Say Hello to My Little Friend

It's been quite a while since my last post because I've been so busy with a lot of things that sitting down and composing my thoughts into a blog post seemed such a chore at the end of the day.

The past three weeks have been eventful what with Rod and Zhar's wedding and my twice a week pre-natal check-ups as I entered my 40th week of pregnancy, and all the moving-in into our newly renovated Place of Zen (a different post reserved for that).

But the more spectacular reason for my indisposition the past three weeks would be the arrival of our much-awaited Little Friend -- our very own Bundle of Joy, Ball of Fur, Ray of Light, etcetera, etcetera, Raya Victoria Almeda Ungco!

Weighing in at 7 pounds and 3 ounces and 19 and half inches long, she is Love personified. :) I can't believe how happy I am!

Ripping off RJ's Ultimate Lasagna Post-to-be

RJ's been so busy with a host of other things that he hasn't been able to update any of his posts...and I can't hold it in anymore! Haha! So I'll be preempting just one of his posts lined up for publishing just to give you all a sneak peak into what he had in store for us last Sunday. 

Ate Rona (and his many fans, hehehe), he finally worked on that Ultimate Lasagna request! And it was supah dupah delish!!!

Most of the pictures are in my Multiply site: http://mavsalmeda.multiply.com but just to provide a glimpse of what RJ's genuis has brought forth now, here are some too! 

Anyhoo, you'll have to stay tuned to HIS blog for the complete recipe but in a nutshell (since I'm such a blabbermouth and I can't resist posting this), what he did wasn't your regular, classic, run-of-the-mill Lasagna. He put together this amazing concoction of classic italian sausages, tomatoes, tomato concasse, olives, garlic, onions and his very own, Swiss cheese fondue! 

Yum, yum, yum!!!  Gastronomic delight indeed! 

We had it with garlic bread and a bottle of Shiraz (well, they had the Shiraz, not me. :)) and it's best served piping hot, by the way! 

Hope you guys could sample it soon! 

Isn't she lovely?

We finally had our 4D scan done! RJ and I had been pondering whether to have it performed even with our OB-GYN's referral because it's quite costly but now, we're glad we did. The experience was totally worth it. 

We wanted to stay hooked forever to that fancy machine that showed us spectacular images of our baby moving, writhing, sleeping and grimacing (yes! she's quite suplada! hehe.) but Raya was already acting up around 20 minutes into the scan because the probe was probably disturbing her nap. The images showed her crossing her brows and making faces at us. And her sleeping with her mouth open. Hehe. But she was sooo cute. :)

I was a bit anxious at first, always asking the OB doing the scan whether she could see any problems, but she said so far, everything looked in order. She's actually average-sized, around 6 lbs. so that means all those chocolate bars and night binges are just all going to me. Hehe. At least that does something for my chances at a straightforward normal delivery. 

We really can't make out if she looks more like me or Arj but her nose looks quite high and pointy (Yay!) and she has very chubby cheeks! The Doc also said she looks singkit and she may have my lips (Don't ask me how she figured that out. She's supposed to be the expert. Hehe.). She also says, the images would've been of better quality if I had more amniotic fluid (since I'm full term, it has considerably diminished by now) and if she wasn't so big as to attach herself to the placenta at times (that's the cloudy part of the image by the way) but considering I'm nearing the D-date, she says we were still lucky Raya was still up to striking a few poses for Mommy and Daddy. 

Anyhoo, here are a couple of snapshots I took of the printed scans. We have yet to claim the DVD of Raya in utero that comes with the package we availed so we'll have to do with these Black and White images for now. Aah, the wonders of technology. :) 

Raya sleeping peacefully 

Raya sleeping with her mouth open :)

Raya acting up later on during the scan :)

Isn't she just precious? We think she's absolutely perfect. :)

 

  

An Update on Raya's Ride

As posted earlier, RJ and I intended to get one of the new Graco Travel Systems for Raya, in lieu of the recalled Chicco lines. But all efforts were to no avail. Joy scouted major stores in the States and she couldn't get the models we asked for. Her only other option would have been to go and buy online but the delivery wouldn't be able to catch up with her departure date! So it was AGAIN back to the drawing board for us. The stroller business was turning out to be really trying...

Joy and her sister-in-law, Trin, were nice enough to suggest other brands like Stoke and Orbit but they were way too expensive for us (even if they looked uber cool!), so we just thought of getting our travel system here in the P.I. 

Stoke Travel System

Orbit Travel System (around 800$-1000$)

We figured we could just check the manufacturing date for Chicco items anyway as their press statement said and check if that particular base was part of the recall. We could take that risk at least. The only downside really is paying a little extra than we would've in the U.S.

And so off to the baby stores we trotted and began our quest for the perfect alternative Ride for Raya...and it was not in vain!  

We were able to buy a Chicco KeyFit travel system whose manufacturing date was not within the recalled batch, and we got it at 10% off too! We got it from Baby and Co. in Powerplant Mall (It was a thousand bucks cheaper than in Rustan's, before the discount.). Incidentally, if you're looking to buy some kids' stuff this would be a nice place to look because they give you an automatic ten percent off on ALL items if you agree to register for a baby shower, 1st birthday or christening, which I did even if there really was no baby shower to register for anymore. Hehe. A tiny, white lie for this...

And the great thing about getting it here too is that it comes assembled already! So that saves me and Arj a lot of poring over the instructions manual and a lot of arguing. Hehe! Such control freaks we can be...

It was manufactured last year so the latch of this car seat base isn't defective as those made between February and March of this year. 

It's not the Chicco Cortina Explorer that we originally wanted, but we still love the sleek design of the KeyFit. RJ brags it's because it's an Italian brand! Hehe. It's also really easy to maneuver and carry around. Everyone, including Mom and Dad, were psyched with all the features.

Forgive my over-eager husband, the pose...

Plus, we got Raya a rockin' stroller cushion for her to lie in when she rides this new baby. There were other designs with pink elephants and other cute, dainty prints. But she's too cool for that. We know already.  :)

ONE MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! 

Another Pleasant Surprise

Woke up to a phone call from Dad asking about a Graco playard that appeared with Kris Aquino (of all people, yes, hehe) in Yes! Magazine and since I was still feeling a bit woozy, I couldn't figure out what exactly he was referring to. As the conversation went on though, I realized that he was asking if we ever considered getting a playard/playpen for Raya. 

I said we thought of getting one but because she already had a crib, we figured we may not be able to maximize it. Plus I thought, getting a Pack 'N Play these days can get pretty steep, ranging from 7k to 10k, so it wasn't really on our priority list. Not to say that we didn't want one because it would allow us certain conveniences like a ready sleeping place for her during out-of-town trips (Pansol? Hehe.) and for moving her around the different rooms in the house with ease (Bedroom to Master's Bedroom to Living Room, etc.).

Anyhow, Dad was saying there was a person from work selling him a slightly used (more like barely used we figured later on) Graco Playard for a very reasonable price. And I could only go "Oh okay." But he said he wasn't sure how much these things usually go for or how useful they were, and so...the phone call ended there. At that point I wasn't sure why he was calling but I figured he was probably gauging whether we wanted or needed one. Didn't know he was planning to actually get one. 

So, I was more than pleasantly surprised to find that a charming Pack 'N Play was waiting for us when we got back from dance practice in Blue Ridge! The color was a little boyish (denim blue and red) but also practical because the material looked easy to clean and maintain. It also looked brand new! Even the wheels and the aluminum and plastic parts were virtually scratch-free! 

Graco Contour Electra Deluxe Pack 'N Play

AND the best part about playards these days? They can fold to the size of big duffel bags, not like the huge, inflexible ones we had when I was a kid. So we can lug it around practically anywhere! PLUS! They come with hanging animal toys, a vibration device (for soothing baby) and a control pad that lets you turn on a night light or choose among different sounds like soothing music and nature sounds. Dad loves this feature by the way. He actually takes the pad out of the playard to check out the different musical selections. :) 

There's also a changing table (complete with a counter for diaper wipes and other changing/cleaning-up implements) and a bassinet with a canopy for your little one. 

Talk about major convenience! Now, it's almost as if we have another crib for Raya! Another great accessory for our coming Angel! Thanks so much Dad! :)

 

   

Hooray!

We finally succeeded in getting the better part of our "clearing and cleaning" done in preparation for the refurbishing of our room! And I must say this is something short of a milestone for me since I've really been feeling woozy and sluggish the past week (must be the hormones going haywire again). In fact, I was beginning to worry I wouldn't be able to see any of the things in my to-do list through to completion because of my erratic moods and fluctuating energy levels. I really can't wait to deliver. It's getting a little cumbersome, carrying my belly around and negotiating my weight and size every time I move. Hay. Raya, be an angel and arrive at the soonest possible time! Hehe. 

It's also another good thing that my Lola came over to help start the overhaul. I think her fluttering about and supervising the "operations" helped me avoid slacking off the rest of the afternoon.  

That's not to say that the stuff we unearthed weren't interesting and enough to get me going. A lot of it was trash sure, but some were also little treasures. RJ found pics of him from his Les Roches days and he was more than happy to brag about how thin he was then! Haha! But it's true. He couldn't have been any more than 160 lbs! And he actually had a long neck! Hehehe! 

We also found pictures of him and old girlfriends and (oh-so-mushy) love letters. Hehehe. This isn't really a problem for me because I also keep souvenirs from the past and I like browsing them from time to time. ;) I even suggested that he returned part of the album to the party involved because some of them were childhood pictures, and if I were her, I'd want 'em back, diba?!

But really, the find of the day was an old toy camera from his dad's exploratory photography days! We're not sure if it's still working but I'm interested to see if we can still get it up and running by a vintage camera repair shop in Manila. I'd been wanting to get my hands on old film cameras to try and play with them and see what kind of images would turn up...maybe it's just me missing production work or "feeling creative". Hehe. But I really can't wait to get the old thing a'workin! 

I wonder what sort of other treasures we'll be unearthing in the days to come. Hihihi. But one thing's for sure, I'll be posting pics the next time! 

Now, I gotta catch some zzz's. I'm exhausted from all the sorting and packing. I think the dust also triggered my allergies that's why my eyes are feeling a little heavy...Till the next post.

Meet Raya!

Surfing the Internet is one of my favorite occupations. I would say pastime except that I do it so often, it hardly qualifies as a hobby anymore. I browse all kinds of sites and I read all kinds of stuff that sometimes, even RJ wonders whether I don't get information or sensory overload from all the surfing, clicking and browsing that I do. Needless to say, I think the Internet is the best invention ever. Hehe. Next to Ziplock, that is. 

Anyhoo, in one of my internet exploits, I stumbled upon this cool site: www.morphthing.com where you can morph the faces of famous celebrities together (reminds me of a hilarious segment in Late Night with Conan O'Brien, If They Mated) or better yet, register for free and upload your own pics and morph them together. Naturally, with our baby coming, I took the liberty of uploading some of our headshots to see what she would actually look like. The results were, well...very interesting. Hahaha. 

Guys and gals, meet Raya (or at least an approximation of her):

I've been getting mixed reactions to this image. Some say she's pretty, some say she just looks downright weird. Haha. I say she still looks like RJ. Parang pinagbigyan lang yung ibang features ko. :) It'll be interesting to see how she actually turns out. We love her already anyway. Hehe. 

As for how she'll look as a baby, I'm not sure. I don't think morphing baby images will be successful using MorphThing. So you'll just have to do your own mental morphing. Here are some of our pics to help. Hehe. 

Young Mavie (perched on top of cousin, Joe)

Young RJ (with Mommy Vkyh)

Thoughts, people? :)