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.

it's raining inside our house

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and I love it!

There's always this one problem everytime RJ steps out of the shower. Shampoo and soapsuds drip all over the bathroom floor because he doesn't rinse well. I have to ask him all the time to go back inside the bathroom.

Because of Grohe shower head, that doesn't happen now. When RJ steps out of the shower, he's squeeky clean!

choosing the right color for your home

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Do you know how to choose the right color for your home? Using one color of paint for the whole house will give an impression of unplanned renovation. Using different colors for each room of the house, that doesn't match, will most likely put your house at the top of the "ugliest house" list in your community.

Have you heard of Glidden Paint?

Here's what you can expect from every can of Glidden paint:

Glid-ability: Goes on smooth and easy, no matter the paint, wall color or finish. No muss. No fuss. Who knew painting could feel so good?

Quick Coat Coverage: Covers many colors in just one coat. Out with the old and in with the new.

Endurance: We've scrubbed walls painted with Glidden™ Paints 1,000 times with a nylon brush and scouring paste. The look you love will last. Try our paint samples to prove it.   

Stain Resistance — Tough stains can be removed with soap and water, so wiping down walls is a snap.

Scrub-ability — When walls require more than just a wipe-down, our paint stands up to heavy scrubbing with bristle brushes and scouring paste.

Bond-ability — Walls, doors and edges resist chipping and peeling because our paint is made to stick to even the most difficult surfaces.

Rub Resistance — Our paint resists glossy spots from repeated contact in high-traffic areas.

Have you joined the “Glidden Paint, Get Color, Give Color Giveaway” which began just after midnight last June 1st, 2010, on http://www.glidden.com/? No? Then you can always find Glidden’s inexpensive paint testers in any Home Depot location.

Glidden’s paint testers are unique from other brands because they have a handy brush included in the lid, and our testers allow you to try out the actual paint color before you commit to buying all the paint necessary for your project.

The paint testers are also great for households with children because they can be used to quickly touch up scrapes and stains. (In my house, with four young children, we find it is easier to paint over permanent marker than to scrub it off.)

Glidden testers are also easier to store than large, messy, half-used cans of paint.

is your house ready for a baby?

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The first thing that should be done, before even giving birth to your baby, is baby proof your whole house. Babies don't have a mind of their own yet. They don't know what is good or bad for them. Let alone know what can or can't hurt them.

A baby gate is a must-have for every household. A staircase gate should be installed before baby even starts to crawl. If you don't know it yet, babies can move so fast. Don't let them fool you, they can be gone under your nose with the blink of an eye. Especially if you are taking care of the baby after a sleepless night. Before you even know what happened, you might see your baby rolling down the stairs.

To prevent that from happening, you better start looking for child safety gates right now.

should we buy a new sofa?

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When Typhoon Ondoy visited the Philippines last September, it brought about unexpected flooding which was described as the worst one ever recorded. Our house in Makati got flooded chest-deep. All appliances on the ground floor got soaked in flood water. Because of the very strong current, the aquarium even toppled over. FF, the flowerhorn fish, was seen day after the storm happily swimming in ankle-high flood water in the backyard.

The living room sofa, after washing it over and over with soap and water, is still very smelly up to now -- 3 months after the flood. We've been thinking of buying a new sofa for the living room. We've been busy visiting appliance stores and comparing different kinds of sofa's available in the market right now.

We're looking for a sofa that can provide comfort and style. Modern yet comfortable seating that can give the needed face-lift to the entire family room (the wall paint was partially destroyed by the flood water). I am actually eyeing a contemporary leather sofa that was creatively designed to clutch all the stuff and frills of different leisure, entertaining indoor activities.

But there are kids in the house that will (most likely) jump, leave biscuit crumbs and crayon marks on the sofa. They will not care if it's a new one or soaked in flood water; expensive or inexpensive. They will (very probably) make it look old, battered and dirty in a blink of an eye.

So, what do you think. Should we buy a new one like this...

or just wait until the kids are old enough to leave the sofa alone.