Moms are the best teachers!

Blessed with 3 beautiful little people that changed my world

When I decided to place my eldest son to a Montessori-based school, I know right at the beginning that I was at peace with it from the inside. Somehow, I felt I don't need to be too pressured with

1. just wrongly believing that homeschool is the ONLY way to teach! Of course not, it isn't always the school, it is also the parents responsibility.
2. finding the "perfect school" that matches with my belief for my children - if there's peace in it, it simply mean it doesn't always have to match any religious belief I have with the school.  God loves my children regardless of where they are.
3. feeling that my children might be too pressured with school work and lose their freedom on enjoying their childhood - nope!

Although, pulling my son out of regular school and doing homeschool and deciding to place him back to a Montessori-based school was a personal choice.  That choice wasn't because of any social or spiritual "boundary" belief like most people I knew felt that it was my basis for homeschooling. No, it was plainly - a choice.  A choice on the specific season my son needed to be.

I have entirely no problem about having my children deal with the world they live in when I decided to homeschool them. As a matter of fact, that was the main reason I love homeschool.  I do not want them to be stuck in their little classrooms for more than 6 hours a day and having to deal with the same people everyday.  With homeschool, kids have so many time to socialize and see the world more because of the freedom of time they have.

With my choice, I have gained insights out of it. Education is not just getting high grades, being advanced in this and that, comparing what your child can do and other's couldn't.  Education is not a race, it is actually a marathon.

I felt lousy as a mom when I brought my son to his 1st school, I really thought since he was just 3 that time, he can just be whatever he knows he could be.  He is anyway, very advanced for his age, he knows all his letters, numbers, and shapes from circles to pentagons at 2 (at 3 months old, I was reading and counting to him and bombard him with educational videos!). I thought, it was alright for him to be occasionally tardy, absent or simply - not to be too serious with school.  My only concern was to pay for the tuition fee or extra-curricular activities, make sure he has the best snack, or just not flunk his exams.  Every Parent Teacher Conference that time was a breeze, that Ice was alright, he's okay, he's a sweet little boy.  So, I went home thinking feeling okay as well.  It was just pre-school, anyway.

This continued into kindergarten.  But, at a PTC, the teacher mentioned that Ice was lagging.  He doesn't know the letters, couldn't write well and thus needed a tutor!  I was shocked when I heard this. My smart son has totally changed from a little whiz kid to someone who was almost the least of his peers?!  I was pressured to talk to Ice (to ask a 4 year old, what's wrong is not a very good idea.  At 4, everything in life is wonderful!). I blamed it on everyone else but not with myself.  I was wrong.

Looking back, I felt it was nobody's responsibility but myself.  I was too busy with my day job and too tired to help my child.  I've simply forgotten that even a preschooler needed to do reviews at least 2-3 times per week.  To cultivate a routine of studying and that 30 minute after-school tutorials won't do him any good forever.

I decided to slow things down for him.  Homeschooled him and left my busy life to just partially busy (I worked-at-home).

I realized, my son needed a mom (or at least a loving person) who is fully dedicated to start his life about studying.  Knowing the ABCs and 123s doesn't end when they know it. It is simply the beginning of their life and yours.

Kids do not run on auto-pilot.  They need wings - sturdy wings to help them get through the turbulence.  They need a mom or someone to teach them to fly so they can learn to fly on their own. It all begins at pre-school or at an age that they start to become curious with their world.

My son needed me to find his weakness and his strengths. To have someone check on him and not to compare him with other kids.  I am reminded of this verse,

Listen, my son, to your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching. Proverbs 1:8 (NIV)

Mother's are natural teachers (Father's are great life application leaders).  It is my season to be a mother, it is my season to teach.  It is not my season to pressure him to ALWAYS (with no reservations) have high grades or be in the honor roll.  But, just to know what he is aiming for and direct him of what he wants to achieve.  To know where he is weak and to find a way to divert that weakness into strength.

I remembered, 3 weeks ago.  My son went home very sad because for the very 1st time he got 1/5 on one of their weekly spelling quiz (normally, he would either get 3/5 or 4/5).  Memorisation is a struggle with us already - more so, with Spelling (dang it!).  That's why we would review at least 3 days before the quiz for 10-20 minutes per day with all the means to make him remember it (I can just imagine!).  But, on this specific quiz we have only reviewed the night before. So I knew, that he isn't going to get a high grade for it, then it did happened.  I knew he did his best when I saw his answers and he was totally devastated.  He said "Mom (with a very sad voice).  I got a low score... Mom, I only got 1/5". I looked at him and all I could say was, "I don't mind.  I am happy with the correct one you did."  His face lit up, he still felt bad.  Then I told him "C'mon, because of that 1 point you got correctly, you deserve a prize!" He was confused but he lit up a bit.  Then I gave him his favorite - 3 pieces of cherries and that made him feel a lot better.  Of course, deep inside of me I felt I failed my son but thank God, God gave me 3 cherries too. :) The next week, we studied spelling and guess what - he got a perfect score for the very 1st time! We we're both hugging and kissing like slugs glued in together the entire afternoon.

It's a roller coaster ride teaching my memory-challenged little boy.  While I am starting with the twins, I am more certain now.  That my greatest achievement in life is to know each one of them.  I just praise God that He has given me (and all mothers) the capacity to teach with love unconditionally (if you would let it).  Although, Ice and I had many (a whole loooot) of crying moments in teaching (I am not the most patient mom).  But, I try to be the mom I am for them.

I still work because it is my passion.  I do get tired (really tired, well who doesn't) with juggling things but I move on because I know that every time spent with my child is time invested for his/her future.

Happy teacher's day, moms! And to all the teachers who teach with a heart (not to hurt), thank you for your love, it is your day as well.

I am very serious when I teach him, I hope I don't overuse it.
I do pray to have extra patience, right now!

PS. Ice got 94% in Language, 97% in Math and 93% in Cultural Arts in his exam.  I almost cried, I felt that wow! I can really teach! :) It was a reward for me as well.  I am one proud, Mama Mia!

Bubble love and my secret bubble potion!

Hours of fun!

What is with bubbles that kids (even kids once) just seem to enjoy so much? It is quite addicting and you just seem to want to pop all the bubbles that you see.

Bubbles just seem to be one of the most favorite things my kids love! (I wonder why Maria of the Sound of Music didn't even have that as one of her Favorite Things?)

If I was Maria I'd sing it like this:
Girls in vintage white dresses or frilly cream tutus, Watching my sweet babies popping those tiny endless bubbles, Babies that smell sweeter with mommy's breastmilk, these are a few of my favorite things!

I am not quite good on rhyming, though.  Forgive me. :) But, those gigantic bubbles are really therapeutic, maybe because you get excited when you see giant ones.

Well, back to bubbles! Since one of my favorite things is watching my kids go gaga over bubbles. It has been my week long commitment to find the best bubble potion and to make gigantic bubbles that seem to last a bit and not just pop right away.

It is really a trial and error thing and will depend on the humidity, wind and the way you make your bubble potion. But my 2nd potion seem to last majorly giagantic bubbles that when it flew high it didn't pop right away but kept afloat for more than a minute!  Imagine, seeing a 6 feet high bubble floating in mid-air.  You would actually mistake it as an alien spaceship or something (exaggeration).

Sharing my best bubble potion ingredient:

10 parts mineral water (distilled, not deep well/tap water)
2 part Joy Ultra Dishwashing
1 part sugar

or my actual recipe is 20oz mineral water, 4 oz Joy, 3 Tablespoon Sugar

Stir till sugar dissolves.  You can use it right away but it is a lot better when you let it stand in a covered container for 3-4 hours (or overnight).

Now, for my giant bubble wand,

100 inch #6 yarn
70 inch #6 yarn
4 Washers as weight
2 round hooks
2 (24 inches) stick (I was so excited to make one, I simply used a branch of a Malunggay tree!)

To make it, simply drill/attach the hooks on each end of the sticks/branch.  Add the washers onto the 100inch yarn.  Place in the 2 yarns together onto each stick with the hook tips then knot on the then.

Place your bubble potion on a bucket then dip in your bubble wand.  Start making those giant bubbles by spreading in and out those sticks together.

This is extremely fun!

Just a little reminder to be extra careful when the bubbles pop.  The suds might accidentally go into your child's eyes.  My twins got some onto their eyes and we had to wash it off as it really gets ouchie when those get in their eyes. 

Well, it did hurt their eyes... but once they see those giant bubbles, it made them forget it.

Little one, loving those bubbles!

Growing plants teaches kids about sowing and reaping!

It all started with this...

Awhile ago, I heard Ice crying unconsolably when he found out that his Okra Plant was chopped off by our maid. She decided to cut it off because the plant tipped off because there were so many Okras already that it couldn't carry the weight.  I got irritated at her because she didn't ask my son that she'd chop it off.  Well, she doesn't know my son so well so I just let this slip for now.  I saw how much my son owned and loved his tiny farm that it didn't bother him one bit even if the same Okra plant scarred his fingers from its tiny almost invisible thorns just the other day.  Chopping it off was not his plan to get even - he just love those plants unconditionally.

At 4, my son started planting when he got some Red Bell Pepper seeds he found while I was cooking.  He started asking about how it grows, etc. etc.  He started to plant them in our tiny garden and miraculously, w/o much of our effort or actually expecting it to grow - it did! Ice named that plant "stingy".  I don't know why, perhaps it was because it was pointy and it looked like a stingy little face.

This started his love to grow plants.  When the twins were born, and I needed a huge amount of Malunggay (Moringa) for breastfeeding the twins, Ice and her nanny planted 2 feet high, leafless, malunggay bark.  I didn't expect it to grow really... but with Ice - it did, again!

Then his little farm started to grow Melons, Kangkong, Okras, even Tomatoes (tricky fruit) and Papayas (which I asked to chop down since I dreaded to imagine since it was so high, the fruit might fall on his head).

Okra's for you! Look at those proud smiles!

Every morning, after waking up from his bed, he'd go to his plants, water them, talk to them or just stare at them.  When he wouldn't be able to water them, he would remind his nanny to water them in the afternoon.

What is more exciting is that, with his patience and love for his plants... he has harvested several fruits and veggies that form part of some of our food.  The best part it was organically grown, no chemicals but pure 100% love and dedication froma 6 year old.

What I saw in my son, is that he has grown to love nature. He has found ways to let off a boring day by watching his plants grow.  He learns the idea of waiting patiently.  He also has learned the idea of delayed gratification through seeing his plants grow from tiny flowers then buds to become fruits which he can later on enjoy (He loves the Melons he harvested).  He has also learned the idea of seed, time and harvest. As well as the basic principles of sowing and reaping.

It was so easy to fill in the Word when your child sees that what he takes care of - grows and what you don't - dies.

Meet Stingy's little sprout - Stingy Jr.

Even with the bigger concept of this, his dad showed him the farm that his grandfather has in the province.  The rice field and another unused farm that used to be his great grandfather's farm.  Ice told his dad "Dad, why don't we make this land useful? Let's grow plants here so that we wouldn't need to buy food and spend money in buying and buying food.  Food is expensive, you know!"

Planting is a good tool to speak to a child's heart.  Besides, unlike pets that needs so much attention, plants are just standing there waiting for some simple 5-10 minutes of TLC and that is it.  Some simple fruit bearing plant (in a pot, would do) is a good starting point.  Watch how excited they'll be when they see tiny fruits growing, even some tiny worms around it will help you inject some ideas that worms are not gross - that every living creature is important and has a specific role to play even how hideous they seem to look in our eyes.

Ice understands the value of work.  That money doesn't just grow on trees! But, it comes from hardwork.  The same way he does when he would take care of his plants and watch them grow.  My son got a deeper concept of this that he wanted to (and has begun) growing his own farm business (and new ideas with it).  Presently, he has sold Malunggay from neighbors.

But, most importantly... he has learned that everything he touches is blessed because of Jesus.  I am actually amazed how he grows this w/o even spending so much time and effort (but with believing and dedication to the joy of work) -  I believe that is grace and favor on my little farmer boy.

Twin Shock - tips on how to alleviate it

It is real and inevitable. Twin shock comes after you bring them home from the hospital and will last till about they are 12 months of age.

I had no one who can actually tell me the best way to handle 2 newborn babies at the same time.  My only background was with my firstborn singleton son.

The 1st few days after we brought them home were freaking nights of nightmare.  As I believe entirely in attachment parenting,  following babies cue, no strict rules or schedule, birth bonding, and some of it.  I knew that I could actually do that with my twins - but to my surprise I wasn't all okay for twins at all.

During the 1st few days I literally had no sleep at all.  I was bottle feeding at night with formula, pumping my milk at day which even if I save some, the twins would eventually finish it off 2 hours after I pump, so I pump again and do direct feeding with the other, pump again and do direct feeding after doing this, I was literally almost about to snap.  I was so tired doing all those just so I could stop them from crying and still following their cues.

Then I figure.. so, this is twin shock.  I believe, even new moms (especially dads) would feel this in their own way.  After the peaceful new marriage, honeymoon and an excited pregnancy... here goes the new baby who needs all the love and attention from the world.

After a few weeks, I realize one thing.  Newborns need structure and flexible routine but with twin babies, this is such a novelty.

I advocate reasonable attachment parenting, meaning... I don't agree with letting it cry it out, but I do let my kids sleep on their own cribs/beds and let them sleep on their own.  I also don't agree with putting babies in scheduled milk patterns, I do believe that when infants cry it would either just be hungry, need change/uncomfortable, too much stimulus, just want a cuddle or is sick.

But, with twin... it is entirely almost impossible to do attachment parenting when you are still attending to one baby while the other is already needing a feed or something else.  I have learned to just calm myself down, let her cry a little bit more while the other twin finishes her milk.  It is extremely hard because, with my eldest son... I have never let him cried so hard because I am there right where he even starts to cry.

Well, that is how it is with twins and that is one thing a twin mom/parent would experience - to be very systematic and a multi-tasker! Keep calm and just carry on - is the key!

Another twin-shock stoppers would be to trying to complicate things! When the twins we're still twinfants, I kept a milk journal which I also made sure that my nanny would strictly write on it.  Otherwise, it is war!  You have to know when, who was fed the last time and how much.  With my twins, one is a weak feeder unlike the other.  So the milk journal keeps me sane!

To simplify things, I have also stopped using different utensils with them. When they started their solids, I would make a huge batch of their weekly meal, freeze them and feed it to them.  I initially used separate spoons to feed them to a point that it would just fall off the floor and make a huge mess.  Later on, 1 spoon and 1 feeding bowl and even sippy cup would do well.  Anyway, why should I be too anxious on sharing when they almost literally share everything they play on, move and breathe on.

I have also used different colored bottles for them to know which bottle is whom.  Until now, it is a perpetuating confusion which bottle belongs to.  Good thing, rubber bands around the neck works with similar looking bottles.  What is more complicated now is I use a lactose-free milk for the other twin because she has a milk allergy.  So, we even needed to buy a different kind of milk dispenser for that.  Be prepared for anything like it.

Another twin shock is twin rivalry!  The most important thing is, never take sides or never have a favorite, least favorite twin.  They may look the same but each one is unique and beautiful in their own way.

When you experience twin shock, just go out for awhile (I do this, around 5 minutes). Go out of the house and just let it all out there for awhile then come back inside once again to your babies!

Career and motherhood

I have decided to work at home prior to delivering the twins.  It has been more than 21 months from now that I am a full-pledged WAHM (work-at-home-mama) and I had no regrets whatsoever in not being in an 8 hour / 5 days a week job that I used to love.  I already knew that I wanted to be with the kids especially the twins and I feel blessed that God never lacked any good thing for me and my family.

I would be lying to say that I don't get burned out many times. Of course - I do! whew! When you see the house with all the mess your toddlers make.  Then, trying to catch one child as she almost jumps off the bed, then all of a sudden you hear a "thud" followed by a bellowing cry because the other twin stubbed her toe so hard it began to bleed. Then here comes your 6 year old asking infinite questions about what happened with his toys and why I let her sisters destroy it while he was just taking a bath... then with all these contraptions, a phone call from your client gets in asking you to rush his project and he needs it today for his meeting - pronto!

I am not even including some minor issues about house bills when client has not paid yet, maids who are quite hard-headed and seem to care only with their own world that I have to actually sit down with them, cry with them and tell them not to be bothered with their boyfriends.  Did I also mention that the issue of what to eat for breakfast, lunch or dinner is also a daily chore that add up to the minor issues of managing a home. Yes - these things are just minor issues but they are manageable.  I thank God for being a multi-tasker!

These days come by almost everyday... but I am not complaining. I have decided to be a work-at-home-mom and even with all these daily crazy things... I get to experience life's most wonderful things.

To see my kids wake up each morning, to cuddle them a little more almost everyday, to make them fall asleep in your arms in their afternoon nap more than 2x a week, to prepare a healthy snack for my preschooler (like chocolate chips + cherries on top) with his favorite yoghurt drink almost everyday. To go to the mall even on an early Monday morning, or simply to read a book to them at 11:00am and another before bedtime, to dance with them, to let them write washable pens on their skin, to pray together with them.

I don't do this everyday especially when there is a huge project on my plate, but then... all I see is that this decision to be where I am right now is perfect.  When I jumped into this, I thought how on earth will me and my husband ever support 3 children if I am just relying on something unsure.  Looking back (and calculating everything back) I realized, everything was provided for.  It was even much more that what I had before.

Being a mother to my children is who I am now.  This is my season to be a mother in this time.  But, it also doesn't mean that being a work-at-home-mom (or even a full-time mom!) means less or no money at all. I believe, there's more riches in this - the time I put in is an investment that yields tremendous patience, self-control, endurance, love, faith and life-long learning and wisdom that you will never get anywhere else.

Besides, after being too burned out for the day...  I still have the time to do biking, retail therapy, blogging, and a time to relax in His presence!

Why I love books...

Big brother reading Eric Carle's - Papa, please get the moon for me.

Nothing excites me more as a mom to see my 21 month old twin girls tell me "Mom, read book".

One very early Saturday morning, while husband and I were still deep in sleep.  We were suddenly awakened when we didn't find Callie beside us.  Husband almost hysterically said, "Where's Callie?!!" and little did we know, we just found her reading a book on the floor all by herself.

I always keep a set of books in many places in our rooms, living room and their playroom.  We love books and we also love story telling time.

I guess, my love for books only started when I graduated from college.  Before then, books were enemies.  Books = studying, Studying = school and school = boring.  When Ice was born, I wanted to change that and fill my home with carefully chosen, age-appropriate, exciting (not boring!) books!  So it was, at 2... Ice would grab a book and try reading the books. A lot of times, we would actually spend time in a bookstore and just sit down by the floor grab a book and read some stories.  I would become so animated in retelling the story book that even other kids would want to sit down with us.

I love it too when I would hear other co-moms who love books their family read so I would exchange info about books they love so I could buy them for my kids.

Out of the 100s of books we have (and growing), these are our latest favorite!
Zero -By Karen Otoshi, Eric Carle's, Flip Books, Dr. Seuss, Peter Rabbit, Uncle Wiggily's, Picture Bible, Kindermusik's Oh what Busy Days, Beauty and the Beast (Twin's love them now).

When Ice was still a few days old, I literally bombarded him with books (and his endless love for Hotwheels or Tomica cars).  On my lap, we would read.  Although, early exposure with books is not a guarantee for early reading... Ice had trouble reading (read my previous posts) but his critical thinking, imaginative stories, rich vocabulary and comprehension even for chapter books are astounding.

The love for learning is what I want to instill with my children.  The internet has made remarkable ways to actually find information, but great books and stories make children think, imagine and love learning.

Since they are so used to books, at 12 months they don't rip our books but read them.  I have a few board books but regular paper thin books are very well handled even when they were still infants.  Since they see me and husband read, they would also want to imitate and read by themselves which we encourage.

To conclude, I would say that nothing beats the feeling of seeing your 1 year old, running unsteadily with a book on her hand, push her way to your lap and ask you to read it to her.  It changes everything. That you would just stop whatever you are doing and just succumb to her need to learn from you.

Being inside a basket doesn't stop her from reading Berenstein Bears' A Book.

Here are some random snapshots of days that I would just find my kids reading and it just gives me more thought in building their love for learning.

This is 6-year old book I bought in a second hand shop (Book Sale) for P70 only (Dr.Suess - Are you my mother?).  It was Ice's favorite and now the twins'.  We would read it everyday that I would get sick of reading it. :P

Their breakfast - Space book and Dr. Seuss Go, Dog Go!

Caught reading again - Usborne's What's Under the Sea

I don't care less if they make a mess with books. Dashie reading Dr. Seuss "Are you my mother?" and Callista  with Golden Books

Oh how I wish I could buy a really fast compact camera to shoot these moments. :) 

Starting Tot School!

So the twins' are now starting to run and climb chairs/tables.  They also love music, action songs, read-alouds and a whole lot of writing.

This got me thinking that it is now the perfect time to add some learning-as-you-play-for-them, so I am now officially starting our Tot School!

It is not a usual structured real school.  It is simply playing and just incorporating a whole lot of play and a little structure on their usual play time.  We have been doing this anyway like... sorting out pasta/black beans, lots of action dance, phonics rhythm, finger painting, tissue roll letters and so much more.  Now, I am planning out our curriculum (activities that should last not more than 5 minutes per activity! Whew... more patience for me).

So, I am off to buy/collect some stuff like pom poms, pipe cleaners, bottle caps or just anything that is interesting for a 1 -2 year old.

A sugar and spice party for the twins!

We had a double-all party for the twins this March.  It was 2 months past their birthday for we had some problems with the venue.  The celebration was supposed to be December. But, because that month is the busiest time of the year we opted to move it and I'm glad I didn't have to rush things for this party.

The party theme was "Sugar and spice and everything nice" party with the colors of Magenta + Tangerine with touches of Lavander.  My twins, Callie and Dashie are my Sugar and Spice and everything nice. Each unique and different in their own special way.  The party speaks everything about my little girls.

My DIY invite.  Made by yours truly. :)

I wanted a unique, simple yet classy, within-budget but memorable 1st birthday party for them.

But, for my twins... all I wanted is a day to celebrate and thank the Lord how we were able to surpass the 1st year of our "Suddenly 3!" experience.  We know that if we were able to surpass a year trusting the Lord for this wonderful journey, then... the years to come will be an expectation of God's ultimate provision of Wisdom and Provision for our family.

The party started with a dedication by our favorite Pastor Etienne.  We love this guy and we personally chose him for the dedication because he is very special in me and my husbands heart.  He is the 1st Pastor in our church who inspires and gives us Godly wisdom especially when me and my husband were just starting out in ministry.

Daddy with the girls and Pastor Etienne!

As to the party, I opted for something unique and different.  But, most importantly I wanted the best and only - THE BEST for my girls (and the big brother).  Being the Mother of Tulle (haha!) Dressing up the birthday girls is not a challenge for I know exactly what they will wear.  An Erin et Vivien Petit Bloom that matches their theme colors (personally made by yours truly), with a pretty swimsuit top, colorful knee-high socks and of course corker screw headbands!

Callie - My funny, outgoing birthday dress (Tutu made by www.erinetvivien.com)

Dashie - My sweet, girly birthday outfit (Tutu by www.erinetvivien.com)

The venue itself is beautiful and I didn't want to go overboard on the decors but, to the experience of the guests - it has to be special.

Part of my 6 months in the making mood board.

The colors from my mood board.

The beautiful photographs were captured by Noel Salazar (http://www.noelsalazar.com) and one of our very cose friend, Axel Exconde.

In lieu of balloons, we made paper pom poms for the centerpiece and decors to be placed on the venue.  These were personally handmade by a dear friend.  I tried doing this but I just can't seem to perfect the way my friend does this... oh so beautifully.

The twins' cute centerpiece!

These were the flower pom poms made as centerpieces.

Part of the decors were the beautiful colors of Magenta and Tangerine!  We had the party catered by Queensland Catering (although, I didn't quite like the way our caterer handled the event).  I will have to post a separate review about them.

The colors bouncing everywhere matched the garden.

I am a designer at heart and can easily make a tarpaulin design backdrop with ease, but after several parties I have done for my son I realized they are not earth-frienldy and are not reusable.  Same with balloon decors, we always end up popping the balloons right after the event.

So we opted for simple, earth-conscious and reusable decors.  The photos on the photowall are used for safekeeping in an album, the paper flowers were to nice to be thrown away so I plan to hang it on the twins' playroom.  The centerpieces were mounted on pots, so it can be used for planting.  After the party, we didn't do much cleaning or rearranging.  The decors were all packed and kept nicely and my parent's house were left clean after the event.

Our backdrop is a simple DIY Photo collage of the twins' Initials. 

D is for Dashie! I can't seem to find Callie's Photo Collage. :/

The real icing on the twins' party - Baked Twinkles' Dessert Table! Superb!

One of the big hit of the party, is the dessert table.  They were beautifully made and set-up by Baked Twinkles!  This was a really, really big hit among my guests.  The sizes were bite-sized for the cupcakes, which were just enough to go back for more.

I got so much complements with the desserts by Baked Twinkles even after the party.  Everything was done so special and I really love how it was set-up.  Thanks so much Baked Twinkles! A perfect 10 for my review!  Till our next orders...

The pretty cake made by Baked Twinkles - Thanks, Nikko!

These are really cute and the twins love these!

I love the personalized touch!

Love the colors and the not-too-sweet but just right Lemon Sensation!

These are simply addicting!

Healthy and very flavorful!

Beautiful and chewy!

My guests loved this while they had coffee during the evening serenade dinner.

Moist Choco Pops! A favorite during the party.

I didn't want to just settle for anything less for the birthday cakes.  I was supposed to get a supplier who makes really good fondant cakes but too bad our date with her schedule is not available anymore.

I could have just bought a regular commercialized birthday cake but, I only want the best for my girls.  So, I researched for the best Chocolate cake in the Philippines and I found... Karen's Kitchen!  3 weeks before the event, I emailed them my order of 1 Chocolate Ganache and 1 Red Velvet Cake.  All with a light pink dedication and a simple pink candle.

Simple, elegant and beautiful were the words that best describes the 1st birthday cake for my twins.  And yes, the cakes were another sure hit during the party.

I had a cake disaster on Callie's cake - but so happy with a loving friend who improvised something.  It was so cute that it resembled Callie's personality.  Dark, sweet and very outgoing!

These were the giveaways to the kids and kids-at-heart. :) Our twin stars and moon.  

For the giveaways, I bought yards of complementing fabrics and had a friend who hired a sewer to make them.  I just gave them a pattern of the shape and voila! Cute!

The prizes! Assorted table alarm clocks, colorful tops, educational bath letters, cute mugs, colored metallic markers, cute pearl bracelets, battery-operated fans, pencil cases, assorted toys, coin bank with lock, and several toys.

I didn't want a magician for this party (it just didn't match with the theme).  But, just to add a bit of entertainment, we had a host (By Anna Banana), a Golden Show (Acrobatic Show) and some cool games.

My Ice (who is a semi-pro :D Razor Scooter Boy) tries out the small bicycle.

Abraham Velasco of The Golden Show!  

We had unicyclists, juggling act, Balancing Act and Mini Bicycle act in one show!

The party did not end just yet, but instead... we had an evening serenade dinner.  We invited a duo musician (Violin + Keyboard) Tales of Music to serenade our guests during the dinner party.  They played all our guests requests, that is how good this group are.

The party is beautiful.  It was simple and sweet.  I didn't hire any party planner but I have all the loving people who helped me make this party possible.  I thank my parents too for the love and support (and the beautiful home) that made the event truly special.  

I guess, there is just no perfect party or event even how much preparation you put in. Beyond all the beautiful decors and things... it is those who took the time, effort and money for your event that makes a lot of difference to make your event perfect in each and every way. 

Daddy and Callie!

Mom and Dashie!

A fun way to teach kids about Sight Words!

My little guy learns a lot if you inject some silly, nonsense humor (sometimes kid-friendly toilet humor).  So, I have improvised something to make him memorize sight words easily!

What are sight words?

Words recognised immediately by the reader without his having to go through the process of breaking them into constituent parts. 

Words such as The, Little, Please, Blue etc. are some words that cannot be sounded out.  So, teaching sight words become very important.  You can check the complete list of the Dolch Sight Words here (http://gemini.es.brevard.k12.fl.us/sheppard/reading/dolch.html).

Anyway, I am not quite a cartoonist myself, but I made a simple way to make sight words much easier to remember than just memorizing the actual words like these below (These are actually just plain sheets of paper cutouts with handwritten words of most common sight words that I want to teach my son).

I would show these words initially, then one by one flip it and show the story of the word at the back.  

 and made to these (These drawings are drawn at the back of each sight word to look like actual flash cards - yes, no printing needed).  I will be uploading the flashcard I have made with the sight words for download soon on my blog.

These are the sketch drawings I made on each word.  Just make it simple drawings, then mark the letters with a dark colored pen for emphasis.

At the back of each sight word, you might be wondering what those things are and how were they created.  Well, they are simple stick drawings that I have placed on each letter to tell a story about the word.

ex. the word LITTLE.  The story would go like this: Look at the LITTLE (empahisis on this word) i and e, they are too LITTLE unlike L's and the T's!

Example, the word Little.  We have come up with a simple story about Little.  The giant twin L's and T's looks at Little i and e!  I would tell the story like this, "The word is Little! Look at the LITTLE (empahisis on this word) i and e, they are too LITTLE unlike L's and the T's!"

Some other sight words we practiced:

There! There goes the ball!

"Can - I can Read! (or look, N looks like a can) 

I have read that this kind of teaching sticks like velcro to the brain.  The process of being able to use the Left Brain (thru words/letter) then actually transferring the info to the right brain (thru interesting visuals) is very good memorization technique.  The brain processes this info better and gets them attached for easier future retrieval.  The same way we remember a brand by its icon (ex. the Golden Arches for McDonald's, or the simple check with Nike).

This has helped my son very much.  With this, he has memorized all 13 sight words in just one sitting and are doing more.  We didn't even bother sounding them out or even explaining the silent e or whatever.

There's one product that is really nice that you can buy online that is similar to this at Dianne Kraft: http://stores.diannecraft.org/Detail.bok?no=54

I love this method!  Try this and let me know if this has helped you in your teaching journey!

Woah! 1 year of being a twin mom

For twin moms, 1 year marks not only their twins' birthday but also their freedom (and memory) of their twin pregnancy and caring for twin infants.

1 year of freedom from that twin giagantous belly!, 1 year of no sleep I can now sleep at least 4 straight hours.  1 year of freedom from back pain, 1 year of freedom from fearful thoughts of a complicated twin labor or babies well-being.

Until now, I am breastfeeding Dashielle but Callista has stopped at 6 months.  I was too stressed that time that Callie runs out of milk.  My breasts felt like crazy milk factory during those months but great thing I was able to breastfeed both! literally, tandem breasfteeding!

I think, being blessed with twins simply mean one thing - twin moms (and dads) can handle it!

Now, they are all over the place.  Callista started walking 2 weeks after her birthday.  Dashielle is still scooting with her walker.  So, imagine this - Callie walks as if the entire house is hers, and Dashielle wheeling herself everywhere.  Major twin-proofinf the house!

Callie is fascinated with the electric plugs, lamps, electric cords and almost anything that involves pressing buttons.  Not to mention, picking up the tiny bits of whatever she could see on the floor straight to her mouth.  On the other side is Dashie, not yet a walker and balance is not that yet strong.  So, while doing a "plastic man" to stop Callista and shouting "Calliiiiieeee, stoppp!", all at the same time grabbing Dashie on your hand preventing her to fall flat on her face.  Add another 6 year old in the background asking never-ending questions about the stars, moons and whatever he can think of asking.

In a nutshell, twin moms are multi-tasker.  My eyes feels like Cookie Monster eyes!

I love being a mom!  Everyday is a blessed day! :D I am excited for the grand celebration soon! :D

What made things easier for my 6 year old to start reading

This made my entire homeschooling adventure days the most memorable of all - My 6 year old boy can now read! Hurrahhh!

There really is no such thing as a slow-learner or even the Big Moose (Archie Comics Character) guy if only learning blocks were identified early on.  Some kids, learn and memorize fast but are having a hard time in gross-motor.  Some can read early and read well but have problems with comprehension. While some, have auditory processing problems and could not even comprehend Rhymes, or letter sounds on words - which my son had.  So, you see not all minds are the same.  Some have learning blocks that needed to be trained.  My son, had it too but I see it as my challenge instead of his.  I want him to learn one thing - to love learning!  But to love it, he must unblock his reading challenge.

Isn't the worst thing any parent could experience is when a teacher or a principal calls on you just to tell you:

• "You're child is a slow-learner"
• "She is not reading (or catching up) at her grade-level"
• "He is Regressing!"
• "All of his classmates are doing well, but I'm sorry to say but your child seems to be having a hard time."
• "He can't even finish copy work and everyone else are already done!"

So you wonder, why my kid is acting this way? He looks fine to me when he's at home or with his peers. But, honestly, there is nothing wrong with your child so stop thinking that you have a slow or dyslexic child!  It's you! He simply needs you to teach him and focus off your problem-focused life to cope with whatever he is having a hard time on.  Parents who wonder, wonder too much about the problem instead of a solution that is readily available.  The teachers are not your child's problem solver - you are!  A simple 30 minutes a day on what your child is struggling on makes a lot of difference!

Honestly, it took me almost 6 months of direct teaching (with a proper homeschool curriculum) of at least 3 hours/day just to identify what is keeping my smart and amazing 6 year old from reading!

We did the usual phonics, alphabetic style of learning sounds then blending them.  Which we did for about 4-5 months but all he could do are sound out C-V-Cs (Bat and Sat... etc) but no blending at all which is really frustrating.

Then, upon doing a workbook Developing the Early Learner Series (Books 1-4) by Simone Bibeau, MA. Sp. Ed.  I found out that my 6 year old is struggling with an Auditory Processing which makes him harder to remember phonics and worse blending those sounds together.

He couldn't even figure out what sounds are heard when I say a word (ex. Bat = Baaaatt).  He knows all of the sounds of the alphabet because of the great stuff on Hooked on Phonics, Click N' Read, Starfall.com songs. But, all of these are left-brained focus.  My child is a right-brained learner with an auditory glitch. He was even having a hard time identifying rhymes (ex. Pail - Nail).

But, now what a lovely day! I have found the way to teach my challenged kiddo to process these sounds into words.  Training his brain to process info and store and retrieve data in a way that is easier for him!

My son is used to guess words from pictures.  So, first, I totally scrap all visual aids.  No words/pictures to look at.  Just listening, and listening to my voice which must be clear as crystal for him to hear.  I even would blindfold him at times just to make his focus on the hearing and not on anything else. He had a hard time on this activity.

We did this simple activity after he practiced the phonics, to relate the sound to writing and so we can also improve and touch a lot on spelling.  At first, he spelled B-O-L as Ball, but that is okay.  It means, he can start chopping off those sounds to form words.  I was delighted.

We did Rhymes for 1 week and started introducing the Jelly Bean Reading! Which I personally conceptualized based on different research I've read.  After 3-4 days, he can now read and blend those sounds very well!

I got an idea on how to do this from Candy Math Program - wherein Candies and treats which are kids favorites are used as actual manipulatives to teach kids about Math!  Click the link to download the free PDF.

Here's how we played the Jelly Bean Reading Game! I didn't plan on this game, it just came right out of my mind - for the love I have to make my son read!

Our Jelly Bean Reading Game!

I didn't do much effort on how it would look like. :P

1. Take out plain white sheets of paper (bond paper would do, just cut them into pieces)
2. Line up 3 or 4 blocks as the numbered block sheet for the phoneme sounds of each word you will be saying. *If your child is a non-reader but knows letter sounds but have a hard time blending them, you can start with 3. Progress to 4 or more when he is ready.  Putting 1,2,3,4 teaches your child to read from Left (1) to Right (3 or 4)
   
   
   
3. Draw a buzzer or find any buzzer that your child can use to ring when he's done. Make it fun!
4. Jelly Beans or any healthy treats/candies/crackers! Do this before a major meal.  They will eat them as an award!
5. For the game do a sample first, sound out the word "Tap, Taaaaapp"
6. Tell them to listen and place in candies to every sound they hear from the word said.  Ask them to place those sounds in order starting on the beginning sound to the last sound.  My kid, had a hard time at the middle sound, but later found out a way to figure it out more.
7. After they have lined up the sounds on the numbered block sheets, ask them to write those sounds to spell out on the lined-out blank (no numbers) sheet.
8. When they're done... ask them to press the buzzer!
9. When they did it correctly, praise them but before they eat it.  Ask them this, Can you eat the /B/ sound, eat the Last Sound, then eat the /A/ sound.  This way, they can recognize which sound is first, last, and middle as well as the phonemes.
10. Do 4-5 of this game and just add on tricks to challenge them.

The rice puffs are not too sweet, so it was for the consonants and the jelly beans for the vowels.

I had 3 and 4 phoneme game that we played just for  the day.  I got the words from the book we will later on read.
We read Fun Tales, tomorrow... Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss!

Since we finish school right before Lunch, I needed to get some of my twin girls' super flavorful Gerber Rice Puffs!
They are light and not too sweet for my little reader bunny!  Of course, he loves Jelly Beans.
Crackers would do great as well!

The resources below were very helpful for my struggling-reader-no-more little guy, which you can check out:

• Dianne Kraft, MA, CNHP - I love her research.  It's very up-to-date and very kid and mom friendly.  Learned about how to teach a right brain child and even how to teach these kids in a way that they will have fun.
• Earobics - A great tool for focus and auditory processing.  Try their online games for kids! They are awesome
• Phonemes - You will have to master this.
• Phonemic Awareness Activites - Download them and check it out! Great resource!