california nails

last month, a week before b's baptism,i asked my bro-in-law to drive me to california nails! it was my 3rd time ( 1st time- college graduation, my nails were red, 2nd time--wedding day --french manicure which i truly liked) to have my nails done, but my 1st time here and ohh..how i love it! i swore myself that this will happen again..and it did , just now..
being in their shop makes me forget b for a short while. its a good thing the vietnamese girl who did my nails remembered me and even asked where b was. b was with me during my 1st visit..they were worried at first but i said b will be just fine in his car seat..he was such a good baby..tonight, b is with h as moi pampers herself..hehehe..
it was so relaxing..the massage..the water bed..oh, im just getting a manicure-pedicure..
i'm beginning to be hooked on this...
afterwards, i got to buy b's halloween costume at walmart! i can't wait for b to try it on!!

babysitter

this is a milestone! after 6 mos and 12 days, we hired someone to babysit our bebe..something we had never done before..!
h would let me be out at times with my girlfriends to be away from bebe ( which is a healthy thing for all you moms out there--my own escapo though it lasts for only 3 hours ) but then i know that h is at home taking care of b. now, with this wedding, it's our VERY first time to be out on a date, alone, without b & his car seat.. --nerbyusness ako.
we've rsvp'd that we are coming a month ago ! yet, we were torn for a short moment because today, bebe's friend j is celebrating his 1st birthday at chuck e cheese..and to tell you frankly, i have never been to chuck e cheese. i sooo want to be there. h would always find a reason not to go there and he has been quite successful..i wonder what's in that place..! add to that, our neighbors cum friends will all be there which explains why we have no one else to leave b with but a sitter..
anyhoo, how i envy the wedding! the invite said it'll start at 4pm and at EXACTLY 4 pm did they march. the entire wedding lasted for only 15 minutes. and by 5 pm we were at the reception. i wish that happened at my wedding. my invite said 6pm and for reasons unknown to us, we started at 7pm. looking back, that is the only thing i regret. i should have marched at 6 pm, with or without my entourage..oh yeah, my bridesmaids were late..now i remember! tsk..
back to the wedding, our friends including h said the food at the wedding is not that good. well, they were wrong! the chicken cordon bleu was fabulous! as well as the baked beans, potatoes, chicken and fish fillet..and the dancing..i had to control myself not to dance...
by 8 pm, we picked up b from his sitter. he was asleep in his car seat & all buckled up & wearing his pj's . tita j had given him his bath even without my instructions..it's a good thing i packed his pj's just in case we'd be late and tita j who has a fetish to give babies a splish splash took the initiative to do so....we did not want to wake b up that is why we did not remove him from his seat to his crib..he looked so peaceful! i wonder what his sitter did!
twas a fun date with h ! i really enjoyed the night with him! plus talking to his colleagues too..they were all fun to be with..
lastly, i am proud of myself that i did not call tita j the entire wedding. ok ok, i called once around 745pm because i just want to let her know that we were on our way to pick up b. i felt safe naman si b sa kanya..so no worries!
hmmm..till our next date!

hubs-the carpenter!

i married a carpenter!

i just knew that whatever he dreams of he can achieve it ..and build it..from scratch. this was just pieces of wood months before ..and now..tada.. the new computer center a.k.a. my office! (right in the heart of my kitchen..teehehe)

the original plan was to imitate the kitchen cabinet, but then, that color tint was so hard to copy h remembers his builder had a hard time mixing and remixing until he came up with the right color. so to make it easy for both of us, our friend r suggested black . and voila, it did blend well! the frosted glass was h's idea, plus the lights to set the ambience! lalong tumagal tuloy yung project..details details!

the computer room is now the baby's room which made our computer homeless for months . now, it can be found easily. unlike before, we would always have " a hunt for the notebook" contest. imagine searching for it in the bathroom -- and the entire house. now, the search is over! the books will go well in the shelves too. h will start putting all the books. mission organization!

thanks h!! gleng mo talaga!

i fell in love

i fell in love with my son the first moment i heard his heartbeat and saw him in the ultrasound! when he was born, hay naku..his squished and purple face was the most beautiful thing i have ever seen..
yes, there were sleepless nights (until now) but just one look on his face was enough to melt me. it just got better as the days went on. he would perform a new stint daily, he would smile, grasp, roll over, laugh..the milestones could go on and geez it makes me so excited!
how did i live before him? what did i do with my life? i know timing is everything! had i known then what i know now, i would have started earlier!
his presence soothes me. his toothless smiles and giggles release me from my own stress. hubs would call me a praning mom - (ok ok im a first time mom- i always have a thermometer in my diaper bag just in case) as a simple cry would wake me up. hubs and my family can attest that no alarm clock can wake me up before and how much i value my sleep. but that has changed now..
i am so grateful that i have him now in my life! motherhood..hmmm..sarapp!! 6 mos na baby ko!!yippppeeeee!!!

my best friend

it feels so good that my high school best friend can just fly from new york to see me. lalo na ngayon at ninang pa sya ni bebe, mas madalas pa tayong magkikita.we drove to destin and ate at crab trap. then we shopped at the outlet. the drive was really worth it, had tacos and a poop from bebe. nope we did not eat the poop.girls just wanna have fun..ohh girls just wanna have fun..

fondant cake

the cake & souvenirs (mint cans with m&ms)
labor of love!

my son's baptism

yehey!!my preparations for coocoo's baptism was a success, praise god! the first hard part was convincing hubs as he is now a born again christian (arent we catholics too?) and would rather have a dedication for our son in their church! hmmm..i really cant imagine that my son will not be baptized so i asked him if he would let me do this as this is something i just had to do..besides i already agreed that our wedding be held by their pastor much to the dismay of my family ( they understood later) thank god he agreed..and so my preparations started. preparing the guest list, the invites, confirming the date, attending the required seminars, choosing the godparents, the reception site and the souvenirs. ohhh and the baptismal cake! i felt so blessed having a good friend e who baked his cake - it was so pretty i had a hard time slicing it and it was so yummy i had a hard time stopping myself from getting another serving...i then remembered how it was to prepare for my wedding! i wasnt so detailed ( oh really??..hubs would not agree on this..heheh) my son was about to be baptized and i had to made sure all the nitty gritty stuff were taken care of....
when we attended the baptismal seminar, hubs and i were all ears to sister a who very well explained the sacrament. hubs later commented how sister did good enlightening his mind and i knew God was at my side!
and when the actual ceremony happened, i was so touched!ganun pala magpabinyag ng anak! the ceremony was intimate and father pete explained very well the symbolism of each! then our close friends were all present.! my best friend i flew from new york as well as r flew from texas..we decided to hold the reception in a nearby chinese restaurant to save us the trouble of renting chairs, tables, etc... last year when we had our wedding reception here it was too tedious so we decided to get a function/party room at said restaurant. my friend r volunteered to take all the pictures while i delegated the video to i's husband..it was a very wonderful event, all recorded in my mind! i just wish our family was here but..our friends were all here so that would suffice at the moment!
i thank God for His love! i will forever remember this day!

st dominic catholic church

i baptize thee in the name of the father & of the son & of the holy spirit

haaay, finally!

hubs bday bash

oh well, september has been my busiest month so far! with all the planning for coocoo's baptism and of course, hub's birthday party, i just love to reminisce every inch of it..
we opted for oct 2 as our son's baptism as the day after hubs will celebrate his 36th birthday. we thought of gathering all our friends in one special occasion so we can save time and money. i agreed with hubs but i have other things in my mind. i really wanted to give him a surprise birthday party with all his friends present. hmmm..i had to control myself from not spilling all the juicy details like the ube cake i ordered , the decors, the food and the secret call to his best friend from college ( should i mention his ex gf too? hmm..that will be another story )
so at 7pm, i asked our friend r to go with hubs to publix to buy some soda. that will give me time to set up the cake and decors, then his best friend l should come at 715pm and by 730pm when hubs comes back, all lights will be turned off at first which will make him wonder and as soon as he goes in through the front door ( which is why i asked r to be with him so he'll pass through the front door and not through the garage) , we will all shout " SURPRISE!!"
it was a success..! never mind if his best friend came in at 645pm, rang the doorbell and hubs opened the door and saw him, and asked "what are you doing here?" which almost spoiled my surprise. seeing l at the door, i immediately quipped " i invited him tonight"! still, my husband had no idea what was happening! hellooo, ive been cooking the entire day, isnt it too obvious?;)
so imagine his surprise when he came back and saw his bday cake and the whole house and guests in a party mood! syempre, tuwang tuwa si mokong!
happy birthday my love! i just thank GOD i have you in my life! and i pray that He will grant you more years,good health, wealth and success!

birthday cake

surprisee! (me dalang softdrinks)

september

i have had numerous attempts to update my blog, i hope this one gets through..at 9am, coocoo has fallen asleep as he had his 8am breakfast. i havent had anything yet. ill go fix myself a cup of chocolate milk, but that can wait. my blog needs attention!!
lots has happened and this month was just fabulous. i just love september. it starts the christmas season and it also is my bday month. i know i have lots of blog friends who had their birthdays this month, happy birthday to you all!! magaganda talaga ang mga ipinanganak ng september ..heheheheh..
last september 10, my ever loving hubs gave me an advance birthday party. my friend s drove all the way from jax. we had about 20 guests. our menu included kare kare, kaldereta, baked tilapia, lechon, and my ube macapuno bday cake!! the last time i blew a candle from my cake was during my 25th bday and it was at Friday's where their crew sang a birthday song! i was with my officemates having dinner when they clapped their hands and handed me a cake! it was a good feeling! but blowing my bday cake now at 32 felt a lot even better. hubs cooked everything while i took care of the little one. it was a very sweet thing!
so on the 17th which was my real birthday, i was not expecting anything else! then, our good friends r, c, j and j called us to invite us to the beach. we did not plan anything for that day so we said yes. we first had lunch at spicy noodles where everyone was making kantyaw, "pakain ka nama, bday mo ngayon" i said excuse me, didnt we feed you all last week when you were all at my house. " when the bill arrived, syempre, kkb kami..
we had a fabulous day at the beach. ! they say this is the last week of summer! so we all had a blast! whew, we all just love the beach!!
the highlight of my birthday--well, hubs gave me a three stone diamond necklace to match my three stone engagement ring! i never expected anything so beautiful! in fact, he was already telling me that the party he gave me was my gift already. as another bonus, i also got a beautiful pair of diamond earrings. kaya pala friday night he came in late which was so unusual. he said he has lots of work to do when the truth was he was shopping at the reeds..im soo happy i cried! this is the best birthday present ever! wooohooo..hubs has always been generous and loving!!i thank god i have him..
i could not ask for more!

unit 602

buying a second property has been in our dreams! we always surf the net on possible investment opportunities as we plan to buy our dream vacation house in the philippines. we would surf the net, get quotations, email, inquire, review, decide ..at first we were hoping for a house just like what we have now , then a house fronting taal lake so we were thinking somewhere in tagaytay. then we changed our mind to having one fronting the beach, then maybe a condo somewehere in makati, or a townhouse , the list goes on..afterall, libre mangarap!
finally, this one pushed through as our downpayment has cleared today. we actually bought this property last june when hubs signed the contract (nanginginig pa sya) but it is only now that the developer has finally deposited the check...waaaahh..big amount, depleted savings..
at first we were also worried, there were no signs that a townhouse will be built on its proposed site. baka na swindle kami kasama kaibigan namin..hehheeh.we even googled if this firm really exists..
since it is still under construction, we had a good deal for this unit. infact, a colleague called hubs last week to offer the same unit priced $20k more. tumubo na sya agad.
finally this week, we saw the proposed site being cleared plus our checking acct being cleared also of our hard earned savings..di bale, investment din naman..
gotta start saving again...next comes the mortgage payments..haaayy..god provides!!

secret revelation

the first time we met, i already knew it. but then they do not seem to know, or notice, or pretend not to know. it made me a little confused. maybe, they are in denial, but all the signs are clear..
and this week, it was confirmed.
i knew i was right all along!

tag

I was tagged by Marie at nag tampo na ata na di pa ko nasagot. Marie, medyo naging busy lang po. ( you know how it is to raise a kid tsk) but here it is...
1. WHAT ARE THE THINGS YOU ENJOY DOING EVEN WHEN THERE'S NO ONE AROUND YOU?
- read- chat, blog, surf , sing, dance, window shop , watch tv- take a walk in the afternoon around the village, manahi ng curtains, mag decorate ng bahay, maglinis, mag bake, be productive. like i think i should do something creative with my hands..pero di ako creative..tsk.
2. WHAT LOWERS YOUR STRESS/ BLOOD PRESSURE/ ANXIETY LEVEL?-
- play with coocoo bear -baby- just seeing bebe smile..my heart melts.
-an appreciation from papa bear how ive managed running the house (mabango damit nya, me masarap na ulam sya, tulog na anak nya pag uwi nya from work at higit sa lahat , never syang nauubusan ng brief na maisuot.- when he was single every 2 weeks sya mag laundry. - di nya alam i bought extra briefs for him..bwahahahah)
3. TAG 5 FRIENDS AND ASK THEM TO POST IT IN THEIRS.- - nyah ..my post is so late.! whoever reads this pls..

happily married

at 830pm, b is already asleep. i was surfing the channels on the tv while h is surfing the net.
he then looked at me and said..
h : i am happily married! ( with a big smile on his face)
m: are you? (tries to make a puzzled face look)
h : yes i am! how about you? (now he has the puzzled face look)
m: of course i am!
i stood up from the sofa and gave him a hug!
mushy, mushy!!

life is a beach

wherever we go, these three little ones are all together (born 2-3 months each apart with my little one as the last but not the least- thank you hand me downs)!! same goes for their moms too!!
at 95 degrees, the beach is the only place to be. a 5 minute drive from our place, this is where we had been spending most of our time lately. the shark attack does not stop the daddies from swimming which explains why they are not in the picture!!
its a good thing we are so close to the beach as just one phone call from the neighbor, a potluck meal and it is an instant get together (i.e. chismis, chika and kwento)! sad thing is when there is a hurricane coming, we are also the first ones to board up and evacuate too. but how can we leave the beach when just looking at the sunset makes you thank GOD for its beauty! the calm waters, the sand ala boracay (though for me nothing beats bora still- love it), the company of friends....hmmm....
another relaxing weekend!!life's simple pleasures!!