What Am I Grateful For?

Oh, I have a lot to be thankful for from the littlest of things to the grandest! But what I am most grateful for are the following:

First, I am thankful for my loving husband who always sees to it that we have everything we need, that everything is taken cared of, especially when he goes out of town. He never ceases to think of our safety and what's best for the family, including the dogs and the cat.
I am grateful for my dear parents for their unfailing love despite my stubbornness during my younger, crazy years. :)
I am grateful for our son, Noah, for giving me the sweetest smiles just when I needed them most, for his infectious laughters that remind me, despite the stresses and the complexity of life, that indeed life is good.
I am grateful for my second pregnancy, that means there's more love and nurturing to spread around the house, more hugs, giggles, and smiles to look forward to.
I am grateful for my marriage and its imperfections, for they teach us to open our ears and listen to what the deepest of our hearts are saying. They allow us to open our arms and embrace each other's flaws and uniqueness with unqualified love and acceptance.
Lastly, I am grateful for the pain, the tears, the struggles I've been through. I have learned to appreciate more profoundly the life I have right now. With my family and friends, I live a Blessed Life I didn't imagine I could possibly have, hence worthy to be thankful for. Thank you, Lord. :)

Thank you, Super Hot Blogger Mommy Juliana , for this tag. :) It does make one to sit down, look back and reflect on oneself. By being grateful, it can only make you a better person, and live a happier life. :)

Easy Broccoli Salad

As much as possible, I want to try recipes with minimal amount of ingredients and less time preparation involved - as simple as possible, but would still give you the superb taste you wanted. :) I know I should eat lots of greens or veggies since I am pregnant, but for some reason, I have really been very finicky with veggies, most particularly with salads. In fact, the only salad I can eat at this time is Broccoli Salad. I have found a great-tasting recipe that has become a favorite of my husband and I. I just made a few variations, though. This is so simple and easy to prepare. :)

Ingredients:
fresh broccoli florets - 2 bunches, cut up into bite sized pieces
onion - 1/4 cup, chopped finely (use your judgment on the amount)
bacon - 1 lb, crisp and crumbled
raisins - 1/2 cup ( I usually chop my raisins in half. )

*Combine above ingredients and toss with dressing.

Dressing:
1 1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. vinegar
1/2 sugar

*Whisk together the above ingredients and pour over salad mixture.

Ain't that easy? Try it! You'll love it! *wink*wink* :)

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A Wrestling Career

Noah says,

I wanna be a wrestler someday!I have been workin' on my biceps as early as 3 mos. old. Look at the colorful dumbbell Dad got me.
See my big muscles?! grrrrrrrr....
heheheehe...just kiddin'! I'm just showin' off. Mommy won't allow me that's for sure. :)

Note:

This was his dream when he was only 3-4 mos. old. Because of Mommy's desperate plea to discard that dream, when he turned 9 mos, he changed his dream to becoming a musician instead. ;)

Noah's Breathing Treatment

I have taken a leave from work for the entire week because Noah's daycare provider is sick with flu and pneumonia. I guess it's a good thing for me so I can do my blogging and visit my blog friends during these days I'm at home. Better take advantage of it. :)But, on the other hand, I really need to stay home because my darling baby is sick with cough. He has been coughing terribly, but not like the nasty croup that he had several weeks ago. He's wheezing and his breathing seems tight. Of course, night time is worse for cough. The doctor had to see him yesterday and he decided to put him on a breathing treatment. He let us bring home the nebulizer which would help him breathe easier. How it works is you place the medicine, Albuterol, in a nebulizer cup which is attached to the machine through a plastic tube. As soon as you turn it on, the air passes through the tube and the cup which forms into a mist. The child breathes the mist using a mask or a mouthpiece. As for Noah, he doesn't have to use the mask nor put the mouthpiece into his mouth. He just needs to breathe in the mist that comes out of the mouthpiece which then goes through his lungs for more relaxed breathing. At the same time, he is also taking Azithromycin once a day for bacterial infection. Oh, poor baby. I pray that this would just be temporary and not something he has to live with the rest of his life. :(

Hair Evolution

Noah with a thick hair when he was bornHis hair starting to fall out when he was was a month or 2. Baldy baby :)
...hair beginning to grow back
...having little bit of bangs
His hair gets curly often times especially after waking up. Sometimes, it would look like a tornado just passed by over his head. :)

His longest bangs so far. His Daddy had to cut it short.
This is his hair at present after Daddy cut his hair. Somewhat crooked at front, and curly on the sides. :)

The Virus, my Husband and the Pot Roast

It's been awhile since I did my last post and visited some of my friends' blogs. Oh well, guess what happened? I got infected by a virus or a trojan that won't just go away! What a pain! Anyway, I was able to get rid of it. It, however, entailed reformatting my computer, reinstalling my OS, and redoing other applications. Last Saturday, my husband was home at last. Noah, who was sleeping then, suddenly lifted his head, said "Dada", and roared like a lion, as soon as he heard his Daddy's voice. It's so funny. :) Hubby was excited to show me and Noah what he bought for us. He got Noah some soccer shirts, signed by the players themselves, and bracelet and Dark Chocolate Toblerone for me. :) Night before the day he arrived, I cooked his favorite meal, which is Pot Roast. I cooked it again the following day to be sure the beef won't be tough to eat. The way I prepare it is so simple. First, I rub the meat with salt and pepper. Then, I brown the sides. After which, I pour an onion soup mix. If the beef is not tender yet, I just add some amount of water. When it's about to get done, I pour a can of cream of mushroom soup to thicken the sauce and make a gravy out of it. I put potatoes and carrots near the end. This simple recipe was actually shared to me by his good Mom. I am not sure though if this is exactly how she cooks Pot Roast. But, my hubby likes it a lot so I guess I got it right. :)

My husband is coming home!

2 days more and my husband would be home, finally. It has been 2 and a half weeks since he has been away. Noah and I surely miss him a lot! And he certainly feels the same way too. Early February, he went to Florida for a Spring Training for the WIZARDS Major League Soccer. 2 weeks after, the team went to Argentina for the same purpose. Every time he would leave, Noah gets sick. It's like he's experiencing major separation anxiety. The first time he left for Florida, he got sick with fever and cold. The recent one, the trip to Argentina, Noah was down with croup and ear infection. Poor baby :( Every night, he has been calling, checking if everyone is fine, including Sofie and Bridget, our feisty, insane dogs, and Abby, our sweet, independent cat. Few days ago, Bridget, our Jack Russell Terrier, jumped so high over the fence that he landed on our neighbor's yard. Good thing, our neighbor was nice enough to bring her home. My hubby told me to put her shock collar on whenever I'd let her out so she would get petrified and think twice before doing anything silly. It worked, actually. Good! :) Anyway, I can't wait to see my husband again. I miss watching our favorite shows together, laughing, exchanging views on certain topics. I miss his funny antics, even the sound of his "fart" (definitely not the smell though). hehe gross! :)

My 5 Facts About Food- yummmm! :)

Thanks, Aisha, for this mouth-watering and tummy grumbling tag. :)

My 5 facts about food:

1. For the record, I have been eating chicken adobo for a week now. The first 3 days, I had adobo wings. Then days after that, I had been gobbling up on adobo drumsticks, thighs and breasts. Well, can't blame me. I'm pregnant. :) My baby Kaiden would probably be born with wings, and clucking, instead of crying. :)

2. At the office, there's a man who brings books over and leave them for employees to look at and buy, if they choose to. Whenever I see an interesting recipe book, most likely, I would buy it even if it would just sit on our kitchen counter. I think I have only tried a recipe or 2 from all the books I've bought.

3. I love my mom's pinakbet! I like it either with shrimp paste or fish bagoong.

4. My favorite breakfast is tapsilog, or daing, tuyo, danggit with garlic rice, salty egg and spicy vinegar. mmmmm...yum yum! :)

5. If anyone could give me a tried and tested, easy recipe for brazo de mercedes, I would truly appreciate it! Oh my! It's been a long time since I had one. I have been craving for it like crazy. Aside from that, I have also been desperately yearning for chocolate roll from Goldilocks. I, particularly, love both ends of the roll because they are lavishly covered with chocolate icing! There's just nothing like it! mmmmm..yummy!

Photo courtesy of "My Little Space"

8 Facts About Myself

I got a tag from Lis yesterday. It's called "8 FACTS ABOUT MYSELF". Here it goes.

*****RULES*****
* Each blogger must post these rules first.
* Each blogger starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
* Bloggers that are tagged need to write on their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
* At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
* Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they're tagged, and to read your blog.
*****************

1. I love to dance and it has been my passion since I was a kid. When I was only 8 yrs. old, I joined a dance contest at my grandpa's veteran party, and surprisingly, I won. I don't think I won because I was a great dancer, but because my "lola" (grandma) was one of the judges. hehehe daya :)
2. Until now, I feel really bad whenever memories of my favorite dog come to my mind. I was relocated to a different territory due to my work, and I had to leave him with my parents because it's not possible for me to bring him with me. My Dad said he won't eat and would always stand at my bedroom door hoping I would appear. He got so frail and got some sort of illness that he died eventually. :(
3. I've always dreamt of singing with a band in front of a big crowd. But the problem is, I don't have the talent for singing at all. :)
4. I am happy when it rains! I want to play under the rain like a child. I love the smell of it. I love the sound when it falls on the rooftop. Rain gives me some sense of tranquility inside.
5. If we would move to a new house, I would want to have a prayer room. I want to have a separate place where I could have a time alone with God and myself.
6. When I was pregnant with Noah, I passed out when I was in front of the computer. Next thing I knew, I was under the table lying on my side.
7. I have always been fascinated by clocks, those stylish, uniquely designed ones. I actually wanted to collect them. I just don''t get a chance, and money :) . It might be too late to start though.
8. I had an encounter with a thief (holdupper) 2x in my life. The first one was way back in college, my ex-boyfriend and I were walking through the overpass in Espana, UST when a thief poked a knife at him, wanting to take his gold necklace and bracelet. Instead of giving in, he fought and knocked him down until he got the knife itself. That was brave but scary! The second one was 7 years ago when I was walking along Banawe in QC. A man with a knife jumped from a van, shouting asking for my cellphone and wallet. I, without any hesitation, or saying a word, gave what he wanted. Good thing, I wasn't pushed or dragged into the van. I would have been raped, or killed.

There you go. I guess you got to know me a lot better now. Thanks for the tag, Lis. Now, I'm passing this to the following: Sexymom, ging, eva, lily, gracie, prily, lalaine and edz.

Awards! Awards! Thank you! :)

Thank you, Gracie, for giving me my very first award since I started blogging. It was motivating! :) Thank you, Shiela, for these cute awards! I love them! :)

Thank you Pinay Mommy for these great awards! You made my heart leap with joy! :)

8 Random Things About My Kid

This is the first tag I have ever done since I am new to the blogging world. :) Thank you, Lalaine, for thinking of me and for letting me participate in this activity. :)

8 RANDOM THINGS ABOUT MY BABY NOAH

1. When Noah was 8 mos old, he made a big mess in his crib. For some reason, he was able to remove his diaper and poop was all over, the blankets, etc., including his arms and legs. He was smiling and jumping up and down, looking like a naughty boy. :)
2. Noah would laugh so hard whenever I say, "stinky feet", booger burger" or when I do a fake cough.
3. Noah had his first haircut when he was only 9 mos old. Second haircut was 2 weeks ago by Daddy. I had to stop Daddy from cutting his bangs further because he's getting to look like Mo of the Three Stooges. :)
4. He started walking at 10 and a half months.
5. Noah says "idget" for Bridget our dog, "ink" for drink, "nik" for snake.
6. Noah loves watching Baby Einstein videos especially the Baby Mozart. He stops crying as soon as the show starts. Actually, he knows how to insert the tape and operate the player by himself.
7. Noah growls whenever we say "lion". He points up when we say "light". He points to the balloon whenever we ask him to look for it. He looks at the direction of the "cow" whenever I ask him where the cow is.
8. Noah makes a "milk" sign whenever he wants to drink his milk and eventually sleep. Sometimes, he makes that sign too when he wants Cheerios. :)


Laughing Baby Noah-8 mos. old

Noah sick with EAR INFECTION and CROUP

Yesterday, I brought Noah to a doctor. He has a fever and cough since Thursday night. As usual, I took a day-off from work because I wanted to monitor Noah's condition closely. To prevent his fever from shooting up further, I have been giving him a lukewarm bath, letting him drink water, juice or milk more often than he used to, and giving him Tylenol every 4 to 5 hours. Good thing that we have some ice pops in the freezer that he could suck on although he's not really crazy about it. Yesterday, I called our family doctor because it seemed like his fever and cough were not getting any better. He referred us to After-Hours Pediatrics which is a few miles from our house. I thought finding the clinic was a piece of cake. Oh my, I got lost. I went all around the area and thank God, I saw the sign, which is colored pale yellow with slanted, thin lettering. Honestly, it wasn't that visible even with my eyeglasses on. Despite the "adventure", I must say that the doctor and the staff were friendly and accommodating. Noah, sad to say, was diagnosed with EAR INFECTION AND CROUP. He received a dose of Decadron which will help him with his cough and inflammation for a few days. He was also prescribed Amoxicillin, 1 tsp, 2x a day for 10 days. Croup is an infection that causes swelling below the larynx. It is usually caused by a virus. His cough definitely sounds horrible. It is hoarse and resonant. He does have a difficult time breathing especially at night. He makes a raspy sound whenever he inhales. They call this "stridor". His cough gets worse while laying down and sleeping. He cries loud after he coughs, and sometimes throw up. Last night, he didn't want to be put down to bed. He only wanted to be carried by Mommy. It seems that he is hurting inside. I feel the pain and it hurts me twice, or even a lot more. Poor baby. :( Before going home, the doctor provided me a sheet with tips to alleviate my baby's condition.

1. Remain calm and try to keep your child as calm as possible.
2. Cool air may help stop the coughing and ease the loud breathing. If it is cold outside, wrap your child in a warm blanket and sit outside for a few minutes. During the summer, you may open the freezer door and allow your child to breathe the cool air.
3. If your child is able, having him eat or drink something cold like popsicle may help.
4. Moist air is helpful. You may want to use a cool mist vaporizer in your child's room during the course of the illness. Clean the machine according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Having a sick child is never fun especially when your husband is away and pregnant at that. Hope my baby gets well soon.