Jared Says....

My son is the comic relief in our house. Since I am way behind on blogging, I am thankful my mama's updates on her news feed on FB are mostly my son's antics and words.

Here are random conversations between him and grandma.

This just in:
Grandma: Why does your head smell like that? What is your shampoo?
Jared: Brand X

* * *

J: grandma buy me a new bike po
Me: you already have a bike ah
J: i want an angry bird bike not the thomas bike
Me: i don't have money na
J: why, are you poor grandma?
Me: i don't have work now
J: di ba you work there
Me: ha, where?
J: there in the binggo-han


* **
Narinig ni j na kuma kanta ang kapitbahay na nag vivideoke
J: grandma, is there a mass in the neighbor's house?

* * *

J: grandma, daddy got angry because i did not follow him
Me: why, what happened?
J: because i told daddy, the boss in this house is mommy eh

* * *

J: grandma, i will collect medals
Me: so you have to study hard to have high grades
J: no, i will just buy it. Where can we buy medals?

* * *

J: ay ang sakit ng ulo ko facebook na lang ng facebook si grandma so tagal i cannot use the ipad

* * *

Nagbibilang ng by 5s
J: 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 Hahaha
Me: why are you laughing?l
J: grandma, i can have a bAby na when i'm 35 di ba

* * *

J: grandma, why do they call you lola? They are not your apo.
Me: because i'm old na. When you are old na, what do you want to be called, grandpa or lolo?
J: No, i want to be daddy first.

* * *

Let's study Science
Me: give me example of gas, liquid and solid
J: when i go to the comfort room, i utot that's gas. Then i pee that's liquid and i uo so that's solid
Me: 3 in 1. You give that example to your teacher?
J: no po, she might get angry eh

* * *


J: grandma i know 6 banks
Me: really! What are they?
J: (counting with his fingers)bdo, bpi, east west, metro bank, cebuana and central bank
Me:but cebuana is not a bank
J: it is. Look at the commercial o, the man gets money from cebuana
Me: central bank is not a regular bank
J: it is the boss of all banks

* * *

A t the doctor's clinic:
Doc: jared do you go to school already?
Jared: no po, its summer eh maybe by june
Doc: oo nga naman. What grade are you now?
Jared: kinder 2 but soon i will be in college and then i will work na

* * *

After putting on make up
Mommy: anak am i pretty?
Jared: (without looking and still playing with the ipad) you're pretty-ful mom


* * *

Jared: grandma how old are you?
Grandma: i'm 62
Jared: eh how old is your tummy, how old is your brain?


* * *

While watching the evening news

Jared: why did she die?
Grandma: because she's old na
Jared: grandma, you will die na because you're old na
Grandma: no, no not yet i'm still young
Jared: when nga, what month?

* * *

Jared praying : Jesus please save our house make it healthy and strong and i pray for the BARANGAY and SOCO to watch our house po. Amen

           

Out with the Turquoise and Silver

With only a few days to go before Christmas 2014, here I am posting photos from last year (insert sigh here).

Anyway, last year, our little home was decked in cheery turquoise. The color/ theme decision was fast, what came next and what took longer was buying/making the stuff to achieve the theme.

So I went to Metro Gaisano's home department and bought these new pillowcases. And from Uniwide, the silver ceramic balls happily sitting on the center table.

I remembered I was late in decorating last year, so I appreciated the well-lighted, spanking new, and well-stocked Gaisano here in the South. It made my last-minute shopping not quite so stressful. Uniwide, as usual, was dusty. But for the always good finds waiting for the patient and budget conscious, one cannot complain.

Then, these fabric hanging lanterns are Landmark finds at P150 each. One of the very rare times I ventured out to Makati.

The wreath I bought at SM and just decorated with the same balls on our tree.

Not wanting to buy everything just to keep it color coordinated, I decided to do a little DIY on this brass Christmas tree. Now this was originally rust in color, something I find unique, bought at the Dapitan Market for less than P100 a few years ago. The year before last, this was spray painted red, and for last year, received another coat of spray paint to make it turquoise.

 

To make a little something with the boy, and since we have all these materials on hand, a blue tinged snow globe was our chosen mommy-son Christmas project.

SNOW GLOBE

-distilled water

-a nice, clean jar preferably recycled. Ours was a salsa dip jar.

- glycerine

-silver glitters

- small ornaments

Just a few minutes and we have our very own snow globe.

This year, this turquoise will be out and replaced with a more traditional red and gold palette. And this year, we prepped early. Our tree was up even before November 1.

How's that for catching up? =)

Visit the National Museum and be Awed

Can't believe that at 36, I have never even stepped inside the National Museum! Such a pity when this
place is a few cartwheels away from my high school, and my office of almost 15 years.

October was National Galleries month and entrance to the two museums which we visited: the Museum of the Filipino People, and the National Gallery was free! But even if I have to pay the full entrance of I think P150 each, I would have gladly paid given that the facilities in my opinion were well- maintained and it really was, without a tinge of sarcasm here, a treasure waiting to be discovered.

I wouldn't recommend it to  families with small children. Well, maybe a few sections will be okay for kids, like this Climate Change area where we get to admire the nice set up and write our own pledge to save mother earth.

We got to see interesting things such as stuffed animals, jars, and solid wood doors.

Tried our hand at Baybayin --which if you look at it, is really quite simple.

There are various sections like the San Diego galleon exhibit.

Sculptures and paintings.




 And this series of paintings on medicine by Botong Francisco.

Even the door handles are by Abueva!

 

These are two of the most photogenic rooms.

But nothing prepared me for this: the Spolarium.

Granted I am not really an expert on painting, this massive display just sort of looks at you, wherever you are in the room. I spent a good 10 minutes just looking, and looking and looking.

Generally, adults will appreciate this better. We sure did, as part our our Art Appreciation department activity.

Go and visit our museums at least once in your life.

The Inconsistent Me

The posts in this blog come in bursts! Jared, if you are reading this, know that during the times mom is "absent" from the blog, something big is happening in real life-- it may be a big meeting for mom (like what will happen next week) and mommy is seriously drowning in preps and reports, or traffic is worse than usual and I am dead tired upon arriving at night, or we are enjoying our weekends so much I choose to document at a much, much later date.

I'm uploading new posts, as soon as I unearth that phone cable.

p.s.
I hope you find mommy's posts enlightening, or amusing at least. Love you!

I Shop for Clothes at the Grocery! And other revealing facts about me

I can't hide it. I like shopping, and I like nice things. But I'm also afraid that one day, we might not have saved enough. And that one day might come soon.

So, now I have to find a balance in saving and buying. And my, it's one hard feat.

Until I discovered just how much more fun grocery shopping can be! That is where I found my answer.

See, I like new things, but they don't have to be expensive.

Grocery shopping has always been my stress reliever. I don't like carrying lists and besides, even if I buy a wee bit more than usual-- we still consume them eventually, right?

So one day, while going through the aisles one by one (I do this when I have time), I found something that made my heart skip!

Ladies tops from P100 to P299. One of my greatest finds to date were the Baby Gap rash guards for P150. So cute I want to get them all!

Below are some nice finds at MOA Hypermart. Pajama tops at P150 (although I've bought a pair with bottoms at one bazaar for P150), sports bras, the coral sleeveless F21 top is P199 and the kids dresses are I think Gap at P150 each.

Aside from SM, I've  enjoyed shopping at Shopwise for everyday undies and shirts for kids.

So now when I go to the grocery, it takes me twice the time to shop. The husband is not amused but the wife is so, so happy!

Playdates and why it's not just about play

My body is showing signs of aging. I almost can't keep up with our energetic boy. That plus the fact that I do have to work at home sometimes, or the fact I'm too tired, make me turn down a few of his requests to "come play with me mom. laro po tayo".

That is why I jump at opportunities to join playdates. The boy gets to have his fill of play, and mom gets to chat with like-minded mommies.

The setting of the playdate is the wonderful Tribeca Residences where they have this bigger-than-the-malls play area and the piece de resistance' : a football field!




Found his buddy (Mec's son) for the afternoon as they are the bigger kids in that batch.

Posing at the bleachers.

 After going through several shirts, it's time for the art activity.

 All geared up and waiting for instructions from Teacher Khrizzy.




 In full concentration.

And then this was unveiled and became an instant magnet for the kids.

Here are the kids with their artwork.

In between play, I managed to grab him to pose for a souvenir shot.

It was a riot getting the kids to pose properly. And we were looking in different directions.

Before said bye and thanks to our hosts for the day, Tita Mec obliged and showed Jared some knitting basics. Thanks, Mec!

Until the next play date!

Someday

On most days, I let Jared take the lead in choosing his books. Especially in mama's house where there are plenty lying around, he gets to choose whatever he feels like reading.

But when my friend Maqui wrote about this book, I was compelled to find a copy. I am always thankful and pray that they don;t close shop, that there is a Booksale at the ground floor of our ofifce building. I run there for emergency assignments and to look for certain books.

I succeeded on my first try.

So one weekend, I took out the book and let the boy sit beside me.

Curious about the content.

Even if he can read on his own, I wanted to read this to him. He was absorbed...

until  the middle of the book when his eyes got watery.

Here he is after we finished the book. My poor baby got so affected he cried and declared he never wanted to see that book again.

The book now rests inside a cabinet. I will take it out again when he's ready... someday.

Freezer Paper DIY Tshirt Stencil

There will be many more "I can't believe I haven't posted this yet!" as I really have bene remiss in blogging. Aside from not finding enough time, I seem to be to tired to even open the computer to start writing.


But this raining ( and flody) Monday, inspiration struck and here I am hoping to catch up on almost half a year of delinquent posts. Like this.

I believe we did this last January.


Prior to my Instagram addiction, I was quite hooked on Pinterest. Before Pinterest, I never even knew there was such a thing as freezer paper. I know foil, sure. But freezer paper? Until more and more DIY crafts appeared on Pinterest and it got me really intrigued in trying this out.



Thankfully, I got hold of a roll last December and here's our first project. Our first-ever freezer paper stenciled shirt.


You'll need:
- Paint
-brush
-your chosen design
-freezer paper
-cutter
-plain shirt

I chose a fairly simple one: a whale! Drew by free hand and cut it out quite easily. You should then iron the shiny side on the shirt and make sure it is fairly secure.

The next job is the easiest and most fun. Just start painting.

Before the paint fully dries, peel off the freezer paper. Let the paint dry completely.

And here's our tshirt made with love. You can iron over the print again to make sure it stays put. Ours did not fade or run even after several washings.

This post is really late because the boy has outgrown the shirt several months back. Won't fit him so maybe it's time for another DIY project.

Let's Talk About Weight

If I were a kid, I'd fail the marshmallow test. Big time.

I'm always excited, too excited. Thankfully, I also know when to keep my mouth shut so secrets are safe with me. =)

So even before this diet program comes to a full completion, I am already reporting my progress.


I'm average-sized ever since I can remember. I wear medium-sized clothes, wear sample size shoes. I'm of average height for a Filipina. I didn't care about what I eat, or how much I eat.

But it's true that as you age, your metabolism slows. More so if you get zero exercise (or if like me, exercise comes in bursts like 2 days straight in a month).

When I got married in 2006, I must have been 115 lbs. It quickly ballooned to 120 lbs, then to 130 lbs and my weight before giving birth was 160 lbs.

I lost all the baby weight and more through breastfeeding so by the time Jared celebrated his first birthday, I was 116 lbs again.

I've lessened my carb and calorie intake, but no matter how little I eat, my weight will only go down by 1-2 lbs.

Anyway, this post is really just to motivate me further. A little over a week into this diet, I can fit into a size 6 dress again!

I prepare my own food, bring my food with me everywhere. To work, when we go out malling, when we attend birthdays. I ignore the all too enticing smell of food and I brush my teeth when I get the cravings.

So far, I've lost 9 lbs in 10 days. And today, I will bring out all my old dresses which I thought I can never wear again. Despite of the rain, and the misgiving about not being able to enjoy champorado in this cool weather, I will carry on. =)

Will post about my diet in detail by September. Let's see if I can keep this weight off.

The Value of Money

Our bedroom is peppered with random numbers bearing the dollar or peso sign. We take it as a sign that the little one is slowly being aware of money and its value.


While there maybe a bad side of being money-aware so early on in childhood, I believe with guidance, it has its good points, too.


On Budget

I will be forever thankful that he is not one to throw tantrums. At toy stores, he will be content to push or pull you to where a certain toy caught his fancy-- but will not ask you to buy. His dialogues will range from:

• This is nice, mom
• I will buy this when I have money
• Mom, is this cheap?

Because budgeting is still hard for me, I am looking for ways to teach him that money is something that me and his dad work for, and is not something that comes to anyone easily.

But I don't want to deprive him totally-- so I have an imposed P20 budget for when we go to the mall and he wanted something -- most often at National Bookstore.


This exercise has taught him patience-- he scours the racks to find an item which will suit his budget. And the boy can be patient if needed. He has also learned that things can be pretty expensive... all the more reason to drive home our point that we shouldn't spend and spend but save instead.


Start Saving
 
So now, if he wants something, he things of it in terms of jars of money. He is always counting his savings (something he does almost every other day) because he wants to know how much more he needs to save (teka to save to be able to spend--may mali pa din ata hahaha).



For example:

After passing by Sofitel
Mom, I want to sleep there. How many jars (of money) do I need?


After seeing a for sale sign at one big house
Mom, can I buy a mansion? How many jars?





 At the most unlikely places

Another happy place for him to learn about money, among other things is the grocery. He'd look forward to this almost weekly chore with gusto, writing his grocery list ( I generally don't carry a grocery list with me because writing the grocery list stresses me out-teehee!) like this:

You can see what's important for my 5 year old here: Food!!!

So here, he's pretending to check his list and get the actual item to place inside his cart. Pretend because I don't see onions in his list.

For now, I'm so thankful that our jar is full, blessing -wise. 

My Weekend Came Early

Weekend came early for me last week. We had our little mother-son drama while I was giving him a bath ("My classmates' mommies always pick them up from school. Can you bring me and pick me up from school, please please mommy?" complete with pleading and watery eyes) so Friday was declared a holiday for mommy by the little boy.

As I was reviewing my photos from the past few days, I realized my Friday to Sunday was so full, imagine how happy it would be if we have 3-day weekends?

Anyway, these happy pictures will be my fuel to take me through work this week.

My weekend actually started on Thursday. I know we cannot have that 3-day weekend my heart and my boy so desire, so in my mind, I've declared Thursday night as the start of weekend.


Both mom and dad brought him to school on Fiday. I then brought the dad to where he can conveniently take the bus because the little boy also declared "dad should take the bus because Jared and mom will go to the mall after school".

I wanted to kill time while waiting for school to let out so I took my 2nd breakfast at Mcdo while reading the day's news. I tell you, I really appreciated this quiet time.

On my way back to school to pick up the boy, I passed by the Las Pinas Arts and Crafts Center inside BF Resort, near the Gawad Kalinga Village.  They make various items out of water lilies and does custom-made pieces.

Then, it was time for lunch! 

Even had time to visit the Off Price Show at the Filinvest Tent in the afternoon with my sister.

 Didn't get to buy anything--was too tamad to line up

Then on Saturday morning,  the whole family went to Divisoria. I'm impressed with the new Lucky China Mall, it is so nice there! Had lunch at Shih Lin and went around the shops while smelling stinky-- because we walked around Ilaya and Tabora Streets for a good 2 hours before going back to the mall. Parking was nice, airy and well-lighted and we only paid P50 for 4 hours or so.

We look like we're in HK or Singapore here

The Divi trip only took half a day. Feeling the need to use the soon-to-expire container of semi sweet cocoa powder, I browsed the net for the easiest choco cupcake recipe that didn't require too much butter. No, it wasn't for health reasons-- we were almost out of butter!

My assistant checking the yummy-ness of the batter. have to try that egg-free batter from www.pepper.ph soon so no risk of salmonella!

What the cookies lacked in form (they sadly were flat), they made up for extreme chocolate-y goodness. I printed this recipe out for good measure.

Then on Sunday, we met with my college friends (minus two) for some chika-fest at Global City. We don't venture out to this area too often but my, this trip had me changing my mind. I love the wide, open spaces and the chance for our little boy to make friends. Too bad my phone battery died before we reached High Street.

We were so hungry when we reached Serendra at 12.30. Had to fill our tummies fast. Conti's was the choice resto of the daddy

 

 

And a visit to a bookstore was also in order.

He played everywhere: benches, the grass, the shallow pools, even getting his foot wet drenched.

And fooling around the cam at Wee Nam Ki.  Love their wallpaper!

 I love weekends!!!!!