Friday, September 30, 2005
the birthday bash
   Una sa lahat, thank you so much again sa mga bumati we do appreciate your thoughts and wishes for our little soccer player. Finally, we pulled-off nice and noisy ang birthday party ni Franco last sunday, 25th of September, ok ang turnout ng guests, siguro mga 30% din ang hindi nakapunta sa complete guestlist naming, pero ok pa din ang dami pa ding nakarating, it was fun kahit na medyo marami-raming bloopers. :-) Ang sakit ng katawan namin, as in! para akong nag-tennis nang walang warm up! Ang sakit ng braso, likod at legs ko pagkagising ko the day after. Si francis, hindi masyado kasi siguro nagte-tennis sya, pero pagod pa din sobra. Pero we still have to go to work! after the party, pag-uwi sa bahay, happy naming tatlo, we really had fun. At pare-pareho kaming bagsak na ng mga 9pm, iniwan na naming for the next day ang iba pang mga kailangang lipitin, pero we opened the gifts na. ay, ang kalat nanaman sa bahay! :) We had the party sa park about 2 minutes drive from home, 12nn ang call time, pero knowing pinoys (1 lang kasi ang non-pinoy namin na guest, na asawa ng pinoy), mga 12:30 nagsimulang magdatingan ang aming mga bisita... buti na lang, kasi around 11:20 pa lang kami nakapag-umpisa mag-set up. Tinanghali kasi kami ng pag-start, nag-relak-relak pa kasi ng konti. I woke up at 7am, nag-simula akong mag-saing... 3 salangan ng kanin ang ginawa ko, mga 2 hrs din akong nag-sasaing. Yun lang ang aking luto sa handa namin. Nakapag-load pa nga ako sa washing machine at naghanger ng mga labada. Si francis naman woke up at around 8am. Ang initial plan kasi namin eh alis si Francis ng 9am sa bahay para before 10 eh makuha na nya yung food (which is about 30 drive from our house sa motorway, malayo poi yon!) at makabalik agad ng mga 10:30 eh pabalik na and hopefully 11 eh nag-start na kami mag-set-up. Eh kaso, nag-salang ng DVD ang aking mister, kaya ayun, nawala sa isip ang oras at 9:30 na nang mamalayan naming ang lahat....(naku, dito na nagsimula ang stress at tense na ata ako mula nung time na yon hanggang bago mag-start kumain sa party). I was preparing the things we had to bring, placed it near the door for easy access when it's time to go. Jonna (friend ni Ana) came to the house, sabay na samin sya papunta, plus to help out. Nakabalik si francis ng mga 10:45 ata, syempre we had to set-up pa, at syempre dami pa kailangang hakutin papunta sa venue. So when he got back, iniwan muna naming si Franco sa kapitbahay, then went straight sa park to set-up the balloons. Yung pinag-arkilahan ko ng tables and chairs tumawag sa akin, sabi nya ayaw daw magpapasok nung staff nung sa park, usually kasi sarado ang gate noon, which we were expecting, kaso mabigat at medyo mga 30 secs. walk din from the gate to the venue. Buti na lang mabait yung staff at pinayagan kaming mag-unload lang nung mga dala namin. Stress attack #2! When we were about to set-up the balloons I made (what I did was prepare it sa house, yung tipong banderitas style tapos may crepe paper na design and then pinasok ko lang sa malaking trash bag), hala! Nung nilalabas ko na, nagkabuhol-buhol pala yung crepe paper! Good thing Gemma and Jonna was there, sa kanila ko na lang pinaubaya nung kailangan ko kasing may gawin pa. That's stress attack #3! So, naibaba na ang tables and chairs, food was all here na, and supplies ko din eh ok na. Franco was around na din, pinaglaro muna namin sa playground while waiting for the guests. The venue had a playground nearby, and may fence sya so ok at hindi maglalaboy ang mga bata, that's what I liked about it din. We prepared games for the older kids and let the younger ones play doon sa playground at bantayan ng parents.... but stress attack #4 is just around the corner. Yung aking iba pang supplies which I fixed earlier was left still there, near the door. Nakupo, eh di balik nanaman si mister, to get those things. Guests are already arriving, it's around 12:30 na. buti na lang eh ang lapit lang naming. :-) Francis got back na, with all the supplies, the cooler, etc. Kaso, naiwan pa yung rice! Stress attack #5!!!!! :-p so, balik ulit sya, the guests were asking me kung hindi daw ba ako giniginaw, kasi nga manipis na blouse lang suot ko, sabi ko hindi eh. Tense ako masyado! Hehehe. :-) And finally, the rice is here. We said the prayers and started eating, medyo gutom na ang guests naming. But they were still smiling naman... pero hindi na nakakatawa ang pabalik-balik namin! :-p So, now it's time for the candle blowing... but where's the candle????? i placed it in my bag, pero I went back and changed outfit, ayun, hindi ko naibalik sa bag ko ang candle and the figurine for the cake. Sabi ko pa man din eh para hindi ko na halungkatin sa tambak.... Haay, ang galing! :p so, there you go... stress attack #6, but this time since, nakakain na ang guests at masaya na lahat, eh giniginaw na ako... naapektuhan na din ng lamig, humupa na ang pagka-tense ko. :-) sumama na ako kay francis pabalik, ang bilis ko nga eh, as in split second lang ako when I got to the house and out again, kasi alam ko na kung saan ko naiwan. Natatawa na lang kami ni francis sa kotse. But still, everything is fine, hindi naman kami nagpapanic masyado kasi lapit lang ng bahay. So, tuloy na ang candle blowing! Yippee! Katuwa si franco, pag nakakakita kasi sya ng candle, ang tawag nya "patitiyir" = happy birthday to you, sabay magbo-blow sya. Kaya sobrang excited nung nakita ang candle nya, syempre struggle ang pagsindi dahil mahangin. At 3x kami nag-sindi for picture purposes. :-) After the candle kami nag-games, sabi kasi ng mga advisers (naku, ang dami! :-)) eh pag may hawak na dawn a toys ang mga bata eh hindi na lalapit. So, we had the games. We had the longest Happy Birthday Franco game, the winner lasted 13 secs!, then yung bring me, tapos guess how many jellies, bow and arrow, golf and a very exciting balloon popping. After the games, chika-chika na lang, and pahinga ng konti, siguro mga a little over 2 hrs din yung party from the time we blessed the food until the chikahan. After that, isa-isa nang nag-paalam, tapos medyo marami pa ding natira to help out. This was a lot easier! Haay, ang sarap i-reminisce ng party, the stress, the excitement, the guests, the kids. It all forms part of the fun! Pag-uwi sa bahay, plakda kami. Si Franco, hindi nakakain halos, yung prawn crackers, lumpiang shanghai at leche flan ang kinain sa party eh. Pag-uwi pumunta sa kitchen at hinihila ako, sabay sabi ng "eat!" hehehe... nagutom din ang bebe... he was able to finish a bowl of spaghetti and some cake. After that, picture taking ng gifts tapos gift opening na. ang kalat sa lounge, but syempre tuwa pa din kami. Ang daming toys, books and clothes. We loved them all! Ipinagpabukas na lang naming ang pagligpit nung ibang gamit, we were so tired na. si franco, pagka-dede eh natulog na lang mag-isa. :-) Thanks for reading this far, masyado atang detailed? :-p overall, we think it was a fun party! Can't wait for Franco to be able to play the games din para mas masaya! |
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
F A M I L Y
| ~ a nice article ~ I ran into a stranger as he passed by, "Oh excuse me please" was my reply. He said, "Please excuse me too; I wasn't watching for you." We were very polite, this stranger and I. We went on our way and we said goodbye. But at home a different story is told, How we treat our loved ones, young and old. Later that day, cooking the evening meal, My son stood beside me very still. When I turned, I nearly knocked him down. "Move out of the way," I said with a frown. He walked away, his little heart broken. I didn't realize how harshly I'd spoken. While I lay awake in bed, God's still small voice came to me and said, "While dealing with a stranger, common courtesy you use, but the family you love, you seem to abuse. Go and look on the kitchen floor, You'll find some flowers there by the door. Those are the flowers he brought for you. He picked them himself: pink, yellow and blue. He stood very quietly not to spoil the surprise, you never saw the tears that filled his little eyes." By this time, I felt very small, And now my tears began to fall. I quietly went and knelt by his bed; "Wake up, little one, wake up," I said. "Are these the flowers you picked for me?" He smiled, "I found 'em, out by the tree. I picked 'em because they're pretty like you. I knew you'd like 'em, especially the blue." I said, "Son, I'm very sorry for the way I acted today; I shouldn't have yelled at you that way." He said, "Oh, Mom, that's okay. I love you anyway." I said, "Son, I love you too, and I do like the flowers, especially the blue." FAMILY Are you aware that if we died tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of days. But the family we left behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives. And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more into work than into our own family, an unwise investment indeed, don't you think? So what is behind the story? Do you know what the word FAMILY means? FAMILY = (F)ATHER (A)ND (M)OTHER (I) (L)OVE (Y)OU |
Sunday, September 18, 2005
sun burned!
| my little athlete has been sun-burned! oh, no!!! next week is his birthday party and i do hope the burns will be gone by that time. he's complaining about it and it does look bad. and oh, we still need to look for a camera, our not-even-one-year-old pentax compact camera got busted, repairer said the lens cracked. so now we don't have plans of having it repaired anymore, coz the cost of repair is about as expensive as buying a new camera! grrr!!!! so, it's back to the film for us, i guess. :) good sunday! |
Friday, September 9, 2005
milestone?
| franco had his first poo in the toilet today! ;) nice intro, huh? well, for moms like me, it is quite an achievement worth boasting about! :) we never really started toilet training franco, but we taught him to call his poo "u-u", and he knows that. there was a time that he says "u-u" when he was about to do it, or when he's already done it. and he has regular movement, every morning around 8am and every night, around 6pm. but i didn't have the potty trainer yet that time, was wanting to get a hand-me-down from a friend but never got the chance to pick it up from their house. but eventually, we were able to buy the toilet seat adaptor, those kinds that you place on your toilets and makes the hold smaller, so their little bums won't fall in. ;) so the story... this morning, just like any other, we were having breakfast, franco just finished his milk. while i was finishing my 2nd bread roll. i saw his face.... that very familiar expression, umiiri na sya... hindi na sya nagsabi ng "u-u". sabi nya siguro la din naman ginagawa. so, to the toilet kami dumiretso! nung una di ko pa nalagay yung adaptor, eh baba na sya, kaya ayun, nag-ala-flash ako at habang nakababa ang nappy nya, nilagay ko na ang adaptor nya. at first ayaw nya talaga ituloy, talagang gustong bumaba. what i did eh niyakap ko na lang sya habang bumubwelo.... e siguro hindi na mapigilan kaya ayun, something dropped! :) success!!!!! sana lang, ganon lagi.. tipid din yon sa nappy! hehehe.. |
Saturday, September 3, 2005
party preps
 like it? well, i made it myself, thank you! :)i actually worked on this about 2 months ago, i used this as franco's birthday invitation for his super advanced jollibee party when we went on holiday in pinas. but the celebration was cancelled due to his lolo's passing. good thing my ate is working with jollibee so it was easy to cancel and refund. so now, we are holding the party here and much nearer to his birthday. if the jollibee party happened, we didn't really plan on holding a party here. but i guess God has other plans. now, and we're praying for a fine weather and lots of friends to be able to come. we're holding it in a park near a playground. i'll be cooking some of the dishes. still lots to do, and it's just around the corner. wish us luck! |
missing daddy
| my dad died on aug 6th of this year. we never knew the exact cause, but his doctor who signed his death certificate indicated cardiac arrest, multiple organ failure and diabetes milletus type II. if we wanted to find out, we would need to have his remains undergo autopy. we didn't want to do that, because when he was alive, he never wanted have his body touched. kaya nung na-amputate sya, katakot-takot na pag-convince and pagdadasal ang inabot bago sya pumayag. and thank God he survived that operation. but i guess it is really my dad's time already. although he kept saying, sana makatapos muna yung bunso namin, i know he knows that he left us well provided and secure. we miss him badly and love him dearly. he's a man of strength, a good provider, an inspiration, a diciplinarian, a role model. he strived hard to keep all of us six children in good schools, sinigurado nyang makatapos kami. he never asked for anything in return. it's been a month now, but i still feel the emptiness, the loss. i know he's in a better place, with our creator, with lolo, lola and uncle teng and aunti ning-ning. the family is now complete. we now have another angel in heaven. we miss you, daddy! you're the greatest dad anyone can ask for. we're so blessed to have you. we love you so much!!! |
Friday, September 2, 2005
first attempt
| now, how did i get into this thing called blogging??? :0) reason: i wanted to comment on a friend's blogsite but blogspot wants me to register first, thus my account... so what the heck, it's the "in" thing these days and i enjoy reading my friends' blogs so i'm giving it a shot! it's now 9:42pm and my little tyke's been asleep since 6:30pm. we missed playing tonight. the babysitter said he didn't sleep all day today, hence the flat-out little pumpkin. :) i'm in need of a few extra hours of sleep myself, will be having a busy day tomorrow, deadlines in the office and the ever hectic mornings. need to recharge for tomorrow's work, making weekends more sweeter! finally, friday! :) hey, i think i'll be enjoying this! i'm excited, actually! now i'll be bugging my expert blogger friends for some tips. till my next post. ciao! |