Bondi Beach

We've been bracing ourselves for a very cold winter this year but surprisingly, it hasn't been as cold as last year. It just feels like spring here now, and last Saturday, more like summer even.

So, along with the boys, we hied off to the famous Bondi Beach, our first time there since arriving in Australia. We had a lovely lunch at a resto overlooking the beach, strolled along the very looong shoreline, had ice cream, watched the surfers, took a lot of photos and just enjoyed a lazy afternoon. Vince also got to try bungee jumping which he loved so much.

Now that Rafa is almost 5months old, we plan to spend more time outdoors, exploring the many tourist attractions offered by NSW. Hopefully, we'll have more sunny weekends in the coming days.

The Veggie Man

Every Friday is "show-and-tell" day at Vince's school. The kids are given a topic which they are to expound in front of the class and the classmates are encouraged to ask questions.

One Friday a few weeks back, they were told to bring vegetable people and explain how they made it. After a very serious discussion, father and son came up with this funny little fellow:

The body and limbs are carrots, the eyes and ears are corn bits, the nose is a nut and the mouth is a slice of sultana.

Vince said this guy was well-applauded in class. What remained of this went into our yummy stir fry that night.

One Year

Yesterday marked our first anniversary in Australia and we had a simple celebration at home with A preparing steamed tilapia with mayo dip and creamy macaroni soup. The latter, something for the official first day of winter. For dessert, we had fresh avocado topped with honey, a luxury at $2 a piece. Geez! That could already buy a sackful of avocados in my hometown. And we didn't even have to buy because we had our own tree back home. Haay!

But there was really so much to celebrate about, a little spending above budget wouldn't hurt. It's been a year full of blessings and adventures for our family. It hasn't been easy, though, but we are more than pleased with how this has strengthened our marriage and made us better parents. And to top it off, we now have an adorable little Aussie at home, an endless source of joy, a concrete reminder that the best things in life are free.

Dance, boogie wonderland!

With Vince back in school and my sister going home, A and I have our hands full these days.

Although I lack sleep because Rafa is awake at dawn, I have to get up early to fix breakfast and prepare Vince for school. Then there's the endless stack of laundry that needs to be folded. Good thing A does the ironing. We barely have time to sit and then it's time again to prepare lunch then pick Vince up from school. And then it's dinner and Vince's activity sheets before I get to catch a couple of hours sleep.

Amidst all these, I should say A and I still find time to squeeze in a slice of fun into our hectic day. This morning, while I was doing the dishes and he was rocking Rafa to sleep, our favorite 80's dance tunes were playing on the Ipod. He put Rafa down and pulled me to the sala and we had a good laugh doing some crazy dance moves.

Ahhh, life's simple pleasures.

Normal

food prepared by A

Things have settled a bit at home three weeks after the birth of Rafa. We have established our routines quite well...or until my sister C is here.

C is in charge of Vince for now, dropping him off at school, fetching him in the afternoon and bringing him to his after school classes so that I can concentrate on Rafa. Yeah, i know, Vince does have a classy yaya- a lawyer no less! Haha A, meanwhile is in charge of the kitchen when he's not working. L, our friend who's temporarily staying with us does the dishes from morning till night. I am so blessed to have all these support for now.

Mealtimes are big events in our home specially when A is cooking. He's experimenting all the time so I always look forward to the next dish. I am just worried, though, that I will be putting on weight. Haaaay!

I am loving time spent at home and am now seriously thinking of resigning from work if I can't arrange to work part-time. Let's wait and see...

A lawyer in the family...

My sister, C, who is currently with us in Sydney to help us with the recent birth just passed the 2008 Bar Exams released last Friday.

The entire family is very proud of her specially our parents who have finally seen the last of their three daughters hurdle a licensure exam. I can just imagine how happy and fulfilled they are now, having produced 2 CPAs and a lawyer- not a mean feat considering the scarce resources :)

To our dear Papa and Mama, CONGRATULATIONS! We know you are very proud of what you have achieved.

And to my little sister, C, Congratulations! The hardwork really paid off! :) Vince is sad, though, that you are leaving soon. He's suggesting you just work in a construction company to be able to stay in Aus. Hehe I wonder where he got that idea :-)

Mommy Again...

On March 13 which was supposed to be my last day at work, I woke up to find that I had passed blood in my urine. A and I hurriedly went to the hospital but after being strapped to the contractions monitoring equipment (not sure what it's called) and having a vaginal exam, we were sent home because i haven't started dilating, yet.



I decided not to report for work anymore, afraid that I might give birth in the office and scare the wits out of my boss! haha At about 5pm, i began having 10-minute contractions and then it progressed to 3-5 minutes at 12mn. I called the doula and the hospital but I was told to just sleep as these contractions could still last up to 2 days! at 2am though, I was in so much pain that I told the hospital staff I was coming in whether they like it or not. I must have sounded really miserable so they allowed me to come over. I hurriedly called our doula to meet us at the hospital.



At the hospital, I was again strapped to the contractions monitor for about an hour and when asked if they can do a vaginal exam to see if I have dilated, I had to refuse because I was in so much pain. I was then transferred to the birthing room.



The birthing room was huge. A week before, I joined a maternity tour around the hospital to check the facilities with my doula and my sister. It turned out to be very informative and very helpful specially since this is the first time I am giving birth in Australia and I was expecting they could have a different process from what we had back in Pinas. During the tour, the whole birthing process was explained and I already had an idea which "pain relievers" I wanted. But come D' Day, I was in so much pain all I could think about was to get the epidural as soon as I can, the same way I had Vince back then. But the doula reminded me of my birthing plan which we finalized a week before and suggested I try the hot shower first. So A and the doula, Sara, moved me to the huge bathroom, placed a mattress on the floor, put a chair where I clung for dear life and A proceeded to aim the shower at me. I was in that position for more than an hour, screaming my lungs out, huffing and puffing and feeling like a pig about to be butchered. Haha!

As soon as I have fully dilated, I asked to be transferred to the bed since I was more comfortable lying down while pushing. By this time, I was hanging on to A who was encouraging me to push and giving me water to keep me hydrated. On March 14,at 6:20am, the little one was already out and was immediately placed on my tummy. He immediatelysucked on my breast and stayed there for almost an hour.

This was a totally different experience from when I had Vince. I was "drugged" that time and everything happened like a blur but this time, I was very aware of what was going on. Except for the pain, this birthing experience was better than the first and I am specially proud of the fact that I did not have epidural. I was also confident that I was in good hands, this being Australia with all the technology and of course, we hired a doula to assist us.

A couple of hours after giving birth, Vince joined us along with my sister. Kuya was obviously smitten with his little brother as he was constantly kissing him. Until now, we have yet to see him being jealous of his brother and I can only pray that it stays that way forever.

Not Just Another Bday

The last set of visitors have just left and i am taking advantage of this time to update my blog which i have neglected for a while.

I had initially told hubby that we would forego with the party this year since we are saving up for the coming baby and I did not want to stress myself with the preparations. But he insisted, saying I should be looking at it as a thanksgiving party for all the blessings of the past year. He promised to take care of everything so he and my sis along with our friend got themselves busy since yesterday baking and cooking some of the food in advance.

At dawn, i woke up to see hubby still busy in the kitchen and he greeted me with a hug and a kiss. And when i woke up today, the little one pulled out his gift, a lotion which supposedly prevents stretch marks! :) Apparently, he saw this thing at the store and since it had a photo of a pregnant woman on the bottle, he told my sister, "this is really a nice gift for mama." He kept telling my sister about the gift everyday until she decided to buy it for him. Ain't i blessed to have a thoughtful little guy?

When we came here, i was dismayed to see that flowers are too expensive. So i told hubby not to buy me any more flowers on special ocassions. But today, i got a very beautiful bunch of white flowers from him. I was going to ask how much it was and was about to nag him about our targeted savings but when i saw him anticipating a delighted reaction, i decided to just relish his thoughtfulness. I should really be thankful, kalimutan na muna ang savings : )

Our close friends here joined us for lunch at home and we spent the whole afternoon enjoying the sumptous food and exchanging stories. Our college professor also came which i really appreciate very much because she lives at the other side of the city.

I thought last year was the best bday i would ever have...but today's celebration was even better. Because all that i have prayed for last year have finally been granted. Hubby was right. This called for a celebration! :-)

Woohooo!

my sister is here!!!!

ang saya! :-)

our weekends have been full since she arrived.

a friend who is also Vince's ninang is staying with us now.

this is why i have been neglecting this blog...

excuses, excuses! hehe

Hayskul Sarbey

Tagged by Cee.

Message: THINK BACK TO 4Th year HS .... Let's see how much you remember and how much you regret.

What section were you?= Altair (section A)

Who was your adviser?= Ms. Sarabia

How many were you in one class?= 40+

Who was/were your seat mates?= Judee

Still remember your English teacher?= Ms Caylan?

What was your first class? = hehe can't remember, i'm getting old

Who was your best friend?= I had a set of friends -we call ourselves THE DIRTY DOZEN

Who did you like?= Lots of 'em. Padamihan kami ng crush haha

Made friends with the lower years?= Yes, a few.

Had a boyfriend/girlfriend?= Nope, strict ang parents. haha

How was your class schedule?= very hectic

Made any enemies?= Nope, mabait pa ako dati..wahaha

Who was your favorite teacher?= Mrs Solomon (Physics teacher)

What sports did you play?= None

Did you buy your lunch?= Yes, from my aunt's carinderia

Were you a party animal?= Nope, I was very promdi

Were you well known in your school?= Not really.

Skip school?= HS? Never...ang bait ko dati hehe

Did you get suspended/expelled?= Never, ang bait ko nga dati eh...

Can you sing the Alma Mater?= Not anymore.

What was your favorite subject?= English

What was your school's full name?=Immaculate Conception College

Did you go to the dances?= We never had any.

If you could go back in time and do it all over, would you?= Yeah, only the fun times...not the studying part haha

What do you remember most about 4Th year?= fun times with classmates, afternoons at Janah's house eating leftovers, the days leading to graduation and graduation day itself

Favorite memory in 4Th year?= Graduation day which was really extra special

Worst memory in 4Th year?= Studying

Where did you go most often for break?= My girlfriends and I used to hang out at the back of the classroom.

What did you do on the last day of school?= Had clearances signed, completed a lot of scrapbooks and autographs

How was your graduation?= Very special, made my parents proud.

Got any honors or special awards?= Yes, a few.

Did you like 4Th year?= Yeah!

What year did you graduate?= ehem

Who posted this before you did?= Cee

Thanks, Cee. I enjoyed this tag :)

I'm back....

The holidays have come and gone and I haven't even posted a single entry about it.

Aside from being busy with all the holiday activities, our laptop decided to conk out during the long holiday break. Our company closed from Dec 19 to Jan 4 and I intended to blog every single day but the pc had other plans. Grr!


Anyways, for the benefit of those very few who are interested (hehe) here are the highlights of our long break.

The days leading to Christmas were filled with shopping trips to the mall-scouting for last minute gifts for friends, doing the grocery and buying things for the house. Since the little one was getting a thousand dollar "gift" from the Australian govt, we also got busy letting him choose toys and a few clothes.

Dec 24, we had dinner at my cousin's place with a few Filipino friends then we all went to hear midnight mass together. Unlike in the Philippines where going to church on Christmas eve meant braving all the dangerous firecrackers in the streets, we had a very quiet walk to church and we celebrated a very solemn mass. I was pleased that the church was full despite having two earlier masses before midnight. After the mass, we went back to my cousin's house to eat some more then headed back home to open our own gifts. Vince said he got the best present ever. He even slept with his huge Speedracer car! hehe I, on the other hand got a very nice gift from A, a set of bling-blings I have been wanting to buy. Nakonsensya naman ako kasi t-shirt lang ang gift for him hehe

Dec 25- Despite sleeping only 4 hours, A and I had to wake up early to prepare for our Christmas lunch and housewarming. We were so tired but we had a fun time in the kitchen kaya siguro masarap ang naging handa namin. Our friends stayed until 10pm, we had videoke marathon, played cards, exchanged gifts and had a few drinks (sila lang kasi bawal sa buntis).

Dec 26 was Boxing Day and even with my bulging tummy, we went with my cousin and friend to get a few good bargains. Bad but I braved the heavy crowds. Kala ko nga mapapa-anak ako sa haba ng pila eh! haha

Dec 27- This was a special day as A and I hosted our mini-college reunion at home. Two of our college professors who are already based here made the event extra special. We enjoyed listening to their stories about raising their kids here and they gave out good advice. They are returning to the Phillipines in a couple of years to retire.

Dec 28- Our college professor invited us to have lunch at their house. Her husband, also a professor at our school, cooked kalderetang kambing and papait, yummy! They even prepared halo-halo for us! Iba talaga ang hospitality ng pinoy.

On New Year's eve, we slept over at my cousins house. There was a magnificent fireworks display at Darling Harbour but with my condition and with a bunch of kids, we decided to watch it on tv instead. Hirap na kasi madami daw lasing and the fireworks is at midnight pa. Bawal din sa buntis ang magpuyat.

On new year's day, we again had lunch at my cousin's place with our pinoy friends and did another round of kris kringle.

That about sums up our holidays. This was very different from the past Christmases we had since we got married. This year, we knew for certain that we'd just be at home and not shuttle between camps and our parents' homes. Although it's sad that we are not spending it with our families in Pinas, we were happy to be together, the three of us plus the coming baby. I guess A summed it up very well in the card he gave me to go with the gift " Thank you for the new beginning."

And that's exactly the same words I whispered to God when the clock struck 12 on Jan 1.