Mother's Day Feature: Ingrid Go

NAME:  Ingrid Go

OCCUPATION: Mother, Wife, Blogger, Lifestyle Columnist for Inquirer, Retailer (Accessory Lab), Daughter, Sister :D 

BLOG/WEBSITE:  2 blogs now :D One is www.thebaghagdiaries.com and the other which I am just publishing (as contributors are coming in to write)-- www.manilasocialdiary.com 

KIDS' NAMES/AGE: My children are still below 10 :) 

WHAT WOULD I FIND INSIDE YOUR CLOSET NOW?  Shoooooes :) They'll come tumbling out hahaha :) And for clothes, a lot of prints, bright colors, fluo, denim shorts, skinny pants, and some dresses :D 

INDULGENCES: Umm bags lol. Shoes, Jewellery, Travel, and Food! I  can scrimp on a bag but I would never scrimp on food :)

IDEAL VACATION:  Amanpulo! All I want is to do absolutely nothing. Oh perhaps just stare into the sea, fall asleep under the shade while listening to the sound of the ocean (or the sea)

YOUR MOST OVERUSED PHRASE/WORD: LOL! (Because in real life I am always always Laughing Out Loud! LOL)

PET PEEVE:  I dislike it when people complain too much about everything. It's very negative. :(

STUFF MISSED BEFORE BECOMING A MOM:  Traveling the world and not feeling guilty about having left someone back home! I miss my kids when I travel for work. Thank God (and whoever invented Skype and haha, facetime- thanks Steve Jobs, I think? ) for Skype and Facetime !!

MOST IMPORTANT LESSON LEARNED FROM YOUR OWN MOM:  Humility! My father (who passed away 10 years ago) has instilled this in me and my mother always reminds me about being humble ever since Daddy passed on. So it's always something I remember :) 

QUOTE YOU LIVE BY: "Always, always learn how to be grateful for everything you have and don't ever take anything for granted."

Outfit of the Day: Red Cardigan Thursday

Good Morning guys!

I'm pleased to tell you that my Mancom report went well yesterday! Whew! One down, one more to go! =) 

I'm also happy to report that I have not been eating rice for three weeks now. Not eating rice is easy for me. Mahirap lang diyan yung first week. Ang hindi easy is cutting down the sweets because I love sweets especially ice cream! The result is, I lost only 5 pounds in those 21 days of not eating rice. Quite disappointing because my target weight loss is 10-15 lbs eh. With this, I am thinking of trying other means how to lose weight. If all else fails, only then shall I exercise. Nakakapagod kasi yun eh. 

Wag akong tularan!!! Hahaha!

Anyways, here's what I'm wearing today:

That cardigan costs like Php 200 only. It looks really nice on the picture pero ang kati-kati niya talaga sa personal. I could almost hear Wowa saying, "Malamang! Ang mura niyan eh. What do you expect?!". Hahaha! Never ever bring Wowa to Divisoria to buy clothes. Ang joray joray! 

Short kwento:

We were in Divisoria last time. Nakita namin ang Juana.

WOWA: O ayan. Ayan na ang favorite store mo.

So I looked for nice office tops. When I was trying on a dress, I asked Wowa to zip the back for me. Ang daming comments!

WOWA: Anak! Mumurahin lang ito! Tingnan mo nga masisira agad yung zipper. Ang cheap!

ME: Ma, wag ka ngang maingay.

I went in to fit another top.

WOWA: Ano maganda?

ME: Teka po. Di ko masara. Walang button hole tska medyo natatanggal na yung button. 

WOWA (laughing): Malamang! Mumurahin kasi eh! Ewan ko ba sayo. Ang hilig hilig mo sa mura! Invest on clothes kasi manager ka na! Wag ka dito bumili. 

Hay naku. Nagmadali akong magchange ng clothes. I dragged her out of the stall. Nakakaloka ang Nanay ko! Ang sama na ng tingin ng mga saleslady sa kanya. Hahahaha!

But you know, she has a point. I should really invest in good clothes especially for work. I do naman eh. Sometimes. On the times na may budget. Hahaha =)

 

 

Have a nice day guys! =)

Mother's Day Feature: Mariz Mendiola - Luiz

NAME:  MARIZ MENDIOLA-LUIS

OCCUPATION:  SR. BRAND MANAGER

BLOG/WEBSITE: n/a; Twitter: xmarizzzx

KIDS' NAMES/AGE:  MATEO JOSE, 2 years old (on May 28)

WHAT WOULD I FIND INSIDE YOUR CLOSET NOW?

For the office:  skirts and dresses, cover-ups, metallic bib necklaces, pumps and high heels (no way can I wear these with my baby in tow!)

For weekends:  shorts, loose tops and blouses, maxi dresses, wedge shoes

INDULGENCES:  Family vacations/ out-of-town trips/ shopping for myself

IDEAL VACATION:  a well-planned all expense paid vacation!

YOUR MOST OVERUSED PHRASE/WORD: for me it’s HAHAHAHAHA!

PET PEEVE: jejemon text! Hahahaha!;  smoke belchers and litter bugs! Argggh!

STUFF MISSED BEFORE BECOMING A MOM:  wearing a bikini; waking up anytime I want;  going out after work without feeling guilty

MOST IMPORTANT LESSON LEARNED FROM YOUR OWN MOM:  the value of education

QUOTE:  "There is only one pretty child in the world, and every mother has it." ~ Chinese Proverb

A Day At The "PORK"

One of Anika'a happy place is the playground in a park near our village. Whenever we pass by a certain area on our way there, she would immediately recognize it and say, "pork! pork! pork!".

Park daw.

One Sunday, we were going out of the village on our way to Makati to meet up with Wowa. Anika started shouting, "Pork! Pork! Nanay go to the pork please!". 

ME: Anak, we're going to Makati, not to the park.

ANIKA : No!! Pork! Pork!

ME: No anak. We're going to meet up with Wowa.

ANIKA: Pork. Pork. Pork. Pork. Pork. Pork. Pork. Pork. Pork. Pork. Pork.

Omigod. She kept on repeating the word pork from Merville to Magallanes. I thought she would stop after a while pero hindi! Malayo layo yung Merville to Magallanes ha!

ME: Okay! Okay! The most makulit award goes to.... ANIKA SUMMER!!!

ANIKA: Yehey!!!

=)

Here are some photos taken during one of our visits in the park. This was taken before we realized that this playground is for the older kids. Meron pala sa kabilang side ng park na playground for toddlers!

What's the difference kamo? 

If you can see in the photos below, steel yung material used in building the playground. At the other side, sa toddler playground, plastic siya. The swings also are very toddler/baby friendly.

After playing, I kept on wiping the wipes with alcogel on Anika's hands. Amoy kalawang kasi, kadiri. At least she had fun. That's what's important.

Now, we take her to the toddlers' playground at the other side of the park. The slide, swing, seesaw are safer for small kids. And she gets to know and play with other kids her age as well =)

On Saturday, we'll try to take her to the Bonifacio Global City playground that Ms. Daphne Osena wrote about here. Looks fun eh =)

This Kid Is It! --- Miley the Model

Today's featured This Kid Is It! is the daughter of Helene, the mommy behind the blog, MrsMommyHolic =)

Top: Baby Zara
Leggings with built-in skirt: Carter's
Shoes: H&M

Have your kids featured in the Mommy Fleur blog's This Kid Is It! =) You can email me the cute photos of your babies with a brief description and clothes credit. Open to kids 0 to 10 years old.

Because Filipino kids are just so adorable and fashionably fierce! =) 

Outfit of the Day: Brownish Wednesday

Good morning peeps!

I was up and about very early today. I don't have kwento for your guys yet because I'm kabado for my Mancom Report later.

Wish me luck?

Here's what I'm wearing today. You've seen it na before, but not picmonkey'ed =)

Have a great day guys! =)

Mother's Day Feature: Neva Arboleda Santos

NAME: Neva Adelane Arboleda Santos

OCCUPATION: Research Analyst by day, blogger every minute, a mom and a wife every second, (a lover by night NAKS)

BLOG/WEBSITE:  http://manilamommy.com and http://manilababyshop.com

KIDS' NAMES/AGE: David William is 3 years old :)

WHAT WOULD I FIND INSIDE YOUR CLOSET NOW?  skinny jeans, cigarette pants, boyfriend jeans, trousers, striped tops, black and gray loose tops, t-shirts from threadless, gooogoo&gaga and bleach catastrophe (an aunt once told me that my wardrobe is perfect for going to a funeral every day. thanks tita! (favorite tita ko yan haha))  

INDULGENCES: bags, shoes, food (not necessarily in that order)

IDEAL VACATION: wherever I am with my family :)

YOUR MOST OVERUSED PHRASE/WORD: NAMAN!

PET PEEVE:  visible panty lines

STUFF MISSED BEFORE BECOMING A MOM:  the absence of stretchmarks, spontanous trips and gimiks with friends, alcohol (bacardi rum and coke)

MOST IMPORTANT LESSON LEARNED FROM YOUR OWN MOM:  I learned that when you have your own family, their own needs and even wants take top priority BUT you should always take the time to treat yourself to your favorite things and to laugh at yourself always 

QUOTE:  As a mom, everything you do will be wrong and everything that you do will be right! You are enough! :)

Shopping for Anika's School Things

Look who's excited to shop for her school things!

"I wanna shop, shop, shop Nanay!!"

Outfit of the day: Zara dress, Toms shoes

I found it weird that Anika's Toms shoes kept on coming of her foot the entire time we were out. This already happened when we first bought it. I thought maluwag lang siya. But now, saktong sakto lang Anika's feet pero it still kept on coming off. Super hassle because we kept on making pulot her shoe. There were two occasions where 2 different customers of SM ran after us to return one of her shoe. Haysh.

"Tatay, let's go! Open the car please!"

I never thought shopping for school things could be this exciting! Grabe. There were so many stuff to choose from! Anika's school gave us a list of what we need to bring to the school a week before the classes start. That week happens to be this week and I haven't completed buying everything on the list yet! Kamote.

I promise I will do it tomorrow after my Mancom report. Oo, hindi pa pala Midyear reporting tomorrow. Mancom reporting pa lang. Ready na ready na ako for the Midyear report, hindi pa pala. Ako na talaga. Ako na ang hindi marunong magbasa ng mga email. Lol!

Anyways, I wanted to buy a lot of things that were not mentioned in the school list kaso lang kasama ko si Sombrero. Baka pagalitan na naman ako. I wanted to buy Anika new shoes. Wala na kasi siyang shoes. Ayaw naman maniwala ni Alvin. Kainis. I wanted to buy Anika a fabulous first day outfit. I wanted to buy her a new school bag kaso madami daw siyang bag sabi ni Girlie.

ME: Wala kayang school bag si Anika.

GIRLIE: Meron kaya Ate. Meron siyang Minnie Mouse, Barney, Hello Kitty at saka yung isa pa.

ME: Wala kaya. Nasan yun ha?!

GIRLIE: Nandun po. Kasama nung mga iba niyong mga bags na hindi niyo din ginagamit.

ME: Shhhh! Okay fine I believe you. Wag mo na iparinig diyan sa kuya mo yan.

Madami pala akong bags. I'll check nga my lalagyan. Bakit nga naman etong LV ko lang lagi ko ginagamit!?

Anyways, we're deviating on the topic on hand. Where was I?! O ayun. I wanted to buy her a reserved lunch box just in case mawala yung isa. You'll never know di ba?! Madaming madami pa. Di bale tomorrow, I shall hit the mall by myself so that I can get a lot of things done =) Yebah!

Here are the stuff that we bought for Anika:

I got her a lot of ponytails. She has a lot of these before pero I dunno where they all are! I also got her a simple princess lunch box. I'll go to Fully Booked kasi balita ko magaganda daw lunch boxes dun. I plan to buy her another one. 

Anyways, the bilins of her teacher are: Hand towels so I got her two kinds; A placemat with an elephant design; Jumbo crayons 8 pieces; apron, I do hope they teach Anika how to cook!; Glue- Elmer's; Toothpaste -SansFluo; Soap -Johnson's Baby Soap; and a sturdy plastic envelope for her drawings daw.

The things that I have yet to buy are: Toothbrush (wala kasi akong makitang kyoot), baby powder (SM doesn't have the 50grams kind sa baby section), 2 rolls of white tissue paper, big art paintbrush, 3 bottle of water based poster paint, two pieces 2x2 photo (shit wala pa ako nito!) and a family photo.

And eto pa, I have to label each and everything with Anika's name. Uso pa ba ngayon yung mga sticker names?! 

Oh! Oh! Wait! That I'll DIY =) Alam ko na kung papaano! I'll show you once I'm done with it =)

I'm so excited!!! I will file a leave on Anika's first day of school! There is defiinitely no way I'm going to miss that! =)

Mother's Day Feature: Cai Sio

NAME: Cai Sio

OCCUPATION: Programmer/Analyst, Blogger

BLOG/WEBSITE: http://applesanddumplings.blogspot.com

KIDS' NAMES/AGE: Yukie, 20 months and I'm 35 weeks pregnant with my 2nd baby!

WHAT WOULD I FIND INSIDE YOUR CLOSET NOW? Clothes that mostly I couldn't fit into!

INDULGENCES: A trip to the nail salon, massages, shopping, designer bags, STEAK!

IDEAL VACATION: trip to the beach, soak up in the sun or anywhere in the world with my family!

YOUR MOST OVERUSED PHRASE/WORD: adik ka,

PET PEEVE: ang dami! Irresponsible drivers, traffic enforcers, jeeps, kuligligs, side car, buses! People who likes to make a scene in a public place.

STUFF MISSED BEFORE BECOMING A MOM: Oh, a lot of things! I miss having all the time I want for myself. Having all my salary for my own needs and wants. Pre-pregnancy body, pre-pregnancy weight and pre-pregnancy boobs (breastfeeding is great but I miss my small chest LOL!) and Photography! Having photo walks with the hubby, date nights too!

MOST IMPORTANT LESSON LEARNED FROM YOUR OWN MOM:

"You'll understand what I'm saying when you become a mom yourself"

"No matter how much you think I'm the bad person, at the end of the day, I'm still your mom and I'll always be here when everyone leaves you"

QUOTE:  "Mothers know best!"

Rue Bourbon Salcedo

In one of our date nights, Alvin and I tried this quaint bar and restaurant called Rue Bourbon in Salcedo Village, Makati. 

Rue Bourbon in Salcedo is very cozy. The space is a two level, dimly lit restaurant slash bar. This is what will greet you upon entering.

Since Alvin smokes, we were led to the smoking area which is located at the second floor.

I love the plush seats and the high chairs of Rue Bourbon =) I love that the place isn't the *thug!* *thug!* *thug!* kind of inuman. Tumatanda na talaga ako. The only noisy place that I love going to is Cable Car =) Other than that, I like hanging out in bars like Rue Bourbon.

I feel old kasi when I'm in a very noisy gimikans. One, because the bagets all around me are in bodycon dresses or really micro mini attire. Na-iinggit ako. Two, my chest vibrates hence it hurts. Three, I can't have mega kwentuhan with the people I'm with. Gone are the days when I leave the house at 10pm and go home just before the sun rises. #oldiesnatalaga

Anywasy, in Rue Bourbon, Alvin was able to have his drink while we make kwentuhan =)

I like that the prices in their menu are not that expensive =) Tama lang because most of the dishes are good for sharing. Read: pang matakaw talaga.

I ordered a Shirley Temple (I didn't feel like drinking that night) while Alvin ordered a SanMig light draft beer on a glass.

We ordered this shrimp and mussels dish sauteed in butter garlic. It was delicious!

We also ordered one of their specialty dishes, baby back ribs with dirty mashed potato.

Bourbon BBQ Ribs (Php 295)

Alvin is carrying Rue Bourbon's Big Ass Beer! =) Tinitingnan ko pa lang, nalalasing na ako pero ang Alvin ordered two glasses of this! #award

Overall, I love our dinner-drinks date that night. Rue Bourbon is the kind of place where you want to be a regular. It's like the MacLaren's Pub in the How I Met Your Mother TV series. The waiters are very nice and accommodating. You'll feel right at home =)

Rue Bourbon Salcedo

G/F Aguirre Bldg 108 H.V. Dela Costa 

corner Tordesillas St. Salcedo Village

Makati City

Telephone Number: 553-4216

Mobile Number: 0923-4569992

http://www.ruebourbonphil.com/

Outfit of the Day: Tangerine Tuesday

Good morning my fabulous readers! How was your day yesterday? Given it was a Monday, I assume it was really busy? =) If you're going to ask me, my day yesterday was really stressful. There was one point yesterday that I thought I was going to cry already. Hahaha! I'm such a baby, I know. Outlet ko yan eh, crayola. I feel so much better afterwards.

I tried naman relaxing when I got home around 9pm. Overtime kung overtime ang peg ko dito sa office. If only my four Area Turnover Assistants weren't waiting for me (so sweet of them) last night, hindi pa sana ako uuwi. When I got home, Toots came over bringing with him lots and lots of movies that we can watch. We chose this comedy (Your Highness) na nasira naman sa ending kaya hindi namin natapos. Bitin amp.

Yun lang, I have a question pala. Do you know where I can buy those nanny cameras and how much they are? Anika kasi keeps on waking up in the middle of the night na parang takot na takot and asking for Girlie. Third night niya na ito. Kaninang madaling araw was the worst because she didn't stop until we woke up Girlie and Girlie slept with her on the bed. Feeling ko kasi na-trauma yung bata when Girlie went on a vacation. Then sometimes I hear Girlie telling Anika, "Sige ka, alis na lang ako!" when Anika misbehaves. I can see the fear in Anika's face. I reprimanded Girlie already this morning. Sabi ko not to do that again kasi kawawa yung bata. Actually, I'm mad. I dunno why she has to do that. 

Bakit ba kasi hindi na lang maglagay ng Day Care sa mga office eh ano? =)

Anyways, I want to have a nanny camera to check if baka may iba pang ginagawa si Girlie that affects Anika emotionally and psychologically (whether intentionally or not). Kelangan mapagsabihan kasi pagganun. These should be corrected. Ayoko yung tinatakot sa mumu. Ayoko ng emotional blackmail. Things like that.

Here's what I'm wearing today:

Pambalot lang ng pastillas ang peg ko =) Ganda no? Pinagpuyatan ko yang cut-outs kagabi! Joke! Hahaha!

Lemme end this entry with a cute kwento about Anika. 

Anika wakes up like 3x during the night to ask for her milk. The other night, I was so tired and sleepy when I heard Anika, "Milk please!". I didn't mind her yet because (1) ang bigat ng katawan ko and (2) minsan kasi joke time lang niya yan. Sometimes, I would get up and make her milk pero hindi naman pala niya iinumin. So deadma muna ako. Then like siguro after 5 minutes, I heard her again, "Milk please!". I replied with, "Yes, anak." but didn't move. After a while, wala na. I thought to myself, "sabi ko na nga ba eh, di naman talaga iinom ng milk si Anika." Then like after 3 minutes I sensed that someone was looking at me. When I opened my eyes, I saw Anika's face inches from mine, "Nanay, MILK PLEASE!!".

Hahaha! Sorry naman anak! =))

So cute! I wasn't able to sleep na agad after that because tawa ako ng tawa.

I gave her her milk then I heard her sleepily say, "Thank you Nanay!". Hay! Kay sarap mapuyat kung ganyan =)

Osha, gotta finish my huge midyear report for tomorrow =)

Take care!

Mother's Day Feature: Janis Milan Dilao

NAME: Janis Ana Milan - Dilao

OCCUPATION: Full time mom/wifey, USAID online shop owner / Vmobile Technologies Inc. Technopreneur

BLOG/WEBSITE: www.facebook.com/usaid09

KIDS' NAMES/AGE: Maria Janna, 7 

WHAT WOULD I FIND INSIDE YOUR CLOSET NOW? different kinds of tops, shorts, jeans, perfumes and colognes, bags, etc etc 

INDULGENCES: bags, make ups, colognes, milk tea, more make ups and more bags 

IDEAL VACATION: Hongkong Disneyland with my daughter and hubby 

YOUR MOST OVERUSED PHRASE/WORD: pootek! kainis! 

PET PEEVE: TWO FACED, LIAR, messy room, SWIND...nevermind! haha!

STUFF MISSED BEFORE BECOMING A MOM: cguro yung wala kang responsibility sa iba, sa sarili mo lang ( but it's okay, I love being a mom ) 

MOST IMPORTANT LESSON LEARNED FROM YOUR OWN MOM: Treat others the way you want to be treated, Be PATIENT.. and palaging makikinig, wag maging pasaway para pag nagka anak ka, makikinig and susunod din sya sayo ... ( so true! )

Before I was a Mom -

I slept as late as I wanted and never worried about how late I got into bed.

Before I was a Mom -

I cleaned my house each day. I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby. I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous. I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom -

I had never been puked on - Pooped on - Spit on - Chewed on, or Peed on. I had complete control of my mind and My thoughts. I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom -

I never held down a screaming child so that doctors could do tests...or give shots. I never looked into teary eyes and cried. I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin. I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom -

I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put it down. I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt. I never knew that something so small could affect my life 

so much. I never knew that I could love someone so much. I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom -

I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body. I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby. I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child. I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important.

Before I was a Mom -

I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay. I had never known The warmth, The joy, The love, The heartache, The wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom. 

I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much before I was a Mom.