One day after Christmas, exactly on my little guy's two-year-and-six-month-old mark, the most unthinkable happened -- we were apart for one night. Yes, apart, not just in different beds or in different rooms in the house. I mean in different cities, with different companies.

And it happened so suddenly, without any preamble or practice and without any easing into it. What is even more remarkable is the fact that it was MY BABY, err, my little guy, who made the decision (of going away from me overnight and for nearly 24 hours hehe).

Yes, it is a big deal. Since birth, this little guy had always slept by my (and my husband's) side. We have been breastfeeding and cosleeping since birth. I have never spent a night away from him. Wherever I go, he goes too. In as much as I long for a very quick travel with my husband, too, I just could not imagine HOW, given our circumstances with our clingy little boy. :)

Clingy, yes, to the point that I have a self-imposed curfew since he just would not go to bed without me home yet. And believe me, he checks on me in the middle of the night and makes sure we're sleeping side by side. I don't know if he is fully awake when he does, or if he does so subconsciously and half-asleep, but oh he does, all the time. I just could not envision that he (or I) would be ready to be apart from each other overnight soon enough.

And it happened. Too soon and all too sudden, actually. He just decided last minute to go out of town with my parents and siblings and a cousin. We probably asked him a hundred times if he was sure that he wanted to go without me, and if he understood that he won't be sleeping with me. Which means, no dede (breastfeeding) time for the night, too. He was sure and he was very decisive -- YES, yes, yes. Even bid me a sweet "See you tomorrow Momma!" a number of times. So off my family merrily drove to Subic with their giddy two-year-old passenger on a Saturday morning. My husband and I went the following day.

Reunited (in Subic) and it feels so good. :)

And how was it, might you ask? It was goooood all throughout their waking hours. I wish I could say it was good from start to end, but of course, there was some crying involved in the middle of his sleep. It follows that there were different levels of sleep deprivation, too, both on his end and mine. LOL. And, can you imagine, the little boy flat out REFUSED TO SLEEP at first even though he was so sleepy already?! Yes, even before his usual bed time, he had already declared that no, he was not sleeping that night, not until Momma comes the following day. And oh boy, did he try his best to really stick to his words! He did fall asleep eventually, at somewhere close to midnight. Whew.

At least, one of my biggest fears that day -- that we might have to drive to Subic in the wee hours of the night to come to his rescue, because it just did not work out -- did not happen. Halelujah! All in all, we made it, we graciously made it.  I did miss him (A LOT!) and I was pretty sure he missed me terribly, too. He literally never left my side again when we came to fetch them. LOL.

Milestone weekend for the both of us. I love you, Thirdypooper!

It was not the easiest of nights (especially for my family hehe), but it sure was one for the books and one of the many milestones not just for my little guy, but also in my parenting journey. :)

It's the most wonderful time of the year! :)

And it's all the more wonderful if you have little kid(s) running around your home, must I say. Oops, I just realized I already said that piece on my Christmas post last year -- that Christmas is a lot more fun and meaningful once you have your own little family or little kiddos. :)

It really is. It's like kids are magically spreading the Christmas stardust and enchanting us with their infectious merry, jolly, happy Christmas spirit.We had a blast with our second Christmas with our one-year old last year, but I tell you, it just keeps getting better!

Sending over some Christmas cheers through these photos of our little guy giddily opening his presents on Christmas day:

December, finally, you are here!

I feel likeour December is finally starting -- just now, yes.

We bid goodbye to November and didn't even realize December quietly creeped in, as we were harboring some terrible illness at home. First, it was me, down with the flu. Then my little guy was next. But his was more than just the regular flu. :( The first five days were a haze of sleepless nights, hospital trips (we were always on the verge of having him admitted, but no he was not confined), cuddling and 'karga' and wanting to give whatever he asked (except that he didn't ask much), of kangaroo care, of feeding frenzy.

Let me just share again the powers of kangaroo care, skin to skin and breastfeeding. For four days, this little guy did not eat anything. We were very apprehensive, but our pedia was certain that we'll make it fine with just water and breastmilk for several days. And we did. 

Yay to breastfeeding!

How often do you receive a hug? How often do you give out one?

Did you know that scientifically, research has proven that hugs are much beneficial to our well-being?

Right. Bet you we didn't even need any research to validate that. Let's admit it - what's more comforting than a hug whenever we are down, stressed, and depressed? Maybe not much; other than good ol' shopping, of course. :) But then again, hugs are instantaneous, hugely gratifying, and do not hurt the pocket at all.

Research even says there's a required minimum number of hugs per day and duration of hugs (can you believe that?!) for them to be truly uplifting in our daily lives and for their long-term benefits to be truly felt. No, I won't scrunch up the numbers on you, but we did discuss them in my Psych (elective) classes in undergrad and in grad school. :)

Scientifics aside, I really am a huge believer in the healing power of touch, especially hugs. No, not just its healing powers, but more so its "building powers." Constantly getting hugs guarantees a surge of positive emotions that in turn builds someone's personality (positively so). Hugging just melts away one's daily stresses and lightens the burden of one's more pressing problems. It is not merely a physical connection -- it forges empathy, forms an understanding between the minds and the hearts involved. A lovers' quarrel is never truly resolved without a hug involved. It is a security blanket. It reassures children that they are loved, and that some people are there for them no matter what.

Indeed. (Image source here)

The other day, I learned that our part-time cleaner and plantsadora's (is she an Iron Lady then? I wish I am. hekhekhek) little boy had a minor episode with my little one. Those two boys are roughly of the same age. They were playing one afternoon, and as usual, my Thirdy kept on attempting to hug the other little guy. Much to the latter's protest, and probably bewilderment. The other kid kept on crying whenever Thirdy would hug him. More than that, he was either on fight or escape mode.

We dissed it as nothing but friendly toddler play. But when I got to talk to the mom, she confirmed they (them at home) have never hugged her son, so he probably taught somebody was picking a fight on him when somebody attempted to hug him. My eyes went wide while my heart ached a little when I heard that.

I render no judgment to the parents of the boy, but somehow, I got sad. Here's a little kid who has not gotten any hug his entire life yet. Sure, they have a much different family dynamics and culture. I guess I just thought that, most especially with babies and little kids, it's next to impossible not to sniff and hug them. All the time. I thought it's instinctive, especially to parents. It's like love just flows and overflows and I just hug my little darling randomly whenever I felt like it, which is quite too often -- and he does the same way to us. (I'm not telling she does not have overflowing love for her son here, ok?:) We hug wherever and whenever, we hug even when asleep.

About to give my boys a huuuug. Hug whenever, wherever! :)

I have gotten over it, and I think our cleaning lady has vowed to try harder giving his son hugs. Probably not just hugs, but affection in general.I sincerely hope so.

But no matter, I stand by this firmly: affection begets affection. Hug begets hugs. And those are the cheapest and most potent form of therapy, yo! :)

I never thought a two-year old could have so much opinion, so much insight about so many things, so much imagination. And I'm loving every minute of it!

Last week, our little Thirdy started an animated conversation with us on how he would go to the office -- pretend play, of course. He came up with complete details such as the where tos, the how tos, small nitty gritty like his pretend laptop for his pretend work in his pretend office. He was so into his own story telling, with emphatic body movements and dramatic facial expressions of a little boy convincing his parents that he's the adult one in the room and they better listen to him. Just how cute is that! :)

This little guy got a lot of ROFL-worthy tricks, antics, and stories up on his sleeves, yo!

This was how he went on:

Sharing an article I wrote for our office's web publication. :) It didn't make it to last month's International Breastfeeding Awareness Month. But here goes, still part of breastfeeding as one of my biggest advocacies in my parenting journey.

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I have been breastfeeding my son, who recently turned two, since birth. He has not taken any milk other than mine. He eats regular meals and snacks these days, but for the first six months of life, we breastfed exclusively. That means no water, no formula, not even vitamins.

I have personally seen how my son and other breastfed babies around me develop and thrive. My son hardly gets sick, and was assessed by his pediatrician to be  advanced in a few notable aspects of development. We are as close as a mother and  young child could ever be.

I will forever treasure our breastfeeding chapter. :)

Breastfeeding has its challenges, but once one gets past the first few critical weeks, breastfeeding can  be the most natural thing ever for a new mother to do.

As with any beautiful thing worth pursuing, breastfeeding comes with  “birth pains” at the start. Mothers  go through a lot during pregnancy and childbirth, and the first few weeks upon giving birth are  a difficult  and vulnerable period for her. It is important to have a  breastfeeding-advocate pediatrician and a solid support group at home to pursue breastfeeding.

One very important thing I learned from attending breastfeeding seminars and from lactation consultants is that breastfeeding is mostly psychological. You have to believe in your body that it is capable of doing what it was designed for in the first place – to nourish your babies. For exclusive and extended breastfeeding to be successful, you have to really want it, to be fully committed to it.

Expressing and Donating Milk

I started expressing milk  shortly before my maternity leave ended. I would pump once, sometimes twice a day, while my baby slept. By the time I came back to office, my frozen milk stash was substantial enough that I had to transfer them to my in-laws’ house since they have a spare deep freezer to accommodate my growing stash. I  tried to express every three to four hours upon my return from maternity leave. My baby would take some of my expressed milk, but the amazing thing was that he would wait for me to come home so he could latch directly and feed to his heart’s content. I pumped whenever I could. Soon, I had so much more expressed milk than my baby could deal with.

I started donating milk when a friend asked for breastmilk for her sick daughter. Then another from my mommy group asked for a few weeks’ supply of milk for her newborn neighbor who lost her mom in childbirth. When Typhoon Haiyan ravaged the Visayas in 2013 and the Department of Health called  for breastmilk donors, I immediately donated my entire milk stash, then around 10 liters. I saw how the breastfeeding community really mobilized to help the infants in dire need of breastmilk then. The best part was, it was not a short-sighted hand-to-mouth project. Distribution of donated breastmilk came with a much-needed information campaign. Mothers who were mix-feeding were encouraged to ditch the formula, while those who recently stopped breastfeeding were provided with information, support, and resources to enable them to re-lactate.

That was the start of my monthly donations. I wanted to  donate to a children’s hospital, and the Philippine Children’s Medical Center (PCMC) in Quezon City was easily my top choice. That signalled the start of a wonderful relationship with the PCMC Milk Bank’s nurses and staff. Sometimes they would call me apologetically to ask if I have some spare milk. Thankfully, I have been blessed abundantly and it seemed like I always have something to share whenever I got a call.

Sticking to a pumping schedule at work is not easy. It can become too much of a chore and I would usually miss a session or two. What kept me going was the thought of having something to offer when the PCMC Milk Bank staff knock on my door.

Meeting the Littlest Ones in Dire Need of Donated Milk

Meeting the doctors and nurses tirelessly running PCMC and saving every baby that came their way.

Last month, the PCMC invited me to a simple gathering and awarding of their most frequent breastmilk donors. It was humbling to finally meet the Milk Bank staff and the doctors tirelessly running the hospital, trying their best to save every  baby that came their way. We were ushered into their NICU, to introduce us to their littlest ones that we, in essence, helped feed. It was such a tearjerker to finally meet their littlest ones in the NICU – the topmost priority in the hierarchy of donated breastmilk recipients – bravely soldiering on. Most were premature babies who are on life support (weighing as light as 500  grams and just slightly bigger than my hand), young premature babies who were already operated on, sick babies fighting for life, premature babies who lost their mothers during childbirth. These babies were given nothing but breastmilk. I was crying the whole time I was at the NICU.

Meeting the littlest ones of PCMC.

I stepped out feeling grateful and even more passionate about this biggest advocacy of mine. I also felt complete. Somehow, meeting these babies was the missing piece in my breastfeeding and milk donating journey. I may not know them personally, but I felt very  connected to these little soldiers, and to the hospital that looks after them.

Encouraging Others to Donate

I encourage moms who have a little extra to donate their milk, if they can. What is a blessing to you and your baby may extend lives and may be a reason for some to keep fighting. It does not matter how little extra milk you have each day.

At present, I am only able to express an ounce of extra milk since my body has recognized the lesser demand for milk. I keep thinking I’ve reached the end of my milk-sharing journey, but I always get surprised that until now, I am still able to build a small cache. Miraculously, I still have a few cups in the fridge and at least a dozen more bags in the freezer, waiting to be picked up for donation. I will continue to breastfeed for as long as I can but I know that I will soon be putting aside my “milk donor” hat. I hope a friend or two will fill  in for me.

I am currently drowning in a sea of all things colorful and giddy and warm and fuzzy. That's what happens when one turns a major chapter in their life as fab as she thought she'll ever be, with a bagful of love, gratitude, hope, and promise. :)

I turn 30 today, and really, I have never been this excited and welcoming as I enter a new "chapter" aka decade. Cue: fireworks please!

Shout out to the Big Guy Up There -- thank You Lord for all your favors and blessings, for the awesome people I am surrounded and building a life with! As I said last year, life is not perfect (what is?), but it's kinda charmed, it's fab, it's full of promise and brimming with love! So many items ticked off my lists through the years, yet still so much on my plate and still on to bigger things with a ra ra ra on my sleeve! My heart is full and I'm feeling fab! LOL sorry for the lame attempt at alliteration. I am barely coherent, in a happy-drunken level. *giggle giggle*

A hearty, more coherent birthday post coming up soon. As soon as I get back to earth from Galaxy Cloud9, that is. :P

Brought to you by a little bottle of nail polish and quick-dry top coat

Happy second half of the year! :)

We are currently on staycation in - where else - Solaire. We checked in last night and we are checking out tomorrow. Whoopedo to two nights of r&r! The little boy is overjoyed, this is his constant wish after all. ;)

Aannd we're here again! Ha ha.

I am trying to blog in my iPad for the first time, while in bed as the little guy takes his afternoon nap beside me. Ohhh, the things that mommas can do while little ones sleep soundly! LOL.

Good thing I brought my entire kikay arsenal with me. I did my nails and donned my favorite nude polish, in 30 minutes tops, with no downtime at all, care of my super awesome hypercharged ultra quick-dry top coat. Those awesome little things! You mommas out there know it's nearly impossible to put on nail lacquer with their little ones around, albeit sleeping.

I remember, someone from a local online publication down South tried to make a ripple in the social media last year. Well at least, a bad ripple. She wanted to further the mommy wars by writing a dirty, twisted notorious piece that accused moms who are able to comb their hair, take a bath daily, put on the lightest of make up aka kahit powder lang, put together pleasing, decent outfits, and enjoy quiet dinner with their husbands are ALL BAD mothers. Yes, all of them, no excuses, no buts and ifs. And her biggest beef? Moms who wear nail polish. In her books, it is a crime to have well maintained and coloured tips and toes. Moms who do are the ones who totally neglect their children and are too self-absorbed to be worthy of being called a mom.

What momma was up to while the little one was sleeping. Credits to my super awesome hypercharged ultra quick-dry top coat. No down time at all! ;) Ermm, it looks unsightly, but trust me, it looks decent enough for office after washing off the smudges hehe.

My thought earlier, other than "wow, so judgmental, eh? does this even pass the laugh test and ampalaya test?" was -- ever heard of a quick dry polish or top coat, woman?! You should seriously try it. It works like magic, drying your polish in a minute so you don't have to "neglect" your kid for a single minute. Hee hee.

Not to say that her post credits some mulling over. It was a total vitriol, full of hatred and judgment, and too myopic to deserve an open and mature discussion. My point, other than quick dry top coat as the next best thing to cheesecake, is that mothers (and fathers too!) cannot give something they do not have.

Mothers cannot love and nourish another person if they don't feel loved and when their love tanks are empty. To nourish another soul, a mom must be nourished from the inside out. A mom cannot make her husband and children feel good if she does not feel good inside nor about herself. A mom has no business enforcing personal grooming and hygiene pointers if she herself has reckless disregard for those. A mom cannot take care of others if she can't even take care of herself. A woman cannot radiate infectious joy and vibrance (and be "ilaw ng tahanan") if she's so gloomy on the inside.

So much love and joy to give and receive :)

Friends who are close to me know I tend to be guilty about a lot of stuff when it comes to motherhood. I get guilty when I go to the salon or spend too much time on work. I get guilty when it's late and I'm still out, when it's supposed to be time spent with my little one. And hah! By late I meant 8:30ish.

But motherhood is an awesome journey and one learns the more valuable lessons along the way. I tend to loosen up and forgive myself more these days. In as much as I want to spend every single second with this little guy, I know that for my cup to overflow with love and joy, it must be a balanced concoction of: quality time with the little one; quality time with the husband; quality time with the little one and the husband, as a family; quality time with beloved family and friends; some me time; and various other meaningful pursuits such as challenging tasks and rewarding jobs, further education, travel, sports, and art (art?! pwedeng fashion and make up? hahaha).

Whatever floats your boat (those are some of what floats mine). But the bottom line is -- I advocate moms pursuing things that make them whole and taking care of themselves as best as they could. Balance is always the key to everything. :)

Ciao, going back to my sleeping baby. He keeps on stirring in his sleep. My nails are all dried by now, so no worries at all, even if he wakes up at this very moment. Hooray to my super awesome hypercharged ultra quick-dry top coat! Gosh, I can't stop gushing about it. Happy weekend, folks! :D

My dearest Thirdy,

Exactly two years ago since you came and changed my, our life forever. Thank you for the immense joy everyday, thank you for teaching us important lessons we wouldn't have learned any other way. Thank you for filling our hearts with so much love, love that knows no limit or weakness.

Exactly two years ago. One of the best days of my life, ever.

My biggest delight is watching you grow and flourish and turn into an incredibly sweet and smart little boy, wise beyond his year(s), as people who know you always comment. I pray for wisdom and guidance for us, your Mom and your Dad and the people we are surrounded with, so we can all help mold a man of many women's dreams a fine gentleman in the future. I pray for our closeness to endure and remain through the decades.  

I've said this before and I'll say it again -- you are a piece of Momma's heart beating outside her body. It is our biggest blessing to have been appointed as your parents, you little sunny old soul. :) As I said in my birthday letter to you last year, I love you more than I can ever put together in a letter. :)

I recently graduated from a professional course I signed up over two months ago. (Which also explains my inactivity here, hek hek.) We only meet for classes on Saturdays, but the class, and the course as a whole, had all-week-'round kept me ngarag and puyat inspired, ignited, and charged for a busy, brave season in the long horizon. And then, hungry and yearning for more, I took another course/ training after that.

You can say that I love being a student as much as I loved being a teacher. Class, training, hands on workshop -- if I were just this little bit interested with it and when I can feel that the universe is conspiring for me to attend it (I have a lot on my plate, after all), I'd gladly be signing up for it.

More than gaining the technical know-hows from these trainings, I value the network formed and that little something that was sparked within me. On the bigger scheme of things, I have a vision. And through these trainings, plus all the other ingredients I put in to enrich myself, this burning drive within me is awakened. It fuels me to move forward, to realize that vision.

Enough with the cryptic post. Back to regular programming.

But let me leave you with this first ;)

Photo not mine.

Happy almost-half-of-the-year! :) Wow, just seven months to go and we shall call it another year again!

But, but, but, before we even start with year-ends, how about a nod to our weekends?

Ohh, weekends, glorious, delightful weekends that restoreth our soul. Weekends that allow us to unplug, or reconnect. Weekends that afford us the privelege to slow down and sleep in, or go out and pusue our other passions relentlessly. Weekends that cleanse and revitalize us. Weekends are the world's finest dark chocolate served with the most scrumptious ice cream and the most tender of steaks (mmm, it's that delectable!) And right this very moment, I'm wishing Sundays are waaay longer than all the other days. Say, a 48-hour Sunday. Or a 64-hour Sunday. That would be fantastic, right?! :D

How about you, how would you like your weekends? Would you rather have longer Sundays, or maybe another day in between Saturday and Sunday? :D

Snippets of our weekend, spent just in the metro - at my little guy's favorite staycation destination, Solaire. :)

Weekends are always good. Staycations? Even better!

The little guy's favorite pool.

Hah! I was able to squeeze in some decent swim mileage. I just looove this 72-meter pool. :)

Even this little guy did not want the weekend to end!

But alas, it had to. Le sigh. Back to the daily grind, then!

Ninety percent of the time in ninety percent of my posts, I gush how I am head over heels in love and all over my baby boy. Ang cute cute cute naman kasi at suuuper kagigil

Let me dedicate this short post to my other baby, my big one, my original boy, whose birthday we celebrated with dear family and a rather generous sample of our close friends three days ago. :)

I may not often gush about this guy in my posts most of the time, but my heart beats for both Thirdy and my original guy.


He holds my heart and he knows me inside and out. My soul craves for the soulmate I found in him. He is my rock and my motivation. He inspires me to be the best, he propels move to move, move, move forward. My best friend and my protector. My confidante, my go-to person in almost every imaginable concern you can think of (this guy really got the SMARTS, thankyouLord!), my coach not just in sports, but in life. My first and my last, both my journey and my destination. My better half, my partner in every sense of the word.


 Happy birthday, my original baby! :) I love you more than I love all the sweets we can ever buy and eat!♥ :D

My favorite little person with two of his favorite things -- big fountain and miniature chairs to push and carry around. :) Taken today, Mother's Day :)

Oh little munchkin, as I've already told you (written to you) before, thank you for bringing into life a new me -- that Momma with a fresh take at life; that Momma with a gentle yet bold an fierce spirit; that Momma with an incessantly burning drive to be the best version of herself, to be the best mom for you, and to give you the best; that Momma with overflowing, limitless love for you. You are a piece of Momma's heart breathing and living outside her body, and you are Momma's calling.♥

Shout out too to my mom, the woman who selflessly raised me and nurtured me well, thereby equipping me early on with the building blocks of what it takes to be a real mom. ♥ :)

Happy second quarter of the year! Happy Easter! :)

Where did you spend the looong weekend?

I used to always go somewhere, wherever, however, come holy week and come summer. For a few years, my restless feet hardly, if never, ever stayed in the Metro on summer weekends. I was always somewhere, if not packing and unpacking coming from somewhere. Climbing some mountain, camping in some hidden cove, frolicking in some "undiscovered" powdery white sand, joining some adventure race up North, racing the dragonboat in the big bay, riding some rickety bus or carpooling with friends to wherever unbeaten track we may end up (either planned or spontaneous).

It helped a lot that as part of the academe, I did not have to worry about Monday or Friday work days. Summer was synonymous to paid breaks and rakets or paid extra curricular projects. And of course, travels. I took long weekends as I pleased and went wherever my not-so-deep pockets afforded me to take.

Oh to be young, single, and [responsibly] carefree.

Now holy weeks and long weekends are for recharging, staycations in posh hotels OR just good ol' staying at home with my guys, away from the horrific The Great Manila Exodus scenarios.

I do miss just a little bit and only fleetingly those hey days. That season of adventure and wandering befitting an outdoorsy lass in her young 20s. But that's just it. No, I don't get glassy eyed wishing I could rewind time and embark on those adventures again. I had my fill back in the days (like that was so long ago, hah!), and I started rather early. No regrets, no pining to live those days again, no feeling that I missed out on anything. 

That was a done chapter, and in as much as I will ever fondly look back and be grateful that I got to write those delightful, colorful, and vivid pages in my book, my new season of "adventure" and wander has evolved and has taken a new, higher form.
 
My new 'hey days' are at my fingertips, my new adventure is the now and the here. It is being with my two boys, creating new forms of colorful, wonderful and delightful memories together, wherever, however. Heck, everyday is an adventure. Everywhere can be an adventure. :)


This year's mini-break was rather memorable even though we only stayed put in the Metro. Here, let me share a few snapshots that offer just a glimpse and don't do justice to our awesome mini-break:


We were able to squeeze in some decent training time over the long weekend! Woot!



We had picnic under the trees, ran in the grass, cruised up and down slopes in the Sunken Garden, walked around the Acad Oval. Thirdy had a terrific time and felt at home in momma and Dad's playground slash beloved University slash second home - UP Diliman.

Even the streets in our neighborhood were not spared from the merrymaking:


Why do you have to end, long weekend? Good luck to jumping back to the ever-at-full-force daily grind. :)

Tagaytay weekends are so overrated.

Said no one who wanted a little bit of R&R or food trip while escaping the unforgiving Manila heat.

It's been quite a while since the husband and I drove to Tagaytay to chill, just the two of us. These days, we always travel with and spend our weekends with the little guy. But we figured a little quiet time and away time for half the day (we were only gone for 6 hours, actually) won't hurt, and in fact would be beneficial to all of us, including the little guy. (It was, very.)

Parents, couples, after all, still need time together and time away from everything (yes, tell that to me more often, to me who cannot peel myself away from our little guy and me who often come rushing home feeling guilty after a date night).

Yesterday's road trip slash date with the hubby was a much needed respite. Very refreshing.

Oh, those rolling fog at noon. Thank God there was no horrendous traffic.

We left for brunch, and save for a minor bottleneck caused by a minor truck mishap, had a very smooth drive. While Manila was gloomy yet very humid, Tagaytay was cold (23 degrees versus Manila's 33 degrees), foggy, balmy, soothing. Buckets of rain -- huuuge pellets of them -- started pouring just as we were about to head back home after brunch and after my roadside shopping. Mighty refreshing, all in all.

Always a good place to dine in. :)

For brunch, we picked our usual jaunt - Breakfast at Antonio's. This is one of our top favorites in the city, perhaps second favorite, next to its 'mother resto,' Antonio's. The comfort Western breakfast meals made from fresh ingredients and the cozy interiors are always spot on. Discovered too that their freshly baked breads-to-go, although priced higher, are just divine.

I can sit here, with a good book and a nice cup of coffee, all day. :)

Food is always good here.

We also took our sweet time to stop and smell (and buy!) the flowers. I was looking for some bonsai but went home with a huge chili plant and pots of colorful marigolds instead. I am so enamored with my new flowering plants, which will hopefully thrive in our boring garage like they do in Tagaytay. LOL.

Pit stop.

Stop and smell them flowers.

We also made a pit stop to buy my usual simple "luxuries" -- fresh fruits and lettuce (which were still planted in small improvised pots to prolong their freshness). I usually hoard freshly picked fruits and veggies, especially when they are much cheaper than in the grocery, and this was no exception. Worth mentioning too were the buko pie and blueberry cheese tarts from Rowena's, the icing on the cake that was this lovely Sunday date and road trip.

Mmmm. Greens.

QQTTs, or what we used to call as our "quiet quality time together" are both a luxury and necessity these days. Glad and kilig that the day -- and good ol' Tagaytay -- did not disappoint. :) Happy thoughts to last throughout another week of daily grind, eh. ;)

Almost noon and it looks COLD, riiiiight? We're all bundled up, and he's only wearing one layer of top and botton!

It’s starting to get warm, although admittedly it’s still quite cold and breezy here, on summer-in-March-in-the-Philippines standards.

I used to believe I am not quite a winter person (as if I’ve seen more than enough winters to come to that conclusion, har har), primarily because I am, or used to be, a beach person. My ‘regular programming’ mode just seems to get impaired whenever the temps drop. I almost literally cannot move and think rationally when it’s too cold and all I can think of is sleep, sleep, sleep, and hibernate wrapped in fluffy white duvets!

I have to admit though that coming to Tokyo just as the winter was ending (still too cold, I tell you) was quite a treat. For one, I thoroughly enjoyed layering and parading about in my coats and boots and winter garb, oh lovely stuff that don’t stand a chance of seeing the day here in my tropical home. My oily skin too was at its finest, dewy and glowing, thanks to the arctic coldness that seemed to freeze my oil glands, too. No sweat, no oil momma! Very conducive for running and working out -- and for walking around with a heavy toddler in tow. I literally didn't break a sweat, considering I walked kilometers upon kilometers while carrying my heavy little guy.

If you ask my husband and my little guy though, they’d probably tell you their different stances on the cold. They’d probably tell you they love the freezing temps, with no abandon, to the hilt. My husband is a cold junkie. He embraces the cold and refuses to wear thick, weighty coats even if it’s freezing. My little guy, we realized was just like that too. I meant other than the tell-tale sign of profusely sweating in our cold airconditioned room and peeling himself off the blanket while I'm all cuddly cold and wrapped up.

The only time I remember he happily wore his gloves (because it was really, really freezing then). Not for too long, though. LOL.

Imagine running around in 6 degrees temp with just one layer of clothes? My mind just can’t wrap around the thought! Granted, it was a pair of thermal top and pants he was wearing, but my golly, I had to wear three layers that time! And so did most of the Japanese folks we saw outside that time.

My little guy just flat out refused to wear gloves even though his hands were freezing. He never got to use his bonnet -- to think I bought us identical Zara kids bonnet so he’d be more inclined to match Momma’s “hat.” Hah! He evaded wearing his coat. The struggle (on our side, the parents) to wrap him back in his winter outer wear whenever we were coming out of an establishment was oh so real. I feared his hands would turn blue, or his ears would fall off from frost bite. But the little guy was a happy trooper, sans Momma’s coats regalia, and freezing temps be damned. Whew.

I guess we have to take him to more winter trips then. :) I myself am starting to get charmed with the chilly (chilly enough to don two layers plus a chic coat, and maybe knee-high boots) but not-too-glacial weather and fancy travelling to the ‘colder hemispheres’ some more soon. :)

To more travels with you, my loves. :)

Konnichiwa! Ohayo!

I am still fatigued on a high from our trip to Tokyo. We packed our coats and gloves and scarves, temporarily bid sunny Manila and our home and work and our yaya goodbye. For six days, we waded our toes in still-winter-but-almost-spring heart of Japan and thoroughly enjoyed it.

We made new memories, bonded day in and out, explored parts of ourselves and of our dynamics in a way that we don't get to when in the comforts of our home. It was a milestone moment for our little family and for me. As a mom, as a wife.

Truth be told, the trip was pretty exhausting for me. We had no yaya, my baby (err, toddler now) did not want to have anything to do with the stroller most of the time (and I had to walk kilometers upon kilometers carrying him), I ran around a lot with him, not to mention that the little guy is now at that stage wherein he is pretty assertive with his likes and dislikes, which are often in conflict with our itinerary. :) A day was devoted for the hsuband running the Tokyo Marathon too, so I didn't think it was wise to tire him much.

But my golly, I was truly beaten tired by the end of the trip! Don't get me wrong, this was what I wanted; I could not even begin to imagine going away for a night and leaving my baby alone. And, all exhaustion aside, I really did enjoy the whole trip. I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. But only after I take a week of rest, please. Ha ha!

I will share more intimate stories of our wonderful Japan adventure in my upcoming post/s. We are currently on staycation in (where else!) Solaire for the weekend, the perfect segue (or bridge-gap?) from our lovely vacation to reality. Yep, we haven't even unpacked our luggages yet and we had to start packing again yesterday. I don't mind though. Consider myself charging up for my upcoming posts. ;)

Happy new year! Happy Valentine's day! Gong Xi Fa Cai! Kung Hei Fat Choi! :)

I know. It's been THAT long already. I am going to fill you in -- and make up for that lost time, but some other time, pretty please. And this, this procrastination, is why I make for a terrible blogger wannabe Suffice to say all is great, and has always been, over here. :)

My little family is embarking on our first overseas adventure together. Just the three of us. Sans a maid or a nanny. Yay and whoa! For the most part, I am really excited about this trip, but I also cannot just sweep off under the rug that part of me that gets wary and anxious thinking about how exhausting this trip may turn out. Let's see how my street smarts and my very athletic stamina hold up. :P

I gotta catch a wink now, we leave for the airport just before daybreak tomorrow. This is it! It's going to be awesome! :)

Q: What happens when Thirdy accidentally hits Momma while horsing around and Momma feigns pain although it does not hurt one bit?

A: Thirdy spends a good few minutes hugging Momma, patting her gently, caressing her hair lovingly, consoling her, kissing her, hugging her here and patting her there again while saying
"Sorry po, Momma. Sorry po, Momma!" and
"I love you po Momma!"