my life...

House hunting

noreply@blogger.com (yvelle) — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 03:41:00 +0000

Belated happy hearts day everyone! For the past couple of months we've been busy looking around, finding for our possible new home. We didn't limited our search in Brossard but visited nearby area like La Prairie, St. Hubert, Greenfield Park and Longueuil. House hunting is fun yet stressful. We are not in a hurry but everything happened so fast. We've seen houses of different styles, bungalow, two storey, split level, semi-detached.. and after careful consideration of it's value including location, community and accessibility, we've finally decided to get the house at C section of Brossard, this is the golf course area in Brossard and is now under development.

We've seen a lot of houses in that area including condominiums. My husband once loved a house in La Prairie but the area is not like Brossard, the accessibility and location is not good. So since I'm still on the way of learning to drive and it would be a hassle to take public transpo, we've agreed to stay in Brossard. We are accustomed to this area and we feel that this is really our home. This area is good for children and young families like us. Compared to the other cities in Quebec or Montreal, Brossard is not crowded. Some said that they didn't like the South Shore area because of the Champlain bridge, but for me and those living in the South Shore, they never know how we feel since they are not living here. Each day I'm traveling , that bridge serves as my relaxation. Who wouldn't be amazed of the magnificent view of the St. Lawrence river and downtown Montreal as the backdrop? In the morning, the sun rays added reflection and change the color of the river and the buildings around the river becomes as precious as sparkling gold. At night, it is totally different. The lights of the buildings and darkness pleased the eyes of a passerby.

So, now we are in the process of documentation and we've agreed to move at the end of May. This will be our 1st year here in Canada. How time flies! Have a great week to all.

La fete des Neiges

noreply@blogger.com (yvelle) — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 00:24:00 +0000

Last Saturday we were at Jean Drapeau park along St. Lawrence River for the celebration of La fete des neiges in Montréal. The temperature that day was around -30C, we're all chilling except Elyse. She had fun in the ice sculptured slide, had picture beside the seagull and rode the mini car. She didn't want to go home that day. In spite of chilling temperature she kept on saying... It's not cold, I don't feel cold! while removing her mittens.
That same day, we had brunch at tutti frutti with Suzette.
Have a great week to all!

My thoughts

noreply@blogger.com (yvelle) — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 00:00:00 +0000

I'm a fan of magnificent author Paulo Coelho. He captured many readers through his books and in such way influenced them as well. I'm one of them. It's been in my daily routine to read his book . On the way to school, at the bus and metro, while others are holding a cup of coffee , I'm holding his book that serves as my vitamin for the day. It totally inspires me to go on, move forward and pursue my dream.

In a couple of days, I'll be a year older. But, I'm just beginning to live and be what I always want to be. They are saying that life begins at 40, but for me life begins at 30.

I'm fulfilled but I don't want to stop dreaming. It's going to be tough but as the famous quote of Paulo Coelho goes, "When you want something, the entire universe conspires in helping you to achieve it."

With my husband and daughter, I believe that everything is possible. Thanks to their wonderful and useful gift! God bless you more!

Allergy to peanuts

noreply@blogger.com (yvelle) — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 14:40:00 +0000

Babies have sensitive skin but for some reason my daughter has more sensitivity in her genes. The doctor said that I was the culprit behind this, it is because I had seborrheic dermatitis. The reason why my daughter had seborrheic dermatitis and now eczema. She have some allergies to nuts also. She never tasted nuts since she was born and yesterday she hold it and put it in her mouth, but according to her she didn't ate it. While I was having a chit-chat with friends she approached me and pointing to her mouth. Before that she was just like an ordinary girl at her age, running around with her playmate Karyl. I saw her fell down on the floor several times, the floor was carpeted and I didn't know where did she got her now swollen mouth. I just remembered that she hand me some peanuts! Until her both eyes becomes reddish, around her eyes were tiny rashes and she started to scratch her hands with rashes growing in her arms. So we called 811, to ask the nurse what we need to do. And the nurse advised us to call 911 or bring her to the emergency room of Childrens Hospital. So, we decided to bring her directly to the emergency room and then a nurse attended her, checked her BP, heartbeat, asked some questions et al. After a few seconds, the doctor arrived and checked her heartbeat, asked some questions.. that time there is no sign of rashes except for her swollen mouth.

According to the doctor, it was caused by peanuts. Now, she have to be checked by the Allergist to verify which level of allergy she had. She was prescribed to take Benadryl for the next 24 hours and some sort of injection if ever the same thing happen again and she have difficulty in breathing / the situation is worse.

All things happenned while we were having a despedida party to her playmate Karyl who will be transferring to B.C. this Thursday. I just remember that we didn't even took pictures, it maybe the last time for so many years that we will be together. We are planning to visit them on 2010 winter olympics, and they will be almost 5 by then.

There are cases that by touching or even just smelling the peanuts will be dangerous to the person allergy to it. And the doctor said that since we are not sure if she took it, we have to make sure how deep is her allergy. After an hour, we asked the doctor if we can go home and since there is no sign of difficulty / irritation, he allowed us to go home but monitor her condition and give her the medicine.

Maybe it's a premonition that before everything happened, while we we're looking at the gps for the nearest hospital in our place and she kept on saying "Mommy, let's go to the hospital." We were looking at the nearest hospital because the DQ (Dairy Queen) in our area is just located beside the hospital. We just want to get some ice cream cake for the party. So there, she had her first hospital visit!

Christmas the Filipino way

noreply@blogger.com (yvelle) — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 02:36:00 +0000

It was our second Christmas away from Philippines. It's been 4 years since we started working abroad but we are always making sure that we will celebrate Christmas with our families in Philippines. Although this year, we are far from our loved ones..... still, we spent Christmas in a traditional Filipino way. We want to pass this Filipino tradition to our daughter, like attending mass and remembering that it is HIS birthday, noche buena, gift giving, visiting friends and relatives and of course partying with fun games.

Here are some of our pictures during Christmas day.

Back to reality

noreply@blogger.com (yvelle) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 23:57:00 +0000

Holiday is over and we're back to reality. Elyse is back in the daycare from Christmas vacation, for more than a week she stayed at home with me making a mess all over the house, playing, dancing, singing. In a middle of nowhere she would ask me "out of the blue" questions or would even tell me about a person she met / saw before. She is just adorable at this stage and continuously amaze me with her curiosity and good memory. She also love going to school and last night she said she miss her playmates.

One day while she was in the couch asking me to give her Stick-o, actually she already had a lot that day so I said, we don't have anymore. She said, "we buy stick-o at maxi!". I said, "do you have money?". She responded, "Yes! I have money!". So I asked her, "Where is your money?", "At mommy!" she said. Then, I told her "I don't have money!", and she immediately replied, "Oh, it's my daddy!", I just said, "Your daddy don't have money also!". "We buy money!" that's what she said! I was speechless for a few seconds and can't help but laugh out loud. At first she was in awe but later on laugh with me.

I have a video here showing her favorite moves! Have a great day!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

noreply@blogger.com (yvelle) — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 23:35:00 +0000

I just want to greet everyone a belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Please bear with me, i know it's a late greeting. I'm also trying to change the look of my website and I hope to finish it soon.
Again, a peaceful and happy new year to everyone!

Snow and headache

noreply@blogger.com (yvelle) — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 21:47:00 +0000

Here's the result of non-stop snowing yesterday. It is a total nightmare for commuters, the slippery and wet road conditions. I just let my daughter stay in the house today since our car is still out there full of snow! My husband is not patient enough to wake up early and remove the snow so, I just did it a while ago and caused me headache. At least i removed some, but it will take more time to remove those frozen ice.

Elyse was also out there with me making snow balls, and playing with her shovel. Now she fell asleep in the couch and snoring, I guess she had a tough day. Walking in the snow can also make me feel so tired. And also because i was out there for about an hour not remembering that the temperature today is -10, it makes me feel worse.

Anyway, it's time to cook for dinner. Good day to all! Ciao!

What I Like?

noreply@blogger.com (yvelle) — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 22:56:00 +0000

While looking inside the fridge or going to a toy store she would always say "What i like?". Kids are just smart! This afternoon when i picked her up at the daycare and we were on our way home, she just remembered her plush puppy. Accidentally she left it in the daycare. It is not allowed to bring any toy in the daycare but with the absence of any of her favorite toy, she would throw tantrums the whole day. So, her teacher allowed her to bring one but would then be placed in a box while in the school. She can only get them when it's time to go home.

So to make her stop from crying, i just said "Ok, we will buy another puppy at Maxi." After 10-15 minutes travel and we we're just into our doorway, she immediately told me "Mommy, we will buy puppy at Maxi!". I can't believe it, she remembers! Before going inside Maxi, i asked her to promise me that she will be a good girl, no more crying and should eat a lot to become as pretty as her favorite princess. And she said " ok, promise!"

And when we got home, I told her that it's time to eat her favorite pasta. She love carbonara over spaghetti with red sauce. She just said, "I like pasta with yellow sauce!" She only meant, carbonara! By the way, it's her picture with princess accessories and her favorite plush puppy. While she's playing now, she just said "Ohh my goodness!" :) Yeah.. Ohh my goodness! She really knows what she likes.

Little Princess!

noreply@blogger.com (yvelle) — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 15:51:00 +0000

Yesterday, teacher Sabina mentioned that this Monday (December 8), Santa Claus will visit the children in school. I just said, "It's too early!". And she said, "Yeah, it's a little bit early this year, they will have their Christmas party in the school! So, now I don't have a choice but to look for a dress that will suit their Christmas party theme. Teacher Sabina said "Anything red!". Good thing is I still have those red dress from Ate Sylvia. She was a good friend in Morocco. While I was talking to the "little girl", I was surprised when she said "I want the princess dress, mommy!". And even last night, after bathing her she kept on looking where was her princess dress and wanted to wear it right away. I just said, "Not tonight! but on Monday, baby!". She is just fascinated with princess and fairies now, the effect of Disney's Cinderella, Snow White and Tinker Bell. Like when our friend gave her a set of princess accessories, I was thinking of sending it to the Philippines for my niece. I never thought that Elyse would wear those, she just know how to put the tiara, ring, necklace and asked me to put her earrings on. Suddenly, I just realized that she's starting to act like a lady! And then she's calling herself Princess Elyse, with magic wand on her hand she would say "abra kadabra"!

And since she cannot wear her princess costume on the school's Christmas party, I will get her a princess-like dress that she's going to wear on Christmas. This dress from GAP and The Children's place caught my attention. I'm gonna check it in the store this weekend. I hope that they still have her size or at least i have other options. Have a great day everyone!

Christmas is almost here!

noreply@blogger.com (yvelle) — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 18:07:00 +0000

We were in this year's celebration of Santa Claus Parade. With a lot of spectators mostly children, we were among those along Ste. Catherine street and Eaton Center. It was a joyous occasion, in spite of freezing wind and snowy atmosphere we were able to enjoy the celebration. Some music made us shed some tears while remembering and missing our family back home.

On the other hand, Elyse is curiously looking at the floats and mascots but refused to touch them. She specifically love the fairies, as she is currently hooked with Tinker bell. Here are some snap shots:Hope all of us will be productive this December. Share the love to everyone .. smile and have fun! Take care.

Lemonade stand

noreply@blogger.com (yvelle) — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 03:24:00 +0000

1. Put the logo on your blog.
2. Be sure to link your nominees in your post
3. Let them know that they received this award by commenting on their blogs.
4. Share the love and link to this post.

Thank you Joanne for this award, I'm sharing this award to Shimumsy, Eds and Eileen.

Cute Blogger Award

noreply@blogger.com (yvelle) — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 23:22:00 +0000

Here are the rules:
1. Each blogger must post these rules.
2. Each blogger starts with ten random facts/habits about themselves.
3. Bloggers that are tagged need to write ten facts about themselves. You need to choose ten people to tag and list their names.
4. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they've been tagged and also to read your blog.

Now here are my ten Random facts about me:

1. I'm spending most of my time with the household chores, computer, Elyse and Fred.

2. Like Eds, I also love watching "Betty La Fea". It's very entertaining!

3. I'm in-charge of maintaining and updating our budget sheet every week.

4. I'm sending and picking up Elyse at the daycare everyday.

5. Our week is not complete without pasta in our menu.

6. I'm planning to go back to school next year.

7. I'll be studying french right after finishing my course.

8. I’m currently studying the theory for my driving exam on Monday.

9. I'm am OC kind of person.

10. I love taking pictures and digital scrapping.

Thank you sis Eds for this cute award!
Now, I'm passing this to:

1. Abie
2. Jeng
3. Chelle
4. Kerslyn
5. Jhoanne
6. Richelle
7. Eileen
8. Janis
9. Melisse
10. Yvette

Online shopping for winter!

noreply@blogger.com (yvelle) — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 19:21:00 +0000

It's already winter and my latest orders just arrived! On-time for the snowy and cold weather here. I got 2 pair of boots for Elyse, the EMU boot and Kamik snow boot. I also got a set of Columbia jacket and snow pants for her. For me, I grabbed the UGG Belfair waterproof boot and Nine west hobo as my everyday bag for a really good price. While my husband requested the special edition of Adidas NBA Mavericks rubber shoes, which he will wear on summer and his UGG Hartville waterproof boot for this winter. Happy shopping!

My first pumpkin!

noreply@blogger.com (yvelle) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 16:07:00 +0000

Here's the pumpkin designed by Elyse at the daycare. With her friends and "teachers" at the daycare, they went out for trick or treat and enjoyed their Halloween party. They we're all dressed up, even adults we're walking down the streets with their costumes and masks on. Elyse picked up her Tinkerbell costume for that day. After her party, we headed to downtown Montreal for the soft launch of Restaurant Papa, owned by Uncle Edwin and his brother. They are serving Filipino dishes, with a very delicious "pancit" and "menudo." The resto is located at the busy streets of Avenue Plamondon / Victoria where most Filipino stores can be found.

I wasn't able to bring my camera at the Halloween party, but her teacher Sabina promised that she will share the pics so, I'll post them here soon.
Happy Weekend everyone! Thanks for reading and visiting my page! :)

Busy Bee months!

noreply@blogger.com (yvelle) — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 22:24:00 +0000

October and November were the busiest month i had, in a while blogging has been totally out of my list. Now, I'm back and hopefully I can find time to do it religiously. Not to mention that December must be busier than the previous months. We have a lot of appointments here and there, for the family doctor, the US embassy, my theory driving exam and school registration for my prerequisites. Yes, hopefully I'll be accepted so I can pursue my studies here.

Last October was the Thanksgiving celebration here in Canada and we decided to visit Toronto. The first on our list is the Niagara falls then the CN Tower and for the kids, Nascar and Southbrook pumpkin patch. Though tiring, we all had a wonderful time in Toronto. And here' are the pics!

The Halloween month is almost over and Christmas songs can be heard everywhere. I love listening to Celtic Woman's (A Christmas Celebration) album. So, yeah.. I'm very sentimental these days.. missing my family back home. Plus the weather! It's getting really cold here... right now the wind chill is -11 degrees. It's freezing cold! I'm just thankful that houses here are well constructed, due to the bricks and good ventilation I'm not chilling inside the house.

Colorful, Artistic New Kit!

noreply@blogger.com (yvelle) — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 12:22:00 +0000

This colorful and beautiful kit is already available at Scrappindigikreations, Scrapable and Scrapladies, made by the artistic designer Lorie. You can also visit her page and grab this freebie.

Here are my lo's for this kit! Happy Monday everyone! :)

Catch me! for Weekend Snapshot #56

noreply@blogger.com (yvelle) — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 21:44:00 +0000

When we've visited the Montreal Botanical Garden, this bird caught my attention. My daughter too was eager to catch this bird. She was running around and sadly, she was not successful! :) Have a great week ahead! Happy WS!

Officially Fall!

noreply@blogger.com (yvelle) — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 21:04:00 +0000

Leaves are starting to fall and their colors are just magnificent. It makes a total difference whilst the amazing maple leaves are changing its colors, it is really breathtaking!
The temperature is also going down, it's colder with a bit of rain showers in the morning or afternoon.
Saturday night, we've had diner with some Filipino friends and neighbors living here in Brossard. It is my first time to have a chit-chat with an Ilonggo and honestly he made me laugh! I don't have anything against Ilonggos huh? I know that Ilonggo's / Ilongga's are sweet and they speak a little differently from us Tagalogs, but the way he talk is really funny. I mean funny in the sense that even he's mad, he still sound sweet! For me, it's really cute! It's only then I realized that I had an Ilongga friend back in college. I just don't know where she is right now, but she is just a darling and a dear friend.
Ohh by the way, I believe that there is a huge difference between us Tagalogs and Ilonggos. For us, even if we are not mad, we sound mad and most people who really doesn't know us might have mis-interpretation about our tone.

Have a great week ahead dear friends and bloggers! Enjoy! :)

You're Kreative!

noreply@blogger.com (yvelle) — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 22:32:00 +0000

Thank you sis Joanne for this award! :)

Now, it is my turn to give this award away according the following rules:

1. The winner may put the logo on his or her blog.

2. Put a link to the person you got the award from.

3. Nominate 5 blogs.

4. Put links to the blogs.

5. Leave a message for your nominees.

I would like to pass this award to the creative bloggers Abie, Eds, Emz, Lorie and Sheng.

Bedroom furniture

noreply@blogger.com (yvelle) — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 14:59:00 +0000

Last night when we were about to sleep, my 2 year old daughter asked me if we can sleep in the new room. "I want to sleep in the new room! new room!", that was her exact words. I was surprised because it was the first time she insisted to sleep in the new room. Ever since this BEDROOM FURNITURE arrived, I noticed this sudden change in her. At first she was afraid to stay there but now, she's spending most of her time jumping in the bed and playing with her favorite toys and playhouse in that room. I believe this PLATFORM BED is making her stay more fun.

Aside from the simple and elegant design of this BEDROOM FURNITURE, I'm not worried that she will fall down from the bed while sleeping or playing. This PLATFORM BEDS are not just designed for elegance but crafted for safety as well. As this is more important to me since I have a daughter who just love to turn our bedroom to a playhouse.

I'm glad that little by little, my daughter is enjoying her new BEDROOM FURNITURE most especially her PLATFORM BED. Sooner, she will be sleeping there alone without being afraid. I really can't believe she's growing up so fast. It's her second week in the daycare and she is not crying anymore. Also, she stopped calling herself "baby", she said she's a big girl now!

First day in the daycare

noreply@blogger.com (yvelle) — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 20:35:00 +0000

Yesterday morning, i have to wake her up at 8:00am since we have to be at the daycare before 9:00am. It's only 10 minutes away from our place but the preparation will take a lot of my time, so we have to be really early. At the daycare, their breakfast will be served at 9:00am then some exercise, following activities at the park and coloring / writing activities. But maybe the summer is really over, it's getting cold here so going out might not be that fun.

The hardest part was when i left her in the daycare, I said goodbye to her and she embraced me tight. She was playing when i left so she didn't noticed. I really don't want her to see me go so I left quietly. After that, I headed back home to clean-up and got finished before the 12:30 pick-up time. I was at the daycare while they were having lunch and Elyse didn't noticed me. I was asked by the teacher to wait outside the room then she accompanied Elyse, telling her "Look who's here! See, i told you.. your Mommy will come back." Yes, she cried.. about 10-15 minutes and every time she remembers me. But the teacher said that for the first day, she did very good. She also said that we will see if she will cry a lot tomorrow or she'll be better, if the latter, then on Wednesday she will start her whole day stay.

Elyse seems excited to tell me her stories, she said that she played outside in the broom broom / car. She said that she had vegetables and milk, but according to her teacher she didn't took her milk since it's in the cup. When i asked her if she like her school, she said yes! I told her that tomorrow we will come back again but she seems puzzled. Maybe she's thinking that I'll leave her again tomorrow.

Kids at play

noreply@blogger.com (yvelle) — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 18:53:00 +0000

Kids at play is here! Lorie's latest fun kit available at Scrapable, Scrapladies & Scrappindigikreations!

my lo's using this kit!

Weekend Snapshot #53

noreply@blogger.com (yvelle) — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 03:06:00 +0000

Saturday, we we're able to grab some stuffs from Old Navy in Champlain mall. Sunday, we stayed in the house and took a walk to the park in the afternoon. It was windy and cold outside but Elyse still enjoyed her swing ride. Have a great week ahead!

I miss you!

noreply@blogger.com (yvelle) — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:44:00 +0000

Yesterday morning when she woke up and still in her bed, she just said "Daddy is in the office." Maybe she just realized that her Daddy already left for office while she was sleeping. So, I said "Yes, Daddy is in the office because?" and she replied "to buy milk for Elyse!". And as her morning routine, she didn't failed to say "Good morning Mommy.., "Good morning Austin.., Good morning Tasha.. " and so on. Around 7:00pm when Daddy arrived from the office and she rushed to him, embraced him tight and surprisingly, she said "I miss you Daddy!". We we're laughing with amusement! Having such a sweet little girl is indeed the most wonderful blessing. To hear those words melts my heart. Kids are truly amazing!

I have mixed emotions about Elyse going to the daycare. Yes, I'm lucky that I got a daycare for her but on the other hand, I can't hide my sadness for this milestone in her life. It's exciting for her but it is also her first step away from me. I'm afraid that she will learn to be independent, gain a lot of friends and discover new things. I can't deny the fact that she's growing up so fast, faster than I can imagine. Maybe I'm being too selfish but I'm just a mother. I will miss her mess, her voice, her tantrums.. everything. Although she continuously testing my patience, most of the time she's making me smile and laugh. She inspires me and makes me realize how wonderful life is.