(Updated) Quebec Photos - August 2012

   Multiply shutting down is crushing me and crashing my memories. I have uploaded our photos on Facebook.

Click to see the photos:  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151204683390808.409738.648630807&type=1

I hope this works for now.

 

 

Happy Anniversary!

This month we are celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary. Besides 10 years of marriage, it also means most of my personal belonging are also 10 years old, if I still have them, and maybe it’s time to replace them =] Sherwin has slated our wedding anniversary weekend for a shopping trip in Buffalo NY, saying I can buy anything I want, skies the limit. Of course, he knows deep down there’s a duty free allowance for cross-border shopping which I won’t go over. Haha, huli ka! And he knows his wife too well I don’t take advantage of such perks. He can say anything, right?

Seriously, I still get surprises - each birthday, every Valentines, anniversaries, even Mothers’ Day (and Fathers’ Day, too!). But the best surprises are in the everyday, when dishes get washed because he finds me standing too long in the kitchen already, when the kids are bathed because that’s where he can help best because he doesn't cook, when he constantly invites us to eat out so I don’t have to cook and wash every meal every day. Often asking me to buy anything I want is cherry on top of the ice cream.

I don’t even like maraschino cherry. And most times I don’t even need ice cream anymore. I am just blessed for these wonderful years. 10 years, 10 lbs heavier, 10 years away from where we started out, it seems like only yesterday. We still look back at our wedding photos, videos and soundtrack with fond memories. Besides being partners and parents, we’re still friends today like we used to be more than 10 years ago.

Here's to another 10 years... and more! For those who are asking "isa pa! babae naman!" Besides being 10 years older now, tama na, we're okay, we're happy with our two!

The Year of Piesquare

As written in http://myshabushabu.blogspot.com/2012/01/year-that-was-2011.html

Last year I made a request to cut down my hours at work. Thanks to very considerate management, it pushed through. I lost a bit of income there in exchange for more precious family time. I’ve used the word ‘sanity’ a lot since I became a mom twice over. This new schedule has certainly had me keep mine. In fact it has paved for better much blessed year.

Click Read More for my year 2011 in pictures.

Halloween 2011

Halloween shopping at Party Packagers.  I blogged about here.

Top to Bottom: Kanye West glasses, Clown Hat, Dr Seuss Hats, Dollar glasses, Mario Hat & Mickey ears.

I wore my costume to pickup Stefan from school, to suprise him.  He was nonchalant when he saw me. I asked, "didn't you notice my costume?"  He replied, "that's not even a costume."  Dope!

Stefan was a red ninja, though he preferred black - but was sold out quick.  While trick-or-treating, he was so concerned that the black ties will fall off.  Night before I have sewn the hood and arm ties in place.  The costume came in many pieces, including a mouth mask which we didn't let him put on.  But he had to wear his costume over his fleece jacket (5C weather), so he looked like a sumo ninja.  I couldn't stop laughing while dressing him.

Struan was wearing a hand-me-down from his older brother.  He will continue to do so until he learns to object =]

We went only 1 block for trick-or-treating. Struan was new to this, othewise, we don't really need that much treats. Struan already got a bag full from daycare.  They trick-or-treated in the Oracle building.  We didn't open our doors this year.  Last year, I got tired from just going up and down the stairs for every doorbell (split level house).Struan tries the glasses from his loot.  The boys picked one treat to have in the evening.  Including the Clown. 

It was a good Halloween. I'm a tired Helicopter Mom.

Going Home

March 2009

In the 8 years we’re here, we’ve gone back home only twice and it was for special occasions – my BIL’s wedding and for Dad and Mom’s respective 70th birthdays. There was no special occasion for this forthcoming trip. 5 days to go! I still pinch my cheeks. I still ask Am I crazy? Going home is a whole production. The expensive plane fare compels us to stay a minimum of 4 weeks. That means Stefan has to miss school that long, Struan misses daycare without refund, and Sherwin and I miss work unpaid. Boohoo! And because we don’t go home often, we make side trips locally and within Asia. The trip expense alone will have already ripped off our pockets before we put some pocket money.

Besides the school- and work- related responsibilities, i.e. turnover of tasks and curriculum to miss, the logistics every trip is lengthy and complicated. We map everything down to the nitty gritty. You’ll be surprised at the checklists we make – for Before, During and After the trip, the To-Dos and the To-buys, the calendars we print out for scheduling rendezvous, and a timetable of the 12 hours leading to the flight.

July 2006

The anticipation for the trip is usually long. It could span from 6 months to 3 seasons, from the time the trip decision was conceived (vacation leave approved) right to leaving. But in between, life goes on. There’s work & school, and the everyday with the kids, meals to cook, dishes to wash, house to clean… right to the very day.

Aside from meeting family and friends, the main purpose of this trip is to recharge my batteries, a.k.a. R&R. Mums don't really get days-off, do we?  So I will engage in a total SPA – head to toe, including hair and nails =]. I will eat and be merry and shop ‘til I drop. Carpe diem! But there is nothing more that I am looking forward to on this vacation than the respite from chores and a full devotion to the kids and myself. There is no more excuse to not spend time with the kids as there are no more meals to prepare & dishes to wash. The trip to me is the Armageddon of housework.

The very moment we leave the house for the airport, I’ll be singing “Salagagoola mechicka boola bibbidi-bobbidi-boo!” Cinderella’s rags will turn into a beautiful gown, the pumpkin into a golden carriage and the rats into coachman. “Put 'em together and what have you got, bibbidi-bobbidi-boo!” But I shall remember that the spell would be broken upon our return.

That will be a different story. For now, I still have 5 days to go.  I am slipping into vacation mode at an exponential speed. My manager said, “much awaited eh?” I can’t wait to say, Hasta la vista!  

Dear Struan

  

Three years ago today, you gave me the most excruciating pain of bringing you out to this world. I remember Daddy's voice on my ear, “it’s okay, this is gonna be the last.” LOL. However, your first cry fell on deaf ears as I fainted shortly after letting you out and I can only see you through the oxygen mask on my face. You really had me at hello =]

You were such a good baby all along, I keep saying, it’s easier the second time around. But you have also showed us what Terrible Two is really like. We were drawn to your charm & wittiness, we didn't mind being twisted around your little finger. On the flipside, you constantly amaze us with your budding motor skills and increasing vocabulary.

You are very different from your brother, both of you having very distinctive qualities. You're equally sweet, but most days you are like cats and dogs. It's now double trouble. My attention span has gone shorter, but my patience longer. Nonetheless you make us proud and happy twice over. 

Happy Birthday, Struan!

Love Mom.

 

Follow me @ Blogspot

http://myshabushabu.blogspot.com/

Dig into this pot full of delectables on food, home, fashion & family life of an average mom of 2 boys who stirs this pot if not on the day job.

I started with blogspot in June 2009 but was not writing a lot until this year. The blog evolved for a bit, now it's a hodge podge of all things worth sharing to a bigger pool.

As Oprah said in her Farewell show:

Each one of you has your own platform. Do not let the trappings here fool you. Mine is a stage in a studio, yours is wherever you are with your own reach, however small or however large that reach is. Maybe it’s 20 people, maybe it’s 30 people, 40 people, your family, your friends, your neighbors, your classmates, your classroom, your co-workers. Wherever you are, that is your platform, your stage, your circle of influence. That is your talk show, and that is where your power lies. In every way, in every day, you are showing people exactly who you are. You’re letting your life speak for you.

Welcome to my new talk show - Life is a Hotpot.