e-Pamilya

Tok's 1st Year

nanaygin@gmail.com (Gin E) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 09:00:00 +0000

Yup, it's been a year since the little guy joined our e-Pamilya crew. To be extact, it's been 1 year, 23 days, 12 hours and 5 min from this post's date and time...lol!

Here's a few things about him

He can now

...cruise around the house really well.

...stand without holding on to anything. Then walk 3-5 steps before letting himself fall to a crawling position.

...say mamama to me, dadada to his dad, and tetete (short of “Ate”, big sister) to Ki.

...crawl really, really well. It still remains to be his favorite mode of transportation.

...climb up the chairs.

...eat anything I give him. He’s also very good at grabbing what I eat.

...wave goodbye, clap his hands and laugh out loud when he hears other people laughing.

...throw things out the window. (This actually drives me crazy! When he get’s hold of anything, we would climb up the bench, open the window and drop whatever it is he’s holding out the window.)

He loves

...cars – big and small.

...watching the “Wonder Pets” and “Thomas and Friends”

...eating rice and almost everything that he sees me eat.

...taking a bath.

...playing peek-a-boo.

...following mommy around

...riding his sister’s bike.

...drinking from a glass and getting himself wet doing it.

...watch himself from the computer.

...playing with her sister's blocks when she's not around.Ki doesn't like him touching her toys so he's really happy when she's asleep or eating dinner.

He hates

...mommy when she works at home.

...when everyone’s asleep but him.

...to wake up without mommy beside him.

...going to the doctor just like his big sister. lol

Outdoor Fun for the Kids

nanaygin@gmail.com (Gin E) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:50:00 +0000

Can I fit this swingset in our apartment?

Of course NOT. But I would definitely love to have a backyard that can fit a swingset or playhouse. Princess Ki and Tok are so much active now and they need a place where they can just run around and release all their energy.

Honestly, whenever I see pictures of kids playing like this, it makes me wish that we live outside of the city. Not necessarily in a house with a backyard (though I would really love that!) but maybe in a subdivision that has a park or clubhouse.

If you're wondering where I got the images. These are from Sam's Club. This site offers the wide range of swing sets and children playsets. A good site to find the right outdoor playsets that your kids can enjoy.

The Little Devil that Made Me Smile

nanaygin@gmail.com (Gin E) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 04:01:00 +0000

One year later...

nanaygin@gmail.com (Gin E) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:52:00 +0000

...and here we are.

The little guy turned 1 last Oct 20 and became a Christian last Oct 24.

I can't believe that it's been a year. And yes, I'm guilty of not blogging enough about my second born or documenting his first year milestones the way I did with the princess. He'll probably ask me the same questions most second child asked their moms. lol!

Oh well, it's not too late to catch up isn't it?

Baby, let mommy make it up to you. I'm declaring November as Baby Tok's Month. Let me share all the wonderful (and not so wonderful) things that you've been through for the past year. Love you honey!

Mommy Moments: Music and Ki

nanaygin@gmail.com (Gin E) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 04:03:00 +0000

A little late with my mommy moment post...but I just have to share this video of the Princess singing. She was only 2 years and 3 months here and so cute singing and dancing.

After Ondoy...

nanaygin@gmail.com (Gin E) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 05:45:00 +0000

I'm sure most of you have heard about the tragedy that hits my country. Things have been crazy here in our area since Saturday. Friends and families have been texting and calling just to be sure that we're safe. e-Pamilya household is actually safe but they can't help but worry considering all the tragedies that are happening so close to our appartment:

This is in UERM, a hospital and school 5 minutes from our apartment. You can actually see their rooftop from our window but we were totally clueless that this is what's happening to them that stormy Saturday.

At the other side of our apartment, 10 to 15 minutes away, this is the scene:

Several of my friends and officemates were also directly affected by the flooding. Some only managed to save themselves, leaving their houses underwater. My officemates who got stranded in Eastwood can't help but worry and cry as they see this view...their family is in one of those houses...

******

I do hope we can survive this new typhoon that just entered our country. They say that it's a SUPER TYPHOON and it'll be carrying more water than Ondoy and much stronger winds. Everyone please pray for us.

Mommy Moments: Treasured Pictures

nanaygin@gmail.com (Gin E) — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 02:41:00 +0000

This week's mommy moment got me thinking...Treasured Pictures...that'll be all the pictured I have in this computer...lol!

I guess my most treasured pictures are the ones posted here in this blog...go ahead and browse around. You might want to check:

...my babies' first pictures
...the princess' 2nd birthday
...everything Tok
...and everything Princess Ki

My most recent favorite are the webcam pictures of me and the babies. They hate it when I stay too long in front of the computer and would do anything to get my attention. The result:

Pictures like these reminds me that the simplest things can put a big smile in my little one's faces.

It's Official

nanaygin@gmail.com (Gin E) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 16:55:00 +0000

The Princess is officially potty trained! Well, she's been trained since 3 months ago, I'm just too far behind with my blogging that it's jut now that I'm blogging/bragging about it.

I think the last post I made about the Princess' potty training was back in January when we gave up on it because mommy and daddy didn't have the discipline to follow through and then the Princess decided otherwise and trained herself. You can click here for that story.

Anyway, from then on she continued to show signs of readiness. I would let her poop and pee in her potty chair whenever we get a chance though we continue to put her diaper on. Then 4 months ago, I decided to just take off the diaper during and see what happen. Wow! No accident. She tells me when she needs to pee or poop and I would take her to the toilet. I told her she needs to hold it till I pull her pants down and she does. I was thinking, "It's so easy..." But of course the credit is more hers than mine. lol!

Taking off the diaper at night was a bigger challenge for me. I co-sleep with her and the little guy so peeing accident at night would mean the three of us getting soaked…I waited till I’m sure that her diapers dry every time I take if off in the morning before I got the courage to try it. And now, she diaper-free 24-7! Yehey! And best part of it all...we've saving big bucks since we crossed out her diaper in our grocery list...

Mommy Moments - I Gotta Wear Shades!

nanaygin@gmail.com (Gin E) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 18:39:00 +0000

The picture says it all...lol!!!

Too Early to Look for Halloween Costumes?

nanaygin@gmail.com (Gin E) — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 16:34:00 +0000

Well, maybe...but I've meaning to take the princess to one of those dress up Halloween parties that are becoming more and more famous here in the Philippines and we always end up not going. Now, I have 2 cuties to dress up and I can't help getting excited when I saw this Halloween costume shop.

If I'm going to do my Halloween costume shopping online, I think Custom Cauldron would be a good site to check out. They have a wide-range of customs to choose for babies, kids, and adults. You can even shop here for plus size Halloween costumes. And of course, the best part is they ship not just in the US and Canada but also internationally.

Been browsing around the site the other day and saw this cute Dora costume. The princess will definitely love this one especially since it includes Bagpack.

There also a lot of princess costumes to choose from that I'm sure Princess Ki will love. She's becoming a girly girl lately and really loves it when I dress her up in a flowery dress or anything fancy. The girly they are the more she loves them.

For the little guy, there's only one perfect custom and that being superman...after all, he's real name is superman...lol!

I really hope we can make it this year. It'll be a blast. We can even go with matching customs...dress up as angels maybe...that'll be a simple one to do.

Angel Halloween Customs...hmmm. That could definitely be an option....Oh, well, I still have months ahead of me to decide and shop. Let's just hope nothing comes up that day because I would really love to see the 2 monkeys having a time of their life with other kids...

Mommy Moments: Look at that Mess!

nanaygin@gmail.com (Gin E) — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 16:41:00 +0000

Okay, I can't miss this week's mommy moment. We have way too many messy moments around here in e-pamilya...courtesy of the Princess of course....

First Cake Dunk

New Year Food Trip

Birthday Ice Cream

And my personal favorite the...

I-Didn't-Do-It Look

No messy pics for the little guy just yet. He's throwing everything on the floor now and he started eating solids but I haven't caught any of his messy moments on cam. But I'm sure given a few more weeks and I'll have more than enough pictures share...

For more messy moments, visit other moms who joined Mommy Moments this week.

Late Night Mischief

nanaygin@gmail.com (Gin E) — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 07:56:00 +0000

Got home at 11 dead tired from work...the babies were already asleep and I was happy about that...then just when I'm ready to sleep the little guy decided to wake up and party....

Of course, big sister is asleep so he has the whole house and mommy to himself...definitely something to be happy about. And the highlight of the night...ride till you drop on Princess Ki's bike.

One Year and New Awards

nanaygin@gmail.com (Gin E) — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 14:33:00 +0000

Have I mentioned that this blog is now a year and 16 days old? Yup! It was June 11 when I crazily decided to delete my old blogs and start a new. Turned out it was the best thing I ever did as a blogger.

Now, a year later, my blog has PR3, earning a small but steady dollar, and I got to meet some wonderful people from all corners of the world.

Though I didn't really celebrated it, I was lucky enough to get some gifts from some of my blogging friends. They must have been psychics...lol!

Thank you ladies! I really appreciate them!

So let me show you my new awards from Bea of My Life and Andrea of Mom Writer Me.

From Bea, I got this

and

then from Adrea, I got

and

Since we're in the subject of my blog's 1st anniversary, I thought I'll share these awards to the first group of ladies that I met during my early months in blogging. Most of them I met during MommyCommunity's Blog Trip: CynthiaK, LindaS, Charlene, Joan, Sandra, Babette, and Sara.

and of course,

Thank you everyone for the visits, the comments, the greetings, and the linky love! Year 2 here we go!!!

Mommy Moments: Outdoor Fun

nanaygin@gmail.com (Gin E) — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 17:49:00 +0000

Ki loves the outdoor but unfortunately, we live in a area where it's not really that safe to play outside. So this is the closes she can get to the outdoors:

I know...looks kind of sad, but if you leave 4 floors up, you can't let your kids just play by the corridor. And our building is in front of the road so vehicles are constantly passing by, so even if I take her downstairs, it's still not safe. Sometimes, the hubby would carry her outside to look at the cars passing by or if it's night time, to look at the stars.

But don't feel too sad for the Princess. She does have her share of the outdoor fun. Here's some of her outdoor adventures:

First Trip to Cavite

Chillin' in Zambales

As for the Little Guy, we haven't really taken him anywhere just yet...except when we took him out to celebrate Ki's 2nd birthday....does it count as outdoor fun?

Finding A Car Seat At Shopwiki

nanaygin@gmail.com (Gin E) — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 15:55:00 +0000

Shopwiki is the ultimate shopping search engine that can help you find every available products being sold online. It not only saves you time finding what you're looking for, it also helps you see the best deals available. And the best part of it is the wiki buying and gift guides which help you learn more about the product you're looking for.

Since I became a part-time virtual assistant, Shopwiki had helped me tremendously finding all sorts of products that my clients have asked me to look for. From a simple CD case to a hard to find signature bag. It doesn't matter if my virtual boss leaves in Australia or USA or Dublin. I can easily find what they need in stores that ships to their part of the world.

Right now, I'm browsing around Shopwiki again to find a car seat for my babies. No, make that 2. Car seats are not really a big thing here in the Philippines, but with 2 kids under 3, it's so much harder to travel without a car seat. For far, we've avoided any major travel with the babies. And if we really have to, I usually bring my sister with me to help keep them under control inside our jeep. Anyway, I'm thinking of buying a convertible car seat. The ones available in malls around here are a bit pricy, so I am hoping that I can find a more affordable one online with the help of this site.

If you're also looking for some great deals on baby or toddler products, why not check out Shopwiki. You just might find what you're looking for there.

Infant Massage

nanaygin@gmail.com (Gin E) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 05:41:00 +0000

The nice thing about my new work is I get to find some new stuff that I can actually use as a mom and and share here with you. I recently did a research on post natal massage and baby massages and found this nice video:

Baby Care: How To Massage Your Baby For Health And Happiness

Here in Manila, this kind of baby massage cost $5 dollars.

Mommy Moments: Hair Cut

nanaygin@gmail.com (Gin E) — Fri, 29 May 2009 13:27:00 +0000

Okay, I finally had the time to do a mommy moment entry. But guess what, today's topic is HAIRCUT! Something I haven't shared with my princess just yet...and yes, no pictures, too.

Here's our none existent haircut moment:

Princess Ki was already 2 when the topic of haircut came about. My dad suggested to have the Princess' hair cut before summer and I said it's okay as long as he do the cutting. I'm pretty sure that the Princess will freak out if I take her to a salon, and since my dad knows how to cut hair, I thought he'll be the best person to do it.

When I got back from work the next day, the Princess already had her hair cut...WHAATTT? I mean, okay, I agreed to the cutting, but I was hoping my dad did it with me around...you know mommy, first haircut, precious princess....oh well...

For real haircut moments, visit Chris' site at The Mommy Journey.

Breastfeeding Tips

nanaygin@gmail.com (Gin E) — Fri, 29 May 2009 03:25:00 +0000

Hi everyone! I'm trying to collect some breastfeeding tips from around the world and I'm wondering if you guys can throw one my way. It's for a research that I'm currently working on and the tips will be use to promote breastfeeding.....Please help me out!

You can send your tips to my email: nanaygin at gmail dot com in this format:

Tips - your name, what you do, country, kids' names and ages.

Will really appreciate your help...Thanks!

Wordless Me: Here's The Little Guy

nanaygin@gmail.com (Gin E) — Wed, 27 May 2009 01:37:00 +0000

Lou Lou's Corner

nanaygin@gmail.com (Gin E) — Sat, 23 May 2009 02:57:00 +0000

I know. I know. I'm no where near this shop...but aren't this mutt family cute. The Princess saw this while I was browsing for cute baby stuff online and have been asking me to get her one.

This adorable dogs are available in Lou Lou's Corner. Check out other cute Jellycat toys in their site. I'm honestly wishing right now that one of my friends on their way to North Carolina so I can ask them to swing by this shop. That how I usually buy stuff from abroad...to cut down on the shipping cost. lol!

There's actually lots of other great stuff you can find in Lou Lou's Corner. Aside from toys, they also carry great designer baby clothes like appaman, catimini, deux par deux, and barefoot dream. My heart is set to getting one of those cozy throw from Barefoot Dream. I wonder if I can find one around here in Manila?

Mommy Moments Goes Daddy Moments

nanaygin@gmail.com (Gin E) — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 00:54:00 +0000

I finally got the change to join Mommy Moments, again...

This week's theme is Daddy Moments and I have lots of those in my computer....here's a few of them...

Most recent daddy and kids bonding

Hubby and the Princess 2007

Hubby and Toki 2009

Hubby and the Princess Bonding Moment

Sunday Awarding: Fully Decorated

nanaygin@gmail.com (Gin E) — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 23:13:00 +0000

Okay, while I was away, some of my wonderful blogging buddies sent some awards.

Let me parade them to you guys...because I'm totally overwhelmed and very honored...and I just have to share them to everyone!

I got some new awards...

From Andrea of Momwriterme

From Kaye of Random WAHM Thoughts

and

From Tina of Mummy Diaries

And I also got some repeat awards...my other blogging friends have bestowed me with these awards before but getting them the second time is just as sweet!

From Kaye of Random WAHM Thoughts

From Chris of The Mommy Journey

and

From Tina of Mummy Diaries

Thank You! Thank You!

What Kept Me Busy

nanaygin@gmail.com (Gin E) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 22:58:00 +0000

Okay, here's the 4-1-1...

Talks of force leave and retrenchment have been buzzing around the office since January. Our major client from the US is one of the companies that was hit hard by the global crisis so they decided to cut back the work that they're sending us.

Two months ago, just after my last work update post, my boss informed me that I'll be transferred to a different business unit. Of course, I was more than happy to move...our current group is top heavy (too many managers) and I'm definitely sure that I'm one of candidate for layoff since I'm more on the support side of the unit.

So, I move to my new office early February and have been busy ever since. The job is something so familiar and at the same time unfamiliar....weird, right?

Familiar because it was so much like what I usually do when blogging, and unfamiliar because I'm working on niches that I totally have no idea. It was funny when I wrote here that I was on blogging leave because technically speaking, I was more active in the blogosphere and I ever did before. The only difference is I'm not using my own identity. I was working with other bloggers...well, site owners with their Websites (content management, ghost writing, etc.)

Anyway, I'm just happy that I can still keep my job. Half of the employees from my previous unit were placed on force leave 2 weeks ago, while others have to work every other day since we can no longer sustain to have them work full-time. Unit heads including hubby's are all trying to crack major deals so they can absorb some of those who were forced leave. But of course, it's a little hard to move employees from one unit to other since the skill sets often vary.

Right now, I'm working double time to stabilize my team. We're a small group, but things are looking up for us. If we can closed more deals this coming months, maybe we can save more employees.

Hubby is also doing the same. His business unit is bigger and they cater to larger, big time companies. They can really make a BIG difference if they can get a contact with one of the many BIG companies that they are negotiating right now...I'm keeping my finger crossed!

I'm back...

nanaygin@gmail.com (Gin E) — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 12:03:00 +0000

...but not sure for how long.

First, I would like to thank every one who continuously drop by and even left some comments, greeting, awards, and support. I really appreciate all of them.

We're having a long vacation here because of the Lenten Season so hopefully I'll be able to catch up with my writing.

Stay tune! I have tons of things to write about and linky love to spread!

Have a greet weekend!

I'm On Blogging Leave

nanaygin@gmail.com (Gin E) — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 14:54:00 +0000

OMG! It's been forever since I had the time to write. Well, I still don't have the time but I have to leave a quick note to apologize to everyone. It's crazy at work...GOOD CRAZY, but crazy nevertheless.

Anyway, just want to let you know that I’ve be silent for a while. I’ll probably try to drop a bit but won’t be able to join my usual memes or write anything new for the next couple of weeks…unless a miracle happen and I get things running smoothly as work. lol!

I really missed reading blogs….promise to visit as soon as I free up my schedule.

Have a great week everyone!