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Saturday, May 31, 2008

The one with well-deserved

Being a work-at-home mom for almost eight months now, it has been more motivating for Simon to be the anchor of our ship -- be a good provider, a very, very supportive husband and a very loving father. He works hard in the office, he alone does all our projects for our biz, he makes time for us and he still has more time serving God. Sometimes, I can feel his stress when he requests for a massage. (until i'll ask him to get a real one from a spa since i can't give any justice to my massages)

So what better way to reward a very hard-working man but to buy him his much-delayed toy. haha. I got a cheque from one of our clients and I thought of giving him his PSP already. I texted him and he was overjoyed. When we went home, he began to be confused if he wanted that or a PS2. But knowing my husband, he'll still want to have a PSP should we decide to buy the other one. Xbox 360 is out of the question since it's not portable and compared to the two, it did'nt catch our attention.

He was so happy when we shopped for it last minute at greenhills. It was like me giving my daughter her favorite jellyace. His face lightened up and he kept on kissing my cheek. haha, little did he know that i used his money to buy that. haha.

congratulations beh! you deserve your new toy!

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Tagged again by Lissa

Got this tag from Lissa!

Rule:
1. list 6 things that describe yourself today.
2. add your blog to the list. feel free to add all your other blogs.
3. tag other online friends you know.

today, this is me.
1. Super tired from the many things i did yesterday (check my post before this)
2. Excited for our seminar tomorrow at church
3. Feeling geek - doing another writing assignment, haha.
4. Anticipated - that i'll be busy again today, malling with my baby! haha.
5. Productive - i feel proud i think i was able to do all my assignments this week
6. Less energetic - monthly period's taking a toll on me. hay.

Links: creative in me little peanut me and mine pea in a pod sugar magnolias bloggerhappy berry scrappy changing lanes pit stop kapturd and so i am princess bela our journey to life my planet purple women xplore life. love. family. work. travel., http://www.practicaltipsandmore.com/, http://www.joeymd.com/, http://the-working-mom.blogspot.com/, http://thechocoloco.blogspot.com, http://simon-jacque.blogspot.com, http://www.jacquetan.com

I'm linking Mari, Rhea, and Kathy!

The one with tagged by Marshi again

thanks sis ha. enjoying these. :D

Participants: 1. Me and Mine 2. Creative in Me 3. Little Peanut 4. Pea in a Pod 5. Sugar Magnolias 6. Supermodel Wannabe 7. FunFierceFaboulous 8. A Sweet Taste of Life 9. My Simple Joys 10. In This Game of Life 11. Scribbles of My Life 12. malditang bunso's journal 13. marshimallows 14. we r family

First * First real job: customer relations staff * First screen name: jacque * First funeral: My grandfather (daddy's side) * First pet: japanese spitz dog who lived for 10 years * First piercing: Ears * First tattoo: don't plan to have one* First credit card: citibank * First kiss: my mom (haha, safe answer!) * First enemy: my crush in elementary, haha. tinutukso kasi kme. kunwari galit ako pero kilig din. nyahaha.

Last * Last car ride: yesterday lang * Last kiss: hubby ngayon lang before he left for work

What's your first and last mga sis: Rocks, Sheryll, and Mai

The one with blood type tag

According to a Japanese institute that does research on blood types, there are certain personality traits that seem to match up with certain blood types.

I'm a Type B. Yeah, i like things done my way. haha. and being creative and flexible can be attributed to me in some ways, that's how my friends see me. And yes, i can easily adapt to any situation. i'm a chameleon. haha.


TYPE O You want to be a leader, and when you see something you want, you keep striving until you achieve your goal. You are a trend-setter, loyal, passionate, and self-confident. Your weaknesses include vanity and jealousy and a tendency to be too competitive.

TYPE A You like harmony, peace and organization. You work well with others, and are sensitive, patient and affectionate. Among your weaknesses are stubbornness and an inability to relax.

TYPE B You’re a rugged individualist, who’s straightforward and likes to do things your own way. Creative and flexible, you adapt easily to any situation. But your insistence on being independent can sometimes go too far and become a weakness.

TYPE AB Cool and controlled, you’re generally well liked and always put people at ease. You’re a natural entertainer who’s tactful and fair. But you’re standoffish, blunt, and have difficulty making decisions.

What's your type Chell, Karla, and Wella?

The one with sore feet and waiting friend

Imagine this.

You started your day with errands around the home and accomplishing mommy tasks before you wait for your mom to babysit for your baby. While your baby take a morning nap, you turn on your PC and take some blog ads. When your mom arrives, you leave home. You have at least 8 important things to do in your planner and every minute counts. Your first stop, driving to a friend's house to get the form she needed to fill up. Now, you need to drive faster to get to Makati by 1:30pm and it's 1pm already. Sun is really up and your legs are starting to ache from driving. You head to Makati to meet a client and get a cheque. Third stop, go to the bank immediately to encash the cheque. Fourth stop, while driving north, you have to keep in mind that you'll stop over at Starmall to go to Milk&Co. store to purchase items, return some and register a member. You need to do all these in just 30 minutes so you won't be late in your next appointment. (well, so you won't be too late i mean coz you're already late) You ordered a wrong item so you needed to return them while you're in the store and re-purchase it. After that, you're running to the parking lot from which you got lost because you don't know where you could exit. You already missed two errands, go to kapitolyo to buy balloon stuff for a client and go to a dentist to take the medicare advantage that you have since you have'nt had your teeth checked since after you got pregnant which is like two years ago. haha. You promise to meet your friend already in the parlor so you two can have your much-awaited haircut. Your friend already waited for an hour and she does'nt feel like having a haircut anymore, she just wanted to shop. So you turn your wheel back and head to the mall where she will meet you. That's your fourth or fifth stop? fifth yeah. Good thing the mall is at Galleria. Before meeting your friend, you need to go to Sun Cellular office to get the phone unit of your client which you almost missed to do which is your sixth stop. And now, finally, you're meeting your friend. She's just too happy to see you and you're too guilty to have her waited you treated her for comfort food. You forgot to have lunch and you even forgot to change your pads (because it's your second day, excuse for the girly stuff). you rushed to the washroom and saw that you had your undies stained. good thing it did'nt go through your jeans. so after cleaning up, you head back to eating ice cream and hot dog with your friend and had some chat. After an hour, you bid goodbye and head to greenhills to meet your husband. You were rushing to go to Vmall before the store closes. You and your husband now buy his much-awaited gadget and you now wait for 30 minutes more to finish the transaction and purchase. After that, you head to a fastfood to have your late dinner with husband and before doing that you saw a Mercury drug store and bought some things for your baby. So after eating dinner, you went home. Tired, exhausted, restless, you changed clothes and lie down to bed. You literally feel your legs and feet swollen from all the walking and running time that you had to do that day plus the fact that you're having your monthly symptoms attacking and you asked your sweet husband for a leg massage until you fall asleep.

Never, never, never will i do this again. haha. But I'm so proud and my husband's so proud of me yesterday. I felt like a superwoman. haha. Too bad, i missed two errands which i promised to do today...among other things. haha. here we go again!

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

The one with telling time

Simone's tita jane gave her a jollibee pocket watch which they got from a party they attended. Since simone is a fan of jollibee or yabee, she was surprised seeing jollibee stuck on her wrist. it's looks like a pop swatch that used to be a trend when i was at my teens and it just looks good on her. love it!

i know she does'nt need a watch yet, it just looks too darn cute. haha. and when i asked her what time is it? she raised her hand and showed off her watch to my face as if telling time. haha. smart kid.

the following day, the watch does'nt work anymore but she still wears it. hehe.

The one with a talk

It's been a while since i last talked in front of a number of people. When I was working, presentations and never-ending powerpoints play a big chunk of my work, so basically i learned to present in front of the big bosses without 200 bpm in my pulse. haha. and bosses reprimanding you or shouting at you is just as mundane. more haha.

this time, i'm preparing for a talk next week at our church. we'll be having a praise and worship seminar and i was assigned to do a talk on a certain topic. I'm sure this is way much different from what i used to do before but this is much more rewarding, allowing yourself to be used for a greater cause. oh and i hope they'll learn something from me too. haha.

Monday, May 26, 2008

The one with vintage huh

I just need to post this pic coz she is sooo cute here. I just took these yesterday! hahaha. she was really looking at the camera waiting for mommy to take pictures.

baby, i hope you'll have my nose when you grow up. haha. love you!


adorable talaga!


vintage ever. haha.

The one with Balloon works

Yey, check out my first projects from the seminar i attended. it was a blast! i was super hype doing all the balloon works.

please check it at my personal blog and feel free to leave comments, inquiries for your parties and all. naks! to the highest level nato!

next project, i'll be making a site exclusive for my balloon biz. ;)

Sunday, May 25, 2008

The one with tags

Tag 1: Japanese name
For the instructions, add your name on the list and simply spell out your name using the given Japanese letter- translations below. Tag six of your friends and inform them of the tag. Have fun.

TRANSLATION:A - ka -----G - ji -----M - rin -----S - ari----- Y - fuB - tu -----H - ri -----N - to ------T - chi -----Z - ziC - mi----- I - ki -----O - mo -----U - doD - te----- J - zu -----P - no ------V - ruE - ku-----K - me ----Q - ke ------W - meiF - lu-----L - ta ------R - shi ------X - na

1. OSWALD - moarimeikatate (sounds like american and states har....har...har...)
2. JUNELLE - zudotokutataku (Thank God I’m a Filipino! sounds like sadako. nyay! hehehe)
3. JACQUELINE - zukamikedokutakitoku (Ayay!! Unsaman ni perti mang taasa..wa ko kasabot nyahahaha)
4. LIRA LUZ - takishika taduzi ( sounds like a title of an anime show) it's cute!
5. Gracey - Katakamikuari (oh my, i'm glad i'm not japanese. Nothing sounds like it!
6. Vannie - Rukatotokiku (huh? ruka sounds cute!) hehehe
7. Farah - Lukashikari (hahaha! it's cute!)
8. Patricia - Nokachishikimikika (ang haba naman! ) : )9. Jade - Zukateku (parang ang asim)
9. Jade - Zukateku (parang ang asim)
10. Issa - kiariarika (parang ang pangit pakinggan, hahaha!)
11. JACQUELINE - zukamikedokutakitoku (whew! hirap naman nito.haha)

Please share your japanese names: my CWL sisses :)

Tag 2: More about ME
Got this tagged from Marshi
Participants: Tere-Blessing in Life 2.Yen- Me and Mine 3.Aggie - Pink and Brown Diaries. 4. Mich - Random Thoughts 5. Vannie - FunFierceFab 6. Jane - My Charmed Life. 7. Abie – Women Xplore 8. Jody - In This Game of Life 9. Eds – Just Me. 10. something purple 11.vanity kit 12. em's detour 13. mind bubbles 14. In Demand Opinions 15. Sweet Lullaby 16. MJ's Hurrah17. Buzzing Around 18. Tasteful Voyage 19. A Mom's Note 20. Top Form Secrets 21.marilyn 22. Kate Ashley 23. marshimallows 24. Jacque

Tagging along Jacq ni bong, Van ni Enrique, and Abi ni Romy

1. What do you want for your birthday?
~ a business of my own too...seriously
2. Who will be your next kiss?
~ either simone or simon (but of course, with different styles ;)
3. When was the last time you went to the mall?
~ just the other day
4. Are you wearing socks right now?
~ i seldom wear socks
5. How did you spend your summer?
~ one family outing and one barkada outing
6. Have you been to the cinema in the last 5 days?
~ i wish
7. What was the last thing you had to drink?
~ lemongrass tea (yum)
8. What are you wearing right now.
~ red sleeveless and PJs still (haha)
9. What was your last purchase?
~ my hubby's polo and a shirt for me
10. What was the last food you ate?
~ menudo for breakfast
11. Who would be the person you would call if you were up in the middle of the night and couldn’t sleep?
~ hubby
12. Have you bought any clothing items in the last week?
~ sure did! hehe
13. Do you have a pet?
~ yup, we have a dog and he's back with us. yey!
14. What made you laugh in the last 5 days?
~ simone tried to do the actions of "my toes, my knees..." so cute!
15. If you could be anywhere right now, where would you be?
~ anywhere basta with the family
16. What is the last thing you purchased online?
~ feeding bottles for my nephew justin
17. One thing you hate about yourself?
~ that i'm too darn pretty! (haha, kidding! don't know. it's too early to think)
18. Do you miss anyone?
~ pencheng (our dog who passed away, hay miss him so much bigla when ross came back)
19. What are your plans for the day?
~ go to my friend's house to discuss her birthday party, go to Milk & Co to purchase more clothes and go to an an online friend-turned-friend's house (aka Van) to meet up with the other moms. (aka con and jen)
20. Last person you msg’d?
~ my sis-in-law
21. Ever went to a camp?
~ yeah, we did it in our church every summer when we were kids
22. Are you a good student in school?
~ super! haha. always made my momma proud ;)
23. What do you know about the (your) future?
~ none, only that it'll be exciting
24. Are you wearing any perfume or cologne?
~ none as of now but i usually wear cologne when i go out
25. Where is/are your best friend/s right now?
~ home, trying to get well from a fever.

Whew! :)

Saturday, May 24, 2008

The one with all about balloons

Yey, tomorrow is the seminar for balloon decorating. I have been waiting for this for a month already and I hope I'd be able to maximize the fee that comes along with it. harhar. Well, it's not really a pressure if i'd want to pursue this as a business but i'm sure this will come in handy when i prepare for simone's next parties, and my nephew's. So, i'm just as excited still. But if ever things get better(i hope it will), it will be nice to get clients. (wink, wink)

Thank you once again to my ever faithful sponsor, Simon, for using his checking account to pay for the many things I want to do. haha.

Friday, May 23, 2008

The one with kulit

Simone has this habit of making funny faces which we call her "kulit" trademarks. ang kulit kasi tingnan. haha.

she loves oreo, specially the peanut butter flavor grandma bought for her.


her wrinkly-nose trademark


told you never to play with powder...haha.

The one with practicing my moves

So the summer heat is really gone, eh? and before we totally bid goodbye to haring-araw and welcome rains and cloudy days, here's my practice-move layout courtesy of Scrap Girls. It took me a while before i was able to start on this one because I really don't have any knowledge in Adobe Photoshop and i literally did'nt know where and how to start. I hope I gave some justice to the freebie kit i got from Scrap Girls.

We only had one family outing this year but it was still a blast!

Thursday, May 22, 2008

The one with 15 and 29

These are the number of months we celebrated this month. Simone turned 15 months already! Praise God! And we are happily married for 29 months! Still in a bliss! I'm just thankful for blessing me with my wonderful babies. yeah, simon will forever be a baby. haha.

here she is now...(photos from sheryll)





Before turning 15 months, here are highlights of her milestones: (one happy mom i'am)
~ she does the action of "twinkle, twinkle little star" by open-close her hands
~ she does the action of "itik, itik" hahaha. promise!
~ she can climb the stairs, about 3 steps...alone! waah!
~ she can climb the sofa and sit on it...alone! more waah!
~ she walks faster and with more confidence now.
~ she's the same height as our dining table. what?!
~ she still loves mommy's routine around the house
~ she loves colors and tries to color barney with her lines outside the images. ;)
~ she loves to doodle on her dora notebook, with pentel pen inks all over her shirt.
~ she can change a DVD specially if she does'nt like the one playing. (promise, she can really do this!)
~ she has added these words in her vocabulary: says barney with "yarni"; mommy with "ma-me"; daddy with "da-dhe"; tan with "nan" (answers when asked what's your surname?)
~ she still refers to all animals as "aw-aw" but she can differentiate an elephant, dog, cat, giraffe, and even a rat (aka mickey mouse)
~ she can never sleep without her no-pillowcase-pillow. and she does'nt want it with a case on, she'll always remove when i try to put one.
~ we don't boil her water anymore! hehe.
~ she's as ticklish as ever
~ she loves to open cabinets
~ she can now shoot the shapes inside the toy house. i don't know how to call that toy though. but she can only do so with the heart shape and the round one. haha.

can't believe that seven months to go, she'll turn two already. waah! we love you simone!

Happy monthsary beh and thank you for the router! haha. we celebrated our special day with a dinner despedida of the Girons at Somethin' Fishy in Eastwood. We will surely miss this family. Thank you for being our godparents.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

The one with boys only

The husband had a date with his dad and his only brother. As far as i can remember, that's their first boys night out. haha. My father-in-law surprised them with a shopping money. Shocked to the bones, both of them did'nt know what to do with the gift. Chris immediately asked simon to pool their money so they can buy an acoustic guitar. The big man said no because he wanted them to buy something that they don't usually buy or what we call the "vanity stuff". He wanted them to buy a designer jewelry or a watch maybe. They strolled and could'nt find any. my husband even called me and asked if he can by his PSP already. I told him, whichever dad wants you to buy, that's what you'd buy. Anyway, that's his money. Just do what he asks. haha, good daughter-in-law.

They ended up buying clothes. haha. Their family continues to amaze me and I really pray and hope that simon and i will be the kind of parents that our parents are to us.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Haha. Got four tags of this. Thanks Mec, Benson, Jammy and Karla.

RULES:

Each blogger starts with ten random facts/habits about themselves. Bloggers that are tagged need to write on their own blog about their ten things and post these rules.
At the end of your blog, you need to choose 10 people to get tagged and list their breads. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged,and to read your blog.

Ten Random Facts about Jacque:
1. I'm a lefty. Used to be ambidextrous but chose to be lefty after a while. hehe
2. I'm a certified Choco mucho addict. I'm currently on my withdrawal phase due to the addiction i was involved with. hehe.
3. I love Friends series. It's been years since their last episode and I never fail to watch one almost everyday. hey, i've memorized their lines for goodness' sake.
4. I'm a work-at-home mom. I never realized I'd be one but it's one of the wisest decisions i've made.
5. I love accessories, so i make them. the kuripot in me. hehe
6. I love DIYs. whenever i see something i like, i analyze how it's being made and if i can do it.
7. I'm lazy with beauty regimen. was never a fan. i know i'd regret it in the future, so i'd have to stick to one good regimen soon
8. I want to do so many things like take photography lessons, learn digiscrapping, establish my own business, etc., etc. restless huh?
9. I love to sing, not the professional type, for church purposes only.
10. I'm a born-again Christian. :)

I'm not tagging anyone anymore coz everyone seems to have done this already. haha.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

The one with busy saturday

Why does everything have to happen on May 17?! what's with the date?! I looked at my planner and saw that i have at least four important events, and i don't know which one to attend to.

First off, my parents are arriving from Vietnam! Yey, we so miss them. They went to Vietnam two weeks ago for a mission trip. Ah yeah, did i mention that they're missionaries? I'm so proud of them. They've always wanted to go on missions but the budget did'nt allow them to until now. And I'm happy to see them that they've fulfilled their calling. I just wish i had the money to send them to their other mission trips. So anyway, I wanted to be the one to drive for them. Plus, I also wanted simone to see an airplane up close since she loves airplanes. Weird though, my does'nt text me their ETA details, she does'nt want me to drive that far and get tired. so technically, i can tick this off my plans for the day but i don't want to, so i'm figuring out how to get their ETA details. hehe.

Second, the Adobe Photoshop seminar that costs P300 only. so cheap, it's a very good price. But since it an 8-hour seminar, i did'nt register anymore. tsk, tsk.

Third, the Mom expo in rockwell. I already registered last month and i'm so looking forward to the topics and mommy stuff that i can check out. I plan to drop by with my parents before we head home. I just hope they still have the energy for it.

Fourth, we have to attend a silver wedding anniversary. Simon needs to be there at 3pm. Yikes!

So tell me, how will i suppose to schedule saturday? hmmm, busy, busy as a bee.

The one with finally a day off!

Yey, I finally had the day off. For the longest time, I always thought that my running errands or simply going out to meet clients or go to the grocery store can also be considered "time to myself". Until i realized thru a friend's advice that a "day off" is a time to just relax, go out and not worry on bills to pay, things that are needed to be bought for home and certainly taking care of my baby. I never had one, believe me. Not that i'm complaining, it's just that i think that i deserve to have one. Being a SAHM/WAHM, it is much more difficult to draw the line of self-relaxation vs. homemaking/taking care of your child. Because to yourself, you don't consider taking care of your child a work, neither a burden that you have to unload and get over with. It's a role that you play each waking day.

But one way or another, it will take a toll on you, physically and mentally, if you don't have an outlet or you don't prioritize your self-needs anymore. I had a bit of emotion burst last mothers' day when i suddenly felt tired from the busy schedule we had and came evening, i still had to cook for some visitors who came. I mean, I thought it was a day for all mothers, why did i feel so restless and exhausted? What's worst was that I was looking forward to a dinner out with my family and because the visitors overstayed, we just ate at home. Don't get me wrong, I already got my sweet kisses, hugs, and greetings from my two babies (simon and simone) and i felt special that day, it's just that i was kinda looking forward to a little unwinding outside home. haha. I told simon about what i was feeling the following day, after i filtered my emotions and took away some irrationality out of it. ;) and he perfectly understood me and even told me, "that's the reason why i always tell you to get a massage, and you always refuse to getting one. beh, you deserve it."

And just the other day (wednesday), we went out for a date. yihee. a real one. i mean, not the fancy type, but the usual dates that we used to have. i was sooo happy. we went to our favorite hang out, eastwood. he took me shopping, ate out, and watched a movie. (Iron Man is good!) I felt so happy, he saw it in my eyes. And when we got home, while giggling and laughing about the fun evening that we just had, i kissed him and hugged him tight, and then i thanked him for always understanding me and for a wonderful time.

Yes, I finally had my day-off! (haha, i sound like a sosi yaya, bwahaha)

Monday, May 12, 2008

The one with mother's day

It's my second time! Simone and I woke up late for our 8am mass service. Simon went ahead since he was assigned to play for the praise and worship. My alarm did'nt work (or it did but we had a good sleep that we did'nt notice it?) and it took us an hour to prepare. we got to the church at 9am and ashamed as i was, i did'nt finish the service to be on-time for simone's first tv shoot at 10am. forgive me, i planned on going to the afternoon service but was'nt able to do so either. heck, that's another story.

Anyway, after the service, we went to Lissa's house already and we were greeted by Izzo, Lissa's first son. We had some chat about the recently held dedication and how much we were ranting on the venue's airconditioning and raving on the choco fondue set and her give-aways, which by the way are so cute. :) The crew of the TV show came at around 11am. We introduced ourselves and had some chit chat before starting with the shoot. naks, i feel like we're real actors. haha.

Simone and i were assigned to do the "travelling with your child" and "child-proofing your home". It was not easy to "act" since one scene would require me to repeat what i did at least three times. The reason, they have to get different angles of the same scene. So if the scene required that i had to pack simone's things for travelling, i had to do it three times, exactly the same way i did it the first time. no more, no less. there were times when i'll be packing diapers first when in fact it should be the last. haha. it was the hardest packing i had to do. The next scene was easier excluding the fact that simone never used a car seat so when she was asked to sit on one, she did'nt like it and gave her tantrum look. We all had a hard time there, but the walking-to-the-van scene was so much easier. I wanted that also since I want national TV to see that my baby's walking already. It's such a wonder to see small feet and legs walking around, much more on TV. haha.

The last scene was something that I think can be improved, had they told me to bring simone's toys over. The scene required that simone will be playing with her toys while i childproof our home. Lissa found a way to find a toy for her but she had to internalize if she likes the toy or not. Before she liked it, the shoot has ended. haha.

That's how we celebrated mother's day...being a stage mom. haha.

PS The show and segment to which the shoot will be used will not be disclosed yet until they've shown it on TV. Reason? Wala lang. haha.

The one with the balloons

Okay, it was not as easy as i thought it was. I think my fingers numbed from the pain of tying balloons. To think that I only provided less than 200 balloons and I even made the flower balloons the night before to save me from tying more balloons. But I still had fun. I have'nt had the seminar yet and I just surfed thru the internet and read some books to get some ideas as to how to decorate. I just wish i had enough budget to buy more balloons. It's a little costly, mind you but I hope I did some justice. Lissa approached me after the dedication and thanked me for a good job. So what do you think? honestly, you can tell me.

Disclaimer: The number of balloons used were limited since i had a limited budget as well. haha.


thank you sheryll for the pics! :)

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Who would have thought?!

All along, I thought she looks more like her dad, bwahaha...now we're even.

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Geneology - Family history sites

thanks sheryll for sharing this! cool!

Customer service

Friday, May 09, 2008

The one with emoticon

I was'nt able to finish my endless to do list this week, i feel like the list just keeps on getting longer. haha. Promise beh, I'll start on our portfolio next week. totoo nato. ;)

anyway, i remembered i wanted to post these pictures ever since concon sent these thru YM. simone is really a big girl na. pics were taken by their photographer during joaquin's (aka pork chop) birthday bash. congrats again con for throwing such a great party!


haay, she's not a baby anymore...


camera addict talaga si simone. i remember nap ni rhea was telling me, "talagang tumitingin sya sa camera pag picture noh?" hehe.


okay, si daddy naman...haha.

yeah, maybe it's because mother's day is nearing, the reason for my sudden emoticon burst. i was browsing her album while we were in her playroom. can't help talaga pero she has grown so much already. i mean, not that im overacting or anything, but you know the feeling na one year has passed already and so much changes have taken place in the life of someone you call your own. yun lang, it's just overwhelming. :)

okay, so much so for that, im posting one pic of some n@wie friends. meet them here in flesh. haha.


From L-R: Rhea with Andie, Tin with Andie, Mec with Yakee, Me, Con, and Jen

The one with it finally struck me

I know I've been contemplating about how hard it is to lose weight and I had my turning point when I weighed in on my mom's scale and saw that I gained *too-toot* pounds! what the?! I was trying to be surprised but I guess if there's someone I can blame, it would only have to be....the inventors of Choco Mucho! haha. I'm a confessed choco mucho addict. Unfortunately, I really have to stop this addiction, lest I'll get diabetes. Simon noticed that I don't buy choco mucho boxes anymore (yes, you read it right, i buy in boxes, not on retail) and i told him that i'm on my withdrawal phase so it would help if we don't talk about it. hahaha. I need a drug rehab for this.

~0~
I'm getting busy planning on how to decorate Renzo's dedication venue tomorrow. I'm excited and I hope Lissa and Wowie will love it. It will be my first time to do balloon decorating tomorrow. I still don't have any experience, as i need to enroll myself yet, but i'm practicing and i hope i'd give justice to it. wish me luck! i'll post pictures soon. I don't know, after Simone's party, i can't stop thinking of the balloons and how nice it is to know and learn the craft. it might be a good business venture too, who knows? haha.

Thursday, May 08, 2008

The one with 11 people

Name 11 people you can think of right off the top of your head. Don’t read the questions underneath until you write the names of all the 11 people. This is a lot funnier if you actually randomly list the names first. No cheating.

The Eleven:

1. Simon
2. Jill
3. Jannet
4. Naan
5. Jon
6. Jason
7. Concon
8. Mec
9. Chell
10. Jane
11. Achie

The Questions:

1. How did you meet # 4? Naan is a childhood friend. We've known each other since we were playing out in the sun with just shirt and panties on. haha.

2. What would you do without #5? Then Jill will be lonely, Jon is Jill's husband and one of my good friends.

3. What would you do if #7 and #10 were going out? I'd say it will be fun, I'm sure they'll do shopping, so i'll join them probably. :)

4. Who’s #6’s best friend? Hmm, Naan, her wife. :)

5. Have you ever eaten around #1? Everyday. :)

6. Do you miss #2? Super! Jill is in the US now for a family reunion and hope she gets back soon so the group can meet up again.

7. Who is #11 dating? James, her Korean boyfriend. :)

8. What do you think of #3? We miss her so much. We have'nt been going out for a while already. I know she's busy but i hope she'll make time for us. hehe, possessive friend i know.

9. What do you think of #9? Chell, or Mercy, is my sister-in-law. She and Chris are newlyweds and I hope they'd be blessed with a baby soon. can't wait!

10. Who does #1 like? Of course, ang nag-iisang ako! haha

11. Would you marry #8? Mec would instantly dump me. haha.

Hehe. Got tired going up and down to check on the names i wrote for whatever number. haha. I'm tagging anyone who'd like to answer this. :) thanks karla!

Wednesday, May 07, 2008

The one with step by step

I know she's just taking her time.

But the mommy in me patiently practices her walking skills and strolling skills everyday. She can actually walk alone, but she has to see me on the other end of where's she's going so she'd have a goal, moreso a finish line. haha. I'm just happy to see her walking more than the usual steps without me forcing her to do so. She just stood up and started walking while I was singing to her. Congratulations Simone! I know you can do it baby!

I remember I had this same dilemma with Simone being a vegetarian. At one, we started introducing table food to her but she really did'nt like it and would only eat specially-prepared veggies and rice for her. I was fine with it since I knew it was a healthy diet but every meal, I patiently introduce to her different kinds of food and now, even if we still prepare food for her, she starts to eat pasta, fruit shakes from a straw (cool!) and "taste test" some of the meals i cook. It's a step-by-step process you know. haha.

Anyhow, it's Renzo's dedication on Saturday (Renzo is the son of my officemate Lissa) and I promised her that I'd help her out with her venue decors. I still don't have enough skills on balloon decors, so i just decided to practice and practice on the set-up i'm working on for Renzo. I do hope Lissa and Wowie will like it. Good thing, the venue (same as simone's party venue) has curtains so i can easily pin and hang the decors. I'll keep you posted with pics soon. Oh, did I mention that it's balloon-decorating I'm talking about?! haha.

The one with the winner!

I just have to post this entry as I myself got teary-eyed after reading this. I was'nt able to read the other entries for the contest but Mec won and no wonder, super touching. Happy mother's day to all the moms and the moms-to-be as well... Cheers!

The best thing about being a mom
By Mec Arevalo

The best thing about being a Mom is not having someone to buy toys and clothes for, someone to plan birthdays for, someone to puree vegetables for. It's not having someone to smile at you as he first learns to walk, or having people commend you for having a cute, beautiful, well-behaved baby.

It's not about having your fertility unchallenged. It's not about having someone to strengthen a marriage. It's not about dreaming dreams and making plans with your husband for.

It's not about going up on a stage to pin a medal on a bright child. Or having someone tell you "I love you" and know that you mean the world to her. And certainly, losing weight from breastfeeding and the late nights is not always something an exhausted mother would appreciate. And would any parent honestly tell you to look forward to adolescence?

So what is the best thing about being a Mom then?

It's the front-row seat to a person's becoming, that's the best thing. Imagine a person, the greatest miracle in the world by virtue of what's in him and what choices he'll make, and you will know him first... know him best. Because you were there from the minute his heart started beating, and your heart will skip a thousand beats for him, for every threshold crossed, for every whimper in the night, for every proud moment. You will know his first memories for him, you will know the first songs in his heart... and all this, you will remind him when he forgets. Because you won't, not ever really, even when your mind and body gets weak.

You will watch a person become, and hopefully influenced and inspired well by you. The front-row seat will allow you opportunities for giving feedback, for giving guidance, but it will also remind you everyday that this is not your show, not your song, not your book that is unfolding. The greatest privilege, the most beautiful reward is just that... that you will be there when a person is born, and hopefully, till he grows up to be a witness to the same circle of life.

To Francesca Simone, it's a privilege knowing you. I'll always stay at the front-row seat.

Monday, May 05, 2008

The Mom you're meant to be

The Mom You're Meant to be
by Cheri Fuller

This is the book I've been reading for a while now. It's actually a short-read one but for some reasons, I don't want to finish reading it and i keep on coming back to read the chapters i just read. It's a very practical book, very different from what i usually take out of my small library. And what's good about it is that it quotes Bible verses from which the author used as her guiding principles on how to be the mom that we are all meant to be.

And since mothers' day falls this month, I'd like to dedicate this month into sharing bits and pieces of the book. Every now and then, I will try to post and share important things to ponder. These are all practical tips, and application of which may depend on the age of your kids, but i'm sure it will still be as helpful.

CHAPTER ONE: THROW AWAY THE COOKIE CUTTER

There is no such thing as a perfect parent. God was and is the only perfect parent. And that being the case, there is no such thing as a perfect child either. We, as mothers, may have unintentionally or intentionally set standards on our child's developments, thus, the occurrence of “false expectations” and gaps between the parent and the child. More important than tracking if your child has reached his milestone at a specific phase or not is the term “goodness of fit” or “attunement”. More important than children having “ideal” characteristics – such as adaptability and compliance—that make them easy to deal with is the “fit” that grows between parent and child.

I often hear the words “never compare your child to others” as no two kids are alike, not even twins. But I myself cannot stop from asking about my friends with kids the same age as my daughter's. It's not because I want to compare but because I want to check if what my baby is going through is a normal phase. But there are different children's intelligence types and learning styles. If we, the parents, could master this, we will understand, accept and enjoy our child more. We will better understand what their gifts are, what their wants and needs are and approach them in ways that they will comprehend.

There are different learning styles for every child. To help us discover what it is for your own child, try this simple exercise.

Imagine you're reading aloud from a book with the repeated refrain “and the rabbit went hop, hop, hop” Does your child:

· Come up close, perhaps insisting on being on your lap, to see the pictures? This is a sign of a visual learner.
· Mimic the words of the refrain or interrupt to talk about the story? This is a sign of an auditory learner.
· Move around and do what the refrain says – hop, hop, hop? This is a sign of a kinesthetic learner.


Simone came up close to see the pictures. She is a visual learner. She loves flash cards and books with lots of pictures in it. Here's another interesting exercise:

DIFFERENT KINDS OF SMART

· The Musical Child is always singing a song (usually, right on pitch) or moving to a beat. He easily remembers a tone, melody or rhythm.
· The People Smart Child is a social butterfly, loves being with a group playing and taking the lead, and has great communication skills
· The Body Smart Child has extra energy and loves sports. She remembers songs with body movements the best.
· The Spatially Smart Child can look at directions in a LEGO set and put the whole project together. He enjoys drawings, solving puzzles and mazes, and designing things.
· The Math Smart Child is always sorting, classifying, sequencing objects and analyzing things.
· The Verbally Smart Child loves word play, telling stories and listening to books being read. She has an uncanny memory for words.

I have not yet experienced some of the instances that can help me identify which smart child is my baby but I can see that she's leaning more on the verbally smart one, the body smart one, and the musical child. She taps her fingers to music, she loves it when someone reads to her, and she remembers dance steps of “tak-tak mo” and “kagat labi” and does it everytime she hears them. (titles of novelty songs played in GMA's eat Bulaga)

There, hope you enjoyed the first chapter. Will post more insights soon. Motherhood rocks!

Saturday, May 03, 2008

The Best thing about being a mom

Motherhood knows no boundaries...that's the best thing about being a mom.

Motherhood opens a woman's heart to love someone more than she can ever imagine, it gives strength to hurdles she thinks she cannot handle, and it gives her wisdom to follow the instincts of life. Yes, these are some of the most important lessons motherhood has taught me.

Being a mom is not just about changing diapers and waking up in the middle of the night, it's a nurturing experience. It's about the decision that I made to quit a very fulfilling job in order to spend more quality time with my child and watch her milestones unfold right before my eyes.

The best thing about being a mom...
...is learning that you can actually be selfless for your child, no matter how brat you once were.
...is being able to draw more strength than you actually need in order to show your your child when she's sick that she has to get well
...is getting a hug from your child. It assures you that you're doing the right thing.
...is seeing your child's smiles and giggles when you make silly jokes. You brighten up someone's day.
...is knowing and appreciating what my mother went through to raise me up and that I will try with all that I can to do the same for my own child.
...is seeing a part of you on your child.

I don't intend to be a perfect mom, because there will never be one. But every waking day, I offer my child to God and let Him take control of my life and direct me on how to be the best mom that i can be.
~0~
Official entry for Ging Lorenzo's contest.

Friday, May 02, 2008

The one with the birthday boy

Simon was awakened by Simone's tapping his back and then kissing him on his cheek while mommy singing the happy birthday song. We're all happy because we have the whole day to ourselves, yey! I gave him my gift, it's a polo from Memo and he liked it. He feels like he owns one of Dingdong Dantes' oufits. haha. (read: just the outfit, he will never look like Dingdong Dantes) But it really looks good on him. I like buying clothes for him, I feel like I have a mannequin to dress up. :)

Anyway, we went out that afternoon and the usual, eat out and stroll at the mall. He wanted to buy a gift for himself and he got excited because he got an approval from me. haha. unfortunately, the ipod case that he was looking for and the video cards that he wanted ran out of stock. too bad, everything that he wanted that day, he did'nt get and my approval only last for a day. hahaha. nah, im just kidding. he can always buy those whenever he wants to, he just have to ask me first. haha, i'm the budget officer, what can i do?!

And then we went to Time Zone which we really enjoyed. Simone rode on a car that only goes sideways. She did'nt like it that much though. We played hoops and took the Van Gogh's workroom which turned out really nice. Then, we bought some stuff for simone, bought lots of fruit shakes and took simone for a really long walk. she loves to walk, albeit one hand assistance. I know she'll soon walk by herself. We capped it off with dinner and a DVD movie at home. It's a simple celebration but still a meaningful one. And may i quote my husband's kilig statement: "anywhere with you guys is a happy place"

Happy birthday simon! we love you so much! and thank you for being my bestfriend. :)

The one with weight gain

I know I gained weight again. Hay, it's so hard not to eat sweets coz I have a sweet tooth. I looove chocolates, cakes, ice cream and anything sweet. And I'm kinda feeling the bulges again. Since I stopped eating my greens, I started going back to my usual diet and believe me, it's not a good one. Having a husband who loves to eat does'nt help a bit. I have to eat with him and do you know the feeling of eating with someone who eats as if it's his last time? haha. that's how my husband is. He really eats to his heart's content and that's good. I mean, you really have to enjoy your food and lucky for him that he has a faster metabolism, all his fats just go right to his hands and feet. haha. unfortunately, i don't have that skill.

I chanced upon this site on weight-loss. It's a personal blog actually and everything is based on his experiences. Maybe, I'd read more and i hope it would help me. It's been quite a while already and my being a drama queen of not being able to lose weight is not a good sign anymore because I myself don't have the discipline. I'm a certified Choco Mucho addict and if i don't stop eating that, I'd get diabetes. I lost the drive to lose weight a couple of months back when I lost some and thought that it's enough. I should have worked harder. And the excuse of "just gave birth" is sooo not acceptable already! haha, for goodness' sake, my baby is now a toddler, I ran out of excuses already. Hmm, maybe I should say, I need the energy to run after her, that's why i eat more now?! hahaha. My friends who gave birth later than I did are all sexy again! Waah! hahaha. They inspire me. Hopefully, the inspiration will lead to determination and then some action. haha.

The one with the summer outing


We went to a private resort in antipolo, Marabella resort. It's quite new and since the place is nearer to us rather than going to batangas or laguna, we knew this is a better choice for the Tan Family.

It's Simone's first time to swim...officially. haha. I put tons of baby oil on her. I was kinda scared coz she just came out of her roseola and the paranoid in me is telling me that she has to recover still. Nah, I don't think so. My baby's really strong, no sign of any need for recovery. haha. although, she did'nt like the water at first. i think because it was 9am the water was still cold. when we tried the second time, she like it na. yey!





see, she did'nt like it at first...hahaha. pero nakatingin pa rin sa camera. :)


wow, floating galore na ito! hahaha.

she stayed sa water for almost an hour and her hands are all wrinkled already. she enjoyed it. did you notice the change of swimwears? hahaha. we brought three actually, she was able to wear the two 2-pc. swimsuits. nice! buti pa sya.


here are more pictures!

The one with go natural

As I was being my couch potato again, I happened to surf on one of Boy and Kris' episodes and it was something about natural beauty treatments. Things that we can actually buy from a market and that we use for cooking can also be used as part of our beauty regimen. These are some of the things i remembered:
~ Brown sugar and coconut oil can be mixed together and used as a body scrub
~ Honey and calamansi can be mixed together and used as a facial cream. It's a good natural acne treatment too.
~ Coconut oil can be used for hot oil. Just cook the coconut meat and squeeze the meat to get the oil. Apply on hair and massage hair for ten minutes. Put shower cap to cover hair. Rinse thouroughly with water ONLY.
~ Calamansi is a very good underarm, elbow and knee whitening regimen.

There, it does'nt need to be expensive to get beautiful. Now, I just need to find the willingness to do these, I'am so lazy on these things. haha