My husband Josh has no problems with me buying bags. He said he learned this from his dad: One thing you should know about women is that they can never have too many bags. Thank you very much, Dad! I was actually there when he said it.
He only bought me a bag once for my birthday 3 years ago but didn’t like it. I didn’t know the brand but it was expensive. Not LV or Prada expensive but the cost was something he wouldn’t usually spare on something that wasn’t really a necessity. Since then, he never bought me a bag and just let me buy whatever I want. He learned his lesson. I still have the bag though and I still use it. Maganda naman pala. :p
Oftentimes, I would thank him for his “surprise” and he’d always give me a puzzled look. I would show him my purchase and thank him. He already knows what that means. He never asks me how much but I always tell him. No secrets daw eh. (Eeeep!) Continue reading That Hated Satchel→
Having a son is a delight but it can be very exhausting. I didn’t expect Noah would be this active. More often than not, I’d give up playing only after five minutes or just turn him over to his daddy. Ang brusko lang talaga!
What I super enjoy though is shopping for him as proven here. That’s expected from a shopaholic mom, right? Believe it or not, I don’t really fuss much about his outfit. Minsan lang. Even if there are a lot of cool, fashionable clothes for toddler boys, I am keeping myself from dressing him up.
But when I do have a daughter someday, expect me to dress her up and treat her as my living doll. When I shop for Noah, I am always drawn to the little girls’ section. When I was pregnant, I almost bought matching dresses for the little baby and me as I thought we were having a girl.
So when I’m really tempted to buy girly stuff, I sometimes buy and give them to my nieces or my friends’ daughters. There are so many cute clothes and accessories online! I always imagine my future daughter wearing this or that and I’d go crazy window-shopping. Right now, I have a baby girl I can call “my own”– Ava, my sister’s new baby. I can now shop for this baby girl without any guilt. Hehe.
My husband wants to have a baby girl too but not anytime soon. I think he’s not yet ready for a Mini Reah. He said he’s not ready to spend for two ladies. Hahaha!
One of my favorite online shops is “The Little Bugger“. I know its owner, Shiela, from high school. She’s got her own pretty baby girl and she’s one trendy hot momma so her online boutique came so naturally. The store opened only March of this year but it has gained a lot of support from equally fashionable moms and celebrities too! TheLittleBugger is all over Instagram! I’m not surprised when mom celebrities I follow post photos of their daughters wearing stuff from The Little Bugger.
Here are just some of the local celebrities that featured The Little Bugger:
Paolo Contis’ daughter wearing The Little BuggerThe Little Bugger loot for Sherilyn Reyes Tan’s daughter EiaSunshine Cruz and Cesar Montano’s youngest daughter loving her fluffy skirt from The Little Bugger
Warning: This is one long post. Read at your own risk. Hehe.
Back in April, I was almost rushed to the emergency room because I was having extreme stomach pain, was sweating but feeling cold, and was feeling dizzy. It was midnight and I was inside our bathroom calling for my husband to give me water. I was seeing stars already. I didn’t know what to do so I told Josh to get dressed and bring me to the hospital. It was midnight. Noah was at the bathroom door looking confused and scared.
I tried walking to the sofa to rest. Actually, I didn’t remember how I managed to get there or if my husband was assisting me. I sat on the sofa feeling really dizzy, almost crying because I wanted the pain to just go away. I was sweating profusely yet was feeling chilly. Oh God, this was something I didn’t want to feel again but it was happening (it wasn’t the first time). It happened so fast. I was calling on the name of Jesus, praying that He would heal me quick. I remember I was already having a hard time breathing so I laid down on the sofa with the electric fan in my face. Thank God I became okay after some time. I stopped panicking and told my husband that I was feeling better. I needed more water. At this time, Noah was still confused. I don’t how you would call what happened but it’s something I don’t want to happen again. Nahilo lang? Vertigo? I had no idea but I knew something was wrong with me then. Continue reading Healthy Living→
This was only the second time this year I’ve worn a pair of jeans. I prefer to wear dresses, shorts, skirts, or leggings so this night was unusual. I wanted to wear a pair of shorts but husband requested I change. It was raining anyway so I pulled out this old pair of skinny jeans that well..didn’t look really skinny on me. Haha. Continue reading Let’s try this…→
I just purchased this pair online. I have no idea when it will be delivered but I’ll patiently wait. This could be my last shoe purchase for this year.
Forgive me Lord for the times I’ve been too proud and thought that I am above others. I have not been too humble. I seek for your forgiveness. Teach me humility–true humility that only comes from you.
Remind me always to respect the authorities and be obedient. Help me to follow the laws. Help me to obey your word and do good, to not slander and avoid foolish talks, to avoid fighting back or quarrelling.
Jesus, I ask for your grace and teach me to be gentle, quick to listen, slow to anger, and slow to speak.
My days on earth are numbered. What I do for myself and for others can slowly end as willed by the Lord. Days of triumph, days of loss..all are just but a breath.Human existence is just a moment to the Creator.In our nothingness, He moves us as shadows..as His people in despair given love. Despite rebellion and helplessness, silence is needed from the ones who are slowly losing hope.
To give God the glory He deserves is not exactly a walk in the park. It entails a lot of discipline. Knowledge alone does not make it easy for one to say and even show that he is doing what she is supposed to do best.
Take for example praying. Seems like an easy thing to do but not all, not even Christians spend most of their time and effort into doing this one thing Jesus best modeled in His heydays.
I was once again reminded that praying is not just a need. It’s not something I should do when I need something or when I need answers from God. That it is something you do out of your love…as an expression of your worship and desire to be closer to the Father.
Praying also is not something you should do in your spare time. You do it to start the day and before you sleep. Not just that, but always. We may become so caught up with the busy-ness of the world but think if all those things are really worth doing. A minute of prayer…as compared to hours of sitting in front of the PC, going to the gym, developing your talents, etc…is nothing compared to what God can possibly bless us with. Continue reading ALL or NOTHING→
I first learned about googooandgaga when I went to a Mommy Bazaar at the Rockwell Tent after I gave birth more than two years ago. The shirts and onesies caught my attention. They weren’t the usual, cutesy T-shirts for babies. Back then, I was into major shopping-for-the-baby mode buying from online stores left and right. I’ve stopped shopping for myself and transferred the energy into shopping for my son which was more dangerous, I tell you.
On my first time to buy from Audrey Dimarucot, one-half of the husband-and-wife team behind googoo&gaga, I bought 3 items which cost me a little over 2,000 pesos. I was with my best friend at the time and when she asked me how much, she was shocked with my answer. I know! But those were the only stuff I bought that day and the shirts were too cool.
These were my first purchase:
Noah wearing Tattoo Heart Onesie on Christmas Day 2009–His First Christmas!Noah in Emo Boy T-shirt. This photo was used for his 1st Birthday Party’s Save the Date.
And this one:
Baby and Daddy wearing the always-sold-out Rockstar T-shirts
They have an adult version of the T-shirts. They call it for Big Kids and I got the Rockstar for Joshua a few months later. I planned to have them wear the T-shirts on Noah’s Rockstar Party (his 1st birthday) but I forgot on the day itself! Sheeesh.
I bought the Rock Guitars shirt for the daddy together with Noah’s Rockstar shirt but it was only recently that he got to wear it:
Noah wearing Rock Guitars T-shirt
From time to time, googooandgaga would send a newsletter containing special offers or information on pre-orders for the next collection. For the 2011 Holiday Collection, they released the Artist Collaboration Series 2. I ordered these two:
Noah wearing the Albatross Underwater Escape at a party. That’s him with cousin Matteo and Lola Vaisy.Noah wearing Dan Matutina’s Major Ursa design
I specifically chose the Major Ursa not just because it’s the cutest among the new collection but because my churchmate Claud knows Dan Matutina.
There were several designs I’ve been wanting to buy but were always sold out. Fortunately, Mothering Earthlings had them: the Eagle Eye and the Wind Up Robot.
Noah wearing Eagle Eye for his first day of (play)school. Hoping to become a future Eagle, eh?
My favorite Wind Up Robot T-shirt but it’s missing. =(
Googooandgaga had a Valentine treat earlier this year with 20 percent OFF the price. Of course, I didn’t let it pass without me ordering. Since the items were limited, I ordered the Rising Sun and Color Geometry in bigger sizes for Girls! I have to wait before Noah could wear them but I think I already did kahit pang-girl. It wasn’t too obvious though.
And then only after two weeks, Googooandgaga sent another newsletter reminding me about the Spring/Summer Collection. I had to control myself. I wanted to get all design but settled on two–the Rock City and the City Skate.
City Skate Design- Noah with my brother and my husbandrock city googooandgaga
And I ordered this for my niece Ava who was still inside her mommy’s tummy then:
Sunflower Power for Ava
I can’t wait to see 3-month old Ava wearing this one.
I want to get more but I’m controlling myself. Really. Next on my list are the Astronaut and Moon Landing shirts. Maybe for Christmas.
And what am I going to do with all these shirts? Save them for the next baby.
Googooandagaga is one company I’ve seen become more successful every time a collection is released. The artist AJ Dimarucot, is an award-winning graphic artist who has designed for Threadless, Nike, ESPN, and Bratpack among others. Audrey, is the one I’ve been communicating with for orders. I met her twice already and she’s very friendly and pretty too. They’re parents to three kids: one teenage son and two super cute daughters Gia and Georgia whom I always see on Instagram.
The brand has gone international too being sold in Singapore, France, US, and Canada. It’s obvious that I find the designs creative that’s why I’m supporting them. I recently made this pact to support more local companies and Googooandgaga is one of them.
Baby and toddler clothing need not to be too cutesy. They just need to be ‘Quirky for the Kooky Kids’. 😀
Here are some more lessons I learned on party planning:
Keep the number of guests to a minimum as much as possible. In our case, we had no choice but to invite a lot of people because we had 4 baby showers.
When you hire a catering service, let them do everything. I didn’t give focus on the food so we (the servers) were scrimping at first. We had enough food…more than enough actually, as we forgot there were still containers hidden from the guests.
Decide on one or two party favors only. I got too excited so the surplus of souvenirs. They were cheap and I wrapped them myself so I had no problem. But since there were many, we ended up spending more on the favors.
Hire a professional photographer. Don’t just ask family or friends to take photos during the event. We were thankful to have awesome photographers during the event but since we know them, I was too shy to ask them to do this, do that. I promised myself to pay for one, someone I could request to do everything I tell him to.
Take care of the background music. I had a CD prepared. I carefully chose the songs to play. I had ideas in mind when this song would play, what song will be on loop during the dedication proper, etc. Problem was, we couldn’t find where the CD was. My husband said he gave it to me but because I was too busy then, I forgot where I put it.
Hire someone to help you or be your gofer. Sure, friends and family would volunteer and would love to help you but when party time comes, you’d be too busy to call them or be ashamed to request them to help as they are also enjoying the party. When I say hire, get someone you will pay a minimum day’s wage. You can request you friends’ and relatives’ helpers or nannies since most of them are “off for the day”. Promise you will pay them and do pay them.
Hire a point person or an on-the-day planner. Believe me, you can’t do everything on your own. I was trying to save and do things on my own that I forgot about myself, enjoy the party, and spend time with Noah. Since the venue was within the village, I drove home a few minutes before the guests started to arrive. I was planning to do my makeup and go to a salon but as usual, it didn’t happen. I was too busy! I didn’t really worry about how I looked because I knew I was gorgeous already (haha!kapal!) but it would have been nicer if I looked fresh. LOL!
My husband Josh has no problems with me buying bags. He said he learned this from his dad: One thing you should know about women is that they can never have too many bags. Thank you very much, Dad! I was actually there when he said it.
