I had wanted to visit Kidzoona since I read about it online, from fellow mommy bloggers mostly. The only branch I knew of was in Robinson's Galleria, which is a bit far for us so we didn't plan on trying it out. That's until I found out of a branch in Solenad 3, Nuvali.


Solenad 3 was fairly new when we tried our first Kidzoona experience. The activity center and half of the buildings were already alive with stores. The other half, where the cinema and sports shops are now, were still under construction. Thankfully that day we were able to borrow a car so we had no trouble getting there.


REASONABLE PRICE!
Kidzoona made the list because the price and the play area seemed too "sulit" to ignore. If you've ever gotten your kid to stay in those jumping jamborees or play pens at malls they'll charge you from 180 to 250 php per hour. Unlimited play usually costs between 250 to 350, depends on the quality of the toys, how well-maintained and big the play ground is.


At Kidzoona, all of that is priced at 300 php for 90 minutes and 450 php for 3 hrs. I know what you're thinking; that's more expensive than your average play area and I know what you're thinking about the 3 hour price. First off the entrance fee at Kidzoona is good two:  one guardian and one child. That means free play for the adult. Hooray!

grabbed from Aeon Fantasy Group's official site

SEA OF BALLS
The one thing about Kidzoona that enticed me so much was the sea of balls. Yeah, I know how that sounds for grownups but for kids and kids at heart, it's just heaven. If you've ever wanted to dive and just disappear, this is the place for you. I thanked God that day that Kidzoona allowed parents inside with their kids. We had the most valid excuse to be in kid paradise.


It's not just the sea of balls, there's also lots of air-filled jamborees and a big, kid-proofed, slide that even we, adults, couldn't resist. It's every kid's dream and if you think you're little one is too hyper for an ordinary playground, he may find his match in this little paradise.


SLIDES and JUNGLE GYMS
Yes, there are more slides and more gyms to climb and conquer. And most of them are kid-safe and parent-friendly. See jumbo slide above. And if you're still worried there are bantays roaming the area to keep an eye on kids at this slide in particular.

Don't tell my husband I posted this. He'll think he's famous.

His favorite: This wooden train set.

Socks are required. For the sake of fun, we got colorful.

So...the next time you are thinking of letting your kid roam free and deplete his energy, think of Kidzoona. Your little one will surely get knocked out, this little guy did. Have fun!

Remember those little bracelets from yeaaaars ago that we used to be proud of having made? Nylon strings, plastic hearts and letter cubes and those sequences!

Unfortunately they end up in some miniature drawer with tons of other unfinished projects and voila! You have trinkets!

But WAIT! Don't Throw Them Out Just Yet!

While minimalism and organization helps to maintain a clean home you might find one more use for those trinkets, that's if you have a toddler at home.



Trinkets = Instant Sensory Bin

Sensory bins are awesome time killers for toddlers; this has helped me delve deeper into my work, undisturbed, for more than 2 hours. My kid gets really hooked on these bins, especially when it involves water.

He loved ice sensory bin so much and cloud dough that he willingly puts away all of his other toys for it. It's really attention-grabbing, see how we did on our first homemade clay.



Improves Sorting Skills

It's inevitable that toddlers will go into sorting their trinkets sometime during their sensory play. They'll soon realize that there are buttons and there are pebbles and that a lot of them are colored the same way or shaped the same way.

They soon feel obligated to sort them out and this is good because:


1. It practices their fine motor skills. Give them a small tong or hair puller (for small beads) and your toddlers will unknowingly practice how to hold a pencil.

2. It boosts brain development. Sorting triggers brain development as well as matching and counting. See here.

3. It helps toddlers understand same and different and that every object can be the same and different from each other at the same time.

Teaches Counting

Trinkets can be used to practice counting too. You may have to initiate the counting and play with your kid when he's sorting and that's the perfect time to incorporate counting. When an activity is fun and engaging kids learn much faster and remember their numbers better.

Teachers use trinkets too, in fact, in playgroups for toddlers. Read about our experience here.


You may not have seen this coming but letting your kids play with trinkets, and make a mess out of them, is an opportunity to teach them cleaning up after themselves. Amazing right?

If your trinkets include beads and tiny little buttons you can give your kid a small hand broom and dust pan to put things back in place. I know it sounds like giving yourself extra work, but if you can spare a bit of time it will pay off in the long run.

It won't just teach your kid cleanliness it will also practice their gross motor skills. Working up those muscly little arms will make up for being indoors too long.


So the next time you find more trinkets at home, put them all in a box and let your kids play with them during some of your busiest days. Throw in a cute pair of tongs, tiny cupcake containers or a muffin pan and scoopers.


You'll see what imaginative things a mere toddler can do with simple "toys" like this and you'll never have to buy another stuffed animal again!

Being a work-at-home parent makes you one with the house, if not the computer or laptop. There are some things you can’t always do immediately or personally that you find yourself thanking God there’s the internet.


Thank Goodness for the Internet!
When you’re hungry, and swear you’d die if you made any more piniritong stuff, you go online. When you are lonely and need someone to ease your moody antics, you go online (posting drama shit does reduce it some). When you’re incapable of shopping at the mall or just too damn tired to go through commuting, you go online.

And here I’ll stop, because I discovered something nifty on the internet, don’t we always? (besides those cute panda GIFs, of course)



I’d written about shopping online and how it’s infinitely awesome for work-at-home moms. In a nutshell, the benefits are you don’t need to sit through traffic and dish out on snacks and dinner, or get tired taking long detours just to avoid the hundreds of toy stores before reaching your favorite shoe shop. And so on and so forth.

Get Rewarded for Shopping (Yes, you heard it right!)
This week I found another “advantage” to shopping online, and it’s relatively close to spending less. In fact, and actually, it’s almost like earning for shopping online.
Enter ShopBack

cute photo huh?

As the name suggests, you get something back for shopping. At first it confused me since the site seemed to host different online stores, so the immediate reaction was, ‘Oh, it’s not an online store.’



It's a Promo Site, Not an Online Store
Apparently, it’s more of a rewards system much like the rewards club I’d joined 8share Philippines. The difference is that you don’t earn money for clicking on links and ads (like with how my Nuffnang ads work), instead you earn when you complete a transaction with any of their online store partners.

You also get to earn through Referrals!

From what I understand the cashback points are awarded to your ShopBack account, yes you have to make one to earn cashback. There’s a minimum amount required before you can cash out to your bank account, again, like with your typical rewards club. So if your local grocery store rewards you for buying groceries from them, then ShopBack similarly blesses you for shopping online through their site.

Here's how it works:



Extra Cashback this Valentine's Day!
As of now, they have quite a few partner online stores and you can see all the popular ones here. The more famous ones would be Lazada (with up to 4% cashback) and Zalora (with up to 12% cashback). It's not just clothes and gadgets that you can buy from ShopBack, Lazada and Zalora-type stores are not the only ones you'll find at their site. You can even score air fare discounts and cheap hotel deals, it was very surprising I even found Emirates and Qatar Airways at their site:


So, yes. It’s basically a win-win-win situation and, personally, when it comes to shopping and getting more “bang for my buck” I love winning. 

Most of my life was driven by fantasy.

As a child there's no better coping than a fantasy story that's more meaningful than mine. I loved the idea of tree nymphs, ancient gods bickering since the beginning of time and the demon inside my heart. A mountain of books and movies fed me; they formed my world of wonder and they fueled me.


What I imagined was infinitely better than what I had, at least that was my logic.



I wanted to see the world, you know, have and adventure like everyone else. But the world of wonder I chose was not tangible, they were shortcuts and although it's so easy to visit it simply isn't real. I wasn't grounded, my head was up in the clouds.

No matter how hard I dreamed of the greener pastures in New Zealand or the aurora it never grazed my feet or blessed my eyes. I'd never see the savanna or the pink lake, or the devil's kettle. I'd never walk into the forest and meet a stag, or see the sun rise up from the sea... Not in real life.


Philippine Airlines flies to Auckland, New Zealand starting December 2015.
Book now at www.philippineairlines.com.

Another "mushroom" post in such a long time. Parenting while working two jobs at home and reigniting my passions is tough work. Okay, I procrastinate from time to time, but who doesn't?

Hello, What Are You Doing Right Now?
It's really early right now and yet my coffee is already cold. I'm trying to write an e-book for some client who will probably never really thank me for it. Since there will be no credits to me, my husband is at work and the rates are too damn low, I'm feeling bummed, slightly offended and just.... uninspired. Until I put on this:
Whatever you are doing now, however bad you're feeling, putting on some music will make you feel better. I don't need to convince you. If we all have that one love song for broken-hearted moments then you definitely have a song for every emotion, trial or mindset you have now.



What Music Does...
Is identify, inspire and move. I've listened to a couple of my favorite songs when I came up with the idea of writing a blog post. Eeeeeit's not the e-book I'm supposed to finish today, but at least my "writer's block" has melted. I am writing to you now, aren't I? and I haven't backspaced any words so far, except for a couple of typos. I'm fidgety (like Regina's piano notes); my thoughts are too fast for my fingers to follow.

Music Validates Your Feelings
Mom, Dad, recently broken-up or hopelessly trying to be the one, whichever you are you're not always sure about how you feel. Not because you're dumb, but because half the time you just don't want to admit it.

I wouldn't admit that I despise the highly unfair rates I'm getting for my talent and experience,
You know you do too; that guy you're waiting on is probably just really nice and that break up? Yeaaaaaaaahh. This one's for you:

Music Moves  and Inspires You
And that career or life-changing decision that's waiting on you. You know you have to just decide. There's no point in stalling, so put on some motivational music and get your butt going. 

Some songs are motivational and downright inspiring. Remember those bus rides to work or on the way home?
*That doesn't necessarily mean "getting the girl", you know that right?

Music Defines You
No, listening to Tay-tay does not establish what kind of person you are, just that you like to shake it off. But everybody does that in their bedrooms. At least I do, don't you? You should try it, it's oddly entertaining... somewhat embarrassing.... but fun :)

If I am going to be a song, not a song that will describe me, but if I literally had to be a song instead of a human I'd be Vienna. It's the first song on this post...it's just my song.... Need I say more?

Lastly, and ESPECIALLY....

Music Influences You

So please be careful about those rap songs about wielding pistols and getting shot in the arse and living to sing the tale. If you have no intention on going gangsta, living hardcore, becoming suicidal or voting for someone you don't even know: be cautious about which songs you frequently listen to.