red car's renewal

Nope, it's not our long-desired overall renewal of the red car. I'm referring to the red car's annual registration renewal which set us back financially big time. Every year, I always forget about this big chunk of our February expenses. As a result, I'm not often prepared to shell out money for car insurance, emission testing, and such requirements for the registration renewal. Let's just hope I get to budget it next year.

going on a trip

My uncle will be visiting several states in the next few weeks. His trip will be a mixture of business and pleasure. Since his work requires him to visit several of their offices, he decided to make the most out of it. Las Vegas is one of the places he plans to visit and he's now trying to work out his Las Vegas hotel reservations. I've been telling him not to forget to play casino and to watch some good shows while in Las Vegas. If only we could go with him, that would be great.

earning a degree at home

Mateo's yaya is very young. She's barely 18 years old. She graduated from high school last March and since her family don't have money to send her to college, she decided to work instead. Ramil and I have agreed to help her go to college if she's really serious about it. We're looking at nearby universities that offer night schooling or we might also consider just letting her get an online degree. There are a lot of good online universities now, like Capella University. They have even recently been chosen as a finalist for a Minnesota Tekne Award. We plan to work out a schedule as early as now so that we could accommodate her classes. Our only condition with her is that she don't neglect her work with us and that she graduates. I think she's really excited and I hope things work out for her.

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no to hats and shades

Mateo looks absolutely adorable whenever he's wearing his pair of shades and his hat. I have a problem though, he'd often wear it for about five seconds - long enough for people around him to appreciate and say 'wow, gwapo' and then he'd go about removing the shades and then the hat. Does anyone have any tips on how to make a one-year-old wear at least a hat for hours?

Mateo's green thumb

Mateo loves playing outside. I'd usually accompany him and even if he's just walking around in our garage and front area, he's happy already. He'd tinker with everything he can get his hands on while I just let him explore to his heart's content. A few days ago, he was so taken by the small pots with euphorbia plants. Since the smallest pot is light enough for him to carry, he tried picking it up. A firm NO made him stop what he's trying to do but moved on to touching the soil inside :) I wonder if our little boy has a green thumb? Well, if he indeed has one he didn't get it from his Dada or me! :D

gas up

One of our biggest expenses every month is gas. We almost always visit our parents every weekend and the long drive can consume so much gas and eat up a big chunk of our monthly budget. Ramil and I have been thinking of possible remedies to this. We initially thought that we could just decrease the number of trips to our parents but most of the time, they give requests to be able to see Mateo. We've also thought of Gas Rebate Credit Cards. With the amount of traveling we've been making, small savings by using a gas credit card could mean a lot.

Bora, here we come

Our Boracay trip is just a few days away and I can't wait! Ramil and I will be attending a wedding there and we almost decided not to go if not for my parents and our friends. Going on a vacation is great enough but going on a sponsored vacation sounds so much better. Hehe!

So anyway, it's been two years since I've been to the beach. Sadly, the last time was during our honeymoon in Pearl Farm Beach Resort in Davao. I hope Boracay is a worthy successor especially after more than two years of no beach. Yes, we're Boracay virgins and I hope all the hype with this beach is true. The trip will also mark a lot of firsts for Mateo - first plane trip, first boat ride, first beach trip, and who knows what other first things he'd get to try there :D

I'm trying to put some things in our bags already. Things that we don't really use everyday but we would need on the beach like swimwears, sunblock lotions, goggles, etc. And to think that it's still several days away, LOL. Did I say I'm excited? :D

my rated life

I've been seeing this post in a lot of blogs that I frequent - Aggie's, Litzie's, and Mai's. I got intrigued so I decided to try it even though I didn't get tagged. Haha! So how's my life right now? According to this quiz, here's how I rated:

This Is My Life, Rated
Life:	8.8
Mind:	8.7
Body:	8.4
Spirit:	8.8
Friends/Family:	8.2
Love:	9.1
Finance:	7.2
Take the Rate My Life Quiz

According to the results, my life score is very high, much higher than the average. Quite frankly, I was surprised to see the results. I don't know if it was just because of my good mood when I answered it or maybe I am really more optimistic than most people. Because I myself wouldn't rate my life's finance aspect as a 7.2, LOL. But then again, I am always optimistic. So anyway, if it's just a measure of how happy I am right now, I guess generally speaking, I AM very happy with my life now. An 8.8? why not? :)

another move?

My sister will be joining us in the next few months. She plans to teach also in the school where we work and she'll be staying with us while working there. She plans to still go home to our parents' house every weekend though so she'll actually be like our boarder. Nevertheless, she's been stressing over bringing her things to our house. She's asking for referrals for moving companies, as if she's going to be bringing over big furnitures. I got scared with the things that she might decide to bring with her. We might have to start allotting a bigger space for her.

loving the outdoors

Since Mateo loves going outside now, he has also learned how to use our house keys. While we were outside our house a week ago, he got the keys from me and proceeded to use it on our padlock. I was amazed he knew how to use it because nobody taught him how. I guess he just learned by observing us use it. He's not coordinated enough to be able to turn the key in the right direction and unlock the padlock though but he succeeded in putting the key inside. Of course, I took pictures.

Mama, let me out please...

Oh, I'll just use the keys to open the gate myself...

Now, which key is it again?

I don't need help mama, I know how to use this...

Oops, missed it...

Let me try again...

I guess we have to be careful, he might let himself out next time, LOL.

rediscovering our wedding gifts

A few weeks back, Ramil and I decided to do some cleaning up around the house. We have this habit of piling up our everyday clutter until there's enough to do some major cleaning. In the middle of all our collected things and trash, we rediscovered a bag that contains the gift cards from our wedding gifts. We kept each and everyone of them and we were so surprised to see two slim long boxes. Then I remembered that one of our godparents gifted us with a pair of luxury watches. We opened them and I was so glad we made such a discovery, I was actually thinking that the watch I'm currently using is in need of a replacement soon. I guess I don't have to buy at all.

gold rush

I've always been interested in a lot of investment opportunities. God knows there are a lot of these out there. I never really considered investing in gold coins. It seems though that it is a viable investment option, since the old days buying gold has always been recognized as one of the best ways to preserve one's wealth. It might be a great idea to invest in gold, silver, or other precious metals and coins. Buying silver may be one of the best options right now especially since world demand for silver has exceeded annual production. This sounds like a good investment option.

second studio stint

Remember Mateo's first studio stint at Pic-A-Boo? Ramil and I have been planning on having another studio session for Mateo. We've been planning but we couldn't seem to fit it into our budget. It's a stroke of luck that a few weeks after Mateo's first session, one of his godparents gave him a GC to the same studio. Ain't that convenient? Heehee :D

And so we've been delaying using the GC because we wanted to have it done when he turned one. A few weeks after his birthday, we finally got around to using the GC. We decided to join Mateo in the fun this time around.

It was a shame that Mateo didn't smile much during the photo session. Still, we love his pictures.

More of his studio pictures in my Flickr account :)

Barney in the house

I grew up watching Sesame Street and Batibot. Although I've heard of Barney, I never really knew him until I started teaching and met English-speaking (complete with a twang) grade-schoolers who grew up loving Barney. It seems that Barney has reached a kiddie star status close to that of Jollibee's. Really, what's with big butts and weird colors (purple/orange)?

That's why even before I gave birth, I vehemently told my sister not to buy her future nephew any Barney CD's. Other educational videos are okay but I draw the line with Barney. Unfortunately, some former officemates gifted Mateo with four Barney VCD's during his baptism. Not wanting to be ungrateful, we took them home of course - and I stored them deep inside our bookshelf.

I planned on never introducing Mateo to Barney but during one crazy afternoon, I decided to try and see how our little guy would react to the much-hyped purple dinosaur. Things went downhill from there, little did I know that I have unwittingly started a Barneyfication of our household. Just a few minutes into the video, Mateo was already dancing along to the song Mister Sun and pumping his arms to the sound of Chuggy, chuggy. He loves running to me for a hug once he hears '...with a great big hug...' The VCD never left our DVD player for the rest of the week. He'd watch the same CD at least once a day. I admit that we were at fault too, he really enjoys it and it keeps him still for at least thirty minutes even if being still means dancing and singing along in front of the TV.

Worse, before the week ended, I knew the lyrics of almost each and every Barney song on the video. I'd often find myself with a song stuck in my mind. It's good that Barney comes in handy at times. Mateo's first haircut was bloodless and hassle-free thanks to Barney. During times when Mateo would act up, Barney would be our last resort in trying to pacify him. Barney's place in our house got sealed last Saturday when we went to SM and bought a Sing and Dance Barney VCD and Barney's Favorites volume 1 audio CD. He's set to invade our car too, you know.

Lest you think that all Mateo knows is Barney, he also knows Pablo, Tyrone, Tasha, Uniqua, and Austin. If you know them too then high-five to you! :D Last week though, Ramil and I made a conscious decision to limit the amount of time of Mateo's exposure to TV. Sadly, it also means less TV time for everyone in the house. He now gets around two hours of TV time daily, more than half of which is on Barney.

As for me, I have come to accept Barney into our lives. At least Mateo gets to dance and sing along to songs about colors, shapes, numbers, and the alphabet.

trip to mexico

I love Mexican food. My love for it is such that I would love to visit Mexico just to have an authentic Mexican experience. Mexico has numerous beaches that appeals to me and I'm sure I would love to visit them all. I have a friend who has taken a romantic vacation riviera maya and they only have good words about it. They took a Mexican cruise and looking at their pictures, it made me want to visit the places they've been in. They were able to go try out the beaches of Riviera Maya and according to them, its White-Sand Beaches are heavenly. Well, Ramil and I can always go on another honeymoon. I'm putting Mexico on our options.

cheap way to a new furniture

The house we're renting right now came with a living room sofa set. Although we like it, it's old age is starting to show already. I've been initially thinking of getting a new set instead but then we don't really have the budget for it. Then when I saw an old sofa of my parents re-upholstered with Duralee fabrics, I knew I've found a more affordable way to get a new-looking sofa set. In a few weeks, I hope I get enough money to start looking at possible fabrics and designs.

bath time is fun time

Mateo still enjoys his bath time very much. Often, he'd walk towards the bathroom upon hearing me sing 'bath time, bath time...' The open bathroom door would automatically make him drop whatever he's holding or doing and would make him go straight for the bathroom. Once inside, he'd try to play or touch everything. From the shower faucets to the pail, and even the floor. The only problem is that I also get wet each time I give him a bath. He'd often splash around a lot an would cling or hug me while taking a bath. Nevertheless, I enjoy giving him a bath. It's one of those 'chores' that are really easy to enjoy since it's so easy to turn into playtime for him.

unwanted visitor

Everyday at any time, we get an unwanted visitor. Our neighbor's cat loves walking around our place and sleeping at every nook and cranny. I'm already thinking of getting her a cat bed so that she'll have a permanent corner where she'll stay instead of lying down just anywhere. We've tried different tricks already to shoo her away but it seems that she really likes our house. For as long as she's not a bother nor a menace, I guess we just have to put up with her.

ready for the future?

Mateo is growing up really fast. Ramil and I can't help but think more about the future. Not just our little boy's future but our family's future. We've asked for life insurance quotes from old colleagues of mine so that we can consider getting one at least for Ramil for the mean time. It's important that we secure our family just in case something happens to any of us. Despite spending money for it, I hope we don't get to benefit from it in the near future.

online shopping frenzy

Online shopping can get very addicting especially if you have online money to spend and a lot of coupon codes that would also let you save as much as possible. I like to surf around even if I'm not buying anything. I also like to visit WebbyPlanet.com, an e-commerce search site specializing in coupons, rebates, sales and free shipping. This site is any online shopper's dream!

Mateo's first haircut

Our little boy finally got his much-needed first haircut a few weeks ago. We've been delaying it since Ramil and I were scared that we might snip him accidentally. Thanks to Barney, it was a pretty easy haircutting session. He looks so much better than having long hair so my guess is he will be getting a haircut every month. Here are some pictures:

before

after

a kid's invention

Preparations for our school's science expo are currently underway. Ramil chose to limit his advisees to those who are doing inventions. He has been updating me with the kids' ideas and although some of them are really funny, there are also some that could prove interesting. For those with really good ideas, it's a shame that they don't have enough money to fund their project. It would be really cool if they could have access to fiber optic cables and such good materials. Some kids have promising ideas and Ramil is looking forward to their final outputs. I sure hope one of his groups win!