Our First Christmas Tree

Christmas is my absolute favorite time of the year. It's really different when you have a kid in the house. Somehow, Christmas brings a whole world of new meaning in the household. Makes it more special.

I promised our little one we'll have Christmas in our house last weekend. By Christmas, he means the tree.

So off we went to SM and hauled a slim tree which his dad preferred. Christmas trees are more affordable now, right? But thr trimmings, oh the trimmings cost almost as much as the tree itself. I would have wanted to make home made ones, but couldn't find enough inspiration on the net.

So the tree was bought and assembled, little by little. It took maybe twice as long to put up because little hands keep getting in the way =)


To make the 'event' more festive, we baked oatmeal cookies. So when we were doing this, it smelled like Christmas in the house, too.

He put up the first trimming!

Amazed at the tree, until he got bored and read and book instead.

We're still making the tree prettier and arranging the gifts (yes, we started shopping early!) underneath so the tree in full bloom pics will have to wait.

Playing with Home Made Paint

This is an easy Saturday afternoon project with things you already have in the pantry.

Inspired by Irene and her crafty projects, I gathered a kaldero, 3 bottles of food color, flour and cold water.

Pour a gentle stream of water into the flour and stir well.

Once the desired consistency has been achieved, our into small containers and add a few drops of food color.

Start painting!

The Wonders a Small Can of Paint can do

I've been on a DIY hiatus since my cloth covered light switch project failed dismally. The plate looked more dirty than when I started that I chucked all my lined up projects and swore to let the professionals do the job.

But...

I cannot let several yards of cloth go to waste, and my hands were itching to do something creative again.

So one weekend, I picked up where I left off and continued my home office project again.

The chair, unpretty in black paint and covered with a pale orange syntetic leather material turned Heima-ish with a good spray of white paint, P40/yard Divisoria sidewalk cloth find and loads of determination.

Next stop, this matching dresser that I will turn (cross fingers) to a pristine white work desk with chalkboard

Then comes a matching desk lamp and area curtains.

It's all starting to take shape!

Frustrated Stylist

I like nice and pretty things. What I like better is making pretty things with my hands.

When I pass by store front displays, I'm hypnotized by the nice arrangements, I count the merits of the nice ones and in my head, I'm rearranging the decors of the not-so-good ones to form something that I feel will be more beautiful.

I've blogged about my Martha Stewart persona and my fairly successful DIY and there are still a lot of pending projects I am itching to finish (when I find the time) and blog about.

It is terribly fulfilling for me to help set up parties, especially for those I love, like the recent birthday of my godson, Johan.





Not bad, right for one hour alloted for the set up time?

Of course, coming from a big family where help is just a text or FB away, the set up was 1,000x faster and easier.

Teach me how to: Sort the Laundry

A typical Saturday at our home will see me sorting dirty laundry to bring to the laundromat.

Last weekend was a treat with the two boys giving mommy a break and sorting the laundry themselves.

Can every weekend be just like this?

Teach me How to: Play the Guitar

Ask a parent of any 3 year old and all would tell you, kids this age really are copycats.

Jared would try to copy our words and intonation (to the extent of callling dad "hon"), our actions and the things we do around the house.

When his dad took out the guitar to practice, Jared was eager to also strum the thing.



And in the end, got tired of sharing the new toy with his daddy that he got his own.
His instrument of choice? A mini guitar ref magnet


Since I am the least musically-inclined person I know, may Jared take after his dad in this aspect. The boy was thrilled when his dad played 500 miles on guitar, went to the room in a rush and got his toy trains. Then, he requested his dad to please play all the other songs he knows. All kiddie songs.

Weed Attack

We were the only household on our street that still has the mark of the past typhoon and that means leaves, pieces of wood and debris all over. And this is 5 days after Pedring hit Manila. We finally had the time to sweep and do a little yard cleaning last Sunday.

Upon opening the gate to that leads to the side of the house, this is what greeted us:

And my beloved oregano given by a friend

It's good our plants are more or less self sufficient. We get by with minimal weeding and watering the past few months!

While you were Sleeping

Amazing how a lazy, rainy Sunday afternoon brings out the wildest imagination a 3 year old.

A sleeping daddy= instant train tunnel.

Happy Monday!

Is He Ready for a Pet?

I had my first dog when I was 11. He was Lassie (soo classic!), a great Dane and my friend and protector. I was heart broken when he died. We'd offer gumamela flowers on his grave at the back of our house.

After that, we'd have a string of other dogs, all loved by papa and me.

My husband loved dogs and would often tell of how he carried their askal to the nearest vet when this dog got sick.

So, we're happy that our son is starting to have his own affinity with dogs. Whenever he is at his lolo and lola's place, he'd play with the puppies for hours.

Does this mean he's ready for a pet? Nahhh. he's too young and I, the mom, isn't ready to have a pet at the house. We can barely take care of the plants!

The Field Trip

My boy got his first taste of a field trip last month. We was 3 years and 4 months, in senior nursery and barely out of toddler-hood.

I knew it will be an exciting day full of photo ops, but I had reservations about joining. Plenty of them.

My reservations:
1. I think the itinerary was not wel thought out. They were to go to 5 places in various parts of the metro. Probably a bit tiring for kids. The school must have wated to maximize the rental on the buses as I understand they can be quite steep.
2. At 3 years old, we could have shown these places to our son at a more leisurely pace.
3. I think it's not very age appropriate. Take for example the Rizal lights and sound show at the Intramuros. It was a wee bit interesting... for me. My son could not care less, no matter how I explain who Rizal was. =) he even got scared it a few areas since since it was dark.
4. I hate crowds and having to line up, squeeze our way in and hustle for space in front of the exhibits is not my idea of a good time.
5. It will be just Jared abd me. Confession: i have never been out alone wth my son. I feel I'm not ready yet. He runs fast, I can barely catch up. I lug around too much stuff for him

But we still joined, for the experience. So here's my account of that day.

We were to meet at the parking lot of SM Southmall at 5.30 am.

But before that we made sure to fill up tummies first. Daddy joined us for this early morning breakfast.

Excited and wide awake at the bus. This is one of the few pics we have together. I was too busy running after him that pictures together were the farthest thing from my mind.

First stop: Luneta Children's Playground

He climed up the steep slides, was sweating too much I had to change his school uniform (the top) twenty minutes into playing.

It was good to see my old favorites such as the giant shoe and the slides again. While I cannot say the 'spruced up' park looked great, it was at least clean, or maybe because we were there just as the park opened. If you're going here, put lots of mosquito repellant lotion on you and your kid. There were swamps in some of the attractions and I was paranoid about dengue.

2nd stop: Museo Pambata
At another time, this would have been a great spot. Plenty of areas for your kids to explore, great interactive displays, they even have a cute library all housed in one comfortable place. But, there were lots of kids and each wanted wanted to try out the cool stuff. They all keep climbing the fire struck I was afraid somebody might get hurt. I swear we'll be back here and will explore and learn at a leaisurely pace.


3rd stop: Intramuros, Rizal's Light and Sound Show
Did not take pictures, it was too dark inside. There was nothing to show at the lobby.

4th stop: MOA, Nido Science Discover Center
By the time we arrived at MOA, the kids were a bit tired (it was so hot) and all of us were hungry. We were given an hour to eat before we headed inside the Discovery Center.

It was so nice inside this giant domed theatre. Jared was excited when I told him we're going to watch in a big, big TV.

Once it started, he got scared, and no amount of cajoling will make him stay. We left the theatre and just ate popcorn outside.

Aside from the theatre, there were other sections inside. We enjoyed the robot exhibit and the area with moving plates designed to let the kids experince an earthquake.

5th and lst stop: Ark of Avilon Zoo in Ortigas
Was excited since Jared love animals. Unexpectedly, when we arrived, he was more scared than excited. Maybe being too close to the animals is different that seeing them from books? I'm not sure but he did not really look at the animals on the first floor, not even the birds.

It got better when we climbed up the 2nd floor. Kids were feeding carrots to guinea pigs. He wanted to try but I didn't think it was safe (they ight accidentally bite even if the kids' feet were enclosed in a wooden fence. Still, there were too many kids for all the caretakers to keep an eye on each one and I figured better safe than sorry. And truth is, they're still mice to me.

The birds

Jared and the rest of the kids spent more time at the play area on the 2nd floor. Again, re-apply mosquito repellant and if possible, bring your own food. The snackk bar is selling just hotdogs and a few other snacks. It was a bit dark, too but there are plenty of seats for the tired parents to rest their weary feet.

At this point, I just wanted to go home and take a shower. It was humid! And somebody up there heard my little wish. We breezed through the normally busy c5 road and SLEX. encountered some traffic here in our hometown Las Pinas, but back at Southmall all in less than 40 minutes! It was a little miracle for me already.

So, all is well that ends well.

If we did not join, I'm sure Jared will not mind, or won't even remember. But then again, I won't have this particular blog entry.

If you will let your kid join their field trip, bring loads of patience and remember, this is for your kid.

Teaching my Son to Save

Yes, this a post about saving.

To those who know me, this may seem like a joke. But honestly, since I had a kid, I'm saving like there's no tomorrow.

Okay, trying to.

I remember the different schemes mama used when I was younger to encourage me to save. I will not say us because my sister is a good saver. Basta better than me.

Back to the scheme, mama used to say what I save, she will double the amount. i think this was in HS. Back tnen, I will save my allowance BUT I will use it to buy my obessions then: knitted socks and quilted bags. I always want new socks. Not sure why. No scheme, cajoling worked.

Mama said "ito lang ang hindi nya naituro sa akin". Ma, please add sewing, crochet and cleaning. Hehehe.

Back to the topic, we are now teaching our son to save. How? I said we have you put all our coins in the piggy back because that's what we'll use to go to Disneyland!

Two weekends ago, we cracked open 3 of his piggy banks and counted all the P1, P5 and P10 coins and we now have as our Disney fund P1,700!

Keep on saving, baby!

p.s.
Ma, sayang walang pang Disney noon. =)

Date with Friends at Fish and Co.

Fish and Co. is right across our favorite MOA restaurant, A Venetto. Never wandered off in this side as we are always in a hurry and would really just grab a bite to eat before tackling the traffic that is Coastal Road. But it was a pleasant first time for us family when I met friends there last week.

It's a belated birthday celebration for a friend and a welcome home dinner for another.

The company

The food (well, some of them)



The entertainment: 3 measly crayons and a coloring pad which the crew replaced as soon as Jared filled up the first one

Spotting a TV at the bar, the boys left us girls to our gossip and catching up.


Would we go back? It is a bit expensiive for the weekday dinner, but yes, we will go back.