Of Stars and Flowers

When I got home last night, napansin ko na may star ang aking little boy. Siyempre, excited akong marinig ang kuwento niya kung bakit siya binigyan ng star ni teacher today.

Me: Wow, anak, may star ka!
Mako: Opo. Kasi kapag nagsabi ng 3 flowers o kaya madami, may star. Kapag 2 lang po or 1 or 0, wala pong star.
Me: Ano ba ang sinabi mong flowers kay teacher?
Mako: Madami po. Rose, yellow bell, sunflower, sampaguita, ilang-ilang, and gumamela. Kaya may star po ako.

>> Siyempre, tumatumbling sa tuwa ang Nanay. Ang sarap-sarap naman turuan ng batang 'to! Parang sponge! :)

Oo nga pala, my little darling boy also happily announced last night na "line leader" daw siya sa school kahapon. This is big news for us because our little darling boy is also our Mr. Shy Guy. Pati si Daddy na busy sa pagbabasa ay biglang tumigil dahil sa narinig niya.

Daddy: (excited) Wow, line leader ka kanina sa school? Wow! Ano ba ang ginagawa ng line leader?
Me: (excited din) Sige nga, show Mommy and Daddy kung ano ang ginagawa ng line leader.
Mako: (smiling shyly) Basta... basta line leader ako.

>> Hahaha! Owkei fine. Let's celebrate pa din, anak! Woohoo! Line leader kami! Haha. :)

Ligo

While taking a bath...

Mako: Mommy, paano po naliligo ang baby sa loob ng tummy ng Mommy?

>> Ummm... nasaan na ba ang tatay ng batang 'to? Saklolo! :P

34 on 23

Yes, I turned 34 last Sunday. There are times when I still can’t believe I am on my 30s already. Parang kelan lang, college student lang ako. Parang kelan lang, kapag may mga gatherings, ako lagi ang youngest or isa sa mga bata sa batch. Ngayon, isa na ako sa mga ina-ate. Kaloka!

Anyway, my birthday celebration was very simple but because I spent it with my boys, I was very happy and felt loved. We heard mass at Sto. Domingo Church (11am). I thanked the Lord for all the blessings He has given me, especially for the gift of a happy marriage. I prayed for good health so I can continue to take care of my hubby and our kids. After the mass, we had lunch at Gerry’s Grill. We had sisig, grilled tuna belly, chicken skin, and pork bbq (as requested by the little guy). The kuyas had mais con yielo while I ordered leche flan for dessert. We enjoyed our lunch so much we forgot to take pictures. Simot na simot din ang mga plates. Haha! J

We then went to SM Centris because I wanted to check out the tiangge. As you know by now, hindi ako mahilig bumili ng mamahaling bagay.  Low-maintenance, ‘ika nga.  Masaya na ako sa mga bagay-bagay na nabibili sa tiangge. J  Unfortunately, I didn’t find anything I liked so we transferred to SM North EDSA because the kuyas wanted to buy shirts. Hubby let me buy perfumes because (1) paubos na ang pabango ko, (2) ‘ yun na ang kanyang birthday gift, and (3) sayang ang 35% discount!  I was very happy.  We bought a mango roll from Red Ribbon before going home. We also bought lechon manok from Baliwag. Simpleng buhay pero masaya.

When we got home, it was plantsa time for me. Hubby naman had our car washed. The Kuyas studied and prepared their things for school. Si bunso, happy nang makipaglaro with his cousins.

My birthday dinner at home was spaghetti, the chicken that we bought from Baliwag and the mango roll from Red Ribbon. We gave half of it to my in-laws (katabi lang namin ang bahay).  After dinner, I had some time to check my Facebook account and thank my family and friends who posted birthday greetings on my wall.

I know it was nothing grand. No big party. No expensive gift. But I feel loved and blessed. I am happy and thankful. I have gifts that money can’t buy. I have a wonderful husband. I have beautiful and intelligent kids. I have supportive friend and relatives.

The only thing I pray for every night is to always be blessed with good health. I want to live long because I want to be always there for my husband and our children. Not for myself, oh Lord, but for my family. Always for my family.

Summer Lessons for Beginners

Our little boy will start preschool this coming school year. He's our little shy guy so Hubby and I decided it would be best for him to take summer classes for beginners to prepare him for school.

We enrolled him at St. Mary's Angels College (where his kuyas went for preschool and elementary education). We were one of the early birds who signed up for the lessons, hence were able to avail of the limited free slots. Normally, one would pay P850 for the entire program (13 sessions). Very affordable pa rin! :)

Anyway, I didn't take a leave off from work to be with him on his first day. Bad mommy ba? No naman. My little guy is 1,000x more maarte when I am around. Last year, he didn't want me to leave the room. He didn't even want to take his seat. Gusto niya kandong siya sa akin. Hanuba. Fail talaga. So this year, I decided to let him go with his Ate Ging. I talked to him last night about going to school and agreed naman that his Ate Ging will be taking him to school but won't be allowed inside the classroom. Instead, she will be waiting for him outside. Oo naman daw. Tingnan natin later. Haha. #fingerscrossed

Here's a picture of Mako's uniform. :)


This one naman is the apron (or whatever you call it) which he will use during art sessions. Nakakaloka lang because of all colors, pink pa yung napunta sa amin. Buti na lang his cousin got a red one. Makikipagpalit na lang kami, bilang girl naman yung cousin niya.


Summer Lessons for Beginners start today and will end on April 27 (Friday). Classes are grouped according to age (2s class, 3s class, etc). The kids have their official shirt which you can buy along with the Summer Kit for only P350. The kit contains the official shirt, apron and all other school supplies the kids will use during the course. :)

Mako's Favorite Pose

This is Mako's current favorite pose. Hubby and I do not know who taught him that basta everytime we take pictures of the lil guy, automatic ang kamay niyang naggaganyan. Haha! :)

Back to Reality

5:51am - I clocked in for work today after the five-day long weekend. Where did the weekend go? *sigh*

I miss my little boy already. How can I not miss my cutiepie? Look at how adorable he is! #no1fansimommy

The weekend is never long enough. Sometimes I wish I didn't have to go to work so I can spend the whole day at home looking after my kids and our home. However, I also want to help Hubby naman sa finances ng family. Haaay, I tell myself a few years to go na lang... we'll get there. Slowly but surely.

Dear Miko, Maki and Mako,

Konting tiis pa... ma-a-achieve din ni Mommy ang goal niya for the family and she will always be at home waiting for you when you come home from school. She'll learn how to cook and prepare delicious meals for you and Daddy.

Promise ko 'yan, mga anak. Just a few more years, my boys. :)

Love,
Mommy

Mako and the Alphabet

Here's my baby showing Mommy how well he knows the alphabet already. This video was taken when we was only three years and one month old. :)

Brick Game

Remember when I told you about how Mako cried because he wanted us to get him an iPad?

I tried to console him by offering other toys including this:

(Hubby and I bought this for only P65. We thought the Kuyas would like it because they are so crazy over Facebook's Tetris. Pero fail. When we showed this to them, they were not interested. Hindi daw colored?! Kaloka.)

For a moment he stopped crying to look at the new toy. Unfortunately, when I turned it on the sound was too loud so Mako started crying again and said,"No, Mommy. Noooo! Ayaw ko nyan. 'Di 'yan iPad! Ingay 'yan, Mommy. Ingay!"

Kaloka! Anak, noong panahon ni Mommy, astig ka kapag may ganyan ka. 9999 in 1 pa 'yan o! :)

Anyway, Hubby and I explained to the little guy that we cannot afford to buy an iPad at the moment. Our little darling stopped crying and was back to his usual cheerful self after we told him that, for that evening, he gets to choose what to watch on TV (read as: Disney Junior's Timmy Time, Word World, Jungle Junction and Little Einsteins).

PS: Pero hindi naman sayang ang bili namin dyan sa Brick Game. Meron namang natuwa... si Yaya. Aba, aba. Pangarap pala ni Yaya ang magkaroon ng Brick Game. Ayan natupad na. Hahaha! :)

Our Little Helper

I wrote about how our little boy enjoys helping his Mom and Dad in his own little way here.

Here's another picture of our cutie patootsie:


Aaaawwww... His Daddy and I kept telling him Daddy can push the cart so he can walk and get items with Mommy but our little helper insisted. I just had to take this picture.

The Day Mako Pretended to be Asleep

It was already way past his bedtime so I firmly told my three-year old I had to turn off the TV so he can sleep. After a few minutes...


But I know my little boy from head to toe so I knew he was up to something. After a few pokes and tickles here and there, the little boy looked like this. Aha!



You just have to try harder next time little guy. Hahaha. :)

GMA

One evening, I was busy checking my Facebook and Twitter account while Mako was, as usual, focused on his writing. Suddenly, he called me and said, "Mommy, alam ko saan ka office. Dito o, GMA."

And he showed me this...

Aaaawwww... ikaw na talaga, anak! Ikaw na! :)

PS:
Thought bubble: If I showed this to our big boss, would he have given me a bonus? Haha. :)

Mako Learns How to Write

Months ago, Mako learned how to write the alphabet with a little help from me. And I mean little. Usually, Mommies would first show the letter to the kid then hold his/her hand to guide him/her through the strokes. This is how I taught the Kuyas. Mako, however, is different. He would let me show him how the letter looks but refuses to let me hold his hand to show him the strokes. He wants to figure out how to write the letter all by himself. Kaloka but in fairness to him and much to my surprise, he was able to do it.

Here's our little boy's first attempt to write the letter "A..."


... and here's his I-told-you-I-can-do-it-alone look.


Like me, Mako is also very determined. When he wants to learn something, he focuses on it and doesn't stop until he gets everything correctly. Because of this, he quickly learned how to recognize and write all the letters of the alphabet leaving me and Hubby in awe. Given his remarkable interest, I decided it was for him to learn how to write his name. At natutunan naman niya ito... agad-agad!



What was even more bongga, after a few tries, he was able memorize the letters and write his name on his own.

Pero hindi pa pala tapos ang ating bida. He wanted to learn more. He wanted to know how to write the names of Daddy, Mommy, Kuya Miko and Kuya Mako.





I am one proud and happy Mommy. :)

PS:
Dear Mako, may you always have the passion for learning and the drive to become excellent in everything that you do.

Our Little Helper

Here's a picture of our little boy helping Daddy put all the items in the counter. My heart is filled with pride and joy every time I see our little darling eager to help out in his own little way.

Mako and Haircuts

Ganyan kami noon...


Ganito na kami ngayon!


No more iyakan, he stayed put and behaved well the entire time. Yey! Congratulations, my darling Mako. Because of this recent achievement, you are now officially a member of the #gupit-sa-murang-halaga club! :)

Cool Shirt for Mako

Hubby and I found this shirt and bought it right away for our little darling. :)

Ang Hiling ni Mako

Last week, Mako came home crying. Ayaw tumahan ni Kulit. Here's his drama moment:

Reason for crying? He wants an iPad. Oh yes, our little bulol baby declared very clearly that he wants an iPad. I almost fainted. At three years old ha. Dinaig ako sa pangarap, grabe. I'm so sorry, anak. You're too young for very expensive things. Let's get something else na lang... a new toy dinosaur perhaps? :)

Mga Likha ni Mako

At three years old, promising si Mako sa pagiging artist. Here are some of his works:

"Baboy Pig"


"Ephant" --> This is my personal favorite. May perspective o! Hindi ko maiisip ito. Pwedeng logo. #proudnanay


"Fahwer"

"Si Haring Araw at Ang Aming Tahanan"

Mana sa Daddy at mga Kuya. :)

Ofc na. Lab u.

"Ofc. na. Lab u."

Every weekday morning, I wait for this text from my Hubby (of course!). The message may be short and simple but to a wife and a mommy like me, this means her hubby was able to drop off the Kuya safely to school and arrived for work safe and sound as well. I say a quick prayer of thanks to Him who watches over me and my family.

So this morning, the most-awaited text came and now I can start working on my deliverables for the day with a happy heart knowing that my loved ones are safe. :)

Son #3's Love-Hate Relationship with Jollibee

"Abeeee!"

Mako squeals with delight everytime he sees anything with Jollibee's face on it. He gets excited, flashes his uber cute smile, jumps up and down, and even makes silly faces just to show how happy he is to see Jollibee! Hubby and I love seeing our little guy this happy that we have started collecting Jollibee toys and stuff for our little boss via promos under these Jollibee clubs:



Recently, we got invited to a Jollibee kiddie party. Hubby and I looked forward to seeing how our little guy will react upon seeing his favorite character up close and personal. Here are some photos taken outside the Jollibee store while we were waiting for the party to start. Ayaw niya umalis sa tabi ni Jollibee!



Mako was well-behaved during the party. He's my little shy guy so most of the time, he was just beside his Daddy watching the other kids play. Finally, it was time to meet Jollibee!



Anak, anyare? Akala ko ba you like Jollibee? Nakakaloka, he cried when he saw the mascot and refused to have his picture taken with Jollibee! Look, we couldn't come near Jollibee because he was practically crying his lungs out!

Sa ngayon, he still likes his Jollibee toys and still gets excited everytime he sees Jollibee ads, stores, and pictures. Pero after what happened at the party, Hubby and I know na may hangganan ang pagkagusto niya kay Jollibee. Haha! =)

Great Finds Over The Weekend

Hubby and I love to read and we would like our kids to develop the same love for reading. Pero kuripot din kami so we usually go to Book Sale for good books at more affordable prices. Today, we visited Book Sale at SM North EDSA and found these:

For Hubby: Ken Follett's Pillar of the Earth for only PhP97.00

For myself, I got: (1) Raising Self-Reliant Children In A Self-Indulgent World (Php25.00),

(2) The 30-Day Low-Carb Diet Solution (PhP 50.00), and

(3) The 90/10 Weight-Loss Plan(PhP 50.00)

For the little guy, we bought a look-and-find book, Ice Age Dawn of the Dinosaurs (PhP 95.00)

We happily went home with five good books for only PhP317.00! Hooray for great finds! =)