Putting on Love with Drypers

My mommy friend was chosen to be one of Drypers Mombassadors and she invited me over as a guest at the recently concluded Drypers Shower Party held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel.  We use Drypers with my son especially when we had to leave the house and I was very excited with what's in store for the moms.

I arrived there at half past 1pm and everything was ready.  The registration went very smooth.  The set up inside the ballroom was done in such a way that there is a smooth flow of activities.  Booths were set up at the back and each one had the chance to participate in the games and win special prizes.  A loot bag was also provided for all the Mombassadors and Mommy Guests.

With Mommy Friends.  At the back are the different booths.

What I particularly like is that there is a Buffet area for the kids and another one for the adults.  I enjoyed the sausage roll a lot.  And on the other end is a coffee table where the guests can help themselves with unlimited coffee and tea.

The event was the perfect venue to present the Newly Improved Drypers -- with their new logo, packaging and designs.  I admit that I will miss the diaper that says "I love Mom; I love Dad" but the new designs are adorable.  They also switched to using Flexi-Tape which will allow moms to fasten and refasten the diapers if needed.

Best Ever Drypers

On the left are the new diaper designs.  The Right shows the new logo and package design.  Everyday Love Stories is the new campaign.

Several prizes were raffled off during the event such as GCs from Starbucks, Army Navy, Sodexho and Toys R' Us.  The most coveted are the five thousand and ten thousand cash prize which I unfortunately didn't win.  But I am extremely happy that my pregnant friend did.

The Grand Prize Winner - Olivia Fernandez (phto courtesy by Mommy Vee)

Loads of freebies during the event. I couldn't wait to try out the new Bath essentials.

No wonder it was a Shower Party.  We were showered with prizes, freebies and a whole lot of love from Drypers.  Until the next event.

Horayyy I got sick!

There are perhaps a million reasons why you should not get sick.  I'm not sure if some of you know that I have been battling Pneumonia (among other things) for the past two months and believe me, the entire time I made a mile-long list of why my health should come in first.  But writing about how frustrating it is to be home sick is boring.  I thought maybe I should make light about the situation and think about reasons why it is nice to get sick (sometimes).  And, here's mine:

I get to sleep at night. Oh yes! After working in a BPO industry for 8 years, sleeping at night for two straight months is H-E-A-V-E-N.

I get to watch the TV shows that I wanted (except when my son insists on tuning it on to Disney Jr or Baby TV)  and the movies that I have missed.

READ.  For the first time after X number of years, I have actually sat down and read 3 novels.  I can't recall the last time I did that.  In case you're wondering, I read the famous Grey Trilogy in less than a week! Not bad because when I was in college I can finish one Sheldon Novel in an hour or two.

Lose weight.  Not that I recommend this, but I actually had to buy a few pairs of pants that I can use at the office.  And another excuse to buy new sets of clothes.

REST.  All I ever did was wake up, eat, watch TV, surf the Net, play with my kids, sleep and sleep and sleep.   It was great!  My body finally got all the rest that it needed.

No Stress.  I don't have to think about the bosses at the office nor do I have to think about my to-do list, at least for now.  No deliverables. No Client meetings. No presentations. No business reviews to prepare and discuss.  Although I need to check my office mails once in a while, all I need to do next is just delegate the task to someone else.

And I finally got my wish.  I get to stare blankly at the white walls at home and do nothing....at least for a few minutes.

Photo courtesy of gotfreeshipping.com

Rain Rain, Don't Go Away

It's been raining hard these past days.  For some people, the rain is something that they dread because of the flood but not me.  The rain always takes me back to the time when I was young and pure joy simply means being able to frolic in the rain.

Little A was a little afraid of the rain that's why I had to carry him.   

Now that I have kids, I want them to be able to appreciate things that are around them; And just because they have a huge age gap doesn't mean they can't play together.

No longer afraid.  Little A and Ate A played with bubbles and  the hose in the rain. 

So when it rained, I was the first one up.  They were a little hesitant at first but eventually they joined me.  Now they can go back and say, "I had fun with my Mama in the rain."

My First Blogger Award

When I started blogging, I never really thought about awards or any form of recognition.  I thought this is the best time to face my fear -- fear that what I have written is not good enough.

Like any blogger, I continued to do what I do and unexpectedly receive a comment from Sarah, telling me that I have been nominated in the Leibster Award.  It was quite unexpected because I have been sick and have not updated my page for sometime.

So what is a Liebster Award?

"Liebster is a German word whose meanings include kindest,dearest,favorite,valued,welcome."

The award recognizes bloggers with less than 200 followers who deserve recognition and appreciation in their contribution to the blogging community.  Being relatively new to the blogging world, I am humbled and honored to receive this kind of appreciation from a fellow blogger.  You may find Sarah's post here.

There are rules in order to accept the award, one has to follow them.

• Write 11 things about yourself. 
• Answer the 11 questions that the tagger has set for you PLUS you must create 11 more for the people that you will nominate for this award.
• Select up to 11 bloggers; linking them to your post. 
• Go to their page and inform them of the nomination
• Strictly NO tags back.  Only tag bloggers with less than 200 followers. 

To start off, here are 11 random facts about me.

• I can type even without looking at the keyboards.  I owe it to my typing class when I was in Grade 6 when our teacher used to cover our eyes during our typing exercises. 
• I love watching romantic comedies.  My all-time favorite is "My Best Friend's Wedding."  I often annoy my husband by reciting almost 90% of Julia Roberts and Cameron Diaz's lines. 
• The first thing that I look at on the menu is the dessert.
• The most favorite place I want to be at is the beach listening to Bob Marley's songs. 
• I love the smell of chlorine in the swimming pool. 
• I am a good swimmer but I am terrified of the ocean. 
• I love the smell of coffee in the morning. 
• I probably spend more on books than I do on miscellaneous stuff. 
• I am a mother of two adorable kids who were born on the same month with an 8-year gap.  My eldest was born on the 22nd and the other was born on the 25th. 
• I am a GLEEK. 
• I am a morning person but that changed when I started working in the BPO industry.  

Now, the answers to Sarah's questions.

What do you love most about blogging?
I love that it takes my mind off my regular job in the BPO company.  I love that I can let myself go and write about things and not be afraid of what other people think.  I love that I get to improve my writing skills and my confidence in the way I write. 

What was the first song or tune that you sang?
Gosh, that was ages ago but if I remember correctly, it would be "Fly Fly Fly, the Butterfly." LOL.

What was the first give that you had ever received?
This is a hard one. I'm not sure if this was the first one but this is something that I had for as long as I can remember -- my walking doll.  She's 3 feet tall and my daughter still got to play with her. 

What is one historical story in your family that you are most proud of?
That would be the story of what my father had to go through to keep our store.  That store has helped our family survive and helped me finish school.

When did you first learn to go home on your own?
I was in Grade 4.  I remember feeling like a grown up after that incident. 

When did you first learn to live on your own?
College years.  It was the BEST.

Who is your favorite author and why?
SIDNEY SHELDON (hands down.)  Once you read a Sheldon book, you never want to put it down.  The plots are unpredictable and the endings are not what you expected.  Love it!!!

What is (are) favorite movie (s) that touched on history or based on real life events?
Schindler's List.  Hachi: A Dog's Tale

What do you do when you experience writer's block?
I don't force myself to write when that happens.  I give myself some time to collect my thoughts and go back to writing again.  The best one I've written so far are those that I wrote when I was inspired. 

What book or story that you will never get tired of reading?
Any Sheldon book is worth the Nth read. 

What difficult decision had you done in your life that was worth it. 
Leave the province and move to Manila on my own.  It was hard.  I've made some good and stupid decisions but it made me who I am now. 

Enough stuff about me, let's go to the most exciting part.  It's a little challenging to find someone who could be a recipient of this award only because most of the blogs I know have more than 200 followers, but here are the chosen ones:

Moomy Musing

Mommy Giay

The 24-Hour Mommy

Soldier Mom's Corner

Mum Writes
Our Phenomenal Life

And the 11 questions are:

When and why did you start blogging?

What's in your playlist now?

What's the most recent book that you read?

What is your pig out food?

What's the best thing that happened to you this year?

What's in your bucket list that you plan to accomplish before the year ends?

What is the one thing that gives you the most joy?

Who is your role model?

What are your thoughts now?

What makes you smile?

What is the one word that best describes you as a blogger?

Time for me to notify the recipients of the award.  Again

Congratulations to everyone. 
I'm looking forward to reading all of your answers.