Mom's Day Out: The Paintball Experience

I've seen videos.  I've seen pictures.  I've heard stories about paintball but I've never played an actual game.  So when our Senior Manager suggested this as a Team

Building activity, I couldn't help but feel excited.  It was a pretty darn good idea to me.  Plus we had a great deal at 200 per person for a 1 day pass to any Global Gutz

Paintball Park with Full Gear and Equipment.

Most of us will be coming from the workplace in Makati.  Getting there only took about 10-15 minutes with moderate traffic.  Global Gutz is located at the Philippine Army Gymnasium compound in Fort Bonifacio, btw.   We got pretty confused when we got there because we didnt see any sign whatsoever on where the field actually

is.  We eventually figured it out after asking a few people.

Getting Ready
Since majority of us never played paintball once in our lives, one of the employees was kind enough to introduce us to the basics.  He showed us how to use the gun or the paintball marker and the different safety precautions.

The ammunition was not what I thought it would be.  I pictured large squishy balls that breaks and will actually drench you when you get hit.  Contrary to that, it was as small and almost as hard as a marble.  This explains why you should NEVER remove your mask when the game is ongoing and you are on the field. 

waiting for our turn in the field

Game On
So we put on our protective vests and masks.  The vest only covered our neck, chest and shoulders which makes our arms and our legs vulnerable.  We put our game face on and head on to the field.  We didn't even notice how long we were playing.  What's important is we defeat our opponent and we do not get hit.

Our team played a total of 4 games.  I ended up playing on 1 out of the 4.  Lack of sleep (yes, we came straight from our Graveyard shifts), exercise, food and the heat was too much for me.  And my legs were pretty shaky after that one game.  It was like as if I did lunges, squats and leg press for what seem like forever.  That's what I get for not getting my butt back to the gym.  Everyone enjoyed so much that we're actually thinking of doing this again.  Maybe this time we'll make sure that I have sandwiches in my bag and I rest the day before the activity.

What to Expect When Mommy is Having a Baby: A Book Review

One of the things that parents prepare and sometimes dread is the talk about the birds and the bees.  How much information should we give and are these information age appropriate?

My daughter was 5 when she said that she wanted a baby brother; 7 when me and my husband started trying for baby number 2 and 8 when I finally got pregnant.  My husband and I are already anticipating her questions when we stumble upon the book written by Heidi Murkoff.  What to Expect When Mommy is Having a Baby is every parent's best friend.  Heidi Murkoff is the co-author of the book What to Expect When You’re expecting.  The book answers questions from how babies are made to how babies get out of the womb.  To make it more fun, the author created a character named Angus who gives out bits of information along the way. The book is recommended for children ages 3-5 but we still find the book useful even if our daughter was 8 when we found this.

The first part of the of the book is the author's note to the parents -- congratulating them on the new baby and acknowledging the fact that explaining the pregnancy to a toddler could be quite a challenge.  The book not only answers some of the questions and at the same time the topics in the book could serve as a springboard for further discussions.  For some who might be reading this book to anyone younger, the author recommended that the parents should read the book first and decide which information is appropriate for their child/children. 

Each pages addresses a question that children may have.  The answers were straightforward and any child could understand.  There are also activities for the kids in relation to the question.  My daughter's favorite activity was to roll herself in a blanket because according to the book, that's how the baby feels like inside the uterus.  She's probably done that almost everytime we finish reading it.

The topics that were covered are:

• Where is the baby?
• How did the baby get in there?
• How can a baby fit inside mommy?
• What makes the baby grow? How can I help?
• How does the baby eat?
• Can the baby hear and see me?
• What does the baby do all day?
• Why doesn’t mommy feel well sometimes?
• Why does mommy go to the doctor so much?
• When will the baby come out? How does it get out?

We found the book at a perfect time.  We sat down as a family to read it and took time to answer additional questions.   The most difficult question that my daughter asked so far was, “Mama, where is the birth canal?  Can I see it?”  So you can imagine what our faces looked like she asked that.

What I love about the book is that it helped my daughter somewhat understand what any mommy is going through when she’s pregnant.  If I don’t feel well, she’ll just say “I know. You’re not sick. You’re just pregnant.”  Then she'll give me a kiss and run off to bug her father.  The book was instrumental in bringing us closer and getting her emotionally ready for her baby brother.  The time we spent together just talking and telling stories about the time when I was pregnant with her never fails to put a smile on her face.  And when her brother was born, she has nothing but love to offer to the new member of the family.






(This blog entry was posted in Smartparenting's online publication.)