Dana's Family Day in School

February 20, 2010

I posted an entry about Dana having an ongoing school fair in school.  As part of the week-long celebration, the final day of the fair, there was a family day which was participated in by the whole school.  The kids were required to wear shirts to show which team they belong to.  Dana's grade level was supposed to wear yellow.  We also bought Dylan a yellow shirt because members of the family attending the event were encouraged to wear the same color shirt too.

As you can see they both look good!

I'm proud to say that Dana was active in participating in the games.  She volunteered to participate in the sack race and here she is!  Unfortunately, in her excitement a few hops from the starting line, she fell. Here's the video, if you want to see it.

Still, she got up and still went on.  Go Dana!

After that, her classmates all went to her and asked her how she was.  They're a tight-knit group of friends :)




During breaks or when it became too hot outside, we all sought refuge inside Dana's classroom hehehe It was airconditioned and the perfect place to rest.  Dylan occupied himself with reading the books in their reading nook.  It was a good chance for us to see how he likes being in a classroom setting.  It was nice! but maybe it was because Dana's teacher has such a rapport with kids :)



It sure was a tiring but enjoyable day!

Face of Betrayal by Lis Wiehl with April Henry

It’s always a bright day when you have something to read – even better when you receive a complimentary book from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. This time I got to review and offer my own honest opinions on the book, Face of Betrayal by Lis Wiehl with April Henry.

I’m a fan of thrillers so it’s nice having to start a new series by a new author.  The Face of Betrayal has 3 feminine protagonists working together to solve crimes.  Their present case involves the sudden disappearance of 17-year old US Senate page Katie Converse.  To me, it was something similar like James Patterson’s Women’s Murder Club series but it can stand on its own.  What’s nice about the book is that having 3 separate protagonists provides 3 different perspectives on the crime and how they all contribute with solving the puzzle.  Each also has her own personal demons, some obvious and some hinted at, which may be future topics in the succeeding books.

It’s pretty simple how the usual suspects are presented in the book but I was kind of hoping for more serious twists and turns. It was a fast read though because the chapters are short although you have to pay some attention to the dates to get with the story better. 

All in all, it was a good and fast read.  It would be fun to know how the 3 friends fare in the succeeding books.

Dana's School Fair

February 15, 2010

One of the things that I most remember when I think about my days in school during elementary is the school fair.  I often look forward to the rides, the food and the days of no classes like any normal child :)  This is Dana's first school fair and she's as excited as I was :) There's nothing more exciting than knowing that you'll see your child perform in public and you just want to show your support :)  I know they've worked hard at their dance number and they can't wait to show off to parents, teachers and other school mates.

Dana's school fair was a week long affair.  There were rides (a ferris wheel and a dinosaur ride) and booths with food, games and prizes.  The first day, the kids paraded around the school and even outside where they walked along the streets :) Dana complained of being tired from the heat but she was so happy she said it was like going on a field trip hahha aaah the simple joys of youth! :D  Look at the picture and you'll see Dana trying to look cool haha  They're waiting for their turn in the program.  Admittedly, they've gotten quite restless as the day wore on :)

To pass the time, the kids just played around, had a few drinks to quench their thirst, explored the booths and basically tried to keep quiet and behaved.  

Here are Dana and Dylan, of course, they're wearing matching shirts hahaha and Dylan, naturally, is making his dinosaur faces :)  It's quite funny that when we bought these shirts we didn't know at that time that Dana will be needing a yellow shirt.  They both love watching Spongebob Squarepants so we immediately bought these shirts for them when we saw them at the mall :D

Here's Dana's dance video.

Family Bonding in Subic Bay

February 12-14, 2010

We scheduled our first out of town trip to coincide with Patrick's birthday and Valentine's Day.  It also happened to be our 15th year and 3rd month anniversary but who's counting (really?!) hahaha  It also was kind of a treat for Dana as well because her grades went up this quarter :)  This time we really planned on staying 3 days and 2 nights because the trip was long and we wanted to savor the experience and we had a lot of planned activities too :)  We left Ate Mel and Ate Den at home because Ate Den had classes and can't afford to miss them, even though she wanted to come.  Ate Mel was her chaperone at home hehehe

Here we are having lunch at Kenny Roger's Roasters along the North Luzon Expressway.  After a dip in the pool, here are my babies resting in our room.  Actually, that's one of the perks of the Bayfront Subic Hotel.  Aside from the very affordable and large rooms that they have, they also have a very good Japanese-Korean restaurant and a pool.  When we looked around Subic for accommodations, other hotels didn't have the advantage of having a pool.  When you're with kids you need a pool to keep them occupied even if you have cable TV in your room.  :)

What's more these rooms are huge! You even have a veranda, although the beach is blocked by a building being constructed, but still you feel the breeze of the ocean.  That couch can be for an extra person, you know :) The room is cold enough anyway :)

For dinner, Patrick recommended eating the Meat Plus Cafe, a very popular Subic hangout for people who love fat, juicy steaks.  Although, a word of warning they can be quite costly at around P250 a pop :)  Patrick couldn't stop raving about his food but unfortunately for me, I didn't like what was served.  Though the service crew were helpful, especially since we arrived during peak hours, my steak was so bloody I'd have turned into a vampire just by eating it.  I had no choice since I've already sliced it and I was just so hungry by that time that I just let it go.  In all fairness, they were fat steaks but the veggies could've been tastier with more butter :D I love butter! :D  I don't want to risk another tasting so I doubt if I'll return there. After dinner, we took a walk on the beach.  Dylan hated the feel of the sand on his feet hahahaha

The next day, we scheduled a trip to Ocean Adventure.  Ticket prices were P500 per adult and P420 for kids under 12.  I knew that we would be spending much when we got there but we did spend around 3 hours in the Park because of all the different attractions that were scheduled so it was just worth it.  While waiting for our first sked, we spent time at the Aquarium.

It would have been less hectic if we had the place to ourselves but that's wishful thinking.  There were kids on their educational field trip when we got there.  It was a good thing that thanks to the advice of the people in Bayfront we came early.  The dolphin pens were great to look at because you can see the dolphins up close, just look at the pictures that Patrick took.  

The first stop on our itinerary was the Dolphin show at the Seaside Stadium which lasted around 30 minutes.  Unfortunately, the camera ran out of battery even though we charged it so we weren't able to take pictures of the dolphins while the show was on-going.

These were taken while we were running around the place.  We ended up near the Eco-Theater and the Adventure Beach.  All the other people were in their respective shows so there was no one about.

Here's a picture of Brandy, the Sea Lion.  He had a lot of tricks and part of the show involved volunteers from the audience.  He knows how to play dead, roll around on the floor, smile and talk, salute and march - all through positive reinforcement.  There were more attractions like the Walk on the Wild Side which was a showcase of snakes, bats, dogs, cats and birds.  The last show was called "Rap, Jump and Roll" which was a variety show featuring mascots, dancing, rapping and a trampoline-acrobatic performance.



After the hot day at the Ocean Adventure, we headed back to the hotel and changed to our swimsuits for a dip in the cool waters of the pool.  Oh, we had burgers at Wimpy's for lunch, I almost forgot! LOL


For dinner, we ate at the hotel restaurant and we had shabu-shabu!! There was also an ongoing valentine's dinner outside the hotel complete with a band and a buffet set up.  We preferred to be indoors where there's aircon hehehe but look at that scrumptious food!

The next morning after our buffet breakfast, we headed to the beach to walk off all that food! :D  The sun wasn't so hot, the water was calm and the kids enjoyed walking on the water :)  Here are a couple of videos :

Dana frolicking on the beach
Dylan's version of running on water

After getting wet, we went back to the hotel were we prepared for going home.  We had such a good time, such a relaxing time that we didn't want to go back to the hectic and crazy life of the city :)

A fun day at the FUN RANCH

Fun Ranch, Tiendesitas - February 06, 2010

We had a mission today and it was to find clothes fit for Oneal and Rej's wedding on the 20th.  It's an important wedding for us because, first, it was a privilege to be invited so there was no question of not going, nor were there any second thoughts at all when we received their invitation.

Since this was going to be the kids' first formal gathering, we knew we had to invest in good clothes.  We even considered having Star Wars costumes made for them, but it was going to be cutting it too close.  We did look at websites (as recommended by Oneal) so maybe one of these days the kids will have their own Star Wars costumes :)

Anyway, we first went to Greenhills but we couldn't find anything suitable.  We then decided to try going to Tiendesitas because we haven't gone there at all and we thought that the kids would like to have fun at the Fun Ranch which was just across it.  We first ate lunch at their Food Court where there was a lot of food choices to suit many discerning palates.  After that, we went around for a while - there were a lot of home furnishings, many pet stores ( a whole section dedicated to pets), native delicacies and even kalesa rides.  It was a good place to walk around if you don't mind the heat but there are a lot of bargains if you have the energy to explore the many nooks and crannies ;)

The Fun Ranch was a really big place.  We got all-you-can-ride tickets for the kids which they proceeded to use on the carousel, the bumper cars and the other different rides.  Unfortunately, we only had a mobile phone to take pictures with so you'll have to bear with us.  I think our rechargeable batteries need to be replaced LOL

The kids had fun riding these bumper boats!  If I were younger I probably would too hahaha  At least there weren't too many people that day so there was really no waiting time and the helpers were more lenient about the time the customers stayed in the boats :) or maybe it was just us because my kids were cute ! LOL

This was actually the first ride they lined up for but they all got dizzy including Ate Mel! LOL we needed to take a break, get in some air and just chill for a while before trying out any other rides.

At the end of the day, it was nice that we were all together having fun and making memories to last a lifetime....

Tripping at the Manila Zoo

When we asked the kids where they wanted to go during the weekend, they immediately answered, "Manila Zoooo!! Now, how can you say no to such an enthusiastic answer like that? Hahaha

So, while getting ready to go out, we were surprised when visitors arrived.  Dimples and Rhys came for a visit and what perfect timing!!  We all ended up going to Manila Zoo together and it was a great way to start the year  - with close family bonding.  It was really a spur of the moment thing otherwise we would have also invited Stevie, Toni and the kids with us.  It's been a long time since we saw these two and I am glad they dropped by :)

I just love this picture.  The elephant was moved to a new and improved area and I think he loves it!  He's more active, moving around his pen and the kids were so excited to see him eating his grass :)  They found the perfect position to watch him - near the fence! hahaha







For the first time in all the years that I've been going to the Manila Zoo, I saw some monkeys escaping from their cages.  First, there was one.  Then there were two.  Then there were three!  I don't really know where they went but I expect they've been jumping from tree to tree all over the zoo LOL

Here are Dimples and Rhys when we were taking a break, having a snack near the playground.  There were too many kids to really enjoy the slides so we just savored each other's company :)

To end this post, here's Dylan saying "Happy Holidays" :)

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 :)

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 hehehe

Christmas 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 :)