Mommy Plannerista

Planning. Passions. Parenthood.

Review & Giveaway: Euky Bear Sleepy Time Room Mist and Sleepy Time Massage Balm

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I have previously blogged about how much we love the Euky Bearub. We use it until now and so I didn’t hesitate when I was given another opportunity, this time to review the Euky Bear Sleepy Time Room Mist and the Sleepy Time Massage Balm.

I know most of you guys must probably already know the importance of having an effective bedtime routine to prepare your kids for sleep. These two products are meant to help with that.

Let me tell you about them.

Euky Bear Sleepy Time Massage Balm

The Euky Bear Sleepy Time Massage Balm is made from 100% natural oils including lavender (known for its ability to improve slumber) & chamomile (used to aid sleep, soothe and relax) that would help your little one prepare for sleep. It is also combined with other natural skin-friendly oils such as coconut oil, sweet almond & jojoba, which helps bring a blissful atmosphere of calm to baby’s bedtime.

Dermatologically tested & proven gentle on skin, it is suitable from 3 months & up. It is not tested on animals and has:

– No mineral oils
– No synthetic fragrances
– No parabens
– No phthalates
– No sulphates

It comes in a 50g tube and costs Php 550.00.

Euky Bear Sleepy Time Room Mist

The Euky Bear Sleepy Time Room Mist is a gentle and calming room mist to help prepare your little one for sleep. It is also made from 100% natural oils and delicately infused with lavender and chamomile. You spray it into the air or on your linen or pillow before nap or bedtime.

Suitable for all ages, this product helps prepare your kids for sleep. It comes in a 125ml spray bottle and costs Php 550.00. It is vegan-friendly and has:

– No synthetic fragrances
– No parabens
– No phthalates
– Not tested on animals

The Verdict:

We’ve been using both products for a month now. We use the massage balm almost daily. As for the room mist, I often forget to spray it because I’m not used to using room sprays. My husband is very sensitive to scents because it triggers his asthma and so we avoid them most of the time. However, we were still able to use the room mist maybe twice or thrice a week.

I gotta say, the Euky Bear Sleepy Time Massage Balm was a big hit for us especially for my seven-year-old, Ziggy. I never used to give him a massage but after trying out this massage balm on him, he got really hooked. In fact, he insists on a massage now every single night. He’s even willing to give me a massage just so I would massage him in return. Haha!

Ziggy says it really does help him sleep better and I agree. After a massage, it doesn’t take long anymore for him to fall asleep whereas he used to complain about not being able to fall asleep fast. I like that the smell isn’t overpowering. The balm is easy to spread on your skin and doesn’t leave it feeling too oily like other balms do.

As for the room mist, I think it also helps as well. Our youngest, Zander, doesn’t really want to be massaged. Whenever I try to, he keeps thinking I’m tickling him for some reason, which is weird because I apply lotion on him a lot. But I noticed that he falls asleep faster now too even without the massage balm and I can attribute that to the room mist, which I spray about 30 minutes before bedtime.

I was really very worried about the smell because I didn’t want it to trigger my husband’s asthma. Since we co-sleep with our boys I had to spray in the master’s bedroom so he would undoubtedly smell it too. But the scent wasn’t overpowering at all. Actually, the scent disappears quite quickly. I spray it when he’s not in the room so by the time he gets inside he doesn’t smell anything anymore.

Overall, we’re pleased with the results especially with the massage balm. Ziggy is actually planning to purchase a tube because we’ve nearly finished off the one we have. Haha!

Euky Bear products can be purchased at Lazada, Rustan’s, Hobbes and Landes, Mamaway, Ogalala, Babymama.ph, and online at www.eukybearphilippines.comwww.eukybearphilippines.com.

The Giveaway!!!

Our friends at Euky Bear Philippines have been so generous and offered to sponsor a giveaway for you, my dear readers. One of you can win a gift pack containing one Euky Bear Sleepy Time Massage Balm and one Euky Bear Sleepy Time Room Mist.

This giveaway will be hosted on my Instagram account with the following mechanics.

  1. Must follow @mommyplannerista on Instagram.
  2. Must like the giveaway post on Instagram.
  3. Must comment on the giveaway post sharing their kids’ bedtime routine and tag 3 friends.
  4. Must repost the giveaway post on Instagram with the hashtag #MPxEukyBearSleepyTimeGiveaway. Profiles must be public so I can view your post.

This giveaway will run from Monday, January 21, 2019 to January 27, 2019. It is open to Philippine residents with a valid Philippine address. The winner will be drawn randomly. Winner will be notified via a DM on Instagram and must respond within 48 hours. If not, I reserve the right to choose another winner. Euky Bear Philippines will be responsible for mailing the prize to the winner.

    Good luck, everyone!!!

    Weekly Planning Process

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    For about three years now, I’ve been sharing photos of my planner set up on Instagram and on my YouTube channel. But how my planner looks like does not show you my actual weekly planning process. There’s more beyond using stickers to prettify my planner. The most important thing for me is to have a planning system that actually helps me manage my hectic mom life better. So, I thought it’s high time I show you the steps I take whenever I do my weekly planning.

    As a work-at-home homeschooling mom, I do have a lot to consider when I plan. So my process usually involves checking several parts of my planner first such as my:

    • Inbox
    • Important Dates
    • Hubby’s Work Schedule
    • Monthly Goals
    • Work Tasks
    • Blog and Social Media Tasks
    • Scheduled Events
    • Errands
    • Chores

    It is only after I consider these things that I am actually able to lay the stickers down and write on the pages of my planner. The truth is, I use stickers not just to prettify my planner but also because they highlight certain parts of my pages that are important to me.

    If you’re interested to learn more about my weekly planning process, do watch my latest video on YouTube (please subscribe if you haven’t already!), which I’ve also posted below. I’m really happy with how this system has been working for me so far in organising our family life.

    I hope this video helps you in your planning process too. If you have any blog posts or videos about it, please let me know in the comments. I tweak my process every so often if things start to not work anymore so any input from you guys will be appreciated.

    Happy planning!

    #OneWord2019: MINDFUL

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    Happy New Year everyone!!! How were your Christmas and New Year celebrations? I hope you all had a wonderful time spent with family and friends. I know, I did!

    Anyway, since it’s the beginning of a new year, it’s time for my usual One Word for the year post. I’ve been thinking of my One Word for 2019 since October. By November I chose one already but kept changing my mind. I was still confused until yesterday morning actually. That is, until I went back to reflect on what really is in my heart. In the end, I went back to the first word I chose – MINDFUL.

    My desire for being more mindful stems from last year’s One Word, which was Declutter. We’ve been decluttering so much stuff from our house especially during the last quarter of 2018. As we went through that tiring process (which is still ongoing, by the way) I realized how much anxiety all that clutter was causing me. It was preventing me from relaxing and just enjoying our home. I realized that in order for me to prevent physical and mental clutter to invade my life again in the future, I needed to be more mindful about everything in my life.

    For one, I want to be more mindful about the things that gets to occupy precious space in our house. I want to have less stuff so that I can focus on what’s most important. I want to not feel like I should be cleaning all the time because there’s so much clutter. Less stuff, less things to clean.

    With less time doing chores, I can spend more time with my kids. This time though, I want to be more mindful about how I spend time with them. I have to admit that I’m a serial multitasker because there’s so much that need to get done. As a mom, sometimes we can’t help but be on autopilot all the time but this does more harm that good. I know that by not giving my kids 100% of my attention, I’m missing out on precious moments. I need to be more mindful about how to schedule my day so that I can carve out time when they can have my full attention. I want to be in the moment with my kids and enjoy it.

    I also want to be mindful so I can be more aware of my surroundings, of others and of myself. I want to fully engage with the present, not worrying too much about the future. I suffer from an anxiety disorder and that is brought about by my worries. I tend to over analyze things, causing panic. I want to be more calm and have a clearer mind, to accept my present situation for what it is without judgement for whatever feelings I may have. This way, I will make better decisions based on what’s truly in my heart.

    Mindfulness has a lot of benefits and I’m sure that being more mindful will bring about positive changes in me and in my family. So, wish me luck with this!

    If you also have One Word for the year, do share what it is with me and why you chose it.

    How We Inject Christmas In Our Homeschool

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    Each year, I try to find more ways to be more intentional in our homeschool. So I thought, why not do something to be more intentional in celebrating Christmas, right? We want our kids to be reminded of what Christmas is really about aside from just giving and receiving gifts.

    Like other families, we have our own Christmas traditions. However, this year I tried to start new traditions by incorporating them into our homeschool. Here’s what we’ve done so far this Christmas season.

    DIY Advent Wreath

    I remember making my own advent wreath as a Christmas project in school when I was a kid. I thought it would be fun to help Ziggy do the same. Besides, he’ll be having his First Communion already next year and I wanted him to be more familiar with Catholic traditions.

    We made this advent wreath by reusing some random materials we found at home after I looked at some photos on Pinterest. We didn’t spend a thing on this, except for our time and effort. We made it in time for the 1st Sunday of Advent. Ziggy, and even two-year-old Zander, enjoy the activity because it involves lighting and blowing out candles. But we say our advent prayers too, of course. That is the whole point, after all.

    DIY Parol

    For this project, I had the hubby assist Ziggy. He actually had some wood shaped into a star from last year’s Christmas. It was supposed to be for his office but was never used. So we only had to buy some cellophane and other papers to wrap the star with.

    Too bad we weren’t able to light it up. But that’s okay because we weren’t planning on putting it outside anyway. We just placed it behind our Christmas tree.

    Christmas-themed Worksheets

    While I usually follow the lessons in Ziggy’s textbooks, every so often I also get lessons and worksheets from other sources. There are lots of Christmas-themed ones online. The ones I found were even free.

    I got a Christmas activity sheet for Ziggy’s math lesson on geometry. He had to cut out and color some shapes and combine them to make a Christmas tree and a reindeer.

    I also found one for his English lesson on adjectives. It involved completing a Christmas-themed story by throwing candy (ideally a candy cane) on a sheet full of adjectives. When the candy lands on an adjective, you’re supposed to use it on one of the blanks in the story. It was actually such a fun and silly game and Ziggy really enjoyed it.

    Christmas Stories and Carols

    I was searching our collection of books to look for Christmas-themed ones and found this book called The Lion Book of Christmas Carols. It contains the story of Jesus’ birth starting from the Angel Gabriel telling Mary that she was to be the mother of our Savior. Each Bible story has its corresponding carols.

    I started reading the stories to the boys a week before Christmas, one story each day. Then I found videos of the carols on YouTube so that we could sing them with music. We really love this activity because we are a music-loving family. I think reading the Bible stories also made Ziggy learn more about the origins of Christmas, making it more meaningful to him.

    Visiting Christmas Light Shows

    We make field trips a part of our homeschool as often as we can. For this quarter, we made visiting Christmas light shows a homeschool field trip too. We first visited Pixar Playtown in Bonifacio High Street. Too bad we didn’t have our girls with us then.

    At least, Zoe and Ziya were finally able to join us when we went to the Ayala Triangle Gardens Lights and Sounds Show. We enjoyed this one more because of the Disney theme. Plus, the light show was grander and longer than the one at Bonifacio High Street.

    All these activities have really made our Christmas celebration more fun and most importantly, more meaningful. We’re not done yet though. We’ve actually been decluttering our house lately and have already segregated a lot of items that we plan to donate. We’ll be donating clothes and toys but haven’t decided where yet. But for sure, we’ll be including our kids in that activity too.

    You don’t have to homeschool though to do these activities. There’s lots of things you can do as a family. Next year, I’m actually planning on doing an advent calendar activity too. How do you make Christmas more meaningful for your family? Do give me some ideas.

    For now though, let us greet you all a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year!!!!

    The Best Tips for Traveling to Asia with Kids

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    Kids love fun and are curious to see new things across the world. Such trips expose them to different cultures, scenery and beauty that will linger in their memories forever. They will also have numerous stories to share with their friends at school after the vacation. Any person who is planning to travel with kids, particularly to Asia, will require some thorough preparation.

    Parents are responsible for the logistics of their family’s trip to Asia including the immigration one. So, the tips here will come in handy for any person who is in the process of planning a visit to Asia with the kids.

    Prepare Their Travel Documents

    Kids also need a passport and visa to access most countries. Most people assume that this is not important only to be disappointed at the last minute. For holidaymakers, it is easy to get your travel documents ready when using a reputable agent. The agent makes all the work easier for those with kids so that parents can have time to do other things. Make sure that the process starts early enough to allow plenty of time for processing and any delay that may occur.

    Vaccinations and Medications

    Some Asian countries will require vaccinations for all visitors due to certain health concerns. It may be to prevent you from bringing an illness from your country or contracting one when you arrive there. Check the vaccination requirements with your travel agent or browse the web.

    If your kids take medication and need it during the travel, ensure that it is packed. It is highly recommended that one seek a doctor’s advice in such a case.

    Understand the Weather Patterns

    Knowing the climate guides every parent on how to prepare their kids. Some Asian countries are humid and cold at the same time. Appropriate clothing for all people is important. Kids may find it difficult to cope in such weather with just light clothes because a humid breeze can be a serious problem. Carry some relatively warm clothes, which should also be absorbent. Understanding the weather patterns lets you plan your movement by escaping some harsh weather conditions.

    The Power of Snacks

    Kids love eating, and they will not spare you from feeding them during this trip. It is up to you to plan their meals well. Plan to have some healthy snacks with you at all times to save a situation. Check if your destination offers healthy snacks that you would like your kids to eat when they feel hungry. Going for a complete meal every time they ask for a bite may be costly and time consuming. After all, some locations may even have no restaurants. Snacks will always come in handy when traveling to Asia with kids.

    Book Accommodations and Plane Tickets

    Once the dates are set, the kids will not understand if there is any challenge to the trip. Try to minimize the chances of such an event by booking the plane tickets and accommodations early. Asia is a busy destination, which increases the chances of not finding good accommodations at the last minute.

    Your kids will enjoy their trip to Asia while you will have an easy time if the above tips become your guide.

     

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