Parenting Archive

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

Travel Essentials For Big Family

Sometimes I wonder where I got my packing skills. Traveling with 5 kids is not an easy task as I always say, but I will never give up the joy of being with my kids on the road.

Also must read: Fun Time with Kinder Joy

We have amazing stories while traveling. We have good laughs while on the road and really really have fun memories to places we have been. I am listing down 5 travel essentials for a big family like us.

5 Travel Essentials of a big family

Travel Essentials #1 Extra change of clothes. Aside from the usual number of clothes that we bring (must read: Travel tips and planning your OOTD), I always ask my kids to pack an extra. You’ll never what can happen, an extra night perhaps? Or a sudden side trip to La Union on the way to Baguio? Or biglang uwi muna ng Nueva Ecija before heading back to Pasig.

impromptu check in at Harvest Hotel Cabanatuan

Travel Essentials #2 First Aide Kit. This one I cannot leave home without. A must on our kit is thermometer, pain reliever for me and the kids, a menthol (vicks and tigerbalm), petroleum jelly, alcohol, and of course vitamins for the kids.

Travel Essentials #3 Snacks while on the road. Because kids gets are always hungry, I made sure to pack a box of biscuits (one box per kids!haha). Sometimes, I bake cookies in advance or cupcakes that we can baon. We’re planning on bringing cooked food and stopping in a park or something and eat there. You know, tita travel diaries, letting the kids expereince that. Maiba naman.

this pic is 9 years old already!

La Union 2009 (one day pregnant with Sofi!)

swimming at Widus Hotel, Pampanga

swimming at Acropolis North, Cabanatuan (paki notice ang face na namumuti sa sunscreen haha)

swimming at Kimberly Hotel, Tagaytay

Travel Essentials #4 Sunscreen Lotion. Because we love going to La Union and the kids love to swim, a sunscreen lotion is a must. Sa sobrang a must niya, hindi ko na inaalis ang sunscreen lotion sa maleta ko.

Travel Essentials #5 A really good camera or a mobile camera to capture your travel.

Is My Baby Too Clingy or Am I Just Too Busy?

Marius is my 5th child. He’s clingy, even more than his siblings were. I was guessing because he lost his twin, he is extra clingy. When people ask me about Marius, I usually answer, ay he’s extra clingy. Realizing later on that I don’t want him to be known as the clingy baby. He’s a very happy baby actually. At 7 months he already knows how to kiss. He’s also a tall baby and already knows what no means. More than being clingy, he is an adorable baby. Make that SUPER DUPER ADORABLE!

Pero teka nga muna! He’s only 7 months old. He is supposed to be clingy. Let me rephrase that. He is supposed to be with me most of the times! He needs my milk, he needs my warmth, he needs mommy all the time. He is actually not clingy, there’s just so many things I wanna do.

GUILTY!

You know how I can secure deals while breastfeeding and I am thinking, I could do more if I am on my pc. I can do a lot if I just stop and get out of the bed. If only Marius would let my boobs go.. or if only he’d sleep more deeply, I can get up. The thing is, every time I try to move, he’d move! He’s sabotaging my “work” time!

Or like when I need to be there for my other kids? You know when one of them needs me or that when I need to go to school because one or two of them left something behind. You know, moments like that. But Marius won’t let me go.

I rot in our bed breastfeeding while the world goes around without me.

AND I HAVE TO STOP RIGHT THERE.

I realized that right now, my world is him. I mean, yeah, I have 4 other kids but they’re all well enough to be on their own in a way. And the internet, my blog, my social media accounts, it can all wait. In this age where everything is fast pacing, I need to slow down and re-learn how to be a mom! I need to chill and be more kind and forgiving to myself. I know I am great at a lot of things but I am greatest being a mom.

Just so you know, I am writing this with sore boobs since I let Marius fell asleep on my boobs. I did not rush him to sleep and he made me finish this post! Hurray!

Aaaaaand almost a week after, I thought I am done with this post and I am not! A few minutes before putting a featured image, the little boy cried and so I had to stop and put this on hold.

And I am back because he is with his lola which he missed so much since we were the Ariel event the whole day yesterday.

So what am I trying to say? Ah yes, that I am relearning how to be a mother again, in the world where everything is fast. It’s hard di ba?

Obviously, I am just too busy, my mind is too busy. He is not clingy, he’s just being adorable.

10 Practical Travel Tips From A Mom Of 5 Kids

Traveling with kids is fun but it’s a not a walk in the park. What more, traveling with 5 kids and one is an infant. Imagine the extra baggage of diapers and baby essentials. Thank goodness I’m exclusively breastfeeding, that’s a big minus on my bag.

Also must read: Fun Time with Kinder Joy

We love traveling during the summer months (March to May) but we also travel during the rainy season. In fact, our longest drive happened in September. Months before it was declared as one of the New Seven Wonder Cities of the world, we had the chance to see Vigan.

One of the keys to traveling with keys is preparation. This includes packing ahead of time and taking out all the OCness in you. From our travels (accompanied by my OCness), I am sharing with you some practical tips that I guarantee will make traveling less stress and more memorable.

10 Practical Travel Tips From A Mom Of 5 Kids

Practical Travel Tip #1 Create a soundtrack. The idea of creating a soundtrack for a certain is really nice. Make a list of some of your favorite songs (it would be fun to include children’s song!) and make your own travel soundtrack at Spotify. Label it with your destination and year. Listen to your soundtrack every time your family is inside the car.

Practical Travel Tip #2 Make an itinerary. There is beauty in being spontaneous but you can explore more beautiful places if you plan ahead. And let the kids know your plan. Print your itinerary and give each a copy. I know it sounds like organizing a tour, well it actually feels like one and it’s how you can make the most out of your trip. You can also play your soundtrack while making this and even while packing!

Practical Travel Tip #3 Always ask for a corner room when booking. Most hotels listed in Traveloka are already discounted and though it is tempting to get plus more rooms for your kids, ask for a corner room instead. Corner room in hotels are usually bigger. Rooms with 2 queen size beds are great options for family with kids too.If you really need to book a hotel with two rooms, try asking for connecting rooms.

Practical Travel Tip #4 Plan your outfit. It’s not for OOTD post on your instagram. Planning your outfit and the kids outfit makes packing a lot easier. This will test your organizing skills but if you ace this one, you’re set for life. For bigger kids, let them pack their clothes. Give them a list of the clothes they need to bring and give them a bag each.

Practical Travel Tip #5 Pack in small bags. So how do you pack in smalls bags when you have more kids? As mentioned in #4, let them pack their own bag. Collect their bags and put it together in one big bag. Most of the times, my stuff and husband’s goes in one big bag and my kids’ on another 1 big bag.

Practical Travel Tip #6 Include small toiletries. Buy travel sized shampoo, soap etc and bring a set or two for your family. It should depend on the number of rooms you’re planning to book. Hotels provides toiletries but with kids, it will never be enough.

Practical Travel Tip #7 Bring a snack bag. Long travel + hungry kids is a disaster. Prevent it from happening by bringing a snack bag. Put 2 to 3 snacks for each kid. It should be light like crackers or snack bars.

Practical Travel Tip #8 Always bring small bills for tipping. In Philippine hotels, how much to tip the bellman? Most US travel sites I have read suggest bringing a lot of $1 bill. Basing from that, I guess 50 PhP bill is acceptable as minimum for tipping. It doesn’t hurt to give more though, specially if the bellman is very helpful to your family.

Practical Travel Tip #9 Take photos everywhere. When I say everywhere, it literally means everywhere. From the landmarks on the way, historical places you pass by to hotel facade to hotel rooms to all the place you will visit. Take photos of those, take photos with your family on it (bring a selfie stick and tripod always), take photos with only your kids. Take photos of each of the kids too. It eats time but it was worth it.

Practical Travel Tip #10 Print your photos. The experience will be forever in your kids’ heart and the fun times can surely make them laugh for a while. Make that memories last longer by printing some of your travel photos. You can also make an album and a scrapbook of your trip!

Kids+ well planned trip= Happy Family!