Summer isn't over I know but getting ready for the school season has already started.  Enrollment has been going on since last month and speaking of which, I haven't enrolled my kids!  And yet, I'm already excited to do back-to-school shopping!  It has been my favorite activity since I was a child myself.  I just love the smell of school supplies and new notebooks.

I've never seen this back-to-school task as taxing nor exhausting at all.  What makes it stressful is the crowd and going to one bookstore to another because there are missing items or the brand and type of item your child prefers aren't there.  Plus, if you have more than one child (like me, ehem), practicality is a consideration when shopping.

I discovered that there's one place to go back-to-school shopping to which meets my criteria: one-stop shop and practical choices: SM Stationery!
When I visited SM Stationery in SM Makati, their shelves are stocked completely with school supplies my kids would need such as notebooks, pens, pencils, pencil cases, crayons, bond papers, bags, and many more!  See, you don't need to go bookstore hopping because you'll find everything you need in one stop.

Just like grocery shopping, you save a lot when you buy anything in packs.  It's like wholesale buying.  Just like this pack of 5 writing notebooks.
 When I was looking around, I saw this awesome offer!  It's an All-In-One-School Pack which is available for Grades 1 to 6!  I think it's a great idea to pack everything a student will need, so you just grab your backpack (which comes with it!) and go!
If you need for notebooks for your children, notebook packs (spiral or sewn type) are also available for purchase at low prices compared when you buy them individually.
For the preschoolers, SM Stationery also has Creative Kits or packs from Crayola and Lil Hands.  This is one of the things I got excited about back-to-school shopping when I was a kid myself.  All these colors of crayons and new watercolor, the paint brush and the clean sheets of paper!
I am such a paper and pen kind of person and even in the event of everything digital, I still believe and still love jotting down everything!  Listing all my dreams, my to-do-things, my bills, my shopping or grocery, payables, and many more!  So this paper section to me is pure bliss!
See, who would've thought that SM Stationery at the SM Store has all these?  May it be complete back-to-school shopping or shopping for gifts, you can find something interesting at SM Stationery.

One practical tip by the way when going shopping, make sure you have a checklist of what you just need to shop for, to save time and to remain within your budget.  Because if not, with all these wonderful items at SM Stationery, you couldn't help but just put stuff in your shopping basket!  I meant that in a very good way!  Hahaha!

For more information and promo updates on SM Stationery, visit their website, ww.stationery.com.ph or follow them on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

Have an awesome back-to-school shopping!

Two long weekends had already passed, one was Holy Week and the other was the ASEAN Summit/Labor Day weekend.  And here I am, too late a hero to be posting about this just now.  So forgive me loves, but there will be more long weekends, occasions (or none), and stressful week in the full stretch of the year when you'd feel you want to have a quick getaway without going too far from the metro.  What am I talking about?  A well-deserved hotel staycation!

I've compiled a list of hotels with swimming pool in Metro Manila which our family stayed at.  My choices of hotels passed the following criteria:

• Should have a swimming pool
• Should have two (2) Queen or Double beds or One (1) King Bed
• Should have breakfast
• Should be reasonably priced
• Should be available (of course)
• Bonus if with extra mattress, with cot, with massage, with a view, etc.

So here goes my list in no particular order.

1.  B-Hotel QC - Staying in B Hotel QC was a unique experience for us.  We were fascinated by the hotel's modern, chic, minimalist, and industrial look.  Room essentials were complete.  The bed was big enough for a family with two kids, sheets and pillows were soft which ensure guests get a good night's sleep.  I almost didn't want to get up!  Pool was not very big, but there is a pool!  Our breakfast was awesome!  Cleanliness was unquestionable too which pleased me and my meticulous family.  Staff were courteous, respectable, had the initiative to offer assistance whether needed or not, serve its guests politely and sincerely, and were efficient.  Pasok sa banga the budget too especially if they have a promo.

Read my complete review here: B-Hotel QC Review
2. Best Western Plus Antel Hotel - The one-bedroom suite we booked is perfect for 2 adults and 2 kids.  The room has one (1) Queen-sized bed and a sofa bed for the kids.  YOu may request for extra pillows and blanket at no cost.  Kitchen and dining are available should you decide to cook or heat food.  Air-conditioning is good as well plus no fighting over channels between parents and kids, there are two cable televisions in the suite.  Buffet breakfast is also included in the package!  For entertainment and activities, there are three large swimming pools, a play ground, and a gym.  Spa is also available at the ground floor.  A supermarket is just across the hotel so if you need last-minute stuff for your stay, it won't be a hassle to go out.  Restaurants are abundant, there are so many to choose from.  A. Venue mall and Century City Mall are also walking distance from the hotel.  If you're bringing a car, parking is free!  With all these and more, staying at Best Western Plus Antel Hotel is worth it.  Your stay will definitely be a comfortable and a relaxing one.

Read my complete review here: Best Western Plus Antel Hotel (Serenity Suites) Review

3. Luxent Hotel QC - We were highly satisfied as Luxent Hotel was able to meet our hotel expectations.  It's not only a business hotel, but it certainly is family-friendly. The Superior Room has complete amenities and we weren't charged for anything extra we requested.  It's spacious and it's a good choice for family guests staying in.

Vestibule to welcome guests going up the rooms. :)

They boast of their "Aquatrim" Swimming Pool

The facilities and amenities are well-maintained and complete.  They have a reliable Wi-Fi, comfortable beds, soft pillows and sheets, and cable TV.  Their swimming pools are clean.  Rooms come with breakfast buffet for 2.  I appreciate their Bread Indulgence Corner at the ground floor for times I just feel like having a bread or cookies for snacks.  The staff are all friendly, accommodating, competent and genuine. Lastly, they have BACON! :)

Read my complete review HERE: Luxent Hotel QC Review

4.  Privato Hotel, Pasig - For the price that we got our weekend stay, our stay was so much worth it!  No corner in this pretty boutique hotel isn't well-kept.  For a not so big hotel, their choice of modern minimalist design and ambiance makes the hotel optically spacious.  Staff were all courteous and efficient, plus they always smile making their guests feel really welcome and almost close to home.
The hotel facilities are quite complete, they've got the essentials their guests may need.  Price is indeed reasonable and perfect for like me who loves to get the best out of life without spending too much to achieve it.  There were some misses like serving not-too-warm breakfast and the pool being too cold, but their other hits overcome the misses immensely.  Accessibility to transportation, nearby convenience store, commercial complex, and restaurants, is not a problem at all.

Read my full review HERE: Privato Hotel Pasig Review

5. The Bellevue Hotel, Alabang  I loved our hotel staycation here.  There's luxe in every corner of The Bellevue Manila hotel.  The staff especially at the Signature Club every morning, was friendly, efficient, kind and courteous.  Our room was comfortable, I never knew I could sleep so long and so soundly - truly an escape from my daily working-mom life.  SPA experience was awesome!  Food was excellent in all the restaurants we dined in (Cafe d' Asie Restaurant and Phoenix Court).  Their facilities are complete.  The swimming pool was huge and we all enjoyed our time there!
The Bellevue Hotel, Alabang Review
6.  F1 Hotel Manila, BGC, Taguig City - I could say that F1 Hotel Manila is definitely a family-friendly hotel.  The one-bedroom-suite we stayed in is spacious and comfortable.  Staying there as a guest felt like my needs were attended to.  Food?  One of the best breakfast buffets we've tried!  They have a wide selection of food all day!  There are also a total of three swimming pools which we loved lounging at in the afternoon. you definitely get your money's worth if you decide to stay here.  We'll be coming back here next month and we're all so excited!  Overall, we were highly satisfied with our family staycation.

Read my full review here: F1 Hotel Manila Review

These are just some of the hotels I already featured on the blog which I highly recommend to families who are looking for kid-friendly hotels around the metro. I'll be adding more to this list or maybe do a part 2 as our family keeps adding new staycation adventures to our memory box.

I think this post is timely since Mother's Day is coming up, why not surprise Mom and check these recommended hotels for a weekend she'll truly enjoy!

Have a great hotel staycation loves! :)

There are so many gifts I wish to receive or think of as a mom which I could write on this post for the most celebrated occasion this month - Mother's Day. But only a few that if I receive from my loved ones, will I truly appreciate and cry buckets of tears of joy for.
Whether you are a mom of one or more than 4 kids, whether you work out of home, stay at home or work from home, we all get to a point when we get so exhausted like it's the end of the world.  Aminin mo minsan you just want to abruptly stop with whatever you're doing and wish you could teleport to another country of your desire, to a beach, to a salon, to a stage or to wherever and daydream that you're doing something else.  You just want to getaway for a while.  NOT THAT you don't like what you're doing as a mom.  But motherhood gets really exhausting most of the time.  We talented moms just make it "look" easy, but seriously, we're dying inside!

Please don't get me wrong, being a mother is one of the best things that has ever happened to my life, it's just draining.  I'm just as lucky as many other moms out there that my family knows exactly how to celebrate my motherhood on my day (wrote one Mother's Day celebration HERE.)

So for your moms, if you're the daughter or the son..
For the men, if you're the husband or the partner..
For you mom (yup that's us!)...

Here's a list of gift ideas Moms will truly appreciate:

1. Love letters/cards and flowers - Kids and hubbies, please NEVER forget to write Mommy a love letter or make a DIY  Mother's Day card and make sure you insert it in the bouquet you'll be surprising her with.  I could actually suggest any material gift, but nothing beats the thoughtfulness, creativity, the effort you bring in making something out of nothing.  Mommies will cry buckets of tears when she sees something made by her kids.  Believe me, I've cried gallons and gallons of tears.  The bouquet is a bonus.  It could be a santan or any flower you picked outside, tie it together to make it pretty.  Moms love this, trust me!
2. Breakfast in bed - Moms wake up pretty early to prepare kids in school, to prepare/serve their husbands and themselves in the morning, so why not reverse the role this time.  Mother's day usually falls during school break, so kids, it's your turn to return the favor even for just a day. Dads, partners, husbands, please initiate this simple but meaningful activity.  Cook or serve her favorite breakfast.  
3. Do mommy duties for her - So you started serving her breakfast, if you're not planning anything for Mother's Day, then why not make her feel celebrated the whole day by doing her duties at least for a day. If you can't, just don't let her do anything, let her relax.  She deserves at least a day off right?
4. Massage/Spa date - Speaking of gift of relaxation, aside from not letting her do anything, give mommy a Spa GC or massage her yourself (kahit feet nga lang and head, ok na eh!) so she could finally have her tired and crying muscles be treated to a good rub.  To us tired mommas, it's one of the best feelings in the world.  FYI to those who want to massage their moms/wives themselves, we feel pain at our backs, neck, and feet!
5. Salon Day - If you've got a little budget, spend for her manicure, pedicure, foot spa, hair color or Brazilian blowout.  If you have no budget naman, just letting mommy have her day off to go to a salon is in itself a great gift.  But remember, NEVER RUSH Mommy who's on a salon time, never ask what time she's coming home because even if you don't tell, moms know you want her to come home soon and take care of household stuff.  Don't worry, moms are intelligent, they know they can't be out too long because you still rely on her heavily.  She'll be home in time.  Just let her.
6. Hotel Staycation - There are so many hotels right now which are offering Mother's Day Promo if you plan to celebrate while staycationing.  No need to go on a road trip or spend for airfare.  You can have a vacation in the metro to treat Mommy.  Just make sure you still do #1 and #3 on this list.  Let me share with you how we did this last year through THIS POST.
7. Mommy Retreat - If there's an available spiritual or mommy retreat such as what Mommy Mundo is offering: Mindful Mom Retreat, register her for that.  It need not be on Mother's Day itself, it could be some other day, just make sure you let her find herself, give her body, mind and soul a break.  She will truly appreciate this!
8. Lunch or Dinner - There are also many on-going buffet promos online (I usually go to Deal Grocer, Metrodeal or look for promos via Facebook) where prices are slashed half its original price.  If you prefer not to dine out for economical reasons, of course cooking for Mommy her favorite dishes at home (plus setting the table for her and putting the fresh flowers in a vase you gifted her with on the table too) is itself already a big treat!  Make mommy feel like a real queen on her day!

Those who know me could attest to how much I don't like buying clothes online. If ever I do, it must be from those selling clothes in free sizes or those who have physical stores where I've tried the clothes on first, which means, I already have an idea about their sizing. I have some fear of purchasing clothes online because most of the time, the clothes for sale look better on photos than in actual and worse, they don't fit well.

This changed when I tried shopping a few pieces from Kamiseta online: http://www.kamiseta.com/

And got this beautiful shopping box which contained my orders right at my doorstep.
To my millennial readers, Kamiseta is a large Filipino brand of clothing which retails fashionable casual apparel, accessories and cosmetics targeted at girls between the ages 18 and 40. The Kamiseta brand is fun, youthful and stylish.  It's been around since I was in high school a brand I love and I'm happy that it grew up with me!  And because it offers quality pieces of clothing, I'm not surprised it's still around!

Let me share with you, before I began looking for clothes I would add to my capsule wardrobe of mostly black, white, grey, navy blue, and denim, my greatest concern was HOW TO KNOW MY SIZE IN KAMISETA.  Grabe, although I know that a return policy is in place, still it's quite hassle to wait to receive my purchases, fit it, contact customer care channel for return, return the item/s, wait until the exchanged item arrives.  I don't want to go through that.

But Kamiseta didn't fail me at all!  Its size chart is LEGIT!  It's reliable and highly believable. Because honestly, I've tried the size chart guides of other online stores only to find out that mali pa rin the size of the clothes I got.  Just make sure you know your body measurements and follow the size chart.  Anyway, that made me jump for joy!


Let me share with you my #OOTD #MommyPracticalityOOTD posts on IG and on Facebook wearing my Kamiseta clothes:
Kamiseta White Skirt: W-CAMIA W (Large)
This denim skirt is perfect for weekend wears or travel like going to the mall, supermarket or even on road trips.  Like what I've shared via IG with this piece I don't have to ever worry about pulling it down even if it's short or my skirt goes up a bit because there's a built-in shorts underneath! So even if I bend to pick up thrown baby toys or change diapers in my chic skirt, that's no problem!

Surprised to see that there's shorts underneath to make it boso-proof (peeping-tom-proof)!

I love the ripped jeans details of my pristine white denim sexy summer skirt from Kamiseta

Here's a close-up shot of my beautiful Kamiseta skirt.

Don't you just love the lace details, it's very feminine. Lace reminds me of romance, of beauty, and of history too.

1. Wide and unique selection of clothes perfect For the Summer, For the Weekend and For a Date.
2. Reasonably-priced.  Each piece of clothing I got range from Php1,098.00 - Php 1,5000.00, are made of quality materials and indeed are practical shopping choices.  Why?  Because the quality and versatility of the pieces I got will last them years in my wardrobe and will never go out of fashion.  That's why I love shopping for classic designs and Kamiseta offers that to its customers.
3. Size chart is reliable.  I've stressed this point explicitly above!  I'm happy I didn't doubt Kamiseta's chart.
4. Ordering is fast and easy! Just create an account or use your Facebook account to sign in, view the collection, choose what you like (size, color, number of pieces), add to your bag, and after you've done ordering, check your cart and click the check-out button.
5. Secured payment system and dependable payment options.  You may pay via credit card, direct debit, PayPal, bank deposit or through Dragonpay Payment Gateway.
6. Beautiful Packaging upon delivery.  Delivery was done via Air21.  Free shipping by the way for purchases above Php1,000.00 and they deliver internationally pala!  Plus, I didn't worry at all if my order was received or when my order will be delivered because I got a notification of the status of my order via email.
7. It FITS WELL!  I couldn't stress how this mom bod transform into a chic, modern, and fashionable woman.  Look at my shared OOTDs of my Kamiseta clothes, project kung project!

If you're a mom of school-aged kids, then you would also agree with me that looking for a school with quality education, that fits their learning styles, that tunes in to their needs is hard.  Research and school visits are musts if you really want to give the best for them.

Personally, I am convicted that solid learning do not come from pure memorization of historical dates, scientific facts, formulas, nor complex equations.  I've memorized them when I was younger and honestly, I don't use all of them.  So I'm thinking precious time was wasted on memorizing than REALLY learning about life skills and life itself by not touching base on my curiosity and eagerness to learn using all my senses.  Indeed, numerous studies have shown that years of learning through rote memorization and repetitive instruction is one of the main reasons why people lose their spark of curiosity.  And I don't want that to happen to my children.
I want them to explore, to quench their thirst for knowledge, to equip themselves with life skills which they will actually use in real-world -- to be successful adults.  Focus on the learning and not why and how we learn it because even creative thinking can become inhibited if we put emphasis on information and formula overload.

These are the things that traditional methods of education couldn't meet anymore, although they've produced some of history's most brilliant minds, it appears that the past two decades have seen a radical shift in terms of equipping students with effective skills for real-world success.
One of Montessori de San Juan’s core objectives: Address the drawbacks of traditional schooling that often result in lethargic, poor-performing children.  This could be achieved if there is MORE to LEARNING based on the individual student's learning pace and style by avoiding to have:

• Over-scheduled students
• Too much note-taking
• Not enough attention to the actual lessons
• Over-cramming information in a short period of time
• An unreasonable amount of homework (which often goes unsupervised during the actual process of completion), and
• One-size- fits all mentality for learners. 

Gosh, I remember the time when I was still studying, my stress level was over-the-top, I thought it was the end of the world.  There were unreasonable deadlines to meet which made me focus more on finishing the project than actually getting the essence of what I'm doing.  I was graded for my compliance and not what lessons I actually pick-up.

In the Montessori de San Juan School, "Our children have such a love for learning, and a genuine excitement to go to school and practice what they are taught, that they consistently end up scoring higher than their peers in standardized tests,” Arellano pointed out.

If you are also a believer in this type of learning and still looking for a progressive school, let me share with you that Montessori de San Juan may be the school for your child because of the following reasons:

• SMALL CLASSES: There are around 150 students from grades 1 to 12, approximately 12-15 students per class. A small class will help educators easily gauge whether your child is a visual, tactile or auditory learner, and from there, this is how teachers assess their approach to the students. 
• ON LEARNING: everything is worksheets, modules, and hands-on activities related to the subject matter
• IN THE CLASSROOM SETTING: Students are grouped in wider age spans, namely 3-6, 7-9, and 10-12. This helps them form relationships and bonds with kids of different ages.
• AS STUDENTS GET OLDER: teaching method becomes semi-progressive, semi-traditional setup, adding textbooks into the mix. 
• CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES: involve 90 percent application and only 10 percent discussion, so a lot of the kids are able to see the practicality and the use of the subject matter they are learning. Hence, direct applications to what they are learning are shown.

Due to numerous success stories regarding progressively educated children, Montessori de San Juan is gaining quite a reputation as an elite school. Despite this, however, the school remains grounded in its mission to cultivate students who love learning so much, and learn so well, that they will be able to learn whatever needs to be learned in the future. From all indications, it is fulfilling this mission remarkably well.  To learn more about Montessori de San Juan, contact 725-6306 or 239-1102, or visit www.montessoridesanjuan.com.ph