Kids: Dylan's Graduation 2013

March 21, 2013

Today is the culmination of Dylan's 3-year stint in preschool.  It's such a milestone in our lives since he has a learing disability and I'm so proud of him for finishing school despite it.  The ceremony started at 9AM at the San Beda College.  The event was pretty organized except for the parents who kept crowding the stage to take pictures :) But the kids were enthusiastic and excited so there was a very high energy that day!




Take a look at Dylan! I'm so proud of him! We're all so proud of him!! :)

Here are his teachers and Administrators at the Little Sofie Learing and Development Center.

Ma'am Shiela (L)

Teacher Cath

Teacher She

Principal Lu

Teacher Karen

The Handsome Graduate

Kids: Dylan's 7th birthday

March 18, 2013

The weeks after the photo shoot were pretty hectic with Dana's and Dylan's exams, Patrick's trip to Batanes (I was envious) and Dylan's rehearsals for their Moving Up Ceremony/Graduation.  Dylan's 7th birthday was buried under all these activities but wasn't forgotten.  We decided that we'll celebrate his birthday at the same time with his Graduation which were only days apart.

It was very nice of Den to come and visit on Dylan's birthday and brought with her such a great assortment of J. Co donuts for Dylan.  We hadn't tried any of the donuts from J. Co as we were Dunkin Donuts and Krispy Kreme fans so it was a learning experience as well.  :)

Dylan didn't know which one to eat first hahaha Thank you Den!

2nd Photo Shoot

March 07, 2013

Today was the schedule for the 2nd photo shoot for Smart Parenting magazine.  They were cutting it too close for their April deadline so everything was kind of in a rush.  Apparently, the photos from the first shoot wasn't cohesive with the rest of the photos of the other interviewees so they decided to re-shoot at Mom and Tina's cafe in Makati.  It was fine with me although it was too bad that the first one didn't make the cut.  I kind of liked how I looked there hahaha (vain!)

Anyway, these photos were taken by Den at the photo shoot.  She had a crappy mobile camera so the pictures are a little blurry hahha  It was a bit awkward that they had to do the makeup there at the cafe in front of other people but I guess there was no other extra private space and besides who was I to complain? ;)

This time our photographer was Dax Angeles who also happened to know Patrick since he also freelances for Top Gear Philippines.  Unfortunately, I can't remember the makeup artist's name because when we got there, there was no time for introductions and small talk. Just straight to the makeup and shoot.  After, we were treated to the delicious cakes and pastries they have on hand! :)  Then, it was all  a matter of waiting for the issue to hit the stands!

Before going home, we all trooped to Hainanese Delights in Robinsons Otis and we took this opportunity to take pictures.  hahaha.  It's rare that I look this good and with professional makeup at that! So "Ready, Aim, Shoot!" haaha We were so noisy we woke up Tracy hahaha

Update:  Here's a scanned pic of the article in the Smart Parenting Magazine

Kids: Tracy's 1st and Dana's 9th birthdays

March 03, 2013

As I mentioned in my previous post, we were all preparing for a double celebration.  Since Tracy's and Dana's birthdays were close together, we decided to celebrate them together.  It would have been funny if we had included Dylan too since his birthday is also on March but it was 2 weeks later. :)

Anyway, the preparations included buying cake.  We tapped Dana's Ninong Phil to create the cakes for both girls.  Tracy's was simple because she's still small so we opted to have a Minnie Mouse-inspired chocolate cake.  At that time, Dana was into Adventure Time so her cake was of Finn and Jake but it was Red Velvet.  We tasted these two flavors when we went to Phil's for a birthday too and he made the cakes and they were delicious! :) We ordered them ahead of time then came in the morning to pick them up.

 
Next, we had to order the food for the guests.  We considered cooking the food ourselves but decided against it because it would take too much time and there were many people coming.  We didn't have the equipment basically hahaha So, after looking around and computing and comparing prices and taste, we finally decided to order from Amber.  It's our tried and tested food provider for big celebrations.  We only had to order it a day before and pick it up from their Morato branch the day after.  The barbecue was the only thing that wasn't from Amber's.  We ordered it from our local carinderia :) They make delicious barbecue! :) Of course, we also bought the necessary paper plates, cups, cutlery, napkins and drinks.

Pork Barbecue

Spaghetti

Pancit Malabon

Lumpia Shanghai

 Basically, that's all that we prepared for.  We didn't plan for any activities because we were sure that conversation among the guests will be non-stop anyway.  The guests were mostly Tracy's godparents and they were composed of Den's friends.  We were Dana's guests hahaha We did prepare a "scrapbook" for guests to write their birthday letter to Tracy and we planned to include a picture of them with Tracy.  That scrapbook is with Den now.  She can add to it for every birthday Tracy celebrates :)

Here are the guests! Good food and good company! It was a fun day!  Happy birthday Tracy and Dana!

Kids: Frolicking in UP

February 24, 2013

For this week, Den and Tracy were home with us as we all prepared for Tracy's 1st and Dana's 9th birthday celebration.  So while they were staying with us, we all trooped to UP for some refreshing and fun activities.

As usual, Dana was getting curious looks because of her strange scooter while Dylan constantly tried to catch up.  Tracy was still getting used to all the trees :)

Eventally, the poor baby drifted off into oblivion in my arms :)

I just love this shot. It's so calm yet so eerie.  Dylan and Dana are somewhere in the photos. :)

Kids: Dana's Family Day Presentation

February 13, 2013

Today is extra special because it's Patrick's birthday and it's Dana's Family Day presentation in school.  Now, we couldn't celebrate Patrick's birthday at this time because he has to be at work but "Happy birthday!" just the same :)

Dana was very excited about her section's performance because they've been working really hard to master the steps.  We were at her school early to help her prepare with her costume and makeup.  It was quite exciting because everyone was in high spirits.



Look at them as they eagerly wait for their turn to perform.

After their performance, they all changed into their class shirts to be more comfortable as they watch the rest of the events unfold.  These are Dana's besties :)

Photo Shoot for Smart Parenting magazine

January 25, 2013

Aside from the start of regular classes for the year and the usual excitement at having your favorite TV shows returning after their break, one milestone that started this year was the experience of being the "star" of a photo shoot for Smart Parenting magazine.

You see, last year, I participated in an interview for the magazine regarding stay-at-home moms.  It was all done via email (as is the case nowadays) so I didn't think much of it afterwards except maybe to wonder when the issue will be released so I can get a copy.  Well, I was surprised when I got a call from them scheduling a convenient time for the photo shoot for the magazine.  What was even more mind-boggling was they wanted to shoot it here at home! haha That gave me a panic attack because our house is honestly, not magazine material! hahahaha So, the schedule was for January 25 and I spent almost a week getting the house in top shape.

The first to arrive that afternoon was the make-up artist Jeff Robles.  I didn't know what to expect really as I've never had the privilege nor the luxury of being made up by a professional makeup artist so it was a real treat to meet Jeff.  He was easy to talk to, made me feel comfortable and was very light with his hands.  It took more than an hour to complete my look.  Whether it's because I was ugly hahaha or he was very meticulous, the bottom line was I looked good!  Of course, I can't show you pictures that will appear in the magazine but we did take our own pictures after the photo shoot.

While Jeff was putting on my makeup, the photographer, Mark Chester Ang, and his team arrived.  Our living room started to get smaller and smaller since their equipment was bulky and large :)  They set up as they waited for me to be finished.  Dana also had her first experience with a straightening iron which she adored because for the first time she wasn't curly! LOL

So, there it went... picture here, picture there.... some props here and some props there.. until it was done! I wish now that there was someone else with me to document the whole experience haha

Anyway, when they all left, Dana, Dylan and I had fun taking photos of each other!! Here are the results!