Nanny 2015

One of the things that I am grateful at the start of 2015 is having a nanny for James. After so many months of struggle, looking for a nanny, it finally paid off. It was a great relief!

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I had 2 of my Aunts who took care of James last year and both of them only lasted for a month. It was quite annoying kasi kelangan mag send kami ng money para makaluwas sila in Manila then after a month, they have to go home. Let me put an emphasis to “HAVE” kasi parang requirement na kapag sinabi na uuwi na sila, uuwi na talaga sila at wala ng makakapigil pa. Althoug hindi naman ako ang nagsesend ng pamasahe nila, it’s Nanay or my eldest sister, mejo hindi lang maganda ang feeling na hindi man lang sila tumatagal.

November  have passed and it was Nanay who looked after James until halfway of December where I transferred home. That was also the same time na nakahanap si Nanay ng magaalaga kay James.

Ate Lenie was quite okay naman. She takes care of James well and even plays with him at times. James can be very choosy with the people he wants to go with. He doesn’t even want to be carried by anyone else. I don’t know his criteria pero kapag lalaki ang kakarga sa kanya, he’ll go most of the time but if it would be a  girl, never! That’s why I wanted someone who can still catch up with his kakulitan and his being playful. Since ate Lenie is at 30’s, she’s able to handle James well.

When she started halfway of December, I have let her to be on a stay – out basis. She would come in at 7 or 8 in the morning until 6pm. I was in the morning schedule back in December so that set up was fine. Nanay actually didn’t like the idea kasi same lang din naman daw ang babayaran ko, bakit hindi ko na lang daw ipag – stay in. I told her that it’s fine since maaga naman akong umuuwi at the same time, I want James to get use to her one step at a time. Ayaw ko naman na ma shock ang bagets na iba na ang kasama nya every day. Although my and Nanay’s house is walking distance lang, I still want Ate Lenie to stay out at night. Maybe I did that for the benefit of myself. I am in the new phase of my life where I have to live on our own and I have to deal with another person that I have never known. I am not used to having a yaya so I am still in the mindset na nahihiya akong nagtatrabaho sya sa bahay, something like that. I grew up without a yaya in my entire life so I don’t know what it feels like if someone you just met would be your househelp.

Came January, I had the midshift (12pm-9pm) so I required Ate Lenie to stay in our house on weekdays. In the past weeks, she’s having 2 consecutive days off which Nanay again, disliked. She said that she shouldn’t have 2 days off weekly. One would be fine with her daw. My point naman kasi is, we’re usually not at home every weekends and there’s very minimal things to do. Hindi naman kasi kalakihan ang bahay na inuupahan ko and I wasn’t that makalat naman. At the same time, wala pa kaming cable so wala kaming mapaglibangan sa bahay kundi si James. I am about to fix the cable thingy pa kasi eh..

As of the moment, I find her very helpful to me naman. Having a nanny made me have some me time and even rest after work hours.

Our routine on weekays falls like this:

James and I wakes up at 7am while Ate Lenie is up earlier than us. Magsasaing na yan while she’ll have coffee. Us three (James, Me and Daryl) would cuddle a little until 8am where Daryl has to go get ready for work. I would then ask Ate Lenie to buy food sa palengke para makapag luto before I go to work. There’ll be times din na I will be the one to go to palengke kapag sinisipag ako. Wala pa kasi kaming ref so I can’t buy too many food na madaling mabubulok. I or She would look after James until she’s ready to cook for our lunch. That’s around 9am. If the food is cooked early, Daryl and I would get to have our breakfast together. By then, magpapainit na sya ng water so she can bathe James. By this time, Daryl has left and at 9:30, I’ll get ready na to go to work naman. By 10am, I’ll leave the house while James would play or they’ll go to Nanay’s house to watch cartoons.

Daryl and I would come home at around 10:30pm. I don’t often eat na at night. I don’t want to feel bloated before going to sleep while Daryl would sometimes eat and sometimes don’t. James and Ate Lenie are both asleep by then. Daryl and I would catch up on how our days went and would go to sleep in a while.

That’s our everyday routine on weekdays. For weekends it’s different as Ate Lenie would do the laundry while I take care of James. That I want to happen na moving forward. Last couple of weeks kasi, it was Nanay who’s doing the laundry because I don’t like Ate Lenie’s way of paglalaba at pagasasampay. However, since Nanay went to province, Ate Lenie did the laundry. I asked her to go home on a Saturday afternoon na lang kasi mostly, Friday night pa lang umuuwi na yan eh tapos Monday morning na ang balik.

One thing that I noticed was, hindi sya masyadong magalang over me. Hindi ko naman sinasabing bastos sya or anything bad. She was introduced kasi by Nanay as Ate Lenie so I got used to it. Dapat daw, I’ll call her on her first name then she’ll call me Ate as her respect over me – sabi ng sister ko. Parang kabaliktaran kasi yung nangyari. Hehehe. Anyway, ok lang naman. Hindi naman big deal masyado. Although I want to correct it somehow, parang ang hirap, I don’t know how to start. Mejo nasanay lang ako na tumatawag ng ate sa mas matanda sakin. Hayyy.. Pero hindi ko naman na gagawing big deal nga.. keri na yan for now. =) Sometimes, I get piss lang on how she sends me text messages.

At some point, She was asking if she can make bale( advance) daw. OK lang naman sakin and it wasn’t a problem kasi maliit lang naman ang hinihingi.

Me: Ok ate. Mamaya na lang yung xxx mo pag uwi ko.

Ate Lenie: Gwin mung xxx. Blik cu ung xxx s Monday..qng may pera kpa..

Speechless ako mga teng!! I don’t know I just feel na hindi ako ang amo eh. Hahahaha! I am just making fun of it na lang kasi hindi din naman nya siguro intention to sound na nang uutos diba?! Hehe.

It’s her 2^nd month with us on Feb 15 and I am hoping she will last for a long time kasi ok naman talaga sya. =)

Happy Moments with Jami

Hi everyone!

I’ll just show you my precious one’s cute pictures that I took days ago!

I want you to meet Sparky!

That photo was taken two weeks ago before Jami got sick. 

It was a rubber horse that Nanay bought for him last year. He doesn’t know how to ride this one before but now? He’s a pro. There was a song pa with that, “Sparky, Sparky, Sparky! Riding, Riding, Riding”. I don’t know where that song came from but I often hear that with Nanay and Andy, my nephew.

Sparky was Sheriff Callie’s horse from Sheriff Callie’s Wild West. It was a cartoon show at Disney Junior (I’m sure Moms with toddlers know her). 

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 I posted this photo on my facebook account with this caption:

Dear Jami,
Swerte mo, Anak, binilhan ka ni Nanay ng rubber horse. (Sparky name ng horse nya). Samantalang ako dati, bibili lang ng garter sa tindahan para ipang ten - twenty, galit pa sya. Pupukpukin nya pa daw toes ko kasi talon ako ng talon. Eh mas mura kaya yang chinese garter kesa sa sparky mo no!! Yung tataa, Nak? Mas love ka ba ni Nanay kesa sakin?? Hahaha.. ‪#‎tampotampuhan ‪#‎getwellsoon ‪#‎jokelangnanay

Hahahah! I received some likes with that from my playmates, neighbors and 90s baby who felt the same way or maybe remembered those days. =) 

Now, this photo was taken one Saturday night when I was fixing the bed sheet kasi nagsuka sya. I put a spare blanket and just before I was finished with it, he started to lie down. I was telling him to get off the bed so I can fix the blanket nicely but he insisted. He even smiles at me as if he’s trying to get me fascinated with those smile, which anyway, I am. With this happening, I remembered my younger days when my Mom/sister would change the bed sheet, I will lie down too before it’s done. Ang sarap kayang humiga sa kama na bago, fresh at malinis ang sapin diba?! Heheh..So I immediately get the phone from Daryl, who's in the restroom.

Nagtataka pa sya because I was in a hurry. Yun pala, this is what I took :

I posted this picture too on my facebook account with a note:

Naalala ko yung kabataan ko na kapag bagong palit yung sapin, humihiga na ako agad kahit hindi pa tapos ayusin yung sapin! Kahit puro kutos inaabot sa mga kapatid, keri lang.. Sarap ng bagong sapin sa higaan eh. Like mother like son pala.. Si Jami higa agad eh.. Pagaling kana, Anak. Ilulublob na kita sa white beach promise! Loveyou!!

I want him to experience beach kaya I said on the later part na ilulublob ko na sya sa beach (not literally). =)

I have long overdue posts and since Australia Day ngayon, I’ll make bawi with the days that I wasn’t able to blog. =) Stay tuned!

Oh, and this! 

Jollibee and Jami!! He loves Jollibee so much! I didn't imagine that I would be one of those parents who's very joyful kapag nakikita si Jollibee.. =)

Ciao!

James' First Basketball Birthday Party at Shakeys Newport

I have been wanting to celebrate James’ birthday in Shakeys. Unlike food chains, they do offer buffet style. Sa iba kasi, pre-plated na (is there a term like that?). Although they offer din naman na naka plate na ang food,  I find it a little expensive so I chose the buffet style. They have a Monster Meal Deal that can be served as buffet. Check here.

One Monster Meal Deal can serve 10-12 guests so I booked a total of 11 sets which will be good for 120+ guests. I paid a total of 13,000 for the down payment as they require 50% of your total meal. I am actually expecting more than 120 guests, however, I chose to book only 11 sets as I know that I can add more sets in case we need to. I was struggling as to which branch I will celebrate James’ birthday given that Shakey’s function rooms can only accommodate up to 80-100 persons. I have checked in Aseana, Macapagal, It was newly established and looks convenient from where the visitors are coming but I opted not to kasi they want me to get their Justice League amenities which totally walang kinalaman sa theme na gusto ko which was basketball. Anyway, I ended up with Shakey’s Newport. It was inside Star Cruises building in front of Naia Terminal 3 which I found convenient too because most of the visitors are coming from Pasay and Las Pinas.

Here are the photos of the buffet set up.

 Sadly, sa dami ng taong pumunta, hindi naging organize yung pagpila sa buffet. We were helped by 2-3 crew of  Shakeys but it wasn’t enough. Given that the space were so masikip at the same time, sa dami ng tao, hindi naging maayos ang distribution ng food pero good thing was, everyone was able to eat naman except for my own family kasi there were seats for them. My sister dined in na lang so they can seat sa isang table that is reserved for guests who will be dining in. It would cost P70,000 for me to reserve the whole store naman daw while is definitely over the budget. =(

I didn’t get any magician or host for the party. I took advantage of the free host from Shakeys. She had some games where the kids actively participated. 

Since we were able to book more than 25,000 worth of food, they gave us a free giant pizza. Yeheey! Yan talaga ang inabangan ko jan eh. (pictures to follow) =)

Anyhow, hearing the feedback from the guests, nabusog at nag enjoy naman silang lahat. James was quite shock because ang daming tao talaga. Blockbuster ang first birthday nya! There were some who weren’t able to sit down na because all of their seats were occupied. =( I asked the manager if we can have more chairs pero there were some seats daw kasi na good for 6 dapat na hindi naman nasunod. Hindi ko naman din sila masisi kasi sobrang dami nga ng guests namin. Later part of the party where everyone is having a good meal, the manager advised me na wala na daw food. I asked her to get 3 more sets of Monster Meal Deal which was gone in seconds. Hahaha! I think the guests really enjoyed the food! I was not able to eat at all given that we were so busy checking if everyone else were able to eat.

Since I had my own theme, I have to pay an additional P1,000 corkage fee. There were some restrictions like -  I can’t use any logo of any basketball team whether local or international. It will be pure generic as they said which I said will be fine. Aside from that, I had my own balloon décor, a lechon and a salad. Oh! And the suman sa lihiya which was all James’ lola’s idea. All of these has additional corkage fee.

We actually arrived an hour late of the party because of the terrible traffic in Paranaque but the Shakey’s management was good enough not to charge us for an extension. =) Good thing there was no party after us.

Overall, I had a good time with Shakeys not to mention the good food that they served us. On top of that, they gave James a birthday gift too.. =) A lunch box and a gym bag.

Happy Birthday to this little man!

 To my Dear Boy,

Hi baby! You grow up really really fast, I can't catch up!! I hope you take it one step at a time. You know so many things na that I have enumerated on my previous posts. I know someday you will be able to go through this blog which I hope reminds you to be the baby you are right now. You are the most precious thing that ever happened to me, second is Daddy, Nanay and Family, Friends and Travel. I can't ask for more for I am really blessed having all of these things. You see, you remind me that material things are not important, you are! Everyday, we cuddle and play, you are blabbering every now and then. You know now how to get mad when I grabbed something from your hand that you shouldn't be touching anyway. You cry when you don't get what you want. Having that said, I can't get mad at you. When you smile, I melt. Maybe that's motherhood.. Mama and Daddy loves you so much and we'll do everything to protect you, to love you, to guide you and provide you the best that we can. Stay healthy and sweet!

Love,
Mama


I'll post the other services that I took advantage on my next posts! =) Stay tuned! 

Hong Kong Noodles Part 2

Last week, while waiting for Daryl to pick me up here in the office, Ate Annie and I went to Hong Kong Noodles while catching up on some chikahan. The first time I was there, I wasn’t happy with the food I ordered. Nainggit kasi ako sa isang kasama namin who ordered their friend chicken so this time, I made sure na yun ang order ko. I wanted a congee sana kaya lang not available daw so I was forced to order the chiken with plain rice.Since it was just a walking distance away from the office, it became one of our go-to place with my batchmates. I am so glad I have been introduced here because if it was just me, malamang I won't try it kasi iisipin kong puro dimsum lang ang andito. =)

I found their meal really sulit because the chicken tasted like the one in Max’s Restaurant for only 100+ along with a regular iced tea or pineapple juice.

The Chili sauce was great too..

Ate Annie ordered the same menu I had and we consumed our food in no time while having chikahan..

 And here's Ate Annie, posing for Hong Kong Noodles and Dimsum Model of the year! =)

Later on, I ordered another set for Daryl so he could give it a try. He enjoyed it too.. I am looking to try other food in their menu in the future. =)

Verdict: 

The food, specially what I ordered is great. I loved the chicken and the Chili sauce.. 

The restaurant looks fine although I find their lights a little low, parang ang dilim tuloy.
I didn't like where we were seated kasi we can smell the mapanghing restroom

Overall, I had a great experience and will surely be back! =) Anyway, it's just couple of steps away from our office. =)

Hong Kong Noodles and Dimsum

Chino Roces Corner Dela Rosa Street,

Legaspi Village, Makati City

Too Cold; My Toddler is Sick

Couple of days ago, James has been sneezing a lot. I know from there that he would soon have a cough or colds or even both. Sobrang lamig na kasi ng weather ngayon. True enough, I noticed every night that he’s coughing as if nangangati yung lalamunan nya. I let  him drink his medicine for cough, Asmalin Broncho was the last syrup he’s been given at 2ml. Although it wasn’t consistent na nakakainom sya. It was like, once or twice a day lang naaalala ng baby sitter ko. I noticed na parang hindi nawawala yung cough so last Tuesday, less than a week when he started ng paubo – ubo, I had him checked at Alabang Medical Clinic in Las Pinas. He gained weight so his dosage was increased at 3ml. He was also given an antihistamine and disudrin for his colds.

He was also asked to be nebulized for 4 days dahil parang ma phlegm na yung cough nya. 

Whenever I come home, saka lang sya nane nebulize although ang bilin ng doctor is before bedtime. Ate Lenie doesn’t know how to use the nebulizer din and Nanay is so scared naman to use so James have to wait until I go home. His doctor advised too to pat his back daw after nebulizing. Like this..

 

During those time na sobrang tindi ng ubo nya, he cries at night sa kakaubo and he’s quite irritated too. His nose is clogged din kasi aside pa sa paubo-ubo nya. There were also time pa na nasusuka sya sa kakaubo. Nakakaawa talaga.. sleepless nights.

Currently, I can see that he’s feeling a lot better. Hindi na kasi sya masyadong umiiyak sa gabi unlike the last couple of days. Anyhow, I am still looking forward in bringing him to his doctor for follow up checkup. Para lang malaman if his cough got better ba. He’s continuing his anti-histamine for 2 weeks while his meds for cough and colds will be until tomorrow only.

His pedia advised me to get his vaccines completed daw. As of the moment kasi, hindi ko pa rin nako complete yung vaccines nya. I am starting to worry kasi I can see nowadays how important it is. Tama naman si Doc, investment din naman ‘to kasi it is an additional protection din for them. I noticed that it’s mostly cough and colds ang nakukuha ni James which the pedia suggested to get him the Pneumococcal vaccine. It costs P3,500 on his pedia which is definitely nakakaiyak pero I have heard of Jacob’s Ladder Immunization and I am looking forward to check kung ok ba dun.

Any suggestions, Mommies?