life .. or something like it

What is happening ?

Last Wednesday in Sydney,  this was what greeted us in the morning ..

Dust storm at 6am
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and at 9am
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And then just this Saturday in Manila ..

this was the view from our relatives house in Quezon City, this photo was taken from the second floor balcony .. thank God everyone was ok.

from facebook:

from facebook (by miggy unabia, Sept 27, 2009, 7am) .. this is very near my mom’s place

from facebook: at my former university

We’re just glad that all our families back home are safe, though there may be material losses but still they are all safe. I wish and pray that all those who are still stranded are rescued and there are campaigns for donations and relief goods that have been setup. You can check out Bianca Gonzales’ blog for a list.

I didn’t get to plan anything for Ichi’s birthday this year. Preggy mama here didn’t really feel like planning anything for this year. Although initially we planned for him to take leave on his birthday and have yum cha lunch and a movie after. But with him being busy at work these past months, he wasn’t able to get the leave.

E and I went to the mall the day before Ichi’s birthday to buy him his gift and a cake. E was very excited to get home and wrap the gift for his dadai and I asked him to keep everything a secret. Which he did for a while at least haha, he couldn’t wait to tell his dadai about the cake and the magic candles we got for it. So he kept mum about it up until dinner time when he finally couldn’t hold it in and told Ichi about the cake and the candle. Good thing he still didn’t tell about the gift.

He (E) was so excited about the magic candles that he couldn’t wait until 12mn, he kept on looking at the clock. He didn’t want to go to bed without having his dadai blow the birthday candles. So when 12mn came, he quickly reminded me and off we went to the kitchen to get the cake and give his dadai the birthday gift.

E had so much fun watching the candle light again and again. After the candle blowing, E went  promptly to sleep

I finally finished the second half of the calendar yesterday and the directory included today. The last thing would be the calendar cover. Still waiting on some photos for that and hopefully before the end of the week everything is done.

Credits:

JULY — Papers by Eva Kipler from I Am Father & I Am Brother. Tabbed card & Alpha from I Am Brother by Eva Kipler. Frame from I Am Father by Eva Kipler. Stitches from Oliver by Leah Riordan.  FONT: Impress BT.

AUGUST — Papers from Magic Rainbows by Rhonna Farrer, Martha by Erica Hernandez and Something Pop by Fei Fei’s Stuff. Border from Magic Rainbows by Rhonna Farrer. Photo Mask by Cinzia Loosemore. Journal & Alpha from Its In The Air by Kate Teague. Felt Flower, Wool Blossom & Postcard from Apple Blossom by Tia Bennett. Stitches from Oliver by Leah Riordan.   FONT: Impress BT & Maiandra GD.

SEPTEMBER — Papers, Alpha & Photo Mask from Jake by Randi Oh. Stitches from Oliver by Leah Riordan.   FONT: Impress BT & Liorah BT.

OCTOBER — Papers from Happy Go Lucky, Journal from Bounce and Alpha from Promise, all by Shabby Princess. Stitches from Oliver by Leah Riordan. Frame from Spring Romantic by Doreen Stolz.  FONT: Impress BT & Liorah BT.

NOVEMBER — Papers from Kidlet by Jeanelle Paige. Stitches from Oliver by Leah Riordan. Frames from Beep Chugga Zoom by Sara Carling, Ecologirl by Bibounette and Stacked Frame by Kim Broedelet. Alpha by Scarletheels Media.  FONTS: Impress BT, Liorah BT & Maiandra GD.

DECEMBER — Alpha from Forever Grateful by Gina Cabrera. Stitches from Oliver by Leah Riordan. Papers from Winter Seasonal Sampler by Shabby Princess and Berry Days by Kate Teague. Frames from Les Elements by Loloden and Funky Floral by Leah Riordan.  FONT: Impress BT, Liorah BT & Maiandra GD.

Part of our Christmas presents for our families last year was a personalized 2009 calendar. As early as the start of the year, my mom already asked me to do a 2010 calendar for her monday group that would be her Christmas present for them. I wanted to wait for the different digital scrap shoppes to start offering their 2010 calendar kits (easier for me to do the calendars haha!) but since I’m due to give birth early November (I can give birth as early as mid- October when the kits usually come out) I decided to just start making the calendar from scratch, from the different kits that I already have. First thing to do though was to make the dates, had to make sure that the dates were put in the correct days.  After that to decide on a layout that I can carry throughout the months. So far, I’ve been able to finish up to June.  6 more pages to go and hopefully I can still have the time to do the ones for the family.

Credits:

JANUARY – Papers, frames, branch, butterfly, butterfly trail from Flourish by Kristin Cronin-Barrow. Alpha by Michelle Filo from Summer Time Collab Kit. Stitches from Oliver by Leah Riordan.    Fonts used Maiandra GD,  Liorah BT & Impress BT.

FEBRUARY – Papers from Jackie Eckles & Leora Sanford and Frames by Leora Sanford from Summer Time Collab Kit. Stitches from Oliver by Leah Riordan. Alphas by Karah Fredricks from Over The Rainbow.    Font used Impress BT.

MARCH – Papers from Promise and Alphas & Frames from Summer Cottage by Shabby Princess. Stitches from Oliver by Leah Riordan. Tapes from My Funky Studio by Gina Cabrera and Harvest Spice by Shabby Princess. Staples from I Am Baby by Eva Kipler and  Promise by Shabby Princess.   Fonts used Liorah BT & Impress BT.

APRIL – Papers from Ecologirl by Bibounette. Stitches from Oliver by Leah Riordan. Frame by Janine Oliveira. Alpha from Bounce by Shabby Princess.   Fonts used Maiandra GD & Impress BT.

MAY – Papers from Jan Crowley & Meredith Fenwick from Bloom & Grow. Stitches from Oliver by Leah Riordan. Alpha by Meredith Fenwick from De.Love.Ly.    Fonts used Liorah BT, Impress BT & Maiandra GD.

JUNE – Papers by Tia Bennett from Seventies and Dude Totally. Stitches from Oliver by Leah Riordan. Frames, Journal & Ribbon from Dirty Days by Tiptoe Studio. Alpha from Vibe by Erica Hernandez.    Fonts used Impress BT, Liorah BT & Maiandra GD.

All on Photoshop CS4.

Earlier today while E was in the toilet waiting to finish what he was doing. He started counting ..

E: 1, 2, 3 … 10, 11, 12 … 15, 17

Me: 16 (prompting him)

E: 16, 17, 18 … 21,22 … 29, 29

Me: (prompting him again) 30

E: 30, 31, 32 … 39, 39

Me: 40

E: 40, 41, 42, 43 … 49, 49

Me: 50

E: 50! Mommy, up to what number did I count?

Me: 50

E: Wow, 50! That blows my mind!

Ichi and I were laughing our heads off. The things they say Oh, and I hope he gets well by tomorrow, he’s been sick with fever the past days.

I had my 27th week checkup yesterday and so far so good. My tests for sugar and iron intake came back good. I think my OB is a little concerned that siobe might be small, coz every now and then she would ask me again how much E weighed at birth. My next scheduled checkup will be the start of fortnightly ones.
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I was also able to schedule a maternity tour of the hospital for September. I know it’s a bit late but then we’re already booked with the hospital, it’s more of a familiarization of the facilities they have.
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No new purchase for siobe’s stuff except for some clothes (couldn’t resist the closing sale and was even able to get a couple shorts and shirts for E) and some blankets.
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Another thing off my to-do-list is getting the Application for Enrollment for Temporary Visa holders signed by the Principal of the school. We have to send that in to the Temporary Residents Program of the Department of Education to get the authority to enroll so that E can be officially enrolled in school. We rang to inquire if there was a possibility of getting fee-exempt and was able to find out that they also take in application for installment payment of the fees. Now, to just complete the documents required.
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Ichi’s birthday is coming up and I haven’t planned anything yet. I think he’ll be able to take leave that day since he’ll be working that weekend’s saturday. So maybe a day out with E would be what we will be doing, probably lunch and a movie? Hmm .. we’ll see.

I posted this on my blog last January but got around to putting it on a layout just now.

Credits: Paper from Boom Chicka Wah Wah by Carrie Stephens. Alphas from Parker by Gina Cabrera and Vibe from Erica Hernandez. Journal Strips from Be Neutral Addon by Eva Kipler.
Font: Tahoma
Software: Photoshop CS4

Today marks a new chapter in your life. Ahia and I are truly happy for you. I hope you know how much we really want to be there but circumstances prevents us so. It will probably be one of the regrets in my life but know that we send our love to you and Neal. I know it will be a wonderful wedding and can’t wait to see the photos. Here’s to the start of a wonderful marriage. I love you siobs! Our best wishes and congratulations to you both! Kisses also from E.

Photo from our wedding. Manila, Philippines 2001.