Is He Ready for a Pet?

I had my first dog when I was 11. He was Lassie (soo classic!), a great Dane and my friend and protector. I was heart broken when he died. We'd offer gumamela flowers on his grave at the back of our house.

After that, we'd have a string of other dogs, all loved by papa and me.

My husband loved dogs and would often tell of how he carried their askal to the nearest vet when this dog got sick.

So, we're happy that our son is starting to have his own affinity with dogs. Whenever he is at his lolo and lola's place, he'd play with the puppies for hours.

Does this mean he's ready for a pet? Nahhh. he's too young and I, the mom, isn't ready to have a pet at the house. We can barely take care of the plants!

The Field Trip

My boy got his first taste of a field trip last month. We was 3 years and 4 months, in senior nursery and barely out of toddler-hood.

I knew it will be an exciting day full of photo ops, but I had reservations about joining. Plenty of them.

My reservations:
1. I think the itinerary was not wel thought out. They were to go to 5 places in various parts of the metro. Probably a bit tiring for kids. The school must have wated to maximize the rental on the buses as I understand they can be quite steep.
2. At 3 years old, we could have shown these places to our son at a more leisurely pace.
3. I think it's not very age appropriate. Take for example the Rizal lights and sound show at the Intramuros. It was a wee bit interesting... for me. My son could not care less, no matter how I explain who Rizal was. =) he even got scared it a few areas since since it was dark.
4. I hate crowds and having to line up, squeeze our way in and hustle for space in front of the exhibits is not my idea of a good time.
5. It will be just Jared abd me. Confession: i have never been out alone wth my son. I feel I'm not ready yet. He runs fast, I can barely catch up. I lug around too much stuff for him

But we still joined, for the experience. So here's my account of that day.

We were to meet at the parking lot of SM Southmall at 5.30 am.

But before that we made sure to fill up tummies first. Daddy joined us for this early morning breakfast.

Excited and wide awake at the bus. This is one of the few pics we have together. I was too busy running after him that pictures together were the farthest thing from my mind.

First stop: Luneta Children's Playground

He climed up the steep slides, was sweating too much I had to change his school uniform (the top) twenty minutes into playing.

It was good to see my old favorites such as the giant shoe and the slides again. While I cannot say the 'spruced up' park looked great, it was at least clean, or maybe because we were there just as the park opened. If you're going here, put lots of mosquito repellant lotion on you and your kid. There were swamps in some of the attractions and I was paranoid about dengue.

2nd stop: Museo Pambata
At another time, this would have been a great spot. Plenty of areas for your kids to explore, great interactive displays, they even have a cute library all housed in one comfortable place. But, there were lots of kids and each wanted wanted to try out the cool stuff. They all keep climbing the fire struck I was afraid somebody might get hurt. I swear we'll be back here and will explore and learn at a leaisurely pace.


3rd stop: Intramuros, Rizal's Light and Sound Show
Did not take pictures, it was too dark inside. There was nothing to show at the lobby.

4th stop: MOA, Nido Science Discover Center
By the time we arrived at MOA, the kids were a bit tired (it was so hot) and all of us were hungry. We were given an hour to eat before we headed inside the Discovery Center.

It was so nice inside this giant domed theatre. Jared was excited when I told him we're going to watch in a big, big TV.

Once it started, he got scared, and no amount of cajoling will make him stay. We left the theatre and just ate popcorn outside.

Aside from the theatre, there were other sections inside. We enjoyed the robot exhibit and the area with moving plates designed to let the kids experince an earthquake.

5th and lst stop: Ark of Avilon Zoo in Ortigas
Was excited since Jared love animals. Unexpectedly, when we arrived, he was more scared than excited. Maybe being too close to the animals is different that seeing them from books? I'm not sure but he did not really look at the animals on the first floor, not even the birds.

It got better when we climbed up the 2nd floor. Kids were feeding carrots to guinea pigs. He wanted to try but I didn't think it was safe (they ight accidentally bite even if the kids' feet were enclosed in a wooden fence. Still, there were too many kids for all the caretakers to keep an eye on each one and I figured better safe than sorry. And truth is, they're still mice to me.

The birds

Jared and the rest of the kids spent more time at the play area on the 2nd floor. Again, re-apply mosquito repellant and if possible, bring your own food. The snackk bar is selling just hotdogs and a few other snacks. It was a bit dark, too but there are plenty of seats for the tired parents to rest their weary feet.

At this point, I just wanted to go home and take a shower. It was humid! And somebody up there heard my little wish. We breezed through the normally busy c5 road and SLEX. encountered some traffic here in our hometown Las Pinas, but back at Southmall all in less than 40 minutes! It was a little miracle for me already.

So, all is well that ends well.

If we did not join, I'm sure Jared will not mind, or won't even remember. But then again, I won't have this particular blog entry.

If you will let your kid join their field trip, bring loads of patience and remember, this is for your kid.

Teaching my Son to Save

Yes, this a post about saving.

To those who know me, this may seem like a joke. But honestly, since I had a kid, I'm saving like there's no tomorrow.

Okay, trying to.

I remember the different schemes mama used when I was younger to encourage me to save. I will not say us because my sister is a good saver. Basta better than me.

Back to the scheme, mama used to say what I save, she will double the amount. i think this was in HS. Back tnen, I will save my allowance BUT I will use it to buy my obessions then: knitted socks and quilted bags. I always want new socks. Not sure why. No scheme, cajoling worked.

Mama said "ito lang ang hindi nya naituro sa akin". Ma, please add sewing, crochet and cleaning. Hehehe.

Back to the topic, we are now teaching our son to save. How? I said we have you put all our coins in the piggy back because that's what we'll use to go to Disneyland!

Two weekends ago, we cracked open 3 of his piggy banks and counted all the P1, P5 and P10 coins and we now have as our Disney fund P1,700!

Keep on saving, baby!

p.s.
Ma, sayang walang pang Disney noon. =)

Date with Friends at Fish and Co.

Fish and Co. is right across our favorite MOA restaurant, A Venetto. Never wandered off in this side as we are always in a hurry and would really just grab a bite to eat before tackling the traffic that is Coastal Road. But it was a pleasant first time for us family when I met friends there last week.

It's a belated birthday celebration for a friend and a welcome home dinner for another.

The company

The food (well, some of them)



The entertainment: 3 measly crayons and a coloring pad which the crew replaced as soon as Jared filled up the first one

Spotting a TV at the bar, the boys left us girls to our gossip and catching up.


Would we go back? It is a bit expensiive for the weekday dinner, but yes, we will go back.

My First Post with No Glasses or Contacts

This isn;t ging to be lengthy. My drafts are still well, drafts. But I am just excited to post today. My first post-surgery. I had the LASIK treatment on my eyes last Tuesday and my world has been very clear and bright for the past 2 days. Iam going to do a detailed poston tis experience. Just waiting for the post op evaluaton next week.

This pic was taken right after the surgery at Manila Vision Correction Center. I'm wearing the protective goggles they gave me and looking very happy, indeed!

Milestone Haircut

Kids' haircut tend to be expensive. Whereas my husband can get his at the neighborhood barbershop for P30, our son's haircut is I think about P280--and this is discounted already.

His hair grows unbelievably fast and thick so we had to bring him for once a month trims.

The expense we can take. What makes each visit something we want to avoid is is incessant crying (he threw up once) and the fact that since he sits on my lap during the process, the little hairs end up inside my mouth. If you are a mother and have experienced this, thank goodness I'm not the only one. And you will agree with me, that is surely not pleasant.

So, imagine my surprise last month when the boy agreed to sit by himself on one of those small cars and lasted the entire hair cut with no crying and not much protest (because there still is, a bit).

He still cringes at the sound of the razor, so the kind Kuya Gio went all scissors on him. It took longer but is definitely worth it. See the yellow thing he has on? It's put on like a shirt, different from the cape like thing that Jared clearly doesn't like.

Last month was full of happy changes and developments and I am loving it!

Meet Mother and Father

Since I have not finished the draft of more lengthy posts, let me just introduce you to Mother and Father. These are Jared's finger puppets which they made in school.

It's going to be Friday tomorrow and we'll have fun wiith these two during the weekend.

Magkano?

Before I get down to business, let me just post it here so i will remember this cuteness when my boy is a teenager and I have to ask myself where the hell did he come from? =)

Jared at 3 1/2 knows only a few Tagalog words. Not something I am proud of. I just realized how few last month during Linggo ng Wika when the teacher said they all have to speak in Filipino at school. I don't know if he even talked that day.

One word he sure does know is "magkano". He hears it from mama when they buy from the carts plying the neighborhood. Fish, vegetables, buko. You name it.

Then during that Tagaytay vacation, he saw the volcano outside our hotel room and promptly asked the room boy "Kuya, magkano the volcano?"

Okay, work mode now. Bow.

Ready for a Sibling?

Our son is now 3 1/2, and I 34. My OB Gyne said if we wanted another chiild, now is the best time for it. I agree. I am not getting any younger and my pregnancy is difficult as it is.

Now, we are seriously considering getting pregnant early next year. Or just until after that planned Disney trip for the boy's 4th birthday.

Or maybe this is just a phase, with my friends having babies and all.

What a Tuesday morning.

Art Time: Potato Stamp

As a mom, you have to continuously invent something fun for kids.
During the long weekend, we had time on our hands and a bored toddler looking for TV.
A bright bulb clicked and the result is this potato stamp art.

It helps that I was able to put the almost rotten potato to good use.

Mommy, it doesn’t look like a letter J!

Note to self: next time, carve the letters reversely so they will appear right when stamped.