Wedding Weekend: Traveling to Tagaytay with the Fam

After meeting up with my friends from SMART, we convoyed with my sister, her hubby & son to the airport to fetch our parents. They also traveled to Manila to attend my SIL's wedding. Good thing we were able to convince them to take the short vacation.

After we fetched them, we traveled immediately to Tagaytay, but made a stopover at Solenade, Nuvali. It's a nice place, but the Alfresco style mall feels a lot like Parkmall. We roamed around a bit but didn't stay for long because it was raining, it was getting late, and the road was getting foggy.

My family stayed at a super nice cottage at DAP, Tagaytay. The place had full amenities, para talagang suite, with own parking pa. Meanwhile, we stayed at Taal Vista with my in-laws.

After dropping off their things at the cottage, we had dinner at RSM Lutong Bahay. Ang sarap ng bulalo, kaya lang sobrang over priced!!! Buti nalang treat ni Papa, hehe :) We didn't stay for long also because it was getting really late and we had our kids with us, and everyone was tired from traveling the whole day. We just passed by Robinsons to buy some grocery items before we went to Taal Vista, and my family to the DAP cottage.

After we settled down in our suite, Rocco got a big and bonggang surprise!

His Uncle Jojo, my hubby's brother who is based in Dubai got him an Ipad Mini. Ang swerte naman ng batang ito. Sa panahon namin, mga bato at dahon ang laruan ko. Ngayon, puro gadgets na. Of course, we're very conscious not to spoil the little boy too much and we limit his exposure to TV and gadgets. 

The next day was my SIL's wedding day! It was a day of answered prayers and miracles. More stories to come!

Wedding Weekend: Meeting up with good old friends

Hello world!! I'm back and so excited to blog about a lot of things. We've been out of town last weekend to celebrate my SIL's wedding in Tagaytay. It was a welcome breather for us, and sort of a reunion and bonding time with our respective families.

I have so much to talk about and I'm not sure it will fit into one post! Gosh, where do I even start?

OK, so we took the red-eye flight last Thursday. I wasn't aware when I bought our tickets that we will be boarding a turbo plane. Yung maliit na super tagal nang flight. The normal 1hr trip took us 1hr and 40min. Nakakaloka! Rocco was super scared the entire time and kept on crying until he fell asleep from exhaustion. We arrived Manila around 12midnight and was fetched by my sister. We spent the night at their house in Malabon.

Pics grabbed from Abbey & Ina's FB accounts

The next day, we headed of to Greenbelt to meet up with my former officemates from SMART. Good thing that we used my sister's car and hubby was the one driving because it was less stressful commuting EDSA.

It was so nice to finally meet up with everyone after almost 3years. Grabe, parang ganon pa rin, except the added fats. Haha! Kulang ang oras namin kasi we just met over lunch break and they had to go back to their respective jobs.

I missed some other good friends like Garet, Vanessa, Jenny, Agnes, Ana, and Lot. Sana I get to visit them again and mas matagal ang chikahan. I was also supposed to meet my other friends who are based in Manila but unfortunately, our sched didn't match up. There's always a next time pa naman.

More posts on our wedding holiday! :)

Surprising Crimson

We were supposed to go home after we checked out of Imperial Palace last weekend, but we decided on a small detour and went to Crimson Resort & Spa just to see if the place is really nice. Popular blogger Patty Laurel published a post about their recent stay at Crimson. We were considering it but it was expensive by a few thousands so we opted for Imperial Palace instead.

Ang ganda ng place. It feels like a Japanese home as soon as you enter the resort. It has a very laidback feel, yung tipong boring masyado if ang hanap mo ay adventure. But the scenery and fresh air compensates for the lack of action. Their beachfront is not so big. I think the nicest beachfront in the Mactan area is still Shangrila.

There's a big open space by the seafront and Rocco enjoyed running! Nakakatakot kasi baka dumiretso sa dagat, they didn't place a railing or whatsoever as a security measure.

Breathtaking view!

BIL treated us to some refreshments. Ang mahal!!! Para sa tatlong buko, isang milkshake at isang clubhouse sandwich, 1,400pesos na. OA!

Meanwhile, Rocco enjoyed playing with the white sand. We stayed on for a little while before calling it a day. We had a long travel back to our home where we truly belong.

Our Imperial Palace Experience

As I've mentioned in another post, we spent my husband's birthday at the Imperial Palace Waterpark in Mactan, Cebu. We booked an overnight suite because his parents along with his brother who was home from Dubai, visited us in time for his birthday.

We arrived just a little past 2PM because there was heavy traffic due to extensive road repair. Because the hotel was fully booked, housekeeping was super busy so it took them around 30min before they could usher us to our room. We didn't mind the waiting time because they served us welcome drinks and we sat comfortably in their lounge area.

As soon as we checked-in the suite, we unpacked our staff and prayed to God that it would stop raining. Yes, it was raining on Hubby's birthday, definitely a sign of more blessings to come! Rocco warmed up to his Uncle immediately even if it was the first time they've met. Kita naman sa smile :)

Rocco seemed to enjoy the luxurious room so much because he checked on every nook of the suite. Lakad dito, lakad doon. It's really nice to see Rocco exploring his surroundings. He's so curious and would even point out if something interests him. 

As soon as the rain stopped pouring, we didn't waste time and immediately explored the place. My gulay, it felt like we were in Korea, Japan, China, or basta sa mga bansang madaming Intsik! Kami lang ata ang Pinoy na naka check-in. Around 95% of the tourists were from the countries mentioned above, but I think mostly Korea. Buti nalang "belong" ang aking baby sa kanyang pagka tsinito. Anyway, the boys went swimming. Rocco is such a water baby! Swim swim swim lang sya the whole afternoon. I badly wanted to join them but for vanity's sake, tiniis ko. TMI but I had a hair treatment done and bawal maligo sa pool. Hay. Anyway, the place is so huge, so far the best waterpark I've seen so far!

Oh yeah, that's my boy digging the chicks :) Seriously, there's a fitness program at the Waterpark every morning and afternoon. The time we were there, they were having a zumba class.

Beautiful place! We stayed at the waterpark until after sunset then headed to our suite to get ready for dinner. We met up with my father who was also in Cebu for a business meeting. Let me just say that traffic in Mactan is so bad! It took us 1 hour and 30 minutes just to reach the Ayala Mall. The ride back to Imperial was just as worse. Nakabalik kami almost 11PM na. We lost expensive time due to traffic.

The next day, we woke up early so we can start early at the breakfast buffet. There were too many people because it was fully booked that day, but the resort had an efficient system and everyone had a reserved seat. The food was OK, nothing spectacular. They had a lot of Chinese and Korean dishes. I was hoping it would be more international than that, like some Italian or American cuisine. After breakfast, we headed back to the waterpark para sulit naman ang stay. Ang init lang kaya todo sunblock kaming lahat. We stayed until lunchtime because our checkout was extended to 1PM.

Camwhores, we just had to take our group shot. 

After checking out, we stayed at the lounge area for a few hours because the air was so fresh and nice. Sa sobrang nice, nakatulog si Rocco, which rarely happens everytime we're out of the house. After Rocco woke up, we got our things and called it a day..or so we thought :)

Hubby's 3x's Birthday Weekend :)

FYI: This is a photo-bomb post. We had so much fun celebrating Siegfred's 3x's birthday that we just snapped away a lot of photos!

Sieg's brother, who is my batchmate from highschool was home from Dubai to attend my SIL's wedding next week. They took it as an opportunity to make a side trip to Cebu in time for hubby's birthday. We visited the San Pedro Calungsod Chapel at the SM Seaside City to say our prayer of thanksgiving for the gift of life (Photo Source on the upper right: Inquirer).

After church, we went straight to Zubuchon, as requested by my BIL. We feasted on lechon! Panira ng diet pero masarap eh! I also love their dinuguan, and of course, the now famous kamias shake. We did not stay long for lunch because we were all excited to check in at the Imperial Palace Resort & Waterpark in Mactan.

We booked the Cebu Suite. A very luxurious room, I must say! Sulit ang bayad..NILA, kasi hindi ko afford! :) Thank you to my very generous BIL who shouldered our grand staycation :) More of our stay at the Imperial Palace in a dedicated post :)

I posted this in Facebook this morning. It was a very happy day indeed. Rocco had so much fun swimming, eating and playing, he hardly slept! Kami naman, most especially ako, pagod kakahabol here and there. Ganyan talaga ang trying hard maging dakilang ina :)

After checking out this afternoon, we chilled for a few more hours kasi sobrang sarap ng hangin sa lounge area of Imperial Palace. We were supposed to go home na afterwards, but Sieg suggested we checkout Crimson Resort. It's another high-end resort that we were considering for our weekend stay, pero fully-booked na din sila. Ang ganda pala, although parang sobrang laid-back and pang-honeymooners ang peg ng resort. We ended up staying there for the rest of our afternoon because it was so relaxing. Rocco had a lot of fun running around the manicured lush garden beside their beachfront cafe.

Thank God that it turned out to be quite a fun and memorable birthday for my husband. He seemed so happy, so I'm OK with that. Hindi pa nga tapos ang weekend so may continuation pa tomorrow kasi Sunday naman. Enjoy lang ng enjoy! :)

To our No.1 Man, Happy Birthday!

I had a lot of spoiled plans for Hubby's birthday but the Lord makes way. Thank God for Hubby's visiting family for making it a grand and splendid birthday weekend for my dear husband. More stories on my next posts.

Happy Birthday our dear Daddy Sweetie! 

We love you from the bottom of our hearts :)

To my dear Valentinos

Thank you for making me the QUEEN of your world, for always appreciating me, making me feel so needed and wanted, and for always making every single day worth living for. I love you both mucho!

Rocco's Latest Fave: Dutchmill

How I wish this is a sponsored post so I'll get lots of Dutchmill supply to last till Rocco doesn't want it anymore.

Oh yes, Rocco is super addicted to Dutchmill! I do hope that it's really packed with nutrients as it claims in the label. Feeding Rocco is never a problem now, and I hope it stays that way forever! Around two weeks ago, I searched the grocery for alternative juice drinks to give him aside from his milk & water. Sabi kasi ng pedia nya give him variety para hindi magsawa.

Then I saw these cute Dutchmill in small packaging.

I got a few pieces for each flavor just to try out which one Rocco will like. Aba! Nagustuhan lahat. Simot sarap hanggang nagssound na ang straw sa kakahigop nya. We're controlling his intake to one pack a day kasi mataas din sa sugar ang juice drinks.

Oh yeah, he's seriously drinking Dutchmill for breakfast. Simot sarap!

And this is what he did after drinking. So expressive! :)

PS. Pardon the blurry pics. These are screengrabs from a video. Video taking is way easier now that Rocco is a toddler. Ang hirap magpicture sa isang napakalikot na bata.

Morning Boo-boo

Saying goodbye to Rocco every single work day is always heartbreaking. When he was smaller, I would put him to sleep before leaving for work. It somehow lessened the guilt that I was feeling for leaving him.

When he became more awake at daytime, putting him to sleep became a struggle so I just asked the yayas to distract him while we're going out. It worked for a while, until he learned how to walk.

One instance triggered the start of our morning boo-boo. He saw us getting into the car, and he somehow thought all the while that he would also get in (because that weekend we were in the car for long periods of travel). When he saw us leaving, he cried like there's no tomorrow. My heart was super crushed. Haaay.

After that, he would always think of cute tactics to delay us. He would pretend not to hear us while we're asking for a goodbye kiss, or pretend to sleep on my shoulder when I carry him before leaving. Just recently, he started bringing my lunchbox around and refused to give it to me. He even asked his yaya to put on his bag and waited by the door kasi daw sasama sya.

These are screengrabs from a video I took one morning when he carried my lunchbox around and put on his bag. Ang cute!!

Though I've gotten used to the guilty feeling, there are still days when it pains me. I know this is just temporary and pretty soon, Rocco will start to understand why we leave for work.

My Mantra This Week

Father & Son

When Rocco was still an infant, Hubby would get jealous because the baby wouldn't let his Daddy carry him. It was all ME! I wasn't complaining though because I loved every minute. It feels good to be so wanted by your child.

But things are slowly changing. Sadly. Now that Rocco is in his toddler stage, he's more active and playful. His daddy's energy can match up so they enjoy playing together. Because of this, the little boy has become attached to his Daddy too. He calls his Papa all the time. He only calls me when he's sleepy or scared, or in pain. Other than that, all you can hear around the house is PAPA PAPA PAPA. I guess I shouldn't be jealous about this because he is a boy and it's a good thing that he is close with his Daddy.

 Rocco loves being thrown into the air. This is their "Catch me" game. As for me, I'm too scared to even attempt this.

 Rocco loves being carried like this. 

 One of their favorite past time is driving the car. Rocco is so obsessed with cars, he can sit behind the steering wheel for a long time without getting bored.

 The Daddy is patient in following the little boy around.

 This is their version of tumatambay lang. How cute is that! :)