Lakas maka-MYMP!

MYMP - Make Your Momma Proud! I'm referring to my kuya Kiel's big achievement in school so far.  I am just a proud nanay and I can't believe at this early, he has already the attitude of being competitive (parang si nanay lang...hahaha).  He even make a way to know the scores of his classmates which I think is not good so I told him not to do it again and advised him just to do good in school. :)

Last Oct 1, 2012, we celebrated his birthday in school.  On the same day, report cards were distributed to parents :) (this post has been in the draft status for almost a month now, whew!) Their class ended around 1:20pm and the distribution of report cards was scheduled at 2pm so we (Tatay and I) decided to just wait.  It's a different feeling when you're the nanay who will get your son's report card, it's a different kind of nervousness that you feel in your veins, lots of butterflies on your stomach, the feeling of going to the restroom (ang OA!).  Unlike when you were the kid who's waiting for the report card, it's more relax and you don't mind what the report card will say about your school performance.  I saw it in Kiel how relax he was on that day, he could still enjoy playing with his classmates (takbo dun takbo dito!).  Of course, he's a kid who just love to play!

At 2pm, teacher Sherrie called the parents and asked to fall in line.  Junior Kinder and Senior Kinder advisers are in the same room to distribute the report cards.  Being on the third in line, I witnessed the reactions of parents, grandparents who received their kids/grandkids' report cards.  Some were so proud that their kids got a Gold or Silver award and some were ok since the kids were on their average standing in class (Yes! I almost heard the comments of the teachers about the kids, hehehe the talent I got "eavesdropping" hehehe (not good!)  So when it was our turn, I was so nervous.  Teacher just smiled and did not say "Congratulations" so I assumed Kiel did not get any award.  After receiving the report card, teacher said "Congratulations po" Kiel is a Gold awardee. :) So surprise! and so proud of our Kuya Kiel! :)

Congrats Kuya Kiel!  Keep it up! :)

Nanay and Tatay will always be proud of you, anak! We'll support you in everything you do! :)  We love you and Ethan! :)

Kaaliw!!!

Here I am again, may biglang pumasok sa utak ko, as in nangangati ang kamay ko na magsulat about one of my biggest achievement being employed in Cypress.  Actually, it's not that big deal but for me it's really a BIG BIG deal! I can't wait to document another milestone..hehehe (sige kayabangan na rin but it just makes me happy to document every achievement and even failures in my life here. pagbigyan nyo na!)

During JCC days, (Joaquin Cunanan & Company, a member firm of PriceWaterhouseCoopers), I used to review and read minutes of Board of Directors meetings, of course! it's confidential! but one thing I can share is one of its contents is the list of bank signatories.  The table wherein the approval limit is there with its respective approvers, different levels for different approval limit.

Guess what???!! I am now part of the bank signatories for our site. Yiiipppeeeee!!!! When I arrived at the office, I saw Signature Card/s to be filled out from the bank, I was thinking if I asked our admin that I need it but I can't remember asking for one.  When I checked my email, I read that something like this "Congratulations, you are now part of the bank signatories!".   hehehe (that's my perception.)  Now, that I'm writing it, I just realized that I'm getting old too because most of the bank signatories are those in the company for almost a decade... but it's ok! everybody's getting older naman, no one is exempted! :) bow! :)

Tuloy po kayo... :)

So excited to post this and proud.  Thank You Lord again for all the blessings! It all started when I was born, I am filled with so much blessings from my parents to my siblings.  Now that I have my own family, you still showered me with so many blessings from my husband to my kids.  Thank you for this home, Lord!

Living Room

From living room going to Entertainment/Play/Guest room (3 in 1 room hehehe)

Main stairs going to our bedroom :)

Entertainment/Play/Guest Room (3 in 1 room hehehe)

Family Area

Again, ang sarap umuwi sa maayos na bahay :)

Our Ethan Isaiah, our bunso :)

It dawned on me that I forgot my bunso to document his milestones here.  Sorry anak.  Thanks to Sean for making me realized that this blog is not only for kuya Kiel! Here is my pangbawi! :)

For the past few days, I've  been so busy preparing for my Ethan's first birthday! It's just that we're now on a tight budget that's why I need to be focus on how to get suppliers, hope the quality of their services will not be sacrificed because of the cheap fee that I got from them.  Before I close any engagement with the suppliers, I have a dialogue to them "I trust you and your team that you will do good on my son's 1st bday celebration!" so by that note, it seems they got what I meant and they just thanked us for trusting them.  I also gained some friends in the process of looking for suppliers.  Thanks Ethan for this wonderful experience.

Here are the details of suppliers for Ethan's birthday:

Venue:  Jubilation West Village Clubhouse, Binan, Laguna

Photobooth - c/o my cousin, Ianne Ricafort Young.  As she promised, entrance tarpaulin is their gift to Ethan.  Thank You! :)

Host/Magician/Ventriloquist - This is the hardest part! I was able to contact 6 magicians before we finally get this one, Rene Salamangkiko Mucha.  Thanks to Leodini, one of the great magicians in the Phils, for recommending Salamangkiko since he is already booked on Dec 22, 2012.  Gosh! I got so many magician friends while looking for one...hehehe (let's say, feeling "close" lang ako sa kanila, I even texted them "I'm so desperate, all good magicians are all booked on my son's bday, please help me get one."  I almost texted all of them like that, and glad to know that they were so accommodating and really helped me look for one, it's just that all of them are already booked on that day except for Salamangkiko.)  Kuya Mau, Kuya Ted, Chubsters, Lhen Peralta, Leodini, Wizzo are all booked on that day! Super thanks to Leodini, I got the cheapest one since Salamangkiko is also from Laguna so no additional transpo charge.  You may want to watch him here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5nVY8rmTSg

Food from ate Evie's Catering Services ("E-b's House Cuisine and Catering Services").  She is a former officemate of my Kuya Eric, she was able to do catering services in some of our family occasions.  It's cheap and the food is good! :)  We chose to hold the party in the afternoon in time for merienda.  Our food will be pasta, pasta, pasta! :) hehehe with Fried Chicken for kids and BBQ for adults.  Instead of having rice, it's cheaper to have pasta! :) (in this post, the common words you will see are "cheap", "cheaper", "tight budget" hehehe that's what we need e! :)  I am so sure that Ethan will understand it and by the time he can read this, he will realize how much time and effort that nanay gave to this party preparation and I hope he will appreciate it. Love you anak! )

Decorations - I asked ate Evie if she knows someone who can do the decorations.  She immediately offered that she can do it and just add some additional service charge on that.  What a great deal! Thanks te evie, it's so affordable unlike those I inquired from internet, there's a fixed charge then an additional P4.5K transpo fee (grabe naman yun! transpo lang un ah, OA makasingil)  I trust ate Evie, in fact, she requested for a meeting on the first week of December to discuss everything and show me her sample decorations for a Justice League theme party. :)

Food carts - Good to know that Evelyn Peralta, one of the magician/hosts that I inquired with, also offers food carts.  We chose sweetcorn, hotdog and taho food carts.  The fee is so affordable! and they only charge P500 transpo.  It's so cheap considering they are from Bulacan! Thanks Lhen for a great deal! :)

Sounds System - I asked my cousin, Marisol, if she has a contact for sounds system, she gave me the no. and inquired, I guess my budget doesn't fit to their charges.  So I asked again ate Evie (hehehe it seems like ate Evie is my angel for this event), she gave me the no. of JMB Sounds System, she is related to the owner.  When ate Evie forwarded me the contact no. of Jun Betco, I just remembered that it's owned by my former English teacher in high school, hehehe so I introduced myself as one of his wife's students before and he gave me a discount! hehehe (ang kapal ng mukha ko pero para makatipid, go lang ng go! kung san makakatipid dun tayo.) hehehe their service charge is half the charge of the first one I inquired with.

so eto na lang ang kulang ko which I think carryng-carry ko na :)

1.  Cake - I'm thinking of Goldilocks like this one:


2.  Giveaways, lootbags and game prizes - I'll visit Edeng's store at Market! Market! my ever reliable and affordable source of toys hehehe (suking suki na ko dito, dapat may discount card na ko dito e, from Kuya Kiel's 1st bday up to 4th, eto ang aking supplier ng toys hehehe) Pero I'm still thinking if I can still visit Divisoria, iniisip ko kasi pag punta palang dun pagod na, toll fees pa tapos sobra dami tao tapos may risk pa na baka madukutan ka, which I actually experienced in 2000, I was with my nanay then, buti na lang nakapamili na kami and P50 na lang ang nasa wallet ko, naghahanap na lang kami ni nanay ng ATM para magwithdraw na pamasahe namin kaso sa kasamaang palad, nalaslas yung bag ko, nakuha ang wallet ko, nakakataka, di kinuha ang cp ko, BOSCH pa nun cp ko, hehehe naalala ko tuloy sa PwC, niloloko ang BOSCH cp ko, kahit daw ibigay ko sa snatcher, tatanggihin, mga loko din friends ko e no? (ayan bigla ko silang namiss....hahaha, ang haba ng kwento.) so eto na, wala na din ATM ko kasi kasama ng wallet, pano na kami uuwi ni nanay.  Ang matalino kong nanay, naisip agad na isangla ang wedding ring nya only for P200 ah, takang taka ung taga pawnshop at bakit daw ang mura, sabi ni nanay, babalikan ko yan bukas, ayun kinabukasan, lumuwas uli si nanay para tubusin ang wedding ring. hehehe bow! :)

sobrang haba ata nito :) hope you still enjoy reading it! :)

Some photos taken during Ethan's monthly bday celebration:

Field Trip ni Kuya (at ni nanay) :)

No more dramas! hehehe Last Sept 14, 2012, Alpha Angelicum Academy had their educational field trip for Pre-school to Grade 3 pupils.  The night before, I was so busy preparing for the things and food we need to bring. (excited si nanay! first time ito e hehehe kasi nga never ako nakasama sa field trip nung elementary days ko...ooooppppssss! enough na ang drama! nakakasawa na e...hehehe)

Our itinerary:
1.  Disney Show at Smart Araneta Coliseum
2.  Pizza Hut - kids were allowed to make their own pizza and the pizza was their lunch with spaghetti.
3.  Avilon Zoo

At Disney Show, all the kids were seated at the patron area while the parents were at upper box A.  I'm glad I was able to meet one of kiel's classmate's mom, Carol, mom of Abby Marfil.  I asked her if she wanted to join me to go Kiel's seat to give him a snack and drinks, then, we went to their seats and brought snacks.

Some of the photos from Disney Show:

At Pizza-hut, the kids made their own pizza.

About to start in making their own pizza! :)

Kuya Kiel is making his own pizza.

Finished product! Tada! :)

Kuya Kiel took this photo! ang galing hehehe :)

Kuya Kiel with his friends, Ahmed and SK pupil (forgot his name).

At Avilon Zoo, I was afraid I cannot share a lot of information about animals to Kiel, hope tatay was there to support me hehehehe :) Thank God I survived.  There was this monkey wherein we're allowed to take photos with it (him or her!).  I showed Kiel how brave nanay is (pero sobrang natatakot din kaya ako sa monkey just because I wanted to show him that it's ok to have a picture with the monkey, I was forced to do it..hehehe bahala na si batman!).

And this what I got...hahaha Kuya Kiel took this pic.  Kung alam ko lang na di rin magpapapicture si kuya, sana di na lang ako nagtapang tapangan...hehehe nakakakilabot kaya ang kamay nung monkey nung umakbay sya sa akin...hehehe 

I love to be a kid once more :) Kuya Kiel, thanks for this wonderful experience.  Sobrang sulit ang paghihintay ni nanay sa first field trip nya, mas masaya pa kasi kasama kita! Love you so much anak! :)

Life Lessons

I just found this from my file which I wrote sometime in 2006 or 2007....
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

….very inspiring, the words I just read this morning, it goes something to this effect…”….do not compete with your peers but rather compete with yourself.”  I had this attitude of competing with anybody else, before I wasn’t aware about it or let’s just say that I was not ready to accept that was my attitude…I was denying myself that I was like that.  Here are some tips that I enjoyed doing which helped me overcome this attitude:

1.       Pray.

Pray that He will give you strength and guidance in the process of knowing yourself.  It is not easy but through His guidance, you will never be alone, you will always be carefree to move whatever you want to do because you have accepted that He is Almighty and everything is possible!

2.       Accept yourself for who you are.

You need to know yourself deeper and better.  Know your heart’s desires and then accept what you may discover about yourself whether best or worst.  Just a reminder, be brave enough to face the discoveries you may have about yourself.  I tell you, you will go to the process of defending yourself that you are not like this like that because your mind dictates what you know is right especially when you are discovering about your negative side.  “Defending yourself” stage is normal but learn to overcome this by changing your mind set that you are not perfect and you may commit mistakes in life.

3.       Enjoy what you have.

You will be at peace about your status in life if you will learn to ignore everybody’s wealth, fabulous lifestyle or all good things about your peers, in short, do not envy your peers.  Enjoy what you have, be happy for what you have achieved in life and take it easy in achieving your goals.  Envy is the root cause of unhappiness, you will never appreciate everything you have because you are thinking that others are better than you and you will compete with them in order to get even or better than them.

4.       Practice patience in your life.

Do not let your temper gets high whenever there are things that happened not according to what you want.  Do not expect that everything you want in life will be granted to you, you need to develop patience in order to be in focus.  There is a perfect time for everything, it may not be now, it may not be later but believe that it will come according to His will.

5.       Thank the people who inspire you.

Show gratefulness to the people who inspire you to strive more and to dream big.  They may be your parents, brothers, sisters, relatives, friends, girlfriend or boyfriend.  Do not forget to give them back whatever you have achieved and to share with them your blessings.  If you know how to thank people who have helped you through your life, there are more blessings to pour upon you.

6.       Thank God.

Thank God for everything.  The challenges, blessings, failures, success and any other feelings and happenings in your life are created by God Almighty.  Thank God for your life!

By: icv

Sa aming bahay...

Until now, I'm still overwhelmed with the kind of house that we have right now.  I wasn't expecting that it will come this soon.  I thank God for everything, for every peso amount that we put into the construction, for the successful processing of the loans, for the well-built house.  Thank You Dear God!

Soon, I'll reveal each room of our house, I still have no time to take photos inside the house.  Edmund and I are so proud of this house! sobrang achievement namin ito since we can't afford before a "magarang" house (but still we can't afford it now, it's only because of BPI loans that we availed that's why this came to reality) :)

Ang sarap umuwi sa maayos na house :) Thank You again Dear God! :) Our kids love it too!

My BEN10

Kiel is a big fan of BEN10, most of his toys now are BEN10! I know most of them, Humungousaur, Heatblast, Jetray, Cannon Bolt hehehehehe I'm about to memorize all of them. I'm having so much fun playing with my kids, I feel like I'm a kid again and to tell you, I appreciate the cartoons now more than when I was at their age. hehehe (sabi nga ng hubby ko kung dumaan daw ako sa pagkabata kasi indi ko masyado kilala ang mga cartoon characters nung mga panahon ko..hahahha siguro nga bigla na lang matanda na agad ako!) Sometimes, I call Kiel "Ben" and he's ok with that. :) He's my BEN10.

BEN10 has a lot of power with different character and I must say my Kiel has really a lot of power.  He has all the energy to play from morning till evening, even right before we sleep he never loses energy, he's so "hyper".  Sometimes, I wonder where does Kiel get his energy?  He seems so excited in everything, he knows how to appreciate things around him.

On his 4th birthday last Oct 1, 2012, we celebrated it during their breaktime in their class.  We brought to their class a birthday cake, spag and chicken from Jollibee for kids and rice and chicken for the teachers.  Of course, his theme for his birthday was BEN10, so I bought small bags with BEN10 as a design and I did DIY bag tag for each kid.  I requested teacher Sherrie to give me the list of Kiel's classmates then I got a BEN10 design from internet for a bag tag, I put their names on it and have a label "Junior Kinder" and "Alpha Angelicum Academy".

Giveaways to kuya kiel's classmates, puzzle and school supplies with bag (BEN10 for boys while violet bag (matanda na ako, di ko kilala yung character na yan na pang-girl, Strawberry something ata..hehehe) for girls)

Giveaways with DIY bag tag

Kuya Kiel's bag tag

 More pics to come from tatay's camera :)

Happy birthday anak, kuya kiel, bujoy! :) We are so proud of you.  Please always be good to others.  Be a blessing to others.  Do not forget to share what you have with others.  Always prioritize your studies, that's the only treasure we can give you and Ethan :) Have more faith to our dear God! :) Continue to be prayerful.  We love you so much! Again, Happy 4th birthday kuya Kiel! :)

Kuya Kiel during their field trip last Sept 14, 2012.  More photos a separate post to come :)