A Day with Kuya

I have alot of cousins but I have a few I call family. Two weeks ago, our eldest cousin who works in a cruise ship had a stopover in this island and my sister and I weren't missing that meet-up for the world so we both didn't go to work!  

It was a blast! Walking around as we chatted about everything under the sun was great. Lunch was of course here. Pochero, Pork and Seafood (prawns, squids, mussels) Inihaw, Ensaladang Talong and 'ample' amounts of rice. Bingeing at its best. 

We brought him to the common tourist places like the Esplanade, Merlion and wherevers then we headed home. It's the best place to be after a day's walk in the midst of tourists and traffic. 

Hours later, it was time to once again separate but this time there were no sad goodbyes rather happier days to look forward to---we'll see each other again on July for my sister's wedding in Manila!   (provided the swine flu has died down. who knows?)

Smiling Moment

Today, my youngest did the sweetest thing.    As he called out to say goodbye when the schoolbus arrived, I was drying my hair and the noisy appliance hindered my ability to hear and wasn't able to return him wishes of a good day and i love you's. His dad told me that he literally stood by the gate, waiting for a response and when there was none, he turned to him and said, "Papa, can you please make sure that you tell Mommy I left already?" Dad says "Yes, I will."  "Make sure ok? You must go up to Mommy and tell her." "Yes, ok, I will." And off he went.

Next thing I saw was a smiling man going towards me as he told the scenario word per word.

From latter days to today

People say that when years pass, things fade. Perhaps true in certain situations but not when it comes to good friends filled with 'youthful' memories--let's call it the good old school days.

Max and his wife, Pearl, stayed a night in this island and thanks to facebook, we were able to plan a couple of hours meet for some wine and dine. We went European in the tropics! Dinner at a German restaurant called Brotzeit and drinks at the Swissotel The Stamford, the tallest hotel (for now) here. I have to say the evening view is beautiful.

Lots of teasing, reminiscing and embarassing moments to talk about. He reminded me of my boyish attitudes and how I never let the boys push me around as they did to the others or I'd punch them (literally). Memories of the most liked and disliked teachers, the pop-up quizzes we dreaded and more...it was really fun! Hopefully when I go to Manila on July, we could meet more batchmates and see how we've all grown-up.

Thailand hangover

Click on the Mosaic!

Am so looking forward to the weekend. After our Thailand trip last week and our daily never-ending adventures there; all of a sudden I just wanted to STAY home. Another sign of aging I guess haha Add to that the visit from the flu virus for some days and voila, home is the best place to be.

I've been a SAHM (stay at home mom) when the kids were little, not that they're big already and I enjoyed it. Heck I even told myself and others that I would not work and stay the same MomMe that I was in Germany. But, things don't always work the way we want it to and in my case, work, besides family and friends became a sanity saviour when times were rough. Hmm, what's the connection of this part to...

Aaanyway, Thailand was great. The kids being big now are able to enjoy certain adventures with us. Alyanna rode and drove the ATV (with just some slight assistance from a guide), Keanu was able to ride elephants without me panicking that he'd tumble, and Rex had his first motorbike youthful accident--some scratches to chat with friends about. We all went to Patong too, you know, Thailand's red light area. It's not as brutal as I thought. When I saw Alyanna with a questioning look, realistic, compassionate and eye-opening explanations were quickly given. I don't want the kids to think that life IS perfect. (I know what too much shielding does to an individual and my kids have to be stronger)

The food was great! We had the authentic Thai buffet dinner on our first night and it left us with tummies only our mothers could love. I loved the food so much that I'm actually looking around for Thai cooking classes. Yum!

Meet Anna by the way, the resort's gentle, gentle giant.

Loves of our Lives

Following the tradition of having a 'kid' in every country we go to, we've added an Australian in our family. Meet Jessie. Our 4 1/2 month old golden retriever. We fell inlove with her on March 1. The kids have been asking to have another 'sibling' for Jake for years but I'm not an impulsive mother in that way. I consider age gaps quite seriously (based on experience) and everyone's readiness for another baby at home. I want to make sure most especially, that our dearest Jake won't feel jealous and out of place---and everyone should understand that. 

In my book, only a handful are more important than him. 

Anyway, it's been more than a month since her arrival and routines are in place. There are little wee-wee accidents and nibbled furnitures every now and then but that's part of it. She is slowly learning from Jake's attitude and not slobbering the whole time---I personally find it degrading when a dog incessantly licks just almost everyone for attention. 

Jake, being the kind-hearted one that he is, has surprisingly been patient and understanding of Jessie's naughty nature. He doesn't mind when she bumps him off as he drinks or snatches his toy or when she tries to lick off the food from his mouth. He even lets her 'walk him'!

So, 3 kids, 2 dogs, a turtle and a hamster...next please?