Blessed

I have been remiss in updating this blog for over three months now... I just can't seem to find the time to sit down and really write these days.  It's not that I lack topics to write about... in fact I have so much to say I don't know where to start.

My son, Adam, who's now three years and five months old is starting to learn how to read and write already... although I didn't enroll him in a daycare center (like his cousins) or a tutorial center, we try to teach him little by little at home.  Me, my mom and my husband Charlie take turns in guiding him how to write and identify letters and numbers.  And we do need to take turns, because he can be quite stubborn when he's not in the mood.  Even when you're at your calmest, sometimes your patience would really be tested when Adam's in one of his naughty moods.  So when I feel like I'm almost on the edge of getting angry with frustration, I take a step back and ask for a substitution! :))

My daughter, Charlize, is now eight months old.  She's just a happy little baby.  Even when she was nursing a fever and had colds a couple of weeks back, she didn't lose her smiles and laughter.  She's also started eating baby food when she turned 6 months and she eats with gusto!  She loves the Cerelac Soya and Monggo variant as well as the brown rice and milk variant.  She also loves Gerber Pears and Gerber Bananas.  Like her Kuya, she drinks Enfa A+ milk... she's now on Enfapro A+, while her Kuya is already on Enfakid A+.

Work, as always is an endless battle with paperwork, cataloging and encoding... but that's what I signed up for so no more complaints from me... Besides, I am lucky to have a job that pays enough so we could get by without having to beg for our keep.  Hubby is also kept busy with work but fortunately, both of us work from Monday to Friday only so we always spend the weekend with the kids.

We are blessed...

Water Color

Last weekend, I let my son use his free water color set from Enfakid A+.  He had lots of fun, painting the coloring pages that I printed out for him.

Hubby and I got in on the fun too... Adam was so proud of his work that he put them all on display on our refrigerator door.  After that, he had nothing else to talk about but coloring the rest of the day.  Even during Sunday mass, he kept saying that he was going to show Mamu & Dada (my parents, his grandparents) all of his work and that we should print more coloring pages so he could paint more.  I asked him to be quiet at least during mass and we will do so... He was very good and quiet until the mass was finished that we rewarded him to a trip to the mall and his favorite arcade.  Afterwards, we had early dinner at KFC.

Hearts Month

Today was my third (and thankfully, the last) day of "calling in sick" at work.  Over the recent weekend, my cough and colds got worse so I wasn't able to go to work since Monday so that I could recuperate faster.  As I was feeling a bit better, hubby asked me to go on a post-Valentine's Day movie date with him.  It has been quite a while since we've watched a movie (in the theater) so I said yes.  Plus I really, really am super excited with the sequel of Ghost Rider  so even though I was still coughing occasionally, I wasn't able to pass up on this.  I don't like to elaborate too much on the film as I might get carried away and give out spoilers... suffice it to say that you really should watch this if you liked the first movie.  I just love Nicolas Cage... next movie to look forward to would be National Treasure 3:

Since I have been in bed almost the whole time that I was home these past couple of days (my kids are with my mom at my parents' house so they wouldn't catch what I have) I was able to squeeze in reading a couple of books I have purchased a while back but has not gotten the chance to read.  "Call After Midnight" and "Stolen" by Tess Gerritsen were the ones I couldn't put down once I started reading them so I got to finish them.  Lately, I have been looking for more Tess Gerritsen books that my collection of Sandra Brown books may soon be matched by a new favorite author!

Also, since I had so much free time... I was able to research on how I could further stimulate my son's mind by giving him more educational activities at home.  I was already talking to my husband and my mom about enrolling him at a nearby school but my mom said it might be too early for him.  This article is also very helpful when contemplating on "school" choices for your kids.  I haven't reached a final plan yet, but this summer, I would definitely be looking for an activity to expose Adam to "school environment" so I could gently ease him into it and avoid the "crying" when it's time for him to attend "real school" already.

Tomorrow, I'll be going back to work... back to papers and deadlines...

The Graduate

My youngest sister graduated last Wednesday, March 30 with a degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management. I must say, that it was quite a happy moment for the whole family since Mae, has been hard at work and study at the same time for almost two years now. She started out as a full time student her first two years of college and then became part of the Jollibee SEEDS Program that enabled her to work, study and earn a bit at the same time. Both my parents has been retired for almost three years now, so aside from the 12,000 per semester shouldered by Jollibee, we have to come up with the rest of the money that is needed to complete her tuition fee. I am fortunate enough to have been able to contribute enough financial and moral support to my very industrious sister who is now a full-pledged graduate! So you may understand how ecstatic I am that we have hurdled the worst, and she would now be able to support herself and maybe help out with my parents' household needs. I love you, Mae, we are so proud of you!

After the graduation rites, we celebrated with a monster meal delivery from Shakey's.  We were all so hungry but we didn't get to finish all of it even though the food was tasty.  Maybe we're just too tired or maybe there was just too much food. :))

Weekend

Weekends these days aren't really as relaxed... Since I don't have help, I do the laundry on Saturday mornings and attend to Adam the rest of the day. When Adam wasn't walking yet, it was easier, but now that he's really mobile, we very seldom spend it lazing around in the house, enjoying the quiet time. These days, even when we are watching a video of his favorite toons (Pocoyo, Handy Manny & Mickey Mouse Clubhouse), he would say "Mommy, bas tayo" or "Mommy, walk tayo bas". And you have to either keep him busy with something else or succumb to the call of the outside because he wouldn't stop asking. Sunday mornings, I spend ironing my and charlie's uniforms then it's family bonding time once again. But as I watch "my boys" goofing around or just sitting together, I feel like our weekend time together is always "bitin". How I wish I could spend more time with my hubby and son...

Special Fried Rice

I was inspired with Ms. Connie's post and has always been a sucker for fried rice that I made this last night:

It is not actually Yang Chow because of the absence of roast pork but I added diced ham, green peas, cabbage, eggs, diced hotdogs and leftover longganisa.  My family loved it!

Refrigerated Cake (Peaches)

Since I was able to go home early yesterday, I had time to look at our pantry and see what I can "tinker" with... I found an unopened bottle of peaches which I bought a week ago (thinking I was going to have peach melba) a couple of packs of Graham Crackers and All purpose cream.  All I needed was milk and I was ready to begin preparing my refrigerated cake.

It only took 30 minutes to prepare the cake so after placing in the fridge, I still had time to play with a Adam for a while.  I guess I must have played with my son a little longer than I was planning to or maybe my cake was just that irrisistible that before I knew it...

...my brother has already sliced his share of it! nyahahaha!  Anyway, I was planning to put it in a nice serving plate and garnish it with the peaches I set aside specifically for that purpose and then take a picture of it, but this was the only picture I was able to take because as soon as my sisters and mom got wind that the cake was already sliced, they also took their share and ate it! :)

Going Home

Tomorrow, Adam and I are going home... Charlie has finally declared he has less overtime work from tomorrow onwards and so he'll have more time to bond with Adam when he gets home, that's why we have decided that it's about time we go home to our apartment.  It will also serve as our practice for when I go back to work.  The plan is that I will bring Adam to my parents house in the early morning before going to work and fetch him from there after office.  I am crossing my fingers that this plan would work because we don't have a nanny for Adam yet.

My going home means even lesser updates for this blog because I would have to dedicate more time to Adam and my mom and sisters wouldn't be there to look after Adam while I go online.  Besides, I only have a prepaid internet connection at home and I doubt I will remember to reload...

So to my readers (if there are any)... please bear with me and expect more updates from March 20 onwards because by that time I would be able to access my blog more often (during lunch and coffee breaks) at the office.

Still...

To everyone who has been wondering whether "Labor Day" has come and gone for me, well... it hasn't! I am still awaiting Adam's arrival until now. Meanwhile, I have organized and re-organized stuff around the apartment, cleaned until there isn't a speck of dust, watched TV until my eyes are tired and thought out every scenario of when and how I'm going to have this baby. It's hard pala when you're this bored... specially for me, because I have always lacked the patience to wait! Now, I'm at my parents' house. Charlie has finally put his foot down and said I should not exhaust myself too much and just wait patiently for when Adam is ready and willing to come out. He has a point, I mean all these complaining and re-arranging of whatever I get my hands on isn't going to help... Besides hubby would at least have his piece of mind while he's at the office, now that I'm here where there would be lots of people who could call him and bring me to the hospital when the time comes. My youngest sister promised Charlie she would accompany me to long walks every afternoon (after school) to hasten Adam's descent.

Yesterday's checkup and ultrasound (yes another one!) resulted to just like the one I had a week before... still 2cm... and Adam's still 7 lbs. (which is making me worry even more if I'm going to be able to deliver normally) My next checkup is scheduled for the 27th and I am hoping that by then there would be a development that would lead to my giving birth na!

Anyway, to keep my mind off all that, my neice Marian has been a constant source of entertainment. I mean looking at the pictures below, wouldn't you get entertained as well?!

Happy House

I know it sounds like the name of a biscuit (here in the Philippines) but it's not about that. It's my first time to join Tuesday Toot and I hope I'm doing it right... here goes:

Today I was able to finish cleaning the spare bedroom at our apartment (it might sound as not such a great accomplishment to most people but when your 8 months preggy and you almost always feel like your tummy is going to "pop" any minute from it's sheer hugeness and heaviness... this is quite an accomplishment for me!) and now it's ready for when my hubby's cousin comes to stay with us (maybe 2nd week of January). She's going to help out with the baby when it comes specially since I only have a couple of months leave (maternity) and then I'd have to go back to work again. I believe a clean house is a happy house and so I feel that my house is happy now that I got to finish clearning out the boxes and whatnot from that spare room after almost 4 months!

Monday Madness

I was 5 minutes late today, hence I was not able to attend the flag ceremony. But that's not what's bothering me now... It's this freaking cough and colds I am suffering from! I have tons of work to finish here in the office plus several errands to run to during lunch break and I can't seem to stop sneezing or coughing! Oh and did I mention that everytime I cough my tummy aches and I wonder if my baby is still ok... hay...

Anyway, I had very little done over the weekend because I have been feeling sick since Friday afternoon so I have nothing much to report. Just did a much needed shoe shopping yesterday (since my old office shoes are getting their well-deserved rest for a couple of months now - they don't fit me right anymore plus I prefer flats nowadays) and had a bit of room re-arranging (with the help of my sister, Mae) so as to accommodate the coming of the crib for the baby. Oh yeah, did I mention that hubby had a change of mind recently? Before, we were so set on moving to the townhouse we were able to acquire through Pag-ibig Housing Loan by January of next year - right before the baby arrives. Now, he's saying we should stay at our current apartment for a while longer and wait until the baby is older before we move so we would still be a stone's throw away from my parents' home and look in on their grandson while we're at work. I know it makes a lot of sense, but our apartment is so cramped that I had to be super creative as to the furniture arrangement so we could fit in our baby's coming stuff! It's good that my sister is currently on her Semestral Break and she was able to help me with the moving of the larger pieces of furniture (Charlie had to work over the weekend). And then after the exhausting re-arrangement, I treated my sister (and myself) to a meal at Karate Kid where I really enjoyed the potato balls and the bottomless iced tea, hehehe!

Hmmm... now it's back to work for me so I could meet my deadlines! I just wish this blasted cough would go away really soon, so I could concentrate better.

Lazy Day

Today, being a holiday and all... I didn’t wake up until I really, really had to go to the bathroom already. And since my last nocturnal stroll was around 3:30am, I was able to “hold it” until around 11am. After the usual morning rituals, I immediately prepared “brunch” for me and my already super hungry husband (he only had coffee when he woke up at around 9am) and enjoyed a leisurely meal of tuna omelette, longganisa, fried rice and hot chocolate (a tall glass of ice cold softdrink, for hubby). And then after doing the dishes (while hubby cleans the house), here I am typing away at our PC as I wait for Charlie to finish taking a shower so I could take my turn at doing the same... We’re off to the mall today to do a bit of window shopping for baby stuff and maybe watch a movie. Yipee!

Crib Choices

Lately, I have been looking at different possibilities as to how my baby's room would look like... (I could dream, couldn't I?) And these are a couple of the pictures I saw that I really, really liked.

Hopefully, I'd be able to set up a nursery similar to any of these two by December when we start renovations on our house in Cavite. But if our budget would not permit us to be as lavish as we want to be in setting up our baby's room, I would settle for a portable crib like this.

Friday, Fry Day?

Thank God it's Friday once again... I can sleep longer tomorrow... We've already contracted someone to come to the house and do the laundry and ironing so that's two things crossed out on my to-do list for the weekend. The thing is, I have to cook dinner and I'm super tired from work already that I don't feel like cooking something more complicated than fried chicken... so, Fried chicken it is! Maybe I'll just make one of those instant soup to serve with the chicken so dinner wouldn't be so dry. Charlie would just have wait for a day when I don't feel so tired (or lazy) to taste another culinary masterpiece (ha!).

God's Gift

The past week or so has been truly a chaos of unforgettable happenings in my life. And I have restrained myself from blogging about them for various reasons that I don't want to dwell on... let's get on with the recent events that made my life even more exciting and happy...

First, there is the completion of my parents' home. Although I am a bit sad that I don't get to see them everyday like when they moved in with us while their house is being re-built, I am happy to report that they are now home and currently enjoying their new house.

more pictures to follow (since they're still rearranging their stuff)

and then here's the more personal, and really happy news... I'm pregnant! Finally! Oh yes, I can finally say it, I am 7 weeks and 1 day pregnant today! After two long years of waiting to finally be able to say that we are going to have a baby, I am ecstatic to announce this news to one and all!

I have already gone to an OB to have my HCG levels checked and see how far along I really am because ever since I have stopped taking my fertility meds months ago, my monthly period has gone irregular again. I underwent ultrasound to check my due date... turns out I was only 6 weeks 1 day preggy even though my last period was in March.

The OB said I had a nicely shaped (because it was round and big daw) gestational sac but it was too early to see the baby so I was adviced to go back after two weeks for another TVS and we'll go from there. I have been reading up on different mommy stories on when their baby was first seen on ultrasound and some of the stories were depressing because some turned out to have a blighted ovum or anembryonic pregnancy but I am staying postive and keeping the faith that this would not be the case for me.... There were also several stories I've read that said their babies weren't visible in the ultrasound until they were well on their 8th week so and their babies turn out healthy and without complications... Besides, nothing and no one can rain on my parade now, I am grateful that my current OB is very positive as well and tells me there is a greater chance that it was just really too early to see the baby. She prescribed me a couple of weeks worth of prenatal vitamins and scheduled my visit on the 24th of this month. I am continuously praying that everything would turn out ok... I went on leave for one week last week, just so I could stay off my feet for long periods and have ample time to rest and de-stress myself. I didn't even take allergy medications eventhough I was so covered in red spots for a couple of days due to the intense heat (the doctor said it was safe to take my meds and my heightened sensitivity to allergens was due to my changing levels of hormones) and just stayed inside our airconditioned bedroom most of the time (mindless of how huge our electric bill would be). I am currently feeling breast tenderness and slight cramping everytime I stand for long periods but other than that, I am fine... I am happy and staying focused on having a healthy baby. (Walang kokontra!)

Let Me Explain...

I have not been able to blog or even just go online to check my e-mail for the last couple of days because Charlie and I became parents for the weekend (for the second time). This time, it was just the two of us who had to take care of baby Marianne because my sister was not with us to help. It was quite tiring but really gratifying to be able to take care of such an adorable bundle of joy. We picked Marianne (who hubby now calls "princess" and sometimes "baby namin") from my parents' place at around 4pm last Saturday and took her home for us to take care of for the rest of the weekend. That night, Charlie and I were both sleep deprived not because the baby was crying all the time but because we were both watching her closely. She sleeps well enough but she keeps tossing and turning (later on we found out that she's like that all the time) so we thought she was cold or someting so we put a blanket over her but she keeps taking it off so we just let her be. She woke us up (it's not like we were able to sleep deeply anyway) at around 4:30am and she was all smiles and cooing that you cannot resist playing with her right away. Hubby took her (on the stroller) for a walk around the subdivision at around 6am while I prepared breakfast and cleaned the house. And then after her bath and morning feeding she slept until lunch which was good because I was able to cook lunch before she woke up. Hubby had to fix the brakes on his motorcycle for a while so I was left with Marianne. We watched cartoons for a while, munched on a biscuit, jumped on the sofa (while holding on to me of course), crawled around the bed, had another bottle of milk and slept until 4pm. It was a good thing we finished the laundry on Saturday morning before we picked her up because we were not able to do any other chore around the house while taking care of the baby. Anyway, Charlie and I realized after my dad picked her up last night that having a baby isn't easy, specially if you don't have any help but it was doable. I had experience taking care of babies because I took care of my youngest sister and some of my other neices and nephews... Charlie on the other hand was a newbie and was quite surprised at how much attention the baby needs but all in all it was a weekend that would be on our top 10 most unforgettables and we would always be thankful to Marianne and her parents for letting us experience being parents even for just a couple of days.

here she is sleeping in the middle of our bed (around 11:30pm)

here she is waking Charlie up at 4:30am

playing with her bottle after her morning feeding

slept again after her bath

woke up energetic and happy

one more picture before dressing up to go with Aunt Mae and Daddy H.

So that's why I was not able to update this blog nor go bloghopping for the last couple of days... that's the explanation... anyway, Thank you to those who visited my blog over the weekend and I hope to be able to visit your sites too within the week.

Feng Shui of Colors

All this research about home renovations and interior decorating brought me to a lot of sites that I've never been to. While deciding on what paint colors I would use for the different rooms in our house, I came upon this concept: that colors also brings about certain energies and since Feng Shui makes use of the reflected energies from colors, there is such a thing as Feng Shui of colors.

Every association you have with a color contributes in some way to how you are. That is why colors play a meaningful role within the practice of Feng Shui. It is very essential for you to understand why toning down or playing up certain Feng Shui colors in your home will help you to achieve the goals you have set for yourself in your life.

Further readings made me realize that there are a lot of colors to choose from and which rooms these colors could work well with. Hmmm... I still have yet to finalize the look for the tiny space alloted for the kitchen but I know I want something red in it, if not a wall, maybe the trimmings for the cabinets or cupboards as Red is said to represent the energy of sun and life. Which means that the right amount of red in your home will bring joy, excitement and passion. Besides red is a color for celebrations and where else best to start a celebration than the kitchen?

House Plans Made Easy

If you have visited this blog before, you may have known about me and hubby being busy preparing to move in to our new home hence the home improvement plans... I have been browsing the net for ideas and tips on making these renovations when I came across SmartDraw 2008. It really is very easy to use and quite helpful in making professional looking plans even if it's your first time to use it. I even got to use it planning for the home improvements of my parents house. I just made the plan using SmartDraw, printed it out and showed it to a contractor for an estimate. I tell you, if you're planning on making home improvements or is simply thinking of moving your furniture around, use this very user-friendly software and you can't go wrong. Oh and not only that, you can also use SmartDraw for floor plans during receptions, conferences and other events. If I just knew of this software while I was making the seating plans and table placement for my wedding reception, then it wouldn't have been as complicated... it is truly amazing how this software can ease your home improvement and floor planning needs. By the way, this is not a paid post! I just got so excited in being able to find such a software that I felt the need to share it with you. I know a lot of us would be making home improvements sooner or later so... SmartDraw has a trial version which you can download in a minute and start using right away. The trial lasts for 8 days so you can experiment with it a lot first before buying. Happy planning!

Rainy Days and Mondays

I don't know if I've written a post with the same title before but I can't think of anything more apt to name this post than just that... I woke up feeling sick this morning, I had an upset stomach and I had to haul myself down to the bathroom three times to throw up! And it was before 6am! Needless to say, by the time my stomach started to settle down and my hubby's 6:30am alam went off, I was feeling all the more tired and sleepy and wretched... and to make matters worse, the rain started pouring. Oh, normally I would be happy getting a little rainfall in this heat but I guess I was just feeling bad that the rain didn't do anything much to uplift my spirits. By the time I sent hubby off to work, I was dragging my feet just so I could get hot water for my tea and a muffin from the bread box. So anyway, here I am... at home (i decided not to go to work today)... trying to lift my mood by blogging... It's working a little bit but I still feel sleepy... Maybe later I'lll go back to bed and sleep... but for now, I am browsing the net for more home improvement ideas and probable deals on building materials while finishing off my tea.

Makati Adventure

First of all, let me just say that it has been quite a while since I visited Makati. Besides, I have never been known for skills in locating places most specially while commuting. I am a self-confessed "geographically challenged" person and I am not ashamed of admitting it. Ok, having said that... Hubby (who by the way has never been to the places we went to yesterday) and I went to the Atrium in Makati for our Pag-ibig counselling seminar and to Herrera Tower where Charles Builders (Gecland Dev. Corp.) was housed. We are already on the final steps in acquiring our own home and so it was quite an exciting day for us. We set off on our "adventure" at around 8am (I know it's quite late considering we didn't know exactly where we were going and we were supposed to be there by 10am for the seminar but I forgot some of the papers we were going to bring in my office so we had to swing by there first before going to Makati) and arrived at the Atrium of Makati at exactly 10:45am. Yes folks, it took us two and a half hours to get from Las Piñas to Makati. Why? Well, needless to say, because of the slower than turtle speed of traffic, plus we were unsure of where to walk to when we got off the bus so... Anyways, we were informed that we were already too late for the 10-12 Seminar and that the next developer-assisted seminar would be at 3pm that day or 9am the next day so we opted to wait for the 3pm one. We decided to go to Herrera Tower first so we could sign documents and submit the requirements we lacked before to the developer of the townhouse we were acquiring. But before doing so, we had a quick bite to eat first. We got to Charles Builders at around 12:30 and had to wait another 30 minutes to get assisted because it was their lunch break. Anyway, by 1pm hubby and I were both signing away at a couple of inches thick of documents. After being evaluated and rated fit-to-go, our papers were submitted and the only thing we needed to do was attend the seminar at Pag-Ibig. We went back to the Atrium at around 2:30pm, armed ourselves with bottled Iced Tea and waited for the 3pm seminar. It could have lasted for just an hour but of course a lot of people had a lot of questions so it lasted an hour and fourty-five minutes. We were given the certificate we needed and off we went by a quarter to five. We were so hungry and tired by this time (plus the heat wasn't helping) so we decided to walk to Landmark and have something to eat there. Now, normally I would have window shopped or even bought something in the mall but I was starting to feel the onslaught of migrane so we just ate at the food center in the basement and grabbed food for muffy (our dog) and pizza for our dinner and went to find our means of transportation home. I know we could have walked towards SM near the MRT station for the FX taxi's which would only cost 45 bucks each but like I said, I was too tired already and my head was starting to pound so we just endured the long queue at the taxi bay at the Landmark. We got home at around 8pm and we paid 200 bucks for the taxi fare (the meter showed only 150 but we were gateful to reach home without negotiating with the cab driver so it was only fitting that we give him the 50 pesos tip). I could have gone online last night and blogged for a while but I just didn't have the strength so I ate a couple of slices of Pizza drank lots and lots of water, took a shower, watch PBB teen edition while waiting for my hair to get dry and then slept! It was quite an adventure but it was fulfilling to know that we have accomplished a lot yesterday and we just have to wait for 7 working days to get approval of our housing loan (I'm keeping my fingers crossed). Today, we are going on another hunting trip. This time we're looking for building materials for the home improvement of my parents' house in Parañaque. Haay, life...