Switching Nannies

I've had my kid's nanny for almost 6 months now. She's separated with three children that she left to her mother in the province. This is why when she told she wanted to try her luck working overseas, I did not find it a surprise. I wouldn't want to stop her in finding better opportunities to give her kids a better life.

I have a new nanny now and she's being trained by the 1st nanny (weeks before her planned departure from our home). My son is adjusting quite well. He's turning 6 months on the 11th of August. Of course I had to make sure the replacement was going to be as dedicated to her job as the first one, if not better. 

Finding a good nanny isn't difficult if you know what to look for --- depending on your family's needs. I'm lucky our household help (dedicated to household chores) was able to refer a friend to us. I used the same steps I took when I hired my first nanny.

As a working mother (my husband works full-time as well and is often not home than I am), my primary concern is the safety of my son at all times. My previous blog entry on hiring a yaya (nanny) helped me a lot.

Bored and Pregnant

When I was pregnant, I was bored sick that I spent my days doing all sorts of "projects" at home. During the Christmas season, I was 7 months pregnant. My doc advised me to try to not be a couch potato and move around so I did.

I did a lot of baking. Since it was Christmas season, I even got orders from family and friends. I had to watch out, of course, so when I started to feel tired, I no longer accepted orders. I think I must have made around 30 boxes of cupcakes or close to that.

I made the Baby Room my "special project". I spent a lot of time in that green room! I had to keep myself busy. I couldn't get out of the house because of the pregnancy rash, so I had to make myself useful in other ways besides grocery shopping.

Being pregnant is not an excuse to be lethargic. So move it!

Wedding Day

I got married at 23. In my country, culture and family, that's not young. That's way too young. It took a while before my mom learned to accept the idea --- I think she's pretty much still in the process. 

I was married December of 2006. We began the planning December of 2005. I did not really have professional help with the planning, by that I mean no professional wedding planners, event stylists and the like. That was my first rule to getting the wedding that I want without spending my life's savings.

I had a wedding diary. Nothing fancy, just a Starbucks 2006 planner I got from buying what must have been a thousand liters of Frappes in a month. I made sure my wedding diary was thick enough to handle all the notes and sturdy enough to handle all the post-its and would last a year until the wedding day's last minute reminders. 

My wedding theme was pretty generic. 1940's America. There's this convenient store in a gas station my husband and I go to for a late night snack. We always see a line up of classic vintage cars parked in the station's lot every Saturday night. That one night we asked the gasoline boy what was up with that and ended up with a name of some guy who leads a club of vintage car collectors. The guy (whose name was Charlie) does not really rent out his cars for events such as weddings. But to ours, he said yes. PHP10,000 for a "His and Hers" 1939 Jaguar. That's 2 cars -- in the price of 1. If that's not a bargain then I don't know what is!

My wedding's master of ceremonies was a friend who worked as a professional DJ for a radio station. We were classmates in graduate school. Instead of monetary compensation, I gave him a Ralph Lauren cologne from my honeymoon shopping. 

One thing i did not scrimp on was food. My husband and I did taste tests to 3 different caterers and came down to a decision to choose a caterer called Auffrance. Not only did they have good food, their packages were reasonable, too. We came down to 7 dishes exclusive of the desserts. We had 200 guests and everyone had tiffany chairs in silver. They gave me a wedding cake. 3-tiered fondant and even let me choose the color. Take note that this cake was given for free. I chose a plain white - all white cake and just had my florist put flowers to it. It looked amazing.

Photographers and videographers were also chosen by me, personally. I let them take care of the ceremony's photos while candids and shots during the event, the dancing, the drinking and laughing, were all taken by my friends. I asked everyone I could to bring a digital camera and shoot away. They gave me the pictures in CD form while some emailed them to me. I edited some myself, making some black and white, others in sepia (aged brownish color). This way, I was able to choose the cheapest package since I did not need them to take as much pictures as they would if I chose the expensive package.

All the other details of the wedding I had the help of my friends on. Such as choosing flowers and the right florist (referred by a friend) and choosing designers (a good friend of an uncle and therefore got a good discount). I let my bridesmaids choose their own gown designs, as long as the design fit into the color motif of the wedding (silver and baby pink). My gown, on the other hand, has been designed in my head since I was twelve so I encountered no problem with that one.

Picking the church was a breeze. It was the only air-conditioned church nearest to my home. It made it easy for my family to run back and forth the venue. Reservations were done as early as February. 

The reception was held at this place called The Big Tent, also close to where I live. They accept reservations for different events. It ran around PHP45,000. I considered doing the reception in a hotel, but i figured everybody does that, plus it drains out the pocket! So I thought of renting a venue that allows caterers to get in.

All in all, I'd say planning a wedding is extremely exciting and exhausting. But as all newly weds say, it's all worth it. Our best man said "Think of your wedding day as the day you loved each other the least. And everyday after that, you love each other more and more." 

We strive to make wedding days as unforgettable as we possibly can. And as you plan it, remember that weddings lasts but a day. Marriage, on the other hand as they say, lasts as long as you both shall live.

Mom and Ma'am

I'm off to a mid-shift meeting at 3:00 am today. It's a client call.

I was informed earlier that I will be handling a team of 41 people for a new campaign / account. As if that's not news enough, my work schedule will probably change big time. My normal schedule in the office is 10pm-7am (night shift). But starting tonight, I'll be on a 12am-9am shift. However, I've heard that this account will be having a 12-hour workday with a 6-day workweek. I've been shaking my head for ideas on how to deal since.

I'm supposed to being my son to the Pediatrician for his 5th shot and check-up. That's way overdue (his schedule was on July 14th). Now I won't be able to do that now that i have to stay in the office until 12 noon today. I'm rescheduling it on Saturday. I'll make a really early house call to Doc for that.

I'm pacing. Pacing around my workstation repeating in monotone "this is good. This is okay. This is good. This is okay. I love my job. I love my job. I love my job." --- and I do. I really, really do. But family comes first. Always does.

So now, the Spidermom will turn into another one of her multi-million characters. Mom and Ma'am both at the same time. Not to mention my online business (another baby of mine) is really picking up. Lots to do!

I'm not sure how I'm going to do it, but I know I'll do it. I do what I can when I can where I can.  And if I can't, then I can't. Some things will, some things won't, so what. Makes me laugh now when I remember that movie where my blog name was inspired by. Grandma says "you do too much. You're not Superman, you know."

Yup, that's right. Just spidermom. ;)

Homemade Baby Food

Like all moms, I'm careful about what I feed my little tyke. I still do feed him baby rice cereals from the box, I mean, why not? But then I make sure he it's not all that he eats.

Once a day, I make homemade baby food made from veggies and fruits. I don't add sugar and let him enjoy the good stuff as it is. He loves carrots. I mash them with this baby food maker I bought from Baby & Co. (3rd level at the Podium in Ortigas).

I've also tried feeding him avocados. He likes them, but he developed rashes the day after, so I figured he's allergic to it. I might try feeding him avocados again, just to see if the rashes were really a result of that. Doctors say we should feed babies 1 kind of food for 3 days straight to figure out if it's an allergen.

I also feed him pureed mangoes (I use the blender or just mash them with a spoon). I use fresh mangoes. I have no intentions of feeding him anything from the can anytime soon (canned peaches, pineapples, etc.)

This way, I'm sure he's getting enough vitamins because he's no longer breast-feeding. I plan to move on to mashed squash (loading him up with vitamin A for strong eyesight). I think I'm raising a future pilot.

Housekeeping Diva

I wrote this note about 2 or 3 months ago on my Face Book account. I got it out of reading home decorating magazines and some are charged to experience and mom's old tricks. 

1. For Sealed Envelopes - Put in the freezer for a few hours, then slide a knife under the flap. The envelope can then be resealed. (hmmm...) 

2. Ants, ants, ants everywhere ... Well, they are said to never cross chalk line. So get your chalk out and draw a line on the floor or wherever ants tend to march and see for yourself. 

3. Vinegar kills weeds. Spray full strength (undiluted) on weeds - be careful not to spray it on the surrounding grass as it will kill that too. 

4. Place bay leaves in kitchen drawers to keep crawling insects away. 

5. Dentists have recommended that a toothbrush be kept at least six feet away from a toilet to avoid airborne particles resulting from the flush.

6. Use baking soda and water mixed together (1 part baking soda to 3 parts water) for white-cords-turned-gray to make them white again. (I personally do this on my MacBook's cords--they work great). I also use it to restore my husband's white cortez sneakers to its original color.

Cleaning Out the Closet

I'll be cleaning out my son's closet today. And by that I mean getting rid of the "old" stuff --- although they're not really that old. 

Miguel celebrated his 5th month a week ago and to my surprise, most of his clothes don't fit him anymore. Of course these are infant clothing, those that we've had months before he's even arrived. I have an office-mate whose wife is giving birth in August. He asked me if I had things, clothing and toys that I might want to sell him. So i said, yeah! Why not!?

Now that I'm thinking, I actually do have some stuff that I want to get rid of already. That carrier we bought has gotten too small to hold him. And those side-tie shirts he used to wear to sleep can't even be tied anymore. Socks and mittens that either no longer fit or no longer needed. And a lot more.

I can use the funds to get him a new bouncer (I'm getting rid of the bouncer he got as a gift, he can actually twist to the side and make it tumble over). He needs a bigger one now.

Lots to do! I'll be taking photos once I gather the stuff and post them on ebay or email a catalog to my friends. One way to make my Saturday night fun without having to wear a dress, put on make-up and go to a pub. Plus, it gets rid of the clutter and I get to earn extra cash. Now that's way cooler than a drink!