My Niece's First TVC

Aaaw! You wouldn't believe how giddy grandma gets whenever she sees Sashing on TV :) She can't help it haha

Scenes from a Kapampangan Christmas and New Year: Ho-Ho-Holidays!

Christmas is an awfully busy time especially if you're having it in Pampanga. There's so much cooking involved! So here's how our holidays fared:


Christmas parties!


Ima Sayong's Christmas tree



Lola's Christmas manger or belen


Gift giving with Tita Cookie with Cow and my niece Sasha


At the Ligligan parol or Pampanga's Giant Lantern Festival in San Fernando Pampanga. These colorful lanterns are over 40 feet tall and represent a town in Pampanga.


The two chikitings having fun!



Of course, Christmas and the New Year media noche is never complete without grandma's authentic ube kalamay :) Imagine, the hours of stirring just to get the right ube consistency! yumyum! kanyaman!

Cow got lotsa presents and baby ChoyChoy slept throughout the New Year's eve putukan, good thing... we sort of barricaded ourselves in a sealed room to avoid the fireworks smog and other things that are harmful to a newborn. Just made sure my eldest Cow had fun even if Mommy's busy breastfeeding.

Happy 2012!

The Sadness of Sendong

At the tail end of 2011, the 19th tropical cyclone Sendong left a trail of horrific devastation in the Philippines. It is by far the sneakiest and deadliest typhoon, ripping our hearts to shreds this Christmas. I cannot get myself to look at the images coming in from Iligan and Cagayan de Oro, I've seen some on Facebook and that was enough to break my heart in an instant.


Photo from Philippine Daily Inquirer

Too many dead children. Too many grieving parents. People walking, searching for missing love ones. Embalmers crying there aren't enough coffins to bury the dead. These are our dead, people! Give up the Christmas parties muna... let's give help whatever way we can :(


Thank God for the M/V YANG crew of Holcim Cement for rescuing the Typhoon Sendong survivors floating at sea. Mostly kids and a mom who lost her children :(

Let's give to the Philippine Red Cross or you can drop off in-kind or cash donations at LBC branches.

Batang Batangenyo Video: Preschooler Showdown

A teacher tries to sort out a preschool squabble Batangueña style. Ala eh! The three adorable Batangueño boys end up saying sorry and giggling throughout a group hug. Humingi lang naman ng sakolo dineh!


Winner pa name ng isang little boy - Dranreb! So 80s :)

Teacher: Sino bang mag-kaaway?
Alvin: Silang Dalawa! (points to the two boys)
Dranreb: Tayong tatlo nag-aaway!
Teacher: Eh bakit ka napasama diyan kung di ka naman napaaway?
Alvin: A-ako'y naglalakad lamang doon sa maluwag na yo-on, ay 'nare nung biglang nanuntok, naglalaro lang kami ni Alvin, ng bigla akong sinuntok 'nere..

Good for the teacher for letting the boys tell their side, some teachers don't have the patience to listen and would just quickly dismiss them or do nothing.

This video is just too cute for words- it's like a mini-barangay "Peace & Order" meeting :)

Baby's Out: Late Blogging My Second Repeat CS

Finally found the time to blog, it takes awhile for me to look back and digest certain things, I guess at the time I was just overwhelmed with so much baby love that I've totally forgotten to blog.

So about a month ago, in between shooting and editing my feature film, contractions kicked in and the baby really wanted out. I kept postponing my CS op for a variety of reasons, until finally my body could no longer hold it in, my baby's snugly womb was turning into a cramped apartment for him.


Voila! MY wonderful OB-GYNE Dra. Vina Jose whips out
my womb's masterpiece, 9 months-in-the-making of pure cuddly cuteness! Say hello to my 7.2 pounder, my baby Choychoy!

So last 11. 04. 2011, I gave birth at the cozy VRP, I choose my OB's solo room maternity package (okay it sounds like a fastfood budget meal) But really, it was worth every penny and best of all, everyone who visited was really comfy in my hospital room. But I'll post about my Dr. Victor R. Potenciano VRP Medical Center birthing experience for another day. I really want to discuss the whole hospital stay at great length.

For now, this is the pic that says it all- our little bundle ChoyChoy is ready for the world!