Parrot on a PorchA Journey Toward the Little Mansion Dream

Guess who’s ecstatic at this moment when she found Ikea Saudi Arabia’s website? Listing down my shopping loots will be a lot easier. Mom and Dad, who are based in Saudi, won’t also be confused about the stuffs I’ll piggyback through them for our Little Mansion. As I blog, I’m not yet done browsing each catalog and my eyes are continuously feasting over a lot of stuffs. For now, I’m set to get those shoe and clothes organizers plus toy organizers for the little one.

One big toy chest, which he has now, is not enough so I need the more compact, stacked toy boxes such as the picture above for additional storage spaces. I also wish to organize his toys accordingly like grouping all matchboxes together, his toy Ferrari parts all together, and all other trinkets that he has. I like how the boxes come in different colors so organizing is made easier.

My son’s turning two in a month’s time. For the nth time last night, the husband and I discussed over dinner our birthday plans for him. Earlier, I was set on giving him a Jollibee party. I have even saved up for it a few months back. However, upon deep contemplation and with anticipation of the housing goal’s completion come summer time, I am torn between proceeding with the original party plan or we’ll just celebrate it by having an out of town trip. Just the three of us. The latter option will entail cheaper costs than the first and so the remaining savings will just be used for Little Mansion’s dolling up. I’ve been thinking and wishing of Outer Banks vacation rentals for the trip (I’ve been dreaming about it for the longest time) but I think the little one will appreciate either a trip to Manila Ocean Park or Zoobic Safari better. Obviously, we have not finalized our plans last night (blame it also to my being so fickle-minded) so expect that another discussion will have to be made soon.

After a few weekends of malling, one bazaar visit, and tons of online shops that I browsed, we still don’t have a Christmas gift for my little tot. Arrgh! There surely is a lot of easy options like toys and clothes but I’m veering away from giving him toys because he has tons of them already and we barely don’t have space anymore in our room to stock or store them. Clothes, well, I’ve been showering him going out clothes and sleepwears every time there is an online sale at Old Navy and I have enough for this year. So I’m thinking whether to give him a nice pair of Florsheim shoes or probably this NFL Youth Uniform set I saw at kidsportsinc.com. Or perhaps those Sports Starter Baseball Equipment Set from the same online store since he’s into playing ball..hitting and catching the ball, actually. They’re not exactly toys as they are training equipment so it’s exempted to the guidelines I’ve set. Besides, it’s never too early to get them be involved in sports, right? Take a look at this site should you also be in the lookout for possible Christmas gifts for your kids.

Kidsportsinc.com is a one-stop-shop for the best sports training gear for the youth. Whether it be baseball, soccer, golf, basketball, street hockey..this site provides the best options in helping you develop and mold your little sportsman.

So now, what I need to do is discuss with the husband and come up with the “perfect” choice. The good thing though about this is that, we still have a couple of weeks before the Christmas deadline.

*This is a sponsored review.

Last year, the husband got an onshore assignment offer at work. He was supposedly designated at their Chicago office for a period of one year. The great thing about this offer is that he can bring me with him (family status) and enjoy all the corresponding onshore benefits like free lodging on the first few months, free airfare and all other relocation assistance. Unfortunately, he had to decline the offer in as much as he wanted to accept because one, I was about to give birth that time. In fact, I was in my 9th month of pregnancy. And two, I was still employed then so resignation was something we could not just rush. We felt bad for passing that great opportunity up but we didn’t have a choice. We just hope and pray that same offer will be given soon and be able to pursue the supposed itinerary I cooked up. Yeah, I was really that excited.

Aside from visiting our relatives in California, an exhilirating New York Sightseeing activity was on my list. I dreamed (and I still do) of experiencing the exciting Brooklyn Tour that CitySights NY takes pride of in their site and their clients greatly rave about. A friend recently toured New York City’s attractions, neighborhoods and places of interest in a double decker bus and that experience exactly made me envious. I hope by the time comes when our great American dream come true, their slashed down tour prices for as low as $39/pax on their current hot deals page would still be offered or it would be cool, if they’d be cheaper so we can avail as much tours as we want to. For those of you who are bound to New York soon or who will spend the Holidays in the city, do check out the irresistible offers on their site.

Finally the search is over.

It seems that my toddler son, at such a very young age, already displays interest in sports. It’s very evident that he loves all types of balls whether it be basketball, a tennis ball, a softball, a pingpong ball, etc. He shrieks in delight and exclaims “bu!” every time he sees one. This actually amuses the sports-minded Daddy because he really would love our son to be equally athletic as him. In fact, he even already thought of the summer sports clinics that our tot will attend starting next year. He also has started collecting sports merchandise for the little one like NBA shirts, a toy golf club and a mini-bastketball hoop.

Now if you’re wondering what I’m pertaining to when I said that the search is over, it’s an online shop for NFL Merchandise.  I’ve been looking for a toddler sized football uniform to complete his sport paraphernalia collection.  Nfluniformset.com is the ultimate resource for NFL Helmet and uniform sets specifically geared for children ages 4 to 10 years old. For as cheap as $39.99, my little tot can have a complete football outfit with an official logo NFL Jersey whether it be the Chicago Bears, Dollas Cowboys or Seattle Seahawks or the others, a NFL Helmet, double stitched pants, and iron on numbers. The texture is not a concern for his sensitive skin as it is made by Franklin Sports, the trusted leader in sports apparels and equipment. The jersey is made of soft double knit 100% polyester along with a pants that have elastic waistband and cuffs. The pants actually may also be worn as pajamas at night or as day time fun play outfit. It’s really functional and it can even be worn in themed parties.

I can’t wait to get my son a small size of this and get a picture of him as a quarterback.

And I can’t wait to let him wear this when we get to this team’s home town in a year or two.

This is a Sponsored Post.

One of LM’s three bedrooms is already reserved for Asher. We’ll let him sleep though in his own room come the time when he’s capable to do so perhaps in three years time or more. But as it is, the second room will be decorated and designed child-friendly.

Here are some guidelines for parents in making a childproof bedroom:

1. Use childproofing devices such as corner cushions, plug and outlet covers, cabinet slide locks, toddler gates and finger pinch guards to ensure safety.

2. Check all materials used in furnishing, painting, and decorating your child’s room for hazardous substances such as lead, splinters, etc .

3. Paint. Use eco-friendly paints. Be sure to get rid of awful odor of a newly painted wall before letting your child come in or stay inside the room The odor can irritate your child’s sense of smell.

4. Flooring. Carpeted, wood flooring, area rugs or rubber mats: it actually depends on the parents but do know that each has its pros and cons. Carpeted floors may cushion a child’s fall but may harbor bacteria that cause respiratory problems in kids like common colds.

5. Walls. Do not hang any decor in a baby or toddler’s bedroom because these may fall on him.

6. Window treatments. Allow natural light into your baby’s room. Blinds cords must use use cord shorteners. Curtain’s length must be kept short to keep your little one’s playful fingers from tugging at them. Be sure to change frequently cloth curtains as these can harbor dusts and other allergens.

Way back our childhood years, my sisters and I were fond of buying self-adhesive glow in the dark stars and other luminous objects. We would stick them onto our bedroom ceiling and come sleeping and lights off time, we would often glaze up and pretend that we were star gazing. Sometimes, even pretending to make a wish over a falling star. We had a lot of fun transforming our common bedroom into a glowing galaxy. The pack we bought has more than enough stars to make a bunch of constellations on the ceiling and even on our bedroom walls. These are easy to use and weren’t messy at all. Before retiring the night, we point out the names of the constellation.

I’ll let my son decorate his bedroom too in our future house with these glow in the dark stuffs. At 19 months, he loves staring at the moon at night so I’m sure he’d go gaga with these stuffs in his bedroom ceiling too.

Motherhood makes up my day. With my son who’s turning a year old next month, his demands are really getting more intense as he develop and grow each day. He has become more active and playful…getting into places wherever he wants to go. He’s already learning to walk, although, he’s yet to do it on his own, unaided.

For now, we let him cruise through the sofa and table in the living room. We let him play his toys and discover the world in his mini-playroom..our living room.

He crawls on the rugs..it’s a good thing that we have a carpet so he’s somehow protected when he falls. We just keep it vacuumed everyday to dust it away.

Here comes my favorite days of the week and I’m looking forward to it albeit it’ll be a very tiring weekend.

1. Bound to Divisoria to shop for my son’s first birthday party loots. Can’t bring the little one so I’ll just go by myself and will be left to his Dad (with the nanny’s assistance)

2. Attend the birthday party of a dear kumare of mine in Sta. Cruz for dinner

3. Hear Sunday morning mass

4. Drop by Queensland’s satellite office at Glorietta for the food catering at the party

5. Pay credit card bills

6. Look for a safari-inspired party shoes

6. Submit the digiscrapped design for the customized chocolate wrappers to the supplier

7. Relax. Enjoy. Bonding with my boys

Whew!