The one with Kapuso to the max

On one of our driving moments, Simon teased me to blog about how we met and how we ended up as a couple and the mushy kind of stuff. I wanted to do it now so i decided to look for old photos to create that "historical" effect. While surfing the folders, I stumbled upon an album of Simon with some artists from his office. hahaha. and I wanted to put it here. wala lang, trip lang. next na yung mga big stars. hahaha.

One happy family - ahehe...sweet jolina, love her to bits. :)

people have this tendency of wanting to take pictures with celebrities noh??? hehe.

o diba, parang sila? hahaha.


with marky, naks! kulet, pareho naka hiphop sign. haha.
with Jay-R

with Jonalyn

with Aicelle, winner ang boses...

with Lovi...ay, kapamilya na pala ito. hehe.

for the finale, with kapatid dingdong. o diba, para lang silang magkapatid, same color pa ng shirt. hahaha.

The one with Day one

A good friend of mine, Con, inspired me to go back to my greens and it's Day one today. I've always had a customized diet. I just follow what I think suit me and for this, I'm trying (read trying okay so don't pressure me that much! haha) to eat just salad, bread and if i'd eat viands or any dish, no rice is a must. I don't want to cut on my iced tea consumption, sorry, but I really need the sugar rush, I also will not force myself to eat less during events since i need the energy, so that leaves me to two "eat-all-you-can days". bwahaha. so much for a customized diet eh? But I hope i'd improve. Con promised to give me a pedometer to inspire me to walk more and count my steps. thanks sister! remember the 10,000 steps of Ms. Dina B.? hehe. i won't promise, i'll just do it. so expect more blogging about dieting, keeping fit and the like. I need an outlet to express my actions so i'd get more motivation to do it. ahehe, and hopefully I wont be needing any hydroxy cut in the future. I don't think I'm that desperate. ;)

The one with racing for a hundred

God is really good. Below is a column about hannah's fund-raising activity. Thank you so much Ms. Cathy for a very moving and encouraging article. winner! anyway, if you want to be a part of the 100 very nice people to bless Hannah with a ventilator, please email at hannahshundred@gmail.com. thank you and God bless you!

Fundraising race for Hannah Cordviz
By Cathy S. Babao-Guballa
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 23:52:00 10/18/2008

MANILA, Philippines - A month ago, I wrote about the case of Hannah Ysabel Cordviz in this column. I found out about Hannah through my friend Rapa Lopa who spearheads the I am Ninoy campaign. Hannah is a 1-year-old girl afflicted with Congenital Central Hypoventilation
Syndrome (CCHS). CCHS patients are expected to lead long and productive lives provided they get the care and necessary medical equipment required for their day-to-day existence. The syndrome occurs in one out of every one million newborn babies.In the Philippines, there are only three known cases of CCHS; the eldest is now 3 years old.

A ventilator is crucial to Hannah’s survival. Her parents, Carlo and Joann are steeped in debt that everything they make now all go into paying hospital bills. They had to quit their jobs to care for her 24/7. A portable ventilator costs P750,000. You can read more about their family’s story on http://hannahysabelle.multiply.com. When I first wrote about Hannah, my blogmate and friend, Tessa Mendoza Cruz, a physical therapist based in Atlanta, distributed letters to
ventilator suppliers in the United States. We prayed for someone to donate a unit or sell it to us at a substantial discount. And God answered our prayers in a really big way! So, Tessa, Rapa and myself split the anticipated cost and did our own fundraising. Hannah’s Hundred
On the eve of my birthday, I launched Hannah’s Hundred, a 5K run that I plan to join on Nov. 23. I will be running in a race sponsored by Unicef, aptly titled Walk On The Child’s Side.
It was my coach, Rio de la Cruz who egged me to join this event. There are also a 2K walk for families and 5K and 10K races. The events will be held at the McKinley Hill in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig and participants may register at ROX on Bonifacio High Street. Now, I am no true-blue runner. As of this writing, I have only ran a measly 3K race. I do not expect to win this race, but Hannah is my motivation to run to the best of my ability. So how does Hannah’s Hundred work?
I am looking for at least 100 individuals who will pledge P1,000 pesos each for the race I will join. Roughly, that is P200 per kilometer since I am entering the 5K category. Each person who donates P1,000 will be entitled to a raffle ticket.

What do you win? A beautiful watercolor painting (17 x 23) called “Hannah” donated by the generous and talented architect and visual artist Joven Ignacio. By 10 p.m. on my birthday
last Thursday, I had hit the half-way mark for my target. I know that in God’s time, I will eventually reach it. I know that times are difficult but one lesson I have learned over the last few years is when we find the courage to go beyond ourselves, when we step out of the shadow of our own sadness, financial difficulties or whatever problem you have, it is then that the burden lifts and we feel braver and more optimistic about our circumstances. It has always been
in giving and placing a cause greater than ourselves that we become
more fulfilled.

If you want to be a part of Hannah’s Hundred, please e-mail me at HannahsHundred@gmail.com
Excess funds collected by Rapa, Tessa and myself will be donated to Hannah’s parents to help defray the cost of her medical expenses. The raffle will be held after the race, the first week of December.

URL for the newspaper article: http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/lifestyle/lifestyle/view/20081018-167171/Fundraising-race-for-Hannah-Cordviz

The one with hitting the note

Yes, our simone is finally starting to hit some notes! yahoo!!! i know she will become a musician when she grows up. well, she does'nt have to do it professionally like her dad but i'm sure a speck of my husband's genes will do it. hahaha, syempre, love your own. anyway, like i said on my previous posts, she has been doing great in imitating actions and mimicking words and there were attempts of singing with notes picked up from everywhere. hahaha. we'd just laughed at it silently and tell her how good she is. (syempre, words of encouragement ito!) and then, just a couple of days ago, we heard her try to sing "Elmo's song" with just one syllable and she was able to hit some notes right. and just a while ago, while driving home from mommy's birthday dinner, we heard her again singing the elmo song with more notes struck right. well, it was more like "la, la, la...la, la la!" If you know the song, you'll get it, hehe. we are two proud parents. i can't wait when she sings the whole song. I was amazed of how a child grows. really? imagine, when she was just a baby, i remember her being able to lift her head is already a milestone, then it became to being able to coo, then turned to being able to laugh, then being able to eat solids, then being able to sit, crawl, stand, walk, run, talk, and now hopegully sing. :)

We love you simone. We will always sing our songs with you baby.

The one with dream vacation

I was surfing thru the net of vacation packages so i can choose how we'd spend just in case I win at the dream raffle. haha. anyway, i stumbled upon this cool site where they offer grand packages for families staying in Branson Missouri, the Live Entertainment Capital of the World. They offer packages from $450 per couple that includes board and lodging and your meals for your entire stay. Cool deal huh? But what's more appealing is that they can also customize packages based on your needs, what kind of entertainment would you want to see on Branson getaways, what attractions you'd like to see, where you would like to stay. In this way, you get to customize based on your budget, which is practically an important aspect when you're planning a vacation. I personally would like to see The Titanic Museum, ride the Outback Bungee, see the Dogwood Canyon nature Park, and best of all, shop til you drop at Grand Country Square. I think Silver Dollar City will be in the list too.

would you like to go back to the Titanic???

you think i can ride this??? yikes!

The one with Barfs

As a mom, I'm constantly on the lookout for hip items for simone. I don't want ordinary things for her. parang gusto ko laging iba, so i frequent baby stores to check out new items and the non-traditional ones. and one of these items is Barfs. When my friend Rhea told me about her new venture with her friend, I got excited coz I know this girl has a taste. And when I saw their items, I got more excited to try these barfs on simone. you see, my baby does'nt like bibs. it makes her feel she's choked. haha. so this must be a better alternative for her. and the design is just as hip. check it out here for more details. congrats rhea!

The one with good girl

I recently ordered these cute shirts from tubbytees and Simone loves them. They have really nice novelty t-shirts that you can give as Christmas gifts too. And the prints are just as cool! I bought the "Future Atenista" and the "Good girl Terms and conditions apply" shirts for her. well, the former is something that we declare by God's grace. hahaha. funny though, everytime Simone wears the Good girl shirt, she's really hyper and restless. and the daddy will make a hint, "next time, don't wear that shirt anymore ha...there are really terms and conditions e..." hahaha.

The one with fiber

Okay, okay...i really need to do something about this weight issue again. As i've said, concon has inspired me to try again losing weight. (and the master is now the student...ahehe) and i'm trying to cut my rice consumption and sweets...haaay, sooo hard! but i have to do it or else my jeans won't fit me again. I also bought this fiber dietpills frpm a friend but i can't seem to consistently take it as prescribed. It's not diet pills like bangkok pills or the like. it's more of an organic, fiber-filled capsules that lets you digest your food properly. I hope it will work...


Honestly, I so envy those who are moms already and yet, their figures can pass to a teen's bod. as if no baby came out from them. no stretchmarks, no belly bulges, no anything! i guess we really can't have everything...oh well, let's try this again and see how it goes. haha.

The one with falling in love

I'm in love...with Charice Pempengco. she's such a charm! When I saw her in youtube, I had goosebumps. And her story felt more like the ones you can only see in movies or read in some fairy tale books. her voice maybe as extraordinary as the other great singers here in manila, but her heart and her passion when she sings adds that oomph to it. she transforms into whoever she should be "portraying" when she sings and she sings as if she means and experiences all the heartaches, the love and the joy of the songs she sings. winner! And just the other day, I saw her again on the news with Mariah Carey. Man, aside from Vegas vacations she is not enjoying, she has met almost all the best singers in the world...and im sure there's more to come! Congrats!

The one with from brides to wives to moms

I really don't know how to describe the feeling seeing our kids together at yakee's party last Sunday. Time flies so fast that I can still clearly remember the first time I met these girls at a bridal fair in megamall and how we disturbed the peace and silence of Dulcinea. haha. It was an instant bond. We instantly and accidentally clicked. Accidentally because we did'nt plan to meet just by ourselves. And it was such a great blessing because until now, now that we are wives and mothers, we are still good friends. I just can't believe how these girls, while knowing them only through the internet with meet-ups only sparingly, I have considered them to be for keeps. It's such a wonderful experience sharing everything with them, after all, we all go through the same phases in life.

June 12 2005 - the day we all first met. grabe, ang papayat pa natin! hahaha! (yna, chris, charie, and mai not in the picture)

Half of us are moms already, one is almost due and the other three are waiting for God's perfect time. I know it will be a while before we can meet all up again, but i'm sure we'll be friends 'til our hair grays...

from brides, to wives, to moms...and not far from now to grandmoms...

Oct. 12, 2008 - At Yakee's party From L-R: Mai with Asher, Mec with Yakee, Con with Joaquin, Jacque with Simone and Tin with Andy

The one with butata and wawaw

It's such a wonder how we both have our own language version of the word "flower". my parents used to call me butata when i was a toddler since that's how i used to pronounce the word bulaklak (english word for flower). and now simone, whom we taught "flower" speaks it as wawaw. amazing! hahaha.

Lately, Simone has been mimicking and imitating words, phrases, expressions easily. she easily picks up words we speak and naturally speaks them off. such a cutie! and we've noticed that she's very observant.

just a while ago, i heard her sang...promise! she sang bits of the "elmo song". ang cute grabe! and kaka-emote at the same time.

for the past weeks, we've been fetching simon at starbucks in sta. lucia since we need to "tour" simone around so she can doze off easily and when we went to starbucks a while ago and she saw her daddy, she was giddily excited and said, "hi daddy!" waah! big girl na talaga.

she can talk to her ate maru with "ate, milk" "ate, wache" (ate, water). she distinguishes orange, yellow as in knows the colors. my mom in law and my mom keep on telling me that none of their children is as wide as simone's vocabulary at the same age we were. and i'm just so proud. imagine, she can identify an oval from a circle and clearly pronounce them. She knows how to count from one to five albeit the need to enunciate more. ahaha.

Baby, don't grow up soo fast. Mommy will miss you as a baby...

The one with the wrong mommy

Last night, we had our monthly family dinner with our n@wie friends. Present were Con's family, Rhea's family, Jeng's family, Ayn's family, and my family. Ooops, sayang pala, i only brought ate maru and simone since Simon was'nt able to make it for the dinner but he was able to see con and ednel and porkchop at Starbucks while we were waiting for him and the traffic to be less annoying. hahaha.

We had fun as usual. Well, we were'nt able to talk mommy stuff last night but seeing the four kids and one not so kiddo anymore (hehe, ibim) it was such a pleasant sight. Funny though, our kids kept on hugging different legs (read: pata) thinking that it's his/her mom. Like Simone hugged Tita Con's leg, Joaquim almost went on my direction until he saw his mom on the other side. haha. And Simone hugged Tita Rhea's leg. hahaha. They will run towards the leg, hugged it tight and looked up and realized that "oops, she's not my mom!" and will instantly look for his/her mom. hahaha. cuteness! That's why I'm in constant denial that I don't need treadmills or bikes. I have my own group of mommies with biggie legs too. harharhar. I remember a same incident when i was 6 years old. I was so excited to see my mom come home from work and when it was dark already, I saw a lady walking towards our street and since i can't recognize if it was my mom, I just hurried to her and hugged her and said "mommy, pasalubong!" and when i looked up, she's not my mom. I ran towards home and cried in embarassment. hahaha. i will not forget that...never!

Although, of course, there are some unexpected incidents. Simone threw up after playing with her mouth. Bulimic? hehe. Joaquin slid and bang his head on the floor because of the milk that simone barfed. Joaquim had to warm up coz he just woke up but it was not that long, he was his own perky bibo self. And it was my first time to hear Andie cry. I know she does'nt cry often coz so happy baby yun, but she bang her head on a glass door, did'nt recognize that there was glass. But other than that, everything was sooo good!

See you again girls! Share the pics!

The one with simone at 19 months

Well, she has'nt changed at all, physically but so far, her Simone-webster Dictionary never fails to amuse us and to challenge us at the same time to figure out what she's trying to say. haha, baby, enunciate...look at mommy, enunciate...haha, just kidding!

~ She can now talk with two to three word phrases such as, "mommy, milk" or "daddy, up". But she can definitely understand everything that we tell her to do or everything that we say to her when we explain why she cant do this and why she's not allowed to go there. But obeying is a totally different thing. harhar.
~ Vocabulary that she can masterly pronounce and identify has widened now to shapes(circle, star, round) , animals(duck, elephant, horse and previous words learned already) and colors(orange, yellow, blue).
~ We know that she will become a musician when she grows up. At such an early age, she already claps in rhythm (albeit some mishaps every now and then), she can create her own music using a balloon stick and making it as a xylophone stick and our metal CD stand as her xylophone. She has her own xylophone toy but she sees to it that when she sees something that she can play as a musical instrument, she tries it. She even used the round CD case that we have as her drum. Her early exposure to music and instruments of her daddy at home widely contributed to it. kulit noh?
~ One time, we were watching Sesame street and Elmo's song is playing. She sang along on the part where the word Elmo is sang. promise! as in, "lala lala, lala lala, ELMO song" and when the same line was sung, she sung the word ELMO again. hahaha. cuteness! but she did'nt repeat it when we asked her to.
~ Another time i asked her, can you please finish your milk. she answered me back, "milk, why?" ~ And another funnier incident when her dad asked her if she ate already, she answered, "yup". where did all the Opo go? ahahaha.
~ She likes kisses. When her daddy kisses her and I'm around, she will turn daddy's head to my direction and let daddy kiss me. And she will kiss me and turn my head to daddy's so i can kiss him. hahaha. so sweet.
~ She's been allergic rhinitis free for 3 months already! praise God!
~ She's constipated now :(
~ She threw her first tantrum already. And we did'nt know if we did the right thing. We just ignored her e. haha.
~ She still is a picky eater. Just loves veggies, fruits, juices and her milk. other than that, everything is just a spoonful feeding. nyahaha.

she loves apples. can finish one fuji apple in one seating.

she also loves books. this was taken at fully booked in SM north and she was literally ecstatic seeing all the books, kala nya ata pambata lahat.

look at her tongue, nag-iisip talaga kung ano gusto basahin. haha.

and let's not forget her love for chocolates too. eating Reese cup here.

The one with ever wondered why...

We went malling yesterday to kill some time and since we have at least five hours to spare, we did a lot of things like spending an hour in a playroom, eating in an eat-all-you-can merienda buffet at Dad's, and shopping! And with just the time spent yesterday, Simon and I had some observations that made us wondered why such these so-called mall procedures are being implemented now.

1. Have you ever wondered why all of a sudden flip flops or our very own tsinelas have been allowed in the mall? After havaianas was born, it has suddenly leveled up flip flops in the highest fashion statement it could reach. Isnt it that they are just flip flops too and that before, flip flops are not allowed inside the malls...hmmm (but im a fan, dont get me wrong. i also wear flip flops to malls, hehe)

2. If ever you and your husband/guy friend/boyfriend happened to be wearing bags at the same time, have you ever wondered why the guy's bag is the only one that had to be left at the luggage counter and the girl's bag, no matter how big it is will be allowed to be carried by the girl. we went to this computer store. I was bringing a bigger bag and my husband was bringing his usual backpack. He had to leave his bag at the counter and he just cannot see the logic why his bag is the only one that has to be left and not mine. haha.

3. Oh and have you also wondered what the security guards are looking for when they check your bags at the entrance? seriously, can you actually inspect a bag with just a drum stick and a slightly unzipped bag? i dont think so. hehe.i have to confess, one time, i have sarcastically asked a guard about this and said, "so guard, ano talaga hinahanap nyo?"

4. Oh and can you please tell me what the guards are trying to inspect when they do body inspection? They'd touch a part of your waist and back, as if someone who would bring a bomb would just hide it in her waist or back.

5. When we went to the resto for buffet, my eyes were suddenly caught by a couple whose table is so full of food, as if there's no tomorrow. I was sort of embarassed for them at first. I was sure i was not the only one who was staring at them thinking that their table looked like a small buffet table. ahehe. i was like, "this is a buffet, you can always go back when you want more" but you know what, after a few minutes, just before the buffet table closes, the waiters did'nt serve my favorite cream puffs anymore and I was kinda sad and disappointed that just when i followed "buffet rules", i wasnt able to get cream puffs. and at one point, i envied the couple who had their own small buffet. haha. so when you eat buffet, do you get as much food as you think you can consume or do you just go back whenever?

:-)

The one with the party weekend

We had a blast! Thank God, I was feeling better starting Friday (Gavin's party) and I was able to go home a little early in time for Ava's party the following day. I had fun decorating Ava's princess party. Jude (Ava's mom) was easy to talk to and I'm so happy that Ed and Jude are very into the preparations and the frills of preparing for a party. They're the type who are more into details. I can actually see myself on Jude. When we first met, she turned over all the materials and decors she bought from the US so I can add them to the venue decors. When I checked them, I got excited and everything was just so nice. :) After doing the decors, I hurried home to pick up simone since we were also guests and she had fun. Although we almost lost the digicam we brought that day, everything was simply great. Glad we found the camera and the micro sd in it, or else i'll never hear the end of it from my husband.

Come Sunday was Ichiro's party. I have been communicating with Xyza (Ichi's mom) for two months already and they got us as their party organizer and decorator. I loved the colors used on Ichi's party. I also loved the DIY curtains I made with Mickey head shapes. It was supposed to be just for rent but unfortunately or fortunately, nothing was left after the party. All the guests took home the mickey curtains. haha. oh well, i can always make some again. (if i have the time)

So now, it's rest week for me. Rest week meaning meetings and ocular week, catching up with backlogs and updating things in the internet. Resting in that sense...harhar.

The one with a raffle

One of the egroups i'm a member is organizing a raffle for party planning budget or a trip/travel budget and I'm as giddily excited as the other members to join the wagon. So far, 30 ladies have expressed their intention of joining and mechanics are currently discussed through emails and posts. Most of them are excited for the party planning budget as it is very convenient should the winner take home an-all sponsored n@wie bday party or an-all sponsored n@wie trip. haha, can't wait. I hope i'll get to take home the trip so they'd be able to finance our much-dreamt out-of-the country trip and a stay at one of the laughlin hotels. haha.

The one with double celeb again

Yey! Our Simone is 19 months already. Imagine, 5 months to go and she's 2 already?! what?! it's that fast?! yikes! and we just so love her dearly! we had a joint celebration of her 19-mo bday and our monthsary last sep. 22 and had a barbeque party with alvin's pizza and ice cream cake for dessert. yummy! it was a simple celebration but we had fun. Simon had fun grilling all the pork and chicken for the bbq, although we only prepared enough for dinner. I had fun with the ice cream cake and simone had fun running around the house and drinking her iced tea. hehe. after having the early dinner, we decided to drop by at my in-laws since we have'nt seen them for a while now. When Simone knew we were going out, she hurried to give the exit sign to us by running to the door and trying to open it. We had a great time as usual at the Tans. We saw our little prince and I helped him walk, which was quite a new experience to me again since i have'nt done that in 6 months. but it was good, they all laughed seeing justin walking, err, hopping in the room and just being excited with the fact that he was walker-free and that he thought he can actually walk alone now. haha. cuteness! love him to bits! and so my dad-in-law, savoring the moment of all of us still up at 11pm, ordered a pizza and pasta and we had a midnight snack! hehe, thanks popsie!

Happy 19-mo simone and happy monthsary simon! i love you two so much! :)

The one with sick

I got sick... never, never abuse one's body. I seldom get sick and i know i have a very strong immune system. But one's body also has its limits. I always sleep late, very late actually until almost all of my YM friends are on "mobile" mode already and i'm still online.

And just yesterday, I woke up with my voice as hoarse as Inday Badiday. Or even worse. As in, I could'nt talk straight and i could'nt be understood well with the way i talk. it's the first time that it happened to me. My throat was all swollen too, my body aches but i did'nt have any fever that time. I still went to a meeting in the afternoon and went on with some errands (bad i know) but i slept early and just this morning, i feel a lot better and at least people can understand me better. :)

I really can't afford to get sick. first i dont want simone to catch whatever it is that i have. I also don't want to fail my clients and i wanted to be there for me. And God really heals. I prayed and asked God to heal me fast so i can resume with party planning and rest after the events this weekend. I know God is really good and whatever it is that we may have, as mild as what i had or as grave as a cancer or whatever disease there is, God is able to heal and can do exceedingly and abundantly. :)

The one with an upgrade

Been thinking about upgrading my lappy but since hubby just bought it for me, I don't think it's right to buy a new one. I'm sure I'll hear this line..."ako na lang bilan natin ng new laptop" haha. his died on him months ago but we're sure to have it fixed and sell it just so he can have a new one. The computer memory of our lappies are not enough for all our files, although we have a desktop to store all important files and I love that we upgraded the monitor and bought really nice speakers to go along with the set-up. We don't see this as luho as we see this as investment since hubby's sideline job involves music and he needs a good set of speaker for a more quality music.

I think it's prioritizing which things we upgrade and which things we downgrade. Like we downgrade on clothes. we don't buy designer brands at all. just the known brands but not that expensive. should we buy branded ones, it had to be on sale. haha. we also downgrade on our dining out. and by this, we don't mean the quality but the frequency of eating out. haha. On the other hand, we upgrade on grocery food, baby items, and anything that has to be concerned with Simone. So do you think we set out priorities right? hehe. drop me a note if we don't. ;)

The one with the flood

Waah! Our kitchen got flooded with water leaking from we don't know where. grrhh... as in our kitchen now is spic and span because it's like it has been mopped a thousand times because of having to get rid of the water in the kitchen. so tiring. we even had to remove all the HDMI cables we installed and all the electric cables nearby just to be safe.

the heavy rain has been limiting me to go out to attend to my appointments and errands and now i'm having a hard time with my schedule. that's because when i'm home, i just want to lie down and eat. haha, blame it to the bed weather. but today, i'd really go out...promise!