Officially, A Stage Nanay

It was a dream for me to be hands on with my kids.  I was as supportive as ever.  And just recently, I was given the chance to be a stage nanay to my Aton.

Ever since she started attending the special science class, she became very busy and never ran out of activities. Curriculars and co-curriculars. Days have been jam packed... She's getting used now to waking up at 5AM to prep herself for school. In class from 7AM to a little after 4PM. Tutorials from 5PM 'til 6PM. But still had energy to play with her siblings by the time she gets home. Where is this energy coming from? :)

The parents were all oriented with how the acad calendar would be. So it really was not surprising anymore. I just had to be ready!

On the first month, they started preparing for their culminating activity, which was supposedly held by last week of June, but then postponed to first week of July. This gave us more time to prepare then. :)

Just imagine how my 6-year old was able to memorize two (2) considerably long story telling pieces in a short time! We had the stories posted on the wall and she memorized them her self. I really didn't want to push her into this big memorization thing. But she enjoyed it anyway :)

I wanted a standee for her story telling but then I didn't have the budget to have somebody make one for us. So i tried to DIY it! Kuripot/dukhang nanay, it is!

I made an old lady (pseudo) standee using the biggest illustration board I can find at National Bookstore:

I started painting it but I ran out of blue water color, midway! :( This resourceful nanay then painted half of it with white poster paint mixed with a few drops of blue food coloring. Di naman pala masyadong halata yung difference nila. So let me call that, a success! Haha..

Then i made these farm animals for her hand props:

And painted another (pseudo) standee for her story telling in Filipino:

I suddenly turned into a props man slash stage nanay!

Before we left for school early in the morning, we had run throughs for her story telling pieces.

Now, for her dance performance, she did an ancient Egyptian Dance:

And finally, for her Science Experiment, she showed her classmates how to make a lava lamp:

Grabe. The two weeks were really jam-packed!

And her presentations were all successful! Thank you for always guiding us, Papa God!

And we concluded the event with a Speaking Achievement Certificate:

I love being this hands on to my Aton, for the very first time in her four years of schooling. I hope I can be this hands on and full-time. I wish I can always be a Stage Nanay. I wouldn't mind having very little (sometimes, even zero) rest at all. All for my aton. All for my indians. I will be their ever supportive nanay. 'Til the end of my days :) #joysofsinglemommyhood

Xoxo, 

Lorie

The Sweetest Thing :)

Earlier this month, I posted this on Instagram:

This was my kids' money bank from the loombands they sold, and some savings from Allison's everyday baon. They were saving these daw for something they really wanted to buy.

Early this morning, my indians were "conferencing".  

Then late this afternoon, they asked me if I can accompany them to SM.  I needed to see the doctor @Wellcare in the afternoon so I asked if they would consider Waltermart instead. Nag-huddle sila ng ilang seconds. Then they said "go kami jan!" in chorus. :)

The rest of this story? Eto na yon... Pwede na ba akong umiyak? 

Wait! Bebs wasn't in the picture. So, here's our follow-up selfie together:

Happy birthday to me! :)

Every year, my birthdays get better and better. And happier and happier. I love you, indians! To the moon and back!

Xoxo,

Mommy

Family Day 2014

Here we go for one of my kids' most awaited event at mommy's work. It's family day! 

Brought the kids, lola, ate virgie, and lola's friends from the Senior Citizens group, to Star City to spend some quality time.

We had a photo op with the stars--

We rode the carousel

And had the the kids experience everything they can try out:

We also tried the ZipLine:

The Fish Doctor:

The Snow World:

And had lunch before we left. :)

And we won Php1655 for this:

I just love GE! :)

Xoxo,

Lorie

Special Science Class for Aton!

I asked Teacher Bing for any reputable grade school she would recommend for Allison. There's a few good schools in the area but Teacher can't think of any better school than SSES (Special Science Elementary School). I was a little hesitant to have Allison take the SSES' exam as I know how difficult it is to pass that. 

I was already considering St. Jude College in Salawag, but still took a chance on SSES.

Aton and I visited the school and asked about the requirements. I got everything completed exactly a week after (thanks to NSO's online services :) ). Aton took the qualifying test in April 8. I never thought that this exam for 6-year olds will take more than 3 hours to get done. Kawawang Aton. We didn't have any baon or even a bottle of water to take with her during the exam. They started at 1:30 in the afternoon and it was almost 5 PM na when she got out of the testing room.

Aton told me how difficult the exam was. It was mostly reading comprehensions and 3-4 digit maths. Good thing, she's good at addition and take-aways. :)

The administrator advised us that the results will be out by first week of May. Hindi na kami masyadong umasa.

Now, come May 3rd... I dropped by the Guidance Office and saw this:

Congratumalations, Ate Aton!!! You make your mommy (and your lola and siblings) so very proud of you!

Mommy is able to save a fortune!

eBay Blessing =)

My ebay account has been dormant for quite a while. Lately, i decided to relist the unsold stuff. I was hoping to add a little something for Allison's savings account. 3 hours after relisting, an item sold!

Sold 11 milk storage bottles for 2k. =)

Syempre, may love note na naman ako sa buyer, in cursive writing itey para feel na feel. LOL

Si Papa God talaga, andaming ginagawang push para suportahan ako. Hehe :)

Project Polka Dots =)

Frugal mommy bought three almost identical dresses of the same size for 50 peso powers a piece.

Shortened the first one and tightened the bodice to fit our Bebs. Lengthened the straps of the second one so it would fit my Aton.  Deconstructed the third one so i can make one for myself.

And DIYed an appliqué to sew on my Pukoy's plain white shirt :)

Had to hand sew everything! Bcos my vintage sewing buddy has not been fixed yet. Good luck, frugal nanay. You are so kuripot! So, pangatawanan mo yan!

Here's how the project fitted my kids:

And here are a few pictures of me and the kids:

Oh, let me share as well... We bagged an award when I took them to work last night: 

And the pangkabuhayan showcase we brought home:

Congrats to my self. For a DIY project well done. And to my competitive indians. Hehe...


Xoxo,

Lorie

Starting a Beauty Regimen :)

This melancholy will soon be over. I know... :) 

I promised to be kind to myself from now on. That's from today, March31st, moving forward. 

I realized I haven't had any beauty regimens in the last few years. I am very low maintenance, as you know. Eversince I gave birth to baby#2 (Allson), I didn't find time to take care of myself anymore. I probably have lost my youthful glow now... And I need to bring it back! So I bought myself some prettify stuff. Will start with a few basics here- body soap and scrub from Asian Secrets, day and night creams from Garnier, body lotion and clearing solution from Erase. Let's see if they'll work. 

I have once tried to bring back the beautiful me a couple of years ago. But it was an epic fail. So please let me do this right, this time.

Well, I guess, this depression blues will bring me a little closer to my goal of prettifying myself. Sana naman. My self esteem's at its abyss at this point. Need to lift it up a little. So help me, God :)