Our Mean Ice Machine

Just before summer officially ended, my husband brought home this mean ice crusher.

It’s a big, heavy metal ,machine that crushes tube ice in seconds, turning them into flaky white ice best for halo-halo.

We’ve tried it 2x, and both times, we were amazed at how fast it could churn out ice. Too bad, the rainy days have started but I have grand plans of teaching entrepreneurial skills to my son next summer.

I’ll teach him how to sell, halo halo!

For now, we'll enjoy bits and pieces of the sun's last rays. Ahh, summer I miss you already!

Asserting His Independence

Oh my, my boy is a baby no more! 

My own bag. He insists on bringing his own bag with his things: toys and food, when we go out.

Big Bike for a Big Boy. Recently, he has learned to ride his big bike--a birthday surprise from Grandma.

Eats without requiring assitance from us. On a recent trip to Subic, he left our table to join the big boys at the other table and heartily ate his chicken and rice. Alll on his own.

No more tears. No more crying during his last boooster shot!

Wants to go to the Big School. It will be a logistics nightmare if we enroll him in the big school now -- he'll probably be the first one to be picked up by the service, and me thinks he is too young to ride the service by himself (without grandma or another adult we trust). He passed the entrance exam with a perfect score (well, except for the attiude part-- as explained by the guidance counselor, which is the ki'ds behavior while taking the test).

Musings of a 4 Year Old on Having a Working Mom

There are days recently that it literally pains me to go to the office.

Aside from my boy pulling my arm, or leg, or clinging to my neck, the words coming out from him are so pure and true I always wonder if working and securing his future is more important than being with him now--in his formative years.

I still do not have the answer, and I don't think realistically, we can survive as a one-income household (with my plenty of wants!) and there is still a part of me that gets fulfillment in my career (if I were a basketball player--last year and this year is a career high for me).

I am documenting these exchanges between mother and son-- I didn' expect I will need to asnwer to such questions as a mom until much, much later.

* * *

J: Mom, I will pull off your arm.
Me: Why?
J: So you canot go to work na.

* * *

J: Mommy, you don't care for me na.
Me: That's not true, I care for you.
J: No, you don't. Because you don't bring me to school everyday.

* * *

I called the house and talked to him.
J: Mommy, I'm sad. You always go to the office.

* * *
We always tell him mommy has to work so we can buy food, and clothes and toy cars.
One day...

J: Mom, I don't want to buy any more Ferrari car. I have two cars na o. Enough na.

* * *

Tired at the mall. This is his sad face when we leave for the office in the mornings

Jared the Explorer

Fascinated with maps, directions and signs, we surpised the boy with 2 learning toys: both globes. A small one he can play with everyday and a big one for his room.

His declaration of "I love this, mom" is more than enough thanks for me.

He placed that globe on his head on his own, promise. Funny boy.

Swimming Classes at Bert Lozada Swim School

For the summer, we were debating on soccer or swimming. Taking all things into consideration, we enrolled him at the Bert Lozada Swim School at Elizabeth Seton Campus Main.

Jared dislikes having water on his face, or head. Fact is, he doesn't like people touching his head. So I was nervous and asked for a trial session before paying the P4,500 tuition for 10 sessions.

Teacher Chris is an excellenty teacher, he has my son's full trust and Jared really looks up to him. I've seen how patient he is.

Jared says a lot, as in a lot, during classes. For example:

Teacher: Okay kids, bubbles, 5 times

Jared: Teacher, 2 only ha or on some days, I will do that tomorrow Teacher.

Here is our student on the first day of classes: in full battle gear!

Teacher Chris teaching him how to go down to the water/pool correctly.

Unsure smile as if to say,"Mom, do I really need to do this?"

Beginning to enjoy the exercises

A few days after, here is our confident little boy.

He has even taken to wearing his goggles while watching TV. Yay!

Hit by Mommy Guilt

As I watch my son peacefully sleeping, I kept thinking how busy I was that it is going to be June in just a leap and skip and I have not really given a lot of time and effort in thinking if I will enroll him in a different school or let him stay at his old pschool. That this morning was only the second time I brought him to his swimming lesson, and he was there an hour early for class because I had to be at the office. That we see each other and play for only an hour most weekdays. That I sometimes don'T have a minute to pick up the phone and ask how his day is going. I can't wait for August!!!

Our First Science Experiment

Learning is fun! Here's our first (hopefully of many) science experiments.

Our home made lava lamp

1. Fill empty mineral water bottle with 3/4 water and 1/4 oil (I got the cheapest cooking oil I can find)
2. Place a few drops of food color
3. Drop Berocca and watch bubbles form and rise to the top of the bottle!

*the instructions said use alka seltzer but I couldn't find that in the drugstores.
**Berocca is my secret weapon against a coming cold or extreme fatigue

amazed and amused at the bubbles

must research for more fun activities for a 4 year old

A weepy Mother's Day Celebration

These days, my hours at work are simply overwhelming. So, the day before Mother's Day, I just wanted to be pampered, served and patronized.

As afternoon came, I felt nothing my boys didn't have plans--any plan. So I became weepy....
something the little one cannot understand.

"I am a good boy mom", to "I will make you happy mommy", but the mommy continued to weep until he probably exhausted his patience and started laughing. And laughing. Which made me weep some more.

I am set to cry myself to sleep when the daddy got up and declared we will go out for dinner.

Of course at that minute I stopped crying.

Although parking was a nightmare, we enjoyed a simple dinner at current fave Mary Grace.



I was all smiles throughout dinner, my crying episode forgotten.

The next day, father and son presented me with a nicely wrapped gift and a very thoughful card which made me smile more.

No, they did not buy it the day before. The daddy apparently went shopping with other daddy friends while I was on business trip.

While I probably got the same gift as the wife of another, my gift was perfet for me. =)

Taking Pictures of Kids and a Get Together

I am no professional photographer. The pictures below is a sad testament to that, hehe. It was so difficult to keep up with 4 kids 4 years old and under that the quaint Mary Grace Cafe at The Fort turned to a mini-daycare center! I cannot keep all four kids in one frame and have them pose for at least a semi-decent photo.

 

But still, it was a great night of food, catching up, and celebrating our friendship of 18 years.

To the greatest friends and moms, Happy Mother's Day and see you again soon.

UP and the Memories

UP is one big campus. I remember getting lost the first few days of freshman year, despite the fact I toured myself around campus, riding the jeepneys and learning the stops a few days before classes started. I was in awe of this grand campus, where the library is one entire building, and where there is enough greenery to keep your eyes and spirit refreshed after a long day.

The school is such a big part of my life and visiting it now with our son, took me literally down memory lane. It also made me think forward to a time our own son will leave home and stay at the campus where he will experience the same joy, the fun and the learnings we his parents enjoyed.

Meeting my old college best friends, inside one of the residential areas in UP, we stopped by the Sunken Garden, where the place is abuzz with children playing soccer.

Of course, our boy was drawn to the crowd. I felt a wee bit sad seeing his longing face. Longing to join the kids and play soccer. His dad must have felt the same as he got up from our comfortable perch under the shade of a big tree, and engaged the boy to some running/racing.

mommy, laro po tayo! he wanted to go and kick the balls on the field. kids as young as 2 were training for soccer.
these are times i wish we live nearer the campus.

happy after their fun run

wants to play again

i think he was about to jump when this shot was taken

When I think of UP, I think of  how we hid inside cabinets at past curfew (9 pm!) at the dorm, how my room mate and I will eat adobo for days (her baon after going home during school breaks), subsisting on tuna and skyflakes (I wanted nice new blouses, and wanted to get thinner anyway. I was about 94 lbs then--haha), flagging down Ikot and Toki jeeps, eating flaked tapa at Rodic's, watching meteor showers, last full shows at SM North, love found and then lost.

We will bring our son back here for all the past memories (did we ever ride the same jeepney all those times at school, and if we met each other that time, would we have liked each other?) and for all the new ones we'll build around this place.

The Camera Man

This little boy now has an ongoing affair with the camera. Being supportive parents, we indulge him as much as we can. But chubbly little hands can't hold the cameras very well.

So during the times he wants to take photos and can't, he does this instead. 

Click away, baby!

Our Divisoria Trip

I love Divisoria trips. For reasons hard to explain, my job requires me to go to Divisoria from time to time. Today was one of those days work-related tasks brought me to this shopper's haven.

Because I am leaving for a business trip tonight, I decided to take my son with me. To snatch a few hours more together.

confused whether to look at the cam or to feast his eyes elsewhere. we bought him sando (undershirt) for school.

We arrived too early, even before most of the shops opened so the first agenda for the day was breakfast at 168 mall.

The upper floor where the food court was was almost deserted. I was waiting for one of my favorite shops to open here.

I was able to get my errands done in a few hours.  This trip will be memorable as our first mother and son and lola Divisoria trip and because of one comment from the little one.

Recently, he learned the word "baho" and "mabaho" and has been using it in every other sentence.
Today, he made good use of it. Stopping at one stall to look at the wares, he said out loud "mabaho dito!".

Okay, let's go home baby before mommy gets into a fight.