It's still summer and if you want to have a short weekend getaway with family or friends to escape the city and the heat, then going to a place with cooler temperature or going somewhere to swim are your best options.  But what if you want both and somewhere not too far?  Then I have a recommendation for you!  Try River Mountain Breeze Resort in Tagaytay City.

Going there will take you about 1.5 to 2 hours away from Manila, less if you live in the south.  I could say it's a hidden paradise because it's not located along the main roads of Tagaytay and there isn't even one signage to direct you going there. You just have to easily rely on landmarks and seek help from Waze as well.

Why do I call it a paradise?  Let the photos tell you why.

Our room with queen-sized bed, mosquito net, and stained Capiz windows.

When preparing for your much-awaited wedding, one of the important elements is your wedding invitation.  Many are going digital already but most couples (including us) still want the traditional printed wedding invitations to be sent out to guests.

For our intimate DIY Rustic Wedding, we both had a digital event invite conveniently done via Facebook and a traditional printed invitation.  It all started with the wedding concept.  Think garden, flowers, rustic, DIY projects, and intimate.  I wanted the concept to appear and be felt on the invitations itself.  We wanted to have a hand-lettered and hand-painted invitation.  So I asked help from a very talented colleague, Myra Lim, who is passionate in doing these things.

We started with the Save The Date design which of course had the date of our wedding and our hashtag.  I posted this on our wedding's Facebook event invite:

Summer time is TULI (Circumcision) time in the Philippines especially for boys aged between 11 to 14 years old.  My son is 12 years old and is an incoming high school student this school year.  When I consulted his pediatrician some years ago about the best time to have him circumcised, he said as long as the boy is ready in all these aspects: physically, psychologically, mentally, and emotionally.  I took his advice by heart and my son and I agreed that this summer's "his" best time to have it done.  We're glad he wants it done now not because of peer pressure or "pang-aasar"of his classmates and friends, but because he's really ready.

With all the horrible stories told to him about his uncles about circumcision to scare him off, he asked if it's really painful and if there's an option to go painless.  Luckily, he lives in this era when non-surgical or laser procedure is already made available for a painless (and bloodless) circumcision.  I tried searching online but the list of clinics isn't enough, so I called a few hospitals and clinics near our place of residence to ask about their packages and I want to share this list to you dear moms of boys.

LIST OF HOSPITALS' & CLINICS' CIRCUMCISION RATES/PACKAGES IN METRO MANILA
In my quest for the best and most practical circumcision packages, I found out that there are THREE (3) ways to get it done!  I didn't include the traditional pukpok anymore of course, that would be horrifying to the boys!  The procedures are: 1) Surgical; 2) Laser (our preferred one); and 3) Cautery.  So I will divide my list below based on the procedures mentioned.

I have two boys and having said that, the toys you would frequently see in the house are cars, board games, and blocks.  We only have one brand of toy car, and it's Hot Wheels.

I remember how as a younger child, my first-born's choice of reward for good boy points would be a piece or two of Hot Wheels.  Every good boy point (as simple as saying po/opo, please or thank you) written on his journal was equivalent to P1.00.  So for 100 good boy points, we bought him a Hot Wheels car of his choice.  With this, we were able to collect more than 100 Hot Wheels cars which he passed on to his little brother Wes.  Now, Wes enjoys the Hot Wheels cars and sets his brother preserved carefully for him.

Recently, we received a Speedtropolis Set from Hot Wheels in relation to their on-going campaign: Hot Wheels: Don't Just Make it Awesome, Make it Epic!  As fans of Hot Wheels we fully support this campaign.

Don't we moms just want to give the best of everything to our children?  There's no doubt about it. This goes for their nutrition, education, toys, books, clothes, and also choice of skincare products that would make their skin smooth, smell fresh without the effects of harmful chemicals.  As this kind of mom, a practical and segurista mom, I continuously look for products in the market that would be best for them.

I'd like to share my newest discovery for my child's skincare needs: The BELO BABY product line which we were happy to receive the other day.  It is meticulously crafted for the most delicate skin.  100% certified natural ingredients and 0% harmful ingredients.  Now that has already won me over.  We've heard about the effects of harmful ingredients to our children and to the environment too right?  So I said to myself, I've got to try this!

The complete Belo Baby product line: Belo Baby Bar Soap, Belo Baby Hair and Body Wash, Belo Baby Face and Body Lotion, and Belo Baby Colognes.

Great day mommies!  Not so long ago, I shared a List of 3D Ultrasound Clinics in Metro Manila (at least near where I live) which offer 3D Congenital Anomaly Scan (CAS).  I researched and called these clinics one by one to ask if they offer a package and if not, the individual prices for the CAS and the 3D Ultrasound.

In my search of getting the most practical (spell S-U-L-I-T, add Super right before it pa!) package, hubby and I decided to have it done at MDCare OB-GYN Ultrasound Clinic, located at E. Rodriguez Sr., Ave., QC (just right in front of St. Luke's Medical Center.)
Why?  Because:
1) It offers a package for the tests I need (CAS and Pelvic Ultrasound in 3D);
2) It's the least expensive rate compared to other clinics (Only Php 3,000.00 for both);
3) Its package already saves 3D photos in a CD, with a promise of AT LEAST 10 photos; and
4) It's accessible by transportation and if you bring a car, parking is available.

Here's a quick tour of their clean, dim-lighted (which gave its guests a relaxing and comfortable ambiance), and less crowded clinic:

There were just a few of us when I went there on a weekend at around 2 pm.

Welcome to the blog's new look loves! :)


At the start of the year, one of my blog goals is to redesign my digital home.  I've been using a lot of hot pinks in my previous blog designs because it spoke of my personality of being a strong woman, a sort of aggressive and always rushed mom.

But as I grow with my blog, my preferences, important life events, and even outlook have been simpler, more peaceful, and happier.  I started to appreciate slower and simpler living, away from clutters and extra baggage.  I started not to feel too comfortable with the overpowering strong pink in my life and blog.  I see the state of my mind and heart more in the hues of White, Navy Blue and Gold.  My clothing also reflects this change of heart and soul.  It just simply transcends and naturally, the blog has to change for this as well.

I take the health of my kids seriously.  That's why as I've been sharing a long time ago on the blog, I make sure I give them proper nutrition to keep them free from diseases.  Proper nutrition means giving them balanced diet by incorporating fruits and vegetables in their meals.  I'm lucky my boys are not picky eaters.

Bawal kasi magkasakit talaga, lalo na it's already their summer vacation!  School season may be out, but this doesn't mean they get to stay at home doing nothing.  I keep them busy by enrolling them in summer activities which they will truly enjoy.  But if they get sick like having colds or cough or allergies, they miss a lot of opportunities.  We sometimes think that because it's summer and the weather is hot, the less likely they could catch cough and colds.  Naku, mali.  When the temperature rises, it brings with it a variety of diseases and exposes our kids all the more.  I can't let these diseases stop my kids from enjoying the sunny season.

My healthy kids are not allowed to get sick especially during summer.  :)

Before we finally decided that we'll have our wedding in a garden in Antipolo, we thought at first we were sure about having a beach wedding in Batangas, and then it changed to a garden wedding in Tagaytay.  I know, we were so undecided seven months before our wedding.  But believe me there's a good reason behind this indecisiveness.

During our wedding venue search which included, online research, email or call coordination, and actual venue ocular trips, the main deciding factor was if it will answer YES to this question "Will it fit our wedding budget?"  It was a NO to our first preference for a beach wedding and another NO to our second option to have a Tagaytay garden wedding.  But we still want a feeling of out-of-town-ish kind of wedding.  We thought Antipolo was a perfect venue for that.

To help soon-to-be-weds out there, who are considering Antipolo as their garden venue, you may conveniently refer to this list of Antipolo garden venues we considered or checked out:

L' Aquinum Garden
Charlemagne Street, Kingsville Executive Village,  Marcos Highway, Antipolo, Rizal
Contact Person: Dan Napa 09277497879 or Meg Tuazon @ 09173167517
Email: LAgardenevents@gmail.com.
Check their Facebook page and their garden rates, photos, catering partners, and updated schedule here: www.antipoloeventvenues.weebly.com

I put this first on my list because this is where we had our Intimate Rustic Themed Garden Wedding.  What I liked about this venue is that you book the whole garden AND an option to get the open tiled space or closed and air-conditioned tent for your reception.  There's also a small air-conditioned room inside the open space which you could use for storage or make-up retouches or for putting little kids to sleep.  It's not too far from Metro Manila, it's easy to locate as well.  It's about 15-30 mins away from Eastwood (where my pre-wedding preps took place).  There's an enclosed parking space for the guests and a separate entrance at the back of the garden for the suppliers.  The package comes with one (1) Free day for pre-nup photography session if you wish. Another bonus is, their garden rate includes free use of their sound system.  The garden is perfect for an intimate affair, it's not too big and not too small.  We were lucky that during our booking, they had a promo which saved us Php5,000.00.  The whole garden plus your option for the reception venue (open area or air-conditioned tent) cost Php 25,000.00.