PBW 1: Preschool Summer Camp

Joaqui is to begin school this June and he will be at the Nursery level. As we were looking around for the right school for him, one of the schools we were considering gave a free summer camp. We wasted no time scheduling my son for this for him to have a "feel" of what's being in school.

Joaqui is a child who would not readily participate in activities. He prefers to watch from the sidelines and until he feels comfortable enough to join the others, he would just watch quietly. He also wouldn't want to be left alone inside the classroom, so I stayed with him.

There were some activities he enjoyed doing, but most of the time he just likes to play. The coordinators from the two schools where he had an evaluation said that Joaqui is at a stage where he just wants to play, but they said it's still common for children in their age.


I know how important early education is, but I want Joaqui to have fun while learning and develop confidence and self-esteem, and that is what matters to me.

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what's your workout style?

With the hot days of summer still upon the whole archipelago, it's a good time to get off the couch and start an exercise routine. Whether it be outside of the house, in a park, around the neighborhood or just inside the house, you still get the benefits and enjoyment of exercise. Personally I prefer to walk around the neighborhood for exercise, but lately since the road in our street is under construction, I have been exercising with Tunturi elliptical cross trainer from efitology.com. There are many elliptical trainers available in the market, but this was the one suggested by a friend of mine who is a fitness instructor. It has a long stride that makes it comfortable yet effective.

I have been very satisfied with the Tunturi elliptical trainer and we are planning to purchase Tunturi treadmills on Efitology for my mom. The shock absorbance and comfort orientation features make it more easy for my mom to exercise and get fit. It doesn't hurt her knees or her feet at all, so she is more motivated to get on the treadmill almost everyday. Efitology made it possible for us to acquire these pieces of exercise equipment, as they are an authorized Tunturi dealer and we got the free same-day shipping. What a great deal!

Of course, a fitness workout wouldn't be complete with the proper gear, so we got New Balance running shoes from Sports Authority and shopping for shoes is such a breeze here, as they have a large selection of brands and sizes. Now, comfy and stylish is my workout style. What's yours?

Mommy Moments - Yellow

I'm happy to be blogging again about Mommy Moments and today's theme is about the color yellow.

Here is Joaqui with a real yellow bulldozer. He is so much into cranes, bulldozers and backhoes.


Joaqui wearing his yellow shirt while dancing at a party.


And this is me posing like Rosalinda with a yellow flower.

If you would like to see more of the color yellow, visit Mommy Moments.

date night

Hubby and I don't have a particular day for a date night, but we always try to spend quality time as a couple if his schedule permits and if there is a good movie that we both wanted to see. When I read the synopsis of the movie " Date Night" in the newspaper, I asked hubby if we could watch it and we're so glad that we did.

The story revolved around a loving couple with two kids who never fails to go out on a dinner on their weekly date nights, which were getting boring and monotonous. After learning that their married best friends are getting separated, the Fosters, played by Steve Carell and Tina Fey, decided to add a little spice to their usual date night. Claire dressed up in a sexy dress while Phil took her to Manhattan's hottest restaurant. They had no reservations but decided to go anyway, and when Phil had an idea of stealing a no-show couple's reservation and pretended to be the Triplehorns, their date night became a wild and dangerous series of crazy adventures - and as they try to save their lives, along their journey they also saved their marriage.

Married couples would greatly appreciate this movie, especially those who have been together for a long time. I can't help but think about what Phil Foster's best friend told him, that he is not a husband or a partner any more, but a great roommate of his wife, the best roommate. Sometimes when two people have known each for too long, they become the roles they have to play in each other's life, forgetting their self worth or putting off their passion in other things. This movie is about having the time and space, even for a married couple, to rekindle and revive romance in a relationship.

1st movie theater experience for Joaqui

When we went to Nido Science Discovery Center in Mall of Asia a few months back, we went inside their planetarium and when Joaqui sat down comfortably and looked amazed at what he saw, I had the idea that we can try to bring him to a movie theater to watch a movie. We waited for an appropriate movie that is not too scary or would not be too loud for him as he easily gets scared of loud noises. We also planned to watched on a weekday so as there would not be too many people watching and if in case he cried or got too noisy, there wouldn't be a lot of people to bother. When hubby had his off on a Monday, we went to Trinoma and we brought Joaqui to the movies to watch How To Train Your Dragon. At first, he was really hesitant to go inside the theater, but I had told him that there are lights inside and there would just be a very large TV screen. When we sat down, he saw a lot of children inside and he was somehow reassured that there were other children watching. I think Joaqui liked the movie, well not the entire movie because he dozed off during the last 30 or 45 minutes of it : ) It was a good movie for young children like Joaqui who is familiar with dragons, and it teaches children to be brave.


I have read that a 3-year-old child can be taken into theaters for their first movie experience and I was really anticipating this moment when we would be watching a movie as a family. I was very happy that Joaqui had a pleasant first movie experience. I'm glad that we waited for him to be ready because 3 is just a number - it still depends on a child's attention span and his willingness to sit still inside a somewhat dark room with other people around. What just bothered me was the movie trailers shown before the start of the show. How To Train Your Dragon was rated as GP or general patronage, but most of the movie trailers shown were rated PG18 and there were two movie trailers that got Joaqui scared (I think it was Iron Man 2 and The Last Airbender). Next time, I think we would wait until all the movie trailers are finished before we would let Joaqui sit down so he doesn't have to see movies he isn't allowed to see yet.

fit for life

I have said it a hundred times that I want to lose weight and another year had passed and I did not shed even a single pound. I really find it difficult to motivate myself, even start with a program that I can keep up with. I have been thinking about enrolling again in a gym, going back to South Beach Diet, taking diet pills and so forth. I'm really getting frustrated, but I know I have to start now.

I believe that I can lose weight healthily by not taking any pills, and when I saw an ad by hcg, I knew right away that this could be the help I need. It is a medically supervised weight loss program that involves no surgery or starving, no outrageous exercise programs, no dangerous pills or expensive packaged meals.

I sometimes wonder how famous celebrities lose weight fast, for example, Renee Zellweger or Lindsay Lohan, and can they shed pounds easily healthily? I have even come to a point of thinking about gastric bypass, but for me, the risks outweigh the benefits of this kind of surgery. I have read that thousands of people have used this treatment program and gained benefits not only with their weight loss but also with their general health. I will definitely try this weight loss program to at least give me a boost on my road to staying fit for life.

Mommy Moments - Let's Pretend

I don't know if I'm just too busy or what, but I had to check the calendar if it was really Friday already. : P It is and it's time for this week's Mommy Moments.

At his age, Joaqui likes to play pretend or I guess he likes to imitate people around him, what he usually see that we do and even sounds that he hears. He likes to pretend as a carpenter or a crane operator. But what he likes most is pretending to be a priest. Joaqui would always want to hold a cross wherever we go, including birthday parties, so we are always ready to make a cross for him out of drinking straws. He pretends to be a priest saying mass, giving bread during the Holy Communion and blessing with Holy Water. I don't know if he really wants to be a priest someday, but I do hope that he grows up to be "mabait" like a priest.


More "Let's Pretend" at Mommy Moments.

Algebra help

I was never good in Math especially Math problems and it has always been my waterloo subject when I was studying. I always struggle on Math word problems and I remember when I was in fourth year high school, I had to be tutored on one of my Math subjects.

So I was quite surprised when I found out that one of my God children who is in K-12 is actually getting Algebra 2 help from the leading online tutoring company in the world. It has the advantage of using their service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Their tutors have graduate degrees and are certified online tutors, so whenever he has an assignment or needs assistance on how to arrive at specific Math answers, he can connect to a tutor instantly. I think this is effective for him as his mother can see great improvements in his grades and he can now solve some Algebra word problems on his own.

I wish we had this during our time when I was studying. It would surely boost my grades in Math and up to now, I certainly could use some Algebra help.

Hooray! Joaqui is potty trained!

I have had numerous attempts before to potty train Joaqui, but we were unsuccessful. Then I read an article about potty training which tells parents to also consider the readiness of a child before starting potty training. When Joaqui turned two, he had an idea of wee-wee and poo-poo, but he does not know yet when to go to the bathroom. We tried him on a potty trainer, but he does not want to use it. He began telling us that he pees in his diaper about a month ago and so I started training him on how to use the bathroom. I think he was himself ready to use the bathroom as he only had two accidents. On the second week, we did not have any accidents at all and I am so glad that I also waited for him to be ready.

I have summarized below the article I've read in toilet training children: 10 ways to prepare your child for the potty

Take your child into the bathroom with you. It's especially helpful if fathers and brothers set the example for boys, and mothers and sisters set the example for girls.

Try to help your child recognize the sensations of "being wet," "wetting now," and "about to be wet." Encourage your child to talk about these sensations -- especially "about to be..." sensations -- without pressing your child to be toilet trained.

Let your child go nude in appropriate settings to help the child " see" what he or she is doing, and to help make the mental connection between the words and what they refer to.

Changing a diaper in the bathroom will also associate the process with the place. Children over age 2 should be off the changing table for this reason.

Although much ado has been made about using the proper terminology for body parts and functions, you should use the words that come most easily to you and your child.

Help your child learn the meaning of the terms "before" and " after" by using them yourself in other contexts such as, "We'll wash the dishes after dinner."

Talk about the advantages of being trained: no more diaper rash, no more interruptions for diaper changing, the pleasure of being clean and dry.

Let your child practice lowering and raising training pants sometimes, or putting them on and taking them off.

Have a potty chair handy on which the child may sit (even with clothes on) perhaps while you are in the bathroom yourself, but only if he or she wants to.

Begin reading "potty" books to your child.