Speaking to fellow moms at the Belle De Jour's #BellaMommies event was one of my July's highlights.  Admittedly, I was nervous about this particular speaking engagement.  But when I first got an email about the topic that I will be talking about, I didn't have any second thoughts.  I readily said YES.  Why?  I got the topic which was closest to my heart, the topic which could actually tell my whole life story, and the topic which I could passionately talk about to moms who may also be experiencing things I am experiencing as a MULTI-TASKER working mom.
As I prepared my slides (which I did like a college student would do - cramming style), I already had the outline and points of elaboration written all over my head from the time I got BDJ's email.  As I've said it was a topic I could talk about to anyone the whole day.  The challenge to me was putting all my thoughts in slides and present it at a limited time.  I was thinking, yes, I may have a lot of things to share but will the audience listen to me?  Will they believe what I will be talking about.  Well, siguro naman.

Come July 22, I was quite early for my call time.  I parked and stayed in the car for a while to take deep breaths and motivate myself.  I didn't know what to expect or how the audience will receive my talk, all I just wanted to do was share.  Questions like, "Do I look okay?"  I guess yes/ "Does my hair look as if I've taken care of three fighting toddlers?"  Unfortunately, yes to that too!/ "Am I at all prepared for it?" Definitely! --- occupied my mind that afternoon.
But when the program started and my name was called, ay, ibang usapan na.  I just imagined that I was going to a singing gig, para mas madali.  Anyway, to cut the long story short, ay ang saya! :)

4 REASONS WHY BELLE DE JOUR'S #BELLAMOMMIES EVENT WAS A BLAST:

1. You #BellaMommies are the best!  I was able to engage many moms in the audience during my talk.  I guess ang dami talagang nakaka-relate sa pagka-loka-loka ng mga multi-tasking moms like us.
2.  So many prizes and giveaways from sponsors -  Grabe, the moms took home so many prizes and giveaways from the generous sponsors.  If you weren't there, you surely missed a lot! Nobody went home without a bag of goodies on hand.
3.  Valuable learning from speakers Aahm, I didn't only mean myself ha (buhat-bangko portion).  I stayed until the whole event was done because I also wanted to learn from other speakers!  Ginger Arboleda was there to talk about Momprenurship.
Shari Macainag talked about Fashion and Beauty for moms.
Ian Banzon talked about health and fitness.

To sum up the talks:
   - Plan your day and learn the art of Time Management especially if you're a multi-tasking mom like me.
   - Prioritize your family.
   - Pursue your passion and dreams and learn how to monetize them.
   - Moms have a right to Self-Care and that's what salons, spas, make-up, shopping, coffee time, meet ups with friends, and also dressing up well come into play
   - Moms should put more importance to health and fitness. We all want to live longer and see our children marry the love of their lives and have children of their own. We owe it to ourselves to take care of our healths so we could do so much more.

4. I met some of my blog readers. If there's one thing that I took more seriously by heart, it's the pleasure and joy of meeting my blog followers. When blogging times get tough, I go back to this empowering memory. It reminds me of my blog purpose and the Whys of my blog. Meeting my readers motivates me, energizes me, and brings me back on track. You have no idea how your feedback, comments, and kind words mean so much to me. So thank you so much!

Nice meeting all of you!
Thank you so much Belle De Jour for inviting me to be one of your speakers in your #BellaMommies event. It was a pleasure to share my experiences and be connected with the audience for an afternoon full of learning, food, giveaways, raffle prizes, and meeting people.

For future BDJ events, promos, planner updates, and many more, visit Belle De Jour's website https://ilovebdj.com, follow them on Facebook, https://facebook.com/bdjbuzz on Instagram, https://instagram.com/bdjbuzz/ and Twitter, https://twitter.com/bdjbuzz.

I love parties.  I love both organizing and attending it.  And if it happens to be the party of any of my children, I make sure I pour my heart out to it, through effort and time, so that it may be made more memorable and special.

Hello there mommies!  Sooooo the birthday party weekend is already done and over with and here's what to expect from me... Of course I'll be sharing a series of  our son's 1st-year-birthday-related blog posts beginning today because I'm elated about the turn out of our little one's milestone celebration.
First on the series is Damien's pre-birthday photo shoot.  We did the shoot two weeks before the event.

THE VENUE: Ayala Triangle Garden
Since we planned for a Jungle Safari themed party, every element should be well-coordinated. For the pre-birthday photo shoot session, I thought of a spacious grassy venue.  My choices were the Ayala Triangles Garden and Circuit Makati.  We opted for the former because the family friendly grassy area was nearby restaurants where we could dine in first so that Damien will be full and well-rested. There are also trees to give shade, wala nun sa other venue we had in mind.  We did the photo shoot on a holiday Monday, so the garden wasn't populated at that time compared to normal days or weekends.  We didn't pay for any fees nor got a permit in advance.  But I called the management to inquire if we could do a shoot for personal use and they said yes.  If you plan to use the garden as your venue for pre-nup or commercial purposes, that's the time they charge for some fees and when you need to get a permit from the admin.  So yes, first step which was to pick the venue, check.

PREPARATIONS: Zoologist Costume and Props
Second, preparing the star for his shoot.  Costume muna, instead of him being one of the cute animals in the Safari, Damien and the rest of the family played as the Zoologist.  So top of mind outfit would be khaki collared top with pockets, khaki shorts, white inner shirt, a hat (which he didn't like to wear so props na lang), binoculars (which I didn't have enough time to buy), and boots.
For the props, I used our animal print fleece blanket as latag, 2 pieces of vintage brown luggage (which my mom had and pinamana sa akin) and animal stuffed toys, hunter's/zoologist hat, and DIY name banner (used jute string, recycled a used brown envelope, bond paper cut in triangles and handwritten Damien's name) and DIY name plate to cover his polo's embroidered brand patch.
THE PHOTOGRAPHER: R & L PHOTOGRAPHY
When I was searching for a supplier which could give photo and video services at a friendly value.  I posted my requirement in a Party Planning group on Facebook, where you could post what you're looking for and suppliers comment or PM you their packages and the services they offer.

To be honest, yes I was looking for a package that will fit my budget, but I won't bite naman basta basta to the cheapest offer that I could get.  My tip is, set a budget in mind.  Get all the referrals or suppliers' packages, filter or shortlist only those that meet your budget requirement or yung mahal lang ng konting konti.  Then make sure you ask each of the shortlisted supplier what services they offer for the price that you have.  Next, make sure you ask for sample output of photos or videos.  Do their photo or video shots look professionally done or amateurish?  Given the package price, do the sample outputs look tinipid talaga or value for money?  These little things matter a lot.  When choosing, it shouldn't always be the cheapest.  Choose what's value for money and one whose sample works obviously show shots coming form an artist's eye, a professional, and one made with love.  Makikita naman eh.

So, the photo and video supplier I got passed all my selection checklist.  We got Royele and Arriane of R & L Prints | Make-Up | Photography.

If there is one thing that I know about motherhood, it's that it's the BUSIEST and MOST draining (physically, mentally, and emotionally) job in the whole wide universe!

If you're a mom, I'm sure you would 101% agree with what I just said.  That's why we NEED all the help we could get from our husbands, the rest of our tribe and even technology to be able to raise the children well, provide what they need and be able to be able to cherish special moments with them.

On the technology aspect, if we use it correctly it could really make motherhood easier.  One example apart from smart phones, internet, and Facebook, I just love what my Canon PIXMA E Series Printer could do for me and my kids.  Every morning kasi (the busiest time for me) I make an extra effort in preparing baon for my grade school and I take photos of it every day.  I also love taking photos when we travel or attend a school activity.  The photos I take every day I share them almost instantly on social media.  But like old times, I want to be able to print them and actually have a tangible copy of memorable times I had with my children.

With the new Canon PIXMA E Series printer, this is possible!  Not only that, as a full-time working mom who also has other passion projects (I love DIY-ing our parties hence printing artworks is a must; I blog and need to scan and copy documents every now and then too) having a reliable printer saves a lot of time and effort so I could give more of these to my family.
I am happy to witness the launch of the Canon PIXMA E Series Printers last June 30.  Here were the event highlights (read til the end to know what I like about my new Canon PIXMA printer!)

So, I'm excited to share with you what I love about the Canon PIXMA MG3070s:

1. It's an ALL-IN-ONE Printer which can PRINT, COPY, and SCAN! - I love its multitasking functionality (because it's so like me) because I don't have to go out and find a photocopier machine to reproduce pages of some books for my kids or documents for work and my blog.  I could do all that with my new Canon PIXMA printer!
2. It has a built-in WiFi!  - Oh diba, perfect family printer because si Daddy, Mommy, and Kuya who may be ding work/homework and need to print or scan remotely all at the same time, PWEDE!  It really ideal for sharing with the whole family.
3. Mobile Device Printing - If this is not the best part, then what is?  Imagine, I could just transfer photos taken from my phone to the Canon PIXMA MG3070s and I could print them right away!  It can print photos from Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, even documents in PDF from Google Drive or Dropbox (naku madalas ako niyan because of my blog kaya super happy ako!) because of its PIXMA Cloud Link application which makes this remote printing possible.  It supports different OS such as Android, iOS, Windows 10 Mobile and Windows RT.  Life-saver!  Now I can do old school photograph collection without looking old school, thanks to the technology of Canon PIXMA E Series printers!
4. Lower Priced Ink Cartridges - Tayong mga practical mommies of course want to save as much as possible with our expenses.  I'm happy to know that our new family printer's ink cartridges will not be a pain in our mommy budget.  If you have a student at home or are into passion projects or you need to reproduce documents, we use the printer very often.  With low priced ink cartridges, okay lang to print away whenever we need to.

Winner diba?  Now here are the other Canon PIXMA E Series printers which also has awesome features each.

• The Canon PIXMA E410 is perfect for moms who help put together her children’s numerous drafts of artworks, sketches and projects with its ability to print up to 400 black and white documents, and 180 colored pages. 
• The design savvy student will enjoy the PIXMA E470’s built-in Wi-Fi features that can help print from anywhere to meet that deadline when paired with the Google Cloud Print*1 service. 
• Teens in the family can immortalize their best photos on Facebook through the PIXMA MG3070s with its PIXMA Cloud Link application for remote printing of Facebook albums and online contents with mobile devices. 
• While the compact PIXMA E480 model is best suited for aspiring entrepreneurs in the family with its on-the-go faxing and scanning features.

Galing right?  Wow, if we use technology wisely, it will actually help bring the families closer to each other and not set them apart.  For me, that's what my Canon PIXMA printer does for us.  I'm a certified #PIXMom!

So what does your printer do for you and your family?  Do share mommies!  Happy bonding!  Happy Printing!

What does it take for moms and their children to create happy memories together?  I would answer that in two important words, LOVE and TIME.

One cannot create a happy memory without LOVE or an absence of TIME.  Each of these elements should co-exist.  I am a mom of three and even though I know I've been doing pretty well in being present for my kids, still I feel like I could do more.  I dream of a home filled with hugs, kisses, laughter, prayers, dream-building, pleasant routines or joyful surprises to nourish our hearts, minds, and souls.  And of course, I give them yummy food and drink to nourish the body.  Yes, it has to be YUMMY!

My kids and I created a bedtime routine by giving them a glass of milk, chatting over both silly and serious things, reading books, and playing.  On some weekends, either we go out as a family or do arts and crafts at home.  We may think these are trivial things, but the children, every bonding time with their parents help them grow confident, build good self-esteem, and collect happy memories.

Oh and you must already know by now that I have three boys (if not yet, then there, now you know.) and they're really big kids.  I guess it has a lot to do with giving in to their favorite yummy milk drink whenever they want it.  I give them ALASKA Powdered Milk.

I want to share with you now an arts and crafts bonding project which you could do as well with your kids.  My grade-schooler Wes is so fond of coloring and drawing, so I am doing this activity with him.  With the use of drawing and coloring materials, we're going to make a personalized tumbler.

Here are the things you'll need and step by step procedure:

1. Let your child choose what drink or treat he wants to take before doing the activity.  This will influence them to have a good mood.  Remember, giving them what they want makes them happy.  My son likes to have a glass of ALASKA Powdered Milk, because he says it's YUMMY and it makes him warm, like Mommy's hugs.

2. Bring out art materials you and your child could work on to create something beautiful.

3. Let your child draw and color how he sees his Mommy (you'll be surprised to see how beautiful you are in his eyes!)
4. You draw and color one fond memory you have of your children too.
5. Insert the cutout paper/board that will fit a tumbler which could be personalized (tumblers could be bought online.)

6. DONE!

Here's a video of how we did this project together.  Watch ‘til the end to see the SURPRISE!!!!!
I'm so kilig with the output of the project!  We both could use the tumblers whenever we take our bedtime drink, Alaska Powdered Milk for him and Alaska Chocolate Milk drink for me.  And while drinking from these special tumblers, we will always be reminded of our happy TIMEs together, of the LOVE we show each other.  And what put a dent on that special project we did, was the transformation of his loving Mommy artwork into a piece of jewelry made by Bubba Doodles which I will truly treasure.
I cried buckets of tears when I received the box of jewelry. He wondered why and asked if he made me sad.  I said "No anak, of course not.  You made mommy extremely joyful and that's what I also want you and your brothers to feel every time we're together."
He just hugged me tightly, kissed me on my cheek and asked, "Mommy, where's my milk please?"  Hahaha, gatas lang masaya na siya!  Basta ALASKA, happy and contented.  Ako rin of course because he enjoys milk a lot!  And one way of showing my love as a mom is giving the kids proper nutrition they need so that when they grow up, they will grow strong, healthy, and happy!

You see, our house may be not grand, but it's a large HOME filled with happy and yummy memories or what we call “Milk Story” that will last a lifetime.

So Mommy, what is your “Milk Story”?

Hello momshies, mudrabelles, muther, maders, mamangs, mommies or mamitas! :)

Dahil sa super ka-busyhan ng inyong lola, I almost forgot that Mommy Practicality turned 5 years last July 1, 2017!  WOW!  I mean, wait whut, 5 years?!  For me, that's a milestone that is worth celebrating.

I knew back then that I really want to blog and start sharing my experiences on being a practical mom (like most moms are diba?) and parang be a voice that speaks for the average mommy in the Philippines.  Yung practical and medyo mabudget or mabilang talaga pero hindi naman tipid or makunat.  I feel that this "gift" of practicality is what pushed me to start blogging about it.  Of course I got this talent from the Lola Practicality, my mom (Hello mommy in heaven!).

Anyway, wow, I still can't believe that I've come this far I mean in terms of years of writing, blog redesigns, and sharing through my life's ups and downs, yayaless life phases, from pregnancy to breastfeeding journey and beyond, raising three childhood stages at the same time (a teen, a young child, and an infant).  Kasama ko kayo here in my blog and I am thankful for this digital avenue, a home for my heart and thoughts which I share to people I know and don't know.

Waah!  I have so many things I want to say, basta, I am overwhelmed and grateful for the five years of blogging.  It has blessed me far more than I can imagine it would.  I am happy it's still alive and I actually have regular readers or social media followers na totoo.  Hahaha!  I know wala namang fake, but I mean, sometimes I'm really wondering if there's anyone reading my posts.  Though my analytics say there are, but I want to engage my readers more.  I want to get to know my readers more and actually see in real time who I am talking to or writing for. :)

I am also happy that my blog is a trusted partner of some brands I've collaborated with.  Super thank you to all the brands who chose to work with me to be able to reach out to you and share the good news!  Through the years, I've been an ambassador (of beauty and good will - charot lang!) of these amazing brands:

• Samsung KidsTime
• Sun Cellular (Year 1 & 2)
• Wilkins Distilled Drinking Water
• Del Monte Pineapple
• Propan TLC
• RiteMED for Kids, and a lot more...

That's why, a crazy idea came up one time to do an FB Live on my Facebook Page and just talk through a Q&A about anything under the sun.  Which I was so glad I made that crazy decision.  Sa totoo lang, SHY kasi ako kahit alam ko most of you hindi naniniwala.  I kind of have some fears or insecurities about going live (I know perform in a band and do TVCs, but seriously I'm shy).  So with the surprising result of the FB Live, I'm doing it every month and will streamline the topics para mas may structure tayo.

Now, to celebrate or make fun of myself (I like making fun of myself and laughing at myself with you...) I launched #ChallengeMommyPracticality as the blog turned 5 years last July 1.  I also found out that reaching out to my readers through a video whether live or not is something where I could see more instant results whether you like the content or what I offer or not.

So here's the video I posted my on FB Page and IG:

Mommy Practicality turns 5 today! 😍😍😍 Hurray! I want to celebrate it through a FUN MOMMY CHALLENGE giveaway. Mechanics in this video momshies. Thank you for all your support to this blog. Grabe! 5 years naa! So comment away and you might get a chance to win a coffee date plus a gift pack from me. Consolation prizes await Mommy Challenge idea generators too! #ChallengeMommyPracticality #MommyPracticalityTurns5 P.S. Pagbigyan ang stuttering ko, it, a busy and yayaless weekend. Almost forgot nga it's my blogversary! 😂😂😂

A post shared by Louise Fandiño-Santos (@mommypracticality) on Jul 1, 2017 at 12:54am PDT

So again, in text, here's the full mechanics:

1. Comment what Mommy challenge you want me to do.
2. I'll choose the most entertaining/funny/interesting na doable challenge.
3. Winner will have a coffee date with me and win a goody bag too.
4. I'll release a Vlog of me doing the winning challenge.
5. Consolation prizes shall be given to the other interesting challenges as well.

Raising three boys is no joke.  Boys are more active, more playful, rougher and tougher to handle.  Given that, they all need nutritious foods that would help boost their energies and immunity to sickness.  Let’s take for example my eldest child who is a basketball varsity.  He trains every day after school.  I can just imagine how tired and drained he could be coming home every night right after their training.  To be able to keep up and not be sickly, he really needs to eat properly.  As a mom, it’s my duty to make sure that he and his brothers take in nutritious food and avoid junk that will not help make them healthy at all.

That means giving my kids meat, fruits and vegetables.  Since they need a lot of energy for their daily activities, I’ve always known that what their bodies need are foods rich in potassium and vitamin C.  Surprisingly, the staple vegetable present in our household, has all the nutrition they need: US Potatoes!  Honestly, I didn’t know that my BFF potatoes are that nutritious!  I’m glad it’s my and my children's favorite.

Source

My kids and I love potatoes in different forms like fries, mashed potatoes, hash browns, baked potatoes, buttered potatoes, and potato croquettes.  I also use potatoes in our household dishes with soup, with corned beef, in omelets, in Menudo, ground pork medley, and many more!  US Potatoes are enjoyable, easy to eat and delicious. The best part is, knowing that something this delicious could be super nutritious.  

Nutritional Benefits of Potatoes

• Potassium – Did you know that it has even more potassium content than banana?  This would help my basketball varsity child keep up with the muscle strengthening activities during his daily trainings.  It will also give energy boost to him and my playful grade-schooler!  Potatoes could fuel both the body and the brain because it’s also a good supply of water and ions in the body.  The concentration is highest in the skin and just beneath it. So, eating the potato with its skin is always beneficial.  They also contain calcium, iron, and phosphorus.   Gladly we eat clean potato skin of baked or steamed potatoes.
• Vitamin C - Potatoes are known for the large amounts of Vitamin C present in them. Typically, 100 gm will contain about 17 mg of Vitamin C.  This is great for boosting immunity against illnesses!
• Vitamin A, B and P – All these vitamins help the brain function well.  When you have kids in school, you need all these brain foods right?
• Brain Food - Proper functioning of the brain depends largely on the glucose level, oxygen supply, various components of the vitamin-B complex and certain hormones, amino acids and fatty acids like omega-3. Potatoes cater to almost all the needs mentioned above. 
• Carbohydrates – Potatoes are high in carbohydrates, and thereby maintain good levels of glucose in the blood. This prevents the brain from letting fatigue creep in and it keeps your cognitive activity and performance high. 
• Other vitamins and minerals- Potatoes contain iron which is what the blood and brain needs.  Since it’s a brain food, it also contains phosphorus, zinc, and the B complex vitamins. They also help in the maintenance of bone strength and structure, especially for kids at earlier stages.  My baby boy who’s turning one next week also loves mashed potatoes and steamed potatoes with rice!

Were you also surprised to know that the power potatoes are that nutritious? 

Now let me share with you a simple US Potato Recipe which you and your kids will surely love!  I’m sharing our homemade mashed potato recipe: 

Mashed Potato Recipe:

1. Peel and cut 8 medium-sized US Potatoes.  
2. Put the potatoes in a large pan, add enough water and bring to a boil for 15-20 mins.  
3. Drain water and put on low fire.  
4. Mash the potatoes.
5. Add 2 tablespoons of butter, salt, pepper, and ¼ cup milk.  Mix all ingredients.  
6. Make sure there are no lumps and the mashed potato is creamy.
7. Serve with a smile.

Oh, I must add this, that not only US Potatoes are good for kids, they are also beneficial to us too because it potatoes can lessen the risk of heart ailments and can aid in living a healthier eating lifestyle.  Also if you’re living an active lifestyle or an athletic person, the nutritional values of US Potatoes could help boost athletic performance!