Good Free Swim at the Garden Resort

We were expecting two of our kids, Sandra and Renz to have free swimming today because 2 free tickets were issued to us upon their registration for swim lessons. DH and I brought our swim suits to accompany them in the pool thinking the two of us will have to pay to get in.

But we were pleasantly surprised when the pool guy said DH and I could use the 2 free tickets since he saw the kids already enrolled and they (kids) could go swimming the whole day. Duh, okay!


How to Match the Sealant Color with Surrounding Masonry

In a previous entry, I managed to patch completely a long crack on the wall with sealant. Even as I used a gray colored sealant, the patch job still stands out because of the different color. Unless you paint or cover up the wall, the patch is very visible.


How to Repair and Seal Holes in Concrete Wall

Just like in the previous entry on repairing cracks on the wall, our blank wall also had some holes.

But unlike the cracks, these are smaller and rounder holes. These were left behind when big nails that were used to support the scaffold were pulled out.

In the photo below, the screwdriver points to one of these holes.


Stop the Caulking Gun from Passing more Sealant

In the first few projects I did where I used a caulking gun, it wasn't a pleasant experience. I wasted too much sealant coz in my zeal to get the sealant out, I pulled the trigger hard. Unfortunately, after stopping to check my work, the sealant kept oozing out. I didn't have anyone to guide me and I thought that stopping pulling the trigger will stop the flow. Nopes.

After pulling the trigger, the plunger (metal rod that pushes the tube's bottom) locks and does not retract. There is remaining pressure on the sealant material and that's what keeps the sealant flowing. The result? Huge wastage!


Start of Swim Lessons 2009

This year DH and I enrolled Sandra and Renz for swimming lessons at the Garden Resort (formerly known as Starland), Starmall (aka Metropolis), Alabang. They started April 27. Che was unable to join because of her recent myringotomy procedure while Karen will be reviewing with BrainTrain for upcat.

Swimming fee for each is at Php2,500 although DH got some discounts and freebies after registering the two for Funkids. The 2 took the 7:15 to 8:15am slot. There were 11 students for this slot. In the blue shirts are coaches Sherham and Luis.


How to Repair and Seal Masonry Cracks on Concrete Wall

Here's a crack on the perimeter wall that the workers left. I believe the crack is around 1 to 2 inches deep. Had I told the workers to patch it up, they would most likely to just slather excess mortar along the crack thus covering it.

Although covered, the gap isn't necessarily filled with mortar. They'd have to use a jointer for that. And with a crack width of quarter of an inch, that may be difficult to do.


April Showers

The weather's been weird for the last few days. We've been having strong rains during noon. I mean I thought that summer was at its peak (intense heat) just a couple of weeks ago during Holy Week. Now this! The kids knew it'll rain today and so were ready to shower in the rain - even with a silly umbrella.





Start of New House Maintenance

I don't know if it was our architect who said that you can't just transfer to a newly built home and simply enjoy it. What he was driving at was "house maintenance" and I agree. After a new house is built, the slow rate of deterioration will start from there. The surprise hard noontime rains this April (April Showers?) showed just that.

We had 2 downspouts where rainwater didn't go through. The rainwater simply went out from the vents where the downspouts meet the roof gutters. It was ugly. Rainwater splashed everywhere - to our windows, to walls and to the soil (thus eroding it). And so we called our ever reliable plumber, Gerry Tubero. I don't know his surname but the guy's worked for me many times.

Wanders at Pagcor Paranaque

Thanx to dear cousin Astrid, we were able to secure complimentary tickets to the Wanders Show at the Pagcor Grand Theater, yesterday, Sunday. And these are not just mere tickets by the way, they're the best seats in the house! All 6 of them!

If you look closely at the ticket below, the price is at Php5,000. I thought the most expensive ticket was Php3,000. But still, they ARE the best seats in the house.

Wanders tickets

Visit from Uncle Manoling

After a long long time, a wedding godfather of ours, Uncle Manoling, visited us. But this time at our new house. They came from Los Banos in Laguna and stopped over on their way back. The last time they saw Renz was when he was still a baby.

From left to right: DH, Auntie Lilian, Che, Karen, Tita Gay, Renz, Sandra, Kelly and Uncle. Renz was a bit worried that uncle might hit his head on the staircase since he is so tall.





Egg Hunting 2009

This year is the first time that the kids' egg hunting was held in the new house. We didn't have an Easter egg hunt last year because DH and I spent much of the Holy Week in Jakarta.

Since we were out the whole day yesterday for the Visita Iglesia, we were unable to get quail eggs (itlog ng pugo) which we traditionally used for egg hunting. So DH just suggested ordinary white chicken eggs for the hunt.

But the kids countered to have the eggs painted (para maiba naman). And so they took out their water colors and other coloring implements and started painting.

Visita Iglesia 2009 - Batangas Roadtrip

Last year, we didn't go to a Visita Iglesia since DH and I were in Jakarta partly for our 20th Wedding Anniversary. This year, after getting a Facebook invite from Toastmaster Violet (Philippine Ecotourism), I lost no time in getting specifics about the April 11 roadtrip. The thought of going on a Visita Iglesia roadtrip WITHOUT me driving (for a change) sounded so relaxing. The fact that we got a discounted rate with the 6th pax (that's Renz) getting it free just sweetened the pot.

Of corz the kids were excited (especially Sandra). Renz suddenly became interested when I said there's this belief that for every NEW church one visits, one can make a WISH at the church's entrance before coming in. And since these are all new churches for us to visit, they can make 7 wishes! :)

Myringotomy with Bilateral Tube Placement for Che

After several weeks of consultation and monitoring, the ENT finally advised a procedure called Myringotomy. Che's 2nd Tympanometry test was worse than her baseline. Her chronic allergies aggravated the build up of pressure in both ears and affected her hearing.

Covering Gaps and Holes with Mortar

Yesterday was my first hand at masonry. I bought myself simple tools for this job: a Php39.75 masonry trowel and a Php59.75 steel trowel. Why?

Well, after Jerry the plumber fixed our problematic toilet bowl last Thursday, he left behind some cement and sand. Not wanting to put these leftover materials to waste, I worked on our back concrete fence which had gaps between the hollow blocks.

Buking!


And that seems to be how Renz reacted in the photo above. Nowadays, with the vacation, you'd know why the kids are in front of the computer - to look at new computer games!