Extreme Makeover Playhouse Edition

When mom and dad were in Bangkok, Aly would have quiet discussions with her lolo Bernie (she's really a lolo's girl).  Turns out, she was asking lolo to build her a playhouse (complete with drawing pa!) so that when she comes home to the Philippines, she will have something to play with.  We all know how lolo Bernie can't say no to his unica apo so when we arrived, we saw this:

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A playhouse made with love.  Dad used an old tv box, scraps of metal from his shop and other stuff that he had lying around the house.

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Syempre, the picky princess wasn't satisfied yet kasi hindi masyadong pink yung bahay nya so off we went to National Bookstore to buy pink cartolina and gift wrapper, to pimp up the playhouse.  Our original plan was to paint the house but it turns out, you can't buy pink paint straight off the shelves.  Special mix pa pala yun.  Plus, it will take longer for paint to dry so we opted for cartolina instead.  It's safer for kids, cheaper and doesn't require any drying time.  We used the gift wrapper as wall paper.

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Pink cartolina + white glue = pink playhouse!

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But I still wasn't happy with the plain pink so I got a black marker and drew "bricks".

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Pink cartolina + black marker = pink brick house!

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With the happy little bunny inside :)

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Aly's crib.  Heehee!  Lola Aple made the lovely curtains, by the way.  Thank you, lola! 

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I love the ribbon detail.  So girly!

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This is how the inside looks like.

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I made a "chandelier" using old art materials (leftovers from our wedding in 2007 pa!) that I found in my room.

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The wall paper.

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This detail is inspired by the Extreme Makeover Home Edition series (Aly's a big fan and she would watch several episodes in one sitting!):  a pretend window.  I created it mainly because I was running out of gift wrapper and cartolina, but it turned out to be a nice touch to the house.  I printed out a photo of the view from our apartment in BKK.  Sosyal ng playhouse dba?  May city view -- right in the middle of a garden in Tagaytay!

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Lolo Bernie really took time to create the metal framework for the house.

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Happy homeowner!

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We spent the afternoon there reading magazines.

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This is a great place to hang out!

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She loves it here!

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Getting sleepy!

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Great for siesta too!

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Thank you, lolo Bernie and lola Aple for my playhouse!  It's the best playhouse ever!  I love you both!

A Quick Update

I am sitting comfortably in my old room at my parents' house in Tagaytay as I type.  It's great to be home :)  I miss the hubby, though -- big time!  I'm counting the days when he will be flying over to join us. 

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Our welcome fruit basket and the bag of Aly's meds.

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We received our welcome fruit basket a couple of days ago, which means we are now officially residents of our new old apartment, as far as management is concerned.  It also means the grueling move is finally over.  Goodbye to endless hours of packing, unpacking, wiping, dusting, arranging and rearranging!  I have a couple of to-do's left, though, to make our new old apartment truly Casa Valdez, but it can all wait when we get back.

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With barely enough time to relax, I was busy again preparing for our trip.  It has been my ritual to do the laundry and ironing before going on a trip.  I didn't want to leave the house with hampers full of dirty clothes.  I also make sure that there's enough food for the hubby because I know that he won't have time for trips to the supermarket.  

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I also left a list of to-do's for the hubby -- you know how husbands can get when the wife is not around to do things for them or to remind them in person, right?  Heehee!

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I taped it near the computer because that's the spot where I know he won't miss it. 

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Gosh, a mother/housewife's job truly never ends!  Maybe moreso if you're OCD like me.  I was kinda adamant about leaving but letting Aly spend her summer break here in the Philippines was a great decision because mom and dad have a big yard so I can let my little bunny run free.  For this vacation, I'm going to let my Aly get down and dirty (ok, maybe not too dirty!) so she can explore the outdoors (or at least my mom's garden), interact with pets -- anything to get her away from the computer and tv!  More about that as the days go by.   

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I wasn't able to get my mani-pedi and massage too so that's on top of my to-do's but that's really not much of a problem here because mom has a manicurista and masahista who does home service -- at a fraction of BKK prices!  I can't wait! 

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Another piece of good news: Aly's fever is gone!  Yay!  Thank goodness for that.  She still has to finish her antibiotics, though.  But that's easy peasy.  The most important thing is no more fever.

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The last couple of days were ker-razy!  The entire family was exhausted but we all survived.  Most importantly, we all came out happy.  That said, I'd like to leave you with photos of the cutest little assistant ever.

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Aly decorating our ref with our magnet collection.  I'm grateful that my girl is big enough to help me with chores such as this and unpacking our wineglasses.  Small as they may seem, they were a big help to me.

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P.S now that Aly and I are on vacay, please bear with me if I don't post as often.  We'll be busy spending time with friends and family :) 

Our New Old Apartment

We're almost done with our move.  We cleared out all the other rooms except for the master bedroom and both bathrooms.  With the load of work that we were able to accomplish yesterday, I expect to finish everything today, which is good because today is really my deadline.  I want to have a few days to rest before I start packing again for our trip.  
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Moving is not easy, I tell ya!  I worked all day yesterday but there were still loads of stuff left to pack.  We were only able to speed things up when the hubby arrived from work -- he was just amazing!  He did like twice the amount of work I did all day.  Pagod pa sa trabaho yan ha.  I have a super hubby.  Hehe!

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Anyway, I don't want to bore you anymore with the moving and packing drama.  Allow me to give you a sneak peek at our new old apartment -- it's new old because it's our old apartment (the one that we had the day we landed here in BKK) that's been newly renovated.

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I love the gray walls in the living room!

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Richard's really excited about the bigger tv.  He can't wait to set-up his entertainment stuff.

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Aly's room.  We love the backlit artwork thingy.

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The little boss loves her new room!

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She loves her flat screen tv too! 

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The master bedroom.  Nothing much has changed really, except for the backlit art thingy and the carpet.

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We're getting a flat screen tv too!  Yay! 

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Can't wait to move in!

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The dining area has a smaller table with a marble top and newly upholstered chairs also in gray.

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Lookie!  A REAL oven in the kitchen!  Woohoo!!  My hardworking oven can finally get some RnR.  Haha!

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This will serve as our home office.

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And my favorite part?

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Is this!

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A full-length mirror!  Finally!  I can't wait to prettify this small space.  This part of the house is MINE!  Haha!

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Even the elevators have a new look. 

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Two things that I love about our new old apartment are #1 the new color scheme.  I love that it's gray.  If you've been reading this blog for quite awhile, you'll know that I love black and gray.  #2 the full-length mirror, obviously :)  Now I don't have to bug the hubby to buy me one.  Haha!

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Best of all, we're getting all these for free!  We're getting a new apartment, pimped up with all the trimmings, and we didn't spend a single peso -- ok, in this case baht.  Heehee!  This place is not really ours, though, because we're just renting it out.  But still!  This place will be our home for the rest of the year and I get really excited with new stuff!  Can't wait to have friends and family over :)

  

It's On

My babies are packed and ready to move.

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So the move is officially on.  I spoke to our SA this morning for final instructions and to reconfirm.  The first thing I packed were the two B's: books and bags.  Heehee!  I spent the day emptying cupboards and packing stuff into boxes.  I'm done with the entire living room and almost halfway through the kitchen.  

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Now I'm taking a break because I'm pooped!  I need to save some energy for family time.  We're going to check the apartment tonight when Richard arrives from work.  I also need to figure out what goes where because the layout of the new unit is slightly different from our current one.

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So much to do with so little time!  I know I can do this!  God help me!  

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I am soo booking a 90-minute aromatherapy massage at the end of the week!

Richard's Birthday!

Lunch at Orchard in Paradise Park

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I'm back sooner than I thought!  This day is too special, I can't let it pass without saying something :)

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It's my man's birthday today!  But unlike me, the hubby doesn't want to make a big deal out of his birthday.  I've been bugging him since April with what he wants for his birthday but he would always tell me he doesn't want anything.  I ought to be ashamed because I always start window shopping for my birthday gift at least a month before the big day.  And whatever the occasion may be, if he would ask me on the spot what gift I want, I can easily enumerate three or five things on my wishlist.  Haha!  Anyway...

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I got frustrated with this gift issue thing a couple of days back -- he doesn't want to tell me what he wants and I just can't let his birthday pass without giving him something! -- I almost ran off to Central Chidlom to buy him a new watch.  Good thing I received his text message before I left the house.  He finally gave me a wishlist but he wants for us to shop together.  Sige na nga :)

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So what's the moral of the story?  #1 I'm not ashamed for being more materialistic than the hubby.  That's how I roll and I'd like to believe that he has long accepted the fact that he married someone who loves to shop.  Hahaha!  #2 Don't ask the hubby anymore for a wishlist because he won't give you any (unless you twist his arm!).  So if you really want to buy him a present, get something that you can eventually borrow so it won't go to waste in case he loses interest later on.  Heehee!

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But seriously, one of the things that I love about him is that he always tells me that he doesn't need anything else because he has me and Aly.  I hate to admit it, but I didn't really buy it.  But now I do because it's ok for him not to have any gifts for his birthday/Father's day/Christmas, but when it comes to me and Aly, he will NEVER hesitate, no matter what the price (ok, maybe not something that will completely wipe out our bank account).  He's that kind of family man.  Aly and I are very lucky to have him.  We love you, sweetie!

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Lord, thank you for Richard's birthday.  I pray that he will have good health, more years and more blessings to come.

Will Be Back Soon

Dear friends and family,
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Sorry for my absence but in the past weeks, I've been busy with this:
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Dinner at Soi Polo Chicken with my sister Angel, dad, mom and tita Papot.

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We had two wonderful weeks together but it seemed to go by too fast.  Nevertheless, we'll be seeing them again soon because Aly and I will be flying to Manila for her summer vacation.  
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So along with the big girl on summer break and getting ready for our trip, there's Father's Day, Richard's birthday and moving back to our old apartment.  Now here's the best part: all these have to be done in one week!!  Yikes!  So please bear with the lack of posts and updates because the Valdezes are busier than ever.

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Thanks for your patience :)  I'll be back soon.  Gtg, the hubby and daughter are starting to wake up, I think.

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Toodles!