All posts tagged: Home

Welcoming Anya

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My family’s excited to receive the newest addition to the family as a guest in our house. A close relative gave birth earlier this morning and she accepted our invitation for her and her newborn to stay with us for 1–2 weeks. Her husband’s away, she has no helper, and not only do we have some space in the house, but so much affection and excitement for the baby, too. As I was preparing the house to be ready for the baby’s arrival, I also looked for my husband’s childhood pictures, which he needed for a certain activity at the office. I realized that he was such a cutie when he was both a baby and a toddler that I suddenly longed to have a son, who would look exactly like him when he was that age! As much as I love my husband though, I’d say he wasn’t a looker during his pre-adolescent years, and not even just before I met him. (Yup, I’d like to take credit for whatever improvement in my husband’s …

Little girls can have big dreams, too!

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I recently attended a leadership/entrepreneurial boot camp and have been devouring business and self-development books one after the other in my pursuit to develop myself both as a leader and entrepreneur, and thereby start realizing my dreams for my family and myself. Last night, I finally decided to seriously review my dream board as the first step to putting the things I’m learning into practice. That’s right, a dream board and I do have one. They say a dream board is important because it’s supposed to guide you, keep you from wandering aimlessly through life. It allows you to picture your goals more clearly, at a glance. Take note, however, that your dreams would just remain dreams in the air if you do not start taking action toward them, which includes planning and setting deadlines. The first time I made a dream board was last year. In the past, I would only write down my goals and cut out pictures of the things I would like to have, but nothing more than that. (So yes, …

12.12.12

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What’s so remarkable about 12-12-12? Well, for one, there will never be another instance when all the numbers in the calendar and the clock will appear the same. Next, since that makes it rather historical, many people tried to make the best memory out of it, mostly by couples getting married. I have to admit that I had been planning to do something remarkable, if not memorable, on this day too. I wanted it to stand out in my memory when I look back to this particular day. I remember waking up yesterday feeling so refreshed and excited. My daughters and I went to bed the night before with a clean house and that must have contributed to the energy I had by the following morning. Who doesn’t like waking up to a clean house, anyway? However, just as I tried so hard to keep a positive outlook, I had another encounter with my own Merida (remember the movie “Brave”?). Sometimes, I just couldn’t believe that I have a very willful 9-year old child. If she’s …

Officially at mid-30s

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Monday of this week seemed to be the only Monday I had thoroughly enjoyed in my entire life. And it must be because it’s my 35th birthday. Yes, I’m finally, officially, in my mid-thirties, yet it feels like 40 is still more than a decade away! I just feel so blessed! I may not have everything that I want in life, but I know that in time, God will give me my heart’s desires, which include having my husband home for good, without him having to work abroad anymore just to keep our family’s finances afloat. I know that in time, my business will also grow big and I’ll be able to bless others through it. I’m actually surprised that it feels good to be at my age. Looking back, I dreaded reaching 30 when I was still in my 20s. In fact, early in our marriage, I made my husband agree that once I get past 30, we would no longer consider having another child. I suppose it’s because my late mother was already 38 when she had me. …

“Time in a Bottle”

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Our Big Baby A recently turned nine this October. We wanted to have a fun and memorable birthday party for her, of course, and I just realized that I was the one who seemed to be the most excited about it! I couldn’t believe how many times I had changed plans for her birthday celebration already, trying to come up with a small-budget Disney Princess-like ball. By the time I thought things were already perfect, I’ve already done enough, and everyone’s happy with what I finally came up with, however, I started facing new dilemmas. The first has something to do with the fact that she’s my daughter, my firstborn. That means I would love nothing than for her to enjoy her ninth birthday even if we didn’t have a budget for the kind of party we (or at least, I) wanted for her. I wanted so much of of what I had envisioned to become a reality and see her so happy! So when my husband pledged an amount for us to spend on her party, I immediately set …

Promises

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On May 3, we’ll be celebrating little Z’s 6th birthday and that’s the day after hubby arrives. I have already started preparing for Z’s mini ice cream party, which hubby and I have promised her. It will be held at home, and the girls are getting more excited each day. They keep on rewriting their guest list even if they always end up with the same friends to invite. I myself have created a list of other things to prepare for the big day and have already purchased a few items on my list. I can tell that my husband‘s very excited to come home too. He has been frequenting the malls in Singapore for various stuffs that he’d be bringing home to us as presents. He was also absent from work twice this month already for no particular reason–a sign that his mind was no longer on his job, and to think that he’s the sort who could easily bag a model employee award for his dedication to work! However, excitement is not the only emotion …

To stress or not to stress

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  Christmas vacation officially starts today. That means I no longer have to wake up early to prepare the girls for school, at the same time keep a tight schedule as I juggle house chores, child care, online job(s), etc. throughout the day. However, I have a feeling that although there’s no school, things won’t really change much for me. I bet that a few hours from now–after I have gone to bed, that is–I would be up early again as I normally would on weekdays. Blame it on my body clock and the stuffs around the house that need my attention, especially our pets and plants. I have been neglecting some of the plants, it seems. The big alley cats have been coming in and out of our backyard and have apparently been trampling on some of them. They badly need some rescuing–I have to start transferring them to pots. Meanwhile, our puppies need a good bath and some exercise, too. Plus, I still have more cleaning to do around the house. Honestly, having …

Hello, November!

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I could no longer recall the last time I felt excited about this month. I used to count the days and months until November when I was a child, but during the past few years, I just started to dread it. I was born in November, so that explains the excitement I used to feel when the month gets nearer. Plus, the fact that after November, it would soon be Christmas. However, with the marital problems I had in the recent years, including financial difficulties, the death of my mother, estranged relationships with in-laws, moving out of my parents’ house, seeing friends go and change jobs or leave the country, somehow, I started to feel like there’s really nothing to celebrate each year. I just felt alone, save for my children who would find ways to cheer me up every day. Things are still not all well with me now, actually, but my excitement grows, especially with my young daughters counting off the days until the twelfth. I’ve been trying to come up with a plan …

Reality makeover

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I’ve been watching TV again. That is, aside from the regular news that I see, I have also been watching other programs, and this time, I’m into these shows that feature different types of makeover. Somehow, I find these shows both entertaining and informative. Moreover, since they’re not like soaps–and I don’t like soaps–that make you wait for the next episode to find out what happens next, I don’t feel bad whenever I’d miss one. However, watching such programs makes me wish I could have a makeover too–wardrobe, home, even appearance. Let’s see… I’m starting to get tired of my hair style. As much as I would like to buy new clothes, bags, and shoes, I have to admit that they’d be no use to me since I’m a full-time homemaker now and work for me also means home-based. So what’s the use of buying new stuffs, especially really nice ones? I think I’d be happy with just a new pair of slippers (FitFlops perhaps), and a shirt or two, plus shorts. Nothing fancy, since …

My Alina (and my first childbirth experience)

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At exactly eight years ago, 16 October 2003, 1 AM, I  experienced labor pains for the first time as I laid down next to a fetal monitor in a dimly lit room at a new hospital in Alabang, Muntinlupa City. The pains had just started then–two hours after my water bag broke while I was sleeping–and regardless of my resolve to go through it bravely and with as little help as possible from anyone, I was already writhing in pain by 3AM, begging for the anaesthesia that I had sworn to avoid. And I thought that I could do it all naturally since I considered myself well prepared for it–I religiously exercised, read everything I could that would help me cope with the situation, and I was very careful with the kind as well as amount of food I ate. I guess in the end the fact remained: my threshold for pain was simply low no matter how much I willed it to be otherwise. Looking back, it’s amazing how I survived the night. The pain seemed vent on killing me, yet it would not do so. I tried to counter the labor pains …