Wish List (partial)

I've been blessed to have mommy friends and excited ninangs who have stuff to share our little boy, so we've acquired a few things already.  There are, however, still a few (well, a lot) of items we still have to get.  I haven't really had much time to prepare a full list but based on the layettes I've seen, I was able to list down a few things we are still needing.

LITTLE WRIGGLER:

• relaxation music mp3s (classical, instrumental, beatles for babies, etc... no singing children please... they scare me after a while. haha!)
• Bibs (4)
• Tie-side shirts (4 - 6)
• Receiving blankets (4)
• swaddle blanket (2)
• Hooded towels (3)
• wash cloth (4)
• disposable diapers (endless supply!)
• cloth diapers gauze (12)
• cloth diapers eyelet (6)
• mosquito net
• diaper clips (4 sets)
• health kit (1 set)
• diaper rash ointment
• cooler for breast milk (when I go back to work mid-September)
• breast milk storage bags
• baby bottles for infants (4)
• soft infant shoes 
• bath tub (preferably collapsible)
• baby book

MOMMY WRIGGLER:

• shirts and blouses that can allow for breast feeding

I'm not really sure how much I need nursing pads and other breast feeding related items but I'm certain I need clothes that can facilitate feeding. Hehehe!

Wow... one and a half months to go.  I'm praying harder and harder that this beautiful journey continues with much joy and excitement.  Hoping for your prayers and positive vibes as well. :)

Cheapskate

You would know about Starbucks planners every Christmas, noh? Well there was a year that I wanted to get one. Whenever I would go to Manila from Davao, I would ask J to take me to Starbucks so we can each have a coffee. It would be during these circumstances that he would ask me if I would like to split a tall or venti hot coffee. And I would tell him to have two short coffees instead because I wanted to get the planner.

I did get the planner. But I never got to use it. Like most other planners I owned which about lay untouched by mid-June.

It was one of those drinking coffees that I asked J why he keeps asking me if I want to share a Venti instead of us getting a short coffee each. He pointed how many ounces a venti was (20, thus venti) and a short cup (12 oz.). The price difference is about 40 pesos but the weight difference is already 8oz. If we get two short lattes, we'd pay P240 but if we get one venti, we pay P160. Genius! We average P80 for our coffee of 10 oz. Each ounce then has more value for money. It pays to have a frugal partner noh? :P

I eventually picked up this trend whenever we eat out. Since both of us are cheapskates... er, frugal, we prefer to save on food. Whenever we eat out, be it dessert, salad, pizza, steak or noodles, we would get the bigger order and share it between the two of us. This way we get to enjoy more food choices for a much lower cost. Not only that, we lessen the calorie intake compared to ordering one each of our meal. Even in fastfood chains, we would upsize the drink so we can just share one big glass than have two small ones. Sharing fries is often tricky because the way we eat it is different.

Call us cheap, but this is something we both enjoy doing. We present the image of being sweet to each other when in fact, we're really just stretching the budget. :P

Pictures of food we share

Apple pie and cherry pie from an organic market in The Hague.

Crepe with the works in Davao City. It looks better than it tastes though. One of those times splitting food is a great idea.

Apple and cinnamon pannenkoeken (pancake) in Schevinengen in the Hague. Eight euros for this beautiful piece of food. Expensive! But we were able to taste it though we still went home a bit hungry. :P

House hunting

Ever since I returned to the Philippines, J and I have been living with his parents in Pasig (bordering Cainta). Of course, finding our own place has been in the pipe line even before we got married but I had to leave for studies and all that. The plans had to take a back seat.

When I got back, there was a lot of uncertainty. Despite a masters degree, I had no guarantee I'd get a good job. I'd run back to Davao if I would just think of my career path but work for J is not as thriving as it is Manila, so I figured we should try things out here first.

It was a crazy twist of fate that after six or seven years of freelance work, J got invited by a friend to work for his company. J, who was quite comfortable with the freelance set-up, thought that if he would be tied up to an employer, it might as well be with something he can really contribute to and someone he would want to help. So J was finally employed.

I, on the other hand, was becoming desperate for work having been two months out of school already. It is true what they say though, "when it rains, it pours" because calls for job interviews came one after another. I even had to turn down a couple and intentionally make myself undesirable for another one. After two and half months, I finally landed a job. Better-paying compared to my previous job and most importantly, the office is in the same street as J. We travel to work and back home together. :)

Things pretty much settled for us in terms of work. It was time to get our act together as a family unit. We both believe it begins with our own place. At first, I was just interested in renting a place near our work place. Just so we can avoid the traffic going to and from work. The nearer to work, the better it would be.

But events do happen as they please, even if things aren't the way you planned it. J and I came across a couple of pre-selling condominium units near Don Bosco. One was Vista Land and another Ayala Land. It was actually enjoyable checking out model units. I particularly love how Ayala Land was able to deck out the units to look quite homey and livable. Honestly though, I never really imagined myself to be a condo girl. I've always lived in a house with sufficient space for everything.

We found ourselves liking Avida Towera (Ayala) over Trevi (Vista Land) because it was better-designed and looked like it was given more thought. Here's the thing though... much as we would like to have at least a one bedroom unit, we could not afford it. It was almost double the price of the studio unit, which with a little bit of stretching, we can afford (if we stay with our work forever! :P).

The studio is this small...

26 square meters. 18 sq. m of living space, 3 sq. m of the bathroom and 4 sq. m of balcony (facing Manila Bay... if Filinvest does not cover our view!).

Just last Friday, I found out that our water and sanitation kits are 25 cubic meters. That's our condo unit. Wow. Teeny-tiny little thing. A container van would probably have a bigger space.

But we took it anyway. Over a bigger place that would be available probably somewhere in Las Pinas or Sta. Rosa.

Because:

1) I know that more and more development will happen that side of the world and most of them work our side of the world. The traffic will never go away. So we will have a nice big place we can't enjoy because we are too tired to do anything when we get home. Most of the time would be spent on the road.

2) We don't intend to stay there forever. We hope to have children someday and we would not fit in the teeny-tiny studio unit. It, however, will be an investment. Maybe rent it out or sell it. This is Ayala property we are talking about, so I'm sure it will be worth something.

3) The location is great. Just on the fringes of Makati CBD. We could walk to work. Yahoo.

The major catch is it won't be ready until July next year. Boo.

However, we are still excited for our little humble __C (our future unit address). J has been looking around possible expandable-contractable-convertible furniture in the internet. I have been visualizing how convenient it is to get around. We are both computing the mortgage. Mortgage... such an adult word.

So it begins... marriage takes a new turn for us. Excited to see how it goes. :P