TOPAZ HORIZON

One of my recent yummy discoveries in the candy world is Vita Cubes. Okay, this isn't new candy. My kids and I have been seeing the TV commercial for months and months, and they've been begging me to buy Vuta Cubes but I always say, "Nope," because I thought they were vitamins.

No, Vita Cubes isn't vitamins in candy form. They're candy... with vitamins. There's a difference! And I only recently discovered this because I was looking for candy for my boys for Halloween (the most exciting holiday of the year for lovers of sweets) and for the first time ever, actually read the label.

Read the label, moms.

I usually do. I read the label, compare volume vs price, check where the product was produced, stuff like that. But candy, well, we usually just grab the most colorful and most popular ones. So I'm glad I took the time to finally check out the label of Vita Cubes when my middle child (the one with the sweetest tooth and disposition) reminded his Papa to buy Vita Cubes. It's really just candy!

Pretty candy, too. Look at how happy they make me:
The red is strawberry, the orange is orange, the yellow is mango, the green is apple, and the purple is grape. Don't they make you happy just looking at them? Yes? Then you oughta try popping them in your mouth!

Here are the reasons why I, as a mommy, now prefer Vita Cubes for my children:

1. Vita Cubes are candy—not vitamins. 
I don't like vitamins in candy form because the dosage indicates you can only give one a day. Two max. And anyone who ever gave candy to kids knows that you can't give just one piece of candy to kids! They will ask for more and of course, because you have to follow the dosage, you can't give in to their requests, and so for me vitamins disguised as candy is a bad idea.

2. Vita Cubes are better than other candy. 
What makes Vita Cubes better than other candy is it's fortified with vitamins. Okay, let me walk you through the reason why it's not a supplement—the vitamins in Vita Cubes are all water-soluble. That means you can never overdose on them. Each colorful cube is packed with Vitamins A, B complex, C and E, plus Lysine and Zinc. These are good stuff for growth, immunity, and healthy body. But let me reiterate—Vita Cubes are not vitamin supplements!

3. Vita Cubes are better for teeth than other kinds of sweets. 
Kids and candy go together like peanut butter and jelly. So I'm not that strict when it comes to sweets. I give them to my kids in moderation, I don't make a big deal out of it (I don't use it as a prize nor do I ban them), and I make sure the kids rinse their mouths after eating sweets, and of course brush their teeth every day.

It helps that our kids' dentist says that candy like Vita Cubes are better than sweet treats like cake or cookies—these get stuck in between teeth. Vita Cubes basically melt away in the mouth so, after a drink of water or a mouth rinsing, your teeth are good!

4. Vita Cubes taste great!
They do! They're jelly candy that's soft yet firm. I prefer them chilled so that they're firmer. I also find that chilled Vita Cubes taste better—the juicy flavors of strawberry, mango, orange, grape, and apple are magnified. So yum! My kids' favorites are strawberry, apple and orange. I like grape and mango. I love the mango actually—it's like a juicy dried mango. You gotta try it to know what I mean!

Last Saturday, I had such a fun time sharing with other moms why I love Vita Cubes. Hi, mga mommies!!! It is always a lovely occasion when I meet other moms especially when they are Loyal Readers!

With Neri Ann of Nheng's Wonderland.

With Nedy Clazo of Nedy.

With RJ Dancel of The Millennial Panda.

At the Vita Cubes 2 Good Fun Day, mommies, daddies and kids were treated to fun games, lots of activities, play time, good food, and of course tons of Vita Cubes! Thanks so much, Vita Cubes, for inviting us to a day of good fun. I had a good time meeting moms and their babies, plus chatting with many other mommies. An afternoon well spent talaga!

Anyway, if you haven't tried Vita Cubes, please do! Especially since Halloween is right around the corner and wouldn't it be nice to celebrate the candy holiday with the better candy? It's so affordable at just P12 a pack. You can find it everywhere, too—Robinsons Supermarket, SM Supermarket, Waltermart, Landmark, Pure Gold. Even in Mercury Drug and Mini Stop! You can also check your nearest sari-sari store because there are P1 individual packs. Bili na for Halloween!

I've been called supermom by a lot of people and I always ask, "Why do you say that? You don't live in my house!" I laugh. The person I'm talking to laughs and I sometimes get these answers:

"You cook!"
"You have no yaya!"
"You work and you're hands on!"
"You don't look like a mom!"

So, moms, if you want to be a supermom, you can't look like a mom. Whatever that means.

So, moms, if you want to be a supermom, you have to have a career AND be the sole caregiver of your kids.

So, moms, if you want to be a supermom, fire your yaya right now. Pati yung katulong at driver!

So, moms, if you want to be a supermom, you have to do all the cooking yourself.

I'm not ungrateful for having my efforts as a mother praised. Thank you. But you don't see my struggles, my laziness, my impatience, my temper, my self-pity. You don't see me when I'm crying because I got caught up in work and lost track of the time and suddenly it's lunch time and I'm running around the kitchen feeling like an absolute failure. You don't see me when I'm yelling at the kids because they just won't stop fighting and hurting each other. You don't see me in my ratty shorts and shirts with breastmilk stains and wondering when I can take a shower.

But who wants to see that? Even I don't want to see myself that way. It's just not... super. It's all sorts of sad and frustrating and exhausting.

This photo is from a previous oh-so adowable post!

And yet today, I will agree that I am a supermom. Today, I woke up after just a few hours of interrupted sleep to make breakfast for my kids. I did two loads of laundry (whites and uniforms first, colored clothes next). I washed the dishes and cooked lunch. I breastfed the baby and put him down for a nap. I set the table, ate lunch with my family, then helped Vito with his homework. Then after a little rest, I slapped on foundation and kilay, threw on an old shirt and comfy mommy jeans so that my family can troop to the mall and have a snack. Oh, and get food for a school picnic and buy a steamer, too, because I absolutely hate ironing.

It's Sunday. God calls it rest day. But no mother rests on a Sunday. Every supermom I know gets up every single day and gets through the day. Whether she has a job or not. Whether she has household help or not. Whether she's married or single. We take care of everything. We're supermoms. Every mom who works hard to make her family happy and healthy—though there will be times she will fail!—is a supermom.

And if you're a mom and you don't think you're super just because you don't look the part, or because you don't cook, or because you have a career, or because you need a village to help raise your kids, think again. Your love for your babies is your superpower.

Now isn't that super?

Hi to all my beautiful readers (and you are all beautiful!)! This year is Bobbi Brown's 25th anniversary so I was inspired to share my Bobbi Brown makeup collection. A little sneak peek because I want to celebrate my love for the brand and for the woman who started it all.

I always loved the simple font against the black.

I learned to do my own makeup when I visited the Bobbi Brown makeup counter at Rustan's Makati almost 10 years ago. Never knew how to put on makeup, never could afford makeup, and the few makeup products I tried back then always gave my face a rash. I guess that's because I could only afford cheap makeup haha. Then I became a magazine editor and a major job requirement was to attend all these glam events. So I did. But the PR people kept mistaking me for some kid trying to gate crash their events! So my beauty editor friends said I needed to put on a bit of makeup and dress up a little. So I did.

My first stop was Rustan's Makati because they had a lot of chic beauty counters. But that also meant they were incredibly intimidating to me, someone who never used makeup. The Bobbi Brown makeup counter had a little sign that said they offered makeup lessons for free. For free! No purchase necessary! So I nervously sat down and asked for help. And help me, they did! I was gently coached on what shades looked good on me, what my basic kit should be, and how to apply makeup.

Changed my life!

Not a lot. Just the basics!

I started collecting Bobbi Brown makeup, I got all her books, I try to support Bobbi Brown every chance I could even if I don't really get anything from them save for lovely samples now and then. I like to help them because they helped me first. I don't think the girls at Bobbi Brown Rustan's Makati in 2007 realized how they helped me find my confidence as a new editor trying to make it in a world I didn't belong to. That one hour in their beauty counter helped me rise in my career because in that glam world, beauty matters.

I'm no longer part of that world but beauty still matters but now it matters not as a tool to climb the career ladder. It now matters to me because I like looking pretty. Full stop. I don't do it for anyone or for anything. It's just for me! I don't even put on makeup a lot. Just foundation, concealer, eyebrow powder, and lipstick. Basics. I'm not very good doing more than that!

Anyway, that's my little story for today! Happy 25th anniversary, Bobbi Brown! Thanks for changing my life!