First pregnancy update for the year

Ahoy there! 

How have you all been? Me, I'm just cooped up at home since Monday waiting for D-Day. I came from the OB's clinic last Saturday and she said that I'm already 2-3 cms dilated so she advised me to take a leave from work because I could give birth any day this week. But it's Wednesday now and still nothing. Our little bebe is still taking his sweet time in my womb. Can't complain as the thought of giving birth kind of scares me but we're also so, so excited to see him so... mixed feelings actually.

Are we ready? We're ready as we'll ever be. I'm at the point where I just offer everything up to God and just wait and see what happens, ya know? I'm scared but He pacifies me. And because of that, I become less worried. 

I wonder when this little bebe is coming out? Sigh. Ready when you are, Baby Lex! 

Highlights of my Christmas vacation

1. Good food, good company, and quality conversations among family members, and

12-28-13
Pardon the blurry photo. No one brought a decent camera. Hehe.

2. Celebrating the occasion with the loves of my life, Mon and Lex.

I usually refrain from having my picture taken nowadays because I already look so swollen.
But I am so, so happy that night, I just can't not take a picture!

I honestly felt so down in the dumps these past few weeks. But being with my family made me feel so recharged and so ready to face the world again... and so ready to face motherhood! 

It's true when they say that you never know what you got 'til it's gone. Good for me, whatever I got is not really gone, thank God! But spending Christmas away from home for the very first time in all my (almost) 30 years of existence made me appreciate my family and our celebrations more. Hindi bale, babawi talaga ako next year. Promise! :)

As the year ends... a parting message for 2013

There are times in our lives when we just have to accept that we can't get everything we want at the exact moment we want them. During those times, we just have to believe that that is what God wants for us. Keep the faith and know that He has something better in store. Something better than our own silly dreams. One day, we'll realize that we've been wanting a cheap alternative of what He really wants to give us. 

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 

- Jeremiah 29:11 

As 2013 comes to a close, let me just remind you of this. We may have our own goals this year, some we may have achieved, others no. But let us not be frustrated or depressed over the things that were. Know that we are exactly in the position God wants us to be. Let us all keep the faith. Believe. Hope. And be assured that God has a plan to prosper us, to give us hope and a bright future. 

Happy New Year to all of you, my dear readers! Thank you for hopping in for the ride with The Reluctant Storyteller. Cheers to more adventures in 2014!

Remember, let's all keep the faith! :)

SRA's movie night!

My colleague has been bugging me to do this post so here it is!

*Ahem* Hi, MG! :)

The first celebration I attended this December was SRA's mini-reunion. We've been deciding for almost an entire year on where to spend our Ayala eGC winnings from last year's Rewards and Recognition Program. Ahem, ahem. We won as Best Team, by the way. Kudos to our lovely and ever so efficient manager, Blossom Faith S. Bote! :)

So many things have happened since we won the award last April. SRA is not called SRA anymore, three of its members were transferred to other teams, three new members replaced the old ones... so many things I'd rather not say in detail.

Two weeks ago, December 6 to be exact, my old team and I finally decided to go on a movie night, something the team had never done before. We watched the Disney animated film Frozen at Greenbelt 3, complete with gourmet popcorn and fresh lemonade!

What's a celebration without pictures?

We left for Greenbelt at different times. MG, Jun, and I were the first to go.

Then Aleli and Faith.
Isa sa kanila masayang masaya. Sino kaya? #alamna
:)

Then Lynne and Chase.

The first batch waited a while for the others to arrive. So we just took photos of ourselves to pass time.

We bought fresh lemonade for everyone!

Err.. We were hungry too. Hehehe.
Can't get over the cheese dip. Ang charrap!!

More photos when Faith and Aleli arrived.

Parang celebrity lang si Manager?

Lynne and Chase arrived at the nick of time so we weren't able to take a decent team photo before the movie.

Here we are inside the movie house! Soooo excited!

Finally, a team photo to commemorate the event after the movie! 

Team SRA, Circa 2012

Random photos after the movie.

We ate dinner at Recipes c/o our generous manager. :)

Waiting for seats!

During dinner.

We capped the night off with dessert at Red Mango.

Of course I had to be in the picture! LOL!

We finished fairly early at around 10PM. It was a tiring week for all of us, what with the tight deadlines at work. This mini-reunion gave us the perfect opportunity to unwind.

Sometime during the dessert, it dawned on us that we are the last batch of Team SRA.. so we should cherish this rare time together. Next year will be very different for all of us. There will be other priorities, other people involved, other much pressing issues to conquer. But we are comforted with the fact that our lives are intertwined, intricately woven, as there are friendships and ties that just won't break easily. Externally, we can feel the difference. But deep down we all know that what we are to each other will always, always be the same.

Cheers to Team SRA!!

The Big Bang Couple turns 1!

One Year. WOW.

It seems like only yesterday when I giddily walked down the aisle towards my prince charming. Now we are married for one whole year! Even at this point, I really still can't believe a year has passed since the day that picture above was taken. Time goes by so fast, I tell ya. So fast.

Let me tell you about our anniversary weekend.

Has it really been 11 months? Time flies.

I'm not in the best mood to create a lovely message from scratch, so I am just going to lift something from a book I just recently read (tweaking the pronouns slightly), since it captures what I feel perfectly.

"You and I are the same. I mean, yes we're different, just like everyone else. But deep down, we're the same. I wish I could be figurative about this, but I can't. We're literally the same person. We want the same things. We laugh at the same jokes. We understand each other without trying, without being told. We know what to do with each other, how to make things better when things go wrong. I am you and you are me...

... When it's right, love isn't difficult. It's the easiest thing in the world. All the differences and hardships don't matter, and there's only one answer to every question." 

- Vince's Life The Wedding

This is exactly what I feel for you, my dear darling Mon. I don't know how I can say it more simply than that. Ever since I met you, you turned my world around. You taught me how to dream again. You taught me how to believe in myself. And I am so overwhelmed by the feeling because, well, nobody has ever believed in me as much before. But you have. And you are still believing in me everyday. I'm a better person because of you. 

It's true what Vince said. When it's right, love isn't difficult. I know that now. Happy 11th Wedding Monthsary, Honey nom-nom. Thanks for the Peppermint Mocha. :)

Oh hello there, you!

Yesterday, we went to The Baby Ultrasound Company (for the third time!) for Lex's 3D/4D ultrasound. The ultrasound was already re-scheduled twice because Lex simply won't cooperate the first two times. Either he's covering his face with his hand or foot (he's in a breech position as of the moment) or his umbilical cord is in the way. Suffice it to say that we are very insistent parents trying to catch a clearer glimpse of our son.

While bonding with Lex the night before, I told him repeatedly to please, please, be in the mood the next day because Mommy and Daddy really want to see him. I promised to give him a treat if he does. Hah! Bribery comes early.

Anyway, Mon and I are very happy with the results. Not only did Lex show his face, he was even caught smiling and yawning (tricks he got from his Daddy, I'm sure). ;p

Hello, everybody!! I'm Lex! I got my Daddy's eyes and my Mommy's chubby ching cheeks!

Are you done fussing over me now ? I'm sleepy...

I'm going to sleep now. Good night, Mom and Dad!!

After the ultrasound, we headed to Baby Company to give Lex his treat as promised. We got him this!

Newborn to Toddler Rocker by Fisher Price

Good job, Lex! :)

Blogging on a perfectly sunny morning...

... is the best, don't you think? :)

Random Stuff

I promised my husband that this morning will be a "sleep-all-you-can" morning and so while he's still in dreamland, I decided to be productive and make use of my alone time before we go and do our planned activities for the day. 

The truth is, I can't think of anything to write right now. I just wanted to post something before you miss me too much. Hehe.

I can't sleep last night. Slept at about 2AM. I think I had a lot of "savings" in my sleep bank the night before. 11 hours of sleep. How cool is that? And then I slept at 2AM last night and woke up at 8AM this morning. 6 hours. Not quite enough. Tsk.

I had the most enjoyable day yesterday. Woke up at 11AM, ate Sinigang for lunch, watched 2 episodes of The Big Bang Theory, watched Hocus Pocus (my favorite 90's Halloween movie), received a GREAT gift from the husband (head over to my Instagram to know what it is!), took time answering something that involves the gift, watched news, watched teleserye, ate Yellow Cab pizza for dinner, watched some more teleserye, retired to bed, watched the latest episode of The Vampire Diaries, bonded with the husband a bit, husband got sleepy, husband slept while I was left with nothing to do in bed except feel baby's active movements, bonded with Lex (he's so big and active now. I'm actually starting to feel a little less comfortable with his movements), checked my Facebook for one last time, and before I knew it, it's 2AM! So then I forced myself to sleep.

My mind is spinning. I can't seem to think straight. I have so many things to get excited about and it's all in a box inside my brain, excited over so many things at the same time. It's tiring, but the best kind, ya know?

Mostly I'm just so excited with the holidays. What with work wrapping up just a tiny bit and the holiday shopping and the Christmas songs playing and people becoming just a tad bit happier, more cheerful. It's Christmas magic, I tell ya.

And then I'm so happy with my husband's birthday gift to me. I know my birthday isn't until next month but this one will take some work before it's actually done. So excited. 

Blog plans. Have so many of 'em! Well, my life is bound to get more exciting next year with this baby boy so I hope to find the time to write about it. Fingers crossed.

I'm 29 weeks now. 11 more weeks before I meet this little one who's been bullying mommy inside. Well, baby, you can bully mommy anytime you want but please, just please, cooperate in your 3D ultrasound tomorrow, alright? I promise to give you a treat if you do. :)

First purchase for the baby!

I'm exactly 18w5d today and already Mon and I have started looking for baby things! Excited much lang? Hehe. Better early than late, baka naman ang laki na ng tiyan ko saka pa kami mag-start eh wala pa naman kaming ka-alam alam sa mga kagamitan ng baby. Serious! We're both the youngest in the family so we have never experienced taking care of a younger sibling. Tapos hindi pa ako mahilig sa bata. Si Mon naman, while he likes kids, yung pagka-like niya is limited to playing with them lang. Haha! We have never tried changing a baby's nappy or putting a baby to sleep or kahit magtimpla man lang ng gatas. So how ever will we raise this little sweetheart? We'll need plenty of education and practice!

I received Dotty's very first baby item a few weeks ago. A cousin from the States oh-so-kindly sent me 4 pcs. of receiving blankets. Confession: nung time na yun, I didn't really know what a receiving blanket is. Ang alam ko lang, kailangan ko siya dahil kasama siya sa Baby Checklist ng Baby Company. Haha! Actually hanggang ngayon, hindi pa rin ako sure kung ano yun pero I'm guessing na yun yung cloth na ginagamit to wrap a newborn baby?

According to wiktionary, a receiving blanket is a lightweight blanket that is wrapped around or placed under a partially or fully nude baby for warmth and hygiene. So yun nga yun. :)

Then last week, my sister sent me her kids' old baby clothes. Lots and lots of white tops and light pants. I'm guessing na mga pambahay and pantulog yung mga yun. So now I have a large paperbag full of baby clothes lying around the room.

I generally don't like clutter. I grew up in a very clean home (as in my mom cleans the whole house every single day! I swear, pwede kang humiga sa sahig sa sobrang linis.) which is why clutter irritates me to no end! Especially pag araw araw kong nakikita (i.e. clutter inside the room), inis na inis talaga ako. And so because of that, we decided to buy Dotty his/her own chest of drawers for his/her stuff! 

I know a chest is not a very "baby" thing but at this point, it's what he/she needs! It's to be delivered next week at excited na akong ligpitin ang mga gamit ni Dot-dot sa drawer niya. 

We got Dot-dot's chest at Mandaue Foam.
For those on a budget, masarap mag-shopping dun kasi their prices are very reasonable. 

We've been looking at cribs and strollers recently but we can't actually buy one until we know the gender. We saw a crib we liked at SM Makati one time but the color combination is Teal and White. It's actually unisex but Mon and I agreed that the color is too girly for a boy. So, next time.

UPDATE 09/07/13: The chest was finally delivered last week and this is how it looks like.

A TEMPURfect day!

A few weeks back, I was craving for Wicked Macaroni and Cheese from Mr. Jones. Fast forward to yesterday, Mon finally accepted my request to go to Makati on a weekend! Yiiiiiiihhh, kilig!!

You see, on weekends, we don't usually stray far from where we live. Nakakapagod. We figure that time spent driving can be used to rest or sleep instead. And weekends are very sacred to both of us. It's our time to relax and recharge for another full week ahead. If we must go out on a weekend due to a need or just plain boredom, we make it a point to go somewhere near lang.

Since it's a long weekend naman and we had enough rest last Friday, he agreed to go to Makati with me. Aside from Mr. Jones, we also had other errands to do there. 

Because we were both Greenbelt "virgins", we didn't know that the stores open there at 11am pala! The only store we saw that opened before 11am is The Body Shop, which is fortunate because I've been meaning to buy moisturising sticks for my pregnant tummy. I ran out and the moisturising stick I need was out-of-stock in all The Body Shops I've been to (SM Makati and Glorietta branches). So nagpaka-Ariel na ako and hoarded. These were the last three stocks they had.

Without anything to do after, nag-OOTD na lang!

At 17 weeks!
Top: Plains and Prints
Cardigan: Mango
Pants: Natale
Shoes: Grendha

We ate lunch at Mr. Jones. What we ate:

From top left clockwise: Frozen Iced Tea & Lemonade in Grape, 

Wicked Macaroni and Cheese, 

A&W Rootbeer Float, Mr. Jones Overload with Glazed Pineapple Spam

I loved the Frozen Iced Tea & Lemonade, all else, steady lang. I mean, under normal circumstances, I would have really loved the Mac & Cheese... Favorite ko kaya yun sobra before! And I still recommend it to anyone who asks but I think my pregnant taste buds did not take a liking to it as much as my normal taste buds did. But still, it was worth the wait.

After lunch, we went to the Tempur Showroom to buy a pillow. Ohmygosh, pillow-buying has never been this enjoyable! It was a different experience altogether. Tempur has different kinds of specialized pillows, depending on how you sleep: back, side, or tummy. I'm a back and side-sleeper so we tried out pillows that are perfect for back and side-sleeping. That would be the Symphony and the Sonata. We also tried out another pillow, the Cloud, just because ang sarap niyang hawakan. Ang lambot kasi! Hehe.

After choosing our desired pillow/s, we were ushered into a private room where we can try it out. The room has a bed (with a Tempur mattress and topper) with two side lamps and a table to place our things on. Bedroom setting talaga.

The actual pillow test.

Upper Frames: Symphony
Lower Left: Cloud
Lower Right: Sonata

What I loved about the whole experience, aside from the pillow test, was the service. No unnecessary sales talk, only helpful information. They had recommendations but not once did I feel that they were insistent. And they literally left us alone in the private room, no matter how long it took for us to decide. We were in there mga 45 minutes siguro? That's including the time we spent listening to the audio presentation na but still, the presentation was not long to begin with.

In the end, I finally decided on the Symphony pillow as this one is perfect for back and side sleeping alike. Double purpose na siya. Sonata kasi is good for side-sleeping lang. I mean, obviously, wala namang kaso yun if you use Sonata while lying on your back diba, coz alangan namang magpalit ka pa ng unan habang natutulog. Yung level of comfort lang siguro that you'll get would be different. But if I were to buy my next Tempur pillow, I'd definitely get Sonata.

Thanks for another early Christmas gift, Honey!! :)

I really love buying for the home! I get a kick thinking of the time when Mon and I will finally move to our own place. I bet we'll have so much fun shopping and decorating! Well, I'll have fun for sure. I think Mon would leave me in-charge as long as I furnish our living room with state-of-the-art surround speakers. That's all he asks.

SRA Idol 2013!!

Every year for two years now, SRA holds a mid-year event at a nearby Family KTV. To make things more exciting, our manager made it a (friendly) competition among us members. Hence, the term SRA Idol came to life. This year, we had it at Music Platinum Family KTV in Polaris St., Makati.

I swear, level up talaga ang SRA Idol this year! As in! It's an event that an SRA member really shouldn't miss! I almost did, actually. Since getting hospitalized 2 weeks ago, Mon and I have been taking extra precautions on my pregnancy. No more commuting, no more strenuous activities, no more late night outs. For this year's Idol, I was supposed to join the duet category only then go straight home na. Mon was supposed to fetch me at 7:30pm but the event started at around 7:15 na. Siyempre may mga opening remarks pa and all that so hindi ko na talaga mapapatapos if ever kahit yung first category man lang. So I begged Mon to let me stay. Faith, my manager, offered to take me home naman. I promised hindi ako magpapagod. My teammates were very supportive in that pag nakikita nilang out of control na ako sa tuwa, they remind me to calm down. 

The winners of SRA Idol 2013 from L to R:
me (English Category), Jun and MG (Duet Category), and Faith (Tagalog Category)

Ang daming revelations nung gabing yun! For starters, lumevel up ng bonggang bongga si Mommy Lynne! #ShyLynNoMore

Yung duet category ang pinaka-aliw sa lahat ng categories. Ang gagaling ng performances! With matching choreography pa talaga. Prepare to be entertained ang peg, especially ang Jun and MG tandem with their winning piece, This Love by Maroon 5. F na F kung F na F! A well-deserved win. Great job, lunchmates!

Not-so-close fight naman sa Tagalog Category because may isang nag-stand out talaga. I know kasi it was I who tallied the votes.  Faith garnered 50% of the votes that night for her winning piece, Araw Gabi by Regine Velasquez. Go go, Faithee!!

As for me, well, I wasn't supposed to join the English Category. As I've said earlier, I was supposed to join Duets lang. Pero nung nakita ko yung prize, aba, Ferrero! Mon loves Ferrero! So I thought, might as well try it out diba! Nandun na rin naman ako eh. So I got the songbook and literally picked the first song I laid my eyes to, A Very Special Love by Sarah Geronimo. 

Sa totoo lang (walang stir!), everybody did very well sa performances nila. Ang hirap pumili ng bobotohin during votation time! So congratulations to all of us! We're all winners in our own right!

Our tagline: Once an SRA, always an SRA!

Anxious | Excited

Hi! Just checkin' in to update you on what's happening during the last couple of days.

I'm still in denial. I know, I know! It sounds really killjoy of me but who can blame me? I really don't feel pregnant at all barring the signs of early pregnancy such as breast tenderness (which has decreased compared to some weeks ago or have I just gotten quite used to it?), frequent peeing (which has increased a whole lot the past couple of days), stomach rumblings, and non-stop hunger pains. I'm also struggling to get into my pants now. My stomach, which is really normally flat, is now protruding very slightly. Now I don't know if that's the baby or just fat because of all the food I eat these days.

I'm not going to lie. There are moments when I don't feel so yey! about this whole pregnancy thing. There are times when I ask myself what I had gotten myself into. There are moments when I begin to worry if I truly deserve to be a steward of GoD's child. I mean, I'm me! I'm certainly not perfect. I certainly don't have it all together. I'm not even a superwoman! But then all these thoughts diminish when I think, who in this world is perfect anyway? Who in this world has it all together? Who in this world is a superwoman? When I think that, I feel all happy and giddy again. Everything is all right in the world again.

I'd like to think that GoD chose us to be His steward for a reason. And right now, I am just so consumed by GoD's love and I thank Him and appreciate Him and praise Him for this great blessing!

On the pregnancy front, I'm 5 weeks yesterday! According to my pregnancy books, yes that's one of the first things I did when I found out I was with child! my little angel now resembles a tadpole and his heart is starting to take shape and is already beating!

I had only planned to buy What to Expect book but
The Everything Pregnancy Book was such a steal at P295! 

I also took further steps to prepare for this pregnancy excited?!. As advised by my sister, I bought a moisturizing stick for my tummy to prevent stretch marks, which is funny because I never thought pregnancy can cause stretch marks! My mom never had 'em and she was pregnant three times! My sister too! But she said she had used a moisturizing stick earlier on in the pregnancy so wala namang mawawala if I do that too diba? So I got this for myself.

The Body Shop Cocoa Butter Moisturising Stick

And because my pants are feeling a little snug, I got myself some new clothes too! I only just planned to buy support leggings honest! but I saw two pretty tops both in navy blue coz dark colors are more slimming and I just can't help myself! And you know what I realised? There are so many types of clothes available for pregnant women these days so there really is no excuse for them to be unfashionable. Some tops can even be used by pregnant and non-pregnant women alike. Really, there are limitless possibilities! Gone are the days of gray, shapeless jumpers and hello colorful, stylish clothing!

So right now all we're waiting for is my first ultrasound, scheduled next week! Mon and I are so excited to see our little angel for the very first time. Wonder what it'll feel like? :)

Positive

Today I found out that I'm pregnant.

I can't say I'm surprised because this pregnancy was planned. With a little aid from our OB and a few "magic beans", we were able to conceive after just one month of trying.

It was around 5:30AM when I took the test. My bladder was screaming release and I decided to go for it despite the ungodly hour. I waited patiently while I put 3 drops of urine into the plate. After a little while, lines started to form. One very distinct line opposite C and a fainter line (but distinct nonetheless) opposite T. I smiled thinking "I knew it! Mon is going to be so so happy!"

I waited for another minute to gather my thoughts on how I'll break the news to Mon. Should I wake him up? Should I wait for him to wake up? Naaaah!!! This news is much too big to wait for him to wake up. So I went back to our room, kissed him awake and when he stirred I declared, "Good morning!" showing him my test plate. He immediately opened his eyes wide and looked at me with awe and wonder while I grin sheepishly at him.

I was shaky for a good half hour (due to excitement and fear combined) when we decided to, for the second time that morning, test again adik lang?. Still positive!

As of today, my whole family knows about it as well as Mon's dad and sister. I don't know about his family but mine was so ecstatic! My father was so happy he told me he got teary-eyed when my mom broke the news to him. He said it's the best birthday gift he can ever receive this year (his birthday is next month). I'm happy they're happy.

As for me, well, I'm happy yes. I know that this little angel is a blessing from GoD and I'm grateful! I really am. But I can't help but worry too sometimes. So many things can still happen in the next few months. Heck, I haven't even had my first ultrasound yet! I can only pray that He bless me with a healthy pregnancy and a healthy, bouncing baby.

We visited the OB today to tell her about my test results. She gave me a number of prenatal vitamins which I started drinking tonight. It's all good! No ugly side effects so far.

Please whisper a prayer for my safe and healthy pregnancy, folks! A new adventure is about to begin in our lives. We're a little scared but we're super thrilled!

What's cooking?

 

Because it's work night, I've no energy to whip up something better than canned sardines. I've occasionally been craving for spicy sardines and those cravings were perennially unmet so you can just imagine my delight to finally eat this!

And because I still have a pack of misua left over in the fridge, I decided to put some in! Flavor it with some salt and pepper and voila!

I loved the taste I ate so much! Mon found it a tad bit spicy but he ate a hearty serving nonetheless. I vowed to use regular flavored sardines next time. Mon can't stand spicy food. He's more inclined to eat sweet food or sour food, or salty food... anything but spicy! Which makes me wonder, how can we be so alike in so many things yet so different in our food preferences? I can only guess.

Sunday is chores day

I am very happy to announce that today was a very productive day for me! I was able to cook lunch adobo!, sweep the floor in our room and living and dining areas, iron my work clothes, and cook soup for merienda! Mon and I also went out to visit some home stores and bought a chopping board and a small frying pan.

I am so happy with my cooking because finally, success na ang adobo ko! I swear, this is the first time I cooked adobo na ang lambot ng meat at tamang tama ang lasa. Well, the taste of my previous adobos are fine naman except that I just used Mama Sita's and nothing else. So in short, "cheat" siya. My adobo earlier is still "cheat" kasi I still used Mama Sita's to marinate the meat but I tweaked the taste a bit while cooking by adding whole pepper, laurel leaves, soy sauce, and vinegar. That has to count, right?

Mid-day update

Let me tell you how my day has been so far.

Last night on our way home from the mall, the husband begged me not to wake him up this morning so I didn't. I woke up at around past 9, went down to get some cheesy brownies and water, went back to our room, browsed the internet for some interesting recipes, went down to cook lunch i finally tasted Hormel!, blogged, and read blogs.

At 11:55, the husband finally woke up. We ate lunch while watching the latest episode of The Big Bang Theory. We cuddled a bit, then I went back to reading blogs while he laid down for a few minutes and is now, as I type, reading manga on his iPad.

What a lazy Saturday... just how we like it! Now if only I can drag him out of the house to some home stores this evening, then today will be perfect!

UPDATE 05/11/13 9:14 PM
I wasn't able to convince him to visit home stores but he promised we'll do it on Monday! Yipee!! :)