3M Products Plus A Giveaway - With a Winner

I love decorating our small house.  This is a place I call my own and thus I have the liberty to decorate and re-decorate it.  However, whenever I asked Leo to drill holes in our home, it would be permanent so I try to limit the decorations that we have.

That banner is from Neo’s 1^st birthday.  Neo’s former yaya, Ate Marlyn, decided to post it in our living room wall – using adhesive tape.  I don’t dare put it down because 1) Neo is just so cute in there and 2) the adhesive tape ruined the wall paint that I will just put it down if I have the budget to have our house repainted.  OUCH!

After being introduced to 3M products last April at Get Hooked on DIY event sponsored Good Housekeeping and 3M, I now have the chance to decorate our house without the hassle of drilling holes and the heartbreak of ruining the paint and the house itself.

3M has a variety of products you can choose from.  I am partial to Filtrete, Command Hooks, and Post-Its. 

Being someone with allergy, I am so thankful to 3M for introducing Filtrete to me.  It filters so much dust and dirt in our air-conditioner that whenever it’s cleaning time, I feel so happy that all those dust and dirt were collected by Filtrete. 

Post-Its are my favorite thing in the office. It helps the forgetful-me in remembering all the stuffs I need to do.

And of course, Command Hooks helps me re-design our house easier and neater.  Just be mindful of the weight limit and follow instructions at the back J

Since 3M and Good Housekeeping gave me so much 3M products to try and I am so happy with my experience, I would like to share it with you too. 

Win Php1000+ worth of 3M Command Hooks by following the steps below.

How to Win

o   Join the Rafflecopter below.

o   Leave your name and email address on this post as a comment.

o   Announcement of winner will be on July 21^st.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Lobby @ Kartini Hotel

Ever since we tried buffet dining, we have been a fan.  Leo celebrated his Father’s Day at Blue Coral Beach Resort, but there’s another father I want to celebrate father’s day for too – my father, of course, Lolo Jun.

Since we were all set not to go far from Cavite – because Father’s Day is a Sunday and Sundays are church days.  We tried looking for buffet areas in Kawit area but most of them are fully booked already.  And it was a good thing because we chanced upon The Lobby at Kartini Hotel.

The Lobby is a buffet restaurant located at The Kartini Hotel at Kawit, Cavite.  They are open every Friday, Saturday, and Sundays only.  They have one the best interiors I experienced in a buffet resto. 

Different food choices at The Lobby.

The Lobby never ran out of food and they serve different food choices however, they frequently ran out of utensils and plates.  We have to remind the waiters of this a lot of times.  

Buffet Cost Php250 per person – drinks included.  Buffet prices differ during holidays.

Get Hooked on DIY with 3M and Good Housekeeping

Last Saturday, I was invited again to learn more useful DIY (Do-It-Yourself) ideas by 3M and Good Housekeeping in partnership with DMCI.   They are hosting this event on different DMCI locations.  Schedules are listed below, so in case you are available, you can drop by. 

The event last Saturday at Cedar Crest, Acacia Estate was hosted by Ms. Jackie Lou Blanco.  A lot of different DIY ideas were presented.  Brand Ambassadors Doug and Cheska Kramer, together with their little ones, were also present to grace the event. 

I was treated, as you would be once you attend the next batches, by different do-it-yourself ideas, 25% discounts on different 3M products, giveaways, and an afternoon with Doug and Cheska Kramer, brand ambassadors of 3M. 

So don’t forget to mark this on your calendars! J

Tips for Buying School Supplies

Its Neo’s first time at school.  It was difficult not to splurge.  I have to be practical in buying the things he need at school.  This is my first time to shop for school supplies for the little one.  What are my take away?

BUY DURING LEAN SEASON – don’t join the rush and demand time.  Make sure to buy school supplies during the low season.  But be careful in buying things like shoes, clothes.  You can’t buy shoes 6 months before the school starts – because it might not fit anymore.

BUY IN ONE GO – since it was my first time, I bought school supplies one at a time.  Little did I know that the Php200 I spent during shopping is now Php2000 when I added all the receipts.  If I had bought it in just one time shopping, I could have been more cautious about the price.

BUY QUALITY PRODUCTS – quality always comes first.  Buy things that are durable so you won’t need to replace it within the school year or better yet, your child can use it on the next school year J

SET A BUDGET – never forget to set a budget.  Since this is Neo’s first time to buy school supplies, it was so hard not to buy things that are “cute”, even though he won’t use it.  The hubby would always remind me to set a budget for a particular thing and stick to it.

SHOP WITH THE STUDENT – remember, it won’t be you who’ll be using these things – it would be your kid, who’s the student.  Bring him along so he/she can choose what he want.  Just help him along the way.

It was the little boy who picked this bag. 

Mommies, what are your take away when you shopped this year for school supplies?  I’d like to add some to my list so next year I’ll be more prepared J

Father's Day at Blue Coral Beach Resort

Father’s Day came in a day earlier for Leo.  Two months ago, I purchase a day tour coupon at Blue Coral Resort through Ensogo.ph.  It cost Php699 for a day tour with access to all facilities, AM and PM snacks, buffet lunch, and 30 mins kayaking. We then decided to use it a day before father’s day.

It took us 3 hours drive from our house to Laiya, San Juan, Batangas where Blue Coral Resort is located.

Long way ahead. 

Before arriving at the coastal area, we were asked to pay Environmental fee of Php20 per person.  

The stubs are collected at the resort you are booked.

Upon arrival, we went directly to reception.  We were given food stubs to be used for the day and a free cottage J

The little boy wanted to swim the moment we arrived. J

First Day High

I am so excited to bring Neo to school.  I think I am more excited than him. 

It was Neo’s first day of school yesterday.  I decided to take a half day leave so I can accompany him.  He goes to school for 2hours only (8AM to 10AM).  What happened at his first day?

I was so worried because Neo sleeps late at night and wakes up late in the morning.  But yesterday, he decided to wake up early – he must be excited too.  He drank his milk while watching Thomas and Friends (the apple of his eyes at age 2.5years).  He then prepared for school.

We took public transport when we brought him to school.  We don’t want him to get accustomed to his Papa’s car when going to school – baka masanay. 

It was chaos inside the Barangay Day Care.  From moms to dads to guardians to kids to teachers and assistants – everyone was present.  The school was a small one.  It was decorated with a lot of stuffs.  The area was so hot.

Neo was so enticed by the toys at the cabinet area.  He won’t sit down properly.  He was crying not because we will leave him, but because he wanted to play.

Neo was the youngest but clearly not the smallest.  He was not the most kulelat too.  The teacher asked the students to draw circles and color them.  And the drawing earned the little boy his first star! J

He’s happy with the star.  He’s just tired of smiling because we keep on capturing photos of him. hehe J

It was a good way to start schooling.  I hope he won’t be bored and would finish the school year.  Good job, anak!  J

Toddler Mileston: The Value of Peso

Last Independence Day, we went shopping for Neo’s school shoes.  It was quite a challenge bringing Neo to a department store nowadays.  He tends to run a lot and is so much fond of staying close to the toys area.  I now find going to the department store a way of losing weight by running after Neo.

While running back and forth the toy area, Neo stumbled upon a peso coin.  No one owns the coin as a lot of people are too busy with their own shopping.   He picks it up.  Puts it in his pocket.  He kept checking every now and then if the peso coin is still in his pocket.

I was a bit worried because he might swallow it.  I try my hardest to persuade him to give it to me but to no avail.  All he does is check it a lot of time if it is still inside his pocket. 

We went to the grocery to buy some veggies.  He was again running around while checking his peso coin in his pocket.  I told him to stop and that we would buy Yan Yan.  When we were able to get his Yan Yan, I told him to pay for it with his peso coin.  He gladly gave it to me.

He loves Yan Yan.  Whenever I give him one, he always opens it as fast as he could.  He never listens when I say wait.  He scoops the chocolate dip as harsh as his little hands could.  I would say that all the Yan Yans I bought were taken for granted.

But this time it’s a different scenario.  He was patiently waiting to open the Yan Yan he bought with his one peso coin.  When we opened it, he was very careful in dipping at the chocolate so it won’t spill.

That’s the value of peso for Neo.

Toddler Milestone: Neo’s Starting School!

At 2years and a half, Neo is starting school. 

One of my proudest moment.

Yes, he is still young, but what better time to help him learn than now?  Leo and I had been discussing the pros and cons of having Neo enter school this school year – and our entire discussion end with: He is too young.

But we still pushed through enrolling him at the Barangay Day Care close to our home last Tuesday.  Why?  Because we both agree that learning starts at an early age. 

We won’t be pushing our son to go to school to learn hardcore.  We will allow him to go to school only when he wants to.  No pressure.  We just want him to learn the basics (alphabet, numbers, shapes, etc.) while socializing with other kids.

Welcome to the academic world, my dear son!  I hope you learn a lot while playing with other kids J

Manila Bay Clean Up Run 2014

When: July 13, 2014

Race Distance: 3K, 5K, 10K, 21K

Registration Fee:

3K – Php500

5K – Php600

10K – Php700

21K – Php850

Singlet Design:

Join the run.  Because the cleanup never stops!

Crabs and Shrimps Weekend

I’ve been craving for crabs and shrimps over the past week.  Been hallucinating over Blue Pot Boiling Crabs (a nice seafood restaurant in Davao) but since I can’t go back to Davao just to eat seafood, Leo decided to bring me to Seaside Macapagal to buy seafood J

We bought seafood at a cheap price.  Crabs at Php380 per kilo and Tiger Prawns at Php200 for half kilo (thank you to Barindoy, Lolo Jun’s nephew, who gave us a discount).

So we had a little seafood feast over the weekend.  Neo didn’t touch any.  He loves the song “Tong, Tong, Tong, Pakitongkitong” but is not too keen on the crabs and shrimps.

Me: Neo, what is this?

Neo: Ahas.

Me: No. These are shrimps.  What are these?

Neo: Snake.

Wow.  I think I need to teach him more.

Sol Y Viento

As a family, we enjoy swimming as a bonding activity.  No, we are not a family of swimmers – we just love the waters.  It is somewhat a-must to go at one of Laguna’s resorts (Laguna is famous of it) during summertime.  2014 summer is no exception.

We are fond of going to CuyabHotspring Resort every summer.  But this year, we decided to try something different for Neo’s tito Johnjohn’s birthday celebration (which is our summer outing time).  We went to Sol Y Viento.

This place is owned by the Tamayos of Perpertual Help School.  (I haven’t asked if they offer discounts for students :P).  It is situated in a high place. 

Yes.  He is a certified bakasyonista.  

Entrance cost Php300 per person.  Php50 corkage per person for food.  I didn’t saw an area where you can cook your food so you must bring cooked foods already.  Some resorts in Laguna allow you to cook and grill your food (I love grilled liempo and bangus during swimming time J).

Let me show you pictures of the area. 

Who wouldn’t love a view such as this?

Sol Y Viento has 3 swimming pools and 2 jacuzzis. 

They also offer overnight accommodation with your own pool.   

They offer this golf cart to the guests who don’t want to walk going up and down the area.

Cottage cost Php700.  

It rained when we were there (it rains every afternoon daw because of the altitude).  We were asked to get out of the water when it rained because the pool might be struck by lightning and we might get electrocuted. 

There are only few people when we went there even though its summer time.  It must be because it’s a high place and you risk pushing your car to the limit.  Or the somewhat expensive entrance fee (Laguna resort’s public pool entrance varies from Php60 – Php150).  But I must tell you, the beautiful scenery and the tranquil place is so worth every penny.

Toddler Milestone: No More Nighttime Feeding

 I am a mom who believes on letting children take their own pace in learning and developing. 

When Neo was almost a year, everyone was telling us (Leo and me) that Neo should be walking already.  I would always answer “let Neo learn in his own pace, after all, if he learned to walk, you won’t be the one who’ll get tired of running after him”.  He learned to walk when he reached one year old.

When Neo was a year and a half, everyone was telling us that Neo should be talking already.  I would answer in the same manner “let Neo learn in his own pace, after all, if he learned to talk, you won’t be the one who’ll get tired of listening to his endless chatter”.  He is starting to converse at age two.

Now, at the age of 2 years old, Neo still drinks milk at night time.  Following my philosophy, I should be saying “let Neo wean at his own pace, after all, we will surely miss preparing milk when we weans”.  But that is not the case.  At age two years and four months, Neo weighs 20 kilos.  He is borderline overweight and obese.  We should be doing something.

So after 2 weeks, I am proud to say that Neo is no longer drinking milk during night time.  He sleeps soundly from night to day.

How did we do it?

·      Establish rules – these rules are for Ate Espie, Leo, and me.  No one will give Neo the milk during nighttime.  We have to control our pity when Neo cries during the night for his milk bottle.

·         No starving before bedtime – normally, we allow Neo to drink milk during the time he wants.  We don’t force him to eat dinner because he doesn’t like the food.  But now, we let him join us at dinner table a so he can eat dinner too.  This way he won’t be hungry at night.

·         Let Neo on the game – establishing rules for Neo is a must too.  We have to explain to him that he will no longer drink milk at night because there is no milk prepared for him. 

·   Praise for a job well done – we always ensure that Neo gets all the appreciation he deserve for any job he has done well, this is no exception. 

How about you?  Can you share some tips on helping your child have a good night sleep through stopping night feeding?