Not again =(

Our baby girl is sick again. I was at work today (yes, supposed to be my "off" day but duty called) when I got a text from my Mom that Sabine was feverish. It's a good thing my Mom always visits on Wednesdays so I did not have to run home all the way from the Manila Hotel where I had an event. I monitored everything via SMS and phonecalls to the house. I went home a bit early though because by mid-afternoon, I was feeling too stressed out just thinking of her. On my way home I kept getting flashbacks of Sabine's recent hospitalization. It's only been a little over a month since then and here I was dealing with the same symptoms again. No cold, no cough. On the outside, it seems like it's nothing more than teething. Yaya said she was drooling more than usual today and didn't eat as much as she normally would. But I've always been the "expect the worst, hope for the best" type. Call it whatever you want. I just hate being complacent and then caught off-guard later on. I'd rather think of the worst possible scenario and then be told that it's not so serious after all. Since I got home, I've done nothing but monitor Sabine's temperature. Her mood changes quickly. She's playful and malikot one minute, grumpy the next. So I guess she really isn't feeling well.

Tomorrow morning we're taking her to Cardinal Santos (again, I'm starting to have a panic attack just thinking of going there again so soon) to get a urinalysis. The first thing the pedia wants to rule out is UTI again, because if it is, then something must be done. I don't know how much sleep I'm going to get tonight or if I'll get to sleep at all, not knowing what's wrong with her. I hate this sick feeling I have in my gut. I've been moving around the house like a mechanical toy, my mind somewhere else because the bad memories of Sabine's stay in the hospital last month keep playing in my mind.

PRAY PRAY PRAY...that's what I'll do to keep my mind off things. Haven't bothered to tell DF because he's had some high blood issues to deal with lately and I don't want to worry about him right now. DH is quiet but obviously worried to death. I think he may be feeling worse than I am and just doesn't want to show it.

Waaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!

Is this what I think it is?

I've been hearing and reading about this and tried many times to look for a photo. I finally found one! That's Joshua Jackson of Dawson's Creek carrying a Louis Vuitton Damier Keepall in BLACK!!! I've always preferred the Damier over the Mono (maybe it's cause I've spent many many idle days in Greenhills and got tired of seeing the Mono print everywhere *sigh*) but in black???

God give me strength!

P.S. I just got enlightened...the official name is Damier Graphite

Oh so giddy about Sex and the City!

This show became part of my life and I seriously got depressed when it ended. I watched it from start to finish on DVD only to find myself more depressed It was sad because I followed every little bit of each of these girls' lives and sometimes even found that I could relate to certain situations they found themselves in. So when I heard that they were making a movie version --- ALLELUIA!!!

Here it is...the first ever SATC The Movie poster

Don't you just miss these girls?

And I'm just dying to find out what's going to happen to these two!

Look closely at SJP's bag

Can't wait!!!

My tweener hates me for stalking her hahaha!

That's my current status on Yahoo Messenger. It's been my status since DH and I got home at lunchtime from Anissa's school fair. We went there in the morning to watch her gymnastics performance. As always, she asked to be allowed to hang out with friends the whole day 'til after 5pm. No problem. She's been doing this for the past 2 years and I don't have qualms about it because they're inside school premises anyway.

Today though, after the show she couldn't find her friends right away and I was worried because her friends were holding on to her stuff, including her wallet and money. DH and I had planned on making the round of the food stalls because we were hungry and then head back home because it was just TOO HOT to stick around. When I turned to see where Anissa was, she was gone! To be fair, she said some kind of tentative "bye, i'll go look for my friends na" but I was in the middle of my sentence when I discovered that she had run off. DH said sige na let her na anyway she's more familiar with these surroundings than we are. It's not like we're in the mall or some other public place. Okay that made me shut up. We started walking, trying to figure out whether we wanted Barbecue, Shawarma, Hotdog, Corn on the Cob, Quickly, Potato Corner or one of the many rice meals that were being sold. (Sidenote: kaya naman pala dapat 500 ang baon, iba na ang fair ngayon. I remember I had very little choices during my time)

Then I spotted Anissa at the Dedication Booth. I walked up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder with a huge "pang asar" smile on my face, she turned around and gave me this, Mom-what-are-you-doing-here??? expression. I asked if she had found her friends already and she said not yet, she was going to have them paged. DH and I hung around and she began to wonder whether we were planning to do that til her friends arrived. I told her...what if you get hungry or thirsty? Your money is with your friends so I'll keep you company in case you want to buy something and they're not here yet, okay? Then DH said...hey, who's gonna put lampin on your back when you sweat? Doesn't Mommy do that all the time? Eh it's so hot pa naman that's why Mommy and I are here...we just want to make sure you're not mapapawisan. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA By this time, she was in total disbelief and looked as if she wanted to start begging me to please please please go away. Okay fine...DH pulled me away from there before things got ugly. We found a spot beside the guy selling the Corn on the Cob meters away from the Dedication Booth and I sat there craning my neck for the next 5 minutes to try and catch a glimpse of Anissa. DH was laughing and shaking his head and said...Honestly Hon, you have got to loosen up a bit.

On the way home in the car, I was texting with DM who, as expected, was more OA than me!

Me : We left na. Anissa's in school and will be picked up 5pm.

DM : What? Why did you leave? Kanino sya naiwan doon? Where are you going?

Me : We're going home, nothing else to do there and it's too hot! She's with her friends.

DM : Yun na nga it's too hot outside so why is she going to stay there the whole day?

Me : Ano ba talaga issue mo...why did we leave her there or it's too hot? Hahaha...

DM : Tawa ka pa dyan hindi ka ba natatakot iwanan sya doon?

Me : Mom, she's inside the school grounds. Paano pa kaya tayo pag sa mall na yan
pupunta? Baka himatayin na tayo pareho?

DM : Ah pag sa mall sasama na ako sa kanya...

Me : I think you'll have to wear a disguise to be able to do that.

DM : Disguise? Sige ... I'll look like one of those statues in Eastwood. Papa make up
ako ng ganun para hindi ako makilala ni Anissa. Ay pwede ba...stop it, ayoko
na pag usapan!!!

So now I know...never say never. I remember telling myself in the mirror when I was a teenager : I'LL NEVER BE LIKE MY MOM. See where that got me?

I'm trapped in yesterday (and still in denial)

Remember those annual school fairs? I remember my school (St. Scho' Manila) had this yearly activity sometime in the first quarter of the calendar year (Kulasas in Multiply, correct me if my memory is crappy). I'd look forward to it all the time because it would mean I could bring extra cash with me to school for about 2 straight days so I could get on the rides and buy junkfood. We were allowed to go on the rides during recess, lunch and after dismissal at 3:30. How much was an Octopus ride then? I think it was about P10 (hahahaha I'm THAT old!!!) and I was lucky to get 2 to 3 rides a day --- that's it.

Anissa's school is having its fair til tomorrow. Last night, as I was getting her allowance for today from my wallet she said, Mom, you gotta give me a little extra because it's THE fair in school remember? Okay so I took out an extra 200, thinking I was being realistic enough because aside from spending on the rides and the inflatables she of course had to eat, too. When she saw the two 100 Peso bills her eyes widened and she said in a whisper, Is that it, Mom??? Her face was filled with disbelief but I think mine became horribly distorted when I blurted out, WHY??? What's wrong with 200??? You already have 100 for baon! The 200 is your bonus for the fair!

We debated for the next 5 minutes because she was asking for 500. WHAT?????? 500??? What on earth for??? She explained how much everything cost...the rides, the inflatables, the games, popcorn, a slice of pizza, a glass of Coke, a glass of Iced Tea, an order of Fried Siomai, French Fries...yadda yadda yadda. Unbelievable! I had to stop and wonder whether I was over-reacting but I figured okay, what the heck. The fair takes place only once a year and she usually gets to save 10 or 15 bucks a day from her allowance anyway so fine! I shut up and gave her a 500 Peso bill (but still continued to wonder if I was doing the right thing or throwing in the towel, accepting defeat to an 11 yr old).

Did I get stuck in a time warp? Is the world moving too fast that I'm unable to keep up? Waaaahhhhhhh my little girl is growing up right before my very eyes! Pretty soon she'll be asking me for money to watch a movie with her friends or hang out in Starbucks or go get a hot oil in the salon!

P.S. Tonight at a dinner we went to, she heard my younger cousins talking about My Chemical Romance, Maroon 5, Justin Timberlake...all of them are having concerts in Manila. She bugged me the entire evening about getting her a ticket so she could go with her friends. Take note : she specifically said she wanted to watch with THEM and maybe I could just drop her off and pick her up after

Time for change? Short or long hmmm...

For weeks now, I've been debating mostly with myself about whether to grow my hair or not. I've had this current hairstyle for quite a while now...I think about 5-6 yrs to be exact. I used to have shoulder length hair but because my hair is naturally wavy, I got sick and tired of having to do the blowdrying routine every single day. I was also afraid my hairline would start to recede because everytime I didn't want to blowdry, I would automatically put my hair up in a ponytail after stepping out of the shower. Bad habit, I know!

But recently, Anissa was very upfront with me. She said, "Mom, I wish you'd grow your hair back. You look old with short hair!". And of course I took her observation seriously! Kids don't lie, right??? I've been mulling over the possibility of having long hair again but (aside from friends' opinions that short hair is more ME) just thinking of having to go back to that tedious blowdrying routine is enough to make me think twice. However, I looked at myself in the mirror today and realized that I haven't gone back to my stylist in more than 2 months! Check out my hair in the pic and notice the clip? Hehehe! Does this mean that subconsciously I really want to grow my hair again? I'm still unsure about that.

If I do though, maybe the longest I would go for would be a bob. Pretty much like Katie Holmes' hair here. Minus the bangs, I think. I want them a bit longer than this.


Waaaaahhhhh! I'm obsessing!!!
What now, brown cow?

This is what I get for asking

Kasi naman nagtanong pa ako...

She took off her shoes and went up on our bed. So I asked her...Are your feet clean? Baka they're "asim"?

When I grow up I want to be like Ate

Yaya was fixing Ate Anissa's closet this afternoon because I asked her to bring out all the clothes that she's outgrown. Sabine handpicked this skirt from the pile and practically demanded that she be made to wear it.

She walked into our bedroom and proudly showed off her "new" acquisition.
May pagka "basurera" din pala ang batang ito

When I told her to pose for me,
this is what she did


Hee hee hee!

Long overdue lunch

Finally got to have lunch with Lizanne, an old friend and ex-Shang Hotel colleague. We've been talking about meeting up for lunch even while I was still a housewife but somehow it never pushed through. Now that our office buildings are just across the street from each other, it was easier for us to schedule our long overdue date

We chose to eat in Chili's Greenbelt because it was a short walk from work
I had the Cheese Steak Sandwich



It was so nice to just kick back and relax...chat non-stop and catch up on each other's lives after such a long time. Too bad we couldn't complete the group (Ton is based in China, Maan is in Hawaii and Lylah is I don't know where hehehe). Had some really great times in Shang with all of them. Lizanne "shadowed" me when she was new in Sales so we used to go on client calls together. But oh how I hated her guts the very first time I encountered her! I was already in Sales then and she was working at the Front Desk. I asked her something about a previous endorsement I made and she gave me this cold-as-ice answer and since then everyone knew how much I didn't like her. A few months later I heard she was moving up to my department so HAHAHA I think I made a conscious effort to terrorize her on a daily basis. Who'd think we'd end up to be the good friends that we are??? Strange!!!


'Til our next lunch, Lizzie!!!

C2 @ Power Plant --- never again

Had an impromptu lunch with DB today, after an extremely hectic morning. I was so looking forward to rewarding myself with a delicious meal so I suggested that we go to C2 because the one in Shang Mall never fails to impress me.



DB busy on the phone while we were waiting for our orders to arrive
We sat by the window, because as you all know, I love natural sunlight



This is their open kitchen



Fried Pampano with Adobong Kangkong



Pork Binagoongan
(in fairness, the bagoong was really good --- we asked for more)



Aligue Rice

The verdict?
Everything we had was below par, truly disappointing. To think I've always enjoyed dining in C2 Shang Mall. I wonder what the difference is between the two branches? Maybe the one in Power Plant is a franchise, I don't know. That's the only reason I can think of. If I wasn't happy with my meal, you should've heard what DB had to say. I will save it for your imagination because it's way too vulgar to mention here hahaha! That's how p*ssed off he was and if there is someone anyone needs to impress as far as food is concerned, it's my DB

Sorry, C2 Power Plant...I don't want to throw away precious money over there ever again.

The original is still the best!

When Sabine took her afternoon nap, I grabbed the opportunity to sleep as well. Next thing I knew, Anissa was waking me up for an early dinner. My Mom is spending the night here so that can only mean one thing : the kids can have whatever they want for dinner.

This is what greeted me when I went downstairs:

I was shocked! A giant Shakey's Pizza???



4 flavors in one pizza --- great!
I wish they had included my favorite though --- Garlic and Cheese

I noticed lang that the crust is just a little bit thicker than usual
What I love about Shakey's is the crunchiness of their crust pa naman
I don't like pan pizzas at all

In the mail today

Today is my day off from work. I just love being at home and being able to relax. I'm so glad I can do this twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays

My day got even better when Air21 delivered these at my doorstep:


Been wanting to get a copy of this book.
Thankfully, I saw it on Avid Reader



More personalized gift cards, this time from Tiny Footprints
Can't get enough of these, I already have a shoebox full of them in different designs!

Back to life, back to reality and DH's challenging day!

It was back to work for me today. I was actually looking forward to it until I got a text message around 7am that my household help (the reliever) would not be able to make it. WHAAAAT??? The first thing I thought to myself was ... wow, when is all this ever going to end? Fortunately, DH is still on a self-imposed break from work so atleast I could rest easy with that thought. But wait...didn't I just say in my previous entry that he is absolutely, 101% clueless about taking care of kids? Waaahhhh! Then it dawned on me...I had to be at work (couldn't afford to take the day off) and he was going to be left behind at home with both kids. I wondered if that was even a good idea hahaha!

Before I left the house he admitted that he didn't want to give Sabine a bath. See? That's how clueless he is. So I said fine...if I have to worry about Sabine slipping in the tub because he doesn't know what to do, I'd rather come home later today and find her all stinky (I didn't relish the thought of that but didn't want to force him either). Then he had a lightbulb moment and called his younger sister to ask if we could borrow her help just for today. Hooray! He was off the hook hehehe!

I had a difficult time focusing on work in the office as I would have these images of him and the kids causing so much chaos at home and me coming home exhausted and having to clean up all the mess they made. I called to check from time to time and they were okay. Then around before lunch he was calling my cellphone and sounded a bit panicky...Hon, where is Sabine's shampoo??? (I swear I heard his voice tremble a bit) I told him to use the J&J blue bottle in the girls' bathroom and heard Sabine shouting in the background. She sounded like she was having fun! Poor Daddy was panicking while little girl remained oblivious hehehe. I asked him what happened and what made him decide to "take the plunge" and give Sabine a bath and I forgot what he actually answered but it definitely sounded defensive hehehe.

To cut a long story short...I did go home to a messy house...err, more like a messy girls' bathroom. Proof of his "struggle" was all over the place : Sabine's dirty pajamas on the floor, the opened J&J bottle in the shower stall, the left foot of her sandals near the toilet bowl and the other one by the door. Hahahahaha! All this 5 or 6 hours after she was bathed! I tried to imagine what it must have been like for him but when I asked him...How'd it go at bathtime, Hon? He simply (and cockily) replied, No biggie. She was a good girl. NAKS...pero hindi nya ako maloloko. He was lying through his teeth I didn't say anything, though I couldn't help but snicker to myself. Sige na nga, I'll give him the benefit of allowing himself to believe it was a piece of cake. Hahaha!

Men!

Prev

The Undomesticated Goddess

Okay here's the scenario...yaya leaves to go on a well-deserved and much-needed 2-week vacation so I'm left with an all-around girl. But all-around girl decides to be delinquent so even if yaya is going, we let her go as well. Were so blessed to have found an efficient replacement almost immediately but guess what??? Her mother passes away unexpectedly on New Year's Eve and it was impossible for me to not allow her to leave. That same night, DF is admitted into St. Luke's, leaving me frustrated because I can't do my share and help watch over him. I need to stay home so I can take care of the kids.

Good thing SIL has a lot of extra help for her garments business. She was able to talk to one of her girls to help me out while I wait for my all-around girl to come back, hopefully by end of the week. BIG HELP because she came in today and did all the chores, all I had to do was teach her how I want everything done and do the lighter stuff like wash the dishes, dusting here and there and picking up after the kids. Anissa no longer needs to be watched closely so I was able to focus on the little one, who of all days decided to be extra-fussy...don't know why.

I was talking to my balikbayan cousins last night and I told them...that's it, I'm 101% sure that life in the US or anywhere abroad without household help is not for me! I would go crazy if I had to do everything by myself. DH is typically male in that I can rely on him for anything other than taking care of the kids. If he has to fix a leak or a busted appliance, he'll do it in a snap. But give Sabine a bath or change her diaper??? Naaahhh! The most he'll do is sit down on our La-Z Boy and pop a DVD in the player with Sabine on his lap, because she really loves to watch anything on the boob tube. She sits still for long periods when she's watching something. I don't have a problem taking care of my kids, no matter how exhausting running around after a 20-month old hurricane can get. But I tell you, doing that PLUS the household chores? It's only past 8 and already I feel like I'm so ready to crash into bed.

Domestic life is really not for everyone. I know for a fact I'm not cut out to be a fulltime housewife, it's just not me. I'd rather be productive at work than labelled a bum who spends a lot of idle time at home.

But until such time that my life is back in order (or til yaya gets back), I shall wear the domesticated cap and do the best I can. For someone who's never really done a lot of housework unless needed, I don't think I'm doing bad at all.Hayyy...tomorrow is another day! It's a Wednesday so I need to work. I'm not too excited thinking about how chaotic it's going to be at home while I'm away.

More presents!

My super dear cousins, Kuya Ricky and wife Hazel are in town from LA and gave us our pasalubongs when we met up for dinner tonight:

Clothes for the two girls, a shirt for DH,
the gold tote is mine
plus lotsa chismis magazines!

The Guess jewelled flats are from Ting (girl, you are one sneaky devil but thanks, I love 'em!)

The black peeptoes are my "bilin" from my favorite Payless Shoe Source but my pleas to pay fell on KR's and H's deaf ears

But this one is the REAL KILLER!!!

2 pounds of Truffles waaahhh!
Gotta hide this from the kiddos

Thanks, too, to my other super cousins --- Bong and Zha for their gifts. Anissa LOVES her statement tee. Thanks, Ninang ZhaZha!

And finally...the girls got these from DB

Cool!