Michi Photostory

Like I always say, our family always travels on a shoestring so Philippine Airlines is not always our option. I always book our flights on low-cost carriers especially if there is a seat sale. I booked our Manila to Kuala Lumpur and Kuala Lumpur to Singapore flight last August and I was waiting for the promo fare for our Singapore to Manila flight.

I could not wait any longer for a seat sale so last December, I was checking and comparing the fare on different airlines. We chose Philippine Airlines because the difference is less than 2k from low-cost carriers. We all know that we have free meals and free baggage allowance already in PAL. 

I tried Philippine Airlines when we went to Cagayan de Oro for our Camiguin trip. But the food is nothing special, just biscuits and coffee. Hehehe!

But international flight is different, there is a small pillow that you can use, and a headset if you want to watch movie or sound trip. You have a full meal, there are appetizers, main course, and dessert. 



Now I know and experience the difference so if ever I have extra budget, I will choose PAL but if the budget is limited, low-cost carrier is still fine with me, especially for short time travel.

If you have been injured on the job or in a car accident or have been denied Social Security benefits, you may be feeling lost and hopeless. When individuals take on the Social Security system and major insurance carriers, they are often denied benefits, claims and services because they are unaware of the laws and loopholes pertaining to personal injury and Social Security benefits and claims. If you have spent months filling out paperwork, making phone calls, faxing and mailing documents and scheduling medical appointments only to be denied for benefits and services that you deserve, it may be time to hire an attorney to do the leg work for you.

A reputable licensed attorney with extensive experience in personal injury, worker's compensation and Social Security law will go to bat for you to get you the benefits your deserve. Even if your claim has been approved, if you are not receiving the pay you are entitled to for covering your bills or are not receiving the medical care you need as it pertains to your injury or disability, a licensed practicing attorney can help you navigate through the difficult maze of disability and worker's compensation law to get you the benefits and services you need. 

If you are tired of jumping through hoops and ready to get what you deserve, you need an attorney with extensive experience and credentials in Iowa. Attorney James P. Hoffman is an example of a prestigious attorney with years of experience and credentials pertaining to worker's compensation, personal injury and Social Security law. He has tried and settled cases ranging from a few dollars to several million dollars, and he has frequently been listed in the Who's Who directory. He is also a member of the Million Dollar Forum for attorneys. This list maintains a list of top trial lawyers, and he frequently lectures at attorney and medical conventions about corporate law, negligence and personal injury fields of law. He has been admitted to several district, supreme and tax courts and carries a Juris Doctorate Degree in addition being a board certified hypnosis expert.

If you need professional representation, an attorney like James P. Hoffman will go to bat for you, organize files, submit claims and fight to get you the medical treatment you need and the compensation you deserve, or you could spend years fighting the system and appealing denials for benefits on your own; the choice is clear.

Bag tag is really important especially for preschool kids so they can easily identify their stuff. I remember when my son was in nursery, one of my mommy friend in school shared a story about “nagkapalitan ng baon. Her son’s classmate ate her son’s baon thinking that it was his baon. Hehehe! They have the same “Lightning Mcqueen Snack Bag”. After that incident teacher advised moms to inform their kids about their baon. 

So every year, I make sure that my son has a bag tag. Last month I was thinking if I will make my own bag tag or just order. Then I saw the bag tag of Thoughtful and Personal Creations so I order instead.  

Then few days after I ordered, I found this free printables bag tag, I checked the link and printed it. I used this for my son’s name tag in school. Click here to get the file. 

Update: May 2015

When my husband’s officemate learned that we're going to KL and Singapore, he offered us a free pass to Singapore Zoo but unfortunately, the only schedule available is our last day in Singapore so we did not accept it, sayang! We need to check-out at 12nn so mabibitin lang kami sa Singapore Zoo. I think I need one whole day to enjoy Singapore Zoo, Night Safari and River Safari, maybe next time.

Read:  5 Days in Singapore with Kid

So we stayed in our hotel till check-out and went straight to Changi Airport. I returned our Singapore Pass in Bugis Station to claim the SGD10 deposit and bought a one-way ticket going to the airport. 



Changi airport is huge that you will not get bored but our feet were already tired for our six days trip so we just relaxed and enjoyed the free wifi. 



After check-in, we ate at Paradise Inn Restaurant, I forgot the name of the meal that we ordered but it all tastes good. 



Then we walked towards to boarding gate, stayed for several minutes in Social Tree. It is a new attraction that allows travelers to instantly share photos in social networking profiles. 



Took some photos and waited for our departure.

Our six-day trip to KL and Singapore are still not enough, I still have long list of places that I wanted to visit or revisit. I mentioned in my Legoland Malaysia post that we went to Singapore Flyer to avail the coach transfer of WTS travel agency. 

Since we’re still early for our bus schedule we have time to stroll. We’ve seen Marina Bay Sands and Gardens by the Bay from afar. I’ve reading a lot of good reviews about the garden.

We checked the Singapore Flyer and praying that someday I can conquer my fear of heights so I can ride this. 

We’re supposed to go to River Safari on our sixth day but we decided to stay in the hotel until check out and kill our time in the airport. #tired Well, I hope there will be next time to visit the place that we missed.

Read: River Safari

My son started school last week and I noticed yesterday that his crayon box was already torn. 



I was planning to buy crayon case to replace the crayon box. But of course I was also looking for small boxes in our home. My husband suggested to use the calling card case but I didn’t mind him because I thought the crayons won’t fit. 




But my husband tried it...ta-dah! 



I put label and voila, we don’t need to buy. #instantsolution #upcycle



A repost from my old blog Michi's Home Sweet Home

I was planning for my friend’s baby shower last month and I was thinking for simple giveaways. I decided to buy microwavable popcorn as my giveaway and I’ll just put sticker of “Ready to Pop”. 


But I saw Fab Manila kiosk when we went to Alabang Town Center and I decided to buy small purse instead. I always check this kiosk every time we’re in ATC. I bought multipurpose sleeves and purse before and I love it so I’m sure my friends will love it too. I bought purse at P30 and gift wrapper too for future use at P30 per bundle. 


Fab Manila sells bags, wallets, travel items and organizers. You can buy online or in their store. If you still remember the memo card that I bought in The Candy Shop, it is also available in Fab Manila store. 

www.fabmanilabags.com 
IG @fabmanila

I accompany my grandmother every month in the grocery and while checking the grocery shelves, I saw Sappe Beauti Drink. I’m aware of beauty pills like glutathione and collagen but a beauty product that you can drink is so new to me. Out of curiosity, I bought two pieces of L-Gluthathione and Collagen at P35 each. It is light apple flavored drink so it is like drinking a regular juice. 



Collagen tighten hair follicle, prevent osteoporosis, alleviate shrinkage and maintain skin elasticity. It increase skin moisture.



L-Glutathione whiten skin naturally, reverse dark skin pigments,turning to light pigments and protect skin from UV rays.  

One bottle of Sappe Beauiti Drink Collagen contains 1000mg of collagen while the Sappe Beauti Drink L-Gluthatione contains 100mg of L-Glutathione. 

I cannot attest if is effective or not since I only tried two bottles. If I have budget I will buy Sappe Beauti Drink (with 8,000 mg Fibre and L- Carnitine) for good digestion and Collagen because I’m not getting any younger. 

Note: Not suitable for children, pregnant and lactating mother.

Last month, I’ve been thinking if I will make a DIY bag tag or I’ll just order. I saw some bag tags in instagram so I inquired. I ordered two Bag Tag P115 each for my son’s school bag and one Lauren Canvas Tote Bag P350 for me. 

Read: DIY Bag Tag 

I received my order yesterday and my son was so happy with his bag tag. 



If you love to personalize your stuff you can check Thoughtful and Personal Creations, check their photos in instagram @mimssac

Payment Option: Metrobank Payment

For the past two years, I always put my son’s money in a small ziplock bag and place it on his portfolio (clear plastic envelope) so his teacher can see it. The money is for contribution or payment for the class pictures or any school stuff.


Then last summer while I was looking for school labels, I saw this school money label. It is free so I printed it and bought a small envelope where I will put the money. It is very useful and I’ve used it for school service payment and now I’m attaching this envelope in his notebook for the name patch payment. 


Click here to get the file.

I was clearing my photo folder and I saw our photos when we dined at D’ Banquet. I discovered this place when we were looking for Amira’s Buco Tart.



Last Mother’s Day we went to Tagaytay to have our dinner and decided to try the D’Banquet. According to the menu, “It is a fine dining, pasalubong center and events venue in the heart of Tagaytay.” We ordered the P99 steak, Sinampalukan na Native Chicken P150 and Ube Halaya P140. 





The steak was ok for its price, my husband and son enjoyed the sinigang while the ube halaya is just ok, we still prefer the Good Shepherd Ube. If you are looking for affordable meals in Tagaytay, I do recommend this because the price is inexpensive. #sulitmeals

We love loyalty cards or membership cards where we can earn points, get discounts or freebies but we seldom avail restaurant cards because we seldom eat out and when we do, we try to eat at different restaurant. 

For the last several years, we avail loyalty cards like in Pizza Hut and Shakey’s. My husband loves Shakey’s pizza so whenever you ask him “san tayo kain?” Shakey’s is always one of his choices especially pag nasa Festival kami just like yesterday. I had my labtest at Healthway so after that we went to Shakey’s to have our lunch.

Our usual order is wholesome combos and family meal deals, yesterday we ordered 2 bunch of lunch, mojos and ice cream sundae for my son.


One staff offered Shakey’s Pizzanatic SuperCard, we’re about to decline but when he asked if there’s any birthday celebrant for the month of May and June, we said yes. The staff said, we can get Free Large Pepperoni Thin Crust Pizza for the birthday celebrant so we availed the card. 


I don’t know when this freebie started because this is not the first time that we avail Shakey’s card and we do not know about the free pizza. So here are the things that you can enjoy when you avail the card. 

1.Buy 1 take 1 deal and free drink deals. 
2. 10% discount on cash or credit card purchases, for non-promo items eaten at any Shakey’s restaurant.
3.Every 100-peso for dine-in and carry out transactions, earns 1 point which can be accumulated and used as cash in any Shakey’s restaurant. 
4.On the day of your birthday, all you have to do is visit a Shakey’s restaurant, have your Shakey’s Pizzanatic SuperCard swiped and, voila, you can claim the FREE Large Pepperoni Thin Crust Pizza! (But in our case, they gave pizza in advance) 

The card is valid for one year and we paid P399 for this card. For more information about the card, click here 

A repost from my old blog Michi's Home Sweet Home

My son has been going to school for two years already but this year is my first time to buy a school bag. For the last two years, they only bring snack bag every day because they leave everything in school. The only time I see his notebook is every Friday and his books every exam. They just need a long envelope with a handle to carry those stuff.

But this year I have to buy a school bag because I transferred my son from Montessori school to Traditional school. We just bought my son school bag yesterday, we delayed it because we wanted to buy the books, notebooks and other supplies first so we can determine the size of the bag that he needs.


Honestly, I was really shocked when I saw the prices of school bags. Waah! It is really expensive and it can really hurt my budget. Most of the parents were looking at the character section but I went straight to the luggage section because I prefer non-character bags. I’m glad my son did not choose Lightning Mcqueen and Mickey Mouse bags even he saw those bags on our way to luggage corner.


I chose Hawk Bag because we have tried this brand before and according to study, this bag passed the US standard for consumer products so it means that it is durable and safe for everyday use. The bag contains undetectable traces of lead content, ranges from 5 pp to 42 ppm. There were only three colors available, red, blue and neon green and we chose the neon green because the two colors are very common.

Hawk Bag Features 

1. Ergonomic Design - I like the design because it is not that big, space is enough for the height of books and notebooks. The size is suitable for my five-year-old son.
2. It has a shoulder strap with dual density foam if you don’t want to drag it.
3. Heavy-duty zipper
4. Multi-organizer
5. Weather resistance - if it rains, you can use the cover to protect the bag. 6.Lock Stitch Technology 7. A common problem of this bag is when it is heavy, it tends to fall but Hawk bag has a solution, you can pull the bottom part so it will balance the weight.



The bag includes a free water bottle and sandwich bag at the side. We bought it at the regular price of P2499.75. How about you, how do you choose your bag?

Read: Shopping for a School Bag

I was really busy and I can’t believe that I haven’t posted our Legoland Malaysia experience. Anyway, we visited this place last February because my son loves Lego and we even watched the Lego movie before our trip, #everythingisawesome 

Summer vacation and no activities at all are not good, I can see that my son is getting bored in the house. We still have our own activity every day, I let him answer all the pages in his school books but I know that it is not enough to keep him busy so I enrolled him in Summer Class for six weeks (2 hours a day). No swimming lesson this year and we’re still contemplating if we will enroll him in Karate Class. Aside from that, I took advantage of this K5 Learning Free Trial offer.


I've been given a 6-week free trial to test and write a review of their program. K5 is an online reading and math program for kids from kindergarten through grade 5. It will help kids in building reading, math, and study skills through independent study. K5 is designed for home use and can be used for after-school, weekend, and summertime supplemental study or in conjunction with a homeschooling program. If you’re not a blogger, you can also try their two weeks free trial here. Registering is easy and no credit card is required so rest assured that it is really free.

My son immediately tried the lesson using the iPad and it was not working so I emailed them regarding my concern and they replied immediately that K5 is not working with a tablet or iPad, because we’re so excited to try we forgot to read the FAQ’s.

I let my son use my laptop so he can access the lesson and of course, I was there to supervise him because he doesn’t know how to use my computer. I have to teach him the basics. I checked the lessons too and after two days I requested an assessment because I feel that the lessons are too easy for my five-year-old son. My son took the assessment so they will know what appropriate lessons to be assigned.





Likes 

I like K5 Learning because it is so easy to use, my five-year-old son did not have a hard time studying while I’m doing something. The programs are engaging and exciting because sometimes there are bonus games after lessons. The lessons are structured and goal-oriented and sometimes my son will get more rhyming lessons if he is not yet familiar with them before moving to the next lesson.

My son did not only enhance his reading and math skills but he also learned how to use the computer. At first, he will just click the monitor of my laptop to answer all lessons (thank God for a touchscreen laptop) but before the end of six weeks, he learned how to use the mouse and even type the answer using the keyboard. (Math lesson).


He also learned how to listen and follow instructions. He needs to listen first so he knows what to do with the activity. Even though I’m not supervising him, I can see my son's progress by checking the reports. I noticed that my son loves Math more than English. He is good in all areas of Math compared to English.

Dislikes  

My son did not like the Spelling lessons and Math Facts, he is having a hard time spelling words like ‘’They” and “Them”. Maybe my five-year-old son prefers to spell words with pictures like animals, things, places, or words that he is more familiar with.

My son doesn’t like Math Facts because there’s a time limit and speed is needed so even though he knows the answer, the result is not good because he is so slow in typing the answer. Of course, my five-year-old son is not familiar with the keyboard. The lesson is simple, 1+1, 1+8, 1+5, and I know my son knows the answer because he will shout the answer while looking at the numbers on the keyboard.

My son is not familiar with US money so he had a hard time answering the questions (assessment).

Overall, I do recommend K5 Learning if you want to enhance your kid’s reading and math skills. If you want additional lessons or activities during school or summer vacation. Click here if you want to subscribe to their lessons.  I like their free worksheets which make my life easier. I download and print it so my son can answer more exercises.

We only have a few days left to enjoy the summer vacation because next Monday my son will go to school already. They’ll be having 4 days of orientation for new students so we’re indeed back to school.

Few more weeks left and summer vacation will end and honestly, I haven’t felt the vacation yet. Hehehe! I’ve been so busy and it is obvious because I seldom post on my blog unlike before. Well, I became busy last week because I started preparing for this school year.

After two months, I went back to the school only to find out that there was a price increase in tuition, books, supplies, and uniform. Waah! I have to readjust my budget again. I mentioned in my post before, click here that we transferred our son to a traditional school so we need new school uniforms. We went to school to fit in his uniform and buy some school supplies. 

I have to go back yesterday just to buy books because they did not let me last week because there’s a schedule for that. It took me an hour just to buy books. #firsttime #welcometobigschool I went there before 8AM and I was already in the 3rd row, #habangpila But I’m still happy because my friend spent almost 3 hours when she bought books.

May Computer na Preschool.

I started putting labels on my son’s stuff, and now I can feel that I really have a school kid because for the past two years I did not experience this. Life is so easy before, I just enrolled my kid and bought books, uniforms, and a portfolio (includes folder, clearbook, and notebook). Cover the books and that’s it. No trip to National Bookstore or Department Store. 

Click here for DIY School Labels

Click here for DIY Scratch pad

For more than a year I did not have any problem with my son using the iPad because he just played a game and after that, he stopped using it. My husband and I can still use the iPad without borrowing from him because he prefers watching movies or cartoons. 

Last February, we said goodbye to our broadband and hello to our PLDT DSL/FIBR. We’re so happy because of the fast connection but we have no idea that it will also start our YouTube Dilemma. 

My son learned to use the YouTube app and enjoys it because no more buffering. I just let him because he is just watching and listening to “Frozen” theme songs. 

But a few weeks had passed and we were noticing changes in behavior. Such as 

1. He always wanted to stay at home. As if he can stay at home, we don’t have yaya nor helper so wherever we go, he goes. 

Me: Ethan, take a bath now. We will go to the grocery (lola’s house, school etc.) 
Ethan: I’ll stay. 

2. He always says “Let’s go home”. Whenever we’re out he always says, mommy let’s go home or daddy let’s go home. 

3. He is so much affected when there is a slow connection, intermittent connection or no internet. 

Ex. My husband was driving and when we were 5 to 7 houses away from our place, my son cried and we asked why and he said. 

Ethan: No YouTube 
Me: There’s no internet in the car. 

4. He is so addicted. He can stay for hours watching YouTube if you will not stop him. He doesn’t want to share the iPad anymore. 

One time, I was busy doing household chores and I heard my five-year-old son said Oh my g*sh, sh*t and motherf*cker. I was really shocked and I asked him, “What did you say?” and he said “Nothing”. I asked again “What did you say?”. He did not answer anymore and I told him that I don’t want him to say those bad words.

I checked YouTube and he is watching Minecraft Tutorial video. Waah! We don’t have Minecraft games so why he is watching it. He learned those bad words in that video. I told my son “Do not watch this video again” 

I’m happy that he obeyed me and I no longer hear those bad words but still, we’re finding ways to stop or at least lessen his addiction to YouTube. 

1. We hid the YouTube apps but he cried. My husband even said “Grabe iyak nito, daig pa pag umaalis ako (out of town or out of the country)” 

2. I declared no YouTube days. 

3. Lastly, my husband brings the iPad to the office so he can’t use it.

Kids are smart, one time I saw him watching YouTube using my phone. I told him he can’t use my phone. He said, watch sa computer (Laptop), of course, I said no. He said, watch YouTube sa TV. I said no internet sa room. (His dad showed him before that he can watch YouTube on our TV), again I said no.

It’s been more than two or three weeks already since my husband brought the iPad to the office and until now whenever he wakes up he will say. 

Ethan: Mommy, I’m sad. 
Me: Why? 
Ethan: I can’t watch YouTube. 

Well, at least now he is so excited to see his daddy, of course, he is waiting for the iPad. He always says whenever I call his dad. 

Ethan: Daddy go home na, drive fast ha. 

Or 

Ethan: Tagal man Daddy. 

I hope someday the addiction will stop and I pray that he won’t be like this when school day starts.

Care to share some tips. 

Update: YouTube is no longer my problem. My son follows our rules, no iPad during weekdays. No iPad if he did something not nice. We are using a YouTube app for kids.