a different kind of Valentine

Since I have now come to terms with my being a 100% certified mother ... considering I don’t have a nanny (by choice) and I’m taking care of my Bianca 24/7 ... it was aptly for me to pay tribute to the women of my league … now that I know how much work one puts on being a mother!
Last Feb 13, I invited a handful of mom friends with their adorable babies to celebrate Valentines in a lunch party held in my room in the hotel. Thanks to my every reliable husband, he made sure everything was near perfection. With his husbandry power (and ok I'll give him credit being the Chef of the hotel) he set up our place suitable for a comfortable and relaxed luncheon. Menu include: Assorted sushi platter, assorted dim sum - vegetarian and non-veg, chicken in oyster sauce, stir-fried vegetables and hakka noodles - for moms. As for kids, they were served chicken nuggets, fried rice with corn and carrots and french fries. Also, the pastry chef made a two-heart shape cake with chocolate and pistachio flavors.

It was a special baby group session celebrating the unsurpassed love that a mother could give her baby. As a token, I gave each mother a red rose and for the kids a box of heart shaped white chocolate pralines. Due to the success of this lunch party, I've decided to do this yearly :)

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My take on being a mom: Now that I'm with Bianca EVERYTIME and I SOLELY take care of her ... I feel more accomplished and happier than ever before. It’s tough at times and yet very rewarding indeed. Being with her has given me the opportunity to learn more about myself than I could ever imagine.

Life as a mother took me to the extreme: being the most worried when she's sick and the most proud when I see her sharing her toys with other kids; the most impatient when I tell her again and again not to play and disarray the picture frames in the buffet table and the most patient when I teach her numbers, colors and shapes.

I know that I have been through a transformation. This change does not only contain in the definition of my duties and obligations as a wife and as a mother but also the essence of the person that I am now and the person that I will become. There is an overwhelming passion inside me to be good and be the best I can for my daughter … for my husband … and more importantly for myself. Wouldn’t it be just swell to have your daughter come to you one day and say that you were instrumental in encouraging her to reach her fullest potential?! That would be THE DAY!

Christmas and New Year in India

So this may come as a little bit overdue, still i want to share with you some pictures of our Christmas and New Year celebrations here in India ...
This time celebrating Xmas and NY were quite different to me. First of all, i was spending my holidays in a different country. Second, i dont have my extended family with me. Third, we had a brown Santa. Well i could go on and on with the things barely familiar to me but one thing i treasure most during Christmas and New Year was the fact that i felt COMPLETE. I had all the essentials i needed and most of all i have Bianca and Thomas with me.

For New Year we decided to give Bianca her second hair cut ...
Our New Year 2006 family picture ... i already accepted the apologies of the one who took this picture ... in all fairness, she really tried her best ... unfortunately this was the result :)
Papa and Bianca making cookies for the New Year!!! Horah! Horah!