Big Bear!!

Man! I wrote a whole blog post and then this damn site went blank when I tried to save it. Now I'm too lazy to write the whole thing over again. I'll do an abbreviated version of what i originally wrote.

We had such a great time in Big Bear the other weekend. To see the full album, you can click here to see them. The kids were real fascinated by the snow and the cold weather. This was truly an awesome trip even though we had a minor mishap... well, Perci did anyway... but he's okay. Poor thing fractured/sprained his shoulder. I loved the dialogue that went on between Edgar and Bina when he told her that Perci was injured. Let me re-enact the scene:

Edgar: Um, Kimmy we want to let you know that Perci had an accident.

Bina: What happened?

Edgar: He fell and injured his shoulder during the lesson. They're not sure if it's dislocated or sprained but he's okay. Alex is with him right now.

Bina: Bahahahahahaha!

The medical peeps couldn't take a decent x-ray to see if it was fractured or not. (Maybe i should call Kim and Perci to see if he's doing okay.)

We also celebrated Manny's 34th Birthday! We all munched on some cake and ice cream after watching The 40 Year Old Virgin. Good Times!

You may be wondering "Dang Mel, you look tore up!". Man! I feel tore up (well not so much anymore). The first 3 months of pregnancy are a bitch i tell ya. Luckily, I have a daughter who helps me around the house and hold my hair back when i throw up in the toilet.

Happy Holidays!

Wow, what a great Christmas we had! Manny bought me a wonderful, up-to-date, 7.2 mega pixels camera. Now i reall don't have an excuse not to post up here. As you will see below, right when i opened the gift, i started clicking right away.

Here's the monster with her new Aquadoodle from her Lolo and Lola on Christmas Eve. Speaking of the monster, i have to share her Santa Claus phobia first. Santa made a surprise visit to Marley's Christmas Program. She was so gung-ho to see him and stood in line like a good girl wait to take a picture with him. Right when it was our turn.... SHE took a turn... for the worse. She completely freaked out and begged me and Manny not to go up to Santa. It was so sad, the chapel echoed with Marley screaming "NO! I DON'T LIKE SANTA! I DON'T WANT HIM!" She was the only one from the preschool who was not liking the big man in red. Still, Santa gave her a candy cane for her efforts... which didn't go well either cause the candy cane was too spicy for her and she spit it out on the floor.

After this obviously traumatizing experience with Santa, I tried to really explain to her what Christmas was all about. I told her about Jesus and how his birthday was coming up, and told her that we also celebrate his birthday by giving gifts to eachother. Then I tried to ease in the Santa part. As i was telling her that Santa comes to the house at night when we're asleep, I could see fear developing in her face. I quickly said "Gifts! He's bringing gifts!" A few nights later, she woke up saying she was scared cause she can hear Santa coming. Poor kid.

So Christmas eve came, and we tried not to mention Santa coming otherwise she'd never sleep. Besides, we had such a great time at the Maniquis House, and Santa was the last thing on her mind. The next morning I asked her if she wanted to see what Santa got her. She gave me this look of "i'll go and see the gifts, but he better not still be here or i'll kick your ass." So, as I carried her downstairs, she was happy to not see Santa, and even happier to see all the gifts for her. We checked the stocking to see what Santa put in there. A Dora Goes Around the World DVD! A Dora coloring book and Crayons! And what's that by the tree from Santa? A doggy Kennel set! Yay! Santa hooked it up! I asked her is she was thankful to Santa, and she said nodded her head up and down with a big smile on her face. So on her Aquadoodle, we wrote "THANK YOU SANTA!" and raised it up in the air so he can see it. So, at this point, our status with Santa is good, but i won't push it. Next year, i know it will be better.

Beside the whole Santa thing, Christmas was the best! Here's the monster with her new Princess get up. She loved it so much that she insisted on wearing it to breakfast with Grandma and Grandpa.

After breakfast, we got dressed up and went to Ninong Alfie and Ninang Amy's house for more food and gifts. We were only able to hang out for about an hour, but she got her fill fun times with the family.

We then hauled our cookies to San Diego. By this time we were beat. Manny said that hour drive only felt like 30 minutes.... which probably means he was a sleep half the time he was driving. When we got there, we couldn't even look at food cause we were full from eating all day already. Marley was ready to play with her cousins though... and that she did for the rest of Christmas day.

Baby Katrina playing with her daddy. Actually, this is a picture of Katrina's daddy, trying to stop her from jumping into the spa. I don't blame Katrina, the spa looked tempting.

The hugging bandits strike again... and again.... and again....

Here are MY lovely cousins. I remember playing with these girls when they were Marley's age. Dang i'm old.....

Order of the Phoenix

What will YOU be doing July 13, 2007? I know what i'll be doing.... i'll be at home hating all the people who are watching the Harry Potter-Order of the Phoenix movie. I hate fighting crowds...


But really! I can't wait till this movie comes out!!! Click here to see the good stuff.

What's this a photo of you might be asking? This a small group of students (my homies) who call themselves "Dumbledor's Army" A.K.A "D.A." While reading the book, i pictured them to be a little more bigger, and more intimidating. Whatever, they still kick ass.

Goodbye my love... Greg Wiggle

Geez, i'm upset. My secret love, Greg (Wiggle) Page, has officially stopped performing with The Wiggles. I'm attaching the article here that explains why he won't be with them any more.

I just wanna say that he will be very missed in the Manalo/Maniquis house holds (my parents are fairly attached to him as well). I'm not sure Marley will notice at all cause we have most of their DVD's and have almost every episode of The Wiggles on my parents TiVo. By the way, did you know he's only 34 years old? That's as old as Manny....

So, the next question is... who's replacing Greg? The "second fiddle's" name is Sam Moron.. i mean Moran. And yes, i am already bias against him. When Greg started to fall ill in the middle of the US tour, Sam took over his place so i guess he knows the drill. It just doesn't seem right though. If you know the lyrics to Big Red Car, you'll know what i mean.

"Sam is doing the driving

singing "Scooby doo wa"

blech, i already want to start boo-ing. So now let me introduce you to "Second Fiddle Sam".

Well, his hair's not as lush, but i guess he'll do. Now, if anything else happens to any other Wiggle, i may explode to a blubbering mess.

My little artist!

Yesterday the Lee-lai and I were coloring in her Dora coloring book (thanks to Uncle Tweeks and Auntie Joanne). As we were coloring, i notice my monster was drawing a picture.... an actual picture! She drew a circle, then 2 more circles for eyes, and a straight line for a mouth. I was all excited and started praising her..... and then she "shhushhed" me (yeah, she likes to keep me in check). Anyway, she proceeded to draw arms, and legs!!!! I was beyond words at this point. For those who don't know... i can't draw for schnazziez, so seeing this made me want to cry. I grabbed the camera and started snapping away.

Here is her first picture

Here, she's drawing her second person.

What's funny too (actually, it's kinda scary) is that i asked her who these people were, and she said they were people from upstairs. Hmm..... since we were home alone, i tried not to think too much of it.

Happy Birthday Mmmmmarley!

We had a good three days of celebrating Marley's birthday!

We first hit up the Aquarium in Long Beach with Little Famini. Alas, i forgot my camera. But i know Mama Famini took some real good pictures of the gals, and the birds taking advantage of me. We also were able to touch some sharks, stingrays, and fish that looked like Dori from Finding Nemo.

Next, we have Lee-lai's official birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese. Word of advise, if you're gonna have a Chuck E. Cheese party, 1. Have it on a weekday if possible cause there's no time limit on how long you can stay in your party area, 2. Bring hand wipes, and 3. If your kid is chicken-ni-ni when they see live characters, i.e. Mickey Mouse... then keep you kid at least 100 yards away from Chucky cause i have to admit, even I was a little creeped out by him. With this said, We had a blast!!!!

(more pictures to come...promise)

Then, for her official birthday, we went to Casa de Juarez for some Trick-Or-Treating. But first, i have a funny story. Before we left, some trick or treaters came by for some candy. When we opened the door, Marley saw one of the kids that had a skeleton mask on, and she screamed in utter fear! She then ran to the bathroom and slammed the door behind her. It all happened in a matter of seconds. Manny was like "where'd she go?" We were laughing so hard, poor lee-lai.
Anyway, Nina Mitor was the photographer of the evening, and she took some great pics of the crew. After i steal those from her..... i'll share those too.

Adios for now!

Happy Pumpkin Hunting!

All of a sudden the end of the year creeped up on us. We're just living life day by day, then we start to notice "hmm, it's starting to get darker earlier", and then, "hmm, the leaves are changing colors", and then we notice "hmm, Marley's getting taller.....Holy Cow! Her birthday's coming up!" Yep! Fall's here, and it's Halloween time again. How do we start the season off? By going to the Pumpkin Patch to buy dried mango's! But first.... let me share our farewell to summer photo.

And now, on with our trip to the Pumpkin Patch with Tia Chamina, and co-sin Means.

It's hard to believe that just the week before, it was cold and raining. This ALMOST felt like the hottest day of the year.

Lee-Lai and Papa trying to figure out where to start first.

The 2 diva's striking a pose.

Pumpkins as far and the eye can see!!!! Seriously, there was sooo many to choose from... it was great!

The main problem with picking a pumpkin is that "They're all dirty!" as Marley would put it.

Sadly, they saw the not so glamorous side of the patch .....

We had an excellent time! Next year we'll be more prepared with a wagon and gloves cause them vines were prickly!

I have no camera.....

Yes, i know i've neglected this site. It's mostly cause i'm a dork and left my camera in San Diego. Also, August was a busy month. I was able to steal some pictures from friends that i would like to share. It's not much, but here they are:

This picture was taken in Vegas for Ninong Alfie's birthday (Marley's Godfather and not pictured). He turned the big 3-0!

These are my loving girlfriends, minus one. We poured one for you Miriam!

Here's Lee-lai and her other beastly friend Xander. These little fools are just 2 weeks apart in age. His mom is the third girl from the right in the picutre above this one.

Lastly, I'd like to give a shout out to Melissa! Congrats girlfriend! May your child be as crazy as our kids!

Bellatrix Lestrange!

OMG! I just read that Helena Bonham Carter is gonna play Bellatrix Lestrange in the next Harry Potter movie! I absolutely lover her in all the movies she's been in and I don't think she gets recognized enough. I can't wait for the movie to come out!

Mitor's post

Mitor told me the funniest story today.
The 3 oldest spent the night at Shirley's house so Mitor had Joie all to herself in the morning. She brought Joie to the T.V. room so she can play, and then Mitor went back asleep on the couch. Joie then wakes her up and says "mommy, i go poo-poo". So Mitor takes her into her room to change her and all is well. They go back to living room so Joie can continue to play and again, Mitor fall back asleep. Joie then wakes her up again and says "mommy, i go poo-poo again". Mitor was like, wow, alright then. As they're walking into the bedroom, Mitor notices that Joie's shorts and diaper looks really big. So then Mitor props Joie on to the bed to change her. She takes off her shorts and notices that Joie's Pull-up still had the stars on it (side note: pull-ups have blue designes on them and then once the kid goes pee, the design dissapear). So Mitor takes off the Pull-up and there's another Pull-up underneath. So then took off that pull-up, and there was ANOTHER ONE underneath that one. Mitor totally starts to laugh as she takes that pull-up off and then finds yet ANOTHER pull-up. Joie had on a totall of 5 pull-ups underneath her shorts. It's amazing to think that Joie was able to take off her shorts, put on 4 pull-ups (over the one she already had on), and then was able to put her shorts back on. The word "Toddlers" should be renamed to "Crazy little people".

A new hair do

One of Marley and Brie's teachers braided the girls' hair the other day. Oh! I loved it! It looked soooo cute on her. They said it took 2 hours to do. I never thought my monster could sit for that long.

When taking them out, i was expecting a big poof ball of hair but instead she looked like a Mermaid. I wanted to keep it like this for at least the rest of the day but after she took a nap (she sweats a grip while sleeping), it was back to her natural curls.

Playing catch up

Now that Marley's older, it's a lot easier to take her places and have fun, fun, fun! I promised i would share pictures and here they are!


July 4th weekend

This was taken 4th of July at Millies'. We celebrated my birthday a little early this year since we had the familia already together.

And to celebrate the fireworks of 4th of July, we headed over to Huntington beach for the Buu family's annual party. Here a picture of my adopted family. Yes, i am close to each and everyone one of these persons. I think there are even a few missing....

Fun at the OC Fair!

Here's Lee-lai and papa at the petting zoo. Poor thing was trying so hard to appreciate the animals but the stink was just too much for her.

Lee-lai as a farmer. Here's a secret, Manny's holding her up in the back

so her head could fit the hole.

What's a visit to the Fair without riding some rides?.... old,.. rickity.. rides....

just kidding we had a blast!

Where have i been?

I'm here...

I've been trying to upload picutres galore but for whatever reason, it's not working. I need a computer of my own damn it.

Events that i will eventually share with you

-Beach time with tots (please refer to Chamina's site and Bina's site)
-4th of July with the homies
-Fun at the Orange County Fair!!!!

Scrapless book!

I finally got my first Heritage Makers book. It is soo cute! If you wanna take a sneak peak at it, go to the Heritage Makers website and go into the "browse project gallery" link. Next click on the "Search project gallery" link and then type in my first and last name into the "Author" section.
I'm now deciding on what my next project is going to be. I may have found a new addiction....

Super Star!

Dum da-da-da (fanfare)! My proud mama moment. Lee-lai and Brie had their first school performance. I'm so glad Miriam and I have the girls at the same school cause now we have even more moments to share together.


Marley is in the top row, 2nd kid from the right. If you get your magnifying glass out, you may be able to recognize her.



"Please, no autographs"



Familia pix moment. I think Marley gets her shyness from her dad.... you think?

More pictures to come!

Great fun with the familia

This past weekend was full of fun for Lee-lai.

First, we had Jill's birthday party on Saturday. Nina and Nino got a jumper for the party and boy was that a blessing! It keeps the kids busy, and brings down the sugar highs. Here are a few pics of the girly-girly event.



Here's Jill and her Girlfriends. Note the hula girl pinata.... yeah, that thing was huge and full of candy.


Here's Marley and Joie eating some "fruit salad....yummy, yummy" (I got to stop watching The Wiggles).



Here's that blessed jumper I was talking about. I have to admit that I had my kicks in there too.


"I wanna slide.. just... one.... more...zzzzzzzzzz"

The next day, we had Chamina's birthday at the Zoo! Thank you Chamina and Kimay for providing beautiful pictures. I'm such a bad mom for forgetting to bring a camera.


Hippo Birdie Baby Famini!


Marley with cutie Katrina. Lee-lai loves people that are smaller than her. She's the baby hugging bandit.


Chismosas in the making!



Here are the girls with local gorillas.

Summer's here!

Yay! We've already been swimming everyday here at Lolo and Lola's house. Sadly, i haven't taken any pictures but we have a whole summer ahead of us to go crazy with the pix taking. Lee-lai is already 2 shades darker than she was just a month ago.
My new project i'm working on is the Heritage Makers album. This has taken up most of my down time. I've actually been neglecting Myspace which I'm pathetically addicted to. Anyhow, i forgot what a sio-pow head Lee-lai use to be... let me remind you.

It's like her skin can't contain her face.

Happy Mother's day to the strong mothers out there!

I hope all you lovely mom's (and dad's who also take the roll as mom) had a wonderful Mother's day. One of our bestest friends, Mike, sent this silly pic to me and the caption he attached to it was "MOMMY..... a childs word for God." I have no idea when or where this picture was taken but I love it!
As for my Mother's day, I spent it mostly at home with a fever .... sucks to be me, I know. I later took tylenol to repress any symptoms of illness and headed over to my mom's house. Even though I only live .06 of a mile away, the Tylenol only lasted long enough for me to get there, play slide (the hand clapping game) with the Mitor's kids, and feed Marley. The rest of the time I slept in a dark room. Being sick totally stinks!

Where a kid can be a kid!

We has so much fun at Chuck E Cheese yesterday! I wanna share some pictures that Uncle Gabe took of Marley and Brie... or, as some people call them, Mel and Miriam part II.

We were actually surprised that they went in the tubes. Big bro Jonnie helped lead them around and shooed away the rough kids with smelly feet.

Okay, Miriam and I would never let the girls cheat in any game okay! This was obviously taken when their Papa's were watching them.

Yeah, here's the monster THROWING a skee ball. She has become one of those kids that use to bug me cause they wouldn't play the game right.

But at least Lee lai isn't the only annoying kid that throws skee balls!

We totally pigged out on pizza and all you can eat salad. Now that the girls are old enough, this is something we can probably do at least once a month!