"Sunny days, sweeping the clouds away..."

"Sunny days, sweeping the clouds away
On my way to where the air is sweet
Can you tell me how to get
How to get to Sesame Street"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Eversince news came out about Sesame Street Live having a show in Manila (and having seen a live Sesame Street show when I was a kid), we decided to take Caitlin and watch it. We bought tickets for their July 21 show weeks before the show and we slowly prepared Caitlin for it since it will be her first "theater" experience.

We woke up really early last Saturday. We wanted to go to Aliw Theater real early since we didn't know how the traffic is going to be and where the parking lots are located. We arrived a little past 9am (and the show was not until 11am!). But we weren't the first ones there. We saw a few families walking outside the venue, their kids tugging their favorite sesame street character stuffed toy and/or wearing their favorite sesame street shirt (Caitlin included).

Fortunately, there were some restaurants in the area that were already open so we decided to have breakfast while waiting.

Then, a little past 10am, we went back to the theater to line up. Good thing they were already letting people in and we didn't have to wait long. Before we went in, I took some pictures.




There were still a few people when we got in the theater so I took the opportunity to take more pictures.







The show started at around 11:30am (30 mins later than what was indicated on the tickets). At first, Caitlin got scared when the lights were dimmed but she started clapping and and dancing as soon as she saw Elmo on stage!

We had really good seats (6th row, center aisle). Caitlin got a good view of the characters (Rosita and Cookie Monster (during the 1st half of the show); and Telly and Elmo(during the 2nd half of the show)) when they went off the stage to greet the audience. Rosita and Telly even shook her hand. Unfortunately, my camera won't cooperate when it was Telly's and Elmo's turn to greet the audience so I wasn't able to take some close up pictures of Elmo :(

Here are some pictures taken during the show.













Overall, it was a good 90-minute show.


I think I enjoyed it more than Caitlin did!

Our new toy

We've always wanted to buy a camcorder but never had budget for it. Besides, it's not a priority. We already own a digicam that can record a few minutes worth of video. And there's always my parents' video cam that we can borrow.

The other day, we saw the BPI Appliance Madness sale at Market! Market! We decided to look around and found this -- a Canon DC230 DVD Camcorder.





We just wanted a camcorder that we can use at home, for family events, and for travel; nothing too high-tech or professional. This was just right for us. It came with some freebies, too (a Canon camera bag, a Canon dvd, and a tripod). And with the 0% installment plan, it was a good deal.

So hubby took out his credit card, had it swiped and we took our new "toy" home.

Inspiration of the Week: SUCCESS

Successful is the person who has
lived well, laughed often and loved much,

who has gained the respect of children,
who leaves the world better than they found it,

who has never lacked appreciation
for the earth's beauty,

who never fails to look for the best in others
or give the best of themselves.

~ Anonymous ~

My blog rating

I am 61% addicted

to blogging, that is :P

61%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

Grabe na ang kakulitan ni Caitlin! Lahat ng sabihin ng mga taong nakapaligid sa kanya, inuulit at ginagaya nya. So naisip kong sabayan ang kakulitan nya.

Me: I know
Caitlin: I know
Me: Yes, Mother
Caitlin: Yes, Mother
Me: Yes, Father
Caitlin: Yes, Father
Me: Botika
Caitlin: Botika
Me: Bituka
Caitlin: Bituka
Me: Butiki
Caitlin: Butiki
Me: Kalendaryo
Caitlin: Kalenda-yo
Me: Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!
Caitlin: SHOOS!

Hahaha!

At mukha ngang sya ang magtutuloy ng naudlot kong showbiz career.

Caitlin: "Mommy, gusto Caitlin Goin' Bulilit"
Me: "Gusto mo sumali sa Goin' Bulilit?"
Caitlin: (nods)
Me: "Eh anong gagawin mo don?"
Caitlin: "Dance! Sing pa!" (then dances and sings to the "Sinabawang Gulay" tv ad)

After her song and dance number,

Me: "Sige nga, paano umiyak"
Caitlin: (covers her face with her hands and makes a crying sound)
Me: (galing!) "E paano naman tumawa?"
Caitlin: (removes her hands from her face and starts laughing)
Me: (galing!) "E paano magalit?" (this one I thought she wouldn't be able to do)
Caitlin: (crossed her arms across her chest then turned her back to me!)

Ay grabe! Tawa ako ng tawa but at the same time, na-amaze ako! I never thought she'd be able to do those things at her age. So syempre, being the proud Mommy that I am, I called everyone in the household to watch Caitlin do her thing.

Say nyo naman, di nya pinahiya ang Mommy! Ang kaso, when Mama Sit took out the video cam to capture her antics, tumigil si Caitlin sa "show" nya at biglang nagtago sa likod ko.

Tsk tsk... I need to train her to be comfortable in front of the camera. Konting practice pa! :P

Naks! Stage mommy na talaga ang dating! :D

Tagged: Seven Random Things About Me

Tagged by Simply Me.


The rules -- list 7 random things about yourself on your blog. At the end of your post, list 7 people you are tagging. Let them know that they are tagged by leaving them a comment in their blogs.

So here goes... Here are the 7 random facts about me:

1. I am the eldest (and the only girl) in a brood of 3.
2. I love pink!
3. My hubby was my first and last boyfriend (o di ba?!).
4. I am not a beach person.
5. I am a morning person.
6. I have PCOS.
7. I auditioned for a role in a movie (for Regal Films) when I was around 5 or 6 years old. I just can't remember kung ano yung movie. Hahaha! :P

I'm tagging Jeanny, Che, Julie, Julai, Haze, Liza, and Jen.

Tagged: Mangan Tamu (Kain Tayo)

Got this from Meeya. And even if I don't know what swam mais is, I'm still doing this survey :P


Ano ang iyong almusal kanina?
~ Chicken tocino, egg and garlic rice. Yum!


Ikaw ay may itlog - nilagang itlog. Paano mo ito kakainin?
~ Uunahin ko kainin yung puti bago yung egg yolk.


Ano ang paborito mong local na junkfood?
~ Jack&Jill Chiz Curls and Oishi Potato Chips


Ikaw ay kinuhang TOP CHEF sa isang engrandeng pagtitipon. Ano ang iyong ihahain sa mga bisita? (Note: Ang mga pagkain na ihahain mo ay mga alam mong lutuin. Bawal magsinungaling)
~ Kawawa naman yung pagtitipon na yon. Di ako masyadong marunong magluto eh. Hahaha!


Kung ikaw ay makakain sa restaurant ngayon din, saang restaurant ka pupunta at bakit?
~ Sa Mexicali. I'm craving for their burrito.


Saan restaurant mo gusto makapunta, pero di ka lang nakakarating pa?
~ Hmmm... Gusto ko i-try yung Silk sa may Serendra, Fort Bonifacio.


May pizza sa harap mo. Ano ang ayaw mong makitang topping sa pizza mo?
~ Olives.


Ano ang madalas mong orderin sa Jollibee?
~ Burger steak, Regular Yum with Cheese, Peach Mango Pie.


Paano magluto ng Sinigang? Marunong ka ba?
~ Yes, marunong ako magluto ng sinigang. In fact, ito ang paborito ni hubby na luto ko. Thank you sa Sinigang Flavor Mixes. Hahaha! Wala akong tyaga maglaga at magpiga ng sampalok eh. :P

Anyway, eto ang steps: Boil meat and onions. Add vegetables. Add the flavor mix. Yun na!


Ikaw ay may fried chicken sa harap mo. Ano ang dapat niyang kapartner para masarap ang kain?
~ Jufran catsup. Actually, any banana catsup will do.


Kumakain ka ba ng dinuguan? Alam mo ba kung saan ito gawa?
~ Yes, kumakain ako and alam ko kung saan ito gawa :P


Kung nasiyahan ka dito, tina-tag kita! :D

The bakeshop forgot to bake the birthday cake!

It's Caitlin's 2nd birthday tomorrow but we decided to have an advanced birthday party for her yesterday. We just had family and some relatives over for some spaghetti, chicken, cake and ice cream.

Anyway, we wanted a Dora the Explorer birthday cake for our daughter's party. So as early as 3 days before party day, Hubby and I went to Goldilocks at Gateway Mall to order one. We paid in full and told the manager (who assisted us with our order) that we will pick up the cake on Sunday (yesterday) at 10 in the morning.

Sunday came. After hearing mass, we went straight to the bakeship to pick up the cake. We got there at around 10:30am. The manager was not there; only 2 crew members were there. When I gave them the receipt, they looked at each other and went in the office. I sensed right then that something was wrong.

After a few minutes, 1 of them came out and asked me what time the party was. I suspected that they weren't able to make the cake; I sarcastically replied, "Sa tingin mo? Kaya nga 10am ang pickup time na sinabi ko eh. Ano bang problema? (What do you think? There must be a reason why I said that I'm picking up the cake at 10am! Is there something wrong?)". That's when she told me that they weren't able to make the cake.

They told me that their manager forgot to fax my order to their Farmer's Plaza branch.

I was starting to lose my temper at this time. Several minutes passed before they asked me if I was willing to wait for around 30 minutes for the cake. They said they'll have it rushed. Not wanting to ruin Caitlin's birthday party, we decided to wait. True to their word, they were able to produce the cake in 30 minutes. I was really angry but I didn't want to ruin my daughter's birthday party.

Imagine the inconvenience they caused us! And all they could say was "Ma'am, pasensya na po talaga (Ma'am, we're really very sorry)". They didn't even offer anything to cover for the inconvenience they gave us.

Needless to say, I won't be ordering from them (at least, from that particular branch) again!

Inspiration of the Week - Laughter

Always laugh when you can. It's cheap medicine.
~ Lord Byron

The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.
~ E.E. Cummings

Laughter is an instant vacation.
~ Milton Berle

A Mother's Prayer

Dear Lord,

It's such a hectic day
With little time to stop and pray
For life's been anything but calm
Since you called on me to be a mom
Running errands, matching socks,
Building dreams with building blocks
Cooking, cleaning and finding shoes
And other stuff that children lose
Fitting lids on bottled bugs
Wiping tears and giving hugs
A stack of last week's mail to read
So where's the quiet time I need?
Yet when I steal a minute, Lord
To ask the blessings of Your grace
I see then, in my small one's face
That You have blessed me
All the while
And I stop to kiss
That precious smile

~ Author Unknown

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Happy Mother's Day to all mothers!

I turned a year older yesterday. I took a leave from work to spend my special day with Hubby and Caitlin. It turned out to be Caitlin's day (insted of MY day) but I don't really mind.


Our plan was to spend the day at the new Fun Ranch (along C5).











We haven't been there yet so we thought it would be nice to check the place out. But since it doesn't open until 12noon and we decided to first have breakfast at Chowking. When we finished, it was still too early so hubby suggested we go to Market! Market! to pass the time (he has to go there anyway to redeem a watch (HSBC's promo)).


At around 1pm, we headed back to Fun Ranch to have lunch. We ate at Big Red Barn.







The restaurant is designed to be really kid-friendly. Kids' songs were being played and there was a screen that showed kids' shows while we were waiting to be served. Caitlin was just too excited to see that a Dora episode was being shown.














We ordered fish and chips, pepperoni pizza and cheesy onion soup.











After lunch, we just went around and explored the place.







We were too tired after that so we headed home. But we did a "stop-over" at Gateway mall to buy my birthday cake.



All in all, it was a nice birthday spent with the people who matter most to me.

Inspiration of the Week

The Power of Perspective

A positive perspective removes the rust from our minds and helps us see beyond the box we've built for ourselves. Large obstacles seem smaller, long distances can be made shorter, and the unknown becomes familiar. Pausing to take a different view and appreciating everything more fully helps us understand where we are going.

~ Anonymous

Cool!

Say nyo naman sa pose ni little girl... parang model! Hahaha!

My Visual DNA

got this from mel...

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

Last night, biglang tumigil sa paglalaro si Caitlin at humingi ng milk. Tapos humiga na sya at inayos ang pwesto nya sa bed.

So sabi ng Daddy nya, "O sige, Caitlin, sleeping time na. Sleep ka na."

Eh itong si Daddy, ugali na ang kantahan si little girl habang pinapatulog. So kanta naman sya.

Biglang humirit si little girl. Sabi nya (while putting index finger on her lips), "Ssssshhhh... quiet!"

Hahaha!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Q&A with Caitlin

Mom/Dad: "What's your name?"
Little Girl: "Keytin" (Caitlin)

M/D: "How old are you?"
LG: "Tu" (Two)

M/D: "Who discovered the Philippines?"
LG: "Jelan" (Magellan)

M/D: "Who discovered America?"
LG: "Combus" (Columbus)

M/D: "What's daddy's name?"
LG: "Mahlon" (Marlon)

M/D: "What's mommy's name?"
LG: "Cez"

M/D: "Kelan birthday ni mommy?"
LG: "may seben" (May 7)

M/D: "Kelan birthday ni Caitlin?"
LG: "tenti nayn" (May 29)

M/D: "Kelan birthday ni daddy?"
LG: "jun ti" (June 3)

Ang galing! Proud mommy na naman ako! :D

Caitlin at Toy Kingdom

(Late post) Caitlin at Toy Kingdom, April 8


Enjoy na enjoy si little girl!








































Kaso, eto, nagtampo na nung sinabi naming uuwi na kami







Ang drama! Pwede ko na bang ipasok na artista? :P

Caitlin amazed us (again!) last night.



She was playing with my magnets (those I have collected from my travels) last night when she called my and hubby's attention. She was holding two magnets and kept saying, "peho, peho (pareho, pareho/same, same)".









To our surprise, they were indeed similar as both were magnets of Florida! Now, we wonder how she came up with the idea that they were the same.

She never ceases to amaze us and I'm one proud Mommy!

Easter Egg Anyone?

Caitlin designed her own easter egg last Easter Sunday.





Here's the final output (this is just 1 egg; pictures were taken from different sides/angles).





O di ba?! Abstract! :)