Vocabulary of a 19-month old toddler

Kail's vocabulary is increasing by the day. Though he still blabbers in a language we couldn't understand, he at least has some words we could decipher:

baby - ah dee
daddy - dah dee
mommy - mama
ball - ba
balloon - lol
thank you - eh ooo
cat - tat
dog - dot
elmo - momo
no more - momon
banana - nana
wala na - nana
milk - dede
water - tater

I can't wait for my son to finally be able to speak in phrases. At the rate he's going, he's probably going to be as ma-kwento as mommy, hehe.

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Jody tagged me, so here are some weird things about me:

1. I'm a bag lady (not that I hoard bags) but I carry lots of 'em. I have a laptop roller with my laptop and work-related documents, my lunch bag, and a big shoulder bag which contains reading materials and personal items.

2. I sleep with a blanket all the time - even when it's scorching hot in the summer. I just have a fan fullydedicated to make me comfortable and the aircon is in full blast, hehe.

3. I'm a shopaholic - whether in store or online.

4. I love window-shopping. I can get out of a store without carrying anything, but just looking at things to buy satisfies me.

5. I can't sleep without hugging a pillow, even when I have my two boys beside me to hug.

6. I wipe my bathroom sink and faucets everytime I use it.

7. I keep magazines and books in the bathroom for reading when I'm on the "throne", hehe.

8. I have a LOT of scrapbooking stuff, but I'm not cranking up enough LOs to make a dent on my stash.

9. Some women crave for bags and girly stuff, while I have a love affair with cameras. I have a film SLR (Nikon N80), a DSLR (Nikon D80), a point and shoot digital camera (Olympus Stylus). I have 3 lenses - Tamron 28 to 200 mm, Nikon 50mm f/1.8, Nikon 18-105 f/3.5-4.6. I am salivating over Panasonic DMC-LX2 or Leica D-Lux - point and shoot cameras with 16:9 wide CCD, f/2.8mm wide angle lens. Also in my wish list is an SB-800 or SB-600 external flash.

10. I pray the rosary on the train (on my way home from work).

My Creative Endeavors

I've been in a creative rut since October 2005, back when I was pregnant with Kail. After I have given birth, the more I didn't have time to scrap because I was busy solely taking care of an infant. When I got back to work, the more it became impossible for me to sit down and scrap. I was faced with the responsibility of taking care of Kail and then having to work full time. I was on a hectic schedule with a demanding job. My need for creativity was easily satisfied by scrap shopping and reading scrapbook-related magazines. Now that the husband is home with us, I can now sit and be able to scrap a little here and there. In fact, whenI told hubz I needed to get back into shape by going to the gym, he quipped that I didn't need to do that, and that I ought to spend whatever free time I have scrapping. I'm glad he supports my need for a creative outlet and that he sees the importance of documenting our lives.

So, what have I been up to these days? I have enrolled in two more Big Picture Scrapbooking classes - Brushworks by Renee Pearson and Write Now by Amy Sorensen. I can now create brushes with photos, swirls, even my own handwriting for my layouts. With Write Now, I am able to journal the fast and easy way. It's not perfect journalling but it's the type of journalling that focuses on the why, not necessarily on the who, what, where type of stuff. I am also close to completing the All About Me album. This is a kit I got to benefit Breast Cancer research last year. I just have to add the photos and do a little bit more on the journalling and I'm done. Next on my plate is Kail's baby album. This is also a kit I had purchased on sale at Simple Scrapbooks. I have printed off the photos and am now doing bits of journalling. I'll be ready to assemble it as soon as I've completed my All About Me album, hopefully before Kail turns 21, teehee! I have also completed 5 journalling entries on some of our everyday happenings. I guess you can say that I'm the type of scrapbooker who prioritizes our everyday lives rather than the special occasions. I feel that our life may be mundane to some, but it is that little bits and pieces of our everyday that creates the special big picture of our life. I just hope I won't lose the momentum - what with our hectic weekend schedule as we take hubz on a tour of California.

In the meantime, I'm posting the last digital layout I made from the Brushworks class. The background paper is a close-up photo of Kail I converted into brushes. Cool huh?! :)

Very Picky Eaters

Kail used to have an appetite of a horse. He would eat anything and everything that he could get his tinyhands on, even when he's not supposed to eat them because of his allergies. Lately he's been refusing food. I somehow blame my ever-picky husband for it. Hubz is an honest-to-goodness carnivore. He doesn't eat veggies nor fruits. Even with meat, he's very picky. He won't eat anything that he's not used to seeing/eating. His favorites are simply sinigang and fried chicken (not very challenging to cook!). He doesn't eat leftovers, and this is because his lola owns a canteen so he was spoilt not having to repeat food the next meal, and having a variety of choices when he eats. He doesn't cook either because his lola does that for a living anyway. Kail sees him picking out his food so he probably thinks this is how it's supposed to be, since they're together 24x7.

I'm really finding it hard to feed my two boys these days. I'm practically pulling my hair out to find a way for them to eat. As a working mom, I don't have time to cook three meals a day. Since migrating to the US a couple of months ago, hubz doesn't eat lunch anymore. He would eat a bagel and it'll last him 'til dinner. Come dinner time, I noticed that whenever we have veggies or leftovers, he would eat very little. But when it's meat, he eats even the last bit of rice.

I don't know what else to do to make my boys eat. At least Kail eats fruits and veggies, but hubz, forget it. It's like talking to a tree when I tell him the health benefits of eating these types of food.

Any ideas mommies? I'm really desperate for tips.

I am one who have always believed in the power of prayer. I have seen it in my life and I can definitely attest to this.

It is with this same faith that I would like to humbly ask for your prayers for a friend and her unborn baby. Please check out Kaye's site for details. She is one very strong wife and mother. Her unwavering faith in God is truly an inspiration.

Thank you and here's to the power of prayer!

At the airport last week, I saw this poor woman carrying loads of baggages (on a cart of course), trying hard to keep up with her husband who is carrying absolutely nothing but a laptop bag. Then, he boarded the elevator well ahead of us (my roommate, me, my husband, and my little boy). His wife boarded last. In fact, the elevator almost closed up on her. The husband said something in their native language, and the wife just kept quiet. It sounded like he was berating his wife for not being able to keep up.

I told my husband I wanted to take the suitcase out of the cart, hit the husband on the head for not respecting his wife. My husband replied that in their culture, such is normal. It was then that I realized that though I came from a third world country, I have a lot to thank for. As Filipinos, our parents always reiterated the value of respect - especially to women. I remembered men would always say "ladies first". I am also grateful for the fact that my husband treats me as a partner - an equal. We walk hand-in-hand - nobody lagging behind. He consults me on his decisions, respects my opinions, allows me to control our finances, does his share of household chores, is a hands-on dad when it comes to Kail.

Related to this, I have a teammate asking a Filipino male friend how they are at home. My friend responded that we equally share household chores. He was aghast. In their house, he is the king. He would lie on the couch all day - doing whatever he feels like doing, while the wife does everything. I could not believe my ears! If that was my husband lying on the couch while I scramble to get stuff done, I would really hit him with whatever I can lay my hands on.

Unbelievable that in our modern day and age, there are still cultures who treat women as second and third class citizens (seemed lower sometimes). In my opinion, these men do not deserve wives, they ought to hire slaves!

I swear, this is like eye-candy! I like the the hobo, gypsy fringe bag, and these two purses - this and that.

Sigh, I'm not a bag person, but I couldn't resist these bags that looked like patterned papers - so yummy! How I wish money grew on trees!

Have a great week everyone!

I've been Tagged!

I've been tagged by Jigi!

I must post the rules, 7 random things about me and then tag others to do the same. Sounds fair enough, right?

These are the rules… each player starts with 7 random facts about themselves on their Blog. People who are tagged need to blog 7 facts about themselves and post the rules as well. At the end of their blog list 7 people you are tagging. Let them know that they are tagged by leaving them a comment.

1. Shopping is my therapy. I head out to the mall when I'm stressed.

2. I take online classes at www.bigpicturescrapbooking.com to hopefully curb my creativity back on track, and to encourage me to start scrapbooking again.

3. I love to read. Whenever I have an idle time (like my commute to work), I read books, magazines, or anything that piques my interest.

4. I'm a shoe fettish. A woman can never have enough shoes.

5. Fall is my favorite season. The weather is just right for me and I have to admit, I look cute in boots, hehe!

6. I collect Strini handblown glasses. I have not purchased a single one though because everything I have are gifts.

7. I'm a light sleeper. I wake up with the slightest noise, but can easily get back to sleep.

Please feel free to tag yourself...