I Missed You, Carpaccio!

Before Italianis and all other commercial Italian restaurants became popular, there was Carpaccio. It's a small restaurant along Yakal in Makati that serves authentic Italian food. I vividly remember the paintings on the wall. They were reminiscent of the gondolas in Venice and cobblestones in Paris. It was such a lovely little nook in Makati.

We would have some lunch meetings with our foreign guests there some fifteen years ago. Dens and i would also frequent the place during our anniversaries and other special occassion. It was my favorite Italian restaurant then. Years later, new restaurants popped up in Makati and i forgot about Carpaccio. Once in a while i would remember it but thought it must be pretty run-down by now.

Last Friday, Dens and i were on our way home and was stuck in flood and traffic along Yakal Street.  Fate has it that we were pretty much stranded in front of the old Carpaccio. We wondered about the place and decided to check it out for old times' sake. What greeted us was such a surprise.

The place has moved to the 2nd floor of the same building.  It has been renovated with much modern interiors. They kept the wine rack to retain its vintage feel but everything else was sleek and stylish. Though i have fond memories of the old place, I really liked the new vibe that they've injected to the renovated restaurant.

The second thought that came to mind when i saw the place was 'uh-oh, prices must have also sky-rocketed with the upgraded interiors.  But then again, i was happy to see that they have remained reasonable considering the service and the good food.

We decided to split a pizza and a pasta between the two of us. Our bill came up to P800+ which is not bad for the fine dining experience. To start our meal, they served us warm bread and different spreads.

This was followed by a complimentary lamb patty as an appetizer. I am not a lamb person but it was very tasty. I guess i was more floored by the fact that this was free! #ilovefreebies

And then our main course came. All pasta dish come in two serving sizes. You can order it in appetizer portion or the main course. We decided to just get the appetizer portion since we were already splitting an entire pizza between the two of us. It was a good decision since it turned out that the appetizer portion was plenty enough already. The size is similar to a single-serving pasta dish in other established restaurants.

Marinara Pasta

Al Frutti di Mare Pizza (Seafood)

After our meal, my old love for Carpaccio has returned.  i told Dens that Carpaccio is still my favorite Italian restaurant of all time. I am sure we will be back. Maybe we'll see you there too?

Here is the entire MENU for your reference.

 

CARPACCIO RISTORANTE ITALIANO

7431 Yakal Street, San Antonio Village,
Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines
Tel: (63) 843-7286 / 867-3164
F: (63) 892-9271
E-mail: dining_at_yakal@werdenberg.com

Website: http://www.werdenberg.com/carpaccio/index.html

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Do You Know How to Delegate?

Last weekend i found myself in a Strategic Planning seminar. The points that were raised were mostly applicable to organizations - whether it's a business, a church or other non-profit organizations. But when the speaker started talking about delegating, it struck me as a parenting lesson.

Are we, as parents, confident enough to delegate responsibilites to our children? It easier when our children are already adults. We endorse business decisions and other important responsibilities to them. But how about the younger ones? I gues the question we should ask ourselves is "how early should we start delgating responsibilites?"

When we were discussing delation during the seminar, the speaker explained that when we delegate, we must allow for a certain level of risk. But what is important is that the risks associated with the task is calculated. This means that you can easily recoup most of the damage should something go wrong. Likewise, the responsibilites that we delegate to our children should also be calculated based on their age. We give them responsibilites but make sure that it is age appropriate. More importantly, we should also ensure that the consequences of failure will not be life threatening. 

One of the things that Dens and i have recently talked about is allowing our kids to commute in the future. Dens is convinved that he does not want our kids to grow up dependent on private transportation. I agree with Dens 100 percent.  But there is a struggle within this paranoid mommy to allow for them to commute at such a young age.  Perhaps when they're 30?  Okay fine, 25?  I feel like allowing them to commute at a young age is like sending them off to war unprepared.  Dens started to commute when he was in gradeschool and i cannot imagine doing the same for my kids.  I told him maybe the first time Troy or Dawn will take the jeep, i will be trailing behind in our car. Dens didn't find it very funny. Maybe because he knew i was serious.

It's never easy to let go.  When we hold on to these parental responsibilites, our children will grow up in a very sheltered environment that will not allow them to thrive in the real world. It's important that we start delegating small responsibilities to them while they're young. It really does not have to be something big right away. For example, my 2-year old daughter is tasked to always pack her things away after she plays. She also helps me fix things at home and is always reminded to close the door after herself each time she leaves a room.  With my 5-year old, we often remind him to try to do things himself first before asking for help. When we watch movies in our TV room, he has learned to get water by himself.  Most of the time he would even get water for everyone else while he is at it.  Sometimes, other friends and family members would get anxious when they see Troy holding the pitcher because he might drop it and make a mess. For me, that's quite all right. Yes, he may spill the water sometimes but that's part of learning. In fact, he already knows to clean up after himself should that happen...in which case it becomes another teaching opportunity.  Again, the risk involved in the given responsibility is not life threatening so that is fine.

Maybe in a couple of years, i will be braver and allow my children to take the jeep. Until then, we will continue to train them at home and win these small battles. Maybe next time we will be ready for the war.

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What Does Familiarity Breed?

I love my husband and i know he has a lot of strong attributes. I know this because i wouldn't have married him in the first place if he didn't.  But after knowing him for more than 13 years, sometimes i forget what these good qualities are.

A few months ago, one of our very good friends told us that they think Dens is one of the smartest people they know. When i heard this, I laughed out loud. Then i realized that they were serious. So it got me thinking.

When i first met Dens thirteen years ago, i could not stop gushing about all his wonderful traits. He was indeed very smart (great problem-solving skills especially in Math), he was our resident MacGyver who knew how to fix practically anything, he was always very generous - not just with money but also with his time, and more importantly, he had such a good heart. He always saw the good in people and avoids thinking ill of anyone. So what happened?  Did dens change through the years?  As i thought about it more, i realized that he didn't change at all. He is still very smart and handy, he still thinks of others before himself, and he is still very generous with his time and resources. So what has changed? I realized then that i was the one who changed. I have been so used to being around Dens that i became too comfortable with all of his good traits. Before i knew it, i was looking past them and was simply nit-picking everything he does that annoys me. I failed to appreciate him as much as i should and only called his attention every time he does something wrong.

Where is the love in that? My thoughts opened my eyes to once again see the beautiful gift that God has given me. A husband who loves me unconditionally and a bestfriend i can always count on. Dens has been nothing less than wonderful through the years and i have failed to see that. I saw the 1 day that he was late and failed to see the 6 other ones when he was on time. I criticized his growing belly and failed to appreciate the many midnight snacks he prepared for me and the kids. Familiarity blinds us sometimes, doesn't it? We are always so gracious to our acquaintances but we sometimes fail to extend the same grace to the people we love the most.

Familiarity should breed contentment and not contempt.  Dens will continue to have his faults as i would mine. Nobody is perfect. But i will promise to try my very best to always to see the goodness in him.


ps. Love, please do not use this post as an excuse to be late.  But if you do become late at times, i love you anyway :)

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Bible Reading for Kids

I woke up this morning with Dawn sleeping soundly beside me.  I looked at the time and saw that i still have a few more minutes to spare before my alarm clock goes off.  As i was about to go back to sleep, i was surprised to see Dens and Troy already awake and reading Troy's children's bible. My surprise was not so much that they were reading the bible together, it was more because they were up extra early. If you know my husband well, you will know that sleep is oh-so-precious to him. That is why i appreciate him so much more when i saw that he took the effort to wake up early to have this special time with Troy.

Dens started their daily bible reading around 3 months ago.  Troy enjoys the stories and the time with his dad. He looks forward to it when he wakes up and makes sure the bible is on Dens' bedside before we go to sleep at night. On some nights, Troy would request for Dens to also read the bible to him before going to bed. In effect, he has two devotional time with the Lord in a day! That's double the quota i've set for myself during my 21-day challenge!

They have finished the entire children's bible and are just reviewing their favorite stories now. We have been using My First Bible from Good Books.  It has a lot of colorful illustration and the stories are simplified to make it easier for children to understand. There are a lot of children's bibles out there. Go to the bookstore with your child and have them pick out their favorite. We just might do that again with Troy soon.

Psalm 119:133 "Direct my steps by Your word"

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Date Night: Yomenya Goemon, Greenbelt

Every night, Dens and i would try to spend as much time as we possibly can with the kids. We would watch movies with them, tell them Bible stories, or play whatever game they'd want to play. But come Friday, we would take time out from our busy parenting schedule and have our regular date night.  It hasn't been easy sustaining this sacred night since parenting guilt sometimes gets in the way.  We'd often end up bringing the kids along or watching a movie with them at home.

One Friday night in March, we found ourselves sans kids in Greenbelt 3. We wanted to try something new and saw this interesting Japanese Spaghetti House that replaced the old Big Buddha restaurant near the parking building.

The place looked really inviting. There were a lot of people already so getting a table was quite a challenge. The waiter asked if we were okay to sit by the bar and we thought 'sure, why not?' this is something we cannot do when the kids are around.  

I found out that the restaurant is a franchise from Shibuya in Japan. The first Yomenya Goemon opened in 1976 and has now become Japan's 2nd largest food and beverage player with as many as 2,500 branches in their homeland.

They claim to have reinvented the way we eat spaghetti. True to the Japanese cultrue, you have to eat your spaghetti using chopsticks! One thing that i found unique is that they put poached eggs on top of the pasta once served. Mixing it makes for a creamier texture to the sauce. And as with most authentic Japanese meals, they also serve miso soup prior to the main course.

The prices are quite reasonable ranging from P200+ and up. They also serve pizza and other interesting dish that are beyond ordinary. Just writing about them and looking at the pictures makes me want to go back for more!

Here's to more memorable date nights and great finds! What about you? What's your latest food find?



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Flowers from Two Gentlemen

Dens has always given me flowers on Valentines' Day. He would always buy three bouquets on the special occassion. One for his mom, one for my mom, and one for me. It's been 13 years of the same routine that sometimes I forget to appreciate it as much as I should.

Flowers from Dens

Yesterday when I got home, Troy excitedly ran to me and handed me his own 'bouquet'. His yaya said he got it from my mom's house earlier that day. He held on to it all day and didn't want to throw it out saying it was a surprise for me.

Flowers from Troy. I placed it on the table together with the pearls that I was wearing yesterday and thought it looked picture-perfect together

I am pretty sure Troy got the idea from the flowers Dens gave me. I love that he adores Dens and models after his father. I hope it stays that way for a long long time.

Dear Love,

I know you read my blog everyday so you will see this when you get to the office. Thank you for being a wonderful mentor and role model to Troy. I will be the happiest mother in the world if he grows up to be the kind of man that you are. 

Excited to see you later,
fan


**NOTE: i just realized that this is my 100th published blog post! Am happy that it's very meaningful to me.

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Jesus in My Heart

The most amazing thing happened last night. My 4-year old son accepted Jesus into his heart as his Lord and Savior. I couldn't be happier!

Several weeks ago, Dennis and I have been talking about sharing the gospel to Troy. We were not sure if he's too young to understand but we tried anyway. I told him that we are all sinners and how Jesus died to save us from our sins. Later on, I asked if he wanted to ask Jesus to come into his heart. He said 'uhm...can we just ask Jesus to come into my room?' ...uh, okay...so that didn't really work. I tried explaining further but he was already distracted.

On most nights, Dens would tell one Bible story to him before bedtime. Sometimes he'd be interested and would ask a lot of questions but there would be nights when he would ask for a different story about superheroes. So we were not really sure how he was taking all these in.

For the past months, I have been worrying so much about where to send Troy to school next year. Throughout my 'journey to the big school', i have learned so many things about parenting and teaching our child about Christ. I learned that his environment (i.e. school, church) may influence him but it is not a sure-fire way to salvation.

That was an eye opener for me.

I wanted assurance that my children will come to know Christ and grow spiritually. I realized that I cannot be passive about it by simply praying that he will be saved. We, as parents, are accountable to God for our childrens' salvation. We need to take that responsibility seriously.

Last night after Troy prayed his bedtime prayer with me, he asked me if Jesus is already in his heart. I responded by asking if he wanted to ask Jesus to come into his heart. And he said yes. So i said 'Do you want to pray with mommy?' He nodded and i asked him to close his eyes and repeat after me. I prayed the sinner's prayer and he carefully repeated every word that i said. I know that some words like 'Savior' and 'Sin' are still too deep for him to fully comprehend but he sincerely prayed with me nonetheless. We prayed that God will help him continue to be a good boy and help him grow in Him. After we prayed, i hugged him and told him how happy I am that he accepted Jesus into his heart. He was also very happy and told even Dens what he did when his father arrived home from prayer meeting. He said 'Papa, you know Jesus is already in my heart!' I was so happy I wanted to cry!

Our task doesn't stop there. Now we will need to guide him to be the kind of person God wants him to be. I pray that Dens and I will be good stewards of this wonderful blessing that our Lord has given us.

We love you, Troy!

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The Unintentional Parenting Lesson

I have a little story to share.  You see, we have been renovating our home for almost two months now. It has been pretty chaotic lately with all the dust and furnitures moving around. Dens and i couldn't wait to get everything done. We're already very excited to see our furnitures out of the hallway and into the bedrooms once again.


photo source 

 Being the master planner in all this, Dens has scheduled the work of the carpenters and painters so that we can make sure they will finish on time. Last Monday, Dens asked them to apply polyurethane on the floor of the rooms so that our furnitures can go back in today.  That was the plan...until i got home in the afternoon and hurriedly went inside the room. I totally forgot about the wet polyurethane and stepped inside.  I looked at my footprints marked on the floor and thought 'oh no, lagot ako kay dens'...so i courageously called up dens and told him what happened. But instead of getting upset, Dens' reaction was 'naku, nasaktan ka?' [are you hurt?] I was very surprised and touched by his response. He was more concerned about how i was rather than getting all upset about the floor damage and disruption of the renovation schedule.

This got me thinking. We experience a lot of similar situations with our kids. More often than not, they get into trouble simply because they are too playful. They either knock something down or fall down themselves from too much running and jumping. Just yesterday, i almost got angry at Troy for something quite similar. We went to visit a friend and received a box of sweets which i placed at the backseat of the car right beside Troy's carseat. As soon as we got home, Troy was hurrying to get out of his carseat when he tripped over the box beside him (almost sitting on the box!). My first reaction was to save the box and ask Troy to be more careful next time. Then I remembered the 'parable of the polyurethane footprint' and stopped myself. I immediately asked Troy if he was hurt to which he replied 'I'm okay, mommy!'.

I am a work-in-progress in this area but I'd like to be better. I'd like my children to know that no material thing is ever more important to me than them. I thank God for my wonderful husband who never fails to show me how much he loves me...and for unintentionally teaching me this parenting lesson. You rock, love!

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12 Years of Firsts

It was the year of the new millennium.  If you know what the centennial bug is, then it means you were old enough to experience the excitement and technological anxieties approaching year 2000.  Will our microwave oven and office computers still work after 1999?  Everyone thought the entry of new millennium was going to be a game changer. Well, it turned out that it was...at least for me.

Year 2000 was the year i met the man i was going to spend the rest of my life with.

Fast forward to year 2012.

Last week i was reviewing old episodes of FRIENDS (as i always do) and i came across an episode where Monica was having wedding jitters. Here are snippets of their conversation (edited version).

Monica: Doesn’t it ever just freak you out that-that you’re never gonna be with anybody new again?

Chandler: What?

Monica: It’s just that sometimes it bothers me that I’m never gonna have that feeling. Y’know when you meet someone for the first time and it’s new and exciting? Y’know that rush?

That got me thinking. Don't we also have similar thoughts once in a while? The thrill of going on that first date again, meeting someone new, getting anxious and excited at the same time.  It's not like we don't love the one we're with, it's just that sometimes we miss the rush.

But i like the conversation that followed after that.

Chandler: Look,  for me the rush is knowing that we are gonna be together for the rest of our lives.

Monica: y’know what? I’m gonna have a lot of new things with you. The first time we buy a house. Our first kid. Our first grandkid…

And it's true. Being married does not mean an end to the excitement.  Remember how you felt the first time you realized you're having a baby? How about the first time you brought your child to school? Or your first successful business venture?  Now that you're married, you simply have someone to celebrate all these milestones with for the rest of your life. Isn't that even more exciting?

First Boracay trip together, 2002

First time to ride a camel, Great Wall of China 2002

First badminton tournament, 2003

First time to meet a baby elephant, Thailand 2004



First Europe trip together, Paris 2005

First pregnancy, Las Vegas 2006

First cruise together, Alaska 2007

First night with a baby at home, 2008 

First trip with a baby, Japan 2009



First baby girl

 

To the man i will continue to celebrate all my firsts with,

Happy Anniversary, Love! 

It's wonderful to wake up beside you every day.

Always,

fan 

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From Mommy with Love

Being a working mom means that i have to constantly balance my time between the corporate world and my family. One question that i get asked a lot is 'How do you do it?'.  The quick answer is - i just do what i have to do. I do my best while i am at work and try to be the best mom I can be while I'm with my kids. But sometimes, the time with your kids is so limited when you get home, right?

I would like to share three simple things that i do to compensate for the 9 to 10 hours that i have to spend at the office each day.

1. Write Letters to My Children

I keep both online and hardbound journals for my kids. I write to them each time I have things that i want to tell them that i simply cannot because they are either away from me or are still too little to understand. I have two separate notebooks for each of my kids.  I have recently accepted that my handwriting is just terrible. What's the point of getting all sentimental with handwritten stuff when they cannot even understand it in the first place? So i am now posting my thoughts and letters to them in an online journal.

I love this because it is something i intend to share with them when they are older. They will be able to read about all the funny anecdotes that they've said and all the things that we have done for them. I want them to grow up remembering how much we love them.  I wrote about these letters in an old post here.


Moleskin books for Troy and Dawn

  

I would paste memorable photos on some pages

2.   Travel! Travel! Travel!

Vacation leaves are there for a reason. Use them wisely! 99% of my vacation leaves are spent with my children. Either on an extended family vacation (some examples of my family travel posts here, here, here, or here) or simply going to the local mall. It does not have to be extravagant. It just has to be memorable and fun.  I am a firm believer that we must invest our money wisely but also enjoy the fruits of our labor. 

Now i say 99% of the time because there are still that 1% of the time when i just want to enjoy some ME time and go to the Spa, rest at home, or just do whatever i want. And that's okay too.

3. Be their 'Yaya'

At this day and age, a lot of the chores are being done by the nannies. I also enjoy that luxury and am truly grateful for whatever help i can get. But with the kids, i realize that most children equate love with the things we do for them (a.k.a. taking care of them).  So even when we are tired from a long day at work, Dens and i see to it that we do at least one 30-minute activity with each of our children separately each day.

My daily activity with Troy is bath time.  Troy will always tell me about how his day went during this time. It helps me get to know him more.  Troy, in turn, will know that even if mommy is working the whole day, it is also important for me to take care of him when i get home.

Dens would then takeover after that. Their activities would range from playing basketball to reading story books before bedtime.

With Dawn it gets a little bit easier for me since i still breastfeed her exclusively.  After Dawn's bath, I would usually bring her upstairs to play in Troy's room.  This is also a good chance for all four of us to spend time together.  By 9pm, I would bring her back to our room, feed her and put her to sleep.

Although the above routine is our ideal, the schedule does get interrupted once in a while. There are days when we need to attend Bible studies or simply want to go out for a movie date, and that is all right. We wil just go back to our routine the next day.

Being a working mom does not mean you are automatically detached from your kids. As i have shared, it is still possible to be very hands-on.

I admit that there are days when i want to just stay home and spend all 24 hours with them...but for now, i will do the best with my situation and enjoy both career and motherhood. It has been working for me and I hope it can work for you working moms too!

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Live.Love.Laugh

My husband has this friend who lives a pretty good life. When he was younger, he loves to drive fast cars and live recklessly. One day, their family driver told him 'Sir, wag nyo sayangin buhay nyo.' [Sir, don't waste your life] He went on to say that there are so many less fortunate people in the world who would be willing to trade places with him in a heartbeat.

I heard this story about ten years ago but it has been a constant reminder for me. On days when i don't feel so good because i have so many things to finish at work, or my hair is too frizzy, or traffic is just not moving...i remember the driver's comment and realize how petty my concerns are.  I worry too much most of the time.

Matthew 6:25-27
²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

If God takes care of the birds in the air and grass in the field, aren't you so much more valuable?   Don't waste your life stressing about small stuff.  There must be someone, somewhere in the world who would be willing to trade places with you.

Love the life God has given you and start counting your blessings. I take a quick look at my iPhone pictures and smile...the frizzy fly-away hair isn't such a big deal after all.



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Dens' Biggest Fan

I remember when i started blogging in my multiply site (http://densfan.multiply.com) back in 2007, one of my friends, who did not know at that time that my nickname at home is Fan, thought i created the name of my site to mean i am a fan of Dens. I remember laughing and thinking she must have thought I was this lovestruck woman, crazy in love with her man.  Then i thought again...well yeah, maybe she's right. Maybe i am Dens' fan.  I became his wife in 2004 and earned bragging rights for the million and one things i admire about him.

If you asked me 3 years ago, i would have told you that i am Dens' biggest fan. But i was overtaken by an even more avid fan the past couple of years when i gave birth to our little Troy.

Troy adores his father. He loves to imitate and do things that Dens does. Here are 5 things that Troy loves to do with Dens.

(1) Wear the same clothes.

Troy loves it when he is wearing the same outfit as Dens. I remember last year when he was 2 years old, he saw a pair of shoes that resembled Dens' Adidas classics. To the amusement of the saleslady, Troy told her 'I want to buy the papa shoes". So after we went to check out designs from other stores, i went back to Adidas and the saleslady asked 'ma'am, kunin nyo na yung papa shoes? (ma'am, are you going to get the papa shoes already?)

So here's Troy and Papa in their 'papa shoes' :)

(2) Play basketball

Dens loves playing basketball. He is pretty good at it especially when being cheered by his biggest fan. Each time Troy gets to watch a game, you would see him wearing his own mini version of Dens' uniform and filling the gym with shouts of 'Go, Papa, Go!'.

Troy doing pre-game stretching exercises with Dens

(3) Be "Handy Manny"

One of the things that Dens loves to do is fix things. I think he was on the right track when he took up Mechanical Engineering in college. He loves to fix everything that is not functioning as it should. From bikes to cars to leaking faucets. He is indeed our Handy Manny at home.

As you would expect, Troy has his own set of tools and readily brings them out whenever he sees Dens fixing stuff. He loves to help in his own cute little way.

Here are some Handy Manny moments at home.

Fixing one of Troy's bikes back in 2010

Tightening the chains of Troy's big bike a few weeks ago

Fixing a leak in the kitchen

(4) Swim

When Dens was younger, he was part of a swim team doing tournaments regularly. To our delight, Troy is also such a water baby ever since.

Balai Isabel

We enrolled Troy in swim school last summer and he learned to swim underwater by himself. Check out his swimming video in Boracay taken a few months ago.

(5) ...and just about anything else

Troy decided he'd rather push his stroller than sit in them when we started bringing Dawn's stroller to the malls. Guess why?

Boys with wheels

Today we celebrate two occasions that compliment each other. Today is thanksgiving and also my loving husband's birthday.

Love, i am grateful each and everyday to God for blessing me with you...and for blessing my children with a father they can be proud of. You are God's answers to my prayers.

I love you more than you know.

Your first 'fan'

Disney 2011

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