Staying at home full-time and making the most out of it
My baby just turned one year old today. But we will ceberate her brithday party tomorrow with kids from the neighborhood… We will have a simple birthday with food kids enjoy- sphagetti, hotdog on sticks, birthday cake and chicken… Let’s see if they would enjoy tomorrow’s birthday party!
Happy Birthday to my little one who brings joy everyday to me and her Daddy Joseph.
We love you very much Danielle!
It just occured to me that I never bought Danielle her ABC book. In my excitement, I did buy her storybooks (which by the way is now mostly tattered and torn- thanks to her teeth) so she can feel and see the big prints, colorful illustrations and hopefully appreciate books and read them when she gets older…. Yesterday, a family friend of Joseph gave Danielle some gifts including a nice ABC book from Looney Tunes. I think she enjoyed it very much because it has pictures of a goose (drawn looking almost 100% like a Duck) and a puppy- her favorite medium sized animals and an ant- her ultimate favorite.
Earlier, I was pointing to her these animals and she seems to understand the illustrations because she was giggling when I showed them to her and even pointed the goose. Most of the time when we go out of the house, there would be some ducks on the street and J. would take the time to park on the side and let Danielle enjoy the ducks. The little girl absolutely love the ducks! She would babble, point and laugh at them. The same is true too when she sees dogs and even ants. Most especially ants- she would point and stoop to touch the tiny creatures (no worries because they don’t bite)…
And just for memory’s sake, we took pictures of Danielle and her first ABC book!
Earlier this evening, I was holding Danielle’s right hand while she was walking around our room when I thought of letting her stand on her own. I was amazed to see that she can stand without my aid and until she began taking one, two and three steps before falling down! I was so elated that I called up my husband who is in Cebu for an out-of-town business trip to share the good news! I tried on letting her walk again- and she did. This time, two more steps until she walked a straight ten steps. No wonder that when we place her in her walker, she would insist on walking without it and hold our hands instead to guide her in her steps. Lately, J. and I noticed that she wants to walk by holding only one of our hands… I know boys her age usually walk earlier, so I was expecting that she might walk by a year and two months the earliest… But this was a a very pleasant surprise and a feat for a girl who would turn one year old late next week. J. congratulated Danielle over the phone and I am just so happy for the little girl!
Isn’t parenthood great?
When I had no family of my own yet, I was wishing that my child would be this and that…. but now that I’m a parent, all I wish for her is she would have a very happy childhood and when she grows up, she would say that her Mom and Papa gave her not only a house but a home where she can always return to and feel loved…
p.s. I still have no picture of Danielle capturing her “walk” but I’ll leave you a picture of her “reading” Mommy’s card.
It’s been ages since I saw a movie! The last time was when I was on my second trimester with Danielle- my hubby and I watched Poseidon. After Titanic, I thought a ship wreck survival saga could not meet Titanic’s huge box office hit- and I was right. Poseidon was not in the category of Titanic’s earnings(by the way, I am not a huge fan of Titanic)- but it was a good enough movie.
So, here’s a list of movies I missed in the wide screen and will be watching on DVD at home:
1. Spiderman 3 (saw parts 1 and 2)
2. Pursuit of Happyness (I’ve read very good reviews on this movie and has been dying to see it on the silverscreen- but didn’t because I don’t want to leave danielle in favor of movies)
3. Shrek 3 (just for laughs/entertainment value and nothing else)
4. can’t remember anymore movies that I’d want to see…. which is a simple reminder that I’m beginning to dethrone myself as the movie queen/buff/fanatic/etc.etc.etc.
Before settling down, I love to watch movies! If all titles showing in a particular week are worth viewing, I watch all of them! A far cry from what I am today- “movie-less” for a year.
So this brings me to my personal list of 10 best movies:
1. Patch Adams – I am a certified Robin Williams fan. Most of his movies are heartwarming, inspiring, candid and will surely give you a good dose of laughter. Patch Adams was no exception. Made me cry.
2. Awakenings- This was played by Robin Williams and Robert De Niro. I find the movie moving and inspiring- also made me cry.
3. Little Mermaid- I was 14 when I first saw the movie on VHS. Watched it 14 times the first two days I saw it! I even have the piano score sheets of Sebastian’s Under the Sea, Kiss the Girl and Ariel’s Part of Your World. I hated Ursula when she disguised herself as a human beguiling Eric with her (actually Ariel’s voice) enchanting voice. When she transformed King Triton to a minute sea creature, I can’t help feeling so bad for the king… I loved this movie because of its family values taught in a manner where kids don’t feel being sermoned to.
4. Shine- This is a story of a pianist who suffered some degree of mental illness because of his father’s expectations. In the end, the story was about human triumph and forgiveness.
5. Mr. Holland’s Opus- Great movie, great actors, great story! This story from the heart will strike a resonant chord to all those who believed teaching is their calling. I just love this movie.
6. Snow Falling on Cedars- Personally, I think this is Ethan Hawke’s best movie to date. The story line is impeccable! It bridges racism, doubt and suspicion against a backdrop of a long-ago never-meant to be love story.
7. Amadeus- Setting aside the oscar awards this movie garnered, I found this movie powerful, grandiose with the main actor, by all means, rightfully deserving his oscars! Beautiful movie!
8. Hero- Set during the height of China’s dynasties- this movie will take you in to the magnificent sites of Asia (thanks to Hero’s cinematography) coupled with a story full of timely lessons for today’s world.
9. Wedding Singer- The main reason why I love this movie is because of Adam Sandler’s song- simple and very profound.
10. Tootsie- Shown in early 80s, this will show us a young Dustin Hoffman and a gorgeous Jessica Lange. I was laughing so hard when I first saw this film. Great comedy!
So, what’s your favorite movies?
Just lately, news on a new pyramid scam that swept investors in the internet has been in the limelight. Franc Swiss, an allegedly legitimate site has been luring investors to invest a minimum of 1000 US$ with the promise that within a few days, your moneywill double until it is multiplied beyond your imagination. Isn’t it too good to be true?? The catch is, for your money to double beyond your wildest dreams, you have to invest more and “invite” your friends to pool in their resources (a.k.a. invest). The more friends joining your circle, the more money you will make.
To attract more potential investors, the original “investors” (who by the way are nowhere to be found now) are telling the masses that media personalities and big names in the showbiz industry are investing too. Because you trust the upper investors and your friends, you deposit your hard-earned money (some even go into debt just to produce 2to 5000 US$).
I wonder why people can still be duped with this kind of scenario when in fact this type of pyramid networking was prohibited by the Securities and Exchage Commission (SEC) after pensioners lost their lifetime savings upon investing in this kind of set-up. Well, not only the pensionners but a lot of people gullible enough to believe that their money could increase exponentially within a small time frame. I thought the bitter of the lessons in the past would be enough to deter people from investing. I suspect people did not expect the FrancSwiss to be illegitimate because their website looked so good (I saw this on TV since their website is now closed) that it appears to be true.
Now, swindled investors are filing a class suit to FrancSwiss. My question is, can they ran after the creators of the website who might be out of the country now enjoying their millions or even billions?
Lesson for all of us: If an offer is too good to be true– almost always it is really too good to be true!
My little girl is almost turning one in two weeks and her antics are growing by the minute. Just recently, she pushed her walker to my work bag and fished out a manila envelope- she was about to pull out the papers and start scattering them when I called her. She seems to understand that she has been caught redhanded because she did not continue pulling out the papers except for the manila envelope she is clining to right now (and plans on eating!).
At 11 months, she can follow simple instructions like pushing the play button of her musical toy, or putting her play blocks back to its container. However, she still cannot fully understand the concept of ‘no.’ “Danielle, don’t touch that” or ” Danielle, no- you are not allowed to go there” phrases from me are usually met by blank stares. While it might be understandable for her age, I try to let her understand why she can’t touch certain things or go near the door by simply explaining things to her. Then, I steer her to other safe activities instead. It works most of the time…
So- I would be expecting that when she gets to talk and walk, it would become more challenging! But I’m glad I have blogs from parents who give wonderful insights now and then (you should visit ‘the new parent’ site-its unique because it comes from a Daddy’s point of view and at the same time very informative and candid!)
I’ve always kept journals since I was 11 years old. Believe it or not, I write every single day! I write about anything and everything under the sun that an 11 year old girl finds interesting….And oh, I have pages too of carton drawings of Mickey Mouse complete with multiple little hearts surrounding Minnie’s love interest! Was I in-love with Mickey Mouse??? I thought I loved Donald Duck over him until I saw those pages. Looking back, things that caught my fancy were really trivial after-all. A narration of what I did the entire day, stickers and stationaries I collected and then even stories of long-time forgotten crushes!
Now, I still keep journals but the entries are sporadic just like my blogs. More than two weeks of not writing anything- I wonder if cobwebs are just around the corner…
So what have I been up to the past two weeks? well-nothing in particular. Just back to work (part-time) and mostly taking care of my little daughter who is almost turning one in the last week of this month. Can’t believe how time flies by so quickly! My daughter is growing up and changing her habits fast…For example-because she is sleeping with us, I would wake up at the middle of the night to giver her bottled milk (with hubby preparing the milk)while she would snuggle close by. At least, she doesn’t cry anymore and want to be cuddled before sleeping back. Instead, she would hug me before going back to sleep and in the morning- get greeted by a sunny smiling face. My hubby comments that we have a “natural” alarm clock in our midst because she wakes up earlier than we do. Hmmm, everyday with the little girl is just a joy…
So, to end this entry, here’s a little promise: more entries in the coming days!
