Parrot on a PorchA Journey Toward the Little Mansion Dream

We haven’t received any updates yet regarding the husband’s possible onshore work assignment in Chicago. It was January last year when he was advised that there’s a possibility he could go next after the current assignee finishes his 1 year tenure. The husband was told later that the tenure was extended and so no new alternates will be sent within the next year. It’s just fine with us really especially that we have the Little Mansion to be busy about this year. But I cannot hide the fact that we’re excited (and hopeful) over this work placement abroad because a benefit that comes along with it is that we can tag along with him on a family status for free. I think a relocation benefit will be given like a free accommodation in a fully furnished apartment for about two weeks or until such time that we can find our permanent abode to live in.

Speaking of apartments, I haven’t really seen yet the shelter and corporate housing the company is giving but I think they pretty much look the same as the luxurious Fredericksburg corporate housing in Virginia. It is well maintained and managed by Dabney Properties and their offerings include fully furnished townhomes, corporate apartments, and condominiums. These are available for those who wants to lease “ready to live in” properties for a certain period of time.

Seeing this Stafford corporate housing and Quantico corporate housing facilities all the more keeps me excited about the husband’s possible onshore assignment. I can imagine myself having a tough yet a grand time who’s always handful of wifey and mommy duties. Very far from my a bit relaxed life here with a nanny and all. But nevertheless, the idea that I’ll be the queen and manager of the house is exciting. The homey and cozy ambiance of the house plus the fact that the three of us are together will make it easier for us not to get homesick.

Today’s a Monday and the start of my birthday week. Woot! So far, I’m doing great and I have a feeling that it’s gonna be even more better come Friday. I woke up this morning to a good news that I have just got accepted for a new freelance *huge* writing project and even though it’s quite a handful and this will entail busy days ahead, I feel blessed. Such a sweet birthday gift, indeed. Even sweeter than a new cellphone or a ps3 gift. I’ve always been amazed by God’s providence…that He never cease to give means and the answers to our needs at the right time. Thanks, Bro! Can’t thank you enough.

The husband and I have a serious discussion again last night about the standing of our finances and savings. We have assessed our purchasing behavior over the last couple of weeks and we’re pleased to know that our expenses for the little one’s birthday last week didn’t get overboard. We even have some savings left enough to be pooled to our appliance-shopping budget before the end of the month. Perfect! We also brushed up the idea to buy gold coins as a new investment project. He said that the timing could be perfect because the euro is doing well against US dollar and this means that gold futures are on the rise, too. In fact, the January 11th gold value at $1,151.40 just dictates that any time, a new gold high can be reached again.

What I love most about weekends is the quality bonding time that my boys (the husband and my 2 year old toddler) and I share during our TV watching nights. That is why I’ve been saying that Cable Television is the wisest invention ever. Not until a friend from NJ corrected me and said that DIRECT TV is way better compared to Cable TV not only in terms of the price but more on the overall service and satisfaction that they provide.

Truly, after browsing the DIRECT TV Packages on their website, I felt like calling up our Cable TV operator right away to request cancellation of service. I’m instantly enticed to try out even just the lowermost DIRECTV Packages because albeit the cheapest and most basic, their package is brimming with High Definition channels for just a cheap and fairly reasonable price. Simply put, one gets more for less. What’s even more alluring is that they offer irresistible online deals all year long such as their ongoing promotion of 50% off for one year plus free shipping. Not only is my wallet will be satisfied but more importantly this makes TV viewing a more pleasant and enjoyable experience for my family.

For my little toddler who is celebrating his birthday tomorrow and is so fond of animals, we’ll be trooping to our local Oceanarium this coming weekend as a birthday treat. We won’t be having a grand party on his second year but instead just an intimate and simple get together with close families over snacks tomorrow. I am sure that he will enjoy viewing the fishes and I bet will ask for more. If only, Zoobic Safari and other zoos are nearby, we would allot a one whole day of field trip in those places to satisfy the little one’s great fancy.

My little one loves butterflies so a visit to a butterfly haven or an insect zoo like the O. Orkin Insect Zoo would be perfect. The said zoo is a special exhibit hall on the 2nd Floor of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. where visitors can observe and even take pictures of live insects and their many-legged relatives. A zoo that is sponsored by Orkin, a pest control company, this features different entomology-related habitats such as a freshwater pond, house, mangrove swamp, desert, and rain forest and how particular insects adapt and thrive in the said environment. This is an ideal educational destination where students can learn more and even interact with different animals through feeding demonstrations and other hands-on & immersive experiences with the volunteers’ aid. By the way, what’s nice about this zoo is admission is free.

Guess who’s all set now for summer. Well, it’s never too early anyway here in our country especially that afternoons lately can be extremely hot and humid. I bet my little tot will be excited to wear the Rash Guard Set swimwear I bought him yesterday afternoon at SM Makati. I didn’t have actually plans of buying until I passed by the swimwear racks and saw varied designs for all toddler sizes. Best of all, it’s reasonably priced at just less than Php 400. I figured, they’ve just newly displayed these swimwear thus, the rack is still overflowing. Come March, I bet Moms will start to scour as they prepare for their summer swimming getaways.

I’ve posted about my good buy at FB and a friend asked what a rash guard is. It is actually a type of athletic shirt made of spandex and nylon or polyester. It is used as a protective clothing or for light coverage in warm to extreme summer temperatures for swimming and for several watersports like surfing and scuba diving. The one I bought is very similar to this one from Old Navy.

“What do you want for your birthday?”

That question from the husband last night caught me by surprise. One, he rarely asks what do I want on special occasions because most often, I convey my wish list early on. Two, it dawned on me that my birthday is near and I’m getting a year older again. Yikes, it seems it won’t be long until I start applying a day cream to remove those aging lines.

To answer his query, the Little Mansion is more than enough as a birthday gift for this year. I have set my mind not to long for any luxurious stuffs this year because I’d rather have our savings spent for LM’s appliances and furnishings. But if he will insist to gift me, a special dinner in our fave pasta resto will do. I’ll also appreciate it very much if he gives me a yearly subscription of Yummy Magazine so I can collect more recipes. There goes my simple birthday wish list.

Guess who’s ecstatic at this moment when she found Ikea Saudi Arabia’s website? Listing down my shopping loots will be a lot easier. Mom and Dad, who are based in Saudi, won’t also be confused about the stuffs I’ll piggyback through them for our Little Mansion. As I blog, I’m not yet done browsing each catalog and my eyes are continuously feasting over a lot of stuffs. For now, I’m set to get those shoe and clothes organizers plus toy organizers for the little one.

One big toy chest, which he has now, is not enough so I need the more compact, stacked toy boxes such as the picture above for additional storage spaces. I also wish to organize his toys accordingly like grouping all matchboxes together, his toy Ferrari parts all together, and all other trinkets that he has. I like how the boxes come in different colors so organizing is made easier.

My son’s turning two in a month’s time. For the nth time last night, the husband and I discussed over dinner our birthday plans for him. Earlier, I was set on giving him a Jollibee party. I have even saved up for it a few months back. However, upon deep contemplation and with anticipation of the housing goal’s completion come summer time, I am torn between proceeding with the original party plan or we’ll just celebrate it by having an out of town trip. Just the three of us. The latter option will entail cheaper costs than the first and so the remaining savings will just be used for Little Mansion’s dolling up. I’ve been thinking and wishing of Outer Banks vacation rentals for the trip (I’ve been dreaming about it for the longest time) but I think the little one will appreciate either a trip to Manila Ocean Park or Zoobic Safari better. Obviously, we have not finalized our plans last night (blame it also to my being so fickle-minded) so expect that another discussion will have to be made soon.

You can go and ask The Husband but I’m really one “low maintenance” wife. The most expensive I wished from him was a laptop, but it’s something worthwhile..a necessity in my line of work. I don’t wish for branded and expensive bags (because I seldom go out anyway) nor luxurious travels..especially when I know that we don’t have the means. Or even if we have the funds, we’d think a gazillion times first if it’s the right time or should we allot the money instead to our topmost prioritized project which is Little Mansion. On special occasions like birthdays, anniversaries and Christmas, the husband need not go through catalogs and find “unique gifts for her” stuffs because he already knows the simple things that would make me feel like I’m in Cloud 9: a book from my fave author, new shoes and apparels and a special dine out meal.