my super saturday

i brought home tons of work. i didn't want to go to work on a saturday. i assumed i will have all of saturday and monday to finish everything in time for our monthend this jan 2.

i wake up to little girl's "bird, bird", our love birds wake her up every morning. i get out of our room and was informed by my sis that our nanny is not here, and probably not coming anymore. her mom was hospitalized the day before. my plans of doing some stuff for work went down the drain. i was to be the official yaya for the day.

bea's acid reflux is recurring. since last christmas it has gotten worse. we put her back on prevacid and motilium. she threw up most of her food during breakfast and dinner.

i was supposed to meet my college barkada for dinner at 6pm. i begged off knowing that i will not be there on time, no one will take care of the little girl. hubby has work on saturdays and they had a christmas party scheduled. i was supposed to leave at around 7pm. by that time i expected that bea would be asleep, but we were delayed because bea threw up 3x while drinking her milk, so i had to prepare her milk and syringe-feed her over and over again. apple called and told me to just join them in laff line in timog. i have no idea where that is. i'm not familiar with that area, libis, makati, mandaluyong... ok, but QC, not really. so i harrassed hubby to come home soon so that he can accompany me to timog. when he arrived we got into a cab, got off in batasan only to transfer to another cab and was in laffline by 9:30. whew! wawa naman si hubby, he just accompanied me there, then he went home already...

the performers were chokla, peanut, jeff, martin, the new guy, chokoleit, and anton diva. galing! the whole barkada was there! any other time, i would've begged off already, but i really wanted to join them since this is a RARE occassion that our barkada is complete. rhona will be flying back to the US on Jan 12. by the way i got my first taste of shirley temple, pinacolada and daiquiri... thanks to rhona =)

we left at around past 1 and i was home by 2. i ate my uber late dinner, (i had my lunch at 6pm). and sank off to a tired dreamless sleep.

well that was my roller coaster saturday. how was yours? =)

the gmask experience

i previously posted about my dilemma as to whether i will upgrade my cam or not... i decided not to upgrade and opted to give it a makeover bringing it over to a gmask booth and letting them do their magic. guess what? someone from gmask read my entry and linked me up to their site! cool!

a very merry CHRISTmas to everyone!

a special thanks to those who take time and visit my blog. God bless you all! =)

to upgrade or not to upgrade

this past week, i have been agonizing about whether i will buy a new digital camera. my current one is 3 years old already, and truth be told, still as effective as the day i bought it (kudos to sony!) . it just bulky and has only 3.2 megapixels. it is one of the first generation cameras. last week, when we went to trinoma, we saw that sony was having a sale. the camera that caught our eyes is now selling for almost 15k, it used to cost 17k. it's thin, has 7 mp, special lenses and the best part is that they're selling it for 0% for 18 months! (cheers coming from the citibank table! grrrr.)

ooooh! so tempting. only 800+ a month... but for 18 whole months!!! i literally agonized over the decision, i would do this strange ritual of ogling at it, actually reaching for my credit card, and stopping and doing an about face then storming out of the store (much to the dismay of the store clerks).... only to do it again in the next shop.

anyhoo, good thing hubby was there, the voice of reason. we decided that when we bought our digicam for 19k 3 years ago, we bought it as an investment, we chose a good brand because we expected good quality, we expected it to last for years. and so we will stick with it, since it is still working properly and serving its purpose.


what we did instead was to buy a new memory stick with higher capacity and... we also gave our aged digicam a makeover! i went over to gateway mall last saturday and went to the gmask booth, and chose a carbon fiber design for our camera (it was a surprise for hubby, if i had my own way, i'd have chosen a more colorful design). their promise time was 1hr - 1.5hrs. they failed miserably to deliver. huhuhu. although when they were finally finished, our camera did look macho! hahaha. gmask's motto is: personalize, protect, revitalize. when they were finished with our cam, it looked revitalized indeed!

tada!

christmas is a little late this year

usually we'd have a tree up by the time my birthday comes around. this year was different. due to hubby's and my toxic sched, and sis' hospitalization, our tree was a week late. anyhoo... we finally got around to putting it up and guess who was in the midst of the hustle and bustle of the preparations....

she was very happy when the christmas tree was finished. you can definitely tell by the way her eyes sparkled!

btw, she keep on calling the christmas balls "tai" for star. why? i'm not really sure... hehehe

the kalamansi experiment

what do you do when you've got nothing but time while eating at a restaurant? conduct experiments of course!

bea is her usual kulit self while we were eating at a resto and hubby had this brilliant idea: test bea's tolerance for sour things! this has always been his weakness. he finds even the sweet kyat-kyat "too sour". he wants to find out if bea took after him or after me (i love fruits, although i'm not really into sour fruits, i can tolerate them if i think they're good for my health)... hence, the kalamansi experiment.

the following scenes followed:

i therefore conclude that our bea tolerates the sour taste pretty well, as you can see, she got through the ordeal unscathed and smiling. =)

another successful experiment. stay tuned for more!

perfect imperfection

perfection has never been our strong suit.
you're not perfect... i'm not too..

i sing terribly. you snore.
you're no good with money. socializing for me is a chore.
i hate cooking. you hate reading.
you're computer illiterate. i find public speaking mortifying.

but as it turns out, God did plan everything out.
He picked me and you from among the crowd
He knew you had traits that would complement mine
and He knew from the start we'd hit it off fine.

and now after many years of being partners in crime
everything did turn out just fine.
i still can't sing and you still snore.
but each passing day bring us closer more and more.
and yes, i think i love more now than ever before...

so what if we're not perfect people.
then we'll be the most perfect imperfect people together...

i love you hunny!

home with bea

my chance of getting through december without leave from work flew out the window yesterday, when our still stay-out nanny didn't come for work because it is her father's burial. in fairness, she did tell us in advance, but we had no other choice. i had to stay home with little bea.

the good: i was able to spend more time with her, play with her and actually take care of her. it has been days since i saw her awake when i came home at night. i noticed that she has grown! her shoes, which used to be too big for her now fits her exactly! hehehe... dresses are now too short... pajamas now look like leggings for her. hehehe...

the bad: she is still so hard to feed. i can get only 2 mouthfuls of rice in her then she'd get so cranky and we'd fight. *sigh* i'd try to make it up by giving her more milk, only it takes soo long.... but then again, what else is new =)

gym talk

Hubby and I have a gym membership, although it is now completely useless since we haven’t been to the gym for months now, ever since we started having nanny troubles. I wish I can go back, the pounds I lost when I was religiously going to the gym has now sneaked back, and they brought along a couple more friends. grrr.

Hmm. All these gym talk reminds me of a gym we joined years ago. it was a really good gym with great facilities, including a spacious locker room. They had rows and rows of steel lockers, with locker benches in between rows, where gym rats can slump on to after a tiring session of cardio or strength training. Too bad though, their gym membership was real steep so we couldn’t afford to go there anymore. It was fun while it lasted though =)

chico garcia's blog

i love listening to the radio. i am a big fan of two wonderful dj's manning the booth every morning, chico and delamar. i have been listening to their morning show as far back as my college days. they are really funny. witty and funny. hubby used to hate it when i listened to them, though he had no choice since, along with my sis, i am an avid fan. my mornings are not complete when i don't listen to them. and then, without me noticing it, hubby has become as big a fan as i am.

now, chico garcia has launched his own blog. woohoo! as he admitted on the morning rush (RX93.1 mon-sat 6am to 9am), he is a bit late in catching the blog mania, (he was late in appreciating friendster too) at least now i can not only listen to his weird thoughts on the radio, i can read about them too. go ahead and check out his blog: www.chicogarcia.wordpress.com.

this has got to be my most depressing birthday ever!

andres bonifacio and the makati mutiny

yesterday, my mind was preoccupied with something else. i was busy with work. month end is coming up, my officemate was absent and i had to fill in for him, all the while i was busy being worried with the pending reports i needed to prepare for submission soon.

i was frantically trying to beat the 12pm deadline when i heard the radio tuned in an AM station, this is a rare hapenning in our office, so i knew that there was something going on. i asked around and they said there was a coup d' etat going on. i didn't believe it but later, i found out that it was true.

like most filipinos i was glued to the television as the events unfolded.

backtrack....

i voted for trillanes, and i was glad when he won as a senator.

when he and his colleagues staged the oakwood mutiny, i felt for them and supported their cause. i was impressed that they stood up for what they believed in. admittedly though, i knew it was a lost cause. the people have long been jaded. people power has passed its prime. why? our political climate is not as clear as it was in 1986. then, we knew who the enemy was, and we knew who to turn to, we knew who symbolized new hope and transformation for our country. it was clear as black and white. marcos vs. cory. we had a choice and we made it.

now, it's not as clear. we have graft and corruption in our government. red tape is a norm. we are mostly unhappy as a people. we want the present president out. who do we want to replace her? who are our choices? do we even have a fit replacement? the best we can do is to choose the lesser evil. is that good enough?

present day...

manila penn mutiny is quashed. trillanes is hauled off to bicutan like a common criminal. no people power happened. no military/civilian/religous support came. have we grown tired of asking the president to step down, the call to converge and topple the present leadership. maybe we can't find a suitable replacement. or maybe it was because of the rains.

too bad for manila penn and its guests. they learned first hand just how unhappy we are as a people.

the future is getting bleaker. i'm sure andres bonifacio and the rest of our heroes are turning in their graves. this is the country that they loved and died for... what a pity.

bonding with my sis

last saturday, my darling sister and i went on a long overdue date. just the two of us. i asked her out with the intention of treating her, but she ended treating me instead. (hehehe, thanks ds.)

we went on our way, without knowing where we're going or what we'll do. finally, we settled on going to trinoma, which is good since i've never been there before! strolled for a bit, my sis gave me a mini tour. ( i was able to resist the lure of the bookstore! woohoo!)

for lunch, we ordered brothers' burgers to go. we had identical orders, burger plus cream cheese with garlic, french fries and soda. (yummy!) we had our lunch while watching the movie Enchanted. Great movie by the way! great acting... and singing! my sis loved it too, although her first choice was a local movie, one more chance, too bad hubby and i watched it already the night before.

after the movie, more strolling, we went and inquired about the classes available at gymboree for our bea. (we are very interested, i hope we can save enough for her to attend their classes!)
then we went and got some pampering... sis got a pedicure and foot spa while i had a facial.

just before leaving the mall, we decided to eat halo-halo from Razon's. mmmm....!

it was a fun, fulfilling day with my sister. i miss these bonding days. i remember when we were young, we used to go on dates like these. my mom would entrust me to my sister and we'd go around the mall, just strolling. when my sis had her first job, she'd take me out to treat me to snacks. very generous of her, really. =)

hopefully, we can do this again soon!

iwan...

huhuhu, my friends left for cebu early this afternoon.. without hubby and me. i am sooo sad, and envious. they left for cebu. hubby and i were supposed to be part of that team. we have the tickets and all. we bought it months ago... back then was still freelancing. now, hubby's new job is still a week old, meaning he is still probationary, meaning ... no absences allowed! grrr...

sad. sad. sad.

diagnosed but not convinced

last night we went to the emergency room to have my back checked. we went to this dark and sad hospital we've never gone to ever. why then did we choose this hospital? they are affiliated with our health card. as much as we wanted to go to St. Luke's, we knew for a fact that being checked up in their ER will take HOURS. we once went in at 8:45 pm and left at around 2:30 am. so much for emergency huh? i had to think about hubby because he still had work monday morning.

when we got there, there were no other patients. only chatty nurses and a doctor who looked like she is still in pre-med. no doc's white gown either. hubby and i thought she was a receptionist. hehehe. in fairness, she seemed competent enough. either she is really competent, or she is a really good receptionist. lol!

my urine and blood was tested. i was made to lie down on a dingy bed. nurses peered down at me, even if they were not supposed to be involved, as if they are not used to patients actually coming in their hospital. my tummy and back was pressed down at every possible angle.

diagnosis: muscle spasm. huh? urinalysis and cbc came out normal.

i am not convinced. i remember feeling this much pain in my back a year ago. my urinalysis revealed then i had 100+ pus cells in my urine. but this time, 2 pus cells, and i can't even stand up straight for 2 minutes!

muscle spasm my a**. hmmm. i'm not convinced.

photo hunt:: i love ____

i love my hubby!

i love my bea!

i love my family!

hmmm... i also love pasta and grilled chicken!

yellow cab pizza and noodles too!! yum!

easy christmas shopping!

Christmas is fast approaching! Along with it comes the christmas rush. Of course, there is a way to enjoy Christmas shopping without the hustle and bustle of it all… online shopping! CouponChief.com is a wonderful site full of different items you can get for your loved ones, they offer promo codes, coupon deals and discount resources for their visitors. And their site is really easy to use.

I am thinking of getting some books by using The Scholastic Store Coupons for my nieces and nephew. Books are always great gifts, especially for kids! Then I’m going to avail the SpaLook Deals for my girl friends, they would surely appreciate a little pampering. I’m sure they’d love that!

Argh! My shopping is far from over, as the date nears, my list seems to be getting longer! Good thing CouponChief.com is here.

promo codes

ooops. she did it again.

the nanny copped out on us again. two days in a row. yesterday, hubby's last day in his old work. payday. the nanny texted us telling us that she needed to take her child to the doctor for a checkup. what can we do? hubby stayed home and took care of kulit bea. he left later in the afternoon to pick up his salary, leaving bea with lolo.

earlier today, hubby's first day in his new work. nanny is a no show. 6:35, nanny's husband came to tell us that she will not be coming in AGAIN. the doctor was not able to see them yesterday since there were soooo many patients. i was already dressed and all. i had to stay home. no choice.

i hope she comes in tomorrow. laundry day. i mean, i loooove my bea to death, but she is becoming a handful! you can't do anything else but to watch her. i take my eyes off her for a couple of SECONDS and she's standing up on a chair or the sofa. (she loooves to climb stuff!) it's like taking care of two boys! super mega hyper active!

online poker fun for mac users

I’m not a very lucky person. I never won in raffles, lottery and the like. I guess you can say I’m not very good with games of chances. So I guess gambling is out of the question. I’ve never tried it… but that’s about to change!

I’ve recently discovered Mac Poker Online, a site that exclusively provides info regarding casino games and online poker for Macintosh. Yep, mac users, this site will save you a lot of time, less time looking for good sites to play in, more time to actually play and have a good time! Beginners will enjoy this site because they have a special easy beginners ‘ guide. Quite helpful for first timers like me.

They have links to excellent online poker rooms like Pacific Poker, Fulltilt Poker, Poker Stars. They have in their list only reputable sites, so you know you can trust these sites with your money. I'm really glad they launched this site, not only is it reliable and helpful, it is really easy to read and understand. Go on over and check out their site!

make your travel plans soon!

Some months back, hubby and I booked a flight to a local island, Cebu, the fun part is we’re going with some friends of ours. Woohoo! I’m really excited! This is my first time to travel by plane… well, scared and excited. =) I remember we had a lot of trouble trying to book this flight and our accomodation. It’s nearing Christmas time, and this is peak season, meaning most hotels are fully booked already. Good thing we planned ahead! =)

Hey, for those looking to travel, let me share with this tip, try and book your accommodation through the net. It’s easy and convenient, it’s open 24 hours! There is this one site that is really helpful to travelers-to-be, easytobook.com. you can book a hotel in any destination of your choosing, be it fashionable London, modern New York, romantic Prague, or exotic Barcelona. Using this site can save you a lot of time and trouble, since you don’t have to hop from one site to another looking for the appropriate hotel that fits your preference and budget.

So go on and book your flight and accommodations early! Bon voyage!

malling with hubby and bea

just came home from an afternoon of malling. sent our nanny home early with the condition that she comes tomorrow, a sunday. we were supposed to go to mapua first so that hubby can request for a transcript of records from his alma mater, but we realized that we were not going to be able to beat the 5:00 deadline, so we decided to just go to SM City instead. we went and bought long-sleeved shirts for hubby, some ties and a belt. stuff he needs for his new job. =)
after the shopping spree for hubby, we decided to eat at burger king. when we got there, we discovered that they didn't serve apple juice and spaghetti anymore. we didn't want bea to dring soda, so i had to buy some juice and spaghetti from jollibee. (bea's fave)

after dinner, we went strolling... we let bea lose from her stroller, and she just went off... walking/running from one shop to another, laughing out loud. =) it's been a while since i last visited this mall, it has changed a LOT! for the better. they have new shops, a new portion, the block, and a lot more improvements. we took bea to toy kingdom, she just loved it!

fun fun fun!

photo hunt::: flexiible

this week's theme is flexible. i can't think of anything else. so, i twisted my fingers and took a picture with my camera phone... tada! we used to this as kids, pretending we were crabs and these are our pincers. why we do it, i don't really know.... hehehe... out of boredom i guess! =)

friday's feast

Appetizer
Which snack do you like to get when you go to the movies?
the usual, sour cream flavored popcorn and soda.

Soup
What year did you start using the internet?
hmmm. i can't really remember. probably '98 or '99

Salad
What is your first name in Pig Latin? (Here’s how to speak it if you don’t already know!)
arenkay... hehehe

Main Course
Name something you are picky about.
fruits, i try to eat only fresh ones.
and utensils. i can only eat if i have matching spoon and fork. i'm uncomfortable eating with mismatched spoon and fork =)

Dessert
Fill in the blanks: I ______yesterday and I ____ ____ today
i wasn't able to go online yesterday and i plan to make up for lost time today. =)

flowers for me?

there was a time when i used to badger my hubby about his not giving me flowers anymore…like he used to… years ago. I would sing “you don’t bring me flowers” by Barbra. This is a double whammy coz my singing is intended to annoy him more… =)

then now, after years of marriage, I am more on the practical side. I see flowers as the pretty little expensive temporary things that they are…

of course I’d be lying to myself if I say that I’d be happy never to see a single bud ever again. *wink* *wink* *hint* *hint*

the medium

last night hubby and i finally finished the 2nd season of prison break. at last! then we started our new series... the medium with patricia arquette. at least with this one, whenever an episode ends, you have a sense of closure since a case is often resolved, unlike with prison break, every end of episode leaves you drooling for more... oh well. last night we were able to go sleep after only one episode of medium. hehehe...

i just wish she'd get rid of her bangs or at least try a new hairstyle... =)

cranky bea and answered prayer!

bea has been so cranky these past few days! we can't understand why. she'd wake up crying in the middle of the night, a couple of times a night! yes, we are really bothered by this. why is she so cranky? is she coming down with something? is there something bothering her, an ache somewhere in her body... i try to ask her but the wailing just continues. it takes a long time before we can pacify her... usually by carrying her.

we are all so tired. patience is wearing thin. last night hubby and i prayed over her, asking God to cover her with His mantle of protection, from any harm and illness. then, a miracle happened. she slept like a baby! no more crying, no more tossing and turning. a good night's rest! Thank you Lord!

St. Luke's Medical Center - Philippines

according to the St. Luke's website:


The foremost and the most admired hospital in the Philippines




Today it is the foremost and most admired hospital in the Philippines and an acknowledged leader in Asia. St. Luke's delivers on its mission of healing by gathering under one roof the finest medical expertise, the most sophisticated medical technology and facilities, and a deep-rooted culture of compassion. It supports this mission with research and continuing education for those who serve. The total dedication to quality and caring of the St. Luke's family is what distinguishes the hospital as a center of healthcare excellence in Asia.


when bea got sick we brought her to st. luke's since her pedia holds her clinic there. we stayed in "kiddie land" for 3.5 days... from sunday night to wednesday afternoon. we were checked in a semi-private room. there are two patients to an air-conditioned room. we shared a bathroom, which had lukewarm water and was clean. we had enough space. we had cabinets, drawers and tables to put our stuff in. companions had a long upholstered bench to sleep on. they changed the sheets everyday, plus whenever the patients soil their sheets (which was often in our case!). they cleaned the room twice a day, and gave us a roll of tissue paper and soap everyday. personnel were very courteous. they assigned a nurse per patient, which was ok with us since the assigned nurse really did focus her attention on bea whenever she came in the room, which was often, and usually with a trainee in tow. they had a pantry nearby where they had a hot/cold water dispenser, bottle sterilizer and a microwave oven available for anyone to use.





food was great! except for one dish (i think it was meatloaf, but it didn't taste good) everything else was yummy! they thought about the presentation too. who said hospital food had to taste bleech?! too bad i wasn't able to get pictures of every meal, they were that appetizing to look at, that we usually just dived in!


the bill was a bit steep as expected, they bill you for every needle they poke in your body. so what if they didn't get the needle in your vain the first time? they'd just open another pack and bill you for everything... we even got billed for a ROLL of plaster... for the plaster the used to tape in the IV to bea's hand. i told the nurse i think they ony used a couple of inches, definitely not a ROLL, so i took whatever was left of the plaster home.... i paid for it anyway. =)


for every day that we stayed there, i was getting uneasy, i knew the bills were getting higher. good thing they had an online billing system where in you can inquire about your latest bill. you can choose to see just the total amount... or a detailed list of everything charged to you, every medicine, every cotton ball...(i suggest this one so you can check if you actually used all those items) and you can print it too. so you can go back quietly to your room, look at your latest billing and PANIC privately. lol!

in fairness, they reversed the cost of some unused medicines without me asking them. =)



when we were ready to leave, a representative from the pharmacy talked to us about the followup medicines bea had to take, the dosage, the duration... this was something new, in the past the doctors were the ones who usually do this.


hospitalizations are never good experiences, the stress, the sleepless nights, the expenses, at least St. Luke's (despite of or because of the high bill) made our stay a bit more bearable. i really felt they gave extra effort to make their patients feel comfortable and well-taken care off.

photo hunters:: classic

it's been a while, but i'm back photo hunting... this week's theme is classic and what i am posting is the classic comfort food for many people, hubby and me included... PIZZA!!!

friday's feast # 167

Appetizer
How much money do you plan to spend this upcoming holiday season?
i plan not to spend so much this year. we are neck-deep in debt as it is... =)of course i would love to get nice things for my daughter, she'd be the exception.

Soup
What was the last television show you watched, and was it good?
i am watching prison break. it is soooo addicting! last night i watched cold case. i love this series too!

Salad
If you had to paint the walls of your living room tomorrow, what color would you choose?
i'd color it blue. i always loved the color blue, with yellow accents.

Main Course
Name something clever or practical you have thought of that should be invented, but hasn’t yet.
an intelligent car horn that can shout out expletives whenever you encounter jerks on the road. it should be able to detect the degree of stupidity being encountered by the driver... and shout out the appropriate messages... (talk about road rage!)

Dessert
List 3 things you would like to receive as gifts this upcoming holiday season.
a new digital camera, mp3 player, psp (yep, i am a techie!)

it's been a while since i joined the feast... it's great to be back!

bea's new do

thanks to the declared holiday today, nov 2, hubby and i got to stay home today with our bea. sadly our nanny copped out on us again, since one of her kids is sick... again. oh well. anyway, i think we coped just fine. too bad hubby didn't get that much rest. =(

i took the chance to give little bea a haircut. i just trimmed her bangs, although daddy kept on saying i cut them too short, i think her hair looks just fine. =)

we went back to the cemetery today to visit her grandparents from daddy's side.... and of course mommy is not about to miss this photo op!

hospital blues part 2

sunday night, when we got to our room, another little girl was occupying the next bed, same case as bea's too, vomiting / LBM. they looked like pretty nice folks. we were led to the treatment room where the IV was inserted to little one's veins. they tried twice on her right hand but her veins kept on "collapsing". i don't really know what that means, but the docs said that it was due to dehydration. they tried again on her left hand and is turns out, the third time's the charm. as expected the little one howled in pain, all the while looking straight into my eyes as if asking why are you letting them hurt me like this?! i felt so guilty!

back in our room, we met our roomies, the Tuazon family. they were very kind and understanding. i kept apologizing for bea's howling (every diaper change, which was often) and they kept on telling us not to worry about it. their 2.5 year old daughter was also sick with the same symptoms as bea's...

on our first night, we were all adjusting to our surroundings. "namamahay" as we say it in Filipino. bea's slept soundly, disturbed only by an LBM episode and the diaper change that followed. they following day, bea's disposition remained dreary. she still won't smile, cried her lungs out whenever a nurse with bright patterns on her uniform entered the room, won't play with us, opted to rest or sleep.... after lunch, signs of her old happy self started showing... a little smile here and there... her appetite picked up... still cried a lot though during diaper change. 7 LBM episodes the whole day... trying to get urine sample was a CHALLENGE! she was given antibiotics through her IV.

tuesday, 6 LBM episodes. smiling and bubbly. back to her usual self. her IV back flowed a couple of times during the day (she was sooo active crawling/walking all over her bed, she pulled at her IV a couple of times), the nurse had to come and flush it to clear the tubes. more howling from the little one. her tushy was still sore, but some of her wounds started to dry up... our roomie was discharged already, leaving the room to ourselves. took in milk, lots of biscuits, some apple...

wednesday, LBM episode once while at the hospital... laughing out loud, singing, trying to jump off the bed railing... and yes a couple more IV back flows... we were discharged at 5pm.

at around 4pm we started tidying up our things, getting ready to go home. i went to the billing section to settle our bill, then to our pedia's clinic to settle her PF, by the time i got back to our room, little one was free of her IV line, dressed up and ready to go.

it was so nice to see her walking/running on the hallway... only to come running back whenever she'd encounter a nurse.

on our first night they took stool sample and had it cultured. after 3 days, the diagnosis: some kind of bacteria, active growth. the pedia said she ingested something dirty. she probably got it from putting stuff in her mouth and/or while taking a bath she might have drank some unclean water... grrr!

thursday, back to work for hubby, i stayed home to monitor bea's progress. same kulit... although 7 LBM episodes!!! i called up the pedia she said i should give the anti bacterial she prescribed some time to work in her body, meanwhile i should just try to hydrate bea with water-hydrite solution. hmmmm... sounds familiar. oh well... what can i do...?

friday,back to work for me. called home often.... 5 LBM episodes... according to her Lolo, she liked to drink water more than to eat... i am worried. can this be a sign that she is again dehydrated?

i really hope and pray that bea's on her way to complete recovery...

hospital blues...

just got back from the hospital... here's what happened:

ok, so there was no sense in whining about how our nanny caused me to be absent from work last week, since it seems that i was destined not to have a complete attendance for october. last friday, i had to leave work early, because my father called and told me that little bea was vomitting and having LBM still (this started the night before, although i thought she was already better that friday morning), and that she was already weak. she wouldn't smile, wouldn't walk. she's not her usual kulit self anymore. so i took a cab home to pick bea and yaya, then took the same cab to the hospital. when we got there, the pedia checked her up. by this time she already vomitted 4 times and LBM 5 times, just for that morning. the pedia mixed 1 sachet of hydrite with 7 oz of water and asked her to drink it. she did, little by little. our pedia said this was a good sign, as long as she doesn't vomit anymore we will just try and hydrate her. one 7oz solution per hour. then we were sent home. thank God the vomitting did stop. her last episode was during the cab ride to the hospital. but the LBM continued... saturday came 7 LBM episodes. almost no food/milk intake. sunday, bea ate taho, some banana and french fries... but 8 LBM episodes. her appetite was ok but we were worried since i think the food she takes doesn't take a long time in her tummy, they go out almost as soon they come in. hubby and i were worried! we also noticed diaper rash on her tushy... that was why she'd howl every diaper change. all throughout the weekend, we were in touch with our pedia, by sunday night, we were told to head for the the admissions office at the hospital, she'd arrange everything. i requested for bed in the hospital ward, i assumed we'd just be there overnight, just enough time to hydrate her again. when we got there i was informed that all she could get was a semi private room. so starts our stay at the hospital. oh well...

our little girl on our first night at the hospital,

she's still missing her smile...

to be continued...

argh! never ending nanny troubles!

i haven't updated my blog for such a loooong time... ( a week!) so what happened? where do i start?

the past two weeks have been so tiring but strangely fulfilling. as i've posted before, i've been up as early as 4:30 to prepare hubby's breakfast and lunch. i wait for the nanny who comes in at around 6:15, then i leave for work. yep, i can't believe it myself, because prior to hubby's new job, i'd wake up at around 6:15-6:30 and leave for work at around 7:10, and as expected... i am usually late. 2 weeks of perfect attendance and zero tardiness at work! woohoo! snaps for me! this is something new for me! for the first time, i walked in our office with my head held high... instead on just sneaking in and hoping no one notices. and still... some good things are never meant to last. last monday, i woke up early as usual. prepared everything, got dressed, changed bea's diaper, fixed bea's breakfast... then waited for the nanny. 6:15.. no nanny. 6:30.... no nanny. hubby finally called her... only to be told that she won't be coming... grrrr! she had our cell phone number, was it too much to spend a peso to text us and inform us that we were actually eagerly waiting for NO ONE!

i felt bad because i had to stay up till 1am the night before ironing our clothes... then wake up at 4:30 to get ready for work... only to be greeted by a no show from our nanny... the worse thing about it is that since i had to stay home to take care of my little one... i'm absent from work again! hmp. and i thought i was going to make it through october with no absences.... oh well...

i just don't feel comfortable with our nanny set up. i wish we can find someone who can stay in with us.

my little kikay girl!

lately, our little bea's been so enamored with bags. it all started with her diaper bag. whenever she'd see it, she'd try to carry it. take note, she knows how to carry it, she'd put the long strap on her shoulder, of course the bag would stay on the floor... then she'd try to drag it around. =) she calls it "bah" (bag).

then one morning, just when my sister was going out the door to leave for her office, bea got hold of her small bag and held it hostage. (she didn't want her ninang to go...) she just refused to give up the bag! her nanny had to divert her attention to get the bag as ninang was sneaking out. the next day, to prevent a similar drama, ninang gave bea her spare bag. bea was ecstatic! she immediately carried it (it fit perfectly!) and started going from room to room in our house, with a wide smile on her face! here's a pic:

that night, ninang also bought bea a pretty little pink bag... needless to say she loved it too! my little kikay girl! =)

Mama's birthday celebration

last september 22, we celebrated my mom's birthday by visiting her grave and offering prayers for her. it was a very rainy saturday morning, but it did not deter us from going through with our plans =) i woke up early to do the laundry, good thing our new nanny came in early, she was able to help me as i was rinsing the clothes. i fixed bea's breakfast which we brought along with us. too bad hubby wasn't able to come with us since he had a scheduled interview that morning. so my dad, my sister, the nanny, bea and me all got in my sister's car "simon" and drove off to visit our mom. when we got there, Tita Luz and Kuya Noel were already there waiting for us. it was drizzling, good thing we brought a super big umbrella for bea =) we couldn't risk her catching a cold. =) as we prayed the rosary, i expected bea to act up, she's in that stage where she just can't stay put! she always wants to be carried, and then once you carry her, she'd demand to be put down... kulit! =) i was surprised, because she actually stayed put. she was probably not yet comfortable with the place, plus the rain is still a new concept for her... anyway, she was a very good girl while we were praying the rosary.

after prayers, and the customary singing of the birthday song amidst the rain, we all headed to mcdonald's for yummy breakfast. tita luz, ate jenny and i ordered sandwiches, kuya noel had the big breakfast, while ate and papa ordered the longganisa meal. bea had hash brown, the soft boiled egg we brought with us, and ninang's orange juice. =) for desert, my darling sister brought along a special cake for the occasion, a banoffee cake, a topseller from banapple of katipunan road.... this is officially hubby's new fave cake. (we tasted red ribbon's version, i didn't like it as much) yuuummmyyy! lol!

that was the first time i went out with bea, minus hubby, i really missed him. =(

the gloomy weather didn't help a bit...

anyway, it was a very pleasant morning with the family, despite the rains... i hope my mom enjoyed it as much as we did...

belated happy birthday mimits!