Here it is again. A Year in the Life : 2009 , a look at our year's high and lows.. joys and sorrows.. This has been a very hectic year, filled with a lot of changes and activities. Read on !
January - A new month, a new year.. and what a way to start the year than with meeting your father's mistress and their family!! Technically, she's no longer his mistress since my mom is dead, but still, never in a million years, right?! This is also our first time hiring a nanny which meant a major house redo to accommodate her. Broken windows were replaced and major furniture shifting was undertaken. Tiring, tiring, tiring!
February - A tough time because it's Mom's first death anniversary.. the first time I'm even (is it right to say) "celebrating" it. Our nanny left the household, enough said. We did have a Tadeo Triple Birthday celebration in honor of Patrick, Dimples and their mom who shared February as their birth month. Oh and another milestone - my ten-year old bookcase gave way!! Needless to say, I had to replace it and I did!
March - This was a big month full of red-letter dates!! Dana's 5th and Dylan's 3rd birthdays!!! Tita Flor comes home with Ferdie and Barb!! They came with Patrick's Dad cremated ashes to be buried with their mom in Loyola. We bought Stanley, our first family car, a green 1996 Subaru Legacy!!!
April - Our room renovations were finally done. My cousin, Ramil, undertook for us the renovating of our bedroom turning it from a storage room to a bedroom with an en suite bathroom. We had fun buying the materials and watching the room change before our very eyes! :D We also spent time looking at preschools and we ended up enrolling Dana at Sta. Catalina College, our alma mater LOL She did so well in her entrance exam, better than the kids who actually spent a year in school already.
May - the perfect time to go on our first family summer outing!! We went to Island Cove in Cavite and it was the first time we've ever gone on a trip in our very own car wahahaha We had a great time there because there was so much to see and do. Well worth the trip! Stanley also took a longer drive to Dau, Pampanga where we met with Patrick's Uncle Dennis and his family after so many years of being apart. While we were in Pampanga, we also stayed at the Lohas New Well-Being Spa and Hotel as our last trip for the summer. quite an experience to stay in an authentic Korean sauna and eat authentic Korean food!
June - Dana is going to school already! That mad me so teary-eyed but she was well-prepared and didn't make a fuss when she started her first day. It's hard though for her to wake up but I'm sure she'll adjust soon. We also received our handmade quilts that my best friend Kat made!! they're really beautiful and we can't wait to use them :)
July - the only milestone during the month was we got to buy a new PC and printer to replace our old ones. We got a good deal at PC Gilmore whose staff were so helpful and pleasant ( I highly recommend them). We also got to change Stanley's tires in preparation for our upcoming trip to Enchanted Kingdom.
August - a fun-filled month starting with a free trip to Enchanted Kingdom courtesy of Patrick's job! :D It was the first time for the kids to visit Enchanted Kingdom so you can understand how excited and enchanted they were hahaha It was also Den's 18th birthday for which she got a new laptop and we celebrated with a trip to Tagaytay and on to a trip to Enchanted Kingdom again.
September - this was the fist time that Stanley broke down and in the NLEX of all places. We went to visit Uncle Dennis in Pampanga and this time with Stevie and his family. On our way home, we all felt something weird with Stanley, the steering wheel was very hard to control and there was a very strong 'wiggle'. We had to be towed to a service station and had to take the trip home at 40km/hr. very slowly but surely we got home after a staggering 6 hours on a normal 2 hour trip LOL September was also the month when Patrick test drove a Honda City and took it with us to Subic to cover a media event. The side mirrors were stolen the night before (what a nightmare!) and we ended up having to replace them the morning after. It was also during this month that we were beset by Typhoon Ondoy, the worst storm ever to hit the Philippines, flooding most of Metro Manila, with a month's worth of rain being dumped in 6 hours. Stevie and Dimples were in a worse condition having the muddy waters rising to 12 feet where they lived.
October - Yehey! Happy birthday to me and I treated myself to a new sound system for Stanley and a foot spa at my favorite salon hahaha When Ondoy hit, Stevie and Toni had to resked their kids' birthday celebration because the venue where the party was to be held was also flooded. In the end, the party was delayed for about 2 weeks and was held at Jollibee.
November - Patrick was excited to be test driving the new Subaru Legacy Station Wagon and for good reason.. it was a super duper really great car.. and I'm not saying that because I'm a fan of Subaru but really, honestly.. you are putting your money where it's worth!! test drive one today to find out why! Oh and Patrick and I celebrated 15 years of togertherness by having dinner at Bellini's in Cubao. It's a great authentic Italian restaurant whose pasta is to die for!! Honestly!! ;)
December - jam-packed month!! Lola and Uncle Jimmy arrived for a 3-week vacation. Dana performs at her school's Christmas presentation. Our family and my sister's family spent a weekend in Clark. Christmas gift giving!!! Oh and I almost forgot, Dylan needed to undergo speech therapy (I forgot to write about it)..
Whew!! writing about all these happenings in our life is tiring but fun as I look back and reminisce about all the places we've been to and all the things that we've done. I hope the New Year brings us a lot more to remember :)
2009 Christmas
Merry Christmas everyone!! Itr's that time of year again when friends and family come together to celebrate a joyous occasion. For this year, we made a lot of Christmas preparations because the kids are now able to undertake the decorating of the Christmas tree so we bought a new one including all the decorations. We just made it very simple as you can see and we got a bargain with the tree when we bought it at the Dapitan arcade. Imagine a 5ft tree for only P1,600.. other trees cost as much as P6K. Even the balls were a steal! I was going crazy buying those things hahahaha The Christmas lights we bought at SM because I don't want the fake ones that easily blow up and cause fires.
We were also able to buy a new bed for my Lola to use (which Den or Dylan will use later on) as well as a new sofa set as you can see here. We went to Caloocan to buy these furniture because it's cheaper there and there are more options and more products to choose from. We custom-made this sofa set based on dimensions of the doors hahaha
My father also paid a visit when he found out that Lola and Uncle Jimmy were here. Here are some pictures of that "momentous" occasion heheheChristmas day was an exciting one for the kids. They had a lot of gifts to open, courtesy of a lot of sales at the malls, factory outlets and flea markets :)
We prepared some pasta, fried chicken and ham for the "feast" but everyone was busy with their gifts (receiving and giving) to care about food hahaha
Lola and Uncle Jimmy left for the States on December 28. We wanted to take them to the airport but there were a lot of the family going with them so we stayed behind. I think it was a good idea to stay behind because I didn't want to get too emotional and you know when you see someone hurting, you feel hurt too and I didn't want my Lola to feel even more sad.
Here are the pictures before they left :)
Another Trip to Clark
December 19 - Last December 5th, my Lola (grandmother) and Uncle Jimmy came to the Philippines for a 3-week Christmas vacation. My Lola hasn't been to the PI since 1993 so this is a big deal for her. She wanted to come back so she can see her great-grandkids Dana, Dylan, Den, Jianne, Justin and Sofia. I believe that what also initiated her coming back was because my Mom couldn't make it and I guess it was in her honor that my grandma came back.
While they were here, the whole family was in a tizzy :) There was the bingo/family reunion during the fiesta. She was able to visit her siblings in Cavite, was able to go to Baguio, and visit some of the sites here in the city. She even got to see Avatar in IMAX hahaha good for her!
So, my sister Sharon and I planned to have a weekend get-away with her to catch up on stuff and to spend time with her too. We planned it during the Christmas break so the kids will have no school. So, we booked our rooms at the Lohas New Well-being Spa in Clark for the 19th and 20th. We were all so excited!
Unfortunately, all the visits that Lola made plus the pollution and the climate took their toll on her and she ended up getting sick - almost pneumonia and some tummy ache too. She wasn't able to go with us to Clark.. such a bummer.. We still ended up going because we didn't want to forfeit the deposit we made. It was still fun though because we had my sister's family with us too. Here is a slideshow of our swimming escapades :) At that time, Sharon and Jowell were experiencing first hand the Korean Sauna, the Jimjilbang, so they weren't in the pictures.
For Dinner, we all went out and ate at the very popular A.C. Rumpa restaurant (short for Angeles City, Retired US Military Personnel Association) and had a blast eating their steak. But, unfortunately, we failed to take pictures because as soon as they served it, we dug in! LOL
As a Christmas treat, Den and I booked ourselves for a full body massage at the Hotel Spa too although I have to admit that the communication mix-up with the scheduling left me feeling frustrated and irritated. The massage made up for it though :) All I can say is WOW! :D
The next day, the kids all went back for a swim, naturally. While they swam, we arranged to have a late check-out to really make the most of the trip. I thought everything was okay until I received a call from the front desk that we were supposed to check out ASAP from the room. It was my sister's room that was arranged to have a late check-out. That was freaking terrible!! They were basically telling me to hurry up and get out of the room and I had kids to take care of and you can imagine cleaning up after them!! I was so mad I was like a bull charging at everyone!! In the end, we had no choice but to hurry up but believe me, I was not taking this sitting down..
As we came to the front desk, I asked to speak with the manager but supposedly he was out. I asked to speak with the Korean gal who appeared to be a higher-up but she supposedly did not speak English. I ended up talking with the Filipino manager on the phone and I really complained about the lousy miscommunication mistakes that their staff keeps on repeating. It was really horrible. I really don't intend to go back there even if Patrick feels that they're still the best value in terms of accommodation in Clark. I don't believe that sucky service should be patronized. The manager tried to appease me but really, what else can you offer??
Anyway, after leaving the hotel, I asked Patrick to take us to the park so I can relax a little, all that massage for nought. The kids and I had a great time running around hahaha My sister and her family, left ahead of us LOL probably scared of my tantrum hahaha Here are some pictures (slideshow)
We also found great picture moments there:
Finally, rounding out the trip with a dinner at Yellow Cab along the expressway. It was a great meal to end an over-all great Christmas out-of-town trip.Dana's First Christmas in School
December 2009 - This is Dana's first Christmas in her school. It's a milestone that we as a family celebrated. She was very excited because her class will be participating in the school's annual Christmas presentation and they have spent many hours rehearsing for it. In fact, it's probably the first Tagalog song that Dana has ever sung! LOL
We printed a copy of the lyrics so she can practice at home. We found a copy of the song, Kumukutikutitap and kept playing it at home and even in the car too. While Dana was dancing and singing to it, Dylan will also jump in and sing and dance with her.. it was so funny and entertaining to watch LOL
Now, of course, as parents you know that you want to record your child's first dance on stage. So, Patrick and I ended up borrowing my friend Idy's videocam for the event and we are ever so thankful to him for it (Thanks Idy!) This has actually led to a discussion about whether we should get one of our own (but that's a different story altogether hahaha)
In preparation, we also needed to buy Dana's costume consisting of a red shirt, a pair of white shorts, a Christmas hat that lights up and white gloves. We ended up going to Divisoria, the source of all your goodies hehehe On the day of the presentation, imagine my surprise when we couldn't find Dana's PE shoes that she was to wear for the dance. We looked and looked and we couldn't find it anywhere!! We finally figured that since we performed a major clean-up at the house the last week, Dylan may have put the shoes in the trash bag that we filled with old shoes that were to be given away. Man, those shoes were new and hardly been used!! Dana ended up wearing a different pair of shoes..
Anyway... So armed with our videocam, our digicam and another digicam (in case of failure or batteries ending up dead for no reason) we headed to school...The video I have yet to rip from the DVD so here are some pictures instead..
The next day was their Christmas Party. I was only planning to take a picture of her with her friends but their teacher played the Kumukutikutitap music and they all started lining up and dancing and I couldn't resist recording a video, so here it is:
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