When my husband and I were preparing for our wedding, we had a hard time searching for groomsmen gifts as I left the decision to my husband and he has no clue as to what to give his groomsmen and where to buy it.

If only we have discovered the site of Groomstop.com during our wedding preparation days, then things would have been easier for us. This site offers a wide selection of groomsmen gifts and they are of high quality that any member of the wedding entourage would be thankful to receive it. They even offer free shipping for orders $75 and above for more discounts and shopping convenience.

Just look at some of the items in their store:

They are not only limited to gifts for the groomsmen as they also have choices for gifts for other male members of the wedding entourage like the bearers, the ushers, the father of the bride and the groom and even for the groom himself. Majority of the items can be customized adding a more unique feel to the present.

If you are looking for the perfect token for the male members of the wedding party, then Groomstop.com is your perfect choice.

I love weekends as it is the only time that my husband and I can get to spend the whole day with our kids. We are both working so we make sure that as much as possible, weekends are for family.

Every Saturday, Bela and Cobi attend swimming class at Colegio San Agustin in Makati. After the class, we will drop by Bonifacio High Street to eat, shop and play. Just like two Saturdays ago.

We ate merienda in Conti’s then we just went to Bonifacio High Street where we just let the kids run and play.

Too bad it started to drizzle so we went home before we all get wet.

Almost every Saturday, we are always out as this is the only time in a week that we can spend the whole day with the kids. We either go to malls, use coupons to dine in restaurants, go to their favorite place like Ocean Park and Avilon Zoo, go out of town and visit Tagaytay or Nuvali and more.

But last week, we decided to spend our Saturday differently. My husband and I attended the parents’ orientation in Bela’s school in the morning and then we went home to fetch the kids and instead of going to the mall, we went to…..Luneta park.

It is the first time for the kids and it has been ages also since my husband and I went there. And boy we were surprise as they have a lot of new gimmicks.

They have the tram ride which goes around the park for a fee of P50 for adults and P30 for the kids. There was also a horse-drawn carriage, though we were not able to try it.

After our tram ride, we went inside the Chinese Garden and Bela and Cobi got really excited and they keep on referring to it as Kung Fu Panda’s house.

After playing inside Chinese Garden, we watched the dancing fountain and I must admit it was indeed entertaining.

Bela kept on saying that this was the best day of her life and how she wishes she could go here everyday. What a very fun and affordable way to spend our Saturday.

Hubby got a text from my father-in-law and he is asking hubby to drop by their house to get our pasalubong from Bicol, what else but hubby’s favorite, Baluko.

It is some kind of shellfish and you can cook it “adobo style” or with coconut milk, which is common to Bicolano dishes.

Hubby was so excited that he picked it up as soon as he received the text and he even called my aunt to request that she come to our house to cook it for lunch. And the result:

Ginatang and Adobong Baluko (fresh catch from Bicol) + sago't gulaman.Yumm.

Just look at hubby’s new project:

He has been planning to have this picture printed on canvass so he can have it framed and make it as a decoration for our home but it was only a few weeks ago that he was able to find the time (and the budget), to have it done.

This is one of our favorite pictures of our family. It was taken during Cobi’s 1st birthday party by our photographer friend, Kathy of K Snaps Productions. It is so simple, but yet this picture is so full of emotions that is why we love it.

Hubby edited the pictures to highlight us and he had it printed at InfoStation in 168. Then he had it framed in one of the stores just outside his office. Once it was done, he excitedly brought it home so he can immediately hang it on our wall.

Thanks to durable nail and the help of some wiring duct, this framed family portrait of us is now one of the best highlights in our home.

I am so missing my early Saturday in Ulingan: 

 Photo Credit: Rita Dela Cruz

Almost every Saturday, my husband and I wakes up early so we can make it on time for the Saturday feeding organized by Project pearls in Ulingan. But since June 30, we were not able to join because of family responsibilities that we have to attend to. I was supposed to go to Ulingan yesterday but hubby is working overtime and no one will be left with the kids so I have no choice but to stay at home.

I miss my co-volunteers whom I consider now as one of my closest friends and most especially I miss the kids. I specially miss Resty as he has been my buddy in Ulingan. Last time I saw him was during Cobi’s birthday and I promised him that I will see him the following Saturday but it has been 3 weeks and I haven’t set foot in Ulingan again.

Next week, we will be attending a birthday party and baptism and so we will miss the Saturday feeding again. ☹ But for sure I will be there on the 28th as my friend from work will be celebrating her birthday with the kids and she will be sponsoring the feeding for that day. Can’t wait for the 28th to come so I can spend time again with my kids in Ulingan.

Last June 29 was the 87th birthday of my grand mother. It is a weekday so instead of celebrating it on her actual birthday, we had a party on July 1 instead so my aunt and her family from Rizal can join us.

We just had potluck and each family was asked to bring something to share for lunch. I brought chicken from Chicken Bon-Chon, my sister brought California maki and sushi, my cousin brought ice cream cake, my brother brought lechon, my three aunts brought pansit, estofado and lumpia and my cousin Tessa baked cookies.

We also rented a videoke machine and so the oldies really had fun partying as they sing and dance to their favorite songs (which makes me think how many wine bottles they consumed as they really party hard. LOL).

My relatives stayed until dinner and so it was a great bonding moment with the whole clan, which made the birthday celebrant really happy.

To our dear Nanay Puti, Happy, happy birthday!! We love you very much!!

Ok, I realized that it is already July and I still have a lot of things in my To-do list for Bela’s birthday. I put the party preparations on hold as I wanted to concentrate on Cobi’s 2nd birthday party which happened last June but as soon as I realized that it is already July, I started to panic for a bit.

Good thing I have a cousin and a sister who is very much involve in the party planning preparations too for their niece and thanks to technology, we were able to have a group chat via Viber.

Well I have to decide on a lot of things like the décor for the stage, the balloon decors, the souvenirs, etc. I feel overwhelmed with all the decisions that I have to make that sometimes I need a sounding board to calm me down.

I am happy with the result of the meeting. Finally, things are getting clearer for the party preparations and we are 90% decided on the whole concept of the party. I have spoken with suppliers already and I am thankful because they are giving me friendly rates that fit my budget.

I will just have to sit with hubby and run down all our options before I finalize all the details with my supplier.

And now I am excited. LOL

It has been a month since my Bela started in Grade 1. I am the usual paranoid and worried mom because I know that grade school will be a big adjustment for my daughter. Imagine from having only 2 teachers in Pre-school, she will now have 8 teachers for all her subjects including her homeroom teacher.

Bela is still very playful and so I worry that she might have a hard time adjusting, as I know that it is already serious matter in grade 1. I got a bit worried actually on Bela’s 2nd week in school (the first week when she met all her subject teachers) as she came home sad because according to her, she got a lot of warnings from teacher because of her playfulness.

I don’t want to pressure my daughter but I tried to remind her everyday that she really has to behave and listen to teacher. Little by little she adjusted. On her 2nd week, she told me that she only got 2 warnings, from her everyday warnings the 1st week. Then on the next week, she said that she no longer got a warning from teacher. She is also doing well in her subjects as I can see that her test results are all ok.

I guess I should have listened to my husband from the start. He told me that I should not worry too much and just trust my daughter because he knows that Bela is a smart girl and soon, she will get use to the routines in Grade 1.

Well you know how mommies are. If I can only follow my daughter every where she goes, even going to the extent of installing gps vehicle tracking device, I would do that if only to ensure her safety.

I guess all mommies are like that. We worry on even the smallest things because we don’t want our kids to get hurt. I pray that Bela will continue to adjust in her new setup in school. I want her to learn but I would still want her to enjoy in the process.