Next in Line for the StageMommy in the Making

After bagging her first beauty title lol, Aton fancies on joining whatever child search in town she hears of. 

She is now an official candidate of Kids Fashionista Pilipinas 2013- Retro Edition, and scheduled for he photoshoot this coming February 17.

I still have a few in line for her this February:
  

08 February. Goin' Bulilit Go-See

 Best wishes, Ate Aton!

Xoxo,

Mommy

If Mommy Can Catwalk

If mommy can catwalk...

 Of course, my baby girl can, too!

My little one is now an official candidate of FASHIONISTA KIDS PILIPINAS 2013 Retro Edition! Please support my daughter, LOREEN ALLISON M. VIRATA. Like her Fan Page-- www.facebook.com/loreenallisonvirata

My warmest gratitude...

Xoxo,

Lorie



A Retro and Vintage Christmas with Book Trees

Frugality = Resourcefulness + Creativity = Less Expense :D Winner!

Christmas 2012's theme was A December to Remember.  I thought of having a retro and vintage motif.

Vintage because people are attached to their memories and identify themselves with their past.  And the most interesting pop-art then was in the Retro era. So here we go....

 

We made these christmas trees and ninja stars from old Avon brochures (thanks Mommy Rache!) and recycled Nescafe Alegria and Starbucks coffee cups.



We didn't expect to win the bay deco contest, but i guess the spirit of creativity and resourcefulness prevailed over aesthetics.  The major plus was probably from the i ♥ mother earth idea. Well, thank you judges. Whoever you are :)

Ms. Naughty and Ms. Nice

Allson and Allison's Wonderpets + Hi-5 Partey 2012

This year was the easiest, most hassle-free, budget-friendly birthday preparation i ever had for the kids.

I got two 8" round cakes from Cakes and Memories (fellow moms from the South knew for sure how terrible this bakeshop's customer service was-- [past tense, ok?], nevertheless, i  got my cakes from them. the frugal mommy i am. their moist chocolate caramel cakes are superb, i just can't resist it!)
An 8" round cake would be enough to cover my kids' blowcakes. I got 2 of them. They won't be the star of the event anyway as we were holding the celeb at a play place. The kids might just ignore the cakes.

I got about 2 dozen balloons prepped for their mini party. Was expecting around 20 kiddie guests-- that's about 9 from allison's class (they're 19 in class  but i thought only nearly half would make it to Rob), 3 brats from the neighborhood, a nephew, and 6 officemate kids.

The initial plan was to get 2 cakes from C&M and order a giant pizza from, where else??? Pizza Hut of course! :D But Pizza Hut Robinson's Place Dasma and eve SM Dasma is not serving the giant one anymore. So I crossed it out from my planner. Will have to get trays of pasta from a friend then. Oh, jeez. this reminds me of Hannah. I miss her. :) Moving on, the plans weren't realized as I was very busy a few days before the kids' celebration. I was not even able to print out a peg for Allson's Wonderpets cake. I just gave the C&M staff a cutout of the wonderpets logo so they can make a gumpaste that would look like it.
Bought 3 boxes of Country Style crazy squares, logs and twists, 2 cases of C2, some candies and gums, and 2 dozens of non-woven mini bags (for the looties). Did an Art Attack for some Hi-5 hands, Jupjup artsys, and WOnderpets logos from spare construction paper we have at the office. Tagged some facebook friends on an e-invite, printed out a few invitations for Allison's classmates and the neighborhood kids, and texted my closest friends and relatives. This would do, I guess.

Come after shift, November 13, rushed from the office to the bakeshop to pick up the cakes.

Allson's Wonderpets Cake was very plain and dull. I even had a slight argument with the staff on how the gumpaste logo turned out to be. They didn't make a blue border for the red W on the yellow gumpaste. It didn't look like Wonderpets'! So we bought some candy-coated chocolates (mini Nips, to be specific), opened about 14 packets to collect blue candy-coats to complete the blue border for the Wonderpets logo. Added dots of red and yellow candies over the little cake, and voila! My efforts brought some life to the little blowcake!

Allison's Hi-5 cake was topperless. I was sleepless for several days contemplating on what to do with it. It has to resemble at least a bit of the Hi-5 theme. That morning, I thought of borrowing Tita Ginny's picture stand (a piece I have commissioned JenClaymaster to make for Ginny on her 27th birthday) as it resembles some color as the base cake I've ordered. Didn't realize it can do the trick. Here's what happened:

Not bad, uh?

Now we move on to the party. There was no program or anything. We just let the kids rule the floor. Set a Hi-5 and Wonderpets dvd playing at the background, and there you go...

The three hours were well-spent. It was a fantastic way to celebrate my kids birthdays, with this age range.

I told you, it was hassle-free.

Here's Allson's Tarp--

The Loot Bag Contents (Gums and Candies)--

 

The Invites-- 

Oh, let me share with you the peso powers. You won't believe it!

Action Station 3hour exclusivity-- 4,500 powers
8" Round Cakes from Cakes and Memories @485ea-- 970 powers
24 balloons on stick @13ea-- 312 powers

Mushroom Pasta Trays (serves 30) -- 700 powers
Country Style Doughnuts disc @20ea-- 720 powers
C2 Solo x 2cases @7.75/bottle-- 372 powers
Candies and Gums-- 500 powers
Non-woven bags @12ea--  288 powers
Allson's 3x4 tarpaulin-- 180 powers
Invites @4.75ea-- 114 powers

What have I not included? Oh, the gas to and fro, mobile phone talktime, and miscellaneous ones... :)

Party Preps 2012!

Some party ideas for my dearest little coocoo boy:

And Ate Allison who's turning Hi-5!:

A Child Care Facility, How About That??

I would love to be an at home mom to my 3 wonderful kids 24/7 without any complaints. But of course, being a single mom is tough. I had to work for us to live, which will make this ideal, very impossible. I'm just a little lucky that I can at least leave the kids with my 67-year old mom at night while I'm at work. I know how difficult it is for her to take care of these kiddoes while I'm away. But things would probably still work better if i had somebody to look after them while I'm at work, when mom's not around, or when the nanny stows away again. 

Like me, most of my friends and colleague moms do not have yayas to look after our children. Nannies have become increasingly difficult to find and sometimes when we do have one, we find it hard to trust them with our kids. There would also be instances when our nannies would have their own emergencies and we’re left with no choice but to call in and miss our shifts. I’m thinking… Parent employees like us need a back-up facility when there's nobody to attend to our kids. I wish my employer would have such facility in the office to accommodate this need.

The idea of having an amenity in GEMSPI like a next-door/ in-house child care center where working parents can deposit their children before their shifts, drop by them during breaks can boost productivity since we do not need to call in sick to attend to our kids and become more settled with the thought that our kids are just next door.





ABC & Me Childcare image credits: The New York Times


Since we do graveyard, odd shifts and non-standard hours, the need would probably be a night care center. Instead of the traditional day care center, the concept would be a child care center like that of ABC & Me Childcare.
GE can benefit from this as the idea projects reduced turnover, increased productivity and fewer unscheduled days off. Aside from GEMSPI's [already] promising benefits, this can be another edge for the company in hiring the best talents and can also encourage female employees to return to work after having children. It is a great benefit for us, female employees and (aside from SIP), will make it difficult for us to leave the company.:)

I hope the people behind GE Women's Network resonate with this. :)

Wishlists

TAURUS - The Enduring One (April 20 - May 20th)
Charming but aggressive.
Can come off as boring, but they are not.
Hard workers.
Warm-hearted.
Strong, has endurance.
Solid beings who are stable and secure in their ways.
Not looking for shortcuts.
Take pride in their beauty.
Patient and reliable.
Make great friends and give good advice.
Loving and kind.
Loves hard - passionate.
Express themselves emotionally.
Prone to ferocious temper-tantrums.
Determined.
Indulge themselves often.
Very generous.


LEO - The Boss (July 23 - Aug 22) 
Very organized.
Need order in their lives - like being in control.
Like boundaries.
Tend to take over everything.
Bossy.
Like to help others.
Social and outgoing.
Extroverted.
Generous, warm-hearted.
Sensitive.
Creative energy.
Full of themselves.
Loving.
Doing the right thing is important to Leos.
Attractive.


SCORPIO - The Intense One (Oct 23 - Nov 21)Very energetic.
Intelligent.
Can be jealous and/or possessive.
Hardworking.
Great kisser.
Can become obsessive or secretive.
Holds grudges.
Attractive.
Determined.
Loves being in long relationships.
Talkative.
Romantic.
Can be self-centered at times.
Passionate and Emotional.

LIBRA - The Harmonizer (Sept 23 - Oct 22)
Nice to everyone they meet.
Can’t make up their mind.
Have own unique appeal.
Creative, energetic, and very social.
Hates to be alone.
Peaceful, generous.
Very loving and beautiful.
Flirtatious.
Give in too easily.
Procrastinators.
Very gullible.

ARIES - The Daredevil (Mar 21 - April 19)
Energetic.
Adventurous and spontaneous.
Confident and enthusiastic.
Fun.
Loves a challenge.
EXTREMELY impatient.
Sometimes selfish.
Short fuse (easily angered).
Lively, passionate, and sharp wit.
Outgoing.
Lose interest quickly - easily bored.
Egotistical.
Courageous and assertive.
Tends to be physical and athletic.

AQUARIUS - The Sweetheart (Jan 20 - Feb 18)
Optimistic and honest.
Sweet personality.
Very independent.
Inventive and intelligent.
Friendly and loyal.
Can seem unemotional.
Can be a bit rebellious.
Very stubborn, but original and unique.
Attractive on the inside and out.
Eccentric personality.

GEMINI - The Chatterbox (May 21 - June 20)
Smart and witty.
Outgoing, very chatty.
Lively, energetic.
Adaptable but need to express themselves.
Argumentative and outspoken.
Like change.
Versatile.
Busy, sometimes nervous and tense.
Gossips.
May seem superficial or inconsistent.
Beautiful physically and mentally.


VIRGO - The Perfectionist (Aug 23 - Sept 22)
Dominant in relationships.
Conservative.
Always wants the last word.
Argumentative.
Worries.
Very smart.
Dislikes noise and chaos.
Eager.
Hardworking.
Loyal.
Beautiful.
Easy to talk to.
Hard to please.
Harsh.
Practical and very fussy.
Often shy.
Pessimistic.

CANCER - The Protector (June 21 - July 22)
Moody, emotional.
May be shy.
Very loving and caring.
Pretty/handsome.
Excellent partners for life.
Protective.
Inventive and imaginative.
Cautious.
Touchy-feely kind of person.
Needs love from others.
Easily hurt, but sympathetic.

PISCES - The Dreamer (Feb 19 - Mar 20)
Generous, kind, and thoughtful.
Very creative and imaginative.
May become secretive and vague.
Sensitive.
Don’t like details.
Dreamy and unrealistic.
Sympathetic and loving.
Kind.
Unselfish.
Good kisser.
Beautiful.

CAPRICORN - The Go-Getter (Dec 22 - Jan 19)
Patient and wise.
Practical and rigid.
Ambitious.
Tends to be good-looking.
Humorous and funny.
Can be a bit shy and reserved.
Often pessimistic.
Capricorns tend to act before they think and can be unfriendly at times.
Hold grudges.
Like competition.
Get what they want.

SAGITTARIUS - The Happy-Go-Lucky One (Nov 22 - Dec 21)
Good-natured optimist.
Doesn’t want to grow up (Peter Pan Syndrome).
Indulges self.
Boastful.
Likes luxuries and gambling.
Social and outgoing.
Doesn’t like responsibilities.
Often fantasizes.
Impatient.
Fun to be around.
Having lots of friends.
Flirtatious.
Doesn’t like rules.
Sometimes hypocritical.
Dislikes being confined - tight spaces or even tight clothes.
Doesn’t like being doubted.
Beautiful inside and out.

feel free to grab this one! so cool...

My Kids' Trick or Treat Attires

The practical and resourceful mommy that I am :)

I wanted my kids to have the best costume they could have this coming halloween but of course, we have some budget constraints here as their big bash is upcoming.

For Allson, I had:

• some scrap fur material @ 40pesos/kilogram from a factory in Batangas (his entire costume consumed only about 350grams of fur. )

For Allison, I bought:

• 5 yards of black soft tulle @100pesos
• elastic @20pesos
• black shades @35pesos
• black pantyhose @30pesos
• tiara @150pesos
• black shoes @150pesos

11 July 2011. Cake Inquiries

Today, I will be contacting every known cake supplier in town. This is what I have in my right now:

Or:

I'll start with:

A Bag of Goodis
Aggy's
Cakes and Memories
Conching's
Kitchen Krafts
Marta's
Me and My Sweets
TJ's Cakes

Who else???


Xoxo,

Lalai

A New Career Perhaps...

This is my new interest. 

Die-hard!



I've never thought I'd be venturing into this. But here we are now... And Drich has been supportive. :)