Art Time with Global Art Pampanga

As a mom, it pains me to see how tablets, ipads, laptops or any screens are depriving my kids from discovering more about themselves. Screens are wasting our children's time to explore the world and see its beauty. Of course, as a parent I want to do something about it. I want my children to discover their talents, hone them and most of all enjoy them. I want them to know that the world is more than just what they see on Youtube.

I know, it's our (me and my husband) fault that we had introduced screens so early to our children. That's why, we are doing everything to make it right for them. Since we know that Kiera loves art and Addy loves whatever her "Ate" loves, we sign them up for Global Art Pampanga's free trial. 

Global Art teaches creative drawing, painting, sketching, cartooning, poster making, glass painting and clay modeling. It offers programs like Visual Art, Cartoon & Comic, Acrylic Painting, Clay & Craft and Cultural Programme. Global Art aims to inspire children to explore and develop their artistic skills and creative thinking through the different programs that they offer. It started in 1999 and has now numerous branches all over the world. In the Philippines, they have 14 branches which includes Global Art Pampanga.

Inside Global Art Pampanga, artworks all around.

Even the reception area is full of artworks.

Global Art Pampanga is Kiera and Addy approved :)

Global Art believes that children naturally loves art and its main goal is to nurture this love while they're young. I can say that people behind Global Art Pampanga are doing a great job in achieving its goal. My girls output after the trial are more than what I have expected. See it for yourself:

They were asked to draw and color an apple.

Kiera's art. On the right side is her own version while on the left side is how they were taught to do it the "Global Art" way.

Addy's art.

This is my favorite part, watching them paint on canvass.

Addy enjoyed painting as much as Kiera.

The good news is, we get to take home their paintings. Thank you Ms. Marlene De Mata for this wonderful Global Art experience.

You may schedule a 20-minute free trial with Global Art Pampanga through these contact information: 0928-550-3904 and globalartpampanga@gmail.com. Learn more about Global Art Pampanga, like their Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/globbiepampanga/ and follow their Instagram account, @globalartpampanga.

Ballet Dancing at The Dance Conservatory

An ordinary Saturday for my girls means playing Roblox all day with just few minutes of rest in between. One Friday night, I told them that tomorrow is going to be a special day. They asked me why and I told them, we are going to ballet class tomorrow! Kiera's reaction was priceless because she loves ballet. She couldn't hide the excitement on her face. Addy, on the other hand said, she didn't want to go. Of course, in the end, Kiera had convinced her to go with us.

We were scheduled for a free trial class at 10am but Kiera was already awake at 6am. She was so thrilled to dance ballet. Addy woke up next and said she was also excited about it. I dressed them up and did their hair like ballerina's bun, it was the least thing that I can do to make them feel that they are ballerinas. then we went straight to The Dance Conservatory.

The girls joined the baby ballet class with Teacher Pau.

Both were attentive to their teachers' instructions.

The girls in action.

Dancing with the music with Teacher Bubbles and Teacher Pau.

It was the girls first time to dance on a real dance studio.

After the class, my girls were tired but happy.

The Dance Conservatory is located at Unit 5, 258 Sto. Rosario St., corner St. Catherine Street, San Jose, Angeles City. It started in 2006 at their former studios in Provebsville School and Blossoms Forth School. Why is it the right dance school for our children? First, it is a member of the Association of Ballet Academies in the Philippines. Second, it offers a diverse program of dance courses including ballet, hip hop, jazz and contemporary ballet. Third, it has a professional dance floor. Fourth, it has small class size to make sure each student is given individual attention. Fifth, regular students of TDC perform on stage through Annual Dance Recitals. Their higher level intensive students are even given the chance to compete on different national ballet competitions. Last but not the least, it has powerhouse members of the faculty which includes Ms. Bubbles Encarnacion, The Dance Conservatory's Director.

Kiera was obviously happy with the experience. Surprisingly, Addy said she wants go back there soon. Unfortunately, due to our current set-up, having no yaya and all, I can't promise to them that we can go back soon.

As a parent, it is nice to know that non-academic schools like The Dance Conservatory is available for my children. While regular schools develop our children academically, a school like TDC helps in honing our children's God given talents and skills.

TDC offers year round classes and enrollment. It is open from Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm. It also offers adult classes. Visit and like their Facebook page The Dance Conservatory and follow them on Instagram @tdcpampanga for more information.

Product Review: Happyganics PH

As a busy work-at-home mom with four kids, it's so hard to get all the work done. Since I don't have a helper or a yaya with me, I sometimes have to send our clothes to the laundry shop to make sure we'll have something to wear for the coming days. However, I leave important clothes behind like school uniforms, my husband's office clothes and most especially, my twins' clothes. I make time to do the laundry myself for these clothes.

When Kiera was the same age as her brothers, she had atopic dermatitis caused by laundry detergent, as per pedia's diagnosis. I remembered that I had to use Perla to wash her clothes. Perla doesn't have a powdered form so I used to grate it so I can machine wash the clothes instead of hand washing them.

Now, a lot of mild laundry detergent made specially for babies' clothes are available in the market, local stores and online shops. One of them is Happyganics. Happyganics is an all-natural laundry detergent made of 100% natural, non-toxic, hypo-allergenic and ultra-concentrated ingredients to make sure it wouldn't harm our babies' most delicate skin while making sure that our babies' clothes are clean. It has 2 scents: lavender and natural. It comes in the cutest packaging I've ever seen in a laundry detergent (see photo). 

Happyganics Lavender and Natural 900g or 60 loads in cute tin cans packaging. 

I've been using Happyganics lavender scent for two weeks now. It is so concentrated that I only need 1 scoop for 1 load or 5 kilograms of clothes. It cleans well and doesn't leave the strong scent of lavender on clothes. I also used it on white school uniforms of my girls and even on plush toys too. I love that it is mild but does its job on cleaning clothes well. It's gentle on my hands, thus giving me an assurance that it'll be gentle on my kids' skin too.

Newly bathed plushies using Happyganics Lavender.

Here's Happyganics' pricelist:

Happyganics Natural/Lavender 150g or 10 loads - 249php

Happyganics Natural/Lavender 900g or 60 loads - 990php

Happyganics Natural/Lavender 1.5kg or 100 loads - 1,390php

Don't be deceived! If you think Happyganics is expensive, try to divide the amount over the number of loads. Each load will only cost 13.90php which is equivalent to one sachet of one ordinary detergent powder. 

I recommend Happyganics especially to moms who have babies with sensitive skin. To know more about Happyganics, like Happyganics PH on Facebook and follow @happyganicsph on Instagram.

Looking Back: Unplanned but not Unwanted

Lately, I see posts in mommy groups of moms who feel so upset about getting pregnant again, too soon. That's why I felt the need to share this article I have written five years ago. I used to be in the same situation and may have felt worse than everybody else's feelings about their unexpected pregnancies.

My pregnancy with Addy and her 3D ultrasound.

October 4, 2011-- Two red lines? I couldn't believe it. Kiera has just turned 10 months last September 17. We were not planning for a new baby, we were just planning for her first birthday. I silently walked out of the bathroom and rushed myself to our room. I was about to cry, and though I was silent, my actions speak so loud that my husband knew exactly what was going on. He joined me in our room and I immediately showed her the pregnancy test result. He told me to do another test just to make sure, but I told him, one is enough, I am sure that I am pregnant.

I have to admit, it was a painful moment for me. I mean, I just gave birth 10 months ago. My body has just started going back to its normal size. Plus the fact that I don't have a job at the moment, what will happen to my career? Who would hire a pregnant woman? What would be the reaction of our extended family? What will other people say? Our daughter is not even one year old, and here I am, pregnant again. For a moment, I thought my life was totally wrecked, all because of an unplanned pregnancy.

I didn't think of abortion. But I was somehow praying that God will make a way not to continue this pregnancy. I wished that I'll slip in the bathroom, stumble or fall somewhere. I knew it was a selfish thought, but I was so emotional about the whole pregnancy thing. 

My husband told me that he was happy about the new baby, but his face didn't justify that. I asked him to keep the pregnancy a secret for a while, at least until Kiera's first birthday. Being close to my sister though, I revealed the news to her a week after. She just lost her baby at that time, and hearing the news made her happy. She told me that the baby is another blessing from God and never mind other people's opinion. She helped me disclose the news to our parents, too. To my surprise, no violent reactions at all, but they were a little worried about our finances.

Contrary to my thought, I found a job. We revealed the pregnancy even before Kiera's birthday. I also started to feel better and finally accepted the fact that I'm having a new baby. I even posted on Facebook about it. I received so many beautiful comments but there were some not so good comments too. I didn't mind the negative comments because I was so overwhelmed by my friends' support on the pregnancy. My husband kept posting so many beautiful things about it on Facebook as well. One of my favorites was, "I am proud of my wife".

I called her unplanned because we were not ready in all aspects, for a new baby, but she was planned by God. And God's timing is always perfect. In about 22 days, I'm going to give birth to a pretty little girl and we will name her Laureen Adriella. I never thought that the feeling of excitement would be the same as the first one. I love you our Addy. Forgive my selfish thoughts. I pray nothing now than for you to be born healthy and normal. I'll see you real soon sweetheart.

Tears still fall from my eyes whenever I read this one. I feel so blessed to have my sweet little Addy. God has been so generous to me, He gave me a big family to love and I wouldn't want it any other way. 

Product Review: Bubble Man Dishwashing Liquid

Should we trust ordinary dishwashing liquid in washing our babies' feeding bottles and utensils? My answer is no to most of them. Here are my three reasons why:

1. Most of them contain chemicals that are not eco-friendly.

2. They usually have a strong scent that may retain on the bottles or utensils.

3. They form a lot of soapsuds that should be washed repeatedly to make sure they will not stay on plates or worse, on feeding bottles and babies' utensils.

#BetterwithBubbleMan

However, I found one of the few exemptions, Bubble Man Dishwashing Liquid. It is made of biodegradable materials, making it eco-friendly and gentle on hands, too. It has three scents - lemon (yellow), calamansi (green) and antibacterial (blue). Tried all of them on plates and they don't leave any strong smell at all. It doesn't also form a lot of suds but it cleans plates just fine and even removes grease from pots. It uses coco-derived surfuctants so it is safe even on feeding bottles, tried and tested it myself.

I saw on some Instagram posts that some even use it for cleaning tiles and surfaces, aside from it being a dishwashing soap. That's why I decided to give it a try. I used the antibacterial one to wipe the floor and surfaces of the kitchen. It requires an ample amount of the liquid to be mixed with water but yes, it can clean just about anything! Bubble Man is really not an ordinary dishwashing liquid, as their hashtag say, it's better with Bubble Man. Not to mention that it's a lot cheaper than leading brands.

Check out Bubble Man's official Facebook page, Bubble Man and Instagram, @bubblemanph for more information on the product. Don't forget to like and follow!

Thank you Ms. Jennifer Dizon of Mikewell Corporation for giving me samples of your product for my review.

Sharing is Caring: Little Miss Rainbow Educational Toys

Let me share with you the beautiful story of how Little Miss Rainbow Educational Toys online store was created.

Ms. Marie Corpuz, owner of Little Miss Rainbow Educational Toys, has a nine-year-old daughter who has autism. She was diagnosed when she was just two years old, year 2010. Ms. Marie, who happens to be working in a corporate world in Singapore, decided to resign to closely look after her daughter. She brought her daughter to therapy centers and met other special moms like her along the way. The realization that therapy is not enough for the development of her daughter and other kids like her, brought the idea of Little Miss Rainbow Educational Toys. Special moms like her need educational toys to help them become effective mommy teachers to their children. Since therapy can be costly, they can't afford expensive educational toys from malls anymore. Thus, Little Miss Rainbow Educational Toys was born to cater for children initially from Pampanga only. These toys are also readily available on two therapy centers in the City of San Fernando, Pampanga. Now, even parents outside the province buy toys from her.

Why Little Miss Rainbow? In the autism society, "Autism is a rainbow." You must see its beauty to appreciate it. It also signifies faith, hope and love both of the parents and their children. Most of all, it is a spectrum of colors that represents the wide range of abilities of kids with autism. Let us not treat them as kids with disabilities, but as kids with different abilities. 

Ms. Marie and I believe that sharing is caring. To continue the mission of Little Miss Rainbow Educational Toys, we are giving away three wooden educational toys to three children with special needs. 

Multi-functional board, wooden clock and wooden lacing shape.

Mechanics:

1. Like Little Miss Rainbow Educational Toys on Facebook and follow @little_missrainbow_toys and @meettheagarans on Instagram.

2. Share this post on your Facebook account with the hashtag #agaransmeetlittlemissrainbow and tag one or more special moms like you. Don't forget to make your post public.
3. Special mom/s can win one of these three toys.

We will be accepting entries until July 16th. Winners will be announced on July 17!

*Extended until July 24! Winners will be announced on July 25!

All children are uniquely created by God, thus making them all special!

Mellow Kids, Iflin Baby and Baby Moby Giveaway Winners

Yipee! Today is the day when we get to share more goodies with our moms and their little ones. Of course, a big thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Yiu for our giveaway items and thank you to all the participants as well!

I will randomly pick two winners via randomresult.com. Screen videos available on the links below:

Winner number one:

Congratulations Mommy @taniebinuya! These goodies are yours :)

Winner number two:

Congratulations to the little one of Mommy @shaira_sunga! Enjoy your new goodies! :)

To the winners, DM me on how to claim your prizes. More and more giveaways to come from our generous sponsors are to be given away! Everyone can join my next giveaway soon!  xoxo

Lessening Screen Time with Little Miss Rainbow Educational Toys

Nowadays, children as early as one year old can navigate gadgets like pros. At first we think it's cool. For a while, it'll make us proud that our kids can do this and that even without us teaching them. Until one day, they no longer talk to us. We have to exert the best effort to even get their attention. It makes them cranky if you take away their screens. They get impatient when their gadgets suddenly turned off or when the internet connection is slow. This is a sad reality and one of the main struggles of most parents, if not all.

My girls, Kiera and Addy, are addicted to a computer game named Roblox. Everything I have mentioned above, I am experiencing it first hand. That's why, I am trying my best to look for alternatives that will eventually help them do away with gadgets or at least lessen their screen time.

Children hate boredom that's why we need to keep them busy. The question is how? Remember, gadget is not an option. I made a little experiment with the help of Little Miss Rainbow Educational Toys. My goal is to draw my kids attention to educational toys upon arriving from school.

I already set-up the toys for them to see when they arrived from school. For the first time after a very long time, I didn't hear them saying, "Mommy, can I play the computer?"

Exploring the toys. I let them play while hoping they wouldn't remember computers or Roblox.

She was so happy when she found out she can build a tower out of these wooden building blocks.

Kiera pretending to be a teacher.

Wooden Lacing Shapes. It is composed of 30 wooden blocks/beads: 5 shapes x 6 colors with two long laces. These wooden blocks/beads will surely make use of your children's imagination, like my Addy building towers out of them. Stringing the beads into the lace like making a giant necklace will surely keep them busy while at the same time developing their eye-hand coordination, fine motor, cognitive and visual perception skills. 

8-tone xylophone for our children who love making music. 

Wooden clock. This will not only teach our children how to read time but also shapes and number. This can also help our children master abstract concept.

Multi-functional board. This board will make your kids love Math. It can help us teach our children simple Mathematical sentences on one side of the board.  On the other side, our kids can practice writing, it also comes with a small eraser and some colorful chalks. Since it is multi-functional, children can explore this toy and imagination is their limit.

Sofia and Minimus. Kiera and Addy did some role playing with these toys. Kiera was Sofia, and Addy, who loves horses, was Minimus. 

They played with these toys for hours. They were even planning to play these toys again the next day. Though, they still turned to their computers but only late in the afternoon. It was four hours of educational toys and an hour of Roblox, fair enough.

We rarely find wooden educational toys at the malls, most of them are made of plastics and of course, expensive. Wooden toys are great alternatives because they're cheaper and more durable. Like Little Miss Rainbow Educational Toys on Facebook or follow @little_missrainbow_toys on Instagram to find more affordable wooden and educational toys.

Parents, it is never too late to save our kids from what they say is the "modern heroin", gadget! Even we, are sometimes  guilty of being addicted to our mobile phones and tablets. To get our kids attention, we should also pay attention to them. Let us spend some time with them - play with them or do something together that they love. Remember, they won't be kids forever.

This is just first of the series of blog posts about how I am helping my kids lessen their screen time by giving them alternative activities. Do you have an activity in mind? Let me know in the comment section. :)

Giveaway Alert: For Breastfeeding Mommas and Babies on the Go!

Hoooray for not just one but two sets of giveaways for today! Of course, I would like to thank the couple behind Baby Moby PH, Mellow Kids PH and Iflin Baby PH, Mr. and Mrs. Yiu, for sponsoring our giveaways for today.

Make way for breastfeeding mommas on the go for this first set of giveaways:

4 pcs. Mellow Breast Pads and 40 pcs. Baby Moby Breast Milk storage bags

Here are the mechanics for the first set:

1. Like Mellow Kids PH and Baby Moby PH Facebook pages and follow @mellowkidsph and @babymobyph on Instagram.

2. Follow @meettheagarans on Instagram.

3. Upload a photo of you and your baby on Instagram with the caption "I am a proud breastfeeding momma!" Use the hashtag #agaransmeetmellowandmoby. Tag @meettheagarans on your photo.

Keep your babies fresh and clean while on the go with this second set of giveaways:

2 pcs. Mellow Baby bibs and 3 pcs. My Handy Bamboo Washcloth and Napkin

Here are the mechanics for the second set:

1. Like Mellow Kids PH and Iflin Baby PH Facebook pages and follow @mellowkidsph and @iflinbabyph on Instagram.

2. Follow @meettheagarans on Instagram.

3. Upload a photo of your baby on Instagram with the caption "I am an active baby!" Use the hashtag #agaransmeetmellowandiflin. Tag @meettheagarans on your photo.

Everyone is free to join both giveaway contests. Submission of entries is until July 9, 2017 at 11:59pm. Winners will be chosen via randomresult.com on July 10, 2017. Join now! :)

Product Review: Iflin Baby PH

Disposable products have made our lives easier and convenient. However, we can't deny the fact that these products become thrash and might be harmful to the environment. That's why it's also a good thing to know that reusable products do exist.  

With my experience, having four kids - two infants, one preschooler and a first grader, means more thrash. Disposable diapers, wipes, tissues, plastic wrappers to name a few. I have been doing my research to lessen our thrash at home by using reusable products.

Iflin Baby PH gave me the chance to know My Handy Bamboo Washcloth and Napkin, a box of six costs 950php. Sounds expensive, right? But come to think of it, with its versatility and durability, we can do away with some disposable products such as wipes and tissues. Here are some of the uses of My Handy Bamboo Washcloth and Napkin:

• napkin during mealtimes
• washcloth during bath time
• washcloth for fever
• cleaning cloth for baby's hands, face and drool
• handkerchief for kids

Kiera and Addy brought one each and used them as handkerchiefs today, they described them as soft and cozy than their regular hanky. I also used one for my drooling twins. I like the built in snap of it, it can be attached to any diaper bag so I wouldn't have to worry that it might get lost knowing that it is so thin and so small.

Iflin Baby Bamboo Muslin products are from Thailand and are all made of 70% silky soft bamboo fiber and 30% natural cotton. All products have snaps for travel convenience. Iflin chose to use bamboo fiber as the main material of all their products because:

• It is gentle & soft (great for baby's skin, softer than cotton)
• It is breathable
• It is absorbent
• It has an anti-bacterial property
• It is environmental friendly (planting bamboos prevents deforestation) 

You would be surprised of Iflin Baby PH list of products and all of them are versatile and durable. Kindly visit and like their Facebook page Iflin Baby PH and follow them on Instagram @iflinbabyph to know more of their products.

Product Review: Mellow Kids PH

Baby-led weaning or BLW is simply letting your baby feeds himself. Is it really that simple? Well, maybe for babies, it is. But for us, moms, it only means one thing, mess! That's why, I thought, spoon-feeding my twins is a lot easier and convenient for me.

Drei and Dale's first BLW

Recently, I went out of my box and tried BLW. I made my twins some potato fries, boiled and not fried of course. As expected, it was messy, but thanks to Mellow Baby Bibs, I didn't think about my twins staining their clothes. 

Mellow Baby Bibs twinning :)

Mellow Kids PH products are made from Thailand. Its products includes, Mellow Quick Dry bed protector with different sizes which can be used for both babies and elderly persons, washable breastpads, bib sets and seat protector. All of these products have these features:

1.) Fast drying

2.) 100% waterproof

3.) Soft and comfortable, allowing uninterrupted sleep

4.) Breathable

5.) Reusable, machine washable

6.) Non-allergic and non-irritating

7.) High absorbency (upto 8 times its weight of water)

8.) Light weight, easy to carry

9.) Dust mite barrier & anti bacterial

10.) Safe for babies (OEKO-TEX standard 100 certified)

Though some of its features are already obvious, I made a little experiment. I poured around 100 ml of water on the bib. Definitely, it was fast drying and 100% waterproof.

Experiment time!

Now I know how fun BLW can be, especially for babies, I recommend BLW using Mellow Kids PH bib sets to prevent accidental spills and messes on babies' clothes. While the Mellow Quick Dry bed protector can be used for toddlers who have just started potty-training, to save us, moms, from possible daily changing of mattresses and bedding sets.

Mellow Baby Bib Set comes in 4 different colors, two of which are worn by the twins.

To know more about these products, like Mellow Kids PH on Facebook and follow @mellowkidsph on Instragram.

Mozzie Clear Lotion Giveaway Winner

It's July 1st, and as promised, I will be announcing the lucky winner of Mozzie Clear Lotion from our partner brand, Buds Baby Philippines! First, I would like to thank all the participants of my first ever giveaway contest. I feel sad that I can only give away one product to one lucky winner. But, fret not! This is just the first of many contests where I will be giving away more free products from our brand and some mompreneur partners. To be fair to everyone who joined, I used randomresult.com to randomly select the winner.

So without further ado, the winner is... (drum rolls!)

Congratulations to Mommy Sheryl Gelladula Beninsol! Please PM or DM me on how to claim your prize!

Until my next giveaway contest my fellow mommies and friends! xoxo

Daddy's Day Sentiment

I would like to share with you this article written by my husband on Father's Day. I know it's a little bit late because I just discovered it few days ago on his laptop and asked him if I can publish it. It's a good thing he said yes because I feel that everything he has written is on point. Sometimes, fathers' role on parenting is not given so much attention and emphasis as compared to a mothers'. It's about time that we get to know their side of the story. After all, it takes two to tango.

This will always be one of my favorite photos of them. The girls are certified daddy's girls, while the boys, hmmmm. We'll find out soon! :)

“It's positive”, that’s what I heard. I jittered at the statement and there was a moment of silence afterwards. It’s just a short phrase but I couldn’t process it. Then I excused myself and headed directly to the bathroom. Guess what? I literally did the cry walling while inhibitions started to pour in. Candidly, I contemplated the responsibilities associated with being a dad, and the biggest question that I had to face was, “Am I ready for fatherhood?”.

Seven years have passed, not long enough but it has brought tons of firsts, and here’s mine:

Time with friends was lessened. I had to cut the time I spend with my friends because I need to use the rest of it with my precious little ones. But what puzzles me, even if I spend all my time with them, it’s still not enough. I want more! And parents will understand this.

I'm more responsible in a way that I have never been before. Being a dad in its whole context would question your ability to care for a child and your worthiness, every step of the way. I wasn’t programmed for this parenting thing, but I hope to pull it through. From feeding the baby, to bathing them carefully, and to changing of their diapers. I guess, I did a pretty good job!

My circle of friends grew. It just came naturally. Next thing I know, I'm now socializing with my kids' friends' parents. Even if I don't talk much, I enjoy sharing and listening to tips on how we can improve ourselves as parents. Everytime I share things about my kids, I become prouder than ever.

My role as a provider. As a parent, it’s always been my dilemma on how I can provide more than what I could for them. Of course, who wouldn’t want their kids to get more, right?. That’s why, as economically as possible, I’m living a frugal life. I never regretted scrubbing out my personal wants over what would make my kids happy. 

Some people say that being a dad seems way easier than being a mom. Well, not really, because both moms and dads play different functions in the family. They’re equally important as they are their child’s first teachers and should remain their best teachers throughout life. As the saying goes “Anyone can be a father, but it would take someone to be a dad”, and as a dad, I’m not just here to teach them the game, but I’ll teach them how to play it right.