It's Showtime!

I almost wanted to call this post "The Day I Guested in Showtime"...but that would be too deceiving. Because the truth is, the day I visited Showtime - I was one of the Madlang People!!!

 

One thing that many people may not know about me (okay, fine, maybe a lot of you do know) is that I love seeing movie stars in person.  It fascinates me to see how they look and act beyond the magic of the camera lenses.  I rarely watch television these days and am not updated with the new movie stars. But I know the ones that have been on screen for a while now and stalk follow some them on Instagram.

So when my sister got us VIP tickets to watch the popular noontime show, It's Showtime, I happily joined her.  Amidst my excitement, I was still hoping to conceal my chaka-ness and wished oh-so-hard that we will not appear on television. Well, the wish was not granted and we got our 30 seconds of fame.

photo taken by my friend, Cathy

Let me take you back to the morning of the taping. About an hour before the show, we were ushered to the holding area for all VIPs. We did not enter through the same entrance as the rest of the Madlang People.  

While waiting to enter the studio, we walked around and saw these signs on some of the doors. Dressing rooms!  Of course we did not attempt to go in. Baka mahuli pa kami ng guards (and besides, wala si Anne Curtis!)

After about 30 minutes or so, we were asked to enter the studio. The studio was a lot smaller than I imagined it to be.  My mind was panicking thinking that the chances of us being seen on television were pretty high.

We tried our best to sit somewhere inconspicuous only be asked to transfer to the seat near the aisle on the second row.  Oh well...

 

Then they started prepping us for the show. They told us how to cheer, raise our score cards, dance, and sing the Showtime song. Chaka overload. They threatened to move us to the back if we did not participate.  Much as I would not mind to be placed at the back (i.e. less chances of camera face time), I also did not want the embarrassment of being asked to go to the back (a.k.a. walk of shame).



And as we were looking around the crowd, we spotted the guys from the You Tube sensation Hey Joe Show! If you have not seen them, you need to visit their channel. They do really funny interpretations of the Filipino traditions and speak bisaya fluently! So without hesitation, Tammy and I went and had a photo taken with them.

And then the show started. And while we were singing and dancing the Showtime theme song, the Duterte look-a-like stood beside me. I had to stop dancing and get my phone for a quick selfie.

Amidst our kakahiyang television exposure, watching It's Showtime was really fun. More than the show, I particularly enjoyed the commercial breaks (and, of course spending time with my sister! hello suan!). That was when you get to see the stars in their natural element.

So that was our Showtime experience. I'm happy to have enjoyed that day with my sister.    It was a memorable day and definitely one for the books.

 

 

 

 

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Common Sense Media

This week my friend shared this App with me that I think every parent should have on their smart phones. With the amount of screen time our children have these days, it is almost impossible not to be affected by the things they see on TV or play on their devices. The best thing we can do is to filter the movies they watch, know the values they get from watching certain TV shows, and learn how the online games they play affect their personalities.  This is where Common Sense Media comes in.

Common Sense Media helps families make smart media choices. We offer the largest, most trusted library of independent age-based and educational ratings and reviews for movies, games, apps, TV shows, websites, books, and music. 

During our weekend family movie time, we have both kids with us so we need to ensure the movie that we will be watching will be appropriate for our four-year old yet still entertaining for our seven-year old. Common Sense Media allows you to filter through a given age range. In my case I always set it to 4 to 7 so that it covers the ages of both my children. 

Now another great feature is that you can customize the App to your own child's gender and age. It will then select shows that are good for them.

 

You can also do searches of the shows or games that you kids love. The site will give you a good indication of what the programs are teaching your child.

There is no doubt that traditional and digital media gives great entertainment value. But it is important for us, as parents, to use it wisely. This way our children will be able to use it as a tool to learn new skills and accomplish amazing things.

Now don't you agree that all parents must have the Common Sense Media App on hand? Because, admit in, in this crazy parenting world, common sense is sometimes not so common.

 

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Kidnapped by the Kids

How well do you communicate with your family?

During our church's couples camp, Dens and i realized that we need to improve on communication. I honestly never really thought we had a problem in that area. We always talk anyway.  We talk about the kids, our daily activities, business ideas, and a whole lot of other things. But i realized that we never really take time to talk about how to improve our relationship. We go by the mentality of 'Why fix what's not broken?' But when we started evaluating our relationship during the camp, we realized that there are things that i like Dens to improve on and vise versa. On the flip side, it was also nice for us to hear how we appreciate the things that the other person has been doing but we never took time to say it out loud.

Last week, Patty talked about this new TV show entitled Kidnapped by the Kids. It sounded interesting so i looked it up. The episode that i watched talked about a mom who lost the connection with her eldest son because she avoided communicating with him and didn't want to deal with the issue. Each time she sensed there is a problem, she would use her job as a way to keep herself busy so that she doesn't have to face the music. I'd like to share the entire episode with you (cut into 4 parts). I feel that it's a good insight to how our children feel when we don't spend enough quality time with them. Communication is key in all relationships within the family. It's not only important to communicate better with your children but also with our spouse. Each day is another chance for us to do better.

Rick Warren, the pastor of saddleback church, illustrated this nicely. He said that some of us tend to always sweep family issues under the carpet. We know it's there but we hide it because we don't want to deal with it. The problem is that we keep sweeping all of these issues under the rug and before you know it, there's already a big pile of mess underneath.  Until one day, you find yourself tripping over the carpet and hurting yourself or your love ones even more.

Spend time communicating with each other. It's a great investment for your family.

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