Monday, June 30, 2014

Weekend Footnotes

Is it Monday again so soon?  The weekend was a blur with the numerous places we had to be in.  Have you ever felt like you need another day to add to the weekend?  That's how I feel like right now.

Last Friday, the SoMoms were invited by OREO to the exclusive screening and trade launch of Transformers: Age of Extinction at the Newport Cinemas at Resort World.  Since it was hosted by OREO, there was a lot of OREO love going around, of course.  Beginning with the dessert buffet for everyone to enjoy as we waited for the movie to start.  I will tell you more about this OREO buffet in a separate post.

Thursday, June 26, 2014

Betty VS Veronica

R and one of his sisters were on the dining table after breakfast a few days ago.  As usual he was reading Archie, and his sister was on her iPhone.  From nowhere, his sister asked him, "who do you like better, Betty or Veronica?"

Which took a long and really insightful reply from him... yung talagang pinag-isipan ha. :)

I eavesdropped on the conversation...

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Safeguard Derma Sense: #FaceUp to Acne

My kids are competitive swimmers who train almost everyday of the week.  My oldest has been swimming for nearly 5 years now.  For endurance athletes like them, competing on a national level is something that they all work hard for. Qualifying for the Batang Pinoy National Championship and Palarong Pambansa have proved to be her achievements in her swimming career, so far.
As a mom, I am in full support for her love for this sport.  My support goes all the way from taking her to training, preparing nutritious food to aid in her recovery, cheering for her in every competition, and also by making sure that she takes good care of her body and skin.  Since the pool is susceptible to a lot of germs, I remind her to wash her skin thoroughly after every training session.   

So far, she has been fortunate to not experience any problems with acne, but she would tell me stories about how some of the swimmers would get so self-conscious about having to wear a swimsuit when they have acne on their backs (which they call bacne), shoulders, and chest. It is so bad that sometimes they don't show up for training because of their frustrations and insecurities brought about my acne.

Friday, June 20, 2014

What To Do With Swimmer's Ear

Being a swim-mom means regularly spending entire weekends by the pool-side cheering your kids on ... the whole day! Did I mention call time is at 7am? Such a crazy and tiring schedule it is!:)

I was happy with how my Li'l Man performed in almost all his events, particularly his 100-meter breaststroke and 100-meter butterfly.  I am happy that with constant encouragement and prayers, his confidence about his performance in the pool is slowly building.  Of course, we continue to always pray for him and we trust in Philippians 1:6  being confident that He who began a good work in him will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

We are thankful that he is slowly turning from being anxious into someone who is God-confident; that is, he is confident in himself because he knows that he can do ALL things through Christ who is within him.  Click here to read how it all started.
The li'l men of Team Buccaneers are all smiles after winning the gold in their 200-meter freestyle relay.

Friday, June 13, 2014

#BetterMe: Investing In The Next 5 to 10 Years


As women, we are naturally nurturing and part of our innate desire to nurture is putting our family's needs first, and our personal needs last.  When I became a wife and then a mom, my priorities slowly started shifting from my own needs to that of my family.  I didn't notice it immediately, but one day I just realized that I am caught up with all the demands of being a wife, a mom, and a homemaker that I began neglecting myself.

That is why I am thankful that Coach Pia and The One Core Team are always available for the SoMoms.
One of the benefits of being part of the SoMoms is that I have access to #BetterMe sessions hosted by life coach Pia Acevedo.

The topic of the last session I attended was Investing in The Next 5 to 10 Years. I initially thought it was a financial literacy session; but it turned out to be an investment guide to the most important investment - ourselves!
INVEST IN YOURSELF
So how exactly can we invest in ourselves?  Simple. By making our personal dreams happen. As moms, do you still have your own dreams? Or are your dreams anchored on your kids achievements? It is important that we do not lose focus on ourselves as individuals so we can be our own hero.

This part of the session was based on Coach Pia's book, Born To Be A Hero.  But first, let me explain Coach Pia's definition of heroism:  it is our capacity to give of ourselves with all the talent, skills, enthusiasim we have for life.

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

{Weekend Footnotes} Stella Wood Fired Bistro . Mamou Too . 8 Cuts Burger Blends . Cafe Shibuya

Weekends are met with great anticipation in my family because it is usually the time when we eat out - a lot! My food-fest started last Friday when some of the SoMoms got invited by the people behind Meat & Livestock Australia and S&R for a pre-Father's Day luncheon for us to sample imported Australian beef.
Neva of ManilaMommy, Me, Michelle of My Mom-Friday, Jackie of Go Jackie Go.  Thanks Jackie for the photo.:)

Friday, June 6, 2014

Summer In Full Swing 2014

Summer's stretched out days and golden sunsets are soon departing. In the meantime, I hope to enjoy what is left of it and reminisce on the good times that we've had for the past few months  School opening will soon be upon us! Seems like summer flew by so fast. I am not yet ready for my kids to go back to school I will miss the kids - their noisy bickering, their endless laughter, our kitchen adventures... so many more. I will also miss sleeping in, and I don’t think I am ready to go back to being a tutor –mom just yet.

One of the things we really love to do is spend time outdoors with the kids. There are days when we think that the sun and wind conspire with the kids to bring everyone outside... the sun proudly displays it's golden rays, while the wind coaxes us with its gentle breeze. what is there to do, but accept this generous invitation!:)
This place is usually empty on Sunday afternoons, so we pretty much have the entire place to ourselves.  We don't have to worry about cars on the road while the kids are riding their bikes.
or their scooters.... however way they might want to ride their scooters! hahaha!
Whenever we take the kids to go biking, C brings our handy air pump along... which my Li'l man converted into a make-believe pogo stick.
...or something with which to irritate his sister as he runs around after her while she is riding the bike.
We noticed that with R no activity is ever really fun until it involves B.  Here he is busy making an obstacle course daw so B can master maneuvering her bike.  Ang kulit!
It did rain while we were there, we just took shelter in the car and it quickly stopped in a few minutes; the kids were able to quickly resume biking and riding their scooters.
I just remembered this post from 5 years ago, and realized that it is good that some things never change. This is the same place we still love to visit. Look at how tiny all the kids are!
http://thephenomenalmama.blogspot.com/2009/11/one-fine-day.html
There were days during the vacation that I would force myself to reflect if I made a conscious effort to make my kids's summer memorable for them. Was I able to give them the most generous gift of my time, attention and patience?

I feel so happy looking at these photos that I took during the course of the summer.  Most of them were taken in my bedroom, and I feel so happy that my 2 younger kids still want to "hang" in my room.  Soon they will be teenagers who will want some independence and more alone time.

Littlest Pets made a comeback here.

The night-time trek to our bathroom can be "dangerous," and should come with a warning: "Proceed With Caution!"... Lego mini-figs were all over our bedroom floor

The Li'l Man had been doing some "DIY bedroom renovation" as he converted his train mat into a wall poster.
It is true what they say that for full-time home-makers, we are often times so busy with making sure the house runs efficiently that we forget to have fun with the kids.  I am occasionally guilty of that; but I am lucky that C constantly reminds me that my kids' memories are not made with how I drove them around for their swimming training, or how tired I am from preparing the most delicious dinner. He tells me memories will always be about the fun and happy experiences.

I keep that in mind, and there are days that I indulge their whims and caprices! So when the li'l girl says she wants a picnic on our rooftop, she gets a picnic...
... complete with picnic mats and a tent!  All made out of retasos, but she couldn't care less.  All she could say was that it was magical!


Hope you enjoyed a peek into what made our summer delightful. How about you? What are some of your memorable summer moments?

FOLLOW ME!   

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

PLDT Home DSL

My kids are counting the days left in their summer vacation! A few days to go and they're back to school. I know of a few moms who have started to ease their kids back into their regular school bedtime routine. My kids should thank me that I haven't resorted to anything that drastic yet.:) But I did make sure that to prepare everything that they need for school: new school supplies, new school shoes, new school uniform, school books all covered already... everything on my back-to-school checklist is done!

But I don't stop there, I also make sure that our home has the right tools to help my kids do well in school. While I want them to excel in their academics, they are also competitive swimmers.  And as such, a big chunk of their everyday after-school hours is taken up by their training time.  So the limited time that is alloted for studying is very precious.

Monday, June 2, 2014

Weekend Footnotes

I look forward to posting my Weekend Footnotes because it is almost always full of food photos!  And this weekend is no different.

The mommy of one of B's good friends texted me last week if we wanted some fresh ramen noodles. Who says no to that, right?  So of course, I quickly told her that C and the kids are ramen fanatics!  She sent over a bagful of noodles.  She has been busy perfecting her fresh ramen noodles recipe because she has plans of supplying to the local ramen restaurants.

I immediately searched online for ramen broth recipe, and I found out that I do not have the pateince and the inclination to make the tonkotsu broth because it is so time-consuming.  I would just rather order this when we eat out.  I just settled for something that is easy to do, so miso ramen broth it is!

J helped me make the marinated soft boiled eggs, which you can see in the upper right in the photo below.