Beware!

On November 26, Mary Jane Agno (18 years old from Davao) started working for me as a yaya. Mabigat loob ko sa kanya at first but I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. First day nya, pinakita nya kagad how addicted she is to texting and talking on her celfone. So we talked to her about it and told her na hinde pwede yung ganon. Ilang beses namin yan napagsabihan in a span of 1 MONTH.

2 weeks ago, I woke up from my afternoon nap and found out na umalis sya. Hinde nagpaalam saken and sabe ng other helper namin nagpunta daw sa cousin nya who works for another household in our village. I was furious so pinasundan ko and nakita ni other helper na nakikipaglandian sa mga construction workers. Pinagalitan ko at sabe nya hinde daw nagpaalam sya kase TULOG ako. So I said 'pag tulog ako lage ka aalis ng walang paalam?' I was really upset. I wanted to her to leave na non but hubby asked me to give her another chance. Pero starting non talagang lalo bumigat loob ko sa kanya.

That same week, nawalan ako ng 200 sa wallet. I have never lost money at home and I have never mistaken my money count kase super OC ako with how my paper bills are arranged in envelopes and in my wallet. Still, I brushed it off pero pinaghinalaan ko na sya. The other day, I lost another 200 na binawas sa magkaibang lugar sa wallet ko. Wala pang ilang oras since I put my money there and I COUNTED it so I know hinde ako nagkakamali. I told my mom that I've been losing money and she said she also lost her gold bracelet 2 weeks ago.

Papainan ko sana sya the following day. Pero while I was at LTO to get my driver's license, nagsabe ang ga** dun sa isang helper namin na aalis na daw sya kase minamadali sya ng pinsan nya. So my hubby was the one who searched through her stuff and talked to her. Konti na lang ang gamit nya non kase sabe nung isang helper namin pag gabi daw naghahatid ng gamit yugn yaya dun sa pinsan nya. My suspiscion about her stealing was confirmed nung sinabe ni other helper saken na the night I lost another 200, nilibre daw sya sa Mcdo nung yaya. Eh pano mangyayari yon, wala na syang sinuweldo saken kase 1st week pa lang nya nag-advance na ang bruha. Kaya pala hinde nawawalan ng pera.
I found out a lot of things that she said. Napaka-walangya nya talaga. Pina-blotter na namin kase nalaman din namin na she took lots of pictures of Zoe on her celfone tapos sinesend daw sa probinsya. Talagang hinde sya nagpa-abot saken kahapon kase I swear masasaktan ko talaga sya.

Eastwood Richmonde Hotel

I got an email regarding the opening of Eastwood Richmonde Hotel and thought of booking a room this December. However, hubby was discouraged when we heard that they don't offer buffet breakfast yet so instead, we decided to try their dinner buffet last Friday.

After splurging on cute little outfits for Zoe at Baby Gap, Baby Guess, and Ralph Lauren, we went to the Eastwood Mall where we had an encounter with Santa Claus. Being Zoe's first Christmas, we couldnt resist taking pics with Santa. Too bad we didnt get a pic of the 3 of us with him since we didnt bring Zoe's yaya along as our official photographer.




Dinner buffet at Eastwood Richmonde Hotel is only 780/pax which of course doesnt include drinks. The spread isnt comparable to Circles or even The Fab (Holiday Inn) but hubby and I agreed that it's value for money since the dishes are quite good. The advantage of going to a small sized buffet is that you get to sample all or most of the dishes. Whenever we go to The Fab or Circles, my eyes get so overwhelmed that I dont get to eat a lot.

So here are some of the pictures of the food (plus pics of us!). I say some because we didnt get to take pics of the other food that we had since they all went rushing down our tummies especially after all that shopping =)

Zoe @ 2 months

During Zoe's first few weeks, I was afraid that she might not be getting enough milk from me and I was constantly paranoid that she wasn't gaining enough weight. Come her first month though, she just got big out of nowhere and people started to wonder what I was feeding her. I'm super seriously committed into breastfeeding her even when I get back to work and I really hope that I'd be able to really keep it up.

Here are some of Zoe's pictures from newborn up to the present time:






newborn







3 weeks





2 months



Zoe Alexa's Christening

Zoe Alexa had her christening celebration last November 13 at Christ the King Parish. Traffic was really bad around the Ortigas area and half of her godparents weren’t able to make it to the ceremony and most guests were late in arriving at the reception venue (including us!) since we all got stuck in traffic. Despite the hassles, everything still went okay in the end and our guests were able to take advantage of the buffet except for Dan and I since we were busy attending to our guests.


Below is the list of my suppliers and a short review on each:

Church: Christ the King Parish Church (Green Meadows QC)
- We listed Zoe’s baptism 3 months before she was born. We were that excited (okay, I was that excited..)! We decided on a Saturday since most of our friends and family didn’t have work or school that day. The thing was, I originally wanted the ceremony to be held at 1pm but there was no slot offered on that time block so we settled for 2pm which was a bit narrow on our schedule since the reception at Dad’s starts at 3pm. We were a bit late on the day itself since traffic was also bad along Marcos Highway. The rites started at 2:15 PM and half of her godparents weren’t there yet including all of Dan’s family.

 Reception: Dad’s Mega mall (Merienda buffet)
- We had reserved the function room good for 120 pax and our contract stated that should we fail to fill minimum 100 headcount requirement, we still would have to pay for a hundred. On the day itself, only 85 guests were able to arrive due to really bad traffic and almost all of us were late. We arrived at Dad’s at 3:45 and I was afraid that we weren’t going to make it. Our last batch of guests arrived at 4:40 PM and yet they were still able to take advantage of the buffet.

We didn’t get the baptismal package at Dad’s but I requested for extra tables for the cake and gifts as well as a tarpaulin. We also stayed until around 7:30 PM which was beyond the 5pm reservation but it was okay with them since there was no other function after us. Though I didn’t get to eat (huhuhu), I was still happy that we got value for our money here so no regrets.

Baptismal Cupcakes: Nadine Abraham of Swirls N Sprinkles
- Nadine is my favorite among all of my suppliers. Everything was very smooth and easy not to mention that her cupcakes made me totally throw the thought of sugar and fats out of the window. I ordered 70 cupcakes with packaging and she gave me free fondant toppers and discounted delivery and set up. I booked with her a couple of months before I gave birth and most of our conversations were done through email and through text message on the latter part.


We had 3 flavors for our cupcakes: Chocomoist cake with Hershey’s butter cream filling, Vanilla cake with Vanilla icing, and Chocomoist cake with vanilla icing. They were all made up to match Zoe’s pink and brown motif and they were all very delicious that I almost regret having to give them away. I also ordered a dozen of cupcakes from Nadine for Zoe’s first month celebration and I’m sure we’ll have plenty of transactions to be had in the future.


Souvenirs: Eileen Dela Rose of EroseJazz Clay

- I have seen Eileen’s multiply site even before I got pregnant and fell in love with her hand and footprint clay magnets immediately. So when I found out I was pregnant, I didn’t look elsewhere for baptismal souvenirs. I ordered 50 pieces which came with packaging and tags. They were the cutest thing and got compliments from a lot of my guests. I was sad to give them away too hahaha!


Invitations: Elegant Pieces
- I ordered 50 pieces of invitations for Zoe’s christening and our transaction was done mostly through email. The invites were okay although it would’ve been better if they were printed on photo paper. I would’ve done the invites myself but I am probably the least artistic person in the world so I decided to have an experienced person do them for me.


Candles - DIY
- I never thought I would contribute something to this baptism that I would actually make but I did. I bought a pink ribbon with gold trimming from National Bookstore and put it on the candles. Heck, I was so proud of myself!


Baptismal Gown, Cap, and Booties: Landmark Department Store
- I decided not to spend a lot of money on Zoe’s baptismal outfit since she will only be wearing it for 30 minutes tops. So on our way to Trinoma to meet up with Shally to pick up my orders from the US, we passed by Landmark and got Zoe’s baptismal outfit which didn’t even cost us 500. The only downside was that the sizes were a bit limited. We got the smallest size but it was still a bit too big for Zoe. She hated the booties and she was already barefoot half of the ceremony.


Reception Outfit: Ralph Lauren Romper, Nike Mary Janes, Carter’s socks
- I scrimped on Zoe’s baptismal outfit but splurged on the ones she used for the reception. The RL romper and Carter’s socks were bought from the US when I had my Google training and the Nike shoes were bought from Rustan’s.


Mommy and Daddy outfits: Dress from Plains and Prints and Hubby’s shirt from Memo




The total expenses for Zoe’s christening were more or less 45k not including the gas and food expenses to and from the suppliers. Every penny spent was definitely worth it as it was Zoe’s first coming out party. Now, I can start writing our Christmas shopping list and planning for her first birthday ;).

*Here is the link to more of Zoe's christening pics: http://www.facebook.com/reqs.php#%21/album.php?aid=2086142&id=1045323257

First mommy challenge

As a first time mom, I'm really blessed to have a very serene daughter. She rarely cries except if it's time to change her nappy or if she's really hungry. For the past 2 weeks though, I've been noticing small bumps on her face. At first, people dismissed it to be Neonatal acne which goes away on its own but I grew more alarmed when she started having these bumps on her scalp, chest, back, and fold of her arms.

We took Zoe to her pedia yesterday and we were told that the bumps were a mixture of neonatal acne and dermatitis. The latter she contracted due to the heat and we were advised to have Zoe stay on an airconditioned room longer especially in the afternoon. The doctor also prescribed Lacticare lotion to be applied twice daily and Verlix oral drops as anti-histamine. I started the medication yesterday and I immediately noticed that the red bumps on her scalp reduced.

Because of her rashes, we forego with our original plan of having Zoe's earrings yesterday. Dan and I decided to wait until the rashes have cleared up. Now I know what it feels like to suffer in silence when your baby's sick or when you see something different with your baby. When Zoe started having these rashes, I wished that it was just me who had it. Thank God though cus it's something we definitely can cure and prevent.

Welcome my baby girl!

I finally gave birth via emergency CS on September 22 at 2:10 AM to a very healthy 7.3 lbs baby girl.

On that night, my husband's brother came over to get some stuff and we all had dinner at home. While we were walking him towards the village gateat around 630 PM, I suddenly felt a gush of water which wet my shorts. I initially thought it was just an involuntary gush of pee since I was also taking UTI medicines that week and I had just peed before we went outside. When hubby and I got home, I was contemplating on whether it was my water bag or just normal urine. I texted my OB and she called and gave me instructions to observe any contractions/blood.

Since I wasn't feeling anything out of the ordinary, we just stayed at home and continued to watch The Vampire Diairies season 1 on our laptop. During that time I kept noticing gushes of water trickling from down under so at 1030 PM, my hubby and I decided to go to the hospital.

11 PM -- We were at the ER of Marikina Valley Medical Center and they contacted my OB. The resident physician did an IE on me but my cervix was only 1 cm dilated. My sister in law who's a nurse in the hospital was already set to go home for the day when she saw my hubby outside so she stayed for a while and helped us settle there. After like an hour or so, I was taken to the Labor Room.

1230 AM -- My cervix remained at 1 cm so my OB asked the OR nurse to inject Buscopan and another medicine thru IV. Suddenly, my baby's heartbeat dropped from 130's down to 70's then 60's. My OB tried to wake my baby up through an IE and she announced that we had to do an emergency CS. The urgency of the moment scared me and all I could wish was for them to do everything they can to get my baby out safely. My hubby was asked to go inside the Labor Room to talk to me and we agreed on the CS operation.

During the operation, I kept myself awake because I wanted to make sure that things were ok. I was chilling like crazy from the epidural and kept wondering what they were doing from behind sheets in front of me. Then after some time, the Anesthesiologist who was beside me helped push the baby out. After 2 pushes, I heard my baby cry and it was such a relief. They brought her to me after cleaning her up. I also heard that she had a cord coil on her neck which was the reason for the dropping of her heartbeat earlier. Good thing my OB acted urgently on the situation.

3 AM -- I was brought to the Recovery Room where my hubby visited me to tell me everything was ok. I had to stay there until (would you believe) 4PM while we waited for a room to be vacated since the hospital was really full. I felt really bad for my husband who just stayed outside the Labor room the entire time. We went home after 2 days and now I'm busy fulfilling my duties as a first time mommy :)

Awaiting for my Zoe Alexa

Last Saturday, we went to see my OB for my monthly check up. She performed an IE cus I told her about the abdominal pains that I was having since the previous day. Turns out that while my cervix is still closed, it has already thinned out in preparation for my labor. At 36 weeks, she still wasn't very at ease with my baby coming out so she recommended bed rest at least until I hit 37 weeks (this Friday).

My hubby's birthday is this Wednesday (the 14th) and I hope my baby girl won't try as much to have the same birthday as her dad. Later I'm scheduled for an ultrasound to check whether my baby's lungs are already fully matured. We're just so excited but we want her to be safe and healthy. Our bags are packed with all documents ready -- we're just waiting for our little one. Hopefully we'll get a favorable ultrasound report later and most of all, we're just praying for a safe delivery and a healthy baby girl.

Baby Registry Items Part I

Here are some of the items that I registered in SM Baby and Co.

Baby Bath Tub

Avent BPA Free 9 oz twin pack

Avent 3m+ nipples

Avent bottle and teat brush

Avent BPA Free Bottle Trainer Cup

Avent Breastmilk Storage bottles

Avent Milk Dispenser

Avent 0m+ nipples

Avent triple pack 9 oz bottles

Chicco sterilizer

4 piece comforter and pillow set

Dr Brown's Level 1 nipples

Dr Brown's Level 2 nipples

Dr Brown's standad bottle gift set

Fold and Store bath sling

Dr Brown's trainer cup

Graco Passage Travel Morgan

Fisher Price 3-in-1 gym

Lamaze Space Symphony motion gym

Lamaze Spin and explore Gym

Lamaze octotunes

Can't wait to select the items for my Rustan's baby registry :)

Make up spree

Last weekend, I went out with my hubby, sister, and cousin to Greenbelt to have dinner and 'look around' since my cousin just arrived from Germany. I wasn't planning on buying anything but we went to Rustan's to check some baby items that I wanted to put on my baby registry. Instead of doing so, I ended up going crazy on make up. Here are the things I bought and reviews on what I have used so far:

Rave:

CD DiorKiss ligloss in chocolate frappe - Smells like chocolate talaga and the coverage is really great. I had a tub of ice cream at Cold Rock but it the gloss was still there after!

Chanel Exeptionnel de Chanel mascara - My new favorite mascara! The brush is really fine and it really does a good job on making my lashes look thick without the ugly clumps.


Not so rave, Not so rant:

YSL Touche Brilliance in #11 and #7 - I love the smell and the tint but since I have darker lips, I still need to apply a base tint or a little concealer to bring out the tint. What i dont like about these the most is that once it gets dry after an hour or so, I end up with super glittery lips.

Chanel Inimitable Waterproof Mascara - I bought 3 mascaras this is the other one plus another Chanel masacara (which I love) and the Helena Rubenstein one. I dont like this much cus it's not very different from the cheaper ones that I have like Maybelline. The brush is very fine as well but it tends to clump especially if I put 2 coats on so I should stick to just 1 coat. My point of comparison now is the Exceptionnel de Chanel mascara which really makes my lashes bloom.