Among the many things I’d like to redo at home is our bathroom lighting and mirror. Not that vanity lighting sounds better, well, such fixtures looks way better and elegant too.

At the moment, our bathroom looks as though an old couple lives in it. It has brown tiles, wood panel ceiling that made it look gloomy and lighting embedded into the panel. In short, it’s not my ideal bathroom. I’d definitely have it redone soon!

This photo is our corner cabinet by the bathroom. I was supposed to hang that mirror but since it wouldn’t match the colors inside and the built of the bathroom cabinet hubby installed, I’m left with having to put it on this cabinet along with a photo of the kids, some flowers and candles. It’s part of our mud hall and I occasionally use it as paper corner — for all our lots of paper and bills!

Aside from elegant lighting fixtures, any of those big vanity mirrors is on my list of “to buys” for our bathroom. We  have one that we bought just for the sake of having a mirror – it has a small panel where we can put the basics; handwash, toothpaste, comb but it’s too small and stuff tends to fall into the sink if I am in a hurry. A total vanity bathroom would be really nice. Like complementary colors of the wall, sink, mirror and other small details.

This is typically how I would want our bathroom to look like. Contemporary and elegant in black and white. Since the bathroom cabinets are wall-mounted, it’s easier to clean the floor, one of least I enjoy cleaning.

If you’re a mom you’ve definitely experienced those moments when your baby/babies cry or gibbers and you don’t know what to do. You’re pretty sure they’re telling you something you just don’t know what. In 2006, Priscilla Dunstan released a DVD set called The Dunstan Baby Language which covered five universal words babies use.

According to her, the five words (or sound reflexes) used by infants are:

Neh

I’m hungry - An infant uses the sound reflex “Neh” to communicate its hunger. The sound is produced when the sucking reflex is triggered, and the tongue is pushed up on the roof of the mouth.

Owh

I’m sleepy - An infant uses the sound reflex “Owh” to communicate that they are tired. The sound is produced much like an audible yawn.

Heh

I’m experiencing discomfort - An infant uses the sound reflex “Heh” to communicate stress, discomfort, or perhaps that it needs a fresh diaper. The sound is produced by a response to a skin reflex, such as feeling sweat or itchiness in the bum.

Eairh

I have lower gas - An infant uses the sound reflex “Eairh” to communicate they have flatulence or an upset stomach. The sound is produced when trapped air from a belch is unable to release and travels to the stomach where the muscles of the intestines tighten to force the air bubble out. Often, this sound will indicate that a bowel movement is in progress, and the infant will bend its knees, bringing the legs toward the torso. This leg movement assists in the ongoing process.

Eh

I have gas - An infant uses the sound reflex “Eh” to communicate that it needs to be burped. The sound is produced when a large bubble of trapped air is caught in the chest, and the reflex is trying to release this out of the mouth.

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Amazingly, as shown in the video above when Dunstan guested on Oprah, different babies make same sound reflexes. With a group of moms and their babies, we were shown that knowing these reflexes helped the mothers determine what to do when they hear any of the words.

There are still moms who claim that this language recognition is not effective for them…Dunstan explained that yes, maybe for 1 out of 10 moms, it may be different. Anyway, I surely hoped that I’ve known this years ago, when I was starting out as a mom.

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Parents, teachers and others who care for children often seek ways to encourage creativity in their little ones. Children’s easels can inspire them to draw, paint and let their imaginations soar. When shopping for children’s easels, there are several features from which to choose.

For instance, some artist easels have large rolls of paper that hang above the top. Kids can draw, paint, write or scribble to their hearts’ content. When their masterpiece is complete, Mom or Dad can simply snip or tear the paper above the artwork and then pull down enough clean paper for them to start again. Other easels use large pads of paper that clip to the stands. After a child has finished sketching or doodling, he can tear off the page and access a fresh one with ease. Still other children’s easels use a single sheet of paper at a time that connects to the top of the frame. This prevents paint or markers from seeping through and marring other pages.

If you hate the idea of having to purchase and throw away paper again and again, there are other types of children’s easels that you might prefer. For instance, you might opt for a chalkboard on a tripod. Provide your little ones with a variety of colored chalk and an eraser for hours of unlimited creativity.

Likewise, dry erase easels are available as well. Kids can draw, practice writing and play games such as hangman. When they are done, they can wipe off their work and start anew with very little effort. These easels do have a couple of drawbacks, though. Young children might not be ready to use dry erase markers, which can stain clothing, furniture and walls. In addition, if a child accidentally uses the wrong type of marker, the easel may be ruined as well.

Since there are many features available, selecting the best children’s easels can be tough. One way to go is to choose a double-sided children’s easel. Not only will these allow two kids to draw or color at one time, but they provide different features as well. For instance, one side might be a chalkboard and the other a whiteboard, allowing little ones to sketch with chalk while an older sibling doodles using dry erase markers. Some easels are magnetic on one or both sides, offering three features in one.

flickr.com/photos/beatrix_honey

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I was swooning over the photos seeing the price tag – much lower than the prices of kids clothing here and when I convert it gets even lower. They have a wider range of designs too…makes me want at that time to fly where hubby is.

Hubby came home with perhaps enough for 2 years to last. I’m grateful since having three kids to dress up isn’t necessarily cheap. ^_^ The ones for son1 may be bigger for now but still looks good on him. Little boy got a lot more toys, bonnet than clothes.

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Bertha von Suttner is a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, receiving it in 1905 for her book, Die Waffen Nieder/Lay Down your Arms. The Schulschiff in Vienna, docked at the Danube was named after her and just as the book’s name suggest, despite being an international school in its own right, you can feel the  camaraderie of students when you enter. These students have parents coming from different countries yet here, there’s no blue, no black, no red, no yellow for them.

Friday was somewhat a bit colder than usual with the weather hitting -1° a first time for this season. Bundled up we braved the cold, boarded the tram and off we went to the school. Dawty will move up to a higher school next year so we were looking for schools around. We tagged the boys along because they thought it’s such a cool place to see. It is!

The exterior is every inch a ship, there was even another ship that passed by while we were in one of the rooms – craft/home economics room. Too cool! But what’s cooler is the reception we received from both the students and the faculty. They were all accommodating, answering questions school-related or otherwise.

Two students of the fifth grade toured as around the ship, showing us the more important rooms – library, computer room, gym, cafeteria, faculty area, and the music room among others. We were also showed and brought to some of the classes while the “tour guides” share their own anecdotes.

After the tour we were told that kids could participate in activities in assigned rooms. All three were given passes which will be stamped if they finish a task. We first got into surprisingly, French room. ^_^ The two older kids had to match the names of animals with the pictures—in French. It was a good thing that the names are a bit the same with their Spanish and English counterparts. They went to the next table and did numbers with little boy joining in…it’s a good thing he is taught by his siblings well, he answered quite well too.

We later on went to the library, the computer room, the craft room and made lots of stuff. Will tell you about those on our other blog. Notice the colorful stool – it has been painted by kids.

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Family Time, Wednesday Whites

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Being away proved difficult for the fitting. I am no dressmaker. True, I had lessons back in grade school but I do not have a decent tape measure so the ensemble ended up ill-fitted. ^_^ I had to make adjustments so they would be wearable.

So here are some things that you might want to consider when choosing or having a dress (bridesmaid or not) for a wedding done. That is, if the couple would not provide for the dresses or the dressmaker at the least.

Get a real dressmaker to measure you up or anyone in the family for that matter. I had to learn this one the hard way. Make sure you add a bit of allowance for measurements.

Have the dresses done way ahead of the planned wedding date, in case you got thinner (hopefully not the other way around), you’d get the chance to have your dress fixed.

Coordinate with the bride or wedding planner for your dress’ color. You wouldn’t want to show up having the most different dress, would you? You’ve often read and heard to leave white to the bride, there’s a good reason to heed that.

If all else fails you can always  look and eventually buy bridesmaid dresses,  mother of the bride dresses as well as for mother of the groom too from Gray & Osbourn by some of the top UK designers.

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Schools around have Open House days allotted for kids and parents visiting. There were activities in each school that kids could participate in to know what to expect if ever they decide to enroll in that certain institution. As usual we had to tow the boys with us. It was a good thing that we did because they had fun going around the school. Not only because of the activities but because the school is housed in 2 ships! I will make a detailed post soon…

The photo above is my son standing by the school’s docking station. He’s holding a small kite-like piece that he made at the art room of the school ship. He said he would pretend it to be a fishing rod. ^_^