What's Your Signature of Love?

Whenever my mom would put us to sleep, she would sing this two-line lullaby, over and over until we’d fall asleep:

Sleep my darling baby, mommy’s not so far away. 

Sleep my darling baby, I am always here to stay. 

I am pretty sure she just made it up. I have never heard it anywhere else. It was her special song for us, and hearing her sing it was always so calming. Listening to it in my head transports me back to our childhood room, lights dimmed, my mom cradling our youngest. We had her to ourselves, all of us winding down to sleep, no chore or homework to concern us, and it was always a great way to end our day. 

Now I am in my mom’s shoes. I sing her song for us, to my kids. It is a part of my repertoire of lullabies and I get a bit of a thrill when Berry says, “Again! Sing again please, Mom”. 

This is just one of the many ways we bond, simple things that don’t really take up too much time or effort, but are reassuring and comforting in so many ways. 

Johnson’s Baby calls it a Signature of Love, the unique ritual between mom and baby. Quick, daily activities that define special bonding moments, like a secret message in a wink or a jubilant high five exchanged to celebrate small victories that feel like triumphs of the human spirit. 

As you will see in this video, it is also in that soft, gentle way that I remember seeing my mom use Johnson’s baby shampoo No More Tears to wash a newborn sibling’s hair, and the tender way she’d put baby powder on our armpits and back before getting dressed. It also happens each time I’d do a heart shaped massage on Berry and Xavi’s chests as I put lotion on their arms and legs after a bath.

Which made me think, apart from lullabies at night and heart shaped massages, what are the other bonding moments in our family? Inspired by the Johnson’s TVC, I made this video to share with you the Dychiao Signature of Love:

*please set the gear icon to HD for a clearer view ;)

I had a lot of fun doing this, and you will too. Just going through old photographs will make you eager to create more bonding experiences the kids can always look back to with fondness when they’re all grown up. How much more a video?

That said, Moms, go and make a short 30-second video of your family’s Signature of Love, all the better with a Johnson’s Baby product! It is a fun exercise and a great way to document both everyday and extra-special memories. It could also bring you fame!

Upload your video to the Johnson’s Baby Signature of Love Facebook app, here: https://www.facebook.com/JohnsonsBabyPhilippines/app_269939559814035 and get a chance to see yourselves in a Johnson's Baby's TV commercial and on billboards too!

Now wouldn’t that be a great story to pass on to your kids and their grandkids?

Johnson's Baby, one of the most trusted names in baby care, understands and shares our need to provide only the best care for our babies. Backed by over 100 years of scientific research and close partnerships with expert doctors, nurses and mothers from all over the world, Johnson's Baby has committed itself to meeting the very highest standards of mildness and safety. We should know. After all, aren’t most of us Johnson’s babies too? 

L'Occitane Love + Get Onboard for Sight

My nth tube of L'Occitane Creme Mains

My love affair with L'Occitane started when my friend Jenny Yu gave me a tube of Creme Mains (with 20% Shea Butter - oooh!)  when she visited us one super cold fall when we were still living in the East Coast. She told me it was the only hand cream that worked for her during her winter stay in Austria, while attending her MBA exchange program.

Since that fall, and every fall/winter season since then, I would keep a tube of Creme Mains in my bag. It truly was the only moisturizer that did not make my hands hurt from the cold. I'd buy a tube every year and it would be enough to last me the whole year actually. 

L'Occitane has also became a toilet staple and our place for picking up presents. For our wedding in Manila, Dear Hubby & I bought L'Occitane gift packs as thank you gifts for our godparents, which I hope they loved  receiving as much as we loved giving it to them.

Oh and here are a couple of tips! Costco at times sells L'Occitane, for a lot less than the SRP. Make L'Occitane a frequent stop too when you go outlet shopping. Whenever we'd visit Woodbury Common - I make sure to stop by L'Occitane to stock up on hand soap and conditioner (the Woodbury Common stores seems to never have any shampoo in stock, strange haha).  

Although it seems I will forever associate L'Occitane with hand creams. Especially since they have a slew of different hand creams, it's really up to you to discover which one works for you.

I got to check out the full range when Therese and Denise of L'Occitane invited me to a hand massage treat during L'Occitane's Happy Hands Day!

Since I'm a Creme Mains fanatic, I decided to try something different this time - Amande aka Almond Cream. Not as thick and rich as Creme Mains, but equally moisturizing. Perfect for our tropical weather. Oh and look! They used facial water to prep my hand. I like!

Oh, and did you know that since 1996, L'Occitane has been using Braille labeling on all their packaging? For a company known for tickling our sense of smell with its sweet smelling soaps, creams and other bath products, they have also joined the fight not to lose the sense of sight. Here's the story:

There are 280 million people in the world who are visually impaired. The sad thing is, 80% of blindness is preventable. For 11 years, L’OCCITANE has been working with the NGO, ORBIS, to put an end to this situation. The L’OCCITANE Foundation, created in 2006, centralizes activities associated with this partnership. 

Every year, to support ORBIS, a fund-raising product is sold in L’OCCITANE stores, with proceeds given to the NGO. ORBIS, the only Flying Eye Hospital in the world, travels across the planet, with its international team of doctors and nurses on board, so that it can train local medical staff and save the sight of thousands of people. 

This year, the new fund-raising products from L’OCCITANE are the Get Onboard for Sight soaps in the shape of planes wearing glasses, inspired by the ORBIS plane. Enriched with nourishing shea butter, they leave hands soft and delicately perfumed. Two versions are available:

The Pink Soap (Php995)  scented with delicate, floral, fruity notes of grape, blackcurrant and white rose  and the Blue Soap (Php995) scented with fresh, sparkling and zesty notes of verbena, lemon and grapefruit.

Imagine, when you buy these soaps, not only are you pampering yourself or a loved one, you are also looking out for the less fortunate who otherwise could go blind.

For more information about L'Occitane in the Philippines, the L'Occitane Foundation and Orbis, please visit: 

L'Occitane Philippines Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/loccitane.ph
L'Occitane Foundation page: fondation.loccitane.com 
ORBIS page: orbis.org

In the Philippines, visit L'Occitane inside Rustan's Department stores.