Zumba Sampler

tantan's 1st zumba class. a 45min video, condensed to a 7min sampler. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED (it's looong and you'll see mostly tantan's butt LOL - but that's the point. i know you want to see him shimmy! =D)!

notice the girl wearing black sleeveless top and gray trousers, WOW! (unfortunately, it's not me lol). tantan is inspired to attend zumba bec of her =D

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Our Weekdays

my mom is on holiday since last week. she wont be back till the 2nd week of september. so i am now fully in charge of the household. i dont mind doing all the work except for one chore - cooking! yes, i dread that most of all! leave me with a toddler and a baby - easy peasy! cooking - i'll go crazy! seriously, i hate cooking and i envy those that have passion for it. i think about those (would be) missed bonding sessions with the kids over cooking and baking - not =D (we can bond in lots of other ways!)!

anyways, i wake up around 7:30am (or 8 depending on what i'll cook). i cook breakfast, prepare tantan's baon for work and i cook our food for lunch, which will last till dinner. good thing the boys are not picky eaters! i have to have everything ready by 8:30 because tantan has to prepare for work. he has to be out of the house by 9 coz his call time at work is at 9:30am. convenient, huh? he can look after the boys while i do my chores. cayden wakes up at around 7:30am. kian wakes up whenever his kuya wakes him up =D. or if he sensed im not around anymore (which ever comes first! =D).

tantan will feed cayden his breakfast while i bathe kian. then i bathe cayden while kian happily plays by himself. we're usually done by around 9:30am. we watch tv, play with lego, colour cayden's colouring books, attempt to teach cayden his numbers, letters, colours (which he tries to dodge!), feed kian. lunch is served at 12. i put the kids down for a nap at 12:30pm. most of the time (so far), cayden falls asleep quickly. so by around 1-1:30, it's ME time (i surf the net, eat my lunch - i have breakfast so i dont feel hungry yet when i feed cayden - watch tv, wash the dishes). kian will sleep no matter what =D! i just feel annoyed at myself that i couldnt fall asleep when the kids are! but i think the fact that i sleep early at night leaves me with more energy to last the day.

cayden wakes up around 3pm and if lucky, around 4. we play some more, watch tv, video chat with daddy if he's not too busy (mostly one way. cayden just wants to see his dad. tantan carries on with work =D). feed kian. tantan comes home around 6:45. we have dinner. i wash the dishes then take a shower. the kids are put down to sleep at around 9pm. most of the time, i sleep as soon as kian's asleep. but sometimes, i stay up longer to surf the net (just like tonight =D). but i make sure i sleep not later than 12midnight.

so there. nothing toxic. the days are coming along smoothly and relatively relaxed. well, except for when i think of what to cook next! =D

Father's Day

finally, no more weekend OT for tantan! hurray! just as well as it's father's day and you gotta spend it with family, right? that's after 3 weekends (both saturday and sunday!!) of OT work and countless of late night weekdays, even bringing work home. he's trying to save for kian's birthday treat to disneyworld, florida (ok, keeping my fingers crossed that tantan doesnt change his mind lol). 55 hours more and the trip will be covered! bring it on hehe!

ok, im digressing. if you ask tantan what he wants as a gift (be it his birthday, christmas for that matter), he'd say he doesnt need anything as he's got us (naks! pogi points =D). i dont insist on buying him at that point because he really has everything - US! lol. kidding aside, it's difficult to buy him a gift because he's not into clothes (he's still wearing his shirts from 10 years ago! if you look at his pictures, his shirts are all repeats!!!) - he specifically instructed me not to buy him clothes. he's into gadgets but he already has most of it. and he'd kill me if i buy something very expensive. what i usually do is let him WANT something and then buy it for him (if he ever wants anything!). oh wait, for father's day, i bought him a pair of hi-cut chuck taylor's so the whole family has one (sya na lang wala =D). sana lang kasya!

anyhoo, to celebrate, we ate out. since im craving for japanese food again, we had japanese! to our amazement, cayden saw the chopsticks and said, "chop-tik" excitedly. we dont use chopsticks at home and he's never heard us say that. but of course, he saw it on disney's special agent oso once or twice - the tv is really doing him good! lol - and picked it up! he even knew how to hold it!!! of course he still doesnt know how to properly use it so he ended up putting food in between the "sticks". aint he cute? =D. he didnt wanna eat with either spoon or fork, chop-tik only!

kian, on the other hand, got bored in his buggy so he had to be carried. he would try to reach thingies on the table. we think he's ready to eat! he wants to eat!!! of course, he's still too young for solid food. im thinking of starting him next month, when he's 5m/o (same age cayden started his solids). but tantan said to leave it till his 6th month. we'll see....

after the meal, we stopped by the mall to do some shopping (and you'd think it's mother's day instead lol!). it's a happy happy day, indeed!!!

to daddy tantan, happy happy father's day!!! you're the best husband, father and provider for us! i know you'll move heaven and earth just to give us what we need (and a little of what we want lol)! we love you very very very very much!!!

entertaining cayden when he got bored

ok, this is just you (we didnt make you wear that!!)!
he left his sunnies in the car bec it was cloudy when we got to the parking area. but when we got out of the restaurant, it was sunny and he said he's sensitive to light (*rolls eyes*). since my mom's the only one who brought sunglasses, he borrowed hers. he didnt care that he looked ludicrous!! 

Sa Wakas!

pagpasensyahan na po at tagalog itong entry na ito (as if naman madaming nagbabasa! lol). baka lang po me makabasang puti (lalong lalo na ang mga dating pinaglilingkuran ni tantan =D).

ang aking asawa po ay umalis sa kanyang pinagtatrabahuhan dito sa me amin dahil nainis sya sa knyang mga kasamahan. unang una, pinapapasok sila ng sabado at linggo lalo na kung me mga hinahabol silang deadlines. buti sana kung sila ay babayadan ng OT or papayagan lumiban ng ibang araw. kaya lang ito ay magiging "salamat po" na lang. tapos sabi nya, ang daming chismoso sa knila. minsan nga, backstabbing na ang nangyayari. sa sobrang inis nya, umalis sya sa trabaho ng wala pa syang trabahong lilipatan. kakatakot d b? huling araw nya doon ay noong katapusan ng enero.

ok lang na wala syang trabaho ng pagpasok ng pebrero dahil ako ay nakatakdang manganak. at least, makakasama namin sya sa bahay ng hindi kelangan mag-leave. subalit sya ay nagaapply apply naman ng trabaho. mahirap kayang mawalan ng work dahil kelangan mabuhay ng aming pamilya, lalo pa't dalawa na ang aming mga anak.

pinalad naman syang makakuha ng trabaho at nagsimula sa huling linggo ng pebrero. mas malayo sya pero hindi na nya kelangan magbiskleta, na aking ikinatuwa! ok naman ang trabaho nya, mabait ang mga kasamahan subalit itong kumpanyang ito ay hindi kalakihan. ok ang sweldo, mas mataas ng 2k kesa sa iniwan nyang trabaho. at ang maganda nito, makalipas ang 3 bwan, tataas ng dagdag 3k pa ang sweldo. subalit si tantan ay hindi masyado masaya sa trabaho. ito ay dahil lamang wala sya masyadong ginagawa. iniisip nya na wala syang matututunan dahil hindi challenging ang trabaho.

by southafrikanse

nung me mag imbita sa knya na dalawang kumpanya para sa interview, hindi sya nagdalawang isip. pinalad syang tanggapin nung isang kumpanya. ang sweldo ay pareho lamang ng sa pinapasukan nya ngayon pero hindi madadagdagan ng 3k. subalit, sila ay merong mga profit sharing na kung isusuma tutal, mas magiging malaki pa kesa sa 3k na makukuha nya. at eto ay mas malaking kumpanya at pakiramdam ni tantan ay marami syang matutunan. nagpaalam si tantan sa kumpanyang pinapasukan nya ngayon. laking gulat nya ng sya ay inofferan na tataas na agad ang sweldo epektibo ora mismo. wag lang sya umalis. at sinabihan sya na makalipas ang anim na bwan, posibleng magkaron ng profit sharing din sa kumpanya. sabi nya pagiisipan nya. hindi sya umoo pero hindi din humindi. pero nakapag decide na sya na mananatili sa pinapasukan. tutal, mababait naman ang mga kasamahan nya at medyo maluwag sila. pinapayagan ang flexi time.

akala namin ay tapos na ang dilemma. hindi pa pala. ung isa pang kumpanyang naginterview sa knya ay biglang tinawag sya para sa pangalawang interview at makalipas ang ilang araw, sya ay inalok ng trabaho. kwento pa ng recruiter, tinanong sila kung anong sweldo ang sa tingin nila ay ikatutuwa ni tantan at tatanggapin ang trabaho. nagsabi sila ng amount at ang ginawa pa ng kumpanya, dinagdagan pa nila. natuwa si tantan dahil mataas ang value nila sa knya.

kung tutuusin, hindi na dpat pinagiisipan pa kung ano ang pipiliin. etong bagong kumpanya ay mas malaki. ang sweldo ay mas malaki pa ng 500£ dagdag sa 5k na ibibigay nung kasalukyang pinapasukan. mas mahaba din ang bakasyon, 26 araw kumpara sa 20 araw lamang nitong isa (hindi kasama ang public holidays). me mga vouchers din, social funds, etc. at pakiramdam ni tantan, madami syang matututunan. un nga lang, mas mahigpit ito sa oras. subalit, nagdadalwang isip kami. napakabuti nitong isa para basta bsta iwan na lang. si tantan, gusto nya lumipat. ako, sabi ko wag na. umabot pa kami sa punto na nagbunutan kami (ako, si tantan at si cayden) - ung bagong kumpanya ang nanalo. kakagulat lang din kasi ako lang ang nakabunot dun sa kasalukuyang kumpanya.

nagpaalam si tantan. nakakagulat, tinanong sya kung ano ang nais nya para lang mag stay sya sa knila. sabi ko ke tantan, wala na sa sweldo un dahil parehas lang halos ang ibibigay nila. sabi ko, sabihin nya ung offer nung kabila at sila na ang bhala magdesisyon kung ano kaya nilang ibigay. hindi necessarily na parehas na parehas d ba? sabi lang ni tantan, kung pd nila ilagay in writing ung sabi nila na constant review at ung sinasabi nilang in 6 months, pd sila magkaron ng profit sharing. tumanggi sila. kung sincere sila sa pagsasabi na ibibigay nila, bkt natatakot silang ilagay sa kontrata? hmmmnnn.....

sa dulo, pumayag na din sila na pakawalan si tantan. inisip na lang din namin na in the long run, mas makakabuti sa aming pamilya na lumipat na lang sya sa mas malaking kumpanya. nakakalungkot dahil naging mabait naman ung isa, at alam namin na malaki ang matutulong ni tantan sa knila (kaya nga ayaw syang pakawalan d b?). pero mas importante ang seguridad ng aming pamilya. un nga lang, posibleng magpahinga muna si tantan sa pagaaral dahil mahigpit sa oras ang bagong papasukan nya.

etong nakaraang linggo ay talaga namang naging napaka stressful (sa magandang paraan) para sa aming dalawa ni tantan. nakakatawa dahil inihalintulad pa ito ni tantan sa pakikipagkalas sa kasintahan. mahirap, masakit na desisyon (uhmnnn, base kaya ito sa experience?!). hindi namin inakala na magkakaron kami ng ganitong problema (napakagandang klaseng problema! - kakaiba) pero sa wakas, natapos din.

kami ay nagapasalamat sa dyos sa biyayang pinagkakaloob nya. sa panahon na ito, mahirap makahanap ng trabaho. at ang mabigyan ng oportunidad na mamili ng papasukan, isa talga itong biyayang hindi mapapantayan.

sana lang, tama ang aming naging desisyon.

fr andrew goenardi

Bike Hate

when tantan got a job locally (around 4miles from our house), he bought a bike so he can just cycle to work. i never liked the idea as i hear/see lots of accidents involving cyclists. but he insists that it'll be good for his health and pocket (especially since petrol price has really rocketed).

for the one year that he's cycled, he had 3 accidents
(1) probably 4 months into his cycling, he tried to avoid a stupid dog. he crashed and ended up with a black eye. fortunately, he was wearing a helmet and the black eye was all he got. he went to the ER nonetheless to have himself checked (he was given the all clear)

(2) 11 months into his cycling, coming home from work, a 50-something y/o polish lady crossed his path and bumped into her. it was all the lady's fault, as per witnesses. tantan couldnt understand why she crossed (it's not even a pedestrian crossing!) and didnt see him when his bike light was so bright (and he was wearing an orange jacket, which is easily seen). he fell from his bike but the lady suffered more (a cut on her forehead). the ambulance and police were called to the scene. the lady was brought to the hospital, tantan was checked but was given the all clear. the police got annoyed bec. they said it wasnt like a car-person accident, they shouldnt have been called.

a few weeks after, a police officer knocked on the door. apparently, the lady's nephew filed a complaint and wanted to claim for injuries. fortuantely, the police officer who came was the same one who responded to the call at the time of the accident. he just came as a formality, actioning a complaint. anyways, he knew that it wasnt tantan's fault. he even told us that they will be visiting the nephew and will be told that (a) there's no case and (b) the police somewhere north are after him - either way, he wouldnt be happy.

a few weeks after, we got a letter from the constabulary officially telling us the case was closed. trying to  pull a fast one on us, ey?

(3) 12th month - while cycling home from work, tantan was bumped by a CAR at a junction. the lady driver didnt even pause, when she's about to turn on the main road (where tantan is). tantan's bike got damaged. though wearing a thick jacket, his elbow got bruised and until now hurts. his tailbone was also painful at one point. but since he was wearing all his gears, the damage was less.

the driver immediately admitted fault. she however asked tantan if she could just have the bike fixed without going through her insurance as that will increase her premiums. tantan agreed, not minding his physical injuries. the lady brought him home and had the bike fixed the next day. tantan also used my car, so he had to shell out for petrol.

but tantan wasnt happy with the way his bike was fixed. he told the lady what he wanted but he got peeved when the lady said "ok, out of the goodwill of my heart....i'll have the bike checked again.". like, duh! tantan didnt want to be bumped by a careless driver like you! besides, tantan was the one doing her a favour by not going through her insurance and wasnt even claiming for his injuries and petrol!

in the end, they both agreed to just settle with her insurance. so now, tantan is also claiming for physical injuries and petrol costs.
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tantan's driving again since he got a new job and it's a bit far to cycle... to my relief! he's been driving for  over 6 years now and he only had 1 car accident (not his fault) as compared to 3 in just one year! i told him no matter how careful he is, there will always be a careless moron driving out on the streets. he's been lucky his accidents were minor. but the worrying and terror is still as bad - on my part. im really happy he's not cycling anymore. at least, to get to work. he's still allowed to cycle - recreationally.

Birthing Gift

i have been very depressed and stressed lately, what with all the sickness this family has to go through. to top it all, it has to happen during the supposed happiest season of the year! 

these cheered me up in a major major way (me pagka materialistic no? lol). tantan used to be very galante but since we got married, he became more practical. we i can still buy whatever we i want but it has to be justified all the time. 

i thank you for going out of your way to buy me something very expensive that i know you'll think about for months (joke!) lol. i love you too! you're the best dad, husband and friend ever! =D

Blooper on Day 2

tantan's original sched in uni is every wednesday, 1-5pm. when he went to his induction last week, he was told they changed the sched to 3-7pm. if you remember, tantan is just doing the part-time course so his classes are just once a week. but the rest of his class is doing full time so they are in school everyday.

last wednesday, technically his 2nd day in school, he went to his supposedly first class at 3pm. when he got to the classroom, he was surprised to find that there are mostly young girls (scantily dressed, as he excitedly informed me), which he havent seen before. he was sure he got the classroom right. he ignored that major fact and stayed until the prof talked to him (new face?). then he found out, he was in a FASHION class and nothing to do with his course (business IT, remember?). his sched was changed back again to the original one, 1-5, and he wasnt informed (the course director has his email and he knows tantan can only come to class once a week)!

he missed his first class but i dont think he minded. tsk tsk...

Back To Uni

tantan's going back to school. he'll be taking up masters in business information technology at southampton solent university. i dont have a clue to what it is but it's related to his current job (he's a web developer). he'll be doing it part time, with classes once a week, on a wednesday afternoon. it's because that's the only time his current employer will allow him away from work. he will also be shouldering all the expenses, the company will not be paying for any part of it. just as well, so he wont be tied to them with a contract whatsoever. classes start next wednesday. to make up for the time he'll be away, he will work an hour and a half extra on a tuesday afternoon and an hour on a wednesday morning. that means, he wont be able to come with me to my scan next week. boo!!! the company didnt give him permission (double boo!)!

anyways, last wednesday was his enrollment and induction day. at lunch time, i asked him how it's been going so far. he said it's hard. i asked why and this is his reply: it's hard to concentrate. daming babaeng halos wala ng saplot. hahaha, and i thought he's having difficulty with the curriculum!