Team Swangelista, May 2013!

Finally have an updated family picture with me and Marcus and all four of our children :)

4 Months :)

Baby Aliya - or "Iya" or "Aya" as her kuya Luke and his little friends all call her, is 4 months old!

40 Hours in Hong Kong

When my mom asked me what I wanted for my 34^th birthday, I didn’t hesitate before answering, “sleep.” My baby daughter is only 4 months old and since she was born I haven’t had more than a few hours of uninterrupted sleep at a time. I also told my mom that I wanted to eat good food. My mom knew that I’d been looking forward to a work trip to HK that ended up being postponed, so she suggested that she gift me with the plane tickets to head to HK for a couple days to see my bestie, Katie, get some sleep, and eat some good food. As soon as Marcus said he was fine handling the kids, I booked my tickets and a few days later was in Hong Kong!

I was so nervous about leaving Aliya before I left Palawan, but once I was in Hong Kong, I honestly just really enjoyed the break. Of course I was only there for one full day, so I knew I wasn’t going to be away from her for very long. But I really needed that trip because it reminded me that I can have a life outside of just being Aliya’s mom. Of course I know this but when the sleep deprivation has been endless and you are just so exhausted, it is easy to imagine that you will never sleep or have a life again until your kid is 18. And at that point you won’t sleep because you’ll be imagining all the trouble she can get into. It was also super lovely to just hang out with Katie, her sister Margeaux, and friends Ed, Kasia, Mary and David, have a cocktail, eat good food, do fun things, go shopping, and yes, sleep.

On my second night in HK Katie took me to a David Guetta concert. I am so out of the loop in Palawan that I didn’t know who he was when Katie emailed me to say she had tickets for  his show. I asked Marcus if he knew who David Guetta was and he said, “Didn’t he win American Idol?” At least I’m not the only one who didn’t know who he is! We had a good time at the concert, and now I know ;-)

It was such a short trip but so much fun and so good for me. So thankful for that break!

I took a bunch of photos in Hong Kong but sadly on my first day back in Palawan (Mother’s Day no less!) my phone was either lost or stolen on my way to church. So no photos except for the 4 that I put up on instagram while I was still in Hong Kong. So, here they are!

Oh and for my birthday party back in Puerto (on Mother's Day) we were privileged to have Palawan’s best chef, tito Ernie Lim, come and cook up a feast for me and my friends and family. It was so much fun and all the food so ridiculously delicious. So I got my sleep, and many days of good food. 34 is off to a great start! ;-)

More Awesomeness from In the Crib

I've already filled this blog with photos of my little ones in creations by In the Crib, but there's still more cuteness! I just love the things this company comes out with - so creative and the clothes are so well made. Yay for In the Crib! (Many of their bestsellers are available at my favorite online store, Mothering Earthlings - and this store can process international orders, too!)

Check out our little dictator in his #likeaboss shirt, and my baby love in her "Keep Calm and Carry Me" onesie :)