Daily Interact Certified Positive Planner 2015 + Giveaway

Every December, one of the things that people look forward to is their would-be planner for the succeeding year, and that includes me! There are a number of planners available in the market varying on the design and features. Some are given as a complimentary from affiliate banks or insurance companies, some are given as a freebie as part of a brand's marketing promo, while some planners are explicitly available for sale at select bookstores. Sometimes it becomes difficult to decide which planner to use when you got more than one. It's hard to choose whether you want status symbol, being 'in' or just practicality.

Based on my experience, it's hard to maintain two planners because they can mix up your schedule and tendency is that the other planner would just get left out. It is advisable to use only one planner for a particular year so that everything will just be in one place. Planner is made to simplify our life and not to complicate it.

Anyway, I just want to share with you a relatively new planner made by Certified Positive. Presenting to you their 2nd edition, the 2015 Daily Interact Certified Positive Planner.

Daily Interact Certified Positive Planner cover

As you can see from the outside, the planner has an olive green color. It has an abstract minimalist design imprinted in glossy finish. It is hardbound, measures 8.25" in length, 5.75" in width, 0.75" in thickness and weighs around 500g. It has a built-in ribbon bookmark and comes with a separate card bookmark.

Now let's check out the inside pages. Basically, what makes Certified Positive planner different is its goal of helping people grow their relationship with God and to see life in a positive way. If you are in lined with this mission, then let's proceed.

How to Maximize Your Planner

Here's a summary of the planner's features.

Work-at-Home Weekend Expo 2014 + Giveaway

Since I became a mom, my priority has shifted towards taking care of my child and grooming her to become a better citizen. I really can't imagine being out the whole day and leaving my child alone with the helpers especially after hearing about the many scary stories about nannies. I also dread the day that my child would favor yaya over me and become ill-behaved which might disrupt her overall development. My conscience won't let me do that in exchange of my full-time job. I believe there's a better way to do it, being with my family while still earning on the side, making both ends meet. I had been working an eight-to-five job ever since I graduated from college until my precious little one came out. Thanks to this Facebook group, WAHMderful Community for Work-at-Home Mom, which I have came across over a year ago that gave me the push to pursue this path. It's good to see that more and more moms have already embraced the idea of staying at home, being hands-on with child-rearing, making use of their passion and skills to create income and eventually living a blissful life. That's actually the main goal of Ms. Martine de Luna, founder of the said Facebook group.

About the Expo

This coming October 25, 2014 (Saturday), WAHMderful Life and Manila Workshops are proud to present the most-awaited event of the year, The Work-at-Home Weekend Expo 2014. This one-day expo will feature twelve (12) different talks that will be useful to those aspiring and start-up entrepreneurs; and a booth area show-casing businesses of mompreneurs, online stores, companies that offer home-based jobs, and many others that would benefit the whole family.

This event will take place at the 12th floor of Insular Life Makati from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. The twelve (12) talks are divided into six time slots with two talks happening simultaneously in two different areas, one near the Multi-Purpose Hall and one inside the Seminar Room C.

TBM's 1st Anniversary Blog Giveaway

How can a special occasion be remembered without a giveaway? This is actually a continuation of my previous post on Celebrating Life with The Binondo Mommy. Pls. read it first if you haven't.

I'm honored to present to you the generous sponsors of TBM's 1st Anniversary Blog Giveaway. Just click through each link below to direct you to each of their Facebook pages.

Lifestyle Upgrade 101

Mom Baby Fabric

Tiny Thinkies

Tita Vickie's

Headpiece Glamour

Overview of the Sponsors

Lifestyle Upgrade 101

The book that I'm talking about earlier that inspired me to get out of the rat race is: I Wish They Taught Money in High School by Lifestyle Upgrade. Just click on the title to read my book review on this. Aside from knowing them personally from a leadership seminar, I'm really one big fan of their book. I just loved it.

actual prizes to be raffled off

Mom Baby Fabric

The first time I met Mommy Ven was last year in MCNP Grand EB and the last time was during the Mom Expo. What made me stop by her booth was the style and big coverage of her nursing cover plus the cool patterns of the fabric used. After a few interviews with her, I was amazed to know that she is the one personally conceptualizing the designs of all her mom and baby products. She's none other than the humble and ever-friendly mompreneur behind Mom Baby Fabric who sells breastfeeding-friendly and baby products.

actual design to be raffled off

Tiny Thinkies 

Last April, I tried attending a Mastermind session by Wahmderful Life and randomly got acquainted with a mom who has a personalized onesie business. Then I met her again during the Great Diaper Change event that same month. What I admire about this mompreneur is her innovativeness to create a new concept on baby onesie business by offering an option for customization. I particularly love the idea of their Declaration Onesie. Let me introduce to you Mommy Gracie of the Tiny Thinkies.

sample image lifted from their FB page

Tita Vickie's

Just last month, I was surprised to see an invite notification to like an FB page from Tita Vickie. I've known Tita V for quite sometime from PSI, the leadership seminar that I have mentioned. Just like any seminars, there are snacks being prepared and what made it special is that they are personally home-made by Tita V. And now, I'm happy to know that she has started offering them to the public already. Try Tita Vickie's home-made cheese pimiento, tuna spread and egg sandwich spread, and your breakfast and merienda would never be the same again. They're just so addicting!

sample image lifted from their FB page

Headpiece Glamour
 
The last but not the least of my sponsors is Headpiece Glamour. I met her five years ago in Liberty Hall's Winter Camp event when we were both single back then. Since she had her first child, she became a stay-at-home mom. Until recently, I saw her sharing her masterpieces in creating hand-made glamorous hair trinkets for little princesses. I encouraged her to create her online store so she can better market her creations and so she did. Congrats Mommy Jeddy! Let's give our full support to this budding mompreneur by checking out her FB page.

sample image lifted from their FB page

Celebrating Life with The Binondo Mommy

Hi everyone, I'm back! Sorry for not being able to blog lately on a personal level for quite sometime. It's because my mind is a mess. I don't know where to start. So many things had happened and time has gone by really fast. It's been one year since I started this blog, The Binondo Mommy. I was supposed to write a post last Sunday June 8, the actual date of TBM's anniversary, but was too preoccupied with my toddler who has just turned 18 months on that same day. 

She had her first hair cut on her 18th monthsary.

Since the time she started walking on her own last Feb. 18, lots of rearranging and child-proofing has been done inside our house. We realized that our baby is not a baby anymore and that we now have a toddler. I thought my current set-up of working-at-home-physically-but-away-mentally would make me a fulfilled housewife/mommy. Yes I am thankful for granting me a home-based job that I was able to sustain my breastfeeding journey this far. I was able to witness majority of my baby's milestones and most importantly, I was able to watch her grow up in good hands. But in the past months, I found myself becoming too busy with my laptop that I didn't really have the quality time to interact and play with my toddler. 

Workshop for First Time Parents + Giveaway

If you have been following my blog, you would know that I love attending workshops and one of my favorites is Manila Workshop-organized workshops particularly their First Time Parents (FTP) series.

Here are some of the reasons why:

1. First of all, the topics are exactly what I needed as a new mom.

2. The venue is very accessible and conducive to learning, Medela House.

3. They have a hand-out neatly compiled in a folder inside a brown envelope.

4. They have a snack bar with biscuits, candies, coffee sachets and water.

5. There are lots of booths related to mom and baby and most of the time there would be sample packs or freebies for you to take home or free taste.

6. Best of all, you could attend for free if you are a Medela pump customer.

7. And you get to meet and mingle with new mommy friends along the way.

8. Lastly, it's actually my me-time, time to relax.

To give you a brief history, First Time Parents series started June of last year and I have attended at least four of them since then. Each year, they have lined up ten series of FTP workshops with varying topics to aid new mommies in their motherhood journey. Their topics would range from pre-natal, delivery, newborn care and even beyond toddlerhood. Want to know what's another good thing about FTP workshops? They have actually lowered their learning fee in order to reach out to more mommies out there. How great is that!

Are you curious to know what's their most requested workshop? It's the "What to Know Before Giving Birth" workshop, thus a rerun was made. I haven't attended this particular workshop yet because my baby is already a toddler when this topic came out. Last May 24, I attended their afternoon workshop on Mom and Baby Fashion/Baby Nutrition and upon signing in the registration, I was surprised to see a familiar name, one of my high school batch mates, who attended the morning session on What to Know Before Giving Birth the Rerun. I've thought of asking them instead on their feedback about the workshop and  here's what the couple had said:

"The workshop talked about the journey from 1st to 9th month of pregnancy. It doesn't mean that if mommy is okay, baby is okay too. The chart on weight gain was very informative. They specially reminded us to avoid eating processed meat. The workshop is best attended by newly pregnant mommies who are still on their first trimester and will definitely benefit them the most." (Note that the mommy is on her 7th month already)

Photo credit: Donna Donor

And because it's the most requested workshop for FTP series, they have been blessed with lots of sponsors, which also means freebies! All the attendees got to take home loads of gift packs. Even if you were not able to attend, my readers will also have a chance to win gift packs from these sponsors. 

GIVEAWAY TIME!

Are you ready? But first of all, let me thank Manila Workshops for choosing The Binondo Mommy to host this grand giveaway. Two (2) lucky winners will get a chance to take home a gift pack overload from their sponsors namely: Unilab, Rustan's, NumaBaby and SebaMed. 

One set of Gift Pack Overload contains these items. Two sets will be given away. (Prizes may vary.)

Mechanics:

The giveaway will run from May 31 until June 15, 2014. Winners will be announced the next day. Winners should be able to claim their gift packs at the Medela House on June 28 between 1 to 5pm only. Just follow the mechanics as stated in the Rafflecopter. Unable to follow the mandatory steps will make your entries invalid.

I'm also inviting you to attend their 8th installment on the FTP series of workshop, Making Memories and Party Planning this coming June 28, 2014, 1 to 5pm. It's a 2-in-1 session that teaches first time parents on how to document milestones and important events in their child's lives as well as plan for their child's baptism and birthday parties. The speaker would be Ms. Michelle Katigbak-Alejandro, editor-in-chief of Metro Weddings. For more info, just click the link below the poster.

If in case you are one of the lucky winners of my giveaway and would be interested to attend, I'm extending a 10% discount to this particular workshop. You just need to indicate "The Binondo Mommy" as your referrer to get the discount.

 

Making Memories and Party Planning

a Rafflecopter giveaway

See you on the 28th of June!

Updated June 16:

Thank you everyone for joining! Because I can't seem to "add a winner" or access the entries using Rafflecopter, I used the Random.org instead in choosing the winners. Here's the line up of names who joined this giveaway.

1. Ma. Clarice Lao-Itumay – DIY party ideas
2. Jim Marlon Macaraeg – party planning
3. Theresa Cruz-Escaros – childhood learning and development
4. Riyalyn Gatdula – newborn care, baby tests and other health-topics for the baby
5. Sherry Ann Gole Cruz – parenting and age-appropriate activities for kids
6. Arra Odeza – child care, breastfeeding, saving tips
7. Anne Marie Napay-Dragon – party planning, nutritious food for babies/toddlers
8. Laila Mercado – business workshop
9. Maricel Fajardo – parenting
10. Lovelyn Pagulayan
11. Helen Gatbonton – business
12. Ann Cagalingan – self-confidence booster for kids
13. Maria Elizabeth P. Andres – parenting, cooking and health-related
14. Princess Buenviaje
15. May Ongsioco – parenting
16. Abegail B. Licayan – business
17. Anna Maria Adona – age-appropriate games/exercises for skill/behavorial development
18. Kristine Domingo – parenting, child behaviour
19. Emilyn Cañares – parenting, tantrum-handling, nutrition
20. Lovely Joy Merced – party planning
21. Sarah Quijano – business
22. Kharen Mallari – parenting, cooking, business
23. Jeddahlyn Gonzales – party planning
24. Mary Anne Ramirez – handling toddler quarrels
25. Judith Albius – parenting, cooking
26. Hanna Roxette A. Zulueta – parenting, cooking
27. Rodel Salazar Mercurio – business
28. Maria Kristina Punla – parenting
29. Gracie Ramirez – satisfying children’s curiosity
30. Allan Reyes – child care
31. Jenny Esplana – make-up
32. Jessiemer Abing – business
33. Lorielyn Nocasa – parenting
34. Mary Rose Paguio – business

And the two lucky winners of the Gift Pack Overload are:

 

 

Congratulations! Kindly message me in FB your confirmation that you will be able to pick-up your prize at Medela House on the 28th of June, from 1-5pm and if you would be attending the said event. Thank you! :)

 

Mommy Sally 

Winners for ZaLor Massage Services Giveaway

After more than three weeks, my ZaLor Massage Services giveaway has finally concluded. Thank you to Nanay Lorena for her generosity in sponsoring five (5) complimentary massage and for supporting The Binondo Mommy. Thank you to AllPromos.ph and Mommy Bloggers PH for helping me spread about this giveaway to their followers.

There are a total of 29 names who left a comment on my ZaLor giveaway blog post and only 4 joined through Instagram. Out of the twenty nine (29), twelve (12) of them are interested in a relaxing massage, seven (7) need a prenatal, six (6) are looking for a postnatal, two (2) for lactation massage and two (2) for fertility massage. It seems that majority loves to have a relaxing massage! 

Here's a run down of the 29 names who joined:

Rozelle Reyes - relaxing

Mhaybelle Parto – prenatal

Rowena Demingware – prenatal

Laurence Tengkiat – prenatal

Richelle Molon – relaxing

Arminda de Leon – relaxing

Allan Reyes – relaxing

Vicenta Rada – relaxing

Karina Alvaera – lactation

Aisa Vagilidad – postnatal

Maricar Saladino – postnatal

Sophia Gonzales – relaxing

Kelly Biasong – postnatal

Josefa Lamano – relaxing

Mary Anne Ramires – relaxing

Cherry Felizima – prenatal                           

Jeffrey Imutan – relaxing

Monica Almayda – relaxing

Ruth Santiago – relaxing

Lalane Virto – prenatal

Ma. Clarice Lao-Itumay – fertility

Joey Fumera – postnatal

Joy Mesina-Bahia – postnatal

Maddie Manahan – prenatal

Vivian Dy – lactation

Cristina Chuah – fertility

Colachel (Ichelle Lugasanx) – relaxing

Monica Eleazar Manzano – postnatal

Len Tienzo – prenatal

If you have read carefully the mechanics, five winners will be picked from different criteria: two (2) from Rafflecopter, two (2) from chosen answer, one (1) from Instagram.  

And the two lucky winners picked by Rafflecopter are: Mhaybelle Berganio-Parto and Rozelle Reyes!

The two chosen answer awards go to Ma. Clarice Lao-Itumay and Monica Eleazar-Manzano. Plus a surprise! Nanay Lorena agreed to give one more complimentary massage. So our third chosen answer award goes to Vivian Chua-Dy.

Last but not the least, watch this video to know who's the lucky winner from Instagram using manual draw. 

Pardon me for the wrong angle of shoot, it was my first time. I didn't know that I should hold the phone camera in a landscape position. :)

Congratulations to the winners! Kindly message me through TBM's FB Page your complete name, email address, mobile number, type of massage, home service or not so I could forward them to Nanay Lorena. Hope you'll enjoy your most-awaited massage. Hope you could share us your experience and pictures once you have already tried them. Thank you so much to everyone for joining! Just follow ZaLor Massage Services page to keep you updated on their promos and latest happening.

See you around!

Love lots,
Mommy Sally

ZaLor Massage Services + Giveaway

I was very fortunate to have interviewed one of the partners behind a humble but promising massage service specializing in maternity, ZaLor Massage Services. I came to know them last year when I tried their lactation massage by Nanay Lorena. I actually didn't thought of having the need to get a lactation massage because I was already so blessed to have enough milk supply for my baby. But because of the complimentary massage service that I've won from the giveaway of TSN + Zalor + Babypalooza that I was able to try it.

Here's my first massage by Nanay Lorena, photo taken last March 3, 2013. Baby was still 3 months old that time.

Believe it or not, it was actually my first time to try a lactation massage. Anyway, my experience was that during the time that Nanay Lorena was massaging my breast already, my milk was continuously flowing and becoming messy that I felt kind of embarrassed. But it was a sign of an abundant milk supply and I was also relieved to know that I didn't have any plugged ducts during the massage. Aside from the relaxing massage experience, it was never a dull moment chatting with Nanay Lorena as she openly shares her interesting life stories and wisdom in this field of service. Optimism, humility and selflessness are the traits that I admire most from her.

Baby Massage

Let me share with you more about Zalor Massage Service through the interview I had with Nanay Lorena (NL). I took the liberty to translate her answer from Tagalog to English.

Baby Nutrition and Dental Care Workshop + Giveaway

Few months before baby turned 6 months old, I started preparing myself on what and how to prepare baby's first solid food. My initial perception was to feed baby mashed, jarred or boxed food as how it is done the traditional way. Not until somebody shared to me how she fed her child that I came across the term Baby-Led Weaning (BLW) for the first time. I was impressed by her stories where she proudly shared to me that her baby below 1 year old could feed on his own using bare hands, eating sliced vegetables, fruits and even meat. She told me that practicing BLW is the better way to feed baby because of convenience, nutritious, cost-efficient and to avoid picky eaters. She even invited me to join a Facebook support group named Baby Led Weaning Philippines to answer my further queries and doubts. 

Here's my 14-month old BLW toddler eating her chicken wings.

Aside from feeding nutritious food, I also prepared a baby toothbrush for her to get the habit of brushing teeth three times a day. One of my dreaded pains is having dental problems that's why I want to make sure that baby's teeth are well taken cared of as early as now.

My baby loves brushing her teeth especially when she sees me doing it.

And I'm glad that Manila Workshops is offering a workshop about these topics which are both very timely for me, Baby Nutrition and Dental Care.

Presenting to you Manila Workshops and Medela Moms's event this coming February 22, 2014 (Saturday) from 9am to 12noon. This is the second part of their First Time Parents (FTP) Series of workshops.

Topics to be discussed:
1. Nutritional Meals for Baby
2. Baby Led Weaning
3. Dental Care

Speakers are:
1. Ms. Cecile Bayaga
    - registered nutritionist-dietitian
    - full-time faculty at the College of Home Economics, UP-Diliman
    - has been teaching Principles of Nutrition, Nutrition for the Lifecycle, and Medical Nutrition Therapy for the past 12 years
    - has published scientific articles on glycemic index, essential fatty acids for brain development, and clinical nutrition
    - awarded as The Most Promising Nutritionist-Dietitian by the Nutritionists-Dietitians’ Association of the Philippines in 2005
    - has been happily married for 9 years and has one child

2. Dr. Fina Marilag Gupit-Lopez 
    - is a specialist in Pediatric Dentistry
    - is a practicing Pediatric Dentistry Consultant at the Oral Health Care Center in Greenhills and Dentphix, Inc in Pasig City
    - works as a Consultant, Lecturer and Clinical Supervising Staff at the Pediatric Dentistry Center of the Philippines of Dr. Fe del Mundo Medical Center and Foundation
    - Apart from her medical practice, she is also a columnist for Baby Magazine. 
    - has conducted several lectures on oral health care and caring for children’s teeth
    - is married to a businessman, with whom she has 4 children

DATE: February 22, 2014 (Saturday)  
TIME: 9:00 am to 12:00 noon
VENUE: Medela House, #29 1st Street, New Manila, Quezon City

Learning Fee:
Regular Rate: P500
Couple’s Rate: P800

Kindly go to this link to register: http://manilaworkshops.com/2014/01/baby-nutrition-and-dental-care-february-22-2014.html

By the way, I'm giving away four couple seats (4 pairs) to this workshop. Just follow the Rafflecopter mechanics carefully. Promo will run for a week, from Feb. 13 until Feb. 19. 

Winners will be announced the next day and will be submitted to the event organizers. Good luck and feel free to invite your friends.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I'm actually excited to attend this workshop. Hoping to learn and discover more new things to improve my parenting skills. 
 
Mommy Sally