However, I’ve read somewhere (or everywhere) that establishing a routine is important for babies. So whether I’m home early or not, once 9 pm hits, it’s bedtime for Timmy! How did we establish baby’s bedtime? It was easier than I thought!

Lights out at 9. The only light in the bedroom would be the computer or TV screen, the night light, or both.

Hush hush time. Thank goodness for DVD subtitles! H can catch up on his movies without the TV’s volume waking the baby up.

Bedtime stories. It takes only about two stories before Timmy gets sleepy. Sometimes I’d read him two stories while the light’s still on, then when I see he’s getting sleepy, I turn the bedroom lights out. A little bit of nursing and off he is to dreamland.

The funny thing is while Timmy’s fast asleep shortly after 9 pm, I find that H is fast asleep as well! I guess the bedtime routine is good for my two boys!

This week, I tried leche flan with ripe mangoes for the first time. I thought it was an odd combination at first, but it worked! For as long as the leche flan isn’t too sweet, the ripe mango’s slightly tart yet sweet taste will complement the creamy dessert perfectly. This wins Yummy Dish of the Week!

Crisostomo’s Quezo de Bola Cheesecake intrigued me. I love Quezo de Bola, I love cheesecake, so this seemed like a perfect marriage. Interesting eat, right? Well, I wish my cheesecake had more of a “quezo de bola-ness” to it — you know, the zip, the saltiness that only that ball of cheese has. It was just an okay dessert, but an interesting concept, nonetheless. I’d try it again if they’d up the QDB factor. And if I had someone to share it with. It was pricey — P200+ for a slice!

Another interesting eat: Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate from Peanut Butter Company in SM North. It looks like Nutella but tastes like Peanut Butter with a hint of dark choco. I love it on toasted bread. Delish!

What interesting eats have you had lately? Share!

How are you celebrating your forever today?

I used a picture frame to organize my office supplies instead. It works pretty well, doesn’t it? I wanted a red tray, but office trays at the store I went to came in black or gray. BORING. When I came upon a shelf full of picture frames, the options became just a little more fun.

You can use picture frames as trays for other things too, like your accessories (bracelets, earrings, rings, etc.), personal care stuff (facial creams, toners, anti-perspirants, etc.), crafts (spools, buttons, stickers, etc.). The fun thing is you not only get to organize your things a bit more, you can also personalize the frame. For example, I’m thinking of a vintage-type, distressed gold frame for my accessories. Or get a plain wooden frame and decorate it with trinkets for your crafts tray.

If you have old picture frames lying around the house, give them a second life by using them as trays. You maximize their usage and organize your things a wee bit more!

Five months after I gave birth, I began noticing a lot of my hair falling out.

My biggest concern was that my long stray hair could affect my baby. A strand of hair could get wrapped around a baby’s fingers, toes, wrists, ankles, even his penis. This tourniquet could cause him pain and may even cut off his circulation if it goes unnoticed for a long time.

How do you deal with postpartum hair loss? There’s a lot of advice in various baby websites, but here’s what’s working for me:

1. Be gentle with your hair. If you have to use products for your hair, go for mild ones. And brush or comb gently. If I run my fingers through my hair, I’ll end up with a handful of stray strands. Freaky. Careful strokes are the way to go.

2. Consider a much shorter hairstyle. With a wash-and-wear style, you save time scooping hair out of the drain or plucking them from your brush, so you get to spend more time on the baby.

And so I had my hair cut short! It took a bit of getting used to since I’ve worn my hair long for many years, but I like my hair better now. It’s quick to dry and style, and stray hair on pillows and sheets are easier to brush away.

Not all women experience hair fall after pregnancy. If you do experience it, do not that it’s just our hormones adjusting post-pregnancy. But if, however, you feel that there is an excessive amount of hair fall, do talk to your doctor. Better safe than sorry.

Did you experience hair fall post-pregnancy? How did you deal with it? Feel free to share your stories and tips on how to cope with post-pregnancy hair loss.

“The Undomestic Goddess” will be made into a movie! Yipee! The story is about a highly-stressed lawyer who quits her job and accidentally becomes a housekeeper. Written by Sophie Kinsella (Confessions of a Shopaholic, Can You Keep A Secret?), this is one of my fave chick lit books.

All hail The Magic Bullet! Timmy has started on solids, and he’s started on potatoes. I love this device so much that it deserves it own entry. More on it soon!

Manila Fashion Observer talks about breastfeeding in style. A lot of breastfeeding tops I’ve seen are a bit boring, so here’s her take on how to nurse without sacrificing style.

Connie makes Kahlua Brownies. May I please have a serving?

Spanky talks Portable Bacon. So tempting!

Tintin shows us how she looks so fabulous in pictures! Posing lessons, anyone?

If I were to get a tattoo, it would be a line from one of my favorite books “The Perks of Being A Wallflower.” I’d put the line across my left wrist: “I feel infinite.” Have you read this book yet?

Hope you’re enjoying the weekend.

Each member of our family gets a ballot each. We all have to submit our votes before the show. The prize? Well, there is no prize. Maybe a little “Wow! That was a good guess!” and a pat on the back but that’s all. I think we tried it with money some years back but I don’t remember how that turned out. It’s all for fun anyway.

It’s also fun choosing winners from categories I’m not too familiar with. This year (and like many years past as well), I haven’t seen a single nominated documentary. I just go with my gut or what sounds like a good title. Thou shalt judge a documentary by its title.

Sometimes the winner is just plain obvious, but who knows? Maybe the Academy will catch the audience by surprise. I have a hunch a lot of folks from Pandora are going to have one major after-Oscars party though, don’t you think?

What are your Oscar traditions? Do you take a leave from work and watch the whole show (pre-show, show proper, post-show…) with your friends? Do you play drinking games, taking a shot of tequila everytime someone says “Thank you!” or “Wow!”? Why not download your official Oscar ballot too?

Enjoy the Oscars!

Meanwhile, this song has been stuck in my head for days now. I <3 this song. Oscar fever! "C'mon Annie, let's go to the movies!" "Let's go see the stars!"

Annie (1982) – Let’s Go To The Movies

I stumbled upon this poem during a break, and I took it as a sign. A sign of what? Read it first, then I’ll tell you.

Let it enfold you
by Charles Bukowski

either peace or happiness,
let it enfold you

when I was a young man
I felt these things were
dumb, unsophisticated.
I had bad blood, a twisted
mind, a precarious
upbringing.

I was hard as granite, I
leered at the
sun.
I trusted no man and
especially no
woman.

I was living a hell in
small rooms, I broke
things, smashed things,
walked through glass,
cursed.
I challenged everything,
was continually being
evicted, jailed,in and
out of fights, in and out
of my mind.
women were something
to screw and rail
at, I had no male
friends,

I changed jobs and
cities, I hated holidays,
babies, history,
newspapers, museums,
grandmothers,
marriage, movies,
spiders, garbagemen,
english accents,spain,
france,italy,walnuts and
the color
orange.
algebra angered me,
opera sickened me,
charlie chaplin was a
fake
and flowers were for
pansies.

peace an happiness to me
were signs of
inferiority,
tenants of the weak
an
addled
mind.

but as I went on with
my alley fights,
my suicidal years,
my passage through
any number of
women-it gradually
began to occur to
me
that I wasn’t different

from the
others, I was the same,

they were all fulsome
with hatred,
glossed over with petty
grievances,
the men I fought in
alleys had hearts of stone.
everybody was nudging,
inching, cheating for
some insignificant
advantage,
the lie was the
weapon and the
plot was
empty,
darkness was the
dictator.

cautiously, I allowed
myself to feel good
at times.
I found moments of
peace in cheap
rooms
just staring at the
knobs of some
dresser
or listening to the
rain in the
dark.
the less I needed
the better I
felt.

maybe the other life had worn me
down.
I no longer found
glamour
in topping somebody
in conversation.
or in mounting the
body of some poor
drunken female
whose life had
slipped away into
sorrow.

I could never accept
life as it was,
i could never gobble
down all its
poisons
but there were parts,
tenous magic parts
open for the
asking.

I re formulated
I don’t know when,
date, time, all
that
but the change
occurred.
something in me
relaxed, smoothed
out.
i no longer had to
prove that I was a
man,

I didn’t have to prove
anything.

I began to see things:
coffee cups lined up
behind a counter in a
cafe.
or a dog walking along
a sidewalk.
or the way the mouse
on my dresser top
stopped there
with its body,
its ears,
its nose,
it was fixed,
a bit of life
caught within itself
and its eyes looked
at me
and they were
beautiful.
then- it was
gone.

I began to feel good,
I began to feel good
in the worst situations
and there were plenty
of those.
like say, the boss
behind his desk,
he is going to have
to fire me.

I’ve missed too many
days.
he is dressed in a
suit, necktie, glasses,
he says, “I am going
to have to let you go”

“it’s all right” I tell
him.

He must do what he
must do, he has a
wife, a house, children.
expenses, most probably
a girlfriend.

I am sorry for him
he is caught.

I walk onto the blazing
sunshine.
the whole day is
mine
temporarily,
anyhow.

(the whole world is at the
throat of the world,
everybody feels angry,
short-changed, cheated,
everybody is despondent,
disillusioned)

I welcomed shots of
peace, tattered shards of
happiness.

I embraced that stuff
like the hottest number,
like high heels, breasts,
singing,the
works.

(don’t get me wrong,
there is such a thing as cockeyed optimism
that overlooks all
basic problems just for
the sake of
itself-
this is a shield and a
sickness.)

The knife got near my
throat again,
I almost turned on the
gas
again
but when the good
moments arrived
again
I didn’t fight them off
like an alley
adversary.
I let them take me,
i luxuriated in them,
I bade them welcome
home.
I even looked into
the mirror
once having thought
myself to be
ugly,
I now liked what
I saw,almost
handsome, yes,
a bit ripped and
ragged,
scares, lumps,
odd turns,
but all in all,
not too bad,
almost handsome,
better at least than
some of those movie
star faces
like the cheeks of
a baby’s
butt.

and finally I discovered
real feelings of
others,
unheralded,
like lately,
like this morning,
as I was leaving,
for the track,
i saw my wife in bed,
just the
shape of
her head there
(not forgetting
centuries of the living
and the dead and
the dying,
the pyramids,
Mozart dead
but his music still
there in the
room, weeds growing,
the earth turning,
the toteboard waiting for
me)
I saw the shape of my
wife’s head,
she so still,
I ached for her life,
just being there
under the
covers.

I kissed her in the,
forehead,
got down the stairway,
got outside,
got into my marvelous
car,
fixed the seatbelt,
backed out the
drive.
feeling warm to
the fingertips,
down to my
foot on the gas
pedal,
I entered the world
once
more,
drove down the
hill
past the houses
full and empty
of
people,
I saw the mailman,
honked,
he waved
back
at me.

It’s a sign of hope. It made me write poems again. And to me, that’s a good sign. Wave at the mailman more, dear friend. Life is good!

Thank you Mr. Bukowski for this amazing, amazing piece.

How did the poem speak to you? What did it tell you?

Timmy looks like he’s trying to see which part of my face to drool on first. Or trying to determine which part of his toy he wants to nibble on. Or reading his favorite book. Or awaiting his next spoonful of cereal. Or watching his Nonna play the piano (or Farmville). Or playing with his reflection in the mirror.

I just love the look of wonder on baby’s faces!

When was the last time YOU had a look of wonder on your face, you adult you?

Just a little bit more and it’s Saturday again. What are you looking forward to this weekend?

And in other news, don’t forget that when you want something (and if it is meant for you!), the whole universe conspires for you to achieve it. The wise men said that — Paulo Coelho, Ralph Waldo Emerson. Just have faith in yourself and in the universe.

You will fly.

Original image: D Sharon Pruitt