CC: When We Wish Upon a Star

When I read this CC topic of the week, I remember this old song. Here’s a part of the lyrics:

When You Wish Upon A Star-Louis Armstrong

When you wish upon a star
Makes no difference who you are
Anything your heart desires
Will come to youIf your heart is in your dreams
No request is to extreme
When you wish upon a star
As dreamers do
Fate is kind
She brings to those who love
As sweet fulfillment of their secret drowns
Like a boat out of the blue
Fate steps in and see's you through
...

Of course, it’s not literally that we wish upon the star, as we must wish only to GOD that creates star and others, right?

I guess that there’s nothing wrong with wishing. Some people may say that wishing is only a passive thing to do; and it needs more that wish to make your dreams come true. Some other people say that you should wish that is followed by the visualization. If you wish to have a bigger house, you should visualize in your mind, every detailed thing in your new home and also visualize your activities inside. Have you ever tried it?

I think those all are true. Perhaps you’ve ever read about the power of mind, the attraction laws, and others. I believe that as long as God decides that your wish is truly the best for you, it will come true. What we wish for doesn’t always mean that it’s the right thing for us. Only God knows what the best is for us; or perhaps the time isn’t right yet.

But as ordinary human, sometimes, we -my hubby and I- like to talk about our wish. Just saying it can make us happy!

Here are some of our wishes: having smart and adorable kids, able to take care and give high education to our kids, successful business, a new house with bigger yard, getting old together, living healthy and happily forever, and I don’t want to bother you anymore with my other wish, hehehe…

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How to React to Your Child’s Tantrum

Perhaps every parent has ever faced child’s tantrum. It can happen anywhere, whether at the grocery or on an airplane. I’ll share here the tips that are written by Emily McBride. You can apply these tips to get your toddler develop into a more reasonable toddler.

A child throws tantrums in order to declare their independence. The trick is letting them feel their sense of independence while still getting them to behave well and follow the rules.

Realize that simply yelling “no” and stomping a foot is not a tantrum; it’s just testing the water. Don’t mistake this normal child behavior for a tantrum. Parents, here’s for your information: Tantrums are when the child gets out of control, whether physically or verbally.

Some characteristics of tantrums are pounding arms and legs on the floor, screaming, and getting red in the face. Not only temper-tantrums are unbearable and embarrassing in public, if you don’t get controlled your child from the beginning, he/she can lead to even bigger behavioral problems later.

How to respond properly? Here are some tips:

Ignore.Just ignore him or her (don't give any eye contact); but you should make sure that your child doesn’t hurt herself/himself. In many cases, once your child realizes that he is not getting any attention from his tantrum, he will stop. Most probably, the more agitated you get about their tantrum (yelling, begging, or getting emotional); your child will also get more agitated.

Trying to physically hold them still work not either, and usually results just in more struggle. Don’t worsen the situation. Obviously, if you are in a public place that needs to be quiet, this might not work. You might need to take your child out and away before you can start ignoring him.

Reward positive behavior.Studies have shown that gratifying positive behavior is actually persuades better behavior than punishing for negative. Praise your child when he/she is behaving well. When your child calms down after a tantrum, stop ignoring them and acknowledge them with a respect.

Start now.If you’ve been applying the tips and your toddler is still throwing tantrums, that’s okay. Ignore your child’s next tantrum. It will probably shock your child at first, but sooner or later they will realize that you aren’t going to respond to their tantrums anymore, and they’ll find another (hopefully better) way to get your attention.

When the right time to get expert help.Sometimes, tantrums are a sign of bigger problems. If your child is throwing multiple tantrums a day, or getting injured or injuring others through the tantrums, consult to your doctor.

Pick your ‘battles’ wisely.
As parent, you aren’t going to win every argument and tantrum. Every child is different; so, different techniques work best for different children. Be patient, this period of childhood won’t last too long.

Well parents, I hope these tips can help you to respond your child’s tantrum in a better way…

Rewrite source: family.tips.net
Image source:ucgmikebennett.wordpress.com

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The Festival of Sacrifice

Eid al-Adha (Arabic: عيد الأضحى‎) or Festival of Sacrifice or Greater Eid is a significant religious holiday celebrated by Muslims around the world to celebrate the willingness of Abraham (Ibrahim) to sacrifice his son Ishmael (Isma’il) as an act of obedience to God, before God interfered to provide him with a ram to sacrifice instead.

Why do Muslims sacrifice an animal on this day?

During the commemoration of Eid al-Adha, Muslims memorialize and remember Abraham's trials, by themselves slaughtering an animal such as a cow, sheep, camel, or goat. This action is very often misunderstood by those outside the faith.

God has given us authority over animals and allowed us to consume meat, but only if we pronounce Allah name at the solemn act of taking life. By saying the name of Allah at the time of slaughter, we are reminded that life is sacred.

The meat from the sacrifice of Eid al-Adha is mostly given away to others. One-third is eaten by immediate family and relatives, one-third is given away to friends, and one-third is donated to the poor. The act symbolizes our enthusiasm to give up things that are of benefit to us or close to our hearts, in order to follow Allah's commands.

It also represents our willingness to give up some of our own bounties, in order to make stronger the ties of friendship and help those who are in need. We are aware of all blessings come from Allah, and we should open our hearts and share with others.

It is very essential to comprehend that the sacrifice itself, as accomplished by Muslims, has nothing to do with atoning for our sins or using the blood to clean ourselves from sin. This is a misinterpretation. The representation is in the thought - a willingness to make sacrifices in our lives in order to stay on the Straight Path. (Source: google).

I captured the sheep that will be sacrificed at November 17th 2010, the Festival of Sacrifice.

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CC: What We have Accomplished

Every married couple has a dream about their future marriage life, including me and my hubby. Our dream was having a happy marriage life, successful business and one or two children.

And then, after eight years of our marriage life, what is the reality that happens to us now? Well, I believe that only God who knows what is the best for us. We can have a dream and we have done our efforts to reach it, but the end results are totally in God’s Power and Authority.

From the three dreams, I feel grateful that we have accomplished a happy marriage life; as our relationship are becoming stronger every day. Perhaps you, my friends, have already known that we got bankrupt in our business and suffered a huge financial loss. There aren’t yet little steps running around our house since we still have no child.

I don’t feel sad at all and I accept this reality with sincerity. I and my hubby can live in a simple life, and that’s more than enough for me. We just do our best here to move forward and reach a better life. I believe that the bright future is waiting for us there.

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Rain

I hope this shot are wet enough for a watery post. I was inside our car and on the journey to Kaligua tea plantation (Bumiayu, Central Java). It was raining outside and you can see also the mist was surrounding the trees.

My entry for Watery Wednesday

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Handling Quarreling Children

As parent, dealing with your fighting children could be one of your most frustrating things. I’ve ever been in the same situation – with my two fighting nephew and niece. They were still yelling each other; but it already gave me headache. Aww, I need to learn more! That’s why I’m glad that I found these practical guidelines. I rewrite and share it for you.

The first rule is ignoring the small argues.
You can interfere if quarreling becomes physical. Quarreling is a normal part of any child’s social development, so, most children will go through this ‘quarreling’ stage. It becomes parent’s responsibility to ensure that your children are learning ways of dealing with disagreements.

The second rule: you should really try not to tell off or get offend with just one of the children, as it generally takes two to fight. If your children are old enough, ask each child to tell their story of the events leading up to the argument.

For older children (teenagers), you could ask them how they would stop quarreling children when they are parents themselves. After getting these suggestions, ask them if they could live by the rules that they just suggested. If the answer is ‘yes’, take their ideas and stick them on the fridge door or family notice board for upcoming use.

In the case that you find out that the fight was caused by a specific item, try taking out the objects that cause squabbles among younger children. If you know your child and a friend always fight over the same toy, remove it before the friend comes to visit. Another option: get two of the same kind of toy that way each child would have one to play with.

You can also try to make a game out of sharing. Hand them a toy and take it smoothly back. Repeat until your child is happy to hand it over to you. After this has been successful a few times between yourself and your child, expand the game to include other children as well. You teach your child that it’s OK to share with everyone and not just you.

When fighting breaks out in the car, here are things that you should do. Pull over to a safe spot and find out what is going on. Make clear to your children that you can’t drive with them fighting like that because it’s a distraction and could cause an accident. It may be shocking, but this method works well with children as young as three.

If your children seem to be frequently fighting, ask yourself these questions to help you:
Are you favoring one unconsciously?
Are they happy at school?
Are they hungry?

The third rule: consistency. Be steady with how you face any given condition dealing with a fight/argument. This will make your children know what to anticipate in any given situation. Write out a list of house rules, such as no playing with the ball near the window, no yelling each other, etc.

In the event that you have to discipline your children for fighting or arguing, you can always separate them for a time. Typically half an hour will work for younger children, as after about fifteen minutes they will be asking to play with each other once again. You can also inform them about your own childhood quarreling with your brothers or sisters, since it shows them that everyone has troubles with their family as they grow up.

Source: family.tips.net

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White Spotted Deer of Bogor Presidential Place (3)

These photos are from my old archive. I’ve been sick on the last few days, and I was too weak to do anything. Thank God, today I feel better and I can write this post.

Seeing the deer in front of Bogor Presidential Palace is always fun. Some of them are very tame and they are nearing the fence to get carrots from the visitors. Every week end, many visitors come to see these deer.

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