Hail to the Groupon Sites

I've been a long time fan: seller and buyer of stuff online. I was a registered seller at femalenetwork and PEX, and to date, I've bought about 50 plus stuff over at ebay.

So when news that gropup buying sites have finally landed in the Philippines, I wasted no time in checking them out.

I love that I get to buy deals at almost 50% off. Have bought from www.ensogo.com.ph and dealgrocer. It was too bad I made all the bookings for our Boracay vacation before the Boracay deals at www.buyanihan.com and dealgrocer.com came through. Their offers are really tempting. And I've bookmarked all the sites and subscribed to some so I won't miss out on any great deal.

In fact we scored my birthday lunch buffet coupons at 50% off at Cafe d' Asie in Bellevue in a groupon site (www.ensogo.com.ph).

It was such a hassle free transaction, you just have to follow all the general rules and the additional rules by the merchant. Be warned though of some fly-by-night sites.

How about you, any particular gropun site or deal that you like?

Big Lego

Caught my boy so intense one day doing this:



He must have gotten tired of the small lego sets and proceeded to look for something bigger.

Happy to be 34

As I write this, my hubby is sleeping on the floor, right next to the TV. He is there because it's my birthday. The relation? I want some alone time to tinker with the PC and update this blog and he promised to look after our toddler who is happily munching on my bag of doritos and drinking my ice cold tea. Not healthy right? But just for today, my boy deserves a break, and so does mommy.

I'm 34 and proud of it. Lately, I have come to realize that it is all numbers. And nothing that make up cannot hide. Haha. My make up stash is due to arrive on Tuesday and I'm like a little girl waiting for a present at the door.

When I graduated from college, I thought at this age, I'll be so rich I can retire. I thought that I'd know exactly how to act at every situation. But at 34, I am still learning, everyday. At work, at home, all the time. And I still can't retire. =)

Age just makes you more realistic. We may not have much, but we have our house, our health, our family, our jobs. At 34, that is enough for me.

Pictures to follow. I'll just go and pack our bags for Boracay!!!!

Wanted: Perfect Pedia

Inspired by Maqui’s post on finding and welcoming pediatrician Dra. Vienne Saulog into their lives, here I am hoping we’ll have the same fate.

My dream pediatrician is still elusive for me. I have this set of requirements in my mind. Moms reading this will surely have their own criteria. And for sure they will agree that you need a doctor you can trust. After all, you're entrusting your child practically into their hands.

Since the search is getting to be time consuming and disheartening at times, I am including finding one in my nightly prayer from now on.

So, that said, presenting the pediatrician of my dreams:

1. Clinic Hours. Sickness, health concerns and accidents (knock on wood) knows no time and day. Ideally, our pedia should have a clinic on weekdays(when we want to avoid crowds and lines) and weekends (when we can’t get away from the office on weekdays)
2. Must be affiliated with the health card that baby has. Medical care is expensive and since this is a benefit from hubby’s office, we’d like to take advantage of this and not have to pay for consultation fee (usually P300-P600) per visit.
3. Age. Must not be too young, nor too old- we want someone with some experience, and someone updated with the latest medical trends etc.
4. Hospital Affiliation. Should be affiliated with Asian Hospital- this is the nearest reputable hospital to us, we run here for emergencies. In my case, I am open to going to other hospitals, but my main consideration is since it’s a hospital, it MUST be clean.
5. Traits. Should show compassion and warmth towards my child when we go for check ups and be an authority on kids.
6. Accessibility. Can be reached by text. I know it must be a hassle having parents or mothers specifically ring or text them for the most mundance concerns. But we are mothers and are wired that way. As a doctor, I’d expect they know that those texts and calls come with the job.
7. Familiarity. I’d like for the pedia to at least review my son’s charts before we enter the room for consulation and not act or appear as if it’s the first time they’ve seen us.
8. Time. Hopefully, we'll have a doctor who is considerate of his or her patient's time. Someone who will be at the clinic on time or at least will advise their secretary on what time they will be arriving (they are busy people I know), someone who will allot time to look at patients thoroughly. Ask questions, explain in detaila nd not look as if they are waiting to push you out of the door. There is no better way to get pissed on a weekend that to spend half a day waiting for your turn at the clinic only to be seen at 3 minutes, tops.
9. Looks. While not looking for an ultimately handsome or pretty pedia, I'd like our pedia to be presentable looking. This may be a shallow requirement for some but hey, I'd like my son's doctor to look like well, a doctor.

So pedia, dear pedia, where art thou pedia?

Letting Go of my Past

These may look like ordinary bottles of perfume, some may even consider these trash. But for me, these bottles are stages of my life.

I loved looking at the colorful bottles, even more smelling the faint scents that linger. They bring me back to some of the most memorable years of my life.

There is the bottle of perfume I used during college. It reminded me of all the gimmicks and date nights and the sweetness of young love.

One bottle is the perfume that accompanied me through job interviews. It made me smell presentable as I walk the streets of Makati to hand my resumes.

Another one was a gift and a reminder of my very first heart break.

Then there is the bottle of perfume that I remember made me all giddy as I walk down the aisle in 2006. That is aptly names True Love.

And even the perfume bottle I was using the day I found out I was pregnant.

I kept them all for sentimental reasons, thinking that one day, I'll have a nice shelf in my house where I can display them in all their sparkly, glittery splendor.

Now that I have a house, I can just imagine these bottles would need regular dusting and cleaning and in as much as I love them, I had to let them go. My weekends are preoccupied as it is and I'm nt looking for more chores to do.

It was a difficult decision to let them go. So difficult that in the end, I kept two of the bottles. ..to always remind me of the lessons, the fun, the tears of my past. After all, it is precisely those things that made me the person I am today.

To the Far East

We live in the suburbs in the South so to venture East on a Sunday for a party is big deal to us. But the celebrator is a god child and for a little boy craving for playmates, off to the East we go.

It was a long way from home and we left the house earlier than needed. Too early in fact that we reached the Marikina area a good hour before the start of the party. Thirsty and needing a break, we stopped by Riverbanks to stretch out a little bit. But the real reason is that I spied the word outlet store there (wink).

Good thing we stopped. Though the outlet stores are not to my liking,it gave our little boy time to play in the numerous pay-to-play activity areas there. Also, it was noon and the sun was shining brightly and we were getting restless at the backseat.

Alighting from the car at the parking lot, Jared immediately said ‘river’! And indeed it was. The Marikina river in its splendor, all ready for our viewing on a sunny but thankfully windy Sunday.



A few steps away was this giant train. Don’t know (and care—haha) the history behind it but the fact is that a train is right in front of us. And for my Thomas the train fanatic toddler, that is a BIG deal.



I was so happy we attended the party. It was the first time Jared actually sat in one of the kiddie chairs in front. He even raised his hand, no he raised two hands, to volunteer for one game.

I'm looking forward to the other parties we've been invited to this summer.

What I Learned from my 3 year old

My baby will be 3 years old in a few days. And my, what an appetite he has.
He now weighs 18 kgs per our latest wellness check last weekend which our doctor said is the average weight of a 5 year old kid.



Anyways, one day we had lunch at the mall. I ordered for our entrees.

Before the waiter had a chance to leave our table, Jared “ordered” his own.
“One Chamitos please, Kuya”

Chamito is a pro biotic drink, much like Yakult.

My baby will not go hungry. And my, what a polite way to order.

Lesson 1: Learn how to say please

* *
)
At a recent birthday party we attended, Jared’s eyes focused on the candy buffet as soon as we settled down on our seats.
We were a good 30 minutes early---just as we always are—and he kept on walking back and forth the area. He made sure the“kuya” manning the booth noticed him as he kept stealing glances at the goodies on the table.

After the nth time at looking at the table with longing, “kuya” asked him to go get his chocolates and candies.

Lesson 2: It never hurts to ask (directly or in this case, discreetly

* *


He’ll push his toy trains and trucks right up your face as he feels he should share, especially to babies.
With food, especially his favorites, he’ll need some prodding but will eventually offer what he has, with anyone even strangers.

Lesson 3: Share to whoever needs it

* *


I’ve talked about our weekend Mcdo breakfast a number of times in this blog and on almost in almost all instances, Jared will patiently wait for his turn to go up the play area, or down the winding slide or use the steering wheel inside, which by the way is his favorite.More than once, I, the pushy mommy will ask him to hurry up and slide down thinking he is missing out on the number of slides vs the other children.

But by not shoving other kids, or pushing his way forward, he’s taught me a lesson on patience.

Lesson 4: Wait for your turn


* *


His current favorite is his set of crayons housed in a big, empty candy jar. He’s seen lugging this jar, hands barely able to carry the container, around the house and sometimes even on the car.

I would think at the rate he’s using them that he’ll get tired of playing these soon. But it’s been more than a month and this replaced his train as the first thing he looks for as soon as he wakes up.

Last Sunday, at another birthday party, we were again early. But this time, he eagerly sat down at the kiddie chairs in front, something he has never done before. Upon sitting down, his eyes lighted up
at the treat waiting for him: crayons and paper for every child. Like the first time he actually saw a crayon in his life.

Lesson 5: Look at things with wide eyed wonder


It’s just 5 lessons for now (or maybe more but I am just too dense to realize it) but my son is just turning three and already, I’ve learned quite a few things from him. Way to go Jared and on a more serious note, thank you baby.

From the mouth of a 2 year old

Some posts so I'll remember this time of utter cuteness.

Jared: Mama, spell Yoya Yeye (while holding a Yale lock)
Mama (his lola): okay, spell it
Jared: Yeye. Y-A-L-E (but he knows how to spell Yeye ha)

* * *
Mommy mad at Jared

Mommy: Jared, pls listen to me. You want mommy to get mad?
Jared: Mommy (tapping my chin) it's not funny. Happy face, mommy.

* * *

While watching Mag Edgar (our go-to all around guy)climb our make shift ladder up the ceiling, disappearing into the darkness

Jared: (panicking) Mang Edgar, are you there?
Mang Eddddddgarrrrrrrr!!!!

* * *

Mommy: Jared, you think mommy is pretty?
(I taught him to say "Of Course" to this question

Jared: Awesome (hmm, doesn't seem related)

* * *
Jared eating a cube of cheese while watching his dvd

Jared: Mommy, wiwi
Mommy: Okay, come let's go to the rest room

Jared gently lays his cheese down on the floor

Jared: Wait cheese ha

Mommy picks up the cheese and plops in into her mouth before she goes to the rest room

Jared (after wiwi) goes back to the spot where he left his cheese.
Jared: where's cheese?

Mommy smiles

* * *
Happy weekend!!!

The Neighborhood Salon

There used to be a David's Salon at the ground floor of our office building. That was convenience. I can schedule a cut or a blow dry at lunch time and come out (hungry but) looking fab for a 2 pm meeting.

I was one of the saddest when that shop folded up. And since then, my pedis were few and far in between. Let me define that previous sentence. It means 2 or more months apart. So in between, my feet looked like a mess. Not sandals worthy.

So imagine my glee when walking back to the office from lunch nearby, a bright airy space seeemed to call out to me. A salon! I wanted to embrace the staff and welcome them to the neighborhood. And I can't wait to try out their services.

As soon as the clock hit 6 pm, my pedi-hungry feet almost ran to salon. I came out 30minutes later having read the latest issue of Good Housekeeping and sandals worthy feet to boot.

I'll be baczk tomorrow during lunch for a quick manicure.

This made my day.

Changes on the Blog

Alright, this is causing me headaches already.

I want to change the look of my blog but can't seem to understand all the codes. Gulay!

Hope I figure this out soon. Meantime, please bear with the ever changing look, and all the smaple text and photos I can't change yet.

Too Techy for Me

I never had the aptitude for the game and watch and the family computer--I guess I was just too impatient for it. I both had them, back in the time they were considered the "in" thing. So, that sort of addiction is foreign to me. And that was circa 1980s to 90s.

Now, 20 or so odd years later, I'm still slow when it comes to things tech-y. I just recently acquired a phone capable of surfing the net (which I love, if I may add) because I felt so out of touch while waiting at an airport for a flight back to Manila. It didn't help that I was the only one among our group (or maybe even the whole airport)who can't connect to the free wi-fi via mobile.

It also took me ages to upload photos on FB, something I really just can't get the hang of.

And my Ipod Touch remains virtulaly untouched since I received it last Christmas.

So, it bothers me that my son can recite the whole of Thomas the Train season 6 by heart from watching his DVD one too many times. Thankfully, that has been limited after we bought a National Geographic earth DVD series. His "Hello, Thomas" had been replaced by the roar or the lion, or the drone like narration of that series. But I digress, as usual.

So now I have established my un-techy side.

My son since he turned two can operate the DVD player, enjoys "typing" on our PC, and watches his own videos on our mobile phones.

And lately, he has developed a particular liking for Ipod Touch.

I wonder how I can shield my son from too much technology. Or maybe the question is, how long before I give in a buy him these stuff?

Here he is looking at his Ninang Claire's Itouch.

March is Here

March is my birthday month and this year is (in as much as I hate to admit it) my 34th year in existence.

This year is...

my 4th year of being a mother

my 5th as a wife

my 27th year as a sister

and my 34th as a daughter

as a mom, i'm still learning everyday

a wife, i'm doing my best to maintain a household, care for a husband (who thankfully doesn't demand much) and fire the flame so to speak

as a sister, i think i'm doing an "awesome" job (awesome is a word jared uses freely these days,too)

as a daughter, i don't think i've given my mother more lines or wrinkles than normal =)

Come to think of it, my life over all is so lacking in drama that I sometimes "invent" drama in my life for it to be exciting! But that doesn't mean I love my life any less. Or is less thankful than I should be. I am. Very. And it's more evident now that I can post or update my status on Fb thru mobile (thanks to my samsung phone--cheap but let's me check the latest gossip at FB). In recent updates I said Grateful.Loved, Happy. And what is probably the most number of responses from friends ever in my FB history-- I am just really happy.

I am happy.period. And I'll take my drama-less life anyday over a telenovela life.

Walk este Run the Ramp

One Saturday last month, we chanced upon this Mossimo Kids stage set up and ramp at Festival Mall. And the mommy in me wondered "what if my son walked this stage"?

So that in mind, daddy hoisted Jared up the stage and had him do his thing.

So, if Jared was a model...

he will not walk down the ramp.

He will instead run, and run and run.

And he will jump.




So much for the model thought.

24" Waistline

It's more 24.5", 24" on good days.

Unfortunately, it's not mine.

At 2 years old, Jared has the waistline of an adult, the waistline I used to have 10 years ago, and the waistline I still long and dream and yearn for. =)