Hello! I'm still kicking, crawling, jumping. I am still alive. Back into blogging.

I was really stressed for the past months for so many reasons. Work. Motherhood. National Election...Work. Motherhood. National Election.... (Nope, I did not run in any position, I was just an avid supporter of a certain candidate hehe) Aside from that, the weather is getting hotter which is not helping at all so I decided to sit back awhile and research online a superb place just within the Davao vicinity to de-stress.

Until I found Villa de Mercedes Resort website. Upon looking at the nice pictures posted, my gut feeling told me that this place might be worth a visit. Of course, you can't justify how nice the place is by experiencing it first yourself.

Situated 535 feet above sea level, you will be delightfully greeted by the hypnotic view of Davao gulf and Davao city that instantly eases away your stress and worries. Please note that Villa de Mercedes is an exclusive resort subdivision, which offers recreation to its members and lot owners such as infinity pool, coffee shop, and other amenities. However, walk-in guests are welcome to enjoy and relax.

At Cafe's Veranda

Wonderful Scenery of Davao City

Uncrowded Infinity Pool

Acting like Senyorito and Senyorita

In front of the Cafe

Cottage View

Infinity Pool

Outside the Cafe

Outside the Cafe

Cafe

A little expensive, Villa de Mercedes is one of the resorts the family should not miss to visit to especially during summer season. I am extremely picky as what places to go on vacation for my family. As much as possible, I wanted a resort that is less crowded, cool, child-friendly, clean and having an excellent customer service. I guess, all the criteria I had been wanting for were satisfactorily met.

Entrance Fee with Free Use of Cottage

Weekend: 250
Weekdays: 200

Take note that bringing of foods is not allowed. The resort itself has a cafe where you can order foods but I have to tell you in advance, they are super expensive. The burger alone is worth 250 pesos, and 1 liter of soft drink is 150 pesos. To make your vacation worth spending, bring as much money as you can so you will enjoy the resort's amenities to the fullest.

The resort is located at Catigan, Toril Davao City. For inquiries or reservation, call (082) 226-8695/301-1751 or you may visit their facebook page.

Toddlers are typically curious about the things around them by using their senses to explore and learn. Sensory activities are great to do with toddlers to help stimulate their senses: sight, smell, touch, taste and hearing. According to Angela Thayer, sensory activities are also great for calming an anxious or frustrated child.
Today I am excited to share with you some sensory activities we had last week. The first activity was I set up a dinosaur sensory bin, which an idea originated from Teaching Mama. Chesska is into dinosaurs right now after watching"The Walking Dinosaurs" several times. In this activity, I just let her touch and play with the sand and dinosaurs. In fact, she loved digging and finding small pebbles. I could see the excitement in her eyes every time she found something new such as tiny shells with different sizes. True enough, this kind of activity stopped her from throwing tantrums.
Next sensory play we did was easy and simple to set up called Ice Painting. It is a fun way to introduce sensory attributes such as cold and smooth. I just let her imagination play while painting in the ice. She drew anything whatever came up in her mind. It is a great and fun activity for warm days. In fact, Chesska was begging me to do it again the following day.
Again, Chesska was so fascinated with dinosaurs so I created dinosaur ice eggs. So in each ice wrapper, I placed a dinosaur , tied it shut to form an oval similar to egg's shape, and froze it overnight. I let her touch the frozen dinosaurs and asked her an open-ended question such as "How can the dinosaurs go out from the eggs"? From there, I can draw out answers from her.
How do you like the sensory play we did last week? If you want more sensory ideas, kindly visit this page.

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Today, I'm going to share with you our sensory play of the week, which is the frog life cycle. I must admit that this was not my original idea. When I first saw this idea from Angela Thayer, I decided to give it a try since Chesska is a big fan of Princess and the Frog story. But this activity is a little different than Angela Thayer's.


Here's what I used for the activity:

• large bin
• rocks
• soil
• frogs
• marbles for eggs
• leaves
• small and big frogs
• twig
• coloring
• clay for tadpoles

I had a hard time looking for tadpoles, eggs, and frogs anywhere at the store so I thought of using clay in place of tadpoles and marbles for eggs. After a long search of where to buy the frogs, I finally found adult frog at the Victoria Plaza. Bought small ones at Gaisano Mall, Toril.



To make the activity more fun, I invited Chesska's friends to play with her. I just let them play and use their imagination. I discussed briefly that frogs need to lay eggs in the water, else the eggs will die. I also talked about how the frogs change their appearance as they grow.


I cut out twig from our yard and had marbles in place of eggs sink in the water.



I created several tadpoles out of clay.

This is a fantastic activity to do outdoor with your preschooler. Try it out!
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Do your kids love marshmallow? Mine does too! Marshmallow is one of my child's favorite snacks so it can be more exciting if I would associate this to learning shapes. This idea is actually originated from Preschool Journey by Angela Thayer.


Since Chesska has prior knowledge about different shapes, I extended the concept learned where she would identify how many sides each shape has. First, I skewered the marshmallow with a toothpick. I did it myself for her to follow through because I knew that she wanted to try it, too!

Putting the marshmallow in the toothpick by herself will help exercise the small muscles in the fingers. But remember, this can be a little risky for toddlers to do that's why close adult supervision is needed.

While doing the activity, she took some marshmallows to nibble, and I can tell she's really having fun.

This kind of activity is very simple to do and less expensive. Make sure that the concept you want your kid to achieve will be met such as how many sides each shape has. Remember that it takes several days for some kids to absorb it depending on their skills. Practice makes perfect!

Only the Sophia-inspired tarpaulin looks fabulous but, I swear,  the celebration was entirely simple.

It has now been a week since we celebrated Chesska's 4th birthday. Sorry, I lost track to keep you updated due to my tight schedule. I now remember that I am regularly sharing Chesska's birthday each year,  so I never miss the opportunity today (since I am 2-hour free) to share with you my tot's 4th birthday last week.

Of all Chesska's birthdays, I guess, this was the simplest birthday celebration ever. Unlike on her 1st, 2nd and 3rd birthdays, I really exerted tons of effort mentally, physically and financially where I almost ran out of money and energy.  This time around, I came to the point to just celebrate Chesska's birthday in more practical ways, far off from the usual (bongga) celebration.  I see to it that birthday is being celebrated with sentimental value rather than material worth.

The first thing my husband and I did as soon as she woke up on January 14th was kiss and greet her Happy Birthday. We reminded her that "today is your 4th birthday, and whenever I ask you how old are you?", you must answer I am four years old".  She nodded without complaint (hehe).

Here are the most memorable things we did on Chesska's birthday.

As early as 6: am, we attended the first mass at Santo Rosario church to thank God for everything.

Then before lunch, as promised, I brought her to Wonderland playhouse because she kept begging us, weeks before her birthday that she wanted to play there.

As if she owned the entire playhouse for she was the first kid to arrive.

You see? She got tired playing and just lay down on the floor to drink her milk.

In the evening, mom and I prepared some foods for people of 10 who we invited for dinner, mostly neighbors.

Opening her one and only gift from us.

This was the least stressful birthday celebration ever, yet the most memorable one.

Despite the total firecracker ban here in Davao City, I, together with my family, my brother and his wife and two children who came all the way from Bukidnon,  still celebrated the New Year with a BLAST.  With their presence, our house came into life again like a firework because ,  my child, Chesska, had a new playmate, her 6-year-old cousin. Both kids ' noise and mess temporarily broke the silence and tidiness of our house, as you know how "hyper" kids are. Also, I was able to chat with my older brother and his wife for the longest time. We barely saw each other due to the distance of our home place, so a holiday like Christmas and New Year allowed us to be complete once again.

Here are the best parts of our New Year Celebration:

1. To make their 4-day vacation worth spending, I brought them over to eat-all-you-can buffet during my mom's birthday on December 29th.


2. On the same day evening later, I strolled my family at the Davao Rizal park. My friends posting Christmas events at the Rizal park over Facebook have convinced me to pay a visit on that place very soon since it's been a long long time that I haven't been there.  Finally, we were able to take pictures behind these colorful and attractive Christmas lights. Our picture is a bit dim though..





3. On the 31st , we went to the mall nearby just to go around and buy cake for my niece for her birthday, luckily her birthday coincides with the New Year. Her family saves time and money. hehe


4. Heart (my niece) blowing candle on her birthday.



5. Finally the highlight of our New Year, January 1st,  was held at Japanese Tunnel.

My husband and 3-year old in front of the Japanese Tunnel swimming pool

From the top view

Mom and my brother together with his family

Japanese Tunnel Swimming Pool

Bucket Challenge (haha!)

Beside the Japanese Tunnel Restaurant

Japanese Tunnel Restaurant Front View

Inside the Restaurant

Entrance of the Hotel and Reception Area

Inside the Tunnel

Replica of a Japanese Golden Buddha

Gold Bars Replica

Japanese Soldiers Statues

Inside the Tunnel

Main Entrance to the Tunnel

Slaves ' Jail

Japanese Tunnel Hotel. This picture was taken during our first visit here.

Hotel Lobby

Hotel lobby. This picture was taken during our first tour here.

Charges:

Entrance for Adults and Kids ......100.00
Japanese Tunnel ...........................50.00
Hotel Rate......................................2,100 per night with breakfast

Corkage:

Every Viand.....................100.00
Cake.................................300.00
Lechon.............................300.00
Soft drink.........................30.00
Rice..................................100.00

My New Year has been great so far. How about yours?