Disaster strikes in the New Year

This is not good.  What would you feel when you were coming home feeling all content and happy because you've just celebrated the New Year with your family and then all of a sudden, a commotion happens right in front of you as you're parking your car.

That's what happened on January  2.  We came home to people running around, shouting and screaming just across the street.  At first, we thought there were gang members rioting or neighbors fighting.  I then asked Patrick and the kids not to get out of the car in case we need to make a hasty exit from.  Then we started to hear people shouting, "Fire! Fire" and that made me nervous.  I automatically looked into the sky to see traces of smoke and sure enough, just across our car and the street, there was a blazing fire in one of the buildings.  By then, people were running around looking around for the fire trucks.  We immediately parked the car in the garage because we didn't want to hinder the passage of the fire trucks.  I learned from Patrick that fire trucks have every right to blast their way on the street and if you don't want to get out of the way, then good luck to your car! They've actually done it before too wow!

Patrick took some pictures of the commotion from the street and from our room in the house.  Here's a picture of the first fire truck making the scene. It's funny that there are a lot of people hitching a ride on the truck thinking they can help the firemen out.  But what firemen want is for them to leave them alone so they can do their job better because sometimes, these people simply get in the way and may end up getting hurt because they don't know what they're doing.

Here's a picture of the fire from our room.  It was really scary because I kept remembering that it was the same time last year that we were also in the middle of a scary fire.  Remember?  A tanker truck blew up in front of the house and for a while we couldn't get out because there's a huge wall of fire outside our gate. whew! really horrifying and even Dana still remembers that night..

The street across the house looked like a parking lot of fire trucks.  I pity the vehicles who got caught in the middle of this event because they got stuck in the middle of the fly-over and they couldn't back out.









The fire was put out after 30 minutes maybe but the firefighters stuck around for a lot longer than that.  It was really scary but it also made me thankful that it wasn't us and that there weren't any injured people in the accident.

Happy New Year - 2010!

December 30, 2009 - Mall of Asia

We decided to celebrate the New Year early by walking along the bayside at SM Mall of Asia.  We brought the kids their bike and scooter so they can have fun while there's hardly any people around.  It's fun to just watch the sunset and reflect on what has happened during the year and be hopeful of things to come.  It's just so peaceful and calm here, even with people walking by, you kind of sense that they're also deep in their thoughts about the year ending especially when looking at something like this.

Here are some pictures of that day:

Here are Dana and Dylan trying out their new Christmas gifts.  Since we didn't have space for them at home to play with these toys, we decided to drop by here near the bayside where they can play to their hearts' delight.  Don't you think it's obvious they're enjoying themselves??  That's what's important ;)

Having a silly moment there!

Still enjoying each other's company for 15 years :)

A Year in the Life: 2009

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 :)