A Day in the Life

College friends get-together

2012-01-05T09:29:00.000+08:00

I ended my 2011 with a get together with my high school buddies. I thought it was also a great idea to start the new year with a get together with my college buddies hahaha It's not often that we get around to just having dinner and drinks and enjoy each other's company because, let's face it, work gets in the way and we all lead busy lives. But when a friend or two comes home for the holidays, you really do need to make a point to have a reunion for old times' sake.

This year, Marlon was home and that was the reason why we all met at Congo Grille in El, Pueblo, Ortigas. If I remember correctly, the last time we met like this was when Marlon also came home in 2004?? Who has pictures of those?? hmm.. must remember to ask :)

Anyway, the first to arrive at Congo Grille was George, here sporting his very long hair (although I guess you can't see from the picture haha).

Marlon, Cathy and I met up at the SM Megamall and just walked to the venue where we met up with George.

Pepe arrived soon after, obviously coming from work too. :) Idy arrived a little later because he came from Shopwise after a round of grocery shopping. He said he can't miss the double points rewards every Wednesdays! haha spoken like a true family man! LOL

There was a lot of reminiscing from college days about classmates, professors, crushes, embarrassing moments and catching up with what we've basically been doing after college :) We ordered crispy pata, sisig and grilled squid. The boys had beer, of course!

It's too bad that some of our classmates weren't able to make it because of prior engagements but I'm hoping that there'll be more get-togethers in the coming months :)

New Year at the Mall

2012-01-02T09:20:00.000+08:00

Happy New Year!! It's 2012 and I'm not going to be the first one to say that time really flies... When I look back at 2011, I hope that it isn't going to be the same for 2012 hahaha So here's me hoping that 2012 brings better tidings for my family :)

We didn't go anywhere for the first day of New Year. The smog was just too thick and so "chokingly" bad that you'd risk your health just to go out. We did head for the mall on January 2 just to get out of the house :)

There was a Christmas set in the atrium of SM San Lazaro where these pictures where taken.

Dana's shirt caption fits her to a tee!

Would've been a great shot
if the "extra" hadn't gotten in and messed it up

All three sporting new shoes for the new year ;)

HS Get Together

2011-12-31T08:11:00.000+08:00

When there are talks of get-togethers and/or reunions, I mostly shy away from them. It's because my closest friends aren't going to be there and I think that it'd be awkward getting to know other people. But then, I started thinking...Why should that stop me from going. At this point in my life, I don't think I'll ever get to see my closest friends anyway, not in this fashion, so I may as well make new friends or even just get in touch with older ones... who knows what the day will bring, right? :)

So when there was an announcement on Facebook (gotta love FB!) that there'll be a get together on December 30, I made up my mind to go. It was a good way to end the year, I thought.

The meet-up was at Seattle's Best Coffee at the Mall of Asia at 4:30PM. I got there around 7pm (late, I know) because there was so much to do at the house. Here we are! Thanks to Rains for the pictures :)

(L-R) Me, Gicel, Jun, Webster & Aries' friend

(L-R)Webster, Aries' friend, Aries, me, Gicel, Jun

More People: (L-R) Webster, Aries' friend, Jojo and wife,
Aries, Jesse, Me, Gicel, Rains, Jun, Nelson

Nelson and me

From Seattle's Best, we all decided to have dinner and drinks at Gerry's Grill. It was at this point that we were joined by Cecille and Pamela.

Gicel, me, Cecille, Pam

Pam, Cecille, Me

serious chika!

Over the course of dinner, the guys just naturally grouped together but still took the time to smile for the camera :)

Ike arrived around 11pm from a wedding in Intramuros.
Got the chance to see his god-daughter, Dana too :)

All in all, it was a great night! I'm sure some of us didn't want it to end seeing as it was only like almost 12MN when we parted ways. It was an enjoyable night - great conversations with equally cool friends :) Happy New Year! :)

2011 Christmas

2011-12-26T00:12:00.000+08:00

Merry Christmas to one and all!

Christmas is such a great holiday because of all the wonderful things that happen during this time. Yes, you may spend an enormous amount of money buying gifts for all the people you love but you kinda forget about it once you see that the gifts you bought really brought happiness and actual tears to the people who are receiving them.

Patrick and I are fortunate that our kids are understanding about our financial situation and don't complain that they only have less gifts this year compared to last year. They still were very happy about the gifts that they received this year and couldn't wait to play with them.

We're also very fortunate that though we have lost people we love like my mom and Patrick's parents, we still have a lot of people in our lives that care about us and love us just the same. Special shout outs to Tita Gigi Escalante and Tito Nino who have really welcomed us in their lives and love us and our kids with equal fervor like their own. It was such a pleasure spending Christmas eve with you guys and we owe you a debt of gratitude for making our holiday so special because of the warmth that you envelop us in.

I miss my mom so much and I miss my brother just as much that sometimes it seems pathetic that I have to seek out people from whom to get the love and comfort and that feeling of security that you have a place in this world that you belong to and with. It's still very fortunate that there are people in my life like those - Lan, my brother, you may be far away in geography but you are never far from my mind and heart. I always wish the best for you and I'm proud that you're doing well on your own. Kat you are still the bestest friend anyone can have and I'm proud to have you in our lives. Sharon, my sister, you are such a crazy girl but I'm still glad that you've matured enough to handle yourself in the way you see fit.

We have had such a hard year this time and as much as we will never forget the people who have helped us get through it - Chie Cosay and Rey Maribao special thanks to both of you for you know what - we will also never forget the people who have brought us such pain and suffering. It is because of you that we have become stronger. It is because of you that we have faced much hardship and yet we're still surviving. Though we no longer want you in our lives, you have been a major part of it and for that we can't and we won't forget.

May the New Year bring us better circumstances....

In the meantime, I'm sharing my kids' and our own happiness this Christmas and hope that you enjoy watching it as much as we enjoyed making the movie.

Ruth and JV's wedding

2011-12-22T23:14:00.000+08:00

Another special event that we were lucky enough to be invited to was the wedding of my cousin, Ruth, to her longtime boyfriend JV Royo. It was held at the Most Holy Trinity Parish in Sampaloc and reception was at Betty's Sansrival and Catering Services in Quezon City.

What I love about weddings is that it gives people a chance to catch up with relatives and friends whom you haven't seen in a long time. Plus, there's always free food hahaha Another plus is getting a chance to dress up in fancy clothes too :)

Nandy and Ronnie in
this Once-in-A-Lifetime Dressing Up Moment

Zeny and Ella

Jeng looking lovely as the Maid of Honor

Ces and Zeny

Den and myself

Dana looking lovely in her dress

The food was delicious especially the sansrival (of course!) and the baked goodies :) Dana kept going back to the dessert table (by herself even!). Dylan loved the lechon (roasted pig)!

There was a photo booth from Clickart Photo Booth where you can have your pictures taken as a souvenir. We had fun taking our photos! :)

Congratulations to Ruth and JV! Thanks for inviting us and having us share in your wonderful ceremony :)

Dylan's 2011 Christmas Party

2011-12-21T23:03:00.000+08:00

This year, the Little Sofie Learning and Development Center held their Christmas Party at Shakey's Espana. It's quite a bittersweet moment for us because we remember Teacher Dory and her presence from last year's Christmas party which was also held in the same venue.

Anyway, the party was filled with gifts, prizes and activities which the kids loved. There were prizes for the parents who did such an amazing job with their Christmas parol. There were also appreciation prizes for all parents for their support of their kids and of the school. The kids also had their exchange gift as well as gift giving from their teachers. There was also a "Bring Me" game which Dylan participated in but was not fortunate enough to win in hahaha Parents also participated in the games which were a lot of fun.

Pictures with his teachers:

Teachers Kaye and She

Teachers Karen, Kaye, She, Cath and Ma'am Sheila

Dylan with Teachers and Classmates

Dylan and Rhian

Dylan also participated in their song and dance number:

Finally, it was eating time! Pizza, Spaghetti, mojos and chicken

Teacher Dory's special kids (Shiela May)

A special dance number by Captain Shakey's to end the celebration!

Dana's 2011 Christmas Presentation

2011-12-20T22:54:00.000+08:00

Every Christmas season, kids usually become part of their school's Christmas presentation. Dana is no different but for a while there, we really didn't think she will be able to participate in it this time because we had some financial difficulties and couldn't yet buy the costume needed for the program.

At the last minute, we were able to find the resources and the three of us, Patrick, Dana and I, went to
Quiapo at the store where we bought Dylan's Germany costume and were able to buy the last piece of Santa Claus costume for Dana. It was also perfect timing since it was the last piece we got a hefty discount which really helped us out :) After completing that errand we went home so we can see how it looked on Dana when paired off with the black socks/stockings and hat :)

Come Monday afternoon, Dana was ready to go to school with her costume. Dana, Dylan, Den and I went to school at 330PM as was their call time. They were performing a dance number to the tune of Mariah Carey's "All I want for Christmas is You".

What the school did this time was made the college and HS students perform first to ensure that the parents will stick it out until the end hehehe so even though we came to school so early, the kids only performed around 630PM. I still have to edit the video but I'll update as soon as it's up.

Here are some of the pictures after the show. Dylan fell asleep even before the program started but he woke up just in time to watch his Ate Dana perform.

While waiting for the doors to open

Hiding from the camera

The Stage

Waiting to start

Sleeping in the theater

Photo Op

Dana (far right) with her classmates

How to make a Christmas Parol

2011-12-09T22:07:00.000+08:00

Let's face it, I'm not really talented with arts and crafts nor do I have any interest in making them. But sometimes, for the sake of your children you have to do things that you just gotta do hehehe One of these things include making a Christmas Parol for Dylan's project in school. It's supposed to be a bonding moment type of project, which I adamantly opposed during a PTA meeting because I knew Dylan wouldn't be participating in it (really!), but I was overruled hehehe So, I was wracking my brains figuring out how to make one and even resorted to searching through youtube for instructional videos on how to make it.

The first step is finding the materials before you can even begin. For this project, we were told to use native materials like coconut and corn husks and not recyclable materials (which we used last year). I really had no idea how to begin so I asked my aunt for suggestions. She told me to head over to Quiapo's Quinta Market and maybe I'll find inspiration there. It just so happened that I had a lot of work to finish so I asked Den and Erghie to just buy the materials which they think may be suitable and we'll go from there. When they got back, they were able to buy a Christmas parol frame (let's be honest, I can never make that one by myself hehehe) and some native materials. It took us a week to really think about how to put the materials together LOL

Step 1: We covered the inner frame with some red ribbon so it won't stand out. Obviously, Dylan is more interested in playing with the ribbons rather than looping them around the frame :)

Step 2: We used a glue gun to stick the "abaca" (I'm not really sure what the material is but it looked native) onto the "triangle" portions of the frame. Dylan tried his hand with the glue gun. At first, he was skeptical when he learned that it was a glue "gun". He said, Mama don't kill me with that gun LOL

Untrimmed frame

Trimmed Frame

Step 3: We put in a green native material to contrast with the brown, right in the middle of the frame just to keep things simple. Then lined the edges with glittery red ribbon. At first, we even ran out of the ribbon so we had to continue the next day. We also ran out of glue sticks which meant another delay.

Step 4: We glued some shells on strings and attached them to the bottom of the frame so that they'll swing. We didn't know how to make the usual fringes in the regular Filipino Christmas parol so we "innovated" hehehe We also wrapped some gold ribbon around the "points" of the star to conceal the points of the frame.

Almost finished product

Step 5: The kids then proceeded to stick the sea shells onto the outline of the center of the star. They each took turns and we finished in no time :) The parol is now hanging from the middle of our living room hahaha Dylan has also gone territorial on it and keeps calling it His Star :)

Finished product

Of Toys and Willy Wonka (Part 2)

2011-12-05T21:44:00.000+08:00

So the previous post mentioned that we went to the Richwell Warehouse sale where we bought a lot of stuff. Well, we had to go back the next day because the shoes we bought for Dana were a tad small so we wanted to exchange them for a pair that fit better.

When we got there, this time we brought the kids with us so that we're sure the shoes will really fit right, the shoes we bought yesterday were sold out! LOL We had to find another pair for the same price! It was okay because now, there were new stocks as well and we were able to buy a newer pair than the one we originally bought. ;) This time, I was also astounded at the way the mommies were behaving. I have never seen a "human feeding frenzy" before and this was the place where I saw it first hand.

To explain, the sales clerks would bring in these huge boxes filled with new stocks of shoes. They'd dump these into the boxes in the shoes section of the warehouse. Mommies will immediately dive in (literally!) and come up with mismatched pairs of shoes and then sort them out later when they've determined that these shoes are not the ones they want LOL It's really fun and fascinating to watch LOL I probably would do the same since these pairs were going for P100 and that's really cheap, mind you! :)

Once we got the pair of shoes for Dana, Patrick and I decided to bring Dana and Dylan to the Willy Wonka Imaginarium at the Shangri-la Plaza Mall. Knowing how much they love Willy Wonka from the movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, we thought this was a good way to end the day. With a P100 purchase of any Willy Wonka candy from the Candy Corner store in the exhibit, you earn a Golden Ticket which serves as your key to entering the magical place. The kids got crazy with all the candy, like Nerds, Laffy Taffy and the Pixy Stix :) Once we got our tickets, we went in :)

A Giant Bug

The Magical Door

The Giant Tree

Giant Mushrooms

Giant Ant and the Ant Bully

They were both amazed and excited and the couldn't stop talking about what went on when they went inside. It was worth the trip! :)

Of Toys and Willy Wonka (Part 1)

2011-12-05T15:42:00.000+08:00

Like most working couples, you can only schedule a trip for toy hunting, bargains and sales when you have received part of all of your Christmas bonus and your salary and hope to God that there are sales scheduled when you do. We were fortunate enough that during the weekend that we got some windfall of sorts, there were great bargains that we took part in.

On Saturday, December 3, Patrick and I headed to the Toy Warehouse Sale in Sct. Torillo, Quezon City. It is actually the warehouse for the Mattel brand of toys and they're selling off their excess inventory at prices up to 80% off! So, it's really a great deal considering you're getting branded toys for less than what you would pay in the malls :) I didn't really know what to expect since this was the first time I was headed there so I was keeping an open mind.

The place wasn't really huge, around 1000 square meters but it's air conditioned so it's pretty comfortable. There were toys for infants, toys for the big kids, some baby stuff like sterilizers and bottles, some MyScene and Ollie shoes for the bigger kids, Barbie, Hot Wheels and Pokemon shoes for the smaller kids, bikes Disney toys (both stock and new arrivals) and a whole lot more.

We were able to pick out great finds during our first day and Patrick went ga-ga over the Lightning McQueen series of die cast toys and was able to purchase 4 of them - Lightning McQueen, Franco Bernoulli, Holly Shiftwell and Mater! I went crazy over the shoes that were selling for P100/pair!! and some school shoes, they were selling for 3 for P100!! I was stupefied to say the least! LOL We really had to stop at some point when we reached our quota for the kids' Christmas gifts hahahaha

We then went to the Mall of Asia to see if we can check out great finds at the Mega Shoes and Bags sale at the SMX Convention hall. OMG! That's all I can say hahaha

I was already super excited even before we entered but when I got in woohoo! Shoes, Shoes, Shoes!! It was like an Imelda Marcos moment hahaha If I had that feeling, make that a hundred times more for Patrick who was crazier for shoes than I.

It wasn't difficult to go around even though it was jam-packed with crowds. The shoes were sorted according to brand and then by size so you can immediately go to your favorite brands and see what models they have that are available in your size. It saves on having to ask the sales clerks repeatedly for your size. The sad thing is if you've got an average shoe size, there's a high possibility that the style that you want may be out of stock especially if you haven't gotten there at the earliest opportunity. But since there were so many shoe styles to look at, I'm sure there will be at least one pair that you'll end up with. Here, Patrick and I were able to buy much needed shoes for ourselves. When you have kids, you usually have to sacrifice your own wants to provide for your kids first. So, this opportunity was heaven sent. I got a pair of Keds (my fave!) and Patrick was able to buy his Asics rubber shoes. :)

At the same venue, just next door was the Toy Kingdom Christmas sale. We couldn't resist so we took a peek. Fortunately (for us) the lines were too long which served as a deterrent for us to purchase any more stuff LOL

We ended our day with dinner at Mexicali :>) We purposely went home late so we can sneak the gifts in and store them where the kids can't find them hehehe

Tasting "The Real Thing"

2011-12-01T15:34:00.000+08:00

We're always happy when there are holidays when Patrick also has no work. This time, because there's no work on November 30, we scheduled a day of pampering for us girls so Dana, Den and I went out and got our haircuts :) Patrick also got his and Dylan felt kinda left out because he's the only one who didn't get a hair cut because his hair was still short LOL

Here's a picture of Dana with her hair all straightened out because of blowdrying :) I really like it when she has her hair this short :)

After the salon and the barber shop, we were scouting around for a place to have dinner at. Patrick suggested that we try out "The Real Thing Diner" along Tomas Morato in Quezon City. It's a restaurant with most of their food products made with Coca-Cola :) There are also a lot of Coca-Cola memorabilia displayed on the walls and on stands :)

Check out these mugs and collectibles:

Check out their cool ambience!

There's Den sporting her new hairdo!

We ordered the Onion Rings Tower P149

Dana ordered the Carbonara P179

Cheesy Backyard Burger P189

Coca-Cola Salpicao P199

Cheesy Backyard Burger (to show the cheese)

Over-all, we enjoyed the food. I especially like the Coca-cola salpicao and am actually wondering about the recipe :) The service was fast and efficient and our server was pleasant and enthusiastic :)

17th Anniversary spent with Chevrolet haha

2011-11-13T14:44:00.000+08:00

I've always been a simple person. So when Patrick tells me that we're just going to the Mall of Asia for our 17th Anniversary, that's fine by me. Any excuse to get out of the house will do hahaha As long as the kids are with us and we're happy to be together then all is fine with life :)

So that Sunday, Patrick said he had to go to MOA to check out the Chevrolet exhibit there. So, off we went.

Lots of opportunities for picture taking with the kids. For instance, here they are with "Bumblebee"

Here they are with the Chevrolet Spark :)

Bumblebee's mags are cool!

Check out these cool Chevrolet furniture hehehehe

Dylan's UN Day

2011-10-29T12:16:00.000+08:00

In celebration of United Nations Day, most schools in the country hold extra-curricular activities for the kids to enjoy. One such example is dressing up in costumes for UN Day. This time, Dylan was assigned "Germany" as his country.

It is at this point that I appreciate living in Sampaloc haha because our house is so near Quiapo where you can get the costumes for most countries in a snap. I never thought of looking for costumes at the malls because they simply would be too expensive and not all countries are represented anyway.

Patrick and I dropped by Echague Street, now Carlos Palanca in Quiapo, very near the Quinta Market and just before the famous Excelente Ham store :) There were a lot of parents and kids trying on their respective costumes too. It was a madhouse! :)

It was hot. It was tight. But we persevere because we needed to! In the end, we were able to buy Dylan his Germany costume. I was thinking it would be like a lederhosen or something hehhe The store also had flags to complement the outfit but we got Dylan's Germany flag when we went to the Philippine-Germany expo in Bonifacio High Street a week before hahaha nice timing, actually!

They held a parade around the streets of Sampaloc, sporting their costumes and waving their flags!

When they reached the venue for their program, the kids were tired and sweaty but still had a lot of enthusiasm! There were some dance numbers and other activities, but for me, the highlight of the program was when Dylan went on stage and recited his spiel. We practiced it for a long time and I'm so proud of him!

Another baby on the way --->

2011-10-26T11:56:00.000+08:00

And no, it's not mine! hahaha No, it's going to be Den's.

October 25 is that landmark day when I found out that my 20-year old niece is going to have a baby. I was so busy with another person's kid that I totally neglected to observe that my very own niece, who's living in the same house as I, is pregnant. Imagine my surprise and consternation when I noticed that her tummy was kinda big that you can't mistake it for simply being full from food.

Not wanting to confront her immediately, I just made a joke hoping that she'll bite. But she just made a noncommittal shrug which inflamed my suspicions even more. Then I started counting back and checking how fast we ran out of sanitary pads as I kept racking my brain for signs of pregnancy that I didn't see. See, if her tummy was already showing then that meant that it was in the 2nd trimester already and I totally missed the first trimester! And that's when I realized that I must have been so preoccupied with the Boy Who Will Not Be Named that I didn't notice her pregnancy signs.

So, that night, Patrick and I asked her straight on. Her answer was, "Kailangan pa bang itanong yan?" which roughly translates to "Do you even need to ask?" I was really pissed at the answer. Here we were, asking politely and nicely and that's the reply we got. I think she was being an ass to cover her real feelings as teenagers are wont to do. But then the truth was out. She was pregnant and going on 5 months.

Needless to say, my world collapsed. I wanted her to finish college (she had a semester to go for crying out loud!). I wanted her to enjoy her life as a single person. I wanted her to travel. I wanted her to make more out of herself before she even had to THINK about having a baby...

What was the point of our talks about pills and condoms and all those irresponsible parents littering the streets with their offspring?! They're becoming one of them! I was so frustrated that they didn't use their heads. I was so frustrated that they didn't protect themselves. I wanted to strangle the boyfriend for not using birth control. I wanted to strangle Den for not insisting that the boyfriend use protection!

Naturally, the first reaction would be surprise, then shock, then anger, then acceptance. For both my sister (her mother) and I, it was rather easy because of the maternal instincts for the baby kicking in. We had to make sure that the baby was safe and healthy. For the men in our lives, it was really anger that's the reigning emotion. Saying they were pissed off was an understatement. They wanted to meet with the boyfriend and his family ASAP. At the time of writing, that hasn't happened yet.

I don't think I will truly get over the regret and the frustration but all I can do right now is provide the support she needs because stress is not good for the baby. I have told her that she needs to finish her last semester so she'll have a better opportunity even after the baby is born.

Dana's School Halloween Party

2011-10-21T09:00:00.000+08:00

On the 20th of October, Dana had her first school Halloween Party. I was worried when they announced it and notified parents via letter because it only meant that more expenses will have to be set aside to accommodate the budget for her costume. Trust me, when you're in dire straits when it comes to finances, like we have been for the past months, you really begin to question all these school parties hehehe

But I'm very lucky that my HS friend, Gicel, was able to lend me her daughter's Princess Jasmine costume for Dana to wear :) Thanks a lot, Gicel! :)

So here she is, together with Dylan who just put on his Spiderman clothes and mask :))

They had a costume contest and as you can see Dana was #60! all the kids who came in costume registered for the contest so that took a while to judge. It was funny because there were a lot of witches which I thought would be banned haha but even the parents were wearing costumes!! She liked the one like 3D art in the last row of pictures :) Her teacher was dressed like Jang-Geum of a Koreanovela :D

Dylan's Kindergarten Field Trip

2011-09-16T10:16:00.000+08:00

Sept. 14, 2011 - It's that time once again when Dylan sets off on another field trip. This time they're heading to Lucky Me (the noodle factory), Paradizoo (an animal farm/zoo) and Tagaytay Picnic Grove (for rest and relaxation). As you can see, Dylan is excited to be on their way.

Their first stop was the Lucky Me Noodle Factory but we weren't allowed to take pictures because of security reasons. This part of the trip would have been more interesting if we had more time to really listen to the tour. Instead, the tour went by so fast it was like the staff were more interested in just breezing through with their spiels and such. The kids couldn't really pay attention and they can't really see over the windows in the factory. I had to really focus to hear the tour guide explain the process of making the noodles and packing them and such. In turn, it was I who had to explain to Dylan. I guess there were a lot of schools scheduled too so they had to hurry us up. This was the only photo allowed, taken by their staff after a quick run through of the factory.

After the Lucky Me Factory, we went to Paradizoo Ranch in Mendez, Cavite. There were a lot of chances for taking pictures because there were a number of different animals that Dylan went a little crazy going after them :) There was a white carabao, a black carabao, a camel, horses, foreign goats and sheep, butterflies and bees. Here are some pictures. It was raining hard some of the time which was hard for the kids but it was otherwise a fun trip.

The last stop was the Tagaytay Picnic Grove. This was where we had our lunch overlooking Taal Volcano. The kids breezed through their lunch and just ran around in the grass. Dylan was also fortunate to have been able to ride a horse. One of his classmates who originally bought the ticket became scared of the horse so he backed out. Dylan was given the ticket instead :) Thanks! :D

Needless to say, all the kids were tired and pooped out during the drive home :)

Teacher Dory died so suddenly

2011-08-16T23:29:00.000+08:00

We were faced with a mighty blow when we found out that Teacher Dory was dead. We found out only on the morning of Dylan's exams. We were walking on the way to school when Dylan's classmate's mom called out to us from their house. Apparently, classes were suspended because Teacher Dory died. This was such a shock to learn because we didn't even know she was sick or having any medical problems.

I was just in shock because it was such a loss, to Dylan, to me and of course, to the school. You see, Teacher Dory reminds me of my mom. They were both exemplary teachers really living the vocation of teaching. When I say vocation, I really mean it because they really epitomized what teaching was all about. It's about helping students learn. It's about expending all your energy to make sure that your students are improving and that you'll waste no time in getting them to stay on their course. It's about putting aside your own financial troubles and physical problems aside to take on students whom you believe need your help more.

Dylan blossomed under Teacher Dory's care. Of course, the other teachers in the school helped out a lot but Teacher Dory was the driving force. She knew how to motivate the kids. She knew how to scold parents. She knew how to inspire her teachers. She's a light to everyone.

To Teacher Dory, you will surely be missed but your influence over my son will not be forgotten. I salute you for your love of teaching. I wish there more of you to go around :)

Rhys' second and final month with us

2011-08-07T23:20:00.000+08:00

In my previous post, I talked about Rhys' first month with us. Here now is my account of his 2nd and final month (July 2 - August 6) with us.

As I look back on his last month with us, I remember that his behavior was escalating to the point that he was becoming unruly and undisciplined. It's probably because he's beginning to realize that his mom was not taking him back and that his being with us isn't a vacation but an actual transfer. He realizes that his mom doesn't exactly show him enough love because he comments about the fact that the things I do with Dana and Dylan he doesn't experience with his mom. He also has had to face ugly facts about his life - like Jericho not being his real dad and that he doesn't actually know who his real dad is except for his name. He also keeps on looking at the kids' photo albums which document most of their childhood, something that he doesn't have, the physical photos, not the childhood.

So I can understand the reasons for his acting up. However, things are being aggravated by the fact that his mom has up to this time refused to give her financial contribution to us - something that we're also desperately in need of because, to be honest, we aren't exactly rolling in money and, let's face it, an added mouth to feed really needs additional finances. It's also what the siblings have agreed upon so...

Things kind of came to a head on July 16th, when we had to take him back to his mom because he and I had a showdown. While he's here, I would supervise his and Dylan's homework and I noticed that Ate Mel was getting really frustrated with him because he wasn't paying attention. Ate Mel can't teach Dylan until Rhys was finished and it was taking them a long time. When I took over the study session, he was supposed to memorize our address for an oral exam in school. It took him 5 hours before he actually did it. It was just too much. I will no longer go into the details but I tried every sort of technique to get him to memorize but it wasn't getting into his head. My son who had a speech problem was able to memorize the address faster than him and that's saying a lot! Needless to say, I had frayed nerves and that kind of behavior extended over up to the next day and Patrick was here at that time and he observed how Rhys was and it was he who decided that the stress levels in the house were going through the roof and that it was time for the family to take a break from him.

He stayed with Stevie and Toni from July 18 to July 21. He had to return to our house because Friday, he had an ID Picture taking for school. On Monday (July 18), I had to go to his school to ask Teacher Dory for some patience because we still hadn't paid for Rhys' school. While Rhys was with Stevie and Toni, Patrick talked with Dimples about her plans for her son. Apparently, she was planning on moving to a new apartment and not taking into consideration that her son will have to travel far to get to his school. Her solution, that he stop schooling. Our original recommendation was for her to find an apartment somewhere closer to where her son goes to school, so she can still have someone caring for him while she's working and that she can take Rhys back when she comes back from work, preferably that she also get a day shift, for both their sake.

Rhys returned Friday but spent the weekend with her mom and Jericho. This struck me funny because it was supposed to be just the two of them. Bringing Jericho back into the equation makes me think that she needed someone else to take care of her son. Anyway, it turned out that making him spend time with his mom backfired because after that, he was just crying non-stop everyday. No matter how many times I explain to him, he will just cry and cry the whole day, even while in school. He was also very disruptive in class requiring Teacher Dory to put him a bit further away from his classmates. His situation was aggravated too when Dimples was supposed to pick him up for lunch during the weekend (July 31) but she arrived late in the afternoon. She also didn't want to pay the full amount of P5K for the month of June until Patrick left her no choice so she complied.

On Monday, I was able to pay the school from the money that she gave. All through the week, Rhys was just crying although to be honest, after his talk with Erghie about remembering his mom even while she wasn't here helped a little. When Dimples was here that Sunday, she mentioned that she's hiring a babysitter to look after Rhys in their apartment which meant that she'll be getting Rhys by Friday. Unfortunately, the yaya didn't arrive as planned but we felt that it was a blessing in disguise. It meant that she would be able to take care of her son by herself so on Saturday, we brought Rhys back with her for good.

It was a relief to have him gone from our lives. Peace settled in. It's unfortunate though that she didn't continue his education. At first, I was worried but I let it go. It wasn't my responsibility anymore. If she doesn't want to sacrifice her easygoing ways and focus on raising her kid right, that's her problem not mine. She hasn't even paid for her financial support for July. Enough said on that...

Goodbye and Good Riddance!

Dana's Grade II Field Trip

2011-07-26T17:03:00.000+08:00

One of the activities that Dana really looks forward to during a school year is the Field Trip. This year, the whole school all went to Batis Aramin in Lucban, Quezon. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to go with her because of all the stress that I was in which caused me endless migraines and hyperacidity. I wasn't really fit to travel. So, she went with her Ate Mel instead.

Here are her pics. Above, on the left, she's on the bus going to the destination. They experienced some trouble before departing because the buses got delayed and they arrived rather late. But nothing can dampen their spirits especially when they saw the place. They had time to swim, ride the zip line, go around the replica of Noah's ark and go climb the really steep and really high Kamay ni Hesus, which was sort of like a lifelike Way of the Cross. After changing and resting a bit, you'll see how happy she was on the above right picture.

To the right, she's trying out this rope obstacle course. She really loved it. On the right, she's here at the base of the entrance to the hotel. It's such a huge place that it was disappointing they never got around to really exploring every nook and cranny.

Meanwhile, here's a video of her on the zipline. Can you hear her scream? LOL

Rhys' first month with us

2011-07-02T15:00:00.000+08:00

When we agreed to take in Rhys with us, we were only concerned with providing him with a stable environment and for him to continue his education. We knew that we won't be able to treat him like one of our own kids, because he isn't that and he has his own mother and we're not trying to replace her, but we, Patrick and I, agreed that we'd be as fair and equal as we can.

The first week that he was here, you can see that he's still adjusting to being in a new environment. He'd be polite and quiet. We're grateful to Jericho for teaching him how to be independent, for teaching him how to brush his teeth on his own, how to take a bath on his own and he even puts his own dishes in the sink. How's that for independence?

It was also the perfect time to be here because he had a week to get adjusted before he started at his new school. We all got a move on to bring him here with us primarily because school was starting and at that point, he wasn't enrolled in any school. Dimples apparently didn't prepare enough money for his tuition. So, Patrick and I forked out the initial deposit, Stevie and Toni contributed for his uniforms, shoes and other school supplies. Dimples couldn't give at this time because she started a new job, or rather went back to her old job but was starting over yet again.

It was like starting new with Rhys. We had to buy most of his stuff, not just for school but for the home. He basically had no clothes (his old ones were really old). He had no shoes but two pairs that were again, old. He had no toys with him except for Dipstick the stuffed toy dog, which was old too. When asked about his other toys, he had some but were broken and old. So it basically fell upon us to provide what we can. So, when we were buying all these new stuff for him, he couldn't believe it. It was eerily pathetic that a kid will be so surprised that someone was buying all these things for him. Does it mean that he rarely gets anything new or he rarely goes shopping for himself?

We had plenty of time with him even though school started because there were a lot of storms that caused the cancellation of some classes. He was excited to start school and he had no apprehensions because he knew that Dylan went to the same. However, as he became accustomed to his environment, he started being talkative in school and even managed a temper tantrum where he threw his books at Teacher Dory. This necessitated him being isolated from his classmates for the duration of the classes and for the week that followed.

He was also showing signs of being resistant with the rules in the house. We understood that he wasn't used to rules if he's left alone by himself most of the time when he was with his mom and Jericho. It just became irritating that whenever we'd tell him to be quiet or to calm himself down, he'd just laugh in your face. Whenever there was food on the table or when someone was going to eat something, he'll be there waiting. Was this boy starved at some point in his life? That's the kind of behavior you often see when you feed street children. They will stuff so much food in their mouths to the point of nausea because they believe that they'll never have that chance again. He also didn't want to share his only toys (again, understandably because they mean so much to him). But, when told that he needed to share because Dana and Dylan were sharing their toys with him, he found a way to share but only when it was convenient for him. Hmm..

I also found out that he had a mean streak. He purposefully broke one of the chairs from Dana's doll house. He looked at it, stepped on it and crushed it. Then, he calmly picked it up and threw it in the trash. He thought nobody was looking. But he was wrong. I saw it and when I asked him about it. He said, it was nothing. Lying to my face too. Another hmmm....

There were still a number of incidents that I will refrain from mentioning because this will just become too tedious and too epic. Yes, he's polite. Yes, he speaks English. But over-all, he wasn't a good influence on our kids. Dana and Dylan never lied. They don't even know how. Now they do. They used to be able to play quietly and yes, they can be boisterous too but when you tell them to be quiet, they will. Now, you need to really raise your voice for them to listen to you.

Do I regret our decision to take him in, NO. We had to try. We owe it to Dad. But we will always put our kids first and foremost. If our family was getting too broken up and too affected by all the stress in the house, then we have to stop. But for now, we will persevere.

More to come.
June 6th - July 1st

Dana's teeth extraction

2011-06-08T13:25:00.000+08:00

One of the milestones in any kid's life is when their teeth start moving and shaking and they get replaced with "adult" teeth. Well, Dana hit the ground running, not with one tooth, but with two at the same time. Her two bottom front teeth were rocking and rolling and it was time to remove them. NOrmally, I wouldn't worry about them but her replacement teeth were already out. So, we both visited her school's dentist and asked to have the baby teeth pulled out. It's a good thing that Dana's used to injections and she's not afraid of them. She got anesthesia for the teeth extraction. Warning: Pictures below may make you queasy! :)

Before

After

Stanley's Pampering Day

2011-06-04T17:00:00.000+08:00

I'm sure car enthusiasts will agree with me when I say that when you have a car, she immediately becomes an integral part of the family, like a dog. You need to save up for it, schedule maintenance/pampering days for it and continually nourish and nurture it with your love.. ok, ok.. that's too much but don't most girlfriends get jealous of the attention their partners lavish on their vehicles?? I rest my case.

Anyway, it's Stanley's turn for some pampering. Granted that it coincided with his getting a check-up because of the way the power steering is feeling wonky, Patrick and I went straight to Fusion R along E. Rodriguez, Quezon City. While we were there, Patrick was able to replace Stanley's Headlights and added a 3rd brake light because the parts were there. He apparently hit a bargain this time, oh if only I was able to take a picture of him! LOL

We went back the next day too, this time to the aircon specialists. Stanley needed more refrigerant and it was just in time before the kids went back to school.

Cousins' Day Out

2011-05-26T23:09:00.000+08:00

Something is definitely up when, all of a sudden, you receive a slightly mysterious message from someone that you hardly hear from. Well, that was the case when I heard from Jericho who messaged me about his concerns about Patrick's nephew, Rhys, who was apparently not being well cared for by his mom (this according to Jericho who was her partner for almost 6 years). They have now split up but Dimples and Rhys were still living in Jericho's house.

Not to get into all the details because it'll just be too much drama for anyone, there was a family meeting or you might even say an "intervention", including Stevie and his wife to discuss what's been happening to the boy. Fast forwarding the story, it has then been decided that Rhys will stay with us, the siblings will each contribute financially especially since school will be starting in June, and for starters, Rhys will be spending the night with us just to see how well he gets along with Dana and Dylan, hence the title of the blog post.

So, since we had already planned to watch Kung Fu Panda 2 with the kids, we just brought Rhys with us that same day and he'll be spending the night with us. It's been a long time since we last saw him. Frankly, we hardly see him because they don't attend any of the family gatherings, limited as they are. Here they were on the way to Robinson's Manila.

Here they were, posing while waiting for their pretzels from Auntie Anne's :)

They had a great time at the movie. After the movie, we went to Max's for dinner. Rhys ate a lot!

Dana just wanted to show off her earrings :)

So far, it seemed like they were going to get along well together. Let's wait and see. We took him back the next day and he had plenty of stories to share with his mom.

Joy Ride in the 2011 Subaru Forester

2011-05-25T20:48:00.000+08:00

May 22 and 24, 2011

When you have a Subaru Forester waiting in your garage, regardless if you have no plans, you will find any excuse fitting to drive around in it :) So, we were thinking: "If we had no money but we had gas in the car, where would we go?" We couldn't go to the malls because we'd definitely spend money on food and on other impulse buys.

We decided that a visit to our nearest family merited a drive in the Subaru Forester. We were also killing two birds with one stone. We wanted to try out the famous "Tapsilog ni Vivian" which happened to be a few corners away from Stevie's house so it was the perfect excuse :)

We weren't really disappointed with Tapsilog ni Vivian. We arrived there a little bit after lunch so it wasn't that jampacked. We had tapsilog and soda and of course, the staple soup. :)

For P80, you get a lot of beef and a hefty serving of rice and the egg wasn't runny so I really liked it.

After that filling lunch, we headed to Stevie's house. It was a chance for the cousins to meet and catch up and as you can see, everyone was having a good time.

It took a while for Hannah to warm up but she eventually did. Lance was busy watching TV so they were all sitting in front of the TV.

It's nice to see them having fun and enjoying themselves.

A day later, Patrick and I decided to give the Subaru Forester a chance to stretch its legs and test its engine so we took a quick drive to Clark. We brought the kids with us of course as part of the experiment :) They loved sitting at the back because of the food compartments. The cool air that you get from a brand new car was also a welcome relief from the oppressive heat.

We had lunch at Zapata's which was surprisingly empty except for a few foreigners and their girlfriends hehehe This time I tried their tacos and I was in heaven. I couldn't get enough of it.. I swear my waistline blew up after eating! LOL

Applying for our Passports at the DFA (Dept. of Foreign Affairs) Part 2: Actual Appointment Day

2011-05-17T16:28:00.008+08:00

Like I mentioned in the previous post, we were scheduled to be at the Department of Foreign Affairs building in Aseana Business Park in Paranaque, yesterday, May 16th. Our scheduled time was 1130AM but we were there around 10:45 AM just to be safe since we needed to be there at 11AM as was mentioned in the "Important Reminders".

Step 1: Appointment Verification
We initially went to Gate 1, but we found out that it was reserved for those who made their appointments via the DFA Appointment Call Center. Gate 2 was for those who made their appointments online and so we proceeded to enter. The guard at the gate will ask to see your "Important Reminders" notice as well as those application forms which you were supposed to print out. They don't allow chaperones to go inside, so take note, only applicants are allowed to go in. Once inside, your first step will be at the Online Appointment Verification Tables. You can't miss them because as soon as they check your bags, they're to your right. You will then present your application forms for them to scan the barcodes. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take a picture of this area.

Step 2: Screening of Documents

While waiting in the "screening room"

After they have verified your appointments, you will then proceed to the Screening Room (I just call it that because this is where they'll screen your papers). Mind you, the guards/employees guarding the gates can be quite harsh, cranky and intimidating so just be calm and keep your documents within easy reach. This area is very much like the NSO Serbilis Center in Pasay. Rows and rows of chairs on which people sit and move as soon as the counters are available. Don't worry, it's airconditioned and even have TV screens to keep you occupied until it's your turn.

Justin Bieber entertaining you
while waiting

There are also as many as 30+ counters so time will pass quickly. It was around 11AM when we finally arrived at our counter. My application as well as Den's was quickly approved for payment while they asked me to photocopy my original application form to be attached to Dana's and Dylan's since I'm applying on their behalf. Warning: Photocopying within the DFA costs P3 per page!!! So, to those whose parents will be applying on behalf of their children, just make extra copies of your own application forms to save you on photocopying costs ;) The good thing about the system though is that you don't have to fall in line again. You can tell the guards that you were asked to photocopy something and they will let you go to the first available counter. Employees at this section were rather pleasant, must be because it's a pretty simple system. Some of the documents I brought were returned to me, like the photocopies of the kids' birth certificates (they kept the originals of course) and some other supporting documents. Once they're satisfied with the primary documents they don't need to ask for more. But bring them still just in case.

Step 3: Payment

Dylan obviously getting
bored with waiting

The next step is payment of your passports. The regular passport costs P950 each. This isn't the expedited version which I think costs P1200. The date stamped on our receipt was for claiming on June 21, so that's roughly a month's waiting time. They have affixed notices around the building about how they're experiencing some technical difficulties etc so passports may experience a delay in releasing. Anyway, once you exit this "Screening Room", you need to proceed to the 2nd level where the payment centers are located. In our experience, there was a waiting section beside the escalators and guards will prevent you from going to the 2nd floor directly. This was because there was an inordinate amount of people that day.

When we got up, there were more people! There's a different room called "Passport Section Area 2" which I assumed to be the courtesy lane for senior citizens, infants and goverment employees. In front of it is more rows of chairs like another waiting section. At that time, I didn't know what they were waiting for. Once you get past this area, you'll enter a different room. Here, you'll find the payment area, the encoding and photo capture section and the courier handling service section. You can hardly see the payment area. There were 4 windows, but when we were paying, only 2 were open, must be because it was almost lunch time.

Step 4: Encoding/Enrollment
After payment, you'll proceed to the "Encoding/Enrollment" section where you're going to get your queue number and wait for your turn. This is where your information will be encoded and your pictures taken for the new e-passport. There are about 80+ tables there to handle the demand. There are TV screens which show the current numbers being assisted. Imagine our surprise when we got our number: 2311 and then we checked the screen for the latest number being processed: 1645. It doesn't take a genius to see that there's roughly 700 people ahead of you waiting for their turn!! Oh My Gosh!!! That was like being sucker punched!! LOL Now I understood what all the people are waiting for. We actually tried waiting a while just to see how fast things are going. It wasn't fast going at all most likely because it was lunch break already.

While we were waiting, there were employees going around asking people if they were going to opt for the home delivery option. It was like multi-tasking since they know it takes a while before you get to the encoding part so it's like you're being proactive about waiting LOL Home delivery costs P120 per passport.

By this time, we took our lunch at McDonald's across the street figuring we have at least 1 hour to get back in line. So we left around 1230 and were back at the DFA by 130PM. When we left, the queue was at the 1700 count and when we returned it was at the 1800 count. So, it's like 100 people every hour were being processed. See, we had so much time on our hands we actually deduced the math! LOL This was the reason we brought our laptop along so the kids won't be bored. Honestly, they need to include kids below 7 years old in the courtesy lane. Kids this age get bored so easily it's a pain to their parents and guardians to make them sit still for hours!!

We were finally able to make it to the inner sanctum by 3:00. Things were faster this time around, since the people manning the desks were done with lunch break and were seemingly more energized to work faster :) When it was our turn for the encoding, it took about 15 minutes to take our pictures and encode our infos and to be reminded when we can pick up our passports!! hahaha so yeah, if there weren't so many people, you can get your processing done in about an hour's time LOL Here's proof about all this adventure! LOL