What Simply Works!

This is my daughter’s latest favorite DVD, Wiggles Big, Big Show.  It’s a live concert held in Sydney last December.  It is packed with a lot of songs and of course dancing.

My daughter started memorizing the lyrics the first time she saw this DVD.  It is very entertaining that I stayed on to watch the whole show with my little girl.  It is highly recommended.

Hi-5 Australia’s management wouldn’t want to waste time.. they’ve launched the latest Hi-5 gang!

And they are:

All the best to you, guys!

[photos from: http://www.hi-5.com.au/swf/home.html]

It’s no longer ‘breaking’ news to the fans of Dora the Explorer but to those who have yet to read or hear about it, yes, our cute little explorer has grown up!  Mattel will soon put on the shelves, the Tween Dora.  I agree, the new version is pretty, with long locks and with the same bright, round eyes.  But it’s not longer as ‘cute’ as the Dora our kids have come to love.  What happened to Dora’s explorer get-up?  The shoes, the backpack, the map?  Will she still sing the “I’m the map” jingle?  What’s with the ballet shoes?  Will she still be an explorer or just another ‘Barbie’ doll?

My daughter just recently started to enjoy all things Dora.  The jingle, the merchandise — clothes and toys, videos.  How will I explain to my 2 yr old that Dora has grown up that fast?

[I snagged the photo from a newsfeed a few days ago and forgot to take note of the source.  I searched again for it but could no longer trace it.  Apologies.]

This is a bit late for a farewell but as everyone knows, Hi-5 original members Nathan Foley and Kellie Crawford left the group and publicly bid farewell to their fans during their last Sydney concert on Nov 23, 2008.

We missed seeing this bit since we watched the show on the 22nd, which by the way, my 2 yr old dearly enjoyed.  Sad to see the original cast members go but I’m sure Hi-5 will resurface with the same upbeat music, fun videos but with fresh faces.

Here’s the clip of their bittersweet goodbye.  Goodbye and all the best Nathan and Kellie!

The Wiggles will have a concert in Sydney this April.  I’m closely checking the ticketing website as the ticket sales will happen on a scheduled date, as in one date only.  I’m pretty excited for our little girl, seeing how much she enjoyed watching the Hi-5 group in November last year.  For sure, the effort to secure the tickets will be well worth it.

As soon as I learned that I was pregnant, I spent a good deal of time reading about many topics that are pregnancy-related. It is just nice that these days, the Internet has become one of the best sources of information, of course with care on which website to trust. My favorite websites are what I call “mommy-sites” that are very helpful for would-be moms.

Aside from the articles, product reviews, nursery must-haves, most of these websites provide an avenue for fellow moms-to-be to virtually meet. Usually, there are forums for sharing experiences, giving advice and at times even photo-sharing. In most cases, certain issues (mostly emotional) that pregnant women or new moms go through are addressed after reading through similar cases in the forum.

Most mommy-sites offer free registration and provide freebies to eligible members. Some hold pregnancy or baby contests to keep the enthusiasm of the moms. Also, the information these websites provide cover not only the pregnancy stage but up to teenage years. Now, that’s just like have a user manual for rearing children. Ha!

I have kept active memberships in two of the most popular parenting websites. Their periodic newsletters are very useful now that I’m raising an unpredictable yet lovable toddler.

I’ve finally decided on a theme for my daughter’s birthday party in November. It’s The Wiggles! My daughter’s “favorite” of late. I have prepared a checklist for guests, things to buy and other tasks to do. It will held be at a park and I still have to ask some friends on how to reserve tables, if required.

The food will be prepared with the help of friends. With my lack of talent in the kitchen, I need all the help I can get. The menu includes easy simple appetizers, main courses and desserts, fit for a children’s party. We will start shopping for party supplies this weekend.

We are pretty excited with the three day weekend ahead of us.  Our little girl will go to the beach tomorrow, attend a birthday party on Sunday and best of all, she’ll get new Wiggles DVDs!  She loves the nursery rhymes as sang by the group and I’m amazed at how she now manages to mumble a few lines the songs.  I highly recommend moms/dads to get their kiddos a copy.

Last weekend, my husband and I bought our little girl two Wiggles DVD at the mall.  As expected, one of the DVDs, the one with Nursery Rhymes is a big hit!  She watched it from end to finish the first time and to this day, whenever we put it on, she will pull her big pillow on the playmat and comfortably watch it there.

She started memorizing bits and pieces of the lyrics, too.  We are surprised to hear her sing the words while attentively watching the video.

It’s just too bad that we won’t be able to bring her to the Wiggles concert this year.  Sydney’s schedule is almost always in December and this year we will fly back home to celebrate the holidays.  My daughter is officially a big fan of the Fab Four!

Our Christmas gifts shopping officially started this week. I’ve crossed out about five names on our list and it’s still a long way to go! We’re still thinking of gift ideas for the kids so we can purchase them this weekend. Anyway for them, the choice is either toys or games.

Interestingly, shopwiki.com is a good website to get gift ideas. There are categories set for gifts for boys and girls. Since my list has a good balance of kids and adults, I may have to look-up this site to check gift items and prices.  I noticed that there are a lot of Nintendo gadgets in there. If only they come cheap.

My goal is to complete our Christmas shopping duties by October. Because we have weekend trips planned in November, I’m left with just five weekends to finish my shopping tasks.

My daughter is now becoming “addicted” to the Internet. I know, I know my husband and I talked about it and we’re figuring out alternatives for her. She easily gets bored with her toys, DVDs and books and turns to the laptop to watch her favorite clips on YouTube.

I’m thankful that winter is almost over (well, technically it’s already spring here but it’s still a bit cold) and we can go to the park more frequently now. But thanks to youTube and the users who uploaded Hi-5, the Wiggles and Sesame Street clips. My daughter loves them all!

My daughter has a new favorite, The Wiggles!  The few times I let her watch the show, she didn’t show interest but now, she dances and claps when the four guys in their colorful shirts perform.  Hmm, does that mean she’s no longer interested with Hi-5?  Oh no!

We will definitely get her the Wiggles’ Nursery Rhymes DVD.  She loves their version of Twinkle, Twinkle and Baa, Baa Black Sheep.

Instead of bringing our daughter to Luna Park on her birthday weekend, we’ve decided to bring her to a Hi-5 concert. We finally made our bookings and we have received the e-tickets.

We hope she will have fun at the show. I will definitely have my camera ready to capture her reactions!

The group Hi-5 is on tour again this year and they have a scheduled performance at the Acer Arena at the Olympic Boulevard. It’s just 20 minutes away from our place! It will be in November 22 and 23 and I’m seriously considering to book tickets now.

Although my daughter will see new faces in the group, I’m sure she won’t be able to resist dancing and humming once she hears the lively tunes and see the colorful outfits of this dynamic group. Better ask my mommy-friends to see if they’re keen to bring their kids, too. Yey!

My daughter will have her 2nd birthday celebration back home, in the Philippines. Since her actual natal day falls in November, we are planning to bring her to Luna Park here in Sydney for a day of fun at the carnival. Then the actual celebration will be in December, at the Fun Ranch in Manila.

The preparations are underway and I have started with the guest list last week. Next will be the Save the Date cards, which I plan to DIY. For the main invite, I plan to have them printed and I’m searching the Internet for nice personalized stationary for kids. So far, these are what I’ve found from the stationery company called Cadeau.

[source: http://www.cadeauonline.com]

Aren’t they cute? The designs are simple yet very pretty and they both match the theme I have in mind. I still need to compute for the costs and see whether it fits the budget. How I wish I can DIY the invites, too!

As soon as the invitations are finalized, we will decide on the food and other party logistics. I’m already feeling the excitement over the preparations, as the next major celebration we plan to give our daughter will be on her 7th birthday. By then she could help with the party planning thus making it more meaningful for her.

My daughter has started to watch more TV now at 21 months. With “more”, I meant watching other shows aside from her regular favorite DVDs, Hi-5 and Brainy Baby. She still doesn’t like cartoons but has always shown interest in kiddie shows The Wiggles and In the Night Garden.

She gets to watch TV at least an hour in the morning when these shows are on. However, I have a reservation with the show In the Night Garden. For a toddler who is still developing her communicating skills, I feel that exposing her to this show will only impede her progress. The puppets do not really “talk” but makes squeaky sounds, as their way of conversing.

Although, thankfully, she rarely focuses her eyes on TV and at times turn to her toys and books while keeping the show as background music. In The Night Garden’s intro music makes my daughter hum and dance and that’s the only reason why I let her watch the show (at least a part of it). But I know I should keep her from watching this show everyday, or, at least until she can fully talk.

A year after Kathleen de Leon-Jones’ left Hi-5, Tim Harding and Charlie Delaney are now out of the popular kids’ group. Tim left in 2007, after a motorcyle accident that left him on a wheelchair for weeks. He was replaced by Stevie Nicholson. Then, early this year, it was Charlie Delaney’s turn to go. She had a good 10 years with the group and has since moved on to more mature TV shows. She was replaced by Casey Burgess.

My little girl at 21 months maybe too young to understand all these, but I can tell that she still prefers the original group. She’s no longer interested to watch the latest Season 10 and still prefers the old Hi-5 DVDs.

Know more about Hi-5 from their official site:

http://www.hi-5.com.au/swf/home.html

It is not easy to travel with kids. There is so much planning and preparations involved that many parents I’m sure are putting off traveling because of these. First, packing for long haul trips and long-term stays require careful organization of the kids’ foods, toys and clothes.

Second, all the luggage must be manageable enough to carry around aside from the prams and the diaper bags. I see kids luggage sold in malls and I think for kids age 4 and up, they can very well drag those little, pretty disney luggage on their own. There are those that can be used as stool for the kids so that it serves a dual purpose.

Lastly, the parents, especially the moms, need to have a lot of patience and creativity when bringing their kids to trips. In my experience, I make sure that I have memorized enough children’s songs, ready toys in my own bag and nibblers to distract my little girl when she’s nearly throwing a tantrum or just won’t sit still.

Before I had a child, I found it difficult to shop for baby shower gifts. Although there are a lot of choices ranging from baby necessities to niceties, I had no clue what is the best and reasonably priced out there.

Then I had a baby and all of a sudden, shopping for unique baby gifts become second nature to me. Knowing the needs and preference of the parents (usually the mom-to-be) and injecting some creativity, searching for the right gift becomes an enjoyable activity.

Shopping for babies’ stuff can be an overwhelming task for first-time parents. Aside from the budgeting aspect, there’s the challenge to come up with the list of must-haves. First, there’s the tendency to exaggerate and buy nice to haves thinking that the baby “might” need it. Second, who can tell what the exact needs of the baby are when it comes out.

A friend of mine shared that she bought a pram, carrier, wooden crib with matching crib beddings and a playpen. Only to find out that her baby dislikes being latched to a pram and staying in a playpen. That’s already a lot of money put to waste.

It is safe to have baby’s basic needs available. Anyway, it’s always easy to buy if and when it’s needed.