Thursday smershday...

Been quite stressed lately... Not good. Must collect happy thoughts starting NOW... =)

*Photo credit: flickr/seanbjack

My renewed 'Pondo ng Pinoy' participation

"Anumang magaling kahit maliit, basta't malimit ay patungong langit"

This is a fitting tag line for the 'Pondo ng Pinoy' project of the Catholic Church. The idea -- give/set aside 25 cents a day to give to the pondo, which is used for various feeding/educational/livelihood projects for the Filipino people. The 4th Sunday of every month is Pondo ng Pinoy Sunday where you can remit/give your collection for the whole month. Neat!

During yesterday's mass, Fr. Jose Yu, chaplain of the Chapel of the Eucharistic Lord (in Megamall) reminded me that giving back to the Lord could be done through simple acts such as the Pondo ng Pinoy project and I didn't need any more convincing. I used to give (not regularly) with the urging of my mom and now I've decided to do it on my own. So today, I start my commitment to sharing, shared love and to the Filipino people with an empty plastic bottle on hand and my 25 centavos for the day. Why don't you start your own Pondo ng Pinoy too? =) It's just a little thing, but when done everyday, it will definitely go a long way.

Baby shopping 411 - neophyte report

We just got home from a whole day at the mall for some baby essentials shopping. It was every bit fun and exciting as I expected it to be. :) We're almost in our 8th month and though baby is still in utero, I think I've gotten a knack for baby shopping quite early actually, I started shopping for baby stuff at 4 months along to be exact and I've become very good at it (to my husband's unsaid dismay). Here are some of baby's essential loot all from SM Dept. store. We just got the essentials like a couple of tie-side tops, bottoms, burp cloths, booties, mittens, wash cloths, hooded towels and blankets, etc.

Aside from shopping in the mall for baby stuff, I've also added online shopping to my repertoire. Just in case some moms-to-be happen to read this post, here are the online shops I've bought from:

http://www.brusselsprouts.multiply.com/ http://www.easyfrugalshop.multiply.com/ http://www.thespoiledgirl.multiply.com/ http://www.beberepublic.multiply.com/ http://www.facebook.com/#!/babiescornershop http://www.chillycakebaby.multiply.com/ http://badabadaboo.shopinas.com/ http://www.zebebe.com/ http://www.kidsrepublic.multiply.com/ http://mystylemyclothing.shopinas.com/

With less than 2 months to go, I've decided to stop online shopping and wait for the gifts to come (they say people will always give lots for the new arrival). Haha. I consider myself an expert in baby shopping because I've got so much passion for it (already! uh-oh). And just as I said pre-pregnancy, as long as it makes you happy and you've given it an amount of thought (around 10 minutes of contemplation), and you have the (extra) resources to purchase it... GOOOOOOOO =p And if you feel guilty after your purchase... well, no sense in fussing over it since it's already spilt milk. Bright side is, you'll emerge wiser after, perhaps?! These are just my 2 cents worth. And for those against shopping (impulse or not) per se, no judgment please. To each her own and this is how I stride (pre-baby, baby-on-the-way and surely even when baby's with us already).

Sun's up... will shop!

After days of not seeing the sun, waking up to sunshine on a Sunday already made my day. ;) Thank you ever so much Lord! Can't wait to finally go out and do some shopping for baby. So from the grumpy and gloomy rained-on cartoon from my previous post, I'm happy now. :)

Have a sunny and blessed Sunday everyone! :)

*** Photo credits go to www.kinderdeer.blogspot.com and www.happydoodleland.blogspot.com

Rain, rain, go away... NOW!

Ever since typhoon Ondoy in 2009, I've always had a hate-hate relationship with the rain especially if it's been pouring non-stop. If only I could make the rain go away, I would, and fast! Falcon, go away please. Stay safe and dry everyone! Help me pray please. ;)

*Photo credits go to www.cartoonfaces.net

Must own a couple of these

"To ensure a successful mix, I treat cushions and other accessories as the shoes and handbags of the home. The right shoe can really make an outfit -- and equally, if you have the wrong shoes, you can feel old-fashioned in the smartest of suits." - Nina Campbell

Note to self -- must buy a couple of these cheery Bungalow 300 throw pillows for our home. =p Maybe tonight or this weekend. =p The colors will definitely pop out from our gray sala walls and mostly black furniture. I love it. What's not to love? It's colorful, modern and Filipino-made. Yay!

Baby's first big ticket item

It's funny how the stroller we bought for baby wasn't even in our early shortlist. Our shortlisted brands were just Aprica, Mamas & Papas and Safety 1st, but the Italian brand Peg Perego emerged as our final pick. We got the Peg Perego Pliko Mini in Neon. It's still black, just like all the strollers in our shortlist, but with colorful stripes. It's really light weight and very compact when folded, but still has a big enough sun shade. It's just an umbrella stroller but it reclines low enough to be used for newborns up to 3-4 years old. Cool, right? So here's baby's 1st big ticket item. Hope Zia would enjoy her future rides in it. Shoutout to baby's amazing grandparents-to-be for the early gift. =) Now I'm onto baby's crib since it looks like we could be setting up the nursery soon. =) Exciting times!

Special Perks

There are many perks of being pregnant and there are also perks of having a pregnant wife. =p For three times already, Rich and I have used baby to get a parking spot that's just a few steps away from the mall doorstep. Convenient and considerate for me, baby and for the husband. Thanks Eastwood Mall!

75 days to go!

To the love of my life and dad-to-be to our baby girl, HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

We love you! <3

An open letter to my DAD for Father's Day

Dear Dad,

I want you to know that you've been such a blessing in my life. I believe in my heart of hearts that I am who I am because I've got half of you and half of mom and for that I'd like to thank you. Everyone who knows you says you're such a great person, but what they know is just the tip of the iceberg of what i know about you. I know that you love mom so well, your humor is endearing, you take pride in whatever you do, your faith is unwavering and your love for family is ever so sincere.

It's because of you dad, that I've always had an optimistic perspective in life because you have given kuya and I all that we ever need and want in life. I want to give you (and mom) credit, not just because it's your day, but because I can proudly say that kuya and I grew up to have happy hearts and good heads on our shoulders. Because of all these things, said and unsaid, I just want to say THANK YOU DAD and HAPPY FATHER'S DAY! I love you <3

Always your daughter,

Lady

2 weddings and a baby bump

To date, our baby has been to 4 weddings while in the utero. But during the first two, my baby bump was non-existent. Fast forward to this past week, I've been to two other weddings, this time, taking with me my 7 month baby bump. I guess I just want to say that despite how attending weddings in my current state have made me dream about getting to wear body hugging dresses and killer heels again, weddings still make me feel giddy all over especially when I have my husband as my date. Here are some of our shots from our friends' nuptials. :)

On with my lists, oh and hello 3rd trimester!

Today marks our 3rd trimester and it's like time is zooming by. And so today I've decided to make another list of my goals for our 7th month and as always, I'm letting you in on it so I'll be pressured accomplish it.

My 7th month list of things to do:

1. Prepare hospital bags (mine, baby's and richmond's)
2. Have a 3d ultrasound so we have pictures of baby in the utero
3. File maternity leave and fix other paper work - CHECK!
4. Remove excess clothes from closet in 'nursery' to make room for baby's new stuff
5. Schedule a tour of TMC's birthing facilities
6. Buy crib and stroller - Half CHECK! Stroller already purchased.
7. Set up baby registry - CHECK!

So there, those are my to-dos for this month. Really hope I could accomplish everything on my list. Fingers crossed. =)

Lovely day

Let me begin by using my Facebook status as of this writing...

We had our congenital anomaly scan and fetal echo today and all our prayers were answered. Dr. Lyra Ruth Chua of The Medical City did the scan and she made us feel twice as better as she showed us our baby girl's internal structure and heart, with much appreciation and awe of our baby's make up. When she said that baby's heart was beautiful, I told myself that we would do everything in our capacity as parents to raise our baby girl to be a beautiful person because as early as now, she's already super blessed, we're all very blessed. Today is one of those days that, despite the heavy downpour, merit a lovely day stamp. Every waking day gives me more reason to believe that with God, anything is possible.

We didn't get to bring home a single 'photo' of baby, but today more than ever, our hearts are happy and the photos can wait. She'll be a beautiful baby inside and out for sure because she's got the Lord on her and her parents' side. =)

Tipping the scales!

Today marks the day I finally hit more than 100 lbs. I've always been small so this is actually a milestone. From a pre-pregnancy weight of 88 lbs., it's a joy to reach my weight today. Must thank the heavens. :)

This week's state of mind

Me, the heavyweight.

I should really stop digging on the sweets... very soon. =)

Among my many lists

I'm a list person. I think I've always been that way since I could remember. So here's another list just in case I forget.

My list of things to eat/drink after baby arrives:

1. Salmon Sashimi (lots of it)
2. McDo Coke Float
3. Serenitea (Hokkaido)
4. Happy Lemon (Rock Salt Cheese)
5. Dirty Potato Chips - Salt & Pepper flavor
6. Chicharong Bulaklak
7. Coffeebean (Vanilla Ice Blended)
8. Sunny Side Up egg (not necessarily well done)

Now that I'm looking at my list, it isn't as long as I thought it would be so it would probably just take me a week or two to eat/drink everything on my list without worrying about jeopardizing baby's development/nutrition. Looking forward. :) Until my next list!

Reminiscing my bride-side

Well, lately, it's been all about planning for baby's arrival and fixing up our home. But just awhile ago, I browsed through some old photos and I found this. I forgot that I had this photo and how much I loved it. It looked to me as the perfect picture of bliss and inner peace. Yup, before Zei the wife and the mom-to-be, there was this version of me, Zei the bride-to-be. It feels so long ago already, but it still makes me giddy.

** Thanks to my hairstylist John Valle for this beautiful beautiful photo. You can actually double as a photographer with the shots you took during my preps for the big day.

My husband and his anecdotes

Rich has shared a lot of his own anecdotes with me for the past 8 years we've know each other. And for some reason, they're getting wittier and more amusing (amusingly funny) now that we're married. Here's one of his takes on giving birth as related to our breakfast earlier:

R: (While squeezing the mustard onto his plate) It's like giving birth... You have to squeeze and squeeze and not let go, because if you do it's gonna go back (referring to the mustard and how it retracts if you stop squeezing).

Z: (Half laughing and half smirking) It's not that easy...

Anyway, that's my husband... the funny guy. He makes me laugh and I'm very thankful for that. =)

Just because...

Just want to share how my thoughtful husband made my day today. Anyway, I've always been bothered by the road bumps we pass every morning on the way to work and every evening going home - I worry that baby's being juggled around too much and of course there's a slight discomfort for me and my nearly 7-month belly. Because of my issues, Rich and I have been looking around for a maternity support belt, but the ones we've seen so far are lace-y, which isn't my cup of tea. I Just wanted a simple black one. Finally, we found the belt that fit my pre-requisites. So, Richmond, being the caring husband he is, got me the maternity support belt I wanted as his 'Just because it's June 2' gift (Just the way he said it).

But, there's actually more, aside from my 'black belt', he also surprised me by buying another one, but a bit more of a big ticket item for a 'just because' gift. He got us a new digital point and shoot, the Sony TX-10 in yellow green, which will be perfect for taking lots of pictures when baby comes. We love how the color is very bright, perfect for catching baby's attention when she finally arrives. :)

Now isn't he the sweetest? To my dear husband, I want you to know that I love you everyday, just because... Just because I do, but I could have an endless list of so many reasons, this blog post might not be enough. Thanks love!