TOPAZ HORIZON

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!

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!

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.

Electrolux asked me to share with you news about their donation program called Love You Loads. Of course I agreed! I wanted to share the good news with you because heavens knows we need good news in this time of increasing corruption, fear and hate, and open misogyny. I also wanted to share it because I'm an Electrolux mom. My vacuum cleaner, my range hood, my hot plate, and my beloved washing machine are all Electrolux so I highly recommend all their products and believe that if more of us buy their appliances then they'll have more money to help our fellow Filipinos!

Because of Electrolux, I love doing my now-favorite chore: the laundry!

So this is what happened: Electrolux Philippines, together with its supply chain partner CEVA Philippines, donated 200 washing machines to mothers, communities and organizations in the Philippines in their donation program called Love You Loads. The program aims to help lighten the loads of Filipinos through modern appliances.

As a working mama who has no household help whatsoever, I know that this is true. In fact, even though I wish I had a kasambahay, because my appliances help me clean and cook better, faster or more efficiently, I know I really don't NEED a kasambahay kasi kaya kong gawin lahat since my appliances are the best. Imagine if every household is equipped with helpful tools! All of us parents, especially those who spend so much time just cleaning the house, will suddenly have more time on our hands. Imagine what we can do with all that that extra time (pursuing a hobby, making extra money, spending more time with family, etc.)!


During the turnover ceremony held at the Electrolux office, Electrolux Philippines Country Marketing Manager Andrea Soto-Pionilla said, “May is the [month when] we recognize and share our appreciation for mothers and all the hard work that they do. Electrolux wants to express our support for moms and families all over the country.”