MFEO

How was your holidays?

Gosh, I miss blogging. My blogging life obviously (which includes my paid posts) has taken a back seat… so has my facebook career. Hehe.

Here’s what’s keeping me/us busy:

• Mini-parties. Contrary to what I thought, our holidays have been full. I thought that since we were on “house arrest,” our friends will just go on with the kitakits/parties sans us. But, they fixed their schedules so that they can visit us. Nice talaga! So, on different occasions we had friends over for either lunch or dinner.
• Breastfeeding… err… pumping milk that is. I have been pumping milk since Issie came because she doesn’t want to latch (which is really a big let down for me). Actually, I’m blaming CGH for it. They bottle fed Issie while in she was in the nursery. Since I had a C-section, they did not bother to bring me to the nursery to feed her. After I was discharged, my OB prescribed some meds to me which prevented me from breastfeeding her. Haay. I learned later that UST Hospital cup feeds newborns at the nursery and brings the mothers to them for feeding. Next time talaga, I’ll find a better hospital. Well, that’ll be 3-4 years from now pa naman. Hehe. I’m thankful for a good milk supply. Although at night we still give her a bottle or two of formula. I’m still trying to store more milk para I can exclusively feed her na lang. Kaya ngayon, best friend ko ang sabaw. Bow.
• Hospital check-ups. I still have to go back to my OB this January for another check-up. Issie has had two check-ups and immunizations already. On the 22nd, she’ll have a 6-in-1 vaccine. Tapang naman ng baby ko, when her pedia sticks the needle she only cries for a short while, tapos nun, ala na.
• Baby Stuff. We been going to SM San Lazaro every once in a while to get Issie some of the things she needs. Latest addition is her Cosco Geoby Baby Stroller – gearing up for her baptism.
• Preps for Issie’s Baptism. So far, we’ve booked the church (UST) and the reception venue (Chinatown’s Best Food Resto) for the 26th already. Thanks to my best friend who had her daughter’s baptism there too. Hehe. I made simple invites via Microsoft Publisher and had them sent out already. I have yet to get the souvenirs and Issie’s baptism clothes.
• Salon Visit. A friend told me that postpartum depression sometimes comes when the mother doesn’t feel too good about herself. So, I made it a point to visit the salon and get my hair fixed. I also had my nails done. Ayun, feeling pretty na. Haha!
• Wedding. One of my friends, Lalaine, got married last January 4. She prepared for this wedding for over a year. Being an overseas bride (UK) and a not very hands-on bride (hehe!), she would often ask me q’s on the preps. I was one of her candle sponsors and my mom, one of her principal sponsors. The wedding turned out great. More pics here. Sayang lang, some of our friends are abroad already. Hi Anne, Cathy and Mai! Sino na kayang next? Paging Andrew, Mai and Beej. Peace. Hehe.

• and of course Issie! I’m getting obsessed already. Haha! I created a multiply and a friendster account for her already. She’s smiling na! She would coo whenever you talk to her. Kakaaliw talaga. Sarap ng may baby. When she smiles, burado na lahat ng pagpupuyat.

Joven arrived from Singapore last Friday. Yay! His flight was an hour late due to some technical problems. At least, he arrived safely. His luggage went over for almost a kilo, good thing he was spared the excess baggage fee. Good thing also that his carry-on luggage was not weighed, or he would have paid extra for that. Hehe!

Last Saturday, we spent the whole day at home. The morning was spent tidying up before our guests arrived. Our friend, Brymac arrived after lunch. He’s a serious photo enthusiast and we will be his very willing subjects. Hehe! We have been talking about this shoot for over a month ago but we figured that it would be better to have it done when I’m on my last trimester already. So last Saturday, we spent over two hours doing various shots until we can’t think of poses anymore. Haha! Many thanks Brymac! Will upload pictures soon.

After the photo shoot, it’s Wii time with Brymac and the B’s. The rest of the afternoon was spent playing Wii (screaming at Resident Evil 4 and laughing our heads off at Wii Play) and later, MTG (for Joven and Benj). Beej and I tried watching a Korean movie (Unstoppable Marriage) but she ended up asleep and I, in turn, had my nails done instead.

Sunday was spent shopping for baby stuff. I was quite unsure of what to buy (in terms of clothes) because my friends keep telling me that newborns grow fast. So, I asked my mom to accompany us to the mall. We ended up buying sleeveless tie-sides, short-sleeved tie-sides, long-sleeved tie-sides, pajamas, bonnets, mittens, socks, hooded blankets cum towels, towelettes, and bigkis. Since SM has their baby sale until the end of the month, we took advantage and bought Issie’s bottles, sterilizer and my breast pump. Joven and I talked about buying a new crib (we have an old one, which was my nephew’s, but we were advised to get a new one) and I told him the Graco cribs I saw on the Net. We were just supposed to look for one but we ended up buying one! Hehe! We both think it’s a good buy anyway. I can’t find the exact model but it looks a lot like this (but in lilac and yellow). It has the same features except for the diaper organizer which our model has. We still have a number of things we need to buy for Issie but that will come in the following weeks. Exciting!

For two nights already, I can’t seem to pull myself away from the laptop. The reason? Sims 2 Deluxe!

Seventh Month

I have just entered my last trimester — baby and I are on our final stretch! I’m quite excited to see our little angel but also quite apprehensive about childbirth. I know that in God’s grace, we’ll make it through. Anyway, how has my life changed in the last month? Here are a few examples:

• Picking-up things on the floor has become a chore.
• Putting my undies can be quite difficult (Haha!)
• Shaving my legs is a challenge.
• I have given up on doing my nails and have sought professional help for them.
• Going around and bumping into things are inevitable.
• Leg cramps!
• I have to catch my breath every time I go up the station to take the train.
• Baby movements — likot! (which I love by the way)

There’s more but I can’t recall most of them. I’m surprised how fast time flies. Soon we’ll be having our first Christmas with baby! Weee!

Baby Stuff

We haven’t shopped for any baby stuff yet; probably when Joven comes back from SG. I’m keen on breastfeeding baby. Although I have heard “horror” stories about their breastfeeding experience, but knowing that benefits still outweigh the bad experiences, I still want to do it. With Yax’s help, I think we’re getting an Avent Isis for our pumping needs. We’re also thinking of getting this and this. We also plan to open a bank account for baby. We’ll probably do that this Saturday.

Digicam

I want a new digital camera. I’m thinking of getting a point and shoot camera with the blogging money I’m earning. But that will probably be in a month or so. Sana! But I still don’t know what to get. Any ideas? Maybe you can recommend something.

Last Wednesday, my college friends and I had an impromptu visit to Mem’s place. She gave birth to baby Reena Emanuelle last June 25. Baby Reena’s so taba! Kakagigil! Even her mom describes her as baby siopao. Here are some photos taken at Mem’s place:

Mommy Mem and Baby Reena

Newlyweds — Anne and Joseph

Group Pic — See how big I am!

I had a blast!

Thanks to those who greeted me on my birthday. I feel so blessed to have great friends like you. Thank you, thank you!

Now for my SG kwento:

Joven and I left Manila for SG last Friday (Feb 23) armed with our Jetstar tickets. We went to the airport less than 3 hours before our flight, but not before dropping by the nearest Smart Wireless Center to activate Joven’s mobile phone roaming.

Airport departure procedure was quite smooth. We stopped for a quick snack at the airport. Why is airport food so freakingly expensive?? Haay. Anyway, we were so hyped that we didn’t even care (that much).

Jetstar was on time. I was quite amused (and pleased) that the airline crew (including the pilot and co-pilot) was all female. It was the first time I have been on a plane with a female pilot. Cool!

We arrived in SG a little after 1pm and immediately hailed a cab. The driver was so friendly. I was very impressed that he knew a lot about the Philippines especially about our political history. He knows who our last 5 presidents were, the kind of rulers they were and what happened during their regime. I was quite embarrassed that I knew nothing of their political history except for Lee Kuan Yew.

He brought us to our hotel (Hotel Royal). I’m very much satisfied by how our hotel looks like. The staff are friendly, the place looks grand and the rooms are spacious and neat. For a 3-star hotel it’s really nice.

After unpacking, Joven and I headed to Newton Circus (a hawker centre). The driver told us that it was near our place. Well… after walking for 15mins, it wasn’t so near after all. Kulang lang siguro kami sa exercise. Hehe.

We ate a sumptous late lunch. Lemon chicken, rice and tiger prawns. Ang dami! Ang saya! at Ang mahal! I think it was the most expensive meal we had in SG. I won’t say how much we spent for it pero it was kindda outrageous. Haha.

Since it was quite early, we decided to head to Orchard Road to check out the malls there. We hopped on the “nearest” MRT station and found ourselves in a very, very busy Orchard. Apparently, it was the Chingay parade! Wonderful! The floats were really colorful and eye-catching. The dancers were graceful and their costumes matches the floats ahead of them. Being small, I had difficulty watching the parade… tiptoeing does not help also. Haay. And then I saw a man holding a chunk of ice cream. I remembered an article about the S$1 ice creams in Orchard. Ayun! May malapit! Pretty soon, Joven and I were holding our own. Hehe. After finishing it off, we decided to enter the malls. Luckily, every last Friday of the month was Orchard’s midnight sale. Cool!

Planning our itinerary a few days before, I told Joven that we’ll be heading to Sentosa on Saturday (Feb. 24). And we did! We both enjoyed it a lot.

Navigating through the MRT map I printed from the Internet, we found our way to Harbourfront. It says in the website that there are supposed to be buses going to Sentosa. We saw them passing by but we can’t find the bus stop. And then I looked up and saw the cable cars. Yahoo! Cable car tayo! Joven told me flatly, “No way!” After much coaxing, he relented. It was easier to find the cable cars than the bus stop (which we eventually found after Joven agreed to ride the cable car). We entered the ticket area and saw that they also offer tours. We initially chose the package 6 but it seems the woman in the counter was in a hurry and we did not understand each other clearly, we ended up with tour package 4.

Up in the cable car, Joven just froze. He dared not look down nor move in his seat. Beads of sweat formed on his foreheard while I was exclaiming how nice and beautiful the view was. I love my husband for that. He knows how much I was so excited to ride a cable car, he agreed even though he was so scared of heights.

Our first stop was the Jewel Box. Nothing much really. It is Mount Faber. It has a nice view of Sentosa from afar. It has a nice viewing deck, a nice resto, a nice park and a nice koi pond. I have never seen kois as big as that. Aliw!

We rode another cable car to Sentosa. Upon arrival, we were met by our uber enthusiastic tour guide.

First stop was Butterfly Park and Insect Kingdom. Joven and I were both amazed by their collection. The insects are quite scary but the butterflies are adorable! We spent a good amount of time in each section. Nakakaaliw kasi.

Next stop was the Underwater World. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! Joven and I had the most fun in this attraction. Imagine petting baby stingrays and sharks. I couldn’t bear to put my hand inside the wading pool. Joven, in turn, was so excited touching them. The stingrays are particularly friendly. They would swim near the edge of the wading pool waiting to be touched. All the while this was happening, I can’t help but think of Steve Irwin. Not safe, not safe, not safe. But I know I was overreacting. Children were there, they were touching them. I can’t! I was soo scared. I think I was able to touch one of the stingrays. Or I’d like to believe so. Hehe. Everything there elicited oohs and aahs from us. From the giant fishes to the sand tiger shark. Wow.

After a quick lunch at Subway, we went to the next attraction – 4D Magix. The movie features Leslie Nielsen as a captain of a pirate ship. The 4D experience was FUN! I was laughing and screaming along with the people on the theater. Joven, on the other hand, was trying to get the same experience… he would put his feet under my seat and shift near me. Apparently his seat was broken and he didn’t experience the air on our necks and the “insects flying under our seats.” Hehe.

Since we were in a hurry to get to the 3:30 Dolphin show we immediately rode the Sentosa buses. Very efficient. We got there 30 minutes before the show. We relaxed our very tired feet and waited for the show to start. It took them a while because the weather was not cooperating. Clouds started to form and pretty soon it was raining… hard. The dophins were adorable especially the pink ones. Unfortunately because of the weather, we were not able to get up close and personal with the dolphins. Haay.

There’s something about rains that makes you want to go home, so we decided to board a bus going back to the cable cars. Joven was hesitant to ride the cable car since it was raining. But when it stopped, he didn’t have a valid argument anymore. Hehe. So here we are in a bus, a wrong bus pala. We ended up touring the whole ground of Sentosa. Which was not really that bad since we got to see the giant Merlion up close. Huge!

We had a great time in Sentosa and I would surely love to go back. =)

While we waited for Joven’s officemate (who arrived that day) we fooled around at the hotel lobby. Hehe!

Next stop was a dinner date with Joven’s college friends, Tyrone and Arms (with Karen and mom). We went to a hawker centre which they frequent. The food was delish! We met the owner who very much resembles Don Flamenco in Punch Out. Arms gave him that nickname while DF was busy “touching” him. I really had a laughing fit. He even gave us the priviledge of a photo op with him. =P The boys ended the night with a bottle of Tiger beer.

The following day, we decided to head to the nearest church in our area, Novena Church. Ang daming pinoy! The mass was in english so we had no problems following it. There were slight differences from the usual mass here in Manila but it was easy to follow because they have a big projection screen.

After the mass, we headed to Little India to explore the area. We ended up shopping at Mustafa Centre. Ang mumura ng bilihin! We ended up with 6 bags of pasalubongs.

We took the loot back to our hotel and decided to head to Orchard to shop for clothes.

Here’s a happy couple with their Orchard loot:

Joven also gave me his birthday gift!

Crocs!

Weee!

Monday (my birthday!), Joven is gearing up for his first training day while I’m preparing my gear to explore SG on my own. I plan to spend my day at the Esplanade park and the Asian Civilizations Museum. I think I’m quite odd because I really enjoy museum tours. Anyway, my day started off seeing these beautiful places.

Unfortunately, the Asian Civilizations Museum was closed on Monday mornings. *Sigh* But that did not let my down, I rode the MRT to the National Museum of Singapore. The place was relatively new and I’m impressed by their National Museum. Cool! They have 4 living galleries (photography, film, food and fashion) and a big history gallery. They do not only play on the visual and auditory senses but with one’s olfactory sense as well. Aliw! What impressed me more was the companion they handed me when I entered the history gallery. The artifacts have no labels, all you have to do is enter the number in the companion and your “tour guide” will tell you a story about it. Now, how cool is that?

Here’s me happy in the museum. (I know, you’re not allowed to take pictures there. Hehe!)

After the museum tour, which was late afternoon already, I headed back to the hotel and took a long hot bubble bath. We were to meet an officemate and friend of mine who’s based in SG.

We arrived at the Raffles mall a little over 7pm and immedietely saw Elise and Jheng. We went to Ichiban (something) and had a sumptous dinner there. Elise and I ate very little because we can’t stop ourselves from talking. Hehe! It was fun seeing friends I haven’t seen for quite some time again. It was like seeing her just the other day.

Joven and I went to the hotel and had our quiet celebration. Earlier, I bought cake for us and he surprised me with dark chocolates. Thanks brad!

Unfortunately, it was time to go home.

My return flight was delayed for more than an hour. Joven had to get to work so I busied myself in Changi. Good thing Changi has a wide variety of entertainment. I watched TV and surfed the net. If the Xbox was near Terminal 1, I would definitely play. Hehe!

I fell in love with SG. I think you would too.

As if the photos here are not enough, here’s more.

The Couple

It has been more than a year (and 20+ pounds re-gained) since the train incident…

Still wow.

The Husband

Last Saturday, January 27, Dionne and I met with OJ, Bon, N93 (with Allan), Dhang and Irish. In that order. Hehe.

OJ was the early bird. According to Bon, he was already at Gateway at around 11AM, while everybody else came after 12PM. Meeting was set between 11 and 12… Nuninu.

When we got to the food court, OJ was munching on delectable french fries from NYFD. Then he left us to meet Bon downstairs. He was kind enough to offer us the half-full regular-sized bucket of fries. We were quite hungry by then that we couldn’t resist eating them… Nakakahiya naman kay OJ kaya we decided to buy large fries! Good thing too, since we still had to wait for the others.

Allan and his wonderful N93 arrived next. Seeing the N93 made me want to hide my N90 in shame…

We then decided to check out the movie schedules. Babel was it.

A few minutes later, Irish and Dhang joined us. Unfortunately, Dhang won’t be joining us for the movie because of more important people (drama, hehe). So it’s just 6 tickets for us at the center of row K, which I will later realize is a little too far. Row G would’ve been “optimal”. At least according to Richie’s theory that the best seats are those that are as far to the screen as the screen is tall. Whatever. Hehe.

Lunch was at Bellini’s. YEAH!

Dionne and Bon

OJ, Irish and Dhang

*Pics courtesy of N93 and Allan

Allan, at first, because he thought we were going to Marikina (Shoe Expo), then Gateway. He preferred the latter. OK… After a little explaining by the girls, he was in.

Before 3PM, we were on our way back to Gateway for the movie. I got 2 vanilla lattes for us from our favorite coffee shop, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.

On to the movie!

The movie was interesting. I got a bit disoriented at first, regarding the sequence of the events. But eventually got it. I must admit that I was more attentive with the parts with the Japanese girl… Haha!

After the movie, we went to Dionne’s new favorite clothes shop, F&H. She got a new office jacket at 50% off.

We also went to Bayo and Kamiseta and then Rustan’s, to look at wish bracelets, crocs sandals, and the new Wade. *drools*

Before going home, we dropped by Fully Booked to check out the expensive books… We went home with Orson Scott Card’s Shadow Puppets, a book on Spanish verbs for Dionne, and Dean Koontz’s The Husband.

The Mother

January 29 was Nanay’s 52nd birthday. We had lunch at Aristocrat’s at SM San Lazaro to celebrate this wonderful occasion. Mommie came with us. Jonjon, unfortunately, was not able to make it from Laguna. He better make up for it next time. Hehe. Meanwhile, Jayson came just before we left. He came from work and looked exhausted. He ate the supposed takeout chicken barbeque right there and then. I’ll be awaiting his libre from his sweldo. Nuninu.

Dionne, Mommie, Jeff, Nanay and Mae

Nananaba. Nuninu.

To Nanay, may you have good health and many more years to come! Happy birthday! We love you!