...favorite shoe

As of this moment! So girlie and flowery. Its surprisingly comfortable but of course i wont walk a marathon on it. Bought it from primadonna.com.ph

...upcoming wedding anniversary

it's gonna be our 6th on the 21st! imagine that.

it hasn't been a smooth road.. but we are still trying and fighting for our marriage. (though sometimes we just literally fight. haha) i guess that's the deal breaker.. once you've stopped trying and stopped caring, you know your marriage is in trouble.

Pangs is coming home this 19th until the 30th.. yey! quite a long number of days than the usual weekender. i am sooo looking forward to it. i just want to reconnect again with him and spend more time with him (just him! chupi muna ang mga kiddos!) We have a few weekend getaways planned.. Tagaytay lang. I don't know about you.. but WE love Tagaytay. Maybe because this is where I first said 'Yes!' to Raymond.. Back in September (uh..oh.. something.. lol) 2005, we commuted (yes, we did! that in itself was an adventure) to Sonya's Garden and where we officially became gf and bf.

I'm so excited! It'll be just the 4 of us, no yayas, no parents. I read somewhere that we should always have these times.. albeit it'll be more difficult without a yaya, we will manage and we will learn and we will have a fantastic time.

I already have my outfits planned in my head. hahahaha.

...new leopard shoes

Found this cool store in market,market selling shoes made in korea. They're cheap and fun! And im wearing my alex&chloe for forever 21 necklace.

Mj jacket

Morning everyone. Since ive started going back to work, ive become more interested in clothes and shoes and such (to my husband's dismay). Typically, i remember i wouldn't even spend 300bucks on a shirt. I guess phase phase lang toh haha. Anyway, mainly from lookbook.nu, i got inspired from all the youngsters around the world and i now take a second (and third, and fourth) look on what i would wear.

Late bloomer ba? Lol. Oh well, i guess now i look my age, which i feel is a good thing for me.

...2012 resolutions

i wonder if i did 2011 resolutions. oh well, it's a new year and past is past harhar.

1. buy less toys and buy more organizational stuff
2. blog more
3. be nicer. to everyone. (read: stop being a bitch)
4. spend more quality time with the kids
5. show hubby more lurveeee. everyday.

happy new year everyone!

merry christmas! (and happy new year)

cause i'll probably be my usual delinquent self and not blog on new year's. a LOT of stuff has happened (binog's first birthday, My birthday. christmas!) which i've been too lazy to blog about it. lately i've been losing tooo much weight and have gone stick-eeky-thin. been trying to crash-eat, and always trying to be conscious to grab a snack anytime i feel a tinge of hunger. i'm not sure if i'm retaining any of the calories i've been eating (gawd knows i feel like all the food i eat just gets wiped out with just one late-night puyat or binog's nightly nursing). it's that i've noticed some of my pictures and it worries me too, and my mom and relatives have noticed it too and you KNOW how stressful it gets when someone else comments about your weight. (or lack of it).

work has been okay. i've been doing what i have done 5 years ago so the work, my colleagues are still pretty much the same. i think it's the travel time that's getting to me though. the 1.5hr travel time is really, really tiring. driving is soo stressful. c5 super traffic. marcos highway, super gitgitan.. filipino drivers are so crazy! i think i've become adept at driving (since i'm driving 60 kms a day!) but still, sometimes i feel i've had so many close encounters, it's amazing i haven't had a driving incident yet. (not that i'm wishing *knocks on wood*) sometimes i just let go and press the gas and PRAY to God i don't hit anyone. haha. BUT, have i told you how much i love my car. i love itttt to pieces. i love how small it is, how easy it is to park. how cutey-patooteey it looks and how easy to make-singit to all the fugly SUVS(yes, montero sport, i'm talking to you) out there in the road. i love how fuel-economical it is, and how even if it's small, it can carry 2 kabans of rice in it's trunk. (yes, i've tried)

with binog news.. he is basically being outwalked and outtalked by his younger cousins but i don't mind. he can walk about 4-5 steps (if you don't make a fuss and stop gushing over him, else, he'll get all excited and rush to you and make planking sa floor) so i know he's developing well and i am not in a hurry to have him run around and have another kid to run after to. he has a few syllables, "daaa..taaa.." but mostly he just 'eeee eee eee's around the house. what i find amazing about binog now is his eating habits. he eats everything! and feeds himself! friggin amazing. he eats whole brocolli flowers, cauliflowers, papayas, apples, pineapple.. anything he can get his hands to. he eats again after i come home from work.. whether i'm eating adobo, or sinigang.. he'll crawl to me and gets his hands on my rice and food and feeds himself. one night i was eating ampalaya and i just let him be and he just sucked that little bitter vegetable til it was limp. lol. a-mazing! when we attended a wedding, my cousins were amazed that he was eating non-stop for 2 hours. i was there feeding gavin (as USUAL, rice and soup) and he was there beside us just eating everything you give him. to quiet him down on a road trip, i just give him biscuits or french fries and he'll just eat and eat and eat. (mas tipid, no more travel toys hehe. anyway, travel toys are for his bratty brother).

speaking of gavin naman, he's still a brat as ever but he's smarter and wise-assier. just like this christmas, he said 'mommy, i want a leappad for christmas'.. (after watching it's commercial in tv) i said "okay, but you said you want an elmo rocks for christmas. so what do you want? leap pad or elmo rocks?".. gavin said "leap pad is for me, elmo rocks is for binog". LOL. ha. as if. he did surprisingly behave in my cousin's wedding. he walked the aisle (he was the coin bearer) and looked so pogi in his coat and tie. (thank you H&M! can't wait to see you again harhar). he was well-behaved mostly.. it was only when it was time to give the coins again, to the pastor that he faltered. the couple and pastor were in a sorta stage so he had to walked up the stairs to reach them.. halfway thru, he stopped and then backed out and said 'i don't want!'. oh well, at least he entertained the hungry-bored wedding guests.

christmas for us was loud and fun and expensive. ate ging and her husband and super beautiful sophie (their almost 1yo daughter) are here so the kids all have fun wrestling each other at my parent's home. gavin got so many gifts (and books! i think only my nerdy kid enjoys getting books.) and so much new clothes i gotta get a new antonius and get organized better. (yey, shopping for me). speaking of shopping for myself, i had such a haaard time controlling myself with the christmas shopping.. i would be buying gifts for others THEN would find a way to gift myself. i think i did that to every other gift i bought haha. it's soooo liberating to have your own money and shop. Raymond is verrry generous, don't get me wrong (between the two of us, nobody knows how to friggin budget) but it's more fun to shop when it came from your very own ATM payroll. i've gone gaga over clothes and shoes lately (raymond's gone gaga too over my going gaga. haha. 'bagong damit na naman!') but in my defense, it's been almost 4 years since i can dress nicely and have somewhere to show off my clothes to. (it's weird to get too dressed up for the MALL, you know?)

anyway, not too much people in the office since it's the holidays and i'm the unlucky newbie who doesn't have any leave credits yet. that's fine as long as there's not much work to do too; else, it's sooo damn kakatamad when everyone is off frolicking in their vacations and i'm here stuck in the office. oh well, at least i get to wear my newly gifted clothes from my mother-in-law and sister-in-law. love them, they always choose the right blouses for me! yey! bye everyone! happy new year and let's hope it's not the end of the world in 2012!

...lookout streets, newbie driver here

I've been driving these past few weeks... And everyday seems like there's a new adventure (or stupidity.. depends if u see the glass half empty)

Pangs had been prepping me before he left for HK.. We would drop off ate chary at her office then i would takeover the wheel and drive to my office and park the car there. Later that night, raymond would get the car and after he fetches me, we would switch and i would drive going to ate's office. First time i was alone, i was still nervous (actually nerves havent left me still while driving) but i remember the song playing on the radio... Need to be next to you by leigh nash...(love that song). So there i was... Singing to let the nerves out... "i need to be next to you......aaaa-aaaahhhh" . What a great feeling. The parking was a multi- level parking, but since i've practiced beforehand with pangs...i've managed to park without mishaps.

Going to ate chary's office after work was another story.

First of all, while i was driving down the circular path, i realized i havent practiced that before. Pangs would always be the one to take the car out of the parking building. So while i was thinking "shit hindi ko napractice toh" and "shit mas mahirap pala ang pakanan na curba, di ko makita nguso ko" my rear right wheel drove up the gutter wahaha. Ooopsie was driving too near the right gutter. AND then when it was time for me to go to the cashier lady, i swerved too far and couldnt reach her even if i stretched out my left arm to give her the parking ticket. Sooooo i had to step my left foot out the car to get her to take my ticket. That part was still fine. It was when i had to take the change, that i forgot my right foot was still stepping on the brake pedal. So when i stepped my left foot out to take the change, i forgot all about the brake and lifted my right foot a tiny bit from it. And of course all i needed was that tiny moment of relapse and the car moved with my ass half sitting half standing up and my left foot still out of the car. "shit. Umandar." The cashier lady probably still remembers me.

Good thing i got my new car last oct 29th ( after binog's first birthday celeb... a different post)! Maybe she wont recognize me and just be mesmerized on how cuuutieee patooey my new suzuki swift is. Harhar. (as if. I bet the cashier lady thinks, "oh no, nagbago pa ng kotse")

Katas ng singapore ni pangs. Thank youuuuuuuuuu. Driving a car has been a heck lot easier than driving an SUV. I dont have that problem of not seeing the car right beside the passenger seat (kasi pag mataas, tas mababa yung asa kanan, di ko kita). Parking has been waaaay easier. (oh, kasya na?)

So thats my usual routine. Ate and i will go to work together. Before the swift, i would just switch with her once we reach her office, now, i drive all the way from our house to my office. I will then fetch her and we will go home together.

Problem was, i didnt realize ive been solely relying on HER for directions. My short term memory centered brain refused to acknowledge that it was essential for me to remember these stuff! So first time when i had to kill time in boni high street, a 2minute drive took me friggin 15 minutes because i took MULTIPLE wrong turns going from boni high street to her office. To think you could actually SEE the friggin building from the parking lot. I was circling the fort like some idiot on a cruise tour. I almost got to kalayaan without her! Second time i went home on my own, i circled frigging the fort again and almost exited going to makati. (*coughsdumbass*) siiiighhhhhs.

And then, there's the motion sickness. Who the f*ck gets car sick from their OWN driving. Wahaha there was one time i felt sick i thought i was going to puke on my car's new car smell. (i think it was because i was hungry though). Then there's the pain on the knee no one told me about. We usually have to endure 2 hours of traffic every night and no one told me about the knee pain. Now, i dont position the seat too near the wheel, i try to stretch my legs a bit so i wont feel cramped.

Anyway, my other sister ate ging told me its also because i'm a newbie driver, tense pa daw ako sa tuhod. She said i'll get used to it and enjoy the freedom later. I am beginning to like driving.... But i dont know when ill stop being nervous about it. Takot ako mabangga. But i dont want to be a puny driver, how can i call myself an Espinosa and be a puny driver. Being a good driver is supposed to be in our genes. Si ate chary nga natuto eh. Ako rin dapat. If you just saw me driving while daddy was teaching me at the passenger seat,...kay stressful! He was urging me like "go go go masisingitan ka" or " ay osla (that's laos kay daddy) alanganin ka kasi" or "wag ka dito, mabagal ang lane na toh" ( but i like this lane. I dont want to make singit huhu). LOL.

Oh well. Umaga na. *cue in Incubus's drive* "whatever tomorrow brings ill be thereeeeeee with open arms and open eyes yeahhhh. Hold the wheel and driveee"

Steve Jobs RIP

Why are so many people dying in my lifetime? Yes, I understand that people die everyday, but when you were young, you felt so immortal and alive; death seemed surreal.

But now, everyone's dying left and right. it's really depressing. On the other hand, I look at my iPhone, this single piece of technology that is soooo revolutionary, in Steve Job's words.. Click.. boom.. amazing! (though i think he was referring to the iPod when he said that HA!)  And I feel this certain pride that I was alive when this product was invented.

Everything he did, all his insane micro-managing, his focus on minor,minor details (you should google Steve Jobs stories) lead to so many amazing apple products that really changed our lives. (well, those who bought apple products, anyway). I love my Macbook pro. You know why? Not because of the super fast processor or the super slick silver casing. (not to mention, that i don't friggin need an anti-virus software?) It's the little magnet at the left most part of my laptop that connects the power cord. No more groping to push the little thingie inside the little holey. lol. Just slide it and the magnet takes over. Insanely amazing! oh oh, and how i love the actual Mac powercords. It has retractable hooks where you can hook your line cord AND a little clip that puts it in place. (who needs velcro? that's so 90s!) I love how power adaptors are interchangeable to whatever adaptor you need. switching from singapore power outlets to philippine outlets are so easy!

and everyone knows how i looooove Ipod Touch. i can't even remember when gavin learned to slide his little finger on the screen to unlock one. (Was he 8 months? 9 months?) sooo adorable. the way he learned his alphabet strokes from the writing apps. (i love the word "Apps". so cool. lol) and I looove itunes. Steve Jobs changed the music industry. (something Napster couldn't do, haha) Who else could've convince music artists to sell their songs for 99cents each? In-sane!

Steve Jobs was an asshole but he was a very talented one, so quits lang! haha. He knew that design was an integral part of our lives. Who cares if it's fast if it's fugly! Who cares if it can browse the net if it can't fit in your pocket?? We wouldn't have had these crazy good, beautiful products if he wasn't over the top OC.

Goodbye SJ. You will be missed.

p.s. Can you imagine a computer without a mouse? wahaha.

...sarang korean food

my korean drama addiction has reached a new level.. i've been eating and making korean food this past month. i think it all started when i've begun wondering if i could survive a week in korea.. since supposedly, i cannot tolerate spicy food. i said supposedly, cause it turns out that i luuurrvee spicy korean food. what makes korean food spicy is mostly because they put chili powder and/or hot pepper paste, and i found out, i pretty much love it. (so i guess what i can't really tolerate is the thai chilis, i find most tom yums were too hot for me) i love kimchi, i love everything pickled and spicy. i love all the little side dishes they serve you in korean restaurants. they are easy enough to make, but if i didn't have helpers who helped me with the prep work and cleaned the pots and pans after i used them, i would've probably been too lazy to do them. (so good thing i'm in the philippines hehe)

first is i finally found the courage to go inside a korean restaurant. i've been a tiny bit afraid because koreans here don't really mingle with us filipinos.. of course it turned out i was worried about nothing. most korean business owners i've encountered are really friendly and even talk to me in their broken tagalog. (i guess that's good business acumen hehe) the first korean restaurant we went to is the one nearest to us, ICHEON restaurant located in Sumulong Highway, here in Antipolo.

In total, i've been there 3 times already! the first time, i was with the boys and 2 of my HS friends...it's better to go there with a big group.. so you can try more dishes! the price and serving sizes are really meant for sharing. 2nd time, i was just with raymond and the kids.. we already knew what to order. 3rd time, i was with my Dad, who happily enjoyed it! (though he didn't admit it haha. My dad is not really adventurous when it comes to eating) ICHEON restaurant in Sumulong, Antipolo

These are accumulated photos from my 3 visits in the restaurant:

Some grilled meat.. think this was samgyupsal (pork belly) and.. a beef one, forgot which.

 grilling lady
 
finished product. you wrapped them in some lettuce leaves and put some hot pepper paste.
the side dishes and bibimbap; looove the side dishes, bibimbap was okay
bulgogi.. this one tasted great
kalbi jim (beef short ribs) my favorite korean dish.  grilled saba
  pork mandu 
first time i went there.. we ordered a lot!
yes, i definitely liked the food for me to go back again and again to this restaurant. it tasted authentic and a lot of koreans eat there. the price is expensive (around 300 per dish) but the serving sizes are generous. the first time, we spent around 3k(! see above photo). the 2nd time, pangs and i spent 650php.. that's the bibimbap and bulgogi, and drinks. and probably an extra rice. when my dad and I went there, I spent 400php i think. the beef short ribs and extra rice. it was more than enough for us to share, plus the side dishes are all refillable. (so cool!) can't wait to go back again hehe.

...back to work

my first week back at work went by sooo fast. i was struggling a little with the loss of siesta time (HA) but it was relatively an easy adjustment. i guess motherhood really prepared me in a way.. (lack of sleep?. been there, done that)

i remember when i first went to the office to talk about my contract. i had such a weird feeling.. i was outside the house without my kids, wearing high heels and talking to people in long sleeves and neckties. it was like i was playing dress up, attending a costume party. A few steps away from the car, i panicked and thought "we forgot our friggin stroller!!". Then i would (mentally) slap myself (get a grip! your kids are safely at home!) and just stared at the many yuppies puffing their ciggies outside the buildings. (oh, they still do that.)

about 2 weeks before my start date at work, i suddenly woke up with a severe chest pain. i thought "God. i'm having a heart attack". oh.. no no no.. maybe an asthma attack? i couldnt fucking breathe. when i calmed down, i realized.. hmm. was that a panic attack? LOL. thats when i realized i was scared to death in going back to work again.

then i started having yaya troubles. i would catch binog happily sucking an empty pouch of his anti-mosquito wipes. WTF yaya. i know its fucking empty, but it's like letting the baby suck on an empty clorox bottle and saying.. it's okay! it's empty! gaaah. and my yaya, throws frigging tantrums. hindi mapagsabihan ang putek. either she'll cry or lock herself in their room. so friggin frustrating. OF COURSE i would scold her when binog gets a big bump on his forehead on her watch. you dont have to fucking cry. just please LISTEN. *sighs* please please lord.. if i have one christmas wish, it would be to have a better yaya.

i am sooooooooo fucking nice to our helpers. cause i KNOW you hAVE to be nice to the help. you have to treat them nicer than your parents. seriously. or else they'll just leave or spit on your food. super reasonable ako sa kanila. pero my goodness, they can be friggin abusers. i think, only my yayas get more than 24 hour day offs. they leave like 7am in the morning.. then get back 5pm the NEXT day. Whatda. and i HATE when binog's yaya would use her cellphone while carrying binog. i have told them time and time again to stop using their cellphone while carrying binog but i would ALWAYS catch them. (kakapikon pa pag tinatago pa, eh huli mo na) so i started giving fines like they do in the fine city of singapore. PAG late galing day-off, kaltas isang araw. pag nahuli kong meh hawak ng cellphone habang buhat si binog, kaltas ng 50 pesos. And the result? binog's yaya, had to be fined 3 times sa cellphone use. MAKULIT DIBA? gawd. first time, cge.. pagpasensyahan. pero talagang may 2nd at 3rd time pa? it's fucking hopeless. (i gave up, i still catch them and just ignore them)

*sighs* and my mother.. THANKFULLY she has stepped up. gawd. i now know where i got the lazy genes. but the week i was at work, we had baby-connect.com and she was updating that and monitoring the yayas. thank you mommy!

anyway.. this post was not supposed to be about yayas. lol. its supposed to be my being back to work. and it has been FUN! my panic attacks were seriously OA on my part. i luuurve being able to talk to adults again. to not having to watch my potty mouth (ha). i was really lucky to get back to my old job. the 3rd day i was already handling remedy tickets, (not that i easily remembered, i'm still trying to dust the cobwebs in my brain) but it's a start. i missed my officemates and their v.green jokes. ha. i've never laughed so much out loud since i gave birth. (was always worried in waking up the kids haha)

and ive noticed, i'm a tiny bit happier. i think i'm actually enjoying the time i'm spending with my kids more. maybe because i'm less stressed. it's different when you've spent the whole day with the kids.. you're hungry, cranky, dirty, out of your wits AND you still have to play nicely with them and think the play-doh is the coolest thing in the world when all you want to do is take a 30 minute shower and tune out Nick Jr.

now as soon as i get home.. i get a very happy greeting from gavin (he never does that to me before hehe) and we proceed to eat together and read his current favorite book. (he has this book like.. "in the playground or In the airport" then there are questions like.. what is little david doing? David is playing in the sandbox" etc. etc. gavin loves Q&A books)

it's only binog i'm feeling guilty to. i worry about his milk intake. since we can measure it now, my mom gets paranoid when he only drinks 3ounces every 3 hours. sometimes he would drink 5oz per feeding.. then just 2 oz the next. its not yet consistent. and i'm only pumping like 6oz per session. (i pump just twice in the office, at 1230pm and 530pm.. at 530pm i only get like 4oz) so i also worry if i'm pumping enough. im hoping my milk is enough until he turns 1. at least by then he can drink cow's milk.

and i also worry about his milestones. binog is not babbling. he's not saying much syllables like ma, ba, pa... nada. he'll smile a lot. he'll giggle. but no babbling. hmmm. don't know what to do.

hmm. i guess. i dunno. i'm really hoping binog is okay. he'll be turning 1 soon. i'm hoping i'll look back at this entry, and laugh at my worries.

...blake shelton post

forgive me, but i am majorly fangirling now. since watching The Voice, i have been cyberstalking one of the coaches, Blake Shelton. gawd he is one hot dude. aaaand super nice aaaaand super funny. i just watched him in Leno this morning (yeah, morning here) and what he said about Xenia is such an "awwweeeshucks" moment. He was like "the oklahoma guy in me is not sending this little girl home". soooo sweet!

so now i've officially reactivated my twitter account (go_gewi, add me up guys!) to continue my cyber stalking. gawd. his tweets are frikin hilarious. "describe christina aguilera in one word: boobies!" LOL.

i tried for 10 seconds to listen to his music, but stopped immediately with all the country rhyming. i'm a fan of HIM, not really his music hehehe.

i'll just add him to my google alerts and i'm all set.

...june update

happy 6th and 7th month binog!

another late update.. binog can now sit upright, (can actually last a whole minute, then he goes tumbling down which is the part i luuurve because he just giggles and laughs out loud whenever it happens. should capture that in video).. and he's been crawling on his knees a bit. though he's sometimes lazy so he still uses his thighs to crawl. but it doesn't matter what method he uses.. he still gets there, FAST! i started giving him solids on his 6th month, and he is a very, very good eater. i can now see that he won't be much of a fussy eater. we've discovered he likes broccolli and peas.. impartial to squash and sweet potatoes, and doesn't like pears/apples that much. but he still eats them! he just grimaces a bit whenever he eats the fruits. (baka naaasiman)

on the flip side, he is now one smelly pooping baby, and he cries when a toy is taken away from him (kala mo kinawawa talaga). he likes remote controls, celphones, mouse, my mac, everything that i can't possibly sterilize. he has a LOT of cloth toys, but he sucks on them for about 5 minutes and then throws it away. (i bought a lot in ikea) amidst all the new baby junk i've bought, there is one good buy that makes me super happy. it's the Indestructibles .. it's a baby book, which has a texture like paper, but it's tear-proof and washable. i love it that binog loves it! it was actually just an impulse buy (yeah yeah, more impulsive than my other impulse buys) because i just saw them beside the cash register. i was intrigued by the 'tear-proof' and 'washable' claim. and they completely were! binog will just happily chew away with this.. he probably thinks it's one of his "bawal" toys! hehe. cause he likes to grab the magazines i read and crumple them. this one, he can crumple it all he wants and it will NOT tear. i bought it for 10sgd but i found the same stuff at amazon.com for just 5usd so i'm gonna buy a couple more. i also found out that he likes the black and white toys more.. like this combi soft toy i found in Kiddiepalace in sg (photo below). he would grab on it and suck the legs until the whole toy is completely dripping in his saliva. fisher-price should just make a remote control toy that's completely black and please, no sounds. LOL.


binog sucking on his combi elephant. Indestructibles (book) on the upper left of binog.

...on Gavin news, it's his first day of school today! Hence, my free time to blog. and i was able to do a lot of stuff this morning. Phoning caterers and prospective venues for Binog's upcoming first birthday. (yey!) his birthday is going to be robot themed, and i've bought some stuff in orientaltrading.com and birthdayexpress. super cute robot stuff. anyway, back to gavin.. some people still ask me. why gavin has started schooling so early.. here are some of the reasons:

1. i want him to be more 'athletic' so i'm glad his school has started so he can have an environment where he can safely run outside the house and sweat. (i miss the playgrounds in sg huhu).
2. since he's the 'king' of the house, some "sharing" and "wait for your turn" rules will be good for him
3. lessen his TV and computer playing
4. learn to interact with other adults and build his self-confidence
5. 3 hours for my sanity.

i also can't wait to start binog with gymboree. we love gymboree! as soon as a baby starts walking, i would really recommend it. you'll be there with your baby anyway, and you'll be amazed how your baby is able to follow simple instructions and to parallel play with the other babies. it's also great bonding time for mommy and baby.

on early schooling, i guess it depends on the attitude of the child. gavin simply loves learning. i give him worksheets to fix a tantrum for gawd's sake. i bribe him with his flash card questions for him to eat lunch. (i tell him, "okay, one bite, one question!") he can now read a whole story book by himself. and he likes playing "teacher" and "student" with me. (he goes: "Mommy, what is this? Good! Great Job mommy!") the whole day yesterday and today, i've been constantly reminding him that he will start school today. so when the school bus honked this morning, he jumped up and quickly put on his bag and said "school bus is hereeee!!". so cute!

oooh, gavin will be home soon. (ang bilis namannnnn whyyyyyy haha. bakit ganon, pag andito sya parang ang bagal ng oras? hahahah evil mom). til then! bye!

...happy 5th month binog!

binog is such a blessing. so easy to take care of. although he's very lazy pa when it comes to nursing.. if he doesn't want to feed, he would turn his head away and cry.. hindi napipilit! still a master drooler, he looks very interested na to eat. although i'm still very reluctant to do so. i want him to be able to sit upright anyways, before i give him his solids. plus i dont want the smelly poop yet hehe.



happy 5th month, my smiling, happy, baby binogskiiiiii!

...still high on Dream High

i've got a new Korean drama favorite. it's Dream High. the story is not so original, but i loved every single episode nonetheless. Every kpop reference, every korean drama spoof, (i especially luurved the Cinderella's Sister reference!) every korean actor cameo.. i ate it all up. I loved how each character in the series was developed.. there were no clear good guys or bad guys.. in the love triangle, i didn't even know WHO to root for, and i absolutely didn't know which guy would get the girl until i think the 2nd to the last episode. (or was it 3rd to the last) There was no definite lead.. or 2nd lead.. and i loved it more because of that. (i am DEFINITELY going to buy the DVD boxset when it comes out!)

the actors are mostly Korean IDOLS.. it's what they call young singers in a band/solo acts.. there was just one lead actor who wasn't really a singer, but still, he was my favorite because he can REALLY sing!

can i just squeal in delight again. (wooooooohooooooooooo). i am still having withdrawal symptoms as you can see. The drama's OST is still playing on my head.. and at night after i fall asleep i would dream about it and get a completely new storyline. (maybe i should've written them up? maybe i'll become a budding screenwriter lol)

*squeals again* i can't stop gushing about it. How much do i love Dream High.. let me count the ways.

1. all the songs! (who cares if i don't understand.. i love the melodies)
2. every love story (the students.. even the teachers!)

3. the Bromance! woohoo

4. impromptu dance battles

5. flash mob!!

i even saw videos posted on Youtube from fans.. of the actual taping of the flash mob. OMG i am sooo envious!

and i loved it inspite of it missing the usual ingredients of a Kdrama:

1. not a single piggyback ride (or does the piggyback with a stuff toy count? oooh how cute is that monkey!?)

2. not a single green alcohol bottle thingie (they're underaged highschool kids!)
3. not a single guy was wearing pink

yeeeeeee. am so happy when everything goes MY way. meaning i was completely satisfied with that drama! no bwiset or engot characters (meaning no crappy scriptwriter).. no one dying.. AND no unreasonable happy endings too.. (don't you just hate it when a very evil character suddenly gets a conscience. i mean, wtf right?). just the right amount of cuteness, hotness and happy moments. here's a big woohoo for Dream High!

You can watch Dream High thru these links:
EP Drama
Drama Crazy
My Soju
and recaps here: (i love girlfriday! i instantly know when she's the one writing)
Drama Beans

...happy 4th month binog!

Hi baby B! Happy 4th! I know it's late, but better late than never. (or i can pretend that i dutifully bought you a cake and took your picture every 26th of the month)




You are still the same happy, bubbly baby boy. You can now roll sideways, lift your head in a 45degree angle and can put some weight on your knees! (woooah, don't stand up yet baby!) You still don't sleep through the night, but as long as you give me a straight 4 hour rest at night, i'm happy.

I'm still watching a lot of Korean dramas.. which makes me think that the sound you're making is Korean. "Aigoooo. Aigoooo".

I'm still in a gigil phase.. I love kissing your chubby little feet. (oh, and you like to hold them too) When you're in my arms, you're like a cute big saliva-making ball.. I sing to you T-ara's Bo Peep. bo peep bo peep bo peep boaahhhh. (you seem to like Kpop).

Anyway, happy 4th!.. oh no, 2 more months, then you'll be eating solids. sad. yeah, it makes me sad. it makes things more complicated. i like that i just leave the house with diapers and a onesie for you. now i have to deal with steaming, blending, freezing fruits/veggies. oh well. i hope you won't be a fussy eater like your big brother. ( i have a feeling you wouldn't be woohoo) *mwah mwah*

...i'm my mother's daughter

what do you get after a korean drama Cinderella's Sister marathon that stops at 4am then resumes at 7am the morning after? an all-out self-realization of the complicated relationship between a mother and a daughter. I'm only at Episode 12, but i am really digging this drama. It's about a girl who got so messed up by her mother that she's become this cold-hearted bitch, any semblance of warmth has been freeze dried from her body,.. she can't reciprocate affection, much less give a hug to anyone(physical contact *shudders*) even if the receiving end was the biggest, fluffiest bear from Planet Cute making a peace sign.

my dad, mom and i were watching it together, for a while.. my dad actually gave up because he didn't 'like' the girl anymore because as my father said.. "ano ba yan, ang hirap pangitiin". Even after 8 years of being adopted by the nicest man her mother has ever come in contact with, her guard is still up, thinking that, anytime, this will all be taken from her and that this man is like all of her mother's previous good-for-nothing, abusive boylets.

And so, my realization starts.. (cue in background music). I know how it is, to go against your very nature. You see, we are not an affectionate family. My first instinct at an impending argument is to shut it down. Immediately. I'm the type who walks away in the middle of a haughty conversation. I can eat, sleep, watch tv (and actually laugh if its a comedy) 5 minutes after one of my "walk-out" sessions. As much as i love my korean dramas, i hate them(drama) in real life. My sisters and I are pretty much the same. We shout, curse the high heavens at each other, then we're okay 5 minutes later. Not that we actually faced the current issue at hand, goodness no. We just do what we do best. Push it aside and move on. No use talking about our "issues". We are the oldest dogs around, and we definitely can't learn new tricks. Do we blame our parents for our behavior? I can't speak for my sisters, but I do. I do blame them, particularly my mother. It's hard to change when you've been trained to react a certain way for 23 years. ( i subtracted 7 years, or until i had actual memories stored. I would like to think i wasn't born this way, and that ignorance is bliss)

I may not have realized it before, but I am my mother's daughter. Not in the sense that we are alike (or maybe we are) but, I turned out this way because of her. My mother takes the Bee of all Drama Queens. Do you know how many times she has threatened to run away from our home? ( I don't, i've lost count) Well, i can count the time when she actually made it past our gate and into our neighbor's house. (Once). I remember one time, my sisters and i were all watching TV in our room, then our father walks in. "maglalayas na naman daw yung mommy mo", he says. My sisters and I just looked at each other, then continued watching TV. Then my sister speaks up "Who is she kidding. As if magcocommute sya". I think my contribution to this conversation was something like "Ihatid mo daw sya daddy sa pupuntahan nya hehe". We may seem like kids spawned from hell but when your mother is prone to hysterics and drama.. the line becomes fuzzy between a REAL issue versus a petty one. And so, I have turned up allergic to conflict. And at times, insensitive. I have been in situations where I was like "Oh, that were real tears?" or "ahh, galit ka pala saken?" or "Did I just stomp all over your guts and puked on them?"

Poor raymond. He gets the brunt of my bad behavior. (I don't even want to imagine how my respective sister's spouses handle them). My raymond who is the complete opposite of me (emotionally). He's the "let's talk about it guy". One time, we were in the middle of fighting and I was stubbornly still washing the dishes while he tried to talk to me. He said "Could you quit what you're doing and start talking to me!" and I was like "Haven't you heard of multi-tasking!?". poor hubby *hugs*.

Growing up, I made a mental list of stuff I wouldn't be once I become a mother. How i wish, I made an ACTUAL list so i can still remember the specifics.. now, Dear Blog, i will post as much as I can remember, so when I'm at wits end raising 2 teenage boys, I go back to this list and read what I wrote when my biggest worry was only whether my children pooped today or not.

Dear future geri,

please don't be a hypocrite. case in point: My mom, dad and I had a recent conversation over the perils of showbiz relationships.. about KC and Piolo of all things. Dad said "pumatol pa siya eh may anak na". Mom said "siya naman lalake eh". I didn't understand this at all and asked what she meant. She said since si Piolo naman daw ang lalake, okay lang na sya ang may anak. Kaysa naman daw yung babae ang may anak tapos papatulan pa. ("Huh!?") I couldn't help myself, I told my mother.. "Don't be a hypocrite" and she said "Paano ako naging hypocrite." I said: "so kung may pamangkin kang babae, tapos ang boyfriend eh meh anak na, okay lang sayo kasi lalake naman sya?". She said: "syempre hindi, iba naman yun, showbiz ang pinaguusapan natin." I said: "yeah, mom.. that's the definition of a hypocrite".

please say sorry to your children when you're at fault. my mom and I, in our EPIC fight (where it started with her saying "kahit gusto kitang isuka, hindi kita masuka kasi anak kita").. I was just the most evil of all daughters.. i talked back to my mother, MUCH MUCH more than my usual talking back. (that says a lot) I had a line to her that goes.. "yeah, of course you're not sorry. You're perfect. You've never been wrong, You've never had to apologize for anything". So Dear Future geri, know when you've wronged your children. You're human, you can commit mistakes. and you should know how to say sorry.

please work. don't stay at home your whole married life taking care of the children. don't have a midlife crisis and start looking for a "job" at 50. just work now, so at 50 you'll enjoy the pleasures of staying at home.. and not the other way around when you'll think that staying at home is boring and you've come to realize that you're completely dependent on your husband.

Please be affectionate to your husband and children. Shower them with hugs and kisses. Tell them you love them. Everyday, on the phone, before you go to sleep. Tell them how much you mean to them. and don't be afraid to demand them to tell you how much YOU mean to THEM.

*sighs* that's all I can remember for now. Of course i don't blame ALL of my bad behavior on my parents. (yeah, my dad too. we got it from him, the 'emotionally stunted' part. we can be DENSE) I'm an adult, I would like to think that I have control of my life, hence, my attitude. I have tried to change my ways. sometimes I can crush my first instinct.. sometimes i fail. But just realizing this makes me want to try harder.. My mom doesn't even tip the scale of the worst-mothers-out-there book, not by a long shot. I probably took a lot of her goodness too. So I am my mother's daughter, both the good, and the bad.

...korean fest

things have settled in around here so i've got some time to watch some korean dramas.. which makes me want to go to Korea again. I just want to have a Korean drama tour.. not just the usual places (like the temple in Jewel in the Palace) but also places from my recent favorite dramas like You're Beautiful,.. or Mary Stayed out all night.. or Playful Kiss. I would document what i would want to see, take a screen shot.. then when i'm in korea, find the exact location and take the exact picture. (with me in it of course lol) I would re-make my favorite korean poses.. piggyback ride with pangs.. biking on a pink bicycle with a basket with a scenic background.. drinking at a street hawker with those green bottles..or maybe go inside one of their crazy videoke rooms.. (never mind if it's all korean songs haha) haaay sarap mangarap. the dream's quite achievable though.. cause CebuPac is now flying to Korea and sometimes they go on sale.. if we weren't leaving, makapunta sana kami. I was able to see a booking for only 12k, kaming 3 na yun (may bayad na si tsug eh).. kaya lang June eh, most likely we're still in SG. i'm saying 'still' because we've been talking a lot about us going back home to Pinas permanently. Live in our house, drive around in our car.. just to have some sort of permanency in our lives.. we've never really felt at home in SG.. what with the lack of affordable landed properties and absurd taxes on the cars.. and their school's insistence on learning a 'Mother tongue' that's not OUR Mother Tongue. it's not written in stone though.. we have to consider A LOT of things.. raymond's salary for one.. we definitely have to downgrade our lifestyle when we go back.. learn how to manage our finances better.. deal with the traffic and safety/security issues.. and our dismal government..pay high taxes for the benefit of corrupt officials.. lack of breastfeeding rooms.. (talagang issue saken ano haha).. but mostly talaga sa safety issues ako concerned.. sa sg, i'm almost never worried kay raymond and vice versa.. kahit kami lang ni tsug gumala-gala, okey lang sa kanya.. kahit late na, manonood pa ako ng movie with a friend, okey lang.. dito sa pinas, asa loob na ng bahay parents ko, nanakawan parin sila sa bahay. hay.

na-off topic naman ako. where was i? oh, korean dramas. I'm gonna watch Personal Taste next. it's starred by the guy from boys over flowers.

hmmmmm. just thinking of pangs. i'm lucky we're blessed enough that we can afford for me to stay at home and be a full time mom. i guess, i dont really want to go back to being a programmer. if i'm going back to work, it'll be for something different.. like a preschool teacher. pag dito na kami sa pinas, aaral ako ng Early Childhood. Sabi nga ng HS friend ko, domesticated na talaga ako, Kasi I told her, i can't imagine going back to an office environment.. sitting in front of a computer the whole day.. listening to a crappy boss.. having only the weekends to spend with my kids.. dreading mondays.. (i like mondays now, kasi tsug has school and i can rest for a couple of hours hahaha). I want to have my own preschool na lang.. nothing big time, just a small neighborhood preschool, at our own house.. plus i'd have the perfect excuse to buy more toys!! lol. But before that happens.. first we must decide to go home na for good.. then for me to study again.. and finally to have enough funds to start the business..

for now.. i get to do some 'on the job' training on my kids.

...leon's baptism

yay! as much as i love celebrations, it's a huuuge weight off my shoulders when we've finished an event successfully. sabi nga nila.. nakaraos din!

we've learned our lesson from tsug's baptism.. this time, we wanted the lunch to be held in a restaurant, so there are no more 'food fiascos'. (read:'What!? there's no more food!?) Initially, i wanted a private baptism at Christ the King, but it was suuuuch a pain to book them. it was already december and they still weren't accepting bookings for January, and the venue hall was even much later. And apparently, there was only one person skillful enough to accept bookings for the venue hall (who was always continuously on leave). Anyhoo, decided to forgo my 1k deposit and switch churches.

My dad didn't want anymore usual caterer's food stuff and it was his special request that we have it at King Bee, a chinese restaurant at Marcos Highway. I love King Bee's food! i don't really like chinese food that much, but King Bee seems to have a direct dial access to my taste buds haha. But more on the food later.

The nearest church was a small, quaint parish inside Filinvest East. (they were building a new one right beside King bee, but they still weren't offering baptisms.. la pa raw facilities. I was gonna say.. i can bring a tabo and a basin, think that's enough?) The church inside was perfect for our little group. A lot of parking space and privacy.


short driveway of the church


my boys


natutuwa pa si binog keh father


napa-ngiwi lang.. malamig siguro hehe


i looked at my cousin Kuya Tegs and said with my eyes.. 'success!' lol


aaaahh. anything that goes near binog's mouth, he wants to taste it.


binog's entourage


with the ninongs and ninangs.. gavin took that sign from one of the pews and held on to it the whole ceremony


with the kiddos.. nagmukhang payatot si binog uh haha



Binog didn't cry a single tear the entire time.. (iba iba talaga babies.. si tsugtsug nun.. never mind, haha) At the restaurant, i asked Jacque of partyboosters to just make the room a tiny bit festive. I only had 3.5k allotted for the balloons, but as usual, she did a great job. The centerpieces were removed, to give way for MORE food so i just put them there beside the cake. There were also hanging balloons at the entrance of the function hall, which was a great welcome for our guests.



binog's cake from red ribbon. i only bought this for 1k! nice.


binog's tarpaulin at the background


natulog na.. gising kasi sya buong binyag eh.


we had sooo much food. sorry wasn't able to take a picture. nobody thought of taking pictures of the food.. think everyone was too busy eating! but to give you an idea (and to make inggit to the ones who didn't attend.. *ehem ehem*, erlyn) here's the menu:

Assorted Cold Cuts Combination <-- seaweed, century egg, pork, ham, etc.
Crispy Seafood Roll <-- sarap. it was definitely different. cream/mayo (not sure.. maybe jap mayo) with shrimp and ripe mangoes, pineapple
Bamboo Pith & Mixed Seafood in Thick Soup
Braised Abalone Whelk with Black Mushroom & Lettuce <-- ang lakiiii ng mushroom
Steamed King Fish with Moichay & Beancurd in BS
Braised Liempo with Taro Hot Pot
Pan Fried Spareribs in Black Pepper Sauce
Lemon Shrimp with Sesame Seed
Yang Chow Fried Rice
Daily Sweet Dessert <-- almond jelly
Mixed Fruits Platter <--when my cousins saw this they were like "Huh!? Meron pa!? ano ba toh, last meal??"


All that for just 5.8k for 12 persons. and that's their cheapest package. definitely, 3 more people can consume that much food per table. my cousin's were like 'eto pa pinakamura uh?' kasi Sulit talaga. as in, for the first time in their lives.. nag-give up ang mga PG cousins ko. hahaha. the food just kept on coming and coming. And its not the usual bland chinese food fare.. masarap talaga magluto sa Kingbee. Tapos, nagdala pa si Tita Eva ng mini empanadas. So at the very start of the kainan, the waiters were kind enough to serve them per table. and by some psychic intuition Tita Eva gave us 60 empanadas so eksakto! nagkaroon ng instant appetizers (appetizer sa main appetizers hehe) ang mga guests namin, so everyone was eating as soon as they were seated.

So there. another event done. Next stop.. binog's birthday woohoo.

...binog's laugh

today is a special day talaga. First time I heard binog laugh out loud. While sleeping!! What a lovely dream he must be having. As in giggle out loud sya. Soooo cute. After nursing him, ni-burp position ko sya so his head was on my left shoulder with his head turned towards me.. tapos biglang tawa out loud! nagulat talaga ako. Kasi he has never done that while awake. He just says 'aaah.. waaa.. agooo..' mga ganung sounds.. pero this one was really a 'so-kilig-giggle'. I wish i could go back in time and record it, it was soooo precious and sweet.

I told my mom about it, and she said "Sinabi ko na sayo yun eh! sabi ko sayo, tumatawa!" .. sabi ko "Akala ko yung usual ngiti nya lang eh"..hindi pala hehehe. kaya pala yung expression din ni mommy nun when she told me was yung amazement din haha.

*happy sigh*. Thank you Lord for my blessings. Super cute nila. lol.

...major major milestone

never mind his ability to count... or to read... or to write.. i will never forget this day,.. the day that tsug decided he was ready to sit down on the toilet and poop.

omg what a thrill it was. LOL.

it started out as any ordinary day (lol).. after peeing on his small potty chair, he lingered a bit and was telling me "mommy.. potty.. mommy potty" and the slow mom that i am, i was saying "yes, its a potty".. then it hit me.. "gavin, do you want to sit down on your potty?".. and he said "yes!".. i almost danced on the spot. i quickly rinsed the plastic bowl and then reinserted it to the potty chair and asked him to sit. "There you go!" then he sat. I was telling him to "okay, concentrate ka na" but he was distracted with his pututoy, how it was touching the front of the potty chair (yung handle).. sabi ko pa "okay, point that thing down, you dont want to pee on mommy".. then he looked behind him (where the real toilet was) and said "there there" so i was like "okey, you can stand there" sabay lipat sa kanya dun. He was still distracted because his Yo Gabba toys where on top of the water closet(?) tas I asked and pointed to his potty (the pinapatong sa toilet-kind) "do you want to sit there?" and he surprised me by saying yes again! He sat on the toilet seat for the first time of his entire life. Then we just started talking and playing a game where he would say a body part and i would move it without touching it. Like "Nose!" and I would wiggle my nose then he would say "Fingers" and i would wiggle my fingers, etc. etc. (He likes playing "teacher" kasi.. he would even tell me "good job mommy!" lol) ..he kept on going on and on with the body parts so I was beginning to accept the fact that he's not gonna poop. So I was just like "stay put and i'll take a picture" cause AT LEAST he was sitting on the toilet. A few seconds I was back and ohmygawd i saw him already grunting and puffing and i held my breath and cheered him on silently.

he just did his business while i took a picture about a hundred times and then exclaimed "Finished!". We both looked at his 'end result' and it was a biiiig long one and he said "So big!" haha. He flushed and then I washed his pwet sa shower stall.

Success! *tap dance*



gavin hard at work!

woohoooo. Next milestone... no diaper at night time!