PROJECT RUNWAY: Christmas Alphabet Presentation

I am a self-confessed frustrated fashion designer.  If I am certain that I have the artist in me, I would have exchanged my academe and development work just to be a kiddie fashion designer. I have dreamed of having my own "Rajito" line and have my daughters do the cat walk with them.

That is why every opportunity to design or make a dress for my daughters, I really grab it. When I got a note from Elle's school that she will play as one of the Christmas Alphabets dancers and they are to wear something red the first thing that came into my mind is to recycle Elle's old costumes.

I first thought of her "spaghetti" costume but it was too small for her already! Until, I saw her "The Nutcracker" costume and thought of making it red by attaching red laces. Whoala! This is what I got from a P100 worth red lace from Divisoria!

I am one proud Mom when I saw Elle on the stage because she really stood out from the crowd on her red tutu (sad to say, there are Moms who are either too busy to read the note and follow it or they just don't care how their daughters would look like on stage) since the instruction was dress as a dancer (and the only dancer I could think of for christmas are ballerinas!) I overheard a couple of parents commenting that she looked very beautiful (they didn't know she's my daughter).

At the end of the day, it is not really about the savings but the amount of time, effort and love that I putted on making my daughter feel good in everything that she does. I love you Elle!!!

6 Things I learned from being trapped in an exclusive school bus for girls of K2

I got a chance to ride with Elle Marie on her first school bus ride.  Yes, I was the only mom inside the school bus together with five kinder2 students and two yayas. I tried initiating a conversation with the other four girls by asking their names and introducing Elle Marie but soon enough they went on their own as I did not exist. Here are the 6 life changing things I learned from being trapped in an exclusive school bus for girls.

1.       PINK Bag is definitely the “in” thing

The first thing I noticed when I entered the school bus were the humungous PINK bags on the center of the bus.  Of course, that included my daughter’s pink Crocodile Creek bag with ballerina that was given by her Ninang Irene for Christmas.  One girl shared that her pink bag was given by her mom because she loves pink! Another followed by saying that hers is a Barbie pink while another said hers is Disney princess! Whatever brand size or design it may be, it has to be pink for Kinder 2 girls!

2.       PINK Bags must come with Pink lunch bag and Pink envelope

Too bad, I have not thought of buying Elle Marie a matching pink lunch bag and envelope for her pink backpack.  All the girls in the school bus had their matching pink lunch bag and envelope! One girl even lectured on me saying that I should not mix Elle’s “baon” with her notebooks and school supplies because they might get stinky and wet! Yes, she used the term “stinky” (maybe, her Mom is making her bring bagoong rice in school?! hehehe) I learned my lesson the hard way Pink bags must come with pink lunch bag and envelope!

3.       After all the dollars spent for Hong Kong Disneyland visit was all worth it!

I felt good that as early as 1 ½ year old I brought Elle Marie to Hong Kong Disneyland and recently came back with Bien! All the girls in the school bus were talking about the princesses that they met in HongKong Disneyland! Just imagine Elle Marie’s reaction if she is the only one who was not able to meet the Disney princesses this summer?! They talked about the train ride, Mickey and Minnie and the (again) pink umbrella that they bought in Disneyland because it was raining! Thank God for the extra cash I got last summer that allowed me to bring Elle and Bien to Disneyland!

4.       Aside from knowing all the Disney princesses, I also have to know the names of their wicked moms, sisters and witches!

Of course, I know Malificent the wicked black fairy who was not invited to Princess’ Aurora’s birthday party and cursed her to death.  But, how would I know the names of all the other wicked moms, sisters and witches? Amazingly, the girls knew them all! Even my daughter who watches these movies with me knew them! Now, I have to double time with my research and know each and every villain in the Disney princess movies!

5.       Girls do watch the avengers and love Incredible Hulk!

I am not fond of Captain America, Incredible Hulk and the other male super heroes… except of course, Superman! But, I guess I have to watch them to be able to relate to my daughters’ “superhero” talk with her school bus mates! Imagine, one girl said “I just love Incredible Hulk! He is such a darling!” and I totally couldn’t understand why she said it?! Hahahaha

6.       My daughter is already in BIG school and BIG school means Less Mama!

I know I have separation issues with Elle.  If there is one thing I learned from that school bus ride was to really let go of my daughter and believe that God is in control. Extremely difficult but I know that I really, really need to grow up because my daughter is fast growing up already.

Congratulations Ate Elle Marie for passing St. Scholastica's College Entrance Exam for Prep

As expected, I did not get anything from Noy for Valentine's day. No flower, no chocolates... no date. But I really did not mind because this year, I got the best valentine's gift ever! Being personally told by Ms Anna Cecilla Alvarez, OIC Admissions Office of St. Scholastica's College that Elle Marie C. Oplas made it to their preparatory level for next year!!!

I am a firm believer of the value of education and if there is one thing I would really invest in, it would be my daughter's education. That is why, I rejoice that I can now relax for the next 13 years knowing that Elle Marie is in good hands with St. Scholastica's College.

Entering St. Scholastica has been my childhood dream. Of course, I came from an equally very good exclusive all girls, catholic school but a part of me still wonders what my life would have been with St. Scho... Now, my daughter Elle Marie will tell me how it is.

As soon as I received the good news, I brought Elle Marie to Mall of Asia for an afternoon of "Just Everything that Elle Wants" date with Mama. There, she got to choose which restaurant she wants to eat in; choose the shirts she wants to buy; and take the rides she wants!

Of course, Elle shared her blessings with her sister Bien. They run and twirl around MOA as long as they want! They laughed and screamed until they got tired and sleepy! hehehe Grabe! I was very happy that I think I can spend the whole amount in my ATM just for that afternoon with her! But, the celebration didn't end in MOA! As a grand prize and as I promised, I am now preparing for my trip with Elle to Hong Kong Disneyland!

I just hope and pray that when Elle gets to read this blog entry, she will tell herself "Mama really loves me so much!". Yes, I love you so much Anak! I love you and Bien! I will ensure that I will do everything so that both of you will get the best education to equip you in life.

I love you Elle Marie! Mama, Papa, and Bien Mary are VERY proud of you!!!

Preparing for the BIG School...

Once again, we found ourselves searching for another school for Elle Marie. It is not because we are no longer happy with Early Achievers' Learning Center to which she is currently enrolled. It is because we believe that it is already time for Elle to move on to the BIG school.

It seems like yesterday we were looking for a progressive school for Elle. We visited a couple of schools here in Makati and even went to San Juan for Community of Learner's. We almost ended up with COLF in San Juan but I got pregnant, had a couple of threatened abortion incidences and had to resign from work. Hence, COLF for Elle was not a logical thing for us to do (during that time)

We ended up with Early Achievers' Learning Center in Bel Air, Makati. Just 7-10 minutes drive from our home or 15 minutes walk to Noy's office. It is a chinese progressive school recommended by my bestfriend and Elle's godmother, Irene whose son also goes to EALC but in Congressional, Quezon City.

I fell in love with EALC the first time I talked with Teacher Chris Coronado, the School Coordinator. She was a good listener, very good in english and has this "child like" attitude in life. And as soon as we visited EALC, we saw how comfortable, clean and safe the school is so we decided to enroll Elle right there and then.

Now, after one and a half years... we are on the search for another school for Elle. Of course, we will miss EALC. I will personally miss talking with Teacher Chris and Rochelle but Elle must move on to the Big School. Anyways, we still plan to come back to EALC for Bien next year...

So, what have we been doing so far? Right now, we only have two options. It will either be Assumption College in Makati or St. Scholastica's College in Manila. Both are prestigious, good-quality, catholic, exclusive schools for girls. Although, relatively St. Scho is cheaper by a few ten thousands, has 24:1 student teacher (per subject) ratio accessible by public transportation, near De La Salle University but they only have afternoon sessions for prep. I want to train Elle Marie to wake up early in the morning and go to school, an afternoon session will not help me do it.

Assumption is convenient if you have a private transportation specially with a San Lorenzo sticker. They have 30:1 student teacher (per subject) ratio. Few of Elle's classmate transferred there last year. Amanda, Elle's kumare and my close friend's Cres daughter is currently enrolled there. My only concern is the 7:30am class schedule which I think is too early naman for Elle...

We are now processing Elle Marie's requirements for Assumption because they have until September for admission exams. One thing that caught my attention with their requirements is that students should have understanding or can speak Filipino language or else they require them to have at least 6 months to 1 year enrollment/tutorial for Filipino... Yayks! Paano si Elle?

St. Scho will be open for admission exams on January hence, no rush for now... Matapos lang talaga ang Franchise Asia 2011, I will be able to give my full time to Elle Marie's moving up to the Big School...

Let us see... whatever will be, will be...