The kids and I were in for a treat last Sunday when we had a Sweet Sunday Brunch at Spectrum in Fairmont Makati, featuring their sweetest theme: A Candy Wonderland!

These giant Haribo bears greeted dining guests upon entry to Spectrum

I am happy to be part of the debut of the Physiogel Daily Moisture Therapy line and powerful #FreeInMySkin Movement last week at the Rizal Ballroom of Makati Shangri-La Hotel.

Hello loves! How was the long weekend for you?  Ours were quite full, add to that the scheduled days off of our household helper.  I didn't want her to go off for an two nights, but it was her birthday week too.  So even if it was going to be a busy weekend (due to Macky's birthday activities) I allowed her, she deserved a birthday break too.  Anyways, this post is dedicated to the love of my life and I want to share how different his celebration was.

My son and I were in for a superb concert treat when we saw Ms. Regine Velasquez, Asia’s Songbird, performed live in one of PLDT HOME’s 5-mall concert series, dubbed as the Regine Series Mall Tour, at Glorietta last weekend.

June is the official end of Summer vacation and the official start of rainy season.  With this, I feel the need to purchase rainy season essentials for my kids to keep them warm and dry.  By keeping them protected, I can be assured that they could also prevent common colds and also cough.  Definitely, the swimsuits and shorts need to be put away or kept for a while until the next summer vacation.

Wrote about my thoughts on motherhood, parenting, pausing and mom wars while sipping coffee.

Sometimes I wonder, am I doing it correctly or where have I gone wrong?  In the more than a decade being a mom to boys, I find myself examining my parenting style if I indeed paved a road to bringing up responsible little men or groomed them incorrectly?

Ahh... parenting or motherhood, is such a hard task which was assigned to us from the moment of the inception of our children in our wombs, whether ready or not.  If the blessing is given to you, you have to fulfill the mother role to your offspring immediately.

When I was a first time mom to my elder child, I didn’t have any idea on caring for another human being and bringing him up to be the fine young man I’ve envisioned him to be.  But so as when I became a mom the second time around to my little one, the experience was totally different.  The digital landscape was so vast too, that bringing up the second one was a lot easier, so I thought.  The two boys are alike and different in more ways than one.

I’m not saying that I am breezing through parenting like a real pro or an expert.  I certainly am not an expert even if I’ve had two already.  I do have struggles in keeping myself sane and composed when it comes to disciplining them.  I also lose control at times.  I sometimes lose it and feel frustrated too.  There were times when I beat myself to guilt when I feel that I’m failing.

I’m just like you.  I feel exactly just how you do.  I get tired everyday.  I feel bad when expectations are not met.  I feel horrible when my kids make the same mistakes over and over again even if I’ve eternally reminded them (especially the older one).  I also wish to take a break (a long one) to leave them to whoever is available to look after them.

I know how you feel, I feel that too.

Want to know what I do to combat these crazy thoughts or to dismiss these insane feelings?  I don’t leave, I don’t shout, I don’t lose it in front of them nor in front of hubby.  I PAUSE.

I pause to think and decide well.  I pause to examine myself if the words which came out of my mouth were helpful, healthy and constructive OR discouraging, harmful, hurtful and destructive.  I pause to give them a break too.  I pause to give myself and my sons, quiet and reflective time to assess everything.

Pausing helps to prevent saying things we don’t really mean and yet we’ve pierced the hearts of our children with hurtful things we already said.

Pausing helps in making both parties, the parent and the child/ren, realize the mistakes done and by doing so, make things happen to correct them.

Most importantly, I pause to PRAY.  I pray that I may fulfill my duty as my children’s mother.  I pray that I will have more patience.  I pray that I will be able to keep up with my children’s activities as they grow older.  I pray that I'd be consistent in the parenting and disciplining styles I use on them.  I pray that I will always be conscious in setting a good example so I may teach them more effectively.  I pray for a bigger and more forgiving heart, so that I may truly give them my unconditional love no matter what may they may turn out to be.

So being a mother is one hell of a tough job.  Being a mother, whether you breastfeed or not, stay at/work from home or not, is a role which drains you physically, mentally, emotionally, and psychologically, and we don’t need another mother pinning us down just because we are not the type of mother that they are.  That’s the last thing we would ever need.

Why not, let’s just support each other and pray for each other: That we’ll be able to rear our children to the best of our abilities and capabilities; That we’ll be able to bring up good children;  That we’ll have enough strength each day to do our chores at home or at work and at the same time keep an eye on our children;  That we and our children stay healthy and safe all the time; and lastly, that we’ll not go crazy while going through good or tough parenting times.

Hello loves!  As my blog turns three years old, I would like to celebrate this milestone by giving away some prizes from my blog sponsors which I am very grateful for.  Basically, the giveaway is just an icing to the cake and I hope you also see it that way.

Hurray!!! This is my first post since my blog turned three years old!  So Happy Blogversary to me!  Looking back to the time I was conceptualizing my blog’s name when I decided it’s time to take blogging seriously, whole-heartedly, and passionately, I thought of a name that would best describe my personality, my lifestyle, and the choices I make each day which I would most likely write about.  Hence, I came up with MOMMY PRACTICALITY.  First, I am a mom of two and I would forever delightfully write about my mom-ventures with my children.  Second, if lifestyle is concerned, I have always been and will always uphold PRACTICALITY.  For me, being practical in my choices whether life decisions, food, clothes, and other purchases, is the better choice.  Why?  Because I get the best value for my money!  Being practical, as what I have always been saying, is not pagtitipid nor compromising comfort and quality just to get something cheaper.  Practicality is getting the best value from what you paid for or even better is getting MORE for what you actually paid for.  I know that I always #ChooseBetter when I am practical.  Just like these practical choices I made:

CAR:
We bought a brand new one last March.  Among the many choices in the market, we chose this unit.  Why?  Because it satisfied our objectives such as: 1) It should be big enough to call a family car. 2) It should be efficient in fuel consumption.  3) Its parts should be readily available and not too expensive should we need to have it repaired or changed.  And lastly, 4) It should be within our budget but performs well.  With the given family budget, which of course we saved for, people said we could already have bought Innova.  But, for that price, hwe could only buy the very basic model and in manual transmission and with higher gas consumption.  So with Avanza 1.3L A/T mid-range model, we definitely chose better!

Most practical and best value car option for our family!  I #ChooseBetter with this purchase.

TRAVEL:
On my birthday, a few years ago, I chose to book ahead of time to get the best airfare price going to Singapore!  It also helped that I planned ahead because, I definitely saved a lot, like more than 50% of regular airfare.  Imagine, an All-In Roundtrip Airfare to SG for only Php3,800.00!!!  Yan ang practical diba?  I even commuted to cross to Malaysia for one night!  Total cost for my SG-Malaysia trip which includes transportation, meals, shopping and miscellaneous expenses, was P15,900.00!

Spent only Php 3,800.00 for a round trip ticket to Singapore to visit my brother!

CLOTHES/ACCESSORIES:
I love shopping during SALE season!  That’s true!  Imagine, I get the same quality of clothes for half or more than half its price!  I also make sure I choose classic designs and colors, because classic pieces always last longer in the closet, para sulit talaga!  

Most of the time, I #ChooseBetter  by buying clothes on sale.

 I also admit my obsession for watches.  Yan lang ang luho ko loves!  But again, I only buy watches when it’s on SALE!   For example, this TW Steel Canteen watch is originally USD500  But I only bought it on sale for only USD184!  Super win my purchase!

Even my love for watches is a value for money choice!  I buy watches on sale too!

BEAUTY:
I tell you, moms should have me-time and totally not feel guilty about it!  Having a me-time doesn't have to be expensive nor it has to always be outside of the house.  Like for instance, nice hair color.  Instead of going to the salon to have the stylist color my hair, I DIY!  I bought a hair coloring kit (of course it was on SALE too!) and colored my hair myself!  It looks like it was salon-treated and I got the same results but for more than half the price!  Imagine, my hair coloring kit only cost me Php500!  If I had it treated in the salon, it would've cost me P1500.00 or more!  Value for money indeed!

Spent only Php500 for my DIY hair color vs. Salon haircoloring costing P1000 and up!  I #ChooseBetter Me-time Beauty time!

POSTPAID PLAN:
What I look for in my mobile service provider is getting the best value for what I pay for.  That’s why I always want to Choose Better, and there can only be one perfect choice for my and Macky as well.  For me, only Sun Postpaid could give us so much more than what we paid for.  Imagine, with Sun Postpaid 450, we get Unli Calls to Sun (perfect for me and Macky!), Unli Texts to Sun (unli-sweet messages to each other!), 250 Texts to Other Networks and 20 Hours of Data which I would need for checking and updating all my social networking sites!

If you know better, #ChooseBetter with Sun Plan 450!

Because I know better, I #ChooseBetter!  Alam niyo, these days, people admire other people for being wiser by choosing to be practical.  It’s about being real and getting the best value for your money’s worth.   Just like Sun’s new celebrity endorser, Drew Arellano, who’s confident, optimistic, practical, picks the better choice among the rest, we #ChooseBetter, we choose Sun!  For more details, visit, http://suncellular.com.ph/choosebetter http://suncellular.com.ph/choosebetter

I've been on Pinterest for more than three (3) years already.  I discovered it through a friend who's a social media guru in our company.  From the moment I signed in, I.FELL.IN.LOVE instantly!

I got hooked to it so much so, that sometimes, I would spend hours on Pinterest just looking at and pinning photos that inspire me.  I love the feeling of being inspired.  It's like nothing is going to go wrong with what I do after I finish Pinterest-ing.  That's the effect of Pinterest on me.  Endless feeling of elation like it took me to another world.  I'm sorry if I sound exagerrated right now, but this is my Pinterest experience.

For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about, let me introduce Pinterest to you.  Pinterest is a Visual bookmarking tool that helps you discover and save creative ideas on your boards.  In fact you could also upload or pin your own photos on your Pinterest boards, depending on the endless categories you could think of.  Anything that inspires you, moves you, affects you, makes you beautiful, or educates you, PIN IT Pinas! :)

I use Pinterest to get ideas and pegs for DIY projects and upcoming life events.  My most favorite board, which I could spend the whole day pinning ideas and beautiful photos, is the Wedding 
Inspirations Board.

Follow Mommy Practicality 's board Wedding Inspirations on Pinterest.

It’s back-to-school season for my older child and a whole new school experience for my little one!   I started purchasing their school needs for a good two weeks prior to their schools' class opening.  Shopping is not as easy as just buying the school supplies listed, but what makes it difficult is deciding which type or brand do you buy.  Why?  Because as a mom, I prioritize my children's safety at all times.

Let me share with you some of the items in our back-to-school shopping bag: