Swept Away.

“Those who lead the way must set a good example for their followers.”

Tsk tsk…I know, I know…I am forgetting that.

Litzie asks…

We have blush, lip glosses or a hair brush that we can’t live without as a woman but I have a question and a tag actually to all Moms out there.

As a Mom, What are the top 5 Things You Just Can’t Live Without When Going Out with Your Kid/s and why?

Here are the things that you can find inside Asher’s diaper bag. I can’t come up with the top 5 because all these are a must. Sometimes we have a tendency to overpack but I always say “di baleng sobra at mabigat, wag lang wala or magkulang” with Asher’s stuffs.

1. 2-3 pcs of diapers, wipes and anti rash diaper cream
2. Feeding bottles with water and milk
3. Alcohol
4. Extra set of clothes
5. Biscuits
6. Baby leg warmers
7. Towels and cloth diapers (lampin)
8. Baby Record Book
9. Fan
10. Bioneem Insect Repellant
11. His favorite book or a toy

Mother’s Day and hubby’s birthday were just days apart this year. Since we were out of town on mother’s day weekend, we had our little 2-in-1 feast on his birthday instead. For dinner, we had pansit, lumpia and we tried this new Red Ribbon Cookies and Cream Cake, which is heavenly, I must say. Ever since we saw the TV commercial, we knew that the Cookies and Cream Cake is a must-taste one.  If you’ve been a long time viewer of my Flickr gallery and have seen the monthly birthday cakes of Asher, you might have concluded that Red Ribbon’s our favorite. The S’mores Chocolate Cake used to be our top most favorite but the Cookies and Cream changed it. Its layering of creamy cookies and cream filled with real chocolate cookie chunks and vanilla and chiffon cakes in between is the best thing about this cake. Plus, the soft whole oreo cookies toppings finishes the taste with a big bang. I just love it to bits because it doesn’t taste that sweet as you would think because of its chocolatey-cookies-and-cream appeal.

Check out the pictures first and let them do the talking.

The photos, by the way, were taken using our new lens, a Nikon 50 mm f/1.8..and yet again, another 2-in-1 thing. It’s our common gift for each other since we’ve been yearning for this for quite some time now. This is the nice thing about having a common interest with your husband. Whatever you gift him, it’s like gifting yourself, too.

Pardon the last few pictures if they are blurry but I just want to share the series of these father and son shots. The new lens isn’t an auto-focus one so it’s tough to capture continuously. After the husband blew the candles, Asher accidentally (or was it intentionally), stroke the cake’s icing. The husband didn’t want to waste the handful of icing so the fingers..errrr, icing went straight to his mouth. Take a look closely at Asher’s reaction, his face seemingly went icky and disgusted at first but he later on enjoyed the tickle. Or it could also be that Asher was bothered because he wants to lick the icing himself, don’t you think? Thanks to the Cookies and Cream cake for enabling me to capture such a lovely father-and-son sight to behold. Moments such as these make me feel over blessed and lucky to be a wife to my loving and wacky hubby and a mom to an adorable and smart son. I’m certainly looking forward to the succeeding mother’s days I’ll have in the years to come.

I just hope that Red Ribbon will also be there to help me handle the situation like the way the mom in the “monthsary” video did to his heartbroken son. Sheesh..that’s still a long way to go, I can’t even think of Asher growing that big yet. Can he just be my baby forever?

Honestly, the weekend seemingly just went by without me noticing and feeling its presence. Asking how come? Just read on..

Friday Night - The usual night drive to my in-laws’ place but prior heading to Frisco, we dropped by at Funeraria Paz in Araneta to visit the wake of a High School classmate’s Dad who died because of various complications from Cirrhosis. Our class is still closely-knit until now and Dennis was one of my closest friends back in Senior High School year that’s why in unfortunate events like these we take time to get together and extend our sympathy.

Saturday morning - On mommy duty breaks-slash-while the one little one sleeps, I rushed a number of expiring opps.

Saturday noon - We went to Crossings Supermarket to shop a few supplies for Asher (rice cereals, bath shampoo, diapers, etc). I also grabbed a copy of the Moms Today Sept-Oct issue at the bookstore. And of course, our Crossings trip won’t be complete without us taking home for snacks the best tasting siomai I ever had. Had 8 pieces of siomai and rice for merienda..one happy tummy here. If you’re near Crossings or happen to set foot here soon, you must try Siomai House. It’s just Php 25 for 4 pieces, the sizes are quite big and the taste..superb! Way better, cheaper and yummier than Hen Lin’s.

We then proceeded to our suki furniture shop in Munoz to canvass as we’re replacing our bed with a King sized one. We just have to because hubby and I are literally running out of sleeping space because of the little one who occupies most and orbits around the bed. We found a king size bed frame for Php 3200 but we didn’t concur with their mattresses as we found it too costly. We decided to check out mattresses at Uratex first since the showroom is just a stone’s throw away from the said shop. And just as we thought, their foams are indeed much cheaper so we scheduled to come back next weekend to buy the frame from Mang Eddie then the mattress from Uratex.

We were supposed to attend a wedding later in the afternoon of a friend at Alabang but something came up so we didn’t push through.

Saturday evening - Continued finishing expiring opps as soon as I lulled the little one to deep slumber. Working on a Saturday night is not my idea of a perfect weekend but I just need to. These blessings rarely occur so I struck while the iron is hot.

Sunday morning - We picked up my elder sister from Makati then we went to Ysabelle in EDSA for our scheduled gown measurement taking. And it dawned on me that my eldest sister’s wedding is just four months away. Ang bilis talaga ng panahon. I’m gonna be her Matron of Honor by the way.

Then afterwards, we went to Pasig to visit the wake my sister’s boyfriend’s Dad. He’s a police officer who got shot while on duty last Thursday morning in a shooting incident in Taguig. He sustained 3 gun shots and sadly, died in the hospital due to immense internal bleeding a few hours later. It’s very sudden and tragic but I’m amazed of his bravery, leadership and the love he has for his junior comrades. According to the other policemen who were with him on duty , he took the front that’s why he was shot instantly by the positioned gunman when they raided the scene of the crime. Read more of the story here. I heard that they also featured this in the news on TV last Thursday.

Sunday noon - Blogged a bit but my eyes drooped low so I took a nap too while the little one slept.

Sunday evening - Drove back to Makati.

So there my weekend has been fast, busy and tiring… and if I may add gloomy because of the two wakes we visited.

Hoping for a brighter week ahead.

Look at those arms. It just doesn’t look right. Popeye the Sailorman, is that you? By the way, those aren’t flabs. Those muscles on my frail arms are the fruits of my daily workout called the Asher lifts and Asher dumbells.

Picture randomly taken by the husband last weekend at Pampanga.

Since we’ve been nannyless for a week already, Asher and I have adapted our own version of morning workout routine. We usually wake up around 7:30 AM, feeds if he desires, change nappies, then I eat breakfast with the Daddy. If it’s time for the Daddy to set out for work, I place him in his stroller and off we walk the Daddy up through the village gate. (He just commutes as his workplace is just a tricycle ride away). Then before we retreat back home, I expose him and let him enjoy the morning sun to get the sunshine vitamin nutrient. We usually stroll around the village twice so my morning walk while pushing his stroller serves as my workout. It might not be a full workout but at least I have a little form of exercise. I’d also like to jog however, I am not equipped with the proper “paraphernalias” such as jogging suits and a Bob stroller.

These are actually jogging strollers. There’s even this so-called Sport Utility Stroller, the Ironman, which lets one who’s into serious Iron Girl (or even Ironman) event training, go for a run or walk while babysitting. Look at those slick tires, they are designed as such to minimize resistance and the suspension style for easier maneuvering. So if you’re a Mom who’s into a fitness program, check this out.

I’ve been meaning to post our weekend snapshots but full time mommy duties came in my way this morning (nanny’s gone for 3 months and the reliever won’t be here until October) plus, my internet connection was so friggin’ slooowww. Perhaps tonight, I’d be able to upload and post them all. So there just a quick post to let you know that I’m not actually slacking. Although I could have sneaked this noon while the little one took a nap but got sleepy too so I joined him in the Lala land. Hehe!

Be back later.

Before I totally forget to post our weekend pics, here they are.

Saturday: Picture taken just a few minutes prior heading to Asher’s wellness monthly checkup. All dressed up in his Elmo red Onesie Suit and Red Converse Chucks. He’s so cute in red, isn’t he? I love how hubby was able to capture Asher’s smile here and of course, our Mommy-Son bonding moment. I know I look like I’ve taken a bunch of weight loss pills but I’m exclusively breastfeeding at the moment so that explains my skinny built.

Sunday: Picture taken at Cade’s 1st Birthday Party. Cade is the son of Janice, a former Globe Telecom colleague. The party took place at their home in Capitol Hills and despite the rain, the kids had a blast partying especially with the magic show and games. As for the adults, the Contis-catered food was sumptuous.

Monday: Witnessed two milestones in just one day. More pictures and story here.

Be right back…I’m not going anywhere.

Just cropping and uploading August Asher’s pics onto my Flickr Gallery. Have several snapshots this past weekend and I just have to upload them first before I blog about them in my Mommy Nook later. Yes, you have to see those. Witnessing two Asher milestones in one day…one proud Mommy here.

My Friday so far has been good albeit a bit overwhelming:

1. I have to get up early because the little one gushed out a loud poop.
2. I had Fried Bangus and the usual glass of Anmum Lacta milk for breakfast.
3. Because of Number 1, the little one took a bath earlier than his usual.
4. He cozily napped quite long in the morning because of the cool weather.
5. However, due to the cool weather, he makes frequent wee-wee and we have to change his nappies every now and then.
6. He pooped on our bed.
7. He then pooped earlier this noon after his second nap time for the day.
8. He’s napping again for the third time.
9. He might bake some poop and explode it out again when he wakes up.
10. Then the milking cow mode in me will be turned on again by him.
10. I originally planned to finish all my pending works in the morning then digiscrap this noon.
11. But “blessings” came my way (and to my paypal) as some opps sprouted.
12. Now my digiscrap downloaded stuffs are still the same old zipped files..untouched. Likewise, with my Photoshop.
13. I’m rushing to finish all these pending works so I can start packing for our weekend drive and stay at my in-laws’ place. We’ll be heading there tonight as soon as the husband arrives from work.
14. At the moment, trying not to peep at my twitterfox so I can focus and finish all these.

What else? That’s all I think. That’s how my Friday is..what about yours?

**Err..sorry if I may sound so gross with the little one’s frequent pooping. I think he’s teething already.