Random Thoughts

What books and/or magazines did I read this month?
- Kerygma Magazine
- Food, Candy, Smart Parenting, Good Housekeeping Magazines
- The Hammer of Eden by Ken Follet

What movies and/or tv shows did I watch this month?
- Caregiver
- Juno
- A Very Special Love
- Nights at Rodanthe

What special days did I celebrate and how?
- My brother Dandy's birthday
- Harley Eleria's Dedication
- MBAPs' baby shower/early Christmas party
- Fonzy's 2nd birthday

What gifts did I give and/or receive?
- Alex gave a little pony for Sam
- I bought canisters for MBAPs early Christmas party
- A bubble gun for Fonzy
- Dress and shoes for Harley

What illnesses or health concerns did I have?
- Swelling of legs!

What fun things did I do with my friends and/or family?
- Hubby and I went out to watch a movie after a long time
- Finished CLP this month
- Attended MVP at Christ the King
- Dinner with my family to celebrate my sister's promotion (wuhoo!)
- Yearly Reunion at Eternal Gardens with Hubby's family and relatives
- Alex had play dates every weekend with her cousins
- Alex had two trick or treats this year!

What new foods, recipes or restaurants did I try this month?
- Peri-Peri Chicken
- Jonas Pares
- Mrs. Fields cookies and brownies
- Huge burgers at Burger Avenue

What special or unusual purchases did I make?
- We had several auto insurance quotes this month but haven't really decided which one to get
- Bought some clothes for the little girl and baby girl at gingersnaps
- I bought some stuff online at TLC (hi pat!) for Alex and baby girl. Check out the stuff I bought (Photos snagged from TLC's multiply site).

What were this month's disappointments?
- Aside from Alex's doing tantrums every now and then, I think all is well

What were my accomplishments this month?
- Weight gain is just right even if I'm eating a lot these days
- Less contractions last week so will probably give birth at the right time :)

Looking forward to next month when we will finally meet our baby girl!

I know a lot of women who are definitely a fan of Diamond Jewellery. They would save up their allowance and spend the whole amount just for a diamond. Others would say that it is an investment, others would say it is a want and not really a need. Gladstone Jewellery is a company that offers nice jewelries. It is a London-based fashion-house for fine quality, high-end jewellery. Women who are into jewelries might want to check it out. Currently there is what they call the ‘Black and white’ colletion. It is a startling collection created with a lavish array of shimmering, brilliant-cut black and white diamonds. Each stone is individually chosen for its clarity and colour. Hmmm, I wonder if Hubby is reading it now and that he is contemplating on giving one for Christmas. ;)

Since I wanted to make the most out of Ate A's wonder woman costume, I made sure that she use it twice! LOL! So Ate A had her second Trick or Treat this year at my sister's office in Makati yesterday. My sister who was always busy took the time off her busy schedule and join the activities. Thanks Tita Trish! I guess everybody in her office took a break from work, IT stuff and CAT6 just to have fun. And by looking at their photos it looks like they had a blast. I wasn't there though because I had to go to my weekly pre-natal checkup. But I made sure that photos are taken so I could at least witness the fun too!

Ate A brought home a bunch of candies, chocolates, gelatin, marshmallows, biscuits, and more. But she just wanted lollipops so we will be eating the rest of the goodies. LOL! And I may say that the goodies really look yummy! Not just ordinary candies that you get anywhere. Anyway, thanks again Tita Trish. Ate A had a blast! :D Here are more photos of Ate A and her Tita Trish. Special thanks to Tita Trish's office mates for these photos.      

Since I'm on my ninth month already, my pre-natal checkup is now weekly. My yesterday's checkup after work went well. Although I'm not proud to say that I gained 3 lbs in one week! I guess this is the effect of eating huuuuge burgers at 10 in the evening! The Doctor confirmed that I'm on my 36th week and that the baby's heartbeat is doing well. She gave me the "pink" slip already or the admission slip just in case I would give birth anytime.

Honestly, I can feel the contractions already but these are not that strong and I believe that I will be giving birth on my due date or probably afterwards. Just like with the little girl, I gave birth on my 41th week! But that's ok since I need to do a lot of things first before I give birth. Here is my list:

- Finish up some tasks
- My last day of work would end on the 21st so need to work, work, work first!
- Hubby and I need to go out on the date. I'm thinking of movie and dinner date
- Prepare the baby bottles and sterilizer (hospital and baby bags are now ready)
- Prepare the crib, rocker, car seat
- Prepare all bath essentials.

Now, I'm getting stressed out thinking of the things that we need to do. But hopefully I will get everything ready just in time for the big day!

I've been using my office chair for more than two years already and I realized that I need a new one! So I checked out some modern furniture online and look at some of the chairs I found that suits my office at home.

My current office chair is black so I want to get the same color. Although white would be more suitable for my office but considering that we live in the city, the dust would accumulate fast and I wouldn't how to clean it.

Got this from Kerygma (November 2008).

During this season of parties and more parties, how can we eat well without having to diet? Here are some tips from Jill Duplex, author of Lighten Up: A New Healthier Way to Cook:

1. Eat for pleasure and good health, not for weight loss.
2. Steam instead of grill, grill instead of roast, roast instead of fry, shallow-fry instead of deep-fry.
3. Drink better, drink less and drink only with the evening meal.
4. Eat more fish, chicken, vegetables and salads, and less red meat, pork, pasta, pastry and potatoes.
5. If you really want something, enjoy it without guilt, then lighten up the next day.

Will definitely try these steps for the upcoming holidays and probably check out some family health insurance too just in case we end up bingeing. LOL!

That's me, my sister, the little girl, and my Mom taken last Sunday at the Promenade

The Little Princess - Her weight is just alright. My OB was surprised on how much she moves a lot! While my OB was listening to her heartbeat, she heard the little princess kicked twice or thrice. The good news is that she is now in position - head down! I'm so happy. The classical music worked!

My Food and Weight - So far so good. I gained another 1 lb last week (after eating so much on weekends). I'm not sure this week though. I just hope I didn't gain too much since we had several parties and dinner outs last weekend. Lately I've been eating a lot of polvoron. This actually started when Jody gave us a pack of yummy polvoron during the MBAPs Christmas party. LOL!

How do I look now!? - Well I honestly don't know why pimples are "attacking" my face now that I'm on my 9th month. There are red spots at some parts of my face. Aaargh. How I wish I could use a little bit of acne treatment but of course, had to wait before I deliver to do that. My legs got bigger too and every lunch they would swell! It doesn't look good and it makes me sad sometimes (since I didn't have edema during my first pregnancy) but well, I guess it's part of the pregnancy. What I would do is put up my feet when swelling happens and then it will all go away.

How is Ate Alex coping up? - Alex is now aware that there really is a baby in Mama's tummy. Sometimes when she hear the word "share" she would think of the Baby immediately. Earlier I said she will share the candies that she will be getting from the trick or treat, she said, "yes, I will share it with the baby." I guess she's pretty ready to meet her baby sister. We are also preparing something for her (a gift from the baby for Ate Alex), I hope she gets to like the gift that we will be picking up for her.

Happiness is...

1. Less contractions this week
2. Starting the day early
3. Afternoon nap with the little girl
4. Movie date with Hubby after a looong time
5. Simple dinner at a Japanese restaurant
6. DVD marathon
7. Midnight snacks at Burger Avenue (yummy burger and fries)
8. Busy but fun-filled weekends
9. Trick or Treat for the little girl
10. Working from home

To know how this started and credits of the header, click here.

Alex has been looking forward to the trick or treat last Saturday. I bought her costume a couple of weeks ago so I could prepare her for that event. It's so different now compared to last year and the year before that because now, she really understands parties and that she also gets excited about it. When she sees her pail she would say she want candies. So I had to explain that she will get candies from the trick or treat.

As usual, we arrived at the clubhouse a bit on time and there were kids already. But the program didn't start yet. So we were able to take a few photos of the place.

 
 

When you register early (a few days before the Halloween party), you are entitled to food stubs - popcorn, hotdog, kropeck, and a lootbag. The party has three parts - games, costume parade, and magic show. We got bored in the middle of the party so we didn't wait for the magic show anymore. And the place has gotten too crowded too.

Anyway, the party I think ended around 4:30PM and then the traditional trick or treating started. I didn't go with Hubby and Alex anymore because I felt a few contractions while walking. And besides, I was walking slow already and they were ahead of me all the time.

But the most important thing is that, Alex had a blast! Here are more photos of the little girl a.k.a. wonderwoman. :D

 
 
 

Happy Halloween, everyone! ;)

Have you encountered a car accident and had a hard time dealing with your car insurance? Or had been a victim of a rear end collision at a traffic signal, in a parking lot, or even on the highway? It's time to contact Nebraska personal injury lawyers. They are here to help you in these kind of issues. They are headed by Omaha car accident attorney Larry R. Demerath who is currently offering a free consultation about your rights to compensation. In case you will be hiring him for you cases, he keeps you closely involved in your case as he investigates the facts, identifies the parties who can be held accountable, and presents your claim for resolution.

LOL! This made us laugh over the weekend. The Dada is trying to make a pair of "red boots" for the little girl for her costume for the trick or treat! And it ended up like this! So we went for the sandals instead otherwise, the little girl would look like "bioman"! LOL!

Guess what did the little girl wore last Saturday for the trick or treat? :D

Yes, she definitely is a slow eater. I can't say she's picky because she can eat almost anything - fruits, vegetables, pork, beef, chicken, and rice. She can even eat chicken liver when she was a baby with carrots juice on the side. But the thing is, she eats really, really SLOW. She eats while sitting in the high chair for almost 3 hours! It can be while watching TV or not (we only turn on the TV at night while having dinner). You see, most of the time she forgets that she is eating, so the food would get stuck in her mouth. We had to remind her that she is eating and she had to chew her food! I did some research on what food to give her just in case her eating habits would change one of these days. I found this from MommySavers.com (again, this website has been really helpful for me lately!). Hope this will also help to all the Mommies who doesn't know what to feed their toddlers/pre-schoolers.

Fresh Fruit-type Snacks	Dairy Snacks	Bread/Grain Snacks	Combination Snacks
(Canned fruit packed in light syrup or water is also acceptable). Be sure it is cut into small slices, not small circles: Apples Peaches Frozen fruit cubes (Freeze pureed applesauce, crushed peaches, Pears Apricots fruit juice, or any fruit into cubes.) Bananas Melons Gelatin with canned or fresh fruit (be sure to cut fruit in small pieces no larger than ¼ inch cubes for infants and no larger than ½ inch cubes for toddlers) Fresh Vegetable-type Snacks (Frozen vegetables or canned vegetables with no added sodium or salt) Soft-cooked vegetables such as carrots, asparagus tips, green beans, etc., served with a cottage cheese or yogurt-blended dried buttermilk dressing dip. Raw vegetable strips served with small amounts of cream cheese. Avoid raw celery and carrots because they are a choking hazard.	Yogurt with applesauce or pureed fruit Orange Creamsicles made from orange juice, yogurt and water Yogurt dip with bananas Yogurt Frost (Combine yogurt and fruit juice and add pureed or very soft fruit, if desired.) Fruit Shake (Blend milk with bananas or a peach and add a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg. Be sure to blend very well.)	Bagels with various soft cream spreads (Avoid spreads with nuts) Flour or corn tortillas with refried beans, canned chili and sprinkled with grated cheese, possibly topped with yogurt or sour cream Potato skins sprinkled with shredded cheese, broiled and topped with either yogurt or sour cream English muffins or pita bread topped with spaghetti sauce, grated cheese and lean cuts of turkey or other lean meats, broiled or baked and cut into fourths Quick breads or muffins made with carrots, zucchini, pumpkin, bananas, dates and squash (Other fruits and vegetables may be used.) Pita bread with lean sliced meat such as chicken or turkey, cheese, lettuce and tomato in an open pocket	Kabobs made with any combination of cheese, fruit, vegetables and sliced or cubed cooked meat (remove the toothpicks before serving). Parfait made with yogurt and pureed or chopped fru

There are also foods to avoid like the following: Hot dogs (unless cut into bits, such as quarters lengthwise before being sliced) Whole grapes, whole cherry tomatoes Hard candies, including jelly beans Nuts Popcorn Raw carrots, celery, green beans, or any hard vegetable Seeds (such as pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds) Large chunks of any food such as meat or potatoes Large chunks of peanut butter — always use the creamy kind, and spread it thinly onto a cracker or toast. Never give a heaping spoonful of peanut butter to a toddler. You want to read the entire article? Click here. Happy weekend everyone! ;)

I found this very interesting article from MommySavers.com. Actually I've been looking for articles like this the past few days since I wanted to know more about "frugal living". You know, times like these days are hard (increase of gas, food, and more) so it's nice to encounter articles like this because I'm really learning a lot.

Here are a few tips to save money and make your life easier:

1. Cut the crust off your child's sandwich before you give it to him. I have tried for years to get my children and grandchildren to eat the crust and have discovered that it is like trying to climb Mount Everest. It can be done, but I'm not sure if it is worth all the work and headache. So give in and cut off the crust. Throw it in a bag and use it for bread crumbs or croutons. Then the kids will eat their entire sandwiches instead of just that hole in the middle and you won't waste the sandwich filling that would have been tossed with the crust.

2. Cut kids' sandwiches into small squares or triangles. Their hands are smaller then ours. Imagine always manhandling sandwiches that are two to three times normal size and you can relate to kids with full adult-sized sandwiches. This goes for all their food. Cut anything they have to hold in their hands into manageable sized pieces.

3. Spills always happen, but they can be minimized. Try placing a paper doily at the top of your child's plate or someplace where you know a cup won't be likely to spill. Then teach the child that the cup belongs on the doily.

4. Start giving your little ones only half of items like candy bars, gum, and popsicles. When you go out to eat, split a hamburger or order of fries between two younger children. You can even ask for an extra cup and split milk shakes and drinks.

5. Control snacks. Don't just let the kids graze all day on candy and chips. Give children healthier things to fill them up, like popcorn or a piece of fruit at specific time intervals.

6. Feed toddlers and preschoolers your leftovers. They usually don't balk at them like older children do. All those two tablespoon leftovers that are hardly worth saving are usually just the right amount for younger children.

For the rest of the article, click here.

Yes, that's us! LOL! The MBAP's Baby Shower/Early Christmas Party last Sunday was scheduled at 3PM but we arrived at Jane's mansion at 2:30PM. You see, Hubby over estimated the traffic (there was no traffic at all!). We left our place around 1:30PM and after an hour, we were at Jane's house already. We were too early that we arrived 10 minutes after the caterer arrived. LOL!

The moment we arrived though, Alex immediately saw Sophia's slide. She was ecstatic!

 
 
 

She immediately checked it out even if it was still hot. She didn't mind at all! After playing in the slide, we then went up with Jane to check out Sophia's play room which again was "heaven" for the little girl. She felt at home immediately! LOL! Afterwards, Sophia woke up from her nap.

Jody, Dicky and kids arrived afterwards and then the others followed.

After everybody arrived, we had our photo taken (sorry, Joy, we didn't wait for you anymore, gutom na kme! LOL!) and then started to "attack" the food!


*Snagged from Abie.

This is the time when we realized that our camera was lo-batt. Aaargh! I knew it! I was actually asking Hubby if he was sure that the camera's battery was still full, he said yes. Oh well, this is one of the lessons that we learned over the weekend. I also reminded Hubby that this should never happen when I give birth. :D

Our food (thanks again Jacqui for organizing it!) was catered by CCME. And we had fun eating Paella, Lechon, Fried Chicken, Spaghetti, and Fish Fillet. The cakes were the highlight of the meal for me (thanks to Apols and Jody!). Cakes were Estrel's cake and the moist chocolate cake of Polly's. Yum! I'm guessing now, I think I gained 4 lbs just this weekend. LOL!



The games were taken cared of by Jody. Thanks girl! There were three games, one for the Mommies (measuring tummies of the preggy Moms, me, Jane, and Peachy), one for the Daddies, and for the preggy Mommies. All the games were a blast especially the ones for the Daddies. :)

Oh, by the way, thanks again ladies for the very cute nursing bib! I love it! And looking forward to using it in the next months (wish me luck!). :)

Here are some photos taken by Hubby using my camera phone and some photos I snagged from Joy and Abie.

 
 
 
 

And now for the highlight of the party are the exchange gifts! There were two sets, one is exchange gift for the kids and the other is the elephant game. Check out Kelly's post about the elephant game which was so much fun! :) And here are more photos taken using my camera phone (again).

 
 
 
 

And this one's my favorite photo of all, grabbed from Joy. It just proves how much we had FUN at the party!



The daddies also had fun that night after drinking one bottle of beer each (of course, my Hubby had 2 bottles! Yun Pa!). Too bad, Thea and family had to go home early. Mike missed some tracking device kwento from the Daddies. LOL!

Again, thanks to Abie for the nice Winnie the Pooh gift for Alex and the starbucks' coffee and GC which I grabbed from Apple (sorry, Apple! hihi...). Jody, for the polvoron and cake which I just discovered Alex loves so much. Joy, for the nice books for Alex. Jane for letting us use your house and for the cute giveaway and buko pie. Apols for the Estrel's cake that I can't get over. Jacqui and Jody for organizing the wonderful party. And for all the ladies who brought prizes for the baby shower games and (again) for all of you MBAPs (I think Kelly organized this one, thanks girl!) for the nursing bib. I really, really appreciate it!

Peachy and Jane, goodluck to us on our upcoming deliveries! ;)

See you again ladies!