Comeback Post: Our Holy Week 2012

May hangover pa ko ng long weekend but I'm officially back to work after a well rested week yesterday.

I hope everyone were able to reflect and spend quality time with their loved ones, just like what I did no wonder I was also on a blog hiatus for the past few days. :)

For most of us, the best part of the vacation is hitting the beach or any resort within our area and like majority of the peeps, we're one of them.Yun nga lang, this is the first summer that we're not complete after hubby's overseas work. Dati rati last week of March pa lang we already had a resort in mind. My boys love the water so much. We even had an out of town swimming a month before Christmas kung saan taglamig na pero gora pa din.haha! Allan is a Pisces while Xian naman is Aries, although a Fire element he still love the water so much. Ako keri lang ang tubig, Virgo eh.

This time, no family picture for Summer of 2012 :( di bale, babawi kami sa December,promise! ganyang style din,dapat nakalublob sa swimming pool.lol.

So here's how we spent the precious 5 days in a couple of pics:

Maundy Thursday

At first, I thought pass muna kami ni Xian sa swimming this year. I'm just planning of buying him a bigger inflatable swimming pool compare to what he's been using last year . But my family had other plans for my sister's birthday so join na din kami ni bagets. We had our family swimming at La Leona Resort near our hometown. By the way,belated happy birthday sa pinakamabait kong sister next to me of course (haha!) -- my 4th sister Apple!  My little family - me, kuya Allan and Xian kulit loves you so much.

Xian and the Birthday Girl. Wapakels na sa picture taking si Xian,mukhang langoy na langoy na eh!

 

Oopps, checking the water first.baka daw kase malamig.

 

 emo ang Xian

 

Xian with his Tita Ninang Sol

 

  mommy and my little merman

And now,don't ask what is the shade of Xian's skin.hahaha!

Good Friday and Black Saturday

We just savor our staycation, do household errands, playtime with Xian, visit our relatives, watched some kiddie movies. By the way, Gnomeo and Juliet was the little man and I's favorite movie at the moment, then sleep, munched the food we hoard prior to holidays.Takot magutom since majority of the establishments and malls in our place were closed for two days.

These are two of our favorite snack discoveries:

 M & M's cookies for Xian. he loves the combination of his favorite chocolate and cookies. I must say,masarap nga!

caramel cheesecake icecream for mommy, although nothing can replace Magnum's special place in my tastebuds.kaso di available ang Magnum nowadays (ganun na ata talaga kalakas ang Magnum fever na out of stock sila palagi) so this is my next choice.

Easter Sunday

After the mass,we went to my in-laws place. Xian also had a taste of the summer league where his daddy used to play basketball. The little man even have his own jersey courtesy of hubby's teammates/friends (which are also Xian's  ninong's). Allan kase is a basketball player, that's his ultimate hobby when we're not yet married. Bago pa man nya ko minahal nung nagkakilala kami eh mahal na nya ang bola ng basketball.No wonder he's one of the best varsity player in our university wayback,kaya nga ko nainlove di ba.haha! #oneproudfantalkinghere.

 Xian #3! I hope he'll also be a good basketball player when he grows up. Magstock ako ng madaming cherifer para sayo,anak!

Monday

It's Xian's Jollibee Day for the last day of the long vacay. I don't have any pics since the usual routine naman whenever we're there eh playtime then eat his favorite  food - chicken,spaghetti and fries.


 All in all, this mommy still finds time to rest and reflect for the past few days together with my little man! Looking forward sa next long weekend! :P

 

Sisters and Coffee

It's hard to be responsible adult and sensible all the time.  How good it is to have a sister whose heart is as young as your own.  ~ Pam Brown

I report to work last Monday after my almost 1 week leave. After that busy day at work, I met up with my sister Sol before she goes to Laguna (where she's working). She's Xian's spoiler no wonder she's the little man's most favorite tita ninang.hehe. We only see each other during weekends and whenever she's off from her work. Just like the last time when she accompanied me on my hospital moments. I mentioned in my posts before that since I grew up with my lola, Sol and I we're like twins no wonder she seldom calls me ate. I'm just 1year, 11months and 24 days older than her kase. But we're really close to the truest form of being sisters. Same thing with my other sibs. That's one of the perks of having a big family. Pero dahil siguro magkasunod kami,mas close talaga kaming dalawa. To her, I'm Johan. Minsan Joanna. Pag badtrip na yan,Johanus. Kung siraan na din lang ng pangalan, para saken sya naman si Marsola (Marisol is her real name). Pero kay Xian, she's Ninang Asol.period.hahaha!

She's my maabilidad sister. We're both born under the zodiac sign of Virgo, that's why we have the same personality but compare to me, there are a lot  more things she's  really interested with like traveling and photography. She also loves to read novels. Yung makakapal talaga ha. She goes hiking with her friends every once in a while. She loves to discover new things. Between us, she's really the adventurous one. She loves to talk on just about anything,kahit politics updated sya. Tanungin mo nga sya kung ano ng updates sa impeachment trial ni CJ Corona,alam nya eh.hahaha! Kung ako introvert, sya extrovert. Kung ako kuntento na sa galang malapit, sya mas feel na malayo. Kung ako friendly (ehem) sya friendlier. Pwede ding friendliest.

She had been to different places here in the Philippines and had her first trip out of the country last year para lang maglamyerda. Kung may Jack-of-All-Trades, she's the Jill-of-All-Trades. She's simply amazing (I can't think of any other adjective na kaya sagad na yun!)

Kfine,Kaw na talaga sis.Boypren na lang kulang sayo.hahaha.
 

Anyway, dako na tayo sa coffee part, enough na sa sisters. chos! This is  sort of Part 2 of "our celebration" after our Shakey's lunch last Wednesday after my minor operation.We're supposed to go to The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf but ended up at Figaro. You know naman us girls,pabago-bago ng isip at nangunguna na kami dun.

So here's the best way to end my semi-stressful Monday, a date with my twin sis.

 our favorite frost (Blackberry Mocha and Chocolate Light)

Arrabbiata (again) for me. I had the tendency to order the same food again and again hangga't di ako nagsasawa.lol.

Pesto for sissie.

multi-tasking.lol.

 big little sister and little big sister!

After our date, hinatid pa nya ko sa sakayan before having our separate ways to make sure na safe ako.Sweet! If I know gusto lang nya paramdam saken na engot talaga ako tumawid sa kalsada.hehehe.Then when I got home,after I checked my fb, nakapag-status na kagad si dear sister sa fb nya:

"Behind every good conversation is a substantial amount of coffee together with the best sister in the world who pays for it"

Naks.Yun pala ang nakalimutan ko i-mention, bolera din yan.hahaha!

Hopefully mabasa nya 'to kase over-over na puri ko. I think I also deserve a libre after this! lol.

I love you sis,alammonayan! Mwah!

Xian @ Happy Place 1

I guess for my Xian, spending some quality time is not complete without his playtime at two of his happy place. As much as I wanted to just stay in the house muna  to savor the moment of my work-less days since I don't want us to be caught in the middle of the holiday rush, I don't have the heart to say "no" to the little man's request plus he already showed me his cutest smile with matching "please mommy..please,please?" and the moment I said "okay" eh mabilis pa sa kidlat ang reaction nya na "yes!" 

Now I wonder kung san nagmana ng pagka-artista batang 'to.

So despite the traffic, we headed to Jollibee and no, I didn't drive. Azul is park comfortably in our garage.commute kami,hehe!

As usual, typical scenario, the moment we enter Jollibee store he went straight to the play area and the rest is history!

 

 Obviously, this is his version of "me time" and this little thing is happiness for him to the highest level already.

ayan nga't may pa-cute cute pa :)

Before heading home, we had a quick snack at Greenwich and that explains the green chair Xian is sooo comfortably sitted while playing his toys. At home na at home ang bagets, ano? After making our stomach happy, we had a 20 minutes travel time wala pa dun ang pagtigil ng driver sa gasolinahan or pamimick up ng pasahero at ang pansumandaling paghinto dahil sa traffic,so all in all we reached our home less than an hour,just for the little man's request.

So there, a peek of our typical day last Christmas break! :)

Sunday at Valentino Resort & Spa Part 1

My little family went to Valentino Resort and Spa (VRS) last Sunday for some relaxation together with Inay and my sister Sol while majority of the whole nation were glued on their seats watching Pacquiao's Fight. Prior to our out-of-town trip, I made an earlier reservations last Friday before going there. Armed with my printed direction which I got from their site, we went to VRS. We left our place at exactly 8:00 AM and we got there around 9:00 AM.

The Spot!

VRS is a perfect place for relaxation. Our timing was great because there were only a few others at the resort plus the weather is perfect too, so we were able to enjoy our stay the whole day. The little man is so excited because on our way there, he kept on saying "yehey,si-swimming! Mommy andun Nemo?" O di ba,excited masyado si bagets. Pero anak, sad to say walang Nemo dun eh.

The place is situated within the calm and picturesque town of San Jose, Batangas overlooking the panoramic view of Mt. Makulot.(which is also a favorite destination especially for campers and mountaineers) Although they're our neighboring town but we seldom go there unless we have some agenda on that town.

Welcome!

The resort has very decent facilities plus the staff there are very friendly and hospitable especially Kuya-Manong (I forgot to ask his name) who immediately assisted and loaded our baggage to the golf cart and brought us to our cabana after our transaction at the resort's receiving area.

By the way, we only paid 2K for that day; Php300/person for our entrance fee,Xian is already free of charge, Php500 for the cabana, Php 100 for our food's corkage fee and additional P200 for Xian's shirt at their souvenir shop)

 

While settling our payments at busy naman ang aming Xian.

family photo op at their Christmas tree :)

Inay Dear, Sis, Xian and Kuya-Manong

My boys enjoying the ride

Here are some snapshots of the place while we're on our way to the view deck.

Receiving Area / Souvenir Shop

 

serenity,check!

 sana ganito kalinis bakuran ko :)

Two of Their Five Themed Villas (Contemporary, Mediterranean, Filipiniana, Italian, Modern) ideal for overnight stay.

Picture taking of the place was cut short after a minute of riding the golf cart, since we're already at the view deck, that's why I don't have pictures of the other remaining villas, function hall, spa, gym,restaurant and others.

@ the view deck's hanging bridge overlooking the resort's lush garden and huge pools and jacuzzi while on our way to our cabana, kaso mahihiluhin ako kaya bilis-bilis kami dyan ni Xian (Inay and my sister is behind us while the husband was at the back and in-charged of our baggage and food helping Kuya-Manong)

 HAPPINESS!

Looking at our ultimate happiness! :)

The resort have three swimming pools and we chose one of their big cabana near the kiddie pool as our spot since some of the few guests that time take a dip at the biggest pool near the jacuzzi.So, most of the time solo namin ang place.hehe! There is also a charming waterfall which my boys enjoyed a lot. 

 Their mesmerizing iced-blue water.

The Three of Us.

More than the place, It's always the people we are with that makes every bonding memorable,ayt? :)

How to Get There (From Manila):

Take SLEX and go out through the last exit, Batangas Exit.
Drive straight along the highway until you see the sign for STAR Expressway. Turn right to STAR.
Take the Lipa Exit. Turn left.
Go straight until the road forks. Take the right side, going to Cuenca.
Just drive straight and you'll see the sign "Valentino Resort & Spa" on your left. Turn here and you'll find the resort.

Valentino Resort and Spa
Barangay Pinagtung-ulan, San Jose, Batangas
Telephone Number:(043) 783-0558
Mobile Number: 09175155936

Daddy's Little Helper

I'll start my long weekend series of posts with this.

Last Saturday afternoon, while hubby was busy washing the car, Xian bugged me to join his dad because he thinks that what the hubby's doing is fun. Although this is not his first time to help the husband in this chore, I just felt like mas matagal ang naco-consume nila time pag magkatulong sila. *KJ mommy mode*

Xian: mommy, liliguan ko ulit car *excited*

Me: wag na, next time na lang ulit.dito na lang tayo, madulas dun oh! watch mo na lang si daddy.

Xian: *deadma* daddy wait! lilinis din ng car ang Xian.wait!

Hubby: eh sabihin mo muna sa mommy, baka magalit satin.sa kanya ka magpaalam.

Xian: please mommy,please? *sad paawa face*


My heart melts when I saw his reaction. It's his simple joy.Okay fine,go baby!

So meet our little car wash boy!

busy scrubbing, taking the chore seriously.

 

with his own bucket of water with car wash soap and rag. karir kung karir si bagets.

pa-cute pose.

eto,pogi pose daw.

It's nice to see my two boys (although the husband is not in the picture kase camera shy kuno) doing one chore together which made me think that hopefully in the future God will bless us with a baby girl so we will also have our own girl bonding time while the boys are busy with their thing :)

SM Hypermarket - Batangas

 Grocery Time = Family Time

It's a good thing there is already SM Hypermarket in Balagtas, Batangas for our "quick trip to the grocery" moment.  We don't have to drive all the way to SM Lipa or Robinsons Place to do the groceries. After all SM Hypermarket is just a 10 minutes drive from our house,Thanks to Expressway.

Before SM Hypermarket, the establishment was formerly a Makro wholesale store. I remember I always tag along with my mom whenever she'd go to Makro. I was in High School then. Comparing the previous and present, the building underwent a few renovations from air conditioning system, lighting conditions and other facilities. Having a huge parking lot is also a big plus for shoppers.We don't have a hard time looking for parking space. The establishment itself is huge, like other SM Hypermarkets and could accommodate a number of different products.  There were also a lot of shoppers when we went there one lazy afternoon considering that it's a holiday.It's a plus that they have lots of food to choose from different stalls for a quick snack.

in our grocery (pambahay) outfit :D

we had our snack first,friend chicken for the little man and shawarma for me and hubby with our fave Buko Shake.

typical mag-ama moment at the supermarket.

Overall, this is just another great improvement for our province. It gave more jobs to Batanguenos, and gave convenience to most shoppers who live nearby. I’m even luckier for having the new supermarket just a few minutes away so we could do rush shopping anytime. :)

SM Hypermarket - SM Batangas Branch
National Rd. corner Provincial Rd., Batangas City
Operating Hours: 9:00am - 9:00pm
Customer Service: (043) 783-1747 / (0923)-6586024

A Day at La Virginia

This is a late post of our Pre-V Day bonding :)

I was supposed to blog this few days after our family bonding but since I have a lot of things to do (and pics to upload!) from our recent getaway, I wasn't able to blog this on time.

Anyhoo, we celebrated Valentine's Day a day ahead as a family day. For the past week I've been thinking where's the best place to go within Batangas area. First on my list is Valentino Resort and Spa somewhere in San Jose, but few days before weekend I changed my mind although when I check their website it's really a nice and cozy place for those who want to have a serene getaway but having a toddler in tow,Xian might not totally enjoy it,you see I still have to think  of my child's happiness as top priority. That's why I changed plan.

The next option is La Virginia Hotel and Resort. I already knew that it's a nice place based on pics by some of my friends who's already been there. So one Sunday morning we headed to Mataas na Kahoy about 45 minutes-1 hour drive from our place. We just had a quick stop over to Lipa City to buy some additional snacks that we forgot to buy on our grocery list last night. We already bring our food because knowing the price of the resort's food,it will be twice than the original price.

My little Xian is so excited on our way pointing trees and animals and just about anything that caught his fancy.Then after a few minutes from the town of Mataas na Kahoy,we finally saw the resort's welcome arch sign:

 the guard will ask you first if you have a reservation or walk-in :)

We arrived at the resort around 10AM,Immediately after the gate open I was in awe,the place is really beautiful than what I expected! While hubby and I are busy settling our payments at the resort's business office, Inay, Tita Ninang Sol and Tita Ninang Twinkle with our little Xian were  also busy taking snapshots,my little man is so amazed with the "animals" he even have a closer look with some of them naming them one by one :)

Xian obviously enjoy his alligator ride  

while our little Xian is trying to fit himself to the busted toy car

 one quick family picture with the famous giraffe at the background 

We then headed to the mushroom picnic hut which can accommodate 4-6 people. While we're still at the resort's office,hubby initially wanted the gazebo due to the persistent resort attendant.I just tell him that all we need is somewhere to put our belongings and food.And because it's not yet the peak season, we  had the chance to choose what picnic hut we like.After a quick merienda and snapshots plus changing into our swimwear, we then headed to the Frog Kiddie Pool. they offer the best views of Taal Lake. My little Xian obviously love the water, as soon as we arrive at the pool he immediately said "daddy,simming (swimming)!" 

 Xian's first attempt,brrr quite cold pa.. 

family snapshots @ the Frog Kiddie Pool

a very nice view of Taal Lake and the whole place

wonderful father and son shot

now,mommy and baby moment with our newfound friends giraffe.lol

at the #8 hut, 8 is a memorable date to us - we got married september 8 , 2008! :)

The C's official summer photo 2011 - oo meganun! :)

a quick family shot on our way to Ifugao House 

 @ The Buddha View-Deck

before we have our lunch,walang katapusang pichuran! :D

time out,Xian needs to recharge! 

after a bottle of milk,he's so back to hyper mode, dancing and jumping and asking us to for another "simming" (swimming!) which made me think,pinaglihi ko ba sa isda 'tong anak ko?

Afternoon swimming @ the Dolphin Kiddie Pool. 

enjoying the water with daddy.oh my! anak look at your skintone!

We capped off the day with a few snapshots at some of La Virginia's famous attractions.

according to my little smart boy,this is a "zeeb-wah"  :)

Xian doesn't want to have a photo op with the orangutan.look at his reaction! haha.

@ the unique Fruity apple cottage

with the famous Buddha @ the background

@ the Ifugao Village.i so love the background!

camera trick c/o our photographer for the day - my sister Sol

my photo op with the so serious B :)

wacky shot of Xian and his tita ninangs

final shot :)

It was indeed a perfect family day slash pre-valentine's day bonding.it was a fun filled day of family togetherness.Cliche as it may seem but everyday is Valentine's Day if you get to spend it with the people you love  :)