So I was really thrilled when I was contacted to review the latest editions of the What to Expect book series. With this fourth edition, the book is divided into 7 parts. The first part talks about the pre-pregnancy and how to be sure you are pregnant. The second part is the bulk of the book as it focuses on the month per month pregnancy journey. It gives a week by week baby development write up. It also discusses the questions and answers you might have for the month. The third part focuses on multiple births, the fourth part focuses after the baby is born. The book is also ideal for dads as the fifth part is dedicated to them. The sixth part is all about how to stay healthy during pregnancy and the last part is all about complicated pregnancies. This book is filled with answers to the questions any pregnant woman may have! Truly a necessity for pregnant moms everywhere! With the success of the first book, What to Expect The First Year was a huge hit as well. It gives a month by month look on your baby’s development.  Just recently, a new book was added to the series. What to Expect the Second Year is a great addition to the series. It shows month by month development of your child and tackles the issues of weaning, potty training and picky eating.

I have some great news for you readers! I am delighted to partner with WhatToExpect.com, and host a giveaway! We will have one lucky winner who will win the complete set of books from What to Expect series. The contest is open worldwide. The contest starts now and ends on March 5, 2012. Use the Rafflecopter below to enter the contest.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

• their complete name
• their address
• their parent’s name
• contact number

It is one of the reasons why we have bought address plaques for house so that the kids would see our address printed and remember it more easily. We never know what could happen in the future.

Do you have any tips that you can share on how your child remembers these important information?

The Mommy Journey – Day-by-day Musings to Intentional Parenting  now focuses on motherhood experiences, parenting advice, homeschool adventures, product reviews and intentional living. I hope that you will find inspiration and encouragement from my personal journey to intentional parenting!

I asked my kids who are their favorite community workers and to act them out. My daughter’s favorite community worker is the teacher. She said that when she grows up, she would like to be a teacher!  She doesn’t need to wear western boots or be super fashionable, she just needs to teach children and to teach them well.

My son’s favorite community worker is the handyman. Probably due to the influence of Handy Manny, Disney’s cartoons. He pretended to fix our window using screw driver and other handy man tools.

Who are your favorite community workers?

As a firm believer of the principle, “It takes a village to raise a child.” The Lactacyd Baby Bath Baby Care Village focuses on different thrusts per area. For the house, it highlights baby care by demonstrating baby bathing techniques. The market area highlights nutrition by promoting balanced diet, healthy snacks and breastfeeding. The school area focuses on active parenting. We also have on stage activities happening in our town hall wherein parents can learn from other celebrity mom on how to raise their child. Children can also learn through arts and music.

The Lactacyd Baby Bath Baby Care Village is heading to Robinson’s Place Manila Midtown Atrium on February 26 (Sunday) for a day of fun and activities. ENTRANCE IS ABSOLUTELY FREE!

As for its initial offering, you can join the Count the rubber duckies Facebook contest and get a chance to win a special gift pack from Lactacyd!

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My hubby and I will be celebrating our 11th wedding anniversary in a few days. I am blessed to have been married to a responsible and supportive husband.

In the 11 years of being married, I have  learned several lessons and I would like to share them:

- Love is not based on a feeling. There will be days that you don’t feel like serving or even talking to your husband but because you promised to love each other before God and you are committed to one another, you work things out.

- Forgive and let go. Your spouse is not perfect and there will be days that you wonder why you married him in the first place but then just remember no one is perfect – not even you. We all have fallen short, one way or another. The best way to move forward is to forgive.

- Don’t change your spouse. You will not succeed. Instead, pray to God about it and if it is the Lord’s will, you shall see the change you have been waiting for, in His proper time.

- Put Jesus in the center of your life and of your marriage. Circumstances will happen and challenges will come but faith in the Lord will help you through it all.

- Be thankful. It is easy to criticize but hard to be thankful. Change of perspective will help you to be more appreciative of your partner and your life.

- Support and encourage one another. Help each other achieve your life’s goals and dreams. Make the journey of life more meaningful.

- Spend time together. No matter if it is just watching a movie together, reading a book together, finishing a project together or going out on regular dates. This will help keep you intimate and growing in your relationship.

- Know your partner’s love language. It will help you understand one another better and be able to fulfill the emotional needs of your partner.

- Honor and respect each other. As time goes by, we should maintain respect for one another and treat each other with much respect, just like the courtship days.

- For the wife, let your husband lead the family as this is God’s original design for the family. Let us be submissive.

- And for the husband, love your wives! They are not just there to serve you, but they are your partners in life.

It is truly a great tool to help moms openly talk to their daughters about issues on purity, having a good conscience, sincere faith and marriage. I appreciate the questions and the suggested discussion in each lesson. It has allowed me to discuss issues about integrity, guilt, purity and love with my daughter. Some lessons are repetitive but I believe that it was done so to stress the importance of the lessons.

I know that after 5 years, I would need to discuss this again with her but I am glad that I am able to plant seeds as early as now. Hopefully, by then, we would be able to do a simple purity commitment ceremony as suggested in the last part of the book. We will do it as a reinforcement to what we have learned in this study and for her to commit to saving that kiss for her future.

The much-awaited family running event is on! Unilab Run United 1, slated for March 4, will officially open RunRio Trilogy this year. This will be followed by Run United 2 on June 17 and Run United 3 on September 16.

Runners are in for a number of new features and exciting firsts that will make their running experience better, including new race routes, better hydration stations, improved security, more safety marshals, freebies, and more.

Five race categories are available: Ceelin 500-meter dash for kids aged 5 to 12 years old, 3km, Dolfenal 5km, Enervon 10km, and Enervon HP 21km.

This run’s pre-race giveaway is a race belt or bib holder. Those who will run 21km will not only get a unique collectible finishers medal, they will also enjoy a new race route starting at Bonifacio Global City in BGC and finishing off at Mall of Asia. Shuttle service will be provided from Mall of Asia as pick-up point for 21K runners. Details will be announced.

Kids joining the Ceelin 500-meter dash will also get their own singlet.

Registration for Run United 1 is ongoing at the following stores
• Riovana at Bonifacio Global City and Katipunan, Quezon City
• Toby’s at SM Mall of Asia, Pasay City
• The Athlete’s Foot at Robinson’s Galleria, Ortigas.

For online registration, check details at www.runrio.com. Registration is until February 26.

Run United is for the benefit of Gawad Kalusugan (the health program of Gawad Kalinga) and Hero Foundation. It is part of Unilab’s advocacy through Unilab Active Health to promote an active lifestyle among Filipino families.

For more inquiries, check out www.unilabactivehealth.com and www.facebook.com/unilabactivehealth.

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My daughter is now 8 years old! I can’t believe it but it is true. I have been a mother for the past 8 years now and I have been enjoying it to the fullest. I can still remember when I was pregnant with her, it was a really difficult first trimester for me but thankfully, labor wasn’t too difficult and she was a healthy baby!

She is a very bright and loving child. She is also gifted in arts and has a very creative soul. I am inspired by her creativity and blessed with her good naturedness!

She has been a great blessing to our family – to me in particular. Reminding me what really matters in life, loving another without expecting anything in return and being obedient to the will of the Father. I thank the Lord that God chose me to be her mom and that in the past 8 years, we were blessed to have been able to be part of her life as her parents.

I am thankful that after a few years, Sta Rosa has finally started to develop. There are numerous outlet malls where you can find imported and branded clothes, big groceries, nearby hospitals and good restaurants.  Shopping has definitely become easier and cheaper! They offer discounted prices and you can use your calvin klein coupons for additional discounts. But what really makes living here great is the nature parks nearby.

We are blessed to live near Nuvali where there is a good walking and biking trail. We also have friends in Ayala Westgrove where there are good parks inside the village and even in our own village, there are spaces where the kids can play and walk around the village.

Though I miss my friends in Manila, I wouldn’t trade living here! It is wonderful to remember where God has led me through the years and where I am now.