Archive for the ‘Personal’ Category

How do you usually spend your day? In my case, I am in front of the computer most of the time as I get all my earnings online. Yes, it can be draining, but to know that my kids have something to eat because I earn while I sit in front of the computer, I can do this for years! My work, imperfect as it may seem, has a lot of benefits compared to my work back then.

You ask, “do you have a home office?” I certainly don’t. I only have a desk in our room, situated accordingly so I may see the kids while they’re playing. How I wish I have something like this, so I can work freely without being distracted.

Photo source

All I have right now is a desk full of clutter. You’ll see books, phones, a bag of chips, pens on a desk grommet and wires of various gadgets. My laptop looks like an octopus with all these wires!

I am drawing a plan with my husband. I just hope he’ll agree.

As I was doing some research for a post about free span buildings, I came across posts and ads about “Mother’s Day” contests. It’s on the 13th yet I don’t have the courage to join any of them because of so many personal reasons.

Then, I asked myself this, “how are you as a mom?”. It took me a while to answer the question I made for myself.

Am I mean?, do I spend much time with my kids?, do I provide everything that they need without sacrificing the time that should have spent with them?

You see, like every mom I know, I am not perfect. I get tired, irritated and I cannot give them everything that they WANT. Running a bake house and doing all kinds of online tasks can be draining and nerve wracking. It’s like that every day and it is never easy. BUT, I make it a point to spend quality time with my kids.

When I left the corporate world 4 years ago, I vowed to work from home so I can spend more time with my then only child, Yona, so I can see her grow up. And I guess I am successful in that area.

Perfection is not attainable in every aspect but it doesn’t hurt to try, to at least become the mom that your kids need. What makes me so proud is the fact that I see them every freaking minute, from the moment they open their eyes in the morning until they close it at night. I seldom go out and when I do, for sure they will go with me.

This morning, I asked my eldest daughter this: “Am I a good mom?” and she replied “No, you’re the best.”

Wow. I guess, I am  doing my job well.

That’s us watching The Walking Dead Season 2

Hola mommies! How do you spend serious family time at home?

I know, for a fact that we have different schedules. Not all of us work on a 9-5 M-F schedule. My family, for one, has a crazy schedule Since hubby and I are focused on the bakehouse, our weekend is Monday – Wednesday. From Thursday to Sunday, we are either busy on bakehouse errands, supplier meetings or in the kitchen, busy baking.

So during our “weekend”, we make it a point to spend time with our kids. It’s either we watch movies at home (we rarely go out nowadays) or cook something that all of us likes.

Unfortunately, my eldest is getting tired of this routine. Any ideas, mommies? I need something that doesn’t involve shelling out a lot of money.

Thanks in advance!

About a month ago, I posted something about being successful in my “no rice” diet. It was true, because at that time I was really successful in avoiding rice UNTIL I started working online — full time!

My job required me to spin articles MANUALLY, and to those who doesn’t know anything about this, it’s inserting delimiters and synonyms to an article to come up with hundreds of unique articles. It wasn’t my first time as I’ve been doing that job for several years now, but one has to have a full stomach if you plan on doing something like this.

So the moment I started working on the articles, I kept on puking because I was hungry! The hubby offered me rice, and that’s it. Bye no rice diet!

Now, I wonder what diet program will work for a busy mom like me. My friends are giving me so many options and I have so many questions like: how effective and safe is calorie burner 643?, will I get palpitations?, does it have any side effects?, etc.

You see, as a working mom of two kids, I need a diet plan that is convenient to everyone in my household and of course, a plan with little or no side effects.

How was your Easter Sunday mommies? Ours was so fun albeit spent at home. Holy week was tough for us as we were preparing popsicakes, cakes and cupcakes for Easter so Sunday was spent lounging in the couch, watching The Walking Dead and eat. It was a special for us because we celebrated the hubby’s 38th birthday, Lana’s 7th month, my cousin’s 14th birthday and Tatay Noy’s 3rd month (since he joined our Creator).

The hubby must have known that the budget was tight because he never asked for anything, though I know that he’s not going to ask me gifts like camacho triple maduro cigars (LOL!) I still bought him his favorite strawberry shower wash from The Body Shop.

Sharing with you a photo of Lana, just as she turned 7 months. She’s wearing her sister’s 1st birthday gown

After giving birth to a bouncing tsinita baby girl, I just lost my appetite. So I said “hello” to weight loss and back then it was sooo easy. In three months I was able to shed them all off and weighted about 143lbs. I was so in love with my body though I was not model-thin. It was because I felt lighter and looked better.

Then came Christmas season. The main culprit why I stopped breastfeeding and gained weight again. I just couldn’t say no to the variety of foods arriving almost everyday at home. then WHAM! This time I said “hello” to  appetite and weight gain.

And now, three months later, I am more than decided to shed off this extra weight and be at least 145lbs. How?

I gradually decreased my rice intake and 6 days later my body has fully adjusted and I no longer crave for rice. How cool is that? The rice lover losing interest on her staple food

Praying so hard that I would be successful this time

Seriously mommies, how do you stay focused on your goals?

I am a work at home mom and just like the case of any freelancer, everything is so uncertain. One might be earning lots of $$$ now but everything ends leaving you no choice but to look for another job. I am on it, I accepted this challenge 4 years ago so I am not quitting, but then again, nakakapagod din no? My motivation would always be “it is better this way than seeing myself in a cubicle bossed around by stupid, stupid managers”.

Working at home is a dream job of any mom who wants nothing but spend time with her kids but it requires TIME MANAGEMENT and LOADS of DISCIPLINE. Sabi pa ng husband ko, it’s not a walk in the park. It is hard, much harder than I imagined it to be. At home there are a lot of distractions, an awful lot especially if you have kids and there’s the internet!!! Like right now, I am supposed to be writing pet articles, but here I am blogging like crazy hahaha

Right now we have a goal (see it here) and I really, really need to reach it otherwise all plans will be ruined. We are saving for business expansion, my daughter’s tuition fees and whole lot more. Though I must say that the plan to buy a decent wedding ring has to go back seat first, it doesn’t stop me from visiting online shops for titanium accessories hihi

So mommies, how do you keep your focus?

After being exposed to moms and teachers who all believed in homeschooling, I opened my heart and eyes to this learning option. It was in 2007 when I had the chance to be with them and up until now, deep in my heart I fervently believed that my kids deserve no less than the best education and no other person could give it to them but us, their family. I’ve had my share of traditional school drama, read it  HERE. On that post I have expressed my disappointments in my child’s teachers and the entire traditional school system.

What pushed me to post about it was the talk given last Saturday by HAPI or the Homeschooling Association of the Philippine Islands in Rockwell tent as part of the Expo Kid event.

The talk mainly focused on why home education is the prime education option, the five tools for a successful DIY homeschooling and why more and more families are considering homeschooling. Homeschooling moms and kids, media partners and interested parents gladly joined the discussion and threw in a lot of questions during the Q&A portion.

Exploring Homeschooling:  the D.I.Y. Education

 

Will Smith is known for being one of the big stars of  Hollywood, with blockbuster movies like Independence Day, Men in Black, and I Am Legend under his belt.  Will and his wife Jada try to remain grounded amidst success, and remain focused on what’s really important—love for family and character  — values they passionately impart to their children Jaden, Trey and Willow. Desiring to pass on these important values, they decided from the start to homeschool.

Based on the same goal of building a strong family foundation through this learning option, Homeschooling Association of the Philippine Islands (HAPI) makes it possible for parents to learn about home education. It assists parents by pointing them to the right providers, trainings and resources to be able to homeschool well.  The coming Philippine Homeschool Conference 2012 this May 19 is a big event that invites everybody interested in homeschooling to come, discover, learn and be enlightened.

 

Home education as a prime educational option

 Homeschooling brings a customized educational experience at home, one where the parents decide to fully take charge of teaching their children. This is D.I.Y education at its best. . Because inarguably who would know our children best? Who would be most loving and nurturing to them but their parents.  Perhaps that’s one of the major reasons why  homeschooled children become achievers.  We have homeschoolers like  Christopher Paolini, best-selling author of fantasy novel series Eragon; Tim Tebow, star NFL quarterback and the first college sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy at age 20; Serena Williams, tennis champion; Joey Logano, NASCAR champion racer; Jonas Brothers, an American boy band, and locally, Paul Tan-Chi of the Ateneo UAAP basketball fame and incumbent President of the 200-member strong Subdivision and Housing Developers Association (SHDA).  The list goes on of well-known homeschoolers from the past—George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, C.S. Lewis, Pearl S. Buck, Florence Nightingale to name a few.

Five tools for a successful D.I.Y. homeschooling

HAPI believes that a successful D.I.Y. education will have five tools to work with, namely: a ruler to represent the learning context, a hammer for the learning content or the curriculum; sandpaper for enrichment activities that bring out and hone the talents and skills of

 the homeschooler; sharpening steel for the support group with like-minded and helpful parents; and lastly, the plumb line which represents the standard (purpose) that will guide the homeschooling journey and “keep straight the path”.

 For learning context, homeschooling can be done through a homeschool provider, or independent of one, but both with varying degree of Dep Ed supervision. Learning content or curriculum can be customized, with a range of textbooks to choose from. For enrichment, there are a growing number of service providers for music, arts, PE and life skills programs. Support groups, like H.O.M.E. Library, are rising to the occasion as parents recognize the need to consult and get encouragement from others in the same journey. Grounding one’s reason for homeschooling on a clear purpose is understandably the most important tool for D.I.Y. education. For example, you must define what true success is for your child and let that guide you.

 

Homeschooling by choice

In the country, more and more Filipino parents are homeschooling by choice, and discovering its priceless benefits, The association has put their number conservatively at 3,000 families.   HAPI has made it its mission to be a catalyst in nation-building by advancing home education and unifying home educators in the country. . It is also affiliated with the largest homeschooling organization in the world, and envisions a movement of transformed families creating positive change in their communities and the nation as a whole.

“We believe that the teacher-student relationship is intrinsic to the parent-child relationship. Parents have a natural God-given influence that will work to make homeschooling fulfilling for both. Through the Philippine National Homeschool Conference 2012, we hope to inspire more parents about homeschooling’s real life benefits,” says HAPI President, Gerry Argosino.

The Philippine Homeschool  Conference is set to take place on May 19, 2012 in Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong with the theme “Laying a Strong Foundation”.  International speaker Debra Bell a homeschooling authority in the U.S. and best-selling author, and our own inspirational speaker and author Bo Sanchez are slated as keynote speakers.   The event will be honored by the presence of  Dep Ed officials like Atty Tonisito Umali, Asst. Secretary for Legal & Legislative  Affairs.

To know more about the Homeschooling Association of the Philippine Islands (HAPI) or how to register for the Conference, visit www.hapihomeschooler.com and/or email hapihomeschooler@gmail.com.

On March 8, 2000 at exactly 4:15PM in the afternoon, I said “YES” to a noble man named Marcelle. Ours was a whirlwind romance and we have hurt people along the way (his ex and mine) but there were really no regrets. I must admit that we’ve had our ups and downs but at the end of each day, we know that we only have each other leaving us no choice but to stick together no matter how hard it takes — no choice, eh?

So how’s our relationship 12 years and 2 kids after? Definitely sweeter.

Ours is not perfect. We fight (but no hitting and throwing of things, definitely!) and we argue, though not everyday but meeting halfway is one good thing we’ve learned along the way.

We have no money, seriously, which makes life even harder but that’s awful reality we have to face. Do we argue about it? Yes but do we fight? No. One thing I learned today is that no matter how small or big our problem is, we should communicate OPENLY and CALMLY.

Financial matters is one touchy subject in every relationship, so my trick now is not surprising my husband with “surprise bills”, it’s hard on my case but it’s worth the effort naman.

Marcelle and I still have a loooong way to go, but with each other on our side, we’ll get through this together.

My husband and his younger brother are both artistic. They could sing, write music, draw, make a lot of weird stuff and saying that they are indeed artistic is an understatement.

Both of them could play various musical instruments so being a music lover that he is, the hubby would want a guitar of his own and not just the typical guitar, but one of breedlove acoustic guitars. How choosy.

Where can I find one of these? Are they even available locally?