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Posts from the “Our Rose Buds” Category

Santo Niño

Posted on January 19, 2016
High-res version

 

We finally concluded last Sunday the Santo Niño celebration, a famous religious celebration in the Philippines about the Holy Child Jesus. This has been a worldwide practice among Filipino Catholics even in the US. The Vatican has set the 3rd Sunday of January as the liturgical feast day of Santo Niño as proclaimed by Pope Innocent XIII.

I’m glad that this tradition has been formed in the minds of future generation whose interest to their culture and devotion to the Child Jesus will never be forgotten through the help of parents, communities, and even schools that encourage cultural performances.

A few blogs ago, I posted my sewing comeback in reference to my daughters’ costumes as Singkil princess and my youngest as one of the maidens. I promised to post the finished dresses including the prince’s outfit. Here they are, done with their performance…

The most challenging for me is making the Prince’s pants and sleeves for the top. Basically, this is my first time to make men’s outfit. The sleeves were painstakingly difficult to assemble. Unlike normal sleeve patterns, this one calls for upper and lower cut two-pattern sleeves; thus, matching the notches was tedious. I had to re-do them twice which explain why the bottom of his top is different in color because I ran out of fabric material due to my mistake. I used the princess’s top fabric instead and I think the golds harmonize well with the blue hue. To make the wrong sleeves useful, I made a Kufi hat out of it as shown in the picture.IMG_0316-1

 

The hanging beaded bells added a chiming sound effect to the costume. The making of these hanging beads was time-consuming and so I let the girls do it. I secured them in a gold lace and hand-sewn at the base of her kebaya (blouse) for easy removal in time for hand-wash after use. I found an elastic necklace material at Michael’s and it was perfect to hold the ankle bells.

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The colorful combination of the maidens’ costumes complemented well with their magenta sash and striking fuchsia fans.  I took the color swatch from their striped skirt in deciding which fabric color to choose for their kebayas. This type of outfit is indigenous in the Southern part of the Philippines with Islāmic communities even today. History tells us that the Royal family of Rajas in Cebu were the first to accept the image of Santo Niño and eventually converted to Christianity. Santo Niño de Cebu has been a huge annual celebration ever since.

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Categories: Our Rose Buds

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A New Beginning

Posted on April 6, 2015

When I was coming of age, I spent most of my days with siblings and close friends. We were very much engaged in our parish youth activities.  I grew up surrounded by people with solid belief and a family whose faith is anchored in Christ. The priest in our parish was instrumental in honing us with the foundation of Church’s teaching. One of the most important lessons I learned is to remember that Easter is the greatest feast in the Christian calendar.  I always thought it was Christmas with all the festivities around both the faithful and secular world. Nevertheless, the given explanation to youngsters with simple minds was easy to comprehend; Christmas is when we celebrate the humanity of our savior, and on Easter, we celebrate…

Categories: Family first!, I thought of it, Our Rose Buds

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Tinker, Tinker, Little Stars

Posted on January 5, 2015

We had an opportunity to take our daughters with their younger cousins to visit Exploratorium in San Francisco during the holiday break. As usual in a place like this, children and the young minds are the stars of the museum. This museum is full of interactive exhibits that will absolutely piqué one’s mind. It’s hard to just stare and observe without exploring them with your own hands (hence the name “Exploratorium”). I found out that the founder of this institution was Frank Oppenheimer. His last name definitely rings a bell. I’m talking about the Manhattan Project in the mid-40s during the 2nd world war era. He was the younger brother of Robert Oppenheimer, the father of Atomic Bomb. I’m sure you are all familiar with the…

Categories: Family first!, Our Rose Buds

Back To School Night

Posted on August 23, 2013

BSN

Photo credit: hhs.sbo.hampton.k12.va.us

Last night was our kids’ “Back to school night (BSN)” which I wasn’t enthused to attend. I figured it will all be the same as the previous years anyway. My eldest daughter was insistent and urged me to attend and so I went with my hubby. My youngest is now in 6th grade which means she now joins her sister in the middle school and it also indicates that they have the same BSN schedule.

For those who have no idea what happens in a “back to school night”  it’s about the parents only (no kids) meeting the school teachers and admin. You get to sit on your child’s seat and basically listen to teachers summarizing the curriculum/syllabus and other future projects and activities that your child will encounter.

 

 

 

A Pleasant Surprise

My husband and I decided to split; I went to my 8th grader and he went to our 6th grader meeting. I realized it will break my daughter’s heart if I didn’t attend because she did something special from her heart. A folder is neatly arranged on top of each desk with all the information such as forms, schedules, syllabus, etc. I saw a personal note from my daughter when I opened the folder. It was a note of appreciation and expression of love to us for sending her in that school which she loves so dearly. Now I know why she was very insistent 🙂

One of the things I enjoyed looking around the classroom is the “Farcebook” page that they created. Although they are not allowed to use Facebook for many legit reasons, it’s similar to face-book page but it was on a poster and full of future hopes and dreams including funny stuff. I was amazed to see that a huge part of their class hopes to enter Stanford or Santa Clara University which is not surprising since those are the closest but nicest schools in the area.

Tech Savvy Gen Z’s

Kids now a day are the true digital natives, having born with internet as part of their life growing up. I love the fact that my kids’ school provides each student a mac book to use as part of their learning tool. It is where they do their homework, readings, research, and all kinds of stuff in learning. I remember my daughter made a video project using Mac a few years ago and the quality was excellent.

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This year however, the laptops are now phased out. The school has decided to distribute iPad instead of the mac laptop as part of the school technology initiative. I was trying to weigh the benefits but I’m always open to change when it comes to technology in learning. The teachers explained the interactive learning through the use of different apps. It will promote creative thinking and intellectual curiosity because iPad allows an easy access at their fingertips. Other software and course sites were discussed that will be part of the process.  It’s like a hybrid online and cohort learning that makes me excited for my kids. I know these are only tools; everything still depends on curriculum, parents, and teacher-student engagement nonetheless.

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Getting Psyched Up

Posted on August 22, 2013

It was 10 minutes before 6 AM when I heard some noise in the kitchen. My girls are up so early and getting ready for first day of school. Two years ago, they earned notoriety for being the late duo on the very fist day of school. It’s not as simple as entering your classroom late. You will have to wait in the school office until everyone settled down from assembly hall, get a late slip and present it to the teacher. It was a good discipline and a hard lesson learned from embarrassment and they do not want that to happen ever again. I pretend I’m still asleep but my youngest daughter “woke me up” with kisses. “Good morning mommy! See, we are early and…

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“Garbology”

Posted on March 30, 2012

Earlier while cleaning our kitchen, my eleven-year old daughter looks on. She was in the kitchen waiting for the alarm of the toaster oven to sound so she could munch her toasty bread for snack. I asked her what spread she wants for her bread, her choices range from nutella, peanut butter, strawberry jam, cream cheese, mayo sandwich spread, and plain butter. She opt for just plain butter [that’s how easy she is] which I knew already since bread and butter is what makes her day complete. I thought of some stuff I want to talk about since this is the time we can have our moments together, to discuss just about anything interesting. Before I could even think of something, she already started it. Here’s what she told me,”you know…

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About birds and the bees

Posted on October 22, 2011

       How many of you will agree that families today rarely get the chance to have what we call “quality time” together? In my household, one of the most important days in our mundane life is when we gather as a family in our dining table. Unfortunately, we do not have the luxury of time to do that everyday but that is one of the reasons to look forward to the end of the week!

       I love weekends, it is when my hubby and yours truly begin the morning with our kitchen concert. The sound of pots & pans, the whirring of a grinder for freshly ground coffee, of which my husband has already mastered scientific calculation in brewing it perfectly (according to his liking), of course the “humming” while stirring the scrambled eggs on stove top and finally, the calling of our youngsters who are always late for breakfast on weekends enjoying extra hours of idleness..

       Today is one of those “seize the moment time”. My girls are in their tweens and by that, it means boys will be (if not always) part of peer conversation. I thought it’s time to talk about it in our breakfast table hoping that it would interest my eldest daughter. She actually said “yuck” but not for long, it was just a pretentious gesture. As a mom, I can tell how much vivacity and excitement has filled her eyes. On the other hand, my youngest has the eyes of a critical observer. She always spy and act as the whistle-blower for her sister.

The topic began with just a tease and ended up in a very serious discussion. I said “serious” because their hungry curious mind and my outpouring advice backed by my husband’s support, produced an eternal questioning between parent-child camps. Our discussions touched the awareness of chastity, impure thoughts and the sin of lust. I feel that it’s right to remind them that each of us is the temple of the Holy Spirit. It helped them grasp the idea that committing a sin of lust (through impure thoughts) is not fitting as the dwelling place of good. We taught them how important it is not to fall from peer pressure and media’s manipulation penetrating even the children’s TV programs. Overall, the attention they gave relieved me from being cynical. Afterall, we as parents can only give the best advice. In opportunities like this, talking with our children is the best way to give them something they will remember for the rest of their lives, how do I know that? because those were the same words I heard from our parents when I was growing up, now it is time to pass it down.

Categories: Family first!, Our Rose Buds

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Oh where has the summer gone?!

Posted on August 7, 2011

I have so much things to do according to my list. I am hoping that all will be accomplished soon.  Aah, its August already! few more days and the kids’ alarm clock for wake-up call is ready to set off. “Back to school night” is just around the corner. Last night, my eldest daughter sorted out her school stuff that she can still use for this school year. Half of the supply list is pretty much cleared. If lucky, we plan to get everything done this week. The timeline itself is not the problem; getting started is what’s so difficult. Sometimes, I find it hard to believe that even simple matters needed some careful planning.

Part of summer fun (ok,not really!) is completing the school’s required summer book readings and math workbooks. The idea is to help sharpen their math skills and reading comprehension while they are out of school. Thankfully, they all have done that. Photo below is one of those afternoon routines (though not daily). I do hope that they are ready for the test on the first week of school (as scheduled).

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one of the favorite summer poems I learned from highschool was sonnet 18. I remember spending days and nights to memorize it as it was a part of our exam. Now I reminisce the days, I thought of including it here in my summer post.

SONNET 18

(Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day)

by William Shakespeare

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date.
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm’d,
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature’s changing course untrimm’d: 
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st,
Nor shall death brag thou wander’st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st,
  So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
  So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. 

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Bloom with the rosebuds

Posted on July 25, 2011

Here’s one of the unguarded moments with Pacot & Ceci of which I often take pleasure in sharing with friends and family.

I am off at work today and by that, it means easy day. Well, not really. I decided to deal with the house chores that needed some attention. The litany begins by sorting the mail, folding clothes from the dryer, cleaning bathrooms, washing dishes, vacuuming, and whatnot. So, by the time my children woke up, the seemingly endless tasks are almost done. Afternoon came and they helped out in doing their own chores, but as I hoped to last the pristine condition of the house for at least a day, I spotted an empty glass on the corner of the clean table that I just cleared from clutter. Tired and irritated, I holler at my kids immediately and the interrogation begins:

 Me: Come here you two! (The girls approaching with a puzzled look..) Who left the empty  glass on the table? Didn’t I tell you to wash after use or put in the sink when you have a dirty dish? Why is it that you don’t get it, huh?…blah, blah..  (My youngest Ceci wanted to interrupt but I told her to let me finish my babble…)

 Me: Instead of helping your mom, you keep messing around..hah!.. When are you going to learn and just do what needs to be done?..blah..blah..blah..(Girls just staring at me with a blank face)

 Ceci: “Ah mom”, …(As Ceci tries to reason out, her sister gave her a stern look and elbowed her to stop from answering back at me but Ceci insisted) …”you know mom, I’m sure I did not use that glass nor my sister (paused a second), actually, I gave you a glass of water earlier and I think it’s yours.”

 Then there’s a total silence…  Standing and looking at each other, I was astounded; all of a sudden we burst into laughter. I feel so humiliated by my own haughtiness. Without a word, my eldest took the glass and washed it. She chuckled secretly; nonetheless, I can sense a little victory in the eyes of my youngest as she glanced at her sister as if the two were in agreement of her vindication 🙂 It was one of those awkward but “learning” moments. Somehow, I need to be a role model in this instance. It is time for Mea Culpa, and so I did. I apologized to the girls for my false accusation and as expected, I was forgiven 🙂 Oh, happy fault!

Two lessons to learn:

1.) Humility is best earned in humiliation                     

 2.)Happiness is nothing more than good health and a bad memory

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