HS Get Together

When there are talks of get-togethers and/or reunions, I mostly shy away from them.  It's because my closest friends aren't going to be there and I think that it'd be awkward getting to know other people.  But then, I started thinking...Why should that stop me from going.  At this point in my life, I don't think I'll ever get to see my closest friends anyway, not in this fashion, so I may as well make new friends or even just get in touch with older ones... who knows what the day will bring, right? :)

So when there was an announcement on Facebook (gotta love FB!) that there'll be a get together on December 30, I made up my mind to go.  It was a good way to end the year, I thought.

The meet-up was at Seattle's Best Coffee at the Mall of Asia at 4:30PM.  I got there around 7pm (late, I know) because there was so much to do at the house.  Here we are!   Thanks to Rains for the pictures :)

(L-R) Me, Gicel, Jun, Webster & Aries' friend

(L-R)Webster, Aries' friend, Aries, me, Gicel, Jun

More People: (L-R) Webster, Aries' friend, Jojo and wife,
Aries, Jesse, Me, Gicel, Rains, Jun, Nelson

Nelson and me

From Seattle's Best, we all decided to have dinner and drinks at Gerry's Grill.  It was at this point that we were joined by Cecille and Pamela.  

Gicel, me, Cecille, Pam

Pam, Cecille, Me

serious chika!

 Over the course of dinner, the guys just naturally grouped together but still took the time to smile for the camera :)

Ike arrived around 11pm from a wedding in Intramuros.
Got the chance to see his god-daughter, Dana too :)

All in all, it was a great night!  I'm sure some of us didn't want it to end seeing as it was only like almost 12MN when we parted ways.  It was an enjoyable night - great conversations with equally cool friends :) Happy New Year! :)

2011 Christmas

Merry Christmas to one and all!

Christmas is such a great holiday because of all the wonderful things that happen during this time.  Yes, you may spend an enormous amount of money buying gifts for all the people you love but you kinda forget about it once you see that the gifts you bought really brought happiness and actual tears to the people who are receiving them.

Patrick and I are fortunate that our kids are understanding about our financial situation and don't complain that they only have less gifts this year compared to last year.  They still were very happy about the gifts that they received this year and couldn't wait to play with them.  

We're also very fortunate that though we have lost people we love like my mom and Patrick's parents, we still have a lot of people in our lives that care about us and love us just the same.  Special shout outs to Tita Gigi Escalante and Tito Nino who have really welcomed us in their lives and love us and our kids with equal fervor like their own.  It was such a pleasure spending Christmas eve with you guys and we owe you a debt of gratitude for making our holiday so special because of the warmth that you envelop us in.  

I miss my mom so much and I miss my brother just as much that sometimes it seems pathetic that I have to seek out people from whom to get the love and comfort and that feeling of security that you have a place in this world that you belong to and with.  It's still very fortunate that there are people in my life like those - Lan, my brother, you may be far away in geography but you are never far from my mind and heart.  I always wish the best for you and I'm proud that you're doing well on your own.  Kat you are still the bestest friend anyone can have and I'm proud to have you in our lives.   Sharon, my sister, you are such a crazy girl but I'm still glad that you've matured enough to handle yourself in the way you see fit.  

We have had such a hard year this time and as much as we will never forget the people who have helped us get through it - Chie Cosay and Rey Maribao special thanks to both of you for you know what - we will also never forget the people who have brought us such pain and suffering.  It is because of you that we have become stronger.  It is because of you that we have faced much hardship and yet we're still surviving.  Though we no longer want you in our lives, you have been a major part of it and for that we can't and we won't forget.

May the New Year bring us better circumstances....

In the meantime, I'm sharing my kids' and our own happiness this Christmas and hope that you enjoy watching it as much as we enjoyed making the movie.

Ruth and JV's wedding

Another special event that we were lucky enough to be invited to was the wedding of my cousin, Ruth, to her longtime boyfriend JV Royo.  It was held at the Most Holy Trinity Parish in Sampaloc and reception was at Betty's Sansrival and Catering Services in Quezon City.

What I love about weddings is that it gives people a chance to catch up with relatives and friends whom you haven't seen in a long time.  Plus, there's always free food hahaha Another plus is getting a chance to dress up in fancy clothes too :)

Nandy and Ronnie in
this Once-in-A-Lifetime Dressing Up Moment

Zeny and Ella

Jeng looking lovely as the Maid of Honor

Ces and Zeny

Den and myself

Dana looking lovely in her dress

The food was delicious especially the sansrival (of course!) and the baked goodies :) Dana kept going back to the dessert table (by herself even!).  Dylan loved the lechon (roasted pig)!

There was a photo booth from Clickart Photo Booth where you can have your pictures taken as a souvenir. We had fun taking our photos! :)

Congratulations to Ruth and JV! Thanks for inviting us and having us share in your wonderful ceremony :)

Dylan's 2011 Christmas Party

This year, the Little Sofie Learning and Development Center held their Christmas Party at Shakey's Espana.  It's quite a bittersweet moment for us because we remember Teacher Dory and her presence from last year's Christmas party which was also held in the same venue.

Anyway, the party was filled with gifts, prizes and activities which the kids loved.  There were prizes for the parents who did such an amazing job with their Christmas parol.  There were also appreciation prizes for all parents for their support of their kids and of the school.  The kids also had their exchange gift as well as gift giving from their teachers.  There was also a "Bring Me" game which Dylan participated in but was not fortunate enough to win in hahaha  Parents also participated in the games which were a lot of fun.

 Pictures with his teachers:

Teachers Kaye and She

Teachers Karen, Kaye, She, Cath and Ma'am Sheila

Dylan with Teachers and Classmates

Dylan and Rhian

Dylan also participated in their song and dance number:

Finally, it was eating time! Pizza, Spaghetti, mojos and chicken

Teacher Dory's special kids (Shiela May)

 A special dance number by Captain Shakey's to end the celebration!

Dana's 2011 Christmas Presentation

Every Christmas season, kids usually become part of their school's Christmas presentation.  Dana is no different but for a while there, we really didn't think she will be able to participate in it this time because we had some financial difficulties and couldn't yet buy the costume needed for the program.

At the last minute, we were able to find the resources and the three of us, Patrick, Dana and I, went to
Quiapo at the store where we bought Dylan's Germany costume and were able to buy the last piece of Santa Claus costume for Dana.  It was also perfect timing since it was the last piece we got a hefty discount which really helped us out :)  After completing that errand we went home so we can see how it looked on Dana when paired off with the black socks/stockings and hat :)

Come Monday afternoon, Dana was ready to go to school with her costume.  Dana, Dylan, Den and I went to school at 330PM as was their call time.  They were performing a dance number to the tune of Mariah Carey's "All I want for Christmas is You".

What the school did this time was made the college and HS students perform first to ensure that the parents will stick it out until the end hehehe so even though we came to school so early, the kids only performed around 630PM.  I still have to edit the video but I'll update as soon as it's up.

Here are some of the pictures after the show.  Dylan fell asleep even before the program started but he woke up just in time to watch his Ate Dana perform.

While waiting for the doors to open

Hiding from the camera

The Stage

Waiting to start

Sleeping in the theater

Photo Op

Dana (far right) with her classmates

Dana (far right) with her classmates

How to make a Christmas Parol

Let's face it, I'm not really talented with arts and crafts nor do I have any interest in making them.  But sometimes, for the sake of your children you have to do things that you just gotta do hehehe  One of these things include making a Christmas Parol for Dylan's project in school.  It's supposed to be a bonding moment type of project, which I adamantly opposed during a PTA meeting because I knew Dylan wouldn't be participating in it (really!), but I was overruled hehehe  So, I was wracking my brains figuring out how to make one and even resorted to searching through youtube for instructional videos on how to make it.

The first step is finding the materials before you can even begin.  For this project, we were told to use native materials like coconut and corn husks and not recyclable materials (which we used last year).  I really had no idea how to begin so I asked my aunt for suggestions.  She told me to head over to Quiapo's Quinta Market and maybe I'll find inspiration there.  It just so happened that I had a lot of work to finish so I asked Den and Erghie to just buy the materials which they think may be suitable and we'll go from there.  When they got back, they were able to buy a Christmas parol frame (let's be honest, I can never make that one by myself hehehe) and some native materials.  It took us a week to really think about how to put the materials together LOL

Step 1:  We covered the inner frame with some red ribbon so it won't stand out.  Obviously, Dylan is more interested in playing with the ribbons rather than looping them around the frame :)

Step 2:  We used a glue gun to stick the "abaca" (I'm not really sure what the material is but it looked native) onto the "triangle" portions of the frame.  Dylan tried his hand with the glue gun.  At first, he was skeptical when he learned that it was a glue "gun".  He said, Mama don't kill me with that gun LOL

Untrimmed frame

Trimmed Frame

Step 3:  We put in a green native material to contrast with the brown, right in the middle of the frame just to keep things simple.  Then lined the edges with glittery red ribbon.  At first, we even ran out of the ribbon so we had to continue the next day.  We also ran out of glue sticks which meant another delay.

Step 4:  We glued some shells on strings and attached them to the bottom of the frame so that they'll swing.  We didn't know how to make the usual fringes in the regular Filipino Christmas parol so we "innovated" hehehe  We also wrapped some gold ribbon around the "points" of the star to conceal the points of the frame.

Almost finished product

Step 5:  The kids then proceeded to stick the sea shells onto the outline of the center of the star.  They each took turns and we finished in no time :)  The parol is now hanging from the middle of our living room hahaha Dylan has also gone territorial on it and keeps calling it His Star :)

Finished product