How's Everything?

Sorry dear blog for neglecting you for the past months. I have been so very busy.

Just a quick update, sharing with you a recent picture with my precious ones.

My Daughter and Son

Just sharing a few pictures off my overloaded camera.

I love, love, love you so much!

Zoe with Zoe, Luigi with Luigi

Just a quick post...

As a young lady, I was never really the one to think ahead of the names of my future children. In fact, we only thought of the names of our kids just a few months before I gave birth to them. Sometimes, I, myself, feel amused on how my kids ended up with their respective names. :-)

Anyway, speaking of names, it was quite cute that my kids incidentally both have cartoon characters named like them.

Here's Zoe with Zoe (of Sesame Street):



And here's Luigi with Luigi (of Mario Bros.)

So cute, right?

Zoe's a Flowergirl

This was taken during Ria and Michael's wedding last May 22 at Christ the King Parish, Church in the Sky in Taytay.

For the very first time, Zoe walked to the altar on her own. I'm such a proud mama. She's really growing up and becoming more independent now. Sigh .

Zoe on Vacation

Zoe went away with my Dad and Ninang in Batangas for a vacation last Tuesday because we are yaya-less for two weeks.

It's been 6 days since then and I'm missing her so badly. I practically had never been away from her from the day our eyes met (minus the 3 days I spent in the hospital to give birth to Luigi). I miss her voice, her "kakulitan", our bedtime stories, her singing, everything!!! Whaaa!

But good thing is, today, she is coming home.

For sure, she will be smothered with hugs and kisses from her Mom.

xox

Sick.

Yes, we're feeling sick: Zoe, Luigi, and myself. Tummy aches, head aches, body aches.

The weather hasn't been very cooperative too. The sun's scorching heat adds to the already bad condition that we are in.

Please, Lord! We're praying for good health in our family.

I Wonder Where We'll Go Today

Kindermusik is beginning to be more and more challenging by the week.

The other time, we had to bring a boat.

And then after that, it was binoculars.

This week, Zoe has another assignment for her Kindermusik.


Bring next week: Train Map

Note to self: Google "train map". Hahaha.

HELP!

Breastfeeding Issues

I have issues, yes.

I have been feeling a bit frustrated with my b'feeding lately. You see, I feel that I am almost out of milk and don't have enough supply even to feed my baby boy even at night and early mornings.

Like early this morning, he cried and cried and just won't take my breast after 1 or 2 minutes of feeding. I knew that my breasts were practically empty. So for the very first time, I was the one who prepared and gave Luigi the bottle of formula. Well, some would say, it's no big deal since Luigi has been mixed-fed (around 80% breastmilk, 20% formula) since he was about 3 months old. That was time that I had to go back to work. But you know, as far as I was concerned, I wanted to direct feed him whenever I am around. That means every night and early mornings AND weekends.

But as for this morning, he cried to me as if begging for more milk and I couldn't give it to him. There were even tears in his eyes!!! So when I finally gave the formula, he happily drank it and even smiled and smiled after finishing it. Honestly, I felt bad.

Anyway, I've given my very best. Maybe I'm just tired so the milk wouldn't come. At any rate, life must go on.

All I know is, I love my kids so much.

Going Strong...

Luigi is officially 3 months old this December 08. This means too that I've been breastfeeding for three months and going strong... Yes! I can't believe it myself! :-) I'm so happy for this mommy "accomplishment".

Here's hoping that Mother Nature continues to send me more milk for baby. :-)

Are you bothered by these recalls?

The makers of Maclaren strollers had been asked to issue a recall last month of about 1 million of strollers sold. I think this was due to reported several finger amputations caused by the design when you open or close the contraption.

Being a Maclaren stroller owner, I personally felt bothered that even a brand that is known for design ingenuity and technology are producing children's products that are potentially harmful. Good riddance that my daughter actually used her Maclaren stroller (which we bought and carried from Singapore to Manila) only for a limited time. I think she realized then that she wanted to walk (or run!) more than sit there and be pushed around ~ which I think was a good thing (no injuries plus stronger legs!).

Anyway, prior to knowing about the recall, we had long before planned on handing over this stroller to our baby boy. But at his age of 2 months, the Maclaren Triumph's back support couldn't be fully pushed down and it just wouldn't work for our baby who cannot sit up just yet. And since I just could not wait to take the baby outside, we decided to buy him his own stroller taking advantage of a discount from a Chicco sale.

Of course, I still don't want to dispose of our Maclaren altogether. I think it hasn't gained its ROI just yet. So now I'm still considering ordering the "kit" that will prevent the injury that is potential in the use of a Maclaren. But with the kit and all, I still feel bothered and doubtful if it's safe to use at all. What do you guys think?

Not Used to Anymore...

Waah! Just a couple of days of being back in Makati already gave me an allergic reaction to pollution.

You see, I enjoyed the comforts of a not-so-polluted environment for the past 78 days (read: maternity leave). We have the advantage of trees and clean air around our home that my being suddenly exposed again to the smog and pollution in the city makes me beg for more days off at work.

I literally am sneezing every minute and I hate it! Add the super cold and "unnatural" airconditioned feeling inside the office, my head is spinning like crazy because of migraine, coughs and cold.

Hay...I'm now beginning to think that I'm really better off becoming a SAHM. Oh well, but what else can I do? I've looked up some remedies and will see if it will do the trick meantime.

A Confession

Maybe you've read it in my blogs~

I've been on a cola and dessert ban since Friday. Well, I'm almost on it for one week and so far here's how I fared:

Misses:

1. Ate kakanin last Saturday - We brought a BIG box of kakanin on Friday morning prior to going to the doctor...Now who's gonna eat all that sapin-sapin and bibingka?

2. Drank 1 glass of coke on Sunday - I was at a McDonald's kiddie party with Hun and Zoe and got nothing else to drink (yeah, yeah)

3. Ate a glassful of sweet corn-flavored ice cream yesterday - Hell, it was Francis' 16th birthday and there was too much ice cream at home with no room for it in the fridge...it's better to eat it before it all melts down, right? LOL.

So there, 3 misses in a week. NOT BAD, right?

I promise to do better next week.

Love you baby boy!

Still Not Sure.

That's my answer if you ask me what name we will give to our upcoming and soon-to-be-born baby boy.

I thought that I was settled with "the" name weeks back but something inside of me holds me back. Suddenly, I want to change it into something totally different. Like any happy and expectant mom, I only want to give the best for the baby...and that starts with giving him the best name (if there is ever a thing). Of course, that name should be something that would stand for something nice because it's your name that will define you.

And I'm also thinking: why was it so easy to choose Zoe's name before? I don't remember having a hard time with her name. This time, the search for this baby's name seems to be so hard. Any suggestions?

What's a Busy Mom Gotta Do?

It's like a never-ending cycle.

I wake up at 5:30 in the morning, fix the bed, help bring our baby down to the living room, eat a fast breakfast, take a bath, go to work, work, work, work, maybe even stay up to 9 in the evening, go home, eat dinner, get dressed, and then finally go to bed. Then it's the same routine again the next day.

On top of all that, I have to take care of my interior life and make sure that I fulfill my plan of life. Plus, I have my mommy and wifey duties to think of.

On the side, I also have to make sure that the house is running smoothly: the clothes are washed properly, the food is ready, the household bills are paid, things are in their proper places, the pantry has enough stocks, the grocery is done on time, the students of the house are guided and tutored, etc. etc.

Sometimes, I do get an overload of things to do...

With the new baby coming, I really don't know how I'll manage.

But even if it looks like a never-ending cycle, I always look forward to another day ahead of me because that is a BIG BIG BLESSING in itself. God gives me another day to challenge my faith and see how much I should learn to trust in Him.

LITBM: Motherhood

Now for some LITBM (Laughter is the Best Medicine) Moments on Motherhood particularly on being a S/WAHM:

Is this a sign of what lies ahead for me? :-)

On a Preggy Diet

I have been a stubborn preggy mommy. I have been eating a little overboard the last few days (ok, I admit, it's been weeks) that the doctor finally told me to go on dessert and cola ban until I give birth. Actually, my sugar level is A-ok. The only problem is that I gained too much for the month that I need to make sure that I don't exceed the ideal weight gain next time.

At first, this sounded like a death sentence. However, I want to think of it in a positive way. This is all for the benefit of the baby. With that in mind, I'd gladly give up anything just to have a healthy bouncing baby come September.

So to the C's which I love eating/drinking: cakes, chocolates, candies, cookies, coke, chips...good bye for now. Till we meet again. Hahaha!

Preggy at 25 Weeks

I'm planning to go on leave tomorrow to go to my OB at Cardinal Santos. Lately, I've been feeling the baby move in my tummy and it gives me the most wonderful feeling. I can't wait to see him. I am imagining already how he would look like. However which way, in my eyes, he will be the cutest baby boy in the world.

I am scheduled to take my OGCT to detect my sugar level today. I hope the results will be okay. I'm just a littled scared of the needle prick, hahaha. Plus, I'm also a bit worried because I've been eating a lot of sweets lately. We bought a Choco Almond Sans Rival from Conti's a few days ago and it was so delightfully sinful! (Got pictures but it's with my hubby). You should try it too! :-) Anyway, wish me luck guys!

Singing a Happy Tune

Just wanted to journal my happy memories of Zoe and myself at Kindermusik. I just love the bonding that we have every time there's school.

Somehow, I just know that these times won't be 'repeatable' since time seems to fly so fast. Before I know it, Zoe will be going to a regular school already and the opportunity to bond like this won't come along that easy.

How, How The Carabao?

I was with some friends yesterday and we were talking about work and how we wanted to resign and just be a "working" housewife. The topic was about this because the party host, our friend from work, resigned last year to be just that - a housewife and a full-time mom. But the big question is, as many Filipinos would joke - "How, how, the carabao?" Hahaha. I don't know where to get the courage to risk not having a job and not having a stable income. I don't know what is the determining factor that would make me leave the corporate world. Would it be the stress? My boss? Maybe both?

To top it all, Zoe was talking in random to me last night and she was saying something like "I don't want you to go to the office tomorrow. Baby's here and Zoe can't go to office." Oh my. It's been a big dream of mine for years already but it doesn't seem to happen...just yet!

Floating Down

Floating Down The River
Trad arr © Shan Cowan & Paul Wilson

We’re floating down the river,

We’re floating down below,

We’re floating down the river,

To the O-hi-o!

Here's Zoe and I doing that particular activity at Kindermusik last Saturday.

We enjoyed this song a lot!