Hand- Drawn By Joanne - Card For A Cause

The latest happenings in Japan made my 7 year old girl think of how she can help. She feels very bad about what happened and wants to do something in her own little way. She decided to make hand-drawn cards and sell them for $3 each, and donate the money to the Red Cross.Let me know if you want one for $3 or whatever you want to give. ALL proceeds go to the American Red Cross, Japan Tsunami Relief Fund.

My Little Girl Is Now 7!

My little girl turned 7 two weeks ago but we gave her a party last Saturday. (and yes, mom was so busy planning this momentous event.) It was a successful party and kids enjoyed it a lot.
In the Philippines, most parents look forward to their child's 7th birthday. It is one of the celebrated years in child's life, so parents make sure it is as special as possible.

We hired the magician/clown to entertain the kids.


Kids were engaged from the minute she started setting up until the minute she said goodbye.

All kids were lined up for the most anticipated balloon sculpture. ( Blinkee is an expert on this)

The Puppet Show- courtesy of our friend Sally Cragin.


The Pinata...


and the cake for the finale...

Fly High Butterfly!

Visiting butterfly places is a fun thing to do and my little girl enjoys it a lot. These butterflies were from the butterfly place at the Bronx zoo.
While browsing a book about butterflies I found this interesting story that I think It's worth sharing,"Hope For The Flowers"- It is the tale about the heroes Stripe and Yellow who want something more from life than eating and growing big.
Stripe who watched fellow caterpillars climbing and stepping on and over others with no idea about what was at the top. When he asked others what was at the top, the answer was "No one knows but it must be awfully good because everybody’s going there." Stripe tried for a while and even met a lovely female caterpillar named Yellow and they tried together and gave up together. Stripe tried again, and one day, as Yellow was waiting for Stripe to come back, she discovered a grey caterpillar struggling to get out of a cocoon. She offered to help, but the grey caterpillar said, "No, I have to do this to become a butterfly." Yellow asked, "What is a butterfly?" It is what you are meant to become. It flies with beautiful wings and joins the earth to heaven. It drinks only nectar from the flowers and carries the seeds of love from one flower to another. Without butterflies the world would soon have few flowers. Yellow asked, "How does one become a butterfly?" The answer was "You must want to fly so much that you are willing to give up being a caterpillar."

Devil's Tongue?

Wow! That is so pretty! uttered the lady behind me. Oh yuh, isn't it gorgeous? I said. Euww.... DEVIL'S TONGUE??? well it's beautiful, but I am not going to take a picture, she said. Then she left. I did take a shot. Here it is showing off what I got from the botanic garden we just visited last weekend. Isn't it pretty?

No One Ever Said Parenting Was Easy!

If eating a small amount of food for an hour each meal is developmentally normal and age appropriate, this really drives me crazy. My 6 1/2 year old little girl eats healthy food, no doubt about it, but she only eats very little of everything. At home I give her fruits, vegetables,yogurt and sometimes as a treat chips and crackers. I always make sure that she eats what I give her. But in school, she doesn't finish her lunch. She brings her lunch box home hardly touched or even when she buys food at the cafeteria. I know that fights about food intake lead to ugly issues later in life, and a battle I will never win but this is really so stressful for me right now.
I hope she will outgrow this habit soon...
Any suggestions out there is welcome and very much appreciated.

Knock, Knock...

Who's there?
Orange...
Orange who?

Orange You Glad You Ate An Orange Today?

It's pretty much safe that people know that oranges are loaded with Vitamin C. But did you know that they also contain many other nutrients, which help your body fight off diseases? There's folate, potassium, and antioxidants. these nutrients may reduce bad cholesterol levels; fight age-related diseases and help protect your skin.

With all the healthy goodness wrapped so neatly under the peel, an orange makes a great snack for people in a hurry!

Trying To Be Active Again...

I can't believe I have been in hibernation for 3 months. Thank you very much to all the visitors who always visit my site even if I don't have an update. I will try to post a good entry and be active again.

Cooking Sharpens Your Mind

Cooking with kids can teach some essential basic cooking techniques while also sharpening their reading and math skills as they read recipes and measures ingredients. Kids also gain knowledge about food science as they combine ingredients and watch as their creations "come to life". Cooking with kids also give opportunity to talk about the importance of good nutrition and helps lay the groundwork for healthy eating in the future. Better yet, cooking with kids is easy and fun! Five and six years old can measure ingredients, cut soft foods with blunt knife, set the table, and garnish foods. Seven and eight year old ca help plan a meal, roll and shape cookies, beat ingredients with a whisk, find ingredients in the cupboard, and make a salad. Finally, 9-12 year olds can open cans, use the microwave oven, prepare simple recipes, shred cheese and vegetable and use an oven and knife under supervision.-- (source: Well Being by sodexo)

Getting Through Life...

Sleep as much as you can...

Read books that you enjoy...

Play with simple things...

Do whatever you want, whenever you want...

Look for affection when you need it...

Get serious once in a while...

Forget about diets...

Show some affection...

Get angry once in a while...

Change your look...

Above all, BE HAPPY, regardless of what your challenges may be.

HAVE A GREAT LIFE EVERYONE!

Ad In The Sky

One Saturday morning in Boston during the Sail Boston 2009, a lot of people were on line trying to have a glimpse of beautiful ships on exhibit. Out of the blue there were 5 helicopters flying in the bright sky making some ads. People were looking up curious, waiting for the words to form. What a great way of advertising, but an expensive one i think.

Sunset At Canobie Lake Park

We spent our whole day yesterday at the Canobie lake Park in New Hampshire. We were there for 8 hours having fun at the water parks and rides for everybody.It was a scorching day so DH spent more time at the Castaway Island. I captured this beautiful sun beginning to set while we were at the train ride.

Bluelight Specials Is Back!

"This post was sponsored by Kmart. All the opinions are mine."

"Mom are we going to church today?" my little girl asked me while having breakfast. After a long time of going to mass, she is now eager to go and not complaining about the long mass. I am glad for this changes it would now easy for me to dress her up and be at church on time. After church I promised to bring her to the play area so she can have some fun with her friends.

It is good to know that Kmart has an ongoing sale today, August 08, this is a one day sale only. Kmart Bluelight specials has over 40 great specials throughout the day on everything from patio furniture, to grills, jewelries and many more. Other offers will also be at Kmart.com only this Saturday. I am more interested on the glass top table they have to replace the one that we broke last December when we had an ice storm. I already talk to the Kmart staff if is available and luckily it is. With the 70% off the regular price my budget can still go a long way. I might also visit the jewelry section where you can get an extra 10% of diamonds that are already 70% off. Wow, this really is a great deal. It seems that I would have a Christmas in August with this spectacular savings.
Oh by the way, you can now followKmart on Twitter to get more info.

Not Ready to Wake Up

Did you ever wonder why your teenage kids stays in bed late? According to the recent study, teenagers do not naturally wake up as early in the morning as younger kids or adults. The study found that teens' levels of melatonin - the hormone that promotes sleep - rise later at night and remain elevated later in the morning. This means that at 7:30AM, when American high school start class, most teenagers' brains are technically still asleep.
On average , teens need at least 9 hours of sleep each night to be awake and ready to learn.
Here are some tips to help your teens get more Zzzzzs:

* When school starts, make it a rule: No caffeine after school.

* Avoid over-stimulation from TVs, computers, iPods, and cell phones too close to
bedtime.

* Keep the bedroom dark at night and bright in the morning.

* Consider limiting after school activities to allow for more downtime.

* Suggest your teen to take a one hour nap after school.

* Don't let your teen sleep in too late on weekends to avoid throwing him/her off
schedule.

Get Help From Sears!

“ This post was sponsored by Sears. All the opinions are mine”

For the new high school graduates going to college and moving into a dorm can be a realization of a long- cherished dream. This might be the first time to some to be away from their parents. Living by themselves for the first time could be exciting and at times challenging but thanks to Sears.com for creating a site where college students can navigate and get some ideas to be CampusReady. It is also a great help for parents so they can shop according to their kids need. This site has a lot of informations that are very helpful to both student and parent. One of the great advantage of the site is that, it covers almost every aspects of living independently. There is a dorm room category, interactive checklist where you can find all the dorm life essentials and even spending wisely, which is a big challenge for some college students. While kids are excited to live independently most parents are worried for their kids being away from home.
With the popularity of facebook for college students, Sears created a CampusReady on Facebook for them to visit.
Also, college tuition costs is still rising, you can enter for a chance to win money toward child's college tuition from Sears and Upromise. A total of $25,000 will be awarded. Upromise members are automatically entered with a sears.com purchase through Upromise.com, or enter free at sears.com/campusready. See sears.com/campusready for full rules and complete details.

Thank You All For Visiting!

July went by so fast, I didn't even got a chance to thank all of my loyal visitors for the past month. This time, I don't want to miss this opportunity to acknowledge my friends and visitors who continuously give their time and effort to visit. I can't thank you enough for your support. It is very much appreciated.

Here are my top 10 list:

Yummy-as-can-be
A Simple Life
Mommy Little Corner
Mom's Check Nyo
Life's sweets and spices
Life's Tricky situations
The Modern Mom
Work At Home
Take A Coffee Break
Split Rock Ranch

I already updated "July- Top 10 EC Droppers" on my side bar.

"The Live Entertainment Capital Of The World"

The end of summer is quickly approaching. We only have couple of weeks to relax and plan for a family vacation before kids go back to school. I haven't been to any states in the Midwest but it seems that Branson, Missouri is a destination of choice for summer time fun, where the whole family can have a great time. I heard a lot of great things about Branson and the many activities to do. This summer, Branson has an ongoing events for everyone like the concerts by Lost Highway, The 21st Annual Downtown Branson Fiddle Fest and a lot more. Your vacation to this beautiful town will not be complete without visiting the Titanic museum.
If you are a lover of shows there are lots of musical entertainment this town has to offer. Of course when we travel we always want to have a great place to stay, Hilton Branson Convention Center Hotel and Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing can assure us of the great accommodation and we can also take advantage of both the lake setting and the many fun attraction. With the spectacular views of Lake Taneycomo and downtown Branson, this location is the best. Guests have easy access to shops, boutiques, restaurants, river walk and other attraction.

It's A Scorcher Out There!

Last weekend we were in New Jersey for our uncle's funeral. Since that Sunday was really a hot day we decided to just relax at the Liberty State Park before we went home. A lot of people were at the park having picnic, the aroma of a barbecue and some familiar foods wafting in the air. We looked around the park and most of them were Filipinos. I was surprise of the number of Filipinos in that area. No wonder why there is a big Filipino store nearby.

Ka - ka miss Philippines...

My Daylilies Are Happy!

If there was one that was happy about too much rain in our area, these were my day lilies. They really are blooming continuously. Yesterday we had a small party at home and I got a lot of compliments with those gorgeous flowers. I spent a lot of time last April moving them in one area so I can easily see them in the morning. All my efforts paid off. Now I can see those flowers when I look at the bedroom window.

Time to Update...

It's been almost a month since my last post, it was really hard for me to just sit down and tickle my keyboard. I wasn't so busy either, It's just my brain was not into it.
What am I up to these days... my little girl was already out of school for almost 2 weeks now. We hosted a playdate for 2 days in a row, attended other activities that made my brain out from blogging. I signed her up to a lot of different things to make her busy. Tuesdays is her library day. We are also fixing our garage that was neglected for the longest time. This Friday we are heading to Upstate NY to celebrate the 4th of July and be with my in laws. It would be a lot of fun for my little girl since she loves her grandpa's magic tricks and of course the fireworks.
Have a wonderful day everyone!