e-Pamilya

Still moving

noreply@blogger.com (Nanay Gin) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 08:27:00 +0000

Still not done with the moving, though if you ask me and if only I can do it on my own, I would have move everything and everyone else there since last week.

The painting took longer because the one my aunt recommended seems to be too busy or just not interested. The Hubby, my ever reliable carpenter and all-around handyman, got the flu last week so he's still a bit under the weather. Then finally, my cousin's husband volunteered and though he moves fast on his own, he has a lot of things going on as well so it was an on and off work.

Yesterday, I couldn't resist just watching anymore that I decided to paint the living room ceiling myself and also scrub the wood shelving and the cabinet in the bedroom so it can be painted by today. I do hope that gets done because that the last thing we need to finish so we can start moving the furniture in.

We only have 10 days left in this apartment so we definitely need move a little faster. Plus it will really help me adjust better with my routine if we get settled as soon as possible.

Here's some new photos of the house. I decided to go green with the theme and I do hope everything would match, design-wise.

The green color is the same, I just took it at different times of the day so they look different.

Here's the Hubby painting some old windows that we'll be using for the outdoors.

This part to be exact.

The wood shelving and doors still need to be painted and the part where the Hubby was working definitely needs a lot of work.

We're moving

noreply@blogger.com (Nanay Gin) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 01:54:00 +0000

Aside from the new job (that I’m loving more and more), we’re also going to be busy moving everyone in our new home.

The house is actually my grandma’s, built to accommodate all her children and their family. My grandma always wanted to have everyone in her family close by so all her life she had worked hard to build a place where we all can stay. Of course from time to time some of us would go astray and live far but it’s a place that everyone is welcome to come back for a visit or stay. She’s not in this world anymore but my grandpa still live there with my aunt along with 3 of my cousins. Then, three years ago my dad and mom decided to live with them again together with my siblings. So you see, it’s gonna be a full house with e-Pamilya adding to the household.

We’ll be staying at the 3rd floor - the rooftop and it’ll like a separate house altogether. My mom and dad use to stay there but really wanted us to join them so they willingly move to one of the second floor rooms. Anyway, there’s still a lot of work to do with the house (room) before we can move. I’ve just taken some photos and have been looking for some inspiration for the renovations Here’s a peek into the new place. Still messy since my dad was moving their things when I came. LOL!

My dad is not much of an electrician so he just hanged this bulb instead of fixing the original light fixtures...It's gonna a big work for the Hubby to have all the electrical wiring replaced and working again.

The room is still a mess so I took a picture of the entrance. Told you it's still messy. LOL!

There are a lot of built-in furniture in here like this shelving. Below that is a tv/book open cabinet. There's also a built-in closet in the bedroom so that's great...

reno work is filling up, right? But I'm loving the idea of redesigning the place.

Here's the outdoor part of the rooftop. My dad turned this into he's own garden/laundry area. Most of the plants will be move to the second floor terrace which is also this spacious. Should I start my own garden too?

So you see, it'll be a busy couple of weekend for us with the renovation and then moving. Good thing this is just a block away from our current apartment so moving itself will not be that hard. Now, time to get back with finding more ideas for the place...

2011 in Photo

noreply@blogger.com (Nanay Gin) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 17:49:00 +0000

I just joined a year in review link up hosted by Ashley and Jessica via my PinayMom@Work blog and I can't help doing it again here. This time, I'm focusing on my kids. I was curious if I was able to take a photo of the two of them together each month. And guess what, I did. Here's how the year was for my little ones. Each photo links to one of my 2011 post except for April. Apparently, I wasn't able to post any then.

The Princess got a bike for Christmas and she was more than happy to share it with the Little Guy!

They had ton of fun during my kiddie birthday party. The Princess is hoping we celebrate my birthday again at Fun Ranch.

Dress up is always a favorite activity around the house. They are trying out their clothes for an upcoming wedding of a close friend.

The kids discovered the wonders of iPad during the summer and it got me finishing some big projects.

Exploring new places is always a fun time.

It's all artworks for these monkeys in June and it's really rare that they'll be lazying around like this.

Of course, clays are also a hit this year.

I'm sure by now you've noticed that they are just inseparable.

The Little Guy became potty trained this month and we celebrated it with a bowl of cereals.

The Little Guy turned three in October

Happy times with the Hubby is always a fun time. The Princess is also hooked with story telling in November and here's one of them.

Princess Ki turned 5 and the kids are ready for the journey to 2012.

Teaching the kids how to share

noreply@blogger.com (Nanay Gin) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 14:46:00 +0000

My kids, they are good kids. They get along well most of the time. But of course, they are kids and there are times that they fight and argue with each other and even with me. Their most common disagreement is on sharing - who should share, what to share, when to share, can we not share. It's an endless argument that I'm trying my best to resolve.

I'm very much far from teaching the kids to wholeheartedly share their toys with each other but the Hubby have the perfect solution.

Mommy: Okay everyone, let’s share our toys.
Big Sister: But mommy, why am I the only one sharing?
Little Brother: No! Mine! All mine!

Mommy: You can try borrowing each others toys.
Big sister: But he never let me borrow his toys! See, he borrowed mine and he’s not letting me borrow his.
Little Brother: No! Mine! All mine!

Mommy: Okay, maybe you should both try trading toys.
Big sister: But he took everything!
Little Brother: No! Mine! All mine!

Daddy: I have a better idea. I’m taking out the trash. You should all put your toys inside the trash bag so I can take it out as well.
Big sister: No daddy! See, we can play together.
Little Brother: Yes. Play gether! Te-te here, borrow mine.

Haha! Daddy sure know how to teach the kids how to share.

Let's find ourself a dream job

noreply@blogger.com (Nanay Gin) — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 04:51:00 +0000

So I've mentioned in my last post that I'll be unemployed by next year...to be exact, mid-January. Not the best time to be unemployed but well that's that and it's time to find a new path to walk forward.

Of course, since I've been given this chance to start anew, I'm thinking it's time to find dream job. That job that I would like to keep until hopefully it's time to retire. Or maybe I should start my own business. That's something I've always wanted to do. Well, the possibilities are endless, and so they say.

Anyways, a days after Christmas and there's no time to waste. In case you're wandering what's keeping me busy, it's my blogs and finding some home-base gigs online. I'm sure most of you are familiar with this stuff.

It's gonna be a lot of work if I'm to find my dream job so I'm cheering myself. Fighting!

A gratitude post for the e-Pamilya crew

noreply@blogger.com (Nanay Gin) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 15:20:00 +0000

Two more days and it's gonna be Christmas. I'd like to say that I've been busy doing Christmas shopping and wrapping gifts but that's not the case. Unfortunately for us, I'll be unemployed by the turn of the year, so I've been digging through my brains trying to decide what should I do next and finding a new job. Fortunately though, we still haven't done any shopping when we found out the bad news. We were able to save our bonus instead of spending them on unnecessary things.

But enough about the bad news. Even though we'll have fewer bucks in our pockets for the coming months, the 2011 had been good to us overall and we have so much to be thankful for.

We're all full
We're all healthy
We're comfortable
We're together

Every things else are just extra.
Nice to have but not a necessity.

Of course, I should thank these 3 special people for making my life worth living.

Thank you to the Little Guy for making sure I always have enough hugs and kisses everyday!

Thank you for the Princess for always making me feel like I'm the best mom in the world!

Thank you for the Hubby for keeping me grounded and always being there no matter how crazy I get.

Thank you darlings for the love!

@@@@

In case this turns out to be my last post for the year, I wish everyone a

Merry Christmas
and a
Happy New Year!!!

Always an angel

noreply@blogger.com (Nanay Gin) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 16:45:00 +0000

The Princess celebrated her 5th birthday last Wednesday. It was her simplest so far given our tight budget. Honestly, I wasn't even so sure if I can afford to give her her five wishes for this year. But luckily, I receive few dollars from this blog and my other blog so it turned out well.

Turning 5 is such a big thing around here. In most cases, parents would give their kids big parties to celebrate such milestone. I think that was the case in almost all of Ki's classmate, so I was really worried that the Princess would want a big party as well.

Right after the Little Guy turned three, I started to set the Princess' expectation on what we can afford for her birthday. I told her that we can't have a big party like her classmates and we definitely can't afford to invite Jollibee to visit her at school to greet her a happy birthday. I was really surprise how quick she agreed about it.

"Mom, we can just have my birthday at home. Just us."

She was really calm and accepting. "But mommy, can I have 5 gifts?" I'm already 5 years old so I want 5 gifts."

Okay, so it comes with a condition...lol! of course, why not.

Here's her wishlist:

1. A new barbie because Bindy and Sharpay need a new friend.
2. Eyeglasses because she needs to protect her eyes from the sun.
3. Cake with five candles because she needs to make a wish on her birthday.
4. A party hat because you need a party hat before you can blow your candles
5. Bubble because it fun to make buddles.

I'm definitely getting a good deal so YES to everything.

Wednesday came and the Princess was all business about the 5 gifts. We already bought her barbie and bubbles the weekend before, so we only need to shop for her cake, party hat and sunglasses.

I was expecting that she'll be bargaining for an extra gift once we're at the mall and I was ready to say yes since she's been really good lately. But when I ask her if she wants to get another doll or anything, she only said, "No mommy, it's okay. I only need my 5 gifts."

As always, she'll an angel!

-----@@@-----

Princess Ki through the years

First Christmas morning 2006

First Birthday

Locked in a castle on her second birthday.

A 3 year old explorer

Certified Princess at 4

She'll always be an angel

Happy Birthday Princess!!! We love you!!!

Kid's Day Out

noreply@blogger.com (Nanay Gin) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 15:18:00 +0000

We went to Eastwood last Saturday for Ki's pre-birthday fun. Hubby's team will be having a Christmas party that night and I thought it would be a good excuse to take the kids out.

I knew it was going to be a fun day, but of course with both kids overly excited about the trip, we are bound to meet a few challenges throughout the day.

Our first challenge came way too early. A few second before the taxi reach our stop, the Little Guy threw up...on ME. I was ready for them to get messy and had packed 2 sets of clothes for them, but I never really expect I'll be the one needing some changing.

After changing, we're off for lunch. Of course, the Little Guy, again kept everyone on alert mode. We had to watch his every move as he insist to do everything on his own. He really has become a handful since he turned 3. Good thing the Princess is behaving nicely that day or I'll probably take them back home then and there. I guess she knew not to make me loose my temper that why she's behaving well. LOL!

The Hubby needs to meet up with his guys before the party, so after lunch he left the three of us to wander on our own. We went straight to the arcade for some games since that really is what the Princess is waiting for the whole day. The old play pen with the big yellow slide is no longer there, so the kids had to settle with the car rides.

The kids tried a lot of games but bowling is still their favorite. The Little Guy was also tall enough to reach the air hockey table so both kids decided to have a match.

After the arcades, we decided to do some window shopping. There's still 2 hours before the party so there's plenty of time to kill. While looking around, the Princess spotted some barbies - gift no. 1 on her birthday gift. I knew she'll be able to wait until her birthday to get her gifts, but I decided to give her one that day. She was so well behave that she deserve an early present.

As soon as we paid for the doll, the Princess begged to go home with an excuse that she's already tired. In other words, she can't wait to play with her new doll. The Little Guy, on the other hand, seems genuinely tired since he missed his afternoon nap. It'll be difficult to enjoy any party now, so I decided to skip it and take the kids home. It'll be better for the Hubby anyway, in case they decided to have a few drinks.

Santa Came to Town by Princess Ki

noreply@blogger.com (Nanay Gin) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 05:22:00 +0000

The Princess loves story-telling. Whenever she can’t choose a book for me to read to them, she would ask if I can tell her a story instead. Lately, she decided to try telling stories herself. Her favorite subject is often about me and her on an adventure and yes, they all sound like one of Dora’s adventure except the main characters were mommy and Ki.

But last night, she decided to tell a story about Santa Claus. Now, I’m not really sure how much she knows about Santa as I don’t really talk about him to them so it was interesting to hear her story.

Santa Came to Town by Princess Ki

Once upon a time, Santa Clause came to town on his sled. He had so many gifts to give away. He was laughing, “HO! HO! HO!” so loudly that all the children heard him. They all change in their best clothes and came out of their house to see Santa.

When Santa saw the children, he gave them their toys. Only good girls have gifts. Santa didn’t give any gifts to the bad boys.

But there is one good girl, her name is Isabella, who didn’t get any gift. It made Isabella sad so she started to cry.

Santa said, “Don’t cry Isabella, I still have a lot of gifts in my sleigh. Would you like to help me get more gifts?”

So Isabella stopped crying and went with Santa in his sleigh. When they got there, he took a gift from his sleigh and gave it to Isabella.

Everyone said, “Thank you, Santa!”

When it was time for Santa to leave, he noticed that his 8 deer are missing.

Mommy (interrupting the story): Darling they are not deer. They're called reindeer.

Princess: Yes, I forgot. Every Christmas deer become reindeer.

Mommy: ???

(Disclaimer: I’m not so sure how many reindeer Santa has, but the Princess is very sure that Santa always has eight reindeer pulling his sleigh.)

“Where did my 8 reindeer go?” Santa asked. He started to whistle to call them and sure enough, they came flying back to Santa. They were hiding on the roof.

Santa said goodbye to the children and he and his reindeer flew up to the sky, happily ever after.

The End

Mommy: Since Santa gave you a gift, what would you give him in return?
Princess Ki: I want to give him a sleigh mommy.
Mommy: Why?
Princess: He needs another sleigh in case his old one broke.
Mommy: Do you know where to find one?
Princess: Hmmm? I think I should just share my milk with him...mommy can give him a glass of milk instead?
Mommy: Sure darling!

The Princess promised me more story tonight. Maybe I should keep writing them for her. Then someday, we can read them again.

Image: digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Little Angel

noreply@blogger.com (Nanay Gin) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 03:21:00 +0000

It took a while for the Princess to decide what she would like to be this Halloween. But she finally decided to be an Angel because she wants to be one of the good guys this year. LOL!

It's funny that most of her classmates went for a devil or witch costume, with a few in super hero getup, so she kind of standout of the crowd.

I

Happy Three Little Guy!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Nanay Gin) — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 05:25:00 +0000

The Little Guy is now 3 years old. Horay! We have a quiet celebration last Thursday since he just got well. Look at him blow without any effort. I wasn't even sure if he knew how, but he did and more than once since my dad wasn't able to catch it on camera the first try...lol!

He was ready to take a nap after blowing his cake, obviously still feeling weak. But he got his energy back when he saw his gifts - a jigsaw puzzle, his very own backpack (he's long time request) and some school stuff. He totally ignored the cake and just write and play and try on his bag.

I think the schools supplies were just perfect for him right now. He seems to be more interested in writing and looking at books lately and is always looking over his sister when she does her school works. He's obviously excited to start school next year.

Speaking of readiness, the Little Guy seems to be surprising us with so many developmental milestones lately. Compare to his sister, his first three years of development seems slower though our pediatrician constantly reminds me that he's not late. I'm just not use to it since the Princess hit her milestones way ahead of her age.

Anyway, my biggest concern back then was his speech which was non-existence up until 3 months ago. I think back then he can only say dede (milk) and no. Everything else are just "ohs" and "ahs" accompanied with sign languages. But when he did started talking, he was absolutely unstoppable. I still find it funny every time I hear him talk in a a 3-4 word sentences, now. He speaks in English most of the time than our native language since his sister talks in English a lot and so most of the shows that they watch as in English.

I think his sister is his biggest influence when it comes to talking. He even have the same expressions. And because he is constantly copying everything she does, he can now recite his A-B-C, recognize them and even write them. Yup, he can write his A-B-C now. He can also count up to 20 and recognizes basics colors and shapes. All of which he just suddenly showed us. No formal teaching on our part. He's just observing everything his sister does especially whenever she's doing her assignments and playing games online.

Aside from speech development, he is also now potty trained both day and night so we're totally diaper-free, now. His motor skill is also excellent and the Princess agrees that he danced better than her since he can balance better and copy dance steps with ease. "It's okay, mommy. I've better in singing anyway," said the Princess.

He is also very good in following instructions now and loves to help out at home. I now have 2 assistants that run little errands from me around the house. Hubby thinks I'll be more lazy now since I can actually ask the kids to get me things instead of me standing up and getting them. But he does look forward to the days when mommy and kids learn to be more tidy around the house. LOL!

I'm sure there's more to come from the Little Guy and we're all excitedly waiting for his next surprise.

------- Happy Birthday Little Guy! -------

Almost 3 and sick

noreply@blogger.com (Nanay Gin) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 00:46:00 +0000

It seems unavoidable for my kids to get sick few days before their birthday. It would probably because of the weather around this time but sometimes it feels like some kind of passage to the next stage...

Anyway, the Little Guy is still sick right now. Sticky phlegm, mild cold and occasional fever. He is starting to expel it now, but it's draining his energy. Of course, in times like this, he's irritable and wants no one else but mommy. I haven't gotten any sleep this few days with him wanting to be carried all the time and the constant coughing.

I didn't go to work yesterday as I try to observe him. He was better during the day but was coughing hard again last night. What's with night time and sick baby? I wanted to stay with him again today, but I don't think I can afford to be absent again....

I really just hope he'll be okay by Thursday, his big day. We're not planning anything big to celebrate his day but I sure would love to see him jumping around and enjoying his cake that day.

Get Well Soon Little Guy!

Is it time to move on and start on my own?

noreply@blogger.com (Nanay Gin) — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 08:47:00 +0000

I’ve been asking myself this question quite often these past few months. I’ve joined a start-up I.T. company about a year ago and though I started with much enthusiasm for the possibility of making it as a partner or maybe get some funding for some ideas I had, it wasn't as bright of a future now than I thought it would be.

Regardless of the skill and experience that you bring along with you and the investment you're willing to put in, not being a founder means a mile away in terms of what you can get out of a company. I had a very strong option about this at first, but I eventually came to realize and understand how much they are risking into their business for them to be reluctant about giving out shares even to a trusted friend.

I do have several ideas that I would like to explore but every time I get offers from startup companies, I tend to choose that over starting on my own. I think it's time to break out of this cycle, right? But again, I can't help but ask myself, should I start my own business?

With this question in mind, I started looking up on startup advice. I wanted to know if I'm actually capable of going my own way and waht would I need. That's when I stumble upon Mark Suster's blog on venture capitalist funding. You might think I'm reading way too far ahead. Why VC when I haven't even started a business yet? Well, aside from VC articles, he also have great advice on being an entrepreneur and on the subject of startups. You should check out his Startup Advice series. It's a good read.

If you're asking the same question that I'm asking myself right now, you might want to read, "Is it Time for You to Earn or Learn?"

I haven't fully grasp what venture capitalist funding is all about, and will not be tackling that in the next few months or so. But if you are looking for a good online resource on the subject, then make sure to swing by Mark's Both Side of the Table.

Potty Trained in 2 Days

noreply@blogger.com (Nanay Gin) — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 06:14:00 +0000

I really thought it'll be tough teaching the Little Guy to pee and potty but to my surprise, it only took at 2 days and 1 poop accident.

So Saturday, I realized that I forgot to buy some diaper and seeing that their not enough to last the day, I decided to take him off the diaper and let him wear an underwear. Of course, I'm prepared for the worst and I've already noted the time he usually poop. The whole day I keep watch and ask him if he feels like peeing or pooping.

The whole weekend's a never ending questioning of whether he wants to pee or poop. I think the Little Guy got a bit annoyed at my constant questioning but he did remember to go to the bathroom to pee and poop. Well, the poop didn't make it to the potty the first time but that the only mishap we had. He even remember how to lift his short so me can pee standing up.

This week, we only had to put diaper at bedtime but it's been dry until morning since the Little Guy seems to got used to peeing in the bathroom now. That's about 800pesos (almost $20) saving a month for us from now on. It's a great timing too, since the Little Guy will be turning 3 a month for now.

My Little Guy is turning into a big boy now. He wanted to do everything on his own and would refuse any help until he already tried and failed for several times.

"NO-NO-NO! GO-GO-GO!" Little Guy would shout to shoo us away whenever we try to help him.

If his big sister is allowed to do things on her own, he has to do them on his own too.

He also has a few tricks for the camera lately. Looking at the pictures, it's really obvious how big he is now...

I'm pretty sure he's looking forward to his 3rd birthday this October because he'll be big enough to be allowed to use those big slides in Active Fun.

School Trip with the Princess

noreply@blogger.com (Nanay Gin) — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 06:28:00 +0000

It's been so long since the last time Ki and I spent a whole day to ourselves, so she was really looking forward to spending the day with me last Friday on their school trip.

We started the day early since I had to prepare our food. Nothing fancy. A few chips and juices and spaghetti filled with hotdog and cheese. Ki's favorite. Since kids' field trip often have a lot of stop with stores nearby, I figure we can just buy more later if what we had were not enough. Plus it saves us from bringing too much containers.

The Princess was obviously excited about the trip because when I woke her up, she immediately stood up without making a fuss and immediately went to the bathroom to take a bath. She was worried that the bus man might leave us behind if she doesn't hurry.

So off we went to the meeting place and again were the first to arrive. We're even earlier than the tour guides and teachers. I would normally get irritated by the fact that the teachers were not earlier than us (we came 10 minutes earlier), but the Princess was high-spirited, so I was cool with it. The other parents on the other hand were not too forgiving.

We have 4 destinations for the day - Air Force Museum, Bio-research Lost Eden Education Park, Gardenia Factory and Storyland in Alabang.

First stop is the Air Force Museum.

I had some doubt about this one at first. "Not another military museum", I thought. Last year, we went to the Arm Force of the Philippines Museum and I spent the entire tour carrying the Princess who was too scared to go near the mannequins.

Luckily, there's not much mannequins here and more planes and diorama instead of military uniforms. Here's the Princess posing for the camera:

Marcos' old plane is displayed outside the Museum and people can board and look around. Ki wasn't about to pass that up.

Next stop is the Bio Research's Lost Eden Educational Park.

I'm not really familiar with this park. The only thing I know about Bio Research is it's an pet store and they have branches in almost every mall I know. But obviously, there's more. Lost Eden is a pet shop, plant nursery, hatchery and zoo, all in one place. Filipino Traveler has a nice article about the place entitled "Bio Research’s Lost Eden: An oasis in the south of Metro Manila"

Here's a few of the pictures of the place:

After the tour, each of us when home with a small fish, supposedly to encourage the kids to start taking care of a pet. Laffy Fish last for a whole 3 days inside her small aquarium before dying. The Princess is still not overly attached to it, so she only got sad for a few hours.

Our 3rd stop is at Gardenia for a Plant Tour.

No pictures of this tour as they strictly prohibits taking photographs inside the plant. We were even asked to turn off our phones before we can start the tour. I normally find plants tours boring when I was a kid, but the Princess had so many questions that I actually enjoyed it this time.

Last stop should have been SM Southmall's Storyland. However, the place is under renovation when we got there. The organizers said that they did made a reservation but unfortunately, the staff their didn't contacted them regarding the renovation. We ended up doing back to Manila to go to another Storyland, this time located in SM San Lazaro. It's much smaller than the one in Southmall so after 2 rides, Ki and I decided to just go to a close by arcade and just play a few games instead.

We were suppose to stay until 6pm there before going back to the bus that will take us home but Ki and I had played enough and decided to just stayed in the bus and eat some snack. It's better that way, too coz we might end up spending more than we should in the arcade if we stay longer...LOL!

At the end of the day, I'd say that it wasn't the best field trip we had but it doesn't really matter. "Mommy, I'm happy we're together" was what the Princess told me before we get off the bus to go home. So no complains from this mommy.

A bit of a blogging activity

noreply@blogger.com (Nanay Gin) — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 02:43:00 +0000

The advocate waits around a clipped unfortunate.

In my almost 4 years of blogging, I've joined so many networks and communities that I can remember. Yes, I tend to be all hype in some of the things I do then logged back when something new comes along or things didn't go as fast or at all than expected. Or sometimes I just forget...

Bad habit, I know so I'm trying to make a bit of a change.

The Hubby has also been advocating a slow down attitude lately and I think it's rubbing on to me. I'm far from how relax he can be working 2 or more jobs but I'm doing my best not to rush into things anymore.

Anyway, don't mind the first sentence. It's just a random thing I need to put in this post. Some of you might now what it it...but at any rate, let me just make this quick babbling to get my calm myself and start things without rushing and going crazy about the long to-do list I need to finish today.

Have a nice day everyone!

What to Expect from the Mail

noreply@blogger.com (Nanay Gin) — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 01:05:00 +0000

Look what I got from the mail a week ago...

Yup, the complete What to Expect Series: What to Expect When You're Expecting, What to Expect the First Year, and What to Expect the Second Year.

No, I'm not expecting another baby and yes, my youngest will be beyond 2 in 2 months time, but I'm still very much happy to be getting them.

I actually bought an earlier edition of the What to Expect When Expecting 5 years ago and it was really a useful book that kept me sane while I went through all the changes that comes with pregnancy. I'm sure this new and revised edition will be just as informative and helpful to expecting moms.

The other two books, I wish I had back then..but getting them now is just as great especially The Second Year. The Little Guy is still in his 2nd year and even though he's my second child, believe it or not, I still have so much questions about raising him that needs answers.

By the way, What To Expect also sent me a second set of the books to share to you guys so watch out for my first every giveaway...coming soon.

You can also join www.whattoexpect.com for pregnancy guide and to connect to other expecting moms.

Buwan ng Wika 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Nanay Gin) — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 08:27:00 +0000

It's Buwan ng Wika (National Language Month) again, and as usual, the kids had to go to school in their national costumes. I was originally planning to sew a Southern inspired clothing but before I knew it, I only have a day left to get her costume ready. Good thing I saved Ki''s costume from last year.

I just had to replace the black shirt with an altered white shirt, put a simple crochet embellishment and TADAN! a whole new Igorot costume.

Here's another picture with a thumbnail of last years version:

Her skirt is actually my scarf and I just did a temporary stitching so I still use it as scarf later on.

The Little Guy seems to be interested in dressing up as well, but he has to wait next year. I already having all this ideas of dressing them in a paired costume. That would be cute for sure.

To Recite or Not To Recite

noreply@blogger.com (Nanay Gin) — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 02:53:00 +0000

originally written August 23, 2011

I just attended PTA at Princess Ki's school last Friday and her teacher happily informed me that she was doing quite well at school. She only had one concern though and that is the fact that the Princess doesn't raise her hands even though she knows the answer to her teacher's question.

Now, honestly I find nothing wrong with it but the teacher have told me to encourage her to do so. That night, I asked the Princess why she doesn't raise her hands and she just told me that she doesn't want to. The Hubby, hearing us, said, "There's nothing wrong with that. I was like that when I was young. Besides, once there figure out to always know the answers, they would usually avoid calling you anyway."

Of course, I can't agree more. My teachers back in primary school were like that and it can be frustrating to raise your hand and not be called. In the end, I would just not raise my hand and act like I'm not paying attention to actually get their attention...talking about giving your teacher a reverse psychology at age 7. LOL!

Since none of us really have any idea how to make the Princess voluntarily answer her teachers questions, we decided to just drop the subject. Of course I told the Princess that she should try raising her hands at least once and see how that feels but she would probably won't do it. But that's okay. No rush. She can just do it later when she feels more like it.

Gaya-gaya, Puto-maya

noreply@blogger.com (Nanay Gin) — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 04:36:00 +0000

Because the Little Guy just have to do everything his big sister does...

Stories from a 4 year old

noreply@blogger.com (Nanay Gin) — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 07:01:00 +0000

The Princess has been drawing non-stop ever since I showed her that you can make up stories through drawing. I think she already used up a total of 3 sketch pads plus my sketch pad and the Little Guy's drawing pad. I just bought another one this week, hopefully it'll last a little longer since it's a 100 sheet pad.

While I was browsing through all the drawings, the Princess happily told me what each picture is all about. I turn some of them into comic strips to share here:

The Things I Love to Do

Me and My Imaginary Cat

I Love My Baby

I love the fact that she's been drawing nothing but the things she loves. I feel at ease that she's is such a happy kid.

Bedtime Snapshots

noreply@blogger.com (Nanay Gin) — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 04:17:00 +0000

The kids requested to have their pictures taken while pretending to sleep and looks like the Princess already mastered the art of pretending to sleep.

It took about a minute or two until she finally showed signs that she's only pretending.

I'm not really sure why, but I suddenly had this picture in my head of this little girl all grown up and pretending to sleep so she can sneak out of the house to party. Haha! I'm sure the Hubby already thought about it and have some great plans (traps) ready for the future along with his plan on how to screen all the boys who'll try to date his daughter in the future.

The Little Guy, on the other hand, still needs to work on it. He looks more like he just ate something really sour that sleeping, but he sure looks cute.

This is his face whenever I tell him to go to sleep. It's his way of making himself fall asleep and I have to say that it's quite effective. Unfortunately, this same expression keeps the Princess destructed from trying to sleep, so I've been asking the Little Guy to turn his back from his sister during bedtime.

The Medicine Battle

noreply@blogger.com (Nanay Gin) — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 05:31:00 +0000

Both babies are sick since mid last week and after our visit to their doctor last week, they need to take several medicines this week to get well.

Now, it’s a given for the Little Guy to refuse and give me a hard time about taking his medicine. But for the Princess, this is something new. She is often an obedient girl and easy to reason with and drinking her medicine is usually a breeze. But I guess her antibiotic this time is just too bitter, because no amount of treats and threats can make her take it. I even bribe her that I’ll be taking her to the 3-slide (a.k.a.Fun Ranch, which she regards as the most wonderful place in the world for her) as soon as she’s well and NOTHING. It’s still a NO!

After hours of trying to convince her, and her giving me every excuse she can think of, I’ve decided to force it in. It’s like giving medicine to a 1 year old expect you get kicked and punched 5 times harder while you try to firmly hold her without hurting her. It was really exhausting. She was crying so hard after she swallowed the medicine and eventually vomited it. I was left frustrated, exhausted, and in my worst mommy moment to date, just lost my temper. I can't help but to scold her even though I was feeling sorry for her.

I did my best to get over my anger as soon as I could, knowing that it’s not gonna help nor make her feel better. I KNOW! I shouldn’t have lost it in the first place but I did, so that's that.

When we finally calm down, I just had to carry my now 17kg little girl and give her a big hug. I was almost in tear as I try to explain to her why mommy had to force her to drink the medicine and saying sorry if I hurt her in any way. She was also fighting her tears as she tells me know that she understands and that she’ll try harder to drink her medicine next time. So much drama for a spoon of medicine...

This morning, I was determined to be more patient. She started to whine a little when she saw me pouring that white liquid in the measuring cup, but I reminded her about our talk last night. I told her to take her time and drink it when she’s ready. So as not to get impatient (I'm talking about myself), I left her alone in the dining room with her medicine. After an hour of waiting (with very little coaxing), she finally drank it on her own. Horay!

“Mommy, we’re going to the 3 slide on Sunday when I get better, right?” was the Princess question while I congratulate her for a job well done.

"Of course, darling! Please get well soon because I miss this big smile."

Play TIme, Clay Time

noreply@blogger.com (Nanay Gin) — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 05:42:00 +0000

The supply of paper around this house is diminishing quickly. Both kids are too engross with drawing, folding papers and cutting them up to pieces. I really didn't mind it much except there's just way too many wasted paper since the Princess insist on perfection and would easily scrap a paper if she thinks her drawings not beautiful enough. The Little Guy on the other hand is busy with his kiddie scissor cutting (ripping) all the scraps to little pieces and stashing them in places that Mommy can't easily reach.

Thinking that it'll be less messier, I decided to get them some clay last week. Now, things didn't really got less messy, but at least it something new for them to do. The Princess, at usual went straight to work with her imagination and started creating her favorite Pocoyo characters.

As for the Little Guy, well I didn't really want him playing clay because I think he's still too young for this. Even though I bought non-toxic, kid-safe clays, I kept his clay time to a minimum. He must have been a bit irritated that I keep checking his hands because he quickly lost interest in it and just watched his sister. And play with the finish product.

With a little help from Mommy, Princess completed her own version of Pocoyo?!? talking on his phone and with a flower on top of his head....

and Pato...I did the body and the Princess work on the details.

...not bad for a first-timer is you ask me.

The Little Guy Learns to Wink

noreply@blogger.com (Nanay Gin) — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 05:31:00 +0000

He's been trying to wink for several days now and finally, SUCCESS!!!

Is my Little Guy getting ready to catch a girl?