family time Archives - Page 3 of 6

A Fun + Educational Road Trip With Mom & Me Fun Circuit

October 9, 2013 10 Comments

lifestyle, events, travel, educational activities for children, spending quality time with your children, weekends, family time — on board the colorful Fun bus!

The Mom & Me Fun Circuit had all the elements of a fun and educational Saturday bonding for mums and their kiddos: a music lesson in Rizal Park, an art class in Shaw, and a trip to a museum in the Fort. My little man was so excited when we took the trip to the meeting place at SM Megamall and cannot wait to ride the fun bus that will take us to our 3 different destinations for the afternoon. He also enjoyed watching his favorite film, Rise of the Guardians, and his new fave, Meet the Robinsons, while on board.

1st Stop: Mabuhay Restop

It was our first time at Mabuhay Restop and the eco drumming workshop hosted by Fred De Mesa and Job Vesh is something even I have never experienced before. They taught the children and the mums how to make good music using recycled mineral bottle gallons and the little ones really enjoyed creating beautiful beats with their very interesting musical instruments. They also showed us several nice-looking instruments that came from different parts of the country, as well as from abroad like the didjeredoo, which is a native instrument from Australia.

Excited at the prospect of seeing a lot of children in one place, my little man was being his ever-rowdy self and found a little girl playmate to whom he showed and played with his Transformers toys which he stashed on his backpack earlier before we leave.

Mabuhay Restop is a lovely place to visit, I just hope we had more time to explore around and probably sample the treats they are serving.

Second Stop: KidzArt

After our music lesson, we then traveled back to Mandaluyong for an art class at KidzArt, which is located in 500 Zentrum in Shaw Boulevard.

Upon entering, Jared was looking for his playschool teacher probably thinking we are going there since I told him earlier that we are going to school. He also fussed a bit about the apron but agreed to put on the orange one after awhile. Too bad I was not able to take some snaps.

A fizzing ball of energy, my little one managed to knock out a small bottle filled with water and enjoyed making a racket by dropping multiple paperclips onto the water. But apart from that, I was never more proud when he diligently finished creating his DIY photo frame, enjoying watercolor painting and finished painting his clouds and grass. He also painted a cutout ball and a car, and with a little help from teacher and mum, pasted them onto his frame. I cannot wait to put up his new lovely frame at home!

Before we leave this venue, we also had a little raffle, where I won a pack of Marvel heroes-designed Bite Block Natural Citronella patches which Jared cannot wait to use and a sample pack of Tiny Buds Baby Bottle and Utensil Wash, and special awards to little participants were also doled out.

Third Stop: The Mind Museum

I have always wanted to bring the little man to this place, so it is the primary reason why I really wanted to attend this event. Originally, we are to watch and enjoy a bubble show at the Science-in-the-Park section of the museum, but unfortunately, we are running rather late that day, what with the heavy Saturday afternoon traffic, and arrived to Bonifacio Global City after sunset. Instead, we just visited the museum and explored their numerous exhibits and displays, as well as watched an educational scientific show in one of their 3D cinemas. Jared managed to keep the 3D shades on for the longest time ever! 😀

mum musings

Celebrating Grandparents’ Day

September 9, 2013 No Comments

we saw this tree and the little man exclaimed that it was the tree where Ron’s flying car got caught in Harry Potter, what do you think?

Unfortunately my parents passed on a few years before my little man was born, so Jared was not able to experience how is it to be loved and pampered by his grandparents. I would love for my son to grow up knowing all about my parents and being familiar with their ways even when he was not able to meet them, so I tell him stories and fond memories of how my Mama and Papa were. I know for sure that even when they are no longer around, they would often look down on us from Heaven and see how the little one is growing up to be one fine man. I am sure they are laughing and smiling at his antics, too! 🙂

So in time for Grandparents’ Day,and thankfully the weather cooperates even when it drizzled for a while when we were on our way, we visited my parents graves at the memorial. We also made a quick side trip to the local plant sellers in Tabang. The pot of plants that used to adorn my parents’ tomb was lost the last time they cleaned up the memorial grounds and we were not able to find them so we decided to buy a couple of flowering plants to add color to our favorite Sunday destination. We decided to get a couple of those little flowers which I am not sure what the name is and a pot of rose, too. We thought the rainy season was the perfect time to place those plants in the grave since the rain water will constantly keep them drenched and will not wither and die all too easily. I am sure my parents will love these new additions to their resting place.

I was not able to take snaps of the little man during our visit as the rain started pouring once more. Too bad ’cause I find him too cute in his black jacket which he insisted we bring along so he won’t get wet. He also painstakingly held our umbrella even when it is much bigger for his size.

Col. Sanders cute keychain are the current KFC freebies. We love it!

After our visit to the memorial, we went to Waltermart to buy dinner from KFC, where we got these cute keychains as freebies, and went to my parents’ home to eat there with my brother and sister. My niece and nephew where also there at the time so it was such a welcome treat. It has been awhile since Jared and I last saw them and we missed them both so much. They even challenged me and my sister for a round of Pinoy Henyo, which I have not tried before so I was very much willing to take the challenge.

It wasn’t easy this Pinoy Henyo game. I really had a difficult time guessing the word that was assigned to me, considering it was my niece who thought of it. My, how can you even guess the word baul {treasure chest}, we don’t even have one at home! In the end, it was my niece who won the game while the nephew got preoccupied with other stuff while we are playing. The little man, on the other hand, was just too delighted to be with his cousins and to be back in our home again.

How did you celebrate Grandparents’ Day? I’d love to read all about it in a comment below. 🙂

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occasions

Birthday Movie Date: Disney Planes

September 3, 2013 11 Comments

occasions, movie date, birthdays, movies, family time — at the SM North Cinema, after seeing the film

The little man had been wanting to see this new Disney movie, Planes, since he first saw the trailer on youtube. That is why on his very special day, we decided to go to Manila and watched the film as part of our celebration. After a hearty lunch at Aristocrat and a short visit to the toy store, where the little man got a complete set of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figures, plus another new Cars diecast, as his birthday gifts, we then trooped to the cinema to finally see the film.

The characters in this movie are rather familiar as it was made by the same guys who created our favorite Cars film and this was a spin-off of our beloved Lightning McQueen adventures.

Planes in a nutshell

The film is all about Dusty Crophopper and his dream to be a high-flying air racer someday. The problem is as his name suggests, Dusty is not built for high-flying and racing as he is a simple crop duster plane. Even his mechanic friend, Dottie, advise him against it. But this will not dishearten Dusty, together with his friend, Chug, they practiced hard through the night so he can join the qualifiers for the upcoming race, Wings Across the World. Come race time, he wowed the audience and the contestants alike with his well-maneuvered moves and his bold flying. Unfortunately he came in 6th in the race where the first 5 qualified. But a sudden turn of events led a representative of the qualifier to Dusty’s town bearing the good news that he is now in 5th place as the original 5th placer was disqualified due to illegal activities. Dusty then set out to train with navy war plane, Skipper, and worked on his speed and agility in preparation for the contest.

During the race, Dusty made friends with the eccentric Mexican race-plane El Chupacabra and fell in love with another race plane, Ishani. He also bumped into fellow racers, Ripslinger, who is the crowd favorite, as well as the beautiful French-Canadian racer, Rochelle.

The race brought Dusty and his fellow racers to different parts of the world, from New York to Iceland, to Germany, to Agra in India where they visited the Taj Mahal, to Nepal, to Shanghai, from Pacific Ocean to Mexico, and finally, back to New York for the finish. At the beginning of the race, Dusty started slow and always ended up last. Although, he slowly gained popularity among the racers and the spectators with his commendable show of sportsmanship and concern to his fellow racers. Towards the middle of the race, Dusty slowly gained speed and started placing in the race. And even when Ripslingers’ sidekicks, Ned and Zed tried to thwart him too often, he managed to land top spot in the race.

Dane Cook gives his voice to Dustry Crophopper while other popular celebrities also lend their talent to give life to the other characters, including Teri Hatcher {Dottie}, Cedric the Entertainer {Leadbottom}, Val Kilmer {Bravo} and Anthony Edwards {Echo}.

Why We Love The Film

Everybody loves the underdog so I bet everyone will love Dusty Crophopper and his adventures, the little man + I did! His story is one that inspires anyone to persevere and to work hard to be successful in the end. Also, apart from showing an all-too-familiar landscape and with the tractors making a cameo, Planes is very much like the movie Cars and Cars2, you’d expect Lightning McQueen and his friends showing up at any given time. The friendly yet fierce mechanic Dottie also reminds us of the lovable Guido. 😀 The little man also enjoyed the lovely songs played throughout the film.

Go watch it with your little ones, if you haven’t already! 🙂