Long Lovely Weekend

Our long weekend ends today and I feel like writing again cos I'm overflowing with love right now. This has been one of the happiest weekends of my life. It was time well spent with my husband and our daughter. I was again suspended in countless moments of bliss in the loving presence of my family.

Saturday was rest day, which is how it usually is. H gets home from MNL and we spend the day at home just relaxing and being a family. On Sundays we like go out, so we did, and Iaine had a blast checking out all kinds of displays and even sweeping some off the shelves. We pick up after her of course, in between times of just watching her have the time of her life. Sunday is love!

Then came Monday (which was proclaimed a non-working holiday by his company cos of the Lunar New Year) so we seized the opportunity for a long overdue husband-&-wife date. We had merienda at the restaurant where he first saw me in person-- the very event that started our whirlwind romance. While having tummy-satisfying chinese, we reminisced about that fateful day. I love that he was the one who kept going on and on about it, about his feelings for me when he first saw me-- real and in the flesh-- about how everything changed from that point on. It was wonderful to be sitting there in the corner of a noisy restaurant, blocking all other sounds and listening to nothing but his words, staring at the man who is so open and honest about how deep his love is for me, and how far it has come. Honestly, I was so close to kissing his lips then and there!

"Going back to the corner.. where I first saw you..." I keep telling him how this song perfectly fits our love story. :)

We exited the restaurant holding hands, parted ways to buy some stuff, and met up to see a 4:30 movie. At 8:15 pm we were done watching 2 films, and bought our dear daughter a toy, and then we got home to a screaming Iaine who was so happy to see us.

Today is Tuesday and he's back in MNL and now I have to wait another 4 days before I see him again. [edit] You would expect that I'd feel a bit down, but actually I was in a really good mood this afternoon so Iaine and I went for a stroll around our village. The weather was fine and it was a happy mom-and-daughter bonding moment. I kept thinking to myself how lucky I am to be a wife and a mother and there is absolutely no reason to feel lonely. The next few days is what I call "down time" but in a good way. It's just me and my daughter while the H is away but this sort of space builds up that excitement and longing to be with each other again. And even though I'm always sad to see him leave for work, all the waiting is worth it when the weekends come around. When wakes me up as he kisses me good morning, I realize that the three of us are together again and I implode in love and happiness. It's a brand new start of the cycle of lovely weekends.

Passports

Our passports are now in our hands! Thanks to overtime service, we claimed them in less than a month. I'm now using my husband's surname on mine and now Iaine has her very own! You think this is a big deal?...

YES!!!!!!

So happy!

Booked

Last year's January was crazy. I was so preoccupied with Iaine's birthday party preparations and I was a mess.  Even though my family was a big help, I was the one in charge of everything. From the invitations to the loot bags, I assembled them all. I really wanted the perfect first birthday for my first child, and thankfully, it was a big success.

And surpriiiise, it's that time of the year again. Only a month from now, my lovely daughter is about to turn another year older.

WAT.

She's turning two! I can't believe how fast she's growing, but when I come to think of it I realize that I made every second of the first years of her life count. I stopped working because I want to be with her in every milestone and guide her to them. And now I can proudly say that she's so smart for her age and being a SAHM has definitely paid off!

We didn't need to be convinced to hold a party this year because my husband and I were always sure there'd be one, no matter how simple or extravagant. We initially wanted a simple celebration at home. Some spaghetti,cake, balloons, and that would be enough. We spent so much money on Iaine's 1st birthday that we think it would be overkill to go all out again this time.

But, we changed our minds about the home thing. My ILs suggested a birthday party at this fastfood restaurant. We checked out their website and thanks to their "party planner" we have calculated a friendly budget for a decent enough birthday party. It would be a semi-private affair for family members and some of our closest friends, and having attended birthday parties at that place, I'm sure Iaine's 2nd birthday would be a blast. It's a place where kids and adults will surely enjoy.

So, we've already made a reservation yesterday and it's funny how it seemed just like a spur-of-the-moment thing. We've made the arrangements, placed the down payment, and last night I already started filling up the free pre-made invitations which will be given away 2 weeks before Iaine's 2nd birthday.

I can honestly say that I'm excited about it, although it's sad to know the reality. My daughter isn't a baby anymore. Recently I find myself staring at her and just thinking how beautiful she has become. She's a little lady now and she's gonna grow bigger, smarter, and lovelier.

And by the way, my favorite perk of having someone else do the party for me is that I don't have to worry about crafts and magicians and caterers anymore. I can just sit back, relax, and enjoy the first month of the year, and all I need to do is just show up to Iaine's birthday party with the rest of the payment balance in my wallet!