Last Saturday, February 19, we went to Makati Medical Center very early for my husband’s routine checkup with his endocrinologist. We were done by 9am, but because malls would not open until an hour later, we had to make an impromptu decision: where were we taking the little boy after this? Hubby suggested Manila Zoo, and because the little boy liked it, off we went like giddy children!

My first trip to Manila Zoo was before I turned 7 years old. I have no recollection of that trip; in fact, I only learned about it through a picture of me at the zoo that I brought to school for an assignment. This was also my husband and son’s first trip to Manila Zoo, so we were all excited.

There were lots of students having an educational field trip at Manila Zoo that day, and that added to the festive mood at the zoo. Entrance fee for adults is Php40.00, while for kids below 4 feet is Php20.00. Below are some of the animals we saw at Manila Zoo.






Aside from looking at the animals, the little boy became preoccupied with a lot of things. He blew bubbles, played the flute, rode the swing at the playground and ate ice cream.


There were also a lot of merchandise being sold inside the zoo mostly catering to kids. Silly me for thinking they have tattoo removal cream, too. After eating ice cream, the little boy went to a nearby stall to see what he could buy (as if he has money! LOL!). He finally found what he wanted: a mechanical winged horse. Too bad, I wasn’t able to take a picture of my son playing with this toy inside the zoo.

As we prepare to leave the zoo after more than two hours of endless walking and picture taking, we chanced upon this photo booth that offers souvenir pictures with an albino Burmese python for Php100.00. We were all afraid, but we had to try it for experience sake.


On the way to the mall, I asked the little boy if he enjoyed our trip to Manila Zoo, and he responded with a resounding “Yes!” and he followed it up with this question: “When are we coming back?”

I therefore conclude that our unplanned trip to Manila Zoo was a success!

Because I wanted so much to unwind after a hectic work week and because my husband and son are raring to go out again, we all decided to watch the movie Despicable Me at Movieworld, Robinsons Galleria yesterday afternoon.

Before we could even buy our movie tickets, Justin’s interest was piqued by this movie poster/movie still of Narnia. This was a good opportunity to take pictures, and Mommy was, as always, ready with the camera.




We bought our snacks at Burger King, and one of the staff put this paper crown on my son and gave him lots of drinking straws to play with.




After eating our snacks inside the movie house, Justin started getting a little restless. I put him on my lap, so we can all finish watching the movie. It didn't take long for my son to fall asleep, and I dozed off, too. Ergo, only my husband finished the entire film. The bad thing is Justin and I missed the good part of the movie. We paid a hefty amount just to sleep inside the cinema! LOL!

We didn’t let this dampen our spirit, though. Instead, we roamed around the mall, checked out some stalls, and bought a few things for ourselves. Justin wanted a Spiderman watch, and I bought a new bangle for myself. We had ice cream, too!

I lost count of all the calories I consumed that day from the burger I devoured earlier and the ice cream (it’s not sugar-free! ) that we all had before going home, not to mention the sumptuous lunch and dinner we had at home. Do you think I need Lipo 6 Hers already?

Last week has been a hectic week for me at work. I usually stop working at 5pm, but for three straight days, I ended up working between 7 to 8pm. That is why I decided last Friday after abruptly ending my work that the following day, Saturday, would be leisure time for me and the entire family. I did my grocery shopping on Friday night, early--I usually do this on a Saturday--to make my Saturday afternoon free.

First things first; I had to make a quick trip to Makati Medical Center in the morning for my lipid profile test to recheck my triglyceride, good and bad cholesterol, and total cholesterol levels. Then after lunch, we went straight to Market! Market!

Of course, we had to give in to our son’s whims first, so we took Justin to Blanche Kiddie Rides to ride a motorbike and a car (or was it a jeep?). He really enjoyed driving the motorbike ; he actually rode it twice. He spent a total of 40 minutes in the kiddie rides, and we spent Php200.00 ($4). And guess who we saw yesterday? Niko of Niko’s Blog was also there with her lovely daughter Yena and Yena’s cousins, I think.


“Look, Mom, I’m driving!”


Niko and Yena with Tetcha and Justin

Then, it was eating time. Because I’m done with my blood test, I decided to give myself a break from my self-imposed low-cholesterol diet. I vowed to eat what I wanted, and we went to one of our favorite dining places before, Shakey’s. They have an ongoing promo right now, and we chose to order a package good for 5 to 6 persons. They call this package Deal 2, and it costs Php835.00 ($19) plus service charge). The package consists of a spaghetti platter served with garlic bread, a large thin crust Manager’s Choice Pizza, Buddy Pack Chick’n’Chips (5 pieces), and a pitcher of house blend iced tea.


Why aren’t you smiling, Daddy?


Yummy spaghetti!


Manager’s Choice Pizza

Chick ’n’ Chips
I missed eating here, really, and I enjoyed what we ordered. We had leftovers that we took home for our dinner later.

Next stop was Fashion Market. This is a shopper’s haven. It’a tiangge (flea market) where you can find all sorts of items where you can haggle the prices of the items you want to buy. I bought a bolero, a polo shirt, and two sleeveless tops for only Php1,050.00 ($23). Hubby bought a pair of jeans worth only Php350.00 ($8). I also bought a Secosana bag on our way out. It’s on sale, by the way! I was alive!

A little shopping was what I needed to revitalize after a really stressful work week. We will go back again to this place one of these days to see some of their kids’ stuff. Justin was happily eating ice cream while Mommy and Daddy looked around. Before we finally left the mall, Justin spotted a train book (a book shaped like a train) that he asked his Daddy to buy for him.

We all went home happy: Justin had a grand time at at Blanche Kiddie Rides, we enjoyed good food at Shakey’s, and we shopped a little, too. I wish we can do this everyday!

The past two months were quite stressful for our family because after we learned about our mom’s severe heart condition, we had to raise a huge amount of money for her coronary artery bypass graft, which took us more than a month to accomplish. With God’s grace and with the help of family and friends, we were finally able to have her surgery done more than a week ago. Now that our family crisis is over, I badly needed to unwind. Branson vacation packages sound enticing, but they’re beyond our budget right now. Oh well, there will always be a next time!

Tatay and Nanay and my family (me, Ed and Justin) decided to spend the night at my sister Meann’s house on December 25 to give all of us the much-needed rest before going home.

Except for Nanay and Tatay who are early-risers, we all woke up late. We still enjoyed our Christmas left-overs.

First, we had to drop off Nanay and Tatay at their house in Dasmarinas, Cavite. Hubby offered to treat all of us to lunch at Max’s Restaurant. We ordered family fried chicken (whole), beef kare-kare, fish fillet in black beans (I’m not too sure I remember this right), and chopsuey. Boy, did we enjoy that meal!


At Max's Restaurant while waiting for our orders

Next, we’re headed for our place in Ortigas, but we had another stop-over at Festival Supermall. Our little boy badly needed a train ride, so hubby, me and Justin rode the Junction Express. Tito Orlan and Justin then had a grand time maneuvering the “big cow” while mom and dad took a restroom break.


At the entrance of Junction Express


Waiting for our turn to board the train


Mommy, Justin and Daddy enjoying our train ride


Oops! Where is Daddy?


Justin with Tito Orlan riding the walking "big cow"

Yesterday was a fun, fun day!

“Mommy, pode (pwede) computer Justin?” (Mommy, can Justin use the computer?)

These were the first words my two-year-and-five-month-old son Justin uttered when he woke up from his afternoon nap today.

Since my work for December ended on the 20th, I spend less time on the computer these days. The only time I get to use the PC is when my son Justin is asleep.

My son now takes my place in front of the computer watching Thomas & Friends YouTube videos. This is because he only has a handful of Thomas & Friends DVDs (only three, in fact, but he accidentally broke one, leaving him with only two now). He usually spends three to four hours a day video-hopping.



I know, I know. He’s not supposed to be watching too much. But what’s a mom to do?

I was so tired last Tuesday not because I worked, but because I didn’t work. It turned out that Tuesday was the scheduled day for fogging/misting in our building. Kids are advised not to go outside while spraying is done. This is not a guarantee, however, that the insecticide won’t seep inside the rooms as there’s a tiny gap below each unit’s main door. Per Justin’s pediatrician, Justin should be out of the building for at least three hours, enough time for the fog/mist to subside.

Spraying is scheduled at 2pm. I actually still have time to work in the morning until after we leave our unit before 2pm, but I decided not to because ending my work before the appointed time would just ruin my momentum. To kill time, I read my e-mails, surfed the Net, and read other people’s blogs (Boy! I wish I have more time to do this).

Then off we went to the mall (Justin, Mommy, and Manang). We spent the first two hours at Tom’s World. Justin had a grand time bowling, playing basketball, and whatever games he could lay his hands on. For my part, I played Pharaoh’s Treasure and Jungle Jive. This cost us Php400.00.

Justin was already hungry by 4pm, so we went to the food court. We ordered Arrozcaldo Special and Goto Special with iced tea from Goto King. This totaled Php150.00. I then called Justin’s dad because we’re running out of things to do. He told me we could go to My Playroom Kids Care Center at the upper floor.

My Playroom is a place where your tiny tots could play, read, and sleep (if they want) for a fee. One hour costs Php90.00. Justin and Manang spent two hours at My Playroom, so that’s Php180.00, plus, we have to pay for Manang’s socks priced at Php25.00. Children and their companion/s are required to remove their shoes and wear only socks while inside the play area. Total expenses: Php205.00.

Finally, Justin’s dad, coming all the way from his office, met us at My Playroom’s reception area. It’s dinner time already, so the next best thing to do was to eat again. Ed and I had pork sisig, while Manang had fried fish fillet (I forgot what this was called) at Icebergs. We all had lemonade for our drinks.Our bill amounted to almost Php700.00.

All in all, it cost us approximately Php1,500.00 for having stayed in the mall for 5 hours, plus, I didn’t earn anything that day. And to think that we’ll have to repeat the process in two weeks’ time as fogging/misting in our building is done twice a month. Haay! Well, at least, Justin is safe from inhaling the toxic stuff. And yes, I was dead tired from all the playing, walking, eating, and spending that we had to do.

Justin showing his moves

Our favorite family hangout as of the moment is Tom’s World at Robinsons Galleria. Ed and I make it a point to bring Justin there at least twice a month. Our son enjoys playing basketball, although he rarely makes a shot, bowling, dancing, riding the big moving animals, and getting on the bus. He has yet to ride the carousel, though. He enjoys inserting tokens before he starts each game/ride.

Not to be outdone are Justin’s parents who take turns taking care of Justin when he plays and engaging in this one-peso game for lack of a better term. It’s that game where, instead of tokens, you used one-peso coins that drop on a platform, make their way through the throngs of other one-peso coins, and hopefully nudge a few coins along the way that eventually drop into the machine’s coin reservoir. You earn a lot of tickets in this game. In fact, we already had our accumulated points exchanged for some cool stuff: Nemo, Simba, and Dora stuffed toys and a kiddie bowling set for Justin.

We’re so looking forward to our scheduled trips to Tom’s World. It’s our bonding time together as a family. And it’s heartwarming to see my son enjoying his play time here and socializing with other kids.

Last April 26-27, 2008, Justin finally had his first dip in the swimming pool. It was Ed’s annual summer outing at ADB, and this time, it was at the Club Balai Isabel Resort at Talisay, Batangas. There were six of us who went: Ed and I, Justin, Manang, my sister Meann, and her husband Orlan. We encouraged them (Meann & Orlan) to go with us because they have a car, which made it easier for Justin to travel all the way from their house at Laguna Bel-Air to the resort.

We were billeted in two rooms, with two beds apiece and each furnished with an aircon, a refrigerator, a kettle, glasses and plates, towels, and soaps and shampoos. We actually had the best place, I think, since the rooms we got were actually located in the villa where the owner of the resort actually resides, and that villa had its own swimming pool to boot aside from the resort’s main pool. So we had the swimming pool all to ourselves as if we were just having our own family outing. The place was also equipped with a barbecue area, and there were fruit-bearing trees everywhere: avocado, chico, Indian mango, kamias. We expected it to be a fun and memorable experience, especially for our youngling, but it turned out to be the complete opposite.

First, Justin was afraid to get in the pool. He had every reason to be because the kiddie pool beside the adult pool in the villa was actually filled with at least three feet of water. So he could not really stand in the pool with his head untouched by the water. He cried every time his dad attempted to carry him to the water. He ended up just wading his feet and sometimes lying on the excess water that flowed out from the two adjoining pools.

Second, the bathrooms only had a shower. Though we had a shower at home, I do not use that on Justin whenever I give him a bath. So the idea of a shower is actually alien to him. He actually went on a crying fit and bumped his head on the bathroom wall from trying to evade the water getting out of the shower. For a few days after the outing, Justin had been afraid to take a bath at home.

Finally, nearly a week after the outing, Justin contracted a fever. He was diagnosed to have throat and ear infections. The ear infections, according to his pediatrician, could have been caused by the “dirty water” from the pool that got into both his ears. He was given antibiotics and ear drops for that, but he ended up having loose bowel movements for one week as a side effect of his antibiotics.

Poor Justin! All we wanted was for him to have fun, but his first swimming experience turned out traumatic. It was memorable all right, but for all the wrong reasons. I could only hope for a better swimming treat for him next year.