"I know at some point I'll miss home and everybody, this blog will serve as my outlet to keep myself reminded of those fond moments we shared back home and all other things. Welcome to our blog.... Where everything's captured!" ~ayie~
The other night we watched Peter Pan just to relax before workweek starts again. Just one of those nights when we want to spend time with baby and also watch something from our collection. Though baby's still too young to watch and understand anything about Peter Pan, he enjoyed seeing the big dog Nana. I wonder if he would like to have one too in time, I hope not because that will be double work for mommy. =P
I can understand if baby will ask for a pet in time, me and my siblings grew up having pets around like cats, birds, fishes, bunny and dogs. Sounds like a mini petting zoo? Go figure, we had all of those pets before. Actually they still have pets back home and Elisse is the one enjoying it. According to mom all our Dachshunds died already and only one left that's why my grandma got Elisse another dog in which I don't know what breed.
I am not totally against having a pet dog in time but we can only have it when we get our own place. They don't allow pets here in the apartment compound so even if we wish to have one, cannot be. The only way we can have pets right now is virtual just like what SIL has. She's got one of those Labradoodles games in Nintendo DS where she can have as much virtual Labradoodle dogs to take care of. Funny that even with the game alone she complains at times that it's like taking care of a real dog having to take them for walks, feeding them, playing with them and cleaning them up. Pardon me but I honestly forgot what the game's called I just refer to it as Labradoodle, sounds cute eh. =P
I guess no matter what any pet will require some care and attention may it be real or virtual. I believe we shouldn't have one if we are not willing to take full responsibility of taking care of it.
It's been well announced here about our plans of buying our very own house, if you are thinking we finally have it sad to say not yet. We're still on the planning stage but more or less we have a more definite timeline when we're really eyeing on acquiring one. We're really very eager to take the leap on this big commitment.
I have been checking out the neighborhood and so far so many houses and condos here are for sale. Unfortunately we're not yet ready and also the prices in this specific neighborhood is quite higher than other areas. It will require more savings and longer time to pay off the house if we push on getting it here.
Not only that we're financially unprepared yet but also lacking knowledge about mortgages for first time buyers. I need to study more about mortgage rates to better understand the deals of buying a house and loans. We will definitely need to loan for the purchase and knowing the ins and outs of first time buyer mortgages can be beneficial on our part. I just hope the market will still be good for us to buy our house in time.
Since our home is carpeted baby's quite used being barefoot or wearing socks alone. I tried many times making him wear shoes when we go out or the baby sandals that was given to him but he just keeps taking it off. No matter how cute is little blue shoes are if he feels like taking it off, he will.
Mommy has to force him to wear shoes now since it's starting to get colder and colder. It's okay not at home but there are times when I try to train baby J just to get around with shoes on. He's getting used to it now though he doesn't really get to wear his shoes that often. I'm ordering another baby shoes tonight which he can wear here at home to keep his little toes warm. Winter's definitely going to be freezing cold once again so baby slippers won't be so advisable.
I still get to pamper my big baby with such treats despite having our little baby around. Of course big daddy has to be taken cared of too so I make sure I serve him great homecooked meals and occasional desserts too! This super fudgy brownie with ricotta cream cheese and almonds topping surely melted daddy's heart! You might think this is too sweet for you, I'd say it's not. I like to bake and make our own desserts than buy from store because we don't like it so sweet. We do indulge with such treats but we make sure it's diet friendly too.
It's been a while since I visited you all, hopefully I'll get to have some "me and blog time" this thanksgiving holidays.
I'm a bit laid back lately in blogging and other online stuffs because of my other works. Baby is also getting more and more active that I really have to keep an eye on him and spend great time playing and teaching him things. Everything's doing good in my work aspect though it really exhausts me just finding extra time to fit in those other workloads to do.
Having the business registered put stress up another level, time is critical and there's just so much to accomplish. So far other things like coordination, paperworks and such were already handled well. I get to focus with smaller details like the business cards, address sign and home address plaques. Good thing I can have these things ordered online once I finalize designs. The wall address plaques can help us with the advertising since we don't have a separate business office otherwise it won't really be known that there's such service provider within this apartment compound.
A day won't pass without seeing any car commercial on TV. The offers are very tempting but it will tie you for three years on a monthly basis. Not bad for those who have the money to spare and live by with such added expenses. I admit brand new is good, at least you can be really sure that the condition is at its best.
There are current advertisements for Audi A8-L, Toyota, Ford Ranger, Jeep, Subaru Wrx and other known car models. Though I don't usually pay so much attention with those car commercials but a specific one with the kid (I don't want to mention which in specific so no more info) simply disgusts me and hubs. Just that the values being taught there is terribly wrong. It can send wrong impressions to kids not being appreciative of what their parents can afford for them and what they have. The mocking of the parents and old cars are just way too inappropriate. We just hope that commercial will be off air soon.
I found a new Japanese place to get a good, tasty and biggie bento box and the best part, walking distance from home! Can't help but to have a bite right away, that california roll sure was tasty! It came with miso soup and rice, big enough for two!
Previously me, hubs and of course baby J went to Mountain Mike's for a work meeting. They wanted to see my 3D of the house that I modeled to make adjustments on the spot and for the interior designer to see what else can they do before things get presented to the client.
Meeting went fine and they were really impressed with the presentation. It wasn't a heavy and stressful presentation, we even had pizza and commercial satellite tv on the side. Baby was really behaved and was playing with daddy there in the arcade area while we were finishing up with the meeting.
Mountain Mike's is always packed all week long with their lunch buffet specials and other promotions. Another reason why people love going there is because of the direct sat commercial direct tv where they can watch the latest sports happenings. It's not the only place I know where people flock most especially when there's major sports broadcast, dish business really pulls the crowd in most establishments. I am not really a sports fan therefore I go there for the food and the convenience of having it near our place. With that, there's nothing I can complain about.
Bath time might not be a happy time for some kids but not for my little boy. I never had problems bathing him since he was born, just some "not in the mood for bath" time which is very much understandable. Whenever I'm caught with a fussy mood in the middle of bath I simply play with him, do anything funny and silly and splash water to relieve the mood. Can you see the smile and the way his feet play with the water? Mommy sings "take a bath, take a bath, take a bath" and he's all jolly.
There were times when me and baby bathe together without his baby tub, wasn't easy because he has more space to move around and not as safe of course. Those were the days when I feel like making some changes to his routine bath so he could experience something else. Sometimes I even carry him during bath to enjoy some shower, had to do it that way since we don't have handheld shower heads and only have the typical bathroom overhead shower heads.
Sharing such intimate bonding time with baby like this is a must for me. I also urge daddy to do the same thing but he's not yet ready to bathe baby on his own, perhaps that will be when baby shouldn't be bathing with mommy anymore =P Only if we have a bigger tub with low pressure shower heads for a nice spa feel which can fit all of us then it will truly be a fun and splashy bath time!
There are so many known diseases out there but not all has known cure just like Multiple Sclerosis, an inflammatory disease in which the fatty myelin sheaths around the axons of the brain and spinal cord are damaged. It affects the ability of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord to communicate with each other. Once myelin is lost, the axons cannot effectively conduct signals anymore.
This disease has been referred to scars particularly in the white matter of the brain and spinal cord. The cause of the disease however remains unknown leading to some theories of having it incurred through genetics or infections. The medical field is up to now exploring and trying to find cure for this disease, with the hopes of having a successful MS treatment.
It's hard to tell when such disease strikes with such unknown cause and cure. Experts recommend MS diet which is not too far from any other diet. It is more of a balance of variety of foods; limit of fats, sugar and sodium; and if alcohol cannot be avoided, have it in moderation.
This photo was taken months ago when we got this toy basket for him. We thought it would be perfect for him to keep his toys and also play in there. Don't think that basket is still in good form now, it's crumpled and a bit flimsy from baby's playful abuse! My cute little baby in a basket!
I pulled another all-nighter yesterday to finish and submit a revision which was given in a very short notice. At first I didn't want to work on it due to their delay with the revision plan and I didn't feel like it's just for me to rush the work to be submitted. I had a change of heart and decided to work and submit the renders, it's better to just do it and get it done.
I haven't asked for their permission if I can post any images I worked on for the project so I can't really share it here just yet. The house isn't really very modern in design but the interior can make use of good modern touch like the fireplace, making use of stainless steel fireplace accessories can make a difference. The stainless steel mailbox and blomus stainless steel fireplace accessories will definitely compliment that house.
I'm glad that I was able to finish and submit everything, the feedback was great. They love the renders! I had more peace of mind knowing I've done my part so I took the chance to take a nap with baby earlier this morning. That felt good since I just had 30mins of eyeshut, by the time I was ready to sleep then baby woke up. He nursed from 5am on and off til 6am only giving me quite some time before I prepared breakfast and packed lunch for hubs. Tough night right?
It's doesn't snow here in CA and we're quite thankful for that. We'd love to have some fun and play with snow but not for a prolonged period of time. No snow doesn't mean it's always warm and nice here, it gets freezing cold once the sun retires for the day.
Baby had few jackets but he's almost outgrowing all and those are good for spring and summer use only. I have to prepare him for the chilly winter days so I made a little shopping and got him some cute warm clothes. I took the opportunity to make use of my CC again to keep it active, that way I can improve my credit score and have better chances of getting approved for another major CC. I want to make it a sure shot when I get my free credit score it will be really clean and good so no reason or whatsoever to reject any application.
I ordered everything online so waiting for the delivery was the exciting part. Finally the packaged arrived but only to see the shoes sized 6-12mos are tad bit small for baby. I couldn't even put it on as it's very exact. Also the cute stripped full suit fits just right, I had to return it together with the shoes for size change. I think it's better to have some allowance since babies grow tooooo fast!
I love shopping for baby but I try to be careful with the spending or else I might get too excited seeing all those cute baby clothes and buy it all. That would be trouble! Baby has more than enough clothes and even has new clothes still kept, it would be very impractical.
Last year a very pregnant me and hubs enjoyed watching kids and families trick or treat in the downtown. It was fun and all we could think of was how much we could enjoy this year's Halloween with baby. The excitement was really up that time and seeing all those cute kids walk around with their costumes made us so dreamy for baby's arrival. We also attended a Halloween birthday party for hubs' nephew last year, though we had to pass on the invitation this year to do our own stuff with baby.
...very happy daddy...
...proud mommy...
This year is definitely something to remember. Baby's first Halloween trick or treating with us in Darth Vader costume. I wanted to dress him up like a cute animal or dinosaur but dad wanted his favorite character so it's okay., he's cute in that costume anyway. We're so thankful for a great weather that day after being so worried if we can even go out and enjoy the festivity due to the continuous rains on previous days.
...tank top baby received as treat...
We went trick or treating twice with hubs kid sister on Friday afternoon and Sunday evening with his whole family. But that's not all for little J, he went trick or treating three times. That same Sunday after attending the church mass we headed to the mall for a nice lunch in the foodcourt only to find out there's trick or treat in the mall. We're quite ready for it because I brought along baby's costume and just dressed him up right after our meal. The mall was so packed but baby was so lucky to get a white tank top from a participating boutique as a treat! His Frankie bag's full of goodies like candies, chocolates and stickers. Of course not for him to eat, it's all about experiencing his very first Halloween. I can bet next year will be a lot more fun with baby already walking around. That would really be so cute!
...baby's costume, frankie bag and halloween treats...
After the long wait for the business registration we finally had it all settled. I had to get in touch with the person who's supposed to do the registration because we haven't heard from her but a little after emailing her and asked for the update she finally gave me a call. She called here at home one morning to ask for other details needed for the registration as she was right there doing it that time. Gladly I gave the details she needed.
Yesterday as I checked the mailbox, we received a small notice from anadvertising agency about our business name registration. We're required to publish the name about 30 days after the registration for a certain period of time. Hubs was so happy after seeing the small notice and relieved that we can proceed with all of our business plans with that registration done.
This year has been a very blessed one for us. A baby, business, hubs still has work despite the shaky economy and many other blessings we have to thank God for. Hopefully my paperworks will be cleared already with the last procedures so we can finalize our visit back home.
I'm really tired today, haven't really been getting much sleep since I have to wake up earlier like 6am this week to prepare breakfast and hubs lunch box. I haven't been taking naps too because I try to make full use of the time baby's napping to fit in some works, cooking and cleaning. Of course once baby wakes up it's another story. We play, play, play and play more plus mommy carries him when he gets tired and fussy already. Can't complain, it's fun even if it's tiring. I love being with my baby all the time too.
I just got reminded of this song so I searched for it. Although the lyrics don't fit exactly what I mean to say but the thought is there. Just so little time and so much to do. I'm actually yawning consecutively while composing this post but not time for mommy ayie to sleep yet. There are things to do right after finishing this post. Sometimes I wish there's auto-pilot for all my other stuffs to do just like the auto-pilot marketing system for online things. And I think I'm done with this post for now, my eyes are starting to shut.
I started babyproofing our home few months ago but baby has gotten bigger and moves more actively now that's why we decided to enclose the whole living room. Instead of getting a plain playard which will make baby feel like a little prisoner, I thought of a way how to barricade him without much limits. You may call it an oversized playard, this makes the whole living room baby's territory.
We're making our small space work for us and our little boy until we get the house that really want in time. Surely baby's getting bigger which makes us feel our apartment getting smaller. He moves all over and play in every corner possible. It's such a joy to watch him play and explore his baby steps. On the contrary I thank our small space for giving us a more personal time together playing and having mommy-baby bonding. Hopefully we can get a bigger space for our little boy soon enough. As much as we want to get settled in we do believe that things shouldn't be rushed without enough preparation. How we wish homes here in our area are priced like the Dallas homes for sale. Homes here are averaging to $500k+ and we're still waiting til prices drop more. Dallas real estate is also good and can't really complain with the Dallas homes for sale but location wise, not our ideal place to settle down. We're really happy where we are now or at least anywhere near this area as much as possible.
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