Determined and Sensitive Children

I stumbled upon Mommy Tiffany of Breakfast with Tiffany blog post yesterday. I come to conclude that I have a determined and sensitive children. What about yours? It is indeed important that we know our kid's personalities. Though they are siblings and came from the same parents, they are totally different. It is hard to manage each personalities as they are south and north, east and west. Both are super sweet but they have contrasting powers.

"MARIELLA" (The Determined one)

She's my eldest daughter. At age 3, she knows now how to do a #selfie and take shots of herself. She loves to tinker on my cellphone until it weakens the battery (Geez! These days kids are so adept to modern technology).

See how #selfie bring her to amuse herself.

The moment I arrive home from work, one thing that she welcomes me is asking where my cellphone is. I know that as parents we must avoid them from playing with it. That's why I didn't download any games in my cellphone so she won't be stuck up on it the whole time. With this, she can be creative on finding ways to amuse herself, hihihi... She's energetic, thoughtful, friendly and sociable to other kids about her age. It helped that my husband brings her along every morning for a walk in our neighborhood. There she meet the kids and play along with them. She is adored by our neighbors as she is not shy and greets them "Hi" with a smile. When dark day strikes, she has the tendency to become demanding and very insistent. I guess saying "NO" more often is not good also as they take it as a "Yes", tsk3x... Oh well, a parent's struggle.


I noticed that she can be protective to her loved ones. Everytime my husband and I argue on something, she runs to me and hug me. She will tell her papa to stop talking. And when my hubby hugs me and pretend that I get hurt from his hugging tight, she will come in defense of me and backs off his papa. She's also a loving sister to her younger sibling. She loves it that I give her the responsibility to take good care of Nique. I prepare the food of the kids and I asked her to hand me Nique's plate so that I'll put in the food. She then happily serve it to Nique by giving it to the nanny. Same with feeding of milk. She'll instantly give the prepared bottle of milk to her sister. Then she wipes any spillage that comes from her mouth. What a love! I am proud and happy of Mariella that she can be asked a favor now and starting to be an independent girl. She's much tamer now unlike before her tantrums can be overboard. Maybe because she can understand things much better and she can relate to what we are saying to her now. We love her to get some sport as we can see on her that she loves to play around without seeing her getting tired easily.

"NIQUE" (The Sensitive one)

On to my youngest daughter, Dominique. Nique (pronounced as Nikki) is a charm and a prim-and-proper type of kid. She's very timid and kind of introvert. At almost 2, she captivates everyone with her smile (the most expensive smile it is because she hardly smiles) and now her antics in dancing is such a craze in our house. She can be jolly and talkative (in her own language) when in the mood. But most of the time, she loves to be cuddled and always wants to be embraced by me our her nanny. She's just a calm baby and fond of watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Nothing else. But when her tantrums hits the spot, she'll blow like a crashing thunder even to the smallest things. She'll cry her heart's out to call our attention. Ultra-sensitive is she when you hinder what she is doing or get what she is holding, she'll definitely cry out loud. Or when I put her down just to get something or do something, she'll sit on the floor and cry. When you try to reprimand her on a gentle way, she'll cry. Oh, what a cry baby she is!


Nique is still starting to discover new things around her. She is quite observant and mindful on things. Unlike her older sister, Nique is somewhat risk averse but would like to try on new things she thinks she might be able to carry on.  She can be impatient and irritable on little things that doesn't go her way. One time, she was playing with her stacking cups. When I saw her putting a cup on to the other and it didn't fit in, she pushed and scrambled all the other cups around her.


It's still too early to tell. But I know, as they are grow older they may be able to discover their own unique passion apart form each other and form a character that identifies their own unique personality. #proudmama #talesofaparent #kids

Home Staples with a New Twist

I love to reuse old things as much as possible. Being the sentimental person that I am, I quite hoard and hard to let go of things. What I mean about that is as long as it can be put into good use and in the future I'll be needing it even though I hardly remember its existence, why put it to trash? Reality, it can be be a disadvantage too. For one, it will occupy a square of space in your small house. Second, it can be an eyesore and is just collecting dust. Third, others may take advantage of it and can be of good use to them. I stumbled upon the website of Real Simple and Good Housekeeping and found hundred and one ways of new uses for old and unused things which we can found in our home that we don't ever imagine it'll work. View it in the entire links here and here. (All photos below are grabbed from the links of Real Simple and Good Housekeeping sites.)

Photo credits here.
I was fascinated with this. To make it more dramatic and true to its purpose,
I thought of putting washi tapes to liven up the tissue holder tube as hair clip and bands holder.

Photo credits here.
This is a beer/drink case turned condiments holder.

Photo credit here.
Okay, we all have this cassette tapes way back right? So might as well turn it into
a cord or earphone holder of our gadgets. Looks amazing.

Photo credit here.
This really grabbed my attention. Seeing those earrings made me remember my missing
South Sea Pearl earrings. It really tore my heart apart. Like it ached and skipped.

Photo credit here.
Unused pillowcase are great alternative for securing your precious clothing
for moist and dust that's been sitting in your closet.

Photo credit here.
Plastic shower caps are great shoe holder.

Photo sourced here.
Didn't have any idea that coin can make picked flowers perkier in days.

Photo sourced here.
If you look closely on the second hanger that's been hanged on to the first one,
it's an old soda tab that keep it in place. Brilliant ideas right here.

As for me who is a DIY fanatic and an interior designer by heart, keeping these simple tricks in mind can help me maximize things right in my household while lessening trash and Mother Nature at its worst state. I love tinkering things in my abode to make it a cozy home to live in and as simple as these it can make a big difference. Mothers, do you agree with me?

Lose Stomach Fats Naturally in Two Weeks

I tried, conquered and won. It's about discipline and focus. God's image and likeness for me is a being chubby person. I accepted that long before I even am conscious of my body structure. I don't hate it at all. I embrace my body the way it is. I'm not yearning to be skinny trimmed like models in the catwalk and print ads. I just want to be proportionate in every part of my body plus the baby fats. I only have a concern about my body posture that reflects a stooped back and a bulging stomach and belly. All else I can manage. I tried losing some weight before and actually I did it. But many where not happy to see me in the new me. They saw me as if I'm sick. I tried eating healthy and run on the thread mill. That's when I said to myself, I won't change the entirety of my body lest give it just a proportion.

I am petite in structure so I thought being slim without the fats would look like I'm very little, skin and bones, worst, sick. I'm not dreaming to have that packs in the abdomen and to have muscles in my arms. No. I just want that unwanted fats to get rid the area of my stomach and belly and my back to get straightened having a good posture. I know for when I'll succeed on achieving them this will boost my self-confidence and lessen my insecurities.

So without further ado, my secret to losing fats on my abdomen area for about two weeks with obvious results is by drinking green tea and warm/hot water. I mean by warm/hot water, I avoided drinking cold water anymore. I don't have an active and healthy lifestyle with me plus my metabolism is slow, thus, there's no way I can burn my stored calories, carbo, sugar, fats on everything I eat during the day. So by drinking hot/warm liquid in my system, it will help dissolve stored elements inside my body not to mention that I get to release them by constant urination. It's no secret to every one that green tea is an antioxidant and is a good source of 'caffeine'. Chinese and Japanese alike have good skin and glow. It's not only because of their genes and hereditary reasons but because they simply drink green tea which is a staple in every meal they have and helps replenish toxins inside our body.

I love how mild this brand of green tea suits my taste buds and stomach.
Other brands I tried like Lipton, Susan Baker and Twinning's give a strong
kick that I dislike both in my throat and stomach.

By the way, when I drink tea I usually pair it by drinking lots of water. I read somewhere that drinking tea too much or alone can cause brittleness of the bones. Same with calcium. Too much of it can make ones bones brittle so water to the rescue. As the saying goes too much of everything can harm you. Moderation is the key.

Exercise, eating the right amount and kind of food plus a healthy lifestyle will completely pave way to a healthier you and an active proportionate body.

Masking It Out

Inspired by Maan of Mom meets World and a dose of reminders to all the moms out there.

The recent weeks has been a series of Pedia check-ups, laboratory tests and medications for my 2 toddler girls because of fever and flu. Not to mention right after their medication and all I saw some rashes in their body until now but not that worst compared to last week. Here in our city, the past few weeks has been an irritating situation because of the long constant blackouts coupled with a very hot humid summer weather. The continuous sweating and the hot season ended my children to experience sickness. The 'housemate' came home from her province and brought the infection. She has cough and I have a heavy heart knowing the virus/bacteria will be circulating around our house. And I worry that my kids will catch the virus. Eventually it did. Being the OC mother that I am, I always have available disposable mask (I have a box of it) whenever somebody is not feeling well. I always let the sick person wear the mask the whole time whenever he/she is inside the house especially if he/she sneezes. I am not considerate on this because it's a must for me. In this way, I prevent spending hundreds of bucks for medicines by wearing a mask. It shouldn't be that difficult huh! It's a bit discomfort but a little sacrifice would save me and my children from money and sickness, right muthers?

Maan from Mom meets World

I'm also the person who believes in the saying that prevention is better than cure. I am the prevention and my hubby is the cure. We always fight about that. I'm a risk averse person when it comes to cases like this. I always have a bottle of Vitaman C that my hubby and my 2 'housemates' take so that they will not be easily get a flu. (I have a separate multivitamins that I always take as my OB-Gyne told me to still continue taking even if I'm not pregnant).

Lately, we experience again unpredictable weather. During the day it is scorching hot while as the day progresses and during the night it rains. I love that it rains because it means power interruption here in our region will be most unlikely na. But I don't want abrupt change of weather because it will be prone to catching different air borne disease or virus. But since we can't control these bad elements to hit us, better mask it out before it spreads to our loved ones, keep hydrated by drinking lots of water like 8 to 12 glasses a day, fuel your body by eating nutritious food and don't forget to take extra multivitamins to support your body to fight against diseases. #disposablemask #fightagainstsickness

Melts in the Mouth Macarons

I've seen and read from renowned mommy, lifestyle and foodie bloggers about this french macarons that I've become curious about. Not until my ever generous and beloved boss gave me a box of this delectable piece of haven that I'll be sharing with my officemates. The packaging itself is love at first sight. More so when the food jewels were unraveled to me right in front my very delighted eyes.

I've never tasted a local version of this. One of my officemate said she was able to try a similar pastry as this in French Baker here in SM Lanang Premier. But the sweetness is overboard. When she tasted this, she liked the sweetness as the filling melts in the tongue. The rich chocolate filling is very smooth and the dough is not crumbling. I love how velvety the filling and the combination of the softness of the dough. Each color has different twist of flavor. But the chocolatey goodness is constant. I don't know how much a box of this but I bet it's a bit pricier because of the brand itself. #chocolate #frenchmacarons #sweettooth

Davao City's Unbelievable Power Outage is Totally Insane

This I think is one of the result of urban development that brought the city to almost 8 hours of rotational blackouts daily. Because of the ever growing number of people migrating in this side of the planet, I think the power supply isn't enough to support everybody's need coupled with the increase of demand for it. Not to mention that it is summer and the heat is fast evaporating the water thus lessening its supply needed to generate power/electricity here in the region. I am sad because the effects of the abuse of Mother Nature is already coming back to us. Eight hours is very ridiculous. It paralyzed a day of working hours. Almost half of the working day is wasted resulting to unproductiveness and idleness. Business is being put to halt and people are being irritable and cause ill-effect to one's mood.

Having said this, there's also a brighter side when inconvenience strikes. People become more inventive as to an immediate solution to this problem. If we wait for a bigger picture of solution to this, it would probably take forever knowing how crab government can act to solve a concern like this. It is really a hassle when there's no electricity. But if I were to choose it's better to have no electricity than to have no water. Agree? Anyway, one great example of being innovative is having an invention of a rechargeable light and electric fan in one package. Two days ago, me and hubby went to a thrift store, Unitop, here in Davao City. When we arrived there, a lot of people flocked and bought rechargeable lights, lamps and even electric fans that almost sold in a flash. I also discovered this fluorescent light that gets its power supply from a car's battery. There are wires attached to it to be connected to the battery so that it can produce light. It's amazing to know there are actually items like this. It's like a panic buying scenario. And mind you, people of all walks of life buy in bulk even the rich. And here's what we got to temporarily ease the burden power interruption and summer heat has caused.

Rechargeable light with a fan. Actually, we bought this just because of the fan since there's no available rechargeable fan alone. Although I'm not really sold with the pew of air it blows, I would just settle with it than nothing at all. I have two kids and it is really a discomfort especially in mid day because 1) it's their napping time, 2) it is super hot and humid, and 3) I am concerned of the sweat that cause them to get sick: fever, cough and flu plus rashes. It is really a BIG INCONVENIENCE.

The brightness can actually suffice lightening the entire room.

Another purchase we got is this LED light. It can lighten up a dark room.

See the string attached to it? Pull this and it'll light.

With this current scenario we are experiencing right now, I told myself, when the time comes that there's already enough power supply and because I'm used to it now, I don't mind having 1-2 hours of daily power interruption should this solve increase in power reserves. With this little sacrifice, in times like this, we should save for emergency purposes such as what is happening here in our city. But having 8 hours of blackouts daily is another issue and is too much to bear. It is worsening our city's claim for the most liveable city here in our country and has ranked in the global stats. It would suffer our potential to become the fastest progressive city we can ever imagine. This calls also for each and everyone of us to conserve energy. We cannot just blame Davao (no) Light and (without) Power Company and National Grid (Greed) Corporation -a term grabbed from my college professor's FB -for all these. We too are responsible for the shortage of our power supply. Irresponsible use of appliance and power eats up the power reserves we have. We have to do our part now to seek for temporary solutions in our own little way while 'hopefully' DLPC and NGC is fixing this problem as soon as possible.

Arizona's Green Tea

I'm not really a fan of instant drinks may it be in a tetra pack or bottled form. I preferred those fresh fruits in shake or smoothie because it's packed and rich in natural nutrients. But I discovered something worth a try and I'm sure I'll be flocking S&R more frequently because of this. I found my thirst quenching drink in a gallon form.

Valued at P199.95 pesos for 1 gallon

I loved the mild sweetness of this green tea. It's best to drink when chilled. Though I haven't tried drinking it not cold, I would assume this taste bland if it's just in a room temperature. For a gallon, I found it already cheap. Not to mention that the quality of the plastic of this drink is sturdy and can be recycled by putting drinking water or for watering plants. Well, my imagination runs environment friendly again. My FB friend told me she don't like the taste at all but I guess each of us has different preference for a drink. But for me,  I don't just like it. I LOVED IT!! #s&r #refreshingdrink #thirstquenching #healthydrink