On Learning New Things for the Ones We Love and Last Call for the H.O.P.E. Summit

My eldest son loves to play the piano. He taught himself to play the piano. He could play by ear once he becomes familiar with a tune or a song. He started doing this when he was 5 years old. Just before his sixth birthday last year, he accomplished his goal of learning how to play the songs usually sang in the daily Masses in our parish. His dream is to one day serve as pianist in our parish so that there will always be music during daily Masses. It makes him sad when there is no musician who can accompany the choir or congregation in the singing of songs.

Aside from playing Mass songs in the piano, he has also learned other songs... classical music, worship songs, nursery songs, the Philippine National Anthem and recently Brahm's lullaby.

He learned how to play nursery songs in the piano even though he was no longer fond of singing these songs because he wanted to teach these songs to his younger brother Mateo who is a toddler. He learned to play the minuet by Bach and Brahm's lullaby because he wanted to play soft music that can lull his baby brother Geordan to sleep.

For my 40th birthday celebration at home, I planned to have a time of prayer and worship with my closest friends. I asked him if he can learn to play a worship song for me so that he can accompany us during the prayer meeting. Days before my party, he started learning it. Then, he played it during the actual celebration. He amazed not just me and his Dad but even our guests!

This boy is consumed with passion in learning the pieces that he needs to learn to accomplish his goals. He sometimes spends hours just tinkering with our piano and watching YouTube videos just to become familiar with the songs he wants to learn. He keeps on trying and practicing until he learns the piece.

This boy is passionate to learn new things because of the people he loves: God, his brothers, his parents.

When I became a mother, I realized that many of the things I used to do and love doing are things that I can no longer do often. One of these things is conducting trainings and workshops. So I searched for other ways to express and practice what I love doing, which is sharing my knowledge and expertise to help people grow and reach their goals and dreams.

I learned new skills also like blogging, publishing, internet marketing, social media management and marketing, running an online business and e-commerce.

I spent countless hours reading as much material as I could lay my hands or eyes on and watching webinars and videos that enable me to learn and grow in these areas.

Just like my eldest son, I was passionate to learn in these areas and to acquire these new skills because of the ones I love... my children and my husband.

I knew that learning these new skills would enable me to spend more time at home with them while still contributing to the family income.

Learning new things is not easy. It's challenging. It can be frustrating sometimes.

But it's also fulfilling especially when you start practicing or using the new skills that you've learned.

I love seeing the look on my eldest son's face whenever he tells me that he has learned a new piece.

He proudly plays his new piece to us and he would do it repeatedly demonstrating his new skill with greater confidence each time. He is so full of joy as he plays the songs that he has mastered for the object of his affections.

I am also filled with joy whenever I learn a new skill and I am able to use it to accomplish tasks faster or I am able to earn through them.

Do you also want to learn new things and acquire new skills so that you can become more hands-on with your children and have more time to bond with them while earning money for your family?

I invite you to JOIN US on August 8 from 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM at the AVR of Teltech Building, Boni Avenue, in Mandaluyong for the Hands-On Parents while Earning or H.O.P.E. Summit. Click here to join the event and to get updates on what to expect. It's a whole day workshop where you can learn new things and skills that can help you to become a better parent and move closer to your financial goals without sacrificing your relationship with your kids.

It will be a day of learning and networking with other parents who have the same goals and who have been successful in their chosen niches.

You can even bring your kids with you since we will have a kids' room during the event. All my kids are coming with me actually.

There will be booths where you can shop for books, toys and other learning materials.

You can win exciting prizes also during our raffle. There are also freebies for all workshop participants!

It's exactly a week to the H.O.P.E. Summit! You can still buy your ticket to attend this life-changing event! Hurry! We only have limited seats because of the capacity of the venue.

REGISTER HERE. 

BUY YOUR TICKET HERE.

See you at the H.O.P.E. Summit on August 8! Together, let's learn new things and grow for the ones we love!

Will You Choose to Give Joy to Your Child?

It's touching how your presence is your baby's main source of joy.

I just stepped out of our bedroom to get my devotional from the altar. I put my baby in his crib before doing so. He cried as soon as he saw me step out of the room even though I told him that I will be back right away. 

As soon as I went back inside and picked him up, he smiled instantly. Then, as I carried and walked with him to my home office, he kept on laughing and giggling as if saying that he was delighted to be carried by me.

Your baby will only be small and needy for around 2 years. After that, your baby will become less dependent on you and would desire (and sometimes insist) to try new things on his own. Your baby will need you less. But while you are your baby's main source of joy, would you choose to give him joy? Would you choose to fill your baby's love tank by being present to him?

I thank God for the grace He has given me to choose to bring joy to my babies' hearts. I thank Him that He has helped me make the decision to prioritize my babies over my career and money. I thank Him for the precious smiles and laughter I have witnessed all because I was present to them while they were still babies. No amount of money or achievement can compare to the priceless experience of being there for my children when I meant the world to them.

If you are a parent or a mom like me and your baby/child's cry tugs at your heart too whenever you need to leave for work, I invite you to the Hands-On Parents while Earning (H.O.P.E.) Summit on August 8, a whole day workshop that can change the course of your family's life. In this workshop, parents will learn hands-on parenting and working smart in the new millennium and how they can marry hands-on parenting with earning for the family.



Being able to work with a lot of flexibility has been one of the biggest blessings I have received in life. I was able to witness all my children’s milestones, personally take care of them and breastfeed them because I am home almost all the time. I am able to shape my children’s character and educate them while pursuing my passions and earning through these passions. I want to share what I have learned through the years to my fellow parents so that they too can spend ample time with their children while contributing to the family income. This is my way of helping families grow and remain intact.


Below are my objectives in organizing this workshop for parents:

• to enable parents to discover their big why in aspiring to be Hands-On Parents while Earning (HOPE).
• to enable parents to come up with a clear and compelling vision for their children and for themselves as parents and as earning individuals.
• to help parents to come up with a list of new habits that they can easily and consistently implement after the workshop so they can be more involved in their children’s lives.
• to help parents discover ways to work smarter so they can free up more time in their schedules to bond with their children.
• to inspire moms and dads to be hands-on even while earning for their families and to learn tips and strategies on how to be successful in their careers/businesses through the stories of the featured moms and dads (guests) in the iHOPE Summit.
• to introduce different earning options for parents while being actively involved in their children’s lives.
• to give parents an opportunity to meet and interact with other parents who also want to become H.O.P.E. (Hands-On Parents while Earning).

I will be the main speaker and facilitator of the workshop. The other speakers in the summit include Martine de Luna, Jomar Hilario and Ginger Arboleda. Martine is a work-at-home advocate, award winning blogger and blog coach. Jomar is the Philippines’ Internet Marketing Guru who teaches individuals how to be virtual professionals and online business owners. Ginger is a serial entrepreneur, business coach and blogger.


Guest panelists who are successful Hands-On Parents while Earning themselves will be part of the summit also. These include Denise Bernardo of Indigobaby, Angeli Del Rosario of The Beadlady, Katrina Ambion of Mommyfide PH, Chef Jonathan Chua of Magsaysay Institute of Hospitality and Culinary Arts  and Jay and Cherry Castillo of Foreclosure Philippines.

The workshop is valued at P3,500 per head at least; but I want to help as many families as I can, so I found a way to make the workshop more affordable to parents. Thus, attendees get a 43% discounted rate even as they pay the regular rate of P2,000 per head. Couples are encouraged to attend together through the couple rate of P3,000 only. Moreover, we will raffle off prizes to couples who will be present during the workshop. Click here to read more details about the summit and to register to this life-changing event.

The H.O.P.E. Summit is co-presented by Full Life Cube Publishing and Events Services, Sun Life Financial and PLDT Home Telpad. Participants of the summit will get a chance to win exciting prizes during the raffle from its sponsors which include Indigobaby, The Beadlady, Mommyfide PH, Bert Lozada Swim School, Gymboree Play and Music Philippines and Halo Philippines. One of the prizes to be raffled off is a free annual membership to Gymboree Play and Music Philippines worth P2,000! Winning this will not only translate into savings but many precious bonding moments for the lucky parent and child. Participants will also receive freebies like P500 gift certificates from Lozada Swim School, copies of Mustard magazine for kids and so much more.   

We will also have a kids' room for parents who want to bring their kids with them. We will raffle off storybooks for the kids who will use our kids' room too.


For updates about the H.O.P.E. Summit, please like and visit https://www.facebook.com/events/419373114931304/.

Earning While Homeschooling

We just had our first field trip for the school year! It's our way of kicking off the start of a brand new year in our homeschool adventure. 

We even bought Philippine-designed shirts for our field trip outfits! 

We gently began our school year last week by reviewing what the kids learned in the past year. Although we homeschool year-round, we officially start our school year in June. It's that time of the year when I (their main teacher) start becoming more intentional with our homeschool activities. I take into consideration where we left off before our summer activities, the kids' current interests and their respective levels. Together with my husband, we discuss and plan our learning goals for the year for each of our kids.  

But before we get serious, I thought that it would be a wonderful way to start our school year with a fun activity. This is one of the things I love about homeschooling. We design our schedule based on our goals, availability, resources, and the topics that we want to learn and cover. 

Since there are two major historical events that Filipinos celebrate in June (Independence Day on June 12 and Jose Rizal's birthday on June 19), I've decided to plan a field trip for our family this month. I initially planned to go to Jose Rizal's house and hometown in Calamba, Laguna and Fort Santiago in Manila where the Rizal Shrine is located to celebrate our National Hero's birthday. But I found out that the Rizal Shrine in Laguna is under renovation so we postponed our field trip there. We still went to Fort Santiago and Rizal Shrine in Intramuros last Sunday. Then, we went to Kawit, Cavite to see the house where the Philippines' independence was proclaimed. This was inspired by the news articles (this and this) I read about the video mapping done in the house as one of the ways to celebrate our Independence Day this year. 

Mga batang Rizal walking in the footsteps of
Jose Rizal at Fort Santiago. ;)

We had fun exploring Fort Santiago! It was the kids' first time to go there. It wasn't my first time there but I still learned new things and relearned old lessons while at the Rizal Shrine. It was also a memorable experience for us to all go to the Aguinaldo Shrine for the first time.

It was in this balcony that General Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed
the independence of the Philippines from Spanish rule.

That's another beauty of homeschooling. Parents get to learn with their children while providing them with lots of opportunities to bond with each other.

Is homeschooling something that you want to do with your kids or feel that the Lord is calling you to do but you are afraid of the impact of your decision on your finances? Are you wondering if you can homeschool and still contribute to the family income? 

I have good news for you! I'm organizing a parenting summit called Hands-On Parents while Working on August 8, 2015. It's a whole day workshop on hands-on parenting and working smart in the new millenium where you can learn how to marry hands-on parenting with earning for the family.   

Click here to read more about the event and its speakers.

During the workshop, I will help you uncover your greatest motivation in wanting to become a hands-on parent. I will also help you come up with a clear and compelling vision for your kids and yourself. I will share tips that you can apply right away after you leave the event. I will share my 3-Step Success System that can enable you to be a H.O.P.E., a Hands-On Parent while Earning. 

Aside from these, you'll have an opportunity to learn from other speakers and guests. Some of our speakers are parents who also homeschool their kids. You can learn from the interactions and group discussions with other parents too.

I invite you to invest your time on this life-changing event! 

I encourage you to sign up now while you can still avail of the early bird rate. You also have a chance to win a free gift certificate from Kindermusik with Teacher Suzette and Friends if you are one of the first 10 parents to sign up and satisfy the requirements of our Facebook Contest.

You can find the mechanics here.

Click here to sign up now and be a step closer to fulfilling your dream of homeschooling your kids while earning! Join us also at the event's Facebook Page so you'd get updates about the event. See you on August 8!