SUMMERS END?

It has to be said, Summer will be coming to an end pretty soon. The temperature is not as warm as it use to be. My kids are the best temperature gauge, they have been swimming less and less. When my kids complain about it, its those time that I wish we had a pool heat pumps to keep the water nice and warm for them. If we had it, my kids will be swimming all year long and so would I. When we opened our pool this season Ralph really did think about getting a pool heater just so the kids can swim right away in the pool and not get sick afterwards. Knowing my husband, its something we will eventually own in the long run. If it will help with the kids enjoyment of the pool he will most likely get it.

SHOOK UP

It started off as uneventful sunny afternoon. I was just going to sit outside with my girls as they ride their bikes. As I was helping Kaitlyn get out of the door I suddenly felt the house swaying. Was it the wind that did that or a big truck just pass by? I knew it was an earthquake but I didn't want to think it was, i had no reason to think it was. Ralph has never mentioned an earthquake in Delaware. Just to make sure it wasn't the wind I went it and still the house was swaying. I took a hold of my youngest in our archway and yelled for my oldest to come to us right away. I held my kids until it stopped. I was scared. I immediately ran to my MIL room to ask if she felt it and she did. I rushed my kids outside and my neighbor was out as well. It was an earthquake and it shook me to the core. Exactly 5 minutes after it happened Ralph and his colleague arrived at the house on the Police Motorcycle. They didn't feel anything. We tuned in to the news straight away and found out that it was a 5.8 magnitude with Virginia as the center of the quake. Buildings and stores were evacuated for fear of aftershock.

I never realized that the fear, anxiety and stress level goes up when you have kids. You think about your children's safety. As soon as it was over I stressed to my kids how important it was to find a safe place when there is an earthquake. I told Kayla if she is inside the house she is to grab her sister and go under the table until the quake stops and run outside with her and not come in until it was safe. I am all shook up but thankful that it didn't last that long and it wasn't that bad. The quake made me realize that mother nature is wide awake and she wants us to take notice.....

COUCH POTATO

What has been keeping me this past few days? Why I have been sucked into new shows. I am embarrass to say that I have been spending a lot of my free time in front of the television. I fear its it just going to get worse when my shows come back for the fall season. Its no wonder when we went to an electronic store I was drawn to the samsung lcd tvs that were lining one wall. They had my favorite show on and I couldn't help but stare and get entranced by how clear my shows were. Ralph joked about me wanting to buy a bigger t.v. for the kids room as that is where I sleep. He didn't have to worry about that, for some reason I don't really watch television going to sleep. I am the total opposite of my husband, he can't sleep without the television turned on. So It is probably him I should be worried about getting a bigger and better television.

STRENGTH AND GRACE

If it was possible to get pregnant watching this men dance, I would be pregnant in an instance. This is how real men dance,with precision, strength and grace rolled into one. The men look good enough to eat but its the way they move to the beat and execute all the dance move with precision. That dance must be brutal on the thighs and legs. If I ever go to Hawaii I want to see the Annual Merrie Monarch Festival. Where women dance so gracefully like watching waves after waves. I am bewitched by all who participated. So I leave you to enjoy....

ALL AROUND

It really is frustrating and stressful to a lot of my female friends getting pregnant. Everybody seems to be getting pregnant except me. I was going through my closet last month when I came across a few of maternity dresses. When I go to the mall I miss looking at maternity outfits. I really miss being pregnant and really want to have another baby. Two of my paternal cousins are pregnant and just a month apart. The other one that is here in America looks so gorgeous that she can a model for any maternity clothing. I swear she looks so great that you would say to yourself that if you would look as good as her, you would want to be pregnant all the time. She looks so serene, graceful and glowing. I didn't look to bad when I was pregnant if I may say so myself. I thought I was at my peak when I was pregnant with my first born. I guess I'll have to see how I feel the next time I get pregnant, lol. Hopefully I will look as good as I did my first time.

IT'S FUN

People have different ways to unwind, relax and have fun. My form of relaxing and my time is window shopping. I love window shopping, it doesn't bother me that I see things that I like but can't buy it. It gives the opposite feeling, makes me think if I really want it or need it. Once in a while I do give in and buy things that is purely a want. The one store that we frequent is Walmart, I love it. If you ask my 3 1/2 year old daughter why we always go to Walmart she will answer you " because its cheap!". Its not that its cheap and it mean of lesser quality, its not. Its just more affordable and very convenient for us. I'm loving my store more now that there is coupons for walmart. Now tell me, who is their right mind wouldn't want any coupons? With the recession still hot on our heels we need all the help we can get. All I can say is I am a proud Walmart shopper.

MY ANGELS AND I

The photo above was from our latest Summer adventure. We did the beach and we the adults didn't really have our hearts into it. Sand got into everything and the kids could not swim and be left alone due to the strong current and huge waves. As we were getting our stuff ready I told Ralph that water park is for us. On our way home we spied a Water park, I took note of the place and looked it up on my iPhone. Itwas times like those that I am so thankful for my iPhone.

Exactly a week from our beach adventure we head out to Jungle Jim's Water Park. We got there at around 10:30 in the morning.. It wasn't as crowded as I thought it would be and the park itself wasn't as big. Before we went in we just had to pose for a picture perfect shot with my angels. As for our experience in the water park that will be on my next post. It will be my review on Jungle Jim's Water Park...

WHERE TO?

I want to go on a vacation, a place where I can just relax with a beautiful panoramic view. My last vacation was last year when I went to the Philippines with my MIL and daughter. How I wish we could have stayed longer. Even though it was just a short visit we got to spend time with the people who are so very dear to me. My daughter got to meet her maternal Grandmother and she also got to meet her maternal great grandparents. Both my husband and I deserve to go on a big vacation with maybe just the two of us? When you have kids its kind of hard sometimes, you want to get away from them for a bit but you don't want to be far from them as well,lol.

If someone was to ask you where you want to have your ultimate vacation where would you say you want to go? As for me one of my top 5 ultimate vacation spot would be Hawaii. You wouldn't want to go to Hawaii? A place surrounded by beautiful island, white sand beaches and crystal clear waters. If we ever win the lottery I would not mind owning a property in Hawaii. I am sure there are Hawaii houses for a family of 5. I can dream can't I? It's always free to dream. For those who are looking for houses in Hawaii check out the link. Who knows you might find your dream house, a house where you can escape and relax.

WITH MY GIRLS

Here I am again with my two adorable princesses. We don't usually get a chance to have a picture with the three of us. Kayla is not really interested to be in the pictures. As you may have noticed I have a lot of picture with my youngest but not much with my oldest. She is getting older where she doesn't want to be bothered, lol. We just got out of the pool for a night swimmng, it was like getting into a warm bath. The water was literally like bath water. It was so warm and soothing to the body. When we got and drying on the deck, I got Kayla to sit on my lap. This was my chance to I immediately called the lil one over to take a a picture with the 3 of us. My kids are so beautiful, yes I can say that because I am their mom,lol.

WE STARTED

Just this month we finally got a recycling bin delivered. Yes, we are recycling in our house. We should have started recycling that week we decided to clean up the basement. Our basement was filled not just with junk but a big load of box. Some of the boxes from when Ralph moved in the house but most of the box were accumulated from 4 years of living. When we cleaned the basement we had help from Ralph nephew. Ralph had so much tools in the basement but could not find one measly box cutters. We had to made do with using a knife. After all the boxes were collapsed and ready for garbage day It was when I found a box cutter in one of the drawers,lol. At least we got all that crap hauled away and we are earnestly trying to keep things organized. The downside to recycling is that recycle bins don't get picked up regularly but only twice a month. Its a start...

FEARLESS FASHION

I miss going to the mall. Malling is one of the few things that I consider my alone time even if I'm not really alone. Its been 2 weeks since I have been to the mall. By no means am I what you consider shopaholic. I am more of the window shopper, browsing through racks and racks of clothing and just admiring things. The last time I was at the mall a lot of small stores or boutiques had a lot of urban clothing on display. Most young generations a fearless when it comes to fashion sense. They wear what they want to wear and still look fashionable. Growing up I always wanted to join in the band wagon on what was in fashion but we couldn't afford it. Not being able to afford clothes that were in fashion didn't stop me from looking presentable. Brands don't matter to me, I wear what feels good and look good on me. I am very curios to see what my girls fashion sense are going to be like in the coming years. I can already see a fearless fashionista in my youngest daughter. But we shall see, the oldest will be hitting puberty in less than 5 years. Will things change drastically? Only time will tell.

BEACHY BUT NOT SO PEACHY

With the heat wave covering the country, you find most people near water or do water activities. Although there are still people who prefer to stay indoors to cool off. As for my us, my kids enjoy staying outdoors. That means playing in the backyard, on the swing set, sand box or swimming in our swimming pool. Most of the time the kids are just content swimming in our pool. When it gets to hot though, they will be the ones to actually ask me that they would rather stay inside.

Last Tuesday, we finally went to the beach. The last time we went to the beach was almost 4 years ago. I was actually 7 months pregnant with Kaitlyn and Kayla was 4. The kiddos were pretty excited, Kaitlyn was understandably more excited as this would be here first time to go to the beach. To make the story short, our beach outing was fun but Ralph and I are definitely not beach people. Since there are no cottages where you can put all your stuff and rest like in my country. You have to make do and put blankets and towels on the sand. And sand gets into everything and anything. As for the beach water, you can't let you if you have a younger child. It would knocked around by the wave and carried by the current. I was not used to it. Back home our waters are nothing like that. The kids can swim in the shallow end and not worry about getting knocked over by the strong wave. As soon as we packed up I blurted out " It's going to be Water Parks until they are older for the beach". Ralph agrees with me as he is also not a beach person. Hey, I am not saying I don't the beach period but I'm just not used to the beaches here in America.. If the wave and the current was not that strong I would have loved it. But when you have kids, you tend to gravitate to a place where you don't have to hold their hands in order for them to have a good time. To sum it all up it wasn't bad but it wasn't great either. The important thing is that we had our little family time of bonding..

SOME PEOPLE...

This guest post from Edgardo Rosa

Some people (usually from the older generation) say that we have too much choice. Just take going to the grocery store for instance. The other day I went to the produce section, and counted over 18 varieties of apples. It seems like we used to have just red or green (on a good day!) I then went to the cereal aisle, and I guess I’ve never really realized the ridiculousness of our plethora of choices. There is literally an entire AISLE devoted to cereal! I can’t figure out if all of this choice is a good thing or a bad thing. I’ve gotten so used to all of my choices- that I don’t know what I would do without them. I love being able to scroll through my hundreds of channels from my satellite (http://www.TVbydirect.com) . I love being able to sit down on my couch, decide what cereal I want for breakfast out of around 100 choices, and then sit down to any one of 5-6 news/morning shows. Do you think that all of this choice is a good thing or a bad thing? Are we living in excess, or are we merely utilizing and enjoying choices that are in front of us?

BIRTH MONTH

July is not only my birth month, I share it with my sister as well. We get to have the same age for 10 days,lol. Does that mean we will be equal until she hits her birthday and is officially older than me again? We always use to joke with each other that there is no big and lil sister after my birthday. My sister's birthday is on July 24. My sister and I could have had the same birthday had my mother not elected induction. But since she wanted to be present for my sister's 1st birthday she had an induction and picked July 14. Why July 14? It's my fathers brothers birthday. As It turned out I had other ideas and refuse to share the same birthday with any of our relative, I was born on July 15,lol. I don't want to drag this on so here it goes :




To my one and only sister Mitzi, A Happy Happy Birthday to you. I may not say I love you enough but you are a big part of my heart and my life. You are an amazing sister, daughter and I know that you will be a wonderful mom to Alyssa. I am so proud of your achievement and I love you.

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY MANANG (BIG SISTER)

TO GIVE

With so many birthday coming and going I can't keep track. Thank God, I know the birthdays of very important people in my life. But when it comes to my friends birthdays I need help. I have already missed a couple of birthdays from some close friends of mine. If it wasn't for facebook I would forget most of my friends birthdays, lol. It's not that I ignore it completely but I forget. The next big birthday will be Kayla's. And a couple of months after that will be my BIL and Ralph and Kaitlyn's birthday. My BIL Larry cooked for me and it was one of the best birthday present from my BIL. He made the best meat loaf I have ever tasted. Birthdays is not about the party, the expensive presents you receive but rather it is about the thought behind every action. I am always thankful for every gift I receive no matter how little or big they are. Someone I know will be celebrating her birthday soon and I think it would be a great idea to send her a gift basket.With her sweet tooth I know giving her a gift basket will be appreciated. If you have someone special about to celebrate their birthday send gift baskets now and hear the joy in their voice when they receive it. After all, "its better to give than to receive".