Our Family Holiday Card - Year 2010

I've ordered our holiday cards for this year and this is a preview of what people will be receiving from us, yipee!  I love sending out personalized photo cards as I think they add a special touch to your gifts, don't you think?


This is courtesy of The Picture Company.

Review: Anthology Shoes

If you knew me well, you'd know that I'm a shoe-aholic.  I love shoes.  Anytime that I feel down, just going to the mall and looking at the window displays of all the shoe stores would instantly life up my spirits!  I don't even need to buy them... just trying them on would bring endless joys to my "mababaw" heart.  I won't admit how many pairs of shoes I own... let's just say I'm nowhere near Imelda Marcos's stash yet.  But high heels, low heels, flats, running shoes, boots, flip flops, sandals... name them and I think I've owned a pair one way or another.

But since I had kids of my own, I've cut back on my spending on shoes.  Shoes had always been an impulse buy for me and when I see something I like, I just go on a whim and buy them.  But I no longer do this, or at least I think twice before doing any purchase.  I now feel guilty when I spend on shoes that only lays inside my closet for my own viewing pleasure.  And running around two boys means that I have to consider both function and comfort, aside from looking good.  And I recently found my answer in my Anthology shoes! 

I walked into Anthem at Powerplant Mall and tried on their Ballerina flats and I was immediately sold.  The shoes really fit my feet well and are really comfortable.  They're also quite affordable and looked really good on my feet.  After wearing my first pair day in and day out, they have maintained their shape and form.

So I have purchased my second pair, the San Francisco.  I've been wearing it for the past couple of days and no blisters on my feet, even if they're just new!  Yey!

I ♥♥♥ my Anthology flats!

Stephen Colbert: A Catholic Witness - The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan

Stephen Colbert: A Catholic Witness - The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan

Mommy, I Love you This Much!

Here is a cute project that my son did for his class. I was definitely touched by it. It says "I love you this much, Mommy!" The hands cut-out is actually his own hands and I guess his teachers helped him with the scissors. This project just made it more special because Josh and I used to read the book "Guess How Much I Love You" and it's one of our favorite go-to books. Especially when he was being difficult about his food, and I'd use this to act out the book so as to distract him.

Honey, Mommy loves you THHHHIIIIISSSSS MUCH!

Review: Suesh

I recently landed on a website of Suesh Singapore and inquired about purchasing a set of their makeup brushes. I was lucky enough to be forwarded to their Manila showroom and website @ suesh.com. After browsing through the site, I found out that they offered makeup workshops every Saturdays and I quickly signed up so that I can avail of their discounts when I purchase their brushes.

My workshop was scheduled last September 4th, and I am happy that I signed up for it. The workshop is held at Suesh's showroom along Wilson Street (which is really near where I lived) and usually held on Saturdays. I know they also have a morning session, but I was able to squeeze into their afternoon session from 1:00pm - 4:00pm.

Anyways, on that particular day, I was really excited and left work at about 12:30pm after having my lunch at Starbucks. I was only surprised by the traffic along Wilson Street so I arrived about 5 minutes late into the workshop. When I went into the showroom, I was pleasantly surprised by the decor of the place. It was really small, but filled with little knick-knacks and makeup products, from brushes to sponges to makeups to cases. It was like entering into a woman's beauty boudoir. They also cater to a lot of professional makeup artists (well, this is based on the customers I saw who dropped by to purchase bags and luggages of makeup tools). And in the center was the heart of the showroom, a table where workshops are usually held for a group of 5-6 people.

The workshop I attended was headed by Suzzane Tan, who is the chief makeup artist for Kanebo. She was very nice in answering all of our questions and very accommodating in looking over our work. The workshop was very hands-on so we got the chance to paint our own faces. There was an introductory "lesson" on basic skin care and brush care, before we moved on to how we can put on makeup for both daytime and night time. Too bad I wasn't able to take pictures of my 2 looks but I enjoyed myself a lot. I learned a lot. I learned that it shouldn't be that hard to care for our skin. We really do need to moisturize and apply sunscreen everyday. It also gave me the confidence to apply makeup on myself and I realized that I can be more adventurous in experimenting with different looks and bolder colors. And finally, I realize the owning a good set of makeup brushes does make a difference with the way you put on your makeup!

I got the 12 piece Purple Edition for my Suesh makeup brushes and it includes the following:

1. Powder Brush 
2. Blush Brush 
3. Foundation brush 
4. Big eyeshadow brush 
5. Small eyeshadow brush 
6. Eye definer brush 
7. Bullet brush 
8. Thick eyeliner brush 
9. Lipbrush 
10. Thin eyeliner brush 
11. Mascara brush 
12. Brow comb + the pouch 

As you can see the set is already complete for any amateur makeup users and relatively inexpensive. I am very happy with my purchase, as the bristles are really soft and no itchiness for me here. The brushes don't shed as well and handles really well.

Since I became a fan, I've moved on to purchasing other products from them and so far, I'm very pleased with them. Here's what I've gotten from them:

• Professional Makeup Remover - no cloudy vision and really takes out my make-up, even mascara. 
• Eyelash Curler "Curl-lash" - even better than Shu's and only P300, enough said 
• Kabuki Brush with holder - super soft bristles, good for applying powder and sometimes blush 
• Parian Spirit - the best brush cleaner I've ever gotten. I used to just use shampoo or alcohol on my brushes, but after doing this to my new set of brushes and I dipped them into this cleaner, more makeup came off and it dried really fast. They say it will also make your brushes last longer. 

Anyway, that's all for now...keep on SUESH-ing! 

Thank You Daddy

A couple of weeks ago, our family had a health scare when my dad suffered a minor heart attack.  He lives alone in China most parts of the year and he had to go through an angioplasty immediately after being admitted into the hospital.  He's recovering well these days, but that scare has made me realize how fragile and short life can be.  

My dad, (or "Daddy", as we still call him now even though we're all grown ups) is only in his early 60's.  For more than half my life, I've had a "long distance" relationship with Daddy since my family immigrated to Canada in the early '90s.  We even had a name for our family.  We were what you would call a "satellite family", wherein the members of the family lived in different places at one time or another.  During those days when the Internet and cellphones were not mainstream yet, we communicated through long distance phone calls, snail mail and fax machines.  It was quite expensive maintaining several households in different countries, but we managed to keep in touch with each other.  

Being an only girl and growing up with two brothers, I was always Daddy's girl.  My favorite memory about my younger years was that my mom would usually give us a hard time about our homework.  And I would always wish that Daddy would come home early so that Mom would tell Dad to tutor me.  And when I'm passed on to Dad, he would always just ask me "Do you already know this lesson?"  I'd say yes and he'd let me go.  Hehe.  Mind you, I really did know my lessons and I would usually get high marks for my exams.

Growing up in a traditional Chinese family, I grew up knowing that some families put more importance on sons than daughters (with sons being able to carry the family name and all).  But I never felt that with my Dad.  Of course he was a bit more protective towards me than my brothers, but he always encouraged me to be the best in everything and he told me that I can be just as good as the boys.  In school, I excelled in Math and Sciences, but didn't really do that well in Home Economics.  And when he was going to play baseball or shoot some hoops, he never excluded me from these games.  He even allowed me to buy my own golf clubs so I can learn golf with my brothers.

My Dad has also given us the freedom to explore and see the world on our own.  He wasn't a very hands-on dad coz while we were still small, he spent a lot of time at work.  Times were harder then.  But as we grew older, my mom and dad always took us to trips.  We even saw our ancestral home in rural China when I was just 8 years old.  And that opened my eyes to how lucky we were because we had running hot water at home and I could wear jeans, even if I was a girl.  My Dad was even the one who pushed me to learn how to drive.   And I'm very thankful that I can drive, even in Manila driving conditions...hehe.

Now that I have my own boys to raise, I sincerely hope that I will be able to give them the same freedom that my Dad has bestowed on me, so that they learn how to be independent and they see the world, beyond what Rod and I can offer them.  I also hope that my boys grow up to be good men just like my Dad and that they eventually love their daughters as much as my Dad loved me.

Thank you Daddy for being a wonderful father.  

Kenji Lee's Milestones

Kenji is turning 1 year old in a couple of months and so far, we've been hitting our monthly milestones much earlier than expected.  My brave little daredevil has been crawling and cruising around the house for quite a while now.  We've had several bumps and bruises along the way, with a few sprinkling of tears, but we've been very fortunate that he is growing up to be a happy, healthy little boy.

Some milestones for my little Kenji:

• Started sitting on his own by 5 months old.
• Can now stand and cruise while holding on to furniture.  I think he'll be walking soon.
• Clapping his hands together.
• Waving bye bye to Mommy and Daddy.
• Crawling and playing peek-a-boo.
• Laughs a lot especially when Ahiya Josh is playing with him.
• Trying to wrestle away toys from Ahiya.
• Babbling, shouting and calling our dog Hiro.
• Understands some of the things that we tell him.  I would ask him if he wants Mommy to carry him and he'd immediately extend his hands so that I would!  
• Can eat solids now - rice, sliced fruits, meat, veggies, you name it, he'll eat it.  He doesn't like mushy stuff.
• Likes Mommy to read him his books.  I think that's the only time he'd sit still on my lap.

I will add more things to this when I can think of them.

Wanting Daughters, Getting Sons

Found this blog posted on Motherlode.  It was a heartwarming post.  Although I can't say that I've always wished for a baby daughter, I do agree that in the end, no matter what we have, be it boys or girls, we all just want and wish for what is best for our kids.

===========================================================================

Wanting Daughters, Getting Sons

When I set out to find guest bloggers, my goal was to find parents whose life equations were made of different variables than mine, to reflect the range of ways to be a parent. Enter Allison Tate, who, lives in a house full of boys, and sometimes feels lost amid the testosterone.

Yes, Allison’s life is different — after a career in TV and film development, she is now a stay-at-home mom in Central Florida, while I stayed in the workforce. She has three children, I stopped at two. But the true difference is that she’s in the middle of it — raising three sons ages 6, 4 and 16 months. My tales of those stages are memories while hers are immediate. I have the benefit of hindsight; she has the edge of the moment.

Listening to her describe her feeling that she is not living the life she’d expected brought a particular pang of recognition. Like Allison, I always assumed I would have daughters. And I admire her honesty here in describing how she is still coming to terms with the fact that she will not.

BY ALLISON SLATER TATE

When I conceived my first child, I wanted more than anything for him to be a girl. I whispered at night to my burgeoning belly, “Be a girl,” much to my husband’s horror and dismay. It’s not that I didn’t want a son. It’s just that I wanted to know for sure I would be able to have a daughter, and so having one first would get that worry out of the way.

I had been planning my whole life to be the mother of a daughter. I had mothered 22 Cabbage Patch Kids, named all my Madame Alexander dolls, and signed imaginary Christmas cards with the names of the children I would someday have.

My future daughter had a lot of Anne of Green Gables and Ramona Quimby to look forward to, as well as French braids and tutus and Mary Janes and apron dresses. She was going to watch “Felicity” marathons with me and ogle the new J. Crew catalog and have annual viewings of “It’s a Wonderful Life” with me under a blanket with hot chocolate and lots of whipped cream. She was going to be, I thought, my best friend. You know, until she reached her teenage years and all. But that would take a loooong time, and then she would come back to me and we could plan a wedding together and I could watch her fall in love and have babies of her own.

My worst nightmare, back then, was that I would end up being a Mom of Boys, one of those women with a “practical” haircut and flat shoes who spent her afternoons at the baseball field and washed a lot of sweaty athletic clothes. A Mom of Boys bought a lot of boring clothes for her children — polo shirts and khaki shorts and Nike trainers. She was looked on with pity by the Moms of Girls, who color-coordinated with their daughters and took them on trips to the American Girl store and “The Nutcracker” and who had princess birthdays and tea parties with their mommy friends.

As you have probably guessed, my first child defied me, as he continues to do to this day, and was, indeed, a boy. And I loved him with all my heart. But when I conceived my second child unexpectedly, I thought for sure it was fate. I wasn’t yet ready for another, so surely this one would be a girl….

Nope, another boy. A sweetheart of a boy. A really, really good little guy. Then we had our third child, our last child, a child I thought for sure would be a little tomboy sister and…all of a sudden, here I am: Mom of Boys.

I now see it as a challenge to redefine this whole Mom of Boys thing. I’m not giving up my ribbon flip-flops and I am not giving up my Vera Bradley diaper bag. I still wear lip gloss and I do not in any way have a practical haircut. I can play Star Wars and Transformers, but I draw the line at Pokemon — I don’t do anime.

I trudge out to the soccer fields, and root for teams where the girls are the stars, if only because they are heads taller than the boys. I drool over their cute little pink Pumas and make sure my own boys have the cutest soccer water bottles and cute haircuts and cute backpacks. And I am making new literary lists full of Henry Huggins and Superfudge and the Hardy Boys and Magic Tree Houses. I’m still going to read them “Anne of Green Gables,” because they need to know about strong female characters (like their mother). They are still going to have to watch “It’s a Wonderful Life” with me so they can see what a wonderful character George Bailey is. I want sons like George Bailey — sons who make good, close friendships and who can dream big dreams and who fall in love.

As I raise my children, I am forever conscious that I am raising little men. I want them to be men who take responsibility, who aren’t afraid of commitments and who thrill with the thought of a challenge or an adventure. I want them to be both spontaneous and thorough. I want them to be able to cry and show emotion. I want them to love and be loved.

It’s all the same wishes I would have had for daughters, when it comes down to it.

The clothes just aren’t quite as cute.

Some thoughts from Elizabeth Gilbert

From the author of "Eat, Pray, Love":

~

"Real, sane, mature love -- the kind that pays the mortgage
year after year and picks up the kids after school -- is
not based on infatuation but on affection and respect."

~

"People think a soul mate is your perfect fit, and that's
what everyone wants.

"But a true soul mate is a mirror, the person who shows
you everything that's holding you back, the person who
brings you to your own attention so you can change your
life.

"A true soul mate is probably the most important person
you'll ever meet, because they tear down your walls and
smack you awake.

"But to live with a soul mate forever? Nah. Too painful.
Soul mates, they come into your life just to reveal another
layer of yourself to you..."

~

"People always fall in love with the most perfect aspects
of each other's personalities. Who wouldn't? Anybody can
love the most wonderful parts of another person. But that's
not the clever trick. The really clever trick is this:

"Can you accept the flaws? Can you look at your partner's
faults honestly and say, 'I can work around that. I can
make something out of that.'? Because the good stuff is
always going to be there, and it's always going to be
pretty and sparkly, but the crap underneath can ruin you."

~

Her new book "Committed" is out now, Yey!

How to Help Your Children Be Free of Stress and Anxiety

By Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
Expert Content  |  June 15, 2010

   

What do you want most for your children?Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, father of eight children, has spent plenty of time trying to figure out just that! Get his five suggestions to help your children live happy and stress-free lives without limits. 

Everyone is entitled to feel peaceful within; happiness and fulfillment are the birthright of every single human being on our planet. Twenty-five years ago, I wrote a book called What Do You Really Want for Your Children? (Morrow, 1985). At that time, I wanted to offer a way for parents to help their children achieve what moms and dads around the world want for their kids: to value themselves, to be risk-takers, to be self-reliant, to be free from stress and anxiety, to have peaceful lives, to celebrate their present moments, to experience a lifetime of wellness, to be creative, to fulfill their higher needs and to feel a sense of purpose—that is, to be no-limit people. As a parent of eight children, I consider it my greatest parenting achievement that my kids are now all no-limit adults.

When I learned my voice was going to be used in an animated Pixar film, it reminded me that we are, in fact, all still children inside, striving as adults to be all the things we want for our kids. While our entire world seems to be anxiety-ridden these days, I offer the following suggestions I wrote to parents 25 years ago, the children of whom likely have their own kids today. See if they work in your efforts with children, regardless of their ages, and even with yourself, since you too have a child inside who wants to come out and enjoy life.

   

Relax in your efforts to have young children get ahead of the game early in life.

It is not necessary to spend endless hours teaching children reading, math, foreign languages and the like, long before school begins. While it is absolutely wonderful and helpful to allow them to explore everything as young toddlers, the pressure to excel, to be ahead of the other children, all in the name of being fast and first at what they do, is putting the anxiety pressure on when they are still in diapers. Children need to develop at their own pace. They will walk when they are ready. They will not embarrass themselves in college with dirty diapers simply because they are not toilet trained sooner than other toddlers. It will come. Relax. Do no force them. Allow them to enjoy their young years. While it is nice to be highly motivated, it is also nice to be well balanced. Being able to relax and enjoy life is at least equal, if not superior, to being at the head of the class and always being nervous inside because of an inordinate need to be first.

Examine your own life for stress that you may be modeling.

Stop trying to be the perfect mother, father, wife, single parent, homemaker, teacher, aunt, counselor or whatever. There is no such thing as a flawless person, so why not give up that ghost in favor of being a stress-free, happy person? You will never be appreciated by everyone all the time for everything you do, and any amount of upset you have because people do not appreciate you is a waste of your present moments. Do the things you do because you choose to do them, not so you will be seen as perfect. The best role model you can be is one who is happy, stress-free and feeling good about yourself.

Give children an opportunity to have the luxury of a sense of privacy.

Don't make them feel pressured to be with other people all the time. Children need to learn how to be alone. Many children complain constantly that they are bored, they have nothing to do and they hate leisure time. These are the sentiments of children who have grown up thinking others have a duty to keep them entertained. They have always had some kind of activity, and if they get bored, then someone will take care of things for them by taking them somewhere or turning on the TV or buying a new toy. This is a child who is growing up expecting action all the time. This translates to anxiety about having to be alone. Let them play alone; in fact, encourage it. Expose them to books, newspapers and magazines right from the very beginning. Let them have a place where they can go to be alone without feeling that they are doing something wrong. Privacy is terrifically important as a way to avoid anxiety, and the child who experiences it when very young, and learns not to be threatened by it, will have a big head start on not feeling anxious when "there is nothing to do."

Try to remove the pressure on children to acquire external rewards throughout their lives.

Help them to focus on the pure enjoyment of playing baseball, rather than on winning a trophy. Teach them to love baseball all of their lives, rather than learn to avoid it because they are not supremely talented at it. Do not give them early reasons to avoid anything in life, which is precisely what you do when you place the emphasis on achieving external awards rather than internal fulfillment. Rather than focusing solely on a report card grade, which is less important later in life, talk with them about what they are studying, how they can apply it in life, whether they are happy with themselves in school, what they like to study and what meaning they see in it for them now and in the future. If they pursue only the award, once they have attained it, they may no longer wish to pursue that area or endeavor. I would assume you want your children to love music, not to pass the obligatory music class and then disavow any interest in music for a lifetime. Teach them the inner joy of learning and applying what they gain for themselves.

  

Let children set their own goals for themselves.

Stay out of the way of their grandiose dreams except to serve as a positive encourager. Most children are afraid of their own greatness and set their sights too low, or they are the product of parental interference in which parents, well intentioned though they may be, tell their children what they should aim for in life. If an 11-year-old girl wants to be a doctor, encourage her to dream in that direction, even if she hasn't shown what you think are the appropriate aptitudes or attitudes. If she is not going to become a doctor, she will make the adjustments as she goes along, and there is no problem in having to adjust one's goals. If you tell children they cannot do something or to be more realistic, you are only teaching them to distrust themselves and to become unnecessarily anxious about something that will surely work itself out.

  

No-limit children have learned a different response to the same stimuli because they know the world to be friendly. Their behavior is meant "for the best," or at least their mistakes are "honest." Therefore, if an action goes awry, it does not elicit feelings of guilt. Remorse, learning, redoing and improving are possible responses instead. Rather than worry, a no-limit child sees future events as exciting adventures, opportunities to grow, chances for fun challenges and new experiences. Since self-worth is not tied to performance, the worry about "doing well" is eliminated. No-limit children are "doers," and guilt and worry do notdo anything. Thus, it is very unlikely they would bother themselves with negative thinking or destructive behaviors.

Living is not a race; it is a journey, something to be enjoyed each day. You can do a great deal to help children to understand this important truth, and you will get a nice bonus as well—that is, a lot less anxiety for yourself as part of the bargain.

Some time ago, my mother wrote me the following poem that summarizes beautifully the feeling I want to convey to anyone involved in a child's life.

WAYNE
A mother can but guide ...
then step aside—I knew
I could not say, "This is the way
that you should go."

For I could not forsee
what paths might beckon you
to unimagined heights
that I might never know.

Yet, always in my heart
I realized
That you would touch a star . . .
I'm not surprised!
— Hazel Dyer

You can help your own children to touch their own stars if you follow that important advice. Guide, then step aside.

Dr. Wayne Dyer is the co-author of four children's books, the most recent titled, No Excuses (Hay House). His voice can be heard in the new Pixar film Day & Night, released June 18 with Toy Story 3.