the engagement

..well, that's my man! he just flew in from the states a week before our wedding. after 10 mos of long distance relationship, internet chat, webcam and phone calls, he is now back. my, he has reduced from 189 lbs to 159 lbs. and yeah, he's holding on to a dozen white roses..its our prenups at j's aunt's garden in ayala alabang, still had to fix last minute details for our wedding. we had a year to plan. but still it feels like we have so much to do ..naahh..all is well at this time..
h & i , we had a whirlwind romance of that sort..you know the typical love at first sight. we met in oct 19 2002, dated for a few weeks.. it was him who fell for me (bwahahahhahahaha...yabang ko talaga ..though i know mas love ko na sya ngayon) ..i did a lot of thinking and praying and explaining to myself and my family how can you marry someone whom you just met?
i can remember that on nov 13 2002, when i said yes to him as a boyfriend, he immediately quipped "wow, ikakasal na ako". i answered "of course not..its a different thing..im saying yes only as a bf, not as a husband." to which he again replied, "no, its the same thing. pag bf mo na gusto mo ng pakasalan." 3 days after, he was at fernwood gardens with his parents looking for tentative dates. he is positive that once i see the place, id love it. which i did.
there was a time i would think am i really engaged or not? i was confused , but then after praying (muntik na akong maging madre sa pagdadasal, ang bilis kasi ng pangyayari eh) and having god's go signal, i started with the wedding preps..
it was march 2003 , we were talking over the phone when i mentioned are we really engaged? i dont have a ring nor did you went down on your knee to ask me? the typical romantic style, the one where the whole world will stop ek ek...as for the tradition, your whole family, parents, siblings were all here during the pamamanhikan which i really can never forget
(its a very nice tradition -one that i would like my son to experience) but i think something is still missing..(THE RING NGA) he then said, i cant afford to give you a ring. ive bought you a house instead. ok lang naman yun di ba?
so i have accepted my fate that i will never have a ring..well, i have the right man god wants me to be with..so on with the wedding preparations..
but today, he has been acting weird. he said that the flowers is for pictorial purposes..but he has something in his face..
in the middle of the shots, we were already warming up with j when h asked j to give him the flowers..smile smile pose pose shot shot..and then the magic began..h went down on his knee..
h: do u remember what i told you last year when we were in puerto galera?
m: hmmm i remember the songs we sang..
h: love, i told u, last year, i want you to be my past, my present and my future. so i am saying it again now, i want you to be my past , present and future..will u marry me? (he then showed the black box with a 3 stoned bling bling)
m: (NAPANGITI NG ABOT TENGA!!! ) of course i will!!!




you can see from the pictures how shocked i was (AND HOW HAPPY) i never expected it to happen and yet it did..i kissed and hugged him afterwards

he has the ring all this time..well he actually bought it a month before we talked about it. he has been doing his ring shopping and when he finally found the right one, he decided to keep it as a secret. he also said, "papayag ba naman akong walang ring ang bride ko?"i totally forgot that j was present taking our pictures. now i do have souvenir shots that h did proposed. the moment was all captured.. oh, and we're getting married in 2 days..a whirlwind engagement..well, it was all meant to be..the past present and the future! it hasnt been 2 years? oh yeah, 2 years.. how time flies..
ps.. i was inspired to do this post after visiting ladylavender's blog ..thank you huh..

detox

it was another easy sunday morning. we went to the church and had lunch afterwards. h has officially started the detox and sadly, i, had to eat salad, fish, and soup as well..but if this is the way for h to really have a healthy living thru healthy eating, so be it..
i got a call from m inviting us to his grandson's christening in jacksonville. h has to work on that weekend so he cant come. it will only be me and b just like last month when we had our trip to savannah, georgia.--b has really been to lots of places already..
so on the 26th, off to ponte vedra beach we go ..m advised us to bring extra clothes as the view from the atlantic ocean is just spectacular we might be tempted to take a plunge. we are close to panama city beach but their view is sooo different..lets see if that is true!

lucky seven

we forgot that its b's 7th month birthday..and yet h & i never forget to greet each other monthsary (yup-until now most especially this month where we will be celebrating our 2nd wedding anniversary) are we bad parents..?
when i bloghopped, i'm happy to note that other parents do celebrate monthly birthdays of their babies complete with pancit and cake..i wish i could do that..but how can i when just remembering the 10th of the month is so hard for me to do..
see, im writing this today, the 12th of the month..and still, i have no cake for the little one..
i hope i'll do better next month!

b is sick

its been days since b had a cold..maybe he got it from i..im not sure though..
this morning , i nursed him at 6am. 30 mins later, he threw up..i gave him his breakfast- applesauce & oatmeal at 8am and he threw up again..and again..so i called his doctor and they asked me to bring him at once..his temp is slightly up, 99.3 but it has not reached the 100 mark so fever is out of the question..
i kept thinking why i let him play with i ..she was the only one who had a cold who visited our house..anyway, its the flu season too so almost everyone in the doc's office had been coughing and sneezing..
the doc gave him antibiotics to be taken for 5 days..and something for the vomitting though he did not advice us to buy it at once..he said that the antibiotics are enough. but just in case he vomits again..maybe we can start giving the other one..
i had to stop the ferber method. the book said its ok to change the routine once the baby is sick, teething or any of that sort..so b had been waking up at midnight again..and crying non stop..well until we get him out of his crib that is..gone are the days when he would just cry for a minute or two and resume to the dreamland..
ive re read my baby 411 book too..looking for signs, researching....
i just dont like it when my b is sick..kapraning!!

h is sick

h was home the whole day because he was not feeling well..he asked me for his blood pressure medicine....
diet and exercise should be a part of his daily routine...no! of his life! he used to weigh 159 lbs and he felt so good that time..he lost 30lbs just before we got married..2 years after..please dont bother to ask!
i should really start cooking healthy meals..or better yet, i should stop cooking!

3 sundays in a row

answered prayer! i hope so..
it has been three (3) sundays in a row (and i do hope it goes on) where h had been taking the initiative to go to church..yup, you heard me right.."GO TO CHURCH!" ...
i have been a practicing catholic, hearing sunday masses with my neighbors e & a..i had my son baptized in a catholic church after a loooong discussion with h (& a promise not to tell his family until further notice --unless they chance upon my blog).. h-- well he says he is a born again christian and does not need to go to church..errr....what's important is your personal relationship with God which i totally agree. but i, personally, still want to go to church on sundays and when time permits me to..it recharges me in a way and i like praying as a community. plus of coure its the only time i get to go out of the house..;)
how i envy other families who go together in the church and i always always pray that i get to bring h too..he comes with me every now and then, when he feels like to. ive been in his church once here, a baptist one if i remember it right..
and so for the 3rd sunday in a row, that he comes with me to the church every morning, eats lunch out afterwards all together with b present of course --whooaa- it is a major thing for me..
except that today, after the mass, he quipped "next sunday, lets try the pentecostal church, what do you think?"
i pretended i did not hear a thing!

autumn pics

ive been bugging h to have b's pics taken by a professional studio the moment b was born. he gave me all kinds of excuses, like i should wait when b is sitting on his own or when h finds the time to take b's pics..hmm..he can take good shots..but i still want to have it done by a pro....finally, this weekend he said yes! so at 9am we went to the mall and had his portrait taken at sears. we had our family portrait as well..now i remembered why i dont want to be a model..all those poses, chin to the left, stay still, eyes here..it was so tiring!it lasted for more than an hour..b began to be tired from all those smiling..when the bill arrived, i almost fainted...to think i had a coupon for $9.99. h said the photos were worth it..and we should be doing this often..like every 3 months..naah..his next prof. pic will be done on his 7th bday..heheheh..

sleep my baby

hmm..dr ferber is good! we "ferberized" i.e. started his method last thursday and wooo..it was hard! but now i think b is getting the hang of it..slowly but surely..
b would always sleep after being nursed. but reading this book and upon e's recommendation, we tried it. the basic teaching is that your kid can and knows how to sleep on their own without our help. h was hesitant at first because the first day was surely hard..imagine, hearing b cry for 1 hour non-stop..ayyy..h wanted to get him from his crib and cuddle him that time but the book said once you started, there is no turning back..that time, h cannot stop cursing ferber..in fact, for days, pag nagugulat sya.. ang expression nya, " ay ferber.." hahahahha..
sana, tuloy tuloy na..teething would come next i guess..but meantime, b is sleeping on his own crib lately all by himself..on the 2nd night he slept after crying for 30 mins, the next day 5 mins and last night 1 min lang..and he wakes up at 6 am with a smile in his face..and we- his parents..are smiling too!

arent they all adorable? we were 5 pinoy families at e's house for our traditional halloween party! it was b's 1st trick or treat experience! dressed as a pea in a pod while his best bud j as yoda, he just slept in his stroller when we started..it was only j and the other kids who had lots of candies..sleepy pea eh..teehehe..back at e's house, we had arroz caldo, grouper fingers, ribs, pancit, siomai..and tada, a black forest cake. her baking skills are just something i envy. she did b's baptismal cake and my shower cake as well..it was sooo good!!i was able to talk to l and i was impressed..she has 3 kids and is currently studying nursing. i wonder how she does that..and im thinking, planning, praying..what if?

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