tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67884313920036165372024-09-01T12:10:29.724+08:00RAMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08234109358271601915noreply@blogger.comBlogger190125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6788431392003616537.post-78100093781918157572018-05-13T17:01:00.000+08:002018-05-25T17:02:31.273+08:00

Yesterday she was up earlier than usual just to accompany Bela to a meet and greet where she stood in line for hours just to grant her daughter’s wish of meeting YouTube celebs she did not even know. She then rushed home to prepare this Sunday’s feast for my Mom. At 8 pm she braved the Saturday traffic to get to Malolos at 10 pm to join his brother’s barangay captain campaign and to bring

RAMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08234109358271601915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6788431392003616537.post-52910846364888866702018-05-12T17:10:00.000+08:002018-05-25T17:12:43.326+08:00

Bela: I am so happy I got my wish! I met my favorite YouTube stars, the Merrel Twins! Me: Great! Happy for you! Ah, who are they?!

RAMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08234109358271601915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6788431392003616537.post-14347608971257548092018-04-02T17:18:00.000+08:002018-05-25T17:18:56.717+08:00

It's the last day of school and the kids will have a salu salo and year end concert to celebrate the end of the school year. Bela and her classmates were each tasked to bring fruits good for 5 people for the event. So Bela brought a 5-piece pack of Juicy Fruit chewing gum. 

RAMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08234109358271601915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6788431392003616537.post-53679156123512884832017-12-07T11:12:00.000+08:002018-03-06T11:12:48.717+08:00

Thank you, Patty, for 13 years of togetherness. For all the laughter, all the joy. For all the shared trials and struggles. For all the successes and the many failures. They say that after many years of married life, a couple soon become like each other, become just one. I beg to disagree. What I am most grateful for is that although we've both tried early in our married life to correct

RAMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08234109358271601915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6788431392003616537.post-34411742370649238962017-08-05T10:07:00.000+08:002018-03-06T10:11:07.877+08:00

Oh the comments and remarks we heard from family and friends after you were born exactly nine years ago, dear Bela. "She looks just like you, Robbi... your mini me." But comments like that would just as quickly be followed by a sigh and a rejoinder: "Ay, sayang. Sana kamuka na lang ni Patty." Well, that's what you get for having a beautiful mom. Many say that the two of us really share

RAMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08234109358271601915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6788431392003616537.post-78971284654546342182017-07-22T10:15:00.000+08:002018-03-06T10:15:49.818+08:00

And so now he has his own nook at the other end of the verandah. Far enough from his father's own space yet near enough so he doesn't disappear too often into his own world. Quickly arranged by his mother who knows all too well that all boys are protective of the spaces they've already marked as theirs. Once again, peace reigns in the household. :) 

RAMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08234109358271601915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6788431392003616537.post-8707291812990569782017-07-19T10:18:00.000+08:002018-03-06T10:19:18.004+08:00

He already borrows my shoes, he now wears my shirts and this morning he commandeers my favorite hangout spot at home. What's next?#parentingtrials 

RAMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08234109358271601915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6788431392003616537.post-45738745548720323802017-06-18T10:23:00.000+08:002018-03-06T10:23:43.116+08:00

Mahalin mo na lang. That will always be the greatest advice, and greatest prayer, my father taught me. Love them instead.When you are mad, or frustrated, or irritated at someone, love them instead. Love them because.For you will never fully understand an other. Just as you cannot expect an other to fully understand you. So why lose your temper and your peace over an other's perceived

RAMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08234109358271601915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6788431392003616537.post-26223362070481457132017-06-10T10:27:00.000+08:002018-03-06T10:29:38.292+08:00

Sa haba ng lakad, porma'y di na tumalab. Napagod, natulog, pati pagkain ay inisnab.

RAMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08234109358271601915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6788431392003616537.post-60824870404586397922017-05-05T10:34:00.000+08:002018-03-06T10:34:51.307+08:00

Happy birthday, my dear Gabi. I love it that you share my appetite. And I love it more that you (still) laugh at my jokes. :) Have a wonderful 12th year. 

RAMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08234109358271601915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6788431392003616537.post-87682559052512809862017-01-22T10:58:00.000+08:002018-03-06T10:59:12.492+08:00

Caught Gabi in the kitchen twice this weekend, cooking his own merienda."It's great that you like to cook, Gabi. You really love to cook, don't you?""Hmm, not really. I think I love to eat more."

RAMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08234109358271601915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6788431392003616537.post-87514525022701099012015-03-24T16:01:00.003+08:002015-03-24T16:02:04.966+08:00

Gabi didn't make it in his bid to join the Student Council for next school year. And this despite all his hard work in making his campaign materials and miting de avance speech. He was disappointed. But he didn't want others to notice. I felt so bad for him. He even wanted to go home early from the Year End celebrations because I guess, he didn't want to hear the official votes announced.

RAMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08234109358271601915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6788431392003616537.post-39666761907890835552015-03-02T15:46:00.000+08:002015-03-24T15:46:39.918+08:00

Gabi told me last Friday that he was running for Secretary (Kalihim) for his school's student council and asked for advice on how to run his campaign. I gently told him not to take politics too seriously and that the important thing was to always be himself. This campaign poster is the product of our little talk.

RAMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08234109358271601915noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6788431392003616537.post-81709962291233597692015-02-01T15:26:00.000+08:002015-03-24T15:27:29.592+08:00

Last Saturday, on the eve of her birthday, she cooked a delicious Japanese spread for close to 30 family members. Today for her birthday, Patty asked to dine in her favorite side-of-the-road ihawan and turo-turo to feast on inihaw na baboy and pancit bihon! This is so Patty! Happy birthday my dear, Patricia Bautista-Mercado. I thank God every day for you.I thank you for your

RAMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08234109358271601915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6788431392003616537.post-75176850426133661412015-01-01T00:30:00.000+08:002015-03-24T15:17:02.813+08:00

Patty and the kids, who contributed the cash gifts they received for the holidays, surprised me with this magnificent view, and a three day stay at our favorite hotel in the city. What a way to start 2015! I adore my family! Here's to more love, more family, and more surprises this year. smile emoticon

RAMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08234109358271601915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6788431392003616537.post-3929388817860238002014-11-30T15:11:00.000+08:002015-03-24T15:11:58.318+08:00

"What does extinct mean, papa? What are extinct animals?" "Animals that lived many, many, many years ago and are no longer around today." I explained. "Oh, I see," she seemed to understand. "So papa, what dinosaurs were alive when you were a kid?"

RAMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08234109358271601915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6788431392003616537.post-5586841514172399252014-11-30T10:40:00.000+08:002015-03-24T10:41:03.799+08:00

Pati ba naman sa pagsulat ng tula  Ito ang napili mong paksa Ano ba talaga ang hiwaga ng sinigang, anak? E kulang na lang tumayo ka't pumalakpak

RAMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08234109358271601915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6788431392003616537.post-79584070733241128762014-11-27T00:30:00.000+08:002015-03-24T10:37:06.222+08:00

It's truly a day for thanksgiving. It's my mom's birthday! Thank you, Monina Mercado, for showering us all these years with your love and support. You've always had our back. And this we truly appreciate. You had a stellar school record - accelerated twice, valedictorian and magna cum laude. You were already a successful journalist. You were working for a newspaper in San Francisco,

RAMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08234109358271601915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6788431392003616537.post-13117531829639915292014-11-06T10:23:00.000+08:002015-03-24T10:23:51.123+08:00

On this ThrowbackThursday, I honor a great man, Herminio G. Ordoñez, who passed away early this morning. Minyong Ordoñez or HGO as he was fondly called, was my late father, Tony Mercado's partner for many years in Basic Advertising and all its subsequent permutations. He was a great man, a creative genius who was responsible for so many successful advertising and marketing

RAMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08234109358271601915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6788431392003616537.post-34585721572129338672014-10-15T15:41:00.003+08:002014-10-15T15:42:37.019+08:00

"Can I be dropped off at your office and have lunch with you?" Bela called after being picked up early from school. "It'll be like another date." "Sure," I said. "But get food for yourself because I already got a plate of spaghetti for myself." "Okay. I'll just ask mommy if we can get Jollibee drive through. Then just pay us back, okay?"So she came. With a smile. And a two piece chicken

RAMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08234109358271601915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6788431392003616537.post-7713350360031394272014-10-03T13:25:00.002+08:002014-10-03T13:25:56.553+08:00

Oftentimes my daughter wakes up in the middle of the night. She walks to our room, hops into our bed, snuggles herself in between Patty and me and falls back to sleep. In the morning we usually wake up with her head on our tummies and her feet on our faces."Why do you do that?" we teased her one morning. "You have a nice big bed and soft sheets and pillows. Why do you have to force yourself

RAMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08234109358271601915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6788431392003616537.post-63295120586273336472014-09-30T13:20:00.000+08:002014-10-03T13:20:55.252+08:00

So how does my son care for his dog? Aside from feeding, cuddling and cleaning up after him, Gabi also writes him poems. My dog is sleepy And also flabby. He likes to party And is always hungry. He is always happy Because his master's Gabi.

RAMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08234109358271601915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6788431392003616537.post-45852122428449992432014-09-26T13:16:00.000+08:002014-10-03T13:16:48.169+08:00

Her Kuya was still finishing something in school so Bela and I decided to wait it out in this fast food place nearby. "Is Mommy going to join us?" my daughter asked as we sat down to eat. "No, Bela," I said. "She's in Bulacan doing an errand.""So, it's just the two of us?"She then smiled and said, "Wow, it's like a date."

RAMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08234109358271601915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6788431392003616537.post-33753579826908395912014-09-20T13:13:00.000+08:002014-10-03T13:13:39.852+08:00

With the sun finally out Bela gets on her bike and heads for her cousin Luccio's. "And why are you bringing your travel utensils," I wondered pointing to the plastic box wedged under the bike handles. "Oh, just in case I get invited for lunch."

RAMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08234109358271601915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6788431392003616537.post-32939224705705751952014-09-16T13:10:00.000+08:002014-10-03T13:21:39.385+08:00

A beautiful though rare sight. Brother and sister holding hands on their way home from soccer practice.  No bickering. No fighting. No pulling of hair. Not yet, at least.

RAMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08234109358271601915noreply@blogger.com0