Words Wednesday

From Lisa Ling's OWN Show "Our America" (referring to a parent/child relationship)-

The more time you spend with your children when they're younger, the more they'll want to spend time with you when they're older.

~Kristina

Yo Gabba Gabba Live! - Review

Christmas came early for us this year.

This past Saturday, we attended what might probably be deemed as the most anticipated event of 2011 for our household. No, it wasn't anyone's birthday, or vacation time, or even a milestone that was met. From our blog title alone, you would probably guess that the Yo Gabba Gabba Live! show would fit the title of the event of 2011. And it definitely lived up to the hype.

From the moment we parked, it was nothing but pure chaos. Beautiful chaos. Children AND adults dressed to the nines in their Gabba gear. It was a sea of red, pink, yellow, orange, blue, and green. To say Michael was overwhelmed would be an understatement. Either that, or he was filled with pure excitement as he observed, pointed, squealed (yes, I said squealed,) danced, and had eyes fixated on the stage the entire time.

It was exactly like an episode. Beginning with the theme song, tons of songs, & special guests (Biz Markie, Travis Barker, and Kelly Kapowski Tiffany Thiessen_. Everyone was up on their feet, dancing (for some, rhythmically moving HAH) and singing, including my husband. Yes, we will brag and say we knew all the songs. There was snow, confetti, and streamers. There was also nacho cheese dip in Michael's hair, a child lying on the floor throwing the most intense tantrum I've ever seen (I commend the dad that this happened to! He was so unbelievably calm.), greasy chicken fingers that were so expensive, $15 parking, and a long entrance line. But I would do it all over again in a heart beat.

It was pure fun. To see your child smiling the entire time is what being a parent is all about. I cried, you bet I did. And I cried some more. Not because of all the fun we had. But because of the fact that I knew Michael couldn't fake his enjoyment. It was one of the most genuine things I've witnessed. And I had so much gratitude that I was able to provide this for him.

Now on to the pictures, because you know this post means nothing without it.


















~Kristina

Steppin' Out Saturdays | 11/27/11

Yo Gabba Gabba! Live

We're trying something new today. Please watch our video to find out what we wore.

~Kristina

Happy Thanksgiving! :)

Not to sound cheesy this year or anything, but I'm truly thankful for everything: the good, the bad, & the ugly.

In no particular order: God (yeah, had to put him first). Those who love me, those who don't, who have yet to get to know me. Material things (couldn't blog without them). "Bad" weather. And the forecast of 78 degree weather this weekend! The "service engine soon" light that has been on in my car for the past 24 hours. Michael, our resident lint picker smh. The smell of his sweaty feet. His little laugh. Anxiety. My strength to kick anxiety in the bum. Tim Tebow's love for the Philippines. Kaiser Permanente. Our book club. Growing hair. Hot chocolate at Disneyland. And the driver tailing us on the way home from Disneyland last night. My husband, my best friend. No service, long lines, tantrums, arguments, bad customer service, no NBA season, 25 minute telephone holds, traffic. And everything in between.

Because all of these are part of my life. My beautiful life. Me.


Happy Thanksgiving
~Kristina

Words Wednesday

While on the escalator, the little girl behind us points to the "no strollers" picture sign & says "Daddy, it says no strollers allowed." Her father replies back and says "That's not our stroller. We have a different one." HAHAHAHA Well said.


~Kristina

Movie Mondays | 11/21/11

My husband's man crush childhood crush was AND still is Justin Timberlake. Yes, I was a teeny bopper. And yes, I too was convinced that Model Behavior was award winning. (Oh, being young.) So, I was definitely anticipating the day this movie hit Blu-Ray.

Sometimes I day dream and wonder who Michael's first celebrity crush will be. Whoever it is, I will not like her. Sorry, Michael.

Isn't this movie still adorable?

Movie- Friends With Benefits

Rating- !!!!! (Out of 5)

Upside- There is one scene in the movie that instantly brought me to tears. I'll just say is that it summed up not only Justin's character & his father's relationship but what I hope Michael and Rafael's relationship will develop into.

Downside- Not enough naked Justin scenes.

~Kristina

Angel Poem

A newborn's conversation with God:

A baby asked God, "They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow, but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?"

God said, "Your angel will be waiting for you and will take care of you."

The child further inquired, "But tell me, here in heaven I don't have to do anything but sing and smile to be happy."

God said, "Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you. And you will feel your angel's love and be very happy."

Again the child asked, "And how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me if I don't know the language?"

God said, "Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your angel will teach you how to speak."

"And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?"

God said, "Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to pray."

"Who will protect me?"

God said, "Your angel will defend you even if it means risking its life."

"But I will always be sad because I will not see you anymore."

God said, "Your angel will always talk to you about Me and will teach you the way to come back to Me, even though I will always be next to you."

At that moment there was much peace in Heaven, but voices from Earth could be heard and the child hurriedly asked, "God, if I am to leave now, please tell me my angel's name."

God said, "You will simply call her, "Mom."

-Author Unknown

~Kristina

What We Wore Wednesday | 11/16/11

Heading to Grandma & Grandpapa's house

Michael:
jacket- Old Navy
shirt- Hanes
pants- Target
shoes- Native (Woops They were in his diaper bag.)

Me:
top- Target
designer sweats (Hah!)- Los Angeles Angels by Victoria's Secret
slippers- Rainbow
diaper bag- Skiphop



~Kristina

Touchdowns For Tuition

We are a family of sports buffs. Huge sports buffs. So when we were approached by the Gildan crew for the Touchdowns For Tuition Sweepstakes, we did not hesitate to support them.

From their press release-

Gildan Wants to Help One Lucky Parent with College Costs through its Touchdowns for Tuition Online Sweepstakes and Instant Win Game! Win a college scholarship of up to $10,000, a family trip to the Gildan New Mexico Bowl, plus hundreds of Gildan basic apparel college care packages.

Please visit their website here for more information. Hurry, because it all ends November 20. Also, check out the Gildan website to purchase well made, basic apparel & active wear as well as care packages. I can't wait to receive mine. Good luck to all of you!


~Kristina

Wordless Wednesday

Peace Love Swap - Review

Update- How awesome was this? The founder of the swap actually left me a comment!

(Please check out this post to see one of Michael's Peace Love Swap finds)


Part of my OCD involved being excessively, obsessively clean. Clean, as in hand sanitizers in every room (pocket, purse, bag, you get the point,) not touching door knobs or light switches after washing hands, wiping down everything before usage, etc. Pretty crazy right? But with Michael, I got over that simply because I had no time to do it. When you're chasing after a toddler, a mom has no time to go back and sanitize the area that was just demolished. It'll just happen a minute later and the process begins all over again. I'm just trying to survive now, doing what I can, with the best of my ability, with the time I'm given. And I thank the Lord each day that he brought me Michael who's helped me get through this.

Part of this cleanliness trip was also that I vowed never to buy anything used for Michael. I hardly shopped at consignment or thrift shops myself, therefore why would I start with him?

I stumbled upon Half.com one day and since my son has an obsession with books, I thought why not save the extra cash (board books are so expensive fyi) and use it to buy more books? I saved. And conquered a fear of buying anything used. I also visited a nearby consignment shop in which I traded Michael's older toys for either cash or goodies. It was not only a money saving alternative for us, but allowed us to manage the clutter in our home.

Of course, many things I wanted to just donate. Hah, actually, a lot of things the consignment shops didn't take. So I researched into nearby donations drop offs. That's when I was pleasantly delighted to see the Peace Love Swap on my Google search. How amazing was it to simply bring items and swap them ($5 entrance fee but free if you volunteer.)

As the saying goes, someone's trash is definitely someone else's treasure. I left the swap with 2 sweatshirts and 5 books for Michael, while again, allowing myself to let go of my items to moms who I knew would definitely use them. Items ranged from maternity gear to clothing for teens, and everything in between. I even won a pass to the next swap and met some other moms in my area. My husband was also able to come along with our little guy and check out the play area the swap was held at.

And you know what? It was a great feeling seeing other moms with the items I brought. It doesn't get any better than that!


~Kristina

Bonus Movie Mondays | 11/14/11

Movie- Little Fockers

Rating- !!! (Out of 5)

Upside- Hellooo Jessica Alba! Didn't she just have a baby? Or 2?

Downside- This movie has been saved on our DVR for quite some time & now we know why. It was only mildly entertaining. Sorry, no surprise comedic guests.

~Kristina

Movie Mondays | 11/14/11

Movie- X-Men First Class

Rating- !!!!! (Out of 5)

Upside- A childhood favorite of mine & my husband. It was great to see the beginnings of a a great comic series.

Downside- I didn't buy Kevin Bacon as a villain.

~Kristina

Steppin' Out Saturday | 11/12/11

Fight Night

Michael:
shirt- Manny Pacquiao
pants- Target
shoes- Baby Mall

Me:

jacket- Nike

top- H&M

pants- Love

boots- Hunter

~Kristina

TV Reflection

I'm going to put myself out here (and probably my son too) & say we love our tv. I mean, who wouldn't love watching tv on 65 inches of pure beauty? And c'mon, isn't it obvious by our blog title, that our tv has some sort of part of our daily lives?

But in all seriousness, I bring this up because a friend of ours said that he didn't want his daughter to be a "tv baby". Now what does that mean? I'm seeking help from you readers today to help me out on with this hot debate.

Experts say, at my son's age (14 months) that I must break up tv exposure into 15 minute increments. Some even say ZERO tv is crucial to my child's development. Speech is affected, bonds between parent and child are weakened, and I'm neglecting my child if I let him watch tv.

This is such a hard topic for me, since I truly believe the latter is occurring for my son. He's beginning to count his fingers and toes. He recognizes songs and will try to hum and dance to them. I even see him want to pick up his books more because he wants to imitate his animated friends. When I take him to his Gymboree class or Library story time, I see that he is more interactive and gasp, friendly, with adults and babies alike. I actually don't see anything wrong, but am I setting myself up for something in the future?

Maybe I'm just trying to find justification for my actions. Maybe I make excuses for why I need a little break, or why it's okay to cook AND eat a meal without holding my 1 year old, or an excuse on why I want to add curls to my hair or apply more makeup than just Chapstick that day. But I would like to hear your personal experiences with the tv. Or even without it. Or whether or not I'm being a paranoid momma.


~Kristina

Wordless Wednesday

Obsessed - September & October Favorites

Our Disneyland Annual Pass & Maclaren Triumph push car, stroller, buggie, whatever it's called! I'm obsessed with these (if you can't already tell from the recent posts). Please watch my silly vlogs & see why.:



More info can be found here and here. Subscribe to my YouTube channel and make my day too. :)


~Kristina

Mommy & Me Mondays

Brother's Birthday @ Disneyland

Michael:
beanie- H&M
crew neck- Peace Love Swap (More on this in a future blog post)
pants- Target
shoes- Baby Mall

Me:

jacket- Papaya

long sleeve- Target

tights- American Apparel

shoes- TOMS

Hosted by Krystyn at Really, Are You Serious?

~Kristina

Movie Mondays | 11/07/11

Our family's newest addition

Movie- A Charlie Brown Christmas

Rating- !!!! (Out of 5)

Upside- A Christmas classic. "Christmas Time is Here" is one of those few holiday songs that instantly brings a tear to my eye.

Downside- Call me Scrooge, but I never found this movie to be an uplifting one. Home Alone please!

~Kristina

Steppin' Out Saturday | 11/05/11

Mall

Michael:
long sleeve polo- Old Navy
jeans- Ralph Lauren
belt- Ralph Lauren
shoes- Undftd x Vans

Me:

poncho- Missoni For Target

top- H&M

tights- American Apparel

flats- Tory Burch

Daddy:

beanie- H&M

button up- Matix

pants- Gap

shoes- Clot x Converse

~Kristina

Sports Reflection

This post has been long overdue partly because I had the fear of revisiting a negative blogging experience from the past. It's because, you see, I'm kinda obsessed with sports. And this obsession led to the demise of various sports blogs I had created. One after the other, blog after blog, I could never keep up. But here I am again, pushing through this fear as if I was 10 cm dilated.

I'm writing this post half because of this but moreso as an open letter to Michael. Here and there I have talked about our sports experiences. Out trip to Portland, Michael's 1st Birthday, and my dream writing job. But "why is this all important Mommy?" I can already foresee him asking.

My Dad was a ranked USTA (United States Tennis Association) player. We traveled with him so he could compete in tennis tournaments up & down the west coast. I loved traveling as a kid but hated sitting through a tennis match. So, you can say sports grew on me. Whenever we would travel to a new city, my Dad would take us to see a nearby sports arena. For instance, when we were in Arizona, we visited and toured the US Airways Arena, home of the Phoenix Suns or when we were in New York, we were able to see the old Yankee Stadium.

Sports meant a lot to my Dad. As a Filipino immigrant, he made friends in my neighborhood through the tennis club he competed with. In the Philippines, he was also a big Larry Bird fan. Watching basketball games in the United States helped him become more fluent in the English language. As I got older I began to understand the significance of sports in my Dad's life. And soon my own.

My parents were hard workers. They often enrolled me in after school activities, usually revolving around sports, since they worked almost 12 hour days. And to my surprise, I was actually good. I ran, I shot basketballs, I swung at t-balls. It was fun and it encouraged me. My love of sports blossomed.

During the summer, we frequented the library. I wouldn't grab a book but always headed to the magazine section so I could check out the latest Sports Illustrated. These summers helped strengthen my relationship with my brother, since we had something to relate with. He wanted me to help him find pictures of Shaquille O'neal in exchange for articles on Penny Hardaway. Our library trips soon turned our hobby into card collecting obsessions. It kept us busy. I loved these times with my brother & cherished them dearly. There was no turning back.

When I met Rafael, one of our first conversations revolved around sports. He was surprised & in awe of how well I could keep up with the conversation. He was also surprised at how every time he was invited to my family get togethers, it revolved around some sort of sports event: Super Bowl, a boxing match, Playoff games. Our dates also revolved around games too. For one whole NBA season we went to a Laker game once a month. But most importantly, I learned so much from him about other sports. Each season came something new: Wimbledon, The Masters, Sunday Night Football (Go Ravens!,) even the Kentucky Derby, and it brought about something new he could school me on. Some of our deepest conversations took place during the 2 minute mark. We even got engaged at a Laker game.

Michael, my hopes are for you to understand how much sports means to me. Yes, it would make my heart skip a beat for you to become the next Derek Jeter. Or Kobe Bryant. But my hope is to share this with you, as my father has, as my brother has, as my husband has. And with that, I owe this to you. To share a piece of who I am. Because sports has helped shape me. And from that came you.



~Kristina

How about one more for good measure?

We actually got one WITH the glasses!

~Kristina

Eight Years Ago

...was when Michael's life began. He wasn't born then, in the technical sense, but it was the day that Rafael & I made a promise. We didn't know we would get married then, or how any kids we would have, or even if we were going to merge bank accounts. What we did know was that we were going to become a part of each others' lives. A moment, which lasted a day (at Disneyland might I add,) a week, a month, a year, and now 8 amazing years. A moment that lead to us dating exclusively, becoming best friends, getting married, and having Michael. Eight years ago I experienced what I can also say was one of the greatest moments of my own life. A day which kick started me learning about who I was and who I was to be become. And more importnantly, I began to learn that day that "I" would soon turn into "us".


~Kristina