How to Deal with Summer Coughs & Allergies

“Allergies don’t have to ruin your family’s summer fun. All you have to do is take note of what causes allergies among your family members and try to avoid them, so as to manage your allergy symptoms”, says Dr. Sheila Chua, GSK’s Medical Affairs Manager, and a practicing Dermatologist. 

“It also helps to always have a trusted allergy medication in your bag whenever you travel so you can easily address the symptoms of allergies when they occur.”

That allergy medication is Virlix. Trusted for 20 years, Virlix® contains Cetirizine, an antihistamine that helps you manage the symptoms of our family’s allergies.

 
When it comes to coughs, productive cough aka cough with phlegm, in particular, pediatricians may recommend protussives such as Ambrolex® (Ambroxol), that gets rid of excess mucus in the airways.

Unlike most cough medicines with a bitter aftertaste, Ambrolex® has a sweet blackcurrant flavor that kids will love, you don't even have to plead, bargain or force the medicine down their throats.

For adults, Ambrolex® also comes in thrice-a-day tablet and once-a-day capsule form.

An awareness campaign on summer health concerns by GSK was launched last March 30, and seeks to educate mothers on how to correctly and promptly address cough and allergies for the entire family. Led by expert moms Rica Peralejo-Bonifacio and Bento Mama Kat Delgado-Maderazo, they want to focus on activities and practices that promote healthy living.

To know more and share tips on how to be an Expert Mom, visit: www.facebook.com/MommyDoc.

About Ambrolex® 

Ambrolex®, GSK’s medicine for cough, is an Over-the-Counter (OTC) brand which is available in leading drugstores nationwide. Its generic name is Ambroxol, which works by making the phlegm thinner, less sticky, and therefore easier to transport out of the lungs. Ambrolex® is available in both Pediatric (Syrup and Infant Drops) and Adult Formats (thrice-a-day tablets and once-a-day capsule). It is more affordable than the leading Ambroxol brand by as much as 6%, allowing patients to enjoy savings on their cough medication. 

About Virlix® 

Virlix® (Cetirizine), is a second-generation antihistamine that works by reducing inflammation, swelling, congestion, mucus production, and other symptoms of allergies that are caused by histamines. Histamine is a naturally occurring substance produced by the body after being exposed to an allergen. Virlix® is less-sedating than its counterparts such as Hydroxyzine and Chlorpheniramine, and works faster (i.e. in 42 minutes) than Loratadine (which works in 3-4 hours). It is available in both Pediatric (Syrup & Infant Drops), and Adult Formats (once-a day tablets), and is available nationwide in leading drugstores.

Moving Up with Mango Kids

Have you been to Mango Kids lately? Their summer collection just came in and I found the most adorable outfits, for both dressy occasions and casual days. I can't get enough of the breezy cotton fabrics in pretty pastels for the girls, and the lighter colored pieces for the boys.

These ones would be dressy and comfortable enough to wear for say, Moving Up Day, kiddie parties, and such!

I love the pretty floral print of Berry's top, and the skirt with dainty gold studs over it.

Looks so presko!

I just have to say though, I find it so cute how Xavi accidentally ended up with the half tucked look because he kept on moving. Accidental chic, haha.

There's a selection of paper thin blouses in store too. This pink one with stripes looks so mabango with white jeans or white shorts. There's a version in blue and versions in pink and blue with prints. Very Pantone Spring 2016 colors, come to think of it.

I made the mistake of making Xavi wear his favorite black Batman t-shirt to the beach this summer, and ang init tingnan in photos! Hahaha! Or maybe that's just me obsessing over nothing. But you know what I mean? These faded jeans and gray tee would be a better fit in this heat! 

Totally unrelated, but proud mommy moment here though. 

I just have to share with you this photo that Berry took with the camera we used to take their outfit photos! I love the framing and focus here. Berry, you really are moving up, hehehe!

To see more of MANGO Kids summer fashion, follow @mangokids on Instagram, or better yet, visit MANGO Kids in SM Mall of Asia, Ayala Cebu, SM BF Paranaque, Trinoma, Glorietta 2, Eastwood, and SM Megamall.

My Dream Kitchen

Marie Kondo said that "if you want to meet a beautiful home that is just right for you, take good care of the one you live in now."

Well, since I have started my Konmari journey, I have to admit that clearing out clutter has done wonders for me in terms of opportunities that open up. It's like I cleared out space to make room for new beginnings. With only books and komono left to get rid off, I would like to begin to make way for the future, my future home! 

I'll start with the kitchen. Discovered Scavolini via Stenie Coyiuto Tay's post on Facebook. So I googled Scavolini and discovered the Favilla series in their site. Now this is my kind of kitchen! There are bits and elements here that I want for my future kitchen.

- I like the stove and air vent, although I also want something more traditionally French like Lacanche or La Cornue. But since servicing locally might be an issue, then that's something else to consider. There's always La Germania. Ahahaha. My friend Mish Aventajado swears by the Viking range of kitchen equipment too. They have a responsive service team, says Mish. So I'm seriously making a mental note on that as well.

- The wooden table. Our current dining table can be resurrected as a kitchen table. Our Tolix chairs which we currently use as our dining chairs will totally fit right in this style of kitchen too.

- I like the farmhouse sink. Not in this color way. I'd go for the traditional white one. I like the idea of gray countertops. Maybe in soapstone.

- There's something alluring about the open shelving. The all white cabinets also reminds me of Diane Keaton's Hamptons kitchen in Something's Got to Give. I like that the refrigerators aren't entirely seen. The kitchen in the Airbnb apartment we stayed at in Paris had the refrigerator and freezer concealed in the cabinets. I loved it.

- Again, that wooden table in the kitchen. And that walled unit with the curved top door! It's a toss up between open shelving and this. Or there might be a way to incorporate both and use this walled unit as an accent piece.

- Double farmhouse sinks. In gray. Not bad when set against white cabinets.

- Instead of marble flooring, I'm thinking of how I can include a marble topped French country kitchen table in my kitchen. Yeah, I'd like marble elements too.

- For feng shui reasons, I wouldn't put the stove right across the sink, but the gray countertops on white cabinets? Pretty. I also like that the kitchen appliances are seamlessly integrated and do not stick out.

- Love the big open windows! I want a kitchen with big windows for light to stream in. But where to put the open shelving and walled unit I want? Need to figure out a way to do that.

Now, all I have to really do is figure out a way to incorporate all the elements I like into one kitchen. Universe, I'm up for it!

P.S. Dada and I have figured out how we want our entryway to look like. I also know how I want our stairs to look like. It's kind of a mix of a Parisian/Upper East Side look we're going for. I've started to gather pictures, and I can't wait to put it up here!

Do Your Kids Speak Filipino?

I didn't realize how big of issue this has become now among my mommy friends. You should hear the tinge of panic and regret in their voice when we talk about Filipino homework and tests.

I should have seen it coming 5 years ago.

"Mas magaling pa mag-English mga bata dito kay Berry!" my Mom jokingly told me then, when I brought Berry to Manila for her very first vacation, after spending all 2 years of her life abroad. 

"Syempre. Kinakausap ko din sya in Tagalog, Mom." I explained a bit incredulously.

While Berry holds dual citizenship, Dada and I were born and raised in the Philippines, and it just made sense to me to have her learn the language. We were based abroad at the time, and knew we wanted to go back home and raise her here, so I didn't want her to have a hard time in school once she started. I would talk to her both in English and Filipino. And would encourage my husband to speak to her in Hokkien. (He doesn't, but that's another story. Haha.)

As it turned out, it seemed that in the short time that we were living overseas, kids back home in Manila had forgotten how to speak the language. To a point that my friend Jen Tan had to tell me,  "Tin, talk to your kids in Filipino, they need to learn it so you won't have a hard time tutoring them at home!" 

It's gotten quite sad really, when Filipino kids don't even know how to speak Filipino. It's not funny and it's not cute. And no, it's not a sign of progress. Like talking in Filipino makes one uneducated,  baduy or masa. 

Wittingly or unwittingly, many in our generation, especially parents of young kids, have gotten lazy with the language. Most of us don't speak Filipino purely anymore. More often than not, Taglish is the norm. I'm guilty of that too, and sometimes, my kids still ask me, "What did you say, Mom?" when they hear me say a Tagalog word they have never heard of before. 

Thankfully, my mommy friends at BetterMe.ph, who find themselves in a bind, having a hard time tutoring their kids in Tagalog in school, have come up with three easy to do tips for getting our kids to speak more Filipino. Watch it HERE!

So here's where Batibot comes into the picture. Yes, as in the Batibot many of us grew up watching.

They have come up with apps that encourages learning in Filipino. Our kids can watch shows, learn how to write the alphabet, play games and such. Just simple but educational lessons that they need, as in right now.

Check out and download the Batibot TV app, HERE:

Download the Batibot Games app, HERE:

It's a quick an easy start. And hopefully, the road to getting our kids back on the Filipino track!

For more on Batibot, visit www.batibot.tv

National Breakfast Day with McDonald's

The things we take for granted: A good breakfast. Wait, make that the folks who sacrifice sleep just so we have food to eat. 

Watch this and weep!

 

Gotta hand it to McDonald's for bringing the sacrifices of our fisherfolk to light.

Speaking of light, in the early morning of March 14, for the fourth year in a row, McDonald's celebrated National Breakfast Day by delighting Filipinos across the country with free McMuffin sandwiches. 

With over 400 stores nationwide who took part in the event, folks trekked to a participating McDonald's store from 6 AM to 7 AM, for their free breakfast treat via dine-in, take-out, and drive-thru. 

McDonald's Philippines President and Chief Executive Officer Kenneth S. Yang took the lead in welcoming Filipinos to the much-awaited morning event. McDonald's Chief Happiness Officer Ronald McDonald was also present, along with McDonald’s endorsers and National Breakfast Day ambassadors. 

The brand’s most recent endorsers Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza, popularly known as "AlDub", gave McMuffin sandwiches to customers in McDonald’s Bluebay Walk, Pasay. Other celebrities who were present in different stores around the metro included Xian Lim, Enrique Gil, Janine Gutierrez, and a whole lot more.

"We celebrated our first National Breakfast Day in 2013 to share the goodness of a McDonald's breakfast to more Filipinos," said Yang. 

But the National Breakfast Day experience goes beyond March 14 through a “breakfast surprise.” 

Participating McDonald’s stores nationwide further spread the morning cheer by giving 100 free McMuffin sandwiches to groups or organizations who are unable to enjoy a good breakfast because of their early or different work schedules like security guards, hospital staff, and public school teachers. And yes, the aforementioned fishermen.

Thanks McDonald's for the reminder to appreciate the folks who work ungodly hours. I will pray that  they will be blessed with a hearty breakfast, make that three square meals, every day of their lives!