Jamie’s first day of school:

Jamie wasn’t able to attend her first day of school because of tonsillitis. Good thing there are only 2 scheduled classes this week for orientation purposes. On the 2^nd day,

the excitement on her face was so evident. She even woke up on her own to go

 downstairs, have breakfast and prepare for school.

The day before school, I was preparing my daughter’s school things..

As I was sorting her things, I was reminded of my elementary school days. The exciting part for me then was shopping for school supplies (naman!!!!madaling araw pa lang gising na ko) .We usually go to NBS at Cubao or Avenida. Siksikan to the max talaga. I picked my crayola, as in yung big ones na with pantasa sa likod ng box, then mga cute notebooks (I remember yung mga Merit Notebooks)..

However, my mamang insisted on getting those notebooks with artista (with lotlot Deleon, Romnick Sarmenta, Sheryl Cruz or Manilyn & Janno on the cover)haaisst..kase babalutan lang naman din ng colored paper!!! Then, i picked erasers in different sizes and colors and scents..and the pens & ballpens...I  got it in pink, violet & green. I remember my notes being very colourful...I remember getting a pen so flexible and long kahit na yung nasa likod ko nakakalabit ko ng pen na yun...(so fun!!)

What I loved shopping for the most are the bag and shoes...Every year I bought new school shoes & bag...I had this monkey bag pack (uso yun during my time) na everytime i walked with it on my back, my classmates would say  “pet mo?”..Of course they were not trying to be mean,  they’re just very appreciative , as if wala ring silang ganung bag...Imagine most of my classmates have different pet bags on their backs. Kapag assembly  namin, mukha na kaming may zoo...Anyway, those are some of my school memories..

This is my little school girl..

There you go...

kayo mga dear mommies, do you still remember your first day @ school???

Independence Day: Pambawi day

This is my pambawi day, spending quality time with my little one. This is one of my predicaments as a working mom, yung guilt feelings na she’s always being taken cared of by her Ate. Don’t get me wrong here, but her Ate (who’s been with us for years now) is heaven-sent. I see to it that after work, I’ll be the one to take care of Jamie’s needs especially during weekends.

Anyway, I’ll be having a separate post on a working mom’s dilemma about quality time....

Well, we watched Madagascar 3, and I have to say that third time’s a charm, a very entertaining sequel. Spoilers  alert:  Alex the Lion and his zoo crew tried to go home to New York by joining a travelling circus. A breathtaking chase ensues, as the evil animal-control chief (Chantel DuBois) hunts them through the streets and across rooftops. The fugitives founnd refuge on a circus train, with a show that's headed for Rome, London, and—if all goes well—New York. But to their surprise, they discovered this circus has lost it’s former glory, so Alex and friends helped transform the circus into something more spectacular, ala-Cirque du Soleil.

Jamie had a blast while munching her fries dipped in ketchup.

Then, we went to NBS for some book reading (parang public llibrary lang), Di lang halata pero, I’m really fond of reading chiklit books (I want the kilig factor with no harshness sa brain kasi)

While browsing the books, I found 2 books that I remember we read back at Nursery. I showed them to Jamie and she didn’t want to put it down after that.

On the other hand, these are my wishlist books : Barefoot Contessa, Giada and Martha’s Encylopedia of Crafts and the Summer & The City...

See, I’m really a domesticated person (wheee?)...lahat yan gusto kong gawin...but for now It’s all in my mind...(smiley)

Anyway, I bought The Carrie Diaries. This is about Carrie Bradshaw before Sex & the City. I’m so excited to read it.

For my little one, the book “Brave”, the upcoming Disney-Pixar Movie. Princess Merida, a skilled archer and headstrong daughter of King Fergus and Queen Elinor .

 Merida defies a sacred age-old custom and unleashes a beastly curse upon the kingdom. To set things right, she embarks on a quest to save the kingdom and discovers the true meaning of bravery!! (winner).

Jamie, did read the book about 3x before going to sleep and she even made a drawing of Merida.

See that, manang mana talaga sa kin ang anak ko...!!!

There you go....Till next time...muuahh

BEE-SY WEEKEND

Weekend is usually the most sought after part of the week. It was quite a busy weekend for us. Saturday is usually a day of errands & playtime for my little one, and for last Saturday, we went out to meet our friends to have a simple dinner.

This is a mixed celebration of our Janice’s Birthday, Janice-Mike’s wedding anniversary and Doc’s birthday (that’s what they fondly call my hubby) at FISH & CO. We intend to cap-off the night at Cafe Britton for mango crepes and coffee but like most restaurants on a Saturday night, it was full of people. Desperate to have our desserts we checked out other coffee shops, but still they were jampacked. Then hubby & I realized that we are walking towards Rennaissance Hotel – GB... (Seriously???)..Jim & I, doing our familiar look..uh-oh...Anyway, we still went inside...The little ladies were having fun, running and goofing around while deciding if I’ll order or not...this is so pricey and way beyond our budget...Anyway, hubby & I agreed  that next time, we will make cost-friendly suggestions. Anyway, birthday naman din ni Jim ...Here’s what we ordered: Bailley Cheesecake with Irish Cream.

Bailley Cheesecake with Irish Cream

But still, we really had fun time catching up with old friends.

On Sunday, we were supposed to wake up very early for the healing Mass at PTV-4 but the alar  m clock did not work. Good thing, Jim being an early riser (ganun daw kasi pag tumatanda) still managed to get us there on time. Meeting our fellow Marians (Marriage Encounter community)  and Father Anton Pascual who celebrated the Mass...

Here are some of the pictures,

(Sabe nila sa TV daw you’ll gain 10% of your actual weight..kaya siguro ganyan....hihihi..)

Sad to say..di ko maupload yung pictures...

Afterwards, we attended Mt.Carmel’s meeting at Bro.Vic’s place. We had an evaluation about our last Pa-Klase / sponsorship for Marriage Encounter Weekend Seminar last May at Mary Hills,Antipolo (I’ll have a separate post for this).

Though Jim and I were both tired, we had to keep up as there were still things to do. We still had to do our groceries and shopping for Jamie’s school needs... Since, this involves shopping which I really love doing (which most of the girls do)...as a pro-active wife, I let Jim sit and relax at the Prestige Lounge. There is free unlimited coffee, tea, water, magazines and comfortable sofas. (Sana lahat ng malls, me ganito noh,)..Then, we did our groceries...grabe, ansakit na ng feet ko.. At least marami naman kaming na-accomplish...

I guess we were busy as a bee that weekend.

See ya!!!

Coffee after Movie: It’s a date.

Just because you are married doesn’t mean you can’t have a romantic date night with your “Papah”. They always say that going on dates help keep the “spark” so we need to have a “date night” at least once a week...
For us, hubby and I have been practicing this for quite some time now. Take for example last Friday night when we watched  MIB3....Well, given our incompatible work schedule (he’s working midshift while mine’s regular 8-5), he kinda tweaks his working schedule to meet this “dating thing” every Friday night.

Date nights strengthened us as a couple. Consider these benefits:

·       Date nights give us a chance to better communicate and deepen our understanding of one another

·       Rekindle that romantic spark

·       Strengthen couple’s sense of commitment to one another

·       It allows us to enjoy time with another away from the pressing concerns of our daily life.

See!!see....hon oh...tingnan mo ang mga following benefits..keep it up ha!!!

My dear readers, I came across a list if suggested date night ideas and I would like to share it with you. I’ll try to do it .......hmmmm, lets see muna pala....

40 Date Nights ideas: (pwede rin naman tong date day kung di kayo pwede sa night)
1.    Read past entries from journals. Look at old photo albums and high school yearbooks. Learn about your spouse's childhood and teen years.
(hmmmm, wala naman akong journal, so di pede yun...naku tattered na rin yung yearbooks namin..I think, photo albums.....can do)
2. Refinish a piece of furniture for your home. (refinish? A date night should be relaxing right? Naku mapapagod naman ako nito)..reconsider (sa retirement nalang to!)
3. Plan a special barbecue, picnic, make your own pizza party .(consider this).
4. Make a list of goals you want to accomplish in one, five, ten or twenty-five years. Create intermediate steps to accomplish them. Post these where they will be effective in nudging you to action. (ahmmm, relax lang diba?naku naman, mag-iisp pa ko nito)
5. Make popcorn. Watch a favorite television show, video, or athletic event. (consider this)
6. Read a book, the scriptures, or the Ensign together. If you prefer, read a book during the month, then discuss it in depth on your date night. (Pwede....)
7. Make cookies and take some to a neighbor's house. Place them on the doorstep, then knock or ring the bell and run to hide. (ahahahhayyy)
8. Play a favorite board game, marbles, or tether ball. (tether ball? Is it the ball ....????never mine!!!
9. Design your dream house or dream yard. Sketch your plans, then share
your ideas. ( we usually do that, especially malapit ng turn over )
10. Go to the park and play on the swings and slippery-slide.(ayayay, parang once i did it, di ko na inulit..na stuck kaya ako sa one of the slides)
11. Sing together, with or without a piano. Harmonize, blend. Sing rounds. This is especially good for a date near Christmas. (seriously???)
12. If you have musical instruments, play a duet. (alright!!!)
13. Create your own recipe for homemade ice cream. Try it out. (ahmmm,can do)
14. Plan an upcoming vacation or a second honeymoon-even if it's only imaginary. (I luv it!!!)
15. Plant a garden or a tree. (a  garden???can’t do, cemented yung garage namin)
16. Build a web page together.(erase? I’m not a techie person)
17. Hang out in a hammock together and look for shapes in the clouds. (luv it!!!!, kaya lang parang malamok sa garage..)
18. Watch or listen to an educational program or readers' theater. (aha!, good idea)
19. Check out a library book about constellations, then go look at the stars. (another good idea)
20. Prepare a tribute for each other, gathering letters of appreciation from those who know your spouse. Make it into a 'This Is Your Life' night. (chessy!!!)
21. Plan for the handling of your estate. Draw up wills and get them notarized. (ay, im not ready for that..but seriously, we should allot time for this) kaya lang for a date night? What you think?
22. Dance to old records or to music on the radio. Learn new steps together.
(Ahh, ok!)
23. Wash the car.(picture this: wear short-shorts then accidentally pour yourself with water...)
24. Go to the temple. (this is mind, culture enriching)
25. Fly a kite.(ok)
26. Take a walk in the rain. (haler, ahhmm...malamig ata yun..ubuhin pa man dn ang asawa ko)
27. Teach each other something new, such as a principle of geometry or a bit of foreign language. (ha? date ba to o review class?)
28. Make a big cookie (the size of a cookie tray) for each other. Decorate it to say "I Love You!" (well, i can do it...i still have a pancake box)
29. Have a water fight. (Picture this: running around in front of our house, while there are parked tricycle...me TODA sa amin eh, dyahe)
30. Play croquet.( eto ba yung gansulyi?,crochet?)
31. Read or reread your patriarchal blessings to each other.( we still don’t have it)
32. Work together to finish one of your monumental tasks that you have put
off forever; paint a room, wash windows, or something similar.(hayy, think of it parang nakakapagod)
33. Have a "fix-it" night together to fix all the stuff that you just haven't gotten around to doing.(sigh!#)
34. Go to an old fashion drive in movie. ( erase...wala tayo nito sa Pilipinas)
35. Go through several old boxes of storage together. Get rid of what you don't use. (hay, kapagod naman)
36. Go through family photos and reminisce together. While you are at it make sure names, places, and dates are on them. (sweet...)
37. Wash windows together one on either side of the window. (kapagod pa rin)
38. Write a family letter to relatives about your family and you. Then send it out by mail or e-mail. (FB will do)
39. Make a genealogical web site for both of your families. Post them on the web. Then register them with Family Search on the web. (what is that???genealogy ...parang OB gyne lang ah)
40. Search for your families together at Family Search. Prepare information that Family Search doesn't have, that you do, and submit it. There must be more than one generation. (wellll, this is what we usually do during weekends....)

Bottom line is: Make time for each other.

Thoughts to ponder:

“People always fall in love with the most perfect aspects of each other’s personalities. Who wouldn’t? Anybody can love the most wonderful parts of another person. But that’s not the clever trick. The really clever trick is this: Can you accept the flaws? Can you look at your partner’s faults honestly and say, ‘I can work around that. I can make something out of it.’? Because the good stuff is always going to be there, and it’s always going to pretty and sparkly, but the crap underneath can ruin you.” ― Elizabeth Gilbert, Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage

Blogging...a form of self expression.

I finally got the nerve to start this blogging thing. I’ve been reading for quite a while numerous super interesting blog sites. Then, I’ve stumbled one of my favourites blogger mom, “Mommy Fleur” and which I accidentally discovered that she’s my previous officemate and volleyball team mate.

I just love...love..love  the way how kikay she blogs about so many things about motherhood.

Her blogs made me laugh.....(Imagine, tinanong ako ng officemate ko kung nakainom na ba ko ng gamot ko????)

I see blogging from moms as refreshing, a way of self expression and very informative as well.

(Patay na kapag may inendorse na bagong product, kase napapabili aketch)

Wondering.. what if I could share some of my insights and experiences being a mom...                        Just what if'sssss?????##!!!!....

Well, I’ll never know unless I try...

DOCTOR MOM