| Unofficial Website of Ms. Janice de Belen |
| Part 2 S.I.S. FILES |
| �Kids being kids, all we did was fight,� Janice reminisces. �I think that�s only nor-mal. It was only when we got older, when we got to talk and share each other�s secrets, that our relationship got deeper. This was especially true after we got married.� And became mothers themselves. �Now we appreciate each other more,� says Janice. There was a time when Janice was very much married, while Gelli was single. Now that Gelli is blissfully committed, it�s Janice�s turn to be �footloose.� �Parang nag-role reversal kami,� says Janice casually. �Such experiences teach us a lot about life.� And enrich their sisterhood all the more. �When I was still married (to fellow TV host-actor John Estrada), I had a little re-servation about my relationship with Gelli,� Janice volunteers. �I was always scared that she would tell me something that I would rather not hear. Now, we�re very much okay. We can talk about anything, any topic under the sun.� Gelli feels the same way. �When she was still married, things were different. Of course, she had to think about her hus-band all the time. She couldn�t just get up and go with me anywhere. She couldn�t just take her kids to my house any time she wanted. But now, she�s a lot easier to invite to places. It�s a lot easier to have my nephews and nieces for sleep-overs.� Since Gelli is otherwise a fulltime wife (to singer-TV host Ariel Rivera), their sisterly bonding usually takes place in her house. Which is just fine, says Gelli, because both of them would really rather stay at home when they�re not busy with work. And how do they spend their bonding time? �We just talk all day,� she says. �Play with the kids, eat a lot!� Before Gelli and family flew to Canada (to visit Ariel�s clan) during the last holiday season, they spent time with Janice and her kids. �We had an early Christmas party,� Gelli reports. �Her daughters even stayed for the night. They slept in my house.� Such precious moments Gelli and Janice hold dear. They fervently hope their children will develop closeknit family ties. �We try to visit each other as often as we can,� says Gelli. �It�s harder for me to drive all the way to Para�aque. Fortunately, most of the time her work is in Quezon City, where I live. So before she goes to the studio, she passes by my house to drop off her kids. We want my boys and her kids to see each other as often as possible.� Yes, they want their own children to be as close as they are now. �Closer pa nga, if possible.� Gelli beams. GELLI is mom to two boisterous boys: Joaquin Andres, 3, and Julio Alessandro, 1. Janice, for her part, heads a bustling household with five growing kids: Luigi, 15; Ina, 10; Moira, 8; Kaila, 5; Yuan, 3. You can bet their kids will never be wanting in playmates. And how is Janice as tita? �Ay, she spoils my kids!� Gelli gushes. �But she also knows how to discipline my boys. But more often than not, she spoils them!� �But she also spoils my kids,� Janice roars. �Since she�s my sister, she�s like a second mommy to my children. At first, when she was still single, she was a bit of a spoiler. Now, that she is a mommy herself, she kinda understands more. Disci-plinarian na rin siya!� Janice and Gelli, in fact, often give pa-renting advice to each other. �I always tell her: I try to bring up my children the way our parents brought us up,� says Janice. �Our character [formation] starts with the most trivial things. Even when we were as young as five and six years old, our mommy would never stop until we picked up our toys and put them back where we got them. She taught me that. If you open a drawer, learn to close it.� That explains Gelli�s excitement when she told Janice about Julio�s throwing garbage in the trash can. �You might think it�s not that important,� says Janice, �but that would make a lot of difference when they grow up.� Janice, being the more experienced mother between the two, is only too willing to share parenting tips she has picked up over the years. �When my children do something wrong, I don�t force them to apologize,� Janice says. �I want them to think about what they did and decide for themselves what to do next.� Eventually, Janice�s kids approach her to say sorry. Although their kids are like your typical hyperactive children, they have fine manners, a tribute to their moms� parenting skills. �May style ba �yon?� Gelli quips when asked about her personal parenting style. �I can also be strict, but Ariel is more of a disciplinarian than I am.� So how does she cope with the challenge of raising two boys? |
 |