My egg cravings brought us to The Egg & I this morning for breakfast. When I told my husband last night that we will have breakfast there the next day, he said that I have to wait for a few more weeks because our special day is coming. He reminded me what I said before that we will only eat at The Egg & I on special days. But I was insistent. Besides, I will be paying the bill. :)

Indeed this morning we had our breakfast there. It looked like they are out of staff. When we arrived, no one was there to seat us, and there were 2 other people waiting. It's also strange to me that they only have men serving. And there's only two of them. Is there a strike from the female employees? I don't know. Just unusual to me. I remember there was a female server who was so bubbly. The place was so quiet without her. :)

I tried their Popeye's Frittata. It's got lean ground beef, spinach, and topped with parmesan cheese. I actually liked it with Tabasco. The heat was dancing in my mouth. As always, I loved their potatoes that came with the dish, and their raisin toast. My husband just ordered the typical breakfast food: eggs, bacon, English muffin, potatoes, and a glass of fresh orange juice that costs $3.00 (without refill).

I like The Egg & I until now. We do not go there often, but everytime we do, their food never fails to satisfy my cravings. Perhaps we'll go back there in few weeks again. We'll see.

It was very exciting to see online the status of the Balikbayan boxes I sent to my family in the Philippines through Forex. The boxes are currently in Manila! Yay! I am so happy that it finally touched the Philippine soil. That means, it will be in the hands of my loved ones so soon! It's funny that I feel so thrilled when I am not the recipient. Well I think it's because I know in mind and heart that my family will be so happy when they get their presents. When they are happy, it makes me the happiest person. That's one of the great things of having a family—the joy that you have in your heart for them.

I couldn't wait until they will have the boxes. I told my Mom that they should inform me when they already receive it so that I can call and share their excitement as they open it. I couldn't wait to listen to their sweet, jubilant laughter. I am thrilled.

1. Good for one baby room cleaning.
2. Redeem for one carpet cleaning.
3. Good for foot massage.
4. Redeem to receive beautiful flowers.
5. Good for one back rub.
6. Redeem for snuggling together on the couch.
7. Good for one bath and changing Eve.
8. Redeem for Momma's choice.
9. Redeem for one clean kitchen.
10. Good for one meal of your choice. No complaining or whining involved.
11. Good for one full body massage.
12. Good for one nap with you on the weekend.
13. Good for a movie of your choice.
14. Good for DVD rental of your choice.
15. Redeem for a day during the week spent at home with you (must present at least 2 business days prior).
16. Good for one haircut yours or mine.
17. Redeem for making love.
18. Redeem for watching one TV show of your choice no matter what.
19. Good for one poem written for you.
20. Redeem for laundry service.

I can say that my most favorite coupons are the "cleaning" ones (lol). Sometimes I just want to relax and not do dishes or give Evie a wash before bedtime. Glad I have these coupons I can use when I feel lazy to do some cleaning stuff. I truly appreciate my husband's effort and thoughtfulness to come up with such a creative idea for Mother's Day. I love it!

Our daughter checking her supply of rice.

This week was a little bit rough for me. My mother was admitted in the hospital due to beriberi and hypertension. I was informed that she started to not feeling well for 2 weeks before she decided to get admitted. She told me that her neck and legs were swelling, had a terrible headache, dizzy, and feverish.

I surprised my husband with a 3D Tron t-shirt today. He's going out to watch the movie with best friend Jeff, so I deemed it's the perfect time to wear it. It was supposed to be given on the morning of Christmas, but, I think having him wear the new shirt will make him a part of the crowd :).

He likes Tron. It reminds him of his childhood. Although he said that the effects used in the 1982 movie was not good, he's the most excited to see the newly-released film. He laughed at how much modern technology changed the film effects and quality of the most recent one compared to the movie produced almost 3 decades ago. Watching the trailer of the movie made his eyes glow. And finally today, he's able to do a "movie date" with his "little brother." As much as I wanted to watch the movie, I did not want to ruin their time together.

Well, my husband was so pleased with his new Tron shirt. I called him Mr. Tron when I handed it to him. He thought I was silly for buying him the shirt. He didn't expect it. I think I was successful of the "surprise" part. I made him grin. I'm so glad.

One night my husband asked me about our Christmas gifts for each other. He said he could not think of anything to give me. Maybe because everytime he'd ask me what gift I want, most of the time I do not have a concrete answer. So he told me that maybe instead of giving each other gifts for Christmas, we can just combine our money to buy a new computer. I absolutely love the idea! I thought it's a great, practical suggestion. But, I've already purchased gifts for him. Nonetheless, I still committed to give my share to buy a new PC. Then he said, he's got a surprise for me though. And I will have it before Christmas. Made me wonder why before Christmas. Besides, I thought he's not going to buy me a gift.

My curiosity of his surprise followed us until bedtime that night. I kept bugging him about it even if he was all ready to close his eyes and travel to his dream world. I made myself sounded so pathetic telling him that he didn't love me anymore because he won't tell me—not even a clue. It made him laugh so much. I love it when he laughs like that. So, I kept making myself sound miserable. I didn't get what I wanted that night. He was so determined to keep his Christmas surprise. 

Unfolding the Surprise
On our way home after we shared dinner with our friend Jeff at the Macaroni Grill and returning stuff at Target, he asked me if I wanted my surprise. Of course I do. Who doesn't want a surprise? But it was already 10 in the evening, what could the surprise be? Perhaps he'll take us to the Mormon's Temple to see the display of Christmas lights and various decors. "Nope," he said. "Are we going to Fry's?" I asked. "How did you know we're going to Fry's?" "We're on the street on the way to Fry's," I answered. Then he complimented me of how I had been good with getting familiar with the streets around.

Indeed we stopped at Fry's. Huh? Is he going to buy a bouquet of flowers for me?

He ushered us to the customer service area. They were almost closing. When he asked the person in-charge if they're already closing, she said yes and asked him what he wanted. "I'm going to rent a Rug Doctor." (ha ha ha). "Oh my, is Rug Doctor my husband's surprise for me?" I asked myself. My guess was absolutely right. SURPRISE—RUG DOCTOR!!! Grrrrr...my husband wanted me to clean the house. What kind of Christmas surprise is that? Whatever.

So this morning, we cleaned the carpet. But guess what? The Rug Doctor was actually not the surprise. It's...


Yeah, my great, loving husband doing all the "surprise cleaning" using the Rug Doctor. Awwwww, I love my husband's advance Christmas surprise so much. It's not the material thing that counts, but the thought...the action.

Picture I took of my ring after I got it from my (then) fiance.

I freaked out this morning when I found out that my right pinky no longer had my engagement ring on it. Did it slip while I washed the baby's bottles? Did it glide while we had shower? I went to and fro the kitchen sink and the shower room. I couldn't find it! I needed my husband's help to find it. He needed to know that I lost it.

While waiting for him to come out from the bathroom, I wondered if my pinky had gotten smaller for my ring. I did not think so. You may wonder why I had it on my pinky instead of my ring finger. We'll blame it on the weight gain after pregnancy, and blame it on me for not doing an effort to lose extra pounds.

Anyway, I immediately informed my husband with an upset face about what happened. I told him of the places where I could have possibly lost it. He looked. The ring was nowhere to be found. Then, he went through the bed and checked the baby's towel. There it was! My ring! My precious engagement ring!

His theory was, it must have slipped from my finger while I was putting lotion on the baby. I never noticed it but I agreed with him. I was so happy to recover it. Thanks to my hero who happened to be the man who gave me the ring three years ago.

After a month of taking off from work to take care of me and the baby, my husband goes back to work today. We are back to the normal weekdays, but this time, with a newborn for me to attend to.

Relationship-wise (as husband and wife), we were struggling a little bit of it. We had not find time for each other like before...you know, just the two of us. This scenario was expected after having our baby. I remember the nights we were in the hospital and the few nights after we went home where I slept on the chair because it was hard for me to get up with an incision if I lay on bed. I felt a physical separation from my other half. I was missing his arms around me, the warmth of his skin against mine, and most of all, the security I feel when he's there lying beside me on bed.

Things had been overwhelming since our precious girl came. Ninety-nine percent of our focus was on her: feeding, burping, changing diapers, putting her to sleep, and spending time playing with her while she's awake. I had to deal with emotional and physical stress for days because of having difficulty nursing her and my incision from the C-section. Watching me with my struggles also affects my husband. Why not? He cares about my feelings. He was there to support me with the postpartum state I've been through. He did the best he could for his daughter and his wife.

For a month of going through the changes in our life together from the day the baby came was a little bit tough. It's a new thing for us as husband and wife. We have not dealt anything like it before. We don't know how to perfectly take care of a baby aside from trusting our instincts, tips from family and friends, and how-to-raise-a-baby information we get from outside resources like Google, pediatrician, etc..

I can say that during the first four weeks, I only did not feel physical separation from my husband, but emotionally as well. Inside me was a drought season for him and other aspects of my life, and I ignored what I felt. I was too drain to attend and scrutinize what's inside my heart and my soul. I had other things to deal with which involved mostly the baby and my physical healing. However, when you disregard what's deep within you consumes the relationship -- in a negative way. I was worn out inside. So is my husband. After all he is only human. Nonetheless, he still tried his best to do his responsibilities and showed me his care and concern.

Yesterday afternoon while Evie was taking a nap in the living room, I went in our bedroom and read a grammar book. A few minutes after, my husband popped and settled beside me. From there, we just found ourselves talking and sharing about our feelings. I'm a very emotional wife. When I express to my husband what's in my heart, it is mostly accompanied with tears. He must have gotten used to it. Another thing about me is that, pouring out my heart is a bit difficult for me to do. For almost all of my life, I have mastered the art of burying my emotions to myself. When you become skillful in one thing, people can't just easily unclothe you from what you are good at. The good thing is, my husband is so patient to squeeze out the crystals of my emotions. To him, my feelings are precious gems. Knowing this truth, my heart has learned to open up (and until now, it is still learning).

Making ourselves comfortable on bed, I disclosed the emotional detachment I felt towards him, my exhaustion, and some thoughts regarding the things I observed between us. He shared his sentiments at the same time. We talked. We listened. There were tears. Smiles. Giggles. Even some good laughs.

We came into a good understanding. We agreed to fix the hitches while they are still small. We have not come up concrete solutions on how to do the things that need attention. We cannot make all things work immediately with the new, big changes and responsibilities. However, cracking out our feelings and thoughts was a promising step towards a harmonious, rekindled fire of passion for our marriage. We will surely get there.