Sophia Turns Six: Cupcake School Party

It's December 1st today - more than two months after this was held - I can finally share with you the photos of Sophia's simple party at school. You see, I am now breathing normally. I'm savoring the calm days left before the Christmas madness begins. Actually, not days but few hours left. It will be mompreneurhood at its finest. Christmas orders, Sophia's Christmas presentation and party, shopping, husband's holiday break, home decorating, and more. Whew.

Lovin' Hooks and DIY with Good Housekeeping and 3M Philippines

As a self-proclaimed domestic queen and Army wife (whose husband is not at home all the time), it's inevitable that I do 99% of the house chores ― laundry, dishwashing, changing light bulbs and even making pukpok some concrete nails on the wall to hang the curtain rod or framed photos. However, the latter will be quite a task for my weak arms. The last time I attempted to do such, I hit my thumb! So I'm glad for products such as Command™'s Damage-Free Hanging Solutions by 3M. 

Post-Holidays Scrapbooking Workshop at Gourdo's

I love Gourdo's! It is a haven of many beautiful things for the home. That's where I bought some of my cookie cutters, mixing bowls with covers and the elegant glass cake stand that we used on Cpt R's birthday merienda here at home, which fortunately was on sale. I posted its photo on Instagram and my blogger friend, Louise (of Mommy Practicality, of course you know her!), saw it on my Facebook. She told me (and the rest of our blissful friends) that she got invited by Gourdo's for a fun scrapbooking workshop and that she can invite four more mommies to go with her. Yezz, I signed up and went. Sad though that L didn't make it as the hardworking momma needed to rest, too. Anyway, I'm a novice scrapper. Pia's baby and first birthday photo albums were filled with memories and stories. When I was a kid, my mom used to complain about all the abubots tucked under my pillow but she was the first to commend me for making her some DIY greeting cards for all the occasions we celebrated. Yeah, scrapbooking may not be as important as air and water, but it makes memories more real and royal! 

My Beautiful Thai Boxer for Halloween 2013

Sophia and I were supposed to be at ABS-CBN Publishing, Inc's Super Trick or Treat Halloween event in Trinoma last Sunday, but didn't make it. So even if we really didn't have any Trick or Treatin' event this year, I still decided to dress her up.

I looked for that one unused costume she has. It's a Thai boxing shorts from one of her godmoms! I got one of her white sandos, tied it up at the back to look like a midriff tank top and scoured my ribbon box for her head a la Rambo. Since we don't have boxing gloves, I cut up an old cloth diaper (lampin) into two thick strips and rolled it up around her knuckles. Perfect. So Pacman. I was in my bestest theatrical convincing self so she'd wear it. I thought she would hate that she'd look like a boy and all. But no, she was so game and in character that I was trying not to laugh during picture-taking. See for yourself.

Sophia Turns Five: My Little Pony School Party

When I was Googling for parties with My Little Pony themes, almost all of the girls who had it were five-year-olds or older. It's undeniably a little lady's favorite. My little girl breathes ponies day in and day out. Instead of saying everybody, she'd say "every pony". She'd sleep with her ponies, plays with them whenever she can and sometimes tags them along when she poops. Haha! Yes, she is that hooked to the colorful gallopin' cuties. So even without asking her, I decided to make it as her school party's theme. As you will see in the photos, the ponies weren't that evident 'cause it's not easy to look for MLP merchandise here in the Philippines, so I played with colors of the ponies instead. 

Warning: I'll be flooding this post with photos from the event. I enjoyed being the photographer that I didn't have a photo with the celebrant. You know, something for posterity. Well, we had one; a family selfie inside the car. That'll do. Hehe. Anyway, if I had the means and money, I could have just ordered party paraphernalia here. But because we're a single-income family, I went DIY. Momma, I had a blast up to the littlest of details!

Hoop for a Hoopless Hand Towel

I love Martha Stewart's kitchen towels! I bought mine in SM Department Store. It has so many designs that could add a touch of cuteness to your kitchen. I have pink polka, cupcakes, stripes and plaid. I am actually planning to add more. Yes, you can never have too many hand towels, you know. But I noticed one thing, only a few have hoops sewn on it. Among my 5 towels, the polka has it. And since I don't have an oven yet where I could hang it and neither I have installed a hand towel bar in my humble kitchen, it has nowhere to go. It became a messy love affair between me and my towels. So I thought of a great idea! I sewed a DIY hoop for my hoopless hand towel! 

The Peacock Project

As a SAHM, I am blessed with time. 

I can scrub the bathroom tiles at 2am and have lunch at 3pm. That's how blessed I am, yes? No, I am bounded with house chores all throughout the day, bombarded with demands and weird questions by the getting-taller-as-ever preschooler and hooked on my social media thingamajigs. But as an educated woman who knows better than enslaving herself with her own hook-ups, wearing unwashed hair and oily face, I still find time to relax. I do it by drinking coffee or tea, just lying down with Sophia when she's watching TV or I do crafts.

And because I'm blessed with time (a little skill, too) and I have not set aside a budget for things like these, I made a DIY PEACOCK COSTUME for Sophia that she used for her Moving-Up Day days earlier. I promised I will make a tutorial of sorts; but like recipe-writing, I think I'm not that good in finding words to make my readers understand how it should be done. Let's make the photos do more of the talking, shall we? 

Going DIY with Xai Ribbons and Craft Store

When I was younger, I really like abubots na. As in, I was teased by my sisters na I'm a rat daw 'cause I have too many anik-anik. I remember giving Lola L a letter for Mother's Day made from an old diskette. Remember niyo yung colorful diskettes dati? Yun. Grabe, we're getting old na talaga. Haha!

Anyway, I have started loving crafting and doing DIYs because we can't afford to buy everything that was in trend. But siyempre, we have to be resourceful. And it was tested more when I became a mom. Actually, from the baby shower pa lang, I went DIY already --- the backdrop that looked like a highschool project, 10 pink balloons that I inflated by myself and the Hello Kitty souvenirs that I wrapped using colorful sandwich bags. Now that LB is already a preschooler, mas dumami na ang chance to exercise my crafty hands. Eto nga, I have this peacock costume project na hindi ko makatulugan sa pag-iisip. We can have someone sew a costume naman for her, kaso mahalia, mothers! I'm a SAHM naman so I can do it instead. 

Divisoria for Sophia's DIY Peacock Costume

Sophia was absent in school earlier (meaning yesterday) because we needed to maximize her Tatay's stay (and his driving skills). So we planned to go to Divisoria to buy materials for her peacock costume that she'll be wearing on the 23rd. Ipagpaumanhin niyo muna mga muthers kung maaantala ng slight ang ilan sa mga nai-promise kong posts ha. Magiging busy ang Martha Stewart crafty hands ko eh. Rest muna ang writer hands ha.

So after lunch, gorabelles to Divisoria ang Familia Rayala.

Grabe ang traffic. Nakakasuka. And imagine the pain when you have that unexpected (and in my case, very unwanted) monthly visit! Super nagpipigil akong sumigaw because I did not want to add to my husband's burden who's behind the wheel. Pasahero lang ako eh mainit na ulo ko, how much more yung driver di ba? Tapos masakit pa ipin niya. But when we finally arrived in the gilid of the 999 Mall to park, medyo gumanda na aura ko. Ready to hunt for the materials na.

Excited na din si R. We went to Tabora St. where you can find all the props, costume thingamajigs and materials for souvenirs that you need. Kung agila nga ang role ng bagets, may ready-made na wings na dun eh. Super dami ding fairy wings, in different colors pa! It's a lot better talaga in Divi when you're agresibo. Ako pa naman makapal ang mukha. Tanong galore ako ever. Ayun kakatanong, nakakita kami ng PEACOCK FEATHERS!

Sophia Turns Four: Pink and Green Strawberry School Party

I knew from day one I planned Sophia's school party that she would enjoy. And sure, she did. But I never expected I'd get sick. I was constipated and bloated. I kept on releasing gas but no further follow-up, which was such a bad idea. I drank the last sachet of my then-slimming tea (because I have learned to love my womanly body) in the belief that I would have released all there was in me that made me so bloated. Yeah, I won't let you know the gory details 'cause you might be munching on some chocolate bar right now while reading this. And you might hate me forever. So what happened was, I released it! Ta-daah. But annoyingly, I had a fever and suffered from severe headache due to dehydration. Can I just prick myself with a dextrose? So, Sophia didn't go to school today because no one would prep her up. I think she somehow understood her sickly mother's sad situation. She didn't ask for too much of clingy motherhood that I usually offer. She looked like the girl I really wanted her to be -  an independent four-year-old.

My 4-year-old preschooler was to blame for all of these, eh? No, please, no. It did cross my mind though. But I loved what I did for my little girl and never regretted it. Oh well, I might avail a party pack from Jollibee next year. This party she had was all DIY - from the invites to the loot bags. I even used my own CO2 to inflate all 18 balloons I got from The Shoppe, owned by Misella Badua-Tagorda, my highschool classmate, who is now a proud mommy of a 3-year-old boy.