I had very little idea of what Tales of the Manuvu was about before we came to see it, except that I learned that it was originally staged in 1977, which featured the incomparable Ms. Celeste Legaspi on vocals, and that it was about the story of creation, as told by the tribe of Manobo. As a child, I read different folk stories on creation in my older siblings' text books. The one I remember the most was Si Malakas (strong/man) at si Maganda (beauty/woman). I remember it so well because of the art work on the page that drew me to read it.

I had a conversation with a friend recently about giving some tips to fellow bloggers on how to write content that hits the mark; more specifically, to help other bloggers create competitive content for an annual blogging competition. The truth is, even after all these years, and even after winning a few writing competitions in the past, I still don't have a guaranteed formula on creating winning entries. Every writing competition has its own set of criteria to meet. For me, it's always been do or die. I give it my best shot and pray like there's no tomorrow that my entry makes it to the top.

In the era of digital connectivity and remote work culture, the traditional boundaries between the home and the office have blurred. But for many stay-at-home parents with several responsibilities to juggle, this is a good thing. The option to work from home, or WFH, often lets parents stay close to their families and be proactive in raising their kids while still being able to generate income. And while balancing parenting with any professional career has its challenges, the WFH setup makes it easier to achieve financial stability and develop one’s professional identity without compromising on family time, which is precious especially in the early years of a child's life.

Finding reliable and convenient childcare can be a challenge for modern parents. The demands of work, household responsibilities, and personal commitments often make it difficult to adhere to rigid schedules. This is where flexible childcare programs come into play, providing a solution that caters to the diverse needs of families. In this article, we will explore the benefits of flexible childcare programs and how they can make a significant difference in the lives of both children and parents. What are Flexible Childcare Programs? Flexible childcare programs are designed to accommodate the varying schedules of parents.

I fell in love with Baguio when I was a teenager. The cool breeze and the smell of pine trees have always had their way with me, me being a hopeless romantic and all. Back then I would always imagine myself living in that beautiful city, wearing layered clothing and walking the peaceful streets or reading a book while sipping coffee at a quaint coffee shop somewhere in the hills. And at one point in my once young and foolish mercurial mind, I though about entering the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) after High School.

So when I ran into a EuroXtreme Circus post on Meta and learned that it was just a few minutes away from where we live, I immediately checked the ticket prices.

How was your Christmas season? For those who’ve known me or followed my blog for years, you’ll know that Christmas is a big deal in our family. We usually go all in. The Annual Family Thanksgiving Every early December, we hold our Family Thanksgiving dinner - a time to look back on God’s faithfulness, share answered prayers and blessings, and express gratitude to one another over a carefully planned meal. My spreads are never extravagant, but they’re always thoughtfully put together. This year, though, things didn’t unfold as planned. The boys came home late, I was exhausted from wrapping up work before my Christmas break, and it was clear we weren’t fully present.

Jay came home rather late the day before. It was the last day of VBC and he was one of the people in charge of the activities, it being a Kids Ministry event. I opened up the package and saw that the frames he bought to hold Pablo’s oil pastel works were broken. It was 8:30pm. Shopwise closes at 11pm and we weren’t even sure if they have the kind of frames that we needed. Nevertheless, we donned the kids up and headed out to take our chances. We got back home before midnight, put the kids to bed, cleaned up the mess that the kids left…and prepare the food for next day’s lunch.

In all his 5 years…. Pablo has never memorized an adult song. He has never sung with a microphone. He’s never sung with a minus-one, much more, with a live band. He has never performed onstage. When Jay called me to let me know that Pablo will sing for the mothers on Mother’s day, I froze. I need to trust my kid more. Pablo took on 3 different worship services. He sang 3x in a hall with a capacity of 1, 200 people. Cheers. Hoots. Sighs. A standing ovation. Pablo brought the house down.

If someone told me back in my youth that I would desire being a full time housewife and mother, the career-obsessed me would have laughed, "IMPOSSIBLE!!!" This morning, I'm nursing three glorious, new blisters in two fingers of my right hand I've acquired from sharpening my 5-year old's 24 new colored pencils last night. One of those things you get from being a full-time, hands-on mom, and I love it! The blisters that I get are nothing! Being pregnant with my 3rd child while homeschooling my 5-year old, changing nappies and handling the demands of my 1 year old on top of all the house chores make up the pile of challenges that I face everyday.

I’ve recently finished 3 E-books on homeschooling. I’ve long fell in love with the concept upon getting to know 3 homeschoolers who impressed me with their character at their very young ages of 5, 9 & 10 years old --- their understanding of the Word of God & their relationships with Jesus, their parents & their families, their above-par ability to go forward to speak or participate, and the genuine quality of their confidence & attitude in relating to people of different ages, status & nationalities. I have seen beautiful children who are regular school-goers and I applaud their parents for their evident involvement in their children’s character formation, but I firmly believe that God has led our family to trek the road of homeschooling.

One of my fondest memories of Christmas when I was a child was my mom playing the Christmas album that featured traditional Christmas songs on the cassette player and seeing my brothers make the traditional Filipino parols (Filipino Christmas Lanterns) in Decembers I'm not sure if my parents commissioned my brothers to make these parols, but they used to make them every year, until they didn't. My mom said they stopped making them when my brother almost accidentally burned our house one New Year's Eve. In the Philippines, we don't take down the Christmas decors until January.

I wrote this last year when Oli died. I still want to tell you this story. Growing up, I've always thought that I'd end up doing music as a lifetime career. And in a way, it's come true, just not the kind you see in your screens or pay a lot of money for tickets. I still do music with my husband from time to time, but we're now more behind the scenes, more "in the service of" than anything, and nothing flamboyant. When I was between my late teens and early twenties, I met this group of really talented young musicians (my husband included), most of whom were from a music conservatory.

I grew up with helpers and older siblings, and doing chores was not part of my learning when I was growing up. In fact, I only learned to cook and clean, and use the washing machine when I decided to move out on my last year at university. I remember a male friend looking at me oddly when I was struggling to iron bedsheets and he remarked that I wasn't supposed to do that because they settle by themselves when you fix them on the bed, haha! Another friend, also male, taught me how to work the old washing machine.

I came across an article posted by my friend Nadia about the free admission for kids at the Ayala Museum from the 26th to the 30th. The article says that there will be activities for kids to join and kids-approved exhibits like the Diorama of the Philippine History and the Rizal Virtual Reality experience. For me, a trip to the museum is always a good thing so I asked my husband if we could go before New Year. Since we were going to Pasay today, we decided to include the museum in our itinerary.

There are several things that I love about the story of Mug with a Hoop and you'll find it out as you continue to read on. I recently corresponded with Celia of MAX’IS Creations and even had the chance to send a couple of their Mug with a Hoop products to family in Katy, Texas, and I learned a bit about the heart and history behind these wonderfully designed sports - themed mugs. Image source: MAX'IS Creations on Amazon Mug with a Hoop Designs But first, what is Mug with a Hoop…

I want to start this blog with an encouragement to the Filipino moviegoers to go and watch Tarog's Quezon if only to support the Philippine Movie industry. Technically, the movie is one of the most artistic expressions on film that had been produced recently and the actors do not disappoint. But I would also like to encourage you to also do your own fact-checking of the details included in the movie so you can have a more objective perspective on Manuel L. Quezon, his accomplishments and flaws. Fact-check! I know that people mostly watch movies for entertainment, but Quezon's legacy is so much more than just entertainment.

I know that many think unschoolers are such because they've seen videos or talked to disapproving folks about children spending all their days playing video games or just watching TV. The truth is, there are families who are more radical with the approach than us, and that's fine. Homeschooling is really not a one-size-fits all kind of thing, and even unschoolers are diverse.

I don't mean to sound like a prophet of doom, I was just thinking of the Starks and you know...Winter is coming...get it? Haha! Okay, so that's a bad one. But I was at ROX's "Don't let the big one hit you where it hurts" free earthquake preparedness seminar held at their branch in Bonifacio High Street the other night, and I want to get your attention so I can share with you the things I've learned that evening. First of all, I'm sure you've heard of the West Valley Fault and the earthquakes that come every 200-400 years.

I’ve been seeing a lot of reels showing how a child’s face lights up when they spot a parent in the audience at their event. These videos usually feature young children, but the truth is, our kids crave our presence and support even as they grow older. Last week, my two older boys joined the Youth Grand Prix Philippines (YAGP 2026) for the first time and their team won. It was a big deal, and now they’re hoping their team will get to travel to Texas for the finals.

We were lucky to still be able to buy tickets to Atlantis Theatrical's Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street on its last week's run. Take note, we got tickets for the Thursday show. Who on earth watches a musical on a Thursday night? Apparently, everyone in Manila when it's Lea Salonga on the bill! Embarrassingly so, the last time I watched a Lea Salonga was in Repertory Philippines' My Fair Lady. And she was phenomenal in it! But now that she's more mature, and JUST BECAUSE SHE CAN, Lea takes on an unconventional role as Nellie Lovett and slams the character home.

A few minutes in, when the character, Evan Hansen (Sonny Monaghan) was delivering his opening monologue, my 14-year old son Judah looks at me and says, "he's just like me!" And my eyes almost welled with tears. I didn't bring him to the show so he can identify with any of the characters, but that he saw himself in Evan breaks my heart a little. Judah has recently been given a medical note for Asperger's. The only one who's read the book in our family is Pablo. I haven't, yet (boohoo!

The UP Manila Museum of a History of Ideas isn’t exactly well-known—I only stumbled upon it through a Facebook post last August during their Buwan ng Wika promo. Since it’s far from where we live, I figured we’d just go if we happened to be in Manila, which is one of my favorite places anyway. Sure enough, on August 29, after my son’s appointment at PGH, we passed by the museum on our way to lunch at Robinson’s. I thought, why not drop by after eating? I didn’t really know what to expect, but since it’s under UP Manila’s College of Medicine, I had a hunch it would be science-related.

Update: BIR no longer accepts payments transferred directly from GCash. You need to register and log in this website and follow these instructions on this page: I just paid my second quarterly tax and I'm quite relieved that the app still allowed me. Normally, second quarterly taxes are paid on the 25th of July but it got extended to August 15. (It's always wise to keep up with the extensions that BIR announces) I'm still a couple of days late but my filing was accepted and so was my payment. 

We adopted a 3.5 month old kitten from Ampon Alaga! I’d been following their page for a while and had always thought I might adopt one of their rescues. But I wanted to be 100% sure we were ready for the responsibility of having a pet so we waited until we knew we could fully commit. To be honest I thought we were going to get a dog.