Boracay 2015

It was four years ago when the hubby and I set foot in Boracay.  Since we are blessed with a son who loves water so much, it is but right to bring him to this wonderful island.  This trip wasn’t planned long but it was well spent.

We started our day so early, because we need to catch an early flight (6AM).  We parked our car at the multi-level parking of NAIA Terminal 3 – which offers overnight parking for Php300 per night.

We didn't avail for any package going to Boracay.  We opted to do-it-ourselves and it was really easy.  We didn't plan any itineraries for our 3 days/2 nights vacation because we just wanted to spend our time beach bumming. 

When we arrived at Boracay, we had breakfast at McDonalds at D’mall and waited for our hotel shuttle to arrive.  We arrived at Alta Vista de Boracay before 10am, and we were allowed early check-in (normal check-in time is 2pm).  After check-in, we changed to our swimming attires and off to the white beach we go.

Alta Vista de Boracay – our home for 3 days.

Since it’s a weekday and is not yet officially summer (because some kids still are in school), Boracay is not crowded.  The white beach still is so beautiful and pristine.  My little boy got so in love with the powdery sands of Boracay.

Beautiful powdery sands of Boracay. 

But nothing compares to swimming at the beach, and we all enjoyed it a lot.  The only drawback is the lumot (moss) at the beach.  It is evident all over white beach but is really prominent during afternoon when the beach hits low tide. 

Lumot everywhere during low tide.

I don’t think my little man mind the lumot though.

We walked from Station 2 where our hotel shuttle dropped us off to Station 3 and then turn back to walk again to Station 1 where Willy's Rock is located.  The little boy didn't complain and was really eager in walking at the beach even with all the lumot. 

This is not a rant but a request.  You see there are a lot of people wanting to take their pictures in Willy’s Rock (the above ‘grotto’).  When we decided to go there, a lot of people, locals, tourist, and foreigners, are queuing to have their photos taken.  However, there’s a woman who was sitting at the grotto.  Her daughter already told her to stand up because a lot of people are queuing to have their photos taken.  The woman didn’t stand up; instead she answered “edi magpicture sila kasama ako” and stayed there even after we went down.  I think that’s a bit mean. Let us be respectful and be more sensitive with other people (locals and tourist alike).

The morning of our second day was spent at Puka Shell Beach.  Compared to the White Beach, Puka Beach has deep water levels (biglang lalim) and the waves are rougher, so we opted to walk along the beach side instead of swimming.  Our hotel offers free shuttle to Puka Beach and they have beach chairs for hotel guests.  You can opt to rent a tricycle going there.  If I remember it correctly, Puka Beach has no electricity after 5PM.  Also, there are a lot of locals offering lunch at Puka, if you want to stay there for the whole day.  Side note:  Fresh Buko Juice cost Php100.  The practical mommy in me cannot stomach the price (because at Cavite, Buko itself cost Php25 only).

Since we have our little boy with us, we didn’t try any water activities.  We just relaxed and swam to our hearts content.  Boracay will always be a place to relax and unwind and savor God’s beautiful creations.  Can’t wait for the next time we visit this lovely place.

Boracay 2015: Commuting To and From

Boracay 2015: Alta Vista deBoracay

Neo’s Araw ng Pagkilala

Last March 17 marked a very special moment in my little boy’s life.  It is his first Araw ng Pagkilala or Recognition Day.  The event went on quickly with a very short program (which I think is a must because little kids get bored easily).  After the opening speech of our town’s vice-mayor, four councilors, and our town’s first lady, all students from four (4) barangays we’re called to go to the stage with their parent and received their recognition certificate and awards. 

It was a quick program, but a very special one for us.  You see, last June 2014, when the hubby and I decided to enroll Neo in Day Care, we weren’t expecting anything from him.  He’s just 2 years and 6 months then.  No expectations.  We just enrolled him to be a ‘saling cat-cat’.   We just wanted him to enjoy and be with kids around his age.

During the course of his ten (10) months in Day Care, with me putting up a blog segment entitled: Day Care Diaries – to record the entire monthly progress of the little boy, I could say that my Neo has grown into a very intelligent young boy.  I didn’t expect him to learn a lot of things and didn’t even anticipate that he can finish the whole school year.  But he did.

What got me surprised and was really a proud moment for me was that my little boy has an award, Batang Magalang.  Apparently, he greats his teacher good morning always and doesn’t leave the day care without giving a respectful bless (mano) to his teacher (and sometimes to other parents or guardians).  Wow.

We are so proud of you little boy.  We love you so much.

PS: When I was in nursery, I got the same award too J

Parenting Thoughts: Baby Prefers Yaya than Mommy

Mommy and Daddy travel to work from 6am to 8am.  Mommy and Daddy work from 8am to 5pm.  Mommy and Daddy travel home from 5pm to 8pm (because it’s traffic).  Baby is left with Yaya or Nanny for the whole duration that Mommy and Daddy goes to work.  This is the scenario from Mondays to Fridays or if the parents are unlucky, even until Saturdays.  And most of the time, because of this scenario, baby prefers Yaya over Mommy and Daddy.

Since both the hubby and I work, the above scenario is not new to us.  Yes, we have our share of horrible Yayas, but we do have our share of lovable Yayas too.  Neo’s current Yaya, though we really don’t consider her as such because to us, she is family, is a very lovable one.  In fact, there are a lot of times that Neo would prefer Ate Espie, his Yaya, over us.  And when I say a lot, it’s a lot.

Neo with his Ate Espie.

Do I feel jealous because Neo prefers Ate Espie?  No.  Because I can only think of one reason why he prefers Ate over me – Ate is treating him well whenever we’re out.

Do I feel inadequate as a mom?  No.  Because I know, I try my best to work hard for his future during working days and I try my best to bond with him during non-working days.

But of course, because we work, we have to make sure that Neo won't feel that we don't give him much time so we create bonding times with him.  How do we do it?

Weekends are spent with Neo.  We seldom schedule activities that will not include Neo during weekends.  And the little boy knows this.  During Mondays to Fridays, when both Mama and Papa are dressed up and saying goodbyes to Neo, he obliges and kisses back – no drama.  But during weekends, when Mama and Papa are dressed up and he is still in his pambahay clothes – the house is suddenly so loud with cries of “sama si Neo!”.

Kisses and hugs that are uniquely from Mama.  Neo never ran out of kisses and hugs.  Thanks to our family who loves him dearly.  But kisses and hugs in the morning when he wakes up and kisses and hugs in the evening before he sleeps are uniquely from Mama. 

Bonding through studying.  Neo goes to day care and learns a lot from it.  But it’s no mystery that he adores and idolizes his Papa so much.  So 30 minutes before going to sleep, Papa and Neo will always have some bonding time over lessons (lessons vary though – from school lessons to android games lessons).

Co-sleeping.  He is more than 3 years old, but Neo still co-sleeps with us.  Though I love my precious sleep, and co-sleeping robs that from me, I will have it no other way.  Because time will come, that Neo will eventually want to sleep on his own bed and his own room.  I don’t want to waste this opportunity that I can still co-sleep with him.

I will not and will never compete with Neo’s attention be it over his Papa, his Lolos and Lolas, or his Ate Espie.  But I would love to have a special bond with him that is called Mother and Son.  Not preference but that he knows that at the end of the day, Mama will always be his Mama no matter who he prefers to be with the whole day.

Farm-filled Adventure at Paradizoo

At the age of three, Neo is starting to show fascinations in animals.  Gadgets gave him the opportunity to play with them virtually but from time to time we also wanted him to experience and see what real animals look like.  We already visited lots of zoos and would love to explore more.

We decided to visit Paradizoo, a theme farm located at Mendez Cavite.  It was not so hard for us to locate the area, thanks to Waze.  But if you plan to commute, I suggest you go to Residence Inn where they offer free shuttle ride to Paradizoo (because this area is not really located in the highway and commuting can be tough).

Paradizoo’s area is so vast that we often feel we are the only people in the farm.  Let me share to you some photos and snippets of what you can see and try at Paradizoo.

Greetings from the cute flower pots and the cute little boy!

Animals of different kinds.  Horses, cows, boars, dogs, goats, and even camels.

Paradizoo is home to Voltes V.  The five-legged cow.

An albino carabao that they use to tour the visitors.  It cost Php100 per head for the tour.

Birds of different kinds too.  Ostrich, love birds, chicken, and goose.

Butterflies and Bees. 

The butterflies love my legs because the lotion I used was sweet scented.

Wide array of vegetables and flowers.

The Hydrophonic Farm.  We bought some lettuce, because I love eating salads.  The hubby bought some seeds because he wants to try growing them.  Crossing my fingers he gets lucky.

Bahay Kubo’s different plants.  These area is supposed to have vegetables that correspond to the Bahay Kubo song.  But I only saw Kamatis and Bawang.

The Perpetual Cemetery where you can bury your pets. 

The playground for kids to enjoy.  Entrance is Php20.

There are other activities that you can do but we weren't able to, like feeding the love birds, feeding the cows and camels, milking the goats, and fish spa.  These are all for minimal fees (no more than Php50 each activity).

Paradizoo has a vast area and the little boy enjoyed running around it.

See that small kid?  That’s my little boy running around.

Entrance Fee for Adult and Children is Php149.  Children below 3ft are free of charge.

To cap the visit, we let the little boy ride a horse.  Yes, that’s not a pony but a mommy horse; it’s just that she’s small.

Unboxing BDJ Box: March 2015

This is my second time to try BDJ Box – and yes, I am as happy as the first time I did.  My second BDJ Box is again an exclusive box, just like the first one.  This time it’s from Ponds. And since it’s an exclusive box, all contents came in full size J

Another exclusive box from BDJ!

 Let’s have a look inside it.

Pond’s Pearl Cleansing Gel, 100g

Cost of 100g = Php155.  With additional 50g = Php87, which can be given to a friend. 

It’s a new beauty trend with a lot of buzz online.  The first whitening facial wash in gel formulation that cleanses the face, making it whiter and fresher, without drying it.   

Pond’s Flawless White Ultra Luminous Serum, 30ml

Cost of 30ml = Php480.

It’s the serum the seeks to achieve spotless, radiant, and even-toned skin that has 9x more radiance power in a single drop.

Pond’s Flawless White Dewy Rose Gel, 50g

Cost of 50g = Php399.

The first expert whitening product that comes in a refreshing gel.  It goes deep within the skin and is clinically proven to lighten dark spots.

Pond’s Flawless White BB+ Cream, 25g

Cost of 25g = Php299.  (The box has 2 pcs.)

With SPF 30 PA+++, Pond’s Flawless Whitening BB+ Cream gives an instant spotless and radiant skin.

Pond’s Flawless White Re-Brightening Night Cream, 50g

Cost of 50g = Php340.

This night cream repairs skin damage, lightens, and evens out dark sports while you sleep as skin renewal hits its peak at night.

The BDJ Box costs Php580, but the total costs of all items included in the March 2015 box is Php2059. J  Don’t forget to subscribe for your own box now at http://bdjbox.com/

A Quick Nuvali Visit

We have been visiting Nuvali countless of times but has never stayed and savor the area.  It would always be a quick meet, eat, and go home adventure.  And it still was the case last Saturday when my side of the family decided to visit the popular recreation area.

We arrived at Nuvali sometime around 5pm, walked around the area, ate, and then went home.  It was another quick visit but we were able to check out (though we didn’t try) what this famous area has to offer.

We only roamed around Solenad 1 where there are a lot of restaurants to dine at.  Paseo offers a lot of stalls for branded items (shoes, clothes, bags, etc.) that is very conducive for shopping. 

Solenad 1 offers more activities.  When we arrived, there’s a zumba class taking place at the middle of the area.  There’s another part for the little kids to drive around mini vehicles, which my little boy enjoyed a lot.

We also fed the ever hungry Koi fishes.  Every time we go to Nuvali, these Koi fishes look so pitiful.  It’s as if they’re not fed at all.  L  So if you go to Nuvali, don’t forget to buy feeds, which is available at a small stall near the Koi fishes, and feed them.

If you have more time, which we didn’t, you can also go biking around the designated area.  There are bikes for rent.  You can also try boating.

We had a quick dinner at Crisostomo’s and off we went home.   

My happy family. J

Someday, when we are not busy bees, we will visit this place and just try their picnic area, savor the view and enjoy.