What can I say?

In the days that I want blogging to be a normal thing, to include it in the routine of my daily beautiful mess, that's when I feel like I am slooooowly dragging myself away from the space I have loved too much one time. Why are there bloggers who can find time to write about their new lipstick or latest gadget and I can't even sit here to bleed nonsense thoughts? Que sera sera. Just like the hottest split-screen love team on TV, my blogging is at its best when it's not forced. And words aren't number-conscious. 

So today, after my shift at work in my comfy house dress (yes, I am now a certified work-at-home mama), I decided to jot in here a few of what I currently think or maybe the nothingness caused by cups of coffee and glasses of cola. Well, I'll be finishing my girl's invites for her classmates and teachers before I can finally doze of for 3 hours. The little miss will be having a simple gathering this weekend for her 7th birthday. I can't wait to share what I have prepared. It isn't as lavish as other girls' 7th birthday parties but I am sure, in my heart, my sassy songstress will love it. Just like how I always hoped it could be, the husband is home to help me with my wahm changes and party preps. 

So far, so cool. 

I might be saying hi to you all here more regularly. Say, something about why I like James Reid and Nadine Lustre? And perhaps, I can tell you a little about my learnings as I turned 31 this month. 

Alright, friends. Until I feel the urge again. (why does it have to sound that way?)

Pure and Sure Water For A Healthy Family

We are a family with sensitive digestive system – R, the girl and I. It was not so long ago when the girl had amoebiasis, which R and I experienced, too. It was crazy. Endless trip to the loo is, right? Although water was not the culprit why the girl and I had it, I still make sure that the water we drink is safe and pure, even if that means I need to spend more. There are numerous water refilling stations that sprouted everywhere like stray grass but only a few can be really trusted. My MIL encountered one that has rust in their water. Imagine, I allowed my then toddler daughter to drink that! It's unforgivable, I know. Good thing nothing bad happened to her.

source

So I was grateful that this blog was invited when Manila Water Total Solutions launched Healthy Family Purified Water on August 7 at Annabel's Tomas Morato. I knew so much about water. They told us that Healthy Family is the same water that comes out from our faucets, only purer and safer. Why so? The whole process of bottling it were done hands-free. And you might be asking why don't we just drink the water that comes from our faucet if it's just the same? Well, it's because some pipes are already old and rusty that even if Manila Water provides water that is safe enough to drink, it still gets contaminated. Thus, the creation of Healthy Family. 

Checking In

The hiatus was intentional. I was not missing at all, I'm still in the circulation. I may have taken a rest from this space but I was all over the messy, happy place that is the cosmic universe. I've been throwing photos taken from this city all the way to my one thousand plus Instagram followers. I've been cooking simple meals at home and sharing its recipes with my followers on Facebook. I pin for sanity or for the girl's upcoming party. Lastly, Twitter has absorbed all the unnecessary one-liner randomness I can think at the moment. Mostly showbiz stuff, not biggie controversies. I know I bid goodbye to the blue bird some months ago but you know, I kinda miss it. Yes, the bird. So I tweet my stupidities when I'm bored. It's not an avenue to showcase intellect, after all. 

I'm not sure how many of my past Bebengisms readers are still here. Just want to say hi and that I miss you. I miss this. I miss us. Whoa, it's like we got into a long romantic relationship that didn't end well! Ugh, too much teleserye. Pangako *coughs* Sa'yo. LOL. Seriously, whenever I'm here, although I know I won't see your reactions, I feel like I have thrown my thoughts in a big box of party where there are people waiting for me; for whatever I have to say. Or so I hope. 

I was daydreaming one day and decided that this blog will be full of stories. No whys, no reasons. 

If there's one thing that makes me crave for this blog more is that I have the freedom to write what I want to write. I can still go and have sponsored posts here (like that of Lysol) but the brands and collaborators are fully aware that my readers will hear my voice and not someone else.

I'd like everyone to know that I am happier now because I am blogging in my terms. 

Indeed, when you stay true to your purpose, whatever it is that you do (in this argument, this blog), blessings, the kind that is rightfully yours, will naturally come your way. It can be gifts from sponsors that you timingly need or a partnership that can put food on the table. But the best blessing I have received because of sticking to my guts was love. 

I felt more love when I promised to be genuine in every thing I say or do -- more love for myself that was forgotten at some point years back, married kind of love from my husband, sweet love from my baby girl, and understanding love from the people who accept me for who I am.

It is love that makes this ordinary blog extraordinary.

Chicken and Banana Stew

Some gutsy souls have asked what I do all day as a stay-at-home momma. Well, for those who still wonder, just please stop, haha! Well, look at my healthy and happy child as an evidence of "my work". And I think you already know that one of the not-so secrets to successfully raising a healthy and happy child is feeding her with quality food. Yup, not junkies.

Heads up, it can be tricky. Sometimes, there are parents who only think of vegetables as healthy. And that vegetables can make their kids "fat". What? What's up with that? Fat doesn't mean healthy, right? 

Learning Through Play with Ogalala World

Three years ago, I decided to send my daughter to a Progressive School. In my judgment as her primary caregiver, I believed that she'd learn more without the concrete structure and routine that most traditional schools offer. Any four-year-old learns best through play. And she did, with flying and sparkling rainbow colors. Now, she'll be a first grader on Monday, in the same school. She can now read a bit, has a good handwriting and is overly excited to learn. "It's fun, 'Nay", that's what she always says. In the deepest corner of my competitive heart, I want her to be on top, I want her to be best in everything. But my mommy heart pounds for something else. I just really want her to have fun and enjoy her daily life as a student. After all, my parenting goal has always been to raise a healthy and happy kid. 

So when Ogalala World invited us to attend a bloggers workshop cum playdate, I nonchalantly said yes. You see, I decided to go to blogging/media events only if it will help me enrich my life as a woman, wife and mom. And my decision was right. 

Revisited the Academy

We attended the wedding of our friend last month, which was held at St. Ignatius Chapel inside the Philippine Military Academy in Baguio City. Before the rehearsals, we got to walk around the place that was once home for my husband and his mistah for four years. The "Pamantasang Malapit sa Airport", as joked by many graduates and cadets, is one awesome venue for photography and Instagram. Although I am an IG addict myself, I only managed to post one; didn't want to waste our precious time posting our every move, hehe. It's a rather important keepsake since anyone's visit to the academy will not be complete without having a touristy photo in front of the Melchor Hall. So it's still special and also, I took several snapshots in this particular spot. It's practically new so the two Cpt Rs and their brats (term for PMA graduates' kids) had fun posing. And oh, jumpshots and more craziness from my darlings, too! It's really one of my life's greatest pleasures to see them having fun. 

Lysol To Go: Perfect for Moms on the Go!

Long before motherhood happened to me, I have already been used to packing a lot of things whenever I leave the house. I don't want the feeling of needing something and not having it on my bag. Like what I said in this post, my husband thought I was insinuating to run away with him when I packed a week's worth bag for our 3-day trip to Baguio, haha! It was crazy, I know, but I'm glad I didn't end up buying clothes or anything that I forgot to bring. 

And now that I'm now a mom to an amazing girly girl with an energy of four rowdy boys, I can't always bring a big bag of my regular everything because #backache. In almost 7 years of learning the ropes of child-rearing, I have realized that I only need to make my little miss healthy and happy. Everything else will surely follow.