Help Victims of Typhoon Haiyan

No horrid pictures or videos to repost.  We've all seen the news.  I have no words.  My heart is aching.  The Philippines needs your help.  Whatever you can spare, please donate.

In my experience, the Philippine Red Cross website was the easiest.  I encourage you to use this site if you have a PayPal account.  I was able to make a donation without leaving my house.  I didn't have to fill out any forms.  I  simply clicked on the PayPal logo, typed my password and that was it!  Even if you don't have PayPal, as long as you have a credit card, you can donate here.

For non-monetary donations - old clothes, shoes, toys and whatever you can find in your house that you don't need or want anymore, you can drop it off at any LBC branch until Nov. 30.  Or simply go to any of the 2,000 Jollibee, Chowking, Greenwich, Red Ribbon, Mang Inasal and Burger King store and drop off your donations there.

If you're overseas (and a La Sallian like me), the De La Salle University Center for Social Concern and Action has partnered with GlobalGiving to accept credit card and debit card donations.  You can choose from different denomations with specific purposes such as $10 for Mobilization and delivery of relief goods, $20 for Physical Reconstruction, $30 for Psychological Trauma Intervention and $40 for Social Development Programs or nominate any amount you wish to donate.

For US residents that want to make tax-deductable donations you can donate though the US Philippines Society.

Let's do our part to help the victims of this monster typhoon. 

Bling Bar

Mothers, sisters, friends, ladies & gentlemen (for your partners), I'm selling necklaces.  Just click on the pictures and it will take you to my ebay ads:

Ribbon & Chain Choker with Gem Pendant

Crystal Tortoise Spike Necklace

Crystal Feather Necklace

Jeweled Elephant Pendant Necklace

Tortoise & Turquoise Statement Necklace

Go!!! What are you waiting for? Buy it now! :)  Happy shopping!

The Days Are Long

I haven't had the time or the inclination to blog in a month.  It's been hectic in our household!

My day starts early at 6 a.m. (I work Australian hours so that's currently 3 hours ahead of Manila with DST).  I work from home all day and in between I take my son to Kumon and Montessori and if I'm lucky, I get to exercise.  His day ends at 5 p.m. and then we do dinner then bed time by 7:30 p.m.  Then that's the time I get to relax - catch up on my personal emails, blog hop, watch my fave shows, etc.  Then I turn in early so I have the energy to do it again the next day.  It's exhausting (thankfully I'm not the only tired mom) and now I finally have a few minutes to spare because it's my son's sem break.

These days, I really feel my age (approaching my mid-30s).  I can no longer jump out of bed and get going.  I feel aches and pains in my body (is this normal or should I see a doctor?) and my energy is not what it used to be.  To think I have full-time help who cooks, cleans & does the laundry.  I can't imagine how other moms do everything on their own!  And I only have one child.  I would probably go out of my mind if I had to do everything for more than one kid.   

Sometimes, it's hard to count my blessings when I'm pressured with work and my son refuses to cooperate.  Like he'd rather play with his toys than do his homework.  Or insist on 5 minutes of TV instead of getting ready for bed.  But I know these days of mothering will be over before I know it and I really try hard to appreciate the blessings in our busy lives.  Pretty soon, he won't be so dependent on me or even want my company.  As they say, the days are long but the years are short.

On that note, Happy Hump Day! :)  The week is almost over! Hurray!

Gratitude Monday

The single greatest thing you can do to change your life today would be to start being grateful for what you have right now. - Oprah

I'm a firm believer that gratitude unlocks the fullness of life so I'm starting this series of Gratitude Mondays. 

As any parent knows, weekends can go by in a blur once you have kids.  There are just too many things that need to get done in so little time!  No more sleeping in and lazing in bed all day especially when your kids are already in school.  So I'm grateful that Quino was very excited to do his home works because we were able to finish all his Kumon and Montessori home works in record time!  We were able to finish everything last Saturday which meant Sunday was spent simply enjoying family time. 

Since yaya took the day off, I cooked (simple scrambled eggs and toast for me and the hubby & oatmeal for the little boy) and we had a lazy breakfast, heard mass, had lunch at our favorite restaurant, finished all our errands and enjoyed a quiet massage at home and had an early night.  We are relaxed, rejuvenated & ready to face the week!

My First Parent-Teacher Conference

Met with my son's teacher today to discuss his progress in school.  His report card reads:

Quino likes to share stories from outside the school to his teachers.  He prefers to observe his classmates' behavior rather than interact with them.  He takes the initiative to work with the materials in the classroom and to concentrate on certain tasks.  He has a strong sense of order; he would assist the school aide in cleaning the classroom and help the teacher or other students fix or return a material.  Quino would benefit from practicing the cursive letters' sounds and his pincer grip for writing.

My son is Senior Casa in a Montessori school so there is no traditional grading system.  Both my husband and I went to Montessori school so we decided this was the best option for him. 

For someone who didn't have any formal schooling prior to this school year, I am very proud of my son's development.  Most of his grades are SP (Superior Progress).  But more than the grades, I am happy that he likes learning, going to school and he's kind & helpful. 

Society puts so much pressure and competition on kids at such an early age.  Parents fill their children's schedules with so many activities that they might not have time to just be children.  To play and be carefree and yes, even make mistakes and fail.  It's not the end of the world if that happens.  I'd rather raise a son who can bounce back from any adversity than a sheltered child that can't accept defeat. 

He doesn't know how to write his name yet.  He knows his ABCs (but has trouble associating the letters' sounds) and he can only count 1-12 (then skips to random numbers like 32, 48 & 500) but soon he will learn those things and so much more.  And his daddy and I will be guiding him every step of the way. 

My Little Boy's Room

Presenting my first Pinterest hack.

This is my son's room.  We used to store his toys in ugly plastic boxes.  Inspiration struck after I saw this on Pinterest.  Of course my son even has the same toys (what 4 year old boy doesn't love Toy Story, firetrucks & tools?!).

via Living Savvy

I never thought to use our Ikea Hyllis shelf inside the house.  With it's utilatarian look, I purposely bought this to store my husband's odds and ends in the garage.  But now I think it fits better in my son's room.  I love it!!!

Detox Interrupted

After lunch on the 2nd day, I got my monthly visitor (you know what I mean).  So I was craving, cranky & crampy.  Sadly I had to cut the 3-day detox short if I wanted to keep my sanity. 

But here are my thoughts:

1. Compared to local detox plans like Juice Jab, Juju Cleanse & Detox-in-a-Bottle, this plan is inexpensive.  The popular detox plans cost up to 2,500/day for 3 days.  This will set you back around 3,000 for the full duration of the plan. 
   
2. The ingredients are very easy to find although I had to substitute spinach for kale since I couldn't find it (I went to Robinson's Supermarket BF, Makati Supermarket, S&R & Metro Supermarket).  
   
3. I love the breakfast and dinner smoothies!  I still drink the breakfast smoothie even after the detox.  It's pretty easy to incorporate a glass (or two) of smoothie into my daily diet. I had read some horror stories about the lunch drink.  And it's true, it's horrible! 
   
4. When you do this detox, be sure you are near a restroom at all times because you will have to go several times a day.  Having said that, I found it did not give me liquid stools (sorry TMI).  In the past, I had tried another detox drink, Dr. Tam Mateo's Miracle tea.  This one really upset my stomach (in a good way because it was cleansing my intestines) but the result was very liquid stools.
   
5. In place of the nightly bath, I soaked my feet in epsom salt.  This is actually not new to me because I've done this before.  I don't really feel anything different when I do it but I know it has it's benefits.  I like doing little things like this that make me feel as though I'm taking good care of my body and getting rid of the toxins.

Would I do it again?  Honestly, probably not.  I got persistent, terrible headaches all throughout the 2 days I was on it.   BUT, I am happy to keep drinking smoothies.  I was intimidated before about what fruits and vegetables I would put.  But now, I just mix whatever I have available. So I don't consider it a failure that I didn't complete the 3 days but I feel it was a success because I came out of it with a new healthy habit :)

My First Detox: Dr. Oz 3-Day Detox Cleanse

I've been struggling to lose weight for years since I gave birth.  My son is now 4 years old so I obviously can't get away with the post-baby weight argument.  Maybe it's the age?  But really, these are all just excuses.  The simple truth is this: I'm a sucker for junk food.  I eat well enough during the week but have a tendency to binge once the weekend hits.

I've been feeling lethargic recently and decided I had to do something drastic.  Enter my first detox.  I came across this many months ago but only now mustered the courage to jump in.  I figured I could do it since it was only 3 days and the plan looked simple enough. 

Today is my first day.  I've had the morning detox tea and the breakfast smoothie (which I really loved) and I'm getting ready for a gentle 2-mile walk.

I'll keep you posted with the results of the cleanse.  Wish me luck!

Meet the Mom

Hi! I'm Eper. Wife to my college sweetheart and mom to a very active little boy. This is my attempt to return to blogging to document my life. 

I work from home and life can get pretty busy so I want to make sure I take time to step back and "smell the flowers" so to speak. I can get pretty frazzled with 10,000 things going on at once and I hope blogging can give me a better perspective when things get crazy. As they say, the days are long but the years are short. This is my tiny corner to sit back and relax. 

Hope you enjoy dropping by!

x,

Eper