Tagaytay in February

Marlie's first outing was in Tagaytay last 15 February - yup, a Valentine's day trip, and a very cold one. Took this photo at Antonio's where we had breakfast. We didn't know they moved out of the main highway so we got a little lost.

This tourist bus was really colorful and a nice backdrop for our group photo. Thanks to the tripod, we were complete, yey.

One of the vendors outside the Pink Sisters' Chapel. Those pineapples and vegetables look really fresh, but we weren't able to buy. Sunday mass at Pink Sisters', by the way, is quite early - 7:30 am....Yes, this post is really late. I guess free time doesn't come by as often when you have Mommy duties.

Kape't gatas

Coffee and cream that I love so much...

Spot the difference...

What's wrong with me...

1. I woke up to the sound of insistent, blaring horns. Horns in my sleep? Why of course, I was in my car driving to work. Yes, I fell asleep during a traffic jam along J. Vargas Avenue. Thank God for the hand brake which kept me safe and the angry drivers who snapped me out of dreamland. When I woke up, the car in front of me was about 15 meters away.

2. I used my husband's blue toothbrush for about 2 nights and 2 mornings, thinking it was mine. But it wasn't. Mine was green. When I asked Bebert he said, "kaya pala laging basa yung toothbrush ko."

3. I splashed cold water into my face without removing my eyeglasses.

4. I zoomed past my mother-in-law's house and drove straight to our subdivision. I forgot to pick up baby Marlie and yaya.

Petnames

Why do we have petnames for babies? I really don’t know. The funny thing is they come out so naturally and in many variations. So far we have these for Marlie: Kookoorichkin (sometimes Kookoorich), Niknak (sometimes Niknakniknaknik), Marliemar (sometimes Marliemar aaaahhh – think Marimar’s theme song), Baby Girl, and Little Girl. In this photo, Marlie is 5 mos and 3 weeks old. Time flies!

Curious

Whatever I hold these days, Marlie quickly grabs: telephone cord, cell phone, glass of water, notebook, pen. Recently I got an electric breast pump and was trying to read the manual. It's funny how she seemed to be reading so seriously. But Marlie was really figuring out how she could "taste" the pages. True enough, part of the manual was in her mouth a few seconds later.

Binondo food tour

That's our guide Ivan Man Dy. Thanks to him, we were led to quaint, simple stores offering the best siopao, dumplings, and lumpia I've ever had. Our group was pretty big - about 30 people. Payment is P850/person, including the food. The tour took almost 4 hours, started promptly at 9:00 am at the Binondo Church.

Lots of fruits on Salazar St. where I got sweet and beautiful plums for a steal - P170/kilo. You won't believe how expensive they are in Metro Manila groceries.

Highly recommended dumplings along Yuchengco St. New Po-Heng Lumpia House is along Quintin Paredes, and the siopao stall (tsk, I forget the name) is along Benavidez. We even met Jerry Chua, the owner of Eng Bee Tin. Guess what he gave us? Hopia, yey! They have a new flavor - mochaccino, and Bebert says they're pretty good.

Crying over spilled milk

“Don’t cry over spilled milk”... I never thought I would take this quite literally but I did, in every sense of the word. And boy did I cry buckets over spilled breast milk.

As a breastfeeding Mom who isn’t endowed with overflowing milk, every single drop is so precious to me. I know some Moms who can collect as much as 6 oz in one sitting. Thus, losing 1.5 oz of breastmilk and seeing it on the floor, over my black rubber slippers, was tragic and heartbreaking.

Call me exaggerated but I was weeping while wiping the floor, and the lump in my throat wouldn’t go away. I was close to throwing a fit and a tantrum. When I finally calmed down, I realized I should simply be more careful and make sure all connections are secure and in place. And that haste does make waste.