Do you miss me?

My youngest daughter and I left Germany to visit the Philippines almost two weeks ago.

My eldest daughter and her papa are in Germany but would follow during the Easter break.

This is the first time that we have been separated for a long time.

What were the first words that came out of my youngest daughter's mouth when she talked to her sister were: "Ate (sister), do you miss me?"

these shoes are not made for walkin'

Sapatos = Shoes
Nakatawag pansin sa akin ang mga sapatos na ito. Alam ninyo kung saan sila matatagpuan? Sa toilet ng isang restaurant dito sa Alemanya.

Ang sapatos na itim para sa lalaki.

At sandalyas na puti naman para sa babae.

I found these shoes in the toilet doors of a restaurant here in Germany.

Do your kids tell you everything?

It is always a wonder to me how MC would ask for sometime daily for her to tell us about her day in the school.

She would inform us of every tiny detail.

She would tell us even the reaction of the people around her.

She would even mark some important words that she could say them the way they were said.

That is why we know everything that happened in the school and everything that would happen in the school.

Which makes it really frustrating for some of the parents I usually chat up with because most of their kids dont tell them even a tiny bit of what happened in the school. Sometimes their kids even omit the most important notices; sometimes even forgetting to give out the written notices coming from the school.

They would have to search the school bags to find out about the homeworks or the school notices. MC simply hands them out to us upon arriving home; and would inform us right away what kind of homework she's got that day. Plus, she would take out her snack box and drink bottle and bring them in the kitchen.

I think she became used to talking almost about anything because ever since she started kindergarten; I would always ask ask to sit with me in the kitchen while I prepare our lunch. I would ask her to tell me about her day while I cook. I would ask her to tell me a story while I get the table ready. I would ask her to continue talking to me while I tidy up in the kitchen.

At night, we would have a short story telling or simply a short question and answer portion :D

And now that IC is also enjoying sharing her own stories; please dont ask how long our lunches are taking :D

A Special Date with my First Born

I am going on a long trip with my youngest daughter, thus I wanted to spend sometime with my oldest daughter before we leave.

I told her I wanted to spend a special time with her alone. She could dictate what we would do, she could dictate where we would go. And we would both try to make it a special day.

She was so excited, she couldnt decide at first. Then she remembered, she still need to use her gift certificate from McDonald's that she received on her birthday last December. McDonald's it is.

A meal in McDonald's is a very unusual event in our family. I could only count the times that we would visit this fastfood restaurant in a year -- one or two per year. That is why McDonald's means a special treat!

We chatted over french fries, hamburger and chicken nuggets. I had to eat a Happy Meal, too, as MC wanted to bring home a gift for IC. She knows that IC wouldnt enjoy eating the cold food but she would love the item that goes with the Happy Meal. She told me about her day. I told her about my day. We giggled a lot.

We decided that we would go window shopping. She wanted to buy something, I told her she could and we agreed on a budget. She took her time choosing and bargained about the budget every now and then before finding the right one for her and for her sister.

I checked out some clothes and asked her opinion. But then she decided to try and be a mannequin so she simply stood in between the shop mannequins and stopped moving for a time.

We searched the perfume and eau de toilette section for the best smell. We sprayed here and there; used the paper samplers; used our hands; and we ended up with a headache with the smell overload but we enjoyed it.

And then we played and giggled while waiting for our bus. And then we played and giggled while inside the bus. And then we walked home tired but happy.

MC told me we should do it again :D

Makulay na Bato = Colorful Stones

Alahas = Jewelry

Ang kuwintas na ito na may ibat ibang kulay nang precious stones ang isa sa mga paborito kong alahas. Nakita ko syang nakasabit sa isang lokal na tindahan ng alahas dito at nabighani ako ng todo-todo. At dahil may okasyong nalalapit e nagparinig ako sa aking mahal na asawa at narinig naman nya :D

Ang masaya dito sa kuwintas na ito ay ginawan sya ng mas matibay na sinulid. At hindi lamang sya kuwintas na may mga ibat ibang paraan para isabit; kundi pwede rin syang gawing sinturon. Ang galing di ba?

This is a favorite necklace cum belt that is made of both precious and semi-precious stones that is a gift from my husband.

I am so Beautiful

My husband gave me this bunch of flowers last week.

Why? Simply because he saw it and he thought of me.

And you know what? He made me feel so beautiful and so loved.

Spontaneous actions are the sweetest, right?

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P&G is raising efforts to raise money via T-Shirt sales to support families that are affected by disaster in a one-of-a-kind program. The shirts are vintage-looking and support a great cause.

Shirts can be purchased through this link:
http://tidetshirts.pgvillage.com/c-9-show-all.aspx?_vsc=tide4

He told me he loves me

I was almost fast asleep when my 7-year old daughter excitedly whispered to me 'You know what mama, A told me he loves me.'

Huh? Those words woke me up.

Yet I managed to reply to her 'how come he told you that?'

She giggled, paused, and struggled with her thoughts before finally admitting that she asked A first.

And she went on; she also told A's mama that he loves her. To which A's mama replied that it is good as she really thought A loves only his boy friends.

I was going to ask her another question when I noticed she's already fast asleep. I wonder if she's dreaming of her future prince :D

Binaligtad = Turned Around

Polo

Kapag hindi na masyadong malamig dito sa Alemanya, ang paboritong gawin ng mga bata ay tumambay sa aming balkon at dun pagalawin ang kanilang imahinasyon sa pamamagitan ng pagpipinta.

At para maiwasan na madumihan ang kanilang mga damit, gamit nila ang lumang polo ng kanilang tatay. Binaligtad namin ang polo na ito para hindi sila madumihan at para makagalaw silang mabuti.

The girls love to paint and to avoid their clothes being soiled, I gave them their papa's old polo shirts; they wore them with the wrong front side to give them more freedom of movement.

A Movie Date with the Girls

We watched a movie last Saturday, the girls and I.

It was a spontaneous invitation I gave them.

It was getting a bit boring watching my husband doing his scheduled spring cleaning. I know, I know -- I should have helped him right? But he scheduled it and I didnt agree with his schedule so then... ;D

Good thing the movie house near us is showing a film good for their age. And so we went with my bag full of chips and gummi bears.

The movie is 'Stella und des Sterns des Orients.'

At first I was a bit apprehensive that it would be boring or worse, not really for the kids. But it didnt disappoint. It was a hit for them. Here's a summary:

The 10-year old Stella (Laura Berschuk) visited her great grandma's house on New Year's Day, where she discovered in the attic a magic gate, which brought her back to the past 100 years. She met two children: her future great grandma Clementine (Hanna Schwamborn) and great-great-uncle Gustav (Julius of Romans). The family discovered that their estate is in danger. But Stella and the other children discovered a hidden treasure that could save the family. The children's adventure in trying to find the treasure while being pursued by two scrupulous men is done in a light and funny way that the young audience would love.

The core of the child film is " Star of the Orients" , a precious treasure that is represented by the amulet necklace that was passed from one generation to another.

I did say it was a hit right? MC loved it so much she invited a girlfriend to watch it again the next day! Meaning, I watched it two times, but it was okay. It was a great bonding time with the girls. Not to mention, I got an excuse not to clean the house :)

I did have to prepare the girls for their first movie experience and here's what I did:

- I researched about the movie in the internet, I dont want their first movie experience to be horrible nor I dont want our bonding moment to be a big flop
- I explained to them that a movie house is simply a big television with a lot of people watching together
- I told them that the movie house would be huge
- Before entering the darkened room, I already told them that it would be a little dark inside
- I sat in between the two girls and told them I could always hold their hands if they wanted
- Before the show started, I prepared them for the eventuality of the complete darkness when the movie begins
- And I told them to simply enjoy the show

More Winter Wonderland in Austria

I cant believe it was only a week ago that we were deep in snow in Austria as it is really spring time now in Germany. In fact, we started our spring cleaning today.

So as a reward, I went back to our winter holiday in Austria. Just to relax :)

Who would have thought I would be enjoying the sun on the mountains on a cold day like this? Well, I did. Later on, I even removed my jacket. We went back home to Germany kissed by the sun :D

MC loved her skis. She learned so fast, thanks to the tutoring of my husband who had to run up and down along with her. She still dont want to talk about enrolling her in a ski school. IC got her pair, too. But she's too playful to stay put.

IC would rather enjoy her snacks on her sled :D

The girls loved 'snow climbing' best. They loved 'snow sliding' second :D

Look at the landscape. Isnt it a dream? Actually, we were also audience to a few avalanches especially in one of the mountains as seen in this photo. It was avalanche warning number 4 in the upper areas around us when we were frolicking in the snow.

Here are more photos of our winter wonderland in Austria this February.

School Bag = Schulranzen

Bag

Masaya sa Alemanya kapag bagong pasok ang mga nasa unang hakbang. Kasi ang einschulung o unang araw ng pasok sa eskwela ay isang malaking event talaga. At sempre, yun din ang unang araw na pwedeng ipagmalaki ng mga bata ang kanilang napiling schulranzen o school bag.

Ayan na nga sila at naka-display talaga ang kanilang nakaka-silaw na mga school bags na talagang may reflectors para pang laban nila sa sasakyan at sa dilim. Ang pagpili ng school bags dito sa Alemanya ay hindi simple. Kasi minsan may mga magulang na sinisigurong hindi mabigat, hindi malapad yung bags. May mga iba naman na gusto nila kompletong set na may partner na payong, pencil case, wallet, at kung ano ano pang anik anik na pampadagdag lamang sa bitbitin ng mga bata. Para sa aking panganay, sya ang pumili ng kanyang school bag. Kung ano ang gusto nya, yun ang binili namin. Yun ang importante :D

Yung hawak nilang cone ay schultüte kung saan may mga supresang pagkain o gamit na nakasilid.

The first day of school is always a big event here in Germany. And for the first graders, it is their chance to show-off their chosen school bags. There are various school bag sets that one could choose from -- mostly with umbrellas, bottles, pencil cases, etc. They also differ in weights and sizes. But the most important of them is that it is comfortable for the kids and the kids love their bags :)

Changes

sometimes it is a breeze
sometimes it could freeze

sometimes it stings
sometimes it refreshes

it could break
it could make

how do you cope with changes?
me? i love changes

they are challenges
that i know i could breeze through
that would completely refresh my mind and soul
that would make me whole

a woman. a wife. a mom. a sister. a daughter. a friend. a blogger :)

Winter Wonderland in Austria

It was a real winter wonderland in Kleinwalsertal in Austria.

We were there the whole week for a winter vacation. It snowed almost the whole week. And here's how it looked like when we arrived.

This is the apartment we rented, located in Mittelberg. Good thing we bought snow chains as with 2 meter snow and even though the street was cleared, we wouldnt be able to traverse the mountain road with our car.
This is the road going to the nearest ski lift. Of course, the kids are already on their sled. IC is most specially happy as she is too lazy to walk :)
Who could resist the invitation of the snow covered walkways? The girls simply had to jump in and let themselves be covered with snow, too.
Enjoying the winter wonderland, all alone!
And this is only the first day!