Primary Colors

Yesterday Boz woke up and held is right hand up high saying, "Mama, amo ni kuno ang primary colors siling ni Ma'am" his fingers curling to a number three.

"Really? ano ang mga primary colors haw?"
"May blue, red and...."
"Ano pa gid?"
"Kag yellow"
"Ay ka very good sang baby ko a!" Kissess and laughs.

He's paying attention in class. Thank God!

Evening Prayer

While tucking Boz to bed last night...

Mama: Boz ma pray na ta
Boz: Natuyo na ko (sleepy na ako) *yawning*
Mama: Sige na, para take care ka ng angels in your sleep.
Boz: Duha ta ma pray (pray tayong dalawa)
Mama: Ok
(Boz and mama pray the Prayer to the Guardian Angel)
Mama: Lord take care of
Boz: Tita Flor
Mama: and
Boz: Tita Yvonne
Mama: and
Boz: Tito Walter
Mama: and
Boz: Tito Ninong Ivan
Mama: and Boznik that he will always have good health and our whole family, may You keep us away from harm always. Amen.
Boz: Amen. In the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
Mama: Amen. Good night baby. *kiss on the forehead*
Boz: Good night mama, good night papa.
Mama: Love you baby.
Boz: Love you mama, love you papa.

silence...

While I was already inching away to my bed, Boz called out.

Boz: Mama, wala ta ka pray para sa iya papa napatay (Mama, hindi natin napagdasal yung namatayan ng papa).
Mama: I'm sorry baby, sige pray natin family nila.....

We've been praying for my officemate for the past five days, and last night, I forgot to include her name in our special intentions. But Boz remembered... some thoughtful son I have...

I Turned Three

The idea came perfect with Boz's choice for a theme - cars! It got me excited, actually so I prepared everything for the big day: food, loot bags, prizes for games, invitations, etc. I had all the energy for it until I realized how exhausting hosting a party was especially when you don't have enough hands to help.

Add to that the fact that I also got busy at work with the BIG event. But since I couldn't so much as delegate, I had to squeeze in the preparations into my hectic schedule. The buying spree started as early as April, when I scouted for the Cars banner and some stickers for whatever purpose I may find for them. Then I went to get the loot bags and games. I realized how inexperienced I was in this aspect. Boz and I didn't really have much birthday parties to attend and so I practically wasn't sure if I was buying enough or less. It's during these uncertain circumstances that I get possessed by my insatiable self and before I knew it I was spending more than I should have. *blush*

The hubby and I decided to corroborate on the food preparation. So we had the following on our menu: Children's Party - spaghetti, chicken, sandwich, hotdogs and ice cream. Dinner was siomai, beef stew, fruit salad, sushi and chicken and corn soup. Too bad, we didn't have a chance to take pictures of our feast, it would have been good documentation. I'm proud to say though that my siomai was the best seller! Cheers!

We had a gloomy afternoon on the day of the 30th. And the heavens decided on a heavy downpour just right before the party started. This prompted us to have the party inside the house. A little over three, the rain stopped and visitors started coming. After a while, we had our hands full with children (mostly neighbors) all over the house, fighting over Boz toys, running around, opening doors and all. I was supposed to prepare a coloring activity to keep them busy while we were waiting for more guests, but there was just not enough time to have them photocopied, too bad. Well, anyway, we got the children to stay still by starting with the games. Everybody was required to participate so everybody got equal chances of winning prizes.

Boz got pretty hang up on opening his presents so he opened some of them even before guests could go home. Being crazy over cars, the hummers got the most attention. He also got some school supplies and a jacket from his other ninangs.

When the kids left, there were just the adult guests to entertain, a few friends, officemates and relatives feasted with us. It was a chance to catch up on each other's lives, talk about business, politics and matters of the heart. The last of the guests left at around 9. Then it was time to do the dishes and mop the floor sticky from the dripping ice cream treat. While we did that and more, Boz was busy enjoying his new toys.

Everything went well, it could have been better but it was great considering what little resources that we had. The kids were happy, the guests enjoyed the food. Since the rains deterred some of our other friends from coming, we feasted on the left-overs for another three days.

Alas it was time to turn off the lights, put Boz to sleep and call it a day. Before I closed my eyes for the day, the hubby said the most wonderful thing: "thanks for making our son happy." Hearing that was enough to take away my physical exhaustion. A woman could use a little compliment after a hard day's work and hearing that from my husband was everything I needed to end a good day. I just love mommying!

Finally, I have finished working on the pictures from Boz's third birthday. Here goes...

I turn Three

it's Boz's big day tomorrow. He's been really sick these days, not eating well, not drinking milk.

we've lost 2 kilos in a span of three weeks. Is it the anticipation of the big day or a mere medical condition? i pray not for something worse.

it's going to be a CARS party in celebration of my baby's being mad-about-cars.

pray for good weather

pray for good health

tomorrow will be perfect!

First Theater Treat

We never really planned it but we got tempted to take Boz to the theater to watch Spider-man last night after some prodding from him for us to download the movie so he could watch it. Miki was all excited so I tried to dampen it a bit by sharing with him the experience of an officemate with one of her daughters. Jellie was already three and a half then but quite petite for her age so they got held up at the ticket booth by the moviehouse manager. The mom was asked to sign a waiver giving the management the right to ask them to leave the theater should the child be a nuisance of sorts. Geesh! Made Miki think twice about the whole first theater experience thing. Made me laugh inside, LOL!

But we did it anyway. So when Miki got home from work, we freshened up a bit and headed for the theater. We bought tickets to the 7:05 movie schedule, bought some food and headed for the movies.

Boz was never really afraid of the dark so entering the theater didn't give him the chills. We entered the theaters just in time for the rolling of the credits and people vacating their seats. We were able to seat ourselves comfortably in the middle row with Boz seated between Miki and me. He was very quiet, marveling at the very very big TV he's ever seen in his entire life. He just sat there, very still, eyes wandering around the theater, asking if there was also a movie inside that room where the light was coming from. And when the movie trailers played, he watched intently, only asking a question or two.

After a while, he got sleepy. He dozed off, his body curled inside his jacket but he woke up just right before the movie started. For three-fourths length of the movie I forgot I was watching it with my 2.11 year old son. A few times, he asked questions about the Sandman, Harry and Spider-man. Also he would relate some of the scenes to his toys or some event he could think of. We tried to hush him down when he got a bit excited so we don't bother the other viewers. Other than the occasional Q & A Boz watched the movie like he understood every bit of it.

All in all, it was great! Hay...I just love my son!

Boz Lessons: Loyalty and Love

I brought Boz to work last Monday afternoon to give his nanny some time to freshen up and fix their things for their trip to Bacolod. They were going to spend time with my mom and Miki and I will join them there on Friday. While we were waiting for Nanay Bebeng to arrive, I poised him on my desk, gave him some coloring pencils and pieces of paper to write on.

A few scribbles and doodles after, Rhea, our records officer (also the youngest in our office) came by to deliver some incoming communication in our division. She stopped by my desk and asked Boz what he was doing. In a rather shy tone, almost in a whisper, he replied that he was coloring. Rhea then engaged him into conversation by asking what was he drawing and the color of the pen he was holding. Rhea pointed at each pen in front of him and asked for their colors too. He answered all the questions asked of him correctly but always in a bashful manner. Then suddenly, before Rhea could continue with her interrogation, he said: “May girlfriend na ko, si June.”

We all fell to a hearty laugh at his very straightforward remark!

“Te, sin-o mas gwapa, si Tita Rhea or si June?”

“Si June.”

“Si Ma’am Maricar or si June?”

“Si June.”

“Si June or si Mama?”

“Si June.”

Talk about loyalty! Volunteering information about his allegiance without hesitation! Hmmm, was Boz thinking that Rhea was making advances on him? Or that indulging her was making him disloyal to June? I asked him if he likes Tita Rhea to which he replied, “Si June lang.”

And June is not even a true person! She is a cartoon character from the Little Einsteins cartoon series! Oh well, love and loyalty, what more can I say?

PC Playtime

Recently, I started a one-hour max PC playtime with Boz. It's a very powerful negotiating tool actually. Take a bath or no pc playtime, eat dinner or no pc playtime, put your toys away or no pc playtime. Bad no? hehehehehhee, Most of the time, kasi, we accomplish all these pre-bedtime routine activities with a lot of whining, running around and pleading. Now, I get to make him do what I want without a fuss! Cool huh?

We've been hanging out at Nick Jr. and Playhouse Disney - two very useful sites for toddlers like mine. The sites not only offered entertainment but also interactive games. More importantly, they not only serve to keep Boz busy while the rest of the household is watching their favorite soaps but it actually provides an opportunity for me to gauge my son's preparedness for school. He's turning 3 this May and I plan to enroll him at a preschool near our house this June.

Here are some of the games that we frequently play and my observations of my son's learning abilities:

• Mousekepotter with Mickey and friends. Boz is good at recognizing shapes, patterns and colors.
  
• His memory recall is improving, pairing up cards playing Dora's Matching Game.
  
• Boz likes to dance and hop watching Choo Choo Soul. And he follows dance steps of the kids dancing with Genevieve.
• I watch his creativity at work as he picks backdrops, place characters on the set and dress them up in Backyardigans Adventure Game.
  
• He is afraid of characters with hoarse voices and old looks watching Sage's Stories. Weird though coz while he openly admitted that he is afraid of Sage, he wanted us to watch him again and again all the time peeping through the holes of the woven chair.
  
• Boz is in love. We were playing some Little Einstein Games when he pointed out to the screen to this cartoon character named June and said "Kagwapa kay June... Girlfriend ko na siya!" (And ganda ni June. Girlfriend ko siya!)
  
• Boz is also making good at being patient and more understanding of phrases such as "enough na", "last two games, tapos sleeping time na" and "bwas naman (bukas na naman)".

It's really fun, bonding, and learning and a very big help especially for moms like me who work 8 to 5 in the office and 6 to 9 at home. Somehow, I get to keep myself abreast with my son's development judging from his actions during our one-hour a day PC Playtime session.

Joy in a Box

Our big joy for the week came in a box of tiny parts waiting to be assembled. Think of the fun in seeing a whole bunch of auto parts awaiting the diligence of the crafty enthusiast. The excitement started with opening the package, checking each content of the box. Then, clipping the parts and putting each one together. Took a while, after a few glance or so at the instruction sheet which was really not so helpful since there was no English translation. Then, the stickers, carefully put in place. Batteries full charged, tracks in place. And then, the race. Perfect!

It was a bonding moment for my two boys - assembling the Beak Spider given by Tita Dinds.

Life is sweeter with more cars!

Cool Slideshows

Two Gifts

Two cartons full of surprises...
Tamiya race tracks and 4 tamiya cars...
Hotwheels package complete with cars, service center and race tracks...

Life is sweet with cars.

Cool Slideshows

Current Watch: Maisy Mice

We're currently watching Maisy Mice. The CD came free when we bought our usual supply of diapers. It's a good watch for children turning three. I haven't really watched it in full but surely it's a great way to keep your child busy when you are busy yourself.


It's by Noggin and as their slogan says: it's like preschool on tv.

Check out other Maisy resources in the web:

http://www.universalkids.com/maisy/color.html

http://www.maisyfunclub.com/

http://www.noggin.com/games/maisy/blocks/

Curious George

I’ve been meaning to write this blog for so long but it got caught up with, well, The Little Prince calls it, matters of consequence. For the most part, I want to blog about things that I want to remember or that which I want to forget (weird huh?) But today will be about the former, and so it goes…

Curious George

I will always remember this movie being the first movie that my son (2 years and 8 months old today) watched from beginning til end in full attention. It is a story of friendship between George, the monkey, and Ted, the museum guide turned treasure hunter. I’ve lifted the following plot summary from the internet movie database:

Ted, works as a guide at the Bloomsberry museum, sent on a 'business' trip of sorts by the museum's owner, to find a Zagawa shrine, he encounters a playfully mischievous and curious monkey...actually a chimp who he nicknames 'George' after the George Washinghton statue. His trip being less than a success, he returns stateside, only to find George wanting to return Ted's hat, has stowed away on-board Ted's boat. Back in the states Ted finds himself lumbered with George, who can't help but make Ted's life even more hectic than it already is.

Boz was all eyes on the pc. He giggled when George played peek-a-boo with Ted. He clapped his hands and laughed when George got lifted into the air holding a bouquet of balloons. He looked for the model of the car park that the museum’s son wanted to build on the site of the museum. He pointed to the screen a couple of times at scenes that caught his attention. But what I will remember most is the breaking of his voice as he asked where George was during the scene where George was taken by animal control and was about to be shipped back to Africa. I saw his mouth twitch as George was placed inside a cage. He turned to me again and asked again where George was and Miki told him that George was being shipped back to Africa. His attention went back to the screen and after a few seconds, the outburst came.

“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! Mama wala na si George!” My little boy broke down into tears feeling for the monkey. It took a while before we were able to pacify him. He was just so affected. I had to take his attention off his grief so he would see that Ted was out to save George. He was only appeased when he saw the two friends reunited. But even so, the pain caused by the separation lingered even after the happy ending. We had to cuddle while the credits were rolling and waited until it was over before we could toothy-brush. In the middle of the brushing he stopped and cried again, wailing “Mama, diin na si George? Huhuhuhuhu!!!” I had to carry him and pacify him again.

We talked about George before going to bed. I recounted the happy events. We slept with happy thoughts of George.

In the morning, he asked his papa if he could watch Curious George again.

“Basi mahibi ka naman! “ His papa remarked.

He grinned out wide and replied, “indeeeeeee.”

Of Medical Emergencies

Ignorance isn’t always bliss.

For the second week in a row, I've been coming in late for work because of medical emergencies. All Boznik-related. Last week it was about
the minor cut which he obtained after attempting another pole dancing stint at
our backyard. He was running towards the pole with his fire truck toy in one
hand when he tripped and bumped his head on something hard, which we can’t
really ascertain what because nobody was around when it happened. Blood was all
over him, caused some alarm from my hubby and the nanny. So I had to go
home and attend to it. I put temporary bandage on the cut and we headed for the
city health office to avail of free consultation. We were prescribed with
antibiotics (Pharex Cloxacillin) and were asked to have the cut dressed by the
nurse on duty.

I had to be late for work a couple of times because Boz just had developed this resistance on taking his
antibiotics. Couldn’t really blame him, I wouldn’t have taken it without
protest if it was given to me. The smell was really ewk! so so medicine scent! I’m glad the antibiotic week is over. I’ve
practically exhausted ran out of ideas as to what to bribe him of if only not to
waste another teaspoonful of precious antibiotics.

For the past three days, I have
been down with the flu and I have been trying hard not to come in close contact
with him because I didn’t want him to get sick. But being the mother that I am,
my love, affection and care is somewhat irreplaceable where my son is
concerned. So the bonding continued and the inevitable had to happen. The ultimate
transmission of the virus caused him to have nightmares last night, his
temperature escalating to 38⁰ ( I
think, hehehehhe, with my hand as temporary thermometer). He was hot but
in deep sleep. I knew if I woke him up, he would have to put up a tantrum.
So I waited for him to stir at around 6am for my first attempt at medication. I checked my stocks and saw that I still have a few bottles of Calpol given by his pedia. I checked the expiration date - 2009. I filled a medicine cup with a teaspoonful and tried my luck at administering it to him. As expected my efforts
was futile. But I congratulate myself for not spilling the medicine as
I always do (hehehe). A little later, the nanny entered the room and learned of
my early morning mission. We came out with a plan, coax him into drinking vitamins and make him drink his meds instead! We did a little prodding and bribing until he finally
agreed to take his vitamins! Aha! The window of opportunity that we’ve been
waiting for. I pretended to be pouring his vitamins into the medicine cup with
was already filled with the paracetamol (Calpol). Then we asked him to open his
mouth wide, which he did without hesitation. And so he drowned his medicine
even before he realized it was not vitamins. Good job there.

Well, all is well that ends well.
But not in this case. A little after he took his medicine, he started
scratching all over. We thought it was just
an insect bite, ants maybe which he might have attracted after drinking
the Calpol. So we changed his shirt and transferred him to the other bed. I
applied some balm on the presumed insect bites and went down to eat
breakfast. Right when I was about to finish my meal, the door bell rang and we
were visited by an unexpected guest – Twa Ko’s godson who came all the way from
Manila came by
to see her. Boobi is the son of Beng Hwa, a relative from Victorias with whom Twa Ko lived and worked
with for 40 years or so. They were having a reunion on the 30^th and
since his ninang can’t go to Victorias
to celebrate with them, they decided to come and visit her. Along with Beng Hwa
and Boobi were Boobi’s three kids (two boys and a girl).

Going back to my medical
emergency. Right during the time that we learned that we were going to
entertain visitors, I went upstairs to brush my teeth. That is when we found
out that Boz had red patches all over him! It was not insect bites after all!
He was having an allergy attack! I was already making mental notes on what to
do and where to go when Miki mentioned that Boobi is a doctor! Thank God! So we
brought him down to the living room for consultation.

Our diagnosis was confirmed, it
was indeed allergy. He told us to buy Loratadine for pedia and that would solve
all our problems! So I texted my supervisor that I will be late for work and
purchased the meds. It’s still early so I didn’t have a problem with traffic
and queues in the drug store. I hurriedly purchased the meds and went home,
administered it to Boz (without much resistance with Tito Doc and the kids
watching, after which we proclaimed him as Superstar for drowning his medicine
without hesitation). And voila! The red patches began to subside.

Hay…….. who gets allergies from
paracetamol? He’s been taking it since he was basically months old! And why
have an allergy now? Turns out that the strange occurrence is brought about by
a prior intake of penicillin. An officemate explained that based on her
experience, she had an allergy when she took penicillin and paracetamol
altogether! And she had the worse allergy attack ever! Wow! How come I didn’t know that? Simple!
Because I didn’t take up medicine! Hahahahahhahaha!

Hay…. This is supposed to be
where I start saying, I should know
better. But I can’t, I really can’t. You can never be too prepared for
medical emergencies as you don’t know everything there is to know about the
human body and its workings. I got lucky today a doctor was around to check on
my son right on site. But what if it was the middle of the night? or we’re on
vacation? Or when we’re mobile? I would have to phone doctor friends but I
stopped doing that after one of them felt that I was just being friends with
her because she was a doctor. Struck a chord there. It pays to invest on a
medical education, really really! But when it is not possible, you can still be
to at least half a step ahead of a disaster. My advice would be:

1. Own the latest MIMS. I don’t know what it stands for
   but it’s this book that lists all generics and brands that are available
   in the market, their recommended dosages, uses and forms.
2. List down all the medications administered whether
   they are prescribed or not.
3. Know your medical history.

As in my case, I can always
self-medicate. But when my son is concerned, I’d rather leave it to the docs!

Celebrating Family Day

No pictures today, just the memories of a good weekend. We have been camera free for days now. Miki sold our reliable Nikon digital camera to a family friend for a good P5,000.00. It’s a liquidation thing to avoid further depreciation of assets – the letting go of the old to welcome the new. Three more weeks until we get our new camera – Canon A530 and we wouldn’t have to cash out for it (thanks to Miki’s extra income from the Salapudin deal). Yehey!

So how did the weekend go for us? A few firsts…

First time that Miki brought Boz to work! The little boy was all excited, he picked his clothes, helped pack his backpack and was all ready to go even before his father was. Miki made him go with Joerey to the pier to pick up some stocks – only the two of them! He was well behaved the whole time daw but refused to stay on the jeep while Joerey transferred the stocks from the port to the jeep. He didn’t mind I guess, he’s fond of the boy.

Back home, I hurriedly finished cleaning the room so I could go join them at Anson. I was quite efficient, finishing at around 10:30 (I usually finish around 11) then I gobbled a banana, took a bath and off to Anson. I would have wanted to ride on a jeepney but I was short of change and so I decided to walk – a decision that I will regret later.

When I arrived at Anson, the little boy was out of sight. When I asked, Miki directed me to the alley leading to the bodega. There he was, doodling at the stacks of cartoons all sweaty and beaming with a smile as he saw me wave from afar. You could tell that he was enjoying himself.

First time to eat breakfast at McDo - Atrium as a family! Miki wanted to buy Boz this big big pickup truck at SM; I wanted to eat out for breakfast. And so, we (Boz, Nanay and me) heard mass at Sto. Niño Church (beside SM Delgado), Miki met up with us after mass, we ate breakfast at McDo, bought Baby Einstein DVD from Emily, grocery at Iloilo Supermart, back to SM to buy the big pickup but there was no more stock, went back home, exhausted, slept. We were exhausted but happy, very happy actually.

We planned to go to SM City in the afternoon but we had to wait until Boz woke up. He did at around 3:00pm. Before that, Miki and I watched TV, CSI Miami, in particular, while we sipped freshly brewed coffee, ah, it was a good afternoon!

And so we went to SM City, bought Boz’s pickup truck. Miki bought me new pair of sandals to remedy the pain on my right heal (it did for a while, but then what I really need is a proper medical check up more than a temporary solution to my limping problem).

It rained. So we went to the food court, bought burritos for me and Miki, siopao for Nanay, Boz picked chicken pie for himself. Later, Miki and I sampled the sushi and Boz requested for some siomai. And so we were there, sitting and munching away from our usual fast food snack options. It was a quiet afternoon and a good one.

Sundays make great family days, especially for the Yap family!

Great Weekends

Great Weekends
22 August 2006

Making the most of a weekend on a budget:

1. Take the RORO home to Bacolod. (See Related Story.)

2. Enjoy bonding with family. We slept in Sum-ag Friday night to spend more quality time with our Dubai folks. Tito Em was going back to work already and we figured it would be nice if he could sample my siomai and Miki’s chopsuey one more time.

Come Saturday morning, we languidly drank our morning beverage and talked over the coffee table. Tito was busy packing his things, doing a last minute visit to the cemetery, turning over investment papers to Tita Nonette. It was only a matter of time before Lola appeared at the door reminding everyone that if we do not hustle, Tito might miss his flight (his plane leaves at 11am). So everybody was up to their toes taking a bath and eating a hurried breakfast.

Then we sprinted to the airport, Tito Em riding with us in our car so we get to the airport fast. Boznik was hyper, pointing at everything he saw. He even pointed at this truck in front of us and called out to Tito Em, “Papa Em, Big, big, big truck! Dako dako dako truck!” Surprised me there.

Turned out we missed the airport entrance and we had to go straight to nearest curve to make a U-turn. The pick-up got to the airport first. But that’s okay, PAL is always late and that day was no exception.

So we had more bonding time at the airport. Boz entertained everyone. As they say, children remember all sorts of things and they have this eye for minute details. He pointed out that there was an airplane at the control tower, actually referring to the wind vane which had an airplane design. When Papa Bert asked him to look for Batman, he pointed to his cap which was even beyond his line of sight (he was wearing it with the Batman print facing backwards). He clearly remembered that we went to the airport to fetch them some time in the past. Some little guy I got there.

We did pictorials with everyone for keepsake.

Tito Em’s plane took some time to arrive and we got a little tired from standing under a tree so I sat myself beside a waste bin (good thing it was not smelly) where two stones were stacked to form a good solid seat for me. Boz saw me all comfy and he asked me to vacate my seat. Hay naku, if only you were not my child, I wouldn’t give in hmp! So he took my seat and I managed to sit under a signpost (my butt was rather big so I had to sit uncomfortably, but what can I do?)

Lola bought some barbecue from a vendor offered us some but we declined. Then a lady vendor (who I thought the whole time was male) offered Boz a chicken sandwich. When I asked him if he wanted to eat, he didn’t have any objections at all so I bought him one. The sandwich was rather tasty, well it was not really a sandwich, more of a siopao-like filled bun. The texture of the bun was soft (like the Bunwich bun of Dunkin Donuts) and the chicken adobo filling was not too strong for kids. I think Boz liked it a lot that he didn’t even stop to give me some.

Nanay and I interrogated Nancy (that’s the name of the vendor who was also half-Chinese and she understood when I asked Boz if he wanted to chia and later remarked to Boz who was busy eating, ho chia no? (taste good, right?). We were then joined by all my other aunts. They all got interested in her sandwiches that they passed around Boz’s sandwich for taste test. Irene called Boz attention saying, “Boz o, they are eating your sandwich!” And the little boy’s eyes moves from one Tita to another watching them while they take big bites on his sandwich. The horror of it all sent him to tears and that’s when everybody became aware of what they were actually doing. As peace offering, Tita Nonette bought him a new sandwich. It was the first time that they saw him cry like that.

Finally, it was time to board the plane and Tito said his goodbyes, take cares and see you next years. Tita Nonette told Allil and Irene to go to the departure area to wave their final goodbyes to Tito. Turned out the guard was strict and didn’t let them in. But Boz made it through. Thanks to Nancy’s connections, they were let through and he was able to see how things were inside the departure area.

Alas, it was time to go home to Mommy’s house.

3. See Eizen for the first time. After the longest time, Zeny’s baby was already out. We went to Joy’s old house (that’s where they are staying). The house looked forlorn. I’ve seen it during its better days when we spend our weekends there, just sitting around, playing board games and making prank calls to who ever catches our fancy. Oooops! I digress.

Boz was really amazed to see Eizen. She was longer than Boz and much heavier (9 lbs!) and she was all so white and quiet. Some bonding moment they got there.

4. Playtime at Jollibee! Boznik enjoyed himself, but if there is anyone who enjoyed more, it would be Miki, taking pictures of me (the big elephant) while I crawled down and climbed over those obstacle tubes. Whew! Some exercise!

5. Pictorials. Papa Digol’s motorbike, Papa Em’s pick-up, blue tractor, big 6x6 truck, the wheelbarrow, king of the hill, grasshopper and praying mantis. We missed the carabao (mental note: number one priority next time).

6. Bum around mommy’s house.

7. First episode, hopefully the last! Went home Tuesday morning. Boz’s tummy wasn’t okay so we had to deal with the yucky stuff that comes out of the butt. Eeeew! It was all over Boz and so we had to monopolize the wash room for almost 20 minutes, apologies to everyone who had to wait in line. It was the first time that I wasn’t able to bring him extra clothes and so we had to be extra resourceful – just jacket, diaper and sandals all the way to Iloilo. Please, please, please, don’t judge me. I promise it won’t happen again.

Then we go back to reality. Great weekends are worth remembering, ergo this account.

RORO Experience

RORO Experience
18 August 2006

Nothing beats the excitement and adventures that we all go through everytime we go home to Bacolod. The weekend that passed is no exception with added treats from new experiences.

17^th August

8:00pm. Home after some shopping stint at SM Delgado, brought some food stuff and treated Boz to Jollibee. Bumped into Notchka and learned some truths about Ellen and Ian (they broke up!). Sad news, but then I guess, life must go on.

9:30pm. Was all ready for sleep. I had to if I want to be up by 3am. Boz was still jumping around the room.

10:00pm. Finally dozed off. Boz, still jumping around and Miki still on the PC.

18^th August.

2:30am. Alarm clock rings. Miki was up before I was (or did he even sleep?) Toilet habits. Sipped my Quaker Oats Honey with Hazelnut. Tried to wake up Boz without getting him all squirmy. Managed to do so (Thank God!).

3:15am. Walking the streets of Mapa and Peralta to get to the pier. Didn’t have to worry about carrying Boz. In his excitement, he had the energy for walking. On the way, we saw the moon (got him pretty excited there too), dogs and he pointed on some trucks and cars parking by the road. When we reached the pier, there were already people falling in line to buy their tickets. The counter guy was still sleepy. At some point, he might have dozed off while serving a client, hehehehehhe.

3:45am. Already on board the Montenegro Shipping Lines. Miki saw some former Lantech clients also patronizing the early morning trip. Bruce Lee was on the tube. We were seated on the 2^nd floor while the cars were down below. There were benches for everyone. Since there was not really many passengers, others had the luxury of having a whole bench to themselves to sleep on. At the back portion of the boat was a small canteen serving hot beverages including some of these Japanese tea concoctions which I have never heard of before. There was also a Videoke machine which I guess, they operate during day trips.

4:00am. Boat left for Bacolod. Dozed off.

5:30am. I was awakened by the pain in my back. Bad sleeping position - sitting with Boz sleeping while sitting on my lap. Unfortunately, my movement caused him to stir and he wasn’t in the mood for some more sleep. Miki ventured into some sight seeing on the starboardside but Boz was just not up to it. He was more interested on the two ladies (the Lantech clients) seated two rows behind us who were still deep in their sleep.

After a while, he decided to go out of the bench area and see how things were doing outside. But first, we had to secure his get up. Hood on and jacket zipped to the neck. Then off we go.

I pointed to him a coconut floating in the water, the island of Guimaras, where we were heading and where Bacolod was. He pointed out to the sun, happy that is was already out. We looked at the foamy white bubbles formed by the boat’s moving on water. Clever little guy, said they were soap suds. Had to explain that they were caused by the breaking of the body of the boat into the water .

We moved to the aft straight to the canteen. There were also passengers there. One guy was busy listening to his iPod, another sipping his coffee. There was also this gang of three ladies - a mother, her daughter and a nanny or some sort. The little girl's name was Karen. Turns out she was also two. At first, Boz was shy, hesitant to come near her. But when Karen showed him her Barbie watch, the bonding occured. Karen was talking to Boz in some incomprehensible language even her mother could not understand. But Boz listened intently. He examined Karen's watch, pointed at the star figure next to Barbie. Then blurted with excitement "Estrellas! Dora hambal estrellas!" (Stars! Dora said those are stars!) Now my son speaks Spanish too!

He told Karen about the coconut that we saw earlier. But Karen was not interested. She still wanted to about her watch and so Boz grabbed my hand and led me back to our seats. He was up to something. As a mother, I already had an idea what the rush was all about. We were heading back to get his watch. He made me put his watch on his wrist and head back to where Karen was. Then, their bonding moment continued.

I couldn’t let the moment pass without taking pictures of them together. It's good that her mother did not protest. I mean, well, I was practically a stranger. I didn't really like to volunteer information about myself so I just tried to answer her query about where I lived. She then proceeded to sharing info about an older son whom they are coming to visit in Bacolod. And the nanny, was not actually a nanny but a niece who she took from her folks in Cebu to have her properly treated of her hypothyroidism and at the same time help her out in her taking care of Karen. Despite the exchange of bits and information about our lives, I didn’t stop to get her name or even her last name. Rude eh? I think not. Sometimes, it's just nice to maintain your anonymity amidst familiar faces.

6:30am. The boat docked early, I guess. And so we had to wait for Tito Em to bring the car to the pier. It was quite a while before they arrived. Then we went home.

Positives:

1. Saved money

2. A first for all of us

3. Boz enjoyed the whole trip

Negatives:

1. Had to sleep early, wake up early

2. Good choice if you don’t mind the 2 and a half hour trip

3. We had to sleep the whole morning to regain our energy drained from waking up so early

4. Had to deal with Boz’s upset stomach. Everything that comes in goes out. Had to deal with mess and the fuss that went with it.

5. My tummy did some rumbling too.

It's Just Super to be Superman!

It's just super to be Superman! My son is into the Superman mode too days following the worldwide release of the Superman Returns the movie. We bought a KFC Kiddie Meal to avail of the Superman toy and upsized our drink to get the Superman tumbler. The one thing that we had to add yet to our collection was the the toy we saw at SM Deldago with Superman carrying on his shoulder a pick-up truck. I don't quite recall which scene was that but the toy resembling such act is seen all over the entrance of SM Delgado and I have been plagued by pleas of another car purchase. Hay.... this time my son, you can't make me give in. It's a good thing that at a young age, he understands when you tell him that you can't buy what he wants because you don't have money yet.

However, persistent that he is, he revised his plea into buying a Superman toy carrying a pick-up truck to buying any pick-up truck! Still with no money, he was left with a promise from his mom that the pick-up truck will have to wait until money comes. Perhaps, he prayed really hard for it that he got what he wanted from his Ninang Eliz who gave him this big red pick-up truck for a very very long overdue birthday gift.

The new pick-up truck lost its front bumper after a day of tinkering. But that's ok, all is saved at the end of the day. Boz got his pick up truck and his cape to complete his superman repertiore!

Headache and Chivas Regal - Perfect Duo!

Feels good to just cuddle up on a rainy Sunday morning. I did just that while the hubby was busy tinkering the computer and the son was busy with his toys. The TV has hovering in the background and I somehow fell into deep slumber when suddenly I felt some pain on my back. Something just bit me! By impulse I snapped away from the culprit of the pain only to realize that it was my son who actually inflicted the pain on me. My reaction to the pain caused the chain of events that followed:

1. Boz's head hit the bulky dump truck toy lying in bed next to him.
2. The shock caused him to wail at the top of his lungs, primarily from the shock of what just happened and secondly, from the pain of the impact.
3. I had to endure the excruciating pain in my back caused by tiny teeth marks that seethed through my skin.
4. Damage control. I asked Miki to go get something cold from the freezer.
5. Tadaaaaah! Miki entered the room carrying with him the bottle of Chivas Regal.
6. Boz went quiet.
7. Miki placed the bottle on the area where Boz said it hurt.
8. Boz went to wailing baby to quiet baby.
9. Miki and I laughed our hearts out!

Hail, Hail to Chivas Regal!

Overheard Conversation:
Miki: Boz, ano gani gusto mo imnon? (What would you like to drink?)

Boz: Inom Chivas Regal!

Some bonding they got there eh?

Cars: The Legendary Lightning McQueen

My son is into cars ever since I can remember and he was not about to let go of this one. Cars the movie starring The Rookie, Lightning McQueen. Thanks to Hockney for the good copy of the movie, and Ninang Nanaks for letting us into this secret society of good-find-movies hehehehehehhe.

Anyways, we have been hooked with Lightning McQueen since then. By that I mean we had no choice but to play it on and on and on on our DVD player. I take my hats off to Boz’s Nanny for her unwavering support to his cause.

And since McQueen is a car, as expected, we had to have one too to add to our car collection! We missed the McDonald’s kiddie meal toy series on the movie (I can’t believe I actually missed it!). I saw though that Nestle was featuring the movie on its cereals. I have to admit that I was a bit stingy about buying one for my boy. For one, nobody eats cereals at home. Two, I had apprehensions about the car's appearance. For all I know, it might not be anything close to the real thing! And three, it’s just not on my grocery list (hehehe, just way too many excuses, eh?)

But just like any other time, I don’t get things done my way with Boz. We were in Bacolod one weekend and we had our usual trip to Lopue’s Grocery Store. I made it a point not to take the baby boy near the cereals lane. But with him running around and his father calling his attention to the very thing that I was avoiding, the inevitable had to happen.

Boz was all ecstatic carrying with him the box of cereals chanting, “Mama, McQueen! McQueen! McQueen!”

“No, baby, you don’t eat cereals!”

Ran to his papa. Papa motions him back to me mouthing, “Go ask Mama.”

“Mama, please! Please, Mama McQueen!”

“I won’t pay for that! Tell Papa if he wants you to have it he should pay for it.”

Ran back to his papa. Papa takes out his wallet, hands his son a 100-peso bill. And the baby runs to me waving the money shouting “Mama, money! Money ara!” and the sight just melted my heart. Hay….. And so, again, the mighty Boz won over me.

As expected he never even sampled the cereal. It's a good thing though that the free toy exceeded my expectations in terms of quality and appearance (see photo below). We've been taking McQueen along with us in most of our trips these days. He's been to church, to the mall, to the doctor's clinic. We've been sleeping with McQueen too! Who's to know for how long will his presence be felt in our lives. But I guess, until something new catches my little boy's fancy, he will be loved and adored.

Cars: Crazy over Tractors

Ever since Boznik got hooked on Baby Einstein – Baby Mcdonald. He has been bugging everyone about buying him a tractor. But with all the other cars lying around the house, I couldn’t say yes without turning our room into a museum of toy cars. To settle the issue, I told him to wait until he is already big enough to marry an haciendera then he will have a farm and a tractor to himself. Didn’t work I guess because now, he is not only asking us to buy him a tractor but also buy him a farm!

I told his grandparents not to mind this fixation with tractors as it will pass like any other. His nanay though, does not share my sentiments. I couldn’t blame her. She’s stuck with him 7 to 5:00 and she would hear Boz go on and on and on about the tractor and the farm. So after four days of tractor litany, she took him to Gaisano and bought him a tractor. From her own money! I was ridden with guilt… but only for a minute. Hahahahhahaha!

So there he is all beaming with his yellow tractor which didn’t even take a day before some of its parts came off (what do you expect?). I don’t mind though because I believe that the joy of playing a toy comes with knowing how to dismantle its parts (something I never had a chance to do in my childhood).

But the real treat in this tractor story came when we visited my folks in Sum-ag and lo and behold! The blue tractor sitting at my grandma’s porch! You should see Boz, all mesmerized at the site of the real tractor. He circled the tractor, touched the wheels all eyes wide in amazement at the sight of the real thing. He didn’t even hesitate when we made him sit by the driver’s seat! He was so happy! The only down side of it all was that we had to make up stories after 30 minutes because he wouldn’t come off it. And when he did, we were hearing the tractor story over and over again.

Three weeks from now, we will be visiting my grandma’s house again. And he will once again reunite with the blue tractor. Until then, we will be playing with his yellow tractor, looking at his pictures and listening to his stories about how big the real thing was and how happy he was riding on it.

Kudos Boznik

You never cease to amaze me, son. At how, in your young age, you can already scheme you way into getting what you want. Just like what you did to your papa last night. Him, surfing the net, enjoying a quiet evening with the pc to himself. Then you come to him demanding that he loads the Little Einsteins web page (obviously the flavor of the week). He dismisses you, telling you he is busy.

You stop bugging him for three seconds, then, you tell him to vacate his seat. When he asks you why, you say, “Papa chia pork beans” loosely suggesting that Papa should go out and eat Pork and Beans (another favorite – flavor of the month this time). At that very instant, I broke into laughter in disbelief. Papa didn’t get it at first and so I had to explain to him what you meant. Then he played along and told you to go look for pork and beans so he can go eat.

You run out of the room and go straight to the pantry looking for pork and beans. You even managed to involve Yammy (the housekeeper), Am Ma (your grandma) and Alex (your uncle) in the ultimate quest for the can of pork and beans that will become your bargaining power over the mighty lord of the pc (your papa, of course).

We could hear the commotion from the kitchen and so I asked your papa to check on you. So he went out finding you all sweaty asking everyone for a can of pork and beans. And when you saw him, you rushed back into the room, and claimed the most coveted throne. You my son, outwitted the mighty lord of the pc.

Cheers! Cheers! Looking forward to more challenging moments ahead!