What To Do With Old Baby Stuffs

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Because babies grow up real fast, you must be running out of room in the house for all those baby stuffs (like clothes, toys, small bottles, small pillows) that your baby has outgrown and can't use anymore. Here are some suggestions on what you can do with those baby stuffs.

Keep Them - If you're still planning to have another baby, then the most reasonable thing to do is to keep those old baby stuff. This will help you save money on buying new clothes, toys and other baby things once the new baby arrives.

Donate - There are a number of charitable institution who takes care of abandoned babies and children. Your child's old baby stuffs will be put to good use in these institutions. There are websites who connects people who wants to give out baby things to those people who need these baby things. Just google search "free baby stuff" and you'll find a number of website who does this.

Sell - Because you need to buy new things for your baby, whose growing up so fast, you might want to consider selling your baby's old stuffs. There are a lot of people online and offline who would gladly buy those almost-new clothes, toys and other things from you.

Excited Kids in a Sports Tournament

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These kids can barely contain their excitement. They're waiting for the soccer tournament to begin. But they've been here since 730am, 2.5 hours before the tournament actually starts. I wonder how long their energy will last.

I understand being early in a swim meet. The coach still needs to write the event and heat number on each of the team members' arm. And each member competes in different events so the coach needs ample time before the competition actually starts to finish writing on all the team member's arms.

But with soccer, the coach doesn't have to require these kids to come very early. Unless it's the parents who are very excited and insists on being at the event site real early. Or the coach is very strict he even has an attendance software like this employee handbook software I saw online.

Well, good-luck to these players. Make your parents proud and happy!

The Right Time to Tell Your Child About Santa

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When is the right time to tell a child the truth about Santa Claus? Santa, the most favorite person of any child I know, especially during Christmas. Santa, who makes kids excited to wake up early once a year, during Christmas day.

My son is 11 years old and I think this year is the right time to have that "Santa talk". I'm pretty sure he knows the "truth" already. But he's trying to act like he doesn't know because he still wants a separate gift from "Santa" and from mom and dad.

Whatever gift he likes, whether new lego blocks, it won't change the fact that I'll give him some "hints" about the truth about Santa this year. He has to know this year because everyone else in his class probably know already.

Fact: Playing Sports Can Make You Stronger

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It's a proven fact that playing sports can make a person strong and healthy. My son's asthma attacks were at its worse when he was between 1 to 2 years old. But when he started visiting a Pediatrician Allergologist doctor and engaged in different sports activities, his attacks slowly lessened in frequency.

The sports that he has tried throughout the years: soccer, basketball, biking, swimming, running, volleyball and arnis.

The most intense training he has experienced is in swimming. He was a member of his school's swim team for a few years but had to stop because the school service doesn't want to make a special trip for him, which reminds me that I really need to have the courage to drive in Manila already. His team trains for 2hours everyday after school. He has experienced training under very heavy rain, when us in the bleachers can't see them in the pool anymore. Their pool doesn't have a heater, no pool heat pumps, but I don't worry about that because their body heat is enough to make the kids not feel cold.

This month, he went back to playing soccer. And swimming after school, before going to his Chinese tutor, in our condo's pool.

He hasn't had an asthma attack this year. And I'm very sure that playing sports has helped his respiratory health, and of course his overall health, a lot.

Pregnant Barbie Dolls

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I thought the newscaster was joking, but when I saw the video of a pregnant Barbie beside Ken, I was like "what?!"

Someone needs a neurosurgeon visit. The people who approved the creation and distribution of these Barbie dolls sure doesn't have their brains in the right place.

Good thing they got pulled out of store shelves. The Barbies and not the people behind it. And I hope no parent would ever buy this ridiculous toy.

Gift Suggestion for Christmas: Wii U

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My son will probably want a Wii U for Christmas, if he finds out that it's already out. But I will wait for the reviews first before I decide to buy him one. And that's if he ask for one.

There are 500,000 people on Wii U's waitlist and advance orders are already sold out. So even if my son wants a Wii U for Christmas, he'll probably wait for a few more months to get to play one.

I wonder what gifts he'll ask this year, I'm sure he doesn't want home brew kits. Fingers-crossed I won't have a hard time finding those gift for him.

Today’s Google Doodle: Bram Stoker’s 165th Birthday

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November 8 is the birthday of Bram Stoker, the author of Dracula, and he’s featured on Google Doodle today. Hovering on the link shows the phrase “Bram Stoker’s 165th Birthday”. Clicking on the doodle will lead to a search results page on Bram Stoker query, often misspelled as Bram Stroker with the R after the T on his surname.

 

 

According to Wikipedia:

 

Abraham "Bram" Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912) was an Irish novelist and short story writer, best known today for his 1897 Gothic novel Dracula. During his lifetime, he was better known as personal assistant of actor Sir Henry Irving and business manager of the Lyceum Theatre in London, which Irving owned.

 

Happy Birthday Bram Stoker!

What is Facebook Parenting

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I was searching for trending topics online and saw “Facebook Parenting” trending at the start of 2012. Although its not popular this last quarter of the year, I still got curious what "facebook parenting" is. Weirder than “fun fun fun” trending, really.

 

Apparently, it’s a video entitled "Facebook Parenting: For the troubled teen." The video showed father Tommy Jordan shooting his daughter's laptop because of a post she made on Facebook. I didn’t watch the video, crazy parenting skills if you ask me! I’m not that curious enough to waste my time on a st*pid 8:23 minutes video.

What is Daylight Saving Time

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Daylight Saving Time (DST) in the US, except for Hawaii and Arizona, officially ended this weekend. DST is mandated by governments to save time and energy.

Here is a video explaining what really is Daylight Saving Time.

According to a CNN article that I read online, "the idea for daylight saving came from legendary American inventor, statesman and founding father Ben Franklin who, in a 1784 letter to a French journal, suggested that Parisians could save thousands of francs annually by waking up earlier in the summer so they wouldn't have to buy so many candles to light the evening hours".

Now that you know what DST is, make sure to set your clock back. As for me, since we don’t have DST here in my country, I don’t have to worry about my clock. I have to worry about my Christmas list though, I still have a lot of things on my to do list and Christmas eve is just around the corner!

Philippine High School for the Arts Scholarship

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Philippine High School for the Arts (PSHA) is a government-run high school where artistically gifted and talented students are trained. The school is located at the National Arts Center atop Mt. Makiling in Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines.

Entrance to the school is very competitive. It accepts around forty to fifty students per year to ensure a high quality of academic and arts training programs. Students accepted into the PHSA are given full scholarship and living assistance.

PSHA consults with the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) for policy and program implementation of its arts programs. Aside from specializing in specific arts field, students are required to undergo general education curriculum prescribed by the Department of Education (DepEd).

The five courses of specialization in the arts that the school offer are:

• Creative Writing (Fiction, Poetry, Playwriting, and Journalism in English and Filipino)
• Dance (Classical Ballet, Modern Dance, Philippine Folk Dance, Dance Composition and Staging)
• Music (Solo Voice/Solo Instrument, Theory, Composition, and Ensemble Classes (Chorus and Chamber)
• Theater Arts (Acting, Production Management, Technical Theater, History of the Theater, Theater Theory and Directing)
• Visual Arts (Visual Perception, Sculpture, Art Appreciation, Studio Painting, Materials and Techniques, Figuration, Pottery, and Printmaking)
  
  

Elective courses which complement the major courses of study in the arts are also offered to the students on a semestral basis.

SCHOLARSHIP ELIGIBILITY

- Must be a Filipino citizen with no pending application as immigrant to a foreign country;

- Have an outstanding ability in an art discipline and above-average general intelligence;

- Graduating Grade VI or VII pupils at the time of application (Important: current HS-I students may apply subject to evaluation by the ANSYAS Committee);

- Be able to take up the scholarship in the School Year for which it is granted;

- NOT older than 15 years upon enrolment in PHSA;

- Proficient in oral and written Filipino and English;

- Willing to study in a boarding school;

- Identify a Legal Guardian residing in Metro Manila, Cavite, Laguna, or Batangas; (students are required to go on homeleave to their parents or designated legal guardian during weekends.)

- Have NO debilitating illnesses or systemic and/or communicable diseases such as serum sickness, congenital heart disease, systemic lupus erythematosus, hepatitis A and/or B, untreated primary complex, chronic otitis media, malaria, bronchial asthma, and/or seizures/involuntary tremors;

- Determined to pursue a college degree in Dance, Creative Writing, Architecture, Fine Arts, Music, Theater Arts, Journalism, or any related course upon graduation from the PHSA.

The 2013 Nationwide Search for Young Art Scholars form is now available for download at the PSHA  website. Goodluck!

For Inquiries:

(049) 536-5971 to 73 / (049) 536-2862

Philippine High School for the Arts National Arts Center, Mt. Makiling, College, 4031 Los Baños, Laguna

directorIV@phsa.edu.ph or directorIII@phsa.edu.ph

The Ultimate Shower Experience

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Your shower is a very personal and indulging experience, allowing you to relax and recuperate from a long day or night. Different tools and devices can help to improve your experience in the shower, adding massaging and safety elements to your session. Hand held shower heads allow you to establish control of your shower and pinpoint the areas where your body needs cleansing the most. Additionally, a sturdy shower curtain track helps keep your unit in place and blocks the water from reaching the floor.

Updated technology gives rise to new bathroom essentials that can improve your experience and make you feel better. Hand held ergonomic shower heads give you more control in a frame that is gentle on your hands. This item is great for hard to reach places and usually comes with controls to adjust the power, rotation and movement of the water. Hand held stainless steel shower heads are robust and durable, and make a wonderful aesthetic component to any bathroom. If you are working with a tight space, a shower curtain curved track can make your bathtub or shower look larger, as the middle peels out to give you more room. This also helps to contemporize your design elements with a unique appearance.

Showers make up a good portion of your daily routine, as you may take one to three each day. Therefore, it is beneficial to optimize your feel in the shower and establish a high level of comfort in this area. Take advantage of new technology and update your shower to improve such an important component in your life.

How to Distinguish Real From Fake Philippine Peso Bill

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It’s Christmas season once again. Some people are now taking advantage of this busy “spending” season by distributing fake peso bills.

 

 

Here are the most important things to check whether a peso bill is REAL and not a fake one. This is lifted from the Central Bank of the Philippines’ website.

• Paper should be rough when fingers are run through it.
• Contours of the silhouette of the portrait, on the face of the currency, on relatively new notes can be felt when fingers are run through it.
• Serial number are composed of 1 or 2 prefix letters and 6 or 7 digits and glow under ultra-violet light.

For the complete checklist, visit bsp.gov.ph website and type “Know Your Philippine Currency” on the search box.

Characteristics of a Sports Coach

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We went to my son's school before lunch so he can shoot some hoops in the school gym. There was a volleyball tournament at that time, both in the grade school and high school gym. Other schools like to rent there because of the school gym's excellent lighting. While waiting for one of the courts to become vacant, we watched an on-going volleyball game.

 

There's this girl who was doing badly in the game. She must have been causing a lot of trouble to the team's score because the coach asked one of her team mate to replace her in the game. When she was already seated, the coach angrily told her, "What were you doing inside?! Blah, blah, blah, etc, etc, etc."

 

I got embarrassed for her, I can't imagine what she, who was berated in front of a lot of people, felt at that moment. She must have felt really horrible. My son's swim coach never did that to anyone in the swim team. He would get a lashing from me and the other mom’s I assure you, if he ever did that.

Patient, kind, understanding and encouraging. That’s what a good coach should possess. The school should fire that volleyball coach!

Fish Recipe for Kids

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I'm trying to feed my son more healthy food. So I started to make fruit shakes and vegetable soups for dinner.

Fish is not really his favorite. But because I'm also on a diet and trying to lessen my meat intake, I tried making my own recipe to make it kid-friendly.



Here's the very simple recipe:
1. Sprinkle the fish (I usually use Dory or Tilapia fillet) with a dash of pepper (I usually don't use salt), ginger (chili flakes for that extra kick) and lemon juice (kalamansi will do as well).
2. Wrap it in foil. I usually add leafy greens, tomatoes and whatever veggies I have in the fridge. The juice in the veggies will add flavor to the fish.
3. Steam.
4. Here's how your kids will love it: Top the steamed fish with cream cheese and sprinkle with cheddar cheese.

And even if they don't eat the veggies, the juice from the steamed veggies has seeped in the fish.

Awesome idea or what?

My son loved it by the way.

Would you allow the nanny to disciple your kids?

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This is one thing that my mom allowed which I swore I'll never do when I have kids of my own. My son doesn't have a yaya (nanny) but if he has one, I will never let the yaya give any form of discipline to my son.

It's the parents responsibility to teach good manners and to discipline their kids. God gave them those kids, not to other parents, not to the yaya, so why give the big responsibility of disciplining their children to the hired help. Their upbringing is different from the parents, so their own views and ways with regards to discipline is probably different from the parents as well.

At the young age of 10, I questioned my mom's decision. I didn't talk to her about it though. I just didn't bother getting close to the yaya. That was probably my way of showing everyone that I don't agree with my mom giving the yaya free rein to discipline me and my sisters.

My sister C though was very close to her. I remember one time, we were having lunch, and my sister and the yaya were whispering and snickering while giving me sideway glances. "Don't you know that it's rude to do that in front of other people?", I angrily told them. I don't even remember anymore but I think my mom asked me to say sorry and leave the table.

I guess my mom was just so busy with work, she needed other people's help to teach us what is right or wrong. There were times when she also ask her sister to buy for her the things that we, her 5 daughters, need, like materials for my sisters project at one time. I understand that she needs to work but she could have just asked the yaya to inform her when we do something naughty and discipline us herself.

What about you, will you or do you allow your helpers to discipline your kids?

new drawing update

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After such a looong time, I was able to ask RJ to draw again. He’s my favorite person, I’m pretty sure everyone knows that, so I don’t want him to “forget” his talents. But even when I ask him nicely to practice drawing something new, aside from “scary” drawings, I think he feels that I’m “forcing” him to do something so he doesn’t do it. And he would rather play his PSP or watch reruns of his favorite cartoon shows on YouTube.

 

But he finally gave in.

 

A dragon, another one of his “scary” drawing, but it looks awesome!

 

 

He himself thought it was an awesome drawing. Don’t you think so too?

 

Meal Time Talk

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Whenever it's time to eat, whether breakfast, lunch or dinner, all household entertainment appliances and gadgets in our house must be turned off. Even before Sharon Cuneta appeared on a Lucky Me television commercial, promoting the importance of healthy family conversation during mealtimes, we were already practicing that in the house.

 

Because questions like "How's school today?" only gives me a you-won't-get-anything-from-me-today answer like "Nothing much happened" or"Boring!" from my son, I've learned to ask "specific" questions like "Any funny story from D today?" or "Did P showed his picture wearing chef uniforms again?" Through these talks, I get to know how his day at school had been.

We also talk while playing our before-bedtime games and before sleeping while lights are turned off already.

My son is now 11. Through these conversations, I also learn about his friends and much more other things that happened when he's not under my watchful eye without meddling in his life too much, or at least not being too obvious about it.

What’s your Ideal Weight?

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I rarely check my weight. But when I do, it's always in the normal range in proportion with my height. Well that's according to health experts, based on what I've read online and offline. But with my petite frame and my high cheekbones, I don't feel happy every time I look at myself in the mirror.

A healthy diet combined with rigorous exercise works well for me. That's what I did after giving birth to my son. My exercise routine was 90 minutes, divided in 3 workouts, of cardio and strength training everyday. I followed a no-rice, plenty of leafy greens diet. At 25, my waistline shrunk back to 24 inches. Last time I had that waistline was when I was 12 years old!

Then one day, I decided to taste a few spoonful of rice. The few spoonfuls slowly became 1 or 2 cups. My waistline jumped to 27 in no time, sometimes it’s 28, when gluttony kicks in it's 29, but never again did it go back to 24 inches.

I did shrink it back to an acceptable 26 inches, but I had to do a daily belly dance workout. I want to maintain it to 25.5-26 inches but it's just so hard!

I've seen a number of weight loss supplement advertisements on the health magazines that I buy from time to time. I'm so tempted to try it and see if it can speed up the process of weight loss for me without doing tiring exercises and dieting.

There's this appetite suppressant called Appesat, www.dietpill-reviews.co.uk/appesat-review, which looks very promising. When I'm trying to stick on a diet plan, my brain always tease me by making me think that I'm hungry. Appesat use a type of seaweed that apparently expands when it reaches the stomach, thus making one feel full. And what makes it different from other weight loss supplement is it's not absorbed in the blood stream. One downside though is it doesn't work on suppressing food cravings. Some reviews on this appetite suppressant are available at www.dietpill-reviews.co.uk/appesat-review.

But I won’t be trying any weight loss supplements at this time. So I’m sticking with my current diet of whole wheat food, fruits and vegetables. I also use my stationary bike a few times a week. I have been at it for a weeks and I think I’ve lost a bit of weight already.

Do you have any tips on what I can still do to speed up the process of achieving my ideal weight?

Hard Work Pays Off

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My son told me Wednesday last week that he's going to perform with 5 of his classmates for Monday's (that was yesterday) Service Interaction day. He's going to play the guitar and his classmates will sing. They will perform Bruno Mars's Count on Me.

He learned to play two songs last summer break by just watching tutorial videos on YouTube. So he just searched YouTube for an easy enough tutorial for him to follow, by himself without my help. He learned "Count on Me" in just a few minutes, here's the tutorial video in case you're interested to learn it. 

 

So everyday, as soon as we arrive home from his Chinese tutor, he practice for an hour or so without me reminding him.

Yesterday, armed with his one-month-old RJ Guitar, yep guitar brand is same name as him, he went to school nervous but confident.

I called his class adviser and asked if it’s possible for someone can take a video of the group’s performance since it’s RJ’s first ever performance in front of a crowd. And he worked hard, studying the song by himself, to make his performance perfect. She said she’ll ask someone.

When I picked RJ up in school, he said their performance was great. Except for the last part, one of the singers stopped so he stopped playing the guitar. The audience clapped thinking that their performance was done already. So except for that part, their performance was very good.

Today, he told me that he’s again asked to perform for next Friday’s Appreciation Day. I am so proud of him.

Am I a Super Woman?

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I can't count on my fingers the number of times I heard some mom friends say they're very tired. One of them has one child and she has a maid and she can call a relative to drive her anywhere she needs to go. Another has three grown up kids, who doesn't need to get taken care of, a maid, a nanny, tutor for her kids and a full-time driver.

And they're tired?

I feel like a super woman every time I compare what I have to do everyday with what my friends do.

  This is how my day looks like. I wake up around 5:10 am to prepare breakfast and the lunch meal that my son needs to bring to school. School service picks up my son before 6:30am. Then I clean the house, wash the dishes and do some online work. I also research new topics for my blogs and new things to do on my spare time. I also squeeze in some exercise, shower and I then rest for an hour or two before 1pm because I usually sleep at 12-1:30am the previous night. At 1pm, I eat lunch and prepare the laundry that the laundromat will pick up or those that I need to wash in the afternoon. I also prepare the fruits and sandwich for my son's merienda.

I then have to wait for a taxi and go to my son's school at 2:30pm to pick him up. School bus leaves at around 3:30pm-4:30pm to bring us home. I do some blog updates while waiting for the school bus to leave. The school bus drops us off at my son's Chinese tutor and I walked to our house which is three buildings away from his tutors.

Upon arriving home, I cook, do the laundry, do some work and finish other household chores that I wasn't able to do in the morning. When my son calls, I then pick him up and continue the tasks that I left off as soon as we arrive in the house. I help him review his other subjects also.

We then eat dinner and catch up on the interesting things that happened to him in school. Then I wash the dishes, squeeze in some exercise (if it's not too late), I take a bath, we play chess or monopoly, then we pray, talk some more and RJ falls asleep.

My day doesn't end there. I finish off some work, do more research, dry the dishes.

And then I get to sleep, as I've said usually between 12midnight - 1:30am.

So? Am I a super woman compared with some of my mom friends? I'd like to think so!

MTRCB for Books?

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My friend T shared a facebook note on her wall yesterday. It's an open letter from a parent to bookstores in the Philippines (particularly to National bookstore and Powerbooks). The parent is asking bookstores in the country, as well as the Philippine government, to regulate the selling of books appropriately. He is asking for a regulating body for books just like what MTRCB is for films/movies.

 

He was concerned with the books that his teenage daughter bought recently, 50 Shades of Grey and The Perks of a Wallflower. I haven't had the time to read the said books yet but the former is actually in my iBooks already because a lot of people I know liked it. The parent was saying that the books are pornographic in nature and should not be read by teenagers.

 

 

I'm a regular at bookstores. I and my son, my sisters as well, are bookworms. Books for kids are separated from adult books. So my son, without me telling him at all, goes straight to the kids section of the bookstore. The other parent's problem though is his teenage daughter is neither a kid nor an adult. This is where parenting should come in.

 

The daughter is a teenager already. In my opinion, the parent should allow the daughter to read the books. Unless he wants her to read it behind his back. Unless he’d rather she know of "the ways of the world" from other mediums without his knowledge.

 

We are not in the medieval period anymore. The dad might be able to take those books away from her but she'll hear and see from other people like her peers, from the media and from the online world as well, those terms that they want to shield her teenage-mind from.

The best thing that the girl’s parents should do, in my opinion, is to also read the books their kids read. Discuss and explain the contents of the books with their kids. However awkward it may seem, they should do it. This way, lying and doing things behind their back, without their knowledge would be avoided.

 

Parenting in the past is not applicable anymore to the present time, even my mom said so. Everything in this world is fast-paced now. We should leave in the past what should be in the past, including the past’s way in parenting. We should go with the flow, so to speak. By being very protective with our kids, we’re actually doing them (and us) more harm than good.

Happy Birthday Mama Mary

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September 8 is the feast day of Our Virgin Mother. Mama Mary’s feast day was yesterday here in the Philippines. My son RJ attends a Chinese-Catholic school run by Jesuits and they’ll be celebrating the birthday of Mama Mary tomorrow. They are required to bring flowers.

The whole of Bicol Region also celebrates the feast day of the Ina (mother) of the Bicolanos, Our Lady of Peñafrancia (Nuestra Señora de Peñafrancia), every third Saturday and Sunday of September. Bicolanos from all walks of life pay honor to the miraculous Virgin Mother for a nine-day festivities at the Virgin of Peñafrancia’s shrine in Naga Cathedral.

I remember going to Naga and attending the feast day mass a few times with my grandmother when I was still a little girl. Because of heavy traffic, from vehicles and throngs of people alike, we always have to walk for a few minutes, it felt like hours to me when I was a little girl, to eat Pansit at her favorite restaurant. Pansit is a noodle dish introduced by the Chinese to Filipinos. I’m glad I have that memory with my Inay (mother), that’s what we call our grandma, to cherish. Although I know it will be a tiring day, I always look forward to attending the mass and eating Inay’s favorite pansit during the Naga fiesta.

Happy Birthday, Mama Mary!

And Happy Fiesta to all Nagaeños!

savings and withdrawal

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My son has his own bank accounts. Two savings accounts at Banco de Oro and BPI Family Bank respectively. I started giving him an allowance of 20 pesos per school day a few years back with the purpose of teaching him early on about savings and investment.

He’s doing good. For the past few years, most of his allowance goes straight to the bank. But growing up means having more needs and wants. I have seen him a few times buying ice cream, candies or cotton candy at dismissal time. He does manage to still save most of his allowance even with those purchases.

Today, I was able to point out to him, for the nth time, the value of having his own savings. He wanted to buy a new book from The Heroes of Olympus series. It was hardbound and of course more expensive than a softbound book. I said, “If you can’t wait for the softbound book, then you have to use your own money to buy it.”

So he withdrew 450 pesos from his bank account to pay for the book. I then told him afterwards, “Because of your savings, you were able to buy the next book in the book series. See how important savings (and investment) is? If you save your allowance and do not use it up for unimportant things, you’ll have money once there’s a need for you to buy something very important.”

He agreed wholeheartedly.

Recollection Day

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My son will be having his first recollection next week. The school’s campus ministry has come up with a wonderful surprise for the kids. They asked the parents to write a heart warming letter for their sons. We can also ask relatives, friends and even yayas and drivers to write a letter as well.

Everyone in the family wrote a letter for RJ. My niece, his cousin even sent a lovely drawing. I hope RJ will have a meaningful recollection (made even more meaningful by the letters from family).

no classes for a week

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RJ is very happy. His school has already suspended classes until friday to give way to the relief operations that the school has organized. Some parts of the city where his  school is located has been flooded for days already.



Students will have a lot of catching up to do once classes resume. Although RJ is happy that he'll be exam-free and assignment-free for a whole week, he miss his guitar lessons so much. He chose guitar lessons, instead of piano,  ukulele or drums, for last summer break's activity. His teacher said that he's really good and he can grasp the lesson right away. So he chose guitar lessons for this school year's extra curricular activities. He's always excited to learn new lessons every week.

I wish it would stop raining. These cancellation of classes is causing me a lot of stress just thinking of more lessons for me to tutor RJ in the coming weeks.

Hazing for Brotherhood

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I always try to be a good girl. Especially when I was still little, I obey everything that my mom said. Just the though of getting a slight pinch from my mom when I misbehave makes me want to cringe.

So it never entered my mind to join a sorority when I was in UP. I joined an academic organization after making sure that they don't do physical harm to applicants during the "initiation right".  Physical harm to the point of dying is just plain stup!d.

I was watching the late news yesterday and I saw the pictures of Marc Andrei Marcos, the San Beda first year law student who died because of hazing, while he was fighting for his life in the hospital. His right upper arm was reddish purple. It was very obvious that it was repeatedly hit by a hard object.

The people who did that to him are either crazy, high on something or direct descendants of the devil himself! No conscience at all!

I hope the family won't stop until everyone in that organization are locked up in jail! It's about time that these kids learn that taking someone's life for fun is not something normal and should be punished.  Our government officials should do something about this also since a lot of lives have been sacrificed already. When will they act, when their own kids or grandkids die in the hands of their would-be "brothers"?

Harry Potter Book Report

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A book report is a school requirement that my son has to do every quarter of each school year. He's scheduled to present his first quarter book report this year on Monday.

As much as I want to do everything for him, I try not to because we will both suffer later on if he keeps relying on me. He's already 11 so I let him do his assignments and reports, by himself, and I check and make suggestions for improvement if there's any. We had a hard time with his Social Studies news report last month because he wanted me to do it for him. But we survived.

 

So for this English book report, I was already preparing for the worst. But he didn't complain this time. He did the report, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, by himself and memorized it in a few minutes. He even thought of props that he'll use, his computer glasses that has a rim like Harry's glasses and a wand that he, and his friend Nathan, made.

English is one of his favorite subjects and he read the 7 Harry Potter books in less than a month. That might have contributed to him finding the book report task easy-peasy.

How to Eat Mangoes, RJ's Way

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My son's favorite fruit is mango. He likes it sour and almost ripe. There was a time when he want his mangoes thinly sliced with sugar and vinegar. Yes, sour mangoes made even more sour with vinegar, that's how he likes it then. But he doesn't like that anymore. He now like his mangoes with sugar and, instead of vinegar, salt.

I like eating unripe mangoes too. When I was still little, I also like the taste of mangoes mixed with sugar and salt just like RJ. But now, as much as I want to eat, my teeth are sensitive to sour fruits. Whenever I eat mangoes, I usually can't eat well after that.

Hmm, maybe I should eat mangoes everyday. It might help me loose the excess pounds that I'm trying to shed.

new guitar

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RJ loves playing the guitar. I enrolled him in guitar class last summer vacation. He’s actually good and I’m not just saying that because I’m his mom.

 

For his ECA (extra curricular activities) class in school, he chose to join the guitar class. There were other activities that he could have joined for free. But because I can see the potential, his talent in guitar playing is obvious and he’s very enthusiastic to learn more, I decided that Php8,000 for a whole years fee will be worth it.

The teacher though told him that he needs a bigger guitar. As long as he’s happy and using the talents that God gave him, I’ll support him in any way I can. So we’ll buy a new guitar tomorrow.

wrong discipline

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RJ's old bike, which we bought three years ago, was too small for him already. We went to Cartimar a few weeks back and he chose a blue bike. He's a good swimmer, he already joined a 5K run and he now loves to bike, I can't wait for his first triathlon!

 

 

It's not safe to go biking in our street so we went to Rizal Park two Sunday's ago for RJ to be able to try out his new bike. There were still a a lot of people, resting after a fun run, when we arrived. There was this group sorting out empty plastic bottles. They collected the bottles which the runners just threw on the park ground. How hard is it to find a trash can? You'd think that these runners are disciplined people, well most of them are not! I will make another post about this.

 

Back to my story. The sorters has a little boy with them. He's around 2-3 years old, I think, his height was my son's height when he was three. I was getting annoyed with this boy actually because whenever he see RJ, he'll bike going perpendicular to RJ's direction. RJ even fell off his bike one time because he was trying to avoid the boy. The parents never told the little boy to stop, even when they saw that he's causing danger to himself and my son.

 

Another boy arrived. The boy with the bike let the other boy use his bike. All of a sudden I saw the dad, of the boy with the bike, get one of his slippers and hit the boy (owner of the bike). "Why did you let him borrow?", this he said while he kept hitting the boy's behind. "He will just destroy your bike, don't ever let anyone borrow it again!"

'

What kind of discipline was that? He was teaching his son to be greedy.

 

I'm afraid to even think what other "lessons in life" he teach this poor boy and his other kids. The government spends a lot of money teaching people in the poor area about family planning. These same people are also ignorant in teaching their children about good values and right conduct. The government should also educate these people about parenting.

Laser Tag at Lazer Maxx

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RJ had his post birthday party at Lazer Maxx in Greenhills last friday. A game at Lazer Maxx is Php190 -not cheap since each game only last for 15 minutes. So we had an agreement that he and his friends can only play 2 games of laser tag.

I was planning on Mind Museum, because he already attended two laser tag parties in the past and I'm not too keen on the idea of "playing with toy guns", but agreed on a laser tag party after having the "talk about guns" with him.

Out of the twelve friends he invited, seven was able to attend. Understandable that they don't want to brave rush hour traffic in the Greenhills area, on a friday at that, because we ourselves were late for the 6PM slot that I reserved at Lazer Maxx.

A laser tag game can accommodate 24 people, divided into two to three teams. Before the game, participants enter the briefing room where they watch a video on how to play and rules of the game. They then proceed in the vesting area, where they put on their vests and were divided into teams. Our agreement was two games but one of RJ's friends gifted him with one more round of laser tag game for the group. The friend wanted to spend Php4000, his savings from his allowance, but it was getting late, they were all tired and I don't want him to spend all his money so they agreed on one last game.

We had late dinner after the game, already around 9PM, at a nearby KFC. RJ and his friends had so much fun they still talked about the party when they went back to school on Monday. And RJ wants another party next year.

Lazer Maxx

584-5958

441-1958

Bookworm Through and Through

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My son is a certified bookworm. I introduced him to the wonderful world of reading even before he can even walk by himself. I remember buying his first baby books, those made of cardboard so his chubby little hands won't crumple and destroy the pages. He's now 11 and he still very much loves to read.

Our bookshelf can't accommodate the number of books that we both have. Yes, I too am a certified book addict. I probably passed some, or maybe a whole lot of, book-lover-forever genes to him.

we need to buy another bookshelf for these books,

and a whole lot of others,  that can’t anymore fit in our bookshelf

As I've said, he started with baby books. Then he started collecting books about dinosaurs when he was around 3 years old. His fascination with dinosaurs hasn't actually stopped yet. He still read his dinosaur books from time to time but he doesn't collect dinosaur toys and books anymore. One of his dream is to be a paleontologist someday.

He loves reading chapter books as well. He was able to finish reading all 7 Harry Potter books in less than two months! He's up to date on release dates of new addition to his favorite books. Like when there's a new Diary of a Wimpy Kid book, he's always first in his class to have a copy of the new book.

Because of his love for reading, he always ace his reading comprehension worksheets and quizzes. I'm one lucky mom. Unlike most of his classmates, he has high grades on his reading and language subjects so I don't have to tutor him on those subjects.

Math though is a different story. Although he's good with numbers, he doesn't like reviewing Math at all. Free worksheets that I find online (like multiplication worksheets and third grade math worksheets) keeps me sane.

Happy 11th Birthday!

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Happy Birthday RJ!

 

Always remember that Mama loves you very much. And no matter how tall you become, Mama may already be shorter than you next month, you will always be my baby. But don’t you worry, I will try (really hard, promise!) not to call you baby in front of your friends.

How young is too young to get engaged?

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So Miley Cyrus is engaged at such a young age of 19. In my opinion, she’s too young to get engaged. A lot of young girls idolize her so I hope Miley won’t get married pretty soon. I hope she decides on a long engagement. Her boyfriend-girlfriend relationship with Liam Hemsworth was on and off for three years.

At least she won’t be needing steel levelers when changing tires, her fiancé can take care of problems like that!

Happy Day!

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I got an email this morning that I’m now hired as an SMM. I created my profile just last week and after waiting for just a few days I now have my first Odesk client. I’m only required to work seven hours each week so I have more free time for more clients.

 

 

Happy, happy day!

Do I need an exercise attire?

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I exercise at home. I prefer exercising by myself than with a group. I exercise wearing just my house clothes. Shirt, shorts and slippers (sometimes barefoot). Some people spend a lot of money on exercise (workout) attires. Understandable that they can’t use their house clothes to workout in the gym, but why spend a lot?

Maybe I also need to spend money on workout clothes to achieve the weight that I desire. *Grin* *Wink*

I actually love this dickie scrubs flare drawstring pants that my sister has. It looks so comfortable, can be used as workout pants, don't you think so? But I’m not that sure though if I should buy a new one since I still have old workout pants that I have yet to use. Should I buy?

Freelancer at Odesk

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When I was just starting to set up my first two blogs, around two-three years ago, I’ve been hearing a lot about Odesk. It’s a free-membership website where freelancers can look for jobs and business owners/entrepreneurs can look for virtual assistants like writers, accountants, programmers to name a few.

So I deleted my old profile, which was created three years ago, and created a new one. I studied how the site works for a day or two and started applying for jobs that I think I can pretty much handle without any supervision from anyone. I only waited for 1 day. I got an email from a verified Odesk client that they are interested to give me a paid test work for 5 hours. I accepted right away. I’m done with the test work. It was supposed to be for 5 hours but I was already done in 3 hours, reviewed and did some revisions in one and a half hours. Now I’m just waiting for the verdict.

I need the extra money to pay for my SSS contribution. I’m also planning to get an insurance since in my line of work I’m not entitled to any workers compensation. I hope and pray that I get the job.

How to be a Smart Consumer

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Are you a smart shopper? I'd like to think that I am a very smart shopper. Just the other day I was in the grocery store and found out that a certain brand of laundry powder is charging more when you buy a bigger pack. Buying 3 sachet packs with the same quantity is Php10 cheaper. You find it funny that I want to save Php10? Laugh again if I tell you I get to save more than a thousand a year just with that laundry powder savings. And with that amount I can already pay 1 month of phone or water bill.

 

I'm not surprised actually because a lot of other brands also practice the same "pricing scheme". I salute those companies who are consumer friendly and price their big packs lower compared with buying small sachets with the same quantity. I feel sorry for those who buy in bulk like small store owners (sari-sari store). But much sorrier for those who buy in sari-sari stores all the time. They carry the burden of paying more than what they ought to pay. Although most don't know it and maybe just doesn't care how much more they pay when buying in a sari-sari store.

 

 

So here's my piece of advice, value your hard-earned money by being a smart consumer:

- compare the brands that you buy, but do take note that cheap doesn't always mean better

- compare prices of buying in big and small packs, never assume that buying in bulk is always cheaper than buying in small packs, not all brands are consumer-friendly

- refrain from buying in small stores if it can be avoided

- make a grocery shopping list to avoid buying in small stores

 

Happy shopping!

summer is officially over

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Yes, summer is indeed officially over. My not-so-favorite rainy days has started. Hopefully, the wet season doesn’t last that long. We may not need an electric fire place during cold and wet months in this tropical country, but the flooding is an unwelcome change from the hot summer months.

It’s been raining for two days already. My two-days worth of laundry are all wet still because my mom doesn’t want a clothes dryer here in her house. Not to mention the on-off-on-off power supply here in the province. Oh, well. At least it’s cold, I can sleep even without the aircon on.

Summer activity: Learn Yoyo Tricks

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To steer him away from computer and online games while on vacation in the province, I made sure my son's yoyo is inside the luggage bag. I promised him that he'll get a Chinese Yoyo or what's also known as diabolo once he already perfected the basic yoyo tricks. But he has been ignoring his yoyo because he's still busy with his guitar lessons.

Next time I hear him say, “I’m bored!”, I’ll ask him to just play the yoyo.

Teaching Kids How to Ride a Bike

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My son can now ride a bike and he learned on his own. I found this Youtube video on how parents should teach kids how to ride a bike in a fun, stress-free and untiring-for-the-parents way. Of course the parents or an adult still needs to explain how the kids should do it.

 

My son learned how to balance in an hour, how to do a U-turn in an hour. I am not kidding!

 

Here's the video:

 

not so gloomy rainy day

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Rainy days usually make me sleepy and sad at times. But this particular rainy day I don't feel gloomy at all, thanks to our neighbor. They're playing rock music, a lot louder than usual, since early this morning. They must be using their audio mixers.

 

how my rockstar neighbor look like

But I hope they stop before night fall since I also want to sleep early tonight.

The best deal site in the Philippines

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I already bought discounted deals on these online deal sites: Deal Grocer, Metrodeal and Cash Cash Pinoy. If I have to choose what for me is the best deal site, among the three Deal Grocer has my vote. But based on experience, I (without a doubt) place Deal Grocer on the top spot.

Metrodeal gets a negative vote from me. I had problems with some of their merchants but they never, ever helped me contact those merchants. They ignored my tweets and they don’t have any contact number on their site. I reviewed one of those deal-gone-bad at Eatallyoucan.info (when you get to the site, search "Apricot Diner").

Nothing to rave or grunt about Cash Cash Pinoy. I never had a problem with them but their deals are not as good as those offered at Deal Grocer. I haven't tried Groupon yet, I wonder if I'll be a happy and contented shopper there as much as when I buy and use my vouchers from Deal Grocer.

Too many rules at Grandma's house

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Overheard my son and niece's conversation:

 

Grandma: I don’t want to see paint on my living room floor kids!

F: Why does Lola (grandma) ruin all the fun?!

R: Really? How?

F: We're not even using paint!

R: Oh, just ignore her. That's what I always do

have basement, no heat stroke

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It’s more hot this year than the previous summer. This time last year it was already raining everyday. May was wet last year. Dry, hot and very humid this year. Our house is concrete, except for the separate dirty kitchen which is a nipa hut, so I can stand staying in the living room without the electric fan turned full blast.

But I have this one solution whenever the heat becomes unbearable, I stay in the basement. The architect who designed the house is a genius when he included a basement in the blueprint. i should buy bean bag chairs  next time we go to the mall. My son and niece use the extra mattress from my mom’s room whenever they want to stay in the basement. They be more comfortable sitting on small chairs when they are in the mood to paint or draw.

behind is stairs leading to the basement

So if you want to not feel hot during summer months, add a basement room in your house next time you renovate. It should be a spacious room with lots of windows though.

summer activity for kids: guitar lessons

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RJ is again taking guitar lessons this summer break. He finished a few days of piano and guitar lessons last year. But completely forgot everything he learned when we got back in Manila. He doesn’t have a piano in the house and he only learned a few basic chords in guitar so it was understandable that he lost interest and didn’t even tried to practice those few chords.

So this summer break I asked him if he wants to enroll in piano, guitar or both. He chose guitar lessons.

He can now play “I’m Leaving on a Jet Plane”. Although he’s still a bit slow in changing chords, I’m glad that he’s not wasting his summer break by just playing computer and handheld games.

Queen Elizabeth’s Visit to the Philippines

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Queen Elizabeth has visited 116 countries but has never been, not even once, to the Philippines? She has done state visits to different Asian countries but the Queen probably doesn't know that "It's More Fun in the Philippines!". I wonder if it’s more fun in Iran, she has been there twice already.

Maybe she's looking for a hotel like those in the UK but those hotels, in my opinion, are not as elegant as Manila’s 5-star hotels. But I'm no queen so we probably don't have the same taste.

Traffic in EDSA is not fun

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I saw this picture on twitter. Although it seems hilarious at first glance, it doesn't exactly show that "It's more fun in the Philippines ". A first-time tourist should know that EDSA (Epifanio delos Santos Avenue) should be avoided at all times, during traffic and non-traffic hours.

I avoid travelling thru EDSA not just because of the traffic. Look at the picture, the motorcycle and bus behaviors -all true. EDSA bus drivers overspeed all the time without any thought of causing an accident. They only care about getting first in line on that bus stop to get more passengers. The motorcycle riders are no different, they all drive so fast -truth be told they have the cheapest tires and the cheapest helmets. They even use the sidewalks to avoid traffic.

And yes, the "actual sign" is also true although it's written in Filipino. Yes it does look funny, but very embarrassing that there are many st*pid people, pardon my French, who risk their lives crossing that street.

where to buy shirts for your not-so-little-boy-anymore

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Bench, the clothing line, holds a monthly (maybe even biweekly) sale at their Cash and Carry Mall branch. Since I do my grocery shopping there every week, I always pass by their store to check the sale rack. I always end up buying a shirt or two for my son. My son most probably own a dozen bench shirts, not including those that doesn't fit him anymore.

 

 

If ever Bench decides to go public, I'll surely invest a few thousand shares. This is a good store to buy nice, but not very expensive, shirts for your kids. Although the clothes for girls is a different story. I have a few shirts from this brand but I seldom find one that fits well.

hungry mama

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So I am so hungry already. But I need to finish up some important things that I have been too lazy to do for the past week. I’m actually cramming right now to meet the deadline. I have been researching about mobile homes for sale also and the organic beauty products that I've been wanting to try (been reading a lot of good reviews about it).

I guess I have to cook already since my son is already complaining that he’s tired, from sorting out his toys, and very hungry eventhough he has just eaten breakfast.

revamping the house

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I'm in the planning stage of maximizing the small space in our house. I'm not planning to remodel the entirety of the house though. What I want to do is to replace the furnitures, and the big appliances, with the end result of making more room to move around in the house.



Here's what I've thought of so far. The rattan chairs definitely has to go. It's taking up a lot of living room space. A wall-mounted television should replace the bulky 7-year-old tv that we have. Some of RJ's toys needs to go as well, I just need to convince him that he's too old for some of those toys. He has this big plastic box full of toys and it's occupying a huge space in the bedroom.

Don't judge a book by its cover

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I encourage my son to eat more fruits and vegetables. Every week, I stock on the usual apples, mangoes and bananas. Those are the fruits that my son eats. A few months back, yes this is actually a very late post, I decided to buy DOLE bananas because they look really fresh. The skin (banana peel) was also flawless.

 

When I got home, I decided to try one. I peeled the skin and took one big bite. Good thing I didn't swallow what I was chewing because when I looked at the remainder of the banana it looks brown in the middle. I checked all the bananas and discovered that everything was rotten. I paid more that what I usually pay for a bunch of bananas and everything just went straight to the trash can.

Easy-to-eat Breakfast

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During school days, RJ's day starts with a bowl of coco crunch and milk. And that's for 10 months except during weekends. He likes it for breakfast because it's more easier to eat compared with the usual Filipino breakfast of rice and meat. He wakes up pretty early so it's easier to chew a soggy coco crunch, he doesn't like it crunchy.

He's now on summer break and he wakes up really late, around 9 or 10 in the morning, because he sleeps late. So I'm trying to make something different for breakfast. This week, he's into eating pita bread with cheese. Any healthy breakfast suggestions for next week?

Organic Beauty Product

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I first heard about this on twitter. A person I'm following tweeted about her pimple breakouts. Her friend tweeted a reply that she has been using an organic soap that's 100 percent Philippine made and she hasn't experienced any breakouts ever since.

I searched the product online and true enough, there were a lot of good reviews about it. The company that makes it also has a wide selection of other beauty products, with a lot of good reviews also. I'm going to buy and try some of the products. I'll post about it in the coming days.

cleaning time

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This hot, very humid monday morning is also cleaning time for my son. He likes to keep things that he doesn't need anymore. The clay that is so dusty already, the toys that he doesn't actually play anymore. Xeroxed copy of things that he "needs" but he actually has not touched it in months.

 

 

Everything is just lying here and there, gathering dust. So yes, he has to endure the summer heat and sort out his things.