Bad Start

I woke up with a headache today. I did not get enough sleep last night (as usual) because Erin was keeping us all up. For some reason, she has been having difficulty staying asleep. This continues to puzzle both J and I.

What I do not like about being sleep-deprived is that I get bad headaches during the day. I have had a history with these headaches and have even had terrible migraines when I was still a student. I wish there was a headache treatment for these types of problems. They can be very debilitating at times and I am left helpless.

Feast One Hundred & Sixty Two

Appetizer
How are you today?
Tired. I wish I can catch up on my sleep. Erin is really a handful.

Soup
Name 3 television shows you watch on a regular basis.
It's reality TV season here so my top 3 shows right now are: Australian Idol, Dancing with the Stars and So You Think You can Dance.

Salad
What’s the scariest weather situation you’ve experienced?
This happened 7 years ago. I was coming home from work and when I was about to get down from the jeep in Baclaran, the rain started to pour heavily & the wind was blowing really hard. Unfortunately, I did not have my umbrella with me at that time. And alam nyo naman sa Manila, konteng ulan lang, baha na. I ran for cover and the only place I could find was under a big umbrella owned by one of the vendors. I couldn't get a ride as well because all the jeepneys were full. In short, I was stuck, not to mention I was also soaked to the skin! Di lang yun, when I finally managed to get a ride, super traffic naman. Igot home at around 9pm already and I left my place of work at 4:30 pm pa. My mom was worried sick! Buti di ako nagkasakit after nun. Since then, I have vowed never to leave the house without my umbrella.

Main Course
If you could wake up tomorrow morning in another country, where would you want to be?
Definitely, the Philippines. Where else?

Dessert
What do you usually wear to sleep?
I am mostly in my PJs, especially on cold nights. In the summer, I wear tank tops and boxer shorts.

Wishful Thinking

Ah yes, what I would give to go on holidays right this instant! Sometimes, we all need to step back, take a break and relax to reenergize ourselves. For me, that time should be anytime soon.

Our trip back home is nearing and going on beach holidays with the entire family is definitely in our agenda. We'll make sure to also consider spa holidays to get ourselves some well-deserved massage! But before we can make all that a reality, we'd need to book us cheap flights first lest we forget. I am so looking forward to this much awaited trip!

My Desktop

I've used the first (and last so far) digiscrap layout I made a month ago. Gosh, was it only just last month? It feels like eons! Anyway, there are actually lots of pictures to choose from but I really like this dark look. I've always been drawn to the color black for some reason. Lots of icons too as you can see but most of them are useless. I prefer to use quick launch because it's more convenient. Most used icons on my QL is Outlook Express, Internet Explorer, YM, Nero and Real player.

Alright, I'm tagging Jean, Mik, Via, Era and Jacq. :)

Note: Copy Starts Here!

Desktop Free View Instruction:

A.Upon receiving this tag, immediately perform a screen capture of your desktop. It is best that no icons be deleted before the screen capture so as to add to the element of fun. You can do a screen capture by:

[1] Going to your desktop and pressing the Print Scrn key (located on the right side of the F12 key).
[2] Open a graphics program (like Picture Manager, Paint, or Photoshop) and do a Paste (CTRL + V).
[3] If you wish, you can “edit” the image, before saving it.

B. Post the picture in your blog. You can also give a short explanation on the look of your desktop just below it if you want. You can explain why you preferred such look or why is it full of Icons, things like that.

C. Tag five of your friends and ask them to give you a Free View of their desktop as well.

D. Add your name to this list of Free Viewers with a link pointing directly to your Desktop Free View post to promote it to succeeding participants.

iRonnie - I Set No Corner
Thess - Thesserie
Rebecca - Skippy Heart
Knoizki - A Dialogue With K
Beng - Kauderwelch
- domlawrenceOSB
- bluepanjeet™ | OTWOMD™
Marie @ Vanidosa Marie and Vanidosa at blogspot
Ems @ Just Let Go and Pieces of Me
Yen @ Me and Mine, Little Peanut and Our Pea in a Pod.
Alpha @ my blog
Jen @ Cellulitic Bliss
Leah @ A Matter of Perspective

Spring cleaning

It is spring time here in Australia. That only means one thing. It is also a time for cleaning! In our house, the part that needs cleaning the most is our garden. Weeds have sprung everywhere and there are so many bushes to trim! There are also paths to clear. It would be nice to install some landscape lighting along them so we won't be stumbling in the dark. As you can see, there are lots for us to do. This definitely calls for some back-breaking gardening, especially on J's part.

Contemplating About Q.E. Again

Yes, you heard me. Remember my post on QE? Well, J and I are thinking of having ourselves booked once again. We thought we were doing fine with Erin in the last few months. But recently, she's been very difficult with us and it is so hard for all of us to get a good night's sleep.

We were watching the first episode of Parent Rescue on SBS last night and we could relate so much to one couple who's baby had basically the same settling issues as Erin. After watching the show, J and I now think that maybe trying QE would not be such a bad idea at this point. But still, it will be our last resort.

I have bought the Sleep Right, Sleep Tight book to see if we can manage to employ the same settling techniques on Erin on our own. If this still doesn't work, then I'm afraid we're off to QE for good. Wish us luck!

Getaway

As you can see, I've got tons of things that I've been putting off since Erin came into our lives. Sometimes, the daily grind can be tiring and all you want to do is escape from it. J and I would certainly love to have a little couple time once in a while. Getting away and staying at a private resort or in a Pennsylvania bed and breakfast would be great. That would be the life!

Alright, time to burst that bubble and go back to reality! I need to tend to Erin now.

19 Somethings To Say To Your Children

I got this in my inbox the other day. I'll definitely keep this in mind!

1. I love you! There is nothing that will make me stop loving you. Nothing you could do or say or think will ever change that.

2. You are amazing! I look at you with wonder! Not just at what you can do, but who you are. There is no one like you. No one!

3. It's all right to cry. People cry for all kinds of reasons: when they are hurt, sad, glad, or worried; when they are angry, afraid, or lonely. Big people cry too. I do.

4. You've made a mistake. That was wrong. People make mistakes. I do. Is it something we can fix? What can we do? It's all over. You can start fresh. I know you are sorry. I forgive you.

5. You did the right thing. That was scary or hard. Even though it wasn't easy, you did it. I am proud of you; you should be too.

6. I'm sorry. Forgive me. I made a mistake.

7. You can change your mind. It's good to decide, but it is also fine to change.

8. What a great idea! You were really thinking! How did you come up with that? Tell me more. Your mind is clever!

9. That was kind. You did something helpful and thoughtful for that person. That must make you feel good inside. Thank you!

10. I have a surprise for you. It's not your birthday. It's for no reason at all. Just a surprise, a little one, but a surprise.

11. I can wait. We have time. You don't have to hurry this time.

12. What would you like to do? It's your turn to pick. You have great ideas. It's important to follow your special interests.

13. Tell me about it. I'd like to hear more. And then what happened? I'll listen.

14. I'm right here. I won't leave without saying good-bye. I am watching you. I am listening to you.

15. Please and Thank You. These are important words. If I forget to use them, will you remind me?

16. I missed you. I think about you when we are not together!

17. Just try. A little bit. One taste, one step. You might like it. Let's see. I'll help you if you need it. I think you can do it.

18. I'll help you. I heard you call me, here I am. How can I help you? If we both work together, we can get this done. I know you can do it by yourself, but I'm glad to help since you asked.

19. What do you wish for? Even if it's not yet time for birthday candles and we don't have a wishbone, it's still fun to hear about what you wish for, hope for, and dream about.

-- Author Unknown

Looking Back

When J and I were planning our wedding back in 2004, one of the first things we took care of was purchasing our wedding bands. We both wanted something simple and nothing too flashy. I must admit though that I initially wanted one with diamonds but come to think of it, I'm glad I did not push through with idea . With all the chores to be done here in the house, all those precious stones could have fallen out in the process. Now that would have been such a waste!

Ten on Tuesday: 10 Things I've Been Putting Off

It's time for .

1. Organising Erin's stuff - The little girl has accumulated loads of stuff over the months and I have yet to sort them all out into these categories: to put away in boxes (for future use [?]), to give away, and to use ASAP.
2. Read my books - I still have tons of books to read. I just can't seem to find the time to read these days. :(
3. Clean! - I'm such a neat freak so it bothers me a lot when things are a mess. As much as I would want to partake in the cleaning duties in our home, sadly these days, most of them are delegated to J.
4. Do some gardening - Before Erin was born, J and I regularly did some gardening on weekends. He was (still is) in charge of weeding while I trimmed the bushes and trees. We find the activity therapeutic.
5. Going home to Manila - Understandably, with Erin being so young, we won't be able to come home to Manila for the holidays. We're postponing our trip to next year, after she turns a year older.
6. Pamper myself at a salon or spa - I'm doing this when we get to Manila. I think I just sooooo deserve it. I'm getting the works! :P
7. Go shopping alone - I'm saving up for this one. I can't wait to shop with my lone self. It's been awhile. I think I can maximize this one when we're in Manila.
8. Sleep at least 8 hours - This, of course, is unintentional and is totally dependent on Erin.
9. Taking my driver's examination - I still don't have my learner's license. I actually flunked the exam when I took it last year and was so traumatized (it ain't easy, plus it's so expensive!) by it that I have not tried to take it again. I know I need to seriously put in more effort when I review for the test so that I can drive our car if the need arises.
10. Get fully accredited in my profession - I still need to complete the second part of the board's assessment which requires me to go on supervised work. It'll take me six months to complete it if I work fulltime. It's a no-can-do situation right now because I have to take care Erin first.

Wow, I didn't realise there's so much that I've been putting off. Until Erin's grown up a bit, I think I won't be crossing out much from this list any time soon.

How about you? What is on your list?

Back in the Green

My maternal grandfather is a health buff and even at the age of 84, he still tries to keep himself fit by personally managing his farm in the province and hitting some balls at the driving range in spite of the arthritis in his knees.

He has been a golf aficionado ever since he retired from work as an engineer. I suppose the reason why he is contented with just his daily trips to the driving range instead of to the golf course is because of the limitation presented by his arthritis. I wish I had the cash to buy him a golf cart and spare golf cart parts to boot so that he can go back to playing the sport on the green. I’m pretty sure he’ll be smiling from ear to ear when that happens.

In The Hood

Time for Erin to strut her stuff once again. I just love her smile in this photo! :)

I bought this number when I was still pregnant with her during our vacation in Manila last Christmas. It was on sale (50% off) but was the only piece left for baby girls. I purchased it nevertheless because it was of a good brand. It is a size medium so it was only now (last weekend to be exact, when we went to the mall) that Erin got the chance to wear it.

Preparing for the Future

My mom used to work as a life insurance agent when she was younger so she was constantly pointing out to us how important it was to get insurance because we do not really know what the future will bring. She was successful in convincing me because I got my own policy at the young age of 24. I reckon getting term life insurance for myself has been one of the best moves I've made, especially now that we have Erin.

My Poor Thumb

Lately, I have been complaining to J about my sore thumb. It started around three weeks ago, a day after one of our trips to the mall when I had to carry Erin around because she did not want to be seated in her stroller. I've tried not putting too much strain on it but this seems to be an impossible task to follow with all the chores to be done. The fact that Erin is growing heavier each day is not helping either because I really do need to carry her once in a while.

My impression is that I may have De Quervain's tenosynovitis. When I was still working in the clinic back home, I used to get a lot of patients with this condition, often referred for splinting. I noticed that most of these patients were housewives and I suppose that constant trauma to the tendon due to everyday chores is really the culprit. And being a homemaker myself, it is not entirely impossible that I also develop it too. *sigh*

Medications are definitely out of the question at the moment as I am still breastfeeding Erin. So is rest. :( If the pain does not stop, I may have to get myself a splint or see a specialist about it.

Photographic Memories

With Erin these days, it is a must for us to have our cameras on stand by. You just don't know when she'll show a great big smile or achieve a new milestone. She's growing up so fast that we make it a point to keep up with her to capture all those moments on photographs.

At present, we just have the regular point-and-shoot digital camera. I bought this two years ago when J and I were still planning for our church wedding. Right now, we are drooling over the Canon EOS 400D with the twin lens kit. It is not exactly within our budget right now but I'm pretty sure someday it'll soon be ours! Call it wishful thinking if you must! :)

Feast One Hundred & Sixty One

Appetizer
What is your favorite type of art?

I have always been a fan of abstract art. It is very subjective though. Its randomness in strokes or method can turn out to be very appealing for some people and at the same time off-putting to others.

Soup
When was the last time you got a free lunch (or breakfast or dinner)? Who paid for it?

We were invited to eat dinner at my sister-in-law's house last weekend because some friends from Manila, Sydney and Canada were in town.

Salad
On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how emotional are you?

Ever since Erin was born, my emotions have been on a rollercoaster ride. It could be due to hormones or I could just be overly tired from taking care of Erin. So I guess it's a 10 for me now. :P

Main Course
Approximately how long do you spend each day responding to emails?

I check my emails everyday so it does not take me long to do it. I respond to emails directed at me immediately so there is no backlog. Total time spent each day devoted to emails alone would be around an hour.

Dessert
To what temperature do you usually set your home’s thermostat?

Now that it's spring, the thermostat has been turned down lower. On average, it is around 20 degrees C inside the house.

Catalog Craze

One thing I noticed here when I was just a new migrant more than a year ago was the numerous catalogs that fill up our mailbox once or twice a week. I am a sucker for catalogs, especially when it's free. Among my favorites are those from department stores and furniture shops.

I love a good buy so the catalogs are a good source of information of where and when the major sales take place. Catalogs are not only in print form. There are also heaps on the internet, like the online furniture catalog of Boyles which make furniture shopping so much easier.

I wish finding money to pay for all that shopping was also just as easy. But now, that's a whole different story. :)

New Look

As you can see, this blog has undergone a major overhaul. I have long been searching for a template that I really like and I finally found it yesterday. This site is now sporting a new look. Thanks to Jauhari. :)

The sidebars on the right are just perfect for all of my stuff. Not sure though if you've noticed, but I have finally embraced the new Blogger! All this XML is quite confusing and new to me so I'm still trying to get the hang of it. I might change the header though. That is, when I have the luxury of time to create one for myself. In the meantime, I'll stick with the all-green look. :)

Y'all have a great weekend, okay? :D

The List Goes On

These days, in our very high-tech world, doing business over the internet is such a breeze. If you are in the field of marketing and sales, you don't have to go through all the trouble of finding consumers all by yourself. You can now hire lists brokers to help you out in your promotional offers.

The term is actually new to me. Even J couldn't give me a definition when I asked him about it last night. So I went surfing this morning and found out that, according to Wikipedia, a list broker acts like an agent for people who want to conduct marketing campaigns. These so-called go-betweens provide their clients with lists of prospects and their contact information. We're talking of huge databases here.

Now, it all makes sense. If I were in sales, I'd definitely hire myself a broker and make the most out of their lists to save myself time and to increase my chances of profit.

When the going gets tough, the tough gets going!

Mister Copycat (MC) is still at it again and he continues to copy and paste our posts to the e-groups without duly acknowledging our site. He has managed to still send out these emails using the "forwarded by a friend" phrase even if we have disabled the right-click function on our site. It seems nothing fazes this fellow!

J and I have been brainstorming of ways to put a stop to this plagiarist. I've come up with things like making an appeal to the egroup about this matter and somehow, put MC to shame. J didn't like the idea because it would be like giving too much attention to MC and he'd probably like the spotlight. So today, with J's help, I installed a code into the site's template to disable highlighting of any text found on the site. Take that, MC! :p I'm pretty curious to find out what he'll do next.

Erin's First Meal

We were supposed to give Erin her first meal this coming weekend. J wants to witness it since it is, in a way, Erin's rite of passage, as she will be no longer an infant solely dependent on milk. Unfortunately, I developed a cold last night and Erin had trouble sleeping as well so J took the day off to help me here in the house (sweet!).

I saw it as an opportunity to finally take that step -- to give Erin her first real meal. I just could not wait for the weekend anymore! :P J took care of documenting the entire event by taking pictures and a video clip of it.

Notice how she's smiling the whole time? She actually enjoyed eating! And she swallowed all her food without choking or spatting it out. I prepared three spoonfuls of rice cereal using her spoon and mixed it with approximately 70 mL of formula to make it really runny. But she only managed to finish two-thirds of the mixture. Not bad for a first-timer, eh? :)

We'll still be doing the cereal thing tomorrow and for the next couple of days to see how her tummy reacts to it. If all goes well, we might add a few other things to the menu on the weekend. Yay, something new to look forward to! :D

House of Our Dreams

I guess every person dreams of owning a house of their own. Having your own house allows you to do anything with it to make it the best home that it can be.

Unfortunately for us, home improvements are not possible at the moment as we are leasing the place that we are now living in. One of the things that we would have changed was how our garden looked. Being tenants, we are limited only to trimming the plants. And now that spring is finally here, conservatories would have been a nice addition to the house so that we can enjoy more of that warm sunshine.

The day we step and move into our own house will surely be one of the most awaited occasions in our life. With a growing family such as ours, I hope that day will be any time soon. In the meantime, we will continue on dreaming. After all, dreams do come true! :)

Little Big Girl

Erin officially turns six months today! And among the three of us, I am the most excited person with this milestone. Here's why...

We can now introduce her to eating solid foods. I insisted on buying her own bowl and spoon weeks ago and her rice cereal is now available in our pantry, in case we decide to finally give her solids. I am also thinking of purchasing fruit juices for her this weekend.

She's been very active these past few weeks, rolling around in bed all by herself. We can't leave her alone anymore! She has fair trunk control now so we're constantly practicing her sitting skills. She'll need to be a fairly good sitter once we start feeding her solids. It's also time now to consider buying a portable cot and a high chair for her. (Yay, shopping na naman! :D )

She's due for another round of vaccinations this Friday. The next set will be given when she turns one next year in March. So, we're saying goodbye for now to those painful injections. :)

I suppose there are still more new things happening with Erin but that's all that comes to mind at the moment. In the meantime, wish us luck with feeding. I hope she won't give us a very difficult time. *fingers crossed*

It's the law!

Okay, I've told you about my brush with this plagiarist on our egroup. As all of these are on the world wide web, it is just sad to know that there are still no clear laws on internet copyrighting. It is also frustrating because there is not much for me to do to deter this person or future plagiarists from stealing our original works.

Had it all been on newspaper, I reckon it would have been an entirely different ball game for Mister Copycat and me. By now, if all was in print, I would have consulted a law firm like simmons jannace & stagg to help me on this matter and I'd probably be able to finally put a stop to all of his unoriginality. Now this is what you call wishful thinking! :P

Copycat

Geez, don't you just hate it when people copy your work without even acknowledging you as their source of information? Well, over at my other working blog, I have been ranting about this fellow egroup member who copies the articles word for word from that site and sends them as email without citing the reference for all those information. I am so irked by this person because even if I have stated in an article about my disgust over this situation, he still continues with his plagiarism by only stating the phrase "forwarded by a friend" in his emails. Argh!!!

Here is what I wrote in my other blog regarding this matter:

On a more serious note, somebody has called my attention to the posting of our articles in an egroup without (!) citing AngTherapist.com as their source. It irks me that somebody can just easily copy and paste these original articles without acknowledging the author. Friends, we don’t mind you disseminating information found on this site to your colleagues but please have the decency to name your source and not try to claim it as one of your own.

I have said the following in an earlier post but I will say it once again.

We don’t mind you sharing articles from this site. But please don’t forget to mention where you got the article from. All of the articles written here are original, except of course for seminar announcements. If you see something in quotes, those are the ones we got from other sources, which, as much as possible, we try to acknowledge as well.

And as to the ‘fair use’ of copyright, take note of the following guidelines:

(1) PERFORMANCE: the work must have been lawfully made accessible to the public and the use must only be made in private and free of charge
(2) QUOTATIONS: the work must have been lawfully made accessible to the public; the source and name of author must be named (Art. 10(1), Berne Convention)
(3) REPRODUCTION OF NEWS, etc.: if only for information purposes with source clearly indicated (Art. 10bis(1), Berne Convention)
(4) INCLUSION BY WAY OF ILLUSTRATION: for teaching purposes with source and name of author clearly indicated (Art. 10(2), Berne Convention)
(5) CRITICISM, COMMENT, NEWS REPORTING, TEACHING, SCHOLARSHIP, RESEARCH

Source: International Laws on Copyright (FAQs)

Alright, now my next dilemma is what to do with this kind of person. Any tips?

Best Nights of My Life

Tagged myself with another meme. Here are the top 5 best nights of my life (in no particular order).

1. 17 December 2004 - J formally proposed marriage to me. I thought he would be doing away with all the ring and bouquet of flowers but he surprised me that evening, just before we called it a night. Sweet! :D
2. Some time in August 1998 - I passed the board exams. It was unforgettable for me because I felt I had not done well enough during the exams and because of this, I had spent several sleepless nights prior to the announcement. It was a relief to find out the good news from my classsmate that I passed it.
3. 22 December 2005 - Our wedding day. It qualifies as one of my best nights because our wedding took place really late in the afternoon and we finished at 7PM. :) Seriously, I married my other half. Enough said! ;)
4. 21 July 2006 - I took a home pregnancy test and we found out we were pregnant (then) with Erin.
5. My birthday this year - J and I had dinner at an intimate Thai restaurant. I was already 37 weeks pregnant with Erin. We were both filled with anticipation on the coming of our first born and life was good. It still is up to now. :D

I'm not sure who hasn't done this yet. Feel free to tag yourself if you haven't. :)

Money Matters

Alright, I will spill the beans now. When it comes to financial matters, I just suck! You heard me right. That is why in this family of ours J is the one who handles all of our finances. I didn't even insist on taking charge of it when we were newlyweds because between the two of us, we both knew he was the more logical choice having worked in a financial institution in his younger days.

And as for amateurs like me, specialized websites such as Power Options with features like options express are convenient tools, especially when you want to invest in stocks. It saves you a lot of your valuable time because they can automatically analyze all the data that you are interested in.

Who you?

As you know, this site has turned out to be my working blog, with several ads and sponsored posts abounding. My original blog is ad-free and is where most of my old-time blogger friends regularly drop by to read our entries. I've only asked a few new ones to direct themselves to this site.

My recent visitor tracker shows a lot of people coming from places where I know no one of. So I thought it would be really interesting to find out who these regular readers are. If you are one of them, please leave a comment for this post to be acknowledged. I'm pretty curious to reveal these people from behind those flags. :)

Fashion Show

I have been sifting through Erin's cabinet lately and I was reminded of the pile of clothes that she has yet to wear. And since she is fast growing up to be a big girl, I might as well let her wear some of them even if we're not going out. It would be a shame to put all these unworn but brand new clothes away. And to prove that these garments were really worn, I took photos of the little girl as evidence. Take a look-see! :)

It is so difficult to take a picture of her these days because she's constantly moving. In other words, super likot! I get to click around forty shots to get about five really good shots of her. Thank God for digital cameras! :D

I reckon you'll be seeing more of Erin's fashion parade in the coming days. It's just so fun dressing her up! :)

Being a Parent

This is what I have learned since the day our little girl was born -- parenting is no easy job. No amount of third party experience could ever prepare you for it. I say this because I have four younger siblings and I was able to help our mom take care of three of them. I think this is mainly due to the fact that not all babies are the same so you would not expect to get the same reaction from one child even if you have employed the same rearing techniques with other children.

When you're stuck in a difficult situation with your kid, we usually tend to forget to be objective about it as we are so emotionally involved. So it helps that you can share with other parents your personal experiences in child-rearing because they can offer you valuable tips on this matter. Oftentimes, these friendly advice from other parents turn out to be a godsend because they have been tried and tested.

Help for Baby Hannah

Yesterday, I received this letter from a fellow egroup member. It was about her friends' newborn baby who was diagnosed to have Ondine's Curse (or in technical terms Congenital Central Hypoventilation Syndrome). Anyway, read on.

I am writing in behalf of my friends Joan & Carlo. They are former w@wies.

Joan gave birth to a baby girl last August 14 at Asian Hospital via CS. Her name is Hannah Ysabelle. When she was born, her lungs were full of mucus and she was diagnosed with pneumonia. Her pneumonia was treated already, but she still had difficulty breathing, she has to use a ventilator so she can breathe.

After some more tests, the doctors eventually found out that she has Congenital Central Hypoventilation Syndrome. It is also known as Ondine's Curse. In simple terms, nalilimutan nya huminga (she forgets to breathe). When Hannah is awake she's having a hard time breathing, and when she's asleep she's not breathing at all. This disease is a lifelong disease and has no cure. And Hannah might be the first case in the Philippines .

So that Hannah can breathe, she has an intubator (tube inserted through her mouth) till last week. She had an operation called tracheostomy wherein an incision was made on her neck so that the tube can pass through there instead of through the mouth. When she was in the intubator, another tube is inserted through her mouth for her milk. Now that there's no more tube on her mouth, she can now drink using a bottle.

After Hannah's operation has healed, Joan and Carlo will be transferring her to Las Pinas Doctors Hospital anytime this week. Because in Asian, their daily expenses is around 20k/day, in LPDH its aound 6k/day. She has to stay in the hospital because she has to use a ventilator. A home ventilator for newborns in the Philippines costs around P1.5M.

Now, their bill in Asian Hospital is more than half a million already. This still excludes the payment for the CS (which was paid already), and the doctors PF (Hannah has 8 doctors).

With all the bills they have to pay, and other expenses that will come in the future, Joan and Carlo are now asking for donations. They've wiped out all their savings. They've written letters to institutions asking for help/assistance. They also requested if they can put tin cans in stores wherein people can put donations. If ever you see those tin cans around, please give a little bit of help.

Please also include them in your prayers. They really need all the help they can get.

It is heartwrenching! I am a mom myself and for some reason, whenever I see or hear babies suffering like this, I feel like crying. Maybe it is because I always put myself in their parents' shoes as we have a little girl of our own as well. In other words, it is so easy to relate!

Another e-group member suggested that the parents should put up a website or blog especially for this so that other people may know about it and that they can ask for more donations. I think that is an excellent idea. But at this point, I think a third party must organize that as the parents are so busy taking care of Hannah. J naman suggested approaching the TV stations and have their case featured on air. I know lots of similar cases have done this and have been successful at raising funds. Also, it is good way of checking if all is legal and true and is not just one of those scams.

Okay, if you want to help this couple out, just go to their friend's blog for more information. You can also help spread the word about baby Hannah by posting her case in your blog.

Updates

I'm back! Well, I haven't really gone anywhere far. I've just been terribly busy lately that I have in a way neglected posting on our personal blogs.

So what, pray tell, am I focusing my attention on these past few weeks? I'm not sure if you've noticed, but I have been mentioning the phrase 'the project' occasionally in my earlier entries. Alright, the project is this. Both J and I (yes, it's a partnership!) have been setting it up in between chores, work and caring for Erin. It's barely a month old so it's still pretty much a work in progress. And speaking of work, you could say that this is my 'job' for the moment and that now, I am officially a working stay-at-home mom. :)

Want to help me out with this project? If you know of anyone who will benefit from it, please do tell them about it. Also, I am very open to any comments or suggestions that you may have about the site. Don't be shy to let me know of your thoughts. :)

Alright, I'm off to work. (naks!) You all have a great day ahead! :D

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Pahabol:
I haven't been bloghopping much as you all know, but I stumbled into this really hilarious post in one of my rare hops. It definitely made my day! :D

Dial away!

Not all people realize how lonely it can get for us Filipinos living abroad. Yes, life is good here in the land down under but it would be even better if we can constantly keep in touch with family and friends back home.

J and I are always "hungry" for the latest news back in the Philippines so we make it a point to call our loved ones regularly through chat or with the use of a long distance card. Prepaid calling cards are a good way to save on your phone bills because it allows you to set a specific budget for overseas calls, which we all know can turn out to be very expensive. These are global phone cards which allow you to contact any of your loved ones whether via domestic or international calls. Discount long distance cards are truly a godsend as you get more value for your money.

If plane tickets were inexpensive, we'd probably be seeing ourselves jumping on the next flight every chance that we get. But that is nowhere near the truth. For now, we'll just have to settle with phone calls and video chats until we are able to save enough to fly back home for a much needed holiday.

Our Needs

I saw this meme over at Gloria's blog. I thought it was fun so I decided to give it a spin myself.

Here's what you need to do:
Go to www.google.com, write your name and the word “needs” in the text box and click the Goggle Search button. Just for fun, see what comes out of your search.

• Leah needs to shed the pounds and the sooner the better. (Uh, I don't think so!)


• Leah needs healing. (I desperately need to go to a spa!)


• Leah needs a job topic. (Actually, I need lots for my project.)


• Leah needs more training before she becomes the big star that she is GOING TO BE. (Pang-showbiz pala ako! :D )


• Leah needs to raise more than $4000 to cover the cost of her trip. (Yeah, and we need it soon!)


• Leah needs to change her lifestyle by incorporating regular involvement in physical activity. (I really do need a change of lifestyle. *sigh* )


• Leah needs to watch herself on TV after she makes the rounds of the talk shows. (See, pang-showbiz nga ako! :D )


• Leah needs to apply herself more. (Err, I don't exactly know where...)


• Leah needs to dream. (I agree! But how, when I'm usually sleep-deprived?)


• Leah needs a house now. (... of our own. Need I say more?)


• Leah needs more sleep than she gets and can be a handful if she’s tired. ('Nuff said!)

I enjoyed doing the meme so much I googled J's needs as well.

J needs...

• your votes again for most attractive man of the month.


• an adoptive parent who will be patient with him.


• a family that will provide structure


• to put the personal s**t or feelings aside


• support and encouragement to be successful


• as much freedom as possible so he can continue to explore and push his own boundaries

Hmm, google's got some pretty hardcore and personal stuff there for J. Not as much fun as mine was.

Alright, your turn. Let me know if you did the meme and posted the results in your blog so that I can hop over to your site and see what you've come up with. Good luck!

First Father's Day

It was Father's Day yesterday here in Australia. I have been googling why it is celebrated every first Sunday of the month of September (instead of the usual which is held in June) but have come up with nothing.

Anyway, it was pretty special because it was J's first, even though we didn't have the chance to go out (yes, Erin's still keeping us awake at night with her teething discomfort!).

I just love this picture. This was taken when Erin was only a week old.

Happy Father's Day to the best dad in the entire universe (at least, in our books)! :)