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...

Plastic or Paper?

More and more people are getting more aware of the impact of our day to day activities to our environment.  This is more evident in the new ordinances that some of the cities here in the Philippines have put into effect.  Like now, in Las Piñas City, when you go to the malls or groceries, they don't use plastic bags anymore.  Your purchases will be placed in paper bags or you bring your own recyclable bags.  At first, like most new things, it can be quite a hassle, specially if you forgot to bring your own bag and you have to commute carrying all your purchases in brown paper bags without handles.  But once you get used to it, and you think of how in your own little way, you have contributed to helping save our planet, then it definitely is worth the effort!

Temper

As a child (until I was in my early adult years), I have been known to succumb to the occasional temper tantrums.  Although, of course, they were much less often as I grew older.  I am not known for my patience but rather for the lack of it.  When I gave birth to my first child, my son, Adam, my friends and family told me that I was going to have to learn to be more patient and that there always has to be room for compromise.  They were right.  Specially now that Adam is already about to turn 3 years old and I have a newborn to take care of, being a mommy also means being a negotiator, a nurse, a playmate and a teacher.  All the said occupations require a certain amount of patience and understanding.  I cannot just lose my temper.  I cannot just launch into a shouting session or be angry at my kids.  Even as a wife, I have learned to control the sudden surge of emotions that come with not getting things to go the way you plan it.  Life just doesn't work that way.

Fresh

Since we are still at the beginning of 2012, I've decided to start fresh... at home, I have rearranged our bedroom furniture, bought new bedsheets and curtains (that compliment each other) and did a bit of general cleaning.  I even went as far as sorting the clothes in our closets.  I have "thrown out" those that we have not worn for quite some time either because they don't fit us anymore or we have just worn them out.  I still haven't touched our living areas yet since I plan on buying new furniture for that by summer, but there was still some "clean-up energy" left so I decided to rearrange my workplace also.  Of course I wouldn't be able to finish this in one work day because I still have to entertain clients that come to the office and there's just too much paperwork to be organized, but so far, so good!  My office table has been moved to a more favorable position and the sofa that serves as the waiting area for my clients (if I have more than one at a time) has also been placed better.  I'm lucky that I have my own office so that I don't have to take into consideration what my officemate would want instead of my preference.  My other co-workers were just surprised when they entered my office today but the general consensus is that the new arrangement is much more pleasing to the eye as well as more effective and dynamic.

Breakfast

With all the rich food that we have taken in during the holidays, I just lost my appetite for the usual bread and butter or fried rice, eggs and hotdog breakfast.  It's a good thing that my mother-in-law brought us dried fish from Ilocos during her last visit with us.  So here's my breakfast for today!

Eating this, you really have to use your bare hands... it adds to the pleasure of eating "tuyo" dipped in spicy vinegar.  I know one shouldn't eat too much salty foods but when you eat it just once in a while, I don't think it would be that bad.  I just had a craving and had to fulfill it!

Troubles

Lately, I have been looking for the right words... the strength... the time... to be able to put into writing the quite busy and trouble-laden weeks that has been plaguing me.  First, I am having quite a difficult pregnancy and although I have been advised by my OB to take a leave of absence from my work, I just can't.  Short of someone offering us financial assistance, hubby and I just can't afford a month or so of me not having any form of income at all.  We are barely able to save up for my forthcoming delivery from both our monthly income as it is that I just can't imagine how we can survive if go on leave now.  So that's that... I can't complain about having work because it's a blessing that both hubby and I have jobs when others don't, I just pray everything's going to be alright with baby #2.  See the thing is I have a low-lying placenta and... well to make the long explanation short, it is causing me pain and I have to take meds and all that... and hopefully my condition will improve soon!  And then, just when I am having difficulty moving around like I did before, Adam got sick, and was cranky and wanted to be carried all the time.  Of course, I can't carry him for more that a minute or so, so I had to ask my hubby and sister to do it for me but Adam wouldn't have it that way so he got even more cranky and short of just breaking down and crying with him, I had to be more creative in keeping him entertained while he was still feeling sick.  Oh, and of course between me and Adam having to take meds, it only means even more expenses...  *sigh* even writing about it makes me exhausted... I just pray these troubles go away soon!

Manila Zoo

It has been over a decade since my last trip to Manila Zoo so I was excited both for my son (who will see it for the first time) and for me too. I have been hearing good reviews of the renovations for this place that I have been wanting to visit for the longest time. Hubby and I were awake and getting ready for the trip as early as 7AM, unfortunately, we let Adam sleep late the night before so he woke up late (9AM), as a result, it was already past 10AM when we left the house. My mom, dad, youngest sister, Mae and my neice, Cheska, went with us on our "field trip".

Anyway, the trip itself was quick enough since it was a weekday and we didn't encounter that much traffic. Manila Zoo was... well, a bit disappointing for me since I was expecting a much improved place, but that's just me... what's important is that Adam loved seeing the animals for the first time (well, most of them, he saw for the first time) instead of just looking at them in his picture books or seeing them on TV and videos. He almost threw a tantrum though, when the "bebra" (his way of saying zebra) didn't come out in the open. It was the one animal he really wanted to see in person but Adam had bend over the fence just to get a peek. Good thing when went over to the tigers cage, they were roaring and moving around... he really enjoyed that and didn't want to go to see the other animals anymore. He loved hearing the tigers loud roars (while I was scared just hearing one roar) and even imitated them. We stayed in front of the tigers' cage for a good twenty minutes. The only reason Adam lost interest was when Charlie bought him a monkey stuffed toy from a vendor nearby. Adam hung the monkey around his neck even as we gave him his milk while sitting in one of the benches inside the park.

After the "field trip" we went to Congo Grille at SM Mall of Asia for a super late lunch and also to celebrate my youngest sister's birthday. We were supposed to go on the "Cruise" of Manila Bay right behind MOA but the kids were all tired out already so decided to postpone it to a later date. We passed by Dampa instead to buy prawns (my sister's favorite) which we later cooked in lemon butter sauce and ate to our belly's content for dinner.

P.S.

Kiong Hee Huat Tsai!

Adam @ 2 yrs.

Like I've mentioned before, we ditched the big party idea for my son's 2nd birthday.  Instead, I cooked spaghetti and we had cake and ice cream for my baby on the 26th and then we went on a "family day field trip" on the 28th.

The little boy woke up with a smile on his face as we were singing happy birthday to him the night before and he was super excited to blow the candles on his cake.

As soon as the spaghetti was cooked, we dug in right away...

The birthday celebrant ate lots! *syempre spaghetti's one of his favorites these days*

And then Tita Mae, lighted the candles on the birthday boy's cake *notice that the boy is already trying to blow them out even before we finished lighting the candles*

And then of course, we had to help him blow out the candles or they will melt until there's nothing to blow anymore.  But he asked to do it again (light the candles and blow them out) three times.  The only reason he stopped asking to do it over is when we told him it was time to eat the cake!

Oh, and he had to help cutting the cake, because no one's allowed to touch much less to eat the cake if he's not the one serving, hahaha!

It doesn't matter that there was more cake on his chin and cheeks *and on the floor* basta big boy na sya so sya na lang daw kakain on his own.

And after the feeding frenzy, we went to hear mass.

Soon as we stepped back home, he asked for ice cream!

And here's the birthday boy clowning around for the camera.

And here he is again, holding one of his favorite gifts *this one's from me*, a pillow in the image of his new favorite cartoon character, Lightning McQueen.

Note: Pictures and kwento about the field trip to follow.

Biggest Loser

Yesterday marked the first day of our "biggest loser" program at the office.  Actually it's not really an office thing, but together with a few officemates, I started working on my weight loss project.  The motivation for all of us (aside from the health benefits, of course) is the pot money.  Each person who decided to join the "biggest loser" thingie agreed to give a certain amount of money which would be the price for whoever loses the most weight after 3 months.  We had our "official initial weigh in" yesterday and our "official weigh in results" would be taken on April 7, 2011.  The premise is that we would have workouts as a group every Tuesdays and Thursdays after office hours but the rest is up to you.  Whether you want to work out on your own and accompany it with a diet that best suits you is all in your hands.  We had a fun and sweaty workout yesterday and everyone who joined (not all included in the picture above) is looking forward to the next "session"!

Optimistic

I want to start the year right, I want to be able to blog more yet work as efficiently and be a mom and wife at the same time... talk about multi-tasking!  Anyway, 2010 has been a year of ups and downs, like most years are, and I'm sure 2011 would be another roller-coaster ride.  But whatever blessings or obstacles come our way this year, I want to stay positive and stay mature about everything.  I have been a bit of a procrastinator for the past several months but I want to do away with that this year.  Optimistic and Participative... that's what I want to be more of for 2011.  I'm crossing my fingers, praying hard and concentrating as hard as I can so I would be the best I can be for this year and the years to come!

It's Me!

Since it's been a while since I last posted anything in this blog, some of my "regulars" may be wondering how I look like these days... We'll, as you can see... I've gained weight!  Hiyang siguro sa stress at puyat, hehe!  Hopefully, I'd be able to lose weight this year and post a slimmer me soon!

P.S.  Just in case you were wondering, I am not endorsing the alcohol that I was holding in the picture... I tasted it that night (it was given to a friend as a gift) and it was way too strong for me, even for occassional drinking! (Gumuguhit, teh! Sobra!)

Busy Bee

     I guess I should be glad that I have been kept busy by work, housewife and mommy matters lately... I mean, it's better that I'm busy with productive things rather than be idle and not know what I should be doing nor what my purpose is.  It has been a month of many ups and downs... For the last week of April, I got sick, then as May came, my son was the one who had to be attended to when he couldn't take the heat wave that has been hovering over the country for the past several weeks.  I just thank the Lord that my husband and I are fortunate enough to be both earning enough to provide for our son's needs, I just can't imagine what I would do had we not have enough funds to bring my son to the doctor and buy medicines so he would get well.  True, there are times when I worry that hubby and I are not saving enough for the rainy days and there are even months when we don't save anything at all, but when I think of people who earn much less than we do and have more mouths to feed, I just count my blessings instead of dwelling on the bad...

     As of the moment, I am still occupied with tons of work, an active toddler brimming with energy and enthusiasm for everything his mind can grasp, a loving husband who keeps me sane, a family who continuously supports me and oftentimes still requires my attention, and friends to share stories with and remind me that I should also have a social life outside my family circle.  And with all of that on my hands, I am lucky to get the chance to post anything for this blog... or maybe I just need to improve on my time management skills?

One Last Post for March

We're only until noon today at the office and I'm glad I get to spend a longer time with my family (especially my son) this long weekend.  And so I wanted to end March with a short update for this blog...

First there's Adam, he's just a bundle of energy that never ceases to amaze me (not to mention, tire me out!).  He's a constant source of happiness.  He can say "mama" he wants to go with you (meaning "Sama"), he says "la na" or "nanana" to indicate that the toy he's playing with has somehow vanished or what he's been watching is finished or he's food/milk is all gone (meaning "wala na").  He walks with support now and often demands that he be put down (as opposed to being carried or in the stroller) so he can walk.

Then there's Charlie, my hubby, who often demands that he be "babied" too, hahaha!

And then there's work, which keeps me busy enough not to be able to update this blog as much as I want to.

And of course, there's my now more active social life... Thursday is the day for coffee with friends after office hours.  Or sometimes we just go to the mall and talk while we window shop (or shop period).  Or we go on a food trip and try out new restos...

Well, that's life...

Stolen Moment

As my title suggests, this is just one of those moments when I can write a few words just to let everybody who happens to read my blog know that I am still alive... I have been super busy lately and has less time to go online so I grabbed this rare opportunity to check whether my blog is still here.  Hopefully, things would be easier a week or so from now and I would be able to blog more but for the moment... I just have to ride out the work that has flooded my office.

Happiness

Lately I cannot say "Thank You" enough for all the blessings that we have been getting... I just feel so loved and blessed to be getting all the material things and the positive feedback and events that have recently come my way.  I cannot put into words how happy I am at this very minute...

~ ♥ ~

Valentine's Day was almost like any ordinary Sunday for us... see eversince December of 2009, my hubby's only restday falls on a Monday so most weekends, we don'y get to spend with him.  Yesterday, I thought he was going to forgo any form of celebration for Valentine's because he didn't even give it a mention during our usual everyday conversations, but my hubby being the closet-romantic that he is, was planning something special pala!  My day started ordinary enough... waking up a bit later than usual and then taking my son, Adam to church, while hubby goes to work.  I even joked about it to my friends and family who asked how I was celebrating my Valentine's day - I said, "May date kami ni Adam".  I brought my son to the mall where we just walked around, did a bit of grocery shopping (which mostly consists of diapers and milk) and then we ate at McDonald's because Adam just loves their fries and spaghetti.  And by late afternoon we were already at my parents' home.

  Charlie came at around 9:30 PM, played a little with Adam before we finally were able to get him to sleep at around 10:30 PM.  By 11:00 PM, Charlie and I were already in our apartment and I thought our day was over, without him even saying "Happy Valentine's Day".  As we have been doing for quite a while now, we said our prayers together before sleeping and as I was about to lie down he said "Honey, pwede ba pakikuha mo naman ako ng T-shirt?", since I'm used to him wearing just boxers or pajama bottoms when he sleeps I asked "Bakit? Giniginaw ka ba?", which he then answered with a "Yes" and so I said "Gusto mo, patayin ko na lang yung aircon?" but he said "Hindi na, mag-T-shirt n lng ako" and then I remembered that there are a couple of his shirts that I haven't put in his cabinet and are still on top of the ironing board so I got up and took one and gave it to him, but he didn't want that shirt and came up with the flimsiest of reasons: "Gusto ko yung white lang, wag na yang de-color", to which I replied "E di ikaw na kumuha, ang arte mo naman pang-tulog lang namimili pa ng kulay".  But he said "Ikaw na lang, please" so I went to the other room where his cabinet was located and upon opening the door I saw a dozen pink and red balloons with "Happy Valentines" written on them and on each ribbon tied to the balloon were small notes like: "Whenever you walk in the room, my heart bursts with pride" or "Everyday, I discover more reasons for me to love you"... etc.

  Haay! I love you Mr. Charlie G. Yadao!  Happy talaga ang Valentine's day basta were together!

~ ♥ ~

Today, despite all the problems I have recently discovered (which I will not discuss on this post since I want this to be a happy one), we had our flag raising ceremony and our boss talked about love during her message of the week.  And then after our "short program" she treated us to a breakfast meal from McDonald's and greeted us a belated Happy Valentine's Day.

~ ♥ ~

Just a couple of minutes ago, a long lost friend and classmate from high school got in touch with me and invited me to join a reunion.  I miss my high school friends and although I am not sure whether I'll be going to the reunion or not, I made a promise that we will get together really soon to catch up on all the kwento and goings on with our lives... There's going to be some major catching up!

Neck-Deep

Sleep-deprived and barely coping... that's how I would describe myself these past couple of days.  Adam has been sick for almost a week now.  We brought him to the doctor and was prescribed medication for Asthma (haaay! kawawa naman, my baby).  What's different this time is, gone were the days when it was so easy for me to get Adam to take his medicines... I guess he just has had enough of it.  He cries a lot and pushes away the meds.  Even when I try to nebulize him, he gets cranky and throws a fit.  Of course, even the shortest time of crying would cause him to cough even more and oftentimes he would throw up.  He lost his appetite, even for milk.  Now his weight is down and although he is beginning to start drinking milk again on a regular basis, he still gets cranky a lot.  To make matters even worse, I've had to cope (and am still coping) with a lot of RUSH work at the office.  And this is not even because I forgot a deadline or I was remiss in doing my job.  I have been waiting and waiting for instructions and for approval of layouts and whatnot for days and now that the "event" is near, the "higher-ups" realize that they only a few days to come up with results.  And of course, now they delegate me to deal with the "technicalities" and produce results in a snap.  Aarrrgh! I am trying my best but I can only do so much... last night (or shall I say this morning, since I slept around 1:00 AM), I had the strangest "dream": I was neck-deep in what seemed like black "goo" which looked really yucky and garbage-filled.  I was trying to come up but I was sinking.  Good thing, I woke up because I was already in a state of panic.  Weekend, I need you now!

Welcome 2010!

2009 has been a series of ups and downs... an emotional roller coaster that is called life.  Now, as we usher in 2010, my wish is that may this year be filled with learnings and more happy events, and if trials come our way, may we be strong enough to hurdle them.  I cannot put into words the joy I experienced when I first saw my baby, Adam, January of 2009... now, as the anniversary of that day approaches, we will experience another first... his 1st Birthday!  We are "all systems go" for his birthday party preps that's why we didn't exert that much effort during the new year's celebration... anyway, there's still "Chinese New Year" to look forward to.  Here are some highlights of our Media Noche:

And here is Adam's first encounter with his paternal grandmother:

Since Nana, lives in Sinait, Ilocos Sur, and the last time she visited us here in Manila was December of 2008 (while I was still pregnant), this is the first time Adam and Nana saw each other.  Adam was cranky the whole time and I'm really sorry that Nana wasn't able to see her only grandson's cheerful side.

Christmas, 2009

However rushed our celebration of Christmas was, we still had a lot of fun!  Several days before Christmas, I got sick and had to go on leave from work... I got the 48-hour bug and I when I was able to shake it off, my head was reeling from the medications and the fact that I still had a lot to do before Christmas Day comes.  I wanted to make it really special since it was Adam's first.

Of course, the little boy was not able to wait until Christmas Day to open his and mommy's gifts!

And then on Christmas Day, he was dressed up and ready to go and hear mass when he messed up his clothes and so we had to change him again before leaving...

We spent almost the entire day at the mall... We bought him new rubber shoes (because all his rubber shoes don't fit him anymore) and a remote control toy car with lights and music which spins and spins and keeps the little boy quiet and entertained everytime his Dad plays with it.  By the time we went home, Adam was already tired and ready for bed.  All in all, it was a tiring yet happy celebration.  Next up, New Year and the little boy's 1st Birthday celebration!

8 days to go `till Christmas!

Initially, I was planning a 12 days of christmas countdown... an everyday posting of significant events leading to the day itself starting on the 12th of December which is my Mom's birthday. Needless to say, I didn't get to do that, because I got so wrapped up with the daily activities, coupled with the rush of the season. Anyway, I'll try to post as much as I can despite the increasingly long list of my errands and must-do's.

Like I've already mentioned, December 12 marked the 62nd birthday of my mom. We didn't get to do anything special that day because it was a workday. But my sister, Lynne, cooked carbonara and we just bought bread pan to go with it, hehehe... rush na e! I didn't even get to buy her a gift (slightly kapos sa budget, e) but I promised her a full supply of her medications (she has Parkinson's Disease) come pay day. Happy Birthday Mom!

Yesterday, "Simbang Gabi" started already... nope, I didn't get to attend the mass because hubby and I got home so late the night before, tending to Adam, that we were not able to wake up at the break of dawn.

The Christmas parties have already started... the other night (December 15), I got invited to attend the school custodians' Christmas Party and it was a blast! Thanks ate Cynthia and Grace for inviting me, I was laughing my heart out at the games you prepared, plus the food was delish!

Last night, I got to sneak in a bit of Christmas shopping after work. I went to the mall and bought something for the exchange gift for our office Christmas party tomorrow. I was going to have it wrapped there also but the line was super long that I decided against it. I also got to buy Adam's first baby toothbrush and a refill of his liquid soap. When Charlie came home from work, it turns out he also went to the mall (a different one) and bought Adam a polo shirt and hip-hop shorts, which he mistook for baby pants, hehehe!

Time flies...

My son turned 10 months yesterday... as I was feeding him macaroni soup which my dad cooked, when I suddenly realized how big he has grown and how fast he continues to learn new things. In just two months he's going to be a year old! How time really flies...

It makes me really thankful... for his continuous good health... for each smile... for each giggle... for each hug... for his just being there... my baby boy.

At the same time it makes me also regretful of the times I don't get to spend with him... for the times he has to be taken to the doctor and I can't be the one to do that because I have to work. I hope he will grow up to know that everytime I am not with him, my heart aches... that if it were only possible that I stay with him every minute of every day, I would.

"I love you my baby boy!"

Credits: Dreaming of a Golden Night Add-On Kit by Fanette Design