Sleep is Good.

We finally got the little boy down to following a bedtime routine. Thanks to determination and the new nanny, who seems to have this great strategy up her sleeve when it comes to getting the baby go "sleepy-time".

You should know that we haven't had much success in this area in the past months. My past nannies have been so into the TV dramas, so much so that they forgo my instructions on getting RL to bed by 8pm. There were nights when he'd still be up at 11pm! So when the new nanny came along, all I did was tell her to get him ready for bed by 8pm and to make sure he is asleep by 9, 930pm at the latest. And voila! No need for second reminders. He gets a wind-down bath at 8pm, and is off to dreamland at 9pm.

Why take a second bath at night? He's used to it (our original nanny has been giving him two baths a day since he was about six months old). And it has been soooo hot all summer that it is wise to give him a bath before bedtime. Plus, my little boy is such a light sleeper, and compared to his Ate, it is so hard to get him to sleep. Which is why we couldn't come up with an effective bedtime routine in the past. I've tried everything - lavender bath salts, sleepyhead sprays and massage oils, etc. But the bath is one of the things that really work. I suppose it relaxes the body, and pretty soon, you see him scratching his eyes and you know he will be ready for bed soon.

Baby Massage. I used to depend on expensive baby massage or relaxing oils, but get this, an effective yet cheap lotion is just within reach. A has been using J&J Baby Bedtime Lotion for quite some time now, but I've always attributed her sleepy head qualities to habit or genes (LOL!). Quite recently, when I ran out of the expensive oil we use on RL, I took some of his sister's lotion and used it to give him a rub. The next thing I knew, RL was already asleep on the bed! I thought at first he was too tired and thought about his day's activities, but the next day, it happened again! So I switched to J&J Baby Bedtime products. I love the smell of J&J's Baby Milk series, but the Bedtime products are equally as good! And yes, the smell relaxes you!

And the best thing? Well, RL gets much needed sleep. And I noticed he hardly wakes up for feeding anymore. Yey! I see nursing duty freedom in the near future! Haha.

~~~

It is thus so timely that I received an invite from Nuffnang to attend a Johnson & Johnson talk on Good Baby Sleep. Went to Rockwell on Saturday morning to attend the talk with A in tow. Had fun and thought it was cool to meet fellow mommy bloggers. I'm thinking that it may be time to do away with privacy, given that life has moved on. I even took that first step out of the shadow and talked about my blog. :)

Would you want to join the next event on the J&J Baby Bedtime Series? The next one's this Saturday and will be on Creating a Sleep Environment. Let me know and I can send you details. For more on bedtime strategies and J&J Baby Bedtime products, visit Johnson's Baby Bedtime website.

Madamot!

Today I got to talk to A's original nanny (the one who had two babies in a span of one year!), and was told that the other nanny (her cousin who got the pox) has been spreading rumors about me the moment she got back to Bohol.

Sigh.*

Ok, so what's new? Apparently, I am now a selfish boss. And that I don't feed my house-help well, and that I don't share the food in the house. What???!!! Where did that come from? Unlike other households, my helpers (and it's usually just one helper until this particular nanny came along, because she was just 18 and couldn't handle RL and the household chores at the same time) eat the same food we do. If it's steak, then they get steak as well. If it's tuyo, then it's tuyo as well. Each time we go to the grocery, I ask her if she wants anything, and get her snacks, extra food for those days we don't have dinner at home, toiletries, etc. So really, I have no idea where that came from.

On her 19th birthday last February, in spite of the fact that she casually informed me she was leaving in less than two weeks time, I bought her a cake and a shirt as a gift. My daughter gave her a "party" and I even took pictures. During the New Year holidays, we took her with us when we stayed at a hotel, and she had the buffets with us. I don't really like to retell what I did or did not do for her, my point is: I treated her well, as if she was my own daughter! And now, she tells her relatives and friends back in Bohol what a b*tch of a boss I was!

And she had the gall to compare me with Lord Voldemort (!LOL!), telling her own mother that "Buti pa si Sir, lagi kami binibigyan ng pagkain at binibilhan ng tinapay. Pero si Ma'am, tinitipid kami. Di man lang kami bilhan ng kape." Excuse me, should you check out our pantry, my helpers drink premium coffee from the office - Folgers, nonetheless! And in the first place, her "Sir" was NEVER her "Sir"!!! She was only in my employ for 4 whole months, and during those 4 whole months, she's probably seen R a total of 24hours max (maybe even less)! He wasn't even living with us! He hardly visited and when he did, he neither spent more than an hour, nor did he give money or buy us anything.

The thing with R is he knows how to bribe house help! He'd give them 30pesos for load, or like ice cream for merienda. Then he'll pretend to be the "good" boss. But he's all talk! Let me see him shell out money for your salary first before you go on comparing him to me! Ha! And if he'll bring food home, it's usually leftovers from a date he had with his "gym buddies" (yea, gym buddies, right!). But can you even rely on him to bring us a week's groceries? To buy the kids - milk? Or the baby - his diapers? Can you even rely on him to pay for rent? For electricity? Water? Gas?!!! I currently have a bill for 32,000++pesos in association dues and water, which he never paid as promised! And when he lived with us, all he ever paid for was the bi-weekly container of water - that's 40pesos per!

So, please, stop yakking because you don't know who your "Sir" is! And we both know I treated you well. Better than anyone ever did in your whole life. You have a pair of Havaiannas and a pair of Crocs Gabby as proof. Grrr.

~~~

Sorry, I just needed to rant. :P

He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

I spent the past two days visiting with my folks and sibs. My brother had the Wii set up at his new pad, and A was excited to try it out. She spent the whole day today playing bowling against my dad and the rest of the family. She's pretty good bowling strikes and double strikes. In fact, she scored the highest out of all of us, which of course made her extremely proud and happy (she has yet to learn how to be a good sport though).

Spending days with my parents make me vulnerable to prying Qs - ones I have been trying to avoid each time I visit with them. I mean, going out of town with them is a different case since we're out most of the time, and the young ones always go out on their own, while the folks rest. So yesterday and today gave my mom the opportunity to discuss "stuff" with me. However, I was surprised that she actually avoided THE subject. Yesterday, over Mother's Day brunch at Rockwell, she declared that the mere mention of you-know-who is now taboo. Not that we were quick to infer, as she herself forgot who you-know-who was after a few subjects down. LOL! We were on the subject of grilled pineapples and a funny memory came to me - at which I started chuckling, as did KY, who knew the story well from when it was first told and retold. So my sibs and I burst into laughter. This, of course, caught my mom's attention. She then proceeded to ask about the "funny thing" about grilled pineapples, and of course I replied with "Nada, Mom. You don't wanna know." She gives me a look and prods for me to explain. "Ma, you said not to tell you if it involves you-know-who..." And she gives me a puzzled look and says, "Who?" Hahaha!

Anyway, of course she didn't get to hear the story. I know how telling her would bring on the subject of why I chose him over others, and why this and that. So I changed the subject or maybe KY gave an answer that satisfied her longing to know. But let me tell you about you-know-who and the pineapples anyway (just for kicks):

We were having dinner at Brazil! Brazil! once over at Metrowalk, and you-know-who sees a server bringing out pineapples. He calls her to our table and asks "Miss, ano yan?"

"Grilled Pineapples po." She gave him a look that said "Obvious ba?"

You-know-who turns to me and says out loud, "Paborito ko ang pinya diba? Kaya, miss (turns back to server), bigyan mo ako ng madami niyan." He gets about 10 slices.

He takes one bite and exclaims out loud, "Ba't ang init ng pinya???!!!" Everyone turns and looks at him. The server laughs and says, "Sir, grilled pineapple nga po. Syempre po mainit. Bagong luto po e." He spits out the pineapple and refused to take another bite. He gave me his remaining 9 slices, and of course I gave them all back. "Paborito mo yan, diba?" LOL!

~~~

Today, my mom comes up to me after dinner to tell me that the baby is beginning to look more and more like he-who-must-not-be-named. So, now it's no longer you-know-who? Easier for her to remember daw who she wanted to refer to (madami kasing you-know-who), but I should know who anyway. Why yes, of course.

And if you're wondering who you-know-who, who-must-not-be-named, is... well... ah! I'm sure you already know who. ;)

SEE THIS!

K says:

"A's turtle definitely is a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle wannabe. LOL!"