It has been a terrible week for me.

I almost always woke up late so I was able to prepare breakfast only once this week. Meaning, we had to buy breakfast and lunch at work. Meaning my budget is screwed up. Again. Crap.

This past week, I haven't been eating well. I skipped my milk and vitamins several times, unintentionally. I stayed up really late more than a couple of times.

Yesterday was Sikei's birthday (Belated happy birthday, sweetheart!) and I wasn't able to post things he wanted to be posted on his blog. Yeah, I was able to change his blog's look, but there's nothing new. Yet.

I'm sorry, sweetheart. Mommy will make it up to you next week. We'll have lots of stuff for your blog.

I hope you guys had a better week.

I hope next week won't be as bad for me.

Last Saturday, before doing our grocery shopping, Mr. Frost and I went to SM Makati's baby section (but only after a short visit to Toy Kingdom's Gundam section ) to check out some stuff for Sikei and Issen. We promised Sikei we'll get him a gift (he wanted new booties) for his birthday, which is tomorrow.

So we got him a couple of new booties. Then Mr. Frost found these really cute Superbaby shirts. As in baby clothes with the Superman logo on 'em. Here's Sikei wearing his sleeveless Superbaby tie-side at his "throne" at the office, with one of his new booties and new cap, posing with some of his toys at the office. (Thanks to officemate Pam for lending me her cellphone ng mayaman to take this pic.)

Yes, he has his own seat at the office, and yes, he has some more toys on the other side of my table
We got him another sleeveless shirt, I'll post the picture some other time. And Sikei, ever the good boy, said he'll let his baby brother Issen borrow his clothes.

Anyway, come Sunday, my mom and I went to this shop in Bel-Air (which, by the way, is very much famous among the N@wies) that sells export overruns of baby clothes. They have Carter's, Peter Rabbit, Martha Stewart, Magic Years, Baby Starters, etc. (burp cloths, bibs, onesies, booties, starter packs, etc.)

And sure enough, they were sold by the factory price. For about P1600, I was able to take home (all of them branded):
- 3 receiving blankets
- 2 hooded blankets
- 4 pairs of booties
- 3 pairs of mittens
- 4 onesies
- 2 sweaters
- 2 bonnets
- 2 shirts
- 1 pack of 9-pc starter set that includes 1 burp cloth, 1 bonnet, 1 blanket, 2 shirts, 2 bibs, and 2 "shorts"
- 2 pieces of what I call Swee' Pea's clothes. They're actually called sleeping gowns, but I prefer my term.

Check out the pics. I owe these pics to fellow N@wie Pat. Sorry, Pat, if I got to post them just now.

See the gray onesie in the middle? It has a matching gray bonnet/cap, and yes, that matches with Sikei's striped cap!
The yellow thingies on either side are the ones I call Swee' Pea's clothes
The 9-pc starter set, all laid out but I forgot to include the burp cloth
The 9-pc starter set, the burp cloth is here but the layout didn't show the blanket. I can't be a photographer
*My apologies for the low quality of the images. I can't make my brother's digicam work properly so I had to use my barriotic camera phone to take the pics.

I forgot to take pictures of the booties and mittens. Sorry.

There, we have something to put on Issen when he comes. We also have half a dozen Gerber bottles, an early gift from Issen's godfather, SkyClad, and a diaper disposal system.

Watch out for my post about everything we have so far in preparation for Issen's arrival.

I've been going through my mailbox and found this email from Marie. Just wanted to share with everyone as I know a lot of you guys are neck-deep at work. It's an old message, actually. I just thought some of you would appreciate the reminder, and I'm sure some would kill me for rubbing it on their faces.

*~_~*

Our society teaches us that hard work pays off. But does it really? Does being ambitious have its price? Perhaps it is wiser to work smarter than harder.


Five signs that you're working too hard:

1. You only think about work. You eat, breathe and sleep work. Whether you run your own business or you're trying to move up within an organization, you sacrifice time spent with family and friends to stay focused on your goals.

2. You don't know how to relax. Some people are so driven that they literally forget how to relax and unwind. Their only activities are working, eating and sleeping. Have you lost enjoyment for the simple things, such as going for a walk?

3. You're in denial. Despite what your friends, family, co-workers or associates say about you working too hard, you claim that they are all wrong and that they're the ones with the problem, not you. You completely deny that they are probably right.

4. You've become self-absorbed. When others offer ideas or suggestions that contradict your own, you become defensive. You're so focused on getting things done that you can't see straight.

5. You feel exchausted. Your body feels tired and you're drinking way too many coffees to get through your "important" projects. You ignore what your body is saying and keep going anyway.

Be careful. It's one thing to have goals; it's another to kills yourself to get there. If you work too hard, think about where you might end up if you continue on that same path. The hospital maybe? Stress kills.