I'll be editing this post as we go along but here's my list of things to do for my kids who are both below 5. I know it's sometimes difficult to think of what to do that doesn't involve just walking around the mall. My children seem to have outgrown their love of Gymboree so I have to scrap our playtime at Gymboree from the list already.
1. Fun Ranch or Active Fun - my kids love places like this. My friends also recommend Kidzville in Podium though I have never personally tried it. An hour is usually not enough for them but for the adults with them an hour is more than enough. They have a healthy appetite right after. I try to schedule going to places like this after their afternoon nap so it's dinner then an early bedtime. The little zoo near Fun Ranch at Tiendesitas is a big hit with the kids.
2. Mind Museum at the Fort - It's very organized. Ava enjoyed but I think Emilio may have been a bit too young for the exhibits. My daughter likes the more interactive exhibits at the ground floor. I couldn't tear her away from the paleontology exhibit.
3. Museo Pambata - Ava celebrated her first birthday here. It's a nice place though it could use a bit of an upgrading of the exhibits and areas as it's showing wear and tear already.
4. Fully Booked - I can't believe my little boy was asking for me to bring him to Fully Booked. He's just turning 2 (and could hardly pronounce Fully Booked)! In the absence of good libraries, the Fully Booked children's area is the closest we have. Since it's free for them to browse, I do feel compelled to buy a book or two though.
5. Manila Ocean Park
6. Catch a play with Repertory's children's theater.
7. Do some kids yoga at Urban Ashram at the Fort - the schedule now is at 3:30pm on Saturdays and it's not too expensive. Mom or Dad joins the children.
8. Early morning at the Centris Market (if you're near QC like us) or Legazpi Market (if you're near the Makati area or want to buy more arts-y stuff) We like going to Centris. The children and the yayas get their weekly taho fix while I buy our fruits and vegetables for the week. I also end up buying things we don't really need (oops!). There's also a stand where I sometimes find nice export overuns of children's sandos. The last time I went though, their supply was low. The kids also like looking at the puppies, birds and fish for sale.
Friday, October 12, 2012
Philippine Airlines' Book and Hold - A Lifesaver! (and other local airline feedback)
I was just making domestic travel arrangements now and saw that they have a new facility where you can book tickets and have until the next day to pay for them in any PAL office, selected San Mig Convenience store or Petron with EC pay. This will make my life easier because of the flexibility it provides - I can hold onto the fare and I schedule for my family but have time to double check with my husband before we finally pay. I can't count the number of tickets (and money!) I've wasted making ticket purchases in haste and realizing I've made mistakes. We've literally had to throw away those tickets as it would cost more to rebook. Another big plus is that there's no need to always use my credit card online!
On another note, the Airphil Express website is easier to use now too! When comparing flight costs, Airphil can be a bit misleading though because unlike other airlines, the add-ons it adds are pretty big. Make sure you check the total cost before deciding as it can throw you off. What I do like about it is that there's luggage included already. We made costly mistakes before on Cebu Pacific when we didn't notice the tickets booked for us didn't buy luggage allocation.
I recently started to use Zest Air (despite my apprehensions!) because our company would use their vouchers. It's a pity they stopped selling these booklets of 11 tickets usable anytime (almost) even with just 1 day notice. It made our lives so much simpler as we didn't have to plan way in advance or have to pay a fortune for last minute tickets. The smaller airport of Zest Air was much easier to manage especially traveling with children. Their staff at the desk were really kind and helpful. The airport also has free wifi. At first, our staff were making hints how they found the planes "shaky." When we flew Zest, it was true. For some reason, they were "maalog." I don't know why but it did get us to Tagbilaran and Manila safely.
Cebu Pacific is my least preferred among the 4. The airport is too big and difficult to manage when traveling with children and handcarry. Past security, there are no more little carts you can use so you have to carry everything on top of having to use stairs to go down to the gate. And they have this bad habit of always changing the gate where you are about to depart even if you're already settled in the original gate. I would buy Cebu Pacific for technicians we need to send to Bohol because I can pay via LBC and have no need to give my ID and credit card copies to people I don't really know.
Overall, if prices aren't too far apart, we always choose to ride Philippine Airlines. The little comforts like better airport, water on board and bigger luggage allowance make traveling just more pleasant. We also like the Yakun Kaya toast in the airport. It's been a little tradition to have the yakun kaya bread and eggs there as we wait. The quality has dramatically declined over the years though. I'm so happy the period of bad service last year has been put behind them. It was actually that period that forced us to use the other airlines more regularly.
Our daughter has learned to ask beforehand if this is the plane that gives free food or not. I don't know why she loves those peanuts so much! At age 2, she was so sad the first time she rode Airphil when the stewardess didn't give out water and peanuts. "Mommy! Tubig lang walang binibigay!!!" "Oops, sorry Ava, we're flying budget!" "Ayoko dito mommy!" She was wailing the whole trip as she couldn't understand why her peanuts and water weren't being given out despite my explanations.
She knows better now. And I know better too. Choose PAL if the price difference is under P500 per ticket.
On another note, the Airphil Express website is easier to use now too! When comparing flight costs, Airphil can be a bit misleading though because unlike other airlines, the add-ons it adds are pretty big. Make sure you check the total cost before deciding as it can throw you off. What I do like about it is that there's luggage included already. We made costly mistakes before on Cebu Pacific when we didn't notice the tickets booked for us didn't buy luggage allocation.
I recently started to use Zest Air (despite my apprehensions!) because our company would use their vouchers. It's a pity they stopped selling these booklets of 11 tickets usable anytime (almost) even with just 1 day notice. It made our lives so much simpler as we didn't have to plan way in advance or have to pay a fortune for last minute tickets. The smaller airport of Zest Air was much easier to manage especially traveling with children. Their staff at the desk were really kind and helpful. The airport also has free wifi. At first, our staff were making hints how they found the planes "shaky." When we flew Zest, it was true. For some reason, they were "maalog." I don't know why but it did get us to Tagbilaran and Manila safely.
Cebu Pacific is my least preferred among the 4. The airport is too big and difficult to manage when traveling with children and handcarry. Past security, there are no more little carts you can use so you have to carry everything on top of having to use stairs to go down to the gate. And they have this bad habit of always changing the gate where you are about to depart even if you're already settled in the original gate. I would buy Cebu Pacific for technicians we need to send to Bohol because I can pay via LBC and have no need to give my ID and credit card copies to people I don't really know.
Overall, if prices aren't too far apart, we always choose to ride Philippine Airlines. The little comforts like better airport, water on board and bigger luggage allowance make traveling just more pleasant. We also like the Yakun Kaya toast in the airport. It's been a little tradition to have the yakun kaya bread and eggs there as we wait. The quality has dramatically declined over the years though. I'm so happy the period of bad service last year has been put behind them. It was actually that period that forced us to use the other airlines more regularly.
Our daughter has learned to ask beforehand if this is the plane that gives free food or not. I don't know why she loves those peanuts so much! At age 2, she was so sad the first time she rode Airphil when the stewardess didn't give out water and peanuts. "Mommy! Tubig lang walang binibigay!!!" "Oops, sorry Ava, we're flying budget!" "Ayoko dito mommy!" She was wailing the whole trip as she couldn't understand why her peanuts and water weren't being given out despite my explanations.
She knows better now. And I know better too. Choose PAL if the price difference is under P500 per ticket.
Sunday, October 7, 2012
The King and I, A Review
My daughter and I caught The King and I at Resorts World this Friday.
Since I put off buying tickets for the last minute, we had really bad seats. They were so bad that it was better for us to watch on the LED screen than the stage. As such, we didn't appreciate all that the first half had to offer. We were so blessed that the ushers allowed us to move to better seats for the second half. That's when I realized how choice of seats makes such a big difference! So please avoid the seats from 1-10. They are too far left.
The show for me was nice too. Moniqiue Wilson and Leo Valdez did a great job. I was so proud to be Filipino. Having many children in the show caught my daughter's attention. As it was "real" theater versus the children's theater we used to watch, my daughter had to put more effort in getting into the story.
I know she enjoyed it because no matter how sleepy she was - show starts at 8pm which is almost bedtime for her - she really snapped to attention when the actors and actresses started to sing.
Catch it if you can!
For this evening, Ava was giddy with excitement as the theater was so big. She also enjoyed having my sister with us and no yaya. I guess it felt like a "big girls'" night out for her.
I'm so happy that more shows are coming to the Philippines and that we don't have to travel abroad to catch them. I still remember lining up at TKTS in New York to watch all the great shows or watching plays in London by myself. It's also so nice to find something my daughter and I both enjoy even at her young age.
Since I put off buying tickets for the last minute, we had really bad seats. They were so bad that it was better for us to watch on the LED screen than the stage. As such, we didn't appreciate all that the first half had to offer. We were so blessed that the ushers allowed us to move to better seats for the second half. That's when I realized how choice of seats makes such a big difference! So please avoid the seats from 1-10. They are too far left.
The show for me was nice too. Moniqiue Wilson and Leo Valdez did a great job. I was so proud to be Filipino. Having many children in the show caught my daughter's attention. As it was "real" theater versus the children's theater we used to watch, my daughter had to put more effort in getting into the story.
I know she enjoyed it because no matter how sleepy she was - show starts at 8pm which is almost bedtime for her - she really snapped to attention when the actors and actresses started to sing.
Catch it if you can!
For this evening, Ava was giddy with excitement as the theater was so big. She also enjoyed having my sister with us and no yaya. I guess it felt like a "big girls'" night out for her.
I'm so happy that more shows are coming to the Philippines and that we don't have to travel abroad to catch them. I still remember lining up at TKTS in New York to watch all the great shows or watching plays in London by myself. It's also so nice to find something my daughter and I both enjoy even at her young age.
Repertory Philippines Wizard of Oz, a Review
I discovered my 3 year old daughter likes watching theater when we went to Repertory Philippines' production of Horton Hears a Who last year. She was enraptured!
The Wizard of Oz is a classic which I thought she ought to see. It's still showing and I strongly suggest for you to take your children to watch it. I was very happy to see the theater jam packed when we went.
All in all, I give it 5 stars for the following reasons:
1. There is a lot of audience participation. I was surprised to find my daughter actively participating.
2. The pace of the show is pretty fast too so I didn't get bored. I was dying of boredom when we watched the Disney Rockin' Roadshow at Araneta and I was quite bored at Horton Hears a Who as well.
3. The actors are seasoned - even if the target audience are children, they performed very very well.
4. The stage, props and costumes were great too.
5. And the real proof - my daughter still remembers the story after the show as she was engaged the whole time.
6. And best of all, it's reasonably priced at less than P500 per ticket. If you'd like to buy tickets, just check online. We just called the organizer, reserved 2 tickets and paid for them on the day itself. The seats are all nice too. There are no far left or right seats which hardly have a view of the stage (quite unlike the Resorts World theater). Do try to get seats as near as possible as your kids will enjoy it more.
Afterwards, we had a great ramen lunch in Greenbelt 5. As a working mom, I really try to plan activities like this with my daughter to bond and share something we both enjoy. I still remember when my mom would take me to watch the ballets at CCP when I was young. It's not just the ballets I remember fondly. I also remember the joy of the ride to the theater, the anticipation of theater complete with dressing up a little and our bonding meal after we watch.
I'm seriously considering making a habit of watching theater. My daughter calls it watching a story that's alive. It's a great alternative to watching TV. And now she's reminding me to please have her taught how to sing like them and to dance ballet. I'm so excited for summer to come around so that I can enroll her in Trumpets. Though I never did become a ballerina, I am not forcing my daughter to be a theater star. For now, it's enough for me to just enjoy theater with her.
The Wizard of Oz is a classic which I thought she ought to see. It's still showing and I strongly suggest for you to take your children to watch it. I was very happy to see the theater jam packed when we went.
All in all, I give it 5 stars for the following reasons:
1. There is a lot of audience participation. I was surprised to find my daughter actively participating.
2. The pace of the show is pretty fast too so I didn't get bored. I was dying of boredom when we watched the Disney Rockin' Roadshow at Araneta and I was quite bored at Horton Hears a Who as well.
3. The actors are seasoned - even if the target audience are children, they performed very very well.
4. The stage, props and costumes were great too.
5. And the real proof - my daughter still remembers the story after the show as she was engaged the whole time.
6. And best of all, it's reasonably priced at less than P500 per ticket. If you'd like to buy tickets, just check online. We just called the organizer, reserved 2 tickets and paid for them on the day itself. The seats are all nice too. There are no far left or right seats which hardly have a view of the stage (quite unlike the Resorts World theater). Do try to get seats as near as possible as your kids will enjoy it more.
Afterwards, we had a great ramen lunch in Greenbelt 5. As a working mom, I really try to plan activities like this with my daughter to bond and share something we both enjoy. I still remember when my mom would take me to watch the ballets at CCP when I was young. It's not just the ballets I remember fondly. I also remember the joy of the ride to the theater, the anticipation of theater complete with dressing up a little and our bonding meal after we watch.
I'm seriously considering making a habit of watching theater. My daughter calls it watching a story that's alive. It's a great alternative to watching TV. And now she's reminding me to please have her taught how to sing like them and to dance ballet. I'm so excited for summer to come around so that I can enroll her in Trumpets. Though I never did become a ballerina, I am not forcing my daughter to be a theater star. For now, it's enough for me to just enjoy theater with her.
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