NIKKI IS 8

Nikki's birthday is over but I still can't believe he's 8! It's pretty scary thinking that in a few more years he'll be hitting his teens!! Yikes! Don't want to think about THAT!

Anyway, it was a fun day for the boys. As planned, we just invited some family over. The boys got to play with some of Ruther's young cousins and everyone had a blast. I guess that's what matters most. :D

Here are some photos from yesterday...

Mario party

I just love Nikki's cake! :D

DVDs from Daddy

Our boy is 8!

Mario hats! :D

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NIKKI!!

It's Nikki's birthday today!! And he's 8!! Can't believe he's not a baby anymore. I still remember the first time I saw him at the hospital. He was so tiny. And now he's such a big boy. Sigh... I wish time would move slowly sometimes...

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We're not going to have a party but we're definitely inviting some relatives over for some merienda. We're going to the mall in the morning to buy some food and to get the cake and then for the rest of the afternoon, the boys are free to do as they please. Of course, can't do away with the picture-taking. :D

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I've been crocheting like crazy for the past weeks. I started slow coz I needed to relearn the stitches but now I'm getting the hang of it. I just have to remember to keep the tension equal so my work won't look weird. I've posted some of the crochet stuff I made in Facebook and my friends liked them! I was happy when they said they wanted me to make stuff for them. Wow. I still need a whole lot of practice so you know what this means... more yarn, more patterns, more happy crocheting... :D

CROCHET CRAZE

These are some of the crochet designs I've made from some of the books I have and some from the 'net. :)


first time to make crochet hairclips













my sis modeled this necklace :)













I loved how this one turned out!











I made this for Nikki, a huge Mario fan.

SO SORRY

I'm so sorry for living in a bubble and keeping to myself for the past weeks. I just couldn't handle the stress with Ruther and other factors. But I'm better now and I'll say why in a while. For now, I'd like to say thanks to Amy for taking the time to send me positive thoughts. Really appreciate it a lot! Thanks!! :D

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So anyway, Ruther was here. Yup. He surprised me. After weeks of stress and grumpiness and surliness and irritation and god knows what else, he came home for a few days. He arrived last Saturday, around 2:30pm and I was crocheting in a room when his face popped around my shoulder. Good thing I didn't have a heart attack then. I just yelped, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!?!" Anyway, I spent like 5-7 minutes just hugging him until he complained that he couldn't move or breathe. I had to let go then. I just wanted to hold him forever. Anyway, he then told me that he had to come home to help with the company hiring (yesterday) and I was glad that he got to spend some days with us here. I was missing him too much, plus his uncommunicative behavior for the past weeks wasn't doing us any good. Once here, it felt like everything was back to normal. So this trip, despite its shortness, has been very good for us and I am really glad for that. So now, we'll just have to wait for a few short weeks again til he comes home next month on the 23rd for Christmas. It'll be great to have him here then.

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I finally got to decorate the house. Yup, our Christmas trees (we have 2!) are up and the decors are up and the Christmas lights are up. Had to rearrange some things and purchase more Christmas centerpieces and decors but everything looks good so far. I just wish my mother-in-law would change the hideous mint green lace curtains around the house because they are so outdated and look really tacky. Don't get me wrong, I love her but decorating hasn't been Mama's forte at all. Hopefully, she'll put out some better-looking curtains next month (I'll try to convince her or die trying). Our theme for this year is the color red. Don't ask me why but my family (not Ruther's) has been like that over the years. Sometimes we would pick green, then the following year, white, then the year after, yellow. I think it's more fun that way. :D This year, the decors will be red but I think Ruther, the boys and I will be dressed in Mario Bros. costumes. I know, we're weird. :P But Ruther and the boys are big Mario Bros. fans and since Ruther won't be here on Nikki's birthday (we're having a Mario theme) we decided to have it on Christmas. I'm sure it'll be so fun!

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The Christmas presents are 90% done. I still have to get presents for my brother, my dad, the boys and my sis and my list would be complete. Not bad, aye. I just love shopping early for Christmas. I always want to pick the perfect present. Anyway, for wrapping paper, we're going green this year. We used the glossy pages from a Japanese magazine and I spray painted it lightly yellow and tied a yellow yarn around it. Not bad. I'll take a photo of a present tomorrow. I wish everyone would do the same and just reuse or recycle. It'd do the planet a world of good.

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The boys have completely recovered from their chickenpox although Nikki still has whitish scars on his body. Ethan is less thin although I really wish he would start eating rice already. He just doesn't like it. Bread, yes. Crunchy food like popcorn, pork rinds, chicken skin, yes. Any ideas on how to feed a picky 6-year-old who still prefers drinking milk to eating regular meals? Even Ruther is starting to feel frustrated with Ethan's lack of appetite. Sigh...

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Nikki is turning 8 on Sunday!! WOW!! Time really flies. We're not having a party but I invited some relatives for some merienda (afternoon snack). Nikki said he wanted to have some kids over so they could play and since it's his birthday I agreed. Hopefully, the handful of people I invited could all come. :D

ACTING UP

It's been a hellish week for me and I don't wish to ever have one like it again.

Ruther became distant and moody for the past days which irritated me a lot. He's become surly and aloof. I really don't know what his problem is but it certainly pissed the hell out of me because it sucks when you have to talk every night with someone who you feel is not even trying to talk to you. What's more is that when I try to connect with him, he's all "whatever" or he doesn't even try to tell me anything about his day. He's letting me do the talking. He's not even trying to help matters. Of course, the physical separation is aggravating the situation but the way he's acting is adding even more strain as it is. I just wish he'd just be jovial when he's talking to me in the evenings. I hope his attitude will change in the next few days because I am SO not happy with the way he's been acting lately. If he's getting stressed at work then he might as well come home because what it's doing to him and to our relationship is definitely not good.

FEELING MUCH BETTER

Took these photos the morning after the storm hit Manila. We had a blackout so I had to find ways to entertain the boys. I decided to put up their little house and they loved it. After only 10 minutes inside the house, they were fast asleep. :)

The storm was sooo windy it woke as up (around 3 in the morning) and we were not able to sleep after that. Ethan was scared because it was windy and noisy and the sound made a "wooooo- ooooo- ooooo" sound that was a bit creepy. Nikki was too, but when I explained the noises to him, he lost his fear. We then proceeded to study the candle flame (which part of the flame is the hottest) and reflections and shadows. It was nice to have an instant science lesson then. :) Anyway, come morning, the wind died down but it was still overcast so we just stayed outside on the balcony and read books and played with flour. Who says blackouts can't be fun?

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As you can see in the photos, Nikki has more scabs than Ethan. But I'm glad to report that they are all drying up nicely now. But I'm sure my mom would be all worried and fussy when she sees the boys tomorrow. Yup, she, my dad and sis are arriving from Canada tomorrow evening! I am SO excited to see them! Can't wait!