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Tuesday, September 28, 2010

New Addition : Colin Edward

At long last...some creative time in my hands. :)
I'm sorry for the long hiatus but something big came into our lives recently and has purely taken over our whole being.
I'd like you to meet our !
Most likely no birthing story since I got a C-section as per doctor's advice due to the rapid calcification of my placenta 2 weeks earlier than my due date. Although I didn't go through the motions of having a natural labor, I will definitely always remember the whole experience. Some of the highlights are:-
  • being calm and excited when the morning came around
  • hearing baby's heartbeat via dopler/ultrasound for one last time, one of the admission check-ups
  • anticipation to be wheeled into operating room
  • the spinal anestheics being administered
  • feeling nothing, unable to move anything from my waist down when the anesthetics kicked in
  • being pulled/pushed all over the place during the operation --> doctor positioning the baby
  • this is the best one : my reaction to seeing Colin coming out over the tarp, "oh, good, there's lots of hair on him"
  • realizing that Colin wouldn't stop crying when he was taken to be cleaned, I thought they were already doing the cercumsition...oh, how wrong I was. Colin was crying for more than 15 minutes now...for just being cleaned/wiped over! Oh my heart!
  • E looking on with what Dr Lee's been doing to me...cleaning and stitching me up:- with how the cut looked like a flap, how the inside was stitched up and how my outter skin was "glued up" with hardly any markings of a cut. Good thing he didn't videotaped the whole thing. All this was going on while Dr Lee and him were exchanging information about the surgery, about beaches/getaway sites in Manila, etc. It was so crazy! I remember I was trying to tell E to not disturb the doctor so he can stitch me up faster and I can get out of the operating room already. Half awake and half immobile is not fun when you don't know what's going on especially with so many tuggings left and right. :P
  • after Colin's all clean, the nurses wrapped him up in a bundle and gave us (E&I) time to have our first family photo taken. Will you look at those red lips and very "powdered" face! People think that Colin's a girl based on this photo!


Now begins, the sleepless nights and toothless smiles. E&I was exhausted! Getting the hang of Colin's eradic schedule is really taking a toll with both of us, though we still strive on each day to see how we can best handle the little guy. :)
With all that has gone through

With this new addition, I remembered what my mom told me to do when the baby came out...to book a newborn photo session during the first week or two for the baby.
Let me tell you, the hassles involved totally outweigh what we got. Totally no regrets and I highly recommend this for all expecting and newly parents.
I had to find a photographer in HK and at the same time, find that E&I would like the end-product.
We chose Michelle Garthe's Photography as our baby's photographer.
Meeting Michelle was a pure joy and a blast. The photo session was filled with lots of stories, photos, laughs and definitely bloopers. I'm surprised on how fast the photo session was since Michelle informed me previously that it would take around 2-3 hours for the newborns session. We were all wrapped up and done at around 2 hours. Amazing! To think, I was pretty concern with Colin's disposition when the afternoon started. :P
Some of her test shots were posted on her site, please see below. For more information about Michelle Garthe's Photography, please clickhere.

I was able to finally squeeze in some scrapping time yesterday.
Reminder that it's $2 Tuesdays at TheDigiChick and one of the kits included in this deal is Mari Koegelenberg's Field of Dreams. Hope you would head over there and grab some wonderful digikits at such a steal!
I love the pattern papers that came with this kit...amazing stuff!

Now here's what I did with my new photos that totally inspire me!

Credits: Field of Dreams by Mari Koegelenberg available at TDC, Font - Century Gothic

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Diaper Bag Giveaway @ManilaMommy.com

Hi everyone! Just got to hear about this recently from a fellow blogger that might interest some of my mommy readers like me. :)
**************************

August is shaping up to be a giveaway month not just for manilamommy.com but for all the manila family blogs-
ManilaReviews, ManilaFitness, ManilaShopaholic and ManilaBlogs! Please try and visit all of the sites when you have time, you never know when you'd be a lucky winner!

Anyway, as Neva of Manilamommy.com is giving away Diaper Bags for some lucky follower of her's. Instructions are indicated below.

Let me kick off the giveaway month by giving away a Froot Loops diaper and travel bag and a LifeSavers bag from our very own ManilaBaby Shop! The promo period will start on Aug. 9, 2010 up to Aug. 27, 2010.


The LifeSavers is a super light weight, canvas bag which we use to bring DW’s stuff for overnight trips. This bag has also been used as a laptop bag and can also be used as a school bag for school-aged kids!
The Froot Loops is diaper bag that converts into a stroller bag so that you can have easy access to your baby’s stuff anytime, anywhere!

Both bags have waterproof interiors with lots of pockets. You also get a free extra large changing pad which provides maximum coverage for those public changing stations and a plastic pouch!

To see more of the bags please go to
ManilaBaby Shop
Winning is easy! You only need to do three things to gain three raffle entries in the draw:
1) Leave a comment at this blog = 1 raffle entry

2) Leave a comment at the manilababyshop site (add us as a contact too!) = 1 raffle entry
3) Join the ManilaBaby Shop fanpage
HERE = 1 raffle entry.

When you leave a comment at this post, please let me know that you’ve done all three. If you’re already an existing member of the ManilaBaby Shop fanpage or if you’ve already added the ManilaBaby shop as a multiply contact, let me know too so that I can give you your corresponding raffle entries.

Weekly tallies will be posted in this blog so that you could keep track of your raffle entries!

TO GET MORE RAFFLE ENTRIES AND GET MORE CHANCES OF WINNING:
4) Tweet about the giveaway in this format: I want to win a diaper bag from @manilababyshop! (http://manilamommy.com/2010/08/win-manilababy-bag/) = 1 entry


5) Re-post about thus contest in your blog = 5 raffle entries (feel free to use the images in this post)

6) Update your FB status in this format: I want to win a Diaper Bag from @manilababyshop! (http://manilamommy.com/2010/08/win-manilababy-bag/) Please don’t forget to tag us in your status update so that we can keep track too = 1 entry

TO GET EVEN MORE RAFFLE ENTRIES:
Come back to this space weekly as I’ll be giving you new ways to get more raffle entries for the draw that are worth 2 raffle entries each!!
If you do all the items here, you can get up to 16 raffle entries for the giveaway!

IMPORTANT REMINDER: You only need to do 1, 2, and 3 to qualify for the contest. Items 4 onwards are optional but they would get you more entries for the raffle!

And that’s all folks!! On behalf of the ManilaBaby Shop team, I’d like to wish all of you the best of luck and that I hope you have fun with the contest!

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Play Kit by Mari Koegelenberg & 26th Week

Play: The Kit is a collaboration between Jude Toone and Mari Koegelenberg available at TheDigiChick.com. It's got tons of great pattern papers and elements that bring out the "playful" side for any age!
Check out the preview below.


Here's my take on this fun fun kit!
Credits: Play: The Kit by Jude Toone and Mari Koegelenberg available at TheDigiChick.com

Some baby news...I'm now about 26 weeks pregnant and we are both excited to really prepare for the baby's arrival. We were able to attend a birthing class and I got to learn about Baby Lingo (baby sign language) and a lactation class as per my brother's advice.

I'm just so eager to attend these classes that I hope I get to use them when the time comes and use them effectively. :P

Monday, June 07, 2010

Calipso Kit by Mari Koegelenberg

This you gotta see...a new kit that I got play this week - Calypso by Mari Koegelenberg available at Miss Tina.com's site. :) I love the papers and the ribbons that come with this kit. Perfect for thos summer layouts!


Here's my take on this cute cute kit. :)
Credits: Calypso by Mari Koegelenberg available at Miss Tina.com's site; font - Century Gothic

Thursday, May 20, 2010

What's Cooking...

Here's a cool new kit for you that involves not only memories but cooking at the same time! :) It's Mari Koegelenberg's What's Cooking Kit available at TDC today!
I love the journaling notes and pattern papers in this kit. You can also make a wonderful recipe box and index cards as a bonus on this kit. It's a win-win situation!!!
Check out a preview of this awesome kit that you can use for anything especially making your recipe collection.
Credit: Mari Koegelenberg's What's Cooking Kit available at TDC; Font - Century Gothic

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Girlfriends by MKC and Sugarplum Paperie (TDC)

There's a few bumps and blocks in the road recently but it all worked out well.
Check this awesomely cool and fun kit called
Girlfriends by Mari Koegelenberg Creations & Sugarplum Paperie (Nicole), available at TDC

I scrapped my bestie, T, for this layout. Always cherish the friendship we have nurtured all these years...more than 15 years now and still counting!
I'm back again and so happy to be scrapping again.
Credits: Girlfriends by Mari Koegelenberg Creations & Sugarplum Paperie, available at TDC; Sketch Template: Pencillines #181 by Elizabeth Kartchner

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Divine Digital Kits Galore March 2010

There are a few Divine Digital kits to check out recently. I got to work with three awesome kits. See below for each of my reviews.

All You Need Is Love by Delicious Scraps (Anna F) is a great love kit. It's full of cute elements, frames and papers to great any type of love theme or red layout. It's also a great wedding theme kit for those who want something different. :)

Credits: All You Need Is Love by Delicious Scraps (Anna F) available at Divine Digitals, font - Palatino Linotype, alpha - Love is by Angel Hartline Designs also at Divine Digitals

Enchanted Dreams by Designs by Moo (Lynn Earwick) is a wonderful slumber-like kit. It got lot of great elements and papers to use for a boy or a girl kit. It's cute and definitely loving the airy feel of this kit.

Credits: Enchanted Dreams by Designs by Moo (Lynn Earwick) available at Divine Digitals, font - Stencil Standard and Myriad Pro

Brown Town Dreams by Designs by Sassy (Sarah Corfield) is a cute spring-like kit that has tons of elements and colorful papers to commemorate any spring/summer photo memories you would want to scrap. I love the vintage feel and look of all the whole kit.

Credits: Brown Town Dreams by Designs by Sassy (Sarah Corfield) available at Divine Digitals, font - Myriad Pro