Hongkong trip Part 1

Our recent family trip will be one for the books and I think will be one of the most unforgettable.  It was our first time to go out of the country as a family and with my parents.  It was also R's very first plane ride.  All of us were on a high as the day approached for this adventure. All of us were anticipating R's reaction.  We  did have a lot a fun though we may have encountered a few challenges, but it was all worth it!

We left Manila at 8am via PAL on a Thursday.  We just left our car at Park and Fly and was hanging out at the airport as early as 4am to avoid traffic.  Believe me it was a good move since there was already a lot of traffic build up on our way to the airport.  What I loved about traveling with a kid is that you get priority check-in and boarding and that makes things a little easier. Since it was our first OOTC with R, we did not know that we can bring his stroller all the way through boarding.  It was not a huge issue though since Terminal 2 is manage able.

Keeping him busy while waiting.  We did not know that there was a play area at the end of the far end of the airport.  We should take note of that for our next travel.

Our first Family trip!

R was very excited for this trip that he never slept before departure and during the plane ride.  During take off,  I had him drink water.  I thought we nailed it.  But when we started descending, that was when we had a little nightmare.  He could not bear his ears popping.  The descent took quite a long time that we ran out of chocolate milk which should have helped ease the discomfort.  Literally, for five-minutes (which felt like forever) he was crying and shouting, "Bring me home" and "Get me out of here."    I give myself a pat on the back for hanging on and composing myself.  I tried so hard to be very calm so as not to aggravate the situation.  I think what stressed me more was not really him throwing a fit, but it was knowing what the people around us were thinking.  But, that's life and I am thankful that no one gave a smirk or made any side comments. 
The flight back home was great.  I knew better and bought a huge chocolate milk from the grocery and bought 3 boxes of Egg surprise which kept his mind off from his ears popping.  Now, time to think of more activities and strategies for a long haul!


Goofing around before take-off, crossing my fingers that it would be a peaceful journey.

Turning three

My son turned three last week! I cannot believe how time flies.  Once upon a time all he did was babble, could not blow a candle, and could not even sing "happy birthday."  Now, he gets so giddy  whenever he would hear the Birthday song and delights in blowing candles.  Sometimes I want to tear up seeing how much he has developed.  

He started going to school mid Februrary.  I had to see first if he we will have struggles in attending a three hour class everyday.  I was apprehensive and was quite sure we would have some difficulties.  But he surprised me when during his first day in school, he just happily went with the teacher and stuck it out for the rest of the class.  Of course there are days when it gets a little hard to make him take a bath and dress up because he wants to play.  But once he sees we are infront of his school, he suddenly lights up, hands me his toy and happily goes down the car.  I hope and pray that he will always have a good disposition towards school and learning.

Anyway, since this school year, I would say he is officially in school, we decided to hold a party for him with his classmates.  The school has certain policies with regard to throwing parties.  They want it just to be a simple one, as if it was a normal school day. I totally agree with that because I am not a fan of lavish celebrations.  I appreciate intimate and simple gatherings more.  

This was officially my first time to frost a cake!  I originally planned on making a fondant cake but was too tired to knead.  So, last minute I decided to make a simple cake with gum paste airplane toppers.  R was so happy to see his cake since he is so into airplanes nowadays.  It may not be the best frosted cake, but it was made with pure love.

The snack box contained homemade baked macaroni and a chocolate cupcake.

The DIY loot bag contained a yogurt drink, chocolate filled cookies, mini chocolate chip cookies and Airplanes themed bubble maker. I was so happy to score those Disney Airplanes bubble makers at Toys R'Us.

The expression on R's face when he saw us in school was priceless!  He looked so proud and happy.  We only stayed there for around thirty minutes and we witnessed how comfortable he  is with his teachers and classmates.   Now, if I can only slow down time and just cling on to my little one for a longer time.

Happy third birthday to our little pride and joy.  We will always be here for you and we love you so much!

Preschool searching

The search for a pre school is on!  For the past week, I have been researching for preschools in Marikina and Antipolo.  I shared in a previous post here that we wanted to enroll our son in I.S.Y.C. for SY 2014-2015 after his summer school experience.  I received a text message from the Directress that they were opening their slots last January.  When I called after two days, both the morning and mid-morning classes were already closed.  The only class that is open is the afternoon class which will run from 1:30pm to 4pm.  As much as I wanted my son to go to I.S.Y.C., the afternoon class will interfere with his nap time.  He is just two years old and I do not want to stress him out at an early age and deprive him of his nap time.  I did not realize that the slots will run out that fast, lesson learned.

I resorted back to the Internet to search for possible schools in our area.  Female Network has been a very helpful resource in getting feedback.  It is also important that you also take time to visit the school and observe a class to help with your decision.

In narrowing down on what schools I will visit, my criteria is as follows:

1.  Proximity - I prefer schools near Marcos Hi-way and Marikina Sports Complex
2. Teacher to student ratio - A small teacher to student ratio is ideal, but with a montessori set up, their ideal class size is at 20 since it's a mixed level class
3. Tuition - Maximum fee at P75K.
4. Facility - I prefer that the school has its own facility and not a house converted into a school.  However, this may change because it will really depend on the layout of the school.
5.  Teachers - I don't think I really need to elaborate on this.  But of course other than being able to properly teach my kid, the teacher/s also need to look pleasant and has a very good command on the English language.

Here is my short list and a little background of each school:

Integrated School for Young Children (I.S.Y.C.)
-located in Marikina
-Tuition for SY 2013-2014 is at P75K

-Max of 10 per class 

-3 options to choose from for the classes: am, mid am and afternoon

-5x a week, 2.5 hrs

-Facilities:  a 2 storey building, outdoor playgound, air conditioned Multi-purpose hall, Kitchen
-Teachers: Teachers are very pleasant and speak English well, a lot of the teachers are graduates of Miriam college
-My son attended the Summer camp last 2013 (see my review here)

Montessori at Kent
-located inside Filinvest East, Antipolo and is quite a travel from the village's entrance
-Tuition is around P50K+
-max 20 per class, mixed level

-Morning class only from 8-11am

-5x a week, 3 hours

-Facilities: a house which was converted into a school, small outdoor playground

-I was able to speak directly to the School Directress/owner who was very accommodating and explained to me the Montessori Curriculum

Kidstech Learning Center

- located in Lark St., Marikina, just across the Sports Center

-Tution :approximately 52k

-Morning class is from 8:30am-10am, mid morning class is from 10:30am-12nn

-5x a week

-Max 10 per class, 1 teacher and 1teacher aide

-Facilities : 1storey, small outdoor playground on the side

Kids on focus (now managed by Family montessori preschool of Loyola)

-located at Pine St., Marikina

-Tuition : 60k + 10k miscellaneous fee (no uniform, exclusive of snacks and field trips, etc), snacks are billed on a monthly basis (P400/month)

- morning class: 8-11am or 9am-12nn

-5x a week, 3 hrs

-max 20 per class (with 1 head teacher, 1 assistant teacher, 2 aides)

-Facilities : newly renovated school since they took over KOF last year, clean classroom, new materials, small covered area outside the classroom where kids have snack, read books, etc, tiny outdoor playground, with security guard

-Head Teacher was well versed with the Montessori curriculum and very accomodating. She has also been with the school for 7 years

-I visited the school during class hours to observe and was immediately impressed at how the kids were well behaved and were independently doing their respective work.
-*** Update: They now also have a 4 hour program.  Tuition for SY 2014-2015 for this program is at P80K exclusive of snacks and field trip fees

The next question is, where will my son finally go?  

Fun at the Little Gym

It is R's 3rd week at the Little Gym and I am so happy that he enjoys his classes there. It is actually the first time wherein he does not hold on to the entrance of the door, stopping me to go inside. We have been to Gymboree, Summer Class in ISYC and Kindermusik (trial class) and I experienced the same behavior every time. I am not saying that the classes/programs that he attended were not good. It's just not for him.

One day, I was looking for other institutions for R that offered once a week classes to follow through on his summer school experience. I was looking for a school that will meet his needs. He loves to run a lot, so that was one of my major requirement. A program that will further hone his dexterity and at the same time improve his social skills. I did some research on the net for other alternatives and came across reviews about the Little Gym.

The Little Gym along Julia Vargas in Ortigas has been there for quite sometime. I guess the reason why I never checked it out was because I had an impression that they were only offering gymnastics. I wish I knew what they had to offer earlier! During our trial class, R was running around like crazy. He loved how spacious the place was! Lots of room for running! The class had a similar flow with the other schools, but a plus is that they involve gymnastics in teaching kids. At first, I was afraid that R might be afraid of walking on the balance beam or swinging on the low and high bars, but he surprised me because he actively participated in all of the tasks. He was having fun!

What made me decide to enroll him at the Little gym was because of their progressive approach. For the first time, I heard the teacher assure the parents that it is alright to let the kids wander off, especially if it is their first time. We were asked to just stay with the group and just call on our child from time to time. I felt relieved because I was not stressing myself on making R join the group all the time. There wasn't any nagging from me or crying from R. True to the teacher's words, R (and the other children) would gravitate towards the group and join the activities.

So far, both of us are enjoying his classes so much.  In the three weeks that we have spent  at the Little Gym, I am seeing how he is very comfortable with his teacher and surroundings, and is being more sociable towards his classmates.

The enrollment fee may be a little bit higher compared to Gymboree and Kindermusik, covering 12 weeks, but my hubby and I were willing to give it a try because we saw how it can benefit R.  This is really worth an investment.

Toddler School: My son's Summer class experience

Even before I gave birth to Vito, I was already planning to have Rocco attend Summer School.  I pictured it to be our time together since I knew that I would be busy taking care of a new baby.  Things did take a different direction (with Vito passing away at 33 weeks) and accompanying Rocco to Summer School last May was part of the healing process.  I got to divert my attention and focused my energy on Rocco.

I enrolled Rocco in the Integrated School for Young Children (ISYC) in Marikina in their Summer Program.   I was looking for a school in my area (Antipolo/ Marikina) and came across a couple of good reviews on ISYC.  I visited their website, called the school and scheduled a school tour.  What I initially liked was that the I was able to directly speak to one of the school owners, teacher Leah who was very accommodating.  

During my visit, I was pretty surprised that they are not located in some old house or building that was converted into a school.  ISYC has a two-storey building equipped with a mini outdoor playground, and a pretty big multi-purpose hall.  All classrooms are air conditioned.  They have ample security and yayas to assist the children. Teacher Leah had us briefly observe one of the Toddler Class as well. On the same day,  we signed up for their Summer Playgroup Class.  The total fee was P5,500 covering a total of  eight sessions every M-W-F (the last day was a culminating activity for all the Summer classes) for three weeks from 9am to 10:30am.  The fee was reasonable comparing it to what I used to pay when Rocco was going to Gymboree, which was around 4k for a once a week class for 4 weeks.   Teacher to student ratio is 1:5, and the child needs to be accompanied by one adult.  Majority of their graduates would be going to Ateneo and Miriam, which is a good indication of the quality of education that they have.

On the first day of school, Teacher Leah provided us with the Syllabus, as well as the schedule that we would follow throughout the program. They had free play, circle time (singing and dancing), activities focused on shape recognition and story telling time.  I think I was the one more excited for Rocco to go to school than he was.   I also never imagined that it was going to be a little challenging.  There were good and bad days.  There were days when he would cry because he didn't want to stay inside the classroom or would want to eat his snack or he didn't want to do the activity.  But we were able to surpass those, thank God! 

The culminating activity, which was held on their last day, was a testament that he did somehow enjoy going to school and was ready to showcase the things he learned.  I was one proud momma (even if he was the only one who refused to sit down while performing), beaming with pride with what my little boy accomplished. I was secretly stopping tears from falling.  They were handed their certificates of attendance and we were each given a clear book containing all their artworks and a music CD that contained all of the songs that they sang in class.

I was satisfied with Rocco's summer experience in ISYC and am looking forward to enrolling him in their Toddler class when he turns three next year. I was informed though that I should apply as early as December since the classes get filled up easily.  The tuition fee is at 75k, which I think is one of the highest here in our area, but looking at their facilities and the quality of education, it is fairly reasonable.  Now it's time to start saving!

Outdoor Playgound

First day of school: Rocco loved jumping on the trampoline.

First day of school: Rocco playing with the letters.

Free play

Teacher Michelle had to give an impromptu snack time.

One of Rocco's artworks.

Free play.  Teach Michelle just taking solo pictures of the kids because it was impossible to get a decent class picture.

Practicing the day before their culminating activity.

ISYC Summer Culminating Activity

Far right: there goes my son who refused to sit down :) 

My son performing, standing ;)

ISYC website:  http://isyc.com.ph/

Project anti- mosquito

For some strange reason, the mosquitoes and other insects seem to love feasting on Rocco. It's something that he got from his Dad. Not sure if their blood is sweet or anything, but they often sport bites while I don't get any, even if we are all together. You can call them "kilabot ng mga lamok."

I get so stressed out whenever Rocco has bites. When he is bitten, it swells like hell and at one point it got so infected that it turned into a boil! I had to see his pedia when he got that because it was my first time to encounter such. But hubby was telling me, when he was a kid, he often had those - iwww! Sa lahat naman ng mamamana. Buti nalang lalaki si Rocco. If not, I would be doubly stressed worrying about the marks if he were a girl! Having said that I have been on constant look out for the most effective and safe
Mosquito and insect repellants and ointment. So far, I'm liking the ff:

1) Messy Bessy insect repellant- This retails anywhere between P330- P400, depending on where you buy them. What I like about it is the light smell and of course, it's environmentally friendly. I hate oily products and those that have an overpowering (citronella) smell. I spray this on Rocco's clothes at least every four hours and I literally spray this everywhere - under the bed, blanket, or any dark area in the room. So far so good (crossing my fingers).

2)Home Life Citronella wax - We have several of these in the house strategically placed where the mosquitoes are. We also place these under the bed in our bedroom.

3) Baygon anti dengue mat - This comes in a kit which is less that P60. The kit contains 5 mats and a device where you place the mat and plug in an electricity outlet. This is good for 8 hours. We use this at night.

4) Dermocure ointment - My husband buys this at the Chinese drugstore and is super effective in making the bites subside. I believe it costs P300.

We also have the ultraviolet light, but it's not effective in killing mosquitoes!

So far I'm quite satisfied with the 4 things/ devices. Here's hoping that the mosquitoes stay away from us!

Parenting choice: What you eat is what you get.

While I was pregnant with Rocco, I never really thought of what to feed him once he would be able to eat solid food. In my mind it was only Cerelac and Gerber. Probably because these were the food staple in every baby's diet, i.e. the 80's baby (lol!). I also did not know that now a days, most babies are only given pure breast-milk/ formula (mixed in my case) until their 6th month. Note that I said 'most pediatricians' because each one has a set of different practice. A lot of pediatricians however, nowadays advise parents to only give breastmilk or formula until the baby is 6 months. The reason for this is that babies tend to like solid/soft food (whatever you want to call it) more and drink less milk, which isn't good. I am personally amenable to this practice. Sometimes, it is really more of the thrill of feeding and shopping for food and utensils that gets us.

Before Rocco hit his 6th month, I researched the net for baby food recipes. For some reason I became very conscious on the type of food that he would eat. As much as possible, I veer away from giving him Dried cereals and bottled food. In short, I prefer to make his food. Although once in a while I resort to Promina/ Cerelac and Earth's best baby food especially when we are travelling or when I'm just too lazy to cook. My goal is for Rocco to grow up with healthy eating habits which means not bingeing on junk, processed and fast food which may lead to future illnesses like obesity and Diabetes to name a few. Diabetes also runs in the family that's why I'm cautious. Most of the food that I prepare for him are steamed, baked or boiled. If I make him drink juice, I prefer it fresh and I seldom make him drink as well so that he will learn to drink water. I avoid giving him fried food. I just can't picture my son eating fried food at this young age. Maybe when he's 5, haha!

Preparing his food everyday isn't easy, but I think it's worth it. I admire my cousin in law and one local actress who were able to train their children to snack on fruits and vegetables. I may not be there yet, but I'm trying.

My only wish is that Rocco will be able to practice healthy eating habits as he grows older. And I know that his Dad and I will play a big role on molding him to be one.

Sleeping arrangements

My husband and I sleep with our son. In our bed.  Yes, he sleeps in between us, beside me or beside my hubby.  I'm pretty sure that some people will vehemently disagree with this type of sleeping arrangement and others will be able to relate with us. 

 I am aware of the dangers and took the necessary precautions, especially when he was a baby and was still not able to roll over.  During his first month he slept in the crib, beside our bed.  However when I discovered breastfeeding him using the side lying position, he found his way more in our bed, beside me and the hubby slept on the floor (poor him, but parenthood is like that, you sometimes gotta sacrifice).  It was easier that way because I was able to rest better.  As he grew older, we did try to make him sleep in his crib, but again, he would wind up sleeping with us when he wakes up for feeding during the ungodly hours.  It was easier that way and everyone was happy and got better sleep. This made us re-arrange our bedroom (for the nth time), pushing the bed against the wall (we placed some padding on the wall, too!) and we also bought a bed rail from Safety first that we attached to the edge of our bed.  I'm also a light sleeper, so I am easily awaken by any movement or noise.

This sleeping arrangement is working for us and we are not looking at changing it any time soon.  We don't believe that this will hamper our son's independence, as others see it that way.  There are a lot of ways to teach one's kid independence and surely sleeping arrangement isn't the only way.  I can attest to that because my brother and I used to sleep with mom beside us and we grew up just fine.

My husband and I are enjoying this moment, because we know that there will come a time that he will not want to sleep beside mom and dad anymore.  I just hope that people will respect our decision and not impose on their beliefs.  Respect.  To each his own.