Baby Charley's Trip to the Manila Ocean Park

Our family loves long weekends, and we make sure we make the best out of them. This long weekend, my roommate (my husband, btw) and I decided to bring Baby Charley to the Manila Ocean Park. We've been searching long on the fun and enjoyable places we could bring Baby Charley for a quick weekend trip in the Metro, and the Manila Ocean Park seems to be the perfect fit.

After our monthly check-up with our pretty pedia, Dra Pam Caedo of Makati Medical Center, for Baby Charley's 3rd PCV # 13 shot, we took a cab to the Manila Ocean Park. Fortunately, the queue wasn't that long this particular Saturday, and the guards of Makati Med have always been extra helpful to passengers with babies (they usually let us ride first! Yay!). 

She loved everything! 

Our ticket cost Php 430 each, and this included entrances to the Oceanarium, Fish Spa, Trails to Antarctica, Birds of Prey, and Shark and Rays Dry Encounter. In fact, this is a bit cheaper compared to their Super Splash sale online. It was Php 399 for three attractions only (Oceanarium, Jellies, and the Symphony Night Show). MOP  also have several packages available in their website. You can check them out here. Babies 2 ft and below and those who obviously can't walk get to enter the park for free. 

Oceanarium 

Honestly, this is the only attraction we wanted to visit since it'd be the only thing Baby Charley would enjoy. The first part of the Oceanarium featured freshwater fishes and crocodiles. The fishes weren't really colourful, but Charley enjoyed just looking at them swim! The exhibits were placed outside, and it was a little humid this afternoon, so we rushed to the second part of the Oceanarium. Too bad we missed the piranhas and the crocodiles upstairs.

The second part, the "Bahura" or reef, featured colourful (finally!) fishes that live in our coral reefs. The Bahura exhibit was a bit dark and we were afraid that Baby Charley would be afraid, or suddenly fall asleep, but she was having the time of her life looking at the various fishes in the illuminated tanks. Here you could find clownfish, eels, lionfish, and different yet absolutely colourful fishes. I could say that among the different parts of the Oceanarium, this is the part Baby Charley enjoyed most.

Afterwards, we headed to the "Laot" where there were exhibits of a sunken ship adorned with a school of large, as in huge, silver fish! Charley's eyes grew bigger at the sight of these fish circling the aquarium.

Soon, we headed to the "Karagatan", which included the main attraction, which is a 220 degree walkway tunnel! It's filled with huge rays and other fishes of different colours and sizes. Baby Charley was amazed with the rays and followed them around (sort of!).  I'm glad she didn't get scared at all.

Finally, the end of the tunnel featured the shark tank with different kinds of sharks. They were bigger than Baby Charley and still so majestic to look at.

Near the exit of the Oceanarium is the kid's learning/colouring area where kids get a colouring page for free. This was sponsored by Dong-A and Faber Castell, I think. 

I don't know if it's the weather, but it was so init inside the Oceanarium. Soon, Baby Charley got a little cranky already because she hated the heat, so we needed to go to the next attraction.

If you have been to the SEA Aquarium in Singapore, which is the largest one in Asia, I think, the MOP could be a disappointment. However, Baby Charley was so amazed with the different kinds of fishes, so it was okay na rin as a "teaser" before we bring Charley to the SEA Aquarium.

Trails to Antarctica
The next on the list was the "Trails to Antarctica", a penguin exhibit and an entrance to the Snow Village, a Christmas Village with -5 degrees temperature. We saw the penguin exhibit and even watched a family fed the penguins for Php300 with picture. Since the penguins are tropical penguins, they didn't have to stay in a room with a freezing temperature. Fortunately for us because Baby Charley saw them ate, dived, and swam! Since the Snow Village was too cold for Baby Charley, we didn't enter that one as well.

Someone enjoyed watching the swimming penguins! 

Birds of Prey 
For me, this is the attraction that I least like. There wasn't any guide to tell us what we're supposed to see or look at. So you can say, we needed to figure out where the birds were amidst the heat and the trash. When we finally saw the birds, it was such a depressing depressing sight! We couldn't bear to take pictures because we felt very very sad for them.

If you have been to the Jurong Bird Park in SG or even the aviary in Blu Roze (Lipa City), you could see how different the caged birds were treated. We didn't stay longer than 5 minutes because the scenario really depressed us! We didn't want Charley to remember this part of the trip. We were so affected, we even emailed MOP about it. We're still awaiting for their reply.

the only happy birds in the park

Sharks and Rays Dry Encounter
Afterwards, we headed to the Sharks and Rays Dry Encounter. We really had no idea what we could expect, but there were long queues and the staff looked a little disoriented. We followed the queue to have our wrist tags checked and peered in the crowds to see what was going on. Apparently, there was this large waist-deep tank and two (2) staff holding rays (forgot to ask if they were manta rays or stingrays). Guests could touch, but not poke, these rays. It was so hot at the park and the place was so crowded that we didn't get to see where the sharks were.

Souvenir shops and food stalls were all around the park. Finally, it was time to go home. Fortunately, it started raining when we got home, so we didn't have a hard time to get a cab.

In conclusion, the Manila Ocean Park is a very appropriate and fun place to bring toddlers. They will surely enjoy the Oceanarium and the Jelly Exhibit. The other attractions are indeed for older kids. However, I would recommend the Manila Ocean Park Administration to improve their Birds of Prey Attraction.

Souvenir Cart 

Because Every Child is a God's Blessing

This is a speech I wrote for my sister-in-law when our darling nephew graduated from his SPED class; now, he's part of the regular Pre-K class in his school. We have been part of their family's journey, and indeed, when you shower a child with love instead of judgment, you can see who he or she truly is - a child of God. 

Seven years ago, my family was blessed with a baby boy; he was such a treasure so my family and I fell in-love with him right away. But as he grew up, we noticed that he would not maintain any eye contact and preferred to climb and stay by the windows. He would also run around the house screaming, and often, he would bite his arm in depression. He would also ignore his toys and chose to play with random household items.

My initial thought was just, “Boys will be boys”.

Soon, bringing him to a new place was a challenge since he would cry, scream around, and climb on the furniture. He would just stare at the television regardless if anything was shown or not. He refused to play like the other kids, and it really broke my heart.

I wanted him to be like other babies who would coo and babble. I wanted him to look at me in the eye and say, “mommy”. I want him to be like other boys who would ride their bikes, fly kites, and play tag outside. I wanted him to watch TV with the rest of the household in peace.

I knew something was really different with our son. It was a rollercoaster feeling of sadness, denial, and frustration.

The more I have wanted him to be like the other kids his age, the more that I have failed to see who he really is --- our darling little boy. He gives the biggest hugs, the warmest kisses, the kindest smiles, the most contagious laughter, and the most sincere I love you’s. He dotes on his little sister and loves her to the moon and back. He’s that curious little boy who’s always eager to test his limits to know what else is there for him before giving everyone a heart attack. He gets excited in almost everything and can’t wait to try his hands on basically anything. He’s the favourite nephew who never gets tired of giving kisses and receiving lots and lots of love and attention from his titos and titas. Truth be told, he’s our precious little boy who makes my husband, my daughter, and me feel very, very special.

My heart melts when I hear him sing those nursery rhymes non-stop, when I look at his handwriting and his drawings on his notebook, when he spells for us, asks us if the coffee is hot or cold, and tells us how cookies and cream ice cream tastes like…when he gets excited to see her teachers and comes home with all those smiley stickers on his shirt…when he begs to go to lolo’s house in the afternoon and lets his sister hold the remote (for a while). My heart leaps with joy just seeing him loving everyone and being loved in return in his own little ways.

I still pray though that soon he would ride his bike, fly a kite, fire his Nerf gun, and play tag outside with his cousins. I long to wake up one day and listen to him say again and again how school was or how his day went. I’m looking forward to the day when he becomes, not the boy I want him to be, but the boy God has planned him to be.

And today, on his graduation, I would like to thank St. Therese of the Child Jesus Multiple Intelligence School, his teachers, and staff for journeying with our son and our family. For being extra patient with him whenever he throws his usual tantrums, for caring for him not only in his academics but also on his well-being, for being with him, and for celebrating with us the tiniest milestone in his life. More importantly, thank you dear teachers and friends, for being such blessings as you have showered him with all your love.

No words can truly explain how blessed we are for being parts of our journey so allow me to pray for you that God will continue to bless you, your family, and this wonderful institution.

Thank you and God bless everyone here.

No Yaya, No Problem

Baby Charley is 8 months old, and my roommate (my husband, btw) and I have been married for 32 months, so that means we have been together for that long without a helper around. We both grew up with one, so it's a big adjustment for us, for me mostly, when my roommate decided that we're gonna try to live here in the big city with just us. Yikes!

Many are surprised that we seem to be pulling it off just fine. Nobody could have believed that I would survive that long since I have zero (0) domestic skills. But we're fine. We're fine. 

Living without a yaya around could pose a big problem for many household, and we understand them really well. We're just very fortunate because our schedules are tailor-fit for our family.

No yaya? No problem! 

First, we do all the chores ourselves while rearing a baby who's fuelled with millions of energies, so that could be a little tiring. Nope, a LOT tiring at times. Imagine coming home deadtired from work and the traffic, and you still have to wash the dishes and put the baby to sleep. Of course, we still have to clean the flat, fix the bed, cook, and wash the clothes. Therefore, to minimize our chores, my roommate and I just send our dirty clothes (minus the undies and baby Charley's dresses) to the laundry and simply buy our meals from our friendly neighborhood carinderia (except baby Charley's meals, of course!) 

Second, our couple time sometimes mean couple + Charley time. It's hard to go on a date with just us because we just can't leave baby Charley alone in the house because it's illegal...and it's not safe. and it's illegal. Even if we wanna watch a movie or hangout with friends, we have to schedule it really really well because no one will be left with Charley, and there's NO WAY I'm gonna make her bilin to the kapitbahay. To solve this, we sometimes use "lola time" to get away, I mean to have a break from baby Charley. Recently, we went on an afternoon date and watched the "Love Affair" with just us. And boy, it feels good! 

aaaww, we've seen this little seed grow! 

Third, we're usually affected with a curfew, baby Charley's curfew. Whenever we go out with friends, we have to explain to them that we gotta end whatever date we're having at 6pm because Charley has to sleep at 6pm. Otherwise, she's gonna be grumpy and would turn exorcist mode. If only, we have a yaya around, we could have stayed a little bit longer and a few drinks more. 

Fourth, sometimes we're just being lazy or sleepy to move that it would be nice to have someone to take care of Charley especially when she wakes up at 4:30 in the morning. There's no doubt that baby Charley is a morning person because no matter what time she goes to sleep the night before, she's gonna be awake at 4:30 or 5:30am, and she'll be in full energy until around 10am for her morning 30 minute power nap. Unfortunately, my roommate and I love to sleep...at least an hour longer. However, because we dont have a yaya, we have to wake up with her and put her out of her crib; otherwise, every one who lives in the 4th floor will be awake because Charley would be talking and screaming nonstop. 

Although our lives would have been so much easier with a help around, I think there are also a number of advantages of not having a yaya. 

We're happy with just us! 

First, we know everything about Charley. Besides her schedule, we also know what Charley likes and hates to eat, her favorite toy, her poop schedule, and basically all about her. This has proven to be very helpful especially when we had to bring her to the doctor when she got sick. Because we're the ones taking care of her, we could tell and explain in details everything that has happened to Charley. Oh, not to mention, I'm super OC pa, so our beautiful pedia, Dra Pam Caedo of Makati Med, got surprised when I gave a tabulation of Charley's temperature, poop, and actions we took for a 24 hour period. Should we have a yaya, we would be getting these pa from her, and mommies, we could not be sure if she could record data as OC as we could. 

Second, we're raising baby Charley the way we want to. Gosh, we have received a number of advices on how to raise a child, and some have doubted the way we're taking care of and raising baby Charley, but she's our kid so it's okay if she doesn't co-sleep with us, thank you very much. Also, we're instilling in her the values we want her to grow with; for example, the mano po and praying before meals and before going to sleep. We read her books, talk, and play with her, and we make sure she'll get zero or at least minimal screen time (from gadgets and TV's). I've heard many horror stories about kids raised by yayas who grow up not the way their parents want them to be and kids who are glued to TVs with their yayas because that would keep them quiet. I'm not saying all, but let's be realistic, there are some. 

Third, we're not afraid to let Charley be Charley. Our child is a very curious persistent individual. There are no cabinets and drawers left unchecked and anything new must be inspected then chewed. We also allow her to crawl and cruise her way around the flat. Sometimes, she would bump her head or fall while trying to walk, but they're just fine with us. Because of these, I could say that as a baby, she's confident and is not afraid to try on new things and explore her world. The other baby I know, who's raised by his yaya, hasn't even learnt to crawl or stand up on his own yet. His yaya is afraid that if he gets bukol, she'd be scolded. Sadly, that's a reality for some. 

there are dishes to be done, but selfie first! 

Fourth, we are baby Charley's comfort zones. Oh it feels so good as a parent if you know that your child would run to you because he/she feels safe to be with you. Baby Charley is like this to us, and I'm happy that right now, we're number 1 to her (okay, prolly I'm # 2 next to her daddy); some kids kasi would prefer their yayas over their parents and I have seen this personally with some of our girls in school. 

Fifth, we only have to deal with three different personalities everyday. A yaya is another personality in the household, and since it's just us, we would only be dealing with each other. At least, we don't have to make pakisama with another person. It's liberating actually to be ourselves all the time in the flat. 

Sixth, it's cheaper. Yaya's service is quite expensive, and I'm a bit of a kuripot. Imagine paying Php 3,500 to Php 5,000 (+ PAGIBIG, SSS, Philhealth, etc.) to a yaya whose job is to feed Charley, give her a bath, change her diaper, and put her to sleep. Our flat is a small, so she won't be having difficulty cleaning it. She won't be cooking or doing the laundry as well. Thus, I don't think it's practical or economical to hire someone to do the things we enjoy doing...except the poop part. 

Finally, we literally see baby Charley grow right before our very eyes! My roommate and I have been pretty hands-on with Charley ever since she's born, so we have seen how she's grown from a tiny infant who couldn't move much to an active likot toddler she is now. We were there when Charley first said a word, (opo) till now that she won't just stop talking gibberish. We saw when she first made dapa on her own, when she first started crawling and standing up and when she first tried to walk on her own. We're there when she lost a few lbs when she got diarrhea and when she gained them all again and a few more in just days! And these things are priceless. 

Life without a yaya isn't for anyone. Some families can't live without one, and they have their own reasons. I'm just very happy that right now, we're good without one. :)

Hand-me-down, Baby

Baby Charley is the third apo (and girl) in my side and the eighth (fourth girl) in my roommate's (my husband's, btw) side. She's also the youngest of three apos born last year; her Kuya Joaqui was born April 12 while Ate Hailey was born three days after. This, of course, has several perks. One of which is we get a number of advices from my in-laws' first-hand experiences.

However, the biggest and the ultimate perk we have is receiving a lot (tons!!) of hand-me-downs because Baby Charley's cousins are basically 8 months older than her. Of course, their baby clothes won't fit them anymore.

One of the grandest hand-me-down we got was the crib - in fact, we received two of them! One is a wooden white crib, which we left in Batangas so Charley could sleep there while we're there. The other is a spacious Baby 1st red crib, which we have here in Makati. Charley loves both cribs, but she has outgrown the white one already. Good thing, we could still use her red crib. It has a diaper changing deck with a middle deck for infant. Since Charley could stand up and climb out of her crib already, she's using the lowest deck. Pretty soon, she's gonna graduate from that, too! Oh no!

Besides the cribs, we also received a high chair, also from Baby 1st, and Charley loved it a bit until she realised she hated being confined while eating. We still put her in her high when she's in the mood though because we still wanna teach her to eat independently.

Also, Charley receives a number of pillows, toys, and rattles, which she started to enjoy when she was 4 months already. So you can say we have a cat, duck/chick, and cow pillows with 4 sets of hotdog pillows.

However, the biggest and largest in number we received are clothes and shoes! 99% of Charley's clothes and shoes are all hand-me-downs! The remaining 1% are gifts from friends. These clothes include white baby sandos and pj's, socks, onesies, jackets, shirts, dresses, and shoes! And these came from top brands like Polo, H & M, Gymboree, Guess, Ginger Snap, Baby Gap, Osh Kosh, Carter's, Ipanema, Nike, Converse, and shoes from Baby Couture. I think, we have only bought six pieces of dresses for her.

Here are several disadvantages of receiving hand-me-downs:

• You can't choose the design or the color. 
• You're not sure whether it'll fit your baby. Charley grows insanely fast and she's a little chubbier than her 16month old cousin, so there are clothes that are a little too sikip na for her. 
• You've seen the clothes worn in pictures already. 

However, the advantages we get from hand-me-downs are astonishing and not to mention, outdo all the disadvantages: 

• It's the ultimate tipid tip. Baby things are expensive, and we have saved millions! (okay, prolly not) from hand-me-downs. We could use the saved money for her monthly check-up and other necessities - milk, diaper, vitamins. 
• Babies grow fast, and they usually wear their clothes just once or twice. Before you know it, they wont fit them anymore. 
• We can't afford to buy those expensive branded shoes and clothes on our own, but we have them! 
• It teaches our family to humble and to be gracious all the time. We have set our pride aside, and receiving hand-me-downs make us simple, humble, and generous for all our blessings.

What we have saved based on the prices from Lazada.com
Baby 1st Baby Crib - Php 5,999
Baby 1st high Chair - Php 4,000
Ipanema - Php 700
Carter's dresses and onesies - Php 1,000 - Php 2,500
H & M pants and dresses - Php 400 - Php 1,000

Warning: Flu Season's Coming!

The brrrrr months are on their way, so Mommies and babies better prepare for the "big chill", which usually results to flu and flu like symptoms like fever, cough, an colds. Unfortunately, #teamhernandez is one of those who got buena manos with flu. It started with my roommate (my husband, btw) who got high fever two weeks ago. Fortunately, he got well right away.

However, Baby Charley got "hawa" with colds (thank God, no cough!) immediately yesterday from her cousin, Ate Vanna. She, in turn, made hawa to her other cousin, Ate Hailey, who slept in a shared room with her. Oh noes! And this happened a month before her scheduled Flu vaccines! 

At first, my roommate and I were pretty chill about it. Children get sipon, it's a given. Besides, the last time Charley got sipon, she was pretty okay. Unfortunately, this was a different kind of sipon. After an hour of exposure, we already noticed that she already had a runny nose and would sneeze a lot of times. She's cranky and her eyes were teary. She would still eat and play lots though.

At night, it was when the worst of sipon struck. She would toss and turn and couldnt seem to find the perfect spot to sleep. She would sniff lots and leave traces of sipon on her pillow. I went defensive mode when she was warm to touch; that's why my roommate ran to Mercury Drug Store even late at night for Paracetamol Tempra ( a trusted brand by the family since it worked wonders when Charley had LBM), a thermometer (we left ours in Makati), and koolfever kids (the one for baby wouldnt stick well).

We checked her temperature regularly and wiped her sipon with Sanicare Wipes instead of lampin to avoid irritations. But still, she was having a miserable time. It was sooo painful to watch. 

My roommate then decided to just carry her the whole night just so she could sleep. She still couldnt sleep long though, so you can say my roommate and I were a bunch of mombies and zomdads the following morning. 

The next day, our pedia, the pretty Dra Pam Caedo of Makati Med, texted and informed us that we could try giving her Disudin drop @ .75ml. We did, and she finally went to sleep. 

We're still praying that she gets well soon right away. 

Here are the meds we gave her:

• Celin drops 

• Paracetamol Tempra

• Disudrin 

• koolfever

You can just check the label to see how much you should give your baby. These are over-the-counter medications, so you dont need any prescriptions from your pedia (to save consultation fees! :D)  

"How to Create Your Own Children's Storybook"

Mommies, teachers, students, and aspiring writers, mark the date: September 5, 2015! A best friend tagged me a link from Story Writing School  about a 3-hour crash course on "story writing and  illustration for young audiences". This will be held from 2 - 5 pm at The Forum 4F Fully Booked, Bonifacio High Street.

The course promises to give lectures and demos so that attendees can create our very own 32 page picture book! In fact, we can print or export whatever we're gonna be creating as a PDF ebook! I think this will be the best seminar give-aways ever - a book made by me for Baby Charley. Because the course will deal with everything basic (art and writing), it's a perfect date for anyone who loves kids - mommies especially! 

As a writing teacher and a mommy, I'm pretty excited to attend this because I think this is a first of its kind that I'll get to attend. Usually, I attend seminars for teachers, so I'm really looking forward to this because it'll benefit me both as a teacher and as a mommy. 

Soon, Baby, you could be reading Mommy's books

And oh, I'm happy that teachers get a 20% discount from the 1500 published rate. More yay's! :) 

The course will be led by Dr. Joem Antonio, who is a children's book author himself and a (kapit, mommies!) 6 time Palanca Awardee. He has a PhD in Creative Writing in UP, and I'm kinda wondering if we could invite him also to give a seminar in our school. Or if I could enrol in one of his classes. Hmmmmnnnn... You can read more about him here. 

The event was organized by Blue Backpack Events Management who will also hold other writing seminars  this year like "How to Write Love Stories" and "How to Write Plays for Theatre". 

So, Mommies and teachers, see you on Sept. 5 @ Fullybooked, BHS. 

What's in Our Baby Bag

We're not celebrities, and people might not really be interested with what's inside our baby bags. However, real-life mommies and wifeys could learn a thing or two especially since travelling with a baby, who acts like a toddler, can pose a great challenge to many moms and dads. One way to avoid any inconvenience while travelling, if it's ever possible actually, is to pack well... as in really well.

Here are the things we usually bring whenever we go out with Baby Charley. Rule of the thumb is that if we're staying for two hours or more, we carry the pink bag. Otherwise, we'll just bring a bottle milk and a lampin.

1. The Essentials. 
These are matters of great consequences. Charley's survival and our sanity usually depend on these.

A. Food 
We usually carry at least 4 bottles with 4 oz of Wilkin's water each, milk container with 4 scoops of Nan HW 2 each, and a sippy cup. Philipps Avent is so pang-maharlika so Charley's bottles are Precious Moments from SM and Richel, a freebie from my breast pump from youji and me. We've finally found a great sip cup from Fisher Price.

B. Nappy Dep't 
We usually bring Huggies L by 4's and a wet wipes (we recently love the organic, __) just in case. Huggies Extra Dry is comfortable in its bikini style fit.

2. Extras
These, although essentials too, are just additional of what we already have.

A. Clothes
Charley is an active, dirt magnet, spiller baby so it's quite important that she has a set of extra clothes. Usually, we bring her Carter's dress (we love the comfort Carter's brings!), her pink posh ballerina style bonnet (a personal favourite), socks that can go with any outfit, and jacket (either her Carter's cardigan or her Jumping Beans sweater with hoodie) - all are hand-me-down from her elder cousin and family friend. Yay!!

B. Food
One thing you must know about us is that we.could.never.be.hungry. or else it's fatal. That's why besides her milk, Charley needs some extra snack, and she likes Rebisco Bibibon's best. It's tasty and healthy.

3. Add-ons
These are just the things we like to bring, but not exactly essential for survival.

A. Sandals 
Charley prefers to practice walking barefoot (and we have let het her did this several times), so she hates wearing any shoes or socks on. However, sometimes it looks awkward in photo-ops whenever Charley is barefoot. "Super lakas maka-M", according to my Mom, so we always bring her usual Ipanema sandals (hand-me-down, too!) because it is the pair she could comfortably stand on.

B. Entertainment 
Although Charley loves people in general (Brgy Captain of San Lorenzo), she's still my daughter, so it's not surprising if she's getting anti-social at times (especially during her naptimes). That's why we bring her usual favorites: a pacifier, a pacifier lace from Sesame Street, a teether (otherwise, she'd be nibbling on people and chairs), a toy, and a book she can look at eventually eat.

C. Lampin and travel size spoon and fork. 
Ever since she was 7 months, Charley loves to eat all the time. Sometimes, she would join us in meals, too. Her own set of utensils are super helpful, especially for an OC praning mommy like me.


These are the usual contents of our pink baby bag (oh my G, hand-me-down, too!) that we find very helpful.

Events We're Looking Forward to this Year!

As a new mommy and mommy blogger, I look forward to many exciting news and events that Baby Charley and I could be part of. Thanks to Mommy Bloggers Philippines for accepting me in their secret group (oooh!), I get to learn of such events and more. 

Two events that I'm particularly excited of are the Mommy Mundo Clearance Clearout Sale in Ortigas on Augsut 14 - 16. Imagine all the baby clothes and toys and almost everything for babies that are gonna 75% off! This is a shopper mommy's dream and a hubby's worst day since he's paying. 

Another event that I'm looking forward to is the Blogapalooza Seasons in Pasay on October 25 from 10am to 9pm. I haven't been to an actual event, but I heard it's pretty grand. It will also be amazing to meet other bloggers and businesses. In fact, I have taken blogging seriously this time as it has provided a venue to write on what I am really passionate on - mommy life! I'm not yet sure if Charley's Mommy will already be enough to go mainstream in blogging, but perhaps...in the near future. Anyway, still looking forward to Blogapalooza at least for the experience and for the freebies! Ohrayt!