Yesterday, Mr. Frost sent me a link with the words "Maghanda ka na dito." (Prepare yourself for this.)

What did I see on the link he gave?


see more pwn and owned pictures

I could already imagine Issen and Kobe. But instead of white paint in cans, they'll use Mr. Frost's spray paints in Gunmetal.

"Look, Daddy! We painted your Gundams!"

The horror. The mess. The chaos.

Good heavens help me that time comes. I expect worse things.

Labels: funny pics, Issen, kids, kobe

Both my husband and my son are sick.

I'm not feeling very well, either.

And there are stuff at work that need my immediate attention.

Talk about wishing to be at several places at one time. And to feel a lot better.

Labels: about me, family, frosts, Issen

Just sharing Issen's most recent video. No words can describe how I feel watching him grow and learn things like this.

Labels: family, Issen, kids

... friend/officemate Myla giving me a Starbucks 2008 Planner. I'm not really a planner person but the anniversary edition of Starbucks' planner is just so adorable I wanted one so badly.

Myla actually gave one to Mr. Frost last week. I kept on bugging him to give the planner to me but he won't budge. I was asking people here at the office if they can recommend a annulment lawyer (jokingly, of course). When they asked why, I answered, "I'm filing for annulment on the grounds that he won't give me his Starbucks planner."

And that night, Myla gave me my own planner, just so I won't divorce her boss. I so love being Mr. Frost's wife.

I know most of you probably have already seen how the Starbucks 2008 Planner looks like, but I can't help but post a pic here. I actually went crazy and took a loooot of pictures of the planner in all angles, but you'll be thankful that I had the sense to post just this one pic :



Thanks Myla! You made one pregnant woman very happy.

Alas, when we got home at a little before 9PM, Issen was still awake. He gave me one good fight against sleeping and drained me of all my energy. I actually had one of my pregnancy blues episodes during this time and I got sooooo close to snapping and screaming at the innocent little boy. Good thing I was able to control my hormones and kept my "nice mommy" image for Issen.

I can't imagine the trauma Issen will get if his nice and playful "Mom" lost her marbles and suddenly screamed at him for reasons he can't even begin to understand. And I can't forgive myself if Issen did get traumatized because of me.

But my night didn't end when Issen finally fell asleep a few minutes before midnight. I was unable to sleep due to forces beyond my control and the description of those forces, just one particular noise actually, can be found in this previous post.

Labels: friends, frosts, Issen

Last night, I had one of the weirdest, yet pleasant, experiences in my life.

For the past several days, it's so hard for us to put Issen to sleep at around 9pm as the holidays messed up his sleeping routine (Read details here). Last night, we finished his "goodnight" video around 930pm, so I turned off the lights and I braced myself for another possibly hour-long battle of authority with the little tyke.

Surprisingly, I didn't encounter any resistance. As soon as the lights went out, Issen voluntarily lied down and had his milk. In about 5 minutes, his eyes are closed and he was lying still already. Usually, it takes about 45 minutes of imposing "No more playing, it's sleeping time already" authority before we reach that stage. I was lying beside him, delighting in Issen's habit of caressing my face while still not believing how quickly he slept.

Suddenly, he took of the bottle from his mouth, eyes still closed, and reached for something in front (or above) us, then said, "Ma-mi ba". He put the bottle back to his mouth and his hand to my face right after saying those words, as if nothing happened, all along his eyes kept closed.

I swear I had goose bumps all over when I heard what Issen said. The first thing that came to my mind was Mommy Val, Mr. Frost's late mother. I was stunned for about 5 rounds. I quickly sent an SMS to Mr. Frost about what happened (he was working out in the garage).

After a few minutes, as soon as I recovered from the initial shock, I concluded that Mommy Val was probably saying goodnight to Issen in his dreams. I began to think (wishfully) that she was indeed with us at that moment. I even went further into thinking that she was the one responsible for Issen's "submissive" attitude when I was putting him to sleep, that she helped me put him to sleep.

I said a silent prayer, then thanked Mommy Val for making her presence felt by Issen. At least that's what I'd like to think about what happened.

Oh the things I'd do for a chance to meet her.

Labels: family, frosts, Issen

I don't like the way I'm feeling today.

I feel weak, sleepy, lethargic. And my hormones are messing me up again by making me feel depressed and hopeless.

Ugh. Even my all-time favorite Premium Asado Siopao from 7-11 wasn't enough to cheer me up.

I have composed several paragraphs about the things that bother me, but then I realized that I'm probably over-reacting again, like I always do lately, so I just deleted them.

I hope I feel better soon.

I don't like this part of being pregnant. I really hate it.

*~_~*~_~*~_~*
I tried thinking about how Issen is doing now, in an attempt to cheer myself up.

So far, he's been doing great. He has colds for a few days now, but I'm still thankful that he's practically a healthy baby. His pedia even said that his body built is ideal for his age. Not too thin, not too fat.

He's developing well too. He loves reading his Brainy Baby books and can name a lot of objects in them already. He can say the following words already, as well as point at the corresponding picture. Note that marked words are pronounced with abrupt ending

taw - cow
*do - dog
*ta - cat
*da - duck
*pi - pig
*te - cake
*be (as in bird) - bird
beyu - bear
*di - gift
baya - banana
pyawo - flower
yayon - lion
dayder - tiger
byuns - balloons
*bu - book
*ba - box
*bi be - big bird
bo - elmo

And a lot more. He also has his own version of "thank you," I love you," and other every words we use everyday. I just can't recall everything because I felt queasy all of a sudden. Must be the basil in the potato wedges that an officemate gave me.

Oh, and aside from walking on his own very well now, he can now get down from the bed on his own. I really should take a video of that one of this days. And he's also an expert in climbing up the stairs to my parents' room.

That's it for now. I really have to do something about this queasy feeling.

I never imagined I'll develop ill feelings towards the good, innocent herb basil.

Labels: about me, Issen

By the way, Issen got a set of cute Chinese pajamas from my cousin and his wife. He looked so cute in them I can't resist taking some pics. More pics here.



By the way, I'll be adding a new section soon. Mr. Frost, my friends and I have been seeing lots of funny images on the net, and I've saved hundreds of hilarious pics in my PC as well. I'll be sharing them soon in my AMBUSHED IMAGES category.

Here are some of what I unearthed from my PC as starters.

               

          


Like I said, we/I found them on the net and they have been stored in my hard drive for the longest time. You have to forgive me if I can't give due credit. A couple of the images, though, indicate a website where they came from.

Sources of future images will be credited, I promise. If you have a funny pic that you want to share, post a comment here or leave a message at my shoutbox, and I'll get in touch with you as soon as possible. (That reminds me, I need to set up my CONTACT ME page.)

Labels: funny pics, Issen

I can't believe the holidays are over.

I had fun catching up some sleep and of course, spending more time with Issen. It was great to be with my brothers again. I kinda miss how much fun we have every time our family gets together. It was also a blast spending time with Mr. Frost's sisters, especially Ate Jenny whom we seldom see because she lives with her family at the north end of the country.

I also feel good for Mr. Frost. He seldom gives gifts to his sisters, nephew, and niece due to budget constraints, but this year, we were able to buy them their requests. They all loved our gifts, especially Jewel, who's been bugging Mr. Frost to get her a DVD player.

If there's one thing that I don't like about the holidays, it's how it wreaked havoc to Issen's body clock. Seriously, it's driving me crazy.

He used to serve as our alarm clock and wake up at around 7AM. We'll play for a few minutes on the bed then Mr. Frost will go and prepare breakfast. I'd bring Issen to the garage for his morning walking exercise and when breakfast's ready, we'll go in eat with Dada. After breakfast, he'll go back outside to play some more, this time with the sitter, while Mr. Frost and I prepare for work. Issen usually is ready for his morning TV time and nap (after taking a bath) by the time we leave for work. When we get home at around 8-9PM, Issen is either getting ready to sleep or asleep already. That gives me time to rest from a long day at work and be ready for his nighttime feedings.

During the holidays, though, Issen's almost perfect routine (at least for us) was ruined. And it still hasn't gone back to how it was before. He now wakes up at past 8AM. We still play with him but we have to rush lest we get late for work. He'd take a nap from 11AM till 1PM, sometimes until later. He'd play the whole afternoon and sleep at 7PM, only to wake up before 9PM. Then, when we come home from work at night, he's still wide awake and won't sleep until almost midnight.

That leaves me dead tired and lacking in sleep. As if I don't already lack sleep as it is. Come morning I find myself wanting to stay in bed all day. I certainly hope this is just a phase that we'll get over soon. Either we be able to adjust or Issen goes back to his more sane sleeping routine. For everybody's good, that is.

Labels: about me, family, frosts, Issen

Note: This post is loaded with pics.

Finally, I was able to post our pictures during Christmas! What I've posted in this album were taken from December 24 to 26. Now here's the brief story behind the pics.

My dad chose to clean the car trunk the day before Christmas, during the afternoon, when Issen just woke up from his afternoon nap and his energy level was high. I saw the open and empty car trunk, and this is what I thought I'd do.

Issen the car trunk invader

Whaaat? I thought he looked so cute inside, don't you? I also took a video while he was there. When I took him out and Lolo went on to clean the trunk, we discovered that Issen left his "mark" and peed inside pala. Hehehe. Check out the video here.

When I put him down, he went on and started playing with his Lolo's car maintenance things.


Later in the evening, only four individuals (and a half, if you include Issen ) remained in the house: me, Mr. Frost, and my parents. My brother went with his family and spent Christmas Eve with his in-laws. We didn't bother preparing a fancy dinner since there are only four of us. And since the house helps were on vacation too, we decided to take it easy on Christmas Eve and save our energy and prepare something fancier for Christmas Day lunch, when all my brothers will be with us. Here's us during dinner.

Mr. Frost, me, Papa, and Mama

And yeah, we saved opening of gifts for the next day. So after dinner, we called it a night. And oh, Issen fell asleep hours before dinner so we were able to eat in peace.

The next day, the kids were so excited about their gifts that they didn't bother much eating. They played around the house, waiting impatiently for the grownups to finish eating so we can start the gift-giving. Mr. Frost and my brothers set up the barbecue grill at the yard and cooked the marinated one of my brothers brought.

Christmas Day lunch with my brothers and newphews

Anyway, come gift-giving time, I was the one tasked to get each gift from under the Christmas tree and call out the name of the recipient. Nobody was supposed to open the gift right away. We all waitrd until all the gifts have been disposed off, then we moved on outside to the garage to open them.


I forgot to take a picture of Issen's loots. But it was fun looking at his face as he watch me unwrap his gifts one by one and the way his eyes brighten up each time I hand him an unwrapped gift.



Here's our family picture just before Issen jammied up and prepared for bed.

Am I the only one who wants this picture taken? I'm the only one smiling!

Here's the link to Issen's video while having lunch the day after Christmas. It's a little dark, but he looked so adorable trying to eat on his own. By the way, there are more pics on this album about this particular meal time where Issen showed his secret for a smooth skin.

There. Now watch out for my update about our New Year celebration. I should be able to post it by the end of the week.

Labels: christmas, family, frosts, Issen

Another exhausting yet fun weekend for me.

Saturday, Mr. Frost and I were supposed to go to the monthly meeting of breastfeeding support group La Leche League International - Philippines, but since Issen still has cough and colds, we decided to just stay with him instead. I'll attend the next one, Abbie, promise!

I finished wrapping the gifts and rested. I needed to get some sleep but I wasn't able to take a nap because Issen goes berserk whenever he sees me and I can't resist playing with him.

Sunday, Ate Jessa (Issen's nanny) took a day off so Issen has me all day. I was still sleepy when Ate Jessa has to leave at around mid-morning, but I had no choice but get up and attend to Issen, who, by that time, was all bathed up and ready for his morning nap. Alas, the kid didn't want to sleep even after watching his routinary Sesame Street video. Funny because my mom says he always falls asleep after one video. We already watched two, yet he's still up and about. Mr. Frost says he's making the most of our "bonding" time. I couldn't agree more.

Anyway, around lunchtime, when my energy picked up and I finally gave up trying to put him to sleep, he just picked up his feeding bottle, lied down on the bed, and closed his eyes. A few minutes later he was asleep. No videos, no ceremonies, no sign whatsoever of what he's gonna do, he just went right ahead and slept. He went from to in a snap of a finger. Not a hint of warning, even just a single .

He woke up about an hour later, while Mr. Frost and I were having late lunch with SkyClad and girlfriend Crystal. Then I spent the whole afternoon walking after him, making sure he doesn't put in his mouth whatever he picks up in the garage. Then I put him in his bike and we strolled around the neighborhood. I was tired, but I had no time to feel so because I was having too much fun with him. And I know he's having fun too. He had this contented smile on his face that we only see when we spend long quality time with him.

Here are some pics I took last weekend. More pics here.

This is called "gassing up" your bike. Hehehe.


From his upcoming movie, "Batang Gusgusin" (Dirty Kid)


A few more hours and it's Christmas already! Gift-opening time! Yeah!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Labels: family, Issen, weekend

Our company held a Family Day-slash-Kids' Christmas Party yesterday, December 21.

The party started at 3pm, but we were late because we still had to go to the doctor to check up on Issen's cough. We missed the mascot's dance number and most of the kids' activities (that Issen can't join yet anyway), but there was still food and cotton candy (yey for Mommy! hehehe!).

Anyway, here are some pics taken with my new toy. Two things: One, I'm still trying to get the feel of the camera settings so some shots are crappy and not good enough for posting. And two, I wasn't able to take much pictures because I was busy eating. There's free cotton candy so give me a break!

All you see are grownups but I swear, there are more kids in that room!

With Pooh, Issen, and my cotton candy

Playing with a lost pink balloon by the standee of Daddy and Mommy's favorite game


Four more pictures here.

I promise I'll get better and get more pictures next time.

Labels: christmas, Issen, kids, Sikei

It's been a while since my last Issen post. Got busy doing Christmas stuff like getting gifts for the family.

I don't really give out presents every year because like I said, I'm not really a Christmas-y person. But this year is different. I'm not off buying fancy stuff for every single person I know because we haven't recovered yet from our recent financial struggle (flashback here and a bit more here).

Instead, I decided to make use of what little "talent" I have in graphic design and came up with this.



I did the collage on the left weeks ago for myself. I wanted to have it printed and framed. I just had this idea to use it for the calendar. I had it printed at a local photo studio in 8R and 5R sizes. It will be my gift to some family and friends. At least, those who I know will appreciate my son's charm.

I can give out copies to anyone who want one, just let me know what size you want. Better yet, I'll give you the JPG file and you can have it printed yourself, letting me save from printing fees. Hehehehe! Just kidding.

For my parents and brothers, I made something that I'm sure everyone (in the family) will appreciate.



That's actually one of the pictures taken on Issen's birthday. All of my parents' grandchildren are there and they looked happy. I made it into a motivational poster and had it printed in 8R photos. I'll just attach monthly calendars below and voila! Instant useful gift. By the way, the monthly calendars I'm printing are marked with everyone's birthday and wedding anniversary. Everyone in our immediate family at least.

Also, I've been a regular again at Ebay.ph since I decided to buy something for my nephews and nieces. I can't find anything within my taste and my budget at the malls and I'm in no shape to brave the wonder called Divisoria, which is considered as the shopper's heaven in the Manila, so I took advantage of the other wonder called online shopping. And boy did I get a lot of nice presents for a low price, in the comfort of my desk. And I don't have to go around lugging heavy bags as my purchases will be delivered right at my doorstep. Very convenient indeed.

I discovered and got hooked on online shopping last year, back when I was still pregnant with Issen. I was able to lots of stuff for Issen that time, really cute and inexpensive ones. It didn't matter to me that most of them are second-hand because I had no intention of spending so much on something that my son will use only for a couple of months. Besides, I was picky with the items I purchased.

Anyway, I found more stuff for Issen again this time. I got him playclothes that are brand new but are sold in very low prices as they are export overruns. I also got him pajamas for only Php10 a pair! And other stuff.

That's it for now. I didn't reaize it's so late already. I have to get up extra early tomorrow (or later, as it's way past midnight already) to prepare breakfast for Mr. Frost. He has to undergo a laboratory procedure in the afternoon that required fasting from 8am till 4pm, and the only way I got him to get on with the procedure is my promise to prepare his heavy breakfast.

Mr. Frost is making me practice the "art of bribing," telling me I'd definitely need that for when the kids grow older. Mr. Frost's and my genes are lethal when combined, and since they are defintely well-blended in our children's DNA, we're already preparing for the worst.

Labels: christmas, family, friends, frosts, Issen, kids