Meet the Hippomum

Hi! I’m Diane “a.k.a.”The Hippo Mum”. I’m proud wife to an amazing husband and mom of three wonderful kids-three and under. I am also an AMI-trained Montessori teacher with a Masters in Education. I was in the classroom for several years until God blessed us with our first child. Since then, I’ve embraced my new role as stay-at-home mom who juggles our daily shenanigans not always with perfection but always with passion. Here, I get to share about discovering joy in marriage, motherhood and Montessori centered on my Master, Jesus Christ.

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Meet the Cast!

First off, I’d like to introduce my main man — my wonderful husband of five years — named Chris!  We met on Eharmony — yes, the online dating site — about seven years ago.  We dated for a year, got engaged and got married a year later.  We had a long-distance relationship. I worked in San Diego while he was in law school in Sacramento.  He is currently an attorney by day and an avid golfer by night.  His dream is to one day play in the Masters (a major golf tournament).

During our courtship, we decided to stay pure and shared our first kiss on our wedding day.  It didn’t take us long to figure out how to expand our family.  Ten weeks into our marriage, we found out we were expecting — a honeymoon baby!  Nine months later, we welcomed our first born, Micah!

Micah is our eldest child.  He is a smart, logical and independent young man.  He turned four a couple of months ago but he is wise beyond his years. He is definitely the perfect definition of a (Chris) “mini-me.”  Micah and Chris have very similar personalities and they even look alike too!  He is a voracious reader and his memory is impeccable.  He has been memorizing books since before he could read.  We could hardly believe it.  At times, he would randomly recite lines during bedtime stories. He is also great at following directions and building Lego sets.  He is also a great big brother to Titus and Kaydi (on most days.)

Next comes our little charmer and the perfect mix of naughty and nice, Titus.  He is a fun-loving, sweet and an intense little man.  He is tender-hearted, sensitive and enjoys big hugs and lots of kisses.  He draws people together with his loving smile and entertaining personality.  He seems to make a friend wherever he goes.  He is curious, adventurous and definitely a little daredevil.  You say “jump” and he says “how high!” He loves to tinker, explore and learn from his environment.  He is our little kinesthetic learner.  He has slowly embraced his new role as a big brother and enjoys kissing his little sister’s hands and feet while she sleeps.

After two boys, God blessed us with a little girl.  Her name is Kaydi.  She’s ten months old and is already a character.  She is the most serious of the three and maintains a more serene personality.  It takes a while to get her to smile but when she does, it definitely captures your heart.  She knows how to get her brothers’ attention and enjoys being around them.  She’s independent, feisty and loves a good meal.  I look forward to getting to know her even more.

Join me as I navigate through my journey in marriage, motherhood and Montessori.  My entries aren’t about a perfect marriage, a perfect family or a perfect home.  Actually, it is quite the opposite.  It is about the amazing grace of God that sustains my imperfect life.  It is about my Master who instructs me to submit joyfully to my husband when I don’t really feel like it, my Maker who encourages me to disciple my children when they drive me crazy and my Messiah who embraces me wholeheartedly when I just can’t get it together.

 

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16 comments

  • I’m definitely following thehippomum!!!

  • Excited to read your entries! =)

  • You are such an excellent mother <3 I am proud to be one of your mini-children before Micah came into the picture. I love you!

  • hey diane,you can post in my fb 🙂 i totally will check out your blog!

  • i can totally relate to all the fast changes/transitions…i’m so glad you’re sharing your thoughts in the blog world!! looking foward to following!!

  • Hi diane! really wish you can stay in Manila with us but I know that’s not an option for now… Thanks to technology… your mentoring can still go on through this blog. =) Can’t thank you enough for all your help. You’re truly a God-sent angel to us.

  • I love your posts! 🙂 You’re such an awesome mommy. I miss you!

  • Hi. I am really blessed to stumble upon your blog. I am actually looking for someone who can help me with homeschooling my kids the Montessori way. My eldest daughter is now a Casa 1 at a Montessori school but my husband would want to homeschool my two kids. However, I am not confident if id be able to implement montessori method at home since i dont have any montessori training and i dont know any umbrella school offering montessori method here in the philippines. If it is not much of a burden for you, i will be really happy to hear from you through email.

    Thanks so much. Continue blessing the other moms. God bless!

  • Hi! didnt receive any reply in the email from you. I was just waiting for your reply that’s why I dint bother to message you too 🙂

  • Awesome article! Thank you!

  • Thank you for letting us in for a ride along your journey as you and Chris raise a family under God 🙂 Love reading your blogs and looking at the pics that capture the experiences and lessons you want to share 🙂 Keep up the good work, for in due time, you will reap a harvest of righteousness in your family! I know so many more moms and families will benefit from your fresh and real stories of God’s amazing grace working out His perfect plan for your imperfect life 🙂

  • December 1, 2016

    Ms. Diane

    whenhippostalk.com

    Dear Ms. Diane

    Greetings!

    We would like to invite you to stART Hope, a benefit event and the first ever art exhibit curated purely by homeschooled students in the Philippines.

    Ranging from ages seven to fifteen, these young individuals from Homeschool@Alabang and Homeschool@Valle Verde have united their efforts in the pursuit of hope for the hopeless.

    The main beneficiary of the event, Nice So, is an artist who was diagnosed with the incurable disease of lupus when she was in grade school. While in the hospital, she unearthed her innate artistic talents and has been painting and selling her artworks to help other kids with lupus and other incurable diseases.

    Alongside her will be Niño Hernandez, an international and local contemporary artist, and Ginger de Guia, a professional calligraphist who “colors for a purpose”. Fellow homeschooler and budding artist, Waby Liberia, will also make her debut in the art scene.

    At the Kanto Artist-Run Space gallery in Makati, stART Hope will greet the New Year with youthful expectations starting January 7 to 26, 2017.

    We will hold a Media Launch about our exhibit on December 3, 2016 at The Crafter’s Marketplace, Ground Floor, Rustan’s EDSA Shangri-La, Mandaluyong.

    The Exhibit’s launch is on January 7, 2016, 3PM at Kanto Art-Run Space, 2nd Floor, Makati Cinema Square. Featured artists, seasoned performers, homeschool talents and more will be part of the exhibition launch program.

    We hope that you will be a part of our pioneering event as an esteemed guest for coffee talk and an artistic engagement. Please RSVP by responding to this email and/or through our Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/stARTofHope.

    Thank you for your belief and support!

    Respectfully,

    Bea Liberia
    Grade 5

    Communication and Collaboration

    Homeschool @ Alabang

    • HI BEA!

      So sorry I was not able to come because I live in the US and I came back already. I would have loved to have been a part of it. Maybe when I visit again I would be able to do it! 🙂

      Thanks so much! I appreciate the invite a lot!

      diane

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