Instagr.am Love – Week 6

This blog category is moving in snail’s pace.  I found it so troublesome to sort photos on the iPhone because you can’t tell right away which ones were taken using Instagr.am (IG). Gah!  So after downloading on my Mac, I painstakingly went through each one and picked out the IG photos I haven’t uploaded yet. So, here they are.  My 2nd to the last installment of our Manila Holiday photos. Whew!

Playtime at Power Plant Mall, Rockwell:

My kids will never get tired of play areas like these.

Oh, how we miss Ate J.  She helped us a lot during our holiday.

Sy was so scared of the car rides. He’s hanging on for dear life!

Happy girl!

Lunch at Cafe Juanita with my charms and mother-in-law:

The beef mechado was good but the sinigang na corned beef was nothing close to Sentro’s version.

But this dessert I love!

My charms in the Bellagio pool.

Had a massage treat from my mother-in-law.

Last Day at Filinvest, Alabang:

Default pose with Jollibee.

Amelie enjoyed her quick trip to the salon.

The kids rode this carousel a gazillion times already. Hee.

The mall was gearing-up for the Chinese New Year.

Clark, Pampanga trip with my fam-bam:

You can’t tell from the facade of the building how cozy the restaurant is on the inside.  – @C Italian Dining.

Lounging while the staff were working on our orders.

Bellissimo!

The food’s great and so was the bill. Ha ha.

C Resto had a lot of popular patrons.  This one was written by Jimmy Santos, TV Host.

  Solid! Hee.

Found this the daintiest of them all!

 

 

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Instagr.am Love – Week 5

It makes me feel a bit homesick looking at these photos taken last Christmas.  ((sad face))

Taken at Power Plant Mall, Rockwell.

At Toys R’ Us at the same mall.  Love, love my little boy’s smile here.

The dynamic duo.

Had dinner here at the Ayala Triange branch.

While waiting for the light show to start.

Watched this the 2nd time.

All sweaty and tired but happy to have seen this attraction the second time around.

 

 

 

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Instagr.am Love – Week 4

My husband and I agree that our last Christmas vacation is by far the best we’ve ever had. This only made us look forward to our next planned trip back to Manila, God willing. Here are a few more catch-up photos from my iPhone.

Visits to this bazaar has become an annual thing for me.  Hee.

Along Macapagal Highway.

 It was my first time to use this shade of nail polish last year. I heart red.

Not really a big fan of polvoron.  I bought this though because I was intrigued by the new flavors.

Eng Bee Tin goodness.

My ‘pasalubong’ for the kids when I went out for some “me”-time.

While we were waiting for the fireworks display at the Mall of Asia, the kids stopped by at Burger King for sundae treats.

With her cousin, LA.

Just a minute before the fireworks started, I took a photo of these cuties.

The kids were all in awe.

It was so crowded, I couldn’t move to get the roof out of the frame.

My little tornado stopping for a minute to pose for me.

Ahh, my little lady looking so mature and beautiful.

The following photos were not taken using IG but the standard camera functionality of my iPhone.

Unique deco at SM Mall of Asia.

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Instagr.am Love – Week 2

One of the important values we (my husband and I) want to instil in our children is love for family, immediate and extended family that is. As much as we can, we try to open up opportunities for our kids to have close relationships with our relatives even if we are a gazillion miles away from them. We’re grateful that we can visit the Philippines every Christmas, we also have periodic Skype sessions while in Sydney and I try my best to update my Facebook account. They all add up to bridge the distance.

Growing up, I feel so blessed that I have good ties with most of my relatives. We may not see them often but when we do, there is that “connection”, love and respect for each other. I should thank my parents for instilling this important value in my siblings and me.

Below is my second installment of my Instagr.am Love posts. I’m so enjoying this and it motivates me to pick up my phone and capture life as it happens. I have only brought out my dlsr once since we arrived over two weeks ago but in the coming days and weather permitting, I will be practicing with my “Mark” again. Toodles!

My mother-in-law took this photo of me and my eldest.  My kids got so tired and sweaty running around their condo unit in Makati so here, I was up tidying up Amelie’s hair.  I love this photo.

Here is my Isaiah, posing for a second before he started running again.  It really takes lots of energy and will power to keep an eye on this little boy.  He really is my “little tornado”.

Amelie posing for me for the nth time after our dinner at Amici.  Good sport, you are my dearest.

We’ll be back at Amici for sure!

Dancing lights at the Ayala Triangle.  I should share the video I took that night as well.  Even if it rained hours before and the ground was wet, there were still lots of people really “wow-ed” by this.  The dancing lights start at 6, 7 and 8pm and runs for about 15 minutes.

We’ll see you again tomorrow, weather permitting!

 

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Holiday Updates and IG Love

Over two weeks to our holiday and I’m feeling great! The first week was an adjustment period especially for the kids — with the weather, the time zone, the food and our routine.  The second week, the kids and I are having the time of our lives just being with family and for my kids, with their new friends!  Oh, I wish I can freeze time so we can all stay here for a wee bit longer.

We have a few out of town trips and meet-up with friends lined up after Christmas.  So, as soon as the hubs get here next Friday (weee!) our schedule will be full to the brim.

I can’t thank the Lord enough for this chance to take a break and to catch-up with family and friends. Being with the people who mean to us the most is the best way to end the year and usher the new year.

So, in light of this latest and greatest update, I will be posting weekly photos that I took or process using Instagram (IG).  I am so inspired by my new blog find, FindingNana.com that through her beautiful IG photos, I realized I’m not maximizing this wonderful app on my iphone!

  

Here are the kids during our Singapore stopover.  Even if the Singapore Airline (SQ) flight adds 3 more hours to the usual 8 hrs, going from Sydney to Manila, the excellent service we get more than makes up for it.  We’ve had bad experiences flying via Philippine Airlines (PAL) and Qantas with the kids.

It helps that Changi aiport is a huge mall/indoor park in itself! The kids were so entertained with the Koi fish pond.

We have a mental checklist of the places we’d like to visit and food we’d like to taste again.  We visited Shakey’s and Savoury in Cavite (but unfortunately no photos!).  In this photo, we stopped by Red Ribbon to get mamon (cake) and chicken empanada (chicken turnover).

My parents-in-law and I decided to bring the kids to a charity show for kids hosted by Nickelodeon.  The requirement was to bring toys that will be donated to the children of Gawad Kalinga.  So before going to the show, we bought toys at this shop in Filinvest.  While I was busy going through the shelves, my son quickly picked up a balloon ball and played soccer in the small open space.  Lucky the staff at the store didn’t bother asking him to stop although he hit a couple of boxes (and customers!) a few times.  Ha!

Lunch at Max’ Restaurant at Filinvest.  The place was so crowded, I had to yell out for service!  Spring chicken, check!

My daughter while at the Nickelodeon show.  As expected, the venue was packed.  We had to leave early though to make it to the light show at the Ayala Triangle.

These days, it is very rare that I get to have my eldest pose for me.  She often makes funny faces or frowns whenever I aim my camera.  I wish lighting was better though.  I like her very natural pose.

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