Merry Christmas

Our Philippine Trip: Christmas in September

Since we were obviously not going to be in the Philippines come Christmas time, my kids' Tita had a great idea to celebrate Christmas while we're there. When we got in from the airport we saw when we got home was the huge Christmas tree all ready and decorated.

The idea was that the Christmas celebration and gift giving was strictly for the kids and one of the first things our daughter did then was to go up and wish on the Christmas tree. She closed her eyes and whispered very intently: "I wish for a bike with bells!". Of course, it would have been very difficult to bring the bike back with us!

As kids are wont to do, during the course of our holiday, the Christmas decorations on the tree slowly slowly got tangled up and taken down by the kids' eager hands. And they were constantly delighted by the gifts under the tree and how it grew in number as their tito's and tita's slowly added gifts under the tree both for them and their cousin.

Christmas night was especially good. The family had lechon and prawns ( oops forgot to take a picture! ) as Noche Buena and the kids couldn't finish their food fast enough as they eagerly awaited the opening of their gifts. When it was time, the kids had so much fun ripping into their presents. The adults were content to just look at how happy the kids were.

All in all a great time was had by all. Now, how to explain to our kids why they wont get any more gifts this Christmas...

First Medical Exam

Now open wide...!

Our Philippine Trip: Tagaytay

We did a few touristy things this time around. We hied off to a short trip up to Tagaytay. It was a nice day for it too. After a good lunch at Rose and Grace in Sta. Rosa, it was a quick drive up to Tagaytay. We stopped for some horseback riding. The kids had a great time at it. Although when I asked the man if I could join my kid on the horse, the words "no, you can't" didn't leave his mouth fast enough! Ah, the surly horseman! So my kids' Mom and Tita ended up riding with them.





We then went to Taal Vista Lodge for a proper view of the lake. Our daughter was excited because we told her that we were seeing a "sleeping" volcano. She wanted us to be quiet because we might wake it up!

We then spent some time at the Taal Vista coffee shop being entertained by the house band. Or should I say, the house combo. I think they were there strictly for the tourists and we stumped them for requests for kids songs. They were able to do the Alphabet song and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and the obligatory Happy Birthday Song for my kids Tita as it was her birthday that day.

On the way back, we stopped for coffee at Sta. Rosa and browsed a few of the outlet stores there. As with most outlet stores, we can't find the sizes we wanted and the selection wasn't really complete. Nonetheless, we were able to buy a few Adidas and Nike gear for cheap.

On south superhighway, my daughter did a nice thing and prayed to God thanking him for the nice day we had. And it was a nice day after all.

Our Philippine Trip: Paging Doctor Vidal

Although our trip back wasn't the best planned trips we ever had, one good thing that happened that I am thankful for was that I was there for my brother as we waited for the results of the medical board exams. I know it was really tough on him waiting like that and I was so glad when we got through that night in one piece.

He arrived in Manila just that afternoon and we were up until late just accessing the website for updates. Between us we downed a few beers and passed the time talking and bonding again as brothers. It got to 11:30 when we figured that the results weren't coming and it would be best to call it a night. Not 15 minutes later, who should call but our sister from the US. She was at the Inquirer website and she saw the results before we did! Of course, we hurriedly got on the 'net, trying not to believe the news until we saw it with our own eyes. After an agonizing wait ( I hate dial up! ) we finally saw the results in black and white! My brother has become a DOCTOR!



It was a great relief for him not just to pass but to see the results finally. After so many years of real work, he finally got to the end of it. Rather, it would be another beginning for him this time. All the best, bro! I love you.

Our Philippine Trip: The Grandparents

No doubt the kids had serious spoilage when they were in the Philippines. Of course, we had to indulge them as they don't see their grandparents very often but any longer in the Philippines and it would take some serious deprogramming to revert the kids back to their normal, unspoiled selves. :)

I guess the Lolo and Lola has fun spoiling the kids as well. Knowing that our daughter loves Jollibee, Lola would bring her some burgers after her morning errands. She did this for her granddaughter almost every other day!

Our son didn't fail to capture his grandparents hearts. People say he's the spitting image of his Lolo. Most probably in this pose as well.

Our Philippine Trip: Getting Haircuts

One of the things we do when we get home is that we get haircuts. It's amazing how expensive haircuts are in this part of the world. That's why we like to take advantage of cheap haircuts in the Philippines. The kids love them too because they get to be extra pampered back home.



He does look so serious, doesn't he?



She loves the shampoo!

Our Philippine Trip: Having a Big Family

There was so much going on in our holiday that it's almost impossible to write down everything that happened. Suffice to say that the kids enjoyed their trip immensely. When it's just us here in Australia, it's difficult for the kids to realise how large a family they actually belong to. Our trip back home lets them appreciate that.

My daughter gives me a broad smile when she says she has a big family. And her eyes just positively light up when I then say that everyone of her family, from her grandparents, uncles and aunties and cousins love her and her brother.

I guess that's one of the many things we miss out on when we're so far away, that feeling of family that comes with living together. I sometimes feel that my kids are being deprived of that.

Mommy's first post

First post!

Our Trip Back To The Philippines Part 1

As promised, here is my first entry about our recent trip to the Philippines. We went via Singapore airlines again as we find that it's really one of the better airlines out there. They take great care with kids and we feel that you get a lot of value for your money with them.

Our route would take us from Adelaide direct to Singapore. We'd stay overnight there and on to Manila in the morning. The trip really was uneventful. The kids were really good waiting to board the airplane although I wished we could have experienced the new Adelaide airport before we left.


The plane ride was ok. The kids were manageable for the most part although watching any of the inflight movies was out of the question. Because the kids had allocated seats now, we couldn't get any seats that were together. We ended seating up 3 + 1, three in the window row and 1 in the aisle seat. So, the wife and I had to take turns sitting in the middle of the kids.

As per usual. Singapore airlines food was great. The kids meals were brought on time although the kids hardly ate. Guess who had to finish it up.

We left Adelaide around 1PM and arrived in Singapore 6PM local time. It took a while to get to our hotel. We took the Singapore stop over bus which took forever to reach our destination. And just our luck, our hotel was the last stop! We got there almost 9PM already.

The hotel wasn't really that nice but it was just really a place to sleep. Although even after a nice bath, the kids weren't feeling sleepy at all as they kept jumping on the beds. We ended up ordering room service and feeding them while they were still awake.


Our flight in the morning was an early 9AM so we had to wake up before 6AM to get ready. Surprisingly, the kids were not that hard to wake up and in fact, they were raring to go. I guess the whole experience was really giving them that caffeine buzz that the wife and I desperately craved that morning.

Again, getting to the airport wasn't too bad as the bus picked us up on time. It's a shame that we couldn't stay any longer in Singapore considering that part of the overnight stay included lots of discounts to most of Singapore attractions. Maybe next time.

At any rate, the trip from Singapore to Manila was a bearable 3 hours only so we made it ok. The wife was even able to catch some part of the inflight entertainment.

We like to break up the trip like this, with an overnight because it sort of gives the kids and us a break. Instead of one long day of travelling, we get 2 days of moderate travel.

Blogging Excuse #42

I've been swamped with work these past several days and I haven't been able to sit down and collect my thoughts and write about our Philippines trip. As with most holidays, they are all too short but nice. I'll try to find the time this weekend to put down into words some of the things that happened.

And one more thing ...

He loves miso soup!

Kid Funnies Part 3

My little girl was making the most of not having a car seat to sit on in the Philippines and she was getting quite unruly on her seat. So, with a stern voice, I called out her full name: "Bianca Estelle!". And she replied, "But I'm already STILL!"

With a comeback like that, how can we stay mad?

Back from the Philippines

Just got back from the homeland and it was quite the eventful trip. Lots of eating, shopping and allergic reactions! I'm still knackered from the latter part of the trip where we found out our little boy had an anaphylactic reaction to peanuts and the consequent rush to an ER clinic so I can't really blog about it for now. Let me gather my thoughts and see if I can write about our vacation in sequence.

Kid Funnies Part 2

DSC00043
Originally uploaded by chazzvid.

We teach our eldest to pray at night. We usually pray at the foot of the bed facing the window. One night, we prayed in a different direction and faced the door. My daughter then says, "Daddy, God is that way!" pointing to the window. I just had to laugh out loud for that one. :)

Looney Tunes Show At The Mall

DSC00059
Originally uploaded by chazzvid.

A couple of weeks back we took the kids to see a Looney Tunes show at Rundle Mall. We got there early so we were able to take some seats near the front.

Kids just lap up this kind of stuff and I have to admit we sort of enjoyed it too. It was a bit loud though. I guess we were seated TOO close.

I was quite suprised that the kids didn't seem frightened by the large mascots. I think I can consider this as training for Disneyland.

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

So I'm A Year Older

I celebrated another year on this earth last week. When you get to a certain age, birthdays sometimes don't mean as much anymore. But then, I'm not really big on my own birthday. When I was a kid, sometimes I wished people would actually forget it was my birthday. But I would miss all the gifts and I'd forget about it.

Nothing special about this one. It's not a milestone birthday by any means, but it got me thinking. I've lived almost half my life outside my hometown and I feel I've been missing out a lot. Not just the place, but the people and the family and the friendships. I've spoken with my sister about it and she did bring up a good point that some people live their lives without leaving the place. I guess in my age, I start yearning for the things that could have been. The old adage "the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence" is really quite true.

Not that I'm complaining at all. I love my life. I feel so very lucky and so very blessed and I will not trade it in for anything.

What Can I Dream About, Mommy?

My daughter always asks us this question every time we put her to sleep.

We love giving her stuff to dream about. I often tell my kids made up stories and each time I ask them what they want to hear, my daughter almost always asks the same thing: The princess and the dragon and the King who saves her. Or, it could be about the princess in the forest and her talking animals. Again, it could be a princess and her flying horse. Always about the princess. Always will be my princess.

Tonight she told me she'll be dreaming about white flowers and blue skies. It makes her happy.

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I think it's important to keep imagination alive in our kids. Books and stories are some of the many ways we can do this. We read to them always, we tell them stories, we sing made up songs. It's always fun and, dare I say it, it keeps me young.

Winter Flu 2005

I was sort of expecting this but it's hit me hard today. The little girl got sick Sunday night, and was not well on Monday. My wife went to work and I decided to work from home to take care of her. My wife brought the little boy to day care and I was left alone with our sick girl.

Today, the virus jumped to me and I'm suffering the full effects of it. I've got a headache, blocked nose, aching joints, fever, the works! I'm spending my time just checking work email and trying to do as little as possible. Which is not a good idea considering that the little girl is still not fully well and she's staying home with me,

At any rate, I'm all medicated to the gills and hopefuly I can have a little strength to do my daughter's biddings.

It's going to be a long day....