Happy thoughts, happy tot: Events and Holidays

Showing posts with label Events and Holidays. Show all posts

Star City Adventure

Last Thursday was hubby's day-off and just as planned we went to Star City for Z's birthday. We went out at 3pm but we have so many errands on the way that we didn't arrive there until 7pm. Before going there, we took care of our grumbling stomach and went to Wendy's. S tried the newest on their menu which is the Baconator which costs P210. I was worried about the extra calories but ordered it anyway because I was afraid S wouldn't be able to sleep that night thinking about it. LOL

The actual burger doesn't look as thick as that though. S liked it but when I tasted it I only tasted meat so it was too much for me.

Next stop was to get a memory card for my Powershot A590. So we went all the way to CD-R king and bought a 4gig SD card for P380. I am amazed at it's price because I know this can cost from P500 to P1,500 so I wish it will last unlike the headset I bought at the same store which broke after dropping it on the floor once! Here's our first shot.

So off we go to Star City. Oops, not yet. We still passed by Shangri-la to take care about the wedding gift we bought at their Weddings and Beyond Bridal registry. They were supposed to gift wrap it and send me a text message to pick it up but the wedding was long over and I still didn't receive one. I thought they'll just deliver it with to the bride's house along with other gifts but my friend texted me it's not there yet. So we were prepared to give them an earful about the bad service, but good thing they said they can deliver it so I went away happy.
We rode the MRT and LRT and got off at Vito Cruz station. S wanted us to ride a taxi from there but I wanted Z to see the orange jeepneys because I knew he likes to see different kinds of vehicles. We call it "baby jeep" although it's not exactly small it still is smaller than the normal jeep he sees. We were so near yet so far because the roads were being fixed so we endured about half an hour of traffic.
We finally arrived. Here's getting stamped at the entrance. One thing though, I was surprised to see their prizes have increased. I asked the lady behind the counter about it and she said they didn't. They just don't sell the rides in a bundle anymore. The Ride-all-you-can + Snow World + Dino Island which costs P475 before you can now get at Ride-All-You-Can - P300, Snow World - P100 and Dino Island - P100 for a total of P500.

A year ago, Z was too afraid to ride the simplest rides but he showed us how big he's getting by bravely riding a lot of the rides there.

S and I didn't ride any adult rides at all. If you want to know why, look at the picture above. S is already afraid riding the Teleconverter (I'm not sure if this is the name).
Z wanted to ride the ferris wheel for a long time, he can see it at SLEX whenever we go to Sta. Rosa. Upon seeing it up close, he was almost sure it reached the sky. Still, that didn't discourage him.

The famous Dino Island and Snow World we didn't like at all. We were bored at Dino Island and Z was scared. I reminded him how he wasn't afraid at all watching Jurassic Park all by himself but he still didn't want to go too near.

At Snow World, I thought we were prepared with the extra jackets we brought along but it was still too cold. S is sick and I was beginning to show symptoms of cold myself so we lasted for - I'm not sure we even lasted a minute there! It was a totally waste of money for us. Anyway, we had fun overall and Z was really happy. Didn't want to take off the ride-all-you-can tag he was wearing till the next day.

Double Celebration!

Happy New Year and most importantly, Happy Birthday to my Husband!

Christmas Eve

A few hours before Christmas Eve, here's the scene at our house.

S was asleep because he needed to go to work that night. Meanwhile, Z was also eager to go to bed so that when he wakes up it's already Christmas and he can open his gift.
I was busy preparing our noche buena and putting the chocolates inside Z's stockings.

Z woke up around 9 pm and promptly proclaimed it was already Christmas and it's time to open his gift. I couldn't say no so off the gift wrapper went.

A few hours later it was S's turn to open his gift.

The truth is they already knew what their gifts were because a couple of hours earlier we went shopping together so it was no surprise at all!

A Wedding Experience

We went to the wedding of my friend Nix, and it turned out to be not the usual wedding experience we anticipated. First, traffic was really bad and with no taxi cab available our one hour allowance for traveling time turned out to be a really bad idea. We completely missed the wedding ceremony because we also got lost on the way so we had no choice but to proceed directly to the reception. We had no idea where Plaza Moriones was and the taxi driver didn't either but it was inside Intramuros so we knew we'll be able to find it no matter what. We were expecting a restaurant but how wrong we were! Plaza Moriones was aptly named because it is, of course, a Plaza! There was a tent set up in the middle for the reception and the place was gorgeous not to mention rich in Philippine History. We had time to walk around and we discovered that Rizal Shrine is just a few steps away. I immediately grasp the opportunity to teach Z about our national hero and about Intramuros. Here are a couple of shots:

The reception started around 6:00 PM and by that time S had to go back to his office so Z and I were left behind. Z played around this giant Christmas tree. I let him run around it so he'll not get bored.

About 6:30 the bridal car pulled up and it was a gorgeous Rolls Royce. I can't resist but take a shot because I haven't seen one up close.

Unfortunately, I was not able to get our picture taken with the bride and groom. Immediately after eating we have to go because Z is getting restless and was already begging me to go. I was also afraid to go home too late because the place was not familiar with me.
Outside the plaza, I can't resist taking pictures of these beautiful Christmas lights.

Intramuros is really a nice place to visit and I'm sure we'll come back when Z is a little older.
Congratulations to the newlyweds Chuck and Nix!

Shopping for Clothes to Wear at a Wedding

We went shopping today for some clothes to wear for the wedding of my college friend and Z's ninang, Nix. I already bought mine last month but Z has nothing to wear from head to foot because we thought we wouldn't be able to bring him. So with only a day away I was already panicking on what clothes he would wear for the first formal event he'll be able to attend. His dad thinks it's not a problem saying we'll just drop by at any mall on the wedding day itself but I decided it's better to look for clothes today even if it's already night time rather than do it tomorrow. So we proceeded to Ever, the nearest mall in our area. S wanted to eat dinner first before he goes to the office so we dropped by at Greenwich first. After eating, S said goodbye to Z and told him he's going to the office already. Z was quiet as S went to the opposite direction but I knew he was sad and was taken aback by his father leaving all of a sudden. It was entirely our fault because I forgot to remind S to tell Z in advance that he's heading right to work after eating. I always tell him in advance if someone is leaving that way he'll be prepared and won't get too affected by it and it works. But this time I forgot and it was evident that he was affected because he told me a couple of times how sad he was his dad left for work early. Good thing that shopping therapy also works for toddlers! He was sad while I was in the bookstore looking for books to buy but when it was time for us to shop for his black shoes, all traces of sadness were gone. The first pair he tried on he complained was too small, the second one his eyes lit up, and the third he kicked in disgust. So off we went with the second pair of shoes. Next stop was downstairs, the children's clothes area to shop for slacks and polo. I was about to undress Z in the middle of the store to try on the clothes but he wanted to use the dressing room. We didn't waste a lot of time there because the clothes we got fit perfectly. Our next mission was to shop for his black belt. We saw one right away but it needed an extra hole punched because it was too big. The saleslady went around asking where it was but it seems nobody knew where it could be done. I was about to get upset and request for a supervisor but fortunately my gut instinct directed me to where it should be - upstairs in the men's accessories section where adult belts are sold. We also got a white under shirt for S but the salesman convinced me to buy a set of children's brief that was 50% off and which Z badly needed. We also got a wallet for free.

We went home tired but not tired enough to try on the clothes. Z didn't want to at first because he wanted to play but when he saw his shoes he agreed. So I dressed him in full costume with a wallet to boot. I also can't resist trying my own dress on.
I took pictures of Z:

He took a picture of me:

And I took pictures of us together:

He even wanted to strike a pose:

Z definitely enjoyed his maporma clothes. Long after I was back in my everyday clothes, he still refuses to take off his. He keeps on taking his wallet out and putting it back inside his pocket. I think he feels grown up with his new attire. I hope he behaves during the entire ceremony.

I bought our Christmas tree last Halloween at Greenhills but it was only a few weeks ago that we finished decorating it. I wasn't really planning on buying a Christmas tree this year because we'll probably be celebrating Christmas with our relatives in Laguna but I couldn't resist buying the Christmas tree I saw on sale at Greenhills. I got a great deal because the price I paid for the 6 feet tree is comparable to a 3 feet Christmas tree. It was Z who put all the Christmas balls and he enjoyed doing it because he finished putting all the balls up without even a whine. It's simply decorated for now but I don't plan on spending much on our tree because it's only up once a year and stored away the rest of the year. My plan is just to add a more decorations to it every year.

Z's Christmas Present

Z with his new bear, Bear Brand

Z was supposed to open his stuffed toy on Christmas day but it was his mom and dad who couldn't wait. I saw him playing with his really old stuff dog, talking with it, and saw him hugging it so I told S maybe we should open his new toy. My husband didn't miss a beat and proceeded to take the toy and asked Z if he wants to open it. Of course Z was really excited. He has absolutely no clue what it is and when he opened it we were not disappointed with his reaction. He really loved it! Today, it's been a couple of days later but he treats "Bear Brand" as his constant companion. Our one regret is our bed became smaller because Bear Brand even has his own space complete with a pillow.

Halloween Party at S's Office

I know it's way too late to talk about Halloween but I still want to post about the third and last Halloween party Z attended which was held at his dad's office. It was early in the morning of Oct. 31st that Z wore his cowboy costume for the third time. We rode a jeep to Libis which was just one ride away. When we stepped inside the office we were impressed to see that it was transformed into a ship which was inspired by the movie Pirates of the Carribean. Z's dad and his officemates were all dressed in pirates. Z saw our former neighbor and his friend, Gia and they were unseparable after that. The children were given balloons and off they went trick or treating. We went from the executives' offices then to the different accounts and we gathered quite a lot of candy which took us two weeks to eat. Next year I'll remember to not get as much candy! A program came next which includes games for the parents and the kids. We were not able to finish it because we went out to eat.
Z really enjoyed the party and afterwards he is already looking forward to next year's Halloween. He even has a costume in mind, he said he wants a ninja costume for next year.

Halloween Party at Greenhills

To maximize's Z's costume, we decided to brave the hot afternoon and commute to Greenhills shopping center which was only a short bus ride away. We found out upon arriving there that they started on time so we we're late for the trick or treat part. Fortunately, they have a program right after which featured a magician who was well, adept at magic tricks. Our only problem was we were way at the back and couldn't see a thing. I was determined not to waste our effort of going all the way there, we even left his dad sleeping alone at the house which was rare because we always go out together, so I carried Z and inched our way closer to the stage. It was difficult mind you, because apparently the adults enjoyed the magic show too and don't want to give way for me and Z. I was determined, however, because of the strain of Z's weight on my arms so I still pushed my way. I headed to the first empty seat I found but before I could sit down, and rest my aching arms, the mother quickly pulled her daughter back to the empty chair. Not to be disheartened, I carried Z over another empty chair at the front row and told him to sit down before it gets occupied again. That's how we finally got to see the magic show. It was Z's first time to see one but he understood and laughed at some of the tricks. Even I was amazed although I already know that those were just tricks and not magic.

Trick or Treating at ATC

It has been a whirlwind Halloween for Z and me. A month ago, we bought Z his first halloween costume and a cowboy costume at that. Since the concept of trick and treating has not been fully adapted in the Philippines, you won't see children knocking on doors and asking for treats, however, the malls have fully adapted the US tradition and so we decided to put his costume into full use by attending every Trick or Treat celebration in the malls we frequent. First stop was in Alabang Town Center. ATC is really far away from our place but my FIL invited us in the vicinity so we crashed the event. Upon seeing the other kids in their costume, Z promptly wore his cowboy costume and proceeded to watch the ongoing program. The venue was outside and since it was at noon, it was terribly hot. The orgranizers gave us a slip of paper which we were to be signed by the representatives of the event sponsors after which we were entitled to a plastic bag full of goodies. Z was delighted when he received it and I told him he got it as a reward for wearing his costume. We wanted to stay for the costume contest but we still have to go to Sta. Rosa.