At Home With MrsC

Raising a family, making a home.

House Cuyugan

This Summer’s Movie List

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Summer days in our home are slow, quiet, and free-flowing. We aren’t the type of family who goes out of town a lot (though, I have to admit, that would be fun). We don’t eat out often. We aren’t mall rats. And we don’t go out to see movies unless they are films that we really, really want to see.

 

We are homebodies, all of us, and we enjoy the unstructured way that we choose to let days pass when the kiddo is on school break. MrC, of course, goes off to work every day, but on weekends when he’s home, he picks up the same slow summer state that the kid and I get to enjoy on most days.

One of our regular activities is movie time in the afternoon. In past summers, I tried to turn this into a daily thing, but it actually became too difficult to think of a new movie for us to watch every day. So I’ve learned to let go, and instead, I’ve turned this into a come-what-may activity just like the others. So far, we’ve really been enjoying our occasional lazy afternoon in front of the TV.

We love our slow summer days

Now that the kiddo is older, it’s becoming easier to choose movies. He’s open to watching anything I put on, which really great. I’ve been able to make him see old favorites from when we were about his age. We’ve also enjoyed newer films that we haven’t seen before, together as a family. With snacks, of course. Always with snacks. 

So, just like before, I thought I’d share which movies made it to our summer watch list this year. And I will keep adding until to this summer is over. Do you see any of your favorites?

  1. Murder on the Orient Express (2017) – Rated PG-13, suitable for age 13+
  2. The Lego Batman Movie (2017) – Rated PG, suitable for age 7+
  3. The Dark Tower (2017) – Rated PG-13, suitable for age 14+
  4. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul (2017) – Rated PG, suitable for age 8+
  5. Nacho Libre (2006) – Rated PG, suitable for age 11+
  6. Scott Pilgrim vs the World (2010) – Rated PG-13, suitable for age 14+
  7. The Little Rascals (1994) – Rated PG, suitable for age 8+
  8. Ready Player One (2018) – Rated PG-13, suitable for age 12+ (We caught this on in the theater!) 
  9. King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017) – Rated PG-13, suitable for age 14+
  10. The Lego Ninjago Movie (2017) – Rated PG, suitable for age 6+
  11. Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets – (2017) – Rated PG-13, suitable for age 11+

In case you’re interested, here are our movie lists from the past summers:

  • 2016 – Mostly cartoons! The kiddo was 10 that year.
  • 2017 – Lots of old favorites, like The Ghostbusters and Back to the Future

So, what else should we try to watch this summer?

Trust Me, It’s Okay To Go To Bed Angry

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Who was it who said that you should never go to bed angry? I’d like to prove this person wrong.

For many years, MrC and I took this advice to heart. Why wouldn’t we, when many people say that it’s one of the greatest secrets to a harmonious, and long-lasting marriage.

mrspcuyugan
Our secret is that we never forget to have fun together.

For people like us who are both highly opinionated and not afraid to get into arguments, this meant countless sleepless nights. It meant conversations that went around in circles. It meant finding ourselves right back at the beginning of an unresolved issue hours after it started, especially when fatigue and brain fog started settling in. Worst of all, it meant digging up issues from the past, often as last ditch efforts at winning the fight. Or, at the very least, to finally, unceremoniously, end the discussion. 

In our marriage, not going to sleep angry often involved dragging each other through the mud until we finally emerged. We were not always victorious with a compromise. Instead, the whole ordeal often would leave us feeling completely exhausted. Usually, the situation diffused when we no longer had any fight left in either of us. Trust me when I tell you, this is not a good thing. At least not for us.

mrspcuyugan
We argue a lot, and we argue often. And that is perfectly okay.

At first, falling asleep with unresolved issues between us felt scary, even uncertain. Did it mean that we would wake up angry? Would those concerns we set aside ever be settled?What if one of us woke up still annoyed, and the other wanted to make up? What then?

So many questions can go through a person’s head in the dead of the night. Especially so, when you are the one left awake, and the person next to you, the current bane of your existence, is blissfully snoring away.

If and when this ever happens to you, my advice is this: Turn your brain off and go to sleep. It won’t be easy, especially at first. You can be sure of that. But do it anyway. At least give it a try. It’s okay to go to bed angry. Things will be okay.

Your marriage will not fall apart over one argument. Or at least, it shouldn’t, especially if the issue at hand is something petty. In our case, we have slept on many major problems simply because we didn’t have the energy to keep on fighting. MrC, one time, even slept in the car after walking out in the middle of an argument!

Here’s the thing. Going to bed angry doesn’t have to mean sweeping problems under the rug. For us it means giving ourselves time to cool our heads. It means buying time to think things through in order to find a reasonable compromise. It means being able to approach the situation with clearer, rested heads. We’ve been able to find better solutions to problems both big and small this way.

Many might disagree with me on this, and for a lot of people this might not necessarily work. But I no longer believe that it’s a huge fault to sleep angry. On the contrary, I see it instead as an opportunity to hit reset, and start over fresh.

Lo and behold, age-old marriage wisdom ignored, we are still here. 18 years together this year, 11 years living in one house, and 6 years married. So far so good.

mrspcuyugan
This is us in 2008! His face says he’s happy, but don’t his arms look like they’re trying to strangle me? Lol.

Remember, there are countless ways to say you’re sorry in the morning without having to use words. It’s a whole lot better than having to face an entire night of fighting. What I mean, of course, is hugging, cuddling, and laughing it out. What were you thinking? Lol.

So, make me kwento. Do you follow that “Don’t go to bed angry” advice? Or do you choose to ignore it like we do?

A Movie A Day For Summer, Year 2

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It’s officially day two of summer vacation for us, and we are super excited! We started the school break on full-blast  with a year-end party for MrC’s class. We both had so much fun that we were among the last few to leave the party that day.

mrspcuyugan
Fun in the sun on the last day of school. Thanks for an awesome year, kids and moms of 5F!

MrC’s dad is arriving from the US in a few days, and will be staying with us for three whole weeks. That means the kiddo will have someone at home that he can bug all the time, and I know for sure that he is looking forward to it. Then, the birthdays of my two boys are coming up, and you all know how I feel about birthdays. Lol!

In between, we have museum visits, day trips, and play dates planned. Of course, me being me, I’ve also accounted for lazy days at home. Because, really, what school-aged kid doesn’t want to just spend time at home playing and watching TV during the summer? I know my siblings and I really enjoyed the do-nothing days when we were growing up. I’m excited for my kiddo to experience the same. 

(Can anyone recommend books for 11-year olds, too, please?)

As with last year, my boredom-busting plan for lazy days is to be ready with a new movie for Little MrC to watch. By new I mean a movie he hasn’t seen before, and not newly released. I’ve listed a bunch of my old favorites this year, like My Girl and The Karate Kid. He’s at that age where he understands and appreciates films better, which is why I am extra excited about our at-home movie dates.

Before writing this, I looked at my post from last year and saw that I was only able to list 10 of the movies we watched. Galing ‘no? This year, I will really make an effort to make note of them all. I know I should since it can help me make sure there are no duplicates when it’s time to plan for next year, and the year after that. Assuming the kiddo will still want to watch movies with me at home, that is. Huhuhu don’t they just grow up so fast??? *Sigh*

So anyway, here are the movies on our watchlist for this summer. I’ll be adding more as the days go by. You guys might want to check these films out, too. 🙂

  1. Ghostbusters (2016) – Rated PG-13, suitable for age 11+
  2. Ghostbusters (1984) – Rated PG, suitable for age 11+
  3. Ghostbusters II (1984) – Rated PG, suitable for age 8+
  4. The Last Airbender (2010) – Rated PG, suitable for age 9+
  5. Back to the Future (1985) – Rated PG, suitable for age 10+
  6. Back to the Future Part II (1989) – Rated PG, suitable for age 10+
  7. Back to the Future Part III (1990) – Rated PG, suitable for age 9+ 
  8. Star Trek (2009) – Rated PG-13, suitable for age 12+ 
  9. Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) – Rated PG-13, suitable for age 12+ 
  10. Star Trek Beyond (2016) – Rated PG-13, suitable for age 12+ 
  11. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) – Rated PG-13, suitable for age 12+ 
  12. My Girl (1991) – Rated PG, suitable for age 11+ 
  13. Speed Racer (2008) – Rated PG, suitable for age 8+ 
  14. Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008) – Rated PG-13, suitable for age 14+

Do any of you have recommendations for great family movies that we can watch? Please share in the comments? 🙂

Halloweekend 2016

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Hey guys, how is everybody? Did you all have fun over the long Halloween weekend? We definitely did.

Our family is big on Halloween, and I’m happy that this year we were able to do a little bit of Halloweening at home. Finally! The main festivities still happened at my parents’ place, since Halloween in Alabang is awesome, but I really made sure we had a few fun activities at our house, too.

The kiddo was on mid-year school break, so it was the perfect time for us to get crafty, and work in the kitchen together. Honestly, I really made an effort to think of gadget-free activities that would keep him occupied just to be sure that he would take a break from playing on his iPad.

My rule is, no iPad on school days (including weekends) but during school breaks I will allow him to play video games all he wants. My mom did it this way when I was a kid, and it worked for us. But then it was easier at our house because I had siblings to play with on gadget-free days. So now with Little MrC, his dad and I have to keep him entertained. I think I did okay.

Our first Halloween sembreak activity was to make super cute, really easy, popsicle stick crafts, which we used as decor at home.

For this, we just searched for pegs on Pinterest, and started working from there. I’ve also started looking for Christmas craft ideas. I feel like I should encourage my kid to do more of these projects with me because they don’t do that many hands-on projects anymore at school. Most of their projects are now done on the iPad. It’s kinda sad, but looking at it from a different perspective, I find his Garage Band and iMovie skills impressive naman. So I guess it’s not all that bad.

Anyway.

One thing they have been doing a lot more of in school is cooking. The Home Economics curriculum has improved so much since I was a student. A lot of the lessons are more practical now. So, now that I know that he can work a little in the kitchen, I figured it was time to get the kiddo to make a meal with me.

I know, I know, I know, some kids his age are already capable of making simple meals on their own. But you have to remember that I also just recently learned how to cook. Being able to share the task, and teach him while I’m at it, is a huge deal for me. Baby steps lang.

From the start, Little MrC was excited about preparing our Halloween-themed meal. My plan was to take care of all the ingredient prep and actual cooking, and I let him do the decorating. 

We made baked mozzarella-stuffed “eyeball” meatballs in bloody marinara sauce, mummy potato skin pizzas, and spotty rice pilaf. The mummies were much nicer before I baked them. I think I should have chosen a less-melty type of cheese for this. Still, everything was super yummy, and 100% made with love.

Halloween day, like I said, was spent at my mom’s place. We went around the village, got lots of candy, and then had an early dinner with the family. My cousin joined us, along with her new baby, and that was a real treat. The baby was dressed as the cutest scuba diver I ever did see.

For the first time ever, I took charge of the boys’ costumes this year, and I have to say I’m super proud of the outcome. Don’t my stick men look awesome? Ako naman, walang costume, because I decided to be the designated driver this time. It’s always been MrC driving us around, and I thought it would be nice to (finally) give him a break.

Also for the first time, we had a Halloween-themed buffet at my mom’s. The lovely people from White Box sent us a dessert bar decor box sampler, and we were super excited to use it. Kaya lang we had no desserts to display lol. So instead of cupcakes and sweet treats, we had pasta trays and baked ribs in our spread. I think it ended up looking awesome anyway.

mrspcuyugan
Waahhh I wish I had a nicer photo of our setup! We were in such a rush that I wasn’t able to take a good one.

 

So that was Halloween weekend for us. Can’t wait til next year. For now, it’s time for us to shift to Christmas mode! So exciting!!!

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Oh, one last pahabol. Just a bit of info on White Box.

White Box aims is to provide their clients with a simple and convenient way to put together fun, stylish celebrations. They create, curate and customize party decorations and essentials according to their customers’ distinct needs and preferences, all packed in a box and sent to their venues or houses.

If you love the DIY look but have no time to work on things from scratch, White Box can definitely help you. They also offer full event styling as an option, along with the use of their custom products. Winner!

If you wanna know more, follow White Box on Instagram. They will also be at The Travelling Trunk this November, where they will be debuting their Christmas boxes. 

 

My Nutri10 Kid

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After this, I know that I won’t be writing that many posts about the kiddo anymore. He’s getting older, and he and his friends now exist online. If I’m not careful about what I write about him, I might unknowingly put him in an awkward or embarrassing situation. 

Of course I don’t want that to happen. It’s a real possibility, though. In fact we’ve already had to deal with something like that before. 

mrspcuyugan
Seriously, where has all the time gone??? (Photo on the left by my dad. Photo on the right by the kiddo’s dad.)

 

See, one day after school, the kiddo told me that his classmate Googled him, and chanced upon this post. I, personally, love this post. It’s one of the most heartfelt ones I’ve ever written, and every word in there is true. For some reason, though, it embarrassed my son that his friend saw the photos I attached on the blog post, from when he was younger.

I don’t get it. I mean, we were all babies once. But I also know that the whole point is that I need to consider the privacy of my son, especially now that he’s in his tweens. I already took down a couple of posts since that incident because I know for sure that he wouldn’t want his friends to see them. It feels strange to be doing this, but hey, it’s all part of the ever-changing needs of my growing kid.

There really are no dull moments when it comes to parenting.

mrspcuyugan
I know that in a couple of years or so, this little guy is gonna be taller than me already.

 

On the subject of Little MrC’s ever-changing needs, I know that nutrition is one of the major things that I need to address now that he’s nearing puberty. He’s getting so big so fast, which means that his body needs a lot more food now, and a lot more vitamins and minerals, too. It can be difficult to keep up sometimes. In fact, just a few months ago he was really skinny, following a growth spurt.

While I do make an effort to serve balanced meals at home, sometimes that just isn’t enough. So, I was happy to have the kiddo try Nutri10 Plus when we were given the chance. It contains important growth supplements, vitamins and minerals like:

  • CGF (Chlorella Growth Factor), which helps kids grow faster, and to their maximum height potential
  • Taurine, which is good for brain development
  • Lysine, which promotes muscle growth
  • Zinc, which strengthens the immune system
  • Vitamins A, D, E, B1, B2, B3, B6, B12, and C


 

Since I started him on Nutri10 Plus, the kiddo has gained weight. I’ve also observed an increase in his appetite and energy levels. Also, he no longer gets sick as easily as he used to, which is huge given that this is the season for cough, colds and flu. He has only missed a few days of school so far, after a really mean virus struck him and a few of his classmates. 

Being the daughter of a doctor, I was raised to put high importance on the health and well-being of my family. It’s safe to say I’m gonna continue giving my son Nutri10 Plus while I can, since it seems to do him good. 

Buti nalang it tastes nice, so I know that I’ll have absolutely no problem getting him to take this supplement every day. It’s also affordable at P160 for every 120mL bottle at Mercury Drug Store.

If you wanna know more about Nutri10 Plus, check them out on Facebook.

What vitamin supplements do you give your kids?

A Movie a Day for Summer

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Confession: I am on a boredom-busting mission this summer.

It’s the first time that we are summering in our own home, which means that the task of keeping Little MrC busy and happy all day falls entirely on my shoulders. We are on day three today, and it’s been good so far. 

I have an entire list of things planned for the summer, including picnics and building our garden. Yesssss, lots of outdoor stuff! Even as my son grows older, I still want to make sure that his gadget time is regulated. I’m already having a tough time as it is, now that he has his own phone. Things will get harder once they shift from books to iPads in school. So, gadget-free activities are super musts for us this vacation time.

I feel like, in order to keep boredom at bay, I need to be able to establish a nice daily routine for us, then sprinkle in fun activities to keep things fresh. I got lucky this week as far as fun goes. On the last day of school, my friend Mish had us over for snacks and some play time for the kids. We left early, though, but the kiddo still had fun.

 

How aliw is this little popcorn machine??? ?

A video posted by MrsC | Patricia Cuyugan (@mrspcuyugan) on

 

Then there’s routine. This will be the real challenge. I’ve said it before, I’m not good with routines, even for myself. But it must be done!

I’ve decided to anchor our daily schedule on meals, just because those are constant, must-haves during the day. Makes sense, right? Then, we will do different things in the afternoon. So far, we’ve gone to the mall, the supermarket, and my mom’s house. I think it’s a good idea to keep our afternoon schedules free so we can randomly choose to stay at home and lounge, or hang out somewhere.

alabang country club
Since it’s summer, there will be swimming!

 

It’s our morning schedule that I’ve focused on this first week because I believe that a good start will dictate the rest of the day. The kid and I start with breakfast, and see MrC of. After this, we each get our quiet time. He either plays recorder, chats with his friends on Viber, or plays games on his phone. I’ve been using my quiet time to write (like right now!)

After quiet time comes the highlight of our mornings, movie time. A movie a day – That’s my big plan for summer mornings. We like slow mornings around here, which is why I picked an activity that doesn’t require us to move around. Or shower beforehand. Lol.

Movie time also buys me extra time, truth be told. The kid is quiet and occupied, so I can crochet or write my grocery and to-do lists while we watch.

 

#threadcraftthursday #notagoodcameraangle

A video posted by Crochet by MrsC (@crochetbymrsc) on

 

I’ve been excitedly doing my research for movie time. I got to see a lot of great films growing up, and I can’t wait for my son to see them, too. I’ve also asked him to come up with a list of films that he wants to watch. Our must-see list includes:

  • The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe – Can you believe I have not seen this???
  • The Sword in the Stone – A childhood favorite
  • Matilda – MrC’s special request hahaha
  • Fantastic Mr. Fox
  • Where the Wild Things Are
  • Little Women – Just because this is one of my favorite stories of all time
  • All of the Harry Potter movies – So perfect coz the kiddo is reading the books now!
  • The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh – We’ve already seen this, but I truly could watch it over and over and over again, forever
  • Enchanted – Because McDreamy
  • The Princess Bride 
  • School of Rock – For my little music lover
  • The Labyrinth – I tried to make him watch this a couple of years ago, and he got scared lol. Take 2!
  • An American Tale
  • E.T.
  • The Goonies – Another one requested by MrC
  • The Land Before Time 
  • My Neighbor Totoro
  • The Iron Giant
  • Hugo

I’ll be constantly updating this post with a list of the movies that we’ve been able to watch, just in case any of you choose to do movie time/day/night, too. Quick note: Little MrC is 10 years old, so most of these are movies for bigger kids. At times, though, we will pick films for younger audiences just because. Ok, fine, it’s because I like them. Lol.

Here’s our summer 2016 movie list:

  1. Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip (Rated PG, suitable for kids 6+)
  2. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Rated PG, suitable for kids 7+)
  3. Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (Rated PG, suitable for kids 10+)
  4. Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice (Rated PG-13, suitable for kids 13+)
  5. Inside Out (Rated PG, suitable for kids 6+)
  6. Capture the Flag (Rated PG)
  7. Flushed Away (Rated PG, suitable for kids 5+)
  8. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rated PG, suitable for kids 8+)
  9. Big (Rated PG, suitable for kids 13+)
  10. The Neverending Story (Rated PG, suitable for kids 8+)

On weekends, I hope that the boys and I can go out to catch new movies, too. This weekend, I know we are watching Batman vs Superman for sure. Can’t wait!

Can you guys suggest any good movies for us to add to our list?