my baby ...

You're growing up so fast ... nearly 11 months now ... I wish I could keep you under my wings forever, but I know that I can't ... and I must not. I need to let you go .. .to venture out into this cruel world. But know that I will always be there to wipe away your tears, to support you in your dreams no matter how crazy, and to help mend the wounds you will get.

I love you anak.

Brent when he was barely a month old ...

To All The Mothers...

This post is for a friend of mine who is feeling lost right now but doesn't even know it. Girl, your a good person, a good mom. Don't let the hardships that is surrounding you right now get the best of you. Don't let yourself simply float. Hang on to something. Hang on to someone. Hang on to your dreams. Keep your kids smile and hugs and kisses alive in your mind. If someone did not return the love you've given them with all your heart, remember, there are two lil angels out there who loves you with all their heart. Don't do something you will regret later. And I promise you, you will regret it. Stay .. don't turn your back on them. They just maybe the reason left for you to continue surviving.



 



To All The Mothers...

This is for all the mothers who froze their buns off on metal bleachers at football games Friday night instead of watching from cars, so that when their kids asked, "Did you see me?" they could say, "Of course, I wouldn't have missed it for the world," and mean it.

This is for all the mothers who have sat up all night with sick toddlers in their arms, wiping up barf laced with Oscar Mayer wieners and cherry Kool-Aid saying, "It's OK honey, Mommy's here."

This is for all the mothers of Kosovo who fled in the night and can't find their children.

This is for the mothers who gave birth to babies they'll never see. And the mothers who took those babies and made them homes.

For all the mothers of the victims of the Colorado shooting, and the mothers of the murderers. For the mothers of the survivors, and the mothers who sat in front of their TV's in horror, hugging their child who just came home from school, safely.

For all the mothers who run carpools and make cookies and sew Halloween costumes. And all the mothers who DON'T.

What makes a good Mother anyway? Is it patience? Compassion? Broad hips? The ability to nurse a baby, cook dinner, and sew a button on a shirt, all at the same time? Or is it heart? Is it the ache you feel when you watch your son or daughter disappear down the street, walking to School alone for the very first time? The jolt that takes you from sleep to dread, from bed to crib at 2 A.M. to put your hand on the back of a sleeping baby?

The need to flee from wherever you are and hug your child when you hear news of a school shooting, a fire, a car accident, a baby dying?

This is for all the mothers that sat down with their children and explained all about making babies. And for all the mothers who wanted to but just couldn't.

This is for reading "Goodnight, Moon" twice a night for a year. And then reading it again. "Just one more time."

This is for all the mothers who mess up. Who yell at their kids in the grocery store and swat them in despair and stomp their feet like a tired two-year old who wants ice cream before dinner.

This is for all the mothers who taught their daughters to tie their shoelaces before they started school. And for all the mothers who opted for Velcro instead.

For all the mothers who bite their lips -- sometimes until they bleed -- when their 14-year-olds dye their hair green. Who lock themselves in the bathroom when babies keep crying and won't stop.

This is for all the mothers who show up at work with spit-up in their hair and milk stains on their blouses and diapers in their purse. This is for all the mothers who teach their sons to cook and their daughters to sink a jump shot.

This is for all mothers whose heads turn automatically when a little voice calls "Mom?" in a crowd, even though they know their own offspring are at home.

This is for mothers who put pinwheels and teddy bears on their children's graves.

This is for mothers whose children have gone astray, who can't find the words to reach them.

This is for all the mothers who sent their sons to school with stomachaches, assuring them they'd be just FINE once they got there, only to get calls from the school nurse and hour later asking them to please pick them up. Right away.

This is for young mothers stumbling through diaper changes and sleep deprivation. And mature mothers learning to let go. For working mothers and stay-at-home mothers. Single mothers and married mothers. Mothers with money, mothers without. This is for you all. So hang in there.

coral necklace

Nope, I did not make this but I sure wish I did. Got this from my boss' wife! It's her business and I am falling in love. Must. Not. Buy. Any. More.

I wore it yesterday but forgot to take a picture. I'll take one when I wear the exact same outfit going to another place. Partnered with a black top and black pants, stilettos and light make up, this coral necklace surely make you look elegant.

I sound ike an info ad. Ugh.

conquering fears

Have you ever conquered your fears? Or at least some of it? I have, though not all of them. I think as awe get older, we tend to see things in a different way. Before, the sight of a roach, whether dead or alive, flying or just sitting there, would send me to hysterics. I.Hate.Roaches.

But now ... I still cringe at the sight of them but I know that I will be able to murder them when need be, like if they're on their way to my precious baby. Kill kill!

Another would be taking responsibility of my own life. I love relying on other people for my happiness, my safety, my everything. But now, I've come to the realization that I am responsible for myself, my happiness, and yes, my everything. The road to that realization was not a happy one though, but it was necessary.

I had to grow up and grow up I did. Everything does happen for a reason though at times we may not like the reason.

My quote for the day: "Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I cannot accept, and the wisdom to hide the bodies of those people I had to kill today because they pissed me off."

I read in my Mommy Journal that the reason we need to document the precious moments of our babies is because when we get older, we will forget these lil wonderful moments. So here's to a lifetime of memories ...

B feeling like he's Incredible Hulk!

getting over the guilt spending

Obviously, I got over my guilt. Spoke to hubby and he said that I can get some money and buy myself some new clothes since I lost a bit of weight and my clothes are a lil bit loose, therefore, making me look frumpy. And frumpy is not a look that goes well with me.

It's kind of funny, the rush that I get from trying on new clothes and shopping with friends. With my husband, it's always rushed. It's always "have you found one yet?" "are you gonna buy that?" "are you done yet?" How will I enjoy shopping?

But with friends, it's more of "let's go check this store ..." "this would be nicer ..." or "it doesn't look good ony ou, let's find something else." I'm such a girly girl. I can't believe I wrote that. If my friends from middle school would see this, their jaws would just drop. I used to be such a tomboy.

Funny how we change from what we were when we were kids to the present times ...

Officially Legal!

Happy birthday Kambal! Officially legal now to drink, drive, go out ... enjoy! Make the most out of life but not too extreme lest you end up way over your head!

I'm just here okay? Mwah! Love you!!!

guilt spending ...

I feel guilty coz I got some stuff for myself ... I guess it is ingrained in Mothers to thrift themselves and save instead ... and spend money on baby and other necessities. But I want to refute that. I think it's wrong.

Don't get me wrong ... we have some savings, and now I feel that I deserve to get some stuff for myself as well. I don't wanna be like the Mom's that I read about who get so fed up spending on others or nurturing others and neglecting themselves that one day, they wake up and BAM! they leave without turning back.

I want to take care of my family and yet, take care of myself as well. Nothing bad about that right?

Right?

to Flare, my buddy

Do you make time to meet with old friends? You know, the one whom you text from time to time, catch on ym, and send Christmas cards too as a way of keeping in touch with simply because you both are too busy to see each other? Well yesterday, I met up with an old college friend, Flare. Funny thing about Flare was that I didn't even really like her back in college. She was too bland for me. I know, I'm such a meanie. But we became friends and because of her, I have become addicted to Starbucks.

We met up at McCafe because we were both feeling poor and couldn't afford Starbucks at the moment. :D She looked awesome. She finally grew her hair long and dare I say, had it relaxed as well. She looked hot! She also looked happy. Of course, Flare being the obsessive compulsive sorta psychotic person that she is, decided to put her relationship under a microscope. Does he love me? We had a fight ... yadada ... yadidi ... I fnally had to stop her and say ... it's okay. You're good.

Hay naku Flare, what am I to do with you?




And to make everything perfect in her eyes, she grabbed this book as we were browsing in Powerbooks and showed it to me. It was a Mommy Journal and you can write love letters to your baby in it. I fell in love.

I love you Bitch! You rock!

sweets I miss from my childhood

Oh boy! I have loads of these. Top of my list would be that lil version of Tootsie Roll ... one would take ages to finish since it's so sticky and you gotta chew it again and again just to swallow a piece! I loved tootsie roll. The Tootsie Roll they have nowadays are way exaggerated.

Another would be the Donut Pop that's making a comeback these days. I remember having it whenever we'd go to Harrison Plaza. No one I know remembered it whenever I would tell them of this donut that was like a lollipop made by Mr. Donuts until they brought it back to the market. YUMMY!

One thing I miss though is the local version of M&M in our country also known as baby bubot. I only get to buy it in our province but I heard that they sell it here as well along with the mani and what have you. You really should try it. Candy coated peanut ... not NIPS okay ... its just candy coated peanut.

I miss those days.

B's First Steps

I was able to capture on film his first official steps and mind you, these were not just 3 steps but he was able to walk from one end of the room to the other without falling flat on his face. I'm so proud.Next thing I know, there will be a mini tornado in the house!

chocolate is bad for you

Chocolate is bad for you. It's too sweet that it makes your teeth rot and go straight to your hips. I DON'T CARE! I' m depressed and so I've been gobbling chocolates, choco mallows, and drinking chocolait! I am gonna be on sugar overdrive.

I need to snap out of this ... I can handle this. I will survive. I need to.

I hope I don't look like this monkey now. That would be too much to handle.

random thoughts # 4

My weekend in a nutshell ...

Friday after I left the office, my Mom called me and asked if I wanted to go swimming with them at Hyatt Hotel. I really didn't feel like it so I said that I would just meet up with them. Afterwards, in my desperate attempt for them to take me home instead of my having to commute, I convinced my little sister to convince my Mom to go to Festival Mall and see the Pixie Forest and the Grand Carousel. So we went there and they were able to see what I've been yakking about for how many months and Kianna fell in love with it ... much to my Mom's dismay since it's located in Alabang and they live in Binondo. Har har har ... we also ended up buying stuff from National Book Store and I got 4 books which I've been dying to read ...

1) Deception Point by Dan Brown
2) The Devil Wears Prada
3) Five People You Meet in Heaven
4) Tuesdays with Morrie

Love it! =)

Saturday on the other hand was a shopping spree sort of thing for me ... bought underwear, shoes, bags, scrapping stuff, 2 emergency lights for the house, a rechargeable electric fan for B, a cologne for hubby and of course, some toys, socks, and sandos for my lil angel.

We also got to watch Lani Misalucha perform for free and boy is she really good! She can belt out songs with no effort at all. No wonder she's called Asia's Nightingale.

And to cap off the evening, we watched Da Vinci Code. I loved the film. It really makes you think. I loved what Langdon said in the end of the film ...

"Why can Jesus not be human and yet be divine? Why can he not be man yet make miracles?"

I'm not sure if I've captured it verbatim but that's about the gist of it. And Sophie's line in the middle of the film is what I believe the root of all the controversy ...

"Who is God? Who is Man?"

Sunday was lovely as well ... we went to my Dad's place where I was able to get a really nice picture of all of us ... hhmm ... mosaic or mousepad? Which one should I make?

Overall, very nice weekend ... *sigh of contentment*

Close Up Smile

This is the first photo of Brent with his two front teeth showing ... hidden beneath his lips are three more located in the upper gum ... awwww ....

fantastic ideas!

GIFT WRAPPED

Saw this from WIFELY STEPS and just loved the idea ... So I'm gonna share it to whoever will get to read this ... picture is from her site as well.

Use manila paper to cover your gifts and then just wrap colorful ribbons around them and put a tag ... cool huh?








NOTE CARDS


Another wonderful idea I read about from her blog is this: wedding note cards. Instead of having guests sign in a guest book, there will be calling card sized cards wherein guests can write what they want to tell the couple. It may be a joke, an advise, a drawing ... anything! It's so cool and yes, more meaningful!