After coming home from my OB check-up two weeks ago, I was told that my cervix is already 1cm dilated.  Wait, what?  Manganganak na ako soon?  NO.  Hindi pa pwede as per my OB.  I still have until June 8 to be cleared na okay, GO pwede na anytime.  So this means that I still have to be more careful, that my bed rest will be extended until June 13, and that I cannot be stressed or emotionally affected.  In short, deadmatic to the world.

That same day, hubby booked us a suite at Serenity Suites of Best Western Plus Antel Hotel for a quick R&R.  We were supposed to be with the kids, but my older one just had his circumcision that morning and the little one has an ear infection.  We decided to just staycation by ourselves.

Super dami niyang arte why we couldn't leave earlier for check-in.  He said he was tired and he's hungry, etc. parang siya yung buntis.  Yun pala, he was stalling me so that our friends could check-in ahead of us and set up the room.  May plano pa lang surprise si husband.

We left the house at around 4pm na and I really wanted to rest na lang sana.  So when we went up the room, ito ang bumulaga sa akin - SURPRISE!!!!  I have a surprise Baby Shower organized by my husband!

I have a very imaginative and playful second son.  His name is Wes.  At his current age of five, he recently discovered his love for drawing and coloring.  He may be a late bloomer for some because I see other kids indulge in the art as early as two, but I didn't mind that mine was more fascinated with running around, playing with toys, exploring his surroundings, and laughing out loud each time.  As long as he's happy.  I am happy.

Lately, when he plays with his toys, he talks by himself.  He imagines he is the character of his toys in this made-up world.  The current favorite character he plays is a friendly pirate boy.  As I quietly watch him have fun during play, I realize that we're raising a creative boy and that we should support and not discourage him.  He channels his imagination through play, drawing and coloring too.

Hello Mommies!

 Remember the post I made for our current baby brand of choice recently?  Yes, it’s BELO Baby!  Seriously, it’s not only my bunso who loves it, even I am using it daily!  What makes it totally addicting is not just its scent, but the thought that it’s made of all-natural ingredients.  You don’t usually find a product, claiming to have 0% harmful chemicals in it by using all-natural ingredients, in the supermarket shelves with a very reasonable price tag.

Currently, only Belo Baby products satisfy what meticulous moms want for their children without hurting the budget.  AND, you get a chance to bring home some Belo Baby products for you and your kids as well!

Our current favorite baby brand in the market today, BELO BABY!

Hello loves!  I'm excited to share with you my first-ever maternity photo session with husband and kids.  I've never done anything like this with my first two.  I've always admired beautiful pregnant moms I see online who post professionally taken photos.  As I've said, every pregnancy is unique.  I see big, small, medium, irregularly-shaped preggy bellies captured beautifully on camera by (I'm sure) patient, gently, considerate, and understanding photographers.

It's still May and I ought to post this before this Mommy month ends!  What's up with me?  Well, it's been a very busy past two weeks for me.  Imagine, I'm 34-35 weeks pregnant, with two kids that needed to be enrolled in school, with a baby stuff I need to prepare before I pop, and with multitude of workload from the office.  So much to do so little time!

I confess to being a meticulous mom to my boys.  Even if they are no longer considered my babies, I still ensure that they use the best products in the market preferably made from all-natural ingredients that also wouldn’t hurt the budget.  That’s why Belo Baby line of products are heaven- sent because they meet everything I look for in a baby product.  Belo Baby is what I’m currently using for myself and my little one and we really like them a lot!

Belo Baby Bar Soap, Belo Baby Hair and Body Wash, and Belo Baby Face and Body Lotion

Since I am still on an official bed-resting-phase (which I hope to be lifted on my next check-up, but husband would rather let me stay in until I pop), I rarely go out and my schedule hasn't been normal.  I may have a full-time job, I go to the office everyday meet and truly enjoy the company of the same faces, but I make sure I do something to not make it routinary.  Now I'm on house-arrest, there are times that boredom kicks in because I do the same things day in and day out, my activities are limited, so I try hard to fight it by doing these things.

There are times I get to go out, never without my husband, on weekdays to visit the office (with my OB's clearance of course), and on weekends with the whole family.  When I do, I make the most out of the day by putting an agenda in every preggy "field trip."  I never thought that going out could mean so much to me, especially with my condition, so I learned more about patience, contentment in little things, and appreciation during these times.  One of which that occupied one field trip day was shopping for our upcoming baby boy! :)

My usual mall or shopping outfit.  Comfort and style is for me!

It's still summer and if you want to have a short weekend getaway with family or friends to escape the city and the heat, then going to a place with cooler temperature or going somewhere to swim are your best options.  But what if you want both and somewhere not too far?  Then I have a recommendation for you!  Try River Mountain Breeze Resort in Tagaytay City.

Going there will take you about 1.5 to 2 hours away from Manila, less if you live in the south.  I could say it's a hidden paradise because it's not located along the main roads of Tagaytay and there isn't even one signage to direct you going there. You just have to easily rely on landmarks and seek help from Waze as well.

Why do I call it a paradise?  Let the photos tell you why.

Our room with queen-sized bed, mosquito net, and stained Capiz windows.

When preparing for your much-awaited wedding, one of the important elements is your wedding invitation.  Many are going digital already but most couples (including us) still want the traditional printed wedding invitations to be sent out to guests.

For our intimate DIY Rustic Wedding, we both had a digital event invite conveniently done via Facebook and a traditional printed invitation.  It all started with the wedding concept.  Think garden, flowers, rustic, DIY projects, and intimate.  I wanted the concept to appear and be felt on the invitations itself.  We wanted to have a hand-lettered and hand-painted invitation.  So I asked help from a very talented colleague, Myra Lim, who is passionate in doing these things.

We started with the Save The Date design which of course had the date of our wedding and our hashtag.  I posted this on our wedding's Facebook event invite:

Summer time is TULI (Circumcision) time in the Philippines especially for boys aged between 11 to 14 years old.  My son is 12 years old and is an incoming high school student this school year.  When I consulted his pediatrician some years ago about the best time to have him circumcised, he said as long as the boy is ready in all these aspects: physically, psychologically, mentally, and emotionally.  I took his advice by heart and my son and I agreed that this summer's "his" best time to have it done.  We're glad he wants it done now not because of peer pressure or "pang-aasar"of his classmates and friends, but because he's really ready.

With all the horrible stories told to him about his uncles about circumcision to scare him off, he asked if it's really painful and if there's an option to go painless.  Luckily, he lives in this era when non-surgical or laser procedure is already made available for a painless (and bloodless) circumcision.  I tried searching online but the list of clinics isn't enough, so I called a few hospitals and clinics near our place of residence to ask about their packages and I want to share this list to you dear moms of boys.

LIST OF HOSPITALS' & CLINICS' CIRCUMCISION RATES/PACKAGES IN METRO MANILA
In my quest for the best and most practical circumcision packages, I found out that there are THREE (3) ways to get it done!  I didn't include the traditional pukpok anymore of course, that would be horrifying to the boys!  The procedures are: 1) Surgical; 2) Laser (our preferred one); and 3) Cautery.  So I will divide my list below based on the procedures mentioned.