organized clutter

As a mom to a 15 month old baby, I know how messy the house can be due to all the playing and inquisitive mind running loose. Babies will check everything, taste everything, and touch everything. They're made that way so that they can learn more about their environment, surrounding, and about life in general.

No matter how much we clean up, they will mess everything again. Of course this pushes most of us to the edge but before you snap, here are some tips from yours truly on how you can minimize the damage that can be caused by your lil tornado.

Wouldn't we all lvoe to have a room for our babies that looks like the one on the right?

SORT. Make sure that everything is sorted accordingly. Why? If things are sorted properly, there would be a place for everything and everything in its place.

RID. Get rid of clutter. This goes for everything. Look at your closet and if you have any clothes that you have not worn in a year (I'm being lenient here.) then start giving them away or donate them to charity. If you must absolutely keep it, then put it in a plastic organizing box to make room for the clothes that you do use. Something like this would be of great help. Rid the papers that you've kept in your drawers thinking that you'll get to it or there might be something interesting, there isn't. Throw it away. If there are things there that you just can't throw away, then get a small file folder and put it all there. Organize your clutter at the very least if you really can't throw it.

MAKE IT A HABIT. Do this once a month and I can assure you that the house will be tidier, more organized, and clutter free. Save of course for the occasional toy strewn around. But then, its just a reminder that its time for some playtime with baby.

munimuni # 2

This week passed by quite fast that it left me with a sense of incompleteness. I feel as if I still had a lot of things that needed to be done, chores to finish, to do list that never ends, and craft stuff that I have not even begun.

Still, I am thankful for a lot of things. My hubby's birthday passed by with lots of fun and laughter and of course, good memories and some pictures for me to blog about. Things are going very well with us and I really feel that he loves me and appreciates me and everything that I do for him.

Our lil man has a few new tricks now. When he would see one of us approaching him and he happens to be holding something that he shouldn't, he'd giggle and then turn and run towards the other direction. It's really cute coz he runs in baby steps. Like he's super excited, which I'm sure he is. He's also learned the fine art of fake crying but the thing is, it's really, really fake. He'd make this sound like "hooo ... huhu ..." then he would stop, look at us, grin, and clap. Lol! What an attention whore.

We've also gotten our eletricity back but has suffered from minor black outs which I think is Meralco's way of getting back at us. Evil, evil Meralco.

We've also visited my Mom and Dad last Sunday which turned out pretty well. Looking forward to being a couch potato later on to watch Philippine Idol RnB performances. I hope it turns out real well.

Now, I just really need to fix the finances and we're all set. Maybe I should start a countdown of some sorts where I raise enough money to buy a nice 2nd hand SUV. Watcha think?

SPH #2: Sleeping

SLEEPING

Here is my son sleeping peacefully in his playpen. This is his favorite sleeping position since he was an infant. It has given me lots of sleepless night due to my fear of SIDS.

Hope everyone will have a good sleep as well.

Grab the photo hunt code or join the blogroll.

moments ...

muuuwwwaaaaahhhhhh!

i'm safe as long as daddy holds my hand

my favorite sleeping position

wanna be Samurai! yawnnn ...

watching House of the Flying Daggers

craft project: pot nameholders

1) get a mini pot
2) paint it black
3) paint the band around a different color (your choice of color, anything but black of course)
4) paint white dots all over the black parts
5) get a black paint pen and use it to write the name of the guests

Use this to serve as name cards and souvenirs at a dinner you're throwing for friends and family. It will definitely be a sure hit.

on receiving letters

There's something speacial about receiving letters in the mail. I'm not talking about e-mails or e-cards but snail mail. In this time of technology and fast tracks to anything and everything, see this entry, I find snail mail to be endearing.

The fact that someone took time to write you a letter, a card, an invitation means that you were special enough or worth the effort. Unless of course if the person is still not savy with the internet. Hehe.

I admit that I rarely write letters anymore nowadays. But when I was younger, I'd write 6-8 letters a day to friends, family, and significant others. I'd just talk about anything and everything. There was something therapheutic about writing things down. Maybe that's why I blog now. Eventhough I don't literally write, I still am able to express my thoughts.

Do you feel the same way? Do you also like receiving and sending letters the traditional way? Or am I one of the last of a dying breed? I'd love to read your thoughts on this.

p.s. for those who are about to have a halloween party or any party, here's a cool way to give out souvenirs and namecards.

Feast 114 Ed 14

Appetizer
Name a song you know by heart.
- It Might Be You by Stephen Bishop ... loved this song!

Soup
What will you absolutely not do in front of another person?
- poop ... hehe ... they might faint from the smell

Salad
How often do you use mouthwash and what kind do you like?
- not that often and if I do, Astring-O-Sol Mint is what I like best

Main Course
Finish this sentence: I am embarrassed when...
- I forget how to spell a word.

Dessert
What was the last food you craved?
- Crabsticks ... yummy!

magnet collection swap

Above are pictures of my magnet collection. I've been into it for over a year now and would like to know if there are other people out there who are into this thing. If yes, YEY! Next question for me would be, are you willing to swap magnets with me?

If yes again, please lemme know by leaving a comment and I'll be sure to email you back. Come on, I know you have magnets that are just waiting to travel to my humble abode. =p

I'd especially love to have magnets from Hawaii, Japan, Australia, and other places. The more unique, the better. I'd make sure to send you some Philippine magnets that are to die for as well.

Thanks to Toni and Sienna for the wonderful idea though they have no idea that I "borrowed" the idea.

love letter to you, my son

dear b,

today is just another ordinary day. i'm at work and you are at home, most probably sleeping because it's your naptime. how i wish i could be there to rock you to sleep. i love doing that except when you don't go to sleep immediately. then i put you down and we just play.

i'm not the best mom. at times i leave you with your yaya vangie and just watch my tv shows. understand that i need to do this at times so that i can be recharged and more ready to play with you and take care of you.

i love you so much baby. so much that at times, i still find myself crying when i look at you. so much that i still bargain with god to lend you to me for the next 75 years. i just don't know how i can live without you with me.

so know that eventhough i may not be the best mother, i will do my best to give you what you need and to give you all the love that i can.

i love you anak.

mommy

family meme

Got this from Cozy Reader. I so love her template especially the header.

1. Favorite memory of your mother?
It would have to be the moments wherein she helped me with my projects for school. I remember specifically one wherein I had to glue seashells to a wood swan and I was doing a lousy job of doing so. She volunteered to help me and it turned out quite well. Loved it!

2. Favorite memory of your father?
It would have to be when he came to visit and told all of us to get dressed because he got us tickets to a travelling circus. One of those rare times that my Dad planned a family outing for us.

3. What one skill would you like to wake up tomorrow and be able to do (though you'd never learned it)?
The skill to learn new crafts in just one snap ... crafts like mosaics, painting, crochet, doll making, stamping, et al.

4. Which one of your dreams has come true?
love ... that's all that matters.
I am tagging all the single, beautiful inside and out people who visit my blog. If you've done this meme, leave a link in the comment section so I can visit as well.

SPH # 1: Comfy

COMFY

my uber comfy baby in his uber comfy comforter

Grab the photo hunt code or join the blogroll.

bookworm?

This is how my bookshelf looks like then and now (span of 8 month difference) ...

Jan. '06

Sep. '06

I am such a bookworm.

favorite foods

I am tagging anyone who loves to eat. Leave links to your meme post so that I can check and see what your favorites are.

1. Favorite Comfort Food
Cinnamon swirl from Starbucks.

2. Favorite Breakfast Meal
Garlic rice with hotdog, egg, and spam. Heaven! With one hot cup of chocolate drink.

3. Favorite Lunch Meal
Sinigang na Baboy. Kangkong with Bagoong.

4. Favorite Dinner Meal
Sugpo. Fried Chicken. Pinsec Prito.

5. Favorite Dessert
Halo halo. Leche Flan.

6. Favorite Cake
Chocolate Mousse. Rocky Road. Coffee Crunch.

7. Favorite Pasta
Anything pesto.

8. Favorite Dish That Others Find Weird
Rice Coconut with Moscovado.

9. Favorite Fruits That You Haven’t Eaten In A While
Avocado.

10. Favorite Junkfood
Pizza Hut Super Supreme.

11. Favorite TV Show Related to Food (Cooking show, Travel show with food, etc.)
Everyday Italian, East meets West, 30 minute meals, Wok with Yan, Cooking with the Dazas.

12. Favorite Pastries
argh! I can't think of any ...

13. Favorite Way to Eat Potatoes
Mashed with lots of butter, some salt and pepper.

14. Favorite Ice Cream
Rocky Road or Double Dutch. Love the mallows.

15. Favorite Alcoholic Drink When You Really Really Really Want to Party
Tequila Shots.

16. Favorite Bar Chow
Gambas.

17. Favorite Chicken Dish
Mushroom Chicken Mushroom at Fridays.

18. Favorite Place to Eat with Your Sweetheart or Your Best Friend (Choose 1)
room with hubby

19. Favorite Place to Eat with your Family
Blue Wave and Dad's room.

20. Fill in the blanks: I wish I could eat ____ in/at _____ with ______.
I wish I could eat at Friday's with my family. Their food is just so yummy and ambience perfect for boisterous gatherings.

are you a couch potato?

Got this from KnickNac. I'm bored. What can I say?

Instructions: Bold (or change the color) of all of the following TV shows which you’ve seen 3 or more episodes of in your lifetime. Bold and Italicize a show if you’re positive you’ve seen every episode of it.

24
3rd Rock From the Sun
7th Heaven
Adam-12
Aeon Flux
A.L.F
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Alias
Allo Allo
American Idol/Pop Idol/Canadian Idol/Australian Idol America’s Next Top Model/Germany’s Next Top Model
Angel
Arrested Development
Babylon 5
Babylon 5: Crusade
BattlestarGalactica (the old one)
Battlestar Galactica (the new one)
Baywatch
Beavis & Butthead
The Ben Stiller Show
Beverly Hills 90210 Bewitched
Bonanza
Bones
Bosom Buddies
Boston Legal
Boy Meets World
Brady Bunch
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Bug Juice
Chappelle’s Show
Charlie’s Angels
Charmed
Cheers
China Beach
Columbo
Commander in Chief
Cops
Coupling
Cowboy Bebop
Crossing Jordan
CSI CSI: Miami CSI: NY
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Dallas
Dancing with the Stars
Danny Phantom
Dark Angel
Dark Skies
Davinci’s Inquest
Dawson’s Creek
Dead Like Me
Deadliest Catch
Deadwood
Degrassi: The Next Generation
Designing Women
Desperate Housewives
Dharma & Greg
Different Strokes
Doctor Who (new Who)
Doctor Who (series 1-26)
Dog The Bounty Hunter
Dragnet
Due South
Dungeons and Dragons (old cartoon)
Dynasty
Earth 2
Emergency!
Entourage
ER
Everwood
Everybody Loves Raymond
Facts of Life
Falcon Crest
Family Guy
Family Ties
Fantasy Island
Farscape
Fawlty Towers
Felicity
Firefly
Flamingo Road
Frasier
Friends
Full House
Futurama
Get Smart
Gilligan’s Island
Gilmore Girls
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
Green Wing
Grey’s Anatomy
Growing Pains
Gunsmoke
Happy Days
Head of the Class
Highlander
Hill Street Blues
Hogan’s Heroes
Home Improvement
Homicide: Life on the Street
House
I Dream of Jeannie I Love Lucy
Invader Zim
Invasion
Iron Chef (Japan)
Iron Chef (USA)
Ironsides
JAG
Jackass
Jeopardy
Joey
John Doe
Kath and Kim
Knight Rider
Knots Landing
La Femme Nikita
LA Law
Laugh-In
Laverne and Shirley
Law & Order
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Law & Order: SVU
Little House on the Prairie
Lizzie McGuire
Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
Lost
Lost in Space
Love, American Style
M*A*S*H
MacGyver
Magnum P.I.
Malcolm in the Middle
Married…With Children
Melrose Place Miami Vice Mission Impossible
Monk
Moonlighting
Mork & Mindy
Murphy Brown
My Family
My Favorite Martian
My Life as a Dog
My Mother the Car
My So-Called Life
My Three Sons
My Two Dads
Mysterious Cities of Gold
NCIS
News Radio
Night Court
Nip/Tuck
Northern Exposure
Numbers
One Tree Hill
Oz
Parker Lewis Can’t Lose
Perfect Strangers
Perry Mason
Picket Fences
Pirates of Darkwater
Pokemon
Power Rangers
Prison Break
Profiler
Project Runway
Psyche
Quantum Leap
Queer As Folk (US) Queer as Folk (British) Queer Eye For The Straight Guy
ReGenesis
Remington Steele
Rescue Me
Road Rules
ROME
Roseanne
Roswell
Samurai Jack
Saved by the Bell
Scarecrow and Mrs. King
Scooby-Doo Where Are You?
Scrubs
Seinfeld
Sex and the City Six Feet Under
Slings and Arrows
Smallville Small Wonder
So Weird
South Park
Spaced
Spin City
Spongebob Squarepants
Sports Night
Square Pegs
St. Elsewhere
Star Trek
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Enterprise
Stargate Atlantis - New season
Stargate SG-1 -Newseason
Superman
Supernatural
Surface
Survivor
Taxi
Teen Titans
Teletubbies
That Girl
That 70’s Show
That’s So Raven
The 4400
The Addams Family
The Andy Griffith Show
The A-Team
The Avengers
The Beverly Hillbillies
The Bionic Woman
The Colbert Report
The Cosby Show
The Daily Show
The Days And Nights Of Molly Dodd
The Dead Zone
The Dick Van Dyke Show
The Dog Whisperer
The Donny and Marie Show
The Flintstones
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
The Golden Girls
The Jetsons
The L Word
The Love Boat
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Mighty Boosh
The Monkees
The Munsters
The Mythbusters
The O.C.
The Office (UK)
The Office (US)
The Partridge Family
The Practice
The Pretender
The Prisoner
The Real World
The Shield
The Simpsons
The Six Million Dollar Man
The Sonny and Cher Show
The Sopranos
The Suite Life of Zack and Cody
The Twilight Zone
The Waltons
The West Wing The Wonder Years The X-Files
Third Watch
thirtysomething
Three’s Company
Top Gear
Twin Peaks
Twitch City
Upstairs,Downstairs
Veronica Mars
Wings
What Not To Wear (US)
What Not To Wear (UK)
Whose Line is it Anyway? (US)
Whose Line is it Anyway? (UK)
Witchblade
Will and Grace
Wonderfalls
Wonder Woman
Xena: Warrior Princess
Young Hercules

munimuni # 1

things I am thankful for this week ...

1) we are able to pay all the bills and have some left to tide us over as well as buy stuff we really don't need ... hehe

2) we are all safe even when Milenyo came crashing down on us

3) I got to be there for my brothers when there was a major spat

4) I had one of those late night sessions that my Mom and I used to have before I moved out

5) I've maintained my nighttime bath sessions with my baby and Daddy continues their nightly massage sessions.

6) I got a hardbound CRAFT book which I will take a picture of for a measly Php400. Real cheap. I also got a book called Reflections from a Mother's Hearts: Your Life Story in Your Own Words. Also got some Nicholas Sparks hardbound book real cheap. I love BookSale.

things I am not so thankful for this week ...

1) we still don't have electricity for 4 days now ... eekkkk! I hate you MERALCO. Hate them as well? Email them here. Can someone uber rich put up their own Electrical Lighting Company here please????

2) it looks like I gained some pounds ... not good!

So there you go ... I think it was a pretty good week considering everything. =p Have a lovely Monday everyone. As for me, I will be on rest day. See you wednesday.