Twinkie Calls

Lovely Like That

2011-02-14T23:45:00.004Z

Mushy Alert... Come on! Keep reading! ;D

I had a short but sweet morning with Jose as he had to leave for work really early. He promised he would come home and celebrate Valentine's day on Wednesday. It was fine before I checked our facebook's news feed... when I went to Mia's room, I think I shed a little tear. :) I miss him.

As soon as Mia opened her eyes, I gave her a goodmorning-sunshine-happy-valentine's-day-greeting. She hugged me back and said sorry because she didn't know it's Valentine's day and innocently asked if it would last until after school time. :D (I made her a little card and placed it in her lunchbag).

I went to preschool as I was "relief staff" for the day. After three hours, I got six missed calls from Jose. He didn't know I have work. As soon as I called him, he kept asking if I'm ok. I asked back (annoyed) if there should be a reason for me to be more than ok. He said he would call back after he eats...

He called back and asked about his phone charger. I got irritated for I could not bare not to talk to him for a couple of days should he really forgot... I even teased him he might come home only because he left it. I checked all sockets but no charger. He wanted me to check our bed because he might have placed it there. First check, no charger. Second check, I 'm in panic mode. Third check I saw something that's not supposed to be on our bed...

He just "had me at hello". There sat the biggest Valentine's card (err... book?) I could possibly get my hands on. I also got perfume that made me wish all the more for Jose to be home for the night... We were both laughing giddily like teenagers. Kulet!!!

As for Mia's reaction with her card, she said she really got surprised and felt really loved. Of course she made cards for us too. But as soon as she saw my HUGE card, she got curious what I gave Jose... Some jealous girl!!!

Valentine's day for me, is not like everyday. I mean, what is one extraordinary day to make your special someone or the special people in your life feel really extraordinary? Throw in the flowers, throw in the chocolates... So what if they don't last long? It's always the thought that counts! Besides, flowers are pretty and chocolates are yummy. Honestly, who wouldn't want those? :)

Jose, me hunny, that gesture really made my day. I am so much looking forward to seeing you Wednesday. Mahal na mahal kita. Thank you for my 2011 Valentine's Day.

Mahal Na Mahal Kita (I Love You So Much)

2011-01-25T20:00:00.004Z

No this is not a Valentine entry. I just thought it's funny (and sweet) how my interpretation skills worked out with Mia as I tuck her to bed an hour ago. It went like this:

Mia: Mom, I'm ready for my lullaby. Can you sing mahall na mahall kita first?

Me: Ok. Mahal, mahal na mahal kita, ang puso ko'y sa'yong-sayo asahan mo ito...

Mia: Mom, what's seyowng, seyowng? And hasahan?

Me: Mia, say'ong-sayo means it's all yours and asahan, not hasahan, means you can count on it.

Mia: Mom! If you give me your heart (she knows what puso in Filipino is already) I'll have two, then you'll have zero, then you'll die!!! I don't want your heart Mommy!

Me: Mia sorry it's not really what those words mean. It's just saying that I can give anything to you because that's how much I love you. Like I'd save you from anything that would or could hurt you...

Can we have two or three more like you? :)

Mia: Mom, I will never ever want you to die because no one can ever be my Mom. You are the only Mom I want to have, ever! You are the best cook and you are the softest to cuddle! (Ginawa niya po akong teddy bear...) I will never be in danger. I would not want you to save me ever. Because if you die. I will cry and cry and cry and I'll die too.

Me: Oh Mia... (Naiiyak na ako...) Mahal, mahal na mahal kita hindi ito magbabago, asahan mong nandito lang mommy mo.

Mia: Mahall na mahall din kita Mommy.

Haaay! Ang sarap maging Nanay! I can only imagine how bedtime would be when there are three or four little Golosinos I have to put to sleep...

And yeah... I pray she'll say the same things when she's fifteen. ;)

There She Goes # 19

2010-12-09T22:11:00.002Z

Mia and her bestfriend Nicole with Mr. Ho! Ho! Ho!

That's Mia last Friday, trying to be at her best after she's been hit by flu and ear infection. Of the couple of weeks she's been down, I never heard her complain about anything. She would drink medicine and follow every order I make beacuse she wanted to attend a friend's birthday party... that unfortunately, she still missed. Then I thought for her to miss Father Christmas' presence at Ashbrook is cruel. So I let her go to school even if I was not very confident... And boy! Was it worth it!

Flash forward... that gift she was holding is still sitting very pretty under our Christmas tree, with wrapping paper of course. While having dinner, she suddenly went to the tree and held the present and said...

Mia: Mommy! I am so excited to see what Father Christmas got for me!!!

For your information, Mia wanted a monkey from Build-A-Bear Workshop. But the other Father Christmas made Christmas shopping for Mia too early. Therefore... no monkey. To continue, as Mia sizes up the present...

Mia: Mom, you think I'll like what's inside?

Grumpy Mommy: Mia, put that down, go back here and eat your food.

Mia: Sorry Mom. You know I think I'll like it. And I would really like any present I will get because that only means I am remembered. Isn't it Mom?

Grumpy Mommy: Yes. It doesn't matter what you receive as long as you are remembered. Now, eat some more.

Mia: Mom, it really doesn't matter what I get because I think I got the best gifts.

Grumpy Mommy: What? Huh? Please eat your food.

Mia: I got you... and Dad. You are both enough.

Mommy NO MORE Grumpy: Oh. Thanks Mia. That's really sweet. Please drink your juice.

So, what do you think? Does Mia really deserve a monkey? :)

Heaven

2010-12-08T11:33:00.001Z

While I was walking home, after I brought Mia to school, I was doing my prayers. Suddenly, the very white gloomy scene around me changed to something else. It was as if I was in a movie of some sort. The place suddenly looked glowing. After a few seconds, I found myself touching my back, my arms, my face... because I thought I was dead. Probably hit by a car as I crossed the road... The feeling was just unreal but very peaceful.

As I got home, I wanted to call Jose right away, but he called first. I talked to him and confirmed if he could hear me clearly. I was still thinking (very silly) that everything for me is "the end".

After the call, I sat down thinking of all the house chores that I am about to do. I decided to do hoovering. I popped my earphones and listened to Katy Perry and Bruno Mars. (They are fantastic, phenomenal artists.) Still, I can't believe how happy I am thinking of the "glow" I just experienced. After the hoovering, I turned on the fairy lights of our Christmas tree. I sat beside it and felt so relaxed. Relax is sooo not me. I don't turn on fairy lights in the morning... more sit beside it.

Now, I decide to write as I cannot contain the feeling anymore... I am in love!

I can't stop thinking about Jose. Uhmmm... no our anniversary has gone past, it's not his birthday and it's definitely not yet Christmas. I can't stop feeling grateful about everything that he has done for our little family; the thriftness, the discipline, the direction he has given to my life. He is just unbelievable.

Then I guess I am more in love by how our God planned everything for us so perfectly. He has written our love story and I am excited to know what happens next. I would also like to know how all the interesting people around us would play their part... Anyway... I hope the sudden glow was just His way of making my day ~~scary~~ exciting.

That's it for me. I am off to folding clothes, living the "teenage dream" without the skin tight jeans, continuing to experience my definition of heaven.

There She Goes # 18

2010-10-04T12:00:00.011+01:00

Last Thursday, on our way home from school...

Mia: Mom! My badge! My badge is gone!

Me: A badge? A sticker?

Mia: It's like a sticker but it's shiny and special. Aw! I can no longer put it on my door...

Me: That's alright Mia. You just do what you have to do to have that sticker again.

Upon opening her bookbag...

Me: Mia!!! You got a certificate!

Mia: Yeah, but I really want you to see my badge Mom.

Now getting curious about that "badge"...

Me: Don't worry Mia, maybe if you keep practicing your keywords you may have more of it.

Mia: Oh... That's ok Mom. it doesn't matter.

Me: Aw... alright go change clothes now...

After 5 mintues...

Mia: MOM!!! I FOUND THE BADGE!!! Yippee!!!

Of course you know what happened next... Picture time!

Early Years Baby

The Certicicate

The " Badge"

After a few minutes... the bin's lid made a loud thud.

Me: Mia, where's the sticker? I thought you want to put it on your door.

Mia: I don't want it anymore. It would not stick.

Me: We can use sticky tape?

Mia: Mom... please. I.don't.want.it.anymore. (Whispers) It's just a badge.

Unbelievable! Honestly, I did not know what to say. Except that I am very proud of what's in the certificate especially the "listens" part. :) Well, there goes my Mia. : ) She's four, she's started reception (and on her fourth week now) and she's loving every bit of her stay in her new school.

*keywords - are words printed in small board papers brought home from school for early years students to be familiarized with.

reception/early years - in the Philippines this would be like junior kinder, kinder A or kinder 1.

Of Sugar, Wood, Garnet and Calla Lillies

2010-09-30T16:51:00.000+01:00

I remember having this blog as a 4^th year anniversary gift to Jose. Now, I feel bad I have not been updating like how I used to erm... not updating at all pala. J

My blog got mixed up with a smartphone site which used my name when I forgot to repay my domain. I am not flattered in any way, just deeply annoyed that I can’t get through the know-how of web jargons. I hope I am not yet stuck.

So, what's up with the title? Today marks our 6^th year anniversary. And the traditional gift, modern symbol, flower and gemstone associated with the 6th year are the ones in this post's title. Hmmm... I am pretty sure wood was covered today as our windows and doors made of wood were replaced with UPVc. Wait... that doesn't make a very good analogy. J Alright, I'm gonna make this short as I have to clean up the whole mess our new windows and doors made.

Anyway, I did a little something that must be under sugar because I find this something too sweet!!! Hahaha! (Ooops... not funny ei?) Oh well, I know someone who would laugh just beacause...

Jose, my angel, this is for you...

Father's Day 2010

2010-06-20T00:01:00.004+01:00

To our family's favorite DAD... this is for you.

Happy father's day to all the fathers of our lives - from my Lolo to my father-in-law, my one and only brother-in-law, my uncles and uncles-in-law, my friends who were given the blessing to experience the magic of fatherhood, my daddy blogmates and all of my mommy blogmates' husbands, and to everyone who has taken the role of what being a real father is all about.

May this day remind us and bring us back to the role model of all fathers... look up and give thanks. God bless you! =)

Sweetest Thing

2010-05-09T22:49:00.002+01:00

After having the laziest day and heaviest (literally) feeling to date, I just asked Mia out of nowhere before she slept...

Me: Mia, what do you want to become when you grow up?

Mia: I want to be a Mom just like you.

I almost cried.

I can't help but blog and brag about it.

Testing...

2010-03-03T11:28:00.002Z

Finally, wala nang may sakit o nilalagnat sa aming tatlo.

Finally, tapos na ang mga plantsahin ko... :)

March na!!!

From The Golosinos to You!

2009-12-19T11:29:00.001Z

Definitely a Treat

2009-10-29T10:51:00.001Z

Mia has never gone trick or treating. But on Saturday, I made sure she'll have a nice treat (this also serves as a pre-birthday gift for her.) I've booked tickets as early as February?! Then we'll go to Denden's after the show just to say boo! It would be her 30th birthday tomorrow, also the 30th of this month! How cool! So I'd like to greet her a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY in advance. Hug you soon dear. :)

I have been waaay occupied (by Farmville and Pet Society) and for some reasons (Farmville and Pet Society), I can't blog. I know a lot of you (especially my Mama together with Ate Twinkle, Angeli, my cousins...) misses my stories so I guess here's a start.

Jose and I have been blessed with friends who are members of Couples For Christ. And for the past couple of months, our nine weekends were booked as we attended the CFC's Christian Life Program. Then, as cliché as it may sound, our lives have never been the same again. Oh yes! :D This new lifestyle that we have was embraced more when we accepted our household heads/very good friends' offer to be the Youth For Christ couple coordinator for Milton Keynes. I would just probably do entries about this journey on my other blog.

By the way, our CFC experience, was backed with another blessing as we joined a Filipino community called MK Pinoy. Just imagine how our weekends changed from three Golosinos to groups of Filipinos! God is so g-e-n-e-r-o-u-s.

Basically, that's really it for me. (Farmville and Pet Society). :D

I've been itching to join memes specifically Mommy Moments, to do some catch-ups but that would be very ambitious, I guess. This would be like how it was during my first blogging months, nangangapa at naghahabol.

Now here's to hoping to be back for good and to blog hop asap.

May you all have a safe Halloween and All Saints Day. Peace!

Our 5th Anniversary

2009-09-30T10:40:00.002+01:00

How do you celebrate your 5th wedding anniversary when most of your countrymen are mourning? How can you think straight when you’ve heard and read about families devastated? And how can you say life must go on to a Filipino who just lost one?

I fall to my knees and look up – to praise and honor, ask for forgiveness, give thanks that our families in Malabon were spared and beg for mercy with a whole nation. Then I need to stand again and do something... As Father Joe of Our Lady of Lourdes in Coffee Hall said in his homily two weeks ago, "When someone is sick, praying is really important but doing something to ‘actually help’ is another." I am humbled by all the Facebook messages coming even if they literally made me sick because of weariness. I still continued reading all Ondoy related shout outs and videos then found myself staring nowhere. Because I’ve got but a few in my Paypal… And when I hit the Red Cross online donation link, the transaction would not go through. I tried four times and choked laughing that maybe the amount I entered was too small. Or maybe I was just plain ignorant. Ha! Talk about feeling helpless. (I'm just relieved I have a husband who's in IT)!

I tried very hard to look on the brighter side.

It is also very hard to say something without being judged, talk about something that’s not your expertise, express empathy over something you have not experienced but I can’t shut it you know.

The brighter side I reckon is the Filipinos’ unyielding faith in God. I was proven yet again that He is all we shall ever need. I share to you, Psalm 23:4 as it was written - Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me...

I may not have experienced waiting to be rescued on the roof of my house, losing my family over drowning or getting mud off our ceiling and more but I would also always know and depend on God. Our little family has gone through many trials and obstacles for five years now, I wish not to compare the gravity of what we had and as a matter of fact, still having but clinging on my faith is fairly logical but losing it almost would be the scariest of all. Now, with a country who never forgot to say, “Patawarin niyo po kami Panginoon, Salamat po Panginoon, Tulungan ninyo po kami Panginoon”, I will always be reassured that indeed no matter what, everything is going to be okay.

So how shall I express gratuity of five years of being married to the man I always have dreamed about without being thick?

I quote, our first and dearest friends in Milton Keynes, the Escaños, particularly Ate Cech as she texted very early this morning: "Happy Anniversary Twinkie and Jose! May this day remind you the gift of lifetime partnership that our Great God blessed you with. May you continue to see your purpose as a couple and as a family.” Oh! I could have never said it better. Thank you very much. I have never been in so much peace my dear friends. As a couple, we may have had our share of love quarrels as bad as a typhoon but it is only these days that we truly included God in the middle of it all (shame but true) and what calm He really brings.

Jose and I have been thinking where, what, when and how are we to spend our 5th and if I was the same as I was four years ago, I could have died of tantrums. But no. I am just so grateful that I started the day hugging my one true love reminded that with him, we are very blessed in so many ways that I could not really ask for anything more.

Now to put a soft note on this anniversary entry, I would like to share a very heartwarming but cute exchange of what nots with Mia when I was saving some high school and college pictures that I’ve seen through Facebook and some other sites...

Me: Mia, let’s play a game! Can you find Mommy in the pictures that I’ll show?

Mia: Oh yes! Yes! Yes!

Me: The first one is this.

Mia: You’re uhm… the one in stripey yellow! So many of your friends like stripes too. Hihi!

Me: Haha! I know! We like stripes. Haha! What about this.

Mia: Mom! You’re the one in red and this is Ninang Twinkle! Why is her hair very short?

Me: So our friends will not get confused. :D And she really looks beautiful in short hair isn't it?Wow! You’re good in this! What about here.

Mia: You are the tallest girl! Mom, you have make up?

Me: Haha! Yes. Your Aunt Zara did it. Mommy does not know how to put on make up.

Mia: Where is Aunt Zara? Can she put make up on me too?

Me: I’ll show you later anak. Yes, maybe we can ask her on December? :D Now in this last photo, where am I?

Mia: You’re in grey!!! You are very pretty Mom.

Me: Really? What about her? (Pointing at Regine Velasquez).

Mia: She's pretty too but you are prettier!

Me: Haha! Love you anak! :D

Mia: I love you too Mom.

Me: Very good Mia. I’m really happy that you got it all right. Oh! Those were the days when Mom was still young and I was really slim isn’t it? Now… Mommy is...

Mia: Now, you are... my Dad’s wife! And we are a very happy family because we are all best friends! Yey!!!

And wouldn't I always want to be her Dad’s wife ei?

Hun, happy anniversary. Let's have the "chill" we always talk about later. Here’s to many many more to come!

Peace and God bless us all.

There She Goes # 17

2009-09-17T16:25:00.011+01:00

Treasured Photos

I am not sure if it's just me but choosing photos for this week's theme is quite hard!!! I have so many favorites or treasured photos of Mia and if you've been reading my blog for quite some time now, you'd probably notice that I seldom repeat posting posted photos. And so these ones I've chosen are the most recent and of course all are very much treasured. Why? Let me tell you in details...

The first set is a proof of Mia's bravery when it comes to injections. Since her first booster shot, she never really cried. She shows pain, yes. But for her, it literally is just an ant's bite.

As soon as we entered the clinic this is how the experience went:

Nurse 1: Hello Mrs. Golosino, hello Mia! Mommy, (whispering now) does she know she's having shots today?

Me: No. (Bad Mom I know).

Nurse 2: She'll be having (whispering again) two shots today MMR II and the Dip...Polio...Whooping cough booster. If you could please put her on your lap putting her free arm under your arm...

Mia: Mom, are they putting eye drops?

Me: No, they are going to give you two booster shots one in each arm.

Nurse 1 and 2 got quite shocked with Mommy's frankness. I asked the nurse where their stickers are to help distract Mia while they were on it. First shot...

Mia: Oh! That tickles Mom!

Me: Yeah! That's my girl. Good job sweetie!

Mia: Mom, promise me there'll be no eye drops please?

Me: (Anak, seryoso ka ba?) No Mia just one more shot.

Next shot...

Mia: Oooh! That was just like an ant's bite Mom!

Me: Yes, now choose a sticker...

And as Mia made her choice...

Mia: Nurses, I know I am brave but two shots for a day is really quite enough. Good bye and thank you.

Nurse 1 and 2: Good bye brave little girl, you've been brilliant! See you when you're 14!

That was about lunch time and even if I don't give her sweets before meals, I shoved the whole bag of Buttons to her on our way home. I was just too proud!!! So proud, that I have to take "shots" too. :D

Right and Left! :)

Indeed!!!

Now the next set is what has been eating me nowadays... Mia's preschool days start at 9:15 - 11:45. I had to wake up as early as 6:15 am to prepare for Jose's breakfast. Without a nap in between and as soon as Jose leaves for work, Mia and I would have to eat breakfast then we have to take our showers too. Mia has been an angel when it comes to waking up and I owe part of it to Heart; Mia's virtual pet in Pet Society, one of Facebook's many fun apps. So...where was I? Yes, these are some of her photos during her first week in preschool. Of course, it's a moment not to be missed, thus will always be treasured.

Because I know that we'll have a photo session that day, I reserved 15 precious mintues just for this:

Our lovely preschooler. :)

Preppy look! :)

2nd day and looking fab! :D

Her third day was fun, fun, fun until she fell on her knees on our way home...

I only took this photo to show Jose how nakakaawa Mia was... But I thought I'd still post it and would still consider this a treasured photo because it's one proof that I was needed. Sniff... sniff...

I would have taken photos of her on her fourth and final day of the first preschool week but she would not cooperate anymore because she could not smile with three booboos daw. Haha!

Anyway, the last set would be about our study time. After dinner, for a minimum of one hour, Mia has to "study." I just can't believe that on our first night, she did really really well. Zoom in to know what I mean.

Smart Girl!

Well that's it for me. I am sure that you too have loads to share. Go and put your entry here. Good day everyone! God bless!

~o~

Now special thanks to our sponsors... Lola Weng and Ninong Biboy, thank you very much for all these beautiful tights and maxi dresses. Mia would now have enough to wear until next year! :D

"Lola Weng, really knows what I want and need Mom!" What treasures! :D

High Time...

2009-09-17T13:40:00.003+01:00

...to apologize to co-bloggers for not being able to post awards and tags given/assigned to me and to say thank you so much for remembering and still keeping in touch...

Here are some of my additional blogging blessings (arranged alphabetically just like our Farmville trees):

given by Chris

Rules:1. Include the award logo in your blog or post.2. Nominate as many blogs which you like.3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.4. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.5. Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received your award.

given by Cee

Rules: 1. Post Award on your Blog together with the name and the URL of the person who granted it.2. Pass the Award to 15 other Blogs that you have just discovered as great ones.3. Contact the Bloggers to let them know that they have been chosen to receive the Award.

given by Seiko

given by Cee and Seiko

given by Kero

given by Chris

All these awards, I would like to share with Ate Pinky, Denden, and Cheche.

~0~

The Other Half

tagged by: Enchie, Seiko and Yaying (Thank you very much! I enjoyed doing this).

1. He's sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen? BBC or CNN
2. You're out to eat, what kind of dressing does he get on his salad? He does not eat salad.
3. What's one food he doesn’t like? Lettuce

4. You go out to eat and have a drink, what does he order? Drink alcoholic - San Miguel or Stella Artois, Non-alcoholic - Coke
5. What shirt size does he have? Medium or Large, depends on the brand
6. What shoe size does he have? UK 7.5
7. What is his favorite type of sandwich? Mcdo’s Double Cheeseburger and Subway’s Meatballs Marinara with Double Cheese
8. What would he eat everyday if he could? Sinigang
9. What is his favorite cereal? Coco Pops’ Mega Munchers

10. What would he never wear? Any jewelry besides his watch
11. What is his favorite sports team? Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
12. Who did he vote for? If he could (because he’s of minor age then), he would go for Miriam Santiago. If he could (because he’s a Filipino Citizen), he’s a big Hillary Clinton follower. I am not sure who he voted for during the last presidential election in the Philippines though...

13. Who is his best friend? Twinkie
14. What is something he does, but you wish he wouldn't do? Burp so loudly and eat enthusiastically I’m so scared the Corelle will break! Imagine?
15. What is his heritage? Filipino
16. You bake him a cake, what kind of cake? Banana but he had enough for now
17. Did he play sports in high school? Volleyball
18. What could he spend hours doing? Walking in parks with me and Mia

19. What is the unique talent that he has? He sings very well.

20. What's his type of coffee? My coffee

I pass this tag to all wives in my blogrolls. Go Grab! :)

Dress Up!

2009-09-03T16:57:00.006+01:00

Dress Up Day

Pretend play is best done with dressing up and Mia's got a good share of both.

Let's start with her favorite...

Ladybird when she was two, three, and then turning four years old soon...

Then her 2nd best...

A Ballerina whenever, wherever!

Being a ballerina is more fun when with friends!

Now who said she can't make her "own" costume? :D

The Superherogirl with her MLPs

And this is my favorite... simply dressing her up. In here we are checking if all her new preschool clothes fits perfectly.

I think she's all set!

Do you want to share your child's dress up day? Link it to Mommy Moments! Enjoy!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year is Near

2009-08-28T09:06:00.007+01:00

I can not believe it! 3 days more and the first "ber" month starts. It's "spending" time again for our family. Not that we are big fans of spending it's just that September to March is literally the spending time for our family because September is the month of our Anniversary, October is for Halloween, November is for Mia's birthday, December is Christmas season and it extends 'til January, February is the love month and March is for our birthdays and Mother's day. Whew!

And just as I've mentioned the Christmas season, last Tuesday, we went to Costco as guests of the Resmas. Costco is a happy place mainly because of the Christmas ornaments and all other Christmas related stuff that are already in the shelves! Mia and I had the time of our lives playing with the miniature carousels as we sang together with the toys singing carols. It is a happy place as well because 10kg of Thai rice is only £8.89! When I usually get 5kg for that price! The other items I got are just bonuses but the rice is the main star for me.

This is also the time for bazaars, exhibit booths, trade shows displays and I'm sure that logo floor mats would be everywhere. I especially like the logo floor mats when they are focused with spotlights. I bet that in no time the Centre in Milton Keynes will be packed. Last year, we witnessed how an exhibit booth truss was assembled and disassembled. It was fun watching the cleverness of the whole plan of displaying their items. Some sold out while some would probably have to be recycled this year. Those of you who fancies to have a go with a Christmas booth, get ideas and quotes here. If Selfridges in London can open a yuletide shop as early as August, why can't you? :)

Mine

2009-08-27T16:37:00.009+01:00

Name Game

The origin of our daughter's first name is Latin and it means "mine". Jose was the one who chose Mia mainly because of its meaning. What can be more possessive than that right? :D It only took me a shower to make an affirmative decision. Besides my first name which is Mary begins with M so that would make an easy explanation... But I get to choose her second name. This was the tricky part.

There are so many people in both of our families that we want our daughter to be named after but the "twin towers" of my clan stood out from our list. I wanted Daniela because Mia Daniela rhymes doesn't it? But one of my cousins, Danielle Marie, was already named after Lolo Daddy; his name is Danilo by the way. That honor I thought should be matched so I chose my Lola Mommy's. Her name is Benita. I just made a little twist to Betina and it sounded perfect to me. It's original yet with a history. Most Betinas are spelled with double N but my Lola's has one so I decided to just keep it simple. I am not much of an elongating names fan anyway so B-e-t-i-n-a it is. Then I checked through the same baby book of names that Jose used to find Mia that Betina is a pet name derived from Elizabeth which means, "God is perfection and my oath".

My Lolo's Bonita Benitas

So what's your child or children's name story? Please share it with us at Mommy Moments.

Read Her Smile

2009-08-25T11:53:00.011+01:00

Six or seven years ago, Jose had a business trip in India. He got me Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist and of course, pashminas. Those things, I honestly don't know where to find. But while I was putting our books in order, I found this:

Gathering Dust

For some time in our lives, we ask people to do Tarot Readings. The first (and probably the last) paid readings Jose and I have experienced were done in Quiapo before we went here in UK. We had our readings through different old ladies but the funny thing was, both of them told us things that matched as if they knew us since we were born. Some were really personal like how our spending and saving styles are so we were warned to make changes. The lady who read tarot for me said that my husband loves me so much and it is I who needed to be checked... (whatever that means). She said that there would be a "friend" of mine who would come and shake our very strong bond. Oooh! Creepy! And some readings are yet to happen. Like both of them said that Jose and I would have three to four children and we would have twins! Well, three to four is the ideal number of kids that we really like to have. But knowing how tough times are, we'll see...

But the happiness that my daughter is having with her Ate Alex and Sammie doesn't need any hunches or guesses... Just look how she is whenever they are together. :)

Pirate Ship at The Centre, MK

Mia / Sammie

Alex / At ELC

After Sunday Mass

BFFs

Beautiful Ballerinas! :)

They LIKE sand!

Pretty in Swimsuits!

Time for Ice cream :)

I'm So Touched!

2009-08-25T10:44:00.002+01:00

With all very good Filipino friends and activities coming our way, who would not feel touched? I remember just months ago, I shared my longing to speak to another person in Filipino (well, aside from Jose) non-stop. Now, if not for the Escaños, we would not have known an entire community or even communities of Filipinos existing in Milton Keynes. Truly the idiom, "when it rains, it pours" applies to all blessings we have received and have yet to receive. We are definitely touched by angels - Ate Cech and Kuya Rob.

After three years in this country, this is our first ever Filipino Barrio Fiesta experience:

Barrio Fiesta in MK

With Ate Cech and Kuya Rob / With Ate Belle

Mia, Alex and Sammie with Bubbles

Have you done this ever? I'm jealous! :D

As I've mentioned through my new blog, still under blogspot, entitled Twinkie Was Called, here we are during our first CLP (Christian Life Program) of CFC (Couples For Christ) led by Kuya Rob and Ate Cech.

CFC's CLP at the Escaño Residence

And here we are on our second and we were invited to stay for barbecue! Also a first "barbie" for us here...

With Kuya Jerry of Singles For Christ

Alex, Mia, Sammie and Dia

And if you might think that Mia's new found friends through CFC are all girls, look now:

With Kuya Ditus, Paolo and Gabriel

The Golosinos with the Resmas (Ate Cheri, Gabriel, Paolo and Kuya Ditus)

It is also worth to mention that they gave us awesome Filipino treats like tuyo and salted eggs! They also brought lechon baboy! Sarsa ni Mang Tomas never tasted sooo good. My belly was sooo touched! :D

Just to segue, have you ever heard of a remote access software? Well I have. And the idea is amazing! Imagine, if you need something from your computer, all you need to do is to ask someone at home to turn the computer on and with I'm inTouch software loaded to your pc, any internet device like Blackberry, iPhone or your business computer, could get access readily! I remember the days when we still need to go home from school just to save a data from the pc that we thought we have actually saved! That's very irritating and time and money consuming! But I guess, with I'm inTouch, that's just a thing of the past from now on.

So, have you been touched or have been in touch lately? :)

Twinkie Calls' Special Day

2009-08-21T09:01:00.004+01:00

In time for Twinkie Calls' first blog anniversary, it's just fitting to share with you one of the many blessings our family has been graced with last July - Cheche and Denden (and their families); my friends known through blogging, said YES to visit us in MK!

Cheche, Tantan, Baby Cayden and Tita Dhalie arrived just in time for lunch but they had to go home half past 10 in the evening. (Next time sleepover na! :D) Wala kami masabi kay Tantan with how he captured Mia's heart, super bait! Akalain mo, pumayag si Mia ipagpalit ang Daddy at Mommy niya! But I guess it was more of knowing that she could be with Baby Cayden - ang poging baby na hindi marunong umiyak! I love him to bits. Ang bango-bango niya!!! Tita Dhalie is one doting Mom and definitely a Lola Ganda. Her kwentos, I like very much. Na-miss ko sobra ang Mama ko because of her. And of course Cheche is a sight to behold. Kutis artista talaga! Hindi mo pati akalain na nanganak. Grabe!

Denden and Gerald followed at around four in the afternoon pero bumawi naman because they stayed until 3 am. :) This couple is such a cool force. Lalo si G! Winner sa kwentos. He's so funny but still full of sense. I'm really glad that amidst their busy lipat-bahay schedule, and even if Denden just recovered from a very bad flu, they still made it. Denden is very pretty rin, especially when she smiles which is almost all the time. Super aliw kami ni Jose sa kanyang accent kapag English at pag Filipino naman, walang ka-twang twang; genuine na genuine kahit aling language. We hope Mia will be like her na fluent din sa Filipino.

Enough talk from me, here are some photos taken during that day:

Jose/Me, Cayden, Tita Dhalie, Cheche, Mia and Tantan

The Relenas Family / Me with Baby G (for Guwapo)

Gerald and Denden Tayas, Tita Dhalie and Me / Merienda Time

Beautiful People / Baby G and Lola G

Siksikan sa aming munting "garden". They are the first and last guests to sit on those deadly old chairs. (Kakatapon lang namin last week. Finally!)

No, it was not Mia's birthday!

Remember the pink plush Mia was holding here? Cheche and Tantan gave Mia the coolest Peppa Pig lootbag! She got Peppa Pig Nintendo DS Game, a Mummy Pig Play-doh and a Peppa Pig Beanie Baby! We also got some of Cayden's Christening keepsakes. Super nice ng charms and the Ellies are sure hits for Mia. May Elephant family na siya ngayon with twins! :) We got our first flower pot ever from Denden and Gerald. Promise, we really appreciate it as in almost everyday yan dinidiligan at pinupunasan ni Jose! A month has passed but the flowers still look the same; very easy to take care. The lances and laces treats are also a first for Mia. Haha! Sarap! And Mia also got a Disney Princess Ariel blowing bubbles na I play with secretly. :D Hay! 'Di na dapat nag-abala at wala namang may birthday! Hehehe! Just the same, thank you very much for the thoughtful and sweet gesture.

Just Sinful Desserts

May gifts na kami, may dala pa silang dessert! Mia would never get tired eating Krispy Kreme. Kaya naman hulog agad loob ni Mia kay Tantan e! Hehe! At ang sapin-sapin... Wow! Ka-swerte namin na mabiyayaan ng isang napakalaking sapin-sapin made by Denden's Mom. Nyay naglalway na naman ako. :D

Cheche and Denden, maraming salamat sa pagpapaunlak ninyo sa aming invitation. Kahit nagsiksikan tayo, I hope you somehow felt the same happiness and "bitin" feeling that Jose, Mia and I had. I'm sure this is just the beginning of many other get togethers. God is really good as He has given us the chance to meet people like you two.

~o~

Words are not enough to describe how happy and fulfilled my blogging life has been. I've met great friends, read, laugh and cried all by myself with their posts. Blogging made my life as a mother easier mainly because most of the bloggers in my blogrolls are mommies too. Even if my Mama is far from me, my ways are checked nonetheless; self-checked. Parang quality assurance verification ba?

Honestly, I didn't know that today is THE day. I just know that August is when I first made a blog entry as seen through my blog archive. Coincidentally, it fell on a 21st and 21 is my favorite number. Only Jose knows why. It's also Ninoy Aquino Day and I am wearing yellow. Wala lang, 'di ko sinadya ha. :) From now on, I would always remember that August 21 is my blog's day. And as I've said before this blog was my 4th year anniversary gift for Jose as he was the one who urged me to give blogging a chance... Ayan humahaba na masyado ang entry na ito. :D

A huge THANK YOU to ALL OF YOU who welcomed Twinkie Calls. Will you hang around for another year? Please do. Cheers! :)

The Rain Did Go Away

2009-08-20T17:29:00.001+01:00

Rain, Rain Go Away!

Rain, rain, go away!

Come again another day;

Little Mia wants to play!

Little Alex wants to play!

Little Sammie wants to play!

And so are their parents. :)

Call it good luck but I call it trusting in God... First weekend of July, we were supposed to go to London on a Sunday but the weather report showed greater promise on a Saturday. Friday afternoon, it was raining SO HARD. Jose was having second, third, even fourth thoughts whether to go or not. I asked him to have faith...

Look how our day went...

Green Park:

Alex, Kuya Rob, Sammie and Ate Cech / The Golosinos

Natural History Museum:

Science Museum:

Buckingham Palace:

London Eye and Big Ben:

Tower Bridge and Tower of London:

Happy Kids and Happy Ate Belle

This one's for my little niece TJ, short for Temple Jeanina:

We're going home!

Back to Milton Keynes:

As soon as we got home, the rain poured again. What miracle!

How about you? Did you get what you prayed for? Share it with us at Mommy Moments. Oh it feels good to be back!

Btw, I just recently bought Mia's rain gear for school, click this if you'd like to see how they look. :D

Potter and Potter

2009-08-20T09:30:00.002+01:00

Harry Potter

As soon as Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince movie was shown in theatres, Jose kept bugging me when we would watch it. I was having second thoughts mainly because of the not so very good reviews I've heard and read and as I've said before, one-time movie tickets here (times three for us) are not cheap. If we would wait a little while, we might get lucky and have it downloaded and searched through Rapid4me - Rapidshare Search Engine; one of the best search engines to find videos, music and even games! But who am I not to give in especially when we have watched all previous Harry Potter movies in theatre. I remember two years ago, during the Goblet of Fire release, we even brought Mia even if she's still not in the "proper age". We thought she'll be asleep all throughout but who are we kidding, right? That's the selling point really; that Mia CAN watch with us already.

Here we are on our Summer movie date:

Xscape, Milton Keynes

One of the infamous cool concrete cows. / Eating "Mcdonald's with Dignity." (Beat this Mike Arroyo!)

What a Wonderful Date! (Waiting for the bus.)

Guess who and from whom Mia got that little pink cutesie she could not let go of...

Miss Potter

Still on a Potter movie but with a different first name, Miss Potter made Jose and I search for the Beatrix Potter Collection as soon as we watched the movie through downloads. For Renée Zellweger fans like me, do watch this! My admiration for her grew more as she gave enough justice in portraying the role of one of the best children's book authors of all time.

The Beatrix Potter Collection

These bits are just a few of what I have been meaning to blog. So do brace yourselves for more! :)

Back to School Essentials

2009-08-20T08:20:00.001+01:00

One of the too many things I’ve been up to lately was shopping. The end of summer sale helped me to budget what Jose has given for Mia’s back to school essentials. The funny thing is whenever we do shopping we go back to our peso vs. pounds conscious computation. Initially, he thought that the budget was very generous. I was so excited but on the first three items I’ve purchased, 25% has already vanished! Nyay!

The first three purchases. :D Kidorable Wellies, Umbrella and Bugz Poncho. Rain Gear - Check!

Winter Jacket - Check!

I was able to buy new skirts, shirts, pants, underwear, tights, socks and shoes too! By now, it's obvious that I’m quite over “the budget”. This is only for a toddler; I wonder how much we should prepare when Mia reaches the teenage tab!

The initial set... MORE from HDN, Parcelforce and Royal Mail. Whew! Basic School Clothes - Check, check, check!

Start right with Start-rite! :) School Shoes - Check!

I can tell that Jose was pretty proud of the shopping-around-before-buying-shopper in me...

And while I'm at end of summer sales or clearance sales, another clearing I would like to share is about the UCAS Clearing and the University of Bedfordshire Clearing 2009. Clearing 2009 is about another opportunity given to those students who applied for a course but was not able to get through probably because of late applications or not having the GCSE grades needed for their first choice or insurance choice institution. It is a second chance to get assisted on what other options these university applicants have. Like in my case, my first choice in UST was really BS Psychology but maybe, my grades for the entrance exam was not fit for my first choice thus I got in through my second choice which is AB Behavioral Science. The concept is somehow like that. So for those students out there who would like to give it another shot at the University of Bedfordshire, clearing vacancies were opened today, 20th August, and will close by the end of September. Go and give them a call at 0800 013 0925. Best of luck!

Twinkie Was Called

2009-08-17T17:47:00.005+01:00

A little explanation why I was away for quite some time may be seen at my new blog entitled Twinkie Was Called; still under Blogger and still under soft release. The link could be seen under Other Golosino Sites. My family, especially Mia, has been blessed with the most active Summer season! The details, I would try to share in parts soon. Going back to Twinkie Was Called, I am now in search of a new web hosting service provider. I am not sure what ".com" has made for Twinkie Calls so I would like to be more knowledgeable in searching for the new one. I guess $10 a year is not bad... but for what? Aside from my own .com, the practical Mom in me might not make an upgrade if I would not get valid reasons soon. I would definitely try my search at the best web hosting site first. I've heard this web hosting provider also has a blog which can be found here. And speaking of reading blogs, I miss that one sooo much!

I am also very happy that Jose was able to fix my laptop and its speed became nothing less than his business pc. He even cleaned it that I thought I got a brand new unit! That's "pushing it" for me. :D

Twinkie Calls would be celebrating its first year by the end of this month. Which means that our 5th wedding anniversary is also coming very very soon. I thought of hosting a contest or a meme of some sort but with the long absence (yet again!) that happened, I don't think time or energy is on my side.

It's with my comforted heart to say (Cheche and Denden, I hope you can read this) that Jose will be back to work on Wednesday! And he's not flying elsewhere anymore... Details... I'll try to share soon. For now, I'm into checking out web hosting sites.

America's # 1

2009-08-17T16:53:00.006+01:00

Direct TV is America's number one satellite service. If a household in US owns an HD TV, I can't see any reason they should not get Direct TV services to maximize the full potential of HD with their 100% digital quality offer. Especially when they are sports fanatics, Direct TV premier package would include NFL Sunday ticket, MLB extra innings, NASCAR hotpass, and NCAA mega march madness already. Dish network doesn't offer this and Cable TV might include this for a price that may not be as appealing and the viewing quality may not be as good.

If only our cable provider would be as competitive and reasonable as Direct TV's packages, we would never think twice whether to keep or let go of it. I miss HBO! I miss Cinemax! I miss ABC! We would like to watch Ugly Betty the same time people in the US gets to see it. I really feel that what we have now is nothing compared to Direct TV system. We have "all packages" included in our bundle but movies and sports would cost us another? And as per cost, let's not compare the price... Good thing we are not so into watching TV. As I've mentioned before, our cable is only for Mia's cartoons from Disney Channel and clear Nick Jr. and Nick Jr.2.

Applying has never been as easy as getting a 15 second Direct TV quote! So co-bloggers living in the US, grab a bargain! That is if you are not yet a subscriber... which I doubt. Here's to high hopes of getting a very good deal with any package you choose! :)

Now In Each Other's Arms

2009-08-01T11:49:00.006+01:00

I bet you and Ninoy had the most beautiful smiles...

God bless the Aquino Family.

Special

2009-07-23T16:44:00.006+01:00

First Steps

September 2006

October 2006

November 2006 - Mia's First Birthday

I can't remember exactly when Mia took her first step. All I know is that before she reached her first birthday, she can walk and even run (after she kicks her soft ball.) I guess that's one of the many perks of having a home with carpet. As overactingly worried as I sometimes get when it comes to Mia, the carpet made it easy for me to "let go" during those times when Jose and I practiced her to play base to base the baby way. :D

Mia has always been early this and that for her age. I remember when I do the checklists in my What to Expect books, I always find myself ticking boxes from chapters that I should not be visiting yet. A lot of people around us suggested that there could be really something special about Mia but I chose to ignore it. My take on it is that all children are like sponges. They are all willing and able but they have their own ways and paces that need to be respected. Not because some start or show very early signs of development doesn't mean that they are "more" than the rest. For me, as long as my daughter is happy that's all that matters and she'll always be special to me whatever and whenever... I will never ever push her because that's not my cup of tea. I am not so sure with my husband though. Hmmm... In his words, he has to "encourage". ;)

What's your take about first steps? Please share it here.

Money Envy

2009-07-22T13:32:00.004+01:00

This is the title of the tv show that I watched last Monday. Most of you probably know that I am not a TV person but Money Envy really caught my attention because it does not just show the viewers how much money those successful entrepreneurs have but they also shared the stories of how they had lots of money. I was so sleepy that time but I pushed myself to watch it especially when I saw the Lamborghinis! Haha! They were asked if they have seen and actually experienced how people got envious of their success and they even described how much they enjoyed the “attention”! Scratch marks to a Lambo? Erm... Anyway, the entrepreneur whom I was most glued on was the owner of Embassy London. It’s amazing how he does the entire job except handling the checkbook. All finances were handled by his wife. He has the concept and dream but he admitted that he could sometimes get carried away that’s why he got his wife to watch his back. That for me is sweet and sensible. And so I got inspired and came across 1800Vending through their 1800Vending Blog. The business promotes immediate cash flow with a worker that works 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and just involves very little TLC. So if you’d also like to know all that you will need to start and probably become one of those Money Envy stars, go to 1800Vending Org. :D Good luck!

I Need and Want One!

2009-07-22T13:16:00.003+01:00

My whole body has been sore for days now but I am trying to fight the pain by just ignoring it. Months ago, I have been religiously following all the exercises advised by my physiotherapist but when I stopped doing my visits, I also stopped doing the exercises. I know everything is my fault. I am obese and still very lazy. Best of all, I love to cook and eat. I could not take painkillers all the time. I have been feeling pins and needles sensation all over my back every time I feel excited or the least annoyed. The doctor said it could be caused by stress and of course I need to keep myself “fit”. So there’s that word again! Stress... I am stressed of what? Of thinking how I can lose weight? Haha! Oh I hope I could get a massage chair since I like to sit all the time. But I’d like to have a massage chair that actually massages just like human hands. I know it would cost a lot though. I remember in 2006 we’ve actually considered getting one from ATC when they were offering 0% interest for 12 months through BPI but then the UK opportunity came... I can't remember if the brand was Human Touch but until now, what I can still remember was how that massage chair massaged my back, neck, legs and feet! Yes, legs and feet! And when I checked their website, I’ve seen the iJoy Board and iJoy ride; the effortless way to exercise! Sounds and looks good to me! Christmas is just five months away... This definitely tops my list.

Now let me share the other good bits I found including Massage Chair Benefits :
When it comes to your comfort and wellbeing, there’s no settling for
second-best. This is how Human Touch® feels about its products, which is why
they use only the most advanced robotic massage technology and systems in their
industry-leading massage chairs. By analyzing the treatments used by leading
massage therapists, chiropractors and physicians, and applying decades of
experience as the world leader in massage technology, Human Touch engineers have
developed the most advanced Robotic Massage® systems ever devised.

Within every Human Touch massage chair, proprietary and patented
massage systems expertly replicate the hands and techniques of expert massage
professionals.
• Amazingly human-like massage that replicates the rolling, kneading,
compression and percussion techniques of massage professionals
• A full-body massage that follows the contours of your spine and body
from neck to foot
• Unique three-dimension movements provide maximum relief to sore,
tight muscles
• Multiple automatic programs that allow you to customize massage area,
intensity and techniques used
• Intuitive controls that put you in command of your massage
experience.

Discover the beauty of the advanced technology in every Human Touch
massage chair. It’s the first and best choice for your wellness and
comfort.

Ika-Tatlong "Mary"

2009-07-19T15:19:00.001+01:00

Nang nagsabog ang Panginoon ng talento sa pamilyang Alfonso, masyado atang maraming ini-reserba para sa bunso naming kapatid na si Angeli. Sa ganda ng kanyang boses at likas na galing sa pagluto, hindi mapagkakaila ang lubos na pag-giliw sa kanya ng mga nakakatanda sa aming pamilya. Alin, kung hindi lang siguro kami kambal ni Ate Twinkle, lagi siguro kami maechepwera. :D

Cake by Mama Jean - Mary Twinkie, Mary Angeli and Mary Twinkle

Naalala ko noong kami'y mga bata pa, lagi kaming niloloko ng Papa ko na kami raw ni Ate Twinkle sina Anastacia at Drizella; ang mga stepsisters ni "Cinderella." Ako naman ay inis na inis dahil kapag kami ay naglalaro, ako talaga si Cinderella, si Ate Twinkle si Snow White at si Angeli ay si Sleeping Beauty! Grrr! Pero may point naman si Papa dahil sadyang malayo ang ugali naming kambal sa aming bunso. Kami ay ubod ng tataray samantalang napakabait namang talaga ni Angeli. Hindi ko sinasabing hindi kami mabait ng kakambal ko, pero hindi nga lang 'yon ang una mong masasabing katangian namin. Bwahaha!

"Cinderella" with her two stepsisters...

Gusto kong kunin ang pagkakataong ito na taos pusong magpasalamat muli sa pag-aalaga niya sa akin noong ako'y nagdadalang tao pa lamang kay Mia. Grabe! Para akong may personal masseuse! Sa mga gabi bago ako manganak, imbis na si Jose ang gusto kong katabi, si Angeli ang hinahanap-hanap ko. At nang ako'y nanganak na nga, at sa kumplikasyon na inabot ng aking tahi, inalagaan niya si Mia na parang sa kanya ito isinilang. Siya ang isa sa mga magpapatunay na ang "mother's instinct" ay hindi lamang talaga akma sa mga mothers na nanganak.

Ninang Angeli and Mia

Naikwento minsan ni Ate Twinkle sa akin na iniyakan daw siya ni Angeli dahil miss na miss na raw niya si Mia. At natatakot siya na baka raw 'di na siya makilala dahil sa tuwing mag-magicJack o Skype kami ay palagi siyang nasa trabaho o 'di kaya ay pagod na pagod na mula sa trabaho. Paano ba naman siya makakalimutan ni Mia e kamukhang-kamukha niya ang anak ko! Mas mapagkakamalan pa nga na sila ang mas mag-ina hindi ba? :)

We are all in this together!

Ngayong ika-dalawapu't limang kaarawan niya, hiling ko na sana ay magkaroon din siya ng katuwang sa buhay na mag-aalaga at magmamahal sa kanya ng higit pa sa pag-aalaga at pagmamahal na walang sawang ibinibigay niya sa aming lahat...

Angeli, sana ay lagi mong isipin na kahit nasaan pa kami, hindi magbabago ang pagmamahal at pag-aalala namin sa'yo. Maligayang kaarawan at wag masyado marami ang kain ha! :D Mwah!!!

MK Pinoy Sportsfest

2009-07-16T18:41:00.007+01:00

Playing Time

The Lovelies: Alex, Mia and Sammie

The first Saturday of this month welcomed us with our first ever Pinoy sportsfest encounter. We couldn't have known it if not through Ate Cech and Kuya Rob. Apparently, their new found co-CFC friends were members of the Milton Keynes Pinoy community. In other words, we gatecrashed the said event! But the entrance fee of £5 per family made us felt at ease in salvaging the buffet especially the pancit and cassava. Yum! Too bad I forgot to take pictures of the huge spread!

Now on to the playing theme, here are some photos of how our afternoon fun turned out... We actually played a good game of volleyball but I forgot to ask Mia to take our picture. Haha!

Mia can't wait to run! Look at her smile. Is she saying "Hurrry!"? Haha!

Bouncy Castle / Ring-a-roses

Frisbee and Cartwheel! Who's the most playful of them all? :D

Love to play? Join us by clicking this.

Is it Sunday Yet?

2009-07-16T17:11:00.005+01:00

Our family together with the Escaños is planning to go to London on Sunday! My youngest sister’s birthday falls on that date and I would celebrate that day thinking of her the whole time. Oh time, time... It comes by really fast. (Just to segue, if you’ve ever thought of getting a new watch, why not go to this Rolex site where the Finest Watches is the best for buying Rolex watches?) Well the next thing I know, we would be stepping on the earth’s Prime Meridian at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich. (The 24-Hour clock at Greenwich on the left is a photo I got from Wiki.)It is just exciting to see the actual point of division (in longitude)! I hope it would not rain. We checked the weather report and the forecast is quite promising. So wish us luck! It’s been a while since we last went for an actual day out in the parks of London. We are planning to have a picnic at Green Park. So Skyla and Denden, if you girls are reading this, you are most welcome to join us! :D It would be lovely if you grace us with your presence together with your hubbies. We also plan to bring the kiddos at the Natural and Science Museums. I’m sure Mia will appreciate these places more and she would be very happy to share the experience with her best girlfriends, Alex and Sammie. We are so excited!

£5 More?

2009-07-16T15:39:00.005+01:00

Three years ago, we were worrying about what set-top box to buy. Now, we are worrying whether to go back to our set-top box or pay extra £5 on top of the £26 damage for Sky Cable TV. Argh! To think that Sky Movies and Sky Sports or Direct TV are not yet included in that package. We only use TV for Mia’s Disney Channel and Nick Jr. shows and CNN for Jose. I have never been a TV lover. Entertainment (Reality TV) shows like X-Factor and Britain’s Got Talent could be watched clearly through a set-top box... Now what are we going to do? Good thing there is a price comparison site for cable TV and satellite TV. Like for people in the US, they have Satellite TV in Alabama to go to. And speaking of satellite TV, I wonder why we have two satellite dishes in our backyard. I wonder which one is working...

This or this?

Online Treats

2009-07-14T20:48:00.007+01:00

"I'm a beautiful princess with a pretty Saree!" This is a line Mia always uses whenever our theme for pretend play is about Indian princesses. She got this line from Nick Jr. I forgot the title of the story but I know how it went 'til the end. Wherever we go in this country, Indians are everywhere. And what beautiful clothes Indian women wear! I am always intrigued on how they are worn. When I have watched 27 Dresses which stars Katherine Heigl, the Indian-inspired wedding, for me, was the best. I hope that one day, we could attend an Indian bridal affair that would require us to go all out at Online Salwar Suits Shopping. A hundred reasons to shop in this site could be seen here. As much as I'd like to post pictures of the sarees Mia and I are eyeing on, the site does not permit it. So do give them a visit if you must. :)

And while I am at online shopping, the lucky items bought through my Cash Calls earnings are these:

Yes, I just can't get enough... :D Mia was actually hoping for a purple one because she's got pink na. Haha!

And with some change from Cash Calls plus Waterstones' card points, this was the supposedly Father's Day gift I was expecting but ran out of stock... Better late than never!

Dance Me Daddy by Cindy Morgan (Chris of MM recommended this. Thank you!)

Another online activity that we (Jose included) have been active with these past few days is ebay-ing! Jose ALWAYS wins! And these are the items he successfully got:

BNIP (Brand New In Packaging) for only £11.01 (RRP£25)

All these for only £30.50 (Brand new would cost around £100!)

I am on the hunt for a good DS Peppa Pig deal. Wish us luck!

MUSIK LOVE

2009-07-14T19:36:00.006+01:00

Mia LOVES to sing and dance. Even if she has not attended any Baby Music Class, her love for music, especially classical, has always been on the rise. She would sing and dance whenever and wherever. She sleeps and wakes up with the cd player on. She calls her music, “Little Einsteins.” (Most of you probably know what I am talking about.) I guess it’s just her Filipino nature of being into music and of course, her Dad is a really good singer too... Jose and I are thinking whether to enroll her to a ballet class or piano class. Classes as such are really expensive but Benefits Of Music Education to a very willing music student like Mia is really worth every pence. Unfortunately, the ballet studio Jose inquired with did not recommend having our child to take classes until she is five. Luckily, I have checked kindermusik’s website and they have dance classes at Stony Stratford which is just 15 minutes away from us through one bus ride. They offer dance classes specifically for preschoolers. Oh I really hope that they do ballet. I’m sure Mia would have a blast. I tried to check their online chat but it’s too late. I’ll definitely give it a try tomorrow. I also hope that they have summer classes.

This is Mia while waiting for the bus...

Now THAT's what I call LOVE. :D

Summer Vacation '09 Starts Today

2009-07-14T18:45:00.004+01:00

By September she’ll be taking morning classes from Monday to Friday. Here she is on her last day at preschool (afternoon class):

I would also like to share some pictures I've taken two weeks ago at the Woburn Safari Park... I wonder how turbo fast the car ahead of us would go if ever the animals in the Safari went havoc. I hope it has been geared with a good turbocharger. Should I have my own car (I am choosing between an Audi or VW), I would definitely go to this turbocharger site and have a good check on turbo, turbochargers, superchargers and nose covers be it the new ones or remanufactured. As long as everything is covered with warranty, I'm all good. Anyway...

Here's Mia with her classmate, Veronika, and her souvenirs from her first field trip.

Open fields for frisbee, here we come! I hope Mia's summer vacation will really be "summery"! :D

Frechie's World

2009-07-13T23:20:00.002+01:00

First Blog in my Blog List

A weekly Monday meme you'd all see from my site is the You Are Inspirational genius by no other than Chris of Mommy Moments. It's a way of introducing blogs to other co-bloggers but with a charming twist. And for this week, the theme is about the first blog in my blog list. Of course, the first blog in my blog list is also the first blog that I admired; which was the theme last Monday.

I started reading her blog during her wedding preparations. I was stalkingly glued when I've known that they are in UK. I laughed and cried secretly with the experiences that she shared. To cut the story short, her blog was like a guide book for Filipinos who are new in England... (And more!) I admire her for being so true, so beautiful but also very simple. I've said many times how I admire beautiful women... Well, she is a cut between Eula Valdez and Daphne Oseña. :) Seriously.

Frechie's World

Now, she is a mother of a very cute little boy. They are all the way from Southampton but she still sent an invitation for her son's christening. Unfortunately, due to Jose's status at work, we can't afford to stay away from MK. I know that sooner than later we'd see each other in person and it will be emotional. You know... I'll be like an avid fan meeting her idol for the first time! Hahaha!

Let me take this opportunity to shout a big thank you and HAPPY BIRTHDAY to CHECHE! I know in Filipino time, it's already your day. :)

She's Got "The Pout"

2009-07-09T18:14:00.006+01:00

Pouting Face

Mia is a natural when it comes to pouting. She has many versions or it's just that she was born with a pouty upper lip. Anyway, enough talk from me, here's how she does every pout imaginable...

Beautiful Pout

Grumpy Pout / Obedient Pout

Emoting Pout / Engaged Pout

Peaceful Pout

Now, did you see what I mean? :D

To see more lovable pouting babies, click here. Happy weekend!

Mommy Duty Calls: What's "Eating" Me

2009-07-09T13:49:00.003+01:00

I admit, blogging and everything that goes with it have been at the bottom of my list nowadays. Jose does not have any project yet so as much as possible I try to give him all the time I can get apart from babysitting our not-s0-baby-girl-anymore and of course doing household chores. And yeah, I have to cook twice as much. And I have been baking too!

We are also planning different ways on how to spend Mia's summer break. We thought about Cornwall, Plymouth and even Glasgow (and check out a fabulous restaurant in Merchant City which is the Glasgow restaurant.) But my oh my! Hotels (and Italian restaurants in Glasgow) are really on demand because August is definitely a peak season here. Jose is really hoping to have a project by the end of this month, so we might as well stay close as possible.

Anyway, speaking of restaurants, that's how my kitchen is like right now. I try to whip up something new and of course delicious for the forgiving and willing Golosino victims... Without further ado, let me showcase a part (because I forgot to take photos of the others) of the Twinkie Calls Menu!

Starters:

Nachos - The best and most generous serving we ever had. ;D

Cheese and Egg Pimiento - Mama, do I make you proud?

Buttered Mushroom and Garlic - Because Kenny Rogers stopped making this, I had to do something... better! :D

Mains:

Beef Lasagna - My Bechamel sauce gave it away. I wonder how Italian Restaurants in Glasgow make their Lasagna.

Sweet and Spicy Skinless Longganisa - We finished everything in one sitting.

Chicken and Pork Adobo with Egg - A Twinkie Calls classic.

Creamy Pork Steak (Bistek Style) - I can't wait for Ate Twinkle to have a taste of this.

Chicken Afritada - It's been a while since I last made something with tomatoes apart from making red sauce for pasta.

Pork Barbecue - Jose raved about this until 2:00 am.

Sinigang na Pink Salmon Fillets - A non-Sinigang fan like me, made a turnaround.

Desserts or Snacks:

Fluffy Pancakes (with Chicken Frankfurters) / Fluffy Pancakes (with mini hotdogs) - Mama, thank you for the recipe!

Oatmeal Cookies - Anyone can do this blindfolded.

Choco Crinkles - A real treat.

I made most of them for the first time that's why I have to show off to Lola Mommy, Mama Jean, Angeli and of course, Ate Twinkle. And yes, to all of you too. I'm proud (mayabang) like that. Bwahaha!

If you are interested to know how I cooked/baked these, just pm me and I would gladly share the recipes.

Now back to my sweeties.

And I am Done Too...

2009-07-09T01:50:00.003+01:00

…With my braces!!! Hooray! Five months more and I can’t wait to get my own oral b electric toothbrush! I have been blessed with a generous orthodontist who showed me and Jose the tricks and ways on how to change and adjust my elastics. He even supplied me with all the tools I need to do the job. Since we moved here, I only get to see him every year. Therefore, the recommended biannual dental prophylaxis became annual. Anyway, I have been a very obedient patient when it comes to brushing and flossing so I guess once a year of professional teeth cleaning is just fine. Besides, I may even push our planned holiday budget a bit to have teeth whitening! I must check Nite White Teeth Whitening Kit and Day white ACP to know how that actually works. I am so envious with the receptionist of The Dental Clinic in The Centre: MK (Milton Keynes). As soon as she opened her mouth I can’t help but notice the immaculate white teeth she has! It’s so white it’s quite shocking but whoever says it’s purely aesthetic must think again. Her smile made me sign up for the too good to be true dental check up package she offered. I was (robbed) hypnotized! I thought the check up could do the same magic for me but my pocket is all that dental clinic did magic to. Who am I kidding? Haha! I was called almost every week for a follow-up check but no thanks. I could wait until December - pearly whites, here I come!

He is Done!

2009-07-09T01:19:00.003+01:00

At this time of the year, we usually pay Jose’s life insurance plan but we are just so happy to realize that we are done with our last payment. Now we are thinking and doing researches on where to invest that saved money next. While my life insurance is not due until the next 15 years, maybe that saved money could go… where else? Hmm… insurance, insurance, insurance. We are firm believers of such. As soon as I became pregnant with Mia, I asked Jose to look for a good policy. For some it may spell bad luck but for me, it’s facing reality. I was 22 years old then, earning a little more than the average, weighing 140 pounds and a candidate for risky pregnancy, so why not. While in labor, I only focused on how to end the 24++ hours painful wait; I was in peace that should I not make it, my daughter would be able to go to a university without denting my husband’s bank account. I could go on and on about getting a life insurance but here’s the deal… There are more types of insurance that we (un)willingly face right now. And one of them is our home insurance. For people living in the US, it’s worth getting a quote from Houston Home Insurance. I checked the site myself and you know what? They offer life insurance too! ;)

For the Love of Mia

2009-07-02T17:42:00.008+01:00

Encounter with Pets or Animals

Mia loves animals period. And I don't. But I am learning... These are just some of the animals she's seen in real life. I mean, not just in books. :D

KING CRAB - Blue Reef Undersea Safari, Newcastle

DUCKS - Windsor

CHICK - Jacinto, Malabon

SHARK and more FISH - London Aquarium

BLACK and WHITE SHEEP - London Zoo

SWAN - Christ Church, Oxford

Tomorrow, we're off to Woburn Safari together with Mia's classmates. It's going to be her first field trip. It's so hot these past few days! If only I could back out... But yeah... I'm learning right?

Check out more kiddos and their encounter with animals here. Happy weekend!

Mia in Blue

2009-06-26T14:09:00.005+01:00

School Days

This was taken April this year before she had eyeglasses and before another haircut. In preschool, they are not obliged to wear uniform but I still bought a couple of jumpers and t-shirts just so she'll not feel left out.

Since Spring started I always dress her up with other play clothes and Jose disapproves of this. I pointed out how much clothes Mia has and I can't just let them be overgrown. Besides, as I've said, uniform is really not mandatory. So there... I will play dress up with my daughter for as long as I can because sooner or later she'll have her own preferences and that's the time I would gladly step aside. Well, I'm quite confident that she'll be on the conservative side because she does not want to wear skirt or dress without shorts, leggings or tights. Oh yeah!

When Mia turns five, Jose can push it and I'll zip... because they must wear uniform. ;)

See more school kids here. Happy weekend!

Golosinos in UK # 8

2009-06-26T13:19:00.004+01:00

I have mentioned from the previous post about lack of time… It is because every last week of the month spells major home cleaning, online grocery shopping at Tesco and Pinoyminimall, and some more shopping for Mia. (As I have mentioned before, the budget I used to allot for her nappies are now for other growing up girl stuff i.e. books, clothes, shoes, toys…).

I’ve been meaning to take a picture of Tesco’s delivery van but it is only now that I found the right timing. (You know, I can’t get the Delivery people speculate…) I took these shots from Mia’s room.

Online Grocery Shopping Rocks!

Delivered to our kitchen!

Our kitchen, I would say is a pretty good size compared to most 2 bedroom houses that I have seen when we were searching for a house to buy. And the kitchen is the first room I would always look for. I want it enclosed. Open plan is something that doesn’t fancy me because I don’t want the whole house to smell food especially when I am cooking shrimp paste. Jose would always tell me that he would want to have our kitchen’s walls removed. I told him I will never cook if he insists. So the only option really is to remodel. I have checked Minneapolis Remodeling and their services are quite impressive. It is true that the remodeling business is a sure hit nowadays because people would opt to improve than to move as the latter would cost more, obviously. I just hope that in time, we’ll have enough savings to buy an entire kitchen showcase as what we’ve seen in Ikea. I’d really want to have my kitchen floor in matte tiles, and the whole room would be full of doors. Cabinet doors, that is! Nevertheless I would say that I love our kitchen. Until we could afford to remodel, I could always clean. A clean kitchen is hard enough to maintain so I’ll focus on that first.

I also want to share a few of my cool finds...

Finally! I found something like Nabisco’s Choco Mallows. Friends, let me show you… the tea cake. Imagine! After three years, I only discovered it through Sammie’s birthday party. And her family has only been here for a month then. Talk about blessing.

Next is this:

You would not want to know how long we’ve been using our fingers… Ulk! Dental floss nor harp floss are not always the first choice. :D

Then this:

Wooden skewers? Barbecue stick lang kasi alam ko e! I wanted to have these since I discovered Mama Sita’s Barbecue Mix but I guess looking on the brighter side works best all the time. I would always tell Jose that our pork barbecue is better without the stick because we can eat it ASAP. Kidding aside, I have seen a pack at Debenhams three months ago, but I can’t push myself to buy 50 pieces for £4! NO WAY! I wonder if it’s made to be recycled… Yuck! So, Tesco’s 100 pieces for 97p? Gorge-ous!

Here is a list why Online Grocery Shopping works best for me.

1. £3 for delivery charge is better than paying for taxi fare or fuel.
2. I save £s through online coupons.
3. I can stick to our monthly budget.
4. I only spend less than an hour grocery shopping - as all the items I usually buy are saved under Favorites, I don’t have to look for them one by one.
5. Free time or weekend is spent doing other fun things.

There She Goes # 16

2009-06-24T23:57:00.003+01:00

New found lovely friends plus any occasion equals so many things to blog about. But I haven’t got time for it. I miss blog hopping too. Thank you to everyone who dropped by and left comments.

But I can’t let these slip…

Last Sunday, Father’s Day, I was so annoyed because the gift that I was supposed to give Jose was out of stock. I was left with no choice but to settle with the heartfelt blog post I made that day. Anyway, because of that, I forgot about the Father’s Day card that Mia was supposed to finish. Thankfully, Jose was in deep slumber even at 10am. And this is how the trying-to-be-very-quiet- card-making went…

Me: Mia! Come here!
Mia (Too engrossed with her new DS game): Mom! I am busy.
Me: Ok, one minute. No, 10 seconds! Oh please come now, Daddy might wake up!
Mia: Huh?
Me: It’s Father’s Day remember? You haven’t finished the card!
Mia: Oh yessss! Let’s hurry flurry scurry!
Me: Ok, let’s make this cut out look like Dad.
Mia: Mom can we color Dad’s shirt red? That’s his favorite color. Then his shoes blue because that’s your favorite. Aw! What about my favorite? Daddy’s pants cannot be pink!
Me: We’ll just put pink inside the card ok? Now put a face.
Mia: And purple? That’s my favorite too.
Me: Alright. But Mia why is Daddy’s face like that?
Mia: Mom! He’s looking for me. He looks grumpy because he can’t find me… Because I’m very good in playing hide and seek.
Me: Ah… Ok. That’s fine. Now inside the card, write D-A-D then write your name. Then let’s put a heart.
Mia: Mommy! Why a heart? It’s not Valentine’s Day!
Me: Hmmm… you’re right. What about balloons?
Mia: Silly Mom! It’s not his birthday! *Giggles*
Me: So what are we going to put in there?
Mia: I know! Let’s put a butterfly then two flowers. Daddy’s the butterfly because that is his most favorite insect and we will be the flowers. Well, because we are girls and girls like flowers right? I’ll be pink and you’ll be… blue? Mom, can you be just yellow?
Me (Too proud of her plan): Brilliant! I don’t mind being a yellow flower.
Then as I drew the butterfly and she finished coloring, she was sooo excited that she dashed right away to Jose…
Mia: Daddy! Wakey wakey! Good morning! Happy Father’s Day!
Jose: Aw! Thank you Mia.
Mia: Look, I told Mom to put a butterfly and… Grrr! Wait Dad I’ll be back again. (Then she rushed back to me).
Me (Pretending to be innocent): What did he say?
Mia: Mom! We forgot the flowers! Draw two flowers here. Quick!
Me: Well, you didn’t wait. That’s what you get for not waiting.
Mia: Oh bother!

For reference:

Grumpy Dad / Butterfly Daddy

With the Flowers! :D

And as we finished putting the two flowers, she went upstairs and did the same greeting to Jose like nothing happened. :D

Our whole Sunday afternoon was spent at Ikea, Jose’s place to be. Well, for a non-shopping enthusiast like my husband, Ikea is a definite rule bender. It’s a good all-in-one family store that’s why I like it too. Well, there’s shopping (obviously!), eating, tea/coffee/hot choco all you want, and time out with Jose (even for only 45 minutes) because of the free crèche they offer. Here are some pictures that day:

Fetched from free crèche...

We love Ikea!

We chose to sit very near to the Market Hall’s play area so Mia can have fun while we were having our dessert and hot choco. She was so thrilled with the green rocker that I let her play with it longer so when it’s time to get the items from our list, she’ll not want to get off the trolley because of exhaustion. I guess that rocker gave her more than that…

Out of the very big warehouse, Mia screamed, “Rocking boat! Mom! There’s the rocking boat!” very loud that all people looked our way. I was so embarrassed because I don’t know what she meant by “rocking boat” and that all I can see are brown boxes in huge shelves. So she continued screaming until I found the rockers colored black and red. So you just guess how long it took for me to see the thing! I was so excited for Mia that I almost screamed too when I saw… the price. The rocker is only £5 something! I could not believe how cheap it was! And it does the purpose alright? Even on carpets. Jose hearts the color of course and he plays with it too.

The rest of the day was spent fixing and building and cleaning and moving and until now, I am sooo tired. But very happy.

And speaking of happy, here are our first MK friends…

Kuya Rob, Alex, Ate Cech and Sammie / Jose with Ate Belle

While the Cat is not looking... look at the mouse! (Maybe she wants to taste the charcoal...) :D

Who wants Wii? We!!!

Everytime we enter their house, we can't help ourselves but exclaim how clean and immaculate the whole place is! The carpet is spotless and even the walls! Oh the walls! It's really a tough decision to keep the walls fixture and fitting free when a family is just starting on the property ladder. As much as possible, you wouldn't want any holes on them that's why having a welcoming hue of wall paint is important - be it in a room or the entire house's. I wonder how much it would cost to have our walls professionally repainted, especially Mia's room. Maybe Boise Painting could make a good deal for an estimate. I am thinking to have it splashed with soft tones of pink and purple then ours would have turquoise and red! Kidding! Haha! I'll leave our room alone. It just annoys me whenever I clean our room and I'll notice how poorly our wall paint was done. There are spots in places where there shouldn't be. I could only imagine who did the job. I really think that the previous owner of our house fooled us in many ways. He was more on "hiding" the ugly truths when we would really appreciate things more if we don't wait and guess what needs to be fixed next. Oh well, I guess that's just how he deals with business. I am just lucky than I have my own "Handy Manny" in Jose. :D

Kuya Rob, Ate Cech, Alex, Sammie and Ate Belle are the source of enthusiasm and guilt-free happiness that we are experiencing right now. Expect to hear a lot about them as when I asked Ate Cech for her permission to be “exposed” through my blog, she replied with, “Basta ba maganda kami sa pictures! Walang problema...” Well, her family has more than a pretty face. What made me crazy about them even more are their stories about how their family life revolves around God. And as Jose puts it, they are a breath of fresh air… a wonderful blessing. Oh I am just so happy!

This Father's Day...

2009-06-21T10:00:00.003+01:00

Sa lahat ng mga Tatay na nagpasaya at nagpapasaya sa buhay ko, kamag-anak, kaibigan at bagong mga kaibigan...

~o~

I have seen the greatness of different fathers. There’s my Lolo Daddy; my five uncles (Tito Jody, Tito Rommel, Tito Dino, Tito Bing and Tito Glenn); my brother-in-law, Jd; my father-in-law, Tatay Dionie; and my husband. To have known all of them, I am so grateful to the greatest father of all, God the Father.

If you’d read my roll call once more, one father is missing. And that is my Papa. I am a girl who would forever feel jealous (and happy at the same time) when I hear wonderful “Daddy stories” from other people...

My Papa used to be the father one could ever ask for. He’s a dentist, a politician by heart, a ladies’ man, the cool uncle, and the favorite son. But he is also the ONLY son-in-law - he who never had his own house, he who can’t make a say without hearing grunts from people around him, and he who never felt how it is to be “padre de pamilya” because my Lolo Daddy is considered as THE padre. (Although my Lolo never insinuated that stand).

Over time, my Papa became a very insecure man. We used to celebrate Christmas and New Year feeling all fidgety because we don’t know if he will come out from their room to join us. He doesn’t have all the money in the world. He would always think that if he has more, he could be and would be treated more. Thing is, he wasn’t very good in keeping up with having more. So... He has done things that would somehow justify a child to dishonor a parent. Luckily, my Mama taught me how it is to be a good daughter.

It is funny that until this moment, I can’t deny the fact that I miss and I love him. I want him to become a Papa to me once more; he whom I could never ask for more. If only... I wish I could go on because there is really a lot to say about how I feel for him. But I must stop.

I’d like to end this by writing a letter to Mia. Please read on too. :)

Dear Mia,

I can’t express enough how happy I am every time I see your Daddy reading good morning time, naptime, good afternoon time and bedtime stories to you. I would always tease him that he’s such a funny reader. He has a VERY loud voice and he speaks words with too much effort. Little did he know that I envy you sooo much. I know that when you grow up, confidence will never be a problem because you have all the right reasons to be proud; mostly, because of him.

Your Daddy amazes me with how he instills discipline in a very loving way. I am a coward in that aspect because I panic and overreact most of the time. But Daddy knows what must be done.

Mommy is very bad in Math and all that comes with it. But Daddy takes care of our finances wisely. I am sure you’ll get all the things you’ll need. I repeat, need.

He knows when to hug you and when you need his kisses the most. I sometimes feel that his hugs and kisses are more special because of the magic they bring to you.

He dances crazily when you ask him, he sings beautifully just whenever. Most of all, he works madly just to let you have the best life he could ever give. Your Daddy is utterly, completely and absolutely in love with you. He is just crazy about you.

Mia, whatever this life brings, always keep in mind the goodness of your Dad. Forgive him when he reprimands you even when you don’t understand. I promise you, someday you will know why.

Praise Thee Father for you are one lucky and blessed girl; firstborn of Jose Dionisio R. Golosino.

With all my heart loving you and your Dad,

Mommy

Dad's Little Butterfly Mia / Mia Coloring a Butterfly for Dad

Perfect 10

2009-06-19T00:00:00.002+01:00

THAT'S MY DADDY!

Jose is EVERYTHING Mia could ask for in a father. She has his (1) charming youth, his (2) precious time, his (3) solid energy, his (4) hot skills, his (5) amazing wit, his (6) 100% faithfulness, his (7) bank account and his (8) overflowing LOVE. There is NOTHING Jose will not do for Mia.

Jose is Mia's (9) greatest gift.

Jose is truly my (10) answered prayer.

We are SO PROUD of him.

Celebrate the generation of sweet and responsible Daddies. See more here.

5 Awards and My Top 5

2009-06-18T16:07:00.002+01:00

I've received five blogging awards! Woohoo! These are:

1. The Best Follower Award - I'm kind of a stalker that way actually. Bwahaha!

Thanks Genebei !

My five blogger friends whom I really love to hear from are:

Cee , Che-Che, Beth, Seiko, and Yaying

2. The Perky Award - Oh yes! I like this so much whatever "perky" means. That's good right?

Thanks Kero !

My five Most Perky buds would be:

Ate Pinky, Kuya Keith , JoyD, Pehpot, and Willa

3. A Lovely Blog Award - I have received this award in many shapes and sizes but I STILL want to keep getting it. Feel na feel ko talaga. :D

Thanks Mommy Seiko !

The 5 Lovely Blogs I want to share this with are blogs of:

Cheche, Chris, Denden, Jacris, and Yami

4 and 5. Creative Mom Blogger Award - This is an anniversary award given by Jacris and I am just so happy that I was nudged as part of her list. And what joy to receive it twice! So...

Thanks Jacris and Chris !

The simple rules:

♥ Take your award and put the logo on your post.

♥Link the person who awarded you.Remember each recipient of the award should acknowledge the person who honored them and go to Mom's Special Diary to copy and paste the award.

♥Put your own blog title and link.

♥Nominate at least five deserving moms.1.Mom's Special Diary 2. The Mommy Journey 3. Twinkie Calls 4.You're Next!

The 5 Most creative Mommy bloggers I know would definitely be:

Ate Weng, Jes, Kero, Genebei and Bams

Please grab your awards anytime my dear blogging friends!

Twinkie Calls HELP

2009-06-18T14:56:00.005+01:00

Please HELP!

Based from my little knowledge about gettting a custom domain, my old blog address which is http://twinkiegolosino.blogspot.com, should be redirected to my new one. I am just wondering why it isn't now. Last week, it was working fine, but now, IT DOES NOT.

I tried checking the Publishing tab from my dashboard and it clearly shows this:

We won't leave your readers behind!
http://twinkiegolosino.blogspot.com will redirect to your custom domain.

Now what should I do? Any tips?

And just in case you still haven't notice, it's now http://www.twinkiecalls.com. Please update. Thank you!

Our Backyardigan

2009-06-11T18:39:00.004+01:00

OUTDOOR FUN

So the sun was quite generous and this week's theme is a perfect fit with our afternoon activity. While Mia and I were having a blast, Jose interrupted us and asked if it's best to do remittance today since UK stocks is doing great. When we first came here the exchange rate is around P90 per £1, but now P78 is already a dream. And finding the the best rate provider is also another story. Well anything about money like CD rates is kind of shaky nowadays so what's the best thing to do? Look on the brighter side of our lives. And simple joys like creating a mini "beach" in our backyard is one sure way of having outdoor fun.

So...

Sand 'N Water Table, check!

Rainbow pool, check!

Bubbles? Check, check, check!

And more bubbles, check! :D

We had a three and a half hour nap after. What happiness!

Please check out Chris' link on my Daily Reads to see more Mommy Moments entries. :)

Chic in Chucks

2009-06-11T01:57:00.007+01:00

I can’t get enough of Mia’s hot pink Chucks. It’s best for any season. It keeps her feet warm during chilly days and just plain “cool” during summer. If only the size of her feet does not grow every three of four months, I would definitely buy her more than hot pink. I am so into the All Star hi cut design... just for Mia though. We, Mommy and Daddy could settle for the low cut. Another site to check out for outerwear (or shoes) is Maxpedition. They offer anything from tactical pants of different colors to tactical eyewear and best of all, if you buy two or more items from them; you get a free hat and free shipping too! Now I don’t know if Mia’s shoes can beat that coolness!

Houses

2009-06-11T01:00:00.001+01:00

So I’ve mentioned that last Monday, Mia had a play date with one of her new found Filipino girlfriends; only one because the older girlfriend goes to school full time. Anyway, I can’t help but smile at this photo. The thing is, it’s not me who took the picture. It was Jose... mainly because the mothers are busy chitchatting. And maybe Jose can’t help but find the scene too cute not to capture. As you can see they are playing with Mia’s dollhouse. I so love this dollhouse because of its simplicity. If only it can be real, home improvement would be a breeze! (Like what needs improving right?) Speaking of cute guests, I was a bit conscious with our house because of the old furniture and fixtures like the kitchen sinks we have but I guess, one can be very forgiving as hard times hit this country in an all time low. And about dinner on Friday, I was teasing our generous friends that maybe we could have dinner in our place too except that we could not have a proper one because our dining table can only hold “the buffet”. Meanwhile, I know that what goes in the stomach and real fun found in friendship are better than any suave long dining table could give. :)

There She Goes # 15

2009-06-10T23:24:00.005+01:00

Today marks Mia's 5th day without dede or bottle feeding. I've researched all over the net and read my What to Expect the Toddler Years book to find a tip or trick on how to make Mia stop drinking from the bottle. I panicked when I've read in one blog that a toddler must be stopped at age 2... max! It makes sense that tooth decay is the main reason this must not be prolonged but I just don't have the heart to brave the crying and pleading scene when it suddenly happened tea time of June 5th. And it went like...

Me: Mia, anak. You'll soon stop drinking from your bottle ok?
Mia: Ok.
Jose: Yes, starting tonight.
Me-in-panic-but-needs-to-back-my-insensitive-husband: Yes, tonight?
Mia: But Mom! (Starts to cry...) You can call me a baby from now on. I still need my bottle, please? Please?
Me (Close to tears): But Mia, I thought you're no longer a baby. You don't like being called a baby right? Only babies drink milk from the bottle...
Mia (Crying while trying to speak louder): Mom, Dad... please! I want to be a baby. I can still be a baby. But please?
Jose: But your bottles are gone. They were thrown and the garbage truck took them this morning. They are all gone. (Not true. Until now, they're in the steriliser).
Mia: Nooooooo!!! Oh please! Let's buy later, ok? Please Dad?
Me: (Cannot speak... If I had heart ailment, I could have died right that moment).
Jose: Ok. Tomorrow, I promise you, in the Disney store... You know the Disney store?
Mia nods while wiping and smudging tears...
Jose: Yes, you can choose whatever glass you like. Whatever.
Me: (In disbelief of the clever idea and very nice save...)
Mia: Can I buy Minnie Mouse?
Me (Smiling to Jose from ear to ear): Yes, whatever you like anak. Right Dad?
So Jose is not really the emotional type... but he answered YES in the sweetest way he can.

In short, hours of previous research went to nothing because I never read anything about "the new glass" tip or trick. (Now, I call it Jose's trick!) But it is important to take note that this moment is crucial for a toddler especially at Mia's age. Jose decided to do the process while he is still at home so that Mia will have both her parents around to support her. She should be understood more than ever, cuddled like every minute if possible and applauded with the efforts she makes. I am just so happy that Mia took the challenge without fits.

By the way, we didn't make it to Disney store. Because as soon as she saw the yellow mug with her name on at Toys R Us, she forgot about Minnie Mouse.

And I guess the timing could not be more perfect.

Mia found two Filipino girls to play with and she was invited in an actual birthday party!!! I only have good words to describe the lovely family we are now making friends with. We met them at church and our daughters glued in an instant. It's funny how Mia greeted them when she had the chance. According to Jose, she was so excited comparing her "Filipino hair" to them!

On June 6, our family attended "the first" birthday party. Mia had her first longest Happy Birthdaaay game (she lasted for two seconds), musical chairs game (she was the second out), pin Boo's eye game (she pinned it sooo out of target), newspaper dance game (her feet would go all over the place), piñata treats (she got a couple), and it was her first to choose a gift to give for a birthday celebrant. I don't mind that she didn't win in ANY of the fun games. I am just so happy for Mia. I guess she had the most neat and unharmed goody bag because the goodies that goes in her bag are all from consolation. :D

I am also proud with how Mia handled the gift giving part sensibly. You see even if Mia doesn't have a proper toy tea set (she only have a cup and saucer), when I asked her if she wants the same toy, she told me that it's not her birthday so she can't have it. Galing noh? She's always like that. She's someone who only gets one candy, one cookie, one sticker, one balloon, etc. even if she's been offered more than one.

I just have to say that the very cute celebrant had two candle-blowing moments. For the first take, Mia was the farthest from the birthday cake, she was the only kid on the other side of the table... So when the second was done for posterity, my daughter made sure to get close... so close "to help". ;D

I'm just relieved that they did not mind. As a matter of fact, it was followed by a play date last Monday... and dinner on Friday. We have been texting from time to time and I was also dearly asked how I was calling my relatives from the Philippines. I told her about magicJack, another of those VOIP phone systems which makes the latest buzz when it comes to keeping in touch with loved ones overseas. She said she's aware of it but I think what she's using is far more hitech. It was just so sweet of her to offer "her way". If you'd like to know more about phone systems like Call Recording, give Elitetele's site a go.

Oh I hope you are all as happy as I am right now. :)

http://www.twinkiecalls.com

2009-06-09T16:32:00.006+01:00

I've done it!!!

And thanks to everyone who offered help and support in my mission... Out of 11 Cash Calls entries I've made, I've earned a total of £30 from all 11 approved posts! And as promised, 50% goes to Me (and Mia) and 50% goes to charity.

And what a way to spend my share by sponsoring my domain for a year. (Who knows maybe next year someone else could do the sponsoring? *Wink*) :D

Please update your list! :)

Friendship Tokens

2009-06-09T00:20:00.001+01:00

What's so nice about blogging is the feeling of acceptance and appreciation. ALTHOUGH, I've come across bloggers who never even bothered to say hi back at me no matter how much I tried to connect... but whose lost is it really? :D

I know I've slacked for a while but these blogging friends of mine didn't lose touch. And I sincerely appreciate all these friendship tokens...

Cee , thank you so much for tagging me on this!

Be Original – Please Copy and Share:

What is Plagiarism? According to Dictionary,
Plagiarism is the unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and
thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one's own original
work.
To all Bloggers who exert effort to create noteworthy entries and who
continue to maintain a Blog which is a reflection of who she / he is, " Good
job! " To those who have the desire to Blog but are merely scraping contents
from other people' s materials, " Whether you are monetizing your site to help
you with your basic needs or to satisfy some of your wants, do it the proper
way. Stop making money out of someone else's work. Otherwise, you are nothing
but a common thief! "
I'd like to share this with: Yami , Genebei , Chris , Enchie and Willa
~o~

Chris and Genebei, thank you so much for appreciating my comments.

About this award: "We give and get awards for having a great blog and being a good friend. What I want to award is those people whose comments have meant THE WORLD to me. It takes time to visit a blog and leave a comment ... I wanted to recognize some special bloggers whose comments have made such an impact on me. The “You Don’t Say?” Award is awarded to these special bloggers in hopes that they will pass the award along to 5 of their best commenters!"

I'd like to share this with: Ate Pinky, Cee, Che-Che, Denden and Yaying

~o~

Che-che, thanks a bunch for always including me in your tags, awards, etc. :D

~~Begin Copy~~

This is the easy way and the fastest way to :

1. Make your Authority Technorati explode.

2. Increase your Google Page Rank.

3. Get more traffic to your blog.

4. Makes more new friends.

Rules : 1. Start copy from “Begin Copy” until “End Copy” to your blog.

2. Put your own blog name and link.

3. Tag your friends as much as you can.

1. Picturing of Life 2. Juliana’s Site 3. Hazel-My Life, My Hope, My Future.4. Jeanne-The Callalily Space5.My Family is my Life 6. The Simple Life of a Baghag 7. On A Wonderful Day Like Today 8. House Everything 9. The Creativity in Me 10. Travel and Photography 11. Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow 12. You Are My Sunshine 13.Song to Remember 14. Super Blog 15. Philiippine Tv Marathon 16.Simply Blue 17. Breaking the Boundaries 18. Top Five 19. A Simple Life 20. Simple Happy Life 21.Mom's Special Diary 22. The Mommy Journey 23. Mommy Diaries 24. Twinkie Calls 25. You're next!

~~End Copy~~

I'd like to share this with: Earthlingorgeous, Eds, Jes, Jac, Ida, Pehpot, Phebie, Pinaymama
Stacy, Sweetytots, Rossel and Tetcha

~o~

Yami and Jheng, back at you girls! Thanks a lot for this.

Lovely Blog Award

Rules:
1. Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award and his or her blog link.
2. Pass the award to blogs that you have newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

I'd like to share this with: WifeSpeaks, Samantha, Che-che (2nd blog), Apple, and Yaying

~o~

Yami, I am one stalker of a blogger, so beware! Hahaha! :)

I'd like to share this with: Cee, Che-Che, Cheche, Chris, Denden, JoyD, Kuya Keith, Ate Meeya, Ate Pinky and Ate Weng

~o~

Yami and Genebei, I find yours as well. Thanks!

I'd like to share this with: Bams, Beth, Aggie, Jane and Peachy

~o~

Yami, thank you, thank you, thank you!

I'd like to share this with: Jigi, Salen and food blogs of Enchie, Ate Pinky, and Ate Weng

~o~

Che-che and Cee, I feel the same way about you too... :D

I'd like to share this with: Seiko, Jeng, Gin, Kikamz, and Ela

~o~

Seiko and Che-che, maraming, maraming salamat!

I'd like to share this with: All the bloggers in my bloglists!!!

Have a lovely day to y'all lovely people!

I'm Back!

2009-06-05T22:34:00.010+01:00

To my blogging friends who missed me and left comments asking how I am... thank you and I missed you all too.

I guess I have enjoyed Mia's half term, Jose's presence at home and the two (almost everyday) sunny weeks that passed.

Now, let me share what got the most of me as I had LOA in blogging. (Aside from house chores and cooking abundantly).

1. Shopping, shopping and shopping - I thought Mia is all good with shoes up until she reaches five. What I didn't notice is the shoe gap. From a shoe size of 9 she's now inching to a 10 when all her other shoes-in-waiting are 11-12! Thankfully, her Robeez pairs and Barbie sandals are still forgiving with some space. So I bought her a hot pink Converse, a celery-colored Crocs, a bronze slingback from Adams and I just realized that the Gap sneakers from Lola Weng and the Tinkerbell rubbershoes I got from SM fits Mia's feet already. And as with summer clothes, bank holiday sales from Pumpkin Patch, Adams, Debenhams and Barbie made one little Golosino girl very excited to be very pretty in purple and pink. (Mia would always say how much she likes these colors!).

2. Half term Activities -

a. Mia has been taking care of a plant she brought home from preschool, and she's so ecstatic to see how it grows little by little until... water from the soapy mop dripped on it. When I confessed before she went looking for it, this is how she replied:

Mia: Mom, of all the plants, why did you kill mine? Daddy!!! Mom killed my plant!!! Grr!

Mom: Mia, I am really, really sorry. I didn't mean it.

Mia: Next time you have to be careful ok? Now, we have to plant a new one.

Mom: Ok, we'll buy a new one.

Mia: No! We plant it right there aGAIN.

Mom: The earth (soil) is full of soapy water, that's not possible.

Mia: Take the soapy water out then.

And that's my punishment possible? How... demanding! A few minutes after...

Mia: Mom, I'm sorry I got mad at you... but please take that soapy water out, ok?

Check out her hot pink Chucks! And her plant before the tragedy...

b. At preschool, whenever the sand and water table is out, I should get ready to sign a piece of paper informing me that Mia had to change clothes by the end of the session. Upon knowing how much fun this outdoor activity gives Mia and as reward because she wears her spectacles all the time, Jose decided to get her daughter her very own sand and water table (the miniature version). He threw in a very cute matching parasol too!

Much deserved!

Hoursss of FUN!

c. Since we're into the summer outdoor theme, I got a rainbow pool for her too. :)

Thank you Tita Ting for Mia's lovely swimsuit.

d. I also decided to get Mia her own radio because of her fondness in dancing and listening to audiobooks. I've been eyeing on a Barbie boombox since last year but until now, the price did not change even for 5%! Thankfully, the long wait was over when I found the perfect radio/casette/cd player. It's very user friendly, has an incredible loud sound and very cheap too. It costs a quarter of the Barbie boombox that doesn't play cassettes. (I just have to get insurance for it though!) Mia's happy, I'm happy, Daddy's pocket's happy.

'Di masyado happy! :)

Dancing anywhere!

3. Texas Hold'em Poker - Until Mia is of legal age to deal, we have to make do with Facebook's. Gosh! It's so addictingly fun! A definite bonding time for me and Jose... and Mia. How? Read on...

Jose's Poker Set (Adik!) :)

Jose: Babe, let's play poker!

Twinkie: Sandali lang!

Mia: Ok!

Jose and Twinkie: Huh?

Then Mia poked her Dad with her DS stylus repeatedly.

Mia: Dad I'll be the POKEr! :D

4. Seagate 650GB Hard Drive - Finally! Jose's been wanting to get one until all the nerves in my throat begged him to purchase right away upon learning that Currys offers it for 20% less. We were so amazed by its storage capacity that we learned the magic of bittorrent; movies and music galore!

matched with boxes of pizza! :)

5. Last but definitely not the least, it would be: Pasko sa Malabon - Sa gabi ng ika-25 ng Mayo, walang dalawang oras na plano, napagdesisyunan naming bumili ng ticket. Ang huling pasko ko sa Malabon ay noong 2006 nang kami ni Mia ay nag-abay sa kasal ni Ate Twinkle at Jd. At hindi pa kami buo nuon dahil hindi nakasama si Jose. Noong 2007 at 2008 naman, summer noon at wala na ang "malamig na simoy ng hangin..." Madalas kaming napapangiti ng aking asawa sa tuwing maiisip namin ang Pasko sa Malabon 2009! Anim na buwan na lang... Woohoo!

Ngayong taon, magkakaroon kami ulit ng ganitong kuha. :)

These are the main reasons I got slobbed. And I would have lingered more if it was not by the fact that today is my dear Mama Jean's birthday and our first year anniversary in our home sweet MK home (not a coincidence, I really told Jose to do the move on June 5 last year). I guess it's not very easy to make a comeback after a long blogging pause. Hirap mag-isip kung anong uunahin kong i-kwento!

Anyway, let me take this chance to be it known how much I love my Mama. We are her world literally... It's her 48th birthday and with all the trials and challenges that came her way, she still chose with all efforts, to be the best Mama she can be. I owe most of my endearing parenting tips and tricks from her. She is the kindest and most gentle person I know; a lot of times these traits got her to trouble. But that's my Mama, now Jose and Mia's too. And I miss her terribly. I miss just staying beside her when I feel down, I miss talking to her about married life and just life...

Thankfully, I have sisters and a brother-in-law who would not let the day pass without showing me through pictures, how a celebration like this unfolded...

My family at C2 SM Megamall / C2's pa-Birthday to Mama

Kung kayo nag-Banapple, kami rito, pinag-Banana Cake ka naman. :) /

She'll easily pass as TJ's Mom! :D Looking young at 48.

Happy birthday Mama. Mahal na mahal kita. May the good Lord shower you with more strength and grace.

Hmm...

Obviously, I am so blogging back! :D Cheers!

What A Collection!

2009-05-18T11:14:00.013+01:00

Theme: COLLECTION OF TOYS

Play-Dohs!

I am not sure if I could call these play-dohs a collection "collection" because when I got them, they were all ready in packs. Well, we are not really into collecting a particular kind of toy; Jose would not allow it. He would always say, "Mayroon na ata si Mia niyan." or "Manika na naman? Ang dami-dami na niyang manika." But when it comes educational toys like puzzles or Legos... I am not sure if being practical would still be an issue. :D We'll see...

To see actual cool toy collections, go here. I am telling you, it's worth the click!

~o~

Speaking of collection, I have more multi-title book sets to share. (The rest can be found here.) We can't get enough of them!

Read at Home -Floppy's Phonics / Poppy and Max

And I just discovered the power of audio books through these fabulous finds:

The Ballet Collection / Charlie and Lola (We've fallen in love with them big time!)

When my throat is not very cooperative, I could just pop 'em on the player and Mia gets her regular book reading dosage! :D

Charlie and Lola with Cds!

They say every child should own these... Now, I know why!

And since we welcomed Mia in our SPECStacular family, I am sure she'll enjoy reading and playing more. :)

My Lovely Daughter

Always the Apple of Daddy's Eye :)

Look how much she has to have...

I hope I could raise awareness of how much important it is to have your child's eyes checked even at a very young age. If you'd like to know what to look out for, go to my post entilted A Brighter World. Have a fantastic day!

There She Goes # 14

2009-05-14T17:00:00.003+01:00

It's been a while since I last posted Mia's musings under There She Goes. And I think this week's theme under Mommy Moments is a sign that I must catch up...

SILLY MOMENTS

I have a very weak back obviously due to obesity. I don't do my advised exercises anymore and that in itself is silly more in the negative mark. Every morning I am dragging myself to get up and Mia found a good way to help waking my lazy morning bones. And this is how all the fun silliness starts...

Humpty Dumpty

Mia: Mom!!! Good morning! I LOVE YOU!!!

Me: Good morning. I love you too.

Mia: Can I be Humpty Dumpty?

Me: Huh?

Mia: I'll be Humpty Dumpty and you'll be the wall.

Me: Uh Okay.

Mia walks on my back while singing Humpty Dumpty and I AM ENJOYING EVERY STEP then the song ended...

Me: Mia, please do it again.

Mia: Mom!!! You're not supposed to talk! You're a wall!!! Hmpf!

More Humpty Dumpty in the Afternoon

Mia: Mom, can I sit on your lap please? Your lap will be the wall and I'm Humpty Dumpty.

Me: Okay but I want you to be ticklish Humpty Dumpty. (BAD IDEA).

Mia: Oh yes yes yes! I like that!

While I tickled her and she laughed while singing, she inched and fell on the floor just like Humpty Dumpty!

Me: Mia!!!

No movement from Mia for two seconds...

I cried hysterically while I scooped her then cried some more...

Mia: Mom, put me down now. Hmpf! You're not the best Mommy in the world anymore! Hmpf!

Me: Sorry anak! Are you hurt? Sorry na. (Still crying).

Mia: Stay away from me, Mom!

Me: Mia, don't call me Mom if you'll talk to me that way. I said I'm sorry. And if you think that I'm not the best Mommy anymore then fine!

Mia moves away from me then after a few minutes...

Mia: Mom... I was mad because... you let go of me on purpose!

Me: WHAT? (Seryoso ka ba talaga?) Why would I do that? Mia, what are you thinking? That was an accident!

Mia: Accident? What's a acccident? (She's not into using a vs. an yet).

Me: (You know purpose but you don't know accident?) It means no one wants what happened. It means, I did not make you fall on purpose.

Then a few seconds more, it was Mia's turn to cry hysterically...

Mia: Mommy!!! I am sorry for saying that you are not the best Mommy. That's not true. You are the best Mommy for me even if Humpty Dumpty had a accident.

Me: That's okay Humpty Dumpty este Mia.

Mia: Mom!!! You're kidding me!

Me: What did you say? (Kidding? Kailangan ba talaga na kidding?)

Yes, Mia is just three. Make that and a half. ;)

Wall Doesn't Cry Over Humpty Dumpty

So much for bravery, Jose did not level the bike's stabilisers on the floor. According to him, it would be better so Mia can learn balance asap. (This is why "Fathers know best" did not make it!) First things first, she can't even freaking master pedalling! Why one earth would she care about balance?

To cut the long story short, Mia fell in the thorny bushes...

Thank goodness for her safety pads!

Me: Mia! Hit your brakes!!! (Too late! Nalito na kasi ako sa english ko). :D

Mia: Mom!!! I'm okay. (Stands right away.) Are you going to cry?

Me: Huh?

Mia: You have to remember, you're not the one who fell...

Oo nga naman! Pwede bang past is past? :D

Humpty Dumpty Dreams

Mia: WOW!

Me: Where's my good morning?

Mia: Oh! Good morning Mom! (Then holds my face with her little hands.) I had the most fantastic dream!

Me: Fantastic ei? So what was it about?

Mia: My hair was so beautiful! It has colors like of the rainbow's and it floats in the air like my bike's streamers! Isn't that wonderful?

Me: You are wonderful. (And amazing and... makapag-bike nga rin ng may streamers!)

Mia: Aw! Thanks Mom! That dream made me really hungry. Breakfast please?

Ah... siya nga. Now tell me what can be sillier? :D Go on and share it here.

Meanwhile, I'd like to end this with videos of Mia (when she was two years old) that are really silly. You have to view both videos to find out why... or who. :)

So much for being a stage mom... Aren't we all are? :D

Our Comfort Food

2009-05-13T12:11:00.004+01:00

Ideal Food

Banana Cake

Everyone in our family likes Banana Cake most especially my husband and father-in-law. That's why when we moved very far from the comforts of my mother's baking prowess, I had to borrow her precious but simple recipe... Then we're like in Malabon again. ;)

Come and make us hungry by clicking this.

Mommy Duty Calls: Exception to My Rules

2009-05-12T10:51:00.001+01:00

This year, Mother's Day in England was March 22. Jose and I agreed that we have to celebrate according to where the celebrant of an event is at. But last weekend, we tried make an exception. Our conversation went like:

Jose: Babe! Nakita mo ba mga bumati sa'yo? Next year May na natin i-celebrate Mother's Day ha!
Me: Oo, nakakatuwa nga e! Bakit May? Akala ko kung nasaan ang mother, dun dapat binabati?
Jose: E nakakasabay ng birthday natin e. May na lang para solo mo at mas ma-celebrate.
Me: Ayoko, pwede naman parehas e! Kahit nakakalito, masasanay din ako. Speaking of, ano pa-Mother's Day ninyo sakin ngayon? :D

If you'd like to know how we celebrated Mother's Day last March, you can see it here. Otherwise, this is what I got for the May celebration:

Coraline: Our first 3D Movie Experience

Big supply of my favorite tea and chocolates!

So more on exception... I am not into writing sweat stuff but I can't help but share what happened before we watched Coraline.

The movie starts at 7:40 pm. After attending mass (and feeling oh so hungry), Jose told me to wait for the bus in the nearest stop. Unfortunately, I had to pee. We went back MK Centre then made an exit to a different bus stop around 6:45 pm. That's all fine since we still have a good hour. Thing is, the buses got weirdly stranded. The usual 10-minute wait turned to 30! At 7:15, two buses arrived but Jose decided to ride the other bus which according to him was more convenient because not too many people are going to ride it. So what's next? Dingdingding! You guessed right! The bus he chose was not going to Xscape which by the way, is just 15 minutes away if we walked. Around 7:00 pm, I was telling Jose to just walk but he decided against it since we have an all day ride ticket. He's got a point but time isn't really going our way! Argh! At 7:20 pm, Jose agreed (no choice really) to just walk. We were so mad because we were both so hungry and Mia was also screaming , "I'm hungry! I'm hungry" (meaning she REALLY is hungry) and Jose would not let us eat chocolates because he doesn't want to "spoil" our dinner.

To make matters worse, when Jose almost decided to just watch the next screening, I quipped that the movie doesn't really start at 7:40 so he was still all eyes on eating at KFC (located on the the other end of the mall.) I gave him false hope. Because by the time we reached Xscape, the only thing on my mind was for him to get tickets and I will buy food through the cinema's. We even passed by Mcdonald's and Jose made a funny remark that there's no way he's not eating KFC. (Funny because I know that he's making a big mistake of ridiculing Mcdo). :D

7:45 pm, he's got tickets and I bought two large hotdog meals. I only bought two because I don't have the appetite anymore and one hotdog meal (sandwich and soda) costs £8! When a full KFC bucket meal (8 chicken, 2 sides, 4 chips, and a litre of soda) is just a tenner... I can't believe how sad our most anticipated meal experience unfolded.

Jose was all quiet the whole time he ate his hotdog. When I asked if it's worth to give the silent treatment, he just replied with, "Tama na, isuot mo na lang yang shades mo." So I did. And you know what? Our first 3D movie experience wasn't so bad after all. As I look on the brighter side... Mia was the hero of the day. She was so well-behaved in the theatre (devouring her poor hotdog sandwich) and she was so engaged in moving past the 3D objects. She was sooo funny! Coraline of course left us with a handful of life lessons.

When we got home (and ate a decent meal), I cooked fries (as soon as Mia fell asleep) to somehow compensate the doomed taste of a bucket meal. As you can see from the picture above, the gesture somehow worked. Jose has recovered from a series of unfortunate events and was all game to do what I love most... take pictures! What else? :D

Biz Pairs

2009-05-12T07:55:00.009+01:00

On Celebrity Marriages

My top three:

1. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip - Why? Because she's powerful and her husband is very submissive supportive of her decisions. :D

2. Victoria and David Beckham - Why? Because they kept themselves attractive for each other, (and they are the smartest in monetizing their beauties).

3. Angelina and Brad Pitt - Why? Because they have "mighty hearts". They definitely defied the norm and just went for it. All for love ika nga.

More chikas? Please go to Wifespeaks.

Calachuchi

2009-05-11T07:48:00.006+01:00

Marriage That Inspires You

After 50 years, my Lolo Daddy and Lola Mommy are still happily married and in love.

Fantasy World

They make sure to go out every week on dates by watching a movie or just walking hand in hand looking for plants and more plants. :D Last year, during their 50th wedding celebration, I shared a story about how Lolo loves Lola in the simplest but most beautiful way I can understand. You see, we lived with our grandparents since we were born and there was never a time I saw them fight. But this one afternoon, some 15 years ago, I saw Lolo pick a Calachuchi flower from the garden and gave it to Lola without saying a word. That's definitely action speaking louder than words for you and me. :)

Lola on the other hand will always claim that it was Lolo who cooked better and with that she was pressured to learn her way to his heart (as if it was really needed).

So Happy Together!

Lolo has been driving to Manila from Malabon also some 50 years now since all my six uncles studied in San Beda, my mama in Holy Spirit; and my Lola worked as a nurse in Malacañang Clinic. He knew all routes possible like the back of his hand. But three years ago, my youngest sister and I got so worried because the usual two hour travel time passed and yet he was still in the streets. After a couple of hours more, he was finally home looking confused (more on blank) because he claimed that he got lost. That day we were on shifts in USTH because Lola had mild stroke. A heartwarming remark Lolo made that I will always remember during those trying times is this, "Jean, nag-iisa lang ang Mommy mo. Nag-iisa lang yan." Because it is true. Benny has always been the only one for Danny.

Malate Church

They are the most compassionate, loving, and inspiring couple I have ever known and for me, theirs is an ideal marriage. Wouldn't you agree? :)

For more kilig stories, please go to WifeSpeaks.

Am I Xtraordinary?

2009-05-10T00:49:00.006+01:00

Yes I am!!! And this is why I think so...

Mia at One...

Two...

Three...

No guts, no glory. So I made sure to I build her guts. :D These videos are dedicated to Lola Mommy, Mama Jean, Nanay Uday, Ate Twinkle and to all Mommies in my blog lists. You all inspire me. Thank you.

And thanks to Enchie for coming up with this fantastic idea thus the proud opportunity. :) Happy Mother's Day!

Long Life

2009-05-08T16:15:00.002+01:00

Theme: BATTERY OPERATED TOY/S

If there's one thing that I love about exchanging an iPhone over these... it's got to be the battery life. We can play with them for days and we wouldn't worry a bit.

Mia's Pink Nintendo DS Lite Pack / My Red Nintendo DS Lite Pack

I was due for a phone upgrade sometime in January and had a change of heart because I can't throw all our saved budget over one gadget. For Jose to have an iPhone is a necessity, but for me who spends most of my time at home, why would I need mobile internet?

Now, did I make the right decision... A Nokia N95 8GB that includes unlimited same network calls, 1000 text messages and 600 other network and landline calls (like to whom will I spend all these?), game consoles for me and my daughter, and SOME change OR a 16GB iPhone that costs way more than what I got?

Can't decide? Let these pictures help:

DS...

iPhone...

DS!!!

Sabi ko na nga ba, tama desisyon ko e! BwITTERahahaha! Come and share some battery operated toys by clicking this.