reminder from a child

i just want to share a moment what transpired last night. as raya, rob and i were lying down last night, we kept on turning and couldn't sleep. we were already done with our routine of washing up, brush teeth, read a book, played with daddy and kissed each other good night. it was quiet for a moment when rob said: "mommy, pray?" and she put her hands together. oh my gosh, a 1 year old reminded me! i am touched and humbled.

and so we prayed together.

and i said my apologies to God. :)

first trial

two weeks ago, raya started her assessment in one of the schools that we are looking into for her big school next school year. it wasn't easy at first. she froze and didn't talk to the teacher for 45 minutes. raya just looked at her and didn't respond even after the tour of the whole school, the tour of the classroom, and even after some of her friends and cousin dropped by to visit. they even had to change room, from a classroom to a library. i was there outside the classroom peeping through a glass window so that raya can be assured that i am there. it wasn't a success at first.

we weren't surprised. raya takes a while to warm up. raya knows what she wants and can't be fooled. :) once she's familiar with the people and environment, there's no stopping her :) so during the next assessment, she confidently went in the school, joined the class and answered the teacher's questions. she also roamed the school and enjoyed playing in the play area (especially the piko) and made some friends. in fact, she now considers it "her school" and doesn't want to go back to her present school. hehe.

the principal sent us an email already saying that raya still needs another assessment by march. we are not sure if it is a good sign or bad sign. we are not sure if a need for a third assessment is because of raya's age (she is supposed to be in kinder  next school year but she just turned 5 years old) or it's because raya still doesn't know how to read.

whatever it is, the search goes on.

sweet hopes

i love sweets. i love desserts. when i was in grade school, i learned how to make panckes. in high school, i had a first hand in baking in one of our classes. then my best friend's mom taught us to make chocolate chip cookies and chocolate crinkles. though the results were unsuccessful (hard rock!), i loved it.

i remember that i wanted to go to a culinary school in college. i am not sure why it didn't push through. maybe becaue we lack funds or perhaps i didn't know where to enroll. back then, culinary wasn't as 'in' as it is now.

now i just read recipes, search the net and attend some short courses. i want to learn. i want to bake. i love sweets. i started to sell some about 2 years ago. hopefully this year, i'll be able to sell more and not just during the christmas season. hopefully, i'll be able to perfect the recipes that i know and that people would love it. i am hoping i could supply some of my goodies to caterers, bake shop, coffee shop, grocery, food booth, etc.

hoping

2012 goals

for the past seven years since we got married, gelio and i have been doing a list of our accomplishments and struggles of the previous year. after reading to each other our list, we discuss it and then formulate our goals for the coming year. you may call it our new year's resolution. we would like to call it our goals. pretty much the same but we would want for it to really happen and not just remain a list :)  it's also our action to be better/to improve/change/grow/correct the wrong from the past year/s.

i'll share some of our goals. the rest, well, it's not meant to be posted ;)

gelio

• Read 24 books for the year
• Go to the gym
• Learn how to play music again
• Start blogging
• Help manage laundry shops more (financials)

me

• to profit from Choc and cakes
• Learn more recipes
• Bake 2x a month to practice and learn
• Increase total sales by 10% of all laundry shops
• visit shops regularly; at least 3x
• Monitor files min of 2x/month

family goals

• Buy bed :) and cabinet
• Read to raya and robin during weekends
• Family devotion every Sunday night
• Eat together, playing, outdoors (fun stuff)
• Lessen watching tv
• Read bible every night
• only 2-3 toys to play with per week
• Talk about God all times

raya's 5th birthday

it was raya's 5th birthday last week and we celebrated it just the way she wanted it. yup, she now makes her own decision on some matters. she celebrated it at school with her classmates. served them "speti "(spaghetti) and chicken and juice. i baked chocolate cake with sprinkles, also a request from her and she helped make the "pik" (pink) cupcakes. she also prefers to wear her new white pants, despite that it's still a bit big for her, and a long sleeves shirt. she prefers this outfit over a dress "cos dresses are boring!"

after her class, they had games.. and yes, games that she prefers such as the luksong tinik (which she recently learned from class), musical chairs (a.k.a trip to jerusalem), and the longest happy birthday rayaaaaa... game. she gave away cereals and chocolate as giveaways. plus each one got to take home a prize from joining the games.

in the afternoon, we let her play in the "playground" with her sister. she loves it. especially playing with the ipad (uh-oh!), had dinner and ice cream and cap off the night by playing at timezone.

it was a simple celebration and yet, my daughter had fun. she keeps on saying so. after all, we let her decide what she want to do on her birthday :)

i'm glad we made raya's 'wishes' come true. i'm also happy that God made it possible and really did provide despite our tight budget for this month. we didn't have a gift for her either. actually, we don't know what to give her. the kids received lots of clothes and toys over the holidays. we're so blessed. raya actually didn't mind. she asked once why we don't have a gift and we explained to her that she's got lot of stuff already and that spending time with her is enough. i reminded raya to say "thank you" if some of her classmates will give her a gift, if there's none, then it is ok. what's important is that they greeted her and that they had fun on her birthday celebration. she said "ok". i hope she will some day really understand and be grateful for what she have.

i love planning and arranging anything for my kids especially parties of course. plus buying gifts and prizes. having a tight budget is not a problem. in fact, it has helped me maximize what is already available :) like the ingredients for the cake and cupcakes; the cereals and chocolate which we got for free. it has made me think  and be creative. sure i want affordable prizes, but i want the kids to enjoy them and really use it. i'm glad cos after the class, some of the kids played with their prizes right away and i saw them had fun with it.

simple joys... for me and for the birthday girl.



the mt. pinatubo experience

one of my bucket's lists is to go to mt. pinatubo and i was able to accomplish that together with my husband and my visiting cousins last month.

it was quite an experience, that's what i can say. i enjoyed the trip but i would think twice if i am asked to do it again. the trek is doable. heck, i have no experience in trekking, hiking, mountaineering or the like and i did it. it was just that, the trek is too long. it was 3 hours of walking ...

can you see how tiny we are or how big our surrounding is?

and walking ....

and more walking...

and seeing only rocks, sand, and streams.

we love the streams. its so refreshing to our hot and tired feet.
 good thing there are lots of streams along the way

one would really ask "are we there yet?".  i did a couple of times. perhaps, one of the reasons why my being impatient had taken its toll on me was that i was a bit scared. we were so so far away from the city. there is no signal up there in the mountains. one wrong slip and we could harm ourselves and it will take so long for help to come. the tour guide, who we do not know, could harm us and nobody could hear us. well, good thing we were 10 in the group and that there were just 2 tour guides. it could rain and could cause landslide. anything could happen. so i just prayed and prayed. thank God we were spared. 

it wasn't at all bad. it was just risky and i honestly didn't see it coming. maybe there should me more info on the site? or perhaps i should have researched more.

here how the trip started. we were fetched by a private van at 4am in my cousin's hotel in makati. had our stop for breakfast at nlex. arrived in tarlac a bit late, around 8:30am, because we have to make 2 more stops looking for atm machine. upon reacheing tarlac, we registered signed waiver, paid our fees, read the history of mt. pinatbo and got ready (sunblock, shades, bladder break, etc). we then took 2 4x4 jeepneys which would take us to the starting point of the trek. it was a rough 1.5 hours ride.

amazing huh? sort of like a nat geo kind of thing. it was exciting. we were so relieved when we reached the top. yes its nice up there. mt. pinatubo crater is amazing and one would really wonder how such a beautiful thing could come up after that destructive erruption twenty years ago.  

we were all so relieved [i guess that's the right term], upon reaching 'something'. the thing is, we were so hungry! i thought the organizer was going to provide some snacks. i thought i read their site wrong. but we met the other group who got the same organizer. they also thought that snacks will be provided. sad part, they didn't have heavy breakfast that morning! oh no! :(

anyway, since we travelled a long way, might as well take a dip at the crater and take lots of pics :)

after an hour or so, we went our way back. yep, it's the same 3 hour trek and 1.5 hours rough ride. we reached the starting point at 5pm and so we were able to eat our lunch.

lunch, by the way is not buffet. rather, it was that the servings are big. it was ok. didn't expect much. and hey, beggars can't be choosers :) its food! that's it.

there also wasn't clean bathroom or showers either as stated in the website. there's a restroom at the starting point. that's it. so we just washed ourselves. bath and shower had to wait until we get home in manila. and along the trekking site, there's no rest room too. there's a shaft near the crater...

either you pee in one of these, which is after 2.5 hour trek, or you choose your own rock to pee :)

i didn't hear my cousins complain. my 11 year old nephew didn't too. they were even at the front of the line both going there and back. but if somebody will ask my opinion re the organizer, i'd say look for another one. sorry. or perhaps, just go on your own like what my friends did. anyway when you get there, the locals will help you. just pay the necessary fees. for us, we chose to have an organizer so that there will be somebody to pick our group for the convenience of it. one should read more and ask around for other organizers. there's another site that i came upon. its more accurate in information. just not sure of the service. i would also advice to bring first aid kit and if possible, a satellite phone.  

again, it was quite an experience for us. it wasn't what i expected. but it was a unique bonding time for us. one way to discover God's grandeur as well. but i don't think this is for everybody. as for us, we were happy to have done it. and once is enough :D

new year's day with a twist

we normally spend new year's day at my first cousin's house in the south. just a simple lunch and exchange of gifts. this year, we added a twist to it especially since my other first cousins from the U.S. and australia are here in the philippines spending the holiday with us.

we were supposed to start with lunch. but since everybody woke up late due to the previous night's celebration, we started with merienda time. the surprise was that me, my husband and sister came up with some games! and of course there were prizes as well. it was a success because everybody, including my mom and aunt, joined in.

bato bato pick game

getting the oreo cookie to the mouth without touching

placing 2 teabags onto the cap by swinging the head

moving empty beer cans to the other table through a spaghetti noodle

they almost did it

stacking 4 mallows. this game is easy!

putting 2 oranges inside the hoop thru a banana

a game for the little ones - separating the candies by color



then some my cousin's visitors came over and played some music.

i didn't know that my cousin plays the drums. wow!

hubby joined the jam! it's been a long time. i miss hearing him play and sing

it was a night to remember. everybody had a great new year's day celebration. see?

Life is beutiful! Happy new year!

i am humbled

the year 2010 was really a rough ride for us, for me. i think it is evident through my posts. i could hear myself whining and crying. but i could also remember praying real hard and just calling out His name. and then i became impatient and just gave up.

early 2011, an unexpected blessing came. or was it the answered prayer we were waiting for? anyway, i cried my heart out. i was, still am, humbled. i vowed not to give up and to be more patient. i suddenly remember that He has never given up on me.                      

not once.

the year 2011 was an ok ride. there are trials of course, but remembering my promise, i kept the faith and just held on. this made the ride easier. so many blessings and challenges to thank for.

i try to remember that the hardships are meant to happen for me to learn. i try to thank God for every single thing, big and small. i try to be better and to pay it forward. i am bringing it with me this year [2012] and the succeeding years.

christmas 2011

this time of the year, christmas morning was spent like this:

building sand castles

walking in the white sand

swimming, of course

the kids love their first plane ride, first time in the beautiful island of boracay and first out of town christmas celebration. the trip was a bit pricey for us but what the heck, it's christmas! so worth it when you see their happy faces, enjoying every moment.

and what better way to spend it, is by being with

family!