LIFE of THE NOT SO - NEW PARENTS: 2010

Thursday, July 22, 2010

After 6 Months of Panglalait from All Corners. Pumayat na din

Friday, July 2, 2010

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Happy Father's Day, Papa!

Papa,

This is our second Fathers Day together and there will be many many more. I Love you Papa. You are the best Papa in the whole world.

Lots of love and hugs.

Happy Fathers Day.

Dylan

When Dax proposed to me, we were at home. There was no sun, sand or wine, no steak, no candle lit dinner but it was New year's eve, a few minutes more and the sky will be lit with fireworks. There was a 15 month old baby, a 20 month old marriage, and a church wedding a planning. It was the second happiest day of my life, first being when Dylan was born.

His marriage proposal may have been way way overdue, and while the atmosphere may not have been the most magical, despite having lots of engagement ring to choose from, his choice most certainly was a white gold band with a beautiful diamond. Dax made the perfect choice for what I intend to be my first and last engagement ring.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

You Might Be:

Additional from responses I got from facebook:

Chuck Norris - Dax

McGyver - Carlin

Steven Seagal - Ryan

Dog, the bounty hunter - Ryan

Eduardo Villanueva Alcanzare for President

H.E. Mr. Ex-Pres FVR sent us a package full of printed materials after the election. I found that one candidate almost has the same name as my husband and so my mom had this funny funny idea of doing this and facebooking it.

som·nil·o·quy 6 (the good dancer)

Dax: Could I have been a good dancer in the past?

Carlin:?????????

som·nil·o·quy 5 (Ninja vs. Shoalin)

Dax: Who do you think will win?

Carlin: What?

Dax: Who do you think will win, Shoalin or Ninja?

Carlin: Huh?

Dax: Beben and Hazel (Sta. Maria) failed me in my Shoalin exams.

Carlin:??????????

som·nil·o·quy 4 (pochi)

Dax: Eh..... pano na si pochi (how about pochi)?

Carlin: Huh (as usual clueless), sino si pochi (who is pochi)?

Dax: Pochi the dog.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

A Day at the American Club

Dylan's Funny List

Dylan's Funny List (a.k.a Dylan's diet list)

- ate sand and tried to feed mama some

- ate baby powder and gave mama some

- ate sampaguita, old rose petal and balat ng lychee and then tried to give mama some

- drank water from the bath tub while bathing

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Countdown: Day 0

It's day 0. Hours away from knowing. Shall we go frenchie? or shall we not?

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Be jealous Cinderella! Eat your heart out, Fairytale princesses! I am the true belle of the ball!

A wedding is one of the most memorable day in a woman's life. I started planning for mine October 2009 and the wedding is on December 2010. It's months and months and months of planning that comes down to just one day. That one day looks so simple, put on the gown and marry the man of your dreams. Oh, but for sure, something will go wrong, for they always do. But i'll be fine when that day comes because i'll have the perfect wedding dress.

It is the dress that highlights the celebration. In my list of wedding priorities, the wedding dress is number 2 next to my groom. I first saw Veluz's works October last year. Ate elaine (Dax's sister) sent me a few links of popular Bridal Couture Designers. My heart skipped a beat when I saw her blogger.

Oh my God! I don't want any other designers. I want her to make my Gown. So we sent an email and she replied. So we arranged to see her in December to talk about the gown. I kept my options open, we looked for other designers but never made a commitment to see them. In my heart I already know who I want even if I still have no idea about how I want my dress to look like.

December came and it was time to see Ms. V. I already had an idea of how much it would cost us. Its not going to be less than a 6 digit figure, that's for sure. Even then, I went thru with it. I kept on telling myself, it's ok, it's a free consultation, she'll give me a quote and I can take my time to decide on it.

While she was making a sketch she said without sounding arrogant, this is going to be real expensive, there's going to be lots of shiny shiny swarovski here and here and here. So I said, bawasan natin ng kinang. She flipped her pencil and rubbed a few of those swarovski off. It still looked awesome to me. She left the room and said, I'm coming with the quotation. A few minutes later, she came out with a paper and handed it to me. Its still expensive but I was expecting it to be. I just know it's going to be worth every penny.

I didn't see other designers because I never intended to. My heart was fixed on her and only her. I called the next day and saw her the day after for the first fitting.

Ceremony + Venue

The celebration will be held at a beautiful venue filled with style, romance, and grandiosity. Fernbrook Gardens is located near the village of Portofino South, close to Alabang Town Center and Ayala Alabang Village in the Philippines.

The Ceremony will be held at the Notre Dame de Vie Chapel. It is a mini Basilica located towards the back of Fernbrook atop a hill.

The reception will start right after the ceremony at the Byzantine Hall of Fernbrook.

som·nil·o·quy 3 (time machine)

At around 2 AM the sleep talker woke me up with a:

dax: "jibberish jibberish"

carlin: "huh"

dax: "jibberish machine"

carlin: "what?"

dax: "like a time machine"

Monday, May 3, 2010

How to Get There

DIRECTIONS - FROM THE NORTH

Take South Super Highway and pass both the exits of Bicutan and Sucat.
After the Sucat exit, look out for the lane on the right that says "Filinvest/Southstation Exit". Follow the rightmost lane to this exit. You will see an exit sign on the right that points to the Alabang exit. Follow this, but make a sudden RIGHT turn to the Filinvest/Southstation exit. This is confusing as there are two toll gates to choose from. Choose the one wherein you will make a full right turn.
After you make a right and pay the toll fee, (currently P65), continue driving forward. You'll know you're on the right track if you see the Bellevue Hotel on your right. Bellevue is a tall structure, so you won't miss it. Then you will see a fork in the road. You'll discover that the road you're on is parallel to Alabang-Zapote Rd.
When you reach the intersection, you'll have to somehow veer Left, and then Right, to get onto the main road, Alabang-Zapote Rd. You'll know you're on the right track when after the intersection, Home Depot and S&R will be on your left.
Continue down Alabang-Zapote Rd. You will pass Alabang Town Center and McDonalds on your left.
You will pass two stoplights. Then, look out for the stoplight before Isuzu Cars Alabang on the left, and Alabang Medical Center on the right. At this point, turn LEFT into the street before the corner of Isuzu. This is Acacia Ave.
When you reach the end, you'll see the gate to Ayala Alabang Village in front of you. Make a RIGHT turn, this is Commerce Ave. Soon, the road will narrow and reaches a point when you can no longer go straight.
Turn LEFT when you reach the end. You'll see a sign pointing to Ayala Southvale Village.
After you turn left, this road is now Daang-Hari Rd. It's a long road that will narrow at one point, curve, and then widen again. The drive to Fernbrook Gardens from this point is about 7 km.

You'll pass 3 major landmarks or villages on your right in this order:
Ayala Southvale Village
Versailles
Portofino Heights
After you see Portofino Heights, watch out for a left turn in the road, since this turn is easy to miss. If you look closely, there is a police station on the left corner, and sometimes there are tents set up by Brittany. Turn LEFT (be careful when you turn!) where you will probably start to see the structures of Fernbrook Gardens up ahead and to the right. When you fully see the Fernbrook Gardens structure, turn right.

DIRECTIONS - FROM THE SOUTH

Find your way to Alabang-Zapote Road.
Turn into any of the streets off Alabang-Zapote Rd. which lead to Commerce Ave. The shortest path would be the street where Isuzu Alabang is.
When you reach Commerce Ave., make a RIGHT.
When the road reaches a point when you can no longer go straight, turn LEFT. You'll see a sign pointing to Ayala Southvale Village. After you turn left, this road is now Daang-Hari Rd. It's a long road that will narrow at one point, curve, and then widen again. The drive to Fernbrook Gardens from this point is about 7 km.
You'll pass 3 major landmarks or villages on your right in this order:
Ayala Southvale Village
Versailles
Portofino Heights
After you see Portofino Heights, watch out for a left turn in the road, since this turn is easy to miss. If you look closely, there is a police station on the left corner, and sometimes there are tents set up by Brittany. Turn LEFT (be careful when you turn!) where you will probably start to see the structures of Fernbrook Gardens up ahead and to the right. When you fully see the Fernbrook Gardens structure, turn right.

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Entourage

Wedding Poster: 1st layout

Friday, April 30, 2010

rickshaw essentials to a safe trip

I've lived in Dhaka on and off for almost a decade now and I tell you it is not safe to travel in a rickshaw - even more when you're not familiar with the language and the roads.

Today, Dax went to and from the office in a RICKSHAW for the first time ALONE. This is how he did it.

1. Know where you're going and how to go there. Have a local accompany you (if possible) once. Learn how to say basic command for directions in Bangla:

Left: Dane

Right: Bame

Straight: Shoja

I'll get off here: Rako

2. Just give the money, don't ask how much. They have no specific fare. You have to have exactly the same amount of money you want to pay. They never have change for your bigger bill.

Taka 5: Pash Taka

Taka 10: Dosh Taka

Taka 20: Bish Taka

Change: Banti

3. Look tough.

som·nil·o·quy 2 (city of knkha)

Dax in somniloquy: Where is knkha city?

Carlin awake: huh?

Dax in somniloquy: Knkha city, K-N-K-H-A, knkha. I need to go to knkha city.

som·nil·o·quy 1 (movie review)

"Have you seen Nikki's new blog about movies?" The first thing Dax said when he saw me (i thought he saw me) infront of the laptop. He continued saying "she did a movie review". I answered with a "What? I just viewed their blogger, how did I not see that?" Again he said, "There's a movie review". So I went back and checked diknikdiknik and it wasn't there.

What a Mystery.

Ayun pala! Hay, nagsasalita na naman ng tulog, sumasagot pa! (I figured it out, he's talking in his sleep again and he answers back when asked as well)

The 1st of a long long series of blogs.

Somniloquy is talking in sleep. Yes, my husband and my 18month-old daughter talk in their sleep and I'm here to listen and blog it everytime they do.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

O Kikkoman!

Ang Tula Ni Carmen Para sa Kanyang Mga Kikkoman

Toyo ni Dylan, Toyo ni Didik, Toyo ni Kikkoman

Haay, Mga Toyo sa Mundo silang Dalawa ang sumalo

O Kikkoman, O Kikkoman

Kay Itim itim mo naman

Toyo ay Dinamay, Pati kulay ay binigay

O Kikkoman, O Kikkoman

Kay Galing galing mo naman

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Take a Step Back

Ipod, Ipad, facebook, gas expense, BBC, CNN, NBA playoffs, Itunes, Macbook pro, Manny Pacquiao, Daily newspaper, phone updates, system updates, software review, cheap airline deals, DSLR, DVD, data back up, fashion trends, celebrity gossip, political scandals, booze, office politics, failed projects, promotion, job market, Visa applications, business possibilities, school, traffic jam, brown out, pollution, flood, earthquake trends, credit card bills, over population, PS3 and games, youtube, fast food, toys, torrentz, ISP, phone credit, insurance....

These are just a few of what my everyday self is made up of. When have I really stepped back from all of these distractions? When have I really stepped back and say "I don't want it anymore" or worse- can I, in all honesty ever say this now that things have become more "convenient". When was the last time I had my own time to really look back and look in to what is really essential? It's been a while I suppose.

Over the weekend we went to Sreepur- a farm an hour and half away from the city which we visit once in a while to get away from our daily lives and break the routine and try in our own little way to detach from all these distractions. Upon arriving on the farm we set up Dylan's pop-up pool. For some reason my daughter didn't like the idea of swimming which I didn't really understand because weather was hot and humid, a typical summer in BANGLADESH and the only thing that makes sense is just jump in the cool water, right? Maybe it's because she's not used to bathe in cold water (which i feel sorry for her) or maybe it's the "uziseros" that made her uncomfortable (she's kind of a snob) or maybe I just rushed her into it (way to go papa). But I swear she cried like hell when I dipped half her body into that nice little pool. Of course at that instance my chance to enjoy the water with my daughter was over- I struck out. In a Muslim country one cannot expect to see a woman wearing 2 piece bathing suits so my wife had to wear my boardshorts and shirt. Well, being the mother that she is, she took time in hugging our baby and slowly, slowly dipping her in the pool until finally she was comfortable. And from then on she was UNSTOPPABLE, just like any kid na hindi magpapaawat (my mother in law tried to pull her out several times). My wife also brought a few of her favorite toys- a few colored cups, water squirters shaped like animals, a few random flowers and a dried leaf. I was all sticky and sweaty and my feet were dirty but somebody had to pictures of my mag-ina enjoy the moment, it was one of those ordinary family time that I want to capture on camera. As I was taking pictures I remembered a long forgotten childhood memory of playing with my brother and cousins and neighbors with cut out newspapers which were supposed to be armors from "sumpit", the strands of walis tingting that we decorated with champaca leaves to make it look like fencing swords (using it for gumamela bubbles even at that time seemed immature and gay) or those long cartons of fluorescent bulbs that we used as bazookas when we load it up with "baby rockets" at the time when Christmas smelled like Christmas all over our neighborhood and all those magical moments in those magical years of growing up.

As the sun was starting to go down we went for a short walk to the barn to see the cows, my mother-in-law told us that the cows are being milked and for some strange reason I felt this excitement in my heart about seeing it with my wife and daughter and then I figured I can still be genuinely amazed by the simple nice things. "Thank you Lord"

In the quiet moment in the car on the way back home I was singing in my head the song by Blur on the album "Think Tank" and the line goes "Have you been busy lately that you haven't found the time to open up your mind and watch the world spinning gently out of time"- a wonderful line that will always be sung in my head whenever I take the time to "take a step back".