Father's Day Gifts

For Father;s Day, we decided to  make  our own gifts for my husband instead of buying.  The Burritos did some paintings for their Dad and we prepared some other stuff as well.  We did not spend much for our gifts since we used what he  have at home like photos, empty jars, and other  materials.  The only thing that we bought was the frames for their paintings.  

Since the theme of our gifts is recycling, we used an empty cardboard box  to put our gifts in.  Ms. Burrito  covered it with the  colorful  papers that we used  when my husband celebrated his birthday.

"It's the thought that counts" is still being practiced at home.  We want to kids to learn how to appreciate  small and simple gifts as long as you put  effort and love in preparing it.

So these are what we have for him.  We used empty candle jars, put some colorful sand at the bottom and  put a photo inside.

The kids card is also "handmade" literally, lol.

They  wrapped their gifts personally and wrote  their messages on it.

Even my son did really well in wrapping his painting.

I gave my husband the notepad holder that he likes.

Our Father's Day celebration was very simple but very meaningful as we are all together.  How about yours, how was Father's Day at your end?

Playing Toccatina at Home

My mind is wandering  this week.  Last Monday, I totally forgot that it was my children's piano lesson day so I did not wake them up early.  The teacher texted me  and asked if we are coming, I was taken back to my senses lol.  We went ten minu0tes late but glad that  we were able to make it  even  a little late.  This morning, I am trying to ogure out how a psr 172 digital piano works as it is for sale?  Can anyone explain?  But anyway, here is a short video of my daughter practicing Toccatina at home.

Mother's Day Gifts My Kids Made for me this Year - 2015

With the help of the art teacher in school, my Burritos always have special gifts for me  on Mother's day ever since they started going to school.  I am sad to say that this is the last year that we are going to see the art teacher, she is going to retire which the kids and I will miss so much.  She is a very  kind and nicest  teacher. We wish you good luck  Mrs. Wright, may enjoy your retirement, and we will surely miss you.

 My daughter made this flower and a shrinky dink Mommy badge.

 I put it together with the  flower she also made me a couple if years ago.

She also gave me this little pot with a pack of seed  and a card in it.  This was initiated  by their  religion teach which was very nice.  Unfortunately, the seeds never grew.  I put them in our garden but no luck.

 My son surprised me with this paintingm thanks to Mrs. Wright for encouraging EJ to  continue developing his   skills in art.  He doesmn't think that he is capable of  drawing anything but I think he is as good as his sister.  He just have to believe that he too, can do it.

 This is why, I will miss  Mrs. Wright so much because she always makes projects like this with the kids.  I hope that the new art teacher will do the same.

 These are the kind of gifts that I love the most.  I don't care for store bought presents.  I love to see their  creativity comes out when they make something.

Oh, I almost forgot, they also got me something that I need in the kitchenm you can see it here. They also cooked some yummy meals for me on that day. How about you, what did  your children get for youon Mother's day?

Parental Monitoring- Ensuring Internet Safety of Teens from Intimidators Online

Whenever we talk about cyberbullying, we always focus on the victims but never think why did bully do this? As cyberbullying is growing so dramatically, it’s time we looked at the both ends of cyberbullying. According to the psychologists, in most of the cases, bullies themselves need help to control their misplaced anger. Today, the Internet safety for teens is becoming important not only to protect them from becoming a target of bullies, but we have to ensure online safety to stop our kids from becoming bullies. Web monitoring is not an option it’s a must-have today!

Treat both ends of cyberbullying equally

Apparently, cyberbullies seem very bit mean and dangerous to all of us but the truth is that it's their misplaced anger which they exhibit by bullying others. At times, bullies could bully because they are being bullied by other kids online and to avoid abuse from other kids, they hurt and harm and hide their fears. Social Work Degree Guide shared an Infographic which enhanced my knowledge and understanding of cyberbullying, so I’m sharing it with you; have a look:

The biggest cause of the bullying attitude could be a result of misplaced anger or bullies may be suffering from abuse from another bully online or could be by a family member. We have to understand what victims go through after bullying incidents and also what is the secret life of bullies. Such abusive behavior could be corrected by anger management, interventions and psychotherapy for bullies, but it’s only possible by staying connected with them 24/7. Try to stay in touch with whatever kids do online, it can help you to make Web a safe place to surf and interact.

And here, web safety apps come in handy. These apps are pretty useful because they let parents keep an eye on their kids’ online activities and thus can help them pin point of something is disturbing. There are certain websites and apps only meant for cyberbullying like Burnbook, etc.  There is a mobile parental control app called FamilyTime which is getting popular among parents. This app is capable of letting the parents check their children’s phone usage stats, locations and the web history.  With FamilyTime, parents can:

• View web history on their child’s phone remotely 
• Track all their bookmarks with URLs and other details 

Parents have to install the parents’ version of the app- FamilyTime - Dashboard on their phones and then install the child app from their online dashboard on child’s iPhone or Android phone. The app then collects all info and web history from child phone and uploads it on the FamilyTime - Dashboard app.

This way, you can keep an eye on your children’s online behavior and can make them responsible digital citizens. And if you feel like your child is developing the traits of a bully, you will be better prepared to handle the situation. The FamilyTime - Dashboard app is free and can be downloaded from the Google Play and iTunes app store or from the buttons below:    

   

With this smart parental monitoring app, FamilyTime, you can stop your kids from getting mean online and can prevent their likelihood to become a victim, too. FamilyTime is a feature-packed app to avert cyberbullying so you can try it too. Switch to smart parenting today and take your part in ensuring the Internet safety for teens!

EJ's First Communion

Our son, EJ, had his first communion on May 3rd.  It was  another big milestone for him.  He wore the tux that I got for him from BlaclnBianco. He was very excited but also very nervous.  I think he got that nervousness from me.  Whenever I have something new come up, I am always anxious and he is the same way. The big sister told him that it's easier than having the first confession.  

 It also gave me time to take some photos.  We went to church early because I wanted his nerves to calm down a bit before the ceremony starts.

 He was so anxious that he was going in and out of the church.  I had to follow him to make sure that he won't get mess in his clothes s we don't have time to  change him if that happens.

 I don't really remember  us having  ceremony like this for our first communion.  The only  thing official ceremony that I remember was when I was confirmed as I was already an adult.

 It makes me so happy that I was able to experience this for my kids.

 My daughter's classmate/friend encouraged her to  serve with her in the altar that day and I am glad that Ms. Burrito  agreed because she ended up liking it and we signed her up for it.

 An official photographer was there to take photos before the ceremony starts.  While he wwas cliking, I was taking snaps as well.

 Mrs. Plesa is a big part of both of my kids  lives.  She was their second grade teacher and she  does all the things about this event.

 Took some photos too with his classmates.

EJ did really well during the entire ceremony.  All of his nervousness went away as soon as he saw his friends.

 Fr. Manny  stopped by and have some photos taken with us.  Thanks Father.

  Our neighbors, the Howells, are always there to support us and I am so happy that  we have a family here in the neighborhood.  They're the one that always there for our kids and I thank God for them everyday.

In times like this, I  really do miss my family because  I know that if they are here, they will never miss to attend.

 I thank God for this beautiful day.  The ceremony went mighty fine and we all had a great time afterwards.