Tag Archives: pregnancy

Faith Talk Life as I Know It Married Life

Week 27: I stand with arms high and heart abandoned

September 1, 2012 – 7:05 am

This one is for keeps: My little family, all four of us, (my husband and I and the two little worshipers inside of me), leading worship at our church‘s Cell Leaders’ Conference. At 27 weeks.

I’ll let you in on how it’s like to lead worship with a pregnant tummy.

It’s extra-challenging, like any other task that requires you to stand for a period of time, because of the additional weight you have to carry with you. You have to maintain some level of self-control whenever you feel like dancing or jumping, which can be a little frustrating when you see everyone else dancing and jumping the way you can’t do.  You have to stop in the middle of songs to catch your breath. You feel some leg cramps and back pains, and for a moment there you find yourself looking around for a chair to sit on.

But then you start feeling fetal movements and some kicking inside of you, and you smile at that thought that the babies are most likely enjoying the drum beats and the music, and hearing their Mommy and Daddy’s muffled voices.

And could it be they’re worshiping too? :)

Then you find yourself lifting your hands and singing your heart out, short of breath, tears on your cheeks, muscle pains and all, heart abandoned to this awesome God—the Giver of life, your Source of strength, your Reason for living. And you know you’re doing exactly what you were made to do.

And that.. is one of the best feelings in the world.

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Destinations Love Married Life

Week 26: More photographs from Canyon Woods

August 28, 2012 – 11:27 pm

From our anniversary weekend. Here’s more, just because we have tons of them. :)

The resort was huge, and we had it all to ourselves! Because the place was so huge (Have I said that yet? Oh yeah.), we had to take a shuttle to go around from our cabin to the clubhouse to wherever in the vicinity we want to go.

The clubhouse. We had meals at their empty lounge, with a beautiful view of pine trees and the sky. The food can be pricey in the lounge though, so we had one of our lunches in Tagaytay proper, more or less a 30 minute drive away.

The casitas. Although the rooms and the facilities are old and a little worn out, I think it adds to the rustic and country-feel ambiance that Canyon Woods is all about.

And I just looove the floor-to-ceiling glass doors/windows!

The indoor pool. The highlight of our stay has got to be the indoor pool, which we had all to ourselves! They turn on the heater only in the weekends though, so if you’re planning to come here for the indoor pool, definitely schedule your trip on a weekend.

Say hello to my huge belly, at 26 weeks. :)
I think swimming really did me well, especially for my muscle cramps and back pains. 

The outdoor pool. It was pretty much ours during our stay, too. Although it wasn’t heated, the sunshine on our backs evened out the cold water, which made our outdoor swim a really nice experience as well.

Canyon Woods is always mistaken to be in Tagaytay, but it’s basically in Batangas already. We love it and we definitely recommend it! Like I said, we seemed to be like the only guests at the time, but they’re not under-staffed and we were taken care of really well.

A tip: Best if you go there with coupon deals, we got ours from Cashcashpinoy. ;)

I’d love to come back soon, but my tummy is getting bigger and bigger, and we’re getting closer and closer to our due date. I guess this is my last trip, at least for now.

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Family & Friends Instagram Love Married Life

Week 24: August is made for beautiful weddings

August 7, 2012 – 1:58 am

So we went to this beautiful wedding last weekend and love was definitely all over the place. I’ll post more photographs later, but for now, here are some instagrams:

Just some of the things I loved about that night: (1) the beautiful flowers; (2) the smorgasbord of yummy desserts; (3) the couple’s beautiful love story; and (4) my charming date who seemed to have enjoyed getting a chance to wear a suit ala Harvey Specter, at least for a night.

(Top-right photo: no cocktail drinks for the preggy though, I’ll have water thankyouverymuch.)

Thankfully, I didn’t see anyone wearing the same dress. I wore it proudly with my huge bulge, went back and forth the buffet and dessert tables with no guilt whatsoever (what, I have to eat thrice as much!), and danced the night away with everyone.

While it was my friends’ wedding, my husband and I couldn’t help but have our own sweet moments here and there, remembering how it was like a year ago, also on a rainy August night, when it was our turn to tie the knot. We’re celebrating our anniversary in less than a week! How time flies.

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Fashion + Style Life as I Know It Love Married Life

Week 23: Found the perfect maternity wedding dress

August 1, 2012 – 4:20 pm

So we’re going to a big wedding this weekend, and last night, I found the perfect dress to wear to the occasion.

I love it! It fits me like it was tailored for me and my huge bump! I’m surprised I could still fit in a small-sized dress, by the way, when I weigh about 130 pounds by now. The length, the style, the fit, the fabric, the color—everything is just so right, even better than what I was looking for. My only worry is, I got it from Forever 21, and you know how Forever 21 mass-produces every piece of clothing they have, yeah? Well, Jasper & Darlene, the couple who’s getting married this Saturday, has about 500 guests—can you picture how huge a crowd that is? So now I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I don’t bump (pun intended) into someone, out of those 500 people, who wears the same dress as MY perfect dress. We’ll see.

In other news, we’ve moved in to the new apartment, and everything is still a mess. I reckon it will take us this whole month to get our stuff out of moving boxes and put everything in its place. I’m trying my best not to stress out about it. I’m glad that my husband and I have learned to make a home out of whatever space we have, wherever we are.

It’s around this time too, last year, when we were so busy preparing for our wedding and settling down in our first home. July 30, 2011 was the date stamped on David‘s one-way NYC-HK-MLA plane ticket, and I still remember that night in the airport, exactly a year ago, when we were reunited once and for all.

So we’re celebrating a lot of anniversaries this whole month. And we’re making the most out of our time together, just the two of us. Coz soon enough, two kiddos will be sharing our space, and our days, with us. And nothing will ever be the same again.

Oh. boy.

I mean, girls.

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Family & Friends Food Trips Love

Week 22: When I’m with you, I feel old

July 18, 2012 – 5:49 pm

So I spent one Tuesday afternoon with my girlfriends, and I’ve had these photographs waiting in my drafts for days, short for words as always. But I was positive that one of my girlfriends would blog about it soon, so I thought I’d wait so I can just link it up. I was right.

Thanks, Mae, for doing the honors.

Now all I have to do is to post more photos. :D

And can I just say, in my best Carrie Bradshaw impersonation, “I died and went to cake heaven?”

My friends did this pregnant woman a favor by choosing to hang out at Conti’s that afternoon. They all ordered a slice of cake each, while I had a slice of cake PLUS a plateful of yummy beef lasagna. Pregnancy has its perks. ;)

To end, I’d like to steal her words, because I couldn’t say it any better. Sometimes, life surprises you and gives you family who are like friends, and friends who are like family. Not everyone gets to be blessed with both, but I’m just so thankful that I am.

With these girls, growing old doesn’t feel too scary after all.

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Home Inspiration Life as I Know It Married Life Mommyhood

Week 21: Getting the house ready for our soon-to-be family of four

July 17, 2012 – 12:28 am

I thought getting married would be the end of my apartment-hopping. Guess not. Less than a year after my husband and I moved into our first home, we’re packing our bags again. At least we’re not changing our address; we’re just moving to a bigger unit in the same building, one with more space to raise twins.

That also means we’re saying goodbye to the roof top we’ve grown to love. But how can we complain, right? I’d take having more space for the twins over having a pretty roof top view anytime. And it was just the perfect timing. We’ve been praying for a bigger space, and suddenly a tenant was vacating one of the units, which makes it, yay, available for us. God answers prayers just in time.

And so the new apartment is like a clean canvass for me to play with. We’re definitely adding more furniture and shelving, and colors! Times like this, it’s always a good first step to start with an inspiration board. Here’s mine:

I know I’ve always complained about not having Ikea in the Philippines, but just this week, I found that there are a few shops selling Ikea items here in Manila. Say hello to Ikea Source Philippines, Invicta, and (this one’s been around for a while) 5 Corners! We scheduled to visit their showrooms this week. For now, I scouted their websites for some major items I consider getting, added some pegs I found here and there, and put this inspiration board together.

I think yellow is a really pretty, gender-neutral accent color, yes? We don’t know yet what our babies’ gender are, but even if they’re girls, I still don’t think I’d pick barbie-pink colors for our home. Whether the twins are boys, or girls, or a boy and a girl, I think my turquoise and apple green color scheme fits just right.

On the other hand, as I was finishing off my inspiration board, I found these really nice *pegs from Pinterest..

..and thought heeyyyy, orange and pink looks good too! I didn’t want to consider these colours at first, but they could work!

So maybe I’m getting some coral pinks and orange too. Like fake flowers, vases, and pillows maybe?

Ahh, the Martha in me is crazy. excited.

Next up: pegs for the babies’ nursery!

* * *

Some notes on the board: (1) Ikea Rast Drawers, to be painted yellow maybe? (2) Ikea Expedit Shelving/Divider, or some alternative; (3) Ikea Bursjon storage/stool; (4) Ikea Rexbo Shelf, a phased out Ikea item which I happened to already have – mine used to be red but now it’s black; (5) Fab Manila Storage Boxes; (6) Black photo frames, fake plants, new curtains.

*Feel free to view my pinterest board to see the sources of these photos.

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Faith Talk Handwriting & Calligraphy Life as I Know It Married Life Mommyhood

Week 19: Write it down on the tablet of your heart

July 10, 2012 – 2:33 pm

So I’ve been creatively scribbling stuff on my journal with my G-tech and Artline pens these days, and I’m kinda loving the beautiful mess my journal has become. It’s a lot of effort though, being limited to these pen tools, as I have to go over each letter and double-stroke my downstrokes each time. Still, I love that I’m excited about something artsy/crafty again.

On another note, God has been teaching me a lot these days about being calm, gentle, and graceful under pressure; and being contented and selfless in making choices. You know, stuff that great mothers are made of. And it’s terrifying because it doesn’t feel like a long time ago when I was the baby of the house, and everyone attended to my needs, and all I had to think about is myself. I was always restless—my feet always needing to go somewhere, my mind wandering far and wide, my hand itching to book plane tickets or swipe my credit card to buy something I already have a dozen of.

But now that my 5-month old belly is growing bigger and bigger each week, and my husband and I are crossing the 1-year mark as a married couple, I find myself learning more and more to put other people’s lives on top of my own.

Most of all, I’m learning to let go of old dreams to make room for these new ones.

I sometimes worry about what kind of mother I’m going to be like. I do know what kind of mother I DON’T want to be, I think that one’s easier to figure out. But when I think about the kind of mother I want to be and how far I am from being that person, I panic like you have no idea.

This morning, this passage popped up from the pages of my Bible, and I think I’ll be mulling over these words for the next couple of days:

Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. (Proverbs 3:3)

Love and faithfulness, that’s it! As for becoming the best Mommy I can be, I think love and faithfulness is exactly where I have to start.

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