The Surprise Birthday Bash

Here's some pics taken last Saturday during the surprise birthday party for Marielle and Deo's twins --Destiny and Desiree. Abby watched the girls in her house so they wouldn't see their moms very busy preparing for the party. The party was set at 4 PM and since I started quite late I definitely can say I was painstakingly multi-tasking. I did the decorations, baked the cake, wrapped up the presents, ran to the store to buy meat for the cook-out, made tuna salad and burger patties, washed the dishes and not to mention, swept the floor here and swept the floor there...haay kapoy kaayo!! But it's okay, it was worth it. Everybody had fun especially the birthday girls. And I was very happy to see my daughter happy. She really was surprised. Officially, Marielle's and the twins' birthdays are on September 28 and 26 respectively.


Marielle and her birthday cake.









Marielle blows 8 candles. I cant believe she grows up so fast. But I'm happy I'm way done with fixing her formula milk, washing her bottles and cleaning her up after she's done making potty :))








Desiree and Marielle as we sang the birthday song for Marielle. We did it 3 different times for each of the birthday girls.







Destiny and Desiree turning five on Sep 26. They're just so cute. Destiny looks tired though but here's a trivia about her: she won second place in the Ms. Little Arcadia pageant last summer.








The girls ruled last Saturday, lol.









The Deses unwrap their presents. That's Rachel helping the girls.








"Wow!", Marielle said when she saw the doll house she has always wanted to have.









The very tired party hostess ... yours truly. Halata bang pagod ako? In fairness, may dala din naman silang food and somebody else was in-charge of the grilling and everything.






Rachael, Scott, Marc, Abby, Deo and my husbandry :). That's my dog, Cupcake.

Marielle Shows and Tells

Today I went to the school to watch Marielle do her show-and-tell. It was a graded class participation which my daughter did with flying colors. She talked about "Being Home". She first told her classmates what country she came from. Then she shared that there are people back in the Philippines that she misses and lastly she said she's happy in her new home. She ended her piece with "... cause for me home is where my Mama, Papa and my brother are. Thank you." Her teacher, Mrs. Gilmore said she did an excellent job and the whole class gave her a resounding fire cracker applause.

Last night we all attended the Parents Night. It's like an open house where parents and kids meet with the teachers and they talk about what they actually do in class. And, it's also the chance for parents to ask how their kids have been doing academically. I was happy to hear from Mrs. Gilmore that my daughter is one of her best students and top readers. I wasnt surprised to know that though because her first grade teacher told me the same thing. That really makes me proud of her. Well, it's a genetic thing, you know. Hahaha!! (yabang no? pagbigyan niyo na lang ako siempre anak ko e.)



"This is the map of the Philippines which is thousands of miles away from America. This is where I came from. I was born in Manila."









"I miss my family back home especially my Grannie, Lolo, Lala and my cousin Michael. I also miss my friends ..."








Marielle in front of her classmates.








This is when she answered questions from her classmates like,"what is Lolo?", "Where is the Philippines?", etc.










This chart shows Marielle as the line leader in her class like when they go to the cafeteria or library. It's her job to make sure none of her classmates messes up the line.









Marielle earns cheers for all A's and B's at first nine weeks mid-term. Kudos to her! Hope she'd keep up the good work or make it even better.

When You Dont Look Your Age

When you are told that you dont look your age ...it bothers you, doesn't it? I got nasty remarks like, "oh you're only 30 I thought you're 36!?" more than once from some insensitive people back in the Philippines. But I took it as, "Hmp.Kala mo naman baby-faced siya, Tse!" I never slapped anyone for saying that but the words she/he said is like a sticky post in my head.

But what blows my mind is that even here in the States, I still get that you-dont-look-your-age remarks. Only this time, they say I look younger than my age! One time a woman guessed my age and she said I'm 18. Naks naman, malamang binobola lang ako ni lola. Then someone else said I look 28. Not one could really tell my age right and when I said I'm turning 35 soon, you can see their eyes grow big. They cant believe it. It was flattering at first, but later it became annoying because of the fact that my husband is older (please note older, not old LOL! ) than me. When they think that our age gap is like 30 years or more, I feel uneasy. And I feel sorry for Dean because I dont want people to think he is a cradle snatcher or something. You never know what's on other people's mind. So now I wear my glasses a lot more often than before since it makes me look older.

Then last Friday night, Dean, his daughter Abby and I went out to have some fun dining and dancing. Actually it was more for my hubby to get to sweat out some unwanted pounds and for Abby to forget she's lonely. We were virtually bar hopping. Abby didnt like the first place we went to because the band wasnt playing her kind of music. From there we went to this huge club in Fort Myers. To our dismay, we were not allowed to get it in because I didnt have the ID to prove I'm over 21. The guy who was checking the IDs particularly of those who looked really young called a co-worker. I couldnt hear what he told him but I remember how this other guy ran his eyes on my whole body as if scanning for I dont know what. That made me very uncomfortable. Despite Dean telling them sorry I forgot my passport and that I'm 35 and we got married last January, etc etc. we were still told to step aside and let the manager decide. After 10-15 minutes the manager came out. Dean talked to him and then finally we got the green light. Whew! I'll never forget that incident. I think I really should just carry around my passport whereever I go. The reason I dont is because I can be very forgetful and I dont want to lose it.

Anyway, the point is Filipinos or Asians for that matter really look younger than their white counterparts. I think it has to do with our skin and this thing called pigmentation. We have a lot of this which protect our skin from the harsh rays of the sun. Our skin dont wrinkle as bad and as fast as the white's skin. And that's good but it also has some disadvantages especially if you are caught in the same situations I was in.

Since I mentioned we were bar hopping that night let me just continue what happened after that ID thing. So we got inside this club but my!oh my! I was absolutely in the very wrong place. Too wild, too dark, too loud, to crowded, too stinky (with the cigarette smokes all over) for me. None of us could dance to this very sensual R&B beat or even hip-hop. Hanggang ballroom lang po ako. I miss Johnny, the DI ng bayan. Kelan kaya ako makasayaw ng swing at cha-cha uli with Johnny, haay...

So after half an hour, we left the place and stopped at another bar. At last Dean's and Abby's kind of music -- walang kamatayang country music. Finally my husband and I got to dance. And that's it, one dance and we were ready to go home. Got home at 1:30 AM. Did I really have fun? No, not really. I wont mind going out dancing again with my hubby but at least now I know where to go and where not to go.

Till We Meet Again, Katie

I just read Katie's latest email telling me her sister, Charity gave birth to a healthy baby boy last Wednesday. Praise GOD for that! I'm happy Katie has been keeping in touch with me now that she's in Tennessee to finish college. I miss that girl. She worked for Dean long before I came to the States. While Dean and I kept our long distance relationship going by talking on the phone at least twice everyday (my husband is not a letter/email person), Katie was just one of the people who listened to my husband everytime he would happily talk or brag (pinagmamalaki niya ako) about me.

I remember the first day my husband took me to his store and introduced me to his workers. And me being eternally shy and insecure about myself was so nervous. I'm always worried about what other people might think about me. I immediately noticed Katie was the only girl among Dean's 5 workers. But she was dressed just like the boys! ... so rugged (LOL! ) but in fairness to her, her pretty face and friendly smile defeated whatever she was clad in that day. I was comfortable with her right away and soon we became friends. I think for a while she thought I'm stuck up. Most people think I am, you know. What they dont know is that I'm in constant battle with my own insecurities and fears. I know hiding inside my shell most of the time is not good. I admit I'm anti-social. I find joy in my solitude. I always keep a low profile -- never like to be stared at or talked about. I know ... you think I'm the weirdest of all the weirdos in the whole wide world. But hey, I can be spunky too sometimes.

Anyway, (I'm sorry for rambling about my weirdness) my husband always told me Katie's a beautiful person inside and out and it's true. Whoever she marries will be very blessed. At 20, she's ready to get married and start a family although in my opinion she's too young for that. I kidded her one day, "you know Kate you're still young, why dont you wait til you're 30?". And she laughed and said, "no way!". Translation: "Are you crazy??!! I cant wait that long. I want to have babies now!" (Katie when you read this please dont be mad at me.).

Now that Katie's gone nobody takes me to Wal-Mart anymore to buy groceries. She also used to pick up the kids in school. Just like the song that goes ..."nothing is so good that last eternally, perfect situation must go wrong..." but one good thing that I know will always remain is my friendship with her. And I thank her for that.

It wont be long she'll be back in town with a diploma in her hand and I'm sure she wont be working for Dean anymore and do all those odd jobs -- painting, vacuuming, cleaning the pool, etc. Mind you, this girl can do just anything. Well, let's wait and see what the future has in store for Katie.

To Ms. Knickerbocker, thanks a whole lot for everything. May the LORD grant the desires of your heart. You deserve the best in life. I know you are a sweet good girl. Just stay as you are and till we meet again!

What a Trip!

The kids just left for school and I debated with myself whether I should go back to bed or work on my blog and start talking about our recent trip to Corning, NY. But then I knew my family and friends back home (Philippines) are eager to know how the trip went. This is the good thing about blogging. What a pain if I have to email each of them and tell them all about the same thing! This way I just have to invite them to my blog and let them have a glimpse of what's going on in my life in the States.

Dean had been planning for us to visit with his mom since January but GOD never willed it until August 31. We were all excited about the trip even if we knew it would be awefully long. Actually the kids never had the idea how far Corning, NY was. Everytime we stopped to rest, Marc would ask, "Is this where grannie Mary lives?" And while driving the kids pestered us with endless "Are we there yet?" Kids always needs something to amuse themselves because once they get bored it's as if they are licensed to annoy you to death. Good thing my smart husband bought a portable DVD player so they could watch movies or play games while on the road.

Before reaching Corning we spent a couple of nights in motels. The first time was in Georgia and then Virginia. Taking I-95 (interstate road) we passed through 7 different states -- GA, SC, NC, VA, WV, MD and PA. I call it state hopping and it was fun! I wish I've taken photos of us in each of their welcome centers. We arrived in Corning on Friday at 6 PM. We were welcomed by Dean's sister Beverly and her husband, Don. Their daughter Corrie was also there with her 2 huge dogs. We stayed at Bev's house for four days. They were really nice ...their hospitality was greatly appreciated.

While up there we maximized our time by visiting Dean's mom, Mary everyday. My mother-in-law is 84 years old and stays in a nursing home. She reminded me of my grannie although Mama by the grace of GOD is still strong enough to do things by herself. I remember Marielle saying, "My grannie in the Philippines can take care of herself and doesnt need to be in a place like this." But grannie Mary is looking and doing a lot better than the rest of the patients. Just across her room another old woman would scream every 3 minutes, "Somebody help me! Can somebody tell me where I am? Where the hell am I?" At first I thought it was funny but later I felt sorry for her and for the others who suffer from different health problems.

Dean drove us around the place where he spent his childhood. He also took us to his dad's grave. Then we went to Corning Store and bought a few corningware items. Saturday, we celebrated my 35th bithday. My husband bought me a black forest cake and Bev grilled yummy chicken and squash. Dean's other older sister, Pat was supposed to come the next day for a get-together party but for some reason that didnt push through.

The day before we left back for home, my friend Tess and her husband, Larry came down from Buffalo to meet us. I was happy to see them both and I wish we had more time together. But we still were able to make the best out of the little time we had. We went to a park where Tess and I enjoyed driving the go-karts (I was nervous at first because it was my first time) while hubbies were watching and taking snaps. Marielle and Marc had their own share of fun too, eating ice cream and enjoyng the kiddie rides. Later we had a pleasant conversation with the Tippetts over dinner in a buffet restaurant.

Tuesday noontime, we hit the road back home. This time we were not in a hurry and spent more time sight-seeing. We were back in Arcadia Friday afternoon. We were all dead tired but we sure had a great time.

Well, everything went well! We all enjoyed the vacation and GOD willing we hope it will happen again maybe next year. Hopefully by that time the kids and I are no longer undesirable aliens in the States :):)... I mean already permanent residents here so we could cross the US-Canada border and see the famous Niagara Falls. That's really something to look forward to.




At the nursing home where Grannie Mary stays. She shares this room with a 92 year old woman.





North Carolina welcome center.







Don's pine tree turned into a wood carving adorns his backyard.







Marielle and Marc got a warm hug from Grannie Mary the first time they saw her.






Montourville -a scenic view from the hilly Pennsylvania.






With Bev just before we got in the truck to go back home.






Tess (behind me) and I all set for the go-kart race.






Tess trying to pass me. No, I'm not racing against anyone I'm just having fun.







Back in Florida. We stopped to rest by the lake called Princess.