Pasalubong

Pasalubong - a common thing in Filipino culture, which is one way of showing thoughtfulness to family, friends or co workers by bringing or giving them treats. Pasalubongs are common especially if the giver has been away for a long while, but the word can apply to take home treats that parents bring to their kids after a day's work. It can basically apply to anything that's brought home and given to someone with love.

read more...

Going Back To School

I would like to take back what I said on my previous post about not going back to school this October. I will be going back to school, and I will be enrolling this Thursday. That's two days from now! :)


Can't wait, I am very excited. The last time I went to

read more...

Glad to be back - again.

I'm back from my hiatus from the blogging world. I haven't had time to write for myself lately. Not that I don't write - I actually churn out around 5000+ words a day for other people so that I can afford to buy the things that I want to, and the things that I have to.

Sad to say, I haven't been able to save up money lately. Don't remind me, I spent bucks on Hillarie's christening last September 20, and spent twice that on her birthday on October 2!

I've been spending cash here and there on food, my daughter's needs, my needs, my wants and almost every other whim that comes out out of the blue. Two months back, I even ordered three thousand pieces of diapers, half of those I haven't been able to dispose of yet. Well - if they don't sell, my daughter can always use them. On a side note, you can check out the diapers HERE.

Going back to money matters - I won't be going back to school this October because I need to double up on my writing work (so please if you are a buyer and you need writing jobs, hire me on Elance! LOL), fix up our Diaper business and get the Fried Chicken business up and running - again. Which reminds me, we need to have our stalls made and our tarpaulins printed. But that's another story.

Going back to my budget. I need to keep money for a lot of things, and these are:

1. College money. (I have one more year left in college, haha, I wish.)
2. Hillarie's Needs (Believe me, when you add milk, diapers, allowance for medication, vitamins, meals and snacks, toys, doctor's visit, clothes and other stuff together - Hillarie's needs sums up to A LOT)
3. My Needs (Well, I basically live with my parents and do the budgeting and groceries for the house since both my parents work out of town, but still - I have my special needs like My Local Obagi Set, my shoes, my tops, jeans, affordable designer bags and more.)
4. Three separate savings account. One is an ordinary savings account. For ordinary things. The next is an emergency account, which is for - you guessed it - emergencies. The last one is for Hillarie.
5. Hillarie's yaya. Yes, I have to pay for her nanny. With my parents paying the salaries of two house helpers, I don't think they'll want to bear the brunt of my daughter's nanny's salary.
6. My everyday needs, which I call my allowance. Of course, there are instances when I need to get my daily fill of ice cold coke or eat some bibingka or banana cue. There are also days when I need my fill of fast food or times when I just need to get out of the house.
7. Extra money for the house. Well, just because. My parents pay for the bills and all, but I just feel like helping out in the house. Sometimes my help comes in the form of Ice cream or cake! LOL
   

When you think about it, that's already a long list - and that doesn't even include the rent, the utility bills and food (which will evidently be on my list in the future, after we move out from my parent's home). It doesn't include school bills as well, as my baby is still a year old.

So I'm not complaining just yet. A lot of people have longer lists to deal with than what I have. So for now I'll just keep on writing. And writing some more. And sell diapers. And chicken. Fried chicken. And what else - click ads? Write reviews? As long as it's for money, I might try those out.

Maybe, as soon as I find time.

I took these photos of me and Hill a couple of months back, and I've been looking for them ever since. I have tons of photos on my laptop, and I haven't had the time to sort them out. But since I found these, I wanted to share them. She has this talent of copying facial expressions. Smart kid. Haha!

the wishlist part 1 (bottles and feeding items)

an upcoming baby is always met with excitement. and being only four months away from my due date, i've researching and reading about what i'll need to buy like crazy.
aside from scouring the malls for baby items, i have also been looking at online merchant sites (moirahjing.multiply.com and babyuno.multiply.com - both are based in manila.) they sell goooood quality imported bottles for cheaper prices than those in the malls.
items like strollers, cribs, baby clothes are easy to find here. but being really particular with the feeding items/baby bottles i'd like to get for my baby (should be bpa free, tummy friendly, breastfeeding friendly, etc), the ones i really like are hardly available in cagayan de oro, aside from avent bottles.
here are some other nice bottles that i found (part of my wishlist - i must say), which are available online. (or in cebu/manila - probably). hope i may be of help to other moms-to-be:

these are 90z. PLAYTEX VENTAIRE REUSABLE BOTTLES. they have airvents that keep air out (less colic and gas for baby), they're naturally shaped, they promote feeding in upright positions and they're BPA free. a little more expensive than regular brands, but you'd be pretty sure about the quality. they're not available in cdo anymore, so i really don't know how much they sell in malls. but they're available at two online merchant sites that are based in manila (they do shipping). and they're priced around Php 750/775 per pack of three 90z bottles.


oh, i forgot to tell you - they look really good. then again, wait till you see it's hybrid.

the 90z. PLAYTEX VENTAIRE NATURAL SHAPE WIDE NECK BOTTLES actually work like the regular ones, but it's wider NaturalShape R Nipples are designed for easier switching from breast to bottle feeding. it's also wider around the neck, which makes it easier to grip.

and they look way, way better and sleeker, don't you think? they come around a little more expensive at Php 950/980 per pack of three 90z. bottles.

these 4oz. AVENT BREASTMILK STORAGE CONTAINERS are great for moms who want to continue feeding their babies with breast milk, but cannot be there all the time because they have to go to work (or school - in my case). these containers are actually your normal feeding bottles without the nipples (so you can actually just buy more feeding bottles and buy extra sealing discs). they come with the silicone sealing discs and screw rings, and are compatible with avent breast pumps, so you can pump milk directly into the bottle, store it and replace the sealing discs with nipples when ready to serve. that means not having to transfer milk from different containers (thus lessening the risk of contaminating the milk). they sell for around P900 for a pack of four.

but wait! i did my calculations! i figured out that if you added P520 (for four airflex teats), you'd already have 4 bottles that convert into storage containers. for the price of Php 1420 only. hahaha.
this is a 9oz NUBY STANDARD CONTOUR NON-DRIP BOTTLE, and they come in a multitude of colors. the nipples have teething nubs (those little bumps right there) that are really great for teething babies because they massage and stimulate the gums. it has an anti - colic air system and a non-drip nipple, and its vari-flo valve allows the baby to control the liquid flow rate.

and again, like most of the bottles i really like, this one looks really great too. this sells at Php 350 each.








finally, nice bottles available locally. i saw them at SM last week and the loooook really great. the contour is sleek, and it had two nipples require both suction and compression, just like breast feeding and baby controls the flow of milk. the outer nipple is really, really, really soft while the inner nipple keeps it from collapsing. It's the bottle most like breastfeeding.

wishlist to be continued.. (mga soon to be ninongs and ninangs - abangan. hehehe. peace.)

--------