Going 5!

The birthday presents I ordered online for my son's upcoming birthday on the 16th came in today. The delivery man buzzed on our intercom this morning and my nosy preschooler called my attention as I was in the kitchen making his breakfast. He usually follows me to meet the guests outside. Surprisingly this time he didn't show interest in who's at the door because he was busy singing along with Mr. Tumble!

Yes, he has progressed from liking trains with faces (Thomas et al), he now appreciates the fast bullet city trains. He is indeed growing up, saying that Thomas engines are for babies! Luckily, they're all from the same maker which is Tomica and his old Thomas tracks can be used with his new fast city train which I got him. I also got a new of tracks that has a railroad crossing on it. I am sure he's gonna go nuts when he opens his gifts.

So the parcels are carefully hidden in the spare room now. I can't wait to see his reaction when he sees them with his birthday cake and balloons! Roll on August 16!

All images courtesy of Toys R Us.

Cheesecake!

Cheesecake has been one of my favorite desserts. And when I say cheesecake, I meant any kind!

Tomorrow I will try to make one, I am so excited! There are 2 ways to do it, it can be baked or not at all. Since it is my first time, I think it'd be best to do it the easiest and less complex way.

Thanks to the thousands of videos of how to do it yourself in YouTube!

Headers

Lol. Finally I was able to personalize my header. Hurrah! I tried customizing my own templates with Photoshop for hours last night, which I find too complicated and eventually I gave up. Very challenging indeed, I might try it next time.

However, I am thankful for the one site I found that gives out customizable headers for free. Creating own headers comes in handy with the help of Smashing Magazine for beginners like me!

My next project will be to make my own template! Good luck to that! Guess, I will be needing the help of my little bro who knows the ins and outs in Photoshop.

The Return of the Comeback

It's been 2 years, 5 months and 6 days since my last entry. Obviously, a lot has happened to my life, it was a huge leap, I can say. I moved to the UK 2 years ago, leaving my boys behind for a "greener pasture" as many would say (although it's literally greener pasture in spring and summer hah!). Having no friends and relatives in a new country, my job has kept me so occupied and the drive to bring my family over was intense. After 11 cold months, 5th of March 2010, my husband and my then 3 year old son landed safely in Newcastle, made me the happiest woman on earth. Finally, I am complete however, it didn't end there because my life has just started. And yes, I have cried hard but I laughed harder.

So now I am finally back. Alive, alert, awake and enthusiastic!

I MISSED BLOGGING!

Here in my world, I talk about almost every random things under the sun. Be it love life, a little bit of fashion, immigration, married life, motherhood, technology, nursing career, education, womanhood, entertainment, health, politics (maybe?), my faith in God, family and friendship, name it, I might have it. But then again, depending on my mood.

PS: I have lost all my contacts in my used to be Blog Roll. Being the fan of gifted and talented bloggers who can customize their blog spaces into their own liking, I have tried doing that but unfortunately, the HTML editing has left a mess resulting to total abandonment of the hobby due to the disappearance of all my gadgets! With all my might, I tried to recover them but sometimes it's best to know when to stop.

christin collins

This was the latest movie that reactivated my tear ducts. I was so touched by this flick which was directed by Clint Eastwood based on actual events. Angelina Jolie portrayed a hopeful mom who never stopped searching for Walter, her 9 year old son who got lost. She saw herself saving the others as she faced and unfold the corruption of LAPD during her time. She tried desperately to seek the answers to all of her questions and finally known the truth that changed her life forever.

I felt the love, anger, betrayal, remorse, pain, hope and faith as Christin Collins struggled for her quest to find her lost boy. A must see movie.

Biological Research

We attended a 7th birthday party of my MIL's officemate's daughter Giana which was held at Biological Research along Sucat Road. The food was sumptuous and Andy loved the pasta, he also enjoyed the magic tricks but was kind of scared with the assistant clown. He called him "mumu." But anyway, he was shouting with glee when he saw a bird coming out from the magician's hat. The safari-themed party was decorated with lots of balloons and tons of candies and lollipops which also served as their centerpiece. I was busy feeding Andy that I failed to take photos of them. My bad.


We also had a chance to tour the whole park, it costs 150 bucks per head but because we attended the party, we had it for free! There were monkeys, different breeds of birds and chicken, ducks, snakes, butterflies, bees, insects, turtles and fish. Andy enjoyed it the most. He often wanted to be carried when we have walks like this, but this time he ran around and even left us at the end of the line, looking out for him. But he also wants his pictures taken that's why when I tell him "picture" he'd stop and say "cheese!"

He was very happy, full and tired. My Andy had a truly wonderful time with this outdoor activity. He even took home 2 small fish in a small tank for a souvenir! He named them Thomas and Henry. I would love to take him to different zoos around the world someday, he will definitely appreciate the ecology's flora and fauna. God's wonderful works of creation.

am back

Hi to all of my blog friends who dropped by and said their hi's and hello's in my message box. I missed blogging too and I missed reading your posts!

I was very busy these past few months after the NLE of course, as I have to think of the next step that I have to take for my family's future, make a move and not just simply get stuck in the euphoric stage of passing, heheh. Life must go on, Aileen. Plus the sad fact that my laptop isn't done yet. I just don't find using windows XP convenient anymore, switching to it from windows vista is sort of difficult for me. But anyway, here I am, alive and blogging!

After finding out that I made it, I was high for weeks. Kept coming back to the site where they first posted the names who passed the board. Kept telling myself that I wasn't really dreaming. Thanked God for giving me this chance, promised Him that I will do my best to be the best nurse that I can be. Texted all of my friends and classmates and exchanged "congratulations". Called my family and relatives to announce the good news. Thanked my mom and siblings for all their support and prayers. My in-laws who took care of Andy while I was gone for the review and my husband who still puts up with me up to this very day.

When I was attending college, I thought that after graduation, this will be over.. I was wrong. When I attended the review class, I thought that passing the exam, this will be over.. I was wrong again. After the result was posted, we have to go back to PRC to verify and to get our ratings. We need to buy the tickets for our oath taking and register as full pledged nurses. Pay for the certification of passing and board rating, pay for the metered stamps, pay for the registration, diploma, etc. Neverending fees indeed. This isn't just simply falling in line and then your turn to the window. Oh no. You will fall in line against 69,000 graduate nurses. Plus thousands more who are applying for the exam on November. Including the retakers. We have to undergo these challenges to somehow take a glimpse to the possibility of our dreams in effect. It isn't easy, yet not impossible.

The last day I went to PRC was to sign for our license ID. I was told to come back on November 7 and after that, my precious PRC license will be in my hands. I am all done with all the paper works. I passed my application for licensure in California, still waiting for my eligibility though. But what the heck, with the economy in the US, we are talking about 3-5 years in waiting, so I am really not in a hurry to take NCLEX.

What's next?

After passing the exam, though still high, I kept myself updated with nursing issues. I log to allnurses.com every now and then to keep me posted of what's happening and to catch up with the latest, be it local or abroad. I have to admit, but I don't see myself working in the hospital here in the Philippines. I just don't see it fair, paying the hospital big fees just to undergo training and do volunteer work plus long line in waiting. I have a kid to feed and considering gaining experience here, is far from my options. After I graduated, I promised myself not to ask financial aid from my mom. I was thinking that if I do volunteer job, I will just end up asking for extra money from her, because it is not a paid work. Funds will not be sufficient enough for food and fare and it's like when I am still in school. No difference at all.


All this time, I have mastered the immigration law of US, New Zealand, Australia, Canada and United Kingdom with regard to nurses. I have weighed my options and after months of confusions of what to do and where to go, I have decided to leave the country. And hopefully before 2008 ends, I am gone.

Sad but true. Overproduction of nurses in the Philippines somehow made the quality of nursing education below standard. We have to battle different tests just to prove that we are "quality nurses" as we claim. I have read a lot of stories about Filipino nurses working in different parts of the globe, some good and some bad. So it's really up to us to stand up and prove ourselves. I am inexperienced nurse myself but I am ready to learn and share the skills that I have brewed in school for quite some time now.

God speed to all my colleagues.

to God be the Glory

I made it...

I passed the Nursing Licensure Exam!!

my redeemer lives

I read this post from a new blogger friend Marshi. I felt to blessed when I saw this very inspiring video. Now, I wish to share this to all of you.

READ FIRST:


A son asked his father, 'Dad, will you take part in a marathon with me?'. The father who, despite having a heart condition, says 'Yes'. They went on to complete the marathon together. Father and son went on to join other marathons, the father always saying 'Yes' to his son's request of going through the race together.

One day, the son asked his father, 'Dad, let's join the Ironman together.' To which, his father said 'Yes' too. For those who don't know, Ironman is the toughest triathlon ever. The race encompasses three endurance events of a 2.4 mile (3.86 kilometer) ocean swim, followed by a 112 mile (180.2 kilometer) bike ride, and ending with a 26.2 mile (42.195 kilometer) marathon along the coast of the Big Island .

Father and son went on to complete the race together.


Now watch this:

http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=8cf08faca5dd9ea45513

It made me realize again that nothing is impossible with God. Sometimes when are being tested, we lose hope and we tend to forget that there is a Super Being who watches over us. Let us not forget Jesus's love for us.

dark knight

Hubby and I got to sneak out again to watch The Dark Knight on its 2nd day at Alabang Town Center. I was in awe.. It was incredible, one of the best movies I have seen! Made me feel sad though, Heath Ledger was such a loss. Go see and check the movie out guys. I'm sure you don't wanna miss this.

http://thedarkknight.warnerbros.com/

my very first award

Thank you Denz for this award..

Dahil ikaw ay isang sertipikadong blogger, itinuturing kitang matalik kong “KADAMO”
Maraming salamat…
Mga Kadamo;

1.)Janeth Vicy’s Life Journey

2.) My Precious Niche

3.) Just Me.. Eds

4.) Eds Mommy Life

5.) ISL Family

6.) Me and Mine

7.) Creative in Me

8.) Little Peanut

9.) For the LOVE of Food

10.) Pea in a Pod

11.) Glamorous Sylph

12.) Stories In Life

13.) Denz Recreational

14.) Denz Techtronics

15.) Random Thoughts

Now, I’m passing this to this beautiful people:)

Bobs (I am), and Mem (Precious Memories).

thomas all day long!

Andy is a certified Thomas-olic. When he turned 20 months, there was never a day Thomas the Tank Engine is out of his grasp. After being away from him for almost a month, we were together again 24/7. We watch together, eat together and believe it or not.. bathe together.. Yes, I'm not a nanny-fan so I chose to take care of my son personally as much as I can. As long as my husband can put things together..;)

I used to think Thomas and Friends a really boring show... but when I heard my son hummed the theme song at the age of 20 months, in a second I was a fan! We watch the series on Playhouse Disney everyday 3:00 in the afternoon and the replay at 6PM. He already has James, Henry and Gordon, and we're planning to buy all of the 8 engines for his birthday. I first bought him the starter set at 600 bucks with Thomas, Annie and Clarabelle on it. I saw his eyes sparkled and from that moment on, Thomas became a household name.

Thomas and Friends theme was the original plan for his 2nd birthday, but since Thomas isn't that famous here in the Philippines yet, I guess I'll just move it next year if he still adores trains. However, his birthday theme this year will be Jollibee.

By the way, if you try to scroll down for my earlier posts, I was in a dilemna of how I will wean him entirely.. Yes, he's not nursing anymore and he sleeps sound at night without tantrums and all. Gerard and I indeed undergone some difficulties before he adjusted completely. He also eats well and drinks youghart milk but I'm still hoping and praying that someday soon, he will at least try to taste milk and reconsider. He is a very good and smart boy and we are very lucky to have him as our son.

notebook

my toddler loves turning my acer aspire notebook off without shutting down... then all of a sudden, there was no display. they said there was a problem with the main board and that it has to be replaced charging me with P13,650.00.

i miss my notebook... the service center told me i have to wait for 2 more weeks... wahhhh!! this is torture...

jack and the jilted

i finally got my free book JACK and the JILTED! i wasn't able to receive it myself because as you all know I didn't stay here a week before the exam. it was nearly being shipped back to the sender, thanks to my father in law who picked it up for me from the postal office. as soon as i opened the package, I didn't wait for a second... I actually started reading it and at the end of the day, believe it or not... I finished the whole book! I just can't handle the suspense, I just love it! Thanks Free Books!

its our day moms!

I am glad my mom and I somehow had our time together to bond before she left for US today. We share the same addictive pleasure - spa. We have been to several spas all over the metro already, but last night Callospa in Antipolo was our temporary haven. I am very pleased that she enjoyed every minute our stay there. It was nice being with her again, laugh at simple things, talk about the who's and what's and do the normal things like any other moms and daughters do. My mom and I, we're indescribably bonded. Though we live countries away for almost a decade, that doesn't stop me from being my mom's daughter. It will take months before I see and be with her again, and I'm very grateful for the 2 weeks that she was able to spend with me and Andy. I just hope that everything we've planned, will coordinate with God's plan for us. So I can be with my mom, brother and sister and be a FAMILY once again.

Happy mother's day, Mom. I am what I am because of you and I owe everything that I have and what I will have in the future. I love you!

happy mother's day!

Most of all the other beautiful things in life come by twos and threes,

by dozens and hundreds.

Plenty of roses, stars, sunsets, rainbows,

brothers and sisters, aunts and cousins,

comrades and friends -

but only one mother in the whole world.

~Kate Douglas Wiggin

Thanks Meg for this sweet tag.

Motherhood. It knows no boundaries, no deadline and no edges. Our kids will always be our kids.. they get bigger but never grown... We will always worry about them and will always take care of them in the highest possible manner.

The only way that I can repay my mom for every single sweat she yielded for my good... is to be a good mom to my son. I know I'm not yet there... but I hope to be soon.

Happy Mother's Day to all my mom-friends and to those who are on their way!

To my mom, I love you Mama and I will always be your darling daughter.. your mini-me and your lifetime ally. I love you more each day...

Tagging Mem, Liza, Abby, Yums and Marilyn.

iron man

It's fun to do what we love the most once in a while - watching a movie and then exchange our views and criticism about it afterwards. Since Andy is still with my mom in Antipolo, my husband and I finally had a time to sneak into the moviehouse and check out Iron Man. Starring Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark a.k.a. The Iron Man and Jeff Bridges as his father's friend and business partner and became his mentor. Other casts are Terrence Howard as Jim Rhodes Tony Stark's friend and Gwyneth Parltrow, played as his assistant who's secretly in love with him. I have not been to a cinema since the Transformers in San Leandro with Jershon and Girlie last year, Andy was like 8 months old and I breastfed all through out the movie to keep him still. Gee, and that was ages ago...

Anyway, I recommend all my virtual friends to see Iron Man, bring your hubbies and kids particularly your sons, they're gonna love it and they will deify you. Though the movie seems like light years away from reality, you’ll be amazed with the effects and how they managed to keep the movie à la mode by making it humorous. Hubby and I had enjoyed it so much that we just can’t get over; we didn't stop discussing about it on our way home. Ever since, he decides what movie we’re going to see and I trust him with that. He has this excellent preference with films, thus we’ve seen countless excellent ones like the Iron Man.

I also think that hubby and I should do this more often. In this way, we get to spend time with each other. A special day for us not in a regular mode. I really had a great time.

So, let me know if you've seen the movie, alright? I bet there will be Iron Man 2, I’ll just keep my fingers crossed! Very awesome!

Thanks Jing for tagging me!

Here are the rules:

1. Each player starts with 8 random facts/habits about themselves.
2. People who are tagged, write a blog post about their own 8 random things, and post these rules.
3. At the end of your post you need to tag 8 people and include their names.
4. Don’t forget to leave them a comment on their blog and tell them they’ve been tagged, and to come back and read your blog for the whole story.


The facts:

1. I am losing weight, finally.. Not because I eat less or into a specific type of diet.. No. I just turned away from driving and personally decided on commuting. I don't know. Maybe I just got tired of the dealing with Manila traffic. I love being a passenger more. I walk a lot too.

2. Im indecisive.

3. I love to cook.

4. I am a gadget-freak. Very techie.

5. I miss breastfeeding my son.

6. I am the luckiest woman on earth for having Gerard as my husband.

7. I can't live without music. I am a frustrated singer.

8. I dreamt of being a part of a theatrical play.


I am going to tag:

Liza

Mem

Babes

Meg

Abby

Jane

Yums

Marie

wean

I am now officially weaning my son from breastfeeding. The last nights weren't easy because he wakes up in the middle of the night when I try to turn to my sides. He’s asking for milk then cries if I refuse to give my breast. We are both lacking of sleep and it's getting more and more uncomfortable for him and especially for me. I've been thinking about this decision for months now and there was no consistency that's why goals aren't met yet. Good thing that I have my mom here to rescue me. I think that's what mom's are for – to aid.

My mom brought Andy with her to Antipolo and they will stay there until the engorgement of my breasts is gone – as soon as I feel better. Hopefully I will be able to see my son on Wednesday. He's also being trained to drink formula in a cup. I just wish that my mom has found the milk that he likes. Toddlers need milk for energy consumption; it’s the stage wherein they are at their most active phase and the time that they’re difficult to train. They’re so autonomous and they want to do things on their own terms. Though he eats solid food 3 times a day and 2 small meals in between, milk is definitely a necessity for him. That’s why it’s so frustrating, so provoking and maddening when he refuses my offer.

It’s been 24 hours since we left Andy with my mom. Last night was also the first time that we slept without him by our side. We miss him badly and it is really different when he’s not around, however, we have to be consistent. We have to stick to the plan.

It’s my dilemma as of the moment… and if you have suggestion fellow mom-bloggers… your ideas are very, very appreciated! Please leave me comments… Thanks.

Over it

I know it’s been awhile now. Blame it on the coming NLE this June, review has kept me very busy lately. Doesn’t even have the time for a new manicure and pedicure. Sigh.

Anyways, my mom made it on my graduation April 18, 2008. Yes, in spite of the lost passport and green card during accident, she found a way to get here. I’m so delighted that she was able to catch sight of my diploma being handed over to me! She’ll be here until the 10th of May. Graduation is the one of the prevalent events in my life. First was when I had Andy and my wedding to Gerard.

Everything was just right except that Andy’s gums are hurting for an unknown reason. He got very irritable and uneasy. He was pointing inside at his mouth since the other day. In the following morning, he got a fever so we assumed that he’s having his molars. He has no appetite for any food making it hard for me having no choice but to breastfeed him the whole day. Thank God, I was able to carry out the stress. I kept myself calm in spite of the toxicity and voila! The program has ended; I had the diploma at hand and then dinner at Dampa in Macapagal with the family. Baked tahong, sabaw sa miso, buttered shrimp, tempura and inihaw na liempo sealed our gathering. The food was so oh yummy, and we were pleased that Mom enjoyed the food and we all had a fantastic time.

Another chapter of my life has kicked off and I’m not even certain if I am ready for it. From then on, I am now officially a bum! Good thing I have a husband that I plan with and help me prioritize and organize things. I’m attending my review for the NLE at RCAP until May 30th and with God’s grace… I will claim my license by July and finally work as a nurse wherever it is needed. So making this blog short, here are the few photos that I’m going to share with you guys. Hope you like them.