On Track

the past week has been really hectic. mornings were the busiest. it was the first week into our health club membership and we were still trying to find our groove. so far, tantan's happy with my efforts to maximise our membership. we've been to the gym everyday for the past week, except thursday (because we've got lots of house chores to catch up on).

the kids went to creche, as me and my mom attended a class or went to the gym to workout. actually, getting everyone ready is already a workout in itself. but honestly, i didnt mind. i was quite happy to be up early and out the house by 10am (and some days, 9am). i dont know why but i really feel motivated. i hope this isnt just in the beginning!

paparazzi shot lol

im happy and quite surprised really that cayden didnt mind being left with strangers in creche. as soon as we enter, he goes to the toys or crafts table and he'll be doing his thing. it's like we dont exist! kian on the other hand, is a diff story. he usually cries due to the fact that he's got stranger anxiety and it's nap time. he sleeps on the drive there and doesnt appreciate being woken up to be given to strangers. and staying with them for at least an hour! but as soon as he's in the buggy, pushed around the room, he dozes off.

my mom and i had our gym induction. we have the same goals - build up stamina and endurance first, then lose the tummy then tone up. our programme is fairly easy and i can already feel the burn in my abs! the class that we go to, body balance (a mix of tai chi, yoga and pilates) reinforces those goals. tantan goes to a body balance class too, at night and sometimes, i accompany him. im trying zumba next with my mom (so hard to book this class, always fully booked!) and aqua zumba with tantan. and once we've improved our stamina, we'll be joining other "higher level" classes.

mom sweating it out

watching the news while walking on the treadmill

ready for body balance

thursdays and fridays will be our most toxic days. thursdays, from the gym, the boys will be attending kindermusik. after lunch, cayden and i will be heading back to the gym so cayden can attend an arts and crafts class. fridays, the kids will be attending their swimming class after mine and mom's gym date. sounds tiring but really manageable.

view of one of the pools

there are lots of other things that we have yet to explore and take advantage of. i dont know where to begin! im really thankful that we decided to enroll. imagine, lots of activities for the whole family at an affordable package! downside is, these will certainly make our days go by even quicker lol

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
visit:

Swim Swim Swim

our postponed plans finally pushed through this afternoon. a week late! the kids had fun. surprisingly, cayden seemed confident swimming about. well, mostly jumping (in shallow water), sliding, walking and piggyback-ing on daddy in the lazy river. swimming lessons started yesterday but we didnt go because we're an adult short. hopefully, the experience earlier helped the boys become familiar with the swimming venue so come next swimming session, they're ready.

aside from the swimming, we finally signed up for the health club membership. paid for the whole year too so there's no backing out now (if not, that'd be serious money down the drain. tantan wont be too happy =D). that means, im obligated to go, as much as i can should (according to tantan!). im excited though, unlike the last time we joined (diff gym), because this club offers more. im really looking forward to booking their tennis and badminton courts. plus, there's arts and crafts for the kids, all inclusive! those and the other things i mentioned previously.

even the kids have their own card

i've booked mine and mom's induction on tuesday. we'll also be able to try out their creche and see how the kids will take it. funny though, i cant seem to shake off the thought of having buffet food after working out! of course, i wont succumb to temptation *fingers crossed*. that would defeat the purpose of this whole health club thing =D

anyhoo, happy that i'm finally a step closer to my ultimate goal - having a sexy body! *insert evil laugh here* =D.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
visit:

Rapids

we were supposed to go swimming at the romsey rapids saturday afternoon but werent able to go because the kids and i overslept. tantan didnt wake us up coz he didnt want to disturb our nap. yes, the pool is open till 6pm (we woke up at 4:30) but the membership office is only open till 4:30 (saturday) and they're closed on a sunday.

wait, what membership? i have mentioned a few posts ago about us joining a health club. aside from going swimming, we were supposed to pay for the health club membership (family membership: 2 adults and kids, yes, no limit on the number of kids as long as they're your own). that would have covered the use of their pool. but since the office is already closed, we didnt go. no point paying separately when we can have unlimited access by joining.

anyways, why this health club? main reason is, they have creche (unlimited use). so while the adults are working out or attending classes, there's someone who'll look after the kids. and there will be activities set for them as well as exposing them to other kids. nice no?

the others are just bonus:
- unlimited use of the pool, sauna, gym, studio, spa
- discounts in swimming (the kids are enrolled here), tennis (which we plan for the kids to take), etc lessons
- you can go to affiliate sites, which offer the same facilities with other extras (use of tennis, badminton, netball, basketball courts), softplay for kids (bouncy castles, etc)
- lake side activities (boating, golf)
- no price increase even after several years. it's like you lock the price (not guaranteed though but they've been practicing this for the longest time and they dont see that changing anytime soon)

and if you pay for the whole year in one go, you dont have to pay the start up fee.

since tantan's working and wont get home in time to catch the membership office open, we'll be waiting till next saturday before we can join. just as well because my mom's arriving next week and she'll be enrolling too. we'll all start at around the same time. but we promised the kids will go there first thing so we can go swimming as promised before picking my mom up at the airport. but for now, this kept them happy:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

visit:

August Bank Holiday Weekend

it was lovely spending some quality time with my little family and friends. we havent gone out in a long while (travelled). we usually just meet up in each other's houses, during special occasions, but never really went away like we used to. having kids really changes everything. no regrets though. we just have to make some minor adjustments =D

1st stop was cheddar gorge. we wanted to go somewhere we havent been to. my friend, celine, was in charge of researching/scouting for places where we can go because i'm busy with mommyhood =D. she suggested cheddar gorge and when i told tantan, he said he's familiar with the place because his former boss, who lives in the same county, suggested the place years ago, when they were still working together, but we never got around to going.

i think their website is too hyped up. i dont know, but i was a little disappointed when we got there. there were caves but i've seen better (sagada). it's also not that baby friendly because obviously, the buggies cant go everywhere (although their website promotes it as a "great family day out"). probably if the kids are a little bit older, we might have enjoyed the activities more.

the place itself is lovely, with quaint little shops that i love. but other than that, the over 2hrs travel time isnt that worth it.

inside gough's cave: ORIGINAL cheddar cheese =D

day 2: longleat safari and adventure park. tantan and i have been there twice before. good thing because we werent able to go around this time. to be able to really enjoy the place, you'll need at least 2 days to get around. we only had 1 day because when we booked our tickets, there was no option for a 2day ticket. we booked our tickets as a joint offer with cheddar gorge.

anyways, we spent most of our time in the safari park. it was raining on/off so we didnt get to appreciate the animals more. the traffic? horrendous! people were spending forever taking pictures of each animals, like they havent seen them before! seriously, you dont need to spend 30minutes just to take a picture of a monkey! what should have been an hour cruise of the whole safari park, took almost 3 hours!

we then met up with our other friends. after lunch, we just went for 2 more activities (boat and train ride) and we went back to southampton for a late dinner. it was mine and celine's joint belated birthday celebration.

last stop was stourhead. it was actually a last minute decision. we were choosing between that and mottisfont garden, which is nearer. but because it was sunny and we wanted to take advantage, we trooped back to warminster (near longleat), over an hour's drive, to go to the most breathtaking garden you'll ever see. we've been there countless of times (me and tantan) and we still couldnt get over its beauty and serenity. we really recommend it to everyone.

the boys played football (soccer) and cayden perfected rolling down the hill. i played with him until i got dizzy!

it was really a fun 3 day break. i wonder when we'll be able to do that again.....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
visit:

Swamped

for a 2nd straight year, we havent done much for the summer. last year, i was in my first trimester (with kian) and wasnt feeling particularly well. dont get me wrong, i still had a relatively easy pregnancy but because my mom was away at that time, cayden just turned one, and i was spotting, we decided to take it slow and didnt go out much.

this year, tantan's swamped with work. well, their company is swamped with work because they get new clients everyday (which is good really. better that than none, right?). he has to work most weeknights (at home) and weekends (saturday, from home. sunday, he goes to the office) since may. they even hired contractual help to get through most of the work. just tonight, tantan said, "you cant imagine how much work i/we need to do" (not complaining, we were just chatting). he also said he doesnt see it calming down until the end of the year and might even carry on till after the new year.

fortunately, tantan is enjoying what he's doing. plus, they are very well compensated. and on the sundays that they work in the office, their boss treats them to lunch =D. but sometimes i cant help but think, is it all worth it (i mean the money)? we dont get to have as much family time as we want to. and it's only during summer that we get to go out and travel. sadly, we havent done much of that. soon, it'll be autumn and winter, and we'll be in hibernation mode again.

dont get me wrong, he hasnt slacken on his daddy duties. he tries to play with the kids as much as he can as soon as he comes home. but i want us to do more as a family. i shouldnt be complaining really. it pays for all the family's wants (and i we have a lot! lol). maybe when my mom comes back in less than a month i'll feel differently. at least i'll be able to bring the kids out more often. and come september, our schedule will be busy again, with both kids doing kindermusik and swimming lessons. plus, we're going back to the gym so that will keep everyone occupied.

the thing is, time goes by so quickly. i want us to be able to cherish the kids while we still can (because they're still dependent on us!). time will come when they dont want to be seen much with the old 'rents! oh well. dont mind me. im just pooped from all this bumming in the house!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
visit:

Water Margin

as a belated birthday treat, we had chinese buffet for lunch. it was raining but we didnt worry because of our gigantic umbrella! the WHOLE family fits! lol!

62" windproof umbrella

i was craving for some crispy aromatic duck so i suggested we go to this chinese resto that we havent been to. it was buffet but you have to order from the menu. there were lots to choose from! they were kinda strict though with how the food is served. starter kung starter, then the main course (some resto will ask you if you want everything served at once). buti na lang the aromatic duck is intermediate, meaning you can order it whenever. i chose to have it as starter.

i had these all to my self! the whole aromatic crispy duck platter!

i'd rate the food 7 out of 10. they can improve on the taste a little bit (i want my food a bit salty). but everything's freshly served then meron pang heater on the table. tantan teased me that i ordered and ate more than him so it's fair to say i enjoyed the food! i had the aromatic crispy duck platter, yang chow rice, chicken with onions and pineapples, beef with mushroom and bean sprouts, squid in spicy chili sauce, king prawn in schezuan sauce. it's not that much! lol

one thing we didnt like, they didnt have any high chairs. cayden was generally behaved but towards the end, he was leaving his seat. he stayed within our area though but he was reaching for this and that.

we were stuffed, we only had green peas and corn for dinner! ok fine, i had 3 croissants and a mug of cold milk for midnight snack =D

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
visit:

Hop Hop Hop!

when we went to the eden project in cornwall back in april, we had so much fun with these hoppers:

tantan and i said if we find something small enough for the kids to play with, we'd buy it. so when we found this hopper while grocery shopping, we bought it immediately, thinking it's what we're looking for. the box is really small, that's why =D. unfortunately, it's not small enough. cayden cant get on it by himself. if he wants to ride it, he would bring it near kian's crib, hold the hopper in place while he uses the side railings of the crib to get on top of the hopper. then he will bounce while holding on to the crib. how smart! no one told him to do it that way.

for now, the hopper's used as a ball to kick around with (most of the time) =D

One Fine Day

last sunday, the sun finally came out. that's after weeks of really shitty weather. you would think you're in manila during rainy season instead. anyways, the day started foggy but come lunch time, the sun made an appearance. so off we went.

original plan was just to go to a Pick Your Own Farm in the New Forest for strawberry picking then go home right away. but on our way to the farm, cayden suddenly said "mommy, daddy, beach". tantan and i exchanged looks, both of us thinking, where did he get that idea from! but really, we should stop being amazed - we know where he gets those ideas from lol! tantan suggested dropping the strawberry picking and go straight to the beach instead. i said we can do both. might as well take advantage of the perfect weather, right?

we arrived at the farm at about 2pm. of course, the kids were protected with spf 50 sunblock! cayden started running around, really excited with this new environment. he immediately started picking out strawberries, which by the way, he's already seen being done on tv! as he picked them out, he was eating them, which he shouldnt have bec the strawberries are paid by the pound lol! i think we should have paid doubled by the amount we've "tasted". sorry, we're bad like that! it was very tempting - they grow really yummy strawberries!

stuffing himself full with yummy strawberries!

anyways, i love the farm! the lone structure looks like a sari sari store. the farm has got a very homey feel to it (might just be me!). most importantly, the strawberries are very red, juicy and sweet! not to mention, very affordable! got to go back soon =D

after that, we headed to christchurch quay. we dropped the "beach" for the quay because we remembered that the quay has a playground in it, which we're sure cayden will enjoy more. plus the view is much much nicer. that quay is actually one of our favorite hangouts, been there countless of times before. on the way, cayden was saying, "hey, beach" over and over which actually sounded like "hey, bitch". it was so funny!

we were hoping the brass band's still there but we got there a little too late. as we were parking, they were leaving. but we werent that disappointed because there was a fair and a rock band was playing contemporary tunes. love!!

cayden didnt play in the playground as we hoped. but it's because he was already enjoying the swans, the pigeons, the yachts, the trees. i really love going there! even kian had fun. he was babbling and chuckling and really engaging.

this type of family bonding really tramps out all the gadgets money can buy! we want our kids to enjoy family time and nature and enjoy the childhood my generation enjoyed. so please, mr. sun, come out more often, wont you?