Ankle pain, growth spurts, stretching and exercise

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RJ has been experiencing pain on his left ankle every time he walks. I noticed him limping since two Sundays ago. There was a 1-day break on his week-long quarterly test yesterday. Since he's done reviewing for the Thursday tests, I brought him for a check-up at Cardinal Santos Medical Center. Although there's no swelling and he says it's getting better, I still wanted a doctor's diagnosis.

 

I decided to bring his X-ray result from last year’s visit, the growth spurts diagnosis. When the doctor checked RJ’s ankle, he said that RJ must have probably twisted it. He prescribed a pain killer, if needed which I don’t have any plan of buying since RJ can even run and there’s no swelling, and a gel that should be applied every night. Cold compress also after applying the gel.

 

 

There was no need for an X-ray. Hopefully, the gel and cold compress will help heal the sprain faster. RJ needs to go back playing soccer.

cartoons on youtube

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My son loves watching his favorite cartoon show on YouTube. He usually use my Nokia E63 cellular phone's YouTube application. His favorite videos include SpongeBob Squarepants, Phineas and Ferb and Ben 10.

He sometimes borrow my iPod Touch but watching a video on iPod's YouTube application drains the battery so fast, I have to charge 2 to 3 times a day. I wonder if there's an application that can download videos and the downloaded videos can be viewed even when offline?

Scholastic book fair

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My son's school holds an annual Scholatic book fair. The fair is currently on-going, until monday of next week. As I was browsing the books the other day, I noticed they have lots of christmas gift ideas for kids. My son, a certified bookworm, already bought two books. He's kind enough to say that he'll get the 800 pesos from his bank account. But since he's so sweet to do that, I said I'll pay for it.

He got his love for reading from me. Definitely not from his dad who I think is allergic to books. He even wants us to throw away some books because there's no more space in the bookshelf. So his solution is not to buy a new bookshelf but to throw away some books! So RJ knows who to approach when he finds a book or magazine that he likes to buy.

My son, a proud Mama's boy

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My son is a very sweet boy. He's already 10 years old but he still hug and kiss me in front of other people. Although that's not always the case, I just succeeded, I guess, in brainwashing explaining why he shouldn't be ashamed of being sweet to his family.

I remember when he was 4 years old, we just arrived in his school and I waited for the see-you-later-kiss. But he went straight to his classroom. I caught him just in time, before he opened the door, and I asked for a hug and a kiss. He did hug and kiss me but with an averted gaze.

I talked to him after school, he's getting conscious, he doesn't want his classmates to tease him. "Are you a Mama's boy?", I asked him. He said "Yes", maybe because he doesn't want to hurt my feelings.

"Being labeled a Mama's boy and showing your affection to people you love is not something you should be ashamed of. You should be proud that Mama loves you and that you also love Mama very much. If someone teases you again, just ignore them."

I'm hopeful that he'll forever be a sweet boy. 

homeschool?

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Here I am again, confused whether to homeschool RJ or not. He’s a very smart boy but his report card last quarter made my heart sink when I saw it. His grades are better than more than half of his class but, still, it was way down below my expectation.

If I homeschool him, he’ll have more time for sports, art and music class. And we’ll also have time to travel. He’ll learn more things outside of the classroom than inside the classroom. And maybe we can stay in the province for good, pollution here in the city is very bad. We can stay in a different province every month or two. Maybe we can buy park models, we can bring our house anywhere we like.

Sounds fun!

But first things first. I have to decide first whether I have the patience to teach my son 24/7.

step-by-step guide to shaving

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How can one avoid nicks when shaving?

Try searching it online and you'll surely find page after page of shaving tips written by so-called shaving experts. But here’s the only guide that you need, a step-by-step guide on how to have an ouchless shaving experience.

Prepare the following:
An exfoliating face wash
Shaving gel or cream
A sharp twin-blade razor
Face moisturizer with SPF 15 or higher

The first step is to take a hot shower. Use a gentle exfoliating face wash while taking a hot shower to help open the pores. The warm moisture of the shower also soften the stubs. Hot steam towels are used in barber shops for the same purpose.

While the hair is still soft after a hot shower, or you can also do this while you’re still in the shower, lather your face with a shaving gel or cream. Leave it on for a few minutes before shaving, to soften the hair more for a closer shave.

Now get a clean, sharp twin-blade razor and dip it in hot water. Making sure to not put too much pressure, start shaving with the grain of your beard. Do not shave too close to the roots since that can lead to shaving some skin off your face, ouch! An electric shaver can do the job in a few minutes. A very good investment especially if you're in a hurry for a date or a meeting.

After shaving, rinse with cold water and pat dry. Apply moisturizer to soften the facial skin with enough SPF to protect the face from the harsh rays of the sun.

I am participating in a blogger campaign by Bucks2Blog about shaving tips and was compensated. All views and opinions are my own.

Gesundheit

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I keep encountering this word, Gesundheit, when I was researching about sneezing and allergy. What does it mean and what is the word’s significance to allergy and sneezing?

 

 

The german word is apparently used to wish good health in response to a person who has just sneezed. Based on Wikipedia, the expression might have stemmed from the Middle Ages when the Bubonic Plague was threatening European health.

 

Gesundheit is the more commonly used God bless you in English.

semestral break

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RJ will have a one week vacation before the start of this school year’s second semester. We’re planning to go to Hong Kong Disneyland. Disney’s Halloween 2011 is from September 22 to October 31. Every Thursday through Sunday of the said dates, also October 4 and 31, the Headless Horseman will be seen after 6PM searching for villains who escaped with his head.

RJ though is torn between Hong Kong Disneyland and Universal Studios Singapore. He asked me to look for the best deals and my job doesn’t end there, I have to tell him what the pros and cons of the said deals. Personally, my choice is a Disneyland trip because of the Halloween special. I have to sell this travel idea to RJ. 

allergy season again

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It’s definitely here again. The dreaded allergy season. I have to live with constant worry that my son’s daily bouts of sneezing might turn into an asthma attack. Hopefully not.

 

I don’t want him depending too much on medicine but his sniffles and sneezing attacks won’t stop without the help of an antihistamine.

 

 

This reminds me, I have to look for a new allergologist. And a new allergologist means that RJ will be subjected to an allergen test again. His last one was 6 years ago anyway so there’s really a need for this test to determine if there's a new substance, or allergen, that he's allergic to.

 

I love the -Ber months but since it’s also synonymous with allergy, I don’t like it that much.