Better Me: Three Tips On Keeping The Home Full Of Love

One of the perks of blogging and being a SoMom is that I get to attend Better Me sessions facilitated by no less than Coach Pia of The One Core Group. Last month, we had another #BetterMe session that focused on keeping the home full of love. This was very timely as school for lil’ Ms. GJG started this week! As much as I want to cradle her in my arms until she’s old enough to decide for herself, (say 28 years old? Heehee) I know at some point I’d have to loosen up that tight grip as she’ll be exposed in the real world. This means half of the time she’ll be spending it in school, while the other half at home.  So learning a few tips on how to keep our home full of love is something that I need. After all, a home should be a safe place for everyone who lives in it. It should have a vibe of love, comfort and security.

The intimate session was held at DMCI Flair Towers and luckily, we got an exclusive tour of the place. There’s something about newly built residential communities that excite me. The smell of fresh paint, untouched amenities, and relatively new furnitures, make open house visits want you to have lots of money, so you can buy a unit just because it is kinda exciting to have something new to decorate.

The high ceiling, open lounge area of Flair Towers gives a resort-feel in the heart of the Metro.

Can you feel the “Modern Tropical” architectural vibe of Flair Towers? 🙂

The open lounge has full length mirrors. So much for my liking that I had to take a photo of my OOTD. Oh in case you’re wondering that’s my no-brainer outfit, more like uniform, dress from Elin.ph.

The lap pool was so inviting, I was close to jumping in because of the sweltering heat. Behind is one of the two-tower (still under construction) high rise condominium that make up Flair Towers.

We were able to see the Sky Lounge where a spacious roof deck awaits. It’s also a perfect place to enjoy the city skyline.

Parang ang sarap lang magpa-party ditey! Wag lang uulan! 

Open air pockets provide continuous flow of air, providing enough ventilation for sustaining pocket gardens. According to Fleur, these air pockets are of Lumiventt technology, which optimises air and light flow. It’s a design that DMCI Homes engineers in order for their buildings to “breathe”.

We also had a chance to get a closer look at one of their model units.

Seeing how the model unit was dressed up and designed to entice all those who walk in to see it, I suddenly had the urge to redecorate our humble abode. But practically speaking, seeing the things we have, its quite impossible to set our home furnishing to a minimal such as how this lovely model unit was decorated.

After our quick tour, we went back to the Library room where the Better Me session was held.

On our way back, I just had to take a photo of this lovely outdoor bar. Peg na to for my future house! Yezzzz, I’m claiming it! #TheSecret heehee 😉

Oh, did I mention there are garden atriums located every 5 floors? Lavett!

Here’s Coach Pia eagerly smiling at us. Photo taken by Tin Dychiao. Every #BetterMe session is an efficient tool in helping me become a better person by practicing compassion and less judgement towards myself and others. I’m glad that I also get to share what I learned to you so that you can also share it to the people you care for.

KEEPING THE HOME FULL OF LOVE

Healthy & stress-free lifestyle

To attain a healthy and stress-free lifestyle, one must veer away from anything that induces stress. I find decluttering and purging a good way to relieve me from stress at home. An organized and tidy (doesn’t necessarily mean you have to be a clean-freak  to achieve this) home can harness peace and tranquility for every member of the family. Another way to alleviate you from a stressful lifestyle is to take out what is stressful in your calendar. Decline on activities and events in your life that are not that relevant to you or would only imply more hassle than bring fun and relaxation.

Family meeting

Family meetings, as I’ve mentioned before on one of my Better Me posts is just a structured way of gathering every member of the family. Start with a 20 or 30 minute quality time with your family, preferably in a neutral area of your home- living room or dining room. For families like mine, where there are small children, just allow them to be present because for sure they won’t be eagerly participating. Don’t make it an interrogation but more of knowing and bonding. Family meetings don’t have to be too formal where a sit-down is in order and only us parents are the one talking. It can be as casual as you want it to be, as long as you focus on one of these:

Planning

Keep everyone in check with each other’s schedules. Plan each week or give hints of what each family member’s month would be like. That way, you get to keep the family full of love by supporting each other’s activities. Also, talk about the week that has passed by. This way, you get to share what happened and learn about what goes on in each family member’s daily activity.

Teaching

Discuss activities you want to do with each one of your child. Each one should have an equal amount of quality time, individually with their parents. Teach and learn two ways: share your skills with your child and let your child share his/her skills or at least activities that he/she loves doing. Parents don’t have to be always the one teaching their children. For children have been teaching us parents from the moment they’re born into this world. We have learned from them unconditional love, simple joys and pleasures and such activities with them teach us how to enjoy and have fun.

Problem-solving

When an incident has happened that concerns any member of the family, discuss it when the time is right. There is no room for lecturing, instead, let your children be part of the problem-solving. This way, not only do they feel that you trust them in handling such task but they’ll also have a sense of responsibility when it comes to facing problems on their own, with or without (eventually) your help.

Having fun

Have fun! But know that your kind of fun (grocery, cleaning, organizing/decluttering) may not mean that it is fun for your family, especially to your children. Have fun and be fun when doing things that your children like doing. Keep in mind that the fun factor of a parent greatly determines and affects the factor of your children spending time with you.

Relaxation and music

Sometimes doing nothing together makes for a stronger connection within the members of the family. In this fast-paced world, sometimes relaxing is the best way to beat stress. Don’t stress yourself if you find your kids uninterested in doing things you find fun or appropriate for family meetings. For parents with teens or older children, use music as your vessel to ride the wavy ocean of hormones and other teenage issues. A day at home staying in a common area, watching TV, eating snacks, listening to music or just being lazy are other ways you can make family meetings more apt for your adolescent daughters and/or sons. As the saying goes, music is the language of the soul.

Unconditional love and acceptance

The world can be a cruel place. For someone who has been sheltered and protected by loving parents, he/she may never fully understand and grasp the cruelty that he/she needs to face. Our children will one day brave the reality that is inevitable for their growth. They will make mistakes, they will make bad choices, they will fall, will be misunderstood and oftentimes judged by others. They may feel broken and hurt at times too. These are all part of growing up and of learning, as these pave way for one to mature and  grow. And when these things happen to our children, there are only two things we can do- unconditionally love and accept them. The only thing they need from us during times when they feel lost, confused and unworthy is our acceptance and unconditional love. The assurance that no matter what happens and what they’re going through, we as parents won’t ever turn our backs on them. We may not hold their hands tightly nor be with them all the time, but the thought that we believe in them and we’ve instilled the right values in their hearts and minds are indications of how we can show them our love.

Home is definitely where the heart is. That’s why I am now more conscious on how I can keep the love flowing in our home. These three easy tips are good reminders that happiness and love should be constantly fostered in one’s home, in order to raise wonderful children, who can hopefully be catalyst for change in their own little way.

Speaking of having a home full of love, Lysol, a brand known for their disinfectant sprays supports the SoMoms’ Better Me session in keeping the home full of love. They introduced two of their latest products- Lysol Disinfectant Spray For Babies Room and Lysol Hand Soap. These are helpful products to help prevent the spread of germs in our home. And because Lysol is dedicated to kill 99.9% of germs and wants to protect your family from illness caused by germs and to keep your home clean and fresh, they’re holding a giveaway here on the blog!

One loyal reader of mine will win a Lysol gift pack, containing the products on the photo above. Note that this giveaway is only open to Metro Manila residents as shipping and handling aerosol sprays is not always allowed by couriers. How to join? Easy peasy, please follow the mechanics via Rafflecopter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveway will start today June 14, 2014 and will end June 28, 2014. Winner will be announced here on this blog post and will be notified via email.

Don’t forget to use the hashtags for more chances of winning! #LysolPH #HealthyHomes #LysolLiquidHandSoap

Thank you DMCI Homes (Flair Towers) and Lysol for believing that a home should be full of love. Thank you also Coach Pia for another great #BetterMe session.  You can attend free sessions organised by The One Core every month. These sessions can help you make better life decisions. Speaking of life, I’d like to briefly introduce you all to The One Core’s newest service called LIFE.

A revolutionary preventive health management system from Europe.Life is a SAFE, PAINLESS and NON-INVASIVE 10 minute assessment with over 90% accuracy. It checks your vital organs, body energy index, metabolic and mental state index, tendon bone and blood index, thyroid gland index and autonomic nerve index.

Mr. GJG & I are scheduled to have our LIFE assessment today and I’ll talk more about it soon here on the blog. For now, you can read more about it at http://theonecoreblog.com/life