an extraordinary path to parenthood

teddy banks

mari — 2010-09-03T14:49:00Z

Gwen Mari calls all teddy banks Teddy. Whether it is an teddy or a simple can, as long as she can put coins on it she will call it Tidi.

This habit of saving and putting coins on a container became a habit for her since she learned to shoot coins on the hole. For her, it is a simple game that she enjoys most. So whenever she sees any coin lying around, she'd pick it up and directly shoot it. At times, she would even be interested with the coins from our sari-sari store.

Looking at some articles, this habit can help her value money. It may even be the start of her career with gold coins. As early as now, we try to teach her about investments and value of precious metals. I tell her why gold is considered as a precious metal and that the jewelries that we have now is made of it (though the Karat is not that high). That gold and silver are wise investments. Gold bullion is even considered as a unique investment and that gold comes in ingot and coin forms. In case, she wants to spend her money on this someday, she needs to buy these precious metals from reliable sources like the United States Gold Bureau.

Her teddies are half full now. By December, one may be filled until the rim since her tatay helps her fill it up. The money will then be deposited on her bank and some will be used to buy another teddy

blog changes

mari — 2010-09-03T14:39:00Z

There will be some changes on this blog soon. I wanted to change the design by improving it. I need to choose pictures or make designs that I can incorporate. I got the free host from godaddy so I am limited with regards to what I can do. Since I am not knowledgeable enough, I will just go with the basics.

Please bear with the changes. If someone would volunteer to help me, it will be most welcome

family pictures

mari — 2010-09-03T14:30:00Z

It is very seldom that we get to take our family pictures. Tatay, Nanay, achi and shobe. We haven't invested on a tripod yet, that's why. In cases that we do have pictures together, either we set the camera on timer mode and position it somewhere that would give us a good angle or we have someone to take the shot for us. For our weekend getaway, we had TaTins and TaMia to take the shots for us. Here are some of our family pics then...

eating habits

mari — 2010-09-03T12:54:00Z

At 1 year 8 months, baby Gwenks eat anything that we feed her. She likes to eat rice, pasta, vegetables and fruits. For her vegetables, she would eat string beans, squash and even okra. She also likes carrots more than potatoes but finishes everything up. She eats all fruits that she is offered. She likes bananas, apples and pears. She would munch calamansi as if she's eating ponkan or dalandan. Late week, it was her first time to eat mangosteen and she loved it.

One thing that I noticed, she loved pasta and noodles the most. She will eat it even everyday and still would ask for more. Whenever she has food that fall off from her plate, she'd pick it up too. She does the same thing on other items like coins, the ordinary coins and not even a gold coin. I wished she'd get hooked with the gold one, not as a food but as an investment. I heard that it is really good and it has been in the market for sometime already. In addition, these golds does not only come in coins forms but in bullions and ingots. For those who are not that fascinated with gold can try other metal like silver. These are in demand too, making the supply reach zero level. And according to their web release, they offer to transfer the items on your bank deposit so that you won't have to worry regarding the security.

Anyway, going back to achi's eating habits, I hope she will continue eating nutritious food. She gets to taste some junk food sometimes but in moderation.

birth stones

mari — 2010-08-20T12:53:00Z

Gwen Mari born on the month of January has garnet as her birthstone while Stefani born on April has diamonds. One of the things that I wanted to give my daughters is a set of jewelry with their birthstones on it. It is easier (but more expensive) for me to give this to Ani since there are several jewelry shops that offer her stones. In fact, I already have several pieces which I got from mom that I am planning to give them in due time.

For the time being, I am still searching for a jewelry maker/seller that offers garnet stones. I hope it is not as expensive as diamonds though I can start saving for it, if it comes expensive too.

on time

mari — 2010-08-07T00:53:00Z

All is well that ends well.

Looking back at the successful Christening, I can't help but thank God for the blessing of social security benefits. It was right on time when we needed it most. It was an answered prayer, sealed with a smile

*-*

To add to this blessing, development and growth for both of my kids are on time. Meaning they are still within the chart growth and development that I am checking. Ani is bigger than kids her age but she is still within the boundary. She is healthy and active as ever. At 4 months, she can now roll from prone to supine position but not from supine to prone yet. Achi on the other hand is more advance. She can now identify shapes and letters but she can't pronounce some of it yet. She can look at a shape or letter and identify it in another file

weekend bonding

mari — 2010-08-07T00:49:00Z

We rarely go out these days because of several reasons: (1) the unpredictable weather; there are times when it would rain unexpectedly in the afternoon even if the sun is shining in the morning, (2) we need to have more budget since we to feed 4 adults and (3) we do not always have a car to use; tatay does not bring home the company car as often as he used to. Thanks to the grandparents, we might have something to use in the future. *This is why I need to search for some car insurance reviews so that I can find quotes within our budget*

At times when we can't go out, we stay at home and bond within the confines of our home. We would watch tv or just sit in front of our computer. Weekend is more of bonding times to the father and daughters since this is the only time that tatay can stay longer with the kids.

For this week, we would just go out to attend mass and do our weekly grocery. No trips to the pedia (thakfully ).

vaccine update

mari — 2010-07-28T04:01:00Z

Finally, after several weeks for the scheduled vaccine baby Gwenks got the shot.

This is the first time that baby Gwenks will have a 5-in-1 vaccine. Her earlier shots are usually one dose for a certain vaccine. Since vaccines are no longer offered for children above 1 year old in our health center, we had to avail of the 5-in-1 shot. These are boosters for her previous shots like Hepa and DPT.

She had her shot, the same time with Stefi. She had to go first so that she won't react too much once she sees her ading having her shot first. As usual when we got in her pedia's clinic, she started making face and different sounds to avoid her pedia. But since it was already late and her tita doc needs to go to her next clinic schedule, we had to forgo long introductions. Tatay brought her to the bed while tita doc prepared the vaccine. They tried pep talking to her but no avail. Then they gave her the shot. Tatay holding her hands and tita Mia holding her knees. She cried and shouted a bit but after that she was already back to her usual self.

It was brief and I think she is already getting used to having shots. Now, we will start saving for the Prevanar shot...

so I hope to write about the non 12 step, this will help me save. I will have to recommend this too. I know of one person who needs to work on addiction and this will be great help for him.

ani's christening kwento

mari — 2010-07-28T03:58:00Z

Christening Kwento - this is a long read

Baptism happened last Sunday, July 25 at Sto. Rosario Parish in San Pedro while the reception followed at The Clubhouse of our subdivision.

Church - Sto. Rosario Parish - Pacita Complex 1, San Pedro Laguna

The preparations happened a month before the event only; though we started discussing things that we wanted to incorporate even after Stefani was born. Then we wanted the baptism to happen on the month of July so that it will be a double celebration: Tatay's bday and Stefani's Christening. We were choosing dates between July 24, the Saturday or July 25 Sunday. If we opt for the 24th, some sponsors may not be able to attend since some have work. If we go for the 25th, there might be some who would be tired to travel on a Sunday. In the end, we got the 25th.

Church preparation is not easy as usual. The administrators from Sta. Rosa de Lima Parish where our barangay is considered as parishoners were not easy to talk to. The manang would answer questions 'pabalang'. They would also shout back their answers making us look like we cannot understand their terms. When we asked for a request to transfer the ceremony to another church, they asked for P200 fee for it (which we think is too much).

What tatay did was, he went to Sto. Rosario Parish in Pacita and had Stefani listed for the baptism ceremony on the 25th. They just asked for P300 fee plus P10 fee for each sponsor. They looked for his ID and that's it. He got Stefani in. They just reminded that sponsors attend the seminar at 10am in the morning, before the baptism ceremony.

Reception - The Clubhouse Garden Villas 3 Sta. Rosa Laguna

Initially, we wanted to have the reception at home. We will just set-up tents as well as tables and chairs. But when rainy season started, we opted to have the reception at the clubhouse instead. In fact, the rental for the place is lesser than before. Instead of the usual 7k, it was lowered to 3k with a refund of P1k.

Reservation was easy. We paid 50% or P1500 for reservation and paid the remaining balance 5 days before the event. Good thing I checked the log book because they listed the event on August 25.

Invites, Tarp, Souvenirs - DIY tatay

These are tatay's work of art. He made these several days before the event. He had several sleepless nights to come up with the designs. He made photo cards for the invites and ref magnets for souvenirs.

family pics

mari — 2010-07-28T03:56:00Z

Christening is over. It was a success and I am just glad that it is over. This simply means that we can bring baby Ani out more often (but with the kind of weather that we have I am thinking twice).

Last Sunday, we had our youngest daughter baptized. Preparations were done several days before the event. We had plans early but it was difficult implementing it immediately when you have no house help and with 2 daughters to look after. Even though we had that little time, we were still able to come up with personalized gifts that we gave to our guests.

I am just thankful for everyone who went and joined us despite the occasional downpour that day. What made the rain 'fun' was the fact that the guests were able to stay longer. This gave us the chance to have photo ops with the guests and our families. Here are some of the family pics that we had... very seldom can you see our dad enjoying the pictorial

random thoughts 2

mari — 2010-07-11T14:07:00Z

* Less than 10 days to go before Ani's baptism and we haven't accomplished everything yet. But the most important one was already filed. The church was notified and that's it. I hope the sponsors arrive on time for the seminar ...With regards to the food, we still have to talk with Queensland. We have trouble contacting their AE... I hope its not yet too late. This cramming makes me want to use apidexin more. To make my losing of weight more beautiful

* No clothes to wear yet for the day. We thought of wearing green shirts but we haven't found 'the shirt' yet. I am thinking of buying from a shop that carries clothes for all ages so we can easily find a shirt that would fit Achie.

* New house help issue. My cousin's going home soon and we don't have any house help yet

* Sick household... again. I hope the kids get well soon. It is tiring going to and fro the clinic for check-ups.

the baby book

mari — 2010-07-11T13:58:00Z

I finally got one for Ani For her 3rd month birthday celebration, I decided that we will just eat at SM instead of cooking for it. As early as 8:30, I already started bathing the kids. We were out of the house by 10am. When we got there, we went first to the Department Store since I wanted to look for our clothes (for Ani's christening). We couldn't find the right color for us. Then we went to the toy section since they are on sale. Then little Ani started to cry. I asked my cousin to get her milk but when I was about to put the nipple on her mouth, I noticed that it was the wrong nipple. It was a variable flow nipple. So what we did was we went to Karate Kid instead to order lunch. While father & daughter were ordering, I was breast feeding on our table (thank God for breast milk and the sling).

After eating, the little girl showed signs that she wanted to ride the train roaming around the mall. Tatay gave in but when we went there, the train was about to 'charge' its battery. We waited for another 30 minutes for it. While waiting, I went to BookSale while they went to Quantum. And there in front of me was a baby book worth P130. It is not that eye catching but it serves the purpose. I was doubtful at first because it looks like it is for boys but I think it's not So I got it... I was trying to find other books for the girls but Ani started crying.

Then we rode the train, just because baby Gwenks started wailing when she and her tita rode by themselves. It was a long ride. It was better if we just walked alongside it. Then Ani was again hungry so we headed to the Breastfeeding station (I'll write a separate post for it :p)

Generally, I am happy with how we spent our day. It was tiring, yes, since we commuted all the way. It was worth any weight loss products available in the market. Trips like this make me lose weight fast.

ani chronicle 3

mari — 2010-07-11T13:56:00Z

7.10.10 - Ani turns 3 months today. Looking at her makes me think that she might need some fat burner supplements already. She has grown really big for her age. She has double, sometimes even triple chin. She is also long, longer than her ate at this age. Her feet could now extend beyond her bath net

With regards to her other developments... she can now bable words. She looks and smiles at you when you talk to her. She can recognize her name and look at the person calling her. She shows her dimples when you ask her to.

tiring

mari — 2010-07-11T13:42:00Z

The weekend is tiring. I was hoping that I could finally get a little more resting time but everything changed when achie started to have fever again. This is one of the most difficult part of being a parent, more so of being a mother. The little girl doesn't want anybody to hold her except for me. She would wail and shout really loud just to get my attention. I am just lucky that I have husband with me. He does the sponge bath to lower achie's fever.

The routine was tiring. When little G sleeps, I make sure that I hold baby Ani too. I miss holding her because the only chance that I get to is when I feed her. As much as I wanted to relax and eat more of Swisher Sweets, I just maximize my time taking care of the other baby.

In times like this, I usually wish for 2 bodies... or if I could just divide myself so I can do more chores at the same time.

still breast feeding

mari — 2010-07-03T16:21:00Z

I am taking one day at a time when it comes to breastfeeding. I was not successful with my eldest that is why I am slowing things this time. Though there are times that I need to give supplements for Ani, I can say that I am already successful that I am able to reach this far.

Breastfeeding have many benefits for my family. For Ani, she won't get wrong with her milk. She doesn't have worries with allergic reactions to it. She gets the best type of milk for her. For me, it is the fastest, cheapest and easiest way to lose weight. It is like taking irvingia gabonensis, the only difference is that I do not pay anything for it. For tatay, it saves a little amount for milk expenses. e only gets to buy the smallest can and it would last for a month already (unlike before where he buys the biggest can and it would last only for a week or less).

Here I am now, hoping to extend it more for the next 3 months or more. I'll be happiest if I could breastfeed until Ani is old enough to wean from breast feeding.

christening preparations

mari — 2010-07-03T16:09:00Z

In less than a month, we will welcome little Ani to the Christian world. Preparations are still on the list meaning we haven't started anything yet. Most of the things to be done are still on the draft. Either we just inquired about it yet or we haven't done anything about it at all

Here is the list of the things that we still have to do:
* notify the ninongs and ninangs that we are considering them to be Ani's godparents

* inquire re: caterer
~~- list of choices~~
- options: menu per package, etc
- inclusions of the package

* church
- requirements for the baptism
- payments
- scheduling for the seminar and for the baptism itself

* photo/video (tentative)
- labor only package
~~- options or choices~~

* add ons
- invitations
- tarpaulin
- souvenirs
- cake/cupcake
- clothes for the day

Haven't done much really as you can see. I haven't even started looking for best weight loss pills, though I think I don't really need one yet. Running after baby Gwenks is still effective for my weight loss technique.

3rd quarter

mari — 2010-07-03T15:54:00Z

It is already July and this means that we are already starting the other half of 2010. July marks the start of the 3rd Quarter.

So far, I am proud with the development of the kids (will post more about each on the coming days)

Baby Gwen added more words on her vocabulary. She expresses and talks more words everyday. She is also more active but is still shy when faced with new people. She needs more encouragement and a little more socialization to hone her personality.

Baby Ani has doubled her birth weight already. She is getting heavier each day, alternating breast milk and formula milk. She smiles more often now and talks with her eyes. She blabs and makes sounds too.

I am glad with the output of the house too. There is already several improvements to it. We had renovations and extensions made. The prospective additional comfort room is now into action. I hope that there is an appropriate 'structure' from Kohler toilets that would 'fit' the smaller room.

Next in line, the store. We hope to make improvement of it before the baptism.

tentative sideline

mari — 2010-06-23T08:52:00Z

There are times when I get a chance to have a little chit-chat with my neighbors. When we do talk, we'd always get to talk about how we could 'add' up no matter now small to our husband's salary. Since we are stay-at-home wives, it is really nice if we could have our own money. Being sahm, with small children, it is quite a challenge. I would say that I am a little luckier since I was able to start the sari-sari store before it was 'prohibited' inside the subdivision. But I still want something more to add to the store. I was thinking if its possible to sell books but will I have a good market for it? Filipino pocketbooks perhaps? I know that there are some house helps who get bored during the day so they might be a good market

Howell, there is still enough time to think for it. I may finally continue it by August. By that time, Ani's baptism would have been long finished.

wabyu

mari — 2010-06-23T08:30:00Z

I love you from children are always heart melting and sincere. When it was my turn to hear it from my daughter, I was teary-eyed and requested that she repeat it another time.

The scene: we were in bed since it was already her sleeping time. After saying her prayers, we sang a little and then...
baby G: nay, wabyu
me: ano yun nak?
baby G: nay, wabyuuu
me: ano uli?
baby G: wabyuuu... (with matching hug)
me: love you to anak (smiling from ear to ear)
baby G: mwah...
me: ulitin mo nga anak, tell nanay wabyu
baby G: deadma na :p

A MOMent for me. I love scenes like this. It makes me appreciate being a SAHM more. If I only knew that this scene would happen, I would have set-up the videocam but since it is a spur of the moment then I'll just keep it in my mind and in my heart and on this blog

Now, its back to reality... time to search for the iphone accessories that will go with the phone. I wish I have this unit too but its just not my priority

ani's

mari — 2010-06-14T03:48:00Z

There are times when I feel guilty that I didn't buy as many things for Ani as I did with Gwen Mari. Most of Ani's clothes and things now are hand me downs from her Achie and Ate Marthina. To make up for it, we decided to buy more personalized items for her instead. We usually buy things earlier for her age so that she can use it for longer period of time.

We started buying several clothes that her ate does not have too much, like more shirts with sleeves and more clothes with different color other than pink. We will also try to buy another stroller just for her... but I'm still thinking twice if we need it more than the sling. I would opt for a saya or another ring sling instead.

One of our future purchases for her (and her ate, of course) is a modern furniture that they can use for their everyday life. We saw this Disney table and chairs which are really cute. They can use it for studying, eating or just playing around. It fits them well since the table has 2 chairs with it. It is also small enough that it will fit their attic bedroom.

We hope to start the renovation inside our house after Ani's baptism. This will give us more space for more items for her (and for Gwenie).