Thanks for this www friendship award

I wanna thank Carnation for passing this wonderful friendship award to me. Thanks a lot for counting me in as one of your blogs friends. It's a great experience to meet people and friends here in the web. My appology for missing you this past week, as I've been feeling sick and nauseous. Now this is my chance of passing this award to those people i like here in the blogosphere:

melody of lifemarriageandkids.com/

simplyjacy

thehappymomblog.com/

A christianchristmas.com/

sahmsue.com/

utah mommy 's gibbles and gabbles

Whatever Comes To My Mind of ryanmerydithfrancis.com/

chel of it takes two to tango

Happy New Year to all.

2008 flash back

4 mos. old

2 mos. old

9mos. & 2 weeks old- christmas day, when he opened his presents
of course with the help of mama and daddy

when he cut his 2nd tooth at 71/2 mos.

6 mos. old fall season, the playground was nasty but he didn't mind

at the hospital

I've been meaning to post about the wonderful that had happen to our life in 2008. My friends and I in cebu used to tease each other like women with no uterus or call each other bayot(gay). We think we can't bear a baby because we're getting old thats our joke. Then I quit my job, got married and moved here in the US of A.

In 2008 I gave birth to a healthy good baby boy. I became a mother, joe became a father and we became a parent. We name him Jake. He is the wonderful, most beautiful that had happen to me and joe in 2008. He is our bundle of joy.

good luck

Few more hours to go and we will celebrating the new years eve. Each family around the world had their own wishes and resolution for the new year. if you were born in this following years, heres a little info i learned from my google search.

The Year of the Ox

1913, 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997
People born in the Year of the Ox are patient, speak little, and inspire confidence in others. They tend, however, to be eccentric, and bigoted, and they anger easily. They have fierce tempers and although they speak little, when they do they are quite eloquent. Ox people are mentally and physically alert. Generally easy-going, they can be remarkably stubborn, and they hate to fail or be opposed. They are most compatible with Snake, Rooster, and Rat people.

Happy New Year of the Ox. best wishes and good luck to each one of us . May we all have a prosperous and a productive year.

Awards and Tags

Awards

Living under

Hard to expect good things when you are just renting an apartment. Our old place was a single room studio type apartment which is good for a single man, not ideal when you have a family, no place for the baby when they started to crawl or move around. We were so disperate to move out last year and we found this apartment available, 1 bedroom basement apartment, nice ketchen, the rent is reasonable and the neighborhood is great with a playground across the street one thing we like the most. We didn't make any fuss when we moved in coz in our mind better than the previous place we had. After a week living here, the problem started to get notice. The phone line is broken so, we cut our land line and use cellphone instead and guess what theres only 1 bar inside sometimes none. The management didn't respond right away when we requested for an air condition since it was stated in their lease. It was summer of this year when we moved in and we thought they will put the ac right away as they always say, that took almost 3 weeks to realized. Nevertheless, things went well, we got the ac with a different kind of oulet required bummer! but they fix it anyway. We still think the place is good. we encountered little problems here and there but its manageable like the waching machine, it's broken so have to do our laundry in other place, the main door of the apartment too is broken, well just lock our door for safety. The breaker can't handle too much electricity run at once. Now it's getting worse, when fall season came this place is already cooler, coz its beasement their space heater is not working well, good thing we had one from my mother in law. Winter is here the coolest, freezing,coldest, suckishly weather whatever you describe it. This morning hubby woke up and found out that the water pipe is frozen, no water running out except the one faucet in the bathroom he called the management right away and they sent us maintenance person who doesn't know what to do, didn't make any help. Smart and hot hubby figured it out and fixed it. Everything is fine now, he also went out and bought another space heater for the living room. We are definitely moving out again come summer, hopefully. Things to remember when looking for an apartment.1) Do the google search on the company or person that is renting to you. 2) check to make sure everything is in working condition. 3) never rent a basement apartment.

Filipino food

As i was doing my entrecard dropping this afternoon, I came across two or three blogs that has posted filipino food and fruits. That green mango, bayabas(guava), siopao, bihon and a lot more. It made me crave again for filipino food. In my first year here, i got pregnant right away, i felt so miserable. I got homesick and missed a lot of stuff especially the foods there, I just closed my eyes and think of the siomai in chowking, siopao, grilled fish,bam- i ,foods at the sidewalk, bbq like the intestine, balut, lanzones and especially the green crunchy manggo with matching hipon (tiny shrimp) at the sidewalk. Watching the photo of that green mango hhmm it made me salivate. I stopped with my dropping and wanted to go to this korean store we have in our neighborhood hoping i could find one. But when i put on my coat and get ready, our little buckaroo woke up from his nap, and the show on tv was the iron chefs food network star challendge lol i didn't wanna missed it. Hubby decided to go to the store and get a mango for me,even if it's not as good as our mango in the philippines still taste good, thanks to him . I also cooked chicken adobo for dinner that satisfy my filipino food cravings.

wordless friday

We finally finished decorating our simple cute christmas tree. Hubby did all this and i did the wrapping of the gifts and our little monster did good too staying away from it until Christmas.

Have a Merry Christmas to one and all and advance Happy new year.

positive

If you read my 3rd post about how anxious i was to know if i am pregnant or not. Well, we had an appointment to my obgyn this morning, and it came out positive. My husband and I were so happy, even if he already had a clue that i might. Now we have a new member of the family on the way. A healthy and easy pregnancy thats all i ask for and a healthy baby too of course.

Really?

Would you believe this or not?.... Hubby was on the internet searching for a filipino community in our neighborhood, and this is what he found instead.

You may be married to a Filipina If... (written by an American guy who loves his Filipina wife in spite of the numerous irregularities):
* Your refrigerator is always full but you cannot find any food that you recognize
* Instead of a dowry, you got the whole bill for the wedding and honeymoon
* Most of the decorations in your house are made of wicker
* You are expected to be able to read her mind just by watching her eyebrows move up and down and by the way her lips are pointed
* All her relatives think your name is "Joe"
* The instant you are married you have 3,000 new close relatives that you can't tell apart
* Your house isn't really on fire, you've just got a very charred fish on top of the stove burner
* All the desserts are sticky and all the snacks are salty
* She eats her fruit with giant salt crystals and her fried chicken with ketchup
* Even the ketchup tastes weird...very weird
* You throw a party and everyone is fighting to chop the leathery skin off a dead pig
* All your kids have 4-5 middle names
* Your in-laws take 10 years to acknowledge your existence and to call you by something other than "that white guy"
* You try to call her up on the phone and someone tells you "for a while" and you want to know "for a while, what??"
* You are trying to go to sleep and she keeps asking for the comFORT'r, and you ain't got a clue what she's talking about
* Your first Christmas present is some funny looking, baggy, see-thru shirt made out of leftover lace doilies
* Your phone bills are composed mostly of international and calls that average 3 hours each
* She sweeps with something that witches usually fly around on
* Her idea of classy, expensive champagne is Asti Spumante
* The rice cooker is on 24 hours a day and uses up 50% of your electricity and food budget
* On your first trip to the Philippines, you have 18 giant boxes that weigh 1000 pounds each and your "carry on" luggage requires a small forklift truck
* The same luggage is over filled with things that cost an average of 15 cents each like old magazines and M&Ms -- the worst part is when you get off the plane, the same stuff you've been hauling around half way around the world is available in every store in the airport for half the price!
* All her pajamas look like they were worn by the Dalai Lama until they got too faded and he discarded them
* The first time she's pregnant you have to go out at 4:00 in the morning looking for some weird type of greasy sausages, green mangoes and bagoong
* You buy a new $500 freezer so she can store 200 pounds of SPAM and CORNED BEEF that was on sale
* Everything in your house was bought on sale, even if you don't need it ... that it was a "bargain" is all that matters
* She gets really excited by sucking the fat out of pig knees
* Your daughter gets her ears pierced when she's 2 minutes old but your sons are not circumcised until they turn 21
* All your postage bills instantly double
* You hire a Ya-Ya because your wife ckeabs mirrors with soap and a sponge and the Ya-Ya seems cheaper than a divorce
* The only "white meat" she likes is YOU. And that's if you're lucky...
* Her favorite sauce is called "patis." Americans call it turpentine
* She actually thinks that bowling and golf and billiards are real sports and are more important than baseball and football
* You were married 5 years before she explained to you that "ARAY!" doesn't mean "ooh, baby!"
* She prefers bistek to beef steak
* Her idea of new upholstery is rinsing the bagoong stains out of the slip covers
* She can eat and talk at the same time; in fact that's her specialty!
* Her favorite meal is leftovers, her favorite fancy dessert is Jell-O mold and for something REALLY romantic, she'll offer you a halo-halo with 2 straws
* You still don't know the difference between manong and manok
* She and the kids are always saying "Daddy made utot" and you still don't know what it means, but they think it's pretty funny
* Other than eyebrow raising and lip puckering, her next most expressive form of communication is grunts and pssst's
* She goes to the movies just for the AC
* Her homeland has more Megamalls than islands
* Before every holiday and visit, her sisters fax you a 10 page "bilins" list which says "suggestion only"
* Your kitchen table has a merry-go-round in the middle
* All the vegetables she buys at the Filipino store look like they were grown at Chernobyl
* Her friends are named Chinky, Girlie, Boy and Bimbo and NO, you are not allowed to smirk
* Her home economics course only taught shopping, eating and siesta; cooking, cleaning and sewing were not electives
* Her idea of edifying reading is gossip magazines
* All your place settings have the silverware backwards and there are no knives
* She washes her hair with a bucket and her car with a broom
* Her favorite book (she has 3 copies) is "1001 New Recipes for Pig Parts You Were Gunna Throw Out"
* You are the only family in a 200 mile radius with 2 Betamaxes, 3 televisions
* She's done her best job planning a surprise party for you if she manages not to tell you about it until a week or two before
* She "cleans" her closet by throwing all the crap into your closet

My funny little buckaroo

This video is a must see... its my little baby boy who makes us laugh watching this. My sister took this video at Barnes and Noble the last time she was here, and jake gave us all a blast of the new funny things he could do, and man! his one funny little guy. His not really hard to please just take him outside and he will love you, he'll dance for you and show you how funny he could be if you hangout with him. It seems like his changing everyday and some are funny and some will get to our nerves but he makes sure that he stays as adorable as he could be and he put so much joy and laughter in our home. His very friendly to other people and seems to know how to use his charm on them that people would look at him and say, what a cute baby, and jake would smile like"i know i am" kinda smile. My! his one charming kid and i wish he would just stay as my little boy, but i know he would grow up and it seems like its happening everyday with the changes we see in him. Jake is our pride and joy. Our little Buckaroo. Our love, our happiness, our life. His the sunshine in our home.








who needs dance music when you can dance with just lalalalala rhythm. He overwhelmed us all.

learn and play

Baby's life are so simple eat, sleep, poop, and play. Reseach shows that playing reinforces key learning skills and strengthens the bond between you and your child. As parents we like buying toys that enhances them to learn each day through fun play. Our baby's memory and attention span expanding as they grow, meaning playtime can now involve more elaborate games. Make a silly sounds everytime he grabs your nose or hair. Have him turn a light switch on and off, these are couple of ideas that would help improve understanding of cause and effect. playing peek-a-boo help them understand the concept of object permanence, you can nurture this knowledge by playing a variation of hide-and-seek, i see the surprise in jake's face when he finds me underneath the covers. This are just few out of the many fun play activities we can do which enable them to prepare themselves for the bigger world and at the same time entertain our baby as they are approaching their first birthday. Learn and play everyday experiences.

my monday

What I'm up to this monday? well, well, well just dropping and all. Early morning my butt glued into our computer chair and hubby is gone for work. I can't think of something to post, so I logged in to the entrecard and got caught up there. The weather was fine this morning I was thinking of going out, taking jake out but I lost track of time. Hubby came home and he already figured out what I have been doing the whole day, as usual he laugh at me coz since i started this blogging I wanted to be in the computer whenever i get a chance. I take a break when its time for jake's lunch, nap,dinner and when he ask for milk,... mommy has no time to play with him, he gave me a look though, i feel terrible. Tomorrow ill make it sure this won't happen again, I should think of my family first. I don't have to drop like crazy tomorrow, i earned enough ec today to purchase an ad. I have no idea where all this would lead me but in fairness im having a great time with this blog thing, it was fun than just watching tv.

Santa's Reindeer

It's a shame on my part that at my age i don't know names of santa claus reindeer. There's rudolf the red nose reindeer song thats all i know. I was born and raise in the Philippines where, Santa and his reindeer didn't given much emphasis on christmas maybe because we dont have a chimney there for santa lol... but we decorate santa claus there. I asked hubby why most of the comercial on TV here for christmas were all about Santa, and so with the movies. He said " because santa brings presents, he's fat, jovial, and he has a big white beard. What's not to like". I also ask santa's reindeer names,
here they are
Dasher
Dancer
Prancer
Vixen
Comet
Cupid
Donner
Blitzen and
Rudolf but
Rudolf was not part of the original reindeer but came later from the song- Rudolf the red nose reindeer . In a really bad weather rudolf is the reindeer.
When our little buckaroo grows up and start asking about santa and santa's reindeer I have answers to his questions.

reminiscence

Everyone of us has its own story to tell especially christmas memories. I can't help myself to reminisce my christmas back home. I remember, when i was a little, We used to caroling around the neighborhood with my friends and go to church with my family at 4:00 in the morning. Catholic observed the 9 days mass in christmas beginning on the 16th of december until christmas eve. I hate getting up that early but as they say if you complete the 9 days, your wishes will come true. We know about santa back then, but for us christmas was about the birth of Jesus. furthermore, a while ago when i checked my friendster i saw pictures in my friends profile of children's christmas party, boy i miss those times when i used to give christmas party to my pupils when i was still teaching, gave them gifts and exchanging gifts with them. This are some of the many memories i can cherish until Igrow old.

Lazy morning

What time in the morning do you usually get up from bed? How do you spend your morning?
In my case, I'm not really a morning person. Jake usually up early to ask for milk, and after i heat up his milk jake and I go back to sleep get up at 10:00 or 10:30. Then, have him watch his favorite cartoons in the morning this is pretty much how we spent our mornings. Today, i was up at 4:30 in the morning for some reason, and jake cried for milk. I don't wanna get up coz it was too cold but have to. Right now, im feeling so lazy, from the time i got out from bed until noon time i was just laying on the couch watch TV. I realize i have to change this lazy attitude.

Christmas tree

We just bought a christmas tree, its a small one. I can't believed they are so expenssive, we wish to get a big one but its too expenssive. We have to decorate christmas for jake and thats my hubby's family tradition too. Their mom, stop putting christmas tree until he graduated college he's the youngest in the family and all his sisters had already moved out. We are lucky because we got to keep all her christmas ornaments. I also love christmas cos for me i think it's my birthday too. My birthday falls on the day after christmas but my mother always celebrated it in christmas day since i remember. We used to have christmas tree also when we were little, she made one out of guava twigs and branch covered with bubble soap to make it look like snow or a christmas tree made out of banana stalks. Anyway, i got a little busy again today, i have to stop with my blogging and start wrapping our gifts for jake. I know our little buckaroo can't appreciate at this age and yet, all he wants to do is knock that tree out and put this leaves into his mouth. We like to continue the american family tradition, as what i have heard from hubby, american kids expect christmas tree, gifts and santa on christmas or else they would feel ripped off.

Exhausted

For this past couple of days, i've been so very busy doing things around. I also just signed up a blog last tuesday, thanks to a friend who encourage me to this and helping me around in the world of blogging, you know who you are. I never thought of this , such interesting to do before. Hubby always using the computer to do work and of course playing games. Like right now I have to stop at the middle of my post coz he's going to used the computer so, whenever, I get the chance to be in front of the computer, have to be quick to post something in my blog,sometimes I run out of words to say, also had to make plenty of drop to earn an ec credit to promote my blog especially im still a new blogger. Also had to do those household chores like wash the dishes, cleaning, and cooking, doing all this made my back and body sore. Im also a mom of a 9 month old son, who needs care and attention. I'm so exhausted, this week is the busiest week i had. I admire those other moms outhere, who can keep up with all the work. I think i just have to manage my time for my husband, baby and my blog.

building better bones

If you want your kids to have really strong bones, make sure they consume atleast two servings of calcium-rich dairy products and four or more servings of meat or other non-dairy protien everyday. Researchers say that teens with the strongest bones are ones who eat both dairy and other protien sources. I read this information in some magazine in raising healthy kids. so i thought of sharing by posting it in my blog. So let's eat food that has rich in protien and calcium

gift

Hey! look what we've got on the mail today. A gift from my sister in law in chicago, so thoughtful. They sent us this cool gourmet gift from Harry and David. Inside the box are candies and chocolates. It taste good and it has impeccable taste. This is the third gift we got on the mail this christmas though. First, we recieved a gift card from my sister and her husband. It's a starbucks gift card. We Already used them twice, had coffee,cakes and cookies in there. And jake got a gift from his grandma,too a toy and xmas sweater. I hope soon santa claus will knock at our door and give us gift because we don't have a chimney lol. Have the spirit of gift giving on christmas...and give thanks for all the blessings recieved this year. Merry christmas to one and all.

Mall escapades

Last week we went to the mall to stroll around and have jake taken out. Our little monster was so happy to finally go out, and have fun. Here are jake's fun moment at the mall.

Jake sat on santas lap at the mall.

At the playground, as soon as i put him down, he just started screeming and crawling around, chasing other kids to play with him. His eyes was glowing with joy and glee.

He also ride in a train for 1 minute. Mommy too had the chance to be in a train, i didn't experience that when i was a little. We enjoyed watching jake having so much fun.

Dry and Itchy Skin

Weather changes every now and then. Places like America for instance have four seasons. Right now winter is on the way. As the weather gets colder and drier, your children could develop dry and itchy skin also known as eczema-a conditon of skin which becomes inflamed,red and itchy. Eczema is prone to children who are sensitive to allergens or has sensitive skin. Avoid substances that cause skin to become dry and itchy, such as harsh soaps, and lotion with perfumes can help ease the flare-ups.
Bathe your child in warm water with mild soap. Remember, too much exposure to water can dry out skin. Moisturize skin with fragrance- free cream, such as Cetaphil. Patting dry skin gently can help ease the itch.

Anxious

Since things are getting better for us, and jake is already 9 months old. My babger and I decided to have another baby then stop after that. Because we wanted them to be close in age so that they can play with each other and be a best buddy. I'm almost a month delayed right now, so we took a test and it came out negative. So, we're thinking maybe the cold weather got to do with. I don't feel yet all the symptoms, but i feel some. We tried the test the next day again but still negative. We're wondering how effective the pragtest is. So we waited for a week to used the last testpack we got, and unfortunately still came out negative. We got i little worried about whats going on with my body. We called our OBGyn but she responded by saying to wait until first week of december and see what happens, and maybe my body is just preparing for cycle.
Everytime im in the car i feel like throwing out, and feeling nauseous. But the thing is some of they symtoms are not consistent. There were mornings or night that i feel sick, and there were time in the day too that i feel fine aside from the fatigue and tirediness i feel everyday. Next week if I still don't have it, we are calling our doctor for a check up to see whats going on. We are so anxious to know if am really prego or not, hope Iam,we cross our finger to this.

jake's facination with mirror

This is my precious baby jake. He was six months old when i took this video. Babies like mirror. Check out how facinated he was, looking at his own reflection in the mirror. I wonder what was on his mind at that time. Maybe he finds himself so darn goodlooking and yummy. He was talking to himself and started licking the mirror, then kissing it and trying to eat it. Slobbing the mirror and shaking it. Maybe hes practicing to be a good kisser when he grows up just being silly. He's so funny. Just imagine how much fun he's having.He is our pride and joy. Babies have such innocent baby look, and yet so funny.

A Simple Happy Life

Hi there! This is Joe. Welcome to the Simple Happy Life of Joe, Sheila, and Jake (our little buckaroo). As our title suggests, we want to write about our daily life as well as our lives in general and our pursuit of the American dream. My wife will be doing most of the writing, so I just wanted to take the opportunity to introduce myself before everyone forgets about me. Okay, I'll turn things over to her now. Take care.



Hello all. Sheila here, I'm from the beautiful island of the Philippines Cebu City when Joe and I met in 2006. I worked as an Elementary school teacher in one of the public school in cebu city. I liked my job, and feeling so secure with all of its benifits. But after 7 years of working i lost the challenge and start feeling the emptiness of my life. Joe at that time just finished graduate school and got a job as a mathemathics professor at a university in pittsburgh. Even though, he didn't have that many of the resources at that time he still managed to bring me here in less than a year. well i guess the sayings" love conquers all" works.I got here may of 2007. It was really hard for me leaving my friends, job, and family in the philippines and be in a big country where in everything is new to you,such as culture, lifestyle, and race and no relatives coz my sister and I didnt have any communication back then yet.. And most of all we didn't have the money to go somewhere else to enjoy besides the 4 corner of our room apartment. I had a hardtime adjusting here but with my hubby next to me, i able to overcome all the loneliness, though a lot of times i feel homesick just cry and emote, it made me feel better.



In June of 2007, I got pregnant with Jake. Life at this moment was so hard, aside from the pregnancy feeling but life in general. We were still living in a single room apartment and didn't have enough money to buy good foods, so, those craving during pregnancy? i just let it go away. We always had green beans for lunch and dinner cooked in a filipino way with a little pieces of pork. We order out sometimes once a month or once in two months.But having each other is all that matters, i wouldnt trade it for the world.by the way, i skip the parts about the fights and bitchiness for sure we had plenty of that. This is how simple our life was.



Then, march of 2008, jake arrived. Life was still basically the same, a little better financially i guess. My sister came over to help me out with jake,(thanks ji) but of course in one bed room apartment she had to sleep on the floor we felt bad for it though. With a new member of the family it means more fun and joy despite of the hardships. I still thankful we are healthy and happy.

Before too long, we found a new apartment(we upgraded a little). Theres a room now for jake to crawl around and soon walk. He brought a lot of joy to our lives. he's our bundle of joy. He's growing healthy and happy. Everyday life still the same, getting up in the morning, hubby goes to work me, take care of the baby, watch tv, take jake outside for a couple of minutes to see those cars running on the streets, he enjoys watching it or take him to the playground across the road in the afternoon.feed him lunch, put him to nap.He used to have 3 naps everyday but as he grows it moved to 2 naps a day. A tuna sandwich for hubby and me, check emails, and watch tv, . At night, have dinner,then play with jake while watching tv. Basically, the same routine everyday. Well sometimes we take a walk around the neighborhood on the weekend. Its not a big neighborhood but its safe, i can't say its quiet coz our building apartment is along the road but compared to our previous place i can consider this place quiet. It triple the fun when you have a baby.

Every family has their own brand of simplicity or complexity. Ours we just enjoy what we have right now, like going to the starbucks and used this gift card my sister and her husband gave for christmas.

Sorry to cut in, Joe here, but what we are saying is that the American dream isn't about how many material possesions that you have; it is about working hard for the good of your family, staying focused, and achieving things, and then maybe having some material possesions that you feel you really earned. Just a thought.