been busy lately...

hayy buhay mommy... at 8 months & 20 days :D, ang likot at ang kulit na ng anak ko (at syempre not to mention cute na cute :D). he wants to explore everything. lahat gustong isubo. halos ayaw ng maglagi sa exersaucer. nasisikipan na sa playpen. gusto laging may ginagawa either gumagapang or kung anu ano ang hinahablot. mahilig mamintana. mahirap ng palitan ng diaper ngayon (hindi pa nailalapag eh gusto ng kumawala). pahirapan na kung magmilk (since nagsolid, lagi na lang may tira). madaling magsawa sa mga laruan (yong mga totoong laruan). mas naaappreciate pa yong boxes kung saan galing yon mga toys (usually bigay ng mga in-laws ko). para sa kanya, "laruan" ang mga: remote control, celphone namin ni james(kahit may laruan syang plastic na cp), keyboard (we have a spare for him pero after few days eh inaabot pa rin yong totoong nakakabit na keyboard. wais!), calculator (hindi naman obvious na puro de-pindot ang gusto nya), books (not necessarily na books nya), papel (either isubo or punitin), nadiscover nya lately ang camera (mas gusto na nya ngayong hablutin ang camera kasya ngumiti sa camera), pati vacuum cleaner/cp charger/alarm clock pinadidiskitahan), tuwang-tuwang sa reflection nya sa mirror, laging gustong puntahan at kunin yong mga DVD/CD collection (alam na nyang alisin yong mga nakaharang na unan, wais talaga!). pag nasa kusina kami at busy akong nagluluto, naghuhugas ng pinggan or kumakain, nilalagay ko sya sa highchair or exersaucer or playpen. ito naman ang mga laruan nya: paper towel & tissue rolls, plastic na baso (yong mga gamit namin pangpicnic), measuring plastic cups, empty plastic bottles, empty cartons ng cereal, at kung anu-ano pa just to keep him occupied. kakapagod ang stage na ito. i'm really exhausted at the end of the day. sometimes umaga pa lang pagod na ako. kaya naman lagi kong sinasabayan ang nap nya(2x or 3x a day for 1 hour each nap). ito na lang pahinga ko. pero kahit anong pagod ko i am not complaining naman! nagkukwento lang. hehe! mahirap maging magulang (or maging nanay),pero walang kasing saya naman ang dulot nito. :D bath time is always a bonding moment for the three of us. enjoy syang maligo sa bathtub (in his bath ring). ako ang in-charged sa paligo while james is waiting with the towel. sya na ring bahala sa pagbibihis. at bilang isang magulang walang kasing saya kung ang baby mo ay: marunong ng mag-embrace, magturo ng nose, eyes, and lips (ni mommy and daddy), magclap, mag-align, magba-bye, at palangiti (or in audric's case eh bungisngis. nakakawala ng pagod!) pero syempre hindi maiwasang umiyak (or ngumawa)ang anak mo but i know how to handle this now unlike the first two months na talagang nangangapa ako bilang isang new mother. now i can tolerate more and i can say medyo mahaba na ang pisi ko ngayon. (si james kasi natural ang pagiging pasensiyoso since day 1) :D


then, hayy buhay may asawa... being a stay-at-home-mom&wife,nakakabit na ang househould chores...not to mention na hindi naman talaga uso dito ang magkaroon ng yaya and maid. lately, paghuhugas ng pinggan at pagluluto na lang lang ang nagagawa ko. wala munang linis linis (or say general cleaning). ang paglalaba eh kung talagang kailangan lang (kung malapit ng maubusan ng damit si audric, kung walang underwear ng maisuot si james, hahaha! or kung hindi na pares pares ang mga medyas or kung ang mga natirang medyas eh yong mga luma or butas na, hahaha!) Two weeks ng nagoovertime si james (which is good kasi dagdag income). downside, saglit na lang nya naalagaan si audric kasi pagod nga. Pagod sya, pagod ako kaya apektado ang loving loving. :D embrace embrace na lang. hahaha! hay buhay...lots of things to do: soiled clothes are piling up, have to clean the washroom, kitchen needs general cleaning, clothes in the closet need to be sorted out, etc, etc. i can't wait for my mom's vacation. i mentioned in my previous post that she's visiting us. she's supposed to be here this august. but the entire month of august is fully-booked. september 19 ang flight nya. 23 days to go. sana bukas andito na sya. i desperately need her. :D

lastly, hayy buhay ng magiging businesswoman... we're venturing into business, a home-based franchised business. hopefully we'll start operating before the end of the year. we were planning this wayback february pa. it all started when i searched the net for a small business. after having audric kasi parang ayaw ko ng bumalik sa workforce, 8-5 that is. it's either i work at night or have business (kahit small lang).then i stumbled upon this site. i browsed the site, then par-t-perfect caught my attention. it's really perfect! hindi kalakihang investment (well, compared to other franchised businesses), it's a home-based then it caters children's parties. i inquired via email then the day after the owner phoned me. we started from there. filling up of applicaton form (para din akong nag-apply for work), business plan, franchise agreement, interact with other franchisees, meeting personnaly with the owner, paying of the deposit (part of franchise fee) then sa bank naman for our loan madami ring requirements -- credit history, net worth, business number, gst number (tax), operating license, criminal record, etc etc. but we've been busy especially for the past 2 weeks. we're finalizing everything. list of equipment, final payment of investment, gathering info's for marketing and advertising. :D by mid-september we'll start the actual marketing and advertising. then set-up office, set-up storage area for the equipments (yong dati naming kwarto at my father-in-laws house), then after that i'll fly to vancouver for a training at the main office and observe actual events. tapos we'll have to train party leaders (employees) din. i can't wait for our first event. i'm excited, nervous, & anxious at the same time.

did i say i'm exhausted? really exhausted! nevertheless im happy and contented. goodluck to me! :D

Jaime Sison Cruz, Sr.
(February 8, 1939- August 15, 2004)

It's been 2 years, Daddy! I miss you. I will always will. I wish that when I go home, you're in the airport waiting for me like you did when I left. But you're gone. I can't hug and kiss you anymore. I can't show how much I care for you and how much I love you. But there's one place I can do all of these -- in my dreams. So long, Dad! I know you're happy now! No more pain, no more sufferings...

A Saturday Treat!

Nag-almusal kami ng oatmeal (spicy and cinnamon flavored), naglunch kami ng sinigang na baboy, nagmeryienda kami ng brownies (which I baked), then nagdinner kami ng burger patty (home-made na gawa ko din).. puro pagkain.. :D and last but definitely not the least (at hindi ito pagkain)-- a long warm bubble bath followed by a long shower. Halos 1 oras akong nasa banyo. At bilang isang stay-at-home-mom, ito ang tinatawag kong panalo sa lotto. I can't even remember when was the last time I soaked in the tub. Before pregnancy pa yata. Exaggerated pero totoo! Ngayon kasi with Audric, hindi ko talaga hawak ang oras ko. Imagine I'm already in and out of the washroom for just 5 minutes (maximum 10 minutes). Hopefully, this "treat" would become a Saturday ritual, the bubble bath atleast!

Ang Pancit Palabok, Bow!

Nagluto ako ng Pancit Palabok kanina. Wala pa talaga akong balak magpalabok kasi hindi pa kumpleto ang mga ingredients ko. Hindi ako nakabili ng chicharon. Yong hipon naman na binili ni James nung weekend inulam na namin.:D Wala din lemon or calamansi. Kaya lang yon ang gustong kainin ni James. Sabi nya eh daanin ko na lang sa pagluto. Basta daw bukal sa loob ko na magluto at masaya ako for sure masarap ang kalalabasan. Salamat na lang kay Mama Sita naglasang palabok pa rin (or gutom lang siguro kami ni James:D). I just sauteed garlic, added tinapa flakes and the Mama Sita palabok mix. Then I mixed the bihon I cooked earlier, garnished green onions and eggs, and viola! In fairness masarap talaga sya. :D For 6 servings daw. Dalawa lang kaming kumain. Pero hindi naman kami ganun katakaw kasi hindi naman isang kainan lang eh. Lunch and dinner! Palusot pa ako, eh! Pero kahit napurga na kami ng palabok kanina I still crave for more palabok. Mas masarap siguro kung kumpleto rekados na. Hayy, bigla tuloy akong nagutom :D

Audric Turns 8

8 Months na si Audric ngayon. Tamang-tama naman na walang pasok (Civic Holiday) kaya nakapagbbq (chicken wings and hotdog) kami sa likod ng bahay nila Father-in-law. Bumili din si Father-in-law ng lutong ulam (caldereta and adobo) kaya solved kaming lahat :D

Tapos binilhan ni Sister-in-law si Audric ng cake (icecream cake ulit from DQ) :D

Syempre, hindi mawawala ang group pictures. Nakakatuwa kasi nagkataon na parehong suot ni James at Brother-in-law yong t-shirts na bigay ni Mother-in-law. Parehong damit magkaibang kulay nga lang.

You can view some pics here. For some reasons, I can't upload pics here in blogger :(

Missing a Family Affair

At this very moment, my family in the Philippines is busy preparing for my brother's wedding. In an hour, he'll exchange vows with his long time gf. Finally! :D Well, I'm happy for them but too bad I'm not there to witness their union. Too bad I'm not there to celebrate and enjoy an event like this. But it's ok! I can still be with them in spirit. I can still be happy even we're miles miles away simply by thinking them and our happy moments together. At saka buti na lang may video (pakonswelo) I can still view their wedding ceremonials.

Poor Mitzi

Mitzi is our everdearest 2 year old vehicle. Eversince, we (especially my husband)treat her well. Hindi yan mapakali kung marumi si Mitzi so regular ang paligo nya sa kanya. Pinakaiingat-ingatan talaga. Lagi nya check if may gasgas. Kaya naman mukha pa ring bago. But just last week, naibangga ko sya sa wooden fence while backing up. Buti na lang hindi nagalit asawa ko. Nagpapasalamat na lang sya at hindi ako nasaktan. Mitzi is scheduled for a repair next week.