Blessed. Happy. Grateful. Loved.

That has been my YM status the past week, and it couldn't be more true.

In the frenzy of the holiday season, I always hark how things get so expensive (shrimps were expensive and it forced me to change our Christmas eve menu at the last minute), how I have so many cousins to give gifts to, how my cousins now have children of their own to give more gifts to, how traffic is crazy and how, in spite of the long weekends and holidays, we never get to just chill at home.

But still, I wouldn't trade running around the metro to meet friends, old and new; madly dashing to the bazaar and the mall, mall to the bazaar to buy some more gifts and staying up till 2 am to wrap gifts for anything.Dec 27 at High Street with college friends

Dec 19 at home with UP friends

Dec 5 playdate for south-based N@w mommies and kids

I see Christmas in our toddler excitedly tearing the gift wrapper to unearth yet another Thomas item.

I see Christmas in my extended family trying to keep tradition alive. It's not exactly easy gathering members from various families in one place on Christmas Day. But we do it, no matter how cramped the space, no matter where. When we were younger, we used to spend Christmas and birthdays at Luneta!

I see Christmas as the kids get bigger every year. I treasure this moment because sometime soon, these kids will have parties of their own and we'll not have a picture as priceless as these.

Merry Christmas to all and cheers to the coming year!!!

May 2011 be good to all of us.

Mad About Gift Wrapping: Polkadots

I know, i know. The true meaning of Christmas isn't in the gift/s we give, or receive. But I want my gifts to look pretty, period. So I made the extra effort wrap them up nicely, no matter how small they may be.

This year, I chose polka dots. They come in green, red and gold. Love it!

These are some of the gifts I wrapped until 2 am.

Now, on to the Christmas eve menu.

Start of Christmas Parties

Still groggy from the office party last night (not used to late nights anymore--traffic at Coastal Road was terrible at 1 am), I woke up still excited for our little boy. Today marks the first of the many parties we'll attend this holiday season.

This was a kiddie party sponsored by his lola's (former) office.

He still was afraid of many things-- the life size Buzz Lightyear standee, the loud party music, the mascot --and at one point I was so sleepy I was about to doze off. But as I stare at my son playing with other kids, I know I'll go to great lengths to bring him to many more parties no matter how tired I was.

This is Christmas in the eyes of my child.

Just When Did I Get This Big?

Looking at our party photos, I couldn't help but think: when did I get this big??? I should start doing something about this...soon!

p.s. look at my arms!

4 Years Together

It's our anniversary today and I can't wait to come home. I was browsing through FB this morning looking at old photos and saw this one taken about 2 years ago. Our boy was still a baby!

Happy Anniversary to my husband, the father of this adorable little boy. =)

Missing my Baby

I'm in the beautiful island, but I still miss my baby!
Mommy is coming home in a few days. See you!

Our House Blessing

After a month of living in the house, we had it blessed last November 20, a day after the man of the house's birthday.

I didn't want to labor in the kitchen so we had the little party catered. The priest was from the parish, a three-minute walk from the house and I gave Daddy the liberty of whom to invite since this was also essentially his birthday celebration.

I woke up at 2 am that day to finish attaching ribbons to the candles

Our photo nook

Patiently waiting for the event to start

The buffet table

The happy family

Father going out the back door to bless the back and side of the house

Our guests


We hope to fill our house with many, many happy memories.

The Jollibee Magic

My son loves their spaghetti and chicken and can eat one order in one sitting, without any help from me. He just loves this bee as seen from this photo.

I miss you baby! Mommy is coming home soon.

Choo Choo Train: His First MRT Ride

This has been a long overdue plan. My son is in love with trains and we figured the long holiday is the perfect day to ride the MRT.

We parked at Ayala and walked to the MRT station

The ride up the escalator gave him the thrill, as always

Buying the tickets with daddy

O, yummy! Donut stall at the station

Forgive the mommy for not arranging the shirt before taking the photo but it was hot!

Savoring the first few minutes. we felt he was a bit scared here.

Checking the view

We stayed at Trinoma for lunch and rode the MRT back to Ayala.

Ice cream to cap off the memorable ride

Ninang Claire was on the same train! Had this picture taken at SM Makati.

Managing a Household

We've been at the house for a little over a month now and while I can say we're enjoying playing "house" with our little boy, the realities of running a household is creeping up on me.

Like, I used to take for granted that when we get home, food is ready and all we got to do is eat. Now, I try to make a list of what items to buy from the market, when and how often do we need to replenish our food supplies and give suggestions for our weekly menu.

Now, I need to check on what day the garbage truck picks up our trash, how many days we consume the water in the tank, and when Maynilad will finally flow into our home.

I check dust on top of the refrigerator, check if the garbage can has been emptied, scrub our bathroom floor and segregate our clothes ( we used to just throw them all in one hamper).

Before sleeping, we check that the doors are locked, left over food has been stored properly and our beds are ready for the sleep we long for.

On weekends, we make a general check. Do the bulbs need to be replaced? Are the plants doing well? Are there things we still need to buy for the house?

Just the other day, I was planning to cook fried rice for breakfast but found out we have no syanse!

Another huge headache is managing your househelp. I plotted the daily ang weekly tasks in an excel file but sadly, it's not being followed.

Hay, buhay misis!

I could go on and on but I have a household to run.

Gottago!