Parenting Mishaps and Children's Medicine: Make No Mistake!

        When a child is born, especially when it's the first born, a parent is born too. The baby is clueless, innocent. And in that moment you realize that you have no idea how to really take care and raise a child. Babies don't come in a package with an instruction guide. I don't know about you, but in my case, as a parent, I have no idea what I'm doing. And you will need all the emotional support you can get. Mistakes will happen. There is no perfect parent.

        For one, like other moms, I don't cook. I mean I probably could if I really wanted to. But it's really just not my interest. This is why we hired a all-around maid who can cook for us. When Rain was still a baby, I learned how to cook Arroz Caldo so it's something Baby Rain could eat easily. In fact I even made a post about it. Ideally, when you cook for babies, you use as much fresh ingredients as you can. But dummy me didn't know how to make chicken stock. I tried. And it burnt. Can you believe that? After the first failed attempt, I didn't try again. I wish I took a photo of that burnt chicken stock. So anyway I ended up using chicken cubes.

        We all try to be the best that we can be. And most of the time we just follow our instincts. Or we wing it. But when it comes to your kid being sick, we can't afford to just wing it. There's no room for error when it comes to giving your kid the proper medication. That's why we have to try to know as much as we can in giving the right medicine for our child.

SELLEBRATE Summer with OLX's Ultimate #NAKSPERIENCE Summer Promo!

Boracay with our little photo bomber!

It's summer time!!!

        Do you have any plans for the summer? I wish it was that easy to plan an awesome summer trip. But we all know that in requires careful planning, and of course, the budget to put the plan into action. No one wants to travel without pocket money. Most especially for moms like us, who have to plan for more than one. All options to earn are welcome to save up for a relaxing and well-deserved vacation.

        As a stay-at-home-mom, I don't really have a steady income. Projects come and go, and they're not always there, honestly speaking. So sometimes when there's an easy (and legal) opportunity to earn something, we grab it! Just like selling things we don't need anymore over the internet.

        Thank God for OLX, I can sell second hand / unused items like toys, second-hand shoes but are in very good condition, bags or gadgets. It's the perfect opportunity to loosen up the closet space while earning at the same time! It's a win-win situation!


        But what if I told you that users (or new users) of OLX can actually get the chance to win exciting prizes just by posting for sale items through the OLX app?! And by "exciting prizes", I mean a huge shopping spree and maybe even a TRIP FOR 4 TO YOUR DREAM VACATION THIS SUMMER?!? It's the ultimate #NAKSPERIENCE summer promo!  I'm sure I got your attention! Read on to find out more!

PASS Deluxe Egg Decorating Kit: A Cool Way of Decorating Eggs!

        My brother in law Ryan just came back from the states a few days ago and look what he got for the kids for Easter Sunday! PAAS Egg Decorating Kit! Apparently it's America's  favorite Easter Tradition. And I can see why!

A Kid-Friendly Weekend at F1 Hotel Manila!: Pre-Easter Egg Hunting!

        Right after Rain's Moving Up Day, we were fortunate to get to celebrate at F1 Hotel Manila for a fun kid-friendly staycation. In fact, this particular staycation just made me love them even more! And I'm sure Rain feels exactly the same way especially with their kid-friendly activities available this Summer, and most especially this coming Easter Sunday!

Kinder Dramas to Moving-Up Day!

        It seems like only yesterday when I enrolled Rain in school. And now the school year is over. And she's moving up from Kinder 1 to Kinder 2. It was a crazy roller coaster ride for me. I thought it was going to be easy. You know, just bring your child to school, pick her up, ask her how her day went. As a first time parent, I thought it was that easy. Boy was I wrong!

        I believe Rain was the youngest in her class. I enrolled her when she was 3 years old. I thought she would be in Nursery or something but since her birthday month is October (meaning middle of the school year), the school advised that she needs to be enrolled in Kinder 1 already.

        Rain is a smart kid, as all kids nowadays are. But her level of maturity when it came to studying wasn't quite there yet. She was still in the "play only" phase. During the first few weeks of school she would just act as a supervisor, walking around class while the teacher is teaching, bothering her classmates, and even picking on one of her boy classmates.

Doing homeworks was also not a walk-in-the-park. Their homeworks were only given during weekends. And every time we would start, she would say "I'm tired mama"... But when I let her rest, she would magically recharge and play. Haaaaay.

        I was having a hard time because I was beating myself up, thinking I've lacked in teaching her how to listen, behave, and stuff. But it was her teachers that were telling me that it's normal. And that she will eventually reach that maturity when it comes to really doing school stuff. In fairness to Rain, she does do some school work. And towards the middle of the school year, she started improving more, learned how to stay still and listen more. She would surprise me with saying and using new words she knows.

        I'm sharing this because I want other parents out there who are worried about their kids to know that you're not alone. It's perfectly normal. I guess first time parents like me really tend to over-react. I know it's hard not to compare your kid with other kids who are doing better in school. But as we all should know, comparing is bad. Especially when you compare out loud in front of your kid. Not good for his/her self-esteem.

Anyway, come March 2016, it was her moving up day!

Make Your Little Ones Love Math With MatheMagis Summer School!

        When I was young, I hated math. Until now actually. That's why I took up Mass Communications. (If I had a peso for everytime I said that. I would be rich right now). And that's why I wished there was a fun way to learn math during my time. It would have been easier for me.

        Can you relate with me? Or more importantly, can your kids relate? Lucky for them there's a fun Math summer class they can attend this summer!

        Make your kids learn math happily and confidently with Mathemagis' Singapore Math Summer programs!

The Launch of FOOD CREW PH!

        More and more Filipino people are getting online. Almost everyone I know, even the older generations, have smartphones and have Facebook. In fact, people nowadays spend more time online than watching TV. This just makes a strong statement that the internet is fast becoming the main medium for communication. This explains the aggressiveness of brands (specifically food brands) in looking for online food influencers with good reputation.

        So co-founders B'ley Villones and Seanta Reyes had a light bulb moment and created a community where food influencers can meet, collaborate, share ideas, and pretty soon hold fun workshops as well.  It will be a platform where foodies can promote the Philippine's food industry through social media. And of course, at the same time, it will be like a pool of online food influencers where Food Brands can get to know them. Check out what Food Crew has in store!

My Preparation for Summer: 10K Steps, Brown Rice, and MySlim Yerba Drink

        I have to admit. I have mixed feelings about summer. I'm happy because of we get to have a splashing good time at the pool! Plus of course it's vacation time for Rain. But at the same time, I dread having to wear a bathing suit and showing my ab (Yes, singular. One big one), and the rest of my flabs. I may never have my pre-pregnancy body again. So all my photos that I dare post are like this photo above. Showing my top part only, and has to be angled correctly. Hehehe.

See what I mean?

        So what exactly am I doing to prep for the summer of 2016? Three things. Small steps but I believe makes a big difference in the long run....

When Was The Last Time You Had A Decent Nap?: Napping 101

        I remember a fellow blogger posted a survey on Facebook asking moms on what special gift they want to receive. And it could be anything like a vacation or a spa treatment. And funnily enough, she added: OTHER THAN A NAP. This goes to show how naps are always up there on a mom's wish list. (Single ladies, never underestimate naps. You will miss them after you give birth!) My answer was to have an overnight stay in a luxurious hotel... all to myself.... TO SLEEP!

        I have not had a decent nap for 4 years and counting.  Since I became a mom, a 2 minute nap already feels like 30 minutes. And somehow, even in such a short time frame, I suddenly feel refreshed. And the moment I jerk up from my nap I always think I can't believe I fell asleep! What happened? Where am I? Who am I?

        Being a mom is a handful. Currently, I only have 2 people I look out for. A 4 year old girl, and my husband (hehehe). But it already feels like a huge load. And so if you think about it, I need more naps than ever. Because napping is more than resting. It has physical and mental benefits that every person needs to get through the day. Or to get through life.

        So, in honor of National Napping Day on March 14, I would like to share this Napping 101 from CASPER  (who specializes in all things sleep like their memory foam mattresses)  because I know we can all benefit from this. You're welcome! :

A List of Fun Easter Sunday Happenings for the Family this 2016!

     

        Clueless where to spend Easter with your family? I've compiled some of the fun Easter Activities happening around the metro (and some from out-of-town) just for you! Hope this helps! (Note: I might update this post this week if I find more!)

Here we go!

New McDo Happy Meal is out TODAY!: Kung Fu Panda 3! And One More Surprise Awaits!

        Rain is a Happy Meal kid. Of course, that's the effect of having a dad that loves McDonalds (Fine... fine... And a mom too!) Happy Meal toys help us in more ways than one actually. You see, my little Rainbow have experienced coming home from kinder school with a sad stamp on her arm. These are the times when she would just want to play and not listen to her teacher. So to teach her the concept of working hard for something she likes, sometimes we would give her little toy surprises for being a good girl in school. And Happy Meal toys are our usual toy surprise stash. Our tummies would be happy, and so is Rain with her toy;-) Win-win!

        That being said, we're always on the look-out for McDo's latest Happy Meal toys. We just collected the Equestria Girls, and now there's a new set coming out! Starting TODAY MARCH 9, in lieu of the latest Dreamworks Animated movie, the new Happy Meal toy is the KUNG FU PANDA 3 Set!!!  (Read on for another cool announcement from McDo!)

Kidzania Rocks!!!

        Kidzania has been open for quite some time now here in the Philipines. But before they opened, I only heard about Kidzania from my niece and nephew who were raving about their Kidzania experience in Malaysia. I basically thought it was a pretend-play world where you can just enter a pretend shop and just pretend play inside. I was wrong. It was serious stuff!  And once I saw the little shops, I was amazed with the attention-to-detail. It's literally a world for kids where they get to learn and experience how it is to work for different fields. I'll show you why I think it's a brilliant concept for kids. There's really a lot more to it. It's not just play.