Tender Musings

I've heard many mothers describe the pain and ordeal of childbirth and I've read and received countless of suggestions on how to get through it like walking, squats, breathing exercises, yoga, etc. I knew it was going to be painful, but nothing prepared me for the discomfort that lay ahead. November 8, 2016, 11:30am. The start of my 13 hours of labor. I was already in so much pain prior to arriving at the hospital earlier that morning. I have been suffering from diarrhea for 3 days which was the very reason why we were in the hospital in the first place. I thought I was having contractions, but the frequent visit to the toilet proved otherwise. Gian was very worried that I'll dehydrate and that it might harm the baby, so we called my OB and was advised to go to the ER. My test came back positive with Amoebiasis and that's when my doctor decided that I have to be admitted. Within minutes, an IV line was inserted and medications were administered. I was fine for

Gian and I are far from being professional food critics, but we definitely enjoy finding good places to eat. We are especially fond of going to restaurants that are recommended by friends. It is one of our favorite date night activities. Even though going out has been a bit of a challenge since I got pregnant, visiting our favorite restaurants has remained a pleasurable experience (especially when I was too nauseated to cook). So, here's our top 4 recommended restaurants (in no particular order) around Quezon City that you might want to try. Disclaimer: I was not paid to endorse any of these places. The real purpose of why I'm sharing this is to get a list of your favorite restaurants that we can try as well. Barney's Burger @ J.P. Rizal Street Well, there used to be one along J.P. Rizal but it recently closed down, which caused great sorrow to Gian and myself. So sad. I hope we'll find another one close to where we live. My husband is not really into burgers, h

Planning a trip makes me so excited that it often results to over planning, anxiety, and mental exhaustion. Luckily, my sister and I had the "honeymoon talk" which gave me the right mindset as I planned for our romantic getaway. She helped me understand that (1) a honeymoon is not solely about being intimate with your spouse - although that is a big part of it; (2) a honeymoon is not the time to go full-on "turista" mode and obsess about visiting all recommended sites in the area; and (3) a honeymoon is not a one-time event, but a transition from a BF/GF relationship to husband/wife. So, how do you plan for a perfect Palawan honeymoon? Airfare Gian and I were very fortunate to find really cheap airfare for our Palawan trip. Cebu Pacific had a seat sale at that time and we were able to purchase round trip tickets for only PhP 1,630 (yes, about $31 for both of us). The key to securing cheap airline tickets is to buy early. We bought our tickets 4 months in a

We all hold on to seemingly important things in our lives thinking that it would make us eternally happy. But if we look at life in an eternal perspective, we would realize that Heavenly Father is willing to bless us with so much more if we would only give up the things that we think is important now for blessings of eternal value. The story below was shared by my brother many years ago and illustrates the principle of sacrifice and trust. It has served as a great reminder when I find myself having a hard time deciding between holding on to things that provide temporal happiness or making sacrifices that brings blessings of eternal significance. There are different versions of the story online and I found this one from skywriting.net , which I like the most. Jenny's Pearls Jenny was a bright-eyed, pretty five-year-old girl. One day when she and her mother were checking out at the grocery store, Jenny saw a plastic pearl necklace priced at $2.50. How she wanted that neck

I'll be honest. It took me a while to accept the reality that I'm going to be a mom. And when I say a while , I really mean a long while ...like end-of-my-2nd-trimester-a-while. Hey, no judging! Of course I was happy when the pregnancy test came out positive, but I also had some feelings of uncertainty which was such a surprise because I've always been into "mothering." I've always been fond of kids and I love babysitting for friends back in college. I would even choose babysitting than go out on some Friday nights. That's how much I adore children, so it was quite unnatural that I didn't have this magical feeling when I found out that I was pregnant. I expected that I would feel something more. As the weeks passed and the symptoms of pregnancy were getting harder to ignore, I realized that the reason why I somehow felt emotionally disconnected with the whole thing was because I still had a lot of selfishness in me. When I was babysitting for my

You've probably heard a lot of couples say how it such a blessing to be married and how life is just better when you're with the person you love and all that stuff. Well, it's true. There have been many researches that have gone into great lengths to discuss the benefits of being married. But I'm not gonna go into the details of those studies. I just want to share a few of the favorite things I've enjoyed in the eight months that I've been married. I've learned to eat grass. Gian is Ilocano and he's used to eating different kinds of greens like Saluyot (jute), Ampalaya leaves, Alukon, Horseradish fruit, Parda, etc. Unfortunately, I didn't grow up with those kind of vegetables. I've never even heard of Alukon until I got married. Also, growing up in Davao, I always thought of Saluyot as grass. LOL. It's not that I'm a picky eater, it was just never served/cooked in my house. So when my husband asked me to cook Inabraw, I knew my li

Months before our wedding, my then-boyfriend now husband asked me if I wanted to pursue my teaching career. I had just passed the teacher's licensing exam and he naturally thought that I would want to teach full-time. Of course he was a bit surprised when I told him that I wanted to stay at home. I was already working online at the time and I felt that it was the best arrangement for both of us. I understand that being a stay-at-home wife may seem a bit dull to some, but for me... it's the dream. I'm grateful that my job allows me to stay at home and do what I love. Now that I've been doing it for the past eight months, I have learned a few things that have helped me understand my role as the queen of our humble abode. Lesson #1: Learning to ask for help. Just because I'm at home all day does not mean that I have to do everything. During the first few months of our marriage, I was obsessed with  keeping the house immaculate. I made sure that the laundry was