THIS IS THE LAST POST

Hi everyone...once again, I am going to be moving my blogs to a different address. For those of you who put me on your blogroll, please update it to www.zokeybug.com Amel has joined the bandwagon and is now in charge of the blogs. I must admit, it looks pretty nice, so if you have a chance, please check it out. Thanks for your understanding!

New Blogs

Hi All,

I'm in the process of editing my posts and have created two new blogs, one for Golden Nuggets and another for Kiddie Kwotes. It's pretty much the same blog, but the names are changed and I'm trying not to put specific locales. So, I think I'm just going to set this account to private really soon. I may or may not use it to put unedited version of the posts, I'm not sure what to do yet. So, this is so you can update your blog rolls. My new blogs are: www.kiddiekwotes.blogspot.com AND www.ourgoldennuggets.blogspot.com. Thanks!

Kiddie Kwote-Vacuum

I've been reading about several moms who have been training their children to do various chores and how the children have complained when their siblings mess up all their hard work. Well, I finally have one of my own.

Ricky and Juliet have always thought that vacuuming was fun. So, lately, I've been training them to vacuum. Yes, Juliet can push our upright vacuum, that's a bit taller than her, around. I have Ricky do the rug under our dining table and Juliet does the living room. I know, it doesn't seem fair for Juliet to do a whole room and for Ricky to do a little area rug, but until they realize that, that's what they're assigned to.

So, last night, we had people over for dinner and of course crumbs got on the rug.

Juliet: Mommy, there's corn on the rug.
Me: Yes, I see it.
Juliet: Oh...Ricky just vacuumed it. She said this sounding kind of sorry for him.

Oh, if you only knew how those words were music to my ears.

Kiddie Kwotes-Bath

Today was so much fun, but at 9:20pm, I am so exhausted. I'll post more about it later. I was giving the girls a bath tonight and this is the first time I have ever done this:

Juliet: Haha, Mommy, why is Zoey wearing socks?

Yes, I put Zoey in the bath with her socks on! I told you I was exhausted!

Opposites

My mom was gone for a couple of weeks. She was in the Philippines for her brother's funeral. Even though I told her not to worry about it, she brought back some "pasalubongs" (presents) for them. Here's what she brought back for the girls.

Zoey totally loved this outfit! She kept saying, "Is coot. (It's cute.)"


Now, Juliet was another story. Look at those tears! You almost feel sorry for her, right?


This was literally two minutes after I told her she could take the outfit off.

GOLDEN NUGGET: My life became much more interesting when God blessed me with children.

Kiddie Kwote-Stomach

Juliet: Mommy, did you know that everytime I step on Zoey's stomach, she starts laughing?

What?!!? Seriously, I can't take my eyes off of them for one minute!

Kiddie Kwote-Earth

Tonight after dinner, Juliet gave me a big hug and said:

Juliet: Mommy, I love you. On. the. earth.

I don't know what on. the. earth. means, but I'll take it.

Kiddie Kwote-Freeze

I was debating on whether to post this one or not, after a day, I decided to just do it because 1) It's Zoey and 2) It wouldn't be funny next year.

My kids love Dora the Explorer and Go Diego Go! On Go Diego Go, there are these two monkeys that cause trouble for Diego, kind of like Swiper on Dora, anyway, when you see these two monkeys, you're supposed to say, "Freeze, Bo Bos!"

So, we were teaching Zoey how to say, "Freeze, Bo Bos!" This is what she ended up saying:

Zoey: "Freeze, Butt!"

She still can't say Bo Bos. So, I think we're going to hold off on teaching her that until she says it the right way. However, I think Juliet is trying to teach her behind my back.

Kiddie Kwote-Crazy

We were driving in the car and Juliet kept interrupting Amel's and my conversation, so after a while whenever she would ask Amel a question, he would answer with a "MmmHmm." For those of you who are parents, you know how that is. Anyway, Juliet likes real answers, so after a few "MmmHmm's" from Amel she said:

Juliet: Daddy, stop saying, MmmHmm, you make me drive crazy!
Me: What? Your dad's driving crazy? Which doesn't make sense because Amel drives below the speed limit.
Ricky: His sisters' translator said: "No, she means, you're driving her crazy."

Oh...

Apple Cider Vinegar

This is a little embarrasing, but I'm going to post it anyway because I think it's important to know. Anyway, I've been having problems with an upset stomach lately and Pepto Bismol, Maalox, Tums, etc. just have not been working for me. So, I decided to go on the internet to find a home remedy cure for it. I forgot what website it was, but it was a forum-like site and people from all over the world would give their natural cures for this problem.

So, several people kept mentioning apple cider vinegar. They suggested taking one tablespoon, straight up. It would burn going to down, but after that, it's instant relief. Well, my problem was really bad last night and I FINALLY decided to give it a try. I have to say that I was too chicken to take it straight up, so I mixed it in with some hot water. After a couple of sips, I instantly felt better.

I just wanted to share this bit of information with you all. I hope you don't have to experience this as often as I do, but if you ever do, give this a try.

GOLDEN NUGGET: Knowing that you don't have to pay a lot of money to cure certain ailments. The little bottle of apple cider vinegar I bought was $1.32! Also, that if you do your research, you can use items you have on hand that are probably better for you than putting unknown chemicals in your body. Just a thought!

Kiddie Kwote-Wallet

The Tahoe quote reminded of one that Ricky said when he was three or four years old. We were on our way to the church building and it was night time. We saw a man crossing the street.

Ricky: Mommy, why is that man walking?
Me: Well, maybe he doesn't have a car.
Ricky: Why doesn't he have a car?
Me: Well, maybe he doesn't have enough money to buy a car, that's why he has to walk.

He was quiet for a few minutes...that's usually how I can tell my kids are thinking. After a minute or so, here's what he said:

Ricky: Sooo....he's walking at night without a wallet?

Really, I can't make this stuff up!

Kiddie Kwote-Dadda

Ricky and Juliet like to get rough with each other sometimes. Juliet recently got a pair of Socker Boppers (inflateable boxing gloves) for her birthday and they both just love them. Usually, they get one each and go at each other for a few minutes. But here's what happened yesterday:

Ricky: Here, Juliet, you can wear both of them and then try to hit me.

Juliet puts them on and with a big smile on her face, looks at Ricky and says, "Oh yeah, come to Dadda."

Where in the world did she get that from? I'm telling you, my kids make me chuckle every day.

Happy Birthday, Angelo Jr.!

In honor of his birthday, this post is dedicated to my brother, Angelo. Unfortunately, he is my real, biological brother. (J/K) I can't remember my first memory of him because I've known him all my life. I can't even begin to tell you all the funny moments I've had with him because there are many, trust me.

Let's see, some things you might not know about him is that he was born in Italy. We didn't have the best relationship growing up, we used to fist fight almost everyday until he turned 17 because by then he was taller and bigger than me. He is the funniest guy I know, he used to be the funniest person I know but my kids are giving him a run for his money. When he was in elementary school, he used to wear this blue shirt with an eagle on the front everyday after school. Needless to say, a lot of our fights started because I would tease him about how he smelled. : ) And he's naturally good at all sorts of sports.

All kidding aside, I now enjoy spending time with him and his family. He is a loving and devoted husband and father and I am proud of him. So, Jun (you can only call him that if you've known him for at least 10 years, Rose can't even call him that yet), may God bless you with a wonderful birthday and may He continue to cause you to grow in a closer, more meaningful life with Him as the years go by.

I love you, little brother, but only on your birthday and holidays! (Inside joke.)

Kiddie Kwote-Tahoe

Juliet: Mommy, where does Santa Claus live?
Me: The mall.
Juliet: No he doesn't. Remember we saw him somewhere else?
Me: Oh, you mean when we went to Lake Tahoe?

We saw and spoke with Santa for a good 10 minutes when we went to a Lake Tahoe resort in 2006.

Juliet: Yes, Santa lives in Tahoe.

There you go people, Santa lives in Tahoe.

Old Post with pics

I'm still trying to get a hang of this site. Well, I put some pictures for the Fancy Restaurants and Kids post from last month. Check it out if you want! Thanks.

Happy Birthday Aaron!

In honor of his birthday, this post is dedicated to my brother, Aaron. He's actually my brother-in-law, but I don't really like using that term, especially when he is just like a real brother to me. Anyway, I actually met Aaron when he was just a little kid at TFC. The ministry for our junior-highers at our church. When I say little, I mean little, if I recall correctly, he was shorter than me at the time. He's since grown to be about 6 feet tall!

The funniest memory I have of him was when he and Deana just got engaged. We were at our annual sibling Thanksgiving party and we were playing this board game...I can't believe that I forgot the name of it, wait, it's called Outburst. We've since stopped playing it because we always play boys vs. girls and we always end up arguing with our spouses.

Anyway, we were near the end of the game and it was the girls' turn to call out answers and the boys cheated and told us we didn't say a certain answer and we just started yelling at each other. Half laughing and half serious (we take those games seriously!) and I remember looking over at Aaron and he had this look like he was thinking, "What in the world did I get myself into?"

Well, that was about 6 years ago and he's still around. : ) Since then, we've come to learn a lot about him. For instance, did you know that he has a great sense of humor? He seems like this quiet guy, but once you get him started, he's pretty funny. He's also into electronics, him and Amel can talk for hours about that stuff. Literally, hours. Also, that he knows more Tagalog than Spanish? I tease him about that to this day. And everyone has to know that he has fwee skills. If you don't know what that is, just go and ask him. : ) Lastly, he's also a good friend, we don't know who else would be down to help paint our kitchen at 4 IN THE MORNING!

With that, I just want to say, Aaron, may God bless you with a wonderful birthday, (despite it being tax day) and may He use you to glorify His name through your awesome fwee skills, your discipleship, your teaching, but mainly through your role as husband and father.

Feliz compleanos, hermano!

Kiddie Kwote-Honey

I've noticed that I've mainly quoted Ricky and Juliet, but now that Zoey is starting to talk a little bit more, she's going to be a regular pretty soon.

As soon as Amel walks through the door after work, all the kids run up to him, but here's what Zoey says:

Zoey: Hi Honey, hon, hon, hi honey!

Here's how we know she understands what we're saying.

Amel: Hey, I'm not your honey! I'm Mommy's honey!

Zoey: With a laugh: "Hi, Daddy!"




I love it when kids mispronounce words. Here are some of the names that Zoey mispronounces:



Hi Marmo! Hi Marlo!

Poo-Poo! Winnie the Pooh. Sorry, Susan if you're reading this, it's too cute to correct her.

Pa-Pa! For Grandpa--I know this is a common one, but it's still cute.

Hi Jay Day! For her cousin Jayden.




Lastly, here are some things that me and the older two find funny. Whenever she drops something on the floor, she gets mad at herself and says:



Zoey: Ooooooooh, seeeeeeeee?



And whenever one of the other two hurt her, I make them apologize to her, but as they're saying sorry, she says sorry too and does the sign language for it:

Zoey: Soy-eeee.. As she rubs her hand over her belly in a circular motion and the sweetest "sad" look on her face.

Yes, people, you will be hearing more from her before you know it.

Kiddie Kwote-Out

We love watching American Idol with the family. The kids have their favorites. This was this week's performance that we are talking about.

Jason Castro was up singing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and the judges raved about him afterwards, but right at the beginning here's what Juliet said:

Juliet: Oh Mommy, he's out.

Next we are watching David Archuleta, who sang "Angels."

Juliet: Oh, he is in. She says this as she nods her head in approval. "I like him."

She also said that Syesha Mercado was out. Let's see if she's right.

How Time Flies

Winter 2006


I had my quiet time this morning and it made me realize how short this life really is. I found some old pictures hidden in my camera's internal memory and it brought tears to my eyes. My "babies" hardly look like babies anymore.

Fall 2007


GOLDEN NUGGET:This verse says it all: Lord, make me to know my end and what is the extent of my days; let me know how transient I am. Behold, you have made my days as handbreadths, and my lifetime as nothing in your sight; surely every man at his best is a mere breath. Psalm 39:4,5

Happy Birthday Juliet!

On behalf of her birthday, this post is dedicated to my spunky daughter, Buggy Bug. We didn't find out what we were having with her, so it was a very sweet surprise when she came into the world. Since I already had a boy, my dreams of having a girl to do girly things with were going to soon to come true...

Boy was I wrong! Buggy Bug is far from girly. Her favorite colors are baby blue and green. She watches Go Diego Go!, Yu Gi Oh, Ben 10, basically whatever shows big brother watches. Her favorite character on High School Musical is Troy and I brace myself every Sunday morning because she refuses to wear a dress to church. She plays with Ninja Turtle and Power Ranger action figures. "I want to be a boy!" has come out of her mouth on more than one occasion and her best friends are her boy cousins, Darian and Elijah.

I call Zoey my sweet girl and so that makes Juliet my spicy girl. For those of you who don't know, she chose "Buggy Bug" as her new nick name and for a while got angry when you called her Juliet. She has since learned that Juliet is her real name and so it's okay when people call her that.

As "spicy" as she is, she is full of personality, and if you've read this blog before (kiddie kwotes), she makes us laugh every day. She loves to sing, adores her big brother (she wants to be just like him), and truly helps me care for her baby sister. She does have her moments when she is very sweet, for instance right after she wakes up and right before she goes to bed at night, she loves to snuggle up to Amel or me. And when she sees that I'm upset, she sings this song that she knows always make me feel better. The song goes like this:

I know of a place where you'll never be harmed,


Indoors....indoors....iiiiinnn-doooooooors!

I wouldn't change a thing about her.

Happy Birthday, Buggy Bug! We all love you very much!

Kiddie Kwote-Lex

I need to start labeling these Kiddie Kwotes, I get confused when I try to edit. Anyway, this isn't a funny quote, but it's so sweet that I just had to post it.

One of our friend's kid is in the hospital. He's very sick and I finally told the kids about it last night. I explained that he was sick and that he was in the hospital.

Juliet: With her eyes wide open: Hey, he's my friend.
Me: Yes, you played with him before.
Juliet: Then we have to pray for him a lot, a lot, a lot of times.

I praise God that my kids know that it's going to be Him that brings Lex through this trial. And we will pray for him a lot, a lot, a lot of times.

Kiddie Kwote-Nose

Juliet comes to my room looking miserable and kind of fake-crying.

Me: What's the matter?

She doesn't answer and just keeps fake-crying.

Me: Juliet, please don't have a bad attitude, you just woke up.

Juliet: My nose is the matter. *sniff-sniff*

Kiddie Kwote-Asthma

One of my kids didn't quite make it to the bathroom today and had a little "accident" which is so unusual for this kid. I really don't want to say who, but I'm sure you'll probably guess who it is.

Me: Why didn't you make it to the bathroom?
Kid: Because of my asthma.

Huh?

Limos + Kids= A Great Time

This takes place after our dinner at Crustacean.



First, I have to describe their reaction when they first saw the limos. It was one of pure joy and happiness. They were so excited!



As you know, we had all the kids and they were active the whole ride to Crustacean. They drank all the soda. They were amazed by the colored lights in the limo. They sat on the floor and kept laughing the whole time.



Anyway, after our wonderful dinner, we were off in the limo once again. The kids were still restless, so we decided to play some games with them. The first one we played was the question game. We asked them questions like, why do people get married? What does it mean to be in love? Who do you like better Zoey 101 or Hannah Montana? I should tell you their answers, it was pretty funny. After a while they got tired of this game, so Jayson decided to tell them a "scary" story.



The kids sat on the floor of the limo in front of Jayson. He told Amel and I to help him out with this story by scaring them at the right time. Of course we agreed. So the story was about some kids who happen to have the same names as Ricky, Tre, Jaylen, etc...Jayson talked in a low voice and the kids seemed to really be scared! Finally, in the story, the kids were taking a walk in the woods and felt something on their backs. This was our cue to touch all the kids on the back and scare them.



So we grab the kids and they are genuinely scared because they scream. Ricky has tears in his eyes. Jaylen has her hands on her face. Elijah is just quiet, I think he got a little too scared. I think Juliet is just laughing. But Tre...oh boy, he is ANGRY! He gets up right after we scare him and tries to tackle Jayson! Amel holds him back and calms him down. He's sitting quietly by Amel, but he's muttering some things because I see that his lips are moving.



Well, at this point, Amel, Jayson, Elaine, and I are trying to hold back our laughs. I look away from Tre and tears are coming down my face because this was just a funny sight. I guess you just had to be there. There's just something about giving little kids a good scare that is just so funny.

GOLDEN NUGGET: Although they wreaked havoc in Crustacean, they made the limo ride so much fun. This is a memory I will never forget.

Kiddie Kwote-Bigger

Amel was recounting this story to my brother and Rose yesterday. The reason it's a kiddie kwote and not a golden nugget is because I can't seem to find a golden nugget. If anyone can help me out with that, I would appreciate it. Anyway, I think enough time has passed that it can now be seen as hilarious.

Let me set it up for you:

We went to Disneyland last year for our annual summer trip with the Bagalso (Mike and Ellen) and Espiritu (Ron and Vicky) families. This confrontation took place at California Adventure on our way to the Princess Lunch. We just got done watching the High School Musical 2 parade and the dads bought the kids some candy from a nearby store.

Amel: Here's your candy, Juliet.
It was the tiny M&M's.
Juliet: She takes one look at the tiny M&M's and tells Amel, "Make it bigger, Daddy."
Amel: I can't make it bigger, Juliet.
Juliet: Throws the candy on the ground: "MAKE IT BIGGER!"
Amel: I told you, I can't make it bigger.
Juliet: WAHHHHH! Obviously, it's the end of the world.

So Amel takes her in his arms and tries to carry her to a nearby bench. She starts wailing and flailing her arms. The Bagalso's and Espiritu's are waaaaay ahead of us. Ricky, Zoey, and I are watching in horror a few feet away then a worker walks up to Amel.

Worker: Is everything alright sir?
Amel: I've never seen him so mad. "Yes"

To make a long story short, Amel and Juliet worked it out. She apologized to him and we were able to enjoy the Princess lunch with everybody. I guess since it was Disneyland, she thought anything was possible, like making candy bigger.

Kiddie Kwote: MAKE IT BIGGER!

(Actually I was thinking about this last night and I did find a golden nugget.)

GOLDEN NUGGET: Having a funny story to tell AND knowing that you can forgive and still love someone after they totally embarrass you in public.

Blue Rock Springs

After being sick for little over a week and being cooped up at home, we finally got to enjoy some fresh air this past Tuesday at Blue Rock Springs. We haven't been there in while since we've been playing at the Wardlaw playground. Anyway, it wasn't a sunny day, yet the weather was perfect: not too hot or cold.

Amel was able to join us that day and they've put in a new play structure since the last time we've been there, which was almost three years ago. Anyway, there was a tube slide there that I would bet my life on that it was about two stories high. Being the brave and adventurous kids that they are, Ricky and Juliet quickly climbed the stairs up to the top and came out of the slide two seconds later. It was super fast! Needless to say, the kids had a blast.

Zoey on the other hand enjoyed the baby swing and protested when it was time to go. Afterwards, we crossed the bridge to get on the "island." The kids saw a couple of ducks and a turtle! Amel showed them the spot where his brother Jayson almost drowned when he was kid. He stopped "drowing" when his uncle told him to "Stand up!"

Amel had to go to the library, so we went to the Benicia Public library. The kids enjoyed the books. They played with the little puppet theater with all the puppets and the cardboard blocks.

This was just a simple,wonderful way to spend time with the family after being sick with this awful flu for the second time this winter season.

GOLDEN NUGGET: Being reminded of the fact that my children are truly gifts from the Lord and being able to enjoy them on this ordinary day.

Kiddie Kwote-Library

We were on our way home from the Benicia Public Library. Juliet had checked out two books.

Ricky: Mommy, Juliet is taking the sticker off the book. (the barcode)
Me: Juliet, you better stop doing that.
Juliet: Is the police going to stop me? She asks in a surprisingly timid voice.
Me: Yes.
Juliet: Are they going to put me in jail?
Me: Yes, so you better stop.
Juliet: After a few minutes of silence. I know she was thinking hard about what she was going to say next. "It's okay if the police gets me, I will just kick him. I'm strong."

I talked to her about not messing other people's stuff up and how she can't kick policemen. I know I'm terrible for lying to her, but it bugs me when people mess library books up. To put your minds at ease, I have since repented. : )

Kiddie Kwote-Sutter

I also have a Kiddie Kwote. Well, it's not an actual quote, but it's from a paper that Ricky wrote in class.

Hi, my name is Ricky. I am seven years old. My favorite color is green. My favorite animal is the grey wolf. My favorite food is pizza. I have two sisters. When I grow up, I want to work at Sutter.

Classic case of son wanting to be just like dad.

Kids and Fancy Restaurants...the full story

Here I am, ready to finally tell this story. I'm smiling as I type this because I think I mentioned this earlier, but this was a night that I will never forget.

To start: the reason we were all heading out to this fancy restaurant was to celebrate Rose's birthday. Being the family person that she is, Rose wanted to share this day with just family; hers, my brother's, and Jayson and Elaine (who are like family to them.) Anyway, yes, that meant the kids and all. At first, Amel and I were going to find a sitter for the kids, but when Amel heard that Jay and Elaine were bringing their kids, we decided to bring ours. Plus, I thought this would be a neat experience for them. If I had only known!

We met up at their house because we were going to be driven by limo. My brother and Rose really went all out and graciously gave us all a ride to the restaurant. Since there were so many of us, we had to take two. Rose's family went in one limo and my brother's family went in the other. Guess which limo had all the kids? Yes, our limo. We had Ricky, Juliet, Zoey, Jaylen, Elijah, Jared, Tre, and Jayden.

I wish I had gotten a picture of my kids' faces when they got in the limo. They were so impressed and so happy to be in there. Their excitement made Amel and I laugh. The whole ride to the restaurant they kept touching everything, opening drinks, and just having so much fun. Poor Zoey was strapped to her carseat (so were Jayden and Jared), so she ended up taking a cat nap.

We got to San Francisco in good time. There wasn't even any traffic in Berkeley! Did I mention what restaurant we went to? One of my favorites: Crustacean. Why did we dare to bring our kids to this wonderful restaurant? Actually, I know my reason, it's because we weren't paying for it. : )

Anyway, there are two tables, and of course, we're at the table with ALL the kids. Here's where the fun begins. Juliet has a fit because she wants to sit next to Jaylen after telling me that she wanted to sit next to Ricky. They are both on opposite sides of the table, so it wasn't easy to switch it up. Plus, Elijah wanted to sit next to Jaylen too and didn't want to move from his spot. After a few minutes of whining, Amel finally gets up and has a little talk with her. This is at the same time that my brother takes Darian from the table and has a little chat with him as well. The conclusion to this is that Juliet can sit next to Jaylen and Elijah has to sit on Jaylen's other side.

Next, the food comes. I get the chicken. Amel gets the crab, and Ricky gets the prawns. We decide to share our noodles with the girls. It turns out that both Ricky and Juliet wanted the crab. So poor Amel is working to get the crab meat out...for the kids! I'm sure if she knew what it was, Zoey would have wanted some too. So, the kids are bugging Amel for crab and Zoey is just demanding to be fed, so there's very little eating happening for Amel and me. Plus, these kids seem to automatically get food on the floor. I don't know how this happens, but after a meal, there is always food on the floor.

So, imagine all this happening at the same time as Elijah breaking out because he's allergic to something, Darian having yet another fit, and Ricky and Tre laughing really loudly about something and kids at different times having to use the restroom. Whew!

Finally, it's time for dessert. The kids get this wonderful orange sorbet served in an orange, but of course, they don't want that. They want Jaylen's chocolate cake, which she eventually shares.

Two hours later, our bellies finally full almost to bursting, we leave Crustacean. Now, I'm sensitive to snootiness. If someone is being snooty towards me, I could usually sense it. Though, I have to admit that I got none of that from the Crustacean staff. They were very kind to all of us, even the kids. They didn't seemed fazed by the noise or the mess that we made. But even so, I don't think I want to show my face back there for a very long time.

The ride back home is another story, so you'll have to wait for that.

Here are some pictures from that night. These are mostly the kids that were at our table.

My sweet girl


Boy...did she make a mess!







Bubba, Jaylen, and Buggy Bug




Patners in crime Ricky and Tre

My sister MaryJoy and niece Aleysia

GOLDEN NUGGET: Learning that kids and fancy restaurants don't mix...and we didn't have to spend a dime! : ) Thanks, Bro! Thanks, Rose!

Fancy Restaurant Part 1

Okay, so I'm feeling a little bit better, so I think I can finally post that Kids and Fancy Restaurants story from a week or two ago. But before I do, I wanted to share this story of when Amel and I celebrated our 9th anniversary in San Francisco.

We stayed at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel near Union Square. This was such an ideal location because we were smack dab in the middle of everthing. There literally was not a dull moment.

Anyway, Saturday night, we wanted to have a special anniversary dinner. So, after being told that this was THE restaurant to go to by several people, Amel and I decided to go to Crustacean. Mmmm...my mouth is watering as I think about this place. If you've never been there before, this is an asian/european fusion cuisine restaurant and they are known for their roasted crab and their very delicious garlic noodles. Since this restaurant was only half a mile from Union Square, and we had been walking around all weekend anyway, we decided to ditch the car and just walk there.

BAD IDEA. The earliest reservation available was 8:45pm. Since we wanted to take our time, we left our hotel at 7:30pm. And you know it's really dark at that time of year. So, we leave Union Square and it's fine for the first few blocks, but then we notice that it's a little bit darker and there are hardly any people and there are questionable items in the storefront windows. And you know that feeling you get when you're being followed? Well, I had that feeling for a couple of blocks and I'm trying to drag Amel along to walk faster, but he doesn't. In fact, I think he's walking a little bit slower. Why?!? Doesn't he know that I've watched a few episodes of Dateline and how one of my fears is to end up being on that show? Many prayers for safety were said during that short walk.

A few blocks later, someone passes us up, and I'm at ease once again. We arrive at the restaurant by 8pm and are seated immediately to one of the best dinners I've ever had in my life. I had their Shrimp ravioli and their fried banana with ice cream for dessert. Amel had their lobster with garlic noodles and their chocolate mousse cake for dessert. Afterwards, we decide to take a cab back to our hotel, which only took five minutes and cost less than the valet parking at the restaurant.

Later, I asked Amel why he did what he did, and he tells me that if we really were being followed, it would have been obvious because we were walking so slow and Amel would eventually have turned around and asked the guy if he really were following us. Plus, he was ready for anything. Sounds crazy, right? But I don't doubt that's what he would have done.

GOLDEN NUGGET: Knowing that God's protection was on us, just by the mere fact we weren't mugged that night AND knowing that I can count on my husband's manly instincts.

Harsh Winter Season

This weekend, I suffered from the flu. This is the second time this winter season that I've gotten it, hence, the title of this post. In all my years, I don't ever remember getting the flu more than once a year, if at all. This time wasn't as bad as the first time I got it. First of all, it's not Christmas. Yes, I got the flu during Christmas. I went to sleep on Dec. 23 and I woke up Dec. 26. I wasn't in pain from head to toe and my fever didn't get as high.

Nonetheless, I was still miserable and had a couple of nights of tossing and turning. When I can't sleep at night, I believe one of the reasons that I can't sleep is because God wants me to pray. I've come to learn that I need to do it, and not try some other way to fall asleep. Like reading a book, or watching TV, or warm beverages. So, you can imagine how many times I prayed late in the night this past weekend.

Some of the things He's shown me is: 1) He's the Great Physician. 2) Everthing will work out for my good. 3) I can trust my life in His hands. 4) I need to be more compassionate when Amel and the kids get sick.

Out of all the things He's shown me, He humbled me with #4 the most. I have to admit, when my family gets sick, I'm pretty no nonsense. I give them their medicine, give them what they can eat, and send them straight to bed. But for me, I don't think that's enough anymore. In my heart, I need to be more compassionate. I need to give them extra hugs and kisses and I need to pray with them more often.

People always want more time with their family. That's just impossible, because God has given us a certain amount of time on earth that can never be subtracted from or added to. We just need to make the most of the time that they're given.

GOLDEN NUGGET: In my sickness, God showed me my need to be more compassionate.

Kiddie Kwotes-Sister

I'm recalling more funny quotes from the past. I hope they're as funny to you as they are to me. Here's one that I have on my Facebook:

Setting: My mom's house. My sister, MaryJoy and Juliet were sitting on the sofa and I was at the dining table.

Juliet: Auntie Mare, my mommy has one brother.
MaryJoy: Who is it?
Juliet: Uncle JunJun
MaryJoy: Did you know your mom has one sister?
Juliet: Yes
MaryJoy: Who is it?
Juliet: Auntie Alma
MaryJoy: No, that's your daddy's sister.
Juliet: Auntie Deana?
MaryJoy: No...she's right in front of your face.
Juliet: looking really confused now, but she turns and looks at me and says: Am I your sister, mommy?Hahaha!


Juliet: Zoey, why are you such a troubleBAKER?



My niece, Aleysia, was over the house one day and we were just sitting around the table after lunch just talking:

Ricky: If you guys can have as much money as you want, how much would you get? I would get one hundred million dollars!
Aleysia: All the money in the world.
Juliet: Thinks about it and with full conviction says: Two dollars.

Ricky: If you had a store, what would you name it? Mine would be Rix Picks
Aleysia: Aleysia Jane's
Juliet: Target!
Haha. That's my girl!

Reading all these quotes makes me think of a golden nugget, so here it goes:

GOLDEN NUGGET: The kids may have their daddy's good looks and even his mathematical genius, but you know what? They have my sense of humor!

Kiddie Kwotes-Dork

Along with Golden Nuggets, I think I need to add a section that I'm going to label Kiddie Kwotes. They are going to be funny quotes from, who else? Kids! Mostly mine, but if I happen to hear some from any others, then that's what I'm going to post.

My kids are full of funny quotes. Ricky is the goofball of the family, but Juliet is the one who is funny, but doesn't even try. Here's a snippet of their conversation in the car yesterday as we drove from Jamba Juice.

They were calling each other dorks, but before I could stop them here's what I heard:

Ricky: What's a dork, Juliet?
Juliet: Someone who likes puppies.
Ricky: No, a dork is someone who wears glasses.
Juliet: Mommy wears glasses.
Ricky: Mommy's not a dork because she wears contacts.
Me: Is mommy a dork?
Juliet: No
Me: Is daddy a dork?
Juliet: Yes. Hahaha.

Kiddie Kwote: A dork is someone who likes puppies.

Kids and Fancy Restaurants

Oprah has this section in her magazine called "What I Know For Sure." Well, I have something that I can share. I know for SURE that kids and fancy restaurants do not mix. I know that is common sense, but since it was on someone else's dime, I decided to bring my kids along this past weekend. Let's just say it's a night I will not forget for the rest of my life. I'm short on time, so I'll post more when I get the chance.

Macro Flower

Thanks to my friend, Haar, I now know how to use the function of the macro flower on my camera. It enables you to take really nice close up pictures. I love taking close ups, but they never turned out right until yesterday. Unfortunately, I had uncooperative subjects.

Here's Juliet right before her tantrum:

Here's Zoey before she threw her breakfast on the floor:

Okay, Ricky was the only one who didn't mind!

I'm just amazed because in the past, I would not have been able to take close up pictures that turned out so nice. I hope tomorrow is nice because I'm going to take more pictures!

GOLDEN NUGGET: Learning something new about the camera that I've had for eight years!

Rosemarie Agbalog Leonor

In honor of her birthday, this blog is dedicated to my sister, Rose. For those of you who don't know her, she is married to my brother, Angelo Leonor. Anyway, she's going to kill me for this, but I have a few things to share about her.

The first time I met her was at my niece, Aleysia's, 2nd or 3rd birthday. She stayed for literally two minutes and left. My first impression of her? Very cute and short...perfectly my brother's type.

Another memory of Rose was the first year we started hanging out. For some reason, she thought my husbands name was AR-mel and not AM-el. I truly believe we tried to correct her a few times, but I don't think she heard. We told my brother to tell her in private, but somehow, he never got around to telling her the real pronounciation to Amel's name. In fact, he thought it was hilarious. So, for a whole year, she would call him Armel and everytime she did, we would end up cracking up behind her back. I know it sounds mean, but I think it's one of those, "you had to be there" moments. Finally, my brother told her the correct way, and the next time we saw her, she said it the right way! We still laugh about it to this day.

Rose is a true foodie. You can count on her to come up with delicious dishes and if you're invited to a party where she is doing the cooking, you should count yourself blessed! She's also a neat freak, so if you need help cleaning up, invite Rose, she does it automatically! : ) I could go on and on about this girl, but the most important this is that she loves God and she lives for Him each day and it's apparent in the way she treats her husband, children, the rest of her family and friends. I love you, Rose! May God give you many more birthdays to bring glory to His name.

GOLDEN NUGGET: God has truly blessed me with amazing sisters, and Rose is definitely one of them.

Just an ordinary day

For those of you who know Amel, you know that he is kind of a work-a-holic. He does not waste one minute of his life. He is either studying, in a class, cleaning the garage, meeting with someone, or working. Most women complain that their husbands lay around the house and don't do anything. I've never made that complaint in my life. My complaint is that he can't stay still. Don't get me wrong, most of the time, this is a good thing. But sometimes, the kids just want to be with him and he needs to stop what he's doing and do just that. Last night was one of those times. After dinner, he wanted to clean the garage, but the kids wanted to play with him before bed, so he played ping-pong with Ricky and Juliet. Afterwards, Juliet wanted to play Rockband, so we played the drums together while Zoey "sang." I wish I had taken a picture of them, it was the sweetest thing. They had a blast doing very ordinary things. It was one of those rare nights where he had no meetings to go to and nothing to study for and we had no where to go...and it was great.

GOLDEN NUGGET: Knowing that my children's happiness is mine as well.

Precious Ones

My daughter Juliet is such a character. She says the funniest things almost everyday. For instance, yesterday, she was having a bad attitude about something and I had to have a little talk with her. After our talk, she gave me the saddest face and said, "No one wants to be nice to be nice to me." I looked her right in the eye and said, "I'm sorry, Juliet, but no one is going to be nice to you when you disobey. That's not how it works." She just scrunched up her face and started to cry. A few hugs and kisses later and an apology from the person that hurt her and she was her spunky self once again. Oh, Buggy Bug...

Anyway, speaking of children, I serve every other month in the children's ministry preschool Sunday school. Honestly, it is such a joy to serve there. I really enjoy the age group that I have 4-5 years old. I've taught several lessons over the years, but something struck me yesterday as I was giving the very, very short lesson on Zaccheus. In my lessons, I have an introduction, the body of the lesson, application, and review. During the application time, I was trying to fill up the time by going off my notes and telling the kids how they needed to be eager to see Jesus, just like Zaccheus. As I was speaking from my heart, I was able to look each child in the eye and I realized that there's a precious soul in each of those little bodies. God is powerful enough and gracious enough to reach even the hearts of these little ones.

There are days when this is tough to see, especially when they're not listening for one reason or another, but I'm thankful for these days when I'm clearly reminded of my purpose here on earth: to spread the gospel and bring glory to His name.

GOLDEN NUGGET: Being reminded that the most important thing of all, our salvation, is in the hands of our loving, Almighty Father. May we never cease praying for those who don't know Him, especially those precious little ones.

Afterschool

Since we've moved, Ricky had to start going to Wardlaw. Coming from Dan Mini, this school is nice. Don't get me wrong, Dan Mini felt like home. It was actually harder for me than it was for Ricky to leave that school. But driving all the way there from our house was taking it's toll. I'm thankful that Ricky was finally transferred after Christmas vacation.

Anyway, as nice as this school is, it does have it's problems. For instance, trying to get out of the parking lot afterschool takes forever and a day. Thank goodness Ricky likes to run because he runs to our meeting spot and we run to the car and on good days we're out of there in less than ten minutes. One day, we were out of there in three!

The past couple of days have been so nice and so I decided to do a little experiment. I was going to wait until the traffic died. While waiting for that to happen, we decided to play on the play structure. Guess what? It took 15-20 minutes for the traffic to pass.

In the meantime, the kids were having a blast, burnt off all that extra energy and spent some quality time with each other. Is waiting that extra 5 to 10 minutes worth it? You bet! Next week, we're going to play four square and I honestly can not wait.

GOLDEN NUGGET: I found a built in, guaranteed, quality time with my kids...outdoors!

Happy Valentime's Day!

Amel and I actually celebrated Valentine's day yesterday. We've made it a tradition to celebrate the day before because the actual day is always busy. I really don't believe in this "holiday" because I think it should be Valentine's day everyday. Nonetheless, I still enjoy going out on this day. Since it was a Wednesday, we had limited time since the kids were at the building and their Buzzie Bee and GTC classes were going to be done at 9pm.

Anyway, we went to one of my favorite restaurants, Olive Garden. We had to take Zoey with us, which is fine because she's pretty easy going. Zoey is very sweet, but she eats more than Juliet and Ricky put together. As soon as the food came out, she started eating non-stop. I wish I had taken a picture of her belly after dinner, it gets so big!

I hope you all have a great day and are able to spend it with the one you love.

GOLDEN NUGGET:Amel bought me a non-corded gift...ROSES! He did good!

Ricky is profound

Ricky is growing up to be a very thoughtful boy. We've had many interesting conversations regarding many different topics, but something he said to me last night struck me. I was talking about how they need to behave when we're out and to listen to me so that they don't get hurt. In the middle of my "speech" Ricky says, "Mommy, you sound like you want us to act like adults. But we can't act like adults, we're just kids!" I just stared at him and I didn't have a response. I finally had to tell him that he was right. I did expect him and his sisters to act like adults at times and I know that's not fair. I told him that he still had to obey his dad and me because of Ephesians 6:1 "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right." But I will make sure to remember that they are just kids and not adults.

GOLDEN NUGGET:God using my son to correct my way of thinking.

God is great

I'm still trying to get a hang of this whole blog thing. Whenever I see other people's blogs, it gets me inspired to work on mine. But anyway, this past weekend was so great. Mike Canham taught on a topic that we needed to hear, Christian Liberties. There was a lot that he taught on. I have a big ol' packet to prove it. But the one thing that stuck out to me was that in order for me to have a true conviction, I need to find a chapter and verse to back it up. Otherwise, it's just something I feel strongly about. And you know, feelings can vary from person to person. So, it's my goal to find chapters and verses for my convictions.

I titled this post God is great because He is. He's been teaching me that He is in control, He wants what's best for me, and that He loves me more than I can ever imagine. What a comfort that I can cling on to the promises of the One who created this universe.

Annual COV/CORE Winter Retreat

This weekend, we are going to the COV/CORE annual retreat. I always look forward to this time because it's always good to get away from it all and focus on our individual relationship with God. I think back on all the times I went as a single person and I smile because I have nothing but good memories. The times where I stayed up all night with the girls and pored our hearts out to one another and praying for each other afterwards. Very sweet times of fellowship.

Now, there's a new generation of young adults doing this. I truly hope that God uses this time in their lives to refresh and renew.