I finally met with some of the mommies of Pinoy Moms Network last Saturday at the Swiss Deli & Bistro along Sheridan in Mandaluyong City.
Judging from the non-stop chatter, there seemed to be an instant connection among the twelve mommies. Thanks to a common career- motherhood – and a common passion – blogging (or the two can be interchanged). Everyone knew about each one’s kids, hobbies, jobs, or life’s latest events.
Standing from left to right: Rach, Lynn, Noemi, Connie, Dine, Feng, moi, Cess, Julie, Lisa. Seated: Jane, Salen.
Mommy bloggers with cameras and kids in tow. That’s Connie’s Sam (seated and shooting at me), who seemed to have a high affinity for me as her model.. Bad choice, Sam! Unless you plan to specialize in comedic photography… Behind her is Salen’s daughter N photographing some more moms.
Feng’s Nico so delighted with the morphing feature of Dine’s SexyMac. (BTW, Sexy Mom is really sexy! And Dine is pronounced with a short i as in “Din”.)
Time was too short. Soon it was time to go.But not before Rach and I could shop for sausages at the Deli! (I believe we will make good shopping buddies 
).
I am so happy to be part of PMN. Though our backgrounds are diverse, motherhood has brought us together. I hope this is the start of more mommy lunches and beautiful friendships as well.
~~~
On another note…
After the mommy lunch, I picked up my kids from the house and off we zoomed to a birthday party. It was wonderful, except that it was rained out. Too bad, because the giant slide would have been a big hit for the kids (and big kids adults!). Anyway, after dinner I was chatting with another mom. She was surprised to find out that I (and Shiraz, my younger sister) decided to stop working and chose to be a SAHM/WAHM. I was more surprised at her condescending comment:
“Bakit?? Sayang naman ang mga pinag-aralan natin kung magkukulong lang tayo sa bahay.” (or something to that effect, but just as irritating.)
My brow went up. I don’t know about her. But I am definitely using my education and brains raising my children.
Tags: friends, mother bloggers
May 28th, 2007 at 3:52 pm
finally, your entry on the Mommy meet-up. once again, i’d like to say it was nice meeting you and the rest of the other Moms. sayang lang at the time was too short for some more chitchatting. anyway, there’s always a next time.
parties galore pa pala kayo after the lunch.
lalo nang nasira ang diet. 
May 28th, 2007 at 4:20 pm
hi, Chat,
i had a wonderful time. next time, it will be chair hopping for us (anyway, we are all so used already to blog hopping). Each MOM had a story to tell, and photos to share. It’s amazing how 12 MOMS got together, had fun together, and planned but WROTE DIFFERENTLY–each has her own version, own style. Never a dull moment at PMN, never a dull moment in the blogosphere.
btw, you have great pictures. as to being sexy, i guess it is a matter of hiding the flabs in the right places, and “stomach in”. cheerio
May 28th, 2007 at 4:39 pm
“Bakit?? Sayang naman ang mga pinag-aralan natin kung magkukulong lang tayo sa bahay.â€
Dapat sinagot mo, “Sayang naman ang utak ng mga anak natin kung hindi sila turuan at alagaan nang mabuti dahil naiwan lang sa mga yaya na nanonood ng Wowowee at telenovela buong araw.”
May 28th, 2007 at 4:58 pm
Hi Chats. I really had a great time at our mommy lunch date. It was certainly worth the trip.
Thanks for sharing these lovely shots. It’s nice how you captured those fun moments. I love Nico’s fascination as he looked at Dine’s Sexy Mac. I like our photo together. It was a pleasure having you as a seatmate and shopping partner. Judging how we chose the same thing on the menu and how we enjoyed shopping together, I have no doubt we’ll get along pretty well. I hope you don’t mind if I copy them as a keepsake.
Looking forward for more. Take care!
May 28th, 2007 at 5:02 pm
BTW, I don’t agree with that comment from the mom you encountered at the party. I think SAHM/WAHM are able to use their education at home. Baka inggit lang yun.
May 28th, 2007 at 6:50 pm
Chateau! Mukhang nag slim down ka na! Ako wala pa rin! Naku, palagay ko, join na lang ako kay Jane sa yoga class niya!
Sayang, di ako nakapunta, Anyway, next time, for sure!
May 28th, 2007 at 10:34 pm
Hi Chat. You’re from the north din pala, so that makes four of us now. ‘Twas really nice to have lunch with all of you. Maybe next time we’ll extend it to merienda time.
May 28th, 2007 at 11:27 pm
chats, ang ganda ganda mo pala and all the mommies. the comments from the other mom were so insensitive. the nerve!
May 29th, 2007 at 7:40 am
Hello! Gaganda ng mga pictures! =) Sana next time, makapunta nako…
Sino mga North? Taga-Novaliches ako…
Dream ko talaga maging stay-home mum! Mas mabibigyan ko ng proper discipline, attention and education ang anak ko. Kaya nga, nakaka-ingit mga stay-home mums! =)
May 29th, 2007 at 8:49 am
Chats, you are so pretty and so tall. I just hope we can have more time to talk in the next EB.
Don’t mind the other mom, hmmmp!
May 29th, 2007 at 9:02 am
Cute naman. Mommies EB.
May 29th, 2007 at 10:23 am
mommy chat!!! so glad to have met you. next time uli ha, and lets talk some more. share your secrets on how you keep your skin so flawless.
Hay naku, sister, im afraid you’ll hear more of those comments. over the years ive learned to just smile and shrug my shoulders. and that the best way to explain our choice is to live it.
take care! i really hope to see you again.
May 29th, 2007 at 12:02 pm
Finally read about the Mom’s Lunch! Great pictures … ang gaganda nang mga blogger-moms.
Ang tangkad mo pala — svelte mom ha. And according to Dine, very pretty pa.
And what you said is true — we blogging moms have instant connection with each other. Because of what we share, including our dreams and hopes for ourselves and our families. It is even possible blogging buddies know more about us than a casual offline friend of years and years.
May 29th, 2007 at 1:32 pm
wow. that must have been fun. it sure is pretty exciting to meet blogger friends in person ..
May 29th, 2007 at 2:18 pm
Hi fellow PMN mom,
Great pictures! Parang mga nanalo sa lottery ang mga smiles, ninyo, kakainggit. I’ll make sure to joint the next PMN EB.
re: snide remark: Hmm, perhaps the comment came from someone who is not comfortable with the choices she made, so she tends to judge others’ choices harshly.
Fact is, we working moms envy you SAHMs. As it is, the yayas and inevitably, my daughter’s watching wowowee everyday (and who knows what happens at home while I am at work)is my constant worry.
May 29th, 2007 at 3:30 pm
Hello Chats
Been reading about the PNM mommy lunch all over, hehe. Di pa pala ako naka sulat ng intro ko dyan eh 2 months na ata akong member dyan. Will get to that. It’s great you got to meet other blogging moms! On a sidenote, I had my 1st PEx mommy EB, hehe … with purpleheadd!
On that other mom’s comment at the party, I would have raised by brow to the ceiling too! Lam mo naman gusto ko maging wahm di ba? The hardest job is being a mom and raising our kids well and I wanna do that for mine. Before it was no secret why I wanted to stop working, or at least work close to home, and my relatives would ask why, lalo na I had just completed my masters then. They’ve stopped asking, mostly because they think I’ve abandoned that thought.
May 29th, 2007 at 5:04 pm
Hi Chats! It was a great Saturday no? Pag-uwi nga ni Mama, kuwento ako agad. Then I thought, I should teach Mama how to use the computer, maybe she’ll be a better blogger than me! It must be exciting to have two generations of pinoymoms together hehe…
I also thought the same way before, na nag-aral tayo to ba career women and not to be plain housewives LANG! BUT…it all changed when I became a Mom. There’s nothing I want more than to be a full-time Mom. Totoo pala yun. And you’ll never understand until you become a Mom yourself. (or until you love your family enough to forego your career? baka kasi nanay din pala yung “friend” mo hehehe. Bad ba)
May 29th, 2007 at 8:47 pm
I glanced at some photos from other mommies on the weekend but I was too tired to comment… so this is my first “Nakakainggit naman!” line.
Good hint with sexy mom’s real name, in my mind I’m always saying “dyn” hehe
RE: the un-enlightened mommy at the party
Muntik na kong mag-tumbling sa sinabi nya ha.
May 29th, 2007 at 11:34 pm
Chats, Sam is very choosy with people she decides to like ha hehehe. Pati paa mo may pics hahahahaha
May 29th, 2007 at 11:34 pm
ay mali mali. paa pala ni salen yun
May 30th, 2007 at 10:17 am
I was particularly drawn to the pics of kids with cameras. Nagmana sila sa mga PMN mommies nila
That “comment” was uncalled for…haaay… It really does pay to think twice before saying something that might offend the other person.
May 30th, 2007 at 12:02 pm
Hindi sayang ang pinag-aralan kung gagamitin sa tama. Lalo na kung sa pagpapalaki ng bata. Haynaku! Anyway, some people are like that. Mas mahirap atang maging housemom kesa mag office ano. If I have a choice, gusto ko talagang mag trabaho na lang. Pero naman! Anong values ang matututunan ng mga kids if they’re left alone with their yayas?
May 30th, 2007 at 1:22 pm
hey, sorry for dropping sooo late!
Still don’t have a maid and Im renovating my blog with my sis.. (hehehe).
Nway, really enjoyed last Saturday! kidding aside, you’re really prettier in person.
On another note, I guess it’s really up to us to know better. When I first stopped working to become SAHM, grabe sobrang nanghihinayang esp when I see my friends go up the corporate ladder… but now, when I see my kids doing very good in school — ok na. But as I said, It’s our choice!
As I told you guys during our PMN lunch, I’ll be back in the corporate world. I cant refuse the offer … besides my kids’ values are very well set na.
Take care of yourself.
May 31st, 2007 at 1:52 am
Where’s Annamanila in the pic?
May 31st, 2007 at 12:41 pm
Hi Chats,
Great to read about the PMN meet. Mukhang enjoy talaga lahat.
re: comment about SAHM …ako, i’d love to be that. I’d probably need more brains to function and able to do all the needs in the house and of my child. It is a great job, no pay nga lang. Pero rewarding.
June 1st, 2007 at 3:48 pm
Chats… while slaving away at work, I have not yet lost that wahm dream. I’ll get there, hopefully soon. And of course, I’ll let you know!