First-Time Mom

While aimlessly scanning my photo album from my computer earlier, I quickly remembered that I failed to blog our getaway at Seagull Mountain Resort which happened last year November! I haven't given much attention to my blog since I actively started campaigning for my presidential bet online. (Glad to know he won by a big margin hehe..) Now, I am back into regular blogging (hopefully).

My Family

By the way, I grabbed a screenshot from my Facebook post, showing our trip while heading to Seagull Mountain Resort in an early, chilly morning dated November 15, 2015. Yeah, a kind of old trip but I assure you my memory is still fresh to detail out our itinerary.

I have been hearing a lot about Seagull Mountain Resort from my friends, much more in social media. I must admit, though we are natives of Davao yet we have never been to this place ever. Until my husband and I decided to go there during our fifth wedding anniversary last year.

The trip would not be complete without stopping by at one of the Davao's landmarks, Philippine Eagle statue, located at Brgy. Marilog District, approximately 30-minute closer to Seagull. Believe me, the breeze is much colder than our car and home air-condition. Marilog is well-known for cool weather all year round.

As soon as we arrived there, we were mobbed right away by some native children who were selling hand-made products at a very affordable price. The children were unshaken by the cold weather while us were chilling terribly.

This girl was carrying her younger sister, tied at her back with a "malong" while begging us to buy her products. Who could ever refuse from this cute petite girl?

Seagull Mountain resort receiving area where you pay the entrance fee and book for cottages if you wish for an over-night stay.

On the way up for sight-seeing

The resort consists of two swimming pools, one is located at the main resort and the other one where the main source of water is coming from the waterfalls is around 500-meters away from the main. They have their own cab to take you out of the rough terrain going to the waterfalls.

My family while chatting and enjoying the foods we brought in the cottage.

Waterfalls view

Chesska and her cousin, unminding the icy-cold water.

Going closer to the waterfalls for picture-taking.

We didn't stay longer in the pool for the coldness was intolerable. Just imagine that you are dipping in a pitcher of ice-cold water.

One of the few cottages

One of the few cottages located in the main

Campsite

Another captivating view

Breathtaking view

Reservations Office
Door 2, Braveheart Building, McArthur Highway
Davao City (Fronting Matina Petron or old ABS-CBN Station)
Tel. No.: +(6382) 298-5990
Mondays - Saturdays, 8AM - 5PM

Mountain Resort Office
Tel No.: +(6382) 286-4124
Mondays - Sundays, 8AM to 5PM

Beach Resort Front Office
Tel No.: +(6382) 301-0097 or +(6382) 301-0100
Mondays - Sundays, 8AM to 5PM

Inland Resort Office
Tel No.: +(6382) 286-3233
Mondays - Sundays, 8AM to 5PM

I am supposed to discuss /f/ sound and make a Frog Life Cycle but my model for each stage is not yet complete. For example, I couldn't find tadpole or even adult frog anywhere at the store. So I better skipped this activity and jumped into /s/ sound. If you are wondering why it is just too far, from F to S, don't worry, according to studies it doesn't matter if you teach letters in a sequential manner. I also decided to go through /s/ sound because I had materials ready for our sea creatures adventure in sensory bin. There are actually a lot of things we can discuss about that start with S using sea creatures sensory play.

Idea from: Teachingmama.org

To align with the concept, I prepared SEA creatures sensory bin. Chesska loves so much sensory play where she can explore or pretend making a story based on what she sees and feels. True enough, sensory activity has calming effects that it will help your child do away from tantrums.
Since we talked about /s/ sound, I took the opportunity to tackle about things that start with the letter S - shells, squid, seaweed, stone, sea, and many others.

It is a great and fascinating activity to do outdoor, too. Plus it does not only develop cognitive growth, as well as fine motor skills.

How do you like our sensory activity for this week? Be the first one to drop your thoughts on the comment form below. If you find this post helpful, please do like my Facebook page here. Your single click means a lot to me. Thank you and have a blessed weekend.

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

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.