I sorted through the school supplies last week in order to salvage what I can and reuse for next school year. Through the mess, I found several treasures: unused boxes of modeling clay, pencils, slightly used erasers, three, yes, 3! same brand and make of sharpeners, ps3 hdmi cables, crayons and pad papers.

What I saved will be used next school year. The kids are used to this practice, why even my eldest daughter “rotates” her school bags. I think the one she used this school year was her sixth grade bag. Or maybe fifth grade?

There were crayons, slightly used pencils, several notebooks as well as textbooks that I put in a big plastic container to be given to the DIY guy with 7 kids. I hope he gets to send them back to school but that would probably be wishful thinking.

Summer vacation is here and we have been sleeping in for several days. I don’t really miss my 4:30am wake-up call. What I really miss are my “me time” with my hoop and Zumba. I can’t possibly do these while the children are at home, they’d think I’m running a comedy show, LOL!

The downside of having the children around is an increase in food budget. They chomp, chomp and chomp endlessly. I also don’t get to write the posts and articles I need to finish because I can’t concentrate. Reading up on cirrhosis, hgh supplements and some additional info for teaching program I am collating is taking a long time to accomplish. It’s as if my brain took a summer vacation too.

What to do to keep the children busy this summer:

• Enroll them in a summer program, not necessarily academics but something that they will enjoy: swimming, sports, arts among others.
• Give the children a schedule of the things they can do at home, not exactly like the one they have in school, for them to not just keep track of time but to keep themselves busy.
• Have them start a hobby: gardening, collecting things that interest them or blogging.
• Limit the time they spend online and encourage them to enagage in physical activities (see the first suggestion)
• Have them make a goal of what they want to be able to master this summer, be it baking cupcakes or playing the guitar.

House chores and I are not best friends. I’d rather cook than wash dishes. I’d rather do the laundry than iron clothes. With what I like and not like to do, I have to devise ways on how I can make house chores easier for me.

How?

• “Clean as you go” policy by cleaning up little messes as I go along like picking up small pieces of trash on the dining table, on the floor, on the glass table where we study and where I do my online work.
• Try to clean daily, early in the morning, if need be by sweeping the floor, wiping dust off furniture, cord covers, behind desks, the TV and computers and (sometimes) under the tables and couch.
• Have designated places for knick-knacks though I plan to do away with these that are gathering dusts.

It is important to practice time saving tips to avoid a major cleanup which takes a lot of time and energy.

My main problem is DUST. I think even if I just dusted a while ago, everything is dusty again! Our home is not as squeaky clean as I want it to be but I take comfort in the saying: “A house becomes a home when you write ‘I love you’ on the furniture” Author Unknown from Dust If You Must. LOL

We’ve been experiencing cool weather for several weeks and let me just say “I love the cool nights and even cooler mornings”. Sometimes it is so cold I think we even need socks to warm the feet while bathing. Am kidding of course.

Last week we got the children extra socks for warming the feet. Every time I go out I see people wearing arm and leg sleeves to ward off the cold. These will not exactly function like compression stockings though the appearance are almost the same.

What can parents do to protect their children from getting sick due to the cold weather? continue reading this entry »

Christmas Eve is finally here, one of the most anticipated days of the year.

My children are giddy with excitement to open their gifts and spend Christmas day together (as if we are not together everyday, haha!) as we share the special meals I will prepare.

On Christmas Day we troop to my in-laws place and spend the day with them. As my usual practice of frugal Christmas, I’ll be giving baked goodies probably like these chocolate surprise cookies in reusable containers. Good thing I got some loot I managed to stash carefully for giving away like bottles of beauty products, promtional tea and coffee samples, bottles of spray cologne, mugs and even pens

And because it is Christmas Eve, our home is now being filled with traditional Christmas carols, not just to set the mood right but also to remind us that we are celebrating this day because God gave His Son to us.

The Advent wreath and the tree is surrounded by gifts from people who love us (us = kids) and the ingredients for tonight’s feast are on the table. It truly IS Christmas Eve right now.

Exactly last year, I wrote about celebrating Christmas amidst the hardship or the financial strains. For me, I’ve learned to cope not just during Christmas and knowing how to have fun without sacrificing on quality.

I’ve learned to scrimp and splurge wisely, not just in writing I guess, but in real life.

Merry Christmas everyone and let’s celebrate the real reason why we have Christmas which can be found in the word itself so we need not look far

Hubby has entered into an agreement to do extra work for the company of a family friend’s mom. I know that this means extra time working and extra stress too, not just for him but for me who wait up for him to come home late almost every night during workweek. And yes, I have to wake up around 4am to cook packed lunches for the school children.

The logistics of setting up the cozy (ok, I just made the term nicer, cozy = messy-full-of-children’s-books and knick-knacks) home office slash library and equip this with rack mount PC and other new hardware seems to be a daunting task. Not because he needs to put in new things there but because there is so much junk to sift through, LOL.

continue reading this entry »