Mommy Moments - Blue

It's another color theme for this week's Mommy Moments, so I'm sharing pictures of Joaqui with the color BLUE.

With the girls from Hooters, wearing his favorite blue shirt with a bulldozer in it.


Joaqui in blue shirt and me in a blue dress at his cousin's baptism.


Opening a present wrapped in blue paper.


With a blue necktie this time when we went to my best friend's wedding.

You will definitely not be blue as you see more wonderful pictures at Mommy Moments.

school happiness

Tomorrow will be the final day for Joaqui's Readiness Transition Camp at Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila School and we are so very proud because he adjusted quite well after three days of crying and separation anxiety. Now he is looking forward to going to school, eating snacks with his classmates, and doing activities like coloring and storytelling. He also adores his Teacher Karina and he is beaming with stories on what they did in class every time we go home from school. He used to say, "I don't want to go to school." Now he just says, "Mommy, I'm very happy in school!" We just hope that when classes begins in June, he will not have that separation anxiety anymore.

Hubby and I can't believe that Joaqui is going to school already. It's just amazing how time flies and how fast children are growing. I even said to hubby that we are blessed that I am able to work from home and that he has a flexible schedule that we are able to witness this major milestone of Joaqui. For the past two weeks, hubby and I go to school with Joaqui and we both patiently wait for 1-1/2 hours until their class ends and we all go home, or sometimes eat before going home. ; ) For me, the light in Joaqui's face when he sees us after his class is just priceless. And I really thank God how hubby is such a hands-on Dad and is always there for him to a point that he was one of the only two parents who stayed inside the classroom because Joaqui does not want to be left alone!

Tomorrow will be their sort of Awarding Ceremonies for two weeks' worth of class. I'm sure it will be a lot of fun. I promise to post pictures tomorrow.

Paypal issue

I have a Paypal account and I use it mainly for online purchases. I did not link a debit card or a credit card because I knew that withdrawing money through a debit card or a credit card would incur an extra charge. Now I have to pay something to a fellow blogger through the send money option so that there would be no extra charge, but it was only then that I found out about a sending limit. I have to send her $15 and my limit was only $9, so I sent $8 because I thought that the limit was for a day only. It turned out that it was my limit for life (unless I link up a card)! So I still have $7 balance.

I know this is kind of embarrassing, but I need help so that I can pay my remaining balance. I need someone who has a Paypal account who can send the $7 and then in turn I can send the $7 equivalent in Philippine peso thru bank deposit. I am really hoping somebody will reply to this.

PBW 2: Water

Joaqui had been attending a Readiness Transition Camp for a week and he has been looking forward to the weekend, which I told him he can go swimming in his inflatable pool. When he woke up on Saturday, the first thing he did was ask me if he could go swimming. He enjoys it a lot, even though he was all by himself.




Our weekend was spent at home, with Joaqui swimming while me and hubby catch up on some things. Share your weekend pictures at Pixel Bug Weekend.

Mommy Moments - Red

Since this week's theme is about the color red, let me share with you some things about this color. Red is the warmest of all colors. In China, red is the color of prosperity and joy. Brides wear red and front doors are often painted red. Red is the color of blood, and as such has strong symbolism as life and vitality. It brings focus to the essence of life and living with emphasis on survival. Studies show that red can have a physical effect, increasing the rate of respiration and raising blood pressure. These words are synonymous with red or represent various shades of the color red: scarlet, crimson, vermillion, carmine, maroon, burgundy, ruby, rose, madder, rouge, brick, blood red, blush, fire engine red, cinnabar, russet, rust, Venetian red, flame, Indian red, tomato.

Joaqui wearing a red necktie when he was a ring bearer at a Christian wedding.


Me and Joaqui posing with Astroboy in red boots.


Smiling for the camera in his red shirt during a short stop on our way to Tagaytay.


Lots of red during Joaqui's 2nd birthday party.


For me, red is a joyful color and signifies life, especially during celebrations. To see more of this color, head on to Mommy Moments.

hottest day so far

According to the Philippine Weather Bureau, today, April 19, 2010, is the hottest day in Metro Manila so far this year - 36.8 degrees Centigrade at about 3 p.m. this afternoon. No wonder I was sweating profusely even though I was not doing anything. It was even hotter in Tuguegarao which was 39.5 degrees Centigrade. Whew!

Always stay safe in this very hot weather. Drink plenty of fluids, stay indoors especially during the hottest part of the day and avoid staying in parked vehicles.

PBW 1: Preschool Summer Camp

Joaqui is to begin school this June and he will be at the Nursery level. As we were looking around for the right school for him, one of the schools we were considering gave a free summer camp. We wasted no time scheduling my son for this for him to have a "feel" of what's being in school.

Joaqui is a child who would not readily participate in activities. He prefers to watch from the sidelines and until he feels comfortable enough to join the others, he would just watch quietly. He also wouldn't want to be left alone inside the classroom, so I stayed with him.

There were some activities he enjoyed doing, but most of the time he just likes to play. The coordinators from the two schools where he had an evaluation said that Joaqui is at a stage where he just wants to play, but they said it's still common for children in their age.


I know how important early education is, but I want Joaqui to have fun while learning and develop confidence and self-esteem, and that is what matters to me.

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what's your workout style?

With the hot days of summer still upon the whole archipelago, it's a good time to get off the couch and start an exercise routine. Whether it be outside of the house, in a park, around the neighborhood or just inside the house, you still get the benefits and enjoyment of exercise. Personally I prefer to walk around the neighborhood for exercise, but lately since the road in our street is under construction, I have been exercising with Tunturi elliptical cross trainer from efitology.com. There are many elliptical trainers available in the market, but this was the one suggested by a friend of mine who is a fitness instructor. It has a long stride that makes it comfortable yet effective.

I have been very satisfied with the Tunturi elliptical trainer and we are planning to purchase Tunturi treadmills on Efitology for my mom. The shock absorbance and comfort orientation features make it more easy for my mom to exercise and get fit. It doesn't hurt her knees or her feet at all, so she is more motivated to get on the treadmill almost everyday. Efitology made it possible for us to acquire these pieces of exercise equipment, as they are an authorized Tunturi dealer and we got the free same-day shipping. What a great deal!

Of course, a fitness workout wouldn't be complete with the proper gear, so we got New Balance running shoes from Sports Authority and shopping for shoes is such a breeze here, as they have a large selection of brands and sizes. Now, comfy and stylish is my workout style. What's yours?

Mommy Moments - Yellow

I'm happy to be blogging again about Mommy Moments and today's theme is about the color yellow.

Here is Joaqui with a real yellow bulldozer. He is so much into cranes, bulldozers and backhoes.


Joaqui wearing his yellow shirt while dancing at a party.


And this is me posing like Rosalinda with a yellow flower.

If you would like to see more of the color yellow, visit Mommy Moments.

date night

Hubby and I don't have a particular day for a date night, but we always try to spend quality time as a couple if his schedule permits and if there is a good movie that we both wanted to see. When I read the synopsis of the movie " Date Night" in the newspaper, I asked hubby if we could watch it and we're so glad that we did.

The story revolved around a loving couple with two kids who never fails to go out on a dinner on their weekly date nights, which were getting boring and monotonous. After learning that their married best friends are getting separated, the Fosters, played by Steve Carell and Tina Fey, decided to add a little spice to their usual date night. Claire dressed up in a sexy dress while Phil took her to Manhattan's hottest restaurant. They had no reservations but decided to go anyway, and when Phil had an idea of stealing a no-show couple's reservation and pretended to be the Triplehorns, their date night became a wild and dangerous series of crazy adventures - and as they try to save their lives, along their journey they also saved their marriage.

Married couples would greatly appreciate this movie, especially those who have been together for a long time. I can't help but think about what Phil Foster's best friend told him, that he is not a husband or a partner any more, but a great roommate of his wife, the best roommate. Sometimes when two people have known each for too long, they become the roles they have to play in each other's life, forgetting their self worth or putting off their passion in other things. This movie is about having the time and space, even for a married couple, to rekindle and revive romance in a relationship.

1st movie theater experience for Joaqui

When we went to Nido Science Discovery Center in Mall of Asia a few months back, we went inside their planetarium and when Joaqui sat down comfortably and looked amazed at what he saw, I had the idea that we can try to bring him to a movie theater to watch a movie. We waited for an appropriate movie that is not too scary or would not be too loud for him as he easily gets scared of loud noises. We also planned to watched on a weekday so as there would not be too many people watching and if in case he cried or got too noisy, there wouldn't be a lot of people to bother. When hubby had his off on a Monday, we went to Trinoma and we brought Joaqui to the movies to watch How To Train Your Dragon. At first, he was really hesitant to go inside the theater, but I had told him that there are lights inside and there would just be a very large TV screen. When we sat down, he saw a lot of children inside and he was somehow reassured that there were other children watching. I think Joaqui liked the movie, well not the entire movie because he dozed off during the last 30 or 45 minutes of it : ) It was a good movie for young children like Joaqui who is familiar with dragons, and it teaches children to be brave.


I have read that a 3-year-old child can be taken into theaters for their first movie experience and I was really anticipating this moment when we would be watching a movie as a family. I was very happy that Joaqui had a pleasant first movie experience. I'm glad that we waited for him to be ready because 3 is just a number - it still depends on a child's attention span and his willingness to sit still inside a somewhat dark room with other people around. What just bothered me was the movie trailers shown before the start of the show. How To Train Your Dragon was rated as GP or general patronage, but most of the movie trailers shown were rated PG18 and there were two movie trailers that got Joaqui scared (I think it was Iron Man 2 and The Last Airbender). Next time, I think we would wait until all the movie trailers are finished before we would let Joaqui sit down so he doesn't have to see movies he isn't allowed to see yet.