Over P9.5 million worth of prizes at SM Little Stars 2018

#SuperMoms, the much-awaited #SMLittleStars2018 event this summer is back! Timeout with school stuff and let our kids shine by showcasing their talents while building confidence and camaraderie with other kids. Read more below about the event...

PRESS RELEASE

On its 12th year of celebrating talented Filipino kids, SM Supermalls unwraps a bigger and more exciting SM Little Stars as the kiddie-talent search gives away over PhP9.5 million worth of prizes, which include 2 brand new Chevrolet Trax, trips to China for 2, college scholarships from the National University, and PhP200,000 worth of cash and SM gift certificates – announced at a media launch on February 28 in SM Megamall. 

SM Little Stars continues to be a platform for kids to share talents, enhance their personalities, and develop their confidence. The competition not only recognizes the shining and brightest kids, but it also celebrates the start of their journey in becoming stars in the future as they inspire more children to discover their innate talents.

The kids will also have the chance to be guided by celebrity mentors and a series of workshops to help develop their talents and boost self-confidence, as well as to encourage them to have fun and make new friends!

SM Little Stars achievers who are now making big names on showbiz include 2014 Girl Grand Winner Fil-Korean Chun Sa Angella Jung, who continue to win fans with her acting prowess and is a mainstay of a kiddie sketch comedy show on mainstream TV. Joining the celebrated kids is 2013 Boy Grand Winner Nhikzy Vheench Calma who was awarded as WCOPA 2017’s Junior Grand Champion Performer of the World last July 8 in Long Beach, California. Also not to be missed is 2016 Girl Grand Winner turned commercial model Sheena Kirtsten Bentoy who is all set to play a well-loved role in Disney’s The Lion King The Musical in March.

Don’t forget that auditions begin on April 7 in participating SM malls nationwide! For more details about SM Little Stars, check out https://www.smsupermalls.com/smlittlestars.


###

For exclusive news about SM Supermalls, visit www.smsupermalls.com or follow SM’s official social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram; and get an insider access to all the fun happenings at SM Supermalls nationwide through SM’s Viber Public Chat. Tweet your thoughts, upload and share your photos about your memorable moments at SM, then use its official hashtag #EverythingsHereAtSM.

Childproofing your Home 101

Gearing up a home requires a lot of thinking and ideas. There are a lot of things to consider whether you plan to have a small or big family. 

When I knew I was pregnant with my eldest child I instantly inspected every room and corners of the house for child safety. It literally sunk to me that I need to keep our home child proof...most especially the baby's room.

I always believe that home is the sanctuary place that a family can dwell. It should be comfortable, clean, secure and safe to go around. Every room should be a friendly place for every family members. 

As a parent, we worry about the safety of our kids from strangers outside our home. But, we neglect that the biggest threat to our child's safety and well-being is our home. We can feel so overwhelmed with all the needed areas of our home to make it safe, but a childproofing checklist can help.

Childproofing your home needs extra time to do. There are points to be considered from day one you submit yourself to this safety measure.

* Fast-forward: 

The minute you found out that your family is having a baby, locate the room for the baby when he arrives from the hospital after giving birth. Start from here. Equipped the baby's room with all the necessities where the parents can reach easily. Promote and provide adequate ventilation for the baby because the majority of the time will be spent there. 

* Baby crawling stage: go down on the floor. 
Make a baby's eye view, check below the drawers, electrical sockets and everything that sticks-out that the baby will later grab and hold. Clear the area.

* Walking stage: protect them from furniture and fixtures.

From the minute your child makes their first step you should have extra protection from all the fixtures and furniture at home. The edges and corners the baby can bump and pull everything in reach. Furniture is a common hazard.

Installing railings, check your window curtains and blinds ties.

Lock all cabinets that contain hazardous chemicals that are reachable. 

  

If you find this task a little worrisome or tedious to accomplish you can always ask for professional help and make your home a child-proof ready when the baby comes home after giving birth. 

One material I find very easy to clean and ergonomic for a household is the acrylic plastic material. 

Simply Plastics materials and plastic products can do the job. An online supplier of plastic sheet, tube or rod that varies from color, thickness, and size. You just have to choose the size and material. Complete your order and they will deliver. They can assist you with what you need and create safe and fun memories around the house. 

On a side note, I love acrylic materials which I have on my dresser as my makeup organizer. I find it very stylish and simple and manageable to clean. 

From here you can adjust the need of safety in every growing up stage of your child. 

A safe home is a happy home.

Prizes from Kids Company Online Toy Store #onlineprizes

Last February I joined this contest on Kids Company on Facebook. There was a question there to answer regarding how do I love toys from Kids Company. After browsing website I saw the latest trends on toys and other kids stuff. 

And, guess what? I was one of the lucky winners out of the five lucky joiners.

Our prize was Php2000 each worth of toys which we can order online.

After several online communication with the Kids Company team, they gave me a code which I can use upon check out.

After creating an account, my daughter M was so excited to select toys and have it on my account cart. Sadly, there were conditions though when using the prize code. Only regular items can be used to purchase.

That's why we needed to change all the initial pick my daughter did. Up to the time, the toys available were not the ones she wanted. I told her to pick anything just for us to claim and before the prize code expires.

After a week and decided to check out, encoding of the prize code had some errors. The code is not working when checking out. Informed Kids Company staff up to the point they were the ones who accessed my account just to finish the transaction.

I paid Php400 for the shipping and a little extra of Php29 for the excess amount from the total through Paypal payment.

Overall, the process took me six weeks from the time of announcement up to the delivery of the toys we ordered.

Here are the toys we got from the Kids Company online store.

4 pieces of toys from Kids Company, here are the breakdown of each toy and their prices:

1- piece Hot Wheel toy car Php 129.75

1- box of Moustache Smash- Php 599.75

1- Kinetic Sand Neon Sand 6oz. Php 499.75

1- Kinetic Sand Brown Pack Sand 2lbs. Php 799.75

The Kinetic Sand Brown color is the most expensive of the 4 toys we ordered, and it was the least I want for my daughter to get. Just for the process of this gift certificate and the least of the toys, we can get... we have no choice really. 

My daughter M opened this brown Kinetic sand and she enjoyed playing with it, the cons having this at home is the room floor and the living room floor feels so sandy even M keeps on sweeping the floor. 

Thank you Kids Company for the gift certificate! 

SaveSave

How I Celebrated My Valentines this Year

When the month of February sets in most of the people denotes this month as the season of LOVE... the Valentines.

Back in my childhood days Valentines was always in the school calendar, and those cut-out cupids and hearts in red colored cartolina papers were the popular Valentine decor inside the classroom. I saw one window display last Friday when I was walking home from work and it did brings memories.

For this years Valentines Day, I was treated like it was my birthday!

It started last Friday when I was surprised to see a new home computer chair I was wanting to have. 

Last, Thursday night the man heard me complaining about my my aching back right after I finished doing my blog and my online stuff. I checked on an online shops and saw some computer chair I wished to have. 

The following day I already have it set-up in my table, plus it can also be use as my dresser chair, the multi-functional chair. 

This ergonomic computer chair comes with the arm rests, a not to bulky back rest in blue color ( i have not removed the plastic cover yet), with adjustable height too. I covered the seat with my old cotton scarf which you can see. I wanted some print in it that's why. 

Overall, this computer chair is just perfect, the one I wanted. 

Thank you Tay for this gift of comfort this hearts day, i liked it! 

Yesterday afternoon after my nap, I was surprised by my Angel. He told me that he will go out for a few minutes to buy something at SM supermarket, he'll be back right away. 

And, when he came back he surprised me with this dozen of Oreo cupcakes as his Valentine present for me ( what a way to wake up from a afternoon nap with all smiles on my face ).  He ordered from a friend from his football team who bakes. I love this kind of surprises from him.... goodjob Anak, I imagine the "lucky girl" in the future... not next year ha, ayaw ko pa haha! 

I made coffee paired with this and some pandesal and butter for our merienda.

And so last night as a pre-Valentine treat, we went to Sam's Pizza for some nacho chips, chicken in a basket, my frozen margarita, coffee and chocolate shake for the daughter plus a couple of band who plays regular there. Kuya did not come with us as he went to meet his friends for dinner.

At the strike of 12 midnight my daughter M handed me this Valentine card she prepared when I was at work.

The thoughtful M, as always! 

I love you anak for the effort and the kind, super sweet words you said. I appreciate it! Thank you for helping Mom with everything. #somuchlove

It's Sunday morning and I am glad that this morning it started relax and quiet. I woke up a little late than my usual, had coffee and some pandesal for breakfast. Load up some laundry to finish while I do this blog post. 

Today, is such a lovely day to celebrate Valentines day with your loved ones. It doesn't have to be that fancy and extravagant so you don't have to force yourself to give someone what you cannot afford to give. Spend time and enjoy that time together is the key to everything.

I prepared some tea and cupcakes from last night. 

Teavana Flavored White Berry Basil Blast + Oreo Chocolate cupcakes for mid-morning snack while I blog.

My Ma gave me this pouch of loose Teavana Berry Basil tea last week.

have some?

Later tonight, we will hear the afternoon Mass and will end our day with a dinner reservation we made for the family.

How did you spend your Valentines?

I hope you're having a good one too... just like what I am having.

Happy Valentines To You All! :)

12-Hour Driving Course For My Teenager

When your kids accomplished something BIG one of the proudest person on earth are the parents. Encouraging them to explore on new things that will benefit them for lifetime we the parents play a big role in this aspect. 

Driving lessons for my son was one of which. We were planning this for over a year now since he got his student permit the LTO (Land Transportation Office) branch here in Olongapo. We put this on queued because of the Christmas break season and right after he enrolled for the third term in College.

GM Driving School was our first choice since it is the nearest and the trusted driving school in the city. For the fee of P5000 for five days, a total 12 hours of hands-on and lecture using a manual steering Toyota Vios car. The student driver can choose what time he would like to take the hands-on course that will depend on his schedule. 

He started Monday at 7:00 am for a 30-minute orientation and the rest of the hours he was set to drive the car until 9:00 am. 

He finished the hands-on that Friday and attended the two hour lecture the following day. The certicifate was given to them after the lecture. 

The next step to this is to go to LTO and secure a non-professional drivers license and practice more in driving. He enjoyed the lesson and proves himself that he can do it. 

Such an accomplishment... and I am a proud Mom!

My Daughter's DIY School Christmas Wreath Project

Holiday vacation has been the busiest week I had since before the kick-off until the last days of it. Just today I browse through my iPad gallery and saw some pictures from last month. And, this one is truly a worth sharing picture for a blog post. 

Before my daughter had their Christmas break at school, they were grouped and instructed to come up with a Christmas wall decor that is mostly recyclable. They have given exact measurements a theme for it. I searched and browsed Google and led me to my Pinterest site and had an idea for it. 

My initial plan for the Christmas wreath was to use a Christmas tree design cookie cutter and will tweak the rest as we go along the way building the wreath.

Unluckily, I couldn't find that cookie cutter shape which will be the main material for the project. I resulted in another material which I saw at the thrift store, the aluminum cupcake molds. 

Let's begin the fun part of building this Christmas wreath. 

This Christmas decor consists of 90% recycled materials we have at home. The remaining 10% was the materials bought. 

Materials used:

1-styrofoam board, around half to an inch thick- bought

red aluminum foil

1-roll Christmas themed design gift wrappers

1-pack muffin mold cups (used or new ones)- bought

red ribbon lace

3-white candles

some gold glitters

spare plastic red Christmas tree ornaments (flowers)

pieces of red paper

twisted wire

scotch tape

double-sided tape

Elmer's glue

3-inches wire 

Instructions on how to do:

1. For the base of the wreath, we cut up the spare styrofoam to 18 inches round, measure it using a pin in the middle with a pencil tied in a cord on the other end. Making a circle figure, then cut the shape using a cutter. 
2. Wrap the styrofoam with the red foil, securing it with scotch tapes, maintaining the shape of the circle. Be careful not to disfigure the shape of the wreath, which can be made by tight wrapping. Cover all the white color of the styrofoam. Set aside. 
3. Cut up Christmas design from the wrapper, with this the cut-up where just exactly to fit the inner space of each muffin cups. Secure it with double tape or Elmer's glue, let it dry.
4. Get the red ribbon lace (recycled from the local cake shop which they use to tie the cake box when you buy). Cut approximately 4-5inches, make a ribbon out of it. We run out of the materials for this that's why some cups doesn't have one.
5. When the cups are dry, glue the base of the muffin cups in the styrofoam. Checking the design in a proper position. When two sides of the cups meet, secure it with red ribbon each, securing the cups first with bendable twisted fire and glue in the middle of the ribbon onto the top of the wire.
6. Fill-in the space of the wreath. Let it dry.
7. Cut a piece of styrofoam with a measured hole for the base of the candle to stick, glue the candles. (prepare candles wrapped in leftover red aluminum strips securing it with scotch tape). Cut pieces of red paper with a flame shape, glue it with the candle wick add sprinkle with gold dust. This will resemble as the candle is lighted with flame.
8. Secure the wreath with a wire you can use to hang it on the wall.

It is pretty simple to do, the key to this is to spend as little for the materials but it will pop-out with colors and the motif of the event. 

My daughter submitted their project and she got a good feedback from her teacher. I guess the wreath will be hung again next year, I certainly do hope for that. 

Did you make something colorful and fun Christmas project last holiday? If, yes share it with us by posting a comment link below. 'til next DIY project. :) 

My Daughter's M Birthday Celebration

November 17, 2004 was the day when I gave birth to 8+lbs baby girl and after 11 years she still the baby girl, the cutest and the sweetest baby. 

Since her birthday landed on a school day we planned for a bonding time with some of her school friends to an afternoon arcade and a foodie trip. It was a fun-tiring afternoon to chaperone kids who were full of energy... but it was so worth it.

On the day of her birthday she went to school and gave her some money so she can buy some candies and cookies in the school canteen she wanted to give to the rest of her classmates. 

When we got off from school and work we went straight Holly's Buffet inside Subic Bay Freeport Zone with her grandparents and uncle. 

Here are some of the food photos from the restaurant that might interest you when you visit Subic Bay. The food is quiet good for an eat-all-you-can buffet. P289 per head and they serve lunch and dinner. 

The venue can host functions and small parties too. 

With us is my daughter's newest fave toy cat that was a gift she received. 

The Samygeopsal corner. 

Creamy sausage

Cheesy pizza

Pancit canton

Plain rice and fried rice on the other side 

Egg drop soup and they also have black seeweed soup

Fried chicken

Fish strips fillet

Daing na bangus

Fried chicken glazed with sweet and sour sauce

Pairings for the samgyeopsal

Some rolls and sweet syrup glazed cavandish bananas with sesame seeds.

Vegetable salad and different dressings

Fruit cut-ups (pineapple and orange)

They also have a siomai corner with chilis and oils you can choose. 

Christmas feel in the restaurant

The cozy and empty Tuesday night in the restaurant. This can be very busy specially this coming December. 

To my daughter M we wish you a very Happy Birthday and you may always be the sweet, loving and kind little girl. We love you!