Mommy Practicality

Tuesday, February 21, 2017

2017 SUMMER WORKSHOPS AND SPORTS CLINICS FOR KIDS IN METRO MANILA

Friday, February 10, 2017

Collect All 8 McDonald's SING Happy Meal Toys

Tuesday, February 07, 2017

6 Reasons Why Bloggers Stop Blogging (And What To Do)

Hello... It's me. I was wondering if after all these years.... (admit it you sang to Adele's song!) you're still there and supporting my blog.

It has been quiet here lately. This post has been on my draft since January 10. It's the first time in many years of blogging that I haven't finished a blog post for more than three weeks. Actually, I haven't been active either on my social media accounts as much as I used to.

Photo Source

WHY?

I also asked myself that question. What has happened to me? Why even if I have a long list of blog topics, products and services for feature and review, inspirational and helpful tips in mind, I can't seem to start typing my thoughts whenever I click New Post button? I start with a high energy but when I see the white empty space, my mind gets lost in that space and I am left staring at the screen. The next thing I knew, I just click the close button. And posts in draft get piled up.

But I told myself, I have to brave that empty space, fill it with my thoughts and just type away. I have to otherwise, I wouldn't get my groove back. This hiatus has to stop.

It's not just me. I'm sure many other bloggers out there at one point in their lives almost gave up on blogging or had a hard time making a comeback or just felt they don't want to be too present in the online world anymore.

The reasons for this could be anywhere between "I can't find time." or "I don't feel like it." Let me share with you some and also what to do to address them (warning, some reasons may be lame, but if you're a blogger and you do have the same reason as mine, could you cheer me up and comment that you also feel these too?!)

HOLIDAY HANGOVER - Sure, it's already February and it's the love month already and here I am still reminiscing about new year and even CNY celebrations hence, I can't make this hangover a valid reason for not updating the blog. But give me the benefit of the doubt, maybe my hangover from the holidays filed its overtime or indefinite break until the blogging mojo comes back. Having a hangover makes a person quite lethargic about things which makes going back a hard start.

What To Do: Wake up and accept that the holiday is waaaaaaay over. Face the new day, new week, new month, and new year! This reality should be plastered on your face. Remind yourself by looking at the calendar, looking at your planner, and looking at your blog and the last time you posted. These should remind you to get up and write something.

CAN'T FIND TIME - Honestly, since baby #3 came beautifully in our lives, I rarely find time for myself. The haircut, manicure and pedicure I've long wanted to happen for months, just took place last weekend (and my nail polish already chipped by the way as of writing!) Days became busier as he grows older month by month. I have two older kids who I prepare for school early in the morning and of course a husband I need to make coffee and eat breakfast with everyday before going to work. Yes, I go to an 8-5 job in Makati by the way. The break times I used to spend drafting a post are now occupied with my pumping schedule. By the time I come home, I have to attend to my husband, a teenager, a preschooler, and a baby. If I still have little time for myself, I just choose to spend it breathing in and out deeply to relieve stress. I don't even watch TV anymore. So these activities, among other things, occupy my day. So I think I can legitimately say I really can't find time.

What To Do: But still, if I really want to blog, I will and should find time! That's me talking to myself. Well yeah, that's one motivation to get up and write. If you can make time for other activities, then you can fit blogging into your busy schedule. We don't need to publish posts everyday anyway. Start by content planning (which I already did), plot it on your calendar, draft the post, edit as necessary, then publish. You and I just have to keep on doing these steps repeatedly until it becomes habitual.

NO INSPIRATION - Do you rely on inspirations to be able to create a personal or event a sponsored content for your blog? Do you feel less compelled to write a quality post when you feel down or when your offline life is not doing great? If your answer to this question is a yes, then we're on the same page. Sometimes, I tend to delay finishing a post (or posts) when there's something going on in my life that is least likely to be shared online. I may be an active blogger, but what I share online doesn't necessarily reflect my life offline. Personally, when I'm not feeling great, my blog postings are affected.

What To Do: Get inspiration elsewhere. It's true what's been said that it's all in the mind. If the heart is not well, then let your mind work double time. Let deadlines be an inspiration. Stick to the WHYs of your blog. Make your readers your motivation to keep on creating content. Feed them with the info you'll be sharing through your posts and be their source of inspiration instead. Always think that your blog brings value to other people to make you continue blogging.

OVERWHELMED - When you are pressured to write or produce a post whether a blog or vlog because you honor commitments, there are deadlines to meet or you just want to tick them off your to-blog-list, sometimes you tend to feel too overwhelmed which leaves you point blank. The tasks or topics to write keeps on adding to the point of haunting you already to get the work done. The more it piles up, the more you're stuck up and just couldn't think because you're too overwhelmed. When this happens, sometimes you don't know which task to take on first that you end up not doing anything at all.

What To Do: Being visual at this time gives you help more than you think you do. Make a blog calendar, plot on the dates of the current month the topics or features you need to write about at a schedule that's workable for you. It may be overwhelming yes, but once you cross out one published post after the other, it's such a relief. Keep on doing it until it becomes regular and a habit and sooner or later, you won't feel too overwhelmed anymore. The key here is to just START with one post. When you start with that post, concentrate on that alone. Don't think of the many others following it, because you'd just panic. Just start with one. Then another... then another.

COMPETITION - I haven't been too long in the blogging scene compared to those I look up to like Martine de Luna of makeitblissful.com or Frances Sales of topazhorizon.com, but I've been around long enough to witness the sprout of new and aggressive bloggers in the recent years who have the energy, time, and even technical skills to thrive and move ahead fast in the blogging scene. Personally speaking, I felt insecure and discouraged for a while, which I think is normal should you also feel this way. I felt this way because I don't have enough time as much as other bloggers do because I work full time and my hands are tied with the new baby and new household schedule. Because I work, I also cannot attend all the events I'm invited to even if I really want to make myself available for it. I used to sulk and be envious. The competition is getting tougher. I don't compete to begin with just to set things clear. But I could feel other bloggers competing with each other and although indirectly with me, sometimes I tend to leave the race and again, get stuck up. I also compare myself as a blogger, my blog's reach or influence, and even sometimes the manner how I write.

What To Do: If you also feel the competition eating you up, which is just normal and even healthy, here's what we could do. Instead of thinking of others, focus on your own blog. Go back to when you started especially on the WHY you started. Revisit your blog's core. What is it that inspired you to put up your blog anyway, get that back. As it is with fashion, be comfortable with your own blog's offerings. Write for you and your readers and not to compete. Personally, every posts I publish are still read by more than 500 people, so this just means I definitely matter to my audience. Sometimes it's really all in the mind and the worst critic is ourselves.

LAZINESS - This is not an excuse. But we all feel lazy at one point in our blogging careers. And it's okay, of course as long as it's temporary.

What To Do: Just don't get used to it too much that you don't blog at all or even think of which topics to write or publish even if the queue's already long. You've got to shake off that laziness and think that your readers are waiting for you to feed their social media timelines with useful information, bemome their daily reading inspirations, and satisfy their need for life hacks that would help them get through their every day. Your readers are precious and they count on you, they count on us.

So, now that I've FINALLY finished this post, it's time for me to get up, stand up, and blog the year away! I just hope I was able to reach out to you as well. You a blogger like me, whose blog is currently on hiatus or hibernating or on pause. Let's empower and bring out the best of each other! Happy Blogging!

Monday, January 30, 2017

Good Vibes And Funny Miss Universe 2016 Posts Of Netizens

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

Husband-Wife 2017 Financial and Family Planning

As moms, we tend to do our planning at the beginning of the year all by ourselves, right? We jot down our daily or monthly things to accomplish for the household, for the kids, for the whole family. We sometimes leave out our husbands because we think it’s not their thing to do the planning activity. I’m guilty about this, and probably I may the only one among you reading this post, but good news! I put an end to this solo activity last January 2, before going back to work.

I involved my husband finally! But I conditioned him a week or 2 before our planning date night. Let me tell you as early as now before spilling the juicy details, that it was an awesome experience!
How I planned the planning date night.

After receiving our bonuses, spending for Christmas gifts shopping, and listing down other expenses and 2017 receivables, I told him that it would be a good idea to list down everything together and plan our expenses for the year. He would usually tell me, “Kaya mo na yan, you know my income, my expenses. Love you!” Ok naman ang rejection kasi may I love you sa dulo. But still, I had to find a way to make him cooperate, so I reminded him that Damien will turn 1 year old and Wes, 7 years old, milestones which we have to celebrate. Celebration means a lot to him and that became a bait. So ayun, he asked, “Sige, game, kelan?!”

2017 FAMILY PLANNING
Eto na! Wait, let me clarify, we’re not planning for another baby anytime soon (waah! I’m not ready!) Our planning date night was intended to meet the following objectives:

Financial:

To check our Financial Health
To plan how to make more money, save and invest

Marriage and Family:

To make efforts to spice up marriage
To be intentional in parenting our children
To improve in areas of spiritual, health, and fitness

Let me share with you how we started. First, order pizza and beer. As most of our loko-loko friends say “Pag may alak, may balak!” Yeah, may balak kami mag-planning talaga for 2017 and celebrate a milestone in our marriage because we’ve both matured to commit to our planning date night.

Second order of business, do the math. The goal is to know if we’re living within our means or not and what miracle is happening that we’ve managed to survive our 2016 expenses. Let me hare with you how to check your financial health. The result that we all want is to know that we’re not deficit in terms of income vs. spending. Thankfully, we’re okay.

FIRST STEP: LIST DOWN INCOME AND EXPENSES

Fixed Income less salary deductions (from SSS/Pag-Ibig/Philhealth/Withholding Tax)
Income from bonuses or sidelines
Fixed Monthly Expenses
Discretionary Expenses
Major Expenses

SECOND STEP: COMPUTE
Next step is to identify your combined monthly cash flow and see if you're financially in the pink of health or if you're deficit. Of course we want to see a healthy result and not otherwise.

Subtract your combined fixed monthly expenses and discretionary expenses from your fixed income. What's the result? Do you still have balance? Or is it negative? If it's negative and you're wondering where you got the money to pay off your major expenses (school tuition fees, summer activity fees, travel expense, etc), take a look at your combined income from sidelines and bonuses. Did they cover all these expenses?

STEP THREE: IDENTIFY IF YOU'RE LIVING WITHIN YOUR MEANS OR NOT
It's a good activity to see if you're living within your means, if you're spending less than you earn or otherwise, if you're spending too much on discretionary expenses, if you still have room for savings and investments, if you could still need to look for sidelines (should you happen to rely entirely on your fixed incomes) or if you're doing okay. The activity will reveal a lot about your spending and saving characteristics and how you could improve in this area by working together.

After computing, we high-fived each other for working together as a good tandem in keeping the family financially stable. We realized that where we spent too much and that we could have actually saved more, which we committed to do this year.

We also listed down our passions and talked about how we could monetize these (I'll talk about this on another post soon). We listed our dreams to put up a business, diversifying investments and other extra money plans. Our goal is to save and invest as much as we can, so it's really important to spend less than we earn.

PLANS FOR OURSELVES & THE FAMILY
Moving from the income and expense computation, the next steps in our date night were exciting. We talked about the spiritual aspect of our family, marriage/relationship, sex and date nights, parenting our kids, dream travel destinations, health and fitness goals, and individual goals.

In this digital age, I still believe in the classic and effective practice of writing it down and making things happen. Also to ensure that the date night planning didn't just happen like an event, we also wrote down our action plans, which we're both seriously committed to achieve

A WEEK AFTER...
After knowing the expense areas where we could save (food and gas), I've been bringing lunch and snacks baon to work. We also made some adjustments to our routes so we could also save on gas. We even started our daily expense sheet so we could monitor our expenses closely and know exactly where our hard-earned money goes to. So far, it's doing us both really good because not only we save money on food, we eat more healthily because it's "lutong bahay" and we avoid food wastes at home.

On marriage and family matters, we've been more intentional to each other and in pareting our kids. Quite surprisingly, he already asked me out on another date, watch a musical with him! Kinilig ako slight! :) So far so good and I hope we achieve all the goals we listed in the different areas of our lives. It makes me extremely happy.

I highly recommend a husband-wife tandem on financial and family planning. Two heads are better than one definitely.

~How about you? How do you do your new year planning? Do you do it alone or have been doing it with your husband? How's the experience? Could you share any tips below?~

Thursday, January 05, 2017

A Slowdown 2016 And My Important Takeaways

No one really knows how a year would turn out for him unless he’s Nostradamus or Master Hanz Cua right? Let’s take me for example. Even if I masterfully planned at the start of the year, some major circumstances happened along the way which blew me surprisingly. These occurrences resulted to my slowdown 2016 which affected my career and blog life but benefited my roles as a wife and a mother.

I thought I got it going right coming from a blast in 2015, a great year for me - marriage proposal, bought a brand new car, big contracted endorsements, beautiful rustic wedding, and getting pregnant to my third. But nah! 2016 was the opposite of the previous year. It slowed me down. But it's still worth remembering because it's the year our dear Damien was born.

Let me say that the results were both good and bad. My 2016 started with a reorganization in the company. I felt insecure with my job because I was moved to another group. You know the feeling of not knowing where to go or what to do next or if you still have a job after a few weeks or months? That exact feeling. Resignation was not an option for the four months preggy me. But my work life had to go on. Fortunately, I was still working on a project which I gladly launched before a major pregnancy risk dawned on me.

Come March, during a regular check-up, my OB-Gyn told me I need to take a bed rest or else risk the chance of having a pre-mature labor or childbirth due to open cervix. That scared me and my husband and I had no choice but to follow her orders. I was lucky to have understanding boss who allowed me to just work from home so I wouldn’t have to use up my vacation leaves or sick leaves. In the middle of my bed-resting days, two more office movements occurred and I’m blessed to be placed in a group with lady bosses who were considerate and understanding of my situation. I returned their kindness by successfully launching projects. The latter movement was self-initiated. I applied for an opening and got the post even when I’m on bed rest and about to take my supposed 60-day maternity leave.

I thought I was giving birth through NSD, but another twist surprised me and my husband. My cervix was dilated by 10 cm for almost two hours to help baby get out, but he was facing up so my OB-Gyn performed an emergency CS. It was a first for me. Both Dandre and Wes were delivered through NSD (9.2 and 7.8 lbs respectively). But Damien, at 8.4lbs, came out to this world with a BANG! We weren’t financially prepared for this, so we used our family emergency fund.

Giving birth to Damien was last year’s beautiful highlight. I’ll forever be thankful to God for giving me such a wonderful gift! But guess what, I wasn’t able to bring him home right away, he stayed in the hospital for another day and that’s a sad news. He had jitters which were signs of health abnormality. He was released after his lab test results were cleared.

I breastfed my baby exclusively forthe very first time and my milk was abundant. I fed him anytime and anywhere and I was rocking it! But when he turned two months, he was unfortunately given a bad batch of milk. I took full responsibility of that because I didn’t throw it away nor gave instructions to the caretaker. So baby was confined and had his first experience of IV at a very tender age. We had no choice because he was clearly dehydrated. We went home immediately after series of tests cleared him of further bacterial stomach infections. It taught me a lot about proper storage of breast milk and a lot of other moms who read my blog post about it also learned from my experience.

Now going back to work as an exclusive breastfeeding mom was challenging and heartbreaking. But towards the end of the year, what luck I had, we had to fire our yaya of almost three years immediately. I had been yayaless for a month. I had to take a few leaves and also worked from home. I did mommy and household errands gleefully. I was tired but happy and fulfilled that it came to a point when I contemplated and was 75% decided on quitting my job and look for a home-based job. I got my husband's full support already and I was sending out my applications too. Until I found a new yaya (which I should be happy about but felt sad that I won't be staying at home that much anymore). I went back to my regular routine (which didn't appeal to me anymore at that time because of the adjustments I had to make here and there) and talked to my lady boss who gave me words of wisdom. Oh! And by the way, sometime November, my husband and I had a major fight which really took a toll on me. But I chose to process it, work it out and be happy. We were okay after a month. Forgiveness on both ends was the key. And lots of prayers too of course.

The series of misfortunes in my life subsided in December (thank heavens!) In fact, it started to pick up a bit. I welcomed new friends in my life, bonuses came, blog earnings also poured, gifts from brands and PRs also made me feel it was indeed start of the happy holidays. The year may not had ended with a bang for me, but it ended quietly, peacefully, and lovingly in the presence of only those dear to me.

Here are my 2016 takeaways:

On Career/Blog

Family and Health Still Comes First. However high your targets, your goals and your KRAs are, if your family and heath situation calls for a rest from your work, you really have to stop and priority
Think of the pros and cons in every career decisions.
Work At Home Moms rock! I was able to experience it only a month (and believe me I enjoyed playing that temporary role a lot!) but I know how hard it is to manage the household, care for the kids and devote time to work. It's a struggle to juggle.
Stay focused. Just keep your project goals in tact and deliver your best.
Motivation comes from within. Most of the time when there are circumstances that are quite depressing, in my case the company reorganization, it's easy to be vulnerable and feel demotivated. I learned that it's always mind over matter. Don't reply your motivation from others.

On Health and Pregnancy

Extra care should be given when you're pregnant and when you're above 35. You may think you're physically as strong as when you had your last child. Every pregnancy is unique. In this area, sometimes mind over matter do not work. It's your reproductive system over mind and over matter.
Trust your doctor and orders should be followed!
Always have an emergency fund, you'll never know when to use it. In my case, we used it during my emergency CS.

On Breastfeeding

Every mom could breastfeed, if you really want to. Breastfeeding is a choice.
Milk output is different in every breasts.
Support from the husband, family and friends is important to make the breastfeeding journey successful.
Breastfeeding is a serious commitment.
Working moms could exclusively breastfeed.
A breastfeeding mom could have her hair treated, could eat anything and drink anything (yes even beer!)
The more baby latches or the more mommy pumps, the more milk her brain tells her breasts to produce.
Mommies should strictly follow proper storage for breast milk. You don't want your baby to experience what my baby did.
Read, join support groups, attend workshops, and seek advice from experts to empower you as a breastfeeding mom.
Breast milk is really the BEST FOR BABIES.

On Marriage

Constant prayer for your husband is a must. Even if you think you're the one who's in a delicate situation and needs caring for, so does your husband. He needs prayers for him to be able to perform well at work so he may provide for the family. Pray that he's safe from harm and that he'll be always in his optimal health condition.
Learn to listen.
Know when to talk and when to be just silent.
Make time for date nights.
Learn how to always forgive.
It's better to lose your pride than to lose the one you love.

On Parenting

You can never have enough love for any of your children because honestly it's ALWAYS overflowing.
Teenagers need space and privacy, respect them.
Develop and open communication with your children as early as they can already carry a conversation.
Learn your children's language, interests, and what's in so you could relate to them more.
Be an intentional parent and teach by example.
There's no greater gift to your children than to let them know and love God.

I could actually go on and on but we all know that life is a continuous learning process. My 2016 may not be one of the best years of my life (but I'm glad our family had DAMIEN because he's the BEST that happened to us this year!) but I'm glad that I was able to spend more than half of the year at home with my children, ang sarap ng feeling!

Now, the first week of 2017 has been good so far. Before going back to work, my husband and I did some financial and family planning exercise and it's the first time we did it together! I highly recommend couples to do goal setting and planing at the start of the year.

There goes my honest-to-goodness year in review. How about you? Care to share about the year that was? HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!

Friday, December 30, 2016

How Much My Kids Like Alaska Powdered Milk

Honestly, I am not a milk drinker. I had a heartbreaking love story with milk when I was younger, like around 4 or 5 years old. This history became the main reason why I push my own kids to drink milk today, everyday. It's a mission I've been succeeding so far with my preschooler and my teenager.

I used to hear my mom say, "Drink your milk now to keep you healthy and strong." As a kid, I used to roll my eyes and my mom would force me to finish a glass. It's not that I didn't believe her, but taste for me was a big thing. I simply didn't like the milk she used to give me because it wasn't delicious. Had it tasted good, I would still be drinking milk today. I now know that milk is essential in maintaining overall good health for both kids and adult because it's packed with Calcium (to keep bones and teeth strong) and Vitamin D (which help the body absorb Vitamin C for immunity), that's why I've been creative in making my children drink milk.

Buti na lang, my children are milk lovers since they were babies. My preschooler Wes, is quite tall for his age and is a very active boy. He likes pretend play, running, riding the bicycle and doing some karate or ninja moves like his favorite turtle characters. He needs strong bones for all these activities to keep him up on his feet all the time. That's why milk is important for him to take every day. He loves milk and drinks a glass two to three times a day. He can't sleep without drinking milk.

My teenager Dandre, is 13 years old and is a basketball varsity player in school. Being a basketball player, it's important that his skills in the sport should be above-average and we all know that having towering height is an advantage. He trains everyday after school thus, having strong body and bones is important. To achieve these, he sleeps at least 8 hours a night, eats healthily, and the most important of all, drinks milk every morning and at night before bedtime.

Taste of milk is important for my boys. If they like it, they'll drink it. If they don't, naku, sorry, I have to look for another brand. I hit the jackpot when they started drinking Alaska Powdered Milk. We did a short video to show much much they like Alaska:

Wow! My boys are milk monsters aren't they? They truly love the taste of the creamy and yummy Alaska Powdered Milk! Here's what other kids have to say about Alaska Powdered Milk.

Let’s all make it a habit for our children to drink milk every day! Make sure it’s delicious so kids will enjoy all the benefits of drinking milk. For my kids, Alaska Powdered Milk is their “Super Duper Sarap” choice!