It's Good To Be Back

After months of being away from this, I am happy to be back. I know I have said that I will be away for the summer (to spend most of my time with my family… outings, vacations… you know how busy we get during this time of the year…) but it turned out to be for another reason.

On July 5th, I found out that I was pregnant! So there you go… I went through my first trimester during the most heated summer ever (at least for me). I was always nauseous, lazy, tired… just the worst feeling or situation to be in. Considering the fact that I still have to do all my mommy duties despite of it all. But now I am glad it is all over! I am now on my 24th week and feeling great! 

There is so many things to catch up on but I am a happy pregnant woman. I am appreciating all that I have- my family, friends, and all the love I get and give. Most of all, I am excited to have this baby inside me. It has been a fun ride raising my first one and this second one excites me abundantly. I truly cannot ask for anything more.

I have a lot to tell but before anything else, I would like to share my latest belly picture.

23 weeks

Oh and yes, it's another girl! My Madi is also excited to be a big sister.

Missing this and my baby...

It is almost half past 11 and both my baby and hubby are asleep which seldom happens. After putting Madi to sleep and taking a shower, I found my husband snoring so I grabbed my laptop downstairs to get some time alone. It feels so good to sit here and finally post something-  or at least just to be able to let you know that I am missing this. As we all know, when the weather is this great, we all get busy outside and that is why I have been out of touch. 

However, things have been busy but all good. Spring has just ended and now we are starting with summer. I am loving the flowers, birds, bees, butterflies… We have been visiting parks and enjoying nature. On top of everything, I am simply taking advantage of my little girl's company- I want to be with her, do many things with her, teach her, love her, get to know her more and vice versa... as she will start schooling this year. I want to prepare her and myself (wink)... I am actually missing her now (sad face)...

So my friends, I am sure you understand my absence in this realm and I hope that you all are having a good summer (or winter, spring, fall… wherever in the world you may be). Be happy, be good, be at peace. God bless and until I blog again (hopefully not too long from now).

Madi Loves Lola

 Dec 2009

"Lola" is "grandma" in our language (Filipino). My baby girl has loved my mom from the first time they met. I am not jealous to say (but proud) that she might be even fonder of Lola than me.

My girl likes to dress, talk, and move like Lola. When we go to restaurants, she orders the same food as Lola's and even if grandma is not with us, she asks me sometimes, "What do you think Lola would order or is eating right now?" As I brush her teeth last night, she says that she misses Lola. She writes letters for Lola a lot and it always says, "I love Lola very very much." It is amusingly sweet how she admires and loves my mom.

People would laugh and joke saying, "What did Lola feed Madi?" Like she gave her potion or some sort. But I know exactly why she adores Lola so much! Lola is like her second mom. Lola is her playmate, she is her friend, Lola reads to her, feeds her, takes care of her. She feels that she is truly loved by her.

I am lucky to have felt loved by my grandparents too. I have good memories with them and so I am grateful for my mom for giving my baby wonderful moments to be remembered and kept in her heart forever.

Dec 2010

Dec 2011

Getting Used To The New

I like old stuff (in general)… I try to hold on to things I like for as long as I can. These days, there's been a lot of new things going on in my life. 

Well one is this new Blogger look. I feel kind of weird writing on this new format. I was happy and used to the old one- like I can write with my eyes closed and still know which button to press (wink).

We have a new house that we've been working on a lot lately. Well we moved four months ago but it was winter time so it's only now we get to work outside (backyard and all). We're definitely happy but we cannot do away with adjustments. We have become used to living in apartments and townhouses where everything was done for us like landscaping, mowing, plowing and such. So the past couple of days, my husband and I have been working in our yard- digging, raking, cutting, and mulching. Fun doing and learning something new but truly some hard work! Oh boy, we have taken heaps of Advil the past two days!

The major new for me is in a few days, my little girl will turn 4 (this is why I can't sleep yet now). I am excited and looking forward to new milestones in her life though. I just registered her this morning for Pre-K 4 this coming September. She'll be gone for two and a half hours five days a week. Since she was born, we have ALWAYS been together. I will not deny that there are times I feel I need a time off when she's being a pain but I am used to being with her. Now I am trying to figure out what I would do with the two hours or so that she'll be gone.

Life is simply beautiful that way, I guess. Things change and all you have to do is get used to these changes. Plus, these changes are something to look forward to. Like the seasons, when it's winter, you get tired of snow that you cannot wait for summer to go to the beach and it just goes on and on- we get tired of each season as well as look forward to every season. So if you are sad now, do not dwell on it because tomorrow, there is something that will make you happy. 

Which reminds me… after all the hard work today, I will get some pampering tomorrow at the salon. Something to look forward to and a reason to sleep now. Yeepee! xox 

Heritage

One of my hobbies is scrapbooking. I have been doing photo journaling since 6th grade. Although I do not get to do it as much as I want to because of lack of time and sometimes money, I really wish I could do it everyday. I really really love taking pictures and writing about them.

When I was a lot younger, I had to limit myself from taking photos because films were expensive and having them developed as well. Now that we have digital cameras, there is no limit to taking pictures anymore but then I have more responsibilities that I cannot use a lot of my time for hobbies such as scrapbooking. However, I do take a lot of pictures of my kid of course. There is no excuse for that.

Collecting old photos is one part of  photo journaling also. A few weeks ago, my mom gave me a lot of old pictures of her and my dad's younger days. I scanned them all straight away and shared in Facebook. I love looking at them and imagining life in their generation and how fascinating it is to travel through time and experience everything they have experienced, having kids and grand kids… Old photos just makes me feel that life and the world we live in is simply amazing.


I have a whole shoe box of heritage photos and hope to one day be able to organize them in an album or scrapbook or journal and show them off.

Who Are The People in Your Neighborhood?

Coming from New York, I am used to walking everything such as the grocery, library, school, restaurants... and I miss that- as it is the contrary here in our new town in New Jersey. However, Madi and I finally managed to walk around the neighborhood one day. The houses here are way far apart from each other but it was a nice weather to be walking so off we went…

Our closest neighbor is a little church on our right side. It is a historic church, I believe. Then on the left side is just a wooded area and so the other neighbors would be behind our house.

First, we stopped by at a couple of farm lands to have a picture with the mountain top area in the background. I love looking at the houses from up there and wish I live in one of those gorgeous houses or maybe farm houses.

Then we finally met our next door neighbor (to the back of our house). I am so bad with names and it irritates me that I cannot remember the name of the lady. Anyhow, she has two sons and it's nice to know that they are close to my little girl's age. For sure they would be seeing each other in school later on and be playmates.

We walked some more and saw beautiful houses, a cow farm, and a ranch. We did not meet anymore neighbors but as we walked, people on cars passed by waving and smiling at us. I like it. It tells me that I have nice and friendly neighbors.

Here are some of our photos to delight you.

For sure I would be doing more walks in the neighborhood to get to know my new town more and take advantage and enjoy the beautiful scenery we have here.

Busy Bee

It has been nearly two weeks since my last blog. Pardon me for being a "busy bee." I have been doing A LOT of weeding. It may not look like a big progress in photos but it is for me. The weeds don't look that many in pictures but they really are a lot and some huge kinds. So that's what has kept me away from the network and many other things. It's a painful job (physically) but it's something new for me to do and I am enjoying it.

We ordered mulch and soil which will be here mid this week so I really gotta keep working on the weeds so we can apply those mulch and soil wherever they should be.

In the meantime, while we can't actually do planting yet, I am taking care of what we have on the ground now and enjoying the spring blossoms. I'm sure there'd be more coming out later on too.


Here are some blossoming photos from the front and backyards.

Don't you just love spring?

First Day of Spring

Instead of doing "spring cleaning" yesterday on the first day of spring, my girl and I went out, did/had some of our favorite things, and simply enjoyed the day.

As you know, Madi's top 1 on her list of her favorite things is books! So off we went to the mall and listened to story time at Pottery Barn Kids and read books by ourselves at Barnes & Noble. We both love soups, brownies, and mocha frappuccino so we had all that for lunch at the Starbucks inside B&N. We are on a budget but we managed to do a little shopping with some gift cards, coupons, and a little cash we had #wink. But no matter what (under budget or not), I am a very cheap shopper and I always only go for good buys #sotrue. Since we were out on the road already, we did a couple of errands and then straight to Kumon.

Days are longer now and I was happy to be able to do some gardening when we got home. There is this tree in our backyard that sort of has expanding branches and bend all the way down to the ground (no clue as to what kind of tree it is exactly yet). I thought it might be dangerous for my little girl to be playing around that tree and getting poked so I trimmed it. 

My husband was working on the grass- fertilizing it and mowing. I tried using the mower too so I could do it in times that he might be away. Surprisingly, it was not that hard at all to mow but it was indeed my first time to do it and I did not know that I should not be wearing flip flops… So stepping on the cut and some wet grass made my feet green! Believe me, I am saying all these with delight. Touching the soil, getting all muddy and dirty make me feel like a kid.


And oh, I planned to skip spring cleaning but was able to organize Madi's closet and bring out her spring clothes (tomorrow should be my closet). Plus, vacummed as well!


Hope you had a sweet first day of spring too. xoxo

Yellows = Sunshine

Story time at Pottery Barn Kids.
She also likes the play time after.

My pretty and sassy little girl.

She loves Eloise too.

Italian Wedding soup, brownie,
& mocha frap (no coffee, of course).

Love the bird cage we bought.
This is the tree I was talking about too.

Obviously, it's not a dead plant
and it has a purple flower.

Twigs I cut from the tree. 

Greeny Grassy Feet

After I cleaned up the kitchen from dinner,
I found her in her room. 

Gardening

Well as you know, we just moved to a new house with a good size backyard. As of now, status is just all grass and weeds. It needs a LOT of work, really. The weather has been getting nice and finally yesterday had the urge to buy a couple of plants and some gardening tools. Considering the few items we bought for  a start, I must say that gardening could be a pretty expensive hobby. Well maybe it would pay off once I start eating my own crops, I suppose…

We (my husband and I) also borrowed a few books from the library about gardening to educate ourselves as we are both doing this (planting, that is.) for the first time. We thought about a lot of things we would like to do with this backyard. We thought about a badminton court, swimming pool, chicken coop, pergola… just a bunch of ideas but it is definitely not feasible to do everything (it is big but not that big…). So we think that best thing to make out of it is to plant fruits and vegetable. Well I told my husband that it's not a farm but just a backyard so I also want flowers as well, not just fruits and vegetables. As per the books, it is not advisable to plant right away so this year would only be observation on the sun spots, soil condition, and proper planning.

However, like I said, I bought a couple of indoor plants yesterday: Yucca and Umbrella Tree. I transferred them to decorative pots, I experienced feeling the soil with my bare hands and I enjoyed it. It reminded me as a kid, when I played with the soil. I would put it in my toy cooking wares, mix it with water and pretended it was some soup or viand. I also remembered our garden (in the house I grew up in) which my grandfather tended. He had a green thumb and he just loved to garden. We had all kinds of plants and even orchids. I had a good couple of hours in the backyard since my baby was taking a nap. I tried to use the big garden scissors we also bought and cut some grass on one portion, pulled a few weeds out, a little cleaning… I was working but felt relaxed. My dad said that gardening is therapeutic and he is right. I feel that if I really do this, it will be helpful to my well-being. I also hope that this would be a hobby that my husband and I can share and have that healthy quality time together.

Here are just some photos from yesterday:

Umbrella Tree & Yucca

Gardening Books

Found myself uploading The Home Depot app...

Saw this planter in the front yard while
cleaning. I don't know what this is but a
friend said it might be hyacinth.
Would you know?

It is nice and sunny again today. I shall take pictures of every corner of the yard and share it with you later plus the landscape idea we have in mind.

Have a happy day!

Signs of Spring

Winter has been kind this year. We have lived in apartment/townhouse type of places where everything was done for us such as plowing and mowing. It is our first time to live in a "real" house and experience doing our own garbage, fixing broken pipes and the likes. We prepared for big time snow: bought a blower, boots and all but so lucky to have not been able to use them (or yet). At least we have more time to prep our energy for the next winter season.

The past three consecutive days were gorgeous! 70's baby! Madi had a blast playing in the backyard and wearing skirts. Here are our Instagram photos.

Floral Printed Flats

Poser

When she swings she likes to shout,
"Best day ever!"

Signs of Spring

Plants Getting Sunshine

Happy Bird

Sunshine

I certainly enjoyed them too. I am thankful for the beautiful weather and hope it will continue until the official last day of winter.


Today is looking pretty sunny too but not as warm as the past few days (Kind of chilly in the 40's). We plan to stay indoor: do our chores, homework, and think of fun crafts. Wishing you a fruitful day, lots of love and peace in your heart.

Today In NYC

Today, we drove to NY to drop off my dad to the airport, JFK. We thought it was a chance to stroll around the city since we were there already. 

First, we wanted to visit The Museum of Moving Image but when we got there, we thought we would just go back another time when we have all day or more time, rather. I will definitely bring Madi there soon because it is one of my favorite things in Queens.

Jon wanted to check out a store in Manhattan so off we went. I got some cheap photo adhesives for my scrapbooking from Adorama in 18th Street (which made me happy). Along that same street were a number of paper/novelty shops that I also love. I could just walk around there all day… One of my dreams is to have a novelty shop of my own. I am not a business woman so that might never be a reality but imagining myself owning and managing some kind of paper store makes me smile. 

Then of course, we had to visit Books of Wonder to make the stroll worthwhile for my little girl- she loves bookstores too. To our delight, the famous skater, Kristi Yamaguchi was there for signing! (This would be Madi's third book signing.) I always have fun bringing my girl to bookstores and read her books. Having a cupcake and hot cocoa is really just secondary (wink).

We definitely miss all the yummy restaurants in China Town so we had to get dinner and buy some more to go. That roasted duck wasn't enough for me (sad face)- I want more… (burp). 

It was a pretty swell day in New York today but so not happy driving every time I am there. There is just  never a time a New York driver honks on me. Come on, it is Sunday, so what is the hurry? 

JFK Airport

Washington Square

NYC Downtown

Books of Wonder

With Kristi Yamaguchi

Everyday Blessings

Awhile back, I said that I would make it a habit to be grateful for every little good thing that comes my way each day. I forget some days but today, these are the things I am thankful for.

* for the nice people in the neighborhood. Madi and I went to the PO and every single personu inside that we have encountered were helpful and friendly. It simply made my day.

* for the yummy Korean lunch we had. Plus the additional fact that I did not have to cook;)

* for being able to color 3 heads today- dad's, Jon's, and mine:) Yeah... we all have to now... Getting old:)

* for the nice chairs my dad painted for me. I am lucky to have my dad around to help Jon and I make and fix stuff in our new home. He has really done a lot in our house since we moved.

* for being able to prepare salad for dinner. It's not easy to eat healthy for us;)

* that Madi was able to do her Kumon homework good today. There are times when we struggle for concentration but we had all that today. She initiated to do it and she did it by herself. I just had to check afterwards. So proud of her.

* to hear from my mom and that she's feeling better now. I love my parents and I truly hope they still stay strong and healthy for a long time.

There is more but my baby is now asleep and I am thankful that I too can go to bed as well.

It feels good to think about each blessings you receive each day, don't you think so? No matter how bad your day was, I am sure that there would always be at least one thing to still be happy and grateful for. Let's all make this a daily practice! God bless everyone! :)

Togetherness

It has been very cold here in New Jersey and I have been down with cough and cold for almost two weeks now and still busy with my normal routines at home as a mom, wife, and daughter. My Dad's been with us for sometime now helping us settle nicely in our new home. Yes, I am very lucky to have such a father.

I treasure every moment I spend with all my love ones- my family and friends. Last week, a friend from our old neighborhood in New York visited us. A mother and daughter (Jasz and Jael) just like Madi and I whom we used to have playdates with. Just like every relationship I treasure, I love this friendship we've built with this other mom and daughter team. Madi and I had a lot of fun having them with us again after a long time.

The two girls have not seen each other for almost a year but they hit it off at once. One whole day was not even enough for them (neither for us moms). Jael wanted to sleep over (hopefully next time) and she said to her mom, "… but we're having so much fun…" It especially amused me watching them talk to each other and play. It seemed just like yesterday when they both just stayed in their strollers and sleep while Jasz and I happily chat at coffee shops.

I compiled our photos and videos last week. Plus another slideshow of photos of me and Madi a few days before. I hope you too enjoy your togetherness with the people in your lives as much as I do.

2/9/2012

2/3/2012

Together Again

My little girl and I have a ritual of going to book stores, libraries, and bakeries/coffee shops at least twice a week. It has been our thing for so long (since she was even less that 1 year old). But since mid December (because we got so busy with the moving and all that), we have not had time to bond just the two of us. Most of the time, daddy's been "working from home" and we've been having grandma and grandpa over most days as well since they have been helping us settle in our new home (not that I'm complaining about that part).

Today, we finally got to spend time together again! Dad could not afford to join us while lola (grandma) & lolo (grandpa) were just still on the way to us. So we went to Barnes&Noble and Starbucks. Hung out and read a few.

Here she was, holding her bag of books we bought.

I can tell that she enjoyed our short and swell time with each other and so did I:) Hopefully we can go back to our routine soon.

Home Improvement

We moved in our new house three days before Christmas. Considering this, we still managed to put up a tree, lights on the porch, and have Christmas Eve party at home. Well of course we would not have done it without my father's help. It was mostly him who did the packing and unpacking. Then my brother and mom arrived on the 23 and we got more help with carrying of furnitures in the house and cleaning up.

After the holidays, we did more home improvements (again, with my dad's handiness) and we're still on it. Here are some photo updates…

Welcome!

Can't wait to plant outside & give
the house a nice look.

Our living room needs a couple of nice chairs
on the empty side, area rug, & coffee table.

In search for a nice mirror to fit this
foyer table.

Our kitchen. 

We turned one room on the first floor into a
media room.

Another side of the media room.

The hallway upstairs.

Patio. I could picture Jon & I getting old
in this house.

Big backyard! We got a lot of planting to do
next season… :)

Our bedrooms, bathrooms, office, and porch are either pretty empty or too messy at this time to show off. There's definitely a lot of room for improvement but we're doing it one day at a time and... according to budget (of course). I might need to actually go get a job to make it faster #wink.

However, my family and I are enjoying our new home and we are now building wonderful memories in it which is the most important thing.

Thank you for stopping by and love one another!