I remember having a grown-up conversation with my friends while we were literally behind the flowing water of a beautiful falls in Oslob, Cebu where each of us were supposed to answer the question "How would you rate your life today?" I confidently answered 9 out of 10. Actually, I could give 10 but I know that it's always best to give room for improvement. It might sound exaggerated but that's how I feel at the moment. 

When I have bad days, like days when I sometimes get fed up with motherly duties, I never fail to see how blessed I am for the life that I have today. And I just can't stop thanking God for granting me my long-time prayer - to have a family with the love of my life. 

And before I let the stress out of my system in a negative way, I stop, breathe and remember over and over how beautiful my life is. Then in an instant all the negativity disappears.

Prayer:

I cannot thank you enough for blessing me with a beautiful family. May we be a good example to others, especially to families that are troubled. Amen.

We thought of this snack randomly and we were surprised that it was a hit to the family. It's a simple dish yet a mouth-watering experience! 

Ingredients:

Ground meat (chicken, pork or beef, your choice)

Tomatoes

Onions

Grated cheese (Eden)

Taco Powder

Pita bread

Procedure:

1. Cook meat in taco flavor. Follow instructions at the back of packet.

2. Dice tomatoes and onions separately. Season tomatoes (salsa) with salt ad sugar.

3. Grate cheese.

4. Assemble on pita bread:

        Fold pita bread in half. 

        Put meat, onions and cheese on one part of bread. Put generous amounts of ingredients. :)

        Fold bread. 

       

Although nothing special happened, last weekend felt unusual. Maybe it's the way I looked at things and how on every aspect I found peace, happiness and contentment. 

Sometimes we look at more of the negativity around us and tend to forget all the beautiful things that God has never failed to offer us. Believe me, there will always be something to be thankful for - another day to live, meals that we had, comfort of our homes, presence of family, clothes that we wore, laughs that we had, etc. 

Looking at where I am now, I don't think I will ever get tired of thanking God. I prayed for this life and sometimes it feels surreal that what I used to pray for is now in my hands. I am just so lucky that I didn't need to wait for a long time to have my prayers granted. 

Dear God,

Thank you for giving me everything that I once hoped for. In fact, thank you for giving me more than enough. I share my gratitude to those who are in sorrow and in seek of happiness. I pray that they will not lose faith in waiting for their granted prayers in Your time. 

Amen. 

Overwhelmed with life,

B.

Caleb and I have established our day-to-day activities and this is our most recent routine:

7 AM - Have breakfast with Daddy before he goes to work.

730 AM - Plays around the house (this is the dirty part).

8 AM - Takes a bath.

830 AM - Plays in the play pen (clean area).

12 NN - Lunch (if he isn't sleeping yet).

1230 PM - Takes a nap

230 or 3 PM - Wakes up 

3PM - Plays in the play pen.

530 or 6 PM - Have dinner. He's very tired at this time from playing.

630 PM - Takes a bath.

7 PM - Sleeps until 6 in the morning the next day. 

So, majority of the day he's awake and active. And this is the stage where he doesn't want to be left alone that's why there isn't much that I am able to accomplish for myself. I get lucky sometimes if I'll be able to take a quick shower in the morning. If not, everything for myself is done when he's fully asleep - night time.

It takes a lot of patience when you look after your baby especially if you are the type (this is me) who wants things to be accomplished at once rather than putting them aside for later. 

Despite all these, I enjoy looking at Caleb play - throw, bang, lick, eat things; practice crawling, sitting, standing and walking; cry from time to time because he gets bored; calls your attention to play with him; drinks milk to recharge and then he's back ok his feet. 

This is how he looks like while having a good day in his play pen. 

When you become a mom, you think and live for two people. You make important decisions that will benefit your child more than you do. You put yourself second and your child as your priority. That has always been the mantra. That's why sometimes I have been undecisive up to the last minute. I am torn between I CAN and I SHOULDN'T. 

Today is one of those undecisive days and I made the wrong decision...again. It just hurts that when people tell me off about that wrong move, I tend to feel stupid. I tend to think that people think I put myself first before my baby. Maybe it affects me because I know that it was and will never be my intention. And if I knew that that would happen I wouldn't have put ourselves (baby and I) in that situation in the first place. I'm not that kind of mom who would have drinks at night rather than put her babies to bed. 

My child IS my priority and I have accustomed myself to that for the past months. It's not about myself anymore but about him already. 

I realized that while making those decisions, one thing is in common - doubt. Weighing the pros and cons itself is doubt. And that doubt has never failed to give me bad results. 

So now...

When in doubt, always say no. 

A little hurt, 

B.