Wishful Thinking: {Wardrobe} Swim Mom Uniform

Sports has always been a part of my kids lives, especially for my eldest, J.  Although the level of intensity was not so heavy back then when she was younger.  We initially started with soccer camp during summer, and then moved to once a week soccer lessons, and this increased to twice a week of soccer training when she played for her school team.  This was long before the Azkals were formed and the Younghusbands entered the local football scene.  While playing for the school soccer team, she decided she also wanted to swim, so she mixed swimming training on alternate days when she doesn't train for soccer.  

Those days are long gone, as she has already made up her mind that swimming is THE sport for her.  She has gone a long way since she started 3 years ago, competing at the D-League (developmental) level, moving up to class A category, and finally, qualifying for the Batang Pinoy National Championship this December. 

She has always made me proud of her simple achievements in the pool, each hard-earned medal made more significant because she was able to successfully combine academic excellence while being a student leader and a competitive swimmer.  Although she has a million more laps to swim as far as swimming internationally is concerned, I am hoping she gets there... eventually. 

... Otherwise, how can I channel my inner Victoria Beckham while cheering for her during competitions? Hahaha!

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Being a swim-parent means being in charge of logistics, food provisions, motivation, etc.  I am always there with my kids every training, 6 days a week. Oftentimes I am multi-tasking as I wait by the pool deck, trying to meet the needs of each of my three kids.  And because of that, I thought to myself that I deserve a new wardrobe... even if it's just wishful thinking. :) 

I love Breton shirts, and pairing them with Converse all-stars low-cut is a great way to being a chic sporty mom.

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Don't fancy red? Blue and green is a great sporty fashion combi, too.

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And this fashion template shows us all that pink doesn't have to be always prim and proper.

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Gray and white looks crisp and clean.  Perfect for those all-day swim meets.  Just ditch the hoop earrings.

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And if you want to stand out in the crowd, making it easier for your kids to spot you in the hundreds of spectators, wear something bright like this yellow tank.

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What about you?  What is your daily uniform like?


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A Proverbs 31 Kind of Woman

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there! 

In this modern age, it is refreshing and definitely a wonderful change of perspective to know that somewhere in the Bible there is a lovely passage that shows us where to find a timeless example of virtue, responsibility and good sense.  Here in Proverbs 31, we find a MOTHER who embodies the qualities which every believing woman should strive for in her personal life, in her physical appearance, in her family life, and in her daily duties.

As I share the verse below, I hope we are all inspired to be a Proverbs 31 kind of woman.

The Proverbs 31 Woman :
10An excellent wife, who can find? For her worth is far above jewels. rare, precious 11The heart of her husband trusts in her, And he will have no lack of gain. trustworthy 12She does him good and not evil All the days of her life. kind	Her Character as a Wife
13She looks for wool and flax And works with her hands in delight. works joyfully 14She is like merchant ships; She brings her food from afar. goes extra mile to get choicest goods 15She rises also while it is still night And gives food to her household And portions to her maidens. disciplined 16She considers a field and buys it; From her earnings she plants a vineyard. enterprising, prudent with money 17She girds herself with strength And makes her arms strong. energetic 18She senses that her gain is good; Her lamp does not go out at night. good steward 19She stretches out her hands to the distaff, And her hands grasp the spindle. diligent	Her Devotion as a Homemaker
20She extends her hand to the poor, And she stretches out her hands to the needy. compassionate, generous	Her Generosity as a Neighbor
21She is not afraid of the snow for her household, For all her household are clothed with scarlet. provident 22She makes coverings for herself; Her clothing is fine linen and purple. elegant 23Her husband is known in the gates, When he sits among the elders of the land. influential 24She makes linen garments and sells them, And supplies belts to the tradesmen. industrious	Her Devotion as a Homemaker
25Strength and dignity are her clothing, And she smiles at the future. poised 26She opens her mouth in wisdom, And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. wise	Her Influence as a Teacher
27She looks well to the ways of her household, And does not eat the bread of idleness. manages her home 28Her children rise up and bless her; Her husband also, and he praises her, saying: praiseworthy 29"Many daughters have done nobly, But you excel them all." distinguished	Her Effectiveness as a Mother
30Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised. God-fearing 31Give her the product of her hands, And let her works praise her in the gates. honored	Her Excellence as a Person

table above taken from www. proverbs31woman.com

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A CRAFTernoon Party

There are new things coming up for this blog. And in preparation for the exciting times ahead, the blog will be moving to a new home!  While I will still be writing about our phenomenal life, it will now have a new name. 

From now on, I will be doing all of my posting at The Phenomenal Mama

I hope you could all bookmark the new site and follow me there!

I will still be keeping this blog open so you can read all of my old posts.  But you won't miss a thing with the new blog as it will have all of the old posts, as well. 

* * * * *

Warning:  photo-heavy post.:)

B's CRAFTernoon party last weekend was over the top girly!  With kokeshi dolls, pink paper lanterns, and pink crepe paper curtains!   Blush pink, coral, watermelon, honeysuckle...  It was her birthday wish come true! 

Even the cookies are sprinkled with strawberry drops and fairy dust....

Since the birthday girl loves pistachios and dark chocolates, I also prepared cookies with white choco discs with sea-salt roasted pistachios and dark choco discs with roasted almonds.

The birthday cupcakes are another special request by the birthday girl:  Carrot cupcakes with Goji berries and dark chocolate cupcakes.  The Goji berries are a variation from the usual raisins that we find in carrot cupcakes.  Although usually used in Chinese savory dishes, it is naturally sweet and adapts itself perfectly well to B's favorite cupcake.

I enjoy preparing simple and intimate birthday parties for the kids, where most of the party decor are mostly DIY, and the guest list is whittled down to just a handful (literally - I just had her choose 10) good friends.  While I want my kids to remember their birthdays as fun events, I do not want them to associate parties with extravagance... so I always make an effort to inject their parties with DIY creativity - from the decor to the activities.

Making the crepe paper curtain was one craft party in itself!  While J and I took to our tasks seriously, B kept herself busy playing with the finished curtains, parading around with the curtains around her shoulder like a beauty pageant sash....

Setting up a DIY party, no matter how small the guest list, is always a tedious task so an extra pair of hands is always useful! The birthday banner is recycled, having used it here and here.  I just updated by printing some new graphics to make it tie-in with the rest of the theme.

And since this is all about B, she has her favorite crafts all lined up on the crafts table.  I had a craft table set-up on one end of the room, at the opposite end of the food buffet table.  The girls all had their own craft kits bundled up in a cute feline princess box.  I printed out the instructions for each craft and lalid out some samples to inspire and guide them.

I purposely wanted to show my 2 girls that our own individual creativity is boundless, and is not limited by the luxuriousness of materials.  I intentionally prepared crafts that would utilize materials that are readily available at my home: colorful board paper, craft embelishments like sequins and feathers, toilet paper rolls, magazine cut-outs, used envelopes, etc.   Do not be fooled - inspite of the materials being readily on hand, it still took quite an effort and took a LOT of my time preparing the craft kit for all ten girls.  Truly, it is a labor of LOVE!

The crafts are all carefully selected by me to maintain the kokeshi doll theme of the party, while at the same time I also wanted the crafts to be useful for the girls when they take it home.

{bookmarks made out of a printed kokeshi graphic and envelope corners}

{ hairclip and headband organizer made with toilet paper rolls and ribbons}

{kokeshi doll bookmarks fashioned from magazine cut-outs}

Here are some of the designs that the girls made

Even the boys at the party had a wonderful time doing something crafty with colored sands.

Happy Birthday, B!  Do know that you are extremely LOVED!

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Slumber Parties and PJs Sleepwear

One and a half more months to go and it's vacation already!  Hurray for me!  Although that does not necessarily mean sleeping in for me because I still have to bring one kid to early morning swim training.  But at least it means looong afternoon naps and late night video marathons!

For my oldest, J, it means slumber parties to celebrate another school year that just ended!  She is already at that age where slumber parties are becoming more and more common; already she has a few already lined up right after school ends.  For this reason, she has been on the look-out for nice pajamas to add to her collection of sleepwear.  She has all sorts - long sleeved pajamas, short-sleeved pajamas, night shirts, capri pajamas... you name it.  So when PJs Sleepwear sent us pajamas last Christmas, she was beyond happy!

The fabric of the pajamas were of good quality, and the designs are so cute that it has won my girls over.  

 

Here are some more photos of our PJs Sleepwear pajamas...

The price range for their pajamas starts at P495 for the kids and P750 for adults. It comes with a price point that is slightly higher than pajamas from department stores, but this is because you are paying for the quality of the material. The materials used in the pajamas are certified and tested to be 100% cotton for majority of the collections; while some designs come in cotton blend and treated fleece – which means “no himulmol” even if you wash them repeatedly.

 

There is something for everyone here, and I am sure the little men in your family will be bowled over by the dinosaurs, spaceships, robots, and tractors pajamas.

 

Even the babies will love the designs on these onesies.

 

And of course, my own girls went crazy over the girly designs

Already, I am being asked to buy more pajamas from PJs Sleepwear.   

~Here is where you can get your own PJ's Sleepwear pajamas:
Level 4 Shangri-la Mall; Level 1 Trinoma Mall; SM Clark, Pampanga; Marquee Mall, Angeles, Pampanga; Abreeza Mall, Davao City; Limletkai Mall, CDO; and all branches of Rustan's Dept. Store

~To know more about PJ's Sleepwear and to view more pajama designs, visit the PJs Sleepwear Facebook Page

Photos of PJs Sleepwear pajamas as in-store display are from My Mom-Friday.

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