This weekend, we’ve discovered a new nook that not only caters to what I have been looking for, for ages, but also there’s a special place for the kids to play (for free!) at such a convenient place.

• It’s a bookstore that sells arts and crafts stuff, something that I have been itching to find, coz there are a million creative things I want to do!
• It has a play area! Though small, it was spanking new and not crowded!
• Beside the play area is a coffee shop where you can relax, drink coffee and try their cakes while keeping an eye on the kids!
• All these great wonders, surrounded with heavenly smell of new books, where you can browse on pages while the kids are having fun. Isn’t it neat?
• And what’s best is that it’s located in the mall where we go  for our weekly grocery shopping, and parking is for free too!

It’s a perfect place for the family to hang out. (: If not for Adie’s butt explosion, we would have stayed there for hours.

I didn’t go out of that place empty-handed. Bought some needed craft supplies, of course! And as we went out, Caity was doing a fake cry, “huhuhu, buh-bye… huhuhu“. Till next week!

What a fun and colorful weekend!

Adie reading a picture book.

A child’s laughter is highly infectious! Last night, I was rubbing Adie’s back while he was lying in his crib to sleep and when I stopped for a little break, he started laughing. Surprised, I did it one more time. I continued caressing his back then abruptly stopped and he gave out a hearty laugh, again! This exchange went on for sometime as I turned it into a game and every time I stop rubbing his back, he’d laugh. Even M who heard us, got curious and investigated what was happening. hehe I really had a good laugh too, more of amusement and delight at his reaction. Usually kids would complain or worse, even cry when you stop this act, but with Adie, it was the opposite. He found it funny when I stopped to caress him! Silly little Adie! So, so cute!

Inspecting his toy car…

And somebody just learned a new skill! I usually close the door to the kitchen when I am cooking so Adie can’t go in there and disturb me. Yesterday, while I was busy preparing for lunch, the door knob slowly turned. Caity was at school then, and M was in the bathroom.Who else could that be?  I was thinking, could it be who I think it is? And in came little Adie, proudly smiling, waving his hand while saying “Ahoj!” OMG! This boy! He used to be fond of closing  the doors, now he’s getting the hang of opening it. Mama can’t hide anymore in her hideout.

And he’s learning lots of new words!  Earlier when I was changing his diaper, he was saying “shoes, *boty“… “boty, shoes“  He already knows these words before, but he’s smart to relate them and knows that these both mean the same thing. Sapatos, Adie. You know? hehe  Gotta start introducing Filipino in his vocabulary!

Life of a mom, tiresome yet everyday is filled with delightful surprises. (:

*boty = shoes

Stamped with potatoes!

We’re swamped with Caity’s artworks!  Day after day, she doodles, paints and colors in the process of creating her masterpiece and leaving behind a ginormous amount of  mess precious artworks!  I don’t have the heart to throw her creations, though some are simple lines or circles and even obscure forms that look like aliens or monsters (hihi).  I’m sure Mother Nature will cry if we waste resources, and I’m a supporter of rerere (reduce, reuse & recycle) so  yeah, I’m keeping her works  in a drawer, waiting for a chance to use them.

Little Picasso at work. That’s Adie’s tiny hands there!

If you’re in the same boat as me, wondering what to do with your kids’ artistic creations, here are some simple things you can do with them:

1. Display them.

Our family, by Caity.

They are your kids’ arts, so what better way to do than to show them off. Frame their paintings or drawings and display them in the living room, in the kids’ bedrooms or in the playroom. Seeing their stuff hanging on the wall or sitting on a shelf will encourage your kids to dabble more into art (and keep your household well-stocked with art pieces!). Or you can give them as gifts to their grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles or anybody who love kids’ art on their birthdays or special occasions.

2. Use them as gift wrappers.  Wrapped with love.

Tie with fancy ribbons (which I have to buy yet) and you have an extremely nice personalized wrapper.

With Christmas just around the corner, the kid’s colorful arts would make beautiful and unique handmade wrappers for gifts.  You won’t need to spend money buying wrappers that will be torn and trashed anyway after the gifts had been opened.

3. Use it for playing. As in our case one lazy afternoon, I cut out the papers and made them into crowns for my little princess and prince.  It was a big hit with Caity and Adie.  Caity then asked me to tie a scarf around her neck like a royalty cloak.  Then she pretended she was a princess and ordered me “Bow down to me! I am a princess!” haha

And every prince should have a horse… so “giddy-yap Tati!” Careful on the road though, as you’re not yet a member of roadside assistance club!

I love this pic! (:

4. Cut out into small pieces and use to write small notes, shopping list, etc.
No need for pictures. (:  Such a long post already!

Of course there’s a lot more you can do with those art papers, so please, don’t throw ‘em!  Re-use ‘em!

The mystery bean machine and some packs of Jelly Belly jelly beans.

The whole family is nuts over these jelly beans.  I luckily won two 100g packs of Ice Cream Parlour Mix by joining their simple Facebook contest.  We made a trip to their store to claim my prize and Caity got to pick her choice of the sweet treats.  If you’ve heard that phrase “like a kid in a candy store“, her happiness literally was like that.  She was over the moon and couldn’t contain herself when she saw the store even from afar.  “Look Mami! There’s the lollipop! Yummmmm!” She chose  twirly lollipops and the sugar cane which have long became a history.

We got one of those mystery bean machines, a cool dispenser should I say. Whenever you pull the lid up and lower it, a bean/s would sit on the middle.  The kids enjoy taking turns in pulling the lid then they would fight as to who gets the beans first. So fun!

It’s quite addicting just popping these little sweet beans in our mouth.  It doesn’t feel like your throat is scratched by abrasives when you eat much of these, unlike those other candies or jellies that irritates the throat after eating a lot.

We’ve learned that it isn’t wise to buy these in specially packaged boxes.  It costs much and the jelly beans still got mixed up inside! Duh!

Its circus season around Prague.  We’ve spotted quite a few while we’re on the road.  The expats FB group I am a member of has been raving over some performances which really got me interested.  I wanted to see it too!  They said their kids about Caity’s age loved it, so I was thinking it will be a nice experience for our little girl.

An opportunity presented itself when my friend Ai gave us a circus ticket with free entrance for Caity.  And she offered to babysit Adie while we go.  Wow! That’s a bonus!  The show was near our place and we immediately planned to watch the next day. This circus wasn’t mentioned in any of the group’s discussion though so I was skeptical and wondered if this one offers the same spectacular performances. Nonetheless I kept my fingers crossed.

It was after the opening act that I realized we’re at the wrong place.

They did only a few stunts and some weren’t that impressive or jaw-dropping.  Their animal acts were few too, and it included a lame one by goats. Yeah, goats in the circus! hehe  The interval between performances took long, and the crowd was entertained by a guy with white face and two old clowns.  The guy with white face later on turned out to be the trainer of the horses and camels.  The show had only few performers and they were even “recycled” to do other acts.  Also, when they’re not performing, they’re either helping as assistants or selling snacks and toys to the audience.

But there were also great acts such as the horses dancing and the balancing acts.

I commend the group for their effort though.  It must be tough doing what they do and their teamwork is amazing. One minute you’re in the limelight; everybody’s center of attraction and the next minute, you’re in the sides selling snacks or arranging props for the next performer.  It takes humility.

On the way home, I told M that I hope they earn a lot coz  their life on the road is kinda pitiful. They must really love their career to be able to sustain. It seems their maintenance expenses and rentals also are big. I wonder if they have to get debt to be able to buy horses, camels and trailers.

Later in the afternoon, when we passed by another circus on the way to visit a friend in a hospital, I asked Caity is she wants to see circus again.  She refused, telling us that she finished watching already.  “Enough, Mama, enough!” Hahaha!

One of the best thing in autumn…

I love the autumn colors!  I love how nature is artistically painted with all those orange hues, nice to matchy-match it with a burnt orange outfit accessorized with gold necklace.  According to M, probably the only thing that’s nice with autumn are the beautiful colors.   I can’t blame him when the days have become foggy, breezy and chilly lately.  And the kids are down with colds again. Grrrr!   I was also sick yesterday, might be intestinal flu coz I was vomiting a lot.  I had tummy aches, I felt cold and had head ache later at night.  But I’m feeling better now.  Kid 1 is in school while Kid 2 is with his grandma.  It’s my day off until it’s time to pick Kid 1.

Photos taken on a Friday afternoon on a trip to Beroun.  Can you tell, my camera lens need cleaning!  That’s for sure.

When there are a lot of things to do at home, and the kids seem to conspire in keeping me on my toes with their never-ending requests, I have to admit I do the easy way out most parents do.  I open the computer and let them watch kiddie movies or videos!  As we all know, kids easily pick up what they see and hear, so its important to choose videos that are age-appropriate.

Currently my kids are loving Veggie Tales (recommended by my sister).  Its an animation with vegetable characters, and mostly based on biblical stories.  They teach values such as honesty, sharing, being helpful, etc.  What the kids like the most are those songs dubbed as Silly Songs by Larry (the cucumber character).  The videos and lyrics are funny and safe for kids to sing along with.  Its nice to hear Caity sing lines such as “God is bigger than the boogy man..” or “Stand up! stand up for what you believe innnn..“  It can go crazy like “No hair for my hairbrush, no hair! no hair! no hair! for my hairbrush!” hihi so cute. . Even little Adie is already familiar with the tunes and tries to sing along too with his own words. M and I do too!  We’re crazzzy!  If the kids have portable radios, it would be nice to play these songs in their rooms or anywhere they go.  I have to make copies of these songs to play in our car.  Our tiny tots love listening to music when we’re in the road.

If you’re looking for kid-friendly videos for your children, try Veggie Tales. They will surely love it.  Btw, my kids are ages 4 and 1.  I don’t know if it will appeal to older kids.  You can try.

I want to learn how to sew! There are many pretty little things that can be made by sewing, especially cute dresses for Caity, adorable plushies, fabrics for home use, arghhh! too many to mention! I’ve been hooked to Pinterest lately and saw TONS of amazing creations done by sewing! Looking back, if I only knew how to sew then I wouldn’t have problems finding maternity dresses my size when I was pregnant. And all the pretty clothes I can make for my girl, with ribbons, and laces and ruffles and flowers. yumyum!

I think I can make this dress. looks simple. love it!

DIY pillows. Lovely!

How cute are these fabric pumpkins?

There are many free sewing patterns and tutorials online, which I think I’ll manage to follow. hihihi I seriously hope so!!! Before the year ends, I will, I must, I should…learn the craft! How about spending this weekend hunting for a nice sewing machine and beautiful fabrics? You’ll find out soon!

*Pictures from Next & Pinterest.

What’s up with this look, Adie? Hahaha!

Biker kid!

This little boy is keeping me busy! This morning, I hurriedly sneaked out for a minute or two to make my breakfast and eat, while he played with toys and stuff. It will take at least an hour to clean up the mess he made… not fair! Washing his bum and changing diapers, clothing him, ugh!  drains off a lot of my energy coz he’s fond of wriggling out and letting me catch him.  But when he gives me that adorable smile, can’t help but be amused.  Quite a handful!

Last Friday was a day of death for Caity’s two footwear, the sole of her Hello Kitty shoes for classroom use got torn and later that night, the strap of her pink flip-flops’ snapped. She was brokenhearted. Two broken shoes in a day is too much for a little girl. We promised to replace her school shoes that weekend as the pair didn’t have any chance of getting fixed. The flip-flops however had some hope of being transformed into something, but how? I didn’t have any idea.

My browsing mom blogs this week have paid off anyway, and I found the perfect solution how to salvage the pair.

Looks okay but after my little girl tried and tested it, she declared that she doesn’t like it. Ouch!  The straps kept falling which made Caity a bit annoyed.  I’ll re-do it when I have the chance.

And would you believe, I made this out of recycled plastic bottle?

Leopard print!

Sources:
Recyling plastic bottles into bracelets
Flip-flop Refashion