First Day High!

One night, when I arrived from work between D's kisses and hugs he said "mommy, bili ka school" hahaha akala mo mayaman kami noh?! nun pala he meant, he wanted to go to school na sabi ng lola niya, so I asked him if he really wanted to go? he said "opo" so I said yes also, na excite ako bigla so I asked daddy R if okay sa kanya. At first, ayaw ni R because baka daw magasawa lang agad, sayang ang tuition, then we realized K-12 na nga pala ngaun and kids starts school early talaga. Plus, D is becoming a bully kid, he needs to learn how to socialize or else mag-school hopping kami lol. 

So there, the next weekend, we enrolled him to a child training school, equivalent to toddler school in a pre-school  inside our village and bought him school supplies. The tuition is P400 per month plus uniforms and IDs. Not bad, since no pressure naman tlaga for D, e di kapag ayaw niya pumasok, e di wag, walang tuition na masasayang, plus the school is small lang but they use US based curriculum and 1 hour a day lang so okay na din and pinakamaganda isang tumbling lang from our house. 

So last monday, this little baby is officially a schoolboy. I took a leave from work talaga, to be able to witness the milestone, frustration ko yan nung bata ako eh! So come monday morning, I feed D during breakfast, bathe him and dressed him, prepared his baon. Nanay na nanay ang peg ko! 

Hay, where did time go baby?!

Since I learned D will be going to school, nagpplan na din ako ng baon niya everyday, kaso the teacher specified crackers and water only. No sugary food and drinks daw. Corny! haha 

D's baon: Apple juice, Crackers and Custard Sandwich. 

Since Daddy R can't take a leave, he just requested photos of his little man. 

Did I mentioned na isang tumbling lang ang school niya sa bahay namin?! Yes! pero the lolo still insisted na ihatid si D using the car at 6:30am pa lang ready na e 8:00am pa ang pasok. haha sino excited?!

I wasn't able to take photos of D at school, anlikot eh! plus ayaw niya magpaiwan sa room nila, kapag sinabi ko aalis na ako sasabihin niya "ayoko na, uwi na tayo" patay na haha.  First day pa lang may inaway na siya na classmate. Lagot na tlaga! buti wala ung mommy ng little girl, kundi napa away din ako. And the teacher's promised na they will correct D's behavior, sana nga!

So after 1 hour, we're home and D is excited to show us his stickers from his teacher, 

And stars... yun lang kailangan sa skin nila? lol na-OC ako bigla! haha andumi tingnan eh!

Yesterday, si Lola na naghatid sa kanya, then I asked if nagpaiwan ba siya, oo daw at hindi umiyak. That made me so nostalgic. I now have a big boy. And bilis ng panahon, but I know I need to let him go so he can learn how to be independent, pero nagbbreastfeed pa din siya sa gabi. lol

Now I am more excited to go home to hear D's story from school, madami yan of course...

Hello Baler! Summer 2014

Hello there! I'm back, and my one and only avid reader (my hubby of course) is demanding for an update for this blog. How time flies right?! Last time I blogged was last mother's day! ayayay! A lot of things happened, with so many stories I want to document and others?! I want to forget them! lol

Anyway, one of the highlights during my hiatus was when we trooped to the "famous" Baler! I don't know what happened this summer, pero lahat nalang ng feeds to sa fb at ig is all about Baler, super naging destination siya this summer and syempre hindi kami nagpahuli! 

We left manila at 2am via private van, and arrived Baler at 7am. Travel is supposed to be 6-7 hours, I dunno what our driver did basta ako tulog and nagising nalang when we are cruising the sierra madre mountains and sunrise. 

Blurred Panoramic shot of the Balete Tree. I just discovered that my Samsung s3 can do this, super thanks to the "kuyas" there who patiently took our photos. 

Drama upon entering the gigantic tree. 

Yes, pwede pumasok, hindi lang sure if makakalabas ka daw. lol

Next stop was the Ermita Hill, where you can see the sabang beach.

And the "brackish" part, also known as an area where fresh and saltwater meet. Yes, at ang tagal namin pinag-isipan yan. The view is fascinating and relaxing. 

This is the picnic area of Emita Hill. There is also an area where kids can run and run all day. 

Next stop is this rock formation. Its beautiful, tinamad lang ako bumaba ng van to have a picture.

Our itinerary also includes visit to the museum and church, kaso we are all "tamad" na. So we went to our accommodation to rest in the Sabang Beach. Since Baler is still developing, most of the resorts are small and basic, some are still constructing and some are homestay. Ours is a basic room with aircon plus bathroom, but sobrang lapit sa beach and bars.

And while we are having relaxing in our rooms (ang init kasi sa labas) nagbrown-out! omg! haha the caretaker said we are lucky dahil few hours magkakaroon din daw power, pero dati daw days nawawalan and even water wala! oh my talaga! And we are lucky pa din, because during the peak of summer, ung iba sa schools na daw nagcheck-in. Baler is way more to be developed pa talaga, to be ready for tourism. But I like it na sobrang probisnya ung feel ng lugar, mas relaxing.

And since walang power sa room namin, we went out so have lunch in the stretch of Costa Pacifica. It's  the beautiful hotel dun, so its always fully booked, I didn't dare to take a picture, maiinggit lang ako lol.
But this is their view of the pacific ocean.

We had lunch at Bay's Inn, so pictures of the food since we are all so gutom na, we get their group meals kaya siguro mabagal ang service. The food is good, pero medyo pricey. 

So while killing time, we took pictures on their signages, and I love this one "stress free zone" haha pwede ba dalhin yan sa office?! lol

And since walang power sa Inn namin, we proceeded na with our next day's IT, the trek and swim to Ditumabo falls. We rode a tricycle from our drop-off point to the starting point, sobrang bumpy ng ride! nakakaregla! lol! then we walked 1 hour to the falls, our tour guide said the locals only took 30 mins to the falls! nakakaloka ang hirap kaya?! But when we reached the falls, sulit naman! the water is so crystal clear and malamig1 brrr!

See?! enjoy kami. Don't ask me why I am in rashguard, nakigaya lang ako haha. 

After our falls trek, we went back to sabang beach and experienced the waves. Ang saya! we don't have pictures dahil tumakas lang kami while some are cooking our dinner. There are free surfing lessons pero hindi na kami nagtry, wala kaming guts lol

After dinner, we strolled along the shore, nakakatakot dahil there are areas na madilim, except with the stretch of Costa Pacifica. Aside from the retaurants, some bars and grills, wala masyadong night life. And dozed off by 10pm and set our alarm at 5:30 so we can watch the sunrise. Kaso even we woke up by 5am, the sun rises na! Ganito pala sa pacific ocean lol

The waves are still peaceful, enough for a morning walk, played in the sands and just when we are planning to dip the sea again, we saw manong there with the jellyfishes!

Andami nila! so natakot na ako pumunta sa dagat. Instead, we went to the market and bought blue marlins for P180/kilo, salmons for P200/kilo, beef for P180/kilo and some squids and others fishes fresh from the sea! Nakaka-aliw namili, hindi lang aliw ang wallet ko haha dahil mapapabili ka ng madami dahil mura talaga, mas mahal pa nga cooler (the styro type) P200 haha.  Tricycle drivers there are so kind, they even helped us to pack the fresh fish and put on ice plus salt para umabot sa manila. 

Since we don't want to go to the museum and church na nga talaga, by 9am we are off go! we just dropped by at Puno's Ice Cream, and made me fall inlove with the macapuno flavor. Nagsisi talaga ako at hindi ako bumili ng pint! hmp! anyway, sabi ko nga, babalik pa ako sa Baler, para sa ice cream! lol

And, thats it for my Baler Summer!

A Mother's Day Post

I admit before, I don't value mothers as much as I value them now. But when I had babyD, I understand everything because I know how it feels like. Nonetheless, I will never exchange anything for motherhood. Being a mom is the best job I had so far. And babyD's hugs and kisses are no match in anything material in the world. Mother's Day may be overrated nowadays because it was used as promotional campaigns by some companies, still I am glad that once a year our hard-work and sacrifices for our family is being compensated.

Happy Mothers Day to all the mother's out there!

MommyG, 

Holyweek 2014

Holyweek 2014 at Naguilian, La Union. 

Daddy R made this picture collage to sum-up our 2014 summer. 

The five-day vacation was spent into play. play pa ng play. See how happy D while we are playing peek-a-boo using the table cloth. Lagot kay Lola. 

We also had a change to visit a farm. Maisan nila daddy R. D got to see carabao, goat, cow and chickens in real. 

D: cow!chicken!goat! mazing! (amazing!)

But when the carabao roared. . . 

D: uwi na tayo! (haha natakot?!)

The boys also made paper airplanes and let them fly. #simplejoys 

And the "ligo-batsa" continues in La Union. Init kasi. 

And what a trip in Naguilian without going to 7-11? the only establishment there na airconditioned?!

And an ice cream date #simplejoys. (just please excuse my pata legs)

we also made babos (bubbles) in the morning. 

And halo-halo of course. 

We also joined the procession. 

And D run and run sa playground. 

What I enjoy most every time I go to the province is it always reminded me of a simple life, simple joys.  And hopefully, when D grow-up, he'll have fond memories of his childhood in the province.

G,

D as in Dal-Dal

Looking back, when D turned 1 year old I am silently worrying about his language development. Ganun yata talaga kapag nanay ka, you worry at simpliest and little things about your baby. D called me “mimi” at 15 months, so I am so worried about language delay, defects and etc. I turned again to Mr. Google and asked him lots of questions. Haha the sensible answer I got is the cliché “babies have different stages of development” so I threw the milestones chart and let baby D be.

And a year after, taadddaaa!!! I have a bully in the making and a sobrang dal-dal na bata. Amidst busy, tiring and stressful days at work, what keeps me sane is the memory of D’s kakulitan. And not only he’s makwento, he can also reason out.

*D asked for dede,

Me: Don’t dede na anak, Bigboy ka na kasi.

D: Goodboy ako.

(So kapag goodboy, kahit bigboy na pwede pa din dumede?)

*Pagdating ko from an out-of-town trip

D: Mommy sakay din ako eyplane (airplane), punta ilo-ilog!

(Ah saan ung ilo-ilog anak?)

*While watching TV, we heard a helicopter..

Me: D look oh, airplane (while looking and pointing at the sky)

D: copter yan! (helicopter)

(Oo nga pala! Helicopter yun!)

*Last night, we look for the stars and moon in the sky

Me: D, count the stars

D: dami yun!

Me: No, lets count the stars…

D: dami nga!

(Haha nga naman, how can he count the stars?)

*While forcing (oo dahil ayaw niya magnap) D to sleep, and I also pretend to be sleeping, dahan dahan siya tumatakas at binubuksan ang door.

Me: D where are you going?

D: Gulat mo ako mommy.

(Ako pa may kasalanan?!)

*While asking him to sleep

Me: Tulog ka na D

D: Gising na ako!

(Hindi pa nga natutulog gising na agad?!)

*We saw a snowman in TV

Me: D look that Olaf!

D: Asan Kristoff?

(Kailangan complete cast sila ng frozen?!)

*We saw toy cars on TV

D: Bili ko yan! Yan! Yan!

Me: Saan pambili mo?

D: Si daddy bili yan!

(haha calling daddy R! ikaw pala bibili e)

*When you ask him something, may default answer nay an

D: Ehhh… kasi…

*At marunong na din siya magsumbong

D: Kulot ako josh!

D: Baho ako sabi ninong I!

D: Takot ako!

*Recently, may kakampi na ako regarding baby no.2 readiness

D: Bunso ako mommy,

Me: No magiging Kuya ka,

D: Kuya bunso ako!

(daddy R I told you we are not yet ready)

*My brilliant idea to use jelly ace to teach him colors kaso,

D: (holding purle jellyace) barney ito

D: (holding green jellyace) baby bop

(Fail! Haha)

*While holding his fake mobile phone

D: Mommy, daddy uwi na!

D: Bubong ko candy donut!

D: Daddy punta opiz (office) ikaw baguio?!

His English language is also growing na he has shorts sentences like;

-       Come on guys!

-       Come here…

-       Want some?

-       Go-nyt (goodnight) guys!

-       I want dede

Four to five years from now, when D can read na, we will read this entry and I am excited on how he will react on his kalokohans, since I am not sure if I will be able to remember all these by that time.

Hay anak, you maybe growing with lots of kakulitan, but mommy’s love for you will never change. Kahit napapadalas na ang punta mo sa corner. You will always be my baby big kuya D!.

G,