JD's Baptism

Ambilis talaga ng panahon, mag one month na si JD so we decided to have him baptized already. Like with R, we had him baptized at our village's parish. Requirements were:

1. Marriage certificate
2. Child's birth certificate
3. Pay the baptismal fee (all in all we paid Php700, JD had 10 godparents kasi)
4. Attend the pre-baptism seminar

For the reception, para maiba naman, we tried Kamay Kainan which was just walking distance from the church. Buffet per head costs P338. We got their baptismal package though para wala na ko masyado isipin. Unlike with R, andami kong DIY noon (isa pa lang naman kasi anak ko nun kaya I had more time in my hands). Apart from the food, the package (P24,900 for 50 pax plus P338 per additional head) includes:

1. Tarpaulin
2. Cake
3. 25 pcs Souvenirs (rosary)
4. Guest signature frame
5. Balloon decorations
6. 25 pcs Invitations

For the function room we had to pay an additional P7,000 since we got the biggest (120pax capacity).

The things I prepared nalang were:
1. E-invite (for FB and email)

2. Candles - aside from ribbons, I pasted sticker letters

3.  Souvenirs for the godparents - We got these polyester blankets from Landmark for P89 and wrapped them in paper ribbons.

and syempre our outfits all care of SM. Allow me to photoblog nalang the rest of the details and happenings below:

 Baptismal outfit

Mother and daughter OOTD

Katoliko na si JD

 With the ninongs and ninangs

Our growing family

 Daddy A leading the prayer before meals

 Thank you to all the guests for coming. Hope you enjoyed the sumptuous buffet.

 Our Catholic boy was well behaved and enjoyed the event.

 Thank you for the presents!

 To my dearest JD,

I hope you grow up to be God-fearing and responsible. We are here to support you all the way in whatever endeavor you choose to undertake in the future. A lot of the guests at your baptism commented that you look so much like your Lolo R. I hope you will also be inspired by the life he lead. Always remember that your Daddy, ate and I love you so much. God bless you always.

Love,

Mommy

 

June - July 2013 Round Up

JUNE 2013

June 2 – SM North after mass. Lunch at Tres for Mama’s birthday celeb. Food was great. We ordered Sinigang na spareribs, pinakbet, lengua and the Crispy pata on promo for Php33. Daddy A bought shoes, bought R socks for school, washable nail polish (from Girl Stuff) and elastic bands from Pink Shoppe. She played at Active Fun after she woke up from her nap.

June 3 – Check up. 109lbs. IE and Group B Strep swab. Still not dilating, cervix very much closed.

June 8 – R’s Kindermusik graduation. R was very participative. They had Nachos. Sad because it’ll be a long time before we go to Kindermusik again (when it's JD's turn). Attended the parent’s orientation at R's preschool in the afternoon. We found out that school started 3 days ago!

June 9 – SM Cubao and Alimall afterlunch. Bought mostly stuff for R. Bought her Disney Princess baunan, lots of leggings and jogging pants, white shirt (for PE). Then went to Savemore for her snacks and toiletries. That night R and I labeled all her stuff with her name, she enjoyed sticking her name tags.

June 10 – R’s “technically” first day at school. She was so excited and carried all her bags by herself. Prepared her baon of chips ahoy and grapes and orange juice. She didn’t cry and was ok to be left. Whenever I checked on her, she was listening intently to Teacher Mae or watching her classmates. Had my check up in the afternoon. Weighed 110lbs. IE was performed. Still not dilating, cervix was very much closed. Thought things over and weighed risks so I scheduled a repeat CS for Saturday. Wanted June 12, but OR charges plus 50% on holidays and Sundays.

June 12 – Rested at home with the family. Enjoyed and videoke and pizza. R enjoyed singing Super bass.

June 14 – Admitted at TMC for my scheduled repeat CS.

June 15 - Hello JD! Born 8:33am, 6 lbs. 10 oz., 19 inches. More about his birth story in another post.

June 16 – Spent Father’s day at TMC. Mama, bro C and R visited us at the hospital. Afterwards, they went to Manila Memorial Park to visit Papa.

June 18 – We're home.

June 19 – While watching Heat vs. Spurs Game 6 going into overtime. Sakto nakatulog sila pareho.

June 23 – JD's first mass at Claret, afterwards we went to Simone’s (my bestie's daughter) bonggang 1st birthday

 

June 30 – Get together with the badafs who visited JD and R

JULY 2013

July 3 – My inlaws: Daddy, Mommy and Ate W visited JD at home

July 6 – Registered for JD's baptism at Claret, and reserved Kamay-Kainan we got their baptismal package (see separate post on JD's baptism). Surprise flowers from Daddy A, para daw sa lahat ng hirap ko sa panganganak at pag-aalaga ng aming mga junakis. Huwaaaw ang sweet naman! Sana sinamahan mo na ng designer bag (joke lang)!

July 7 – Went to SM Cubao and bought our outfits for the baptism.

July 10 – R has Roseola. She had fever from Saturday til Monday (July 6-8), then rashes appeared today. 

April - May 2013 Round Up

How time flies! Three months of undocumented happenings in my life, simply cannot be. I made a vow to maintain this blog not only for the sheer pleasure of writing but to share with you and especially to my loved ones my ups and downs as well as to have something to read when I'm old and gray.

So to catch up, I'll be making a round-up of the past three months' escapades. For this post, I shall start where I left off, after the painful passing of Papa. Still in the grieving process (I'll write more about that in a separate post), but life has to go on.

APRIL 2013

April 26 – OB Check-up. Told Dra. about our recent ordeal. She performed an IE and requested for an ultrasound just to check if the baby's ok with all the stress I went through. Good thing everything was fine. However, I only weighed 103.5lbs. She also prescribed Isoxilan for preterm contractions. She also ordered the regular 3rd trim tests: FBS, CBC and Hemoglobin. Was so disappointed, baby wouldn’t show his face for the 3D/4D. Too bad, I guess it will just be a surprise.

April 27 – Day out with the badafs (R's ninangs) at Trinoma. We had lunch at Tokyo Tokyo, then some milk tea at Japanese Milk Tea. R enjoyed the rides with her ninangs. We went to UST after for photo ops (sort of maternity shoot).

April 28 – Lunch with Papa’s side of the family at Sumo Sam, Trinoma. R got to ride the carousel again. Mass in the afternoon with brother C, Mama and R. The gospel reading struck us, “I will be leaving you soon, but this message I leave you, love one another”. Also cried when I heard the communion song “Without seeing you”. Dinner at Tita Annie Lou’s house. R had so much fun specially with the rocking horse and puzzles, she even mentioned to Mama “Masaya ako dito lola”.

April 30 – We had R’s initial assessment at a preschool nearby. At first she was participative but after 20 minutes she wanted to play in the playground. After Tito D and Tito E (Papa's brothers) left the house, started sleeping at Mama/Papa’s house to ease the pain. R suddenly approached Mama and said “Lola, heaven na lolo”.

MAY 2013

 

May 4 – SM Cubao/Alimall with Tita C, Mama, R and Daddy A. R got to ride the carousel, but I almost fainted, good thing I was able to get a sugar rush from milk tea. Afterwards, R got to enjoy the arcade then we had snacks at the food court.

May 5 – Daddy A accompanied me for my FBS, CBC and Hemoglobin tests

May 9 – R’s check-up, bro C accompanied us. R cried for a bit after the Hepa A shot but was ok after she was given a lollipop by the pedia.

May 10 – OB Check-up. Weighed 104.5lbs. FBS, HBA1 were normal, but I was anemic. Dra. said Iron supplements should be twice a day. Baby was fine. Dra. suggested an ultrasound at 36/37 weeks if I still wanted to proceed with vaginal birth after CS (VBAC). Had R's ID pictures taken and continued R’s assessment at her preschool. Teacher Kaye explained R's assessment. I'll write a separate post on the results of her assessment and how to choose the right preschool for your kids and how to determine if they're ready for school.

May 11 – SM Cubao with Daddy A and R. Bought nursing pads, maternity pads, nipple cream, spouts for R (cause she bites the Avent nipples), towels for JD and non-toxic make-up kit for R. We had meryenda at Pizza Hut.

May 12 - Mothers Day at Trinoma after mass. Ate at Banana Leaf. R rode the carousel again and had a number of games at Timezone.

May 14 – Went back to work. Staff surprised me and Ms. M with a cake each for mothers’ day.

May 18 – Trinoma. Bought magic sing chip, light bulbs, had meryenda at BK (R loved the sundae with fries, she kept saying “mmm sarap”), Timezone for R she also saw the Lactacyd babies mascot. Bought car fresheners, shopped for nursing bras, tanks and tubes, Daddy A bought perfume again at Penshoppe.

May 19 – Sunday Mass. After lunch, we went to Manila Memorial Park to purchase Papa's lapida.

May 21 – Had a nice dream. We were all in the US, Papa was there alive. We were all happy. Maybe it’s his way of saying no matter where you go we will always be together.

May 24 – Lola’s 1^st death anniversary. Went to Loyola to visit. Then dinner at Lola's house. R and her cousins had fun, specially when my cousin B brought out the bouncy castle and slide.

May 26 – Sunday Mass. After lunch, we accompanied Mama to Kamay Kainan and Tramway to check if we could make reservations for Papa's 40th. Afterwards, got into an accident on the way to Rocco’s (son of my former co-worker and friend) baptismal celebration at Racks, Paseo de Magallanes. Saw my other friends Jaja, Angie and their families.

May 27 – OB Check up. Weighed 109.5lbs. Dra performed an IE, cervix still closed. We talked about VBAC. She made me go for an ultrasound of the lower uterine segment and also to the APEC for my birthing plan. Based on my ultrasound, the uterus lining around the scar was still thick (I'll think about it). Baby’s BPS was 8/8 and estimated to weigh 3033 kg. Got my 2nd dose of anti-Tetanus shot. Packed the hospital bag (more about this in another post).

May 30 – Celebrated Mama’s birthday

May 31 - Papa's 40th. Mass at Divine Mercy and dinner at Tramway. It was just kind of sad, we were at a place where we shared a lot of precious moments and now we are here but for a different occasion. However, we felt how much loved Papa is because we were able to fill the 120 capacity function room.

On everyday politics

You may wonder about this type of post here samantalang hindi naman mala The Professional Heckler  ang category ng blog ko. Also, it isn't even timely, given the campaign period and national elections are long over. Let's just say wala lang, feel ko lang. Kasi ganun naman ako pag inspired sumulat eh. I just write from the heart. 

So moving on to the topic - Politics. The dictionary defines this as "the art or science of government or governing, especially the governing of a political entity, such as a nation, and the administration and control of its internal and external affairs". Through this post, I would just like to show the many valuable lessons we could learn from this science because politics is not only found in a nation, it is evident in any entity such as the workplace, school, or home. Basta anything being governed, administered or controlled, something that has a system.

So to start off syempre in a political system, we have to nominate/elect/appoint who will take control of the entity. Sila ang magiging leaders/bosses/administrators. So who are our usual cast of candidates or nominees? Unfortunately, not all are qualified, if not most are unqualified. For me, here are the usual suspects:

image from the web

1.  Manok ni San Pedro - Such a very lucky candidate/nominee, as they would say, eto ung the favored one. Paano, padrino/backer lang naman nya ang may hawak ng susi ng langit. Sureball na ang panalo, promotion o appointment nya.

"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others" - George Orwell, The Animal Farm

image from the web

2.  Nancy Binay - Eto ung mga tipong anak ng vice president o may-ari ng kompanya with questionable qualifications/performance. Sige na pagbigyan na, nagOJT naman daw ng ilang taon eh, at andyan naman ung tatay to guide and support her.

“It is better to deserve without receiving, than to receive without deserving.” - Robert Green Ingersoll

image from the web

3.  Bitter Ocampo - Eto ung walang ibang ginawa kundi mag question bakit ung iba ang nanalo, napromote or naappoint. "Bakit hindi ako? Di hamak naman na lamang ako ng ilang paligo sa kanya. Bakit sya eh wala namang laman utak nyan?" Instead of assessing another individual's abilities/performance objectively, they tend to veer towards self-righteousness and have a biased view of themselves.

image from the web

4.  Cut-off - Parang sa instant noodles commercial lang na umiiyak ung bata: "12 lang ang nakuha sa practice, pang 13 ako, practice ako ng practice, may uniform pa ko, nay bakit?" Or by comparing with the recent senatorial elections, eto ung kawawang nasa 13th place. Dahil may cut-off, kahit na qualified ka pa, hindi ka makakapag-lingkod.

5.  Pity vote/Pasang-awa - Eto ung mga nakalusot, nanalo, napromote. o naappoint ng dahil sa awa at hindi dahil sa exceptional qualifications. Perhaps magaling ung campaign manager o image consultant nila. 

6.  Highly qualified but low popularity/unrecognized/underrated - Parang Dick Gordon o Risa Hontiveros lang. Eto ung mga kahit may very impressive track record na, sadyang hindi talaga mataas sa survey ratings at hindi nakakalusot sa election. Aantayin pa bang mamatay kagaya ni Jesse Robredo bago makarecognize ng mga matitinong leader o tagapaglingkod? For companies or organizations naman, you should nurture this rare breed of talents, otherwise run the risk of them resigning or being pirated by your competitors.

Here are some wonderful insights when you encounter the aforementioned in any entity you are in such as the workplace, school, or at home. I got these from The Prince and the Pauper by Jaachynma N.E. Agu:

1. “Don't underestimate your worth by comparing yourself with others.” - You are a unique individual, capable of contributing something to this world which others are unable to. So never let yourself be intimidated by what others can do. 
2. “Don't blow off another's candle for it won't make yours shine brighter.” - In other words itigil na ang crab mentality. In the end baka pati ikaw mahila pababa. Try to be the one that pull others up. Working together may actually bring out the best results.
3. “Don't set your goals by what other people deem important.” - You alone can know what matters most to you and what your own definition of success is.
4. “You are not in competition with anybody except yourself; plan to outdo your past not other people.” - Like the 1st and 2nd quote, just give your best in everything you do for God's greater glory. Keber na sa ginagawa ng iba. Always try to be a better version of yourself.

Lastly, you really cannot change the system but you can change how you react to the system. You can chose to go or stay. I leave you with a nice verse I got off the internet from an anonymous author, just to keep things in perspective: 

You need not stay where you are; 

there are other places you could occupy, possibly more happily than where you are now.
What keeps you were you are?
If there is nothing, walk away.
If there is something, you will know why you stay.

Happy Birthday Mama!

Posted for May 30, 2013

It’s been a while since I’ve written a post. Perhaps the pain of loss has left me uninspired, silenced and blank. But I just cannot let this chance past to pay tribute to a strong and loving woman who I owe my life to. For if there is one thing I’ve learned from our recent ordeal, it’s that you should tell the person you love how much they mean to you while you can.

It broke my heart to see my mom this morning crying while I entered their room to greet her a happy birthday. I couldn’t find the right words to cheer her up, knowing this is her first birthday without the love of her life. Not only that, she just lost her own mother, my dear lola Anita, May 24th of last year. It seems these past two birthdays have not been so happy at all.

My mom would often think of herself as weak and timid, but I believe this dragon lady is far from that. It’s high time she knows how strong she really is and how amazing she is as a wife, mom, grandmother and friend. Let me tell you some of her traits that I admire. If I were half the woman that she is, superwoman na ko.

Jack/Jill of all trades – Kung ang Papa ko ay tubero, karpintero, mekaniko roled into one, si Mama ay magaling sa kusina, sa crafts, pananahi, sa music, sa fashion at design at kung anu-ano pa. I never had to worry about school parties or prom because she makes the most beautiful dresses. Pati projects ko sa home economics puro perfect sa tulong nya. I’m so lucky to have a beautiful home which she lovingly decorated. She also knows how to play the piano, organ, guitar etc. During her younger years she was a good athlete winning tennis/pelota tournaments.

Hardworking – I’ve never seen a 60 year old woman with the energy to carry heavy bags while wading through the busy streets of Divisoria to source materials, stay up late just to finish quotations and designs and wake up early the following day. I learned to value my studies, seeing how hardworking my parents are.

Selfless – She exemplifies the saying na “isusubo nalang, ibibigay pa”. She will let us have our favorite parts of chicken, fish, meat etc. at sa kanya ung mga napagtirahan. Even when someone gives her a nice gift she will ask me pa if I like it and insist I wear/use it as well. Swerte halos same size kami sa shoes and dati sa damit.

The ultimate caregiver – Oo parang pelikula lang ni Ate Shawi. Siya ang nagalaga at nagbantay sa hospital for most of our relatives, from my lolo (maternal grandfather) and lolas (both paternal and maternal grandmothers), her sister in-law (my dad’s sister) and lately to my dad. Even if sa bangko or monobloc chair lang sya natulog, to changing adult diapers, tiniis nya ang lahat. And now, that tender loving care cascades down to her grandchildren which she patiently cares for kahit makulit at mahirap patulugin.

Lastly, I admire how she held herself during Papa’s last few days until he was buried. I could never imagine myself going through what she went through, sifting through Papa’s belongings, settling accounts and facing each day still with much energy and strength. God gave me and my brother a mom with a strong heart who holds her family together.

And so Ma, I admire you and I thank you. I will never fail to say and show I love you everyday, for each day is a gift. Happy 61st birthday! No matter how hard it was, another year is truly a blessing from God. Let’s look forward to beautiful days in the future.