Hate is such a strong word.

I don’t know how many times I’ve said it but hate is really a strong word.

 

Last night, we took a late trip to Shangri-la mall because Mom needs some make-up. Since this is one of the malls that is less crowded, we brought Abi with us (yes, the AH1N1 paranoia that I have is lifted but we’re still being careful). When she was done shopping, she invited us for some snacks in Via Mare. We had to exit through the main mall door to get to the restaurant. Just before we exited the big revolving door, I noticed some teenagers smoking  and standing where we were going to walk by. Cigarette smoke is number one in my pet peeves list and being the protective mom that I am, I covered Abi’s face (Abi was comfy in her sling) and walked faster, Ane by my side. It was too late for me to notice that one of the girls said hi to little Klaire and found her cute. It was too late to smile back, my concern was really to avoid the smoke.

 

Then Mommy heard the girl say “I hate them,” with a flat tone and giving us the look.

 

Now, I know I can get really snobby at times but I will stick to my reasoning that sometimes I am just misunderstood. I have a tendency to become anti-social, but my friends know better.

 

I actually should not let that short encounter bother me, and I didn’t owe the girl an apology or explanation. I was affected, yes, because I feel bad that I was not able to at least smile back. Maybe when the girl becomes a mommy herself, she will understand :)

 

Now that I’ve said my piece, I am letting it go :)

I feel good, tananana! :)

I had blood extracted from me last Wednesday for my follow-up blood test to check my cholesterol. Then this afternoon I went to get the results and consult with the Internist again. I said a few posts down that my blood pressure has normalized and never shot up again after I started taking the meds. Well, my doctor happily confirmed that my BP is controlled and that the meds are working for me! And my cholesterol level significantly dropped and I am now in the safe zone. Yeah! Yeah! The Lipitor dosage is lowered, which means less pouch to the pockets, and I will have to have my blood tested again by September.

See, I told you I’m gonna be good and follow the doctors’ orders! :) My only health concern now is my weight. I forgot to discuss with the doctor today about  diet pills or whether I need to take some to shed pounds. And maybe I should arrange going back to the gym!

For now, let me celebrate! :)

No Isang can dampen my spirit :)

I woke pretty early yesterday. The rains did not stop the night before and it was still raining hard that morning. But I was ready to face the day, and start with a jolt :)

 

Why?

 

Something arrived from the US, something that I’ve been waiting for weeks. And it wasn’t Robin nor Abi’s clips or bottle liners, yet.

 

I got the package and I could literally smell America (really!). And you bet you could see me smiling ear to ear while driving home!

 

I will take a proper picture and share it here :) Let me just enjoy my weekend!

Nosey :)

Twitter is a nice way to look into other people’s lives and be updated. What for? Wala lang. Anyway, I get ideas too, and I somehow get readers for my blogs :) One of those I follow is a rich girl who was once a deejay. These days, she would talk about her horse, or horses. Wow, how cool is that to have a horse for a pet, right? I can only just imagine myself visiting the stables, riding my favorite one, buying  horse supplies, making sure all the horses are in perfect condition. I will surely buy a horse when I get uber rich! :)

For the sweet tooth :)

I’ve been indoors too long that I only discovered this chocolate from Goya last Sunday. We stopped by a Caltex to buy Coke and I found a box of this near the counter. I so love Chocolate with Mint so I was glad Ane agreed to buy it for me (and I know the condition is that I need to share it, which I did naman). What can I say, I love love love it! It is a cheaper alternative to my fave Andes chocolate. When LBB and I were in Unimart yesterday, he reminded me to look for this. Of course it’s cheaper (by 11 pesos!) so we bought three boxes! Each box has nine pieces. You bet I’m gonna savor these within the next few days :)

My Husband owns Ferraris :)

But of course only the die-cast ones! We can’t even afford Ferrari parts, much more get a real one, LOL! He’s completed the entire set from the gas station, at least the first batch. He got bored with the next ones and decided to just save his money.

A real Ferrari is a dream for now. Someday he will be able to buy a real toy for the big boys! :)

My current addiction…

Is Abi’s smell. Why do I get this nagging feeling that I am being a bad mother when I refuse to bathe her? LOL! Really I get a kick out of smelling and kissing little Klaire’s armpits, neck, tummy and even singit hahaha. And it’s different when she’s smelling like the baby wash. She likes it too because it feels like playtime to her.

LMAO.

But of course I bathe her, silly. Then I wait until she smells like a “normal” baby again. Hah! :)

Updated

I was reading Mae’s blog to get updated on her. I am so glad that she is enjoying her new adventure (job is a misnomer because it doesn’t feel like a job to her :)) and that she now has a bit of purchasing power (congrats on the new bag and the havs! LOL!). So happy for you mars, you are truly blessed :)

Then I received an email about green tea fat burners which reminds me more of her because she is a tea-lover and would very much like to shed some of those pounds. She’s the only one I know who can consume tea like it’s water, LOL!

Keep us posted okay?!?

Health Update

Since I started taking my maintenance meds seriously, my blood pressure didn’t shoot up again. I know because I monitor my BP everyday. I actually have a checklist posted on our wall so I don’t forget taking the meds and noting the BP. I should have gone back to my (new) Internist three weeks ago but didn’t find the time to do so. As I said, she’s only in TMC during Saturdays 11am-3pm. There’s another Internist that’s available everyday, she was actually the first doctor I consulted but I found better rapport with the new one, hence the switch.

 

I am also due to have another blood test this week to check if my cholesterol level has lowered. I’m gonna do that tomorrow, Thursday morning. That means I need to fast (no food, no water for at least 10hours!) starting tonight. Please pray that my cholesterol has improved so I won’t need to increase the medication dosage. Because as it is, Ane is already shelving out about p1500 monthly for my meds, and our medical reimbursement is already depleted.

 

Think positive! :D

Lost phone

My LBB lost his phone yesterday. We are just thankful that he lost it and never realized it until later on. See, a thief took it from his pocket (deep pocket, if I may add. The culprit was a pro!)while riding the MRT. Ane dropped him off at the Boni station, he felt that a man was too close to him and saw that man disembark at Guadalupe station. Yes it happened that fast! I had his line disconnected after about two hours (we wanted to make sure he didn’t leave it in Ane’s car and Ane was busy to check right away), and I sigh in relief that the person didn’t use his line to call abroad (I checked this afternoon).

 

We find it funny though that this happened when LBB wishes to have a new unit already. What great timing right? Only we don’t have a budget yet for that, LOL! We had his SIM replaced (one of the errands in GH) and he will have to make do with his low-end spare phone, for now. Hehe.

 

So you guys be careful when commuting. You’ll never know when these bast***ds will strike!

Accessorize!

I bought new clothes and I had this urge to window shop for accessories. I found this red set (I love Red!) among the fashion jewelry sets and I can say that Holsted never disappoints. They seem to have everything that fits anyone’s taste in jewelry. What’s best is that their prices are quite affordable without sacrificing the quality of their products. Their semi-precious jewelries all have that wow-factor that any woman (or man!) can show them off and get praises from friends. Holsted takes pride in perfect and unique craftsmanship that I will probably not think twice ordering some pieces from them. When the budget permits, that is! :)

Will we be able to afford it?

While working on the PC, Ane was watching the news and I was half listening. My attention was called when a portion on the cost and quality of education came up. It says, based on a study, the cost of education increased 18% from year 2002 and a lot of parents opt to send their children to public schools instead (some children are forced to stop schooling!). I worry about Abi’s future. We’re currently a single-income family -- we’re not complaining, yet, because we’re quite comfortable at the moment. But how will things be when Abi starts going to school? And her college education, will we be able to afford sending her to the best universities in the country?

 

We need to save, Ane said softly. Indeed.

Harry Potter 6

I am a self-confessed Potterhead. This movie is long overdue and I am just so glad that The Half Blood Prince will start showing tomorrow (oh well, some have watched it tonight at the advanced screening!) The problem is I still dunno when Ane and I can watch it. He has work 9-6pm and I am not too keen on leaving Abi behind at night (when Aiza should already be resting!). I thought on watching it Saturday morning but I need to go back to my Internist whose schedule is ONLY 11am-3pm Saturdays in TMC. I just might not be able to catch her again if I miss seeing her this weekend.

We’ll see. I just might give in and watch on Thursday night. 

Light-bulb moment

I’ve been told that I am neglecting how I look. I am not really particular about my looks (I believe good hygiene counts most) but I realized I need to at least learn how to put good make-up on me. My friends can teach me or I can enroll in a module, for instance in beauty school houston campus or the like (since well, it’s obvious I cannot attend a school in the US, at least not yet). Anyway, Regency Beauty is the fastest growing beauty school in the US with almost 30 campuses around the country since they started in 2002. They offer a unique approach to teaching cosmetology giving the students an edge in the after-school market.

But first I need to re-build my make-up kit! LOL!

Long day

My day started really early (545am!) hoping to catch the early worm. But the worms were late today, LOL! When Ane left for work around 8am, he told me to go back to sleep. And I’m glad I didn’t just yet. I took a nap and woke up a little past 11am, gave Abi her vitamins and bathe her, had lunch, then had a little downtime while our room was being cleaned. I listed this week’s menu and by 4pm, my brother R and the ward were off to Farmer’s Market to replenish the ref’s stocks. When we got home, I just gave some instructions for the purchases. Then my LBB and I were off to Greenhills for some errands. We got back in time for dinner (and ice cream!!). Little Abi was a bit fussy tonight, then I realized she just wanted to play! Poor baby probably missed me while I was gone!

And if you think my day is already over, think again. I need to work! ;p

Ane is one year older today!

My dear Hubby’s birthday is today. Usually he would take the day off to attend to his annual Physical exam but since he had to train some employees for their project, he could not miss work. We did not plan anything special neither, maybe we can just do that over the weekend. We just had our usual dinner at home with my brothers and he asked me to buy ice cream (of course I chose the Chocolate Truffle from Selecta Gold! Yum!)

Happy birthday, Abi’s Daddy! You know we love you!

Further studies, anyone?

Have you thought of taking further studies, like an MA or PhD? I myself thought of that but never got around to doing so. Maybe when Abi is a bit older, when I can concentrate more on the lessons. And I heard I can study in a not so normal school setting. See, there is already a university online that can accommodate those who seem to have little extra time for studying (think, employees who work full-time). There's Capella University in Minneapolis that offers online education. The University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the US. That alone makes the program a legit one. You might want to  listen now to podcasts of interviews of professors and students so you will understand the system better.

 

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Five must-haves when going out with Abi

Litzie asks: As a Mom, What are the top 5 Things You Just Can’t Live Without When Going Out with Your Kid/s and why?

 
Since Abi is still a baby, the items are pretty much predictable :)
1. Feeding Bottles and Formula in dispenser

2. Diapers and extra sets of clothing

3. Alcohol or hand sanitizer, for the germphobe of a Mom that is me ;p

4. Baby wipes.

5. Her Baby Book and Health card in case of emergency.

Part Two that I almost forgot to write :)

Yes I was putting it off for the longest time! And then I got into my scrapping frenzy last week and I “forced” myself to finish the story, LOL! This however is not as detailed as the FIRST PART, but the important parts (at least to me) are noted. The text below is the journal I wrote in one of my layouts. Click the picture and it will lead you to my Flickr gallery (and the credits) :)

 

I was wheeled to the recovery room after about two hours from the time Klaire was delivered. There they brought Abi to me to latch. Abi was a natural! Her hair wasn’t washed yet but she looked so adorable. I was wheeled to my room half past midnight of the 31st where Ane & Mommy were waiting. I had the urge to throw up (which also happened while I was still in the DR) and the nurses said it was normal. I was told to lie low and to not take anything by mouth for at least 6 hours. Mom had to wipe my lips with cotton soaked in cold water. By three am, I was complaining to the nurse that I was already thirsty and she allowed me to sip little water when I need to. By dawn, I already passed gas several times, which I found later on to be an important sign. I also started to get itchy all over. In the morning, Dr. Mike the Anesthesiologist explained that the itchy feeling is caused by the numbing med and when the itching is gone, the pain will surface. Ugh. Anyway, the pain turned out to be something I can pretty much tolerate with my high threshold. I didn’t sleep well though that night because the nurses would visit me every three hours.

We planned on rooming Abi in but because of the emergency CS, she had to stay in the nursery for 24 hours as a hospital SOP. She wasn’t available for viewing yet I was allowed to visit her anytime in the nursery. But a catheter was attached to me and no one hinted that I could visit despite the addition (plus I was feeling too sloppy in my lower half!). Anyway, having Abi stay in the nursery was also good to prevent her from getting germs from the well-wishers. I gave birth on a weekend, and surely, there were a lot of visitors!

Although we  missed Klaire already, I took that opportunity to recover fast.  I only contented myself with the pictures Ane took inside the DR. By Saturday night, the catheter was already removed and I could stand and walk already.  I even insisted to freshen up alone and save the midwife the trouble but she stayed on and gave me a sponge bath in the washroom. They were all amazed by how fast I was recovering! They all had to remind me that I was newly stitched and I should not stress myself too much!

Everybody was so sweet, entertaining me and all. But the greatest reward of all, is of course seeing our little Abi in the Nursery, feeling her and knowing in my heart that she knows it’s her Mommy holding her :) Could not wait to bring her home!

Will Klaire need them?

Just the other day, my brother asked me if I think Abi will need to wear glasses when she’s older. See Hubby and I both wear a pair with at least 350/350 grades. Does that run in the blood? Maybe. Or I should just limit her computer usage (which I think is the culprit to our high grade glasses LOL!). But just look at that cute frame, it  will look good on Klaire :)

Anyway so I went browsing at Zenni and they have $ 8 Rx eyeglasses that are still nice. The site offers acetate, bendable and plastic frames among others. These are best for kids who are so active. These I learned when I watched Zenni Optical on TV!!! Really, let’s High Five to Zenni Optical!

 

:)