Hello Kitty, Blindfolds & the Evolution of a Game

This morning I got up and thought it would be fun to play a "Pin the Ribbon on Hello Kitty" game :) 

So I got some ribbons from my ribbon box, an eye mask and a tiny Hello Kitty figure to copy.

I learned a long time ago that drawing Hello Kitty’s face is really hard. It may look simple but it isn’t.
So this was the best Hello Kitty face i could do:

Then I called the kids and told them that the game was ready :)

Mati went first – she wanted to use her own handkerchief instead of  the eye mask.
She’s OC like that sometimes. And her arm was so ready to pin that ribbon! hihihi

The first unsuccessful attempt was my fault. I pasted Hello Kitty too low :)
I keep forgetting how tall my kids are already. Sigh

The next couple of unsuccessful attempts was all her :) hehehe.

Then I think she learned to memorize where to put the ribbon by feeling the paper.
So smart. I’m so proud of her :)

Then it was Adi’s turn. She didn’t want to the first time I told her about it, but after she saw Mati
playing, she became curious and then of course wanted to try as well :)

She used my eye mask :) So cute.

She never got anything right though:) 

Even when she wasn’t blindfolded. I then realized that she didn’t really care for the game.

She just liked wearing the eye mask :)

And so she walked down the hallway blindfolded and walked out of our game

Meanwhile, the game evolved into "Pin the Ribbon on HELLO Mati" (her words not mine)

  

And when Mati got tired of this, it then evolved to finding people while blindfolded. 

This was the game that they liked the best :)

And was the most fun for me to watch :)

I just love it when the kids have fun with the little games that I introduce to them . . .

. . . . and then just make up little games of their own and have even more fun :) 

Our Arts & Crafts Stash :)

Even before I had kids, I had an arts & crafts box. It was full of ribbons, glitter glue, beads, tiny flowers
and stars, and other various tiny objects that I thought I could use for gift wrappings and other things.

I still have it in my house :)

When I had Mati, I had to get 1 more box :)

And I also have one box just for ribbons. This used to be more organized but the kids keep opening it :) hihihi.
O, and those paints at the top right side of the photo? I have to get new ones almost every 2 weeks!
I’m so glad they’re cheap :)

Recently, I had to get 2 more boxes. Not for new crafts stuff but for the cranes I’ve been making
for Mati’s birthday in July. Here’s what I have so far :)

Now, the kids have their own stash. I put their art materials in a drawer that’s easy for them to reach :)
It’s filled with, crayons, paint, pens, stamps, etc.

They also have a stack of colored paper at their disposal. I wish we had this when I was younger.
I remember only using very thin art paper that was only colored on one side

I also got them an organizer from Beabi where I put they’re other crafts. I just love containers like this.
The more the pockets, the happier I am :)

And when they’re displayed artwork needs to be moved to make room for newer artwork,
they then retire to their individual boxes that are in their playroom.
(The "BOX" label is a teaching tool for reading :D)

  
 

If I had a bigger house, I’d have an arts and crafts space like this one:

Or maybe an arts and crafts closet? :)

Hay, so fun to wish :) 

My Pop-up Book Collection

The first pop-up book I ever had was a science book back when I was in grade school.
The highlight of that book was an erupting volcano with tall, grey clouds. I loved it so much
that I made a replica of it for a school project. 

I think that was where my love for pop-up books started :)

So now I collect pop-up books for me and the kids :)

Here’s my collection so far:

And I forgot to take a photo of Cookie Count by Robert Sabuda. (The kids put it on another part of the shelf)
It’s Mati’s favorite :) Here’s what it looks like:

This is my favorite page from the book.
It’s a gingerbread house with little mice inside!!

Robert Sabuda is just the best. The first pop-up book in my collection was by him.
It’s Alice in Wonderland and it’s my favorite and Adi’s :)

She reads it almost everyday. Supervised of course :) hehehe.

Another good one by Robert Sabuda is this Wizard of Oz book which has a beautiful
Emerald City pop-up in the middle. Complete with paper glasses to make everything look green :)

His Narnia book is also interesting :)

And I just saw a Beauty and the Beast book on his website . I wonder if they have it already at Fully Booked . . .

Another good pop-up book author is David A.Carter.
He does abstract pop-ups which I think is really interesting for the kids.

This one is by Ron Van der Meer

I know they’re really delicate to be handled by Mati and Adi, but they really love looking at them so what’s a mom to do? :)

Plus, can you imagine being a kid and seeing these things for the first time? It would’ve blown my mind when I was little :)

Games with Mati & Adi

Early last year, I’ve been teaching Mati & Adi how to play games.
They got this Old Maid matching card game for Christmas. Mati loved it.
Adi, not so much. Maybe late this year we’ll teach her :)

I told Ate Kris to let Mati lose sometimes. To be a kind of reality check for her.
At first she didn’t take it so well and sometimes cheated. hehehe. But she’s a better
winner and a better loser now. She’s only 3 so there are some down times ;) 

I also got them this board game book. Mati and Adi plays with this often with Ate Kris.
Mati plays the games and Adi just plays with the chips and dice :)

Last Christmas, we also got the kids a table mat for drawing, where you could just wash
off the pen markers with water afterwards. Because of this we also save a lot on paper :)

The other day I thought it was perfect for playing Tic-tac-toe :)
Still too advanced for Adi, so she just let me draw her hands :) hehehe

So I taught Mati how. She understood the game quickly. She chose Circles, cause it’s easier for her to draw.

My X won here but I just let her win too so she wouldn’t feel so bad on her first game :)

Of course we didn’t always let her win. So she got creative :)

At one point I think she was just playing by herself.

I don’t even know what’s going on here:

After a while, I remembered that my friend, Cor, gave me a tiny Tic-Tac-Toe board as a gift.
So I let them play with that. Adi watched :)

Mati, still cheating. hehehe.

After a while they just played with the chips. At least they had fun.
That’s what games are for anyway, right? :)

Real People Who Look Like Cartoon Characters

The first time I saw Solenn Heussaff I thought she looked like a cartoon character.
Then when I saw her billboard along EDSA I figured out who she reminded me of :)

Pocahontas! :)

Then I thought, who else looks like a cartoon character. :) 
OK, these are only my opinion so if you disagree, don’t get mad at me. hehehe

Amy Yasbeck from Robin Hood, Men in Tights reminds me of Aurora from Sleeping Beauty

Anne Hathaway could be Belle from Beauty& the Beast

Kim Kardashian could be Princess Jasmine from Aladdin

Gwyneth Patlrow’s mom, Blythe Danner looks like Fauna, one of the fairies from Sleeping Beauty :)

Taylor Momsem from Gossip Girl could be Tinkerbell if you cleaned her up a bit :) hehehe

Brendan Fraser‘s look from George of the Jungle reminds me of the Beast in human
form from Beauty & the Beast (what is his name anyway?!?!)

Jericho Rosales kinda looks like Prince Charming from Cinderella

Bill Nighy from Love, Actually could be that old dude from The Little Mermaid

Katy Perry reminds me of Jem from the 80’s cartoon Jem & the Holograms :)

Jeri Ryan from Star Trek Voyager would be great as She-ra

A younger Heather Graham reminds me of Princess Melisande from The Flight of Dragons

And Burt Ward back when he was still Robin from the old Batman t.v series
could be Sir Peter from The Flight of Dragons

Jamie Foxx could be of Dr. Facilier from The Princess & the Frog

or maybe Prince? or maybe it’s just the hat. hehehe

The late Peter Boyle from Everybody Loves Rayomnd could be Gargamel from the Smurfs

Rosie O Donell or Susan Boyle could be Ursula from the Little Mermaid :) 
Susan has the right hair already in this pic

Thomas Sangster from Love, Actually reminds me of Bobble from the Tinkerbell movies

Forrest Whitaker from The Last King of Scotland kinda looks like
Tummi Gummi from the Gummi Bears :)

And lastly, if Mufasa from the Lion King were human, he’d be Fabio. hihihi

Birthday Cards for Angkong :)

Last week I told my two girls to make birthday cards for their angkong (my dad) since his birthday is this month.

I each gave them long bond papers, glue sticks and some punched out flowers I’ve had since Mati’s 2nd
birthday. I always forget to use them so it was about time I brought them out :)

I also brought out their crayons, pens and stickers and told them they could decorate their card any way they wanted.
They quickly went to work glue-ing and sticking flowers to the front of their card:)

They just love using their glue sticks ;) The front of both their cards look pretty much the same. hehehe

I also told them that they could draw a picture of angkong inside their cards. Only Mati wanted to do this though :)

That’s an arm sticking out of angkong’s face.

The thing with Mati’s people drawings is that after she draws the head of a person, she goes straight to
drawing arms and legs. No body. I’ve tried to teach her but I guess that’s her style :)

She wanted to draw the right amount of fingers and toes so first she counted Ate Kris’ fingers. 1-2-3-4-5. Ok good.

Then she counted my toes. 1-2-3. Only three?!

I wondered about that ’cause she is really good at counting, so I checked my feet.

Ay. Turns out I did have 3 toes at the time :) hehehe. (I don’t usually wear these at home. I was on my way out :D)

I told her to count Ate Kris’ toes instead.

I asked her where angkong’s body was, so she shaded the space between the legs. "Perfect", I said.

Mati posing with her finished card

Here are the insides of the finished birthday cards. Adi’s is the one on the right.
She never did tell us what she drew. I’m sure it was done with love so it’s perfect as well. hehehe

We forgot to bring them over today so dad will get them tomorrow :D

To the best dad ever! :) Happy birthday from my little family :) We love you!

Lessons I Learned Today

I learned several things today.

First lesson I learned was what Charice told Oprah about the best advice she
got from David Foster: being good is the enemy of being great.

This made me think that as a parent, I don’t want to be just a good one, I want to be a great mom to my kids.
My kids are the best and so they deserve only the best from me.

Then, thanks to my Auntie Ne, I skipped watching Community to watch a 1 hour and 16 minute lecture on youtube of Randy Pasuch, and I’m so glad I did :) (My brother RJ would know that this is big for me because he knows how much I love the show Community.)

Back in 2007, Randy gave a very inspiring lecture called Achieving your Childhood Dreams.
At that time he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and was given just months to live. It
was the last lecture he was to give.

He died in 2008 when he was 47 and left behind a wife, twin boys, and a little daughter :( 
My heart goes out to those little ones.

I learned a lot from his lecture. How "Brick walls let us show our dedication", about how
learning hard things is easier if you’re having fun,how you can choose to either be a tigger
or an Eyore, and soooo much more.

But what made me think was how this man came to be how he was: a smart, loving father &
husband (wait till the end of the lecture. that just made me tear up), who doesn’t take things for granted, 
is confident, compassionate and just so full of life ("I don’t know how to have fun, I’m dying and I’m having fun").

And then I saw glimpses of it from his lecture. Yes, he had good mentors but from the start,
he had good, wise and supportive parents.

I hope me and Mark can be like them too:)

Anyway, watch his inspiring lecture here:

His interview with Diane Sawyer is also interesting to watch. Its in 5 parts so just click on the links after this video.

O, and another thing I learned from Randy Pauschs’ short life is that TIME is the best thing I can ever give my kids.

Thank you Auntie Ne, for introducing Randy to me. I’m definitely going to read his book :)

Randy Pausch
Oct. 23, 1960 – July 25, 2008

Our La Mesa Eco Park Adventure

Last Friday, we brought the kids to the La Mesa Eco Park in Quezon City.

We first fell in love with the place back in 2006, which was why we get married there :)

While we were there, some people were going through some rescue exercises, which is why we came
across this fake accident scene:

That guy looked  convincingly dead. As in he wasn’t moving even when no one was looking :)

Anyway, the park has improved a lot since I last visited the place.

Here’s a vicinity map I got:

And there’s more stuff to do :)

Wall Climbing & rapelling, a zip line, a paintball area, bike riding, horseback riding, swimming, etc.
And entrance fees is really cheap.

It was a nice day  :) There was a cool breeze and there weren’t a lot of people. We were joined by Mark’s
mom, his sister Jeannie and her little son Fonzy.

Mati and Adi loved strolling around the park. They just love nature. Adi was walking ahead of us most
of the time. Mati wanted her hand to be held :)

Beautiful :)

The park also has a lot of these huts around. And unlike in some resorts, they don’t charge extra
if you stay in one of these :)

They also now have souvenir shops and food stalls scattered around the park

The food in the outdoor restaurant didn’t look so good though so we just got squidballs, kikiam and
hotdogs from the other stalls.

We visited the Orchidarium, which was where we had our wedding reception.
There still weren’t a lot of orchids but the place was still quite lovely.

   

I first thought that they had ponies which would have been just right for the two. They weren’t allowed to
ride the horses (for 6 yrs & up only) so they rode this instead:

And then just posed with the horses afterwards. hehehe

   

We left at around 11am. It was getting hot by that time so it was good that we were going.

We’ll be back with Noah next time :)

Hers a map on how to get there :)

La Mesa Eco Park Address: La Mesa Dam Compound, Greater Lagro, Quezon City 1118

On our way home we passed by this interesting upside down building:
(I was in the car so i couldn’t take a photo of the whole building. So I took 2 of my photos and did a bad mash-up in Photoshop. hehehe)

It’s a bakery and restaurant. I must visit this soon. Looks interesting :)

Our Sticker-covered House

This morning, I was surprised to see this smiling at me on one of our windows.

It’s the newest addition to our already sticker-covered house.

In the beginning, when it was only Mati putting stickers on our walls and just about everywhere
else, I constantly kept removing what she put to try to keep our house sticker-free.

Mati putting stickers on herself back in 2009

But when Adi came and joined her sister in the crusade to fill our house with stickers,
I just gave up removing them.

This was just about the same time I gave up trying to keep our coffee table white.

I did try to divert their attention from our furniture by putting a life-size paper cutout of
themselves on our walls. I called it "Paper Mati" & "Paper Adi" and it was to be their creative
space on the wall where they would draw and place stickers.

The 2nd "Paper Mati" back in 2009

At first Mark thought it was creepy. Especially when he walked down our hallway at night.
But the kids love it so we still have it on our wall :)

"Paper Mati 3" and "Paper Adi 2"

But it wasn’t enough for the kids, so our walls and furniture still weren’t spared from being sticker-ized.

To date, the places in our house that they’ve marked are:

Our mirror:

Our office table (i think I’ll remove this one later cause its getting yucky)

Our folder organizer:

Our doors:
 

Their toys:

On their Bumbo:

Of course on the walls:

And I just found this little heart on the bottom part of the shelf in their playroom. hehehe. It must have been Adi.

This is also why I put off repainting our walls.

I still try to remind them to just stick their sticker on to their paper selves, yet they persist in
"decorating" our house. I guess kids will be kids.

Then today it just hit me. . . .

They got it from me :) hehehe

Why did I stick a tiny penguin on our wall? Cute e!

I guess, that must be what the kids are thinking as well :)

Swimming on the Rooftop :)

My kids usually go swimming at my mom’s house, but then I thought how easy it would be to
set up a small pool on our rooftop. So the other day I bought them a small inflatable pool.

And today they had their first swim at home :) 

Before lunch, we took turns (Mati, Adi, me & Ate Kris) pumping air in the pool and set it up first in the
t.v. room. They were super comfortable sitting in it while watching their Kid Song video.

Afterwards, while they were taking their nap, I prepared the stuff that we’d be needing.

Pool and rubber mats. Check. Monobloc chairs and towels. Check.
Sunblock and rubber duckies. Check.

Pancit to eat after swimming. Check.

Ice cream after eating pancit. Check.

And after the kids finally woke up from their nap at around 3:30pm, we brought
the pool and pails of water up our elevator

And set up our pool! :) Yay!



After changing into their bathing suits, my brood excitedly went back upstairs . . .

 

. . .and finally got into the pool :)

I wonder what Adi is doing with the duckie here

Anyway, the kids had a blast so we’ll be doing this again sometime soon :) 

Hooray for summer and for tiny swimming trunks!!! hihihi