Trying to update

Hello all! How have you been? Me??? Busy. I think everyone is though a lot of my blogger friends still update their blog. I wish I could do the same!
To recap, last May 18, our friends/neighbors from BMH had their annual summer outing. They can invite other friends to enjoy the fun in the sun at Shipwreck Island. This has been our 3rd time to join them. The entrance fee is free as well as food (burgers, hotdogs, chips, etc) Buti na lang talaga, me friendships kami. We wouldn't miss this annual event. For the last 3 years, this marks the beginning of our summer events!
Here's my boys all geared up!


We went to Shipwreck Island and our tent was by their famous wave pool. M would run everytime he heard the booming sound from the wave pool. That was hilarious for me. Anyway, almost all the pinoys who work in the hospital are present together with their families! It was a day filled with water, food and fun under the sun!

The happiest boy was of course M who enjoyed the slides, the lazy river, and all the other water rides the waterpark offers. Sulit sa kanya!






By 5 pm, we were all ready to go home as all our toddlers missed their afternoon nap. Look at what they're having a feast at! I swear I heard them say "toss pare!" They are all coke deprived so imagine their treat!



This was the week where I believe the entry for Litratong Pinoy was Tubig. I should have posted a lot of M's pics enjoying the water here at Shipwreck WATERPARK. Tamang tama sana. Should have, could have!

A week after that (twas the Memorial weekend I believe), we decided to have M enjoy the water right here at the backyard while we do our gardening thingy. Here he is enjoying the crazy sprinkler! Pang LP entry sana ulit..heheheh..



Do you know that we live 5 minutes away from the beach? So we had our annual picnic and annual outing as well last May 31st. All the pinoys in our village brought food pot luck style at St. Andrews Park . I want to take note of the yummy laing and escabeche and inihaw na bangus, (the bbq was alright and the hotdogs for kids) Busog na busog kaming lahat! Madaming natira promise!

Ninong R knew what the kids wanted so they all gathered up to have their ice candy treat!




"Can we go to the beach now pls?" asked M. I said, "Magpalamig ka muna. Eto ang juice. Mataas pa ang araw." So M sipped his juice.




"Can we go now?" asked M again. I said, "Go play in the slide/playground (beside our table) Mainit pa rin anak!".


"Can we go to the beach now?" M asked for the nth time. (Well, all the kids were asking the same thing) I said,"magpalamig ka muna jan sa taas ng puno."





By 4pm, we then went to the beach and enjoyed the waters! (It was still inside St. Andrews) It doesn't compare to Boracay or Palawan or any beach in Pinas, but still, the company made it alright!







We had lots of leftovers so we went to Ninong R's house to eat dinner and also watch Cloverfield. Grabe ang araw na ito. We started eating early morning, had a great lunch at the park, then dinner here at the M's. The kids are all tired so we went home at 10pm. Natapos din.

I finally got to post our gimiks for May. Now, I have to do our June gimiks naman. Hirap mag update. Have I mentioned I enrolled M in a swimming class? See, I got tons of pics to show!

Late greeting

Hello everyone!!
Belated happy mother's day to all the moms who read my blog! I'm sure all of you had a blast celebrating that day! Motherhood is such a precious gift entrusted by God and I am so thankful that He gave me that!
So, what did i do on Mother's day?? Just window shopped and drooled on fab bags and took care of 4 kids on that day at the mall! Here's the pic to prove it!



I brought these kids to the mall but I got their moms who are my good friends with me. There is no way I can push three strollers all at the same time. Eating out with these kids is already a challenge. Last Sunday, I only had one boy to be in charged of, which is the reason why I became a mom in the first place.
Here he is!


For our Mother's day celebration weekend, the L's, the D's and us, drove to Atlanta. We arrived Friday night at BIL's house. It was a 2 bedroom townhouse so our sleeping arrangement had to be girl's room and boy's room. The kids slept with the moms of course as the dads had a snoring contest on the other room. (hehehehe)
How can you put 3 kids to sleep all in one room? It was a hard task but it could be done. Prayer is the answer. Although, it took a while for them to sleep as S, I and M would play, jump from one bed to another, giggle and talk at 12 midnight. Since when did the kids had to had conversations first before going to sleep? Hmmm...M was the first one to sleep though. He got that from his dad.
Saturday morning, we went to our purpose and goal in life--nope, the purpose of this trip is actually to shop here!


We made IKEA rich while IKEA made us poor. They had a daycare service but unfortunately, M chickened out. We had him signed in and he saw I, R, & S playing inside the play area but M stepped out and he insisted he wanted to go shopping with us instead. I made him promise that he'll behave in his stroller as we do our shopping. Luckily, he kept his promise. I made H promise that he'll stick with the budget. H kept his promise as well. That's a mother's day treat for me. ;)
We bought the entertainment center we had been eyeing at NJ last month. The L's bought the same thing with a slightly different design. They came prepared as they had measured their den so they were done shopping in less than 2 hours. The D's bought a bedroom set, an impulsive one as they say. It was a good thing Thunder carried the whole showcase. Too bad, IKEA ran out of the glass doors for the said entertainment center. We had no choice but to come back on Sunday when the doors will be available according to their inventory person. The L's needed that glass door too.
We had dinner at our fave Dimsum house and then we decided to give the kids a treat by going to Chuck E Cheese's. The kids loved it!

A smart move by the parents, I think. The kids had fun and of course, they all got tired playing, running, sliding, etc. It was only M who didnt want to go home when they closed. M would say, "No Mom, I want to play at Chuckee Cheeke's." That's how he said it. Funny! We went home and put this kids on the tub as they took their shower. We changed them into their jammies and us moms took turns in the shower. (Nope, we couldn't fit into the tub too bad for the dads. :)) The kids played some more and then they slept early. Well, it was already 11pm when they dozed off but compared last night, it was earlier!
Sunday was Mom's day and the boys had to go to IKEA to pick up the ordered glass doors. The girls/mommies had a meeting the night before that we will not go to IKEA anymore. Instead, we would just hang out at the mall with the kids, check a play area for the kids or shop for the moms. Wishful thinking.
The boys agreed and said that they would pick us up when they were done. I drove the girl's van off to the mall while H drove the boy's truck off to IKEA. Boys and girls, girls and boys.
At the mall, it was so tempting to get a new bag but I know that H and I just shopped at IKEA to my heart's and house's content. I had to content myself from trying on the purses. For me, the purses were alive and I could feel their heartbeat on my shoulders. Tama na muna yun. Mommy A and Mommy D got some stuff at Ann Taylor. Mommy A almost bought the other purse at Burberry. Me?? Dream on...Someday, pagkabayad ke IKEA. (at pagkatapos mag-aral--hahahah..Swerte talaga ni H sa akin..hahahahahha)
The mall had a laser thing where kids would chase it and play around a little mat. It looked like a little advertisement for the company logo's. They had fun playing at those light laser beams.

After getting the glass doors, the boys called us up. The boys wanted us to have lunch together at 2pm but it was hard for us to bring all 3 kids to where they were. Besides, we had lunch earlier because of the kids. We waited for the boys at the mall instead. Finally, we were able to leave Atlanta at 3pm. Another 4 hour drive awaits us. As M's DVD played Toy Story 2, exactly 5 minutes later, M got to take his nap. Here's M in his delayed nap time.


It was a fun road trip! I do love long travels with H and M but I love it most when trips are shared with friends. Mas maraming chismis. Hehehehe. We had numerous stops when the kids needed a bathroom break, the kids wanting to have a dvd swap (I want to watch S's movie not my movie, why is it that they want to have what the other one was currently watching?), the kids craving to eat a Sonic burger and fries and mac and cheese, and a lot of kid's demands (and dad's too) It was indeed a weekend filled with all the reasons why I love being a mom, a wife, and a friend !!
Have a great week y'all!

Weekend plans

It's the last week of school and I can't wait to have my summer break! My last day is on Thursday and it's also the day that I take my final exam. I can only pass if I start to study and not blog. Lord help me please on this test. Amen!
I have been looking for fun things to do for M and me. I've only enrolled in a swimming class which will start on the 27th of May. There is a swimming class that will start on the 12th but I decided not to enroll on that one as I wanted to take a week or so to do some more of my spring cleaning/organizing. H commented that the house looks good lately as I try to do a little cleaning of this and that. He then reprimanded me to go back on my books as school is not over yet. (Eh sa masarap maglinis ng bahay eh..)
Last Friday was dvd night for H and me as we watched the movie Hitman . Action and violent scenes do not make me happy plus I had to cut my dvd moment short as I had to tuck M to his bed early. I got to sleep early too and so did H. Sleep is something we enjoy doing. Yup, nakatulog kami sa movie just like what we did with all the dvd movies we've watched. Antukin family is our name.
Then on Saturday, we headed to Pier Park for some family bonding time! We stayed at Borders where M enjoyed reading Thomas train books. I got to hang around with the other kids in the kids area. H also had a great time as he enjoyed looking/browsing at the magazines mostly on renovating/designing. We wanted to do something else for the house for the nth time. :) It rained that afternoon but we managed to stroll along the new opened outlets like Old Navy, VS, etc.
On Sunday, I had to do my closed captioning thingy at the church as I am training my friend N to do captioning volunteer! I had to attend the mass at 10am to cover the mass for tv and then attend the mass again at 1145 where R had his 1st communion. Now that R is on the second grade, I still remember seeing R for the first time when he was only 3 years old, a little toddler, and now he's tall, smart, top of his class and he was wearing a black tie on his special day! After hearing mass, all 6 invited families for R's communion went to Crasy Buffet (that's how their name was spelled) where the L's treated us for lunch! It was just hard to have all the kids aged 3 and below eat their food as they all wanted to go down their high chairs and play. M was the only one who was able to sit for 15 minutes and then he just cant wait to play with his playmates J, S, I, J and RJ. The celebrant R was the only one who had no playmates in his age group. Wawa..Luckily, M belongs to the same age group as that of our neighbors/friends' kids so M had a grand time. I just felt embarrassed in a way as the kids started playing with the balloons given by the waiters. The kids would toss it up on the air and then the balloons would land on the other customer's tables who obviously, also just wanted to enjoy their late lunch. We were strategically seated in the corner away from the other tables but still the kids would just ran, play and I felt it would have been easier had we stayed in the house instead. But the L's are known for their no-fuss parties so they opted to have the celebration here at the restaurant. Anyway, I just thought that if they have a right to stay then so do we as we paid for our lunch (este- it was L's treat nga pala ) Good thing too the other customers were not the snob type as they know that kids are just being kids! I'm being too hard on myself I think!
It was on this lunch date that we all finalized our road trip to Atlanta this weekend. We will leave PC at 4pm and drive to Atlanta where my BIL's house is. That house is 5 minutes away from Lenox Mall. Though the guys wanted to go to IKEA , girls might hang out at the mall instead. I do want to go to IKEA as H and I were bitin in our shopping at NJ last month. We'll do IKEA on Saturday then the mall on Sunday. Eating dimsum is also in the agenda! How will I ever lose my 25 lbs? (Buti pa si J)
Gotta study now! Have a fun week everyone! I'm sorry I don't have pictures because my camera said goodbye to me last Sunday! At R's communion, my LCD screen just went blank. I brought it to BestBuy yesterday and they said that they will try to fix it . It is a good thing that my 4 year warranty protection plan expires this September 08 so my camera is still covered. If they won't be able to fix it, they'll let me have a new camera within the price range of my old one! Wow! H prayed that the camera won't be repaired. I doubt it though. But if they give me a new one, who am I to say no?
(Ooopps, about the tags that I owe--Weng, Tin, etc- sa bakasyon gagawin ko na po, sorry huh..busy lang talaga)
Oh, thank you for all those who gave good comments on H's birthday bash! We enjoyed it to the max and our friends are asking us about our plans next year! And those who left a comment on M's sad picture, thank you! Di naman laging umiiyak si M.---Yaiks, need to find my entry for LP. After the test, maybe!
Cheers everyone!!

NY trip

I'm back.
Well, at least for a while! Spending time with bff I was the best! She had the most gorgeous house I've ever seen that we did not want to leave her place! It was very easy convincing H to move to NJ but then, it might take some more time! Hopefully, when I finish school which would be about 5 years from now. Bwahahahah..I'm taking it slow! Too slow..
My son had a great time flying! He was the most excited person in the whole plane! He quipped as we were about to take off.."Ohhh, mom, I'm flying!" We had him seated at the window so he could see everything! He was really brave to fly! Well, he did flew home last 2006 but he was a baby then! And we, H and I were brave to fly 18 hours with him! (Minus layovers) Did that twice in a year! ( I was breastfeeding back then..what else defines bravery:))
I leave you with a few pictures but the stories are still all bottled up in my mind!
I had a great time, but that's an understatement!
I have to unpack! And then, pack again! Buti na lang, I love long drives!
Laundry to follow! (Oh..and the story, sometime, when time permits)

The concert

We watched the H's concert at Jax, Fl last Saturday! We left the house at 12 noon instead of the 10am plan so my girlfriends were calling me as it was almost past five when we got to Jax and the concert will start at 7pm. Still, we were able to dig in a cup of rice and ohh lala..korean ribs in the sweetest sauce by supermom S! At 6pm, off we drove to Times Union PA. It took us 30 minutes to get there and find a good parking spot. The parking fee was only $10 but the attendant charged us $15 as it was a special concert according to him. Hmmm..
Inside the concert hall, we went to the restroom and A said, "Wow, para tayong nasa SM Shoemart" kasi puro pinoy. There were also some husbands who escorted their wives (like my H who is so manly and confident that I will be in my poised figure when the concert starts--and with the hope that I will remember that I am married to him and him alone.)
We were ushered to third row (waaa..row 3, at least di row 4- dunno kung sino makakaintindi nito) which is really nice as we were seated in the middle row, (read--pangatlo mula sa harap. Ang lapit talaga namin pramis)which is a very good view for me. We were made to wear this pink wrist band to serve as our pass to the VIP room where after the concert, we would get to meet the stars of the show and have their autograph/signatures. Showbiz..
Ang mga lola sa harap ng kamera!


Magagandang walang pera! We realized we needed a bottle of water and we didnt have the money to pay for it (@$3.00 )


The star of the show!

It was a fun show all because of Pokwang and JL. It was like they were just talking in the stage, singing, saying those funny spiels unscripted but nothing extraordinary. S was handsome in person and was also game and could sing well though he chose hard songs. JL could hardly reach the high notes in an easy song but he was the most charming among the three. His spiel brought the house down by saying that he is more guwapo than Papa P. Of course Pokwang was the funniest and the most talented. She could sing and dance Shakira style! My, and she's got the curves! Sadly, P was snobbish though he could sing pretty well. P did not go near the stage or around the hall as opposed to S and Jl. I felt that he had made himself a wall or something where no one can even enter! He did not shook hands when he was onstage nor tried to be close and establish rapport on us. He just sang. I felt weird seeing him as he is not that guwapo pala. This is just my opinion.

Worst, when it was our turn to meet P and all the stars at the VIP room, P never made eye contact unlike the other stars. They were seated like a panel of judges with a huge table in front of them so it is not permissible to hug them or take pictures while you're talking to them. My experience went like this:

Me : Hi JL. Pwede ba akong magpa-autograph?
JL : Oo naman.
Me : Pwede rin ba kitang kamayan?
JL : Oo. (shakes my hand, smiles at me..natunaw ako)
Me : Thank you.

Next, seated to him is S.

Me : Hi S. Can I pls have your autograph?
S : Sure.
Me : Can I pls. shake your hand?
S : Of course. (shakes my hand, smiles at me..wow)
Me : Thank you for performing here. It was a great experience.
(me background sa likod na mga pinoy -- "Oy ate, andar na pila, wala ng chika chika para di tayo magtagal")
I really didnt know if it was for me or someone else as we were all taking our time, treasuring that 2-3 second/moment, the works. Most of those who watched the concert drove 5-6 hours, some drove from Maryland just to see them and paid more than a $100 for the ticket price, had to book into a hotel etc etc. So if they wanted to make their money worth it, with a little hi and a little hello, so what! Everyone fall in a looooong line just to get inside the VIP room huh. Why do they have to give those remarks?

When it was my turn to greet Papa P, he was talking to somebody else beside him, a girl with a gucci purse (not my friend though). Her purse is really nice but I didn't like the way that she stayed there at P's table and was trying to get P's attention. I didnt like the way she talked to P and P was giving him more attention than the ones who were in line.

Me : Hello P. Can I have your autograph pls?
P : (Still talking to the girl- signs my cd and does not even look at me)
Me : Can I shake your hand pls?
P : (Talks to that girl again)
Me : Excuse me!
P : Oh..(finally looks at me- and shakes my hand)

I really felt that it was so rude. Worst, he did it to my friends as well. He didn't even bother to shake their hands. (My friends didnt bother to ask him anymore as he was still busy talking to that girl) Then, on our way out, other ladies were also complaining that he was not that friendly at all. He kept on talking to that girl and did not give them the time/acknowledgement that they deserve. Marami kaming nabiktima. Kainez..

From now on, I am no longer a fan of P. Mas guwapo pa si JL sa kanya. Even S.

Goodbye P. Hello JL.

A shattered dream! He lost a fan!
(tama na daw ang pantasya sabi ng H ng buhay ko:))


What matters most is that at the end of that Saturday night, I got to enjoy the company of my girlfriends and the H of my life--all in one night (minus M who had a fab time as well playing with kids of his age at S's house- thank god Lola E was there to babysit the kids) Oh, and the window shopping that I did the next day with my good friend Louis (just drooling on them instead of looking at eluxury and feeling them alive on my hands/shoulder/wrists.., the very great dimsum at that elegant chinese restaurant which I cannot remember the name, the decor items that I bought at Pier1, the long conversation that H and I had because of the long drive, with M demanding his dvd player be changed every 30 minutes, the bag of cheetos, the cans of sodas, the rest areas, that family time...I totally forgot about P.
Life is really good! :) (and so is shopping);)

S visits me!

Hello everyone!
It was my friend S's turn to visit us here. They came Friday night H and I were very busy trying to fit in S's family in our house. We had to put an airbed at M's playroom for S's mom and dad who are currently visiting and will be back in the Philippines next month. Then, we had to squeeze S and her hubs in M's full size bed (the crib now turned bed) and S's kids in a futon (aged 8, 4 & 3) right below their bed. Nagkasya naman sila!
I cooked pork barbecue and grilled shrimps for dinner. The L's brought roasted ribs while the M's gave a cheesecake for dessert. S came from Jacksonville, a 5 hour drive and they were so happy to see what was in the dining table. Yummy!! We slept past 12 midnight as we had to share all the stories in the world! Daldal!!
I woke up early Saturday morning to cook breakfast but MIL was already done! She cooked (what's in my ref) longganisa, eggs and hotdogs and fried rice! By lunch, we had grilled short ribs and grilled portabella mushrooms. Thank God we had dinner at M's house to celebrate their son J's first birthday! My son enjoyed this birthday party and loved J's room so much he does not want to get out. J's room had a train theme and cars theme. I can't wait to finish his toddler room! We had to postpone our carpentry project this week because of our guests. I hope we'll resume next week!
Sunday morning, MIL had cooked again breakfast (Aga nya talaga gumising eh) This time, we had corned beef, spam, hotdogs and fried eggs. By lunch time, I asked S's mom to teach me how to cook pinakbet (she is from Ilocos). I think mil did not like that. Well, this is just my opinion. For lunch, we had inihaw na liempo and pinakbet. H commented that naihaw daw sya ng husto this weekend. Poor H. I just marinated the pork belly with lemon, soy sauce, garlic and pepper and voila!! It was a hit as everyone had a full tummy afterwards!
This week we have to go on a fish diet! We've had so much food!!! Grabeee...
S left after lunch and she was so happy to have spent the weekend with us. Busog na busog daw sila! I'm so happy to hear that!!

Memorial weekend

Together with the L's, we drove to Jacksonville Friday night. H could not come as he had promised to finish the sitting area at the backyard for my supposed to be Mother's day present (super delayed..err. I always complain that I have nowhere to sit everytime I watch M play at the backyard)
After an hour's drive, we had a flat tire so we had to sleep at D's house at Tallahassee. D had a dog named "pogi." M was scared of the little puppy. So cute.
The next morning, we left for Jacksonville and had lunch at Jeepney Stop- a filipino restaurant a.k.a. turo turo style who cooks yummy yummy filipino food. I ordered lechon and daing na bangus.
We then went swimming. It was more of a swimming weekend as our kids would always request that we go swimming. How I envy their pools! It was really designed for kids just like the ones that Shipwreck Island had. It was just 1 foot deep and mushroomlike tunnels are everywhere. Our kids enjoyed the pool as much as we did. And they had lifeguards everywhere. It really felt safe!
Dinner came and we had chicken bbq and steak and inihaw na tilapia at S's house. Sunday morning, we all went to church. Then we had lunch at Cheesecake Factory . I had my favorite Renee's Special - One-Half of a Chicken Salad Sandwich, a Cup of Soup
and a Small Green Salad. I asked S for a spoonful of her white chocolate raspberry truffle cheesecake as I was really full. Yummy!
Afterwards, we went shopping at St. John's.
It was a great weekend indeed. I am so blessed to have S in my life. She is one of my precious friends. Our friendship started when we were in college. Who would have thought that we will still be friends now that we have kids? She's got three adorable kids (I am the ninang of the oldest M). She is also the ninang of my only son M.
When I came home, my sitting area was right there waiting for me. Yehey, thanks H. You're the best! That sitting area would mean another post...Maybe later.
Have fun!!