Spoiled and Pampered

Yup, for the past two weeks, I have been just that, spoiled and pampered by my husband. I'm not trying to get you military wives out there envious but please indulge me as this is the first time that I have received treatment such as this from my husband.

To help you understand, let me give you a little background information. In the more than five years that my husband and I have been married and out of my three pregnancies, this has been the only time that my husband has experienced the first trimester of my pregnancy. As you ladies know, the first trimester is the most crucial time as this is where the development of the baby happens and as usual the cravings and the moodiness sets in. In my first pregnancy, even though he was assigned at Camp Aguinaldo, he would still be sent for three months at a time to Mindanao or Visayas; so, he did not see me when I was in my "moody moments". In my second pregnancy, he was assigned in Tarlac which was three hours away and can only come home every two weeks if we're lucky and depende pa sa mood ng bosing yan ha.

My first OB check-up coincided on my husband's arrival and on ultrasound, it was found out that I had bleeding in my uterus; so, my OB advised that I take it easy so as to prevent spotting and since my husband had two weeks off from work, he set out to cook, clean, and wash our clothes. Chores which I normally do. All I had to do was to eat, sleep, work and my sanitation. Ang sarap pala ng feeling na may nag-aalaga sa yo at para kang prinsesa pero nakakabato rin pala yung buhay na yun kasi nasanay na yung katawan mo na ganun ang ginagawa araw-araw tapos biglang iba ang gagawa. OC pa naman ako when it comes to the cleaning most especially the kitchen and the CR. Buti na lang nga at di ako inadvise na complete bed rest. Inimagine ko na kung inadvise ako ng ganun, siguro kinakarga pa ako ni Jonas papababa ng stairs.

Well, the two weeks are up and it's back to normal for Hannah and me. Back to reality ika nga but it was nice to be spoiled and pampered for once.

The month of April

It's the first day of April and April for our family is the month that we consider the most momentous. Aside from it being Hannah's birthday month. April seems to be the month when we are always in for a change. Two years ago, April was the month when we transferred to Bonifacio Heights and this year, we are going to move back to our house in Angono, Rizal. A year ago, hubby was reassigned to his present assignment and this year, would be his reassignment again to another post. This reassignment would mean that we would not get to see hubby almost everyday but every other weekend instead. Well, that would be the price for getting a 25% additional instructor's duty pay. Hehe. This is also the month when we are expecting something big for hubby's career which would translate into a 500 peso increase in his basic pay and added responsibilities.

With change, also comes major expenses. This is the month that we have to shell out money for Diana's (our car) registration. Don't ask me why our car has a name, I think that it's a guy thing. This is also the month when we will be enrolling Hannah in her new school. Being a product of "traditional schooling", I was shocked when I asked what the miscellaneous fees would include and they said that a bag with the school's logo and school supplies are mandatory for students. Talk about money making! We have no choice but to go along with this so-called "rule". I just hope that the bag and school supplies are sturdy enough to last for many years. Just being practical you know! Of course, there's the celebration for Hanna's birthday and hubby's career "advancement". As a family, we don't celebrate birthdays and the like by throwing a party, we would rather eat out together with our families or prepare food to be eaten at home. We prefer intimate gatherings but this time, with hubby's celebration, we need to include his men whom he will be entrusting to another troop commander. I don't mind the expense this time though because I know most of his men and they deserve to be included in this celebration. As the saying goes, they work hard and they party hard!

We are not daunted by these prospects for we, as a family, welcome change and we know we can weather anything through family support. Here's to April and the things it will bring into our lives!

Bike Riding Lessons Day One

Yup, you read it right. I am 32 years old and still learning how to ride a bike and last Sunday, I was finally able to do it. I forgot to include this one in my new year's goals but this one definitely belongs in the short-term category. Last Sunday, my husband finally had the time to teach me how to ride a bike. It must have been a funny sight to see a grown woman (although some still think of me as a teenager. Go ahead! hehe!) struggling to keep a mountain bike upright. Yup, of all the things I could have used to learn how to ride a bike, I chose a mountain bike! You see, I have been asking my husband for quite some time to teach me how to ride a bike. I wanted to know what all the fuss was about because he is an avid mountain biker even when he was still in the academy. He was always telling me that he would teach me when he had enough funds to buy me my own bike. I couldn't use his bike because it was custom-built for him. He is very tall and when I will be using his bike, my feet won't touch the ground. My wish was granted when we won a mountain bike which was being raffled off by NCRCOM during their Christmas Party; but, based on our luck with raffles, I never thought that we would be able to win one out of the 100 bikes that were being raffled off. I had just told my husband that if we won a bike, it would be mine since he already has one and that he would fulfill his promise to teach me when lo and behold, his name was called!

So, after almost two months of nagging him when he would teach me how to ride a bike, he finally relented to teach me last Sunday. First, he taught me how to fall and how to use my feet to anchor the bike. Then, he held the back of the bike much like how a father would hold the back of the bike and then we were off. There were times (well, most of the time) that I would fall and using what he taught me, I firmly planted my feet whenever I could feel the bike falling off to one side. I had a go at it for two rounds when he finally let go. In the thrill and excitement of the moment, I lost my concentration and had a nasty spill which promptly gave me my first scraped knee. I saw my husband's face when he saw my "severely" scraped and bleeding knee and he immediately concluded the lesson. I wanted to get back up and ride again; but I could see that the sight of blood oozing out of the wound was too much for him; so, I agreed to stop the lesson. Scraped knee and all (not to mention the loss of my physical asset. hehe), I am still willing to get back up on the bike and learn how to ride. I was going to take the bike out on my own yesterday when my husband texted me that I shouldn't take it out and wait for my "instructor". Well, what can I say, he knows me so well.

I also learned that I should be wearing knee pads the next time I ride the bike. I don't care if it would make me look silly but one badly scraped knee is enough thank you. Hehe. When I learn how to ride a bike, I think that the next challenge would be to overcome my fear of driving. Well, baby steps first and one goal at a time.

The next time you go to Bonifacio Heights and see a grown woman learning how to ride a bike, that would be me and hopefully there wouldn't be scraped knees anymore.

New Year, Same Goals But Better.

It's been a long time since I last wrote about anything (substantial or otherwise, hehe) and now that the holidays are over, ( I still have to convince my body that the holidays are truly over!) blogging seemed to be the best way to start the new year. First of all, Happy New Year to all of you.

The new year always gives me a thrill. I welcome it with the enthusiasm of a child waiting for a "pasalubong". I bravely face the year with all it has to offer. I know that life is not always perfect and there are times when things do not go as planned. It is in the mindset as my hubby used to say. I guess, a dose of positivity is finally rubbing off on me. A new year to me means another start and with that start, new resolutions; but, in my case, I don't want to regard them as resolutions but as goals so that they would be more forceful (better sounding and more fear-provoking so that I would be keeping them)!

2008 had its rough spots but I know that with support from my family and friends, 2009 would be better! My fundamental goal for this year would be to have more focus as I was such a scatterbrain last year; not to mention a little messy. Hehe.

Here are my goals for this year which I have assigned to different categories namely: health, home, and finance. Such a broad topics you might say; but hey, you have to start somewhere right?

HEALTH
Our family plans to stick to having a healthy lifestyle. No, we won't be turning strict vegetarians but, our mantra would be less meat, more vegetables. This also includes having a better frame of mind which could mean more blogging for me as blogging is "me" time. Hehe. We will still continue walking after dinner for at least 30 minutes a day and to be able to focus on physical fitness as a family and if all goes according to plan, we plan on having an additional member of the family (crossing my fingers for this!).

HOME
Plans are in the works for moving back to our house in Angono and hopefully, staying put for a long, long, long time. This move would surely make us busier this year; but, if it means that we would staying in Angono for a longer period of time, I welcome the move (as you know, I am adverse to the idea of packing all our stuff again). As to our unit, we plan on renting it out to help in paying off our loans (takers anyone? free advertising!) and converting it as a source of passive income.

FINANCES
Ah, we come to our family's foremost goal this year. We plan on paying off our loans in the next five years or less (crossing everything that can be crossed here!). We also plan to stick to our monthly budget and be more financially literate so that when our retirement comes, we would be financially-independent. More of a long-term goal really but the earlier we start, the better right?

Well, that is our family's more immediate goals this year. I also plan to include financial literacy tips so that I could share them with all of you. Here's to the best of the coming year ahead! May the new year bring us everything we have hoped for and more!

When it rains, it floods!

I have been reading posts of other military wives having financial problems and I can relate to them as we are in the same situation. Actually, we are not so deep in debt as to be considered destitute. Hehe. We have enough to last us until our next payday (which is tomorrow for me) and our bills are already paid for this pay period but what we were not expecting was our daughter getting sick. Hannah is not that sick as to be hospitalized (thank God!) but we are still having a monetary setback because of the costs of her medicines which we have not taken into account (lack of foresight on my part) not to mention that my parents are visiting over the weekend way ahead of our expected time and my sister-in-law borrowing money for her placement fee. My husband quipped that when it rains, it pours (and I kidded, "No Mahal, it floods") but we are still thankful that we have our humor to tide us over until the next payday and not to dwell too much on these financial problems. (Yup, learned my lesson to be positive). There are a lot to be thankful for and that grounds me to be positive for this too shall pass.

Feels Like Home Already

We have been living at Bonifacio Heights for almost two years now and have been going to mass at the clubhouse every Sunday for almost one year. At first, I was very reluctant to get a unit here due to the high cost of the monthly amortization; but, I am glad that my brother-in-law helped us out in the downpayment departmen.My husband has been proven right in getting a unit here. The place feels secure now because my husband's mistahs are also living here and I know that when my husband is away, I can call on his mistahs for help. I also enjoy having his mistahs over (plus their wives). I get to meet the "real people" behind the uniforms as they become so formal when they are in uniform. I also find that going to mass at the clubhouse a welcome change from the usual closed-in feeling of going to church the "traditional" way. At to that the fact, that we are just 2 minutes away from it! Hehe. When the Sunday masses were just starting out, you could choose where you wanted to sit as there were very few mass goers and then, gradually, people began pouring in and last Sunday was no exception. Sunday mass was a standing room only affair. What I enjoy most about going to mass at the clubhouse is the sense that at last, we are gradually becoming a community. I also liked the fact that we now have a lcd projector and a screen so that more people can join in the singing which makes the mass really come alive for me. It shows that people are involved and are doing something together even for just an hour. A bonus would be the fact that we are doing this for the Lord. I just hope that my husband change his mind about moving in 2010 because this is beginning to feel like home.

Choosing your battles

I came across this article in the online version of the Philippine Star and I thought that it would be very helpful to all married couples or people who are in a relationship.

The article discusses the differences between men and women and how they each deal with stress. The resource person of the article was Dr. Gray who, incidentally wrote the book "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus." I got a kick out of reading that book and I wish that I had bought a copy of that so that my husband can also understand our differences and how to cope with these differences. Note to self: Get a copy! hehe.

My husband and I are opposites which I guess, makes our relationship stronger. Don't get me wrong, we do fight; but, we try and work it out by talking when we have both calmed down. It is the making up part that is great. Our mistah always comments that he loves staying with us because our home is such a happy home because we try to supplement our shortcomings, i.e., my hubby cooking when I still have work and helping in doing the laundry (things which some consider unmanly!). We are not perfect, mind you. I guess what makes us click is being able to understand our differences and making our way around those differences. We choose our battles. We do have disagreements because after all, we both come from different backgrounds, thus, different opinions on a LOT of things. There are times when a little humility makes all the difference. I try to let small things pass when we disagree on things. Not all disagreements should be a chance to "one up" the other and he does the same. Marriage is not perfect but a process to make it perfect.