Adios, Mi Abuela Julia

My Apo Julia was laid to rest today.  She was 95 years old.  Apo is the best grandmother one can ever have.  She was caring, thoughtful and very loving to her kids, grand kids and great grand kids. I am her youngest grandchild, and my dad is her youngest son.  We were spoiled rotten by her.  I remember she once told me that she wouldn't go to rest until she sees me give birth.  She did not only wait for me to give birth but she was able to see my kids too.  Even though she already had senile dementia and could not really recognize people that are even close to her, she still knows and seek for my kids.  It's unfortunate that I was not there to bring her to her final destination.  I will surely miss her and all the things she has done for us.  I will always keep you in my heart, Apo.  Rest in peace +

A hard habit to break

I'm officially hooked to online shopping!
Living in Papua New Guinea, there isn't much here in terms of shopping.  In fact there's nothing here!
For the past few years, for us to get a decent piece of clothing, we had to buy our things whenever we go home to the Philippines.  From clothes, shoes, toys and the ever important underwear, we had to get from somewhere else.  So imagine my happiness when finally, I was able to order "the necessities" from the internet.  It opened a whole new world for us.  It made living in PNG more pleasant and comfortable.
Now, I'm thinking of making a business out of this compulsion.  I would love to be someone else's personal shopper.  Doing what I do best and getting paid for it?...Not bad at all.   

Down and out

I miss blogging. Things have been busy lately that I rarely find time to organize my thoughts...much more put it into writing. The stress is too much lately.  I've been down with Malaria two times in a months time.  As if I haven't had enough, Flu came in next.  What's going on?  Is my body telling me to slow down, or perhaps de-stress a little? 
Anyway, I am well now.  Thank God for that!  I miss playing with my kids and doing my daily routine.  I wouldn't want to stay sick forever.

My Bestfriend's Wedding

I have waited a long time for this moment to arrive so imagine the excitement when my best friend, Joy told me about it.  I was literally jumping and screaming with delight.  I haven't seen her in a long time and I don't really know much about her anymore.  For her to ask me to be her Matron of Honor, still is a big deal for me.  I know that she already have some new set of close friends that could probably relate to her more...but best friends will always be best friends no matter what the distance.

As the wedding day drew near, I prepared myself and flew to Manila.  I am by the way living in Papua New Guinea now.  I'll only be in Manila for one short week and really have so many things to do.  First thing I did was to call her and ask if she needs me to do something for her.  She just asked me to go to the couturier and fit my gown for repair.  She also reminded me to prepare a speech for the party.  Now, this was harder than I thought.  Come wedding day, I went straight to the church where the ceremony would be.  Everybody they hold dear were there, and I was happy to be amongst the witnesses.  This was the first time I'll be meeting the groom.  I don't really know much about him.  When I saw Eric, he greeted me as if we have known each other forever.  That was a nice feeling, and I can sense some good vibes from him.  I can tell that he really is a good man, worthy of my best friend.
 

The entourage was already inside the church and getting ready to march, I still haven't seen Joy.  Finally, her car arrived and she peeped thru the slightly open window and called me.  When I saw her, my heart pounded really hard...this is the most beautiful she has ever been.  We hugged and got teary eyed, holding back tears just so we can save our make-ups.  Standing, waiting for her to make an entrance I keep telling myself that I will not cry.  But as I saw her coming near, I just couldn't help myself.  I let go of a river of tears...of happiness of course.  This was the day we have dreamed off and it turned out really well.

While we were all waiting for the newlyweds to arrive at the reception, I took the time to make my speech.  Yes, I only did it then when I had a year to prepare for it.  Anyway, I wasn't able to eat because I was anticipating that they'd call my name anytime for the speech.  A very bored crowd, two song numbers and five speeches later, they call me.  I had my piece written so I wouldn't choke but as soon as I took my place in the podium and looked at the couple, I started trembling.  I got so emotional that I was not able to read what I have prepared.  Damn those tears!  The best part though is when I was done with my speech, almost everyone was in tears and applauding.  So, I think I did a good job, and delivered a heartfelt message to them.    After all the crying comes party time! It truly was a lovely and memorable night.

 

It is time

I'm back! Remember the secret I've been keeping since January...here it is. You can see me on this months' issue of SMART PARENTING magazine. This was taken last January 5, 2007 when I was still 7 months pregnant with my twins. The bulge is gone now and I've already given birth last February 16, 2007, 1:09am and 1:10 am to two adorable boys.
It was around 10:30pm, I was watching Maging Sino Ka Man at home with my mom while munching on some peanuts when I felt the urge to urinate. I tried to slide out of the bed when my waterbag broke. At first I thought it was just urine but when I stood up, lots of water came gushing out. I told my mom, "Manganganak na yata ako." She started to panic, called my dad who started to panic too. I called my husband on his mobile phone and asked him to go home immediately for I might go into labor. Then we called my OB, she told us to proceed to the hospital and have myself admitted. It was not until 11pm that my husband arrived and we went to UST hospital. I was brought directly to the labor room, had my contractions monitored, had an UTZ and I.E.. Both are still in breech position. When the Anesthesiologist arrived, I got transferred to the O.R., and had a CS.
My baby boy Holiday got delivered at 1:09am followed by baby boy Hunter at 1:10am.
Finally, they're out and I was already put to sleep after taking a glance at them.

Counting down

I've been a little busy this past week doing what i do best, shopping! Funny how one's priorities change when you have a child to think about, more so if you're having two. With all the sale going on, I couldn't buy something for myself. I'm feeling guilty about spending. However, I feel like I'm in shopping heaven when I'm at the kids department buying things for my babies needs. I only have a few weeks to prepare for their arrival and when that time comes, I want to be ready. My dad has been so patient driving me around town. He's not much of a traveller and he definitely hates going to the mall. I know he's also as thrilled as I am that's why he gives in to my requests. Talk about emotional black mail.

Anyway, I met with my bestfriend yesterday. She's the first person I have on my list of Godmothers for the twins. Probably, the best one for the job. It's unfortunate that we didn't have the luxury of time to spend together this time. Nevertheless, I'm glad for the time we had however short it was.

Counting down, just 3 more weeks before J arrives, and 7 weeks to go before I give birth to my babies. I hope we make it to 37 weeks. Time flies.

P.S. I've got a little secret and it won't be out til April.

Welcome 2007

Happy New Year, everyone!
I hope you all had a wonderful feast.
Having to celebrate the holidays without J was hard. Though I had my parents and his siblings to cheer me up, it's not the same without him. I tried to show I'm happy but the longing kept haunting me when I'm alone. Still, I'm doing my best to face each day with glee and excitement for my babies sake.
As for me, I started a countdown...
4 weeks until Jayson is back, 8 weeks until my babies come out!

Halfway There

Thank God! I'm halfway through the pregnancy. The twins are doing well, growing right, and healthy. The OB-Sonologist said that we might be having two little boys but she hasn't confirmed it to us yet, not until the sixth month when we can see the organs more clearly. Nevertheless, we were happy to know of the possibility of having boys. So thrilled, I started buying some baby clothes in neutral colors.
Every week, my belly is getting an inch larger. I got my appetite back. I'm starting to feel those back pains and leg cramps and it's getting harder to sleep and breathe. I'm not complaining though. I love being pregnant!
Anyway, my husband, Jayson just left for Papua New Guinea yesterday. It wasn't an easy thing to go through especially with the hormones I'm battling with. Emotions ran high and I just couldn't stop crying. I miss him every second of the day. I'm so used to him by my side that I feel incomplete. I know that he'll do what he's supposed to do there. I just need to be strong for our babies sake. That's it for now.

It's good to be back!
I just had the longest three days of my life.
Spotting... bright red fresh blood. It scared the hell out of me...and the whole of our clans. There was a dark cloud that hung over us. Having these precious babies in mind, we sought medical help and was admitted for Threatened Abortion (intrauterine bleeding, with or without contractions, a closed cervix and no passage of products of conception). I had to stay at the hospital for two days for observation and complete bedrest (with no bathroom privileges).
At first, I thought the bleeding came from my urinary tract (assuming that I may have a small stone) but the urinalysis didn't confirm my hunch. Fortunately, the ultrasound showed that the twins are doing well, growing fast, very active, and there was no sign of bleeding from within. So, I had to take some medicine and had to be confined to the bedroom for two more months. I can't even go downstairs, much more go to the mall. The price I have to pay is high but I wouldn't want to risk having to lose my little ones. I don't think anybody would want that.
I thought something like this this won't happen to me but it did.
We're just glad that for the meantime, I'm feeling fine.
We're so grateful for the prayers and support that we've been getting from our family and friends. Most of all, I'm so thankful for having a husband like Jayson. I know he's tired but he never once complained.
Got to go and rest now. Til next time.