Being a mother has brought about great changes to Karel Marquez's life.
For one, her priorities have now been diverted from herself to her daughter Keiley, 5, and son Kyler, 4.
"My friends call me Super Wonder Mom now, kasi I'm raising them by myself, and, you know, everything that I do right now is for them.
"Nothing beats the company of my kids, and after everything that I've been through, parang today is my happiest in my life right now."
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"Parang sobra-sobra iyong bawi ni Lord sa akin, and parang I can't believe I'm handling this well, like, the kids are healthy, they're going to school na this June, and... Wala, sobrang saya ko lang.
"And, being a mom, parang, I think, parang ano ko yata, e, nagiging expert na yata ako ngayon. Alam mo iyon?
"And I'm just thankful, especially sa mom ko, sa mga tips niya, ganyan, so okay naman lahat."
SHOPPING FOR HER KIDS. Like every other girl, shopping is part of Karel's "priorities."
But unlike before, she is more into buying stuff for her children than for herself.
"Honestly, when I was single without kids, lahat ng mga ipon ko before, which nag-iipon naman talaga ako, kung meron man akong bibilhin, everything for me.
"Kung may bagong in na bag, kung may bagong in na shoes... Naalala ko talaga ang dami ko niyan. Pero, believe it or not, ngayon, parang wala na akong pakialam.
"Parang automatic na everytime I earn something, iniipon ko or kung ano man, pero it goes to them na talaga, it goes to kung anong mga kailangan nila.
"And minsan, kahit na sinasabi ng friends ko, 'Bumili ka naman ng para sa sarili mo or something,' ayaw ko. Ako na mismo iyong may ayaw."
Apart, of course, from the essentials, Karel makes sure to pick up something extra for her kids—things that others may consider a luxury, but for her are items she believes could help her young ones develop themselves better.
She recommends other parents to get the Softpals and Living Colors Micro lighting fixtures from Philips and Disney for their kids' bedrooms.
These kid-friendly LED lamps are designed with famous cartoon characters, such as Mike and Sully from Monsters University, Lightning McQueen from Cars, Mini Mickey and Minnie, and the Disney Princesses.
"The product is really for the kids, and they look really awesome, kid-friendly... the kids will definitely enjoy it," Karel says.
"I think it will help them to sleep better, especially pag takot sila sa dilim or, you know, they're scared of bad dreams.
"I think it will help a lot, and the quality is really nice. It's cute, malambot, parang toy, you can hug them, so at least they won't be scared of being alone the dark."
PEP asked Karel if she ever encountered a problem with putting her two kids to sleep.
"Well, fortunately, I was able to train them young not to be scared, because I have this routine na whenever they have bad dreams.
"I just tell them to hug their favorite toy, and then pray, and then go back to sleep.
"Kasi, before, they used to cry, and sometimes they would think it's still true. So, ngayon, they're already trained not to be scared.
"I haven't experienced them having tantrums anymore because of bad dreams."
SINGLE PARENT. Parenting is usually tough and especially tougher if you're a single parent.
But Karel seems to have found the secret to staying sane despite the stressful setup that she's in.
"Well, you know, hindi naman maiiwasan na you'll be stressed.
"Baka sa work or maybe... lalo na pag baby [pa ang anako mo] puyat ka, 'tapos, especialy if you're a working mom, you just have to juggle everything.
"Now my kids are 4 and 5, pero pag bata, iyong breastfeeding and all and everything combined into one, paano mo iisipin kung paano mo gagawin?
"So, I guess it's just time management, and kailangan talaga you have to have patience."
Karel also credits the people who work with her to keep her small family going.
"Yeah, it also helps kung meron kang househelp. It could help to find a good one to help to take care of them.
"Lalo na ako, kasi in my line of work minsan puyatan and I have to work for me and my kids... so, it's balance lang, I guess.
"Balance lang everything and you'll be fine."
Speaking of balance, Karel is still able to find time for herself despite her busy schedule as both a breadwinner and homemaker.
"Surprisingly, I still have a lot of time for myself. I like to go to the mall to watch movies. Simple lang naman.
"And because they're bigger now, sometimes sila na ang mall dates ko, so we watch movies pag may bagong cartoons.
"'Tapos, I still do workout. I love working out."
Karel also adds cooking at home as one of her forms of me time.
"I love cooking, as in. Kahit ngayon na may kasambahay na kami, I still do the cooking at home, kasi mahilig akong mag-experiment.
"So, sometimes, iyong hilig kong lutuin, I make new meals for my kids and make it more exciting para naman hindi lang puro rice, 'tapos hotdog.
"Like, the other day, nag-imbento ako ng chicken barbecue fried rice and they enjoyed it.
"Kasi recently lang natuto na sila na magsubo mag-isa, so I'm happy with that. So, ayun, parang mahilig lang akong mag-experiment to make parenting more fun, saka enjoy sila.
"Iyong joy ko kasi ngayon, parang natutuwa ako pag kunwari iyong nasasarapan sila sa luto ko. Simple joys that I really appreciate right now at this moment.
"I mean, compared siguro noon na, siyempre, bata pa tayo noon, ngayon I have kids na, so naturally I have to be more mature, more responsible."
As she turns 28 this year, Karel thanks her children for turning her life around.
"They really changed my life and it's all for the better, because they taught me how to become a better person.
"Even in terms of juggling iyong finances, ganyan, as in everything is for them now, so I kinda changed a lot in a good way."