Archives for July 2013

SUPERBOOK Bida ng Pagbabago Roadshow Kicks Off on July 14!

July 10, 2013 by

Mark your calendars!  Be at Robinsons Magnolia this Sunday when Superbook Bida ng Pagbabago Roadshow kicks off.  If your kids have been wanting to meet Gizmo, now is their chance to meet him and even pose for a picture with him.  Read on to know what fun activities await all Batang Superbooks.

Superbook Roadshow - July 14, Robinsons Magnolia

SUPERBOOK KICKS OFF BIDA NG PAGBABAGO ROADSHOW!

Super news flash! This is what every ‎Batang Superbook has been waiting for!

The Superbook Bida ng Pagbabago Roadshow will be kicking-off this July 14, Sunday, from 2:00 pm-5:00 p.m. at the Robinsons Magnolia Atrium, Aurora Blvd., Quezon City (near St. Paul University).

Join Superbook Agents and Kapuso stars Benjamin Alves, Bettina Carlos, and Sheena Halili, with ventriloquist Ruther Urquia and his puppet Titoy, for some fun games, prizes and surprises!

And the best part? The kids will get a chance to meet and greet, and pose for a photo with Gizmo!

There will also be a special screening of Superbook’s “A Giant Adventure” episode. How cool is that?

Registration will start at 12:00 noon and entrance to the audience area will be a first come, first serve basis. Seats will also be limited to one (1) child per one (1) adult companion only so better come early.

LIKE www.facebook.com/BatangSuperbook for more updates.

Filed Under: Events, Family Fun, for the KIDS Tagged With: ,

Choosing the Right Swimwear

July 10, 2013 by

What’s summer without hitting the beach and getting some tan? Here are some tips on choosing that perfect swimwear that could make heads turn this season:

Small-Busted. Those with small busts can get the illusion of a fuller top by wearing bikini tops with frills, fringes, or embellishments. A triangle top would also accentuate the curves in your busts making them appear larger. Another way to add volume to small tops is to use padding. Just make sure that it does stay in place and has a natural shape. Also, if you are in the mood for a high-waist, French-cut swimwear, you may want to check out this website.

Big-Bottomed. Boy shorts can hide big bottoms while enhancing your curves. You can also opt for plain dark bottoms that make your bottom appear slender. Pair this plain dark bottom with a printed top to draw attention to your top instead.

Plus-Size. There are modest plus size swimwear that could enhance your assets and hide your flaws at the same time. A belted one piece for one would cinch your waste. Opt for a printed one piece suit with a solid-colored belt for the best slimming effect.

Filed Under: for DAD & MOM, Products We Love

Three Shopping Tips For Choosing the Perfect Mattress

July 10, 2013 by

Shopping for a new mattress is not something that most people look forward to, but if you do everything correctly, you should only have to endure this experience one time in your life. The right mattress should last at least 10 years if not longer, and they don’t have to be majorly expensive either! You can find some of the best latex mattress deals or whichever kind you like, which can be quality and long-lasting as well. The average person spends at least one-third of their life sleeping. Doesn’t it make sense to spend that time comfortably?

For me personally, I’ve always found that a latex mattress provides the best support, and provides the absolutely best comfort. But, my husband doesn’t feel the same. He prefers memory foam – each to their own. Everybody seems to have a different style of sleeping and their own version of “comfort” that often develops from childhood. And, with that said, that brings us to the most important tip.

Shop For Comfort First

Your bed is the one place where you need maximum comfort. If you are not getting a good night’s sleep, then your old mattress could be to blame. The first thing that you need to take into consideration when you start shopping for new mattresses is the comfort of your bed. Whether it is a single mattress or a king mattress you are after, don’t sacrifice comfort for anything.

The select comfort line of mattresses was designed to be comfortable for more than one person. A mattress where the firmness can be adjusted is an excellent idea.

Research Different Mattresses First

There is more than one type of mattress out there and many you can compare with each other. For example, leesa vs purple mattress and the more you know about all the different types of mattresses that exist, the easier it will be the pick out the perfect one. Here are a few of the more popular choices.

Where Should You Shop

When it comes to mattress shopping, you really don’t have all that many choices. You can choose to shop locally at a specialized mattress retailer, or you can shop from the convenience of your home by making your purchase on the Internet. Both methods have advantages.

Shopping at a local retailer gives you the unique opportunity to try out all of the beds. You can spend as much time lying on every mattress in the store.

Shopping for a new mattress on the Internet gives you convenience and great savings. Most Internet mattress retailers will also give you a free in home trial for the mattress. This is an excellent way to determine whether or not the mattress is a good fit.

Shopping for a new mattress does not have to be difficult. Take your time and you will only have to do this once in your life.

Filed Under: for the HOUSE, Handy Tips, Home Improvement, House Matters Tagged With: , ,

Choosing a Nursery for September

July 9, 2013 by

Choosing a school is not as easy as 1,2,3. There are just so many factors you must consider moreso if it would be your child’s first school. You’d want the school to provide a wonderful learning environment for your child. Like Ravencroft for example, Ravenscroft Admissions is a great place to go to learn more about their wonderful learning environment. In this article, Jenny West shares her thoughts on choosing a nursery for your child.Jenny West recently spent a great deal of time and effort researching the options for sending her twins to nursery and blogs about her experiences to help other parents in a similar situation

Summer seems to have finally arrived in the, which can only mean one thing for parents: the summer holidays. Maybe it’s one of many and you’re used to having to fill the endless weeks with trips to the zoo, the park and the cinema. However, for lots of parents, this is the last summer before their child goes to nursery in September with all the other children to start their academic careers. While many parents have already found care centers like Explore & Develop for their children to attend, I’m sure many parents are still looking around. If you haven’t already found the perfect nursery for your child, what should you be looking for?

When it comes to your children, safety is obviously paramount. This doesn’t change. From birth, the safety of your child is the most important thing to you as a parent. Even in years to come when you are choosing schools for them (and checking the primary school league tables), the safety measures within that school are very important. Make sure all of the nursery staff have their necessary qualifications and checks in place. Don’t feel uncomfortable requesting this information, as you can never be too careful when it comes to leaving your children in the care of others. You can also check the Ofsted report, which will be available on the nursery website or on the central Ofsted government site, to make sure that no concerns have been raised.

Proximity is another thing to consider. With little ones, long morning commutes can be tiring and frustrating, so ideally opt for something relatively local – moreso than for older children. That way, if there is a problem, it’s also easier for you to go and pick your child up. It might also be worth considering whether or not you want a nursery that is attached to a primary school so that your child has a seamless transition into the next stage of school with their new friends.

Most nurseries will focus on similar things to ensure your child develops into a well-rounded little character, but some may choose to focus more strongly on some elements of development than others. Find out what your nursery specialises in. Maybe it’s learning through expressions of creativity, teamwork or simply encouraging children to explore the natural environment and ask questions. If the learning style complements the work you have been doing with your child at home, it can help with the transition from home to nursery.

If you are friends with other parents of children of the same age as your own, find out where they will be sending their own children. This means you can ask questions about the research they have done and what they have found out about each of the nurseries they have visited. Your own child might prefer to go to a nursery where they know someone, and it can be easier to organise a picking up and dropping off rota to suit both of your schedules and give you a bit of a break.

Filed Under: Mom's Corner, Mommy Talk, Resources Tagged With: , ,

Little Einsteins Mission Celebration: Themed Party on a Budget

July 8, 2013 by

We’re going on a mission, start the countdown – 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!

Everyone to rocket and let’s blast off

to celebrate Jade and Jakei’s birthday!

Last year, the two little kids celebrated their birthdays with a Jake and the Neverland Pirate themed cake and snacks.  This year, I wanted to make it extra special for them and asked their school teacher if they could have Little Einsteins’ themed activities as well.  Teacher Abby, always so gracious with parents’ requests, gladly granted our request and also played party host.  Due to the procrastinator in me, the activities didn’t go as well as I imagined though. Nonetheless, the little kids had a great time and loved their “party”.   Thankfully, kids are so easy to please and to entertain. 🙂

THE CAKE

First off the list was the birthday cake.  This was the easiest for me to cross off since all it entailed was placing an order online.  The Little Einsteins birthday cake was created by Joel of Woku Cakes.  He baked for us a Chocolate Cake with Strawberry Jam and Chocolate Ganache Filling.  The cake was shaped like Rocket and was then decorated using boiled icing and fondant.  The Little Einsteins characters were also skilfully sculpted from fondant.

woku little einsteins cake

THE FOOD & LOOT BAG

Though I wanted to prepare themed snacks just like last year, we had to make do with fast food delivery as I had no househelp.  We opted for a KFC Snack Box which includes fun shots and fries, Zesto Fruit Teas, and mini-cupcakes from Shoppersville.  The KFC Snack Boxes were ordered a few days in advance and were delivered directly to the kids’ school.  Definitely, food prep this year was no-fuss.

food

The kids’ loot bags were made from A4 sized colored paper folded into a paper bag.  I found some cute animal crayons at National Bookstore and paired each one with a notepad.  I filled the remaining space with jellyace and lollipops.

loot bag

THE ACTIVITIES

The activities were meant to be fun party activities coupled with lessons about art and music.  Before each activity, I was supposed to give the kids a few trivia about European art and music.  I wasn’t able to properly coordinate this with Teacher Abby though so it didn’t go as planned. (My fault for not setting up a meeting before the event) Anyway, let me share with you our Little Einsteins themed activities.

Meet the Little Einsteins(Film Showing)

Of course, our budget wasn’t enough to hire mascots so we opted for a viewing of one Little Einstein episode.  We chose Go to Europe and this is where the rest of the activities was based.

film showing

Crafts: Bean Shakers

For the crafts time, the kids made their own music shakers using plastic plates and beans.  You may read the materials and procedure in my previous post.   A word of caution though – Make sure the plates are laced securely.  The kids and I have done this many times at home without mess so I did not anticipate the “bean spill” that happened in school.  Some of the kids’ shakers were not laced tightly and beans fell out of the shakers.  If you’ll be doing this craft activity in a school setting, I suggest you use bigger beans.

little einsteins activity bean shakers

Game: Musical Einsteins (Music by Tchaikovzky & Bach)

This is another version of musical chairs. While playing, the kids become more familiar with music by Tchaikovzky & Bach.  When the music stops, instead of sitting on chairs, the kids step on cutouts of Little Einsteins characters taped to the floor.  The host draws a character from Rocket (decorated cardboard box) and whoever is stepping on that character gets to stay for the next round.  All the other kids leave the game floor.  The last three kids left get to win prizes.

games musical einsteins

Game: Stack a Tower (Trivia on Leaning Tower of Pisa, Eiffel Tower, Big Ben Clock Tower, and Towers of Gimignano)

This is another very familiar party relay game where players stack blocks or cups to form a tower.  The players of each team take turns stacking and un-stacking the blocks until everyone has had his turn.  The first  team to finish wins the game.  To connect the game with the Little Einsteins theme, I printed out pictures of famous towers found in Europe.  However, I was neither able to show these to the kids nor to share the bits of trivia about the towers I gathered.

games stack a tower

Game: A Piece of Master (Art by Van Gogh & Monet)

This jiggle puzzle game introduces kids to the masterpieces of Van Gogh and Monet.  My husband had paintings printed on board paper which we then cut into puzzle pieces.  To play the game, the kids form groups of four and are given an envelope with the puzzle pieces and a picture of the painting.  The first team who finishes their puzzle wins the game.  Due to time constraints, we weren’t able to play this game anymore.

prizes

Game Prizes: clay, crayons, and puzzles

THE BUDGET

Last year, we spent less than five thousand pesos for their celebration so I set the same amount as my budget this year.  Though the expenses amounted to 6,500 pesos, this is still much lower than what one would spend for a kiddie party in your child’s fave fast food.  Here’s the breakdown of our expenses this year (check this post for last year’s cost breakdown):

Food (for 35 kids + 10 adults): P 4,195

                1,100     = Little Einsteins Cake by Woku Cakes(inclusive of delivery fee)

                2,475     = KFC Snackbox (P55 x 45)

                   300     = Zesto Fruit Tea (P6 x 50)

                  350       = Shoppersville Mini Cupcakes (P7 x 50)

Materials for Bean Shakers(for 35 kids):  P 527

                350         = Plastic Bowls (70 pcs)

                  27         = Yarn (2 spools)

                150         = Beans (2 – 500g packs)

Game Prizes: P 576

                176         = Rocket Crayons (6 pieces)

                184         = Clay Mini-tubs with molds (8 pieces)

                216         = Puzzle Sets (4 boxes)

Loot Bag(for 35 kids):  P 926.50

                55           = Red colored paper for loot bag (P27.50 x 2)

                148.50   = Notepads (24.75 per pack of 6)

                462         = Animal Crayons

                187.50   = Jellyace (62.50 per pack)

                78.50     = Chuppa Chups (24.50 per pack)

That’s exactly 6,224.50. If you add the cost of the paper used for the invitations, stickers, and cutouts, the total amount would be roughly 6,500.  This just goes to show that you can throw a themed party without breaking the bank.  Oh, and we’re actually saving so much more because the kids always celebrate their birthdays together.  Have I already mentioned that the kids enjoyed their Little Einsteins birthday?  Their joy is well worth all the effort and expense.

Thank You

A big shoutout goes to Teacher Abby who allowed us to celebrate the kids’ birthdays in school and who gamely played party host as well.  Thank you also  to the beautiful teachers and aides!  Of course, thank you also to Papa for taking time off from work to celebrate with the us!

teacher abby

Filed Under: Events, Family Fun, for the KIDS Tagged With: , , ,
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