How #MetroMom Niña Corpuz Keeps Busy With Her Kids This ECQ

Not all mothers have the luxury of spending quality time with their kids all the time, especially when they have to work to help their husbands provide for the family. But if there’s one thing that the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) has done for many families, it’s to give them lots of time catch up with each other, bond, and strengthen their relationship by coping with the crisis altogether.   

ABS-CBN host and author Niña Corpuz-Rodriguez has three kids: Stella, 8; Emily, 5; and Luke, 2. While she’s grateful for this chance to spend time with her family, safe at home, she acknowledges that juggling being a mom 24/7 with some work on the side comes with challenges. “It’s hard to be a mom; it’s one of the toughest jobs in the world. I takes a lot from you physically, mentally, and emotionally. But we find ourselves to be stronger than we think we are,” Niña says.

Thankfully, Niña has found creative ways to channel her kids’ restless energy into something more productive. From the comforts of their home, she shares with Metro Channel what she and her kids have been up to throughout the lockdown.

Baking

Instead of just focusing on feeding your kids, why not let them help in the process? At Niña’s house, everyone has their own favorite baked goodie, so everyone has to make their own version. For example, when they’re making cookies, Stella and Emily has to help so they can make their own favorite versions—peanut butter for Stella and chocolate chip for Emily.

Niña reveals that for chewy cookies, their secret ingredient is cake flour.

Arts and crafts

When they’re not eating, the dining table also transforms into their arts and crafts table. Last Easter, Niña and the kids spent the weekend making colorful eggs, egg holders, and origami bunnies.

Doing arts and crafts with your kids not only makes for an excellent bonding opportunity, but also lets them (and you, too!) unleash their creativity while keeping them busy.

DIY masks

Wearing masks all the time will be the new normal for a while even when the ECQ has been lifted. That’s why as early as now, Niña is taking the time to inculcate in her kids the importance of keeping themselves protected from coronavirus (COVID-19).

Niña gets them involved by teaching them to create their own no-sew face mask using handkerchiefs and hair ties.

Designing

Apart from her stint as a broadcaster and TV host, Niña has recently started designing and selling her own line of clothing using Inabel fabric. And during this quarantine, the brand Nina Inabel has kept her and the kids busy. She shared with Metro Channel the part of their house where she works on her collections.

Nina Inabel started out as a children’s clothing line because Niña loved to dress Emily and Stella in handwoven clothes. And now that it has grown to a full-pledged clothing brand, she has started to introduce it to her kids, to help them understand and appreciate her work.

“I try my best to be present, to connect to them, to listen to them because kids have always something to say,” says Niña. And indeed, her efforts in connecting with her kids have paid off.

Seated in the long antique narra table that her husband gave her during her birthday, Niña and the kids would spend hours huddled around the table, sketching and planning new designs. It has served as Niña’s “me time” and a great influence on the kids this lockdown.

And it’s not just her kids who are growing and learning something this lockdown; Niña says that she herself has picked up a lesson or two from her kids during these trying times. According to Niña, she learned “to appreciate the little things and be grateful for who they are right now,” because these moments are what she can treasure and look back on when they grow older. These are priceless memories that cannot be repeated or replaced. 

Photos from @ninacorpuz