Blendimals and Snapimals

Blendimals and Snapimals

It's been a while since I've done an app review. It's been a while since I've blogged. I've encountered a few blog worthy apps, but I'll narrow it down to two.

Blendimals

Imagine if animals only had one skill each. To reach your goal, you need the skills of different animals. But you can only use one. What do you do? You blend them together, of course!

It's a chill game. The colorful graphics are easy on the eyes. The levels will make you assess which animals you'll need. There are some levels that require well timed moves, but nothing that will give you carpal tunnel syndrome.

I finished this game :) 

Try it out for free or can download the full version for $2.99.

Snapimals

Are you a camera addict? A wannabe photographer? You love the zoo, the jungle, and animals in general? Then this game is for you!

You start off with a roll of film (5 shots) and a jungle tour. Snap those animals (snapimals!) when you see them. At the end of your tour, you choose three photos. The photos you choose will be rated and may become post cards or displays in the museum. You will also get coins for the photos.

You have a maximum of 3 rolls of film. Film takes 30 minutes to generate.

You earn different camera lens. How to change the camera lens? I'll let you know once I find out.

The goal is to develop your museum, which is located in what could be a Jurassic Park - uninhabited, isolated island dedicated only for your museum. Hahaha! And that's the part I don't like. I'm over games like Farmville, Snoopy Fair, and Dragonvale. (However, I have a love-hate relationship with Samurai Siege.)

Download Snapimals here.

I Am Fat

I am fat.

I got a cramp this morning. I sat on the bed, stretched my leg, pulled my big toe. As i was doing that, I got a good look at my leg. It was fat, making my short legs (what can you expect from a girl who's one fourth of an inch short of five feet?) look even shorter.

For the first time in I don't know how long (too long!), I took a good look at myself.

I know I've been putting on weight (I've recently minimized my rice intake), but my face is soooo round and everything else is thick! In addition to that, I know I've developed grey hair, but now they're in clusters!

I used to take care of myself. I used to dress up. I used to always be made up. I think I should start doing that again. I'm thinking of starting with contouring makeup and a flat top brush.

Separation Of Church And State

Separation Of Church And State

My understanding of separation of church and state, in simple terms, is the state takes care us during our life on earth (security, economy, health, etc) while the church takes care of our life after death (salvation, entry to land with a river of milk and honey, a better life upon reincarnation, etc).

Will same sex marriage endanger the lives of the Filipino? I don't see how. So, why can't we legalize it?

Will artificial birth control methods (aka contraception) put the Filipino in harm's way? I don't think so. Then why doesn't it have the government's full support?

Will birth control and same sex marriage guarantee eternal damnation of the soul? That is no longer the government's concern.

Just my two cents...

Priveledge, Right or Duty?

Privilege, Right or Duty?

Having recently moved to Davao City, I had no intentions of flying to Manila in May (and again in October) just to vote. I mean I could. But then that would mean I'm going to be voting for some officials that won't be directly affecting me and my family.

This is the last week for registration and all that jazz. So, I found my way to the Comelec (short for Commission on Elections) center. I asked if I could request change my information and after three and a half hours in the first queue, I was given the form to fill out to make my request. (Yay!!!)

After another 30 minutes (yup, just 30 minutes this time), my form was all filled out and approved.

The last step was the data capture (where they encode all my information), biometrics (they took some fingerprints) and photo taking for the voter's id. I didn't have the energy to get in line again, so I decided to go back the next day for that last step.

Yesterday, when I got off work at 7am (yes, I work nights), I freshened up then headed back to the Comelec center. I arrived a few minutes before opening. They promptly started letting people in at 8 o'clock. I was the first person in line for the last step. And in five minutes, I was done!

My last post, I said it was official, I'm a resident of Davao.

As of yesterday, I'm a voting resident of Davao.

During the initial three and a half hour wait, my reading was put to a halt when my battery reached 20%. I didn't think to pack the powerbank that morning.

With nothing to do, my mind wandered. I got to asking "is voting a priviledge, a right or a duty?" 


Maybe I'll share my thoughts in later posts (or not). 

Hello, Davao!

Hello, Davao!

lt’s official. I am now a resident of Davao.

I arrived today with Monch, Tia, Yayay and Kobe. Dada has been here since November last year for work. It feels great to be a family again.

I’ve lived in Metro Manila almost all my life. I’ve moved from Better Living, Paranaque to Horseshoe Village, QC, to Pasig City to Malate, Manila to Makati City.

The first time I ventured out of Luzon was when I was in college. Domestic travel for me was mostly with in driving distance. When I met the Ramon, that’s when I ventured down South - Bohol, Boracay, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu.

And now, starting today, I am a resident of Davao City, located in the very southern part of the Philippines.

I hope I survive!

Globe Academy - Best Choice For Us

I lost the battle on homeschooling. And I'm glad that I did. School has proven to be lots of fun - not just for Monch but for me, too. I've found friends in the mommies of the other students. But more than anything, school has done for Monch a lot of the things that I could and would not have been able to do.

Yesterday was Monch's moving up day. He got his certificate of completion in Nursery. The day before that I received his report card and yearbook. I can see Monch graduating from Globe Academy. I can see Tia going to school here and graduating here, too.

I can still remember the first time I set foot inside Globe Academy. Teacher Glaiza and Yayay attended to Monch as Teacher Faith and I talked.

Being a mom looking for her first child's first school, I had a lot of questions. Having been Teacher Happy in my previous job, I had a lot more.

Here are some of the reasons, I chose Globe Academy:

• The teachers have work experience from big schools. (This was a very big issue for me.)
• Graduates from Globe Academy have continued on to the known schools in the Makati Area.
• Globe Academy has been in existence for 10 years, around 5 years with the current directress. (This is proof of their quality of education they offer.)
• They have a dynamic curriculum. An example of this is when they added the Filipino subject to their Senior Kinder curriculum to help the students when they start Grade 1.
• Their approach is a mix of progressive, traditional, and Montessori.
• Bathrooms are kiddie sized. (I just loooove this small detail.)
• Report cards have socio-emotional and physical development included. It is based on proficiency.

These are the reasons we'll stay...

• Monch loves going to school. 
• The teachers are great!

Hit The Pause Button Please

Hit The Pause Button Please

Yesterday, Tia's first tooth broke out. This morning she was on all fours long enough and often enough for me to get a picture. Then tonight, her second tooth broke out, too.

In less than a week, she's going to be six months old... And I feel I haven't held her enough, carried her enough, slept with her enough nor played with her enough.

Can someone hit the pause button please. Time's passing by too fast. While you're at it, feel free to hit rewind.

Ow Naturale!

Ow Naturale!

For some reason, I had a really strong feeling I was gonna deliver my second child on August 4, 2013. So when August 4 came, Titor insisted we stay home. And since we stayed home, my belly and I stayed horizontal and didn't give gravity a chance. Titor asked me to stay home til the baby came out. I agreed.

But my friend's birthday was coming up and he asked us out to dinner. Some girl time. I wasn't feeling any contractions - not even Braxton hicks. So, Thursday night, August 8, I met up with friends and former colleagues in front of my old office. We were supposed to grab a cab but there weren't any cabs. We decided to walk to the jeepney stop and take a jeepney.

We got off at the stop in front of Rustan's Ayala. We were heading for Italianni's Glorietta but found out we were having dinner at Italianni's Greenbelt. So we walked on to Greenbelt. 

Dinner was great... I was comfortable with the company. The conversation was light and entertaining. The food was just the way I liked it. The only complaint we all had was the use of paper straws - which easily became one of our topics.

Some time after ordering but before the food arrived, I had a contraction. A major contraction. A no questions asked contraction. I didn't want to alarm anyone so I decided to keep it to myself first. I planned to go home when I had a second contraction. The evening proceeded without any further activity from my belly.

On our way home, we had trouble finding a cab again. We had to walk from one taxi stop to another. A lot of people were out since the next day was a non-working holiday. We found a cab and told the driver our route - we'd drop off some people at the office, then we'd drop off our other friend at a building near my place, then I would be the last stop.

In the cab, I go another contraction. And then another. And then another... But they were still more than five minutes apart. When I got home, I greeted everyone, sat down on the sofa, got my phone and started the contraction timer app.

It was just in time because I had another contraction. I timed it to last 1 minute and 30+ seconds. That was the only contraction I got to time. The contractions came one after the other. I almost didn't make it to the car because there wasn't enough time between contractions to make it off the sofa and walk to the car.

I did manage to call my doctor and I called the clinic so that they would expect us.

It was almost midnight when we got to the clinic. I delivered my Tia at 12:49. And not a minute too soon. If she had not come out then, she would have been at risk of meconium aspiration. 

I know I'm posting really late. But I remember it just like it was yesterday.

Lost Eden is Paradise Lost

Lost Eden is Paradise Lost

Last Friday, I took the kids to Lost Eden. 

I read extensively on the Lost Eden and I was impressed. I grew up in Paranaque. I am an animal lover so, I was no stranger to the Bio-Research branch on Sucat Road. And yet, I never knew how big the land was. Or that there was a park of sorts back there.

Sadly, when we got there I was immediately disappointed. I didn't want first impressions to cloud my judgement so, I cheered myself up with the thought that we might be at the back office. The actual park must be much better. 

But that wasn't the case...

They say a picture paints a thousand words.

At the parking lot, my three year old, Monch, was not impressed. Trust me, that's saying a lot because my three year old is easily hyped.


I'm surprised there's more than one iguana. This tank was placed pretty high. I had to carry Monch for him to see it. And even after seeing it, he still was not impressed.

Then there's Georgia. Our guide was really hyped up about her. Telling us that when they first got her she was only so many feet long, but now she's so much longer. (Sorry I forgot the exact numbers.) Found it hard to appreciate Georgia when I could barely see her.



Making the most of our trip, we posed beside the miniature Mayon Volcano and Cagsawa ruins. This will have to do until the kids get a little older, then I'll take them to see the real Mayon Volcano.






This peacock was gorgeous. I'm a sucker for peacocks. And he even showed off his feathers.

It's too bad he was so far away though. And sad, too, that he's in there with so many other birds.

The best part of the trip is the butterflies. They breed their own butterflies. Our guide gave me a caterpillar to hold. 

Ugh! 

But I had to be brave because Monch was there. I didn't want him flinching and being scared of caterpillars. Turns out it wasn't so bad after all. My five month old baby, Tia, on the other had, tried to grab it with intentions of tasting it.

I liked the concept of their Chinese horoscope wishing wells. I threw in a coin and wished for the improvement of the facility.

Check out the grass (or weeds) in the path.



Lost Eden has a lot of potential, and I can actually imagine it during it's glory days. But it has not been maintained. The property is for sale. The employees don't get paid in time. It looks like mis-management at every angle. It's really sad for the animals there.

Yuletide Marshmallow Test

Yuletide Marshmallow Test

I know I'm a day late, but... 

Merry Christmas to you and your kids!

It was Tia's first Christmas. Just like with Monch back in 2010, it was more for us than it was for her. 

For, Monch, however, it was a different story. This was the first Christmas that he actually had an idea of what was happening around him. He knows who Santa Claus is. He recognized Christmas decorations as markers of the season. And since he's in pre-school now, he exchanged gifts with friends and teachers and even attended the school Christmas party. But the biggest success is that he did not open his gifts until December 25th.

Excited for Christmas, as early as mid-November, I had bought three Lamaze hanging dolls for Tia's Christmas gifts. On November 30th, I went and bought Monch his first Christmas gift, a huge The Very Hungry Caterpillar themed coloring book. I went ahead and wrapped it and put it under our young Christmas tree. (I say young cause we got a live one.)

Of course when Monch saw it, he wanted to open it right away. I explained that it was for Christmas. I told him to get his iPad. When he got it, I told him that we can open his gift when the date became 25. And this became the start of our version of the marshmallow test. A 25-day long marshmallow test. A Yuletide marshmallow test.

Almost every morning, when he woke up, he would go to his iPad and check the date. At the start he'd be "Aw! It's not 25 yet." By the end of the second week, he would announce the date every  morning, like "Mamam, it's 15, not 25, 15."

At the start every time someone gave him a Christmas gift, I had to remind him not to open the gift. By the time they had his school Christmas party (December 14), I only had to remind him once that he had to wait before opening gifts. He would wait for us to get home. As soon as we got home, he'd get the gift and put it under the Christmas tree.

On December 24th, we had Christmas eve dinner with his dada's family. We got home at around 11:40pm. He was starting to get cranky because he was sleepy. Playing with his cousins usually tires him out like that. After we had settled down, I let him nurse. After that it was time to open gifts. While he was nursing, I asked him to check his iPad if it was the 25th yet. He went down and checked but it was still a few minutes shy of midnight. He started playing a game. When it was midnight, his dada and I asked him to check the date again. He got a bit upset because he was playing a game and he had just checked a few minutes earlier. But we finally convinced him and he was sooooo happy!!!

I'm surprised I got him to pose by the Christmas tree with all the presents before he started opening. I was so proud of him that he was able to hold out. 

I'm looking forward to the time when Tia will also appreciate Christmas. After all, I honestly believe that Christmas is for kids.

Do you wait for Christmas to open your gifts?

Mom Of Two Now

Mom Of Two Now

So, wow! It's been a while. Every week, I think to myself, "I'm going to blog this week." And every week, I never get around to doing so.

I'm a mom of two now. Yay!!!

I'm a mom of two now!

It's really crazy. Last December I found out I was pregnant with my second child. An extremely unexpected surprise. 

Around the same time, I started working again. No, I'm not back in the office. I finally found a home based job that works for me (or works with my erratic hours is more like it). Everyone, from the management to my colleagues, has been very supportive.

In June, my son started preschool. I take him to school and wait for him for three and a half hours. I gained new friends in the mothers who are as dedicated to their children as I am. 

Last August, I gave birth to a beautiful (she's my daughter!), bouncing baby girl.

That's when the juggling act  really began... My newborn who needs me, my son who was adjusting to not having my complete attention all the time, my job which has been so good to me. I could not afford to drop anything... And I didn't want to either. Yeah, the relationship with baby daddy's been challenged, but we're thankful for the little bursts of together time we get - and we always eat dinner together. 

I have so many stuff in my head that I want to blog about. I'll list them here and hopefully I'll get to writing soon:

• delivering my daughter
• Globe Academy and my new found friends
• Indigobaby's Jar of Love
• Our Christmas version of the marshmallow test
• U16 personalized chocolate wrappers

On The Topic Of The Upcoming Elections

Elections are just a few days away. 

I'm so glad that it's mother's day tomorrow or else my social media networks would be all about politics, and more frustratingly (if there is a word) the bashing of candidates that they don't think are worthy to be voted for... Specifically one Nancy Binay.

Let me make it clear, I am not endorsing Nancy. I have always been and probably always will be very secretive about who I vote for.

I'm just so sick and tired of seeing stuff about her in my timeline. 

She's dark. Oh my goodness!!! Seriously? What does skin color have to do with public service! How dense can some people get?

She hasn't attended any debates. She has been quoted to say that she will be doing a lot of debating once she is in office. And it makes sense doesn't it? Her debating now will not gain anything, really. It's just a showing off of intellect and I'm pretty sure most of the candidates are intellectual. We don't need intellectual people in office, we need people who know and can address the issues of the majority. 

I doubt if the majority of the voters understand the issues and the positions during debates. 

She has insufficient experience. I think that her being a personal assistant to her parents is pretty good experience. Let's not look down at the position because of the word "assistant". The role of a assistants are very important. Take for example, the Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, his tasks are way important. And, (haha) how about dear Miss Pepper Potts? My point is, sometimes, the assistant does pretty much everything for the person she's assisting for, without the glory. 

She's just using her family name. And so what if she is? First and foremost, she's not the only one, so stop singling her out. Next, at least her family has been in politics. It's really quite simple, you know that phrase "(s)he comes from a long line of ___", it's pretty much the same thing with politics, even better for her since she works closely with her parents. 

And so much more... I think they took a very wise campaign strategy. She reached out to the majority of the voters. I am sure that the masses will remember the candidates that came to visit them, faced them, talked to them, listened to them (maybe). 

Let's not forget, elections are about who wins... And as long as there's not foul involved (and sadly, sometimes even if there is) the end justifies the means.

Lastly... Instead of posting why people should not vote for her, please post who you think we should vote for and why.

Just Moved... Too Fast

I am still very upset. We moved in two weeks ago. And  now, we are looking for a new place… again! We are going to have to move… again!

When I started looking for a place to move, my initial questions were always:

1.       Is the place pet friendly?

I have a five year old Shih Tzu and there’s a standing joke that he is our first born. He’s family and home just wouldn’t be home without him.

2.       Is there a dedicated parking spot?

It was quite an ordeal. Most of the places I liked answered no to one or both of my questions. And the places that were pet friendly and offered dedicated parking spot were not up to my standards. We were checking this one unit that wasn’t to our liking when the broker offered a condominium just outside the city.

We checked out the place and fell in love. We were careful though and decided not to jump into anything. We kept in touch with the broker. They guaranteed us that the place was pet friendly and that although it didn’t have a dedicated parking slot; we were guaranteed a slot in a specific lane where three cars would fit.

We went to visit the place a second time to see it again before making our decision. On the third visit we decided to close the deal. Contracts were signed and the place was ours!

On the evening of the day we moved it, we had pizza delivered to celebrate… And well, everything was still in their boxes so preparing a meal would be quite a challenge. When the deliver guy arrived, my dog barked… He is after all my canine doorbell. A few minutes later the building doorman, came up to tell us that dogs are not allowed in the building.

To make a long story short, I brought this up with the broker. And the reply? I never mentioned anything about dogs in this condo unit. I mentioned it at the start but I never mentioned it when we were checking this place out. I was so upset. I sent them a message saying that they knew right from the start that I had a dog. For them to offer me a place that is not pet friendly was very wrong of them and for them not to admit to that mistake proves that they were merely scamming me for my money. All they cared about was the money. Then I said thank you. They tried terribly to redeem themselves after my message. I have received numerous messages, missed calls and emails. But I’m sorry, the damage is done.

Pregnancy Symptoms

I found out last week that I’m pregnant. I was a whole lot of mixed emotions. I was not planning on another child, but we were not doing anything to stop it either. But it still caught me off guard. I haven’t even gotten around to my first baby’s baptism.

As I mentioned, this baby wasn’t really planned. But we weren’t exactly doing anything to prevent getting pregnant. I was kind of set on just having one child but now that another one is along the way, I guess the timing is right. They will be three years apart. And I’ll have the child will be born before I turn 40.

My pregnancy symptoms are the same. I am always dizzy and my tummy is always upset. There’s so much I want to eat, but when the food is there, I can’t eat a lot. I easily get full. I always end up eating in small amounts.

I have frequent visits to the bathroom. If it is not to pee, it is to throw up. There have been times that I didn’t make it to the bathroom so; I have a barf bag at my bedside. I seem to know only three rooms in the house - the bathroom, the kitchen and the bedroom.

I’m always hungry and thirsty. And yet, I can’t eat in large portions. So, I’m always in the kitchen for a bite. I usually finish my lunch in three visits. I try to keep my snacks healthy. I’m usually munching on crackers, dried fruits or nuts, and water.

I’ve had to leave the house on occasion, mostly to pick up some groceries. They have not been pleasant trips. While I’m out, I keep feeling like I’m going to faint. And I feel so ungraceful, like I’m stomping down the aisles instead of my usual gliding.

The first trimester is probably the worst for me. Even during my first pregnancy. But after the first trimester, it is usually lots of fun… Until the big d-day.

Overall, though, I’m excited about having another baby. And I’d like to have a baby girl. I mean, I love my son and all, but I want to experience having a daughter, too. And I don’t want to have any more kids after my second baby. In fact, as early as now, I’m already considering some kind of permanent birth control method. What’s your take on permanent birth control methods?

Time Flies

I received a first birthday party invitation the other day. How time passes…

My baby is now two years and seven months old. And it still feels like just yesterday I was pregnant with my son. I love being pregnant. I loved being pampered. I loved being able to eat anything I wanted. I loved the attention. I wasn’t too keen on people touching in belly, though – especially strangers! But what I loved most was how I felt so close to my baby.

When I first came in to confirm my pregnancy, I underwent an ultrasound. I was given a printout of the results. And there he was, just a tiny speck. The doctor pointed him out to me. I could not believe that there was a little being growing inside of me.

I looked forward to every pre-natal checkup. I loved to hear his heartbeat. I needed to hear his heartbeat each time and make sure that he was still there. I loved getting my belly measured. It was comforting to know that he was growing on schedule.

When my baby became strong enough to kick, it was such joy! I was instructed to do a motion count every day. Motion counting is when I count my baby’s motions until he makes 10 moves. And he has to complete the 10 moves within an hour. I only had to do this once a day, but I would do it at least twice.

Fetal hiccups were just as fun. Fetal hiccups would just come out of the blue. What made them special is that they did not happen all the time. I would be in the middle of lunch and suddenly there we go with fetal hiccups. Or maybe I was shopping for maternity clothes or baby stuff and I’d be surprised with fetal hiccups.

I felt extremely close to my baby during my pregnancy. And I’ll probably never be that physically close to him ever again. In fact in the last few weeks of my pregnancy I got a bit sad. I almost did not want my deliver day to arrive. As much as I wanted to be able to finally see my child and hold him in my arms, I wanted to keep him safe in me longer. I wanted to shield him from the realities of the world.

But I could not stop time. He’s two years old and seven months now. He’ll be going to school soon.

What I'm Good At...

So, 10 months and 7 blog posts later... I quit my stint as a preschool teacher... and marketing officer.

It was a long 10 months. It took up a lot of my time. So much time that I barely got to blog. Honestly, I felt like so much of my time, my efforts, my thoughts, my LIFE was sucked in by the school. It just wasn't worth it. I mean, I loved teaching... And I loved the kids! But after my two hour class, it was a completely different story.

I was no longer happy with what I was happening. So much was expected from me with very little resources. Not just limited resources, limited support, too. I was handling most of the classes. I was handling marketing but I had a limited budget. My last two or three months, I barely had any brochuresnto distribute.

In addition to that, I went through two nannies and my little one lacked in discipline.

I was becoming miserable... Even on paydays. I mean, it's not like I joined the company for the money anyway.

I joined the company because of the benefit of 80% off on tuition for my little one. The school was accredited by the International Preschool Curriculum. It boasts that they are the only school in the Philippines accredited by the IPC. The curriculum and lesson plans were suppose to be approved by the IPC. I was a lead preschool teacher, I never saw the curriculum. And I never had to get my lesson plans approved. Plus, the owner has been having doubts about whether or not to continue the IPC accreditation. So, I figured, the only reason I was working there was for my little one's education, but if the quality of education is substandard, even if it's free, I wouldn't send my kid to school there.

Don't get me wrong, when we first started our toddler classes there, the school was great. But things changed...

And it wasn't a change for the better.

So, now that I got that off my chest... I can move on.

I think I'll stick to stuff I'm good at. I'm good at writing. I'm good at raising my son. I'm good at customer service. I'm good at admin stuff. I'm good at party planning. Yeah, I'll stick to what I'm good at.

Body Symbol... Simple... Fun...

Body Symbol...

Have you ever seen that collection of pictures of a girl with her arms in funny positions then when you look at all the pictures together, her arms form a heart shape? I wanted to do that. But, being a mother to an active two year old, I would probably need forever to be able to do that on my own. Imagine my elation, when I discovered the app Body Symbol!


Simple...

It's super easy to use. Chose the symbol you want. Then click on a block. That will bring up the camera app. There will be a line for you to follow. Use whatever fits your fancy to cover that line and take the picture. Do the same until all the blocks contain a photo. Then export the photo. Simple.


Fun...

In the pictures above I got four or five of Monch's cars and used them to form the letter M, the car shape, and the number 2.

The creator of Body Symbol gave me the full version for free. It has 102 symbols and comes with 30 blank blocks so that you can create your own.

Download Body Symbol for free here.

Phantom of the Opera

Phantom of the Opera


A little while ago, I got hold of a DVD of The Phantom of the Opera at the Albert Hall. Watching it, I got goose bumps and decided that watching it live would definitely be on my bucket list. I promised myself that on my next trip to America, I was going make sure to watch it on Broadway.

Then one morning, driving to work, I hear an ad on the radio. I could not believe it! They were coming to the Philippines. I got hold of one of my cousins and she got just as excited. I talked to my significant other and asked him if he would pay of my ticket, and he agreed. We got our tickets sometime during the first quarter.

Then the long wait... But, man! Definitely worth the wait!!!!

For me to give a review, would be an insult. 

Instead, I will share with you a favorite part. The original line is "Gentlemen, good luck, if you need me, I shall be in Australia!" The actor, tweaked it a bit, and delivered his line as

Gentlemen, good luck, if you need me, I shall be in Boracay!

Stepping Up

My biggest role is still mother to (now) two year old Monch. I'm still a pre-school teacher. And I still handle some toddler classes. But last May, I opted to up my game a bit at school. I'm now also the marketing officer.

Life for me is a blast to live right now. I have the challenges of being a mother and hopefully raising my son right. I have the challenges of a teacher and I hope I can effectively teach my students the basics - the building blocks of education. I am definitely challenged by my role as a marketing officer - I hope to eventually reach our target income (something that the company still aims for being only two years old). And I still have the challenges of a girlfriend.

Our Favorites at The Mind Museum

We went to The Mind Museum this morning... And we had a blast!

This inter-active museum just opened two days ago. And with museums, "inter-active" guarantees FUN!

There are five rooms and over 200 exhibits. Here are our favorites:

The Shadow Box at The Story of the Atom
You enter a dark room, strike a pose against the phosphorescent wall and wait for the flash. When you step away from the wall, your shadow doesn't follow you. It stays on the wall. It completely fades in 15 seconds.

The digital harp at The Story of Technology

Located on the second floor, this harp was Monch's favorite. He kept coming back to it. He gets to play with different musical instruments at school so I guess he found it curious that his hand merely sweeps through the air in the harp's frame and music comes out.

The mock dig site at The Story of the Earth

Monch didn't appreciate Stan the T-rex but he did get upset when I carried him out of the mock dig site. He enjoyed dusting the sand from the floor.

Various exhibits at The Story of Technology
Monch is at a stage where he's curious about everything. He doesn't have to understand, but he does like to touch, hold, press and crank things.

We ended our visit at the Science-in-the-Park. It was the perfect ending. The kids got to play and completely tire themselves out.

When we were getting our tickets online, I was a bit disappointed that Monch (currently one year and 10 months old) had to pay P450 or his ticket. Now that we're home and he's fast asleep (synapses construction on-going), I have to admit it was worth it.

I'm already thinking of going back next month with Monch's daddy.