Being a father has changed me a lot. One of the things that changed is how I took care of myself. Andrea and I realized that we couldn’t just abuse ourselves anymore. We want to grow old and see Mateo grow up! We want to be there for him in all the important events in his life. And of course, we’d like see our future grandchildren and still be able to keep up with them. I know some old people who are in care homes early in their lives and they are well-taken care of in such homes. Andrea and I, even though we’d love to grow old without needing those, realize that someday we might find ourselves in those places. We fervently hope that we’d still be together if that happens. I look forward to getting all wrinkled and still holding hands with her. Nevertheless, we know we’d still be enjoying life.

When Mateo’s grandparents, promised him a weekend at the Canyon Woods Residential Resort in Tagaytay, with good ol’ mom and dad of course, we could only say yes! It was, as they said, a separate birthday blowout. We, on the other hand, had no objections whatsoever.

So last Saturday, they picked us up and then headed to Tagaytay for a grueling 3-hour ride. We were all sleepy but Mateo, not having completed his sleep because of the early wakeup call, couldn’t stay quiet in the car. We almost got lost. And to top it all off, we got caught in an uncharacteristic January rain. (I mean when was the last time it rained hard on January?) Moods were not at all high!

By 9, we were already cruising along Tagaytay’s main road. We stopped only at the RSM Lutong Bahay  to have crispy tawilis for breakfast. We took a table facing the lake and had picture taking. By 10 we were back on the road.

We arrived at the resort before 11 AM and man it was huge! There was a club house, a pavillion, and hundreds of kick-ass cabins. The place showcased swimming pools, gyms, courts (for basketball, badminton, and tennis), a mini-golf course, a boating and fishing area, and wellness centers (for spas and massages). And even though we tried our best to have a taste of everything the place could offer, there was just not enough time.

Mateo, the celebrant, took his first swim in the indoor pool (which was temperature regulated by the way), shot some hoops and tried out the slide in the playroom, tired himself out picking tennis balls being played by lolo and tita, and stuffed his face with mashed potato. He was absolutely enjoying himself.

By Sunday afternoon, lolo and lola had dropped off all of us back in Antipolo.  Andrea and I couldn’t keep our eyes open while Mateo, who slept all the way from Tagaytay to Antipolo, was up and running. Good thing his nanny really missed him so we were able to take a nap. Waking up after an hour, it all seemed like a beautiful dream. Good thing it wasn’t - this weekend in Tagaytay. (All thanks to lolo and lola!)

Starting an online business can be easy and daunting at the same time. Andrea has stumbled upon several SAHM like her who have started selling some things online which they usually showcase on their Multiply accounts. A few days ago I played around with the idea of doing this also but doing it in a more techie way. I started brainstorming for possible ideas and thinking of a good domain name. Then I decided that if I’m going to be serious with this, I’m going to need a good webhost, learn how to be webmaster (or find one), get a shopping cart software or an ecommerce software, think about what to sell and how to be paid for them, etc. I think the whole thing has big potential. Maybe I could start with small items only then after some time, the whole thing would hopefully have diversity of products like a mall. I know a lot of people who would love to load a shopping cart, even an online one. I hope I can get started on it this summer!

A co-worker is experiencing a lot of good breaks in her chosen field. She has recently been assigned as a project leader in the company she works for. For the longest time, she has wanted to work in an IT consulting company and it’s really good that she is finally getting her dream. Although she’s been working for more than ten years already, I guess she feels most successful in her line of work now. I wish her all the luck in her new chosen career!

Mateo learned to blow on the morning of his birthday. It never occurred to Andrea and me to teach him how to blow out his candle. A day before his birthday, we started singing the happy birthday song to him and he’d clap along with us. The next day, he’d make blowing actions whenever we’d say ‘blow’. He still needed our help though when it was his turn to really blow out his candle.

Mateo’s birthday party has been the topic of our nightly discussions for the past few weeks. Apparently, living in Antipolo has its many downs as well as its obvious ups.  Since our parents, friends, and most of Mateo’s godparents reside in the lowlands (as we call Quezon City ever since we moved here to the mountains), we couldn’t decide initially where to hold the party.

Fortunately, things have a bizarre way of coming together. Last Tuesday, before we knew it, everything was just in order. We commissioned the lolos and the lolas to help in the food preparations while we did the rest. Our co-workers and some of our students came as guests. As for our friends in the lowland, well, only Faith and JC came, but we knew that the rest are there in spirit. (Ahem!)

We ate loads of food, drank and partied, but with the celebrant of course. Our objective for that day was to make Mateo feel special and really happy! I guess we were successful!

My friends and I love playing poker. We’d often meet-up in somebody else’s house to do some serious card-playing and bidding for hours. Even when Andrea was already pregnant, we’d play poker late at night. Hehe! Lately though, some of us have discovered playing online poker. There are times when Andrea and I would want to play poker but we don’t have others to play with so we’d settle with playing online. There are a lot of top online poker sites out there. For those who love playing online poker, what’s important is to make sure that the site is secure especially if it’s a paid site. The site topusaonlinecasinos.com also have reviews of the best US online poker room sites, definitely a must-visit for poker lovers. They offer a comprehensive review of some online poker room sites, including some great detailed ratings like software rating, trust factor, bonus and promotions. So if you’re one of those who play poker online, better read the reviews first.

My cousin has been racking up debts on her credit cards. I almost wanted to make her surrender them to me when I learned of it. I know how it feels to be paying off credit card debt - they sometimes feel like they are never going to end. She’s thinking of getting a loan, hopefully one that charges lower interest. She needs to pay off her credit cards and to stop using them. She has been checking out different institutions that offers loans. Some even offer bad credit loans. It would a good idea for her (and me!) to read up on handling credit and finances especially since she will need to do a lot of credit repair.

With only just a year of experiencing our little babsy, I’ve come to realize a few things about being a dad and having a baby.

• Babies grow up unbelievably fast. One moment, they’re stationary and helpless, and the next, they’re everywhere, every time, wrecking everything!

• No matter what the new moms or dads say, babies are so much easier to take care of when they’re still young and helpless. Babysitting becomes exponentially more difficult whenever they learn new skills like walking, food throwing, spitting, etc.

• Mommies are amazingly vulnerable to baby smiles and hugs. No matter how mad Andrea gets at Mateo for breaking things, she can never stay mad at him especially when he comes over to hug her while flashing his cute smile. (They’re any supermom’s kryptonite!)

• Anything can be a toy! If you just had the imagination, everything from miniature cars, to balls, to vases, to scratch papers, remote controllers, socks, keys, even up to calculators can be used for playing basketball or soccer.

• Only mommies are allowed to scold or get angry at the babies. Whenever I get mad at Mateo for doing things, andrea always calls my attention, but when Mateo bites her, she calls his attention.

• No matter how much you lure them to you with play, babies will naturally go to mama first (mommy-dependent). I asked andrea once how come mateo never clings on to me as much as he clings on to her. With a grin, she answered me quickly - Grow some boobs first!

• There is no way to baby-proof a house a hundred percent. Babies will always find ways to hurt themselves, no matter how silly or how seemingly impossible those methods are.

• There is no such thing as an 8-hour sleep for daddies and mommies. Regardless of how much milk or food you give them before sleeping, they will always wake up in the middle of the night to ask for more.

• Babies without diapers are erratically ticking time bombs. It’s not a question of if they will make a mess, but rather of when they’re going to make a mess.

• It takes a great deal of creativity, enormous amount of self-control, and limitless patience to become a dad (even more so to become a mom!) but it’s all worth it!

I’m not an expert in taking care of babies, nor am I vowing to become one. I’m just a year wiser than I was before - not yet a guru but not anymore a novice. Hehe! All thanks to my andrea and, of course, mateo.

A friend is thinking of starting her own small school. She loves kids and teaching but she’d also love to have her own business. Starting a school of her own seemed like the perfect option. Right now, she’s asking around for server suggestions. Even with just a small school, she’s planning to get an IBM AS/400 iSeries. She used to work in an IT company and getting a good server is a must for her. She found a site that provides reliable source for diverse, hard to find, new and refurbished midrange hardware. They also assist with issues ranging from simple device address & cabling problems to complex system tuning & troubleshooting assistance. I think she just might get to start her new school soon.