Nicole and Yannah

It's incredibly heart-warming when you see your daughter making friends in school.

Nicole and Yannah

Nicole was sick last week so she wasn't able to go to school. When we arrived in school this morning, Yannah was so excited and shouted Nicole's name :)

I can't get this song out of my head

They do this at my daughter's nursery class during circle time:




I love it!

So this is the kind of stuff they do in school :D

My daughter's being secretive about the stuff they do in school. She tells me they do "nothing".

This is what welcomed us when we took her to school this morning. Apparently they did flags last week to commemorate the Philippine Independence Day.



This is Nicole's flag:

You're the 1, Goldilocks!

Three years and counting- that's how long my daughter, Nicole, has been celebrating her birthdays with Goldilock's cakes. Before she learned the word 'cake', she called it "birthday" and every time we would pass by the Goldilock's store in our town plaza, she would say- "Let's buy birthday".

We don't throw elaborate birthday parties for her so she doesn't associate fancy gatherings, mascots, balloons, gifts and give-aways with birthdays, she only knows that birthdays and cakes go together. And we're not talking about just any cake- she's learned to associate the blue & yellow box of Goldilock's with the event. When we bought my mom, her 'wowa', a Goldilock's cake for Mother's day last year she really thought it was her 'wowa's' birthday :-).

Nicole's first birthday; celebrated with a round chocolate cake


We bought her a small mocha cake when she turned 2.


winning combo for weekday celebration of Nic's 2nd birthday: pizza + cake


The weekend after her 2nd birthday, we had a simple merienda with family & friends. She had a Princess Belle cake.


Stepping up the cake ladder! For her 3rd birthday, we got her a premium cake :-)

She turns 4 this August and we have no major plans for her birthday except to get her a fancier Goldilock's cake with the Disney Princess characters. The first time she saw that kind of cake at the display window of Goldilocks-SM Dasma, she was mesmerized. She keeps going back to that window whenever we're in the mall.

You're the 1 Goldilocks because you make my daughter's birthdays and all the happy events in our lives, extra special.

Crazy Busy Week

My daughter just started preschool so it was a pretty busy week for me. Aside from having to do my regular home chores and all my work for my freelance writing job, I also needed to take my daughter to school and wait for her to finish with her class. The pay-off: my daughter absolutely loves her school!

Nicole in her uniform (MC Hammer pants. lol)

For the first time in her life, Nicole didn't mind being left with other people. After her first day in school she told her dad, "I'm very happy!". We're so proud of her and so happy with our decision to send her to the Elisea School of Creative Learning :) Now I understand why people go crazy over choosing a good preschool for their children. It's really very important for kids to enjoy their first school so that they develop a love for schooling and learning.

Kidsahoy SY2009 Programs

I'm fortunate to have met Joanne 2 years ago because she is inspiring. She runs Kidsahoy, a dynamic community of pro-active parents and kids who strive to build a better, bigger, & brighter future for everyone.

Here is a presentation of Kidsahoy's programs for SY 2009:




For more info, visit http://kidsahoyshop.com/

Reminder to Self: Do Hard Things

My parents only had a single expectation of me as a teenager- finish college without a single failing grade. And I thought as long as I try to meet that expectation, that I was doing and being great. Here's the thing- college went by too quickly for me. I was in a drunken haze for most of my college years. But you won't believe how proud I was of myself when I graduated- I got myself a degree from UP, in 4 years, without a single failing grade. Like that was already a major achievement. LOL.

And then I graduated, became an adult and suffered from quarter life crisis (Ah, another condition and term coined to make excuses for confusion and mediocrity). Because all my life, I had been on a boat partying and just going with the flow, when it was time to figure out what I wanted to be or what life I wanted for myself as an adult- I just didn't know. I was already an adult for cryin' out loud and there I was just trying to figure things out.

I was already 27 before I figured out what I wanted out of life. I am now 30 and at my best state of mind, but unfortunately, not in my best state physically. How many times have I said in my blogs- "If only I had this mind in my 20-year old body, I would have been awesome!".

So now I'm wondering how different my life would have been if I had read the book Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris when I was 13/14 instead of at the good old age of 30 :)

The authors describe the teenage years as the "launching pad of life" and I couldn't agree more. The book urges teenagers to "do hard things" because despite society telling and conditioning them that the teenage years are the time to "part-ay!", teens are perfectly capable of achieving great things. Why do we let today's teens get away with great responsibilities when they are perfectly capable of meeting high expectations?

Just take the case of CNN hero Efren Peñaflorida Jr.. In March 2009, Efren was named a CNN hero for bringing education to neglected street children in the slums of Cavite. Efren started Dynamic Teen Co. and began to teach street children at the age of 16. He's been at it for 11 years. Amazing.

Let's see, what were I doing at 16? Talking for hours on the phone with my bestfriend because I was in love with him, spending my free afternoons watching Champoy and John en Marsha reruns, getting drunk before classes at Krus na Ligas, and worrying about my weight. Just imagine all the amazing things I would have done in my life if I weren't a self-absorbed teen. Sure I try to make up for all the lost time now. But time lost can never be regained. And just think of all the time I deducted from my life by smoking excessively as a teen (I quit smoking at the age of 27 BTW).


Why do teens think they have all the time in the world to figure out what life is about much later on in their lives when they could and should be figuring things out NOW? The book Do Hard Things explains why.

No matter what age you are, the time to take action is NOW. Your life is happening NOW. You could be a teen but you CAN change the world.

Do Hard Things is all about the "teenage rebellion against low expectations". I encourage you to buy this book for your child who is about to become a teen. I even encourage adults to buy this book not so much as to find regret about not having lived their teenage lives to the fullest but to know that it's possible to break the "twine" at any age because it is all in their heads. (Buy the book so you'll know what the whole twine thing is about, that's one of my favorite parts in the book ;-) ).