10/22/14

the persistent Queen Elsa wannabe

Here's my persistent Queen Elsa wannabe singing her heart out with the song "Let It Go" from the Disney's Frozen movie.

She is still not able to perfectly get the lyrics right but she's working on it. After all, she's only 5 years old. Just recently, I helped her out by printing the complete lyrics. Now that she already knows how to read, she will be able to sing the lyrics to this song right next time. I think I also forgot to mention that she once sang this song with some fellow Nursery students (who are also Elsa wannabes) during their moving up ceremony. I remembered she's supposed to share her microphone with another classmate on stage but she drew herself very close to the wire music stand like she's just performing this song alone. There was nothing I could do at that time but enjoy the scene. Afterwards, I lectured her about sharing the microphone with co-performers.

9/22/14

what good moms do

Just what does it take to be considered a good mom? Apparently, in order to be part of this tribe, it's as easy as learning our A-B-C's. Here's something I found on Pinterest. I realized I've been practically doing some of these things on the list. So, I'm almost there. Hopefully, I should be able to apply what I've missed out on.
Gotta do what the good moms do! :-)


9/17/14

feeling so loved every single day

One of the best and the greatest feelings I have as a mother is knowing that someone is always eagerly waiting for me to come home. Besides my husband, I am feeling so greatly loved by my daughter! This is the reason why I am inspired and motivated to complete everything I needed to do at work so I can also resume doing my next role at home, that of being a mother. This is something I look forward to every single day and something that gives a huge smile to my face. When she starts to plant kisses on my cheek, any symptoms of weariness I may have at that time completely goes away. I most definitely find fulfillment in being a mother. I am quite grateful to God for letting me raise a wonderful and terrific daughter.

9/14/14

went home scared

Yesterday, the little girl was out to play with the kids at the neighbor's house, just a few steps in front of ours. It was already an afternoon routine for her and her playmates. Not long after she went out, she went home scared and crying. One of her playmates informed me that one of the older kids showed her a toy that really looked like a real snake. Boy, she was shaking, sweaty and in so much tears! The kid (a girl) who scared her with the toy went to the house and apologized and explained to her and us that it's nothing real because it's just a toy. She showed it again in front of her. Feeling assured, she has already calmed down and was ready to play again after I let her drink some water. I told the kid that regardless that it's a toy, she shouldn't play with it (although it's really her choice) because she might see a real one and think that it is still a toy and not mind picking it up. She said, she has already seen a real one.Tough one! Reminded her not to do that again to my daughter because she's scared of it. Anyway, when the kid left, my daughter Dippy told me she shouldn't have bought a toy like that. Jesus will not be happy seeing her play with a creepy toy like that. One way or the other, I really thought she made sense. Oh, the wisdom of a five-year old!

is a morning serenade old school?

I wonder why I woke up too early today. It sure looked like I still have time to get back to bed and enjoy more hours of sleep; however, my eyes are telling me I've already had enough. Wow, and it's not even 2am yet when I last checked the watch! Watching my little girl and my husband in deep sleep can't even lure me back to sleeping mode yet. So, I guess this is Internet time for me, huh!. Gosh, I really wish someone in the neighborhood is having a birthday right now so I can join the thoughtful neighbors in their mañanita. Being waken up to a serenade at dawn on the day of your birthday maybe a bit of an old school but this thoughtful gesture still works and can touch the birthday celebrant's heart right to the very core. It is for this reason that my good neighbors started this mañanita gesture. It's really cool when you have cool friends like this in the neighborhood, don't you think? It doesn't matter if they own a musician's friend guitar, or whether the songs are sung beautifully or not, because it's really the thoughtfulness that matters to any celebrant. I have yet to join them in their future serenade, though. It's a shame I wasn't able to join them the last time they did this because, besides missing the night rehearsal, I wasn't able to wake up early. But now that I'm quite perfectly mañanita-ready, nobody seems to be celebrating a birthday in the neighborhood. How lucky can you be?

Incidentally, as I am writing this, I realized that a good friend and high school buddy on the other side of the world is celebrating her birthday. She's one of my high school buddies before. Now I'm having this throwback of my high school time. I remember every year we used to go to the bishop's palace with the rest of the choir and the nuns to serenade the bishop on his birthday, which happens to be her birthday as well. I wish her the best of things on her birthday - blessings of good health for her and her family.

9/13/14

still finding the right balance

It's been months of not blogging anything, I know! Like always! Truly, it's hard to find the right balance between and among everything else. I really have to make way for several priorities. I spent the last few months trying to make up my mind about giving up blogging but then again, I couldn't really bring myself to do it permanently. No, not yet! Not when my husband still wants me to. I'll definitely hold on to my two blogs for as long as I can and for as long as my husband is okay with this. Perhaps there will come a time when I would be able to sit and blog regularly, eh! Crossing my fingers here. Meantime, I'll just have to enjoy every single blogging chance I can have.

It turns out my last update was last March. Our little girl did really well when she was in Nursery. In fact, she was asked to render a thank you message during their "moving up ceremony". This year, though, we decided to enroll her for kindergarten in a different school. Although the new school is a little farther to our home than the previous school she last went to, we still wanted her to try being there so that she can also experience having more than just three or four classmates.  Besides the intellectual aspect, we also recognized the need for her to develop and improve socially. Hopefully, she can overcome her shyness and be able to deal with different types of personality while in school. So far, she's already well-adjusted in her new environment.

3/12/14

appreciating the sister

I'm not the type who's really crazy about fashion. I feel really safe and comfy by just wearing simple and casual clothes and I must admit that there are times when I would sometimes need help with enhancing my looks. In fact, my sister is the one who would help me decide what to wear on certain occasions. From clothes to make-up, she's really phenomenal at helping me look my best when I really need to. And did I say jewelry, too? I mean the fashionably right ones for the simple me, of course. Recently, she gave me an idea about finding inspiration in fashion jewelry from Jeweler's Wife, and I must say that there are a lot of good ones there that I am willing to wear. :-) Believe me, she knows what's best for me and my tiny budget. Thank God for sisters like her!

3/11/14

schoolyear is almost over

The schoolyear for our little preschooler will soon be over. In fact, they are already rehearsing for their moving up ceremony which will happen next weekend. After that, she can already take her vacation. Yipee! She's really looking forward to spend some of her vacation days with the in-laws. The thought of having a lot of playtime with her first cousins pretty soon really excites her. I'm also excited for her moving up to kindergarten school come this school opening.

Vacation time from school also means vacation time from school-related expenditures (Yipee for us parents! LOL); although this respite from school shouldn't take long because we are also planning to let her take summer classes/workshop. Hopefully, this short break would allow us to save up a little bit for her future school fees.

3/2/14

what preschoolers learn about music recently

I don't know if it's just me but I found it amazing to know that my Nursery student is already learning the different types of musical instruments in school. Just recently, we were doing her assignment on the examples of string, percussion and wind instruments. I thought back then, when I was the same age as her (4 years old), I didn't know about these things. I was not even enrolled in preschool yet and I only got to enter Kindergarten at 6 years old. Bugles were a common sight in school parades but, as far as I can remember, we weren't discussing their classification during preschool. Amazing, indeed!

the persistent wannabe

Our daughter's latest obsession which has been going on for weeks now is the music from that Disney movie entitled "Frozen". Everyday, she begs for us to let her watch the movie; and when she's done with the movie, she wants to listen and sing-along to the same music on youtube. Sometimes it irritates me because I hardly have enough computer time myself because of her being a Frozen fanatic. Several times today, she asked her father to buy her the gown that Elsa wore when she sang "Let It Go". Her father had already said "No" to this request today. Tomorrow is another day for the persistent wannabe.

2/17/14

will it work for me?

A couple of weeks ago, we had Zumba sessions at work. I appreciated it that the company I worked for has initiated this activity. We didn't have a Zumba trainor but we were provided with a video of an easy workout routine which was fed through a projector screen. I was close to liking the activity but the sessions have abruptly stopped because the venue we were using then was no longer available. There were also times that some of us would skip the sessions because of a work deadline. So, perhaps not being able to enjoy Zumba a bit longer at work was already bound to happen. Now, I think I'll have to resume doing Zumba sessions at home. Keeping myself fit and healthy has been such a challenge for many years now. Someone suggested that I should also try if an 8 hour detox will work for me. Right now, I'm still having second thoughts because I'm not sure if I would be able to sustain it.

how I made her happy on Valentine's Day

If I had it my way, I would have celebrated Valentine's Day on a dinner date with husband and daughter. However, since it was a work day for both of us and a school day for the little girl, husband and I decided we should just simply celebrate it at home. After all the traffic I went through on my way home from work, celebrating it at home only justified it as the most practical and cost-effective idea. I brought home dinner and dessert for the three of us. I also brought with me the Valentine balloon that I received at work. All the ladies in the office practically received one from our boss; and while almost everyone just left their balloons as decoration in their respective cubicles, I thought of bringing mine at home because I know it would make my little girl happy. True enough, she was jumping with joy when she saw me at the doorstep with the red balloon. In return, she also gave me and her papa the Valentine card that she made in school.

1/31/14

i'll be seeing it my way

I thought my 20/20 vision is already back but I think I'm feeling again all the symptoms that my husband shared to me that seem to indicate problems with eyesight. Or is this a sign of aging? Thanks to all those years of working in a computer and sometimes staying up late and not getting enough sleep, I may now have to wear corrective eyeglasses anytime this year or even sooner than that. I hope I can find something that's not only budget-friendly but also something that looks good on me. I wonder if I would look great in large frame glasses because just as I would love to see them worn by other people,  I really love to wear them myself. It should be to my advantage that I wear eyeglasses with large frames because it can widely cover a huge part of the face against the direct heat of sunlight.

her very first educational trip

Last January 25, my daughter attended a field trip as part of their school activity. There were two itineraries on that day. The first itinerary is the Greenwich Pizza Making Activity at Gaisano Grand Mall in Lapu-lapu. After that, they went to Happy World Museum in Gabi, Cordova. My husband was the one who accompanied her on these two itineraries because I had a commitment that day. Anyway, I was glad that she enjoyed all these two activities with teachers and staff, classmates and schoolmates.


getting serious with her task

a photo with everybody

at Happy World Museum

We're glad that the school had picked these two activities for their educational/field trip because they didn't have to travel that far.



1/29/14

had fun singing last year

I feel like I'm not done yet with blogging about last year. :-) There was so much to blog about last year's happening that it didn't feel quite right for me to just skip it just because I got busy. Anyway, let me just talk about how husband, Dippy and I spent our Christmas last year. We actually celebrated it and had fun at our neighbor's house. Oh, my sister also was with us on Christmas. It was actually the first time that a good neighbor (a couple) invited us to have dinner with them. They prepared food; we prepared food as well. We had a bottle of red wine (for the ladies), some beer (for the two gentlemen) and juice for the little girl. I also brought our Magic Sing along, so we can have karaoke while we are still hours away from Christmas Eve. A few rounds of wine and beer have almost turned us into overnight sensation/professional singers, or should I say, wannabes. LOL. Good thing, a lot of the neighbors were also singing then. I did try to record my performance that night (just one song) using my cellphone and I realized that I must have been so out of tune after I got tipsy or drunk. I know my voice wouldn't be as bad as it was if I picked the right songs and adjust the pitch and other settings a little. My sister suggested to invest by getting a good set of speakers or an  audio equalizer but I'm not sure if it's a reasonable expense for me who doesn't do karaoke frequently. Maybe I'll just have to rehearse more often - there's great audio when I take my shower. Right. :-)

blessed to have good friends

One of the many things that I liked  about what was happening in our lives last year was that I made some good friends. Yes, it was this year that I have turned some acquaintances into good friends. Indeed, no matter how busy we are, and whether we are single or married, we would always need and appreciate the existence of good friends. It's hard to find real ones nowadays but once you have found them, they can be your good friends for life. Unfortunately, there are also some who will just leave you behind or vanish into thin air. Whether they keep you for life or eventually leave one day, it's important to remember that they are there or aren't there in our lives for a reason. Anyhow, as they say, it's not about numbers that matter but the quality of friends that we have. Agree?

putting that passion for music to good use

Learning how to play a musical instrument, such as the guitar, can do more than just ease the boredom or loneliness of a person. Although it depends on one's level of interest and skills, one can really make money out of it once he or she decides to become a musician, be it a full-time or part-time thing. I also happen to know someone who didn't even finish college due to financial circumstances yet is still able to feed his own family by putting his guitar skills and knowledge to good use. What I mean is that he's never been out of work as he's able to land some jobs and gigs which needed his skills and expertise. I remembered he was the one who recommended a specific amplifier to a common friend and his bandmates who have just started out as a band then and they had nothing but good words about the equipment. Now, I heard he's a master salesperson now and has been earning more by selling and performing demos of electric guitars and amplifiers.

1/27/14

tough decision made last year

One tough decision we have made last year was to let go of our little girl's nanny. That was tough for us, at first, because some adjustments really had to be made, career-wise, so that we would be able to attend to our little girl's needs without sacrificing our income. It was quite a challenge to keep the routine in order but somehow we have managed to pull it through. Lately, the challenge for us was to keep the house organized and in order because our daughter has been so good at messing it up. We've both been thinking of better plans this year and even in the years to come so that, a step at a time, we can better improve our finances and the quality of our family life.

1/25/14

the husband is up to something

I knew husband's too busy to do even a small woodworking project this month. That's why when he kept looking at Reid Supply for a couple of days now for some plumbing and woodworking materials, I thought husband was really up to something. Just this afternoon, though, while having our usual conversation over coffee, he opened up to me about his desire to realize our goal of having a family business. So, that was it - he took inspiration from the page because that's the kind of business he wants to have someday. Hmmm, what can I say? Those are guy's stuff. I wonder if I can also come up with business targeted for women or mothers? Well, I really think the famous financial adviser Francisco Colayco is a great motivator. We have learned so much lately from his lectures aired on TV about the importance of having passive income and accumulating wealth, not just money.

1/18/14

a year-ender report on our life as parents

It's back to blogging time once again, folks! Ahem! I thought I would be able to blog earlier than today but, much as I would have wanted to, family, work and some other  priorities really got in the way, especially towards the end of the year. Still, I hope to start the new year with a little "year-ender" of some sort.

I am happy to say that, although last year was quite a challenging one for us, we were somehow able to successfully carry out some decisions which have something to do with our life as parents.  I cannot complain anything despite that we were not able to accomplish some of the goals last year. Overall, there were more blessings we have enjoyed that we hardly notice we have also endured
some trials. I am really thankful for all the material gifts we have received last year. More than anything else, though, I am thankful to God for giving us gifts of good health and whole lot of good friends.

Our little girl, on the other hand, has enjoyed every bit about her life as a preschooler and as the lone daughter. Husband and I have noticed a lot of progress, not only in terms of academics  but also in terms of displaying good behavior. Thanks to her teacher in school for partnering with us parents in helping to mold and shape our kid.

I and husband are still discussing our plans for the year - what we need to accomplish as according to priorities. It really helps to have realistic plans even though we may not be able to execute some of them.