Good and Bad Habits

I missed a couple of Couple Corner topics already. Hay life is so busy these days.  The topic last week was about bad habits and this week  is good habits.

I will just combine the two and enumerate them below.

Good:

• Hubby is a sweet and loving  son, husband, and Dad
• Handles  children really good, he actually has a magic when it comes to kids hehehe
• Very generous 
• I am thrifty and a saver ( I consider that good.. don't you?)  Okay, that's about it.. Can't think of any hahaha, ang sama.

Bad:

• Hubby can be very judgmental at times and he is a spender hehehe
• I have a temper... sometimes.. lol

Alrighty, that would be my share folks.  I gotta go to bed  because I am  floating  now.  I am mentally exhausted because of the  paid articles I wrote...

Yes... but No!

Oh no, It's almost 12 am and I just have the time to make my Couple's Corner entry wahhhh.  Last week's theme was  about saying Yes and this week is no.  If you would ask my husband, he would tell you that I  say a lot of No compared to Yes lol.  My husband has a way of making a very convincing reason/explanation whenever he wants to buy us something.  I usually say Yes  but at the end there is big BUT which will end up in No  lol...

Below were taken last Sunday after church.  

Do you see the three pounds of bilbil that I am trying to lose.  Grrrr, it's the most stubborn and unwanted fats  ever that won't leave me alone lol..

As Parents

We came from a different family with different values, tradition, and culture. There are some parenting style that we are different but we always talk about it until we arrive in an agreement. Being a parent is a lifetime challenge, we learn as we raise our own kids.

Between my husband and I, I am the disciplinarian. Maybe because I grew up with a very strict father who constantly monitored me when I was growing up. He was strict but he never laid his hand on me or hurt me physically. It's my mother who used to whoop my butt every time I made mistakes lol. Hubby on the other hand, grew up in a very different world than mine. Maybe that is why he is very lax with the kids. He is their best bud when it comes to playing and stuff. Would you like to share your experience as a parent? Join us by clicking the badge..

Here's another parenting tip from parents.com.

Looking for fun things to do together as a family? Get those little hands involved in making dinner tonight. Let your child stir up a batter or get his hands good and messy playing with pie crust or kneading pizza dough. And don’t forget to turn on the oven light, so your little chef can see what happens next!

Make Family Mealtime More Fun

Labor, Delivery, and bringing home the Baby..

Oh boy, it is now 12:05 and I am just starting to write this one whew! I missed this topic at Mommy Moments before so I don't want to miss it this time at Couple's Corner theme for this week. I did not have any pictures during the actual delivery for Rylie because I was rushed then to an emergency C-Section (you may find out why and what happened that night that scared my husband and I to death by clicking the link. That was one scary and unforgettable experience I've had during deliveries. But I thank God that He is always there watching us!

Here are some of the pictures that we took when we were going home and brought Rylie to my FIL's home. We were still living that time at my FIL so Rylie was kinda spoiled with all the attention from my in-laws.

With EJ, my due date was planned according to the statistics of his age inside my womb. But I guess that our little boy wanted to come out soon because three days before my scheduled C-Section (again), I was already having contraction. when my husband brought me to the hospital, they just gave me an injection to control or stop the contraction and wait for the scheduled ones (agonizing!). But it's all worth it because my son was born very healthy.

Somehow my anesthesiologist did not give me time to absorb the epidural before they cut my tummy because I was in pain and feeling the strong pressure on my gut when they were doing the surgery and pulling out EJ out of me. Oh gosh, I don't think I could do it again.

Rylie was very excited for EJ's coming. She stayed at my FIL the night I delivered EJ and then visited the next morning to see her little brother. She's very loving to him and wanted to do anything that I do to him/for him. The only problem we had when we first brought EJ home was that Rylie was still nursing that time. I looked like I gave birth to twins because I was nursing two babies lol. But anyhow, after a week or two, I weaned her by force, which she wasn't happy about.

God blessed me with abundant breast milk because from the time Rylie was born until EJ was two years old, my milk was continuous. The funny thing about bringing home a new baby is the jealousy that the other one feels. I remember witnessing Rylie did stuff to EJ like biting his finger, pulling his hair, and doing stuff when I am not paying attention. But other than that, Rylie is a very good sister to EJ. Now, they are both ornery and sometimes giving me migraine lol. But I love them dearly!

Our days at Work

Wait, before I start my entry to Couple's Corner's theme this week, lemme share this old pic of mine to you. This my friend is the reason why my dear husband got attracted to his wife lol. This is the picture that my student assistant uploaded to my profile at asian matchmaker then. That was taken when I was still working as secretary at the Student Affairs Office in Divine Word College of Legazpi. Wahhhh padded pa ang shoulders lol.

Anyhow, I couldn't find the picture that my husband sent me the first time, I was going to share it to you here. I can't scan it now since it is now 11:58 and our scanner is at our bedroom (my husband is now snoring lol). Dami ko patalastas hahaha. Back to the topic this week. When my husband was still working, we always talked about how his day went which pretty much about the sailors and everything... Oh ayan 12 nahhh hay buhay...

Liz is right, it is very important that we have time to listen to our partner and we have to give them time to rest first before we tell them the not-so-good news. Make sure that we prepare something good to eat for them as what our Moms always tell us that "the secret to a man's heart is a full belly". Hindi ako masyado maalaga but I made sure na may pagkain ang aking asawa kasi mahilig yan sa kain (kaya mataba eh hehehe.

Now that he is retired, and pareho na kaming alang trabaho, pablog blog na lang, well, we shared responsibilities sa bahay and sa kids. Kanina nga pinaghugas ko nga pinggan while ako gumagagwa ng opps oh diba hehehe. Kaya paupo upo na lang kami ng ganyan sa photos. Oh diba sarap ng buhay pag may nagmamahal, hay naku makatulog na nga at lipas tulog lang itis, goodnight everyone.

Oppps, I would like to correct if I send the wrong notion at the top that we are just sitting here relaxing without any worries at all. Of course we do and we still need to work for a living you know. We are just actually starting because our little ones will just start school. But in order to do that, my husband has to start a new career so he is in school for the transition of forming a new career path. For the meantime, we are trying to live with his retirement pay with the help of blogging gig. So there..

Sweet Gestures

Yesterday was a "not-so-good" day for me. I had such a bad migraine the whole day that I neglected to read the kids their afternoon Bible season with me. But despite my nasty migraine, I did some laundry and wrote some tasks online but wasn't able to bloghop and do my usual posting for Wednesday's meme.

Then last night, both hubby and I couldn't sleep for some reason. We both kept tossin 'n turnin and I think we wee able to fall asleep by 4 am but by then I was so tired that I had a nightmare that made me scream wahhh. It's trash day today so we both woke up early so I could take the dogs out while he put the trash out. Now he went back to bed but I decided to write my entry for Couple's Corner. After this, I'll go back to bed myself lol.

Okay sorry folks if my mind is wandering somewhere and not focusing on the topic which is the Sweet Gesture. Between the two of us, John is the most expressive one. Nagmamanhid manhiran ako minsan hahaha.

He always thinks of us, what we want and what can make us happy. Here are some instances;

• When driving, he always puts his right arm in front of me on sudden halt of the car, I always think that its so sweet and caring.
• He cooks for us when he sees that I am not in the mood to cook or if nakasimangot ako lol (Pls check the link of his new dish for us, matutuwa yun hehehe).
• When he goes to the store, he always look for whatever can make us smile. Like the other day, he went to the store and saw some mangoes that resembles our mango in the Philippines and he bought us some even the price is a little higher for me but the though is so sweet (not the mango though lol)

• He always massages my head when my migrain attacks (the photos below was taken by our aspiring photographer hehehe)

Ako minsan lang ako maging sweet lol. Di kasi ako showy kay hubster kaya pero paminsan minsan super sweet din lol. Hala sige mga kabayan, gising na ang aking bunso, I won't be able to go back to bed now hahaha. Gotta cook some breakfast na lang before the hubs goes to school. Thanks for commenting and for visiting!

Things We Sacrifice

My husband and I have been through a lot before we finally got together. I spent almost 2 years in the Philippines, away from him, while I was still processing my papers to come to the States. During those times, the love that we have for each other was our only weapon to battle the loneliness. We were married but we were living separate lives, I was in the Philippines and he was in Guam.

But I was thankful that technology was able to bridged the distance that we had. We chatted and talked on the phone everyday. He was paying a ton in telephone bills then but I guess it was the sacrifice that we had to pay in order for us to feel close to each other and bridge the distance.  In a relationship, there are certain things that you have to sacrifice. It is all a part of the vows that a married couple takes "For better or for Worse" when they are wed. Sacrifice is the theme for Couple's Corner this week. I am also sharing this post to..

Have a good night everyone.

Valentine's Plan

When my husband return from school today, I asked him if he has any plans for this year's Valentine's day and he said that we can't really do anything special in this kind of weather. I agree, besides it is me who always just want to stay at home, you know me puro pagtitipid ang nasa isip lol. I always tell my husband that a simple card is always always a delight for me.

Since it is snowing real hard again, we goof in front of the camera and acted silly. I think we can celebrate Valentine's day as simple as this and its FUN!

I love you my Superman!

Last year, he gave me a bouquet of roses and my first reaction was "How much did you pay for this?" He just smiled and said, "don't worry about it, just enjoy it." As I have mentioned before, I am not into flowers because you can't really preserve it unless you put it in the freezer or dry them. For me a simple card is enough.

Hope you guys have a wonderful plan for your dates this coming Valentine's day. I just wish that the roads will be a little smoother so that we can go to the mall this coming weekend. I still did not buy my husband his birthday present.

I Love....

Have I told you lately that I Love YOU? That is the theme of this week's Couple's Corner meme by the beautiful Mom of four, Liz! We had a romantic road trip last Friday when hubby and I flew to Baltimore Maryland to pick up our car. It cost us a few hundred bucks but its worth it because it gave us both some time alone away from the kids. I felt like I was having a first romantic date with him lol. It is so nice to be away even for just one day. It's not really a date but I felt like it. Below is a picture taken of us at Pittsburgh airport while waiting for our flight to board.

My husband and I are very vocal with our love to each other. We seldom goes to sleep without telling each other how much we care. It's heaven whenever John would tell me "Thanks for marrying me hon" because its me who is so much thankful that he married me. I could not ask for more for a husband a Dad to our kids. He is the best! He may have some temper sometimes but it always melts down through my mellow technique hehehe. I love my husband to death, I don't know what he saw from me that he made him marry me but hey, I am so blessed! I love you hon!

Oh before I forgot, he called me this morning when he was in school and I was like in the not-so-good mood. When he told me "Okay, thank you and I love you!" I just said "bye" so he immediately sensed it and said "How come there is no loving?" Nyahahaha, ang asawa ko talaga, puro na lang paglalambing ang hanap lol.

With Love Wednesday's theme for this week is "When I go out, I'd love to..." Well, I am not into pedicure and manicure or something like that because it is so expensive in here in the States. Heck, I even cut my own hair just so I won't spend that much for a haircut lol. Yes, in tagalog I am kuripot, but it's for good naman. I'd rather spend it with something worth for our family. I hate spending that much for myself only. Whenever we go out, all I want to do is eat and record our moments through taking photos.

This is my entry to Shoot Me, a challenge authored by Carin from Forever in Blue Jeans. May all the husbands and wives stay in love with each other as long as they live.

We know each other so Well

Another week.. another episode of challenge authored by Carin of Forever in Blue Jeans. The first photo was taken last weekend when we visited my FIL.

My daughter took this one last night at my FIL's house.

It's been a while since I last participated to the Couple's Corner Meme. So to catch up, I will include some that I missed. First up some things that somehow annoys me.

1. hugging and kissing me while I am doing dishes. It's sweet and cute but I don't like it since I can't hug him back hahaha.
2. He is very good in giving sarcastic comments. I'd rather be told of what I am doing wrong than hearing side comments which really annoys me.

The thing that annoys him that I always do is getting out of the door without closing it wahhh or I always let him lock the door because I don't have my keys lol.

This week's theme is "How well do we know each other?"

We have been together for six years and nine months now and I can say that we can read each other's mind and hearts already.

1. He knows when I am not feeling well even if I don't tell him. I am the same way with him.
2. He knows when something is bothering me. I know too when something is bothering him. We both keep silent when we are worrying about something.
3. We both know when to stop and what to do when we have misunderstanding. But mas malambing sya hehehe, ako hinahayaan ko lang till sumuko sya wahhh, dami ko kasing pride chicken lol.

I won't elaborate the things we know from each other because it is so madami so hanggang dito na lang hehehe. I just know that for almost seven years, we know each other very well na because I can tell if it's his fart or not lol I also know deep in my heart and soul how great John is as a husband and Dad!

Handling Conflict with Love

There's only one that I could remember that we had a mild understanding. When we were done renovating the house that we bought, my husband and I agreed to finally moved in. The problem was telling Dad about it. My husband did not want to leave Dad because we lived there for over a year and leaving him means that he will be alone again.

But anyhow, I kept making so makulit to him and so he snapped and told me "OKay start packing" with an angry voice. I was hurt and being so maarte and emo that I am, I cried and cried while I was packing our stuff.

I wasn't talking to him the whole time I was packing so he humbly told me he was sorry and hugged me. That was the only time we had a misunderstanding. The rest is just about his farts hehehe but we never argue or something like that. When one of us is mad, we just don't talk, we let our anger pass by first before we talk about it.

I am glad that my husband is a very understanding and loving man. I really don't like making arguments. For me, it is a waste of energy and it is a stain on your relationship. I always pray that God will keep us this way until our time comes.

First 365 days of Being Married

I think the first365 days of us being married was the longest period I've ever experienced. Why? Because he was still in Guam that time and I was in the Philippines. Three days after our civil wedding, he left back to Guam again. Although we are chatting and talking on the phone everyday, it still wasn't enough to fulfill the emptiness inside. You miss the other two set of feet that warm up your feet, the hugs/embrace, the kiss.....

Some predicted that our marriage won't last because of the separation but I think that was the main ingredient that draws us closer to each other even better. It makes our relationship and love for each more stronger each day.

After our civil wedding, he only came to visit me once because of the military restrictions on leave of absence but every minute was a mine of gold for us. The next time he visited was during our church wedding which only lasted for 2 weeks, then the day after our wedding he flew back to Guam again. I am sure that most of you guys have a blissful year after wedding, for us, it was really tough but we managed to pull it through.

I guess if you really love each other, you will really survive no matter how hard the situation is for both of you. Now we are still so much in love and wants to stay that way for life.

The Proposal

Even if my then boyfriend asked me to marry him before we see each other in person, I still did not expect a hundred percent of our relationship mainly because I did not want to get hurt in the end. In my mind, "we'll give it a try" if we are meant for each other, then everything will work out fine, sabi nga nila "Pag ukol, bubukol" diba?

I asked him once when we were married already "When did you know exactly that you want to marry me?" He said "When you cleaned the toilet for me". Sorry guys, this might gross you out hahaha. As big as he is, his poop of course will be big so when he used our bathroom, he clogged it hahaha.

He also told me that on our first meeting, he was observing if I have the "Rule of 12" syndrome. He said that a lot of women possess this kind of attitude and that is what he really don't like. Rule of 12 is when a woman act like a 12 years old or being childish. But hey, mas matanda pa ako sa kalabaw kaya matured na ko noh hahaha.

This is my cousin's baby.

During the time that we spend together, I came to realize that he really is a man that I would be marry. He was running around playing with the kids in my place when I first brought him there. From there and then, I know that he would be a loving Dad and a good husband.

Since my parents does not speak English, I have to translate to them when John was asking them that he is going to marry me. It's funny because my father said YES right away hahaha. He was drunk so he was very brave to decide lol. But don't get excited because we'll continue the next chapter on next episode..

We knew We're In-love...

During the first couple of months of getting to know each other, we talk like we have known each other for a long time. We can just go on with our conversation with just about everything with ease and no hesitation. I think on the third month of our communication online and by phone, he was already discussing about the possibility of getting me out of the Philippines. I thought to myself, this guys is pretty serious because we did not even see each other yet and now he is planning for those stuff including marrying me. What??? Did I tell him the three magic words yet? I can't recall that I did and yet he is planning to see me and marry me wahhhhh..

But to make the things more formal, I asked for some divine intervention (hahaha). I told Papa J from up above that if John calls me on the new year's eve, that will be the sign that he is the one for me. And alas, he did called me! So on the first day of 2003, I confirmed my feelings to him by telling him the real deal. From then on, our conversation is more like a husband and wife. Then two months after I told him that I love him, he came to see me.

I will end this post for now, you have to find out the next chapter next week hehehe.

Photo is courtesy of our four year old wannabe photographer. She took this one last weekend.

First Time We Met

My ex-boyfriend and I dated for six months online before he came to visit and see me for the first time. Although we are very comfortable with each other "virtually", it was still nerve wracking to meet him in person for the first time. Can you blame me for being nervous and anxious?

My first impression when I first saw him at the airport was "Ang laki laki naman, kaya ko ba to?" (grins) I know what you're thinking lol. But anyhow, we spent the night at Manila Hotel. It was a very awkward but at the same time full of hope moment of my life. It was then that I realized that this man is really serious of his intentions to me.

Don't miss the fun of our first meeting so make sure to check out My Knight in Shining Armour post. It was funny that he fell on my trick lol.

Anyhow, when I brought him in Bicol, I invited some of my friends to go with us in Cagsawa. I was afraid that I'd be lost for words if I gave him a tour alone lol.

Do you know what he whispered to me on this pic? He said "too bad, you can't get rid of me now". That is why he locked his arm around me.

I was so skinny then and my hair was very short. He told me that he like it when my hair was long, kaya my hair is long again now. According to my husband, mas lumulutang daw ang true beauty ng pinay pag mahaba ang hair. Kaya heto my hair is mahaba again kahit di ako maganda lol.