Parenting Archive

My thoughts on parenthood, and what it's like to be a mom in the Philippines.

Party On A Budget With Red Ribbon’s Birthday Budget Planner

Our first time dormer! my little brother who’s reviewing for board, now lives in an apartment.. this is his first time to live in an apartment…not that he’s a baby but it was his personal choice not to live in a dorm or apartment, basta daw ayaw lang niya.. Reviewing for a board is different, he realized that he needs to be surrounded with as many geeks as possible (you know, formulas being post on the bathroom walls..and the likes) and he can’t review when Sati is around, who knows very well how to catch his attention haha

And we, being the most supportive sisters in the whole wide world, would like to cheer for him on this milestone..so we’re planning a small salo-salo for him.. sisters from the province will brave the talahibs and the bundok to be here this sunday! Hurrah!

BUT! we’re kinda tight on budget..maraming gastos ang Oktubre! remember, it’s my first born’s birthday? and 2 school activities this month..so tipid tipid ang peg.. that’s why I am trying out Red Ribbon’s Birthday Budget Planner and see how my party should go, given the budget that I have..

The Red Ribbon Birthday Budget Planner Microsite (which is accessible via http://birthdaybudgetplanner.com/) helps us create the best party possible without breaking the bank.

We will be having our small salo-salo on the 13th with a very minimal budget of 2000 PhP for 10 people (including the kids)

Birthday Budget Planner said our budget allocations should be:

Cake: 299 PhP
Drinks: 600.50 PhP
Food: 1200 PhP

Where to get the food and the drinks? That’s the good thing about the Birthday Budget Planner, trusted suppliers are listed on each allocation.. like for cake:

Red Ribbon branches are listed.. so I opted for the branch nearest us, which is the C5 branch.. The same with the food and drinks:

Since my sisters haven’t tried Amber yet, I think this party is the perfect opportunity to introduce them to Amber.. pichi-pichi.. palabok and bbq! ayayay!

For drinks, Super 8 is nearest to us:

I’m cutting on soda, what drinks can you suggest? Pineapple juice perhaps? or how about Pineapple Orange? Oh well, for sure Super 8 has it all since this is a big supermarket.

Here’s the final details of our party for my little brother:

We’ll be having Red Ribbon Dedication Cake in Chocolate (junior size), that’s the cake with the 299 price tag 🙂 If you’ll be celebrating a simple party in the near future, please do try the Red Ribbon Birthday Budget Planner.

Red Ribbon Dedication cakes also comes in Mocha flavor in 3 sizes (Junior: 250 PhP, Regular: 450Php, Large: 650 PhP), Chocolate flavor also comes in 3 sizes (Junior: 299 PhP, Regular: 499Php, Large: 690 PhP).

You’ll be hearing a lot of Red Ribbon Birthday Budget Planner from me.. you know I love organizing parties, and this is a big help for a busy person like me! 🙂

Throwback: Sleep Time With My Kids

Last week, I had the chance to organize my blog’s categories and tags..and I am not finished yet! more blog posts to categorize! ayayay! I need more time. And while doing so, I chanced upon some of my Mommy Moments entries. One entry is about sleep and thought of making a collage of their now and then sleeping photos:

These are my kids in 2009.. that’s Kuya, Diko, Chico and Pretty Princess Sati.. as I have said, this is one of my favorite activity, staring at them while they are sleeping.. ang babait tingnan no?

And here they are now:

Bigger but still looks the same, parang walang gagawing kakulitan ahaha

They look so peaceful no? but did you know that it is during this time that our kids is at their busiest moment.. the time where they process the things they learned during the day. They move, change position, laugh and even talk, these are called the Golden Sleep Moments.

Si kuya, yan ang madalas mag sleep talk.. he would sometimes talk about the things he did during the day. The little girl would smile and even laugh while sleeping.. while Mico and Chico would kick or stretch their arms. And cute nila tingnan when they do stuff like that.

At yan ang nakakamiss kila Kuya at Diko dahil sa kabilang room na sila natutulog 🙁

How about you mommies? How’s your kids when they are sleeping? Malikot ba? Nagsasalita? Naninipa? Share with us on the comment section 🙂

Our New Sleeping Arrangement

boys’ bedroom

My two older boys is now sleeping on their own room. Yes! After so many months (or even years) of contemplating and planning, they finally agreed to sleep on a different room. I am happy with this new arrangement but a part of me was sad.. in fact, the first few days that they are sleeping in their bedroom, I’d check on them 2-3x every night. Nakakalungkot din.. ang laki na nila.. akala ko the first few nights eh lilipat sa kwarto namin.. hindeee..ako pala ang hindi makakatulog hahaha

I told them they can sleep in our room during weekends (akala nila para sa kanila un, di nila alam that’s for me! haha). I miss looking at them sleeping peacefully. That’s my favorite part of my night..staring at them, teary eyed and thanking heavens I have them (opo madrama akong nanay). Pero aminin ninyo mommies, you love staring at your kids when they are asleep di ba? Parang it takes all the worries and stress you had during the day.

Speaking of sleeping peacefully, of all our kids, it was Sati who got my “sleeping pattern”. She’s the one who gets really cranky in the morning when she didn’t have a good night sleep. And hubby would tease me on that, sa lahat daw ng mamana sa akin eh iyon pa (wahaha). Eh totoo naman di ba? pag kulang ka sa tulog or hindi ka nakatulog ng maayos, nakakainis. But more than that, sleep is vital for babies and kids. According to Mother and Child Nurses Association of the Philippines President Alicia Estiller, Sleep deprivation is associated with stunted growth, weight problems, low attention span, delayed learning and behavioral problems.”

Dr Luci Wiggs, an infant sleep expert at Oxford Brookes University in the UK, commented, “Sleep is vital for the healthy cognitive, behavioural and physical development of your baby. External influences such as hunger, discomfort, noise and other disturbances can all affect a baby’s sleep and bring them into a heightened state arousal (disrupted sleep) even if they don’t fully wake up.”

Number one reason for Sati waking up at night or for her not having a good night sleep is discomfort. Kapag mainit, naku hirap na hirap matulog! Kapag malamig, masarap ang tulog niya but I have to make sure that she’s on diaper or else pagising gising din kase naiihi. Thank goodness for diapers talaga.. kahit si Chico, he still wears diaper at night.

Back to my older boys, with this new arrangement I got to bond with them more. Kase nga namimiss ko sila sa gabi, I always make sure to have a few moments with them before they sleep. And I know having their own bedroom will also teach them to be more responsible.