the annual family photo

One of the traditions I grew up with is the annual family photo. Each year, usually when Christmas was near, we would have our photo taken so we could send it out to friends and relatives overseas. We usually just set up the timer on a camera or ask someone to take the photo for us at home. There was one time though when we went to an actual Kodak studio to have our photo taken. I have that picture with me here.

The Kodak family photo

The annual family photo tradition is something I'd like to continue now that I have my own family. I wanted to have ours professionally done this year since it's Ziv's first Christmas, but I just found the packages here too expensive. Besides, there were a lot of things we had to consider such as Ziv's nap time, his anxiety towards strangers, the weather, the location, the attire--too stressful!

So I just took out my trusty tripod, mounted my EOS and whipped out my shutter remote control. We couldn't be bothered with the logistics of shooting somewhere that required a commute so we had the photo shoot at our estate's park. Same place where we shot Ziv's Halloween photos.

It was the last weekend of November and it rained the previous night. The sky was gray but I was thankful it didn't rain. I tried to get plenty of shots before Ziv (and ze hubby) got cranky.

The Mateo Family, 2011

Luckily, I managed to get a couple of shots good enough for our holiday cards, and that I even got a few shots of Ziv smiling. It was almost his nap time when we packed up.

I'm happy with the way our photos turned out, and they didn't cost a cent.

tossing the routine

We woke up at 7:30 this morning, which in this household is already considered late, putting Ziv's schedule off-kilter. He wasn't tired enough to take a morning nap at 9 so I decided to take a walk with him around the block instead. 

I wasn't completely in it at the beginning though. Even if we were already outside the flat, my motherly conscience was bombarding me with thoughts like "Ziv should be sleeping," "Ziv needs his nap," "oh he's gonna be in a bad mood later, you're so gonna pay for this."

Then I noticed, it was a good day to take a walk. The sky was a clear blue, the sun was shining and there was a gentle breeze which reminded me that Christmas is almost here. So as we stepped onto the sidewalk, I let go and left the guilty mother behind.

Along Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4

Our walk made me remember those days when Ziv was a three/four-month-old who didn't want to nap. That time, strapping him onto his stroller and taking him on long walks was the only surefire way to put him to sleep. He was such a small baby then, and I was a stressed out newbie mom. At that time, it felt that Ziv's short or zero napping thing would never end and my body would never stop aching for naps. But he learned to sleep somehow and I learned to stay awake on five to six hours of sleep.

Life is much, much better now.

Well, it wasn't really bad in the first place. It was just, uhm, new.

After our stroll, we sat at a park bench. I watched the palm trees dance with the wind while Ziv busied himself with shadows, holes on the bench and stroller straps. It was so nice to relax and not be concerned about putting the baby to bed or doing any chore. 

Ziv exploring the park bench

I guess sometimes doing something out of the ordinary can be a good thing.


Postscript:
Ziv unexpectedly stayed happy the whole morning. He only asked (via whining) to be put to bed at 12:30. He slept from 12:45 to 2pm, which was good enough.

diptych #12: Ziv's first Christmas ornament

It's Ziv's first Christmas and I don't only want to make lots of memories but I want to keep them for him as well. He's only nine months old and I'm sure he wouldn't even remember what we did. I'm planning to take plenty of photos so when he's older, he'll be able to look at them while I tell him the story of his first Christmas.

But aside from that, I wanted to have something to commemorate this milestone by. I scoured Etsy, Amazon and Ebay and found lots of really nice first Christmas ornaments but they were quite pricey and had to be shipped from the US. So I turned to Pinterest hoping I would find something I could do myself.

At first I thought about doing a clay ornament but realized that would be messy and time-consuming. Plus I'd have to buy paint to make it more festive. I searched some more and found, this, this and this. I figured that making a time capsule ornament would be easiest to do. I just had to look for a glass ball I can fill.

So last weekend, we dropped by Spotlight at Plaza Singapura. That store has everything--bed covers, curtains, bathroom accessories, textiles, decorative items, toys and craft materials. We walked around and didn't stop until we found fill-able glass ornaments. It wasn't easy and I almost gave up because Ziv was fussing already. Luckily, I found them at the aisle closest to the other exit. It was a pack of six 60mm glass baubles with removable tops and was priced $6. 

After that, I picked up a spool of red ribbon which cost $1.49. When I was at the cashier, I was expecting to pay around $7 but the amount that showed up at the register was only $4.49! Turned out all Christmas ornaments were half price. That made me really happy.

Today, I filled up one of the baubles and here's the finished ornament:

I put Ziv's Halloween photo inside since we don't have a Christmas photo yet. Once we have that then I'll change or maybe add it in. I also put Ziv's foot and hand prints plus a couple of notes saying it's Ziv's first Christmas and that he will be spending it at Lolo Eddie and Lola Lagring's home in Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro. When we've had the actual celebration, I'd add more notes so when Ziv's grown up, he can read all about his first Christmas, plus see how tiny his foot and hand were!

a promise

I will love all of you son. 

The light.

 The dark.

The gray.

friday, friday

It's Friday.

And a ton of chores await me.

Back when I was an office drone, Friday was my favorite day of the week simply because it meant that I didn't have to work the following day.

Now, Friday is just like any other day because unlike office work, chores never end. 

There'd still be laundry to do tomorrow. 

Dishes to wash. 

Food to cook. 

Clean clothes to fold and store. 

A baby to take care of.

But I don't mind. 

I still love Friday. It's another day I get to be a wife and mom.

overheard

From ze hubby his morning, while preparing Ziv's breakfast of oatmeal porridge with pear puree and cinnamon:

Buti ka pa Ziv nakatikim ka na ng cinnamon. Nung bata ako ang natikman ko lang na spice paminta.

(You're lucky Ziv. You've tasted cinnamon already. When I was young, the only spice I got to taste was ground pepper.)

I think this is the beginning of the many "when I was young" spiels.

Ziv is nine months old!

Time flies!

I think I say that every month.

But time does fly! From a sleepy newborn, Ziv is now a nine-month-old infant who has got mad skills. He has amazing control of his hands and fingers now. I think even he is amazed. Sometimes I catch him just looking at one of his hands and lifting it up as if he's reaching for something. 

Aside from unbelievable manual dexterity, Ziv can also stand up with support now. Ever since he learned how to do that, he's been practicing every chance he gets. We usually hang out at his play zone so he gets lots of opportunity to practice. But with learning to stand up comes countless falls. He hates falling on his butt but he hates falling on his back even more. I think the impact scares him more than it hurts him. 

The increased activity makes me nervous sometimes because there are more chances of his hitting his head somewhere. But we've been lucky so far, thank God. No bumps yet. I think the worst injury we experienced was when his lip hit the armchair and it bled. I was so scared! Luckily, it stopped on its own and his two front teeth were intact.

It's awesome to watch Ziv grow. Ze hubby and I are really privileged to have been given front row seats in this most amazing show: the development of a human being.

Milestones are great but so are the everyday, ordinary things. Just watching him be this little person makes me happy.

sauteed ampalaya (bitter gourd)

As a kid, I didn't like ampalaya. What kid in her right mind would love this bitter veggie anyway? I cringed deep inside each time it was served at home because like any responsible parent, my mom made sure she made me and my siblings try it, kahit kaunti lang. And since I was eager to please, I obliged. I put on a brave face each time I took a spoonful of ampalaya. I tried my best to never let even a slight trace of disgust show on my face. Later on, I devised a way to eat it while minimizing discomfort: I didn't chew it. Ha!

But then there was this one time that my dad cooked his version of ginisang ampalaya. When I tasted it, there was very little hint of bitterness and lots of yumminess. That was when I learned to like the veggie. I didn't fear it anymore when it was served during mealtimes. So when I was old enough to cook, I did it my dad's way, which I am now sharing with you!

Ingredients

1 ampalaya (here in Singapore they only have small pieces of bitter gourd so I used three of those), sliced as thin as possible

2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

2 tomatoes, chopped

1 tablespoon patis

1 egg, beaten

salt and pepper

1/4 cup water

Directions

1. Place the amplaya slices in a colander. Sprinkle a generous amount of salt then massage them until the juices come out. This will remove some of the gourd's bitterness and make it more palatable. After massaging, rinse in running water.

2. In a pan, saute the garlic and onion in a bit of cooking oil. Once the onion is transparent, add the tomatoes. Saute until soft.

3. Add the ampalaya and patis. Saute for a few minutes. Season with salt and pepper according to taste. Add 1/4 cup water and cover to simmer.

4. The water should have reduced a bit. Add the beaten egg and stir (so you don't end up with an omelet!). Remove from heat and serve.

Here at home, I usually serve this with a fried item, like pork chop or fried fish, and of course, rice.

By the way, according to my dad, my sister makes a better version of this. Now, he always says it's her specialty, and I agree.

diptych #11

Reason I'm fat #20916

Is a double chocolate muffin. I recently declared it as one of my all-time favorites. It's chocolatey and not too sweet. I had it with instant coffee, which I realized is so wrong at many levels. Should've just paired it with black coffee or tea.

I've become complacent about my weight. I'm thinking, it's December anyway. 'Tis the season of face stuffing, as ze hubby said. And he's right. There's no other season more hedonistic than this; no better time to eat, drink and be merry. 

Nineteen days to go! Ho ho ho!

Christmas, soon

Writing on greeting cards while listening to Christmas songs. Is there any other way to do it?

It's December! Just 23 days to go before Christmas and 19 days before we fly back home. Ze hubby and I have celebrated the past three Christmases here in Singapore but this year we're going to his hometown of Calapan City in Oriental Mindoro province. They're hosting this year's reunion of my mother-in-law's side of the family. It's going to be interesting, especially since it's the first time we'd be bringing Ziv to such a huge gathering.

After three years of spending the holidays quietly here, I'm not quite looking forward to all the chaos associated with Christmas in the Philippines especially the horrible traffic. I hope we don't get stuck on a road somewhere! What I'm excited about though are the family get-togethers, meet-ups with friends and the food! Oh the puto bumbong, the bibingka, the fiesta fare--all of them! I'm pretty sure I'll pack on some (or a lot) more pounds.

Anyway. Back to greeting-card-writing. Hope to send these ASAP!