Magsaysay Child Care Center: Summer Activities

One of our benefits in our company is Magsaysay Child Care Center. Our top management greatly values family time and development of the Magsaysay children. Our child care center also houses the breastfeeding station for all nursing moms in all Magsaysay companies.

My two kids are really having fun while learning at the child care center. They are always showing interest to go with me and go to their "work" at the child care center. This summer, several activities are lined-up for them.

Last week, Kuya and Claire enjoyed preparing simple snacks. Each child is given an opportunity to experience mixing, stirring, crashing the ingredients and of course...eating!

Thank you Magsaysay :)

Gotcha Claire! 

Mommy kisses,

May

DIY: Party Decors

When my kids turned one, this blog is not yet existing. I was not able to get close up photos of the DIY party decors I made for my kids.

1) For my son: table centerpiece
Materials: cleaned empty cans, styrofoam, BBQ sticks, Japanese papers, construction papers, adhesive tape, and of course the photos of my son for the first 12 months.

2) For my daughter: somewhat fan decors (I don't know how to call it)
Materials: colored papers, printed hello kitty characters and photos of my daughter during her first year

These decors served as wall and hanging decors.

The photos of my kids served also as take-aways of our guests. I made sure to include pictures of my kids with our friends and relatives so that they can bring home their photos with my kids - during baptismal, events and everyday activities.

For their next party, which would probably years from now, I will make sure to document my DIY party projects :)

Mommy kisses,

May

Little Help from Kuya

My mother was craving for ginataang halo-halo. When I started forming the glutinous rice, my son said, "Nanay, parang clay."

I asked him if he would like to help me and he said, "Opo."

I got a little help from my son. He enjoyed forming the bilo-bilo.

Thank you Kuya for helping!

Mommy kisses,

May

DIY Project: Bow

My father is good in making things out of something. He makes toys out from his own hands for my kids. His latest creation is a bow for my son. Now I know where I got my interest in doing DIY jobs and the value of resourcefulness J

I just remembered, he said that you get to appreciate more the things you have if you made it with your two hands.

One of the first toys made by Lolo for Kiko and
now being used as well by Claire :)

Have a great week ahead!

Mommy kisses,

May

Zoobic Adventure

Last July, my kids and I joined my friends and their kids in a Zoobic adventure.

It was an exciting and fun day with the young at heart and the kids. To top it all, no one from the kiddos had tantrums and no one spilled inside the car. Great job kids!

Everyone enjoyed the trip. I thank also my friends who gave their helping hands that day for my two kids. It was our first long trip on our own – my kids and I. We did not bring any help from our family.

I am so proud of my two kids – they were brave. They touched the tiger! They were very curious in everything that they see.

It was a day of bonding with my friends and their kids as well.

Looking forward to do this again J

getting ready, having lunch

the kids

meeting the mighty tiger

audience participation

Mommy kisses,

May

Appreciating Simple Things

We visited our loved ones at the Heritage Park on a fine afternoon. 

My kids saw for the first time a makahiya plant. They enjoyed playing with it. They keep on touching it and see its reaction. My little girl’s smile is priceless when she first saw it. On the other hand, here is kuya keeps on telling her little sister how amazing it is.

I am really learning from my kids – to appreciate simple things surrounding us. 

Thank you kuya and bunso for reminding Nanay to appreciate simple things in life.

Mommy kisses,

May

Simple Joys: First Train Ride

Before the accident in MRT, I’m glad our little girl made her first train ride last July.

We opted to ride LRT Line 2 and MRT going to our pedia for vaccine to get rid of the heavy traffic on a Saturday morning and for a new adventure of our kids especially our little girl. It is her first train ride! Yehey!

I saw on their faces the genuine and simple joys of children. For us adults, it can be a daunting task to ride the train because it is our way going to the usual routine – reporting to work; it is packed with strangers; or because it is an exhausting trip. But for kids, it is a wonderful experience.

Seeing my kids enjoy the ride is a simple joy for me as well. As much as possible, we offer our kids different adventures that are simple yet memorable.

Happy Saturday!

Mommy kisses,

May

Day Tour: Ark Avilon Zoo

My kids and I had a trip to the Ark of the Avilon zoo with my parents last February 2014.

If you are looking for a new experience for your kids, this is perfect. The great part of the tour is my kids get a chance to mingle, feed and see closely some of the animals.

My son and his lolo even named the cute and entertaining kid. The kid keeps on following my son.

My daughter who was 10 months at the time of your visit touched the hands of this friendly orangutan. As far as I could remember her name is Jenny.

I suggest you pay in advance through bank deposit to save on your entrance cost. Here is the link of their FB account for more details.

Ark Avilon

Address: Frontera Verde Ortigas Avenue Corner C-5, Pasig

Contact Number: (02) 706 2992

Hope you can visit the place soon with your kids and family! Enjoy!

Happy weekend!

Mommy kisses,

May

Do you allow your children to own or play with cats or dogs?

I am a pet lover. I love our cats and dogs. I had a cat that was with us for 12 long years. She died when I had spotting with my son in 2010. Then our ever loyal dog, Maldita came.

I allow my kids to touch and mingle with our cats and dogs. We teach them to love our pets and to learn how to take care of them through feeding and bathing them regularly. Plus, playing with them.

Maldita particularly has been our protector and most especially to my son probably because of their bond even before my son was born. I was pregnant when we had Maldita. She was my companion when walking around, waiting for my son to pop up from my big tummy. When I am eating while pregnant, Maldita will always sit beside me and of course will ask me to give her something to eat. She even rests on my big pregnant tummy.

There was a time that my son slipped on the stairs and Maldita was there to the rescue in just a snap to stop my son from sliding down.

What are the benefits of allowing kids to have pets?

1) Physical: Walking, running or playing with dogs help enhance the motor skills of our kids. My son loves walking our dogs - Cacai and Maldita. This is one of the activities that I encourage my son.

2) Social: It is a topic to start a conversation and story-telling. My son loves telling something about our dogs or cats to us and to our neighbors. It is a topic for discussion to both my kids.

3) Emotional: Kids get to learn – the sense of responsibility. Whenever my father feeds or bathes our pets, my son usually goes with his grandfather. Our kids will get to learn that we should be responsible as owners in taking care of our pets. We even allow my son to go with Maldita when she needs to have her vaccination.

My daughter is also fond of our cats and dogs because she always calls them. She shows interest through pointing them to us when the pets are around or making a dog baby sign.

I’m actually excited seeing the new puppies of Maldita play with us.

Enjoy the weekend with our kids and beloved pets!

Mommy kisses,

May

Kuya taking a break

Kuya is tired after walking Maldita

Museums for the Mind and Spirit

Last May 31, we were given a chance to visit four interesting and amazing places – The Philippine Science Centrum, The Spirit of Bethlehem Gallery, Museum of Miniatures and Joey Velasco Gallery.

Today, we will share with you the Museums for the mind and spirit. These places are perfect for both adults and kids. Allow yourself and your children to appreciate great creations.

The Spirit of Bethlehem Gallery

Do you want experience Christmas everyday? Visit this place.

Philippine setting of Bethlehem

Amazing collections of the Nativity scene

Amazing Christmas tree

Museum of Miniatures

Great creations! Find the mouse in one of the sets J   

Joey Velasco Gallery

When I asked the tour guide if the man behind these amazing paintings was the one who created the Last Supper with the beggars. And when I turned my head and saw the famous painting, I had goose bumps. I think Mr, Joey Velasco was beside me J 

Ang Hapag

One of the unfinished works

Mr. Joey Velasco also sculpts

This is very dear to me. I have a special child sister.

For the people behind these amazing collections and creations, thank you for sharing it to us – the public.

Should you want to see more, visit the place. Here is the brochure. Feel free to contact them for bookings.

Mommy kisses,

May

The Berenstain Bears and TOO MUCH TV – Book Review

This is my son’s current favorite. It is about how the Bear family succeeds their first no-TV-week and beyond.

Lessons emphasized:

·       There is more to life than TV – a lot more, and even more interesting and more fun.

·       Be firm with the rules – it should exempt NO one, not even adults or a TV Special.

·       Television in itself is not bad – but the TV habit can be really terrible.

I could not agree more to what the book says; when the TV is on all day without rest, Mama knows it’s too much – and Mama knows BEST.

Happy Reading! J

Mommy hugs,

Mel

Museum Day! – The Prelude

We love visiting museums… it's always packed with lot of things to learn and see, plus it is usually less costly. So imagine our delight when we got invited by the SCIENCE CENTRUM to visit their place along with two more galleries featuring equally exciting exhibits. Yey! J

And we will show you how interesting that day was for us in our next succeeding posts and if you are interested to visit the place as well… we can give you free tickets. Just leave us a comment. J

Mommy hugs,

Mel