Celebrate Life's Moments

Just the three of us

2011-12-24T22:02:00.000+08:00

We're celebrating Christmas this year with just the three of us.. Me with husband and the little one. We usually spend it in Batangas with my husband's family and relatives but at this time the husband's work schedule was different and he had to work during the holidays.

It's pretty tiring because I did and will do all the cooking for Christmas dinner and Christmas eve. That's what I get for having two boys..

On the other hand, Jared wrote a letter for Santa but.. my bad.. I haven't gotten a gift to fill in his Christmas sock. I need to think now of a reason why Santa's gift will be a bit delayed.. hmm...

It's two hours before Christmas eve so I will just leave you with this.. Merry Christmas! :)

School Christmas Party

2011-12-17T15:58:00.000+08:00

My little boy wasn't able to attend his classes for 3 days because of that viral thing that hit on him. And when he can finally go back to school, it was already their Christmas party. That means he was not able to join their practice for their Christmas party presentation. But even if he didn't practice, he still participated and tried his best to follow the steps.

Thanks to our good old camera that got broken when their dance was about to start, I was not able to record a video of their presentation.

Anyway, there were games for everyone - students, parents and guardians. Jared and I joined the newspaper dance and luckily we won! OK, we were not the only winners, thanks to the organizers they chose the last 5 pairs or more than 5 haha!

After the program was eating time which is my son's least favorite part. And then the gift giving which he really enjoyed.

The last photo I took with our dying camera..

5 years

2011-12-16T01:13:00.000+08:00

It's been 5 years since we said our I do's! And from that day, our marriage just keeps getting better. Of course, there were trials and tests along the way but we sure became stronger with it.

Happy happy anniversary to my hot and sexy husband! I look forward to more years of sleeping beside you every night and waking up with my head resting on your shoulders. That's my favorite part of my everyday!

I looooove you!

Can anything get mushier than that? :)

My little boy got sick

2011-12-12T23:01:00.002+08:00

I'm blogging from the hospital tonight. My little boy is sleeping soundly with the dextrose on his left hand. He was admitted last Friday due to severe vomiting and diarrhea. He was diagnosed with gastroenteritis which the doctor told us was caused by a virus. He has to receive dextrose while in the hospital to let his tummy rest or calm down and to rehydrate his body.

He was so tamlay na but thank God on the second day after having about 2 bottles of dextrose he became active and was ready to play again.

See, he still managed to play games using only one hand.

On our 4th day, when he was active and feeling better, his IV catheter got dislodged that the nurse had to finally remove it. Good thing, the doctor told us that he doesn't have to have that dextrose again. The sign that he's feeling good already.. he asked for his pen and paper :)

And the good news is.. We’re finally going home tomorrow! Ahh I miss our bed..

Look who's 30!

2011-12-03T00:00:00.001+08:00

Hi everyone! I just wanted to write a short post to greet my dearest and gwapo husband who just turned 30 today! At last, he's now the same age as me. That was 6 months of me being older than him!

To my husband, even if you're now 30, you really don't look old. You're still the same man, ok young man whom I met in high school who loves to sing with me during break time and took advantage of it to get close to me.. haha!

Happy birthday and I ♥ ♥ ♥ U!

Our Fantabulous Singapore Trip

2011-12-01T22:13:00.008+08:00

We went to Singapore lah! more than a week ago. I just really enjoyed our visit to that country - so clean, beautiful and modern. The five-day-vacay is so bitin! There were some places that I wanted to visit but were not able to. I wanna go back! :)

Okay, so we went there with my husband's family (super thanks to my generous MIL!) and stayed at Tita M's house who resides in SG with her husband (Thanks for welcoming us!).

It was a three and a half hour plane ride which is just perfect for a relaxing nap. But my little one did the opposite. He did not want to sleep, instead he spent the whole time on drawing. Thanks to the Cebu Pacific's paper bag which he used as a canvass, I was able to get a very quick nap while he was busy drawing on it.

We arrived at the airport at around six in the afternoon, took a cab and headed straight to Tita M's house.

the solis siblings minus their eldest brother who wasn't able to join the trip

my photo with MIL and my ever likot son

and here's our first family pic in SG

to be continued..

Birthday time, Jop + Lyn

2011-11-02T10:02:00.003+08:00

We had a lovely and super filling dinner last week. It was a birthday treat from Jops + Lyn (the newly-weds) who both decided to celebrate at the same time even if their birthdays were two weeks apart.. "tipid-mode" daw. But we did not feel that because we had the Corniche buffet dinner at the Diamond Hotel. Lotsa lotsa good food! I really prepared for that day - I ate very little during breakfast and lunch and I had no snack in between! That's why when we reached the resto, I was really starving.. I forgot to take pictures of the place and the food. My bad! But of-course, we had our photos. :)

the whole gang

Jared ate only ramen out of all the dishes.. but he liked it much!

and he so enjoyed using chopsticks

our post-dinner pic

happy tummies :)

Trick or Treat

2011-10-29T12:35:00.003+08:00

Yesterday, I went to a Halloween party with my little one and my sister. Jared came in a vampire costume. We were not that prepared. We just decided after I found the little boy's unused halloween costume and then registered for the party the day after.

It started at five in the afternoon. There were lots of food for all the guests and all the kids came with their cute costumes.

My little boy is so active in participating in all the games. He also won in the game which I don't know what it's called - it's where they have to pass a thing to each other while music is playing and when the music stops, the one who's holding that thing will be out of the game. Whew! That was a long description!

There was also a fun photobooth for souvenirs.

The trick or treat was the last part. They went all over the place to look for the people in costumes who will also give out chocolates and candies.

And this is what he collected after. lotsa goodies! He really enjoyed the party.

I am now a 10k-er

2011-10-19T22:38:00.010+08:00

Yep I finished it! Yipee for me! It was my longest race ever and I finished it at 01:32:27.94 not so bad haha! Btw, you can view the race results here.

I ran with 3 of my running girlfriends.

And with the husband who is also a first time 10k-er.

It was a great race but it was not easy at all. There were so many participants. We passed by the starting line 4 minutes after the gun start because of TOO many runners. Good thing we have race tags or the timing chips so our time is still pretty accurate.

The race started at 5pm. It was TOO crowded at the start. I wasn't able to run at my pace because I might bump into another runner. Though on the 6th kilometer there was less number of people running maybe because of exhaustion but thanks to the ample water stations that served both water and sports drinks which helped me get my momentum back.

I realized then that I should bring a camera on my next run so I can take photos. And because I want to have a picture with coach Rio! haha!

Overall, it was one hot fun run! I hope this becomes an annual event. But first I need to train more!

A post about my son

2011-10-13T21:54:00.006+08:00

Been so long since I last blogged about the little one. It's not that he's not important to me but really time is the issue. Good thing, I'm having free time these days for blogging. I just want to share some things about him..

He still loves books. His favorite place in a mall is the bookstore and he's the one who chooses the book that we will buy for him. The parents were really not fond of reading the way he is that's why I'm so glad he turned out to be the opposite in terms of reading haha!

He's always eager to do his homework and I need not convince or drag him to do it. Lucky mommy!

And even if we're out, I always make sure I have his pen and paper to keep him busy.

Because he gets so bored when he goes shopping with me

He likes to blow cake candles so whenever we buy a cake we always make sure it has candles.

He is so adorable and so sweet. Just this morning he said to me "Mommy, can I kiss you on the eye coz I love you so much" What? eye? haha! funny kid! In a few months he'll be five.. oh my he's growing so fast!

I will run 10k on Sat!

2011-10-12T14:24:00.010+08:00

Yes! finally! I joined a 10k race again after 2 years when I joined for the very first time.. which did not push through because of an unfortunate event that happened on the race date. We also stopped joining races around the middle of last year due to the sudden increase in registration fees and just run on our own every weekend. And when I read about the Nike race I was thrilled! It was indeed an exciting race event. You can read about it here and here.

And my favorite part of the race is the free thumb drive for the finishers. It's too cute! Enough reason to finish the race. haha!

See you there! :)

Stormy Road Trip

2011-09-06T14:05:00.010+08:00

We have planned this a month before so when we knew there was a storm or typhoon in the North area we still pursued the road trip. Everyone were too excited to back out so off we went! This was during the last 4-day long weekend. The first day was spent entirely on the road. We spent 12 hours in travelling from Manila to Vigan only because of typhoon Mina. We got stranded for more than 3 hours in Agoo, La Union due to some flooded areas.

Our first stop was Baluarte in Vigan, Ilocos Sur. This was my son's favorite place in Ilocos mainly because it is a zoo. :) It was a gloomy morning but thang God for no rain that time, we were able to see the whole place and experience the pony ride.

Then we headed to Calle Crisologo but it was just a quick stop as we have a lot on our list that we should be visited.

A quick photo-op at the beautiful Paoay church. It was already drizzling at that time. Thankful for umbrellas and a water-proof camera.

Malacanang of the North

Burgos Tower. We were not able to go inside the lighthouse as it was closed at that time, maybe because of the bad weather.

Mairaira beach in Pagudpud - very quiet and peaceful beach.. so unlike Boracay.. for the soul searchers haha!

Hannah's resort - where we stayed for one night. Beautiful resort but needs improvement in terms of services.

Bantay Abot Cave - this was just a few mins away from the resort.

The windmills - where Jared got his cute little windmill. And of course, it's super windy here!

Back to Vigan! Last photo-op then started the long travel back home.

Even though our visit to Ilocos was welcomed by a bad weather, we really enjoyed it! I don't think we can come back anytime soon because of the relatively long travel but I still want to visit again! There were still a lot of places that we have not yet visited.

Our rainy Boracay vacay

2011-07-16T10:18:00.000+08:00

We had a 4-day vacation in the beautiful Boracay last month - I know, late post again. We went there with my side of the family. We went swimming, island hopping, helmet diving, fly fish-ing and ate and ate to our heart's content. Besides, we got a lot of things to celebrate during that time. It was Father's Day, my 30th birthday and an advance celebration of my aunt's birthday.

It was Jared's first plane ride that's why he made sure he gets to read the flight manual before take off. :)

We had rain and storm on the 1st and 2nd day but we still managed to enjoy but our little boy doesn't like the strong waves so he opted to just play on the sand.

He only swam in the pool which he really enjoyed and which doesn't show in this photo haha!

The 3rd day was when the sun shone brightly. We got to do a lot of things. We tried helmet diving.

Island Hopping.. but forgetful me forgot all the islands that we visited.

Snorkelling.. corals are not that pretty anymore.

And swam all day..

So there.. that's how our rainy summer went :)

Thank you!

2011-06-23T15:54:00.005+08:00

My SIL, Mei, gave us "his and hers watches" or "couple watches". She gave it to us the last time she went back home from another country. Hubby and I were so thrilled. She really gives the bestest gifts! How sweet diba? :)

I don't wear watch anymore. I got used to checking time through my cellphone. I only wear a watch when I'm running so I can monitor the time. But since I already got one, I should start using one. Thank you!

Papi's day

2011-06-21T21:41:00.001+08:00

This is a late blog greeting but what the heck! Photo was taken exactly on father's day.. see how good a dad he is? :)

Happy Father's day to the sweetest, most caring, most loving, and coolest dad in the whole wide world! Thank you for always being there for us, for giving us a lot of quality time and for just being a super awesome dad!

Love,

Jared and your gorgeous wife ;)

A week till the DAY

2011-06-13T23:18:00.004+08:00

It will be just a week till the DAY.. I am going to be 30. OMG. Where did all the years go and why so fast??? Well, it seems to me that turning 30 is a life-altering experience in which you are suddenly going to be considered "old." One more year and I get kicked out of the calendar. But I don't look old! yet..haha! anyway, I'm still 29.. :)

Now that I'm turning 30, I've started to moisturize my skin and use some anti-aging cream. I know I'm the laziest girl in the world when it comes to beauty rituals that's why I am now trying to make an effort.

And I just feel so happy and blessed that I have my husband and my cute little boy. They are the ones who keep me feeling young. And I love them to bits!

Well, age shouldn't really matter if you are doing what you want to be doing every year of your life.

Here’s to 30! Live, Laugh, and Love!

Swimming Lessons

2011-05-31T23:32:00.001+08:00

Our swimming lessons were completed about two weeks ago. It was a 10 day class teaching us basic swimming skills. In my group, we learned the survival swim, basic freestyle, and backstroke. I'm not yet good with them so I need to practice some more.

On the other hand, my little one was so afraid of submerging himself. It's the first thing that they have to learn but he was so scared of doing it. That's the reason why he's way behind his classmates in swimming.

Good thing, on the last few days of the lessons, he wasn't that scared anymore. And I can see that he's trying to learn. But he has not yet learned how to float so we are gonna enroll him again next year or might be every summer as long as he likes it. And another good thing, hubby just volunteered to practice or train our little one in swimming. :)

How we spent his 4th Bday

2011-05-27T15:30:00.002+08:00

My precious little one turned four a couple weeks back and since he loves to ~~swim~~ play in the water, we thought of having a pool party with the whole family (hubby's side and mine).

And since it's his birthday, we prepared his favorite foods.. it's ok if most of them are junk hehe!

We got him an inflatable boat without paddles but he said he wants the paddle.. hmm..

He got cute gifts from her tita Mane (not in the photo), his favorite angrybirds stuff toys.

Here's the whole gang frolicking in the water

Weekend Update

2011-05-23T10:17:00.003+08:00

Had a fully packed weekend with my wonderful family and friends. Saturday was our flu vaccine day. We availed the shot from the company where my friend works for, since it was a lot cheaper compared when you avail it directly from doctors. Our sunday was about swimming and boxing but wasn't able to bring my cam so I'll just post about the vaccine day.

Vaccination is at Makati and so we have decided to let our little one experience riding a train, the MRT. Parked the car at the mall in North Ave. and from there we walked our way heading to the MRT. It was Jared's first time and he was so excited.

Here's his dad explaining to him how to insert the MRT ticket

Got off at Buendia station and headed to Ayala Triangle Gardens to meet up with Nectar and her family. By that time it was already lunch time so we went straight to the resto to feed our tummies.

The garden looks nice and seems well maintained and the grass looks really nice on photos so we took pictures before going to the office for vaccination. Here are some.

After the photo op, we went straight to the vaccination - our main purpose! haha! Adults get the shot first. Here are the kids while waiting for their turn - busy with their doodling.

It was a really tiring day with all that walking we did. Look how tired my son was haha! We were suppose to shop first but we were all so exhausted we just went home immediately.

To my little son-shine

2011-05-12T15:10:00.000+08:00

I can't believe that you are now four today. It seems just like yesterday when you came screaming into this world. And from the day you were born you have brought so much happiness and joy to our life. Mami and Papi always pray that you'd always be in good health and that you'd grow to be a good man that God wants you to be. I so look forward to watching you grow up, but please don't rush it along. Everyday I spend with you is so precious to me. I love you my little angel! Happy 4th Birthday!

Love,

Mommy

10 Commandments

2011-05-10T14:58:00.003+08:00

I found this from a certain website about marriage. It's a nice read and if you have time, print it out and post it on your bedroom. :)

Ten Commandments for the Twentieth Century Husband

Thou shalt put thy wife before they mother, thy father, thy son, and thy daughter, for thy wife is thy lifelong companion.
Abuse not thy body by overeating, by tobacco, or drink, that thy days may be many and healthful in the presence of thy loved ones.
Permit neither thy business nor thy hobby to make of thee a stranger to thy children, for the most precious gift a man giveth his family is his time.
Forget not the virtue of cleanliness.
Make not thy wife a beggar, but share willingly with her thy worldly goods.
Forget not to say "I love you," for even though thy love be constant thy wife doth yearn to hear these words.
Remember that the approval of thy wife is worth more than the admiring glances of a hundred strangers. Cleave unto her and forsake all others.
Keep thy home in good repair, for out of it cometh the joys of old age.
Forgive with grace, for who among us does not need to be forgiven?
Honor the Lord all the days of thy life, and thy children will rise up and call thee blessed.

Ten Commandments for Wives

Since I am a wife, I will try to put little comments on each :)

Carefully guard thine health so thou canst always greet thy husband with a smile.
Never nag or complain. - I don't usually nag but I sometimes complain.. or was it really sometimes?
Do not worry about things which thou canst not change. - why do guys always leave their dirty clothes on the floor? ok, I know it's hard to change it.. but can't they just try? :)
Do not spend all thy time scrubbing, cleaning, and dusting the house. - I don't!
Love thine husband and children more than thy house.
Know how to prepare good, nutritious food and keep it on the table. - still learning :)
Know the limitations of thy husband's income and do not try to keep up with others. - a must!
Do not buy a hat or hairdo or wig that makes thy husband unhappy. - still thinking about this
Remember that at times silence is golden. - agree!
Do not drive the automobile from back or side seat. - Good thing I always drive from the driver's seat :p

All geared up

2011-05-02T23:44:00.003+08:00

Swim Cap- ✓

Goggles- ✓

Kick board- ✓

Swim wear - ✓

I enrolled my kid to swimming class just last week at Bert Lozada Swim School. It has 10 sessions per course and one hour per day. I chose the earliest time in the morning so he won't have to deal with sunburns.

And after a few days I thought of also enrolling myself in a swim class coz I really don't know how to swim. I only know back floating and that's it haha! Hubby also agreed that I should and that it's never too late. In fact, I learned from the swimming school that they have students from the current batch ages 30, 52 and 66! I was so happy that I'm not their oldest student.

So I decided and enrolled myself with the same schedule as my son. We'll be on the same pool but with different instructors and hubby would be watching us and taking our pictures. Isn't that fun? :)

Summer is here!

2011-04-25T14:01:00.005+08:00

Finally, my summer has started. And when I say summer it means swimming in beaches or pools. I know it's quite late for me but what the heck!

So we spent the 4-day vacation in Batangas at my MIL's house. I was so happy that my mom and sister were able to come with us. We are not so prepared so we did last minute booking on resorts and almost all of them were fully booked. I know it's the peak season. But luckily, my MIL were able to book on a resort in Alitagtag, Batangas, the Residencia de Riego Resort and stayed there overnight with my Solis and Geronimo family.

(photo borrowed from another website)

Check-in time was 2pm-10am and we got there at exactly 2 in the afternoon. It was not that crowded at all since it was a Friday and maybe it was not yet known to many.

We had our sumptuous merienda first before lounging into the pool.

The resort has 2 adult pools and 1 kiddie pool. Here we are enjoying the water..

Actually, the best time at this resort was during night time where you will see their pools with 12-color logic lights and a fountain surrounding the pools. Pool is also heated at night so you don't have to worry feeling cold while swimming at night. It also has its own bar and restaurant, and a wi-fi zone.

Last photo-op at the resort. We so enjoyed our short stay there.

And then they got hitched!

2011-04-20T13:42:00.004+08:00

The wedding happened 2 weeks ago. I've been really wanting to blog about it but been busy with a lot of things including my son who got sick with cough and colds. And because of that he lost his appetite. Eating has become so hard for him and so stressful for me. But now, he's getting a little better and I hope it continues. OK, back to the wedding..

I went off early in the morning as requested by my sis so I can be made up on time for the pictorial. Initially it was planned that my little one would come with me so that he can join the family pictorial but he got sick the night before so we decided that he'll just go at a later time with hubby and his family. And they arrived a little late than planned so we only had a short time remaining for family pictorial and headed straight to the church.

The ceremony was held at Manila Cathedral in Intramuros, Manila. It was a huge church and has a long aisle perfect for weddings. My son was the ring bearer and despite of having fever at that moment, he still walked well during the procession. Thanks to our practice walking. We went to that church 2 days before the big day so Jared can practice walking down the aisle and get familiar with the place.. and it worked! only, he kept looking at the right side looking for his papi haha!

And here's the stunning bride with my beautiful mom during the procession. It's sad that my dad was not here anymore to witness this very special day of my sister.. I miss him.

The little one is not really feeling OK so he just lie down the church bench and rest and finally fell asleep.

But then after a while, I woke him up so he can join the pictorial (bad mom). anyway, it was at the latter part of the ceremony.

The reception went really well. Very nice place, lots of good food, fun at the photo booth and good music from the Manila Philharmonic Orchestra. The best part of it was the groom prepared a surprise song number specially for his bride. Everyone was really touched. I loved him for that! Here are some photos..

at La Castellana

cocktails

with my sis and SILs

with the two loves of my life

the couples' first dance

at the photo booth

And now, I propose a toast to the happy married life of Jops and Arlene. Cheers! :)

Proud parents

2011-03-31T16:08:00.001+08:00

School year has ended and our little boy graduated and had their school's recognition day few days back. It was only me and my husband who were able to attend to my son's special day. His two grandmas both want to go with us but due to some reason they weren't able to. So hubby and I made a plan. If Jared gets an award, I will be the one to join him on stage while he takes our photo. He has some kind of a stage freight haha!

Then it happened. Our little one got two medals, one is for being an Outstanding pupil and the other one, most diligent.

After all the medals were given, the teacher announced that there was another set of awards. Jared and hubby have an award too - Best father and son tandem during one of their school activities. I thought hub was really deserving as he was so active in participating on the games :) And so he had his moment.. on stage lol!

We both felt so proud so we have to take another picture on stage after the program haha!

Can't believe a school year has already gone. He'll be in kinder next. The next thing we know he's already in college. Oh no! don't grow up too fast my little boy :)

MOH

2011-03-18T23:41:00.000+08:00

My sister and her long time boyfriend are going to get hitched! And I'm going to be the Matron of Honor.. yes matron! oh my.. does that sound so old???

OK, as a maid of honor.. err.. matron of honor, I helped her with the planning - choosing gown designs for the bridesmaids, wedding favors, trying out caterers' menu (I loved this!), sourcing out suppliers and making the invitation. The last on the list, I would like to share about.

We decided to just make the invitation on our own. I got the inspiration online (sorry card company I got some of your idea ;) ). I just tweaked it a bit and changed the colors according to her motif which are brown and teal. Got nice cardboard papers from National Bookstore for the invitation pages and also for the envelope. We did not use the traditional envelopes, instead we made our own also. It was just a bit tiring cutting all the half circles on the envelope. But I felt that our effort was all worth it. Here are some photos..

I really enjoyed being a soon-to-be Bride's slave! And I'm getting so excited for her wedding day which is barely a month from now.

The Little Champion

2011-02-18T22:26:00.000+08:00

My little one was chosen as one of the contestants for the Poem Reading Contest during their school foundation week. It was an on the spot reading contest to test their reading skills (of course!) They will be given one short poem to read. Certainly, the little one's mom and dad were there to support him on his first ever contest.

I was not expecting anything, I just want him to enjoy the experience. And he did! He thought he was just playing and not in a contest haha! He was moving all the time while he was reading so we were not able to hear what he read. But even though he did not win he was still our little champion. :)

with the proud parents :D

Dentist Time

2011-02-08T22:13:00.000+08:00

My little one was scheduled to visit his dentist last month but with the busy schedule, we were not able to. Add to that, his dentist's clinic is a bit far from our home so I just decided to transfer him to a new dentist from a nearby village who also happened to be our dentist too.

She is not a pediatric dentist but I was really amazed how she took care of Jared the whole time. First, she read a book to him titled, "A visit to the dentist" which explained all the things to expect during his visit. With that, he got so comfortable with the dentist he wanted to chat with her even the cleaning was done. It was his first ever teeth cleaning, the one with scaling and he really did a great job.

Our Subic Adventure

2011-01-11T23:04:00.000+08:00

This post was so long overdue.. I know.. (Why do I always have to start with this line?) We initially planned of going to Enchanted Kingdom but everyone says that the place is jam-packed and super crowded during the holidays so we decided to just go to Subic to visit Zoobic Safari because our little one has been bugging us to visit a zoo again.

Went there after New Year's day early in the morning and arrived at about 9am. Thank goodness for SCTEX, our travel was a breeze! but not to the whopping increase in toll fees.. (what a way to start the year for motorists!)

Anyway, entrance fee for adults is P445, kids 3ft and below are free, and our little guy who's over 3ft and below 4ft gets a P100 discount.

The park assigns 1 tour guide for approximately every 30 visitors. The walking tour was just ok but you won't be able to hear what the guide is saying. The guided tour begins with the aviary or the "Bird Walk" where there is a section where you get to feed the birds on your hands for 10 bucks. Hubby, Jared and my sis tried it while I take their picture.

Next was the Zoobic Park where there are pet friendly animals that you can interact with. I personally tried to feed the camel a small leaf and it was fun.

Then there there was an animal show composed of talented dogs, donkey and the amazing Tinikling dancing poodle.

The next was to get to the other area of the park by taking the tram ride or use your own car throughout the tour. We opted for the tram ride or the "tiger train" as what my son calls it.

We then toured the Savannah while riding on the tram wherein we got a close encounter with the friendly ostriches that seem to like my youngest sister for some reason.. haha!

Other areas are the Dear Deer, Zoobic Cave, Forbidden Cave, Serpentarium, Rodent World, Croco Loco, etc.

The main attraction was the Tiger Safari where we boarded the caged jeep that brought us to the open area to see live tigers roaming around freely. It took for only a few minutes so we were not that fascinated at all. And we only saw a few tigers.. maybe we were just not that lucky.

The whole tour took around 3 to 4 hours and we were starving by the time we finished it. We quickly headed to the Tree Top Adventure which is just a few distances away from Zoobic Safari.

There are a lot of awesome packages to choose from. And after a quick lunch we decided to try the Tree Drop Adventure - here, you'll be literally dropped from a 60 foot tree with just the harness supporting your life :). It took us sometime to convince hubby to try it though :) But man, the experience was so thrilling and at the same time frightening, really really worth it! Price is affordable and the staff are so friendly so I highly recommend it. :)

How we spent the holidays

2011-01-06T09:31:00.010+08:00

Been so busy during the month of December (well everyone was!) with a lot of reunions with relatives and friends. Sharing with you some of our photos from the holidays.

my little one had his first Christmas party with his classmates

he also joined the party games

and also his dad :)

catch-up time with my childhood friends

celebrated Christmas with my in-laws

and Jared patiently waited for Santa

attended the town fiesta in Batangas

had fun taking pictures on Christmas day

attended a baptism

post-christmas dinner with my highschool friends

welcomed the new year with my extended family

and celebrated by drinking the night away :)

Mom's 60th

2010-12-13T21:38:00.004+08:00

My dearest mom celebrated her birthday yesterday. It was held at Chinatown's BestFood resto in Banawe. It was a simple celebration with her special friends and of course her family. She said we should all wear red on that day just for good luck I think and we all did! haha! sharing some of the photos..

Happy Birthday mommy! hope you have many many more birthdays to come! cliche but it's my wish really..

The little artist

2010-10-14T14:40:00.003+08:00

The little one started to like drawing since he started schooling. It began with scribbles and doodles that turned to animals, houses, faces, zombies, ipod, TV and many others but his fave are the animals. When he's done with drawing I always ask him what he drew so I can label them properly. Here are some of his artwork.. :)

snake

dolphin

penguin

elephant

whale

ants

seal

Field Trip

2010-09-19T12:26:00.005+08:00

My son experienced his first school field trip last week. We were all so excited about it so hubby and I decided to both come with him on this special trip. OK, this is a bit overdue again as this happened more than a week ago. I really want to be active in blogging again but couldn't really find the time.. :( ok, back to the story..

I woke up earlier than the two boys as I need to prepare our baon first. The hubby requested sandwiches so I prepared different kinds.. with all the works! Good thing he liked it! Then after a little while, H woke up and got ready. We had a hard time waking the little one up so I just changed his clothes, brought him to the car and headed to the school.

We arrived earlier than the scheduled time but there were already a lot of people - shows how excited the parents are for their kids. My son was doubly excited on this trip because aside from it being his first trip with classmates, it was his first time to ride a bus. He finds it so cool to ride the bus. It's because he hasn't experienced it by commuting. Yeah, wait till you finally try it. :)

We arrived in Ocean Adventure around 9am and started touring the place. We were divided into groups and each group has its designated guide. We went to the Discovery Aquarium first. It was a small place with few sea creatures but my son really enjoyed this place as he was not that entertained with the succeeding activities we had.

Next was the Olongapo Jones show which all about going green and saving the environment. I got a bit bored with this show but the trampoline boys are amazing. But I don't have a photo of them :(

Then we watched the Sea Lion show which was entertaining to me but not to my son. He seemed bored while watching it. And he's already hungry at this time, maybe that is why.

Next was the Dolphin show which was my favorite. I was really amazed with the show so I was only able to take a few photos. It made me think how they trained these dolphins, genius! :)

at the end of the show, here are their tails waving goodbye

The last show was the Walk on the Wild Side which features ways on how to survive in the forest. It was not at all appealing to me and by this time we were all very hungry so we decided to stop watching and headed on to the lunch area.

After having lunch, the kids went swimming and played some group games which was very entertaining for us, parents.

On they way home while still in SBMA, we saw some monkeys on the side of the road but too bad my son was already asleep as he was really exhausted. It was really a fun and tiring trip. Till the next school field trip :)

Notes from a child

2010-09-05T11:39:00.003+08:00

Got this from Daphne's blog and I just want to repost it as I feel that all parents and parents to be should know these things.. :)

1. Don't spoil me. I know quite well that I ought not to have all I ask for. I'm only testing you.

2. Don't be afraid to be firm with me. I prefer it, it makes me feel secure.

3. Don't let me form bad habits. I have to rely on you to detect them in the early stages.

4. Don't make me feel smaller than I am. It only makes me behave stupidly "big".

5. Don't correct me in front of people if you can help it. I'll take much more notice if you talk quietly with me in private.

6. Don't make me feel that my mistakes are sins. It upsets my sense of values.

7. Don't protect me from consequences. I need to learn the painful way sometimes.

8. Don't be too upset when I say "I hate you". Sometimes it isn't you I hate but your power to thwart me.

9. Don't take too much notice of my small ailments. Sometimes they get me the attention I need.

10. Don't nag. If you do, I shall have to protect myself by appearing deaf.

11. Don't forget that I cannot explain myself as well as I should like. That is why I am not always accurate.

12. Don't put me off when I ask questions. If you do, you will find that I stop asking and seek my information elsewhere.

13. Don't be inconsistent. That completely confuses me and makes me lose faith in you.

14. Don't tell me my fears are silly. They are terribly real and you can do much to reassure me if you try to understand.

15. Don't ever suggest that you are perfect or infallible. It gives me too great a shock when I discover that you are neither.

16. Don't ever think that it is beneath your dignity to apologize to me. An honest apology makes me feel surprisingly warm towards you.

17. Don't forget I love experimenting. I couldn't get along without it, so please put up with it.

18. Don't forget how quickly I am growing up. It must be very difficult for you to keep pace with me, but please do try.

19. Don't forget that I don't thrive without lots of love and understanding, but I don't need to tell you, do I?

20. Please keep yourself fit and healthy. I need you.

School Activities

2010-08-28T13:09:00.009+08:00

My little one's sched has been uber hectic for the last two weeks because of the "Buwan ng Wika" celebration and the "Kid Scout Investiture".

I really enjoyed the kids' presentation in buwan ng wika. They danced to the tune of Leron, leron sinta wearing Filipiniana costumes. The kids are all so cute. I didn't expect my son to be doing the dance properly but I think he did well although sometimes he positions on the wrong place :) Here are some photos..

with his dance partner

getting ready for the dance

We also let him join the "Kid Scout" in his school. It was like the boy scouts for the preschool. Most of the moms of his classmates thought the kids were too young for it so only a few joined. But we pushed through it as we believe it will help him improve his social skills. Pictures from the investiture.

Tiktakbo 3

2010-08-27T13:30:00.004+08:00

Finally after 7 months, I was able to join a race again. It was the Tiktakbo at UP Diliman Campus with hubby, 2 sisters and SIL. It was very refreshing to run at UP after a long time. There were adequate hydrating stations at every 2km I think, lots of water and Pocari sweat. We all ran the 6k category and surprise surprise! I clocked in at 47 mins! Now I'm not so sure if it was exactly a 6k or less just because I finished at that time. Well I guess it was my body's form of encouragement for me to go back to running again :)

1st day of school

2010-06-15T14:05:00.003+08:00

We all got up so early today because of the little one's first day in school. I had to get Jared up two hours before his class as it takes ages to feed him in the morning. Good thing, we did it in less than 30 minutes. He was so excited and so eager to go to school but I think I was the one who was way more excited than him :D

We arrived in school just in time. The classroom was so crowded because of all the moms and the kids' companions. Everyone was busy taking pictures so was I but I was not able to get a nice and clear photo. They started with the classic greetings, the combo "sing and dance", coloring, and of course the much awaited, snack time or recess. I thought Jared won't eat but he did. Maybe because all of his classmates did so it kind of became an encouragement to him.

There were other kids who won't go away from their moms, who cried and would not listen at all to the teacher. I'm really so thankful that my son was really cool during the whole time. I just hope that I don't have to stay inside the classroom after a week and that he'll completely adjust to the school environment.

Jared's 3rd Bday

2010-05-21T10:43:00.003+08:00

This post is so overdue. Been busy with a lot of things and been too lazy to blog these days...

So he turned 3, about a week ago. We just celebrated it simply with both families (H and mine). Almost everything was taken cared of by my hubby's family. MIL and Umpe cooked lots of dishes, and sisters-IL took care of the balloons and decorations. Jared had 2 cakes, from her two grand moms. Lucky me, I don't have to prepare anything. We just bought Jared's favorite pasta, seafood pesto. And I'm so glad H took the day off from work to spend the day with us specially with the birthday boy :)

Sharing some photos..

Crazy Busy

2010-04-27T15:13:00.001+08:00

Things have been a little hectic for me lately. My mom was in vacation and the business work was all left to me - the number one thing that's keeping me out of the blogging world. And we've been staying at mom's home to accompany my sisters since she left for her week long vacation. And of course, I was also extra busy in tending to the little one.

Well here are some updates for the past weeks..

1. The holy week was spent in Batangas with the hubby's family. No fasting happened but the opposite. It was all about pigging out and enjoying the beach :)

2. Jared got a new haircut and he's not so cooperative compared to his previous haircut sessions as he has become so ticklish.

3. Attended a wedding in Batangas. The groom was hubby's cousin and my BIL was part of the entourage. What we really enjoyed was the photo booth. Had lots of photos! It was really fun.

feeling groom and bride.. with a kid haha!

4. Lynette's homecoming. She was my high school friend who's now living in France with her wonderful family. I thought of bringing Jared with me so he can meet Lynnette's son, Zach. If I remember correctly, the last time I saw her was more than six years ago.. that's too long! so here we are after six years :)

Photos courtesy of sandra.. thanks girl! :)

We both already have kids and they're of the same age :)

they look like long time friends here

at Gerry's grill, thanks to Lynnette for the wonderful lunch :D

the girls

Earth Run

2010-03-30T09:29:00.002+08:00

At last! We got registered on a race for next month. It's been two months since our last race and we really had no practice run in between so we are still running for 5k haha! It's been almost a year since we started running and we're still on 5k, no improvements :(

Anyway, our first race was also earth run with the same organizer and I like them because they have the lowest reg fees without sacrificing the race quality. Here are the details..

Earth Run 2010

April 18, 2010, Sunday

Fort Global City, Taguig

Run for the Earth on April 18, Sunday with 3k, 5k, 16k and 21k-run categories at the Fort Global City, Taguig. All proceeds from the event will go to Greenpeace.

No onsite registration allowed. Registration fees for the race are as follows:

3k – P250

5k – P250

16k – P350

21k – P350

Registration is until April 11, Sunday at the following outlets:

Res Toe Run

1st Level Glorietta 4, Makati City

2nd Level, TriNoma Mall, Quezon City

Adevents Manila

73 William Shaw Street, Caloocan City

Mobile (0918) 467-4206 / (0917) 392-8343

Being active again

2010-03-29T14:57:00.004+08:00

Went out to play badminton yesterday with the whole gang - SILs, MIL, hubs, and the newest member of the badminton team, Jared. It was a nice afternoon, not too sunny and a little windy. While we're on our way to the badminton court, Jared fell asleep in the car since he didn't take a nap that afternoon. So he was sleeping for almost an hour while we were all busy playing. Good thing we brought a stroller just in case he falls asleep, in that case, he did. He woke up while we're in our second set and he cheerfully cheered for us. :)

It was my first time to play with my 2 SILs and with our little one and MIL as the audience. After 2 sets of games, we went to the playground and let Jared play. We were all so hungry (no, starving) after and decided to head to the mall and have dinner.

Kids Earth Hour

2010-03-28T22:21:00.002+08:00

We went to Trinoma to attend the Kids Earth Hour 2010, an event which promotes both kids' being physically active and environmentally aware. It aims to promote fitness among kids without using any electronic things mainly by playing outdoors. You know kids these days, they spent most of their time on video games and computers which is not so healthy for them. I wish all kids would get to experience and learn the joy of playing outdoors.

Arrived at around five in the afternoon, just in time for registration. It was held at the 3rd level of Trinoma, wherein the venue was transformed into a giant playground. The kids enjoyed playing hopball, spider web, the giant trampoline, rocky mountain climbing, slide, earth walk and the velcroman.

Jared trying out the rocky mountain and slide

the spider web and the pool of balls

the nice lady teaching Jared how to play the hop ball

There was also a shadow play but we were not able to watch it since we had dinner at that time. Anyway, we went back immediately and when the lights were switched off, they distributed glow sticks for kids. Thanks to the major sponsor, Sustagen, who made this event really fun and enjoyable for kids as well as the parents too.

Again, let's all encourage our kids to unplug and play outdoors :)

Kids' Day Out

2010-03-22T11:40:00.000+08:00

This post was a bit overdue because of some internet connection problems that we had for less than a week. Anyway, I still wanted to blog about it because my little one really had fun on this event. We went to the Mall of Asia 2 weeks ago with my friends Nec, Mike and their daughter, Lily. It was Nec who invited us since they have extra tickets and we had it all for free! (super thanks Nec!)

It started at exactly 4pm but we were not able to come to the venue on time since we grabbed some snack before going there. Nec and her family were there on the first appearance of Dora so they got to take really good photos with the mascot.

while Jared had it with other kids at the event

I thought that Spongebob will be there too along with Dora and Boots but too bad Dora was the only one who showed up. I just learned from Nec that Spongebob was in The Block, SM North at that same date and time. Anyway, there were lots of activities and games for kids, freebies for everyone and my favorite of all was the photo booth - the coolest and super "in" thing for parties and other events.

The program lasted only for about more than two hours but we definitely had fun. :)

We went home after dinner which was already past 8 in the evening. And this was our last photo before leaving the mall. I wanted to have that big colorful globe in our background but the cab blocked in and it was just my hubby who took the photo so it came out not that good. Oh well, next time :)

Friday night with the girls

2010-03-14T13:30:00.002+08:00

Some photos from our post birthday celebration of my friend, Andy, with another good friend Janice. It was a dinner at TGIF and ice cream for dessert.. yum yum!

Super belated happy Birthday Andy! :)

Mommyhood

2010-03-10T15:53:00.001+08:00

My days have been a bit different than when we still have a yaya to help us with some chores and look after my little one while I am working. When Jared wakes up, I have to feed him milk and then after a little while he'll have his breakfast, bathe him, read a book and then let him play then I can have my time for work. Good thing I'm not working in a regular office that I can still work while looking after my son.

I am really enjoying it as I can personally take care of my little one. However, there are times that it gets a bit overwhelming. There are just times that I needed a break. So I really admire all the moms who have a handful of kids and they just seem to take it so easy.

Now I'm guilty of using the TV so that I can have free time. But I'm working on this, trying to lessen his tv time and suggest other activities like playtime together, art projects and reading.

He doesn't have much playmates in the neighborhood so he still doesn't know how to really socialize with kids. So we're planning to send him to school this coming school year. Unfortunately, schools won't accept him for nursery because he'll be only three this June and the required age should be 3.5 yrs. Finally, we decided to just enroll him in a toddler school wherein he can still learn and also gain friends.

Now that we still don't have a yaya and have some issues on getting a new one, I try to cherish and enjoy every moment. It was really fulfilling though sometimes overwhelming.. But it sure was all worth it.

Not sure if I'm still making sense here.. anyway, back to regular programming :)

Still alive

2010-03-01T12:00:00.004+08:00

Hello blogger world! I can't believe it's been two weeks since my last blog post. Been busy with lots of things and specially with the little one now that he has still no yaya. It's really hard to attend to a very active toddler. I always have to keep an eye on him while I work in the computer. He likes climbing into the windows and chairs and jumping while on the stairs. And when it's meal time, the real battle begins.. he really is super hard to feed. I'm just so thankful that in spite of him being a picky eater, he is a healthy and happy toddler.

Sharing some photos from our last two weeks..

the carousel addict.. taken at Waltermart in Gapan, Nueva Ecija

Free photo from Funlipix, one of the photo booths featured in the Ibarra's food tasting. It's really fun to be part of the planning of my sister's wedding

The little one feeding the goat.. photo taken in Batangas

Trying out one of his old costumes and somehow it still fits haha!

Date with my two valentines

2010-02-15T14:08:00.009+08:00

Weekends are always special for us since it's a time where we can spend quality time with the family. Last weekend was really special since it started a day earlier as I took the day off last Friday to go ice skating in Megamall with my two sweethearts :) When we arrived at our destination, a big surprise came to us - The SM Megamall Ice Skating Rink has already closed! yeah! It was already closed last August 2009 and we only knew about it just now. We're a bit saddened about it as we don't have anything to do aside from that so we just brought our little one to the kiddie rides..

and to the super fab ride, the walkalator which Jared enjoyed the most (and also the one I liked most because it's free! haha!)

Saturday was spent again with my 2 valentines in Trinoma to do our grocery shopping. While Sunday, the big day - valentine's day, Chinese New Year, and my MIL's birthday. We celebrated it at home with spaghetti and a mango graham cake made by MIL. Too bad, wasn't able to take photos..

All in all a good valentine's weekend!

Dinner at Kanin Club

2010-02-09T17:10:00.001+08:00

Our first time to dine at Kanin Club in UP-Ayala Land Techno Hub. I've been wanting to try this place before with their first branch in Paseo de Sta. Rosa in Laguna but never had the chance so when we heard that there was a branch at the Techno Hub, we wanted to try it at once.

Jared was asleep when we arrived at the restaurant. He was so deeply asleep so we just decided to wake him up when the food arrives.

Anyway, since it's Kanin Club, we had to try some of their flavored rices. We had their famous Sinangag na Sinigang rice and Aligue rice. They're both good but with the dishes we ordered, I think they are better paired with plain rice.

Crispy Liempo. Thinly sliced pork liempo and fried to crisp perfection

Hototai Soup. Has lots of veggies, meat and mushrooms.

Aligue Rice. Like this. Not for those with high cholesterol.

Seafood Karekare. This is my favorite, so flavorful and we really kept coming back for the peanut sauce.

Crispy Dinuguan. This is so so. It was like chicharon with the bloody sauce. Umpe's (hubby's grand aunt) dinuguan is way better than this :)

Sinangag na Sinigang. It's dry sinigang and taste like real sinigang, can be eaten as is because it has vegetables and 2 slices of pork liempo.

Sizzling squid but it was not sizzling hot when served to us.

Overall, I wasn't that impressed with the food. It was just OK. Good thing we had coffee afterwards to ease away the suya. Thanks to my sis Tin for the coffee treat :)

Our Saturday Adventure

2010-02-08T17:34:00.000+08:00

I've heard a lot of good reviews about this kiddie place in C-5 so H and I decided to bring our little one last Saturday. Our first stop was Ark Avilon Zoo. It was an indoor petting zoo wherein you can get the chance to touch or interact with some of the animals. Entrance fee is 300 pesos for adults and 200 for kids.

At the entrance of the zoo. It looks like the Noah's ark we see in books but I was not able to take a photo of it.

First, we checked out the animals in the cages. There was a pair of puma, tiger, sun bear and jaguar. Other animals were the Malayan Tapir, Silvery Gibbon, White Tiger. There were carps, tortoises, turtles, and different kinds of birds on the middle part of the first floor.

Then we proceeded on taking photos with the friendly birds.

A family picture with the newest member, the orangutan :)

At the bridge, where the alligators, arapaimas and flamingos are located.

On the way to the 2nd floor, you'll see an aquarium with eels, different fishes and a turtle.

The upper floor contains other reptiles, birds and domestic animals like sheep, goat, and horse. There is also a feeding station wherein you get to feed the animals personally but of course with a fee.

Jared and H tried feeding the hamsters and rabbits and the carrot was finished off in no time at all.

After Ark Avilon and lunch at Tiendesitas, we headed to the Fun Ranch to complete the little one's day out.

At the Fun Ranch Bridge

Went to Active Fun so the little one can play and maybe interact with other kids. There were tunnels, slides, balls and other toys to keep the kids occupied while parents can go shopping. In our case, H accompanied Jared inside while I check out other shops outside.

Entrance at active fun is 175 for kids and 125 for adults, both are hourly rates. Don't forget to bring socks, they're a must. But you can buy from them if don't have one.

After an hour at Active Fun we decided to call it a day so we headed to the parking area. But when we got into the car, the little one requested that we go back for a 2nd visit to the zoo so he can see the tiger again. And how can we say no to that? So we headed back. The good thing about going back.. we saw Kuya Kim of Matanglawin (ABS-CBN TV Program) at the zoo. I immediately asked him if we could take his picture with our little one and he gladly obliged :)

A Gastronomic Experience

2010-01-27T12:44:00.005+08:00

It was a Monday afternoon when hubby told me that we would be having dinner at the newly opened Tong Yang at SM Fairview. Since Tong Yang is in a buffet set-up, I decided not to eat snacks for that afternoon and reserve all that space inside my tummy (if there's still) for dinner. Oh and the best thing about it is that it will be a dinner treat by my SIL, Mei. (sweet!)

So I was a bit late when I reached the mall and they were already complete when I got there. I took the task of marketing - getting raw food and ingredients from the buffet table while hubby, the Iron chef for the night, took over the shabu shabu pot and the grill pan. Well, I think I ate everything that they offer - sea foods, meat, dim sum, noodles, ice cream and halo-halo. Now I need to run 10k for this :) And we were all having fun that our dinner ended till almost closing time.

On getting fit

2010-01-26T14:05:00.004+08:00

The main reason we got into running was to get in better shape or just be fit and healthy. But for this year, I noticed that most of the race organizers have increased the registration fee into almost twice the previous fees. So now, we will only choose the worthy races to join and maybe join as bandit runners (haha!) But good thing, we went back on playing our previous sport, the Badminton.

Badminton became the most popular sport in the Philippines for some time. Badminton courts have sprouted all over the metro and everyone got hold of their own rackets. But today, I think, running has overthrown the said sport. So many people got into running and joining marathons. And I think, because of that, those race organizers decided to increase their fees, talk about law of supply and demand..

Good thing, my friends Flory and Cel invited us to play badminton again. It was really fun and exhausting too. I hope we'll be doing this on a weekly basis :)

First run for 2010

2010-01-17T16:09:00.001+08:00

We were supposed to join the PSE Bull Run for this weekend but when I saw the registration fee of this "Go for green" run, I immediately convinced my running friends to just switch into this race. Good thing, they all agreed. Well for a hundred peso fee, they really must! haha!

We left home a bit late since Jared suddenly woke up when we're about to go and we had to make him go back to sleep before heading off. Luckily, we arrived at the venue when it was still dark and the race hasn't started. In fact, it started about 15 minutes later than scheduled. Their reason was they were waiting for the sun to shine (yeah right).

Anyway, Gibo arrived a few minutes after us and people went all over him like he was a celebrity. He was so cheerful to everyone and also to my hubby whom he greeted with a handshake hehe!

Back to the race, it started differently with a countdown and not a gunstart (maybe because of the gun ban haha!) My sister Tin was with us and it will be her first time. After 7 or 8 minutes in the race I saw her behind me and she suddenly tripped. She couldn't walk after but there was a good man (a runner too) who lifted her up and took her to the sidewalk area. He also asked for assistance to help us get to the start/finish line. Few minutes after, an ambulance arrived and picked us up. It's just odd that they did not clean Tin's wound or they thought it was too small for a treatment.. And when we were dropped off at the finish line, a free goto was waiting for us. We ate it while waiting for Cel and hubby.

It's sad that I was not able to finish my first run but good thing my sister wasn't that hurt and she's now okay.

the two finishers but weren't able to eat the free goto haha!

Thanks to my friend Cel for the photos :)

Play school

2010-01-11T13:57:00.002+08:00

It was Jared's first day at play school last weekend. We enrolled him to develop his social skills by interacting with classmates and teachers and also to give him the idea of how it is going to school. We chose the MSA play school in SM Fairview as it was the most accessible and the only one that has that play camp thing. Unfortunately, he has only 2 classmates and were both girls.

At first, he was so shy, really shy - he wasn't talking or even answering to his teacher's questions. But after a while he somehow got the hang of it, I saw him talking and playing with the 2 girls. We cannot hear them because we're outside the classroom but good thing the dividers are made up of glass so we can still watch them. Their activities were reading a book, doing some artwork, coloring, and learning the red color and the circle shape.

And while Jared was in his class, we sneaked out for a while to try the 6 minute video in 4D which was also located inside the mall. We chose the roller coaster video which was good and feels close to riding a roller coaster. Perfect for my hubby :)

Balikbayans

2010-01-05T15:17:00.006+08:00

2 of my friends who were both living in another country have come home for a holiday vacation here in PI. That's why Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year because it's when you get to meet a lot of friends and have a lot of parties.

So I met up with my friend Maan with her husband Rex along with another two high school friends. It was set in the early afternoon because Cel & Lorie have appointments at night. Anyway, we had a nice dinner at Shomal which serves Persian cuisine. I had the chelo beef kebab solo and it was good and the rice was super yummy. Didn't know that rice can be that tasty. And the best thing about it is it was free! Thanks Maan! :)

And another one night out with Chelle and the gang (first one for 2010!). Started with coffee while waiting for the two late comers (you know who you are! haha!) Then we had dinner at Cyma, Trinoma - a restaurant that serves greek food. I thought that we will just have dinner so H and I agreed to go home together after dinner. But everyone was bitin so we decided to go to Guilly's at Tomas Morato(with H). Too bad hubby and I had to leave early (yeah bummer) because we're leaving for Batangas at 4am the following day. But still I had lots of fun! fun! fun!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-04T14:04:00.003+08:00

I know this post is so overdue as I've been busy with lots of things. Anyway.. we (my family) spent the New Year's eve with my family (family I was born to) - my mom and 2 sisters. It had always been that way - Christmas with H's family and New Year with my family.

I spent a lot of time cooking for the New Year's dinner along with my sisters. We all enjoy cooking and trying out different recipes. Unfortunately, one dish turned out to be more on the salty side and another one got a little burned in the oven. Good thing, mom cooked also so we still enjoyed the New Year's menu :)

Jared was so active until midnight even if he just had an hour and a half of nap in the afternoon. It was like his first time to celebrate the New year since he slept before 12 midnight on last year's celebration.

A few minutes before the countdown, we all went outside of the house to watch our neighbor's fireworks. We did not buy our own fireworks because I think it was just a waste of money when we can watch for free :)

Now I'm thinking of my new goals for this year.

A short update

2009-12-28T11:22:00.005+08:00

We spent the Christmas holidays in Batangas with my hubby's family and relatives. They don't really celebrate Christmas the traditional way like having noche buena at midnight because December 25 is their town's fiesta in the province. And since they're celebrating the fiesta, there were lots of food. You can actually go to every house in their town and eat because most of the people there were H's relatives, talk about pigging out.

with his 2nd cousins

Jared with his great grand father (love this photo)

Yesterday, we went to Trinoma for some post-Christmas shopping and Jared's haircut and grocery shopping.

This is Santa after Chirstmas (parang pumayat siya.. overworked?)

serious mode while having his hair cut

driving the buggy

Star City

2009-12-21T16:44:00.005+08:00

Last Sunday, we visited Star City. Went there with H, Jared and my SIL, Manilyn. Arrived at three in the afternoon when it was not yet crowded and there were no long queues. It was my first time after so many years as we used to go there when we were still in grade school. I was surprised to see that all of the kiddie rides are indoors so rain or shine the kids can still have fun.

The rides we have tried were all kiddie rides mainly because we're with Jared. We only got to try one adult ride, the Star Flyer, an inverted roller coaster ride. A really cool experience.

There are a lot of attractions inside the carnival. Here are some places that we have tried.

We were all excited about Snow World so it was the first we tried. It was amazing - it's like experiencing real snow in the Philippines. Too bad we were not able to avail of a photo inside as we were in a hurry to exit because Jared is feeling really cold. We were not prepared for it, he should have worn pants and extra jacket. I hope next time we can try it again.

The Dino Island is the next place we visited. This was the one that Jared really liked as he is fond of dinosaurs.

We also visited the Peter Pan attraction wherein you will see the characters and their adventures. Good thing, the little one knew the story of Peter Pan so he can somehow relate with the place.

The Land of the Giants were about those little creatures becoming giants at this place.. nice :)

And we got to take a photo with Mr. Snowman :)

We enjoyed and had fun especially our little one. The place is really meant for kids so don't hesitate to bring your kiddos here specially this holiday season. :)

Happy Christmas week to everyone!

Feeling college naman

2009-12-21T16:15:00.003+08:00

Last week I met up with my best college friends at the Shangrila mall. It was supposed to be a celebration of Kitine's and Doann's birthday which were already months ago haha! It's because everyone was so busy we couldn't find a schedule that works for all of us. But thank God, it already happened :)

It was a dinner at Green Tomato at level 6 of shangrila mall, my first time to dine there. I ordered Rosemary, chicken & asparagus pasta but when I got to taste it, it was like I'm eating chicken tinola with pasta. We also had the mighty meaty pizza but it was just OK.

Anyway, I went home the happiest because I got to bring home lots of gifts from my generous girlfriends for me and for Jared :) (gift for my bday pa and xmas haha) And I was such a bad friend I haven't shopped for gifts yet.. Next time na lang ha :)

3rd year

2009-12-16T00:29:00.000+08:00

We're celebrating our 3rd year today!

To my dearest, sweetest, & handsomest husband of 3 years, Happy Anniversary!

I love you! =D

Mom's Bday

2009-12-14T21:55:00.000+08:00

Mom had 2 days of celebration for her birthday. The first one was when we had dinner in Trinoma and the second, a dinner at home a day after which was her actual birthday. One more year and she'll have a senior citizen card wahooo!

Happy happy birthday to my dearest , sweetest and most beloved mom in the whole world. May God bestow best of health and long life to you. I'll forever be thankful for having a mom like you. I love you! :)

while waiting for our food

"sarap ng chocolate mommy"

with Tita Tin

Lyn & mommy

Mighty Run

2009-12-14T11:10:00.002+08:00

My comeback run after almost 2 months! We arrived at UP a bit early because we still waited for a while before the race started. H wasn't able to come but good thing my sister Arlene was able to join us for the first time. She was fully geared up and ready to race (with me!). It started a little later than scheduled. 5k and 10k runners started at the same time. We all ran 5k except for Cel who did the 10k.

I was still slow and did not beat my PR (as usual!). Got to really practice.. but the best part of this race is the free super yummy lugaw! Mine has lots of meat (beef and chicken) and egg. There are also free drinks like sanmig coffee and Bacchus energy drink. Cel, who ran the 10k and finished the last among us (of course!) did not get any freebie. So after the race, we headed to the ever reliable Mcdo for another breakfast. And while at Mcdo, my mom texted us that we should drop by her house because she prepared sopas. And we did, so I ate a total of 3 breakfast meals in 3 hours! now I need to run 15k for that :)

Feeling highschool again

2009-12-12T22:17:00.000+08:00

It's because I met up with my high school best friends last week. Rachelle and Ann were back for a Christmas vacation so we were almost complete except for my friend Lynnette who's been living in France for years. The good news is she'll come home for a vacation on April. So excited for that one :)

We did the usual thing - dinner and coffee afterwards. It was such a great night. There were a lot of stories to tell and a lot of reminiscing about our high school days. We could have talk for more but it was already late and I have a makulit son who's been calling me that night. He said that mommy needs to go home NOW. :)

Since that night was not enough for us - we are planning another one after Christmas and I hope it pushes through.

Birthdays and Baptism

2009-12-07T14:31:00.006+08:00

My weekend was a bit jam-packed with activities with friends and family but minus the hubby. Unfortunately, he has lots of things to do so wasn't able to join us.

Met up with my 2 girlfriends for Janice's bday celebration.

Saturday was Ninong Ferdie's and his daughter Grace's bday celebration in a private resort in Pansol, Laguna. As usual, the one that enjoyed the most was my little Jared :)

Sunday was the baptism of my new God child, baby Ashley. Sorry for the photo as this was the only one I got (taken by my sis). After that we went to the mall for some Christmas shopping and got home late in the evening.

Oh and I watched Harapan the ABS-CBN Presidential Forum that night which got me so tired and sleepy today. But I still don't know who to vote for (Noynoy or Gordon?). Anyway, I'm not yet sure if I can really vote in the coming election.

Okay it's a Monday again and I wish everyone a great week ahead!

Hubby's day

2009-12-04T09:17:00.002+08:00

I didn't know that hubby would be home last night so I didn't really prepare for his bday. Good thing I had a backup plan.. I made a mango cheesecake! We celebrated it with MIL and Maneeh, my SIL, who came a little later. I think my FIL was also there to celebrate with us :)

candle blowing is a tough job

blow it baby one more time :)

Random thoughts

2009-12-01T19:27:00.002+08:00

Jared was so into coloring these past few days. He can sit for a long time with his crayons and papers only.
Last weekend, we went to Trinoma to accompany our mom in buying her gifts for friends and colleagues. The good thing about it, we also got to buy Christmas gifts for ourselves courtesy of our santa mom! :)
I so miss running.. I hope we can join the Mighty Run on Dec 13. It will be my first run in almost 2 months.
I've decided not to go for 10k yet. The last time I registered for 10k did not push through so I thought of it as a sign. (do you believe in signs? me, I'm not sure hehe!) I feel that I am so not ready for it and I have to check with my doctor first if I'm ok to run that distance as I was diagnosed with ischemia before. With a family history of heart problems, I think we should be a little cautious.
But I still want a Nike+ Sportband (the pink one!).. or any other watch that can measure my time and distance while running even if I would just run 5k each time.
Hubby is busy as a bee. He missed lots of our lakwatsa and will be missing few others too.. sad
I miss my friends and I hope to meet them soon.
We are supposed to enroll our little one in a play camp this month but I don't think it will still push through in this holiday season. I hope to do it by January.
Why do I catch a cold every night usually before bedtime? Is it an allergy?
I need to go to my Ob, dentist and cardio. But when?

Car wash boys

2009-11-23T15:19:00.003+08:00

Need I say more? :)

My father-in-law

2009-11-19T14:52:00.005+08:00

11 days ago, my father-in-law passed away at the age of 55. It happened so fast. Saturday night, he was brought to the hospital due to difficulty in breathing and severe sweating. The doctors confirmed that he had a heart attack. They did what they can and had to do but on Sunday morning, it happened. We lost a father.

taken when Jared was only 6 months old

I've only known him for a few years but I believe he was a great man. He was a loving husband to his wife. He was so generous with sweet words and never fails to remind his wife how important she is to him. And he loved his children so much and was always very close to them. He had raised my husband together with my MIL to be a good man and instilled in him the strength that I really admire and respect.

An exceedingly kind man. He was always good to me, beginning with our first meeting. He was a very supportive father-in-law and a loving grandfather. I'm sure my little one will really miss him - as they used to sing in the videoke together almost everyday.

"Thank you for loving and taking care of your and our family. You've done so much and come so far for us. We will tell Jared what a wonderful and funny man his grandfather was".

It's just really sad that he was taken from us too soon.

At long last

2009-11-04T10:05:00.001+08:00

We had Jared's 1st birthday album printed! This happened because of Digiprint's sale, we got the photo book at 50% off .. what a steal!

To avail of the photo book, you just give them all the photos you want to be included and they will make the layout for you but since I have already finished the layout years ago, (ok not that long) I just submitted those and had them print it.

front cover

back cover

Halloween and a party

2009-11-03T12:31:00.002+08:00

Spent the long weekend at the province with my family, the family I came from and my Tita. Left home on Saturday at around 9 in the morning.. thank heavens the strong winds have stopped (due to storm Santi) at that time so were able to travel safely.

(this tarp greeted us when we arrived, it was from our relatives.. sweet!)

My mom together with my aunts prepared a small party for my sis (the one which I've blogged about last time) which was held at the province so we can all celebrate together. My aunts prepared yummy dishes like caldereta & the veggie dish. They're really good in cooking. Kuya amang, my uncle, cooked the lechon which won the star of the night award as seen on the pic below. :)

We ended the night after playing with different halloween costumes. Jared wore a vampire bat costume and the pirate hat. The pirate hat was for hubby but the little one insisted on wearing it.. so there.. :)

10k here I come!

2009-10-28T09:18:00.003+08:00

Yeah! Crazy me will be running 10k on November 8 at the Philippine International Marathon. Didn't know what made me decide for it but hubby told me he'll run with me if I go for 10k so here I am! I would just be needing tons and tons of luck!

Got this from the Lopez site:

RUN for a worthy cause on Nov. 8 and get a glimpse of the state of the Pasig River in the Philippine International Marathon 2009: A Run for the Pasig River at the Quirino Grandstand.

The activity, organized by Kapit Bisig Para sa Ilog Pasig (KBPIP), will allow runners to get close to the river via a nontraditional route that will cross nine of the 13 bridges of the waterway; portions of the race will be run alongside the river itself.

A unique feature of this race is the 42K full marathon which can also be run by a relay team of 20 and 40 people per team. The relay will run the full length of the marathon route divided by 20 points. Each point will be assigned a prominent landmark or bridge along the route.

There are short distance categories of 3k-5k-10k. The age limit is 6 years old and above. The full marathon and its sub categories will be under the technical supervision of Race Director Rudy Biscocho and his team. Water stations will be situated every 2km from starting line to finish line.

Participation fee is P250. Pinoy Ultra Runners will conduct free running clinics for first-time runners.Registration forms are available online for marathon and relay or register at the following outlets: KBPIP office at 3/F ELJ Building, Mother Ignacia QC, ABS-CBN Foundation Inc. Head office, IZOD boutiques, Vanheusen Boutiques, Gold’s Gym, ROX Running Store, Second Wind, Race Inc. For more info, call
415-2272 loc. 3797 or email ilogpasig@abs-cbn.com .

North to South

2009-10-26T12:16:00.003+08:00

It was a very busy weekend for me and my family. We attended the baptism of my cousin's daughter last Saturday in Nueva Ecija. Woke up my little boy at 6am and gave him his first milk for the day. Since we were running late, we decided to have our breakfast in the car. Jared didn't want to eat anything at that time. He was so hard to feed and just ate very little for breakfast.

We arrived a few minutes late but we were actually just on time as the ceremony was just starting. I participated in the ceremony as I was a substitute for my cousin who was one of the sponsors but wasn't able to attend. Reception followed at their residence.

The little one didn't eat anything at the reception so we had to bring him to the nearest restaurant where there is soup. Yes, he cannot eat without soup. And after his lunch, he told us he wanted to ride the "horse" - the carousel and we let him accompanied by his papi (dad).

The following day, we went to Laguna to attend Cedie's birthday celebration at a hot spring resort in Pansol. This time Jared had his milk and breakfast before we got into the car so travelling was a breeze.

Once we got to the resort and the little one saw the pool, he immediately said that he would like to swim because he wants to use his baby float. He really loves water. I think he was a fish on his past life haha!

Oh and he had his first lollipop ( a light-up lollipop) that day. His Ninang Pauline gave it to him. Good thing he didn't finish off the whole lolly. It was too much sugar for him. He just ate it like an ice cream by licking it.

P.S. Thanks to ninang Pauline for the gift! Jared loves it!

Good job!

2009-10-20T11:34:00.002+08:00

Congratulations to my sister, Tin, for passing the CPA board exams! Libre mo naman kame!

Go back to start

2009-10-19T10:37:00.008+08:00

Joined the 1st Quezon City International Marathon yesterday. Hubby, SIL, and I ran the 5k category while my friend Cel ran her first 10k (way to go girl!). We left home at 4:15am but there was already slow traffic because of the rerouting. Good thing we found a good parking slot immediately.

The 5k route was so refreshing.. with the wide roads dedicated only for the runners, no hills and and almost straight path except for the one around the Quezon Memorial Circle. There were enough water and 100plus stations to keep runners hydrated. On the first water station, I decided to take a bottle of the 100plus drink so that I won't have to stop to another station again when I get thirsty but it turned out to be a wrong decision. Even if I have the drink with me, it added burden as I got an additional load to carry. I should have just dropped it somewhere but for some reason I didn't! my bad!

Everything was nice on this race except for my performance. I clocked in at 47 mins (unofficial) which was the same as my very first 5k! arghhh! Now I don’t know if I will run 10k on the next race or just stick to 5k till next year. Sigh..

29 months

2009-10-13T10:01:00.001+08:00

Jared is now 29 months old. I'm not sure if I'll continue these monthly updates for him. Blame it on my laziness, forgetfulness and I think there aren't many new things to update every month. So I'll just do a brief one here..

Statistics:
Weight - 14.7 kilos
Height - 96 cm

... His naptime has shorten these days from 3 hours to just an hour and a half
... He loves yoghurt so much! flavored ones..
... Loves eating ripe mangoes - his fave fruit
... He can now read the numbers 11-20 but he reads 15 as "five-teen" and 20 as "two-teen" hehe!
... Can walk down the stairs still holding on to the side railings with both hands
... When someone asks his name, he always says his full name

Playing with crayons

2009-10-06T10:12:00.004+08:00

I was busy working on something while Jared was doodling with his crayons and pens. After a while, I caught him doing this.. :)

Never fails to make me smile ;)

Let's help Ondoy victims

2009-09-29T09:53:00.002+08:00

Got this from the website of sagip kapamilya - the emergency humanitarian assistance program of ABS-CBN Foundation, Inc.

HOW TO DONATE
Sagip Kapamilya accepts donations in cash or in-kind.

For donations in kind, you can drop them off at:
# 13 Examiner St. West Triangle, Quezon City
Warehouse tel. no: +632-413-2667

For cash or cheque donations, you may go to:
ABS-CBN Foundation, Inc.
Mother Ignacia Avenue corner E. Lopez St. Brgy. South Triangle, QC
Office tel. no: +632-411-4995 or +632-415-2272 loc 3765

or deposit to:

BANCO DE ORO ABS-CBN Branch
Account Number: 5630020111
Account Name: ABS-CBN FOUNDATION INC.
Routing code: BNORPHMM
* For confirmation of donation, please fax (+632-411-0858) or email (sagip@abs-cbn.com) copy of transmittal slip with complete donor’s information.

Rotarun

2009-09-22T12:37:00.003+08:00

After almost 3 weeks of not joining races, we finally got to run again last Sunday. It was the Rotarun held at Mckinley Hill which was organized by the takbo.ph.

Arrived a little earlier but we were already greeted by a long line of cars entering the parking lot. Went there with hubby, Cel and Ivan (who all ran for 5k) and just met up with Sandra and the gang (who all ran for 10k) at the site. We thought it was still early so we just walked slowly on our way to the assembly area. Little did we know that 10k runners will already start and 5k runners will be off after a few minutes. So we were not yet at the assembly area when the gun fired off for the 5k runners and so we had to run to go to the area. Anyway, we were not the last of the pack so it was ok.

Since I've been running really slow compared to my other races before, I decided to bring a watch with me so I can check my time while running. I don't have a sports watch so I just borrowed my sons watch :) Just so there will be something to remind me with the time. I've been really wanting to have that Nike Sportsband but sorry to myself, "no budget talaga.." :(

During the race, I was fairly fast running the 1st 3k but when I reached the uphill part I got so tired I really had to walk. From that moment, I've been alternating walking and jogging. I couldn't even run straight for a minute! So there I reached the finishline at about 41 mins (unofficial).

Weekend's happiness

2009-09-15T15:20:00.001+08:00

... date with H on a Friday. Well, not exactly a date since we had to attend a seminar in Makati but still it was a nice day :)

... Wasn't able to run for 2 weeks already so we made sure we get registered for RotaRun race on Sept. 20 even if it took us time and a lot of effort just to get registered for that race. So excited for this one..

... watching H and Jared sleep with headsets pa! And when I checked what music made him sleep... Pokerface! haha!

... meeting our long lost relatives from my mom's side

... buttered garlic shrimps enjoyed by H and my family (family I came from) which was cooked by ahemm.. :)

... first ferris wheel ride (kiddie) with Jared

... Jollibee date with H & Jared. And when the little one found out I didn't order chickenjoy, he immediately asked me "Asan yung chicken mommy? Yung sinasawsaw sa gravy?" haha! now I know that chickenjoy is really his favorite.

New haircut and salon

2009-09-08T17:11:00.008+08:00

We really liked Cuts for tots, the salon where Jared had his previous haircuts, but we saw a new salon, the Cute Barber, at SM Fairview so we decided to give it a try. This salon had car chairs and TV sets too for each customer. It was like the Cuts for tots so I was confident that we will get same results too. Since it's a kiddie salon, I was expecting a razor for cutting the hair but they used a pointed pair of scissors which was not really safe for kids. I am not so sure if the cutter is trained to cut kids' hair since he kept on asking my son to look down so he can cut his hair on his nape. I think he didn't realize that he's just talking to a 2-yr-old. Good thing, hubby assisted him and Jared behaved well while having the haircut.

before the haircut

Another thing, he did not understand well what kind of haircut we wanted for Jared. And for a fee of 220 pesos, it was so not worth it. Okay, enough of this ranting, I just said to myself "It's okay, hair grows" :)

the after pic

1st book of mammals

2009-09-05T00:24:00.008+08:00

Jared loves all his animal books. Last night, when I tried to ask him about the mammals, I was so amazed that he almost knew all of them and can say their complete names too but of course with the 's' sounding as 't'. :)

After that I asked my sister Tin to ask Jared again so I could take this video and luckily Jared cooperated. In fact, he wouldn't want to stop reading that book after I took this video.

My blog's first bday

2009-09-03T10:45:00.003+08:00

It's been one year today since I created and made the first post on this blog! Thanks to everyone for reading and commenting over the past year. I love being a part of the blogging community and I'm looking forward to another year of writing and posting!

GMA run

2009-09-02T15:54:00.002+08:00

We joined the race organized by GMA last Sunday. They allowed the online registration and payment can be done on the actual race day. And since we are still going to pay for the registration fee we decided to come earlier that day. We arrived few minutes before the assembly time but took us a long time finding a parking slot. When we got at the venue, the program has already started and runners were already at the starting point.

We headed straight to the registration area to check for our names and luckily I got my kit right away but my friends' kits were not there. They said they cannot find it. We suspected that someone had already claimed it because of the so disorganized distribution of those kits. But because of my persistent friend Cel, she has convinced the nice girl from the registration to just give us the blank or no-name kits so we can all join and she did!

Paolo Bediones and Suzi Entrata-Abrera were there to host the program. 5k and 10 runners were off at the same time which resulted to a very crowded route that you couldn't even run. Thanks to that, hubby decided to just run with me all throughout the course :)

I wasn't able to check our time when we finished. I knew we were really slow because all our friends were already there when we reached the finish line. But it's ok and I really enjoyed it. There were lots of free food like nuggets, lugaw king, zagu and a finisher shirt too. And of course, we had a post-run breakfast at Mcdo :)

Next run will be on Saturday at the same venue, the mommy milkshake run. We're planning to bring Jared with us and this will be his first race. I really hope we could come. See you there! :)

Apat na kami!

2009-09-01T13:45:00.004+08:00

Hung out with my 3 girlfriends last week. It's the first time for the longest time that we had this get-together with Andy. Andy and I had dinner first while waiting for Cel & Sands who were both trapped in traffic then.

When the two arrived, we headed to Gilligans to have some food (again) and drinks. It was a night of catching up, chattering and non-stop picture taking. Really really enjoyed it! We're planning to do this every month. So happy to be blessed with such wonderful friends. I hope Ann can join us next time :)

P.S. I noticed that my friends have been changing nick names.. like Sandy from Sandra & Andy from Andrea. Cel, I think we should come up with a new nickname soon hehe!

Hataw Pilipinas

2009-08-18T13:59:00.003+08:00

This is a long overdue post. Been too lazy to blog these past few days so...

We weren't really planning to run that Sunday (Aug. 9) since we were not registered on any race. Good thing, Cel tried to contact the organizer of the Hataw Pilipinas run and asked if they accept onsite registration. The contact person replied immediately so we went off the following morning.

There were not too many participants and I noticed that most of them registered onsite since they have a disorganized registration then. There were 3k, 5k and 10k categories. The 10k runners were the first off but due to the poor megaphone that the speaker used, not all 10k runners started at the same time.

The race route was very redundant. It was all about running around the UP oval until you reached your target distance. And when I reached the finish line, there was no one keeping track of the official timing of the finishers. And I don't think they even care to check if you have finished the route or not. Good thing, there were a lot of freebies after the race but still the distribution of the singlets and other stuff were so disorganized.

Anyway, the best part of it was our post-run breakfast courtesy of Cel (super thanks!). It was a post-celebration of her birthday. Happy happy birthday Cel!

FYI: We are just doing the Villar sign and does not mean that we are Villar's fans ;)

Zoo day

2009-08-18T13:45:00.001+08:00

We went to Manila Zoo last Saturday with my friend Nec and her family. We were supposed to meet at 2:30 in the afternoon but for some reasons we were late by an hour.

Manila Zoo opened in 1959 and is the oldest zoo in the Philippines. And because of that the place really looks old. For me, it was not well maintained and very outdated. The animals seem bored and lonely. Mali, the only elephant in the zoo is a good example. He is housed alone in a concrete pen. The monkeys are all in really small cages which cannot compare to their natural habitat. I hope they get added support and assistance from the government so they can improve the lives of all the animals there.

In spite of all those things I mentioned above, the kids Lily and Jared enjoyed their visit to the zoo. Jared was amazed to see the animals live which he only sees in books and in video. He kept on asking to go back to the tiger and elephant when we were already done visiting them. Oh and he asked us to find the place of the polar bear in the zoo.. haha!

We were not able to go to the Kinder Zoo or the petting zoo wherein you can interact with the all the tamed animals. Maybe next time..

Entrance fee is 40 pesos for adults and 20 pesos for children while Kinderzoo has a separate entrance fee of 40 pesos per head.

27 months

2009-08-12T09:23:00.004+08:00

Updates

...Knows the colors yellow, green, white, blue, red, violet, pink & black

...Can count to 20 in English

...Can sing Row, row, row your boat, Little sunny water. Likes to sing in the "videoke" too.

...Likes doodling and coloring. He can now draw a circle :)

...Still not big on brushing his teeth. I'm always having a hard time convincing him to open his mouth so I can brush his teeth.

...Loves watching Yo Gabba Gabba, Dora the Explorer & Go Diego Go! And because of that, he says "Ariba", "Abajo" and can now count to five in Spanish. haha!

...Can take off his own clothes (bottoms only) & shoes too.

...Naptimes are a tad more difficult nowadays. So I resorted to putting him in the stroller or on a rocking chair just to get him to sleep (sigh)

...Still won't chew rice meals.. arggh! the only 2-yr-old that can't chew rice. His faves now are taho, stik-o, mallows, chips, fried lumpia wrapper.. anything crispy. I made him cheese sticks yesterday as I thought he'd like it because it's crunchy and he did, but he only ate the wrapper and disregarded the cheese inside. Talk about healthy eating!

Alright, that's all that I can recall right now ;) Thanks for reading! :)

Takbo sa Ateneo

2009-08-04T09:46:00.006+08:00

We joined the "Kaya natin! Takbo para sa pagbabago" held at Ateneo last Sunday. We chose this race over the one in Roxas blvd because it was more accessible from our place, rate is super affordable (80 pesos only), and I also want to experience running inside the Ateneo campus.

We have not registered yet so we decided to just register on site. Being so unprepared, we didn't even know where the assembly area is so we spent a longer time roaming around the campus. I think we spent 30 minutes looking for the venue.. sigh.. Later did we know that it was at the gym, thanks to the last guard we've asked.

There was already a long queue when we reached the gym. Instead of the usual race bibs, we got a yellow ribbon with the race number written on it as a tribute to President Cory Aquino. There were a lot of speakers before the race was started, mostly politicians. Gov. Ed Panlilio of Pampanga was also there to lead the prayer. After it, all the 3k and 5k runners were off.

The route was very scenic because of all the trees around. There were also some hilly parts just like in UP. There were a lot of water stations and I was tempted to drink from all of it which made me feel really heavy and made it hard for me to run. I really didn't like my pace on this run. I think I walked half of the time. Hubby and Cel were complaining that they waited so long for me haha! When I reached the finish line, nobody got my number. And so there were really no results and the race numbers were just for show. It was a nice experience though I was a bit disappointed with the results thing.

Anyway, we went to UP for our post-run breakfast. This time it was not Mcdo but we all wished that we had eaten at Mcdo. Went to the Museum Cafe at Roxas Avenue in UP. We found out about that place because we got their flyer during our last run in UP.

Sweethearts

2009-07-31T17:52:00.003+08:00

hahaha! ;)

Run for home

2009-07-21T16:52:00.002+08:00

Even if we slept late the night before the race, we woke up at 3:30 am for that big race. As usual, we had pandesal from a nearby bakeshop but didn't like their pandesal at that time so I decided to just grab some breakfast at the site.

Good thing, we arrived early at around 5am and there were a lot of food stalls so I was able to have taho and siomai. Bad thing is I ate just a few minutes before gun start so I felt like I'm about to throw up at the last km.. never would I do that again!

Anyway, this race was the most organized among all the races that I have joined. It started on time and made use of the chip technology. I really liked the timing chip, our race bibs don't need to be checked by marshals and we don't have to use the km markers (the one which is usually made of straw). It would just be better if they had posted the results on that same day.

Weekend recap

2009-07-20T15:00:00.006+08:00

What a busy weekend! Attended a wedding on Saturday morning with H's family together with our little one. This was his first time to attend a wedding. Though I know that kids are not that ok to attend this kind of gathering, MIL told us that it's ok because it's a wedding of a close relative.

My SIL and BIL were both part of the entourage so I made myself the unofficial photographer. Too bad, SIL wasn't able to bring her SLR camera so I had to make do with my good ol' point and shoot cam.

The ceremony was held at the church inside Camp Aguinaldo (I forgot the exact church's name) and reception followed at New Horizon Hotel. Here are some snapshots..

And in the afternoon we attended a house blessing of one of H's relatives. There we met a pretty little girl named Sarah and their pet dog, Cuba. Jared was a bit shy at first but after a little while he started to be so active and he played the whole time with his new friends.

The following day, we went to the fort to join the Globe Run for Home race. OK, I will make a separate post for this..

Then in the afternoon, we met up with my Auntie Nancy with her daughter Eline who are currently in vacation here in the Phils. Btw, they live in France. My other tita also joined us with my cousin, Ate Ging and her hubby and 2 kids. Yes, we're a big family! In fact, we had the longest table on our dinner at the resto.

The only photo I took that night. We are not yet complete here. My sister Lyn & her bf Jops & Ate Ging's hubby were not in the photo as they have not yet arrived. Tita Elena & Keenan did not join because the little boy was having little tantrums.

Thanks for reading! have a great week ahead! :)

26 months

2009-07-14T16:52:00.002+08:00

The little one turned 26 months and here are some updates :)

...He can now recite "Angel of God" prayer but not all words are clear yet.

...He knows more colors like yellow, green, white, blue, red..

...He likes to ask questions and answer himself. For example, while holding a blue toy, he'll ask "What colour dit it (is this)?" and answer himself, "Blue!"

...He also likes to ask us questions and will commend us for answering correctly. Like this,
Jared: "Mami, anong shape ito?"
Me: "Square"
Jared: "Very good!"

...When he sees me on the computer, he likes to play "googling images". He would always say "mami, hanap ng kangaroo" and I would go to google images and search for those animals and things..

...He knows how to make drama na. He would make himself cry and then check slowly if you're looking at him! haha!

...He can walk up the stairs by placing both feet on a step and his both hands on the next step. He can't do the foot 1 at step 1 and foot 2 at step 2 yet..

Tik-Takbo

2009-07-13T10:01:00.002+08:00

We arrived so early at the race venue at around 4:30. This was our earliest arrival in all the races we've joined. Blame it on our misunderstanding about the exact start time. The good thing is that Cel & I had more time for chitchats and H found his college classmate to chat with.

There were only three of us (Cel, H & me) who joined this race because Sandra and her cousins joined a different race on that same day, the Fit & Fun run at The Fort. I noticed that there were few participants in this race compared to the previous races we've joined. So I assumed that a lot of runners joined that other race.

There were three categories - 18K, 6K and 2K for kids. The 18K runners were the first off. We 6k runners got off a few minutes later. Yes, we joined the 6k category, no choice as there is no 5k category. Anyway, it was a challenge for me. The race started a few minutes late than scheduled maybe because of the weather but good thing the skies were clear when it officially started.

This race was very challenging because of the category being my first 6k and the course having a lot of transitions from hills to flats. So when I started to feel tired, I decided to just walk on the uphill part and run on downhills which was easier for me. I also tried to lessen my rest time or walk time as I really want to improve my PR. Luckily I clocked in at 46:33 (unofficial) which I was so proud of :) That was almost the same time I finished the 5k category at the PTAA run. Improving diba!

After the race, we went to a nearby sari-sari store/lugawan for our breakfast. So happy that we didn't have to go to mcdo again hehe!

Good to tee

2009-07-08T18:58:00.003+08:00

10 signs you're getting old

2009-07-07T17:01:00.005+08:00

1. Your friends' status in facebook/friendster have gone from 'single' to 'married', some even uploading even their babies pictures. And your baby's photo is always on your primary photo.

2. The clothes you've put away until they come back in style... have come back in style.

3. You meet your friends from time to time, talking about the good old days, repeating again and again all funny stories you have experienced together.

4. Your idea of a night out is now the dinner-and-coffee kind.

5. Your friends are married. (and having children!)

6. You are always surprised to see small children playing comfortably with computers.

7. You rely more on your cell phone’s reminder feature than your good old memory.

8. You can relate to the series Desperate Housewives more than the Gossip Girl.

9. You know more of those nursery rhymes than the current songs playing on the radio.

10. You cannot see your feet when you are standing... haha!!

And you know you're old when you read this post, and start thinking how true all of this is... ;p

OK, these are all me :)

Milo Marathon

2009-07-06T14:24:00.004+08:00

We joined the 5k fun run of the 33rd National Milo Marathon. Since the run will be held at the Quirino Grandstand which is so far from our place, we decided to leave 2 hours before the run time. Luckily, we arrived a bit early at around 5am and then parked along Kalaw ave. After a little while, Nec & Mike, our Milo running mates arrived.

the love birds

It was my first time to join such a big race, or the biggest race in the country I should say. There were a lot of runners including students from various schools and universities. And being the biggest race, most of the participants walked on the first few minutes after the gun start because of the too large crowd.

hubby and me, donning the XL milo shirt (nice! haha!)

At first, hubby & I planned that we will be running together, meaning he has to slow down and run with my pace. But after reaching 1.5k, I started to feel tired and was already catching my breath so I have to pause and walk for a while. From that time, I had to alternate running and walking so I told H to just go ahead as he seemed bored with my pace. He agreed and he told me that he'll just wait for me at the finish line. After almost an hour, (or so I thought) I reached the finish line and got a certificate. I didn't find H there so I decided to just avail some of the freebies like the Nestle water and the cold milo first. 30 minutes have gone, and I still couldn't find H, Nec and Mike. I've already tried different strategies to be able to find them but still no luck so I decided to go to the parking area and just wait there. Luckily after a few minutes, H arrived, what a relief!

Anyhoo it was still fun albeit the super crowded race, the scorching heat of the sun, and the endless time I spent alone looking for my H and friends.

We had our post-run breakfast again at Mcdo, but this time it was with our married friends. Will I join again next year? I think so.. but probably it would be the 10k category na (yabang noh!)

Friends

2009-07-02T15:02:00.004+08:00

I had a great night out with my girlfriends last week. First, with my bestest college friends which also happened to be "May and My" birthday celebration. We met up at G5 and had dinner in Dulcinea. We had the chicken salad pasta, pesto, steak ala pobre, calamares, gambas al ajillo. The servings were pretty small and taste is just ok. Anyway, we had the usual chattering the whole time. And we ended the meal with a banana crepe which had become a topic for laughs. Oh, doann and kitine forgot to bring the gifts for the bday girls so we had to meet up again soon ;)

Then a day after, I met up with my childhood friends. We were neighbors back then. We met up at a nearby mall and had dinner at Shakeys and coffee afterwards (both chosen by Andy). And as usual, we had non-stop chitchatting and picture taking. Janice is such a picture addict hehe! (and so am I) We had a whole lot of fun! Until the next one!

The Bikers

2009-06-29T16:31:00.003+08:00

We just bought a bike for the little one last Sunday so we were all eager to try it on outside the house. Good thing, Sid, a 3-yr-old boy in the neighborhood went out to play with Jared. They both have bikes and Sid already knows how to pedal while Jared still has to be guided.

After some biking time, little Sid got tired of it and invited Jared over in their house to play basketball. And when they both got tired of playing ball, Sid asked Jared to come inside so they can watch DVD. We enjoyed watching them play. Sid speaks not so clear yet so we have to interpret what he said to Jared but still they enjoyed each other's company. Looking forward to their next play date. :)

GIG Run

2009-06-29T15:04:00.002+08:00

It's 5k again at UP and this time we were not late. We still had time for stretching (though we did not) and sightseeing (of celebrities). We decided to stay at the front side this time with all the fast runners. About a minute in the race, I was starting to feel tired. It's really frustrating that after about two minutes, I started walking. My friends advised me not to walk while in the race and that it's better to run slow than just walk, but I could not do it. So I alternated walking and running but it's more of the walking. I was not able to check my time at the finishline but I think it's about an hour argggh!

But after the run, we were greeted by lots of freebies. We got chips from E-aji, sparkling water, and breakfast meal from monterey. Nice and generous sponsors. I was already full even before we had the real breakfast at.... tadah! Mcdo again hehe!

And another thing, we were able to take a picture with one celebrity, JC of Unang Hirit, not sure of his surname though..

My 25th Bday

2009-06-22T15:53:00.011+08:00

I celebrated my birthday last weekend with my family (H's and my side). Okay, it's not my 25th, I just want to feel like 25 again haha!

I just want to thank everyone who made my bday a blast! My sincere thanks to MIL and umpe for preparing the special carbonara and chicken, to my mom for the cake and the shoes (got it in advance), to my sis for the pretty dress you gave me (can't wait to wear it!), to my hubby for taking time to prepare food on my birthday, oops.. for ordering takeout pala.. and to my little one for singing "happy birthday" to mummy. Thanks to my wonderful friends who greeted me, to my Tita Elen for the cake (this came a day after, sort of another celebration) OK, I'm sounding like a celebrity here so I'll just leave you with some photos :)

PTAA Charity Run

2009-06-15T17:55:00.002+08:00

The husband and I left the house at 5am, went to fetch Cel and then headed straight to UP. Since I ate a lot the night before because of all the parties we attended, I just had pandesal to fuel myself for my first 5k run.

We arrived a bit late as we spent quite some time looking for our parking slot. Good thing, the race did not start exactly on time. The 10k runners were still there when we arrived but after a few minutes we were then off.

Most parts of the roads are hilly so I had a harder time. I decided to run an easy pace to conserve my strength and then sprint on the last part. But after a little while, I was already exhausted. So what I did was run for a while and then walk a lot because of exhaustion. I didn't know that I had to inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth. I was breathing all the way through my mouth only. I really didn't like my performance in this race. My clock in was 47 minutes and 27 seconds. I finished last among my friends and I really need to practice.

After the race, we went to get our finisher shirts which I did not liked much. Anyway, the raffle draw prizes were great. In fact, Cel won a hotel accommodation in bora for 3D/2N. Lucky girl!

We had our post-race meal at McDonalds again. I hope on our next race that we will eat somewhere that's not Mcdo (haha!)

Until the next run!