Random Chika # 7

1. Buck or Two Plus! I discovered this store last week at the Surrey Central Mall. Matalas talaga ang mata ko sa mga dollar stores. I went inside to survey their items. Ok naman, lalo na yung mga balloons nila. Ang daming klase talaga!

When I googled this store, I learned na may ganito rin pala sa Edmonton. Meron yata sa Londonderry Mall! Kaloka, bakit hindi ko alam?!?

Anyway, happy na rin ako. Another wasteland for me!

2. Happy Meal. Whenever Nathan would see McDonald's, ayun magtuturo na. Hindi titigil hanggang hindi kami bumibili ng french fries.

Kaso mas mabisyo si Mommy. Di mapakali pag nakakita ng cute na happy meal toys.

I used to collect happy meal toys when I was in college. As in lahat talaga ng lumalabas eh binibili ko. Now that I have a child, may legitimate reason na ako na mag-happy meal uli haha! Pero mas magandang bumili ng happy meal kapag may coupon, mahal din kasi kapag regular price.

It's my mom who likes/loves Snoopy!

3. Fried Squid Again. We didn't know where to eat dinner last Wednesday night so rushed to the Richmond Public Market again for some cheap Chinese fix. But it was past 7pm already and there's no more fried squid in the stall where we get it. Buti na lang meron pang natira doon sa isa (Captain Wa) or else maglulupasay talaga ako. Masarap naman din, pero mas masarap talaga sa Asian Foods.

4.  Filipino Version. I got so kilig when I saw a Filipino text version of PC Plus' (Real Canadian Superstore's rewards card) ads. Nakakatuwa kasi acknowledged nila ang malaking Filipino community dito.

5. Motorcycle Accident. It was my first time to see a motorcycle accident here in Canada. Kapag summer lang kasi may motor sa Edmonton, kasi nga sobrang lamig doon at ma-snow.

When we were planning to move here in BC, Ford kept on telling me that he would buy a motorcycle because he can use it here all year round. Wala nga kasing snow at hindi kalamigan. Ako man, I want to get a small motorcyle, a Vespa perhaps. Haha, asa pa.

But I am amazed talaga sa rescue system dito sa Canada. Kung sa Pinas ka nadisgrasya, goodluck na lang sa iyo.

By the way, first to rescue daw ang bumbero dito basta tumawag ka ng emergency. Kahit ano pa mang kaso, mauuna ang bumbero kasi trained sila for first aid. It didn't make sense to me, sabi ko sayang ang resources at manpower. Tsk, third world mentality pa rin talaga.

Nathan @ 2 Months

Thirteen is my new favorite number. And I am so excited to welcome the 13th day of every month because that means another 'birthday' celebration for Nathan!

January 13, 2015. As usual, it was just another party for three. But I told Mylene and Cecil that we'll invite them some time in summer for Nathan's monthly birthday. We just couldn't do that now because it's winter and our house is a big mess. I am also still recovering (yeah, I am taking it soooo slow) and I can't host a party yet.

My two-month old looks so big na on this picture noh? I myself was shocked! It's only been two months but he doesn't look that baby anymore! In fact, he already wore the Baby Mickey shirt which we thought he would wear this summer pa or when we go home in Pinas. It was his first time to wear a t-shirt and he looked so cute!

Anyway, what excites me the most about this day was the cake of course! I think I did pretty well on his first month cake so I have to live with the expectations haha!

But since Ford and I aren't really into eating cakes (in fact, ni hindi nga namin natikman yung first cake), I thought of buying just a slice. Sa Safeway kami nakabili for only $3.

I wasn't able to find a nice cake topper so I just asked Ford to have Nathan's picture printed in their office. I posted it on a card board para matigas saka ko itinusok sa cake. The result is this:

Simple yet 'personalized.' I want my son to know later on that in my own little ways, I tried to make things special for him.

This is the close-up look pala of the picture on the cake. My son's so adorable! #biasedmom

Since Nathan's second month fell on a Tuesday (and we just had buffet dinner the day before for our 3rd wedding anniversary), I just asked Ford to buy pancit palabok and crispy pata at Manila Grill Express. Nagustuhan kasi namin yun the last time we went there. The pork giniling was cooked by yours truly.

Almost all of our plates are Corelle and I've grown tired of them. I wanted something colorful plating for my baby's handa but expensive dinner wares are not on the budget yet. Thankfully, I found some cheap stoneware plates and bowls and glasses at Dollar Tree! Ayan, pati sa table setting ay excited na rin ako!

More than the superficiality of celebrating a monthly birthday, Ford and I are really grateful that our son is growing well. Health wise, we never had any major 'concern' for him. He seems happy and healthy.

I noticed that he started smiling a lot and 'interacting' with us when he was just five weeks old (December 23 to be exact, thanks to my hobby of taking pictures and documenting Nathan's every move!). We were impressed. Physically, he's quite a big boy with nice flawless skin, chubby body, and adorable little face. A lot of people were telling us that he doesn't look like two months only. He can even hold his head steady na. We are very very proud of him!

Thank you for being such a good boy, anak! Keep it up! We are so looking forward to your 3rd month birthday! We love you!

Nathan's 1st Month Celebration

Sobrang excited akong dumating ang December 13 kasi that would be Chicklet's first month birthday. I've seen a lot of parents (on Facebook) posting their children's monthly birthday celebrations so talagang dapat ganun din kami haha!

I am still in so much pain but I forced myself to go out yesterday so we could do something special for Nathan. Saka gusto ko na rin talagang lumabas dahil bored na bored na ako sa bahay.

We went to Walmart and that's where I found a cheap 6" chocolate caramel cake. Ford and I are not into cakes so we are thankful na $5 lang siya kasi hindi talaga namin makakain.

Since the cake was too plain, I had to be a little creative. I have letter cut-outs (na matagal ko ng nabili sa Dollarama) kaya ayan may name na ang cake. I wanted to have a topper so I asked Ford to drop me off at Dollarama so I can look for one.

Taraaaan, this is Nathan's very first cake! Cute naman, di ba? Many people thought that the letters are edible haha!

For the handa, we just bought fried chicken at Mary Brown's and two varieties of pancit from Pinoy Grill. Dalawa lang naman kami ni Ford na kakain so kaunti lang talaga.

Of course we had to do some photo shoot before eating. Nathan looks so big na on this picture noh? Ahh, time flies so fast!

Hay, I am so lugi! You can't expect Ford to take good pictures!

My husband and son look so much alike!

Too bad hindi matitikman ni Nathan ang handa niya. Hindi bale, nabusog naman sina Mommy at Daddy.

Happy first month, Nathan James Levin! The past month has been extra difficult for us, we admit. We had to do a lot of adjustments as we welcome you into our lives. But those hardships are nothing compared to the joy that you bring on us every single day.

We love you so much, anak! You are our inspiration, our more profound reason for living. We pray for your continuous normal growth and good health.

No baby shower for Chicklet

Two people had mentioned "baby shower" to me in three days.

First was my aunt who lives in Vancouver. She's very excited for my baby and regrets that they are too far away (about 13-hour drive) to give me a baby shower. It's her thing eh, she loves cooking and decorating, and throwing parties.

And just yesterday, a "new" friend who came over our house to look at it (they want to buy a townhouse din here in our area) saw some of the baby stuff we bought and commented: "Ay sayang, sana hindi muna kayo bumili. Baka may magregalo niyan sa baby shower." She's just given birth 7 months ago and she's had a nice baby shower. I simply answered her: "Haha, sino naman ang magpapa-shower sakin dito?"

Actually, the thought that I won't be having a baby shower here in Canada started a couple of weeks ago when we went to Dollar Tree. They are selling so many cute baby shower stuff and I realized that nobody here in Edmonton would throw a shower for my Chicklet.

I felt a sad, honestly. Aside from a couple of new friends that we've recently met, it's just me and my husband who are living here. I don't work so I have no co-workers who'll party with me. Again, there were times I wished that I am in the Philippines during my pregnancy. There, I have friends and relatives who'll make me feel special and loved. I am sure I'll have a fabulous baby party there if I want to.

But I choose not to dwell on the negative. A party is just for a few hours, I keep on reminding myself. I have to focus on the good side of giving birth here - that is, I'll have a Canadian baby who will reap all the perks of first world living. That's more important than a party, right?

I also reminded myself that a baby shower is a western thing. In the Philippines, hindi naman talaga uso yan simply because we have baptismal parties where the baby receives so much gifts. Redundant na kapag nagpa-baby shower ka pa. Chicklet will be baptized in Pinas so iyon na lang ang party na paplanuhin at ilu-look forward ko.

They say we can't have everything and that is true. I am glad though that even without a baby shower party, our baby will have everything he needs when he finally shows up. Thanks to my hardworking husband!

A Dollarama Christmas

I was in Dollarama WEM yesterday and was happy to see that they are already starting to bring out their Christmas merchandise. Ahh, "the most wonderful time of the year" is coming!!!

If only we could skip halloween haha! I love halloween but this year, I am associating it with the anticipation of painful childbirth so sana Christmas na nga haha!

Last year, I feel that I was Christmas-deprived because we were living in Pod's small studio-type suite and we couldn't even put up a tree. So I had high aspirations for Christmas 2014. I even started buying Christmas decors as early as December 26, 2013!

We have all the ingredients to have a special and memorable Christmas this year -- we have a new house, my parents-in-law will be spending the holidays with us, and Chicklet will finally be here by that time! I am just not sure though if we can decorate the house fully because aside from not having a budget anymore for whimsical stuff (shopping for Chicklet already cost us a fortune!), I might not have the time and energy to do so.

But one thing is for sure, we are getting a tree. I want our son to have a picture by our Christmas tree every year.

I better start scouting for cheap Christmas decors now or else I will lose my chance. With a limited budget, thankfully there's Dollarama. You can find nice and sosyal-looking decors naman in dollar stores so doon na lang muna siguro ako bibili.  =)

Dollarama Pregnancy Test

Two of my friends here in Canada have recently announced their pregnancies using these pictures.

Photos taken from my friends' FB and IG accounts

My First Reaction: "Whoaaah! Ang mahal ng pregnancy kit na ginamit nila ha!"

Ako kasi Dollarama lang haha!

When my period hasn't come two weeks past its due (and I was feeling so much pain on my hips and lower back), I went to London Drugs to buy a pregnancy kit. I wasn't that hopeful about being pregnant, I just wanted to make sure that I am not before I go to the doctor.

The prices of pregnancy kits disappointed me. A Clearblue test costs around $20 and I couldn't force myself to buy it. No way! In the Philippines, one can buy a kit for less than Php100  - and there are many choices.

I knew that Dollarama sells pregnancy test so I asked my husband to buy two for me. I've read pretty much good reviews about it and I told myself, "haler, you can never go wrong with $1.25 noh!"

Yep, this pregnancy test only costs $1.25 (plus 5% tax syempre).

Kamukha lang naman ang kit na ito nung mga binebenta sa Pinas, iba lang ang packaging. I honestly never doubted its accuracy.

I used one (bottom) and in less than a minute, two lines appeared. My heart palpitated, I knew it! I used the other one to be sure and again, two lines have appeared.

I showed the two tests to Ford and he wasn't convinced. He told me the two T lines were not as clear as the C lines. Malabo raw.

I reasoned na ganun talaga. Malinaw talaga ang C line kasi constant yun, talagang maga-appear positive man o negative. What's important is that the T lines were clear and distinct enough.

Ford bought two more Dollarama test kits that day and both gave the same results. Positive talaga.

And so for $5.25 (tax included), we've known that I am pregnant. Four tests na yun ha.

So I advise those who are anticipating to get pregnant to try this cheap test kit first. Buy at least two if you wanna be sure. =)

Lucky Cessie

What will you do if one lunch time, a crisp $20-bill magically appears in your paanan? This happened to me last January 11, 2014 (a day before our second wedding anniversary) at T&T Supermarket in West Edmonton Mall.

I was waiting for Ford near the dining cashier area while he was getting our food at the barbeque station when my huge tote bag accidentally bumped a stack of chips. I picked the pack of chips up and voila, a 20-dollar bill was also there on the floor!

I looked around, searched for anyone who might be looking for it. Nada. So I decided to keep it. I can't do much, right? I felt sorry for the owner though.

So back to my question. With $20 at my disposal, I of course went to Dollarama for my guilt-free indulgence!

You see, if I spend $20 on food, that would just be 2 burgers, 2 fries, and 2 drinks. In Dollarama, I was able to take home a lot - glasses, soda, tissue, kitchen clips, socks, measuring tape. At may sukli pang $3!

My good fortune in two plastic bags!

To the owner of $20, again I am so sorry. There was no way  that I can find you so I decided to keep the money.

Please be assured that your $20 made a 'jobless' person very happy.

Excited for Vday

I am not normally excited on Valentine's Day. Feeling ko pang-highschool lang. And would you believe that in our almost 11 years of being a couple, Ford and I were never together physically on a February 14?

But then I keep seeing lots of Vday items everywhere, especially on dollar stores! I never thought Canada is this big on Valentine!

I wonder if only kids and teens buy these stuff.

I love dollar stores! I am such a "maabubot" person and I really enjoy spending some "me" time in Dollarama and Dollar Tree. Where else can you go for some cheap thrills?

I easily get swayed by things I often see. So here I am now, quite excited for Valentine!

I still have a month to prepare! Poor hubby, madadamay na naman sa kababawan ko. =)

VDay in December -- only at Dollarama!

I went to Dollarama last December 23 for my last-minute Christmas shopping (lol!) and was shocked when I found out that they were selling Valentine's Day items already! Nakakaloka ha! Ni hindi pa nga tapos ang Pasko hahaha!

I love Dollarama though. Dito mo pala makikita kung ano ang next big occasion for Canadians. I wonder what's next. Pang-Easter naman siguro? Abangan. =)