Christmas lunch with friends

December 24, 2017.  We originally planned to hold our Christmas party at Tess' place but we decided the last minute to eat out na lang. Masyadong hassle pa ang ang magluto / magdala / bumili ng pagkain for potluck tapos magki-clean up pa after. Both Tess and Juris are so busy the past days. Tess went back to work already last November (after a one-year maternity leave) and Juris just started her new part-time job this December kaya ang hirap pagtugmain ang schedule nila. I am glad we were able to push through with our get-together bago magpasko.

We agreed to eat at Max's Restaurant since Juris wanted Filipino food. She's married to a white guy kasi and they seldom eat rice haha.

I called Max's the day before for reservation. Buti may slot pa for 6 adults and 4 kids. Their specific instruction was for the whole party of 10 to be present by 11am to avail of the table, or else they have the right to give it away.

As usual, Team Coblancs came early. We were there 10 minutes before 11am. I told the receptionist that we were a bit early and the rest of our companions will arrive shortly. They asked us if we want to sit already and order. I said yes, since the girls and I have already agreed what to order.

Before I ordered, messaged them again to make sure that they are coming haha! Baka mamaya hindi dumating eh aanhin ko ang lahat ng pagkaing inorder ko.

Our order -- 2 fried chicken, 2 pancit canton, 2 liempo sisig, 1 large sinigang na baboy, 6-pcs pork barbeque, 1 chopsuey, 2 large steamed rice. All for $181. Not bad at all. We just chipped in $60 per family.

Group photo before digging in.

Families from Surrey, New Westminster, and Langley

We were all starving. I think nobody ate breakfast that day lol.

The drawback though was that the "party" was over by 12:30nn. Walang masyadong time din for chika because we girls were busy attending to our kids (and our stomachs!). Our husbands were medyo reserved din. You see, it's a bit hard when there's a "foreigner" in a party, medyo nakakailang din. We could not converse well in Filipino for fear that he'll get offended. But though we all can speak English naman talaga, it's still awkward to speak English all the time in the presence of your fellow Filipinos. Kaya nga nagtataka ako whenever I hear Filipinos na slang pa kumausap sa kapwa Filipino (ung mga obvious na hindi lumaki rito ha). Ako kasi nang mapunta ako dito eh parang mas nagtatagalog pa ako.

After eating, we just distributed our gifts to one another tapos kanya-kanyang uwi na. Medyo na-sad nga ako kasi ang bilis lang. Kahit sina Tess biglang nadisplace kasi 2:40pm pa ang next appointment nila sa chiropractor. Nag-mall na lang kami, separately.

Gifts that we gave out.

Gifts that we received.

Hopefully next year, we could plan a better party na. Mas ok nga sa bahay na lang para mas matagal ang kuwentuhan. I am willing to host it kung may place na kami.

Our first advent calendar

I've only been a mother for three years and I still have a lot to learn. Lalo na at dito pa ako sa Canada nagpapalaki ng anak, I feel a bit alienated. Imagine, ni hindi ko pa nga talaga alam ang school system nila rito. Challenge talaga.

Anyway, one of the things na bago para sa akin ay ang usung-uso dito na advent o Christmas calendar. Pero parang uso na rin yata sa Pinas kasi may nakita akong Pinoy blogger na nagpost sa Instagram.

Syempre join din ako. Iba rin kasi ang Christmas talaga kapag may bata, maraming paeklat dapat. I am determined to make my son's Christmases memorable kaya gusto kong punuin ng maraming gimik haha. Too bad, medyo limitado lang kami ng space talaga ngayon. But when we move na to our own place, hopefully by next year, talagang bobonggahan ko ang bawat pasko namin para sa kanya.

I've seen so many advent calendars everywhere but I chose the cheapest one at Walmart. One dollar lang yan haha. Nathan doesn't eat chocolates kasi kaya masasayang lang kung ung Lindt, Cadburry, o Kinder ang bibilhin ko. Hindi naman ako pwedeng kumain nun kasi nga diabetic ako.

Saka my son just turned 3 last month, wala pa siyang sense of days talaga. So I consider this as a dry run pa lang.

Our advent calendar may be cheap but it sure did make the little boy happy and excited everyday. There were days when he ate the chocolates, mga thrice yata, kaso parang nasuka siya noong huli kaya ayaw na niya. Sinusubo na lang sakin.

Kinakain ko na rin kasi maliit lang naman. Ten calories lang and 1g of carbs.

First day.

Last day

This advent calendar thing will surely become part of our Christmas traditions. Kahit ako sumaya eh.

But I have an idea. I learned na hindi lang naman pala candies o chocolates ang pwedeng gawing surprise treat. Merong mga Christmas calendars na toys ang laman. But since expensive yun, mag-DIY na lang ako! I'll start collecting 24 small and cheap toys (probably from dollar stores) tapos yun ang gagamitin ko. Ayan, na-excite na ako ngayon pa lang! =)

No picture with Santa

When we went to my aunt's house last December 17, one of their relatives asked me: "Napapicturan mo na ba siya kay Santa?"

Kaloka, ang anak ko lang yata ang bata rito sa North America na walang picture kay Santa Claus this Christmas!

Apparently, usong-uso pala talaga rito ang pa-peechur kay Santa. Sa halos lahat ng malls, merong designated area for picture-taking. Usually me bayad, around $20-30, pero meron din namang libre lang (or by donation).

When Nathan was still a baby, I promised myself na magkakaroon siya ng lahat ng ganyang klaseng kaeklatan. Mahilig kasi ako sa mga ganyan, lalo na sa pictures kasi nga for documentation ko yan. On his first Christmas (2014), less than two months old pa lang siya kaya wala pa syang picture. Noong 2015 naman, when he was one, takot na takot sya so wala rin (kung sa ibang tao nga takot eh, sa mamang me puting balbas pa ba?). Last year (2016), nasa Pinas naman kami kaya lalong wala.

This year, I was hoping na magkakaroon na kasi nga bukod sa hindi na siya anti-social, me appreciation na rin siya sa Christmas. Nakilala na rin niya si Santa sa Youtube. I was really hopeful kaso he's still very much afraid. I think he was torn, gusto niyang lumapit at/o makita yet natatakot siya kasi weird-looking nga naman. In general, takot kasi sya sa mga mascots eh.

From November 29 up to December 24, my husband and I have been trying our best to erase whatever fear he has on Santa. Ginawa namin lahat para pumayag siyang magpapicture, kahit nga kasama kami. We did mental conditioning, pati na nga bribing, kaso ayaw talaga. Whenever we're at Guildford Town Centre, he would always panic kapag nagagawi na kami sa area ni Santa. I could really see myself in Nathan, he has a mind of his own. Very stubborn.

We could have pushed it, kami ang parents eh. Wala naman siyang magagawa if we insisted, pero is it worth it? Is a picture worth the trauma? Di bale na nga lang. He's only 3, marami pang Christmases na darating sa buhay niya para magka-picture with Santa.

So there, he has no picture with Santa this year. Someday, kapag hinanapan niya ako, I will ask him to read this post.

Cancelled Edmonton Visit

I am so glad that our supposedly Christmas trip to Edmonton didn't push through. Sobrang lamig daw doon ngayon.

My husband has a 10-day break this holiday season (their office shuts down from Christmas to New Year) so we had a chance sana to visit our friends (who we consider our Canadian family) in Edmonton. It's been 15 months since we left and we miss them all. Sobrang kinukulit din nila kami talagang magpunta doon kaya umabot sa "80% probability of going" na kami. My friend Mylene was so excited na bibili na talaga siya ng bagong mattress para sa room "namin" sa house nila.

But I sort of backed out the last minute. Nitong malapit nang mag-Christmas, napag-isip-isip ko na marami rin palang dapat inconsider sa pagpunta namin doon.

First, is it ok to drive during winter time? We've done several Edmonton-to-Vancouver trips before pero palaging summer. Parang nakakatakot kasi baka mag-snow habang bumabaybay kami sa bundok. Pero the weeks before Christmas, maganda ang weather dito at sa Alberta. "Mainit" nga daw doon at hindi nagi-snow so medyo nahikayat na rin ako.

Then came the budget issue. In my conservative estimate, we will be spending at least a thousand bucks (or Php40,000+) for a 5-day trip to Edmonton. My friend was insisting na gas lang naman ang gastos at sagot na niya ang pagkain kasi nga sa house naman nila kami mag-stay, pero syempre hindi naman pwede yun. We are not free-loaders noh. Saka I want to bring them pasalubong syempre (Purefoods hotdogs from Seafood City Seattle and siopao from Newtown Bakery). Tapos dahil Christmas, we have to buy gifts for the kids (and adults din). Aside from that, yung mga kain pa namin sa labas at contribution sa mga kainan at inuman. If the weather is bad pa, kailangan din naming mag-hotel in between our trip/s because Ford will have a hard time driving at may kasama pa kaming bata.

To add, wala nga pala kaming proper outfit for Edmonton weather. Well, kami ni hubby meron namang thick coats/jackets and boots/winter shoes kaso nabaon na sa storage. Kailangan pang sobrang kalkalin. Si Nathan ang wala so kailangan pang ibili, kaso nga hindi naman masusulit kasi hindi naman magagamit dito sa Vancouver dahil hindi ganun kalamig dito. At uuwi na rin kami sa Pinas sa January 8 kaya talagang masasayang lang.

Then Ford informed me that if we will go, kailangan na niyang pumunta sa casa para mapalitan ng winter tires yung kotse namin! What?!? Oo nga pala, di kami naka-winter tires dito kaloka. Meron naman kaming winter tires sa storage kaso dahil nasa open parking space kami ng apartment complex, walang lugar na pwedeng pagpalitan. Kaya kailangan pang dalhin sa casa at ibayad. Tapos papapalitan na naman ng regular tires after. Doble gastos pa!

That's when I finally decided na manahimik kami sa bahay. Yep, it was my SOLE decision kasi keri lang naman sa asawa ko kahit ano.

But of course, meron pa ring panghihinayang kasi nga sobrang miss ko na ang mga kaibigan namin. I am sure na mag-eenjoy din si Ford kasi makakainom siya nang todo. Kahit si Nathan matutuwa kasi marami siyang makakalarong bata for a couple of days. But $1,000 is $1,000. I mean, it may not mean that much now, pero by next year when we buy na a place of our own, makikita namin ang relevance ng amount na yan. Ang dami-daming nakaambang gastusin talaga. Saka nag-splurge na rin kasi kami sa California trip namin last November., tapos uuwi pa nga kami ni Nathan sa Pinas this January.

At this point, grateful na rin ako na hindi kami tumuloy dahil nga sa weather doon. Had we gone there, mag-stay lang din kami sa house ng friends namin dahil sa sobrang lamig. I planned on going to South Edmonton Common pa naman to shop (5% lang kasi ang sales tax sa Alberta) kaso open-air shopping area naman dun. Saka delikadong magdrive kung ganyan ka-extreme ang panahon.

Pic taken from a friends FB account

We miss Edmonton pero hindi pa nga siguro time na bumisita kami roon. Who knows, baka sa summer. Kung hindi pa rin (kasi nga balak na naming magstart maghanap ng house by April 2018), yung mga kaibigan na lang namin muna doon ang aantayin naming dumalaw dito.

Merry Christmas!

Finally, Christmas na rin samin dito sa Vancouver! Advanced ng 16 hours ang oras sa Pinas kumpara dito kaya medyo corny, tapos ng magbatian lahat ng kaibigan at kapamilya namin sa Facebook lol.

Anyway, makikiuso na rin ako kahit gasgas na gasgas na.

From our family to yours, have a blessed Christmas!

Reunited with snow

December 20, 2017. Before going to the mall, I let the little boy play with snow first.

He was so thrilled! Noon lang siya nakapaglaro sa snow eh.

Nathan was born in Edmonton, where there's snow for at least six months. But we left that place before he even turned two so he had no memories of snow. Last winter naman, nasa Pinas kami kaya hindi niya rin na-experience.

The last few weeks, he's been begging me to take him to 'snow." Nakikita niya kasi sa youtube at akala niya lugar iyon. I silently prayed na sana mag-snow dito sa Vancouver para maranasan niya naman before we leave again for Pinas this January 8. Kaya super happy talaga kami the other day kasi nag-unexpected snowfall nga. Unlike in Alberta, bihirang-bihira raw mag-snow dito eh (tapos mabilis din matunaw). Kaya nga many people prefer to live here kasi hindi ganun kalamig.

The snow's not that thick pero keri na rin haha.

___________________

We actually experienced the first snowfall of the season here in Vancouver last November 3, 2017. Nathan wasn't able to play nga lang that time because we were rushing to his cardio doctor's appointment. I just let him touch the snow sa isa sa mga kotse sa parking lot haha.

Paglabas namin ng clinic (mga 2 hours din kami inside), wala na kaming naabutan. Tunaw na lol!

Vancouver Santa Claus Parade 2017

December 3, 2017 (Sunday). This was one event that I really was looking forward to. I was able to watch a Santa Claus parade in Edmonton in December 2013 (indoor nga lang kasi sobrang lamig doon) and I super enjoyed it. Now that I have a child, mas may reason para ma-excite kasi alam kong matutuwa talaga siya.

The parade was held in downtown Vancouver. Our original plan was to just ride the sky train because parking fees in Vancouver are so expensive, but Ford changed his mind the last minute. Mas convenient nga naman kung magkotse kami. It was a Sunday so may mas murang parking naman daw.

We left the house at 10am (the parade's at 12noon) and stopped by McDonald's for a quick bite.

We reached downtown Vancouver a few minutes before 11am. They were closing some roads daw by 11 so we rushed into finding a parking space. My husband wouldn't hear of my suggestions (grrr!) so we ended up in a paid parking lot that charges $15. Hay kainis talaga.

I was afraid that we were "late" na. May mga kids' activities pa kasi prior to the parade (like face-painting, arts and crafts, etc.) that I wanted to go to. Sobrang daming tao nang dumating kami sa may activity area kaya imposible ng makasingit. Puno na rin halos yung mga gilid ng kalsada, nakapuwesto na ang mga manonood ng parade.

Akala ko wala na kaming mapupuwestuhan nang maayos, buti na lang naglakad pa si Ford somewhere farther. Ayun may bakante pa.

People were very ready -- may mga upuan, pagkain, at blankets pa talaga silang dala. I regretted not bringing chairs, tutal may kotse na rin lang kaming dala. Sabi ko pa naman the last time we watched a parade in downtown (for Canada Day) na magdadala na ako next time. Nakakangawit din kasing umupo sa kalsada lang eh.

I texted my friend Juris and asked where they were. Nakapuwesto na rin daw sila ng mga anak niya so we agreed to just see each other after the parade.

We were underdressed that day. We checked the weather and it wasn't supposed to be that cold. Kaya hindi makapal ang jacket namin ni hubby at walang hoodie. Pero grabe ang lamig lalo na kapag humahangin.

The boy patiently waited. He was in a very good mood, masaya kasi ang atmosphere.

I brought some snacks for the little boy. Ang cute ng ziplock ko noh? Nahawa nako sa mga taga-dito, mga mukhang ziplock.

Nagutom na rin ka kaka-antay.

A few minutes after 12noon, dumaan na sa harap namin ang parada.

There were many Food Bank volunteers who were asking for donations.

I enjoyed watching my son's face. Sobrang saya niya. My 39-year-old husband naman was bored (lol!). Mas mabuti pa raw na matulog sa bahay kaloka! Wala naman kasi sya talaga hilig sa mga ganyan, pero sobrang natuwa rin siya sa nakita naming kasiyahan ng bagets.

The parade participants were giving away candies, stickers, and other treats kaya lalong naaliw si Nathan.

The floats/costumes were actually very simple, nothing grand. Wala akong nakitang nakapagpa-wow talaga sa akin. Kaya di na rin ako gaanong nagpicture.

Ayokong isipin na kulang lang sila sa creativity at budget, siguro talagang simple and modest lang ang mga Canadians.

But look at my son's reaction! Priceless talaga.

Finally, Santa Claus! I am glad that Telus saved the event from cancellation. Rogers yata ang dating sponsor kaso nagback-out na kaya nagka-budget shortfall. Pang 14th year na ng parade na ito this 2017.

I was ctually quite disappointed that the parade only lasted for an hour. Ang unang naisip ko, "shaiks sayang ang $15 parking namin" haha!

But though the parade itself wasn't impressive, nang makita ko ang lahat ng nanood na ito, I felt a sense of community. So keri na rin. Sabi ko nga kay Ford, kung successful business owner lang ako dito sa Vancouver, I will participate. Magsasali talaga ako ng entry. It's a way of giving back eh. Around 300,000 daw ang spectators kaya masusulit naman.

We met Juris and and her kids afterwards. It was really cold. Akala ko ako lang ang nilalamig, pati pala ang asawa ko na sobrang lakas ng tolerance sa lamig. Hindi rin daw niya alam kung bakit ganun ang pakiramdam niya. Buti na lang medyo makapal ang jacket ni Nathan.

Juris's daughter Zoey cried daw after the parade. Sinumpong kasi tapos na.

After a few minutes, naghiwalay na rin kami. Nagbus at train lang sina Juris from Langley. Hindi naman namin sila maisasabay kasi bukod sa hindi kami kasya sa sasakyan namin, kailangan din ng car seat pag may sakay na bata.

Nagka-family picture rin nang hindi selfie. Thank you, Juris!

We decided to eat na lang sa Aling Ening's Restaurant in Fraser Street (malayo sa downtown) kasi wala na rin namang kaming magawa doon. It was too cold to stroll sa may Canada Place. In fact, naghanap pa nga kami ng Dollarama para bumili ng gloves.

Now the question is, will we watch the parade again next year?

Haha, kung kami lang siguro ni Ford, hindi na. But for as long as Nathan wants to, sige lang. Our Christmas is for him, after all.

Christmas gifts for Nathan

Christmas is 4 days away (or is it 3?) and I am done wrapping our gifts for Nathan. When the little boy saw this this morning, he disbelievingly uttered "Oh my gosh!" Haha, kids!

My son only asked for three 3 particular gifts this Christmas -- "animals," "hugas-hugas," and "toilet" (haha, I'll show these three toys to you later on). I just added a few more gifts so he has a lot to open on Christmas eve. Wala naman kasing ibang magbibigay sa kanya dito ng regalo maliban sa dalawang kaibigan ko.

This is the first Christmas na medyo may appreciation na ang bagets sa pasko so I am very excited. If the hubby would permit, I want to buy more gifts pa nga haha. Kaso gusto na yata akong kaltukan. Nung bata kasi ako wala akong gaanong natatanggap na regalo (mostly pera lang o aginaldo) kaya na-deprive ako. Now that I have a child, I will make sure that he'll have good Christmas memories. At importante dun ang gifts syempre.

Thankfully, my son has high EQ. He's very willing to wait until Christmas to open his presents. Sa ngayon, happy na siyang sumulyap-sulyap lang. =)

Totally unexpected snow

One of the first things I do the moment I wake up is to check the weather. It helps me plan my activities for the day kasi (haha, akala mo naman marami), like kung lalabas ba kami ni Nathan o hindi at kung ano ang isusuot namin.

This morning, I was so happy seeing the snow icon on next Thursday's weather prediction. I remembered that my husband mentioned yesterday that it will snow nga daw next week. Ang tagal na kasi naming naga-antay ng snow, my son is so excited to play with it. I was worried nga na baka hanggang sa umalis na kami sa January eh hindi pa rin nagi-snow uli.

I posted this on IG:

Two hours later, I was busy in the kitchen when my son excitedly called me. "Mommy, look!" I thought it was just another papansin thing that he always does whenever I am doing something.

But no. It ang bumungad sakin!

I was in awe! OMG, nagi-snow!!!

I was so happy (still am!). Snow really has this calming effect on me. For a moment, I felt some peace (may wino-worry kasi ako na mga "problema" sa Pinas ngayon).

I sat down ang quietly watched the snow falling. Even Nathan couldn't take his eyes off this beautiful sight. He's as mesmerized as I am.

Snow is truly magical. It's so beautiful! Thank you, Lord, for granting my wish so easily!

Project: Blog Back-Up

It just occurred to me yesterday that I have no back-up for my blog. Yes, I've taken this back-up thing for granted. Bakit nga ba?

I really do not know. But what I know for sure is that I have to do something now. This is my online journal and I've invested so much of my time and emotions here. I will go crazy if someday I find out that all my entries are gone. It happened to me in the past na eh. I used to have a hello kitty blog in (the now defunct) Multiply which was quite popular that time (circa 2007-2009). I woke up one day and all my pictures and blog entries were missing. I suspect that a kitty friend who I trusted so much (that I've given her my password) deleted them out of envy. Oh well, I should have learned my lesson.

Obviously for Mrs. CB in BC, I am using Blogger and not hosting my own weblog. Hence, I have no control of certain things. I really have to have some kind of a system for backing it up. [By the way, I love Blogger because it's easy to use and free. Unlike other bloggers, I don't earn anything from my blog kaya wala akong pambayad ng .com (dot com) haha!]

I did my research on how to back-up blogs but they were too complicated for me. I am not a techie gal, Tita of Vancouver na nga ang level ko, kaya lalo akong naguluhan. So I've decided that I'll do it manually na lang.

What I am doing now is that I am copying every entry to MS Word, edit the size of the font and pictures and spacing, then save. I also save it as PDF para kapag pinrint ay hindi magugulo.

It's not easy. I really should have done this from the very start. Not now that I almost have 400 entries. But I'll try very hard to finish this project before my Pinas vacay on January.

I am (still) old school so medyo skeptic pa rin ako sa computer back-up. What if masira ang laptop o ang external hard drive ko?

Kaya naisip ko na maganda kung may print-out pa rin. At first, I thought of having it printed and turned into a "book." May mga ganyang blog printing services eh. I registered in one company Blog2Print.com and tried kung ano magiging itsura ng blog ko kapag pina-print ko sa kanila. Ayun, labo-labo haha. Naiba ang arrangements ng text and pictures kaya magulong basahin. Also, because I have almost 400 entries nga, each with many many pictures, libo libong pages aabutin yun. Haha, that would cost me a fortune!

So sige, balik sa dating-gawi (UP style). I'll print na lang each entry sa printer namin (black ink nga lang) tapos ipapa-photocopy ko sa UP (for additional copies kasi nga praning) tapos ipapa-hard bound ko. Ayan, parang book na rin! Kaloka, our laser printer ran out of ink pa nga so my husband ordered a toner online that's just compatible. Ang mahal naman kasi ng original. Dagdag gastos pero keri lang.

I really need time and patience for this. Sana talaga mapangatawanan ko. My blog may not be extraordinary. Like what I said before, ni hindi ko na nga ma-check ang grammar at spelling dito kasi talagang sinisingit ko lang ito sa buhay ko. But I love it because it documents my experiences, feelings, and sentiments at a given time. Masarap balik-balikan later on ang alaala nakaraan, di ba? Kaya dapat ma-preserve ko talaga lahat ng naisulat ko. Para na rin mabasa ng anak at apo ko (that is, kung makakaintindi sila ng Tag-Lish haha!).

PS. Kung pano ako magsulat sa blog na ito, ganun din ako magsalita in person. =)

Lucky Supermarket in Surrey

I am so happy and couldn't contain my excitement. I literally screamed on top of my lungs after reading this ad that Ford showed me just a while ago (my son even said: "Mommy, are you ok?!).

Finally, we'll have LUCKY SUPERMARKET here in Surrey!

Lucky was my favorite Asian supermarket in Edmonton. It's actually the very first Asian grocery store that I have been to here in Canada and I became a suki throughout my 3-year stay in Edmonton.

I preferred Lucky over T&T (another giant Asian Supermarket that's originally from BC) because the former has more Filipino goods than the latter. They have better meat and fish section, too. And their prices I found relatively cheaper. Kaya doon kami talaga "namamalengke" noon eh.

When we moved here in Surrey last year, nahirapan talaga ako kung saan kami mamimili ng ulam. I was clueless because clearly, I am not a fan of T&T (nakokontian kasi ako sa Pinoy items nila). Sure, there is Henlong Market, but I find it too small and walang binatbat sa Lucky (hindi ako talaga makamove-on sa Lukcy haha). Until now, sabog-sabog pa rin ako mamili ng pang-ulam. Unlike sa Edmonton na talagang sa Lucky lang.

Kaya ngayon para akong nabigyan ng maagang pamasko talaga. At parang ayaw na rin kaming pabalikin talaga sa Edmonton ha (I listed Lucky as one of the reasons why I wanted to go back to Edmonton). I just wish na yung Lucky dito ay yung parang sa Edmonton din because I am sure Filipinos here will be thrilled. Sayang nga lang because Lucky will (probably) open when we're in Pinas na. Di bale, at least mae-excite ako pagbalik namin ng April. =)

Bigay-Bawi

We gifted Baby Marco with this one last Sunday. I know that he's only one-year old but I am sure he'll be receiving a lot of "baby toys" (the Vtech ones) already so I thought of getting something that he could enjoy when he's a bit older. Mabilis lang naman kasi ang panahon. I have a 3-year old so I know what the birthday boy will like in the near future.

Pic taken from the net (credits to the owner)

But I have a confession to make. I bought it the last minute na kasi hindi naman talaga yun ang plano kong iregalo.

Ito talaga:

So cute noh? I've been eyeing this trolley at the Disney Store since forever. Then one day, it went on sale. $19-off! Parang naging $35 na lang siya (plus tax). We were looking for a gift for Marco that time so I thought this would be perfect, especially since his party theme is Cars. Again, I wanted to give him something that he could use later on pa. As a mom, mas gusto ko kasi na pang-advanced age ang gifts eh, be it clothes or toys or any other things.

Pic taken from the net (credits to the owner)

But just a few days before the party, I had a change of heart. Parang mas gusto ko ito for Nathan haha! I mean, he's older and can use this na by next year. There were only three stocks left when we bought it so I am sure wala ng ganito. Kung meron mang bagong stock, hindi naman sale.

Naisip ko rin that Tess wouldn't mind kasi hindi naman niya alam haha! Ako ang nakakaalam so ako ang manghihinayang. Ang sabi ko rin kay Ford, Marco will have a lot of gifts so hindi na mapapansin na "ordinary" lang ang gift namin lol!

That's the thing pala when you have a son and you are buying for other boys, gusto mo meron din ang anak mo kaloka! Mahina talaga ang EQ ko.