Happy Father's Day! :)

We learn so much from the fathers in our life so I thought about sharing these with you dear readers.

Happy Father's Day! <3

Pluviophile Mommy

It's raining again!! :) Sometime during the lockdown I posted an FB story that little drizzles are actually my favorite. It surprised me that I also have some friends who share the same love for rain. :)

Call me sentimental - grey skies, tip-tapping, rain boots and a jacket....oooh, I just love haha <3

While many adore the sun, I, on the other hand, feel so recharged when it's raining (of course, not the ultra-stormy kind). It makes me feel more at peace and productive as well. Thought it was weird at first...but there was actually a study that shows Why Bad Weather Means Good Productivity. I loved it so much I use it often with my students back when I was still in University.

Definitely brings me back to my grade school days. I'd be ready in my uniform, only to see the school bus make a U-turn because classes are cancelled. Then I'd go on pretending that I'm in some sort of a boarding school, tidy up my bed and read a book. Such happy times!

When I was in the corporate world, I would ACTIVELY seek out protective gear too! I got Pluey's rain boots in a houndstooth design...if it wasn't too expensive I might have imported Hunter boots as well (and go on imagining stomping on mud in Glastonbury Festival). And the only reason I got caught out during Ondoy? Yup, my kikay self making a mad dash for a rain jacket in the mall. Lol!

I guess now that we've experienced this pandemic in our lifetime, we can safely say that life doesn't serve us just light drizzles. 

• Sometimes it can be a super-bagyo level where we won't ever feel sentimental, recharged, or even productive. 
• Sometimes it will be too muddy to even lift a foot up and move forward. 

So what do we do? We take it one step at a time. Whether you need just an umbrella or a trench coat with boots too, the important thing is to take that crucial first step. 

Through drizzles or stormier weather, here for you :)

Note: Mommy Madz of Mommy MeowMeow Blog is a Financial Advisor of PRU Life U.K. Essentially PRUdent is her Facebook Page that is dedicated to helping women and young families plan for their goals and create protection programs. While her EssentiallyPRUdent.com site is still under construction, she uses this platform to be able to share financial wellness to others :)

How I Disinfect my Home Workout Equipment

You know that funky gym-equipment smell (think back to your gym-going days...you know, pre- quarantine time)? 

You almost want to turn back and head home but sayang yung outfit and yung travel going to the gym :)

Now that we are mostly indoors, we still try to keep up with our workout routine. There are times when I don't feel motivated at all. For me, a good motivator (aside from food haha) would be a ready and clean set of home work-out gear and equipment.

At home I'm following HIIT exercises and there are mostly floor exercises. Imagine all the sweat going to the mat. Yikes! At first I just clean it with soapy-watered rag but since we have a steam mop anyway, I tried it and it makes me feel secure that my mat really is clean. After all:

"Based on scientific data and experiments, steam is effective in killing and eliminating up to 99.99% of viruses1 from surfaces" (https://www.polti.co.uk/)

So alam na...when bacteria 🦠 in our skin mixes with sweat and transfers to our exercise mat, it's really a no-no 🙅🏻‍♀️🙅🏻‍♀️ to just leave it there to dry. We really have to clean our home equipments too. You don't want that funky gym-odor in your home workout equipment right?

My Workout Equipment Cleaning Routine:

1. After a homeworkout, I clean the mat with soapy-watered cloth.

2. Rinse the cloth with water and use the same now-clean cloth to rinse the soap out of your mat

3. If you have a steam mop, use the small attachment to steam mop the  surface of your exercise or yoga mat. (We use POLTI PH Vaporetto Smart 40 Steam Mop. I got it from Lazada back in 2018) This is also the attachment we use for steaming our pillows and mattress. This model also has a bigger attachment to steam mop floors and carpets.

4. Air-dry it.

5. Don't just roll the length of the mat! 

6. Fold the mat in half, making sure that the clean part is inside, then roll it from the fold.

7. If you have a garter / velcro / thick string, use it to tie the rolled mat.

That's it! :)

Let's keep healthy and keep viruses and bacteria away! :D  🏃🏻‍♀️ 

P.S. We're using BodyBoss.com HIIT exercises at home :)

P.P.S. This is not a sponsored post

Online Road to Financial Wellness (Mar. 30 5PM via Zoom)

Hello Mommies!!!! :)

Pause muna tayo sa Netflix...kahit for 30minutes lang :) In that 30 minutes, you can learn more about how you can improve your family's personal finance. In 30 minutes you can learn ano ang puwede pang ika-ginhawa ng pamilya for now and the future. See you tomorrow!  :)

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

https://zoom.us/join
Zoom Meeting ID: 605-149-954
password: 015509

30th March, 5PM

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Would you agree that for many of us, 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 = 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧? 🌿👨‍🌾👩‍🌾 It's true that we are forced to stay home for weeks but it doesn't mean that we can't be productive nor be better.

Like how we "Konmari" our physical stuff, we always have the power to change and improve our 'financial narrative'.

A̶l̶w̶a̶y̶s̶ ̶s̶h̶o̶r̶t̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶c̶a̶s̶h̶?̶ ✅ Let's learn how we can plan and produce a positive cash flow

W̶o̶r̶r̶i̶e̶d̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶t̶o̶d̶a̶y̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶r̶ ̶f̶u̶t̶u̶r̶e̶?̶ ✅Know that there are financial tools that can help you prepare for life's many uncertainties.

We invite you to our online and free 𝓡𝓸𝓪𝓭 𝓽𝓸 𝓕𝓲𝓷𝓪𝓷𝓬𝓲𝓪𝓵 𝓦𝓮𝓵𝓵𝓷𝓮𝓼𝓼 session via ZOOM app (https://zoom.us/join) 👩‍💻👨‍💻  sd

You know you have a lot of time on your hands. You know that you have nowhere to go for now. You know that there are still things you want to improve on.

So what will your 30-minutes be worth? I sincerely hope you can make it a time for planting tomorrow :)

"Always do your best. What you plant now, you will harvest later." - Chris Rock

JOIN our online and free ROAD TO FINANCIAL WELLNESS
========================

https://zoom.us/join
Zoom Meeting ID: 605-149-954
password: 015509

30th March, 5PM

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

See you there!

www.EssentiallyPRUdent.com

#RoadtoFinancialWellness
#PersonalFinance

Homeschooling: Our Fully Booked Haul!

Hello Mommies! 

It's been so long since my last blog yikes! I used to think that I'd be able to blog here and there with little pockets of time but as it turns out...what time?? Hahaha :)

So to get me out of this blogging slump, I'm sharing with you the books we got from Fully Booked in Gateway Mall QC.

Full disclosure: I'm not really supposed to buy ANY book at all because I'm in saving-for-the-rainy-days and too-many-books mode. But with books, oh I could justify to tralala-land!

First is WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE. I was so happy to see a commemorative edition with the Caldecott Medal in gold foil. A book that receives a Caldecott Award means it has been voted by school librarians - which shows further just how much kids loved it because of multiple library check-outs.

This book was even banned some 50 years ago (?) but eventually they saw the value in what it teaches kids.

When I was younger, I shied away from this book because I didn't want to scare myself. But now that I'm a mom..oooh, I just had to read it to my kids. Not to scare them no..hehe.. more of to show them or help them visualize or see their tantrums and emotions when being reprimanded.

It tells a story of kids dealing with tantrums and how they can get back from that wild place when they feel their parents' / guardians' love and understanding.

That gold foil? Hmmm..let's just say that I looked away for 1 quick sec and E started scratching at it.

Next in temper and behavior modeling book is LITTLE DINOS DON'T HIT. It's part of a series (others being Don't Yell, Don't Bite, etc.). It's a board book that's a quick read. As in super quick! I do hope it gets the message accross to the kids.

For myself (siyempre hindi pwedeng wala hahaha) I got the LOVE THE FUR YOU'RE IN. It's a compilation of Sesame Street illustrations with witty or inspirational quotations. Pagbigyan na ang mommy, I think I need it hehe. 

Truth be told, I think I'm the one who enjoys the kiddie books more than the kids themselves! LOL! I love it even more when it features vintage illustrations that just take me back to another time :) Such nostalgia...

Probably the star of this loot is the USBORNE JUNIOR ILLUSTRATED ENGLISH DICTIONARY & THESAURUS.

Just to share a rant - why don't we have nice dictionaries anymore?? Yeah I know, digital wave...but still, I really prefer having a book version in our home. 

Side chika: My grandpa gave my mom an encyclopedic-sized dictionary for her 16th birthday and I wish to be able to also do that for my kids. Sa totoo lang, bakit parang ako yung touched? Haha! That's why the books I give them usually have dedications too! :)

I've started looking for one in National Bookstore but the available ones are not age appropriate for little kids (font size and a bit boring haha).

Now THIS!! It's not the most comprehensive but personally I still think that it's the most suitable one for the kids. The font sizes are alright, alphabet delineations are clear, includes lots of pictures, groups thesaurus entries in a logical fashion. Simply the best I've seen in a while. The price is a bit expensive at PhP 1,500 level vs. simpler ones that go for PhP 200...but again, we get what we pay for.

This time, little Z was too happy! The way you can't pry the dictionary off her, you'd think it was a story book of some sort :D

My verdict: If you have extra funds, get this dictionary for your kids! It's really something that they'll enjoy and thoroughly learn from. Also gets them started on how to alphabetize words and also, learn how to look for answers to their inquiries of "what does this mean, Mommy?"