17 WEIRD Things I do as a MOTHER!

Ever since I had my boys my days have become pleasantly chaotic and surprisingly unpredictable. The past five years I have done weird things I never would have done before. Because of this I now realize I have truly becomea MOTHER! Read on...

1.Veegee  and I “pretend play” with the boys and we let loose and just be plain silly with them. This can be a great stress reliever, just being kids with our kids! Just make sure nobody sees you! :)  

Silly.. but very happy times spent with the boys! :)

2. When they have diaper rash I make sure to air out their skin and watch over them while they sleep without their diaper. I'd rub Calmoseptine on the affected area and turn on an extra fan aimed at their butts. This works for us and always heal most of their rashes over night! 

3. My husband and I always enjoy hearing the boys fart! Yes another simple pleasure that we cherish! Since they know we will laugh they now laugh with us! 

4. I can cut my sons fingernails and toenails in the dark while they sleep. With the use of my trusty led light and favorite kid's nail cutter. I can expertly cut and trim the nails of my boys in three to five minutes. It’s a new found talent!

My LED flashlight and favorite reliable nail cutter for kids! Very easy to use!! :)

5. I smell their heads, napes and armpits before they take a bath. They each have distinct scents only a mother could appreciate! :)

6. I watch them sleep. This is one of my simple joys in life!

7. I sometimes check if they are “really” breathing! SIDS ( Sudden Infant Death Syndrome )  freaked me out when I gave birth and it still haunts me now that the boys are bigger.

Sometimes they sleep too soundly that I need to make sure they are breathing. Paranoid.. I KNOW!!

8. I clean their ears, nose and teeth when they are in deep sleep! Yes I am an expert at this too! To make a child open his mouth while sleeping you just need to gently rub his jaw.

9. I give them “SPA BATHS” at least once a week. These are long baths where I clean every nook and cranny of their tiny bodies! This is the time when I check if they have insect bites, bruises and scratches. I thoroughly shampoo their hair and use conditioner after. A vain mom equals vain kids!!

Taken after one of our "SPA BATHS" they look sleepy!! :)

HOW I SIMPLIFIED MY LIFE

Sometimes life can be very overwhelming! As a wife, mother and a business owner I have to deal with a lot of things all at the same time.Over the years I've gathered a few tricks and tips I'd like to share with you, these are simple ways on how I feel I simplified my life.

 A simple life has a different meaning and a different value for every person. For me a simple life is all about getting rid of the many useless things I do so I can spend more time with the people I love and do the things I cherish the most. Here it goes:

1. I had a towel rack installed inside our shower cubicle. This made fresh and dry towels available for anyone taking a bath. I no longer had to deal with a messy wet bathroom floor! Every time we stepped out of the shower we are already at least halfway dry.

A towel rack installed inside  our shower cubicle made my life so much simpler! :)

2. Invest in a fireproof vault or safe and have it installed by someone you trust. All important documents and valuables are kept inside the safe at all times. Make sure the vault is anchored or mounted to either concrete or wood floors and walls. Never let anyone know the combination. This gives me peace of mind when I am away from home. Really valuable items are still better off kept in the bank.

Having your own vault inside your home will give you peace of mind! Mount it on a concrete wall and never share the combination! :)

3. For home cooked meals we sometimes use the turbo broiler, pressure cooker and electric grill. This saves time and gives us a chance to try different dishes instead of just always cooking from the stove.

Excuse our tiny spring chicken hehe!! But really the turbo broiler, electric grill and pressure cooker made meal planning simpler for me!

4. Ask your household help to maintain a rolling grocery list and put it somewhere everybody can see. Ask them to write down whatever it is they need from the grocery. I bring this list with me when I am at the supermarket and it helps me know what I need to buy first. This list cuts my shopping time in half and helps me know which items we still have on hand.

Our TO BUY: list is always posted at the door of our refrigerator!

5. Backup your phone directory and save all important pictures and videos in one hard drive. If ever you lose your camera or phone at least you know you have a copy of all the important files, pictures and videos. This will save you a lot of heartache especially if the baby pictures of your kids are involved.

This external hard drive contains all our important files and memories!! :)

6. ONLINE BANKING!! This helped me save a lot of time and effort! Imagine having to go to the bank just to check if a buyer already paid or not. Online banking made things so much simpler for me. I can pay our bills, transfer money and pay for our credit card statement anytime online.

Online banking made life so much simpler for me as a mother and a business owner! I can check each transaction made online anytime, anywhere!

7. De-clutter at least twice a year. We may not notice it but we accumulate a lot of things over the years. If we don't learn to let go, keeping a lot of things we don't need can be very overwhelming! Weigh your options: you can donate; have a garage sale, or simply give away some of your things to people who really need them.

Bromance in Action!

Yes, bromance is very much alive in our household! A few days ago I was deleting pictures on my cell and I came across these pictures of Miguel and Jaime being sweet to each other. These pictures made me smile and I realized it's great that they have each other. As a mother I hope for Miguel to always be the Kuya that Jaime can depend on. For Jaime to be the little brother who will standby and always be there for his Kuya too.

I've witnessed so many sibling fall-outs, where squabbles seem to last a lifetime and brothers and sisters fall farther apart because of different issues and misunderstandings.We are continually surrounded by hatred and violence everyday. Nowadays the value of life seem to be underestimated. Because of this I always pray and hope that my sons will grow up knowing the importance of love, kindness and family. That blood will always be thicker than water! For them to know and understand that we will all stick together through the good and bad times. 

My single wish as the mother of these two adorable boys is for them to love each other this way forever! 

Miguel adores his brother! Yes they do fight just like any other kids but it is during these unguarded moments that I can truly sense their love for each other as brothers!

Kuya can be very sweet when he wants to be!

BROMANCE in ACTION! :)

Goodbye Wedge Sneakers!

Do you know the feeling of wanting something so much but then you postpone buying it for so long, you just lose interest?  This is exactly how I feel about WEDGE SNEAKERS! It's been months but I am still fascinated by them and whenever I see pictures of ladies wearing them on the web I still want to get a pair!

I just feel these shoes are so great to look at if they are worn by other ladies but they just seem too much for me. Every time I try on a pair I always end up not buying them. Is it because I'm in my thirties or is it because I rarely wear kicks?  It seems that most of the women wearing these sneakers have super long and slim legs! I'm afraid if I wear them I will look like an elf!

Nonetheless, do checkout the pictures below and see how cool these Wedge Sneakers can be!!

Due to the hidden wedge, these sneakers will make your legs look a little longer and leaner than if you were wearing flat shoes. They look so comfy too!

Super stylish!!

They can make simple outfits look so COOL!

50 REASONS WHY I LOVE MY HUSBAND :)

I've written so much about my sons on my blog, I realized I haven't written much about the person who gave them to me. My husband Veegee!

Veegee and I have known each other for 19 years! I met him during our freshman year in college. He seemed like the cocky guy from Ateneo and I didn't want anything to do with him at first. But before I knew it he was friends with my friends, offering to bring all of us home and asking if we wanted to go anywhere after school. We had a very long and eventful courtship that eventually led to a happy marriage. Maybe someday I'll write about our love story here. 

The reasons I've listed below are just simple things he does for me and the family that make us all realize we are lucky to have him! 

50 REASONS WHY I LOVE MY HUSBAND VEEGEE:

1. He loves being a Father and he really makes an effort to take care of the boys. When Yaya is already sleeping he is the designated "pwet" washer! 
2. Since we've been together I've never had to peel my shrimps and crabs he does this for me every time no matter where we are.
3. He provides for all our needs and wants, he always puts my wants and needs above his own.
4. He is loyal, honest and trustworthy and he knows the repercussion of his actions. I've never doubted his faithfulness to me and our marriage and not once did he ever give me a reason to doubt him.
5. He tries his best to help me out in everything I want to do and pursue, it was him who really gave me the courage to push through with TINY TOTS . Even if at first I didn't have an idea of what it is I was doing. He is my personal cheer leader, he has faith in me and in what I can achieve.
6. He has a great sense of humor and he can always make me laugh.
7. He understands my moods and know the right things to say when I am down.
8. He knows exactly what I'm thinking even if I don't say a word, we can also communicate just by looking at each other.
9.  He believes in me and accepts me for who I am and I've never felt he compared me to anyone else.
10. He Believes in the power of prayer and he has strong faith in God.
11. He takes part in all our family activities  and accepts my whole family the way they are.
12.  His love for me hasn't changed, he is an amazing lover and he can be very sweet and romantic when he wants to be.
13.  He still takes me out on dates.
14.  He values family above all else, he would often say that our kids mean the world to him.

Beauty Products I Won't Repurchase!

I love beauty products! I am always willing to try something new and I am always hoping to discover something that I can use over and over and still love. In my eagerness to find products that perform and work well for me, I've stumbled upon those that truly failed and did not do anything for me. The products I will feature in this post are products I bought, tried and did not love. This is only based on my personal experience. I might have gotten an old stock or maybe something went wrong with how I used the product so please no judgments. :)

So here it goes, the beauty products I will NEVER REPURCHASE and REGRET BUYING are:

ST. IVES MAKE-UP REMOVER and CLEANSER and ST. IVES APRICOT CLEANSER- The make-up remover simply did not work! It smelled like rotten plastic and did not remove my make-up at all. It felt heavy, thick and I did not feel  clean and fresh after I use it. The Apricot cleanser was terrible too, it has soft beads that did not exfoliate my skin in any way and again the product smelled weird and it left a thick film on top of my skin. I don't understand what went wrong with St. Ives and these products as I've been using their Apricot Scrub for over 15 years and I totally love it.

Celeteque Anti-Wrinkle Ultra Hydrating Cleansing Oil- This works well if you plan to use it just to remove eye make-up, but it is not so great used on the entire face. Also not great used as an all night leave on moisturizer which they suggest. When I tried this I woke up with a very oily face, the product just sat on top of my face and was not absorbed at all.

Etude House Color My Brows- This was simply terrible! I was only able to use it for around 15 times and it dried up! I was hoping to find a dupe for my MAC Girl Boy Brow Set and this is definitely not it! It's not long-wearing and it made my brows look fake and stiff! Never again....

Skin Doctors EYETUCK Anti-bag technology- This I bought on a whim even if it wasn't cheap, and I truly truly regret purchasing it. I was interested in the scientific claims presented by the manufacturers and it failed me big time! I did not see any difference in my eye area at all even if I used it exactly as they suggested. I don't even have"major" eye bags!! I was hoping it could help with the puffiness of my eyes but it absolutely made no difference. This product is a total waste. 

Yaya Horror Stories, Woes and TRIUMPHS!

So here it is that dreaded post about Yayas and the never ending hunt to find the perfect ONE! Almost all mom-owned blogs has at least one of this, if not a lot of Yaya related posts in their blogs.

Veegee and I have been very lucky to find great Yayas for Miguel and Jaime. But this does not mean we’ve been spared from hiring the worst ones too! I don’t want to dwell on those who failed us but I just want to share that we too have seen them all! We had a Yaya that never spoke a word, we had one that left in the middle of the night, we had another one that asked Yaya Flor what she thinks will happen if she covers the face of the baby with a pillow while he sleeps!! This made me freak out by the way and I never let her touch my boys after what she said. We hired a Yaya who after a few days confessed she wasn’t a Yaya but a lady guard, and finally we had a Yaya whom we already bought tickets for a trip abroad and she backed out a few days before the actual trip! She said her husband suddenly didn’t allow her to go, then I eventually found out she never had a passport when she told me she had one before I booked her ticket! Completely my fault since I believed her when she said she left her passport at home!

Our Heaven sent Yayas! Yaya Flor (right) took care of Miguel since he was six-months-old and Nanay Julie (left) took care of Jaime since he was three-months-old. I owe them a lot! :)

Have you seen the Sex and the City movie where Charlotte feared losing her Nanny more than losing her husband? That was a great take on how dependent mothers are to people who help raise and care for their children. I cannot imagine raising my boys without the help of my two wonderful Yayas, Yaya Flor and Nanay Julie. That's why I truly salute and I am very proud of my sister Maureen, who is abroad and is taking care of her three kids all by herself!

My sisters and I had a  wonderful Yaya, Ellen stayed with us for almost 40 years! All my friends know her, she went with me everywhere in my teens. She was more like a Tita that really took care of me. She was with me in all the proms and parties I attended. Veegee courted her too so he could court me! :) We've been through a lot and I love Ellen! She would visit up until now and give the best "hilot" ever. She took care of me when I was pregnant and she was in every special occasion and event of my life. She wore the same color dress as my Mama when I got married and she was beaming! We would still have our funny conversations when I would call her up on her cell to just say hey. I miss her! :)

Ellentot! My one and only Yaya who took care of ME till I was pregnant!! We love her! My kids call her Lola Ellen! :)

With Sam (left) my assistant, she's been with me for TEN years, she is the best too! Ellen (right) was so happy the day I got married! :)

10 Random Facts About ME! :)

This is a challenge post I saw in one of the foreign blogs I follow, I gave it a MID30sMOM twist by making it my TEN Random Things I want my Sons to know about me. These are facts about me that I want my sons to know when they get older.  I feel these bits of information will help them understand me better and know who I really am. So here it goes:

1. When I took the qualifying exam for Bachelor of Arts major in Journalism I told myself that if I didn’t pass I wanted to shift to Commerce and major in Business Administration instead. Around 130-150 students took that qualifying test and only 34-37 of us got in! My last two years in college was amazing! I was doing what I loved best and learning from the best professors, writers and editors in the Journalism industry.

My College buddies!! Katleya, Joanna and Emily.  We all still get together up until now!

2. I have an intense fear of cockroaches! I really, truly believe they can smell fear and they go after those that fear them the most!! The crawling ones scare me but the flying ones possess the power to give me a heart attack on the spot.

My boys obviously did not inherit my fear! They love their fake" ipis" and they always use it against me!!

3. I have a tiny mole in my inner right arm that Miguel discovered, which he named “itchy-itchy” he would touch and kiss it at least ten times a day. He would sometimes reach out and look for it even when he is asleep.

A candid picture of Miguel reaching out and touching "itchy-itchy" :) 

4. Jaime is named after the son of an Ex -Presidential Candidate that I truly admired. I still believe that he could have made a huge difference if he was given a chance to lead our country.

Jaime's full name is: JAIME INIGO AUGUSTO, he is also named after Veegee's dad!

Tried and Tested Kids Products We Love!! :)

My boys are super low maintenance! Jaime has normal skin while Miguel has mild skin asthma that come and goes but aside from that I Thank God they are normal boys with typical needs.

After five years of being a mom I have established a list of my kids "go to products" all of which I trust and love. I'd like to share them with you here :)

1. Suave Kids Shampoo- These Hair Smoothers shampoo are great! They smell so good and make my kids hair soft and shiny. I know this for a fact because when I tried other kids shampoo their hair became course and dry. Also the scent are so delicious smelling they last and last even if the boys sweat a lot :)

The best smelling and softening shampoo for kids!

2. Calmoseptine- This is the best diaper rash cream there is! I've tried them ALL and I keep coming back to this. It's not available locally in tubes but you can buy it in sachets over the counter in Mercury. If you have relatives in the US it's best you ask them to buy for you since it is way cheaper there.

You only need a tiny amount of it to work and once applied it makes your baby's bottom wet proof! Thinly coat your baby's butt with this and I'm sure you won't have to deal with diaper rash. When my boys were breastfed I had no problems with diaper rash but once they started drinking formula that's when we first saw how terrible it is for a baby to suffer from diaper rash. Jaime never had to deal with terrible and painful diaper rash because we used this on him. It was Miguel my eldest who tried multiple diaper rash creams that did not work before we discovered this.

The only diaper rash cream that TRULY worked for my boys! :)

Some of the creams we tried... they all failed and did not work for us :(

3. Aceite Manzanilla Oil - my Pedia does not agree with me on this but based on personal experience this really worked for us. This simple product helped us get through a lot of difficult times specially when the boys were still infants. Whenever they had gas, colic or tummy ache we'd just rub this on their bellies and they feel so much better after.

Our miracle cure for colic, gas and stomach pains!

4. Aveeno Lotion- Miguel has mild skin asthma, this is the only lotion that calms his skin and help lessen flare ups, it moisturizes and soothes his skin. Keeping it baby soft and rash-free. One bottle will last around two months if used by two kids.

The only lotion that heals and calms Miguel's troubled skin :)

BEFORE I BECAME A MOTHER….

Before I had my sons I never knew it takes someone really brave to be a MOTHER, someone strong to raise a child and someone special willing to love another more than herself.

Before I became a mother I slept as late as I wanted, partied as much as I want and shopped till I dropped.

Before I became a mother I always had a clean and tidy room, I never worried this much about dust and allergens in the air, and I never felt the need to memorize where all electrical outlets are located. I never thought I'd spend so much thought and effort on how to kill ants, mosquitoes and other insects that can harm my kids.

Before I became a mother I never tripped this much becauseof toys that are scattered all over the floor. I’ve never been accidentally hit on the face this much, kicked in the groin countless times and my hair has never been stepped on and pulled on this much.

Before I became a mother I never imagined how it is to be puked on, spit on, chewed on, bitten, pood on and peed on. I never knew I could laugh and cry at the same time, and I never realized I could operate with just a few hours of sleep a week.

Before I became a mother I never knew that a single tear from my own child could result to buckets of tears from me. I didn’t think it was possible to feel so much pain and have my heart break into a million pieces every time you know your child is suffering or is hurt. I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body and I’ve never worried this much before I became a mother.

Before I became a mother I never thought a simple smile, an uttered word or the smallest steps could make me gloriously happy. I never knew then how something so small could provide so much love and happiness to an entire household.

Before I became a mother I never knew that a special bond existed between a mother and her child. I didn’t think I had something special so as I could nurse a hungry child and then watch him look at me satisfied and then slowly fall asleep in my arms. I never imagined something so small could make me feel so important.

Before I became a mother I never knew that I could love someone so much. I never knew I would love being a MOM. I had never known the warmth, the happiness, the satisfaction, the heartache and pains of being a MOTHER. I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much before I became amother.

Before I became a mother I NEVER KNEW I HAD NOT LIVED, I never knew that I had a purpose, a mission and a goal. I’m looking forward to learn more, do more and be the best that I can be for my boys! Being a mother truly is the most rewarding and most challenging job on the planet!

That's me with Miguel, Jaime and our doll model  :)

My boys!

Do you believe in PAGLILIHI? My Untold “LIHI” story!

I’ve been searching the web for the English translation of PAGLILIHI and I can’t seem to find it! The words that come up are CRAVING andAVERSION, which for me are not the correct but the closest translation of “PAGLILIHI.” Which got me thinking.. Pilipino lang ba ang NAGLILIHI? Is it a state of mind we created? Do you believe in PAGLILIHI?

I am writing my untold and semi-embarrassing PAGLILIHI story here so I can share with you, whoever is reading my humble blog and for my boys so they have an idea of how I was when I was pregnant with them. First off let me explain that I am not into “showbiz” and “showbiz personalities,” it is simply not my thing. BUT every time I’m pregnant I seem to gravitate towards a certain local showbiz personality and seeing their face simply makes me happy!

Let me explain further; when I was pregnant with Miguel, Marimar was a huge hit! Dingdong Dantes’ face was everywhere from TV ads, newspaper ads and road billboards, it was hard not to see him everywhere. During the early weeks of my pregnancy I found myself watching Marimar everyday simply because I wanted to see Dingdong Dantes! My assistant even gave me PLDT call cards with pictures of Dingdong in various poses. I loved those call cards and I used them as my bookmarks for all the pregnancy books I read. I didn’t go crazy and set out to collect lots of pictures, just watching him on TV made me happy. I guess I loved seeing him because I secretly wished that my baby would look like him.

It’s a good thing I have a very kind and understanding husband, because I would repeatedly tell him “sana kamukha ng baby si Dingdong noh?!” he would just smile and agree.

Dingdong my PINAGLIHIAN when I was pregnant with Miguel!

Jaime’s story: A few weeks before I knew I was pregnant again we had a big family affair where celebrities were invited. That’s when I saw Jolo Revilla he wasn’t astonishingly handsome but he had gorgeous eyes that sparkled! He had kind chinito eyes that smiled even if he wasn’t actually smiling. I remember telling Veegee, “ang pogi pala ng batang yan in person!” He was kind and charming too. I never did find a picture of him anywhere after the event but the whole time I was pregnant with Jaime I’d always think of how I liked his eyes and how I was wished my next child would have kind chinito eyes too!

I loved looking at Jolo's chinito eyes when I was pregnant with Jaime!

So that’s it, other pregnant moms ask for food and other weird stuff while I was happy just seeing Dingdong and Jolo. Below are pictures of my boys and my PINAGLIHIAN side by side. What do you think?? Not bad right ..I think I got what I wished for both times! :)

The BEST Way to Cleanse and Care for your FACE :)

You need to watch these videos!! I never thought cleansing and caring for my skin can be this complex! Isabelle Bellis shows us how to clean and moisturize our face the correct way. I totally love her French accent and how she emphasize that our skin should be "loved" and that cleansing and caring for it should be a relaxing and pampering experience.

French-born Isabelle Bellis is an epidemiologist, facialist and a holistic nutritionist. With her enviable locks, skin, and a svelte physique, she is the perfect Parisian to shed light on which grooming tips and tools we all should know and follow.

I definitely learned a thing or two from her videos! "PIANOTAGE" I love that word! :) Now let's see if I have the actual time to follow her tips! :)