Preparing for Keisha's 6th Birthday Sunday, October 18, 2009

For today, I planned on going to Jollibee to inquire about their birthday party packages for Keisha's 6th birthday on the 29th. Inspired by one of her classmates that had the party on their school complete with a character/mascot appearance, I wanted to do the same thing for Keisha and I knew that was what she wanted as well.

I got the kids and myself dressed up and we were going to leave Ron Weasley to our neighbor who also happens to be Henry's aunt. As we were saying our goodbyes to Ron, Henry came home. I knew he was going to come home early, but he is the best when it comes to timing. So we waited for him to change clothes and we all went to the nearest Jollibee.

The Jollibee that is just a few blocks from our house that sank in Typhoon Ondoy (and by sank I mean only the roof was visible and the service crew awaited for rescue and the waters to subside on the roof) was currently not accepting birthday parties as they did not have the materials for it at the moment.

We proceeded to SM Valenzuela and went to the Jollibee there. Sadly, the manager informed me that they no longer accept take out birthday parties beginning this year. Keisha was obviously sad, but there was really nothing we could do. I decided to ask at McDonald's.

Since I am a big fan of McDonald's french fries, we asked about their birthday party packages. We got all the info we needed, and the price including all the invitations, loot bags, thank you cards, party hats, and all of that were included. The only problem is, since the mall opened at 10AM, that would be the time they can accomodate the take out party. Keisha's classes end at 10:30AM, so from 10AM including travel time to their school, there really won't be much time for her party.

As of right now, Henry and I are still thinking about what we can do so that her party at school will be successful. I guess we'll just have food delivered to her school, but having games and prizes would make it extra special for her.

Catching Up! Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Whew!

I totally have some serious catching up to do on my blogs. With everything that's been going on in my life right now, this is one of the things that I have neglected so far.

For starters, there have been so many changes in my life recently. One of them is the fact that my mother in law has already migrated to Hawaii last October 3. She will be able to vacation here after 2 years though.

Since my mother in law has already migrated, I am now officially a full time mom and housewife to my two kids. Being hands-on to them also means I have to be hands off on some things, and obviously my blog is one of them. I also had to let go of some clients that I have for my online writing jobs. I honestly prefer not to work for them anymore instead of me always missing deadlines.

My daily routine at home is pretty much mapped out. On weekdays, I wake up extremely early (and by extremely I mean 6AM) so that I have enough time to make Keisha's breakfast and heat her water for her bath, see her off to school, then clean the house while she's gone and feed and comb our new pet shih tzu Ron Weasley. When Nicole wakes up a few hours later, I attend to her until Keisha comes home.

When Keisha comes home from school, Nicole doesn't fret too much anymore as she already has a playmate with her. Together they play with the puppy as I make our lunch. After feeding them and giving them their vitamins, I give Nicole a nap and we all take our afternoon nap. Sometimes I don't want to sleep in the afternoon but taking care of two kids and a puppy can be really exhausting, so I sleep with them.

When we wake up, we play around with each other and the puppy until it's time for me to cook dinner, wait for their dad to come home, clean them up for bedtime, and then tuck them in. My routine is broken by trips to the mall or a day out with the entire family.

I love taking care of them, but I guess until I learn to properly manage my time, I will have to keep my online career to a minimum.

A Happy-Sad Goodbye Sunday, October 04, 2009

Yesterday, we said our happy and sad goodbyes to my mom in law as she flew to Hawaii aboard Hawaiian Airlines. She needs to stay there for 2 years before she can come back to the Philippines for a vacation.

I asked my dad to drive us to the airport so we could use our van. Henry, the kids, me, my sister Elena, my mom in law and her brother plus my dad all came to bid her goodbye. She had been crying the night before and was having second thoughts on leaving.

Today, I already got to chat with her on Skype and she's still crying, especially when she sees the kids. I know in time, she will get used to it. But on the other hand, I am glad that she's seeing how beautiful Hawaii is and how clean it is plus how good the air smells and all of that stuff. In time, especially when she begins to work, I know she'll do just fine.

Here Comes the -ber Months! Wednesday, September 09, 2009

I can hardly believe that Christmas is really just around the corner. September, the first of the -ber months is here and it's like a little over 100 days before Christmas.

October will mark Keisha's 6th birthday, and November will also be Henry and mine's 6th year wedding anniversary. November will also be my mom in law's birthday.

December is also my mom's birthday, and not to mention Christmas, the big day. Since everything's all OK with my mom in law's visa, this will be the first Christmas we'll spend without her. I will surely miss having her around, but I will not be the one who will hold her back from her dream of going to the US.