Okay, this has been my third post for today... Talk about playing catch up. That's precisely what I've been doing posting choice fotos on my blog before 2007 ends. And I still have loads to share... :D
As for the video below, no, they are not doing an Elfyourself.com rendition.... Here is Jake's Sleigh Ride dance... Hehehe...
A record-breaking feat huh?
Amid the holiday rush, my Pa & Ma celebrated their 41st anniversary with my family in Cebu last December 22...
Just a few of the lovely photos we took during Christmas 2007. :) As usual it was mostly around the dinner table (Hola Espana, Krua Thai, Waterfront, Postrio, Starbucks, etc.) where family members shared food and stories and enjoyed each other's company. It sure was a perfect cap to a very blessed year. Here's praying and hoping for a more meaningful and blessed 2008 for everyone!
That's how my elder sons' grades have been compared to the last report card distribution...
Matthew now ranks 8th from 9th the last time. His average is 95+. And Kyle whose average is at 93+, slid from 1st honor to 2nd honor because of his Language grade of 89.
One thing in common, they both said they'd try harder for the rest of the school year. :D
1030 AM at the office on the phone talking to Jake...
Me: Jake?
Jake: Ma!!!
Me: Err... sorry Jake... I forgot to take you to your nursery class....
Jake: Yes... I'm here lang... eating a banana...
I suppose he didn't mind? Hehehehe
Seriously, I felt baaad.... *sigh*
The common scenario when we leave for the office in the morning:
"See you later Jake. Be ready for school by 10am", Jerry or I would tell him. And Jake would see us to the door after giving us our kiss.
This morning, I bade him goodbye as I hurriedly tried to carry all of my bags down to the car. Jake just finished taking his shower with Nanny's help. He quickly ran up to me and said: "Wait Ma, let me kiss your face first..." and proceeded to plant a big wet kiss on my cheek.
How sweet... I drove to work with a smile on my face.
@-->--
On a typical free day, I would be a couch potato watching E-news or some other local gossip program, Jerry would be reading emails on his Blackberry, Matt would be out with his friends, Kyle would be playing the Playstation2 and Jake would be running around playing with different toys one at a time in intervals of 5 minutes.
One day, we were all busy and left to our own devices when Jake ran up the stairs.
"Jake, where are you going?", Jerry and I chorused.
"I'm going up.... to check my emails", Jake replied.
No, he's not going up to watch tv, not to take his turn with the PS2, not to play with his kiddie toys... He was going to check his emails!
Just where did that come from???
The Little Plant
In the heart of a seed
Buried deep so deep
A dear little plant
Lay fast asleep
Wake, said the sunshine
Creep to the light
Wake, said the voice
of the raindrops bright
The little plant heard
And it rose to see
What a wonderful sight
The outside world might be
This shy 3.5 years old Superman memorized the poem above... Hear him below and be amused at how he managed to know it by heart... Check out the video...
And on Nov. 23, he will be competing against other Nursery 1 students for the Voice of Children presentation. Winner or not on Friday, he is still our little hero.
An early Christmas treat arrived in my inbox a few days ago. I received an email invite for some Christmas snacks sampling at the Gustavian for last Saturday.
Jerry and I went. The wide array of food items rendered us full right up to dinner. Hehe... some snacks huh!
Tried the following: turkey with jambalaya filling, pineapple ham, chicken liver pate, meat loaf, and some pastries. Eggnog and glogg were also served for free. It was my first time to actually taste these drinks.
Yummm!
Midway through the 4-day weekend/break, Jerry decided to take the family on a long drive to see the scenic north of Cebu island. The roads were surprisingly good and paved making it a smooth drive for our 2-month old Carens.
Shortly before lunch we were on our way, bringing with us bags of chips, bottles of water, soda and juice, and Jollibee chicken, burgers and fries. We had our pit stop at the Alegre Beach Resort, at Sogod town 70 kilometers or about an hour and a half drive from Cebu City.
It was our first time there and we were impressed by the sight. Next break we get, we'll definitely think of Alegre...
Our drive up north took us up to San Remigo town after Bogo. The white sand public beach was too inviting but we had to head back home to Ma. Luisa for a visit to A-ma. I wish we have another long break soon. It would be good to linger in one of the nice places we saw.
Since most of the business establishments were closed on Nov. 1, we thought of driving to Tabo-an in downtown Cebu to buy some "pasalubong" that Pa could take back to his employees...
If you are fond of dried anything (fish, squid, etc) and you're in Cebu, then this is the place to get a hold of the object of your cravings.
We had mass at Cempark last Oct 27 to avoid the crowd on Nov 1. So on Nov 1, we were free to do whatever we wanted this being the last day for my Paparazzi, Ma and niece Zia's stay in Cebu.
We gorged on seafood buffet at Port. With their P199 lunch buffet per person, it was a verrry dangerous proposition to over-eat. Feeling guilty (not!) we bowled 2 games at the Bowlingplex. It got our adrenaline rushing a bit. Then at 6pm, we went to Cempark for (yikes!) yet another lechon dinner.
Imagine that, more calories taken in than burned.... And it's not even the Christmas season yet...
It was a simple birthday get-together for me last Oct. 30. Family, relatives and a few friends joined me at Cafe Georg for dinner.
So many wonderful things to be thankful for, one of them is being surrounded by loved ones on this special day... :)
My 3yo niece was in town for a few days. And in those few days, we were regaled by her precociousness.
"I'm a little teapot, short and stout....
Here misis handle. Here misis spout."
Ahh joy!... We had a hearty laugh listening to all her antics....
When a loved one is running fever for days, with no clear symptoms like cold or cough, what runs through your mind? Though I hate to think about it, I become paranoid and take extra steps to determine it's not the dreaded dengue.
So imagine our concern when Jake had his fever on and off for a couple of days. We rushed him to the ER twice just to have his CBC test and both times we were relieved that the platelet count was normal.
Initial diagnosis was acute tonsilitis. Later on, it turned out to be cold sores on the throat caused by a virus. After a week of meds and a few pounds lost (Jake's, though i wish it were mine, hehe), Jake is now almost fully recovered. His appetite's back and he is his usual active self.
Relief...
One lazy Sunday afternoon, right after a heavy lunch treat from Casino Espanol, we hied off to catch the last day of the Motorshow at the Cebu International Convention Center.
Yeah, it was all for the boys... but I had fun taking pics of them by the cars too. :)
Every year, Mama Sol, my maternal aunt, is honored with a big birthday celebration by her family and colleagues. This year, we were part of the lunch treat at Casino Espanol.
One thing about parties tendered for Mama Sol or any member of her family, there is always a lot of seafood on the buffet table. Something we all look forward to. Hehehe... Crabs, curacha, lobsters, prawns, shellfish, name it....
I'm just glad I'm not allergic (anymore) to these kinds of (sea)food. That would have been a classic party pooper.
Sometimes when the party of five goes to the mall, we have to divide ourselves to maximize our time in covering what we need to do (i.e. buy school supplies, have a haircut, go to the salon (for me), take Jake to Timezone or Playroom, etc). On one such day, Jerry took Jake to the toy store and then to Harbor City for some dimsum while I checked out some other stuff with the elder boys, Matt & Kyle.
While Jerry and Jake were having their dimsum break, the 3 of us were at Spaghetti factory sampling one (out of their wide selection of) pasta and pizza.
Verdict: Food was good, and price was reasonable. It's worth another visit ;)
