Sleepovers

The house is certainly not getting any bigger. This little house of ours used to accommodate a myriad of my kids' friends and relatives for sleepovers and just for hanging out. Now that the kids are still kids but grown-up kids at that, the house seem a bit small to accommodate their grown-up friends and cousins for sleepovers. I used to have sleeping bags and foldable beds for these sleepovers. I even had a tent for those impromptu backyard camping. Seriously, I need to add a room or two to accommodate future Ethan and Tabby sleepovers. I'm glad I still have one good piece of sleeping bag. I read that a good brand for sleeping bags is Big Agnes Bags. I wonder how much one costs.

Drum Tao

D2 was all agog about this certain Japanese group called Drum Tao. She was able to watch the premiere show of the said group at Resorts World courtesy of the school where she teaches. She gushing with admiration for Drum Tao. I told her that I was able to watch a similar show back in the 70s at UP. She asked me if the numbers were choreographed or if there were girls, or Japanese flutist, or martial movements or audience participation when I watched such a show way way back. Well, no. It was just a group of Japanese drummers "drumming". So,. we watched - the whole lot except D1, Tabby and hubby.


Verdict? You have to experience Drum Tao. The show is still up until July 22. Go! You would not want to miss this one.

Cigar Boxes

 A friend of mine has an interesting collection. He collects cigars! Does he smoke them regularly? No he does not as he only collects them. He said he enjoys collecting boxed cigars as he seem to be more interested in the wooden box packaging than in the cigars. He does enjoy the occasional puffs and finds he prefers mild cigars. I pointed him out to http://famous-smoke.com as the site has an ongoing sale. For what's its worth I too love those cigar boxes. I wonder where I can source them.

Voice and Sound Enhancer

Out church has a lively and worshipful Praise and Worship team. This group of very talented youths and young adults practice 2x a week. The group has three types of members - instrumentalists, vocalists and dancers. One of the group's dilemma us the bad acoustics inside the church. No matter how they upgrade their sound system, it seems like the music bounces from one wall to another in ever-crossing lines! Why? The church walls are concrete and the flooring is marble. Sound wavers bounce off and from walls at tangents.

Now is the time to seriously consider improving the church's acoustics. Do we have the funds? More likely. I better tell the PAW team the church's Boar of Trustees to inquire about atc-helicon voicelive 2. I've heard that this digital device is great for digitally enhancing one's voice.

Machine Shop Services

Hubby is currently the one running their family business. The machine shop has been in existence for almost 50 years. In the past, my in-laws managed the business and it truly thrived. They were both very dedicated to the business and it definitely paid off as they were able to establish diverse businesses. Eventually the management were turned over to the children. The company needed a new image and a new style of advertisement. Well, the new management failed in that division. Now that hubby is in the helm, the kids advised him to go digital and viral to gain more customers. He is also considering upgrading some of the equipment as I noticed him browsing over http://www.reidsupply.com for tools. Here's hoping the business will kick-off soon. Contact me if you need the services of a machine shop in Cavite, Paranaque, Las Pinas and Muntinglupa.

Ethan's Ad

I should start adding watermarks to the pictures I post here at www. pinaymomblogs. A friend sent me a link to a Facebook which sells mobile phone prepaid load. Lo and behold! I saw the picture of Ethan used as a poster for the prepaid card! The gist of the poster is something like "do you have to wait until it's flooded et al before you buy a prepaid card?"

Imagine my surprise. It is a good thing that the contact number of the person who used Ethan's pic as poster was included in the ad. I called him and told him not to use Ethan's pic. Gosh! I'm gearing for Ethan's pic on a billboard in EDSA and not on FB! hahahaha.  This is the picture. Note that I already stamped pinaymomblogs on it.

D4's Business

D4 is seriously considering going into the food industry as a means of augmenting her income. Of course the whole family is in full support. She has gone into researching her target market and found that that particular food niche is brisk and very current. A couple of Saturdays ago, we actually went to buy some supplies to test our target food niche. D4 has registered her business name but she has yet to find a location for her business. Would we be needing restaurant furniture? Well, yes in a sense but a few pieces would do to kick-off the business. When D4 opens her food business, I'd be posting some pictures. Who knows? Maybe you'll be one of her customers.

Is The 21st Century Dad The New Mom?

It is not everyday that I get to publish a guest post but I did agree to this one as the topic rings true. Read on...

Watch just about any 1960s family sitcom rerun and you'll find a dad who works all day in an office and a mom who stays home and takes care of the house and kids — a reflection of the middle-class society of the day. Fast-forward 50 years and nearly 60 percent of married couples have two working parents. This trend, coupled with higher unemployment rates, means that more dads than ever are taking an increasingly active role in child-rearing, whether out of necessity, increased availability or both.

It's not uncommon these days to see dads at the playground or at daycare drop-off and pick-up. And while the number of stay-at-home fathers is still quite small — only 3.4 percent of all stay-at-home parents in 2011, according to a Boston College study — it has nearly doubled in the past decade. While dads are more involved than ever in their children's daily lives, moms are still the primary caregivers in most families, and children benefit from having two parents who are highly engaged in their upbringing.

There is little dispute that fathers and mothers have vastly different parenting styles. As a general rule, dads tend to be more laid back and less fearful than moms about letting their children explore and make mistakes. Fathers also tend to be more boisterous and physical in their play.

When parents accept the differences in their styles and don't criticize one another for their parenting choices, their children tend to be more patient and have better relationships with their peers. James McHale, Ph.D., of the University of South Florida led a study involving more than 200 new parents and found that moms and dads can learn a lot from one another, which ultimately benefits their children by having two more well-equipped parents.

Authors Biography: Briana Kelly has over 5 years experience writing articles and speaking about the subject of childcare and parenting. She regularly works on behalf of childcare centres in Dublin.