Villa YOSEMITE Valley

Two venues for my 35th birthday: Villa Yosemite in Groveland, CA and Yosemite Valley. We didn't go there for the sole reason that it's my birthday, we were there on a trip with friends hoping to catch the last of the summer sun.

What a nice birthday surprise...

We stayed at Villa Yosemite in Groveland, CA which we rented for a little over one grand for 2 nights of "owning" the luxurious 7.5 acre lot and calling ourselves dons y doñas. Really, really beautiful property and so sweet of our friends to let us sleep in the master's bedroom (it's my birthday eh!) We especially love the kitchen and the movie theatre... I wouldn't have complained if i had to sleep in its comfy seats.

Day of my birthday, October 3, we left after breakfast to drive to Yosemite National Park (about 40 minutes). Our first stop was the Tunnel View. Coming from the south gate to the valley, one has to go through Wawona tunnel and as you emerge from it, this is the scenery that will welcome you...that's why it's called you guessed it, tunnel view. Unfortunately for us, we came the other way (north gate, i supposed) and therefore we reached the viewpoint first. It was only later, on our way back to the parking lot, that i noticed the tunnel hahaha. Still, it was a breathtaking scenery...sort of a teaser, a prelude, a beautiful summation of the park's attractions: El Capitan, Half Dome, Bridalveil Falls. We lingered there for a while, took pictures, savored the view. I was so happy to be there with Fil, Racrac and our fun-loving friends.

Later we descended the valley to get a closer look. We stopped at El Capitan...it sure looks "commanding" up close. Sadly, there was no water coming over Bridalveil falls so we drove by and ended up at the village store for lunch and souvenir shopping. After lunch, everybody was too lazy to do more exploring, must be due to high altitude sickness or maybe because we have kids. Hmmm...not really. We were just too excited to go back to the villa (",)

We had a feast that night, they even made me a birthday cake. All it took was a box of cake mix, strawberries, a candle and some whipped cream and a scoop of ice cream to go with it. Love it, love these people. We spent the rest of the night just hanging out, eating (of course!), watching the kids play... I took a dip in the jacuzzi tub before going to bed. Life is oh-so-good!

Before leaving the next day, we managed to have another breakfast fit for kings and queens (courtesy of my husband who also prepared breakfast for everybody the day before) and settled in the theatre to catch the first few minutes of sunday football, yeah! We convoyed back to the bay area and were home around 2pm. The 3-hour drive was just perfect for an easy out-of-town trip...not too far, not too close...maybe we can go back next time to camp. It would be fun!

By the way, i have another reason to celebrate: October 4 is my 2nd year anniversary here in the US! Time really (really!) flies so fast!

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on my 35th birthday...

this photo of me and Racrac was captured by Fil last October 3, my 35th birthday, at the Yosemite National Park. This overlook is known as the tunnel view which offers a breathtaking scenery of the major popular attractions in the valley. Amidst the thick tourist crowd, we were lucky to find an "empty" spot to enjoy the view as if it's there for only us to see.

it was a fun and memorable birthday spent with family and wonderful friends. 

thank you Lord for the experiences of the past year
for my loving family and wonderful friends
for the good things that will remain happy memories
and the bad things i overcame and made me a better person...

help me in the days ahead
as i strive to make this year better than the last
may i grow to be stronger and better
and closer to your love, AMEN.

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letting go

forgot to mention that Racrac started going to day care about a month ago. Fil has been floating the idea since Racrac turned 1 and i was the hesitant mom always telling him that i'll think about it. until one morning i woke up in a very bad mood and was barking at Racrac and Fil the whole day. i felt tired, lacking of sleep, bored, old, ugly. i looked in the mirror and i was like "who is this angry woman staring back at me?" i think i cried because Fil got so concerned he again offered the solution of sending Racrac to day care and this time he was serious and wouldn't take 'no' for an answer.

so the next day after that incident we checked out the small home care facility recommended by our friends, chatted with the retired Filipino couple who runs it and arranged for Racrac to be there at least twice a week. he had his first day there last September 4. Fil drops him off on his way to work then picks him up after office...equivalent to 8 hours of "free" time for me. Racrac cried every time Fil leaves him there for the first 3 weeks but now, he's ok. I think he enjoys being there!

as for me, it wasn't exactly what i can call free time. when Racrac's in day care, i am lost in the blur of household chores except that now i can accomplish things faster because he isn't there to jump over the fresh clean clothes while i'm folding them, i can do my grocery shopping in peace and i don't have to think about dropping what i'm doing so i could feed him or change his diaper or give him a bath. i've also done some walking and biking at the park a couple of times. just a couple of miles from our house is Lake Elizabeth Central Park. i have circled the 2-mile trail around the lake and it was fun! I've also visited Fremont's main library and wow, i could literally borrow everything i want for free, even tagalog DVDs! yeheyyy!... For the first time since i've been here, i am now seeing more of our community and its people. soon i plan to start looking for a job. wish me luck!

so there, it wasn't as bad as i first thought it would be. I have been trying to keep Racrac to myself for the past 18 months because i was worried that the day care staff will not pay attention to his needs as much as i would and i also have this "guilt" that as a stay-at-home-mom i should do what i have to do which is to take care of my baby 24/7. but the thing is, stay-at-home-moms need time for themselves too. Just because you don’t have to go to work everyday doesn’t mean you won’t need to get out of the house without the kids. I need timeouts too, take care of myself, so i can take care of my family.

do i miss Racrac when he's at day care? not really because i am so preoccupied that the 8 hours seem to just fly by like a breeze. but i do think about him when, say, it's time for him to eat lunch or take his nap. so far it has worked well for all of us. I have regained some of my "freedom" back and has started exploring other things outside the home. Racrac is now more sociable and warms up with people easily unlike before when it would take him about an hour to interact with strangers at a party. Now he plays with other kids without always checking on me and running to me if i escape his sight. But the best thing is that seeing other kids eat has developed the habit in him too. Feeding him has been one of the two challenges for me as a mother so far and it's a relief to finally see him finishing off his food. As for Fil, well now that i have more time to experiment in the kitchen, if he goes home from work to his favorite monggo-sinigang-spaghetti dinner combo and a smiling wife, then he's a happy man :)

The other challenge which I still see no remedy so far is that Racrac has remained the active hyperkinetic boy that he has always been since he started walking at 9 months. which makes me wonder, could my life have been easier if i had a girl? i see some toddler girls but none of them ever came close to half of Racrac's locomotive skills. most of them are mellow and behaved, the type who would sit still in her high chair to eat dinner. if Racrac is like that then i could get a pedicure everyday hahaha...but then i wouldn't exchange it for anything. i love watching my baby so active, so full of life, bursting with energy and erupting in nonstop joy...even if just looking at him makes me tired...and even if i have to join him most of the time and end up with aching muscles. now i am really glad to have a couple of days off each week! hahaha...

enough of me babbling about my joys and woes as a stay-at-home mom. soon i'll get a job and have a totally different problem! hay naku...life is ALWAYS complicated! :D

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