Category Archives: Ramil

getting older

Posted on by
Reply

I can’t believe I’m old already. Specifically ten-years-after-high-school kind of old. Ramil and I will be attending our tenth year alumni homecoming later tonight and I’m still in a denial over the thought that it’s been ten years already. We haven’t seen even some of our close friends in a long while and I’m looking forward to catching up with them. Ramil and I are just debating whether to bring Mateo along. Although we both want to, we’re worried that the event might not be conducive for little kids like him so we’ll see. If he’s in a good mood later we just might bring him.

a more secured future

Posted on by
1
One of the things I am planning to get for Ramil and me are life insurance coverage, even if we only get term life insurance. Having worked in the insurance industry before, I know how important it is to have yourself covered. Now that we have Mateo with us, I feel the importance all the more. We would want to be sure that Mateo will be taken care of if something bad happens to us. Hopefully, we’d be able to get ourselves covered by next year. I just need to save more and to budget it.

no kids = bliss

Posted on by
Reply

There are no classes tomorrow!!! Yipee!!! I don’t think any number of exclamation marks can accurately express my giddy happiness upon learning of this great piece of news. Although teachers are still required to report for work, our official time tomorrow is from 8am to 2pm which is still so much better than a regular class day.

There are currently three teachers in our house: me, Ramil, and my sister. All three of us were working by checking test papers and doing lesson plans when we found out about the no classes announcement. We dropped everything that we were doing like a hot pancake and proceeded to do other things like watch tv, read a book, surf the net, and blog! :D

woe to the red car

Posted on by
Reply

For months now, we’ve barely used our beloved red car. At first, the car’s electrical system seems to be malfunctioning because we’d often find the battery drained of electricity even though it’s just a year old. Because of that, the car refused to start several times. So we didn’t use our red car for a long time. Good thing we have my dad’s Revo with us. After a few weeks, I took pity on her. Ramil and I took her batteries and brought it to a battery shop to have it charged. After that, the red car started without any hassle. What we resorted to doing is to remove the battery poles after every use of the car. Ramil and I would get weird looks everytime we’d open the hood, haha!

The strategy worked well unfortunately, the brakes started giving us problems last week. With the terrain here in the hills of Antipolo, a close-to-giving-out pair of brakes is not an option. We again decided to let her rest for some time because we don’t have the budget to get the car parts necessary to replace her brakes. Until now, she sits on the garage unused. I’m really anxious to do something about her. I’ve actually considered selling her. With the rising price of gasoline and her high cost of maintenance, it seems to be the reasonable thing to do. We’ll see, we get sentimental whenever we think of parting with her. She’s been with us through a lot of things and we have a lot of memories together. But she seems to be telling us that she wants a retirement already. Hopefully, we get to decide soon.

centennial date

Posted on by
4

Ramil and I celebrated our 100th month as a couple last July 7. We initially wanted to go for a vacation somewhere even if we just stay overnight. Since we’re both not fans of bringing luggage, not to mention our tight budget will not allow it, we’ve opted to have dinner at a small, quaint Swiss restaurant nearby called Vieux Chalet. We had fun especially since it’s been awhile since we went out on a real date. The food was a bit expensive but it was worth it because it was really good. We had shrimp ravioli which costs around 400+ and is good for 3-4 persons.

This pasta dish was way better than what I was expecting. I was about to go for the safer Fettucine Alfredo but decided to be more daring and try their shrimp ravioli. I was so happy that we got to try it.

We also had beef tenderloin in mushroom sauce which was very pricey at 700+. Although the dish is good for 2-3 persons, it didn’t come with anything else except for a few leaves on the side. The sauce was really good, very similar to Razon’s sizzling bulalo sauce which Ramil and I love very much. I would have liked the beef to be more tender though.

For our drinks, we both ordered lemonglass cooler. It was a refreshing, cool drink which we’re sure to order when we come back for another visit. Since we felt that we spent a lot already on that restaurant, we opted to have our dessert and coffee in a coffee shop on our way home. All in all, the date was a great one especially after a very long date hiatus. We only wish we could do this more often.

in defense of myself

Posted on by
2

Just a few weeks ago, I made one of the biggest decision I’ve ever made as a mother. It was a decision that I’m sure many mothers out there had to make. It was a decision that made my heart break into a million pieces. Looking back, it was a decision that was necessary and I hope the decision I made was what God wanted me to do.

I’ve officially left the ranks of stay-at-home-moms (SAHMs). Not that I was a 100% SAHM in the first place but I barely considered my 10-month stint as a part-time teacher a job. Nevertheless, I’m a 100% hands-on mom. Even Ramil, despite having a regular, full-time job, was a hands-on dad. Even before I gave birth, I knew I wanted to be the one taking care of my baby. When I gave birth last January 2007, it was natural for me not to go back to teaching anymore. It was just Mateo and me for five months. No yaya. No grandparents. No relatives.

The next schoolyear brought me out of being a full-time SAHM. I decided to try teaching part-time, not really for the money (though we need money too) but because I felt that I needed to go out of the house from time to time. So for 10 months, Mateo will be left with the yaya for three hours from Mondays to Thursdays. It was perfect for us. I get to do everything for him as a mama and yet I still get to enjoy what I like doing, teaching.

This year I was bent on teaching part-time again. However, a lot of math teachers from last year left and I was given a load that’s appropriate for a full-time teacher. Unlike last time when I would just be asked to report to school during times when I have classes, this year the principal asked five hours a day from me and was actually trying to persuade me to go full-time. Since five hours is a considerably long time, Ramil stepped in and told me to just choose between going full-time or staying at home altogether. Rather than a five-hour part-time work, might as well stay an additional three hours everyday and get the benefits of a full-time teacher if I decide to keep working. So we worked something out with the school. We’re allowed to bring Mateo and the yaya. Ramil and I have ‘shifting’ schedules – he starts real early and goes home early too while I start a bit late and goes home late too. That way, we get to limit Mateo’s time in school.

I prayed hard for it and tried to consider a lot of things. I ended up saying yes to a full-time teaching job. The day Ramil and I gave our answer was a day I think I will remember for a long time. I cried buckets that night and for many nights after. I wanted to go back and take back what I said. I cried for my time with Mateo that will be lost. I cried for all the things that I will not be able to do for him. I cried for all the things that I will not be able to teach him. It was a total guilt-trip, not to mention a not-so-mild case of separation anxiety. I kept asking Ramil whether we made the right decision or not. I asked him whether Mateo will be able to understand in his own way why everything has to change. Why I will not be able to spend time with him like I used to. Why he has to stay with somebody he doesn’t really know yet. Why we won’t get to do things like we used to.

If I was able to find somebody to handle my teaching load, I would have swallowed my pride and decency and quit as fast as I could. But I think it God wanted me to stay put because no replacement appeared no matter how hard I prayed. The whole thing from the dilemma to the way I felt about it might be too melodramatic for some people but if you’re a mother like me, you’d know what I mean.

There were only three things that will make me feel that we didn’t make a mistake with our decision. These are Mateo’s health, development, and behavior. Unfortunately, after a week of going to school with us, his amoebiasis recurred. It was good that Ramil and I were able to act quickly so he only had diarrhea for two days. He’s still undergoing medication right now but he’s on his way to total recovery. We only hope that this time, we totally eliminate the amoeba. One thing that I think won’t suffer is his development. He still gets to interact with a lot of people so his mind is also continually stimulated. He’s also been given permission to sit-in with the toddler class so he’d surely learn a lot of things. I’m also particularly concerned with his behavior. Mateo has a tendency to be strongheaded and I’m afraid that if I lessen my presence then I lessen my authority too. So far, I haven’t seen anything that would indicate that he’s negatively affected with the arrangements we’ve made. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

Right now, I’m just letting go and letting God. I’m a believer of karma too and I believe that taking good care of my other kids (my students) and loving them would make sure that Mateo gets the same from his yaya and from other people around him. I know he understands. I actually tried explaining it to him even before I committed to a full-time job. Everything is going great right now, we’re very lucky to find a yaya who’s good with him. I still get that guilty feeling every now and then though, I just need to remember that Ramil and I are doing as much as we can right now.

So is this post in defense of myself? To myself, yes. I just have to read this again when guilt strikes.

celebrating our centennial

Posted on by
Reply

Ramil and I will be celebrating our centennial monthsary on Monday, July 7. It’s been 100 months since we officially became boyfriend-girlfriend. Ever since we had Mateo, we don’t really celebrate our monthsaries anymore. However, we wanted to make an exception for our 100th month. Since we won’t be able to celebrate our centennial anniversary anyway because we’ll both be long dead by then, might as well take the next best 100th.

To commemorate the day we committed to each other, Ramil and I have started a new blog. We already have our respective blogs and we thought of starting a new one, a shared one. Hopefully, we get to update it more often than our own blogs.

Despite our plans to make an exception for our 100th monthsary, a dinner at Vieux Chalet is enough for us. It’s already such a treat considering that we barely had any real date with Mateo around. So on Monday, we’ll leave Mateo with his yaya and my sister. I’m thinking of planning something more but I have to see if we could still afford it. Haha!

an insured future

Posted on by
Reply

Ramil and I have long been planning to get some life insurance quotes from some agents we know. Since I used to work in the insurance industry, I fully understand how important it is to have insurance. Now that we have Mateo, the need for it seems all the more glaring to us. When it was just the two of us, Ramil and I lazily put off getting ourselves insured. When we became parents however, Mateo’s future became too important to put off. Hopefully, we get to follow through with this plan of ours soon.

shoe shopping

Posted on by
Reply

I haven’t bought myself good shoes in a long time. Last week, I bought a pair of white jelly shoes for only 79.50 pesos at SM Hypermarket. To say that I bought it because of the price is quite right. Hehe! They feel as comfortable as Dansko shoes but barely made a dent in my budget. But for the longest time, I’ve been wanting to buy a good pair of running shoes. So when I learned of the Adidas and Nike Clearance Sale in Megamall’s Megatrade Hall this weekend, Ramil and I were more than eager to go. He was able to get himself a comfortable, blue and white running shoes for only 1695 pesos. I think the original price was around 3000 and was on sale at 40% off. He liked it so much that while having our lunch, he decided to put it on and wear it for the rest of the day. I, on the otherhand, was able to buy a nice pair of green and gray Nike Free running shoes for only 2000 pesos! The original price was around 4000 pesos and I got it at 50% off. I also bought a Nike yoga mat for only 500 pesos (50% off). I wanted to buy Mateo his first Nike shoes too. Unfortunately, nothing for him was on sale. Our purchases hurt our budget real badly and we’re going to need to forgo a lot of things in the next month so we can pay for our purchases. Nevertheless, we went home happy shoe shoppers. :)

the husband (& wife) tag

Posted on by
6

Got this cute tag from Mai. I had fun answering this. Hehe!

1. How long did you date?
Hmmm, if my memory serves me right, our first date was a movie at SM North sometime February 2000. Nope, it wasn’t a valentine date. We’re both not valentine people. Grabe, I can’t even remember the title of the movie. Haha! :D

2. How old is he?
Just turned 27 last April 24.

3. Who eats more?
No contest, he does.

4. Who said “I love you” first?
He did. I can’t remember the date but it was a Tuesday.

5. Who is taller?
He is, by a mere inch. Haha! Good thing I hate high-heels.

6. Who sings better?
Ask anyone who’s heard him sing and they’ll say that he’s a good singer.

7. Who is smarter?

Hmmm, this one needs a lot of thinking… Haha! I’d say I’m smarter but I’m sure he’d say he’s smarter. I guess it’s safe to say that I’m glad I married someone who’s at least as smart as me ;)

8. Whose temper is worse?
During my sister’s speech/message on our wedding day, she said something like ‘… ate, ikaw ha… kasi pag galit ka galit lahat e…’ I’m a scorpio, he’s a taurus. Anybody who’s familiar with zodiacs would get the picture, hehe!

9.  Who does the laundry?
When we were newly married, he used to do the laundry. Then we thought that since there’s only the two of us, why not bring it to a nearby laundry shop. Then a few weeks before I gave birth, I decided to stop going to school and teaching. Doing the laundry was good exercise for me then since I’d do squats. When we got a household helper, we finally got rid of this chore. Haha!

10. Who does the dishes?
Our rule used to be… ‘if one cooks, the other does the dishes’. Again, when we got a household helper, we got rid of another chore.

 11. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed?
Me.

12. Who pays the bills?
I do but I get the money from him.

13. Who cooks dinner?
Most of the time, I do the cooking.

14. Who drives when you are together?
He’s the driver.

15. Who is more stubborn?
I guess we both have our ways of being stubborn.

16. Who kissed who first?
I’d say him but I also think it was something that just happened.

17. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong?
Please see number 15. LOL.

18. Whose parents do you see the most?
Mine.

19. Who proposed?
He did.

20. Who is more sensitive?
Definitely me.

21. Who has more friends?
Since we’ve been friends since grade school, through high school and college, and we also teach at the same school now, we have the same set of friends. So I guess it’s a tie.

22. Who has more siblings?
I do, a sister and a brother. He has only one brother.

23. Who wears the pants in the family?
He does but I like to borrow it sometimes, LOL.

I had fun answering this tag. Feel free to snag it if you want ;)