2016 Christmas Celebrations are made special because of FAMILY!

25 December 2016

For a while, the spirit of Christmas waned in our household because, really, the whole of 2016 has been more of "downs" than "ups".  But, it's not in our nature to let that get us down for a long time so we rallied and with the help of Family and Framily (Friends who are Family), Christmas was a blast!

It's not about the gifts - they're very much appreciated but it's really the thought that counts.  It's the presence, and sadly, the absence of the important people in our lives that make celebrating Christmas all the more worthwhile.

2015 Christmas Day

25 December 2015

Merry Christmas Everyone!

The day started bright and early despite the late night we had.  I was first to be up and about since my biological clock unfailingly wakes me up at 630AM every day.  I sorted out the gifts we received last night on the bed so that when the kids wake up, they'll be ready to be unwrapped :)

2015 Christmas with the Escalante-Aguilos Family

2015 Christmas Eve

As is our tradition, Patrick, the kids and I went to the Aguilos Christmas Eve gathering, this time held in Urdaneta.  The family, collectively called P4 because of the Escalante home in Project 4 was the original site of THE gathering, is growing larger and fit much more comfortably in the home in Urdaneta :)  We arrived around 1030PM to see the party in full swing.  Gifts were being exchanged, stories were being told and people were partaking of the great feast on the table.  We brought pork adobo as our contribution :)

Purchased P500 worth of food and drinks at Buffalo's Wings N' Things from Deal Grocer

05 December 2015

It seems that the Online Shopping God decided to put a lot of great deals out there for the Christmas holidays.  I just found another great deal, this time from Deal Grocer, and it's a P280 voucher for P500 worth of food and drinks at Buffalo's Wings N' Things.

Family: Kalila's Baby Shower

January 11, 2015

Today was Kalila's baby shower.  The kids were excited to be there early so they have more time to interact with their friends Tamara and Mika, Kalila's wonderful kids.  I wanted to be there early because I wanted to help out in the preparations. Miss Pregnant can't afford to be tired or else Sole might pop out sooner than expected :)  Patrick was not traveling with us because he was still in Clark since he participated in the Cannonball 1000 event for Top Gear.  Incidentally, that was a great event where they had to travel/race 1000 kilometers around North Luzon in 24 hours!

Well, on to the event!

Though it was mentioned in the invite that the theme was "Cross-dressing" to show equal but shared responsibilities in parenting, I forgot to mention it to the kids and I ended up forgetting about it too, my bad.  But what was funny was that I subconsciously dressed very similarly to how Patrick dresses LOL I had on a car (Subaru) shirt, khaki pants and sandals.  Dana, the tomboy that she is, was dressed in shorts, a Star Wars shirt and her Converse high-cuts.  Dylan was the only one who wasn't "dressed".  Since we arrived early, everyone was busy getting into their "roles".  But once everyone started arriving and the guys soon turned into girls and vice versa, we all had a most hilarious time! :)

Luna and Dylan as "airplanes"

The girls turned "boys" :)

Belli, Dylan and Dana

Bito and Luna

Lucas with his Lolo Net, turned "mermaid" haha

Johann, Tita Gigi, Mika, Belli 

 After the kids had their swim, Dylan became restless and we decided to go for a walk around the Village.  Funny enough, we found Patrick coasting to a stop in front of us and we rode with him on the way back hahaha

By that time, new refreshments were on the table.  Look at that scrumptious steak!! I forgot to take a picture of the food that was served hahaha we just dove in! hahaha

Josie, Orvin and Johann

 It wasn't your typical baby shower that's for sure! But, the best thing about it was that everybody enjoyed themselves.  Food was plentiful (courtesy too of friends and family who brought more), drinks were abundant, and guests were enjoyable :)  Congrats and we can't wait for Sole to arrive! :)

PS: I wasn't able to take pictures of all the gifts when they were opened by Kali so I'd rather not post the ones that I did (to be fair) hehehe

2013 Christmas

December 2013

Merry Christmas everyone!!

It's the time of the year to be with family and friends and enjoy each other's company over heaps of scrumptious food.  As usual, we went to Project 4 as is our tradition to be with the Aguilos brood.  It's a bit somber this time around as the family was affected by the recent Typhoon Haiyan which decimated a huge portion of Tacloban and other areas in the region.

2013 Kids' Christmas parties

December 20, 2013

One of the highlights in a student's life is the much-awaited Christmas party.  Both kids attended their respective parties.  We gave Dana permission to use our old camera so she can take pictures on her own.  She did take pictures, lots of it, and videos too. ;) It's just weird that her classmates refuse to be recorded, they're really shy haha Here is a collage of some of the pictures that she took of her friends and teachers :)

Dylan also had a great time at his Christmas party.  They performed song and dance numbers and had an exchange gift together with their teachers.  Here are Dylan's pictures :)

Their parties lasted only half a day but they both had a great and memorable time.  Here is a clip of the gifts they received from their friends. Thank you!  Merry Christmas!!

It's the Season to be jolly

December 25, 2012

As it is every year, we spent Christmas Eve with the Aguilos-Escalante brood in Project 4, Quezon City.  Nothing beats being with family, with people who appreciate you and welcome you with open arms.  There was good food, great company, special gifts and lots of love! (Photo by Tita Gigi)

Despite coming home in the wee hours of the 25th, all of us managed to be up and about to open our presents.  Because there were a lot of gifts. I thought it best to just put all the pictures in a collage :) That way, you can view them all in one glance ;)

It's nice to see the happiness in my kids' faces when they open their gifts and appreciate whatever is inside, regardless of the price. The value is in the thought that people remembered them and cared for them enough to go out, buy and wrap gifts for them.

Merry Christmas!

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.

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!

Christmas Day 2010 - Tadeo Family

December 25, 2010

Christmas Day - Part 2

Our Christmas Day journal continues with a visit to Patrick's brother Stevie and his family in Marikina.  We had a couple of hours to rest after my sister left and that was a relief hahaha Stevie and his family were also doing rounds among their relatives so we promised to meet up in the afternoon to early evening when they got back.  It was around 4PM when we went to their house.

When we got there, we were surprised to see Stevie, a little bit sweaty, considering that the temperature was rather cold outside.  Turns out he was putting together an Optimus Prime robot and it has taken a better part of the hour to complete ;)  Lance was getting impatient but was still able to find new toys to play with.  Hannah is becoming such a big girl already and she and her Ate Dana were bonding really well.

It was a good time to be with family.  I believe it's important for these cousins to bond, to stay close because they're the next generation of Tadeos.  Too bad that Dimples and Rhys wanted no part in the festivities.

Christmas Day 2010 - Paypon Family

December 25, 2010

Our Christmas Day can best be described by what I wrote in my Facebook Status message:  "It has been a happy, chaotic, fatigue-inducing and adrenalin-burning day!"


The days before Christmas have been so hectic I have ended up being sick up to Christmas Eve and wasn't even able to prepare for the Midnight Feast.  The next morning, dawned bright and early, and I was really excited for the kids :)  I started busying myself in preparations for the Christmas dishes that we were serving our guests :) It's just actually my sister and her family hahaha  So while I was slaving away in the kitchen, the kids, Den and Erghie were busy taking pictures :)

It took a while to finish in the kitchen.  I was preparing two types of pasta dishes.  The first one was carbonara because it was what Dana wanted.  The other one was my choice because I wasn't too fond of carbonara, so I experimented a little and made tomato pesto with olives and mushrooms.  I really wanted basil pesto pasta but for some reason, all groceries we went to had no fresh basil in stock.  I guess I'm getting tired of the usual spaghetti and wanted something different and light.  Of course, the kids prepared the salads and cakes a day earlier so that was done.

When everyone had time to refresh (meaning get cleaned up), we started opening our Christmas gifts :)  The kids had a lot of gifts.  I think there were two sets - one educational and one for fun hahaha There were a lot of bargains and sales that Patrick and I went to even before the Christmas season started so there was a good variety of gifts :)  If I'm not mistaken, Dana's favorite gift was her billiard table set.  Den's favorite gift was her Resident Evil DVD Collection :)  Dylan loved his train set! And of course, I absolutely loved my coffeemaker! :D hahaha We took a lot of pictures but here's the best of them:

My sister Sharon and her family arrived just in time to open their presents.

Christmas is really all about spending time with family even though for the better part of the year you don't keep in touch and rarely even speak hahahaha

The gifts don't really matter, although they're very much appreciated hahahaha

The food doesn't matter, although special requests are accepted ahead of time.

The cost doesn't matter, although kids usually have more money than their parents during this season :)

We miss Lola Benggoy and Allan, Lolo Angel and Tita Flor, our other relatives on both Coasts in the United States, all our friends... but we do wish them the Best of the Season and the Years to Come!