INSTAGRAM LOST. INSTAGRAM FOUND.

It was a quiet and slow Sunday morning just as how I intended it to be — quiet both online and offline. One second I was browsing my page, the next second, it was gone. Yes. Just like that.

It was so shocking and actually scary because I thought somebody hacked my account. I kept checking what could have gone wrong; checked my mail for any suspicious activity. I could not login and I could not even find my name: all it said was USER NOT FOUND.


I kept calm and thought of what to do next. Good thing I have a two-factor authentication set-up but on my first try, I received a text message with a code. Thankful for presence of mind because I noticed it’s just a regular number (+639198038517) I didn’t input anything and instead tried calling the number – I just heard a weird sign. This was really frightening because the text came as soon as I entered my number. After an hour, I tried the same step but this time, nothing came in. I kept trying until that particular page did not appear anymore.

I never planned on telling anyone about this until some friends started sending me messages — those were messages of concern, panic, and confusion. They were all like “what happened to you? Are you okay? What’s wrong?” HAHAHA. Thanks guys.

As much as I really wanted to feel really bad that time, I was surprisingly okay and calm (thanks to daily exercise I suppose? Haha). I am not trying to be a hypocrite but really, what went on my mind was “I (probably) just lost an IG account not a life.” I know, such big words from a person who spends half of the day on social media. Of course it would be best to have it back, but if worse comes to worst, I was ready to start a new page.

Anyway, here’s what I dealt with for the past three days just so I can get my IG back:

Sunday: I was just really chill, just thinking of possible lost memories — photos, videos, network. I told my husband about this and as usual, he came to the rescue. He asked me to try this and that, he searched for articles and the likes. Nothing worked but he told me “don’t worry, nothing is ever lost”; coming from an IT guy, those words were comforting. I just stuffed myself with beer, junk food, good k-drama and slept it off.

Monday: I tried logging in again, but since it says “no username found” I tried those steps I found online. Yes Instagram’s Help Center is not much useful in this case so we had to search for blogs and articles. Thankfully, this happened to a lot already. Anyway, I tried to click on FORGOT PASSWORD then NEED MORE HELP.

Now this page gave me hope. I filled this out and shortly after, I received an email from Facebook asking me to send them a selfie with the code provided. THERE’S REALLY HOPE, I said. After a few hours, I received another email telling me they disabled my account because I violated Community Guidelines. I was like how, what, why? I never used any bots, never spammed anyone with comments and likes, never bought fake followers, never pretended to be someone else. So why? I just replied with my appeal and sincerely asked them to give it back to me since it’s a decade worth of memories including my daughter’s growing up years.

Tuesday: Still nothing from them. I tried the link from the blog my friend, Marie, sent. It’s a different page but still required me to fill out details. Same thing, I received another email asking me to send a selfie with their code. I sent them another one with another appeal to give it back to me.

The blog Marie sent me:

Here’s the link that can help:

https://help.instagram.com/contact/606967319425038


Wednesday: I tried the same thing, sent the “mug shot” and still nothing. Out of the blue, I checked how my Instagram would look like in the web via my laptop. And to my surprise, it asked me for my number and I received a code right away! I tried but it gave me an error message and asked to try again. I put the code one more time and voila, my page is back! Wooohooo! Just like that, it’s up and running again as if nothing happened. HAHAHA. So happy!

LESSONS:

I never really knew what my violation was but just to be on the safe side:

Secure your logins. Never click on any suspicious link. Change passwords every now and then. Set-up two-factor authentication.

I won’t ever record use a song from Spotify or any platform again. I will just use those with copyright

I will continue to stay real and only engage with real people. I never used bots or anything and yet IG disabled me. So if you are used to this scheme, please be careful

I will not follow nor unfollow a big number of people all at the same time — IG might flag me for spamming; same with liking and engaging too much

Just chill. If you know for a fact that you did nothing wrong, the truth will always prevail. HAHA.

Lastly and the most important lesson, let’s all get a better life outside social media. Yun lang, hope this helps! ???

Monica’s Recognition Day – ECQ Style ?

It may not be the Recognition Day that we expected, but it still felt special nevertheless. Congrats to our little girl for finishing her first-ever preschool year with flying colors.

These could have been photos from a legit Recognition Day, but we’re not complaining; this shoot at home will do.

So this is how it is! Nakaka-proud pala talaga. Haha! I know grades and awards should not define a child, but I can’t help being proud. She’s awarded as Star Kid 2nd place, Best in Reading, Best in Number Identification, and was given the Golden Ring award as well! Not only that, her behavioral recognition made me equally happy; Most Thoughtful, Most Cooperative, and Best Teacher’s Helper! Cuuute! That’s my baby!♥️

But more than her awards and recognition; what matters most to us is that she’s happy and enjoys being in school and that she goes along well with her teachers and classmates. That’s the very reason we enrolled her in preschool as early as 3 years old.?

Monica showed interest in learning letters, numbers, shapes, and colors at 1 year old – that’s without pressure nor force from our end. And bringing her to school nourished her interest further. Aside from that, she became more social, more expressive, and more emphatic. I really am convinced that half of what Monica is showing now is an influence from her school. ?

Thank you GVS for one whole year of being our partner in raising a happy child. Monica would always talk about her teachers and classmates every time I will pick her up and she always gets excited whenever we talk about her school. It was really a good move that we enrolled her there. ?

Thank you also for recognizing Monica’s efforts and acknowledging the her strengths both in behavior and academics. Even though we didn’t have a proper recognition day, you still found a way to make it special for the kids and parents.♥️ It may not be on a legit stage, but it sure felt like it and more.?♥️

Oreo Cake Balls

A little bit of sweets, color, and smile.♥️

We enjoyed making these Oreo Cake Balls – easy and fun! Yum! But more than output, it’s the experience that made it better! Monica enjoyed helping me roll the balls! 🙂


Side story – when we were putting the food color, Monica screamed “Mommy, wow that’s the same color we put in the colorful rice last time!” I was like huh? Then I remembered, it’s the same food color we used last year when we made some colorful rice.

I thought I was the one teaching Monica on how to make Oreo balls, but here she is, teaching me a more important lesson instead. The things we say or do have impact to our kids; it’s really vital to be mindful because we never know what will stay with them forever. Kids may forget a lot of things, but they sure keep in their heart, those that made them sooo happy (or sad). <3

Recipe (thanks to Fide, Lara, and Iam ?):

Try this, too!❤️

Crushed Oreos
Magnolia Cream Cheese
Goya White Chocolate
Sprinkles or food color (optional)

Mix crushed oreos and cream cheese
Freeze for 30mins
Melt white chocolate and use as coating
Add sprinkles
Freeze for 15mins

Thanks again Fione Megan, Aila Martha, and Lara Tanya for the idea!!?

Day 21: Quarantine Life

How are you all keeping up? Day 21 and it seems unreal to be locked up at home for this long. I know it’s not the same for everybody; each one of us have battles and just winging it day by day.

“Mommy I miss swimming, I miss the beach” said Monica. So yesterday, I asked Beej to look for a small inflatable pool when he went to the grocery. I was hesitant at first because we have limited space but this lockdown has taught me to make use of what we have and appreciate even the smallest of things. For 21 days, our small balcony has been a source of sunshine, literally and figuratively. And now it has become an additional source of joy for my little girl.

Thank you Lord for the opportunity to see things differently through these challenging times

#LifeUpdate: Monica’s doing okay, even though she misses going outside, she has not thrown any tantrums yet. I’ve been really blessed to have her. She would just play all day; do some worksheets, read and draw, and of course watch Paw Patrol. She would hug us every now and then and will say I Love You out of the blue.

Beej has been really productive while working from home. I’ve seen a different aspect of him – he does his work really well! Not only that, he helps in the house chores, too aside from being the runner to the grocery. He does the sanitizing and the washing of his clothes every after supermarket trip. So far he still allows me to watch KDrama till dawn and even shares my kilig and happiness (until when kaya HAHA). Most importantly, he’s doing a good job in keeping us alive, well-fed, and happy. <3

As for me, my days seem to be the usual except that I don’t get to go out often. Most of my time is spent on binge-watching K-Dramas to be honest and that’s okay. It takes my mind away from worrying too much so why not, right? I’ve also come to appreciate Monica’s teachers even more. Everyday, she would ask for activities and I have no choice but indulge her interest in learning. Teaching is really a noble job! Mahirap ha! Haha. Thank you to the people who send out activities for her, it means a lot. At least I get to observe how she is learning and how much she enjoys it. I’ve been enjoying waking up at around 7-8am, going to the balcony with Monica and get some vitamin D while listening to Shout To the Lord worship song. It’s ironic that while things are chaotic outside, things are getting better inside our home. And it’s okay to think that way.

Every night I pray that this pandemic comes to an end soon. My heart breaks for the patients and their families; for the brave frontliners who keep the society going; for all of us who have been confined to this new season of normalcy. This, too, shall pass.

Keep safe and do your best to find happiness amidst sorrow. Donate and/or help if you are able. Post happy thoughts, happy photos. Share useful information. Speak what’s on your mind but please be careful with the intent. Lastly, do things that keep you sane, whatever floats your boat, I’d say. <3

Din

Hey, 2020

I promise to blog more this 2020. I know this is what I want and all I need is consistency. And a lot of authenticity. <3

I officially entered the “mommy blogging world” in 2019 – worked with amazing brands, partnered with different online stores, became visible in events, and so much more. Getting too excited seemed underrated, I was actually over the moon at first. To be really honest, I was blinded with likes, follows, invites. Sa totoo lang, iba talaga ang feeling especially for a stay-at-home mommy like me, going to events was and still is a treat, moreso if you have tokens or payments to take home. But things are not as pretty as it seems.

When I realized what I got myself into, napagod ako. Wuw ang feeling ko naman, to think I only have more or less 2700 Instagram followers. Haha. I feel like ang arte ko to think about all these but it is what it is. I guess napagod lang ako with how it works — I felt like I was always at the mercy of others para lang magka-event or PR kits. I hated that feeling. Especially if you’re made to feel less about yourself for not having XX number of followers. I know I can always choose not to mind but it’s just not right.

But then again, I go back to why I really want to be in this world – I want to share snippets and stories of my motherhood life. I want to tell stories of the products that helped me. I want to be part of a community that speaks the same language as me. And to be completely honest, I want to consider this as a type of work, where my capabilities are needed, my inputs are valued. I want to gain from this blogging world, experience and monetary combined. #SaTrueLang

So, after a few weeks of thinking and deliberating with and by myself haha; I think I already know what I need to do. My my mantra this 2020 is: Stay and slay, but never get swayed away. 🙂 I repeat…

Stay and slay, but never get swayed away


I will continue what I do but this time I’ll be very careful and be more mindful. I will post because I truly believe and not just because I am asked to do so. I will be okay not to be included or considered. I will not second-guess myself and I will not think ill of others. Hard, but pretty doable.

Another thing I will do is, to focus on how I can improve my craft – how to take more interesting photos, you know not just my face, or our face haha. I want more story in every photo, may it be personal or branded content. I want myself to be someone I will never get tired of following. So help me Lord. Hehe. I hope to also learn how to communicate better, thru writing or talking or even thru simple body language.

I don’t want to get involved with senseless chismisan anymore as it drained me last year. I don’t want to be near people who has nothing good to say about others. I want to be with people who can help me grow as a person, as a Mother, and as a Content Creator.

I also promise to write and contribute more for Smart Parenting – it is after all the one that paved the way and I will be forever grateful.

Lastly, I’ll do my best to always go back to my grounding words whenever I would feel eaten by the system again.

Mark 8:36

For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

That’s it pansit. Till my next entry, uhmm maybe next week? WISH! Hahaha

DIN