Polo says: I can be your friend

Polo's grandma and his godmother in the Philippines gave him DVDs of Veggie Tales, a cartoon series featuring vegetables as the main characters in stories that highlight good morals through song and dance. One of the stories was about making friends and it ended with a song saying, "I can be your friend... tralalalala..."

When the song ended, he quickly ran to his brother and sang the song to him.

Awww... what a wonderful way to learn about be-friending one's sibling.

Veggie Tales DVDs and those who gave them to Polo are now #4 in my Thank you list! Through them, my son Polo learns morals that are better caught than taught.

How about you? Are there DVDs or TV Shows for children that are as effectively helpful?

Thank You Item# 3: My Storchenwiege Baby Wrap

Waiting for my ride at the bus stop with two-month old Baby N in the wrap

I purchased My Storchenwiege Leo red sling a week before Baby N was born. I bought it because I planned on breastfeeding and knew that I had to do it hands-free while doing other household chores. (This is one thing that living in Europe entails -- household chores hands-on + taking care of baby hands-on with no family or yaya* around to help out with the daily grind.)

I also saw it as something necessary so I can breastfeed discreetly in public.

I chose this brand because of the following reasons:
*Reviews said that the material is sturdy.
*It can be washed in the machine and placed in the dryer and still retain its form
*It doesn't snag easily unlike the stretchy materials f other baby wraps and slings
*It is made in a country beside Luxembourg (meaning cheaper shipping costs)
*The website had an english translation and the email correspondeces were also in english
*It came with a Hoppediz user guide that had complete step-by-step instructions on how to make the different ties (the user guide still intimidated me but an instructional video I found online helped break the ice).

There are many ways to tie it in order to carry a baby in different positions. I've only tried two so far: the kangaroo carry and the cradle carry. Between the two, I prefer the kangaroo carry.

My Storchenwiege baby wrap is one of my stay-at-home-mommy-in-europe essentials. It helps me keep Baby N sleeping soundly for an average of 2 hours, no matter where I go -- be it on the bus, going to the supermarket, picking up my son P from school, and even when going down to do the laundry or while working in the kitchen. Hmmm... I wonder if I can use it while playing Wii... Hahaha!

*yaya - is a stay-at-home household helper in the Philippines who helps take care of a baby

Thank You Item#2: Balikbayans

In Filipino (the official language of the Philippines), "balik" means to go back and "bayan" means town. Put the two words together and it means to go back to one's hometown.

Balikbayan - the word is also used to refer to Filipinos living or working abroad who go back to the Philippines for a vacation or for good.

Back in the Philippines, when I was working in a telecommunications company that had a group focusing on serving OFWs (Overseas Filipino Workers or what we call the country's modern day heroes), it was a known fact that OFWs prefer sending money to their families in the Philippines through balikbayan friends.

Now, I've experienced the ease of having balikbayans friends courier a number of Christmas gifts from our family in the Philippines to us here in Luxembourg as a great big favor. To me, if were are if they brought warm Pinoy Christmas cheer from thrity-degree Celcius Philippines to zero-degree Celcius Luxembourg just by agreeing to become our family's messenger-cum-courier service. To my eldest son, they were Santa Clause who delivered gifts post-Christmas day.

So even if our friends returned to Luxembourg a couple of days and weeks after the Christmas holidays, Christmas was extended to the second week of January when they hand-delivered the goodies from the Philippines.

That's the magic of asking balikbayans for a "padala" favor (a shortened version of "paki" which means please and "dala" which means bring = "padala" meaning please bring). That's one of the joys Christmas brought to us this year.

To our balikbayan Pinoy family in Luxembourg, I am truly grateful for you!!!
To our family in the Phlippines, maraming salamat sa mga regalo (thank you very much for the gifts).
You are all part of my Thank You List for 2011. Cheers!

Thank You Item #1: An Exceptional Bus Driver

This year, I will take care of my heart by training it to be more grateful. That's why I will have a thank you item list in my blog.

Item #1:yesterday's Walfy Flexibus Driver

Let's start with the definition of terms. Walfy Flexibus is a mini bus service where one can book a trip thru their toll-free hotline, and have the bus bring them to and from anywhere within the neighborhood (or commune as they call it here. The ticket for the ride is 2 euros, which is good for 2 hours. I call it the taxi-bus.

I use it everyday. Baby Nicolo and I totally depend on it when picking up Polo from school and going back home. We are not snow-proofed enough to walk to the local school that is 10 minutes away from our place in single and negative degrees.

Riding the bus everyday taught me not to expect them to go the extra mile in customer service. (This is a blog entry about gratefulness so I won't go into the details of my disappointing encounters with them.) However, yesterday's assigned bus driver deserves a medal in customer service because he called me thru our intercom to inform me that he is there and to check if I was coming. I was surprised that 1)a Walfy bus driver called, 2) he was fifteen minutes early -- apparently, the hotline operator booked my trip at 11:15 instead of 11:40, 3) he tried his best to speak in english -- others wouldn't even try.

Imagine what would happen if he didn't ring me up. Baby N and I would have to walk all the way up to Polo's school in the freakin' cold weather. That would have been tiring and way too stressful. Thanks to the driver, the hotline's mistake was corrected and Baby N and I were saved from braving the cold!

I really wish that there were more drivers like him and extra-milers like him in Luxembourg's service industry.