Throwback Thursday - UP Diliman Lagoon

Top photo: from an engagement photoshot from 5 years ago. This was taken around September, if I remember correctly; Bottom photo: taken just last Sunday, we stopped by to rest while walking around the UP Academic Oval after brunch. We came back to sit on the exact same tree this time as a family . 

This same tree witnessed several super typhoons already. Still it's there providing a resting place for the weary. You can never underestimate nature's gifts. That's why we always need to remember to take good care of them. I hope when Maia comes back to **hopefully** study here, this same tree still remains.

Warning: Long Weekend Up Ahead

I am seriously wishing my long weekend is going to be something like this:

Photo from here

But I believe it's going to be something more similar to this:

Still. I'm looking forward to this because I really intend to make this weekend an infusion of family and personal fun. We're running our last race for 2012 and it's going to be a special one because we're spending a weekend in UP Diliman. Yipee! I will make sure a lot of treasured memories are going to be made. All for the sake of our little miss cutiepie who fully deserve our much needed attention. 

Have a wonderful LOOOOOOOOOOOOONG weekend everyone!

Hello May!

We welcomed the first day of the 5th month of the year by staying indoors. When my siblings and I were kids, my late lola always welcomed the first day of May with great revelry. She always looked forward to May because of Flores De Mayo and Her 'Hello May' ritual was usually accompanied by a piping hot pot of arroz caldo or 'palutaw' (which is just like Ginataang Halo-halo). Oh the nostalgia that May brings. I would've wanted to replicate lola's ritual but I fondly remember too how May smelled of flowers and dew and cool air then. It was never like the May that I've been experiencing for the past years that I've been living in Manila and now here in Cavite.

Of late, the summer heat has been almost unbearable that every time we're out and exposed for more than 10 minutes under the scorching sun and Maia would become lethargic, I would shake her just to keep her conscious. (insert Tibs' stiffled laugh) YES, I have heat stroke paranoia. And yes, in my part of the world, the paranoia never goes away. 

So anyway because we couldn't stay out for long unless we're dipping in a pool of water, we instead welcomed the first day of May indoors. Well, to be honest, I was secretly wishing we would do just that because the past few days had kept me extremely busy with work and other activities totally unrelated to family life. I missed my two-some, cool-some duo.I miss storytime with Maia. I miss cuddletime with Tibs.  I miss playing referee to their fights. I miss cooking for them. I just missed my family a lot. So yesterday, we ditched previous plans the last minute and decided to just get lazy and do family time some justice.  We did all the things I missed. Told/exchanged stories, cuddled, tickled, ate tacos and quesadillas, did some crafts (this is fast becoming a favorite bonding activity too in our household)!

Here are some photos I posted at instagram to summarize our day:

Fluffy Bunnies book. One of Maia's favorites since she was a toddler.
This was a gift from Lola Joyce.

Quesadilla/Soft Tacos Galore!
(my cheese dip ingredients on the left, quesadilla in the making on the right)

Maia busy at work

We did a choo-choo train from paper tubes and egg trays. Maia did that one so fast, I got pressured of thinking what to do next. Good thing I kept a Pinterest board of Arts and Crafts activities so I was able to come up with another paper tube (which was the material that I had on hand yesterday) activity instantly. Maia enjoyed the paper tube flower stamping more and I reckon it's probably because she loves painting pictures. At first I thought that making the patterns was difficult but I turned out to be easier than I'd imagined. I made a separate post of these two paper tube craft activities in case you would want to make your own version. Please click here for the Egg Carton + Paper Tube Train and here for the Paper Tube Flower stamps. 

May 1st came and went. It drizzled slightly during the late afternoon just about the same time when Maia  decided to drag all of her stuffed friends outside to show them the stars. It's a good thing the sky cleared up as soon as she got herself and her stuffed friends seated comfortably so I could claim proudly how we had a tantrum-free day yesterday. That was a first! 

Can you please join me in saying - "YOU DID GOOD, MAIA!"

Good Housekeeping Fun Run 2012

This might just be our first family fun run. I've been nagging Tibs to let Maia join us in one of our races since she was gifted with a pair of running shoes (thank you Ninang Ces!). But to date, he has not budged and give into my relentless nagging. I guess one thing that prevents him from letting me have my way are the race fees that are almost sky-high these days, to be honest.

When Tibs started running with his buddies, fees were at most pegged at only P250-300. And they were already running 10k's then. The longer distances would probably cost more but not a thousand like most races are these days. 

But, thank God for small races like this families are given the chance to run and have fun! There's no reason for Tibs to say no this time because at P600 all 3 of us can now register and run! I hope many families would come and join. I'm sure the little miss would be more than glad to race with other kids. 

If you're interested to join, here's a list of the registration centers and other race details:

Race Date: March 31, 2012

Venue: Bonifacio Global City

Distances:

5K – open category

3K – inflatable obstacle along the 3K route for the child to complete

1K – obstacles are simple mini-hurdles and weavers for the dogs

100m dash – kids 6 below

Fees:

Php 200.00 for all categories

• Children below 3 years old are free

Php50 per dog

* Dog must have vaccination record upon registration

Registration details:

starting February 4 to March 26, 2012:

- Hobbes and Landes Bonifacio High Street,

Quadrant 2, Unit B14, Fort

Bonifacio, Global City, Taguig

Starting Feb. 4, Daily, 1pm – 9pm

- Hobbes and Landes Greenhills Promenade,

Greenhills Shopping Center, San Juan

Starting Feb. 4, Daily, 1pm – 9pm

- Toys R Us Bonifacio High Street

Upper Ground Level, Active Fun Bldg.

28th St. cor. 9th Avenue, Taguig City

Starting Feb. 4, Daily, 1pm – 9pm

- SUMMIT MEDIA OFFICE

7th floor, Robinsons Cybergate Tower 3

Pioneer St. Mandaluyong City

Trunkline: (02) 451-8888 local 1070/1071

Starting Feb. 6, Weekdays only, 11am – 6pm

starting February 26 – March 26, 2012

- R.O.X.

Bonifacio High Street, B1 ROX Building, BGC, Taguig

Starting Feb. 26, Daily, 1pm – 9pm

SEE YOU THERE!

Something For The Homebody: Gardening

Gardening is one of Tibs's favorite hobbies (he's only got 2 anyways - the gadgets and that - lolz). Our neighbors would always compliment our landscaping and would express their awe when told that Tibs did it (with minimal help from the village gardeners) himself. 

Getting Down and Dirty

When we're anticipating our favorite lazy weekends, he would make sure to squeeze in some garden time. Kitchen time (and of late i'm also starting to enjoy Crafts time) is my therapy, his would be this. He would look forward to dropping by the garden shop and would never come home empty handed. Most of the flowers and plants in our garden though were either given to us by friendly neighbors, by the village gardeners or brought home by us from a visit to Angeles or Antique. Come to think of it, most of the garden expenses were for the soil, fertilizer and grass. The garden just came to be this beautiful because of all the effort (read: hardwork) that Tibs's painstakingly put into it. Now, this part of our home has become our favorite corner. Maia and I would usually hold our arts and crafts sessions here. On lazy afternoons, we would just plop on the grass and munch on meryenda. When my parents come over to visit, they would come out and prefer to have their morning coffee here. 

everyone else is down on the ground except me hehe

Watching Tibs work in the garden has somehow inspired me to challenge my planting skills. And when I saw a Maqui's herb garden, that got me inspired even more to pursue Tibs' suggestion of me taking up a corner of the garden and turning it into my own herb garden. We've already have some sweet basil, tarragon, oregano and peppermint growing in there but I'm hoping to add more herbs and prettify this corner. I already have this set this in my summer goals. Hopefully before the rainy season kicks in, my plants will all be thriving already and could already withstand the rains.  

Italian Oregano and flowering Tarragon

I know this is me dreaming big again but I'm hoping that with me doing this, we will be able to encourage Maia to be more conscious of her environment, to learn to care for it and to raise her to be a nature lover. Model what you intend your child to be, right? I could only hope we're doing the right thing here.

this basil plant is now all over our garden. it was surprisingly easy to grow and i didn't even have to intervene with it's propagation (hahaha)