Xian's birth

I was on my 38th week of gestation and couldn't imagine waking up the next day still pregnant. I gained 40 lbs in this pregnancy, way overweight. Good thing I'm healthy and the baby's healthy, complications should be rare.

I was already getting more and more impatient. On my 35th week, I noticed reduced fetal movement. I drove myself up to the hospital emergency room for a non-stress test. This, upon the prodding of my husband who was out of town at that moment. Of course, after my telling him of my concern and worry. Getting inside the labor room, the usual "Di pa diay ka due?!" surprise looks from the people around no longer surprised me. I was a whale, it was understandable.

36 weeks and nothing happened. 37 weeks, I started planning to attend my daughter's school's family day which is to happen the week after. I bought 2 kgs of chicken wing, marinated a day before and instructed the yaya to cook them crisp early the next day.

November 26 was my brother-in-law's birthday and Christening of his firstborn. I was ninang, in all my bloated glory. When my husband reviewed the pictures, he told me "kaanakon na kaayo ka'g nawong!" Must be the flared up nostrils. That night on our way home, I drove the car from Ayala to our house because the husband has to ride his bike home from his office. Yes, I still fit in the driver's seat but barely.
I didn't get much sleep during the night. Not the usual uneasiness brought about by the uncanny physique of a pregnant woman. It was different. I kept on waking up through the night for bathroom trips I lost count. I woke up at 5:00 am that Sunday. The Sunday that we are to attend my daughter's school's family day. I felt the contractions but dared not wake up my husband and daughter. I wanted them to get all the sleep they can since family day's gonna be tiring. I started timing my contractions using a trial iPod app. The intervals are already consistent and the intensity varied from moderate to very painful.

At 6:30 am, I woke up my husband and told him about the contractions. I even considered going to the family day thinking the baby won't be out that soon anyway, judging from my first experience. When my face started to contort during contractions, my husband grew uneasy and unsure about my suggestion. We ended up sending our daughter to the event only to perform their field demo accompanied by her aunt and nanny. They went back home right after.

It was 9:00 am when we finally went to the hospital to get admitted. I calmly walked to the IE room, that being not my first. I was surprised when the resident said I'm 6.8 dilated. I was amazed at how fast it progressed. My doctor, at this time, has been notified.

You might be surprised on how composed and calm I was when I got in. It was because I did all my research and had a birth plan in place. The birth plan that my doctor and the pedia fully supported. I wanted a natural, painkiller-free delivery and requested to room in with the baby right after. I wanted to establish breastfeeding right away and I felt that being groggy from all the painkillers would not help with my goal. I also knew that I have a big baby, and knew that I can still deliver him vaginally. In the slim chance that I can't I have outlined that as well in my birth plan. Everything is progressing as planned.
6 CM is the start of active labor. The pain is becoming more and more intense and came in closer intervals. Still I hang on. Natural all the way! At 8 CM, my doctor arrived. I was on my side the whole time since I discovered I can manage the pain better with that position. I brought a handheld massager to help ease the pain when contractions come. My doctor was a total darling. She massaged me everytime the contractions came and talked me through it. Deep breathing became more and more difficult. I kept on telling the baby to work with me, that we're a team.

My water burst when I was fully dilated, it was 11:00 am. All I wanted to do by then was bear down as I felt the baby bore down inside me. I helped myself into the wheelchair that's to transport me to the delivery room. When I got there, I notice there's a staircase by the delivery table. I did not notice that the first time! And because all I wanted to do was bear down and deliver, I climbed up to the surprise of the medical staff. Hoisted myself up and got ready.

All the fuss and noise inside the delivery room faded and I focused on the voice of my doctor. When my doctor said push, I gathered all of what's left and pushed. Believe it, I got Xian out in one push, all 8 lbs 11 ounces of him! The shape of his head is a testament to that.

As soon as the baby was out, he was placed in my breast and was guided to latch on. He didn't. I wasn't worried, all I can think of is how red and wrinkly my baby was. And even if he resembled so much like E.T., he was the most beautiful thing in the world. The feeling of finally being able to meet and hold him was exhilirating. Overwhelmed by so much joy, I ignored the latching issue. Maybe he wasn't really that hungry. I did ate a lot for the whole duration of that pregnancy.

After a while, the nurses gave up on working out the latch and cleaned him up, took his Apgar score. He got a whooping 9.10, how about that? He wailed like he owned the whole unit. It was a joy to hear! He was placed in the nursery while I was stitched up but that was all the nursery time he had. At the recovery room, he was brought to me. He latched on without so much of a fuss. He slept in my arms for the first time and I was wide awake enjoying and relishing every single moment.

We went to our room together. He was a bit jaundiced but all in all, I counldn't wish for a more perfect birth and I was wide awake to experience it all.

This Xian is a trooper, that I can be sure of.

2011

Before 2011 started, I mentally listed down the things I want accomplished before the year ends. To wit:

1. Get pregnant, have a baby, hopefully a boy this time. Oh yes, this was planned.
2. Learn how to drive because if and when I get pregnant, I don't want to go through the unmentionable experience of riding a smelly cab when my hormones are all spiked and morning sickness was a bitch. I want to drive myself when the hubby is out of town or is unavailable. Also, so I can drive and fetch Xofi from school.
3. Major house remodel.

There are hordes of other things I want done and accomplished, but those above are the big ones. The smaller ones I can basically live without. So have I done those biggies? Hell yeah, except for the house remodel thing. Sadly, it was not because we weren't ready, but it was because we can't find a contractor decent enough who can deliver through. And by the time we thought we found one, No. 1 came and we have to have the house free from construction hassle. I had Xian last November 27, 11 in the morning. Coincidentally, it was also Xofi's school's family day. One we've been preparing and have every intention to go. We had to let Xofi go accompanied by her nanny and her Auntie Han because I cannot bear the thought of her missing another dance event (she already missed the UN celebration because we had to go home to Ormoc). The short but fulfilling labor and delivery of Xian Ellis is a different story altogether.

Driving is a bittersweet experience. I love the freedom it brings. I can now go to late night parties with girlfriends without having the husband wait up to fetch me. But the undisciplined drivers that our roads seem to harbor is beyond imagination. I would like to put it in perspective. I think these people are decent and respectable. I don't think they'd cut queues when they're falling in line personally. I think, however, that the politeness evaporates the moment their hands come in contact with a steering wheel. They think they own the road and they shouldn't be made to wait. That is the time that I would like to murder these self-entitled ones. 

All in all, it was a very fulfilling and blessed year. Despite the snags along the way, I can never complain. I have the most loving and supportive husband I wi ll never trade for Brad Pitt (for Johnny Depp, maybe, but only for a night). Xofia is a darling, acting like an Ate and never did violently exhibit her jealousy towards the baby.

Xian lets me sleep through the night as long as he can grab the boob anytime he wishes to (this does mean that I sleep with a boob hanging out, thank you very much!).

Needless to say, I am happy and contented and is exactly where I should be. Thank you, 2011. Now, it's time to take 2012 by the horn and see what surprises this new year brings. Happy new year, everyone! Cheers!

Whoever said parenting is easy?

Somewhere along the line, I may have lost the connection.

From a very short meeting with her teacher, I learned that Xofi had hit two of her classmates in two different occasions. When teacher called for her attention, she'd stick her tongue out and cross her arms in defiance. She also learned to purse her lips and roll her eyes for additional emotional effect.

That very day, the moment I came home, Xofi got a timeout and was grounded from watching TV for one week. She took it real well and understood the situation. She knows the reason behind the punishment. It took an impression on her that I've never seen her do those stuff again. Whenever she'd ask for just a little TV time and whenever I am about to give in, I remind myself why I'm doing it and I call on the husband for support.

I also had a little conversation with the nanny. First, the nanny herself provokes Xofi. She'd tease her and knowing how strong Xofi's personality is, Xofi would always fight back. I told the nanny to please stop the teasing as that will only bring out the tiger in her. Being the parents, it would be doubly hard for us to teach our daughter the right manners if she's always interfering with what she thought is only out of fun. Please let us understand that to a toddler, our idea of "fun" is not at all fun to her. The nanny still resort to teasing sometimes. I don't know if she's dumb or stupid or callous, or all of the above, but I see to it that I call on her whenever she does that. I also understand that the nanny doesn't have the same upbringing as I do, so I have to work on my patience on that department.

Second, we have a bully of a neighbor. The kid is of the same age as Xofi but Xofi's physically bigger. The kid hits people for no reason at all and cusses like a sailor. I learned that the kid hits Xofi just for fun, and Xofi hits back because it's the right thing to do. 'Atta girl, but I told my her to stay away from kids like him. I told her, bad advice or not, to not play with bullies like him. True enough, when he sees the kid in the neighborhood, she'd hide and go back to the house. One time, it was too late for her to go hide, she pushed his bike away from her and told him not to come near him.

If it's one thing you can do better growing up, it's choosing your friends wisely. I know I'm not always there to tell Xofi who to keep and forget. I sure don't wanna do that. I just want her to learn to trust her judgment and know what's right from wrong.

I don't want to lose the connection again and forget that my daughter is going through a time of rapid brain growth and leaps in emotional and cognitive skills.

Much ado about a name

And rightly so. The name that we'd give our son will stay with him for the rest of his life. It's just right that we spend most of our time thinking about it. With Xofia, I already knew the moment I learned that we're having a girl. Xofia Enia are modern and shortened versions of my grandmothers' names. With this second baby, it wasn't as easy. Even if I passed the naming responsibility/burden on to my husband, I couldn't help but stick my nose into the process.

The second name, we already knew. We wanted to give him a name that's taken from "Alice" -- my mother-in-law's name. So it was decided long time ago that his second name is going to be Ellis, a variation of "Elijah". Now comes the crucial part. The first name. We wanted it to start with X, the same as Xofia's.

Because it was my husband's turn to name him this time, he was deep in research after much prodding on my part. Triumphantly, he announced "Xian"! I liked it! Much like Christian with a twist, and we'd pronounce it "See-yan". Also, we liked that Xi'an is one of the oldest cities in China with rich history (read: terracotta warriors).

Little did we know that there's an actor named Xian Lim. We didn't know at that time of excitement because, really, we don't watch TV anymore. As anybody in this generation is wont to do, I googled the name "Xian" and google came back with pages and pages of "Xian Lim Scandal". That sent out warning signals. Really? Somebody has a name like that, and he has a scandal?!

Call me cheap and fickle, but that really put me off. I started looking for alternative names we may like. And trust me when I say, there's not much options out there when it comes to names starting with an "X". And Ate Xofi would not let us change the name anymore. She won't stop insisting on calling the baby Baby Xian. I took it in light strides.

Until last week, I wasn't able to slightly convince Xofi to change the name. I think I have found a name I like that the older sister agrees to. I may just have to keep on broaching the idea so she'd get used to it until the baby's out. For now, I plan to just keep the first name a secret. Not for long though, this baby's out in about a month. Excited much! :D

The little girl is now a big sister

 
Our little girl turned 4 last August July. My, oh my, how time flies! While she's enjoying her milestones and looking forward to being an Ate (older sister), I am bursting at the hems and look like about to pop. Though I still have another 8 weeks before my due date, I can't help thinking how big I've gotten. I don't wanna be giving birth to a 9-pounder, oh, help me God!

Our little Ate, though, seems to enjoy my pregnancy. The little brother has been receiving lots of love from her even if he's still inside me. Hugs and kisses and stroking abound whenever she has the chance. She'd also act like a big sister by telling the little brother to stop kicking Mommy's tummy whenever I complained of such discomfort. Too cute, it's too much :)

While my tummy is growing by the day, she also likes to pretend hers is growing as well. She'd announce that while little brother is inside Mommy, little sister is also inside hers. I think I may have gotten away from her wondering why her tummy's not growing by telling her that baby sister isn't coming until she's older like Mommy old.

And because she's an Ate already, she insists on carrying her heavy school bag, walk up-down the stairs by herself, brush her teeth -- because "ates don't need help".

All Mommy and Daddy want, little Ate, is for you to enjoy your childhood and don't hurry to adulthood just yet. Not much up here.

The TV Verdict

I am not a TV person. Never was, and never will be. I detest this medium. This box that silently sneaks up on people's subconscious and shape their minds and beliefs. This medium that quietly makes you "want" something you don't really need. This stupid box that feeds you all these kinds of information and never pausing to give you time to think for yourself. I hate channel surfing and wasting time unfocused. Oh yes, I am not a TV person in that way. I prefer to be a conscious TV viewer. I figured, even without a cable subscription, I can still watch my favorite shows, thanks to the internet.

Now, back to this box called the TV. Some 10 years ago, we bought a flat-screen Sony TV. The thing with Sony is that even after all those years and moving houses, it's still working. The thing with Sony is that the hardware is so perfectly built that even if the TV technology from when it was famous of has become obsolete, it's still continued to show good picture. And by gosh, aren't we tired of this big ass (literally) TV sitting atop our console? I've sworn never to buy another TV until this other one renders itself damaged and unrepairable. My husband though, has other ideas. Like the boob-tube that he so loved, he's been ingraining in me how wonderful it would be to have a new LED TV with its HDMI features and whatnot. I usually just smile and pat him in the back "Not until the Sony dies." Very patiently and slowly, he has planted an idea in my mind that a LED TV is what we need, what with Xofi and our shows downloaded from the net, it would be so easy to just plug in our 1 terrabyte HDD and go on a movie/tv series marathon. I smiled and patted him in the back "When you have extra money to spare."

I broke. It wasn't easy, but I did. I gave in. That was the opportunity he's been patiently waiting, it was the opening.

One weekend, when S&R was on a sale, I forced my husband to come with me. Me being a sucker for bargains and 50% off sales, appealed to threat and used my preggy card. So we went there, and S&R TVs were all displayed by the entrance isle where the hubby gawked and lusted after. I walked straight, didn't pause to even look at the TVs and got the stuff we needed for at least half a year. When it was time for us at the cashier, he excused himself to gawk and lust over the TVs some more. I let him, never thinking he'd actually get one. But I had doubts. When he got back where I was, he said we're going to SM to check and compare prices.

"My, he's really serious!" I thought. After the obligatory comparison of prices, we went back to S&R and bought the 32-inch that came with a free home theater system. I think it was the home theater that got him. I still don't believe that I'd get a better viewing experience with this flat-screened LED TV. I still believe in our big-ass, antique Sony TV afterall.

He's in-charge of setting up the hardware, I was in-charge of getting the wirings and connections done. After this, we settled on the couch and tried the TV. He plugged in the 1 TB HDD, and true enough, it was way, way better than the big ass Sony. The pictures are crisp and clearer, you can actually see the actors' pores and if not well made-up, their blemishes! The colors are more defined and the sounds are crystal clear. Above all, we don't have to move a muscle to press anything to play the next episode on a folder, it simply does for us! I'm sorry big-ass Sony TV, I'm a convert. Samsung LED convinced me. I'm shipping you out to Borbon with Mommylola.

However, that enlightening experience was short-lived for that day because Xofi didn't like the movies we're watching. She wants Hi-5, and she wants it now! She still reigns, afterall. Mommy and Daddy exited, albeit with a satisfied grin.

CAS results: Everything looks OK

After the not-at-all-pleasant experience with All About Women in SM, my hopes of getting a Congenital Anomaly Scanning done is still there. Peace of mind can't be bought. During my daughter's Intramurals opening in their Talamban campus, we stopped by Dra. Canoy's clinic to get a nod on the CAS.

She agreed that because Xofia had ASD, my pregnancy is high-risk. Though there's very little we can do if ever we find something on the CAS, at least it would make us all prepared for whatever's to come. She's confident that I can take it having experienced Xofia's ASD. All I wanted is to be informed and be ready.

Right after getting the CAS script from her, we went straight to Cebu Doctors' University Hospital to get the CAS. When the sonologist learned that my first child had ASD, she was so focused on the baby's heart. After she got all the measurements and confirming Dumpling's gender, she was just looking at his heart. What got me worried was when she asked for another doctor to look at the reading for another opinion. She said that other doctor is the resident heart "expert". In my mind and heart, I was crying out loud: Please be OK. C'mon God, Dumpling's heart should be OK!

When the other doctor came in, the sonologist asked her to confirm her reading. She thought everything's OK but just wanted confirmation. Half of the scanning time, they were looking at the heart and that got me all the more worried. After a while, they both said that everything looks OK. I heaved a great sigh of relief.

Where have I been?!

February 8. That's how long ago I wrote something for this blog. I wasn't pregnant then. And a gazillion of things have happened since.

• I got pregnant. We learned about it on the first week of April. We've been planning to get pregnant since late last year. We already learned it's gonna be a boy, whoop! We're scheduled for a Congenital Anomaly Scanning on the 23rd. Hope everything will be well, God willing. Xofia has pretty much understood what an older sister is. She's getting more and more responsible and less demanding especially if we remind her that she's an "ate" already. I'd like to think that this addition is doing her more good.

•  Our house is about to cave in on us. It's imminent. I can see the signs everywhere I look. The termites are eating up what available wood the house has. We've started to embark on a major project of house improvement, and so far, I've talked to 3 contractors who can't seem to understand how I wanted this done right away. I'm not sure how difficult the task I gave to them, but I'm pretty sure it's nothing out of the ordinary. I hope the third one delivers, and let's get this started with already! 

• Our car, the ever trusty Honda Civic got into a bumping accident with another car, and is now sporting a renewed bumper. The shop did a very good job, my husband can't see any piece of evidence that will remind him of that blooper. And the accident happened on our daughter's birthday party. Yes, we were in a hurry to pick up last minute party supplies and we forgot we're not the only car on the road. It happens. :)

• The sister visited for about a month. Everything good and happy and memorable and sweet. I hope they visit more often. I wish US is not that far.

• Xofia's in school, the "real school" as she puts it and is learning a lot of things. The one I'm most thankful for is her learning about junk and healthy foods. And this girl has got the willpower like I've never seen in any 4-year old. She understands that she can eat junk but not too much. She likes Pringles and mallows much. Pretty much the only ones she can't stop eating. These days, she'd say she'd only eat 4 chips of Pringles because it's a junk food and it's not good to eat a lot of it. And she told me that she should not be bringing mallows to school. I think if the teacher had her way, she'd tell me herself. Ooops! Sorry, teacher! But really, teacher, chocolate - a junk food? I'm not a fan, but you may want to rethink that.

• I visited HongKong for the 2nd time. This time with my mother, hubby and daughter. I can't quite get enough of the shopping, I wanted to go back. I actually planned to go back late this year, but then I got pregnant. Maybe it's a blessing in disguise: I don't get to spend for shopping. Hah!

• No-barfing morning sickness for this pregnancy, yay! Unlike when I had Xofia, I was barfing every hour or so. I had to eat something so that the acid had to stay low and I'd actually be barfing food, not acid through my esophagus. This time around, I'd get almost sick everytime I feel a little bit of a hunger pang. Result: eat all the time. So I'm like an eating machine right now. I got a different kind of sick: sick worried how I'm gonna get rid of this extra pounds I've piled up. I'll cross the bridge when I get there, promise.

• We think it would be cool to give our little boy the same name initials as Xofia. So yes, XES. Power in a name, err, initials!

• I realized I have never cussed so much in my life until I started driving. A lot of psychos with their hands on a steering wheel are roaming around our streets, no one is safe. Sometimes, I'd dream that I were a mercenary killing those bastards and cleaning the streets from the lot of them. My gosh, I need an outlet for this rage! I should start writing again.

 

Take me to HOME COOKING tab

The blessing of all blessings

I was talking to Xofi on the phone yesterday and when she told me she made wee-wee on Ate Myrna's bed. I asked why, and she answered "Because I was sleeping!" Really, who knows what you do when you're sleeping? And then she promised to not do it again and that she was sorry.

Everytime she does that, I can just so easily forgive and forget. Heck, make wee-wee again on anybody's bed, I won't hold a grudge :-)

When I said that I had to go, her "I love you, Mom" and telephone kisses are just the sweetest.

When we got home, she was already in bed but not yet sleeping. She's always eager to show-and-tell her day, I guess she was waiting for us to come home. When her dad told her he's tired from work, she just hugged him tight and said "I love you, Daddy..." It's the best de-stressing ever.

And when it's finally time to sleep, she'd cuddle and whisper, "I love you, Mom. Good night, see you in the morning." She's easily the sweetest.

Xofi and Classical Music and why I'm missing all those Wonderful Shows

Of course, I wanted Xofi to like THE ARTS, but, can I have my movietime back?

Xofia has gone to liking classical music like I've never seen her into something before. It all started with me burning a collection of classical masters which she'd listen to in wide-eyed wonder. This made me stop playing the music because, hey, my intention is for her to sleep through it, not stimulate her into forgetting to sleep. OK, I know, bad mommy!

One weekened afternoon, me and my husband decided to hit the bootleggers of ye 'ol downtown and check for new kids show collections. To our luck, we chanced upon Little Einsteins. Little Einsteins teach these little kids arts and music appreciation by integrating significant music and arts into the "adventure". This piqued her interest, so I started playing the classical masters at around 30 minutes to an hour before bedtime. The music was like jutes. It enhances whatever mood she's in. When she's jumpy and all over, multiply that by 5. When she's sleepy and slow, she'd go to dreamland even before the first score is halfway.

The music has acquired different titles, too. Mostly they're called Little Einstein song, or Classical Baby song, or BumbleBee Song, or I Love Balloons Song, or just generally, Classical Music Song.

So, whenever I wanted her in bed right away, I wait until she'd slowed down from the day's activity and plug in the music. Off to la-la land she goes. And she brings me with her, and who am I to fight the power of classical music? Goodbye TV shows for me.

Then out from the caverns of her disc collection, she dug out the Classical Baby. The Classical Baby was an HBO feature, and there were only 2 episodes from that CD. (I'm not sure if there are more, but we definitely did not find more). I remembered putting it away but couldn't remember why. These days, there's nothing on our TV but Classical Baby and Little Einsteins.

One night, me and my husband were watching Blind Side (after eons of not watching home movies together), in the living room. Xofi just won't stop bugging and terrorizing us into giving in. She'd get her Little Einsteins CD and like a bee just won't stop buzzing "wanna watch Little Einstein, wanna watch?" again and again.

By the time there's peace, I'd be too exhausted to watch my own movies.

The Price of Children

Close friends and family are privy of the things we go through in Xofia's first 3 years. When recalling, I just laugh at the thought of how it's getting us closer to bankruptcy than we've ever been. Reading the forwarded message below made me realize even more how priceless having Xofia is in our lives. She's about to turn 3 in a few days. And even with just those 3 years, she has filled our lives with countless joy and immeasurable love I can never imagine myself anywhere else.

The Price of Children

Here is something absolutely positive for a change. I have repeatedly seen the breakdown of the cost of raising a child, but this is the first time I have seen the rewards listed this way. It's nice.

The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140.00 (P7,206,300 at P45 to a dollar) for a middle income family. Talk about price shock! That doesn't even touch college tuition.

But $160,140.00 isn't so bad if you break it down. It translates into:

* $8,896.66 a year,
* $741.38 a month,
* $171.08 a week.
* A mere $24.24 a day!
* Just over a dollar an hour.

Still, you might think the best financial advice is, 'don't have children if you want to be 'rich'. Actually, it is just the opposite.

What do you get for your $160,140.00?

* Naming rights . First, middle, and last!
* Glimpses of God every day.
* Giggles under the covers every night.
* More love than your heart can hold.
* Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.
* Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.
* A hand to hold usually covered with jelly or chocolate.
* A partner for blowing bubbles and flying kites.
* Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day..

For $160,140.00, you never have to grow up. You get to:

* finger-paint,
* carve pumpkins,
* play hide-and-seek,
* catch lightning bugs,
* never stop believing in Santa Claus.

You have an excuse to:

* keep reading the Adventures of Pooh and Piglet,
* watch Saturday morning cartoons,
* go to Disney movies, and
* wish on stars.

You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clay for Mother's Day, and cards with backward letters for Father's Day.

For a mere $24.24 a day, there is no greater bang for your buck. You get to be a hero just for:

* retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof,
* taking the training wheels off a bike,
* removing a splinter,
* filling a wading pool,
* coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and
* coaching a baseball team that never wins, but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.

You get a front row seat in history to witness the:

* First step,
* First word,
* First bra,
* First date,
* First time behind the wheel.

You get to be immortal. You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications, and human sexuality that no college can match.

In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there under God. You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits, so one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost. That is quite a deal for the price!!!!!!!

Love & enjoy your (future) children & grandchildren & great-grandchildren...

It's the best investment you'll ever make!

My endless battle with househelp staffing

I have right now a gay househelp. I don't have issues of him being gay, I have issues of him meddling affairs and creating fictional stories just to rouse the humdrum of daily househelp life. The house is too small for two drama queens. I am the crowned drama queen, so by gosh, he has to realize that and move over. I intend to let him go soonest. I just need to find a replacement.

The nanny, I like. However, young as she is, she wanted to go home and rest. When asked if what she's doing at our house is tiring, she said no, that her chores are very light. Now, help me understand that.

I also have reports that these two aren't getting along very smoothly. I think my emotional capacity right now is only about enough to accommodate one kid, not another two overgrown babies who are not mine!

Ergo, I'm letting them both go. We're getting tired of hiring word-of-mouths, husband and I decided to hit the agencies. I don't expect that my battle ends here, for surely, it will only end when my daughter goes to highschool. Or we decided to have more kids, when all these kids go to highschool. Or better yet, when I give up my corporate life and stay at home.

We'd probably hire just one stay-in nanny, and a stay-out laundry woman. The people at home better do their share of household chores.

Cheap theater tickets

I am a self-confessed glee addict. Yes, the TV series. Can't get enough of it, really. And I got the whole household into glee, even my two-year old! Her all-time favorite glee song is "Alone." Now, she's gravitating towards Ep 9's Defying Gravity. Who can blame her?

Glee has awaken everyone's thirst for everything musical. The most recent one, was Wicked where Elphaba, the supposed wicked witch of the west, sang Defying Gravity with Glinda. That really made me wish I had St. Pete Times Forum Tickets and you know, just wait up there until Wicked gets shown.

For the little one, Sesame Street Live Tickets is perfect. Maybe when she gets to see Elmo and friends live, she'd know that Elmo is the monster, and Nemo is the fish, and ultimately stop calling Elmo Nemo already. I know, I should not force it. I should just let her enjoy in the meantime.

For the husband, I can't resist Staples Center Tickets where everything wonderful just happens. And oh yeah, I do have plans of flying from one theater to the other. Who said it's not doable?

Now, if only I'd get my hands on those acheapseat.com tickets. There's just too many to choose from. I now know the meaning of the word "overwhelming."

A day at Intosan Water Park

So we've been wanting to spend time with good friends Pang and Glenn since Glen came back from the US. Thinking of an opportunity of a long weekend, we planned on a day trip to Intosan Water Park in Danao City.

The place, though lacking the standard of a starred resort hotel, didn't disappoint. Xofia had a blast with the tiny water fountains, and I swear she could stay there the whole day, she won't mind. For a P120 entrance, it'd do for families with lotsa kids. Probably grownups wouldn't have as much fun, but surely parents will enjoy. We parents get a natural high seeing our children happy and enjoying life.

The major downside was the lack of upkeep and cleanliness of bathrooms. Or maybe I'm just too particular with bathrooms. Because I didn't want to stay in the bathroom longer than 3 minutes, I took my shower outside, soap and all, and changed clothes by the vanity inside the public bathroom. Took me two minutes tops inside.

Will probably come back there, but I think I may first want to know how often they're cleaning their pools.

Don't linger by the doorway

It’s been months since we were at my mother’s. And because her place is significantly bigger than ours, Xofia naturally had a blast. She kept going the whole day and only crashed at 5PM. Dozed for an hour then egged us to go with her high-pitched “Let’s go, let’s go!”

She’s forever fascinated by the presence of animals. Those that she’s only able to see on TV, she can actually see live in her grandma’s place. I could tell she’s gonna be asking for a vacation at grandma’s for years to come.

There was a rooster that kept on crowing. Xofia would go near it, cajoled it to play with her only to be lead out to the backyard where overgrowth becomes unsafe for 2-year olds. She’d then patiently wait for the chickens to come out from the overgrowth and start her befriending. At times when there’s no chicken on site, she’d go to the dog and, well, befriend the dog. I intentionally did not tell her the dog’s name because I don’t want her to get attached to it. The whole time, she’s been calling it “Dog.” Play, Dog. Sleep, Dog. Wake up, Dog, Doooog? Then Dog had to be bathed. The helper had to call Dog by his real name, Pie. Xofia won’t stop calling the dog by his name from then.

Dogs do what they usually do, lounge around and sleepily close their eyes. Pie was lying on the bench and Xofia would knock the other side of the bench because she wanted Pie to wake up. Pie would glare at her and would haughtily turn his attention away as if saying “Go away pesky kid, I don’t wanna play.” Pie has been like this ever since he got injured by a hit-and-run. The once playful dog is now grumpy.

After lunch, I tried putting Xofia to sleep. As routine, she naps around this time. But you don’t get a nap at grandma’s. There are just too many things to do! By and by, the rooster would crow, the chickens cluck, the dog barks, the cows moo. She’d stand up, open the window and call out, “[animal making the sound], wahappen?” Sometimes I wonder if she’s still 2 years old.

So I gave up. We went outside the room and joined the rest of the family. She played with Little Jam, her cousin, and watched Barney. It so happen that the helper’s daughters, aged 8-9 were by the kitchen door. Upon seeing them, she hastily went to the kitchen, smiled, motioned the girls over and cheerfully said “Come on in, come on in!”

My jaw dropped.

Xofia enjoying bubbles with Daddy

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Another hospital stay

Xofi has had another bout of pneumonia. I don't know why it went there when I am always extra careful whenever she has colds. Then again, I am not always around.

When she had colds and cough the other week, I waited until there's fever. Because really, doctors would only give you Salbutamol and I can very well administer that at home. On the third day of her cough, she developed high-grade fever. We went to the doctor the very next day. She was given Ceclor, an antibiotic. She had it for 7 straight days. The fever was gone on day 2.

However, after the antibiotic, her cough and colds worsened. We went back to the doctor that very day, and since there's no fever as of yet, our goal was to get rid of the symptoms. The doc RXed Ventulin nebules 3x a day. That night, after nebulizing, we played a bit because I wanted the phlegm to clear out before she went to bed. She slept at around 9:30. I got ready myself and went to bed thereafter. At 10:50, I felt the mattress shook. I looked over at Xofia, she was shaking and trembling all over. At first I thought she was only having a hard time breathing because of the colds, but there was mottling on the skin already and it just spelled bad news.

Now, I never had an experience with a baby having chills. I called up my husband who happen to be out of town that day, and relayed to her over the phone what's happening. I woke up Xofia to check if she was still coherent. She still was. I checked the temp, it's still 37. No fever. What's happening? My husband called the doc and the doc advised that we rush her to the ER. All these, while I was frantic and crying the whole time. My goodness, I have got to get a grip of myself!!

On the taxi, I felt her fever rising. When we arrive at the ER, her fever was 39-ish to 40-ish. She was weak and wanted to go to sleep but she can't because the ER is so noisy and busy. I asked if can we have her admitted instead so she can rest in a room. The ER people didn't recommend because the tests aren't back yet. I was like, "Hey, colds and fever clearly indicate infection, what else are you waiting for?" No, we have to wait for the test results, and if I have to insist, it would be against their advise. Needless to say, I was frustrated, and not wanting to waste my energy discussing why these girls should listen to a mother, I shut up and concentrated on collecting Xofia's urine sample.

We got into a room at 3AM. Xofia was cranky the whole time because she's being poked with needles more times than necessary, lodged into an x-ray machine and whatnot.

We stayed in the hospital for 4 days. We are currently finishing her oral antibiotic, and we're down to our last day. Hopefully this time, the meds will get the bacteria.

No. 2 finished in the chair

One week after we started potty training, Xofi pooped in her chair! Yay! But not quite ;) she actually started in her nappy, then she shouted "poo-poop!" Her nanny then hurriedly ushered her to the chair, and she completed the "job" there. Good enough for me, really. I'd like to see it as a mini-milestone. There is such a thing, right?

Then today nothing happened. She sits at the chair and that's about it. On some days, she won't even sit! I had to bribe her with a sticker just so she'd sit. Oh yes, my sticker supply is fast dwindling down.

Xofi is not one that's hard to learn stuff, actually. She pretty much knows our nighttime routine and that when the small hand of the clock points to 9, off to bed she goes. Before we had this established, there was a lot of screaming and crying because she still wants to play with Mommy. Now when I say "na-nyte time," she kisses everybody goodnight and goes upstairs without fuss.

At 1 year and 6 months, she was already counting up to ten, and learning to read her alphabets and numbers. To date, she has mastered all letters, big and small, aced her shapes and even know a hexagon from an octagon. She knows her colors well but sometimes gets confused between yellow and green (Well, I still get confused between green and blue myself!). She also talks in a fairly understandable toddler-talk, memorized her favorite rhymes and some Pussycat Dolls favorites. At about 15 months, she uttered her first sentence: Catch the ball!

C'mon, I carried her for 9-mostly-ugly months, labored for 24 hours, I am entitled to these bragging rights :P

I just wished she'd learn potty training as fast as she did her alphabets and stuff.

But the main concern really is the nappy cost. My goodness, the price of those pull-ups!! I can't wait for the day when she no longer needs them. Booo overpriced nappies!

Thinking of going back to school

Most of the best times I've experienced in this life I experienced while in school. High school was great and fun and college was so much more. By and by I’d reminisce and wish I was still in school today. Well of course, I should also be younger :P

It was amazing, how, my whole life, I've never been to a private school. My parents sure saved up on me. I went to a state college in high school, pretty much no tuition fee and another state university in college with just a bit of a tuition fee. School fees were never a problem for me. The government pretty much had that covered.

Remembering how I came to choose my major, the decision-making process I had to go through – made me realize I pretty much did not put as much thought on it as I should have. I chose my major because it was fun, period. In hindsight, I should’ve gotten an engineering degree. Oh believe me, I could’ve made so much more with it :P :P (Wait, they have lots of Math subjects). OK, maybe went into the Culinary Arts. Hah!

In any case, and if I’m really serious about going back to school, nothing can stop me. No sir, not even the crisis. I just have to be aware of the available Student Loans that offer the best deals.

And then there’s another hurdle. I’m a mother and a wife, I can’t afford to be away that much. Plus I need to earn while doing all these lest I’d be hurting the family income. More diggings, and what do you know, reputable Online Education abound. Even if an online degree won’t get me anywhere in my current career, it’ll prove to be useful in some areas. I love accumulating skills and improving what I know. It’s a never ending process. I just have to carefully select from the list of Accredited Online College Degrees and I’m off my way. My merry, merry way.

Now, how did Xofi do in her potty training again?

A good way to save money is to stay home

I very recently mapped out the family expenses against our fixed income. The result won't give us much for a fixed monthly savings. I guess it's time to forget about getting a new car, like seriously. Anyway, as long as the old one is still running, there's no real need. Help me convince my husband that our old Gallant is a real neat car ;)

Then there's the problem of personal insurance policies. I figure, as soon as we're done paying for the old insurance, which probably will take two more years, we can get the new one we're planning for my husband. So actually, our situation is not too bad, we're pretty much in good shape, financially.

However, we as a family never stays put when it's a good weather out there to be in the beach. After curling in our cocoons for long, we'd be screaming for a holiday or two. Hey, we need to reward ourselves once in a while... and we hate scrimping on our self-rewards! There lies the rub.

Or maybe we can just console ourselves with the fact that Philippines is a tropical country and almost everyday is beach day, so there's a lot to go around. And staying at home is not really that bad. Here's proof: