A spider was spinning webs on the ceiling over our bed. I heard Koy shout out in panic at the sight of it.

Koy: “Mama, may spider! Patya!”

Mama: “Indi lang! Ang spider ginaka-on ya na ang mga mosquitoes and mga insects, para indi kita pag i-bite! Friend ta na ang spider! Si Charlotte na siya! (with reference to Charlotte’s Web)”

Koy: “Indi na siya si Charlotte ya, dako to ya si Charlotte ya!”

Mama: (Napahiya si Mama) “Si Charlotte Junior na siya! Te Charlotte man gyapon iya ngalan” (Palusot pa!)

Mama: Te, higda na, kay ma sleep na ta. Pray anay before you sleep. Pray ka para bantayan ka sang angel mo kag sang spider mag sleep ka. Make the sign of the cross na.

Koy: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Spider of God, my guardian dear, to whom God’s love commits me here…

photo credit: http://www.toonhound.com/spider.htm

Someday, I Just Know

While answering the exercises I prepared for him in anticipation for his final exam.

Boz: Magdako na ko bala, tagaan ko bala ni Emily Raine (classmate) sang t-shirt na Power Rangers. (When I grow up, Emily Raine will give me a Power Rangers t-shirt)

Mama: Tuod ka? Amo na siling ya? (Really? That's what she said?)

Boz: Hambalon ko pa siya. (I plan to tell her that)

Forward looking!

Photo credit: www.tesco.com/entertainment/product.aspx?R=763106

Watching Chicken Run

While Watching Chicken Run on Studio 23...

The scene: A hen was grabbed by the neck and brought to a shack. Mrs. Tweedy opened the door to reveal an axe on a slab of wood. She lifted the axe and closed the door.

Boz: napatay ang chicken, mama? (Did the chicken die, mama?)

Uneasy silence…

Mama: nag-ubra sila chicken pie. (They made chicken pie)

Boz: nag-ubra sila chicken pie? Kakaon na ko bala sang chicken pie. Namit na sa no? (They made chicken pie? I’ve eaten chicken pie. Taste good, no?)

Coke Zero

His assignment for the day was to practice writing the number 10.

Me: Write number one, first. Vertical line then slanting line. And then zero. Just like Coke Zero!

(finished writing the number 10)

Chikoy: Coke one ya? (What about Coke 1?)

Me: huh?

Chikoy: Tapos na ang Coke Zero, Coke One naman dason. (We're done with Coke Zero, Coke one comes next.)

Me: Palagpat!

We both ended up laughing!

I like My Father's Name

As we drove by the Cathedral, my mother mentioned that January 20 is also the feast day of its patron saint, St. Sebastian. Since it is also the hubby’s birthdate, I kidded around and told him that had his parents been devout Catholics, he would have been named after the saint’s name. All of a sudden, a pillow flew and landed on the dashboard from the car’s backseat. Chikoy threw the pillow in protest of the joke.

With hands crossed over his chest, he forcefully proclaimed, “Indi ko gusto!”

“Ang ano baby?”

“Indi ko gusto i-la-in ang ngalan ni papa ko… waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!” sobs, sobs sobs.

Aaawwws… I’m sorry baby, it was just a joke. We’re not changing your papa’s name to Sebastian. Mama won’t joke around like that anymore. Until you’re in a better mood! Kidding!

It took a while before we got him to stop crying. Later, when he was sober, we asked him why he didn't like the joke. He said that he didn't want us to change his papa's name. He likes it to stay the way it is. A very logical explanation explanation really.

Hay, with the rate things are going, I'd have to censor my jokes too!

B is for Bao

Over dinner, the nanny told us that her attention was called by Chikoy's teacher for being so chatty (talkative is so stereotype) in class. He's one of those students who couldn't finish his writing exercises because he's heavily engaged in conversation with his seatmate.

I asked the hubby if he was like that as a kid. He said no. It must be me then! (Although, I knew that already even before I asked the question LOL!)

Addendum:

I asked Chikoy what he and Rianne, his seatmate, were busy talking about - the blue car on the book cover. Some pick up line eh?

Note: Bao is Ilonggo for Turtle

Tooth Talk

I'm so happy to report that during our second visit to the dentist, my son made it to the dentist's chair without any fuss! Yipee!

The first time was when he was 3.3 y.o. when we had his first oral prophylaxis. We were interrupted a few times by Chikoy's attempt to get out of the dentist's chair. The result, we spent 45 minutes to get to the clinic for not even 5 minutes of dental care.

But for our second visit (for oral prophylaxis still), I got a few surprises from my little boy. He dealt with a few decisions before the session started:

Tito Doc or Tita Doc? Tita Doc
Sin-o mauna, Ikaw or si Mama? Ako

When it was our turn to enter the clinic, I accompanied Chikoy inside but Tita Doc waved me off. Telling me to just wait outside so my little boy would get used to being inside the clinic on his own. The order came as a surprise for me. As a child, even up to my college days, I always had my mother by my side while my dentist was working on my teeth. Well, for the most part because she knew all of them and she spends a great part of our trip to the dentist to exchange stories with them. Even so, she was there, to give me molar support. But me, I don't get to that, not only because I don't have a first-name-basis relationship with my dentist but because I was ordered to stay out. Tough huh?

So I eased myself out of the clinic waiting for Chikoy to call out my name and beg me to stay inside. I made my steps as slow as possible (daw slow-mo bala sa movies, pa epek lang) waiting for the words. But I didn't hear it! Not even did my son look to my direction! He sat down and started talking to the dentist about what happened to his gums last December. I couldn't believe it! For a second I wanted my son to need me like he always does. He was all so grown-up! talking to his dentist and doing everything she tells him -open his mouth, gargle, sit back, move up and down... it was amazing.

When he was done, I couldn't help but hug him and congratulate him for his acting like a big boy. I beamed with pride as I took my turn into the clinic while Chikoy headed for the lounge to play. The dentist made a recap of what happened between them while I was siting on the lounge. Chikoy was chatty during the session. He told her about his tooth which hurt last Christmas due to excessive indulgence to sweets and about his most recent gum sore. When Tita Doc asked him to open his mouth for brushing, he recounted that he remembered Tita Doc doing the same during his last visit. The sound of the machine(the pressurized water thing which is used to clean the mouth) didn't bother him like it did the first time. He was acting like a grown child.

All the while Tita Doc thought that he was already 4 to 5 years old. But when she checked his record, she was surprised to see that he's only 3.8 and already very conversant! She fell in love with him. She also affirmed his good behavior and asked him to take care of his teeth and look forward to his next visit.

I'm so so proud of my son! And my choice for a dentist too! If you're in Iloilo and you have kids like me, try bringing them to Dr. Daisy Cambronero. She holds clinic at Plaza Mandurriao. Her clinic phone number is 500-3202. She doesn't charge as much as other dentists but she could really make a trip to the dentist most enjoyable for kids and easy on mom's pocket!

My Little Activist

Maki-baka! Mahal and Baboy!

Isang mainit na pagpupugay sa ika-100 na anibersaryo ng Unibersidad ng Pilipinas!

Christmas Party

It's our first Christmas Party at school and we were all excited about it. Funny I WAS more into it than my son. Early on, I bought him a new shirt and I bought myself a new shirt too! Nothing fancy really, just something new to wear for the occasion. In my family, Christmas is one occasion that calls for new wardrobe and I am carrying that tradition to my growing family.

Christmas is also a time for presents so I splurged a little to pack some sweets for Chikoy's classmates and teachers. For the teachers, a box of chocolates each and for his classmates, candy cane, jellies, chocolates and gummies. The gift in red wrapping is from Santa (***giggles***). The children were asked by their teacher what they want to get from Santa for Christmas. The children's wish list was then given to Santa for him to prepare in time for the party. Chikoy wanted this Matchbox foldable construction set. I told him that if Santa would have to buy him that toy, Santa would not have enough money to buy toys for other kids. And so he settled for a Matchbox toy car instead. (Negotiation... always works!)

Christmas is also marked by pictures taken beside the Christmas tree. Here are three taken with the three women in Chikoy's life - the mother, the nanny and the, well, girlfriend?

Games games games. The nursery kids had different set of games from the older kids. They had the traditional "give me what I want", pin the animal's name on the right picture and "pa-agaw" of candies. Of course we adults helped out so no nursery student went home empty handed.

The gift from Santa. The school asked three dads to act as proxy Santas. I'm just glad Chikoy bought my story that Santa had other commitments hence he asked these three dads to give out the gifts he has prepared for everyone. When it was Chikoy's turn, he sat happily on Santa's lap and thanked him for the gift. I sat him on one corner and watched him open his gift. Santa got him a green Ferrari!

Other kids got big bikes, doll houses, while other gifts came in smaller packages, It didn't really matter if the gifts were big nor small. What matters is the smile on every child's face upon opening Santa's gift for them.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Alopecia

Chikoy's classmate was diagnosed with alopecia. According to wikipedia:

Alopecia is the loss of hair on the body. It should be distinguished from baldness, which is the lack of hair, including contexts where that absence is intentional.

Her pedia said that she's losing hair due primarily to stress because of the impact of recent events at home - her dad's not coming home for Christmas, her grandma who's been her psuedo-nanny, migrated to the US and her siblings, given the wide age gap are not giving her the companionship that she needs. The little girl's been eating scantly and has developed violent tendencies at play. Her mom's been trying to double up on the love and affection, showering her with gifts to make her feel special. Must have been very difficult being the center of attention and losing all the people that you love all at the same time.

Which makes me rethink my plans of working abroad. Should I stay of should I go?

When Forces Collide

We went to visit Chikoy's doc yesterday for our long overdue immunization schedule. (Thank the government for yearend bonus! ) Based on our experience, it usually takes at least two hours of waiting time before getting served. And so the plan was we eat early lunch then head for the clinic.

Apparently, I wasn't the only one with a plan, flocks of mommies with children in tow came almost the same time as we did. There were already 28 early birds waiting to be served before us and the doc just got in!


A "Notable" Interruption
A drug company had this irritatingly creative way of promoting their products to the people in the waiting room: get a free balloon for every purchase of bundled vitamins! The balloons were in bright orange screaming "take me home! take me home!" A very, very good marketing strategy, I should say, resulting to kids in the room jumping up and about, whining and throwing tantrums pushing their guardians to buy whatever the reps were selling in order to get a balloon! Tskato na bala?

Lucky for them I wasn't around during their sales pitch, else I would have lashed out on them! Indirectly of course, with a little bit of sarcasm. Because I wasn't around, our nanny got a boink on the head after Chikoy hit him with his toy car as she made an alibi for not buying. A desperate act which ended in remorse, tears and sleep. Hehehe, and the nanny had to deal with it all by herself! (I'm so evil!)


Hate Talk
To break the ice, our seatmate engaged us in some hate-talk about how long they've been waiting to be served. They, Manang in green and boy in red, arrived before us and they were just as anxious to get things over and done with. Manang was already insinuating that the secretary was perhaps doing favors for some patients and making "singit" their names on the list, hence the long wait. I wasn't bothered by her remarks but just so to appease her, I went to the secretary, checked on her list, made sure that the checks were in chronological order and verbally noted that 8 patients more and it will be our turn with the doc. I then went back to my seat, told Manang about it and saw her relax a bit. Then the exchange of getting-to-know-you stuff. I wasn't really in the mood for a chat so I conveniently shoved the nanny to do the talking in our behalf. (Bwahahahaha, the devil in me!)


Toddler Talk
The kids started bonding too! Little boy in red, Paul, was guiding his Power Rangers toy in flight when he bumped into Chikoy with his Hummer and police car. "Transformers, Robots in disguise." Then Paul went, "Power Rangers, wachaaa!" Then they became instant friends.

From the little bonding time that the kids had, we learned a few things about Paul, he liked the color red, he's four years old, also in nursery and he like Power Rangers toys. He even told Chikoy, "Gusto mo dal-on ko di bwas ang akon na Mystic Force pakita ko sa imo?" As if makitanay pa sila pagkabwas!

Paul later grew weary of his Power Ranger toy, gave it to Manang and played with Chikoy's matchbox cars. They were so immersed in their play that for a fleeting moment I had my thoughts to myself and not to my son.

While Manang and the nanny was busy sharing stories I stated to eavesdrop at what the two little boys were talking about. Nothing really short of little boys and their toys until their conversation fell on the topic about their fathers. Chikoy shared with Paul that his papa bought him his toys and that he would be angry if he'd lose or break them. Then Paul blurted out a truth that I didn't expect to hear from a four year old boy, "akon ya papa patay na, gintiro siya. Ginlubong namon siya sa Banate." (my Papa is already dead, he was shot. We buried him in Banate) And he said that in a very matter-of-fact tone. Kibot man ko ba! The kid was talking about death as if it was just any other daily event, something adults can't normally do, not with all the emotional baggage that go with it. While I was busy processing my thoughts, Paul's name was called and they headed for the clinic. "Sin-o nagtiro sa papa ya?" (Who shot his papa?) Chikoy asked. "La ko kabalo, baby, " (I don't know, baby) I replied but my thoughts were already far away...


Anime Encounter
"Pikachu, ya, ya ya!" I was brought back to reality by the sight of this 10year-old boy doing some kungfu stunts in the middle of the room. He was then joined by another boy who shouted, "Power Rangers, Mystic Force, cha, ya, cha!" with matching hand movements. Then, behind him a smaller boy creeped in and shouted in a hoarse voice, "Zaido blue, raaaaaar!" poised with the claws ready to strike. Chikoy joined in, with his much rehearsed lines, "Optimus Prime, a-eee-ooo---aaaa!" Hence, the animefest began. Each kid saying the name of a character and executing some complicated kungfu step one after the other. Then came some sparring (but never hitting the other) then some chasing, running around, and shouting of more and more names from their favorite shows. I was laughing because the boy of 10 looked like the chubby guy in Kungfu Hustle and the little Zaido blue boy was like this little monster growling, following him around. Chikoy stopped chasing them after a few runs. A few more minutes and our name was called, we collected our things and headed for the clinic. The whole anime encounter came as a jolt of energy for the adults in the room. Mayo man kung bata ka, hapos maglingaw sang kaugalingon mo, maski mabinu-ang ka wala may masaway sa imo basta wala ka lang may masakit sa gina ubra mo, pero kung tigulang ka na kag mag amo-amo ka sadto, wala na, either nasup-ay ka na sang gutom or loose thread ka na gid ya daan.


Hay Salamat (?)
After a few minutes with the doc, our ordeal was finally over, Chikoy got his anti-typhoid shot, a jellyace snacker, sample meds for fever and a star on his shoulder as a diversionary tactic to get his attention away from the needle. All that for the good price of P1,400.00. Next month, HIB Booster naman. Hay.... tiligan-an na naman sang Gloria bonus. Sige lang a, kung sa salakyan pa, preventive maintenance! Better safe than sorry!

Boznik by Another Name(s)

I'm calling my son by a different name these days ---- Chikoy, a contraction of Buchikoy, deriving from Botitor (if you're an Ilonggo, you would hate your mom for giving you this nick! LOL) which I sometimes truncate to Boti, a variation for Boz which is, well, the shortcut of Boznik which is very very far off from his real name Jan Benjamin.

He also likes it when I call him baby shark and sing him to sleep in an improv lullaby "sleep my darling baby, my baby is a shark...." then he would cuddle up beside me with matching whimpering sound.

The weirdest!

Three Ladies

The three ladies that my son has been "involved with" since he turned 2.6 y.o.:

June from Little Einsteins. For some time we've been playing the Glass Slipper Ball Story Book online, watch June dance, twirl and change costumes. Somehow, the Disney character managed to steal my boy's heart and became his standard for beauty for quite sometime.




Rhea. Yup! At least someone human this time! On this one occasion that Boz came to the office, Rhea, the office little girl (the youngest and the slimmest of us all) dropped by my desk and started a little chat with him. He didn't look up, just continued to doodle on a piece of a paper. And then, in a low, shy voice, he told her: "May girlfriend na ko ya!" (I already have a girlfriend!)

Aaaaaaaw! As if talking to her makes him less loyal to June!



Julia. The pretty girl who plays Hannah in the ABS-CBN show Kokey. Boz has been an avid fan of the show, a very convenient way really of getting him to do something other than play inside the room (and I mean toys all over the floor). One night, while watching the show, he just blurted it out, "Kagwapa sa kay Hannah no?" (Hannah's beautiful, no?)

Now she will go down in history as the first actress every to gain my son's admiration.

There you have it: my son's three ladies..... so far!

Peek-a-Boo!

Nothing really much to say... just dropping by. Cheers!

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?