Si Andi Na Mahilig Magpa-Picture

they're told to kiss daddy for both pictures but naughty andi, it seems, has objections :)

Weekend Numdrum

this blog is sweetly hibernating that i am considering of actually keeping it this way. forever.

happy weekend :)

Busy-Busyhan

our life is in this state of happy disarray right now that i'm finding it hard to focus.

but perhaps, in a few weeks or so, things would sort themselves out and then our excitement level could go down a bit. in the meantime, this blog would have to take a backseat while my brain filters which stuff should be shared, and which should be...uhm, reserved.

it won't exactly be a hiatus because a boring sunday might trigger me to come up with something for kaithuninterrupted. but then again, my focus is elsewhere so i might just as well sleep.

happy friday all. don't miss me too much! XO.

Mommy Love #1, Mommy Love #5

mommy: "mommy loves the both of you. you are my love number 1, and andi is love number 2. but i love you the same way."

raf: "okay, so raf is number 1. and andi is number...5."

***

raf to andi while andi's cuddling with mommy: "hoy andi, dili ka hulid ni mommy. ako lang hulid ni mommy. kay nanay lang ka."

***

the jealousy, of course, we have anticipated. raf loves and adores his sister so much, yes, until ananda tries to get mommy's attention.

raf isn't used to having somebody to share mommy's attention with, even daddy. mommy's always there whenever he shouts for her, mommy's always there when he needs to snuggle with her. now that the sister's here, and quite a naughty girl at that, he's finding it difficult to adjust.

now this little girl is a different story. she doesn't only want her parents' attention, but her brother's as well. she would even let him smother her with kisses if that makes kuya happy. she crawls to mommy's side as fast as she can as soon as kuya's attention is focused somewhere. she is not used to having another kid around, so i think it makes her excited to have someone who's more or less her age to play with.

to some, it might be a easy situation to handle. just explain to the kids, yada yada. well, motherhood expert i am not, that's why it's a daily struggle to maintain and make sure that both children get the same amount of attention. we have explained raf's role to him as a brother many times but i guess, it takes so much patience for the lesson to get to his head, especially that 10 months ago, andi is just the sister who's in negros.

i am hoping that pretty soon, raf would get over the newness of having a sister who's physically with us. so far, all is well. nobody has sustained any injury. hahaha.

Finding Co-Promdi Bloggers

kaithuninterrupted, promdiliving, and ifoundme

finally, after two failed eyeball attempts, the girls and i got together! and by girls, i mean Promdiliving's Glady and IFoundMe's M (it's her discretion if she's gonna disclose her name through a comment here. hahaha).

we met one fine, sunny Wednesday at starbucks bacolod. it was raining hard the whole evening and by 6am, M texted me that if the rain would continue pouring like crazy, she might miss the EB. i got sad of course but still, i took a bath and prepared for our 7am meeting. i know, a 7am EB sounds absurd but then, it was a workday for glady and i was also due to leave the city for our hacienda so it was the only available time for the three of us. He must have felt our excitement because by the time 630 rolled in, the sun was shining down merrily over the city of smiles. so of course, that meant tuloy na tuloy na ang aming pagkikita!

starbucks' cozy atmosphere was the perfect venue for our chicka-chicka. we've been online friends for almost a year so it was fun getting to know each other personally and getting the juiciest details behind every blog entry firsthand.

glady and M, i wish we had more time that day so we could have planned our negros tour. hahaha. M, chai, teh, open to inyo resort sa aton lagaw-lagaw? hahaha. i hope we can get together here in cebu, or there in bacolod again on my next vacation. it was nice meeting the two of you.

Congratulations Tita AhAh

the graduate

dinner at l fisher hotel

during the clinical graduation

mother and daughter moment

getting ready to groove the night away

the trip to negros wasn't really a vacation vacation. it was more like a homecoming for my dearest sister's graduation. i was initially planning on being there only for the ceremony days (she had two since she's a nursing student -- the clinical graduation and the uh, normal graduation with the rest of the graduating batch of different courses). but then, yes, my company allows us to take vacation leaves and i have more than enough (i think) and my boss is flying to the US anyway so why not take the whole week off? yeba!

so yes, there are two toga pictures on our home's wall. our youngest is feeling the pressure as my mother already had the carpenter prepare a space for her own frame. she has to graduate so we don't waste the space. hahaha.

i attended both graduationS. during the ring and pin ceremony, my mother marched with her while i awarded her ring. the clinical graduation was solely for the nursing students and as every parent and child passed by the aisle, i can see the parents' proud and teary-eyed smiles. it's never easy to send someone to school, especially to nursing school when the school charges you for every activity and project imaginable. my sister was a scholar (since my tita's working in the school) but my parents still shell out a considerable amount for the miscellaneous fees, activities, accommodation and lodging (when they go on out-of-town hospital duties), etc. i wonder how many carabaos were sold and how many hectares of land were tilled so these children can finish their education.

i cried a bit during the baccalaureate ceremony, on the part where the parents bestow the hood on the graduating students. i am such a stage sister. hahaha. i cried some more during the speech of the most outstanding augustinian graduate of 2009 (yes, we're augustinians). he was recalling his and his mother's struggle just for him to get through, and how he would line up at the finance office every examination day so he can submit his promissory note. they may not be blessed financially but with his determination, strength and intelligence, i know they will have more than all the wealth in the world can provide for.

for the celebratory dinner, we had dinner buffet at l'fisher. then enjoyed the rest of the night at cafe breizh, singing our happy hearts out. our conservative, tired mother at least had fun seeing her girls sing and dance. hahaha.

nobody is happiest (and most relieved, i guess) about this achievement than our parents, despite our father not being here and all. there are more challenges for my sister to overcome, there's the nursing board exam on november, for one. but we'll all be praying and rooting for her.

again, congrats Tita AhAh! =D

Shots

this is where your taxes go. hahaha.

honestly, i think i should stop paying taxes so i can better feed my children. =P

angry taxpayer look. hahaha.

this is what andi does when i try to teach her to say "mommy"

cute daughter, yes?

The 6 UNIMPORTANT Things That Make Me Happy

my first post since i went on vacation! :)

Frances tagged me and since i haven't done tags in a long while and of course, i super duper like this red-haired lady, here's my i'm happy-to-be-back entry.

now the rules say:

• Mention the person who tagged you
• List 6 unimportant things that make you happy
• Tag 6 blogs, state the rules and notify them with a teeny comment on their blog

comfort shoes! (picture from www.crocs.com)

1. MAKE UP. yes, i confess, i love make up! my knees go weak at the sight of creamy, dewy-looking lipstick, yummy-colored blush on, and foundation that feels and clings like second skin. but would you believe that i don't spend much on it? it's because my mother buys stuff for me most of the time and my favorite brands are relatively cheaper. i am currently into mineral make up because it makes my skin glow.

2. ONLINE SHOPPING. it is very convenient! i usually buy dresses, shoes, bags and books online and so far, i've only been disappointed twice. but it's not bad considering the number of times i have purchased items over the internet. i haven't tried buying from international sites though because i just can't afford the shipping rates, it's expensive enough to induce a heart attack. hehehe. but i do check clothes and shoes there. ogle, that's the term most likely. i know i will never be able to buy anything from there not unless i win the lotto very soon.

3. NAIL POLISH/MANICURE/PEDICURE. more specifically, nail polish that looks perfect on my toes. vanity! but it really makes me happy how light pink or green or even devil red makes my feet prettier and flip flop-worthy. i've always been thankful that i have tiny digits that at least looks decent on any footwear. manicures and pedicures have their own way of cheering me up. it's one luxury i can never give up.

4. BARGAINS/MALL SALE/UKAY UKAY. my friends M and Y cannot get over the fact that i (used to) go berserk whenever malls hold their quarterly sale. i mostly buy dresses and shoes during these mallwide sales because of course, they're so much cheaper. and gah, who doesn't love ukay ukay? maybe a handful but i bet they just haven't discovered the magic of vintage shopping. hahaha. ukay ukay for me is a winner because you get to wear classic, rare finds -- shoes, blouses, bags, skirts, dresses -- without spending even half of your salary!

5. COMFORT FOOTWEAR. there are shoes you wear to work, sandals you wear to feel sexy and elegant, and then, there are espadrilles/flipflops, etc you wear because they love your feet and makes you comfortable in every way. i call the last type of footwear as my comfort shoes, even if they're not exactly shoes. i wear my comfties when my feet feels battered from using high heels or closed shoes or even tight ballerina shoes the whole week. one example is my white loafers from carcar. i love how soft it is and how it cushions my feet from too much walking. i get cranky when my legs and footsies ache (from too much shopping sometimes) that's why i always wear my comfort shoes when i know i'd be standing and walking most of the time. it makes me, and my feet, happy and stress-free.

6. JUNK FOOD/ICE CREAM they're unhealthy, true, but they're great pick me uppers so better be happy than healthy! hahaha. cmon, i know you love junk too!

okay. now, i'm tagging IFound Me, PromdiLiving (i had coffee with both girls last week, watch out for our EB story), theGreatMaldito, Delectable Dee (who makes the best relyeno i tasted so far), Girlashness, and ProjectVanity.

Happy, Happy Breaking News

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR NEWEST LAWYERS!

Kirk is my cousin,
Ate Alvie was my big sister in the dorm when i was a college freshie
and Fel was my masscom batchmate in silliman