28 June 2014

The Longest Distance on CinemaWorld


When I was in college, our Film Aesthetics professor made us watch movies from all over the world! It definitely was one of my favorite moments as a Communication student. Imagine, we attend our 1 1/2-hour class just to watch and well, write our review. Through our professor's connections, we also were given the chance to watch a few German silent films. During its showing in Mega Mall, I saw my late uncle (my father's brother) Elmo Redrico with his colleagues. He invited us to join them in a film sesh one Saturday 10 years ago. I was not expecting though that we were to watch a bunch of Korean x-rated films. Haha! Oh well, it was tastefully made so I didn't feel titillated. So yes, I'm more than grateful for my friends from CinemaWorld Asia for sending me a preview copy of the Venezuelan film, The Longest Distance. I can watch movies all day, if possible; my husband can attest to how I can do it. Anyway ―

25/52

"My daughter's photos, once a week, every week, in 2014."

This was taken the week of 16th-22nd. It was one of her OOTDs to school. I just like how her hips looks so feminine and delicate. I wish she will still have it when she grows up. I have curves, too but it's more on its voluptuous side. I'm happy she's tall and healthy and active. However, our floor pisses me off big time. Since it was abandoned for a long time, the dirt got stuck in its crevices and corners. I guess I need to focus on that than PvZ2. LOL. Oops, it's all about the girl, not the floor. ;)

25 June 2014

Wherever


When I finally got myself back to writing/blogging again, I also got a newfound realization that I should just do what I want to do, wherever I want to do it. Of course, there’s the routine stuff ― preparing breakfast, bringing my kid to school, dishwashing, etc. These aren’t really in my 'favorites list' but I still need to do it ‘cause I’m doing it for the person I love; the small person I call my daughter. But if we will set aside the routine and the life we’re already living, I’d rather be in a small town somewhere near a beach and has lots of trees. If it won’t be too much of a rustic experience, I’d love my girl and I to pick flowers in the afternoon so our table set-up for dinner looks fancy despite our house’s simplicity. Then my husband will pull up on the driveway and we’ll all spend the evening together like any normal family would do. Ah, this mom can dream. I just really, really want us, the three of us, to always be together.

But I know we can’t.

23 June 2014

Arroz Caldo


Oh, this rainy season makes me want to eat and eat, post it on Instagram (lol) and eat again. Aside from snuggling and cuddling, my daughter and I enjoy sharing good food together. I'm not sure with other moms who can cook but it's my pride and joy when my daughter loves whatever I serve her. Lately, she's also been showing interest on the process of preparing it. Earlier before lunch when we arrived home from her school, I immediately set up my kitchen for one of my favorite comfort foods when it's rainy and cold ― arroz caldo. 

21 June 2014

Frugal Shopping at Robinson's Metro East


When I decided to become a stay-at-home mom two years ago, I also accepted the fact that shopping will be inevitably elusive. That's fine with me; after all, I'm not that of a bag-dress-shoes woman. Believe it or not, I'd rather spend money on food and books and travel. However, my chromosomes are kinda kicking me inside and are actually telling me that my clothes are worth a throwback post already. LOL. I will soon do myself a favor and have a wardrobe makeover but for now, I have a kikay preschooler to mind.

20 June 2014

24/52

"My daughter's photos, once a week, every week, in 2014."

The super highlight of Pia's week last week was definitely her pixie hair! Like what I said here, I finally made her say yes to short hair. She's now rocking it and not caring if it looked like it's been jostled, brushed or whatever. Her only condition is for her to have a cute hairband or pink bow on it. This photo was taken the next day and I was preparing breakfast when she woke up and asked for my old phone. I think she was texting her Tatay here. Hihi. See how messed up her 'do here is? I don't think she cared, she was wearing her pink hairband anyway. ♥

19 June 2014

Healthy Cooking for Happy Kids

I was a kid when I learned how to cook, turning 11 to be a bit exact. Modesty aside, it was not fried egg or hotdog or instant noodles. It was similar to what I posted on my Instagram today. My mom didn't really teach me how; I'm a visual learner and just watched her cook. Fast forward to now that I have my own kid, I don't only cook to feed my passion for the kitchen. I need to feed my kid healthy food that makes her happy. 


Do you ever wonder why some kids - or adults - don't eat vegetables? Adults who don't eat veggies were, most of the time, the kids who were unhappy seeing veggie dishes on their table. I don't know how their parents introduced our dear farm crops to them but maybe they did something wrong in there. I strongly believe that we, the parents, can make or break our children's appetite. 

Yakult Light and Some Fun Facts About Our Favorite Drink


A week before my girl's school officially starts, we were luckily invited to tour the Yakult Plant in Calamba, Laguna. I immediately replied to the email sent to me and said yes! I love Yakult, Pia loves Yakult, it was a Saturday and it was the perfect timing to have a free 'field trip'. I have no reason to say no. I told my little travel buddy days before about it and even showed her the e-vite. She was super excited that there were no complaints and grumpiness when I woke her up super early on the d-day. 

15 June 2014

Kids, we love your dads because...

source
It's funny when social media geeks create memes that show how responsible and nurturing and focused moms are in rearing their children and dads are... well... I'd leave the adjectives to your judgment. Hehe.

Last month, when we celebrated Mother's Day, the whole world seemed to be in their toes to make mummy happy. Brand campaigns in momma theme were everywhere! In fact, if marketing experts can relate roofs to motherhood, I think they'd dedicate a whole galvanized iron sheet to one mom blogger and send it to her. It is that commercial! This month, there are campaigns for dads, too, of course. But most I see are a bit hoity-toity and have that snob vibe. In short, expensive. That made me think that in reality, they are the more celebrated parent. I love being a mom, there is no question about that, but if I have to live my life again, I guess I'd like to try being a dad (but please, with less hair, especially inside the nose haha).

So as a Father's Day special treat for the underrated parent, I asked some of my fabulous mommy friends to help me change the way the majority look at the men we call daddy, papa, tatay, pop, dada, pudrabelle, ama and whatever you or your kids call them. I'm sure if not all, most of you can relate to what we love about our husbands as a father. After all, we won't be mommies without the daddies! ;)

12 June 2014

Her Pixie Hair


Ta-da! My little popstar punk now sports a pixie. Or so I said it is. It was a bit tiyahin-ish attending a homeowners' meeting when she woke up this morning. LOL. Anyhow, I still like it. This is her anti-lagkit, anti-asim, anti-tangles 'do! It took me almost a month to convince her to have her hair this short. Although she had this cut when she was two but she was too young to refuse. Anyway. You see, she's my ultimate girly-girl. She adores pink, sparkly, princesses, dresses and anything that screams kikayness. I have no problem with that! There is nothing wrong about embracing her femininity. What I worry though is that these things might control her ideals, principles and faith in the future when I can finally call her a woman.

23/52

"My daughter's photos, once a week, every week, in 2014."

It's funny how a SAHM like me is having a really hard time teaching my daughter to help with the house chores. You see, sweeping the whole house's floor that usually takes me 10 minutes will take her hours and dishwashing in medium load usually takes me 15-20 minutes but might take her a minute. Yes, only a minute because all plates and glasses are broken. LOL. Well, I just got used to doing things on my own that training a donya is a lot more difficult than actually embracing my being a domestic queen. However, last week was different! She INSISTED that she'd help me with every house chore I do. She actually was annoyed one time because she wanted to help me do the laundry. You may read that unbelievable yet adorable #rayaladialogues here. We just finished lunch when she saw dirty dishes began to pile up in our sink. She took her wooden stool, grabbed the sponge and poured a dollop of dishwashing liquid into one plate. Ang gastos sa Joy! Hahahaha! Deadma. I had to take a picture. I told my cousin I was chatting with on Viber that I'll eventually train her to do it the proper way. Who knows, by age 7, I don't need to wash greasy pots and pans anymore. Hello, RA 7658. ;)

11 June 2014

All Smiles for Pinkie Pie

Two days after we moved in here at our new kingdom, I saw on my Facebook news feed that Toys 'R' Us Philippines will be holding a meet and greet activity with Sophia's favorite characters ever - My Little Pony! Remember her 5th birthday party held in school? So of course, hindi na pinag-iisipan 'yang mga ganyang bagay. Hehe. Even if we still have to unpack around 20 boxes and fix our new abode, R and I decided to go to Eastwood on a lazy Sunday afternoon.


I didn't plan to buy anything but because there was no formal program set for the meet and greet, I just bought her a crown wand so she won't feel she was actually waiting. I made her wear her My Little Pony shirt from Babies and Kiddos (aka Bug & Kelly), like what she did when she personally met Sofia the First. I asked one of the salesclerks on what time will the meet and greet happen and she said that the mascot was about to come out. I felt the excitement all over my body when I saw in the backroom that it was a huge Pinkie Pie!


Face Up to Acne with Safeguard Derma Sense


It was a busy month last month, like what I said in my earlier posts, but that didn't stop me from taking the opportunity to attend to some media events this humble cyber kingdom has been invited to. The said event was probably one of those that I was really excited to be a part of ― Safeguard launched its new product, Derma Sense, which they held at the Philippine Educational Theater Association (or more known as PETA) ― what's not to be excited about, right? 

06 June 2014

22/52

"My daughter's photos, once a week, every week, in 2014."

This week's highlight was definitely the last day that Pia was with her father. This was taken in a Jollibee store somewhere going to Manila. We had a quick breakfast before hitting the road for a long-I-can't-sleep-'cause-I-need-to-entertain-the-driver-who-happens-to-be-my-husband journey home. I think this sunshiny girl didn't know that seeing her soldier dad again might take longer than the usual 'cause she didn't feel a bit sad even after he left the house. 8 days after, I can say it's different now. She calls him without my knowledge (yes, she knows how to!) and always texts him, too. Her favorite thing to send him? This, in verbatim: "I.love.tatay.:*" 

My Sophia Loves Sofia the First

This humble little space has been such a blessing not only to me (and my giveaway winners, hehe) but also to my little princess. We get invites to some of the most fun kiddie events happening in the Metro. And last month, as a member of Mommy Bloggers Philippines, my daughter and I were luckily invited to a royal meet and greet!


The youngest Disney princess of Enchancia, Sofia the First, was here in Manila! When I knew about it, I ecstatically shared the good news with my Sophia. I remember her singing all Sofia the First songs the entire week. I also told her father about it and even if he's busy with his military schooling stuff, he went with us to the event. It was held in SM Mall of Asia Activity Center. It's too far from home that commuting could have probably killed the excitement so I'm glad R was available to drive for us.

05 June 2014

#ThankYouBaby, really.


Whenever my little punk princess watches Sofia the First on Disney Junior and Sofia's mom, Queen Miranda's on a scene, she has this amusing habit of comparing me to her. She'd always say, "Nanay, look at Queen Miranda, she's so beautiful... like you!" or "Awww, Queen Miranda is so nice. Can you be nice like her?" Oops. I guess she thinks I'm like Rapunzel's evil pseudo mom in Tangled. Don't you think? That happens only whenever she forgets she's five and will act as if she's a rebellious teenager. So the inevitable tragedy will also happen, the other side of me, a green smashing Avenger will eventually come out. Before you think I haze my child like a sorority neophyte, let me tell you that I love using flowery words when I write. Keep calm and read on.

Four Things I Think Every Kitchen Must Have


I'm not sure for most of you but I guess some will agree that cooking pasta is really easy. Shopping for its ingredients isn't complicated, too. Filipinos are used to having rice and a viand as a meal but in our household, we're okay without rice as long as there's pasta. So it's always present in my grocery list. By the way, I posted the above photo on my Instagram sharing with my followers the four things that I think you must have in your kitchen.

21/52

"My daughter's photos, once a week, every week, in 2014."

This post is more than a week delayed, so I guess if you follow my husband on IG or you're friends with him on Facebook, you most probably have seen this photo. He took this photo while he was talking to some of his men and I was taking some rest at his room. We just arrived but my little I'm-so-energized-because-I-slept-at-the-car decided to immediately play and establish she's the camp princess. This pretty summed up Pia's week the week of May 18th-24th. We spent a few days at the camp, detaching ourselves from the tiring chores brought by the recent moving in. Btw, we're semi-broke now 'cause of that and her school fees but we still went to a nearby beach to relax. That deserves a separate post, though. So many realizations, I tell you! That's it. I can't wait how this project will turn out at the end of the year. I'm thinking of printing out all the photos and collate it an album or frame it and hang in the living room. Whatever I'll do with these by early next year, of course I'll share with all of you. xx

02 June 2014

Moving On, Moved In

Oh, hello. I'm blogging.

I really didn't intend to take the blogcation that long but my life events overwhelmed me I just needed to. You see, I lost Pepper. She was the first pet that we took in our royal leased kingdom. I gave her a name, fed her, disciplined her, R bathed her whenever he can, Sophia played with her as if they were sisters. We loved her.

The only thing I regret was I put her in a cage and let her stay outside the house. I took the blame though no one ever said I should. My husband tried to find her, almost didn't sleep but he still failed. It was one of the saddest moments of our lives as a couple, as pet parents. Pia saw how I awfully un-managed the incident. I crushed. The woman she gets strength from every day was collapsing in front of her like a hollow pillar. And so it dawned on me... I needed to gather myself and move on.


R and I came to a mutual decision: We need to move out.