On a three-week hiatus...

I am taking the remaining three weeks of baby bonding time from April 20 to May 8.  Since Calix is turning one on May 8, I'd lose the time if I don't take it now.  

I've only been on vacation for two days but I'm exhausted already!  Saturday was our grocery and church day.  Sunday was gardening day with papa (a friend's dad).  Hubz and papa toiled throughout the day while I slaved in the kitchen and babysat our boys.  Yesterday was spent cleaning.  Today I completed 12 digital layouts for Calix's birthday mini album!  

These past couple of days, we have been enduring a very hot 90 degree weather.  I decided to take Kail for a haircut and I was inspired to have a very, very short do for myself.  The photo below is what a 90 degree weather and a house full of boys did to me... ;)  I traded my long locks for a less maintenance do!  

Here is Kail having his haircut.  His teacher told me when I dropped him off to school this morning that Kail looks like a big boy with his haircut! 

What this Recession Taught Us

One good thing brought about by this recession is that it gave us (me and hubz) a chance to take a good look at our spending and weed out unnecessary expenses. Don't get me wrong, I am not one who throws caution in the wind when it comes to spending anyway (except for my scrap hoarding, LOL) but it pays to really be careful. Now is not the time to indulge on uncessary things, to build up the nest egg and to formulate a backup plan in case we lose a job. It is truly sad that this economy is not getting any better and we haven't seen the light at the end of the tunnel - yet (I still remain hopeful that this will come to end soon). Add to that the fact that California is also experiencing major budget shortfall.

What led me to this day was when I was watching Oprah one time and they featured those who have been greatly affected by this recession. People in Sacramento (a good hour away from where I live), in the capital of California, losing their homes to foreclosure. These are middle-income families now living in tents because they coudln't even afford to pay rent due to a job loss. These are families who, a year earlier, were able to afford a WII as a birthday gift for their kids but could now no longer afford to pay for housing. These families are no different from you and me. They have been victims of this hard economic times. It was truly an eye opener for me. This could happen to any one of us. Scary, scary thought.

So, no more lusting over a new LV bag, nor drooling over the new Nikon D90, or pining for a new VR lens, or salivating over yummy papers and new scrapbook goodies. The only thing we're not skimping on is food. Even that, I make it a point to buy new stocks when we have consumed the supply in the freezer. This way, we wouldn't need to throw anything out. Even when scrapbooking, my challenge is to use the supplies I have on hand. After all, what got me into this hobby in the first place is the need to document our lives, not the latest and greatest paper or embellishment.

What we are currently doing is pay using our debit card - as much as we can anyway. Since it goes straight out of our checking, we're more conscious of how we spend our money. I also started tallying (while shopping) how much each item costs so I have an idea more or less, of the final amount I have to pay at the counter. We are also cooking more and eating out less. However, I still buy take outs on days that I have to be in the office because I get home late that my boys are ready to eat the furnitures if I don't have food with me. But, the takeouts have to be $10 max and should last for two days, LOL. We turn off lights in areas of the house that are not in use - even Kail is already trained to turn off the lightwhen he leaves a room - it's never too early to start, LOL. I also make it a point to jot down our day to day expenses so we get an idea of where we spend our money on.

We are also foregoing buying new furnitures for the house. Our formal living and dining areas are bare so that has become our kids' play area. Since the boys are prone to breaking things anyway, we figured we'd wait until they're a little older before furnishing it, and hopefully the economy is better by then too.

We're taking one baby step at a time because at the end of the day, what's really important is that we're together, we're in good health, and we're happy even amidst all the cost-cutting that we do. That's what counts most - not the greatest and most expensive of things. All in all, this recession has taught us to live simply but meaningfully.

A New Layout - The Story of Our Family

I was in the mood the other night so I created this layout from a photo that was taken on Carnival Paradise cruise. The layout was based on a sketch from Pagemaps. It was one of those sketches that just jumped at me and gave me sleepless nights until I am able to create a layout based on that. My challenge on this layout was to use my existing stash. Because I have a lot of flowers and I rarely create a layout with them (with two boys, the opportunity is just limited), I decided to go all out and layer flower with flower. It took me longer than I anticipated but I was very happy with the result.

Materials:
Cardstock - Bazzill
Patterned Paper - K&Co Que Sera Sera; Cosmo Cricket Wanted
Flowers - Prima
Rub-ons - K&Co
Sticker - 7Gypsies
Pen - Zig

Journaling:
When you look at the four of us, you wouldn't be able to guess that Clifford and I struggled with infertility during the first two years of our marriage. We have spent a considerable sum of money on work-ups. The fact that our two boys were conceived naturally still baffles me up to this very day. God truly works in mysterious ways. He wasn't really saying "no" just "not yet"!

Belle De Jour Coupons

A friend got me a Belle De Jour power planner from her most recent trip to Manila. I just love, love this planner - so much space to write on. Plus, there's a menstrual tracker, vacation planner, expense tracker, 2009 Goals, dream board, health checklist, birthday list, and coupons - lots of them!

The downside is, the coupons are for retailers in Manila, so I can't use them. But, if you will be able to use them, please send me an email at cammfiveten@gmail.com with your name and mailing address (first to email gets the coupons) and I'll gladly mail you these coupons. If you're interested on the list of retailers, please check them out here.

Project 365 - 02/19/09

This is why I love Project 365. It gives me a chance to record moments that may have gone unnoticed, or may have never been printed off of my digital camera. The photo is a bit blurry, but I had to run and take this in a hurry because I might miss this pure brotherly exchange of affection! I love my life!

Have you met my daughter?

A conversation between me and the nurse in ER last week:

Nurse: You have a beautiful daughter.
Me: Thank you... except he's my son!
Nurse: Oh, I'm so sorry (looking embarrased). He has lots of hair so I thought he's a girl. But regardless, he's a beautiful child!

Now, tell me please, why do they always mistake my little boy for a girl, even when he's got all blue clothes? I just don't understand! :)

Project 365, etc.

During the weekend, I have edited the photos, added the texts for the days of the week and the date, had them printed at Costco, and have started assembling them on the page protectors last night. Photos for January are now neatly stored in their respective 4x6 page protectors, and I'll work on the journalling next. I also ordered a 3-ring 12x12 KMA red album today. I initially ordered the We R Memory Keepers ring album but it's no longer available at Ritz Camera. I ordered it from there because of the deep discount that came with it. I have posted the digital photos down (minus the journalling) and I smile whenever I see them. It reminded me of how we spent our January. As soon as I'm done with the journalling, I'll post photos of the actual spread.

I'm still taking photos - lots of them in a day actually - I can probably swing a couple of photos a day even! It's very exciting and it's not too late to join me in this journey. You can start today and end on the same day next year. It doesn't necessarily have to start on January 1st.

Yesterday was Kail's first day in preschool and you guessed it right, that was my photo for the day. We enrolled him thrice a week for 2.5 hours each day. He always has an artwork on his hands, which I plan to compile in a binder. It'll showcase how the artist in him would evolve.

Calix has started crawling on Sunday, Feb. 1st. He's probably late at 8 months - some babies are already walking at this point, but I'm just as excited like when I first saw Kail crawling a couple of years back.

Calix just recuperrated from flu last week. We rushed him to the ER on Wednesday night because he was harboring a 105 degree fever, which only went down to 103.6 after a cold sponge bath. Good thing he has a very good pediatrician who sees him almost everyday after the ER scare to make sure he'll get over this. She even ordered a nebulizer for him when she noticed him wheezing - delivered right at our doorstep! She's truly a gem and I'm so thankful we found her. She's F. Shanee Martin, MD of North Bay Pediatrics. They have clinics in Vallejo, Benicia, and Fairfield. Thank God Kail was spared from the flu. He had the usual cough and colds, but I started feeding him with way too many oranges and strawberries for the Vitamin C.

This reminded him of how much I hate it when kids get sick, especially those that just cry a lot and couldn't say exactly what's bothering them!