goal.

But there are more ways to teach your kids about money than giving them an allowance. Talk to them about what things cost when you go to the grocery store. Go over what each item costs, and if buying by weight, explain how buying more means you pay more, and that you only want to buy what will actually be used. This is also a good time to teach them about quality, and how to look for the best produce. Children are very proud when they find food that is worth buying and may have a good eye for things once they have been taught what to look out for.

Don’t forget to teach them about coupons! Once your child is old enough to not throw them around, he or she may be good at keeping track of your coupons and making sure you remember to use them.

As your kids get older you should help them to build a more realistic picture of what things cost. Have them write the checks out for your bills – or, if you have automatic payments as many people do nowadays, go over your statements from your various bills so that they can see how much everything is really costing you.

Managing money well is a vital life skill and one that children can begin to learn at a very young age. You don’t have to have your finances in good order before setting a good example for your child. In fact, teaching good money habits to your child might just help you to take a look at how you are spending your money and help you to improve your habits. This is one habit that your kids will be grateful to have later!

benefits of planning your meals

admin_bighuggable — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 08:06:44 +0000

If you repeatedly find yourself searching for something to prepare for dinner, meal planning may be just the thing you need to make meal time less stressful. Here are some of the benefits of meal planning:

You’ll save time - knowing what you’re going to cook for dinner means you can get the meal on the table faster because you won’t have to decide what to make. Also, when you plot out what meals you’re going to fix for the week, you can simply make one trip to the store and buy all the food you’ll need for those meals. You won’t have to search the refrigerator or freezer when dinner time arrives, and you can eliminate trips to the grocery store looking for something to eat that everyone likes.
You’ll save money - meal planning can also help you save money. For one, when you know what you’re going to cook for dinner, you won’t eat out as much during the week because you can’t think of anything appealing to make. By simply eating at home more instead of eating out, you’ll keep more money in your pocket that you can use for other important things.
You’ll be able to eat healthier - if you tend to eat burgers and fries from fast food places a few times a week, meal planning can help you to eat healthier by replacing those meals with healthier ones. Instead of greasy, fatty hamburgers or having pizza delivered, you could have a nutritious meal of vegetables, salad and a lean main course of chicken or beef for dinner. In addition, if you need to restrict sugar or salt from your diet, menu planning can help you to consistently cook meals that fit your nutritional standards and stick to your diet.
You’ll be able to reduce meal time stress - if you have your dinners planned out, you won’t have to figure out what to make while everyone is hungry and in bad moods. You’ll already know what you’re going to make, and dinner time can go smoothly as everyone looks forward to the delicious meal they’re going to eat.
Meal planning is easy - planning what you’re going to prepare for dinner over the weekdays isn’t difficult. It just takes a little time to decide beforehand what you want to eat, and then purchase the food. You can plan your dinners for the week days, the entire week or longer.

However, start small by planning out, for example, five dinners for the weekdays. Once you see what’s involved, you’ll have a better idea how many meals and how far ahead you’d like to plan.

Therefore meal planning can help you to save money and time. Meal planning can also help you to eat healthier, reduce meal time stress, and isn’t difficult to do. After you start meal planning, you may find that dinner time becomes family time again.

Some ways to Prevent from Diarrhea

admin_bighuggable — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 08:46:04 +0000

Mostly, antibiotics may benefit some adults with diarrhea. If selected carefully, antibiotics may decrease the severity of illness and shorten the duration of symptoms. If you have recently traveled out of the country or have been camping (and may have been exposed to contaminated water in the wilderness), your health care provider may prescribe specific medication used to treat traveler’s diarrhea or certain intestinal parasites.

Bismuth subsalicylates (such as those found in Pepto-Bismol) are one of the safest ways to treat the symptoms of diarrhea. Treatments containing bismuth will help control cramping, pain, loose stools, gastrointestinal toxins, and abdominal contractions. Take as directed. Bismuth is safe for both children and adults.

Loperamide is found in many over-the-counter anti-diarrhea medicines, including Imodium, Kaopectate II, Maalox Anti-Diarrheal, and Pepe Diarrhea Control. Loperamide works by slowing down the movements of the intestines.

If a parasitic infection caused your diarrhea, prescription antibiotics may ease your symptoms. Antibiotics sometimes, but not always, help ease signs and symptoms of bacterial diarrhea. However, antibiotics won’t help viral diarrhea. If you have chronic diarrhea, treating the underlying disease may help ease your diarrhea.

One common way to give Lactobacillus is to just feed your child yogurt with live and active cultures, which means that the yogurt contains Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus. Some brands of yogurt also contain Lactobacillus acidophilus. Although most brands of yogurt do not list the amount of live and active cultures on the label, you can look for brands with the National Yogurt Association’s Live and Active Culture seal, which must contain at least 100 million active cultures per gram.

In a 4 ounce pack of yogurt, that should equal about 10 billion colony forming units, so eating 1-2 packs of yogurt a day should be about equivalent to what the children got in most of the studies.
Water is extremely important in preventing dehydration, it does not contain electrolytes. To maintain electrolyte levels, you could have broth or soups, which contain sodium, and fruit juices, soft fruits, or vegetables, which contain potassium.

great to update again

admin_bighuggable — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 20:42:30 +0000

Another month has gone by. Time just flies so fast, and I lost track of it. I can’t even remember the last time I posted something here; it feels like ages since that time. A lot of things happen that take away most of my time. I’m way too exhausted sometimes that remembering to give this blog a visit is quite hopeless. Plus, my kids monopolize the computer and wouldn’t give me a chance to take a glimpse of what is happening in the blogging world. Just lucky I was able to snatch a little time today. So, I will make the most of it.

The first thing I did was for the best valentine’s gift I could give hubby. But, for some reason I find myself looking at polysorb spring washer. On some way I couldn’t get my head out of the things my house needs from the cleaning materials to the replacement parts. I guess that’s just the way things go. Anyway, I’m happy I will end my day being able to at least update this blog.

back to the real world again

admin_bighuggable — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 11:13:25 +0000

Happy New Year! It’s been three days since the New Year commence, but I can’t still get over the parties that happened. The thought of it really makes me smile and celebrate again. Unfortunately, it’s time to go back to the real world although there is one more occasion that we will celebrate this month and that it the birthday of my third child.

I’m not sure what to give her a birthday gift; my ideas were all exhausted during the Christmas. If we just have winter, I will give her heated gloves. I came across this at Cozy winter site while surfing the web. This is the one of the perfect gear for the winter riding. Unfortunately, we don’t have winter in this country so I have to forget about it for now. But, it’s good to know this information at least I know where to go and what to buy in case I’ll go skiing in the future.

For now, I will continue my search for the best birthday present I could give my daughter. I don’t have much time so I’ll have to do it fast. Wishing myself some luck for this one.