Friendship Chain

Got his tag from ANNA...thanks girl =D

~~Begin Copy~~ I have randomly selected other bloggers below to be tagged and I hope that you will similarly publish this post in your blog. You will have to add your link in the end of the list and tag other bloggers and just keep adding on to the list. (Do not replace, just keep on adding Tag others . This is the easy way and the fastest way to


1. Make your Authority Technorati explode.
2. Increase your Google Page Rank fast.
3. Get more traffic to your blog.
4. Makes more new friends.
5. Build your community


Rules :1. Start copy from “Begin Copy” until “End Copy” to your blog. (for bloggers paste on the "compose" not the "edit html" part in posting blogs so it will be linked automatically).
2. Put your own blog name and link.
3. Tag your friends as much as you can.

1. Picturing of Life 2. Juliana’s Site,a 3. Hazel-My Life, My Hope, My Future. 4. Jeanne-The Callalily Space 5.My Family is my Life 6. The Simple Life of a Baghag 7. On A Wonderful Day Like Today 8. House Everything, a 9. The Creativity in Me 10. Travel and Photography 11. Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow 12. Nora’s Notes 13. Noras Family Treasures 14. Fil-Oz Blog 15. What A World 16. More on Health 17. Everyday Life 18.Pinaywifespeaks 19. Pinaywife Atbp. 20. Laugh Out Loud 21. Life’s Lessons 22. Kerslyn’s Comfort Zone23. Borski and Nai 24. M A R I K I T, 25. Jan April, 26. Random Thoughts 27.the long journey of my life 28. Life's Journey, 29. Wonderful Life, 30. Gen's Palace, 31. Moments I Treasure, 32. Trails N Life, 33. Life Has Began, 34. Simply Amazing, 35. Amazing Life, 36 Sorrounded Everything, 37. Alot To Offer, 38. Travel Blog, 39. Fascinating Life, 40. Blogger Spider Man, 41. Creative in Me 42. Little Peanut 43. Me and Mine 44. Sugar Magnolias-45. Clark & Butchay's Blog 46. Me, Myself and I ; 47. coffeenchoclate; 48. Magical Beginning...Fairytale Ending 49. YOU'RE NEXT-

--End Copy--


I'm tagging Rheaangela, Marie, Mari, Meng and Pheng.

...Gone Wireless ;-)

I am actually in bed...but not asleep. How could I? When it's the first night I am using the wireless connection in my newly-resurrected Compaq.

Hay, my Holy Week (Black Saturday to be exact) has gone mad bec. I discovered that I can not log in to Yahoo. A few days before that, I've lost my YM connection but can still check emails and multiply site. So dedma lang me. But I have gone crazy calling up friends on a supposedly holy Black Sat. to ask for help! Bless my closest of friends who have indulged my panic-driven state =D I was so beside myself with worry that my laptop might have totally crashed and with it all my important files from way, way back...esp. worried abt my wedding files. Not much with the pics as I have recently been very religious in doing back-ups written in CDs as soon as I have uploaded em in my various blogsites too.

And how about my online biz? It's plain torture to not be able to check on my site every single day as I have been used to it since the biz kicked off early this year. I am so blessed to have a very reliable girl scout partner in my best friend Che. She has single-handedly taken charge of the queueing queries and orders. It should have been my turf. She was forced to learn to navigate multiply site herself. I hope she wont fire me for slacking off...hehehe. I can only put the blame on the viruses (several of them) which had inflicted my unprotected gadget. No excuse, just dumb enough to not install Norton sooner. Haay, may na lang angels abound in this world.

Since it was a Black Saturday, wasn't able to accomplish much except bombard my friends with questions & worries...ahihi...good thing they are real friends =D Only on Monday was I able to bring the poor laptop to Dataworld SM and there we found another angel who is my own hubby's namesake. He was very competent & knowledgable. And I was immediately assured that I came to the right place when he didn't overcharged us...and instead gave us all the infos. and advices on how to handle such inevitable crashes. We were about to go when my dear hubby asked how much would going wireless cost? I stopped dead on my tracks, too excited to even ask if he was going to buy me a wireless broadband router...hehe, I admit that's the melodramatic side of me talking...Marlon's always like that. I'm sure if he could only afford the glossy, white Macbook on display that day, I would have taken it home with me that day too...(wishful thinking!) Nah, but seriously, I am so humbled bec. my dear spouse is such a darling...always thinking of my convenience (to the point of spoiling me rotten). Good thing I am such a good wifey too...hahaha (patting my own back). I got my newly reformatted laptop last Tuesday. Imagine just staying overnight with the technician and being good as new the morning after? Some people can really make magic. And so, bec. hubby expected to be able to pay more, he bought me the broadband router and agreed for the technician to come by our place this afternoon to install it himself.

So, after about an hour of troubleshooting since my Internet Explorer had been acting up (it just needed a newer version download lang diay), the techician was able to configure the broadband router and I was able to enjoy a Wi-Fi zone in our humble abode. Our place is just tiny so the 250 meter radius is really huge, but he has set up a password so that the neighbors wont be able to tap into my connection as this will affect the kind of signal I will be getting. And I have enjoyed browsin' thru the websites of my friends while having coffee in the veranda. Pure bliss to be able to sit beside my boy while he watches his Barney while I am discreetly checking on my emails.

Oh well, I just loved typing away while my father & son are deep in slumber. But this time I am just right here beside them instead of being in the confines of my comp. table. I can easily pat the back of my little boy at his slightest whimper...hmmm, another spoiled-brat in the making?? Ahhh, the joy of mommy-hood! I soo love my Babes and the little babe we have produced...

Nighty night!!!

Tagged: LONGEST LINE

I was tagged by JOEY to help make the longest line.

Abie - Journey to Life
Abie - MyPlanetPurple
Farah - changing lanes
Bela
Kaptyurd by Howell
Aggie
Apols
Apple
Thea
Jacqui
Jane
Jody
Joey
Joy
Kelly
Leah
Mich
Pat
Peachy
Vien
Nick
Bless - Magical Beginning...Fairytale Ending

I’m tagging the following: Joanne, Jenn, Anna and CC.

Linky Love Tag

Been tagged by JENGKI...

Rules:Cut and paste the following starting here. I have randomly selected 5 of you below to be tagged and I hope that you will similarly publish this post in your blog. You will have to tag 5 other bloggers and just keep adding on to the list. (Do not replace, just keep on adding! Yes we hope it will be a long list!)It’s real easy! Tag others and see your Technorati Authority increase exponentially! The benefits of Viral Linking:- One of the fastest ways to see your technorati authority explode!- Increase your Google PageRank fast- Attract large volume of new traffic to your site- Build your community- Make new friends!The Strategist Notebook, Link Addiction, Ardour of the Heart, When Life Becomes a Book, The Malaysian Life, Yogatta.com, What goes under the sun,Roshidan’s Cyber Station, Sasha says, Arts of Physics, And the legend lives, My View, My Life, A Simple Life, Juliana RW, The Callalily Space, Petra Summer in Blue, Confessions of an Army Wife Bless’ Sanctuary Happy Life, http://bless519.bravejournal.com/, La Place de Cherie, Chez Francine, Le bric a brac de Cherie, Little Peanut, Pea in a Pod, The Creative In Me, Me and Mine, Pinay Mommy, Expressions from the Heart, TeacherJulie, Sweetbites by Bang, Paul, Toni and Lance - Bridging the Distance, Our Growing Family, The Uncensored life of me, My Untamed World, Something Purple, A Detour, Something Purple, Wifespeaks, Changing Lanes,Bits and Pieces , Life Together Starts , A Housewife%sq243%s Journal, Joey M.D., The Working Mom, Online Raket, Idle in Makati, JengSpeaks, Magical Beginning...Fairytale Ending

I'm now tagging Jenny, Happy, Mari, Jan and CC.

*_* The Pixie Dust Award (from Mari)

hmmm...i've been out of the blogger circulation for quite a while, i'm not sure if i still know how this tagging works :-) it's a good thing the Newlyweds peepz had recently been talking about paid blogging that it piqued our interests and gave blogging a chance again.
oh, i hope i'm doing this right =D

*_*
The Pixie Dust Award
Thanks to Mari for sharing it with me. Just wanted to spread the magic by giving you this exclusive Pixie dust.After all, this is the place where dreams come true.Now you can spread a little magic of your own.Pass this pixie dust to your friends.
I am now sharing it with Jenki, Happy and Joey

Baby Pouch

For the longest time I was contemplating on getting this baby gear. You see my Benedict still loves to be carried around esp. when we go malling. At 18 months, he now weights 12.2 kls. And my back's been killing me all these time. I've always been a believer of attachment parenting & had been advocating it to friends even. Apart from breastfeeding, cuddling Benedict is the single most fave activity of mine. I love smelling the freshly washed hair & the creases & fold of my baby boy's chubby neck too. Ahh, heaven for mommies!

But I am scoliotic. In fact, lately I've been to my doctor twice already for a lengthy 10-days physical therapy sessions due to my aching back...and the single culprit is my carrying my little boy. Dra. Grace told me that she could not believe that I had been able to deliver my child via normal means considering how bad my curves were. I had been her patient since more than a decade ago and I trully believe in her capabilities & expertise...but I totally put my trust (even more so!) in miracles too. And I know there are such in my life. Way before Marlon & I got engaged, the kindly doctor gave my then-boyfriend a heart-to-heart talk explaining that I may not be able to bear him a child. When I think back to that day, I always say a short prayer of thanks bec. not only am I scoliotic, recently we have discovered pa that I also have a case of polycistic ovaries. So it's nothing short of a miracle that Benedict was conceived immediately during our honeymoon. Our miracle & prayed-for baby...trully a blessing, as his name suggests.

Anyway, a few months back...I was really thinking of purchasing a baby sling. In fact I had been checking out R' Jellybeans then and was able to exchange a few emails w/ Jen CC Tan (who bdw, is a very gracious lady who offers free advices)...She told me to check with my doctor first. Unfortunately, Dr. Grace was giving me the stern look when I asked her if I could use the baby sling. I know she only means well. That motherly doctor...but I also heed her advise then and didn't push through buying the sling from Jen. Now what made me purchase Monica & Denise's baby pouch? Aside from defying my doctor you mean? hehehe...I was after the price. It's the most affordable one I have found in the market so far, cheaper but still done with great style and does not sacrifice good quality too. This is trully just to test if baby pouch will still work with Benedict. I personally think this will only last for a few months if we are lucky. Most likely, a few weeks (i hope!). But sometimes, we just have to take the risk. Wont really know til try it out if it's gonna work right? But I am crossing my fingers that it will. After all, the price I paid for the baby pouch is a small fraction of the PT session fees I shell out to cure my aching back.

And I trully wish that this will work for us. If it is any indication though, (I am totally hopeful about this), when I put my Benedict on it when my package arrived this afternoon, he instantly take on to it. And in fact he felt sleepy while I was wearing him & dancing around. Less than 3 mins. (promise this is no exag!) he was off to dreamland na. I had to take him down and ask yaya to handwash the baby pouch & have it machine-dried as well as under the sun. Had to take advantage of the scorching heat of the summer time sun.

And voila! barely 3 hrs. after, it had been washed and pressed na. All ready to go malling with us later. Can hardly wait to try it out. Hope I wont forget to ask the Daddy to snap some pics of me & my little munchkin on it later. These are some of the mommy stuffs which excites only mommies like me. Thanks to Monica & Denise, yummy mummies of Indigo Baby for bringing in these stuffs.

Huggies Fun Time For Mommy? and Baby Christmas Promo...

Oh for those who were following my account of how I made complaints to Kimberly Clark regarding their inefficient handling of their Christmas promo, this is a happy ending. At least now I got my son his Chicco slides. But for all the hassles and inconvenience we went through, haaay super not worth it. Had we known, we should have just gotten him the same slides from the local toy shop. It might have cost us more in terms of hard-earned moolah, but it could have spared us the agony of trying to contact their hotline and playing their waiting game...all because, for the life of me I still couldn't understand how & why, they couldn't have foreseen the "demand". Oh men! such a lame excuse for marketing people...i mean they owe Mommies much better explanations.

But what's important to me is that their Sr. Marketing Officer did deliver on her promise. She said they will have the slides delivered to my place on March 15 (a Saturday) and she made good. She had a representative send the item over at around 7pm. I totally pity the girl who had to make the delivery. She was on a tricycle, inspite of the bulky box she's bringing. I mean, a taxi would have been best given the circumstance. Our place is a bit on the outskirt of the city na and it's & it's 7pm for goodness sake! Haay, I can only see how lousy Kimberly Clark is as a company if this is how they take care of their employees. Oh well, just my opinion. I hope their pay is worth it.

Anyway, when my little boy saw the new slides, all dirty at that...i mean it has not been cleaned with our usual Lysol on playthings (lol) but Benedict doesn't care. I can barely say thank you to the representative and he was all over the new slides already. Her yaya quickly cleaned it up and in no time Benedict is climbing up and sliding like he's been doing it forever. Oh maybe my letting him try it out on Wonderland helped a lot. But mostly it's his attitude. He's very adventurous...and doesn't fear the new experiences. If anything it even excites him. How i love seeing my little boy enjoying his new toy. Maybe the wait & inconveniences are small stuffs when I am seeing him in all excitement playing with his new toy with gusto. Hayy, if only we remain kids forever. Then life would be so much more simplier.

Our Mac Quest buggy is here na!

Hurray!!!

This is a late Christmas gift for Benedict. Actually, this was purchased online last December pa but was delivered to a relative's address in Canada. Michel brought this home last week when he came for his family. (Thanks so much Michel & Syvel for this favor...we will be missing you guys and the cutie little girl.) And we had to ask a driver to personally get it from Mapang pa. Both me & Marlon are excited to have Benedict try it out. We are just crossing our fingers that Eng Sim will like this buggy better than our Graco stroller. Our greatest fear is that he still wouldn't want to be strapped in the stroller long enough for us to do our grocery task. uh-uh... Now that he's mobile, he is literally everywhere. He seems to think SM is a big playground. And he does have his own agenda... playing catch with the poor SM salesboy using their beach balls. To him, pure bliss! I pity the look of the salesclerk which spells a-g-o-n-y

It's scheduled mall time later so we will be able to "road-test" our new Mac Quest buggy. I just luv it's color and the fact that it can be washed because the pad can be easily removed from the stroller. But of course we will be missing our ever-dependable Graco stroller...with the spacious basket & sturdy handle where we always hang our baby bag.

Will post pics of Benedict on it later...

BENEDICT: "When I Grow Up, What Will I Be?"

" a TEACHER?...or maybe a VET...i just luv animals. I can identify all of 'em in this chart ;-D

a PILOT? that was Daddy's dream occupation...

perhaps become an EQUESTRIAN, a world-class at that, huh?...

or how about becoming a KARATE CHAMPION? just like my Ate Gabby is right now?

will this qualify me to become a MODEL?

Oh well... if I'll turn out to be a beach bum, then being a uber-cool LIFEGUARD, complete with abs would be it! Life will be a beach...

of course, there's always the usual i love to be a DOCTOR answer given by tiny tikes like me when asked what will we want to be when we grow up...

however i would turn up to be, I know Dad & Mom will always be behind me 101% all the way. "

The Little Leaps and the little boy..

Amongst his Leap Frog loot is the Little Leaps Grow-with-Me Learning system which we had ordered pa together with our merchandise. Actually, I think I am more excited than the little boy to try out this particular toy. I have heard/read lots of raves & reviews over this award-winning educational toy, inspite of its short circulation in the market. This was only released recently. But already amongst the best-sellers in the Leap Frog extensive variety of educational toys. I'm sure as a mom, most can relate to this excitement...

My only worry is that my friend told me a few days ago that she had a hard time setting up the system when she tried hers. I was worried it's going to be difficult & all-technical. I wish Marlon need not go to the office early so he could have been the one setting it up. Haay, I can only follow the manual and instructions, but you know how men are more wired to understand the technical stuffs? (But I guess, it's not really true to..I must admit that it just gets me off the hook easily..hehe) But in times like these, I have to rise to the occassion..no choice na, the little boy is patiently waiting for me to set-up his new toy. It's TV & DVD-connected, so I have to read through the manual for the codes and all. And it doesn't help that the little boy is so "hands-on"... (read: hilabtanon..hehe) But who am I to complain? Whose toy is it anyway? hahaha..

But with Baby Tad around to keep him company, I was able to set-up the new Little Leaps system in peace...after a few missed attemps on the codes, 'coz Benedict was occupied with his new friend.

The rest of the afternoon and even after dinner, was spent playing with his Little Leaps...he also liked pushing & pulling the buttons. So far, he likes the red circle button on the center, but he can say "boo" (blue) which means he can actually identify the blue rectangular button on his left. I think I am more excited than Benedict..hahaha..I tried pushing the buttons myself. And we had fun late in the afternoon bonding over his new toys.

I have only opened two CDs which are all played in the "baby mode"...The first one has a title of"Say It, Baby" which will teach about common first words... but today, we only tried the "Play & Move" CD. I thought it would be best to open a new one every month so that he can maximize the learning moments...get to really tinker with each & every title and its respective lesson/fun games. Just enough time to really get to play with each CD extensively. I had this Baby Mode CDs kept in the closet...

• Leap Ahead
• First Steps
• Creative Baby:Discovering Music & Artistic Expression
• Winnie The Pooh: Exploring Feelings and Friendships

And after his 2nd birthday, he will be ready to move on to the "toddler" mode CDs which has the following titles:

• The Backyardigans:Learning Rhythm and Movement
• Thomas and Friends: Exploring Manners and Emotions
• Dora The Explorer: Discovering Words and Language

When I see my little prince enjoying his new toy like this, it makes me so thankful that we get to buy stuffs for him. And I love my husband even more bec. he makes effort to work hard just so his son can "play hard". Thanks so much Babes! We love you so, Dada...

Benedict and his new "friend" Tad

The little boy was so tired of yesterday's activities, imagine skipping his usual 2-4 hr. afternoon nap altogether...but that was partly our fault too. We dragged him to the airport with us to fetch Auntie Heny. And to Abel's clinic where Auntie had a dental appointment. And of course, he was excited playing with Ate Gabby. No wonder that this morning, he was teary-eyed when he looked for me the moment he woke up. I was already in my work area checkin' emails. But he was all smiles when he saw his surprise!

We finally got our boxful of Leap Frog stuffs...but most of the books are kept directly in the closet to avoid being lugged around by the little boy. He wont be needing them just yet. But I am already satisfied with the purchases I have made...which the Daddy obviously had to pay for... But in terms of educational materials such as this one, we do not scrimp. It doesn't matter if we have to sacrifice a few shopping spree, dining out & dates... Marlon & I always agree, when it comes to Benedict... better more, than less. We make ways to be able to provide him the necessary tools but of course we can not afford everything also, but for the most part at least we try our very best. And nothing beats personal attention...being physically present ever...Oh you'd be surprised how the young boy prefers more cuddles & kisses than new toys and gadgets. At least, we are consoled that the right values are in place.

Just the same, my little munchkin is so happy with his new stuffs. Of course the first thing to catch his attention is the cute little thing...his new learning friend we named "Baby Tad". I have such a sweet little boy for a son. He hugs me tight for no reason at all (with matching "hmmmm" sound) occassionally accompanied by kisses on the lips pa. And he does the same too on some of his fave toys...esp. Mickey Mouse. But this morning, after my good morning hug & kiss, the receipient of his affection is the new toy still in it's box.

In fact, after his lunch I was able to set-up his new Little Leaps system in peace...after a few missed attemps on the codes, 'coz Benedict was occupied with his new friend. They were singing a counting song (which I am actually not familiar with) and by mid-noon, he was already adding "ten" to his few counting vocabulary consisting of only "eight" and "nan" (nine).

He was so smitten with the new toy that when he napped in the afternoon, he was hugging the stuffed toy to sleep. And he's constantly hugging (or maybe wrestling is the more appropriate word?...haha) Baby Tad again tonight just before his bedtime.

I just removed the toy from his arms when he was in deep slumber 'coz it might sing and wake us all up in the middle of the night should my little guy roll over it. I feel satisfied that we can now "guess" what kind of toys he prefers. Oh, it mostly involves cars & everything with wheels, and balls of all sizes...Lately he loves books too, the ones with flaps most especially. I hope this Tad would be amongst his fave ones, so that Mickey Mouse can be given a rest too.

Huggies-Chicco promo

I was pissed off these past 2 days because a representative from Huggies delivered the wrong toy to my place. And bec. my houseboy didn't know the difference (a slide is...a slide to him) so he accepted it, gave the 50 points worth of empty Huggies wrappers and paid the cash portion of Php 2,000.

You can just imagine my dismay when an hour after, I saw the new "Chicco" slides, now all cleaned up (wiped with Lysol at that) and ready for my little munchkin to tumble down. Good thing that the little one is still napping. I immediately texted the representative first to ask if Step 2 is same as Chicco...he replied that Step 2 costs Php 500 more than the Chicco slides. hmmm, really? I told Marlon to drop by our fave toyshoppe in the vicinity, Ventura--which carries all known brands of kiddie toys & gadgets (Little Tikes, Chicco, Playskool, the likes...) and guess what? The salesclerks there, whom we have befriended already for being repeat customers...told hubby that said brand (Step 2) is not the same as Chicco. Their plastic is not only thinner but a bit more rought too as compared with the Chicco brand. Oh, oh! I am slowly heating up to a boil...grrrr!!!

I immediately texted the same representative to make the complaint. To his benefit, he also made a Huggies representative call me. Explaining that they dont have the Chicco slides anymore & that Step 2 is a sister company (really? how come I never heard of the said brand before?). Anyway, I told the said girl representative to just make sure that this slides delivered to me will be exchanged with the Chicco ones. And she did say that she will forward my concern to someone on the next higher rank. Okay...what else can I do? I emailed my sisters at Newlyweds@Work but it seems that aside from 2 other people, no one else is bothered by the same thing that's pissing me off.

I remembered my own sister whom I have convinced to buy a boxful of Huggies diapers so she can avail of the same promo. I even hand-carried the said box to Cebu since we bought it here in CDO at special price from my SIL's pharmacy. Anyway, she did say that she will also call the Huggies Cebu office to relay my concern in case they won't be calling me anytime soon.

The whole day almost passed by, no calls whatsoever..Oh, i got a text message from the guy representative (the one who delivered the Step2 slides to my place) asking for my email address. It gave me an idea, browsing through a Huggies leaflet, i got an email address. So I recounted all the events starting from when I placed the first call informing them of my desired toy to redeem, to how my friend got her slides first when in fact I have placed my order ahead of her (I should know this bec. I have shared my extra wrappers with her then AFTER i have placed the call)...to how I had been trying to call them up a few more times to make a follow-up up to how the said representative even tried to make me meet him up for the exchange of slides & wrappers making me believe all this time that he is delivering a Chicco slides (even indicated it in his text messages), when in fact it was clearly stated in the same leaflets they have given out last year that FOR RESIDENTS OUTSIDE THE SAID AREAS (where there are respective redemption centers, such as Cebu & Davao), TOYS WILL BE DELIVERED TO THEIR ADDRESSES. I texted the same representative that I am so disappointed with the service they are giving and it speaks of the poor customer service of their company.

I don't know if that did it or the fact that I warned them too through that lengthy email that I wont hesitate to bring this case to the local DTI to make a formal complaint against them. Barely an hour or roughly 30 mins. after I've hit the sent button, I received a call from a certain Rowena Orbon, a marketing representative this time, apologizing profusely and promising to deliver the Chicco slides not later than 2 weeks from now, as she said there will be deliveries she had expected to come next week. So much for Chicco slides being faced out hence the exchange to Step 2...i pity how corporate people can be forced to make lame excuses and blatant lies?!

The moral of this long story? Know our basic consumer rights! I did it once I won't hesitate to do it once again...if only to teach these giant companies that we consumers should be their topmost priority when they go into promotions like this. After all who came up with these promo ideas in the first place? And they could have saved their whole ass if only they had not forgotten to write on their leaflets a one-line all important waiver "offer good while supply lasts..."

Anyway, I'll be counting the days when I get hold of the real Chicco slides. And this time they better deliver on their promise...

Benedict is now 18 months old!

and we are more excited than the little one...

I am thinking along the lines of POTTY TRAINING and DISCIPLINE, while the Daddy is more concerned with the 2nd Birthday Party Plans...o di ba? Life is sweet for those who are simplier!

Oh, how time flies! We now have a very active toddler who wears us both when he is up to it, which is almost always.

We now can't get through the entire mass because for sure, 5 mins. after we would wheel him into the "church" (more like the airconditioned Atrium of LimKetKai mall converted into a chapel set-up), he would be fidgeting in his stroller (strapping him on it is sometimes a struggle in itself), and like he got ants on his pants, he's sure to roam around the place...to the glass-encased pond with the biggest Koi I've ever seen, and the man-made waterfalls that surely draws kids like my little Benedict.

We can hardly match his energy thus we do not frequent the malls these days. Kapoy kaha ug gukod sah? Ma-wa akong poise! hahaha...Marlon's getting enough exercise followint the little boy around. And oh Boy! does he love to...nope, not walk but break into a run...when he gets excited by...almost anything...from the zooming mall train (which used to scare him off like a rabbit with its bells in the past) to the "neigh" (the horse) in the carousel which he rides with gusto now...promting the Daddy to buy 2 tickets nalang coz he is sure to ask for 1 more ride after the first one. And he loves to follow little fellas like himself. hmmm, he seems to think he is independent huh? Ah, the mommy in me dreads the time when he gets independent enough to not need me around...*sniff,sniff*

Marlon is constantly buying Bengay, the extra-strength variety at that..but then again it could also be because he is not getting any younger...hehehe. But I think we both know who the real culprit is for the Daddy's excruciating back pains. But then again who taught him that piggy-back is fun, fun, fun???

And Benedict can really wear us out, what with all the climbing on the toy boxes...the couch...even the bookshelf. We really have to wish for extra pairs of hands & a pair of eyes to go with that apositioned at the back of our heads pls... I'm sure God would trully understand the simple wishes of a mom...

But on a more positive and happy note, we are excited..and happy...and looking forward to the joys Benedict will surely bring the house now that he is fully mobile (running at top speed), communicative (saying words that only he can understand, "babbles" really...but he expects you to fully comprehend, lest you get the raised eyebrow which seems to say "huh Mom! which planet are you from?" Oh men! And to think this little munchkin is only a year & a half old.) and aggressive! oh the little darling knows what he wants/or doesn't want for himself. And it totally takes all of my willpower not to spank the little butt bec. he can really be a handful. I think I have to be contemplating on using the "time-out" na.

Oh well, we always take it one day at a time...and we take pride in raising the little boy the way we want him raised. The discipline, we will get to that...meantime, can I enjoy the sweet little hugs from behind (hmmmm, with matching sloppy, wet kisses) everytime the little boy feels like it? (but I do seem to notice that follwing this is a no-nonsense request of a "nene" (milk), which suggests that my little prince somewhat has an idea about "suhol" na?