Simple Hacks for Hosting a Party

Our son  turned  double digits this month.  We   celebrated his birthday party with close friends at our home last Saturday.  It's been a while since I hosted a birthday party so I was a bit nervous but knowing the people we invited, I was confident that the party will  go just fine.  This is actually our first time having a party at our new home so we were excited.  

We only invited few close friends as it wasn't that big of a party.  Two families are  our former neighbors  whom we call our family.  

 The Fancher's  are my children's  grandparents in the neighborhood, they  were there for my babies ever since we moved to our first home.  They have been our family for  ten years now, my kids call them Lolo and Lola (Filipino terms for grandma and grandpa).

 Our other neighbor whom we also call our family are the Howells.

 We also invited  EJ's Godparents, the Kinder's and the Brady's.

 EJ was happy to see his  god sisters Sophie and Jennifer.

Hosting a party can be  stressful but with good planning and preparation, you can relax  while waiting for the guests.  Here are simple hacks for a relaxing party.  

• Make sure that you have a stack of  bathroom tissues in the bathroom.

• Aside from towels, make sure that you have extra facial tissues in the  bathroom just in case  some guest  might want to  wipe their  face.

• At this time of the year, chances are, you will have a guest that has cold or sniffle so make sure that you have  tissues in every part of the  room where guests will walk around.

• Instead of   cooking all the food, spare yourself from too much  stress and order some food instead.  I prepared some dishes   but  I also ordered  some food  such as jojo potatoes, chicken strips, and pizza.  I also ordered  the cake since I am not really a baker.  Believe me I envy those Moms who can  bake their  children's birthday cake, I think that is very special.  I will post  a separate  one for all the  goodies at my food blog.

• I used to use silverware and plates when  used to have our children's birthday party but found it hard to clean up after the party so I just buy paper plates and other disposable  material to use.  That way, they can just toss it  out in the garbage when they are done eating.  

•  Prepare different kinds of beverage for your guests that way they h ave  a few variety to choose from.  

 I am glad that we have a  bigger house now because everyone has  a place to sit and  chit-chat.

 Since our son  loves football, we got him a  cake with a football design, he loves it.

 I really can't believe that my youngest, my only son, is  now ten years old.  Time really fly  very fast.  I am thankful that I am always home to  see every milestone my children has.  I rarely miss any event and I get to take care of them everyday.  That's the luxury of  working from home.  It might not be ideal financially  but it is ideal for my children's sake.

 He love all the gifts!  He  accumulated 100 dollars  from his birthday so he  now have a  small chunk  into his wallet.  He  has been saving his money because he wants to buy his own car when he is old enough to drive.  We will see if his savings will be enough to buy a car  in five years lol.

 Although he is into electronic/gadget, he still love to play   games like Nerf guns and other games so he was excited to see his new Nerf .guns.  He's got  many  already but I  actually put all of them in a container as I got tired of picking up  the bullets for him lol.

 One of the gifts that  he love also is the bounce off.

 We all had fun playing it.  Even when the  guests left, the four of us  played.

 I don't have many Filipino friends around here, I only invited those who are close and I interact often.

 It was a fun night for all of us.  I hope that we could get together again soon.

 My husband's birthday is  next month so maybe we can all get together again.

 Before they left, we took some family photo.

 Disclosure:  I received these Emerald tissue products from Shoplet but was not financially compensated for it.  I love that  these are made from by-products such as  sugarcane bagasse and wheat straw.  Emerald brand eliminates the need to cut down trees by utilizing   the traditionally wasted by-products I have mentioned  and turn them into  high quality paper and packaging solutions

Shoplet is a one-stop shop  for all your need in your home office or business.  They have  Office Supplies,   Medical Supplies, Cleaning Supplies and many more.  Thank you once again Shoplet and Pilot!

6 Great Tips for Working Moms

If you have returned to work after having children, you’ll know how difficult it can be balancing work with your home life. If you are currently considering returning to work, it could be one of the hardest decisions you will ever make. Either way, know that it can be done. These fantastic tips should help you cope with, and perhaps even enjoy being, a working mom.

Find a Flexible Career

If you already have a career that you love, speak to either your manager or HR department about the possibilities of working flexibly. This could include working some days from home, working part time, or working some shorter days, making the hours up elsewhere. You might be pleasantly surprised to find your needs can be accommodated. If you are looking for a career change, consider some of these more flexible workplaces:

·        Schools. There are many careers within a school, all of which offer great hours and term time working. Some of the best, aside from teaching, are receptionist, kitchen assistant, school nurse or counselor at school. If counseling is something you could be interested in, see Wake Forest University for some great counseling programs online.

·        Healthcare practices. Working as a doctor, nurse or admin assistant within a healthcare practice is a much more flexible alternative to some other places of work within the healthcare sector. Practices often attract those with families for this reason.

·        Retail. Working in retail might not pay the most, but with many retail staff working evenings and weekends around school, there are a lot of opportunities for those wanting to work during school hours.

·        Freelancing. If you have any skills, like writing or design, you could use them to make money as a freelancer from home.

Ask for Help

This might mean asking your partner to pick the kids up some days, or asking a family member to babysit so you can get a break. Whatever it is, ask. Moms don’t have to do everything, and needing help does not mean you’ve failed.

Routine

Get the kids into a great routine. This can include everything from dinner and bedtimes, to when they do their homework and play games. Try to stick to a childcare routine if you need it. Structure and routine are important to your child’s development, and can also make your life a lot easier.

Organization

Keep a diary, and write everything down. Your work shifts, where the kids need to be, any appointments or meetings. Even consider writing down meals and housework that needs doing if it makes things easier.

Look After Yourself

Make sure you eat a healthy diet, drink 8glasses of water a day, sleep enough and get some exercise. That might sound a lot, but it will keep your energy levels up and help you avoid getting slowed down by illness.

Whatever your reasons for choosing to return to work, don’t feel guilty about them. As long as you feel you are doing what’s right for you and your family, don’t let society tell you any different. Try finding fun ways to involve your children, take them to visit your workplace if you can, or play games that include your job. Family and work don’t necessarily need to be completely separate.

Last Glance at Busch Garden

Busch Garden is a fun place but man, you  have to be ready to have lots of energy when you go there so you can enjoy exploring without feeling spent lol.  Going on an amusement park is fun especially if you have kids but man, it's a lot of walking.  I am not complaining because walking is the only part that I enjoy because I don't like rides.  

With all the news I see about freak accidents in amusement rides, I have no intention in riding any of these fast and high rides.  

The only ride I  always go to is the  train ride as it is relaxing and not that fast.  You can basically see the whole  place by  riding the  train.  We should have done this when we visited Disney World few years ago but we didn't, we ran out of time.

Here's a short video clip of how much fun you can get in Busch Gardens.
 

Yes, we did go to Water Country as well.  It was fun although the heat was unbearable.  

I love the landscape at the front, we can't leave without  some photos just because.. it might be the last time we will ever go there.

The entrance booth  is very quaint.

Even the parking lot sign is quite nice.

Leaving the Busch Garden vicinity, we have  seen some places where we could  explore.

We planned on going to this place but we didn't have much time.  Maybe  next time when we visit  Williamsburg again, we will.

There's  so much things to do and see in Williamsburg, Virginia, you just have to have plenty of time and moolah of course.  It was fun for all of us and definitely one memories that we would love to reminisce.  So here you go, our last glimpse of Busch Garden.  It would take years before we could visit again.. or not.  

Including Exercise Into Your Kid's Day-To-Day Life

With all of the options available to entertain kids without having to lift a finger, it’s hard to push yourself to take your kids out to get some exercise. Unfortunately, though, for a child to be healthy they need exercise. It will improve their school work and could even make them live longer. So, it’s worth starting early when it comes to making exercise a part of their everyday lives.

Exercise doesn’t always mean hitting the gym and running for miles. Simple daily walks can be enough, for the most part. Your child may have the chance to walk to school. This is worth it for them, as it will help to make their brain more active for the day. The more they walk; the more they’ll enjoy it. So, if you instill this activity early on, they’ll always want to do it.

Of course, this doesn’t give them that much exercise, though. And, kids have loads of energy, which will need to be burned. Some of the best ways to do this come in the form of scooters and bikes. Bikes give you child a chance to travel much further than they could on foot. You give them a chance to try a truly grueling exercise if they want to. Scooters are better for short distances. They reward exercise by being fun; which is what your kid probably cares about the most. They’re much safer than bikes. So, they’re better for your child to use on their own. Certain types of scooters will be off the cards. To avoid embarrassment, it’s best to try and get children a pro scooters.

To eliminate almost all danger from their exercise, you can take the swimming. Once a child has learned to swim and is confident, they won’t have any problems getting right into it. Modern pools always have trained lifeguards, too. So, your kid is always safe. Swimming is unlikely to cause any physical damage to your kid’s body. When you swim, your body is completely suspended. This means that your joints to have to deal with impacts and you don’t have anything to collide with. Swimming is an important skill that your child could use for loads of different purposes in the future. Giving your child this gift can give them a great start in life.

All of these activities can be done as a family or group. This gives you a chance to get out with your kids. Especially when they’re young, kids will enjoy exercise a lot more when they’re doing it with their family. It;s a great way to motivate them to get out there, without having to force them. It is also a great chance for you to get some exercise, as well. There are very few opportunities with this many benefits, so it’s well worth trying to take them while you can.

Hopefully, this will give you a good idea of what need to be done to get a modern kid outside and active. This is going to become more and more important for new parents to think about as technology progresses. With so many ways to entertain ourselves, there’s nearly no reason to go outside.

TeamSnap App for my Children's Sports

A friend informed me yesterday that the wrestling will start in  a couple of weeks.  I haven't received the memo from the school yet but I look forward to it.  Our son is not involved in many  sports but  we encourage him to continue wrestling, football and tennis.  He tried out  for basketball but he didn't like it so  after just one practice, he did not want to go back.  I think he feel  inferior that most of the kids   that practiced that day were  good and he  was just learning the basic.  

Anyway', back to wrestling, the photo above was the medal he got from  last year's event.  He won his first match and I think he had  so much fun.  It was  fun watching  them wrestle as  he  was very gentle, he didn't want to hurt his opponent because  he was his friend.  I think it would change as he get older.  

 This year, I want to make sure that we won't miss any practice and games  so I signed up  with TeamSnap.  They have an awesome  app that  you can use and  the cool thing is you can personalize it.  I also love that you can connect your facebook and the result will be shared automatically.  I love how technology progresses these days, there is an app  for everything.

I love that  there are many features like the  calendar sync, messaging, notifications, tracking, statistics  and a lot more.  So you can add  a team from your account and never miss a thing again.  I can't wait for this season to start, it's fun watching kids wrestle.  I am not sure if I would feel the same watching  adult wrestle as they are pretty aggressive.  I might get nervous when my little man   become wrestler when he's adult.  I am sure that even in high school,  wrestling is already very intense so we will see.

 For now,  I am enjoying his goofiness with the sport.

My daughter is  starting  the new season for volleyball here very soon.  I am glad,  I am all set up with the TeamSnap app as I am ready to roll.  Based from my experience we haven't miss a game  from previous season but it is a lot safer to have an app that reminds you for the schedule of events.

 Last year, my daughter's team was undefeated so we will see how they  perform this year.  I hope they do good again, that would be awesome.  She is  a bit worried because we haven't  practice  in a while.  She need to work on her serving, she can't wait for the season to start.

I am excited for the season to start.  It's fun watching our kids play.   I get so   excited and gets louder at times which embarrasses the kids but hey, what can I do lol.

Here's wishing that this year's sports is as successful and fun as last year's.