Monster Mom =(

It's been two years and three months since I became a parent. I thought I would already know better by this time but I still often find myself sulking in one corner with regrets of what I did or did not do. Sometimes I honestly think that I'm not fit to become a mother :(

Zoe is at her trying two's and it's been a crazy ride. A lot of people commend me on how behaved she is whenever we go out. Yes, at her age, I definitely have a lot of things to be proud of but I think that it is with that fact that I have also come to raise my expectations  from her. Expectations that are sometimes too high for a kid of her age. 

Earlier I had another temper blow out with her and I was so frustrated over something that was actually petty. She got terrified of me but instead of moving away from me, she just cried on my shoulders. What kind of a monster have I become? And while I was preparing for work, she tried to make it up to me by being sweet. She even complimented me while I was putting my pants on and said 'Wow, Mommy, ganda ganda.' and helped me put my belt on. It just crushed my heart that even when I showed immaturity and pointless anger at her earlier, she still found it in her young heart to make ammends and make me happy. What have I ever done in my life to deserve this sweet little girl? 

And so I went to work with a heavy heart full of guilt over what I did today. I pray that God may give me more patience and wisdom to be the parent that I should be. 

Welcome 2013!

2012 has been a year of beginnings, re-starts, and accomplishments. That's how life should always be; something to look forward to with positivity and endless dreams. May 2013 be a good year for everyone =)

Happy new year from the Manila-Dys 

With my mama and sister

Grilled steaks - my contribution to NYE's dinner

Dy kids with Mamita

Mi familia!

Dy ladies

Mommy's advanced birthday celebration

P.S.

I just realized that I've had this blog for nearly 3 years. My very first post was when we found out about my pregnancy in February 2010 :)

Christmas gifts

I was confused on what to give my husband for Christmas. I heard him say that he wanted to get a G-Shock watch few months back so I decided to get not just one but two watches for him :) Merry Christmas Babykins =)

For our Zoe, we decided against getting her two big items for Christmas because we wanted her to fully appreciate her Christmas gift. So the motorized car will have to wait for next Christmas.

And, here's my hubby's Christmas gift for me this year..

LUVITTTT!

Merry Christmas everyone :)

Berry or Apple?

As I come to terms with the fact that I'm not getting any younger, I have accepted the solid fact that phones nowadays are geared to all-touch screen and no keypads. It doesn't mean that it has become easier for me though. In fact, I have managed to avoid all versions of Iphone all these years (well...)because I really find it difficult to text on a virtual keypad. This is why I love my Blackberry Torch to bits. Well, at least how it looks like and the comfort it gives me. I've never been one to update phones on a whim or everytime there's a new model available (which is like every other month); I'm a more of a practical, function-over-fad-lady. 

Recently though, an opportunity presented itself when I realized that my postpaid line's contract is about to expire. I called Globe to find out what they can offer me for their loyalty program and asked if they can give me an Iphone 4S. The agent said the the 4S is currently out of stock and offered me the Iphone 5 instead. So after much discussions, phone calls, and irate complaints, I'm finally getting my Iphone 5 tomorrow and I'm bidding goodbye to my Blackberry Torch *sob*. Hey, I need to embrace the future of technology sooner or later, right?

I've gotten so many advice on which phone to get. Samsung S3, Samsung Note II, Iphone 5, Iphone 4S; and you know what, I don't really have time and plans of testing each because I'm very gullible when it comes to gadgets. Mostly because I'm not very techie and I'm just a picture-facebook-text kind of girl when it comes to phones. Heck, I only have less than 500 songs on my ipod and zero games. Samsung phones are pretty promising and have the best LCDs but I'm honestly intimidated by it's 'high-techness' :P. I've never had an Iphone before because I wasn't completely sold to the touch screen texting thing but yeah, I'm giving it a shot mostly because I don't ask for a lot of things in a phone. 

So yeah, tomorrow's the big day. I hope it's not going to be painful at all. I've so many painful memories with Globe and I really hope they make the transaction seamless this time =)

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays!!!

The road to weaning

Zoe was exclusively breastfed for 9 months and it worked wonders for her health. It was also an exceptional bonding experience between me and her which I had hoped to prolong until I eventually had difficulties pumping milk at work. Speaking of work, it was challenging to switch her from breast to bottle just when I was about to go back to work because she was a comfort nurser too. That was when my husband and I decided to get her a binky to ease her into the transition.

I really wish we didnt. If we never did, we wouldn't be in this heart wrenching situation of having to wean her from her binky at 2 years old. Her binky is her soother/bestfriend/car companion. It has saved us from a lot of screaming and tantrums. recently though, her Avent binky already showed signs of distress when Zoe started nibbling around it producing a hole near its root. I get nightmares just imagining her teeth piercing the binky completely and getting stuck in her throat. So before that nightmare happens, I told Dan that I was cutting off the binky completely to start the weaning. Today. Today when both of us had gotten back to work after the long holiday. Geez.

So I cut it off at the part where the hole was. It left a part of the nipple still but not long enough for her to suck. When she asked for it after she took a bath, I showed her the 'broken binky'. I couldnt name the emotion that struck her face the most but what I remember was that she was shocked to see her binky in that state. She didnt cry yet but she tried it on and of course it felt weird. She then started crying and held it in front of me asking me why her binky was so 'small'. My heart was shattered to see her tears as she was showing her binky to me, I wanted to run to the nearby mall to get her another one. But I hugged her and told her that her binky needed to go away already. It took her 3 bottles of milk just to get through her afternoon nap, with her binky in her hand. 

When she woke up, she showed me her binky and told me how it already smelled bad so she put it in the basket where we place her milk bottles at bedside. 

Today's the first day. I hope we'd be able to ease her into kicking her binky habit without having her resort into another hard-to-break-habit. 

Gymboree Pumpkin Patch 2012

Gymboree Eastwood held its annual Pumpkin Patch tea party on October 26-28, 2012. We weren't supposed to be able to join since we were attending a wedding on Saturday, the 27th, which was when most of the festivities were happening. Good thing I was able to secure a holiday off from work so we registered Zoe to the October 26th tea party.

The next concern was Zoe's costume. I hated that we were unprepared for this event, just like last year when Zoe ended up not being able to go trick or treating anywhere (sad..). I browsed online for interesting costumes and came across a Minnie Mouse toddler outfit but was disgusted that it retailed for around P2,000. No way. So my husband came up with an idea to dress Zoe in a 'Chun-Li' inspired outfit. Of course, it only consisted of a cheong-sam and other accessories. When I searched online to see what her outfit should look like, it actually required more work. In the end, we decided to buy her a cheong sam and hair accessories to make her look like a baby Chun Li. She looked really cute =)

The Pumpkin Patch tea party started off with a play class headed by Teacher Chesca and another teacher whose name I forgot (sorry). There were around 15 kids, give or take, all dressed up in their cutie costumes. We got there at exactly 2pm and I was afraid that the program might have started but it hadn't, since they we  had to wait for all the registered kids to arrive. After the play class, they had a parade around the 3rd floor of the Eastwood mall where they went to selected stores for trick or treat. Zoe carried her pumpkin pail and sort of led the other kids to the other stores.

After the parade and the trick or treat, the kids were treated to snacks and were given their Gymboree lootbags. Zoe was so proud of her lootbags!! She was very tired after the event but was happy to have participated in such. Of course, it would have been a lot nicer if her dad was there to see her, but he was bound by work that day; maybe next year. 

Overall, I was satisfied with the Pumpkin Patch event. It was just right for kids of Zoe's age because it was held in a controlled environment and it was very organized. I've read some horror stories (excuse the pun) about other trick or treat events where the kids didnt get any lootbags despite paying a hefty amount per head and extremely disorganized ones. I already look forward to next year's Pumpkin Patch, hopefully with a much more creative costume for Zoe, and to join the Eastwood-wide trick or treat event.