The one with the suppliers' ratings

Francesca Simone's First Birthday – Suppliers Ratings

Venue: Blue Wave Mall Activity Hall, Marikina City

Price: Waived – accredited caterer

Rating: 9

When we attended a party at the same venue two months before, I initially loved the swags and the space of the venue. I love the lighting and how it can accommodate as many as 200 guests. Well, we're only set to have 100 guests plus kids but it's always nice to have space. :) So when I learned that the venue rental fee can be waived if you get an accredited caterer, it excited me and we decided to book the venue.

I give them a 9 since the floor was a little dirty. Well, there was an event before us but it could have been better if the floor was cleaner. haha.

Caterer: Super Bowl

Price: Customized pricing c/o AE Daniel

Rating: 9

We love Super Bowl and when we learned that they do catering, we immediately got them. I found it weird at first since I was used to them being a restaurant and always having to wait in line just to have lunch at their megamall branch. Now we can have them cater our event. They have the usual buffet set-up. Included in the package are balloon set-up (pillars and table centerpieces), tarpaulin which i did'nt get anymore. I love their AE Daniel. He's kinda more on the feminine side and was easy to get along with. He granted all my requests and even advised me not to get drinks from them and just asked us to buy powdered iced tea pack so we'll have bottomless drinks for everyone...at no extra cost. They did'nt charge us with corkage fees for our lechon and dessert buffet. He's very accommodating and since we love their food, we know that the guests will enjoy it as well.

The only concern that I have is that not all guest tables had centerpieces. Well, I did'nt clear how many centerpieces are included in the package but i thought all the tables will have centerpieces. Had I known, I could have just ordered from Jhoanne. haha.

Venue Balloon decor: Jhoanne Paris Henson

Package: mini-arch and 6 chandelier balloons, P3,000

Rating: Perfect 10!

As always, mahal ng mga n@wies si Jhoanne and it's a good thing that i got to work with her before when i had my event sa office. anyway, nahihiya na nga lang ako kasi minimal lang budget namin for decors. My husband is the typical chinese so i don't have to explain how higpit he is and i'm the typical kuripot in every sense so i also don't have to explain. haha. i know nahirapan din sya sa amin. I did some DIYs for the decors and she was kind enough to help me with the set-up and with the program, giving away prizes, lootbags and other concerns regarding the program. She was also very considerate of my “budget” concern. haha. she adjusted with my budget but the place still ended great. parang mukhang maraming balloons sabi ng MIL ko. she even asked, “ganito ba dapat karaming balloons?” haha. and i said to myself, “if only you have seen other parties!”

She was also an instant friend, comforting me nung nagpapanic nako coz they can't start with the décors because the electricity short-circuited and some guests are arriving already. waaah! It was fun having her whole family helped us all throughout, as in her mom with the registration and guestbook signing, her brother and husband with the set-up and her little daughter who is so adorable. :)

Thanks so much Jhoanne, the party was very organized. Your presence was very much appreciated.

Cake: Sugarbox c/o Emily Uy

100 pcs. Cupcakes with disney character topper, castle topper mock-up, and 2-layer fondant crown cake for blowing of cake

Price: Undisclosed

Rating: Perfect 10

Well, she did our wedding cake and naka-kontrata na yun that she will do all special cakes in our families. haha. what can i say, super galing ng ginawa nyang cupakes. as in, i was so surprised when i entered the venue and saw that the cupcakes are placed in a very high-towering stand...and umiikot yung stand. hahaha. nagulat talaga ako and i immediately told simon, “beh, wala nito sa wedding natin ha?! hahaha”

emily is easy to work with kasi and she has become a close friend already, just like with our other wedding suppliers. i just told her that i wanted as many disney characters as possible, and i want them to be colorful. the guests love the cupcakes, super yummy daw! some got 2 cupcakes pa. hehe.

you will never go wrong with her. she's very flexible sa budget mo. hehe. :)

Photographer: Ging Lorenzo

Labor only package

Rating: 10

I really waited for her pictures before i post my ratings. All our families love her shots! I know medyo nahirapan din sya sa amin coz simone was a little cranky nga that day coz of her two new teeth and sipon but she was still able to get very nice smiling pictures of simone. katuwa! i also love her candid shots ng mga kids and the details ng party. blessing in disguise na rin that the first photographer i booked backed out. hehe.

Concern ko lang which is fault ko rin is i forgot to tell her that we wanted family pictures, my family and simon's. wala kami pics ng famiy namin except for the table hopping but it was still good, fault ko naman coz i forgot to tell her. :)

the "sit properly" command. cuteness!

Party Host: Wacky thru Jhoanne

Price: 6,500.00

Rating: 10

Everyone loved Wacky! Adults and kids, they adored him. and totoo nga, he's very fluent in english kaya okay. (and so i thought the kids won't follow his english, iwas found wrong) haha. guests, even days after the party are still texting me how much fun they had kasi ang galing daw ng host. the magic is the kiddie type pero masaya pa rin. i love his games. simple lang pero ewan ko, ang galing nya magpa-game. parang lahat all eyes on him pag nagpapa-game and it's as if everyone wanted to join. :) yun nga lang, magugulat ka after the party, punk pala sya. haha. as in parang si Mr. T. hehe, ok sa comparison e. thanks jhoanne for the reco. :)

they are so happy with wacky! everyone wanted the bunny! hehe

Lootbags and prizes: Diviland

Rating: 10

I alloted one day for this and mahirap man buhatin at pagkasyahin lahat, i had fun shopping for disney items. it's not hard at all since maraming nagkalat na disney sa divisoria. i thought the variety of the disney characters would make it look “magulo”, hindi naman pala. cute tingnan na may pooh, mickey and princesses. :) and ang mura lang talaga ha...grabe! and ang saya pala when kids line up and we will hand over their lootbag after they greet simone. hehehe. ang cute! tuwa naman yung kids sa bags and yung natira, hiningi pa ng mga adult guests namin. haha.

Dessert buffet: courtesy of my SIL Jane Tan

Cream Puffs, Eclair, Food for the gods, brownies (about 250 pcs. ata)

Rating: Perfect 10

Promise, super enjoy mga guests with the dessert buffet/bar. I don't know how to call it pero madami talaga sya. she filled one big round table with desserts. ang ganda ng set-up nya, simple pero appetizing! some guests even had their pictures taken beside the desert bar. haha.

so if you want to order, you can PM me also. hehehe.

Party costume: courtesy of Mom in law

Snow White costume, shoes and headband from SM

Rating: Perfect 10

Super proud ako sa costume ni simone. as in! hats off to my mom in law. super galing at gayang-gaya nya yung costume na pinahiram sa akin ni velvet (btw, thanks sis, super!) she sew the costume overnight and I just added the flowers sa gown for kakikayan effect. haha. and super comfortable ng costume that simone wore it th whole time. as in from start til matapos ang party ng gabi na. we just changed her para lang magamit yung isang dress. haha. malambot kasi ang lining and cotton pa so hindi sya nahirapan (simone) and pati yung cape ang cute tingnan. snow white talaga! hahaha.

"syempre ang pamangkin ko ang escort, sya daw si aladdin! cuteness!"

i found the shoes sa SM lang, pero ang cute tingnan kasi gold. panalo! again, thanks to velvet for lending us the costumes para gayahan. :)

Guestbook layout: Jacq ni Bong and Mec ni Jojo

Rating: Perfect 10!

Guestbook printing: DPI

Rating: 10

Super love the guestbook layout na ginawa ni jacq ni bong. sis, i owe you big time! thanks again! as in ang ganda ng pagka-layout by month. i know na-pressure sya sa ken pero she was still able to make great layouts! love the colors na ginamit nya! thanks again sis.

and of course, mec ni jojo for making the two last layouts despite the rush. haha.sorry at na-harass ko ata si mec pero she made the two other layouts ng wala pang 3 hours ata. hehe. di ko na kasi hinarass si jacq coz super kahiya na. hahaha. thanks again mec, muah!

About DPI naman, i forgot our n@wie sister who recommended this, big thank you talaga! i love the result. super ganda ng print and the prices naman are reasonable. nakakailang lang when i went there coz talagang mga professional photogs ang pumupunta dun while im just a mere mortal having a trouble choosing between glossy and matte paper. haha. super recommended po for your printing needs. they made the cover na syntra board para makapal ng konti tapos the rest silk paper na. ganda. :)

Pinatas: gift c/o SIL mercy

we had three pinatas, pooh, minnie and ariel. and di ko napansin na ang dami pala naming candies kasi hindi makalabas when we pulled it. pero mas naging fun and spontaneous when wacky stood in the middle, standing on a chair and literally tinataktak yung pinatas para makalabas yung candies. and even the adults, nakikipag unahan samga candies. haha.

Lechon: c/o Dad in law

Kwento ko lang tong mini blessing namin, they ordered for a small lechon pero nagkamali ng deliver and ang laki ng lechon na dumating pero di na pinabayad sa amin yung difference na 1k. haha. galing! dami pa natira kasi malaki nga and we had paksiw ata for like a week. grabe!

Invitation: Printed Matter

Price: 25 pesos for square invite plus 1k for layout fee

Rating:4 super disappointed

Hay, they did our wedding invites and to our dismay, nalungkot talaga ako sa stress na inabot ko sa party invites nya. i asked them to make a new design for simone's invites and na-execute naman nila ng maganda. ang kainis lang is that i paid for additional amount for the rush process and sabi nila i can pick it up on friday so i can distribute the invites that weekend. when i went there, nagulat pa yung artist dun who i deal with and ang bungad pa sa ken e bat daw hindi muna ako tumawag. sabi ko “why would i call to confirm. i left my number with you to text or inform me if i won't be able to get the invites”. i even emailed to approve the layout nila para lang mapa-go na yung production tapos sasabihin sa ken that i have to sign it pa daw. e para que pa na nag email sya ng layout ang i approved it kung pipirma pa rin pala ako at pupunta sa ofc nila. was really disappointed kasi di naman biro pumunta ng manila from taytay and that time sinadya ko talaga yun with no other appointments that day just so i can distrbute the invites that weekend. when i asked when ko makukuha yung invites, sabi bigla tuesday pa daw, that's a week after ko magpagawa sa kanila. sabi ko, i paid for additional para sa rush production, hindi na rush ang tuesday. nagtimpi lang talaga ako and then bigla sabi “cge, bukas pwede mo na kunin” so kung hindi pa pala ako magagalit, hindi nila mamadaliin?

i'm sorry pero i loved them when we were dealing with kerwin and phoebe personally nung wedding preps namin pero now that their business has grown so much, parang nawala yung customer intimacy. I never heard a single “pasensya na” or “sorry” from that artist although im sure she has her own reasons. naisip ko rin lang na hindi naman porque bday invites lang ang pinagawa ko e i'll be put last, wag naman sana ganun.

that night, i sent a YM to kerwin and we chat for about 30 minutes about it. ok na naman nung nasabi ko na sa kanya. oh well, ganun talaga. di ko lang inexpect that sila pa ang magbibigay sa ken ng stress. hehe.

i give them a 4 naman kasi maganda naman yung kinalabasan ng invites. :)

DIY Projects: Simone's chair, table cards, photo confettis, Simoneland letters

Rating: perfect 10! lol

Of course, may DIY! hehehe. can't live without these. the chair was never sat on that day, haha. kasi simone was clingy so ayaw pababa, unusual huh? the table numbers correspond to simone's month age. so if table 1, may nakalagay sa other side ng table card na milestones nya nung one month sya which i recorded religiously. hehe. then, the photo confettis which were just print outs are grouped according to the month age nya and nakakalat sa table. hehehe, wedding?!

yung Simoneland letters naman, styro lang and glitters. di ko alam what to do with it so i just asked jhoanne to put it up somewhere. hehe. yun nga lang when i saw her the first time, puros red glitters face nya. sorry sis! although naisip ko ngayon lang, sana pala nag woodworks ako. hehe.

I think that's about it. Super thank you for those who read until this part. hehe. in general, preparing for your child's birthday is not as taxing as preparing for your wedding, but it sure is as exciting. And truly, God is so good that He provided for all of these, we could’nt ask for more. :)

For more pictures, click here: http://good-times.webshots.com/album/562768955mLFNQj

Jacque & Simon

Dec. 22, 2005

Francesca Simone

Feb. 21, 2007

The one with family get away

I was and I think still sad about the cancellation of our bangkok trip. I mean, it's not the luxury vacations that celebrities prepare for but it was something that I was really looking forward to. oh well, looking at it on a more positive side, at least we had more budget to spend for simone's party and now, we can also spend some for our family get away on april 26. The Tan family usually hold their outings every summer and it usually falls right after simon's birthday, april 30. (holiday the following day) So when we went to a private resort in antipolo for an ocular, we instantly loved it and decided to book the date for our outing.

Our best friends are also planning an outing in Subic this March. I hope we'll be able to push thru with that as well since this is the first time that we'll go out with Naan and Jason as a married couple already. haha.

I'm so excited, I hope Simone and I can wear our bathing suits. haha.

The one with one proud wife

Oh yes, I'am one proud wife, very proud actually! well, i would'nt go into details about it but I'm sure to blog it once it's launched already. Hey, it's not album alright, but I'm just so proud of Simon!!! I love you beh and I know you can do it!

Please watch out for it as it will be launched on SOP on Easter Sunday! Proud to be Kapuso! Summer na!!!

The one with the playroom

Last week, we had a good accomplishment. We transformed the other room to simone's playroom! We were so excited that we bought rubber mats and collected all her toys in that room. I used the disney characters I used from her party and put them up in the wall, as well as the Simoneland letters I made. We have two sets of chandelier balloons also from the party that simon hung up in the ceiling and we used the pink and yellow curtains my mom in law sew for her. very nice!!! we also placed one small TV so we could watch while she plays. We also hung up the two pinatas left from her party since the Pooh was given to Jhoanne's daughter.

We are so happy with the result and we're proud since we did'nt spend so much for it. we only spent for the rubber mats. And seeing the reaction on simone's face when she saw the room, it's priceless. She's so happy when she's inside her playroom. It's like she has her own room and that everything inside that room is hers. haha. I will sure post the pictures as soon as i've uploaded it from the camera. :)


~ o~

After that fulfilling accomplishment, I've lots of backlogs since I spent my time mostly for simone's party and now that the party's over, i'm back to reality. Being engrossed with the preparations, I was surprised that I was'nt able to find a pen in my bag! as in, it's something that i can't do without. and because of that, i had to buy my bic pens immediately from NBC and wrote my itinerary for next week. hahaha. after i bought the pens, i laughed and said to myself that i'm impossible. i could have waited for me to go home and write about my itinerary. well, it was more of a momentum for me. I just felt the need for it, lest i forget. oh well, whoever says i'm normal. haha. So, what's my itinerary? Nah, you would'nt want to know. :)

Couples' night

We attended a couples' night last night, sponsored by our church. It's our second time to attend such but we were asked to be hosts the first time we attended so technically, last night was our first couple's night. It was fun and we still can't believe that we are lined up with our ninongs and ninangs already, well status-wise. haha. we're getting older!

Of course, the romance and the fun were there. There were a lot of games and the finale was a question and answer portion. The kind where you have to answer and both you and your spouse have to give the same answer. We were'nt able to join that game but we tried to answer on our seats. And my husband just swept me off my feet, when he told me that he has an ultimate dream surprise for me. He wishes to give me a set of car keys, well not the kind of Chevy grilles but my ultimate dream car, CR-V. Actually, it's not about the car anymore but the fact that my husband still has that "kilig" factor that keeps me fall in love with him. Hey, we're not rich people and we have to work hard to be able to buy things we want and it just gives me a good feeling that despite and inspite of that, he remains to be the same guy i've known.

I love you beh and whether we get that dream car or not, i'd still love you the same way i only know. (basta ba may bahay at lupa na e. bwahahaha!)

The one with dealing with a toddler

I'm still amazed at the wonder of a growing child. Simone never fails to amaze us with her milestones and developments. When she turned one, she suddenly became more independent, not wanting to be assisted when walking, suddenly having more confidence of herself and try not to cry when she falls off from attempting to walk or stand alone. Believe me, i can never be any more proud of her but the fears, sad to say, are also there.

Fear that she might turn into a brat, fear that we may not be able to discipline her the way we have been disciplined, fear of giving into her wants and ways. Yesterday, she slapped me in the face. You know, the kind when toddlers are "nanggigigil" and i also learned that she did that to both her grannies also. I know she still does'nt know the concept yet but I'm pretty sure the disciplining had to start somewhere. I see myself in her, her sense of independence and adventure is pretty much inherited from me and I don't know if it's a good thing or not. haha.

On a lighter kwento, I'm so proud that she converses with us, just like an adult does. When asked, "What does the dog say?" she goes, "Aw, aw"; "Kumain ka na simone?" she goes, "oo-po!" so on and so forth. sooo amazing how she can connect to us more easily and how she tries to express what she wants and does not want.

We will always be proud of you simone. we love you!

Reading

I just suddenly felt like posting this topic when I observed how simone is so into books. Well, she may not be able to read yet but I hope she'll be a bookworm like mommy. I love reading. My love for it started back in high school with all the Sweet Valley High and Nancy Drew's plus the Archie comics which i borrow from a friend since I dont' have a collection. College came and my reading evolved to Daniel Steele and Sidney Sheldon. I'd buy the second-hand ones from Booksale and stayed the whole day in my room just to finish one book in one seating. I was not a fan of series though but the idea of it excites me as well. It mellowed when I got a job and felt that I did'nt have enough time to read. So my reading habits evolved to magazines and other short-read stories.

Now, with a growing toddler, maintaining a home and doing income-generating activities, I hope I can have more time to sit and read a good book.

The one with I wish

When I resigned from work almost 6 months ago, there were a lot of things that I wished I can do or start doing. I got to do most of them like wedding coordination, doing research projects, and other stuff but after Simone's birthday, my list added up with these:

1. I wish I could learn how to do balloon decors. Promise, I got really curious when I saw Jhoanne's work on my baby and thought if i can do it also. hahaha. DIY balloon decors?!
2. I wish I'd learn how to bake although we don't have an oven so that's out of the question.
3. I wish I could learn digiscrapping! promise, I sooo envy my digiscrapper friends esp. Jacq ni Bong who did Simone's layouts and Mec ni Jojo who did the other two layouts despite the rush request. haha.
4. I wish I have a new camera and really learn how to take nice photos. as in gusto ko syang karirin. well, not as a job but something that can be at par with the professional. hahaha, mangarap!

Oh well, let's see if i'd get to do any of these in the future. :)

The one with tagged by mec

My CWL friend Mec has lots of tags for all of us and I think this is the latest one.

1. Today I feel very--- dirty coz i cleaned the other room to be used as simone's playroom. I boxed up all our "abubot" and "tambak" so simon can put them in the attic.
2. I enjoy --- playing with Simone now because she's a toddler na! she suddenly became independent.
3. I am unhappy when --- there are problems but I just accept them and learn from it.
4. I feel good when --- people compliment about how i lost weight (i just wish those were true.haha)
5. I wish my boss --- before would stop having "favorites" so all of us will not have to strive to compete against each other.
6. My officemates think --- that I'am so much into details when it comes to events like weddings, bdays, and even corporate events.
7. My work area is --- anywhere around the house now.
8. I enjoy reading about --- growing babies, marriages, novels, and hollywood celebrities.
9. I like myself best when --- simone would make lambing and cling to me when she wants to sleep already.
10. If I had a choice I would --- explore places in and out of the country
11. I wish --- I know exactly what I want to do as of the moment (i'm a jack of all trades, master of none)
12. Tomorrow I would like to --- look at my baby's birthday pictures! soo dying to get the mail.

There, I'm tagging Abi, and Mari! Thanks

Birthday gifts

And so we were overwhelmed with Simone's gifts for her first birthday. It filled one whole balikbayan box that i used for the loot bags that we gave away. And the morning after the party, we are more excited to open them, feeling like it's our wedding all over again, except that we'll get baby stuff instead of home appliances. haha.

She had like 40 gifts with the following variety: babydolls, educational toys, dresses, dinnerware sets, books, jackets, inflatable swimming pools from which we got three kinds by the way. haha.

Again, thank you to all our families and friends who went to the party! And thank you for showering Simone with your gifts and blessings. God bless!

The one with a peek

Official pictures soon!!!


taken by yours truly...looove this shot!


sleeping beauty or snow white?!


escort "cousin aladdin" hehehe

The one with summer na!!!

Just a few days away and summer time na! Actually, ngayon ko pa lang nararamdaman ang cold weather ng december. hahaha. pero what the heck, summer pa rin na! san kaya kme this summer?! last year, we did'nt have a decent summer vacation since simone was still a baby. this year, i hope we could do something better since simone has 4 swimsuits already and i hope i can buy one for myself as well. We also were'nt able to go to bangkok na so i hope the not going to bangkok will be replaced with going somewhere nice. hehe.

anyhow, here is a nice (actually very nice) pic of myself taken by my barkada jill last summer. i so love this pic kasi hindi ako mukhang mataba (kasi face lang ang kita..haha) to think that this is two months after i gave birth. bwahaha...ego booster! i miss my curls!


o diba, feeling model ito?! hahaha.


okay...i might have overacted a little...hahaha.

To buy or not to buy

Since moving to a bigger left us with of course, more space, i personally felt that we need more furnitures to properly arrange everything. For example, i need a book cabinet where i can compile all my books and magazines so i can see them easily. I also want to have a new tv lift cabinet so we can maximize the furniture and use the bottom part as a VCD/DVD rack as well. But since we are also tightening our belts right now, Simon and I discussed that adding certain furnitures or buying a new sofa set is not a high priority as of the moment. We will make the most of what we have as of the moment and save it up for our own house...hopefully.

The one with tagged by sheryll

Thanks sis for the post. hmmm, i think 6 is not enough for me. haha.

The rules: Link to the person that tagged you. Post the rules on your blog. Share six un-important things/habits/quirks about your self. Tag 6 random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs. Let these random people know that they are tagged by leaving comments in their blog. Let your tagger know when your entry is up.

Six Unimportant things/habits/quirks about my self.

1. I always leave 3 or 4 pony tails / rubber bands in our bathroom. Since I always put my hair up, when it's time to take a shower, I'd hang it somewhere and forget about it until my husband notice that i have 4 of them in the bathroom.

2. I play "Friends" as my "background sound" when doing things. When i don't feel like listening to music, I just put any Friends episode. Since I've watched it the nth time, I can do away with just having it on the background and not being able to watch it. (although most of the time i end up watching it...haha)

3. I always have a notebook and a pen with me.

4. I always leave 2 to 3 pairs of shoes in the car. haha, don't ask me why!

5. I'm not OC but I love details and I love butingtings...

6. I loan from my own money...hahaha.

Whew! I hope you still love me after reading this. hahaha. Now I'm tagging Abi, Mec, and Jeng!

Emergency light

Last week, our car had its share of need for damage control. Its temperature went up and I had to stop at the nearest gas station to have it watered, or whatever term they call it. We still don't know what's causing the overheat since we already had it repaired and maintained. But since it's a second-hand car, we know that things like this happen and that eventually, everything else will wear out. That's why it's always good to be prepared and because of that, we have an rechargeable flashlight in the car and other tools that will go handy when you get a flat tire, or you need to open up the hood and check the fluids. Maintaining a car is not as easy as we all think but the convenience that it gives is something that we think is necessary for our baby so yeah, we're still keeping it. haha.

The one with finally done!

Yey! It was a success! It's our first time to throw a children's party and we are so happy with the outcome. Everyone, kids and adults enjoyed the day. There were bloopers specially before we went to the venue but everything fell into place before the program started.

promise...birthday kwentos and ratings and PICTURES to follow soon!!!

we finally have a toddler!!! yahoo!

The one with oyo

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SIMONE!!! grabe, i have a one year old already! waaah! we both woke up at 8am (simone and i) and i greeted her immediately with a big happy birthday! daddy simon heard us (he woke up earlier) and we sand the happy bday song to her while she was clapping her hands and smiling all throughout the song. haay, while singing the song, i felt so blessed to have a healthy baby who is now a toddler. haay, kaka-emote talaga. feeling ko sa super bilis ng panahon, di ko na mamamalayan na liligawan na sya. waahh!!!

we spent the whole day with preparing for her birthday. we were together the whole day and i got pretty tired coz since our yaya is new, simone is not that comfy with her just yet and i got pretty tired of carrying her all the time. there was even this one time a while ago that while driving, she was on my lap hugging me, not wanting to let go. my goodness!! im loving the "habol thing" but im not a fan. haha. i know my baby loves me and that we are her world but sometimes, i can just feel the pagod and the stress of her crying and whining when i dont carry her. she turned like this when she turned 11 months and it's a mystery really. I was not used to her to be very clingy to me, but now, she's like "please dont leave me mommy" attitude. haha.

we just bought a small cake and spaghetti to celebrate today's event. while driving home, simon texted me, "beh, about this time, malapit ka na manganak..." hehe. she was born 9:32pm and about this time (1:15am), I'm in my room already trying to get some sleep. haay! i can still feel the clean sheets in the hospital room, the smell of the soap in the bathroom and simon's whispering voice telling me that our baby is sooo cute and lovely. my mom was there telling me not to talk coz i just got stitched. haha. everything is soo perfectly remembered and i will tell the story on a separate post...watch out for it soon!

We are excited for sunday and i hope it does'nt rain! see you all on sunday!

I love you simone. no matter what, you will always our baby, our little princess, our oyo. :)

The one with a February wedding

Congratulations to the newlyweds, Jason and Naan. Finally, tatlo na tayo sa barkada na kasal!!! I had fun in this wedding simply because i really loved their theme. Naan thought about it, a spoon and fork theme. honestly, it would make you wonder out of all the themes there could possible be, why this? but you know, it was conceptualized very well and everything seemed to be perfect. a spoon and fork can exist separately but they are at their best when they're together. and that's how naan and jason are when together. quoting from naan's words in their avp, "i love jason because he has the qualities that i don't have" aaaawww...i was so touched and realized that yes, God knows the perfect person for us and He knows it even before we are born. cool!

Here are what I will always remember in their wedding:
1. looove the weather that day. although a bit windy, but it was perfect...and sooo cold!
2. love the church! very picturesque talaga and caleruega
3. love the spoon and fork souvenirs!
4. love the song which was written by naan and sung by yours truly and my husband. haha. there was a CD also with our recording. naks! parang album launch! haha.
5. super, super love the AVP made by our barkada jill. as in super ganda! it's full of emotions. i love how the storyboard was made, comic but romantic.
6. love how naan was sooo herself that day. i love its spontaneity, we had a mini program when we bid goodbye to them while they ride the golf cart and she threw her bouquet and had the kissing game. as in the american style. nice!

to the blancos...forever friends! we love you so much! God bless your married life! here are some pictures...


candle sponsors kme...


actually, gusto ko lang pakita tong pic nato kasi i look slim here. hahaha.


mahangin ba sa labas? hehe.

The one with not the usual self

Haaayyy...I still have a lot to do for simone's birthday and I hate it that I'm being my cramming attitude again. In fairness, I was not like this on my wedding where everything was ready and prepared. Now, I really don't know. Well, the budget concern, I think, has something to do with it pero it's not the main reason at all. yung feeling lang na since tight budget, I can't do many things at all. tamang prepare lang, parang ganun. Isa pa siguro is what my mom and husband would always tell me while I'm preparing..."beh, wag masyado magastos ha...marami pang susunod na bdays." hahaha. i want to tell them na "wait til you meet the n@wies." hehe. i mean, my budget is sooo way below what other parents would spend for birthdays. of course i have no qualms about it since it's a choice and everyone is entitled on how to celebrate their child's birthday.

i felt that i had to really act on things already when i met with my cake supplier-turned-friend emily uy of sugarbox. she knew that i still don't have a backdrop and she knows that i'm having second thoughts on the tarpaulin since it's a one time use. she suggested to have balloons instead and i told myself, "why did'nt i think of that?" as in ang nice nung idea and i want to share it with jhoane. i hope the budget would still fit.

and so i felt kinda guilty that i was not my usual self of being soooo prepared for my baby's birthday. parang feeling ko dami ko pa kulang e. haaayy...oh well... please pray for us.

Sports talk

I never considered myself as a sporty person. I will always love to learn a sport but will never be really addicted to it. I learned volleyball, table tennis and badminton. Among the three, I got pretty hooked up with badminton with the intention of losing the fats aroung my legs. haha. But i had to stop when i got pregnant.

Out of all the interesting sports there are, I was never fancied on golf. Having to walk on an expensive golf shoes and try to get the ball (is that how they call it?) after you hit it is something that I don't find amusing. Although I have to admit that the prestige and the elegance any sport can have is all found in golf.

The one with the birthday preps

Hmm, I know I still have a lot of things to do but I don't know, I'm in my relaxed mood again. I really don't know if i'm pretending to but I know I have this tendency to be a little too relaxed and then cram when it's near the event already. hahaha. Probably, I'd get tense and tarantatitoy this week. So far, here's what I still have to accomplish: (and this is still a lot!)

~ give the thank you tags to emily uy
~ kulitin simon for the avp and the background music (yeah, we still don't have this yet)
~ ask Pastor mar if we can really borrow the lcd projector. otherwise, no avp :(
~ finalize food cart, if there is any
~ finalize program with jhoane
~ finish the photo confettis
~ buy prizes for the games
~ get tarpaulin design from tina on monday or tuesday and have it printed
~ photograph simone with her snow white costume and have it made to a standee
~ make some styro Disney character whatever to be hung sa hallway of the venue. (wala, kaartehan ko lang to)
~ if time permits, make a styro lettering of "Simoneland" (forgive me, i really love DIYs)


o ayan ha, see, dami ko pa kulang!!! and let the countdown begins!!! see you all at the party!

Home, sweet, home

Yes, we've moved to a bigger and "better" place. We miss the apartment already and our good neighbors there (the paraynos) but we really have to move to a bigger place since we look like sardines already in our previous apartment.

Now, we live 10 minutes away from where we used to live. It's a 2-storey, 3-bedroom house, with garage and attic. we have a big living room where simone can glide her walker to her heart's content. we have a bigger kitchen and a laundry area. it's not a new house but we love it nonetheless. Since it's an old house, we need home improvements which we hope to do on a periodic basis (read:budget) and hopefully we can start with buying a new sofa set to go with the big living room.

it's exciting...haha, but it's also pricey. good luck to us and welcome to our new home! pictures to follow as always.

The one with a week to go

Exactly a week from now, my baby Simone will turn one already! everytime i think about this, i get mixed emotions. i don't know, but it really makes me emotional thinking that my baby is "not" a baby anymore.

~ She used to be so fragile (well, not literally coz she was a big baby but you get what i mean) and now she does'nt want to be assisted when she tries to stand up on her own. when she falls down, she will just laugh it off.

~ She used to make this little cries which i will immediately respond into...but now, even if she makes loud cries and i know she's just trying to make her way out of something, (oh yes, she knows that already) i will be firm and make my mommy voice saying "NO"

~ She used to just lie down on her crib, the most that she could do was tilt her head from one side to another and I'm a proud mommy...but now, she can make a tour around the bed while sleeping and hug me and put her legs on my face which makes it harder to breathe. haha.

~ She used to be just clingy and dependent on me...now she wants to prove to mommy that she can walk around her crib and show mommy that she can do it on her own.

~ She used to be just a tiny baby that lights up our day and more...NOW, she's soon to become a toddler who wants to explore more and more...AND we are becoming the parents who will run after her.

And so i thought pregnancy was the most fulfilling thing i'd have to go through...i almost forgot all about motherhood and parenthood where everything that you do is a reflection of who your child will be in the future. God bless all the parents!

Oh and pardon for the emotional attack that i just did. hahaha.

Relocation

Finally, we had our internet relocated to our new home! and we are so excited, simon and i are racing over who's going to use it first. we bought some HDMI cables so we can use the internet simultaneously. we had the computer set up on the second floor, along the hallway. and what's nice about it is that the internet guys were able to configure my laptop for the internet as well. yey!

The one with the heart's day

It's Simone's first valentine's since she was born exactly a week after Vday and it's our first as parents. so did we still have a celebration?! we still did! as always, we're low-maintenance people. our date, we scheduled the day before so as not to go with everyone else on the 14th. we had a good lunch at the Recipes and just strolled at megamall. had donuts and coffee at Dunkin' Donuts. hahaha. we are so cheap but we still had a great time.

To top it all, this is what i got for Valentine's, which was sooo unexpected. thank you beh, you really don't have to...but thanks! hahaha.


Asus Eeepc 7" size (exactly as big as my starbucks planner)

actually, i was with him the whole time and he already told me about the gift that day, before he bought it. but i was still surprised since we are really on a tight budget right now. simone is turning one and her party is getting a lot from our funds. anyway, that's another story. but he really wanted to get me this since he believes that it's one way for me to be motivated more into doing what i want to do and the things that i'm juggling right now (read: karaketan) we do share a laptop and siguro it's also his way of telling me not to use his laptop anymore. hahaha. what i really love about my husband is his attitude of selflessness. ganyan yan e, even before when we were in college, when i had more "baon" (allowance) than him, he treats me more or buys me donuts kahit wala na sya baon. aaawww... and until now, even if everything is just "sakto", he makes sure he provides for me and simone. hehehe, love you beh! (uy, not just because you gave me this, but you know how much i love you naman)

super dream ko tong notebook computer. as in, i drool over a laptop that is actually portable and wi-fi ready! Asus rocks!

hahaha. thank you beh! as a thank you gesture, i cooked my specialty seafood pesto (from which my MIL commented that it has the perfect taste) for him and made caesar salad that can be compared to the ones that you can get from a resto. we had a late valentine dinner at home and a good dessert afterwards. hahaha.

Everday can be Hearts day so make sure to tell your loved-ones that they are loved! God bless you!

The one with the shameless plug

Since we've been getting so many feedbacks from simon's latest project at work, siguro dahil na rin sa plugging ng show, i just want to post and announce this and brag about how good my husband is! hahaha.

ONE PROUD MAMA, the new show of QTV 11 hosted by Jaya. Simon made the music!!! It's the theme song performed by no less than Jaya herself. hehehe. dami namin nakuha texts and emails here, kahit sa mga di pa namin close friends even and they're commenting how nice the song is and kung talaga bang si simon ang gumawa. hahaha. la lang, im soooo proud of him. and to brag about him more, here is a list of some of his works pa sa kapuso:

Marimar BM (background music)
Whammy theme song
Emergency theme song (performed by Shamrock)
The Chef show in QTV11

AND MANY MORE!!! hehehe, Jacque po, Proud to be Kapuso! naks!

Real estate

And since we're on the lookout for a really nice property for our dream house, i chanced upon a site on Wilmington NC real estate and got some cool information on sea coast realty. Well, it's not something that we're interested with since it's abroad but it's still nice to get more information on realty so we are more informed of what we are getting into. we're really praying that this year, we can at least start on something more concrete.

pray for us!

The one with 2 weeks to go

Haaay! two weeks to go before simone's birthday bash! and i have tons of things to do pa. waah!

Venue and caterer : done - ive talked with superbowl's AE na for the menu and will send him layout na lang of the venue
Photo: dp made with ging lorenzo
Video: barkada jill and lan (either of the two)
Cake: emily uy (done with the details)
Lootbags: done!
invitations: waaah! i flared up a while ago with printed matter but after my kamalditahan kanina, i'll get the invites tomorrow. hopefully, maging ok naman sya. haay! distribution of invites this weekend
AVP: DIY by hubby
guestbook: super sorry to jacq for being such a pain in the ***. sis, just do what you can do with the pics. im so sorry.
tarpaulin: i'm still thinking if i want a tarpaulin as the backdrop. super nanghihinayang kasi ako for something that you'll spend na thousand tapos isang beses mo lang gagamitin. what do you think? was thinking of making the cake the highlight for picture taking. hmm, what do you think?
balloons: will finalize pa with jhoane kung ano talaga needed kong balloons.
costumes of simone: MIL is sewing it already.
costumes of mommy and daddy: to buy pa and to think pa what to wear! hehe.

i think i have everything covered already. am i missing out something?

The one with don't grow up too fast

February is a busy month for our family. Aside from Valentines, we will be celebrating our 9th anniversary as boyfriend and girlfriend. (yihee!) and of course the birthday of our baby whom we refer now as our "one-year old"

The other night, when simon went home from work, and we're all on our bed, ready to sleep, we just stared at our already sleeping and snoring baby. and after a few minutes, simon saw tears falling off from my eyes. hahaha. i also don't know why i cried. i just felt a sudden overwhelming love from God that He gave us a beautiful baby...and we still can't believe that we have one already...and that she's turning one soon. haay!

she grows up so fast. now, we're already discussing what to give her when she turns one. we feel so strong on the veggies and fruits but reconsidering table food soon. kaya nga, Simone, please don't grow up soo fast or mommy will cry again...

i love you baby

Water tank

yes, now that we've moved in to a new home, hopefully, we can settle in as early as we can. i mean, really settled in, as in adjusted with all the boxes out and adjusted with the neighborhood and the new place. The only concern so far that i have is the water tank which we have to fix before we can maximize its usage. i suggested that we buy tankless water heater so we use the water that we got from the tank for baths. the water from the tank is really cold and we need a heater for that. aside from that, we need to fix the pipes of the tank so it does'nt leak and we are not overcharged for that.

The one with tag 1 - 5 things

Since Mec tagged me at least three times ata and I sooo want to answer everything, i decided to do it on a part by part basis. hehe. so here goes

5 things I want my kids to know before they grow up

1. Love and knowing God is the only way to live life
2. That in everything we do, always ask God for the right direction. No matter how well you know things, it will always keep you humble to ask God for everything.
3. It's okay to cry
4. It's alright to commit mistakes but you have to make sure that you learn from it.
5. Be honest at all times. It's the hardest but most fulfilling thing to do.

That's at the top of my mind right now and im tagging lea ni francis, cathy ni randy, and abi ni romy!

Movie hopping

Every Wednesday, we see to it that simon and i will spend the day together. it will be our new day off since he chose that and sunday as his rest days. and we spend it either at home or a date at the mall. we are so low-maintenance, our date can just include a nice movie, a stroll and an eat out somewhere. But lately, since we want to spend more time with simone, we wish we'd have a discount home theater seating that we see on the internet so we can stay at home more and still be satisfied with a good movie-watching.

The one with all the big mouth

As evidenced by the pictures below, let these pics amuse you in any way it can. haha.


still a mystery how and where she learned this since no one taught her to...as far as i can remember...


might be the dad...kuhang-kuha eh...hehe


pwede ring kay lolo vic nya. haha.


you think sa ken nakuha??!...ahaha.

take note, wala pong sounds yan, just the actual big mouth when we ask her to smile. hahahaha...so good luck toall her bday pics next month! nyahaha.

Sick

Last day of the first month for 2008 and i caught a bad cough and colds. actually, i got the colds from simone's allergic rhinitis and somehow led to cough after two days. i don't usually use any drug treatment since i'm not used to any (ironic since i used to work for a pharma company, haha) but ever since i had simone, i had to always be healthy and sickness-free. I have to make sure that she does'nt get any virus since it's hard for a baby to get sick. Although in this case, she was the one who infected me with her virus.

The one with quick update

here's a quick update and other things...

1. moved out - moved out from our small apartment.
~ i miss abi, romy and aliya.
~ i miss the place kasi no matter how you put it, that is where everything started. that's where simone was conceived, that's the home that welcomed her. it was full of love and joy kaya hirap din kme umalis dun.
~ yun nga lang kasi talaga, it's full of our things na rin...as in! we can't walk around the house na kasi masikip na talaga. hahaha.

2. moved in - moved to a new home
~ it's the supposed to be house namin before we chose marick.
~ finally, nakatira din kme dito.
~ super luwag naman ngayon. 2 rooms are actually vacant. although the other room will be a music room, yung isa stockroom lang talaga. yung attic, wala pa kme maisip na use pero was thinking of making it an art room or craft room whatever.
~ it's not a new house and needs beautification but it's good enough. we love it, maaliwalas and quiet neighborhood.

3. caught colds and cough
~ waaah! hirap ng may sakit. nahawa ako kay simone. actually, nag start lang ng allergic rhinitis ung kay simone because of moving out nga, then she transferred it to me tapos pareho kme may ubo. wawa baby, although mine is worse. sa kanya, paunti unti ubo lang. buti naman.

4. bday preps
~ i still have a lot of to do's for her bday! bad trip! di ako maka-prepare ng maayos coz sabay-sabay ang turn of events sa buhay namin. hahaha. will go to divi bukas (totoo nato) and Printed matter to finalize everything. hopefully, makabigay na invites next week. :)

5. music studio
~ as much as we did'nt want to, we can't maximize our music studio that we've put up at vista verde. after a year, di pa sya self-earning. chunk of our income from the business covers more of corporate projects (doing soundtracks for commercials, AVPs, etc) and we're not getting much from those who are renting out the place as rehearsal studio. so instead of looking at it on the negative side, id like to put it in a better perspective. we're putting mini recording studio at home, one room there and by schedule ang recordings (just like before). corporate projects are still ok since those are my accounts naman. i take care of the negotiations, simon does the projects. hehehe. we've also decided to do this so hopefully we can save up for the dream house that we've wanted and praying for. :)

6. other matters
~ thanks everyone for visiting! promise, will visit your blogs more often. and sa mga tags, sagutan ko yan asap. :)

The one with as promise

Hey, here are a few wedding pics from chris and mercy's. :)


our first formal family pic


my bright lights...in fairness, bagay sa hubby ko ang suit ha. haha.


nakakaloko ang smile...hehe




the reason why the second photog was fond of taking pics of her...her smile and pose.

Accessories

I was arranging my dresser (or at least pretending to) when i saw how excessive my love for accessories is. all my small drawers are filled with accessories, mostly custom ones or the beaded ones. these are aside from the ones that i make for my own use.

but despite that, i still feel that i don't have enough. i still use the same accessories everyday like the gold bangle which has turned to be a favorite. i feel like it fits with anything i wear, be it jeans or slacks or dress. it goes so well that i can always look fab when i wear it. a good find!

The one with a time flies

Yes, time really, really flies soo fast. And as a proof, here is a layout done by our makulit CWL girl, Wella.



Since Mec has updated her readers with what's keeping us busy, i'd like to tell more about this group of brides who have turned to be my friends..and close ones actually. :)

(From top, left to right)
Charie - married to Mac, she's the sexy one in the group. i mean, all of us are or were but she has maintained her physique despite and in spite of the wedding bliss. haha. she's the quiet one to the point that she's incomunicado already. but we appreciate it if she's online and replies to our posts once in a while. haha, we got used to it. our group is low-maintenance.

Chris - all of us have turned to be OCs after the wedding, but man, this girl is one heck of an OC from the start. but she's not the type who gets easily tensed. she's so cool and calm, even when she talks, it's as if everything's cool. i think that's what's good about her. she's so composed that when you're with her, it gets in you. haha. oh and lastly, since she's so maputi and all, when we're with her, feeling namin dugyot kaming lahat. hahaha.

Con - looove this girl! we clicked instantly. feeling ko she's my sister,nagkaiba lang kme ng parents. haha. we have so many things in common. what i love about her is her sense of responsibility to her family and to her new family. she takes care of literally everything and i admire how she can juggle all these and still manage to call me to have some chika and ask me out.

Karla - the kikay of the group. she was our neighbor before and we miss them!!! she may be really girlie and kikay on the outside, but man, she's tough on the inside! as in gabriela silang ito! hahaha. she used to confront our landlord when something's not right...a trait that i love and miss about her since i can't do that well. (or at least not as good as how she does it) haha.

Mai - another quiet lady who happened to sit beside me on one of the EBs before sa makati, di pa kme barkada nun. i really find her sweet and she's so accommodating. when i talk about her to simon, i refer to her as the "sya yung mabait na nagagandahan ka..." hehe, and simon would instantly remember her. i know she'll make a great mom...lahat kme are great moms!

Wella - the ever, ever, ever kulit in the group! as in, wala nang kukulit pa! when we get together, ayoko sya katabi coz it's a riot pag ganun! hahaha. we always put her on the center and we always make her the host pag get together namin. and mind you, sya lang and she alone ang nakapagpa-tameme sa asawa ko! ahahaha...as in! and according to simon, and i quote: "kasi di nako humihirit, parang di ko kaya talbugan si wella e." hahaha...that's a first!

Yna - another OC friend. haha. but she never forgets. she always makes chika and she's so warm that you can tell her almost anything. she's the first one to get married which somehow made her the ate of the group. haha, love you mare!

Tin - i've only been with her a couple of times coz she's from the south, but i love this girl. i love how she can be frank but at the same time sweet. i remember when i was in trouble and she said, "sa lahat naman ng aawayin si jacque pa..." she instantly comforted me. and no matter how maldita her looks can be, soft hearted pa rin yan. haha.

Mec - the one who can connect to us all. haha. since she's the most "in-touch" to any of us, she can easily update us with what's happening with everyone. i love and admire how religiously she does things and puts her heart to it. when she wants something, she really sees to it that she'll be engrossed on it. be it blogging, digiscrapping, her baby, cooking, pappie, pyro, or just about anything. ask her anything, she'll give you an answer right away. hehe.

there. i miss all of them. before we were brides, then wives, and now...moms. i love how our lives, as different and as strange to each other, has become a group of ladies i call...friends. :)

The one with a happy moment

Just a while ago, Simon and I left the house together (with simone of course). we dropped simone at my mom's and we parked at galleria for my meeting and then he just took a cab from there to his office. while he was driving, we had a good chat about each other's life and activities and our last topic was something that was new to me.

He told me about our pastor's message yesterday and how our pastor asked the couples to write something about their partners. For the husbands, write three things that you appreciate about your wife. For the wives, write three things that you want to be appreciated for. And since I was not able to attend, we did the exercise while parked at the mall. And for our assessment here is what we came up with:

On Simon (three things that he appreciates about me)
1. taking good care of simone and being very patient on our baby
2. being on-time
3. encourager

On Jacque (three things i want to be appreciated for)
1. being able to organize and manage everything (home, family, budget, business)
2. any of my accomplishments
3. physically, especially when i've put an effort to look my best

In fairness, Simon always tells me that he appreciates how i take care of simone and how i gave up my so-called career to be with my family more. As to being on time, if ever there is any objections, I'm only late when I'm with my husband. hahaha. But he admires that I really take an effort to be on time which is a very impossible task for him. And the encourager part is a touching one. He sees me as the one with a more positive outlook in life. According to him, I don't get easily down and I always have this tendency of looking at things on both sides, positive and negative and dwell more on the positive. hehe. i love my hubby!

As to what I wrote, it's self-explanatory. haha.

The one with CUTENESS!

We are sooo in love with simone and she just keeps on giving us more reasons to love her more! hahaha...

Wednesday, Jan. 15, was Simon's off from work and i cancelled my meeting so we can all stay together at our house and go to the mall in the afternoon...an instant family day. While still sleeping, I was half awake already when I thought I heard Simon and Simone playing. And then, I just felt my baby crawling towards me and then she kissed me on my lips...without anyone instructing her to!!! sooo precious! as in i was surprised and Simon too, I asked him if he told simone to do it. he did'nt. but before that, simon asked simone to kiss him. and after she did, she just crawled straight to my face and kissed me as well. She already knows the concept of fair share. hahaha...when daddy gets something, mommy gets something also. :)

Since I have'nt given a good 10-month progress report on simone. Here's my long overdue development report on her.

At 10 months, Simone can do the following:
~ Stands on her own (no other person accompanying her, but she has to hold on to something, side of her crib most of the time). And she will suddenly keep her hands off from the crib and try to balance...she can balance for like 2 seconds, then fall. haha. nice, soo cute! her dad, of course, the protective can't get his hands off from her so she does'nt fall hard. my goodness, her crib has like 2 comforters already plus the foam of the crib...i dont think she'd hurt herself. hehe.

~ Walks faster pag "gabay". We hold her sa underarms already and she keeps on pushing our hands away. Most of the time, nauuna pa yung feet nya sa body nya when walking kasi nga ang bilis na maglakad. hehe.

~ Has mastered the "Big Mouth" face! grabe, i will really post pics as soon as i get hold of our camera again since i have'nt uploaded any pics since december. anyway, she has learned this Big mouth face where she literally opens her mouth so big when we say "big mouth" or "smile". She doesn't smile na when we ask her to smile at the camera, she does the Big Mouth already. so good luck to her 1st birthday pictures! if she keeps on doing her big mouth trick, her pictures will all be like that. hahaha.

~ Pull up to a standing position from sitting

~ She objects if something is taken away from her...and she objects really hard. haha. she does'nt give out tantrums but she really holds on to her things really hard so we cant take them away easily.

~ She can easily understand what we say and obeys what we tell her to do. Here are the things that she can do already (although most of these she has learned from before pa):
a) flying kiss (with eyes closed pa ha);
b) appear or high five
c) align
d) clap or yey (she can recognize already when we are praising her for things she has done and she will immediately clap if she knows that she did a good thing. the clap thing she has mastered when she was 8 months, the recognize thing just recently.)

AND here are our signatured lessons we taught her:
a) Kiss mommy, Kiss daddy (she kisses us on the lips)
b) untog (it's our families' way of doing the eskimo kiss where our foreheads will bump into each other's. cuteness! we'll say 'untog' and she will bump her forehead on ours. hehe.
c) bless (where you hold out your hand and her forehead will touch your hand as if the real bless sign.
d) Sit properly (this is by far the most amusing thing she does now. You tell her to sit properly and she will put her two arms together crossed while sitting down and will really behave. no kidding! she really does this.
e) Praise the Lord (i know she does'nt even know the concept but it's fulfilling when she responds to it by raising her hand really high and looking up when we say this phrase. it's never too early to teach her about anything. :)
f) Pray (ever since she started eating solids, we always see to it that we pray with her. And so she has learned the pray sign already. she will clasp her hands together and look at us while we pray. and mind you, she really behaves when we're praying. and she waits until we're done praying before she grabs for her food. hehe.

~ She points to objects already. Ask her where lola is, she points at her lola. (same with lolo and mommy and daddy) the titos and titas will come eventually, mejo difficult round kasi madami sila e. hehe.

~ She knows / recognizes her toys / friends easily. Hold two stuffed toys before her, ask her where Papito is (her small stuffed puppy), she can get it for you. Ask where Raffy is (her giraffe rubber bath toy), she can get it amidst the number of toys around her. Same with Dallia and Barney and all other toys.

~ To let her sleep, I only tap her legs while she lays down on our bed and play her mobile until she gets sleepy na. I don't rock her anymore to sleep. :)

~ She uses immature jargoning already. A term i got from the book where she uses sounds as if she's talking already, but with words/syllables we can't understand. haha. she says "Wowowow...atutu...aaaayyy" in one phrase and different tunes as if syllabicating. hehe. we respond to her by saying, "oh really? and then, what happened?" and she will respond again...cute i know! she really is showing signs already that she wants to talk and she's hoping that we can understand her. hehehe.

~ My mom or I are religiously giving her reading lessons everyday when we see that she wants to read or look at something. My mom bought this Phonics book and they read it everyday. She can utter the words "apple" with "Ahh...ppee"(without an L pa) and "mama" effortlessly and "dada" effortlessly. all other objects are pronounced just the same with "ahh...teee" hahaha.

~ She knows what a cat is which we call muning and she knows that a dog barks "awww.." did i mention that she also loves dogs?! yey!

~ Mastered crawling already and can sit from a crawling position.

~ Cruises at her crib sometimes.

~ Still a vegetarian...i've introduced her to all green leafy vegetables like spinach, sayote, and other veggies and fruits like carrots, squash, potatoes, camote, apples, oranges. She's a rice-eater though but we give her lugaw pa rin with chicken meat sometimes, but most of the time we mix it with veggies pa rin.

~ She finishes 6 oz of milk in 10 minutes and takes it at a 3-hr interval pa rin. and so i thought the interval will be longer. She still wakes up at night (one time lang) but i give her milk sometimes, other times i just tap her legs so she can sleep again.

~ She still loves Jollibee which is still a mystery until now coz no one introduced Jollibee to her. hehe.

~ Manifests Less stranger anxiety.

~ Of course, there are still the not so good days when she can't figure out what she wants, but generally, she's a happy and easy little princess.

There, i hope i was able to note down everything. in case i forget something, i'll blog it again. hehe. love you simone!!!

Busy, busy

I was so busy last week, I'd have to finish a report in order to comply with the deadline that we have. I had to look for a laptop rental just so i could finish it since simon was using our laptop at that time. The one i found was at the internet cafe but since there were also desktops inside, i chose the desktop instead since i was more comfortable using that, i might bring home the laptop by accident.

The year that was

Or should I just say the month that was??? Everything happened so fast, I have so many stories to share but it's either i can't put the right words to write or can't find the ample time for it (hay, and i thought being a SAHM will give me more blogging time...haha)

anyway, chancing upon rhea's site (since i was checking if she has uploaded our pics already...hahaha) i felt guilty that i have'nt really updated our blog to think that december is always a month of family events for us. it's of course, our favorite month since we celebrate our anniversary and our favorite season...the Christmas!

i'll try to reminisce the past month so here it goes:

Dec 4 - my SIL gave birth to the little prince of the Tan clan, Justin Daniel Maano. I can still remember of how at 230am of Dec 3, we brought her to the hospital (simon and i) coz she really felt that it was time. unfortunately, she was asked to go home. haha. in the morning, i asked her to come with us while i run errands, do some appointments and go malling so baby would come down. while having lunch, she felt that she needed to really go to the hospital. so as relaxed and calm as i was, i brought her to the hospital (with my baby simone and my other SIL) and there we found out that she was 4cm already. hahaha. she gave birth at 12:30am, Dec. 4, the day after my FIL's bday. hehehe. and we all survived the birthing experience that tested the faith of the whole family. Everything is good and we pray for the best future for our little prince.

Dec. 7 - party at my former office...where we supplied the sound system. hahaha. simon had to attend another event naman...grabe sa kayod ito!

Dec 8 - my parent's anniversary! we went out and pigged out as usual. hahaha.

Dec. 10 - Jane and Oliver's anniversary. we were'nt able to celebrate with them since jane was still trying to recover from her delivery.

Dec. 19 - party at my former department...FUN! i missed everyone and i was glad that they still invited me to the party. of course, there was singing! hahaha...i miss them so much!

Dec. 21 - Simone's 10 months already! grabe, another post for all her milestones but can i just say that im so proud of my baby! she is one bright kid. :)

Dec. 22 - our 2nd anniversary!!! we just had a simple celebration since we wanted to celebrate on a more noble cause, but since we're still planning for that, we wont' share muna. hehe. but we still went out and had dinner at our favorite hang out, Eastwood! i enjoyed the Il Pirata experience. the food was good, we had a moonlit dinner at their so-called boat and of course we had a good laugh. it's always a fun moment with simon and we never ran out of stories to share...i love you beh!

Dec. 23 - Chris and Mercy's wedding! Finally! the two tied the knot already. It's also Simone's first wedding and we might have missed some parts of the wedding and might have wished we brought along our yaya with us, but everything's good. I might regret it more if i did'nt bring simone to the wedding. she was so pretty that day, just like her mom. hahaha. i had to carry her though while i was wearing a gown and can you believe i wore her on a sling?! oh yes! mommy on a gown with a sling!!! hahaha. and of course, the photographer was so amused at her coz she always looked at the camera when it's picture time...thus, a lot of pictures for her. hahaha.

Dec. 24 & 25 - we went to the Tans and the Fermins to have Christmas dinners! sooo fun! and we ate our noche buena in the morning na and opened gifts after. we stayed at home the whole day and thanked God for our first christmas with simone. haaay, time flies so fast.

Dec. 26 or sometime after christmas - we went to simon's office for children's christmas party. simone got a lot of goodies and gifts from her godparents! we decided not to do the traditional pamamasko to godparents since we dont know how to go about it but we thank God for thoughtful godparents. hahaha.

and in betweens were wedding coordinations, last minute shopppings, and work. hahaha. if i remember more, i'll post it again on another entry.

Again, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone!!! God bless!!!

Connection

I bought these cables just recently so we can still use the internet at our laptop and that I don't have to go to the other room to use the internet. But unfortunately, I got to use it a few times and it never worked again after that. I'm not so sure what's wrong but I'm guessing that since it passed through two doors and we keep on closing and opening the doors, i think they got worn out and the wires inside short-circuited or something, however you may call it.

So we're back to using just the computer on the other room for internet purposes. I just hope we can maximize the internet again.

The one with tagged by yna

Yey! another tag from a good friend. i miss yah mare! and here's what the tag contains:

1.Two names I go by: Jacque and Backy (the first one can be pronounced as JACK or JAKI, the second one is my nickname at home which eventually was used by my college friends on me)
2.Two things I am wearing right now: white sando and pajamas
3.Two things I like to do: malling with my hubby and baby; anything that has to do with my baby (so that can include shopping with baby, eating out with baby...hehe, get the point?!)
4.Two things I want very badly at this moment: Manicure/Pedicure and a new hairdo ( i still don't know if i want to have it colored or just a nice haircut)
5.Two things I did last night: watch DVD and successfully finished the whole movie and ate chocolates which i felt guilty after
6.Two things I am doing tomorrow: Go to Manila and pay for party venue (for simone's bday)
7. Two things I ate today: Rai Rai Ken and salad (oh yes, im back on greens!)
8. Two favorite beverages: Iced tea and water
9. Two of my favorite food: Chicken (KFC or jollibee) and chocolates
10. Two persons I last spoke to: mom and dad
11. Two things about me that you may not have known: a Psych graduate and am a lefty who used to be right-handed (so was literally ambidextrous for some time)
12. Two jobs that I have had in my life: Customer Relations Staff and Brand Mngt. person (same company)
13. Two movies I would watch over and over: Friends (although it's not a movie) and Pretty Woman
14. Two favorite things to do: movies and books (so that's watch movies and read)

Follow up question:
What are the 5 gifts you would buy for Yourself this Christmas, if you had unlimited income?

- Own a resthouse and an island
- Be able to travel wherever and whenever i want to
- A mall with all my favorite stores and restos
- All the video gadgets there are (Nintendo Wii, PSP, Xbox, etc...for hubby)
- All the music and techy thingys...hahaha.

Had fun!!! katuwa! And now its your turn... Jacq, Con, Cathy, and Mec!

Our major project

Of course, when we bid goodbye to another year and welcome the new year with gladness and excitement, there would always be wishes and dreams that we hope might come true for the year. and during one of our (simon and i) conversations, we hoped to put a property as a major project for the year. Since Simone is still young and not yet studying, now is the best time to start investing on a house and lot. we'd be pretty serious entertaining real estate agents starting from now on so we'd get lots of options and best deals.

Please help us pray for it.

The one with all juggled

I'm trying really hard to keep everything within my control but konti na lang and i can feel i'd have a nervous breakdown. hahaha. i'm at the peak of our research project now, while coordinating weddings here and there, keeping the music studio, preparing for simone's birthday and keeping our home...sane. haha.

After this week, I really hope I can start on preparing for Simone's birthday again. as in i'am sooo behind my schedule. i still don't have any invitation at all and i also need to go to divisoria and buy items for her loot and prizes. oh man!

I need my time management skills and organizing skills here the most... hahaha...and i have'nt updated my blog yet! waaah!!!

Losing weight

And now that the holidays are all over, the sad part of this is paying the price of all the food i ate! i mean, i did'nt have any regrets whenever i eat but man! i really ate a lot last christmas and new year! and sad to say, i could'nt turn back the time because i'm sure i'd still do it again. hahaha.

and so, the fitness equipment that simon bought for me as his christmas and anniversary gift came in very handy. I promise to maximize it and use it as often as i can.

The one with a new year!

Happy New Year everyone!!!

Here's to a more blessed 2008...a year so promising for everyone, good health as always, may everyone has been looking for love be blessed, may all who have tied the knot enjoy the bliss of married life, may all who have bore a child cherish its motherhood and parenthood, and may all who have lost a loved one find peace and comfort in God.

Cheers to 2008!

Playpen

Since Simone is getting really active, we simply can't put her anywhere, lest we end up with an injured baby. and so we decided to bring down her crib which is originally set up at our room.

we had it covered with one of our comforters although i wished we had this memory foam mattress where we can just put it on her crib and since it's waterproof, we don't have to worry anything about leaking diapers and all.

Now, she's playing with her toys on her playpen and i hope she gets to love it more so we don't have to carry often. haha.

The one with the second year

Yey! Simon and I are two years married already...and where did the time go??? everything, started from the time we got married was really a fast forward event of our lives. it's like the book just keeps on turning its pages and we can't seem to notice how time literally flies away. but everything's good. on our second year, we have been blessed with a baby whom we love so much. and she's more than what we hoped for and even dreamt of.

Simon and I, for the past eleven years that we've known and loved each other, I can say that only little has changed. we still laugh at our craziest and corniest jokes, we still can make each other laugh with the same jokes told a hundred times, haha. he's still the same guy i met years back. He still makes me happy and more. the only difference i think is how we have become matured in situations that we are faced right now. no matter how overwhelming family life and parenthood is, we know that everything will work out just fine. and i can say that he is a very good father and husband. i really thank God for him.

of course, we had a little celebration of our own. we wanted to go and check in to a hotel or at least have a dinner there but since the traffic did'nt permit us to go to a far venue to celebrate, what better way to do it is to go to where he proposed...eastwood city! yey! we both love that place. we ate for the first time at Il Pirata. nice ambience, good food, (although a little over-priced on their homemade pasta) and had a good laugh talking to him. what's good about us is that no matter where we go or what we do, we can easily turn and light up a night...and that's how it was. :)

we capped the evening with a kind gesture by donating to Cribs foundation where a big chirstmas tree is hang at the center of eastwood and you can give donation and your wish and hang it on the tree. of course, we got one for simone too! hehe.

I love you beh and looking forwards for more years to come! as always, pictures coming right up!

Hospital

Just the day after Christmas and we have a family member in the hospital. Skokie had to be rushed to the hospital since she has'nt gone better from her bad cough these past few days and we really thought she'd need drug rehabs or some medical procedure. I was a bit surprised when I found out about it and I felt sad not being able to be with her.

I really hope she'd get thinner already.

The one with a lot to say

I have so many stories I'd wanted to share but I'll start first with the latest event and try to go and rewind the days that passed by.

First off, congratulations to Christian and Mercy for their wedding! Finally, tapos na kayo! wahoo!!! and all i can say is that you two deserve each other and yes, your love has surpassed the challenges of time. Every wedding makes my heart glad and seeing a bride march is always a teary-eyed moment for me. Here are some few things that made their wedding memorable(for me at least):

1. i looove the wedding vow of mercy, and i quote: "being with you for 12 years does not make me proud but it humbled me thinking that our love surpassed the test of time, individual differences, different needs and wants..." parang awww...

2. i love their first kiss song, "Your kiss is on my lips"

3. love the unity sand part in the ceremony.

4. love Richard Poon and Jay Durias who sang at the reception! IDOL!

of course, there will never be a perfect wedding but nontheless, what's important is how the couple had a lot of fun and how everything will be alright as long as they're enjoying the most important day of their lives. so even if there were 5 tables without guests, their wedding was still the best! Congratulations and God bless you!

pictures soon!

New look

After designing the house for the christmas season, I looked at our living room and noticed that the only thing that seems to be off hand is our sofa set. It's really worn out because of Ross' chewing the edges of the sofa and since it's not real leather, the upholstery is really thin already that even simone can poke on it.

So, I tried to look at the furniture stores and see what might fit into our budget, if there is any. Unfortunately, I was'nt able to find something that's nice for our apartment. Everything is either leather or the color does'nt seem to fit. Oh well, we will put that as our next project and hopefully we'll get to buy one soon.

The one with restless as always

Oh my! It's the holidays once more and we are BUSY once again!!! I cannot believe that despite my 'employment status', Simon and I still have a hectic schedule. we juggle studio events vis-a-vis my marketing research thing vis-a-vis my wedding coordinating venture vis-a-vis mommy roles and a businessmom. whoa! di ko na alam uunahin ko. bwahaha. and i think this is the first time that we did'nt christmas shop together coz simon has to work til late at night and during weekends, i want to rest naman and i dont want to go shopping along with millions of people who are also doing their shopping on weekends. hahaha. that's the benefit of someone who has more control of her time. :)

And of course, my new venture and a dream finally come true...wedding coordination! Actually, i'am in two groups right now. The first one is with my college friends and we're doing my barkada's wedding on january 7. The other one naman is with a close friend of mine and my first wedding with their team was yesterday. I had so much fun! And by fun means feet sored and veins popping out fun but wedding bliss fun kind of thing. Ewan ko ba?! sabi nga nila after three or four weddings, di na ganito to. hahaha. pero i always get emotional on bridal marches. di ko nga kilala yung client, naiiyak ako e. hahaha.

oh well, more stories soon. sorry, installment muna.

Education

Education has always been a priority to our family. We are not all required to get into the honor roll when we were students but it will always make our parents proud if we excel in our studies.

And now that I'm a mother, I wanted simone to get the best education we can offer for her. And I saw a private student loan in the internet but i think investing on an educational plan is a more practical way to do it or might as well invest on bonds and other money-making plans right now.

We might not give her wealth, but at least her education will bring her to a variety of opportunities.

The one with the birthday preps again

I'm officially back with preparing for Simone's birthday. Just as i thought, my world literally stopped for baby justin and christmas rush. haha. nonetheless, here are pictures of the venue we are getting for her birthday.


with drapes and all, nice diba?!


Blue Wave Activity Center, Marikina city.


sample caterer set-up of Gerry's grill

pictures were taken from the birthday party of roden's baby, kaye. they got gerry's grill as caterer, we're getting super bowl for simone's party instead. :) i instantly fell in love with the drapes and thought that disneyland will fit with the place. id just have to rent out table cloths, runners and cover for chairs to make it more elegant. i'm so excited to be back on preparing for her birthday esp. now that souvenirs for loot bags are everywhere, love to shop for it! hahaha.

so far, here are my accomplishments:

theme: disneyland (thanks jody for the inspiration!)
cake: emily uy
photo: edwin beger
video: jill ramos or lanlan navarro (both great friends and good video people)

that's it muna. more updates soon!

Parties

My sister in law told me that the theme of their christmas party this year is all about vegas. of course, it calls for glamorous, elegant and fabulous designs since vegas is a place of the elites and the socialites (casino-wise). And as she was telling more stories about the party and how successful it was, i just can't help but feel that a nice stay at a Las Vegas hotel would of course tell me what it will actually feel to stay there and how to rub elbows with people who make it on the society world.

Of course, I'm not really dreaming it would happen someday but it's a nice thought to start with.

The one with suddenly

Suddenly, i felt like these pictures made my baby look she's not a baby anymore. haayy... ang bilis-bilis tlaga ng panahon.


diba, parang dalawang dalaga lang kme?!


coffee date with daddy at UCC


wearing at the Podium

Insured

Growing up. i never appreciated insurances simply because im not the kind who gets sick, my mom and dad before had company benefits which shouldered our medical needs. but when i got married and it's my own family we're talking about, you'd really make sure that you have everything covered including insurances. I got life insurance quotes from my mom and my dad-in-law and also got pension plans. We're still contemplating on what to get, but we're sure we're getting something for simone's future.

The one with welcome home

Justin came home from the hospital exactly a week after he was born. and here are some pictures of our mini-welcome home party. we had party hats, a couple of balloons, a cake, buffalo wings and pasta! hehe.

Projects

Christmas season has always been a busy time of the year for me. And as restless as I'am, I'm up for a research project that includes a business performance management review of the industry. I'm not disclosing the subject of the research but I'm just happy that we are almost done with the research and that I'm sure we can submit them before the due date. I'm assigned to do all the marketing analysis and strategies while my other groupmates help me with it along some data gathering as part of the project.

I really hope our clients will be satisfied with our report.

The one with the little boy

Justin Daniel, my pamangkin, is growing up so fast. He sleeps most of the time because of his medication, but when he's awake, he is so mabait and he just stares at everyone around him. we really feel that he is a hearththrob in the making. hahaha. and his mom is just as strict that she imagines not letting justin dates other girls except for her. hahaha.

i know i left you hanging with my previous post about justin but the family decides not to file any complaint anymore. what's more important is the baby is well and that everything will be okay now. more stories soon!

Movies

Simon and I have always been movie addicts. When we were going out, movie houses are always in our itinerary. Now that we're married, we stay at home, buy DVDs and watch them until we doze off to sleep. And part of our couch potato treats are comfort foods. I'd always wish there are popcorn machines that you can buy at a cheap price so we can easily make them whenever we want to and eat as much as we want to.

The one with panic shopping

Every year, I always tell myself that I'd do my christmas shopping early so i don't have to do panic buying. and every year i always end up being in a hurry to buy gifts for godkids, families and friends. haaay! i went to richwell today and bought a lot of toys for our inaanaks. hopefully, tapos na yun. para friends and families naman. ordering stuff from my sis in law and some items that im selling come in handy rin naman for other gifts. haha.

On computers

We have to redo our computer set-up last week since our new househelp arrived already and she sleeps early. we had to buy a used cisco router just so we can re-channel our cables and switches to accommodate use of internet even on late hours. we are pretty much heavy internet users and we are always up even at the wee hours surfing and maximizing our monthly fee for it. and i think it was very much useful since spending for it took us a lesser cost compared to buying a new one.

The one with Justin Daniel

Let me share to you our story on my SIL's baby Justin Daniel and God's power.

Last December 3 at around 2am, my SIL jane called me up and told me she had a pink discharge. I told her to call her OB and told her to go to the hospital already. After a few hours, doctor asked them to go home again...it was a false alarm. We headed to our original plans come morning and decided to have a quick lunch before we go to places and let her walk so baby Justin would come down. While having lunch, she's been having contractions with 5 minutes apart. We then rushed to the hospital already together with my baby Simone, and my other SIL jenny. we found out that she's 4cm already. When we got her clothes in the pre-labor room, we bid goodbye and i let simone touch her belly to say bye to Justin. hehe.

Jenny and I got them a room, and waited for hours. Oliver came at around 5pm and Simon at around 8pm. we stayed in the room and at around 1145pm, the doctor told us to go to the delivery room already. We were all excited to see baby Justin. at past 12mn, Justin has'nt arrived yet so we knew Popsy Tony and Justin won't be celebrating the same birthdays. At 1240 am, the OB talked to Oliver and said that Justin had to be revived. His heartbeat was 30 compared to 120/min. He did'nt cry also. Upon hearing that, our world suddenly stopped turning. We felt our hearts tugged and broken into pieces. We immediately prayed until we felt ourselves crying and asking God to heal Justin and work in his little life. We prayed and prayed and did'nt stop until we know that he is okay. Jane, on the other hand, is in the Recovery room already...clueless of what has happened. After an hour, the pedia talked to Oliver and said that there would be tests to do on Justin so they'd find out what's wrong with him and what really happened. His hemoglobin dropped from 150 to 90 and pedia is wondering where the lost blood is. He is in respirator and could not breathe on his own. After a day, he had seizures and doctors are doing some tests to find out about it.

The following day, Justin Daniel had progress, and the day after that. He is slowly being removed from his respirator and just today, he is not in his incubator anymore. He only had a light on him and no respirator at all. He is a strong baby and we have a good God.

More stories to come. We love you baby Justin Daniel and we are excited to see you on Monday!

Justin Daniel Tan Maano
Born: December 4, 2007
Weight: 7 lbs.

Accessories

I love costume jewelry since I started collecting them back in college. And when I was preparing for our wedding, i started to make some to sell to my friends and officemates. I'd make some pieces as soon as i come home from work and sell them once i finish a dozen pieces. I love beads and stones. And i really think it made me more creative since it became my outlet from stress of work. It gave me more room to express myself and I hope to develop it more specially if i want to take some lessons in bead-making.

The one with tagged by pheng

Thanks pheng for the tag! sarap mag bloghop!


Limadang.com
RamblingMoo.com
blogginginmypyjamas
StylewithPassion
Chinneeq
Dora-zooropazoo
Babyshern
HiPnCooLMoMMa
Rachel’s Soulful Thoughts
When Silence Speaks
My Love. My life. My everything.
Our Journey as a Family
Mother’s Horizon
Momma Stuff
We are Family
Our Journey to Life
In This Game of Life
Life. Love. Family. Work. Travel.
We are Family

nice! i'll tag mai ni paul and jacq ni bong!

New sheets

I can feel Christmas air already and I'm so giddily excited about it. Have'nt started to christmas shop "officially" but no worries, I can squeeze it in my time while doing other income-generating activities. haha.

Anyway, back to the Christmas feel. It started to get really cold specially last saturday and it was the perfect time to use the new comforter my mom gave us. The simple white color matches our contemporary bedroom furniture, and although it did'nt come in a set, it's still so comfortable.