Parenting Journey

Wonderful Spring by Rica Emmanuele Oh spring, oh spring Oh wonderful spring Snow waves goodbye And birds start to sing You bring back the flowers You bring back fresh air You bring back the leaves Of trees high up there Rivers start to flow Ice turns to water It starts to get warm Bringing refreshing rain showers Photo courtesy of turtlemom4bacon The kites start to fly The boats getting rowed The cars move along On snow-free dry road Oh spring, oh spring Oh beautiful cool...

1 Today, on our thirteenth wedding anniversary, I just wanted to express my feelings deep inside But which words to use, I find difficult to decide 2 I could have written about our fave number thirteen That we consider lucky for us and our children In their names the number and our history written 3 I could have written about blessings that came our way Foremost are our children and the people we care for Earthly resources and otherwise, we have much more 4 I could have written...

Despite our busier schedule that started this year, Papa Sez managed to consistently post updates on Insect Experts, Island Travel and Hubpages. It’s me who had been hibernating from the blogosphere, until the warmth I felt this past Valentine’s Day seemed to thaw my frozen blogging mode. I am now sharing how we spent the Hearts Day all for the sake of a “Healthier Heart and a Happier Us.” “Us time” began when the school kids were off to school, and the younger ones were fed and bathed. We...

Valentine's Day is usually associated with romantic love and dates involving lovers. As a parent, I just want to share our experience last Valentine's Day when our two school-age kids came up with an idea to surprise us with a Valentine's Day breakfast party and involved their three yayas in the preparation. They prepared simple decorations and lovely cards together, each with its own unique design, and presented to us assembled like this. It was a very thoughtful and special group activity...

"My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person: he believed in me." -Jim Valvano Our older son arrived home yesterday disappointed. You see, Leon and his older sister Rica qualified to participate in the school-wide science quiz contests after hurdling the elimination round in their respective classes. They made adequate preparations over a long weekend that was full of family activities, including an afternoon at the park, a night watching Narnia 3, and the usual...

a busy start for 2011, until I noticed an increase in search engine activities for keywords involving "valentine" and "gifts for men and women". Some of our hubs had been getting the traffic in time for the valentine season. What Both Men and Women Want for Valentine's Day Cute Valentine's Day Gift for Ideas for Young Couples Feng Shui Tips for Love and Marriage Buy Her a Valentine's Day Gift Online: What Women Appreciate Valentine's Day Gift Ideas for Him Gift Ideas for Men: Buy Men's...

For our kids, summer fun will never be complete without visiting a beach resort, and this year we chose Peninsula de Punta Fuego in Nasugbu, Batangas as our first beach destination. This is a two-and-a-half-hour drive from Los Baños, Laguna, but with what’s in store for us, the distance was never an issue. A year after the invitation, we finally got to visit this world class resort which boasts of an 800-meter fine white sand beach, infinity pools and other water sports amenities, 9-hole...

While I have already made a recommendation on which broadband internet service provider to subscribe to (with some caveats, of course) based on our experience and feedback of our readers in the past months, there's just so much to wish for in the current state of internet access in the Philippines. Our internet access speed; test taken 1 March 2011I did mention in that article that our current access speed is satisfactory to meet our needs as bloggers (no one in the family is an online gamer...

I regret having dipped the bucket of my two older kids early this morning. The day got off on the wrong foot with issues carried over from last night. One of the issues has to do with school requirements, which was pushed over the edge when Leon can't find his school ID a few minutes before the school shuttle service arrived. After some leading questions from Mama Sez, Leon eventually remembered that he must have left it in the boy's comfort room in school yesterday when he changed his...

Some of us may have naively thought that a 50/50 split in doing house chores, child rearing and earning money for the family is the best practice for humans. But I think many of us who adopted the traditional arrangement with a modern twist have better results when it comes to the level of happiness for all members of the family. The modern twist I am referring to is the compromise to incorporate modern realities like the need for additional income and more opportunities for women in the...

That day, he fetched me earlier than he was supposed to and that left me scampering to get myself ready. We were supposed to visit a farm in the next town for a research project, passing through Mt. Makiling via the Jamboree road but we suddenly got off track as he drove the car pass through a secluded road. As he noticed the questioning look in my eyes he explained that he is looking for a good spot to view the Laguna Lake in that part of the mountain. He then pulled out a ring from the...

While the internet and text messaging are powerful tools to spread news, information and ideas as well as a means to quickly organize and move people to action, irresponsible use of these tools can also leads to confusion, panic and unwarranted anxiety. The recent tragedy in Japan, brought about by a series of earthquakes, followed by tsunamis, and then the partial nuclear meltdown in Fukushima brought the world together in prayers and cooperation in large part because of the availability of...

That milestone is seven-eleven, 7 billion people by the end of 2011. National Geographic is doing a special series about this milestone within the year starting with the video below to spark interest on the topic on global population. Although this almost 3-minute video began by getting one to imagine how big a quantity 7 billion is and followed by fascinating statistics on how fast we got to this number that will eventually reach 9 billion by 2045, the tone became less scary and more...

After a hectic day with two recognition programs for our school kids, Rica and Leon, who were both Academic Excellence Awardees (Gold Medalists), two meetings and a birthday dinner for our two-year old daughter, we still managed to wrap the day watching a Tinkerbell movie. It wasn’t our choice but it was what’s available in my brother’s collections that we haven’t watched yet, which turned out to be perfect for the day of recognition and birthday. The story began with the birth of a new girl...

We celebrated Earth Hour in three different locations in the past three years. In all cases, we witnessed the indifference of neighbors in our immediate vicinity. I actually started writing this post in the wee hours of the morning after the event, but decided not to proceed to give some more thoughts about the disappointment the kids, Mama Sez and I felt in the recent Earth Hour. Having known that the Philippines was number one in the past two years in terms of participation in this world...