Number game has always been my waterloo.

When blessings to decode and decipher figures were vested upon humanity I guess I was asleep. Or was I busy doing something else?

I have long accepted the fact that if numbers were to mathematician, words were to me.Just give me something to read anytime, I will be most happy to oblige. Just do not attempt to throw avalanche of number to me. I will be lost in the myriad of those codes. Then someone has to slap my face to bring me back to my senses.

That is why financial management has always been a challenge to me. That is why I always struggle with the figures and how to put together the numbers that come with budgeting and the likes.
Help is what I need. I searched for financial wisdom high and low. I am forever a blog reader of financial geniuses' blogs and sites out there because I am perpetually struggling to comprehend and manage the family's finances.
Now that we are down to one income household, I am always on my toes regarding finances. There are, however, moments now that I do realize I have improved a lot than before. Learning is a continuous process and if ever I win the grand price in iLASIK Video Contest I will be the most happy being!

Anyone who looked like this last Halloween?



How about this?



It was fun treat or tricking! Did you have fun , too?

Found this letter inside his leather shoes.

My ten year old cleaned and brushed his shoes the night before work.

"Dear Daddy, today is a new day. Today, I will miss your morning hug and kiss. You will spend all the mornings and afternoons with your cubicle and students. You need to spend the entire day without us because you love us. You will also miss lunch time with us. Dad, have a happy and safe travel without us, but with God's protection. God bless. Love, Hannah"


Priceless. Agree?


image from: babyequipment.blogspot.com

Our whole family trooped to our parish office, one day.
There was a bloodletting drive. My hubby donated blood.




Guess how much? 450 ml of blood was sucked out of his system.
Whatttt?






Well.
This has been his nth time to donate.
He says, God loves a cheerful giver...Especially to indigent patients.

Some hand sewing did me good. It felt stress-free and relaxed to do the monotonous needle work.

It was a refreshing break from the usual daily routine. Cause there are times that if I could pass the buck at home, it wouldn't hurt at least once in a while. But that is not a choice.

I felt free and pressure-free as i did the needle work free hand. After about four hours of work, with breaks in between, a blouse is ready to be worn. Since sewing is not my cup of tea, I am learning how to perfect the craft. Hey, Rome was not built in one day, right? So I am taking my time to learn.

Staying at home has its merits and downside. There are times I just want to have short breaks or tell someone to trick or treat me.
Speaking of Halloween, it is almost here. Yeah, time for the kids to dig into loots and goodies. I will still feel my way around if my kids would still love to do it.

AS techie as we all are now, I'm sure you can say trick or treat me on twitter!

Why not? That is totally possible.

Nail-polishing. That's the recent trend for the 3 girls. Signs they're into fashion?



Baking. Never goes out of trend in our house. Yours too?






Sugar overload here. Ahh. One way to reward ourselves. Feels good though if not too often!



Can you believe I started gardening? Whaatt? There goes the "brown thumb" again. Well, there's no harm in trying, right?

So what's up with yours?

We gave homage to a king.

Enjoyed an afternoon of merriment, music and grand company.

With peals of laughter

And mirthful time,

It was a wondrous moment, indeed!

meet my lady Erika...

the king and his Court of Knights and Ladies

kiss the hand of Countess Madel...

4 Ladies and a Musketeer met inside the king's Castle

My lovely, lovely Dame Hannah!

Truly resplendent were the moments!

The yummiest Pandan cake on the planet was ravaged in the household last 23rd of September. It was supposed to be topped with 35 candles, but the birthday celebrator found them too many to grace this round cake.

Sugar overload is a hyperbole. The cake was yummy and aromatic without being too sweet. With yema (milk candy) filling it was suited enough for someone who now dances in midlife - the husband.

Yes, the noise of three rowdy girls with non-stop chatters in between mouthful of cakes bearded with icing is not an exaggeration.

Happy birthday, husband.

My kids attended a cousin's costume (birthday) party. Each kid who attended the party dressed up as his or her chosen anime character. What can I say? They had a blast!

My second girl, Hannah (as Kagome) in green, my niece Dap, the birthday gal (as Sango) and my little one Erika in purple (as Ino).


My Erika (as Ino) - striking a pose here with her Ate Hannah (as Kagome) watching.

One more pose for her with a matching umbrella.


Kagome, Inuyasha (my nephew Bubuy) and Sango (birthday gal Dap) pose for the camera!

My eldest girl, Madel, came dressed as Sakura. She is with another cousin, Ayed. Meaner looks guys, please..

On the hindsight as a parent, attending parties is one good way for kids to learn how to socialize. Be it taking turns in getting goodies, participating in games or communicating with other people in the party, deciding which food to partake or practicing proper table manners - kids have a venue to master their social skills.
.

The use of plastic bag, is what I am referring to.

That is why when I buy 3-4 items in the convenience store, I usually refuse to accept a plastic bag to go with my purchased items. What's 5 minutes, anyway? That's such a short time for discomfort, right?

I am not a hardcore environmentalist, but simple steps as such I believe will definitely matter when multiplied every time I grab grocery items. Imagine: if every household in every street, everyday and every year will do the same...boy, we are giving our kids a better earth!

Simple acts of kindness to our planet can definitely go a long way...for our children!

Got something to share?



image from www.grittybits.com

What's up? What's new?

A lot.

I have finally signed up and mighty proud of it. Guess what is it? Nuffnang Philippines: Asia's First Blog Advertising.
It is actually so easy to sign up for www.nuffnang.com.ph .You just have to click the link of www.nuffnang.com.ph and follow the process with no sweat. There are actually a lot of perks when you join it. Aside from earning from the ads posted on your blog, there is so much more. Statistics and blog analytic come free so you get updated about recent facts about your blog.

Join the newest and hippest community in blogosphere, where you and your blog will earn, learn and truly belong!

Cast of Characters:

Mom (me)
Kid 2 (my 9 year-old)
Kid 3 (my 6 year-old)

Kid 2: Hey Mom, do you know that whales are mammals and they are not hatched as eggs when they are born?

Kid 3: Really?

Mom: Where did you get that information?

Kid 2: It's here in the book that I am reading. And do you know that even if they live in the water, they cannot breathe underwater? They need to get to the surface just to get air.

Kid 3: Okay...

A few moments of silence...

Kid 3: If whales cannot breathe underwater, then why do they live in the water? Shouldn't they be on land like us?

Whooa.

Dead silence.

Now, it is time for the Mom to research what in the world is the grand Purpose of whales underwater!

Oh man, I should have taken a doctorate in Marine Biology before having this kind of kids.
LOL.

What's your probable answer?

I was bewildered by the moment and thought of sharing it.




Just yesterday my husband was an invited speaker. He was given an hour to speak in front of students regarding I.T. related concepts. We decided that my eldest daughter would be the one to do the introduction of him. No hesitations, she agreed.

It was a such a sight to behold: my own baby has grown up and now speaking in front of people to introduce her Dad! It seems like only yesterday when we were busy changing diapers and mixing her milk. Now she is 10 years old and grown and has her own confidence to face an audience.

For a parent, it is such an affirmation to see our children grow, not necessarily perfect or ideal - just themselves and part of us.

Joyful tears and tearful joys are good, right?

(photo from www.pioneeryouthservices.com)

Off we went to a university painting exhibit today. It was just a five minute walk from our home. The girls had fun analyzing different media used in each painting such as acrylic, poster, charcoal, pencil sketches, etc.

It was a visual treat for them, especially for my eldest who loves to draw and sketch everyday of her life!

Here are my two younger kids viewing and analyzing a painting.

Blurred shot of my eldest using just a cellphone camera.

one of their favorite paintings ...



The best part of the day was when the Daddy came home from his trip with this box of sugar overload!!!!

Shawie's words of affirmation are like water to a parched land.
I felt so buttered up when i browsed through her blog and saw her write-up.
No, I am not in such dire need of compliments, but I have to admit we all need intrinsic motivations such as these, every once in a while!

"Here are my five favorite KICK ASS BLOGGERS.Do you know any bloggers that kick ass?

Maybe they've got incredible, original content. Or they're overflowing with creativity. Is it someone that helps you become a better blogger? Or a bloggy friend you know you can count on? Or maybe it's someone who simply inspires you to be a better person... or someone else who sends you to the floor, laughing your ass off.

Whatever the reason may be, I'm sure you know at least a couple of bloggers that kick ass. Well... why not tell 'em so?

(I came fifth in her list but this is my second time to receive this Kick Ass Award)

5. Hailey - A great Mom, teacher and a great writer too. She openly shares her wits and wisdom.

And here's one more from Shawie:

"Here are some of the my favorite blogs. I always enjoy hopping in these blogs. In no particular order:"
BareFooted Me
Biyaheng Noypi
My World in My Own Word

Hailey

Pinay Mommy Online

Pinay Jade
Merydith

Cheers everyone!! We all rock!!!

What would you prefer for yours:

long, short, curly or straight, colored or spiked, styled or totally hanging down your back? In whatever forms they come, we are very much defined by the crowning glory of ours: our hair.
So what makes a Victory Hair? How does one achieve and walk away with that ultimate Victory Hair?
For women there are so many ways we can do with our hair to catch a guy's attention; be it through flipping, tangling it or flashing that gorgeous smile that goes with the flipping of the hair - anything! What comes after the attention will truly define what a Victory Hair is, right? Now, how do we get there?
If you want to really be serious about it, try and join the Ultimate Flirting Championship. You wont regret a thing! It is fun and flirty, all throughout. More than the tips to get that Victory Hair, there are actually so many tips how to go about it. Some are really too good to pass on, so why not try it? Just remember one thing: forget rules and old-fashioned ways to style your hair! Think only of

Extreme Style by VO5 and for sure, the victory is sweeter!

those three words described my today.

hubby tweaked and redesigned my blog.
for a moment i thought i misheard him when he said he had scheduled half of the day to tweak my blog.

then he did it.
so thankful that he took his time and spent more than half of the day tweaking and reconfiguring the codes.

he was fast and i was thrilled for the long overdue make-over.

thank goodness for holidays.

if you want your blog redesigned, he does it on the sides.

especially on holidays. lol

Here is my nine year (9) old daughter's FIRST ever attempt with Photoshop on her own . I have no idea where (online) she got the pictures. For sure she just Googled them...

Recently, she started mumbling terms like drop shadow, cropping, toggle, etc. I saw her reading her Dad's HTML book. I asked her why she was browsing the book. She told me she was looking for color codes...Well, what can I say? A blogger for a Mom and a web designer/developer for a Dad, what else can be the product?

Well,I have a techie growing up in the house!

That will be my question for Michael Phelps' Mom.

Or for the rest of the Olympians who will bring home the golds.

Since the Beijing Olympics began, that has been a nagging question in my mind.

Or was it since the day I heard about the sixteen years old who graduated from U.P. with Physics course, summa cum laude.

What do you think?

I know geneticists can very well explicate how genes play for exceptional human beings.

However, as a parent I still wonder how the nurture-nature factor affects achievers like them.

What is your choice: is it the genes (nature) or the milk (nurture)?

I guess, it's discipline, baby...discipline.

This is not a paid ad but true, I got paid by Dneero. Teehee!!!

See for yourself how real Dneero is.

(Please Click to enlarge image)