Ysidro's Gamecore

Tuesday, September 30, 2008



This is a long overdue post because the online store opened in August, hehehe. Just plugging my brother's store! :D When I say we're selling at very competitive prices, believe me...cheaper than the titles found in the mall! :)

This Sunday, we'll be at the the Anicon '08 at the Megatrade Hall in SM MegaMall (sharing a little space with the Pinoy Xbox Booth :) You'll see that banner posted above somewhere there, hehe. I expect to capture good pictures, can't wait!

Changes

Saturday, September 27, 2008

I was crying on Monday night. A serious bout of separation anxiety and a bit of sadness. First night that Ane and I are sleeping in the same house but not in the same bed (other than the times we sleep in other people's houses).

It's like this. My mom is transferred to QC so it is more practical for her to stay weekdays in the brothers' apartment. There are three rooms here. Ane can't possibly allow mom to sleep in the living area. Mom won't allow me to sleep in the living with Ane as well. We can't all stay in one room together because Ane snores too loudly mom won't be able to sleep properly. So Mom and I sleep together in our room while Ane sleeps downstairs.

I still miss him at night but I'm getting used to the set-up.

Then my mom insists that we go eat breakfast everyday (we don't really eat breakfast, you know). So she makes it a point to wake up at 530am (or earlier) to prepare breakfast (and lunch) and insists that I should eat breakfast with my husband. She says it is MY duty to do that as the wifey, hmmmmm. I guess she's also training me to become a better wife, huh? To feel less guilty, I wake up the same time she does and help out in the kitchen. Tiring I know, but I still get to go back to sleep around 9am.

I also started cooking dinner almost every night since the ward goes to school in the afternoons and we can't afford a cook for now. They've been liking what I prepare, a nice reward for the effort. It gets hot in the kitchen and I get tired easily because of the heat.

Then I'm off to just before midnight.

We just MIGHT fall back into the old routine next week because mom decided to quarantine herself away from me for a week. Sigh. She went to the farm today and was briefly exposed to a kid with mumps. Tsk! But maybe I'll try to continue the breakfast thingy so my body won't adjust to the change yet again. We'll see, wish me luck.

Baby update coming up (had my checkup yesterday) but maybe I'll do that later. I'm starting to feel my back ache. I've been sitting for hours now. And Ane is on his way home. I just wish he's bringing me home something. I'm craving Kani Salad, one of my fave appetizers from Teriyaki Boy :)


Tiring week

I can't believe the week went by pretty fast. I planned to blog days ago but I always end up getting too tired by the time I'm free from chores (and Ivy is acting up, won't open right away due to fan error, we need to have her serviced really soon!). My daily routine has significantly changed (and I mean waking up at 530am or earlier!). I have so many updates to share, I wish I'll have enough time today to write everything.

Now, let me organize my thoughts for my updates...


ps. would anyone know a technician who can fix my brother's a/c compressor?


Ayayay!!!!

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Something amazing happened this afternoon!!!


I felt Baby Dot kick me hard three times!!!! I couldn't stop laughing :D The past weeks, I could only feel light tapping and today, I am so happy that I felt a "stronger" Dot. Yay!


Ane missed it since he was "busy" with Cabal harharharhar!

Baby Dot update

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Yesterday, I posted this picture in my Flickr and also posted the link in my Twits. This was taken at home, the night of my OB check-up on September 5 (19 weeks on the way). I was kinda tired (I looked tired, huh?) but I insisted Hubby to take my picture anyway.

I got comments that I'm such a small preggo and that I still look thin. For the record, hehe, I am 124.2lbs. on the scale and the fundal(?) height was 19cm. I gained 3lbs. since my last check-up three weeks earlier. Dot is on the average size (about 20cm head to foot, it was hard to measure because the baby was moving a lot!) and I forgot (to note) how heavy Dot was, dang! What matters most is that we've seen the graph and Dot is well within the expected weight and length. :D Dot's heartbeat is still at 144bpm and we were able to record it this time, teehee.

So why am I still thin, you ask? Oh well, I am on a "strict" diet. My OB is kinda conservative and she wants me to stay away from unhealthy food. No sodas and caffeinated drinks (just milk, fresh fruit juice and water), no chocolates (because they give me headaches), no MSG on food, no processed food. Moderate sweets and salty and fatty (fried anything). Eat more fruits and veggies. My diet is basically more protein versus carbohydrates. So everything I eat directly goes to the Baby. Which is good --I probably won't need to look for the best fat burner after I give birth, huh? I am hungry every two hours and I make sure I grab something every time.

Hubby is taking this "strict" diet to heart that he complains I am making him the villain, hehe. I know he just wants the best for me and Dot so let's give it to him. It's just that sometimes, I feel so deprived (must be just the hormones, LOL!) In fairness, he let's me cheat every now and then, so I'm still happy :)

Anyway, my blood tests -- Glucose Challenge, CBC and Hepatitis B -- and urinalysis, yielded normal and negative results. Yay! I must be doing something good, eh?

To end this post, I am sharing this 20th week update from babycenter:

How your baby's growing:

Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. He's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel — the length of a banana. (For the first 20 weeks, when a baby's legs are curled up against his torso and hard to measure, measurements are taken from the top of his head to his bottom — the "crown to rump" measurement. After 20 weeks, he's measured from head to toe.)

He's swallowing more these days, which is good practice for his digestive system. He's also producing meconium, a black, sticky by-product of digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in his bowels, and you'll see it in his first soiled diaper (some babies pass meconium in the womb or during delivery).

How your life's changing: Congratulations! You've hit the halfway mark in your pregnancy. The top of your uterus is about level with your belly button, and you've likely gained around 10 pounds. Expect to gain another pound or so each week from now on. (If you started your pregnancy underweight, you may need to gain a bit more; if you were overweight, perhaps a bit less.) Make sure you're getting enough iron, a mineral that's used primarily to make hemoglobin (the part of your red blood cells that carries oxygen). During pregnancy, your body needs more iron to keep up with your expanding blood volume, as well as for your growing baby and the placenta. Red meat is one of the best sources of iron for pregnant women. Poultry (especially the dark meat) and shellfish also contain iron. Some common non-meat sources of iron include legumes, soy-based products, spinach, prune juice, raisins, and iron-fortified cereals.

If you haven't already signed up for a childbirth education class, you may want to look into one, especially if you're a first-timer. A structured class will help prepare you and your partner for the rigors of labor and delivery. Most hospitals and birth centers offer classes, either as weekly meetings or as a single intensive, one-day session. Many communities have independent instructors as well. Ask your friends, family members, or caregiver for recommendations.


Dark Clouds

It's as if all the bad dreams* I had almost everyday just about last month are becoming real. Sad but true. I wanna tell myself everything will be fine but at this point it's hard to convince myself. The turn of events is pretty unexpected and we're all caught unaware. Major turn in circumstances and it's unlikely to change anytime soon. Another year or so, perhaps? We don't know. No one knows. There are two things we need to re-learn, though.

Live simply. Choose to be happy.

This, too, shall pass. There. I just wanted to blurt these things out.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*After reading the four books of the Twilight Saga, I started having bad dreams every night. Plague. Aliens. Deluge. Things like that. So I'm off supernatural books and movies and tv shows for now. I didn't like the feeling of waking up in the middle of the night grasping for air.

State of Education System

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Before I read on cpm, I just thought of sharing with you my short day-out yesterday.

I went to our ward's school to get her report card for the first quarter. She's currently enrolled in a national high school near our apartment, because we can't afford to send her to a private school. Anyway, I met with her adviser (since I am the appointed guardian) and she seemed fairly nice. She handed me the card and let me sign the forms and that was it. She wasn't even shocked that our student got line of sevens on ALL subjects, even getting two failing marks!!! Call me grade-conscious but I felt I was hyperventilating and I was shaking my head in disbelief! I admit our student isn't very bright but I was expecting at least line of eights since she would report to me her progress (almost) everyday. What bothered me most is that her adviser just shrugged it off, saying in as-a-matter-of-fact manner that our student is lucky to even get a 77 in TLE (found out later on that the rest of her class flunked that subject! And that only two students passed English!!). Meaning, it was but normal for students to get such grades.

So where does the problem lie?

I've always believed that if majority of a class flunks a subjects, the teacher has explaining to do. It could be that he's not good enough to teach or he just doesn't care.

But there was also another incident I witnessed yesterday. A student brought her mother to school because the adviser wanted to have a talk. Apparently, the student has been missing school for the past month even if she leaves her home in her uniform and allowance everyday! She confessed to going on dates instead of attending her lessons. And she's not even apologetic for her actions! When asked why she's being so negligent, she said that she's tinatamad to go to school and there's just nothing to do anyway. Duh.

So where does the problem lie?

I can only guess. The problem is in circles and there is a never ending finger-pointing in this society. I watch local tv (documentaries) and I am aware of the deteriorating education system in the country. I can only watch in dismay. I just hope our government can still do something to save our future.

PS. I heard there is a survey that in UP, only a small percentage of the students come for indigents -- because they cannot even keep up with the demands of the University. How sad.

Quick peek

Monday, September 01, 2008

This is something quick. I just need to find some acne cure suggestions online. I haven't been going online for a few days. Well, I did go online but for very limited time only during those times. I would just end up checking my mails and my feeds and reading some preggy stuff on the net.

I'm on my 18th week and starting to get really big. I have to lie on my side now at nights. Still struggling with milk, ugh. I will just update more after my monthly check-up on Friday. My sister and BIL are requesting latest preggy pics, so I'll probably do that on Friday too, since I'll be out and dressed-up a bit (I wouldn't want my picture taken with my raggedy houseclothes, would I? Hehe) On Friday I'm gonna wear that brown maternity blouse I wore on Lolly's Birthday -- because I only have two blouses LOL! Hubby brought me shopping about two weeks ago but the stingy in me decided I still don't need to buy much. So I only got two blouses, one is a bit dressy, and a pair of denim shorts :)

Oh well, I'm starting to get chatty (and a bit unorganized with my sentences again!!) when I said this is gonna be a quick update, hehe. So I'll stop now. Can't wait for Friday to come, we just might be able to see Dot's gender, if we're lucky :) TTFN!