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I remember playing in the grounds of the Redemptorist Church (Our Mother of Perpetual Help Parish) when I was young. We used to attend mass there every Sunday. Part of what I remember is this big old tree at the back. I remember playing underneath its shade and running around it. Earlier this morning, we attended mass there. I was a bit stunned when I saw the big old tree. You see, it was cut off. The stump remained but the branches were all gone. The tree was gone. It was thus kinda sad looking at the tree. The shade was gone, so was the cool breeze it brought. It surely held a lot of Sunday childhood memories for me. But seeing that the stump is still there means that it can once again reclaim its former glory. I can't wait for it to grow. You see, it's my kids turn to play underneath the shade and run around it.

It's almost summer and that means one thing for me, school hunting! I never realized how difficult it was to choose schools for your own kids.  My mind set before was to send my kids to my alma matter.  That would of course mean sending them to my school at the age of 3.6 years old.  But then again, a child's mind is so absorbent.  What if they missed out on something? So at 2 years old, we sent them to a summer program at Tumble Tots.  My main purpose was of course to enhance their socialization skills.  At around Php7,000 plus for the summer program, it was a bit expensive.  But hey, they have good facilities and airconditioned rooms and playrooms.  So paying that amount wasn't really that bad.  They had, I believe, an MWF schedule.  Calix was ready to go to school while Caleb on the other hand, would sometimes just sleep through the entire class.  One of his teachers, a former student of mine, would carry him.  At the en...

One thing that I love in being a teacher is having an airconditioned cafeteria that sells good food at reasonable prices. You see, I love to eat. I used to eat a lot and not worry about gaining weight. But times have changed, eating has to be kept in moderation. However my love for food remains. My class ended a bit early this afternoon so I trooped to the canteen to get some food fix. It usually just involves "palabok" and Nestea iced tea but since I had a bit more time, I looked around at the school canteen hoping to find something new. At the end of the food stalls, something caught my eye. Milk tea! My first experience with milk tea was Chowking's nai cha. Yummy! I sincerely loved the taste. So out of curiosity, I bought a cup from the stall. The lady poured hot tea in a glass, added something and stirred. She added ice, shook the glass and then poured it into my glass. One thing I noticed though, when she was stirring, her hand was inside the wide glass. A bit gr...

Today I write about love.  Fitting topic for today's date- Valentines Day! Our love story came at a most unexpected time and in the most unexpected places. At that particular time in my life, I just wanted to go out and have fun.  I was single and ready to mingle!  So you might actually say that at that point, the farthest thing from my mind was falling in love.  I was actually having the time of my life going out on dates and partying with friends.  At that time, I was actually thinking, this was the life that I missed. Yet at that particular night, one thing led to another, and our journey started.  People said we were rushing and everything was moving too fast.  Maybe.  But then again, I'm a hopeless romantic.  Ask any of my friends.  I fall in love whenever I can (although I stopped when I met you, swear!).  I learned that from the movie "Practical Magic."  They say in  matters of the heart, one must use his h...

I always have this idea that mom's should have their own time. I call it "mama's time" since the kids call me Mama. It usually involves going to a local beauty shop to have my nails done and/or getting my hair treated. Sometimes, it involves shopping. Who doesn't love shopping anyway? But sometimes (just sometimes of course!), I just like to indulge a little bit more. I guess today falls under "sometimes". Guess where I indulged today? At Nailholics! I availed of their cloud-9 package which involves the basic mani-pedi. But it also includes foot scrub and foot wrap. And oh, it also includes a basic foot massage. All for 750. A bit expensive, right? But as I said, sometimes mom's need to indulge just a little bit. Nailholics has a nice ambiance. Just look at the pics. The chairs look so comfortable, not the usual ones in the local beauty shop. They even have a canopy which can sit two people (imagine having your nails cleaned and your kids sleep...

I love to travel although I really don't travel a lot lately.  I actually grew up travelling.  The next day after school officially ends, my brother and I are shipped (love the term!) to Zamboanga where we both spend our summer vacations.  We both get shipped back to Davao a few days before class officially starts.  At times, our Amah (Chinese for Grandmother) would bring all of us (the whole gang of cousins!) to Manila.  I often wonder how she managed to handle all of us.  Now that I think and write about it, I think my parents had a stress free summer. Yay! Now that I have kids, I have this love-hate relationship with travelling.  I love the idea of spending time with the tots without yaya's and helpers around.  A few days of just being totally being with them kinda gives me an adrenaline rush.  What I hate the most is packing for their stuff.  I assure you, I am no light packer.  My overnight trips would mean I'd be bringing a ...

I believe every kid should have a birthday party because birthday parties always mean a lot of fun for the guests and for the celebrants.  Of course, a 1 year old toddler wouldn't have an idea or clue as to how special birthdays are but as the toddler grows old, he begins to learn that birthdays are milestones. Caleb and Calix are turning 3 next month.  They have grown so much. So it's that time of the year again when we're busy preparing and organizing their birthday party.  My husband would have wanted to travel instead of giving them a birthday bash but I argued that since they can now remember events, its a good time to give them a party.  On one point we agreed that we wouldn't want an expensive one, just a simple party where we can all have fun. Our first option was either at McDonalds or Jollibee.  I asked some of my friends who recently held their children's birthday in the said places and they said it's hassle free.  The fees include the ...

For quite some time now, I've been so envious looking at fondant cupcakes. I wonder how they're baked and how the bakers make those 3D designs. I finally decided to bake our own cupcakes. I actually vowed to make the birthday cupcakes of the twins. The first picture below is my 2nd attempt at baking cupcakes. It was edible but a bit hard. You might say it was a disaster! The 2nd picture is my 3rd attempt. My hubby days its perfect! You might wonder where's my 1st attempt. Suffice it to say, it was not worth taking a picture. Yay! My goal next week is to incorporate chocolate chips to the cupcakes. Eventually, I want to make my own marshmallows fondant icing. Wish me luck!