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.

BONDED WITH LOVE

Grandma or Mima as Kaitlyn would fondly call her. How did my MIL eventually end up being called that? Kaitlyn has always been a talkative child, that even at an early age she knew the difference between me and grandma. She didnt know how to pronounce Grandma so she made up her own language that is far easier for her to speak. Well as much as I would like to say my child is not the only one to do that, most kids will develop their own language as they grow up.

It cannot be denied that the sun and moon rise and fall on Kaitlyn when it comes to her Mima. I never thought my MIL would get so attached and bonded to her but she has. She is very close to her, it's also because she was always there from the time of conception until I had Kaitlyn. She was in the room when she came out of me and she cried, we all cried when she was born. Kaitlyn is very spoiled when it comes to her MIMA, I swear if my MIL was rich she would have a toy everyday. It is apparent when they are together how much Kaitlyn loves my MIL, how I wish she was this close to my mom. She does know her maternal grandmother but she is so far away, that is why I have made it a point to try and let them talk online so she will recognize my mom. Our trip to the Philippines last month was a blessing, they got to see her and my family got to meet my first born. I don't know if its true but they said a grandparents love is different from a parents love. Sure you were a parent before but they said there is just something magical about being able to hold, see and play with your grandchild. I just hope that my MIL and my Mama will see Kaitlyn grow up to be a young lady, someone they will be proud of....

SHIFTY

Having a Police Officer as a husband is not easy. I constantly worry about my husband when he is at work, I worry for his safety and his health. A cop's schedule is not really ideal, they usually work on a shifting schedule. That kind of schedule is brutal on their bodies. When he comes home from his graveyard shift I see the tiredness in his eyes. I try to help him undress and by golly, you would be surprise how heavy police belts are. With the guns, handcuffs,radio , keys, and the latest is the Taser gun they just got issued. I always get nervous when he tries to check on it, I wonder if s the Taser works the same as stun guns? I am just at peace now that we got a safe for his gun. That is the first thin he usually does when he is upstairs changing. Its a relief to know that is in a safe place that my kids cannot open and cannot play with. I feel bad for my husband that he has to work so much but I know he loves his job and that is the reason why he persevered in his line of work, for his passion.

HIS ALL OF THE ABOVE

Meet our very own personal lifeguard, pet, baby boy, kids pillow and so on. Labrador Retrievers are supposedly water dogs, well our dog must be different because he does not like to go swimming. He did fell in the pool about half a dozen times when he slips from doing his round around the pool deck. Yup, he patrols the surrounding area the deck that surround the pool. Once his satisfied that everything is up to par he lays down near me and just watches the kids splash in the water. He gets his share of getting splash but he does not mine, not with the weather being so hot. Sunny is the perfect house dog and we could not ask for anything more. The only thing that we need to work on is his chewing. He does not chew our couch or chairs but he chewed my sandal, my flip-flop and anything he can find that either belongs to me or the kids. He does this when we leave him alone in the house for a long period of time. It's like his showing how upset he is for getting left behind. And when he does something wrong he knows it to. As soon as we walk in the door and I see him with his head bowed and just has this remorseful look I know right away he did something. He can be a pain in the behind sometimes but we would not trade him for another dog.

LUCKY KIDS

On my recent vacation, I realized how lucky and fortunate my kids are compared to most kids in the place where I grew up. My kids have almost everything, their daddy makes sure that he gives them toys and stuff they can enjoy and play with. Take for example the newest swing set we just bought for the girls this Summer. Most kids back home have never seen a swing set let alone play in one. Most of those kids are happy just to play with sticks, twigs, tires, cans and other stuff most American kids take for granted. I try to make my kids understand that what they have is from their father's hard work. Kaitlyn for the most part didn't demand for any toys when we get the chance to visit malls or department stores. Her eyes did grow big when we passed by the aisle of battery powered ride on toys. She remembered her Barbie Jeep back home. That reminds me, we should actually look into Peg perego as specialize in battery power operated ride on toys. Kayla has gotten to big for her Barbie Jeep and as a rule Kaitlyn gets her jeep. Ralph is thinking about getting a ride on toy that looks like an ATV,I however don't think that is a good idea. We still have to discuss what kind to get Kayla, it has to be something that she can grow into and is durable for at least 2 kids on it. Maybe next year's tax money we will get Kayla her new ride on wheels.

SILVER BAUBLES

I must admit that the first few days I was in Cebu I got surprised by how expensive commodities have become. The foods that I used to love eating that were cheap and affordable were no longer so. I often wonder how the poor get through the day feeding their family. There were still some things that were cheap. I was surprised by how cheap silver jewelries were. Not sterling silver but the 925 silver jewelry. Got me wondering in the process if wholesale diamonds were sold in the Philippines and would it be cheap. If that was the case I'm sure that women who loves diamonds would be in high heaven. They said diamonds were girls best friend, not for me. Food is my best friend and boy did I eat a lot of my best friend when I was on my vacation. And oh, I did get a few silver baubles for myself after my mom got me a silver necklace with a cross pendant and gave me her beautiful silver earring. I just had to buy a bracelet and a few silver rings to match my new earrings and necklace.

LIME'S LIL BRO

This beautiful round green fruit is called Lemonsito. It's like lime but smaller and more delicious without the bitter after taste of Lime and Lemon. I was so happy to see this plant beside my mom's house. It was surrounded by beautiful butterflies. Kaitlyn enjoyed looking at the butterflies and chasing after them. We didn't get to pick from the plant since it was not ripe yet. I don't know about you but food just taste different when the Lemonsito is added to it. Take for example the breaded pork chop.. There is just a certain taste to it that leaves you wanting and eating more. Even MIL admits that the these small lemonsito beats Lime any day. And good news to my pinoy friends, I got to bring a few seeds with me. I have yet to plant it but I am optimistic that I will be able to grow it. I just hope I have a place to put it when winter comes.