Notepad Corner

Three weeks ago my two sons and I were surprised when my husband went home carrying a miniature dachshund. We love dogs, our pet dogs consists of a basset hound, beagle and a dalmatian. The arrival of the little black and brown puppy gave so much joy for the whole family. Just upon seeing the pup, we warmly welcome him and dearly loved him instantly and named him Timmy. timmy, 50 days old mini- dachshund

In the wildly competitive and demanding world of today, what does it take to reach your goals and stand out? With tailor-fit tools that include learning context, curriculum, enrichment activities, support groups, and a standard to benchmark against, homeschooling has been made a prime educational option and means to achieve success in modern society. Locally, top five Junior MasterChef Pinoy Edition Louise Mabulo, child genius Darrell Tan, and cum laude graduate-basketball star Paul Tan-Chi are but some sterling testimonies of this. Here’s a peek on why they put homeschooling in such high regard and how they think this platform is a prime educational option:

We, Parents commonly say education is the only legacy we can bequeath our children.  We work and strive hard to make both ends meet just to put our children into good schools. We are their first educators; we are responsible to train them the fundamental learning skills by instilling the foundation of good moral character, discipline, values and how to interact with others to prepare them to their formal studies.   Edification is a fruitful and beneficial factor in a person’s life. By means of learning, one’s capabilities and potential can be harnessed to the fulllest.  It equips us to become a whole person to gain confidence in making crucial decisions, to face what life has to bring, to accept loses, failures and successes. In our family, it is only Yahmir who is still studying, he'll be in first year in junior high school this school year.  My husband, my eldest son and I are graduates of different courses.  JM still will pursue on taking up a mastera...

When deciding on your next family car there are many factors to consider and it may seem like a daunting task to many parents. But there is help out there; the first thing you have to do is consider the nature of your family, how big it is, what you do in the car – just the school run? A commute? Or a big out door family cycling weekend. Whatever your needs, make a list and choose a car that ticks all your boxes. The biggest factor when deciding on a family car is always safety, whether it’s two parents and a baby, or aunties, uncles, cousins and two Labradors, safety is always an issue. Even the most basic of safety packages should cover anti-lock brakes (ABS), electronic stability control (ESC) and air bags for every seat in the car, perhaps even side-curtain airbags. Safety features such as this should come as standard with any new model of car claiming to be for the family. But for the more pocket conscious buying a used car may be more of a realistic scenario, and ...

This Mother’s Day, show your mom how much you care by getting her a box of Krispy Kreme’s flower-shaped doughnuts. That’s right! On its 75th birthday, Krispy Kreme honors every mom by releasing its first-ever flower-shaped doughnuts.  Made especially for all mothers out there, these melt-in-your-mouth treats come in three fun and festive colors that are sure to bring a smile on everyone’s face—pink, yellow and white. Krispy Kreme’s flower-shaped Mother’s Day doughnuts are only available from April 13 to May 31, 2012. So hurry and go to a store near you. Grab a bouquet before they wither away.

So, you're ready to renovate your kitchen with some brand new cabinets? Before you can start choosing the new cabinetry, it's important to gather the exact measurements of your space. You don't have to be a contractor to draw up the proper measurements for your kitchen, but you do need to take care and get it done the right way. As the old saying goes, "Measure twice and cut once." The proper measurements help your kitchen remodeling go smoothly, while the wrong measurements set you up for disaster. Always take your measurements in inches. Outline Draw your kitchen on a piece of large paper; this will serve as the map for your project. The map doesn't need to be exactly to scale, but use a ruler to ensure straight lines and stay true to the shape -- for example, if your kitchen is not a perfect square, don't draw it that way. It's also good to come up with some sort of guideline. For example, perhaps one inch on the paper will e...

Managing a business is not something you can take very lightly, as it involves many things. First, you need to make sure that your inventory is always full (that is, if you offer products to your client base) or that the services you offer are always up-to-date. On top of that, there is the financial side of your business that needs thorough attention. While it’s easy to hire a bookkeeper who would help you with accounts-related stuff, things can get complicated especially when your business begins to grow and rake in revenues. The wisest decision you could make for your business is to acquire Austin quickbooks, which is a state-of-the-art financial accounting application. This software includes everything you might need to manage the financial aspects of your business properly. Your bookkeeper would be very much thankful for the ample helper that would make organizing your books easy peasy. With Quickbooks, you can customize the application to suit the needs of your busi...

Most of us are fond of children who are chubby, as they are so adorable and likely huggable, that we often tend to forget that being overweight is not good especially for a growing child. Toddlers usually are picky eaters, so we do everything to encourage them to eat. However, when they start to develop their fondness to consume food, they will have the tendency to take more calories than their little bodies can burn up, so obesity occurs. photo from the web We need to be aware of the risks and complications it may bring to our kid’s health. If they will continue to gain more weight which is higher than what is recommended for their height and body type, they could develop health problems like heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, sleeping troubles, breathing problems and more. Proper planning of the family meals, nourishing them with healthy foods and as much as possible stay away from junk and fast foods will prevent extra pounds. Encourage them also to...

It has been a tradition in the Philippines that the big malls, supermarkets and trains stop their operations on certain days annually in observance of the holy week. In this year, Filipinos will have the longest weekend.  Declared holidays are  Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Black Saturday and Easter Sunday (April 5 to 8) up to Monday, Araw ng Kagitingan (April 9). With regards to the holidays, alternative modes of transportation should be taken into consideration by commuters for both the MRT and LRT will stop operations from April 5 (Maundy Thursday) to April 8 (Easter Sunday). By Holy Wednesday, that is today,  the LRT's last trip will be at 8:00 p.m. for Line 1's Baclaran and Roosevelt stations and Line 2's Santolan and Recto stations and will resume its operation on Monday at 5:00 am (April 9).  While the last trip for the MRT on Holy Wednesday will be at 10:00 pm from North Ave. station and 10:30 from Taft Ave. station. The big chains of su...

My Dad and Mom were very happy and pleased that we have four graduates in the family this year. Me and my three other sisters simultaneously have one of our kids who recently received a recognition of achievement for the school year 2011-2012.   I, being the eldest among my siblings had my youngest son Yahmir finished the elementary course. Yahmir Mayores Blanca - Grade VI While, my youngest twin sisters both have their eldest daughters graduated from High School. Rochelle Mayores Ramos - High School Bea Mayores Alzona - High School And the biggest achiever is my niece who completed her Bachelor of Science in Office Administration with flying colors being a Cumlaude. She is the daughter of my second eldest sibling. Regie Mayores Idago - BS Office Administration Four graduates, four proud moments and pride for our family that indeed calls for a family celebration.  To my three nieces and son, Congratulations! May you conti...