sharing my room

next tuesday will be a legendary day.  my husband is coming here - FOR GOOD.  i know it isn't easy for him to leave his room, his house, his friends, his car, his family.  it isn't easy taking away your comfort zone.  likewise, it isn't easy taking you away from your comfort zone.  but honey, we have to build our own comfort zone together.  it isn't easy for me too because this is the first time i'm sharing a room (and my life) with a "stranger", you know :) and we both have to adjust and we can't get  there unless we start now.

some 5 months ago, we got married, signed that piece of paper, and lived our separate lives just the same.  now where's the marriage there?  i could say i've had enough of long distance affairs and i'm feeling i'm getting too old for it, life is too short!  let's live our life to the fullest -- being TOGETHER.

here are a few preparations, as you requested:

a mat at the entrance of the door

and a matching one beside the bed so we could wipe off the dust before getting on the bed.  see that bin?  this is where we'll put your socks, as you requested too :)

on this site will rise (hehe) our tv.  it's a tv rack, alright, but it acts as a vanity drawer for now.  tv coming soon, i hope.  now we have to get a new kikay corner.  ps: keyla got all the stuff into a big mess!  it's not me!

a bedside table.  i was hesitant to buy the drawer i found in ikea.  it's a bit small so the table will do for now (batas militar, i know).

a computer/study table.  this one's all for you.  i could do without one, but as you requested, i got you one :) i know the chair's not ergonomically built and we already get backaches just by looking at it.  one by one, we'll get there.

a bench at the foot of the bed.  you said you wanted to have one, so here it is :)  i'm thinking of transferring it to the other side of the bed so we could sit on it when watching tv... let's see.

and the sacred resting place, the bed :)  oh, remember the quilt cover that mama gave us?  the one that's apparently a king size and wouldn't fit our quilt because we have a queen size?  i already altered it and now it fits perfectly! :)

and something to remind us of the happiest day of our lives.  that's an everlasting flower on the background.  got it from the bouquet you gave me the last time you were here.

i know you are sad for now, saying goodbye to your friends and family, saying goodbye to your single life, but beyond that "death" is a new life that we'll build together.  i will forever thank you for the sacrifice.  let's seal it all with a prayer that things will continue to be better.  after all, the best is yet to come.  God makes ALL things beautiful in His time :)

are you ready?  brace yourself!  let's be  A W E S O M E  together, sweetheart! 

byebye, baby tee!

i am such a sentimental freak.  some 6 years ago, i was sent to ohio for a one-month training.  those days were sweet.  weekends were spent visiting other filipino communities or going places or going shopping.  i don't really love shopping.  i rarely shop and i just buy clothes when i need them.  sometimes i need them and i still feel lazy to shop.  yahoo!

but since i was there and shops were everywhere, ok, i got a few items.  and by few, i really mean few!  i could even count the items i bought and i think of them more as souvenirs of good times.

there's this gap baby yellow tee for, ehem, kids - size 10.  i loved this shirt!  i know ate maj also bought one.  i was thinking i should have bought a dozen.  why didn't i?  it's very cute and comfy and fits me perfectly!  i wore it a lot when i went out.

after a few years, my favorite shirt became so losyang because of wear and tear.  she became so losyang that she was embarrassed to be seen in public and just wanted to stay home.  thus, she became a pambahay.

and now... i made a very hard decision... i am about to clean the house and i have no basahan.  baby gap is a very sound candidate because she is the oldest in the bunch.  she even has stretch marks!  poor baby tee.  she will now have a different purpose in life, and that is to make other things squeaky clean.

here is baby tee in her less glorious form.  sniff sniff.

iced green tea

when i was a kid, tang was the known brand for panghimagas orange juice and then came eight o 'clock.  and of course there was nestea iced lemon tea!  everything comes in powder and in tetra packs!  hehe.  nestea iced tea was a wonderful treat at home.  

one hot, summer day, we ran out of nestea (not that it was a staple at home.  as mentioned, it was just a treat.)  papa boiled some water, dumped in a few liption yellow tea bags, some sugar, calamansi, and tons of ice.  and it dawned on my childhood brain that iced tea is simply just "iced" tea!  yes, it was obvious, but i didn't know it was one and the same!  haha ang labo ko.  i was surprised at how it tasted so similar to nestea, and even better!  so there goes the history of how i came to know how iced tea is made. :)  well, the powdered iced tea is another story.

a few weeks ago, we didn't have juice on a hot day.  i used the same ingredients that my papa did, but as we don't have yellow tea, i used green tea.

verdict: hmmm... hindi masarap.  toinks!  

let's just stick to yellow tea, pokka even! :p

life's little surprises

2 weeks ago, we were not at our best.

you were there, i was here.

you think this way, i think otherwise.

you do the most "normal" things, i get upset.

every little thing is foul.

every little thing is magnified.

then i told myself a good movie with good friends is a good thing to do on a good, long weekend.  fine, do your stuff and i'll do mine (plus, i'm really excited over this movie... why not, it's thor!)  when was the last time i watched a movie?  all done, tickets were booked courtesy of elzie.  she even sent us the confirmation number.

then one of the most bizarre things happened.  elzie told us that due to "technical issues", our movie tickets were not booked.  ergo, movie date is cancelled.  fine.  "what about the confirmation number?" i thought.  being the gullible person that i am, i believed.  no doubt, no questions asked.

then came sunday.  i had to go to church alone.  kuya, april, and keyla went to a baby shower party.  i was feeling a little sad hearing mass alone, but i realized a me-time isn't that bad, and in fact it was very good.  i felt very peaceful, very one with my God.  after mass, i roamed around pasir ris west mall and looked for anything interesting i could find.

then i got a phone call from tita.  she was asking me where i was and what time i would be home.  odd, i thought.  tita never calls me, never asks where i am and what time i'll be home.  i told her i'm about 10 minutes away from home.

then i arrived home, the wonderful baby girl greeted me with cheerful shrieks and laughter.  i carried her and we went to my room.

then i found flowers on my bed.  who could be sending me flowers?  i asked tita but she didn't answer.  fine.  maybe those are from kuya.

then i found you at the door, with the biggest smile on your face, the warmest hug in the world, and one of the most priceless moments that halted time.

then i remembered again how you seldom give surprises but the ones that you execute are just the cutest and the sweetest.

then i'm reminded once again that i'm spending the rest of my life with you.  bati na tayo.  fine.  

PS: i missed thor.  it's a connivance.  a pleasant connivance :) life is wonderful.

parang nagbabasa lang ako ng magazine

and linaw linaw mo

para lang akong ano

nagbabasa ba ng magazine

gusto kong ika'y maging akin

yuck ang corny.

pero 'di nga.  nagulat kami ang mura na lang nito.  i think mga 1300 to 1400 na lang sya.  super linaw!

the saddest place

this is changi mrt station and i think this is the saddest place in singapore.  i only go here when i send someone to the airport.  i started to associate it with sadness because i go and bring a loved one to the airport and i go through the ordeal of taking the mrt all by myself.

the last time was last monday when i had to bring my husband to the airport and, again, i had to be in this place alone when it was time for me to go home.  surprisingly, i wasn't madrama that time.  maybe because sending him away means i am welcoming him soon after 1.5 months - this time for good!  come to momma!

this place isn't so sad after all :)

the little girl turns one, the mommy turns 31

april 9 - araw ng kagitingan

april 9 - kaarawan ni april

april 9 - kaarawan ni keyla

wow!  3 wonderful events happening on the same day every year!  how cool!

last year, april's due date fell on the 1st/2nd week of april.  they had a very brilliant idea of inducing her labor on april's birthday.  because of this, the hospital gave them a present: a cake!  and they get to have the pleasure of celebrating their birthdays on the same day, year after year after year after year. :)

i heard some of april's pregnant friends are now considering of inducing labor if the birth month falls on a significant month too.  wow trendsetter!  :)

so the little one turns 1.  but wait, there's more!  the mommy turns 31 too!

next year, the little one will turn 2 and the mommy turns 32!  how poetic.  hehehe.  i love it!

here is keyla's lovely dress and balloons, i was in charge of carrying these.  if i let go of the balloons, the balloons will go to heaven, we also say goodbye to the dress.  hihi.  dead ako.

feelingera mode: on
nakikibirthday mode.  woohoo!


tito mike celebrating with us.  we just had to have a picture with the balloons!
 

and the hats too


thanks to donna for allowing us to celebrate at their place.  here's everybody busy - pumping more balloons and adorning the place.  bhernz and kaloy were the first ones to arrive to help in the preparations.  very helpful :)


keyla's birthday cake!  the baker is a pinay.  a very good pinay.  it wasn't just lovely, it was yummy as well.  i think it tastes like goldilocks choco cake, only it's heavier.


here are the loot bags - not only for kiddies but also for the adults.  chocos inside :)


here's the background of the "stage".  they painstakingly went through thousands and thousands of keyla's pictures to come up with the cutest set.  i wouldn't agree with the last sentence though.  any picture with keyla in it is cute (stage auntie, but hey everybody would agree) :) they printed these on photo paper and the effect was perfect.


pens from divisoria as prizes for the games.  such cute pens!


and hats for everybody!


the little one, probably still unaware of how special this day is, and how special she is, and how special her mother is too.


april is lucky to have good friends who host our parties and organize the games.  donna, roanne, bhernz, noemi, neri are the best and they're always game and alive na alive during parteh partehs.
there were games for kids:


and games for adults too.
easy on the balloons, big boy! :)

easy on the kendeng, papa! :)

here are the ubs people after having a full tank.  :p burp.  wow!  ang galing ko naman magtago ng billbill.  nakakagigill.

and finally, the birthday song and the candle blowing.  a few days before the birthday, we trained keyla to blow her candles.  the best she could muster though was a faint "ha".  pure voice and no air.  haha.  no pressure, little girl!  mommy can blow it for both of you :)

PS: it isn't so obvious here but my tummy is just so yucky and so big!  tita, an ever appreciative mother, said, "hindi naman, mahigpit lang ang damit mo nang konti siguro." awww!  i love mothers!

the version 2 of the camacho family

PS: i love keyla's shoes!  where can i find one for myself?


a dramatic birthday letter to april and keyla:

ever dearest april and keyla,

april, when you came into kuya's life a few years ago, i was so happy to finally see my kuya happy again.  i think i've seen just the surface of him at his lowest point and it was a devastating sight.  i could not gauge how happy he is (and me too) when you finally came around.  i know it's wrong to say that somebody came to fill the missing piece, but you did just that - and more.  i was simply thankful that someone as patient and understanding as you came.  couldn't ask for more.

kuya did not just have a partner, i came to have a sister as well.  i grew up being the only girl in the family but it wasn't even a challenge living with a new girl around.  it was even a blessing and a privilege.  it wasn't hard and it will never be hard to accept you in the family :)  you are the best!

keyla, when you came into our lives, you couldn't imagine how happy we were.  i know i love kids but i couldn't imagine how much i will love you.  when you were born, my first glimpse of you was from your dad's camera.  i cried.  you were so tiny yet i could see a lot of kuya and april in you.  i could even see a tiny part of me in you.  you were a miracle.  you are a special girl.  your first cries were merely kitten meows.  now you are a tiger.  sheesh.

living with you is a blessing.  everyday, i get to see how you learn new things.  i get to see how you grow up to be a playful (that's a subtler way of saying maldita mwehehehe) little girl.  every morning, i get awakened by your babbles (and baby tv) and i know it's time to wake up and play with keyla!  i'm not your mother but i am excited to go home everyday because i know you are there.  i swear i could play with you all day.  i could play with you all my life.

april and keyla, i love you both.

nagmamahal,

ate charo

ps: thanks to kuya's cam, mike's cam, and my phone for the pics.