17 December 2018

Three Important Things to Remember When Preparing for a Children's Party

So we just celebrated Sammy's dedication to the Lord and first birthday two Sundays ago. It wasn't a perfect party but all the people I've spoken with after told me the same thing—our Pinoy 90s party was naturally fun! I felt so relieved when I knew that our friends and family were happy. You see, a first birthday party isn't really for the celebrant. Aside from the parents hosting it, it is actually for the guests. That is why whenever we hold parties, we make sure to invite those that matter to us. R and I aren't the kind of people who invite the "guest of honor" type, who usually ends up to be the star of the event. We love having the people we love to be with. 


It's not that I'm already a pro in parties but I just realized now that budget, location and food may be the basic things to think about but there are three more important things a mom (or dad or anyone) should remember when preparing for a children's party. And because sharing is caring, here it is. This is just a quick read, no worries. Just think of the 3Cs!

12 December 2018

Have Fun, Will Help

I was eight when I lost my father. One of the many things that changed was our regular weekly family bonding, which was usually initiated by my really fun papa. While I knew and appreciate that my mama had to prioritize our education and daily food budget, my heart still longed for extra play. So whenever my first girl, Sophia has her occasional materialism moments, I always go back to my story about the poor little girl who never had the beautiful things Sophia now has. And that girl was her mother.


I know she isn't at fault that I didn't get the toys and cute stuff she has now but it's good to snap her back to reality. After all, we just really want her to grow up healthy, happy and with faith in God. I don't think accumulating all the sparkly thingamajigs she fancies can help her achieve that goal. Right?

This morning, I tagged her along with me to the launch of Fun Ranch's latest project for underprivileged kids across the country. 

06 December 2018

Life Lately: Blogging for His Glory

Things were pretty intense in the Rayala household the past few weeks that iced cold coffee, doughnuts and Netflix weren't enough to calm me. 

It started with Sophia's first Portfolio Review, a quarterly assessment for homeschooling families that's basically the basis of what a student learned at home with her parent-teacher. So you see, it felt like thesis-making in college all over again. Except that I had to collect Math worksheets as proof that she can already do mental addition, subtraction and multiplication of 2 to 3 digits. Also, since Sophia's greatest academic strength is drawing, I wanted to showcase that in all of her subjects, if possible. Can you feel the pressure? Can you feel the force in my nape that slowly gravitates into every nerve in my brain whenever I tried not to yell at a slow-paced Sophia? Can you feel my heart pounding each time I have nervously laid Sammy Bear to sleep, wishing she'd wake up a little later?


Speaking of our baby love, she has majorly contributed to whatever is the total amount of my tiredness. I love her to bits and her laugh flies me to the moon but my back is just dying whenever we're out. Buhatan forever dot com.