Sunday, April 27, 2014

A Transformers Birthday Party

My son Sabre just turned 3 years old last week! He is currently uhb-sessed with Transformers and Marvel Superheroes so I was on the fence on what theme his little celebration would be. But after asking him repeatedly, his answer would remain the same: TRANSFORMERS!


This is definitely a lot more simpler than what I did last year, since this wasn't really a party. We just had a simple lunch with the family, so I just wanted to do a little decorating to make Sabe's birthday feel more festive and special. And of course, it would look great in pictures hehe! I just loved the look on his face when he saw the decors on the morning of his birthday. He was especially thrilled with the cupcake toppers and it was a challenge taking these pics since he wanted to get them. Of course, his friends Optimus Prime and Bumblebee had to make a special appearance too. Enjoy the pics! :)


And what was our gift to the birthday boy? He has so many action figures already so I was so happy when I saw this Transformers scooter at the SMAC website which I got at 50% off! What a deal!


So again, happy 3rd birthday to our very own little robot Sabre! We love you so much! :)

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Palm Beach Resort in San Juan, Batangas

Last month, we went on a little trip in San Juan, Batangas to celebrate the start of summer vacation. We stayed in Palm Beach Resort, located in Hugom, which runs along the same coastline of Laiya (it's actually the farthest and pinakadulong resort in the San Juan area). It's about a 2.5 to 3 hour drive from Makati via the Skyway / South Superhighway.


We've already stayed here in the past (this is our 3rd time) and we like it because the place is clean, the food is great, and the price is very affordable. It was also a special trip since it was Skyler's first time to go to the beach! :)


We got the CASITAS DELUXE, which was a beachfront suite good for a maximum of 6 people. I booked directly at their website and the response was very quick and efficient. We were 4 adults plus the 3 kids and this was the breakdown of our overnight stay. The standard occupancy is only for 4 and there's a charge of P750 per excess person, but we weren't charged anymore for the kids.


The room fit all of us comfortably since it had 2 double beds and a daybed with a pull-out. There was a mini-fridge and cable TV. The room also had a balcony and an ensuite bathroom, meaning the shower, sink, and toilet were compartmentalized allowing 3 persons simultaneous use. The bathroom wasn't that new, but it was clean. A water dispenser was just outside our room too. 

our room is the one on the lower left

I just realized when we were about to go home that I wasn't able to take photos of our room. So I just got this photo from their website since our room looked exactly like this. Only difference is they now have a plasma TV. I really liked the overhead fan too since when we were there, it wasn't as hot as it is now. So we actually turned off the aircon during the late afternoon and early morning and it was so breezy.

photo from their website
outdoor shower

The resort is huge with lots of activities you can do, like wall climbing, speed boat, banana boat, glass bottom boat, kayaking, and snorkeling. Something to take note of though is that there's very weak to no cellphone signal in the whole place though, and we could only access wi-fi in the dining pavilion.

rental area
volleyball area

The 2 pools areas are located on opposite ends of the resort, so if you don't feel like walking, you can always hop on board these golf carts which can bring you wherever you like (we used these to go to the dining hall from our rooms too ;p).


They have 2 huge infinity pools, which we luckily had to ourselves the whole time we were there. There weren't that much guests since we went on a weekday. It really felt like we were in our own private resort. The pools look very new and are super clean too!

pool #1, which is located beside the main dining area
jacuzzi area on the right side
Mowdels! My swimsuit & cover-up are both from SM
pool #2, with the wall-climbing area on the right
super nice and relaxing!

There are lots of nice cabanas where you can just lounge and chill in front of the beach. But this isn't the place to have any wild, all-nighter inumans since they discourage loud noises from 10pm - 8am.


The beach is clean, but the sand is a bit rocky. The waters are clear though, but we didn't swim (only hubby) since it was cold hehe. We just spent most of the time in the swimming pools.

the sand
the sea
pretty shells which Miley collected

This is the main dining hall where all the buffet meals are served. There's a big aquarium in the back which the kids loved looking at. We could also only get wi-fi reception in this area.


They also have more dining areas which they use when the resort is really full, like on weekends and holidays.


For an overnight stay, you get lunch, merienda, dinner, and breakfast the next day. I personally found the food to be really yummy, with lots of choices. We were so full after every meal!

the food during our stay
breakfast spread

There was also a super cute playground which the kids loved playing at. :)


We really had a great time here and for sure this won't be our last! :)



PALM BEACH RESORT
Brgy. Hugom, San Juan, Batangas, Philippines
Website: http://lafrondosa.com

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Sabre in Disney Junior's Birthday Book

Yey! We made it to Disney Junior's Birthday Book again! If you remember, Miley was also featured last February.


Anyway, it's Sabre's 3rd birthday today and can't wait to share what theme he wanted his little celebration to be. Will post in the coming days. In the meantime, Happy Easter everyone! :)

Saturday, April 19, 2014

Do you believe in the Chinese pregnancy calendar?

After months of speculation, my cousin finally found out she is having her 3rd daughter. Of course everyone in the family is happy for this blessing, but she and her hubby admittedly are a little bit disappointed that it isn't a boy. Well, she swears this will be their last, but I think she'll still get her son somewhere down the road. :)

Anyway, while everyone was eagerly awaiting the day of her ultrasound back then, I had boldly predicted that it would be a girl as soon as I found out about her pregnancy. How was I so sure? By using the Chinese pregnancy calendar!

Now I don't know if this gender chart is real or accurate or whatever. All I know is that it has proven true in all 3 of my pregnancies.

I turned 27 years old in 2009 and Miley was conceived in May. Chart check = GIRL.
The next year, Sabre was conceived in August. Chart check = BOY.
Skyler was conceived in April last year and again the chart correctly predicted it = BOY (if only we had waited a month, baka girl! hehe!)


For my cousin, she was 34 years old last year and the baby was conceived in November. And according to the chart, she was definitely having another GIRL.

Now there's definitely no scientific proof that this thing even works. But if you're like me who's a little bit superstitious, then giving this chart a try might be worth a shot if you want a particular gender. If it works, good for you! If it doesn't, well they say the fun is in trying hehe! ;p

Monday, April 14, 2014

What's in a name?

Choosing our children's names was one of the most exciting and daunting things hubby and I did when I was pregnant. Should we go traditional? Eccentric? Hollywood? Picking that perfect name is so important for any parent since that would be the name your kid will live with forever. I remember in the hospital while filling up their birth certificates, hubby and I would always ask each other "So is THIS it na talaga? Sure na? No turning back!" ;p

I remember having my kids' names picked out even when I was a little girl. It changed through the years though. Like there was a time I was obssessed with the Sound of Music and loved the name Martha (the 2nd youngest Von Trapp child), Then came the phase of wanting Spanish sounding names like Jose Antonio to American names like Jason Christian...

But of course when I got married, I wanted my hubby to have a say in our babies' names too. But I remember we had even discussed jokingly before that I would be in charge of naming any girl babies while he could name the sons. No questions asked. Meaning if he wanted to name our son Chewbacca Yoda, I couldn't object. And if I wanted to name our daughter Cutie Pie Sparkles, he should be fine with that. Well, obviously we didn't name our kids anything like that, but I guess it did happen that I had more say in Miley's name, while hubby had more control over Sabe and Skyler's... 

I had always wanted to have a theme or a connecting factor in our kids names. Like maybe naming all of them starting with one letter. Or maybe combining our names to come up with a new name (Vins + Helene = Vilene?). Or naming them all after a specific thing (for example fruit like Orange, Apple, Strawberry). I knew sisters who were named Queenie, Princess, and Duchess while hubby knew a family who were named after chocolates - Hershey, Nestle, and Reese.

For us, the theme was that all our kids' names are connected to airplanes and flying which my hubby has a passion for. Read on to find out how we came up with their names. :)

MILEY

If you think that we named our daughter after Miley Cyrus, you're kind of right... sort of... but not really... just let me tell you the story and you be the judge hehe! ;p

I admit that I was a big Miley Cyrus fan back when she was still Hannah Montana (can you even remember Miley Cyrus being that sweet and innocent? No? Gotcha.). When I got pregnant, Miley was one of the names I would teasingly say I'd be naming the baby just to annoy hubby...

Miley Cyrus as Hannah Montana
source


Meanwhile, my maternal grandmother had just passed away the year before when we found out we were having a girl. So I just felt in my heart that I wanted to name my daughter after her - AMELIA.

Which was also perfect since Amelia Earhart was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.

source

Now why Miley again? Well, after all that joking, hubby finally admitted that he was warming up to the name and found it cute... And isn't it the perfect nickname to Amelia? Even my lola's nickname was "Mely" so Miley would be the new version of her name hehe.

And after Miley was born, she was just the smiliest baby ever so her name suited her perfectly.

our little SMiley :)


SABRE

When we found out we were having a boy next, you can bet hubby was really excited. Personally, I was pushing to name him after hubby, but hubby didn't like the whole Junior thing (but now Sabre looks exactly like his dad which would have made the name really perfect for him hehe).

We went through name after name in different baby books, but nothing seemed quite right. Until hubby thought of Sabre... which I thought was a joke at first. I mean, the first thing anybody thinks of when they hear this name is a saber-toothed tiger right? But hubby said it was all in the spelling - SABRE instead of Saber (which is also more commonly known as a sword).

According to Wikipedia, The North American F-86 Sabre (sometimes called the Sabrejet) was a 
transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States's first swept wing fighter which could counter the similarly-winged Soviet MiG-15 in high-speed dogfights over the skies of the Korean War. Considered one of the best and most important fighter aircraft in the Korean War, the F-86 is also rated highly in comparison with fighters of other eras.

North American F-86 Sabre Jet Fighter Plane
source

Ok, now the name sounded cool. Although I knew he would experience having people mispronounce his name in the future. I can just picture his teachers calling him Sab-reh instead of Say-ber, gets? But hubby was set and I eventually loved how unique the name was.

showing signs of his "fighting" personality early on

SKYLER

We were completely at a lost when it came to naming baby number 3. The thing was, we had already picked a girl name we loved, so when we found out it was another boy, it was back to the drawing board for us. Hubby liked Scotland (just because), Robb (for Robb Stark), or even Cesar (after his lolo this time). But it had no connection to our theme. Even my OB was giving us suggestions like Stealth (which are aircrafts designed to avoid detection).

I was at a point where I didn't care anymore, I just wanted hubby to choose already since it was almost my due date! And finally, he decided on SKYLER, which fit our aviation theme perfectly.


According to this siteSkyler is an anglicised form of the Dutch surname Schuyler and means guarded or scholar. For us though, Skyler is based on the basic definition of what the sky is - the limitless expanse of space above earth... where airplanes fly.

reach for the SKY!


BABY #4?

Now going back to that girl name I mentioned... Hubby and I have loved this name for years and was all set to use it if by chance Skyler turned out to be a girl.

Now did you ever see the Sex and the City episode where Charlotte's secret baby name (Shayla) got taken by a good friend, which she found out about during the baby shower? 

SATC "The Baby Shower" episode

Well... I don't know if this is the weirdest coincidence ever. But my sister-in-law (who's married to my hubby's younger brother) just told me that they've finally chosen a name for their baby girl due this August. Both her and her hubby's name start with an "A", so naturally they wanted something that began with that letter. So imagine my surprise (and shock!) when she said the name they chose was...

AVIANNA

Yes, this was exactly the name hubby and I loved and were reserving for that time if we were to be blessed with another baby girl. You know, coming from the word aviation so it fit in perfectly with our theme. But with only one "N" though, so Aviana. But still!

Hubby and I can't remember if we had mentioned this name before, but she had found and liked the name from Amy Adam's daughter. 

Amy Adams with daughter Aviana
source

Now we're not mad or anything, just really surprised that out of all the names out there, we would both think of THIS name. And it's not like it's a common name or anything. I guess great minds think alike. And if anyone would be using this name at least it will be our niece and still be in the family. 

So maybe this is a sign that we won't have another daughter anymore, who knows? All I know is, if ever we do get pregnant again in the future, finding that perfect name would now be more difficult and challenging than ever haha!

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