Just today ..

...when the day was so much better than yesterday.

I went downstairs a little past 1pm because I felt my tummy grumbling. And I was thrilled to see this for lunch.

Paksiw na Tilapia. I wished it was a little more sour but it was already a delight. I just requested the angel to add a little apple cider and it would then be perfect.

And since I am feeling comfortable today, yes, every day is different, I decided to prepare our dinner.

Grilled salmon in oyster sauce. A guaranteed hit sa mga bagets.

Then I went a step further. I made brownies.

And made a milky banana smoothie minutes before the kids arrived. It's their favorite.

That's how my Monday went. Hope you had a beautiful Monday too.

Cooking , eating and a little emote

If you want me to wake up and start a day on a wrong note don't bother to clean the kitchen the night before. I love seeing an organized kitchen first thing in the morning. When I didn't have a helper, I would never leave my kitchen stinky. Although my kids would dishwash, I still made sure that everything in the kitchen was in their proper places. And yes, this was also the primary instruction that I gave our helper now. And she religiously follows. I'm glad.

Our place is relatively new and I am so relieved that not a single cockroach (no eggs, no poop, no baby cockroach) is seen in our house. It's true. And I would like to maintain this squeaky clean condition until we have to leave this house.

Our kitchen is also my place to go when I feel a little melancholic. I cook whatever I could find in our cupboards. 

 Those instant puto are yummy. Cravings satisfied!

This chocolate frosting is for that cheesecake. It's a new product that we saw from Nanay Betty Crocker. I got pasado award from my employers. :)


Oh, these are not pan de sal pipol! These are my chicken cordon bleu.

It wasn't that bad, but not that good either. It's tasty but dry. Also, I think I should have followed the recipe by using Swiss cheese. I used cheddar because I have lots of it inside the fridge. Adik sa cheese. Next time, bawal na ang pasaway at pag eeksperimento. But the kids loved it anyway.

And I still have some biya here from Pinas. During my first trimester, I would cook dried fish and pusit. 

But not anymore now. Too salty for pregnant woman.

Ohhh foods! 

Today is Saturday, but I am forced to stay home because the discomfort of walking is already too much for me nowadays. Kids and their Papa are having their flu shots. 

I must admit I am becoming emotional the past few weeks. Perhaps because of being unable to enjoy going out, esp. buying those little happy stuff. My husband said if not for my bump, my weight loss will be a lot evident. I am excited to have another bundle of joy to cuddle and take care of, but the pain, the difficulty of sleeping, the boredom are already taking its toll on me. 

But this is just temporary I know. Six more weeks and I will be going to be slowly physically normal again. 

Oh well. More injections of happiness and positivity, and everything will be fine.

I wish everyone a happy weekend and a blessed Sunday.

Back to quotes

Here we go again!!! I am back to being "pushy" parent. Well, in a good way I guess. Hope so.

I am expecting their academic schedules will be finalized by next week, but I could see that homework (yes, now my two younger kids have their "mandatory"homework!) are already piling up. DJ is no longer alone in his struggle. Haha

When I saw Abi and Anjo's subjects, I shook my head in disbelief. Humanities, Designs, Spanish/French (and there is Arabic). I told them that those are university subjects. Now, they can empathize with their Kuya. No more easy life, right guys?

So, I am also in the look out for quotable quotes. Have to put a little humor, though. Life must not always be serious.

Harry Potter may set the tone.

Or they might find Natalie Portman beautiful and be captivated by her wit and intelligence, coz I am. If I had to be born again, I still want to be me but I would like to go to Harvard too.

Oh, to be a mother of growing kids in a complicated environment. Definitely, not easy. That's why I try to keep the house simple, silent and orderly. Somehow, kids need to find sanctuary and solace in their homes. 

Tomorrow is Thursday, meaning the next day is a weekend. Thank you Lord.

He looks like who?

This is the latest photo of our utoy. Can't wait to see this little munchkin.

Pretty much on his own and can survive if he chooses to be born now. But I prefer not.  Let's wait a little more baby boy! Shooo pre term labor.

Weight under control

I am 32 weeks exactly today and yes, seven to eight weeks before finally seeing this active baby carrot inside me. I have to be honest, I am wishing that tomorrow is my 40th week so I could go back to my old routine, move normally without pain and aches, and yes to be allowed to eat chocolates and ice cream again. But I have to tell myself to be patient and to be optimistic about everything.

Since controlling my sugar intake, I have become more attached and more experimenting on fruits. In fact, because of my change in eating habits, my weight is going down, from 59.8 kls. I am down to 59.3 kls. And water in my placenta has improved and is now within the normal level. My personal goal is not to exceed 60 kls. by the time I give birth.

Last weekend, I bought peaches. Funny, but I didn't know how to eat this fruit- should I peel it or eat it with skin? Our angel here said I just had to wash it thoroughly and I could eat it with skin. I chose to peel it instead. I ate it with yogurt and a peanut butter sandwich for my lunch.

Surprisingly, peaches were delicious. Crunchy like apple but a lot sweeter. I love it. Gotta buy some more this weekend!

Maybe I should try making peach smoothie too instead of just having apple, strawberry and kiwi for my afternoon snack.

Talking more about the coming baby, last weekend we also decided to buy some baby furnitures because baby shops were on sale.

This is a pack and play crib. Ours before was just a simple crib, we didn't even buy it because it was just a gift to us by a kind soul. This one has additional features like changing bed, toys and music.

Dar was having a hard time putting parts together since this was his very first time to buy stroller, car seat/ carrier. Never had one like these,though. Life for us was a lot simpler then. But it was just perfect.

I also decided to keep these biggies back to their own boxes. It's impossible for me to carry them around anymore. It weighs me down. Bye for now. Praying that hubby will heed my prayer for a smaller purse :)

Excuse my maternity underwear peeping though my maternity pillow, the pregnant woman in me is so clumsy and careless. Although, I am secretly wishing I'd stay in that bust size forever!

Today is Monday, hoping everyone out there will have a gorgeous week ahead!
Positivity everywhere please!

And the school begins

My children began going to school yesterday and I felt some sadness when they were gone. They won't be in their rooms anymore when I wanted to have some talks with them. They may be young but those three already talk with sense. They know a lot that I don't.

But I have no choice.

As we were waiting for the school bus outside, I had the time to observe how the heat of Dubai  affected my plants. Our careless gardener killed 4 of my potted plants and as much as I would like to reprimand him, I chose not to. He is of different race and only God knows how he would react if scold him.

Our once sturdy plant is now dead.

But these bougainvilla plants surely know what survival means.

Now that we are approaching September (yehey), I am beginning to feel excited for the cold months. They call it winter here, but sorry to burst your bubbles guys, it's just like our January-February in Baguio City. But that's alright. It's already a relief for us in the Middle East.

And of course, cold months means we have an additional member in the family. Still looking for a name, though. I am thinking of naming him Gabriel, Matthew, Joshua (like DJ) and Benjamin (because he is the youngest). Let's see then...

For now, let's find happiness in every good things that come however tiny they might be for us.

29 weeks

This morning was my appointment with my endocrinologist and I got a passing mark. You see, two weeks ago I was asked to test my blood sugar 4x a day and although the needle was so tiny, the frequency of getting blood sample was felt by all of my fingers except my thumb. May excuse letter ang thumb, ang kapal ng skin nya kasi, ha ha! So, this time the good news was I will just be required to test once, of course if I wanted to do more testing, that's  up to me. The good thing about having gestational diabetes is I am able to watch what I eat, thus my weight has also been put under control. And the baby's!

My OB Gyne explained to me that my GD was the reason why my tummy was so big during my 6th month. And I always felt stressed because it was tight all the time. Aside from eating a lot of sugary/starchy foods, I was also guilty of not hydrating myself enough which also elevated my GD. Now, I am slowly being educated on how to handle diabetes and after I give birth I still plan to continue and improve my diet plan. 

I am now on my 7th month, 29 weeks to be precise. 

However, during my last visit, I have been cautioned by my OB to listen to my body more at this point. There is still frequent tightness esp. when standing up or walking which is not normal. His request is for us to cross the 32nd week safely. But the goal is for me to go full term of course. Getting pregnant at my age is definitely challenging - the aches, the discomfort, house arrest, sleepless nights, skin patches etc. But I am sure there God has his own sweet reason why we were given this miracle of life.

I am looking forward to my 40th and to our Christmas with my baby peanut!