Birthday and Anniversary

Today is my husband's 30th birthday and tomorrow is our 2nd wedding anniversary. Let me reflect on our two years of marriage because I cannot possibly sum up his thirty awesome years of existence here on earth in just one blog post.

Our marriage is not an uncomplicated one. We've had bumps here and there. You can say I've had my most thrilling roller coaster ride in this game of life because of him. When we first got together, it was a big, big adjustment for both of us. We were not ready in the sense that, a week before our wedding, neither of us knew we were going to get married. It's a long story and I would rather keep it private. What I am ready to share is the awesomeness that Saud Basman is.

When we got married, on the first three months of our togetherness, we lived in a small studio apartment. So small that we cannot buy a decent dining table as it will not fit in the room. That was my husband's dorm room when he was single. But since we got married unexpectedly, we had to live there temporarily.

We also don't have a car when we first got together. That was our first big buy. A second-hand sedan. Up to now, we are using the said car. We have also experienced buying groceries and as we were to pay in the counter, we had to remove some items as our money in the wallet is not enough. Saud taught me to laugh through it all. We always tell ourselves, "one day, this is the story we will be telling our children and we will just be laughing it off. That we had to return items in our shopping cart because our money is not enough. That we had to use a car with a busted light because we cannot afford to have it replaced". And you know what, he is right. Alhamdulillah (thank God), all those things are a thing of the past.

Just last week, my sister and I were talking. The topic went to contentment in life. And I told her, we, Saud and I, are at a point where we are happy. We have a happy family, our parents love us, Laika is well provided for, our siblings are at peace, nobody is sick, we get to eat well, we have made a home that is comfortable for us, there's nothing really we can ask for. We may not be rich but we are blessed. I can't say Alhamdulillah enough that day. I wanted to cry as I am not a good Muslim and yet He has been blessing us too much. We wanted a simple life and He granted it to us. I have found a partner who is really very kind and very selfless. He won't even buy good clothes for himself unless I tell him he deserves it. I really could not ask for more.

Saud is the greatest love of my life. My biggest rock. My shoulder to cry on. My bestfriend. My partner. Happy 30 years of your awesome living. I love you very much. Thank you for giving me Laika.

Mrs. Talia Basman goes back to work

photo source If only...

Wow! This blog has been ignored for far too long, huh? That's what happens when you're a new mother who has just gotten back to work. Imagine me in the office, calling up Laika's Ate Sharon from time to time with my other hand pumping for my lovely daughter's milk. Phew!

Good thing that is now a thing of the past. Uh-what now? YES! I am now a full time stay-at-home mother. I have just resigned from my work. I felt juggling my being a new mother and having to work to be too much. This is just me. To all the working moms there, I salute you.

Anyway, back to the few weeks I was at work. How was I able to manage? Three things: Sharon, breast pump, play cot.

Yup, in addition to our wooden crib, we had to buy a pack-and-play so that Sharon can still watch over Laika while staying in the living room.

I also got by by pumping in the office. But then, I noticed my milk supply dipped as I am too lazy to pump frequently. Bad, bad practice. I had to use my Spectra double electric pump to ensure that I get the most milk.

Good thing I am not working anymore. I still need to pump every now and then when we have to go out, but at least I am readily available to Laika now.

Laika's 8th week

Hi, Laika!

You are 8 weeks old now which means you are almost two months old which means my maternity leave is almost over :(

I hate the fact that I have to leave you for more than 8 hours because I have just started enjoying being with you. You see, you are now responsive to people around you. You can recognize me and your daddy as you smile more when we are with you. And I just noticed, you are such a talker, aren't you? Here's your response when I asked you, "ano'ng napanaginipan mo?"

Aside from babbling and cooing, you are also smiling and laughing now. In fact, one time, while you were sleeping, I heard you laugh! What a joy it was to witness!

Speaking of sleeping, I think you are a shy person (despite being talkative around us) as you have the tendency to sleep (or fake-sleep) when you are with people you are not familiar with.

I also love it when I play nursery rhymes and you start babbling as if you are singing along to the music. You specially love the song Baa Baa Black Sheep. But when I play some Surah, you are lulled to sleep. Anyway, we are not rushing you. You have many, many more years to study about Islam.

One time, when I saw that you were sleeping, I started praying Isha. I was surprised when your bottle got out of its place and you were shouting as if you know you have to get my attention. Crying is not your first instinct in those kinds of situation. In fact, you are not a crybaby at all which is surprising to me. I don't know why I even expected you to be one.

I hope you continue to be a good daughter. We are very blessed to have you.

Breastfeeding in the Qur'an

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Today marks the day when I can finally pray again. That's almost two months of not doing the salah.

As I was about to pray Asr, Laika cried for milk. I have already performed my wudhu (ablution) so I turned to the internet to find out if breastfeeding will nullify it. The answer is no, wudhu is not nullified by breastfeeding. Not even changing of diapers (as long as you wash your hands that has touched urine).

Anyway, I was surprised to find out that breastfeeding has also been mentioned in the Qur'an. You know the saying "breast milk is best for babies up to two years and beyond"? It is clearly stated in the Holy Book.

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In the second surah (Suratul Baqarah), 233rd ayat of the Qur'an, it was recommended that a child be breastfed up to two years. You may wean as long as both the parents are consenting. You may also have another person breastfeed your child.

Contrary to popular belief, Islam regards women highly. In fact, I have never felt more special as when I got pregnant. Do you know that if you died while giving birth, it's as if you died as a martyr? Just now, I found out it's the same thing as when you are breastfeeding your child.

 I do not claim to be so knowledgeable about my religion. In fact, I am far from knowing a lot but I am trying. If you know something about this topic, I'll be glad to listen to you.

Allah knows best.

Eid'l Adha Long Weekend

When Malacanang announced October 26 a national holiday to celebrate Eid'l Adha, our little family planned on having our own weekend rest. My husband is a big traveler while I am all for staying-at-home. When there were just the two of us, we used to always argue on whether we will be traveling when opportunity comes or we will just be watching TV in the house. Now, as Laika is only a little over a month old, there was no arguing, we can't go somewhere too far.

On Thursday night, as soon as Laika's daddy got home from the office, we visited baby Nash, our youngest nephew. What a cute baby! Can't believe she was as small as him when she was born and now, she can hold her head and try to climb on our shoulders while we burp her!

And then, we went straight to my parents' house as they live in front of a mosque. We celebrated Eid'l Adha with them on Friday morning. Unfortunately, I can't pray as I still have postpartum lochia (I know, TMI!). We spent the rest of the weekend with them.

You can see the people if you just squint a little

As for Laika, she chillax-ed the heck out of the vacation. We are so much grateful to my mother and siblings as they took care of our baby while we were there.

It was a pretty laid back weekend. Come Sunday, my husband and I went to our future home. We will be moving in a year from now there. Seeing the showroom, we got excited of the development. This is the reason why we are saving up. We bought it last year. It seemed too faraway then but now, we can't wait for our unit to be done.

Not ours. This is just a model unit.

So that's how we spent our long weekend. Another long weekend is coming up. I wonder how we will be spending it this time.

How to Live Frugally

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Before my husband and I got married, I never had an experience on living independently. Sure, I lived in a boarding house when I was in college, but my parents gave me more than enough allowance then. I was also with my older sister that time so I had no responsibility except myself.

Imagine my shock when I had to, suddenly, live on a budget. Luckily, my husband is not new to this as he is self-sufficient (unlike me, who, up to the last minute, was living in my parents' house). Together, we had to do steps to adjust to our life together.

1. We are a one-car household. Sure, we own a gas guzzler, but we live in front of my husband's workplace and I commute to work, so the car is not used that often.

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2. We "eat in". As tempted as we are to always dine out (our rented apartment is located in the middle of a restaurant strip), we cook our own meals.

3. Until recently, we never had a house help. A two-man household is fairly easy to maintain. Our electric bill never reached P1000 before as we seldom use the air conditioner. But when Laika arrived, that's a whole different story. (Our electric bill shot up!)

4. We took having a household help to our advantage. Whereas before, we buy our groceries in the supermarket, now, we ask her to buy from the local palengke. Much, much cheaper. Plus, given that we are not with her while she is shopping, she sticks to the list. You don't know how much we've saved without ME doing the groceries. The last minute "maybe I need this" items really add up.

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5. We also have our laundry done in the house. 

6. As I have mentioned before, I cut my husband's hair. And my hair, being always up in ponytail, is pretty low maintenance.

7. We anticipated the added costs of having a baby, so we took measures to still spend as little as possible. My number one motivation in breastfeeding is the free milk. We refuse to buy formula because it's not cheap. YES! All the health benefits are just added advantage.

We also use cloth diapers and avoid disposable diapers as much as possible. Cloth diapers (CD's) may cost much but in the long run, you save much. Not to mention, we got CD's as gifts before (Thanks, Myke). Sure, on the first few weeks, we use disposies. But now, we are 100% cloth diapering. It doesn't hurt that they all look so cute, too.Our brands of choice are bumGenius, next9, Baby Leaf, and Alva.

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8. We live within our means. Good thing, my husband and I don't believe in having a credit card. If we can't afford something, we don't buy it. As simple as that. Although we may have to eventually give in and have a credit card for when we are traveling. But for now, we're good without it.

Home Office

People who are very close to me know that I am a frustrated interior designer. That explains my fascination with chairs. Anyway, that's a story for another day. What I want to share is my home office.

To keep me sane from lack of sleep, I channel my frustration by looking at interior design blogs. My computer used to be in the living room. But since giving birth, I have never spent much time there. So we had to transfer the home office in the corner of our bedroom.

My home office

I use a console table as my study. Here are my tools for blog hopping:

1. My 2-year old iMac 21.5" desktop. I love that it has a big screen and I can open many programs and work on them side by side.

2. Leftover box which hides our chargers and remote controls.

3. iPod Touch 3rd Gen for when I have to be mobile. It has been with me for three years and I still never get tired of it.

4. I do my pumping while reading so I have my breastfeeding tools with me in the study. And, yes, that's 8-oz. worth of milk for one pumping session. Thank, Mommy Treats.

5. Alarm clock to time my pumping intervals.

6. Battery-operated lamp and electric fan combo.

7. Lamp.

8. Laika's storage boxes.

9. Bright orange chair.

Being fickle-minded, I may redo this arrangement soon when I get the inspiration. What do you suggest?