Warren Buffett recounts the best advice he's ever received

What’s the best advice Warren Buffett has ever received? You might be
surprised: It has nothing to do with money.

"The power of unconditional love. I mean, there is no power on earth
like unconditional love. And I think that if you offered that to your
child, I mean, you’re 90 percent of the way home. There may be days
when you don’t feel like it — it’s not uncritical love; that’s a different
animal — but to know you can always come back, that is huge in life.
That takes you a long, long way. And I would say that every parent
out there that can extend that to their child at an early age, it’s
going to make for a better human being."
- Yahoo News

Thank you Mr. Buffet for sharing this with us. Today's society needs
to be reminded that the true riches of this world do not have a dollar
(or yen or euro) sign on them.

Malacaňan, Malacanang, Malacaňang

Photo courtesy of the Philippine Information Agency

Malacaňan
Malacanang
Malacaňang

Isn't it amusing that there is no official spelling for the official residence
of the President of the Philippines?

Baby M at 4months

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

My, how time flies! Baby M is now 4 months old!

M now sleeps on his tummy all the time. He used to have a slight
reflux problem. To remedy this, we let him sleep on his tummy
during the daytime. It was here that we were able to observe that
M already had neck control.

However, by his 3 months check-up, we were worried that his head
was getting flat. So, with the pedia's thumbs up, we let him sleep
on his tummy all through the night. I think there has been some
improvement in that area.

Before you react... Yes, we too were worried about SIDS! But we
were confident that by this time, he could already move his head
when he wanted. And, the pedia said, so long as there is nothing
on M's bed that could cause suffocation (pillows, blankets, toys,
etc), M would be okay.

2 days ago, M had an "AHA!" moment. Okay, call me crazy but it
was this look that he had. A realization that this is what it means
to roll over! See, he's done it before -> 2x on his first two weeks
and 1x in April. But, it's only now that he's understood that it's
a "skill". Now, he seems to want to do it every time he has tummy
time!

And today, he "shouted" when I was not paying attention.

Sorry if Im gushing all over. I guess I'm just being a proud mama!

Time to move on

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

First I was in love.
Then I was heartbroken.
Now it's time to move on.
.....

I have a few friends who've been stuck in a relationship. Sometimes
it's this one guy. Sometimes it's this image of a guy (which is why they
always end up with the same type). Year in and year out I would tell
them, "Pleeeaassee, let go! It's time to move on!". Apparently, it's not
that easy to follow one's own advice...

3 random events made me see the light. First, a question from J --
"What's your passion?" -- led me to a pathetic non committal
reply. Second, an email from C, an old officemate, made me wax
poetic about the good old days. Third, a conversation with A on
careers made me realize it's time for a fresh start.

Apparently, I need to let go of my old career! Gotcha!

Will I go back to it? Maybe. Maybe not. What's more important is that
I focus on the opportunities and challenges that I have in the HERE
and NOW.

p.s. please bear with me... anything older than this post is a
SIGNIFICANT post which I brought over from my other site.

More TV Equals School Trouble Later

http://www.flickr.com/photos/treehouse1977

"Toddlers who watch too much TV may struggle in school later,
with measurably lower scores in math, and they may get bullied
more than other children, Canadian and U.S. researchers reported
on Monday.

Less surprisingly, children who watched more TV at age 2 weighed
more by the time they were 10 and ate more snacks and soft drinks,
the researchers reported in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent
Medicine.

They said children who spend more time watching TV and less time
playing with other kids may lose valuable chances to learn social
skills.

Every additional weekly hour of television at 29 months corresponded
to a 7 percent drop in classroom attention and a 6 percent drop in
math skills, the researchers found.

"Despite clear, age-specific recommendations from the American
Academy of Pediatrics that discourage any screen media exposure
during infancy and less than two hours per day beyond 2 years of
age..." the researchers wrote." - Yahoo Health


Here's some interesting news. What's more interesting is that this
concept probably applies to other "high tech" kiddie gadgets that
were not yet available at the time that this research was made.

So what's the alternative? Good old-fashioned activities: tummy
time, singing songs, reading books and playing with toys are
just some examples.

Yes, you read that right. As parents, we have to relearn the lost
art of using one's creativity to come up with fun -- and educational
-- activities for our kids.

* This post first appeared here.

We've reached the 3 months old mark!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/robbie73

"Babies under 3 months of age follow internal cycles of sleeping and
eating. By around 3 months old, though, they begin to be influenced
by the combination of this internal wiring and the external world —
the routines you create. Some babies naturally and easily fall into the
rhythms of their household. Other babies have a more irregular
sensibility and are more resistant to the cues you provide.

You can help settle an erratic baby's temperament by building a
daylong schedule of feeding, playtime, bathing, and other activities
that's consistent. Try to work around your baby's natural inclinations.

Finally, let go of ideals of perfection: If you have a baby who resists a
regimented schedule, the best you can hope for is more regularity in
your household — not a complete absence of disorder." - BabyCenter


Stephen Covey was spot on when he said that with people, one needs
to be effective not efficient. As a WAHM with a newborn, my schedule
still follows the baby's. Baby M does have a basic pattern. It's not "on
time" but rather a matter of "phases". He's just a baby --- and he's
just doing what all babies do.

I have learned that: It is I that must adjust. It is I that needs to be
flexible.

As a result, I am less stressed out about getting it all done. And
M and I are simply enjoying our time together.

* This post first appeared here.

Baby M

I am happy to announce that H and I have a baby! I decided
against writing about the pregnancy as I wasn't sure how that
would go. It was challenging and I'm just glad it ended well.

Baby M is now 2 months old and I'm happy to say that we're
slowly establishing a "doable" schedule. At least well enough
for me to squeeze in this post.

The first day home was crazy! There was so much excited
noise when we got home; Baby M cried for us to give him
peace and quiet! On his first night, he gave tatay and mama
a shock! We were expecting to feed him every 3-4 hours.
But no, he decided that he would feed every hour! And this
lasted until he was 1 month and 2 weeks old.

Well into 1 month and 3 weeks, Baby M suddenly switched
to an every 4-5 hours feeding period. Ahhh, H and I finally
have back our much needed sleep!

I'm sure we'll have more exciting things to experience in the
weeks and months ahead!

* This post first appeared here.