An Open Letter to My Son, Brendan Roy

Mother’s day nanaman, it is the perfect time of the year to pay tribute sa mga mothers. Pero napaisip ako bakit kaya walang Son’s or Daughter’s day? Kasi para sakin nagkakaroon ng saysay ang pagiging ina dahil sa mga anak. Bilang mother’s day today, medyo nakapag-isip isip ako at napagtanto ko kung paano ang pagiging isang ina ko ay naging makabuluhan, masaya and how it changed my life. Let me share to you this open letter I made for my son two days before mother’s day.

I woke up at 2:30am last Friday kasi kumakalam ang tiyan ko, ewan ko ba dahil siguro kokonti ang kinain kong dinner. Nagdadiet din kasi ko pag may time hehe.. So nagsnack ako and then I decided na manood muna ng TV after para matunawan muna before going back to sleep. Wala rin akong mapanood na maganda sa TV at dahil naka-mute sya kasi natutulog ang mag-ama ko, lalong hindi ko naappreciate yung palabas. Tapos bigla akong napatingin sa anak ko na super sarap ng tulog. Ang sarap lang panoorin ng mga bata pag natutulog. Alam ko yung mga may anak na sa inyo diyan nakakarelate kayo. Tapos suddenly I thought of writing down a letter for my son, which I hope mabasa nya someday. Kaya I posted it here para kung sakaling mamisplace ko man someday eh at least nandito lang sa blog ko. So here it goes.

Dear Bren,

Mommy wrote you a letter so that someday you'll be able to know what mommy feels right now. Kasi kahit naman sabihin ko sayo ang mga bagay na ito now eh hindi mo pa masyadong maiintindihan. Malapit na kasi ang mother’s day baby. At habang pinapanood kita matulog ngayon naguumapaw sa tuwa ang puso ni mommy dahil dumating ka sa buhay namin. I want you to know na ikaw ang best blessing ever sa amin ni God. Masaya na kami ni daddy nung wala ka, pero sobrang saya namin lalo nung dumating ka dahil kinumpleto mo kami. Ikaw ang living proof ng great love namin for each other. And while you are growing mas nadadagdagan pa yung joy and gratefulness na nararamdaman ko dahil sayo.

Thankful ako baby kasi since day one hindi mo ako pinahirapan. Hindi mo nga ako pinag labor kasi nagpa-CS ka eh..hehe Pero seriously, alam mo magmula nung newborn ka pa mabibilang ko sa daliri ko yung number ng mga gabing napuyat ako dahil sayo. Marunong ka kasi makisama, alam mo yatang hindi pwedeng mapagod masyado si mommy.

Pag nagpapabakuna tayo never akong nastress sayo kasi hindi ka umiiyak at brave ka kahit nung medyo big kana. Thankful ako kasi napakamasayahin, bibo at daldal mong bata. Kahit saan tayo magpunta wala sa bokabularyo mo ang salitang “hiya” hehe kaya naman lagi kang recognized agad. Syempre given na yung looks mo na gwapo ka, anak yata kita hehehe.. Thankful ako kasi hindi ka sakitin, and that’s  one of the many things na lagi kong pinagpapasalamat kay God. Hindi ikaw yung tipo ng bata na naoospital or pabalik balik sa doctor. Kaya I will continuously pray na maging healthy and strong ka always. Huwag kang tutulad kay mommy na asthmatic at hypertensive ha.

Thankful ako kasi hindi ako nagkamali ng decision na iwan ang work ko para magfull-time mommy sayo. Kasi walang makakapantay sa lahat ng oras na pinagsamahan natin, at lahat ng milestones mo in the past 5 years na nawitness ko. Sobrang rewarding na maging mommy mo baby. Thankful ako kasi hindi ko naranasan yung magising in the middle of the night dahil basa ang bed dahil never kang nagweewee sa bed. Nakatipid nga kami agad sayo kasi at 3 years old hindi kana nagdadiaper eh. Thankful din ako kasi at 4 years old sa glass kana nagdridrink ng milk and hindi ka pa nanggigising sa gabi para humingi ng milk. Binawasan mo agad ang chores ko kasi wala ng feeding bottles na iwaswash at i-sterilize.

Thankful ako kasi nung first day mo sa school hindi ka umiyak, natakot or umayaw. Sobrang smooth lang lahat for us. That time you made me feel how much trust you have in me.

Alam mo Bren masayang masaya ako kasi I was by your side sa lahat ng milestones mo. Unang dapa, unang ngiti, unang iyak, unang tawa, unang upo, unang tayo, unang kain, unang haircut, unang hakbang, unang swim, unang dance, unang kanta, unang travel, unang pasko, unang bagong taon at marami pang ibang una. Pero higit sa lahat si mommy ang first kiss and first hug mo. And I haven't gotten used to it. Kasi bawat hug and kiss mo sakin each day ay parang laging bago. It really warms my heart.

I remember nung first day natin sa bahay from the hospital I felt helpless and was so scared nung bath time mo na, kasi si mama super natatakot rin magpaligo sayo. So mommy had no choice but to be brave. Kaya ayun natutunan kong paliguan ka on my own mula day one. Ang liit liit mo kasi baby sobra, 5.2 lbs ka lang kasi. Wrinkled pa yung skin mo tapos ang lambot. You look so fragile. Pero alam mo ba na nung lumabas ka sa tummy ni mommy may tooth kana? Yes baby, meron na yung isang lower front tooth mo. Oh diba? Ikaw na advance baby hehe..

Tapos naremember ko nung nagkatigdas and mumps ka mag 2 years old ka palang nun. Natakot talaga kami ni daddy lalo nako, pero alam mo kahit na mataas na lagnat mo napakaplayful mo parin. It was like you're assuring me that you're fine and you will be alright. Kaya thankful nanaman ako kasi lahat yun nangyari na nasa pangangalaga kita. Lagi tayong magkasama. Sa pagkain, pagligo, sa pagluluto ko nasa dining table ka rin naglalaro habang hinihintay mo'ko. Pati nga sa pagpoopoo sabay tayo eh. Akalain mo?hehe Kasama kita sa mall, sa palengke, sa church, sa bangko at sa lahat ng pinupuntahan ko palagi. Tayong dalawa hindi naghihiwalay.

Kaya naman siguro ganon mo ako kamahal. Oo alam ko na mahal mo ako. Kasi lahat pagdadamutan mo na, pero ako hindi.  Pag alam mong masakit ang ulo ko minamassage moko, kahit na lalo akong nahihilo sa massage mo okay lang kasi alam ko concerned  ka. Pag nauuna ka gumising sa umaga, kinikiss mo ako hanggang sa magising ako. At higit sa lahat pag nagagalit ako at napapalo na kita, niyayakap mo parin ako at sorry ka ng sorry hanggang sa tumigil ako. Alam kong mahal mo ako kasi you never fail to let me know. You would often tell me you love. Kahit na nanonood lang tayo ng TV or naliligo, bigla mo akong ikikiss at sasabihan ng “I love you”. Si daddy nga minsan naiinggit na eh. Pero naiintindihan nya naman yun, basta tayong tatlo solid palagi, okay?

Thankful and proud ako kasi you strive your best sa school. Baby, thank you sa magagandang grades and sa awards na inuwi mo sa iyong first year sa school. I don't wanna put so much pressure on you. Hindi ko hinihiling na maging top of the class ka or honor pupil. Basta nag-aaral ka ng mabuti, naiintindihan mo ang lessons at hindi ka bumabagsak, okay nako dun. Kasi mas gusto ko ng ineenjoy mo lang. 

Thankful ako kasi kahit makulit at magulo ka, marunong kang makinig at may takot ka sa amin ni daddy. Normal lang naman yung makulit at nagulong bata, mas gusto ko na yun kesa naman yung nasa isang sulok ka lang na hindi umiimik. You don’t know how happy and proud you make us each day. Kaya naman kahit hindi tayo mayaman eh super spoiled ka samin ni daddy, even nga kila mama at papa. Pero sana wag kang lumaking abusado. So far nakikita ko naman how grateful ka sa mga blessings at rewards na narereceive mo from us. Ipagpatuloy mo yung ganyan baby ha.

Alam kong hindi parin ako perfect mom kahit na hands on ako sayo simula pa nung una. Pero I hope and pray na mapalaki ka naming mabuting tao. Always keep in mind that we love you so much na kahit buhay namin ibibigay namin sayo. I promise to always be with you in every step of the way to the best that I can, to guide and help you get through everything. Sana kahit big kana sweet ka parin sakin at love mo parin si mommy at daddy ha. Ikaw ang buhay ko baby kaya sobra kong dinevote lahat sayo. Kaya every mother’s day, sobrang nanunumbalik sakin lahat ng pinagsamahan natin magmula maliit ka pa at natutuwa ako on how you’ve grown to be a loving and so affectionate boy lalo na sa akin. Yan talaga ang hinding hindi ko maipagpapalit sa kahit na ano pa man.

O sya baby napapahaba na ito and it’s 4:20am na, mommy’s got to sleep na kasi in about 30 minutes I have to be up na ulit kasi may pasok si daddy sa office. Napuyat ako pero okay lang it’s Friday naman and excited na ako sa isa nanamang family weekend natin. ;-)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Love, Mom

Alam nyo I was so full of emotions when I wrote this letter, hindi ko macontain yung happiness at yung proudness ko. I cannot imagine how it would be like to miss all of Bren's firsts, kasi yun yung mga bagay na hindi na maibabalik. Seeing yung reaction and kung paano nya nagawa yung mga bagay for the first time is just so priceless. At ngayon na medyo big na sya, masaya at excited na akong magtry pa ng mga new things na pwede na nyang gawin. It is really our kids that make life as a mother worth living. And not all of us will become mothers, kaya sa ating mga pinalad let's cherish and enjoy it.

Happy mother's day to all the mothers and the mothers of those of you reading this!:-*

Sparkle Contact Lens Review - Miyuki 15mm Gray

Hi everyone! As I've promised in my last blog post I will also be doing a review of the same contact lens design in color Gray. It took me a while to do this because of the busy holidays. But here it is now. I bought this along with the Brown one in my previous post, if you haven't read it just click here. In this review I will only share to you about the effect and the vibrancy of the color as I have already said my thoughts on the other details of this contact lens in my previous post so be sure you have read that one too.

Alright, this is how the Sparkle Miyuki Gray looks like:

This is how it looks like without the camera flash:

As you can see the color is so vibrant, noticeable, stunning but not too flashy. The design of the Miyuki contact lens made the color gray appear quite natural despite the big eye effect.

The next photo was taken with the camera flash.

I have always loved gray contact lens, it is number one on my list of preferred colors. It never failed in enhancing my eyes making it look beautiful, attractive and mysterious. Compared to the brown color I would say that this one is way better. Well, we have our own purposes on wearing fashion contact lens. But I say, gray is a must have in your collection more than any color do.

Another good thing that I forgot to share in my last blog post is that Sparkle Miyuki comes in Plano and in Graded lens.

Gray contact lens enhances your eye color especially if you have brown eyes. It tend to give your eyes that bluish color effect when in a well-lighted place. Notice my photo with the camera flash, that's what I'm talking about.

My verdict is ★★★★★ stars for this fabulous contact lens. This totally met my criteria. So if you're still undecided on what contact lens to get, I would really recommend this. How about you, what would you recommend? I would love to learn from you too, feel free to comment below about your thoughts on contact lens.

Sparkle Contact Lens Review - Miyuki 15mm Brown

Hi everyone! This will be the first time that I am gonna talk about contact lenses here. Although this isn't my first post about contact lens, I can not consider the first one a review coz I only uploaded photos of me wearing a certain contact lens which also happens to be a Sparkle brand. I have been using graded contact lens for many years now. It was introduced to me by a friend at work 5 years ago. I've been wearing eyeglasses that time for about a year already and I'm still so unused to it. I find it really uncomfortable, you know the feeling that something's hanging on your ears and nose bone, it annoys me so much. Until one day a new employee came in the office, we were from different departments but then I had to supervise her since I was in-charged to handle the department she was at during that time. She would always wear contact lenses at work and later on I found out that those were actually graded. So that's where I got the idea of trying it out for myself.

My eyesight have been corrected just recently so I'm now back to 20/20 vision. But my love for contact lenses didn't stop, especially now that I can use fashion contact lenses or the "Plano" ones. Let us proceed now to my review of the Sparkle Miyuki - Brown. I normally buy contact lenses that can be used for 1 year. Normally I would change my lenses every January as the new year starts. But this time I bought earlier because I wanted to avail of the Buy 1 Take 1 Christmas promos of online shops. So I ordered this Miyuki design in colors Brown and Gray and I got the two lenses + 2 contact lens case for only Php 399.99 + SF.

The Sparkle Miyuki is available in 7 colors:

This is how the packaging looks like. Each lens is in a sealed vial immersed in buffered isotonic saline solution. The lens color and design is printed on the top seal and the vial is labeled with contact lens' diameter, expiration date, period it can be used, where it was made from, what it is made of, the BC (base curve measurement) and the LOT code.

Before I opened the vials I checked its authenticity, coz you know fake lenses are almost everywhere. I'm not an expert at it so I did a research online for guidelines on how to atleast identify if the contact lens is authentic. Fortunately, the packaging of this seemed to matched with all the features of an authentic one.

So this how the Miyuki design looks like. It is 15mm in diameter so it does give the big eyes effect. Before we continue, let me remind you that wearing contact lens requires you to always ensure that your hands are clean in handling them. Ensure proper care, storage and disinfecting of your contact lens. Our eyes are very sensitive and wearing contact lens is not for everyone. It is best that you go have your eyes checked first, consult an eye doctor (Optometrist or Optician) for proper recommendations on the kind of contact lens that will suit your eye needs.

These are my eyes without the contact lens. I was born with naturally dark brown eyes but since I've never tried a brown contact lens, I wonder how it will look like on me. The closest shade to brown that I've tried so far was Hazel from Freshlook and it gave a noticeable effect on my eye color.

And these are my eyes with the Sparkle Miyuki - Brown on. If not with the big eyes effect you wouldn't notice that I am actually wearing contact lenses.

Below are some more photos of me with the contact lens. 

Lesson learned, brown eyes need not brown lenses. LoL Though I still think that there's no much difference in the color vibrancy if the user has a different eye color. This is my second time to own a Sparkle lens and I can say that they are consistently soft, very comfortable for long hours of usage. It makes you feel like you're not wearing a contact lens at all. I would also say that compared to those dolly lens with bigger diameters like the first one I had which has 17mm diameter, this 15mm lens is so much easier to wear.

I'm giving ★★★ for this contact lens. Took 2 stars away coz I wasn't happy of the color effect. Will I repurchase? Still can't tell, I will make a review of the Gray one and let's see if the color will be vibrant or noticeable. Let's admit it, we buy color contact lenses with the aim of changing our eye color. Have you tried wearing contact lens? I'd love to hear about your experience too. Feel free to comment about your thoughts on contact lenses.


Update: I already posted the review for the gray one click here to read.

Wet N Wild Mega Colors Moody Mauve/Attitude Mauve Lipstick Review

The Wet N Wild Mega Colors lipstick comes in a silver plastic tube with a transparent plastic bottom where you may see the color of the lipstick while it is sealed. This one I have is in the shade of Moody Mauve/Attitude Mauve or 915A by code. This was gifted to me by a distant relative from Hawaii but at the bottom of the lipstick it says that it was Made in China. The packaging is good but I must agree with the review that I read that the lipstick tube is so much prone to scratches. Which is why I took a photo of this lippy from an online shop and used it as the first photo* for this review, coz mine does not look that presentable anymore.

This lippy has a metallic, color rich and very creamy finish. The shade is an old rose red with pink and brown undertones which giving your lips a full coverage in just a swipe. Its creamy, soft and smooth on the lips and it brings out or defines the lips without overemphasizing it. The shimmer of the metallic finish is just light but I know that it would still matter to those of you who are not fond of metallic lippies just like me. 

The above photo is the lipstick swatch on my forehand. The net weight is 3.6 grams. It has that typical lipstick scent but is not really strong so its just fine for me. It does not have those fruity and flowery scent of lippies nowadays. This lippy is available on eBay at $9.99 but I am not sure if where this can be bought locally.

Below are my photos wearing the lippy:

Another thing I noticed is that despite its softness and creaminess it still tend to dry the lips so I advice that you moisturize your lips or apply lip balm before putting on this lippy. It stays for quite a long time so minimal retouch is needed.

So to wrap up this review, I rate this lippy with ★★★★ . The lipstick shade is wearable but the metallic finish is not. And it does not contain vitamins that will help protect the lips so I took 1 star for that.

Before I end this I would like to thank you for being one of the visitors of my blog. As of this moment I am writing this I already reached 4,651 pageviews from different parts of the world. Thank you so much guys! Please watch out for another contact lens review to be posted within the week. And watch out for more blog posts from me. ;-)

*Credits to www.allcosmeticswholesale.com for the first photo of the lipstick

Careline™ Cotton Candy Lipstick Review

The Careline™ Lipstick comes in a white and very light plastic tube with silver floral prints. It is made in China where I think all Careline™ as well as Ever Bilena products are made. It is the first lipstick that I own where there is a manufacturing date printed at the bottom base of the tube. The one I got was manufactured June 2013 so I was happy to know the fact that I bought a newly manufactured lippy, coz you see a lot of women don't realize that makeups expire too.

The Careline™ Cotton Candy shade lipstick has a metallic, shiny finish. Its color is baby pink with red-purple undertones that also tend to result to a hot pink shade when 2 to 3 more swipes are applied on the lips. It weighs 3.4 grams.

It is highly pigmented so one swipe is enough to give your lips a full coverage, achieving a perfect cotton candy pink/baby pink shade. Below is the lipstick swatch that I did on my forehand. It looked a bit like fuchsia pink coz I did 3 swipes there. The lipstick's scent is a bit strong and reminds me so much of the scented ballpens. Yeah, scented ballpens that's exactly how it smells. Quite annoying at times. hehe 

The lipstick isn't that sticky but like most lippies it leaves stain on your hanky and glass. Although many are not happy with its longevity, I would say that it's long lasting coz I didn't have to do retouches. In fact, by the time I removed it, there was still that pink tint on my lips that lasted until the next morning. (Even when I already brushed my teeth that night there's still that light pink tint on my lips).

If you want beauty and you're on a budget this one's a must-have. I purchased this lipstick for only Php 120.00 at Super 8 Grocery Warehouse. Yeah, this caught my attention while I was doing grocery shopping the other day. The Careline™ gondola happened to be located at the side of the entrance of the grocery so my eyes were amazed by the pinkness of the shade. That moment I saw it, it was like telling me "hey girl come on and get me, get me, get me.." hahaha So there, I picked one right away coz it's super affordable.

If you girls have been following my blog sure you know that I am not that much into pink lippies. But this one temporarily shifted my choice to using pink lippies. I really love the shade, it brightens my face, I feel young and carefree whenever I have this on. Take a look at my photos below, I feel like a school girl again in those shots. hehe

I'm also happy that this lipstick is enriched with Vitamin E, so you're assured that your lips' skin cells are always protected from UV light, pollution and other harmful elements that produce cell damaging free radicals. It's important that we are not just aiming for beauty alone. Health should always come with beauty because having good skin is the key to real beauty. At the end of the day we remove whatever makeup we have and the only thing that remains is our skin so we should be vigilant in protecting it.

Overall I give it a rating of ★★★★★ for obvious reasons. I will soon try the other shades of this brand so watch out for it. Thank you for visiting my blog til next time ladies! Ciao! ;-)