Cutty

My youngest son, who turned 8 this year,  has been bugging me and my husband to give him a room.  There are extra bedrooms in the house but they've been converted into storage rooms.  He talks non-stop about how he is going to fix up one of the rooms. He shares a bedroom with his brothers.  But most of the time, he co-sleeps with us.  I, on one hand, wouldn't want to upset the room "organization" because I am quite sure that he'll go back to co-sleeping with us.  Emptying out the space and making it suitable for sleeping will take too much work.   The smart little guy came up with an idea.  He wanted to try out sleeping on his own in the boys' room, without his big brothers.  Maybe that would convince us.   Before I prepare myself for bed, I checked up on him to see if he has settled in nicely.  Lo and behold, he is already asleep!  My mommy heart couldn't decide whether I should be happy or sad. ---------------------...

I've been home-schooling my youngest for two years now.  It is both convenient and economical.  However, during times of isolation, he is also isolated from his home educator.  Yes, we stopped our sessions in the meantime.  Now, he has a lot of free time to fill up.  He has his devices but I guess he's had his fill of the Internet. Yesterday afternoon, he asked to speak to his kindergarten classmates.  He is bored daw .  Nobody wants to play with him.  His siblings are all older than him.  Nakakaawa .  While I have my ways to keep myself occupied, I've forgotten how my youngest will fill up his day. Since my middle children are capable and independent, I've asked them to help "entertain" our bunso .  Bettina will bake, do art, teach Joaquin how to play the guitar.  Bettina is very patient with him.  She is the perfect big sister.  Javi, on the other hand, is Joaquin's "best friend."  Javi will teach him how to pl...

Omicron hit home.  We got exposed to a family member.  Vic showed symptoms 2 days after exposure.  My eldest exhibited symptoms  the following day, without fever.  5 days after exposure, I am waiting for my symptoms to make themselves known.  Still, I am assuming that I am also positive. I admit, I couldn't grasp the thought of having it in our home.  My primary concern was my unvaccinated children.  Though what we got was mild, there still is no certainty how my unvaccinated children will react to this strain.   I tried to prepare for it as soon as we heard that our primary exposure tested positive.  I put all our meds in place, I tried to gather information from those with unvaccinated patients, planned our meals, briefed the whole household on what to expect.  This way, we can limit the impact of these adjustments.  Personally, having all these in place made it easier for me to have a sense of control.  Managing th...

I was going through the events of 2017 in my mind.   I realized that what I have now is exactly what I prayed for.  It was a difficult exercise, a tad upsetting too.  It is not exactly what I expected it to be, but it seems that my prayers have been answered.  I had my own share of joys and disappointments. However, we've been extremely blessed that 2017 seemed easier compared to previous years. Here are some of 2017's highlights:  Javi's first communion Bettina's 7th birthday ... the unexpected passing of my sister-in-law, my father's 65th birthday, the opening of our food business and Vic's fish pond acquisition.  Christmas is more meaningful this year.  Despite all the blessings, I realized that there are still so many people hurting during this most celebrated season.  Because the celebration is simpler, less busy and a bit painful this year, Jesus felt more alive in our hearts.  I do hope you had some quiet ti...

I must hear "Mama" about a hundred times a day.  Come to think of it, that is a conservative estimate.  I have four kids, so that would give them a daily average of 25 per day.  They could easily hit their daily quota in the morning.  But, kidding aside, sometimes, I forget how lucky I am to be called "Mama".  When all four kids want to tell you about their day, at the same time, I forget. When they all want a snack, at the same time, I forget. When I am busy doing something, trying to be invisible, I forget. When all four kids are sick, I forget. When I am busy trying to measure my baking ingredients, I forget. When I see a messy house, school supplies strewn all over the floor, unfinished meals and non-stop bickering, oh,  I REALLY forget. However, when I see an ungroomed child entering the classroom, I am grateful that I am capable of caring for my children. When I get my daily supply of hugs, I am grateful. When I hear an occasional "Thank ...

Two Saturdays ago, Vic left to accompany his Dad to a European Pilgrimage. I've been a single mom for more than a week now. If I was busy then, I doing double duty now. I was doing okay on the first few days. I figured how to adjust our routine making sure there was little disruption to our current routine.  You see, routines are important if you have young children.  Less disruption means less chaos. All was doing well until my one and only yaya got herself a sprained ankle. I guess we were still lucky that it wasn't fractured.  The swelling hasn't gone down but at least she is more mobile now. Superwoman, that's what I call myself when the going gets tough.  But, I couldn't be one if I didn't have an efficient support system. We've been staying with my parents since my yaya got injured.  My burdern has significantly decreased.  I no longer worry about meals. My mother helps giving baths and naps to Joaquin. They also help entertain the older kids ...

A few weeks ago, I wrote about Joaquin's birthday party.  This time, I'd like to show you pictures of the party taken through Ces Kasilag's eyes. Ces has been our default party photographer for our last 3 parties.  She knows our preferences and I am happy with her work. Here are the Elmo centerpieces, towers and lanterns by Polkadots Other party details

Months have passed.  Rainy days have come and gone.  Christmas is coming up in a few weeks. I still haven't found the time to update this blog till now. We survived another round of quarterly exams.  It was a lot easier this time.  Though, Math and Filipino are getting difficult to teach.  This Singapore Math style is just complicating things, IMHO.  Filipino, on the other hand, is still difficult though it is our first language.  I really don't understand why.  I am not sure if we can maintain Johann's performance in the previous quarter.  I hope we do. Javi is still very playful.  He is still very choosy when it comes to friends.  He is very much into Avengers, Toy Story and the iPad.  His 5th birthday is coming up in a few weeks so I am preparing for that too.  We've been counting down to the Big Day since June.  I couldn't decide what to give him for his birthday because he has a different request every night....

A few weeks ago, Vic remarked, "Buti pa si Javi di nagkakasakit."  I whole-heartedly agreed.  Johann and Bettina easily get sick due to weather changes.  Either Javi doesn't catch whatever's bothering the two or he recovers right away. Then I realized, though Javi is the least sickly of the three, he is the most accident prone.  No week goes by that he doesn't hurt himself while playing.  Before he turned two, he tripped and lost four of his front teeth.  Last summer, he nearly drowned because he turned upside down in his floater.  Last week was the worst of all, he tripped and hit the door of his classroom, resulting to a big laceration on his forehead.  It necessitated a trip to the ER and to the OR.  Our brave little boy didn't complain of any pain. Here he is in the Operating Room Lounge, prior to sedation.  When he was finally asleep and taken to the OR, I had some time to myself.  It was then when all the pent up emotion...

For five years now, we've been having two Christmas Eve parties and two Christmas Eve dinners. The first get-together is usually spent with my husband's side of the family. We have potluck dinner before exchanging of gifts. Each branch of the family is given time with the microphone during gift-giving. By 8PM, we are free to go to our next party. If the schedule allows, we hear mass with my side of the family. Afterwards, we have dinner before the exchanging of gifts. By midnight, we are on the road back to our home. I have learned not to slave away in the kitchen. Ordering food is stress-free. Our latest contribution was Dulcelin's Wagyu Tritip. Unfortunately, it was not up to my expectation. Again, I was misled by a certain blogger. It may be wonderful for him, but for me, it was so-so. Our celebration is simply the sharing of blessings and fruits of our hard work. I like it that way. Since my kids simply like to unwrap gifts, every gift is much appreciat...