Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Night Owl
The last time I probably went to bed early was when I was having jetlag. Hmmm... that was almost 7yrs ago when I finally settled in the States.
Yes, I know I'm a nocturnal momma... It may be hard for others to understand but I function better at night. Aden's not even the reason for me to stay up late since he's been sleeping through the night for some time now.
I have a few good reasons why I don't even force myself to sleep earlier. First, let me repeat that I function better at night. Second, this is the only time I have for myself. During the day I have to do my house chores and motherly duties. Sure, my son takes an hour and a half to sometimes even three hour naps where I could probably squeeze in some things I want to do. But by that time, I would rather lay in bed with him or watch TV or wait for either the laundry or dishwasher to finish its cycle. Third, most of my friends in the Philippines are online because of the time difference. Fourth, I end up calling my mom in the Philippines because I'm 100% sure she's awake and she's always up for a good conversation. And fifth, this is my quiet time. This is how I keep my sanity.
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Yes, I know I'm a nocturnal momma... It may be hard for others to understand but I function better at night. Aden's not even the reason for me to stay up late since he's been sleeping through the night for some time now.
I have a few good reasons why I don't even force myself to sleep earlier. First, let me repeat that I function better at night. Second, this is the only time I have for myself. During the day I have to do my house chores and motherly duties. Sure, my son takes an hour and a half to sometimes even three hour naps where I could probably squeeze in some things I want to do. But by that time, I would rather lay in bed with him or watch TV or wait for either the laundry or dishwasher to finish its cycle. Third, most of my friends in the Philippines are online because of the time difference. Fourth, I end up calling my mom in the Philippines because I'm 100% sure she's awake and she's always up for a good conversation. And fifth, this is my quiet time. This is how I keep my sanity.
Monday, September 26, 2005
Bubble Bath
Do you think bubble bath can soothe babies?
It never crossed my mind that bubble bath may have a mood-altering effect on overtired and cranky babies up until I read it on some label.
I decided to give Aden his well-deserved bubble bath for being too hyper. Who knows? Maybe it'll calm him down. I didn't give him toys to play with since he loves throwing it out of the tub and enjoys watching me pick it up so he can get it back and throw it again.
I was thinking to myself as I watch Aden - "Boy, my son is so lucky!" As a kid who grew up in the Philippines, having a bathtub was considered a major luxury. They were only available in 5-star hotels as far as I know. And almost every summer, aside from going to the beach, my mom would book us a room in a nice hotel for the weekend to have some family time and play in a real bath tub.
At home, bubble bath was playing in either a big sink or a big plastic container (better known in tagalog as "batya") while our labandera was doing laundry. Imagine this kind of setup... who would've ever thought about the effects of these foamy bubbles?
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It never crossed my mind that bubble bath may have a mood-altering effect on overtired and cranky babies up until I read it on some label.
I decided to give Aden his well-deserved bubble bath for being too hyper. Who knows? Maybe it'll calm him down. I didn't give him toys to play with since he loves throwing it out of the tub and enjoys watching me pick it up so he can get it back and throw it again.
I was thinking to myself as I watch Aden - "Boy, my son is so lucky!" As a kid who grew up in the Philippines, having a bathtub was considered a major luxury. They were only available in 5-star hotels as far as I know. And almost every summer, aside from going to the beach, my mom would book us a room in a nice hotel for the weekend to have some family time and play in a real bath tub.
At home, bubble bath was playing in either a big sink or a big plastic container (better known in tagalog as "batya") while our labandera was doing laundry. Imagine this kind of setup... who would've ever thought about the effects of these foamy bubbles?
Sunday, September 18, 2005
Kuya's Visit
Kuya Lance visited me last week from New Jersey. It's been over a year since he relocated from CA to NJ for his pediatric residency. He was here for almost a week but we spent most of our time in Southern CA.
We had so much fun. I was able to spend a lot of time with him since I'm currently a homemaker. He was also a big help watching Aden while I tend to other things such as cleaning, cleaning and cleaning. We were here in Lincoln for 3 days then we drove to Southern Cal at 4AM on the 4th day so Aden would be asleep. Unfortunately he woke up at 6AM when we had to stop and get gas. I let him play in the car, unbuckled his seatbelt and hoped that it was too early for cops to patrol the highway. Then right before we hit the first town in Southern Cal, we stopped to have breakfast. I must have fed Aden a lot or he was probably too tired because as soon as I strapped him in the car, he was out.
Our trip there was mainly for kuya to see a lot of his friends. He worked in Artesia before moving to Jersey so he wanted to visit his former co-workers. We also saw one of our friends from our singing group (Hangad) whom we haven't seen for years! It was so nice to catch up and reminisce the old times.
After our trip, I called my mom to let her know how much fun we had. We laughed to our heart's content and for 5 consecutive days, we had eat-all-you can 6 times. That just goes to show our appetite. Mom kept asking what we did exactly because apparently, kuya called her and said the same thing - that all we did was laugh. I was thinking about stuff we talked about then I realized we simply laugh at the darnest things!
It's been known to everybody my clan laughs a lot. It's been our reputation and I even remember my brother-in-law calling us "the giggle brigade".
Dana Point, CA 
At the Galleria Mall
Friday, September 16, 2005
Moms at the Park
...should have posted this sooner but I was too busy...
Last Monday, Sept 12, Aden and I went to one of the many Mom's Club events in Roseville at the Melba & William "Al" Erven Park.
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Last Monday, Sept 12, Aden and I went to one of the many Mom's Club events in Roseville at the Melba & William "Al" Erven Park.
Let's see if you can find me and Aden in the picture.
Friday, September 09, 2005
Update on Robin
In one my entries, I mentioned that my neighbor Robin was diagnosed with leukemia. I've been receiving some good news about her progress for the last couple of days. I've been thinking a lot about her and have been praying for her everyday since I found out she had cancer.
A few days ago, I caught up with her husband to see how she was doing. He said that things were getting better as opposed to the previous weeks, especially during the first week they found out about her terminal disease. She's done with her chemo for now and she responded to all the medications and treatments really well. He said that instead of letting her stay at the hospital for at least 2 months, they'll try to let her come home in 4 weeks.
This afternoon, one of my neighbors asked me to help her tie orange ribbons around some trees on our block to support Robin's battle with leukemia. Orange is the color for leukemia cancer awareness. Then we decided to knock at Robin's door to see if anybody was home. Luckily, her daughter and sister-in-law were there. So we told them about the ribbons and they were grateful for the outpouring support of the community. She gave us more update and we got more good news. Today, they found out the subtype of her cancer and she falls within the 80% of cancer patients that will go on remission. She'll probably be home in 2weeks and would have the rest of her chemo treatment as an outpatient.
I feel such a relief, such a burden lifted.
I then asked if she wanted to go for a walk right before the sun goes down. We walked for about 30mins and chatted along the way while trying to tend to the 2 kids - Hailey and Aden. We both agreed that we live in a great community where most residents get along so well and you just get that warmth feeling and people get involved in a positive way.
Aden and his truck
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A few days ago, I caught up with her husband to see how she was doing. He said that things were getting better as opposed to the previous weeks, especially during the first week they found out about her terminal disease. She's done with her chemo for now and she responded to all the medications and treatments really well. He said that instead of letting her stay at the hospital for at least 2 months, they'll try to let her come home in 4 weeks.
This afternoon, one of my neighbors asked me to help her tie orange ribbons around some trees on our block to support Robin's battle with leukemia. Orange is the color for leukemia cancer awareness. Then we decided to knock at Robin's door to see if anybody was home. Luckily, her daughter and sister-in-law were there. So we told them about the ribbons and they were grateful for the outpouring support of the community. She gave us more update and we got more good news. Today, they found out the subtype of her cancer and she falls within the 80% of cancer patients that will go on remission. She'll probably be home in 2weeks and would have the rest of her chemo treatment as an outpatient.
I feel such a relief, such a burden lifted.
I then asked if she wanted to go for a walk right before the sun goes down. We walked for about 30mins and chatted along the way while trying to tend to the 2 kids - Hailey and Aden. We both agreed that we live in a great community where most residents get along so well and you just get that warmth feeling and people get involved in a positive way.
Aden and his truck
Aden and Hailey
Hailey
Aden snobbing his truck and playing with dirt
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
Mmma-mi
Aden finally called me MOMMY! He’s been saying “ma-ma” forever but he refers to his parents as “dadi & dadi” instead of “mami & dadi”. We first heard him say “mmma-mi” early morning of Sept 2, Friday, but we weren’t sure if he was referring to me.
Then for the past couple of days we tell him to say “mommy” then he says “daddy” as if he’s making fun of his parents on purpose. He says mommy all day long while playing with his toys but when he looks at me, he’d still call me “daddy”.
Today was different and it was very emotional for me. Words are not enough to describe the feeling of having my son finally call me “Ma-mi”.
Then for the past couple of days we tell him to say “mommy” then he says “daddy” as if he’s making fun of his parents on purpose. He says mommy all day long while playing with his toys but when he looks at me, he’d still call me “daddy”.
Today was different and it was very emotional for me. Words are not enough to describe the feeling of having my son finally call me “Ma-mi”.
Where's Aden?
Peek-a-boo! There's Aden!
Aden likes this giant pail instead of his plastic pool
Mommy blowing bubbles
Sunday, September 04, 2005
Birdbath Ceremony
My husband loves using the word "ceremony" whenever he first uses something, may it be a new electronic device or simply displaying stuff he recently assembled or bought.
A couple of weeks ago, he bought a miniature windmill and a birdbath to put in our backyard. I don't know what attracted him to the windmill since we live in a modern residential community but if he likes it, let him have it. Well, we agreed before that he'll be the exterior decorator as long as he lets me deal with the interior decoration. I have to say though that he also takes charge of interior decorating the house whenever football or baseball is on TV. Oh yes, just imagine all the Iowa Hawkeyes and Raiders stuff he has all over the place.
He's been planning on putting together some of his "toys" (since he has a lot more boxes of goodies in his garage), mainly the birdbath. He really aimed it for this weekend because he noticed last week that one of the birds of paradise we planted last year finally has a bud and he'd been planning to put a birdbath right in the middle of the 2 plants.
After having breakfast, he started assembling both the windmill and the birdbath. He was really cute - very child-like. He proudly announced to me, "Today is the birdbath ceremony." Then he dipped his hand in the water then said, "See? I'm the first one to bathe in it." I couldn't stop giggling. It was just funny the way he said it.
Trent has this sense of humor that really catches people's attention. I can't explain it but people who know him would understand what I'm trying to say here. He's typically serious so whenever he makes a comment, it's just too hilarious.
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A couple of weeks ago, he bought a miniature windmill and a birdbath to put in our backyard. I don't know what attracted him to the windmill since we live in a modern residential community but if he likes it, let him have it. Well, we agreed before that he'll be the exterior decorator as long as he lets me deal with the interior decoration. I have to say though that he also takes charge of interior decorating the house whenever football or baseball is on TV. Oh yes, just imagine all the Iowa Hawkeyes and Raiders stuff he has all over the place.
He's been planning on putting together some of his "toys" (since he has a lot more boxes of goodies in his garage), mainly the birdbath. He really aimed it for this weekend because he noticed last week that one of the birds of paradise we planted last year finally has a bud and he'd been planning to put a birdbath right in the middle of the 2 plants.
After having breakfast, he started assembling both the windmill and the birdbath. He was really cute - very child-like. He proudly announced to me, "Today is the birdbath ceremony." Then he dipped his hand in the water then said, "See? I'm the first one to bathe in it." I couldn't stop giggling. It was just funny the way he said it.
Trent has this sense of humor that really catches people's attention. I can't explain it but people who know him would understand what I'm trying to say here. He's typically serious so whenever he makes a comment, it's just too hilarious.
Saturday, September 03, 2005
On friendship...
I've been thinking a lot about the changes that has happened since my son was born. The past year was extraordinary. I learned to appreciate the joys and pains of motherhood, I understood the impact of family life and I've had an absolute shift in all my priorities.
Needless to say, my relationship with my friends was also affected. I've had real good friends that stuck it out with me from day one, and for the others, it's sad to think that you would lose them in your time of greatest need. I'd like to share a quote I read while surfing the net.
"A real friend walks in when the rest of the world walks out."
It's been quite a journey for me. I've met new people and have established new relationships. I've reconnected with some old time friends. I do have a lot of good memories of my past but it's inevitable to also have your "what ifs".
My son has improved his people skills since we participate in several activities he has lined up every week. Unfortunately he doesn't have exposure to a close relative or friend of either of his parents. I'm truly grateful for some friends and kind-hearted strangers who reach out to people like me.
Like what they say: "No man is an island."
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Needless to say, my relationship with my friends was also affected. I've had real good friends that stuck it out with me from day one, and for the others, it's sad to think that you would lose them in your time of greatest need. I'd like to share a quote I read while surfing the net.
"A real friend walks in when the rest of the world walks out."
It's been quite a journey for me. I've met new people and have established new relationships. I've reconnected with some old time friends. I do have a lot of good memories of my past but it's inevitable to also have your "what ifs".
My son has improved his people skills since we participate in several activities he has lined up every week. Unfortunately he doesn't have exposure to a close relative or friend of either of his parents. I'm truly grateful for some friends and kind-hearted strangers who reach out to people like me.
Like what they say: "No man is an island."
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