Dieting for Kids

My brother has been bugging me about putting my son on a diet. He tells me that my son is already obese. I don't think so. We check his Body Mass Index and Wii Fit tells us that he's borderline overweight. I told my brother that there's no need to put my son on a diet since he'll be starting school two weeks from now. He always slims down during the school year because of the daily travel to and from school.

From what I read, weight gain is a part of puberty. My son is 10 years old and he has just entered puberty. I also noticed the weight gain coming in this year. He also did not have a sports activity this summer and his only physical activity is playing with his Wii.

Kids don't need to diet - you know, as in diets like South Beach Diet, cabbage soup diet, no meals after six, and taking in appetite suppressants like adipex. Putting kids on a diet may even get them develop eating disorders. What overweight and obese kids need is a good mix of a well-balanced diet and physical activity. Remember our Go, Grow, and Glow foods? Just give your kids healthy portions of foods from each of these food groups and they'll be definitely on the safe side.

Since I am the one who's been trying to lose weight, I had little trouble adjusting my son's diet. He seldom eats junk food now. I only allow him to eat chips on weekends when we watch DVDs at home. Popcorn is now the new favorite. He's also avoided sweets ever since he started with his Center for Pop sessions. They are instructed not to eat or drink cold and sweet food and drinks 24 hours before or after a performance. I'm glad that he takes good care of his voice. Water has also been a regular drink of his because of his voice lessons. I know that water helps in losing unwanted pounds. I ask him to lessen his rice intake when we eat out but at home I just let him have as much as he wants because we cook brown rice. I still have to nudge him into eating more fruits and vegetables, though.

So there you have it, when it comes to kids, it has to be balanced diet vs. dieting.

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Now, Why Didn't I Think Of That?

One quiet night after having dinner, I looked up our dining room's polycarbonate roofing and I realized that we made a huge lapse in securing our property. Look at the photo below:

Can you see what is missing in this picture? Yup, we forgot to have metal grills installed. Duh, why didn't I think of that? And to think that the roof is made of plastic material!

I'm calling our contractor this instant and will have grills installed immediately. I think we just need metal bars that are not as thick as the ones they use in metal buildings. Just ones that will make thieves a hard time cutting and getting inside our premises.

Nowadays, securing our home should be of utmost concern. I was probably pre-occupied with a lot of things that's why I forgot to have the roofing secured.

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The Stagemom in Me

I've been so busy lately bringing my son to and from SM Megamall for his Center for Pop rehearsals. The recital concert is happening in two days and the students had been required to go to the center almost daily. Because of this, my cousins and siblings have already branded me as a stage mom, hahaha!

Am I a stage mom? Hmmm, let me see. I'd gladly leave everything to accompany my son to his rehearsals. I'd also make plans as to where I can work on my articles while waiting for his voice lessons to finish. Yes, I guess I am a stagemom and a proud one at that. But while I won't still resort to looking for door hanger printing suppliers to to make door hangers with his face printed on it, I am uber excited of the billboard showing him and his other classmates. We were told that it will be set up along EDSA, probably near SM Megamall.

Can you blame me for being a stagemom?

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Looking for a birthday gift at AyosDito.ph

It's my unico hijo's 10th birthday today. He's been wishing for a new cellphone from me and I promised him that months before. I already saved my April and May writing income for the Samsung Corby he's been dying to have. But as you know, I have to prioritize things and have to allocate money to pay for the balance for my youngest brother's tuition this summer. To make my money matters more complicated, my father was brought and confined in the hospital yesterday. Of course, I would have to share the bill with my other siblings.

Thankfully, my kind son understood the dilemma I'm in. I really planned to give him a brand new phone and I know he deserves it after using our old phones ever since. In this day and age, and in our situation, Rap needs to have a phone so he can contact us when we need to pick him up from school. Sometimes, he needs to stay in school for an extra curricular activity that the school bus driver leaves school without him and it's us who will have to pick him up. Besides, he has never lost a phone since Prep. Yes, he started to own a mobile phone since pre-school. And I'm glad that his school allows the boys to have mobile phones just as long as they don't use it during school hours.

So the solution I thought of was to look for second hand phones that are still in good condition. I looked for phones in AyosDito.ph and I got giddy and excited with the wide array of choices I found. The site is very user-friendly, too!

This is the phone that I am thinking of buying for him. The budget fits the cash I have on hand. My only problem is that the color of the handset is "PINK." Tsk..tsk.. tsk... I hope that I can still find a wifi phone in the same price range in this online classified ads site. In the meantime, I will share the news about this site to a friend who is looking for a van for sale.

Visit AyosDito.ph if you are also looking for a second hand gadget or just planning to sell some stuff. Enjoy shopping!

Enrollment time once again

On Monday, I'm going to my son's school to enroll him for the coming school year. He's going to be a fourth grader this June. Oh my, time does fly too fast. I thank God that He has given us the blessing (again) of paying only half of his tuition fee because of the academic award he received last March. Even so, half of his annual tuition costs as much as our car and housing monthly amortizations combined! And there's books, notebooks, and school supplies. Gosh, I even need to buy him new sets of uniforms this year. I cannot just imagine what other parents with two or more children go through during enrollment time.

During these times, I begin to remember how my mother taught part-time at a private university during weeknights and every Saturday just so we can enjoy the subsidized tuition fees. I really appreciate all her efforts now that I am also a parent myself. She could have sent us to public schools but she chose to send us to a university from elementary to college.

I better go back to the fat burner reviews I was writing a while ago before I started this post. I need to earn some moolah first. One more year to go before my youngest brother graduates in college. Yep, I'm sending him to college. And it has been my daily prayer that God give me more financial opportunities so that I can share the blessings to my family. Who knows, he might be able to support another relative or even my son to college in the future? God is good all the time, this I'm sure.

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Thinking of starting an online tutorial business

From 2007 to 2009, I helped my parents put up a small tutorial center in front of their home. While I tutored preschoolers and early graders daily, I also did the administrative work. My siblings, who were better in Math and the Sciences compared to me, taught the older students. That time, we all had spare time to teach.

But I had to prioritize my health above everything. Being diabetic gave me hyperglycemic/hypoglycemic episodes when I will just feel dizzy and my vision would get blurry. It's so hard for me to go home at night when that happens. My last class usually ends at 7 PM. So, as hard as it was, I had to bid the business goodbye.

I visited various sites in the Internet and found out different online tutorial sites that offer lsat prep review classes. I am thinking of starting a business like this. This way, I won't need to leave home everyday to teach and I still get to focus on my online writing tasks.

What do you think? Go or no go?

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It's Time To Tell a Friend and Fly to Boracay!

Want to have the chance to travel and stay in Boracay for free? Then, it's time to tell a friend about the importance of financial preparedness. All you'll have to do is refer at least 5 email addresses of friends and family and post your pledge of personal financial commitment. Read the mechanics below:

Time to Tell a Friend Promo Mechanics

HOW TO JOIN:
(This raffle is open to Philippine residents only.)

1. Register through the It’s Time! website: http://www.itstime.com.ph/tell/, by providing a valid email address and your full name (as appearing in your birth certificate).

2. Wait for the confirmation email in your inbox. As soon as your registration is complete, you may start referring the email addresses of your friends. At least five (5) valid email addresses must be referred to qualify for the promo.

Sun Life Financial agency force, members of the Marketing Team, and all SLFP employees with the position Department Head and up, and their relatives up to the second degree of consanguinity are disqualified from this promo. These persons and their email addresses are also considered as invalid referrals for purposes of this promo.

3. Aside from referring at least 5 email addresses of your friends, you must also post your story on the advocate page, http://www.itstime.com.ph/be-an-advocate/ to qualify for the promo. This means that you must post a pledge of personal financial commitment (e.g. It’s Time for me to start saving more of my salary).

4. One (1) grand prize winner will receive a travel certificate for 3 days and 2 nights accommodation at Boracay Regency Lagoon and round-trip airfare for two, including round-trip terminal fees, land and boat transfers from the hotel to the airport. This promo is valid from May 13, 2010 to June 20, 2010 only. Travel period is from May 2010 to October 15, 2010 only.

5. Only one (1) grand prize winner will be drawn via electronic raffle, with thirty- eight (38) minor winners of Sun Life items, (i.e., three (3) winners of Rudy Project analog watches, ten (10) winners of SLF Desktop Calendars, five (5) winners of SLF messenger bags and twenty (20) winners of SLF diaries). An entry can only win once in the promo. An entry who has already won is deemed ineligible to win other prizes thereafter. For example, if a previous winner's entry has been picked again, his/her entry will be deemed invalid and another winner will be drawn. Sun Life Financial has the exclusive right to determine the validity and eligibility of any entry. Taxes on the prizes, if any, shall be for the sole account of the winners.

6. Raffle draw will be on June 25, 2010 at 5/F, Tower 2, The Enterprise Center, 6766 Ayala Avenue, Makati City. The prizes are not convertible to cash.

7. Winners will be notified via a phone call and email coming from a representative of Sun Life Financial, with information on how to claim their prizes. Winners are required to present at least 2 valid photo-bearing IDs. Prizes must be claimed at 5/F, Tower 2, The Enterprise Center, 6766 Ayala Avenue, Makati City.

8. If a winner cannot claim his/her prize personally, his/her representative must bring his/her 2 valid photo-bearing IDs, notarized special power of attorney authorizing the representative to claim the prize, and the winner’s 2 valid photo-bearing IDs. Minors below 18 years must be accompanied by a parent or guardian who must likewise present at least 2 valid photo-bearing IDs. Prizes that remain unclaimed within thirty (30) days from raffle draw are deemed forfeited in favor of Sun Life Financial Philippines.

9. The winners must agree to authorize Sun Life Financial Philippines to use his/her name and image in any publicity release or advertising material that may be made in relation to this promo in any medium (TV, Radio, Print) without limit as to the time and number of exposures.

Nothing is as sweet as being free from financial woes. This is only possible with proper financial management. Sun Life Financial and the It's Time Advocates are ready to help you towards the road to financial literacy. Say goodbye to your financial worries (and wrinkle removers for sure) and look forward to being financially secure and happy.

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Star of The Day!

It's late already and I'm still not sleepy. I still can't get over the fact that I witnessed how my son gave his best performance to date. I am so happy that the decision to enroll him at the Center for Pop Philippines is all worth it.

The practicum event is usually given during the middle of the course. Rap is already on his 13th session at the Center for Pop SM Megamall branch and he has already shown amazing improvements when it comes to stage performance and confidence.

For all his efforts, he was awarded the most prestigious award of the day, the Star of the Day award, along with 3 other awards namely Best in Stress, Best in Stage Performance, and Most Applauded. I'm still waiting for the videos to finish uploading in YouTube. But if you have time, kindly watch him sing by visiting my YouTube channel, http://www.youtube.com/user/mauieflores.

Bye for now. I have to go back to my apidexin research work.:)

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Home-made Halo-halo

While people from the other side of the globe spend their afternoons in hot tubs with flashy spa covers, we Filipinos are drenched in sweat because of the extreme summer heat. This is the reason why I bought an ice shaver during the weekend so that we can have our own homemade refreshing halo-halo anytime we want to.

Last Tuesday, I passed by SM Megamall's supermarket to buy some halo-halo ingredients. Luckily, there are bottles that already have an assortment of halo-halo ingredients. I bought a big jar which cost around 60 pesos, a jar of ube halaya, and a can of evaporated milk. Then, I bought some gelatin and sago (tapioca pearls) at the takal section of the supermarket. After paying for all of those, I was off to the third floor to buy 2 slices of leche flan from Goldilocks.

The boys and my mother-in-law were as excited as I am to be making our own halo-halo at home. Rap enjoyed winding the knob that shaves the ice to make crushed ice. By the way, the manual plastic ice shaver (Mega brand) was bought for only 350 pesos. Not bad at all since we can now easily make iced desserts using the ice shaver.

Want to have some? Too bad I can only virtually share a glass with you!

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Writer's Block

See my last post? It says May 4, 2010. Sad. I haven't written blog posts in more than a week now. I know I owe you big time because of that. This is what happens to me when I go on a long vacation. My being needs to be trained to go back to my daily grind once again. I'm just lucky that my writing workload upon our return from Bacolod was light or else I'd be fired for sure.

This is a shot from the Ruins, an old mansion in Talisay City, Negros Occidental.
(Look at me in that photo. I think you'll agree that I need to get on the treadmill for hours now. Gah! It's the Chicken Inasal's fault I'm telling you!)

Still, nothing beats the eight days that I spent going around different towns in Negros Occidental (five days of the eight without Internet). I was able to read the e-books I uploaded on my phone. My son and I were able to tell stories to one another for hours. I was able to commune with nature once again. It was one of the simplest, yet, happiest vacations of my life.

This writer's block will pass, I promise. I'm slowly pushing myself back to the daily grind.


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We're done with the renovations!

After six weeks of chaos and disarray, our home renovation project is done. This is one of the many things that kept me busy these days that I wasn't able to update this blog more often. My new kitchen is set up complete with a bar and the oven I saved up for. We still need to order the glass shelf and cover for the bar's showcase.


The pocket garden that we envisioned in our dining area is also finished but you won't see it in this photo yet.


Mandaue Foam had a sale last month that we were able to get the shelf divider for only 6,000 pesos. The flower arrangement wasn't cheap, though. We got that from SM. You can also see the the 7,000 peso custom-made couch I blogged about in March. Again, it's from Mandaue Foam.


And lastly, my personal favorite, the coffee table set which cost as much as the shelf divider and the couch combined. It's made of kamagong and I think the price is worth it.


After this project, we're planning on renovating our bathrooms. I'm thinking of installing a bathtub in our bathroom and a closed shower in the common bathroom. I might also have the sinks replaced but all of these will be for next summer.

With the renovations done, our home is more orderly and I can now concentrate on my writing tasks. Seeing how pretty our design came out inspires me to keep my home spic and span at all times. The landscaper has just finished designing our garden and the pocket gardens in our dining area and garage. I'm going to post pictures soon, I promise.

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