the dusty bookshelf: Goodnight Moon

when my (not-so-baby) brother was about three or four years old, my mom came back home from a Chicago trip and along with her was a copy of Goodnight Moon that was a gift from our aunt.  it was my baby brother's most treasured possession and now, at 20 years of age, he still proudly has his copy of said book --- tattered cardboard pages and all.

fast forward to now, after hassling my brother to lend me copy of said book, he finally relented not by lending me his but purchasing one for his one and only nephew.

every night, the little man and i will lie on the bed as we pore through every page of this book.  we will say goodnight to the little house and young mouse, to the cow jumping over the moon and the three little bears sitting on chairs.  we wave goodnight to the light and kitten and mittens.  we also say goodnight to the comb and brush and the lady whispering "hush" (complete with my little bhubba's finger on his lips as he whispers "hush" with me).

this book truly is our favourite book --- enough that i have memorized it and will quietly go through the words with my son even without the picture book when we are in the car on the way home late at night.  it truly puts him in a calmer state knowing that it's time for bed.

so for now i say,

Goodnight stars, Goodnight air
Goodnight noises everywhere...

summer just isn't complete...

without spending some time by the pool.

because the vancouver weather has been absolutely beautiful these days, the little man has been spending tremendous amounts of time outside giving this mommy some time to relax by the shade reading a book.

how has your summer been?

congratulations: Mr & Mrs Agustin!

congratulations to one of our dearest friends and finally may i say
WELCOME TO THE CLUB!!!!

Jay & Leah Agustin
August 7, 2010

more photos to come

the dusty bookshelf: 3 books in 1 day!

my love of reading started in the summer i turned 10. i distinctly remembered my mom bringing home a borrowed copy of the Sweet Dreams Book #1 entitled P.S. I Love You by Barbara Conklin.

i read and re-read that book and poured over every word... i still recall giggling over the character's first kiss and crying with her as her heart broke over "P.S." --- what more, i fell in love with reading.

it seemed only appropriate that i create another feature on my blog --- THE DUSTY BOOKSHELF --- now that i am picking-up again on my reading.

here's a few books i picked up last monday (please bear in my my love for trashy romance novels!!!)

something borrowed: CAKES

in early celebration of my upcoming 27th birthday (on Wednesday!), it seemed only appropriate that my "something borrowed" feature one of my top favourite things.

here's a few Cakes i just happen to heart quite a bit.


born in the year of the pig --- this just happens to be on top of my list!


the next time i get pregnant and have a baby shower, hopefully this is my cake!


my son loves trains --- i'm hoping to get something close to this done for his 2nd birthday!

photos from pink cake box

those were the days

this upcoming 30th, my little man is turning a year and a half old.

SERIOUSLY?!?

i am surprised at how fast time seems to be going. i only wish that it could slow down a tiny little bit so that i can enjoy more of his childhood --- remember each of his every expressions, engrave how tiny his hands and feet are in my mind and cherish all those firsts in his life... from smiles to babbles, grins and crocodile tears, his first crawl, first tooth, first owie, first step... every precious little moment that seems to be just slipping right through my fingers.

though i love him so much more now as a toddler, i do miss those days when he was a tiny little helpless baby. when all he wanted to do was cuddle and be held, rocked and sang to. i used to spend endless hours at night unable to sleep just looking at his face and thinking... "he's gorgeous and he is absolutely mine!" ... now i spend countless hours in the day missing him madly and looking forward to my evenings and weekends when i get to spend all my hours with him.... selfishly trying to keep him awake at most times to be able to do as much in so little time.

though he will forever be labelled a "baby" in my eyes, i still can't believe i now have a toddler in my arms.

The day after he was born

Our first Family shots taken on Valentine's Day --- he was 2 weeks old

Dylan and Daddy on the little man's Dedication

Celebrating his very 1st birthday

My little man now!

father time, could you please just slow down a little for us?

something borrowed: CHARMS

surfing the internet when i have a spare moment is becoming a fast hobby of mine. i usually stick to certain sites but find that i am coming across more and more things that i am interested in these days.

i've decided to try something new on this blog of mine. i'm going to call it my "Something Borrowed" feature... a selection of photos, artwork, quotes and more that i have "borrowed" from somebody else in the internet world.

this week, i'm going to share my love of CHARMS. there is something so fairytale-like and whimsical about them and i can't resist their girly pull on me.

photos from weheartit

i heave, then i sigh

in the most stressful of days (like today), i am so glad I can come home to my two boys who will make me laugh silly, give me kisses and hugs to ease the worry creases on my forehead, and give me their utmost unconditional love and let me know that no matter what, i am still luckier than most.

i come home to the two boys any mommy and wife would love and be proud of.

so i leave my worries behind for now and know that no matter what, i have these two in my life.

shoe crazy

we all heart our new crocs! not only are they perfect for the summer --- they are super comfortable!

sloppy kisses are my favourite kisses of all!

... especially when it is given whole-heartedly (complete with a runny nose) by the little man i adore!

and the hunt begins

a few weeks back, i was happily oblivious to the world of preschools and montessories until a friend mentioned how difficult it is to come across great facilities that does not have a wait list.

i decided to look up a few montessories in my neighbourhood and found only a handful that i would like to enroll the little man in.

so i placed a couple of calls on my lunch hour to obtain some information.

to my surprise, the one on top of my list has a wait list! that's correct --- my son is going to be wait-listed though preschool does not start until september of 2012!

in my panic, i have called two more montessories and decided to pay the disgusting amount of non-refundable registration fees just to ensure that he will have the space for at least one of them by the time he hits 3 years old!

i cannot believe that i have actually done this when i have at least another 2 years to go.

pop-pa!

everytime the little man screams POP-PA!, we've learned that it is not to get his dad's attention, but because he sees popcorn going in the microwave.

yes... the little man has learned to love his pop-corn!

here he is over the weekend enjoying a massive bowl of popcorn at the children's festival.

i'm off to share a bag of popcorn with my two boys!

for my memories' sake

these days, the only quiet time i get is when the little man is down for his naps. not that i'm complaining --- he is at his most active now, fully walking and babbling along --- having conversations on the phone, chit-chatting with his lolo and lola (grandpa and grandma) on skype even though they live about 15 minutes away from us.

the little bhubba has been talking so much that i have to write this blog just so i can go back to it years from now and remember this with a smile. here are his first words (bear with this proud mom, will ya?):

tut - copying the sound the phone makes when dialing

tutbrush - for his toothbrush

bus/truck - complete with screams when he sees them

caaaahhhhrrrr - trying to scare us when he says the simple car

cat - he calls even dogs a cat!

bu-bles - when he sees his play bubbles

balllll - emphasizing the 'l'

tootle - for the turtles he sees at the aquarium

pish - for fish (so typically filipino switching the p for f)

saack - for socks

shu - for shoes

cheese/juice - always looking for food

didi - for milk

bibi - when seeing other babies

mmmmm - for whenever he first tastes something

yesterday, i took a really good look at him --- a long good look. and i wonder, where has time flown? is he REALLY turning 16 months old this 30th?!?

i seriously wish that the clock can just slow down a little, give me more chances to be able to enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime age.

backtrack... to the EAGLES

growing up, i can never recall a moment when there was no music playing in our house. if the stereo was not turned on, it was my dad playing his guitar or my aunt singing some favourite song.

i grew up with music and learned to appreciate not only what is new, what is old, but also, what is older (yes, you can take me to as far as billy holiday or ella fitzgerald and i will happily burst into songs).

last monday, i was fortunate enough to snag two tickets to the Eagles concert that was held in Vancouver. who else can i take with me but my dad? we had an AWESOME time at the concert. HIS LOVE for music is what brought on MY LOVE for music --- and i am so very lucky to grow up listening to the music of his generation.

box suite tickets

here's my dad being a very typical asian with the eagles stage set-up as the backdrop.

the Eagles in concert!

we truly had a blast!!!

for the lack of update...

it has been a very strained and stressful week here in our little household. actually --- make that two weeks. there were so many things that needed taking care of and to top it off, the little man has gotten sick... YET AGAIN.

i've decided to take a short haitus from the blogging world but am now coming back in full speed. i've missed blogging so much --- but my family needed me much more than the internet and family comes first.

i have to also apologize to my swap partners as i am LATE, LATE AND LATE in sending out your lovely parcels! i will be doing all the sending tomorrow after i put all the finishing touches. i promise those little packages of yours will be in your inboxes in no time at all.

and to those who i have missed emailing in the last little while --- or commenting to, i'll be back hounding your pages!

i have missed all you darlings and can't wait to get back in the loop of things!

a belated greeting

Yesterday, my little brother celebrated his 20th birthday.

Although he is 20 and consequently TALLER and BIGGER than I am, he will forever remain my "little" brother.

He wanted to celebrate with a late breakfast at Denny's. So my family sans the hubby went for an "all american breakfast" (not really sure why they don't call it an all canadian breakfast!).

Dylan and his Lola (grandma)

David, me and my dad


Enjoying some yummy sour cream!

absolute love

there's no question as to how much I LOVE this duo

i heart books`

Twice a year, the Richmond Public Library hosts a Book Sale and this weekend, I just happen to pop by in time to pick up massive amounts of books!

I am an avid reader --- and though you can give me just about any genre of book, I am not ashamed to admit that I have much love for the trashy-romance-novel-type of books!

Hence.....

And of course, I just happen to snag some amazing finds in the classic section ----

With $34 dollars gone from my pocket, I have all these wonderful books (plus a hoopla of children's books for the little man). I can't wait to dig into these selections!

la-la-love

I came home today to a wonderful surprise in my mailbox... it was a package from Crissy from the mail scrambler hosted by Caroline. I was hoping this package wasn't lost in the mail and it made me super happy to receive such wonderful presents!


The bookmarks which she made herself goes PERFECT with my new Twilight set. Yes --- after all this time of loving Twilight, the hubby finally bought the boxed set for me for Easter (I've been reading and re-reading my brother's collection of books this whole time).

And along with the package she sent was a perfectly cute knitted bracelet she made herself! I absolutely adored it!

On a side note, I have been very busy this evening writing postcards and notes to send to a few people... I have been neglecting my writings these past weeks but so much has been happening on this end and finally, things have settled down a bit that I am able to catch up.

Most of you lovies will be receiving some snail mail from me soon!!!

September 10, 2005
our wedding rings

When the hubby and I first chose our wedding rings, we could not agree upon a design that both of us liked. It was a difficult process and we were verging on the point of picking out two separate styles (a plain one for him and a much more detailed one for me).

Luckily, on a rainy day in September 2004, we just happen to peek in a jewelry store and our eyes fell on this certain band that we both fell in love with.... years later, it's still the ones we wear on third finger in our left hand, lovingly engraved with the date we were married and his name on mine and my name on his.

The hubby and I have been discussing picking out new bands for our 5th anniversary but we have come to a conclusion that our rings has been with us from day 1 of our marriage, through our happy times and sad times, that it deserved more than just to be replaced. It symbolizes too much of us now to ever be let go of or replaced. It means too much now to be removed and just put aside in a pretty little box. Our rings, complete with it's scratches and little dent marks, has survived being thrown out the window, falling into a pipe and has been lost by me numerous times. If our rings are able to weather all those things, I think it deserves a chance to stay.

Though newer, more beautiful rings are out in the market and I get tempted to purchase a new one, I know that mine means so much more than the pretty little sparkly ones I see in the stores. The ring I wear symbolizes a promise I made to the boy I married, that I will love him, cherish him through the good times and the bad... and to the man who is now my hubby and the father of my most precious little boy.