Home, Sweet Home!

Flew back last night. The meetings were successful, although I must say, all of Saturday was tiring. We were at the Grand Hyatt for meeting number one, had lunch somewhere along the way back to the train, then went to IKEA up north for some... hmmm... window shopping, then back to town for meeting number 2, which didn't happen as planned. It rained, so our friends were late - a good 3 hours late.

Anyway, it's hard to be away from the kids, even if for a coupl'a days. I missed spending my birthday with them, and they had to celebrate it with my mom and sibs instead. I celebrated it on the plane back. :P

But I am glad to be home. Planning the next trip this July, this time with the kids. I can't wait. :)

Last Minute Jitters

I can't believe I'm still at the office, finishing up a presentation for Saturday's meeting. I had planned on going home early today to finish packing, and yet, noooo... still here. Still thinking, still planning.

I hate last minute stuff, but find that I work best in situations where I am pressed for time. Must be some rush to the system that gets it going. I'm a tad anxious though. Eeps.

House of Praise Facebook Promo!

Were you at the recent DARLENE ZSCHECH concert held at the Araneta Coliseum last month? If so, here's your chance to win an exclusive SIGNED Hillsong Faith + Hope + Love CD!!! Yes, signed by Darlene Zschech herself! How? All you have to do is post a photo of yourself on House of Praise's Facebook Page. Your photo must show you at the concert as proof that you went (or photo must show any proof that says you went to see Darlene Zschech at the Big Dome, ie. Photo of Tickets, photo of crowd, etc), and tell (as a caption to your photo) how the worship concert moved you. So simple! Top 3 entries win a SIGNED CD each!

Contest runs until May 31, 2010. Contest winners will be announced on June 4, 2010. This contest is exclusively for House of Praise Facebook fans.

Not yet a fan? Add House of Praise now. Click here to go to their Facebook page.

Crazy-Passionate for Him!

Taking time out right now from working on my Hillsong presentation to blog a bit about last night's amazing Passion Conference!

We had a FULL HOUSE! The Big Dome became one crazy, shaking, screaming, Big Dome - with kids just crazy passionate for Jesus! How, you say? Well, you should have been there to know exactly what I mean. But imagine Araneta Coliseum filled to the brim with screaming kids, praising, worshiping and just loving God!

I am in awe of God's magnificent power. In awe of how He moved in the lives of these students. How He has awakened the hearts of kids, and brought the fire back in their hearts. And do not discount the fact that my own heart was awakened by God's word. Amazing.

I may be no one, but may my little story weave itself into the bigger story that brings great, great glory to Him!

Isaiah 26:8 - "YES LORD, WALKING IN THE WAY OF YOUR TRUTH, WE WAIT EAGERLY FOR YOU, FOR YOUR NAME AND RENOWN ARE THE DESIRE OF OUR SOULS."

(photo credit: http://268generation.com/blog - will try to post pics soon)

4 more Hours!

Here in room number 9, waiting for Passion: Manila 2010 to start. My brother has our merchandise team ready at the gates, waiting on the Passion Team to begin with their briefing.

Almost two years ago, at a different venue, when Passion: Manila 2008 was all happening, I was still pregnant with my little boy. Fresh from two months of bed rest due to a low-lying placenta, my OB then wasn't sure I was fit to work, but I knew that God wanted me there. And I wouldn't miss it for the world, so I sorta convinced my OB to watch with me, and voila! I got to work at the event.

And now, Passion: Manila 2010 is about to happen! I am more than excited for things to come. God is moving in the Philippines! Four hours before the event and we have lines outside the big dome already waiting for gates to open. Reminiscent of two years ago, when people braved the rain just to be there. And just like then, the show sold out! This time, at a bigger venue, we've sold out just the same. And people are still begging for extra tickets!

I am giddy! God is God of this city! :)

Passion: Manila 2010...

...happens tonight! See you at the Araneta Coliseum at 630pm - that's when gates open! Woohoo!

Here, Kitty, Kitty...

Went to my mom's place early this evening to pick A up. As I was about to park, I caught a glimpse of a white scrawny kitten about to cross the street. So as I got down from my car, the first thing I did was call the kitten. Didn't want it to get run over by speeding cars on the street!

FYI: I can do a great meow and bow-wow. No kidding. You guys should hear me bark!

Anyway, the kitten quickly came over. I am guessing he is about a month old or so. So I picked him up and decided to surprise A. We brought him home with us. (Yea, yea, we have a puppy, but kittens and puppies can be friends - I will work on that in a few days)

Meet our new kitty friend...

Wanna help us name him? (Yes, he's a he!)

EDIT: I thought it was a she, but it turns out to be a he! Nyar!

I ♥ Chicken Fingers!

I ♥ Chicken Fingers! And that is why I will be celebrating my birthday early at Friday's on Thursday (confuse you much? LOL!). But that's not really the reason I am heading to Friday's on Thursday... I am doing so because their Chicken Fingers will be sold at 99pesos only! Time to treat my friends from the office! Woohoo, budget-friendly! See yah!

The Ties That Bind.

My daughter has been asking about her dad lately. He hasn't visited for more than 2 weeks. I guess you can say that this is partly my fault. Last time he visited, we weren't home, and during that visit, he started talking to my old helper about how my parents pay for everything we need and how I just pretend to ask him for money, but I am being supported financially by my folks.

"Mayaman naman magulang ni Ma'am. Daddy niya nagbabayad ng tuition ni A."

And of course, when my helper told me about it, it didn't sit well with me. Especially because there is no truth to it! I work hard for my kids! I work my butt off for them! I have two company loans and a salary loan with SSS. I am in debt because I have to pay for rent, utilities, tuition, groceries, salaries, credit cards, etc.

And I hate it when he tries to pass on his responsibilities! Anyone, but himself. So that same night, I texted him that I didn't want to be the good and understanding wife anymore. Unless he behaves when he's here, then visitation ends right there and then.

I guess you could say he wasn't quite ready to behave himself. R has this habit of trying to irk me and everyone else in this household. Whenever he comes, it's this and that. He notices mistakes, dust, broken toys, dirty cupboards, etc. Always checking on the negative. My gulay, gimme a break! So there. Two whole weeks and some.

Yesterday, A asked me if she could call her dad. It was a quick call. She just wanted to check daw if he was still alive. LOL!

Then today, she asked to call him again. I don't know exactly what they talked about. She went inside her room to call. And she was on the phone for a good 5 minutes or so. This afternoon, when I went to pick her up from Vacation Bible Camp, we discussed a few things about God and how He is omnipotent. So this evening, as we were having dinner, she recalls how "All Things are Possible with God."

So she tells me, "I want to pray for daddy still. I know God can fix him."

:( My heart just broke. My daughter's faith just threw me off my chair. I am reminded of my own cousin, who, in spite of having a physically and verbally abusive, womanizing father, CHOSE to forgive her dad just because. I suppose then, that I cannot fight against a daughter's love for her own father. I cannot go against the ties that bind.

What do you want me to do, Lord? :(

Giggles!

K says:

"The driver/personal assistant of my next-door neighbor, who happens to own Victoria Court, just handed me a discount card - in pink! LOL! Uh ok... WHAT NOW???"

(It does look pretty and doesn't look like a discount card for Ssssshhhhh...)

Scholastic Book Fair!

Scholastic will be conducting a special book fair for the benefit of the ABS-CBN Children's Center on the 19th 'til the 21st of May 2010 (that's tomorrow through Friday) at the Dolphy Theater (Studio One), ABS-CBN Compound in Quezon City.

If you have friends from the network and/ or sister companies working within the premises of ABS-CBN, may I please request that you invite them to our book fair? Proceeds will go to the building of our school library and to the renovation of our new school campus. Thanks!

Happy Anniversary, K!

Has it been a year? Wow.

Just last week, my trusted friend and officemate, D, mentioned that he hasn't seen me cry in over a year now. "Diba, had you decided sooner, then baka two years ka nang di umiiyak..." Wow. One year. I couldn't even see this happening two years ago. Last year, when I decided that I had the final straw with R refusing to pay A's tuition, I thought I'd break with the first step - what with a new baby, and the tail end of postpartum blues. But I thought wrong. It was hard, yes, but the succeeding blows, plus a major breakout, made things way, way easier than I had expected.

I am not saying I am proud about what had happened. Having a broken family isn't something to be proud of. But it isn't something to be ashamed of either! Things happen for a reason. And this separation has made me stronger and wiser. I do not know where I am heading, but one thing's for sure: God holds our future! I can only pray for my kids and their future families - that the curse will not be passed on to them and future generations. God will make this right somehow, someday. How? I do not know. I just know He can make something good come out of all of this.

The support I got from family and friends during the past year has been immeasurable. For that, I am extremely grateful. I am most thankful for the peace God has given me. He never left me, I was always in His hands. His comfort overwhelmed me, so much so that I hardly felt alone.

God has been good! Life is great. So yea, Happy, Happy Anniversary to me. :)

Sleep is Good.

We finally got the little boy down to following a bedtime routine. Thanks to determination and the new nanny, who seems to have this great strategy up her sleeve when it comes to getting the baby go "sleepy-time".

You should know that we haven't had much success in this area in the past months. My past nannies have been so into the TV dramas, so much so that they forgo my instructions on getting RL to bed by 8pm. There were nights when he'd still be up at 11pm! So when the new nanny came along, all I did was tell her to get him ready for bed by 8pm and to make sure he is asleep by 9, 930pm at the latest. And voila! No need for second reminders. He gets a wind-down bath at 8pm, and is off to dreamland at 9pm.

Why take a second bath at night? He's used to it (our original nanny has been giving him two baths a day since he was about six months old). And it has been soooo hot all summer that it is wise to give him a bath before bedtime. Plus, my little boy is such a light sleeper, and compared to his Ate, it is so hard to get him to sleep. Which is why we couldn't come up with an effective bedtime routine in the past. I've tried everything - lavender bath salts, sleepyhead sprays and massage oils, etc. But the bath is one of the things that really work. I suppose it relaxes the body, and pretty soon, you see him scratching his eyes and you know he will be ready for bed soon.

Baby Massage. I used to depend on expensive baby massage or relaxing oils, but get this, an effective yet cheap lotion is just within reach. A has been using J&J Baby Bedtime Lotion for quite some time now, but I've always attributed her sleepy head qualities to habit or genes (LOL!). Quite recently, when I ran out of the expensive oil we use on RL, I took some of his sister's lotion and used it to give him a rub. The next thing I knew, RL was already asleep on the bed! I thought at first he was too tired and thought about his day's activities, but the next day, it happened again! So I switched to J&J Baby Bedtime products. I love the smell of J&J's Baby Milk series, but the Bedtime products are equally as good! And yes, the smell relaxes you!

And the best thing? Well, RL gets much needed sleep. And I noticed he hardly wakes up for feeding anymore. Yey! I see nursing duty freedom in the near future! Haha.

~~~

It is thus so timely that I received an invite from Nuffnang to attend a Johnson & Johnson talk on Good Baby Sleep. Went to Rockwell on Saturday morning to attend the talk with A in tow. Had fun and thought it was cool to meet fellow mommy bloggers. I'm thinking that it may be time to do away with privacy, given that life has moved on. I even took that first step out of the shadow and talked about my blog. :)

Would you want to join the next event on the J&J Baby Bedtime Series? The next one's this Saturday and will be on Creating a Sleep Environment. Let me know and I can send you details. For more on bedtime strategies and J&J Baby Bedtime products, visit Johnson's Baby Bedtime website.

Madamot!

Today I got to talk to A's original nanny (the one who had two babies in a span of one year!), and was told that the other nanny (her cousin who got the pox) has been spreading rumors about me the moment she got back to Bohol.

Sigh.*

Ok, so what's new? Apparently, I am now a selfish boss. And that I don't feed my house-help well, and that I don't share the food in the house. What???!!! Where did that come from? Unlike other households, my helpers (and it's usually just one helper until this particular nanny came along, because she was just 18 and couldn't handle RL and the household chores at the same time) eat the same food we do. If it's steak, then they get steak as well. If it's tuyo, then it's tuyo as well. Each time we go to the grocery, I ask her if she wants anything, and get her snacks, extra food for those days we don't have dinner at home, toiletries, etc. So really, I have no idea where that came from.

On her 19th birthday last February, in spite of the fact that she casually informed me she was leaving in less than two weeks time, I bought her a cake and a shirt as a gift. My daughter gave her a "party" and I even took pictures. During the New Year holidays, we took her with us when we stayed at a hotel, and she had the buffets with us. I don't really like to retell what I did or did not do for her, my point is: I treated her well, as if she was my own daughter! And now, she tells her relatives and friends back in Bohol what a b*tch of a boss I was!

And she had the gall to compare me with Lord Voldemort (!LOL!), telling her own mother that "Buti pa si Sir, lagi kami binibigyan ng pagkain at binibilhan ng tinapay. Pero si Ma'am, tinitipid kami. Di man lang kami bilhan ng kape." Excuse me, should you check out our pantry, my helpers drink premium coffee from the office - Folgers, nonetheless! And in the first place, her "Sir" was NEVER her "Sir"!!! She was only in my employ for 4 whole months, and during those 4 whole months, she's probably seen R a total of 24hours max (maybe even less)! He wasn't even living with us! He hardly visited and when he did, he neither spent more than an hour, nor did he give money or buy us anything.

The thing with R is he knows how to bribe house help! He'd give them 30pesos for load, or like ice cream for merienda. Then he'll pretend to be the "good" boss. But he's all talk! Let me see him shell out money for your salary first before you go on comparing him to me! Ha! And if he'll bring food home, it's usually leftovers from a date he had with his "gym buddies" (yea, gym buddies, right!). But can you even rely on him to bring us a week's groceries? To buy the kids - milk? Or the baby - his diapers? Can you even rely on him to pay for rent? For electricity? Water? Gas?!!! I currently have a bill for 32,000++pesos in association dues and water, which he never paid as promised! And when he lived with us, all he ever paid for was the bi-weekly container of water - that's 40pesos per!

So, please, stop yakking because you don't know who your "Sir" is! And we both know I treated you well. Better than anyone ever did in your whole life. You have a pair of Havaiannas and a pair of Crocs Gabby as proof. Grrr.

~~~

Sorry, I just needed to rant. :P

He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

I spent the past two days visiting with my folks and sibs. My brother had the Wii set up at his new pad, and A was excited to try it out. She spent the whole day today playing bowling against my dad and the rest of the family. She's pretty good bowling strikes and double strikes. In fact, she scored the highest out of all of us, which of course made her extremely proud and happy (she has yet to learn how to be a good sport though).

Spending days with my parents make me vulnerable to prying Qs - ones I have been trying to avoid each time I visit with them. I mean, going out of town with them is a different case since we're out most of the time, and the young ones always go out on their own, while the folks rest. So yesterday and today gave my mom the opportunity to discuss "stuff" with me. However, I was surprised that she actually avoided THE subject. Yesterday, over Mother's Day brunch at Rockwell, she declared that the mere mention of you-know-who is now taboo. Not that we were quick to infer, as she herself forgot who you-know-who was after a few subjects down. LOL! We were on the subject of grilled pineapples and a funny memory came to me - at which I started chuckling, as did KY, who knew the story well from when it was first told and retold. So my sibs and I burst into laughter. This, of course, caught my mom's attention. She then proceeded to ask about the "funny thing" about grilled pineapples, and of course I replied with "Nada, Mom. You don't wanna know." She gives me a look and prods for me to explain. "Ma, you said not to tell you if it involves you-know-who..." And she gives me a puzzled look and says, "Who?" Hahaha!

Anyway, of course she didn't get to hear the story. I know how telling her would bring on the subject of why I chose him over others, and why this and that. So I changed the subject or maybe KY gave an answer that satisfied her longing to know. But let me tell you about you-know-who and the pineapples anyway (just for kicks):

We were having dinner at Brazil! Brazil! once over at Metrowalk, and you-know-who sees a server bringing out pineapples. He calls her to our table and asks "Miss, ano yan?"

"Grilled Pineapples po." She gave him a look that said "Obvious ba?"

You-know-who turns to me and says out loud, "Paborito ko ang pinya diba? Kaya, miss (turns back to server), bigyan mo ako ng madami niyan." He gets about 10 slices.

He takes one bite and exclaims out loud, "Ba't ang init ng pinya???!!!" Everyone turns and looks at him. The server laughs and says, "Sir, grilled pineapple nga po. Syempre po mainit. Bagong luto po e." He spits out the pineapple and refused to take another bite. He gave me his remaining 9 slices, and of course I gave them all back. "Paborito mo yan, diba?" LOL!

~~~

Today, my mom comes up to me after dinner to tell me that the baby is beginning to look more and more like he-who-must-not-be-named. So, now it's no longer you-know-who? Easier for her to remember daw who she wanted to refer to (madami kasing you-know-who), but I should know who anyway. Why yes, of course.

And if you're wondering who you-know-who, who-must-not-be-named, is... well... ah! I'm sure you already know who. ;)

SEE THIS!

K says:

"A's turtle definitely is a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle wannabe. LOL!"

The Best Job in the World.

I have the best job in the world. And it isn't the day job I have (although that comes in a close second), but the 24/7 position I've held for the longest time now. Half my life, I think. Yes, I am a mom. And I wouldn't ask for anything else!

I remember staying up on that first evening, holding my little girl and thinking "what in the world did I get myself into?" Sure, it was love at first sight, even way before that. But motherhood isn't an easy job. Yes, Ma, now I know.

I've said it before, and I shall say it again, motherhood is the most fulfilling occupation anyone could ever have. The first smile, the first step, first tooth, first this and that, everything just gives back a warm, fuzzy feel. Of course there are those days. But at the end of the day, you take one look at your kids and you know it was all worth it. You just know.

Today, I am both a mom and a dad. And yet, I don't mind. My kids are my life. Their smiles, my rewards. I wouldn't trade my position for the world.

HAPPY MOM'S DAY TO ALL MOTHER'S OUT THERE!

Change is Good

New nanny. New lifestyle. New business. New take on work. New outlook in life. New resolve. Yes, change is good.

I feel confident. Wait, scratch that. I AM CONFIDENT that things will be better now. From now on, my goal is to get my kids to their happy place, start anew and live life. I refuse to let the past haunt us. And that includes shutting the door on the one that keeps dragging us down.

Where is the old K, who hoped in the Lord and waited oh-so-patiently (Well, sometimes! Nyaha)? I'm still here. It's just that, this time, I am doing this the right way. God didn't mean for life to be miserable. So I told myself to stop sitting on that pile of sh*t. Instead, I am picking up the good stuff, dusting myself and moving forward. :) Yes, change is good.

K says:

"The man worth crying for will never make you cry."

Blog Holiday... yet again!

Been trying to cope with my list of things-to-do, what without a real nanny at home. My current helper is leaving for home this Friday, and her older sister has come to take her place. At least I have someone I can trust. My mom says I am now officially indebted to my original nanny's family. Yes, it is a family affair, after having her, her 3 sisters, her brother, and her cousin in my employ. Nyar.

So I haven't really had time to blog. Will try to catch up soon.