happiness... is two kinds of ice cream..

the cool change

2011-08-05T11:07:00.002+08:00

Been waiting for this for some time. And it's' now coming to reality. In two months, a whole new world shall unfold for us, one that is quite different to where we are now. A life down under shall welcome us. Exciting. Scary. We don't know what to expect. Though sometimes we do. What's important is that we are going as a family. And that's all that matters.

trick or treat....

2010-11-04T15:22:00.004+08:00

My son's 1st. Made sure he will be at my office's trick or treat this year. Even took a leave at work so that I can bring him. Took a bus going here. 1st time for the boy, errrr... his 1st time here in pinas. He enjoyed it (the dual bus ride from home to makati, then makati to office).

the pogiest cowboy ever...

2nd trick or treat... at his KM class. Repeat costume... Maximize... hehehe.

the cowboy & the indian girl (cutie Sophia)

He enjoys choosing pieces of treats scattered in a plate/container. Basta nakalatag. If the treat is given in a plastic, not much impact on him.

2010-09-29T08:34:00.006+08:00

Last night, here's what I brought home to TJ.....

Filling overload! Oreo w/ 4 layers of the double stuff filling

Just like every kid (and adults alike) TJ is fond of oreo cookies. Uhmm... no, make that he is fond of the creme filling inside. With almost all sandwich cookies, he disintegrates the cookies and eats the sweet thing first. And most of the time he leaves the cookies behind. As in, he tosses them away and asks for another piece because the palaman (filling) is gone.

On the contrary, my officemate prefers the cookie only. She removes the creme and dunks it on milk before eating. When I saw her doing this yesterday, I said I'll just bring home the filling. She obliged and before eating the cookies, she removes the filling and piles them in another cookie base.

I gave it to TJ this morning for breakfast. I was unable to get a picture of him eating it because I was still busy packing my lunch. When I got the chance to take a shot of his oreo, here's what I got...

Cookie--> untouched. Filling --> 2 big bites on opposite sides. Need I say more? =P

Oktoberfest na!

2010-09-27T14:18:00.003+08:00

I don't drink by the way... I never liked the taste and I rarely go on night outs, even when I was still single.

Where did the time go? We were just starting our 1st Kindermusik class 2 months back. And now, we're at the home stretch. Teacher Ana's announcing yesterday that the next semester is now open for early enrollees. And I go, HUH? My enrollment fee is now about to go into flames. Not intending to enroll on the next semester so far. Depends upon the circumstances. KM is good. My tot has improved from running around the dance studio (during the 45 min class) 90% of the time to just 40% of the time. And with him, that's a feat. He's now an expert in packing away, which he first learned by the way from his 1 month stint in Gymboree. And I think that's his favorite part. Even how busy he is doing something which is not the activity for the moment, when teacher says "___ away" (the first word usually is the thing teacher wants to be packed away), he'll go right away to me and get that object that he should return. He can be called the best packer! hehehe...

We're having a KM halloween party on Oct 31. Yey! Me excited. Need to prepare my kid's costume. It's just a recycled costume... His cowboy costume during his 1st bday. Commissioned his grandma (my mom) last night to adjust his cowboy vest so that it could fit his expanding body (due to milk overload which I wanted to stop coz it's draining our pockets). His cowboy hat is still good to go as during his 1st bday, it was so big for him. As for the polo, I have 1 short sleeved shirt and a long one. Will just choose what my mood dictates me on that day. So I guess we're all set and no need to buy a fancy halloween costume.

Hmm... I wonder if Gymboree Alabang will have a halloween party for existing members. We should also join.. Or maybe we should go trick or treating in GB5. I heard the treats given there are kinda sosyal. I read in one mommy blog last year that they got a Gymboree GC from one store. But I would have to take a leave if I do that, which is a problem. I barely have enough VL's left.

Then we have a culminating activity on Nov 7. Must not miss classes on those dates. Party time eh! But we're still attending 2 make up classes after that.

By the end of our classes, it's almost December. Oh my! Oh my! It's TJ's 3rd Christmas, which I think he'll enjoy more. Get's me more excited and wee bit sentimental. My boy's growing up so fast....

It's time for music...

2010-08-25T12:10:00.003+08:00

While waiting for the class to start, TJ gamely poses for the camera.

Photo c/o Teacher Ana as posted in her FB account. =)

Kindermusik slot

2010-07-26T16:30:00.004+08:00

Anyone interested in Kindermusik classes?

We have an active enrollment for Our Time classes at Kindermusik facilitated by Teacher Ana Castro held at Alabang Country Club. Unfortunately, we need to let go of the enrollment as we have to attend other matters during the succeeding weekends. The educator said I can transfer the enrollment so that I could refund the fee in full.

For a brief description of the class:
Kindermusik Our Time is designed for children 1½ years to 3 years of age. Along with an accompanying parent or caregiver, children meet weekly for a 45-minute class and enjoy singing, moving, listening and interacting socially, and playing simple instruments. Exploration Time encourages a child's discovery of specially designed instruments, textures, sounds and movements; language skills are fostered with singing, sound imitation, and vocal play; Music & Movement Story Time encourages emergent literacy skills; and creative dancing affirms a child's urge to move.

Here are the specs of the class:

Module: Our Time - 15 weeks, once a week session
Age Range: Parent and child – 1½ to 3 years old
Venue: Alabang Country Club, Ayala Alabang Village, Muntinlupa
Sched: Every Sunday at 1030am, 45mins (from July 25 to Oct 31)
Educator: Teacher Ana Castro
Fee: 8,925 for a 15-week session, with take home materials such as CD, home activity books, a musical instrument for the child and parent

The 1st session was last Sunday, July 25. However, there is a provision for make up classes in November. So no worries even if the 1st session was already missed.

For more details on the module, pls go to http://www.kindermusik.com.ph/curricula_ourtime.html

If someone out there is interested, please let me know. I'll endorse you to Teacher Ana right away.

Thanks!

hmmm....

2010-07-26T15:31:00.002+08:00

a compass was there to get you thinking

I must agree. It's a guide, yes. But after giving out directions, it's up to the bearer to decide if he should follow it or not.

The challenge

2010-06-29T08:24:00.001+08:00

One of my first entry in this blog was about my goal to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight. 9 months after that entry, here I am still far away from my target and actually much heavier. Konti lang (Just a little bit more), I'll be back to my post-maternity leave weight, wherein I went back to work wearing my mom's work clothes because my own won't fit me.

So here I am again attempting the same. But this time, more seriously (I hope). I am back to my "semi" southbeach diet. I tried this diet 6 years ago. And it really worked for me. I was thinner than ever, plus, my tummy really got smaller. I had to buy new clothes because I already looked stupid in my "big" old clothes. That was how effective it was for me. Part of the reason why it worked was my mom joined me in my diet. So the food we were eating strictly follows the southbeach rules. And she lost a lot of weight too.

Now, the challenge is my mom is not into the diet. I have to fight the urge to eat if she cooks food w/ carbs. I've been trying endlessly for the past months. But was unsuccessful for failure to resist the good food around the house. You see, my mom's a good cook. And w/ my EQ in dieting very low, kasama ko yatang nai-ire ang EQ ko nung nanganak ako (my EQ in dieting went out of my system when I gave birth), I end up loosing the urge to stick to it.

But then again, I aspire to fit in my pre-pregnancy pants. Nevermind my tops, they're not uso na naman (in trend). I want to buy new tops on my birthday, 2 1/2 months from now. I'll be sad if I end up buying larger sizes. And I have weddings to attend. I wanna go there looking nice and feeling good of myself. Wish me luck! This weekend, with the dining out and all, will be crucial. So help me God.

One fine day...

2010-06-22T14:47:00.004+08:00

The kid loves messing with our pillows. He piles them onto the floor and lie down on them. But one day, we saw him like this :

TJ: this is the life, man!

smile for the camera =)

The Gymboree Experience

2010-06-22T12:45:00.007+08:00

On the exact day that my toddler turned two, we went to Gymboree Alabang to have a trial/preview class. Us parents were on leave that day, to celebrate the kiddo's birthday. Since we were meaning to try this Play & Learn class, I called a few days before to check if we can have a trial. And we're lucky that one of the schedule of the level 5 class (for 22-28 month old kids) falls on a Wednesday, the day of his birthday. Perfect indeed. And the time could never be much perfect. 4pm. The kid should have been done with his afternoon nap.

Sorry no pics of the actual class. Just around the play area when the class was done and he was just fooling around.

So how did TJ fared? He was "pasaway" (not listening at times). Hahaha. Well, the play and learn class wasn't really designed to be classroom style. If your kid roams around the area during the class, the teacher would call him and ask him to join. But they wouldn't force your kid to really join if he doesn't want to. Which is what we were looking for because we're definitely sure that TJ won't listen at times. There are certain parts of the class where he was attentive, especially the bubbles and the maracas part.

After the class, we enrolled him right away for 4 sessions. It is quite pricey... no, make that really pricey. But even if our pockets were objecting, we enrolled him and hope that it would do him good. But we opted for the Saturday 1pm class, as I am a working mom and can only accompany him on weekends. The downside of the schedule is that 1pm is the kid's sleeping time. On our first official class, we almost didn't finish it as the kid's cranky already. So on his 2nd and 3rd class, we had to wake him up really early in the morning so that he will be sleepy and take a nap by 10am. And leave the house by 12noon+. Another downside of the schedule is that it is administered by a different teacher. We prefer the Wednesday class's teacher as she has a better flow and she makes sure that there's not a dull moment-- music is infused all through out the session. We were expecting it to be that way come Saturday. But it was quite different. It's kinda monotonous. No offense to the Saturday teacher. But we prefer Wednesday.

If you enroll the kid in the classes, the kid can have unlimited play during the day of the class if he is enrolled on a once a week session. (Unlimited play all throughout the week if he's enrolled in a 2x a week session.) The thing is, the kid can only play when there's no ongoing class. There are just certain times during the day when the gym area is free. So we weren't able to maximize it that much unless we come back again to avail of his unlimited play.

All in all, Gymboree is still worth it. The kid gets to play in a padded playground. And in fairness, every week, my son's participation "level" increases/improves. So that alone makes it worth it. But the schedule is not working for us. The 1pm schedule is a struggle. That makes our session this coming Saturday, our last, maybe until TJ can enroll in the Level 6. But we will be visiting the gym still. We still have 6 more gymplay coupons to consume, which we can use at any branch! =)

Wanted: Sleep Time

2010-06-18T15:16:00.005+08:00

Gone are the days when I can just bum around and do nothing. Wake up late on a Saturday, eat, sleep, wake up again, watch the Iron Chef by 730pm. Before I know it, it's dinner time already.

Now my regular Saturdays, if I'm lucky, starts at 8am. If it's the other way around, I get up at 630am. You read it right. 630am on a Saturday! Geesh, can't the mom get some sleep on a non-work day? Yup, the mom. The mom has to get up when the kid is up. Weekend is grandma's "day-off", as much as possible. So I have to take charge. It's pretty hard to entertain a terrible two when my senses are still asleep, my back longing to touch the bed. But that's a mom's life. Well, for this mom, that is.

I hope I get to have that long sleeping time once again.. Maybe when TJ goes to school, and I'll be out on a sick leave (even if I'm a-ok!) and just sleep the whole day. =)

A jazz lodges a transcript below a defensive hello.

It's been two years...

2010-06-09T16:38:00.008+08:00

... since I first held this tiny, scrawny 5 point something pounds baby boy in my arms. Yes he was so tiny then, even excited relatives were somewhat scared to hold him, fearing that they might squish him.

I would remember going to the nursery every 3 hours to breastfeed him.

I remember wanting to curse every resident or nurse that checks up on me on my room and asking "nagpupoo ka na ba mommy?". I always fight the urged to say "Duh! Don't you know how painful that area is that I wouldn't dare try?".

I remember how I wanted to go back to the hospital on our 2nd night at home. I didn't know how to pacify his crying then. And with me sleep-deprived and every one in the house off to dreamland, just felt so helpless.

And I remember my uneventful delivery experience. My OB asked me to drink a laxative the night before and just go to the hospital at 8am and have myself admitted, with or without contractions. Every resident that checks on me at the labor room asks the same question "Mommy, may contractions ba?, Nagwater bag broke ba?" and I would say no. And I think they were trying their best not to make me go home, also because my OB insists that I'll be giving birth soon. The only highlight of that morning was the lady beside me in the labor room. I did not see her though, I only heard her. She was being scolded by the residents (in a nice way of course) because she continues to sleep and refuses to push. It was her 4th baby, if I remember it correctly. It was her 4th yet the residents were frustrated that she wouldn't cooperate. One of the residents even told her, "nandito ka lang ba para matulog?". She ended up delivering via CS. Anyway, back to me, by 12 noon, the laxative I drank the night before paid off. I was having regular contractions. TJ was out and about at 9:09p.m. (the laxative was yucky by the way. thick thick really thick castor oil in orange flavor, much thicker than a cooking oil--times 10 thicker, which I had to gobble up so that I'll poop and poop and eventually trigger my contractions).

Now, he's 2. Not a baby anymore. A very active, curious, exploring toddler. Full of tricks up his sleeve. Drives me crazy most of the time. Tests my patience to the highest level, and I admit being impatient many times. But hey, a kiss and a warm hug makes it all worthwhile.

Here is a summary of his first year...

L-R 1st row : at his baptism; 2 months, 4 months

bottom row: 1st time at his walker; after a trip to tagaytay; pulling santa's beard at the mall =P

Fast forward to the present, this tiny boy is not so tiny anymore. In fact he looks big for his age. He is now 2. But he looks 4 (I think you'll agree). hehehe... Must be my mom's genes.

My should have been new pair of sandals

2010-01-08T09:00:00.011+08:00

I've been wanting to get a new pair of sanuk sandals. You see, I have a maarte sensitive feet that gets blisters at almost any shoe. Even rubber shoes or slippers. I still get blisters when wearing sanuk. But at least not as much as the other shoes.

At their branch in G4, I chanced upon these 2 gorgeous pairs...

images from sanukphils.multiply.com

Nice noh... One that could be paired w/ black pants and one that could go w/ khaki pants. And you know what? They're on sale. Half the price! Yipee!

I wanted to buy both. As in both! Sale naman eh. The thing is, they don't have it in my size. Waaaaaaaaaahhhhh!!!! =(

And I'm nagkukuripot. Di ko maatim bumili ng regular priced items. When I see some items at 50% off that I should have bought, I feel foolish if I buy a regular item. =(

Happy 2010

2010-01-04T09:21:00.000+08:00

Happy new year! Wishing everyone a better year ahead of us. :)

Noong isang taon...

2009-12-21T16:39:00.005+08:00

...this is how my little boy looks like

Wahahaha.... o di ba... double chin kung double chin. =)

Department Christmas Party

2009-12-21T14:21:00.005+08:00

I'm still not lucky on raffles. They raffled 6 cash prizes on our department christmas party. But, I didn't win. Not even the 100 bucks. Hay! On the bright side, I got to bring home goodies that I love. A bag of cheetos and Hershey's Dark Chocolate as prizes. And M&M's dark chocolate! Mmmm.... I love dark chocolates. Buti na lang yun ang napunta sa kin. It's worth the extra calories! =P

Getting a new SSS ID...

2009-12-18T08:38:00.006+08:00

Boy meets girl.. fell in love and eventually got married. Ms. Girl becomes Mrs. Boy. And what comes next? The need to change documents, ID's, etc., to her brand new surname!

So more than two years after getting hitched, it is only now that I've completed changing my ID's to my married name. Well, di ko pa rin napalitan ang credit card ko. Kakainis kasi, may Php400 charge sa HSBC pag magpapalit ng name na nakaengrave sa credit card. Eh pambili ko din yun ng damit noh. But all of my valid ID's (goverment-issued IDs) are now "married named". Yipee.

Yesterday, my office mate cum friend V, went to SSS in San Juan to have our pics taken for the SSS ID. Nope, it's not my first time to avail of such. I just wanted to finally have it changed to my married name. As for my friend, it's her first time at napipilitan lang sya dahil baka ma-salary deduction sya ng maternity benefit that the company advanced for her. Di makareimburse si company coz she doesn't have an ID...

So you might ask, why the hell in San Juan. I live in the south and I work in Makati. Gusto ko bang mamasyal kaya dun pa kami nagpunta?

I found out from the blog of a former officemate, neva, that only a few branches have the ID capture facility. And all our located outside of Makati. To my horror, sa Quezon City (Diliman) ata pinakaorganized. #1, malayo ang QC at di ako sanay dun and #2, you have to go back twice-one for the sked of your pic taking and two for the actual picture taking. Buti na lang, I checked w/ SSS San Juan. Aside from it's much nearer, you only have to go one time to have everything accomplished (except maybe kung late ka dumating at mahaba na ang pila kaya di ka na makaabot).

And so I dragged my officemate there yesterday. We were there before 8am, before it's opening time. Pwede ng pumila kahit di pa open. And since konti pa lang ang tao, #3 and #4 kami sa ID capture. We were done before 9am. The ID's will be mailed to us. Sabi after 3 months sya makukuha. But just read again from neva's blog that hers took 6 months to arrive. But it's ok. At least I'm done with it!

When the toddler gets too active

2009-11-21T14:31:00.002+08:00

Grandma, TJ and I trooped to Luk Foo at Las Pinas to feast on sumptuous chinese food for Kuya Soy's birthday last November. I actually wasn't able to eat much coz TJ demands that we go around and walk and run and climb the stairs and... Basta, bawal umupo! The only time he stayed still in the high chair was this

.... he was biting a large spoon, as in the spoon that's fit for adults.

Thanks to the spoon, my brother was able to get nice pics of him...

with kuya karlos, the birthday boy

Actually, si kuya na nga lang ang nakakuha ng nice pics sa kanya. Since he's very active and mobile, our good 'ol Canon Powershot A1000, cannot keep up with him anymore. Only SLR cams work for him.... because it has a faster shutter and I think its size catches his attention. When an SLR cam is aimed at him, he looks at it. But if you try it with our little digicam, he turns away. Di tuloy namin makuhanan ng matino.

I think it's about time we buy an SLR! Yes... Wish!

TJ in action

2009-10-30T09:59:00.010+08:00

Here's my active toddler at 1 year, 4 1/2 months... It's difficult to pacify him these days... He's always on the go. Always exploring. I wonder if I can keep up with him in the coming days, with my aging back. =)

And here he is with his favorite teddy bear. He has this favorite DVD, "Baby Songs". He loves watching musical videos. Somewhere in that video, the kid actress shows how she loves her teddy bear. And from then on, he immitates the kid. He hugs this teddy bear.

My little boy is growing up well... but please not to fast, ok?

Losing weight part 2

2009-10-30T09:47:00.003+08:00

I already lost 4 lbs... but slowly gaining it back. I have to keep my momentum... There are old clothes waiting to be worn. In hard times like this, I have to be practical... So on with my diet! I promise myself that I should lose another 4 lbs in two weeks! So that come December, where 'tis the season for merry eating', i have room for extra calories.. Hehehe... Wish me luck, again! =)

The Fun ranch experience

2009-09-29T13:09:00.007+08:00

My bday celeb this year was different. It was the 1st time that my toddler can finally participate. Last year, he was just a 3-month old hunk. This year, even though he still doesn't understand bdays yet, he can already be an active participant. So for this year, I've decided to have a "kid-friendly" celebration. We went to Lil' Fun Ranch in Alabang and went to the Active Fun playground. This is a soft play area with slides, bastketball court, soft piano, etc. And as the description suggests, everything is soft--the poles, the balls, the stairs, except for the slides though, so I did not need worry if my little one will bump his head. So in short, freedom! Hahahaha... No need to go after him at every corner... Let the pics tell you how my little boy enjoyed his 1st playground experience

super happy!

may binabalak na kalokohan look

the bench print ad model

My nephew and nieces also tagged along.

w/ my nieces and my mom

And after an hour of playing, off we went to SnR Alabang for some giant pizzas, blue bunny ice cream and drinks.

So that's how my birthday went. I guess from now on, my bday will be kid-friendly, until TJ learns how to appreciate TGIFridays! =P

Craving for pesto...

2009-09-29T12:51:00.008+08:00

Last week, I was craving for Pesto Pasta so bad, I even walked to Landmark on my lunchbreak to buy Basil, the main ingredient of this dish. To my dismay, I didn't found any. When I got home that evening, my mom told me there's one in the supermarket located at the commercial center in our village. So the next night, I braved the rains (it was just a little more than a drizzle), which little did we all know will be soooo much rains that submerged the rest of the metro, and off I went to the supermarket. The packs of basil that I found there was half fresh and half wilted. But still, I bought it. when I got home, I had this lovely meal for dinner....

image searched from flicker...

For the rest of the uber rainy weekend, I was feasting on this! Homemade pesto sauce over wholemeal spaghetti. Naks, healthy! So there goes my diet... I'm supposed to be on a carbs abstinence! Hay!

By the way, I still have a handful of pesto sauce in our ref... So i'll be feasting on this still...heheheh... =P

Losing weight...

2009-09-24T16:45:00.003+08:00

I'm really not on the heavyside. Maybe I'm on the medium. However, post pregnancy, which is already 15 months ago, I still keep those extra weight I gained. And my pre-pregnancy clothes still doesn't fit well..."Pinagpipilitan ko lang talaga!". So why oh why losing weight is so damn hard???! Eversince I gave birth, I've tried countless times. Sometimes I manage to shed off a pound or two. But after a while, I'll start binging again and the pounds I lost are back in no time. I'm used to not eating rice. It's really not a sacrifice for me to have a "riceless" meal as I'm really more of an "ulam" (viand) eater. But sweets, chips, and ice cold drinks are my weaknesses.
So, what to do, what to do... I was supposed to be starting a serious no-carbs diet this week. Then some colleagues bought food as their birthday treat and pansit palabok was served. Ang sarap! So poofff! Nasira na naman ang diet ko...
Basta, by Christmas, I should be at least 5 lbs. less! By hook or by crook!