21 April 2021

Since When Having Children Become a Competition?

Note: This was written after my pregnancy and gender announcement of the third baby. 

When my eldest was four years old, almost everyone, even strangers, said we should have another child. “Pwede ng sundan yan”, they said it as if they will help raise our family financially. I didn’t battle with them, not even in words, but my uterus did; I had an ectopic pregnancy. An internal organ in my reproductive system had to be removed as if it was my body’s way of telling the naysayers that it had enough of their meddling. Having another child wasn’t meant to be... yet.


So blessed to be a girl mama of these precious ones. 

Few years later, my second pregnancy surprised and shocked many including us, my husband and I. We expected a solo child family till our senior years. Truly, God has miraculous ways to make us understand that no men can dictate our future—not even your chismosang kapitbahay. But of course, people who are bound to have imperfections cannot be controlled. They attacked the preggy me again with “sana boy na yan para perfect na, para complete na”. I was furious.

14 April 2021

So This Is What Happened When a Breastfeeding Mom Who Just Gave Birth Has COVID-19


Today marks my freedom, aka the last day of my isolation period, from the unwanted, life-threatening virus that is corona. 

But first — I would like to apologize to the ad agency who coined this phrase for a detergent powder campaign ‘cause I’m gonna use it now to respond to your reaction to my opening salvo — GULAT KA NOH? 

Actually, ako rin eh! When I got pregnant last year, the times I’ve gone out went from rare to almost none. So imagine our disbelief when someone from the military hospital I had my swab test done informed me nonchalantly that I was Covid positive. Before my brain dictated my body to be in shock, I have already yelled to the hubs from my eldest’s bedroom that we used as isolation facility and told him matter of factly, “positive raw ako”. Shoot shoot shoot.


*enter MMK background music so I could shake my shoulders while I do a proper walling*


Joking aside, I’m sure by now you’ve already read a lot about how Covid patients go through this ordeal. But your chismosang kapitbahay Maritess might be curious and have these questions – “saan nakuha?”, “anu-anong mga symptoms?”, “ano mga ginawa nung malaman mong may symptoms ka?” So before I share with you my daily shenanigans since I felt a symptom, I’ll answer one question first. 


27 May 2020

Please Don’t Wish for This School Year to Be Cancelled for All, Let Us Have the Option for Distance Learning

When DepEd announced that school year 2020-2021 will commence on August 24th, parents on social media went wild. It's a pretty understandable reaction for that predicament. The curve hasn't flattened yet and no vaccine is available to prevent it. The hashtag #BakunaBagoEskwela went viral. It was another proof that social media is indeed powerful, whether if used positively or otherwise. In fact, the very same sentiment reached Malacañang Palace. President Duterte said in his speech taped Monday night—"I will not allow the opening of classes na magdikit-dikit iyang mga bata na ‘yan. Bahala na hindi na makatapos... Unless I am sure that they are really safe... Para sa akin, bakuna muna."


If I have to choose one good thing the President ever said, this has to be it. No intentional parent would allow their children to basically be a walking virus sponge. My children hasn't gone out of the gate since March 9! My husband takes a bath first before entering the house. We take extra preventive measures because our kids are our treasures.

25 May 2020

10 Things Sophia Learned at Home During the ECQ

This is a *guest* post by my 6th-grade daughter Sophia. I asked her to write the things she learned so far while we were in Enhanced Community Quarantine. Number 5 sounded silly but looks like she grasped the necessary lessons she can live by to grow into a fun, responsible, and compassionate human being. −D


1) I learned that there are so many things you can do to keep yourself entertained. You can read books, browse your phone, watch movies, spend time with your family or just have a quiet time by yourself.  
2) I noticed a few things at home, too! Like I had so many “kalat” pala. I have books I haven’t read yet and that we have so many things.  
3) I learned that if you don’t put back the things you got the way they were before, that will start a mess in the house.  
4) A clean and neat house is really a relaxing and comfortable house.  
5) Sleep is like a short vacation! (Can someone explain this to me? LOL −D) 

17 May 2020

My GoDaddy Issues—Super Stressful, Solved It Anyway

My custom domain (the dot com in the url that makes any website legit-sounding) expired last May 4th. The force wasn't with me, it didn't auto-renew as it should be. Worse, all of a sudden, all our debit cards didn't work in the payment process, too. Thank God we have a Bobbie Salazar in the family! She saved my brand from its supposed extinction. You see, I am Royal Domesticity. I don't know if I'll ever be ready without it next to my name. Feels like Iron Man to RDJ if you know what I mean.

But what happened, really?


Methinks my GoDaddy account was hacked. What is GoDaddy? According to its website, "GoDaddy Inc. is an American publicly traded Internet domain registrar and web hosting company headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona and incorporated in Delaware. As of April 2020, GoDaddy has approximately 18.5 million customers and over 7,000 employees worldwide." That's where I bought my custom domain. Without a custom domain, my blog would have been www.royaldomesticity.blogspot.com. 

19 February 2020

Of Faith and Diaper Needs

When I was pregnant with Sammy, I vowed to breastfeed her till she wants to. I was confident my girl would latch well, I also felt I would have an abundant supply. My intuition was right after all. I’m quite proud of actually doing it for two beautiful years now not only because I believe that breastmilk is best but also because we saved a lot of money! I’m sure you all know how pricey formula milk is. That was the motivation—to never buy formula milk.


So while I was preparing my body for breastfeeding, I gradually bought her things. With nine years gap between her and big sister Sophia, I literally have no baby stuff stored. I told my mother-in-law and my husband about my dilemma. My MIL said something like, “don’t worry, God will provide”. And He sure did! Few weeks after I gave birth, my relatives from the States sent us a huge box filled with US-made Huggies and lots and lots of clothes! I remembered I secretly wept that night as I prayed before sleeping. How God uses certain people to bless us still amazes me.

07 February 2020

Sammy's Jollibee Costume

It was mid-November last year when my husband told me about their office Christmas party theme for the kids. He specifically reminded me to prepare cartoon character costumes for our girls. In his cranky tone (via text, yes there is such a thing) because I was being difficult (his life would be so boring without me duh), he said he doesn't like it that we'd be the first ones to not follow orders. But because no one ain't the boss of me (not even his commanding officer hahaha, sorry sir), I decided on fast food theme costumes for us three. Passion on food and motherhood, yes?

Sammy wore it at Manila Ocean Park for her 2nd Birthday

Wait, before you label me as a subversive military wife, the truth was, I really can't think of cool cartoon characters that would separate us from the Elsa-Anna narrative. I initially wanted Phineas and Ferb for my girls and I can be Dr. Doofenshmirtz but the wigs would be a problem for sure. And most importantly, the people attending might not grasp the concept. You know what I mean? Like, sayang naman yung pagka-cool kung kami lang nakakaintindi sa amin. Nerd alert, right? Haha.

Then in the middle of my breastfeeding sesh one wee hour of the morning, I thought of Powerpuff Girls! Sophia will be Bubbles, Sammy of course will be Buttercup and I would be Blossom. When I told my husband about it, his text tone was unenthusiastic; he clearly was not impressed. I virtually rolled my eyes on him (like I always do). I couldn't give up just like that. Being extra is in my DNA so I squeezed whatever creative juice I have left in my brain.

Nu-ni-nu-ni-nu.