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One afternoon, a few weeks ago, Anika and I went to her Nongnong Toots’ condo. Whenever I go there, I make kalkal his cupboards. I wanna see if he has stock of stuff he needs to live. That’s the big sister in me. Hehe.

In one of the cupboards I saw packs and packs of WHATTA TOPS cupcakes.

ME: Bakit ang dami?

TOOTS: Ay sobrang sarap niyan!

Anika asked for some. It was the first time she saw and tasted them. She loved it. Since then, kailangan may WHATTA TOPS sa house all the time!

Last week, Lemon Square sent us a pack of their limited edition WHATTA TOPS “KRISMAS DELIGHT” pack. I included it in #AnikasBaon that day.

The TSOKOLATE variant

The MANGO ESPESYAL variant

One Whatta Tops Krismas Delight box includes the 3 pieces each of the limited edition variants: Tsokolate and Mango Espesyal.

Don’t they look pretty and festive?

The Tsokolate variant has a chocolate cake base with gooey, delicious chocolate filling.

Meanwhile, the Mango Espesyal has a chiffon like base with mango filling naman.

Anika loves it! And true, they’re really good. I like them paired with my coffee or pang himagas after a meal.

I have kwento.

Last Saturday was Anika’s Christmas Party at school. The night before was our company’s Christmas party naman. Imagine my panic when I woke up the next day and remembered I didn’t buy anything for her to bring! Super nawala sa isip ko to buy the food to share of Anika!

Luckily, I saw the unopened boxes of the Krismas Delight packs that we have.

Perfect!

I asked Anika to bring them to class.

Ubos. All the kids wanted daw to eat one. I wish I brought more.

This is a perfect Christmas giveaways, monito/monita gift idea or party dessert contribution especially that it’s very affordable at only Php 50 a box. I know, right?! Delicious and affordable pa =D

Yeah, she loves them! Hihihi!

Lemon Square Whatta Tops Krismas Delight boxes are available at all leading supermarkets and groceries nationwide.

Our house renovation is almost 90% done.

To update you about my recent hanash, I retained the kitchen cabinets. Acceptance is the key, mga bakla. When the Granite subcontractor installed the countertop, parang gumanda yung effect of my cabinets. Lumitaw yung pagka-grayish blue niya. Nagka-buhay, ganun, kaya keribelles.

I really want to transfer na kasi talaga before the new year comes.

New year, new house.

Maganda pakinggan di ba?

So the remaining ongoing works now are the fabrication and painting of the bedroom closets. Tragis, ang mahal pala ng Marine Plywood! We spent 33,000 for just the wood materials! Iniisip ko, baka better if I ordered na lang modular. Wala pang hirap.

But then again, mas matibay di hamak yung gawa ng Marine Plywood.

The only thing that I wasn’t able to anticipate was 3 weeks pala ginagawa yung Duco painting! Kamote.

Duco painting is a kind of painting for your furniture. Mas soshal ang finish na ito compared to the normal pahid pahid lang. If you do kasi a duco finish, it hides the grains of the wood. Super smooth and polished ang magiging finish.

But I never knew masalimuot pala yung process of the duco finish. Magkaka-muscles ka kaka-kaskas ng surface to make it smooth. Paulit ulit ang liha and spray paint until you achieve that beautiful polished look surface. Not all painters can do this. Specialty itey kaya expensive and it requires more paint too.

And so, I didn’t have the closets painted in duco finish anymore. Hindi kasi aabot matapos before the new year. I just had it painted in semi-duco finish.

Semi-duco naman is parang mama-silyahan nila yung buong surface. And then lilihain. And then saka ipe-paint in a normal way (using a roller or a paint brush). The finish is between a normal painted surface and a duco finished surface. Keribelles na din.

The painters said that they will be able to finish all the three closets and the two sets of the low seats with cabinets underneath.

Yahoo. Kung alam niyo lang paano ako nagkumahog maghanap ng pintor for these.

Have you seen the closets I designed? =)

Here’s Anika’s closet.

It has space for her hung dresses and tops. It also has shelves for her pambahay. I will just buy cute containers where she can put her undies and socks.

This is the closets in the Master’s Bedroom. Hulaan niyo ano yung sa akin diyan.

Hahahahahaha!

It’s dead obvious, I know!

But before you say na bakit parang inapi ang closet space ng jowa ko, it was Alvin who requested that closet size. He doesn’t need daw that much space. I swear, Anika has more clothes than him. Kaya I was surprised when he said he needs to give away na daw some of his clothes. Masyadong madami na daw.

Aneh?!

Peg yata ni Alvin yung one outfit in 7 ways. Hayaan natin siya. More closet space for meeeeeee!

And this one naman is the closet at the kasambahay’s room.

The shelves on your left is for the blankets, towels and pillow cases. The shelves on your right is for me. Hahahaha! Ang dupang sa closet space! =))

Guys, I know you understand that we need all the closet space we can get. Kung pwede lang lagyang ng aparador between the roof and ceiling, malamang meron din akong closet dun!

All these closets have sliding doors. I wanted closet sliding doors with mirror kaso for some reasons, biglang nagGoogle si Alvin ng Feng Shui and mirrors.

We browsed through the different articles and found out that ang dami pa lang bawal!

Bawal to put mirror in the kitchen. Well, who puts mirrors in the kitchen naman di ba?

You CANNOT put mirrors facing the bed daw. It may bring sleeping problems and may invite a third party to the relationship. So mga mudra, if in case napagdaanan ninyo mag-asawa ang ganitong problema, check your mirror if it’s facing the bed. Lelz.

No mirrors behind the sofa because nawawala daw ang sense of security.

Bawal ang mirror facing the front door. This one I am aware. Tatalbog daw palabas ang swerte. Hindi makakapasok ng house. Same with no mirrors at the end of the hallway.

Best place to put a mirror is in the dining area. The dining room daw kasi represents the “vault of wealth” in the house. If you put a mirror there, dadami daw ang moolah.

Hindi naman nila sinabi agad. Sana pinuno ko ng mirror yung buong kainan namin.

So there, you can read more about where to put the house mirrors here and here.

Osha, three days to go till Christmas! How harassed are your from 1 to 10?! Hehehe! Gotta go mga bakla. I have to buy more balikbayan boxes for our lipat bahay ganap!

See you!

Top: MANGO; Pants: AMERICAN EAGLE OUTFITTERS; Shoes: CMG; Sunglasses: RAYBAN

The house is all done! They will just finish the installation of window screens and I will just have the mosaic tiles backsplash installed next week. Push na push ang lipat bahay and I am soooooooo freaking excited!

In other news, we attended Alvin’s side of the family’s Christmas party last night. A lot of his relatives who I have not seen in a while were commenting I look thin. I get that often nowadays. One of my favorite cousins of Alvin told me that I look too thin. I believed him because I remember one of my bosses told me the same thing too.

Wait nga, lemme weigh myself now. Hindi ko alam my weight na.

Okay so I weigh 109 lbs now. I weighed 120 lbs before I got sick late last October. 109 is not my target weight pa supposedly. I want to go down to 105. It so weird though because all my clothes feel looser for 109 lbs. I remember what one of my readers told me before. Baka because daw the fats are turning ito muscles? Make sense because I have been exercising. Eto na, I know most of you will make New Year’s resolutions and naaamoy ko na losing weight will be one of those. I shall give you tips. Okay ba yun? =)

I mainly lost weight because I got sick. I lost 10 lbs in one week. Hindi niyo naman gugustuhin yun. But that was what prompted me to maintain it. Sayang naman what I went through if nothing good will come out of it.

My first tip is to watch what you eat. When they ask me for tips, isa lang ang sinasabi ko often, cut your rice. You do not necessarily need to cut all carbs, rice lang tanggalin niyo. I do not eat rice but I eat a little pasta and bread. Kaya niyo yan mga bakla. The first three days lang ang hardest. Instead of rice with every meal, I make papak a lot of vegetables and meat. Nabubusog naman ako. Then after a week of doing that, you will see, your craving for rice will be gone. Wag ka lang mag-ulam ng adobo or kare-kare. Ultimate temptation yan.

For breakfast, I eat healthy granola with non fat yogurt. Minsan hard boiled egg. For lunch and dinner, either papak ako ng vegetables and meet na lang. I indulge sweets like twice a week lang.

Ang sarap din ng feeling. I don’t feel bloated. Hindi mabigat sa tummy when I wake up. Ang sarap pa sa umaga.

Next tip is not to eat 4 hours before you sleep. Eto super effective talaga. They call this diet the 6 o’ clock diet dati. I follow this as much as possible pero ako naman, 3 hours before sleeping lang.

Next, drink a lot of water. As in super daming water all the time.

Inuna ko lahat ng about food because losing weight is 90% diet and 10% exercise. Bale wala guys yung 2 hours niyo sa gym if you are eating tubs and tubs of ice cream. Ganito tanda ko diyan. One burger at McDonalds, I have to spend 1 hour in the threadmill to burn it. Iniisip ko lang yan, I get turned off eating it.

Next tip is to exercise. Exercise din kayo mga bakla. Though you will lose weight with dieting, baka magmukha naman kayong hindi healthy. If you exercise, you become fitter. Mas maganda if medyo firm ang tummy and the rest of your sexy bodehhhh!

That’s it!

However, again guys, tandaan, it’s more important if you love your body. Hindi important ang payat ka. More important is healthy ka and you are comfortable with your body. I can say now that even before I lost all that weight, I am at my prime. I am not stick-sexy like when I was still single pero mas gusto ko katawan ko now. I’ve never felt sexier. It must be the confidence and the not giving a f*ck about what other people think. It comes with age ata. I am more careful with what I eat kasi I have above normal cholesterol and sugar level. That and afford na natin ngayon to spend for better beauty regimen. Sabi nga nila, if may pera ka, kasalanan mo na daw kung pangit ka. Charot.

Ayun, bottomline, watch what you eat and exercise =)

Osha, balik na kayo sa mga ginagawa niyo hahaha! I’m sure you are all so busy!

Mwah mwah!

I wanted to sleep because I’m so puyat. However, I drank coffee for merienda kaya eto my body wants to sleep pero ang diwa ko is buhay na buhay.

I want to impake more for our lipat bahay however, if I continue doing that, we will be eating na sa dahon ng saging for noche buena.

Sino ba naman kasi ang nagsabi maglipat bahay during the holidays?!

Oh right. Yung feng shui nga pala. Lelz.

Anyway, lemme tell you about this construction kiddie party that we attended a few months ago. The celebrant was this cute na cute boy who has a baker for a dad. His mom is one of my favorite among Alvin’s cousins. Ang masiyahin kasi. I was surprised to learn that she’s starting to design cakes now. Tingan niyo her son’s birthday cake.

Ang cute di ba? I wish I had the talent.

I like attending parties thrown by them. Magaling si Karlo sa mga cakes and partries.

My favorite is his cream puff. Ginagawa ko itong parang Chippy! Once you pop, you can’t stop!

He also makes these delicious butter pecan brownies that are so chewy and good that you will temporarily forget your name on the first bite. Promise. ‘Nyeta, nagkre-crave tuloy ako.

I’m not sure what you call these, Silvanas ba? They’re buttery and soft. Grrrrr!

Anika likes the chocolate cupcakes. They’re fudgy, thick and moist.

You can order through their Facebook account Cakes by Karlo.

Try his crepe cake. Yummy din.

I’m glad Anika’s close to her cousins. Ako kasi super bilang lang sa isang hand yung ka-close ko na pinsan. Cousins are like automatic barkada eh. Sure ka pa na sino sila di ba?

After the party, we hung out at this open field in front of the restaurant in Pasay.  I sat back and watched them play. Ang saya din ng simple na buhay ano? Away from the televisions, phones, iPads and other gadgets.

We played like that growing up and personally, I like it that way much better. I know how to introduce myself sa mga bata so that I can play with them. Pinagpapawisan ako. Nadudumihan. May fresh air.

Kaso yung dating agawan base ngayon agawan cellphone na eh. That is why I try to bring Anika out to play as much as possible.

Your thoughts muthers?

I was saying to myself that I couldn’t feel Christmas this year.

Binabawi ko na mga baks.

We are in the middle of packing everything in our house to transfer to another house. Lolo Papa is home. My side of the family will be spending Christmas Eve later at home. My other househelp (the better one) had to go to their province because her lolo died a few days ago. And we are doing last minute new house lights shopping kanina. We had to rush because dadating yung inorder ko sa Conti’s food for Noche Buena early in the afternoon.

Feel na feel ko na ang Pasko.

Hahaha!

When we got home kanina, Anika had a Garage Sale. We sold her toys for Php 20 each. In fairness, she was able to sell Php 500 worth of toys. Hopefully tomorrow mas madami pa ang bumili.

I was watching her while she made benta. Nakaka-proud din.

ATE GIRL (after giving her a few free items): Pwede libre na din itong laruan na ito?

ANIKA: Grabe naman, teh! Dami mo na free! Bente lang yan!

Tawa ako ng tawa!

Borlogs na si Anika now. It was so easy to put her to sleep. She was so excited for later’s opening gifts. She left cookies and milk for Santa.

Here’s what she wrote:

Dear Santa,

I wish you will not die. I wish you won’t get tired giving gifts to other kids. Thank you for the gifts that you have given me. Love, Anika

P.S. I have cookies baked for you.

Konting years na lang, hindi na maniniwala kay Santa yan. Sulit sulitin ko na ang mga moments like this.

Sometimes I worry we get her sobrang daming gifts every Christmas.

But then again, minsan lang sila talaga magiging bata. I feel that basta we instill in her good values, hindi naman siguro siya aabuso. Besides, that is just once a year =)

By the way, so nice our Santa sack from Kokomeee, ano? =)

Tara, let’s go back to our own ganaps at home. Don’t forget to have fun later, ayt?

Mwah!

We finished our lipat bahay at 9pm last night.

Wild.

Ang sasakit ng muscles ko! Hahaha! Si Alvin hindi mo matanto hitsura this morning. Sakit din daw ng katawan niya. I’m not complaining though. I haven’t gone to the gym since last week and yesterday was a total body work out.

Yesterday, I woke up at around 630am. Nauna gumising ang Alvin sa akin. When I went out of the room, nakahiga sa sofa ang lolo niyo.

ME: Huy. Galaw na.

Alvin got his coffee and went out to smoke. Slow motion ang peg niya.

Ako naman, the moment I woke up, I began finishing packing into boxes everything that I could see. Pack dito, cling wrap dun. By the time Alvin went inside the house, ang dami ko nang naimpake.

ME: Maligo ka na kaya.

Alvin went to the bathroom (in slow motion pa din). While he was inside, I continued packing, listing and going around the house. Para nga akong si Tasmanian Devil eh. Hahaha. Alvin’s phone started ringing. It was his uncle who was going to help us pack. Narealize ko, nasa banyo pa din ang Alvin.

ME: Babe, tapos ka na?

ALVIN: Jumejebs pa ako!

ME: Anak ng teteng! Tanghali na Babe!

By the time Alvin finished bathing and getting dressed, tapos na ako sa packing and cling wrapping. Pawis na pawis ako.

ME: Amazed ako sa difference talaga natin. Ako ay gasolina at ikaw naman ay diesel.

Diesel sa bagal, mga mare!

Pero in fairness naman with him, literally he’s like fuel by diesel talaga. Ang bagal sa umpisa but when he starts something, dere-derecho na.

At around 10am, Anika said goodbye to her playmates and we went na to our new house. Dun kami ni Anika to receive the furniture and boxes.

Love na love ko talaga ang anak ko. She was very helpful yesterday. She mopped the floors. She cleaned the windows and she helped me push and carry things.

The first to waves of the truck’s unloading, punong puno na sala namin. I was surprised because Alvin made the 3 helpers who were with us, go with the truck back to the old house.

Naiwan kami ni Anika.

I called up Alvin

ME: Babe, ba’t mo kinuha mga tao dito? May mga tao ka naman there. Wala kami kasama ni Anika.

ALVIN: Ay, oo nga pala.

So there we were, Anika and I, we cleared out the living and dining area. Push dito, carry dun. We carried the stuff to the respective rooms.

Yan ang tip ko when boxing for lipat bahay. Put things inside the boxes per area then label them. Para when they arrived at your new house, you will know which box belongs to what area.

This is how the new house looked like yesterday afternoon.

Active na active ang Anika in helping out.

By 6pm, I was super tired na. Nabuhayan lang ako when the boxes containing my books arrived. Inayos ko agad agad with the help of Janis.

Sa totoo lang, upon seeing my bookshelf, I wanted to do two things.

(1) I wanted to buy so many books to fill the shelves up, and

(2) I wanted to buy a lot of decors para I can design the shelves.

Steady lang muna tayo there. Slowly but surely ang peg.

I haven’t shown you yet how my kitchen looks like. Eto siya.

It turned out pretty well, if you ask me. It looks prettier in person. Ang mahal nga lang ng glass mosaic tiles! Iniisip ko na lang, papagandahin naman eh, itodo na. Kumukutitap yan in person. I will show you what it looks like after Alvin installs the cove lights.

Ayan hitsura ng anak ko at 1030 pm. Check out also the curtain rod. Hindi ko ba malaman bakit Php 3,700 yan! I bought three like that nung inutusan ako ni Alvin bumili ng paint thinner kaya naka 10k ako. Ang pangit kasi nung silver ones that were sold for Php 400+. Sayang ang ganda ng living and dining area ko.

Pero for the rooms, yung tig-400 na lang ang binili ko na curtain rods. Keber na, hindi naman kita. Lelz.

I am so kilig that so far a lot of you are liking my new house. I promise I will blog about the before and after photos of each area. Tatapusin ko lang ang ligpitin sa bahay. And after I blog about them, I will do another blog post yung may decors na =)

See you later! I’ve go shopping to do!

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I will no longer beat around the bush, I have discovered something that made my life as a working (super busy) mom a whole lot easier!

One day before Lolo Papa was due to arrive here in Manila, 2 two days before Christmas and 4 days before we had to move houses, my ever reliable house help had to go home to their province to attend the wake and burial of her lolo. I panicked because she was also the cook in the house.

Do you know how I, a mom who does not know to how to cook a decent meal, survived my sanity and how I was able to feed my family?

I discovered the Purefoods Heat and Eat!

It is available in Crispy Pata and Lechon Kawali variants.

Why I am in love with these two:

One, they are already fully cooked and ready to eat meals. Wala nang timpla-timpla pang magaganap.

Two, it’s not complicated to prepare. Like what I always say, if I can do it, then the rest of the world’s population can do it too! Haha! It so easy! It can be reheated via Turbo or Pan Fry. Fresh from the freezer, it takes 20 minutes to re-heat it via frying and 40 minutes if via Turbo.

Yes, straight from the freezer. You do not need to marinate it. You do not need to thaw it. Ipasok niyo lang sa Turbo ng ganyan and wait. Naka-pagblog pa ako while the Crispy Pata was cooking.

Three, they are affordable! The Lechon Kawali is affordably priced at Php 230 at 435g per bag while the Crispy Pata is priced at Php 325 at 900 g per bag. Hassle-less yan ha? You do not need to drive and go anywhere to buy meat or the ingredients for these dishes.

Four, they are available in all Monterey Meatshops and in all major supermarkets in Luzon.

Lastly, men, it tastes sooooo good!

Look how the Crispy Pata turned out after re-heating.

It was so crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside! Ang lutong! It was also so malasa! Napakasarap talaga! Restaurant quality food made inside my kitchen! I love it!

We had that Crispy Pata during one of our dinners at home. We had that again during Noche Buena because we were in the middle of packing everything and I didn’t really have time to prepare anything. And yes, we will have that again for our New Year’s feast =D

I shall try the Lechon Kawali next time then I’ll let you know ha? But I am pretty sure masarap din yan.

I am so happy there’s Purefoods Heat and Eat. It’s super helpful and convenient for busy moms like me. They’re easy to prepare. Best thing is that, the preparation time is so short. Get it from the freezer and pop it in the Turbo (or deep fry it for 10 to 20 minutes). You can do a lot of things WHILE cooking it. And hindi ka mapapahiya sa lasa. It’s so good they’ll think you ordered it from your favorite restaurants.

I can go on and on about how I love the Purefoods Heat and Eat. But the bottom line is, they are a life saver =D Amidst all the busy-ness out there, it is very nice to know we can have something that we can make in our own kitchen that’s delicious for our families.

With Purefoods Heat and Eat, siguradong sarap lutong! Anytime. All the time.

For more information, you can follow the Purefoods social media accounts:

Instagram: @PurefoodsHeatAndEat
Facebook: Facebook.com/purefoodsheatandeat

This year’s Christmas is probably my most unprepared one since I got married.

It may be my most unprepared one but this is the first Christmas na I got to spend a lot of time with my dad. Usually kasi, my dad stays in our family house in Paranaque whenever he goes home. We only see each other a couple of times lang kasi he spends time with his friends and in our province. Ang layo ng house ko sa family house namin. Eh since under renovation nga yung family house this December, he stayed with me in our house in Sucat. Though we were so busy packing, Papa stayed lang sa bahay and kwinentuhan lang kami ng kwinentuhan. Nakakatuwa din. This is my favorite uwi ni Papa. I got to spend a lot of time with him.

We all spent Christmas Eve at our old house.

Lolo Papa, Wowa, Toots, Russ (ayan may pangalan na ang pretty girl na kasama lagi ng brother ko hihihi), Faye, Fonz, LT and little Isabelle.

Speaking of Isabelle, she’s the star that night. How cute can a baby get talaga.

If you will notice, all my photos are blurred. Unprepared talaga lelz. Buti nga may nakuha kaming tiny space in the house where we can do the gift giving and the picture taking. All the rest of the space, puno na ng balikbayan boxes.

Here’s our Christmas family photo.

We had our Noche Buena outside. Buti na lang achieve yung lights ni Alvin sa trellis. As you can see, magaling sa ganyan ang asawa ko. He’s good at designing spaces with lights.

Simple lang ang Noche Buena namin. I ordered from Conti’s. Russ made pasta. Faye and Fonz brought chicken. We had red wine and Rose. I discovered the Frozen Mango Cheese cake of Conti’s by accident. Sawa na kasi ako sa Mango Bravo cake so I decided to buy a different one. Jackpot yung Mango cheese cake grabe guys. Worth the calories.

After the gift giving, diyosme ang dami ng regalo ni Anika! I felt a bit guilty already. She has too much. I made a mental note to manage the dami of her gifts next year.

I love this photo that I took of my dad and Isabelle.

Eto ang behind the scenes niyan.

And here’s our family photo. Blurred pa more ang peg, hahaha! Nevertheless, I love it.

When I posted that in my social media account, pumatok ang two things sa comments section of this photo:

One, ang tambalang Guy and Pip. Si Mama and Papa ko yan. Hahahaha! Dedz na naman ako when they get to read this. Yes guys, if you are decent human beings, professionals and mature people, you can be at least civil with your exes. They do that for the sake of peace in the family and for the kids. Naka-move on na yang pareho kaya wag na kayong kiligin ha? Umaabot dito sa Paranaque ang kilig niyo sa dalaga at binata namin sa family eh. Osige, due to insistent public demand, tawagin natin ang tambalan nila na #WowaLoPa. Ang pangit. Hahahaha!

Two, yung legs ni Wowa papansin. Peg talaga natin siya pag naging senior citizens tayo ha? Ngayon pa lang, uminom na tayo ng katakot takot na lotion and Glutathione.

Kidding aside, I hope your Christmas was as nice as ours. Merry christmas ulit, mga bakla.

I have to go wake up super early tomorrow. House blessing namin dito sa new house. The priest that my MIL got will arrive daw at 9am. Ang aga. Excited si Father magbless ng bahay namin.

I’ll try to blog about it tomorrow =) Good night guys!

It’s already late. Namamahay ako. Yuh. Namamahay ako sa bahay where I grew up in. Although, ibang iba na talaga what it looked like from before, naninibago pa din ako. Swerte nga nito ni Alvin and Anika eh. Borlogs na agad now.

Lemme tell you na lang about my busy day today. Pampaantok lang guys. Hehe.

I woke up at 5am this morning. Humada ako sa errands from Libis, Quezon City to Pasig to Taguig and back to Paranaque. Inubos ko ang diesel ng pick up ni Alvin.

First up, here’s what I wore:

Top: ZARA; Shorts: STRADIVARIUS; Sandals: PAYLESS; Sunglasses: RAYBAN

Anika and I had Starbucks at Libis.

Why libis kako? I wanted to check out the newly opened All Home store there. The store is so big! They’re on soft opening pa lang. The sales people said, madami pa daw items ang padating.

Here are the stuff that caught my attention.

Since I saw my mini library at the new house, I have been on a look out for unique grand father’s chair.

I wanted to take this home to surprise Alvin pero baka magalit and ipanguya sa akin yan. Hahaha!

Anika wanted to bring home this chair. I told her she needs to giveaway stuff in her room first. Ang daming lamang ng room ni Anika grabe! No more space for new furniture.

I like this duco finished kitchen cabinet kaso hindi bagay sa kusina ko.

I discovered this containers with suction lids. It keeps the food inside fresh. Wait niyo ang gagawin ko sa mga binili kong ganyan ha? Matutuwa ka talaga!

I fell in love with this Php 7,000 console table. I saw it lang on my way out na of the store eh.

Anika and I went to Tiendesitas in Pasig to check out Up Cycle Manila. Pero we were there na ng 10am eh 11am pa bukas ng stores so Anika looked for a possible pet that she can own.

Ang daming magaganda at Up Cycle Manila. I ordered my breakfast nook table there. I need a new center table pa and bar stools.

Tomorrow pakita ko in Instagram what I bought there and was able to take home. Usually kasi 3-4 weeks lead time sila.

After Tiendesitas, Anika and I met up with Wowa at SM Aura to have lunch. I bought stuff from Ace Hardwared and at SM Dept store. I noticed, may kakulangan din tayo sa kinds ng kurtina ano?

After that we went home na so I can help magayos pa more sa bahay for tomorrow’s house blessing.

Ang dami ko pang kwento pero eto, tinatamaan na ako ng antok. Tomorrow na lang again ha?

Good night!

Yesterday, we had our house blessed.

I insisted on having the house blessed before the New Year mainly because ang duwag ko to sleep in a house that is not blessed. We started sleeping here last December 27. From that day until yesterday, I couldn’t sleep well. I’m happy to report though that I slept like a baby last night =)

Lolo Papa said that it will be nice to have the house blessing on my birthday. We already have work on January 2 so cannot be. So it’s the 30th or nothing at all.

I was praying we find a priest that could bless the house on such a short notice. Thank God my Mother-in-Law was able to convice a priest to do it. Yun lang, 9am ang call time.

We only invited our immediate families plus Janis’ and Pineda’s family. Ayoko muna ng madaming tao. I cannot handle haha! We will have a house warming party on Alvin’s birthday na lang. Mas prepared ako niyan. Lilikom muna ako ng pera from now until then. Bwahahaha.

I was surprised when Janis and Mark arrived a little before 9am. Hindi morning people ang magasawang iyon. You must be very special for them to wake up before 10am. Janis said nakakahiya daw kasi if they will be late. They just live a couple of houses away, mga 3 minute walk. Ganyan.

And so we started at 9am sharp kasi may lakad pa yata si Father.

As usual, the star of the day was the cute na cute na Isabelle.

Practice practice pag may time =)

I’m so happy Lolo Papa was able to attend. He was so happy to see how our old family house turned out. He left that afternoon for Amsterdam. Tamang tama din ang timing na early yung blessing. He was able to mingle pa with everyone. We made him hatid at around 5pm.

Faye and Fonz brought a chocolate cake from Dimpy to celebrate my birthday in advance. Anika decorated it with her Shopkins. Sana hinugasan niya muna before ilagay. She also put a candle. Ito yung ginamit nung house blessing. Lelz.

I love the cake nonetheless.

The kids sang happy birthday before I blew the candle.

A lot of you are asking how we are able to finish everything so fast.

Even though we only did renovations, major renovations siya. Para ka na din nagtayo ng bagong bahay sa dami ng tinibag. Here are the things that we did:

• We moved the front wall.
• We re-did the whole roofing, plumbing and electrical works.
• We repainted the interior and exterior works.
• We made the kitchen bigger and renovated the interior.
• We put floor tiles.
• We made the Master’s bedroom and bathroom bigger.
• Nag bakod din kami sa isang side.

We finished everything in 3 months. We moved all the things from one house to another in a day. We unpacked, cleaned and fixed everything in 2 days.

Mga addict lang talaga.

Hahahaha!

It was a very stressful but productive week. Hindi ko man lang namalayan ang holidays. Ang dami naming away and bickering ni Sombrero. Tingnan niyo, New Years Eve na. Sa isang araw, birthday ko na.

Pero you are right. All the hard work and bickering were worth it.

I’ll show you the photos in a bit.

Happy New Year guys!

Thank you 2017. We are grateful for all the blessings and lessons.

WELCOME 2018! We are very excited for you!

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY!

We spent the New Years Eve last night at our new house.

I was thinking before mga loka loka kami to move in right after Christmas. Pero after namin ma-iraos ang lahat, it feels so good. Tamang tama everything. The house was blessed just before Lolo Papa left so he was able to see the finished house. We were able to spend New Year’s Eve at home. Tamang tama ang salubong ng 2018 =)

It was nice. Wowa, Toots, Russ and Anika’s playmate were there.

Russ made her Bacon Carbonara. I ordered this Salted Caramel Cheese cake from Cru Kitchen. Pineda recommended it and masarap nga.

I made Red Sangria. Masarap din. I put in fruits, sprite and tonic water.

While we’re at the topic of food, I wanna recommend this Honey Citron Tea that I recently discovered.

I first drank this at the Nue Nail Spa. Ang sarap. I thought manually ginagawa yung squeezed lemon and honey. Ang sarap niya na hot. I googled where to buy it. Sa S&R daw. Wowa got me those two jars. During the house blessing the day before, I offered this to the guests. Gustong gusto nila. It’s healthy too.

So there.

Happy new year everyone!

We’re back to work tomorrow!

2017 was full of exaggeration. Yung highs ko, high na high talaga. Then yung lows ko, low na low din talaga. Addict lang ang peg.

2017 started with a high kasi birthday ko. My friends were there to welcome my natal day at 12 am. It was also in 2017 when Alvin, Anika and I were granted a 10 year US visa. Ang saya ko, si Alvin not too much. Female kasi siya sa US Visa niya. Nabwiset. Hahaha. But we already took care of it and maayos na siya now.

I went to visit Arnaiz in February. After 20 years, I went back to the land of the free.

It was one of my most special trips because Arnaiz, Pineda and I were able to get together and spend time in L.A.

Ang saya saya talaga.

It was also in 2017 when Anika celebrated her 7th birthday. We threw her a surprise party. I know she loved it kasi naiyak talaga ang lola niyo.

Instead of having a grand birthday party, nagShakey’s lang kami. Kasi Alvin took us to Malaysia and Singapore the week after that.

It was again a very memorable trip for me because after so many years, I saw my childhood bestfriend, Hannah again.

And then came the low.

Anika was hospitalized twice this year. The first one was so scary because the pedia cardiologist suspected that she had a hole in her heart. I do not know if over acting lang siya or he just wanted to teach his resident paano mag-2D echo but I am just grateful Anika’s heart is okay.

Lahat ng santo tinawag ko. I’ve never been so freaking scared in my entire life.

We are very thankful that, albeit the heart beat skipping, she is fine.

The next exaggerated low for last year is when I had this anxiety disorder that I am still under medication and therapy until now. I had so much learnings. Para siyang isang malaking dagok sa akin because I have been become super engrossed with all the things I had to do.

I have learned that I have pushed myself too far. I am over worked and over stressed, not only at work, but in life in general. I have become so uptight and I controlled everything so that they will be in order all the time. That is the alpha female in me kasi. I tired myself too much kaya when nagkasakit kaming 3 sabay sabay, bumigay ako.

During the first two weeks of therapy, the medicines helped me relax. While I was in that state, I was able to correct my feelings and attitude towards things. Pwede naman pa lang hindi perfection ang lahat lahat. I was able to stop and smell the roses. Hindi pala kailangan lagi kang may iniisip. We need to relax once in a while.

Because of what I went through, I prayed more. I prayed and prayed to a point na nahiya na ako kay God kasi parang dahil ang dami kong ginagawa everyday, nakalimot na ako magdasal. Kaya Niya ako siguro dinagukan. I believe na in the saying that God pushes you to your knees so you can pray.

Hindi ko naman sinasabing super nagbago but I have a better relationship with Alvin (I think ha). During that time, we were able to talk. Ang bait niya din sa akin nung time na yun kasi maybe because I was very needy. Wala yung high strung and stressed Fleur that was always there. I think our husbands like that. They like us talaga na submissive and tahimik lang. Hahahaha. I think Alvin likes it better na need na need ko siya compared dati na feeling niya I can live without him. Ang laki talaga ng binait niya sa akin eh. Tingnan niyo, now that I am kinda back to my normal self, bumalik din yung normal self niya na deadma. So that means, meron talagang effect when I change my attitude towards him. Learn from me, mga mare. If we want to change our husbands ng konti, we should start on ourselves first. Effective kasi eh.

Come last quarter of 2017, eto na ang all time high talaga.

We finished renovating our old family house and transferred there.

If you’re asking, kami lang nina Alvin ang nakatira diyan. Wowa and my brothers have their own condominiums (DMCI Homes, ofcourse) while Lolo Papa lives in Amsterdam. LT and Faye both live in their own homes too. House na namin yan and I love how it turned out. We achieved what we were targeting: maaliwalas, maganda ang lights and comfortable.

2017 was full of learnings especially for me.

I’ve realized that physical and mental health is more important than anything else. Hindi ka dapat nagpapakamatay sa trabaho kasi sisingilin ka din niyan in the future. Eventually, marami ka ngang pera pero ang sakitin mo naman. Remember, stress is the primary source of all illness. We need to learn to relax.

We should continuously pray.

Family is everything.

You do not need a lot of friends, only true ones. Kahit isa or lima lang yan, okay na lang basta totoo sila sayo.

Remove the toxic people in your life. If you cannot, just don’t mind them.

Help other people. Teach others. Hindi ka nila makakalimutan.

Ayan… That’s it guys. Finish na ang emote ko for the year that has been. Despite everything, I am thankful for 2017. I shall try to blog more often. Yan ang resolution ko. I want na ibalik yung everyday blogs ko. I stopped because nagrereklamo si Alvin na blog ako ng blog. Ngayon he wants me to blog kasi he realized na outlet ko talaga ito. Kita niyo nagka-anxiety disorder ako when I stopped blogging hahahaha. That’s my advice for 2018. Find your passion. Find what makes you happy and do it. Good luck guys and cheers to 2018!!!!

Good morning! I just finished replying to all birthday greetings in my personal FB account. Yung Mommy Fleur Blog Fb page naman then Instagram greetings later =) I like reading all the greetings. Nakakatuwa and nakaka-touch to see my old friends, blog readers, acquaintances and love ones remember my birthday.

Anyway, my birthday started with me waiting for 12 midnight to strike.

Alvin asked me why I never overcame yung pagbi-birthday salubong ko.

Wala lang. Wala naman talaga akong ibang gusto. I just want to be awake on the first hour of my birthday. I do not actually require everyone to be awake or to be with me at that moment. Ayoko ng ganung hassle. You see, that’s the beauty of waiting up for your birthday. Nakikita mo who’s up and waiting up with you. Yun lang naman inaabangan ko. And right after 12 midnight, I want to sleep na. Hahahaha! Sobrang tita na talaga. Nung dalaga ako, inuman galore pa. Ngayon, wala, borlogs.

Wowa greeted me at exactly 12 midnight. For the past few years, she’s been waiting for 12 midnight too and texts me her birthday greeting. Tapos matutulog na.

Janis and her family arrived at our house a few minutes before the clock struck 12. I was touched kasi they came from watching a movie tapos nagmadali daw sila para umabot sa birthday ko. A couple of minutes after they sang happy birthday to me (I didn’t buy myself a birthday cake so no candle blowing this year. I refused to blow a candle on a half eaten cake na that we had last New Year’s Eve. I am such an occasion and cake person, making me do that is a mortal sin! Heller.), I told them matutulog na ako. I drank my anti-anxiety meds already before they arrived so I was really groggy na. Binibilangan na ako ng minuto before ako ma-knock down ng tuluyan. I slept right after Janis left.

The next day, I went to the Magallanes church to offer prayers.

My office staff surprised me with a cake. Nagulat talaga ako! I was teary eyed kasi I thought wala akong cake for my birthday. I didn’t expect that kasi di ba, all of them gave me na a cake when we had our Christmas party last month. It was a really nice surprise. Ang sarap pa ng cake kasi Caramia =) Thank you girls!

Alvin and Anika picked me up at work.

The day before that, Anika talked to Alvin.

ANIKA: Tatay, tomorrow for Nanay’s birthday, can we pick her up at the office and treat her to dinner somewhere fancy?

Yuh. Fancy. Nakakatuwa her choice of words. And I love how she know what I like.

ALVIN: What fancy?

ANIKA: Duh. In a hotel! We’ll eat in a hotel!

ME: Thank you sweetheart. You really know what I want!

ANIKA: On Tatay’s birthday, we’ll just chillax naman. We will just stay home and watch TV.

Told you. Kilalang kilala kami ng anak namin. Hahahahaha!

Matuwa ka pa diyan because she’s planning a surprise party for me at Jollibee.

ANIKA: Nanay, can you invite your friends? I’ll give you a surprise party at Jollibee. Tell them to contact me.

Then last New Year’s Eve, while they were all at the table:

WOWA: Magpaparty ka daw sabi ni Anika sa birthday mo?

ANIKA: Shhhh! It’s a surprise!

ME: Oo surprise yun noh. Hindi ko yun alam. I will tell my friends to contact her.

I have the sweetest daughter talaga.

And so we had dinner at Makati Shangri La.

Dapat sa lobby lang kami kaso parang hindi sulit compared sa buffet.

Buti na lang nagbuffet kami at Circles kasi they have a promo. Php 1,250 na lang per head!

The promo will go until the end of February. Everyday for lunch and dinner, ganyan ang rate except on Chinese New Year and Valentine’s Day.

Sarap din ng food.

After we asked for the bill, they gave me a cake =)

Wala na daw kasing table by the window when I was reserving. I told them it was my birthday baka pwede masingit. Nasingit nga nila =) May pa-cake pa!

We got home around 8pm. Tamang tama, not too late kasi Anika has class na the next day.

When we arrived, I filled up our tub with hot water. Lumublob ako dun. Si Anika best in attentiveness. Kinuha niya pa ako ng wine.

Ang sarap mga baks! Good decision talaga to have a tub at home. Ang lakas maka-relax eh. Anika and I played a spelling game while I was relaxing. Anika likes to send us messages kasi. Kaso wrong spelling wrong lagi. I practiced her so that she can spell the words correctly.

After 15 minutes, I rinsed na. Nakakahilo din pala ang lots of wine in the tub. Hahahaha!

We joined Alvin in our living room. He was watching a movie.

While we were there I took a deep breath. This is how I really do want to spend my birthday. I am with Anika and Alvin. Relaxed lang. No stress of making asikaso anything or anybody.

That concluded my birthday. I actually do not have anything to wish for anymore except to have one more child. Ito na ang last year ko talaga of hoping. I’m 38 years old na. Last na ito, if hindi ako mabuntis this year, ayoko na talaga.

ANIKA: Nanay, I will really try hard with God to have a baby brother this year.

ME: How will you do that, anak?

ANIKA: I will sleep in my room na. That’s what Gabo did so he had a baby sister.

Ah ganun ba? =) Sige, i-push natin yan!

Thank you for all your greetings, guys!

Anika had very low scores in her 2nd term final exams.

I called Alvin yesterday to ask if Anika was home na. Oo daw. And then he told me that the school released na the exam scores. Sobra baba daw. “How low?”, I asked. She failed her Filipino exams.

Nakanam.

Kamusta naman ang Am-girl kong anak?! Filipino?! Eh di ba yun yung panghatak nga natin pataas na subject dati.

The other subjects are so low too. Out of 40 items, her highest grade is only 28 points. It was that low.

I felt really bad. I felt really, really bad. Gusto ko kagalitan ang Anika. I noticed kasi she doesn’t take studying seriously. Alam niyo yung nagaaral lang kasi nandiyan yung tutor then after fly na agad. Walang retention. Puros, “Yeah, I know that na.”. Kung hindi mo pilitin, hindi magaaral. Puros TV. Puros laro sa kapitbahay.

I felt bad kasi I felt baka hindi ko naiinstill kay Anika yung drive to succeed or to be good. Hindi ba kampante na siya na ganyan lang?

Sa totoo lang mga bakla, I do not really care for the grades. I know a lot of people who did not have high grades in school but are really successful now. Wala sa grades yan eh. Nasa diskarte and will to succeed. Yung hindi mo gugustuhin na mediocre ka. Yung magsisipag ka to achieve what you want. Yan ang hindi ko nakita kay Anika this term. Hindi siya masipag magaral.

And then there’s the working mom guilt. Eto na naman ako sa thinking na siguro if I was a stay at home mom, baka higher ang grades ni Anika kasi matututukan ko.

And, as usual, as if she can really sense it, nag-Viber sa akin si Pineda. Naglabas ako ng sama ng loob. Emote na emote ako. And again, as usual, pinatawa na naman niya ako.

Galing din ng timing niya di ba? Feeling ko kaya siguro siya nagmessage talaga kasi hihiram siya ng barena. Akala ko nafi-feel niya na sad ako. Hahahaha!

Moving on, I had a small dinner reunion with my college friends last night. I told Alvin parang wala akong gana pumunta anymore. I just wanted to go home and talk to Anika. But Alvin said to go daw. I can talk daw to Anika in the morning.

And so I went boxing then met up with my long time friends.

I gained weight with everything I ate and drank last month.

While driving home, I couldn’t stop thinking about Anika’s low grades. That was when I realized a lot of things.

Since she started studying, this particular final exams lang siya mababa. All other tests the past term and the past years, okay naman. So why?! Dun ako nagfocus. Bakit bumaba?

One, medyo kamote ang school bus niya. Walang first and second trips going home. So when the higher grades had their cheering practice in November and December, they all had to wait for these students. Anika’s dismissed early but she arrives home at 6:30pm. So late! Wala na siyang energy magstudy when she gets home. Sapilitan na lang.

Two, it doesn’t help that hada ang tutor ni Anika everyday. Meaning, she has 4 other houses to go to after she does Anika. Anong quality na pagtuturo can you expect with that?

Three, Anika missed a lot of classes because she got sick.

And lastly, ito na ang pangdiin. I wasn’t able to help review Anika because I was sick with this anxiety sh*t. I never lifted a finger to help her study for this set of exams. Never talaga. Pinasa-tutor ko na ang lahat which was very different from the past exams.

Napawi galit ko. I realized it wasn’t totally Anika’s fault. Pero wait ha? She’s not abswelto either. She plays too much.

When I arrived home, tulog na ang Anika, in her own room, mind you.

ME (to Alvin): Bakit hindi dito sa atin natulog si Anika?

ALVIN: Hindi ko alam. Siguro baka alam niya na papagalitan mo siya.

This morning, I woke her up. Aba, tumayo agad! Hindi naginarte! Nagulat ako. She stood up, hugged me and went straight to the bathroom without a fuss. Astig ito ha.

I brought her to school. Pagsakay na pagsakay niya ng car ko,

ME: Halika Anika. Magusap tayo.

ANIKA: I know what this is about. It’s about my low grades, isn’t it?

And so I talked to her. Madami akong sinabi. I tried as much as possible in a way na hindi galit. Bottomline is I made her realize and understand that she plays to much. She doesn’t concentrate that well while studying at home kasi atat to go back playing. From now on, she can’t play outside during school days. She can’t watch TV or play any gadgets basta may pasok. She can’t buy new toys. She will not be enrolled in her gymnastics and dance classes until I see the next set of exams this month. She will pay more attention and study harder.

And no beach on Saturday.

We were supposed to go to the beach this Saturday because yan ang birthday wish ko. I can’t bring myself naman to go to the beach. May bagsak na nga si Anika, tapos magbi-beach pa?! It doesn’t feel right? Baka hindi magcome across yung gusto kong ipahiwatig na message to her.

Diyan masama ang loob ko now, actually. I was really looking forward to this beach trip. Habang nageempake ako ng katakot takot na gamit, yan ang iniimagine ko.

Wala. Hindi tuloy.

ANIKA: Nanay what if I studied really hard but I still have low grades, will you be the judge of that?

ME: Yes.

I told her kasi that I really do not mind the grades as long as I see her studying hard and wanting to pass. I take in consideration ang effort regardless of the result. First things first eh. Instill good study habits to the child. Period. I feel that after niyan, everything else na will follow.

Anika was asked to join the variety show in school. Medyo big deal this variety show because this is held every College Day of Anika’s school. Hindi lahat are chosen to participate in this show. Anika was chosen. I am very happy with that. She loves dancing. She loves performing. Passion niya yun. However, Alvin doesn’t want her to join the variety show because masyado daw madaming extra-curricular si Anika. Yan daw ang reason bakit Anika’s exam grades dipped. Dito na ako nakiusap kay Alvin. Anika loves to be a part of this variety show. Apart from her love for dancing, she knows na chosen students lang talaga ang participants. It will break her heart, I told Alvin.

True enough, tama nga ako.

I tried telling her this morning that she can’t join the variety show anymore and that I will not be signing the permission slip that her teacher sent.

Grabe. Umiyak ng umiyak.

Maawa kayo.

In between sobs (she was almost incomprehensible), she told me that she loves dancing and she wants to be part of the variety show. In between sobs, she promised that she will study harder, payagan ko lang daw. Please daw.

I told her Wowa was the same with me. I loved playing volleyball varsity. Buhay ko yan dati. Pero it was very clear with me that Wowa will make me quit the team if I will have a grade below 85. Because I loved playing, I studied extra hard. Wala akong grade below 85 and I got to play until I graduated in High School.

Ganyan din kako ang gawin niya.

I made an agreement with her. I will allow her to practice after class, maaga pa din naman siya makaka-uwi (because she changed bus service na), but she will study when she gets home. If she will have low grades this January, she will join the variety show anymore in February. I don’t care if she practiced or what, if I see she’s not studying, she will quit the variety show.

Yes daw.

I looked at her. She looked so solemn and determined. I felt a pang of pride. She can do this. I know she can. I told her we’ll help each other out and I will do that. Kaya namin ito.

Dapat lang because kukutusan talaga ako ni Alvin if Anika’s grades won’t improve this month. Pinabalato ko na sa akin ang variety show na ito.

I promised Alvin that Anika’s grades will improve even though she will join the variety show.

Anika promised me she will study more.

I think everything will turn out alright.

Good luck to us!

Ang hirap magpalaki ng anak!

Top: GIORDANO TEE; Shorts: SM WOMAN; Slippers: BIRKENSTOCK; Sunglasses: RAYBAN

Kilala niyo sino yan?

Si Alvin.

Si Alvin Sombrero ang taong Best in Change Topic.

He does that everytime nag-eemote ako. Yung seryosong emote ha.

For example,

ME: Hindi ko sure bakit ako nagpapalpitate ng sobra. Wala siguro kasi kumakausap sa akin sa bahay ng maayos. Ang hirap din ng ganitong sakit noh. Nakakapagod. Nakakasira din ng ulo minsan.

ALVIN: Yung bahay nga pala, Babe, kailangan ko ilipat yung heater.

ME: Nag-eemote talaga ako eh.

ALVIN: Ay sorry sorry.

Eto pa,

ME: Ang gastos ko ngayong pasko. Ubos na ubos. Sabay sabay kasi eh. Wala man lang ako nabili para sa sarili ko halos ubos na pera ko. Sana mabenta na yung bahay. Nakakastress din.

ALVIN: Nasan kaya yun susi?

ME: Nakakainis ka na talaga ha. May sinasabi ako, hindi ka naman nakikinig.

ALVIN: Nakikinig ako noh.

ME: La ka kwenta kausap.

ALVIN: Nakikinig ako. Wala ka kamo binili sa sarili mo. Ano yang nasa braso mo?! (pointing to my new watch)

Ummmm yeah, about this thing.. yeah.. It’s just one thing! Heller.

Eto na kahapon, hindi mo naman masabi na sad talaga ako pero I feel something close to that after my birthday. Everyone knows I’m an occasion person. I like making things special for my loved ones during their special days. For me kasi, your birthday is the only day in a year that shouldn’t be mediocre. If I’m like that to others, imagine ang expectations ko pagbirthday ko? I am an entitled b*tch during my birthday. I won’t apologize for it because that’s the way it has been since as long as I can remember.

I went to work last Tuesday. Rule of the thumb if you are a corporate slave, do not go to work on your birthday. It’s a given you will be on leave on your natal day. Kaso lang, like in most years, my birthday fell on the first day back at work this year. Mapamahiin ako. I do not take a leave on the first day of work of a new year. So pumasok ako. It was a normal day apart from the fancy dinner Alvin and Anika took me to. It was okay because I was thinking, the real celebration of my birthday will be this weekend when we go to the beach. I have been looking forward to this beach trip since December.

It was what pushed my while boxing all our things at home.

It was what pushed me when I was lifting and pushing all those heavy balikbayan boxes in our new house.

It was what pushed me while unpacking everything at home.

It was what pushed me while I was cramming for the house blessing and New Year’s Eve meal.

I kept on telling myself, “Sige Nana, konting tiis na lang. Next week makakapagrelax ka na sa beach. Pwede ka na rumampa ulit ng mga bathing suits mo na hindi naman nababasa ng tubig dagat.”

Eh hindi na kami tutuloy.

Bad trip di ba?

ME (to Alvin): Babe masama loob ko na hindi tayo tutuloy sa beach sa weekend. Hindi ko naman makuhang tumuloy kasi anong klaseng message na lang ang mapaparating natin kay Anika if magbeach pa tayo after ko magsermon kahapon. Parang bale wala tuloy yung birthday ko. Walang nangyari na alis. Nakakapanibago.

ALVIN: Uy, feeling ko uuwi dito sina Kuya.

ME: Pwede magconcentrate muna tayo at tapusin yung feelings ko?!

Ganyan.

Best in Change Topic award goes to him talaga.

Top: MYKA.SHOP; Pants: AMERICAN EAGLE OUTFITTERS; Shoes: NINE WEST

We went to two funerals last night.

The first one was one of our previous neighbors and the other one is the dad of one of our friends. The cause of both deaths was heart attack.

I rarely go to wakes. Hindi kaya ng mental health ko. I get really affected. Feeling ko ako yung nawalan. It’s really sad. Ang empathy  ko sa mga naiwan ay wagas.

Because of an old wives tale, Alvin and I had to stop over somewhere to make pagpag. Pagpag is something you do after going to a wake. You don’t go home directly. Sasama daw yung patay. Scary amp.

We went to this small bar in our village. Alvin had a couple of beers while I had 1. I ate the sushi. Malakas ako sa pulutan. Our friends joined us after a while. Alvin and I went home at around 1:30am. Isa din magpalakas ng bonding magasawa yan: going out with your friends. Narealize ko lang. Alvin and I seldom do that nowadays. Apart from being very busy, ang konti lang talaga ng friends namin. Lelz.

I slept a little past 2am and woke up at 5am. Anika had make up classes and I made her hatid to school. I was so groggy with less than 3 hours sleep. Alvin said I didn’t have to bring Anika to school. May school bus naman. I told him okay lang. Lumalaki na din yung bata. Dadating yung day na hindi na yan magpapahatid sa akin sa school. Dadating yung day that she will prefer going with her friends na. Naku, ang saklap. Just thinking about it, ang lungkot ng wala nang ihahatid sa school. I-start ko na i-brainwash siguro ito na isama din ako sa lakad nila lagi. Hahahaha!

Anyway, my puyat was sulit naman because nagkwentuhan kami ng madami mag-ina. After passing by the chapel, we sat down for a bit in the benches para magchikahan pa more. She loves it when I tell her stories when she was a baby. Tuwang tuwa. We talked for a bit more until she had to go na to her classrooms.

My amigas and I supposedly have a get together kanina while waiting for the kids but hindi natuloy. I went na lang to Wowas condo and slept. Nagulat lola niyo when she went out of her room, nandun ako nakasalampak sa sofa niya. Hehe. Wowa and I had breakfast and then I went to SM Aura to check out Crate and Barrel. For sure sale sila.

Damage #1
I parked at Basement 1. On my way to the ground floor concierge, I passed by National Bookstore. Sale sila. I bought three books.

If you are following me in Instagram (@mommyfleur) and saw my IG stories, you’d see the Kate Spade planner that I like. Ang ganda grabe. Napaka-mahal nga lang. Hindi ko maatim bilhin siya at Php 1,500. I wish I asked it na lang from Alvin for my birthday  hehe.

Damage #2
The lady at the mall concierge told me that the Crate and Barrel was at the third floor daw. When I got to the escalators, I saw that Stradivarius was on sale. Pumasok ako. Lumabas ako ng masaya.

Damage #3
After Stradivarius, I saw Marks and Spencer. Sale pa din. I bought the China Blue bath gel. Ang bango kasi grabe. Buy 3, get 1 free. Love it!

Damage #4
When I went to the second floor, I passed by Levi’s. Wala nga nga pala ako pants. I browsed their racks. They have skinny jeans.

ME: Ate, pwede ko sukatin ito?

SALES LADY: Sige po Ma’am. Ano size niyo?

ME: Hindi ko sure. 27 siguro?

SALES LADY: Ay ma’am hindi siguro. Ang liit niyo lang. Nasa 26 ka lang siguro.

Ganern?

ME: Osige Ate, I love you. Pagbilhan mo nga ako ng dalawa nito.

Hahahahaha!

After that, I went straight na to Crate and Barrel. My shopping bags were so heavy already. Wala pa ako sa Crate and Barrel, ubos na pera ko.

Sa awa ng Diyos, wala ako nabili sa Crate and Barrel. Lelz. Yun talaga ang sadya ko eh.

I ate a quick lunch then Alvin called to ask me to buy double sided tape.

Yes!

Nagka-purpose ang lakad ko sa mall!

Men, do not go to malls for the whole month siguro. Everything is on sale! If you have low EQ like me, stay your asses at home.

Do you wanna see the stuff I recently bought? =)

I got this pair of Charles and Keith thong sandals for half the price. It was originally priced at Php 2k plus.

Itong pair na ito is a winner. It’s priced at Php 3,600 but I got it for only Php 999.

Here are the two pairs of ALDO wedges that I told you about in my Instagram post. I didn’t know what color to get so got both.

I like the tops that I got from Stradivarius kanina. The fabric is so soft! The two striped top was on sale at Php 695 from Php 995.

This is the perfect time for you to buy winter clothes. Naka-sale silang lahat. If you have plans going somewhere cold this year, buy winter clothes na. Stradivarius has stylish ones na mura lang. I wanted to buy the big furry furry one (like the one Liz Uy was wearing in one of the weddings she attended abroad) pero baka magalit si Alvin if he sees it. Baka ipasuot sa akin tomorrow sa pagsimba. Dedz. And so I just got this thin trench coat instead. Hindi mainit masyado kasi thin lang ang fabric. Perfect for an airport outfit!

Here are the shades of the skinny jeans that I got from Levi’s this afternoon. Ganda ng fit especially the one on the left. Parang leggings talaga. Super comfy and ang lakas maka-sexy ‘day!

While lugging everything to the car, the endorphins were replaced by post shopping guilt. I kept on telling myself, “I have to sort out na my closet. Kailangan ko na magbenta ng damit. Ang dami ko nang damit. Ang gastos ko. Magbebenta na ako ng damit.”

Hahahaha! Maybe the driver of the car waiting for me to leave my parking slot ay weird na weird sa akin because he can see me mumbling that nonstop.

As usual, may comment ang Mr. Sombrero when I arrived.

ALVIN: Hanep ah. Akala ko naman anong mga gamit pang bahay ang mga binili mo at ang bibigat. Mga damit lang pala!

ME: Dumating yung karpentero? Nagawa niya yung closet ni Anika?

Sa lagay ba na yan, siya lang ang pwede maging Best In Change Topic?!

Hahahahaha!

Enjoy your weekend guys!

We had lunch with my side of the family last weekend to celebrate my and LT’s birthday. As usual, we ate at Chili’s in Greenbelt. Super favorite ko kasi there.

This was what I wore. You guys have seen na this get up. Repeat performance because ang comfy talaga niya. Thank you Fonz, by the way, for sending me all these lovely photos. Ang galing na ni Fonz magtake ng photos and magpost process. Winner na winner.

Speaking of photos, I wanna buy a new camera. I want the camera that Fonz is using: Fujifilm XT10. I asked magkano, nasa 50 thousand pesos siya. Lekat. I need to save money for it. The camera is so nice. May built in wifi so you can send the photos from the camera to your phone then direct posting na to your social media accounts. I love it but it’s so mahalia fuentes! Maybe if finally mabenta ko na yung mga clothes at the @mommy_fleur_closet Instagram, makakamit ko yan.

Now to find time to sort everything in my closet.

Saka na. Kwentuhan muna tayo.

So anyway, this was what I wore.

Top: GIORDANO; Pants: UNIQLO; Wedge: ALDO

Lemme show you the food we ordered while waiting for Toots and Russ. I included the description in the menu para feel na feel niyo din

This is the Crispy Chicken Salad: Crispy chicken breast with Mandarin oranges, carrots, water chestnuts, red-bell peppers, toasted almonds and crispy rice noodles. Served with our Mandarin sesame-ginger dressing (Php 495 to share)

Shrimp Cilantro Pasta: Penne pasta tossed in a savory cilantro pesto sauce. Topped with your choice of protein (shrimp or chicken) with house-made pico de gallo (Php 560 for shrimp)

Old Timer Burger: A Chili’s classic! Hand-seasoned beef patty, seared to perfection. Served with red onion and mustard (Php 400)

Grilled Pork Chops: Two marinated grilled pork chops. Served with Chili’s rice and steamed fresh veggies (Php 475)

If you will eat at Chili’s, you have to order the Classic Nachos: Topped with melted cheese blend, jalapeños, beans, queso and a hint of seasoned beef. Served with house-made pico de gallo and sour cream (Large Php 450)

And because it’s my birthday, I ordered my favorite Strawberry Top Shelf Frozen Margarita: We call it Top Shelf because it’s a special Margarita made with Tequila Gold, Grand Marnier Cointreau Orange Liqueur. You can call it great! (Php 230)

Of course, as usual, the star of the night was Isabel.

Isabel looks like Fonz. Pekpek lang ang nakuha kay Faye.

Oh, and the flappy ears too! Haha!

Nakwento ko na ba?

Anika and Isabel’s age gap is the same with my and Faye’s age gap.

I hope they’ll be close as how Faye and I are.

Anika adores Isabel. Enjoy na enjoy sila ni LT kay Isabel. Si Isabel, not too much. Hahaha!

Here I am with my ex-boyfriend.

ME: Fonz, paki picturan nga kami ni Alvin please.

ME (to Alvin): Babe, akbayan mo nga ako.

ALVIN: Bakit?

ME: Sige na.

ALVIN: Bakit nga?

ME: Tae ka. Wala kasi tayong picture na naka-akbay ka sa akin noh!

So he draped his arm over me. It took us a couple of shots kasi hindi ko alam paano magpose. I didn’t know where to put my hands! Hindi ako sanay na may photo na naka-akbay! Hahaha!

Thanks Wowa for dinner! =)

We shopped for a bit after that. I swear wala sa itinerary ko magshop that day. Ito kasi si Faye napaka enabler. Do you have friends like that ba? Mapapagastos ka talaga. It doesn’t help that Faye is good at spotting nice finds in store full of clothes. Wala ako kasi tiyaga mag-isa isa. Tapos lahat ng ipapakita ni Faye sa akin, magaganda! Kawawa ang wallet, lelz!

So that’s it! We all went home na afterwards. We weren’t able to go anymore to Tagaytay as initially planned. Nagulo din kasi ang plans that day pero okay lang as long as we were all together =)

I hope your weekend was as nice as ours!

If there is one thing that I will miss in our old house is the fact that it’s very near Nue Nail Spa and Waxing Salon.

I remember going to the “parlor” all the time with Wowa. Ang laki na din ng pinagbago ng mga parlor ngayon. One, salon na ang tawag sa kanila. Two, wala nang masyadong mga bakla. Namiss ko ang mga bakla sa parlor. I miss chatting with them while having my hair cut. I miss listening to how they talk to each other while having my mani pedi. Para ka kasing nasa comedy bar lagi. Free entertainment.

Anyway, I also like naman how the parlors evolved into salons. I like nail salons in particular. Ang sarap ng ambiance sa loob.

If you are like me na napaka-arte, you will love Nue Nail Spa. Ang ganda ng interior decor nila sa loob.

Totoo naman ang quote. Kahit na naka-Rajo Laurel ka siguro pero ang nails mo ay parang pwede na tubuan ng kamote sa pangit, sayang ang mamahaling gown.

They have a lot of nail polishes to choos from.

My mani pedi always starts with a food soak in a warm scented water filled bowl.

It is here in Nue Nail Spa where I discovered the delicious Honey Citron Tea. Hinanap ko talaga yan kasi sobrang sarap.

Like I said, madami silang nail polishes to choose from. Iba na din ang mga nail polishes ngayon ano? Tumatagal na din sila ng bongga.

The chairs are comfortable and pretty.

The best pa diyan are the Ates who do your nails. They’re all nice and attentive. Nakasmile lagi which is good because who would want to relax in a place na busangot ang mga tao di ba?

They also do waxing and they have a second floor where you can hold your spa parties =)

I shall be back for sure. Anika and I love spending our time there!

NUE NAIL SPA AND WAXING SALON
San Antonio Ave., Sucat Paranaque
(02) 832 3501

Instagram: NueNailsPH

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I have said it here a couple of times already, I am so thankful that God gave me a daughter. I love doing girly things with her. I love that we like and do similar things. Like me, she collects shoes, likes to dress up often, puts on lipstick, gush over pretty things and make Alvin crazy all the time. Lol!

One thing that Anika also got from me is that she likes to pamper herself like taking long baths while lathering body washes.

Personally, I love taking long baths. Even if Anika is already 7 years old, we still take baths together during weekends. We have been doing this since she was a year old. Bathing together is our ultimate bonding experience. It’s during bath time when we tell each other stories, laugh over silly jokes and what I love most is, bath time is when Anika opens up things about herself, her discoveries and realizations. It makes me know her more and vice versa. Enjoy na enjoy kaming dalawa.

Of course, Anika and I do not have the same body washes. I find the ones for adult too strong for her still sensitive skin. Recently, I discovered the Babyflo Oatmeal Bath and Soap-Free Bath.

Before I rave about my recent fab find, I just want to put it out there that Babyflo makes me feel nostalgic. We have that at home when we were kids. I remember seeing the Babyflo cotton swabs and baby oil as I was growing up. I remember tuloy my dad. Almost every Sunday, he will get Babyflo “cotton buds” (yan pa ang tawag namin dati diyan) and clean our ears. Feeling ko love na love ako that time. Weird ba? Haha! Ang daming childhood memories connected to Babyflo!

That is because Babyflo is a trusted heritage brand that promotes safe, hygienic and gentle products that make each moment spent with baby or child more memorable. Now that I’m a mom already, I see that Babyflo’s wide range of quality personal care products offer the best care for our kids.

Just like these Babyflo bath products that we recently tried.

Moms will love my first discovery: the Babyflo Soap-Free bath.

When Anika was born, I was so overacting with the products I use with her. Ang delicate and sensitive kasi ng skin niya. She would break out in rashes when I use strong products on her. Natataranta na ako niyan. So good news talaga ito to moms out there like me.

The Babyflo Soap-Free Bath is an effective mild and gentle cleanser for all skin types especially sensitive skin.

During one of our baths together, I lathered the Babyflo Soap-Free Bath on her. Anika asked why there were no bubbles. I told her that it’s because it’s soap free so that safe na safe yung skin niya. No harmful ingredients. Akala kasi natin dati, the bubblier and soapier the soap is, the better cleaning it can do. That’s false. The Babyflo Soap-Free is bubble-free and fragrance free but remains to be an effective, mild and gentle cleanser. The possible components for the fragrance and bubbles can irritate our baby’s sensitive skin.

My second discovery is the Oatmeal Bath. I have to admit, this smells sooooo good that I used it too! Hehe.

Anika and I used it during our next bath. Anika agreed with me na super bango siya. The scent stayed well after our bath. Ang sarap sarap to snuggle with her after. It’s also nice because this Babyflo Oatmeal Bath is enriched with colloidal Oats. It’s perfect for Anika’s dry skin because the colloidal oats seal in the moisture in her skin. It’s also hypoallergenic so talagang super safe to use for your kids’ sensitive skin. Mas masarap ang bath bonding naming dalawa. This is something that I am taking advantage now as much as I can. I know time will come that she’ll not want to bathe with me anymore so please, please pause the time. I want to savor these moments pa more.

I am recommending this for babies with delicate and sensitive skin. Especially at this time of the year, it’s colder so our kids’ skin has a tendency to get dry more often. With the use of the Babyflo Soap-Free, our babies’ skin retains more moisture therefore becoming smoother and more supple.

I’m going to give bottles and bottles of this Babyflo Soap-Free Bath to Faye’s baby Isabelle! It will be a perfect gift for them because Isabelle’s skin is soooooo sensitive! It’s mild, non-comedogenic, hypoallergenic, fragrance free and paraben free. No more worries for mom regarding irritated skin, negative skin reactions and risk for potentially harmful chemicals.

Babyflo’s other products for babies are the Baby Cologne, Petroleum Jelly, Baby powder, Baby Oil and cotton swabs.

Eto na the bagets this morning before she left for school. She was choosing among the 3 cologne variants what to use. The pink won in the end.

Best thing about the Babyflo products is that they’re affordable. Sa Babyflo, hindi kailangan mahal ang pagmamahal. Sooooo true!

I know you have seen their advertisements too with Iya, Drew and their adorable baby boy Primo Arellano. They are Babyflo’s first family endorser. Their campaign “Let Love Flow with Babyflo!” is very apt for young parents nowadays. I love that the campaign supports and encourages bonding between parents and babies; love that flows in a rewarding cycle of bonding and discovery.

I recommend Babyflo products for your kids. Do try the Oatmeal Bath and the Soap-Free Bath for your little ones as well. The Babyflo products are available at Mercury Drugstores and supermarkets nationwide.

For more information on their products, please visit www.facebook.com/BabyfloPH