my baby rj

Drawing Lessons for Kids

2013-05-18T18:42:00.001+08:00

My son has lots of talents. And drawing is one of them. But sadly, he doesn’t want to acknowledge his talents because he’s more interested with Minecraft and everything related to it - searching for Minecraft mods, whatever that is, watching YouTube Minecraft videos.

As his mom, I will not allow him to waste his God-given talents.

I have tricks up my sleeve to make him practice sketching and drawing, as well as all other talents that I think he has, even for just a few minutes each day.

This summer vacation, I bought these how-to books on drawing, sketching and shading. I let him practice a few minutes a day, sometimes as simple as how to sketch and shade household items (like table cloth clips), and he’s doing a good job.

Here’s his latest:

He’s 11 years old, turning 12 this June, and he has an amazing talent. I’m so proud of him.

National Achievement Test 2013

2013-03-07T10:32:00.001+08:00

The National Achievement Test (NAT), which is an annually administered nationwide test, by the Department of Education (DepEd), will be given to select levels of elementary and high school students of public and private schools, with permit to operate from DepEd, this March.

The NAT test is given to gauge the academic performance in key subjects, not about DJ Gear at Music123 kids!, of elementary and secondary students in both public and private schools.

"Our goal here is to update information and resolve issues and concerns in the conduct of tests,” said Secretary of Education Armin A. Luistro in a press release.

The NAT for fourth year students of public and private schools is scheduled on March 6, 2013, March 12 for Grade 3 pupils of public and Madrasah schools and March 13 for Grade IV pupils of public and private schools.

Programming for Kids

2013-02-20T09:03:00.001+08:00

Finally, I was able to find a way to steer my son away from his video games. Although it's just for a short period of time each day, some days not, but still it's a few hours. Okay, sometimes just for a few minutes but I'm confident he'll like it more in the next few weeks.

Programming. Coding.

Yes, he's learning how to code. Not Java but simple codes that even a preschooler will enjoy doing.

Out of the many online and downloadable programming tools that teaches coding for kids, here's two that worked for him:

Codecademy.com - a web-based programming platform with basic to advanced programming tutorials. The platform is very interactive.

Kodu - is a visual, drag and drop, programming language for creating games made by Microsoft.

I just found out about codecademy's codeyear, a perfect project for RJ's summer break. I'll sign up too! I might have an e-commerce site complete with wholesale brochures up and running before the end of summer vacation! Wish us luck!

National Bible Week 2013

2013-01-27T22:36:00.001+08:00

Unlike our usual 1030AM mass in a mall in Makati, the family attended the 830AM mass today at St. Joseph the Worker Parish.

The priest announced during his homily that 20 lucky people will each get a free Bible because today culminates the week-long celebration of National Bible Week 2013. The theme for this year's celebration is "Proclaim the Word, Profess the Faith" with Psalm 119:105 and 2 Timothy 2:4a as reference verses.

After church, churchgoers lined up near the classic apogee duet to get a piece of paper from a can. If "congratulations" is written on the paper, a Bible is given to that person. No one in our family though was lucky enough to get one. Probably it's God's way of telling us that we already have a Bible so he's giving it to those who doesn't have one yet.

Grom Social, Social Networking for Kids

2013-01-14T08:40:00.001+08:00

I was watching the early morning news a few weeks back, after dropping off RJ in school, while finishing off some blogging tasks and a report caught my attention. The report was about a social networking website for the youth. It's called Grom Social.

Here's an excerpt from their Grom Social Story page, "I am 11 years old, and one of six children. My brothers, sisters, close friends, and I created a social networking site for young kids and teens. It's a place to chat, make new friends, learn interesting things, and play games. I started Grom Social in November of 2011. It has been hard work."

RJ hasn't tried the site yet so I'm not sure if they allow all kinds of advertisements like they do on Facebook. Kid-friendly ads like ibanez electric bass at Musicians Friend is ok but some ads from other social networking sites are not really too kid-friendly.

Have you or any of your kids joined this social networking site already? What do you think of it?

Earning a living on the streets of Manila

2013-01-13T22:37:00.001+08:00

During a red traffic light on our way home from the family house in Makati, I saw a few girls who are about RJ's age dancing in front of stopped cars. I guess the knocking on car windows to beg for money doesn't work that much anymore? Or maybe they've thought of this new trick for them to be different from all other beggars on the street.

It was a bit dark already. I wonder if the parents know these girls are still on the street, dancing in front of cars to earn a few coins?! I'm sure they won't earn that much, not even enough to buy cheap things like drill press accessories from an 88 pesos store (philippine version of a dollar store).

Does DSWD know about this? Since it was night time already, car headlights were already on. The young girls can be seen by everyone because the headlights serve like a spotlight. These girls will get in trouble if they encounter bad people. I hope someone can put a stop to this.

What To Do With Old Baby Stuffs

2012-12-19T19:54:00.001+08:00

Because babies grow up real fast, you must be running out of room in the house for all those baby stuffs (like clothes, toys, small bottles, small pillows) that your baby has outgrown and can't use anymore. Here are some suggestions on what you can do with those baby stuffs.

Keep Them - If you're still planning to have another baby, then the most reasonable thing to do is to keep those old baby stuff. This will help you save money on buying new clothes, toys and other baby things once the new baby arrives.

Donate - There are a number of charitable institution who takes care of abandoned babies and children. Your child's old baby stuffs will be put to good use in these institutions. There are websites who connects people who wants to give out baby things to those people who need these baby things. Just search for freebabystuff online and you'll find a number of website who does this.

Sell - Because you need to buy new things for your baby, whose growing up so fast, you might want to consider selling your baby's old stuffs. There are a lot of people online and offline who would gladly buy those almost-new clothes, toys and other things from you.

Excited Kids in a Sports Tournament

2012-12-09T11:58:00.001+08:00

These kids can barely contain their excitement. They're waiting for the soccer tournament to begin. But they've been here since 730am, 2.5 hours before the tournament actually starts. I wonder how long their energy will last.

I understand being early in a swim meet. The coach still needs to write the event and heat number on each of the team members' arm. And each member competes in different events so the coach needs ample time before the competition actually starts to finish writing on all the team member's arms.

But with soccer, the coach doesn't have to require these kids to come very early. Unless it's the parents who are very excited and insists on being at the event site real early. Or the coach is very strict he even has an attendance software like this employee handbook software I saw online.

Well, good-luck to these players. Make your parents proud and happy!

The Right Time to Tell Your Child About Santa

2012-12-09T11:24:00.001+08:00

When is the right time to tell a child the truth about Santa Claus? Santa, the most favorite person of any child I know, especially during Christmas. Santa, who makes kids excited to wake up early once a year, during Christmas day.

My son is 11 years old and I think this year is the right time to have that "Santa talk". I'm pretty sure he knows the "truth" already. But he's trying to act like he doesn't know because he still wants a separate gift from "Santa" and from mom and dad.

Whatever gift he likes, whether new lego blocks or an akg microphones at Musician's Friend, it won't change the fact that I'll give him some "hints" about the truth about Santa this year. He has to know this year because everyone else in his class probably know already.

Fact: Playing Sports Can Make You Stronger

2012-11-23T02:25:00.001+08:00

It's a proven fact that playing sports can make a person strong and healthy. My son's asthma attacks were at its worse when he was between 1 to 2 years old. But when he started visiting a Pediatrician Allergologist doctor and engaged in different sports activities, his attacks slowly lessened in frequency.

The sports that he has tried throughout the years: soccer, basketball, biking, swimming, running, volleyball and arnis.

The most intense training he has experienced is in swimming. He was a member of his school's swim team for a few years but had to stop because the school service doesn't want to make a special trip for him, which reminds me that I really need to have the courage to drive in Manila already. His team trains for 2hours everyday after school. He has experienced training under very heavy rain, when us in the bleachers can't see them in the pool anymore. Their pool doesn't have a heater, no pool heat pumps, but I don't worry about that because their body heat is enough to make the kids not feel cold.

This month, he went back to playing soccer. And swimming after school, before going to his Chinese tutor, in our condo's pool.

He hasn't had an asthma attack this year. And I'm very sure that playing sports has helped his respiratory health, and of course his overall health, a lot.

Pregnant Barbie Dolls

2012-11-23T01:41:00.001+08:00

I thought the newscaster was joking, but when I saw the video of a pregnant Barbie beside Ken, I was like "what?!"

Someone needs a neurosurgeon new orleans visit. The people who approved the creation and distribution of these Barbie dolls sure doesn't have their brains in the right place.

Good thing they got pulled out of store shelves. The Barbies and not the people behind it. And I hope no parent would ever buy this ridiculous toy.

Gift Suggestion for Christmas: Wii U

2012-11-21T07:03:00.001+08:00

My son will probably want a Wii U for Christmas, if he finds out that it's already out. But I will wait for the reviews first before I decide to buy him one. And that's if he ask for one.

There are 500,000 people on Wii U's waitlist and advance orders are already sold out. So even if my son wants a Wii U for Christmas, he'll probably wait for a few more months to get to play one.

I wonder what gifts he'll ask this year, I'm sure he doesn't want home brew kits. Fingers-crossed I won't have a hard time finding those gift for him.

Today’s Google Doodle: Bram Stoker’s 165th Birthday

2012-11-08T09:59:00.001+08:00

November 8 is the birthday of Bram Stoker, the author of Dracula, and he’s featured on Google Doodle today. Hovering on the link shows the phrase “Bram Stoker’s 165th Birthday”. Clicking on the doodle will lead to a search results page on Bram Stoker query, often misspelled as Bram Stroker with the R after the T on his surname.

According to Wikipedia:

Abraham "Bram" Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912) was an Irish novelist and short story writer, best known today for his 1897 Gothic novel Dracula. During his lifetime, he was better known as personal assistant of actor Sir Henry Irving and business manager of the Lyceum Theatre in London, which Irving owned.

Happy Birthday Bram Stoker!

What is Facebook Parenting

2012-11-05T23:38:00.001+08:00

I was searching for trending topics online and saw “Facebook Parenting” trending at the start of 2012. Although its not popular this last quarter of the year, I still got curious what "facebook parenting" is. Weirder than “fun fun fun” trending, really.

Apparently, it’s a video entitled "Facebook Parenting: For the troubled teen." The video showed father Tommy Jordan, wearing his best columbia men's jackets especially for that video, shooting his daughter's laptop because of a post she made on Facebook. I didn’t watch the video, crazy parenting skills if you ask me! I’m not that curious enough to waste my time on a st*pid 8:23 minutes video.

What is Daylight Saving Time

2012-11-05T23:12:00.001+08:00

Daylight Saving Time (DST) in the US, except for Hawaii and Arizona, officially ended this weekend. DST is mandated by governments to save time and energy.

Here is a video explaining what really is Daylight Saving Time.

According to a CNN article that I read online, "the idea for daylight saving came from legendary American inventor, statesman and founding father Ben Franklin who, in a 1784 letter to a French journal, suggested that Parisians could save thousands of francs annually by waking up earlier in the summer so they wouldn't have to buy so many candles to light the evening hours".

Now that you know what DST is, make sure to set your clock back. As for me, since we don’t have DST here in my country, I don’t have to worry about my clock. I have to worry about my Christmas list though, I still have a lot of things on my to do list (like buy bluetooth motorcycle helmets for cousin) and Christmas eve is just around the corner!

Philippine High School for the Arts Scholarship

2012-11-05T22:45:00.001+08:00

Philippine High School for the Arts (PSHA) is a government-run high school where artistically gifted and talented students are trained. The school is located at the National Arts Center atop Mt. Makiling in Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines.

Entrance to the school is very competitive. It accepts around forty to fifty students per year to ensure a high quality of academic and arts training programs. Students accepted into the PHSA are given full scholarship and living assistance.

PSHA consults with the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) for policy and program implementation of its arts programs. Aside from specializing in specific arts field, students are required to undergo general education curriculum prescribed by the Department of Education (DepEd).

The five courses of specialization in the arts that the school offer are:

Creative Writing (Fiction, Poetry, Playwriting, and Journalism in English and Filipino)
Dance (Classical Ballet, Modern Dance, Philippine Folk Dance, Dance Composition and Staging)
Music (Solo Voice/Solo Instrument, Theory, Composition, and Ensemble Classes (Chorus and Chamber)
Theater Arts (Acting, Production Management, Technical Theater, History of the Theater, Theater Theory and Directing)
Visual Arts (Visual Perception, Sculpture, Art Appreciation, Studio Painting, Materials and Techniques, Figuration, Pottery, and Printmaking)

Elective courses which complement the major courses of study in the arts are also offered to the students on a semestral basis.

SCHOLARSHIP ELIGIBILITY

- Must be a Filipino citizen with no pending application as immigrant to a foreign country;

- Have an outstanding ability in an art discipline and above-average general intelligence;

- Graduating Grade VI or VII pupils at the time of application (Important: current HS-I students may apply subject to evaluation by the ANSYAS Committee);

- Be able to take up the scholarship in the School Year for which it is granted;

- NOT older than 15 years upon enrolment in PHSA;

- Proficient in oral and written Filipino and English;

- Willing to study in a boarding school;

- Identify a Legal Guardian residing in Metro Manila, Cavite, Laguna, or Batangas; (students are required to go on homeleave to their parents or designated legal guardian during weekends.)

- Have NO debilitating illnesses or systemic and/or communicable diseases such as serum sickness, congenital heart disease, systemic lupus erythematosus, hepatitis A and/or B, untreated primary complex, chronic otitis media, malaria, bronchial asthma, and/or seizures/involuntary tremors;

- Determined to pursue a college degree in Dance, Creative Writing, Architecture, Fine Arts, Music, Theater Arts, Journalism, or any related course upon graduation from the PHSA.

The 2013 Nationwide Search for Young Art Scholars form is now available for download at the PSHA website. Goodluck!

For Inquiries:

(049) 536-5971 to 73 / (049) 536-2862

Philippine High School for the Arts National Arts Center, Mt. Makiling, College, 4031 Los Baños, Laguna

directorIV@phsa.edu.ph or directorIII@phsa.edu.ph

The Ultimate Shower Experience

2012-10-29T18:08:00.001+08:00

Your shower is a very personal and indulging experience, allowing you to relax and recuperate from a long day or night. Different tools and devices can help to improve your experience in the shower, adding massaging and safety elements to your session. Hand held shower heads allow you to establish control of your shower and pinpoint the areas where your body needs cleansing the most. Additionally, a sturdy shower curtain track helps keep your unit in place and blocks the water from reaching the floor.

Updated technology gives rise to new bathroom essentials that can improve your experience and make you feel better. Hand held ergonomic shower heads give you more control in a frame that is gentle on your hands. This item is great for hard to reach places and usually comes with controls to adjust the power, rotation and movement of the water. Hand held stainless steel shower heads are robust and durable, and make a wonderful aesthetic component to any bathroom. If you are working with a tight space, a shower curtain curved track can make your bathtub or shower look larger, as the middle peels out to give you more room. This also helps to contemporize your design elements with a unique appearance.

Showers make up a good portion of your daily routine, as you may take one to three each day. Therefore, it is beneficial to optimize your feel in the shower and establish a high level of comfort in this area. Take advantage of new technology and update your shower to improve such an important component in your life.

How to Distinguish Real From Fake Philippine Peso Bill

2012-10-13T01:11:00.001+08:00

It’s Christmas season once again. Some people are now taking advantage of this busy “spending” season by distributing fake peso bills.

Here are the most important things to check whether a peso bill is REAL and not a fake one. This is lifted from the Central Bank of the Philippines’ website.

Paper should be rough when fingers are run through it.
Contours of the silhouette of the portrait, on the face of the currency, on relatively new notes can be felt when fingers are run through it.
Serial number are composed of 1 or 2 prefix letters and 6 or 7 digits and glow under ultra-violet light.

For the complete checklist, visit bsp.gov.ph website and type “Know Your Philippine Currency” on the search box.

Characteristics of a Sports Coach

2012-10-12T09:31:00.001+08:00

We went to my son's school before lunch so he can shoot some hoops in the school gym. There was a volleyball tournament at that time, both in the grade school and high school gym. Other schools like to rent there because of the school gym's excellent lighting (lutron here brand). While waiting for one of the courts to become vacant, we watched an on-going volleyball game.

There's this girl who was doing badly in the game. She must have been causing a lot of trouble to the team's score because the coach asked one of her team mate to replace her in the game. When she was already seated, the coach angrily told her, "What were you doing inside?! Blah, blah, blah, etc, etc, etc."

I got embarrassed for her, I can't imagine what she, who was berated in front of a lot of people, felt at that moment. She must have felt really horrible. My son's swim coach never did that to anyone in the swim team. He would get a lashing from me and the other mom’s I assure you, if he ever did that.

Patient, kind, understanding and encouraging. That’s what a good coach should possess. The school should fire that volleyball coach!

Fish Recipe for Kids

2012-10-11T01:27:00.001+08:00

I'm trying to feed my son more healthy food. So I started to make fruit shakes and vegetable soups for dinner.

Fish is not really his favorite. But because I'm also on a diet and trying to lessen my meat intake, I tried making my own recipe to make it kid-friendly.

Here's the very simple recipe:
1. Sprinkle the fish (I usually use Dory or Tilapia fillet) with a dash of pepper (I usually don't use salt), ginger (chili flakes for that extra kick) and lemon juice (kalamansi will do as well).

2. Wrap it in foil. I usually add leafy greens, tomatoes and whatever veggies I have in the fridge. The juice in the veggies will add flavor to the fish.

3. Steam.

4. Here's how your kids will love it: Top the steamed fish with cream cheese and sprinkle with cheddar cheese.

And even if they don't eat the veggies, the juice from the steamed veggies has seeped in the fish.

Awesome idea or what?

My son loved it by the way.

Would you allow the nanny to disciple your kids?

2012-10-11T01:16:00.001+08:00

This is one thing that my mom allowed which I swore I'll never do when I have kids of my own. My son doesn't have a yaya (nanny) but if he has one, I will never let the yaya give any form of discipline to my son.

It's the parents responsibility to teach good manners and to discipline their kids. God gave them those kids, not to other parents, not to the yaya, so why give the big responsibility of disciplining their children to the hired help. Their upbringing is different from the parents, so their own views and ways with regards to discipline is probably different from the parents as well.

At the young age of 10, I questioned my mom's decision. I didn't talk to her about it though. I just didn't bother getting close to the yaya. That was probably my way of showing everyone that I don't agree with my mom giving the yaya free rein to discipline me and my sisters.

My sister C though was very close to her. I remember one time, we were having lunch, and my sister and the yaya were whispering and snickering while giving me sideway glances. "Don't you know that it's rude to do that in front of other people?", I angrily told them. I don't even remember anymore but I think my mom asked me to say sorry and leave the table.

I guess my mom was just so busy with work, she needed other people's help to teach us what is right or wrong. There were times when she also ask her sister to buy for her the things that we, her 5 daughters, need, like materials for my sisters exceptional ebony les paul project at one time. I understand that she needs to work but she could have just asked the yaya to inform her when we do something naughty and discipline us herself.

What about you, will you or do you allow your helpers to discipline your kids?

new drawing update

2012-10-05T09:20:00.001+08:00

After such a looong time, I was able to ask RJ to draw again. He’s my favorite person, I’m pretty sure everyone knows that, so I don’t want him to “forget” his talents. But even when I ask him nicely to practice drawing something new, aside from “scary” drawings, I think he feels that I’m “forcing” him to do something so he doesn’t do it. And he would rather play his PSP or watch reruns of his favorite cartoon shows on YouTube.

But he finally gave in.

A dragon, another one of his “scary” drawing, but it looks awesome!

He himself thought it was an awesome drawing. Don’t you think so too?

Meal Time Talk

2012-09-28T00:09:00.001+08:00

Whenever it's time to eat, whether breakfast, lunch or dinner, all household entertainment appliances and gadgets in our house must be turned off. Even before Sharon Cuneta appeared on a Lucky Me television commercial, promoting the importance of healthy family conversation during mealtimes, we were already practicing that in the house.

Because questions like "How's school today?" only gives me a you-won't-get-anything-from-me-today answer like "Nothing much happened" or"Boring!" from my son, I've learned to ask "specific" questions like "Any funny story from D today?" or "Did P showed his picture wearing french toast uniforms again?" Through these talks, I get to know how his day at school had been.

We also talk while playing our before-bedtime games and before sleeping while lights are turned off already.

My son is now 11. Through these conversations, I also learn about his friends and much more other things that happened when he's not under my watchful eye without meddling in his life too much, or at least not being too obvious about it.

What’s your Ideal Weight?

2012-09-27T23:41:00.001+08:00

I rarely check my weight. But when I do, it's always in the normal range in proportion with my height. Well that's according to health experts, based on what I've read online and offline. But with my petite frame and my high cheekbones, I don't feel happy every time I look at myself in the mirror.

A healthy diet combined with rigorous exercise works well for me. That's what I did after giving birth to my son. My exercise routine was 90 minutes, divided in 3 workouts, of cardio and strength training everyday. I followed a no-rice, plenty of leafy greens diet. At 25, my waistline shrunk back to 24 inches. Last time I had that waistline was when I was 12 years old!

Then one day, I decided to taste a few spoonful of rice. The few spoonfuls slowly became 1 or 2 cups. My waistline jumped to 27 in no time, sometimes it’s 28, when gluttony kicks in it's 29, but never again did it go back to 24 inches.

I did shrink it back to an acceptable 26 inches, but I had to do a daily belly dance workout. I want to maintain it to 25.5-26 inches but it's just so hard!

I've seen a number of weight loss supplement advertisements on the health magazines that I buy from time to time. I'm so tempted to try it and see if it can speed up the process of weight loss for me without doing tiring exercises and dieting.

There's this appetite suppressant called Appesat which looks very promising. When I'm trying to stick on a diet plan, my brain always tease me by making me think that I'm hungry. Appesat use a type of seaweed that apparently expands when it reaches the stomach, thus making one feel full. And what makes it different from other weight loss supplement is it's not absorbed in the blood stream. One downside though is it doesn't work on suppressing food cravings. Some reviews on this appetite suppressant are available at www.dietpill-reviews.co.uk/appesat-review.

But I won’t be trying any weight loss supplements at this time. So I’m sticking with my current diet of whole wheat food, fruits and vegetables. I also use my stationary bike a few times a week. I have been at it for a weeks and I think I’ve lost a bit of weight already.

Do you have any tips on what I can still do to speed up the process of achieving my ideal weight?

Hard Work Pays Off

2012-09-18T17:04:00.001+08:00

My son told me Wednesday last week that he's going to perform with 5 of his classmates for Monday's (that was yesterday) Service Interaction day. He's going to play the guitar and his classmates will sing. They will perform Bruno Mars's Count on Me.

He learned to play two songs last summer break by just watching tutorial videos on YouTube. So he just searched YouTube for an easy enough tutorial for him to follow, by himself without my help. He learned "Count on Me" in just a few minutes, here's the tutorial video in case you're interested to learn it.

So everyday, as soon as we arrive home from his Chinese tutor, he practice for an hour or so without me reminding him.

Yesterday, armed with his one-month-old RJ Guitar, yep guitar brand is same name as him, there's no King Instruments guitar center in Manila, he went to school nervous but confident.

I called his class adviser and asked if it’s possible for someone can take a video of the group’s performance since it’s RJ’s first ever performance in front of a crowd. And he worked hard, studying the song by himself, to make his performance perfect. She said she’ll ask someone.

When I picked RJ up in school, he said their performance was great. Except for the last part, one of the singers stopped so he stopped playing the guitar. The audience clapped thinking that their performance was done already. So except for that part, their performance was very good.

Today, he told me that he’s again asked to perform for next Friday’s Appreciation Day. I am so proud of him.