Sem break in Singapore (plus a lot of travel firsts!)

Gosh is it really November already?! Ang bilis grabe! Anyway if you're following me on Instagram (@mrsmommyholic), then you know I just got back from a family vacation in Singapore. We spent the entire sem break there which was 2 whole weeks!

Tips for traveling with kids

Traveling with the whole family is definitely fun but tiring as well. Especially if you have young kids or babies in tow. I have three kids currently aged 6, 4 and 2 and it definitely is not as easy as it looks, especially if you don’t have the budget to bring a yaya with you. You will be exhausted from carrying the baby bags, lugging the stroller, cleaning up after them, keeping them entertained, and so on and so forth. You have to put your kids’ needs first and accept that not everything will go as planned. Even if you have your whole itinerary prepared months in advance, it can all depend on your kids’ moods that day like if they suddenly get sick or throw a major temper tantrum.

We are actually on a family trip right now since it's already the kids' summer break. And I'm sure a lot of you are also getting ready to go on or are planning your own vacations as well. So to help other parents out there, here’s some tips for a fuss-free family travel based on my experience.

Beach bums in Boracay

The family went to Boracay last month and everyone was so excited because it was going to be the kids' first time there. Plus, it was also Skyler's first airplane ride! We already booked this trip months in advance and luckily, we picked the date November 21 to leave. That's because if you recall, the APEC summit was held a few days earlier and so many flights got cancelled from November 15-20! We were already getting worried that the trip might not push through just in case there were more problems from all the cancelled flights. But thank God everything went as originally planned. :)

Flying High With Sky!

Our dear baby Skyler just turned 1 earlier this month and we marked the big day by having a travel themed party! To be honest, it crossed my mind not to have a party anymore (by the 3rd child, all you can think about is how to save money hehe) but hubby and I decided that a first birthday is really a milestone that should be celebrated. Besides, both his Ate and Kuya had big parties so we felt Skyler should have one too.

Of course, we had a budget and I made sure I was able to stick to it. I wanted to DIY everything, but I knew I couldn't do it given the size of the venue and the number of guests. And this was just after the Christmas season, which was such a busy one for me, so I didn't have time to prepare. Hindi talaga kaya ng powers ko haha! Thank goodness I was able to find a great stylist who was able to exceed my expectations with the decors. I'll be blogging more about all the details from the party but for now, here are some bits and pieces from Skyler's special day. :)

with mommy and daddy

kiddie area

everyone captivated by the show

with Sky's beautiful lolas

fun games

with our yaya, who has taken care of me, my sister, and now my 3 kids!

Skyler's amazed with his whole party! WOW daw! ;p

more games

special participation of daddy in the magic show

distributing the giveaways

Thank you for all your gifts!

Watch out for my supplier ratings, coming soon! :)

Party planning time again!

I am super busy these days because my baby Skyler is turning 1 in January! I can't believe it actually... I still remember this time last year, I was super pregnant and just counting down the weeks until I was about to give birth. And now Skyler's crawling and almost walking and talking! Time really flies by so fast. And speaking of flying, here's a teaser of what the theme for his party will be:

Well, I think it's already pretty obvious hehe! His name is Skyler after all! We were actually thinking at first if we should just have a small party for him, like just our immediate family. But then, you only have a 1st birthday once right? And his Ate and Kuya both had big parties so hubby and I figured he should have one too. Just because he's our 3rd child doesn't mean he shouldn't have the same as his siblings right? And you know me, I just love celebrations and doing DIY stuff. Kaya go na!

Anyway, I just can't wait for all the details to come together. I have most of the suppliers already and am still finalizing a couple more. It will surely be a busy Christmas season for me. :)

Arriving in Korea

Here's my first post from our Korea trip last month. Like I said before, this was a business trip for hubby and I just tagged along. These are really the best kind of trips in my opinion since I don't have to worry about booking hotels or transportation since it's provided for already. Plus, may per diem pa si hubby so sulit talaga! ;p

It was so hard for me leaving the kids behind especially baby Skyler. But I was also excited to travel with hubby and spend quality time together. Funny nga coz everyone was commenting and joking us, naku baka baby no.4 na yan ha! Made in Korea! Haha sorry to disappoint, pero wala! ;p

ready for our adventure

It was my first time to ride PAL's new Airbus 330 and their business class was so nice. The chairs recline to a full lying down position (180°) so it was so comfortable to sleep!

They also gave out iPads since this plane doesn't have TVs anymore. All the movies, shows, and even games are loaded here already.

After 3.5 hours, we landed in Incheon and finally in Korea!

Their airport is so big we even took a short train ride to get to immigration. When we got out, there were so many ladies in traditional costume welcoming passengers for the different tour groups. I couldn't resist and just had to take a photo with some of them. :)

Incheon Airport

We were booked at the Golden Seoul Hotel which was about 40 minutes from the airport. The location was convenient since it was just a few minutes walk to the nearest train station (Yeomchang). There was also a huge Daiso at the station which was always my last stop before going back to the hotel.

The hotel staff was also very helpful and spoke English well. I was able to ask them to put my ice packs in their hotel freezer so I could bring my breastmilk home. 

The cons would be that it's quite far from the major attractions in the city. There weren't also anything interesting around the area. We would spend a total of about an hour on the train (plus walking and transferring pa to different lines which could get confusing!). I also didn't bother venturing out on my own since I was scared of getting lost. Whereas if we were somewhere like in Myeondong, we would have saved a lot more time commuting. Plus I could have just walked around and gone shopping when hubby was at work (pero more gastos din hehe).

The hotel is big and the rooms are nice in my opinion. The room they gave us even had a queen sized and single bed (kasya pa isa! ;p). The bed and pillows were super soft, especially the comforter which was so fluffy! It made it so much harder to get up early in the morning. :)

There was wi-fi and also a plasma TV, although there were only a few English channels (2 movie channels and the rest were news like CNN and BBC).

I also found the bathroom nice and clean. There was a bathtub and also a high-tech toilet with temperature settings. The seat warmer was a winner lol! ;p

Buffet breakfast was also included in their restaurant. They had bread, cereals, and fruits, but the main dishes were the same every single day. I ended up eating the same thing which was fried rice, bacon, sausage, potato and eggs. By the last day, I was so sawa na, I ended up eating out na lang hehe. ;p

What was nice is they had a few restaurants and a convenience store right across the hotel. We ate here on our first night after arriving from the airport, and also bought snacks and drinks.

no English so just point to the picture hehe ;p

my first meal in Korea, Bulgogi!

Stay tuned for the next series of Korea posts! :)

Our worst airplane experience

For our trip to Cebu, hubby and I were booked at PAL while the rest of the family (including yaya) were scattered in different airlines. Although we had already traveled with the kids before, this was the first time we were doing so without anyone else (meaning no yaya or grandparents to give us a hand!). The kids' first airplane ride was a breeze but to be honest, I was really nervous this time since they're at that age where they can get really hyper. I knew we would be spending a lot of time chasing them around, and add to that the ton of stuff we had to hand carry! Plus, Sabe still had cough and colds so I was praying that he wouldn't be uncomfortable during the ride with the pressure on his ears and stuff (not to mention he's currently experiencing the Terrible Two's!).

Anyway, we got to the airport at around 9am and everything seemed off to a good start...

The minute we entered the airport, both kids started running around while we were checking-in. Good thing there weren't a lot of people in line so they didn't really bother anyone.

It was also a good thing we had access to the Mabuhay Lounge so we were able to have a few bites before our flight (because we obviously wouldn't be able to have time to eat later on...). Although we made quite a mess with the kids getting restless and playing with the food after a while. Sorry!

I guess one of the mistakes we did on this flight was to board early. Like I said, the kids were already getting restless waiting so we thought it would be best to ride the airplane at once. They were both fine at first, looking out the window and checking out the other airplanes outside, but after a while Sabe started to get really irritable. I guess it was also because a lot of people were still boarding, so the aisle was full of strangers which he didn't like.

Miley was such a good girl the whole time, just sitting in her seat and playing with the iPad. It was Sabe who suddenly got a really bad tantrum. Even before take-off, he started pulling on his Daddy and kept saying he wanted to go down. He was getting really irritable as well, wanting to remove his shoes, socks, and eventually his pants too!

We were trying everything to entertain him so he would stay in his seat. We came prepared with toys, coloring materials, food, the iPad, etc. But nothing was working. He just simply wanted to get out of the airplane. Hubby had to hold on to him during take-off and to cut the long story short, Sabe spent almost the entire flight kicking, screaming, and crying at the top of his lungs. He kept saying "I DON'T LIKE AIRPLANE! I WANT TO GO DOWN! GO HOME!" over and over again, non-stop. And the whole plane could hear him. We felt so helpless since we didn't know what to do to pacify him. He kept saying NO to everything. The take-off part was the worst since we had to stay buckled in so we couldn't carry him while walking around (in the hopes of lulling him to sleep). Once the seatbelt sign was off, I took him to the area near the bathroom (where the flight attendants were preparing the meals) in the hopes of getting him to calm down. But no such luck. He still kept crying the whole time so hubby and I took turns carrying him there almost the whole flight (since he didn't want to go back to his seat anymore).

When I didn't have kids yet, I admit that I was one of those people who got annoyed when there were crying or noisy children in the airplane. But ever since I became a mom, I've understood how hard it is to travel with kids. And now, those poor parents with the screaming, uncontrollable kid was US! Being at the other end of the situation, it was a mixture of panic, embarrassment, stress, helplessness, exhaustion, and then after a while, just acceptance that YES, this was realy happening. I was afraid of how the other passengers would react to all that ruckus, but thankfully no one was rude to us. But I'm sure they were all thinking "why did I take this flight?" haha! Anyway, Sabe finally fell asleep out of sheer exhaustion towards the end of the trip so we had a few minutes of peace and quiet which I'm sure everyone on that plane appreciated.

We were definitely traumatized after and we didn't know if we could even make Sabe ride the airplane again going home. I had a sleepless night before the flight the next day and I just kept praying that Sabe would be in a better mood. We were even joking that we'll give him a full dose of Benadryl to knock him out, but it's also super hard to make him drink medicine. Well, it looks like our prayers paid off because look what happened on the flight home:

Yes, he was asleep the whole time! Well, what we did this time was board last so we only had to wait a few minutes before take-off. And I guess the timing was also perfect since he was already sleepy while we were waiting to board. He was in good spirits during take-off and fell asleep right after. He slept through the landing as well and we had to wake him up to go down the plane. Miley was also a good girl and all I can say is thank you Lord!

All I can say is, please be understanding of people you see in public places with crying children. You have no idea how stressed they are!

WE SURVIVED! :)

The trip to Cebu was only a short one at over an hour. But the real test will be during the plane ride to Singapore which will be over 3 hours (the kids' first out of the country trip!). The good thing is that we'll be flying with family so Lolo and Lola will be there to help hehe! But please, still pray for us and wish us luck ok? ;p

My kids' 1st airplane ride!

Just got back yesterday from a super fun 4 day trip to Bohol. The trip was an impromptu one, as Vins suddenly got a few days off from work. Anyway, what was also so great about this trip was that it was the first time for both Miley and Sabe to ride an airplane! I guess I've sort of had this fear of traveling with the kids since I know how hyper and active they both are. Also, before I became a mom, I've always hated riding in airplanes with babies who cry loudly or toddlers who kick the back of your seat. I'd get so annoyed if I was seated near them since I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep or watch my movie in peace. But now, I've become more understanding since I know how hard it is to keep them still haha! ;p

Sabe's excited for his first airplane ride! Thank God his Roseola cleared up just in time for this trip!

with yaya

Miley got so excited when she saw the airplanes. She kept waving to them and saying "bye airplane!"

so amazed with the plane, she couldn't even be bothered to look at the camera ;p

listening intently to Daddy explain the safety procedures

Sabe was asleep the whole time! Here he is with his Mama and Lolo on the opposite row (since we were told we can't have both babies seated side by side)

Here's Miley doing the "zoom zoom" action of the airplane

Wearing Daddy's shades. If you look closely, her shirt says LITTLE PILOT hehe!

someone's getting a bit restless already! at this point she kept wanting to open all the tray tables...

and lying down on them! planking ba kamo? hahaha!

picture at the cockpit! but poor Sabe, ulo lang nakita haha!

Overall, the airplane ride exceeded all my expectations! My fear was that they'd both be crying and screaming once the plane took off or if they felt pressure on their ears. But Miley was so excited the whole time even when we took off and landed and the sound of the engine became really loud! She kept looking out the window and waving to the clouds and to the mountains! There was a time she was touching her ears, so I guess that's when she felt the pressure. But we just asked her "what did the fish say?" and then she did her thing when she opens and closes her mouth to help pop her ears. As for Sabe, he fell asleep right before we took off and woke up after we landed! I guess the timing was just perfect plus it was just a short flight. The ride going home was also good, there was just times when they'd be a bit restless but we'd just keep them entertained with snacks, toys and books (the in-flight magazine had a feature on Africa and Miley loved pointing at all the animals). If I knew how behaved they both would be, I would have probably taken them on trips sooner!

Anyways, I have a TON of pictures from the trip so watch out for them in the coming posts. =)