100% Kelly

Last Sunday, I along with several of my online friends (aka the mbap’s) got together and threw a super early Christmas party and a baby shower party in one.  One of the memorable activities we had during the party was a game called the White Elephant Game.  To those of you who aren’t familiar with the game, here’s a gist of how it is played:

“..Usually, attendees draw numbers or cards to indicate player order. Strategic white elephant players try to end up somewhere in the middle of the game. The white elephant gifts are piled in a central location, and game play begins when one person opens the first gift. The contents are displayed to the room, and the next player’s turn begins.

The second player may either open a new present from the stack or steal the first player’s gift. If the second player takes the first player’s white elephant, the first player must open a new present. A gift may only be stolen once a turn. After the second player’s turn is complete, the third player proceeds with the same options, and so forth until the game is finished.

Some white elephant parties impose a rule that a gift may only be stolen three times, requiring careful strategizing in the case of large multiplayer games…”–  from www.wisegeek.com

We adopted the same set of rules except that the gift may only be stolen twice.  This is just the second time I’ve played the game and I must admit that I had more fun

The GIFTS (kasama yung pillow dyan, which is the most coveted of all)

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Kuntento na si Jacqui sa coffee maker.

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Mukhang maganda yang nakuha ni Apple ha…

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Jane: “So pwede ko pang i-steal yan?”

Joy:  “Ako na next ha.  Alin kaya dito kukunin ko…”

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Jody:  “Hindi ka na pwede mag-steal pag binuksan mo yan”

Buti na lang hindi pa nabubuksan ni Joy kaya steal agad ng pillow kay Peachy! (tama ba?)

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The husbands also enjoying the game

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It’s Jane’s time to choose.. again!  Jody stole the gift which Jane stole from Apple (tama ba?)

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Jane: “Mich, don’t steal this from me na!” 

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Hindi ko na matandaan kung baket kami tawa ng tawa dito.  Haha.

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Guess why we’re laughing hysterically here.  I am pretty sure Apple knows why! 

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The last gift from the pack.  Any guesses to whom it went?  I am sure Apple knows the answer

Here’s a nice Christmas concept – an Angel Tree! The Angel Tree concept was held a second time at the Branson property, a luxury resort at Branson West, Missouri. The idea is to have gifts under their tree for children living in poverty situations. And not just any trinket or inappropriate toy, but gifts chosen specifically with the kids in mind. A gift-giver takes an “Angel” from the tree and then purchases the item listed on the “Angel” and returns the item, unwrapped, to a Santa sack, which is next to the tree by a specified period. The gift-giving was a continued success and is bound to catch on in the coming years. Now who says you can’t do good while doing well?!

• My barely-a-month-old Anna Sui Secret Wish Eau De Toilette was confiscated at immigration. And hell yeah, I was extremely pissed! You see, I got that cologne at The World Trade Bazaar for, guess what, 40% off! And! I had only used for like, 10 times! But I had no one to blame but myself (which is probably I was so upset). I just dumped it inside my handcarry and didn’t even think of the airport regulations. Ayan tuloy Kelly! Tsk tsk tsk!

• Manu’s F1 cap, which was purchased at Monaco, got lost at Changi Airport! This was also upsetting as this was our favorite cap, add to the fact that you just can’t buy it anywhere! Again, Tsk tsk tsk!

• Manu’s Percy Lights and Sounds train (which costs P1,000 for a small wooden train, can you believe it?) also got lost somewhere between Pepper Lunch and Royal Plaza. At first, we thought that it was under our bed but when Gats tried to look for it, Percy wasn’t there.

• All of the above happened during the first day of our trip. TSK! TSK! TSK!

• We were able to purchase accessories for Manu’s train set, namely:

The Echo Tunnel

A limited edition Holiday Tunnel with Christmas Thomas

Quarry Mine Tunnel

• I was able to buy a pair of Melissa Night which costs 50% less than retail price in Manila

• I was able to buy three boxes of Royce’ chocolates. Yumyumyum!

• And the ultimate highlight of the entire trip? Going through the entire experience with my Manu and Gats. Everything else comes in second.
  

Manu enjoying the view as we headed to our hotel, Royal Plaza on Scotts

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Hotel staff welcomes our family with a smile and a complete set of nth century attire

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Manu and his lolo

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As mentioned in this post, our trip to Singapore will be my and Gats’ first with a toddler in tow. I know it will be a bit different from my previous travels BUT I didn’t realize it would be THAT different.

You see, when my family travels abroad, all me and my siblings do is shop, shop, and shop some more until our legs (and pockets) couldn’t take it any longer. Well, that’s exactly what happened the past five days. Except I wasn’t able to do it. Truthfully, I was envious of them. I wished I could do what I’d done before. But I couldn’t because the little one needs daddy and mommy’s attention all the time. We couldn’t stay in one store for more than a few minutes because Manu would just get cranky. We knew that we had to keep him busy with play so he wouldn’t get “inip”. We knew that one of us had to sacrifice some – correction: a lot of – shopping hours so that the other would be free to roam around and spend money on whatever she fancies (if you notice the pronouns, you’d know who did what ). Gats and I knew that this trip would definitely be different.

BUT.

Despite this shallow difference, every minute with my two boys was BLISS. I wouldn’t exchange THAT for anything.

I’ll leave you with a picture of my lovely boys making faces during our New Year’s Eve dinner at The Carousel, Royal Plaza on Scotts (will post more pics in the coming days):

A question from Jane: What’s your Christmas Day schedule?

Here’s a preview of what it’s like:

24 December, 7pm to 10pm. Christmas eve dinner with the in-laws

24/25 December, 10pm to 1am. Christmas eve celebration at the Verano residence; opening of gifts

25 December, 1am to 10am. Rest; Prepare for mass

25 December, 10:30am to 12:00pm. Celebrate mass with my side of the family

25 December, 12:00pm to 2:00pm. Lunch at the Verano residence

25 December, 2:00pm to 8pm. Annual Christmas get-together of the Uy clan; giving of gifts

It is December once again, the perfect time to extend our greetings to everyone in the blogosphere and unite for a common purpose: to enjoy life within the cyberspace.

So let’s give ourselves a break to go round and meet other bloggers, be the e-Santa Claus.
*** COPY STARTS HERE ***

How to Join?

[1] Fill up and submit the details of this form.
[2]Copy and post the rules to your blog. Include the “backward list” (a record of how the tag reached you) and add your name.
[3] Recruit for participants. Be sure to get their consent.

Should they agree to join, add them to your “forward list” (bloggers you’ve convinced to join).

Remind them to do item #1.

** Participants will be accepted until December 16 (Phil. time) only. On December 17, the organizer will email to you the details of your Ronito/Ronita. Send him/her a Christmas greeting via E-cards preferably on December 25.

Should time be a constraint, you can send it earlier.

My Backward Link List:
iRonnie , jeff, bluepanjeet, thess ,GBex , Liza, Liza 2, Rems, Eds, Abie

- add your name here: Kelly

I want to extend the spirit of Christmas to the following friends: Aiza, Maybelle, Vina

(Jen) If you think my tree is rockstar, think again:

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I am proud of how my Christmas tree turned out, thanks to my mom and sister. Here, take a look at some of the pictures I took:

Nice, but it looks better in person.

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Here are a few of my favorite trimmings. Just click on the picture for a better view

When I was invited to the Christmas Party, I was hesitant to join since I’m really not who you might call Miss Congeniality. If you had read my previous posts, I am a person who is uncomfortable around people whom she has never met, and very shy when meeting new people. So my first thought was, “I ain’t for this party.” Fortunately at that time, I had a good excuse – my SIL’s birthday is in the same week, and I was guessing that we will be having dinner on the day of the Mommy Blogger’s Christmas Party. With this, I informed Apols that we probably might not attend the event. However, the celebration was moved in advance, thus I now had time for the party. I decided to go, but without my little boy — unless I wanted the lolo and lola to strangle me.

Gats and I left our place around 5:35pm as I wanted to arrive a just a few minutes after 6pm. Traffic wasn’t a problem so we were able to arrive just in time. While we were looking for a place to park, I already saw Howell and Bela, with Abie following them. Seeing Abie got me all excited. Now, I wanted to meet my blogging buddies even more. As I was approaching the venue, I saw Apols having a chat with Jacqui. I gave Apols a wave, and fortunately she waved back (thank goodness, she recognized me. I would have died if she turned her back on me). I entered the room and I started seeing familiar faces. I began waving my hands and saying hello to some of the moms. Apols then began introducing me to the moms, and eventually led us to a spot where we can sit. At that time, I was so surprised that I wasn’t feeling a bit uncomfortable or shy with these people who I haven’t met personally. I felt so friendly (Jane, friendly pako niyan ha. Pano pa kung hinde? ) that I wanted to approach all of the moms and talk to them for hours. But that wasn’t possible as the kids were keeping the super moms busy. It was at this point that I felt a little out of place. I was the only mommy there without a child by her side. I felt even more out of place during the mother-child games. I really wished I was able to bring Manu with us at the party. Good thing there was a mom only game and I was able to participate (weeee! my apologies to the group though for being pampatalo ). I enjoyed the Kodak moments as I only had a few. I loved that I brought home an award, as simple as it may be. But what I loved most was finally getting to meet these wonderful women:

Apols

What ever happened to that feisty woman who doesn’t hesitate to b—ch about almost anything? Hello?! Apols?! Earth to Apols! You are much thinner in person, girl. I might agree with you when you mentioned that you need to gain a few more pounds. I think it would be more bagay with you. Grabe, your kids are a carbon copy of your husband. Sana, when you have a girl, kamukha mo naman

Jane

I was surprised to see how tall you were! I didn’t imagine you short, but it never came to me that you were blessed with an ala-beauty queen height. Hey, I need not mention that you are pretty because everyone can see that you are. Your Sophia! Such a big girl! With such tabachingching hita! She gave me a good laugh that time when she was asking for her gift! Hahaha!

Jody

It was nice seeing you again (fyi, Jody was my wedding coordinator). You’ve bloomed. It seems like that motherhood has so much positive and prettifying effects on you. Margaux is such a pretty girl, while your Bianca is such a cutie.

Thea

I was actually meaning to ask if you were expecting but I might get a slap on the face . I did notice that you were quite shy that night. I do hope you open yourself up during our next get-together.

Mich

Jane was right when she said that your smile is wonderful. Your Alex is sooo cute! I was so so tempted to pinch her chubby little thighs! I just stopped myself from doing so because the parents might raise their eyebrows on me

Peachy

I noticed how matching your outfit was – up to the shoes! Grabe, Joaquin was so behaved, I couldn’t believe it! If only my Manu was half as behaved as he was, I wouldn’t need a yaya! Is he like that every day?

Abie

You cut your hair! It’s a disappointment that we didn’t get to talk much. I hope we have more time for chika next time. Howell was so cool! It didn’t take much cajoling for him to join the game, pop the balloon, and wiggle his hips! Did Bela dance? Shucks, I didn’t see!

Jacqui

Did you forget that I have a kid?! Maybe because I still looked single! And thin!(?) :husband rolling on the floor while laughing out loud:

Joy

You are soo thin, I hate you! (This also goes to Jane, Abie, Mich and Peachy). Sandy looked so cute in her kikay outfit!

Aggie

I honestly thought that you were a petite woman (uuuy, friends tayo ha, walang bawian ng mga comment!).

Apple

Baket wala akong keychain?! I knew I submitted our picture before your deadline… But hey, I read your post so no worries