Family Portrait Cake

I celebrated my birthday last January 12 (Thursday) with a simple dinner at home with family and relatives. Hubby and I also celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary on that day. Time indeed flies so fast for it seems like yesterday when we tried to slice our cake together...

Our bittersweet 10 years was blessed with 2 beautiful kids, Chloe and Zoe. They were the precious gifts that I received from God♥

On my birthday, I only wish to have a beautiful cake so I contacted my baker friend, Zen of Isabel's Confections. My mom used to buy me cakes at Goldilocks but this time, I told her that a friend will make me a personalized cake. However, she still bought a small cake as per Chloe's instructions (shakes head)...

Going back to Zen, I only asked her 2 days prior to my birthday and glad that she accepted it. We came up with a photocake and I was so happy with the result! See pics below:

An Edible Family Portrait Cake
Butter Cake , Boiled Icing ,Gumpaste Decor
by: Zen of isabelsconfections.tumbler.com

Another angle of the cake... To let you know, Red is my favorite color :-)

Chloe made a heart ♥ shape... Our Family picture (I'm wearing the PMC shirt)

The family that blows the candle together, stays together ;-)

Linking this post to Yummy Sunday by:

Happy Birthday Mama Mary!

Chloe's school is named St. Mary's so she very well knew the feast of her school. Today, it's Mama Mary's Birthday and my little girl made a sketch this morning and here it goes:

As Catholic, it's our practice to go to church on this day but I haven't done that in years for I can't leave my kids without someone taking care of them. I don't want to tag them along also as there are many people inside the church so I just stay home and offer a simple prayer.

Anyway, Chloe's school is also celebrating her birthday today so they have no class. Actually, she has no class for 1 week as it's also their foundation day. She will just go to school tomorrow for their field demonstration.

Well, let me end this post by saying, Happy Birthday Mama Mary!

Birthday Girls

My 2 daughters Chloe and Zoe are both July babies. Chloe was born on July 18 and Zoe on July 12.

Chloe used to have parties every birthday but after her 7th bday, I told her that she will have a simple birthday when she turned 8. I let her understand that she will give way to her baby sister. Glad to say that she understood but told me she will help plan the party for her sister.

Anyways, Zoe had her birthday party on a weekend so that many people could join. She had a Tinkerbell-themed party wherein she wore the costume of the pixie fairy. I had her cake made from a friend and I was so satisfied with the result.

Prior to her party, I was the one making her invitation cards, prepared her lootbags, pabitin and piñata but I just contacted a party organizer for the mascot, host, games and magician. We celebrated Zoe's birthday in a hotel and decided to stay there overnight for they were offering a 50% off discount...besides, the baby needs to rest also..

Chloe, Me and Zoe

Chloe as Silvermist and Zoe as Tinkerbell

A day after the party: Zoe happy in her dad's arms and Chloe swimming at the pool with daddy.

Since Chloe's birthday falls on a Monday, she had a McDonald's snacks for her Classmates and Teachers at school. After I picked her up at lunchtime, I brought her to San Augustine Cathedral to pray and light a candle. In the afternoon, I bought Chloe a pizza, as she requested, and a cutie glee cake with candle for her to blow. And even though it was that simple, she was very happy and I think that's what mattered most.

I'll surely miss these moments in my children's life. I can still vividly recall carrying Chloe before putting her down to sleep, changed her diapers and feed her in a bottle. And I just can't believe that 8 years had passed. I'm now savoring the moment with Zoe for time flies so fast I might miss something...

Anyway, every time my daughters celebrated their birthdays, it also makes me reflective. I often asked, what are we doing to improve ourselves? But there are lots of opportunities in the world and one of them is online education. I have tried to Check out
GuidetoOnlineSchools.com and somehow it's inspiring. I hope my girls never stop learning and should they continue to take up for any online masters degrees, they will always have my support. After all, knowledge would be the best gift.

Happy 1st Birthday Zoe!

Today, July 12, 2011, is my baby Zoe's 1st Birthday.
We just stayed home for we will be celebrating her birthday this weekend.
How time flies so fast. It seems like I just gave birth to her yesterday.

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY, ZOE YSABELLA!

Teddy bears and seas of blue
Smiling in honor of you
An infant, not long ago
Now, one candle is aglow
You are growing up so fast
How quickly a year has passed
You are special, sweet, and wise
A present before our eyes.

For a year, I’ve watched you shine
An angel I can call mine
Sent from Heaven, just for me
Filled with hope and dignity
A blessing, now and always
You brighten all of my days
Precious child, I love you so
More than anyone could know.

Baby’s breath and sun-filled skies
Ladybugs and lullabies
Starry nights and bright moonbeams
Tender hearts and lasting dreams
Each, a gift within your view
During this time, made for you
May only good things come your way
On this, your very first birthday.

(Jill Eisnaugle’s Poetry Collection)

Our first family portrait with baby Zoe this time

Nostalgia: High School Life

One of my turning points in life was when I officially became a teenager! In this picture, I just turned 13 and I had a happy celebration with my 1st-year classmates/barkadas at home. My mom prepared snacks for us and a cake with candles for me to blow.

This picture was taken at the lawn outside our house in Butuan City. We stayed there for 3 years and then left for good to Cagayan de Oro City. I still miss this place for the people there were nice to me :-)

And oh, if you have a hard time looking for me at this pic, I'm the one with long hair and grinning from ear to ear =)

My entry for:

Preparing Zoe's Birthday

Baby Zoe will turn 1 year old in less than 2 months and I haven't think on what to do with her 1st birthday. I still have to look for a good venue and what will be her theme. And just like with my eldest daughter before, I want to be the one who will make birthday invitations for Zoe. I hope I will have everything ready end of the week by next month.

Happy Birthday Glenn!

It's my husband Glenn's birthday today. He's turning a year older and I pray that he will be blessed more. I pray most especially for his health and may he be more successful in his work. Happy birthday Glenn! ~ Love, Cookie, Chloe and Baby Zoe (",)

Glenn and then 3-yr-old Chloe

Unique Birthday Gift

When my mom turned 60 years old a few years ago, I remember we celebrated with her at her home and I gave her a simple birthday cake. I couldn't think of anything else to give but right now, there are plenty of things to choose from and is even available online. There are so many beautiful sixtieth birthday gifts for her to give... but I guess I still can give some of these items on her coming birthday, after all, she's still in her 60's.

Triple Celebration

Yesterday, January 12, was my birthday, our 9th wedding anniversary and Zoe turned 6 months old. We had a small celebration at home, attended by family members only. Below is our family pic, with Chloe who was wearing her Hannah Montana wig =)

And here's a picture of me and Baby Zoe (",)

Chloe's 7th Birthday

Last July 18, 2010, Chloe celebrated her 7th birthday. But weeks before, I told her that she will have a simple birthday because I was already scheduled to give birth via C/S on July 12. Chloe's birthday in previous years were mostly held either at school or at the hotel, and sometimes, we hire a mascot to complete the program. But this time, I let her understand that it will be different. She agreed to celebrate it at our home but she made sure that she will have Lechon, invite some friends and she will have a Hannah Montana-theme party (whaaaat?!!). Good thing that my mom, who was about to come home from the US, was able to buy her a wig. My in laws don't want Chloe to feel inferior also, especially that she's going to have a baby sister, decided to take care of the food. My brother, who works at Coca-cola, took care of the drinks, my mom for the cake and my sister-in-law, Bogie, took charge of the invitations, programs and prizes for the kids. God bless them all! I was left only to arrange our place and entertain the visitors, hehehe =)
Below are some of the pics taken during her b-day:

Chloe Montana strikes a pose!

Chloe's yummy cake

Chloe's friends, cousins and neighbors in their funny pose :p

Happy Birthday Chloe!

Just wanna greet Chloe a happy 7th birthday today. We're going to celebrate it at home this afternoon. Her Tita Bogie made the invitation card that looks like this.

I hope she will have fun this afternoon as I can't give much of my time for her coz I'll be watching over the baby.

To Chloe, happy birthday my love. You will always be a princess in my eyes. I'm proud of you and I'll always pray for your happiness, for good health and that you will be guided to the right path. Your dad and I are always thankful that you came to our lives!

8 Years and Counting...

Yesterday, my husband & I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary. It was also my birthday. We decided to celebrate because we also want to thank that we now have a place to live, hehe.. I've mentioned before that we are going to transfer to a new residence and finally, we moved to this place just last January 1, 2010. We lived in an apartment before at the heart of the city. The place may be accessible but it's not safe for my daughter to play outside the house. And we kept closing our windows and doors so that the dust outside will not get inside our house. This time, our place is child friendly and at last I can breathe some fresh air :-) The house is also twice bigger than the old one.

Our new residence is not actually a new house but we have it repainted and did some renovation/plumming. This is actually owned by my father-in-law but he wanted us to stay here. He said this house will be eventually inherited by his children. He had this house rented prior to us and now he wanted us to maintain this. So very kind of him. Now, we have a place to live, hehehe..About our old place? It was also owned by my FIL and his siblings but it's now sold.

Going back to our celebration, only relatives and few friends came over to our house to join us for dinner. Some of them brought food, too, so we only prepared less, hehe. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank my dear friend, Amy. She posted at her site her birthday/anniversary greeting for me. I was terribly touched and teary-eyed upon reading it. It's true we were not really that super close but we've always maintained our friendship and managed to keep in touch. She is a rare kind & she's a friend worth keeping for. What I love about Amy is that she always has time to listen to my woes and a secret is always safe with her. No wonder she is blessed and I pray that she will always be. Again, thank you, Amy. You don't know how grateful I am & thankful of your friendship.

I hope to be active in blogging again. It's just that I am still adjusting to our new place and some other things. I'll just share it soon ;-) But I am totally grateful for all my other blogger friends who drop by in here and took their time to comment or say hello. I owe you a lot of visits. Don't worry, you're all in my thoughts and will visit your blogs one of these days...

Yummy Sunday: Birthday Cake

Another week, another entry. Thank you Bogie of Perfectly Blended for inviting me again. My Yummy Sunday entry is my daughter's Birthday Cake. Her 6th birthday was themed after Disney's Tinker Bell so obviously, Chloe dressed herself up like her favorite tiny fairy. The flavor of this cake was a combination of mocha and choco moist and the taste was really superb! Until now, I still crave for this cake, hehehe...

Blowing the candle of her Tinker Belle Cake (plus the puto on the side was yummy, too :D)

More Birthday Pictures

I forgot to post in my blog some of Chloe's pictures taken during her 6th birthday last July. Although I posted a lot of pics on her blog (My Girl), these pictures were not posted in there, especially with me on it, hehehe...

The Birthday Girl... and the Belles or Cat Women? hehehe


Mi Familia and my photo op :D

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today, May 12, is my Mom's birthday. I want to thank her of so many things... Actually, I can't thank her enough of the things she has done for me and my brothers. She's always there to guide and protect us. Despite our shortcomings, she's still there, waiting for us and with open arms, accepted us.

Anyway, thank you, Mommy, for everything. I know I am not a perfect daughter but I have always loved and respected you. I know my brothers feel the same way, too, and we thank the Lord for giving us a mother like you. You are a blessing to us. Thank you also for your generosity and understanding. We pray that the Lord will give you more years to celebrate as we want to spend more time with you. And today, we wish you good health, more blessings to come and may you have a happy and memorable birthday today! We Love You!

From: Cookie, Glenn & Chloe
Tonypet & Bogie
Kenneth, Anna & Clark

Cherished Mother Every day since I was born,
My mother cared for me.
Now that’s a lot of caring,
As anyone can see. Please, Lord, protect my mother,
And keep her safe from harm,
For she is a cherished person,
With great wisdom, love and charm. Lord, it’s my mother’s birthday
So please, help her to see
Just how much she means to us,
Her loving family. By Karl Fuchs

Happy Birthday, Glenn!

Today is my husband's birthday. I wish him all the best, all the happiness and all the love in this world. I wish that we grow old together and see our daughter grow up, finish her studies, land a good job and have her own life to live and decide...

Anyway, my husband celebrated his birthday at home with our immediate families. At first, we were planning to have a simple dinner at a restaurant, just the three of us, but was changed. He decided to celebrate it with our families - because that was always been the tradition - and I wanna celebrate, too, because I just ended my 3 month training at the hospital. Don't get me wrong, the experience I had at the O.R. was great...it's just that, the atmosphere is not healthy. I'll just share it later because I'm suppose to blog about my husband's birthday here, hehe.

Well, the celebration was great and I think everybody was fully sated with the food (I hope they were). And now, my husband had fallen fast asleep because he's already very tired.

To my husband, Glenn, happy happy birthday!

Three-In-One

Wow! got so many awards/tags that I dunno if I can keep up with them. I really had a busy week and I so thank God that it's weekend once again - time to bond with my family...and update my blog, too ;) Anyway, here are the tags that I received from my beautiful friends.

1. What Do You Love About Your Husband was from the Hot Momma, Umma and dear blogger friend, Phebieluv. Salamat for this tag.

I have known my husband for 14 years. We've been lovers for 7 years and 2 months and we've been married for 7 years, too.

Just like Umma, I also love the way that we don't keep secrets..I love the way that we both know that no matter what is said in the heat of an argument no one's going anywhere! I love that he wants to be with me forever. Communication is the ingredient to solve every problem ;)

He supports me in everything I do, like when I decided to became a SAHM and when I also decided to become a nurse. He cheers on me, too.

He's my number FAN!! lol...

Even though Chloe is very close to me, whenever I asked hubby (I demanded at times, hehe) to look after Chloe when I go somewhere, he really did his best to provide all her needs.

He is very loyal to me, hehe.

After an argument, I appreciated it when he tried to extend his apology to me, even though at times I knew it was my fault.

2. Birthday Wish Award was from Madz, Donabel and Kaye. I had my birthday recently but I am still going to make a wish list (to be applied next year, hehe).

I can't think of 15 wishes but my very wish for my next birthday is to have a good health for me and my family and that we will be guided and be safe in everything and everywhere that we go and do.

The rules are...
1. Make a list of what you want on your birthday...
2. The list should be 15 numbers
3. Post the image of this award in your posting
4. Give it to 10 friends of yours.

3. The Pink Heart Tag was from dear friends, Cecile and Rose. Thank you so much for remembering me ;)
The 10 commandments are not a multiple choice.

Your mind is like a parachute...it functions only when open..
One thing you can give and still keep...is your word.
You lie the loudest when you lie to yourself
One thing you can't recycle is wasted time. Ideas won't work unless ' You' do.
The heaviest thing you can carry is a grudge.
Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.
A sharp tongue can cut your own throat.
If you want your dreams to come true, you mustn't oversleep.
Of all the things you wear, your expression is the most important.
The best vitamin for making friends..... B1.

Passing these awards to Kringle, Ane, Dharlz and all those on my bloglist.

Whatta Week!

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all those who dropped by and left comments on my site. Thanks also for your warm wishes on my birthday and on our wedding anniversary. Despite the fact that the weather was rather bad this week (it rained non-stop and parts of the town were flooded), it was really nice to hear from friends and your greetings were one of the best gifts I received that day. After I did my 8-hour duty at the hospital on Monday, I had a terrible migraine. When I arrived home, I took a shower and went straight to bed to rest. My mom bought me a cake (because Chloe was expecting a cake since she knew it was my birthday!) and my husband bought additional viands and we had a typical dinner at home. Actually, my husband and I decided to celebrate it on a weekend with both our families. But when Saturday came, due to some circumstances, we ended up having dinner in some restaurant with only the 3 of us ;)

A bouquet of flowers from hubby; A Birthday Cake from Chloe (courtesy of my mom ;p) & Chloe's greeting to her mom & dad

Chloe sang a Birthday Song to me! I love you very much, Chloe!

And here's the week-ender, the birth of my nephew, Clark Ken. It's my older brother Kenneth's 1st baby. I posted last December that my sister-in-law, Anna, was hospitalized but, thank God, she and the baby were safe. Last January 16, Anna gave birth via C/S since the amniotic fluid was already about 5cc. Anyway, what's important was they were both safe and the baby was perfectly healthy. Welcome to the world, baby Clark!

7 Year Itch :)

January 12 is our 7th Wedding Anniversary... and it's myBirthday, too! But I'll be working my butt off at the hospital, hehehe. Actually, I don't have any reason to complain, but rather so many reasons to be thankful for these past seven years. It's a long and winding road but I thank the Lord for the many blessings that He bestowed upon me and Glenn in our years of wedded bliss. I thank God for giving us a beautiful and very smart daughter, Chloe. I thank God for providing us with our needs and for surrounding us with supportive families and wonderful friends. And I also thank Him for giving me another year to celebrate my Birthday. However, I don't think we'll be celebrating the occasion on the exact day since both my hubby and I will be quite busy. Instead, we're planning on celebrating it on the weekend together with our families, but that would depend on our schedules, I guess. Or maybe, the 3 of us can have a small dinner together ~ which would be just fine by me ;)

Anyways, I'm posting below some of our wedding pictures taken seven years ago, plus some honeymoon pics and those taken during our 1st year together. For those who don't know our story yet, you can click here (if you're curious that is ~ hehehe). Glenn and I had been dating exclusively for 7 years before we tied the knot, and 7 years after, here we are, still going strong and counting :)

The Groom (with his brother & dad)... and the Bride

Scroll down below to view more pics ;)

Our Entourage


Bride or Debutante? (Hey, it was also my Birthday!)


The virgin beauty, hehehe


Honeymoon in Tagaytay

Tagaytay


First year together (Above and Below)


Our first Christmas (I was 2 mos. preggy!)


Finally, A Family!!!