Priceless Moment...

Call me OA, but yes...I'm sniffing after taking the above picture. 

This is Margaux.  Look how happy she was to see me during one of her dismissal from school!  

Such priceless moment indeed!

He is a hip-hop!

A friend actually asked me to accompany her to look for a gift for her husband. She wanted to check out some men's hip-hop jewelry because that's what her husband prefers. We went around to about two malls without finding any. In fact, what we found out was a Gucci watch for her. It was so funny that she was trying to get something for her husband and all of a sudden, she ended up buying for herself. I actually even prevented her from checking other women's jewelry from another store as it may not be a good idea as well. I'm sure I would also find something nice and I wouldn't want to be placed on that position, lol! 

We were still looking and finally decided to call a friend who is based in New York City.  Apparently, she would be on vacation here in Manila in the next two weeks so it would be a perfect time to bring home a treat in case she finds something from the stores there. But instead, she actually recommended for us to check the site of TranxNYC so we can check how huge is their selection of hip-hop and urban style jewelry.  I was made aware that they do sell a number of pieces suitable for the hip-hop fashion market.  They are actually a  favorite of most hip-hop artists.  Got curious on the site so I also checked it myself.  I must say, they really have nice watches and other jewelries.  Should you actually need something like it, don't forget to look into their site. 

It's about Lasik!

Have you heard about Stahl Eye Center? Well, learned about it through a friend who recommended to me since she knows I am contemplating to have Lasik procesure. Stahl Eye Center is known to be serving patients for more than 35 years. They are a known center with doctors graduation from top universities in the US. I wish they would set up a clinic in the country as well.

It's Margaux's first day in school...

yes, it was a day after Bianca's. She's now a Kinder student. Next year, she would be an official grade schooler already. She went on her first day wearing of course her favorite color, pink! She's a big girl now. I almost can't believe that she no longer a baby (although she would remain to be for me). Apparently, her interests now are different. She likes reading books so much, scribbling and even asks me enormous questions that I sometimes I cannot answer anymore.

It's Bianca's first day in school...

yesterday. She was pretty excited. I was actually excited too. It's her first day in the big school. I was happy that there were no fuss to enter the gate of their building. But boo, we were late by 10 minutes because it was so traffic on our way to school. I know there should be no excuse but cars were not moving at all. I had to make a detour. I was also happy to get together with the other mommies there as well. It was like a reunion on the first day of school. I was surprised to see one mommy friend not wearing her thick eye glasses anymore. When I asked her, she told me that she has considered Lasik Procedure and even went to the US to have it done. Though it wasn't Dr. Thierry Hufnagel who did the procedure with her, she was telling how happy she was with Stahl Eye Center. I wonder how much it would cost to have Lasik procedure abroad. 

Miss these girls...

It's been a long while since we last saw each other. Though there are  twitter, flickr and blogs to keep us connected to everyone almost everyday. Yes, I mean, we talk almost everyday, share pictures everyday. We weren't able to match our schedules for a christmas get-together and a summer outing. We ended up meeting after few months to celebrate the birthday of June celebrants (I'm actually one of those) and also throwing Joy and Abie a baby shower. It was a quick Sunday afternoon in Conti's greenbelt. We are a growing family, I must say. There are a lot of kids and indeed, they were even noisier than the mommies.

Some pictures...

One thing...

I would really like to do is to have a LASIK procedure. It has been a delayed plan already for almost two years now. I have been making excuses not to have it yet because I am kinda scared. I have been reading a lot about it especially those being offered in the country. I even read about USAEyes, which is a nonprofit organization that provides information about quality assured refractive surgery. Patients can check their website, USAEyes.org, and questions can even be posted on their bulletin. Reliable researches both before, during and after surgery can be read also from their site. Now, my plan to go through the procedure has again been revived.  I hope I can really take time to visit the eye centers in the country to seriously consider. 

How Often Should my pet Visit the Vet?

Visits to your vet can be time consuming and costly, and as a result, many individuals visit their veterinarian far less frequently than they should. It's always much better to invest in regular maintenance and preventative care, rather than waiting until an illness is very far along and requires more advanced treatment and more expensive pet meds. But how often, exactly, should you visit the vet?

While there are multiple specific occasions that will call for a visit to the veterinarian's office, a general checkup is called for on an annual basis. Having your dog or cat examined by a vet each year will make sure that your pet is as healthy and as happy as can be. This regular yearly visit can be a great way to catch potentially serious problems while they're still easy to treat.

In addition to this general rule, you will also want to get to your pet doctor's office as soon as possible in some other circumstances. From a prevention standpoint, if your dog is not up to date on vaccinations, then a trip to the vet's office is mandatory. These vaccinations frequently require more than one visit, and often have a scheduled lineup for maximum effectiveness. You will also want to have your pets fully examined immediately after you take ownership of them.

You should take your pets into the doctor if they start displaying strange behavior that is suspicious. This can range from a sudden loss in appetite, unexpected weight gain or loss, sharp changes in mood or behavior, and anything else out of the ordinary. All these may be signs of a much more severe problem.

Even if your pet hasn't displayed any negative behavior or worrisome symptoms, any bite from another animal, ingestion of toxins or unknown materials, or similar exposure to hazardous conditions should prompt a visit to the vet.

The US Trip...in a nutshell...

I know I haven't blogged much yet about our US Trip. You see, after coming from the vacation, I got so busy in preparing stuff for the start of classes of the kids. And the overwhelming work awaiting for me in my desk was something I have to attend to first as well. It has been a week since we arrived from Los Angeles and life has just started to get back to normal.

But I just have to blog because I want to. I want to remember all those happy memories we had while we were there. It was also to document the trip. It would be for my kids as well. I may not have the memory to recall everything in time so it is for me and our whole family to remember.

The 3 weeks travel was all worth it. It's a much deserved vacation of our family. It was pure bonding for me and the husband and most especially for our kids. We were yaya-less for 3 weeks and I am so proud that we survived it. The husband and I worked as a team.

I'm grateful that my kids were both healthy during our entire stay there. They were in perfect shape. Even our plane rides to and from LA was a breeze. It probably helped that they were bigger already this time and that they have travelled already before so they knew very well how to manage themselves on the plane. I don't even have to tell them to put on their seat belts.

From Manila to LAX, it was just 2 movies and sleeping that made their company. I was also surprised that it was easy for them to sleep on their plane seats. No fuss at all.

They immediately felt at home when we arrived in my sister-in-law's place. It wasn't a concern on them being homesick. The first few days were mostly road trips. They also survived those long trips to Arizona, Las Vegas, Reno, San Francisco and Los Angeles. And amazingly they were comfortable on their car seats, which they were not used to have here in Manila. 

Of course, theme parks were their favorites.   We went to Disneyland, Sea World and Legoland.  The husband and I also went to Universal Studios.  We didn't bring them there anymore since most of the rides are not appropriate for kids.  It was my time to enjoy the Jurassic Park, Mummy Return rides since the last time we were there, I wasn't able to ride on it cause I was pregnant with Bianca. 

My kids enjoyed all these theme parks.  It was a joy to see excitement on their eyes.  They can't contain their happiness.  We were all grateful to experience having a blast as a family.  That I cannot trade off. 

Shopping took place on our last week.  Went to few outlet stores and grabbed great deals.  But it was in Las Vegas where we enjoyed much about shopping too, especially me.  The husband gave me a great surprise! That's different story to tell. I enjoyed shopping for the kids too.  I am happy to find the brands that are not at all available in the country.  

We were so happy as well to reunite with my husband's family.  It was so nice to be with them again.  We missed them so much. 

Indeed, the whole trip was a success.  It was a total fun.  And most importantly, we did it as family. 

Regrets for not going to Sonoma Valley

From our last trip, we failed to go to the known earliest vineyards and wineries in California, which is the Sonoma valley. It was supposed to be part of our itinerary but we weren't able to do so because we got stuck in San Francisco for some shopping. Gee, replaced dining to shopping.  Should never do that again cause now, after coming across the outdora's blog, I regret not going and seeing the place. It would have been great to see some great attractions in there. It would also be great to actually try and dine in the famous restaurants there like Mission Inn's Sante Restaurant and El Dorado Kitchen.

Sonoma chefs are well known for their exclusive recipes. Visitors are actually looking forward to their specialities. For example, in Sante Restaurant which is an award-winning wine country premier dining restaurant, the Grilled Quail with Bing Cherry Compote by Chef Andrew Cain is the most sought after recipe from there. Most are saying that it is perfect for outdoor party especially during summer using a built-in outdoor barbeque grill or any cookware.  From El Dorado Kitchen which is located at the heart of Sonoma and known for its sophisticated ambiance and sumptuous California cuisine, their executive chef, Justin Everett is known to be making the Roasted Tomato, Padron Pepper Grilled Pizza. It's a perfect pizza using the Big Green Egg Smoker grill.  

Now, just talking about all of these recipes, makes me hungry and regret even more for not trying those out there.  Good thing, the recipes can also be found online and thank goodness, Outdora is sharing it to it's readers.  I would just probably find time  to prepare these fresh ingredients and try it myself from our own barbeque grill back home.  I hope to be able to match the taste at least.  Let's see. Wish me luck!