TOPAZ HORIZON

PRESS RELEASE - One of the most challenging times for Filipinos would be the rainy season. Flooding, heavy traffic, unpredictable loss of electricity connection, and of course, a hard time to sun and air-dry clothes. What people may not realize is the convenience a dryer can provide for the entire household.

I've said it many times: Doing the laundry is my favorite chore! But it only became that way when I got an Electrolux washer dryer in 2015. Before then, I'd literally spend the whole day doing the laundry.

The rainy season is here! For us moms of young kids, that means a lot of school days will be cancelled because of heavy rain, floods, and typhoons. Of course, when excited little kids are stuck at home all day and you can't send them out to the garden or the playground to give you a little peace and quiet, you need to figure out what to do with the kids. Well, mamas, here's what I suggest for the kids to do!

1. Study.
It's actually still a school day, even if classes got cancelled. So if they have a test coming up or I feel hindi pa nila gamay ang isang topic, we review review review!



2. Watch Netflix.
Yep. I'm not going to pretend I'm a perfect mom. I do it—I park my kids in front of the TV, turn on Netflix, and I chill. LOL. Ako talaga ang nag-chill. I love Netflix. It has 5 profiles, one each for every my member of my family. The boys can only their kiddie shows and movies, so I feel secure in letting them watch any show they want.

Of course, I hang around to supervise. Lots of the shows I heartily approve: Storybots, Trollhunters, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Puffin Rock, Team Umizoomi, Harvey Street Kids, Oddbods, Peppa Pig, Pocoyo, Paw Patrol, Boss Baby. Lots more actually. I just can't remember all the shows my kids and I have watched together. I'll do another post next week with mini reviews, but here's a preview of the truly enthralling Trollhunters:



3. Watch a movie.
Since I let them watch TV, you bet I let them watch movies, too, and watching movies is best enjoyed on a suddenly-there's-nothing-to-do day! There are a TON of movies on Netflix, mamas! The kids' favorites are from Disney (Pixar and Marvel), of course. So we're enjoying watching The Incredibles, Bolt, Lion King, Wreck-It Ralph, Brave, and Happy Feet.

Sometimes the kids want to watch movies that are not for their age group. We allow it if we're watching with them. So we move over to the grown-up profiles of Mama and Papa and all the Avengers movies on Netflix, Jaws, Real Steel, and Pacific Rim are on repeat in our house.


4. Read a book. Make a book!
We should read more books really. But when the school year starts, they put away the books because there's homework to do. How ironic! I really think homework should be illegal. So on nights there's no homework, we read a book. On days that classes are cancelled, we make books. Here's Piero and his book on Pacific Rim jaegers battling alien kaiju monsters!


5. Play video games.
School days mean no mobile devices. Sometimes, we do relax that rule when they have absolutely no homework, or they just finished a week of tests, or if classes are cancelled. Here they are relaxing with the iPad that Netflix gave us last Christmas. Thanks, Netflix! Yes, we can stream Netflix through our iPad, too!



6. Play the piano.
One of my joys is that every single day last summer, the kids pound away on the keyboard. It's not always music to my ears, but every day they practice it becomes less noise and it's lovely seeing and hearing my sons enjoy playing music. So whenever walang pasok, I urge them to play the piano again.


7. Play with their toys.
Now that school is here, the kids spend most of the day on campus, then when they get home, they do their homework. Then it's dinner, bath time and bedtime. On cancelled-classes days, they can get to enjoy their toys, like this set of building blocks that Netflix sent them. Thanks, Netflix! I love it that you send tons of activities for my kids that actually take them away from the TV. I guess you're that confident they'll be back haha

8. Play with pets.
My kids play with our bunny Blue every day but they're especially makulit with her kapag walang pasok. I seriously think Blue wishes there were classes every day because my sons are cariño brutal with her haha Just look at Piero making gigil sa rabbit!


9. Do science experiments.
Okay, we don't do this all the time. If we're going to do messy experiments, magluluto na lang kami hehe. Buti na lang they have a father who is more enthusiastic about making a mess that they can't eat. They've made slime, watched volcano eruptions, and recreated the water cycle. The boys love it!


10. Help with the chores.
Last but not the least, and actually the most important for me, I ask them to help around the house. Help with the laundry, pack away their room, little things like that. Just look at Piero when he was a wee toddler cleaning up his mess! Okay, I didn't make him sweep the floor. He volunteered to do this himself and actually made even a bigger mess! But you know what I mean about getting the kids to help out at home when they have no classes.


So there you have it, mamas! I obviously love it when #WalangPasok happens! Of course, I can do these because I'm a work-at-home mom. I'd love to know what moms who work at an office have lined up for their kids on days classes are cancelled. Please share! I'm sure we can all help each other make the #WalangPasok days a great time for the kids.

*Enjoy Netflix, too! Click here to see how to subscribe to the best streaming service of movies, TV shows, and documentaries. There's always something for you and your whole family to watch!

I like the red, black and white color motif.

Hehe. Yun lang p0h!

P.S. Samsung vs iPhone? Sino ang may mas magandang picture pala?

*Oscars photo from WSJ, local version from Philippine Star

* * * * * * *
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Okaaaaaay, I just went through my computer's files and, boy oh boy, do I have a ton of photos that I never got to share with you! I was thinking, "Maybe I should just write a book on lessons I've learned from marriage, parenting, friendship and career, then I'll put all these photos in that book and put on the cover, 'Never Before Seen Photos Inside!' and sell that book to all my blog readers!!!"

Joke joke. I'll share a few of these photos with you. For free!
Those cuties are Basti, Vito and Sjofn. They are watching Disney Junior's Tayo, The Little Bus. They are very near the TV because they think it's an iPad. Every kid I know now think all screens are touch screens.

That is a month-old Iñigo doing tummy time while his excited Mama takes tons of photos. The camera caught a disgruntled Vito and my heart broke. Vito was still adjusting to life with a brother. He was never really jealous of Iñigo; he was more unhappy with me. I knew he didn't understand why I "abandoned" him. This was a really difficult time for me and Vito. Thank goodness we are past that!

Iñigo smiled early. At just a month old. He's a happy smiley baby. He laughed early, too. At 6 weeks old! He's a happy kid. I love that happy little chubby baby so much!

Ohhhh, this was at Kabbie's wedding. Vito was the Bible bearer. Such a proud moment for his parents really... Until we got to the church and he started running and screaming all over the place! Seriously. He was like a little Tazmanian devil. I chased him everywhere! Look at my hair!

Oh oh! This is a gift from Mothercare. Thanks, Mothercare! You're so good to my kids. That's why I'm so loyal to you! Anyway, this is a Stokke Tripp Trapp chair. It grows with you. From babies as young as 6 months (or as soon as baby can sit up without support) to adults as old as... well, as old as adults can get! Vito loves his Stokke chair.

This is my article on marriage and money that came out in the June issue of Good Housekeeping. It was a very well received article. I got a lot of Tweets telling me how they liked it and learned a lot from it.

This is me with my almost 2-month-old Iñigo visiting Nuffnang. That's the always cool and fabulously chic Trixie (who also blogs at That Girl Trixie). She's my Nuffnang ninang! She makes sure I always get tons of assignments, half of which I turn down because I'm too busy!!! Still, I've earned enough from Nuffnang this year to buy me this...

OMG, diba??? It's a MacBook Pro. Purely Katas ng Nuffnang yan. I bought that baby in July and I am so happy with it!!! I haven't blogged about it. Completely forgot! Well, actually, my hair and dress are ugly when I unboxed it so I couldn't blog about it haha. Vain vain vain! But I'm so happy this MacBook Pro was purchased entirely with my Nuffnang income. Kids, as long as you're good and you work hard, your dreams will come true.

Anyway, I told Trixie my next Katas ng Nuffnang goal is a Tod's D Bag. Trixie, 70K minimum ang Tod's D Bag. That's a lot of work! But... Challenge accepted?

Oh, look, there's Trixie again! This was also in July. Iñigo's 2 months old here. Vince and I met with funny girl Karrots Nazareno of Karotitay fame. She also now has a show on YouTube called Live Love LOLz. She's hilarious. I've never met her but I'm a huge fan so I started hounding her on Twitter, asking to meet meet meet! I figured she'd agree to meet me because, though we've never met, she's friends with friends of mine. I figured she wouldn't think I'm insane. So she finally said yes and here we are!

Oh, if you're wondering why I bring Iñigo with me everywhere, it's because he breastfeeds only from me. He doesn't drink from a bottle. It's not a choice I made. I tell ya, life would be much easier (and safer for him) if he just stayed home and drank my expressed breastmilk from a bottle.

Anyway, carrying him around is easier with a ring sling. I'd like to thank Eliza, author of The Painter's Wife and staunch babywearer advocate, for coming over to the house and giving me a personalized lesson on babywearing. You have saved my life, Eli!!!

This photo was taken at Chow Fun. Review of that fantastic Chinese food bistro coming soon! Sorry for the blurry photo. We're actually focusing on the owner. Yep, the guy in the pale green shirt. He personally helps diners with the menu. Good food, good service!

Oh, and I had to put this here because some readers are asking me if our Matilda is still alive. Yes, folks, she still is. She's almost 5 years old. She's still a masungit bunny. And Vince loves her to bits.

But of course, Vince loves the baby boys best! Here we are at Power Plant having coffee and cake. This was in August. We left Vito at home because we bought him toys (see big bag) for his 2nd birthday. And, as I said, Iñigo is always brought along because of his aversion to fake nipples. Haha. It's cool. We love having him around. Vito, meanwhile, prefers to stay home. I miss that little boy as a result!

Okay, enough photos. I have tens of thousands more! Maybe I will really put them all in a book! Buy one, okay???

This was a complete surprise. Well, he did ask permission first if he could buy it for me (that's married money for you!) and I was so surprised that he wanted to buy me a new camera that I just said, "Sure, buy it for me!" I mean, really, why ever would I refuse? Haha!

It's a Panasonic GF3. I love it! It's so small! You all know we use and love the Olympus cameras but my one whiny complaint about it is it won't fit into my purse. So Vince got me a small camera. Hooray! Here's Vince talking more about the camera and why he got it for me. Thanks, love!

We buy practically all our gadgets from Amazon or from some other online site, have it delivered to Johnny Air NYC, which then ships it to us here in Manila. Why do we do that? Because even with the shipping and taxes, it's still cheaper to buy abroad. Want to do the same? Let Vince tell you how!

Remember this photo? It's from our magazine staff shoot that I mentioned in passing last week or so. A reader asked me why I didn't do my usual behind-the-scenes post of the staff shoot. Well, because I've already done that! So I figured you didn't need to see another been-there-done-that story.

But the real reason I didn't blog about the shoot is I forgot to bring the Olympus camera hehehe. I now think that if the photo wasn't taken by our Olympus, it's not worth posting. There is clearly a huge difference, folks. I always discouraged Vince from buying a camera (too expensive--and we already buy our cameras and lenses from Amazon and eBay, which sell far cheaper) until we got pregnant with Vito. After that, everyone keeps commenting on how fantastic our photos are!

Anyway, I did take a few shots with my Blackberry.

Byron of MAC made me up.

That is a face full of foundation and eye makeup!

And this is our "wacky shot." As you can see, what looks like too much makeup is actually just right under the bright glare of the studio lights.

So cute that my staff kids enjoy wacky shots. Being older than the rest of them, I seriously do not understand wacky shots. Whenever the photographer calls out, "Okaaaaaaay, guys, wacky shot!", it makes me wince! But I'm no killjoy so I do the requisite screwing up of the face anyway. For more wacky shots, go check out Elaine's blog, Tralaland.

Okidoki, sorry if I've been MIA again. Been busy with the mommy blog. It's really growing! I have another giveaway there right now so if you're pregnant or know someone who is, join the contest! I've also been occupied with promoting the bedroom Vince and I designed for the Ethan Allen contest we joined. If you haven't voted for me yet, please LIKE my photo! Thanks!

Just before Christmas, readers were asking me advice on what gifts do I suggest or they were curious about gifts that I do give to my loved ones. Because I had such a busy schedule, I wasn't able to reply. I really wanted to write a good post because, my dear readers, I take gift-giving very seriously!

Now, this post isn't too late. After all, Valentine's Day is coming up. And lotsa birthdays, weddings and parties, too! So here's my ultra-long post on gift giving. But before that, I'll give you a peek at what Vince and I want.

For Valentine's Day, I don't have anything for Vince yet. But for his birthday, I got him a set of really cool toy lens for the Olympus E-PL1.

For me (ahem ahem), I'd love one (or both!) of these:

Baby giraffe ring holder  Vince knows I love rings but he will get why this particular animal--and not rabbits!--is so perfect for me.

Necklace with hand-stamped pendants So charming and sweet and simple! And I love hand-stamping. I made a pewter bowl and hand-stamped it with our names. My necklace would read Vince, Frances, Vito

Vince and I are very good gifters. I think regular readers know this fact! We have certain rules when it comes to giving gifts.

1. They must not be useful. 
By that we mean, they have to be fabulous! When our friends Mariel and Alvin got married, we didn't give them a rice cooker or a wall clock, we gave them a fondue set. Frivolous, I know, but fun!

We don't give socks or underwear or mouthwash. Gifts aren't supposed to be stuff your loved ones can buy for themselves.

2. If they must be useful, they must be OTT. 
That's Over The Top. This past Christmas, my sister-in-law Lizelle wanted a card holder to organize her many credit and discount cards. I searched far and wide till I found an exquisite card holder made of supple Italian cowhide. The awesome smell of leather was seeping through the gift wrapper! She loved it!

So if the newlyweds asked for cutlery, give them silver-plated heavy ones. If they asked for bedsheets, give them the high thread count. If your friend asked for a journal, give a Moleskine.

3. Add a little extra. 
Some people really know what they want so if you give them something else--no matter how fab--they might not appreciate it. My family-in-law is very specific. Vince's niece Elizabeth wanted a Sylvanian doll. Vince gave her a pair, and since Elizabeth is a musician, he added a little baby grand piano and vintage microphone for the dolls. Elizabeth was delighted!

So if your friend asked for a book, give the book and throw in personalized book plates. If she asked for a pen, have her name engraved on it. If she asked for a blender, add some fruits!

4. Personalize it.
And I don't just mean the engraving and monogramming part. My sister Jacqui, being 21, wants clothes. But I don't want to choose her clothes for her because young women that age don't like to be told what to wear! So I got gift certificates from Forever 21 and The Ramp so that she can shop for herself. It doesn't have to be GCs. Remember my new Kate Spade Sutton Place Marielly bag? Sutton Place is a New York suburb. I have a stylish friend who lives in New York City named Mariel. So I bought her that bag. She loves it!

So for your foodie friend, buy her a dinner at a nice restaurant. For your spa-holic sister, get her a massage session. For your movie buff brother, get him passes to a 3D theater.

Giving gifts is an exciting thing to do. I always enjoy the hunt for the perfect gift. I like making people happy! Gifts that are whimsical, frivolous, fun and entertaining are a joy to give and receive. Here are more suggestions for certain occasions that always befuddle people:

Scented candles Make sure the recipients aren't sensitive to scents!

Monogrammed throws Choose neutral tones like white and cream.

Picture frames A collection of simple ones looks nice. Or you can get one fantastic piece in silver or enamel.

Potted flowering plants or herbs Do not give a bouquet because then she'll have to find a vase and water them when she should be with her guests. Potted plants will be enjoyed way after the party's done.

Dessert Guests usually volunteer to bring dessert but these chocolate-covered strawberries are best because your hostess won't have to bring out plates and spoons and knives and wash up!

Wine decanter A bottle of wine is a usual hostess gift, too. Why not add a little extra? This graceful decanter set is love.

Turtle night lamp A night lamp is very useful--for parents getting up in the middle of the night to change diapers and for little ones who're afraid of the dark. Remember to add whimsy to the usefulness!

Baby bath robe Again, very useful. So make sure the robe is the softest you can find and personalize it with the little cutie's name or initials or nickname.

Matching cuffs Maybe not for the shower but for a new mommy to a little girl. This will definitely be a prized set!

Then there are truly some gifts that are useless. Figurines, for example! Try not to give those unless you are positively certain that the recipient collects them!