It's Gabby's 7th Birthday!

I got supercalifragilisticexpialidocious-ly busy last weekend until today! Wonderfully busy, that is!

It’s Gabby’s 7th birthday yesterday, January 25. We really wanted to celebrate it in Jollibee or McDonalds but our finances didn’t let us so we had to celebrate at home.

We went to Divisoria last Saturday to buy give-aways and to the grocery to buy the ingredients for the food the following day. It was very tiring!

Come Sunday, I went again to the grocery to buy the items we lack. The first grocery we went to on Saturday was, I think, about to close down their business so there were few items on the shelves. I also dropped by Goldilocks to get the cake we ordered.

Pre-birthday celebration pose: Gabby at 7, Sunday at 5

Cooking the food all by myself is also tiring but I enjoyed it!
When the guests came and were served, I had to sneak out and go to a client’s office to pick up the files they left at the lobby guard. I remembered I have to get them so I can finish their design requirements! (My memory served me right yesterday! Odd!)

Gabby doing the now-getting-famous Coke sign

"Whose birthday is it really?" :)

And today, I did mini-pizzas and hotdog-on-sticks for Gabby’s classmates, upon his request. I noticed that when birthday celebrants treat them with spaghetti, almost all of them have left-over. So I opted for finger foods. And it was a success! Almost all of them asked for seconds and thirds. :)They also liked his give-away: a whistle with a balloon on the end. The whistle blows when the kids release the air from the balloon.

From the classroom...

to the playground, the kids enjoyed their toy!

I am really dead tired today. But seeing the happy faces who ate the food and the pot of pasta sauce with only the small bits of ground pork left, saying goodbye to guests with take-home food (which can mean they want the food you made), the happy faces of Gabby’s classmates while playing with their new simple toy, overhearing Gabby’s classmate tell her mommy, “ Mommy, it should have been the food on my birthday!”---takes out all the tiredness away. All the effort was well worth it. :)

Happy 7th Birthday, Gabby! I love you so much! May God bless you always!

Zzzzzzzzz.....

I don’t want my kids to “inherit” my sleeping habit.
As what I’ve mentioned here, sleep is a luxury I cannot afford to have all the time. So when I doze off, it’s a house rule that no one disturbs me, not even when the bill collector is already at the front door and the money is with me! :)
I know how important sleep is to my kids and I’ll do anything to let them have most of it. It will help them grow faster and smarter and be always in the right mood. A sleepless child is a grumpy child, right?
I chanced upon Johnson's Baby Nursery. It evaluated my kids’ sleeping habits when they were young and based on the results, my kids’ sleep habits are just normal. So that means, more eye shut for me too that time!
Here are the results on their sleep when they were aged -2 years old.

Gabby's Sleep Profile: Normal

Sunday's Sleep Profile: Excellent

Also, Sleep For Kids is a website that help us know more about sleep and its benefits. It also has games and activities that your child can do to help them understand the importance of sleep better, bedtime stories (about sleep, of course!), sleep diary and other stuff that will surely help us get more Zzzzz time!
I think I need this more! :) Happy sleeping to me later!

PS: The contest on the J&J site is already finished.

Kids' Fun Visit at the Hospital

Gabby and Sunday's paternal grandfather was admitted to the hospital for cardiac arrhythmia last week. The kids wanted to visit their Lolo so we went there on the second day. To my surprise, the hospital has a no-kids-aged-7-below admittance policy. I had to beg the guard to let us go in. But to no avail. Alas, I saw the Security Head and I immediately asked him to let us enter. Seeing my daughter looking very eager to enter the building, he said yes! We just had to walk our way to the room as quietly and as “camouflaged” :) as we can.

As advised, the nurses should not see Sunday in the room. So we hid her inside the restroom and beside the side table. She had fun hiding that whenever someone knocked on the door, she would hide anywhere she could duck into, including the closet! But we didn’t let her linger there, of course!
Surely, they had fun playing Knock and Hide!

Who says hospital visits aren't fun? Btw, the grandfather came home the day after our visit and recuperated fast to play and visit the kids.

Stinky Spidey: A Picture Strip by Gabby

My kids are really Spiderman fanatics!
My daughter already watched its three movies several times and she just doesn’t get tired of them. She loves wearing the costume, whenever she feels like it.
My son loves to play with his Spiderman toy because of its movable body parts. Last Saturday, he took pics of it using his daddy’s cellphone. His shots were good so his daddy decided to make a comic strip out of them. Here it is: (click to enlarge)
We support our kids' love for picture taking. It teaches them color combination, composition and story telling at an early age!

Sunday's 5th Birthday Blast

Here are the pics from Sunday's 5th birthday last January 4. We just invited her playmates and cousins but we didn't expect it would be a blast! The pics may not show it but just look at Sunday's smile: one proof that she enjoyed her day to the point of changing her dress to a Spiderman costume to show off!

New Year, New Beginnings

“New Year's Day is every man's birthday.”- Charles Lamb

New Year means new hopes and new beginnings for all of us.
Though there is a worldwide financial crisis right now, I still believe that our faith in God and ourselves will see us through. I have listed some New Year’s resolutions which I’m very determined to do, no matter what. I really think some are difficult to do but I’ll still do them anyway! (Clue: weight management! lol)

I’m also giving a new look* to my blog. I always wanted to do this but just didn’t have the time. Why I used orange? I love red and any color that has hues of it!
Orange is vibrant and denotes energy and warmth. It is also a color of summer and I love summer! It is a citrus color which denotes good health---one of my prayers for my family this year!

Happy 2009 to all of us!!!

*credit to Scrapbook Flair for the butterfly images

PSI Volunteers at Missionaries of Charity

This isn’t telling the right hand what the left hand is doing.

This is just to remind myself to do outreach at least once a year! I’m really determined to do this! The spirit of volunteerism has been with me, but sometimes my work and my family hinders me from doing so. I’ve always wanted to help others, especially kids.

I was Sunday School teacher to 4-8 year old kids for many years and I miss doing that. :(

Anyway, now that 2009 is approaching, I promise that I will share more of myself and my skills and talents to others especially the ones that need them most---less fortunate children!

Anyway, these are the pics from PSI Outreach last December 13, 2008. I attended the Leadership seminar last June and PSI admin asked those who attended the seminars for volunteers on this outreach. I immediately said yes. I only have to be there and help with the distribution of food and gifts to the kids. No sweat! :D (That’s what I thought: the sun was determined to roast us that day and the makeshift shade was a little help. Anyway, I enjoyed the day!)

PSI volunteers

Kids at Missionaries of Charity---all 900 of them!

Posed with Anselm, a native of India,
who I talked with for almost an hour!

Missionaries of Charity is located in Tayuman, Manila and they can be reached at telephone number (632) 252-3870.

My Hands Were Busy

I never thought this would come so soon. My 6 year old son told me, when I asked him why he wouldn’t let me kiss him especially when we were in school, “I’m all grown up. My classmates would see you giving me a kiss…” I got surprised when he said that. But I followed his answer up with a question: “What’s wrong with me kissing you?” But he was not able to reply as his classmates started coming in. I left the room feeling sad and kind of confused. I wanted to hug and kiss my kids always and let them know that I love them so much.

When I picked him up after school, he explained the reason. He said most of his classmates were brought to school by nannies so it’s expected that they won’t kiss their nannies, and vise versa. So it’s a bit embarrassing for them to be kissed in public because only a few do it there. Ahh, I’m relieved and convinced this time. He just doesn’t want PDA (lovers, as if! lol). I find his explanation reasonable because when we are in our house, he is very loving and would always ask me to lie beside him before he dozes off during siesta and nighttime.

Tonight, as he sleeps, I watch him and I thought, he really has grown up! How time flies! I miss my baby boy! And it saddens me to think that he may someday let go of me---which will surely happen. He will spread his wings and do whatever he wants to, go to places he wishes to visit, etc. Hah…but for now, I will try my best to give all the time and love I can give, for someday, he will be too busy with other things. I will make sure that he doesn’t forget to give Mommy a kiss, even if it means giving it on the way to school, when none of his classmates are looking! *wink* And I will make sure that I will not own the poem below someday. I’m posting this so I will always remember to have time for my kids, kiss or no kiss! :D

My Hands Were Busy

My hands were busy throughout the day
I didn't have much time to play
The little games you asked me to.
I didn't have much time for you.

I'd wash your clothes, I'd sew and cook,
But when you'd bring your picture book
And ask me please to share your fun,
I'd say: "A little later, son."

I'd tuck you in all safe at night
And hear your prayers, turn out the light,
Then tiptoe softly to the door...
I wished I'd stayed a minute more.

For time is short, the years rush past...
A little boy grows up so fast.
No longer is he at your side,
His precious secrets to confide.

The picture books are put away,
There are no longer games to play,
No goodnight kiss, no prayers to hear...
That all belongs to yesteryear.

My hands, once busy, now are still.
The days are long and hard to fill.
I wish I could go back and do
The little things you asked me to.

Author Unknown

Yahoo! I won again!!!

My kids and I went to Philippine Daily Inquirer Office to get the prizes I won in the PDI-Madagascar 2 online contest. Yes, I won again!

Our loot

Gabby and Sunday received their Madagascar books and t-shirt (which fits me, so I think I will be the one to wear it!) from Ched Sarthou, the Product Officer of Inquirer Interactive Inc. They were so delighted that new books were added to their bookshelf! I would have to brace myself though for some storytelling and book reading later!

Sofitel Swimming Pool All To Ourselves!

I am posting our day at Sofitel last December 7, 2008. The kids literally had the pool to themselves!