Birthday Breakfast at Rowena's

For R's 30th birthday last month, we went out of town. It was a fun-filled day for this military family of three! Off we went to Enchanted Kingdom in Sta. Rosa, Laguna and enjoyed the perks EK gave the Armed Forces of the Philippines, dubbed as Enchanting Kawal (yup, kwento and photos on a separate post).

Since we planned to maximize the day, we left the house early in the morning and had breakfast in Tagaytay, 'cause EK opens at 12 noon. It was our first time to go to Tagaytay as a family so R and I really wanted to give our little girl a memorable experience. Okay, not really. We just wanted to eat right away. Our little boss gets grumpy as hell when starved. Who won't? In fact, Miss Minchin clouded my entirety for 10 good minutes. Anyway, failed to go to an underground (aka, not Josephine's, not Bag of Beans, not Sonya's Garden) café and restaurant, we opted for a sikat and known and empty (at that time) resto and pasalubong house — Rowena's!

It's Been 10 Days

I'm sure you noticed the long gap in between my posts lately. I have no excuse for that and I want to be honest with you, it was all intentional. I love my little virtual space here and really, it's like there's a missing piece in my daily existence when I don't do anything blog-related but I've been obsessed with my life outside my digital world since this year started. Yup, sharing bits and snippets of how I see my everyday is entertaining (for me and my followers, at least) but there's this wisp of satisfaction for the moments I kept to myself. Privately savoring the inside jokes, dreams, and conversations with the people close to me while being a blogger slash social-media-fanatic-who's-expected-to-post-on-a-regular-basis gives me that extraordinary feeling. 

BUT. Trust me when I say that I'll be sharing stories... eventually, gradually. I love storytelling! It can be as lengthy as a term paper or as short as photo captions (of course, with photos) or simply videos from my YouTube channel. In whatever way, I will do my best to entertain, inform or inspire you. Some of my topics may sound like I'm gossiping (or marketing when it's a sponsored post, hehe), perhaps because of the issues and events involved, but like any other blogger that I religiously read, that's how I am. 

Alright, since it's been 10 days, you just might want to catch up on my whatevers on Instagram and Facebook. Those are basically like teasers of what I'll be writing about. Forgive me, though if I won't or forget to post about some certain topics. I do great scheduling now that I have a corkboard in my blogging nook but you know, I still prioritize this self-proclaimed domestic queen's priorities. 

Just like that, after three paragraphs, I'm already saying goodbye. Let's see, hopefully, I'll be back again tomorrow for another post. For now, you may see my royal domesticity on Instagram: @deniserayala. Latest is a crazy soldier in a video! I love that guy. Ttyl, royalties. xx

Postcards from Marikina

I love the internet (despite this country's intermittent signal); especially the invention of Yahoo, Google, Facebook and Instagram. My marriage with the Army guy is thriving lovingly because of unlimited texts and calls. The little girl knew a lot of her now favorite things because of the awesome technology that's already existing when she was born. She first saw My Little Pony on YouTube. She knows my online friends adore her antics that I post on social media.

But I have an argument to raise... indulge me. If you have a hundred friends on Facebook and it's your birthday tomorrow, most likely half of them will greet you. And half of the greeters do not even talk to you in person, haha. Thanks to notifications! You will instantly know if a person doesn't like you if she just "seenzones" you after greeting her a lengthy, heartfelt message on Facebook Messenger or Viber even if she's online 24/7. That's the digital world, you all! It has its ups and downs, we all know that. Let's admit it - it lost the simplicity and excitement of someone greeting you on your special day because of how it works. 

Motherhood in the Time of Amoebiasis

It was in January, a day before my daughter's school's annual field trip, when I rushed her to the hospital. Her tummy ached so crazy, she said that it was as if there were little people sliding through her insides. The toilet were her saving grace and her face looked pallid after 7 sessions at the throne. It alarmed me and I knew it wasn't a simple diarrhea that porridge and banana can cure. After half a day of waiting for fecal and urine samples and a dramatic bloody scene for more laboratory tests, the doctor proclaimed she had Amoebiasis.

I'm sure you have already heard of it but allow me to Google it for you. According to KidsHealth.org, "Amoebiasis is an intestinal illness that's typically transmitted when someone eats or drinks something that's contaminated with a microscopic parasite, which is an amoeba, a single-celled organism. That's how the illness got its name — amoebiasis."

Why the hell would she have that and I didn't? We ate the same food, drank the same water! What went wrong that I did not notice?

Don't Blame Barbie™ for Being Skinny + A Sneak Peek on Barbie Magazine PH's February Ish

Let's have some real parenting talk here first. Shall we? 

I assume that in wherever part of the world you are right now, there are moms who don't like Barbie. I think they are just being cynical; mostly concluding that girls who love pink, wear short skirts and sporting tiaras have shallow understanding of their femininity. These moms make their little women avoid princess stories and glitters and nail polish. In their Facebook wall, you'll see photos and statuses that say how brave, strong and intelligent their baby girls are. There's nothing wrong with that. In fact, it's good that they want their children to see what's beyond the eyes can see. However, because of trying so hard to be outside the norm, they tend to forget to see the beauty that their little girls have. Yes, it's super OK to go on adventures and strive for strength, intellect and courage but I see nothing wrong with having pretty dresses and nail polish and tiaras, too. Don't you just love seeing those babes kick ass and sparkle? 

Rayala Dialogues: She's Growing Up

Yay! I finally got to post a new RD! It's been a long time and I super regret that I didn't spend enough time to write about my little girl's crazy, silly, blog-worthy isms. I now realize that more than sharing it with you all, more than making you relate to those funny moments that make motherhood more special, documenting about it is more for me. It's for me to remember that despite her patience-testing traits, she's generally a happy, kind-hearted girl. 

So here it is.

I was in the kitchen when P came to me, holding her chest and said —

Pia: Nanay, sakit my dibdib ko in school kanina.
Me: (eyes widened, stopped and looked at her) Did you tell Teacher S?!
P: Opo, Teacher S said "oh sige, rest ka muna ha".
Me: What were you doing ba when it happened?
P: Seatwork po.
Me: (almost smiled, trying my best not to laugh) Hmmm. Baka naman sumakit dibdib mo kasi ayaw mo mag-seatwork? Totoo ba yan?
P: Totoo, 'Nay! Hindi ako lying ha! Si Nanay oh, kawawa ako tapos you say that. (and she continued nagging in her playroom)

So I went back to my dirty dishes and snicker. Alright, I have one more.

Pretend Photo Shoot

Today was one of those days I feel so happy being a mom of a girl. Sophia asked me to put "neyk-up" on her. "I want to be like Sarah Geronimo", says my popstar royalty. I said, "really?" Then she sang Sarah's The Glow in her preschool Broadway fashion. Clapping my hands, hiding my mommy kilig, I told her that if she really wants to be a singer, she must skip chocolates and icecream 'cause it can damage her throat and might compromise her voice. My witty kid quickly said, "pretend lang, 'Nay!" Great. So I asked her if she wants to have a pretend photo shoot, too since she already wore a dress and was on full make-up. She was ecstatic! Using my pink Samsung ST66 camera, I directed her to smile like a lady and pose for me. Five minutes after, she said "my cheeks are killing me, I don't want na." Fine. I think we'll do art stuff or bake cookies or watch movies next time. I don't think I'm okay with her doing this anyway. What a diva, haha.

Care to share your weekend activities with your kids that we can also do at home?