MAGIC FINGERS

In a few weeks my MIL and I will be going to NJ to help her grand daughter Kristen. She is having her Senior prom and she wants me and my MIL to be there to help her get ready. I was so honored and happy when she asked me if I could do her hair. Honestly, I am a little apprehensive and nervous about doing her hair. I just want her to have a perfect day where everything from her hair down to her shoes is perfect. She doesn't have her dress yet but I saw a picture of it.I know no matter what she will look beautiful. With all the stress of her school work, part-time job and this upcoming prom I'm pretty sure she has some few breakouts. She is prone to breakouts when she is under a lot of stress so I told her that she has to learn more of what she can take or use to stop the breakouts. Knowing how excited she is for her senior prom, she is probably on the computer right now looking into solutions, medications or creams for her breakouts. As for me, I have to look at some hairstyle that is fitting for prom so that I won't embarrass her. I will just have to practice on my oldest hair seeing that she is the only one who really has thick, long beautiful hair.

BASEMENT CLEANUP

After almost 4 years we have finally cleaned up our basement. Ralph had to ask for his nephew A.J.'s help as he still can't lift up heavy object. We spent the whole afternoon in the basement whilst my MIL watched over the kids. The first couple of hours was spent breaking down boxes that we accumulated for quite some time. We also had to weed out a lot of stuff, separate which was junk and which ones are still good. We also had to organize a bit to make the basement less cluttered. I didn't think we were going to be able to do it in just half a day but we did it. Now the front on our house has a mountain of garbage with lots and lots of broken down boxes. The garbage collectors are not going to be happy with us, lol. Some may probably think that we are moving out,lol.

Now that the basement is decently organized and clean we can start visualizing what it would be like to have it finished. That is really one of the few projects that Ralph and I would like to start. It would not only add value to the house but it opens up a new space for the kids and for when we have visitors.. We are aiming to start with the basement in another 2-3 years.

PROJECT DISCUSSION

The last couple of days Ralph and I have been talking about our plans to do another home improvement around the house. We are even thinking about getting a loan to help us with our project. One of the things that we wants done is to find out more about home automation to secure out house and give him peace of mind. Even though we live in a relatively quite and peaceful development it still worries him when he leaves me home alone with the kids or whenever we are out for many hours. As a police officer I can't blame my husband for worrying about us. I do my part in showing him that I am more than capable of staying home and keeping our kids safe. I always make it a point to check all the doors and windows before I go to sleep and make sure that the smoke alarm is working. The other project we really want done is getting out basement finished. In a couple of days we will start hauling out all the boxes and weeding out the junk we have in the basement. I am not so looking forward to doing that, lol. But, that is the price you pay for owning a house and making it more homey and functional for the family.

WHO WILL SHED FIRST?

Its already May and I have yet to start getting in shape. Summer is fast approaching and by no means am I ready to wear a bikini when our pool is going to be opened. I haven't even bought new short. To me it was useless buying one when my thighs still look flabby and full of cellulite. Sure, I have tried going on a diet but I could not stick to it. There is a very valid reason why I was afraid to go on a strict diet and exercise daily. If it wasn't for the reason I would have already gotten hold of hydroxycut to help loose some weight and get rid of excess fat. I also wanted to wait until my husband was more mobile and more energetic before we start on our promise to start eating healthy and exercising. We even talked about buying a bicycle so we can take our kids to a big park and just ride our bike. Once it steadily gets warm we plan on taking walks. Ralph is even commissioning his nephew to come down and help us get our elliptical upstairs in the spare bedroom. Once we get everything situated we made a pact to motivate each other into getting in shape. Who will start loosing the excess fat? Me or my husband?

TOP DOWN

One of the few very warm days that we had. Ralph had gotten an all clear to drive from his surgery. I forgot what day this was taken but it was just a warm sunny day. The kids were out almost all day playing either in the front of back yard. My kids had so much fun running around and burning off the excess energy of being a kid. I had promise them that I would treat them to Rita's Water Ice if they behaved and they did. Ralph hasn't driven his Mustang in a few weeks. He has been waiting for just the right weather drive his Mustang convertible with the top down. The day was just perfect so we took the girls for a short ride in the convertible to see how they liked it. You can tell that they had so much fun, the were just giggling and laughing away. It was a perfect day for a ride and a taste of water ice.

SWITCHING CLOTHES

I can't believe that winter is already over and Spring is well on its way. I should know, I am currently suffering from Spring allergy. All I do is sneeze, blow my nose and itch my eyes. Due to my spring allergy I have postponed doing my spring cleaning. I am looking forward to switching the kids wardrobe from winter to Spring/Summer. With the weather being so nice and warm my youngest has even started wearing short sleeved shirts and shorts. Our oldest is currently on Spring Break with her mom in Maryland. We have yet to go clothes shopping for her. She is growing like a weed. With my kids so active they will be out more and more playing in the backyard, that means we will have to buy Kayla lots of t shirts,and shorts. Kaitlyn got all her sister's hand me downs so she is good to go for Spring/Summer clothes. As for me, I also need to weed out clothes that no longer fit me. Hopefully my Spring allergy won't be as bad as it was last year. If not, I'll have to rely on medication to help me with the symptoms.

SNAPPING OUT

It's been a while since I last updated my blogs. I guess you could say I was burned out. Many things have happened over the past weeks that my brain just went on overdrive and I crashed after. I didn't even get to write anything for my mom's birthday. I just needed time to get myself together. Physically I am fine but emotionally I felt a disconnect to everybody else. All I wanted to do was just crawl into myself and just wallow in sadness, self pity, depression or whatever you may want to call it. That has always been my way of handling things, I keep it all to myself. Before anybody goes on brain overdrive my marriage is A-OK, lol

Last night I decided to talk to my husband about it. I wanted to say I was sorry for being so distant, moody and just irritable lately. Like the good and understanding husband that he is, he comforted me and wanted to know if it was anything he did. I am lucky to have a good husband, he is not perfect but so am I. Everyday is a work in progress for me, taking baby steps at a time. Am I back to blogging? For certain, I realized that at times sitting down and writing about everything seems to help. I have pulled myself in bad situation and I can certainly pull myself out again.

JOY

I just want to say Congratulations to my sister for a health baby girl. She gave birth last March 31,2011 same day as my grandma's birthday. A few hours after we talked her bag of water broke. She was all alone in the house as my mom was in Ormoc for my grandmother's birthday. I felt so bad that she was all alone when it happened. Luckily my step dad was there to take her to the hospital. My mom left for Cebu as soon as she found out my sister was in labor. She got there before my sister had her baby. Ever since my sister is very good with kids and babies alike. She will be an excellent mama. I am so happy to welcome the newest addition to our family:

ALYSSA JOY CODILLA

RAIN,HAIL AND WIND

Yesterday we dropped off Kayla at Baltimore Travel Plaza. It was raining and a few seconds of hail, it didn't last long though which was good. By the time we got to Baltimore the sun was out and it was nice. Little did we knew that it was so windy out. I got shocked when I opened the door and the cold wind just hit me on the face,it woke me up! The car would rock a bit when it was hit by a blast of cold air. My kids were laughing and giggling at the cold wind. As the kids were running on the sidewalk towards the hotel I noticed that one of the advertising flags hanging outside the hotel was halfway loose. that got me so nervous that I shouted to the kids not to stay in the sidewalk but go inside the hotel. They walked around the lobby while I went to the bathroom. We just waited for a few minutes when Kayla's mom showed up. As usual Kaitlyn didn't want her manang to go but she gave her sister a big hug and a kiss. Tomorrow, we are heading there again to pick her up. Hoping that it won't rain as my MIL will be the one driving.

TOP DOWN

I am no a big fan of muscle cars. Ralph has a Mustang which is considered a muscle car. He gets offended when I complain that its to noisy, lol. He tells his car not to listen to me. That car is just parked in our driveway, no one else can drive it. Ralph uses it when he is off or when he has to do some running around without any kid.

This photo was taken on one of the warmer days we have had. We just finished with Ralph's appointment at the Rothman Institute. He wanted to see how Kaitlyn liked having the top down. My gosh, I was freezing as it was still around 62. I don't really like convertibles as I hate that my hair is all over the place. Kaitlyn loved it but, she had more fun when I had my MIL coat over my head so I could stay warm. The next day after this, I got a cold and a bad headache. Note to self: just bring extra blanket in the car just in case Ralph wants to put the top down when its still not warm.

BIRTH MONTH

March is the birth month of my grandmother, father and my cousin. I can't believe that March is coming to an end. Today, March 26,2011 is the 52nd birthday of my dad. My dad and I are really not that close yet I still remember his birthday. I just left him an instant message on yahoo to let him know that I remembered. As for my cousin Angelique her birthday comes a day after my dad, she is turning 27. How times flies, she used to be the baby of the family. I still marvel at the thought that the little girl I used to play with and babysit is already an adult. I still see her as our little baby even though I have cousins who are younger than her. As for my grandmother, she is turning 78 on March 31,2011. I miss her so much, its been 4 years since the last time I was there to celebrate with her. She is the glue that holds our whole family together. She is the bravest, smartest and the most loving woman. I miss her so much and I wish her good health and many more years.

One day, I will be able to celebrate birthdays with you but for now, let me just say a big Happy Happy Birthday....

THINKING ABOUT GETTING IN SHAPE

It's been two days since my last walk. Its not that I am lazy but the weather is kind of crazy right now. One day it was nice and warm and the next its gloomy and wet. I hate the cold so when its cold out I don't go outside. Both Ralph and I are on the same track wanting to loose weight. He wants to loose a little bit of weight before his surgery this coming April. My husband has a big gut, If he only looses a few inches around his mid section he will look incredible. I however tell him that he has lost most of the muscle tone in his arms. Since they have a gym at the Police Station he said he will try and lift some weights. With that I told him that he should take best creatine supplement to help develop her muscles. Did you know that vegetarian show lower levels of muscle Creatine and taking a Creatine supplement will increase it. And before I end this post he also told me something good worth rooting for. He want to quit smoking. He has tried several times but ends up going back and smoking more in the process. My solution is for him to just cut down on his smoking slowly and eventually he can stop. I just want our family to be healthy and I am glad that my husband and I see eye to eye on this.

DONKEY KONG AND KIRBY

My review for the latest Wii Games that we got for the kiddos. I have to learn to play the games as they look to me when they are stuck or can't figure it out. This review is from a mother's point of view who also happens to love playing the Wii..

DONKEY KONG COUNTRY RETURNS : The games graphic is great. It can be played two ways, using the nunchuks by attaching it to the controller or with just the controller using sideways. We prefer using the nunchuks as its easier. The main characters are Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong
(smaller monkey). The games start off with easy levels. The game itself come with instruction in form of a pig, that teaches you the moves on how to get certain clues, object and to defeat enemies. The goal of the game is to collect clues and get all the letters to spell KONG. Pass each level to open another world. If the level is to hard you can always call on the super guide which comes in the form of a gray ape. In my humble opinion the game is to advance for kids under 7 years old. Kids over that age limit can pretty much do most of the games. Kayla does pretty good with the games and improves hand and eye coordination when using the nunchucks. Is it one of my favorite? For sure! Keeps me on my toes and challenges me. I do admit that I call on the super guide so I can see how the level is played then I try it again and again until I pass the level.

KIRBY'S EPIC YARN : Game very easy. Good for kids between 3-7 years of age. Kaitlyn is 3 years old and plays with Kayla. She knows how to do the game. Goal of the game is to collect as many gems, patches and hidden treasures in the game and to collect all the magic yarn to open all the worlds. For me the game teaches the kids how to play as a team and improves thinking. They figure out the best way to get certain objects or treasures with each others help. It's a very fun and easy game for kids. It kept me entertain and I even finished the whole game. Although, I have yet to open up all the doors on each levels but I did defeat the last monster which was Master Ying Yarn. If you have older kids and love new challenges get them the Donkey Kong. For younger kids get them Kirby's Epic Yarn.

That is my review for both games. If you do get the game please let me know how everyone in your family likes it. And share your review on the game. Remember to ask attendants if they have played the game and listen to what they have to say. Most often than not, they have already played the game and will tell you if its the right gaming age for your kids.

HER MILESTONES

Its Spring already! Kayla comes home now with her hair all over the place, lol. With the weather warming up the kids can now go out and play at recess. We have been to Kayla's school last week to see her receive her Wilbur Winner Award. While there, we got a chance to talk to Kayla's teacher and ask about her progress. We also talk to him about our plans to enroll our youngest in Pre-K this year. Ralph is still looking into to it. Kayla's school right now is one of the newest schools built with brand new school playground equipment and up to date computer technology. We are lucky enough that we belong in the same district and this was clearly the right school for her. Kayla has improved so much. She started Kindergarten not reading at all but now, she is reading everything. It continues to amaze us how smart she is and how many milestones she has reached. Clearly we made the right choice and we are hopeful that when Kaitlyn does start school she will follow in her big sister's footstep.

HER PRINTER

Last Christmas we got my MIL something that she really wanted. Ralph and I debated at first what to get for her until I finally caved in and asked her myself. She really didn't want anything but if our budget would allow it, she would like a new printer. We have a printer that is also a fax machine and a scanner but it is in the playroom. She wanted to get a new one for herself so she didn't have to come out if she wanted to print something. Ralph and I looked at a few from Kodak printers, epson printers, HP printers, Dell and so on. Ralph wanted to get her something that is easy to install and easy to use. I left the it to Ralph to choose which one. We finally settled on a brand that was within our budget. Now, she can scan, photo copy and print anything she wants in the privacy of her own room. If only I can remember to print out pictures so I can start hanging them up, lol. I already have a whole bunch of photo stashed in my thumbnail. One day I swear I am going to take the time to just print out pictures of my kids to hang up.