Folding fitted sheets

I can pretty much do any household chores with the exception of folding clothes. I don’t know why but i just can’t seem to make the clothes look decent enough to store in the closet. That’s why we just usually hang our clothes which pretty much takes a lot of closet space. Now folding sheets, as you can imagine, is a nightmare for me. Especially fitted sheets! So imagine my delight when i stumble upon this tutorial video on how to perfectly fold those stubborn sheets. And i thought i’d share it with you guys. 

Here’s the link:

Folding fitted sheet

Total lifesaver right? 😊

Declutter: The art of letting go

If there’s one thing I dread about post holiday celebrations, it would be clearing up all the decors and organizing them in such a way that they can still be used for the following year. I tell you, it’s not an easy task. Am i the only one who feels this way? Haha. 

And of course, since I’m already in the zone of cleaning up, aside from the decors & ornaments, i told myself “why not clean up some of the things in our pile of storage boxes as well?” Ugh. I’m way over my head. I know it’s time to declutter because we’ve almost used up all the space in the storage room, but I wasn’t mentally prepared for it. 

See i’m a sentimental person (hoarder, as my husband lovingly puts it haha!). I still have stuff that i’ve owned since gradeschool; notebooks, letters from friends, magazines, books, memorabilias & other cute stuff. Which i won’t be using, or will ever get to use. 

As i opened each boxes, I decided to let go of most of these things. Photographs and letters i still decided to keep though. It’s just too personal to let go of. I decided to donate the books and magazines. As for the other stuff that has not been used yet, i think I’ll hold a mini garage sale for those, together with some clothes that i don’t use anymore (read: which doesn’t fit me anymore! Sheesh. ) 

Now, as for the rest, i’m gonna have to just throw them away, coz honestly, i really don’t know why I kept them in the first place! 

I’m down packing up the last boxes, and i should say I’m really proud of myself for taking this big leap! Not only do i feel good, but the storage room looks cleaner & organized too! Yay! 

What about you, what are your accomplishment so far for 2015? Do you also get goosebumps upon hearing the word, Declutter? I challenge you to do this and just let go!!! 😊 

Recipe: Sloppy Joe’s

Cooking is my passion. Err, scratch that, maybe eating is my passion that lead me to try to learn to cook different types of food. 😁

So I thought of sharing some of the recipes i love to cook for my family and friends. 

This is my version of sloppy joe’s. 

For this you will need: 

• 6 pcs store bought Hashbrowns 
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1/4 k ground beef
• 1 can button mushrooms, sliced
• Handful of black olives, optional
• Onions, chopped
• Garlic, minced
• 2-3 tbsp butter
• Dried basil leaf , i used Mccormick for this recipe
• Salt & pepper to taste
• Cheese, i used Del Monte’s cheese magic sauce, but you can also use quickmelt cheese.

Directions: 

1. Fry the hashbrowns until golden & crisp. Set aside. 
2. In a pan, saute garlic & onions in butter then add the ground beef. Season with salt & pepper & add the dried basil leaf. 
3. Once the ground beef is cooked, add the mushrooms & olives and keep sauteing for 2-3 minutes. 
4. Add the canned diced tomatoes and simmer for atleast 5 minutes. 
5. Serve on top of the hashbrowns and add cheese. 

Tip: if you’re feeding kids, you may want to add a bit of sugar to make it sweet! 😊

I hope you enjoy this recipe. Till the next one! 

2015: Goals this year

Today marks the first day of a new year. A new beginning. A chance to start anew. And yes, this is the part where we list down our new year’s resolution. I mean, come on, at one point or another, we all made long lists of what we need to do or accomplish throughout the year. Only to be disappointed because we can’t seem to keep up with that list. How frustrating is that right? Looking back on my personal “resolution” throughout the years, one thing seems to be constant. It becomes more realistic as time goes by; instead of the ideal “i will go to the gym 2-3 times a week” it becomes “i will do more physical activities & stop living a sedentary life”.  I know most of you can very much relate to this. Haha. 

We all try to become better versions of ourselves year after year after year. And your goal for the past 2 years may not be applicable for the coming year. This i come to accept. Being a mom requires not to only try to make yourself better but also make goals & resolution for your family as well.

This year, i’m going to try to achieve these things not only for me, but for my family as well. 

1. Invest on health.  Health is indeed our wealth. I’ll update our medical records and make sure we have our annual check-up. Also make sure to visit the dentist atleast twice this year. (As it should be). This may be a struggle since the hubby is not very fond of visiting the doctor, but i will try my best to convince him otherwise. I need all the luck in the world. 
2. Watch our Budget. This, I have to admit, is a skill i haven’t wrapped my tiny brain around. Yet. I tried to recall where most of our budget went for the past year, and most of it was spent in eating out at fancy restos and groceries. My husband and I are very fond of eating. We would eat our hearts out just to relieve ourselves from stress, either by eating out or by cooking at home. I guess meal planning is one way to resolve going over our budget. And willpower. Lots of it! 
3. Stop being sedentary! And this one comes with an exclamation point. We are blessed to be living inside a small subdivision that has its own pool; but we rarely even take advantage of it. We find all the excuses in the world not to be active and just laze around the house. This is one thing that’s really got to stop. After I give birth, we would start incorporating physical activities in our daily routine. May it be as simple as a 30 minute walk around the village or a nice dip at the pool. 
4. Quality time with the family. Instead of spending most of our time infront of the computer, celphone or tablet, I would try to find some activities that we, as a family, can do together. May it be cooking, doing some crafts at home or watching movies together. Spending quality time is one way to show the kids the value of family. So this one is definitely included in the list. 

See? The list is narrowed down as time goes by. May need to add more but these are the things in my priority list right now. I just hope that i will have the willpower to keep up with this. 

How about you guys? Have you made up your list yet? Nonetheless, i wish all of you a prosperous and blessed year ahead!!! 

Christmas Craft for Kids

It’s just 2 days before Christmas and you can really feel the holiday rush. Traffic everywhere, crowded shopping malls and almost everyone is hunting for that last minute gift; i know the feeling because I used to be one of those peope hustling and bustling at this time of year. But since i’m 33 weeks pregnant, this momma can’t just manage to sashay and dance to the holiday groove. 

I’m a bit bored i must say. Slowing down when the rest of the world is on its feet is something new to me. I was ordered by my OB-GYN to take some bedrest (bed arrest, if you ask me) due to some contractions I experienced last week. 

But i can’t stand not doing anything. So i guess i tried to find ways to still be active & productive without being too stressed. I did tasks that i can do in the comfort of my bed. Some of it involved activities with my 3 year old daughter, Elle. We would read stories out loud, watch movies (Frozen, most if not all the time). But the one I enjoy the most is creating holiday crafts with her. I saw some crafts on Pinterest that can easily be done by a toddler with minimal supervision. 

First, i rummaged thru my craft box filled with materials I’ve hoarded throughout the years. 

I found these corrugated boards in different colors. 

I decided that we’re gonna make a snowman and a Christmas tree. So i cut the boards into shapes that we’re going to use for this activity. 

Now time to assemble these. We used glue stick for the bigger shapes but opted to use double sided tapes for those little tacky ones. It’s much easier for Elle to stick it onto the paper. 

Here she is enjoying the activity. 😊

This activity did not only bring out her creativity but also tested her patience as well. I tried as much as possible to let her decorate it on her own, and there are some instances where she can’t seem to put all those little pieces together, but it’s amazing how she was able to finish the work without really soliciting help from me. (I know, proud mommy moment!) 

The finished product! Sense of accomplishment is written all over her face! 👍

I’m planning to hang these artworks on our wall and make it one of our traditions as well. 

So i guess slowing down is not really bad after all. You get to appreciate little things that would have gone unnoticed. If I wasn’t pregnant and needed some rest, I probably would be out of the house doing holiday errands & wouldn’t even have time to do these little things with Elle. Things do happen for a reason eh? 😊 

P.S make sure to have some wet wipes handy, coz that glue really is sticky!!! 😁

What about you? What are the activities that your family do to bond during holiday season? I’d like to learn some more. 🎄

Advent Tree

Christmas is indeed the most wonderful time of the year. So as a mom, i’d like to have an activity for this season that my children would look forward to. I researched online and found out about the Advent Tree. It comes with different variations so i just tweaked some of it & made it my own. As early as November, i have been collecting small treats (toys, activity games, snacks) that i would individually wrap and assemble into a tree. But i just don’t want to give out treats everyday with no reason whatsoever. I want for Elle (my eldest daughter) to earn the treats everyday. So i wrote down in pieces of paper different tasks & good deeds that she has to accomplish for the day before getting the treat. From cleaning her toys, to giving her dada a big hug, she would need to accomplish those first.

The goal is to start the 1st of December until the 25th. It wasn’t a simple task coz i’m on my third trimester with my 2nd daughter. Slowly but surely, i was able to put up the tree before the 1st. (whew!) 

Here’s the finished product! 😊

Elle’s first task. 

She did a pretty good job! 

Fruit of hardwork. 

My worry is that she might be tempted to open more than one treat per day, but i’m glad that she’s growing up to be a good girl and would always obey her mimi & dada. 

We’re almost done with the advent tree , but this activity i plan to make an annual thing. More of a tradition to make my children excited for Christmas! 

What about you, what are your family Christmas traditions? Let’s share ideas. 😊 

STARt.

I don’t know how many times in the past have i attempted to blog. There was this time back in college, and then while i was on maternity leave with my firstborn  and i suppose there are also instances in between that i can’t even recall anymore. Unfortunately, i have yet to keep a blog i can maintain. Probably because i’m more of a pen and paper gal. I have been writing and documenting (this means mostly doodling) about my everyday life since time immemorial. But times have changed. Although i still keep a journal /planner, i have to admit my phone is more accessible and would always, always be within my reach. So i guess i just have to find the willpower to maintain this one right here, coz quite frankly, i’m running out of usernames.  

“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going. ” – Jim Ryun