Toddler activities you can do at home

Exactly how does one keep a toddler preoccupied at home?

I have to give credit to mama, my son's grandma, for helping think of fun stuff to do at home.

Fish the worm. You just need shells, rubberbands and a stick. All items can be replaced by odds and ends from the house.

Gather all toys and let the child build (err, in this picture, make a mess)

Cultivate a love for reading. Have books lying around the house within easy reach.

Make faces. Here, Jared makes faces using clay for eyes and a pencil for the mouth.

Allot a time for praying.

Music Time. In their school, they have music (flute) time.

Make learning fun. Mama makes use of colored pens and cardboards to make letters. Jared knows all the letter sounds by 2 and a half and since late last year, can spell simple words.

Play ball. Who doesn't love this?

Play with popsicle sticks. He writes his name with it here.

Keep him busy. Let them participate in household activities. He helps pack away things in his Tati's room.

Let their imagination run wild. Here, he drags his grandma's bag all over the house. =)

Whatta Year It's Been!

I've been meaning to post the highs and lows of 2011 for our family, but cannot seem to sit down long enough to focus on completing the list.

I saw this printable on the blog Thirty Hand Made Days and thought the questions seemed answerable in one sitting.

So, here goes.

I'll miss you 2011! This is my blog's official welcome to 2012.

The "Other Men" in his Life

Asked what he wants to be when he grows up, he'll say "like daddy" (maybe he wants to work in a bank?), or "be a rocketship".

But aside from his dad, there are two other men who are always prsent in Jared's life. Meet.....

This is Kuya Roger, his tricycle service. Jared has memorized the body number of Kuya Roger's "ride" and thinks every other tricycle is Kuya Roger's.

broom, broom

 And of course, Mang Edgar the handyman, who is around the house maybe a few times a month.


"Here Mang Edgar, I will do it"

What cha doing Mang Edgar?"

I'd love for my son to grow up around hard-working people.



Poem Recital Champion

Yes, my little boy bagged the 1st place in the first official competition he joined.

waiting for his turn with the other contestants

confidently going up the stage

showing off his 1st place ribbon

for those curious about what he wore, here's a better view of his spider costume. mommy fashioned this out from felt, and daddy's socks filled with plastic!

Hope you can view the video.

I was away on a business trip during this competition and I can only pray he'll do his "actions" because he never did during practice.

I was told our son gave a cute performance and stole the show. Good job, baby!

The Best Christmas Gift

I received a lot of nice presents last Christmas. I love gifts and I love the thought that (hopefully) comes with each one.

But the best (early) Christmas gift for me was a something made with lotsa love. Our little boy strung colorful beads into the most wonderful bracelet for me.

Disclaimer: my sister is in the accessories business so we have these stuff lying around at home. He just asked if he can make me one.

hard at work

the look of concentration. stringing beads.

whoa! success!

Little Bluey: My First Pet

Bluey was a pet fish given by Aki on the first holiday party we attended in 2011. This was towards the end of November.

This little one was pampered, and loved by my son. He brought Bluey wiith him everywhere.

Sadly, he never saw the speactacular fireworks on New Year's Eve.

Asked what happened to his pet, he shrugged and said "he choked".

Too much bread crumbs is bad for your health.

Welcome, 2012!

2011 is ending in a few hours.

This year has been very good to us. Health-wise, no hospitalizations and sickness aside from the usual colds. We were also able to start saving again after some financially-draining years. Our son is healthy and thriving in an environment of love. And we just celebrated our 5th year of marriage.
2011 is also a landmark year for my career.

I pray 2012 will be as nice or nicer to us.

From Team Ladan (minus me in the picture), have a truly happy new year!!!

Gift Wrapping Style 2011

I like receiving nicely-wrapped packages. I like the care and attention to detail. The colorful ribbons, the note tag, the paper. It adds more "value" to the gift.

Last year, I warpped my presents in polka dot wrappers in red and green. Too bad I don't have any pictures, but they look festive alright.

This year, I went on the personalized gift track. More tedious, but I'm happier.

Stampers and a box of chalk for Jared's teacher in a clear plstic box. I included a big plastic letter of the recipient's initial inside

Love, love, love kraft paper. They look organic and different. Best part is, I can use them for all occassions, just change that belt to what is appropriate for the season.

Now, for the stamp part. I searched high and low, for weeks. Good thing I found a set in the size I was looking for. Buy 1 set, take 3 sets free. Whatta deal. Used rubber paint for this foam stamp. Easy to clean and stamping was therapeutic for me.

Yummy cookies in canisters, with the Merry Christmas greeting inside in acetate. Nice, yes?

To those I will be giving gifts to, please take a moment to appreciate the wrap before you tear it open, please? =)

Christmas Kiss

I should put a mistletoe above them. My godchild and Jared saying thank you to each other after giving each other gifts last Saturday. 

Too Close for Comfort

At this stage, I love it that my son isn't shy. He's the first to greet the elderly neighbors out for their morning walk (Good morning po neighbors), his mommy and dady's friends (Heyow!) or just about anybody.

But sometimes, he'll get too close such as...

The boy on the left is my godchild but the one on the right we don't even know. This was taken at a christening we attended recently. Talagang he squeezed his head in between theirs with matching hug.

At our group's Christmas party last Saurday. They were asked to just sit together to sing Christmas carols. He interpreted that as this picture below. The boy in red shirt is also my godchild.

Christmas is (almost) Here

I started my Christmas shopping in early September. I was intent on beating the holiday rush this year. As a matter of fact, I have 2 shelves in our linen cabinet that was alloted for stuff I will buy year-round, those meant as gifts for Christmas.
As usual, I procrastinated until the last few days when traffic is so horrible it took us almost 2 hours to get home from what is normally a 15-minute drive.
Truth is, I have been to 4 of the biggest bazaars and while I did not leave empty-handed, it left me tired and restless. I think shopping like this isn't my cup of tea anymore. I rememeber I used to shop with my sister from mall opening til closing. Hay, those were the days. Aside from being more money-wise, I'd rather just spend the time with my son.

So, last weekend, we brought some of the packaging stuff I'd need. Wrappers, stickers, alphabet chip board.

And tried to put order on the gift list and the mound of stuff to wrap

Came up with "care"packages. This one I will call "Relax, and take a break pack". It has a packet of swiss miss hot chocolate with mallows, 2 instant coffee mix, ding dong, oreo, ovaltinies, nips and kit kat.

Okay, I'm still not satisfied with how these packs turned out. I hope I have time ti redo them this weekend.

More Christmas stories and packing ideas in the next few days.

My Little Sister is Getting Married

Five years ago, I was like a headless chicken around this time, checking stuff at the last minute to make sure our wedding would be just like what I imagined.

It was my sister's turn to be busy, with her own wedding preps, for that January date down the aisle. Before people get too busy with all the holiday parties and with all the stress of the wedding, we (her friends and I) feted her with a bridal shower.

Pink and green banderitas (It's a fiesta, per my son) adorned our messy house. Please excuse that messy countertop. I prepped and cooked single-handedly. It was good mama helped in cleaning the house that morning.


Pink and pearls and an empty jar=instant centerpiece!

The super kwela "basagang itlog" (break the egg)! One of the games that night.

Time to open the gifts!


We love you tati!!!

My Yellow Submarine Ride

It was my first time to experience thanksgiving but didn't have anything planned aside from dinner with old friends. Had a breakfast meeting, a lunch appearance at a company beach barbeque, and a walk through at our project.

I've been on Saipan a lot of times before but this is my first time to ever really do anything tourist-y.

The view inside. It can comfortably fit around 20. I am claustrophobic so there was hesitation when this ride was offered to me. Verdict: it ain't bad.

 The submarine sprays bread on its side so the fish swims close to the porthole (not sure of the term)

The guy beside me was mistaken for my husband. haha. He is actually a colleague. I was the only Filipino on this trip.

The yellow submarine is behind this young, Japanese family. The little boy was ecstatic inside seeing all the fish.

The crew is mostly Pinoy so I got the sole priviledge of sitting on the captain's seat and putting my hand on the steering lever before we alighted. I'll update this with photos as soon as my Chinese friend emails it to me.

The View in the Morning

I've recently been on a 4-day business trip and missed my son's first declamation contest. I'm sad of course, but there are some things you got to do. The view in the morning from where I stayed sure made mornings nicer and more welcoming. I'll post more pictures of this island destination in the Western Pacific in my upcoming posts.

My blogging mojo is back!