November 16, 2012

I just registered to join Rue La La and found some really awesome deals. Rue la la is an online shopping club where members can discover premier-brands and private boutique sales open for just a brief window of time. There’s still some time to do shopping “stateside” and have your goods delivered via third-party shipper before Christmas. Or if you’re like me and you have relatives visiting during the holidays, you may ask them a huge favour and bring some items for you.

Here are some pieces I saw for kids. They are on special sale for 3 more days. Really cool gift ideas. They’re all oversized, so try inquiring with a shipper on how to import these gifts. There are some good selections in fashion and home stuff too. If you live in the US then lucky you, they even have free delivery.

Cowboy Teepee. My kids love tents. We have all shapes except this teepee. It comes in a few prints, some more feminine. But I really like this cowboy print even for my girls. $197.90 $129.90

Airflow Collectibles “Pink Princess” Pedal Car. This is just so beautiful! Vintage feel, pink, wheels. What’s there not to love? $239.00 $179.90

KidKraft “Under the Sun” Chaise with Umbrella & Table. I can see Lily on this. $160.00 $89.90

KidKraft Deluxe “Lets Cook” Kitchen. My kids have a wooden kidsize kitchen too. And it is the most played-with big toy they have. Stella plays with it every single day. $240.00 $169.90

Join Rue La La

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October 16, 2012

Most parents I know are vigilant about kids’ hygiene. Handwashing (not just before meals, but always after entering a washroom), brushing of teeth, using alcohol, arming kids with vitamins and even checking for head lice. Ya, I know it is shocking and dreadful. But it happens. You spend years protecting your precious little toddler then one day you send him off to school… a cesspool of germs, bacteria and lice. Don’t be squeamish. It’s a fact. Yikes.

Yesterday was Global Handwashing Day. UNICEF is one of the lead agencies that promotes handwashing world wide. This very simple practice can save many lives. “Research shows that children living in households exposed to handwashing promotion and soap had half the diarrheal rates of children living in control neighborhoods. Because handwashing can prevent the transmission of a variety of pathogens, it may be more effective than any single vaccine.” (Source GHD).

Unfortunately in many countries, handwashing is not yet a habit. Try observing your office washroom or public comfort rooms in malls. Many people use the toilet and go straight out the door. Some may stop to powder their faces and fix their hair. But not everyone washes her hands with soap and water. Handwashing with soap can help prevent diarrhea, pneumonia, and other disease that prevent many children from reaching their 5th birthday. So let’s all work together and make handwashing with soap and water a habit.

If you think your kid’s school doesn’t have soap and toilet paper in their washrooms, let the school know. Write a letter. And just the same, give your kids their own soap and tissues to bring. I save little dispensers from beauty samples for this purpose. My kids have tissue paper in their school hygiene kit and in their bags, but I know they don’t always make the effort to pick them up before going to the toilet. The best solution for us was to make sure there’s a small pack of tissues in their school uniform pocket. They also carry a small sling bag with liquid soap and baby wipes. This was a tip I got from my friend Christine Juan (Happy birthday Christine!).

This is such a handy product. I give Sophia and Lily Vitapops. They are packets of vitamin C in pop rocks format. I make sure there’s at least one Vitapops in their bag in case they forget to take a dose at home. Vitapops is available at all leading drug stores.

Here’s an eco-friendly and safe product for kids available at Souq Organics.

If you think your child has lice, here is a safer option. It’s quite expensive though as the product is imported. But if you are committed to eco-friendly practices, then take a look at Eco.kid. “Lice Bomb uses natural terpenes and hydrocarbons from high grade essential oils that can normally be ingested safely by humans but have higher solvent powers than chemical paint thinners. These natural solvent oils smell nice to us but not nice for lice. Due to its plant derived origins, Lice Bomb is non-toxic and non-aggressive to humans when used in accordance with manufacturer’s instructions.”

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October 13, 2012

Thank you to all my readers who supported Photos for a Cause – A Fundraiser for Issay Tanabe last September 29th. It was nice meeting some of you who came. I was there mid to late afternoon. Sorry if I missed some readers in the morning. And again, thank you for  your help in raising funds for Issay’s breast cancer treatment.

39 families came to have their photos taken. Hats off to Issay’s husband Doods for putting this all together. He also got a lot of help from his church community and fellow photographers who all volunteered their services. There were also quite a few sponsors who supported, mentioned in the end of this post.

Here’s how that day went.

The entrance to the Jade Pavilion.

Blue Leaf donated the venue for the day. Thank you to Michelle Gamboa-Sandejas for making it happen.

The kids did art activities while waiting for our turn. The art activities were also donated by a sponsor. Food was provided by The RED Chef and Events Catering through Aphat Martinez.

They love this little project. It has wet coloured paper that you pat on to a pattern from JNBM Paper Clay Art, thanks to SueMorales. Some refreshments were provided by Kiddie-Party.com Blue Food Bar , thanks to Jon Sunico.

There was also a free hair and makeup station provided by Salon De Manila, thanks to Pin Antonio Mangundayao. Make up was also provided by Art Agulay.

There were five stations set up within Blue Leaf. Each each package allowed two stations. We chose all the outdoor locations.

The outdoor stations were popular choices in the afternoon. Luckily the rain let up by then.

I also did some portraits of my willing model.

She was the only one who wanted to play with me. The others were busy. Haha.

And of course just when our turn came, she decided to be… difficult. Haha! Doods, being the experienced Real Kids photographer that he was, knew how to handle kids very well. He let Stella hold his camera (?!) and he actually let her shoot. In two minutes she was in a great mood and we proceeded with our shoot! We’ve had many years with Doods and Issay documenting our family even pre-Stella. They do family and kids photos really well.

With Doods and Issay and the volunteer photographers.

Thank you to my sponsors for donating these gifts. Procter & Gamble Beauty gave 30 packs of goodies (Olay soap, Pantene, Head & Shoulders). Olympus donated a VG-170 camera. It was raffled off. The winner was Veejay Jimenez.

I just got this email from Doods today – We wish to extend our heartfelt thanks for your support and participation last 29 Sept. The proceeds will be used for the much needed meds that is only available in HongKong. Based on Issay’s molecular profile, this is the only drug that will work for her. Photo from Issay’s Facebook profile.

Go Issay! You’re doing a great job fighting this!

For more information on how you can help Issay with her treatments or for general photography services, contact Doods Tanabe.

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October 11, 2012

Here’s a new idea from Booths Republic, my go-to group for all things party-favours related.

Personalized magnetic wipe boards. They can do on-the-spot printing for guests. Or they can print them as giveaways with the celebrant’s name/logo.

They come with magnet strips. Perfect for all the gazillion notes I like to leave for the kids and Yayas. INSTAPRINT Magnetic Personalized Wipe Boards now at introductory price of P95 until Oct 31, 2012. You may order through 09178003323/ 09228980314/ boothsrepublic@yahoo.com

Just last July, I used Booth Republic’s 3D Me personalized stuff toy pens at Stella and Lily’s joint birthday party.

It was a big hit!

They are the same group that brought Photo Balloon into the market a few years ago.

I also love having iStickers. They personalize onsite. These waterproof stickers are so practical. Any parent of school-age kids can attest to that.

Info on how to order are in all the links.

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September 13, 2012

The launch of Vitapops was held a few weekends ago, introducing Donita Rose and myself as brand ambassadors.

I have been excited to share this news about Vitapops for a while. Sophia had been taking it since school started. She likes it so much, she’s been sharing it with her friends at school. We even had Vitapops lootbags for Lily and Stella’s joint birthday party.

VitaPops is vitamin C in pop rocks form. VitaPops comes in a single-dose sachet making it more convenient for moms and kids to bring around, has 1/5 the sugar content compared to your regular vitamins and is formulated with Sodium Ascorbate making it tummy-friendly. I carry around three extra sachets in my wallet just in case my kids forget to take theirs at home.

With Associate Active Consultant at Institute of Pediatrics and Child Health and a general pediatrician, Dr. Liz Inciong and my co-endorser of Vitapops, Donita Rose.

To unveil this new and fun Vitamin C for children, Unilab hosted an exclusive event—Pop Rockin’ Field Trip — in Active Fun, Bonifacio Global City.

Mom-child bonding sessions were made fun and exciting through prepared kiddie games and educational activities.

The kids got to decorate a tumbler that was meant for growing plant seedlings. My daughters’ plants are growing nicely at home.

There were artists doing caricature.

And glitter tattoo.

There was a Wii station. But the real fun happened after the launch when the kids got to play for hours at Active Fun. That place is a riot!

Dr Liz explains to the audience and me, the importance of taking vitamin C supplements. “To be healthy takes more than eating fruits and vegetables. Today, due to handling, processing and cooking, the Vitamin C content in milk, fruits and vegetables is significantly reduced so eating these foods may not be enough to attain one’s recommended daily intake of Vitamin C, especially in children. It is important that moms ensure full Vitamin C protection to keep kids always healthy so they can accomplish a lot of things and enjoy more time with their family and friends.”

Moms from media and mommy bloggers participated in our exchange of ideas about achieving the balance of fun and giving kids what’s good for them.

“We, at Unilab, are excited to introduce this vitamin that will definitely make taking Vitamin C a fun, memorable experience. VitaPops is the first & only pop rocks Vitamin C in the country,” shared VitaPops Product Manager Joseph Aruta. (Doesn’t he look a lot like Piolo Pascual?)

It was my first time to be at a product launch with my whole family. All three kids had fun. They were doing their own things while I was on stage. After the formalities, Karen Pasolingan of Pep interviewed me. She noticed my daughters’ creativity (music to my ears). She opened her article with, “At the launch of VitaPops, one little lady singing “Call Me Maybe” catches our attention.” OMG that was Stella, my 3 year old with the broken baritone voice. She really does sing Call Me Maybe out loud and in public.

VitaPops is available in all leading drugstores nationwide. It costs PHP10 / sachet. VitaPops can be taken once or twice a day, or as directed by your pediatrician.

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