Frame Needed

As much as we wanted to beautify our new house at once, we were not able to do so for a couple of reasons. Aside from the short funds we have at the moment, we were also unable to find the great materials yet that we would be making use of.

One thing that we also need to have are big picture frames that will be placed on the walls. This is one way of expressing that I am proud of my family and so it is just imperative that I put our faces before the bare walls for the visitors to see, right?


One area that I would love to hang a picture frame on is our bedroom wall. As you can see on the picture above, it is still unadorned and needs a little flair. And because of that, I am tasked to browse through our photo album and look for the picture that deserves to be blown up in size and be placed in a frame.

Unfortunately, I was having a hard time choosing one and eventually have chosen 8 pictures instead! I made a little editing to merge those pictures into one and this is what I got . . .


This edited version is just waiting to be printed. But we were still contemplating on having it on photo paper or tarpaulin cloth. Oh well!

By the way, do you think this would look great on our wall?

Finally Moved In

Yes, we have finally moved in to our new home!

Last Saturday, July 17, 2010, we have settled into our new abode. Just when the clock went 5 in the morning, we were up to load all our things into the truck. We arrived at the new house around 6:30am, and began putting the things in place. The kids were still left at my parents' house since we have yet to put everything in order. They got to their new home late in the afternoon already and they were so excited.

The house blessing followed the day after. It was just a simple affair, no guests - - just us, hubby's and my parents and siblings. It was one event that we would surely cherish, because after almost 9 years of being married, we finally have a place of our own.

the living room

the dining room

the kitchen

Shown above are some pictures of the house' interiors, taken very recently. Our living and dining rooms are still bare, and we are planning on buying some additional furniture and appliances for enhancement. I was thinking of putting some rustic furniture, since they are timeless. They would definitely place the bare areas of the house a classic touch and scenic look.

Now that we are on our new home, we realized that we lacked a lot of items. We gotta have them already so we could have the house warming then. ***wink***

Reminiscing Summer

This post is already overdue. I should have made this earlier during summer but then again, I was busy with so many things that blogging took a backseat for a semester. Anyway, I would still like to feature our summer escapades, as they were so fun-filled and exciting.

I have been to three very nice places during summer and I would really love to go back there again. Going to these places may not be as costly as going to other countries or the like, but it was really fun to watch nature unfold right here in our own country.

Well, our summer took us to the following:

Britania Islands, San Agustin, Surigao del Sur

Britania is a group of island locally found in our region. They are still very raw as far as beauty is concerned and that what makes them amazing and superb. The white sands are so fine, they really felt good underneath the feet. Although it was hot during the time we went there, it was nonetheless fun to behold such beautiful creation. Our trip to Britania was our office's way of celebrating our over-all championship of the Mindanao Palaro held last April. I brought along the kids, too bad hubby was not able to join us since this trip was a working day and he was not able to take a leave of absence. This day was also my youngest 4th birthday, so the trip was my birthday treat for him. The picture on the right was proof enough of the kids' good time at the island. The sands were indeed so nice to play with.

Tinuy-An Falls, Bislig, Surigao del Sur

This is my second time to personally see a falls. The first was the Maria Cristina Falls in Iligan about 5 years ago. Anyway, I really love this falls and it was just truly amazing. The waters flowing from above were so powerful and yet so smooth and cool, it was really fun dipping into the water. The kids loved it a lot too, which could evidently be determined on their faces. My father also loved the water that he wished he could have stayed and dipped longer. Mother was also very impressed that she really went through the falling waters. I had fun lying down on the rocks with the water flowing underneath - - it was like a body massage and sun-tanning rolled into one, lol! See the magnificent waters at left? They would certainly render you speechless when seen in person (well, for me, it did). This trip was indeed memorable.

Bluejaz, Samal Island, Davao

Bluejaz Resort is just a 15-minute trip away from Davao City - - by boat, that is. It was a treat for our volleyball team for being the champion during the recently concluded Mindanao Palaro that we had last April, as mentioned above, that is. We went there as a team, together with our husbands and it was such a blast. We enjoyed dipping into the pool, while sliding our ways through their giant pool slides. There was also a fire dance at night and other forms of entertainment. (By the way, that's me and hubby above, taking a break from the slides to make a pose.)

Fun times are so nice to reminisce, and my summer was definitely one of those fun times.

A Hope For Mother In Law

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of NMEDA. All opinions are 100% mine.

My mother in law has been suffering from disability to walk ever since a series of mild stroke hit her late last year. She has diabetes and the different parts of her body has been slowly affected by the dreaded disease. She even spent her Christmas last December in the hospital, for close monitoring of her blood pressure as well as creatinine level which were so seriously soaring up in enormous degrees.

Due to the mild stroke she suffered (it happened three times in one month), the left part of her body became numb and now she is unable to use her legs for walking. In the absence of a wheelchair, she is able to walk only with the assistance of my father in law or anyone who was tasked to take care of her. It is really a sad fate for her and for the rest of the family, most especially since she is still 53. Now my brother in law is looking for someone who is competent and passionate about taking care of disabled persons so that mom could still enjoy every moment. Fortunately, after I came across a site called NMEDA, a gush of optimism has sprung within me and hubby. We will be informing brother about it so that he and father wouldn't be able to bear the physical burden anymore.

The NMEDA stands for National Mobility Equipment Dealers Association, which is dedicated in helping disabled people - - as far as mobility is concerned. If you are also having the same condition, feel free to browse their site and find the dealer nearest you.

New Family Member

I am very glad to announce that our family has a new member. Nope, I haven't given birth recently since I haven't been pregnant the past four years. Our new bundle of joy is a Labrador puppy, which is still about 2 weeks old.

We call him Kobe, because hubby is so much of a LA Lakers fan. He is the first canine that we have, and we are pretty much excited to take good care of him. At first, I was doubtful if we could give the puppy a good home, because he was so fragile, so thin and dirty the very moment he was given to us. But looking at him slowly gaining weight and clean, I am confident that Kobe would be a very wonderful and lovable dog.

My kids love Kobe as their own little brother. Together, we are learning about dog care, dog training and the like.

Welcome Kobe!

Back To School

Last Tuesday, June 15, 2010 was officially the first day of school for my three kids - well, for the school year 2010-2011. I was pretty much excited this time because all my kids are now going to school.

Here's a quick pose of the kids my husband took before we headed off to school . . .

Nikki- Grade 3, Justin- Kinder 2, CJ- Nursery

This is going to be a tough year for me since I already have three students to attend to. I am back to waking up early in the morning since the three of them has to be in school before 7:30am. Whew!

So far I have already covered 7 books - - 15 books more to go . . .

Back Again

I am back again . . . well, from being on hiatus for about a week or more. I was away from the blogosphere for a bit because my laptop got repaired (I had a new windows system installed) and of course, there's my brother's wedding that made the family busy and frantic few days before.

The wedding (last December 4) went very smoothly, although there were minor details which came as unexpected for us. Anyway, it is over now and those are placed behind our backs already as part of the past.

What made the occasion very special for me is the reunion with the relatives. My uncles from Luzon flew their way here to celebrate with us. It is also very delightful to see their happy faces as they see each other (the old ones, lol!) after a long time.

The official wedding pictures are not yet available at the moment as the photographer has yet to give the complete set of pictures. But I will be sharing here some images which we have taken during the special day.

my family

with my sister

I have no photo yet of the wedded couple, and so to give you a preview, I am sharing some pre-nuptial pictures they took few weeks ago. They had a vintage concept and it's really nice.



Congratulations to my brother and his wife.

Chinese Breakfast

It's a very gloomy day right here and in about a few hours, rain showers would start to pour in. Anyway, I wouldn't let myself worry too much about the weather and went on with a Chinese breakfast instead. It is a sumptuous way to start a day eh?

Here's what Hubby and I had for breakfast today, courtesy of our favorite Chinese diner which is located very near on our 'house-to-be'.

beef wanton noodles

siomai

The kids love the beef wanton noodles so we also ordered one for take out. The noodles are just so right for a cold weather, not to mention the fact that it is oh so flavorful!

After breakfast, we proceeded to take a glimpse of our love abode-on-process which is quite impressive as far as construction in progress is concerned. We just fervently hope though that the weather would cooperate soon, as constant rain showers would definitely slow down the work.

Honeymoon Ideas

It is already about a month away and my brother would soon be married. I am also quite busy in the preparations, with all my kids taking part of the entourage. I am still not done looking for my two sons' green long sleeves polo and my daughter's silver sandals. As for me, I still haven't figured out the design of my dress.

My brother asked me to shoulder for the wedding singer, as my wedding gift for him. This is not hard for me since my brother in law is a born singer and has been singing on weddings and other events on part time. There would be no cash outlay on our part. Hubby suggested we give my brother something of value, and since there already is someone who would sponsor for the wedding cake, we thought of giving him the honeymoon trip perhaps.

However, a trip to luxurious hotels at this time would be financially demanding especially for the coming holiday season. This gave us second thoughts on our decided wedding gift and fortunately, I came across a great hotel deal with Accor Hotels 3-Day Super Sale Asia Pacific. There would be one million hotel rooms available at amazingly affordable rates. With this 3 day sale, going to Singapore or Bali is no longer a problem as far as place to stay is concerned.

Booking the travel between today until October 30, 2009 would surely get them the room sale for stays from December 2009 to April 2010, very timely since my brother's wedding is on December 4.

On This Site Will Rise

our home . . . abode . . . our house.

The following weeks to come would be very busy for me and hubby as we take our family to another level, that is, having our own house! Aside from my brother's wedding, this activity would surely use up most of our times as we supervise the construction and look out for nice materials . . . so on and so forth.

I am overly excited about our new house and I could see the excitement slowly flowing unto my kids as they gladly pick their rooms' colors.

Please bear with me as I will be sharing it here the progress of the construction for the days to come. I am just happy that finally we will have our own place, after eight years of being married.

Another Family Affair

The following weeks to come would be very busy for our whole family. It is because my brother would soon wed his long-time girlfriend of eight years. Finally, they have decided to tie the knot this coming December, since they are not getting younger anymore - - they are both 29.

Of course, I am excited for this event because all my three kids would take part on the ceremonies. Although my daughter has been a flower girl so many times, it will be my two boys' first times to walk on the aisle bringing along the rings and Bible on their arms. I wonder if they would really finish the walk through the altar - - - that remains to be seen yet.

Since the wedding is just two months away, I am now striving hard to lose weight so that i could put on some stylish and sexy dress during the wedding. This event is a venue for reunion of the entire family and relatives, so I have to look my best as photo sessions would be highly expected. It is such a struggle to have a diet since I am so much of a rice eater. But then I have to try and reach for my weight goals. I also enrolled at the gym and hopefully sweat out those extra pounds away. Well, good luck for me!

Accounting Website

I am happy to note that father has further spread its wings as far as his career as an accountant is concerned. His accounting firm is even older than I am, and I have witnessed all the hardships and joys father went through with his office. At 62, he still haven't stopped working as new clients have made its way to his office, while serving those long time ones. There are times tiredness and exhaustion sets into him but he is left with no choice but to go on. He really wanted for me to take over him and I would really like to help him out. But since I am working for the government, things are not that simple as it seems.

I am helping father on a part-time basis only, especially during the tax season of March and April. If only my younger sister is here, she would have taken father's place. It is really hard to let go of this firm since it has been our great resource or a long period of time.

Now father wants to take his firm to another level, this time through the internet. The internet has become a powerful tool in marketing and advertisement, many people can attest to that. He is planning to put up a website of his office in order to service his existing clients readily and possibly reach out to new clients as well. He said webhosting is not a problem at all since there are a lot of providers that offer the best services. Likewise, we can get to know these many webhost and compare them with each other right there and then, thanks to some webmaster resource websites, like the Gobbler Hosting.

Well, I'll just see which of them father would choose. . .

My Son Turned 5!

My second kid, Justin, turned five years old yesterday. There was not much of a celebration happened but I know he was very happy during the moment. All he wanted was a small birthday celebration inside his classroom and that was granted. Being a cake lover that he is, the celebration wouldn't be complete at all if there was no birthday cake. And so, we never passed the moment to have one.

It was the happiest moment of his life yesterday when he blew the cake's candle. I could see his big smile as his classmates gathered around him to witness that very special moment of his. I am sharing here a short clip for you to witness too.

Happy Birthday Justin!

The Kids' Happy Weekend

Last weekend was a long one for us. We took a leave of absence from work last Friday, while the kids had no class since their teachers were having a seminar. Monday has been proclaimed a holiday, so that extends our long weekend all the more.

We were supposed to go to Camiguin but unfortunately a series of circumstances hindered us from going, and so we settled to a nearby resort called Mantangale. It should have been my first time to go to Camiguin, but my excitement fell to a great proportion when I witnessed the port's incomprehensible system.

Anyway, my kids had a very nice and fun time at the resort. It may not be that 'nature-beauty' as what Camiguin offers, but I already felt the sense of contentment seeing my kids enjoying every moment. They really loved the pool and never minded if they stay there for hours and hours. It was also a great bonding time for us. Since we did not brought along any yaya (nanny), me and hubby were really hands-on on taking care of the kids during the whole trip.

Here are some pics manifesting how much they enjoyed the short vacation . . .


And of course, hubby and me . . .

It was the break everybody deserves ~ hubby and I from work, and the kids from school.

Behavior Improvement

We had a scheduled appointment with the developmental pediatrician last Sunday morning, which is a follow up evaluation of my second kid (Justin) in terms of behavior. I was a bit anxious how the evaluation results would turn out especially since the diagnosis of the first evaluation was that he was at risk with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder).

Well, I was glad that the doctor said Justin has improved a lot as far as behavior is concerned. "Justin's work behavior is already modified, with better sitting skill, focus and attention span. He could work on his task independently and sustains his attention to finish it appropriately. His hands are still fidgety with difficulty regulating his impulses especially when he gets excited. He listens and responds to prompts appropriately. There is anticipatory and visual distractibility. He has shown good improvements in his cognitive, fine motor and communication skills. He has clearer and longer utterances. He could answer what, who, where questions. Restlessness is evident only when he is off-task but he is already manageable." This is already something that I am more thankful about. The therapy really worked wonders and I hope in time he would fully improve.

Last Sunday's diagnosis was only Mixed Receptive and Expressive Language, Mild with Restlessness and Impulsivity - - far better than the at risk with ADHD previously, lol! One thing that he really needs to improve is his speech. Well, his therapy never failed in that area and I know contant dialogues with him has been initiated by the therapist.

On Back To School And Hot Weather.

Yesterday was back to school again. My daughter is now in Grade 2 while my second kid is Kinder 1. I was excited because both of them are now in one school, so at least it is easy for them to send and fetch.

As expected, my daughter already has their quiz on the first day and when I checked on her notebook last night, she has assignments for English and Filipino subjects. Whew, this is it! On the other hand, I am grateful my son had no problem with the school, which is new to him. I just hope he won't get tired and would eventually gain the enthusiasm to learn.

Well, here's a picture of my son on his first day of school. They were falling in line for the flag ceremony and yet he is facing us.


I am definitely looking forward to this school year . . .

Meanwhile, the weather nowadays is so hot and draining. Mounds of sweat keep dripping from every part of my body, which makes me think that I could melt on the floor at any minute. It seems like there's no more air circulating around the atmosphere and all I could feel is the scorching heat of the sun penetrating deeply into my skin. The feel is somehow irritating, no wonder my youngest kid is kind of moody the past days.

How come this is happening just when the summer season is already on its way out? Tsk . . . tsk.

Sick is Uncool.

Being sick is so not cool, especially if it's the kids. Last week, my brother-in-law's 6 month old son got ill and was confined in the hospital for three days. Aside from the sleepless nights they suffered just to look out for the child, they incurred expenses relative to the hospitalization, of course.

The problem with my brother-in-law though is that he just resigned from his job recently. He got no money to spare for the expenses and since he could no longer get some cash advance, hubby had no choice but to shoulder them!

Now it is really important to watch out for the kids' health. This is a hard challenge for every parent since the environment and weather nowadays are so unpredictable. Sigh!

Pork Chop and Soy Chicken

My diet was put to test last week when we went out and dined. There was no special occasion really, but hubby just thought it would be great to go out once in a while. The dinner was something the kids did enjoy, and with that, I was truly happy for them.

The dinner was not something grand though. We had the usual food on our plates, which we can afford outright. Since the kids love chicken, we never failed to order one - - hence, this:

Soy Chicken

Hubby ordered pork chop. I am not a pork enthusiast to begin with, but I liked what he ordered the instant I tasted it. It was so flavorful and fried just right. I enjoyed it without even dipping them with seasoning, the tastes was so rewarding to my palate, that I vowed to take a bite again next time. Aside from that, it was really affordable.

Pork Chop

Mmm . . .

Still Single and Available

Just like me, my parents have produced three wonderful children, and I am the eldest. I know my parents have already sighed their big relief on our educational expenses because we all finished school and are currently working.

Well, among the three of us, I am the only one married at the moment. Both my younger brother and sister are still single, although my brother already have a girlfriend of 7 years. I don't know why they haven't decided to tie the knot yet, they are not getting any younger. He is turning 29 this year, but oh well what can I say? I understand if they wait a little much further.

Anyway, what I am worrying about is my sister. She is turning 28 this year and she still has no boyfriend. Pardon me for worrying, but I think that age should have find its match already. I mean, I married at the age of 23, so I really think her age is a little bit late now. She should find someone to spend her time with, especially since she is working away from us. Since she is such a picky person, I think it would be hard for her to personally meet her soulmate, lol!

Now I am considering of introducing her to passion search, an online dating website which is a great venue to meet a lot of personals. I hope she could find someone of interest after browsing through their members from all over the world. At her age, it would not be difficult to find someone at all, since she could refine her searches according to her tastes. Plus, the website's chat rooms would be a perfect place for her to communicate!

I am hoping against hope that she would heed my advice. And to all loveless persons at the moment, join passion search for free.

Retirement Party Ideas

My mother has already contemplated of retiring when she turns 60. She reasoned out that it is about time to take a permanent rest from work, what with all her kids already through with school and are financially capable to support themselves. Well, that 60th year of hers would happen next year, since she was born in 1950, lol!

I guess that would be a great move for her to do, since she has been constantly suffering high blood pressures and other infirmities brought about by so much hard work. Oh well, it's all in the package really - - higher positions do come with great pressures.

Again, her 6oth birthday would be next year. One more year should not be taken for granted and as early as now, we should be already thinking of wonderful retirement party ideas for her. Being the eldest of her three children, I am overly excited for this important event of her life, when we could detail all her achievements and interests. Hoping we could make it a memorable one for her, such a welcoming stage to a new milestone. Of course, we should not miss out inviting all her friends, who would be great witnesses for this occasion.