Sweet Temptation

I have a confession to make. I gave in to temptation. I tried to stay away from sweets but they're just too good and it doesn't help that I'm always hungry most of the time because of breastfeeding! For some reason, my willpower to stay away from food seems to be on vacation mode. 

It started when I was in the mall and I was feeling soooooo hot that when I saw Dairy Queen, all my resolve to stay away melted. I bought my all-time favorite which is the mud pie blizzard. It's just so good! I love the combination of chocolate, coffee and oreos in my ice cream! heavenly. Just the thought of it makes my stomach growl.

YUMMY MUD PIE!!!

The second culprit are the Hershey's Kisses Meltaway. I was doing my grocery shopping in S&R when I passed by and noticed the new packaging. I decided to try it since I love kisses and it didn't disappoint. It's so good and creamy that it was hard for me not to finish the whole pack in one sitting!

Staying away from sweets is so much harder so I've decided to give in at least for now ;)

Part of the family

Today, I'd like to give thanks to one person that helps my family everyday. Like I said in my previous blog, good helpers are hard to find nowadays. I consider myself very lucky to have found Ann, Cairo's yaya. She started working for us when Cairo turned 2 and it wasn't a walk in the park at first because it was her first time to be a yaya BUT she was so eager to learn and she adjusted pretty fast. She left the disciplining to us and she became our son's playmate. Without Cairo realizing it, she became his best friend that takes care of him.

We have treated Ann like she's part of our family. She has endeared herself to us by working tirelessly for us and for always going the extra mile when it came to helping us. When we are short staffed she makes it a point to fill in the gap without us saying anything. She's honest, helpful, loving and open with us. 

Her love for Cairo was proven last saturday when we went to Anvaya. She usually swims with him when we go out of town but that weekend she had her period and couldn't be in the pool and ocean with him. Cairo was playing in the beach and he and his playmate went started going to the deeper part of the ocean. Out of fear of what might happen to Cairo if a strong current gets him, Ann jumped in the water fully clothed to get him. It was only afterward that she noticed her phone got lost in the water when she came in after him. She loves her phone and is glued to it because it is her lifeline to her friends. It is the one thing that she cannot live without. With a heavy heart, she cries not thinking that I can see her. When I asked her if she was ok, she would gave me a small smile and say that at least Cairo was fine and that she wouldn't be able to bear it if anything happened to him.

At this day and age, where do we still find people like her? It's very rare for helpers to truly care for their employers and Ann is one of the golden treasures that we've found. I guess it is also because of this that we truly do not look at her like she's simply a yaya, we really feel that she's an extension of our family and we also love her dearly. 

Ann & Cairo

The Massacre of a Watermelon

I will be the first to admit that there is one household chore that I truly cannot and do not want to do which is cooking. It doesn't help that my hubby studied culinary therefore my lame cooking skills do not go unnoticed. So, a combination of my lack of enthusiasm for the kitchen and my husband's expertise made me dependent on other people for my food.

Finding a good cook is one of the toughest things that I have experienced while running our household. Most say that they're international cooks and then all they know is filipino food. Others can cook well but are so dirty, disorganized and waste food. A lot can't even follow menu's and recipes.

For the nth time, we are trying out another cook. She's really good in cleaning the kitchen but it's a big question mark if she really has had more than 10 years of cooking. When we asked her to slice a watermelon for us, this is what she did....  

My husband and I could hardly believe our eyes. I wonder if it truly is possible to have more than 10 years of experience and still slice like that?! She's a bit old and sometimes is not able to follow instructions. My hubby and I discussed whether to keep her or not and we decided to still give her a chance despite her lack of respect for the watermelon above. Her redeeming factor is she's very clean in the kitchen(she worked in housekeeping before) and she also has a good disposition so we'll wait for a few more weeks to properly evaluate her. 

The End of an Affair

Affairs usually end whether we like it or not for reasons that may be because of us or beyond us. I admit that I have had an affair with.....tandan dan dan....chocolate(what did you think?hahahha) for as long as I can remember. I've always had a sweet tooth even as a kid so I have had my share of ups and downs when it came to eating chocolate.

I know that it seems melodramatic to say that I won't ever eat chocolate. I actually don't think that I have that much will power to not eat it forever BUT I have to end things for now. My excuse for being able to eat what I can when I want to is over. I have given birth and now I have to deal with the consequences of my pigging out on chocolates. The fat deposits on my tummy, hips and thighs will not magically disappear(even if I wish they would) if I don't stop eating these devilish desserts.

I need to say no to the temptation so I will stop buying them everytime I go out. Chocolates have been my comfort and happiness. The memory of Chocolates' sweet and velvety taste is enough to make my heart ache knowing that I would not be able to eat it. I just have to keep on visualizing my old body so that I may say goodbye even for just a few months.

I don't want to be her :(

Goodbye for now my loves:

Ashtanga Yoga - My Moving Meditation

My 2 Gurus: Alex Medin & Vijaya

I started practicing again last week and it really feels good to be back on my mat. Even the noise surrounding me just fueled my concentration even more. I was first introduced to Ashtanga in late 2007. I went to a mysore class with absolutely no knowledge of what goes on in that type of class and I expected that "Ashtanga" would be like the yoga classes that I attended in the gym. Boy was I wrong! It was a good thing that I was ignorant of what happens to a mysore class or else I never would have attended one!


I didn't realize that Ashtanga Yoga had a specific series that you had to have memorized because people practice at their own pace in a mysore class with the teacher quietly observing and adjusting instead of shouting the next steps to the class. I was so embarrassed not only because I had no idea what the poses and sequences were but also because I rolled over trying to do 'Prasarita Padottansana A' and I almost hit another girl, I thought I'd die of shame! 


I admit that I started practicing Ashtanga for all the wrong reasons but I continued to practice it because of the right ones. When I first started, the poses and vinyasas(jumping back & forward) weren't the only things that challenged me. I also had a hard time concentrating on myself. My mind and eyes would always wander around the room causing me to get off balanced. I couldn't even relax in the final pose(savasana), which was basically just to lie still. I was always Ms. Go go go. Resting and lying on my back was unheard of for me and my teachers noticed this. I had no finesse to my moves even if I could do the transitions and the moves properly. 

My 2008 Teacher Training Classmates

I believe that the turning point in my practice was when I did my teacher training to be able to deepen my practice and to be able to fight the injuries I had been facing. It was during this time that I had to endure enormous physical and mental pain but I tried my best to push the boundaries of my body & mind. I even had to shed some tears to get me thru the pain I felt from staying in one pose for over almost two hours! This was when I started to turn to my inner self and learned to chant in my head just to keep my focus from breaking. I came out a much stronger person after this.


Starting my mornings with Ashtanga helped me cope with the stresses of my days. It also kept me sane and grounded. Before I got pregnant, I was plagued by my lower back injury. I couldn't get past it, it just kept on coming back so when I got pregnant, I decided to rest my body. Now that I have been given the go signal to practice again, I don't want to rush and let my ego dictate my pace. I want to listen to my body for me to be able to conquer my injury. 


So far, I haven't felt any pinching in my back. I feel like somewhat a beginner and yet I seem different. I am more in-tune to my body. Ashtanga really is my moving meditation wherein my concentration is on me and not on the other people around me and my surroundings. I just hope that when it's time to do my drop backs, fear would not visit me. I know that I'll be able to conquer my injury one day and I'll be sure to let you know about it when I do.

Morning Mysore 

Getting into Supta Kurmasana

Balancing Act

My 3 BOYS:

Cairo

Phoenix

Benny

There are days when all my body wants is some peace and quiet and SLEEP, lots and lots of sleep! But that's unheard of for me nowadays. Having a newborn is not the only hard thing that I have to deal with but also raising a toddler. My eldest, Cairo, is only 4 years old and prior to me giving birth, we used to be stuck together like glue and paper. After I gave birth to Phoenix, my time for him has severely lessened. 


Taking care of a newborn, breastfeeding and nursing my c-section wound occupied a lot of my time for the first couple of weeks. I couldn't drive and pick Cairo up to and from school and his other activities so we were apart most of the time and he couldn't really hang out in the nursery since he's a bundle of energy and most of the time he would wake Phoenix up because he'd make so much noise. He couldn't help it since he's 4 and all you want to do at that age is to play, play and play. I felt so bad because I couldn't really play with him because of my wound and I had to keep on reprimanding him for being a child just because he was being very disruptive to Phoenix. On the days that I did try to play and spend time with him, I would end up losing my temper because I was so tired. I really truly felt horrible and I would usually apologize to him and he would say that it's ok and that he knows I'm tired so I'd feel all the more guilty.


I'm slowly starting to be able to balance my time among my three boys(my husband is included of course ;p). My husband and I watch videos together in the nursery so that's hitting two birds with one stone for me. Then I promised Cairo that I would spend at least one hour with him everyday wherein it's just the two of us playing, reading, writing or watching. I also make it a point to be the one to put him to bed just like I used to do when he was my only child. I cringed inside when he pointed to his pull-out bed the other day and said that "remember when you used to sleep with me when Phoenix wasn't here yet?" It was after I heard him say that, that I made a personal vow to make more time for him and to tuck him in bed before sleeping.


I'm still learning how to balance my time well so that I could give quality time to all of them. I also have my "me" time when I get to workout to de-stress and have my usual massage since my shoulders hurt a lot from lack of sleep nowadays. My next project would be to be able to have some alone time with my hubby since everything has revolved around the kids nowadays. Well, I'm not a superwoman so I have to take and solve things one day at a time.

My own human alarm clock

Meet my very own human alarm clock.This is who I wake up to every morning now instead of my dear hubby since I sleep with our newborn while he sleeps with our eldest son in the other room


(drumroll please).........

This is Phoenix, my youngest son. He's almost two months old---which means that he basically wakes up every 2 hours :p

Being a new mom is tough because of sleep deprivation and waking up to a crying baby is not the best way to start your day BUT when I see his face, I forget all the bad things because looking at Phoenix makes all the hardships of motherhood definitely worth it :) So even if my human alarm clock makes noise all throughout the day, deep down I'm happy no matter how tired I may be.

SM has it all!

The baptism of Phoenix is only 2 weeks away so I decided to look for what I would make him wear in SM since my friend told me that they have a lot to choose from there and at very reasonable prices. When I got to the kids section I must say that I really got overwhelmed by the amount of nice and useful items they have that I ended up buying some more things that I lacked for this summer.

Here are my purchases:

Outfit of Phoenix for his baptism(less than P500!)

Sandos, Sleeveless tops, Mittens, Booties, Bibs & Socks for Phoenix (Prices range from P49.99-109.99--so affordable!)

SALE ITEMS: Inflatables for both Phoenix & Cairo to use this summer!

Cosmic Cycling

It is my own personal goal to be able to get back in shape as soon I can after giving birth to my second child. I started working out after 6 weeks of giving birth, which was last week. I decided to try cosmic cycling again since I haven't joined that class in over 4 years. The result was....

...I thought I would pass out in the middle of the class and I kept looking at the watch and willing it to move faster. It was sheer willpower that kept me going and I didn't do that bad when people saw me but I was screaming in my head the whole time. I actually forgot how unbelievably hard that class was and my whole body was protesting all throughout. It's a good thing that the music truly was the type of music that I like listening to in order for me to get pumped up. 

This experience has actually challenged me to be able to take more cycling classes since it really does seem like a great way to burn calories and melt some of the fat that's deposited in my body from pregnancy.

I'm thinking that I'd lose weight fast with this workout if only I could start eating less :( Oh well, one step at a time.

                                                        My workout bags...for cardio and yoga

Blogging

I love writing and I used to keep a journal of my daily undertakings but after joining the workforce I was too tired from working and partying to write anything in my journal. Now that I'm a stay at home mom, I have decided to start writing again about the mundane things that happen to me.

Please bear with me as I try to familiarize myself to the wonderful world of blogging...