Happy Birthday Honey!!!

You know, there have been times when people have told
me they regret the way
things have turned out in their life.

And they've told me where they feel they went wrong:
'If only I'd gone in on that deal.'

'If only I'd got on that flight.'
But I don't look at it that way. I have not one regret.
I say that, because 8 years ago, the most wonderful
person in the world came into my life.
And that person has made this life of ours wonderful.
So for me, there are no IF ONLYs.
And the WHAT-IFS are only sad...True we have had our moments
that tested our marriage and each other. In the end I don't think I could ever
find someone who loves me and cares about me as much
he does. He is the the one that one that owns my heart,
the one that is the calm after my storm, the breeze that carries
me home, the one that anchors me.

Happy Birthday Dearest Honey!!!

Daddy's Little Princess

Our First Family Photo

This our first family photo.

Adrianne's Baptism

We finally had Adrianne’s baptism last Dec 23. Though it was all last minute I was able to book the church, did the seminar, booked a restaurant for the reception and booked a photographer. It was a no fuss, no frills event.

Church: Mary Star of The Sea 870 W 8^th St , San Pedro, CA 90731

Actually di namin plan na gawin sa parish namin ang binyag plano sana namin dun sa malapit sa house ng tita ko sa Los Angeles or sa malapit sa sister ko sa Corona. Kaso naisip ko teka nga pala dapat una yung convenience namin kesa sa ibang tao. If di sila makapunta okay lang kesa naman kami mahirapan kasi malayo. Ang original schedule ng binyag ay dapat January 13.Kaya lang nung nalaman namin na puede pa kami ma-accommodate sa Dec 23 na date nagpalista na kami. Kaya okay na rin kasi 3 families lang kami more time for picture taking. It was a great experience.

Reception Venue: The Golden Pheasant 1077 W Carson St Torrance, CA 90502

Ang unang choice ni Philbert was a buffet restaurant kaso tumawag ba naman sa amin ng 6PM na din na daw nila kami ma accommodate the next day kasi shut down ang kitchen nila. Naku po nag panic talaga ako kasi nasabihan na namin lahat ng tao na dun gagawin ang reception. Buti na lang may alam si Philbert na restaurant. So we went there and nagpa book na kami agad. Buti na lang nasabihan agad na nagpalit ng venue. Madami rin naman yung food nakapag pauwi pa kami sa mga bisita.

BAPTISMAL GOWN: Something I found on EBAY

I really liked her baptismal gown so simple and yet so nice. Unfortunately she barely wore it because it was a bit too tight. Sinuot na lang naming sa kanya nung picture taking na.

BAPTISMAL DRESS: Something I found on EBAY/

I really loved her dress it wasn’t pure white It had touches of pink on it. But It was a great and she was comfortable in it.

PHOTOGRAPHER: Julie Livingstone

She was a member in one of my egroups she was honest enough to say that she had no experience in taking photos of a baptism but it was okay I told her because I would tell her what to do. She showed up on time much earlier than me which was great. She gave me a great deal and I can’t wait to see her photos.

Mamaya Na...

Mamaya na ang binyag hayy salamat mangyayari na rin ito..
Dapat talaga natutulog na ako. Pero may aayusin na lang ako
bago matulog.I thought we couldn't pull this off but we did..
Kanina habang nasa labas kami biglang tumawag yung
restaurant kung saan gaganapin ang reception.
Di daw puede sa place nila kasi daw sarado kitchen nila
kasi may nasira sa kusina nila.. Buti na
lang may alam si Philbert na ibang chinese restaurant na
masarap din naman kaya dun na lang kami nag dinner
tapos nag pa reserve na rin kami ng 2 tables. Habang nag
dinner kami taranta ako sa pag text sa mga tao to let them
know na may change of plans.

Will definitely be posting photos of the binyag.

Adrianne's Birth Announcement Card

An Early Gift

I received the packages in the mail. Thanks so much
to my kumareng Pinky for the wonderful gifts.
What makes this so special is that Pinky lives in the Philippines.
So talagang super touched ako that she thought
of sending us a gift. So to you my
dearest friend thanks so much. .
I ready mo na ang famous Hello Kitty collection
kasi susunduin namin yan ng inaanak mo.
(hahahhaha!!! baka isauli bigla ang kandila)

My Trio

Binyag..updates

Finally nagawa na namin ang seminar.. The baptism will be done
next Sunday. December 23 tamang tama ika 2nd month ni
Adrianne. May slot kasi na open and sabi baka 2 or 3 families
lang ang magpapabinyag.Naisip ko agad ayan maraming time
magpa picture for the scrapbook.Thankfully open pa yung
photographer na kausap ko.

We will be hosting a small dinner for those that
will be coming. Pero the major event, the

reception (parang kasal ano) will be on January kasabay na
rin ng celebration ng 7th birthday ni Kuya Joshwa.


Grabe na ito parang production number ang binyag na ito

sobra sobra ang logistics involved. Pero salamat at
evertyhing is falling into place.


Ang kailangan na lang bilhin this week ay damit ni Philbert
and Joshwa. Gusto ko sana pareho sila nang polo.


2 sets of godparents will be there this Sunday.

Namely:

Nets---- My sister
Kuya Ariel-- Brother in Law
Floyd---- Friend ni Philbert
Ces--- Neighbor namin



Karamihan ng Ninangs nya are based in the Philippines
there are Ninangs na based in the US pero di sila makakapunta.


I know na maski malayo sila they will still be able to give
guidance and be great ninangs kasi there's always
technology to help bridge the gap.

Ang Binyag..

Tomorrow will be the seminar for Adrianne's baptism.
Problem lang is kailan nga ba talaga ang binyag.
Naka schedule ang binyag sa January 13. 3PM
sya tapos dinner ang kainan. Im tempted to have her
baptised on December 23 tapos have the reception
on January 13 para lunch time ang kainan
kaso baka wala nang slot sa December 23.
Kasi parang ang weird na dinner ang kainan sa binyag
tapos Sunday night pa. Di pa rin kami decided sa venue
kung saan ang reception. Definitely it will be in a restaurant.
I know we can pull this off. I hope maging okay
ang kakalabasan.

Ano na ba nagawa ko sa far?

---Bought the outfits

---Booked the church
--- Attend the Seminar
---Found a supplier that will make the invites
---Found a supplier that will make the give aways
--- Booked a Photographer for the church.
I was able to get a good rate kasi taga San Pedro
lang sya pero mahal pa kung pati yung reception kasama.
Lalo na yung reception will be most likely 30-45 miles away.

Ano pa ba dapat gawin
--- Find a reception venue
--- Buy outfits for the 3 of us
---Order a Special Cake for Joshwa
---Order Joshwa's birthday gift
---Find an entertainer preferrably a magician para may kaunting
entertainment kasi nga birthday din ni Joshwa
--- Call and Confirm with friends and family na Ninong sila
or Ninang sila.

Madami pang dapat gawin pero may nasimulan na
rin pala ako.

Joshwa's Latest School Photo

My Only Fan

I admit i'm not a singer.. The singer sewing machine sounds
better than me. I like to sing my heart out much to my
family's embarrassment Philbert and especially Joshwa
when I would start singing he would cover my mouth
if he could speak he would definitely tell me to stop singing.
My mom once described my singing voice as the sound
of the siren of a big ship.

But still I sing because I know I would find someone
who will just listen to me and not react and kind of enjoy it
and that is Adrianne.

Lately when she starts getting fussy I would open
youtube and look for Darius Ranesh's song
Colourblind and she would stop crying and I would
sing along to it and she would look at me as if
telling to sing. Of course I have other songs
on my playlist and she seems to have a preferrence
for boyband songs.

The downside is that my voice is a little
bit hoarse from all the singing. But what
job doesn't have an occupational hazard?

Joshwa

Here are some photos of Joshwa.. He'll be turning 7 next month..

Joshwa

I haven't been blogging about Joshwa lately..
He's been adjusting really well to the new baby.
He knows her because when we tell him Joshwa
where's Adrianne your baby sister he will come and
kiss her on the forehead. I keep telling him that
he will not be replaced and we love them both.

He's not as demanding with me when I'm with
the baby but he's more clingy with Philbert.
He reacts a bit when Philbert is holding the baby
but he's getting used to it.

Academically he's doing great and winter break is almost here.
On December 5 and we're going to have his yearly
Individualized Education Program(IEP) meeting. Where
we will be discussing his goals for the year. Let
me just discuss briefly what it is.

What is an an Individualized Education Program (IEP)?
It describes the educational program that has
been designed to meet that child's unique needs. Here in the US
each child who receives special education and related services must have an IEP.
Even if you are applying for outside services like from the Regional Center.
Each IEP must be designed for one student and must
be a truly individualized document. The IEP creates an
opportunity for teachers, parents, school administrators,
related services personnel, and students (when age appropriate)
to work together to improve educational results for children
with disabilities. The IEP is the cornerstone of a quality education
for each child with a disability. For me IEP meetings can be
at times a cause of stress because if you feel that your child should be
getting more then you have to be prepared to fight for it. I'm lucky that we
found a great advocate who has been helping us navigate this process.

December na???

Ay grabe December na where does the time go? I can't believe it
malapit na ang pasko. Tagal na rin akong di nakaka scrapbook.
I've started work on Adrianne's 8x8 scrapbook. Guilty ako kasi
di na talaga kaya na gumawa ng 12x12. Pag ginawa ko yung baby
scrapbook album nya baka 7 years old na sya ginagawa ko pa rin.
So much to do so little time pero on the other hand If you want it
so much you'll make time for it. Saan nga ba ako dun?? ah ewan ko
in between siguro. I started making christmas cards na from my
stash goodluck sa akin sana matapos ko. In fairness nagawa ko na
ang isa naipadala ko na sa Christmas Card Exchange buddy ko.
1 down 29 to go na lang goodluck na lang sa akin sana kayanin ko.
My goal is to finish as much as I can so it can be sent out ASAP.