My friends and I love playing poker. We’d often meet-up in somebody else’s house to do some serious card-playing and bidding for hours. Even when Andrea was already pregnant, we’d play poker late at night. Hehe! Lately though, some of us have discovered playing online poker. There are times when Andrea and I would want to play poker but we don’t have others to play with so we’d settle with playing online. There are a lot of top online poker sites out there. For those who love playing online poker, what’s important is to make sure that the site is secure especially if it’s a paid site. The site topusaonlinecasinos.com also have reviews of the best US online poker room sites, definitely a must-visit for poker lovers. They offer a comprehensive review of some online poker room sites, including some great detailed ratings like software rating, trust factor, bonus and promotions. So if you’re one of those who play poker online, better read the reviews first.

My cousin has been racking up debts on her credit cards. I almost wanted to make her surrender them to me when I learned of it. I know how it feels to be paying off credit card debt - they sometimes feel like they are never going to end. She’s thinking of getting a loan, hopefully one that charges lower interest. She needs to pay off her credit cards and to stop using them. She has been checking out different institutions that offers loans. Some even offer bad credit loans. It would a good idea for her (and me!) to read up on handling credit and finances especially since she will need to do a lot of credit repair.

With only just a year of experiencing our little babsy, I’ve come to realize a few things about being a dad and having a baby.

• Babies grow up unbelievably fast. One moment, they’re stationary and helpless, and the next, they’re everywhere, every time, wrecking everything!

• No matter what the new moms or dads say, babies are so much easier to take care of when they’re still young and helpless. Babysitting becomes exponentially more difficult whenever they learn new skills like walking, food throwing, spitting, etc.

• Mommies are amazingly vulnerable to baby smiles and hugs. No matter how mad Andrea gets at Mateo for breaking things, she can never stay mad at him especially when he comes over to hug her while flashing his cute smile. (They’re any supermom’s kryptonite!)

• Anything can be a toy! If you just had the imagination, everything from miniature cars, to balls, to vases, to scratch papers, remote controllers, socks, keys, even up to calculators can be used for playing basketball or soccer.

• Only mommies are allowed to scold or get angry at the babies. Whenever I get mad at Mateo for doing things, andrea always calls my attention, but when Mateo bites her, she calls his attention.

• No matter how much you lure them to you with play, babies will naturally go to mama first (mommy-dependent). I asked andrea once how come mateo never clings on to me as much as he clings on to her. With a grin, she answered me quickly - Grow some boobs first!

• There is no way to baby-proof a house a hundred percent. Babies will always find ways to hurt themselves, no matter how silly or how seemingly impossible those methods are.

• There is no such thing as an 8-hour sleep for daddies and mommies. Regardless of how much milk or food you give them before sleeping, they will always wake up in the middle of the night to ask for more.

• Babies without diapers are erratically ticking time bombs. It’s not a question of if they will make a mess, but rather of when they’re going to make a mess.

• It takes a great deal of creativity, enormous amount of self-control, and limitless patience to become a dad (even more so to become a mom!) but it’s all worth it!

I’m not an expert in taking care of babies, nor am I vowing to become one. I’m just a year wiser than I was before - not yet a guru but not anymore a novice. Hehe! All thanks to my andrea and, of course, mateo.