Family First

I have always envied my friends who are SAHMs, I feel they are able to maximize their quality time with their kids, not to mention be there to witness practically every milestone of their children's life. This is one of my frustrations... not being financially able to quit my job and leave the earning part to my husband. I am very thankful for having a good-paying job and for having a husband who works hard and is very responsible. I am also grateful for having a family who takes care of my little boy while my husband and I work. I am specially appreciative of the blessing that is my son. I just pray that in the future, we would be able to afford to live on my husband's earnings so I could concentrate on being a mother and a housewife. Having said that, I apologize to my former classmates who never tires in inviting me to get-togethers and reunions. Sorry for always declining... It's just that I have very few free time and these precious moments, I really want to spend with my baby. I do have a social life, it's just that they're limited to workout time or after-office "chikahan" over coffee with my friends and co-workers. I have never been an extrovert, even as a teenager, I have always preferred being at home, playing couch-potato or tinkering over an art project. I guess I'm what you'd call a homebody... it's what makes me happy. I don't fit in in crowded, noisy places. I very seldom have the desire to dress up and go to parties and on the rare occassion that I attend an event, I do so just to see and be able to catch up with old friends. This is who I am, I do miss my college buddies, high school barkada and gradeschool friends, but given the choice whether to spend the weekend going to a restaurant to meet former classmates or cozy up with my son, hubby, a DVD movie and a bucket of popcorn... I'd choose the latter.

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...

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!

Charles Adam

The 26th of January marked my son's first birthday.  It started out quite normal for me, I went to work as usual and thought I was just going to have food delivered when I get home that afternoon (I was going to go home early to be with my son) but my Dad had other plans pala.  At around two in the afternoon, as I was already preparing to leave early, my Dad brought my son to the office.  He said he thought that since it was Adam's birthday he should be with me, hehehe, mainipin si Lolo!  Anyway, since he was already there, I just had food delivered to the office for a birthday treat cum "merienda" for some of my officemates.  And then we went home at my usual time off.

January 29, Friday, I brought Adam to Kids' Hair Salon in Southmall, Las Piñas to have his first haircut.

At first, I said "wow, ang bait naman pala magpagupit ng baby ko", because he was really just his usual curious self.  Slightly "malikot" but he was letting the hair-cutter do his job.  He was even watching the Barney video they provided.  And then after several minutes, he already lost interest in the video and started to get uneasy.  I tried to divert his attention to the toy car that he was sitting on and I succeeded naman for about a minute or so and then he started fidgeting again.  When I didn't carry him off the seat that he wanted to get out of, he started crying.  Buti na lang the staff there were really patient and always ready for such situations.  They gave him a lollipop and Adam calmed down again until his haircut was finished!  After his haircut, he looked even more like his father (if that was possible) than before!

Then on January 30, Saturday at 4:30 in the afternoon, we had a small celebration for Adam's first birthday at McDonald's in Sucat, Palanyag.  It was a fun affair that was shared by our relatives and close friends.  There were also blunders like the video camera loosing its battery charge just at the start of the party (I checked it a couple of hours before the party and it was fully charged, the problem was I forgot to turn it off, thus...) and the fact that I forgot to have the tarpauline layout I made printed but aside from that, the kids and adults had fun, the food was ample and as usual, yummy and the appearance of the mascots were a hit!  I'm still sorting through the pictures and video and should be able to upload them by the end of this week, for now, I am just so happy that I got to experience yet another parenthood milestone and am looking forward to experiencing more!  Thanks to everyone who helped make my son's celebration a success!

I Love You, Goodbye

One of my best friends, Jaybee is leaving for the US on the 25th.  He has been a constant in my life since 1998 so it really is going to be quite an adjustment to not see him at the office or go on night-outs and weekend gimmiks without him.  But I am truly happy for him because he will be with his wife already.  As a send-off we (several of his friends and officemates) treated him to a videoke bar.  It was a lot of fun!

We will miss you Jaybee!

December Top Entrecard Droppers

I am posting this earlier than planned because I might not get a chance to blog about it with the excitement of the new year celebrations... I am thanking the following for being the most frequent droppers on my entrecard this month:

I hope you continue to visit my blog...

Friendship Tag

Here are the rules for this tag:
1. Copy the badge and put it on your blog,

2. Link back who pass you this tag,

3. Spread this tag to at least 7 or more bloggers those who you think you are friends with.

And lovely are the blossoms
That are tended with great care,
By those who work unselfishly
To make the place more fair.
And, like the garden blossoms,
Friendship’s flower grows more sweet
When watched and tended carefully
By those we know and meet.
And, if the seed of friendship
Is planted deep and true
And watched with understanding,
Friendship’s flower will bloom for you.

Thanks to Che for tagging me.... Now I'm passing it on to Ann, AidiSan, Anna, Meng, Mec, Mae and Zelle

November Top Entrecard Droppers

I would like to thank my top entrecard droppers for November... I hope you continue to visit my blog frequently. I try as much as possible to return the favor by returning each visit, but just in case there are days that I don't get to drop ECs on you, please know that I appreciate each and every drop and bloghop that I get... THANKS a lot!

25 drops

17 drops
16 drops Hip to be Mom - 13 dropsBroke as a Spoke - 13 dropsC'est La Vie - 12 dropsJuliana's World - 12 dropsMrs. G - 12 dropsCouple's Footprints - 12 dropsMira's Web Journal - 12 drops

Momdot.Com

MomDot is a mom blog listing site that is run by mommy bloggers, trisha, alicia, and bridgette.They run contests weekly, reviews on awesome (and not so awesome) products for family and kids, and talk about their lives. But more importantly, they feature bloggers and mom boutiques to give them an avenue to get thier name out there, also assisting in google links! You can head out and list your blog for free and talk to them about doing an interview about you. Head on over and see what MomDot is about!

The Year I Was Born

I was tagged by Ann... Thanks girl!

In 1974 (the year you were born)

Gerald Ford becomes president of the US Hank Aaron hits his 715th home run to beat Babe Ruth's record Impeachment hearings are opened against President Nixon by the House Judiciary Committee President Nixon resigns President Gerald Ford issues an unconditional pardon to ex-President Nixon for all federal crimes Muhammad Ali knocks out George Foreman in the eighth round to regain the heavyweight crown in Zaire Heiress Patty Hearst is kidnapped by and eventually joins the Symbionese Liberation Army Dungeons & Dragons officially released People magazine is published for the first time Kate Moss, Alyson Hannigan, Penelope Cruz, Alanis Morissette, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Ryan Seacrest are born Oakland Athletics win the World Series Miami Dolphins win Superbowl VIII Philadelphia Flyers win the Stanley Cup Blazing Saddles is the top grossing film All the President's Men by Bernstein and Woodward is published "Killing Me Softly With His Song" wins Grammy for song of the year

What Happened the Year You Were Born?

JODY - 1977; (your name - birth year)
JOANNE - 1980
GRACIE - 1978
MANDY - 1975
NIKKI - 1979
ANN -1977
HEIDI - 1974

I'm passing the tag on to AidiSan and Maeyo

My Featured Friend

Some of my frequent visitors might notice that my featured friend of the week has not changed eversince I've added it to my blog... No, I have not forgotten to change it, it's just that I have made it a rule to make the blogger who visits here and leaves the most comments within the week would be my featured friend for the following week... And Aidisan of Fruitful Voyage has proved to be the most diligent in leaving notes whenever she visits. So there, if anyone happens to want to be my next featured friend, then don't hesitate to leave a comment whenever you drop by... who knows, you might be the next contestant on the price is right, ehehe! I mean the next featured friend of the week!

Technorati Fave Link Exchange

I came across Vhiel's blog while bloghopping and there I found out about this:




And so I thought I'd join the fun and spread the word so more can join too... The mechanics can be found here. If you want to take part of this "blog party" to gain more blogger friends don't hesitate to do so.

Featured Friends

1. I am one of Andrea's featured friends.
2. As such, I should include her name and also pick 4 or 5 more of my own featured friends.
3. I have to inform ALL her featured friends to keep the ball rolling.

Note: If you use Blogger, you can add your featured friends using the new page element ‘Link List’.

You may read everything about how this Featured Friend started by reading here and here.

My featured friend is AiDiSan

now I know I'm supposed to tag more but I figured, this could be a nice addition to my sidebar so I'm keeping my featured friends list updated every week. Maybe whoever visits me more or comments more will be my featured friend of the week. So expect to see a different featured friend here every week from now on... and if you want to be the next featured friend, then you better make your presence known in this blog by leaving me notes everytime you visit or comment on my posts.

Cute Puppy

Vivek gave me this:

Thanks friend! It really is adorable! I will treasure it forever!

Desperately Depressed

A couple of hours ago got a text message from a friend whom I haven't heard from in quite a while. She was asking us (I'm guessing she texted most of the people listed in her phonebook) to pray for her as she was just recently diagnosed with Stage 4 Ovarian Cancer. I called her right away not even thinking first of what I was going to say... what words would ease the pain of a mother trying to fight for her life so she could watch her child grow for a bit longer.

As her soft, always cheery voice reached me, I could not talk for a moment. What was I going to say? "Hello, How are you?" seems to be inappropriate. She broke the momentary silence by saying "Heidi, I know... Thank you for calling me..." And so we launched into a 30-minute long conversation about her bout with her illness and how very sudden the events were and how she didn't feel sick at all until her doctor told her and how she would not even know if she didn't go for a check-up due to a suspicion of being pregnant again. What was supposed to have been a wonderful surprise turned out to be a series of nightmares. And here I was envying her just a couple of months ago when I received an invitation for her daughter's second birthday party. I was thinking... we got married almost at the same time, and now her daughter is turning two while I still have yet to conceive...

I know that people cannot even begin to understand the innerworkings of God's reasons for these things happening in one's life. Or what good it would bring us but I will not question God's plan, I will not even bring myself to think that this is unfair because, I have long understood that life IS not always fair, but fate has a way of showing us that eventually, something good is going to come out of every disaster, something nice will be born from mistakes and something great would be revealed from the worst packages. So when my friend told me that she was "desperately depressed" I told her, well then... expect wonderful miracles because nothing is impossible with a handful of faith and a lifetime of being good. So to you, my friend... know that you will always have friends to hold your hand in times of need, a family and a wonderful husband to stand beside you even if worse comes to worst and your daughter to always remind us that miracles do happen every single day!

Hiatus Over!

Hey! I go away for a long time and I get no visits? Hmmp! I guess, this goes to show how truly popular I am... Anyways, for the lurkers out there, yes, I am back and hopefully for good! I have just been from a three-week absence from the blogging world. Anyways, here are the reasons:

First, the Subic Seminar:
Gosh! This seminar is a combination of good and tiring things... Let's start with the tiring stuff... The seminar was jampacked with activities, tests and assignments. Although basically a review of previous knowledge, it became an opportunity to brush away the cobwebs that are slowly beginning to cover my brain cells. hehehehe! But the good news is that I got to do a little duty free shopping there! And of course I got to meet new friends! Oh, and best of all (ngek! di naman best pero kakatuwa lang kasi first time!) I got to experience my first Casino visit! We even spent several minutes at the slot machines! Now I understand why some people find it addicting...

Anyways, in the picture (sorry blurred, magalaw kasi e, dami passers by saka gabi na) you will see Carla, me, Marj, Abby and Arlene... plus Junet who took the picture make up the "Party Animals" (secret joke there!)

And here's one taken after a meal at the hotel. (Junet is the one standing... and don't mind the date-stamp kasi I forgot to set my digicam)

Then right after I got back from Subic, I got sick! I got the flu, and even though I dragged myself back to work, I didn't have the strength to compose something to publish for this blog...

And then, when I finally recovered, I had to finish a lot of paperwork as well as shop for gifts for my Ninang V, who celebrated her birthday last October 8; my inaanak, Aliyah who turned one last October 16 and my Inang Chayong (my grandmother) who turned 88 last October 19. So now... I hope I can go back to my normal blogging ways... The paperwork has receded, the gifts has been distributed, the celebrations (except for one) had been attended and now I have a bit of free time... hmmm, but I'm kinda tired na, (yawn) so I better get some ZZZZs first, be back for more kwento and pictures later.

By the way, thanks to Mhay for the colored text tip... sometimes kasi the answer is right before you all the while kaya lang you have to have someone to point it out to you pa.