Studying Together

My little Baba waiting for me.

How do you manage your time? One of my co-workers asked me that a few days ago. I smiled and I said, I am still trying to be good at it. I can't help but feel guilty sometimes because I don't see Frankie as often as I want to be. When he sees me getting reading early in the morning, he always tell me, "mama work?" and I answer him yes or sometimes "mama school". He gets excited that he always get his shoes and tells me that he wants to come. I wish I could take him then it would be a lot of fun. I am just glad that he is home and safe with his Tatay. They go out occasionally and if I have a spare time I spend it with Frankie. From as simple as drawing together or watching his favorite shows together. In fact during my midterm week, I studied in his room and we studied together. I did mine while he did his ABC's. Now every time he sees me he asks if we can go study. He likes the books that he have. I always motivate myself that these are all for him. I even have pictures of him up on the top of the other computer where I write my essays, so that when I feel tired and feeling like I want to give up, I just look up and there he is smiling at me. It will get better; I just need to manage my time well, and I think I am doing good at it.

Papa's Captures

Some of Papa's recent captures. This is to those who kept coming back to this blog even if I haven't updated anything here and dropped to their blogs. Thank you. I have been very busy with school and my job and my family. It is very overwhelming but hanging in there.

Taken from our backyard.

Frankie in the backyard.
Watching something with dirty George.

Nature: Monee Reservoir

Multiple Remote Controls To One

We have 8 remote controls that I can find in the house right now. That is excluding the remote control of the VCD. I was never a fan of having too many remote controls especially with a toddler in the house. He seems to be very fascinated with remote controls and just loves nibbling them. I have tried to put them as high as they can go but they are just too many to watch plus they look identical too.


It was so funny when my Dad first got here from the Philippines. We were in the living room and was about to watch a movie. I was carrying Frankie so I asked him to get the DVD remote control for me so we can start the movie. He first picked the remote control for the stereo. He turned it on but instead the stereo went on and it was so loud that woke Frankie up. He set it down and grabbed another and showed it to me. From a distance it looked like the remote for the DVD but when he pressed the on button the TV turned off. Arggg… can you imagine what we have to go through just because of these remote controls we have in our house?

Well good news for those who are like us who have so many remote controls in the house. This is the answer we have been looking for. Let me introduce to you Yamaha neoHD. It is one remote that controls your entire entertainment center. You never have to get up and get the DVD remote control or the TV or the stereo remote. You can now relax and enjoy the show. I am sure you have a lot of remote control experiences that you would like to share. Which one was priceless?

Before I forget, if you want to learn more about the Yamaha neoHD, you can find them at Facebook. I think it is about time we get our very own too.

Frankie Goes High Tech

Frankie loves his new cutie digital camera. I have been itching to buy it for him last Christmas but Ryan thought that he is not ready yet. Well about two weeks ago I saw one on clearance and it was so cheap. Frankie still have his gift card from his birthday with a little bit left on it. I used it for him and added some. He won't even let go of it while we are still in the store. We have to ask him to give it to the cashier and had to give it back to him right away. He likes it so much because it take real pictures although a little dark inside the house because it doesn't come with a flash. Outside it takes cute little pictures especially with broad day light. I have to use rechargeable batteries for it. Frankie likes taking pictures of his tatay. He already know how to take pictures and delete them. I will find time and download some of his captures to my computer (yes it came with a USB port and CD).

His New Camera

We finally bought Papa his very own digital SLR camera. It is a Canon EOS Digital Rebel T1i with 15.1 megapixel about a month ago. It just that I haven't really have the chance to post it here. He added his own share of the camera that he saved from working at Jenny's house. It is complete with a telephoto lens as well as its very own camera bag/backpack. I haven't really taken Papa out to play with it especially at the reservoir but he has been reading the manual and studying much about it. I like how he can just press one button when he takes nature pictures. We have yet to try it and I am looking forward to it when I get the chance. It surely reminds him of his old camera because the screen in the back automatically shuts off when he tries to peek through the little hole. I guess it has a sensor in it that he has the option to use the screen in the back or use the manual preview. I can't wait to post some of his captures.

All I can say is he so deserved it, for all the things that he has helped us with. He is so excited with his new camera and I am so excited for him.

Features :
New 15.1 Megapixel CMOS sensor with DIGIC 4 Image Processor for faster processing of fine detail and natural color reproduction, 14-bit A/D conversion for smooth color tones and gradations.

Full HD video capture at 1920 x 1080 resolution with HDMI output for HD viewing of stills and video.

Live View Function for stills (Quick, Live and Face Detection AF modes) and video.

3.0-inch Clear View LCD (920,000 dots/VGA) monitor with anti-reflective and scratch-resistant coatings for improved viewing and smudge protection.

Auto Lighting Optimizer for superior highlight-shadow control.

Wide range ISO setting 100-3200 (ISO expansion: 6400, 12800).

Creative Auto goes a step beyond auto allowing control over frequently-changed settings.

Compatible with over 60 Canon EF/EF-S lenses and most EOS System accessories.

View Sample Videos

High Resolution Still Capture.
New 15.1 Megapixel CMOS sensor with DIGIC 4 Image Processor for faster processing of fine detail and natural color reproduction, 14-bit A/D conversion for smooth color tones and gradations.

Canon's CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) sensor captures images with exceptional clarity and tonal range and offers the most pixels in its class. It offers many of the same new technologies as used by Canon's professional cameras to maximize each pixel's light gathering efficiency. Its APS-C size sensor creates an effective 1.6x field of view (compared to 35mm format). Canon's DIGIC 4 Image Processor dramatically speeds up all camera operations for intuitive operation and offers improvements in both fine detail and natural color reproduction. It works in concert with the EOS Rebel T1i's image sensor to achieve unprecedented levels of performance in all lighting situations.

DIGIC 4 Image Processor

With the EOS Rebel T1i, analog to digital signal conversion is executed by a 14-bit processor, which generates digital data with incredibly smooth tones. A feature that originally appeared in top-of-the-line pro digital SLR cameras, the 14-bit conversion gives incredibly smooth transitions from light to dark colors with far less risk of "banding." A sky at sunset is a perfect example. With this rich 14-bit gradation, the EOS Rebel T1i offers RAW images of the highest quality that can be processed with Canon's Digital Photo Professional software. Even JPEG files, which are always finished at 8-bits per channel, use the full 14-bit conversion initially to generate the best possible color and tonal detail.

*camera features and pictures was from www.usa.canon.com.*

Make-over

Now that Papa is done with updating Jenny’s living room, he will be working on the dining room and the kitchen. There is a wall the divides the dining room and the kitchen and Jenny wants Papa to knock the wall done. They have a very limited space and they want their place to look bigger by knocking the wall down and creating a functional counter where they can put Bar Stools and just use the dining table on major gatherings. I think that is a brilliant idea and I will surely recommend to her to shop at Spacify.com for their bar stools. I am sure she would appreciate it because she doesn’t have the time to go from store to store to look around. She has a full time job at the hospital, she is going to school to become a nurse plus she has two boys to take care. Spacify.com has a wide selection of unique and stylish bar stools to choose from. I will recommend the one below because that would match their dining room table. I can’t wait.

Looking For A Web Host?

It is so amazing how much I have learned through the years of blogging. I used to be very content with the free website hosting I had but it only offered me very limited options. Of course what do I expect for something that is free? I really don’t have any right to complain because after all, as I said it was free.

When I decided to move forward with my blogging career and finally decided to get my own web host, I honestly don’t know where to start. I want to make sure that I am going to get a good one because a friend of mine was having issues with her web host. Getting a good web host means saving me a lot of trouble in the future especially when I depend so much on my blogs. The first thing I did was go to a popular search engine and typed in web hosts. I can’t believe the number of results that came up. It came back with 2,070,000,000 links that has anything to do with web hosting. Who has the time to go through all of them? Besides how will I ever know which one is the best?

My questions were answered when I came across Webhostinggeeks.com. I call them shopping for a web host in one place. I actually find their website very convenient, detailed and most of all very informative. I like how I can read about other people’s experiences about a certain web host. It helps me decide on which one to go. I also like how they ranked the different web hosts in to Top 10. It is such a time saver because I don’t have to keep on looking but just go straight to the top 1, 2 and 3. So the next time you need a new web hosting or you are not happy with what you got right now, check out Webhostinggeeks.com and do what I did. Not only that you will also be loaded with a lot of information from their blog that in one way or another will benefit you and your business just like learning about the benefits of email hosting. Webhostinggeeks.com is the best place to read on web hosting reviews and rating.

One Day At A Time

Ahh... the joys of being busy. I have been trying to manage my schedule nicely and so far it has been good. Although I have to make some major changes because when I get home from work, I am just too exhausted to do anything. I usually eat my dinner at work so when I get home I usually don't get anything to bite anymore. My only fear is if I continue to be very exhausted and felt like I don't want to do anything then it wouldn't be good when school starts. Yes school starts on the 25th of this month for me and I think it is too for Ryan. Unfortunately, we couldn't take one car because I have two classes on Tuesdays and he only got one and it doesn't make any sense that he will wait for me. This coming Thursday I am off so we will be getting our books and Ryan will show me where my classrooms are. Although I have went to this school before but I am not that familiar with where everything is.

We also need to get new IDs and surrender the old one that we got. We also need to get school supplies and other things for school. I have mixed feelings right now because I am so afraid that I will not be able to handle it. If only I like taking online classes but I was never a fan of it. It is so tempting to peek at the book while taking an exam. I have tried it before but I have to drop the class because I felt like I was cheating and not learning anything. I have always been an in campus kid. Anyways, other than that things have been ok. I am so happy and so excited about a lot of things. Ryan and I are ever so ready with what will and will not happen and has been working on a lot of options and I am glad. All I can say is we are each other's rock.

Aqua Center

We finally got over to the aqua center last week with Kyle and the rest of his family. They all have a pass each (which $50.00 all season long) except Jenny, Frankie and I so we have to wait until 5:00 p.m. I was willing to just go in because Ryan gave us the money anyway but it was only 10 minutes more till 5:00 p.m.The entrance is normally $10.00 but after 5:00 p.m. it becomes P5.00. I rented a couple of movies for Papa because he doesn't want to come with us. When we got in, they let everyone come out of the water first because they check the water. I guess they do that a few times a day to make sure that the water is safe or something. While waiting, Frankie, Kyle and CJ were at the sand playing. Frankie was a little scared to join in the beginning but later he lighten up and started playing. Jenny and I are just so amused watching the kids play.

After 15 minutes they were call back in the water because it was now safe to swim. Frankie was so overwhelmed. I didn't have any swimsuit with me so Adam watched the kids for a little bit. Just look at him below with his cutie life jacket. I am just being an over protective mama. He floats but he still doesn't know to close his mouth so he sometimes drink the water but he'll learn.

I was so envious watching him swim and I felt like joining him. Besides Adam can't really watch all of them because he has 2 other kids to watch so I went up at the front desk and bought myself a cheap $5.00 speedo swim suit and later joined him. We were having so much fun and wish Dada could have joined us. Unfortunately we had to leave the center after 30 minutes because it was starting to thunder and they usually close the center when that happens. I like that place. They have 4 different swimming pools for adults, teens, kids and babies. We will definitely be going back this week. Jenny and her family will then be back from their trip to the Bahamas.

Our son is having a good time.
(click to enlarge)

Protecting Your Child's Future

Ryan and I are so happy that Frankie hasn’t been sick since December. It is such a relief because I remember him so skinny and frail last year. He was throwing up and having diarrhea at the same time. I wish I can keep him this healthy forever. Illnesses like these are easy to handle but it is life threatening diseases that I want to protect him and my family from. Fortunately there is a way to do so and it is by storing your baby's umbilical cord blood through Cryo-Cell.

You’ll be amazed how much stem cell can be found in an umbilical cord blood from a newborn which is by the way known to treat over 75 diseases and used for transplant worldwide. If you know someone who is expecting, please don’t hesitate to tell them about the significance of keeping and storing their baby’s U cord blood for future use. What is even better is, Cryo-Cell understands the current economic situation that they are offering their exclusive premium family service, "Protect Baby, Protect Mom". Which means by using the promotional code 995PS by Sunday July 26th, you will be able to take advantage of their special pricing of only $995.00. Not only that, you also have the option to choose the Signature UCORD Service and Exclusive C’elle Service, for only $1299 by using the P2PS. It is a way of protecting mommy and the baby all together.

Mastering His Trike

Frankie started riding his trike inside the house in our living room. He can't peddle his bike yet then so what he does was use both of his legs to get it running. Everyday I kept showing him how to peddle and he started learning it. I have to push him every once in a while but now he can do it by himself. He can go around in the living room then to the hallway then to the dining then back to the living room. Now that we have the fence up in the backyard, we have allowed him to take his bike outside and it hasn't been in yet. He likes it even more when the van is not parked at the back of the house because he has a little room to roam around. He now have another one trike for the inside of the house.

Papa hopes to take him at the bike trail any time this week so that they can go biking together.

Stress Free Christmas

Are you enjoying your summer yet? Well you better enjoy it now because before you know it, it will be fall, winter then Thanksgiving and Christmas. Christmas is my favorite time of the year. I just love shopping for the little kids and for my loved ones. I know some people go crazy with Christmas and it shouldn’t be. Christmas is supposed to be a joyous occasion not a stressful one. If you need help on gift suggestions or find places where you can find unique and cool stuff to give for Christmas then you should check out Stylehive.com.

I always find it so hard to find a Christmas gift for my husband. It seems like he doesn’t need anything but I know he appreciates even the little things that we give him. Although he doesn’t need anything but I still want to give him something that I think he would like and he would need. Thankfully I found gadget suggestions that I think he would surely like. I never thought of upgrading his flash drive before and this LaCie iamaKey USB Flash Drive will be just perfect. Just look at how cool and neat it is as shown below.

So the next time you think of Christmas, think of Stylehive.com. They have a lot of Christmas suggestions that will surprise you.

Have You Done Halo Yet?

Well I did for the first time. If you don't know what Halo is, it is a breast pap test that I got when I went to my gynecologist. It was $85.00 upfront and the rest are covered by insurance. What is amazing about it is it only takes 5 minutes and it felt like I was just pumping. During the procedure,
fluid is extracted from the milk ducts; where most breast cancer originate. It massages your breast first then on with the sucking sensation. It was a little painful though especially at the very end. I didn't have any fluid so it means I am negative. However, if the result has fluid in it, it will be sent to a pathologist for evaluation. The Halo Breast Pap Test provides early warning, since a woman with abnormal cells detected in the fluid is four to five times more likely to develop breast cancer. Its findings may be as much as five years prior to the time a calcification shows up on a mammogram. It is a little expensive but it puts me to ease that I am ok. I want to make sure to be checked once every two years.

On the other hand, I asked my gynecologist when is my deadline of having babies like at what age. She laughed hysterically and said that she even delivered a 46 year old mother of twins and that was her 4th and her 5th. I told her that I am not ready yet to have another one and I want to enjoy Frankie as much as possible. She said I am young and as long as I have a baby before 40 I should be fine. When I reach 40 that is when the the risk is very high. I told her that I am giving myself until 35 then at least before that I can have my career already set and hopefully graduate with my bachelors degree here in the US. I am just glad that Ryan and I are in the same page with this. Plus my parents are just waiting for us to have another one, no pressure. I really would like to finish something here and for Frankie and Ryan to be proud of me. Although they already are but it is nice to have done something for myself. It is so hard no doubt about it that is why I admired those who have more kids and can manage their time nicely. Yes, I have help now but it is still different when I can take care of my baby myself.

Dog Shampoo

I was so excited when my sister Resty got their dog “koy-koy” as a gift from her boyfriend. Their dog brownie died a few months ago because it got out of the house and went to the street and a car ran over him. He managed to walk back to my parent’s house bleeding and dead just when my mother found him. Everyone was devastated because he was such a nice, healthy and friendly dog. So when “koy-koy” came, they were all very excited. As you can see with the picture below, it is my sister Grace with their new baby, “koy-koy”.


Their excitement immediately died down when they notice that “koy-koy” smells. I don’t know if it has something to do with the breed but my two sisters were so disappointed. My mother has asthma too so they are all worried that he might not be allowed to stay inside the house anymore just like other dogs that they had before. I don’t think he sheds but they don’t know because he is still very little. My sister Grace told me that she gives him a bath everyday and brushes his teeth but even with that he stinks the next day. She admits it is such a hassle because she really needs to find time to give him a bath.

Is your dog itching, scratching and stinking beyond belief? I asked them the same question that is why I am wondering if DogOSuds dog shampoo will be good for “koy-koy”. It is an all natural gentle cleansing shampoo that will leave your dog smelling fresh and clean for a long time. Plus it is good for sensitive skin so it will perfect for any breed of dog. You even have the option to pick any of the following blends below. You can also check out Dinovite to help stop excessive shedding in case your dog is experiencing one.


I am very excited, I will try one bottle for their dog and I can’t wait to know the result.

My Sweet Son

Seeing Frankie after a long day at work is very therapeutic. We could just be sitting on the couch watching his shows, tickling or doing nothing. I also like it when I am able to put him to bed now and give him a bath. We lay together on his bed and start reading a book or sing. He knows his body parts now and it is amazing how quick he learns. He has been also learning different songs lately as Papa always plays the CD when he takes a nap. It is good for child development. He loves imitating us so we need to be careful on what we say and what we do.

Above all he is growing very well and healthy. I am just happy that he hasn't been sick since December and I hope it will keep on going. He is such a sweet boy who loves giving everybody a kiss and a hug. If only I can keep him little forever which is impossible that is why for now we are enjoying every bit of his littleness.

He found these in the backyard at the side of our garage. He took them and climb out the side of the kitchen to show it to mama and attempt to give it to me. Well, he is afraid to go inside the house because I might not let him out anymore. What a little sweetie.

Golf At Its Finest

I never thought that I will be working full time this summer. Though it is a good thing, it only means that my free time is now very limited. To think, Ryan and I have a lot of plans especially now that Papa has recently joined us. We have so many places in mind that we would like to show him and I really don’t want to take a vacation when I just started. We were thinking of taking Frankie and Papa to Canada for the first time that is why I was so eager to have Frankie’s passport done or take him to Missouri to reunite him with his childhood friend.

Well, I was hesitant to pick the latter because I thought there is nothing much to do in Missouri but how wrong I was. Staying in the beautiful Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing or Hilton Branson Convention Center Hotel itself is already a lot of fun. Have you seen their fitness and recreation room? It is a lot of relaxation waiting for you in there. Plus it is located in the heart of the city where you can shop and visit attractions for the entire family to enjoy. I would love to visit Table Rock Lake with the family. I have seen pictures of it over the internet and it is quiet breath-taking. The all-new Payne Stewart Golf Club is another place to see. They offer hole after hole of breathtaking scenery. So if you are visiting Missouri for business or pleasure and also enjoy golf then do not forget to include Payne Stewart Gold Club in your itinerary.

Few Days

The past few days have been really busy. Besides the occasional readings that I need to do for an exam. I have also recently started working full time last Sunday and I missed my nephew's baptism because of it. Well, there is really nothing much to stress about the exam. Like I said it is just a compass test to determine which classes in English that I should take. If I could only jump two classes higher, it would save us a lot. I could have taken it 2 weeks ago but as always I am never confident. I don't want to regret at the end that I could have read or refresh my memory. I am no expert that's for sure but I will probably be taking it next week. We have every other weekend off at work (yep we are in a rotation which is cool) so I can read and refresh my memory that entire weekend and done with it either on Monday or Tuesday.

On there hand, I just want to share a couple of pictures that I took from the mini farewell party the ad set team did for me when I got home. I was not able to take some pictures while there because I didn't bring my camera. Almost all of them brought cake and when I came in the break room the cakes and the food were already on the table. I was so surprise. I already miss them all.

Joint Pain Relief

Ryan and I were out shopping a couple of days ago when every time he swings his left arm, he complains of elbow pain. I remember it hurting occasionally before but this is the first time that it lasted that long. I used to just massage it because I thought he just laid on it the night before but this time, it seems serious. I have applied different creams to alleviate the pain before but it doesn’t seem to work for Ryan. I really hate it when he is in pain like that because he has the tendency to act clingy to me just like his son. I wonder what triggered it. If he could have been over 50 years old then there are a lot of factors that could cause it but he is only 30 years old.

It might be something that needs taking care of the inside than just rubbing something on the outside. I found out active and free natural joint solution might be able to help Ryan. As we grow older, it is inevitable that our body is deteriorating hence giving us pain in different parts of the body. With the right nutrition, minerals, hyaluronic acid and collagen found in the active and free natural join solution, you will be pain free in no time. Get yourself a bottle today at Activeandfree.com and give yourself freedom from pain and be active again once and for all.