amused

today, you woke up telling me over and over how much you miss me, while hugging me tight. i almost did not go to work just to stay with you. my heart just melts at how you look at me as if telling me to stay. but after a while you kissed me goodbye and told me to take care. you are just the sweetest!

lately, you have been learning to read (or should i say spell) almost everything you see. you even love to read traffic signs and would often asked what those meant. i think it is more of me than you that is amused everytime you came up with words that go with what you have spelled. i think it is because as a toddler, you are more of a picture-reader at this stage. and so, some of what you have spelled lately:

G-A-P -> JACKET (the word was written on your jacket)

L-A-C-O-S-T-E --> ALLIGATOR (there was an alligator patch with the word written on your shirt)

E-X-P-L-O-S-I-V-E --> DAMIT (how's that? that was written on tito sam's shirt!)

T-O-S-H-I-B-A--> LAPTOP

B-A-B-Y- C-O-U-T-U-R-E --> BAG (i don't know how you knew that this was a bag because you just read it from some paper bag)

F-E-N-D-E-R --> GUITAR... ay hindi pala...BASS GUITAR (and now you can even classify what type of guitar it is!)

the last two words were written in cursive but you were able to spell it anyway... you are simply amazing... and amusing!

through your eyes

today, you are a kid bursting with emotions, a kid with a tremendous personality.

i see that you are a happy child. you love to laugh. every tickle, every chase, every word that sounds funny to you would merit your laughter. i love how your laughter echoes in the house. even when there are a lot of moments with whining and crying especially when you don't get what you want, you could easily switch on your happy mood.

i see that you are affectionate. you love to hug, kiss and snuggle those who are dear to you. you never forget to kiss lola goodnight just as you cannot sleep without mama hugging you tight.

i see that love to be praised, even with the little things that you do. you wanted to be right all the time and despised being told that you are wrong.

i see that you get mad easily. when something annoys you, with hands on your waist, you would shake your head and have that mad-eyed look! but you too can easily shrug off what seem to have caused the rage.

i see that even as a toddler, you have a perfect sense of order. you would always remind me to arrange and put my slippers beside yours just before i climb to bed at night. or how you would want to arrange your wooden dominos by pairing the same images altogether.

i see that you are a budding musician. you love to sing and love to mess with papa's guitars. and when you hear some good music, you would instantly do that foot-tapping and follow the beat as if you are playing the drums or the guitar. you love to be in papa's practice and even want to be in places where papa plays.

i see that you are an artist. you love arts and crafts and dabble with mama's paints and materials. you love to get your hands dirty and explore whatever materials i give you (be it paint, glue, clay,rocks, shells, etc). you know how to appreciate the arts and would always remind me how beautiful my works are. one time when i entered a contest and didn't win, you told me that it's ok and that there's always a next time.

i see that you love to write. i love to hear you ask me for more papers so you can write letters, spell names, draw and doodle what would tickle your fancy.

i see that you love to read. even if it is just picture-reading, i love that you are able to connect the pictures with words and tell it into your own words. it amazes me that you remember each stories and even memorized some of your well-loved books.

i see that you are a fast and eager learner. you do get bored easily over repetitive activities but at the same time would never stop doing the things you have learned. you look forward learning new things in school while also enjoying the other times when it's only the two of us exploring different ways to learn.

i see that we are important to you. you are sad when we are not with you but you are extremely happy when we are around.

seeing all that through your eyes makes my heart melt.

cook-out peeps

we love to eat. we are happy eaters. we are happy to get together once a month and share not just meals but also secret recipes to good food. we look forward to this gathering since this is the time when we don't fight the urge to pig out. we are happy to get the better of each other in cooking! and we just get better and better each cook out fest.

we love to laugh. we love stories that even when told over and over earn endless laughter, stories that would make our jaws ache and eyes teary from too much laughing.

we love to be together. anywhere or any time of the day, each time is always a blast! because those are spent with wonderful friends.

yey for happy times!

a night like no other

dear son,

i look forward spending evenings with you, especially when it is time to laze up in bed and read with you before bedtime. you would pick up a book (and most of the times, it would be the same book, for a week or two!) and we would read it over and over. there were moments when i am too tired to read to you but your pleading would make me give in to read a book or two. but there were also days that you want to read 5 books! and i would find myself still giving in.

lately, you love your bible stories book. you love being read about the stories of noah, samson, jonah, and david. the stories of the first christmas and tower of babel amaze you. i have often wondered if you would remember these stories and i am happy that you did when last night, you asked papa to read to you the story of samson, telling him ahead what it was all about!

my heart just bursts with joy!

it was a rare moment to see you and papa reading together and i was thrilled watching the two of you, having a great a time!

you know that i love reading with you and i know that you love being read to. it has been OUR bonding moment. but it takes me on a different high seeing that you have taken on the habit and shared that moment with papa. a moment that i know will hold a special place in papa's heart.

know that these moments mean big time for us... even if those are some random moments or a part of our 'usual' routine, we are overwhelmed with joy for every single time spent with you.

love,
mama

mimic

i love this stage when all that kids do is imitate whatever you do, whatever you say no matter what the situation is. sometimes it gets into my nerves but most of times it just makes me roll with laughter.

and so i did this LO for sketch 196 of pencil lines, highlighting how my son loves to mimic me. it's my first time to join in their challenges but i've been a frequent visitor of their blog.

here's the sketch...

and here's my take...

i did some paper tearing and distressing...

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Journaling: The moment you saw me aim the camera at you, you immediately held up this worn out toy you were playing with and mimic me. I love it when you let me in to your imaginative world. It reminds me to see things through your eyes. Love, Mama

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i love how the pins turned out in this LO. i did not plan to use it this way but i love the effect! :)

i am glad that i was able to use some of the papers i bought from a scrapbooking sale 2 years ago...

thanks for looking!

another one for pagemaps

this month for the pagemap's challenge ...i flipped the sketch and added a few embellishments... here's my interpretation...

i love how the color scheme matches the shirts of my son and his cousins... and how these robots from bella blvd somehow mimics the pose of the kids... i wanted to make the robots look like they are sitting so i propped them on a cardboard and folded their legs...

instead of buntings, i added a strip of jute string. thanks for looking!

first day high

euan is having a blast in school... from the first week that i observed him in class, he seemed to enjoy the new adventure - having new friends, wearing a uniform, having an "Iron Man" lunch bag (a must!) and just being in a class is such a thrill to him. i hope the energy won't wear off. i have this crazy feeling that he might not like it in school but with the way i see it, it won't be a problem. i like that he feels "at home" in school immediately - no separation anxiety at all! it seems that it's more of me that is having a hard time to let go of my little man! but i also think that feeling so at home is the very same reason that's going in the way of things. euan got a taste of discipline from his teacher when he was told to sit properly and to not put his feet on the table! talk about being so comfy and home-y! and so after i talked to euan, he told me he won't do it again ang promised to behave well in school. i'm pretty sure this won't be the last time (because school has just started!) but i am really hoping that i will be able to talk things out with him in a loving way so he could understand and obey easily. with his endless whys, patience (and a lot of love!) is really the key. i hope i can endure it all.

tribute

i made this as a gift for richie on father's day. i want to capture his joys as a father, thus the sub-title.

what made it more special is the note that euan wrote... his first, but something that he understood this time :)

happy father's day richie... thank you for being my strength and my comfort. know that euan and i loves you so much!

wow!

this was my son's word when he saw the recent LO i did of him for the Pagemaps challenge. 3 letters. big impact. and it came with a BIG, BIG HUG too!

i cherish the fact that it helps him remember the story when the photo was taken. i could also sense that he is happy to be part of my work. he is not big with words yet but hearing him express his thoughts on my work takes me on a different high. seeing him appreciate my work gives me a whole new sense of direction in documenting our life story. it inspires me to create more.

now on to the challenge...
i am a HUGE fan of pagmaps... i LOVE all their sketches and now, i am having FUN to actually try out the sketches... this is my 3rd 12x12 LO! yey! i am just so happy to be reunited with my papers again! here's the sketch and the goodies...

here's my son with my take on the pagemaps challenge...

Title: Baby Love

Materials used: Papers: Tree bugs in Rug, Basic Grey, Bella Blvd; Inks: Ranger; Transparencies, Jute string, buttons, flowers, and pearls

Journaling: You were just babies. But can we help it if you adore each other so much?

i did a few techniques here and did some hybrid embellies... i distressed the cut-out flowers and i also experimented on printing some digital elements on transparencies for those butterflies and flourishes. i love the effect!

i also love this picture of euan and AJ, it makes them look all soo grown up. they were both 2 years old when this was taken... and all that hug? we were all surprised when AJ hugged him so i just clicked away... now, what would euan think if he sees this years from now? hmmm...

amazed

dear son,

you'll never know how proud i was when i discovered that at three, you have learned to write your name. what started out as doodling became the letters of the alphabet. you can recite and recognize the alphabet well but you never displayed much interest in writing. or maybe i just failed to notice. so it came as a surprise when during one of our writing activities, after several times of guiding your hand to write, you took the cue and wrote down your name, all by yourself! this is a major achievement for you as a toddler and for me as a mom. i know you get frustrated at times when you can't get to write the letters properly, but you just don't know how i love those cute, imperfect strokes and reversed letters!
yet it gives me a gentle reminder to be big with praises each time you do it right (and to be generous even more when you can't seem to make everything right!). i cherish the fact that those words worked like magic for you to do more and learn more.
this is a beautiful start of your quest for knowledge. may you never tire, my eager learner!

love,
mama

today i am reminded

...to cherish every single moment

...to value whatever the world holds for me

...to look beyond the ordinary and see everything as a blessing

...to be thankful because i am loved

...to be joyful no matter what the consequences are

...to remain faithful because i am a child of god

happy day

just a very quick note...

i am so happy to finish a layout based from the sketch of inspired blueprints! my first for the year, and my 2nd 12x12 LO! yey! finally! it just feels so good to scrap again!

i just love the pictures of euan and his cousin yancee. i love how they laughed, played and had a great time by merely playing with a yellow ribbon they picked up while running around.

here is a picture of my son after i finished the layout. i think he is more excited than me! :)

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Title: That yellow ribbon

Journaling: (continued from the title) ...was enough to make an afternoon of endless fun...

Materials used: Paper: Scrapworks Magpie, Srout and Starburst; Bella Blvd Super Stud; Embellishment" Carolee's creations word play; All about scrapbooking chipboard and alpha stickers; ribbons and buttons.

it's all about perfect timing

I missed blogging! I missed writing down my thoughts… but most of all, I missed having to express myself in ways that I never thought I could!

I feel guilty…Guilty of letting the time pass me by so swiftly, just as where the wind has left me. Guilty of the time wasted for finding all the excuses to not do what I needed to do. You know those times when your brain is telling you to scrap but your body refuses to follow? (There goes another excuse!) Now I am left with nothing concrete on hand but just pure memories from the past.

But what if those special memories escape me? I could never have a way to relive those moments. Worse, I could never be able to pass on our life stories to the very people who have been so much a part of that journey.

Lately I’ve been doing a lot of thinking on the best way I could do the things that I need to do with the time that I have. With the many roles that I have to sanely juggle to make a happy home, I believe that the key really is to manage my time wisely. That is what I really need to improve on.

That’s why today, I feel the need to start writing those life stories. I feel the need to cherish and re-create those moments in ways that work best for me (I have tons of pictures waiting to be scrapped!). I have found once again how it is to really celebrate life! And I love it!

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p.s.

Quote: Brian Tracy; Digital kit: Eloquent Autumn by Betsy Tuma, Two Peas in a Bucket; Overlay: Jessica Sprague Grunge Frame