Quarantined Birthday

Last year, it was just a very intimate birthday with my fam. No one really knew what will happen, so it was Just the three of us. This year was no different. It was yet again another quarantined birthday for me. We didnt plan anything same from last year and we just thought of a very simple lunch.

Our usual birthday celebrations during the pandemic would consist of: ordering grab food, taking family picture, praying for aNother blessed year ahead and  finally sharing the food together.

Nothing special really, but this quote I found online days before my birthday..

“It has taken awhile, but I certainly do know it now ­­– the most wonderful gift I had, the gift I finally learned to cherish above all else, was the gift of all those perfectly ordinary days.”
-Katrina Kenison

Made me realized the gift of having these perfectly ordinary days. The perfect days where we pray and cherish the most treasured thing we have which is each other.
I honestly didnt expect anything, just the thought of celebrating another blessed year ❤ made me feel hopeful already for the days ahead.

But, I was really touched when I started receiving all these gifts and food from my friends and fam. My perfectly ordinary day turned into an overabundance kind of day. My heart was really full and I just couldnt put into words how grateful I am with all these love that I have received. They even connived With my partner to surprise me and it really worked, I just cant put my head that even though I can’t see them, they made it a point to make me feel so very special in their life In the midst of a pandemic.

Most of my friends, bestfriends and my sister live abroad now. Although I only have a few friends here now, my friends from afar never really forgets and I am  over the moon to know that the distance didnt really matter as long as you Know that you will always have each other in your heart. 🥰

One thing is in my mind right now and its to pay all these blessings forward and share this overflowing warmth that I felt.

❤

Our home

I have been seeing a lot of House upgrades all over the internet!! And dont let me get started!! 😆

Anyway, It has been a year (but feels like forever already!) And we are still on quarantine!!! 🥴
I can still remember one of President Duterte’s  “Ikot ikot lang muna kayo sa bahay” suggestion and then of course, A lot of meme came out and you can see these tiktoks and pictures making their own interpretation 😁. But, indeed the longer the quarantine, the more we realize that we have been neglecting our houses all along (may it be rented or owned)

One year of pandemic and we’re all still looking at the same old ceiling and walls of our houses. 😣
Until, a group on facebook introduced us on ways on how to improve, upgrade and revamp our whole household.
I think, I found this group when I was scrolling thru instagram and followed a specific hashtag about home decors. And unexpectedly followed one of the admins of the said group. I got curious on her posts and started to look it up on facebook.
I must say it was really inspiring but I am lying if I say that I didnt feel any tinge of envy on how their houses looked like.
Almost all members of this group are from the upper middle class to rich class and you cannot really unsee how big and neat their houses are (Muji style everywhere!!) But credits to this group as it also served its purpose well which is to distract ourselves from the whole pandemic anxiety.

But as much as it helped in lessening our anxieties, to some it can be quite stressful too. Looking at these houses on the group, makes you feel a bit frustrated but the more you focus on those feelings, the more it can pull you down. Tell me more about it! 🤣

Then I remembered how we got here and the time we moved  in our old 2 bedroom unit. That time, Mason has just turned 5 months! We didnt plan everything, everything went by so fast. When we got pregnant, we had no idea on what will happen next. We were just trying to go with the flow. My partner and I have nothing to start with and we’re Not mature enough, we just want to make everything work. 😣

But then, as you know, I got pregnant, we had no choice back then but to stay at their house. I honestly felt very restricted and I am not comfortable living with his family while having to deal with pregnancy and newborn issues with limited control and space. Girl… I didnt even know how to cook and fold clothes properly!! 🤣
We started to have some misunderstandings too because I noticed how he was trapped into doing two things at the same time which is taking care of us, our son and at the same time attending to his family’s needs. It was a really stressful time for us.

Then, a magical plot twist happened ( you know when the universe helps you out to make it happen?! I guess this was it on my end! 😂) Our company decided to move South and… Lo and behold, this unit that they own was located in the south just one jeepney ride from the Company’s new place.
He talked to his dad about our plans of moving out and to the south we go!! 
We only had 1 month to renovate the whole place. From the first unit owner to the last renter, the place has not changed at all. A lot of things needed to be fixed and we had very limited time to revamp the place. We didn’t even had any budget for this since I just gave birth, had Mason’s christening and this was not in our initial plan. But, thankfully his dad offered to help us out too.
During that time we didnt know anything about house decors, color palettes, themes etc. We were busy juggling work and going back and forth to help fix the unit and I had to take care of our son. So fast, It was a blur. I just remembered him asking me what color of the walls I want and the vinyl etc., we just wanted to move out as soon as possible because of the work location and to finally have a sense of having our own place.

From the time we moved, we bought anything that we need (some items were also hand-me downs from my sister, they decided to move to another country so some of our items up to this day is from them)..not really caring about will this match to…this or that?! who cares right?! 😁

Years passed, we got busy at work while taking care of Mason (no yaya! Just my mom helping us!) and we just got used to everything as we were living fast paced.

I guess just like everyone else, in this pandemic, we started to notice our house more. We Saw some items that needs fixing, we noticed we have a lot of clutter and we Dont have a lot of storage (which is an essential, especially if you live in a condo) and with these groups on facebook that shares some DIYs and How tos, ( thank goodness dad is into wood working!) we are getting some inspirations from them and slowly doing some changes and updates on our little place too.

Although a big house is nice. I think, this place is just right for us for now. The location is just chef’s kiss 😘 and we wouldnt want it any other way plus it is ours, our first home! This is where we had all our firsts as a family.
Having our own house and lot is one of our long term goals and I am sure this 2 bedroom Home will help us reach our dreams someday!!😍

Our “New Normal”

Oh wow its August. Just like that and we are now on our 5th month working from home. Funny how I used to wish for me to have a job where I can work from home and take care of Mason. And look! I am now working from home!! Honestly not the best time for this to happen but this is the new norm now ( I somehow miss our office)

Our new Normal consists of waking up, cooking lunch, watching tv, playing with Mason, Mason’s naptime while I work ( all of these while Bryan is sleeping) late in the afternoon, I’ll have to wake them up and it’s his time to look after Mason while I work. This routine is our weekday schedule but weekend schedule is almost the same except that I dont have any work and I get to sew when Mason is asleep. Everything is repetitive now that I dont really look forward to anything anymore.

There’s too much that is going on outside but we can’t really do anything because of pandemic quarantine guidelines. Everyday that I open my social media accounts, I get devastated with news and this new norm just adds up the tension that I feel. I am sure its just not me who’s getting mentally challenged by this new norm.

Well, I guess I just miss the Old normal when we get excited to go out every weekend, when we can still wear our favorite clothes and socialize with friends and family, when we can eat outside and enjoy the view, when we can still stay out late and not wear any masks or face shields.

Not sure when we’ll have answers to this pandemic but we just have to stick to our new normal now and just hope that at the end of this pandemic we’ll come out stronger both mentally and physically and we’ll never take anything for granted again. 😩