This post is kinda four days late. I'm so sorry but it is only now that I found the time to get the pics from Mr. Frost's phone. I don't wanna post about it without the pics, so, there. I was late.

Issen's first halloween party was held at Katarungan Village, Antipolo last October 28. That's where we used to live when I was 4-7 years old, then we moved to Sangley Air Base, Cavite City. We had the place rented until about two years ago, my brother moved in with his family.

Anyway, I found out about the halloween party that same morning. We weren't planning to bring Issen to any halloween party because he just got out of the hospital, so I don't have a costume prepared. Good thing my sis-in-law kept my nephew's outgrown Batman set, so Issen had something to wear. His black shoes, I just found out because we don't really go out much, was too small for him already. So I made him wear his Superman walking sandals. Now my little boy went to the party as the World's Finest! How cool is that?















I am so proud of Issen. His morning nap (that he actually took at lunchtime) was cut short because we had to take a short trip to Antipolo. He's not really used to being in a crowd and I was aware that his costume was a little warm. He did not, however, show any sign of annoyance. He didn't cry or fuss. He was just quietly observing the other kids, being amazed at their costumes. He even played with an older boy who was nice enough to let Issen touch his skeleton "make-uped" face.

We stood in line several times, for the judging, the food, and the candy loots, but not once did he make it hard for his pregnant mommy to stand there with noisy little kids. Mr. Frost, by the way, wasn't able to go with us because Lolo's car was packed already. And it's okay, it was his (Daddy's) scheduled "me" time anyway.

Issen ate everything I ate. He practically grabbed the ice cream cone I was holding. He wouldn't share the taho (a Filipino yogurt made of soy beans) with me. I made sure it was free of arnibal (syruped sugar) though. He was pulling my hand, which was holding a hamburger, closer to his mouth. It's so nice to see my kid getting his appetite back after that hospitalization.

We walked around the neighborhood, from one house to another, to get candies. Issen actually enjoyed the whole afternoon. I am so glad he's so easy to take care of.

Of course, he can't eat most of his loots. I just gave him a little marshmallow and the rest of the candies have been claimed by Mommy and his Ate Jessa, who missed the party because she was on her much-deserved day-off.

I can't wait for next year's halloween party. I'm gonna make sure Issen has the coolest, not necessarily the scariest, costume. I swear that when he grows up, he'll be proud to show his halloween baby pictures to his girlfriend.

More pictures with captions here on my Multiply.

Labels: batman, costume, halloween, Issen, superman, trick or treat, world's finest

Got tagged again, this time by officemate Aiza.

Disclaimer: The rules may sound redundant, but I did not make them. It's spreading around like wildfire so I guess tracing the source can take a lot of time.

THE RULES - List of 8

* write 8 facts about yourself.
* in the 8 facts, you share 8 things that your readers don’t know about you. at the end, you tag as much other bloggers to keep the fun going. each blogger must post these rules first.
* each blogger starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
* at the end of the post, a blogger needs to choose as much people to get tagged and list their names.
* don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

1. I can watch WWE for hours and still feel bitin.
2. I long to go to Palawan and Cagayan De Oro.
3. I am a sucker for the classics - classic computer games, classic rock music, classic board games, classic street games, classic TV shows, etc.
4. I have capabilities that would enable me to survive, on many levels, in a jungle.
5. I am crazy over boots (I'm a size 6! *hint* *hint* ), but I'm not into too fancy styles. Like I said, I'm a sucker for classics.
6. I can't get enough of baby stuff. What can I do? I'm a new mom!
7. If I were to chose my nationality, I would like to be French or Japanese.
8. I love Samuel L. Jackson. He is the coolest, most "astig" actor of all time. Who else has a purple lightsaber? Purple, for Pete's sake!

Okay, so some of the facts can be cheesy, but I can't think of something more decent. People know I'm crazy, what else can I confess here?

And I'm tagging Liz, Pam, Sheila, Pao, Codename Qadaffi, Aggie, and Heidi.

Labels: about me, facts, tags

Been tagged by Liz...

1. Are there any babies in your family or circle of friends?
My little fighter, Issen, is turning one year old next week. I also have a niece who just turned 3 this month. Nocturnal Sun has a 3-month-old baby girl.

2. Are you one of those people who use a high-pitched, sing-song voice when talking to babies and small children?
Nah. I talk to them in my normal voice, then if I'm in the mood, I suddenly scare them with my devil voice.

3. If you were standing in line next to a *very* pregnant stranger at the bank or grocery store, what would you say to her?
Nothing. I just smile at them. I don't like being talked to about my pregnancy with strangers, so... Don't do unto others blah blah blah.

4. Similarly, what do you say or do near babies in public?
Nothing much, I just adore them silently. If I'm with Issen, I try and make them interact. Issen usually smiles, and if we're close enough, touch the other kid on the face. One time, he grabbed the baby's face and kissed it. Good thing I was fast enough to move closer to the baby so the kid wasn't hurt.

5. When walking through a department store, are you the sort of person who can go by the baby clothes without even a glance or do you have to stop to ooh and ahh?
If I'm not in a rush, the baby's section is definitely part of my mall itinerary. I don't necessarily buy everytime, but I look at what Issen might need.

Now let's tag Mec, Jacque, Marie, Con, and Mai.

Labels: baby, Issen, tags

Finally, after almost a week in confinement, the doctor sent us home. We were discharged last Monday, October 22.

I have to admit that being able to go home is a big relief for me, on many levels. I just came from a one-month bedrest to ensure the safety of my second pregnancy. I cannot bear to leave Issen at the hospital even for an hour. Even if I was feeling weak from lack of sleep and other pregnancy-related causes, I stayed with Issen and made sure he's as comfortable as possible.

Issen is getting better now. His appetite has greatly improved. His energy was unchanged during this whole ordeal, except for the night we brought him to the hospital. Take a look at the kid on our first morning of confinement.

Doesn't look like a sick kid, does he?

Actually, his energy, as much as we're thankful he wasn't sick enough to lose it, caused some problems. As you can see in the pic above, his IV was inserted on his left hand. Thursday evening, his IV was leaking. The nurses checked his tubings and found out that the needle was bent. They removed the IV and he slept free from tubings and needles that night.

The next morning, a doctor came along with a couple of nurses and inserted an IV in his left foot this time. By Saturday evening, the tubings got loose again and they had to reinsert the needle again. The doctor inserted it back to his left hand.

All because he won't stay put in the crib. I guess he didn't really feel sick, so all he wanted to do was explore his little kingdom of a hospital crib. Typical.

Needless to say, my heart breaks every time Issen cries because of the IV insertion. He gives me this look that seems to say, "Why are you letting them hurt me, Mommy?" And what makes it hurt more is that fact that I can't to anything to stop him from hurting. Ugh, I can't bear to think of those memories again.

What I'd love to recount, though, are the instances that showed Issen's strength of character.

While in the emergency room, a nurse was supposed to give Issen a skin test bu injecting a drug of some sort in his skin. Issen was sleeping, but the nurse went on and stuck the need up his right forearm. Naturally, the poor kid woke up in pain and screamed at the top of his lungs. The nurse, surprised by his strong resistance, accidentally let go Issen's arm, removing the needle from his skin. So she inserted it again and successfully injected the medicine into his skin. After she administered the skin test, the nurse simple walked away to her station. Issen, still screaming and crying, followed her with looks as sharp as daggers. Then he raised his affected fist and waved it frantically at the nurse's direction, as if saying, "I won't let you get away with that!" . Mr. Frost and I couldn't help but laugh at Issen's display of emotion. We are so proud of him.

Another is at one time when his IV was inserted in his left foot. He had just threw up all over the bed and on the diaper protecting his IV insertion. I called th nurse to help us change the diaper. I didn't risk doing it on my own lest I mess with the IV and end up hurting Issen. When the nurse entered the room, Issen stopped playing and looked at the nurse suspiciously. When the nurse reached for his foot, Issen suddenly screamed and literally hit the nurse's hand repeatedly, as if saying "Oh no, you're not touching me with those filthy hands!" The nurse was surprised, looked at me, and laughed. "Tapang ni baby ah!" ("Baby is so brave!"), she told me.

There are several more instances, but just like the ones I've mentioned, it's either you had to be there or at least you had to hear the story from me personally to appreciate it.

Just the same, Mr. Frost and I are so proud of how Issen reacted to certain "hostile" instances during this ordeal. At this early stage, we discovered that our little boy is a fighter, just like his Daddy and Mommy. Oh, he'll go a long way.

Our heartfelt gratitude to everyone for the prayers. To my N@wie sisters, thank you for the words of encouragement and moral support. Special thanks to our officemates and friends, Pam and Joie who went out of their way to visit us at the hospital. To codename Qadaffi, the same friend who gave Koko the Koala, your blind items provided the much-needed sense of humor in one of our darkest hours.

Of course, we are forever indebted to SkyClad and GM Tristan. Their selfless acts of kindness made this ordeal much, much bearable.

By the way, here's the long-overdue pic of Issen with "Senator" GM Tristan during one of our company events at Robinson's Galleria. Senator, salamat sa pork barrel.

Labels: friends, hospital, Issen

As I've mentioned before, I've jumped into the paid blogging bandwagon, and the first system giving me an opportunity by accepting my application is Bloggerwave.

Bloggerwave is one of the most popular and biggest paid blogging sites in the industry today. With various categories and countless stable companies advertising here, writing a product review should be as easy as writing your usual blog entry.

Join the bandwagon now and let you cybernook of a blog earn for you.

Labels: paid post, sideline

Since I can't find ANY images about the Glorietta blast, I decided to provide some.
(Forgive the quality, I had to make do with what I have. Note that I am in the hospital, so partida pa yan hehe).

Labels: Glorietta Bombing pics, Glorietta Explosion pics

At around 1 pm this afternoon, an explosion rocked Glorietta Mall, resulting in at least 5 deaths and injuring 45 people.

As of this writing, speculations have flown left and right about the incident, ranging from terrorist attacks, Luk Yuen insurance scam (yeah, their restaurant “exploded” last year as well and unfortunately, the explosion happened near their restaurant again) to political maneuvering to cover up Malacanang's recent scandals.

I’ll try to give more updates later.

Labels: current events, Glorietta Bombing, Glorietta Explosion, terrorist attack

FYI, I haven't been able to be online for the past couple of days because Issen is currently confined here at Makati Med.

We brought Issen here Tuesday evening because of continuous vomitting and diarrhea. Doctor's diagnosis is gastroenteritis, but they're still observing him for other complications. No word yet as to when we'll be discharged.

So far, Issen's vomitting bouts have been decreased from 7-10 times a day to twice a day. Diarrhea is persisting, though.

Will give more details soon, I'm so emotionally and physically drained right now.

Here's a couple of his pics in the hospital. Will post more when we get out.

Many people say that a wedding is a celebration of love between two individuals, so it's just fitting that the wedding details represent the couple.

Among the many interesting things during our wedding, my favorite is our wedding cakes. As I am not into anything ordinary, especially when it comes to something as important as my wedding, our cakes represent things that Mr. Frost and I enjoy doing together. Without further ado, I present to you, if you haven't seen it yet, the Frost wedding cakes. (Click images to enlarge)

LAPTOP CAKE
Mr. Frost and I are crazy about computer gaming. We have spent countless sleepless nights with our friends playing. Naturally, we wanted a computer to be present in our wedding. (Click here for our all-time favorite classic computer games.)

PLAYSTATION 2 CAKE
Another thing we are crazy about is console gaming. mostly we played PS2 games, becuase that's what we have (actually, the console was SkyClad's). So there goes our second cake.



ROUND CAKE
Mr. Frost has been into collectible card games (CCG), particularly Magic: The Gathering and Legend of the Five Rings. Months before the wedding, we spent hours thrash-talking each other while playing Magic. So as base for our cake toppers, I opted for a simple round cake with the five Magic mana symbols on the side.

CAKE TOPPER
I didn't want the usual generic bride and groom cake topper. Luckily, there are many confectioners/bakers who do customized cake and toppers. I wanted The Punisher in a suit as the groom, and a bride posing like Sandra Bullock in this Ms. Congeniality poster. My supplier gave me something which was not exactly what I had in mind, but the small guns they provided were good enough to make up for it. It still looks cool, though.

The cakes, by the way, were done by the famous cake supplier for stag and hen parties, and other adult cakes, Kink Cakes. :) They really did a great job.

There are more interesting details in our wedding, and I'd share them on my next post.

It's final. We're not having a fancy party to celebrate Issen's first birthday.

Just until recently, I was still hoping that despite all the signs that tell me otherwise, we could still throw a nice party with all the works for Issen's big day.

I know when to throw in the towel, though. Aside from the fact that our resources have been depleted because of the complications in my second pregnancy (hospital bills, lab fees, expensive meds, leave without pay, fancy food cravings, etc.), I'm afraid my body won't be up to the task of hosting a party. I've been on bed rest for more than a month but nothing much changed in my condition.

Special thanks to my N@wie sisters. Their words of encouragement gave me the assurance that I am not a bad mother just because I'm not giving him a first birthday party. Because I definitely felt that way, guilty and sad.

I didn't really think it was such a big deal, but when it finally dawned on me that the party I've been planning for since we found out we're pregnant won't materialize until after a couple more years, I was brokenhearted . Depressed, really, considering how my hormones now are fond of exaggerating every little thing I feel.

I cried in disappointment for several nights. I lost sleep over it, trying to find ways to somehow make my dream party for my son come true this year. I hated myself for being not strong enough (physically) to find ways and make it happen.

Finally, I remembered a lesson learned in past hardships. I remembered that I used to be someone who believed in and shared this words of wisdom: When worse comes to worst, there are things more important than fancy parties and social status.

I gave myself a good smack on the head because I didn't remember that sooner. Heck, I came up with that statement. I lived that statement. I AM that statement. How could I forget it, especially during this time when it matters most?

I still feel a bit awful, but I guess it's just wise to prioritize my and Baby Frost #2's health over a party, which, in the first place, the celebrant doesn't really understand at all.

I've also found consolation in the knowledge that babies celebrating their first birthday doesn't really appreciate yet the fun of the party. As Babyweekly puts it my personalized weekly newsletter:

"Children this age are often frightened by a lot of strangers or being in an unfamiliar place with a lot of activity around them. Smaller is generally better for a baby's first birthday. Be prepared for Constantine Keith or guest babies to be over-stimulated, experience stranger or separation anxiety, and have a meltdown."

And of course, I wouldn't even be strong enough to finally accept this whole thing if not for Mr. Frost. I did not pressure him to do something about the party, but I know he did the best he could. He never got tired of telling me, without any hint of annoyance in his voice, that not having a fancy party for Issen's first birthday doesn't make me less of a mother.

Best thing is, his patience and understanding didn't falter when I was my hormones were giving him hell. And that was a lot. Since I didn't have the guts to tell him the real reason behind my depression and crankiness, he hd no idea what he was dealing with. He reads my blog, though, so I guess now he knows . I wish Issen grows up to be as tough and open-minded as his dad.

I may be magnifying the intensity of this dilemma. It may not be dilemma at all for some. Heck, I'm not even sure if this long post made any sense at all to any of you. No surprise there, because as I mentioned earlier, my hormones always find a way to heighten whatever emotion I feel AND mess with my ability to string coherent words together.

Now, I'm saving all the things I planned for the party and make sure I don't forget a single detail when we can finally make it happen. I still call dibs on the intellectual property rights of the Baby Marvel theme idea.

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Okay, I finally gave in and tried to jump in the paid blogging bandwagon.

I kinda look up to this one blogger-online friend, so I signed up to the paid blogging site she was using. Apparently, I still have to wait until my blog gets approved before I can start earning.

Upon signing, I stumbled upon some blog features that I used to take for granted, particularly RSS. I know what it does, but I have no damn idea how to make it work on my blog. I could stop torturing myself and just ask my pro-blogger officemates, but I'd rather try and figure it out by myself first.

That's how I learned things, anyway. Trial and error is my way to go.

Anyway, wish me luck. Both on my RSS undertaking and my attempt at paid blogging.

Issen has a new buddy. Meet Koko the Koala. (Pictured here with a dog version)



It was given by a friend who I refuse to name for security purposes. She is on the run and the Interpol is sending all their best men to find and get her. JUST KIDDING! (Shit, I realized I could go to prison for that. )

In truth, she just came home for a quick visit from abroad. She brought this 2-in-1 walking harness for Issen. It's basically something you put on your toddler to help you keep him within reach during your walking adventures wherever, usually in crowded places like malls.

It works two ways in a couple of angles. First, it's a walking harness that has a small pocket that can be used to store small things like small toys, hand towel, or even a feeding bottle. AND, it lets you keep your peace of mind while keeping your child within your reach. Nice, huh?

I know, Issen won't be able to use this for a few months as he can only take two quick steps before falling down. And that is just on lucky days. He's enjoying it now anyway as a new playmate.

Kuya Sikei ain't happy about it, but even though Issen is giving Koko a warm welcome, there's no doubt Kuya Sikei is still his favorite playmate. Happy days like these aren't easy to forget, even for a baby, especially when you have pictures to prove it. (Click image for a better view)