On this week's theme in MM, I'm still in the process of imagination. We are planning to have our second baby by June-August 2011 and hope to conceive by October/November this year. Our Alyssa is already 4 years old and by the time the baby arrives, she'll be 6 already. We've been conditioning her mind about having another baby and it seems that her responses are positive. 

For now, let's welcome baby Neera to the Saldua Family. =)

We always ask her if she wants a baby brother or a baby sister and her answer changes every time. I think it's good as her mind isn't fixed about the gender. We will not have a hard time explaining to her why the baby was not what she expected. Whenever she thought of her coming sibling, she always mention about how she wants to play with him/her. These are few of her statements; "Mum, if I have a baby brother OR baby sister, I will buy her (no more him) this toy so she can play with it."; "Mum, if I have a baby brother OR baby sister, I will help him (no more her) hold his milk bottle." The word OR is always there, but since she's still confused in using pronouns I just let her express how she feels no matter how she say it.

With this week's theme in MM, I'm sure I'm going to learn so much on how to prepare our eldest when her new sibling comes.

Happy Mommy Moments!

Join us too and let's share the joy of being a mom.

As I read Ate Liz's version of this week's CC I told myself, I'm sure tonight's gonna be a good night. =)

It's true, saying "I Love You" or merely "Love You" is easy and we use it everyday. I can't remember a day passed without those words coming out of my mouth ever since I met my hubby and it multiplied when I became a mom. Mark never leaves the house without saying those words and I, saying them back. We never hang up the phone without the words, "Love you, bye".

As for Ate Liz's question, "When was the last time you really look into each others' eyes and say those words from the bottom of your hearts?" Oh boy, I can't recall. As far as I remember, we say those words with full emotion and yes, with tears when we just ended up our lover's quarrel. We then say how much we love each other and how lucky and blessed we are for having one another. But since we haven't had any big fights for quite some time now, those intimate moments no longer happen. Now I realized, do we have to have misunderstandings before we say those words again? I hope not and I'm changing it now.

I always had the thought of making notes and sticking it on his baon (packed lunch), but have never done it ever, yet. Tomorrow, I'll start. I think our usual sweetness needs a revamp. And because of these realizations, I really think tonight's the start. It isn't hard, really. But it takes some cheesiness to be able to achieve that. =)

And to add with that... here's our keso pic for everyone:

Happy New Year! =) (Taken before welcoming 2010)

Join us every Wednesday as we celebrate our lives of being married. Trust me, this meme helps in keeping the love alive. You're just 1 click away - the Badge is there for you to strike.

See you there!!!

Ate Liza of This is My Life tagged me in this cute Eminent Eights. It's my first tag for my blog and since it came from my blogging mentor I am happy to do it. Thanks Ate Liz!

8 TV Shows We Like to Watch:
1. Dahil May Isang Ikaw (hubby and I - just ended)
2. Kung Tayo'y Magkakalayo (hubby and I - in exchange of the first)
3. X-Factor (hubby and I)
4. Britain's Got Talent (hubby and I)
5. The Buzz (me)
6. Milkshake (Alyssa)
7. CBeeBies (Alyssa)
8. Disney Channel (Alyssa)

8 Favorite Places to Eat & Drink:
1. Mr. Wu Chinese Buffet
2. Pizza Hut
3. T.G.I.F
4. McDonalds
5. KFC
6. Dominoes 
7. Nando's
8. Japanese Restaurants 


8 Things I Look Forward To:

1. Spend Christmas and New Year in the Philippines this coming December
2. Visit Disneyland (Paris or US) on summer
3. Making of the 2nd baby on September/October this year
4. Renewal of vows on our 5th Wedding Anniversary

5. Start-up a business early this year may it be catering or back to online selling

6. Success in my online jobs
7. Success in blogging, hopefully to be able to convert my 2 blogs to dotcom
8. Invest in something worth it this year


8 Things that Happened Yesterday:
1. I Got hired as an administrative officer online.
2. Did the grocery and strolled around mini shopping mall walking distance from our house.
3. Watched 3 movies with hubby and Alyssa.
4. Cried while watching My Sister's Keeper. I know hubby's tears wanted to fall too..LOL
5. Joined the I Blog, I Care Movement.
6. Ironed Alyssa's school uniforms and hubby's office shirts.
7. Grilled steak and had a lovely dinner with hubby and daughty.
8. Trimmed Alyssa's hair.



8 Things I Love About Winter:
1. Snow!
2. My skin's getting fairer. =)
3. Same as Ate Liza's - don't have to dress up really nice when going out
4. Same as Ate Liza's again - have reason of not taking a shower everyday, LOL!
5. I hate going out specially when it's very cold, so most of the time only Alyssa and hubby do the grocery - bad mommy!

6. I get to wear my boots. 
7. My cheeks turns pinkish.



8 Things I Am Passionate About:
1. Cooking and presenting my cooked foods nicely.
2. Baking and baking, but I'm only passionate not good. ;)
3. Day dreaming - business, jobs, car, house and lot. LOL
4. Taking good care of my family and making sure of always being available when they need me.
5. My current online job.
6. Friendster (before), Multiply (before), Facebook (now) and other social networking.
7. Reading and stuffing my mind with all the information I can get about parenting.
8. Reading books, blogs, articles and magazines about life, how to make it worth living.



8 Words/Phrases I Often Use:
1. Alyssa, tidy up time. 
2. I love you baby ko - and Alyssa answers "I Love You, Mommy ko"
3. Love you Dad, bye. (On the phone)
4. ID, Cellphone, Pera, Susi, Baon, Oyster - Checklist every morning before going out of the house.
5. Anong gusto mong ulam, Dad? (Every time the clock strikes at 5pm)
6. Come on, quick. We're late.
7. What did you have for lunch, anak?
8. Let's eat! 


8 Things I Learned from the Past:
1. Being a young mother doesn't mean being an immature one.
2. Family comes first, more than anyone or anything else.
3. Save, save, save - you'll never know when you'll be needing them.
4. Never let material things set your standards of being happy.
5. Live, Laugh, Love - enjoy life and make the most of it.
6. Always let others feel that they are special to you and that you mean so much to them.
7. Have faith and believe in destiny.
8. Being a mother and a wife is the most precious thing that ever happened to me.



8 Blog Friends We Want to Tag:
1. Mommy Iris 
2. Ate Beth 
3. Ate Eds 
4. Mommy Enchie 
5. Mommy Clang
6. Mommy Willa 
7. Mommy Gracy 
8. Mommy Mich

 
Hope you enjoy doing this too, pretty moms!

A smart mommy blogger, Mommy Willa, posted this and I thought joining in will make a little difference. As people says, every little helps.

Calling all bloggers young and old!

Show the world you care! Be a part of the "I Blog, I Care Movement."  Here are the rules on how to join:

1. Copy the "I Blog, I Care" badge and the rules (1 to 6) on this page. 
2. Post these in one or all your blogs. 
3. Tag/invite your other friends to join by sharing this with them.
4.  Leave your post URL here: The Twitterer (http://thetwitterer.blogspot.com/2010/01/i-blog-i-care-movement.html) 
5. For every fifteen (15) blogs joining the I Blog, I Care Movement, a $1.00 donation will be given to the International Committee of the Red Cross. You can also donate directly here: http://www.icrc.org. 
6. Spread the love and show you care.

It's been awhile since I posted an entry for Mommy Moments. It's sad that I missed last week's topic "New Born Days", but I am happy to be able to join this week. 

As Alyssa grows she doesn't stick to just one thing that she likes unlike me when I was young, all I wanted then was anything Hello Kitty. She's been fascinated with Barney, Disney Princesses, Disney shows and when it comes to food and toys, it also varies.


Right now and for a couple of months already she's been so in love with dinosaurs. I think it started when she watched the movie, Dinosaur.

Dinosaur is a 2000 animated film produced by Walt Disney Pictures. It shows good values and I can recommend this movie to others moms whose kids are also into dinosaurs. Now, she likes dinosaur toys and books and she loves learning how they lived, how they were vanished from earth and how their fossils are preserved in museums. That is one reason why she loves museums and doesn't get bored when in there. Apart from dinosaurs, she likes all animals and anything about them. 

This is just one of her many dinosaur toys. 

My dear friend, Joana who also took the dinosaur picture above), gave her My Little Pony DVD and since then she learned to like My Little Pony and even asked it from Santa last Christmas. Again, pony is an animal. =) 

And when bed time comes, she can't sleep without the songs We Are One and Love Will Find Away from the Lion King album. Alyssa's favorites change in a few months or so, but what she already liked before will always have a special place in her heart that she still smiles when recalling them on pictures and videos.

They say that we can only get to know a person really well when we live with him/her in one roof and I agree. Same goes with friends and relatives, but I believe it's much different in married couples. When married couples are in one roof, no matter what they discover about their better halves shouldn't matter at all because they vowed to love each other for better or for worse.

In our 6 years and a month of living together, I think nothing much have changed when it comes to attitudes and personalities. I am still the lazy gal he used to know and he's still the Mr. Nice Guy who helps in house chores. 

Well, Mark is just one simple guy who:
- And I am the one who:

• can't eat veggies when there's no meat, like when tortang talong (aubergine omelette) is for dinner he should have a fried fish or pork on the side - I can eat all veggies alone.
• takes off pickles on his burger - I eat them.
• don't eat garlic and onion, but loves dishes sautéed in them - all garlic and onions goes to my plate.
• gets the table ready for dinner when he arrives from work - and I'm still cooking.
• washes the dishes and prepare the meals on weekends - weekends are my days off.
• gets hold of his notepad and write all things needed to be done the whole day or the next - which i never do.
• is very organized and files all paper bills or any other important documents and put them in a place he never forgets - I don't even know where our passports are and I don't take care of bills because I am really forgetful to the highest level.
• don't get mad when he comes home messy - I will just say, "Sorry, tinamad ako" ("Sorry, I was just too lazy")
• rarely gets mad and just keeps quiet when something's not right - I keep quiet too.
• never fails to give surprises on every occasion, may it be birthday, mother's day, valentine's day, anniversary, Christmas - I try to do the same though he also pays for his gifts so I prefer gift of effort.

These are just a few of what I know about him. I believe I know him from the tips of his hair to the tips of his toes and I better do, right? I am just so lucky and blessed to have a husband who never change, who helps me in household chores even though I just stay the whole day at home and can do everything myself and who just loves me for who I am and accepts me for whatever shortcomings I have. 

This is just a sample of what I am talking about. 

I am so happy to be able to share in Couple's Corner again. Ate Liz has been so good and patient to me and I thank her for creating this meme.  


Please share your stories too by clicking the badge.

When New Year started, I didn't feel any positivity as most people did. I didn't feel much change on myself and my surroundings. Everything was just as normal as last year. I think I didn't have a right start.

Then I thought of the possibilities that would somehow change the vibes I currently have. I told myself that I have to do something for things to come my way. I spent most of my time searching for part-time jobs online. I even tried applying to full-time jobs and told myself that I will sort the before and after-school clubs for my daughter after I get hired. I was also open to applying my daughter to childminders around to take good care of her after school and pick her up when my work's done (though these options are against my will). What I wanted then, or maybe until now is to just GET HIRED.

I received one call regarding my application as a hotel receptionist and though it was part-time he still wanted me to become flexible on the times of work. That alone made me decide not to go further with the interview as I really can't be much flexible. I can work full-time, but it must be fixed hours like the usual 9-5 jobs. Until now all my applications were not considered and this makes me feel so useless and worthless.

Then I tried focusing on oDesk for fully online jobs which was recommended by a dear friend/mommy/blogger named Mommy Iris of entrepremom.info. I improved my profile and took various tests to get myself ready. One buyer offered me a job and after getting through the interview, he said he wanted me for the position. I was so happy that for the first time I will have a job and this is something I would love to do. It's an admin job and I can work on the comforts of my home. But at this very moment we haven't started yet so the real score is, I'm not yet hired. I've applied to other jobs too, but haven't got my luck still.

I just feel so down and disappointed. I don't know what's wrong with me. I want to think that corporate jobs may not really be for me, but I still don't have answer to my question, "WHY?". Then while waiting for my luck, I thought of considering the suggestion of my UK friends of doing a catering business for Pinoy auditors around since they do host parties often and pay so much for food. I tried researching about it and I already started making my business plan. Then another thing crossed my mind, "what if no one orders?", "what if they don't trust my cooking skills?", "what if I get negative feedbacks?" and so much more what ifs. And I know for myself that I am not good, not even close.

Others say I don't have to feel bad because I'm running a household and that I am taking good care of my daughter, but my daughter goes to school and I'm left alone at home doing nothing. House chores doesn't take the whole day to be done. While my husband and daughter's out, I do nothing. Is that how a good wife and mum should be?

Now, I don't know what am I for. Did I finish my studies and earned a degree for nothing? Why  are opportunities seem so unreachable for me? I feel so bad that I'm not good at anything. All I want is to have a job that will still allow me to be a wife and a mother. I don't want this feeling anymore. Dear God, please make 2010 work for me. Please make this year MY YEAR.