New Do Too

Her turn for a pic of her new do. It really isn't too different from how her hair was before. It's just a little more styled now, almost like a bob.

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I Look Like Mommy Even More

The 2 girls had their hair cut earlier this week. Here is big sis with her shorter do. She said that with her shorter hair, she looks like me ever more. Daddy thinks that with this cut, she no longer looks like out little girl. She looks more grown up and ladylike. I agree. I think I'll let her grow her hair again and hopefully she'll remain my little girl forever. :)

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Go Manny!!

Here's our family all decked out in support of Manny Pacquiao! Our shirts were all courtesy of BIL. It looks like we're missing one girl here but if you look closely enough, you'll see the top of her head! LOL!

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Silver Rose Horse Ranch

Why does it not surprise me that this was the little girl's favorite part of our fieldtrip to the Silver Rose Horse Ranch? Yes, it topped riding and grooming the horse and petting the guinea pigs and rabbits. What were they doing here? Running around like horses with the horse trainer.

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Cinnamon Rolls

Homemade cinnamon rolls. Sure, they're from a can. Most foodies would likely turn up their noses on my culinary creation. I don't care. The kids love it. I love that they can enjoy something freshly made prepared in minimal time.

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On the Road to Reading

One of the special highs of home schooling is watching your own children learn. Learning to read is one of those milestones that is so rewarding to witness. Hearing her string those sounds together then watching her eyes light up as she realizes that she's read the word is magical!!!

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Jollibee

I love me some Jollibee...and now my kids do too! A special treat just because...

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Chino Hills Catholic Home Educators Group

Picture Day! This is the homeschool group we attend. My kids and I have made friends here and feel truly blessed to be in the company of wonderful families.

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Hanging Out

I love watching your relationship grow. She loves you soo much. Tonight, as she was in the shower, she insisted that you wash her. I told her that I would do it because you were still downstairs. "But Daddy said he will shower me!!" So, shower her you did. After getting dressed and stuff, here are the two of you cuddling. Love you both so much!

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Fieldtrip: Discovery Science Center

Went on another fieldtrip today. This time, it was to the Discovery Science Center. This is a giant nose that the youngest was just fascinated with. LOL!

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Fieldtrip:Library

The kids went on a fieldtrip to the library today. The younger ones were treated to story time. They were also taught that different areas of the library and how to look for books they want to read. The older ones were taught how to use the different library resources, i.e. the computers and databases.

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Happy Birthday Mama Mary

I haven't posted for the past several months and was actually thinking of abandoning this blog altogether. I've still been taking pictures but just too lazy to post. Changes in our lives have contributed much to the lack of posting. I was told by a few people that they've missed my posts/pics. That was encouraging so here I am again. I will start from today and backtrack as much as I can until I get all the dates covered. :)

Happy Birthday Mama Mary!!
The 2nd girl asked me, "Mama, are we going to mass today? It's Mama Mary's birthday."
Unfortunately, we did not wake up early enough to go to the 7:30 am mass at our parish today. There is no other mass today so we decided to just say a decade of the rosary tonight as part of our celebration of Mama Mary's birthday.

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MoMs

On the first Tuesday of every month, a group of us, stay-at-home moms meet to fellowship and share our lives with one another. We are moms on mission. On this particular Tuesday, we discussed the book, Moms We're Meant To Be. Next time, we'll be doing some crafts just in time to give us ideas for Christmas presents. :)

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Labor Day

We literally had labor day today - most of the day was spent completing chores around the house that were not attended to during the busy weekend we had.

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Shopping Day

Surprise...surprise...he's off from work the whole weekend. And we got to spend the day out shopping. Wheee... tiring but fun. It's been a while since we've been out together.

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Double birthdays

We celebrated the birthdays of two wonderful sisters tonight. God bless you, dear sisters.

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New Do

Spent the afternoon at the hair salon. I finally got a new do. I like it. I feel like it fits me. I made it very clear to the hairdresser that I wanted it to be a low-maintenance style. She promised it would be. I'm hoping it will not take me too long to style it. I really do not want to spend a lot of time on my hair. I just do not have the time but I'm also tired of just putting up my hair in a ponytail.

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Swimming for PE

Kuya said that one of the fun things about homeschooling so far is that he gets to go swimming for P.E. There's not sweating involved. ;)

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Just Like Summer Afternoons

Yes, school has started. None of the neighborhood kids are playing in the streets anymore during weekdays. Everyone is back to the regular grind of school days. Not us!!! When Daddy comes home early, they get to play in front of the house - just like late summer afternoons.

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I'll Miss You!

Youngest Bro flew back to Manila today. The youngest girl, his goddaughter, gives him a tight hug goodbye.

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Homeschool Me?

"I think I want to try homeschooling Mom."
I was a little skeptical, a bit suspicious of the reasons, wondering if there was something wrong at school.
"Why do you want to be homeschooled?"
"Well, my sisters get to do a lot more fun things. You go on fieldtrips a lot. And I want to meet more friends other than my classmates here. And something in my heart tells me that I want to spend more time with my family."
My heart just about melted. Could that be God speaking to your heart?

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Fiesta

We went to the Paranaque fiesta today with my in-laws. Though we heardly knew anyone there, it was a nice afternoon of free food. The kids had a glimpse of traditions and festiviites back in the Philippines.

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Happy You

This is the you I know. This is the you I love. This is the you I want to be with everyday.

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Make Everyday Happy

Something handy to keep in mind everyday...

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Fruit Salad

Science lesson for today: all about fruits! What better way to celebrate fruits than to make fruit salad. The kids each had a plastic knife to cut up bananas, strawberries, kiwis and mangoes. Fruit salad, yummy...yummy!

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Hangar 18

The Bears' end of the year den activity was wall climbing at Hangar 18. He enjoyed this a lot and was actually pretty good at it.

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Still Waiting

Still waiting on the caterpillar to change. Waiting is difficult and you can't hurry the natural process. This science lesson is also very much a lesson on life.

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{144/365) Lost hangover

{144/365) Lost hangover
Originally uploaded by tanjuakio

Still hung over from the Lost finale last night. Haha. This is the shirt I got from the Lost final season premiere I was able to watch in Oahu back in January.

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{143/365} Goodbye Lost

{143/365} Goodbye Lost
Originally uploaded by tanjuakio

One of my favorite shows ever said goodbye tonight. Not everything was answered but I liked the ending nevertheless.

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24 Hours Away

The way the fellowship schedule is set up, he takes on a 24-hour shift every third Saturday. Today is his 24-hour slot. It is a grueling schedule, this fellowship. And I feel it taking its toll on him and me. It feels like I'm on 24-hour duty with little relief too. I keep reminding myself, "this too shall pass."

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Butterflies in May

The 3 older kids participated in the city's butterflies in May program. Each child received a caterpillar that they could watch grow and transform. I asked the girls to make their own butterfly journal where they can record the changes they see each day (or every other day) by drawing what they see.

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Raingutter Regatta

Big Boy had his raingutter regatta today. He did not win in any of the heats. He was kinda disappointed but twas ok in the end. He still enjoyed the afternoon with his friends.

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Rawr

We are never without entertainment in this house thanks to this little girl. She can be a yapping puppy dog one minute, a roaring lion the next and a raging dinosaur soon after. On more mellow days, she can be a princess or a prince depending on her older sisters' directions or a mommy or a baby. Her imagination never seems to stop.

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Rice Cooker

I want her to learn life skills early on. One of the new skills I taught her today was to cook rice using the rice cooker. She was so excited! One must really take advantage of this natural enthusiasm of kids and teach them "chores" before they think of them as a burden.

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Homemade Greenhouse

One of their science projects at co-op. I am amazed that it actually works! LOL! I think this is one gardening project that might survive. There is basically nothing for us to do except keep it in a lit room. Easy enough, right?

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Crafty-ness

This month's TGIS (Thank God it's Sunday) activity for the kids: jewelry making for the girls and woodworking for the boys.

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He's Leaving on a Jet Plane

We said goodbye to my brother this morning as he flew back to Manila. It was a sad day of course. But we are glad to have been able to spend time with him even if only for 2 weeks.

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Ninong

"Is Ninong coming to my school for lunch?"
"No, I don't think so."
"Why not? I want him to come."
"all right, I'll ask him"
He wanted to show his school to his ninong. It was a fun day at school so parents could come and stay for lunch and other fun festivities.

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Rainbow

A different kind of rainbow appeared today over the park where we have our co-op. It was straight across the sky.

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Surf and Turf Dinner

Dinner at the Gonzales'. Surf and turf menu. All yummy goodness!

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Laban

Celebrating the Philippines' new president. I pray that he will be able to lift the country out of the mess it is in. I hope he brings back much-needed integrity to the government.

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Tulips for Me

The tulips I received yesterday for Mother's Day.
DD2: Did Daddy give you flowers because he loves you?

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Mother's Day

My son bringing me flowers during our Mother's Day celebration at the community assembly.

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Beach Fun

Beach day!! The water was still too cold to swim in but we had fun nonetheless. They were trying to hit each other with sandballs here.

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Our Lady of Guadalupe

Our parish is hosting the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe today. We brought flowers to her and prayed a decade of rosary.

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Fun Day

Tito Victor & Tita Cara are visiting from Manila. The kids are soooo happy!

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So Serious

Never mind the dirty mirror, look at her seriously reading her book. I love that the kids have inherited my love for books.

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Pepperoni Pizza Puffs

Recipe Exchange during our monthly MoMs meeting today. I shared this pepperoni pizza puff recipe which I got from The Noble Pig blog.

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Sisters Are We

My 3 girls. Their different personalities are so obvious in this picture. Love this!

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Royce Chocolate

I've heard raves about this chocolate from friends back home. Fortunately, my brother came for a visit and brought me a box. Well, it was melt in your mouth creamy. But maybe it's too sophisticated for me? Not really something I would be craving for. The good thing about it though is that just one square is enough to satisfy any sweet cravings I might have had. It is that rich!

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