Yes or No? =D

Isn't being a mom so amusing at times? I just introduced the word "Yes" to my Benedict who seems to answer all questions now with a firm "No!" with matching shaking of head pa. I invite you to eavesdrop on me & my little boy's conversation...

Mommy: Do you want a siobe (baby sister)? Yes or No?

Little Boy: No!

Mommy: Do you want a sioti (baby brother)? Yes or No?

Little Boy: No! (shaking his head pa)

Mommy: How about a fish?----

Little Boy: (without missing a beat) Yes! (with hand gesture pa)

***toink!***

Birthday Stories

I have yet to upload the pictures, but both occassions were very happy events...Marlon & my natal day! We had unexpected (but very much-welcome) visitors. My mom came over, primarily for her monthly check-up (she's a diabetic) and also from Marlon's side of the family, Nana & Nono came over to celebrate our birthdays with us. They also have to renew their passports. Didn't they all have hidden agenda for coming over? Hmp!

Auntie Heny, from L.A. here for a long vacation, arrived via PAL last Saturday with another relative, Auntie Suzy (technically our ninang sa wedding coz her hubby Uncle Nando is our wedding sponsor).

We only had dinner at home on Saturday. That's actually Marlon's bday! To do away with stress, I told my SIL Ate Dul, not to cook anymore & that we just order all food from our fave restos...to save on energy and to have more time to spend with each other.

Twas just us...our household & my SILs pharmacy staff and the people mentioned above who joined us for dinner. Some of Marlon's staff has to stay in the bodega so food was sent over to them na lang. Abel & Oboy and their not-so-little angel Gabby came and celebrated with us too. So my little boy is ecstatic to see her BFF (best friend forever! cousin)...so much so that he was having nightmare at midnight. Marlon's titas commented that it must be bec. he was overstimulated..hay, an understatement! When Gabby is around, Benedict can last til 1am playing ...what can i do? they're kids! There's only 2 of 'em but they can bring the roof down. I can't wait for the other cousins to come over..hehe

Sunday morning we attended mass at the Atrium and had lunch over at Kagay-anon. It's my bday!!! After that we visited Carmelites once again and toured our visitors to the Divine Mercy Shrine in nearby El Salvador. After which, we brought them to Panagatan for dinner. They love the wide assortment of seafoods. Wala yan sa States! hahaha

Hmmm, I'm now 31...i feel old! I hope I don't look old...(uyyy, fishing for compliments, hahaha). I am at a point in my life where I am happy and contented with who I am and what I have achieved, thus far. My family, esp. the little boy is the most important treasure I have. My Marlon is the soulmate God sent my way. And our little boy is very much the "angel" we have longed- and prayed-for all these years.

What are my wishes/resolutions?

• Hope we get to travel to more places this year. Cebu & Bora trips definitely booked for May. Hope there can be even 1 trip abroad, maski Asia lang. Hmmm, have to do well sa mga raket to fund these trips.
• I am not sure if we are serious abt it but we might decide to try for a baby middle of the year, when I am off the pill. Hopefully the polycistic ovaries will heal itself and the medication I am currently taking will work.
• Arg! Oh i need to diet...and exercise! My OB advised me to take care of my health. I have started seeing an Endocrinologist too, as my mom is a diabetic, so I am also prone to be one. I may be "slim" but I may not be fit so I have to do something about this.
• I also pray that we can continue to give to our fave charity. Inspite of the hard times, we are never too poor to give.
• I also wish that I can have the courage to be able to drive. I really need to learn this skill coz we might be enrolling Benedict in a playgroup soon. And I cant always rely on the Daddy to chaffeur us around.
• If there's one more wish I'd wish for myself, it's for my online toyshoppe to thrive and prosper. I'm keeping a positive attitude on this, with the help of dear friends and family, I know anything is possible under the sun.

Oh I've always been a firm believer and will always validate that God is so good.

And so I will end this bday post resting on my laurels for a while. I have been a good daughter, grand-daughter, sister, sister-in-law, friend, colleague, cousin, wife, mom, soulmate, neighbor, barkada, classmate, student and most importantly a good child of God....and will continue to be the best that I can be...hoping, praying, doing all that I can...always trusting that the best is yet to come...

Happy bday to my Babes and to me!!! **cheers**

blowin' bubbles

Mommy & Benedict's bonding time includes a night-time bath before we retire for the night. Mostly we play with bath toys like the rubber duckies, the froggies and his turtle friends.

But last night, we added to our list of fun things to do in the bathroom the blowing of bubbles. Oh the little one shrieks in delight! I love hearing his pure tinkling laughters.

If you ever wonder who is the one behind the lens, of course there's no one else but Dad...who mind you had to climb over the tub just to get top-view shots The things fatherhood can make you a person do. What an we say we're head-over-heels in love with our little boy.

The little guy loves popping the bubbles...and mom & dad loves watching him do so

father-son shopping

Marlon and Benedict checking out the little one's new hot wheels track. See the little boy's reaction when he saw the box? He said "Wow!" over and over again. Talk about being appreciative!

He couldn't seem to contain his excitement too...Daddy had a hard time assembling the whole set bec. the tiny hands just loves "helping" Daddy out...hahaha

We also love watching him at play lately 'coz he kinda mumbles to himself and would even include us in his "talking"...sometimes engaging me or his Daddy in an "animated" conversation. I would usually sort of decipher his talks and guess what he means...reading between the lines. Part of the role of "mommy" is being the interpreter. Marlon would oftentimes give me his clueless look and I would immediately bridge their conversation. So far, I must have been successful coz my son would reward me with a quick hug or the sweetest smile...which would promptly melt my heart...

Just take a look at this particular pic. Although this is not for me. I am guessing that it is for Dada, who got him this latest toy of his.

m

Post-Valentine Date

Marlon surprised us by going home early yesterday. So off we went to SM for a little post-Valentine dinner. True enough, restos there still has long-stemmed roses as centerpieces. Still feels like V-day alright minus the queueing to get the table.

When we arrived at 5pm, I was famished already but don't want to ruin my appetite for dinner so we just had a quick bite at Pizza Hut, where the little boy enjoyed playing with Yaya at their "playhouse". He doesn't fancy their hat though so I had to take super-quick shots since he swiftly takes them off.

So that we can finish our food, we allowed him to ride the train with Yaya, which unfortunately is being recharged so it's not available for another 40 mins. Ok lang sad for the little boy to just sit and wait. Though we didn't wait til the train got fully recharged, we just made him ride the horse in the merry-go-round and he was more than happy to oblige.

Then off he went to the "taxi" ride, while I was able to shop for what's new at National Bookstore and Booksale alike...weeee! I feel like am in heaven when I am left to roam these places.

Was able to buy the Moms Today ish where Tessa Prieto-Valdez was on cover, while I was able to get a few Dr. Seuss titles for Benedict at a lesser price, bec. I got them at BookSale.

While at Book Sale, there was a mom I came across who kinda pissed me off bec. of her comment about my little boy. He was asking my Yaya man gud how old is my kiddo, so Yaya replied with 1 yr. 5 months. The she proceeded with regalling me with her tale of how her 2-yo boy is speaking well na at 1yr. 2 months. Bec. she was playing all these tapes while he was still on her tummy and bombarding the boy with educational videos daw. I just smiled at her and said "Oh that's very good, Ma'am." then turning to his little one, I told his boy "You're such a bright boy, sweetie!". But the thing is his boy squirmed and hid behind his Mommy's back.

I never did pressure my little boy to learn anything. He does it mostly on his own. What I do is just support him when I see that he is interested in something.

And without missing a bi, the lady added "Lain-lain jud diay noh?" (each child is different right?) My little boy is only interested in cars and nothing else...Oh men! I wish I had the guts to tell her that its never good to push the little ones. But then again, if she's so convinced about her parenting style.. I would have loved to brag that my little boy can identify most of the common animals now, but bit my tongue. I really don't know this stranger...and who does she think she is counseling me on my "teaching" style. To each his own! We are all entitled to think we are doing the best we can for our own child. I just gave her a lame smile, and proceeded to pay for my purchases, so I can stay away from that nosy lady.

Grrr...it irritates me still. I know she must have meant well. And on the other hand, she really has the right to brag & tell the world of her son's achievements. It's just that she came off very arrogant and know-it-all. You know the type!

How many times in the past was I tempted to "teach" my little boy the ABCs and the Numbers...but I couldn't see the interest yet. Inspite of the videos and music I have exposed him to. So, I backed off and reasoned that if he would want to, he would somehow show me that he is interested. I do still play those videos occassionally (when he's bored of the usual Mickey, Hi-5 and Barney stuffs na) but mostly I just give him waht he likes. After all the best "teaching" we can impart on our children is how we love them unconditionally.

Aw, that somehow ruined our post-Valentine family date. But not quite...

I still am happy with the books I got. Here are the titles: the classic Green Eggs and Ham, There's a Wocket in my Pocket, The Foot Book, Go Dog Go and Sesame Street's It's Not Easy Being Big! great value for these books...and great savings for Marlon's pocket.

the black-eye

Last Wednesday, the little boy playing with his table accidentally toppled forward. He did not regain his balance in time thus hitting his face on his toy. I thought he banged his head so I was frantically searching for a "bukol".

I was even more dismayed when I saw that he hit the corner of his eye. Was in a panic mode so I called up his pedia, who advised me to go see her in the clinic right away. Fortunately, twas only the outside of his eyelid. No cuts whatsoever. I was so scared as it's so near the corner of the eye. Haay!

Now 3 days after the accident, the eye has a yellowish brown mark...true sign of being bruised. My sis told me to take pics for posterity's sake...hehe. And so i thought of posting it here.

Hopefully, I pray that there won't be any other "accidents" such as this..Haay! wishful thinking Mom. My Benedict is so active and full of energy that between me & his Yaya, such a thing as this can still happen.

Take a look at how I have to chase him all over the bed every after bath. Oh boy!

Happy Heart's Day!

Happy love day everyone!

Happy Heart's Day!!!

It's a cold February night...and its drizzling outside!

When all lovey-dovey couples are out at this time to celebrated the occassion, me and Marlon opted to just stay at home for the night and do away with the usual gimmicks associated with Love Day. With the crowded restos and the terrible waiting time just to get a table, no thank you, we would rather enjoy our fish escabeche dinner at home with our little cupid, Benedict.

I guess every high-maintenance girlfriend automatically turns into a cheapskate wifey and a walking calculator at that, the moment the family expands (meaning the little ones' needs are now on top of the once-must-buy list of ours---including but not only limited to books, magazines, gadgets...ah the list can grow). And dont be defensive girls...let's all admit to being HIGH-MAINTENANCE in the past. How can you justify the more than a thousand cost of a simple bouquet of roses? And the chocolates and other butingtings- card, hearts,balloons, stuffed toys, etc...that goes with it! Oh some are even lucky to get jewelries...I did a few times in the past.

I just couldn't get over how florists would double or even triple the price of their lovely flowers. And for it to wilt 2 or 3 days after? They might as well rob us of our hard-earned moolah.

But then again, let me stress this...We deserve it too! Of course, then when all we are thinking of is "what's the next thing on my shopping list?"...

Oh, I wouldn't want to be a hypocrite. I did enjoy the beautiful, huge bouquets of white & red roses I would get each and every year...but this is also for the reason that aside from it being the love day, it happens to be our anniversary too as gf/bf...uh, huh! 12 years ago, we become a "couple" on this very special day.

In those days, I love being the envy of all those girls in the office! But I did hate the feeling of lugging home the humungous arrangement? Sometimes, it's a mix feeling of pride & shame esp. if the big bosses are still in the lobby when I would log out early to have our anniversary "date".

Now, get over it! I am only 18 yo then you know, alright a few days short of being 19. And back then, we love the fact that we officially become a couple on the official Love Day of the year

Are you still musing over the fact that our anniv. falls on the mushiest day of the year? Some finds it corny, but Marlon and I kinda relished the fact that on our anniversary, every single couple who had not turned cynical celebrates with us. Isn't that a good thought?

So inspite of us not going out to dine, we still celebrate this day big time! We reminisce about the past years...we laugh at our old memories, and recall pity spats. We still get at each other's throats at times, you know. But now, we know each other much, much better than when we first started out. And it's lovelier when we just curl up together in bed...me, Marlon and the little one in between. Haaay, life!

So to all the couples that we know, and everyone else who can come across this post..."May we all have the happy-ever-after that we deserve! Let's keep the love alive!"

Happy day of hearts everyone...

***cheers***

Benedict, my young Animal lover

For the life of me, I can't seem to hold my emotions...am just soo mighty proud of my little boy! What else is new, every mother is..hehe.

Lately, he's been engrossed with "animal" books. So the ever-supportive mommy in me kinda bought all kinds of baby books & DVDs with "animals" on 'em. Good thing there's a pirated DVD station in Divisoria which is very much safe & accessible to us. And that we have BookSale franchisers here. Oh, do check out Toy Kingdom too. They also have some affordable books at times.

Oh, I got plenty of books too...Brainy Baby (a bday gift from our fave videographer's family actually), Animal Zoo, MagnoPix Fun To Learn Animals (which has magnetic animals included)...this by far is the one most enjoyed by Benedict. He loves sticking the magnetic animals on the pages. we just guide him which animal goes to a certain page. Tho sometimes we indulge him even if he sticks the doggie on the water page. (Why? The doggie does know how to swim man sad dba? hehe...joke! We also have those sparkly board books with the ff. titles: On The Farm & Farmyard Babies. He just gets a kick out of figuring out the animal and the name that goes with it..

Maybe the influence also of playing Brainy Baby Animal videos and Baby Einstein's Neighborhood Animals when he was younger. I just enjoy giving my son the things he enjoys in life. I feel so glad that my little boy is taking interest in his surroundings now.

When we had dinner on the New Year at Uncle William & Auntie Tessie's place, Benedict was able to play with his cousins on the Oh side of the family (Marlon's maternal relatives). And Ate Chloe (daughter of Celeste & Mark) now 2 yrs+ shared her plastic animal toys with my little munchkin.. and the tiny tike enjoyed making the plastic toys stand on its own. We saw the spark of interest in his eyes, so we promptly looked for the same toys. But for something so common, we had a relatively difficult time looking for it. Nope, Toy Kingdom & even our local Gaisano doesn't sell such stuff. we even had to ask Tetet to buy for us in Pagadian store pa. Fortunately, it arrived sometime end of January. Oh the joy my little boy gets in playing with 'em. It's another thing that interests him aside from...cars!

Anyway, I took the time to point out the names of the animals and the respective sound it makes, starting with the cow which he calls as "moo". This is because while most kiddos would call every four-legged creature as dog, my little boy calls it "moo". Oh, dear me! I couldn't help it if we pass by many pastures and vacant lots with lots of cows in going out of our subdivision...hehe We do have a dog you know, but he does not realize it coz we rarely let him near its cage as we are protecting him from possible allergy triggers. So you can understand my frustration when I would pull out a tiger & a lion, and he would automatically refer to them as "moo"...hahaha

Since he's merely 17 month old, I didn't really drill on the names of the animals. I just follow his lead, whenever he would pick out an animal, I'd just name it & make its sound too. So many days thereafter, I was kinda pleased coz now he can differentiate a lion from a giraffe, an elephant from a bear...etc.

I told his Daddy that I have a difficult time teaching him the concept of the bird flying coz he has never really seen one. This is due to the fact that we barely take him out to the veranda bec. of the dusty road while most of the neighbors are constructing their respective fences. Anyway, Marlon decided to get him a birdcage and buy a pair of "maya". We placed them under the aircon casing outside the guest room. So if you would open the window underneath the place where the aircon is, Benedict can see the birds inside their cage. Whoa! in no time, when Nana & Nono slept overnight before going to a Manila trip, he already learned that the sound of the bird is "tit..tit" according to Nono. It added to his expanding animal vocabulary

A few days earlier, last Saturday to be exact, we had Manang Flor (an elderly masseuse) came over for a massage. And he brought with her "manok bisaya" (native chicken) which Marlon loves either cooked into a tinola or with sotanghon. Since it was alive when she brought it into the house, Benedict had fun time outside playing with the poor thing before it was turned into tinola the ff. day, hehe...Kalooy sad sa manok! Now the little boy knows the difference of the duck from the chicken

Just last night, while looking for a DVD I've stored in the guest room's closet, I found an animal chart, which Ate Dul (my sis-n-law) bought for Benedict a long time ago. Along with the ABCs, Number, shapes & Color charts she found at SM & National Bookstore then. So I mounted 'em on the wall last night carefully using a masking tape as Marlon doesn't want to ruin the paint in our bedroom. Good luck na lang nya when Benedict would be writing on walls.

Early this morning I woke up to a very eager little boy pointing out to the animals on the wall. He can pretty much recognize most but has not encountered the rest of the species yet. Among the ones he can identify already, even with his eyes half-closed are...(haha, okay! okay i'm exaggerating) his ever-fave COW with matching "moooo" sound, DOG ("do") which he knows can make the "woof,woof" sound..(how come it's not "aww, aww" dear me! we're watchin' all american video you know, their dogs in the DVDs doesn't make an "aww" sound there..hehe...CAT ("meow" which we would sometimes use to scare him when he wont go to sleep yet...i know its not good so we're stopping it na...and its no longer effective too as he would only mimic us when we make the "meow" sound now...hahaha, i guess he kinda figured out that Mommy/Daddy is the "meow")...GIRAFFE, ZEBRA, ELEPHANT, LION with a "roarrr" sound, BEAR (its "beh" to him), DUCK ("dat") but couldn't differentiate it from chicken & bird as he refers to flamingos as duck too...PIG with an "oink, oink" sound, BIRD which he calls as some kinda "bohr". And he learned from Nono that it makes a "tit,tit" sound. As I have narrated, he recently get acquainted with the CHICKEN which I taught him makes a "cluck, cluck" sound but I guess he doesn't really care...hehe. Sometimes a Mom can be such a bore, too.

Oh, the "ish" (for FISH) and "tuh-tuh" (TURTLE), he learned a long time ago because we have 'em in the bathroom, as well as the duckie diay. He can even make a palm-together, swaying motion when asked how does the fish swims?..but by far, the funniest I have ever taught him is the two hands scratching his head with matching "krrub..kruubb" sound to indicate the sound/action of the MONKEY.hahaha, big time! When his Ah Ko (my SIL) learned about it at first, she was laughing so hard coz Benedict scratched his Ah Ko's head as if saying that Ah Ko is the monkey..hehe...Man! the little guy has a sense of humor.

We were at the veranda yesterday afternoon, while feeding him his snack of biscuit and strawberry-flavored yoghurt when a small, white butterfly fluttered by...ah! Mommy's teaching moment! Since it has already caught his attention, I didn't have a hard-time pointing out the BUTTERFLY and he even understood that just like the bird it has wings, and he would flap his hands on the side to show how the bird (and now the butterfly, too) flies.

Just for today, I had pointed out the BEE in the chart, adding that it makes a "bzzz...bzzz" sound, and the MOUSE says "ik..ik" while the TIGER (and pointing out the lion, to show that they are not the same) says "grrr" and the SHEEP goes "baaa". Before his night bath, he was shouting "baaa" already and pointing out to the picture of the sheep on the chart. But I firmly believe that the main influence is the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse episode entitled "Daisy Bo-Beep" where the characters of Mickey & friends helped Daisy in looking for 10 lost sheeps she was suppoed to be watchin' for Bo-Beep.

I am just left in awe on how a young mind is like a sponge...ever so hungry of information. I had always cautioned my Yaya and the rest of the houselhold staff to not teach the little boy things which would not be good for toddlers to learn...such as but not limited to spanking, spitting and the likes (you know the "cute naughtiness" we see in little toddlers but fast becomes source of major embarrassment when they couldn't shake 'em off as they get older)...As they are very eager learners, and always hungry of recognition, I wouldn't want Benedict to learn the bad traits. At least not until the good values are in place. This is somewhat an advantage on my part as I am a SAHM, so I get to monitor my little boy's activities day-in and day-out.

Back to the Bright Mind's Animal Chart, there are only a few animals now that he can't identify yet...namely, the HORSE and the CARABAO, which I honestly am having a difficult time teaching him to differentiate from the cow. Same case with the GOAT and the sheep. To complete the chart, I'd have to find a way to introduce the CAMEL and the CROCODILE. Will going to Dubai (for the camel) and Davao (they have croco farm, there...hello!) solve this probs? Good luck to me...hehe

Thanks for indulging a love-my-own mommy story...If you've read this far, you're either my sister, my cousin, a close friend, my best online buddy...or simply bored to death. Nonetheless, I hope I didn't put you to sleep nor scare you off from my site permanently. tee, hee...

God bless!

our Suarez Wedding rings

I am trying to help out a dear cousin of mine with ideas for her wedding preps, so I look for the wedding ring supplier of ours - SUAREZ WEDDING RINGS... and to my surprise! when I clicked on their website's testimonial part...Lo and behold! we're posted there...i mean our wedding pics, me & hubby along with the thank you note we sent them is right there on their web page...Yehey!!!

So I got inspired to blog about it...Indeed our wedding ring is what is left to us after the wedding. It's a happy reminder of our love and commitment to each other.

Here's the link to our wedding rings supplier's website... http://www.suarezweddingrings.com/page.php?id=5#top

We had our respective rings inscribed with "MARLON forever 12.17.05" (mine) and "BLESS forever 12.17.05" (his), the dot in between our anniversary date is the hole where the stones were placed which can be found on the inside. The owner, Ms. Mylene Suarez herself was the person we talked to when we placed our orders. She's a very gracious lady and a very accommodating one.

A favorite shot taken of our "precious"...it's a Novell design. The diamond stones were given to us by Marlon's aunt, Nana.. who's more like his own mom ever since his mother passed away. Thanks a lot Nana & Nono for your precious gift to us, and I don't mean just the stones...most importantly, the love, concern & support that keeps on multiplying. God bless our family!

Benedict's Baby Pictures in Multiply

i have just accomplished uploading all my baby's pictures into this site. I feel sooo accomplished, tee hee... I have been slaving with this task given the bad connection of SmartBro lately. 17 months worth of pictures all crammed into Multiply. I am hoping I can still catch-up on bloggin' about my little boy's milestones before the "tamagochi" in me stikes again.

Next project in line will be the wedding & honeymoon pictures...I seem to be regressing here..haha :-D Nah, i kinda like to call it going back in time...

I have to do a back-up pa on all pictures in my hard-drive...Imagine, all my pre-wedding, wedding, honeymoon & Benedict's baby pictures are crammed in there. I just wouldn't know what I'd do if my laptop would crash...oh God forbid! (knock on wood)..Just the thought gives me the creeps...have to do some back-up job, like..RIGHT NOW!

I'm outta here!

A Day in the Life of a Certified Stay-At-Home Mommy!

It's true what they say in the toddller's book I am reading...or at least in Benedict's case. Most daw upon reaching 18 months or near that age, toddlers would be reduced to ONE naptime a day. It's so true with Benedict. He started dropping his morning nap last month. It could be because he wakes up a bit late also in the morning. Instead of waking up at the crack of dawn, what he does now is just whimper...and if we're quick enough to just give him a bottle of milk and a soft pat on the back or his tush, he's off to dreamland again as soon as he finish his bottle (which takes about 3 minutes anyway, hehe..) I just love the early morning feed because I always get a hug from my little boy. He seems so grateful that we're awake to give him his bottle. He should thank his Dad actually, because he is the one to always get up & mix his formula while i snuggle close to Benedict in an effort not to rouse him from sleep too much.

His next wake-up time would now be around 8am, whereas before it's 6am...sometimes as early as 5am pa. He is disturbed with the crowing of the cocks. Our neighbors recently made a pet out of fighting cocks :-( Good thing they have it relocated somewhere now. We can barely hear the crowing...Haay, some of the downside of living in a subdivision where houses are so close to each other.

The moment the little boy is up, he would wake Daddy up too...or if Marlon is already in the bathroom, Mommy has to get up. And who would not be up and about? There are sloppy, little wet kisses smooching your face...its Benedict's "good morning" greeting...think doggy kisses. eow! except that my little munchkin is sweeter...hehe. If Daddy is still sleeping in, his horseback rides on Daddy's back (take note: Daddy is he horse!) would surely rouse his sleepy-eyed father...it's plainly sweet torture, i tell you! But who can resist that innocent, little face who would poke into your sheets? He would chant "Dada...Daddddd...Daddda" so loud you just have to be deaf to be able to ignore it...hehe. To make it all stop, simply rise from bed and the little munchkins face would light up like a bulb...you make his day! Isn't that the sweetest way to get up each & every morning? It's worth the eyebags sweetie!

Now it's play, play, play...after a bottle of his milk (his second). A dvd of Mickey Mouse, Barney, Dora or Hi-5 is sure to follow...while groggy Mommy gets a cup of coffee and opens the laptop to check for the first few emails of the day. No more than 20 mins. will pass and the little tike would come marchin' to my computer nook and would raise his hand "Mmama...up, up!" meaning: he wants to cuddle on my lap and type his way into my laptop too. Oh men! you can't just ignore him too. He's ever so persitent!

I'd have to indulge his hunger for Mommy's presence just so he would stop pestering (oppps, sorry for lack of a better term) me. I have to go sit with him and watch his fave videos for a moment before I can sneak back into my work station again. This time to answer emails & queries and do a little blog-hoppin'...until the little boy would realize again that mommy's gone and will barge into my area once again. This time, to ask for "chaa-roos" (cheerios)...and so we feed him with cereal and milk for breakfast. So the happy little by goes off to play on his Quattro, or tinker with his cars...or browse through his books. And I get a few more moments to go back to checking my emails.

Then, it's lunch time...off we both go to the dining room. We sit beside each other (me & Benedict) and we are sometimes joined by his Dad, if he has the time to come home for lunch. His Yaya usually is the one who feeds him but I would sometimes give-in to his request of being fed by moi! He would sometimes point to me and say "mama...mama" man gud. But most of the time, he is ok with Yaya feeding him as long as I am there beside him. He eats everything now...oh well, he stil gets occassional rashes from highly allergy triggering food (such is the case of the boiled turkey egg he wolfed in one sitting two dinners ago). I had to make a call to his pedia at 9pm coz the rash is all over his body na and he is starting to scratch all over. Good thing I have "Virlix drops" in my medicine rack. 5 drops twice a day for 3 days made the itch go away, and I also rubbed "Elica" ointment all over every after bath.

After his lunch, its toothbrush time, where he lets me brush his pearls for like 1 minute, tops...geez, and I have to chase him all around just to be able to give his pearlies the thorough gauze-wiping it deserves. My tiny tike knows how to try & wear out mama.

It's bath time now! He would be standing on the tub na (we have kept his bath tub in it's box for a while now). He is familiar with shampoo & soap though I don't let him hold the soap as he tends to poke his tiny fingers into 'em...He would sometimes help me lather up (with a liquid soap in a sponge). He would be busy with sticking the "-ish" (fish) and "tuh-tuh" (turtle) on the bathroom tiles. hehe...I can't help but smile when I hear him chanting those two fave words of his. When it's towel-dry time, he would cry na. He knows it's the end of bath time...but I would distract him by asking "Where is...?" When I started it I didn't expect that he would immediately learn but by the end of the week, I was ecstatic to know that he can accurately point to the "pha-si" (faucet), "ayt" (light), shower & window. The week after, I added potty & bath tub..He had trouble with the shower & window at first but eventually, got everything right na. Now, he can even point to all the bathroom "ayt" (lights) when prodded "where are the lights?...1,2.3..4" Such is an example of the joy motherhood can bring!!!

When we go out of the bathroom, I would put on a baby video with classical music...and the little boy & I would wrestle a bit before he would be coerced to lie down and have a massage while I put on Nivea cream all over his body...Before the video comes to an encore, my little boy is off to his dreamland na...all naked without even a diaper ... I am still thinking of I should be taking some nude pictures of him which I might find useful when he's all grown-up and a little bribery is needed...evil thoughts of a mommy!!

This time it's more cyber moments for me...it's the "me" time this time, where I get to post a long blog like this, while waiting for all the backlog pictures I have saved on the hard disk to be uploaded...all of Benedict's baby pictures from the day he was born. It's also the time when I reconnect to some other mommies in the newlyweds@work community and swap mommy stories of our precious, bundles-of-joy!

Before the little one would wake up I am expected to accomplish having taken a shower and done with all the other mundane tasks of the day. So that when the tiny tike would wake up at 2 pm earliest & 4pm latest, I am ready to keep up with his energetic "play" time of running here & there, bouncing all around...The Energizer bunny is always on the go, and mommy has no choice but to match that enthusiasm too.. It's more time for cars, blocks, books and Leap Frog moments. Til his Daddy arrives home from work, and my little one temporarily forgets that Mommy his besf friend, coz Daddy "The Hero" is home!!!

While I go about checking what's cooking in the kitchen, Marlon & Benedict goes about the business only boys can understand. Standing on Daddy's back, bouncing up and down the bed...haaay! exhausting to see them at play..hehe

We all have dinner together...and it's bath time again for Benedict after that. If we are at home lang, which we are most of the time, uness we go malling or spend some time at Marlon's sister's place, we do quiet playtime...a bit dimming of the light, some soft classical or baby music playing in the background, and some books to browse. And before we know it the little one is yawning and scratching his eyes na. (sure signs that he is ready for bed time). It only takes a bottle of his fave "nene" to send him off to dreamland. Good night, sweet little boy!

If we are lucky enough, its still too early to snooze ourselves, so we get to watch a bit of teleseryes or me surfing again. But most of the time it's past 10pm also that we are ready for bedtime ourselves.

And so there goes a day in the life of me, a certified stay-at-home Mommy!!!

photobooks

It's been the topic of the week over at Newlyweds@Work for the last two weeks i guess. Everyone's so into this thread. From US-based n@wies to Manila-based ones, everyone (or so it seems when you follow this thread), is into this "photobook".

So i checked every site and links given out, mainly to satisfy my curiousity as to what it is... and much to my delight, it seems like the heaven-sent reply to my growing files of digital pictures. I am so glad I have this ever-reliable group to share interesting ideas with.

Anyway, back to picturebooks...I've checked out Blurb (thinking that I can have it delivered to my cousin's US address and have it shipped to me later) but I can't seem to download their free software. So next is My Publisher. I was able to download their free My Publisher Book Maker a few days ago. I've been trying to organize my pictures into them but I seem to have too many. I don't think I am artistic enough also to do it on my own. Hmmm, I thought of checking out the local ones instead.

Oh, I did check out first the ones offering online services. As being CDO-based can be quite daunting when it comes to new products availability such as this new craze. As expected, while the rest of Manila & Cebu are into this hype, CDO still remains...clueless as to what a photobook is...eowww! I guess, I am and will always be a Cebuana at heart so there will really be times (such as now) when I am asking myself why am I in this jungle? (exag!!! not so provincial na sad bya ang CDO...we do have SM here and a few other malls)...Nah, i will always be missing Cebu (and the rest of my friends and relatives there). My best friend aka my only sister and her family still lives in the Queen City of the South. Lucky her!

Anyway, back to photobooks again...i checked out Manila-based "Digiprint", but since most of the girls at n@w are saying their services sucks, they seem to not be the obvious choice...next that I checked out is "Picture Books", which has better reviews as per n@wies standards. In fact, the whole photobook thread, started by group-owner Ms. Benz (Rana) herself, is about the services of Picture Books...which has snowballed into all other websites offering same services. I was drooling with envy, if only they have a provincial counterpart, or a branch...hmmm, whick prompted me to email them and ask if they are thinking of having a new branch opening in CDO anytime in the near future? I was even bold enough to ask if they are willing to franchise and what is the estimated cost. It's a good idea anyway...and maybe a chance for me to purchase the much-talked about and to-die for Macbook Air (hahaha, i wish!). But seriously, most of the n@wies had talked about the difference in using a PC as compared to a Macbook. But that's entirely a different and long story to tell...And Marlon & I recently agreed to take stock of our purchases and curb our shopping sprees. we need to save up for the little boy. Oh well, a few "necessary" purchases might be accommodated, but we really have to start saving some more.

Back to photobooks...I just remembered my cousin Chen, teling me that another cuz of ours, Mickie is currently marketing her "banana book" in Cebu. Wwwhhhhat??!! and I went nearly out of my mind checking out every single site I can get my hand on...and there it is, staring at me in the face...It's owned by my cousin..who happens to be a very talented photog too. I need not see any sample work. But then again, how would I know ho to go about the order process? hehe...I sent her an email and she directed me to her website...sus, she has one man diay!

Now, I'm on to organizing my son's pictures...my first ever project. Good luck to myself! I have about a more than thousand or even two as I haven't really printed anything from the day he was born.

This is what is occupying my time lately. Will keep you posted for the final outcome. But am pretty much confident that it will come out great.

Remind me to share this information to my friends and sister