MY KNITTING

Posted by Jerold Austin

My grandmother lives in Malta, which is a small island off the coast of Italy. She doesn't really come to visit often, in fact the last time I've seen her was when I was about ten years old. I can't really remember the visit well, but I do remember that she taught me how to knit. I remember sitting by the fireplace and watching her intently, trying to remember all of the different stitches and moves that she was making with her hands. Because she has been knitting for about fifty years and on a daily basis, she is extremely good at what she does and extremely fast. I remember just being intrigued by her quick moving hands and her lightning stitches. It only took her about an hour to finish a beautiful piece of work: a pair of socks.

Once I began knitting, I took my time. It wasn't as fast for me to catch on, but I eventually did. I still don't knit very well, but it's definitely better than most people. In fact, I absolutely love sitting and knitting while watching my cable tv. When I knit, it literally feels like hours are passing by. And the fact is is that they actually are. I get so enveloped in my knitting that I actually forget what and who is around me. It's really very interesting.

4 YEARS IN A FOREIGN LAND

Happy 4th year anniversary to me!! What anniversary would I be talking about? Four years ago at exactly Dec 25,2006 I arrived in LAX. I finally reached my destination PHL the next day Dec 26, 2006. I can't believe that I have been living in this country for 4 years now. Never in my wildest dream did I think that I would end up living here in a foreign land and having my own family. But ever since I was young, I have always wanted to marry an American. Not for the reason that I want to live here in America but It was just the way I thought. If I had a choice I would like to stay in my home country Philippines. I have come to love America and I will call this my second home and the birth place of my future children and grandchildren. A happy happy 4th year anniversary to me again.

WE LOVE NICK JR.

Written by Don Gregory

At my house, we love watching Nick Jr. on Dish Network, which is satellite TV from www.TVbyDirect.com. Nick Jr. has so many shows that my 23 month old daughter loves to watch. Her favorite of course, is Dora the Explorer. She has learned so much just by watching Dora. She has known most of her colors and shapes since she was 20 months old, which is incredible. I credit Dora with her learning them so early. Most kids do not know many colors or shapes by the time they are two. My daughter asks to watch Dora several times a day and I am always happy to let her.

We also enjoy watching Diego on Nick Jr. Diego is just like Dora, except he is a boy and has a rescue pack instead of a backpack. He is fun and always on some kind of adventure.

Fresh Beat Band is also a fun show on Nick Jr. If your kids like music, they will love Fresh Beat Band. They make my daughter dance in ways that I have never seen her move. She gets excited when she hears them on TV.

Our final favorite is Kai Lan. She is somewhat like Dora, except Chinese. Her show teaches children about feelings. My daughter has learned about being happy, sad and angry from watching Kai Lan. She also knows the names of all of the characters.

It is amazing, how much kids learn just by watching Nick Jr. It is my daughter's favorite, but also the favorite of my husband and I because it has helped her to grow into such a smart toddler. You can definitely say it is like pre-school on TV.

MEET MR. AND MRS.

One of the many picture of my little girls opening their presents on Christmas morning. Kaitlyn had already opened one gift when she woke up. We had to leave a few minutes after Kaitlyn opened one gift to pick her big sister in Baltimore. She was so excited that we were finally picking up Kayla, she missed her terribly this past days that she was at her moms. We got home before two in the afternoon. As soon as we got in the girls headed for the tree clamouring to open the gifts. They had so much fun ripping the wrapping paper off. We got both girls a Mr. and Mrs. Potato head in honor of toy story 3. The toy comes with so many accessories, it will be a pain in the neck to keep it together but it is worth it. Kayla's big big gift was the DSi XL and as soon as she opened it she was in DS land. Kaitlyn on the other hand got busy playing with the Mrs. Potato head. Thank you to my husband for all of the toys the kids got and also for my gifts. This was indeed a good Christmas.

THOUGHT OF GIVING

How did your Christmas celebration go? Did everyone in your family get the perfect gift? I got mine, a new stand mixer. Husband got what he needed, a new blue tooth for his cellphone while MIL got a new printer for her computer. My kids got a lot of presents from us as well as from their aunt and uncle. This year we were a little tight on money and we could not afford to get all our nephews and nieces presents. I however got a little something fro my SIL who has been great to my kids. Kaitlyn loves her Aunt Debbie and helped me picked out a turquoise necklace and earrings for her. As for my BIL I didn't even get him anything. I feel so bad about it, I could have gotten him a pack of 5 romeo y julieta cigars as a Christmas present. Him being a smoker, I know he would appreciate a good cigar. Maybe I could still get that for him and just give it as a belated Christmas present from all of us. That's not a bad idea, and maybe with all the after Christmas day sale I can also get good bargains for all our nephews and nieces. As the saying goes " better late than never!".

STORING MEMORIES

Christmas season has always been good for my kids. This year we got the kids lesser stuff but we got them what they really wanted. I got a lot of stuff from my husband as well and so did he. I do miss my family back home. Its bittersweet when I see pictures of Christmas Noche Buena from my family and friends in the Philippines. Christmas day uploading pictures in Facebook was so slow due to people uploading pictures at the same time. Its a good thing that digital camera is popular and used by most people. My husband got me a new camera but he said he thought about getting me more usb drives so I can put all the pictures on it. I still have one that I just started using but i will be needing another one with me having a new camera again. Since my new iPhone 4 takes good pictures and lets me upload pictures directly to my social network sites, I have not really used the digital camera, but with my new camera I will be back to capturing precious moments of my family at work or play.

PARTIES AND MORE

On Holiday season, do you make it a point to buy cards to send out to friends and family? Ever since I have always been bad when it comes to sending out letter,cards, invitations,ect. But this year, I was finally able to mail a couple of cards to my friends before Christmas. I felt so good until I found out that my friends didn't get any of the cards I sent out yet,lol. Oh well, its the thought that counts and that I remembered them on this special occasion. This year I only got a few cards from the mail. As usually I got the Christmas Card and Christmas Party Invitations from my family in NJ and from my friend in Virginia. I swear Christmas time is the busiest time of the year for Filipinos. Lots of parties and gatherings to attend and the food are to die for. To bad we can't make it to my Aunt and Uncle's yearly New Years Eve party this year. Ralph has to work early on New Years Day, if it was only near I would not hesitate to go. Hopefully next year we can make it.

THE GREAT UNKNOWN

Ahhh, the smell of winter is something else. I knew a few people who welcome the winter season and embrace it with gusto. I, on the other hand will whine and grumble about the cold weather. One of my friends welcome winter for it gives her husband a hunting business a good boost. Was it winter or the fall season, lol. I never thought she would brave the cold weather going on hunting trips with her husband and even has a photo or a dead dear. She was all dressed up like a hunter and also had a hunting gun. She probably got her husband something to help with his hunting business, it has to be an object to spot animals like a holographic sights. I don't know if I will last in the wilderness and camp out in the ground. My fear of the unknown is my greatest enemy,lol. I am not a country girl, I prefer the sound of cars and the sight of neighbors. What about you? Have ever been on a hunting trip and camping?

FROM US TO YOU

From our house to yours, A Merry Merry Christmas to all.

I hope this Holiday season will be as good to you as it is to our family. In a few days the year will end and make way for the New Year. I can't complain for this year has been good to us even though we had minor hiccups along the way. I got to go and visit my family in the Philippines last July. That was the highlight of my year, the second was the day my husband came out of his car accident with very minor injuries. My girls are healthy and striving, my marriage is still going strong. Its a bittersweet feeling to bid year 2010 adieu , but we have to more forward for change is the only constant in the world.

Going to the Hardware Store

Authored by Greg Fletcher

I made a special trip to the hardware store yesterday to do some Christmas shopping. Before I left, I made sure to set myHome security alarm. It took me about an hour to get over to the store I wanted and I had one thing on my list to get. My mother has been wanting a clay chiminea for awhile now. A chiminea is basically a little stove or bonfire that sits outside. She wants one so that she can relax on her patio and roast some marshmallows in the fire. It sounded like a great idea, and when I found out that the hardware store had them in stock I ran over there as fast as I could.

I made my way into the store and it was jam packed full of people who were doing their holiday shopping. I'm actually surprised they had the chiminea I wanted in stock. In fact, they only had one left. It came to about one hundred dollars and I made my way back to the store. The lines were ridiculous, but I thankfully got on a short one and was paid and out of there within only a few short minutes. I made my way to the car and loaded the chiminea into it. I came home and had to find a good hiding place for it. I'm sure my mom is going to love it come Christmas.

RUNNING OVER

The one thing my husband loves about Winter is he doesn't have to mow the backyard anymore. Before we got the riding mower, it took him almost 2 hours to do the backyard with the push mower. He would be soaked in sweat and burning under the heat of the sun. When we got the riding mower he was happy as can be. He mowed the backyard in a fraction of a time but there was a few drawback though. Ralph already ran over our water hose and a couple of extension wires. Its so funny when he rants when he gets upset. I have jokingly told him that maybe we need to get a metal hose for our backyard instead of the regular one. He would just look up at me and give me such a sarcastic smile,lol. Accidents happen but he still gets upset coz it is something that he could have avoided. Oh well, at least he didn't run over our two jewels, his little girls.

RIGHT DIRECTION

Its been cold and windy the past few days. I hate going out in the cold, winter just dries me up. Before long I will look like a dried up prune or raisin. My MIL is already 68 years old but she uses toners, clarifying lotions and moisturizers on her face. I am 32 years old and I can already see that on my face. If I want to look young and just have healthy looking skin I have to think about really spending on products that can help. Ever since I married my husband I am big into reading review on products. So with that, I am going to read about therapores reviews and see if its the right one for me. The product itself looks promising but I still have yet to read the complete review. I will have to be quick about making a choice of what products to use for my face specially when I am trying to get pregnant. Since I already have an appointment to see my Gynecologist by the end of the month I will be able to ask my doctor what is safe for me to use and what isn't. Hopefully my doctor can steer me in the right direction.

PRESENTS AND WRAPPING

Finished with your Holiday shopping? Some have already been done shopping and wrapping presents already and some who have yet to buy it. Ralph and I are already finished buying the kids presents. It was fun and confusing shopping for them. So many toys to choose from. We didn't get the kids as much toys like we did last year. We got Kayla got her DSi XL that came with a Mario game with it. We got Kaitlyn the School is Cool computer game, by fisher price. Its something that she can really do and it will help her with her alphabets, letters, colors and shaped. We also got her a few dolls that shed real tears and we got Kayla more games for her DS and the Wii. This year I got my husband a massage pad that you can put on the bed. When he comes home from work he gets so tired and so wound up that he needs a good massage. I am still battling with myself if I should return it and get the more expensive one. MIL said I should just wait until he tries it and if he doesn't like it we can always return it. As for MIL, we got her a new printer. If money wasn't so tight we would have gotten her an e-book reader. Maybe we will get that for her on her 69th birthday. Now that we are done with the shopping, I am not looking forward to the wrapping.

STILL HERE

My laptop is about a few weeks short of its 2nd birthday. Ralph bought for me last December of 2008 as a Christmas gift. He knew how much I wanted a laptop of my own since I was constantly updating my blogs and taking to my family online. I didn't expect it, he just all of a sudden asked me while at my BIL's house what color I liked. I was ecstatic of course, I didn't think I was going to get one. It did help me a lot when it came to my online source of income. Some of the mom bloggers I have meet online have really taken me under their wings and taught me the ropes. I have come across mom that have certified hosting team like the pci compliance hosting. I don't claim to know a lot about computer and how the world wide web works but I know enough. One of these days I am going to find me a "dummies guide to the web". I have not been as active as I was before, things has just been hectic for a bit and you could say I got burned out. But not to worry, I am still alive and kicking.

NO REST FOR THE WEARY

I am finally done with decorating the house. I am a little frustrated though with some of the hanging stuff on the wall. They seem to stick and stay in place but the next day they are on the floor. I am so tired of fixing it so I think I'll forgo that this year. I have already put the wreath on the door and added a few decorations to it to make it pop. Now that I have it in place on the door I seem to be having difficulty closing and sometimes opening the lock. It happened twice that I could not open the lock right away, I had to struggle for the bit. When I mentioned this to Ralph he doesn't seem to think it is the wreath but the door handle and the lock itself. He said we will be needing new handlesets for the front door and other door that leads to the deck. Maybe its the cold weather that's making it stick. I will try and spray the lock with a little oil to grease it up. I have a lot of cleaning up and organizing to do after all the boxes and containers are returned in the basement. Oh well, a mother's work is never done.

CRASH

See that car? That was our 3rd car, we got that about a month ago Nov 2, 2010. My husband had an accident last Dec 1st while he was on his way to work. He called me on my phone 30 minutes after he left. I thought he was going to say he was on his way home with the court date he was mandated to appear for a DUI case he handles got postponed. I was in shock when he said he may need mom as he was just in an accident. He would not elaborate but just assured me that he was fine. I rushed into my MIL room to tell her about the news. We were all so worried about how bad the accident was. The next time Ralph called was to say he was in the ambulance and they were taking him to the hospital.We all rushed to the hospital with the Joey and Kaitlyn in tow. I saw a couple of Ralph police friends at the hospital. While waiting for him to come out I just kept thanking God for protecting my husband and for keeping him safe. I realized that day life is so precious, it can be taken away in split of a second. When he got out of the ER he didn't look to bad. I just went over to hug him and told him I love him. He had a laceration on his forehead, popped vessel on his left eye and bruising on the left side of his face from the airbag. Good thing he was wearing his bullet proof vest, that protected his chest from bruising from the seat belt. He lost his glasses and the car was totalled. But you know what? It's just a car, its material and replaceable. I am just happy, thankful that my husband was not seriously hurt. Thank you God.....

COVERING UP

Winter has already made its presence known in some states. Some have gotten flurries of snow and some more than 3 inches of it. So far we haven't seen any snow here in Delaware but I am sure any day we will be seeing our first snow fall of the season. Last year we got a good amount of snow not counting the snow storm that ruined a lot of property. The past days has been cold but even worse with blustering winds that can gust up to 30 mph. I had to whip out what I call my granny coat that is down to my ankle. Even my husband was looking for a knit cap to keep his noggin warm when he is at work. To bad he could not wear any of the promotional hats that was given to him while his at work. He can only wear the standard plain black knit cap. Oh well, I can wear the ones he can't use while at work. Good thing I'm not into looking fashionable while trying to get warm, I just want to be warm any way that I can.

EARLY PLANS

The countdown begins to Christmas. Less than 3 more weeks to get ready for the biggest holiday of the year. The kids are going to have their winter break is which two weeks long, lol. I bet some families are thinking of traveling and spending the holidays in different places. What I am looking forward to is the summer break where its longer. We haven't decided yet were to go next Summer but its important to get the best travel deals to get our money's worth. We promised Kayla last year that we will think about going to Disneyland on the Summer of 2011. Ralph is in charge of planning the places we want to go and see and I will be in charge of packing. I think I got the short end of the stick but It doesn't matter though, lol. We will find out when we get the Tax money next year, and after our projects have been taken cared of. I'm not worried if we may not be able to go next year, Disneyland will still be there.

AFTER TURKEY DAY

The day after Thanksgiving was a day I don't want a repeat of. My BIL came down and decided to surprise us with a visit. I had not eaten anything the whole morning and decided to eat about 6 pieces of clementines. After about 30 minutes I was nauseous and had stomach pain. I thought it was just hyper acidity and took some tums. That did not help at all, by late afternoon I was in so much pain. The pain I felt was from my lower abdomen that went through my lower back and down to the back of my thigh. I could barely stand straight let alone walk. I spent the whole afternoon drifting in and out of sleep on the couch. Kaitlyn got so worried about me and would keep asking how I was feeling. Thankfully my MIL kept a watch on Kaitlyn in her room. By 7 p.m I just had about enough and brought Kaitlyn with me up in bed. I just laid down in bed and tried not to move so I would be pain free, turned on the t.v for Kaitlyn and just told her to lay down with me. I must have drifted off coz the next think I knew Ralph was calling me. To my surprise Kaitlyn was already fast asleep beside me. The next day was a little bit better but I still felt pain but at least it wasn't as bad. By Monday I called the doctor first thing in the morning and got an appointment the very same day. As for the result, I'll write about that some other time. I still need to find out more.

4TH ANNIVERSARY

In less than 3 months my husband and I will be celebrating our 4 year wedding anniversary. The years went that fast. I feel like my husband and I have been married for ages and we laughed when we remember that were only approaching our 4th year. Like most marriages we had and will still have our shares of hurdles to overcome. The important thing is that we try to work things out, communication, honesty and respect. I haven't yet decided what to get for my husband. One thing for sure that a man can never take his eyes off his woman if she has on a great lingerie. Ralph likes black so maybe something with black lace, a corset and garter belts. It's high time we add a little more spice to our intimate life. Who knows we may get a baby out of it,lol

VANITY OR NECESSITY

Brggghhhh, my oh my its freezing cold outside. Can't be denied, Falls brother Winter is already here. I do not the cold weather, I love the snow but hate the coldness that comes with it. The other thing is the dryness of my skin,the cold air just sucks out all the moisture in my body. It leaves my skin looking old, wrinkly and peeling. My face feels tight and so dry that it enhances the wrinkles around my eyes. Now that sucks, I'm 32 years old and need to take care of my skin. So I have made a promise to myself that I would close my eyes on how much a good wrinkle cream costs and just buy it. In the end it can be counted as an investment coz we only have one skin. As a mother It's important that I show my girls how to take care of our skin. It's not vanity but how we are suppose to be. Taking good care of our skin doesn't have to cost a lot of money as their are a lot of things that you can use. In the end, the secret to looking young is feeling young and staying healthy.

YACHT

I am currently watching Million Dollar Yacht on Television. By golly these huge yacht are amazing feat of engineering. And as you may guess it costs an arm and a leg to own one. These people must have a whole lot of money coz those Yacht are not cheap to maintain. Probably have a dozen of crew on board. And do you know that if they don't want to navigate their boat to the Mediterranean they can have it shipped by this cargo vessel called the Super Servant. That can accommodate about 12 mega yacht. And the fee is enough to pay for a house. One Yacht cost $206,000 thousand dollars to ship. Its a ridiculous amount of money. Must be good to have a lot of money to spend. If we win the Lottery, for sure my husband would buy a Yacht since he loves boats. The luxury and decadence is kind of sinful in my opinion specially with our economy tethering on edge. But who am I to judge them on how to spend their hard earned money....

ACNE IT

Acne problem? At one point in our lives we all experience having problems with our skin. I'm lucky enough that I only had few acne breakouts. I can't say the same thing for my cousin though, until now at age 30 he still gets a lot of breakouts and his skin is really suffering. He has tried a lot of acne treatments and nothing to have worked for him so far. I have constantly told him that he can't just try out any products or treatments he also has to read all the reviews. With that in mind, I told him to read acsonix review. Before I met my husband I have never relied on reviews but he taught me to read reviews. Its what consumers have to say about the product and what better way to find out if it works than reading it from people who have tried it. So if you've tried a lot of acne treatments that didn't work check out the link above to see if this is the one for you.

TURKEY COMA

Thanksgiving has come and gone but the turkey bliss is still hanging around. We left the house at around 11 a.m on Thanksgiving day to go to Angelo's house. It was a little lonely with just the 3 of us celebrating with my BIL's family. I missed two people that day, my big girl Kayla and my husband who had to work. We had such a good time eating, laughing and watching a movie after. I was in Turkey coma after eating that big spread. I just wanted to find a warm spot of curl around and go to la la land. With all that delicious food and calorie rich desserts, I most definitely need the help of a fat burner. I kid you not, I am still full and I need to burn it all up. I bid Turkey adieu and see you next year.

NO HOSTING DUTIES

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving day and I am happy as hell. Why? For the simple reason that I am not hosting this years Thanksgiving dinner. Last year, it was at Larry's house in New Jersey. This year will be at Angelo's house in Dover. The only difference is that Kayla is at her mom and Ralph will be at work. It will just be my MIL, Kaitlyn and I traveling to Angelo's house tomorrow. The thought of not cooking, cleaning and washing up is just making me smile. I just want to enjoy food and family without the cleaning, lol. For sure next year, Thanksgiving will definitely at our house and I am going to have to step up my game. So to everyone, a happy happy Thanksgiving!! Gobble gobble gobble!!!!!

2nd TIME

Wohooo! Its that one time of the year where people get up early to stand in line to get the best deals on electronics, toys, apparel, tools and many more. This will hopefully be my second year to be a part of it. What am I talking about? Just the biggest sale of the year, Black Friday. Last year I finally got a chance to be witness to this shopping frenzy. I didn't get up as early but I was at the mall by 7 a.m. and by then most deals have been swooped up by the early birds. I still managed to snag a few stuff for my kids and my family back home. This year, I am hoping to get my hands on a Kitchen Aide. Seeing that I asked my husband to get it for me as a Christmas gift I don't know if I should buy it if I come across one that is on sale. I'm not really much of a shopper, not at all. This coming Black Friday, I'll probably still go to the mall and just look around. I do have some money stashed but seeing that the holiday is coming I would rather look around than buy stuff I don't really need. I am one of those people that just love to look around and try on things. But if I see something that is worth my while and is a need, I will certainly get it only if its the right price. What can I say, I'm cheap and I am proud to admit it. In today's economy, we need to be stingy and wise.

GRAB AWAY

This was Kaitlyn at around 9 months old. I should have known back then that when it comes to food I better not mess around, lol.. At age 3 she eats like an adult and tries about everything except veggies. She is not found of veggies at all, takes after me. Kaitlyn is developmentally advance on some areas but also late on other. She got her chompers late at around 14 months. However, she was walking by 10 months. At 3 months old she had her first taste of solid food which was pot roast, by 6 months she was eating solid food like rice and other stuff. I wonder how she did it when she didn't have any teeth,lol. Needless to say I guess she just gummed it and swallowed just like the cheerios on this video.. I miss her being this small...

Watch how she grabs the cheerios even before I placed it on her tray, as if she was starved and never given food,lol

NO CLEAN UP

Thanksgiving is around the corner and we have yet to buy all the stuff we need. I am quite happy this year with the thought about not having to clean up after. This year Thanksgiving will be at my BIL house. I am also looking forward to going on my 2nd year of black Friday sale. What I'm looking out for this years black Friday sale is a Kitchen Aid. It is expensive and I hate to ask my husband for one but I think I have been a good wife and mom this year and I deserve it, lol. When I do go on this black Friday sale, my eyes will also be in the look out for kids toys for my little girls. Ralph will be getting his holiday check anytime this month and we need to go shop for Christmas presents as soon as possible. It will also help us avoid last minute shopping. Do you have any great ideas for toys to get for girls between the ages of 3-8? Do share...

TUMMY UPSET

Today, I didn't have any body to babysit except for my little girl. It would have been a perfect day to just relax If I wasn't plague with a stomachache and a diarrhea. There must be something going around, my friend Sarah and her son Joey who is the boy I babysit both had diarrhea, upset stomach and vomiting. Thank God I didn't throw up but just have this stomach upset. I told my MIL about this and she immediately said that Sarah has been getting stomach upset a lot. She said that maybe Sarah needs to go to a doctor and have it checked out. She may need to do some colon cleanse and I know its not fun to do. I have heard people saying about the nasty stuff they have to drink to cleanse the colon. I have also seen a couple of shows how its good to have to procedure done. MIL keeps saying that she really needs to have it done but is scared to find out the result. Hopefully with a little rest I got today I will be in tip top shape tomorrow. I just hope that Sarah and her son Joey also got the rest they needed today. With Thanksgiving coming, you wouldn't want to get sick at all.

COULD IT BE

Lately, I have been watching more and more t.v. and less and less time spending online. Caught up on a lot of new shows and found new favorite shows to watch. I'm very much surprise at how many advertisement are for loosing weight and wonder which one is really the best selling diet pill out in the market. There is just so many to choose from and all promising good results. I for one would try something that someone I know has used and have seen results. For a long time now I have been seriously thinking about trying diet pills but my desire to have another baby is stopping me. I don't want any other chemicals in my body while I am trying to conceive. However at the back of my mind, I wonder If my recent weight gain has something to do with my not being able to conceive. Be as it may, Ralph and I will just have to wait until after my OB appointment this December to find out If my weight gain is one of the many culprit. It that is the case I will gladly go on a diet and take a few pills to help speed up the process.

COUSINS IN WATER

That is just one of the few underwater pictures we had of our vacation last July in the Philippines. I just got it developed today. With my short term memory I had forgotten that I had it and keep forgetting to have it develop. Finally today I remembered to take it with us to Happy Harry's. I miss my cousins and my sister back home.

L-R my cousin Margaret, my sister Mitzi, my cousin Brigitte, Regi and nephew Carl. This was taken at the 3 start resort in Ormoc City my mom's hometown. It is a rare occasion of us cousins to be together since most of us live in different country. We happen to coordinate our vacation so we could see each other. I miss them so much, looking at the fun pictures reminded me of the good times we shared even in a short time. They have not seen the photo as of yet as I haven't had time to post it online. I'm pretty sure they will laugh when they see all of the photos, lol.. I miss you guys

MUSTANG LOVE

Getting rid of our Truck and Jaguar was hard. I never thought I would be attach to a car, we rarely use the truck but I loved it. I started learning to drive on the Jaguar, I would take it out of the drive way and park it again and again. I also got to drive it a couple of times around our development with either my MIL or Ralph teaching me. We had to get rid of both cars so we can lower our car payments as well as the car insurance. My husband has been wanting to get a Mustang for a while now. I guess you could say he has a little thing for cars. He didn't think he was going to get the Mustang if he got a lower trade in for both cars but he was in luck. I didn't want to get another expensive and impractical car when he could just easily get a less expensive car that has a lower monthly payment. But how can I deny him, when he works so hard and he said he can still lower the car payments. Before he got the Mustang he was constantly online looking for the car insurance. He checked on carinsurancelist.com to get a quick quote on the new car. He got the best insurance that covers his newest baby and he was so happy when he finally got his dream car.We'll see how his love for the Mustang last. I am betting 2 years max until his love affair with the Mustang dies down and he starts looking for other cars again.

CLEAN MESS

Men are slobs, they really are. For some reason don't understand why such simple things cannot be done right away. My MIL reads a lot of magazines and tells me that most wife complain about what slobs their husbands are. I know my husband works so hard to provide for us and affords me the chance to be a stay at home mom but I need cooperation. Our bedroom is a wreak, a wreak I tell you. Soda cans all over the headboard, candy wrappers on the floor, paper plates on the night stand, shoes everywhere and the bathroom calls for an emergency. I have been sleeping in our kids room so basically my husband is responsible for all the mess. I have cleaned up so many times and he keeps promising to clean his room on his days off but he never does. So we have come up with an agreement that he will keep his room at least decent and I clean the bathroom. I think I got the short end of the stick though, lol. Cleaning his bathroom takes a lot of arm power, and a whole bunch of cleaner. The tub is the part that I really hate cleaning with all the soap scum. It doesn't help at all that our bathroom faucet are so close to the wall that you barely have space to clean the soap scum in between. How I wish we could remodel the master bathroom and the first thing to go would be the faucet. I would get a modern bathroom faucet that has a minimalistic look to it. Some thing like our kitchen faucet that doesn't have a lot of those knobs and what ever. I just want a bathroom fixture that is easy to clean and maintain. The tiles are also horrendous and needs to be replaced.

To cut the long story short, I am like a master when it comes to cleaning my husbands bathroom. Credit also goes to my husband because he does try his hardest to maintain the cleanliness of his bathroom on his own but the soap scums just won't let him. Maybe I'll buy him one of those automatic spraying things that goes in the shower and cleans after you get out of it. But one day, I will teach him to get on his hands and knees again and do his own bathroom,lol..

TO ANNIVERSARIES

I can't believe that its already November. How time flies when your having fun, lol. The past couple of months have been so hectic for me and my family. It has been specially tiring for me. We attended two weddings and I also hosted a birthday party for my husband and my daughter last month. We just went trick or treating a few days ago and now Thanksgiving is lurking around the corner. Turkey's are abound in the supermarket just waiting to be snatched up. It's still surreal for me that in 3 months time I will be married to my husband for 4 years. I have forgotten what my husband gave me last year for our anniversary but I'm sure he did get me something. We have never done wedding anniversary gifts by year, we have talked about it many times and I have seen shows of couples giving anniversary gifts that fits how long they have been married. We have past the paper which is for 1st anniversary, cotton for second and leather for 3rd. For the 4Th wedding anniversary is fruit.

My grandparents have been married for almost 60 years now and they are still going strong. Hopefully my husband and I will last that long and maybe surpass that. Since we are just going to be celebrating our 4Th anniversary this coming Valentines Day, Ralph made a promise that he would give me something very special for our future tenth anniversary gift. Their will be a big party and a renewal of our vows that will be witnessed by the whole family this time around.

To those who are celebrating their coming 4th wedding anniversary a gifts like these will be perfect:

OF COSTUMES AND CANDY

Trick or Treat!!! Did you guys made your rounds at your favorite neighborhood with your kids on Halloween? We did, we also had a small pizza gathering for the kids before we head on out the door.

The photo are of the kids in their costumes. From (L-R) Kelly the glow in the dark witch, Kaitlyn as Jessie the cowgirl, Kayla as the scary vampire princess and Joey as Lightning McQueen of Cars.

They were all so excited to get dressed in the costumes that they picked and get some candy. I just feel bad though that the turn out for houses that participated in the Halloween candy giving were not so good. It was actually pathetic and just sad. I know people are not oblige to give candy but Its just once in a year and kids really put a lot of effort in picking the costumes and dressing up. Younger trick or treater practice saying " Trick or Treat". This year it was just us and the Tobler kids since our neighbors went to another development to be with their family. It's such a joy to our hearts to see our kids enjoy running down the street and going from house to house. To see the delight on the faces of each child as they hold out the candy holder for some candy. Even with the cold air it did not stop them from having fun. All in all this year was fun and we are thinking of going to another development next year. I hope you guys had fun trick or treating this year,coz we sure did and got lots and lots of candy..

NEWEST BLOGGER

My mom is going to be a great blogger. She already had her own blogspot account but has neglected it as she forgot her password. Yesterday, she sent me an instant message via yahoo that she remembered her password. Now, she is busy updating her blog, trying to tweak her layout and of course trying to get some followers and traffic to her site. She is already a member of Entrecard but has no idea how to put the code on her blog layout. I told her that there is also another way to get visitors and traffic to her site. She has to check out web directory submission and see how she can go about submitting her site. I should also do that since my traffic has gone down ever since I stopped dropping on Entrecard members. I still get a few visitors to my site but I want to build my readership again. So I guess my mom and I are heading to the same site and see if it help with the traffic.

I EARN FROM HOME

I can't believe that it has been two years that I have been blogging and earning online. Time flies when your having fun but slows down when your not. My love for blogging started when one of my friends encouraged me to get my own blogger account. Since I am a stay at home mom she said it would be a good additional income for me. I was sceptical at first but I tried it just for the heck of it. It was confusing at first since I didn't know anything at all. I had to really build up my readership and got told that getting my side on web directories can increase my traffic and get more visibility from the search engine. It couldn't have lasted in the blogging world without the help and advice from other fellow blogger. Now even as a stay at home mom, I am earning a small amount from blogging and I love it. It gives me the freedom of being home and be at my own time and I get to stay with my girls.

YOUNGER DAYS

The only bad time that I had mild acne was in my college years. It was on the summer that I was 19 years old. I spent that fun and amazing summer at my grandparents in Ormoc,Philippines. Waking up one morning with a mild case of acne was alarming to me. I usually don't have skin problems and was worried how that happened. The weather must have had a lot to do with it and the stress of Summer job. Waking up early in the morning and not sleeping early, eating so much fatty food, dust and dirt from the constant compute. That really took a toll on my face and it didn't help that I didn't shield my face from the hard heat of the sun. It was when I got back to Cebu that I finally caught up with taking care of my face again. I promised to myself that I would not let it get bad ever again and I would take better care of my face.

HIS BROTHERS

There I was again hanging out with my two handsome BIL's. From left-right is Larry who is the middle child, me and of course Angelo the oldest brother. The first BIL that I met almost 4 years ago was Angelo. I must admit I was scared about meeting him, but it was four naught. He is such a kind soul that reminded me of my sister so much. As for Larry it was a different story. I was scared out of my pants about meeting him. He seemed so quite and more reserved. I eventually warmed up to him completely when I was about 7 months pregnant. I was craving so much for Dunkin Donuts, we stopped at one and he bought me donuts. I also wanted munchkins and he got me a whole box. From then on, I knew that he had accepted me into his family. He may not be around much but I know he things of us and is always good to my girls. This photo was taken last month at Angelo's sons wedding. We were all so full from the good food and was just having a good time talking and catching up. I love my brother-in-laws and I hope they love me to,lol

FILE IT SAFE

It has been 2 years since Ralph won his court battle to gain residential custody of his daughter. He fought hard to get her back. Due to the expense he had to let go of his lawyer and did it on his own. His battle with the court was just starting when I got here in America. Ralph was constantly on the computer reading about custody and how to do it on his own. My husband is a very intelligent man and found the resources he needed on the internet. One of our guest room was full papers, files, documents and more file about his the custody battle. We had a photocopier, fax machine to help with his and all the motions he had to file. What he needed back then was document imaging to keep track of all his file. Even though he won the custody of his little girl that does not mean that it is over. We still need to keep track of all the file and motions that he had and the basement is not a good place for all of that. Hopefully Ralph still has all his documents in one place and is safe and dry. I would hate to think of him loosing his files.

COMFY AND STURDY

On my trip to the Philippines I got a chance to experience sleeping on the floor once again. We were suppose to stay in a Hotel but it didn't turn out the way we expected it.. The hotel was horrible, the room was barely decent and the surrounding was dirty and transportation was bad. My mom's house had one spare room but had no air conditioning. Her room was the only one that had air conditioning so we camped in her room. Luckily her bed was big and my MIL slept with my mom. I was worried for my MIL since she had RA and is not used to my mom's bed. But she survived and even like my her bed. With visitors coming and going in my moms room I was worried that her bed would give out on her. If It did, she would be happy with pine beds for a choice replacement. Thank God her bed is not only comfortable but also sturdy and strong. Now, for our guest room I wouldn't mind getting my hand on those beautiful and well crafted bed , maybe I can even try to persuade Ralph into replacing our bed, lol.

CAKE FOR TWO

October 22, Friday was the day that the two of the most important persons in my life celebrated their birthday. My husband, Ralph turned 41 and our baby girl Kaitlyn turned 3. Until now, I still cannot believe that she was actually born on her daddy's birthday. Even then she already had a mind of her own.

Three years ago on February 19, 2007 we found out that I was expecting my first child and Ralph's second. We were excited but Ralph was specially ecstatic when he found out that my due date is his birthday. When I reached my 39th week we decided to schedule and Induction on his birthday which is also her due date. On that fateful morning of October 22, 2007 at around 2 a.m in the morning, I was woken up with extreme pain. I stood up and walked towards the end of the bed. I squatted by the end of the bed when Ralph woke up. He knew right away that I was in pain and just asked if I wanted to go to the hospital. I just nodded and he changed to wake up his mom. Before 4 a.m. we were already in the hospital and I was admitted. Since I was already scheduled for an Induction on that day they still went with the medication to speed up my labor even more.

To cut the story short, I gave birth to Kaitlyn at past 3 p.m., her daddy and grandma was there to witness her coming into this world. Ralph cut the umbilical cord that attached her to me. I cried a bucket of tears from pure joy and just happiness. We all cried and thankful that I had an easy delivery.

To celebrate both Ralph and Kaitlyn's birthday, I baked my very first birthday cake. I also planned a party for both of them the very next day and stayed up until 4 in the morning cooking, baking and icing. Honestly, I don't think my cake looked that bad. Still I am very proud of my work and I made this out of love.

Happy Happy Birthday to both of my loves, Ralph and Kaitlyn...I love you

GET RID OF BLOATING

On my recent trip to the Philippines I noticed that my mom got heavier. I also noticed that her weight gain looks like bloating and water retention. If she stays out to long with the heat, she gets so bloated. I was also surprise that when I went back to my home country my feet got so swollen. It was just due to the long flight but the heat just wreak havoc on my system. My worries are about my mom though, she has a heart condition and water retention is not good for her health.My mom has done her homework and knows that she can find natural diuretics in most foods and herbal supplement. My mom knows I'm not to found of herbal supplements so she told me of the fruits that can reduce water retention since I tend to get that when I am also on my period. At least its good to know that Lettuce and all Melons are fruits that I love which happens to help reduce water retention. If your like me, worry no more. Natural diuretics can be found in our local supermarket and stores.

SKIN PROBLEMS

Winter season brings about the dryness of my skin. I am glad to say that I don't usually have any problems with acne in the cold weather. I'm guessing due to the cold, my pores are closed and thus minimizes the breakouts. However in the Summer, I do get the occasional skin breakouts. With the heat, the pores are more open and it gets clogged by dirt and sweat. That's probably why my cousin that lives in the Philippines get a lot of acne breakouts when its hot. He clearly needs to check on solutions for acne. It's not enough that he washes his face and cleanses it. He should know by now that he has to find the right solution for his skin problem. He has already asked me what my skin regiment is so he can at least try it. I advice him yet again, to see a Dermatologist and talk about proper ways to treat his acne problem. A professional that knows what needs to be done. To see a Dermatologist is on my to do list so I can consult about my hair and the uneven skin tone on my face. Its not an immediate need but have to see one before the end of the year.

WARDING OFF THE CHILL

Today was just another brutal reminder that cold weather is coming hard and fast. I literally fear situations about me staying out in the cold weather. We haven't started turning on the heater in the house but I am starting to feel the sting of chill in my bones. On really cold and windy days I wish that Ralph would look into wood stoves and finding out if it would be possible for us to get one. It would really save us big time on the heating bill. And I would be toasty warm and even If I did have to go outside, I can look forward to sitting by the wood stove to get the chill out from my bones. Ralph's nephew just got married last Saturday and they have a wood stove in their house. They swear that it kept them warm at the height of the winter storm last season and kept their electricity bill low. That is one of the major house project that Ralph and I will have to really work hard on. Both of us wants a fireplace or wood stove in the house but we have to think wisely about where we are going to put it and how much its going to cost us to put it in. As of now, I guess I will have to make do with my handy dandy portable heater.

CLEAR BLUE

On cold and windy day like today reminds me of how much I miss Summer and our swimming pool. Make me appreciate the cool water against the glare of the heat beating down on my skin. The crystal clear water that just begs you to dive in and get wet. The kids missed the swimming pool and the way it was in the summer. They miss going outside in just their shorts, short sleeves and flip flops. The clear blue waters have now been covered by a black tarp, soon to be covered in leaves and small twigs. I am just thankful that we winterized our pool without any incident and damage. I cannot wait to open the pool up again next season..

WHAT TO GET

I am in a look out for a good electronic and gadget sale. Why you may ask? My husband's birthday is coming up fast and I have yet to find the perfect gift for him. My husband only wants one thing for his birthday and that is he gets an ice cream cake. I have told him a million times that Kaitlyn was my gift to me almost 3 years ago and will continue to be my gift for the next 15 years,lol. But seriously, I want to get him something that can put a smile on his face. I'm not really into gadget and electronics but I'm pretty sure I can find something, perhaps more of those hard drives. Knowing my husband he will just say not to worry about him and instead of buying for him to just buy something for Kaitlyn who happens to share his birth date,lol.

CUTTING DOWN

Having 3 cars has taken its effect on Ralph and our financial situation. The auto insurance coverage is awesome but with 3 cars its just to much. If we trade the truck and jaguar and get a reliable but great car we would be saving a whole lot. Enough to make a difference on our daily living. He is waiting for his loan to get through so he can start looking for a car. I would surely miss the truck as its the car we use when its snowing. Ralph doesn't use the truck on a daily basis. In the summertime he does get a lot of use when he has to dump twigs and grass clippings to the dumpsters. Its also a great vehicle if have something big to transport. The Jaguar is usually Ralph's go to car. He takes it to him to work and home. Its also the car we use if we have to travel light, lol. I hope that the loan go through so that Ralph can breathe a big sigh of relief when our car payment go down as well as the auto insurance.

FALLING LEAVES

Took this photo last year, it's the tree in front of our neighbors house. This is always the first tree to start loosing its green foliage that turned red to brown in a just a few short days. Fall is indeed staking its claim on the land and trees, preparing them for the freezing blast of winter. I am the very first one in our family to complain and whine about the weather turning cold. My husband is the second one to whine with him having to rake and bag all the leaves. The kids love any weather but fall and winter brings about a new adventure for both. The joy of helping daddy rake the leave only to have them scatter it about when they dive in to jump in the pile of leaves. They don't mind the cold weather nor the bulkiness of their coats. It is enough for them that they get to go outside and run about.. I feel for my kids specially in the Winter time they are going to be locked in the house most of the time. My kids cannot wait for the sky to break open and let loose its white powder called snow.

ANOTHER WEDDING

This coming Saturday will be the wedding of Andrew and Wendy. The groom is my MIL's grandson. We will be heading out to New Jersey once again to witness the union of these two couple. Before the wedding I heard Wendy and my SIL talking about finding a Wedding Jewelry that is meaningful to both of them. In today's generation wedding jewelry is part of the ceremony already. Specially for middle eastern weddings, brides are adorned with different kinds of wedding jewelry. Either from the groom or from the brides family. I have seen proof of that from watching Platinum Wedding on television. But anyway, we hope that the weather will cooperate on Saturday. The wedding will be held outside the backyard of their house. I have already picked out outfits for the girls and myself, got the card and gift and of course I got to help MIL cook the food she volunteered to bring.

INSURE THE FUTURE

The one thing that I have noticed here in America is that people take the time to invest on affordable life insurance for themselves or their whole family. Back in the Philippines, I only knew a handful of people who are able to get life insurance. At first I didn't understand why Ralph was so adamant about finding the right life insurance specially for him in his line of work. He explained that if ever something happens to him, I can have help about taking care of my kids. It may not be much but it will be enough. I'm safe to say that all of us have life insurance and that if something even happens to both me and Ralph my kids will have something. How I wish my mom and sister back home could afford to get life insurance specially health insurance. It could make a big impact on their health needs and cover most of the cost. If only they were living here in America. Hopefully in the near future I may be able to convince my mom to migrate here in America.

OLD FRIENDS

The joy of seeing old friends again is a memory worth keeping. That is Kuya Roi and Ate Richie in the picture with me. I met up with them at Ayala in Cebu. Even though it was just a short meeting we still got a chance to talk about our kids and how our lives have been and how we miss each other. Both of them have been my friends for almost 10 years and we have always tried to keep in touch. I didn't get to see some of my friends in college but I was thinking of them and how much I wanted to stay longer. I got Ate Richie, her mom and her two cute boys a couple of stuff. Its apparent from the bag that I got her Victoria Secret. I know she would just as happy even if I didn't get them anything, just the thought that I made time to meet up with them would be enough for both of them. They have protected me and have kept me in their hearts. I am so thankful to have friends like them. Next time, we will hang out longer and talk about the past, present and future.

NEED ENCOURAGEMENT

I must admit that I am the person to talk to when it comes to dieting, exercise and loosing weight. I am lazy as a sloth or worse. Loosing weight is not an easy task at all, most people don't even have to worry about loosing weight for the reason that they are just naturally small, or skinny. If there is a website that explains how to lose weight for idiots, I would be the first one to sign up. I dont even know how to count calories and watch what I eat. Sure I do go on diets and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't but it still not enough. To make matters worse, the weather is getting cold and I always make excuses about eating a lot and telling people I'm hibernating. What am I, an animal?If only both my husband and I would do it together and encourage each other we may succeed. It's vital both my husband and I have to start thinking hard about eating healthy and staying healthy for our kids. A healthy body is also a productive body.

BE GRUENE

At last I am now able to post my video and review for Gruene Steam Mop and Steam Cleaner.

First of all I was surprised and ecstatic when I got my Steam Cleaner. I immediately put it all together, surprisingly it was easy considering I leave all the assembling to my husband. I already have a steam cleaner among my many cleaning tools so I pretty much know how the thing works. What I love about it though is the hand held Steam Cleaner. Now I can actually sterilize the most important part of the house which is the bathroom and kitchen. What I love about the steam cleaner is it saves me a whole lot of money. I have spent more than $200 dollars on cleaning products alone and that is just the basic cleaning products that I use around the house. Well, that is going to be cut short now with the help of my Gruene Steam Mop. The video below is where I love using the Steam Cleaner:


As any steam cleaners goes it gets the job done. As much as I love my Steam Cleaner, I still have a couple of things that needs a little bit of improvement. First of it could be a little lighter and smaller and the hose a little bit more flexible. Other than that, it has worked great and really gets the job done. It doesn't use as much water as I thought it would which is great, save me time from refilling it.

The Steam mop I have not really used it a whole lot as it feels bulky. I however like that they had a plastic tray that you can put under your Steam Mop so as not to damage your flooring when your done cleaning and cooling it off for storage. It does clean up and lifts stains really good specially hard wood floors but the waffle mop that goes with it easy gets soaked in water thus leaving a very wet floor. And the wheels I really don't get it, It doesn't really make mopping faster or easier. And the accessory holder is bothersome. It keeps falling off the back of the Steam Mop and is very annoying. But other than that I am very happy with the performance of the Gruene Steam Mop and Steam Cleaner. It is a must for household that have little kids and pets to get, It sanitizes, cleans, economically and is Eco-friendly.

SAY UNCLE

Kaitlyn doesn't get to see her Uncle that much speciallly the one on the left Larry. She gets so scared at first but eventually warmed up to her uncles. This little girl can twirl both her uncles on her little finger with ease. I just had to take a quick shot of Kaitlyn with her two uncle's before the wedding went underway. I put Kaitlyn on her Uncle Larry's lap and just had to hold her Uncle Angelo's hand since she didn't really warm up yet to her other Uncle. She looks so sweet and adorable here. Kayla on the other hand was way to busy playing with her daddy's phone that she didn't want to be bothered with pictures. Both her Uncle's adore Kaitlyn. Even though Kaitlyn doesn't get to see Larry as much as Angelo she still talk about him. So when she finally warmed up to him, I told her to tell her Uncle Larry what she wanted for her Birthday. She started talking a mile a dozen, babbling away about the dancing Dora doll she saw at the store. She is growing up so fast and acts way to mature for her age. I love you bunches langga!

MOITURIZE AND MINIMIZE

Have you noticed that as we age we get more and more wrinkles? The wrinkles that worries me so much is the around my eyes. I don't mind what I call the laughing wrinkles on the side of my eyes when I smile, what bothers me is the wrinkles under my eyes when I squint. My MIL has been pushing me to get the anti wrinkle cream that she has in her bathroom. She said it is important to use these kind of creams to minimize and help prevent more wrinkles. I was reminded yet again that I'm not getting any younger, I'm guessing I need all the help I can get. The coming cold months is usually brutal on my skin, specially on my face. I have better stock up again on a lot of facial moisturizer, lotions and anti wrinkle creams.

LIMP AND THIN

It comes to no surprise that women have this saying that our hair is our crowning glory. Too bad that has never applied to me. I am cursed with fine, thin, limp hair. How I wish my hair was think and lustrous. Doing my hair is a pain in the behind,specially when I need to go to a party or somewhere nice. Do you know how embarrassing it is when you know that people are staring at the back of your head where you know they can see the spot were your scalp is showing? I have told our family doctor about my worries and I was adviced to go to a Dermatologist. She said a Dermatologist will know what hair loss products will best for my type of hair. I have been dragging my feet about setting up an appointment but I know I have to call one soon. I don't want to end up with a big bald spot on the back of my head before I turn 40. It just my luck to have inherited my grandmothers genes when it comes to hair.

ITS OFFICIAL

It is officially Fall and we were just in time to close our pool for the season. We actually closed the pool in preparation for the Winter months ahead last week. Both of us were anxious about covering the pool and winterizing it. Every time we close the pool for the season we always encounter something that will go wrong. This has been our 5th liner and we don't want a repeat of last year. All our worries were for naught, Ralph winterized the pool, I helped him with the covers in no time at all and without any incident. Both of us just gave a big sigh of relief. Soon the temperature will be dropping and the leaves will start to fall. Some of the trees have already stated loosing their green foliage. Our leaves have yet to change colors from green to orange, yellow, red and brown hues. The season full of great golden colors. I can't wait for summer to come back and swim in that crystal clear water again.

TRAPPED WITHIN

Beauty is only skin deep but, it doesn't hurt to have great looking skin. Having great flawless and even skin tone is really a plus. A woman with great skin even wearing little make up will still stand out and look great. As teenager I was not plagued with acne, sure I had small break out here and there but nothing to really panic about. Ralph's niece just turned 18 this year and I am concern about her face. I can see that she has break out and a couple of acne's on her face. I have been telling her about some acne treatments that she can get. It's very important that she take care of the problem while its still at a minimum. Besides, taking care of oneself doesn't automatically make us vain. Investing on our skin and face will pay off in the future. I have encouraged her to really start doing treatments for it and also with her brother. Yes, pimples and breakout is part of growing up but that doesn't mean you can't get treatment for them. We are all prisoners of out skin and we might as well make the best out of it.

SIZE 4

Have you guys been to Ross Dress For Less? It is such and awesome store with great buys. I was there with the kids a couple of days ago. I had to be on a look out for a nice dress for a wedding we are going. This is the second wedding in two months. Browsing through racks and racks of clothes can be fun and frustrating at the same time. Some dresses that I really liked were either to small or to big for me. When it was time for me to try on the stack of clothes I picked out I realized something. I am no longer a size 2 but a size 4, that is an eye opener for me. I know that some women would kill to be a size 4 but I am only 5 ft tall. If I gain to much weight I'm going to end up looking like a pumpkin. I could barely look myself in the mirror when I was taking off my clothes. Luckily, we are in the age of computers and getting information and help online is so easy. There are websites like www.weightlosssupplement-s.com that is loaded with so much information. We just need to know where and what to look for. I have not really put my any real efforts about trying to loose weight. It is going to be hard but If I don't get any results, that website is to be the one I will first look up on the Web.

TODDLER LAWS

When I read what was on Joey's shirt I just laughed. The toddler laws of property fits my daughter to a T. I guess its that age where they either like to share or not at all. Most kids go through that phase and some won't outgrow these behavior until they are much older. It's important that we teach kids to share, make it fun and praise and reward them if they do. This will tell them that sharing is good and its also fun. Kaitlyn is a big bully trapped in a tiny girl's body. She hates sharing her stuff with Joey, she takes toys away from him specially if she sees that he is having so much fun with a toy she has not touched in a long time. I have been trying to break her out of that. I always say to myself, its just a phase and she will eventually get over it. I'm crossing my fingers with that,lol. Now tell me if this law does not apply to your toddler?

MISSING THE CLOSENESS

August and September has been a busy and stressful month for me. We went to a birthday party, had Kayla's birthday and attended a wedding last Saturday. I am so glad that it is over but there is yet more to come. Next month were attending another wedding, a birthday party and of course Kaitlyn's 3rd and Ralph's 41st birthday. I am going to be so broke, but hey money can always be earned. Any how while at Ralph's nieces wedding I saw such a gorgeous little baby. She was so tiny, reminded me so much of Kaitlyn when she was a baby. I wanted to hold that baby so bad and just smell her. I had to hold back the urge to ask the mom which happens to be a relative or Ralph's if I could hold her sweet baby, I know she wouldn't mind one bit. Seeing her breast feed her baby got me teary eyed. How I wish I could have breastfed my baby longer than 6 months. I was kicking myself for not searching online about how to increase breast milk production. Maybe If I had, I would have been able to breastfed her longer. One of the factor that caused my milk to dry up was the fact that Kaitlyn was already eating baby food by 3 months and by 6 months she was already eating solid foods. I only had to breastfeed her when she takes naps and at night. I missed that closeness, the feeling of having her on my breast and knowing I am the one providing her nourishment. If ever I get pregnant again I will make sure to increase my milk production.

COSTUMES FOR US

Are you ready for the Halloween? I am so excited this year, we will be complete this coming trick or treat. I still haven't made up my mind what my girls are going to be as, that is if I have a say on it. My girls are at the age where they want to pick out there costume. Even the youngest who is turning 3 next month, she has a mind of her own. I wanted Kaitlyn to go as Jessie in Toy Story or something unique and not common. Kayla on the other hand wants to be something girly but scary at the same time. As for me, I have been going online and checking out sexy adult costumes for myself so I can treat my husband as well,lol. But seriously, I really want to wear a costume this year and maybe go to an adult costume party. If the weather was anything like last year on Halloween, I'd say I may consider getting a cute costume for myself. But knowing me being cold all the time, I probably would end up wearing a sweater to keep warm,lol. But its always good to have a back up plan and I already have a costume in mind.

UNDER THE SHADE

I attended my first ever softball game a couple of weeks ago. It was a game between two Platoons of the Wilmignton Police. Ralph was kind of worried since he has not played baseball let alone softball in 9 long years. When he was younger he and his older brother played baseball and he was the pitcher. From what I have heard he was also good at it. I was so excited and nervous at the same time. I didn't want Ralph to get injured or have his Platoon loose. We got to the baseball park about 30 minutes early, Kaitlyn and Joey the boy I baby sit got to play on the playground. Its so different when your going to a game where its mostly men, so many testosterone in the air and so much swearing and heckling going around. The kids and I took shade under a tree where the breeze was just perfect and we also were in a perfect spot, Ralph was first base catcher and we were right beside him. We get to talk to him and cheer his on and the best thing about it was he could hear us. I was so loud that my husband had to shush me when I started heckling on his team mates on having "twinkle toes". The out fielders were just so rediculous, it was as if they didn't want to be there. Anyway, my husband score a home run and hit that ball out of the field. I was so proud of him. You was cheering on so loudly, you would think it was coming from 10 people. In the end, Ralph Platoon won the game and they got all the bragging rights.. After the game it was a different story though. But according to Ralph it was all worth the body pain,lol

HANDY POUCH

Travel Neck Pouch that I ordered on Amazon.com. My first ever purchase on the popular site and I am very much satisfied. The order took about less than 5 days and before I knew it, it was in our mailbox. I was happy that it got delivered early since I bought that for our Philippine trip. All the important documents, I.D's, passports and money was in that little thing. It came in handy, I didn't have to reach inside my bag to search around for our passports and money. The best thing about the travel neck pouch is that I bought it very very cheap. This thing won't see daylight in the next 3 years until our next Vacation, or maybe not. If we do push with our plan to go to Disney next year I will be using it once again.

BY LAND OR SEA

The past weeks have been hectic for all of us. I have not been online to talk to my mom since I have been very busy. Ralph and I have not even had the chance to do our ritual of just watching a movie after the kids have fallen asleep. We usually do this on his days off when he doesn't have to wake up early to work. One of the movies that we both love to watch is comedy. We got such a kick watching RV starring Robin Williams and takes his family on a vacation on this big motor home or RV. It was so fun watching him trying to find ways to sneak away from his family to meet secretly with his boss. Due to the movie Ralph and I have talked about maybe buying an RV/ Motor Home in 4 years time.I would love to travel with the kids and visit different states. What worries him though is the motorhome repairs that would have to be done. According to our neighbor who has a Motorhome, its not as bad as long as you take good care of it and take it for the routine maintenance. It's going to be a toss up between a boat or an RV but who knows. One thing for sure I'd rather go for the RV than the boat.

IT HAS BEGUN

Fall is almost here, lurking its golden head around the corner. Our neighbor's tree has started to loose its leaves. Her tree is always the first one to go in the fall. I have also noticed birds starting to migrate. My neighbor loves the fall with the changing of the foliage from green to yellowish to golden red and then to brown. She also loves the breezed that comes with fall and loves to hear the crunching of the leaves under her feet. I know my kids will love to play in it and so would our dog. And speaking of our dog he has been going nuts barking every time our doorbell rings. Maybe its a good idea to change look into door chimes. It is just so annoying hearing him bark constantly every time he hears the doorbell..Maybe if its a different chime he will stop since he is not used to a new sound. That will be among the many projects Ralph and I will be tackling in the coming months. Hopefully we will have a mild winter like the Farmer's Almanac predicted.

ITS OUT OF HERE!!!!

I just cheered my husband on his first softball game. Ralph was a baseball pitcher when he was younger and I have heard that he was good to. All the people in there neighborhood knew the Schifano boys. Today's game was between Platoon A and C. Whoever wins gets the bragging rights so to speak. Ralph hasn't played baseball, let along softball in 9 long years. He was so excited to find out that his Platoon was taking on the challenge. We got to the park early and we were the first to arrive. I was worried about my husband getting injured in the game but I didn't let my fear get the better of me. I was the only female present with two kids at that. We sat on the grass under the shade of a tree where the breeze was just a blessing. Ralph was first base man in his team and I get to see and talk to him from the sideline we were sitting. I cheered on my husbands team like crazy, and I was so proud when he scored a home run!. I could tell my husband was also pleased with his performance and he was into the game. To bad the out fielders had twinkle toes, lol... Ralph had to signal me to shush when I shouted " come on guys we don't need no twinkle toes, we need a Diego out there to run and catch those balls". He was not upset with me but he was laughing but he didn't want the guys to hear what I was saying. To make the story short my husband's team won the game and they went out the field with their head high.

I was so happy that my hubby wanted me and Kaitlyn to be there, Kayla was at school. He may be very sore now but I know he had so much fun out in the field today and we are so proud of him..

ITS A CINCH

Every time I come across movies or books about Victorian Era I always think elegance at its finest. The big ball gowns, the beautiful coifs of the women and of course the small waist courtesy of the corsets that most women had to wear. I remember reading an article about Nicole Kidman broke a rib wearing a corset for her movie Moulin Rouge. I would love to get my hands on a genuine corset that could cut inches off my waist line. I thought Corsets were long gone with the new girdles and spanx out in the market but the demand for it is still strong. A lot of dresses, blouses, shirts and costumes have taken its inspiration from the corset. Personally I don't think I would last wearing one but I would love to try it. Maybe I will try to find a dress that has a corset design around the waist for an upcoming wedding I am attending. Maybe this time I will look like I have an hour glass figure with a small waist, lol.

COSTUMES, WHAT WILL IT BE

Can you believe it, its September already. Summer is going to be over in a few days and the temperature will start to drop. I just hope this coming winter won't be as bad as the last time. But anyway in less than 2 months another great celebration is coming up fast. Its time to think about what costumes to get for the kids. Honestly I have been thinking about what the kids will be wearing this Halloween, and I want to wear one as well. I want Kaitlyn to go as Jessie in Toy Story and Kayla wants to be Bulls Eye but who knows. Maybe will look into vampire costumes since they usually come with a cape and I could use it if its going to be cold,lol. But seriously, I hope Ralph and I could also dress up with the kids or maybe attend an Adult Halloween costume party. All I know is that we will be going out trick or treating as a family this year. How about you? Have you thought about what your kids will be wearing?

GOOFY SMILES

Hanging out with my kids outside while waiting for Andrew Juniors 1st birthday party. This was taken last Aug 14, somewhere in New Jersey. It was the second weekend of the month so we got Kayla, to bad Ralph had to go to work. We took one car going there with my BIL Angelo driving. We arrived there about 12 noon and boy were we starving. Party wasn't going to start anytime soon and my kids had to eat. I couldn't just give them potato chips for lunch, so even though the party didn't start I went and got potato salad for the kids to munch on. While waiting for the other guest to arrive we sat down on the swing and had fun taking pictures with my new phone. The kids were goofing around so much that the pictures really came out good. It was a nice day to have a party but most of all I had a great time hanging out with my two beautiful princesses. They looked so beautiful in their respective dresses.

FUTURE PURCHASE

I think I have mentioned that we have 6 working televisions in our house. Only three of the television is HD TV and two are upstairs and the third one is in the family room. The playroom however is not in high definition yet and we are planning on buying a new one next tax season. The reason for getting one is that some movies will not play if they are in high definition. The kids end up watching the flat screen T.V in the family room which I do not like for the simple reason that we can't just watch movies or shows we want due to the kids. Ralph like to read tv reviews before buying so he knows what his getting. But who knows, if the other tv's are still in good working condition there is no reason for us to buy new ones just for the sake of it. But it also good to keep an eye out for what kind or brand of television we might get if we ever need to buy one.

TIME UP

My trip going back home to the Philippines feels like it was just a dream. We were there for 20 days and It was such a short time. I didn't even get to eat most of the food I have been craving and missing. Didn't get to really see the sights and visit downtown, go window shopping. I only bought myself a couple of shirts and two pants while there. And let me tell you paying for your stuff suck specially if the wait is long. It's specially bad if the store you go to doesn't have an up to date barcode scanner that hurry the flow of your transaction. When I got back here I was so thankful for the express lane where you get to key in your own purchase and have scanners that really works. Still, I miss everything in Cebu. The smell, the noise the hustle and bustle of people and the chaos. Next time we will make sure to stay a little bit longer so we can really enjoy and experience Cebu again.

KISS

Kaitlyn giving her grandpa (my step dad) a big kiss. The first time that Kaitlyn met John he was in his Goku state with hair standing up and whole body painted with henna. He was just in a show that required him to have henna tattoo. That scared Kaitlyn and she would not even go near him for a couple of days. But eventually she realized that her Lolo (grandpa) was not going to hurt her, warmed up to him slowly. John kept his video camera on hand all the time hoping to catch a photo of Kaitlyn snuggling up to him, playing with him. He has a whole bunch of pictures of her and video as well. The week before we left Kaitlyn got really close to him, she would wait for him to come home. She would greet him " Lolo your home and gives him a big warm hug and a kiss". In this photo she was playing with her make-up and tried it on her Lolo. He would gamely endure and let her kiss him and in the process left small kiss marks on his face..

PERKS OF HOME

Summer please don't be over!! It felt like it was just yesterday that the warm Summer season started. We haven't even been able to go to the beach. Our youngest is turning 3 this October and has yet to see a beach and play in the sand. I almost screamed with envy when our neighbor across the street came over just last week asking me to keep an eye on their house. They were going on a week long vacation and guess where they were going? To Outer Banks North Carolina to spend some much needed family time with her kids. I told Sue (neighbor) that I have heard so much about Outer Banks, she gushed over how beautiful and great place it is for families going on vacation. Its specially nice if we go with another family and check out the Outer Banks vacation rentals. Having 2 kids under the age of 8 we need a place to crash and something that feels like home. And believe me when I say that when I saw the Carolina Designs of the vacation rental houses my jaw just about dropped open. A house that is big enough for two families and other amenities to enjoy like the pool,hot tub, pool table, Internet and a place for my husband to grill. That is what you call a great vacation house, a place where we have our own privacy while enjoying the perks of feeling like we are just home.

I FOR IMPULSIVE

Have you noticed that kids of the new generation are more into gadgets, computer, computer cames, hand held games and so much more? My oldest got her first Nintendo DS game at 5 years old and my youngest got her first DS game at 2 1/2 yrs old. Well, we didn't buy Kaitlyn but instead it was given to us by the dad of the kids I babysit. He had an old game lying around so he gave it to us knowing we were going to embark on a long flight hoping it would entertain her. But have I mentioned that on the day Ralph came to pick us up at the Airport Kayla accidentally broke her DS game. I was upset but when Ralph told me it wasn't her we couldn't do anything about it. I however told Ralph not to get her one right away, she has to earn it again. But the next day he went out and got it for her. I wish he had just waited a little bit since it was going to be her birthday soon and we could have gotten her an upgrade. We could have shopped online at Best Buy and picked out a new Nintendo DSi for her. My husband is an impulsive buyer, when he sees something he wants he will get it if he has the money. Even though he got her the Nintendo DS I am still going to do a little online browsing for a Netbook, this time it's going to be for my sister. I just have to save up a little bit before I could get it but I am very optimistic that by the end of this year I will have bought my sister her very own netbook.