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One Question You Should Ask Yourself Every Day

June 9, 2016 by Tina

moleskine for moms

I was recently honored to have been invited to an intimate gathering of women — of moms actually — organized by Moleskine Philippines and .

moleskine for moms

As a post-Mother’s Day celebration of sorts, we were treated to a relaxing afternoon of getting to know one another, of learning, and of listening (and eating delicious food courtesy of Vask!)

moleskine for moms

Sharing a light moment with Rica Peralejo-Bonifacio, and Beng Feliciano and Maricel Cua of The Parenting Emporium (Photo by the amazing — all the photos in this post were taken by her!)

Through the talks of Marilen Montenegro, Cheska Kramer, and Rica Peralejo-Bonifacio, we got great tips for ordering the home, letting our inner beauty shine outwards, and ordering the heart, which is what 100% Whole Mom is really about.

moleskine for moms moleskine for moms moleskine for moms moleskine for moms

To be honest, I had qualms about attending the gathering (I actually confessed this on and after the event). I am glad I went though, because I was able to meet and mingle with other moms who had different abilities and talents but all had one thing in common: a passion for life and love. Love especially for our families, of course!

moleskine for moms

But my main takeaway from the whole event — which I believe applies not just for us moms, but for everyone — is the question Rica asked us to ask ourselves that afternoon; a question that ALL of us should ask every day:

How are you today?

It’s something that we probably would not ask in the midst of our daily routines and busy lives, yet it is something that should be asked, don’t you think? (Thanks for the reminder, Rica, and thanks, Moleskine, for the chance to answer that question in our personalized notebooks!)

20160525_0901 20160525_0172 (1)

moleskine for moms

So if you’re facing challenges today (aren’t we all, in some form or other?) I want you to take a deep breath (or two), ask yourself the same question Rica asked us, be perfectly honest with yourself, answer the question, and then say a prayer. Let go and let God. Trust in Him.

He’s got this.

He’s got your back. He’s in control. He’ll give you grace for the day.

Whether you’re a mom or not, know that He loves you. He will provide. He will heal. He will grant you miracles, big and small.

Do I hear an Amen?

moleskine for momsCan any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span? Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin. But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them. 

If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith?

So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear? All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 

But seek first the kingdom [of God] and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides.

Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil.

(Matthew 6:27-34)

************

Again, special thanks to ,  and  for organizing this inspiring event, Sheila Catilo for the photos, for the delicious food, and for the lovely flowers that were given to all of us present! God bless the work of your hands!

Filed Under: Our Faith, Our Self, REFLECTIONS AND DEVOTIONS, SELF LOVE ISN'T SELFISH, SPECIALLY FOR MOMS Tagged With: 100% Whole Mom, faith, Moleskine for Moms, Motherhood, Self-Care

An Open Letter to First-Time Moms of Newborns Everywhere

February 1, 2016 by Tina

moms of newborns

Dear fellow mama,

You don’t know me… but I know you. Well, sort of. Even if it’s just in the most remote way ever.

You see, I’ve been in your shoes before.

Although you and I and billions of other moms around the world are completely different people, and no new mom has the exact same experience as every other mom… still, I’d like to think that we share at least a few things in common.

Here are a few of them (and I do hope you can relate somehow!):

Your life will never be the same again.

moms of newborns

The moment your baby comes out, you know your life has changed forever.

Suddenly, you are responsible for this tiny human being — for feeding it, cleaning it, making sure it is ok. This may be a scary thought at times, but believe me: you can do it! I thought I couldn’t — but now I have three of those little humans, with one due to be born very, very soon (or maybe, by the time you read this scheduled post, I’ll already be busy caring for him!)… just take it one step at a time, one day at a time.

I know you’ll never look at what seem like “ordinary,” every-day activities the same again.

I know you probably already know this by now, but a full night of sleep and a ten-minute shower (alone!) seem like luxuries to you, and you may sometimes feel guilty for wanting to be anywhere else in the world but with your fussy, seemingly-hungry-all-the-time newborn!

That was my life (and still is, come to think of it, with a toddler and no yaya/helper around… and maybe, by the time this post goes live — I’ll already have a newborn in my arms too!)… and I wouldn’t exchange it for anything else in the world now. Sure, it seemed like I was suffocating at times, but things got better — and they will get better for you, too.

So don’t worry — it’s perfectly normal. This, too, shall pass.

And that emotional roller coaster ride you’re on? It’s normal.

moms of newborns

One minute, you’re tenderly gazing at your little one, overflowing with love and pride. The next minute, you are completely frazzled, wondering what’s causing him to wail and scream.

You often find yourself at your wits’ end, and wonder if you’re going crazy, with your emotions going up and down like children playing on a seesaw.

It’s the sleeplessness, and the hormones, my dear. Fret not… things will get better. Once your and your baby’s routines (and those of your other family members!) are more or less fixed, you will find it easier to deal with things.

I remember how it was for me when each of my kids was a newborn… With my first child, I cried a lot and almost always called my husband on the phone, asking him to come home to make the baby stop crying. Looking back, I realize that I may have had the baby blues back then. I just felt totally helpless and hopeless.

It was a bit different with our second child. And with our third. And I know it will be different with our fourth. But one common thing will stand out for sure — the newborn days are tough on a mom, but it will get better. Believe me.

And your body? I know, you’ll never look at your body the same way again.

Before I became pregnant, I never realized just how perfectly made my body is. It wasn’t until there was an actual human life growing inside me that I began to appreciate my body 100%… and even more after I had given birth.

moms of newborns

I know, right now you might be dealing with thoughts of, “Will I ever get my body back?” and “I look so frumpy these days!”… because, let’s face it, there really are days when you can hardly find the time for a quick shower, or even just to comb your hair (been there, done that)!

But believe me… these days — though you may not feel it — are the best time to appreciate who you are, and who you are to your baby. Your body is perfect right now, just the way it is. There is a time and way for shedding that post-pregnancy weight, of course, but let not that be your focus for now.

Your focus now is caring for your little one — but don’t forget to take care of yourself too! (I have forgotten this too many times, so I am actually reminding myself now, too!)

While we’re at it, let me remind you (and myself too!): There is no such thing as a perfect mother.

moms of newborns

 You can’t be everything to your child, and no one is asking you to be so. You will make mistakes (don’t we all?) — so don’t beat yourself up when you do.

Motherhood is already a huge challenge in itself, so don’t set yourself up for disappointment or feelings that you’re “such a failure” by having super high expectations.

The truth is, motherhood can be scary at times — but you already know that, don’t you?

Again, fear not… the beautiful thing about becoming a mother is that you sort of instantly become part of this “global sisterhood” of moms who, more often than not, are there to support you, encourage you, give you advice, and help you out if it’s physically possible to do so.

So don’t be afraid to ask for help. It’s not a sign of “weakness.”

moms of newborns

If you feel overwhelmed and exhausted, there’s nothing wrong with seeking help. (I did, and believe me, it made a huge difference in our family’s life!)

If you’re struggling with baby blues, or maybe even suspect you have postpartum depression, don’t hesitate to consult your doctor or someone else who can help you.

This is the time to let others care for you, your baby, and the rest of your family. “It takes a whole village to raise a child,” as they say in Africa, and I believe this applies to us here in the Philippines, too (or anywhere else for that matter).

So go ahead… call on your “village” if and when you need help. It won’t make you less of a mom, really. (Take it from someone who almost always calls on her “village” in times of need!)

To end, let me tell you this one very important thing that you need to know: You’re already an amazing mom.

moms of newborns

I know you may not believe me. After nine years of this “motherhood gig” (ten this year, gosh!) and dealing with three newborns (and another one very, very soon), I often still don’t believe that either. But yes, you — and I, and all the other moms out there — are already amazing.

You can handle this… these days of seemingly endless sleepless nights, of breaking down and crying, of staying up all night checking to see if your baby’s still breathing, of venting and sobbing to your husband when he comes home from work, of panicking and blaming yourself at the slightest thing that “goes wrong” (newborn jaundice that required hospitalization and even ordinary diaper rashes had me doing that with my first baby)…

Yes, you can handle it. You’ll get through this.

Don’t be afraid to embrace your imperfections, doubts and fears. Your weaknesses and strengths are part of what makes you unique.

You can do this, dear sweet fellow mama. I’m rooting for you and praying for you all the way! (Please pray for me too? And whenever you’re in doubt or despair, try to remember these five important words.)

Love,

Tina

If you found this article encouraging in any way, or know a mom of a newborn who needs to read this, please feel free to share it. (And if you see me “ranting” about having a newborn on , or , please remind *me* to read this again! 😉 )

Filed Under: FAMILY MATTERS, Our Relationships, Our Self, PARENTING, SPECIALLY FOR MOMS Tagged With: Motherhood, Open Letter to Moms with Newborns

Truly Rich Tips: Five Quick Lessons from the WAHMderful Life Workshop

October 27, 2012 by Tina

I wanted to write a brief post about what I learned at the “It’s a WAHMderful Life Workshop” organized by Dainty Mom and Manila Workshops earlier (errr… yesterday… Yes, I SHOULD be sleeping, I know! Bad preggy mama!). Just five quick points for now, but I promise to write a more lengthy post soon! 🙂

1. More than being a WAHM (work-at-home-mom), you need to define your purpose in life. You need to be intentional about it. You need to come up with your own mommy mission statement. I realized that although I already came up with my own mission statement (thanks to one of Martine’s blog contests), it needs some tweaking now. 🙂 Something to work on in the coming week! (Lord, help me!)

So what is your purpose, Tina?

2. When it comes to being a WAHM, there is no fixed template/schedule. Each WAHM… well, each woman, in fact, will have to manage their lives and everything that comes with it (their families, homes, work, {for some of us} homeschooling, etc.) the best way they know how. So it’s OK if this other WAHM seems to have it “all together…” and you don’t. What matters is you do your best.

The panel of awesome WAHMs, whom I am blessed to have as my friends:
Marge Aberasturi, Michelle Padrelanan,
Toni Tiu and Jennyfer Ang Tan

3. Just like what I learned from the 1st Mompreneur Summit (oh, I know I have been remiss in posting my lessons from that {yikes!} so for the meantime pls. check out Cai’s post on Apples and Dumplings here, teehee! I learned the same lessons, anyway!), there is no such thing as a work-life balance. There will NEVER be a balance. But, as Martine so aptly put it, “There will be a dance.” And I think dancing is definitely more fun than balancing, don’t you? 🙂

Martine did an excellent job with this event,
along with Ginger of Manila Workshops! 🙂
Thanks for reminding us to “dance!”

4. Always put the kids first before work. They’re the main reason (well, in most cases anyway) why you chose to be a WAHM anyway, right? (Oh I MUST remember this whenever I’m rushing to beat deadlines!) Of course, this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t set boundaries. The kids should know when it’s time to play or be with Mama, and when it’s time for Mama to work.

My main reasons (plus Baby no. 3!)
for wanting to work from home fulltime 🙂
Sorry for the blurred pic, Haha!

5. If you’re serious about becoming a WAHM, learn to brand yourself. Learn to market your services. Network with as many people as you can — especially those who will help you grow your business. Never stop learning. Invest in yourself and your business. Find a mentor. Join a support group/community or “tribe” of WAHMs, like the one we have on .

When Martine first formed the Manila WAHMs Facebook group, there were only a handful of us there.
Since I know Michelle and Marge from homeschooling circles and knew that they are also WAHMs,
I asked Martine to add them to the group. 🙂

Well, that’s it for now… My head’s starting to ache, haha! Oh, and an additional tip/reminder-to-myself, it’s never too late to start having a regular skin care regimen! (Come on, Tina, you can do this! Haha!) Thanks to Rhinna of  and for the reminder! 🙂

And thanks, too, to the other sponsors/partners for this event: St. Patrick Baby, Howards Storage World, , Xend and !

And to  for my yummy vegetarian lasagna lunch and  for the merienda! 🙂

Till my next post, folks! 🙂 Have a blessed Sunday!  

Filed Under: dainty mom, Manila Workshops, SPECIALLY FOR MOMS, Truly Rich Tips, WAHM Resources, WAHM Tips, WAHMderful Life Workshop, Work At Home, Work at Home Mom Inspirations

Truly Rich Tips {And note to self!}: Find Your Balance as a Wife and Mother

September 16, 2012 by Tina

I am supposed to be sleeping, I know! (Sorry, baby! Mama loves you!) BUT a sudden turn of events disrupted my weekend plans to get some work and homeschool planning done and I was left with no choice but to “burn the midnight oil” again! *sighs* These are the days when I wish with all my heart that I was “just” a fulltime stay-at-home-momma (NOT a working one). Oh well. In God’s time, I know! 🙂

Anyway, hubby’s sick and it’s one of the reasons why my schedule got out of whack (he’s been so since my birthday, but I honor him for being such a trooper and even organizing a simple dinner with immediate family for me that night). Not that I’m complaining! It’s very rare for him to fall ill and I’m just thankful to God it’s nothing serious, and that he’s on the mend already! This is also a time for me to step up and take care of him, something I (and he!) know that I’m not very good at sometimes. (I love you, honey!)

Which brings me to my truly rich tips for today, on finding your balance as a wife and mother. At last weekend’s Mompreneur Summit, one of the speakers, Krie Reyes-Lopez of  (an AWESOME social enterprise, by the way!), said something like this:
“There’s never gonna be a balance. And it’s OK.”

She was pertaining to balancing everything as a wife, mom, mompreneur, etc. When she said that, I found myself nodding in agreement. I often find myself trying to balance so many things and activities and advocacies, and it can all seem too much. Thank you, Krie, for the reminder! 🙂

Of course, we can try our best to find a balance somehow. But we need to remember that even if we don’t, it’s perfectly fine.

To end, please allow me to share with you a slide show I made for a pre-Mother’s Day event at Fundline Philippines. I was asked to speak to the employees who are moms.

Before you click through it, please note that I don’t claim to be a life coach nor counselor in any way, and I wrote the talk based on my experience as a wife and mom. Please take note that I also don’t claim any rights to ownership to any of the images used in the presentation, except those of me and/or my family. 🙂

Anyway, I hope this helps somehow! 🙂 Have a blessed week, everyone!
Women and Family Life for Fundline – Finding Your Balance as a Wife and Mother

Filed Under: Balancing Career and Family Life, FAMILY MATTERS, Love and Relationships, Motherhood, Parenting Tips, SPECIALLY FOR MOMS, Talks, Truly Rich Tips, Work-Life Balance, Working Mom

Truly Rich Tips: Useful Advice for Homeschooling Families (and Wannabe Homeschoolers)

July 3, 2012 by Tina

Source.

It’s been one month since we started homeschooling {officially} again — though I still consider what we did before then as homeschooling, though more of lifestyle learning / interest-led learning with a Catholic / Christian perspective (at least I hope so, haha!). If you want to take a peek at what we did last month at the Kingdom-Seekers Academy (our homeschool’s name! Teehee!), you can go here. 🙂

Anyway, I was sifting through my inbox when I came across these useful posts on homeschooling, especially for beginners. 🙂 I still consider myself a “newbie” homeschooler, and reading these tips have been very helpful in reminding me about our “whys” for homeschooling — which directly impact the “how” of our homeschool journey. 
I’m sharing these links for all of you who may already be homeschooling; or are just deciding to homeschool; or maybe even exploring homeschooling; or are just curious about homeschooling. Hope they enlighten you as much as they did me! 🙂
I found this image here and it’s also a very useful post! 🙂 Hehe!
10 Reasons Why We Chose to Homeschool (This made me want to come up with my own list!)
An Open Letter to New Homeschoolers (I so.love.this! Wish someone had written a letter like this to ME, when we were starting our homeschool journey!)
10 Tips for New Homeschool Families (Very useful!)
What I Wish Someone Had Told Me About Homeschooling (I can super relate to this, haha!)
10 Tips for Homeschooling with Toddlers (Our youngest is moving on from toddlerhood to the preschool years, at least by society’s standards, TOMORROW! 🙂 But these tips are still uber-useful!)
Advice to Homeschoolers with Special Needs Kids (I’ve received some inquiries in the past regarding homeschooling kids with special needs and this post is very useful!)
Homeschooling Do’s and Don’ts (A good reminder!)
Advice for New Homeschoolers Just Taking Their Kids Out of Public School (Angie of Many Little Blessings helped come up with iHomeschoolNetwork.com’s 10 in 10 (Ten Weeks of Top Ten Lists) and there are LOTS of links to other useful homeschool-related posts in her post!)
Whatever the “state of education” is now for your kids, I pray that you will continue to be guided in all the decisions you make! 🙂 And, hey, if you’re at least considering homeschooling, pray hard about it! Give it a go — it might be the best decision you’ll ever make for your family! 🙂
Be blessed always, dear readers! 🙂

Filed Under: Advice for Homeschoolers, Homeschool Advice, Homeschool Support, HOMESCHOOLING, SPECIALLY FOR MOMS, Tips for Homeschooling Families, Truly Rich Tips

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Hi! I'm Tina Santiago Rodriguez, a Catholic wife, homeschool mom, and self-professed "media missionary." Welcome to Truly Rich and Blessed, a unique lifestyle blog about appreciating the "riches" that we have — our faith, self, relationships, resources, discoveries and experiences. I hope you'll enjoy your time here, and come away encouraged and inspired somehow!

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