Why I hate YouTube for my toddler

For the past couple of days, our home is like a war zone. I have been keeping Mateo away from the cellphone. He's been insisting to get hold of the cellphone through screaming and crying.

I have previously allowed him limited use of my phone. Then I got weak and allowed YouTube as well. Then things started to go bad.



He keeps on wanting to watch YouTube. "Baby shark." Then proceeds to watch something else. "No more monkeys jumping on the bed." Then watches "Johnny, Johnny." Oh, Johnny, Johnny. It tops my list of why I hate YouTube.

Why I abhor YouTube for my toddler:

1. It plays "Johnny, Johnny," who's mischievous about eating sugar and lying. My toddler does not yet get the implicit message it sends. Fortunately, he thinks "ha ha ha" should be "ah ah ah," which pertains to opening one's mouth. For now.
2. Those "educational" videos are mostly about colors and numbers, which Mateo already knows by now. He needs to level up his learning.
3. Those videos introduce him to unneccessary toys. I hate unneccessary toys.
4. Those videos introduce him to candies. I try to teach him healthy eating habits.
5. He now thinks it is his right to use the phone and watch YouTube. He gets cranky, grumpy, and unreasonable when he doesn't get it.

I just hate YouTube for a toddler. True, sometimes he learns from it. He learned a lot of songs from watching YouTube. He got introduced to alphabet sounds by watching YouTube (but still doesn't get that "a" is for "a-a-apple", and not "a-a-ball").

Also true that it keeps me sane sometimes. But the effects of watching YouTube is far worse than getting some little quiet time. I just don't want to go that route of using YouTube as a fallback of parenting.

I have to stop this YouTube craze right now. I'm going the hard way of hiding all the extra gadgets and refraining from using the phone when he's around. It may mean a lot of crying and screaming for now, but I will stand my ground.  I'm more stubborn than my little kid.

I need to recharge: Coffee love

Can I have a good cup of coffee by myself, please?

I love spending time with Mateo. I really do. I love that I'm a stay-at-home mom rather than a working mom. Yet, sometimes, I just get sooo tired. Being a SAHM is draining my energy. Mateo just seems to drain my energy to almost nil.

He talks non-stop. He plays non-stop. He eats non-stop. He's on the move non-stop. That's an exaggeration, but that's how I feel.

I just want some alone time, please, so I get to recharge my energy? Ranting Writing this somehow helps a tinee tiny bit. BUT. I badly want some solitude so I can effectively work again. Back to being a playful mom who likes to cook and enjoys eating with the little kid, and who goes out just because we like it and not to escape the mess at home.

Can I have a good cup of coffee, please? By myself.

Time to focus: Resolutions

My days are mostly spent on playing with Mateo, cooking, eating (trying to gain weight), and pretending that I can keep the house clean. It has honestly been tiring. Recently, I have found it to be a repititive motion of doing chores.

To break away from this cycle, I have turned to K-drama. UNHEALTHY, UNPRODUCTIVE. Those things are so addictive. I feel like my life has no focus. I need to take charge of my life again. I'm going to list my resolutions to recharge my mind and soul.

I haven't done "resolutions" in a while.  I usually do it on my birthday. It's not my birthday, and it's not even the new year yet, but I don't want to wait for an occassion to do this. (I am sleepy, so let me just go straight to it.)

My resolutions

1. STOP watching K-drama. 
2. Spend one to two hours a day on weekends doing something productive that contributes to personal development. This includes "projects" I have in mind, as well as homescooling know-how for Mateo.
3. Devote around 30 minutes a day, four times a week (or two hours on weekends) to prepare Mateo's homeschool play materials.
4. Write. Just write.
5. Go to bed before 12 midnight.

I'm limiting the list to five to keep it simple. I'm already breaking resolution #5 now, though. I'll be better tomorrow. Cheers!

Baked lumpia and fritters: A healthy alternative

It is not easy to be trying to gain weight while watching out fat intake as well. I have a fatty liver (crazy) so I have to watch out what I eat.  So aside from baking sweet goodies and sumptuous meats, I have now tried baking those typically fried food. I have done baked lumpia/fritters/spring rolls and supposedly crispy baked tofu. I'll first write about the spring rolls.

I knew that I could make a baked alternative of those fried banana fritters. I saw baked versions of spring rolls in Pinterest before, but never imagined I would try it. They are supposed to be fried. Unless you have health restrictions, which I have, then baking is good enough.

What's inside those spring rolls doesn't matter to me, as long as they're fairly cooked or edible. That brings me to only look for the ideal temperature to bake them to an acceptable crunch. I know they wouldn't look the same as the fried versions, but taste and texture matter more.

The palest on the left (apple fritters) and the palest on the right (pork spring rolls) were both not brushed with oil

After three attempts, I think I found a good enough how-to for baked spring rolls. To note, I use Spring Home TYJ Spring Roll Pastry, which is egg-free. They do not sponsor me, but it was good when I first tried it and I'm now hesitant to try other brands.

My essential tips for baking (most) spring rolls:

1. Bake at 200°C for around 30 minutes.
2. Brush with olive oil to get a golden brown color. Skipping this step will make them look paler (baked versions are pale enough; a thin layer of oil will make them a bit more appetizing).
3. Flipping them at the halfway mark does not seem to be necessary.
4. They're still good one hour after being baked. Five hours after and they look sad to eat, but nonetheless edible.

Baking spring rolls or fritters are actually very easy and simple to do. No more splatters, plus you eat something healthier. I now have banana fritters ready to be baked anytime. Cheers to more baked goods!