Potty Traning - We're Getting There

We're starting to potty train the little boy and I would have to say that he's made a lot of progress. At the beginning of the week, I instructed my MIL not to make Johan wear disposable diapers during the day and teach him where he should make "wiwi" and "poopoo". He didn't like not wearing diapers and would put up a fight every time we'll try to make him wear briefs. Eventually, he gave in. During the first day of potty training, Johan wet his briefs, as expected, and peed whenever he needs to regardless of where he is. He hated his potty. We didn't know why. So, his Lola taught him that he either needs to go outside or go to the bathroom instead of going to the potty whenever he needs pee. According to MIL, Johan usually just goes outside but he still wets his briefs because he didn't want to take them off. Hubby would really have to bring Johan with him whenever he needs to do the number one just to show the boy how it should be done.

This morning while I was browsing Pinterest for activity inspirations for the little boy, Johan called out to me, "A-my, wet!" and pointed to his briefs. He just peed without telling me and I didn't hear the front door nor the bathroom door open so I thought he must have peed on the floor somewhere.

So I asked him, "Where did you make wiwi?", to which he answered with, "A-my, come", pulled my hand and brought me outside. He then showed me his potty and boy, was I the proudest Mom when I saw that he indeed peed in the potty! Good job, Johan!

One potty day at a time and I'm sure we'll soon be diaper-free at last!

Lunch at RSM Lutong Bahay

My bestfriend, Mhy, came home from Singapore last Wednesday for a quick vacation. They will also be bringing their son to his Dev Ped for his scheduled assessment. A year ago, Ethan was diagnosed with Autism, he's undergone speech and occupational therapy since then and they're really looking forward to his second assessment with the Dev Ped. After the assessment, Mhy and her husband Bong were really happy with the results. According to the doctor, Ethan's mental age is that of a 23.5 month old child, which really is not that far from his actual age of 30 months.

To celebrate the good news, they decided to go out of town and check in at the Taal Vista Hotel last Friday. Mhy called me to ask if we can go there by Saturday so we could meet up even just for lunch so we could see each other before she heads back to Singapore.

Well, Tagaytay is my favorite place after all and it's only 30 minutes away from home, so I really couldn't say no. :)

We met up and had lunch at RSM Lutong Bahay. The place has been renovated since the last time my husband and I went there. Additional dining areas have been installed in what used to be an open area at the back of the restaurant.

Here are what we ordered:

  

Everything tasted great! For our drinks, I ordered the Calamansi Juice with Honey as I wanted something refreshing, Mhy and Bong ordered fresh Buko juice and my husband ordered Mocha Milk Shake which he shared with Johan.

While eating, we talked about a lot of things - Ethan's development, Johan's funny antics, plans for the future. It was just a short date for both our families but I am just as glad that we got to meet up and catch up even for just a few hours. 

Before leaving, Johan saw this Lion wooden statue and he just wouldn't budge until we allowed him to ride and had his picture taken. Here he is showing what sound the Lion makes:

I know there are now far too many Tagaytay entries on this blog and there'll be more to come because Tagaytay truly is my happy place.

Happy Weekend!

We're off to my favorite city today, Tagaytay!

Yes, I know, again. But, with this heat, who can ever say no to the little bit cooler climate of Tagaytay? We'll be meeting up with my bestfriend, Mhy, who flew in from Singapore last Wednesday and who'll be flying back tomorrow.

Time to unwind, relax and catch up with good friends, good food and good times.

See you later!

Comfort Food

Weekends are the only time I can actually cook for my son. I usually take the opportunity whenever it's just the two of us that's left at home because I get stressed out when hubby or MIL looks over to what I am cooking. I feel like I am being judged for my cooking inability. :)

So, yesterday when they all went to Manila and I chose to stay home with Johan, I looked at what we have in stock and cooked.

Yeah, I know, where's the effort there when all I really had to do was mix everything together. I chose to cook Carbonara since it won't take so much time, which I don't have given that Johan won't let me out of his sight for more than 5 mins. Plus, I don't get to eat this too often as the people I'm living with favors spaghetti over this dish.

When I was done, I was scared Johan won't like it since that'll be the first time he'll be having Carbonara. But, boy, was I surprised when he finished the entire plate I laid out for him and kept on pointing his finger at me, saying, "A best!" which translates to "You're the best!".

As evening came, something stressed me out too much I almost had an asthma attack. I had to get out of the house into the backyard to cool off and calm myself. When I went back in, I thought I needed comfort food. 

So, I made this:

My own version of Banana Split had two Bananas, scoops of Ube and Cheese Ice Cream, Condensed Milk instead of Chocolate Syrup and chunks of Cadbury Fruit and Nut. 

I was in sweet heaven! Comfort food did the trick and I was feeling a whole lot better when I finished the treat.

Our Saturday

We initially planned on having a post birthday celebration with just the three of us - hubby, myself and Johan - and have lunch at Chef Boy Logro's restaurant in Imus, Cavite. We left the house just before noon and we were surprised to see people bringing out stuff from the restaurant. When I asked one girl if Chef Boy Logro's restaurant is closed for the day, she answered me that this branch in Imus is already closed but they will be opening up another one soon in Dasmariñas.

Well, we were happy to learn that the restaurant will be closer to home but I was sad because I've been looking forward to this trip to Chef Boy's the entire week. Oh well, hubby and I then decided to just proceed to SM Southmall and meet up with my sister.

My sister Lhai, whom every kid in the family lovingly refer to as Ninang Yaya

We had lunch at Max's Restaurant though I was unable to capture photos of our food because Johan was being extremely fussy demanding all my attention.

Johan playing at his Ninang Yaya's tablet

After lunch, we proceeded to Tom's World to give the little boy a chance to have fun and have fun he did!

Ride a car

Play mini basketball

Hit aliens

The boy sure had fun and we were literally dragging him out of Tom's World when it was time to go home. We weren't able to walk around the mall today because we soon got tired of running after Johan. I was supposed to look for cookie cutters and egg molds for the weekend project that I have in mind. Looks like that project would have to wait for next weekend. Or the next. :)

It's almost midnight and I really should be getting into bed as we have an early mass to attend tomorrow. Goodnight everybody!

Our Wet, Wet, Wet Weekend

September 13th was MIL's 60th birthday. Her children decided to celebrate it at their house in Manila last Saturday. I wasn't able to sleep the night before because of the terrible colds I had, I was close to having a panic attack because I felt I was suffocating everytime I try to lay down or turn off the lights. I was finally able to sleep at 3am just as hubby arrived home from work and I slept on the floor because that's where I was comfortable at during that time.

So, when I woke up around 6am (yep, I just had 3 hours of sleep), it was raining hard and when I tuned in to the morning news on TV, the red warning issued by PAG-ASA over Metro Manila greeted me. I was asking hubby not to go to Manila anymore because I was scared we would be stranded in the streets or at their house which was flooded waist-deep during Ondoy. But my hard-headed husband won't hear anything of it and so off we went to Manila and faced the heavy rains head-on.

Here's what we went through when we arrived in Manila:

Heavy traffic going to the Manila City Hall

We tried to find other routes but the entire City of Manila seemed
to be submerged in flood waters. This is at the back of the City Hall
fronting SM Manila

Our smart kababayans would know how to make money out
of a few sacks of dirt

   

Tapang ni Ate! 

Flooded Avenida

Johan was amazed at the sight of the flood

He kept on shouting, "My, Fi!" - which means "Mommy, Fish!"

Fun Sunday

This weekend so far has been the busiest I've ever had. I already posted something about what we did yesterday, though I know I've never been quite clear about what - I promise I'll make a reveal post one of these days.

Today, we went to a college friend's house to celebrate her birthday and we also ended up going to some model houses because another friend is on the search for one. When we got to the place, we all had fun dreaming that we'd own one someday, hehehe. Johan had so much fun running around the huge space and played with a king-sized chess board which all the pieces are almost the same height as him.

Here are some photos:

Lancaster Model Houses

The Margaret Model House which I loved

Johan making himself at home on one of the beds

Loving the wide open area

Gigantic Chess Pieces

Playing with the pieces with Kuya Biboy

Johan thought this mini-pond is a pool! His Daddy had to stop him from
jumping in!

I love the sunburst clock, I am so having one like this when we have our own
place

The little boy being so obedient and letting Mommy take his picture!

I hope all weekends are like this!

I'm Still Here!

I know, I know! I haven't been posting a blog for a while but it's been really tiring these past few weeks. I started my new work on January 4th and I think my body's not pretty much adjusted to working on the graveyard shift again after being on "hiatus" from the corporate world for four months. Every weekend since then were a bit packed with schedules - with friends coming in from the states, baby christenings, Sto. Nino festival in Tondo, night outs with college buddies. I haven't been sleeping much on those weekends, I even stayed up for 24 hours straight because some of those events required me to go straight to the venues right after I got off shift from work on a Saturday morning. 

Bummer! But, I sure had fun!

It's great to connect with college friends again, to continue my Mom's "panata" to the Sto. Nino to visit every year during the feast, to enjoy a night out with hubby and our friends and talk about the good ol' times. I'll post different blogs for each event soon. 

I'm still here, alive and kicking. But, just for today, a weekend, please, pretty please, let me go back to sleep. =)

Weekenders

Tomorrow's a Friday and unlike everybody I'm not too excited about the weekend. I'll be undergoing an Endoscopy procedure on Sunday for my GERD (Gastro Esophagial Reflux Disease) and it scares me to death. I'm super afraid of injections (see Why I hate hospitals? post), what more if a tube is to be inserted into my mouth??!! 

Anyway, just to divert my mind from thinking about the procedure too much, I listed here my to-do list for tomorrow. I've got a lot to do with so little time.

1. Go to the COMELEC (Commission on Elections) office and register. I'm 29 y/o and yes, I will be a first time voter next year. Haha! I'm not too proud about it but then it's better to be late than never. For registration procedure go to the BagongBotante website.

2. Pay bills. Our electric, credit card and broadband connection bills all arrive during this time of the month but our electric bill has not been delivered yet. 

3. Have some of my mock christmas gifts printed out. =) I know it's too early for Christmas but then I don't want to rush and I wanted to give out gifts that are personalized. I tried creating some and I just want to see the print outs if they're okay to be given as gifts. If not, then I'll think of other ideas.

4. Drop by Divisoria and scout around for Christmas gift ideas. It's better to be early to avoid the holiday rush, the prices are way cheaper these days than during the Christmas season, it won't stretch the wallet as I plan to buy a few gifts this payday and then the next payday until my list is completed. I don't want to spend my 13th month pay come December as it will be allotted to my savings account. 

5. Wash and iron clothes. I won't be here in Manila this weekend because the procedure will be done in Laguna. So, my weekend chores should be done tomorrow.

I wish I could accomplish all of these and then I will worry about the Endoscopy. =)