Sabi nila mababait at "well-behaved" ang dalawang lalake ko. Sige na - gawin ng tatlo - isama ang tatay.
Pero ewan ko ba. Pagdating sa litratuhan sa harap ng Christmas tree, hirap na hirap ako. Eto lang ang nakayanan naming mag-asawa.
Sana'y naging maligaya ang inyong Pasko at nawa'y maging masagana at mapayapa ang darating na taon.
It’s almost time to wrap up 2006. And just like last year, when I first started my Christmas Newsletter, let me recount the blessings – whether good or bad – of this year.
It was the last week of January, my mom had her executive checkup and we are just not too happy with the result. So I decided to go back to work to start earning again after almost five months of maternity leave. I took the oppurtunity hire a stay-in nanny. I started working three days a week until I am able to bravely tell my boss that I can work full-time again. I had months ahead of me to think about it really. It was the month I started “getting fit” when I joined Fitness First. Oh the flabs – remnants of my pregnancyhood. :)
Come February, my eldest son, Wiji started in a proper pre-school. He went to Castle Hill Pre-School Thursdays and Fridays. Eee-yon started to crawl but I admit mix-feeding him (with formula, breastmilk, and solids) took a toll on his weight. He lost a bit of it.
Overall, we enjoyed summer to the hilt. It was the first time I tried the waters of Australia, literally speaking. It was cold most of the time, but the heat of the sun kinda balances it out.
In March, I committed myself to working full time. Scary decision but had to do it at some point anyway. Early this month, we saw the new range of large home designs from Domaine/Clarendon upon the prodding of our good friend Cirilo and Ida. We both loved it and started to review the house we were about to build over that old property we purchased in 2004.
We thought long and hard, weighed the pros and cons of losing our deposit to the other builder. And what do you know? I could’ve bought myself a brand new Omega watch and perhaps an LV bag with that deposit. But at the end of the day – it’s not the design I want anymore. And we even scrapped the whole idea of doing a “knockdown-rebuild”.
This month, we exhausted our efforts in finding for a vacant lot in the same suburb (where land is scarce). Yes, we still long to live in Castle Hill. Found a new land subdivision yet to be approved by the Council. Wow – and it shall take ten more weeks. Wow! What a long wait. Cause until it is approved, we can’t go to the new builder and ask them to draw plans it.
Anyway, April we started bidding but we only came to an agreement for the final price end of May. May is also the 4th birthday of Wiji. He had a cupcake party at Preschool and another party at Lollipops Playland with 27 guests. Early this month we had Yum-Cha to celebrate my squeeze’s 29th birthday. Also, we started applying for Mama’s visa after receiving good news that her lung nodules are far from
June – we celebrated our 5th church wedding anniversary. It was a simple one. On the day, we only contented ourselves with some yummy cake from Red Mango and capped the night by hearing mass and watching our wedding video with Wiji, whose remarks gave us a big laugh.
July – I turned the same age as my squeeze on the same day that we received final settlement for the lot we plan to build our new house on. Then, as the month ended, the builder drafted plans organized dates for submission to council. This month too, Mama got her tourist visa valid for 1 year again.
It’s Leon’s first birthday by end of August. But we had to reschedule the party to the first weekend of September cause I couldn’t get Mama a flight in August. Anyway, that’s cool! We had a Superman-Justice League theme for Leon.
Mid of September when we got news that Council has approved the plans and has issued the DA certificate. So we’re now ready to build a house. But we still haven’t finalised the interiors. We couldn’t get appointment until middle of October. It’s another whole day session of making your imagination work. Exciting yet overwhelming.
In early November, I underwent my scheduled hernia repair surgery. It was like a mild CS operation. Nothing to worry about but it just took weeks before I felt comfortable again. But I had to put off myself from carrying anything more than 4 kilos for next two months. And that includes my children.
It’s merry making time again with lots of parties and lots of good food. It was a pleasure to catch up at my kumare’s place S&L for our annual Chrissy party. We also had an early party for friends spending the holidays in Manila.
My scrapbooking took-off this year. I splurged more than ever. But still I try to keep it at a minimum. My biggest achievement, so far, were the altered clocks. And I hope there’ll be more to come.
Anyway, be safe this holiday season! Merry Christmas and all the best for 2007!!!
Last night, we had a christmas party and a send off party to two of the families going "home" for Christmas next weekend. I gave away these altered clocks as our family present. Had to take two days off from work so I can finish it in time for the party.
Timeline:
This could be the last time I have seen my jelly belly at its best. These prenatal pictorial were taken at a studio when I was 7 months heavy with my first son, Wiji.
I get depressed sometimes whenever I look at my body in the nude! After 2 pregnancies, I've ended up with tender breasts, saggy nipples, and a tiger-belly. Plus I have an paraumbilical hernia - which incidentally, just got repaired last November 2 via a general surgery. So here I am working from home while I recuperate.
I have frozen my membership at Fitness First for 2 months due to this surgery. And with that, I am left with no other physical activity until I resume in January.
I so want to get rid of my saggy belly. The excess skin that stretched out when I had big baby boys lived in my tummy for nine months each. Nope, I am not complaining! Cause even with these trade offs, the rewards are far greater only a mother can imagine! Yet I still want to feel good and although I can't be physically the same as I was before when I met my husband back in college, I still want him to see me "looking good".
So while I was browsing for ways to encourage myself that this is a problem that CAN be solved, I found this website that showed pictures of the different SHAPES OF A MOTHER
While I acknowledge these stretchmarks as my badges of honour, it also feels good to know that I am not the only one who recognizes the "mommy" shape that has taken in me.
But sorry to disappoint you - I'm not bold enough to post just yet on that blogsite. :))
Here's a "pogi" pictorial of my eldest son, Wiji. It's rarely that he can flick a natural smile when being photographed. But looks like the photo guy did an excellent job.
Does he look like me? Or more of hubby? Safe answer would be a mix!
I'm going like crazy. I'm still undecided whether I should let Wiji start Kindergarten next year. In Australia, schools have different "school-age" definition. While most schools will accept children into Kindergarten if they turn five on or before 31st of July in that year, some schools I visited have a cut-off that falls on the first quarter (Wiji's birth month is on the 2nd quarter of the year).
Last month, I received an Enrolment Acceptance Return Slip from St. Michael's Primary School. It's a low-profile private Catholic school in our parish funded by the Catholic Education. Fees start from $2,000 a year. Wiji can start Kindie with them by next year because their cut off date is end of July.
Two years ago, I attended the Open Day of Redfield. It is an independent school for boys. "Independent" is a private school which is not funded by the government. In short, SOARING school fees out of the parents' pre-tax money. Their fees start from $7,000 a year. I was notified last year that he is enlisted to start Kindergarten in 2008. Wiji cannot start Kindie with them next year because their cut off date is end of Feb.
Based on my computation, Wiji's child care/preschool fees over the last three years has come almost close to $10,000 a year. It's as if I've been sending him to an elite school already. :))
Should I go for St. Michael's Primary next year? Then, transfer him to an Independent School by 2008? But what if Baloni and I can't sustain the very high fees in the long run? Imagine, four years from now, we'd be having two school-aged boys!!!
When my boys are all grown up, I don't want them to think that we didn't do our best to give them the best education. Ahhh, these schools are giving me a headache.
But then again, if they'll do very well, they might just have the chance to get into a selective school. Now that's synonymous to our Philippine Science High School. And I wouldn't have to worry about their school fees - only uniforms.
Oh by the way, I was cheking the price list of St. Michael's pre-order unitform. Que horror! Mahal pa sa wardrobe ko. Hehehe! Just exaggerating! But you know, because we have 4 seasons, they have separate summer uniforms and winter uniforms.
I'm still unsure if it's a good idea to start him early. But I just want to give it a try. He'll be attending an orientation next week. And we'll see how he will fare. I'm still not confident that he can look after himself.
Anyway, that's my OZ-Types-of-School 101 for you.
For the past 24 hours I have been trying to satiate my desire to know more truth into the death of Daniel Pearl.
His name sparked interest in me after reading from the Herald last night, that Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are now in India for the filming of "A Mighty Heart". A movie based on a book written by Mariane - Daniel's widow. Interestingly enough... (for me at least!) that I share the same first name as his wife. (Only, I got two "n" at the end). And what coincidence that she gave birth to their son Adam on the same date I gave birth to my first son Wiji!
The last fact was more heart breaking for me because her son never had the chance to know his father. Daniel, a well-known American journalist, was held captive and then, beheaded by Islamic extremist in Pakistan on 21st of Feb 2002. Just a few months away before our respective sons came out to this world on 28th of May 2002.
And because of too much surfing, I came upon a website hosting Pearl's decapitation video. I played the beginning and saw at the end that they were holding his head - or maybe something to that effect. I didn't look closely anymore. I think what I have googled on how he was murdered is enough to make me sick.
So if you happen to watch it in full length, then probably you can give me some feedback... On second thought, I'll probably just wait for the new movie from Plan B (a production of Pitt and Aniston), starring Angelina Jolie. And maybe, to be satiated enough for now, I might buy Mariane's book "A Mighty Heart: The Brave Life and Death of My Husband Danny Pearl."
God bless your soul Daniel!
Crikey's sudden demise brought sadness not just to many people around the world, but to someone so precious to me and my husband - our four year old son.
The news broke out yesterday afternoon. I was in disbelief. After reading the article, a part of me wished that they had the wrong person. How could a sting ray possibly kill a Steve Irwin? I am not a big fan of Steve but I feel distressed for he has left two young children.
I remember late last year when we visited 
Stevo's zoo up in the Sunshine Coast. Wiji had a blast during the "Crocs show" and overall had fun experiencing the wild life.
So when I came home last night, I told him Crikey's. And he asked me, "Where did he go?". Knowing he has no concept of death, I just told him that Crikey went to heaven already. But just like any other child, as if every answer you give them will never be enough, he threw a "Why?". I told him bluntly that he's dead because a sting ray "tusok" (pierced) his heart. And I thought being blunt will keep the conversation short. Still I got another question "What's dead?".
So how can I possibly describe or animate death to a child? Crikey! In the end, he understood that he will never see Steve again. That he's gone and he's never coming back.
Today on the way to his pre-school, we were listening on the radio for some Steve Irwin updates and tributes on the air. As soon as he heard something related to Steve, he cried out, "Steve! Crikey!? Bad sting ray! Naughty naughty sting ray!!!".
(Oh, Mr. Sting Ray, what have you done!)
I'm not so bothered even if Wiji sounded upset. I know one day he will understand.
We celebrated Eee-yon's on the 3rd of September, which happened to be the celebration for Father's Day too.
Mama's back to look after the apos again. Me - smiling widely. She arrived today, Tuesday, a day past Eee-yon's birthday. That's why we're delaying the celebration.
Kuya Wiji, is his happy hyper self today upon seeing Lola. He had this quizzical look when she saw Mama. He ran towards Lola with such a confused look. Maybe trying to understand why it took soooo long to see her again.
Thank you Lord for Mama!
Many months ago, I've decided that Leon's party will have a Justice League theme. I chanced upon a website suggesting a nice intro for invitations along this theme. Then, I saw Maver's invite for Nino.
So, I browsed for images and edited it together with Leon's pic in Photoshop. Then, went to Harvey Norman for mass production. (READ: mass printing of digital photos. hehehe!)
Here's the finished product and 
You're invited...
Glad the week was over. But it ended with another boo-boo yesterday.
I knew I was going to spend Saturday, s-p-e-n-d-i-n-g (READ: doing our fortnightly groceries and preparing ingredients for the menu I planned for the week ahead). We have been on a tight budget so I cannot really splurge on anything unnecessary at present. (Geeze, how many times have I mentioned this in my blog, yet I often break the rule! Hehehehe! Don't tell my hubby!!!)
Anyway, for the first time I braved the local ALDI. This store has been around for a few years now. And all those years, I have been hearing good reviews in terms of product price and quality from friends. And lately from the internet (I've been frequenting this money savings vault website called Simple Savings). And upon hubby's prodding, I decided to give it a try.
Anyway, my boo boo wasn't about shopping. Hubby only dropped us (Luis and me) off at the mall earlier. He took Leon with him who was napping in the car. They went for a car wash as we did our groceries. So we agreed to meet at the parking lot after a couple of hours.
Anyway I was done and was happy with the bargain that I got. Luis got a free balloon on our way out of the mall. I saw Louie double parked, waiting for a spot. But I thought, heck - why wait for a spot when I can load these bags while the car's standing there.
As I approached the car, Louie signed that I should wait for him to get the parking space of someone already about to leave. But I said, "Never mind! I can do it from here. Give it to someone else." He even asked me if I was sure I can handle all those bags. And I was very proud to say, "Of course!".
Picture this, my little boy and I behind the car ready to load our bags. He was eating his sultanas beside me and enjoying his blue balloon and I was already loading the first batch, when he started yelling, "Mommy, mommy, mommy...." And I was still busy fixing the first batch (as half of my torso ducked inside the car). Yet, he wouldn't stop crying out for MOMMY. (Louie all this time thought Luis was crying because his balloon fled.) I got annoyed already so I turned around to him and said, "WHAT???" .. And before I could quickly grasp his thoughts, I saw his finger pointing to my trolley which was rolling down the parking lot already. Ahhh.. TAKBO!!!! (RUN!!!!) ... A few cars started entering the center and saw me running after my trolley. But the ground was just sloping downhill. Gosh, I couldn't catch up with it. It only slowed down when it hit the bumper of this car. (Oh no!) I was so shocked. Fortunately, the car had rubber gear protector. You know that black thing!!!
I must have amused some people. But I think most them thought how stupid of me to have not known that it was gonna come down to that since these trolleys, unlike strollers, have no breaks. I'm glad the car was not damaged even if hubby got almost mad at me.
On the way home, he started laughing as he recalled how silly I looked moments ago. I checked my hair - still hasn't gone blonde. Hehehehe!
I had a very embarrassing, stressful week.
It started on a Monday - hubby and I bought a pair of band aids for $200 for Leon. And you might say, "what the $%^&?". That's just how I summarized that morning when I suddenly had the urge to clip Leon's nails. And yes, I accidentally nicked his skin or maybe I clipped beyond the "line"!!!
I wasn't panicking at first and then I saw blood. And then, more blood. Holy me! It was bleeding profusely. We put pressure on the finger nail. Leon wasn't in pain, amazingly, but he hated that I kept holding his finger. After 30 minutes of bleeding, I told Louie we needed to rush to the emergenecy cause I didn't know what to do anymore.
We took off and instead of going to Westmead Children's public hospital - which is like 20 minutes away, I thought we're better off taking him to the Hills Private Hospital - which is minutes away from home.
He was attended to right away. But the nurse instantly told me that there was really not much they can do but to apply the same pressure as what I've been doing for the last hour. I wanted to run out before they start giving me the bill. But I was too shy to even ask if we can just excuse ourselves and not be seen by the physician anymore - (so, er, I won't have to pay the consultation fee). And she was too quick to say, "Let me see what I can do.". -
She weighed Leon and took his temp. (My eyebrows were meeting in the middle already! - I mean, do you really need to do that to stop the bleeding?). Anyway, she escorted us to one of the emergency beds and I put down Leon who was still a happy baby. The doctor came and said the same thing.... "nothing you can do but to wait for the bleeding to stop." ... And I noticed, that the bleeding has slowed down. Hmnnn...
He ordered the nurse to put band aid on Leon's tiny thumb. She placed one over the thumb and another one around the thumb.
I had a laugh when Leon tried to suck his fave thumb. He must have found the texture unfamiliar.
Upon check-out, we had to pay $200 for doctor's fees. That's already discounted, mind you!
Oh Louie consoled me that the $200 has spared us from queueing at the public hospital for at least 5 hours. With $200 I was able to buy myself some peace of mind without arduously waiting. The band aids? Let's say they were freebies! Hehehe!
Want more? On to the next boo-boo...
After 6 months of rigorous medical check-ups, my mom's health has been declared to be out of danger, for now. Semi-annual CT scans, ultrasounds, mammogram must be done to monitor the lumps and cysts lingering in numerous organs.
I have booked her to fly dowunder by end of August. It's always a better feeling for me to entrust my sons to my mom than to any baby sitter. I mean my baby sitter is good. But of course I cannot attest to that on those hours that I am away from home. Besides, she's getting a little too much to accommodate. Her phone usage is slowly soaring high. And although she pays me back the national and international phone calls she made, I noticed that she would delay it by looking for an excuse week after week. But still I didn't mind if she'd not pay me on time. What I got frustrated about was that there has been an increase in local calls as well. In my phone statement I don't have these itemized. So who do I charge. Of course myself! When in past we'd make maximum of 20 local calls in a month. This time we had 90. And it can't be possible that majority were made by me or Louie. We make phone calls when we're at work and not when we're at home. So, it's high time to call in for my mama.
Dialing, 1-800-GRANDMA.
Maan
Everyone's (and I mean everyone at work) raving at my get-up... including my shoes. I guess they're not used to it cause I rarely turn up in a lady-like outwear. So when the email hit our inbox announcing that cake time is at 3pm to celebrate my, ahem, birthday - they all knew the reason for the frock!
Gosh... feeling a lil old again. Another 12 months to go and I'd be saying bye-bye to my twenTEENS. I should stay positive, as I always say, "another candle on the cake, can only make the room a little brighter".
Nope, I'm not celebrating this American tradition but today is just a happy day for me.
We've just been to Domaine for our first building tender appointment. Well, this is our second first.
A year ago, we had the same appointment with another builder. But early this year, just when all the house plans have been drafted and approved by the council, and internal colors, kitchen and baths were selected, hubby and I decided to pull out. We knew that our hearts were not fully set on this "knockdown and rebuild" idea of our investment property. And the last straw that made us turn our back was that the street this property is on does not have gas line and I really love gas cooking. Hehehe!
Then, Domaine launched their 3 new big homes and we visited the display home and I fell in love with the nursery room adjacent to the master bedroom with an easy door access. (Leon was still 6 months old then. But I think a nursery room will still suit him well for the next couple of years.). So, we did our assignments hoping to find vacant lots within the suburb we live in. And found one around end of May. But before we can do anything with the land, we had to wait for the subdivisions to be registered in the Council. End of June the registration got completed. So we took our interest to build a Crestmead home to Domaine office. Hence, the initial appointment today to know the overall cost.
Anyway, back to the main headline... hopefully this new "start" will reach the finish line. Luis is way overdue to have his own room. While I'm already excited to have my own scraproom that's why I'm very very happy today. As for my squeeze, I think he wants his office, bigger garage and theatre room.
Today marks our 6th wedding anniversary. We didn't plan for anything. We just bought a land (in the process again of building a new home) and even small purchases have to be reasonable at this time including my scrapbooking expenses.
(Yesterday, instead of buying an anniversary card - I thought I'd scrap what I want to tell hubby on this day. But I didn't have enough time to finish the layout, so I just told him the words that meant to go into the journalling. Hey, I'm trying to keep up my "expenses-reasonable". Although, I felt a bit guilty that I bought the scrapbooking magazine with free tiles instead of the greeting card.)
I know hubby doesn't fail to buy me a card on every special occassion. Yet, today, I felt I wasn't even going to get one. But I did... After having breakfast, I went inside our bedroom and saw the card lying on our bed. Oh, my loving hubby didn't disappoint me. My heart melted. And as always, words he wrote made me teary-eyed. Luis saw me and I told him mom and dad are celebrating their wedding day. And he said, "but I was not there."
We drove off to North Sydney to buy a cake from Red Mango and to Ikea for the Stocktake Sale.
Tonight, we heard Saturday vigil mass. Had sinigang for dinner. And to prove Luis that mom and dad married each other, I let him watch our wedding video - a tradition every June 24. And he quickly abandoned his toys and sat on the couch. He really had fun watching the MTV edited version. He had nasty comments on my looks while I was being made up and funny observation regarding his daddy's ears. Oh, this is going to be a new posting on my Parenting blog.
In case you wonder, these are the words I will put on my anniversary greeting layout, "After all these years of togetherness, hanging out with you is still my favorite thing to do."
Luis celebrated his 4th birthday at Lollipops Playland with 31 guests. (You won't see all of them in the souvenir photo. A few were busy playing outside the party room.)
I didn't put too much legwork for this party. I'm saving it all for Leon's first birthday in August. (AS IF!). Truth is, I really don't have an extra hand to do "all the works". So Louie and I thought, it was much safer to do it somewhere where the kids and our little boy can play (and make all the mess they want) to their hearts' content. :)
Call-time was at 9:30 am. I knew the mums and dads would agree that it turned out to be the best time of all. Why, the partyland wasn't as crowded and the observant me knew that kids' are more vibrant (READ: cooperative) in the morning.
Luis, for the very first time, knew the meaning of having a party on his birthday. He was aware that he was the "star" of the day. He knew what the cake was for and the candle - why it was a number "four".
This party was more relaxing than the previous years. But I still ended up a little tired. Probably because we had two other parties the previous day.
SO I hope your kids enjoyed as much as Luis did. Until his next birthday party.
Hip hip hurray!
Mom's going to have a second CT scan today to compare the lung nodules (still present from her recent chest Xray done less than 8 weeks ago) with the results taken last February. If they've diminished - then, well and good. If not, I'm not sure what's the next step is going to be. But I pray that they are non-cancerous.
If you're reading this, I hope you don't mind taking a minute of prayer for my mom to be delivered from this affliction.
Thank you and God bless!
For the first time, Luigi felt it was his special day. He has anticipated for the 28th of May for the last two months prompting him to always ask me if he has to wait "lots of dark times" - he meant, "lots of days", as night time concludes each day.
Anyway, Friday, 26th of May, Louie and I took a day off to run a few errands and one of them was to pick up the birthday cupcakes I ordered previously and bring them to Castle Hill Pre-School in time for their morning tea which is at half ten. 
Both mum and dad were so excited to take a photo of Luis who was sung by his mates with his "requested songs" - ABC and Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. (I almost cracked up! )
After which, the teacher asked them to sing "Guess, who's having a birthday today?". Then, it was time to blow out 4 candles on the 4 cupcakes as the children sang "Happy Birthday To You". Daddy, the shutterbug, kept capturing his smiles, the sheer pleasure he gets from being the celebrant of the day!
In case you wonder, where was Leon? He was being carried by me, the stage mum, all the time. Wiji was once like him - physically attached to mum. Carried and cuddled most of the time. And now seeing my once, cuddly, little Wiji blow out the four candles makes me want to cry "CUT!" - as memories of the past flashed through when he came out to this world - I just want to pause time so I can etch all of these moments - distinctive as always - in my heart.
I love you "anak"!
... Mother's Day.
Hubby surprised me with a "breakfast in bed". Don't think naughty!!!
He cooked some bacon. He arranged it on a platter with croissant, a few sliced tomatoes and sliced cheese. Put it on a tray with a glass of orange juice and a card on the side. (Goodness me, I forgot to take a pic of it).
Then, Luis hopped on our bed staring at my food tray. I know he was very curious what was it for. Anyway, his dad cued him to greet me a "Happy Mother's Day". I asked him if he wanted to share my breakfast. He said yes and I happily obliged.
| Your Luck Quotient: 72% |
 You have a high luck quotient. More often than not, you've felt very lucky in your life. You may be randomly lucky, but it's probably more than that. Optimistic and open minded, you take advantage of all the luck that comes your way. |
Well, I cringe everytime May nears. It's the month when most of my loved ones celebrate their special days.
May 11 - my squeeze's birthday. (His birthday reminds me that I'll be getting older too, 8 weeks later. Shucks!)
May 16 - my Mama's birthday
May 17 - my parents' anniversary and Mother-In-Law's birthday
May 28 - our eldest son's birthday (Happy Birthday little hero!)
And then there's mother's day and birthdays of our "kumare" and "kumpare", my son's friends... etc. Every weekend of May is gonna be, pretty much, BUSY...
Maan
