Raising Twins – Page 2 – Chasing Dreams

Why We Love Moana

June 20, 2018July 3, 2019 Rhiza1 Comment

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Not sure who loves Moana more, me or my daughters.

As someone who grew up with my favorite Disney princesses, I’m glad that Disney continues to craft interesting and culturally specific characters that kids these days can enjoy and learn from!

Disney’s fairy tale formula has evolved a lot since the Sleeping Beauty era. And yet somehow, they’re able to preserve everything we love about Disney animated films—the timeless storytelling, the songs we love singing along to for years to come, the humor, the moral lessons, and (my favorite) the fact that they don’t water down the importance of family in the chase of one’s dreams.

Raising daughters, I’m always appreciative of fun ways to introduce these ever-important values to Dawn and Rain.

I mean, little girls are complex creatures, you guys! Haha. >.<

Seriously though, to raise them well in this time where self-image and equality and diversity (among other things) are on the spotlight, the role of the family in their formative years is not to be taken lightly.

And it sure does come handy when a relatable and likable animated character such as Moana is created to embody these family-centric values we wish to impart to our daughters.

Moana is not your ordinary Disney princess.

She’s brave and unafraid of the unknown. Her family raised her well, so when it was time for her to leave her safe and warm comfort zone, she was ready to go out there to courageously fulfill what she was raised to do.

She didn’t let setbacks and failures stop her from trying again until she made it. She had to face a lot of challenges but she pushed herself to keep trying, with her family as her guide and inspiration.

Everything that Moana was is because of her family’s influence on her—and her love for them.

She didn’t need a prince charming to have a complete and inspiring story. I can already imagine my husband using this argument when it’s time to talk about crushes and boyfriends with our daughters, haha! Unlike other fairy tales, this one did not lack anything by not having a prince charming. The only love story here was the love she had for her family and her people.

She loved and respected her family, even when she had to go against her parent’s wishes at some point. For (sons and) daughters, Moana showed all of us how to “break” rules and expectations with love and respect. For parents of young kids, Moana’s story reminds us to love and support our children in whatever skills, calling, and dreams they have now and in the future.

I know Dawn and Rain will have to blaze their own trails someday (someday okay, kids? Not yet okay??), so I’m reminding myself to trust in how we’ve raised them to be independent and courageous enough to make the right choices.

Wellllll that escalated so quickly. O.O

So before this gets more intense and I start #uglycrying my way through the rest of this post, haha, let’s end this one in a fun note, shall we??

The reason why we’re talking about Moana now is because a new Moana live show is coming to Disneyland Hongkong, and we’re so excited to be sharing the news with y’all!

Read on some highlights of the press release below:

“Moana: A Homecoming Celebration” at Hongkong Disneyland

This special live show is part of Hongkong Disneyland Resorts’ Carnivale of Stars, and is the first attraction at the resort’s ongoing multi-year expansion.

Moana invites families and kids to join her 20-minute live show rich with inspirational music, dance, puppetry and immersive storytelling.. and then meet her for photos and hugs later. You can also buy souvenir Moana food and beverage, dolls and merch like the ones Dawn and Rain are holding in these photos.

Catch “Moana: A Homecoming Celebration” this summer at the Hongkong Disneyland Resort! For more details, check out this website here. ;)

Oh, and check out also this fun vlog of Dawn and Rain with their Moana and Pua dolls!

We just launched a Youtube channel for Dawn and Rain, and since they love their Moana dolls so much we thought to feature it for their first video. :) Still getting the hang of this thing but go check it out and subscribe!

And watch to the end to see the premiere of Moana: A Homecoming Celebration ;)

This story is written for HK Disneyland Resorts’ Carnivale of Stars. Read my full disclosure policy here.

You’ll Always Be Our Babies

April 22, 2018November 1, 2019 Rhiza1 Comment

“You’re my baby,” I would say.
“I’m not a baby anymore, I’m a big girl,” Rain would reply.
“But you’re my baby,” I’d repeat, part joking, part serious like ‘I don’t care what you say, buddy, you’re mine!’
“No, no, Mommy, I’m not! I’m a big girl. See, I’m 5,” she would insist, raising her hand up and showing all of her 5 little fingers.
“Mommy, you have to listen to Rainy,” Dawn would chime in, taking her sister’s side.

There are two ways this conversation can go.

One, I’d ask them to pretend they’re still babies, and if they say yes, I’d tickle them and kiss them and carry them like babies and tickle them some more. “Just pretend, okay?” Rain would confirm, and I’d reply with a quick “ok, ok!”

Two, I’d agree with them and affirm that yes, they are indeed big girls now. (Music to Rain’s ears, by the way.)

The truth is, while the four of us enjoy teasing and disagreeing with each other (it’s one of our favorite pasttimes), I sometimes feel like the twins are not joking too. They really want to be treated as big girls na, to act like it, to be called such.

And don’t we all, have these moments growing up?

It’s an interesting phase. Also, it’s humbling, crazy, intense, entertaining, beautiful, tiring, stretching—all at the same time!

And just like my babies (who I’m going to refer to as “my babies” for the rest of this post because I say so, hah!), every day I can feel in my bones that years—and growth—are being added to my life too.

Note to self: Try to be more conscious about not calling them “babies” as much, even though I know deep inside they’ll always be mine.

+ + +

Since we’re in the subject of growing up, these two are literally outgrowing everything so fast.

Clothes, toys, TV shows, songs, books, even places. That playground in the mall they labeled as the “best place ever” just last month? Yep. Not anymore.

Sometimes I catch myself holding on to things a little too tightly. Like that dress they loved to wear when they were 2 years old which now falls about 5 inches above the knees; or that worn out baby blanket that held so much memories.

There’s a box of toys they don’t play with anymore, a pink doll house we got them for Christmas that they already want to trade for a bigger one, a plushie (or two) gathering dusts under the bed.

I know we need to let them go at some point but I thought, maybe, if I keep them a little longer, time will slow down a little bit too. (Or fine, I’m just a busy mom who doesn’t want to deal with the wrath of two feisty 5-year old girls just yet.)

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Excuse the puffy eyes. We took these photos in the morning and they.. (hashtag) wokeuplikethis.

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Few weeks ago we received a crate of goodies from Johnson & Johnson and the smiles on the girls’ faces were priceless.

They’re familiar with every item in the crate because they literally grew up with these J&J products—always included in the grocery list, present on the bedside table, stashed in the side pockets of their diaper bag.

From the time they were babies until now, each product represents a season, a favorite time of day, a treasured memory.

Like the sweet scent of baby lotion that reminds us of co-sleeping and bedtime cuddles. The handy dandy pack of baby wipes that takes us back to those diaper days. The bottle of baby shampoo that makes them want to dive into a tub of bubbles. The baby powder we still carry in our purses 20 years later.

Time flies, babies grow, and kids outgrow stuff, but some things do grow with us.

Thank you, Johnson & Johnson, for being one with the village and helping us give our babies only the best—from then til now.

This story was written for Johnson & Johnson. Read my full disclosure policy here.

Mommy Reflections & Easter Sunday Photographs

April 12, 2015May 13, 2015 RhizaLeave a comment

Sometimes, it just happens. A perfect long weekend. Followed by a perfect week. Even though there’s really no such thing as perfect, perfect is just too good a word to not be used, especially if you mean something close. These photographs were taken on Easter Sunday. I have more of these where it came from, they’re just too many to flood my Instagram with so I thought I’d post some of them here on the blog. :)

No yaya and no work, we spent the entire weekend being lazy and spending much-needed quality time with the girls. We went to a family reunion on Friday, but pretty much stayed in the rest of the weekend. It was the Holy Week, and although most of our activities included drawing on the wall, dancing to Hi-5, singing silly songs, learning new words and colors, and making sure the little babes were happy and entertained, there’s much realization for me about the power of the cross and God’s presence in this season of my life. Continue reading “Mommy Reflections & Easter Sunday Photographs” →

The Story of Dawn & Rain’s Names

February 8, 2015July 1, 2017 Rhiza6 Comments

We’re on Day 7 of Pursuit Community’s Seek Devotional, and yesterday the reading was from a verse that’s very close to my heart, a promise that my husband and I remember every single day because they run around our home in the form of two energetic toddlers named Dawn & Rain.

Hosea 6:3—

“Oh, that we might know the LORD! Let us press on to know him.
He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of the dawn
or the coming of rain in early spring.”

The thing is, we already knew we would name them “Dawn” & “Rain” before we found this verse!

We knew RAIN’s name right from the beginning.

The morning we confirmed that I was pregnant, God gave me this verse, Leviticus 26:3-14, and the passage began with..

“If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands,
I will send you RAIN in its season,
and the ground will yield its crops and the trees their fruit.”

That passage is packed with so many promises, and as a married couple who’s adjusting to a new life, traversing new paths, and are about to be new parents, we claimed each promise in Leviticus 26 one by one. At that time we didn’t know if we were having a boy or a girl, we just knew that whatever the gender, there’s got to be “Rain” in her name.

And then we found out that we’re having twins, and few months later we learned we’re having two girls; but Dawn’s name was not revealed to us until later. The thing is, deciding on the second baby’s name was a bit more challenging because we wanted to be more specific. Since Rain already starts with an “R” following my name, we were praying for a name that starts with a “D” to follow my husband’s name.

One morning, at 7 months pregnant, while my husband was having his devotion, he excitedly shouted to me from across the living room, “I found her name!!”

God affirmed to him Psalm 37:6.

“He will make your righteous reward shine like the DAWN,
your vindication like the noonday sun.”

& that’s when we knew her name would be DAWN.

Dawn and Rain. I remember how it felt like, finally knowing what their names were going to be. We loved calling them by name while they were still in my womb, we even knew that Rain was the twin on top of her sister, and Dawn was the one who always kicked me on the side. Not only do we love the sound of their names, we love the promises that their names represent.

As my due date came closer, we announced their names to our family and close friends. It was Paul, my husband’s cousin, who messaged us one morning and shared to us Hosea 6:3. “Did you know that both Dawn and Rain’s names are in Hosea 6:3?” he asked. And there it was, indeed, our ultimate affirmation that we got our daughters’ names right!

But more than their names literally being in this verse, my husband and I acknowledge that our daughters are God’s real-life representation of this very promise to us.. that He will respond to us as we press on to know Him. That as we seek Him, we will find him. That He will come forth as certain as the arrival of the dawn and the coming of rain.

We’ve tested and proven this promise in our lives many times! Raising twins and becoming parents came with responsibilities that stretched us, broke us, tested our faith, and brought us to our knees desperate for God to respond. And every single time we call upon Him for comfort and help, He hears our cries and answers our prayers. Sometimes He changes our situation; often He changes us.

I hope that whatever you’re going through today you will find rest in the assurance that God is true to His promises. So when He says that He will respond to us, He most definitely will. You can trust Him.

Come join us!

Join us as we go through Seek, a 21-Day Prayer and Fasting Devotional put together by the Pursuit Community! We’re at Day 7, but you can begin anytime! You can find DAY ONE here.

The One Where the Twins Turned Two, Part2

October 30, 2014October 30, 2014 Rhiza7 Comments

We dreaded the second year because of the much anticipated “terrible twos”. We have been warned, and we’ve heard the worst. And while I’m beginning to wonder what’s so “terrible” about this stage, we thought we should drown our fears with excitement and bravely say “bring it!”

And so we planned a little party to welcome this “dreaded” year, and boyyy was it fun!

We decided to have an intimate gathering of family and just a handful of friends. The program was simple: Hang out, enjoy good food, and take lots of photographs to show the twins when they’re older. By keeping it small we get to save up their birthday money to buy them stuff that they really need. I couldn’t be any happier about our “less-is-more” choice.

The Theme: Twinkle twinkle little star

Having a small party didn’t stop me from indulging in a little DIY and designing some invites and souvenir tags. I can’t help myself. :) We picked a theme that the twins are very familiar with. If you follow us on Instagram, you’ll remember them singing and dancing to “Twinkle twinkle little star” a few months back. Dawn can sing it a lot clearer now!

So twinkle twinkle little star, it is. (They are our stars, after all.)

DIY alert: We found these wooden star clips at National Bookstore’s scrapbook section, and a friend, Sam, helped me make these paper stars. Thanks Sammy! :) Here’s how to make origami paper stars. If I had more time, I would have done these elaborate paper stars too!

The Venue: The Royal Piccadilly

I am so happy to have found this place. I first heard about their rainbow and ombre cakes. Scouring the web for an intimate party venue in the Quezon City area, I chanced upon some blog reviews and learned that they’re accommodating parties in their quaint “British-inspired restaurant” in Katipunan. My husband and I checked them out and booked right there and then.

We loved the place at first sight! And we loved it even more when we arrived on the day of party, seeing what they’ve setup for the twins.

Can’t take enough photos of that dessert table!

We only provided the souvenir tags, origami stars, and that window frame with little stars on it (which served as the dessert table’s backdrop). Everything else—the dainty props, Japanese lanterns, pretty and yummy treats, and the customized cake—are provided for by The Royal Piccadilly. You guys!! <3 Continue reading “The One Where the Twins Turned Two, Part2” →

The One Where the Twins Turned Two, Part1

October 29, 2014October 29, 2014 RhizaLeave a comment

I’m breaking down their 2nd birthday in 2 parts, because unlike their birthday last year, I wasn’t too “all over the place” to take photographs this time. Also unlike last year, the girls seemed to have an idea that something special was going on.

First order of business: surprise the twins with balloons hanging by the bedroom door when they wake up. See the look on Dawn’s face when we opened the door:

So okay, they weren’t exactly ecstatic when they first saw the balloons. The look on their faces was more of curiosity than excitement. It took a couple of minutes before they started smiling and pulling out their balloons, and before they realized that it was supposed to be a fun activity, LOL.

My husband and I woke up early to set up these balloons, and the effort was definitely worth it.

Happy birthday, darlings! Your special day has just begun. :)