David's guinea pigs

Prior to David's birthday we decided to buy him 2 guinea pigs as our early birthday present. He'd been wanting a guinea pig for a pet and every time he came home from school he would never forget to say that he liked to have one. Hearing enough of his plea, we bought guinea pigs for him, a female and a male pair. We thought that it is about time David has a pet of his own to take care of and learn to be responsible feeding them. Of course, the cleaning of the hutch is my share to do with Dorothy's help as we could not trust David yet. They cost only at very affordable price for we took advantage of the special offer in one of the pet shops. We bought a good size hutch for them where they can have plenty of room to run around . We are using straw as their bedding and change it 2 times a week.

Brownie (female)

Lucky (male)

Over a month after we bought them, we noticed that Brownie was gaining weight and realized then that she was pregnant. On August 4 early in the morning when I checked them out, I saw one of the baby guinea pig running around inside the hutch and looking very healthy. Being so curious, I checked out for more babies inside their little house and saw another one. Brownie has 2 babies. We named the 2 babies, Fluffy and Fluffball.

Fluffy

Fluffball

Unfortunately, we can't keep them in addition to Brownie and Lucky so we are planning to put them in the pet shop once they are big enough. I know this would really make the kids unhappy as they love so much the babies like their parents. But keeping them is an addition to the maintenance and work for us, so we decided that every time the parents will have babies which we anticipated for the next coming months, we definitely just sell them. The shop where we got them is willing and happy to help us selling them too.

Dorothy's District Carnival Race

As I mentioned in my previous blog that my daughter, Dorothy represented her school in the District Carnival for the 800 meters running race. The District Carnival took 2 straight days last week with different games each day to compete. On the first day, Dorothy was in the race while on the second day she was helping out the teachers who ran the Carnival. She was selected among other students in the year six of her school to help out with the teachers, delivering messages, carrying light equipment and such. Her school was the host of the Carnival which was held in Blacktown Olympic Park. There were 19 schools participated in the Carnival and the grandstand was occupied of people for two days.

(Dorothy in green outfit)

Dorothy's race was in the heat 2 with 10 participants from different schools which I was really pleased. Her finish wasn't bad at all for she came up 6th place. It was a great effort by her but unfortunately her finish time didn't qualify for the next stage (Regional) which put her dream to an end and just hope for the best next year . Being always part of the school team is something that she is proud of . The fun and excitement being in the race and being with fellow athletes are something always to look forward to.

Winter mood

Just some of the winter moods that I love. Pictures were taken at different locations within this winter time.

One Weekend!

It was not an eventful weekend so we decided to take the kids to a park near a beach just to enjoy the winter sunshine. The drive wasn't bad at all. There was not much of a traffic to endure. When we arrived in the park there were already some people and it took us quite awhile before we found a good parking spot and that was the hardest part of our trip. Parking spot is limited and since we arrived there close to midday, there was hardly space around.
Anyway, the park is something for everyone to enjoy. It is surrounded by trees with picnic areas available, big playground and walking tracks just to name a few. The kids had a great time and wanted to come back there again.
Here are some of the pics that I took. Hope you enjoy!

Humane Blog Award

The Humane Blog Award was passed to me by my dear friend DavidFunk . Thank you so much for including me in the list. I really appreciate it.

Now I'm going to pass this award to anyone who wants to grab this wonderful award. Please feel free to grab it. thank you

Flowers in my friends' garden

I took these pictures when we got the opportunity to visit our friends. They have a good size backyard with plenty of plants and native flowering shrubs. Some of them bloom and some are not yet. Here are some of its bloomers called gazania, a daisy like flower.

From the Filipino shop

I dropped by in one of the Filipino shops here and was glad that it had all the foods that I craved for. I was lucky too, that it had still a pack of "palitaw" which I thought just waiting for my arrival for there was only one pack left. I miss from time to time some Filipino foods that's why if I can get a chance, I will drop by in one of my favourite Filipino shops with hope that I could get all the foods that I really wanted because sometimes the shop is running out of stocks that I particularly wanted. Here are what I bought.

palitaw

pandesal

hopia mongo

Dorothy did it again!

The other Friday was my kids' annual School Athletic Carnival and Dorothy won 2nd place in the 800 meters running race ( in green top above picture).Last year, she won first place and was definitely gained selection to represent their school in the District Athletic Carnival. She will represent in the Girls 800 meters run for 11 years old. She is not quite 11 years old yet but will turn 11 this coming December.
David on the other hand didn't get to the top 5 . He was quite upset with his performance. He really liked to win like his Ate Dorothy but was unlucky at that time. We told him that he needs to eat more vegetables everyday so he can have all the energy needed for the next year race.
I didn't able to get a good picture for I was busy cheering my kids during their entire race. In the middle of the day, I did volunteer to help out an activity for year 1 and kindergarten kids. It was pretty exhausting doing 3 games in an activity to 8 groups of Yr 1 and kindergarten kids. But I just loved it. I was bone tired during the evening and developed a bit of muscles pain in both my thighs.
Anyways, Good luck to the school team ! Hope you grab lots and lots of awards

Today's Sunset

I considered myself lucky enough when I went out to get the clothes from the clothes line, the scene in the sky greeted my eyes and I impulsively grabbed my camera. Taken at about 5:25pm. Hope you enjoy.

Busy

I am kind of busy these days. With my doctor's appointments, kids' appointments and after school activities, it makes me always drain out later in the day. This school term too is a lot busier for us. Dorothy and David are both doing after school sports twice a week and a tennis lesson for Dorothy every Saturday. All I just want to do to fill up what my body miss everyday is just to relax after dinner and get to bed early. I know I miss a lot here now but don't worry I have to make it up and visit your blog to catch all of you if I can get a chance. My last doctor's appointment will be later this week and that will be an ultrasound to be done in the Imaging Center in Blacktown.
Few days ago, I had health concerns which encouraged me to visit our GP. Although, our GP didn't find something wrong with me but she recommended to undergo further examinations just to make sure everything is alright. This ultrasound examination will be the last scheduled examination. I hate to do it actually but what else can I do, this is for my own good anyway. The thing that it requires to drink 1 ltr of water prior to the examination to have a full bladder and keep hold of the pee until the ultrasound is finish is what I don't like the most. During my pregnancies, I did few ultrasounds but it didnt mean that it would be easier this time. I still find it hard to do that thing.I know some of you can do it without any problem at all. I have to try it again this time with all my best effort and see if I still got the power to do it..lolz
Well, I will keep you updated about this and hope the result is alright. I got already the result of my other examinations the other day and thankfully everything is fine.
Wish me luck for this :)

Beaching

Just to enjoy most of the winter sunshine, we took the kids to the beach again last Saturday.Going to the beach is one of our favourite ways to unwind and relax ourselves enjoying the sea breeze and soak up the views around after a busy week . The kids always love it too even if they are not allowed to go swimming yet this time. It is still winter season here and the water is still a bit cold for swimming. I am very conscious about getting them to the water like this time of the year because of the flu- like symptoms associated with the weather even if the day was a bit warmer than the average winter days. . But unlike me, some parents dont mind at all for there were kids we saw who went swimming at that time. Despite with all our "do's and dont's to them", they still had a tremendous fun playing and chasing each other on the beach.

Loyal Friend and visitor Award

This award was passed to me by two of my very dear good friends here in blog land, DavidFunk of Basic Bloganomics and Melds of My Daily Thoughts and Moods. Thank you so much for this . I do appreciate it. Thank you too to both of you and to everyone else who always keep on visiting my blog even if I can't return the visit on time. I really appreciate it too.

Here's the rule:

1. Copy the loyal picture above
2. Pass it to you think who is/are deserving.
3. Leave a message to them
4. Pass as many as you want.
5. Message back or leave a comment to the owner.

Since I noticed that most of you has already this award, I wont tag anyone. But to those who haven't got this award and wish to grab it, can grab it. Please feel free to do it. Thanks

Better Half Tag

Claire of My rendezvous tagged me with this Better Half Tag. Thank you so much Claire for this. I am glad you included me in your list for I would be able to share some things about my hubby.

1.He's sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen?- Home and Away and news

2.You're out to eat, what kind of dressing does he get on his salad?- French
3.What's one food he doesn’t like?- " dinuguan"
4.You go out to eat and have a drink, what does he order?- coffee or juice
5.What shirt size does he have?- XL
6.What shoe size does he have?- 10
7.What is his favorite type of sandwich?- ham
8.What would he eat everyday if he could?- roast pork
9.What is his favorite cereal?-none
10.What would he never wear?- wig..
11.What is his favorite sports team?- Bulldog
12.Who did he vote for?- KR
13.Who is his best friend?- Alin, Joe and me
14.What is something he does, but you wish he wouldn't do?- knowledge of train simulator activity
15.What is his heritage?- British
16.You bake him a cake, what kind of cake?- banana cake
17.Did he play sports in high school?- soccer and squash
18.What could he spend hours doing?- sitting in front of the computer
19.What is the unique talent that he has?-he can sing well
20.What's his type of coffee?- flat white

Kreativ Blogger Award

I have received the Kreative Blogger Award from Romy of Home of good ideas . Thank you so much for this award. I really appreciate your friendship and for including me in the list.

Among the reasons for the award are the following 7 things about me :
1. I am a great nature lover.
2. I can't resist chocolates.
3. I like to go fishing and camping trips with my family
4. I read book, newspaper or magazines before going to bed.
5. I love ginger beer and always have 2 bottles a day .
6. I always have 1 cup of coffee a day.
7. I love gardening but I am scared of garden worms .

Rules:
To accept this award do the following:
1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award.
2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
3. Link to the person who nominated you for this award.
4. Name 7 things about yourself.
5. Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers.
6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.
7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know they have been nominated.

Anyone who wish to grab this wonderful award can grab this. Please feel free to do it. Thank you

At the Japanese Garden

One weekend hubby decided to visit one of the Aquarium shops in inner west Sydney and asked us if we wanted to go with him . Without a second thought, I right away replied, Oh, Yes, why not !. So, me and Dorothy hurriedly grabbed our camera to take it with us for we decided to drop by in the Japanese Garden along the way. And here are some of the pictures I captured on that day.(Dorothy and David)(Dorothy)

My little helper

He was in the mood for helping out one weekend.

Equipped with a homemade dustpan (made by my father during their holiday here last year) and a coconut broom stick, he was so eager and happy getting rid of the fallen leaves at our backyard.

He did a good portion cleaning it all by himself.

Kate's delight rose

My first post for the month of August is a picture taken by myself this morning, a flower from one of my miniature roses called Kate's Delight. Bright coral in colour, fading to pink as the flower develops. As you can see, the flower is still bathed with the morning winter dews. August is the last day of our winter. It's getting close to an end of the cold nights and days and Spring time is not far away.

Have a nice day !