Our Holidays in Photos

Just some snapshots of how our life has been the past month. Right now I'm enjoying some me time, a little quiet amidst the noise outside. I'm excited and hopeful that 2013 will be kind to me and all the people I love.

Happy New Year!!!

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End of Days

One of our favorite shows as a family is Ancient Aliens on History Channel. It's so fascinating and entertaining to think about the what Ifs. What is there really are other inhabited planets out there somewhere in the Universe?

It's 10.20 pm as I type and so far, the end of the 4th coming, as they refer to on Ancient Aliens, has not materialized yet.

I'm taking this time to just count my blessings. In the event the world as we know it ends today, I'm thankful for and this is in no particular order.

1. I got the wedding I've wanted and I'm still in love with the man who waited for me at the altar. I have a home life that is happy and peaceful.
2. I have the chance to bring this small boy sleeping beside me in this world, for the 10,000 kisses me gives me a day, for being the center of his universe ( at least for now), for being his best friend (this is what he says), and for being half of the pair who will hopefully guide him to the the best person he can be.
3. For the gift of health. We are trying to make healthier choices since health is not something we should take for granted. I'm grateful that a Tito and a Tita are recovering from illnesses that surprised and scared us all.
4. For the love of family. I'm away from home 15 hours per day, and I could not be more grateful that my son is left in the care of mama and Tati. It's an everyday testament of their love for my son ( everyday is always a test of patience) and for me.
5. For being with kindred souls and friends for life.
6. For being able to buy things that we need, and have some left to enjoy those that we want.
7. For the gift of time. I've been at home for 3 weeks straight, the longest I got to be with my son since my maternity leave. I bring him and pick him up from school, get to see his after school routine, have loads of playtime, talk to him, blow bubbles, make his costume for a party, review him for his exam, chill with him at the mall on a weekday, buy his exchange gift, complete the gifts on my shopping list and generally take it easy.
8. My work, which gives me fulfillment, lets me learn and sometimes forces me (and I mean this in a good way) to learn something new all the time and makes me grow as a person.
9. For my 35 years in this world.

Writing this made me realize I don't want the world to end just yet. ;)

Who are the People in your Neighborhood?

Jared found it terribly amusing that his mom and dad knows this song that he sang one day after school. A very apt song for their assignment of the week. They were asked to cut pictures of people in the community and enumerate their importance.

We figured it might be more interesting if we have him meet the people and see the places in our community instead of just cutting images from a magazine or a book.

First stop was the neirhborhood sastre or sewer. Sadly, nobody is at the shop when we arrived.

This is Jared's and his Dad's barber, just next door to the sastre.

With the friendly tricycle drivers in front of the church.

It was a Sunday and the priests are busy so we contended ourselves with this picture just outside our parish.

At the park.

At the fire station.

 

 

The fireman even asked if we need him to wear his full gear. Although that will be picture perfect, that will just be too much of a hassle.

 

His second time to be on this fire truck.

 

 

On our way to the gardener's place, we passed by these men busy working on the roadside. After daddy explained the boy's assignment, we took this picture with them on the background.

Nobody is there at the Barangay Hall so we asked him to pose in front of the bright building.

And this police station is only several meters away from the Barangay hall.

The garden, but no gardener in sight.

And lastly, the butchers at the grocery.

Stuck at the Singapore Airport

We had a 4 hour layover in Singapore on our way to Cambodia.  Thankfully, the Changi Airport is big and we had lots of nooks to check out.


Rest your eyes in this refreshing patch of green. We passed by several small gardens like this.

Free massage! Too bad I wasn't wearing socks. I was a bit hesitant to just put my feet there. These massage chairs are all over the airport.

Convenient, indeed. You can charge your phone in this station, lock it, get the key and shop or eat around first.

I missed my boy when I saw this giant indoor slide. If you have kids, you can easily spend an hour or two here.

There are large pods like this where you can watch TV. There are also numerous computer kiosks to access the net for free.

I wasn't able to take pics of the shops and the restaurants-- I spent a good part of that 4 hour wait looking at the cosmetics counters. So many to choose from, so confusing! So in the end, I did not buy any. =) I also saw a big art station with wooden blocks of arts for kids and adults to enjoy.

We stayed at the Singapore Changi Terminal 2. I wouldn't mind another 4 hour wait if the airport is this nice.

Halloween 2012: Power Ranger

This has been a long standing tradition at the office. If my memory is still to be relied on, we've been doing the annual kid Halloween thing since 2001, when most malls and offices have not caught on the Trick or Treat craze yet.

I do treasure this time, even when I was still single and would just help in the games and set up. But now that I have a kid, it became even more special. I appreciate the management for always including this  in our year-round activities because not only does my kid get to enjoy playing, it's so nice seeing the kids grow up year to year. It also brings me back to the time when I would visit mama's office (no trick or treat though) and see and take pride at where she works.

Our theme varies every year, and a poll is done to choose the theme. The winning theme is Superheroes.

Days before, the office is abuzz with cutting, pasting and more cutting. We went for a more old-school look and chose Gotham City as our design peg.






He was one of the first at our conference room, eagerly waiting for the play area crew to finsih setting up. Once he felt everything was done, off he went to the inflatable slide.

and played for what seemed like forever

 

 

This muscled Power Ranger costume is on online fond so no chance to fit. Look at how tight it was. Thankfully, the boy wore it throughout the event.

Like these girls, I planned to come in costume. But made a costume boo-boo so no, my son was by his lonesome ranger. I was supposed to be the Pink one.

Ninang always drops by the office to check out Jared's costume.

The most fun part for the kids: Trick or Treat!

His first and second Halloween party at the office here
When he dressed up as Jin Kazama
Last year was all about Angry Birds so he just wore a hat and shirt