Moving

Photo by James Wheeler on Pexels.com

After all these years, I have decided to get back on my blog and write. There were many attempts to write but they’re all in my drafts folder and have never seen publishing day.

So many things have happened since my last post last November 2021. Almost two years after, I can almost say life had given us many surprises!

First, my whole family moved to Canada!

We are currently in Calgary, Alberta since November 2022.

Photo by Lisa Bourgeault on Pexels.com

We had been exploring the possibility of moving abroad for quite sometime now. The motivation of course, was to give our children the opportunity to live in what my husband Paul calls an “enabling environment” – an environment where they can dream and make things happen and not be derailed by forces outside of their control such as bureaucracy, corruption and small mindsets.

The idea became much more real after my son Seve was accepted at Fordham and moved to NYC to attend his sophomore year in university (see my previous post about this). After Paul experienced how a new student like Seve could be supported in his learning and how opportunities open up for him there, he came back with a resolve to bring the same opportunities for all our children. He promised to work so hard so he could provide the means to be able to send them to good schools. God bless his heart. We now have Seve and Anya both in the U.S. and the other kids planning to pursue further studies as well after they finish high school here in Calgary. With God’s good graces, we lift all of these plans to Him who holds our future.

We came here on my permit as a student. Canada fortunately allows student permit holders to bring their spouses and dependents along with them in order to keep the family together for this most crucial time of their lives. I have completed my first year of studies and have but one more year to go to complete my program. After which, I will be eligible for a post graduate work permit (PGWP) that allows me to work in Canada for a period of 2-3 years. Within that time, we are also allowed to apply for a permanent resident status and this applies for the rest of the family as well. If God wills that all our plans are in accordance with His, then hopefully within the next 3 years, we will become permanent residents of Canada.

For now, we take each day as it comes and enjoy being together as a family in a different place, learning and integrating with a culture different from our own yet being fully aware of our own heritage and values. We can only imagine what the future holds! But hopeful is the word to describe it!

Happy thoughts everyone!

Leaving The Nest?

The wheels of life continue to turn, and much as we want to, we cannot keep our young ones forever under our wings. There comes a point in life when we need to let them go off on their own and create their own experiences as young adults. We can only hope that we have ingrained in them the values we would want them to live by and that they may eventually find the tribe that shares these values and will help them thrive in in this challenging world.

Last August, we’ve had to learn to let go when my son Seve flew to New York to study in Fordham University. This meant a whole new adjustment for all of us. Since then, our interactions were limited to just Zoom or Messenger calls weekly. Thanks to technology!

His moving in didn’t come without any challenges. Adjusting to a new culture and climate was just the beginning. There were little challenges that came after that. Now three months after his arrival, I decided to ask him how he has been and what were his own realizations. I invited him for a chat to talk about it and to share what his learnings were with others. This is the link to that chat on my YouTube channel.

Hope you can watch it and tell me your thoughts. Have you ever had one or your children leave home? How was it like for you? I’m looking forward to your comments!

Happy thoughts everyone!

Top 70 Philippines Mom Blogs and Websites

Last November 3, I received an email from Feedspot CEO Anuj Agarwal congratulating me for being part of their list of 70 Top Mom Blogs and Websites in the Philippines. I was surprised as my blog was not really one of the busiest blogs one would see on the web. I’ve kept most of my content to writing about family, experiences and discoveries, my thoughts and ideas and perhaps just a few would resonate with it. Also, I didn’t really have advertisements onsite so naturally I was curious as to how the list was rated. He was quick to reply and he said: “

“Feedspot editorial team extensively searched on Google and social media websites to find the best Philippines Mom blogs and ranked them based on several factors such as. 

1. Blog content quality
2. Post consistency
3. Age of the blog
4. Average number of shares on social sites for your blog posts
5. Traffic of your blog and more.”

Well, thank you Feedspot for including SIGnature on your list! It’s an honor to be acknowledged for what he says is my “contribution to this world”. I simply find happiness in doing what I do!

Happy thoughts everyone!

Heart of Homeschooling

Oh wow, I can’t believe this just happened.

I’ve always thought as a kid how wonderful it is to be an anchor on the news, or a reporter. This fascination eventually led me to take up Communications in college – a course I genuinely had fun doing.

However, life sometimes takes you to different places and somehow, that fascination didn’t find realization in my life. Instead, I went into early childhood education and play: causes that I am so passionate about.

Fast forward to 2021 – amidst a global pandemic, we find ourselves with a situation and an opportunity. As for me, it’s also an opportunity to merge these two interests of mine – talking/hosting and children’s causes. Enter the Heart of Homeschooling Show. It came up during a brainstorming session on how we could possibly promote the homeschooling program we were launching and over shared experiences on the challenges in finding the right content that’s relevant to our local setting,

It was a quick move. Parties involved felt that we should just go for it! So I listed down a set of topics for us to talk about and drew up a list of who we could invite as guests. Then we set up a date for our first batch shoot (1st and 2nd episodes) and agreed on a launch date! That’s today, Sept 11 and we premiere at 8pm!

We’ve obviously had mistakes and a lot of realizations after the first 2 episodes. But these are something we can just laugh about and work on improving in the succeeding ones.

So, join us tonight at the Heart of Homeschooling Show. You can catch the show here:

Facebook
YouTube

Till then… happy thoughts everyone!

How I Homeschool While Working Full Time

Homeschooling is not an easy task. It is not for everybody. But if you truly believe it is what is best for your child, then it will take commitment on your part as a parent to ensure it goes on in the way you intend it to be.

A big part of homeschooling also depends on how you’ve built your relationship with your child. I personally believe that if you created an environment of trust and respect for your child and constantly nourished it, then trust and respect become their currency. It will not be perfect, but it becomes the seedbed for the virtue of responsibility for your child, as well as for other important virtues they will need to learn when they face the world on their own later on.

When I needed to go back to work full time, my kids would go to a homeschool support center at first. This was a great help as I felt assured that more difficult subjects like Math were being taken care of by a trained teacher. They were able to finish the difficult subjects first, but there were still some subjects that needed to be done.

With 5 kids homeschooling, it was also beginning to be a little costly on our part to maintain the homeschool support center. Paul also felt that with those initial subjects almost already done, the others could probably be done by our kids at home on their own. I thought that this could be a real test if they could really do homeschool on their own.

I was really worried at first that their homeschooling will be neglected. Truth be told, in the beginning, that’s pretty much what happened. They weren’t productive with their time and were distracted doing other things instead of what they needed to do. Paul and I felt something needed to be done.

The Family Meeting

We sat down for a family meeting with the remaining 4 who were homeschooling. My eldest daughter Anya had already graduated and moved to the regular brick-and-mortar for Senior High. In that family meeting, we talked about the value of time and how it is one commodity in life that you can never take back. Money can be re-earned, but time once used, is done. So we put emphasis on how many things can be done with the time that was given to us.

Next, we agreed on timelines. I went through each of the subjects they needed to do and the tasks that needed to be done for each. I spent time really sorting through each of their subjects, took a look at the suggestions and corrections given by the counselors about their submitted work and gave my own suggestions as to how to better write the book report or the paper that needs to be submitted. Then we agreed on a submission due date. Say, we agreed to submit a history paper by the end of the week. Or an English test by the end of the day. Then hold them to it. Ask them if it is doable for them or not. Let them speak their mind and listen if they say, “I am not sure I can do that by today… or this week”. I sometimes ask them to come up with their own schedule – something that they crafted on their own so they feel responsible for their own commitments. This is where you need a LOT of patience as sometimes, the schedule isn’t met and we have to adjust.

The Implementation

Whenever I leave the house to go to work in the morning, the real test happens for them. They usually come down for breakfast at around 8:30 or 9:00 am then they proceed to what they have to do. I give them the morning to do what they have to do (eat breakfast, take a bath and start on the work that needs to be done).

At noon time, that’s when I start sending them messages on our Family Homeschooling Group Chat and remind them about our agreements. Around that time also, sometimes I receive alerts from the school in the US about any feedback regarding their paper etc. which I share with them so they are made aware of what to do or if they have to revise anything in their book reports or what. The Family chat is also where they communicate their challenges in doing a task. I give suggestions and if need be, I tell them I can help them when I get home later that day.

When I get home, I usually get a rundown of what they accomplished for the day. They share their highs and lows for the day and things they are still in the process of doing. It’s a quick chat as most of the time, I have to go to the kitchen and cook dinner for the family. Sometimes, we carry on the chat while I cook. If they still need a listening ear, I stay a little and listen to their stories while they wash dishes or clean up the dinner table.

My after dinner time is usually reserved for those who are going to regular school. I have to check if they have homework and if they’ve done it or if they need help in doing it, then I supervise.

After all is done for the day for the kids, later in the evening, I attend to answering reply slips or prepare the things the kids who go to regular school need such as preparing their snacks and lunch, preparing the ingredients for breakfast and dinner the following day and setting the table for breakfast (doing this the night before saves me at least 5 minutes of extra work). I lay-out the lunchboxes and water bottles in such a way that I can work pretty much mechanically when I see them the following morning. Sometimes, if you’ve lacked some sleep in the evening, and you’re not in the best up-and-about disposition when you wake up, it helps that things are laid out in the morning and all you need to do is stuff them in their lunchboxes the following day. I must admit, I’ve even prepared a sticky note stuck to my phone listing down – in order of priority – what I have to do first, then next, then last. Maybe it’s the teacher in me that kicks in whenever I do this. I often think I have to prepare everything in a certain order that, should I die, anyone who will have to take over, will know exactly what needs to be done.

Anyway, I just wanted to end by saying that, it takes a LOT of patience in order to homeschool, home manage and work full time all at the same time. I don’t even know how I’ve managed to do this. Again, it’s not perfect. There are days when we do lag and fall behind (sometimes WAAAY behind), but the important thing is to just keep at it. Pick up from where you’ve stopped and just start again! The important thing is you’re doing something about it and have not lost hope. So if ever you are thinking of doing this, my advice is to think and pray about it and have an introspective assessment and be honest about what you can and cannot do. It’s not for everyone but if you feel you are up for the challenge and the rest of the family is ok with it – then go! I wish you all the luck!

Happy thoughts everyone!

Transition

My sister and I caught up with an uncle over dinner last Saturday. We had dinner in a hotel near the airport as he only had a few hours to spare before he flew out to his wife’s hometown in Borongan, Samar. After dinner, since they were going different ways, my sis decided to book a Grab car for them going to their hotel. It amused me that the Grab car that fetched them at the hotel entrance was driven by this hip lady in shorts, sneakers and hair pulled back. It was quite unusual for me to see a lady Grab driver. It is usually the men who take on jobs such as these. But as it turns out, in the Philippines, there are really more women now in the workforce taking on traditional men’s jobs. Jobs such cab drivers, engineers and managers.

According to a CNN Philippines report in 2018, the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report ranked the Philippines 8th among 149 countries (and the highest in Asia), in achieving gender equality especially in economic and political leadership with more women in critical roles as legislators, senior officials and managers. The wage gap between men and women has also narrowed down due to an increase in wage equality for similar work.

What could this mean for Filipino families now? Many things, actually… more income for the family and higher purchasing power. With technology paving the way, more women are income generators for their families – some outside the home as employees but some also as WAHMs (Work-At-Home Moms) who are able to still stay at home and work through online jobs and businesses.

However it is, it seems this will be the trend from now on. Women are becoming more empowered through the different options they have that can provide added income to the family purse.

I think as long as women, and I’m talking mostly about the mothers here, are able to try and balance work and family life and have their family’s well-being at the top of their hearts and minds, taking on either a job or business that allows them to earn is a good thing. There will be adjustments for sure, most especially in the beginning when sometimes one misses out on some family obligations to attend to because of deadlines to meet, etc. But as in anything that is on its initial phases, there will always be some things one will learn before becoming a master of it. No one learned to juggle balls on his or her first try and as they say, “Rome wasn’t built in a day”. It takes time and experience to learn the ropes and manage one’s priorities. There will be good days and bad days. But it’s all part of a process.

I myself went through that transition when I accepted the job to be a full time employee running a preschool. I was a stay-at-home mom for many years (we have 8 kids, hence a lot of home managing to do). I was happy being with my children but there was a part of me that yearned to grow and use whatever skills I had in order to be more productive and be a contributor to our family income. It’s not easy especially that we don’t have help and I still have to cook dinner after coming home from work. I also still have homeschooled children that need guidance and attention. It’s still quite a challenge but I am taking it with a lot of positivity, hope and prayers. After all, this is the only thing I am holding on to now. Everything else is a promise of good things to come.

I ask myself once in awhile if this transition is worth it. And I end up with this quote that I came across one time, “Nothing changes if nothing changes”. I find it to have so much meaning. I wanted a change in my life for something good or better, and the only way that happens is if I make that necessary effort to make that change happen. It is on me to make it happen and to make it work. The transition is part of the journey.

I know I share this journey with many other working mothers out there. Let’s keep this up and keep the hope and positive attitude. Things will pan out. Why not share with me your own challenges and drop me a line on our FB page? I’m sure we will have a lot to talk about!

Happy thoughts everyone!

Homespun Breakfast

When you have a large family like ours and when the children start their teenage years, life really becomes a little more hectic than before. This is because they start associating already with a different set of people – their friends. In our generation, we called it our “barkada”. My parents called it “the gang”. Of course nowadays, they call it by a different term – “the squad”. If you don’t G this, then you’re jurassic. Interesting twist of the times really.

According to Erik Erikson, one of my favorite developmental psychologists, this is the fifth stage in his Theory of Psychosocial Development called Identity vs. Role Confusion. This is where the person looks forward to his or her future and they want to belong to society and fit it. Hence they associate with a group who have similar interests and activities as a way for them to feel they belong. They have hang-outs and weekend chill activities that take them more and more away from the family.

In our family however, we try to make our Sundays sacred. We try not to schedule any school activities or events on Sundays so we can reconnect with everyone else and most especially reconnect with our faith as a whole family. When my daughter moves out to Makati this coming school year, we will even make it more special as she will only be able to join us during the weekends.

Last Pentecost Sunday, which also somewhat marks the end of the Easter Season in the Catholic faith, we decided to celebrate over breakfast. Well, actually, we do try to take a meal out of the house so it was my husband’s way of relieving me from cooking a meal and rest instead during that time. After mass, he decided to bring us to Rustic Mornings in Marikina. Paul and I have been there before but this was years and years ago. He felt it was time for a revisit.

As we drove to a tight alley, we were told that there was no more available parking space inside so we had to look for one along the street. The kids were beginning to wonder where their parents were taking them. But as soon we walked in, a fresh and relaxing vibe greeted us. A glass jug of lemon water greeted guests who had to wait a bit for their table to be ready. Fortunately, they had one large table made available to us so we were able to settle down immediately.

As we walked inside, the kids were just in awe at how beautiful rustic can actually be. Mismatched table cloths, decor and plates adorned the whole area but it all just blended well together.

We each ordered what we wanted from the menu and we were all happy with what we got. Some actually asked to taste from the other’s dishes to compare. My daughter was lucky to have a bite of each of our orders and she was simply in heaven!

Apple Oat Smoothie

I think this dish was supposed to be a “dieter’s” meal but it came quite packed and was very satisfying. It came in a deep Lanelle Abueva bowl – very apt for the ambiance. Apart from oatmeal and apple slices, it had berries, cornflakes, peaches and raisins. My eldest daughter simply loved it.

Crispy Boneless Dilis

I wanted something Filipino and a bit heavy since I didn’t have the time to grab something before mass that morning. Among their classic choices of Beef Tapa, Pork Tocino, Longganisa, Breaded Boneless Bangus, Ilocos Bagnet and Corned Beef, I opted for the Crispy Boneless Dilis. The Cebuano in me craved for something from sea, hence the dish. The Dilis was unsalted, and that’s how I liked it. You could dip it into their homemade vinegar and enjoy it with the cilantro fried rice and 2 pcs of estrellado-style eggs. Paired it with black coffee (for me) and it was just perfect!

Original Buttermilk Pancakes

For me, one good way to test the quality of the food is how their basic dishes taste like. If your dough is well made, then your bread is going to taste just fine because everything else, you can add – fruits, meats or even flavoring for some. So, one of the kids decided to try their Original Buttermilk Pancakes because they were craving for good ol’ breakfast pancakes. I liked how they whipped the butter and how fluffy the pancake was – just how the kids wanted it.

Country Style Omelet

Paul opted for the Country Style Omelet. This came with pork bits on top and 2 pieces of sliced French Baguette, herbed butter and jam. There was also an option to add a side salad. He loves eggs for breakfast and this was just right for him. I took a bit of a bite from the bread and I liked the herbed butter.

We enjoyed our breakfast in Rustic Mornings. It was a relaxing Sunday treat for all of us. We didn’t feel hurried at all by the staff despite having a couple of people outside waiting for their turn. They attended to them roperly and somehow the guests also knew they will soon be served.

A week after, my son Seve suddenly blurted out that he was in need of that same vibe for the coming weekend. He said the ease of that morning meal reminded him so much of what home is like ,and when he felt the stress of the school week, he simply lets his mind drift off into the memory of that relaxing homespun breakfast… and he is calm again.

Enjoy family time.

Happy thoughts, everyone!

**For more info on Rustic Mornings, please visit their FB page here.

An Oasis Right Where You Are

Oasis Aromatherapy Spray

I just love aromatherapy! The scents always whisk me to a realm of complete relaxation and calmness. Among the 5 senses, I somehow think that perhaps my olfactory senses are a notch higher than the other 4. I can smell things from a mile away.. from awful cockroaches inside a dark room to the smell of the beach even when we’re still driving to one. My husband Paul often laughs at me at those moments when I refuse to enter a room simply because I sense the smell of a roach that is ready to fly and attack.

But aromatherapy brings you exactly to that place where you need to be at that moment. It works most especially when you are stressed and exhausted and badly need a good night’s rest but somehow can’t get one. I’ve managed to find a couple of products that have worked wonders whenever I just need to get that much needed rest and relaxation. From balms to reed sticks and sprays, I continue to use it to this day and it has also worked well for my family.

When Paul met with the group behind the Oasis Aromatherapy Sprays for a fundraising effort they were doing for Project Brave Kids, Inc., they gave him a sample. The Spring Oasis was heavenly! It was truly a spring oasis you’d find yourself in as you take a breath of this relaxing mix of pink grapefruit, lemongrass and eucalyptus!

All proceeds from this will go to Project Brave Kids, Inc., an NGO helping children who are fighting cancer. So while you are in that heavenly and relaxing space of yours, you can rest assured that you are also helping a worthwhile cause!

Find out more about Oasis Aromatherapy Sprays here. If you are ready to order a set for yourself, you can go straight to this link.

Christmas Morning

Christmas eve ushers in a flurry of excitement because of family reunions, partaking of the Noche Buena or evening meal in our culture, the opening of gifts and late night chats over a glass of wine. It’s truly the busiest time of the year (at least in my country) especially as the traffic builds up in the metro and malls are open till midnight leading up to Christmas eve. This is also the time our calendars are filling up with get-togethers and parties of friends and family that we have not seen and will probably not see for the rest of the year. Busy is an understatement, really. Maybe chaotic is more like it? But I guess – joyful chaos is the more appropriate way to call it as the excitement is all about the spirit of giving and sharing. That is, after all, what the message of Christmas is all about right?

Whatever the noise and excitement that Christmas eve brought in somehow is brought to a slight halt on this particular day – Christmas morning. Yes – morning in particular. I woke up later than usual, which is good for me. I woke up ahead of everyone else and for me this is the peaceful time I long for. Alone time…listening to silence and the breathing of my husband who lies beside me in bed and the neighborhood’s birds chirping away.

In this silence however, I longed for some inspiration – someone my heart wanted to listen to. I opened my phone and as an OC person, I always have this habit of ticking off all unread emails (especially those that were sent as subscription updates) because I don’t really like seeing unread or unopened notifications on my apps. One email that has been consistently popping up is the one from Formed (a Catholic online revolutionary platform to bring the faith to more people around the world). They were offering Christmas specials that were only going to be available till the next 24 hours. Thinking I might miss this opportunity, I opened the email and found myself scanning through different options we could buy either for ourselves or as a gift to someone else. One particular offering that caught my attention was the one from Kitty Cleveland called God Will Provide. What got me was this phrase because this has been what I would call our battle cry as a family. Through all our challenges in life, we knew God will provide always and He will never ever leave us alone. All He asks of us is to throw our trust in Him.. in Him who knows all things.

I didn’t know who Kitty Cleveland was and what was her particular story. So I decided to Google her and find some information about her. I found myself opening YouTube and clicked on her testimony about her Divine Mercy miracle. I looked at the how long the video was and it was about an hour and seven minutes. Whoa.. I thought to myself.. this is pretty long. But I decided anyway to listen to her testimony.

I was hooked. This is exactly what I needed on this Christmas morning. Some inspiration drawing us back to the reason for the season – our Lord Jesus Christ.

This is her testimony that had me crying buckets at realizing how easily I could forget how Our Lord Jesus Christ was there for us – through Seve’s illness, through our financial losses, through storms that wrecked our home and through all other family challenges. He, my Lord and my Savior and my every reason for being – has carried me through it all! He has never abandoned me!

May you find inspiration as well in her Divine Mercy Miracle Story as I had. And although it is Christmas and Divine Mercy Sunday is still in April, I know that our God is a God of all seasons and He creates opportunities for you to find Him and love Him whatever season you are in, and wherever you may be.

Merry Christmas everyone and may you have a truly blessed New Year!

Printables are heaven-sent!

As a mom to 8 kids, 5 of whom I homeschool, it’s quite a challenge keeping up with what each of my kids are learning at a specific moment. For my homeschooled kids, since I pretty much have shared activities, it’s easy to keep track for those subjects. As for their individual work, I just get updates from the homeschool center they go to. They are so organized that they prepare a journal for me to check on a weekly basis to get an update on what they have accomplished for that week. Homeschool settings really allow for parents’ involvement in their kids’ lives.

I feel somewhat of a challenge for my kids who go to regular school though. This especially is true for Math. Sometimes, I take a look at their book only get a brief introduction of the topic they are learning. From there I often wonder how on earth did their teachers teach the topic! Of course I teach from memory, and I use my own way of teaching it. However, I noticed that there are differences of terms, and sometimes I just get a blank stare from my kids.

Anyhow, thanks to the internet which provides a wealth of information  on matters I don’t know much about (yep.. math being one of them!), I am able to bridge that gap and manage to get the concept across to my kids and they eventually understand it.  

But Math in particular is a skill that needs to be developed and practiced. One thing is to understand the concept, it is another to be good at it. It goes the same for spelling and other mastery-oriented subjects. This is where I find worksheets to be really helpful when you’re on the skill-building phase. One of the sites I have come across is education.com where I am able to print worksheets that fit my kids’ ages and grade levels.  You can choose from the different worksheets made available for you. 

The biggest holiday in our country is coming up and although I am aware that we have many gatherings and reunions to attend to, I also feel that it would be a good time to work on some skills even for just a worksheet a day. This way, our kids don’t have mental blocks on the subjects they were studying when they go back to school. I have attached a sample worksheet here for your use parents. Just download it to your local drive. But for more activities and worksheets, please visit education.com for more activities and resources that fit your specific need!

spelling_games_scramble_mittensDownload

spelling-gamesDownload