2 posts tagged “parenting”

i promised to post a background story as to why we have a child living with us.

however, mulling through the events of four years ago, i decided to save the bits and pieces for a book i'll be writing soon; still, i'm sharing some of the details here.

bedtime history

for reasons only known to her, sakura's mother (sylvia) decided to live with her new boyfriend after her first one, who is sakura's dad, left and was never heard from ever again, when she was still three months pregnant with sakura.

sylvia now has an eleven-month-old baby boy with her new boyfriend. she did try to keep sakura with her in the house where she lives with her new family but it didn't work out well for our little one because the old folks, who are sylvia's boyfriend's grandparents, do not appreciate having to care for a child who is not of their own flesh and blood. sylvia noticed how her daughter is not receiving the care that sakura really deserved, because sylvia was tied down to the needs of her new baby and of her boyfriend as well. needless to say, sakura was often neglected as long as she stayed where her mother is staying.

i know that it was a very painful decision for a mother to give her child to other people to care for but that's what sylvia did. as long as she stayed in the house of her boyfriend, as long as she has another baby to fend for, and as long as she does not have a job, she is powerless to raise her daughter in the best possible way. she entrusted sakura's upbringing to imalech and myself, probably hoping that we could give the care that the child really needed but that she cannot give.

each day, i pray that imalech and i would not fail. for sakura's sake.

Here's an affordable, nontoxic recipe for playdough, which could provide hours of fun for kids.

Start by putting 4 cups of flour in a large bowl.

Make a well in the center and add 1 cup of water, 1/4 cup of rock salt, and 1 tablespoon vegetable oil.

Mix by using both hands, adding water as needed by sprinkling small amounts each time, until all ingredients are well blended.

Divide the dough into four parts.

For each part, sprinkle a few drops of food coloring of choice (use the powdered type mixed in a teaspoon of water, which is more affordable that the ready-made liquid type) and knead well until the color is well incorporated in the dough.

The playdough is now ready for use.

The dough will keep indefinitely if, after use, this is placed in plastic wrap and kept in the refrigerator.