Wednesday, November 30, 2011

on being "mommy"

i love being a mommy.  even more, i love being a mommy of two boys.  at the end of my day, i am happy to plop down on my couch for a few minutes to unwind with play-dough stuck on my hair, chocolate on my cheeks, baby drool on my neck, rice cereals on my shirt and gosh knows what else my kids can get on me.

but sometimes, even mommies to two little superheroes need their down time.  

it's been a month since the hubby has started pulling off his two jobs.  that's 3 days a week where he is gone for a solid 16 hours, another 3 days where he pulls off his 8 hour shifts and sunday, as his rest day.  i find it a tad irritating that everyone seems to ask how he is handling having two jobs... how it is affecting his health, his social life, his sleeping patterns, his "me time" and his time for his family.  please, do not get me wrong.  i love and appreciate the hubby for doing what needs to get done in order to ensure his family is financially secured but sometimes.......................

i wish someone could ask me how i was doing.  how am i doing handling two kids by myself for 16 hours a day.  how is this affecting my health, my social life, my sleeping patterns, my "me time" and most importantly, my sanity.  i wish i am able to explain it to all that my job as a homemaker is truly that --- i am 24/7 on these children.  i have no breaks, no lunch hours, my sleep at night is disturbed for feeding breaks and sometimes, all i want to do is to have someone to intervene and kick me out of the house for an hour just so i can get a little breather... go to a starbucks for my favorite drink and pick up a magazine to read.  would you laugh when i tell you that i cannot even leave this children to catch a movie without causing a major scene?  dylan cries so much that he ends up regurgitating everything he eats and kaelan refuses to feed from a bottle which makes it even more difficult to leave him anywhere, much less to anyone.

but let me clarify, if i can please.  i am not complaining.  really, i'm not.  if anything, ever since my hubby has started his two jobs, i have gained a whole lot of respect for stay-at-home mom's out there who does not have much or any help at all.  it's a tough job.  a job that requires us to be constant in our discipline, lavish in our praises, clear in our communication, and loving, always loving no matter what.  and patience --- don't even get me started on that.

but you know, at the end of the day, even when i would be wanting to tear my hair out when both kids have done nothing but act up, i still feel so lucky because my boys love me --- unconditionally.  i get hugs out of nowhere... "i love you"'s screamed at me from the other room... drool-filled wet kisses at all times... cuddles at nap time... tickling sessions at bed time... silly made-up stories and games at bath time... my list goes on and on and on....

currently, i am the center of their universe and i plan to make the most of that.  but these two boys who are so precious to my heart, will forever be the center of mine.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

baby shower galore!


my beautiful best friend and her hubby are so blessed
to have not one but TWO additions to their family.

last saturday, amidst weeks of masterminding, planning,
working and designing, we finally pulled off her baby shower!
we put a lot of love in all aspects of her baby shower.
with mostly everything being handcrafted by both her and i.

i would like to share some photos with all of you
of the creative juices we had flowing
to pull off a 'beautifully simple' baby shower for her and her hubby
with the birds, nest & eggs theme in purple and green.


elegant diaper cake by our awesome friend nina.
mugs for our raffle draw.



delicious cake & cupcakes for all.


rather than giving out "mommy advice" cards for all the guests
we gave out "Twin Wishes" cards for them all
it's something for the twins to be able to read and appreciate
when they get a little older.


soap favors for all the guests


flower pompoms by moi and paper lanterns by the mommy-to-be


our room decor --- beautifully hanged feature for all!


of course it was time for some games
like the classic 'guess the belly size'


and we shared some great laughs with "bring me...."
had a few lucky winner with the raffle draw
and played "guess the price" of a bucketful of baby necessities 


and of course i couldn't pass up a photo
with my gorgeous bff sporting her 31 week bump
(looking more like she's full term!)


then it was time to open some gifts and play baby bingo.

 
arwen & benjie's baby shower
november 12, 2011

it was a wonderful rainy afternoon
filled with lots of love, laughter & wishes for the upcoming twins
that will be blessing the lives of these two.

i, for one, cannot wait to meet two beautiful little girls
who we seem to have been waiting a lifetime for.

congratulations again lovies.

***all photos courtesy of Benny Mendoza***

Friday, November 11, 2011

it's beginning to look a lot like christmas!


if there is any holiday that i love above all else
Christmas is at the very top of my list.
nothing beats the feeling once December rolls in.

in my case, December is coming faster than any other ordinary month.
you see, before even halloween came along
our tree was up and ready
just waiting for it's final touches.

and today, i finally got the rest of our ornaments in.
and my hubby proudly tells me that our tree
looks good enough to be a mall display.




back in manila, when i was growing up
as of september 1st, the malls would have all their christmas gears out
and christmas music would be playing all over.
we called it the "ber" months (september, october, etc...)
and the spirit of christmas is felt early on.

  i am glad that the hubby, like me
feels that we should start the festivities a tad early.
our boys enjoy the beautiful christmas lights.
and get excited at the talk of santa coming by.

our family is surely getting ready for this holiday season.

are you as excited as i am?

Sunday, November 6, 2011

pumpkin patch


last october 27, my little family hit the pumkin patch.
it is our very first time going, can you believe?
that goes not just for the kids
but for us two adults as well.

we had a lot of fun exploring at the apple barn!




we saw matter from cars


enjoyed our first hay ride together


went through a corn maze dragging dylan in a wagon



jumped til we dropped at the massive jumping pillow


checked out and rode some tractors




checked out the petting zoo


and of course, we went in search for the perfect pumpkin!






it was a fantastic afternoon spent at the pumpkin patch.
we ended the trek with some amazing sweet potato chips
(they were super yummy!)
and some very cold apple cider juice.

we can't wait until next year's pumpkin patch trek!