Contentment from a 9-yr old

We attended a birthday party of a friend's daughter.
The host invited all the children to gather. First game was "Guess the Riddle" wherein the host gives the riddle and the first child to give the correct answer receives a prize. The first riddle was given, Honey raised her hand and gave the answer. Her answer is correct. She collected her reward and return to our seat. I told her to go back to the game area as the game is not yet done. She just stared at me. Then comes the second riddle. I saw her smile, I know she knows the answer. I told her to raise her hand and answer again. She didn't listen. Then the third riddle, she still knows it.
"Ate, answer the riddle so you can get another reward", I told her.
"But I already have a reward Ma!, ang uban nasad!", she snapped.
("But I already have a reward Ma!, give others the chance!")

Now, its my turn to stare her. 
Silent. 
Thinking.
Was I teaching my kid to become selfish?
Was my action reflects discontentment?

I understand her simple happiness with the reward she received and for her its already a treat, already enough.

Then I remembered Moses' instruction on getting enough manna needed for the day yet the people didn't listen, thus the manna was spoiled. 

If only adults think the way like the children...
If only adults learn to be contented in small things...
if only adults listens...

...then life would have been simpler, more comfortable and fulfilled.

Jiggy turns 4

And so I did Honey's interview early this year. 
This time, its Jiggy's turn.

How old are you?
I'm 4 years old.

What is your favorite color? Why?
Color blue because its the color of my car. (He's referring to his toy car)

What is the color you dislike the most?
Orange. I don't like carrots.

What are your favorite food? drinks?
Spaghetti and water. 

How about my cupcakes. You don't like my carrot cupcakes? (Offering to him one of my newly baked cupcakes.
Yes, I like. Can I ask one please.

What are you afraid of? Why?
Water sa lawom (deep length water) because I don't know how to swim.

What is your favorite thing to do?
I want to play. Watch movie --- Cars, Lightning McQueen Cars!

What would like to be when you grow up?
I want to play. I want to play with my cars, my lego and mega blocks.

This strong-willed little boy doesn't like carrots but loves to eat my carrot cupcake. 
And he surely needs to learn how to swim so he could fully enjoy pool time.
Still addicted to cars, mega blocks and lego stuffs and does not share it with his friends.
Moreover, can be too occupied if he can get hold of IPad (because of Racing Car game) or Papa's phone (because of Minecraft) --- by the way, they are allowed to play during weekends.
Likes to play outdoors too, he can now ride his bike without the help of the training wheels.
Loves to read books . His favorite story is "The Parable of the Two Sons" and loves to read it again and again. 
He talks too much as if he has a lot of stories to tell thus his speech slightly improved wherein he can now communicate clearly to us, not complete sentence though.
Still so malambing (affectionate) and loves to cuddle and be cuddled.

Happy birthday our dear Jiggy :)
May you grow to be God-fearing person.
We love you so much :)

Work Appreciation Day

Public school teachers can bring their kids to school and the school doesn't mind.
Government officers can also bring their kids to their office and not a big deal at all.
But for private companies (based on experience), bringing kids at work is a big NO, because kids, as they thought, can make employees out of focus at work and could hinder productivity. This reason could be justifiable, but what if yaya is not available? thus, a common dilemma of working moms and if no other option would resort to taking a day-off since... yeah, right! kids are not allowed at work! 

Every morning, we had those cute bickering with our 3yr-old explaining why mama or papa needs to work and why we can't bring him with us at work.  I don't mind having those small talks and arguments, I find it cute. At times its a struggle, at some times he easily gives in (especially if there's a buy-off like "mama needs to work so we can buy your milk or pay your school tuition or buy your cars! or firetruck! or helicopters!")

Fortunately, one sunny Thursday afternoon of May, my kids were allowed to see me at my workplace. Isn't that amazing? Yes for me and I'm thankful that the organization had this type of activity.

For whole afternoon (my half-day), my kids were able:
- to enter the company premise (accompanied by me);
- gladly received by Jollibee (thru short program at the cafeteria) and see Jollibee dance;
- enjoyed the given food treats;
- visited our different laboratories;
- get to hold and operate a printer;
- had hands-on training;
- played and socialized with my teammates and their kids; at my workplace.

I'm glad we had this activity. I could see the delight in my kiddos faces.
We're making memories right! and I do hope they would still remember this someday.

Oh now I remember getting into my Papa's workplace too! Long ago! Remembering those big machines (he's a plant mechanic) and how proud I am to know that the operation will not resume unless it is fixed / repaired by him. Surely seeing your parents work has a big influence.

This Makes My Day

Short conversation with my Jiggy while watching Smurfs movie on TV;

Me: So Baby, where do fishes live?
Him: Water!
Me: Sea...water, that's right? And the cats? Where do cats live?
Him: Downstairs! (He's referring to the kittens of our neighbor downstairs)
Me: Land, Yes, they live on land, downstairs. And the shark, whale sharks with big mouth? Where do they live?
Him: Sea!
Me: Yey! And the birds?
Him: Sky!
Me: Yes, they fly and fly up in the sky. How about smurfs? Where do they live?
Him: TV (pointing the television)
Me: speechless...

Oh how I just love kid's spontaneous and genuine answers :D

How about you mommy? What makes your day, today?

Linking with

Wednesday's Around the Word

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Little Things Thursday

Thankful for Milo Summer Sports Clinic 2015

A week after last school-year ends, she complained that she's already bored. 
She's almost done with the school's summer assignments and told me she has nothing to do. 
Her interest in guitar subsided though she still loves to listen to Taylor Swift's songs.
She's not much of a reader (my bad, still need more effort to encourage her).
Also not a fan of IPad (or because her little brother wrestles with her and grabs the gadget once she got hold of it) and TV is not for her too, according to her it make her dizzy staring on it for a long time.
In short, staying at home throughout the day makes her bored thus, wants to beat the summer boredom. Don't get me wrong, they have toys at home like bricks, Lego stuffs, Stacko, chess board and sometimes they bike around the neighborhood after their siestas but I'm guessing she's fed up of the same routine.

She wants to attend again swimming lessons but I don't see any class offerings near our place and the only available that might have her interest is the Milo's sponsored Karatedo Class.

Milo's Summer Sports Clinic is a nationwide program held by various sports organizations (including Karatedo) to help promote sports development in our country and introduce to kids at an early age the benefit of it. Being active in sports enriches the child physically - improving health; mentally - hone talents and skills; and socially - make friends and have fun. It is also an avenue for character formation as kids learn the value of discipline, teamwork, self-confidence and sportsmanship.

Good news is she so much love it and all ecstatic when she know that after her 12 session, qualified for the next level - Orange Belt. 

We are thankful for this program. 
Looking forward for the next summer activities (this time with her little brother :D)

Hope you're having a blast this summer too! :D

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Little Things Thursday

Summer Shindig at Hale Manna Beach Resort & Coastal Gardens, Moalboal Cebu

Did I told you I can't get enough of the place the first time I visited this resort?
Yes, I am! and when friends decided to have another get together this year at same place again, how could I say no.
I just want to enjoy the place again and this time view the corals and fishes and who would not be entice with the turtles and sardines waiting to be explored.

Vehicle:
Since we can't fit all in a friend's pick-up, we hired a van which would bring us from city proper to Moalboal and vice versa. This means, the driver stays with us overnight. It cost us Php5000 and van fits 12 persons.

Pick-Up Place:
Pick-up place is at Persimmon Condominium, Mabolo, Cebu at 7AM. There are bakeries and eateries which were open before 7AM thus keeping your tummy full before the 2-hour travel is not a problem. However, if you have motion sickness issue and likely throw-up, light breakfast will do or better yet bring medicines with you.

Stop-Over:
We stopped at Carcar's Gaisano Grand supermarket to buy stuffs needed for 2 days - 1 night stay. The other team bought our lunch while we bought food we could cooked for dinner. We also bought for our breakfast and lunch but requested the resort to cooked it for us. They charged Php200 for the service.

Venue:
I love our room, Room#8 also known as Barkada Room. It has 8 beds and can allow 1 additional extra bed. Pretty spacious but there is only one bathroom to be shared with.

Rates can be viewed here.

What We Enjoy:
After lunch, we headed to the water for a refreshing dip and of course for the snorkeling and snorkeling. Me and Honey didn't have snorkeling gear so we have to borrow from the resort (for the googles/mask only). Problem with mask only if that we can't view too long, not a big deal though coz just seeing nemo is already a joy and seeing fishes only found in fish market is nothing but a thrill and corals, oh! the corals, yes they are everywhere.

The following morning, we had boating as early as 7AM to go the place where turtles can be found. While my friends get to see them, me being too coward to let go from the boat didn't get to see one :( Nope, its not sayang (not a lost) coz I get to see live corals swaying, pliant with the current underwater. There are jellyfishes too, small and big ones, they may sting you and hurt for awhile but overtime you'll get used to it.
We also went to see the sardines sanctuary, thousands of them, swimming, enjoying the waters too. It just so fascinating watching them swim together or change direction together. Wonderful.
What a great way to start summer this year. Pleasant day indeed to be able to explore nature at its best --- Moalboal's underwater beauty, courtesy of Hale Manna Beach Resort & Coastal Gardens.

Photos below are grabbed from Ge, Mabs and Jimmy's FB Page.

Thanks to our boatman "Osting" and lifeguard "Nick".

Would definitely love to visit Moalboal again. During that time, hopefully I'll bring with me my own snorkeling gear to fully enjoy underwater scenery.

Linking with

Wednesday's Around the Word

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Little Things Thursday

Honey turns 9

I also thought of giving interviews on my kids during their birth months as a way to get to know them better and also a way of checking-in on how well they had grown-up...wink :)
Inspired by Nancy of Ordinary Miracles & The Crazy 9 as I had fun reading her posts regarding interviews with her children. Their answers are so cute, full of honesty and innocence (especially on the little ones) and I thought I'll give it a try for kids as well.

First up, Honey.

How old are you?
I will be 9 years old this coming March 15.

What is your favorite color?
My favorite color is blue.

What is the color you dislike the most?
I don't like color black because for me its dark and its a bad color.

What are your favorite food? drinks?
I like spaghetti because it has cheese, red sauce and my dad's spaghetti is yummy.
I don't like ampalaya because its so bitter. 
I like water and mango shake. I don't like softdrinks.

What are you afraid of?
I'm afraid of scary things like ghosts, white lady, zombies or shark. I'm also afraid of dark places.

What is your favorite thing to do?
I like biking, playing and going everywhere. I like going everywhere because for me its fun going there, here and everywhere.

What do you like about your family? and you don't like?
I like myself because I'm smart. I like my brother because he is cute and handsome but I don't like him when he spanks me (I think she's referring to sibling fights). 
I like my mom because she takes care of me and love me. I like my dad because he teaches me math. I don't like whenever my mom and dad is mad or angry at me. 

What would like to be when you grow up?
I like to be a scientist because I want to discover more about planets and more heavenly bodies. I also want to be a teacher because I want children to learn more. I also want to be a doctor because I want to make a people feel better. 

Describe being rich? (Joy of joymeetslife talk about being rich and thought I'll ask her about it :D)
Being rich has a lot of money. Having their own house and car. 
We are not rich.

We need to work on imparting the true definition of "rich" that its not about money and material things. 

She seems like she's an adventurous one who wants to travel and meet the world.

And full of dreams too - scientist, teacher or doctor. How cool is that :)

Happy birthday my little honey :D
We love you so much.

Linking with

Wednesday's Around the Word

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Little Things Thursday

Sands, Seas and Friends...

Looking back summer fun years ago...

And eager to meet this year's summer ado :D

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Wednesday's Around the Word

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Little Things Thursday

Summer is almost here

Just because its beginning to feel hot.

And yes, can't wait to visit again the sands and seas.

This was taken last year, when we visited Bantayan Island

Linking with

Wednesday's Around the Word

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Little Things Thursday

Wedding Ring

Symbol of...
 

Friendship
Commitment
Faithfulness
Becoming One
Forever
Love
 

Happy Love Month Everyone!

Linking with

Wednesday's Around the Word

and

Little Things Thursday

Baby Dani

I'll be joining BuckarooMama's Wednesday's Around the Word and Kim's Little Things Thursday.

For this week, I''ll be introducing to you the newest member of our family - my niece.

Isn't she a charm?
I love those piercing eyes!

And those cute lips :)

Oh how I miss the smell of newborn babies!

  

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Wednesday's Around the Word

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Little Things Thursday

Thursday Thirteen: Why we love Human Nature Products

1. It is recommended by my pedia whom I consider as a naturalist in some ways :D

2. My son's rashes were gone when we used Human Nature's Natural Baby Wash and Natural Baby Oil.

3. I have the confidence to use Human Nature's Tough Love Natural Dishwashing Liquid for my son's formula bottles since its non-toxic.

4. I like their advocacy on Pro-Philippines, Pro-Poor, Pro-Environment.

5. According to Human Nature, main workers of the product are the Gawad-Kalinga residents as their means of livelihood.

6. I believe in their claim that it is "100% No Harmful Chemicals" as their labels says, it has no parabens, no phthalates or other toxic substances.

7. Ants love Human Nature's Natural Baby Oil too. One way to check if the their baby oil is close to being natural is when ants love it too (I've read this somewhere in the net). Try exposing both margarine and their baby oil and observed which item is preferred by ants :D

8. Additional way of checking Human Nature products is through their shampoos. There shampoo's ingredients does not list SLS as a foaming agent. As I lather my hair with Human Nature's Natural Strengthening Shampoo it is noticeable that bubbles are not as much as compared to other shampoo as a confirmation that no harmful foaming agent is present in it.

9. It is not expensive compared to other organic or natural personal care products. (I'm also a dealer, the perks of having discounts is just so favorable for me who has less funds)

10. The smell is Human Nature's Natural Baby Lotion is just mild that suits to my kid's sensitive skin. They are not used to strong fragrances.

11. In some cases, I love the feeling of not to use lotions after taking a bath since my skin has already been moisturized from Human Nature's Kids Natural Shampoo and Baby Wash Tangerine Tarsier.

12. Although Human Nature's Bug Shield Lotion is so strong but the scent is just natural.

13. I can use their Human Nature's Natural Feminine Wash Chamomile Cool daily with confidence that its safe and no compromises from harmful chemicals. 

You can browse on their products at http://humanheartnature.com/buy/

NOTE: I am not paid to do this post. Contents are based on our experience.

August's Photo-A-Day Challenge

Yeey! Had successfully completed it! Whew! Thanks Chantelle of Fat Mum Slim.

Day 1: Something beginning with N

Its my nails, yeah nothing fancy here but I like them short and unpolished :D

Day 2: Incomplete

My cross-stitched project, this pattern is still incomplete :-(

Day 3:Skyline

Cloudy day!

Day 4: Fresh

Freshy baked orange muffin for Honey's baon.

Day 5: Early

Music playing early in the morning for our little Jiggy.

Day 6: This means a lot to me

The picture says it all :D

Day 7: A sign

Along Mandaue, Cebu road which causes traffic everyday. Calling DPWH, this obstacle been there for almost 3 months already :-(

Day 8: Peek-A-Boo

 Asking Honey to give me a peek-a-boo look :D

Day 9: 2 o'clock

The sky at 2 o'clock - still cloudy!

Day 10: Beverage

Only "beverage" available in the ref. Kid's favorite and mine too!

Day 11: I love doing this

Its actually "We" love doing this --> playtime!

Day 12: Macro

Macro shoot of this pair of earring given by hubby's friend, Coral :D

Day 13: Fast

Yep, F1 racing cars are indeed fast.

Day 14: Trash

Paper cut-outs after making Honey's school projects.

Day 15: The best

Family time is really the best.

Day 16: Cooking

Cooked sweet corn for siesta :D

Day 17: Exercise

A dinner treat from Marcus & Shing surely needs an exercise. Food is great at Lantaw, Busay.

Day 18: Someone you spoke to today

Teaching Jiggy the ABC's

Day 19: Lost

Does this bunny looked lost?

Day 20: Stairs

Our apartment's stairs

Day 21: Slow

When its color time, Honey takes much time :D

Day 22: A room

A peek on our room.

Day 23: Yellow

Trademark color of CAT Trucks.

Day 24: In the background

Yes, our walls are full of school materials during school days.

Day 25: Culture

Giving pasalubong (souvenirs as homecoming gift) is one of the culture of Pinoy's.

Day 26: Entrance

Apartment's entrance.

Day 27: 10 minutes from home

The road 10 minutes from home - its always traffic :-(

Day 28: Corridor

Playing in the corridor

Day 29: Lucky

Feeling lucky having you :D

Day 30: Cluttered

Clutters in my bag!

Day 31: Dangerous

I admit it, I'm so afraid of heights and renting on 2nd floor apartment especially having small kids with us really takes extra care and caution.