the month that was february

where did february go? it flew by so fast.

it started with a staycation



followed by a birthday lunch for my brother at xin tian di's dimsum buffet... YUM! look at all that food!



check out xin tian di's steamed michael radish roll. a hot and steamy michael... what's not to like?



the loves of my life, after a very hearty lunch:


then the next day was an early vday dinner at Florabel, Podium. more about this in a future post.


to celebrate valentie's, we bought a rose for Chloe:


who prepared some vday treats for her classmates:




margaux did a lot of sleeping:


and growing...


somewhere between our busy schedules, we were able to schedule a photo shoot for our other baby, bebe chic. this is my FAVE photo:

photo credits by stan ong photography

all in all, february was an exciting month! march promises to be an even better one!

The shy green eyed monster

Jealousy between siblings.. it's inevitable really. The only question was when it would show up and how it would manifest. Almost a year since Margaux was born, we finally got the answer.

The past few weeks, Chloe has been kicking and screaming on her way to school. No amount of begging, cajoling, bribing and threatening seemed to work. At first, we thought it was just a phase that she'll get over in a few days. But it's been a week and she's still at it. Every morning, a drama scene unfolds in front of our house, as Chloe cries for the whole neighborhood to hear. She doesn't want to go to school, she said. Why? Here are her answers:

1. School is boring.
2. She's having a hard time.
3. One classmate accidentally hit her while the classmate was dancing.
4. A group of girls refuse to play with her. (not true, said teacher)
5. She wants to stay home with shobe.
6. A classroom yaya is mad at her. (again, no truth behind this, accdg. to teacher)

Then teacher told us that Chloe has been going to the bathroom six times in THIRTY MINUTES. To pee. With her UTI history, we brought her in for a long overdue ultrasound of the pelvic area to see if her UTI is back. Nope, everything normal down there, said the pediatric sonologist.

We've sat down with her, spent time with just her, talked with her -- all to no avail. She kept giving us different reasons on why she refuses to go to school.

Until one day, her teacher texted that Chloe finally revealed the real reason why she doesn't want to go to school. She said, it's because I go to work so often. And when I'm at home, I STILL work AND stay with shobe. So she wants to stay at home so that she can be with me AND shobe.

(Insert sound of heart breaking here...)

:(

Reminded me of an article I recently came across in PDI. Something about teaching our children not to be sad over the fact that their parents have to work. I am working for our family business and working for the business that my husband and I started at the same time. I'm still breastfeeding Margaux (and I guess Chloe sees that as time that could've been better spent with her instead). I'm in the middle of preparing a birthday party for Margaux. Yes, I have to admit, in terms of priority, time with Chloe has taken a backseat. Most nights, when she asks me to read her a bedtime story, I have to break up the story in three parts, because my eyes are half closed by the time we get to the happily ever after part. Other nights, I am so delighted with Margaux's new milestones (siting up, standing up, cruising, walking) that I forget about Chloe's own milestones. And when we do notice the new words she knows, it's almost always met with a negative reaction. Because the new words she learns are either from the older kids in our neighborhood or from the yaya (who shares her rich vocabulary of salitang kanto with our daughter).

For now, Mike and I have been extra careful with how we divide our time with our daughters. We've been paying more attention to Chloe, and have been giving her things to look forward to for finishing school. Like, since she loves being 'the best achi' to Margaux, we told her that when she comes home from school, her task is to tell her shobe EVERYTHING she learned for the day. Or, she can open one surprise AFTER she comes home from school. Subtle, right? Not a direct go-to-school-or-else order.

Here's hoping that the shy green eyed monster will soon go away.

H20 Hotel and Manila Ocean Park staycation

One of my resolutions for this year is to travel more. Last weekend, we went for a staycation in H20 Hotel, much to the delight of the little ones.

Excited to check in.


Can you see the excitement in her eyes? She LOVES to be in charge of our luggage, good for us!


Finally! Our room! This was the first room assigned to us. There were complimentary potato chips and soda. Mike ate the chips in this room.


My brother's room. He got upgraded because their original room smelled like cigarette smoke. Do you see my hubby? He's wearing white, and munching on the complimentary chips. He got the chips in this room too.


Look at the size of their bathtub! The little one wanted to sleep there!


My dad gave us his room instead. Cool way to wake up in the morning! Do you see the complimentary chips? Do I really have to say who took it? Hahahahha.


Gwa-kong with the kids. I love this photo.


By the bay

And my favorite part of the staycation was:
I think I went back a total of three times for their breakfast buffet. No, it wasn't that good. Just that I'm a sucker for unlimited garlic rice, corned beef, sausages and eggs. Plus, their laksa was good too!

It was a very welcome breather for me, what with all the maid dramas happening in our house. Now, on to planning our summer vacation!

Paper Lanterns

I was so excited to light up these paper lanterns. I really was. Mike told me how to do it: 1. Look for the wick. If you can't find it, just light up the whole waxy part. 2. Release. 3. Enjoy the show. That's so easy, anyone can do it, right?

So one windy Monday evening, I told Chloe to call her friends so they can watch the paper lantern show. One lantern only. Hahahah. Her yaya lit up the wick and we waited as the hot air started to fill up the insides of the paper lantern. When the lantern was good and ready to go, one yaya said, "Naku, ang lakas ng hangin, pano kung mapunta sa bahay ng kapitbahay? Baka masunog ang bahay!"

So there I was, holding a paper lantern which was growing increasingly hot by the second, afraid to let it go. All the what ifs went into my mind. What if it burned our house? What if it burned the neighbor's house? Or, or, what if it doesn't burn any of the houses in our neighborhood but lands on a faraway house on its way down? While all these what ifs were going on in my mind, the fire inside the lantern grew bigger and bigger until finally,the paper lantern burned itself down.

Problem solved.

Seriously, it wasn't until I read this that I realized how risky and dangerous releasing those paper lanterns could have been. Buti na lang the yaya said something! Otherwise, this post would not have had a happy ending.

Brother Ducky

Donating breastmilk

Haven't updated this site for quite a while now. But I just wanted to share this. I'm donating 100oz of breastmilk. 100!! ONE HUNDRED!! How in the world did I make a hundred ounces of breastmilk? After all my worries of diminishing milk supply, here I am donating a hundred ounces of breastmilk! Wheeeeeeee!

Baby is a Lady

When I call Chloe 'baby,' she ALWAYS answers, "But I'm not a baby anymore mama. I'm a big girl na!"

:(

But then, Chloe baby, I asked you to make ten wishes for Ninang Liza's birthday (looooong story), and your answers made me wish you'll stay our baby forever.

1. I wish for papa to play with me.
2. I wish for papa to swim with me.
3. I wish for papa to go out with me.
4. I wish to eat fruit jelly.
5. I wish shobe Margaux will grow up.
6. I wish shobe Margaux will play with me.
7. I wish to go to Disneyland.
8. I wish for mama to reach the sky.
9. I wish shobe will sleep everyday so she can grow up.

I only got 9 wishes. I can't remember the 10th.

See baby? Hearing your wishes brought tears to my eyes. Such innocent desires. :) I know, it won't be long before you start wishing for serious, more adult things. So please, grant mommy's wish... I wish you won't grow up so fast. :(

*image from gettyimages.com

"The Mother's Prayer for its Daughter"

Got this from Daphne Osena's blog:


"The Mother's Prayer for its Daughter" by Tina Fey

First, Lord: No tattoos. May neither Chinese symbol for truth nor Winnie-the-Pooh holding the FSU logo stain her tender haunches.

May she be Beautiful but not Damaged, for it’s the Damage that draws the creepy soccer coach’s eye, not the the Beauty.

When the Crystal Meth is offered,

May she remember the parents who cut her grapes in half

And stick with Beer.

Guide her, protect her

When crossing the street, stepping onto boats, swimming in the ocean, swimming in pools, walking near pools, standing on the nearby subway platform, crossing 86th Street, stepping off of boats, using mall restrooms, getting on and off escalators, driving on country roads while arguing, leaning on large windows, walking in parking lots, riding Ferris wheels, roller-coasters, log flumes, or anything called “Hell Drop,” “Tower of Torture,” or “The Death Spiral Rock N’ Zero G Roll featuring Aerosmith,” and standing on any kind of balcony ever, anywhere, at any age.

Lead her away from Acting but not all the way to Finance.

Something where she can make her own hours but still feel intellectually fulfilled and get outside sometimes

And not have to wear high heels.

What would that be, Lord? Architecture? Midwifery? Golf course design? I’m asking You because if I knew, I’d be doing it, Youdammit.

May she play the Drums to the fiery rhythm of her Own Heart with the sinewy strength of her Own Arms, so she need Not Lie With Drummers.

Grant her a Rough Patch from twelve to seventeen.

Let her draw horses and be interested in Barbies for much too long,

For Childhood is short -- a Tiger Flower blooming

Magenta for one day --

And Adulthood is long and Dry-Humping in Cars will wait.

O Lord, break the Internet forever,

That she may be spared the misspelled invective of her peers

And the online marketing campaign for Rape Hostel V: Girls Just Wanna Get Stabbed.

And when she one day turns on me and calls me a Bitch in front of Hollister,

Give me the strength, Lord, to yank her directly into a cab in front of her friends,

For I will not have that Shit. I will not have it.

And should she choose to be a Mother one day, be my eyes, Lord,

That I may see her, lying on a blanket on the floor at 4:50 a.m., all-at-once exhausted, bored, and in love with the little creature whose poop is leaking up its back.

“My mother did this for me once,” she will realize as she cleans feces off her baby’s neck.

“My mother did this for me.” And the delayed gratitude will wash over her as it does each generation and she will make a Mental note to call me. And she will forget.

But I’ll know, because I peeped it with Your God eyes.

Amen.

So true. Funny and poignant at the same time.