Monday, June 11, 2018

Just P1000 will help 3 children with their school supplies. Please help now.

Pasukan na, mamas! Do you know that every enrolment, every day my kids go to school, I feel so accomplished? Every day my boys go to school, I feel my one of my biggest dreams has come true. Of course, working so much to raise the money to pay for their education hurts. But it also feels great! I know every parent of a school kid knows how I feel.

Now let me share with you my support for World Vision, a humanitarian organization that helps fight poverty. One of the ways they do this is to help poor children get an education.

I came from a poor family. Never ko tinago yan. My mother worked so hard and got into a mountain of debt just to put all 4 of us in school. Thankfully, I was able to get free high school education at Manila Science High and subsidized tuition at UP Diliman, so that lessened the load on Mama. Thank you so much, Mama! I am where I am now because my brains got me here. Not my family name, not my connections (I had none anyway). So for us poor people, a good education matters. It's the foot in the door. It's what opens doors. 

So every birthday of my kids, I donate to World Vision. My goal is to support three kids from Leyte one day but P2,250 (P750/kid) a month is a bit out of budget for now. When I told this to World Vision, alam mo sagot nila? "We will pray that God blesses you abundantly so that you can do that. God bless you!" How can you not support an NGO that blesses you??? So I'm glad World Vision offers the option to sponsor the school supplies of these children with its Back-to-School sponsorship.


As mamas with school kids, alam naman natin that school expenses don't stop with the tuition. May school supplies pa, uniforms, shoes, socks, plus baon at pamasahe araw-araw. Kapag may assignment and school projects pa, gastos na naman. Mabigat talaga siya.

I'm very lucky to be able to send my kids to a good school but I will confess that even kami na hindi naman mahirap nahihirapan sa lahat ng gastusin. Lalo na last year when my family depended only on my freelance/blogging income. Hindi regular ang bayad sa freelancers. Late ang release ng checks. Hindi sunod-sunod ang projects.

I was so plagued with anxiety last year that my fears manifested physically as a stress rash. It wasn't an allergy or a disease. It was my anxiety. I was so afraid last year, mamas. Every time the quarterly tuition invoice arrived, every time may project yung mga bata, every time the bills came, my itchy rash flared up. Thank God I got a big client that signed me for a year and Vince got a job. Nawala yung rash ko when I felt more financially secure.

So I'm painfully aware that other parents feel the same anxiety I have. If I can help kahit konti, kahit sa school supplies lang, I will and I do so through World Vision. Try niyo rin, mamas! P1,000 will help three school kids na. Kung may extra kang P1,000 diyan, baka pwede mong i-donate to the kids that World Vision supports.

Click to donate!

Click here to sponsor Back-to School Kits and help our Pinoy kids enjoy school and lessen the worries of their parents. Thanks so much and God bless you!

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Wednesday, June 06, 2018

My silly Iñigo

My mamas liked the photo of Iñigo and me in my Mother's Day post so here's another shot from that time, which was his birthday:


Yes, his birthday! He turned 6 last month. Please tell him your birthday wishes. He loves his birthday a lot!

He's a very happy child, my Iñigo. Vince is always saying, "We should bottle his laughter and sell it." Iñigo has the bestest laugh in the world. I thought my laugh was good but when this boy laughs, everyone who hears it just lights up. He has such a happy laugh. I wish everyone had his happy laugh!


He's also the one with the best sense of humor. All my kids are funny, okay, but they're different funny. Vito is a lot like me—very serious and we laugh at smart jokes. Piero is 3 so his humor is all toilet-related. Iñigo is silly and shallow and also smart and naughty and he truly finds something funny in everything. Everything is funny!


This is a good thing. He's good for me because I'm serious. I've always been a serious person but in my youth, I laughed a lot anyway. But maybe for a decade now, I have felt my sense of humor getting buried under increasing responsibility, endlessly busy days, and never-ending household chores. Only Vince and our kids seem to make me laugh these days.

Iñigo especially. Just look at him. That's him every day of our life!


Of all my kids, it's Iñigo who has a fans club of sorts. People tell me they're attracted to his huge eyes, mischief, and big smile. Well, you should see him in real life. He's so full of life and fun!

May you always be full of life and laughter, my dearest Iñigo. May you always bring happiness to everyone you meet. May you always be tender and kind. May you always see the joy in life, even during the darkest days. God bless you for being so generous with your time and laughter! Happy birthday again, my sweetest silly boy! Mama, Papa and your bros love you!


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Monday, June 04, 2018

Important school year prep: Boost your kid's immunity with these 5 steps

It's a new school year once again, mamas, and we all know what that means. Sipon, ubo, lagnat, trangkaso! And that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to childhood illnesses. Whenever you put a group of people together, especially in an enclosed room, the chances of getting sick spike up because there's just more germs flying around and you're trapped in a room just touching or breathing in those germs.

As working moms, we are especially worried when our kids get sick because we can't always be there for them. Of course, when it's serious, we will definitely take a leave from the office. But when they have the sniffles or a little cough or even just a slight fever, we always have to think: "Should I stay home?," "Maybe it's not bad enough and I can go to the office," and "If I go to work, will the yaya take care of my child well? Maybe I should just stay home." And then if we do go to work, we can't completely focus on work because we're worried about our child. So it's bad. 

The key is to keep the kids as healthy as possible. Here are my ways to boost my boys' immunity so that they can resist the germs flying around in school:


1. I encourage a healthy lifestyle. 
This is hard, mamas. When kids have enough sleep, eat fruit and veggies, drink a lot of milk and water, get lots of exercise, their bodies are stronger. But my little boys like to stay up late (they like talking to each other in the dark), they dislike fruits and vegetables, and water is "tasteless!" So what's a mother to do? Well, I nag away and insist they sleep early/eat just a few more bites of veggies/drink just a little more water, and they do it naman. Pahirapan lang. Hopefully, all my reminders will stick to them one day and they'll actually start living healthily without me going on and on about it.

 2. I teach them to avoid potential contamination spots. 
Cover your mouth when you cough and sneeze. Cover your nose and mouth and turn away when someone is coughing and sneezing. Share food but don't share bites of the same sandwich or cookies. Don't touch anyone's nose and mouth. 

3. I insist on clean hands. 
The kids have alcohol in convenient spray bottles in their bags. But I know they don't use it as often as I would like so I ask them to always wash their hands after using the bathroom and before eating their baon. Then when we get home from school, the first thing I make them do is wash their hands with soap and water for 20 seconds.

4. I make sure their vaccines are up to date. 
I can't stress enough how vital vaccines are in protecting our children from many diseases. Measles, flu, whooping cough, chicken pox, polio and so many diseases that can weaken, disfigure, disable, and even kill children are preventable with a simple vaccine shot. My sons' school requires up-to-date vaccinations, too, because they also believe—as scientists and the medical community do—that vaccines keep our children healthy and strong. 

5. I give them Vitamin C and Zinc. 
On top of their multivitamins, I also give my kids FERN-C kidz. This is a yummy supplement syrup that has both Vitamin C and Zinc. Vitamin C does NOT cure the cold or cough. What it does is it boosts our immunity, helps us absorb iron (which is good for our blood), and hastens healing of wounds. So as a mommy of super likot little boys, Vitamin C is a great idea! What about Zinc? Zinc is what boosts our body's immune system and helps us heal from the common cold and other infections faster. Vitamin C and Zinc have more important benefits but I'll just keep the list short.


There you go, mamas! My 5 steps to boosting my kids' immunity—a super important thing to do now that the new school year is here. 

FERN-C kidz is available in leading drugstores, supermarkets, convenience stores and FERN kiosks nationwide for P62.75 for the 60ml bottle and P129.50 for the 120ml bottle. FERN-C kidz is from the makers of FERN-C and a quality product of FERN. To know more about FERN-C kidz, like their Facebook page. 

*Please consult your pediatrician before giving your child vitamin supplements.

*This post is brought to you by FERN-C kidz.

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