He collects Lego sets, mini figs,

and Lego merchandise.

He even researches on Lego trends when he’s online and his ultimate dream is to have a machine that will allow him to customize Lego pieces that are not sold in the stores! #LegObsessed.

Late last year, he told us he read that Lego is launching a new line of themed sets made specially for girls. First I thought, but isn’t Lego made for boys AND girls? When Gary and I saw the new Lego Friends line on our recent trip abroad, we knew what Zach and Lego meant.

Beside the Star Wars sets, Bionicle, and Ninjago was the new line, and it was 100% girly. It seemed like the sets were in all pink and purple shades, from packaging down to the bricks. I think Lego planned its line up of sets right, the Butterfly Beauty Shop, Olivia’s Tree House, Stephanie’s Outdoor Bakery. There was a Pet Shop, Cafe, Vet clinic, and several more. Well thought-out themes any girl would love!

We got Reese the Beauty Salon plus the Outdoor Bakery as an add on. For sure, she’ll enjoy these, and Kuya, the Lego connoiseure, would be amazed to see them after just reading about in the news.

Sure enough, she loved it and Zach was amazed. She wanted to open it and assemble the morning after we arrived.  I was so tempted to just grab the bricks and assemble the yummy- colored pieces myself but I consciously stopped myself. I let Reese do it herself with me just guiding her, making sure she did every step right. I also begged requested forced her to let me be the one to put the stickers on.:P

We finished the salon structure

Tadaaa!

Then started on the interiors and little accessories.


Goooosh, look at these cute mini lipsticks!!!

When I say mini, i mean mini!

Mini Lipstick/ Lego brick, 1:100

Mini Lipstick/ Reese’s face, 1:1000

Cute is in the details. There’s a swivel chair, mirrors, wigs and the mini lipsticks, cashier and a tub of tiny brushes, blow dryers and combs.

The completed Salon and Cafe and the Lego Friends Ladyfigs: Sarah, Stephanie, Emma

The Kuya comes to inspect our work

Hmmmm…..

Hmmm…..

Yay! We got a thumbs up!

I can see someone’s (dancing) feet closely following in her Kuya’s footsteps as a Lego fan.

We looove lego! It’s one of our fave toys for our kids- encouraging focus and concentration, it develops their fine motor skill, teaches them to follow sequencing and visual instructions. It also teaches patience, delayed gratification and just allows them to enjoy quiet play and creative fun!

See more info on Lego Friends here. According to the Philippine distributor of Lego, LAJ Philippines, Lego Friends should be out in local stores by February.
Meanwhile, I now have a pair of Lego fans at home, brother and sister, who are also Lego friends:)

P.S. Apparently there protests in the US against Lego accusing them of gender-biased marketing.
Sorry but after having two sons, I have gone through all the sporty stuff, Hot Wheels, Beyblades, video games, you name it, I am now totally enjoying my little girl along with all the girly, crafty, princessy, pink and purple things she loves. Like in most things, the key I believe is in balancing things out. Reese has a sporty side, she plays basketball, loves football, and being active, but she has no interest at all in cars and toy planes and I don’t think it’s for lack of exposure.
So I say, Great job, Lego!

Thank you for all the memorable projects–

Events that are not only successful but fun and fulfilling…

Make Your Own Havaianas, an event we’ve helped organize the past 6 years

Opportunities and new successes…

Following Mercato Centrale, our new markets–

Soderno in the South

with our partners, RJ & Van Ledesma, Anton & Rache Diaz (Thank you OAP for the photo)

and Distrito.

This year, I was able to tick several items off my bucket list in terms of work…

Brought Expo Mom to Cebu and Davao

with Expo Mom Davao partner and former high school batchmate, Marisa Salonga-Tiongko

Published my Mom 24/7 planner, finally!

Guesting at ShopTalk to promote Mom 24/7, with Ana Araneta of Carousel, and ShopTalk host Ria Trillo


and Travel…

Finally experienced CamSur and

visited Palawan’s Subterranean River

Visited Vietnam with Gary

Ben Thanh Market, HCMC Vietnam

and brought our kids to the Great Wall of China

It was a year of doing new things–

Running my first 10k with Gary

Joining Zach in his pottery class with Mia Casal

Being a columnist at Working Mom Magazine

It was a year of people coming…

my new cutie nephew, Jake

And going…

One of our Creative Juice team members, Tiff (extreme left) bids us farewell. Best of luck, Tiff!

I end another year making peace with people and with myself, grateful for all the blessings and challenges that came my way, humbly accepting that there were things I could have done or handled better, and thankful for another fresh start to try to be a better wife, mom, friend, daughter and sister, employer, human being.

My wish for 2012, is that I continue to–

Find inspiration in the simple

Savor the love of my family

and friends

and people who I want to reach dreams and goals with

Creative Juice in HK

Candy and Rome, my partners, Mommy Mundo mompreneurs and sponsors

Take time to explore

Coby & Zach, Snake Island, Palawan

Have fun and be silly (sometimes)

with Kindermusik supergirls, Teacher Maya and Teacher Jeannie

Have more Laugh Out Loud moments

Gary and the Wahahaha water in China

Take more opportunities to share

at the Sense & Style/ Manila Bulletin Mother’s day event where i spoke about mompreneurship. (Thanks for the opportunity, AA Patawaran!)

Never forget to CARE for others

Zach at the MomShare outreach

To keep reaching for new heights

While keeping my feet on the ground (better yet, in the sand)

Our family photo, Boracay

But if there is nothing else, I just want more moments with these in my close view

and

and 2012 will be just as memorable as it can possibly be.

Thank you God for life and for all the love. AMDG+

So the boys stayed home with their Lola babysitting them (Thanks Mom!) while Gary, Reese and I went on our own adventure. The Monday after our event in Naga City, we took a 30 minute ride to CWC and checked out the Camsur Waterpark Complex. With our Creative Juice team running the Camsur Marathon that early morning, we wanted to see this world-class wakeboarding complex since we have never been there before.

I had no plans of trying out wakeboarding (I didn’t bring the gear i.e. strong arms and sheer guts), but wanted to check out the giant inflatables on water that I heard our kids would enjoy. So when we got to CWC after a 30 minute ride from Naga City, we saw the man-made lake, set up with giant inflatables and we knew we were in for some serious fun!

We checked out the available facilities and fees and went on to get our life jackets

and was happy to know they had jackets for everyone, even the little girl

Off we go….

We first tried out the inflatable obstacle course. This was totally harder to go on than it looked. I now have a new-found respect for Wipe-out contestants

We quickly gave up on that one and swam to what also looked like fun

the trampoline on water. It was hard to get some height but i guess if you weigh around 60 pounds that shouldn’t be a problem…

If you were more than 60 pounds though, that’s another story….

There were two inflatable icebergs and Gary thought he would climb one…

Again, harder than it looks! Either that or we should seriously start getting fit!

Gary made it to the top

then slid down…

Reese and i tried the smaller iceberg too!

Then we saw these boys playing on one side of the water park…the adult guide would jump on the inflatable

and the little boys would fly out…wheee!

Of course I convinced the guy to let me try! So he jumps as high as he could, and with perfect precision, lands on the target…

but then the gods of projectile were not on my side that day. Immediately i looked back to check if the guy was still alive. LOL

Plunk….there’s my little splash:P

That was fun afternoon at CWC! Though as parents, 2/3 of our hearts were left in Manila and we kept wishing the whole time our boys were with us. Even Reese kept saying she wants to go back with her Kuyas.  Perhaps we can go back someday soon with everyone in tow. For now, Gary and I need to get into the program lest we plan to get “wiped out” again!

After a successful run of Khaos, which my kids, hubby and I also thoroughly enjoyed, Resorts World wanted to stage a show that is even more for families. Since my kids were familiar with the show and the music, they were also looking forward to their favorite songs namely “Do-re-mi”, “So long, farewell”, “My Favorite Things”, “Sixteen going on Seventeen” and of course, The hills are alive…., “The Sound of Music”.

Joanna Ampil was wonderful and captivating in her role as Maria. It was my first time to see her perform (Gary saw her at Miss Saigon in Broadway), and I loved her clear and clean voice. The children were also so entertaining, and they sounded beautiful when they sang in chorus and did beautifully in their solos too. Among the kids, standouts for me were Tanya Manalang who played Liesl and the youngest child Gretel, played by Alexa Villaroel, was a pint-sized scene stealer.

Although the “Lonely Goatherd” puppet show scene was not made part of the production,

Photo from Justafewofmyfavoritethings.blogspot.com

The show was 3-hours long with a 15-minute intermission. Since we caught an evening show, my youngest feel asleep by the tail end.

With my boys at the vestibule. Reese was on her dad’s shoulders while he took this pic.

With the cardboard version of Capt. Von Trapp while I was being interviewed about my fave Sound of Music scene (Oh it was hard to choose!)

We had fun at the Sound of Music that night and we also found out that Resorts World Manila is building up it’s family-friendly facilities when they open the ultimate play zone for kids by December 2011! It will be called GAMEZOO which will have a 6D theatre, 3d rollercoaster, a sportszone, soft play area. Wow! Can’t wait for this one!:)

He’s a father who is like a coach, a playmate, strict usually, loving always. A true partner in parenting (…except in changing soiled nappies, but then we are past that stage now:)!

We work together and have fun together. He knows when to give me room to move on my goals and when to step in to take over or to give support. We can brainstorm together, argue on what we believe in individually, and do our best work with our team. At the end of the day, we can go home and just be…together.

When I was in my teens, my brother asked what I would look for in a husband. I answered I want someone “who is ‘kenkoy’.” No wonder my Dad locked me up at home after hearing this LOL. So God heard me and then I met Gary (haha!) and we have been together for almost 22 years (more than half my life!). Little did Dad know that living with someone ‘kenkoy’ is one of the secret ingredients to a happy marriage.


There are a lot of things I love about this guy, but the best thing I love is that he can still make me laugh…

HaHaHaHappy birthday, hon! Thanks for everything:)

We spent the day at home, begging off from our Mercato Centrale meetings as the howling winds outside our window were too scary to face. We were just lounging around in our bedroom all morning, so by the afternoon, Gary decided to invite the kids to make some pizzas! Yay!

Reese brought out the pizza crust

and spread the pizza sauce

while Zach chopped up the ham and the salami

then Reese started grating the cheese

Then the fun part! Putting all the toppings on the crust!


Our pizza’s almost ready to pop into the oven

Then there’s the finished pizza, straight from the oven! Yum!!

I sliced it up (and made a mental note to buy a pizza cutter from Gourdo’s next time!), and look who joined us in time for the eating…Kuya Coby!

The pizzas were wiped out in just a few minutes (stormy days can make you hungry!)

and we couldn’t help but celebrate…

Inspired by Dad & Reese’s Pizza Cheer and just having watched the UAAP Cheerdance competition on tv the day before, Reese and I decided to make pompoms…

So how did the V’s spend their stormy day? With Pizza, Pompoms and a whole lotta cheer!

We originally planned to stay at Pearl Farm where we stayed 13 years ago when we were just parents of 1. But it was fully booked, so I texted my friend Marga who lives in Davao and she recommended Chema’s by the Sea on Samal Island.

In true Villanueva (and mompreneur) fashion, we kept full focus on our business the first two days, completing a thankfully successful event with our Creative Juice team in SM Davao. As soon as that was done, we went on to a well-deserved vacation.

Getting ready to leave Davao City for Samal Island

We headed to the Waterfront Insular hotel and took a boat ride from there.

My boys on the boat

Zach's the king of the world...AAAAHHH!

After just 10-15 minutes, we were welcomed into a charming and cozy resort.

We had arrived early so while waiting for our check-in time, Chema’s owner Quincho Guico made us feel right at home. We found out that Quincho, who used to live in Manila, was part-owner of the Jazz Rhythms bars that were popular in the 90′s. No wonder there was always great jazz music playing at Chema’s and a round of beer to welcome us.

Gary and Quincho were instant beer buddies:)

Since the tide was still low, Zach and Reese went off to explore together. I must say, scenes like these I’d like to remember forever.

We were soon brought to our villa, and then we immediately knew that we were in a special place.

The entrance to our villa

Beautiful interiors. Beds just enough for our family of 5. plus one of my favorite design elements- a red brick wall. Chema’s gets 5 stars in my book:)

Each villa has a cozy lanai with this cozy and inviting daybed

and a dining area where all meals are served. One staff member was assigned to us and she quickly came to our doorstep at the ring of a bell.

The beach was quiet, almost private. We didnt mind staying out from the afternoon…

to sunset…

to almost sundown…

The next morning, i woke up early, feeling well and rested, there was time for some solo brainstorming that morning. Reese saw me and brought out her coloring book and crayons and sat with me. The boys awoke one by one and crawled in with me as well.

Snapshot of a mom moment, taken by Gary

The next day we spent some time in the infinity pool. Kids were amazed as it was a salt water pool!

Quincho took care of us so well. A father of two grown daughters, he even shared with me several reasons why I should allow my teen to his first soiree…

Thank you Tito Quincho! -Coby

Chemas by the sea is an ideal place for families who want some simple quiet time. It was one of the most relaxing getaway weekends for us. At Chema’s we collected pretty shells and sticks…

and beautiful memories.

Like Chema’s by the Sea on Facebook.

Perhaps I was inspired by our recent project. We were invited to partner for this wonderful event of LAJ Philippines, the Philippine distributor of my son’s all-time, favorite toy, LEGO. In partnership with the Department of Tourism, LAJ’s team and their master brick builders created this first-ever, Philippine themed LEGO exhibit which opened last August 12 at the Main Atrium of the Mall of Asia.

I got goosebumps during the formal unveiling. With the song “Biyahe Tayo” playing in the background, and after official statements from Department of Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim and LAJ’s Patrick Pesengco, the fabric covering was removed and everyone was in awe at the Lego creation, obviously a labor of Pinoy pride and passion. The collaboration was visually awesome, a giant Philippine map made fully with Lego bricks-

it featured some of our country’s most beautiful landmarks and tourist attractions. These were some of my favorites:

As part of the event, a photo exhibit highlighting our country’s human resources was also set up. The exhibit’s theme was “passion to inspire” and formally titled “Ang Galing ng Pilipinas, ang Galing ng Pilipino.”

Believe it or not, I was one of the featured personalities in this exhibit!

Prior to the event, we were asked to make a Lego creation that would symbolize my work and passion. Zach took care of that easily! He came up with a mom figure which we held with a house which was provided to us. Here’s a photo of Zach building his “Lego mommy”–

When that was done, we went to the Picture Company for our family pictorial which turned out to be so much fun! I think the photo came out very nice!


My write up read:

It was a real honor to be part of this exhibit. While my motivation to work and to reach my goals is not for fame nor recognition, I would have to admit that it feels good to get a pat on the back once in a while:) What made me feel so good about this exhibit was that the recognition being given was not wholly focused on what I had accomplished, but more on the passion I had in me– to try to make a difference, to help others, and to make the most of whatever talents and resources I’ve been blessed with.

Knowing that someone out there (Thank you, Lego!) had actually noticed not only my work but moreso my motivations- – meant that maybe, just maybe, I might be on the right track to making my humble contribution to the world!:)

With that, my family and I are off to explore more of our beautiful country! I’ll make sure to share our discoveries with you here!:)

Read more about the Lego PIlipinas, Tara Na! event here.

14 years ago, I became a mother for the first time. Though totally inexperienced, I was ready to apply everything I read in the books. How to swaddle, how to bathe him, how to change his nappies, how to put him to sleep, how to breastfeed. It wasn’t an easy first weeks in my new role, it was tiring physically but amidst all the bustle of these days with my newborn, i found our breastfeeding moments to be the peaceful bonding moments between me and my son.

Amidst these moments, specially in the beginning, I experienced challenges- nipple confusion, being unsure of my milk supply, engorgement, pumping and storing of my breastmilk, etc etc etc. During that time, there was very little support available to new mothers, i had to rely on an exchange of emails between me and the La Leche League counselor in the US. My LLLI counselor would patiently answer all my questions and assuage my insecurities. Albeit it was very helpful and comforting to have someone to “talk to” about my nursing challenges, it wasn’t ideal to be relying on someone long distance and in a different time zone. These personal challenges and knowing what services and breastfeeding products were available abroad was the inspiration behind our first business venture between me and my cousin Candice. We took the big leap into mompreneurship (a term that was unheard of at that time!) and set up our own line of breastfeeding apparel called Mommy Matters. We wanted to provide moms here with breastfeeding-friendly apparel, and through our research and touching base with moms at that time, we realized that I wasn’t alone in my need for support and information. So we decided to make it our mission to include advocacy work amidst our entrepreneurial endeavors.

Soon after we set up Mommy Matters, we were drawn to other like-minded moms and some of the most active mompreneurs at that time, Joanna Ongpin-Duarte and Vicky Powell-Jalandoni of The Big & Small Co, Tesa & Rico Geronimo of Mommy Academy and none other than now-honorable Senator Pia Cayetano, who owned a chain of developmental toy stores then, Maxibear and Maxitoylab.

The Moms T.E.A.M.- Vicky and Joanna of Big & Small, Tesa of Mommy Academy, now-honorable Senator Pia of Maxibear, Candy & I of Mommy Matters

Together, we formed the MOMS T.E.A.M. (Moms Towards Educated and Active Motherhood) and we started doing pocket talks for breastfeeding which eventually grew bigger and more active because of the demands and requests of our mom-attendees themselves.

Our first event together was entitled “Moms in the new Millennium”, year 2000 (11 years ago!) held at the Discovery Suites in Pasig. The Moms T.E.A.M. eventually started doing mall events, parenting talks, and so many other events, together and individually, and this created an active community of moms and families as far back as 10 years ago.

Pia, me and Joanna with the Discovery Suites representative

Mommy Matters would also partner with breastfeeding support group Best Friends in Breastfeeding composed of Cris Rosenthal, who was also a doula back then, Dr. Patricia Kho, and Jane Cacacho, Abbie Yabot (now of the Breastfeeding Club), and Marnie Matta.Also part of our group was the Philippine Association for Childbirth Education, Rome Kanapi and Lin Fernando, who were pre-natal educators.  Together we would organize an event called “Celebrating Motherhood through Breastfeeding” every August, which was World Breastfeeding Month, where we would invite celebrity moms to give their personal testimonials about breastfeeding and parenting.

Our BF advocate partners, Lin and Rome of PACE, Jane, Pat, Cris, Abbie and Marnie of Best Friends in Breastfeeding and Candy & I (Mommy Matters)

With the 5 years that we had this event, we were able to guest moms like Daphne Osena, Christine Jacob, Suzi Abrera (with husband Paolo giving his testimonial as a Dad giving support to his nursing wife), Dyan Castillejo, Panjee Gonzales, Regine Tolentino, Kara Magsanoc-Alikpala, Daphne Osena, Regine Tolentino, Ces Drilon.

Dyan Castillejo with son Matthew, Panjee Gonzales

Ces Orena-Drilon giving her breastfeeding testimonial

Lin, Rome and Pat with Suzi Entrata-Abrera

We were even able to organize a Breastfeeding Photo Exhibit with Pilar Tuason (now an in demand wedding photographer, and also the publisher of Junior Magazine, Lonely Planet etc.). Pilar, being a breastfeeding advocate herself, gave so much of her time and resources to our project.

One of the striking photos from our Nurturing Moments Exhibit (excuse the scanning quality)

Jane's breastfeeding portrait by Pilar Tuason. Our nursing moms generously gave the rights for use of the photos for Unicef and DOH's campaign banners:)

The exhibit made the rounds of Shangrila Mall, hospitals, even reaching the Senate as Senator Pia continued to push for the breastfeeding advocacy now as a legislator.

Then we decided to organize the first Mommy Milkshake Marathon in 2007 with Barbizon as the producer of the event. We were blessed to find a private company take on the advocacy of breastfeeding.  More info on the first ever Mommy Milkshake in the Barbizon website here. Since then, we have organized Mommy Milkshake Run every August. The last one had 400 participants already, that’s four times the number of the very first Milkshake:)

Me and my family at the 5th Mommy Milkshake Run last August 14. My eldest son at the center represents how long I've been a breastfeeding and parenting advocate:)

Seeing the breastfeeding community growing and increasing in reach is something that really warms our hearts. Knowing that somehow we were a part of the awareness among moms on the importance and benefits of breastfeeding is truly fulfilling.  We also are ecstatic that now,  the breastfeeding advocacy is so alive and active thanks to numerous passionate groups and individuals. Now, compared to 14 years ago, there are more strong advocate groups pushing for our cause, such as Arugaan (one of the pioneer NGOs), The Breastfeeding Club (formed by Abbie Yabot of Best friends in Breastfeeding), LATCH, Children for Breastfeeding, MommySense (in Davao), including prenatal educators, Chiqui Brosas Hahn and Rome Kanapi and of course, Unicef and the Department of Health. Each group, whether individually or in joint projects, actively promotes its own projects, reaching more and more moms and spreading the word on breastfeeding.

Amale Jopson (ctr) spearheaded the project for her company, Aegis People Support. Here she is joined by Maricel Laxa Pangilinan, Senator Pia Cayetano, representatives from Working for Working Mothers, and Aegis.

Even private companies have given much needed attention to giving support to nursing moms. Companies like Aegis People Support built a breastfeeding station in their offices launched July last year.

Maricel Laxa Pangilinan checks out the nursing station

It is rare for all of us to get together, but this event held during World Breastfeeding Month last year, was organized by SM Supermalls, through the hard work of Abbey Tomas of Protege (extreme rt in photo below) made that possible.

This photo shows representatives from 4 different advocate groups, Children for Breastfeeding, LATCH, La Leche League/ The Breastfeeding Club along with private companies that support the breastfeeding advocacy, including Mommy Matters, Mommy Mundo, Au Lait, Mama Baby Love, By Nature and Protege

Denise of Indigo Baby, Me, Celeb mom and event host, Patricia Hizon, Abbie Yabot of Breastfeeding Club

The Mommy Matters booth at the SM Breastfeeding event. We ware one among many mompreneur businesses supporting breastfeeding:)

Now I see more moms nursing in public without apprehension. I hear more expectant moms expressing their commitment to nurse once they give birth. I see more private companies adopting the breastfeeding advocacy. Even if Unicef statistics show, we have a long way to go, seeing the breastfeeding community so alive and dynamic, all for the passion to help other moms and help babies and children, is truly emotionally rewarding:)

Candy and I nursing our girls. This was 3 years ago....

...look at our girls now!

To my fellow advocate moms, I pray for continued passion and blessings for all so we may continue our work and mission:)

To expectant moms and new moms out there, are you thinking about whether or not to breastfeed?

THINK NO MORE! JUST BREASTFEED!

Our events agency, Creative Juice was handling the logistics for this event but even if I knew what was in store for the evening, I would have to admit I did not expect such an entertaining, fascinating evening. Each magician came, not only with his own bag of tricks, but also a distinct personality. These were some of my favorites:

He took on an Oriental character, from his costume, down to the props and music

Who would forget this sssssuper magical act?


The Kadabra cup champion, Ferdie Capito. Im still wondering how he changed
his assistant’s long gown several times, in a blink of an eye.

There was even a special number by this super acrobatic couple, the Zion Show. They later on became uber famous when they joined the talent shows on tv.

Our Creative Juice production team told me I had a big smile on my face the whole time, and at times, my mouth was agape while watching the show! Check out all the families who came and had a magical time…

Don’t miss this year’s KADABRA CUP Year 2. The event will happen on August 28, at Fun ranch’s Big Red Barn at 7:00 in the evening. Tickets are at 550 for kids and 300 for adults inclusive of dinner, the show, an Unlimited Play or Ride All You Can wristband plus one round of Mini Golf or Bowling, and the chance to win in the raffle.

The 2nd Kadabra cup happens on August 28!

For those in the South, Li’l Fun Ranch in Alabang will hold their first Kadabra Cup Junior featuring child magicians. This event is scheduled for September 10, 2011.

Major partners of Kadabra Cup are Pepsi, Cherifer Immunomax, Memorx, Global Destiny Cable, Havaianas, Pet Me Home by Zoomanity Group, Astoria Plaza Hotel and Acacia Hotel, and Nature Valley Granola Bars. For ticket reservations and details, call Fun Ranch at 7063029/7063031.