Road Trip to Fontana

And Now It's Time to Read!

Being a SAHM, i have to think of ways to make the most out of mine and Charlize's time together.  And since most kids her age go to preschools while she hasn't attended any, i thought why not try to start her off in reading already?

First of all, she can now write her first name, although not perfectly, but the concept is there.  Of course, I'm not supposed to pressure her. But I could at least try to introduce her to the wonderful word of reading, right?

Second of all, I'm not happy about her spending a lot of time in front of the TV. Even if she only watches Playhouse Disney and although she does learn something from it, too.

One time,  I had a chance to chat with CJ's pediatrician, and she shared that when her only son was like 3 or four years old, she first  taught him how to read by introducing him to groups of letters like Ba, Be, Bi, Bo, Bu or Ka, Ke, Ki, Ko, Ku and so on.

Upon hearing this, I was instantly reminded  of my very own childhood.

And this book. And so off we went to National Bookstore.

We meet again, my old friend! Hehehe!

We're off to a good start!

Very, very affordable and effective, I should say! :)

I was amazed that they STILL do have this book! This is what my mom and dad first used in teaching me how to read. Even if  I didn't experience going to a Kindergarten class then, I already know how to read even before I was age appropriate to enroll in Grade 1. (Not bragging though, hehehe.) I'm just glad that i found this very familiar reading tool that could somehow help me teach my own daughter. And all I could say is, it worked for me!

And since we're at it, I also found these other helpful books:

 

Lastly, we thought, that to get my daughter more interested in reading, we might as well get her this book:  

Her favorite cartoon character: Angelina Ballerina

It's like watching TV, but only better, because she's learning how to read as well! And that, for me is just.... PERFECT! :)

Last Sunday

Make your own photo slideshow

Hello Kitty

Got this cute Hello Kitty Cellphone Charm for 50 pesos at a toy vendo machine in the Sanrio Store at SM North Edsa Annex. Wish i got all the colors! So cute. :)

For instant cooling and moisturizing effect on your dry, chapped lips...

"LipIce" available at Watson's

How We Celebrated CJ's Birthday

It was really a lot of fun, most especially for the Birthday Girl! Thank God for the gift of family. I hope one day, we could get to celebrate it with my Dad and my Brother's family, too.

Made this for my nephew Ady last year :)

Time flies...

Last Day of Being 3

And now my Four-year-old :)

Now You Can Make Your Own Movie Trailers in iMovie'11

I just upgraded my Macbook's iLife software to the latest iLife'11 and I am enjoying its new features!

iPhoto and iMovie have never been better!

In iMovie'11, not only can you create your own movies, but now you can also make movie trailers like this one i made for my Boninay!

I had so much fun! I love my Mac! I love iLife '11!

CJ's Imagination

The "cone" is a remnant of a popped balloon, the "ice cream" are Chocolate Knots from Jack 'n Jill

Charlize Jade's Birth Story

Reposting again from my Multiply account. Wrote this one before CJ turned 1. :))

Unlike other moms-to-be who went through their 9-month journey in a breeze, mine was a little bit "complicated". Literally. On my 6th month of pregnancy, I was overweight, my blood pressure went above normal and i have "swelling" or edema. 

My OB told me that I have preeclampsia. It's a rather dangerous pregnancy disorder that can affect both the mother and the child. It didn't help that I immediately did my own research in the internet to know more of this complication 'cause doing so only made me more worried and scared about my condition. I realized that it's better to stop reading these articles and just pray and leave everything to God. After all, He's the one who gave this precious being inside me and He's the One to decide what should happen. Yet, of course I should take the necessary medications and take a lot of rest. If other expecting moms were advised to take a walk in her last month of pregnancy to ease her delivery, I was told to rest or else my BP might shoot up and cause more complications. We patiently waited for the "day" with faith that everything would be okay.
 
At last, the day came. March 13, 2007,  our precious little girl we named Charlize Jade (to bear the first letters of her daddy's and mommy's  names: Christine and Jericho) safely arrived (thank God!) via Cesarean Section. She's so tiny, just 5.9 lbs. but healthy and perfectly normal! I heard her cry and was able to kiss her seconds after she came out and before I dozed off. I woke up in the recovery room after 3 hours and they wheeled me to my room. I wasn't able to see Charlize until the next day, except through the pics her loving (and cute, haha) daddy took for me, since I can't stand or even move yet because of my operation.


The following day, I was brought to the nursery to see her again, finally! I can't explain how I felt when i first held her in my arms and tried to breastfeed her. I was so happy! It was all worth it! I'm sure all mommies would agree. Hehehe.

My life, finally, is complete. With daddy Jek and Baby Charlize, I could not ask for anything more.
Now, we'll be celebrating Charlize's first birthday!

We're busy preparing a little get together for our family and friends to celebrate this meaningful day with us.(We miss you Daddy/Lolo Fil, Uncle Brian, Lola Ella, too. It would be happier if you can come celebrate with us...). It's nothing extravagant. Just to share the blessings we received with the people we love. And to thank God for Charlize Jade, the ultimate blessing, who never fails to bring a smile to us each morning, fun and laughter all throughout the day, and a different kind of fulfillment before we finally close our eyes to sleep and lay our tired bodies to rest every night (or in her daddy's case, before he leaves for work! hehehe! ). We love you, anak!

Remembering Mommy

I wrote this 3 years ago in my Multiply blog for my Mom's birthday.  Just wanna post it once again here, because no matter how long she has been gone, I still miss her. I miss her even more, actually. Happy Birthday, Mommy!

A few days from now, March 7, to be exact, my dear mom would have celebrated her 53rd birthday. If only she's still alive.

She passed away a few weeks after I graduated from elementary. She was 37. Brain aneurysm. I can still vividly recall everything that happened then, though that was 15 years ago. It's just not easy to forget how a very important person in your life was taken away from you.

She's my best friend. I've always felt secure when I'm with her. When I was a little girl, me and my brother would drag our bed's mattresses from our rooms to our parent's room to sleep there, on the floor especially on weekends. I make sure that I'm on my mom's side of the bed. I can only sleep while her hand is hanging and I am holding on to it.  

I always recall how much she cared for  my dad, my brother and me. It's as if she knows that her time is short. It's always as if she knows that tomorrow, she may be gone.

She was a very doting mom to me. She loves to dress me up. One time, she bought me a bathing suit on my 10th birthday. I was a shy girl. I still am. So for me to wear a bathing suit, me wants to cry! Hahahaha! But what can I do? My mommy was more excited to see her little girl in a bathing suit.

On the day of my elementary graduation, she busied herself in preparing for the "big" day. She got me a nice dress and a pair of shoes, prepared delicious foods to be served in the "reception" and paid the photo and video services to document her only daughter's elementary, READ: elementary graduation.  Can you imagine what she would have done if it was my wedding? Mas bongga pa siguro LOL 
Unfortunately, the person she paid to take pictures and video  never showed up after so we weren't able to get the pics but Yes, we got the video, in a betamax tape ( hellooo, that was year 1993..haha) but i don't even know where it is now!

But this I will never forget... on the day itself, she even gave me bath! Imagine, since i was born, she's the one doing that. And even if  I was already a graduating Grade 6 student then, she still did it for me! That's how she treated us. We're her most prized possessions. 

And now that I am a mother, I can see myself in her. I AM her. Now, I understand why she did what she did especially for me and my brother (despite our protests). Why she's overprotective, always checking if "may pawis ang likod" namin, or why we need to eat breakfast and drink our milk before we can go out to play or why we have to take a nap in the afternoon when the other kids don't or why we can't go out when it's raining when all the kids in the neighborhood are enjoying the rain except me and my bro. But you know one time, she let us go and experience what it feels like to bathe in the rain. Ay naku, hindi na kami umulit! Ang ginaw, pare! Eh hindi nga kami sanay ng kapatid ko kaya ayun nangatog kami pareho hahaha!

I know I will be like her. Always eager to be in every significant event in her daughter's life. It's just sad that she's not around anymore when the most significant thing in my life happened. If only she knows how much I need her presence now. Each time my daughter gets sick, i wish my mom's with me so I wouldn't get so paranoid in everything! She's a nurse so I guess she knows enough to  calm me 'cause I get really paranoid even if it's just a little cough or a slight fever. But can you blame me? Our country is so polluted and you'll never know what disease your child might get even by just inhaling our air, or getting a mosquito bite, right? :) Kaya nga, I do envy young moms who have their very own mothers with them as they enter this new phase in their lives. 

Now, my fervent prayer is that I'd be around as long as my daughter needs me. So that she would never have to experience how hard it is not to have her mom by her side. We'd do things together, share our little secrets, play and learn together and do everything that my mom and me weren't able to do because she had to go. It would have been a lot better if she's still with us. I miss her so much. I know she'd be a doting granny to Charlize if only she's here. 

But hey, guess what? My daughter's birthday month is the same as my mom's, her lola Elsa!  I feel that God wanted to tell me that He sent me Charlize to fill up the empty space that my mommy left in my heart and in my life when she died. 

My dear Mommy, Happy Birthday! I just want you to know how much I miss you. I love you so much, Ma. I've been through a lot since you left. But God has always been with me. He sent me a man who would love and take care of me the way that i know you would want me to be loved and taken care of. He, too, gave me a daughter whose sweet smiles and loud laughter reminds me of my own happy childhood. I know that you are also with me, guiding me and holding my hand whenever I feel alone. Thank you for not wasting any time in showing how much you love us when you were still here. For sitting me on your lap when I was scared on my first day of school and just hugging me and telling me that it will be fine, for again sitting me on your lap when we were riding a ferry boat and i got dizzy because of the waves even if I was taller than you already and i bet i was heavier too, for always being there to attend to every need be it in our home or at school, and for every memory of your love, in which i take comfort each time I feel sad, alone and scared.

I will be a good girl so that when Jesus comes again, we will all be together as one happy family. Just like before.  I love you, ma.

Before I was a Mom...

Before I was a Mom:

I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a   Mom:

I had never been puked on.
Pooped on. Chewed on. Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom:

I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom:

I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put her down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom:

I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom:

I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache,
the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a Mom.

reposted from a friend's friend's blog

Birthday Cake

I showed Boninay the Red Ribbon website so she can choose her  birthday cake.  I asked her if she likes this one because I figure it's enough for the three of us. Plus, it's really cute, isn't it?  

Celebration Cake

But my daughter is beginning to have her own taste and this is what she wants (daw): 

Cupcake Party

The Cupcake Party it is!  

UPDATE!

Here now, is the actual cake...

Four

Barely 10 days before my Boninay's 4th birthday! When asked what she wants on her birthday, she'd enumerate: decorations, balloons, cake and gift!

We're not throwing a party like what we did on her first 3 birthdays. I really would want to celebrate the day itself (March 13)  with just the three of us. Her dad, her and me. Then we'll just meet with family and friends later on for more post celebrations.

I love you, my baby Kangaroo! (She wants me to call her that, hehehe!) :)