Photo Booth for Bela's Party at Hospicio: Booked

Yippee, finally I was able to book something for Bela’s 6th birthday party. It is just two months away but since we are only having a simple party since we are working on a limited budget, I haven’t really started booking my suppliers yet.

It is definite already that the party will be held at Hospicio de San Jose and we will just invite our immediate relatives and Bela’s classmates. I want to book for a magician but I yet have to see if I can still get a good one since I only have two months left before the party.

But thanks to the promo from Cash Cash Pinoy, I was able to book a Photo Booth for the party at 50% off. I noticed how the kids loves posing and having their pictures taken so I know that a photo booth will surely be a big hit for the kids. And I am sure they will be happy as they can bring their photos home.

I definitely have to finalize my other suppliers soon like the 3D Me Souvenir that I like and the other suppliers that I need from Jelly Bellies like the inflatable and food carts.

Excited for Her New Room

We just moved in today in our new home. The house is still a mess as we just unloaded the boxes from the moving truck and nothing has been removed from the boxes yet.

Good thing it is still a holiday tomorrow so Howell will have one whole day to at least unpack and sort everything.

Being a little OC, Bela was having a hard time sleeping on our first night here at our new home. She was looking for her dolphin pillow, her quilt and the aircon in our room, which hasn’t been installed yet. LOL.

She already saw her room and she got all excited when she saw her bed inside her room and she told me awhile ago that she is now ready to sleep in her own room. I am sure hubby will be excited too to decorate Bela’s room. Hubby was able to collect some of Bela’s artworks, which we can hang in on area of her wall as what we have now in our old house. If only we have a document imaging software, then we would have been able to save all of Bela’s artworks since she first learn how to hold a crayon. But at least we were able to save a major part of it.

I am not sure what we will be able to finish tomorrow but I hope all the junk will be thrown away and whatever will be left in our new home are the essentials and the things that we would be needing.

6 Tips for Successful Travel with your Family

So you have been planning for a getaway for your family. You wanted this to be the most perfect vacation that will leave lasting memories. But this travel adventure can be exciting or frustrating depending on how well you planned for this trip.

So to make sure that this will be the most perfect vacation that your family will surely enjoy, here are some tips for successful travel:

1. Destination. The first thing that you need to consider is your travel destination. Would you want to enjoy the beach and go to a resort or do you prefer to go to a theme park with your kids? In deciding, take into consideration the interest of your companion, their personality, their fitness and health condition (which is important if you are planning to go trekking or other physically strenuous activity), the time and the budget that you want to allot for this trip.

To search for your destination spot, the Internet will be your number one companion as everything is just a Google away. You can also ask around from your friends and family who have first hand experiences of their recommended destinations. You can also contact travel agencies to checkout their travel packages as it will sometimes come out to be cheaper than a DIY itinerary.

2. Method of Travel. Once you decide on your destination, you need to look for methods of travel. If it will be a long distance travel, will it be more convenient if you take a plane than a bus or train. Though travel by plane can be a bit expensive as compared to traveling by land. Again, Internet can be your best tool for searching for your mode of transport. All airlines, bus and train companies now have their own website where you can check the schedule and the rate so you can easily compare prices and decide which method of transport will you be using for this trip.

3. Travel Documents. Check that you passport still has 6 months validity on the date of your trip. Some countries also require visa so you may also want to check a few months in advance if you will need to get a visa.

4. Accommodation. Book your accommodation well in advance. This will not only save you money as hotel accommodations are cheaper for advance booking, but this will also avoid the hassle of looking for a place to stay when you reach your vacation spot. There are a lot of online booking sites, which ranges in accommodation types from 5 star, 4 star hotel and even hostels. Read the feedback left by the guests so you can get an idea on the kind of service that hotel can offer.

5. Research. Make sure that you do your research about your place of destination. Take note of the currency, the culture, hospitals, currency, entertainment, places to visit, food and more. This will save you time and energy and will give you the confidence that you got the information that you need as you are in a foreign place.

6. Health. Check to see if you need to get some vaccination and make sure that the medication that you will be bringing is allowed in your country of destination. If you also experience motion sickness, try checking out the site of Biobands as they have motion sickness bands that are safe to use to help you feel relieve from any motion sickness that you may feel as you travel.

Following the tips mentioned above will guarantee a fun and stress free vacation for you and your family. So have fun, travel safe and bring home lots of memories.

Shipped and Delivered

3 of 4 of the Photo Books that I have ordered from Artscow arrived already in my friend’s house. I think it only took them 2 weeks to ship my items, the fastest that I have experienced from them.

It would have been complete already but the first shipment was missing the 3rd Birthday Party Photobook that I ordered. I already informed them about it and they already shipped the 3rd Photo Book that I am missing and hopefully it will arrive next week.

I can’t wait to see the complete birthday album of Bela. Finally after 5 years, I was able to turn into Photo Books Bela’s birthday party pictures (just in time before her 6th birthday party. LOL).

I have one pending album ready to be ordered in Artscow which is our HK 2007 pictures and I am currently working on our HK 2008 album. This Photo Books from Artscow is really addicting. Well for their price of $10 for 30 page photobook, who can say no.

Bela's 6th Bday Party Preps @ Hospicio

It is already three months away before bela’s birthday and I still haven’t finalized anything yet. But I think I am 100% sure now that we will have the celebration at Hospicio de San Jose. We always celebrate here every year and we do not want to miss our tradition for this year and since budget is tight, hubby suggested that we just have one celebration at Hospicio instead of having a separate party for our friends and Bela’s classmates.

It will just be a simple party as all Bela requested was to have a Jake and the Neverland Pirate party and she is willing to have it in Hospicio as she according to her, she wanted the kids there to have fun on her party and receive gifts too as we will be asking for donations from our guests in lieu of gifts for Bela.

Here is a run down of my plans:

• I am thinking of getting an inflatable so kids can play during and after the party
• I will ask my cousin to make an AVP and rent lcd dlp projector to play the AVP
• I will get iStickers or 3D Dolls as souvenir for our guests and the kids at Hospicio
• I will book Jollibee to provide food for the party
• I want to get two food carts also – cotton candy and ice cream
• And if I will have extra budget, I want to book a photo booth so kids can have souvenir of the event

I know I should start finalizing the details of the party but I am still waiting for my manager to give me the budget for this party. LOL.

On Diabetes and Actos Lawsuit

I love sweets. Good thing Bela is like her dad who has some aversion when it comes to sweet food. But I think it is a good thing as it will spare me from worrying about her health because I have a friend who is suffering from diabetes and I have seen how difficult it is for her to have this disease.

Another thing that added to my friend's worry is the medicine called Actos which she has been taking. Actos, which has been sold under the names ActoplusMet, Competact and Duetact, is an oral medicine for Type 2 diabetes patients and has been proven to increase the risk of heart attacks and heart failures. It has also been pulled out from the market in France and Germany because it has also been proven to cause bladder cancer.

But on a positive note, victims of Actos can still get justice and file for Actos lawsuit with the help of lawyers from O’Hanlon, McCollum & Demerath. The lawyers from O’Hanlon, McCollum & Demerath knows the ins and outs when it comes to product liability claims so they know the best plan of attack to get a just claim for the victims.

2nd, 3rd, 4th & 5th Birthday Party Photo Books: Done

A few weeks ago, Artscow had a promo where they offered their 30 pages Photo Book for only $10 and it even comes with free shipping. I saw the photo books that my friend had created and ordered from Artscow and thankfully, I got inspired and found the mojo to create Photo Books for Bela’s 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th birthday party.

I am really happy and I was so inspired that I was able to do one photo book per day just in time for the deadline of Artscow promo. Thanks to the Album Template of Ate Jen who made my life so easy because all I have to do is upload the pictures and just drag and drop them to the template (no wonder I was able to work that fast. LOL).

Now I have no more backlogs for Bela’s party pictures and my next project are our travel pictures.

Teaching Your Kids about Financial Responsibility

Parents often find themselves in a dilemma when it comes to teaching their kids about financial responsibility. Is there really the right age on when to introduce the concept of money, spending and saving? Where do you start? These and other questions often linger on a parent’s mind.

Kids of today are smart and you don’t need to baby talk them but rather treat them as young adults. While teaching about financial responsibility seems like a hard task, it could actually be fun and easy if you use some tricks. First thing that you have to remember is that you are dealing with kids and what you need are simple, basic concepts that they could easily understand.

At a young age, teach your kids about the value of saving money. One way to do it is by giving them a weekly allowance. As much as possible, avoid buying everything for your children. If they got their sight on a small toy, let them know that they can buy it if they save enough money. Limit their purchases and explain to them why they could have one item bought at the candy store or toy store.

Make the learning interesting by teaching them how to pay for their own purchases. Line up at the register and let them hand out their money to the cashier. These small things could teach them about the value of money in a fun and easy way.

Amy is a freelance content writer is also fond of traveling and outdoor adventures. She enjoys working for gulvafslibning projects and sees this as an opportunity to share information about floor sanding.

Sickies Again

Last week Bela got sick and she had a very high fever. I took a leave from work and hubby too so we can bring him to his doctor. Thankfully, she was well the next day but I just ask her to stay at home and skip school to be sure that she has already fully recovered.

Unfortunately after a week, Bela got sick again. The sad thing is all of us got sick too – me, my mom, yaya, and my dad. Thankfully my sister took a leave from work to take care of the kids, as I was really feeling so weak that I can’t even get out of bed.

So as my way of thanking her, I am planning to check the website of Red Envelope. Red Envelope is a site where you can order gift baskets delivered to your door. Just look at the items from this store that I am checking out as our gift for my sister:

She loves sweets so I am sure she will love and appreciate these sweet gift baskets from us.