It's a holiday in my office today.

The company where I work doesn't follow the holidays set by the Philippine Government, but instead, we have a set number of holidays for the year (a total of 10), and we observe it even if it falls on a weekend, like today, we have no work because All Saints Day falls on a Saturday. However, the special holidays declared by the Government are not observed by us, like, August 21 (Ninoy Aquino), Ramadan, and others. But we've got used to it already, we're even happier because there's no traffic, roads are clear since everybody else is at home.

So, today it's home for me! I did some laundry, Earvin also helped me, as well as Izah. Faye was the one who was very worried because when her Dad called up from the office, he instructed her not to let me tire myself from housework, and he even told her to give me some massage. So, when she saw me sweeping the floor just before dinner, she panicked! She said, "Mommy, lagot ako kay Daddy! Sabi nya wag daw kita pabayaan mapagod, ako na gagawa nyan!." (Mommy, Daddy will get mad at me, he told me not to let you tire yourself, let me now do that!). And while watching TV, she even massaged my back.

It was when we were already relaxing that she reminded me of my promise to her that we will watch the Diamond Castle together.


The movie was good, it was about the story of two best friends Liana and Alexa. I think Faye has already watched it 5 times, and she has even memorized most of the lines already. I actually enjoyed watching it. The songs were really meaningful for friends. Below are the lyrics of the songs in the movie which Faye asked me to research:

TWO VOICES
ONE SONG

it's so rare to find a friend like you,
somehow when you're around the sky is always blue,
the way we talk,
the things you say,
the way you make it all ok,
and how you know all of my jokes,
but you laugh anyway
if i could wish for one thing,
i'd take the smile that you bring,
where ever you go in this world
i'll come along,
together we dream the same dream,
forever i'm here for you,
you're here for me,
oh ooh oh, two voices one song,
and anywhere you are you know I'll be around,
and when you call my name I'll listen for the sound,
if i could wish for one thing,
i'd take the smile that you bring
where ever you go in this world
i'll come along,
together we dream the same dream,
forever I'm here for you,
you're here for me,
oh ooh oh,two voices one song,
oh ooh oh,two voices one song.

CONNECTED

I’m blind-folded on this roller coaster they call life.
Keep trying to make it through the next turn,
knuckles white and holdin’ tight.
So here I go, takin’ a curve,
But I know that I’m never alone.
I think of you, I know you’d never let me go.
I feel connected, protected,
it’s like you’re sitting right with me all the time.
You hear me, you’re near me,
And everything else’s gonna be alright.
‘Cause nothin’ can break this,
nothin’ can break this, nothin’ can break this time.
Connected…connected inside.
It’s not an accident, the time we spent apart.
But now we’re so close,
I can always find you right here in my heart.
You’ve given me somethin’ I need,
and I don’t ever want it to end.
Because of you, I know I’ve found my strength again.
I feel connected, protected,
it’s like you’re sitting right with me all the time.
You hear me, you’re near me,
And everything else’s gonna be alright.
‘Cause nothin’ can break this,
nothin’ can break this, nothin’ can break this time.
Connected…connected inside.
Everytime that I breathe, I can feel the energy.
Preachin’ out, flowin’ through, you to me and me to you.
Find your dream,
Walk or stand, you are everywhere I am.
Seperate souls, you to find, touching at the speed of light.
Whoa, ah-oh, ah-oh, ah-oh, ah-oh, ah-oh, ah-oh, ah-oh
I feel connected, protected,
it’s like you’re sitting right with me all the time.
You hear me, you’re near me,
And everything else’s gonna be alright.
Connected, protected, now you’re in my mind,
now I’m doin’ fine.
You hear me, you’re near me,
and everything else’s gonna be alright.
‘Cause nothin’ can break this,
nothin’ can break this, nothin’ can break this time.
Connected…connected inside.

Faye wanted to watch the High School Musical 3, so, last Sunday, while waiting for Earvin to finish his exams, we decided to go to SM San Lazaro to have lunch and then to watch the movie.

It was a "one time screening" schedule with all seats guaranteed, and the tickets that we bought were for the 3:35pm slot to finish at 5:30pm, as a result, we were late in fetching Earvin from UST.

We encountered a small problem when we entered the moviehouse and gave our seat number to the usher. Imagine our surprise when the seats which we were supposed to occupy were already taken! The usher told us that there was a double entry in the seat numbers so we have to just go down and occupy the lower level seats. Of course I didn't allow it to happen! My husband was already willing to do that just to avoid further discussion, but I insisted that it wasn't our fault so why should we suffer the consequences? And besides, when I was asked by the Teller for our preferred seat numbers, I was very sure that those that I chose were still vacant seats as shown in their list. So, the usher made further checks until she found out that there really was a mistake made by the other usher in assigning the seats to those who were occupying our "supposed to be" seats. She then approached them --- of course, they got upset because they were already settled and the kids were already eating their snacks, and it wasn't even their fault because the usher just guided them to their seats. But I think I was more upset because we stood there for about 15 minutes while waiting for the ushers to properly do their job!

But anyway, enough of this.

The movie was good and the kids enjoyed it, especially Faye.

Our 4th Family Adventure: University of Santo Tomas (UST) college entrance exams.

It was scheduled yesterday --- it was a Sunday again! Traffic was again horrible and Earvin and I had to take the overpass along Espana Blvd. to cross going to UST, because there was no way that we will make it to his 1PM schedule if we wait for the traffic to clear up and there was also no Left-turn going to UST coming from Espana. The school grounds was huge, and the high school building where he was assigned was at the back of the school so we had to walk a long way before we reached it.

It was already 12:40pm, and we haven't bought any snacks yet, so, as soon as we knew where the building was, we went outside to buy some food for him to eat during the exams. It was really hot and after dropping him off, I had to walk all the way back to Espana to cross that overpass again where the rest of the family were waiting --- they were able to get a parking slot beside Goldilocks.

And then, what's next? Of course we had to wait for Earvin to finish his exams at 5:00pm. We decided to go to SM San Lazaro to eat some lunch and watch a movie. Traffic was still terrible, but at least we weren't rushing anymore.

Later, Earvin told us that they were finished as early as 4:00pm, and he was hoping that we will pick him up by 5:00pm, but since we watched a movie while waiting for him, we didn't go back to UST until much later. Fortunately, he was with his classmates so he didn't mind it at all that he waited for almost 2 hours for us. We even dropped off his classmates along Taft Avenue where they took a bus going to Las Pinas.

When we asked him how was the exams, he said it was fine and easy. Oh well, let's see when we get the results in January 2009.

My son's school had the graduation pictorial two weeks ago, and I would just like to share with you his photos. Actually, I find it a bit early, and he was even hoping that his braces will be gone by the time he had his pictures. But anyway, I assured him that he looked good in his photos, and everybody was saying that he really looks like me!

I hope your dreams take you
to the corners of your smiles,
to the highest of your hopes,
to the windows of your opportunities,
and to the most special places your heart has ever known.

I received a Butterfly Award from Mommy Elvz. Thank you so much for this award, I really appreciate it.

Once accepting this award, the rules are as follows:

~ Put the logo on your blog.
~ Add a link to the person who awarded you.
~ Nominate other blogs.
~ Add links to those blogs on yours.
~ Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs.

Now I am passing this award to the following blogs:

Barefooted Me
Aha Mama!
Bytes of Cookie
The Domestic Goddess
Kuting's Place

So far, I have sent EC credits to the following as part of the prizes for my contest:

brownpinay.com = 1,500
nameSherry.blogspot.com = 100
mrchngn.blogspot.com = 100
indocontest.com = 100
erik-son.net = 100

I can only send 1,000 EC credits per week so, for all the rest, please bear with me.
Thanks a lot!

Just one of those cards from our little girl, Faye. Receiving her cards never fail to brighten our day. She even thought of words to spell out our names.

Dear Mommy and Daddy

Thank you for taking care of us since we're born
Thank you for always listening to our problems
Thank you too for supporting us to our daily lives
Thank you again for making us happy everyday

Just recently, I was diagnosed with Thalassemia Trait.

What is this?

According to Wikipedia, it is an inherited autosomal recessive blood disease. In thalassemia, the genetic defect results in reduced rate of synthesis of one of the globin chains that make up hemoglobin. Reduced synthesis of one of the globin chains can cause the formation of abnormal haemoglobin molecules, and this in turn causes the anemia which is the characteristic presenting symptom of the thalassemias.

You don’t just get Thalassemia like the way you get a cold or flu. People with Thalassemia disease and trait are born with it.

What is this in layman’s terms? As explained by my Hematologist, Dr. Cynthia Cantos-Castro, Asian Hospital, it means that my red blood cells break down easily. She said RBCs are supposed to have a life span of 120 days, but mine only last for 90 days, and that explains my being anemic for a long time. I have been anemic for years and it was only recently that I had a work-up with a Hematologist after the doctors in our office clinic insisted that I really should consult a specialist because everytime I have my Annual Physical Exam, the result of my hemoglobin level is always very low.

I underwent series of blood tests before it was confirmed that I have Thalassemia. My last blood test, Hemoglobin Electrophoresis was the deciding factor on the type of Thalassemia that I had. The test revealed that I had Thalassemia Trait which is fortunately a minor case. But just the same, it still means that I have defective hemoglobin, and that my hemoglobin level will never be normal.

My next concern was whether any of my kids has that disease. According to my doctor, the defective hemoglobin should be present in both parents before their children can have it, so in our case, my husband has never been anemic so it looks like our kids are safe. So, we consider this as a blessing, because otherwise, if my husband has Thalassemia also, there is a chance that one of our children will have Thalassemia major, which as explained by my doctor is really very scary because the child who has Thalassemia major will not survive unless he gets regular blood transfusion.

Thalassemia is fairly common but often not diagnosed, as in my case, I have this since I was born, but since I was scared of what a specialist might find out about my disease, I delayed seeing a Hematologist. It was only when I was already experiencing heart palpitations, skipped heartbeats that I seriously considered seeing a specialist because I thought these have something to do with my being anemic.

Now I know why during my high school days I always passed out, probably because of my too low hemoglobin levels. It also explains the gallstones that I had and the eventual removal of my gallbladder two years ago, because according to Dr. Castro, the early breakdown of red blood cells lead to the formation of stones which is composed of bilirubin, and not cholesterol as is often the case with gallstones.

For now, I’m talking Folic Acid every other day, and Dr. Castro said she only needs to monitor my liver and pancreas and there’s one more blood test that she asked me to have, the Serum Ferritin, to check the iron content in my body.

By the way, Dr. Castro is a pediatric Hematologist. When I called up Asian Hospital to inquire about their resident Hematologists, I was referred to her, and at first I was hesitant when I learned that she specializes in children, but she assured me that she has adult patients also. And I was thankful because I actually prayed that I will be led to a good doctor. She is really a very good doctor, she explained everything to me and my husband, and during my second visit with her, when I showed her the initial blood tests that I had, she told me not to worry, and that I didn’t have any serious disease, nor cancer of the blood like leukemia, because that’s what I was scared of.

What I'm really thankful for is that my kids didn't get this disease, and that's enough blessing for me.

I'm now updating my Blog Roll, it's still ongoing, so some might not appear in my sidebar yet. Hopefully, by tomorrow I'll finish it.

I'm still debating whether I will change my template. I really want to change it, but I know that it takes time, so, for now, I've decided to just change the header first. I'll just do the entire thing during the weekend since I don't want to mess up with it.

Life is not always sunny. A lot of things make us sad, like problems with our families, disciplining our kids, dealing with the challenges of being working moms. But in the midst of all these things, let us always remember to be cheerful because no matter what challenges we are facing in our everyday lives, we still have a lot of things to be thankful for, and these always outweigh the problems that we encounter in our everyday lives.

Being cheerful leads to a happier life, success, and efficiency. It helps us deal with our problems better. It helps us overcome our difficulties and gives us the courage and strength to help others. It could even inspire others to do what is pleasant and wholesome for everyone. Most especially, a person who is cheerful and happy trusts God.

Our everyday lives is not easy because trials and difficulties will surely come our way. There are time when we cannot have what we want, while there are also times when we can have what we want. Cheerfulness is the key to make life easier and lighter.

Let us welcome trials and difficulties as parts of our lives because these will help us think of better solutions to our problems. Let us not dwell so much on our problems.

A cheerful face and a happy disposition always create a delightful atmosphere.

Earvin’s De La Salle entrance exam schedule was yesterday. I think we didn’t plan for it like we did for UP and Ateneo. We left the house very late --- 12:30pm, his schedule was at 2:00pm, so, as expected, we encountered tremendous traffic.

We really got tensed and nervous because we couldn’t find a clear route going to Taft Avenue coming from Roxas Boulevard, and the weather didn’t cooperate either, it was raining really hard. It also didn’t help that for every block along Quirino Avenue, there was a road construction going on, so, it was really frustrating. When finally we saw Taft Avenue, we were quite relieved, but when we saw more traffic along Taft, we were again got tensed because it was already 1:40pm. Finally, Earvin and I decided to just take the LRT (Light Rail Transit), and fortunately, we were just one station away, so we reached La Salle at 1:55pm, and the gates were already packed with students and parents.

Whew! It was a close call! We almost missed it. We didn't anticipate the traffic, the road constructions along the way, the heavy rains, and the one lane lost in Taft Avenue due to the cars which parked beside La Salle.

Lesson learned:

(1) Don’t assume that just because it’s a Sunday, there would be no traffic.
(2) Listen to my husband ---- he kept on insisting that we should leave the house early just like what we did for UP and Ateneo.

When Earvin finished his exams, he had a lot of stories to tell. He admitted that he got scared because he thought he will miss his exams. He was also surprised when he entered the classroom where he was assigned because it was full of familiar faces --- his schoolmates and classmates were all in the same room. So, it somehow helped in easing his tension.

His next schedule is University of Santo Tomas (UST). Hopefully, we will not experience the same thing.

I've just put the ads of the winners of my contest. They're now in my sidebar except for http://ectwebmall.com/, I'm still waiting for him to send me his 125x125 ad.

For the rest of the participants, please bear with me. I'll be sending you your EC credits in the next few weeks because of the limit set by Entrecard of 1,000 EC credits only per week.

Thanks a lot again to all of you!!!

God’s Message: The Patience of Job

Job 13:1-28

This morning, when I opened my Bible to ask for God’s message for the day, His message was very clear: “God is not constrained to tell us why bad things happen to us. But He will let us know how to walk through them… with patience and hope. Yes, Job had some questions he wanted God to answer. But despite his questions Job could still faithfully proclaim, “Though He slay me, yet will I hope in Him.”

Am I capable of saying this when I apply it to my own life?

It's not easy but God has talked to me through the messages that He sent me.

He is teaching me to be patient.
He is teaching me that without Him, I am nothing.
He is teaching me that I should rely on Him.
He is teaching me that when I lift up my problems to Him – anything – I should surrender it all to Him and He will take care of the rest.

Truly, it is only with God’s grace that I will be able to surrender everything to Him.

Parenting and raising a family are not easy. They all come with trials and I know that after all the trials that are coming my way, I will come out to be a better person, and that hopefully, the kids that are entrusted in my care will also grow up to be responsible, trusting, and loving persons.

I'd like to acknowledge my Top 10 Entrecard Droppers for the month of September. Thank you so much guys for always visiting my blog.

A blog about living a happy life
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ramblings and musings of my day to day life
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About the development of my children, about my parenting experiences, about health, about my life, also some tips for everyday problems, sometimes about business, investment, and money making.

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Proud Mommy of two wonderful kids and a wifey to a very responsible man.
A day to day account of a full time mom and wife.
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Life has its ups, downs, curves and straight paths, and sometimes it goes sideways
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Laid back, friendly and seldom serious, She Lives reflects whatever happens to be happening that day. Bring your grain of salt as you take in this musician mom’s POV - usually from under a big pile of laundry.

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personal thoughts, experience, opinions...

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Hamster is the nickname of my one-year-old, and these are his antics.

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A blog about frugal living and tips as well as ways to make extra cash.

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a bisdak's life to her future.follow her as she walks her journey to forever.

We, as Mommies play a big role in building our daughter's self-esteem, most especially if she becomes a teen. My daughter Izah is always conscious of her complexion. She became most particularly aware of this during her grade school years. She has a classmate then who always teased her. We didn't know about this because she's not the kind of child who will run to us crying whenever she's being teased in school. She just kept it all to herself. It was only when we noticed something different about her attitude, like, she didn't want to go to school for no reason at all, that we discovered that she was having problems with some of her classmates, one of whom was even riding in the same school bus with her.

When we learned about it, the very first thing that we did was to reassure her that what her classmate was saying was not true, and that she's very beautiful and there's nothing wrong with her complexion. Her Dad also went to school to talk to the boy who was bullying her.

Once in a while she still tells us that she's being compared to Faye who has a fairer skin, but again, we just reassured her that they're both beautiful in our eyes, and we just keep on telling her not to mind those people who have nothing better to do than to make other people feel low about themselves.

This is one of the most challenging roles of being a parent. We have to instill in their minds that what's important is what's inside their hearts because every person is beautiful if she knows how to care for, love, and nurture other people.

(From Into The Woods)

What do you teach to your child as they grow up?
Only whatever you put in his head
Things that your mother and father had said
Which were left to them too

Children may not obey
but children will listen
Children will look to you
for which way to turn
to learn what to be

Careful what you say
Children will listen
Careful you do it too
children will see
Careful before you say
"Listen to me"