WEEK 18: 28 - 29 april 2009

29 april 2009
bonjour!!
i hope you are feeling well. weather here on our side of the planet is not so good. it's cold again and i has been raining for the past couple of days. the kids don't have class today (they don't have class wednesdays...) and tomorrow is their last school day for the week. friday is a holiday!!! isabelle has fever so i don't think she will be going to school tomorrow.
after cleaning the house the whole afternoon(i kept my sewing machine because i finished my sewing project!!), i decided to finish a layout for a challenge at peppermint creatives (oh i love this site too!!!). so here is my page!!

see credits here:
Reading Time
nothing really special about today. i just took a picture of my kids eating popcorn. they were so excited when i told them i will be making some popcorn. (i don't make them very often...i don't know why?) so the minute i called them for popcorn, they all ran into the kitchen and digged in..hahaha.

28 april 2009
my little sweetie really curious with my sewing machine. it is still out because i need to finish the skirts (tutu) my friend needs for an event. and i have a couple of pants to shorten. while i was marking the pants, sofia sat on my chair and looked closely on my 'toy'.i think she is amazed with that little light. glad i captured this moment.

WEEK 18 : 27 april 2009

monday started very well for me. i received a very good news early this morning...i won a 5$ gc from weeds&wildflower photo challenge!!! i am so happy and i am saving it for the sale this coming weekend.
the kids were back to school... i missed them.
and i cut sofia's hair too!!! so now she and isabelle have the same hairstyle...
here she is!!

WEEK 17... continued

another wonderful week has passed!! indeed it was a wonderful week. i have more news about the 'moved' traffic lights, finished a couple of projects within the week and i think i have a future in hair-cutting!! if you want to know more about it...just read on.
to see a glimpse of how the week has been, here are my week 17 layouts. i made it on time for the incentive week in w&w!! more details for each picture as you go down this post.


26 april 2009
the kids were so excited to try this table tennis set that my dh bought the previous day (saturday). isabelle didn't get to play much because the table was too high for her. so nitz and rafael played most of the time. the table tennis net fits all kinds of table!! so here they were playing on our round 'expandable' table. (the middle panel of the table is not the same color because it is made of a different kind of wood). so even if it has rounded ends, they managed. i played a bit but since i had to finish something else, i left the playing to them. this picture is not really the actual game action. this was taken after the game(s). i asked them to pose for me and this was what they came up with...hehehe. i think it was funny because it seemed like my dh was trying to shoot the ball in rafael's mouth..hahaha.

so you might be wondering what i needed to do... i was finishing up these skirts (tutu) that my friend needed for an event. i had to make three!!! so since i took the sewing machine out already, i decide to cut my hubby's new pants...and some of my pants... and a coat. i only finished the skirts and a pair of pants that night. more sewing to do in the coming days.

25 april 2009
we visited CINEAQUA!! known to be the largest tank in France. it it 3,500 sqm loaded with 500 species, 3 cinemas and 10 giant screens. but when we visited, we just looked at the schools of fish. and guess who we tried to find?.... nemo!!! and the other casts of finding nemo. i love this picture of my kids standing in front of the big lit aquarium where you can just see their shadows. i didn't really enjoy the aquarium but i think my kids did. and seeing them enjoying is enough for me.

24 april 2009
a lot of things happened this day.
first and foremost... the 'moved' traffic lights!! so after those lights were moved, what is next? this was what i saw, they put signs on the road indicating that they increased the lanes on our side of the road. just a little up the road is the mirabeau bridge. and from the signages they put, they say there will be work done on the bridge (same side where they increased the lanes). since they will be closing one inner lane on the bridge, they had to make the necessary adjustment down here in front of our apartment. so i guess that is the whole story of the 'moved' traffic light. i hope i explained it well...hehehe. i will keep you posted if there will be any more interesting changes.

second for today is gardening. as you can see from the picture on the left, my plants all died during the winter. these plants were given to me by my malaysian friend. i actually adopted these plants because she had to move back to malaysia (her hubby's work in paris was done). when i got these plants they were blooming!! they said it might die when winter comes but they would grow back when spring comes. i tried cutting a stem and i saw that they were dried all the way down to the roots. so i decided to replace them. so i used up whatever gardening skills i have and tried to transfer new plants in the plant boxes. since i don't have any place to do all of this, i did it in my kitchen!! gosh what a mess!!! soil everywhere!! but i had to do it. i was happy when i finished. i accomplished something new. i just have to keep my fingers crossed...i really hope they grow and bloom.

last but not the least for today, i cut isabelle's hair!! now she has bangs!! how do you like her new look? i wanted to keep her hair away from her eyes so i guess bangs is the answer!!

WEEK 17

hello again!! its actually 12:05 am so t.g.i.f!!!!
finally is friday again... looking forward to another wonderful weekend! my kids spring vacation will be over, monday is the start of school again.
here is how my first half of the week went...
happy reading!

23 april 2009
today i saw something interesting happening just outside our window. some men were actually moving the traffic lights!!! i never thought they could lift the concrete base just like that. they first removed the traffic posts.. then tied the concrete base to a crane and moved them to the middle of the other side of the street. i really don't understand why they were doing that.... then i was guessing maybe they were just fixing some wiring and then they would put everything the way they were. but at the end of the day, they left the concrete base of the traffic post in the middle of the other side of the street and then fixed the traffice lights back. they covered the holes to level the street. hmmm... so that was it. is it permanent..? i assume not. til when will that be like that?.... i don't know. i will keep you posted.



22 april 2009
all winter clothes packed in the containers (i just need to bring them down to the basement). the house was (90%.... ) clean (with kids around i can never get the house perfectly clean and organized!!) and i felt too lazy to go out. so i just took a picture of my kids on our bed watching tv. of course when it was picture time, they sat together and put on their best smile... (i was actually hoping for a candid shot). i just love seeing them together...

21 april 2009
basically the whole of today is spent finalizing packing of clothes...and clearing up the itsy-bitsy-teeny-weeny stuff... (which actually eats up all my time!!!). good thing my two girls are having some quiet time drawing...

20 april 2009
what a monday... i had to take out all the winter clothes, sort, pack and store them... and get the spring/summer clothes and unpack, sort and put them in. i really dread this time of the year. anyway, early monday morning i had to run and buy some (more)containers for the clothes. rafael went with me (i can always use a translator!! hahaha). when we got to the store, i was happy to see that there was a 15% discount on your purchases if you have their loyalty card. so i was thinking i would get that card first before i pay for the stuff i needed. good thing rafael was with me to ask how we would do that. they handed us the application form and they told us which floor we shlould process it and that we could use it after. then they asked for some identification...i handed them my credit card(hmmm i just realized i don't have any id)... and they said it was not a valid identification (well, i had that feeling but still i tried). they asked for my passport (omg!! why would i bring my passport with me if i was just planning to buy some containers!! or should i be bringing it around...?gosh!!) in short, i didn't get to apply for the store's loyalty/frequent buyer card... and i didn't get the discount (grrrrrrrrrr!!!) i paid full price and went home to clear out the mess.
i just took a picture of my containers and the 'organized' part...the rest of the house was still a mess that time.

WEEK 16...continued!!

week 16 layout
since i have finished my layouts early...i want to share them with you!! these are my week 16 layouts.please continue reading and you will see the rest of week 16. thanks for looking!! happy reading!!


19 april 2009
to be honest, i dread this day when i need to keep the winter clothes (turtlenecks, sweatshirts, jackets, scarves....) and take out the spring and summer clothes. as you can see, i just started with my son's clothes and i am already having a headache. (i didn't take a picture of the rest of the house...it is a mess!!!!) how i wish i can just do an 'in and out' thing... winter clothes out, summer clothes in. but it is not that simple!!! i have to check if it will still fit the kids next winter... then sort them accordingly. i have to check if it is worth keeping to hand them down to someone...or just throw them. decisions...decisions..; decisions... well, enough complaining and just start sorting. wish me luck!!!

18 april 2009
as usual we do the grocery on saturdays... but this time we went to this big grocery story a bit far from our place, it is called carrefour. and the whole family went along...my mom-in-law, all the kids, my hubby and me. we got so much stuff that our cart is overflowing (i guess it is because some stuff to send to the philippines...). when the cashier rang everything, my husband was shocked because it reached €€€€ (i don't want to devulge the amount...hehehe but it is 3 times our usual weekly grocery hahaha). my hubby told us he will not bring us along again...hahaha. anyway, the best part of it was be bought strawberries and raspberries. i put them together, sprinkled some sugar and put whipped cream... so delicious!! the kids loved it!!

WEEK 16

17 april 2009
i love this taebo advance. let me give you a little bit of history here. i first saw billy blanks and his taebo workout on home tv shopping. and i ordered my copy from there... 9 years ago. i got a complete taebo workout from beginners to advance. after my first pregnancy, that helped me trim down. after doing it for a month (i think..) i stopped. i got into it again a year after when my niece (jake) moved back to the philippines. we did it together! i was really motivated. then we stopped again after a couple of weeks of doing it. another year passed and me and my niece decided to do it again! after 2 weeks of taebo we stopped again. since then i never worked out again. i lost my vcd copies. i think last year me and my niece talked about doing taebo again(she in the states and me here in paris) and i asked her if she could find a copy of the taebo advance. september last year she sent me the file. i have been meaning to start it then...but i have lots of excuses. so today i finally decided i will do it! if i cannot do it daily...at least every other day. my weight today is 49 kilos (107.8 pounds)!!!! my goal is to lose at least 10 pounds or just bring my weight to 100 pounds (and keep it there!!). so do you think i can do it???? now that i have posted this here i think it will be shameful if i will not do it. i will take it slow.... here is my target: lose half a kilo per week!! i will keep you posted....

16 april 2009
i really don't know if she is comfortable in that stroller but she loves sitting there! the seat is not strong enough to hold her, she is actually sitting on the bottom frame of the stroller. can you believe that there are times when she would try to buckle up?!!! it made me laugh the first time i saw her putting on the 'safety belt'...hahaha.

15 april 2009
i stayed up really late finishing the weekly layouts. i needed to post them so i could qualify for w&w incentives. (and just to let you know...i did qualify!!yipeee!!). it was half past twelve when i finished. my dh and dd were already fast asleep... and my dd was sleeping on my dh's arm!! isn't that really sweet! this is one thing i really appreciate about my dh, no matter how tiring his day is, he cuddles sofia til she falls asleep.... love seeing them like this. so before i went to bed, i took my camera to capture this moment.

14 april 2009
nowadays we leave some of our windows open because it is not that cold anymore. since our apartment is on a street corner, we hear the busy streets outside. i really don't mind the noise, it keeps me company actually believe it or not. but particularly today i was surprised by the music i heard from outside the apartment. at first i thought i was coming from a car (but it was old music i heard so i assumed an old man/woman driving his/her car with windows down and with music this loud...hmmmm not really!!!). so i looked out and tried to see where the music was coming from. then i saw 2 gentlemen playing horns! their music was beautiful!! then i saw some other people from the nearby apartments throwing coins. (our apartment is across the street so i can't just throw money...). i enjoyed the music...and i think it is a decent way of earning/asking for money.

13 april 2009
i love these pictures of my daughter feeding the sheep. i couldn't believe she was not scared at all!! i tried feeding it myself and i have to admit i had to pull my hand quick because i was scared it might bite me or something... but with my daughter, she just stood there with her palm open for the sheep to feed. i guess she doesn't know the concept of 'fear' yet.

... and Easter Monday!!

easter monday is a holiday here!! my dh has no work and for my children it is the start of their spring vacation (2 weeks of no school!! well actually after every 2 months of school they have 2 weeks of vacation). we were invited for lunch by our friend cecile who moved to her new apartment outside paris. it was a bit far but easy to find. she and than, her boyfriend, prepared a wonderful lunch for us. after lunch they took us to the park in that area. Parc de Sceaux is a large park (2 sq km) where the famous Chateau of Sceaux stands. it was a wonderful experience to walk around the park and feel nature.
here are our pictures!!

Easter Sunday....

what did we do last easter...? well, we didn't have easter egg hunt or any planned easter celebration actually. what is really important for us is to hear mass because Christ has risen from the dead!! we heard mass the night before so sunday we just spent time together. we decided to just eat out. we went to bistro roman at victor hugo. it was a beautiful day and it was perfect to eat outside the restaurant. there was sunshine and the wind was not cold anymore. we had a wonderful lunch!!
rafael ordered steak and fries...he really enjoyed his plate!

and as for the rest of us, we had (clockwise) linguine aux gambas, carpacio,dessert sampler, and saint-jacques et gambas a la planca !!

WEEK 14 and 15

this is my second post for today so for all of you reading my blog, please don't forget to read all the way down and to the post before this one. here are my layouts for week 14 (march 30 - april 5) and week 15 (april 6-12). i am so motivated in keeping up with this project 365 because of the incentives the w&w give. they are so generous and kind!! anyway..so let me share you my layouts.




so i hope you enjoyed my photos...
oh...and i want to let you know i didn't make it to the guest CT of w&w.i was so looking forward to it...but the winners do deserve it. i will just try again next time.

BELGIUM

ok..as usual this is a little bit late but nonetheless let me share with you our trip to belgium. last april 4 we drove to belgium. it is a little over 300km from paris so it is not that far. kuya tongtong and family wanted to see another country and belgium is one of the closest. my mother-in-law went to belgium but she only visited brugge, so we thought it was this was a good time for her to see another place in belgium. here are some of my favorite pictures.
so our first stop is the 'grande place' in brussels.
the grote markt (Dutch) or grande place (French) is the central market square of brussels. it is surrounded by guild houses, the city's town hall, and the bread house. it is considered one of the most beautiful medieval squares in europe.
we also saw the famous manneken pis and the europe miniature.
after brussels we drove to antwerp, another city in belgium. we went back to paris april 5.
ok, so here are the pictures!!

'LIFE' layouts

hello again to everyone!!! happy easter to all!!
i have a couple of news to share... first of all my son is number 1 in his class for this grading period!! i am really so pround of him. i have to give him all the credits because he studies by himself all the time. i know i should be helping him out...but i am not good in french. but i always tell him that if he needs help on something, he can ask his papa (my dh is fluent in french). but somehow he manages on his own. so you might be wondering what his prize is/are? well, i bought him some dragon ball books (now he only needs 1 to complete his collection of 42 books), and i think his papa will buy him a new ds game. i am really proud of rafael.

secondly, let me share with you 2 layouts i made for Weeds & Wildflower's anniversary challenge. they are looking for a guest ct member and i have been wanting to be part of their team. there are so many applicants and i think it will not be that easy to get in. but it is worth the try...so here are my layouts!! i will let you know if i get in or not..

WEEK 14 & 15: guests in paris...and our trip to belgium!!

time flies really fast....
i had visitors and they left this morning. they arrived april 2, 6 days here in europe. i think they were able to see most of paris, and we took them to belgium too. it was such a busy week that i didn't get the chance to post anything here... but anyway here i am updating you with everything.
let me just share with you some photos of our guests in paris and belgium.

7 april 2009: chateau de versailles




6 april 2009: sacre-coeur


5 april 2009: antwerp (belgium)


5 april 2009: mini europe (brussels, belgium)


4 april 2009: ohhhh belgian chocolates!!


4 april 2009: super yummy begian waffles!!



4 april 2009: grande place in brussels


4 april 2009: in brussels (belgium)


3 april 2009: at the louvre


2 april 2009: at the eiffel tower




2 april 2009: first day in paris...just about to discover the city


i will be posting more pictures, layouts and updates in the coming days so do come by every now and then.