how would you feel when someone questions your parenting skills?

a tough situation to be at, huh? a big YES indeed.

it is quite challenging raising children nowadays. i am sure most of you would agree with me on this. children today are rambunctious. so different when it was us. we sit in a corner and we won't speak unless we are spoken to. i was that kind of child and so it was pretty difficult dealing with a very active boy {to say the least}.

am i a disciplinarian? i think i am not. yet i think i am.

my siblings and i grew up with disciplinarian parents. that given, i knew i didn't want to completely adopt this when i raise my own children. i do want order. yes. but i didn't want to control my children or their childhood.

and i often find it good. children showing independence and willfulness. as long as they don't get hurt in the process of their exploration, i am good with that. guidance is the key and not control. but be questioned for being a parent because your child is simply being a child? is it fair?

i guess i can only shrug my shoulders and wish that people would see my son as we see him everyday. a very loving and sweet (unruly, yes) but sweet as it is. knowing that, i guess being questioned doesn't bother me that much (no one knows me better than i know myself and no one knows my son better that we, his parents, do)

and so i rest my case.

a successful attempt

with all the baking that i do, decorating has never been that good to me.
i usually slump some frosting and cover my cake using a spatula or a spoon.
but this time, i decided to bring out my mom's wilton tips and see what happens. :)

hopefully, this is going to be the first of many successfully decorated cakes from me. :) TFL!

my boys: my pride and my joy

looking at these photos,

all the exhaustion i felt these past weeks was all worth it.

{wanted to share this milestone in our son's childhood}




he was serious, he was raving of becoming a chef :-)
(our mini bobby flay)


and despite his absences from school due to asthma attacks,
he was able to snag some awards


what's a family portrait without the mom in it ;)


and concluded the day with a thanksgiving dinner with his grandparents
(my parents, my aunts and my grandmother - JP's great grandma)

it was a very-fine-day :-D TFL!

tired?

will you also feel this way if...

have to stay up for almost 24 hours. cooking and preparing for your child's graduation {at the end of our celebration, i literally felt my knees buckle}

son went to his graduation and reading recital without his reading materials {imagine me so confident that his copies were left with his teacher kasi wala sa bag nya e} we have to resort to sharing his co-reader's copy {kawawang mga bata}

hubby's first day of work overwhelms him. manageable and challenging according to him. but because i don't get to see him in action anymore, it makes me anxious

haven't scrapped a page for almost a month. {thank goodness i recently did some ATCs - at least scrap na din yun}

have to go to push myself to go to work {lahat bawal, paghinga na lang ata ang hindi - hehe - ganyan talaga approach when you are itching to just stay home hihi}

but i have to say that after a 10-hour sleep, i feel better. energized and optimistic. :-D

{venting out: TFListening}

*****on a totally different note {these kind of news i won't get tired of sharing :) }*****

a good friend launched a new blog for her scrap shop

The Scrap Yard Shop

expect lots of contests and giveaways. visit Gracie to see what i mean. :-D

oh really?

Kristina You Are Smart and Curious

You are a seeker of knowledge, and you have learned many things in your life. You are also a keeper of knowledge - meaning you don't spill secrets or spread gossip. People sometimes think you're snobby or aloof, but you're just too deep in thought to pay attention to them. You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something. You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense. You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun. You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing. You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long. You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start. You are the total package - suave, sexy, smart, and strong. You have the whole world under your spell, and you can influence almost everyone you know. You don't always resist your urges to crush the weak. Just remember, they don't have as much going for them as you do. You are a seeker. You often find yourself restless - and you have a lot of questions about life. You tend to travel often, to fairly random locations. You're most comfortable when you're far away from home. You are quite passionate and easily tempted. Your impulses sometimes get you into trouble. You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people. You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts. You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals. You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

i wish...

there is an extra day in the week...

and what i'll do is visit all your blogs and comment. check inspiration blogs and sites. surf all those foodies and try all the recipes i find yummy. of course, i'll scrap.

but mostly all i have been doing is sleep. work. sleep. american idol. sleep. work. housework. been very busy. and hubby too. i wish. i wish, our schedules will get back to normal.

how about you? what have you been up to lately? care to share?

boy ATC

my son was so proud of this JP-inspired ATC {he was even bragging about it to his dad} :)

he actually helped me with the journal.

we dymo{ed} his favorite cars, bikes and PS2 car games.

next ATC is for daddy. TFL! :)