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When our kids turned 1, we had their party at Harana.  When they turned 2, we had it at Yummy's.  During those two birthdays, we never encountered any problem with the party venue nor with the party hosts. This year, on the other hand, we had it at McDonald's.  We initially wanted it at Jollibee since we have attended quite a few birthday parties at Jollibee but the Transformers theme was already phased out.  Caleb loves Bumblebee so much.  Calix on the other hand likes to play with Optimus Prime but never really up to the extent of going gaga over it.   So we decided to hold it at McDonald's since their Toy Story theme was still available.  Both Caleb and Calix love Toy Story a lot.  However, Calix is the one who sincerely goes gaga over Buzz Lightyear. Our experience with McDonald's at Abreeza was, sad to say, a bit difficult.  Our party was supposed to start at 5 o'clock in the afternoon.  We arrived before 4 o'clock in ...

This is a long delayed post.  Two weeks delayed, actually.  Our twins celebrated their 3rd birthday last March 20, 2012.  They had their simple (but fun!) birthday bash at McDonald's Abreeza (I wouldn't recommend this place though.  We won't be coming back there). I will always remember what my friend, Mommy Lou, told me.  "Children's birthday parties are for children and not for adults."  So this year, we tried to minimize on everything with the thought that the party will be mainly for kids and not for adults (we were actually able to save, a lot because the package at McDonald's was already an all-in package).  The good thing was after the birthday, a lot of kids came up to me to say "Tita, we enjoyed the party!" So here's a peek at our Ahia and Shoti's 3rd simple (but fun!) Birthday Party. Party Collage We have hungry celebrators! Before the party started, they were already eating burger. Family pic. Birth...

Araw ng Dabaw, yesterday, was spent at the office for work and at Abreeza for some rest and recreation. Why Abreeza? Simple, it's the mall nearest to our place. And it's the mall which is most familiar to Caleb and Calix. The kids love Abreeza.  I actually cajoled my Grandpa (my father) to treat us at Moon Cafe. However, since it was a holiday, Moon Cafe was so full. We thereafter ended up eating at Bigby's and ordered the Belly Buster Platter. Busog! The highlight of the night was of course not dinner. It was the water/ lights show at Abreeza afterwards. I was only able to capture blue (I hope they have a Davao version of the dancing light at the Ayala Triangle in Manila). We also discovered these unique wooden pieces. I don't know if it was for decorative purposes because most people used it as chairs.  The kids even viewed it as chairs.  Look at them sitting on it! Happy Araw ng Dabaw! Trying out the art piece as a chair. The view from Bigby's. Ca...

Kids are really very inquisitive.  They ask a lot of questions and sometimes, the questions are endless.  I do not want them to stop questioning- ever.  I want them to continue to ask questions.  I believe they learn when they ask. In order to fuel this attitude, I normally bring the kids to the yard to play every morning (that's crossing my fingers that they would wake up a bit early).  I want them to be aware of their environment and to ask questions about it.  The normal question they would ask is, "What's this  Mama?", "What's that Mama?".  And that question brings music to my ears.  Curious.  I want curious kids.  I identify the object they are pointing.  Thereafter, they observe the object and shout with glee at every movement. Just recently, they discovered caterpillars.  Tons of caterpillars hanging and crawling in our Rambutan Tree and caterpillars which fell off the tree.  "Mama, look! Caterpillar! ...

This morning, I attended the projection sharing of Caleb and Calix at the Kumon Center in Buhangin.  I was a bit nervous.  Assessments always make me nervous.  When people gauge or assess your kids, a mother is always nervous and at times, can pretty much get very protective of her kids.  I sometimes find it weird how teachers tell you what your kids can and cannot do at his particular age.   That's why I'm not so into the traditional method of educating kids. I was greeted by Teacher Shiela, their soon to be teacher starting next month.  She seemed nice.  I liked the fact that she looks young (plus points!).  I want younger teachers because I think they related better to kids (no offense to older teachers of course).  At the outset Teacher Shiela told me that indeed, twins do not have the same personalities.  She was able to confirm when she gave the assessment exam to the twins.  While Caleb was crying and looking for me, Ca...

My twin boys love playing with action figures.  Over the years, they have accumulated quite a few.  They specifically love Transformers, Iron Man, Spiderman, and the Avengers.  Caleb specifically loves Bumblebee.  Just recently, when Teacher asked him what his name was, he answered "Bumblebee Caleb."  Calix, on the other hand, loves Iron Man.  He never sleeps without his Iron Man action figure. Just recently, they discovered play-doh!  I bought them their first play-doh's a year ago.  Play-doh's which they did not of course play with.  The package says for 2+, however, kids do not develop in the same pace.  They were probably not ready by then.  They played with it a bit, and then forgot about it.  So for almost a year, their play-doh's were just placed inside their toy box, waiting to be played. Just recently though, we reintroduced the play-doh.  I wondered how they would react to it.  Would they play with it al...

I am a mom-on-the-go.  What mom is not?  On a given day, I wake up to two sleeping kids who have decided to wake up a bit late- 8am.  Before they decided on this, they usually woke up at around 6:30am which means that I am able to usually leave the house at around 9am.  However, since they now decide to wake up a bit late, this therefore also means that I am able to leave the house a bit late, around 10am. As a mom-on-the go, I'd have to think about what to wear the next day the night before.  It's a trick to mentally think about your closet (Imagine "Clueless" where the lead star had a rotating closet.  That's what I do.).  At least Alicia Silverstone had a computer to help her decide what to wear.  Me?  I have to close my eyes and think.  It's a good thing though that my closet is small.  Having a big one would surely spell trouble. It's easy to decide what to wear on a weekday.  Weekdays usually means office attire. ...

Yesterday, February 29, marked the new beginning for some people who passed the Bar Examinations.  It certainly was a leap year for them. I specifically remember the day and year I passed.  It was April 3, 2009.  Two weeks after I gave birth.  It was the second time I took the Bar Exams so passing it became all the more pressing apart from the fact that we now have twins.  I knew it would be released that day, I just did not know what time it will be released.  So it was business as usual in our house.  Bathing the babies, breastfeeding the babies, cleaning the babies.  It was all about the babies!  I did not actually have time to really think about it.  Sometimes I'd catch a glimpse of the television and know that a lot of people are already waiting outside the Supreme Court grounds waiting for the results.  And then the babies would cry and the television had to be left for a while. At around 5pm, I peed.  And I pray...