What to Expect | The Unexpected Arrival.

Last week, I made a quick trip to the post office to claim this parcel.

This box was heaaaavy!

Turns out this box contains these.

Finally! They're here!

The What to Expect series, which I won from a giveaway way back in February! After almost three months, my prize finally found its way home, haha!

This was actually WTE's third attempt to ship out my prize. The first box didn't make it to the Philippines and was 'returned to sender'. The second box went to parts unknown. It didn't reach my doorstep, and neither did it came back to WTE headquarters. I wasn't expecting for this to come, but guess it's true when they say the third time's a charm. The third shipment finally made it to Philippine shores. Yay!

So exactly what is What to Expect?

What to Expect When You're Expecting is the brainchild of Heidi Murkoff; she originally came up with this guide book to help expectant moms sleep better at night. What started as a simple project has now become a phenomenal bestseller, with 17 million copies in print and read by almost 93% percent of pregnant women. The book has been heralded as the 'pregnancy bible', and is now in its fourth edition.

With the success of this first book, Heidi went on to write What to Expect The First Year and What to Expect the Second Year. The series is now a worldwide success, and is published in over 30 languages.

New babies on my bookshelf!

At this point, the What to Expect the Second Year is the most useful to me, as I have a toddler who needs a bit of work on the tantrums, anger management, and discipline department. In between taking care of the little man, doing the house chores, blogging and my freelance writing gigs, and watching my Kdramas, I try to spare an hour or two for this book. So far, I'm enjoying and learning a lot from every page of it.

Here's an excerpt from Chapter 7, Disciplining Your Toddler.

"So be the calm in the storm as much as you can. When your toddler has done something that makes you angry, take a few moments to cool down before you attempt a disciplinary action. Then, respond. Calmly explain the error of your toddler's ways and what you plan to do about it.


A little too late for that - already lost your cool? Don't worry if you can't always slam on the temper brakes. Again, you're only human, which is actually important for your only-human child to know. As long as the tirades are relatively few, far between, and short-lived, and aimed at your child's behavior, not your child, they won't interfere with effective parenting, or even with your overall discipline strategy. 


When you lose it, however, be sure to apologize for it: 'I'm sorry I yelled at you, but I was very angry'. Adding 'I love you' will let you know that sometimes we get angry at people we love, and that's okay."

The little rascal. :)

I'm glad to be the lucky winner of Mommytot's giveaway, and the recipient of these wonderful books. Thank you, Mommytots! And many, many thanks to Mr. Dan Weissbrodt and What to Expect for never giving up on sending the package to me. I truly appreciate all the effort!

Cheers to the crazy, beautiful world of parenting! :)
Shared with Green Monday, Blue Monday, and Wednesday Whites.