The Finishing Touches: Weeks 46 to 52

Ha! I made it. Alright, not on a weekly basis, though but here I am, about to touch the finish line! *Solid Gold Dancers threw Vilma santos in the air moment* While I was sending the photos from my phone to the computer, I thought maybe I can just post the photos and let it talk since you all basically know what happened then. BUT. It's inevitable. In person and here, I just can't not talk. 

So continuing the past massive update, here's the last stretch of Bebengisms' 52 Weeks Project — 

Week 46: November 11-17

Lost her first tooth.

Updating the Project: Weeks 38 to 45 of 52

"My daughter's photos, once a week, every week, in 2014."

When I challenged myself to doing this because I love Bleubird's 52 Weeks so much (then later on found out about Practising Simplicity's, which actually started the premier of the now famous project, through Chasing Dreams'), it never occurred to me that I can be 12 weeks late! Gah! I apologize to those may be waiting for a photo of my little girl every week. Well, if you're always here and on my cyber sala (Facebook), you know that I'm super busy with Bebeng's Kitchen stuff. But I'm letting the Royal Help do some things for me first so I can do a massive update on this then maybe, just maybe, my brain cells will have the adrenaline rush and function super good that I can write more pending articles. I have soooo many kwentos to share with y'all, actually.

Anyway, let's start with — 

37/52

"My daughter's photos, once a week, every week, in 2014."

This 20-plus-year-old Barbie supermarket playset she was playing with was given to her by my twin cousins, V&V, who now live in the States. It was just one of the many toys and treats that were in the balikbayan box that they sent over (she got an authentic "Jessie of Toy Story 2" doll that one twin got from Disneyland in Florida, My Little Pony figurines and lots of chocolates). They passed this on to her because they are her godparents and I think they love me that much that they love Pia so much, too. I'm glad that my getting-more-like-a-grown-up-six-year-old is taking care of these toys. Sometimes, she cares for it so much that she'd rather not play with it. LOL.

Btw, I've seen the other twin last February and she treated us to a kickass party at Republiq for her birthday. Yes, this stay-at-home-mom, who wanted to channel Martha Stewart partied like a bachelorette that night! LBD, painful high-heeled strappy shoes and vodka. Ooh. 

Next month, I can finally get to talk to the other V in person! We send updates of our every days to each other through Viber. I can't wait to let her taste my #BebengCooks dishes. And I can't wait for her and Pia to play this toy together. *sniff-sniff*

Rest of this project here: 52 weeks of the pink-lover punk

36/52

"My daughter's photos, once a week, every week, in 2014."

This was two days before my birthday. And just like some of the people I know who feel the same when their birthday's near, I kinda felt sick. So most of the time, I was in bed then the couch... or couch then the bed. Surprisingly and fortunately, Pia was utterly well-behaved! She just had these little cute kicks that were inevitable for her age; like waking me up when I dozed off while watching her cartoons with her or telling me that she's hungry. She's hungry like every 5 minutes, this kid! But most of those times, she was a cool kid. She is, actually, even if I don't feel sick. She just gets easily bored so she gets mad when she's not doing anything fun or creative. There went my make-up brush and pink blush-on as the sacrificial lambs to cure her boredom. 

**

The rest of the photos from this project... HERE! xx

35/52

"My daughter's photos, once a week, every week, in 2014."

On this year's 35th week, I managed to 'gently prod' (if there is such) these girls for a photo op. Pia's with her bestfriend here. S is her favorite classmate since this pretty petite transferred last year. They hit it off easily because they both converse in English. Like any relationships, their friendship isn't perfect. TS (their teacher) once told me that these two often argue over the simplest things. You see, my unica hija is a sweet but very possessive friend. It irks her to see other kids playing with her bestfriend. She must have gotten it from me. LOL. 

However, when TS talked to me during this school year's first Parent-Teacher Conference, he told me that Pia's now reaching out to other girls. I was so happy to know about it! Actually, I also like the two other girls she's getting close to lately, M and A. But if you will ask her who her bestfriend is, without batting a single eyelash, she will nonchalantly tell you that it's S. 

How 'bout you, do you know who your child's bestfriend is? 

34/52

"My daughter's photos, once a week, every week, in 2014."

This was a Saturday. Since I do most of the housework during weekdays, it was a staring-at-the-ceiling-kind of weekend for us. No malls, no playgrounds, no visit to any of her grandma's house. Nothing. Feeling the guilt, told her we'll go to the nearest 7-11 for some icecream. Isn't this photo enough proof of how excited she was? And this cute photo with her choco berry Cornetto sealed the joy. She also had a big pack of Clover Chips. Like what I said on my Instagram, "I hope she realizes that I'm the best mom, ever."  ;)

P.S.
P, if you get to read and understand this, I am the best, right? Right, babe? xo

33/52

"My daughter's photos, once a week, every week, in 2014."

This particular photo one Sunday made this week in August a very special one for my baby girl. Her father came home and was with us for 19 hours. We attended his youngest nephew's Catholic baptism. Well, we just went straight to the reception since none of us, Cpt R and I, were godparents. My SiL ordered cupcakes from me, too. So I found it practical to just skip the church and deliver the cuppies to the restaurant.

Pia wore her dress from Kiara Shoppe that matched mine. It got so many likes from you when I posted it on the page. So if you're into wearing matchy-matchy with your little ladies, too, go and get a pair (or pairs) of dress from Kiara Shoppe!

Back to the photo. Found this wall outside the function room in Max's in Blue Wave Mall, Marikina. While most of the guests were lining up for the photo booth, which we already did when all of them were busily eating (hihi), we had our own photo sesh outside. I don't know what's with this girl that day. She just kept on doing that pose with her face and hand! If we're friends on Facebook (not the page, the personal account), she also had her hand covering half of her face on one of our family photos. So crazy! But cute, still. Yes, she hoarded balloons. That's her "party" thing.

She's growing up way too fast! I really should not blink.

32/52

"My daughter's photos, once a week, every week, in 2014."

Hellooooo, my dear, and fellow royalties! So I'll be trying my best tonight (err, midnight) to flood my blog with photos for this project until it's updated. I've been neglecting this feature and I feel utterly disappointed.

Okay.

This photo was taken after her class. It's always her "drill" to relax, unwind and just do anything she wants to do when she arrives home from school. It was a Friday and the students wore their Filipino costumes for the country's Buwan ng Wika celebration. You can see what she donned that day here. And guess what? She got a best in costume award again this year! The price was worth it.

Alright, next. 

31/52

"My daughter's photos, once a week, every week, in 2014."

I had a hard time looking for a photo for this post! Owmaygahd, this is already a month delayed. Can you imagine the negligence that happened here? I'm not going to argue with you. I admit, I kinda made my blogger self rest for a bit first since I felt that I don't need to blog on a daily basis since I'm almost always online. Have you followed me on Instagram yet? That's where I post regularly. I'm such a visual person. I love how I can write a few sentences with a square of a photo and that already speaks a lot to how I spent my day. 

Speaking of, this was the only photo of my daughter that I have on my phone's gallery during the week of July 28th to August 3rd. Sadly, the latter was full of my food biz's. I know, I know. I kind of focused more on that when I started it that my attention for Pia went down 5%. Don't worry, I realized that after a few days. So I came back to her as a mom and not just as a caregiver. I don't remember why I took a photo of her in her school uniform. But I know that it was a Monday. I think she looks really sweet in it. Don't you think? ♡

30/52

"My daughter's photos, once a week, every week, in 2014."

My life as a stay-at-home military wife and mom is not so easy. You see, I've already started a small food biz but I still don't have a helper/nanny to help me with house chores and in taking care of Pia. I do everything by myself! So yeah, I need to tag the girl along with me whenever I shop for Bebeng's Kitchen's needs to wherever. One day, when we were at the supermarket, she hurriedly rushed to this poster of Derek Ramsay and said: "Derek is everywhere. I hope Teacher L is proud of him." Teacher L, her first teacher in preschool, joked one time that DR is her boyfriend. And my innocent baby girl believed her since then. Hahaha! 

P.S.

That's it for now. Sorry if there are some of you (hello, do I still have readers?) who are kinda waiting for this every week and find no new post. I'm catching up, panting and still finding time to breathe through blogging amidst the never-ending list of to-dos as a geographically single mompreneur. ♥ xx

29/52

"My daughter's photos, once a week, every week, in 2014."

The main goal of this project is to document the preschool popstar's what-seemed-to-be-her-milestone on a weekly basis. With that, when we look back, we will remember what it was. And for this year's 29th week, it was all because of Typhoon Glenda that hit the Metro. There was no electricity, we didn't have courage to go out to buy food 'cause it was stormy and it was just the two of us. Imagine how my babe felt. In fact, this was what she said minutes before this photo was taken: "This is the worst day of my life!" Everybody now... awwwww. ;)

28/52

"My daughter's photos, once a week, every week, in 2014."

On this week (July 7th-13th), my kulit-but-manageable turning 6-year old baby girl, got a pet kitty. It was actually my idea. I want it to intimidate Mickey's friends, which used to bully us with its presence. Yuhh, I'm hella scared of them. Aren't you, too? Haha! We named this half Siamese, half native (hihi) Rebecca Flower. I thought of Rebecca/Becca because of Pitch Perfect, the movie. I'm so excited na to see its sequel next year! And then when I Googled its meaning, I'm glad it means "animal trap". So yeah, she will trap our fiends. As for the Flower, you know who gave that name. Haha! :)

27/52

"My daughter's photos, once a week, every week, in 2014."

The hubs came home for two days, July 1st and 2nd respectively, and he has a new toy! It's a Samsung Note 3 and my two babes were taking selfies forever, like this one. They super look alike noh? I should have used a different photo but unfortunately and surprisingly, the photos in my phone gallery were deleted. Huhuhu. It could have been Pia's fab pose with the How to Train Your Dragon 2 backdrop. Sayang talaga, she looked uber cute there pa naman! Btw, we watched the movie after picking up Cpt R's new phone and had dinner inside the cinema house. There were unnecessary movements by ze girl but we all enjoyed the movie! It was really, really good. I actually liked it than its prequel. Hiccup became more gwapo na kasi. Haha! 

Anyway, who knows how to retrieve deleted photos in Samsung S3 Mini? Please tweet me @bebengisms. Tia. ♥

26/52

"My daughter's photos, once a week, every week, in 2014."

This post is definitely one of my favorites! It makes my being a stay-at-home mom and homecook more special. You see, after she volunteered on washing the dishes, she now shows interest in helping me out where the real kitchen battle happens: in front of the flames! She's very brave that even if there's tilamsik from the pan, she would just continue sauteing. It's so fulfilling! I'm sure 5 or 10 years from now, there will be a #littlebebengcooks hashtag on my social media accounts. Exciting times! ♥

25/52

"My daughter's photos, once a week, every week, in 2014."

This was taken the week of 16th-22nd. It was one of her OOTDs to school. I just like how her hips looks so feminine and delicate. I wish she will still have it when she grows up. I have curves, too but it's more on its voluptuous side. I'm happy she's tall and healthy and active. However, our floor pisses me off big time. Since it was abandoned for a long time, the dirt got stuck in its crevices and corners. I guess I need to focus on that than PvZ2. LOL. Oops, it's all about the girl, not the floor. ;)

24/52

"My daughter's photos, once a week, every week, in 2014."

The super highlight of Pia's week last week was definitely her pixie hair! Like what I said here, I finally made her say yes to short hair. She's now rocking it and not caring if it looked like it's been jostled, brushed or whatever. Her only condition is for her to have a cute hairband or pink bow on it. This photo was taken the next day and I was preparing breakfast when she woke up and asked for my old phone. I think she was texting her Tatay here. Hihi. See how messed up her 'do here is? I don't think she cared, she was wearing her pink hairband anyway. ♥

23/52

"My daughter's photos, once a week, every week, in 2014."

It's funny how a SAHM like me is having a really hard time teaching my daughter to help with the house chores. You see, sweeping the whole house's floor that usually takes me 10 minutes will take her hours and dishwashing in medium load usually takes me 15-20 minutes but might take her a minute. Yes, only a minute because all plates and glasses are broken. LOL. Well, I just got used to doing things on my own that training a donya is a lot more difficult than actually embracing my being a domestic queen. However, last week was different! She INSISTED that she'd help me with every house chore I do. She actually was annoyed one time because she wanted to help me do the laundry. You may read that unbelievable yet adorable #rayaladialogues here. We just finished lunch when she saw dirty dishes began to pile up in our sink. She took her wooden stool, grabbed the sponge and poured a dollop of dishwashing liquid into one plate. Ang gastos sa Joy! Hahahaha! Deadma. I had to take a picture. I told my cousin I was chatting with on Viber that I'll eventually train her to do it the proper way. Who knows, by age 7, I don't need to wash greasy pots and pans anymore. Hello, RA 7658. ;)

22/52

"My daughter's photos, once a week, every week, in 2014."

This week's highlight was definitely the last day that Pia was with her father. This was taken in a Jollibee store somewhere going to Manila. We had a quick breakfast before hitting the road for a long-I-can't-sleep-'cause-I-need-to-entertain-the-driver-who-happens-to-be-my-husband journey home. I think this sunshiny girl didn't know that seeing her soldier dad again might take longer than the usual 'cause she didn't feel a bit sad even after he left the house. 8 days after, I can say it's different now. She calls him without my knowledge (yes, she knows how to!) and always texts him, too. Her favorite thing to send him? This, in verbatim: "I.love.tatay.:*" 

21/52

"My daughter's photos, once a week, every week, in 2014."

This post is more than a week delayed, so I guess if you follow my husband on IG or you're friends with him on Facebook, you most probably have seen this photo. He took this photo while he was talking to some of his men and I was taking some rest at his room. We just arrived but my little I'm-so-energized-because-I-slept-at-the-car decided to immediately play and establish she's the camp princess. This pretty summed up Pia's week the week of May 18th-24th. We spent a few days at the camp, detaching ourselves from the tiring chores brought by the recent moving in. Btw, we're semi-broke now 'cause of that and her school fees but we still went to a nearby beach to relax. That deserves a separate post, though. So many realizations, I tell you! That's it. I can't wait how this project will turn out at the end of the year. I'm thinking of printing out all the photos and collate it an album or frame it and hang in the living room. Whatever I'll do with these by early next year, of course I'll share with all of you. xx

20/52

"My daughter's photos, once a week, every week, in 2014."

I tag her along with me to events I'm interested to attend to, whenever I can. For this brand's launch, we went to Philippines Educational Theater Association (PETA) in Quoezon City to watch a stage play entitled Hashtag Pimples Anonymous. It was full of acne-related hilarity that even if my little girl can't understand how ridiculous it must be to have pimples in front of your crush or on the day of your final school presentation, she laughed with us like a teenager. It made me realize that I'd like to bring her to stage plays, especially those that are more appropriate for her age. What actually was funnier that night was when the announcer's recorded voice was played (theater reminders, etc), she kept on making me stop taking photos. As in like a grumpy old maid! LOL. One of the reminders was to not take photos, but since it's a media launch, with all the huge cameras rolling, it's OK. See how obedient she could be to a recorded voice? I think I should just record mine. ;)