Being grateful - 20120131

I am grateful for restaurant coupons and Santa-like men.

We ate at Swiss Chalet for dinner today. It was busy. It must've been because, like us, everyone was cashing in on their Festive Special coupons with this being the last day (one free quarter chicken dinner with one order of a quarter chicken dinner, with the purchase of two beverages). Dinner was delicious. And we bundled it up with soup and a (big, thanks to our waitress) slice of pecan pie. D-nut, on the other hand, had a cheese pizza. He's not big on meat and that was the only meatless option on the kids menu. He had one slice and devoured the side of corn.

As we sat there enjoying our family dinner, reminding D to eat every 2 minutes as is our usual practice at dinner time, we saw him pause for a moment in awe. He pointed, did his excited quick-breathing thing and yelled, "SANTAAAAA!!!!!!". Mr.S looked up, I turned around and saw an older man, with a hat on, and a white beard, leaving the restaurant. We sorta ducked in our booth, hoping that he didn't hear anything, and laughed. Mr.S had to cover D's mouth for a sec because he kept saying "Santa! Santa! Santa!" with the excitement that children would have at seeing Santa at Swiss Chalet. He hasn't stopped singing "Santa Claus is coming.... .... .... .... oo towt!", i.e. "to town" even though Christmas was over a month ago. In any case, it was really funny, and of course, really cute.

Being grateful - 20120130

I am grateful for fun in the snow.

Today we decided to take advantage of what snow there was on the ground and play in it. We figured that with the forecast saying the next few days would be mild (i.e. around 8C!), we had better get on it. D has never played in the snow before. He's been outside in it, marveled at it falling from the sky, but he's never rolled around in it, thrown it around, and all that. There wasn't enough snow to make snow angels, but that didn't stop him from enjoying himself.

After about 3 hours of putting on his snowsuit...haha, what felt like 3 hours, (and good thing he's still in diapers because I wasn't about to take that all off after putting it on because he had to pee!), we headed outside. Once he stepped foot on the snow-covered deck, he was laughing. Literally. He had the biggest smile on his face and was giggling that giggle he makes when he's both excited and super happy. He usually giggles like that at a new experience he likes. Like juice. Oh man, I gotta write about that.

He practically ran off of the deck and onto the grass and he ended up tumbling, which was fine, because I wanted to show him that it was okay to roll around in the snow. Yes, I, too, put on my snowsuit, which barely fit. Like my other non-maternity pants, I couldn't zip up my boarding pants, which was fine because my jacket was long enough to cover...and even that barely zipped up over my belly. Mr.S suited up too. You should have seen him attempting to make snow angels. Hahaha!

Anyway, I don't know how long we stayed out there. D was having so much fun and well, so were we. I spent much of the time just watching him play, watching Mr.S throw snow up in the air to land on D's head and make him laugh, just watching my family enjoying themselves in what little snow we had.

Being grateful - 20120129

I am grateful for grandmothers and great grandmothers.

We'll be Lola-sitting for a few days this week. Mr.S' grandmother is one of the cutest older ladies I've ever met. She's always so friendly, so welcoming, and still amazingly healthy and strong (which you can easily feel just from one of her hugs!). Just like with his Lolas, D adores his Lola Lola. She has enough energy to play with him and sometimes even lets him write in her book of word searches. And even though I've been around for 13+ years now, she still has the same smile when she sees me and still tells me to go find something to eat after we've said hello.

Being Grateful - 20120128

I am grateful for planless weekends.

We often have series of weekends where we have something planned on both Saturday and Sunday. It's exciting but it also gets tiring. Very tiring, sometimes. This weekend, we didn't have any real plans, other than the usual Sunday mass, and so any plans we made were pretty impromptu. And that was really nice. :)

Being grateful - 20120127

I am grateful for date nights.

I was excited all day for our date night. Mr.S and I had planned to have a date night for weeks and kept pushing it for this or that reason, until finally, we were like, "Okay, we need to do this." And, it just so happened that Brother was looking for some fun time with D-nut. So, after work, we dropped D off, content to be spending a few hours with his tito (lately, he's been saying this: "Tito (insert Brother's name here)....Where are you???").

Mr.S and I went out for burgers and then out to watch Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. As much as the movie wasn't exactly what we thought it was going to be, we still enjoyed it and of course, the company.

And like every date night, on the way to pick up D, we both uttered, "I miss D".

I'd like to be strong & flexible enough to do things like this:

Bueller? Bueller?

Let's go to Tims

Confused about the new sizes? It's really not that complicated. But after seeing this, I get why some people are still scratching their heads.

Momma Nightmares

Pregnant women have very vivid dreams. I'm usually a very vivid dreamer, so when I'm pregnant, they're even more vividererererer. Last night, I started what will likely be a series of nightmares, as I had when I was Pw/D. I know it's my subconscious talking to me and I know exactly what it's saying. The dreams go like this.

I'm out somewhere, maybe a family party, maybe out with friends, and usually out for several hours, maybe even away for days. And then I realize it. I'm no longer pregnant. I've had the baby. And the baby is at home. Alone. For the whole time I was out. And Mr.S is out with me. I remind  him that we left the baby at home and we panic. We freak out until we find our way back home to find the baby just fine. And usually, when we find the baby, he's snuggled up in a car seat, a bouncer, or a crib, in a blanket, sleeping, or sitting contently as if he's been fed and changed.

I hate these dreams!

The one I had last night was definitely a different breed of the ones I had when I was Pw/D, because D-nut was in it. We were at a family party and everyone thought D was the new baby. And only then did I realize that we were missing our second son. We rushed home, a trip that felt like hours, to find the little baby, sitting contently in a car seat, looking at us like, "Oh hey! There you are! What's up?" And in this one, I couldn't remember ever having fed this baby. And I guess because I actually know how to breastfeed this time around, I fed him in my dream, and the little guy knew exactly what to do, was smiling at me, and seemed to age a few months as I fed him. How long had he been without food?! He ended up cheeky and happy and gosh, he was a cutie pie. That's the one thing that's good about these dreams. I get to see the baby, if I'm lucky. Most times, I didn't get to see much of the baby because I woke up as soon I found him.

So what is this referring to?

Well, many things I think. My fear that I'll be a bad mother. My fear that I've forgotten what to do with a newborn and when during the first 6 months of his life. My fear that I won't be able to divide my attention into two for each of my boys.

But it always ends that the baby is perfectly fine, and I think I know deep down that despite my fears, our baby's going to be a-okay...and so will we.

Being grateful - 20120126

I am grateful for parents being parents and grandparents being grandparents.

We've all found ourselves at a point in our lives where we thought our parents were totally different people from us. And I'm sure many people come back to that point every now and then. But what about those times when our parents are the exact people we need them to be and do exactly the things we need them to do? Those times are golden. My parents made us dinner tonight and let us "eat and run" because they knew it was bath night for D. Mr.S' parents hung out with D while I folded our laundry and Mr.S did some studying. And what about the times we feel so grateful we've given our parents grandchildren when at the same time, they're feeling grateful at those same times? I love moments like that. We had a few of those tonight. Mom washing D's hands and her arms after he thought it funny to wipe his hands on her arms while eating...she thought it was funny too. Dad telling us about how D almost broke another bowl (yeah, he broke one of their Corelle bowls a few weeks ago, and that stuff's supposed to be unbreakable) and D tried to get him to be quiet so that we wouldn't find out (he's getting to be so sneaky!!). Dad S finishing his Sudoku with D on his lap, letting him write on another section of the paper (D's new love is drawing and writing on any piece of paper), both quietly enjoying their own activities but sitting together. Mom S singing her "Brush your teeth" song with D and D trying to sing along. Clearly, these are all examples of how good simple things can be.

So I was thinking...

...and that's not necessarily a good thing... Ha. Ha.

So I was thinking about how even though we're not buried under mountains of snow, and even though it hasn't been that cold of a winter, I'm almost ready for spring and summer to creep in. And then I was thinking about how nice it'll be to have a waist again. Even though I don't have much of a waist, it'll be nice to have a waist again.

Because when I have a waist again, it means that I'll have a bouncing baby boy to sit on my hip just below my newly rediscovered waist and a bigger baby boy to wrap his arms just below that begging me for cookies or something he shouldn't be eating, and as blessed as I am, a husband who'll be happy to see that the waist didn't abandon him forever.

It'll be nice to have a waist again.

Being grateful - 20120125

I am grateful for old school girlfriends.

One of my old friends (let me clarify - she's not old by any means; by "old" I mean we go way back) is moving to Australia next week to pursue higher education and her dreams...and kangaroos and stuff ;) She dropped by tonight so we could say bye to each other, which was SO SO SO much nicer than what I was afraid our goodbye would be -- over the phone...or worse, via text! I was so happy that we were able to find some time to see each other since we missed out on her big "See ya, Mates!" party (it wasn't called that--I made that up) on that weekend we were sick. We hadn't seen each other in months (shame on us) and hadn't had a good talk in...I can't even remember. It was so nice to chat with her again. Though we're not the closest girlfriends, we've always had good talks and she's one of those people who, even if you haven't seen each other in a while, you can have a good one-on-one talk, ALWAYS have a good laugh, and feel better after all of it. This year will be so different without her, but hopefully we'll get to meet up again when she hopefully comes back for Christmas, or well, her summer.

My biggest fear

I have this, what may be, irrational fear that has roots from my childhood and has since grown into a beast that haunts me quite often, especially since I became a mother. I touched on a bit of it here. I don't really like talking about it or even thinking about it because I always end up crying (moreso, these days) but I think this might help me feel better.

Where is this coming from? Well, I just saw a split second of a video from an 18-month old's funeral and just that little glimpse into his and his family's life, broke my heart and I had to run to the washroom for a good 10 minutes. A tragic accident changed their family this past Christmas and they need your support and prayers.

My fear: I'm afraid of the sudden things we cannot control that can kill those I love and myself.

You hear about fatal car accidents, accidental shootings, flesh-eating bacteria, heart attacks. The list goes on. Those scare me. Death, itself, doesn't scare me, but it's the how, in this sudden way, that scares me. There's no preparation, there's no time to brace yourself. It just happens and you're forced to deal with it. If, God forbid, it were ever to happen in my life, I don't know how I could deal with it. I feel like if there's one thing I wasn't born with, it's the ability to deal with something like this.

How do you protect your family, your friends, yourself from something like this? Is there a way? And how do you prevent it? Is there any way?

Having been exposed to death at an early age, I think my fear of something happening to my loved ones came prematurely in my life. I used to get scared that my sister wouldn't come home from her road trips with friends and would wake up early to see her off and cry and cry and cry. Then one day, my sister's cousin-in-law, whom I happened to grow very fond of in my childhood, died in a motorcycle accident. To this day, motorcycles scare the crap out of me, and now that I have friends who own them, I find myself praying often for their safety, even though they're not yet riding them.

My thoughts would wander into lurky territory when my Dad would come home late from work. Or when my sisters would be out late with friends. Or now, when Mr.S still isn't home and hasn't called (but often, it's the darned TTC delays). Even when we're all out, I get scared on the highways, walking on streets, anywhere. I get this feeling like the world isn't safe. Like at any moment, a rug could be pulled out from under me. And I think if I let it, it would consume me. I get frantic. I get paranoid. I used to wake up in the middle of the night if I fell asleep before everyone came home, and look out the window, sometimes for hours, until they came home. And when the headlights pulled in, I'd go back to sleep.

I wonder how long I'll have this fear, or at least, how long it'll be this bad. It's probably at its most intense now. Is it irrational? Is it normal? Everyone has some fear of this, right? When does it start to settle? When can I feel like I've prayed enough for the safety of the ones I love and for myself? Do you ever get assurance that things are going to be fine? That everyone you love is safe and sound?

You can't know for sure, I guess. And this is where faith comes in. Faith that whatever happens, it's for the best, it's for a reason, even if you can't understand it. Even if you won't understand it until your last moments. I just hope and pray that I'll never see this in my lifetime or that anyone I love will. And if, for some reason, I must face something like this, I hope I can continue to remember to work towards loving others the way we're meant to love and living my days like my last.

Being grateful - 20120124

I am grateful for Cheetos.

I had a craving for Cheetos the whole day. It was horrible. I'm not big on processed cheese, in fact, I don't eat "cheese" slices, CheezWhiz, or Velveeta (I made mac and cheese a few months ago using a recipe that required Velveeta and I almost hurled...and my morning sickness was already gone at the time), but powdered cheese or powdered "cheese"? Gimme. I love Cheetos. I love Smart Food. I love those cheese shakers at the movie theatres that you can use to slather your buttered popcorn in. Oh wait, you're not supposed to slather? Oops. Anyway, I was on a Cheetos mission today. I was really busy at work, but I couldn't get anything done until I had a heavily cheese-powdered corn chip in my mouth. So I searched. With access to really only one store (because I didn't wanna go outside), I hoped that they had it. And they didn't. So, I told myself I'd stop by the convenience store at the subway station and start fulfilling my craving on the subway. People would stare and judge me for giving my growing fetus Cheetos, but sometimes pregnant women have cravings and needs for things that others just don't understand, so I didn't care. Did that store have Cheetos? NOPE. So as I walked down the escalator toward the train, salivating at the thought of opening a bag of Cheetos, I accepted that all signs pointed to, "DON'T DO IT, TREEH!" and went on my way. When Mr.S got home, I told him I didn't have Cheetos, and that was that. He had asked me to save him one (haha, imagine if I had them and just saved him ONE Cheeto? I'd be a horrible wife if I did that). Then, off he went to basketball.

D-nut fell asleep early tonight and so I stayed with him in our room and found myself feeling useless (I really had no idea what to do with all this extra time on my hands. I couldn't fold our mountain of laundry because that required light in the room, and well, nothing was on TV except the State of Union address...boo) and then decided I'd try sleeping. For once, I actually wasn't sleepy. When Mr.S got home, he woke me up, which was strange because well, I was down for the night. But if you were me and heard the sweet words he said to wake me up, you would have gotten up too.

"Treeh, guess what? I bought some Cheetos."

I swear, I married this man for times like this! (LOL!) After he finished showering, I got up, and actually felt hungry and so I ate some Cheetos while he ate his post-basketball dinner. They were delicious.

Someone get this song out of my head.

Wonder Pets is one of those kids shows on Treehouse. The WHOLE episode is sung. It's cute, but the songs are driving me crazy in my head. D-nut enjoys watching the duckling (Ming Ming), turtle (Tuck) and guinea pig (Linny) save some animal in distress. Also, maybe some of it is in my head because we sing one of their songs when we put on D's boots.

What's gonna work? TEAM WORK! What's gonna work? TEAM WORK!

Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum?

I have been fooling people all over the GTA. Apparently, in various areas of the city, I look like someone...and they do a double take when they see I'm pregnant, and then a triple take when they realize that I'm not the person they thought I was. Between the double take and the triple take, I've even gotten an, "OH! MY! GOD! I can't believe it!"...shortly followed by, "Oh sorry, I thought you were someone else." One guy even stopped to stare at me while he was pouring my soup order into my bowl and when I had a puzzled look on my face, followed by his puzzled look, I got the line again, "Oh sorry, I thought you were someone else."

I feel sorry for the poor women who have this same nose.

Just kidding.

Being grateful - 20120123

I am grateful for maternity jeans, large fitting rooms and big brother development.

I bought a pair of maternity jeans. They are the most expensive pair of jeans I've ever bought. But they weren't expensive either. I only buy jeans on sale sale sale, so they really weren't a splurge. I just really needed to stop forcing my big bum into my existing jeans before I tore a hole in them (like my jacket. ARGH.) and get my big bum into jeans that fit and had a nice flap to comfortably sit over my belly. I have been looking for maternity jeans for weeks and I finally found my size. I'm so happy.

Before I bought them, though, I needed to try them on to make sure. Gotta love those fitting huge rooms. They're mostly for the handicapped and people with strollers. D-nut and I went in, and he was very content to play with himself in the mirror. They had 2 mirrors, so I had one and he had one. He was so funny to watch, talking to himself, making funny faces, and you could tell that he found this mirror much more amusing than the kiddy plastic one we have for him in the car. Funny guy.

Other than being funny, he was really sweet when I got home. I opened the door and he saw me, had a big smile on his face and said, "MOMMMMY!!!!" (he's totally into "Mommy" now, and rarely says "Momma", which does and doesn't make me sad) and came over to give me a hug...and then didn't want to let go. So sweet! Later, we were sitting on the couch, and Babyboy was moving around so I took D's hand to feel. He ended up hugging my belly and putting his ear to it. He must have heard or felt something that I didn't because all of a sudden he had a look of amazement on his face. So I encouraged him to keep hugging and talk to the baby. "Hello?....Hi ____ (insert name here)...It's Kuya...Hallo!...Hi!!" and then he'd just laugh. I know we'll have to deal with some jealousy in a few months, but I also know he's gonna be a great big brother. So excited.

Seriously.

Porn for Preggos

Got these from here. L to the O dot L dot!!

Being grateful - 20120122

I am grateful for simple prayers, good shopping hauls, and pizza pie.

I feel like I'm often grateful for food...and I am, but in all these grateful-for-food posts, it's the company that makes the food that more more delicious...and makes me even more grateful.

After mass this morning, we let D-nut walk in the snow as we walked to the car -- usually we carry him. (He wasn't walking in the parking lot. We park behind the school just beside the church and we were walking behind all the cars.) He laughed so hard with every step. It was so cute. He was in a really good mood when we got into the car, even though it meant no more walking in the snow. As we drove off and did our usual Sign of the Cross for a safe ride, he continued with a prayer.

"Lord, please give me...glasses..." 

Then he continued...

"Lord, please give me dog. WOOF! WOOF!"

Mr.S and I just looked at each other with "did he just say that?" on both of our faces. Mr.S said, "D, you don't want glasses, trust me." To the dog prayer, we didn't say anything. God can take care of that...in maybe, 10-15 years or something.

Then, we made a quick trip to Old Navy so I could find some maternity clothes. I haven't been wearing much maternity this time around. I've just been finding that everything feels so much bigger, baggy, and full of air, even though I feel bigger than I did when I was Pw/D. But, while I'm in maternity-denial, I need to stop stretching out my regular clothes and making holes in them while I streeeeeetch them out over my belly or break my pant flies while I leave them wide open and cover them up with my belly band or a long tank top (which also isn't maternity wear).  While Mr.S chased D around the store (this is what happens when we decide we can go without the stroller), I looked around and scored two tops and a sweater all for under $20 total, taxes in. Go me! We also had to stop to take a picture of this:

Eying a mannequin dog. Could this be the answer to his prayers? It'd be a lot easier for us if it was!

There were also two customers with their dogs in the store, which is why I think Mr.S had to chase D (and therefore, the dogs and their masters) around. P.S. To make it clear, D LOVES dogs. Like, loves them.

For dinner, we took out D's "yayas". In Filipino, Yaya is translated to something like a babysitter or nanny. To us, it means those people who selflessly and lovingly look after our son while Mr.S and I work: our parents and my sister and brother-in-law and their kids. Unfortunately, BIL was working, but we ended up having enough food for him and for everyone to take home. Gotta love Pizza Hut's meal deals! (Have you been there lately? They need some people in their newly renovated dining rooms.) When we drove up and he saw a picture of a pizza, he yelled, "PIZZA PIE!!!!!!" D loves his "pizza pie" (even though he didn't have any and ended up downing the "noods", i.e. noodles and a breadstick). We played what might be considered the Disney edition of 20+ Questions with the kids and ate...and ate...and ate. Guess what I'm packing for lunch tomorrow?

Being grateful - 20120121

I am grateful for creative but simple kids birthday parties and yummy Indian cuisine.

We celebrated our niece's 7th birthday today at a cooking class! The kids made their own pizzas, fruit kebabs, and decorated their own tray of cupcakes. It was entertaining and looked like a lot of fun! It also looked like a very easy party theme, one that Mr.S and I talked about before during one of our many "if we ever have a daughter" conversations (not that boys can't have a cooking party, but we just thought girls might enjoy it more -- boys would be invited too, of course). As we observed this party, that took place at the cooking school/room of one of the big supermarket chains, we realized that we'd need a lot more supplies if we were to do this on our own. Then, when the class began and the "teacher" started talking, he whispered to me, "I could totally see you doing this." He's had big teaching dreams for me since high school. I don't know what it is, he's just always told me that he thinks I'd be a good teacher. I've thought about it but was never really sure, and well, who needs a teacher who wasn't sure s/he wanted to teach? Didn't we all have at least one of those...and either take advantage of them or skip their classes? But this, I think, I'd enjoy teaching. We'll see. Something to look into for fun.

Later on, we found ourselves eating Indian food for dinner with friends, something we haven't done/ate in a while. It gets tricky when you have an almost-2-year-old, and often we get to see our friends, we like to bring him out with us because then they get to see each other. They're basically another set of family members to us, and well, you can't beat time with family! So yes, Indian food. Mr.S and I did the usual "you get this and I'll get this and then we can share and have variety!" thing (which, I guiltily admit, I instigate, like many of my fellow girlfriends). D-nut enjoyed eating the naan, which was kind of like his dessert, since we fed him before we left. He's always up for carbs anyway (the boy LOVES his starches!!). After eating, we were on our way home, trying very hard not to fall asleep as is often the case after eating Indian food for us and Mr.S and I just sat there, quiet and satisfied. Then he broke the silence and said, "Maybe my palate isn't refined when it comes to Indian food, but do you find that every time we have Indian food, it's always so good?" And we talked and talked about how we wanna venture out of our usual menu choices and try other things, which we're surprised we do, considering we have many Indian friends who can tell us what's what. We also talked about how every Indian restaurant we've been to has been good. Maybe we haven't been to that many places, but we've found it's not like other restaurants where this place has good Chow Mein vs the other place, or the best Souvlaki vs that other place. Anyway, when we got home, it wasn't long before we both made our bathroom stops (haha), washed up and went to sleep.

Good night.

Being grateful - 20120120

I am grateful for good Jamaican patties.

I'm not big on Jamaican patties. Actually, I am, but I'm just very specific. I seem to only like the ones from Allan's, and places that sell Allan's patties...like the tiny convenience store at a local transit station. I had been craving one for several days and finally had one today. Thank goodness. It was really good and D-nut enjoyed it too (his first patty ever).

This excites me.

Being grateful - 20120119

I am grateful for people who give up their seat for pregnant women and good-looking men at work.

They're a rare breed these days. And these days, I'm finding it's only women who give up their seats. What's wrong with you, men?!?!?! I'm not saying that you should give up your seat because you're a man, but I'm saying that you should try not ignoring me and just consider it and maybe ask. And if I wasn't pregnant but just a little bloated, I'd say no thank you if I didn't want the seat. But yeah, I'm thankful for those people who offer me their seat. It's only happened 4 or 5 times this pregnancy, and mostly on the train where I'm on for 2 stops, but I appreciate the gesture. I just don't understand why it's only 4 or 5 times, and hardly ever when I really need a seat, say on the train when I'm on there until the end of the line. It's not like you have to question if I'm pregnant. I'm 4'8", and therefore, most likely bigger-looking than any other pregnant woman at 6 months you've seen. And no, I'm not 16. But if I was, still, consider giving me your seat, man. I'm carrying an extra 16 lbs on my body already and I'm tired! I've had a long day! I should say though, that this isn't often a problem since my work hours are earlier than most and so I have access to seating more than if say, I worked 9-5.

Speaking of work, there's this guy...haha.I sound like I'm in high school again or something. What a loser. Anyway, Mr.S knows about him and laughs at me when I talk about him. So yeah, there's this guy I work with, or well, not really, but we're colleagues and work together sometimes. He is a beautiful man. Most of the women I work with (and I work almost exclusively with women) have a crush on him. He looks like he stepped out of a GQ magazine. Seriously. And, he's married. And, he's got a son. And, he gushes about them. And he's good at his job. And he's smart. And he's a really nice guy! Seriously, beautiful, right? And I'm thankful for men like him because they make working a bit more bearable on days when I feel like I really don't wanna work. I just look at him and think, "Wow, you're a dream." HAHHAHAAH!!! And then get back to work.

Your Delivery in One Word

I read this article recently and found the first word that came to my head about when I delivered D-nut was "numb" (I'm referring to the wonders of having an epidural). I know it's not the best word to describe it, but it was the first word, followed by "speechless", "awe", "new" and a few others.

This brings me to the point of my post - to do the drugs or not to do the drugs this time around?

I think about this at least twice a day these days.  I've told myself that I can take pain. I know I can. It's the weakness that takes place during pain that makes me feel like I can't handle it. But I know if I step back and look at myself, I know myself and I can take pain. And I've also told myself that I'm going to go drug-free with at least one of my pregnancies. Will this be the one?

Mr.S and I have had several conversations about this. I don't know why I feel I have to feel what it feels like at least once in my life. I think it's about:

• first and foremost, feeling the miracle of delivering a person into the world, and if that feeling includes pain, then that's what I have to do endure if I want to know what it feels like;
• seeing if I can take it. I know, a crappy reason, but I like challenges, and this'd definitely be a challenge!
• knowing, so that next time, if I really don't want to feel that again, I can opt for the epidural if time/circumstances allow.

So I've tentatively decided that, if I'm not induced again, I'm going to go ahead and do this naturally...unless I'm in labour for like, 12+ hours.

That's what I'm saying now. Ask me again in 3 months.

Being grateful - 20120118

I am grateful for running early, dopplers, older siblings (duh!) and hot water.

I had my monthly doctor's appointment today. (Is it "doctor's appointment" or "doctor appointment"?) Mr.S and I were actually running early and so we were taking our sweet time going to the clinic. Then, as we pulled into the parking lot, early for the appointment, I got a call from the receptionist at the clinic. "Hi Katrina, I was just wondering if you're coming in for your appointment today." "Yep, I'm coming, I'm just in the parking lot right now. It's for 4:50, right?" "Oh no, it's for 3:50!" "OMG, I'm SOOOO sorry, I'm coming up RIGHT NOW!!" We laugh before hanging up (receptionist is cool...and Filipino so she gets me being on Filipino time and forgetful because I'm pregnant). Mr.S halts the car, I jump out and run up the stairs to the 3rd floor (dang that felt good). I apologized profusely as I walked into the empty office, took a pee strip and a washroom key and dashed for the washroom. My doctor was totally fine, totally cool when I told her we were sorry for being late, and she ended up thanking us for the extra time to get some work done. She did her usual thing, which included pulling out the doppler to hear Baby S II's heart. Gotta love that sound, even though it sounds so weird. Every time we get to this point in the appointment, I stare at her face waiting to read her facial expression: is what she's hearing good or bad? Odd or normal? Every time, she's had a serious look to find the right spot, stopped to listen and then smiles, "Happy baby!! He sounds VERY happy." Always nice to hear. Then I look at Mr.S if I'm lucky enough to have him with me and he has this look on his face like he's trying to hug me with his eyes. *sigh*

Then it was off to pick up the D-nutter from my sister's house and we ended up staying for dinner. My sister and Broman treat us for dinner every so often, even though really, we should treat them since they watched our son all day. But that's the thing about having older siblings, or at least my older siblings. They take care of us younger siblings, and always have. They're the best. And I'm not just saying that because the curry chicken was really good last night. Mmmm...curry chicken.

Before I went to bed last night, I took a nice hot shower. Before I went in, I felt so tired. I was telling myself that I'd be quick so I could go to sleep sooner. But then I got into that hypnotic space I get into sometimes where I just want to live in the shower forever. The water pressure was good and the heat was very good. I remembered how in a few months, showers like this, long and hot, will become a rare treat, so I savoured every minute. Except the exfoliating my feet part...that's getting hard to do these days.

Being grateful - 20120117

I am grateful for good news, Super Bowls of Congee and brotherhood.

Today was a good day for good news. Good friends with good life changes. So nice. So happy for them :)

Today was also a good day for a big bowl of Congee. I mean it. Dinner was spent with the GFFs and D-nut over a big (and I mean BIG) bowl of Congee and a few other Chinese dishes (but we mostly finished them...except the Congee). We blame the empty stomachs, and the words "Super Bowl" on the menu for our large choice. It was a fun few hours of normal talk, girl talk, play talk (with D) and grown-up talk. It's always nice to come together despite all the different paths we're each on.

Afterward, D and I made our way to pick up Mr.S from Tuesday night basketball. I found myself sitting there thinking about how Mr.S has grown up with these guys (and well, me too!). With the exception of my favourite vegetarian's brother, Mr.S went to high school with all those guys and they're all best friends. Another set of brothers, if you will. And they're all really good people. It's so nice to have friends like that.

I'm not a fan of Drake's

...but I don't mind this song.

And now, I don't mind it even more.

Being grateful - 20120116

I am grateful for answers and learning from others' experience.

Over the past few days, I've been asking lots of questions of one of my sisters who's gone through things that we're about to experience, hopefully sooner rather than later. We had a LOT of questions. And with my memory, I couldn't ask them all in one sitting. I know I told myself to jot down the questions we had, but then I forgot to do that and instead asked them as I remembered them...which spanned two days. Who knows, I might have more tomorrow. She was able to answer all of them, and even the ones she wasn't sure of, or couldn't remember clearly, she did have some input and suggestions for us, which we always, always welcome. That's the thing about having older siblings -- they go through a lot of stuff before you and can help you out when it's your turn.

Daring dresses

Lea Michele wore this last night at the Golden Globes. I found myself staring at it in wonder. Maybe because I couldn't figure out how these dresses conceal nipples so neatly or something, who knows? I then found myself wondering if I could ever wear such a dress that covers, but doesn't really cover. Halle Berry's Oscar dress was the same idea. Do you have to get this custom-made? Probably, right? I mean, not everyone's nipples are located in the same spot!

I wonder if I'll ever get a chance to wear a fancy dress, or even one like this. I'd probably only have the balls to wear it in the house...alone...in the bathroom...maybe in the dark.

Today's Groupon

Oh me. Oh my.

Being grateful - 20120115

I am grateful for peaceful Sunday masses and my memory.

Since D-nut became mobile, Sunday masses have been...interesting on a different level. Although trying to maintain a state of prayer, it's a challenge to keep all of your attention on the mass. A portion of it will always be on this little body moving around, getting into trouble, and all with an agenda of his own...but, he does love to sing at mass. We've been told by numerous parishioners that he should join the choir (both of which are made up of adults...I think maybe they need a kids choir). This Sunday though, D-nut woke up from his car nap just before mass started and so for a good chunk of the mass, he was very calm and relaxed. He sat there when we sat, he stood when we stood, he even tried kneeling when we knelt. It was one of those Sundays when I really could focus on the mass with most of my attention.

And, since the new translation of the Roman Catholic mass, I actually remembered all the new responses, or remembered to pull out the card with the new responses at the points that I thought I might forget. It's been a few weeks since the change, but with my memory, I'm surprised I'm catching on this quickly (which isn't very quick at all haha).

Being grateful - 20120114

I am grateful for technology, birthdays and exploration.

We spent most of today out in one of the areas we're considering moving to. Not having much family in that area, we very rarely went there growing up, and so we thought it'd be a good idea to see what the area is like, get familiar with what's where, and get a better idea of the neighbourhoods, if we were serious about moving our lives to that municipality. We were pleasantly surprised. It wasn't as big as we thought it was, so it felt like everything was pretty close to everything else. And, why did we think it was so remote and dismal? It's amazing the things you don't know about an area until you take a closer look. We found many goodies about the area too.

The evening was spent at my parents' house to celebrate my Dad's 68th birthday, the Brother's 27th birthday and my nephew's big 2-1. Family gatherings are always nice. They're essentially love parties...you're surrounded by people you love, who are all there because of love. Isn't that a nice thought? My Dad's here because my grandparents loved each other so much they begat (it's a word, right?) him. My brother's here because my parents loved each other so much they begat him (after 5 tries hahaha). And my nephew's here because my sister and bro-in-law loved each other so much they begat him. As a bonus, we ended up briefly Facetiming (is that a word? It is now!) with my uncle, my Dad's twin brother (yep, my grandparents really loved each other so much, they had TWINS haha) all the way in the Philippines. It was so nice to see him and my aunt, smiling and looking healthy. I miss them so much.

Being grateful - 20120113

I am grateful for cheap dinners and simple play places.

We found ourselves at IKEA for dinner tonight. We had to pick up some gift cards and decided to make a night of it and have dinner there. $2.99 for a plate of meatballs and a kids meal for the boy. Cheap and very cheerful. And then they have that little area for kids to play, which D loves. I think he spent the majority of the time there watching other kids. He likes watching kids. It's really cute.

If I ever have the time and energy...

...I'd like to make lunches like this for my kids.

Of course, they'd have to not move once they're packed and just sit still all morning until lunch time.

By the PMH chapel

On days like today where the weather is scary and I have no lunch, I usually make my way to Druxy's at Princess Margaret Hospital (I don't have to go outside to get there). On my way there, I pass by a board stationed near the chapel that always has something good written on it. I'm sure there's a name for that board but I can't recall what it is.

Anyway, every time I see it, I'm always inspired by what it says and today I wondered why I don't take a look to see it more often.

Today, it said,

The way of courage passes directly through your greatest fear.

 

Off to Florida...

Just heard about a $9 Sunwing deal to Florida. And look! A $10 back home! But look at the taxes.

Still, $300 to Florida and back? Pretty good.

Being grateful - 20120112

I am grateful for subway buskers.

Every day I pass by these buskers at the subway station as do many other commuters. There's this one guy who's there a few mornings a week with his guitar, and he never looks like he's tired or down. He genuinely enjoys playing for passers by and occasionally chats with them if they're up for it. I almost never have change, but when I do, I try to toss whatever I have into his guitar case for making my morning a little bit more cheerful, especially on those mornings I'm not particularly happy to be on my way to work.

I'd buy it!

Time for a pregnancy complaint

It's never a good time for a complaint, but I just want to say...

My butt hurts. Seriously. And for some reason, the right side of my butt hurts more than my left side. I thought maybe it was the way I was sitting at work, or something or that maybe I'm sitting too much but I don't think I'm sitting more than usual. And then I remembered having a similar problem when I was Pw/D. My butt's not used to the extra weight. It just sits on my butt until my butt bones are pressing into my seat. And it doesn't matter much if the seat is cushioned. I do find butt clenching helps. Gotta work my glutes! Haha!

Being grateful - 20120111

I am grateful for Whopper Wednesdays.

I had junk for dinner. Sometimes you need that, especially when you have a craving. It's about balance and everything in moderation, right? Mr.S and I met up for lunch in hopes of filling our tummies with Whoppers, and found the line to be horridly long, so we opted for something else. Then, while eating our something-elses, we found ourselves unsatisfied and decided that it would still be Whopper Wednesday for us, just for dinner. And then it was dinner time, and it was good. Bonus is that instead of Mr.S asking for his usual no pickles, no tomatoes, I got his pickles (and he had a lot of them!) and tomatoes.

When Mr.S and I were engaged...

...we got these free engagement photos done for fun. It was the first eco-wedding show and they had them, so we thought, why not. Plus, I thought it'd be interesting to look back on and see my weave. Haha, yep, I had a weave.

Well, the day to look back on them was a few nights ago. Mr.S was showing me what a disaster his inbox is and he had stuff dated all the way back to 2007-2008. Yep, disaster. And speaking of disaster...

Oh my. Horrible.

I read a photographer's blog post once about her "policy" on not taking piggy-back or piggy-front pictures of couples. I completely agree with her policy. I remember when we took this, we were like, "What? Do what?" and I think he took several because you could see the lack of comfort on our faces. He thought it'd be fun to take pictures that emphasized our height difference, but this one just looks dumb/slightly obscene. Who would send this to people as part of the announcement that, "We're getting married!!"? I just checked out this photographer's website and it appears he's no longer doing wedding photography. Maybe this picture is one of the reasons why?

Being grateful - 20120110

I am grateful for bouncing back and spam, as in canned meat (yes, I said it, and Mr.S is probably praising the heavens).

D-nut and I went to his pediatrician today. I took the afternoon off to take him to the appointment. This morning when I woke up, he was super clingy. When I was trying to get out of bed, his arm came up, grabbed my shirt, and pulled me back down. He is much stronger than I thought. He didn't want me to get up, not even to get dressed right beside the bed. I ended up bringing him downstairs to hang with Lola (Tagalog for "grandmother", i.e. my mother in-law) in hopes that she'd be able to comfort him while I got ready for work. He did not want to get off of me, but after a few minutes, he started to cling to Lola instead. When I got home to pick him up, he was still clinging to Lola but trying to fall asleep. Then, when we got to the doctor's office, instead of playing or looking at the fish in the big fish tank in the waiting room as is the case with our usual visits, he sat on my lap, requested I carry him while sitting down, wanted me to hold his hand, and started crying whenever I wasn't physically in contact with him. Cling-y. Now at the stage of my pregnancy where my weight is starting to make moving challenging, I'm having an even harder time carrying him at the times I do carry him (and oh, how I wish I could carry him more sometimes...but I know I shouldn't). Fortunately, Mr.S was able to meet us at the doctor's office after the appointment and carry D-nut, and more fortunately, D-nut's doctor answered all of my questions and said he's doing much much better, which ironed out what felt like an almost permanent furrowed and wrinkled brow of worry on my head. He had really not been himself while sick and it was heartbreaking to see him like that, which, I guess, is all part of the challenge of having a sick child, especially one at his age where he can't really tell you how he's feeling and what's wrong. Then in the car, on the way to Walmart to buy diapers and stock up on baby body wash and lotion, D-nut fell asleep. He fell asleep again on the way home, and when he woke up, dude was himself again. He was so happy to be able to drink milk and eat normal food again. He even got to that point where he gives extra kisses, sometimes "gigil" ones (I don't know how to translate gigil for you, but maybe I can show you one day, or try Googling it), and was kissing his books, the couch, his toys...anything. He's back :)

After putting D-nut to sleep, I, as usual, fell asleep too. Mr.S came home from his first basketball Tuesday of the year, and was about to kiss me goodnight when I woke up to say, "I'm hungry." So I got up, and well, ended up eating spam and rice. Now, I'm not a fan of spam. When Mr.S found out I have an aversion to canned meats, he thought he'd make it his mission to make me learn to at least like spam. The only time I ate it was either when I had no other choice or in musubi. But, somehow, it hit the spot. I guess he could say his mission is accomplished.

For future date nights...

The Vow

with Rachel McAdams & Channing Tatum

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

(thanks for telling me about this, Lei!)

Being grateful - 20120109

I am thankful for candy canes.

After a tiring day at work (it felt like my first day back because it was pretty much everyone's first day back), I left to head for the subway home, only to find that the platform was crowded with students in addition to workers who had just come back from holidays. The trains were packed and after I let one train pass me by, I told myself I'd shove my way onto the next one even if it made a few people think I was a crazy pregnant woman. I wanted to get home and see my sick boy, whose condition had progressed since earlier this morning. When the next train came, I walked on -- maybe it was my fed-up and pity-me face that got people to shuffle around to let me in. It was crowded, I was standing with my back facing the direction the train was going, and a very tall woman was standing in front of me, so closely and with her back facing me that I had to shield my belly with my arm to make sure that when the train stopped, she'd hit my arm first and have time to balance herself before, God forbid, she crushes me, also giving me time to somehow move in the can of sardines. (Yes, that meant that if I had to, I could push her. Sorry, I promise I don't do that often and if I do, it's not excessive in any way...just a little support to get those people back upright.) Anyway, yes, it was crowded. But someone was eating a candy cane. And the smell was a very welcome one to my nose. Instead of the sometimes-stench of the subway car and sometimes-smell of the people in the subway car, I could only smell a sweet, minty candy cane, something I refrained from eating this past Christmas because of the high sugar content. It actually made me forget about how crowded the train was and somehow, there ended up being a lot more space on the train after I smelled it. That tall woman ended up beside me, instead of in front of me, and we each had something to hold onto.

Oh this happened a LONG time ago!

I subscribe to emails from whattoexpect.com and found this in my inbox this morning.

Being grateful - 20120108

I am grateful for cousins and GPS.

Every year, we do our best to meet up with our cousins and close cousins' cousins (we're all family!) at least once a year. Over the years, we've all grown up with our own families and schedules, so it has become challenging to meet as often as we like, but we try. Today, we did just that. Although many people were missing (it was so weird not to have Mr.S and D-nut with me -- better to be at home resting and recuperating), it was nice to see all the kids playing, all the adult women chatting and checking out jewellery, and all the adult men watching football. It was our last Christmas/holiday (i.e. post-Christmas) get together for this season.

As I mentioned, I went by myself, and drove with our trusty Nancy, our GPS. Brother came with me on the way there too. I think I'd be lost, literally, without the GPS. These days, I depend on it so much, I don't even make time sometimes to check where it is I'm supposed to be going, as long as I know the address. Not a good habit to have, I know. I'll do better next time, I promise. But for now, Nancy and I are total road trip buddies.

Being grateful - 20120107

I am grateful for a change of clothes, change of sheets and bibs.

D-nut has some sort of stomach bug. When I mentioned that he threw up yesterday after we gave him Tylenol, I didn't mention that he threw up on me. Luckily he had some clothes to change into, as did I (I wore a cardigan, so I took my shirt off and wore just the cardigan, closed...we were at my parents' house anyway and about to head home when it happened). And then this morning when he threw up again, some of it landed on me, some on Mr.S and much of it on his bib. It was bath time right after that. Poor guy. We were in the clear for most of the day, until it came time to sleep. He woke me up later, and I think he was trying to wake me up to tell me he was going to be sick, and in the process, threw up in my direction again. We changed the sheets and our PJs and washed up. Mr.S was just about to go to sleep so he was able to help us out.

*Note: For those of you who are looking forward to being parents, I've learned that you've gotta be okay with getting things like vomit on you, on your clothes, in your hands, even in your hair. It's not as bad as you think when it happens -- you're so concerned about your child's welfare that you don't realize it's nasty until later on, perhaps when everything's cleaned up. And even then, it doesn't seem as nasty as it was, say, before you had kids. Having gone through morning sickness also helps (I'm talking past tense here...if you have morning sickness and your child gets sick on you, good luck with that!).

Being grateful - 20120106

I am grateful for Children's Tylenol.

D-nut came down with a fever late last night, which has happened before when he gets a cold and/or cough. It's never a good thing when he has a fever. Even though he threw up when we gave him Tylenol tonight, I'm glad that usually, if it stays down, it helps keep his fever down and more often than not, makes it go away. Then he goes back to being mostly his usual self.

Being grateful - 20120105

I am grateful for sick days.

Today I took another sick day. Mr.S finally decided to take a sick day too. He's been sick since New Year's Eve and felt bad taking a sick day so early in the year, but yesterday he caved. So we spent some nice quality sick time at home...except for the part when I took a much-needed nap and he and D-nut went grocery shopping and came home with this:

Gotta love post-Christmas sales. The Turtles were really cheap and LOTR on Blu-ray (or "Black-Ray as we were calling it after opening because the cases were all black instead of the usual blue) was still on (SUPER!)sale from Boxing week. I'm also grateful for good, inexpensive shopping trips. He also came home with an amazing haul of fruits and veggies for some very healthy salads (and our pot luck contribution for our last Christmas party this weekend). I'm excited to get some veggies in us. Now that we're all sick (D-nut too, darn it) we could use some extra veggies.

D-nut was grateful for sick days today too, and only sick days it seemed! When we were saying prayers before going to bed, and it came time to thank God, he goes, "Lohd...tank...you....foh...sick day. Amen. Fadha, Son, Spiyit, Amen!"

Being Grateful - 20120104

I am grateful for walk-in clinics.

At around 3 in the morning this morning I woke up because I found I couldn't swallow. It hurt like a female dog. After that, I didn't really sleep and mentally declared it a sick day. I would go to the doctor later in the day and find out what the heck was messing with my throat.

After some sleep, the pain lessened, but I still wanted to see my doctor...who wasn't in. She has very limited hours and I'm thinking of maybe finding a new one, but I love her. Anyway, it was to a walk-in I went. I dropped off D-nut with my sister and family, and made my way to one clinic I knew of...and walked right back out. The line was extended outside the clinic and into the "lobby" of the building. Forget that. Instead, I drove a little further and ended up at another clinic we found out about a few months ago. The wait was 1.5-2 hours long, but I didn't mind -- I just wanted to know what was wrong with me.

Being Grateful - 20120103

Today was one of those days I just kept coming across stuff that I was grateful to have as part of my day.

I'm grateful for shoes for people with special needs, pho and wings with good company.

When I was waiting for the subway on the way home today, I walked by a woman with some pretty nice boots. When I looked closer though, I noticed that one boot had a much thicker sole than the other. I never would have noticed if I hadn't looked as long as I did and they were stylish too! I'm not sure what it is she has that she needed special boots/shoes for, but it's nice to know that they make shoes for people who need special shoes, and that they're not just there for function, but form too.

Today's windchill was -21C or something like that. Horrible. Made me want to make a panel for my very warm winter jacket that I can only wear when I'm not 6 or 7 months pregnant. SO COLD. I found myself wishing for something warm, a nice big bowl of something hot I could inhale. I ended up making the trek one main intersection south to the closest Vietnamese place I knew of so I could have a nice big bowl of pho. And you know what else? I didn't actually make a "trek" there. I used my Metropass and took the subway one stop. I'm grateful for Metropasses today too.

Tonight we met up with one of our BFFs for wings. We've been meaning to get together more often now that we're neighbours (again for Mr.S since they grew up together), but hadn't gotten around to it. We got caught up on each others' shenanigans over some very saucy wings. Seems like we're always playing catch up with friends these days, even though we still see most of our closest friends at least once a month. A lot goes on in a month, you know? And so it was really nice to be able to have this little outing on a cold Tuesday night. It was sorta reminiscent of the Tuesday/Wednesday nights of years past when we'd go out for wings almost every week. Horrible habit, but terrific company.

I need things like this

Every work day, I keep a picture of D-nut (and/or an ultrasound pic of Baby S II) open on my computer so that if I hit a point in my day where I ask myself "WHY AM I HERE?!?!", I can click on it and remember. It's also there if I need a cute attack :) Sometimes I need a more recent photo or a different one than the ones in frames on my desk.

Here's today's:

He's getting so big. This is him on Boxing Day, sporting his new hat from his Tita K, Ninong, and canine cousin, Sam, pretending he's recording a video. I'm not sure where he got holding it up to his eye from. You don't really need to do that with camcorders these days.

What did he say?

I've heard, and maybe you have too, that you end up seeing qualities of loved ones in your partner. There have been studies on women who find male partners who have smells similar to their fathers, men who find women who have qualities they love in their own mothers, things like that. Some people find it weird, but I think for the most part, it's about finding something in your life partner that brings you comfort and familiarity.

I had a dream two nights ago that my Lolo (my maternal grandfather; I unfortunately never got to meet my paternal one) was talking to my husband. I've often wondered what it would be like if Mr.S and my Lolo had known each other. I've thought for a long time that Mr.S possesses some qualities that my Lolo had, as I'm sure many of my sisters and cousins see in their partners. For example, I found that even though Lolo wasn't always smiling, you could sense his contentment. Mr.S is the same way. Among these similar qualities, though, I find that Mr.S' quietness most resembles the silence I found in my grandfather. I remember Lolo to be quiet, but not shy, and I often found myself admiring the fact that he could say so much without saying much at all. That is a quality that not many people possess. And yet, I remember his voice.

And in this dream, he said something to Mr.S. I just can't recall what it was.

It's Happening

One of the deals we scored for Boxing Day (we weren't really looking to score deals but whatever) was Bridesmaids on Blu-ray for cheeeeap (still on sale at Best Buy until Thursday!). Mr.S hadn't seen it, so we watched it last week. One of the best parts is this part:

"It's happening! It happened."

Now, I wonder, can it "happen" in this new jacket from Lululemon? (I'm kidding, BTW.)

Blessed Day Care

(I wrote this in July and it didn't post?)

I was talking to one of my pregnant colleagues about her pregnancy the other day and she was telling me all about how she's feeling now that she's approaching her 8th month. We started sharing experiences about being pregnant after I almost put her into premature labour when I told her I had a 16-month old. I swear, these people think I'm 19, fresh outta high school or something. Anyway, we got onto the topic of where my son is while I'm at work.

So, I told her that he spends his weekdays with various members of our family. She then told me that the biggest thing stressing her and her husband out about her pregnancy is finding child care for when she comes back to work. So, I asked her how long she's planning to take mat leave, and she told me she's taking the full year. She then introduced me to the world of public day care.

"We started late, so maybe that's why I'm stressed. We just toured one place last week." That's what she said to make my jaw drop. Late? She hasn't even had her baby yet! So she proceeded to tell me that getting your child into day care is serious business. You have to start early, before your baby is even born, especially because the number of day cares that take babies is much lower than ones that take toddlers and/or older kids. Add to that the cut-throat competition that exists among pregnant mothers all over the city. My other coworker was just on the phone booking an appointment to tour a day care in her area. She's 5 months pregnant.

It's crazy. We had looked casually into putting D-nut in day care once a week just to give him some chance to play with other kids and well, to try it out, but we found that we weren't sure what was a good day care and what wasn't, there happened to be a news story out at the time we were looking into it that didn't give day cares a good name, and well, it wasn't exactly necessary. There were some people who were telling us, "Oh, you have to put your child in day care otherwise he'll be socially stunted when he goes to school" and well, most of the kids we know didn't go to day care and did just fine in school socially, so really, day care hasn't been very high on our list of priorities.

But how blessed are we to have, not only available, but excited family members who jump at the opportunity to watch our son?

You must have so much money,

 you don't know what else to do with it, if you have this.

The Jimmy Choo coffee cup sleeve. Seriously?

Being Grateful - 20120102

I am grateful for storage space.

Today, Mr.S and I finally tackled the task of putting away the gifts we got for Christmas. Actually, it's more of a "tackle" putting away D-nut's gifts. Kids get a lot of gifts. Baby S II even got some too! (Thank you to everyone who sent some Christmas cheer our way!)

Having limited space, our opened gifts had been put in large bags by the tree, waiting to be put away today. And today, we took them, sorted them out and put them in appropriate places. D-nut's clothes that were to be saved for when he's a bit bigger and a bit older went into storage with the rest of those clothes. Those that fit him now were washed, folded and put away in his drawers. New toys and books were either put on a shelf, put in his chest of stuff, or left out, because well, you have to play with new toys! Sweet treats given and/or prepared for us were added to the stash on my in-laws' dining table and our stomachs (the stomach is a temporary storage space, you know!). You get the idea.

We're so blessed to have space to store our things. These spaces, however big or small, remind us that we are blessed to have things, perhaps a surplus of things, that help make our survival a little bit easier and our stay here a little bit more comfortable.

Being grateful - 20120101

I am grateful for ukeleles and the internet.

My goddaughter got a ukelele for Christmas. My sister told me about how she wanted one. I thought it an interesting gift choice for a 13-year-old. When I was 13, I wanted a Club Monaco bag and to be able to wear lipstick. My goodness.

Today though, she showed us a bit of what she's learned since she got it only a few weeks ago. She learned a lot through the internet and she must've picked it up fast. She was good. Being "self-taught" in playing the guitar (i.e. several songs and those are the only chords I know) and via the internet, I found myself watching her fingers and it was like she had been playing for a while (I, on the other hand, could use years of practise...and dedication might help too). It sounded really nice and reminded me of somewhere warm, even if she was playing a Christmas song which would usually be associated with cold weather.

I'm inspired. I think one day, I just might pick up one from Toys R Us (they sell ukeleles, you know!) and ask her to teach me something.