Wow, the most awaited time of the year is over and we are only few days before the new year rings in. It is amazing how our family celebration only lasted for a few minutes minutes but it took many hours of preparation. Don't you agree?
This year we really did not cook a lot. I learned from the past that we just wasted food for cooking too much when there are only 5 of us to partake it. I was also able to convince hubby not to over spent this Christmas. He tends to cook up a storm during occasions like this. This time he cooked 2 main dishes, chicken marsala and stuffed cabbage. I did 2 side dishes, rice and roasted mixed veggies. The girls baked the fudge brownie and I baked apple pie for our dessert.
We had a great dinner and celebration, though I still wish we have more families over here to spend time with at this time of the year.
Christmas is Over
Our Tree this Christmas
I thought we can get a real tree this Christmas, but we decided to make use of our artificial one instead. So after Thanksgiving we had the tree up and we're working on the decors. I have red and gold for color theme this year for our ornaments as well as other house decorations.
I was at the store to get some Christmas bows but I am aghast at how pricy it can be. One bow will cost you $5. So I went to youtube and watched some instructions on how to make one yourself. I found a good how-to video which is very easy and voila I did my own Christmas bows. I had fun doing it. I utilized my old wired ribbons for my trial ones. It came out good and from now on I will do my own Christmas bows.
This time around I did not buy too many gifts for everybody. I just picked out 2 each for our girls and also for hubby. Our DD1 also picked out something for her teachers at school that she gave to them on their last day before their Christmas break. In all, I think for next years to come I will do a 2-color theme for decorations. It looks neat. I can recycle one color a year and pair it with another one for next year. We'll see if I can keep it as our family tradition as well.
Last Week of Christmas Shopping
One week more and it's already Christmas day. If you are not yet done with your Christmas shopping, then this is the last week to do so. For those who are buying electronics or any gadgets for make sure to check out coupon codes so you can save money. I know most stores are having their Christmas sale. With their sale going on and the coupon codes that you get through the site like geek alerts.com, I am pretty sure you can score a great deal.
A friend of mine was thinking of getting another laptop and I told her about MacBook Air sale that she can snag. If only I have enough savings for another laptop, I will get one for myself as well. I will just hope by the time I am ready to buy one, I can still get a coupon code for it at geek alerts.
Geek alerts also have another great savings for electronics at best buy. Get the best buy coupon code and see what great deal you can snag from them. Every little penny counts this time. Be a smart shopper.
Watching Television
How many hours of television time you should let your toddlers watch in a day? I have read in some books that you should not let them watch telly over 2 hours in a day. I am so guilty of this because I let my kids watch their show on PBS or Nick channel more than 2 hours a day. I just don't have other means of bribing them to stay away from me to do my school work.
I let them watch television once they get bored playing or doing art work in their toy room. My consolation is that they are watching educational shows anyways. I know, it's my bad but I got to give them something to occupy them. Most of the time, even if they are watching telly, they are still bothering me. If this happens, I can no longer be in front of the computer, I need to be with them because the concentration blows out of the window already.
This is why you can wish you have someone to watch your kids even if you are at home. We don't have the luxury of that here, so I need to deal with it and improvise. I know in the end I can see the fruit of my sacrifices.
Travel Website
Do you use the services of a personal travel agent to arrange your travel or you go online to check great Travel deals and compare prices and book? With us, we always do our research both online and with travel companies in our area. That way, we can compare and get the best deal. There are lots of well-known and reputable travel sites online but I also heard there are bad ones.
Travel deal is what we always want when we go for vacation. One travel company that I know that have re-launched their site is the travel co uk. They are now on the roll again and if you check out their site they have deals for all your traveling and vacation needs all over the world. If you decide to go on a cruise, a luxury beach vacation, see the mountains and do skiing or snowboarding, or even see the tallest building in the world, they can arrange it for you at a reasonable price.
One thing that I like most when I search or navigate a webpage is the how easy and clear all their options are as well as how they lay out their different type of services. This travel site I mentioned, in fairness, is so easy to navigate too. They have wide selection of holiday deals as well. So if you are planning of holiday, check them now and see if there is a much of what you need from their selections.
Weekly Recap
First week of December is over. I like Friday because weekend will be spent with family with Daddy not working and DD1 not in school. This coming week will be the last week of our DD1 in school then off for their Christmas vacation.
My daily routine is really like most of the stay at home Moms; taking care of the kids, the house chores, cook, errands, etc. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings will be a lot more busy since I have to drop and pick our DD1 to and from school. In addition, I have my school stuff too that I needed to do.
This morning I was able to get the presents I was planning of getting for hubby. I already wrapped it and now under our Christmas tree. For the little ones, I will wrap it later when they are both asleep. Hubby came home before 5pm and we had dinner early. I am just glad that hubby always helped in taking care of the dishes and clean up the kitchen after dinner time. Now I am doing my weekly laundry to get it out of the way.
While waiting for the laundry, I will be doing some online tasks and bloghopping as well as work on my school stuff. I need to finish one more PD so I can submit my AMT Orthopedic Dictations and work on my 2nd test. Good luck to me!
Car Shipping
I remember back in 2007 when we move here in Washington from Georgia, we had a hard time looking for a reasonable and reputable car shipping companies. We have two vehicles and the Army do not shoulder the cost of the vehicle shipment if within the US mainland only. You have to drive it and you are given per diem and allowances for it. So, we drove the truck and shipped my car. It took couple of weeks before the car gets here in Washington state.
My husband found the Car Shipping company online when we searched for it that time. We compared rates for shipping and check out the reputation of the company that we used to ship our vehicle. Good thing we found a really good one at a reasonable price as well.
As a word of advice to those who are planning or looking for Car Shipping company to ship your vehicle here in the US due to military move or address move, make sure to get a company that is licensed, bonded, has a good reputation, dependable, and safe to entrust our price possession. There are companies that are scams and only wanted the money and deliver a very lousy service. Verify the information of the company and make sure they are legitimate and trustworthy to do business with.
Christmas Plans
Wow, the time roll by so quick. I have so many plans for the month, but I haven't been able to do one and we are already on the second week of the month. If we don't act fast and do what we needed to do, this month will already be over.
One of the things that I really need to do this month is to submit 2 tests for my online classes. I did 1 test already but not yet submitted. There are interruptions too. On Saturday there will be the Fil-Am Christmas party. On the 16th, Friday, will be our daughter's school Christmas party, and there will be cookie exchange. Now I need to find a good cookie recipe to bring to school. Then on the 16th some of my friends are planning another Christmas party, where we will have exchange of gifts. I hope with the intermissions along the way, I will still be motivated to do school work first.
I know this time of the year we have so many activities. This also make our day go by faster. It's like you wanted to do all the plans but your time is not enough. The most important thing though is we need how to prioritize. Do what is the most important thing first. Once the important tasks are out of the way, then the rest will be easy peasy to do.
Ecological Imbalance
The news about our ecology is no longer balance is really alarming. There are too many pollutants that affects our land, water, air, reserve areas, endangered species, and even affecting us, humans. The problem of global warming as a result of these environmental and ecological problems made us experience different weather catastrophes. As responsible inhabitants of the earth, we should remember to do our part to take care of our environment.
All over the world, many private and government organizations are trying to come up with solutions and bring awareness to people about the impact of not taking care of the environment. In UK, one ecological consultancy company that specializes in giving ecological advice to those who need it is the Total Ecology consultancy. If you are in UK and in need of such services to assess any risk for your lands, habitat surveys, protected species surveys, environmental stewardship, and the like, they can do it for you.
This type of services can really help to assess what are the steps needed in order to safeguard the ecological balance and not compromising the environment. This company live up to their promise of an excellent ecological consultancy firm. I know clients who are in the business of planning and development should also seek a reputable consultancy firm to get advice especially in combining development and environment.
We cannot just think of development but compromising the environment. This is why a lot of products that people uses will go through scrutiny to make sure that it will not harm the environment. In as much as we want to have a green environment, it cannot be denied that environmental problem of the world is huge. I just hope that come the next generation, they will still have a great place to live in.
Color Purple
Our DD1 loves the color purple. When we moved here in our house, she already told us she wanted to paint her room purple and pink. So, she is really the girly-girly type. Every time we visit home stores and check out the paint department, she will get color sample of the purple and pink combination. We decided that we will paint her bedroom purple and pink.
As their Mom, I also noticed through the years as being the Mom that, I too, love purple :-) I think she got it from me then. I don't know but I am attracted to it, especially if I am buying clothes for my little girls. The picture above is one of the evidences that we love the color dearly.
With my daughter's love for the color purple, even doing her art work at school she always use the purple crayon or paint. When they were asked to color the pumpkin, she color it purple instead of orange. I asked her why, she answered, "Because I like purple, Mommy"!
Visiting the Land Down Under
My sister and her husband is now currently in Australia. They are going home though this month to the Philippines since my brother-in-law will be done with his schooling. I have cousins who are also living in Australia, and I wish that we can visit them there one of this days. My husband told me we will definitely visit there when we have the time as well as enough money for that trip.
My cousin told me that living in Australia is really great. They came from United Kingdom and just moved there couple of years ago. They like the place so much, the weather, and they can do a lot of things especially visiting beautiful places.
They recently purchased a house and their vehicles. Of course they also had the insurance for it. But I will still ask her if they were able to get a good premium for their insurance. If ever they wanted to get another insurance, she can get insurance quote and see which insurance companies can give them the best value for their money.
I have read that a large insurance company in Austarlia like the CGU Insurance can give the residents all the insurance they need. One can also get insurance quote from their site and see how much premium one will pay for a certain amount of insurance or for anything that one wanted to insure for. For our family here in the US, we have one insurance provider for all our insurance need. We wanted it that way so we can track our expenses in just one company, and it is very important that you trust your insurance company as well.
I learned more that CGU Insurance is trusted in Australia, having millions of policy holders in there care. They have all types of insurance from personal, business, and corporate. If you live in Australia and in need of trusted insurance provider, you can check out CGU Insurance company.
Anyways, I hope one day our plan of visiting the land down under will pushed through. I heard so many things about the place and I want to experience is grandeur as well.
Our Growing Girls
Our DD1 had a school photo session earlier last month. I was told that we can have our DD2 join the photo shoot also with her sister or by herself, so I let her wear her nice dress, courtesy of Tita Coleen, and brought her with me to her sister's school. They both look nice in their dresses. The photo shoot went well. It took a little longer because DD2 won't look at the photographer. She is distracted by people and things around her.
When we got home I tried to take pictures but I have to bribe her with a lollipop to pose for me. Looking at them together just melt my heart. They grow up fast and such sweet and adorable little girls. I can't thank God enough for the two of them in our lives. I can't imagine living without them. They are my priceless treasures!
Focusing on the desserts for this year's Thanksgiving
Guest post written by Rebekah Winters
Even though I'm hosting this year's family Thanksgiving, I'm not entirely trusted with the food preparation. I guess that you burn a dish one year and you're never trusted again. But I don't mind. I'm already having to go to the trouble of doing all the cleaning anyway. The food that I'm left to handle is the desserts, which is actually my strong point when it comes to cooking and baking.
I've been researching some really good recipes online to fix for the dessert table and while I was online doing that not too long ago, I ran across some info on internet providers by zip code. I showed it to my husband and we agreed that we should switch over our home internet service to one of the providers for our area listed on there.
I know that I'm definitely going to fix some apple pie and chocolate cake. Now I just have to come up with some other dessert to fix that seems appropriate for the season and the holiday. It might just end up being pumpkin pie, after all.
Thanksgiving Celebration
Thanksgiving is here again. Of course it is time to celebrate and be thankful for all the blessings that we all received through the years. It is not only this particular day that we give thanks but every day in our lives.
I am so thankful for everything that I have right now; my family, friends, and relatives. I am thankful that God continues to bless us with good health and sound mind to do our daily tasks and decide rationally. I thank God for the ups and downs that He let us experience in order for us to be strong and courageous to tackle the odds of life.
This thanksgiving we will celebrate it here in our house. This will be the first time that we are going to celebrate in our home. This is one of the things that we are most grateful for this year. And I am hoping to celebrate more years of Thanksgiving here with my family.
2011 Pumpkin Patch
Last October 17 our DD1's school had a field trip at a pumpkin patch. It was a nice day although chilly but sunny. Since she is in a morning class, we also have to go to the farm at that early. Most of the people at the patch were from her school. They surely had a great time and our DD2 enjoyed it as well, especially when we started checking out the animals. She loves touching animals and every time she touch one she will give out a hearty laugh that is very contagious.
Daddy was not with us this time because he is in training. Last year we went to the same farm and our DD2 was still tiny one at that time. Now she can already enjoy the farm and also went along with older kids playing around. I just wish though that husband was with us so we experience it with the whole family.
DD1's First Day at Pre-K
Our DD1 started to go back to school on September 7. She was very excited to see some of her preschool classmates as well as meeting new friends. She goes to a morning class. We are training her for Kindergarten that is why we put her in am class. She need to learn to wake up early and be in the groove early to go to school. So far she is doing well and still as enthusiastic as when the school started.
I too is adjusting to the new schedule. I am bringing her to school and back so I need to make sure everything is ready early in the morning to avoid the rush. I hope come winter time it will just be alright. I know it will be very cold and possible snowing but we don't live far from her school so it is not a long drive.
I can't just imagine how time flies so fast. Next year she will be going to school 5 times a day and it will be a different story. Kindergarten here is half-day every day. I am hoping that she will be used to waking up early by then and already know how to read. It is my goal to teach her to read while in Pre-K. I pray and hope we can reach that goal.
Why I love McDonalds
Guest post of the week by Brittany Booker.
When I think about going out to eat I cannot help but think about going to McDonalds. McDonalds has been my favorite restaurant since I was a kid and I love to go there every chance I get. I love to get the classic Big Mac and I love to get it with extra salty fries and a coke. When I think about McDonalds i think about all of the happy memories that I had there over the years and I think about going there with my friends. This restaurant has a very special place in my heart and I go there as much as I can.
I love McDonalds also because of the very casual atmosphere in the restaurant. All of the employees are very personable and the people who eat there are all very friendly. You don't have to get dressed up to go, simply set y! our home security alarm from www.HomeSecurity 101.com at the house, hop in the car, and you are off to enjoy an excellent meal. When you make the decision to go visit this restaurant you should be prepared for a comfortable eating experience with excellent food and friendly service. This is not the same truth for all types of fast food restaurants so you should always choose http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/mcd/csr/blog.html over any other type of fast food restaurant. You will never regret this decision.
Back in the Groove
I have been busy with life and updating my two other blogs is what I can only do for the last few weeks. Now I am back groovin' here again and will do my best to post updates of my two girls as well as my mommy moments. For being busy house hunting and stressing on it made it more difficult for me to think of what to post.
We had lots of activities these past months and I haven't had the chance to download the pictures and other captures until last night. I will be uploading it on facebook also so my family back home can look at them. Some of the activities we have had was our daughter's 1st birthday, their time at the park when we got a nice spring weather even for just a day.
As to myself, I am way behind of my studies and now I have a new instructor and I am confident that with her I can be as open as I want to be and she is very helpful. I will be in good hands and will be successful in this program. Hubby is also busy with work and studies. He is now taking Calculus and I know he needs all the time he can to do this class. On top of it all is the waiting game for us to close on a property. I am so anxious to move to the new place so we can really start being in our own property. I know too many going-ons, but despite all of it I am thankful that God is always there for us and guide us through.
Happy New Year
It's 2011 and I can't believe time flies so fast. I have a lot to thank for in our lives for the past year. I will mention some that I am so thankful to God; we have our daughter number 2, Daddy came back from Iraq safely, our DD1 started school, my Mom recovered from her stroke and now she's doing well, and also I was able to work even for just the holidays.
This year I wanted to list resolutions but I may not be able to do it. But one thing I am always striving for every year since I became a Mom is to become a great one to my children. They are my number one priority and I will always be there for them no matter what.
As a family, we have so many plans and we are hoping that we will be able to execute our plans this year. I am very excited and we are very positive that this year will be a great year for us, our family, relatives and friends. With this, I am greeting all of my friends a prosperous new year and pray that all your endeavors be fruitful.
Playing Dress Up
Our DD1 is in a stage where she likes to dress up a lot. Everything with flowing skirt or a tutu and character costumes she likes to wear. Right now her favorite is the minnie mouse and blue tinker bell costume. That is what she wants to wear every morning as soon as she wakes up. At night, when going to bed, she'll wear her nightgown with disney characters on it or her jammies with matching tutu.
The picture above was taken on her sister's 7 month birthday and also her being 42 months old. The picture below was taken on Thanksgiving day while me and Daddy were busy cooking for our dinner.
