Advertorial

One of the things that makes me kilig is when S&R invites me to go shopping in one of their warehouses. Gosh, I love S&R! It’s my Disneyland. I know you have already marked the upcoming Members Treat on September 27 to October 1. And I know you have already set the alarm extra early on that day to have a good head start. Alam niyo naman tayo, nagwa-wild pagnag-se-sale ang SnR. Lelz.

Anyway, last Friday, Wowa and I checked out S&R to see the items that are going to be on sale. Tamang tama because I wanted to make over Anika’s room. Alam niyo naman ang hanash ko diyan. Anika does not like sleeping in her own room. She’s so clingy to us. Though I very much enjoy our time with her, sacrificed nga lang ang time with the hubby. Walang sexy time! Hahahaha! When we talked to her about it, she said she might sleep in her room if I fix it.

Ganun ba?! Ha! Wait lang. Sale ang S&R! I shall buy her nice things, fix her room and wish that, at least once a week, she’ll want to sleep in her own bed.

I shall give her a perfect picture bedroom!

Here’s what her bedroom looks like now:

Ang gulo di ba? All her toys are every where! Hindi nga naman siya enticing tulugan.

So Wowa and I went to S&R to do some serious shopping.

Check out the items that I saw on sale.

You can buy na your Christmas gifts because the bath essentials like these are in Buy 1 Take 1! They have one whole shelves full of them!

Wowa was starting to hoard again (you know na san ako nagmana right?). Ipang gigiveaway daw niya sa staff niya. I reminded her that she’s already retired. Ayun. Naghunusdili ng slight =D

These home decors are also on sale.

The Allen + Roth bookshelf ladder is on sale for only Php 5,499. That brown floor and desk lamp at your right are only Php 3,500 for both. The book shelf beside the bookshelf ladder is on sale for only Php 2,000 plus. The arched floor lamp is on sale at Php 3,499. Good deals talaga.

The towels are on sale at Php 499 from Php 699.

My attention was caught by the 10-drawer Rolling Cart. Perfect kako for Anika’s messy room. The 5-tiered shoe racks are on sale for only Php 1,499.

I got Anika this area rug at Php Php 1,299.

The comforters are Buy 1 Take 1!!!!

The pillows are on sale at Php 699 for two pillows a pack.

Eto winner. I know we can never have enough clothes hangers. These 10 Quincy non-slip hangers are Buy 1 Take 1 at Php 299.95. Bale lumalabas, 20 pcs quality hangers for only Php 300! I wish we brought more!

Laundry basket on sale at Php 749.

Buy 1 Take 1 Rove water jug at Php 499.95. Ang cute nung reusable ice cubes inside.

The baon ideas are also on sale na.

I wanted to get that huge unicorn stuffed toy for Anika. As in I almost placed it na in my cart. Nagpigil lang ako. It’s so huge kasi! Baka when I put it in her room, she’ll tell me there’s no more space for her to sleep there.

And of course, the cookies and bakery goodies are on sale.

I’ll show you the major items that I got.

I got the rolling cart. Mura lang eh. It’s only around Php 1,200 but you can put a lot of stuff na inside.

I got Anika a new set of beddings. This under the sea themed 7-pc Twin Bed in Bag Comforter set is on sale at only Php 1,999.95 from the original price of Php 4,999.95! That’s a Php 3,000 savings!

I also got Anika a desk lamp for her study table. You turn it on by touching it. And it also has bluetooth so you can listen to sounds while studying.

And so from this…..

… Anika room now looks like this!

So nice!!!

This is how the bedding looks like. Sobra sulit because it’s a 7-pc set. Even the Nemo stuffed toy fish was included in the bag. Take note, the bedding is reversible so it feels like you get two kinds of bedding for a discounted price of one.

Look how neat her study table is now. All the kalat are inside those drawers. So organized, huh? Check out also her study lamp. Coolness!

I got Anika a new towel and new clothes hanger too.

I used the Knit Laundry Basket as organizer for her many stuffed toys.

And this is the floor mat that I got her. It made her room more homey.

Anika literally squealed when she saw the room this afternoon. Diyan daw siya matutulog tonight! Woohooo!

Nanay, Tatay and Anika are very happy today, thanks to the S&R sale! Hahaha!

The S&R Members’ Treat is happening from September 27 to October 1 in 13 of their warehouses!

Buy 1 Take 1 on some food items, pillows, electric fan and liquor. Buy 1 Take 2 on chips (extra tip: Cheetos, Doritos and Lays!). Big savings on doll houses, appliances, chocolates, more food items and detergents.

See you guys there!

Amidst all the crunch time in preparing for the 6 buildings that will RFO this October, I am stressing over the design of our house. My go to architect slash interior designer is on maternity leave and I am shy to approach her for help.

We are already starting the renovation works of our new old house. Ang kinaka-agit ko is this red Narra plyboard in our old house’s living room that goes around to the bedroom hallway.

My dad, I think being sentimental and all, wants me to keep it. Matibay daw kasi and Narra daw kasi yun. If in case it’s still usable, meaning no anay, nakaka-hinayang nga naman tibagin. It’s been there for 35 years. May historical value na siguro yan. Charot.

Here kasi is my peg for the house, di ba? White, gray, light colored wood (Ash ang gusto ko, hindi ganyan na reddish brown like in the photo below) with black windows for the sliding door to the lanai and windows and white tiles for the floor.

I saw this in Pinterest and parang gusto ganito yung wall.

Kaso I cannot put stoneworks because drywall ang pader ko.

One of my friends in IG recommended that I cover the Narra ply in Veneer in Ash shade. Another recommendation was to put wall paper na lang. I’m thinking a light gray wall paper. But then again, I saw this super nice light yellow wall paper at one of our sites yesterday. Gusto ko din ito pero Alvin said, lalayo na daw ako sa white, gray and wood theme.

So pretty isn’t it?

Maybe I’ll just look for a nice light gray wall paper and cover that area in the living room (in the first photo). And then I will make a similar design of the entertainment system shelves.

Buti pa dito sa second area, may idea na ako more or less.

I just need somebody to dictate suggest to me what shade of stone works bagay diyan.

For the Narra ply behind the bookshelf, I can siguro paint it white na lang all the way to the bedroom hallway or copy na lang the wallpaper that I will put in front of the living area.

P.S. Don’t worry about that arched opening to the kitchen, magiging rectangular yan.

Dapat bagay the light gray wall paper that I will put on the Narra ply and the color of the stone works, ano?

Yun.

The other walls will be white na lang. Hindi ko na kaya magisip.

I told you I do not have an artistic bone in my body! Either that or napaka-bipolar ko to a point that I want so many designs and I cannot organize them and put them all together to have that one finished look.

Somebody help me please!

“Some days, she has no idea how she’ll do it. But every single day, it still gets done.” –anonymous

Hey, guys. I’m still alive. What a very busy and toxic week it has been!

Sometimes when I try to tell Alvin about my day, how tired I was and how toxic I was, I wonder if he really gets what I’m going through at work. After my litany, I would just get a nod from him or a shake of his head or a sympathetic pat either on the head or on the shoulder. Tapos change topic na. If he really knows siguro what I am going through, baka he would encourage me to talk about it more. Or baka patigilin na niya ako sa work. Or baka ibili niya ako ng bagong Balenciaga bag sa sobrang awa niya sa akin. I really can’t find the words how to describe the things I am going through now. Ang masasabi ko lang is, hindi siguro ito kaya ng isang normal na tao. He or she would have given up a long time ago.

Yan naman siguro ang okay sa akin. I don’t give up easily. I take challenges. Iniisip ko na lang, after all these, magbabakasyon ako ng bongga. I try to look at something as a goal so that makayanan ko.

If you are following me in Instagram, you might get a little picture of how I am.

I do emails and my kilays at the same time at the back of my car.

I know. At the back of my freaking car parked at the parking lot of one of our projects because our walkthrough will be starting in 5 minutes.

I’m wondering nga eh time management ko ba ang may problem. I think naman no because I plan my day carefully. Ang OC ko diyan sa schedule. It’s just that sobrang dami lang ibang sumisingit na pinapagawa within the day.

I have not showed you yet but I recently got a new red iPhone 7 from Globe. That’s my work phone and I added money so I can get that model. However, sira siya. I think it’s the microphone because I can’t make calls without the earphones and the speaker phone feature isn’t working.

I called Globe. I went to one of their stores to have it changed. Pinagpasa-pasahan ako. Thankfully, the other day, after my post, someone from Globe called me. Wait lang daw ako kasi naghahanap sila ng red iPhone. Apparently, the red iPhone is limited edition yata. Konti lang daw ang nilabas. Hayyy.. I really do hope they find one na. I’m looking forward to using my 128 GB iPhone. Matutuloy na ang pangarap ko magpost ng #MommyFleurVideos.

And then, in the middle of all these, an idiot hit my car.

I am so mad because it was really traffic and my car was not even moving. That blue Avanza was going the other way opposite where I was going. He wasn’t even in the right lane. Umatras. Ang cute di ba?! The best pa kausap the General Manager of the company who owned the car. Akala mo siya ang binangga magsalita! Wild amp. We had to go all the way to the police station. We walked so far under the noon heat.

On our way to the police station, nagmamakaawa yung driver. Wag na daw kami magpolice station because they do not have money to pay for the fees there. Also ichacharge din daw sa kanila yujng repairs of both cars. Ipapagawa na lang daw nila yung car ko. Sana sa hindi daw mahal. There were 3 old foremans with the driver. Paghahati-hatian daw nila yun kasi company car.

If you would see the 3 old foreman, maawa din kayo so I agreed. Ang daming oras ko na din ang kinakain. I made them sign a promissory note and took photos of the license and the driver. I told them I will call them how much ipagawa. When I told Alvin about this, nagalit. Hindi daw ako for sure babayaran ng company nila. I was so exhausted to care at that point. Nakakaawa eh. Nauto daw ako sabi ni Alvin. I do not mind, honestly. Kahit pagsama-samahin mo pa yung salary yata nung apat, malaki pa din yung sweldo ko. Naawa talaga ako.

When I got back to the project site, one of my staff wiped the part where the bangga was. Thankfully, hindi nabasag tail lights ko. And my staff said that I can just pour boiling water in that area, babalik daw sa tama yung part na yun. May gasgas nga lang ng slight. Mabait pa din si God. Minimal damage.

The next day, after checking 3 project sites, I went to the groceries kasi wala na  daw ulam sabi ni Alvin.

I bought meat, chicken and a couple of other things. I went out of the grocery store to go to the car. I put my cart beside the car and got my keys out of my bag.

After getting my keys, I opened the lock. I went to the driver side, got in, started the car and started to ease out of the parking.

While driving away, I saw the cart in my side mirror. I told myself, “Uy, may naka-iwan ng groceries nila sa parking.”.

And then I slammed my brakes!

Akin pala yun!

Bwahahahaha!

Sabaw na sabaw grabe.

I went back and there was this car parking beside the slot where I left my car. Hiyang hiya ako. Para akong nagwalk of shame. Hahahaha!

I was laughing the whole time going home!

I slept early that night. Tama nga this irish Proverb:

“A good laugh and a long sleep are the two best cures for anything”

I need a fixer upper real soon. Bliss Bowls tayo ulit after all these, you like? Tapos magtawanan tayo ng magtawanan!

Something to look forward to again =)

Good vibes nga muna tayo, muthers.

Here are some of the items that I am loving now.

First is my Tommy Hilfiger polo.

I got this for only Php 500 in one of the outlet stores in Canada. Paubos na my shopping money when I discovered this. They’re fit really nice and okay siya for the office. Gusto ko din yung minimal na design in front. I wish I got more in different colors. The polo shirts din that I got for Alvin maganda. Sabi ko maghoard na, ayaw. Sayang. Di bale, when we get back, I will hit that store for sure.

Second are these Tombow pens. You can never have enough Tombow pens, I tell you. They actually glide when you write with them. They have been in the industry since 1913 so malamang assured na assured ka sa “unmatched quality and designs”.

I can attest to that, you know. As a manager slash engineer slash corporate slave slash blogger, I have a Tombow pen for everything. I have the ones for signing contracts. I have the ones for note taking. I have sosyal ones that I bring during meetings. I have pens that I bring to site kasi I can write with it upside down or at wet surfaces. And I have mechanical pencils when I actually need them.

My favorite will always will be the Tombow MONO graph mechanical pencils.

You can get these from your favorite leading book stores nationwide.

Third, I love these two that are on my office desk every day: the Zenutrients All Around Spahhnitizer (which, not only cleans my hands but also relaxes me because of its smell) and the Zenutrients Muscle Balm.

Fourth, you ought to try the Gold Seas canned tuna. These flavored tuna are really good. My favorite is the Yellowfin Tuna in Olive Oil. I put them in my salad and my salad won’t taste sad anymore. Hahahaha!

Fifth, of course, my favorite brand of canned vegetables: JOLLY. I always buy their mushrooms and whole corn kernels since I started doing the grocery. I saw Wowa buy them all the time when I was younger so I buy them as well. Happy 20 years Jolly!

Sixth, if you happen to dine at The Mediterranean restaurant, try their mushroom soup. I promise you it is nothing like any mushroom soups you have tried in the country. It’s perfect for mushroom lovers like me kasi chunks and chunks for different kinds of mushrooms talaga inside it.

Seventh, if you are in Cibo, you have to try their Tiramisu…

… and their flourless chocolate cake =)

Lastly, for the eighth product, if you are in Batangas, you have to try the lomi of Lomi King. Ilista niyo din name niyo because for sure you will forget it sa sarap. Lelz. I’m over acting of course but I’m not kidding when I say that it’s good.

Mind you, I don’t eat lomi that much pero this one’s a winner. You can order the small one actually for yourself. When there’s three of you, you can share the medium one na. Exage lang kami nina Alvin kasi we bought each in each size. Goldilocks and the three bears lang ang peg namin but instead of porridge, Lomi.

Hehehehe!

There you go! I hope you guys get to try all these.

By the way, please do not forget to tag #MommyFleurMadeMeBuyIt in case you decide to buy any of these and post them on line ha? I will be giving a small token of appreciation to the selected few. I checked that hashtag and I saw na may nagpost na three beautiful ladies. Thank you so much. Please do let me move on lang from this busy-ness then I’ll post na your prizes online =)

Take care ladies! Shopping pa more! #EnablerTalagaAko

Anika’s first term report card arrived last week.

To guide you with the CSA eagle giving system:

A Gold Eagle is given to students with at least a 92% general average.
A Red Eagle is given if they have at least 90% average.
A Blue Eagle is given if they have at least 89% average.

But wait, that is not that easy too. May mga kundisyones pa yan.

You can only get that freaking eagle if you do not have any subject grade less than 85, no more than one C letter grade in the deportment and no grade lower than B in conduct.

Meaning, regardless if you have a 98 average pero 84 ka in one of the subjects, no eagle for you.

In short, mahirap magka-Eagle sa CSA so even though we did not get gold this term, okay na.

So weird in because I noticed they do not post anymore the list of Top 10 students per class. Nung araw ko, inaabangan ko yan eh. I felt I needed to be in the Top 10 all the time because I was scared that Wowa might get mad. Ang daldal ko kasi sa class di ba? Plus I was really competitive in school.

Anyway, I wanted to ask why wala nang Top 10. I was answered when I overheard the Assistant Principal talking to one of the parents a few weeks back. The parent was complaining bakit daw no medals are given to the students who are excelling academically. Parang kami lang daw yung school na ganun. The Assistant Principal explained na yung mga eagles sa report cards na yun. No medals talaga anymore except during graduation. She also told the parent that CSA do not even have Top 10 in class because CSA does not want the students to compare themselves against each other. CSA wants the student to challenge his or herself.

Galing di ba?

Anyway, at the end of each term, the student gets to go up the stage to get their academic excellence award with their parents if they have (1) an average of 95 and above or (2) if they have a major subject with a 95 and above grade or (3) if they have straight As in their conduct.

This year, Maeko (Pineda’s daughter) went up the stage to get her academic excellence award. 95 ang general average ng batang yun. Dalawa ang 99 na subjects sa report card! Amazed na amazed kami ni Pineda! Never in our lives did we get a 99 grade! Well, I got that grade before pero in Physical Education. Hello, varsity kasi ako so medyo given and not counted for bragging hahaha! Pero si Maeko, wild. I was kidding Pineda kanino ba nagmana yung bata. Inangkin ko na. Sabi ko sa akin nagmana. Sige daw sabi ni Pineda. For sure daw kasi talaga, hindi sa kanya nagmana! Hahahahaha!

So proud of Maeko!

Anyway, back to Anika. The day the report cards were sent, Anika called me up.

ANIKA: Hay naku Nanay! Red lang talaga ako! Oh my God. Red lang talaga! Ano ba ito?!

She sounded so mad, I comforted her. Sabi ko okay na at least may eagle siya. The important thing is that she worked hard for it.

When I got home, I took a good look at her grades.

ME: Bakit ganito Math mo? I thought you were good at Math?

ANIKA: What?! Oh my God! Ang baba ng grade ko sa Math? Nakaka-inis yan ha! It’s so low!

ME: Okay lang yan anak. Try harder na lang.

When we were in bed, while she was already sleeping, dun ko lang na-realize.

Nauto ako ni Anika.

Hindot na bata ito!

I was supposed to get “mad” kasi hindi siya gold. TV kasi ng TV. Laro ng laro. Pagmag-aaral, lagi na lang may reasons. Iyak ng iyak if mahirap. I was supposed to tell her all these pero naunahan ako ng “drama”!

Matalino. Matalinong bata. Lech.

———————————————————————

The other day, Anika had a homework in Filipino. She needed to compare her Tatay and I using opposite Tagalog words. Alvin was not yet home so kami pa lang nina Anika ang naguusap usap.

ME: Paano? How do you do this?

YAYA: At katulad ng “Si Nanay maganda, si Tatay pangit.”

Hahahaha! We laughed and laughed.

ANIKA: It’s like this Nanay. Si Nanay, mataba. Si Tatay, payat.

ME: Uy. Grabe ka!!!

ANIKA: Eto naman. No offense!

Whut?! Hahahahahaha!

ME: O sige, magisip ka na ng pwede mong isulat.

YAYA: Si Tatay, matipid. Si Nanay hindi!

ME: Grabeeeeeeh!

ANIKA (waving a palm on my face): No offense, ha? Totoo naman kasi.

How old is she again?!?!?!

Here’s what she came up with:

Sige, tawa kayo diyan!

Minsan feeling ko din wala akong kakampi sa bahay ko eh. Hahahahahaha!

Have a great day everyone!

Ang dami kong utang na kwento! I promised I’ll show you Wowa’s pasalubongs from her recent Tokyo trip.

Wowa went on a two week vacation to Tokyo. That was the only time she realized malaki pala baggage allowance niya. She thought she was only allowed one check in baggage. Sabi ko bakit nung nag-America ako, I had two 20 kilos baggage allowance. Na-confirm na malaki ang baggage allowance niya. Good luck sa shopping. Lelz.

True enough, when she asked me to get her pasalubongs from her, para akong nanalo sa Wowowee ng pangkabuhayan showcase.

Wild di ba?

Here are some of the things she got us.

Pikachu stuffed toy and head band for Anika.
Bento gadgets and picks
Carrot bookmark na parang totoong dried vegetable
Socks from Uniqlo
Duck pouch for Anika which now serves as her pencil case for school
Biore nose strip because I am addicted to to.
Seamless underwear from Uniqlo

The food she got us is love talaga.

Tokyo Milk Cheese for the win, of course.
Nori. Isang damakmak na nori.
Cheese Almond biscuits that Anika and I love plus another pack of the same brand pero different flavor naman.
Cup noodles na sosyal.
Instant miso soup.
Box of green tea chocolates.

And hindi ko lang napicturan eh, these adorable (and expensive) na decorated biscuits.

Super sarap the food, promise. You gotta love Japanese snacks.

My favorite is this Zara dress that Wowa got me.

I love the color, print, and the design at the sides.

Thank you Wowa for all the pasalubongs =)

Not in photo are the personalized cups, trinkets and the huge high tech picture frame. Lelz.

For our eighth year anniversary, Alvin and I went to La Chevrerie Resort in Anilao Batangas for the weekend.

I look at the interior designs of the resorts and its rooms whenever we travel and I love the details dito sa La Chevrerie.

Maganda, guys. Pinagisipan yung design. May class. Sosyal. Sobrang nice ng resort, kinabahan ako sa gagastusin namin here.

This is their lobby.

La Chevrerie means “The Goat’s Place” and yup they actually have goats there that you can interact with.

I love the wood, white and gray theme of the interior of the resort. Peg ko for our new house.

The resort has this football game and these three cute monkeys that I want to have in my house.

Upon arrival and check-in, they gave us a welcome drink.

Masarap. Hindi lasang “may-ma-serve-lang” drinks.

We appreciated that they took their time to decorate our room for our anniversary. Ang cheesy but I love it.

Our room was big. This is the Deluxe Room. This is the cheapest room at Php 11,000 a night inclusive of breakfast. They also have the Suite Room and the Villa.

The bathroom is also my peg for our bathroom in our new house.

Acca Kappa yung mga shampoo, conditioner and body wash! Inuwi ko. Sayang eh. Lelz.

Our room’s balcony is huge also!

It had a view of the sea and the pool.

This was where we hung out after we had lunch. It was raining kasi when we were there. I am not surprised. May balat nga kasi ako. #whatsnew

The initial plan was to arrive at the resort at 10am, go snorkeling and have a seafood barbecue buffet in one of the islands there. Bale the snorkeling costs around Php 1k+ each then the seafood barbecue costs around Php 5000 for two people. However, when we were there, ang lakas ng waves. Hindi cool magbangka. So we just had drinks right after lunch in our balcony. I like their Calamansi frozen margarita.

I actually punchlist the resorts that we go to. I look at how they constructed it and how they did the finishing. Yung ibang high end resorts, ang pangit ng finishes. Bara bara. Pero here at La Chevrerie, pulido ang gawa. They used expensive materials and inayos talaga nila yung trabaho ng pagbuild and finish. Good job talaga.

They have an open air restaurant, L’ Atelier.

It has a wine cellar na bongga din.

For lunch, I had the French Onion Soup. I was pleasantly surprised because I thought bread lang yung topping niya. That is actually a burger patty topped with mozzarella cheese. So good! Pwede nang ulam with rice.

I had shrimps with rice and mango salsa. Masarap din but I prefer my shrimps in garlic butter.

Alvin had chicken na spicy but it was super sarap talaga.

La Chevrerie is actually a diving resort. For beginners, you can have a two hour scuba diving lesson for Php 4,000. The lessons are held in the pool and then sa may shore. If you want to go sa sea, there’s an additional rate of Php 5,000 for the bangka.

Alvin really wanted to go scuba diving.

I wasn’t that keen pero okay lang for me to try. Namamahalan kasi ako sa Php 4,000 for two hours. However, they didn’t recommend us doing the scuba diving because nga of the weather. Nagkamaran na the next day so next time na lang daw, Alvin said.

After our siesta, we had our massage at La Brise Spa. It costs Php 1,200 each. Buti na lang it’s good. It costs as much as 4 home massages!

After our massage, we had coffee overlooking the sea. Hindi na kami tumayo dun. Derederecho na for dinner and drinks again.

The next morning, we had coffee by the pool. Naglow tide so we checked out this breakwater. Nice magpicture taking.

My verdict for the resort is that it’s beautiful. The service is great. Mababait ang mga tao there. It’s on the exclusive side, hence, pricey. Food’s really good pero nga mahalia. Beer is at around Php 150 per bottle. The pool’s not that big though and hindi maganda ang beach front. It’s in Anilao so you know that pang diving ang mga beaches in this side.

If budget is not a concern, gorabelles kayo dito with the family. The suite room is at Php 22,000++ per night. Or you can get their Villa. Two spacious floors daw yun. I didn’t get nga lang the price. If you like to go somewhere with the jowa, I will suggest this place. It’s quiet. Konti lang ang tao so hindi magulo. It’s very relaxing and their snorkeling and scuba diving activities are great bonding experiences. It’s a place you’d want to snuggle snuggle lang by the pool, or by the restaurant tables overlooking the sea or in your balconies.

Let me know what you think pagna-try niyo ha?

I was sitting in my dining room when I suddenly felt something. Parang kako I will miss this house when we move. Natutunan ko na siya i-love and hell, I like my kitchen here. Ang spacious.

Ongoing na mga besh ang works in our old new house.

A lot of you are asking why we are moving again.

Yes, we bought this house that we are living in now. However, nobody is living anymore in our old family house in Paranaque. This was the house where I grew up. This is the house that’s near Alvin’s family house. Magka-village kami ni Alvin nung bata. Sa church namin kami nagkakilala. Sacristan siya and ako naman ay nagpapacute nagaattend ng mass.

You know na that story.

Anyway, my brothers are living on their own. Wowa’s living on her own too. They all actually live in one vicinity lang. Faye has moved out of our house since she got married and LT also is living on her own too. You all know my dad’s living in Amsterdam so wala na talagang permanently nakatira in our house. For sentimental’s (half senti, half mental) sake, ayaw ibenta yung bahay. Wala nga namang house where we can all get together during occasions when we get older.

So Wowa “sold” me that house. Ako na lang daw ang tumira dun kasi sayang naman. I asked Alvin and we talked about it. Osige daw. May benefits kasi. We will go back to the place where we both grew up. We will live near his parents and brother’s house. We will live near Janis and Pineda. Wowa will not have a hard time visiting us kasi hindi na ganun ka-traffic.

So we said okay.

Kaya ayan, we are currently renovating our 35 year old house.

At first, we were looking at building a two storey, five bedroom, 4 toilet and bath with a two car garage house so that in case everybody wanted to retire, dun na uuwi sa house ko na yan. However, lintek, ang mahal! We were looking at, at least, 8 million for the construction cost alone!

Choppy, mga bakla!

Renovate na lang muna at hindi pa naman natin alam what the future will bring.

Ayun ang kwento. Two years after renovating this house we are currently living in, eto na naman, construction na naman. So many interior designs to choose from and decide on! Alvin and I are bickering always again.

ALVIN: Tapusin mo na kasi anong gusto mo diyan sa kitchen area para magawan na ng ceiling design.

ME: Alam ko na ang gusto ko diyan. Ayaw mo lang tanggapin!

ALVIN: Ha? Anong ayaw. Ako lang ang purchaser dito sa project na ito. Sabihin niyo lang, bibilhin ko.

ME: Anong purchaser?! Ikaw ang project manager niyan! Ikaw dapat ang nagooversee ng project! Sinusunod mo lang dapat yung designer. Ako yun. Hindi mo para kontrahin ako.

ALVIN: I object! Hindi ako project manager! Purchasing lang ako!

ME: Whatever.

ALVIN: Tapusin mo na design mo.

ME: Tapos na nga!!!

Grrrrrrr!

Ganyan kami everyday kung hindi ka ba naman maloka.

Actually, when they said na organizing a wedding is a true test if okay kayong mag-asawa is not entirely true. Try niyo magpagawa ng bahay. Tingnan natin ang harmony niyo.

Hahahahahaha!

Top: FOREVER 21; Shorts: GUESS; Footwear: BIRKENSTOCK: Sunglasses: Rayban

One afternoon, Anika wanted to buy VFresh (the bubblegum) and I took this as an opportunity to teach her money math.

ANIKA: Nanay, can I buy VFresh for myself, Zara and Tanya?

ME: How much is it?

ANIKA: One peso.

I brought out my coins from my wallet.

ME: How many will you buy?

ANIKA: Three each.

ME: So how many is that?

ANIKA: Three, four-five-six, seven-eight-nine! Nine, Nanay!

ME: Okay so how much do you need?

ANIKA: Huh?

ME: How many one peso coin do you need? How much is that?

ANIKA: I don’t get your question.

ME: Di ba you want to buy 9 VFresh? Tapos one peso isa? If you have 9 one peso coin, what do you have?

ANIKA: VFresh!!!

Onga naman!

——————————————————–

While driving to Anilao, I was telling Alvin how I’ve changed in my grocery shopping.

ME: Alam mo Babe, ang laki din ng pinagbago ko.

ALVIN: Bakit?

ME: Dati, bara bara lang ako maggrocery. Kuha lang ako ng kuha ng items without thinking. Ngayon, ang kinukuha ko lang is yung mga wala lang tayo. Napapanis kasi pagmadaming stock ng food eh.

ALVIN: Eh di that’s good.

ME: Yun lang. Pagbukas ko ng ref natin, wala masyadong laman. Hindi katulad dati na punong puno ng kung ano ano.

ALVIN: Okay lang yun.

ME: Ang lungkot tuloy ng ref natin.

ALVIN: Pucha! Hayaan mo na yun! Wala namang feelings yun! Kaysa ako malungkot sa gastos di ba?!

Lelz.

——————————————————–

Again, while driving to Anilao, Alvin mentioned that Paul and Tin are having a staycation at Dusit that day.

ME: Kita mo Babe. Dapat ganun tayo. Nagse-staycation ng walang occasion na tayong dalawa lang. Maganda yun for our relationship. At least may me-time na tayong dalawa lang.

ALVIN: Mura lang kaya sa Dusit. Yung mga gusto mong pagstaycationan, ang mamahal eh!

ME: Uy hindi ha! Mahal din sa dusit!

ALVIN: Mura.

ME: Mga 7,000 din yun.

ALVIN: Hindi noh!

ME: Pusta!

ALVIN: Sige 500!

ME: Deal!

ALVIN: Ilabas mo 500 mo! Hindi ka nagbabayad pagnatatalo ka sa pustahan eh.

We each took out 500 peso bill. Alvin called Paul. Apparently, the room costs Php 8,000 pero may discount eklaver sila so they only got it for around Php 3,000.

Hahaha! I win so I grabbed na the 2 500 peso bill!

ALVIN (while grabing the bills from me): Hindot! Teka! Madaya! I google mo muna!

ME: Anong igogoogle ko?!

ALVIN: Tingnan mo. May 5,000 pesos na room sa Dusit! Dali i-google mo!

ME: So ano pustahan?

ALVIN: Ang pustahan may 5,000 pesos na room sa Dusit. Pag lahat mas mahal, panalo ka.

I gooogled and found a room for Php 5,000. Naka-promo.

ME: Nakapromo sila eh!!!!

ALVIN (grabbed the 500 bills from me): Hahahahahaha! Panalo ako!

ME: Ah ganun ha? Mura pala ang Php 5,000 room para sayo.

ALVIN: Hindi ah. Mura sa akin yung Php 1,200 na room.

ME: San naman yang overnight stay na Php 1,200 na yan?!

ALVIN: Sa SOGO!

ME: Sogo?! Dadalhin mo ako sa Sogo?!

ALVIN: Oo bakit?! Ano sabi ni Robin Padilla?! Pagmahal mo, i-SOGO mo!

Leche.

Top: ZARA; Shorts: STRADIVARIUS; Shoes: JACK PURCELL CONVERSE; Sunglasses: RAYBAN

Hellooooooooooo!

How are you friends? Ang lapit na ng Christmas! Have you guys started your Christmas gifts shopping na? Ako yung diwa ko gusto na magstart kaso yung actual being ko madami pang ginagawa. I have book marked so many websites where I want to order my gifts. Yung actual ordering na lang yung kailangan kong gawin.

At the moment, I still can’t find time to do all the things that I have to do. Pineda is telling me to relax at least on weekends. I told her I want to but sa weekend ko lang nagagawa all the things that I need to do apart from work. Meaning, I can’t rest pa din on weekends. Gets na gets niya naman ako. I guess all working moms can relate to that. It’s very easy for other people to tell us not to stress about it. Heller. As if naman gusto natin ang state ng being stressed. Sinong gagang ang may gustong parang lagi kang hinahabol ng asong may rabies sa taranta. Di ba? Sometimes kasi nagiging too much ang things around us which we can’t control. Like now, talagang ayaw na magpapigil nung isa kong kasambahay umalis. Gusto daw niya magpahinga even without income. Hanep. Buti pa siya, afford niya to do that. Anyway, there are so many uncontrolled events happening around us. Dagdag siya sa iisipin natin every day. Nakakaloka. I can feel all working moms nodding their heads now. Apir. Pero wala, we just need to keep on swimming. Kaya natin ito!

I remember tuloy, mga bakla, have you ever been in that moment na sobrang extreme to a point that hindi na nagmamatter ang ibang bagay?

Alvin and I went through that already. Remember the time when I asked for prayers when Anika was hospitalized because of her heart beat skipping? Seconds just before her 2D echo started, na-feel ko yun. Everything else, every concern in the world seemed puny compared sa gustong gusto ko mangyari at that moment. All I wanted in that few seconds was for Anika’s heart to be normal. Wala sanang butas or kahit anong abnormalities. At that moment, nothing else mattered. Hindi important kung mataba ba ako or what. Hindi important if may hits pa itong blog ko or wala na. Hindi important if I had nice clothes at home or none. Alvin said hindi na daw nagmamatter if may pera kami or wala.

All we wanted at that moment was for Anika’s heart to be fine.

Thank God yun nga ang nangyari.

I am saying this kasi kanina habang nagda-drive ako sa traffic, I felt super tired. 6:30 pa lang yun ng umaga ha, pagod na pagod na ako. I felt burned out sobra. Pero naisip ko, ang daming tao out there who are experiencing worse. Swerte na ako because ang problem ko lang now is super busy ako. Yung ibang sa atin, mas grabe ang pinagdadaanan.

So there, mga mare, especially to the working moms out there. I know it can be overwhelming at times. Alam ko minsan awang awa na din kayo sa sarili niyo. I know sometimes gusto niyong kaltukan mga asawa niyo kasi parang hindi tumutulong. During times like that, isipin na lang natin na, it can be worse.

Like ummm, ayaw pa din palitan ni GLOBE the broken phone that I bought from them until now. God, it has been three weeks already since I first reported it to them. I am giving them until next week para maka-celebrate man lang kami ng monthsary ng ganito. Pero konti na lang talaga masisiraan na ako ng bait sa kanila. My Globe bill will be out any moment now and I will have to pay Php 28,800 for a phone na hindi ko magamit-gamit. If wala pa next week, I shall make kwento blow by blow.

Wooooooosssssaaaaaahhhh….

Osha, let’s think about positive vibes na lang instead. Isipin na lang natin sale sa weekend because it’s payday weekend. Buy something. Go. Tubuan sana ng pigsa sa fez ang kumontra sa inyo.

PS.
Speaking, who’s going to the Par8de trunk show at Nikkei Restaurant at One Rockwell tomorrow? I’ll be there. Kita tayo? =D

Happy weekend everybody!

In case hindi pa din halata, I love eating out. Opposite kami ni Alvin. Alvin likes eating at home all the time. He likes home cooked Filipino meals. Ayaw niyan ng steak and shala, complicated food. Meanwhile, I love discovering new restaurants. I love fancy dining. I like trying iba’t ibang klaseng luto ng isang dish.

Except for gata. I can’t eat food with gata. It makes me go to the toilet.

Anyway, one of the restaurants that I like is Sentro 1771. I first ate there when I was still doing OJT at Ayala Land. Their branch in Greenbelt 2 was still very new. Ang sarap dun, grabe. But of course, that time, I still couldn’t afford eating there. Medyo pricey ng slight.

Now, sometime this year, Alvin, Anika and I ate at Sentro 1771 in Greenbelt. It’s been ages since I last ate there so I ordered the food that I liked ordering before.

Hindi lang ako nakapag-sago’t gulaman this time but I’m telling you, winner ang bottomless sago gulaman nila at Php 120.

For drinks, Anika and I shared a Pomelo juice (Php 130). Masarap but I wish I got the sago’t gulaman instead.

I ordered the Rated GG (Php 295). Hayyy… Sobrang sarap. These are actually only Galunggong fillets fried in garlic oil topped with brown garlic. Extra rice talaga ang magiging peg mo.

Alvin kept on rolling his eyes at me. Galunggong lang daw yan and madami daw kami niyan sa bahay haha. I know but like I said, I like food that’s cooked differently.

I also ordered the Catfish Adobo Flakes (Php 360) that Anika liked. It’s Hito cooked adobo style with native garlic and yellow ginger, fried until crisp.

Lastly, you cannot dine at Sentro 1771 and NOT order their Sinigang na Corned Beef (Php 595).

When you order this dish, the waiter will come out of the kitchen to your table bringing with him a small serving of the soup. You get to decide how sour or whatever your sinigang soup will be. Cool ano? I think free din yung refill nung soup too.

Grabe, super hungry tuloy ako now. I’m here at STEPS waiting for Anika to finish her dance lessons.

The other dishes that I would recommend if you will eat at Sentro 1771 are the:

Fresh Smoked Fish Spring Roll
Green Mango Salad
Tomato Kesong Puti Salad
Mango Jubilee

Those are the ones I’ve tried na. There are a lot of dishes there that I want to try pa. Let me know ano masarap for you ha?

Happy eating!

Sometimes, every now and then, napapatigil talaga ako with what I’m doing because I think about how fast Anika is growing. Ang bilis and she amazes us with her personality everyday.

One of the things that I always think about is alam kaya niya how much I love her. Alam kaya niya that despite being busy, she is always in my mind? Alam kaya niya that everything I’m doing now, lagi lagi may kinalaman sa kanya? And alam kaya niya that she has made me a better person since God gave her to us?

On our way to her dance class kanina, we were singing with gusto along with the songs in the Pitch Perfect soundtrack. Bigay na bigay kami. It was so much fun. If only I could freeze that scenario and video it, I would. I wanted to be reminded of these moments forever. Tuwang tuwa talaga kami mag-ina sa sarili namin kanina.

And then out of the blue, she asked me to play the song Better Place of Rachel Platten. One time kasi, in the car pa din, she heard the song. I told her that it’s one of my favorite songs. Nagustuhan siguro kaya she made me play it from my Spotify.

So I did.

She sang along and then said, “Nanay, this is making my cry.”. Ayun she was singing and the same time, tears were falling from her eyes.

ME: Is this song making you sad?

ANIKA: No, Nanay. It’s really nice. I love it.

She held my hand.

ANIKA: Can this be our song na lang? Not na the I Love You song of Barney because that’s for kids naman.

ME: Sure, sweetheart.

And then we sang along with the song. Naluha din ako. Naluluha ako ngayon just thinking about it. Here’s the lyrics of the song para makarelate kayo. The video’s at the bottom too. It’s a beautiful song and I am very touched Anika thought about me when she listened to it. I know that from now on, she will never forget me everytime she hears it <3

BETTER PLACE by Rachel Platten

If you are a working mom, one characteristics that you should have is that you need to have at least a tiny weeny dash of organizational skills. Kahit ga-buhok lang, okay na. You will need your organizational skills to keep yourself sane with all the things that you have to do both at work and at home. Of course,

Being a working mom myself, here are the things that I need to keep myself organized.

One, you need to have something where you can note down everything.

That is one of my secrets. People often ask me how the world I am able to attend to my family’s needs, my demanding work and then also blog on the side. My answer is very simple. I have a lot of lists! I list down everything that I need to do. My lists have sub lists in them.  I even list down the things that I have to think about that I don’t have to think about at that moment. Hehe. I do this so that I am sure I won’t be able to forget anything. It’s very easy (and dangerous) to get swallowed with all the things us, working moms, need to remember and accomplish.

For me, I need two notebooks so I won’t get confused with my two functions during the day. I have one notebook for work where I write down all the things that I need to do and all the things that I need to remember for work. I have another notebook with a calendar where I put all Anika’s activities and jot down all the things that I have scheduled for us to do. I got the notebook with calendar from Muji. It’s very simple and it easy to use.

Two, a working mom needs a corkboard where she can put everything that she needs to remember.

I have a cork board at home where I pin the unpaid bills that I have yet to pay and the important memorandum that Anika’s school sends us. These documents should be smack where I can always see them everyday so I get reminded about these things constantly. Again, working moms are very busy. Things like this can make our lives a little easier.

Three, working moms need a specific place for everything so that they can find whatever she needs immediately. 

At home, I have a place where I put all the copy of the bills that I have already paid. I keep the bills that I paid within a year. I also have one place where I store all the things that I need for crafts: ribbons, gift wrappers, tape dispenser, stapler, pens, gift cards etc. I have a place where I store the First Aid Kit. I have a place where Anika can store her things. I even have a place assigned for my husband where he stores all his knick knacks. Since time is crucial for working moms, in this way, you will no longer spend unnecessary minutes/hours in looking for the things that you need.

Fourth, a working mom needs a pantry that can explain to her everything.

This is one of the pantries I have at home. It’s arranged in a way that I can see what we have and don’t have anymore. I do not need to ask our kasambahay what is kulang. Whenever I need do the grocery, I just stand there and inspect what I need to buy. My other pantry is located in the dirty kitchen. That is where the canned goods, cooking oil, soy sauce, laundry soap etc are placed. It is also arranged that way where I can see eveything in one look. Again, it saves me time because I can immediately see what my family needs.

Lastly, a working mom needs a good help. I do not know how will I ever survive my every day without my two God sent kasambahays. I have trained them to complement what I do in a daily basis therefore they require a little supervision na lang. I have trained them to ask questions if they do not understand my instructions. I am lucky because they have malasakit to our family and I swear, I seriously would not be able to accomplish what I can now without them.

Top: KAMISETA; Skirt: DIVISORIA; Shoes: CLN

Last school year was the first school year when wala nang kasamang yaya si Anika in school. To ease our kapraningan, we bought Anika a cheap cellphone that she can bring to school. Our instructions to her are (1) she’s not to use it during class, (2) kami lang ang tatawagan niya and (3) she should call us automatically after dismissal time. Pasa load lang ako ng pasa load sa kanya. Okay naman kasi she doesn’t use it in the classroom talaga. She calls us during dismissal time when she’s in the bus na. For us, it was very assuring she had a phone with her. Pagmay problema siya, tawag agad sa amin. When she fell from that soccer post, alam ko agad. When the bus was not able to find her in school, nahanap ko si Anika and knew she was just having after class practice. Biglaan kasi yun and hindi nasabi sa school diary.

Everything was okay until this year, Anika’s class adviser discovered that she has a mobile phone with her. Bawal pala. Nasa student handbook. Fuzz. The teacher told her not to bring a phone otherwise, one letter grade deduction sa conduct.

Na-stress ako but Alvin told me to follow the rules.

Fine.

Malaking adjustment for me. I don’t get to talk to Anika anymore during the day until she gets home.

Anyway, I discovered that some of Anika’s schoolmates bring with them a smart watch. One of my amigas taught me to buy a cheap one muna in Lazada.

source

Galing di ba? Php 499 lang.

Ang features nito is that it has a sim card. You can call and text with it. Pag-calls, speaker phone lang.

We tried using this for a couple of days. However now, Anika refuses to bring it anymore. Natatakot baka pagalitan ni teacher. Regardless of me telling her na some of her schoolmates have it, ayaw pa din niya. Bakit daw siya gagaya sa mga yun eh bawal nga daw.

Fine.

Okay naman din because when Anika bumped her head in the cafeteria, the clinic called me up. So anything na may emergency, the clinic informs me immediately. Kampante din ako because Coach Vita told the clinic to call her too if Anika is brought there.

I heard that there are smart phones with tracking eklaver. As in makikita mo daw nasan na exactly anak mo. Gosh that is so cool. I wish the school allows these gadgets. Pagnakitang pinaglalaruan, i-confiscate na lang.

Kayo mommies, bawal din ba phones sa school ng kids niyo? Okay lang with you?

Top: UNIQLO; Pants: MANGO; Shoes: KEDS; Bag: MICHAEL KORS; Sunglasses: RAYBAN

Hey guys! It’s been a week since my last post! Grabe no? I miss you guys so much. I miss blogging. I’m not in a good place right now. I hope it isn’t anxiety depression again. One nice thing about having gone through it before is that I know the signs and I know how to fight it without meds muna. One thing you should do if you’re feeling like this is do force yourself to do something you like very much.

Kaya eto, despite puyat and pagod, I’m blogging.

I’m fine though, mga mare. It’s okay. I know you guys. You are the best blog readers in the planet. Please do not worry about me. I’m fine. I’m sure I will be back in my usual self soon. Wala lang ako makausap about this. Sobra toxic kasi sa work. I don’t have a chance of meeting up with my bestfriends yet. Walang unwinding sessions. Sa totoo lang, ang gusto ko sana is to go to Arnaiz sa America even for just a week. I want to get away. Feel na feel ko kasi ang 10 year US visa ko. Plus, malaki discount ko sa airplane. Plus, mas bongga sa USA mag-emote, don’t you think?

Anyway, I want to update you guys with what’s happening in my life now.

1. Nag-push nga ang RFO ng two midrise and four high rise projects namin. The past month has been very, very toxic but worth it. Our projects are all very beautiful. I love how the unit owners are so happy in their new homes. One day, I shall blog about each one of them. Maka-ahon ahon lang ako dito sa pinagdadaanan ko, sunod sunod na ulit ang posts. Ang daming photos sa camera ko waiting to be shared. I also have so many blog post drafts to finish. In time, I promise. Wag niyo sana muna ako pagsawaan.

2. Finally, Globe replaced the broken red iPhone 7 that I got from them. Thank you. 128GB baby! Matutuloy na din ang pangarap ko for more videos to post!

3. We are in the middle of the renovations of our new house. From the looks of it, sana tinibag ko na lang lahat then started from scratch. Hahahaha! Ang dami kong ginalaw, sinisingil na kami ng construction bond kasi hindi mukhang renovations lang ang ganap. Eto pa isang nagpadagdag sa stress ko. Sumabay yung construction with the RFO of our projects. Alvin’s there naman. Siya ang may time kasi ngayon. Nevertheless, there are a lot of decisions that I should make. I can’t wait, though, to show you the finish product. Sana mapagkasya ko sa budget otherwise, dedz.

4. I’m trying to exercise more as per Wowa’s advise. Ayoko magka-mild stroke because of stress. And ayoko tumaba because of all the stress eating that I have been doing. It gotta stop.

5. Love one another, mga ateng. Tell your husbands to hug you more fequently. Ang lakas maka-dagdag ng strength to face the world eh. Ang sarap if may yumayakap sa inyo during times like these. Payakap nga, mga guys.

6. Anika has perfected her cartwheels already because of her gymnastics lessons. One thing I wasn’t able to do when I was younger kaya eto, push ako sa bagets. Happy ako because she loves her gymnastics. Sana pumasok siya sa Olympics one day.

7. Our masahista resigned to go back home to the province. No massage for weeks already. Anika’s yaya left na too to go back to their province. Ano ba meron sa province? Masaya ba dun? Dun na lang din ako.

8. Are you guys having problems with your PLDT internet connections too? Kami two weeks na intermittent yung connection. What seems to be the problem kaya? Bayad naman ako.

9. I’m planning a Bliss Bowl get together again. Who wants to go? Next month, tara? 12 people lang kasi kasya dun eh. Kape na lang tayo afterwards para more friends can come along?

10. I have a pimple at the tip of my nose. As if I am not sad enough. Tadhana nga naman talaga.

Osha muthers, see you again very soon.

Good night!

The peg was to have a very relaxing long holiday this week.

You know how stressed I was at work so I was really looking forward to spending time with Alvin and Anika.

Alvin and I filed a leave off work ng October 30. We were supposed to go to Baguio from October 29 to October 31. I booked a room overlooking the mountains at Outlook Ridge Residences.

Saturday, October 28, the night before we were supposed to leave, Anika had a low grade fever. Sabi ko patay na. Hindi na kami tuloy nito. So we didn’t pack.

Sunday, October 29, Anika had sinat. Alvin said di na kami tuloy. Hindi daw mapinta mukha naming mag-ina. After an hour, her fever went away. Ngayon iniisip ko, sheer will lang siguro nitong batang ito sa kagustuhan niyang pumunta ng Baguio and hanapin si Tanzan. Tanzan was the pink donkey that she rode when she was 2 years old. Alvin and I thought, it was just one of those one day fever so we pushed through with our trip.

We were wrong.

Anika’s temperature when we arrived in Baguio was 38 degrees. Hindi na niya talaga matago yung sama ng pakiramdam niya. Nung una, ayaw magpakita na may sakit. Okay na okay daw siya. We gave her paracetamol. However, around 930pm, her fever shot up to 39.8 degrees. Nagtatawag na ako by this time sa mga engineers namin sa Baguio to ask anong magandang hospitals dun. Panic mode. All this time, punas kami ng punas lang kay Anika ng cold water. We gave her Dolan. I didn’t sleep. Bantay ako ng bantay. Anika’s heartbeat was so fast. Her fever broke around 12:30am. Tulog gising ako until 5am.

Alvin and I talked. Are we going to have her rest na lang muna and go home the next day as planned or uwi na? We chose to go home na. Hindi ko gamay Baguio. In case Anika needs to be admitted, hindi ko gamay yung mga hospitals dun.

We started going back to Manila by 7am after breakfast.

Anika kept on having on and off fever after that.

And my throat started hurting like crazy. I was also having fever na and my cough was nagwawala!

October 31, we brought Anika to the Asian Hospital ER kasi hindi humuhupa lagnat niya. It has been three days. Alvin and I also had ourselves checked. Her CBC results said that she had a viral infection. We continued lang with the antibiotic that she was taking and was told to drink paracetamol if may fever. I was told I had tonsilitis and was given Augmentin. Ito yung antibiotic na parang sinusunog ang laman loob mo sa tapang. Usually, 2x a day lang ito. The doctor told me to drink it 3x a day. Dedz. Alvin’s fine. They just gave him something for the clogged sipon. We were sent home.

November 1, Anika’s fever went up again to 39 point something. Hindi na naman kami pinatulog. We were alternating paracetamol and ibuprofen to manage her fever.

Imagine mga bakla, nilalagnat ako. Latang lata ako sa antibiotics ko. When I cough, parang kakalas yung lungs ko sa sakit. My nose was so clogged that my eyes were permanently watery. I was having LBM. And my head hurt like hell.

I was feeling all those while taking care of Anika. Alvin was doing his part partida ang sama na din ng katawan niya. Hindi ko lang mapa-ubaya because well, nanay ako.

We decided to take her to the ER again today to have her confined. Kailangan na namin ng tulong. Her fever doesn’t go down anymore. Lagi na lang 39. Nakakasira ng bait. Feeling ko mamamatay na ako sa sakit ko plus sa stress.

Like what I said in my IG, ito na ang pinakamahirap kong nadanasan sa 7 years kong pagiging nanay.

I asked Wowa to accompany me. Alvin had to attend to the two houses under construction. Nakaka-awa din ang mamang yun. He isn’t feeling well talaga but had to go.

After 6 hours in the ER (last na talaga ito sa Asian Hospital, promise), we were finally checked in a room. OA sa emergency room ng Asian. Busangot yung nurse namin. Ang sama na nga ng pakiramdam naming 2 ni Anika, simangot galore talaga siya. Buti after a while ngumiti na yung mga doctors. Akala ko until ending parang fault namin na pagod sila.

Ito akin lang naman. Wag niyo naman sana masamain guys. This is just coming from a sick mom with a very sick daughter. I know being in the medical field is difficult. I cannot imagine myself there kasi I am scared of blood. Saludo nga kami lahat sa inyo. Pero nandiyan na tayo eh. Mano bang maging cordial ng slight. Hindi naman namin fault to be sick. Okay sana to push a tiniest bit of effort pa sana to be a little friendlier. Wag naman mataray or busangot. Of course nandiyan na tayo that they have been working for hours na, pero hindi naman namin fault yun. It would matter a lot to the patients and parents if may smile ng konti lang.

Yun lang. End of rant.

Anyway, Anika was able to nap. She still has fever now. I think we made a good choice of confining her.

We were told by the ER pedia that they noticed nowadays ang tatagal na ng lagnat ng mga kids when they have viral illnesses. Hindi tulad dati na three days okay na. Ngayon umaabot daw talaga ng 7 days.

Nakakaloka.

I’m really sad guys. I think one’s parenthood experience will not be complete without experiencing being sick and having to attend to sick children. Grabe mga bakla. Saludo na talaga ako sa mga single parents. How do you do it? I am grateful Alvin is with me. Kahit na may sipon lang siya pero medyo trangkaso ang acting, he really helps out. I am just praying wag magtuloy tuloy yung sakit niya. Hawa hawa na kasi kami.

A while ago I was thinking, although I am grateful Wowa arrived to help us, at the end of the day, kami lang talagang tatlo ang together sa ganito. This may be a very difficult time for us pero after this, we are going to be stronger.

Update:

Anika’s pulmo-pedia just saw her. Initial finding is bronchitis daw. She’ll have xray tom to rule out pneumonia.

I feel so relaxed now that her pedia saw her na. Okay talaga na nagpaconfine na kami. Plus I drank Ascof Lagundi with Decolgen. Grabe. I felt better instantly. Parang commercial ano? Pero sobra true. Kanina akala ko mamamatay na ako sa grabe ng cough ko. Effective pala ito.

Osha. I shall sleep na. At least I’ll get to blog here.

Wishing for a better day tomorrow.

Please do pray for us.

Please do not think of me as a bad, weak mother after reading this.

I gave up today.

Yea.

I gave up.

I asked Wowa to stay with Anika the whole day because I wanted to go home to get away from it all.

Everything got too much for me to handle.

Isipin niyo naman, Anika got so sick last Sunday. Since that day, akyat, baba lagnat niya. My flu and tonsilitis ay sumabay sa sakit niya.

Have you had trangkaso already? Di ba ang hirap? Imagine having that plus fever, sore joints and muscles, very sore throat, clogged nose, acidic stomach and LBM. Balik ako ng balik sa CR to throw up and poop.

Di ba wild?

Sige, now imagine you feeling all that while attending to your very sick daughter.

Mas wild, right?

Since, Sunday, pilit kong nilalabanan everything bad that I was feeling so I can attend to Anika. I know Alvin’s there but alam naman nating lahat na iba pa din ang aruga ng nanay. Alvin kept to telling me to go home. Sabi ko ayaw ko. Ang taas talaga ng lagnat niya eh. Hindi ko kaya i-deadma.

I was just praying and praying for Anika to get better. I forgot to pray for myself.

Kaya today, seven days after the first day she had fever, I lost it mentally.

Para akong kinukuyog inside Anika’s hospital room. It felt like the walls were closing in on me. It was suffocating. I kept on asking Alvin to embrace me and rub my back.

Sabi ko sa sarili ko, “Ay, hindi na healthy ito. I need to leave this place otherwise, matatalo ako.”. In short, I need to go or else, mabubuang ako.

I think dehydration had plenty to do why I was feeling this way.

Wowa was kind enough to mind Anika. Wala na naman fever si Anika today. We are praying the whole night sana wala na talaga so that we can be discharged tomorrow.

WOWA: Sige, take your time, anak.

Feel niya siguro that I was at the brink of totally losing it.

I went home while Alvin attended to our house renovation.

But home didn’t feel like home probably because I knew Anika was still back at the hospital.

I tried relaxing. I talked to myself to get a grip. I told myself to think of happy thoughts.

Wala. Grabe pa din ang anxiety. I threw up thrice and pooped 4 more times.

I called Alvin to pick me up na lang. Sabi ko baka nagkaka-chemical imbalance na ako because of dehydration. I need to rehydrate. Sabi ko magpapa-swero na lang ako sa ER para ma-hydrate.

Alvin talked and talked to me on the way back to the hospital. I tried to tell him how I felt.

Kaso the problem nga di ba is what I am feeling now is super hard to explain to people who do not have it. Anxiety attack ba ito? Anxiety depression? Well, actually ako, hindi ko din sure but what I know is that I have to fight it.

First things first, I need to stop throwing up and stop my LBM asap. I told Alvin that I’d like to see a gastro instead kaysa magpa-ER. It’s more depressing and hindi maganda our experience there.

And so we went to find a gastro in Asian Hospital. We waited and waited. Okay lang kasi talagang nakayapos ako sa asawa ko the whole time. When I say the whole time, it means pati habang naglalakad, sa elevator and while waiting for the doctor at the clinic. I am so clingy when I am like this.

Anyway, the doctor checked my tummy and gave me Motillium and Duspatalin that I have to take three times a day before meals.

I pray this works.

We went back up to Anika’s room after and saw her smiling and laughing with her Wowa, Nonong and Toots’ friend.

Nakakatuwa din. They helped me get my mind off things.

I’m feeling better now, mentally, I mean.

Is this a sign of weakness? I don’t care na siguro. All I care about is to be well physically and mentally so I can take care of my mag-ama. I think stepping out or going away was a good idea. Nakabuti for me.

I’m ready to fight again.

Building a house from scratch is so much easier than renovations.

We are currently renovating our 35 year old family house in Paranaque. This is the actual As Built Plan of that house. Halos magkasing tanda na kami.

As usual, sa dami ng gusto ko sa mundo, I got so confused again with my peg. But when I saw Donna Cuna-Pita’s house in Smart Parenting, biglang everything fell into place.

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Our new house will be gray, black, white and wood pero hindi redish wood like the photo above. It will have big, black steel encasement windows like that too.

My kitchen will be almost like this. I am just thinking if gusto ko ba ng kumukutitap na backsplash again or Ill get subway tiles na lang.

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Ganito o..

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The living room will also have the gray, black, white and wood theme.

Pineda went to my office last week to look at wallpaper swatches and cabinet skins. She picked this wall paper and here are the choices for the TV cabinet skins.

The house will also have a breakfast nook like this.

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In our bedroom, I want my side of the bed to look like this.

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Hay. I wish everything will fit the budget. We’re halfway na in spending the declared budget eh, ganito pa ang hitsura ng house ngayon.

Nakaka-palpitate guys. Grabeeehhh…

Alvin and I are also in the brink of separating.

Joke lang!

But I’m telling you, constructing your house together can really take a toll in your married life. Dito ko nari-realize that Alvin and I are totally opposites talaga. Pero we try our best to compromise. Wag niyo na banggitin kay Alvin. Sasabihin niya sa inyo, to compromise, yes ng yes na lang siya sa akin. Hehehe.

I can’t wait to show you our new renovated house =)

If for some miracle you never carried a bag in your entire life, pupusta ako, a bag will be an essential once you become a mother.

The first (and only) diaper bag that I used was a Baby Couture. I used it from Anika’s birth until she was around 2 years old. Ito ang mga times when you will wonder bakit hindi na lang isama pati yung cabinet ng room niyo sa lakad niyo sa dami ng dala mo.

After that, I lessened my OA-ness and increased my ka-artehan so the bag that I brought with me for Anika’s things became smaller and more fashionable. I used the Longchamp pliage. May mga dividers lang ako sa loob. And then after, I started using na my Mango totes. Okay naman sila.

As Anika grew older, she’s the one na who chooses the bag kasi she’s the one who brings it when we go out.

She has a new favorite now. Actually, I want one for myself. Hehe.

Check out her Doughnut Iceberg x Sakura Macaroon Mini.

From the Doughnut Philippines website:

“Established in 2007, Doughnut began making backpacks, bags accessories and other travel essentials. With a mission of ‘Integrating fashion and functionality’, we pride ourselves in ensuring that every Doughnut product is consistently of the utmost quality, reasonably priced and unique from what is commonly available. After years of constant innovation, we continue to push beyond our boundaries and challenge our designers to explore new materials, styles and concepts.”

It’s water repellent, pretty, compact (21.5cm W x 9cm D x 30cm H) and the best thing is that it has a lot of compartments inside for all the knick knacks.

It even has a compartment for her tab! =D

She also uses this bag whenever small bag sila in school. The size is just right. It’s light also so hindi siya nakukuba when she uses it.

I want one too!! I am eyeing the ultra-light Macaroon in soda x cream. That’s the bigger version of Anika’s bag. Kasya my laptop in the compartment. It also has an iPad compartment and a water bottle compartment. It helps that ang kikay ng colors so it’s perfect for an office girl like me =)

You can buy the Doughnut bags from the following stores:

I went to the psychiatrist yesterday.

My anxiety attacks are affecting my well-being and my way of living.

It’s just like 2005 all over again.

This started last week when Anika and I got sick at the same time. The ER doctor gave me Co-Amoxiclav as an antibiotic for my tonsillitis. I had to drink it 3x a day for 7 days. Napaka-tapang nun. My stomach started acting up. I vomited and vomited and kept on having LBM until I got so weak. That plus the stress that Anika has pneumonia triggered this anxiety attack.

Grabe mga bakla ang nararamdaman ko now. I feel very uneasy. I feel panicky. Natatakot ako ng walang dahilan. I can’t stay still. I can’t sleep. I cannot concentrate. It’s very, very difficult.

That is why I asked Alvin to take me na to a specialist.

It told him about my history. I told him about the recent week. He told me that this anxiety may be just symptoms of what happened. He cannot conclude yet if I have an anxiety disorder because napaka-recent ko lang daw siya na-feel ulit.

He gave me two kinds of medicines. One medicine for anxiety. 1/8th lang ng pill ang need ko i-take every morning and night. He gave me also another medicine so I can sleep better. Half tablet naman yun. Balik daw ako sa kanya next week.

Honestly, I haven’t taken those medicines yet. I have another fear of depending ko it. Gusto ko gumaling ng normal sana. However, the doctor said naman that they are trained how to give these medicines and manage it so that hindi ako magdedepend doon.

I’m thinking now if I’m going to take it na. Para kako magcomfortable yung nararamdaman ko.

Pero I know, I have to fix my stomach. It needs to get well. Grabe my acid reflux. It’s really painful and uncomfortable. Nakakadagdag talaga siya sa anxiety ko. I’m thinking, ma-solve lang itong tiyan ko, I think I will get out of these anxiety attacks.

I’ve been going to church more often now too. Dasal ako ng dasal. Lagi kong kinakausap si God na tulungan niya sana ako malagpasan ito.

I am lucky that Alvin is very supportive. Not all people can understand this. Hindi sila open minded about mental illnesses. Akala nila wala lang and it’s something that you can “just get over with”. Malupit yung iba. Akala nila arte lang. I wish there’s more awareness for mental health in our country. Madaming matutulungan na nagsusuffer na mga tao. It’s not easy to have this. You will not even wish this for your enemy. Maganda sana if people around you understands you because they are aware of this.

Anyway, I have to go ha? Please keep me also in your prayers as I fight this. Hindi ako magpapatalo dito, that’s for sure. Thank you ng madami…