MSS’s Christmas program

Last December 13, was MSS’s Christmas program entitled “Pamaskong Handog ng MSS.” The program was held at the Philam Life Theater in UN.

They have been practicing for weeks and Bela’s teachers even gave us a CD of the songs that they will be singing so they can practice it at home. Bela loves to perform, she loves to sing and dance, but the problem is, all the songs that they are performing are in Tagalog. We tried to make her practice at home by listening to the CD but Bela is really not interested.

They had a general rehearsal last Saturday but the theater gates were closed as they want it to be a surprise for the parents and boy we were really surprise.

Bela performed four times during the program. The first one was during the opening number where all students sing and dance to different Christmas songs.

Bela’s second performance was when her class sang “Diba’t ang Pasko.” I was really surprised because she knows the lines even if it is in Tagalog. There was a microphone in front of her but it was too high but she was really doing all the extra effort (she tiptoed a lot) so she can reach the mic and sing the song. We were all laughing while watching her.

Then they did a dance number to the tune of “Season of Smiles” and Bela knows all the dance steps by heart.

Her last performance was indeed a surprise for us as she was one of the chosen student to perform for the Grand Finale. They sang “Handog” by Florante. I was really surprised because she knows the lyrics of the songs though she was saying the words in slang. LOL. We were all laughing while watching her because her teacher (whom she sang the song with), had a hard time in trying to make Bela stop because Bela still continued singing even if it is not her part of the song already. Her teacher has to sit down to get the mic away from Bela. LOL.

When the program was finish and when we fetched her from the stage, this is what she said: “Mom, I am a superstar.”

Hay, Bela is one performer talaga. We are really proud of her!!

You can view more pictures here.

Ate Bela

Bela loves the fact that she will be an Ate soon. Every night she will kiss my tummy and will hug it and will tell her baby “it” that she loves her so much. She would tell stories to her baby “it” and she will sometimes ask her dad to read a story for her and her baby “it.”

And now that she will be an ate soon, we are telling her that she should be more independent because she is no longer a baby and she is now a big girl. I guess what my friends are saying is true, that they will really learn to be more independent and responsible with the coming of the new baby.

As early as now, Bela is showing signs that she is starting to become more independent. She goes to her potty by herself every time she needs to do number 1 and number 2 and she will even remove her shorts and panty by herself. She even knows how to open the faucets by herself to wash her hands. She also started to eat by herself and I really can’t help but smile every time I see her do things on her own.

I know she should have been doing these things by herself a long time ago but I guess since she is an only child and the first grand child, we kind of spoiled her a bit. That is why her developmental pedia really recommended that Bela should become an ate soon as it will really help with her emotional growth and maturity. Her pedia also warned us that she will show signs of regression when the second baby arrives but I know Bela is a smart girl and in time she will learn to adapt and I know there is no doubt that she will be the sweetest ate ever to her baby “it.”

Bela and her Drum Set

On Bela’s last birthday, she received this wonderful gift from my brother, a drum set.

Bela is really into music. Maybe she got this love for music because she is a fan of the Little Einsteins show. Every time we are at the mall and she sees any musical instrument, she will be very eager to try it out. Her favorite is the guitar, violin and drums. That is why when my brother asked her what she wants to receive on her birthday, she did not even bat an eyelash and she quickly say “I want a drum set.” And my brother can’t say no to his favorite and one and only niece because he even went to Megamall on the eve of Bela’s birthday to buy the drum set so she can give it to Bela on her exact birthday.

My mom and my dad was looking for copper sinks store when they saw the Yamaha school of music in D. Tuazon, Quezon City. My mom got really excited and they inquired for the classes that they are offering since she knows that Bela will be interested to attend one of their class. As soon as they entered the school, Bela asked the receptionist on where she can find the instruments. My mom asks Bela is she likes to attend a drum lesson class and Bela excitedly said Yes.

We plan to enroll Bela this coming January. She will attend a trial class first so they can see if Bela can handle a formal lesson but the receptionist said that they have students in their drum lessons same as Bela’s age.

The Yamaha School of Music is located at 185 D. Tuazon St corner Malaya St, Quezon City. They are offering the following individual courses:
1. Drums
2. Guitar
3. Piano / Keyboard
4. Voice
5. Wind

Price for 12 lessons: P6,800 plus P300 registration fee
Price for 24 lessons: P13,600 plus P300 registration fee

6. Clavinova
Price for 12 lessons: P7,800 plus P300 registration fee
Price for 24 lessons: P15,600 plus P300 registration fee

7. Bass / Electric Guitar
Price for 12 lessons: P8,500 plus P300 registration fee
Price for 24 lessons: P17,000 plus P300 registration fee

8. Violin
Price for 12 lessons: P8,900 plus P300 registration fee
Price for 24 lessons: P17,700 plus P300 registration fee

Excited for Christmas

After two days of being in blogging hiatus, I decided to go online today to blog and read about term life insurance quotes vs rates as we have to renew our insurance next year but Bela won’t stop bugging me. LOL. She is really excited for Christmas.

Everyday, she will ask me to turn on the Christmas lights of our Christmas tree and as soon as the lights are on, she will ask me:

Bela: “Can I open the gifts now?”
Me: “Not yet baby. We will open the gifts on Christmas.”
Bela: “But it is Christmas already. See the lights are already on.”
Me: “No Bela. Christmas is on December 25 so it is nine more sleeps to go before Christmas.”
Bela: “Ok. I will sleep now. Nine times then can I open the gifts?”
Me (laughing): “No Bela. You have to sleep nine times at night before you can open your gifts.”

Finally after so much explaining she finally agreed and everyday we will do a countdown on how many more sleeps left before it is Christmas. And she was really patient because we had visitors at our house and she receives gifts from them but she agreed when I say that she has to put it under the tree so we can all open it at the same time on Christmas.

Two more days left baby and I am sure you will be so happy and delighted with all the gifts that you will be receiving.

Successful WAHMs (Work-at-Home-Moms)

As I searched multiply sites for stuffs that I can order for Bela, I just noticed that most multiply sellers are stay at home moms. Some of them share a certain passion with a friend, a former officemate, or a mom like them and they started to put up their own business by starting an online store. I so admired them for their creativity and for being able to work while being able to stay at home with their kids.

I wonder what their secret is for their success. Maybe one reason is that they really have a passion for what they are doing. Like they always say, you must really enjoy what you’re doing in order to find the drive to strive harder. Another reason might be they hired professional CPA like Las Vegas CPA to help them with all the details of their finances. Having an efficient accounting system, reporting and auditing which can all be done by professionals from Kondler CPA can play a big part in the success of a business. Another reason is that maybe, they have excellent customer service. Being a client myself, I always go back to businessmen who have good customer service.

These are just some of the reasons that I can think of. I just wish that one day, when I finally decide to retire and just stay at home with my kids, I will be able to put up my own business too like the successful business of some of the WAHMs that I know.

Bela @ 4: MSS

Just like last year, I initially planned a simple party for Bela at school. But when I inquired at the office, I was informed by the secretary that they do allow parties in school and I can even hire a magician if I want since they can give me at least 2 hours of the class schedule for the party. And since this will be Bela’s last birthday at MSS since she is moving to big school next year, I decided to hire a magician instead of just having a Jollibee party.

Howell just covered a birthday party and the magician is Pocholo and he highly recommends him. Even the mother of the celebrant, Sheryll, and my co-MBAP Jacqui who attended the party recommends Pocholo also. I inquired with Jacque but unfortunately Pocholo is no longer available on the 16th of November. So I contacted Angelette of Jelly Bellies and she recommends Wacky.

A few weeks before the party, I read from Bela’s journal that their Family day has been moved to November 14. It was supposed to be held last October but was cancelled because of Typhoon Ondoy. Since they have an activity on a Saturday, they will not have a class on the 16th which is supposed to be Bela’s party at school. Good thing I was able to read her journal and learned of the cancellation so I was able to inform Jelly Bellies and I am lucky since Wacky is still available on the 17th.

I ordered food from Jollibee a week before the party and I also hired a mascot. I also got the kiddie couches, cake and cookie lollies from Jelly Bellies. I ordered Mylar balloons online and decided that we will just inflate the balloons ourselves but when my orders arrived, instead of 30 balloons (15 balloons for her Jollibee party and 15 balloons for school), I only received 4 because it is already out of stock. Thanks to Apple of Yanple because she still accepted my order of personalized balloons and balloon burst even if it is just a week notice. I love the personalized balloons and it is a perfect choice since there is no available Little Einsteins Mylar also. Howell did a layout with a picture of Bela and the Little Einstein kids.

We arrived early in school on the day of the party and we were able to arrange the auditorium in preparation for the party. Howell put up the tarp while I arranged the prizes and the cake.

The kids got really excited when they saw the balloons and the caked decorating the auditorium. Bela was so happy and excited too as she knows that it is her party. Wacky started the show and he was a sure hit to the kids. He hosted the games, did balloon twisting, a puppet show and magic show. He even did a balloon sculptor for all the kids so they all went home with a balloon. I also bought a lot of prizes so each kid brought home bags and bags of loots so they were all very happy.

The Jollibee food arrived late but at least Wacky was able to entertain the kids while waiting for the food and Bela and her dad performed for Bela’s classmates and teachers too. After eating time, Jollibee performed a dance number then it is time for the blowing of the candle and the opening of the gifts.

Bela was so ecstatic after the party and the time that I spent preparing for this party was all worth it after seeing the smile on my little girl's face. After the party we went to Café Monaco (our favorite restaurant in Banawe for lunch).

You can view more pictures here:
Party Details
Program

Conversations with Bela

Yesterday, Bela was telling me that she wants to go on a vacation. I told her that we will go to Tagaytay but she said:

Bela: “No mom. Vacation is when you have to ride an airplane. I want to go to Hong Kong Disneyland and stay in a hotel.’
Me: “Ok baby. We will go there someday.” LOL

===

Today when Bela woke up:

Bela: “Good morning mom.”
Me: “Good morning Bela.”
Bela: “Why there are only two of us here. Where is dad?”
Me: “Dad has to go to the office to work so he can earn money so we can go to Hong Kong Disneyland.”
Bela: “Dad is earning too much money. He only needs to earn a few money.”
Me: “But we need money so we can pay for our hotel and buy our tickets for the airplane.”
Bela: “But the plane will crash if we bring too much money.”
Me: I just sop arguing with her because I know I will not win. LOL.

For Bela, Beach is Love

Bela is such a beach lover. Every time we go to the beach, she is not like the other kids who will get scared of the waves but instead is comfortable in playing and swimming in the ocean.

That is why hubby and I are thinking of having a romantic vacation riviera maya for our next vacation getaway. With Karisma Hotels and Resorts, who says that a vacation with your kids will not be romantic? Their Azul Beach hotel is a family friendly resort. They only have 98 rooms in the hotel which means that the resort is not crowded which is really perfect for a romantic family getaway. They also provide strollers, cribs and even baby milk heater so we don’t have to bring these things which are really heavy and bulky and are really the part that I hate every time we travel. They also offer different activities that both kids and adults will enjoy.

I am sure Bela will have a great time at Azul Beach Hotel.

Career Week @ MSS

She knows how to argue her case, she knows how to reason out, and she is into “whys” now and is very inquisitive and observant. Do you think I should start looking for LSAT prep as early as now as it looks like Bela can be a good lawyer someday? LOL.

But as I always say to Howell, we will support her with whatever career path she chooses to take. When you ask her now on what she likes to be when she grows up, she will tell you that she wants to be a doctor. That is why during their Career Week at their school, she decided that she will come as a doctor.

Last November 23-27 was Career Week at Bela’s school where they invite different professionals from different field to visit the school and give a little talk to the kids on what they do. On Monday they were visited by a doctor and dentist. Tuesday was their time to watch a chef prepare sumptuous meals for them and there were some kids who were also asked to help the chef as she cooks something for the kids. Wednesday was the visit from a banker and accountant. On Thursday, the kids visited a nearby fire station where they were given a demo on how to kill fire by the fireman. Then they were treated for a ride at the fire truck as the kids were all on top of the fire truck and the truck brought them back to school. Bela had so much fun and she has a lot of stories to tell us as soon as she reached home.

Friday was their culminating activity where the kids where asked to come as their favorite community helper. Bela dressed up as a doctor. My aunt just asked our neighbor to make Bela’s uniform and Howell just printed a doctor’s name tag. Good thing she also received a doctor’s set during her last birthday so she brought all of her doctor tools too.

Howell and my mom were also invited to visit the school that Friday to share to the kids some knowledge on what they do as a Barangay Chairman and IT Specialist. If you ask Bela, what do Barangay Chairman do, her answer would be:

“Barangay Chairman works together with the other community helpers in taking care of the community.”

And for IT Specialist, “Daddy cures sick computer. If computers are sick daddy will use the yellow tool to cure them.”

Here are some pictures during the Career week:

Bela@ 4: Hospicio de San Jose

After Bela’s Jollibee party last November 14, we also had our traditional party at Hospicio de San Jose. It has been our yearly tradition already and this is our Thanksgiving party for all the blessings that we have been receiving and for Bela’s good health.

Thank goodness for under eye cream, because I have been sleeping late days before Bela’s party because I have been cramming for the preparations for Bela’s party at Hospicio and her party at school. But since Ms. Amie, Hospicio’s coordinator, knows me already I was still able to get a slot for our November 15 party.

After I reserved the date at Hospicio, I contacted Jollibee Mendiola where I always order the food for the party. Jollibee no longer accepts outside party but since I am a regular customer, I was able to make them say yes to accept my outside party booking.

The party is at 3 PM. We arrived there a little after 3 PM and Jollibee staff are there already preparing the venue and the food. While the Jollibee staff is busy preparing the food, Bela entertained the kids first and she and her dad did a song number for the kids entitled “I won’t last a day without you.”

The party host from Mendiola was really good and the kids, including Bela, had fun with the party games. After the games, food was served and Jollibee had a dance number also to the delight of the kids. Then we had the candle blowing and the party ended with the kids from Hospicio singing their thank you song for us.

It was really a very memorable day for all of us. You can view more pictures here.

Bela @ 4: Jollibee Party

We had a blast last November 14 as we celebrated Bela’s fourth birthday party with family and friends at Jollibee in Blue Wave Macapagal.

We attended Djuan’s second birthday party and they hired all the Jollitown mascots to be present in the party and we really had fun specially Bela. So I decided that for Bela’s fourth birthday, we will have the same thing.

Hubby and I will be leaving for a three-week vacation by August so I said that I will start booking for a party venue when we return from our vacation but I was really surprised when I called Jollibee branches that have big party venue because the date that I want is already booked. It was only July that time and Bela’s birthday is still four months away so I did not really expect Jollibee to be booked that early. So a week before we left we dropped by at Jollibee Blue Wave (it is the nearest Jollibee branch that have a party area that can accommodate my number of guests) and booked a party for November 14 from 3-6 PM.

When I returned from our vacation, I contacted Angelette of Jelly Bellies for my other party requirements. I booked the cake, the balloon artist and the kiddie couch souvenir from Jelly Bellies. I love Angelette and her team because they are so organized and they are so easy to talk to and very helpful. I also booked a face painter from Arts and Faces. Ms. Liby is also very easy to talk to and the artist that she send for the party was really good. It is also not just an ordinary face painting as they also include glitters. I highly recommend them and I will definitely book them for my next parties. Their prices is so affordable too. I bought some Little Einstein items from the Toy Hunt and I also bought loots from Divisoria for the game prizes.

What I like about Jollibee party is that it is a sure hit to the kids because the kids (and even the parents. LOL) went crazy when all the five mascots arrived. What I don’t like about Jollibee party is that the party games are so generic. I requested for them to add more party games since I already booked for a 1 hr extension and I told them that I have lots of prizes to give away but still they only have the same routinary games that I ended up bringing a lot of party prizes home. Another thing that I don’t like about Jollibee is that they have a lot of restrictions. They don’t have a very reliable party host but they will not allow us to bring our own host or magician.

Oh well, Howell said that it is okay because everybody had fun so I should not mind the other details. LOL.

Oh, I also booked a balloon burst from PIA ZANTUA (0939-202-6514). I just got their number from Sulit.com and they promised that they will just deliver it at the venue on the party date. The party is already starting and still no balloon burst. I called Pia and she told me that the delivery boy is on its way. The party finished and still no balloon burst. When I checked my cell phone, this is her message “Pinuntaha daw po kayo madam wala daw po don. Anyway, tnx po.” We left the party venue around 6:30 PM and it is really impossible that the delivery boy will not see us because we occupied the two big rooms at the second floor. Anyway, at least I did not pay any down payment. So if you plan on ordering balloon decorations from them think twice and make sure that they can really deliver.

You can view more pictures of the party by clicking the link below:

• Details
• Guests
• Program
• Birthday Girl and Family
• Pictures by Jojo

Thanks to all our friends who took time from their busy schedule to be with us to celebrate our little princess’s fourth birthday. We really appreciate it!! Thank you also to Kathy and Jojo for taking nice pictures and to Tessa and Joseph for being our official photographer and videographer during the event.

Our Gift For Her

She is a fan of Youtube now. She is always browsing videos of Little Einsteins or her new favorite video, the Miniscule series, with her dad. That is why sometimes I have to wait for her to go to sleep before I can start with my online work.

The daddy wants to give her one of those netbooks for Christmas but I told him it is too much for Bela (now you see how daddy’s girl Bela is. LOL). So instead we just settle for this:A Clickstart from Leap Frog. You can connect it to a TV and it has a wireless keyboard and a mouse so she can pretend that she is working on a PC or a laptop. We bought two cartridges also so she will have tons of fun playing with her new educational toy.

Hubby said that he already saw the boxes (hopefully it already includes all my orders from Amazon) arriving last Friday so hopefully hubby will be able to bring it home on Monday so I can start wrapping it and put it under our tree.

Christmas is less than twenty days away and Bela for sure can’t wait for Christmas to come…