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

newest laptop models

Did you watch the news last night???

If you didn't you missed seeing the newest Apple Macbook Air being unveiled to the market. It says that it's ultra-portable, ultra-lightweight... ultra expensive too! hehehe

It's one of the two things I am eyeing at the moment, the other being the SONY VAIO FZ...

sooo gorgeous! But as I have told my hubby, it's one of those "nice-to-haves" that we can really do without.

Right now, my Compaq Presario 2200 may seem to be out-dated in terms of portability (its more than 2 kls. noh) and usage (don't know what happened to my once super-heavy duty DVD burner)...but then again, it serves the purpose of being able to connect to the net & keep my blogs updated, have my little boy's pictures uploaded into several websites I have maintained. It's serving it's purpose! And who needs another one? Of course, if money is not a hindrance, who doesn't like all the fine things in life? But we do have moments wherein we have to be "practical" about our expenditures.

And having a baby (actually a big baby now) to take care of is such a big eye-opener in terms of our spending habit. I have to curb my usual mall-rat ways...It's easier not to shop if you don't go out in malls often. It saves on gas...saves on meals & of course unnecessary purchases. But I do have to find ways of avoiding the uber-cutie outfits being sold online. When it comes to my tiny tike, I always splurge...Nevermind if this would mean mommy herself won't be getting the newest "cool" gadget there is.

Ahhh, motherhood!!! It really does change everyone, including me...

My Own TINY TIKE(S)

I've been kinda busy the last few days before the New Year... a new business opportunity presented itself - my long-time college friend Cheray & I went into a partnership...we will try selling educational toys for kids (actually, we will start with only the Leap Frog items). And I can't help but get sooo excited with this.

Over the last few weeks, we've conceptualized and discussed ideas on how to market our stuffs...and we decided that it's best to do online selling. Inspired by some Multiply websites where I myself have purchased items from, I went on designing our future online store.

Just last night I have completed most of the final touches I have done for our website and a while ago, I posted the slideshow of my son...showcasing our "wares".

Now, we're all set and ready to sell... we are just awaiting for the arrival of our stuffs from Cheray's sister Ate My.

Good luck to us!!!

Cover Boys...

saw this while browsin' through someone else's multiply site...credit goes to Ms. Rowena Lei. Hope she doesn't mind my grabbing her photos...it contains pics of the two people whom i love the most

The two men in my life...

they're the ones in the upper right-most corner...in matching red shirts. Love you, guys!!!

My Celebrity Look-Alike

weee...it's so nice to know that my celebrity look-alikes are all gorgeous! Great compliment...vain lang jud, hahaha. This is something fun when you have nothing to do & have the spare time to log on the net. Check this out...

ELFing it out...

Got this from a fellow member of Newlyweds At Work (Ayn & Loy Nicolas) who made the same presentation for her family...it's something funny to add to the holiday festive atmosphere...

Click on the link below to see the Ong family "elfing" it out...you'll never see Daddy Marlon, Mommy Bless & Baby Benedict groove this way in real life...hehehe

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1690576820

Happy holidays everyone...
Spread the love!!!

Online shopping

Got a few of my online purchases today. I got excited over a cute outfit for Benedict from Brussels Sprouts...will definitely post some of my cutiee's model pics. hehehe (love my own mommy!) Super-recommended this multiply site (Brussel's Sprouts), the owners-Charmaine & Rica are very accommodating & friendly..really went out of their way to please their customer. Will definitely watch out for their new items.

Funny story for the day...when the package arrived, i made Benedict try out his new outfit. He was a bit fussy so I thought he didn't like wearing the long-sleeves (understandable for little boys man sad jud right? , but he was fussing diay coz he wants to go inside the closet so he can see himself in the full-length mirror. GOSH!! Now, I didn't realize i have diay here a very vain son...hehe. The cute story doesn't end there, after his bath, tried out the Spiffies (got the Baby Grape flavor) on him. Yummy!!! I should know...Of course I tried it out myself first...always do that for your child, moms! Anyway, my Benedict so loved the tooth wipes that he cried when I am finished wiping his few pearls (he only has 9 1/2 ---4 up front, 4 down front, 1 molar on the right just completed its show & a molar on the left half-way out)...We had to delay the brushing (tooth wiping) process for a few minutes more just so he can enjoy the Spiffies longer. Great product!!!! I'm sure my hubby will now volunteer to do the tedious job of brushing Benedict's teeth. Whereas before we have to play the "catch-me-if-you-can" game pa before he sits on my lap for the brushing pa, maybe now we can cut down on the chasing part na...thanks Charmaine & Rica for bringing about the distribution of Spiffies.

Got also the Leap Frog Learning Drum & Phonics Radio i bought over Ebay...my Benedict so loved banging on the drum...& i so love that it's teaching him the alphabet in the process. We're so keen on buying "educational toys" for our little boy, inspite of being more costly, at least we're left with the knowledge that we are gently educating our baby. And what more could parents ask for right? In as much as we so love our precious bundles of joy, we only have a few precious moments with them before they are lured away from us by their peers and other more important stuffs na... might as well spend not only quality but quantity time with them too. And we prefer playing as teaching moments with our baby boy.

I only wish (i guess every parent feels this way) that my little boy will stay this way forever...

Little Santa

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Merry Christmas..

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Christmas Scrapbook

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Christmas Studio Pics 2007

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Online shopping

Christmas is so near but i still have to complete my gift shopping for family members...argg! i got so tired from roaming the mall yesterday...the queue to the cashiers are unbelievable these days. Seems like i'm not the only lazy one..hehe

I have done my share of online shopping too...mostly for my little boy, some toys on Ebay & a few clothes from Kiddie Couture & Brussel Sprouts. Absolutely gorgeous wares...ma-out of budget jud ta!!! I get so excited waiting for the delivery of the purchases i've made. 2Go, LBC, Air21...they seem to be my bestfriend these days (hehe). My hubby would surely balk if he would know of some stuffs (new clothes for my little one) I have bought. But they are oh so adorable boy clothes...(picture a knitted vest get-up). Will definitely post new pics soon.

Later we plan to go to SM & have a family picture with Santa's hat . May gani i was able to convince Marlon to do this. I bought a Santa costume for Benedict & we plan to have him photographed in 'em too. Watch out for the little Santa's helper...

Merry Christmas everyone...

2nd Wedding Anniversary

We're having friends over for dinner tonight. It's an impromptu thing...haven't really planned on a party or something but when I called up an old officemate, it just kinda slipped ;-)

Marlon ordered lechon, dinuguan, fried chicken & beef with gravy anyway. And we have more than enough food for the family (Marlon's relatives only), so we figured why not invite some company over?

It's an instant mood-changer! Finished preparing 3 Pyrex-full of mango float after I had lunch a while ago. Now, am looking forward to a nice dinner with friends (whom I have sorely missed) and family members.

All is looking good...I can smell the fried shrimps with garlic & butter as I am typing on my laptop now...hmmm, it smells good...

I gotta go. Have to check on last-minute details. Softdrinks cooled? table set? Uh, the usual stuff... tah, tah

Oppps, I'll close this entry with this thought... 2 years ago, about this time we were in Waterfront busy having our dose of papparrazi-sticken "artista" moment..hehe. We just finished proclaiming our "I do's". It was a happy, kinda tired feeling all newlyweds experience. But it was a sweet moment worth savoring for a lifetime. A rare occassion where friends & family and everyone else who's important to me & Marlon were in attendance.

Cheers to all old married couples, not so old married people, newlyweds, engaged and new in a relationship couples!!!...here's to a lifetime of togetherness for us all. God bless!

Reviving my Blog Life...

gee, cant help but notice that the last post I've written here was exactly 2 years ago...really! I just got connected (my Smart Bro was installed earlier this afternoon) though I was using the wireless Bayantel prepaid connection for about a month now...but with the dial-up system, you can't expect to have a fast access...and with a toddler under my eye, there's not enough time to even upload our pictures.

As a start though, I practiced Ebay-ing...great start...I won in the first item i've bid but i lost in the other one. Now, I'm trying to post Benedict's pictures & videos since his first ultrasound, his first cry, his first few days, his first year along with a few milestones & accomplishments. I have a pretty tough job ahead of me. I intend to see to it that I get to post all his pics before the holiday season though para I'd be able to make a fresh start next year.

I have a new Multiply site to boast...though you can't find much there yet. I'm still in the process of uploading pics.

that's about it...I just felt like blogging about my reclaimed blog life..i didn't know i missed this until I had my internet connection once again. I deserve the Smart Bro.!!! :-)

My First Ebay Experience

As always the case, we win some...we lose some :-)

It's my first time to bid for an item in Ebay a few days ago (10 days to be exact). Tonight the bidding ends. To cut the story short, I was outbid for a few pesos... lesson learned? i should have upped my maximum bid..but as Marlon pointed out, it might not be meant for us

But I did win in a few hours bid also tonight. I made the bid earlier this evening & was pleasantly surprised when I got an email after dinner of my triumph...Big deal, I was the only bidder, hehehe

Oh well, there goes my 1st Ebay experience... maka-addict jud diay!

Glad my Smart Bro connection was installed today. It came handy in the last minute bidding. Though I still lose but I am empowered with a faster connection now. Watch out peepz. Oops, I shouldn't be carried away diay, Marlon warned me to watch my purchases..hehe. Nag-worry ang tig-bayad. hahaha