MOMI BERLIN

PERSONAL NARRATIVES, MOMMY TIPS, AND THRILLING DISCOVERIES TO MAKE DAILY LIFE THE HAPPIEST

MOMI LEARNS| Raising Toddlers

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We will soon be having a toddler at home. Our little boy at one year and nine months old is starting to show some uncontrolled outburst of frustration already.  Others might see him as a spoiled brat while some might be thinking our son is being manipulative. But thank God I learned that his behavior is perfectly explainable.  I recently attended Smart Parenting Mom Workshops on Raising Toddlers.  And yes, I was enlightened.  Allow me to share what we have learned from the three-hour seminar.

Raising Toddlers

Raising Toddlers

Raising toddlers and dealing with temper tantrums

Children as young as two have limited vocabulary.  They may have some difficulty explaining their needs. Thus they cry when they cannot get what they want.  Three- to four-year-old kids, on the other hand, can already express their demands but need their parents’ guidance to grow up well-mannered.

So parents, how do we tame tantrums without losing our sanity and hurting our children in the process?

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MOMI CRIES| School accidents, who’s to blame?

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I live in a small house with five boys. Life can be real crazy at times. Sometimes, too, life is just a bed of roses.

Yesterday afternoon, I got a call from my son’s school. And the one on the other line was the school nurse. Then I was transferred to the school physician. It happened a number of times already. Yet phone calls like this still makes me shiver.

School accident 1:  March 21, 2017; PE time

My second son was playing basketball with his classmates. He caught the ball, but his classmate accidentally hit him near his left eye. My son fell, and his eyeglasses shattered cutting through his left eyelid. He was immediately brought to the school clinic and given first aid. Though small, the laceration was deep enough to cause massive bleeding. Eventually, though, the wound stopped bleeding because of a blood clot. The school doctor advised me that I bring my son to the hospital for a proper suture.

School accidents, who’s to blame?

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MOMI SHARES| Momi Berlin blogging journey

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I received a notification from Wordress.com.  My domain momiberlin.com renews on April.  That means Momi Berlin is one year already by next month.

How time flies.

Momi Berlin blogging journey:  the start

I started my blog more like an online diary mainly to keep track of my boys’ achievements and anecdotes in a rather modern way.  Never did it occur to me that people will read it, and possibly, inspire them too.

I only have my love for writing as a tool.  And I rely on my little knowledge in writing a composition to give particular emphasis to what I would like to drive at.  I just write in a way that comes naturally.

Until I got invitations to events and product reviews.  I learned of different blogging communities, each presenting various opportunities.  The chance for an opinion to be heard is big.  Being referred to as an influencer is overwhelming. I never thought I could affect the purchasing decision of others in some way significant or authoritative.

This led me to give time to learn and improve Momi Berlin.

Momi Berlin blogging journey

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MOMI LEARNS| How to manage male pride

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“Let me buy you a dress,” was my husband’s plea to me.

We were supposed to visit my doctor for a check up but missed the appointment. Traffic was horrible. Husband led me to the department store and asked me to choose a maternity dress. I told him no need when I saw how much each cost. Then he pleaded. “Let me buy you a dress.”

How to manage male pride

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MOMI LEARNS| Lesson from the dog and his reflection

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My 18-month old son must have missed our story telling session.  For a week, we have been camping instead in our living room.  Husband set up the boys’ old Spongebob tent for our little man.  And for a week now, the tent has been in our living room as our baby prefers to play, sleep, and even eat inside.

Anyway, this morning, we read the story of The Dog and His Reflection.  Let me share with you the story.

The Dog and His Reflection

Lesson from the dog and his reflection

Lesson from the dog and his reflection

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MOMI LEARNS| Lesson from the Miser and His Gold

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One Sunday, I went to the boys’ room and saw my Big Bunso counting his savings.  “Wow, you’ve got plenty of savings, my son.  What will you buy or do with your money?” was my question.

My young man looked up at me and said in a timid tone, “Nothing mama.  I just want to save a lot until I got so many money.  I do not want to spend them. Counting my savings makes me happy.”

This did not please Momi Berlin.  Though I am proud that my son knows how to save, I told him the story of The Miser and His Gold.  I hope the story would teach him a lesson just like it taught the miser.

The Miser and His Gold

Aesop for Children: The Miser and His Gold

Aesop for Children: The Miser and His Gold

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MOMI REFLECTS| Hope is a good thing and no good thing ever dies

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Aside from Momi Berlin, this mom also writes for PSST.Ph.  It is an online magazine that tells the stories Filipinos want to read and need to read about. It features relevant articles and news written by Filipinos for Filipinos here and abroad.  I usually contribute about relationships, parenting, and child-related stories as these are the topics I love the most.

Recently, I wrote about How to Deal with Unplanned Pregnancy. My intention for writing the story was to help those who are overwhelmed or perhaps devastated about their surprise pregnancy.  The article mainly focuses on how a mother handles the news of another pregnancy after just giving birth a year ago.  Such a challenging situation many moms face alone because they do not know who to approach to.  First, they worry about what others would say about them. Second, they just cannot accept the fact that they are indeed with a child – again.

I started with the article with my head dictating what to write.   At the middle of my writing, I felt it was already my heart talking as I let my fingers type spontaneously.  Then I have realized that perhaps, I pitched the story to my editor because I want to address the topic to myself.  I have been silently dealing the same problem for months.

Yes, I am pregnant.  And it is unplanned.

Hope is a good thing and no good thing ever dies

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MOMI REFLECTS| Golden Opportunity or Fool’s Gold

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Opportunity knocks only once.

An old proverb once said.  And many added that when opportunity knocks, be sure to answer the door.

I always believe that opportunities are aplenty in this vast world.   Sometimes, though, we are not aware of such options or are not ready to grab them just yet.  Does this make such opportunity a missed chance?  I do not think so.

Opportunity knocks only once

They say opportunity knocks only once and there may not be a second chance.  We need to be alert.  But more than that, we need to identify if such option is an opportunity to advance ourselves.  Sometimes, there are opportunities dressed as adversities and vice versa.

Let me share with you one opportunity I just had.

The missed opportunity

Golden Opportunity or Fool’s Gold

I got a job offer.  It was for a writing post.  I passed the series of interview and got a commendable grade on the sample article asked of me to write.  I could start this week, much to my gratification.

I asked for the job details and compensation.

As a newly hire, I need to undergo a certain trial period.  I am required to pitch a number of articles a day.  And I need to submit the draft on the same day.  For that, I would receive only less than half the compensation I was initially told.  But after that trial period, I will get a fairly decent pay per approved article.   The promise of a higher compensation comes in when I become a regular.  The pay per article would be based on the total average page views.

I did not ask anymore when would one be regularized.  I politely declined.

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MOMI LEARNS| Belling the Cat Fable

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Have you heard of the “Belling the Cat Fable?”  I read it to my 18-month-old son just this morning.  And just like the other stories we have read or seen, this one has a beautiful lesson  worth sharing.

Belling the Cat Fable

Long ago, the mice had a general council to consider what measures they could take to outwit their common enemy, the Cat.

Some said this, and some said that; but at last a young mouse got up and said he had a proposal to make, which he thought would meet the case.

“You will all agree,” said he, “that our chief danger consists in the sly and treacherous manner in which the enemy approaches us. Now, if we could receive some signal of her approach, we could easily escape from her. I venture, therefore, to propose that a small bell be procured, and attached by a ribbon round the neck of the Cat. By this means we should always know when she was about, and could easily retire while she was in the neighbourhood.”

This proposal met with general applause, until an old mouse got up and said:

“That is all very well, but who is to bell the Cat?”

The mice looked at one another and nobody spoke. Then the old mouse said:

“It is easy to propose impossible remedies.”

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