Happy Birthday Mama G!

I would like to dedicate this blog post to my mother who is celebrating her birthday today.

A Poem for Mom

by Champagne S. Baker

You are the sunlight in my day,

You are the moon I see far away.

You are the tree I lean upon,

You are the one that makes troubles be gone.

You are the one who taught me life,

How not to fight, and what is right.

You are the words inside my song,

You are my love, my life, my mom.

You are the one who cares for me,

You are the eyes that help me see.

You are the one who knows me best,

When it's time to have fun and time to rest.

You are the one who has helped me to dream,

You hear my heart and you hear my screams.

Afraid of life but looking for love,

I'm blessed for God sent you from above.

You are my friend, my heart, and my soul

You are the greatest friend I know.

You are the words inside my song,

You are my love, my life, my Mom.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMMY!

Adventures in Kota Kinabalu: City Tour

Kota Kinabalu is just a small city. According to our tour guide, you can go around KK in one day. Here are the places that we visited.

The  Wisma Tun Mustapha formerly known as the Sabah Foundation Building. The building looks like a battery from afar. Photo-op lang dito. We are not allowed to enter the building.

The state mosque. We did not go around nor entered the mosque because the twins are already cranky. Sleeping time na kasi eh. Pero this mosque is beautiful. It is surrounded by water.

The Buddhist temple. We don't have a picture here kasi the kulilits are already sleeping. We just stayed inside the bus.

The Waterfront. We went here on our own kasi pagod na ang mga oldies. Hehehe. Nice ang view dito. Counterpart ito ng ating baywalk.

Yan lang ang napuntahan namin. Pero if we stayed longer sa KK we should have visited their beaches or climbed the Kinabalu mountain. Yun daw kasi ang pinupuntahan dito.

Adventures in Kota Kinabalu: The Gaya Market

We were in Kota Kinabalu (KK) from July 28 to 31. Nakisabay kami sa company ng dad ko since their corporate planning was held there.

We started touring KK at Day 2 na. Gabi na kasi kami dumating nung Day 1. What we just did when we arrived is to look for something to eat.

At Day 2, my hubby and I decided to check out the Gaya Market in the morning. Sakto nga eh kasi Sunday lang siya open. Honestly, medyo walang kwents yung Gaya Market. Parang Divi lang siya na walang masyadong mabibili.

Here is how it looks like:

Before namin suyurin yung Gaya Market. We tried this drink - Sugar Cane Juice. Tamang tama nga eh kasi super init that time.

You can see here that hubby is enjoying his drink.

May trivia ako. Hehehe. Do you notice hubby's shirt? He is wearing it the wrong way. Narealize lang niya na baliktad ang kanyang shirt nung malapit na kami umuwi. (Peace Be!)

Anyway, wala kami masyadong nabili dito. We just bought some white coffee beans, souvenir shirts and magnets.

Instant Hotel and Tour Booking

We will be going to Puerto Princesa, Palawan tomorrow afternoon to celebrate my mom's birthday. And guess what? I only booked today for the hotel and tour! Bongga di ba? Instant na instant ang dating. I'm so hesitant kasi to book because of the rains the past few days. Baka mamaya may bagyo at di kami matuloy, sayang lang ang ibabayad namin.

Actually, I started scouting and inquiring na rin for package tours yesterday morning. Meron na nga akong napipiling travel agent eh. Pero I remembered that I got from my former officemate the contact number of their tour guide in Puerto Princesa. I immediately called her and inquired. At first, medyo mahal ang offer niya as compared dun sa napili ko na na agent. Pero bandang huli, I don't need to ask na for a discount. Siya na mismo ang nagbanggit sa akin na bibigyan niya ako ng discount. Yun nga lang, she'll email me the quotation pa in the evening. Sa isip isip ko. Ano ba yun? Baka mamaya mahal pa rin siya. Hanggang kinulit ko siya to email me na. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to email me dahil brown out daw last night sa kanila. Haaayyyssttt...

This morning, I called her up and followed up the quotation. She told me that she'll send the quote to me in a few minutes. Ayun, I received it na and I'm very happy that her offer is cheaper than the one that I inquired yesterday. So I immediately called my mom and told her about the rates. Agree naman si mudra about it kaya we immediately processed the payment.

Buti na lang mabait katransact yung travel agent. Hindi siya sigurista gaya ng iba. Kahit hindi pa kami nakakapagbayad, prinocess na niya yung permit namin for the underground river tour and nagpatemporary booking na siya for our hotel. Hopefully, maganda rin ang actual service niya pagdating namin tomorrow sa Palawan.

Lesson Learned: Always prepare ahead of time!

Food Trip: Korea BBQ Dona Dona

One night at Makati Avenue, my hubby and I searched for a restaurant to eat dinner. Korean ang trip ng lolo niyo. Feel niya kumain ng Bee Bim Bap and sabi niya Korean food is healthy daw. So we ended up at Korea BBQ Dona Dona.

Here is the entrance of the restaurant.

Inside the resto. Medyo old na yung kanilang furnitures and as you can see in the picture, halos Koreans ang kumakain (naturamente, Korean restaurant nga eh.).

The sidings that come with the food that we ordered. Dilis, Sayote, Kimchi, Spicy Labanos and Egglpant.  I liked the sayote and the eggplant. I tried the Kimchi pero di ko talaga siya type. The dilis naman, masarap siya iterno sa Bee Bim Bap.

I ordered Jap Chae. I was surprised na may beef pala siya. What was indicated in the menu is that vegetables lang ang meron siya. Anyhow, it taste really good.

My hubby naman ordered Dol Sot Bee Bim Bap. All vegetables siya. 

Here is hubby very happy and ready to attack!

Ang hatol: The food is good but the serving is small considering the cost (super pricey siya).

Sally's Spoof: Queso de Bola

Who is Sally?

Sally is my mom's labandera/plantsadora. She is also kwela so marami kaming laughtrip experiences with her.

One Saturday morning at my parents house...

Mama G: Nasaan na nga pala yung Queso de Bola ko?
Sally: Ano po yun ma'am?
Mama G: Yung Queso na parang Bola kaya nga Queso de Bola eh.
Sally: Ah ma'am, yung parang cheese.
Mama G: Anong parang cheese? Cheese nga yun!
Sally: Ay oo nga!

Laughtrip talaga kami that morning. Lakas ng tawanan namin.

Potty Training the Kulilits

At 18 months, I think it is now time to potty train my kulilits. Ayaw ko naman na ang tanda tanda na nila tapos they are still wearing nappies.

Yesterday, I made them wear their briefs lang. I asked them once in a while if they want to pee. To my dismay, ayaw nila magcooperate. Ang kukulit! Grabe! Sa awa ng Diyos, wala pang 30 minutes naihian na yung briefs. So tinanggalan ni Manang ng salawal pero deadma pa rin ang mga kulilits, continue pa rin sila sa kalalaro. Ang resulta: nagmistulang malaking CR ang sala namin!

Ang hirap pala kasi 2 sila. To the point na dala dala namin ang potty trainer at hahabulin namin yung wiwi nila. LOL! Ang funny part pa dun is kapag wiwiwi na sila at magpapanic na kami ni manang, napuputol ang wiwi nila tapos bobomba na naman parang fountain. Maloloka na ata ako, di ko alam ang gagawin ko. Buti pa ang aso kaya kong ipotty train ang sarili kong anak, hirap na hirap ako. Sa isip ko, buti pa si Pawie ang daling turuan, isang sabi lang gets na niya.

Anyway, tiyaga tiyaga lang yan. Ika nga nila, kapag may tiyaga, may nilaga. Pero kawawa nga lang si Manang at marami rami siyang lalabahan at pupunasan.

Mama G's Laughtrip: Split

Super nakakaaliw na ngayon ang aking mga kulilits. Ang dami na nilang alam gawin. One time my mom told me na nags-split daw si Ian and hindi raw niya alam kung saan natutunan yun.

Awhile ago, my mom went to our house to play with the kulilits. And then, she asked Ian to split.

Mama G: Ian, split!
Ian: Dumapa sa sahig and then pretended to split
Mama G: Ian, split not Sleep
Ian: Still pretended to sleep sa sahig
Chris: Gaya gaya to Ian, pretended to sleep din sa sahig

Lakas talaga ng tawa namin kanina. Hindi ko alam kung may mali sa pronounciation ni madir kaya ang intindi nila sa split ay sleep. Nakakalurky talaga ang kulilits namin!

Crayola Blackboard/White Board

Calling the kulilits' Ninongs, Ninangs, Lolos and Lolas! Anyone who wants to buy this for them? Ika nga, ask and it shall be given di ba? LOL!

Ang cute di ba? Pwde na iconvert ang sala namin sa day care. May chairs and table na sila, books, crayons, etc. Eto na lang ang kulang.  =)

P.S. This is available at Rustan's Alabang Town Center

Food Discovery: Korean Red Bean Ice Cream

One recent Korean Ice Cream discovery is their Red Bean Ice Cream. Promise, ang sarap niya! Just imagine our Ice Buko na maraming monggo on top. Di ba yun ang sarap na? This one puro red bean siya na super creamy. Mura lang din ito. It's only P25.00 each.

I can't wait to go back to the Korean Grocery at BF Homes. Maghohoard ako!

Twin's Vocabulary at 18 months

To document, the words that my kulilits can say now are:

Car
Flower
Blue
Circle
Baby
Banana
This
Mommy
Daddy
Mama
Papa
Yaya
Circle
Dog
Cat
Ten
Turtle
iPad
Sexy
Gwapo
Hot
Key
Clock
Chris
Ant
Yuck
Shoes
Butterfly
Mosquito
Ball
Happy Birthday
Orange
Shoes
Airplane
Manang
I'm so happy they could say a lot of words now. Hopefully, I could teach them to count and sing the ABC.

Manang's Spoof: Ratatouille

Sa house namin, may mga bubwit aka mabait. Hindi ko alam kung saan silang lupalop nanggagaling. Ayaw ko naman patayin dahil baka manira ng gamit. Before kasi, hinahabol ko pa para ideath sentence kaso nadala na ako dahil nginatngat ang bag ko.

So one time habang nasa kitchen kami habang pinapakain ang mga kulilits...

Manang: Eat na kambal
Kambal: eats the food sabay dura
Manang: Hay naku kambal, wag niyo iluwa yung pagkain niyo. Sige kayo, andyan na si Ratatuwi
Me: Laughing out loud.  Manang, anong Ratatuwi? Ratatouille no!
Manang: Ay ganun ba. Sorry!

Operation Siling Labuyo

The kulilits at this point are fond of putting things in their mouth. Subo dito, subo doon. Nakakatakot talaga baka kasi kung anong virus or bacteria ang makuha sa kasusubo.

One Sunday, my father-in-law noticed that Chris kept on putting things in his mouth so he suggested to rub some hot chili on it. Yun daw ang ginagawa niya sa mga anakis niya when they were little para madala.

Being an obedient daughter-in-law, I rubbed some hot chili on the toy that Chris kept on putting in his mouth. And the result...

HINDI EFFECTIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Grabe talaga ang anakis ko. Kakaiba! Sa una lang naanghangan. Nung mawala ang anghang, subo ulit. Kahit namula na ang pisngi at labi sa anghang, go pa rin. Natawa na lang kami at kinantsyawan namin FIL ko na nasira ang strategy niya dahil wa-effect sa kanyang apo.

Ang hatol...

OPERATION SILING LABUYO: FAIL!

Tom's World

Last Monday, my mother-in-law brought us to Tom's World at SM Southmall. Miss na raw niya mga apo niya kaya pinasyal kami. As usual, naubos ang tokens kasasakay sa car. Addict kasi ang mga kulilits sa cars eh. Kapag nakasakay na yan, hindi mo na mapapaalis. Promise!

Ian

Chris

We also rode this big stuffed animals. I dunno what it is called. Basta yun na yun.

Lola Es with Chris

Ian and Me

After sumakay sa rides, ang naglaro kami na. Yes, you heard me right! Kaming matatanda. Hehehe. Triny namin yung dadakot ng tickets and yung maghuhulog ng piso to win tickets. In fairness ha, nakadukot ako twice ng tig 50 tickets. Dun naman sa tig pipiso, marami rami rin kaming nakuhang tickets. For fun lang talaga ang ginawa namin. Pero I'm telling you, nakakahook siya. Meron nga kami nakitang player, parang addict na addict na dun sa tig-pipiso. Ilang bucket ng piso ang hawak and nakababad na dun sa isang machine. Ginawang casino ang Tom's world. Nakakaloka!

We ended our pasyal sa pagkain ng merienda. We ate at KFC. Dun ko lang nadiscover na favorite pala ni Ian ang KFC gravy. Manang mana talaga sa Nanay. Hehehe. Mantakin niyo, yung fries dinidip sa gravy.

Ian enjoying his fries

We enjoyed this afternoon pasyal with my MIL. Sarap ulit-ulitin!

Activities with the Twins

Being a full time mom is mahirap pala no?

I'm so clueless on what to do with my growing kulilits that is why I keep on researching on activities for toddlers. I read that we should have reading and coloring activities. Masunurin naman ako so I tried it with them.

This is during our reading activity. At first, behave sila. You could see naman sa picture na nakakunot pa ang noo ni Ian at akala mo marunong magbasa. Pero bandang huli, di na mapakali, dinadala yung books sa sahig at ikot na ng ikot kung saan saan.

Very playful pa talaga ang mga kulilits ko. Very short pa ang attention span nila (tama ba ang term?) Sana after some time matuto na sila mapirmi sa isang lugar.


Next, we did some coloring activity. Eto, mukhang nag-enjoy sila sa pagdoodle sa paper. But after a few minutes, triny na ilabas lahat ng crayons sa box. Ewan ko ba, hindi naman nila kayang gamitin lahat yun ng sabay sabay. And eto pa...ginawang candy ang crayons. Sa awa ng Dyos, 2 crayons ang nasira dahil kinagat.

I'll try ulit gawin mga activities na ito until masanay sila. Sabi ng ng dad ko, kailangan talaga pagtyagaan ang pagtuturo if gusto ko talaga sila matuto.

The Kulilits at Dave's Playhouse

One boring day, I decided to bring the kulilits to SM Southmall para maiba naman. I remembered kasi that there is a playhouse there where they could play. Mahilig kasi sila sa Gymboree eh.

The name of the playhouse is Dave's Funhouse. Let me tour you...

Here is the place's signage.

The facade. You could see that it is gated and there is a small waiting area around. I could say that the place is secured. The gate is locked all the time and it is opened by a gatekeeper using a key. They also use finger scanning device for the authorized person to pick up the kids. High tech right? In my case, they asked me to scan my index finger 5x.

There is a petshop with lots of animal stuffed toys.

A fastfood and grocery store complete with dummy burgers, fries, ice cream, veggies, meats, etc.

A hotel, post office and a school complete with costumes and props.

 A fire station and jail with props also.

A giant slide and pool of balls.

The place is nice and there are a lot of toys but I think it is more suitable for kids and not for toddlers. Feeling ko kasi hindi masyado nag-enjoy ang mga kulilits ko unlike when they are playing at Gymboree kung saan hyper na hyper sila. Aside from that, may mga bully big kids around. Nang-aagaw ng toys...Dinadaan nila sa laki. Pricewise, pwede na. It's only P200 per hour for the kids and P20 per hour for guardians.

Here are some of the pictures of my kulilits playing around...

Chris riding a toy horse.

 Ian riding a toy motorcycle.

 Ian at the petshop.

Chris trying out the slide.

Ian playing the cash register at the grocery.

My kulilits at the pool full of plastic balls. Feel na feel. As if they were swimming talaga.

So there went our pampalipas oras. It is definitely fun seeing my boys having fun!

Freebies at SLEX

Don't you love freebies?

Just this afternoon when we passed by SLEX, we received some freebies at Nichols exit and here they are...

New Milo Overload and Nestea Iced Tea 2-Liter pack! Yipee! Pambawas din ito sa grocery list =).

Pictorial Before Going to Bed

Wala talagang dull moments every time I'm with my kulilits. Sobra nila akong pinapasaya. Like one night, nagpicture picture muna bago matulog. Game na game naman sila.

If you say to them "One...Two...Three... SMILE!", magpopose sila ng ganito:

Ian

O di ba, kulang na lang mabali ang leeg ng anak ko para ipakita ang kanyang ngiting makalaglag panty. LOL!

And if you ask them, "Paano ang gwapo?", they will do like this:

Chris

Sobrang adorable nila di ba? I'm so blessed to have these two kulilits!

Ian Dusing

One time, after I went to the wet market, nadatnan ko ang mga kulilits na kumakain. Sakto at may pasalubong akong Dunkin Donuts. What brought to my attention is Ian Boy. Ang dusing kumain. That's why I immediately got my camera so that may souvenir ako. Hehehe...

He looked like this...

Then when he realized that I'm taking pictures of him, nagpacute ang bulilit!

Kahit madusing, nakuha pang magpose. Ang cute ni Ian right?

Manang's Spoof: Arturo!!!

Do you know this?

photosource

Eto yung lumalabas every time nagsasabi sila Mickey Mouse ng "Oh Toodles!!!"

One day while watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and time to call Toodles...

Manang:  (to the twins) AAARRRTTUURRROOO!

Me: Manang, ano sabi mo?

Manang: AAARRRTTUURRROOO!

Me: Manang, hindi yan Arturo, Oh Toodles yan.

Manang: Gusto ko Arturo eh.

Me: Haaayyy Manang, wag naman yan ituro mo sa kambal.

So now, every time magtatawag na sila Mickey kay Toodles, inuunahan ko na si Manang. To the top of my lungs I'm saying "Oh Toodles!" to the twins.