Weekends are supposed to be for my relaxation since I work full time as a teacher on weekdays. But in reality, I also have a lot of tasks on Saturdays and Sundays. Aside from home chores, I also need to be fully hands on with taking care of my four-year old son. I also need to squeeze in some preparations for my classes on Monday. Oftentimes, weekends end in a just a blink of an eye.
This is why when I get the chance to take it slow, or when I feel like having a "lazy day" on a weekend, I get the chance to think a lot about my life, my hopes, and my dreams. I also try my best to bond with my family over some chores we do together or when we're having conversations over delicious meals.
In this blog, I would like to share a simple yet special weekend, exactly two Sundays ago, when I was able to take it slow, not worrying too much about the coming week.
Off to the Market
Involving my son in one of my tasks today. He gets the chance to visit the market on a busy day.😊
Our first main task of the day was going to the market. My son woke up at around 9 in the morning. Later, after having his shower, then breakfast, we prepped for the market. I always list down what I need to buy though I know I sometimes end up buying things not in the list.😂 But it's still a good thing for me to have a list so I have some sort of mental control over my decisions. 😅
We went to the "wet" market first. This is where we buy meat and fish. Here in our place, it is better to buy meat and fish in the morning as pork is often fresh from the abattoir and fish crates have just arrived from town.
My son, I noticed, looks forward to days like this one. He loves it when we go to the market and he talks A LOT to people especially to the vendors we regularly buy from.
We've been buying meat at Nang Bebie's meat stall since I was a kid.
Everytime I come to the wet market, I'm always reminded of many childhood memories involving some vendors I've become friends with since I was a kid. One was Nang Bebie. We visited her store again on this particular Sunday to buy pork and chicken. I've known her for a long time since she used to have a small piggery in my neighborhood and we often hear pigs "screaming" when it was time to bring them to the butcher on random early mornings.
My son was in awe with the variety of fish he saw on the stall that day. He kept asking about the big ones we don't usually cook at home.
Another familiar face was Nang Ale, our go-to fish vendor. She always sells fish that aren't frozen. All the fish here are obviously "iced" since these still come from town (20-30 mins. away) but over the years, we've come to trust Nang Ale. I don't usually go to the market on weekends here but seeing her today made me say she's still the same friendly vendor I have known.
We left the wet market and I've realized I haven't been here that much anymore. I must be getting old or lazy haha! Reality hit me as well when it came to the prices of the meat and fish nowadays. I was doing my mental calculations and I just shook my head in silence.
Decided to buy some fruits so my son doesn't end up eating biscuits or chips for snacks all the time.
We went to the fruit stalls and honestly, I just find it awkward sometimes when some people stare or when some acquaintances greet you then comment about your weight. I try to be more understanding since they rarely see me walking around the market like this day. My son enjoyed this part of our market time the most since he saw some kids there and kept talking to them. One of the vendors thought my son couldn't speak "Bisaya" (our dialect here) so she kept talking to him in English convincing him to buy those mangoes. My son kept talking to her in English as well. What a fun moment! We ended up buying some mangoes, apples, lanzones, and lemons.
Before going back home, we got caught up in a local toy store and my son, as always, went home with me from the market with a toy. This time, he got a bow and some arrows.
A blurry pic of our tricycle ride. We would've walked home but the eco bags were too heavy to carry.
Favorite Chores
One thing I look forward to is organizing/ arranging what I bought from the market. I've been inspired by many Filipino vloggers that post videos about organizing their groceries, their kitchen and stuff (Modern Nanay and Momstetik to name a few). Mine isn't aesthetic though.😅 I just make sure our food is organized for easy storage.
Preparing these for storage in the freezer. I usually wash and drain these well before storing.
We usually store our meat, fish and our usual breakfast food like ham and sausages using the ice cream containers we have. It has always been like that since childhood. My son kept asking for ice cream one time and I told him we don't have some. He insisted that we had a lot and opened the freezer for me to see! 😂
Don't be fooled by the ice cream and spaghetti containers in our fridge!Haha!
After organizing, it was time to cook lunch. On weekends, cooking food is something I enjoy especially if I have fresh ingredients. When laziness doesn't take over me, I cook for my family especially for my son. He is not a very picky eater and I love spoiling him with food he loves.
Fried fish and "inun-unan" for Sunday lunch!
Afternoon Bond
Later that afternoon, we decided to have some snacks. There's a local bakery nearby selling delish baked goodies. Beside it is the recently opened Don Macchiatos branch (this is a local coffee shop). My mother was already checking the clothes she washed and dried this morning when we came back.
Wam fig pies and malunggay bread paired with all the four flavors of the Don Macchiatos drinks 😊
We had our snacks on the porch and spent time talking about things like plans for Christmas, home improvements, and many other things. It was comforting to have conversations with family. We are often busy on weekdays but it is great to sit down with them over meals and convos on weekends. We weren't thinking nor talking about work. We weren't anxious about Monday morning. We just chose to chill and take things slow.
Though we were unable to attend mass that day, we are still thankful we got to spend time with family and do things for each other. We hope to cap our Sunday at the church next time. On a chill and slow Sunday like this, we get to spend time with family and be each other's support when it comes to chores and many other things. We break our weekday routine as we choose to do things we wouldn't or couldn't do from Monday to Friday. (In my case, going to the market and organizing things were things I couldn't really do well on weekdays.) The best part of this Sunday is that I get to do things with and for my family, I get to bond with my son, and I get to do one chore at a time. 💜 I am Thank you dear Hive friends for taking the time to read. I hope to be more active here again and be able to share more. I hope to read more blogs as well. Have a great weekend everyone!💜 Note: All pictures in this blog are taken using my cellphone. I used Paint 3D to crop photos.
Love the combo of family and food 💜
Indeed
Grateful
Beyond words.