Road trips.

After last year's break from traveling (with Vegas as the lone trip for the whole year), I am just itching to go, just go, anywhere, somewhere -- this year. I've had my heart set on Hawaii since last year then things happened and our plans went poof! I'm still hearing the siren call of the Islands but with zero balance on our PTO banks, I guess we have to make do with road trips over long weekends.

So far, I've come up with 3 workable road trips spread over late Spring and early Fall:

> A 3-day weekend in Santa Cruz in May
> A 3-day weekend in Lake Tahoe in July
> A 4 day weekend in Yosemite in September

All these are about a 2-4hour trip. It'll be interesting to see how Isaac will take to more than 2-hour car rides. We shall see :0)

I'm hoping that these trips will satiate my wanderlust for the year without cutting into our PTO too much :0)

Spring Forward

It's DST again.

I used to look at DST as one big April Fool's joke, robbing me of an hour of precious sleep. Not this year. After a seemingly endless winter, DST brings with it the promise of light at the end of the (work) tunnel -- enough light for a stroll around the park and maybe feed the ducks; enough light to energize me to cook more and maybe, just maybe, clean more :0P And yes, enough light to fit in a spontaneous visit to...somewhere, with my boys.

The promise of that somewhere is enough to bring a smile to my lips :0)

Last weekend was so gorgeous that staying indoors seems criminal. So the little one and I ventured out front, to the neighbor's 'rock' garden, while Daddy sleeps off the (hopefully) last stage of his flu.

And when Daddy woke up, we headed straight to the park to enjoy the last hour of daylight and sunshine.


So yeah, even though there is still a nip in the air, this Little Miss Sunshine (with a newly washed sash and a newly polished tiara) hereby proclaims that SPRING has sprung, bringing with it all sorts of lovely things.

The anticipation of said lovely things is enough to bring a skip to my step :0)

Toothy grins :0)

Toddling steps on green grass...

Blessed.

It's been a tough 2 weeks, with the stress of Isaac teething and catching viral bronchiolitis and the disappointment of canceling our Manila trip due to zero PTO left adding to the daily juggling act of keeping a home, taking care of family and oh yeah, making a living. The visit to the emergency room last night seemed a fitting culmination to these crazy, crazy weeks.

Times like these, I can almost hear my Little Miss Sunshine sash start to tear and the tiara slowly slip down to my forehead. I am tempted to rip both off and wallow in the pool of sleepless, worry-filled nights and dazed, so-many-things-to-do-not-enough-time-to-do-them,i-am-ready-to-crash-days. And sometimes, I tell you, I almost give in. It's hard you know. But it seems that I always end up mending the sash, righting the tiara and practicing my smile, ready for another round of sashaying down the runway of FML-kind-of-days.

Why? Because no matter what happens, it's hard to deny the fact that I have been blessed. That I am blessed. This kind of days just gives me the opportunity to realize and appreciate that a lot more.

Both the big blessings:

(It warms my heart to see how one loves the other to bits)


(Isn't he just the cutest?!)


And the small ones:


(My most favorite chocolate in the whole wide world!)



(My mouse at work never fails to make me smile :0))

Rainy Weekend

It rained the whole weekend. A downer after last weekend's gorgeous weather. But rain or shine, I still love weekends :0)

I'm grateful that Aldwin and I have weekends off. It gives us time to reconnect (while doing our chores hehe!) and recharge. Now that we have Isaac, it gives us more time to get to know the little person he is slowly becoming.

This weekend, we found out that Isaac loves Tandoori chicken.

That he now prefers to walk (with assist) than be carried. (Although crawling still tops his list of ways to get around.)

That he actually listens when I say, "Isaac, no."

That watching Mommy tickle Daddy makes him laugh out loud.

That he likes the Chuck E. Cheese commercial (we don't know why).

That he is now able to get in and out of his toy car on his own.

That he is such a mimic!

That music still has a soothing effect on him (we were able to prevent not just one, but two (two!), major meltdowns just by playing his playlist).

To slowly watch this funny and charming person (not biased, promise! ;0))emerge from the baby is an additional treat that makes weekends all the more special.

Even weekends spent at home.

Some pics:


(Here's how he amuses himself while Mommy cooks.)


(He loves playing {with} the piano!)

(A weekend isn't complete without a trip to Target. Here, tryin' out some rain boots :0))

(After bath fun!)

(Outfit: sweater, gift from Ninong Waichoi; pants, H&M; socks, Target; shoes, striderite)

Have a good week!

Getting back into the groove.

I missed the little boy today. Much more than usual, I must say.

Five straight days of taking care of the beneboy changed the pacing of my weekdays. Eat, play, nap... rinse and repeat. A whole world away from the hustle and bustle of an 18-patient day, to which I grudgingly returned to today. There's something about spending time with little ones that forces you to focus on the important things. The simple things. With that said, I should not really dwell on the going to work part of my days for they are not as important as the coming home part.

Coming home to messy faces.


And goofy faces.


And gigil faces.


The best one... coming home to sweet boys with even sweeter faces :0)

Prelude to Spring

We extended our three-day weekend and made it into a five-day one, counting Mom's day-off tomorrow.

Bebe boy was running a fever last night (teething sucks). He had enough of a temperature to keep him from resting comfortably, thus resulting into a restless night for him and Mom. Today, we stayed home to rest. Aside from being a little bit clingier and some whining here and there, he was his usual energetic likot self. He shook the fever and we even managed to go out front and enjoy a bit of the spring-like weather we've been having lately.

Valentine's Day 2010

The flowers.

The gift.


My dates. :0)

I'm a lucky, lucky girl to have two sweet boys to spend V-day with!

Little Boy Car Seat

Today we upgraded to a little boy car seat. We were sad to see our infant carrier go but not too sad that we were gonna pass up the 25% discount for the new car seat if we traded the old one in.

Here he is on his brand new Britax Roundabout:



(It started out shaky, but I promise, he is loving his car seat now!)

Another one of those moments where I sigh and whisper, "Don't grow up too fast, my baby."

Month Thirteen

This picture made me want to blog again. Somewhere along the way, my baby turned into a little boy. I haven't even gotten my fill of his chubby baby cheeks and thighs, and already, he is on his way to being long and lean. Yup, my baby is now a little boy. Which is why I want to record as many moments as I can before I blink and he turns into a man.

Month One

I won't be showbiz and say that the past month has been wonderful. Honestly, it has been more of a roller coaster ride -- physically, emotionally and, yes, even mentally.

Motherhood surprised me. No, surprise is too tame a word to use to describe how completely taken aback I was. So let's rephrase that -- motherhood sucker-punched me right in the gut.

The first week at home, I found myself swinging from total amazement in having this sweet, sweet boy in my arms, still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that he came from me to being overwhelmed and questioning my ability to care for him.

When I was pregnant, I spent days muddling through our finances, tweaking things left and right to make sure that we can afford the new addition in the family. I read books and websites about what to eat, how to stay healthy etcetera, etcetera. But none of the things I did or read prepared me on how to handle the important things -- like what to do when your alone, your baby is screaming bloody murder every time you put him down and you desperately need to go to the bathroom or even how to handle the pain of (too much info coming up...) cracked and bleeding nipples while trying to give your baby as much time as he needs to nurse his fill.

This first month was all about doubts, dreams, adjustments, learning, laughter, tears, patience and love. That's also one thing that the books forgot to warn me about, that overwhelming, tear-inducing, heavy in the chest feeling every time I look at him, a tidal wave of love that just crashes over me.

So yeah, I guess I'm not one of those women that was born for motherhood -- the ones that say I wouldn't trade the first few weeks for anything else because frankly, I would trade the first few weeks for a nanny to be at my beck and call and a more jaw-resistant pair of nipples :0P But I wouldn't trade this little guy for anything in this world...

Happy Holidays!

Still waiting for our little one...

In the meantime, our 'panganay' sends our warmest holiday wishes to all!

'Goodbye, Summer' Lunch.

Since tomorrow officially brings with it the Fall season, we had a sort of last hurrah for summer during lunch today (much like how Tessa welcomed Summer before).

On the menu:

Grilled Pork Liempo

Ensaladang Itlog na Maalat (with tomatoes and some cilantro for crunch and spice)

Of course, paired with steaming, white rice.

I'm proud to say that I whipped it all up from scratch in about an hour, largely due to our spanking new lean, mean, fat reducing, grilling machine. (Although I don't know how much fat you can really reduce when you start with cholesterol-laden liempo in the first place :0P)

While eating, I looked at Mr. A and asked:

L: What's missing that would really complete this meal?

And without missing a beat, he answered correctly:

A: Ice cold Coke!

I love it when he does that hehe :0)

Sad to say, the preggy lady has given up caffeine so we had to make do with ice-cold water :0P Still, it was a very satisfying meal that brought back memories of summers spent at the beach :0)

Living within (or better yet, below) our means.

The past week was a frenzy of one thing bad thing after another in the financial world. The bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, the takeover of Merrill Lynch, the federal bailout of AIG all resulted to a big scare for the ordinary investor like us.

There was a time when I was clueless about the goings on in Wall Street and I couldn't care less. A time when Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, subprime or even mortgage didn't make a blip in my everyday life. Gone are those days of sublime, worry free ignorance.

I don't even deign pretend that I understand a whit of what's going on or what has happened. What I do know is that the past week will affect our retirement funds much like how the past year had -- negatively. The only consolation is the fact that we are still a few decades away from retirement and hopefully, have enought time to rally and bounce back. I shudder to think what the people who are just 5 to 10 years away from retirement are thinking and feeling.

Contrary to the doomsday atmosphere that you get from the media, a lot of financial blogs and columns advise the ordinary investor to practice zen in the midst of all these chaos. In other words, instead of pulling out your money and selling stocks like crazy, they say, stay put. Dont' panic. If you do have to do something, then make sure that it's to ensure that your assets are well diversified.

The best advice I've read is from the most recent issue of Time Magazine and I quote:

"Coping in this new world will require adjustments by millions of Americans. We all have to start living within our means -- or preferably, below them. If you don't overborrow or overspend, you're far less vulnerable to whatever problems the financial system may have."

Simple yet brilliant.

Time's a-flying...

Just like that, half the weekend's over. My, my. I really don't know where the days are going lately. Seems like I just celebrated my birthday the other day and then, poof, it's October already.

I was actually dreading September and October since it meant more work for me due to another student intern rotation. Contrary to what I was expecting about the days dragging due to added paperwork, they seem to whiz by as fast as the paperwork piles up on my desk :0P Next week's mid-evals already. Before I know it, it'll be time for the final evals.

With the time flying by, I can't help but think about Bebe's arrival. I'm getting excited, and, truth be told, a little bit apprehensive about giving birth. Technically, I still have 3 more months to go. Time enough to get everything, including myself, ready, right? Sigh. With the way things are going, I won't be surprised if he's here before I can even list down what we need to accomplish :0P

Shopping with my man :0)

I really enjoy shopping with Mr.A. It wasn't always that way, though.

I remember during our Japan trip (way back nung nagbobolahan pa lang kami hehe), everytime I ask for his opinion about a certain bag, shoe or clothing, his standard reply would be: "I'm not sure, hindi naman ako gumagamit/nagsusuot nyan." :0P Well, thanks :0P

Nowadays, when you ask for his opinion, he actually has something to say. For instance:

(Me, wearing a striped multicolored dress which I tried cinching with a wide red belt)

L: What do you think, Babe?

A: Umm (looks me over). I think you have too much going on.

O di ba?! Natututo. Although not all his comments are as helpful. Or as nice. Consider:

(Me, trying on a shabby chic pea coat in linen at Old Navy)

L: Ok ba?

A: Mukha kang mahirap.

There was also one instance at Zara where I was trying on an off-white trench coat.

L: I like this.

A: Okay lang.

L: You don't like it?

A: Para kasing taga-UST ka na dumaan ng Lawton ng tanghali. Makutim sya. Labang-poso kumbaga.

I don't know what's worse, him dissing the coat I like or him comparing me to a UST student. Haha! I kid, I kid!

But seriously, I think my hubby is learning the fine art of shopping. Let's say he is slowly developing an eye for things as evidenced by his lament to me a couple of weeks ago:

A: I went to Macy's trying to see if I can get you a bag for your birthday.

L: And?

A: The thing is, ever since you started taking me to Bloomingdales and Nordstrom to windowshop, it seems like the things at Macy's just don't measure up. Parang ampapangit na nila coz I've seen better.

Haha! Ang taray!

I think this is actually good for me but bad for his bank account in the long run :0P

Saying goodbye is never an easy thing.

It's the night for mixed emotions. On one hand, we're happy that everything went smoothly. On the other hand, we're sad to let go of what has been a part of our family for the past several years.

Tonight, we closed on the sale of our CR-V.

I think Mr.A took the loss harder than I did. I can't blame him. The CR-V was his first car here, his baby. The buyers were really lucky because his TLC showed on how the car looks, and how it runs. I hope they show it the same kind of love that we've shown it.

I know, I know. Seems silly getting worked up over a car but this one shared a lot of our firsts :0)

Anyway.

We're actually pretty lucky at how fast the whole process was. We listed it at Craigslist last Friday and closed the sale tonight. The couple who ended up buying it seemed to appreciate how much the car meant to us.

Paring down to being a one-car family seemed to be the most practical thing to do nowadays, what with the cost of gas and the rocky economy. It won't be as convenient but it won't be as much of a hardship for us since I rarely drive even before. It'll be interesting how we'll figure the logistics out once Bebe's here and I'm back to work. We'll see.

The trade-off though is actually nice -- we'll be able to pay off the Civic (2 years in advance) with the money from the sale. Plus, one less car insurance payment will provide us with some more wiggle room in our budget. With no car payments and no credit card debt to think about, and just the utilities and mortgage to budget for, I think we're at a good place to be starting a family :0)

Change

"She had just realized there were two things that prevent us from achieving our dreams: believing them to be impossible or seeing those dreams made possible by some sudden turn of the wheel of fortune, when you least expected it. For at that moment, all our fears suddenly surface: the fear of setting off along a road heading who knows where, the fear of a life full of new challenges, the fear of losing forever everything that is familiar. People want to change everything and, at the same time, want it all to remain the same."

- from The Devil and Miss Prym by Paulo Coelho

No time to dissect. Just a reminder to myself.

Mom.

(Bebe at 14 weeks)

This one... this one's going to call me "Mom" :0)

Auntie Leah.

And here is the gorgeous boy who's gonna be calling me that...

Say hello to my nephew, David Alexander. This little bundle of cuteness is courtesy of my sis Liz and my bro-in-law, Greg :0)

The Answer

Post Valentine brunch at the Berkeley Marina

This was supposed to be a Valentine post but time got away from me.

Anyway.

I found an old blog of mine and read a post dated February 2001, three months before Mr.A entered my life again.

Reading through it again and looking back, I am amazed at how God and the universe in general works in mysterious yes varied ways to bring us our heart's desire. The key thing is being brave enough to ask for it :0)

Here's the request that probably brought me the greatest love of my life...

WANTED: BOYFRIEND

I've thought about putting a want ad in the daily broadsheets. But instead of looking for a job, or something just as common, I'll be advertising for a boyfriend. Sounds a little desperate? Umm... I guess. But hey, the idea has its merits. For one, I'll surely won't face the dilemma of falling for a friend... and all the anguish that goes with it. For right from the start, he'll know where he stands and just what kind of relationship I want from him. Next. there'll be no surprises or at the very least, it would be lessened a great deal. I mean all the applicants would have to be shortlisted first before they can be considered. So that means, there'll be none of that tripping and falling stuff. The freedom to choose... not suddenly realizing you just have to be with this guy, not because you want to...but because you have to.
Hmmm... doesn't that kind of take the romance out of the whole thing? Not really. I mean, I can always include romantic in the qualifications. Which leads me to... what exactly do I put in the...umm... qualifications? Should I be so specific as to dictate all I want down to the languages spoken? Or do I make it short and sweet? Somethin like:wanted: boyfriend material...
But then, something as vague as that would surely bring in droves of creatures with an unrealistic view of themselves.
Come to think about it... what do I really want? Of course, I want perfection. But in the absence of perfection? I want someone whose imperfections add something to his whole persona and not subtract from it. Someone aware of his limitations yet not afraid to dream and take risks. I want someone who's gonna be an extension of myself but an entirely different individual in his own right. Someone who's gonna be smart enough to see through me yet sensitive enough to keep it to himself.
He's going to be dreamy to look at... with eyes that gets you lost and lips that makes you forget. He'll have the voice of an angel but the charm of the devil. He'll be able to dance with me, laugh with, argue with me,cry with me. He'll get under my skin... driving me to heights I've never dreamed of while needing me as much.
I want all these and more. But truth be told... all I really want is someone who'll want me enough to keep me.