Mother Fonker - To fonk is human. To mother, divine.

Thank you, Universe for...

noreply@blogger.com (Kat) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:17:00 +0000

I like thanking the universe for each and every detail i come across with in daily life. I came across Psychobabble's grateful-for entry and I thought, wow, that's so nice. Why not blog it as well? I did tell her I'll nick her gratitude idea. I'm sure it's fine with her.

Right now, from where I'm sitting,

I am thankful for my sons, who ALWAYS connect me to the universe.
I am thankful for my mom, sister and far-away bro, my work, my work colleagues, my home, the cutie animals who like to chirp outside, the trees, the sun always peeking at me through the trees during sunset, my heartsharers online and in realtime, my body and a little boy peeking at the monitor while i type.

there are more, but the bubble's burst. hee hee. more next time.

Raising (Bigger) Boys

noreply@blogger.com (Kat) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:06:00 +0000

Yep, I have a new son. A much bigger son.

Last week, my sperm donor's 18-year-old nephew called and asked me if he can stay over. Some messy business with his family moving and all, and he asked if he can stay with us so he can focus on school.

My nephew is a smart, talented and kind boy. Coming from ehmm... (not to diss, but just telling the precise description:) crazy-ass parents doesn't really fit in the grand scheme of things if that's how you are.

We like having him around. My sons have fun with him, and he's helpful around the house. Plus when he stays with us, he thrives in school. During the school's first quarter, he stayed with us and he got into the top 3 because, he claimed, he "can study here" at our home compared to when he's with his mom. I also enjoy how he talks and talks around the dinner table, asking many questions about friends, his love life and how to do better in school.

Today, he came in with his stuff.
"Tita (Aunt), are you adopting me?". I just grunted. Translated to: If I just can, I would.
"Tita, dad's asking if you want anything that he can bring for you? Chocolates? Clothes?"
MF: "None, really. I just want you to go to school."
"Okay."

So now I'm raising all age ranges of boys: tween - early teen - late teen.

Let's get ready to .... rumblllllle....

When Does a Parent Repay HER OWN Parents?

noreply@blogger.com (Kat) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 03:50:00 +0000

This morning I brought Leon to an enrichment math class and waited it out til they were dismissed. At first, I thought "I have come full circle, waiting for my kid to get out of school on a Saturday morning ." And I thought about all the BS about parents' payback time. But then again, I thought,

Wait. My parents never stayed in school to wait for me.

And then I went into a pleasant reverie into the past about my parents, doing stuff for me without waiting for anything in return.

What dawned on me, is they did all they could for me so that eventually, I will be able to/ want to do stuff for my kids that my parents never did for me.

That's when I realized, I can only start to repay them for their kindness when I'm raising boys in better ways than they did.

I'm sure that would please my dad the most.

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Teaching "Work Ethics" Early

noreply@blogger.com (Kat) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:00:00 +0000

Hah! NaBloPoMo, I'm in today.

- -

When 9 yr old came in from school, he immediately asked me

"Ma, when you're a leader and you set a time to do group work, aren't you supposed to appear at the time you set?"

MF: Yes, son. You should even be there first.

So he told me of how he showed up to prepare for a group work and one leader was nowehere to be found, while the other one was elsewhere in school.

So I had to explain, "Son, remember when you went with me to the office then, we would especially be early when there are meetings? Your group work is just like a meeting. When you set a time for everybody to come, you should come. If you're going to be late, you inform them immediately and tell them why." etc etc etc

Parenthood leaves no rock unturned if you want to position your kid to be considerate and ethical in the future.

I've had countless more discussions with Jonesy that I translate to "when you have your own work or business, this is the expected behavior."

Motherfonker overkill. as usual.

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What kind of Mother...

noreply@blogger.com (Kat) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 08:46:00 +0000

Yes, I totally forgot I joined up for the NaBloPoMo. I didn't write yesterday. It slipped my mind that I committed to write everyday!

Oh well, anyway.

- - -

What kind of Mother...
Doesn't blog about her son's birthday???

Jonesy turned 14 last Oct. 30.
14 years ago, I was wheeled into the delivery room at 5AM and out popped the scrawny worm baby by 6AM.

The worm baby also screeched LOUUUUUUD and DEEP. The worm baby sounded like a fog horn, really. Later on, younger bro would have a very deep baby voice but even he didn't cry THAT loud when he was born. It gave me the omen that this kid could be such a whiner and disser.

My fondest baby memory of Jonesy was him with his "pet" stand fan. As Jonesy wheeled about in his wheeled walker, he clasped the stand fan (with wheels) and he and his "pet" rolled about. Think of the movie "Up". Something like that.

As he toddled through the baby years, he would develop the knack for doing the things you just taught him not to - and with flair. If you told him not to dip his hand down the aquarium, he wouldn't dip his hand. He would chuck in a toy into the aquarium, say the toddler equivalent of "Oops, my toy." and find him sloshing around (head, arms and half body in the aquarium).

He was smart and had a temper, even in his baby years. He had the toy to shoot the correct shapes through. As he tried to put the star shape through the star hole, and couldn't, he angrily opened the damn toy, slammed the star shape in and slammed the thing shut.

Yeah, well he was quite the high-strung kid and if you had a crappy teen-aged mom you would be too (you have permission to blame the mother with all kinds of "what kind of mother..." stuff).

Fast forward to a decade or so later. Yep, he's still quite the hot headed boy with his brother. But in his other environment of school and friends, he is top in his class, he plays a mean keyboard and guitar and peers run to him for advice. Every so often, he would bring home medals and/ or ask me to come to school and award him with something. And with his mother who he knows has an eagle-eye out for hanky-panky, he surprisingly spoils her in their weird kind of non-mush understanding.

So what kind of mother has a smart, talented and understanding boy for a son? One hell of a lucky motherfonker.

Happy birthday, son!
Thank you for giving me glimpses of the universe with your presence.

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Zit!

noreply@blogger.com (Kat) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:08:00 +0000

One of the things I wished for my sons is to at least inherit my skin type. Unlike their sperm donor who was zitty through his teen-age years, my skin was quite problem free. While my classmates agonized over zits and face treatments, I breezed through my teen years with clear skin. I can have all those “cursed stimulants” to grow zits: menstruation, sleeping late, eating oily food and chocolate, but I came out unscathed.

I think my wish has been granted, so far. Jonesy’s skin is low maintenance and his face doesn’t breakout, only occasionally. I have bought him mild skin cleansers but he does not use these, just the usual bath soap. I hope 9 year old will have it as easy.

Sometimes I would catch Jonesy staring at the mirror for an hour. I know what that means. He is mulling over a pimple. I would cut his silence short “Oi! Don’t even think about touching that!” For us with similar skin types, the usual remedy for a pimple is :

1) Don’t touch it. Leave it alone
2) Let the pimple dry naturally with the usual face washing and bath. The skin will be blemish-free in a few days.
3) Touching it or doing something to it leaves scars and heals longer. So what’s the point?

That’s just for me and the spawns of my loins with similar DNA, though.

If your son’s skin is having things bad with acne or other skin problems, note that it MAY or may not cause bad feelings for him. As adults we may pooh-pooh acne for our kids, knowing that beauty is skin deep. It’s tough enough being a teen-ager finding one’s place in the world. It’s worse when you have to go about and your peers look at you and see your skin, instead of what you are down inside.

For our young men and ladies, acne is a serious matter and it may be distracting them from being in the moment.

If your son’s acne seems bad and you notice he seems to be getting affected by it, you may want to suggest or go with him to see a skin care specialist. Shop around for a dermatologist or skin care center empathetic to young people. Yeah I know, they treat skin, not people’s self-esteem, but if you can get a doctor who can be nice to your kid, the better that would be, right?

Also, if your kid is getting emotionally bothered with severe acne, find tactful (non-invasive) ways to be there for him. You can make him feel good about other stuff, such as his hobbies, sports, or academics. (This is our main task as parents, anyway. Acne or none.)

Strengthen his belief in himself, so much so that eventually he feels great facing himself in the mirror, whatever his skin's situation is.

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NaBloPoMo Whutt?

noreply@blogger.com (Kat) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:32:00 +0000

I keep seeing people signing up for National Novel Writing Month and I think it's great (yeah, weird as well) that people are sure they'll be able to produce a novel in 30 days.

Me, I'm out. I suck at telling stories because I keep messing up the chronology of events of any story.

What I do remember was November last year, people were huffing and puffing to produce 1 blog post a day for National Blog Posting Month. I didn't join then because I don't think I can spit out a post daily. And of course, considering my dork subjects, I sometimes have to wait for days or months for them to come up with something really good that I can write about.

Anyway, this year, I'm in. I believe in the idea that people pick up a habit when they do something everyday for 21 days. I'm hoping that I'll be able to pick up the habit of daily blog posting by the end of the month.

Etchos. Let's see.

I wonder if this counts as blog post number 1 awready?

Visit NaBloPoMo
How come I don't look like this anymore? boo.
The photo was there when I arrived at the profile page.

If you have a blog, sign up for NaBloPoMo too. Trip lang. :-))

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You Know Your Child has Grown Again When...

noreply@blogger.com (Kat) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:01:00 +0000

...You teach him how to tie a neck tie.

No more how-to-tie-with-bunny-ears technique for this grown boy.

I shoulda taught him this crap too, why he needs one:

9 yr old will be the recipient of this information when it's his turn.

- - -
Anyhoo, here's a simple way to tie a necktie for boys.

1. Put tie around the nape. Adjust the thin end to hang by/above the belly button. Fat end will be considerably longer.

2. Put fat end over the thin end , then loop under the thin end.

3. Loop it over again, then under (2nd time) but

4. Place the end of the fat end by the top most button of the shirt (by the throat), then pull the fat end out.

5. Thread the fat end down through the horizontal loop and pull down.

6. Adjust.

Deng. That was quite hard to describe. Hope people get it.

Maybe bunny ear knots are easier to understand....

PS. Scanning through guy fashion magazines, we noticed that ties for now are sleeker. When I got Jonesy his tie, the ties with fat ends (those like dad's) are considerably way cheaper than the ties with both slim ends. So, yeah. Guess the sleek ties are more ehmm "acceptable" these days, that's why they're more expensive. I won't be surprised if I'm the last one to know of this bit of fashion news. Just sharing, info might come in handy if you're giving away ties this christmas. ;-)

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Parenting Hypocrisy?

noreply@blogger.com (Kat) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:45:00 +0000

In my day, I was carefree and wreckless. I didn't get in to TOO much trouble but I had my share of... uhmm "naughtiness". And I sure as hell know (and remember quite well, still, that) I didn't like adults putting boundaries on my whims.

So imagine my horror at my ability to pull a poker face and to ask the "proper" questions expected of a parent the other day.

Jonesy: Mom, may I sleep over at classmate x's after the high school dance?
Motherfnkr: (thoughtful how to pull this one off while being true to myself) *long pause* Classmate X who?
Jonesy: One of my friends in class.... So, can I?
Motherfnkr: *long pause* How many will you be there?
Jonesy: Dunno yet.
Motherfnkr: *all-thinky and shit* Does classmate x have adult supervision at home?
Jonesy: Of course.
Motherfnkr: I see. Remember your last night out? The rule is leaving the landline phone number before you can go.
Jonesy: Yeah, I'm texting now for his phone number. *Slinks away*

I still had many questions and he escaped!

I have this issue with my myself about being too inquisitive about permissions and all, when I myself once upon a time was a.. ehmm... real headache.

But that's just for myself. My deep, dark secret.

For showtime, I am inquisitive and have to have all those numbers just in case.

Just in case he ends up like me. lol.

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Stuff I Admire from My Son's School

noreply@blogger.com (Kat) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 08:52:00 +0000

Kids Singing to Parents
Guess who my camera-evading son is...

We went to my son's family day today. Fun.

The School CEO gave a talk to the parents on how the school has buckled up and patterning subjects to Singapore's Math and Science programs. There are a few more jewels in her talk that I appreciate, which I realize I always gain whenever she OR THE OTHER ADMINISTRATORS give a talk.

There are others, but right now here is a list of what I admire about the school's principles in developing the kids. These are things I keep in mind also when raising the boys.

Thrust to improve academics and usual extra-curriculars is a default setting. All schools try that. I don't really care to nitpick the boys' grades, it's just a blessing that the boys' grades are okay and 1 tops class.

Priority to train the kids to also analyze and be resourceful. I bemoan copy-pasting and/ or just memorizing facts. There are some things I do give a shit on, like looking at how the boys' google. You might take google for granted, but I care that the boys know how to organize data and look for shit.

Fun. Lots of activities throughout the year that are fun and actually - gasp!- educational.

Balance on material whims. The school CEO always reminds parents to not give in to all our kids' material whims. They are turning to softies by doing so, she says. I agree.

Encourage kids to be entrepreneurial. There was this 1 event I attended when a school admin was giving an inspirational talk to the kids. She was encouraging the kids to be entrepreneurial for their own pocket money. I was thinking other parents may think it's cheap, but I love how they're opening the kids' minds on this delicate matter so early.

It takes a village. Partnership with parents is for real. It is surprising how parents actually help out in big or small programs. You can see parents sprawled on the floor painting backdrops, cutting papers, etc. with the kids. And we can come for big or small programs, no invites needed. When I was in school parents were only allowed to show up for limited programs. That's baccalaureate mass and graduation (other than the usual parent-teacher conferences) only! With my boys' school, parents who want to partner with the school are more than welcome.

There are others that are quite radical that other parents' may not approve of, but I approve of widening kids' minds to options other than the accepted opinions in the mainstream.

Yeah, I think this school's learning to rock pretty well.

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You know Your Child has Grown Again When...

noreply@blogger.com (Kat) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 18:01:00 +0000

... When you wake up in the middle of the night and you hear strains of Flight of the Bumble Bee on keyboard. Teen-ager set the keyboard to "music box" to soften the noise.

I creep out and rap on the door,

"Son, you sound like a horror movie. Go to sleep."

Tinkling classical piece at 1AM can give neighbors the willies, you know. So halloween-y.

I'll know he's grown again when he doesn't stifle the sound anymore and turns to playing a horror-movie pipe organ.

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My Kid Insists this is his Dad

noreply@blogger.com (Kat) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 17:24:00 +0000

9-year old insists this guy (an actor) is his dad.

Why?

One night, the tv was on and this guy's show was on.

We were talking about a school requirement that needed his sperm donor's assistance of some kind.

So I said, "Call your dad and tell him."

So he pulled out his cell and started dialling.

Then we heard a ring.

It was the tv show. And this guy pulled out his cell and said, "Hello?"

9-year old got a kick out of it so much, now he keeps on declaring this guy is his real dad.

Crazy...

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Halloween's Coming Up! What's your Kid Gonna Be?

noreply@blogger.com (Kat) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:43:00 +0000

Year in, year out, it's the usual scenario. I ask smaller bro what he's gonna be for halloween, no answer, ask, no answer, ask until it's tada! Cramming time for halloween costume once again.

This year, I've been pestering him to be a Jabbawockee but he doesn't want to.
He's the type of kid who makes it a point that when he does wear a costume, he will look nice. So that definitely strikes out monsters, gore, funny tights and masked faces.

Two years ago, he wanted to be Harry Potter. So he showed up at my sister's office's treat or trick in a store bought costume - a long, wide sleeved black coat labelled "Wizard Costume". He also wore a shirt, vest and orange tie and black pants.

A rare picture that shows his face :-p

As he passed by the young employees, they did say "Oh, it's Harry Potter."

But as he approached one director for his treat, he was welcomed warmly.

"Hello.... And who might you be? (thinks)

Oh, you must be The Graduate!"

(Hoo boy, wonder why I heard Simon and Garfunkel in my head...)

This year, I asked him what he wanted to be for halloween.

Now he had an immediate answer: "Hali Bote," he said without glancing from the computer monitor.

Hali Bote is Chinese for Harry Potter.

Altogether now: "And here's to you, Mrs. Robinson, Jesus loves you more than you will know..."

Oh well, that means I don't have to buy anything this year.

What about your kid? What does your child want to be this halloween?

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For Cars that Swam in the Flood

noreply@blogger.com (Kat) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 08:58:00 +0000

Thousands of cars were submerged in the metro because of the recent flood.

I'm sure a lot of car owners are dying of curiosity to find out if their cars are still alive or not.

However, I'm sure garage mechanics and official repair houses of car brands are full to the brim now.

What to do? See if you can find something useful in these tips from Ehow:

1. Assess the damage. Is your car worth repairing at all? Was the car totally submerged or just partially?
2. Is the engine working? If there is water in the engine, don't even start it. Have the car towed to the repair shop.
3. Drain the oil and transmission pans. Replace with new liquid.
4. Let the brakes dry and inspect. Drain and change the brake fluid.
5. Clean and let dry the car's interiors. Or have it re-upholstered.

If the damage is going to cost more than the total worth of the car, then it is not salvageable.

The usual car insurance in the Philippines don't cover damage due to natural calamaties. You have to pay extra premiums to have your car insured for floods.

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A Little More Ketsana

noreply@blogger.com (Kat) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 08:02:00 +0000

I was safe and dry during the last Ketsana typhoon but very worried about my mom and sister living in a crucial flood site. I knew floodwaters were high, but never realized my family was having the worst flood in all our flood-accustomed lives. The flood was 12-14 ft from the street! Way beyond a person's height. Yikes.

I didn't have cable TV and OMG :-p an AM radio. I had to rely on news from the usual sources:
Free TV. Too concentrated on favorite areas. Blah.
FM radio. I knew they'd still play music with some intermittent news, so that was out too. (Read here later in the net that Jam 88.3 broadcasted news all throughout, so some clap-clap for the people there.)
Online govt websites. Down! wuh??? *slap forehead*

I found 3 very useful online tools though, after the net was restored on the 2nd day of the Flood.

- AM Radio streaming, specifically DZMM's. Easy to use, despite simultaneous open sites (sorry, DZBB. I'm a kapuso but ur streaming doesn't stream.)
- Plurk. Always loved and relied on.
- and of course, something I've always detested for its ugliness: Twitter. Twitter is Plurk's ugly, impersonal sister.

Not really Twitter per se. But one of its accounts, Traffic Manila.
Traffic Manila was being worked on by 2 great gals who, despite being in the office during the storm, helped a LOT of confused and worried people by meticulously posting and mediating road traffic queries. Thank you so much, #trafficmanila and thank you to all the great followers who contributed which street or road was passable or not.

---

Deep in my heart, despite the scary situation, I knew my mom and sister were okay.
Many families communed together in houses with higher 2nd/ 3rd floor levels. This is what they also did. My family spent several nights at the neighbor's along with 3 other families.

Humor is not so absent after the scare has died down. The mood later on turned into a camping/vacation mode, with people sharing food and stuff.

My sister said to while away boredom while being isolated in the midst of floodwaters, they turned to shouting to the other neighbors for some amusement. Such as:

My sister's commune: Errolll!!! (Erroll is at the other "commune". What's for dinner?!!!
Errol: Nonneeee!!!!! Jollibee is closed!!!! (Jollibee is a popular burger joint.)

or

"Starlaaaa! (the neighborhood manicurist) Give us a manicuuuuuuuure!!! (As if Starla can swim through the flood. LOL)

I told you we Filipinos have a weird sense of humor and optimism during troubled times.

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Floating Up through Storms and Floods

noreply@blogger.com (Kat) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 16:53:00 +0000

I grew up in a neighborhood that averages 10 floods a year. My sibs and parents and I always breezed through those easily. Submerged feet in dirty stinky water for days, scrubbing the house after, etc. Year in, year out. Somehow, we always managed to stay calm and sane. Living in an area with a weird character grows on you, you eventually just adjust and live.

Sometimes, when I hear friends wading through flood waters and they mention they cried while doing so, I ask, how high was it? Up to my knees... The insensitive fonk that I am would cut in, What? You cried when the flood was only upto your knees???

This week-end we had a devastating flood, and I don't use the word devastating for floods, really.

But it is. After the water has gone down, we've found so many dead people in the mud, caught in the wires, etc. (yeah, the water was that high...) People still missing/ has not contacted relatives after everyone else has had their phone signals back... This is scary, truly.

Scary because the level of difficulty is new. Scary because we didn't expect it and were unprepared.

But I know the optimism of Filipinos. We smile through floods, earthquakes, fire. We reach out to people. We cheer when media cameras pass by (yeah, we're natural hams). We briefly exchange stories without saying a word. We touch each other's lives and leave imprints of kindness everywhere for everybody.

Next time, we know what to do... And expect that you won't scare the shit out of us that time around ;-)

If you want to donate to Typhoon Ketsana victims, MyAyala is now accepting online donations. It is your kindheartedness that inspires people to start anew, so donate today :-)

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Philippine Flag Change... la-di-dah...

noreply@blogger.com (Kat) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 15:53:00 +0000

So of course everyone is reacting just now to the approval of the insertion of the 9th ray of the sun on the Philippine Flag. People are reacting now after enactment of a law. Good luck.

Don't get me wrong, I love anything Philippine. I love the flag. In fact, I love it so much I give more solemnity to facing the flag during national anthems than during some religious denomination's prayers. I also sing the National Anthem loud and proud, anywhere, anytime. (Note to my non-Pinoy friends, people don't sing the national anthem here, which is sad.)

I love it so much I will just paste this here for posterity and sentimental reasons.

Early Philippine Flag with 8 rays

The lawmaker who proposed this is allotting the 9th ray for Muslim Mindanao. I'm all for including Muslim Mindanao into everything, but I don't think it's appropriate since they want to be free of the Philippines, to be given the space to do their own thing, not really to be part and parcel of this country (long story). So, meh...

Anyhoow, leave the serious thinking to legitimate thinkers.

- -

The first thing I thought of when I saw the news is that --> 9 rays around the sun's circle will be difficult for kids to draw evenly.

8 rays representing the 8 provinces that rebelled and fought against the colonizers valiantly, mean you draw it like you slice pizza. One across, another across it, then a line in a middle, and another line through the other middle.

9 rays means an OC child will now have to divide the sun's circle into 3 first (how???), then put in the 3rays at each division, and you don't put it in the 2 rays in between.

I'm a momma. This is a legitimate concern for me. Burjujillions of Filipino kids draw the flag every year, you know.

Amorsolo's Interpretation on the Sewing of the First Current Flag
These Hong Kong chicks had it easier... Imagine sewing a flag with 9 hard to layout rays on the sun...

A lot of people are reacting about this, some serious, some funny, but my favorite is from my fellow plurker, who said:

"9th ray added to the Philippine flag to reflect current global warming crisis."

and that the

"Philippines is the first country in the world to acknowledge climate change in its national flag."

hahaha Winner!

Bah. I care more about caring for the country and whatever icons it has, whether the icon gets a new tail, horns or whatevuh.

More Pictures of the flag as I knew it for posterity:

Weird face make-up (and some issues about wearing the flag) but ok na lang.

I love this, purty!

Kanye! I Need Yew! (Who woulda thought??? Yikes)

noreply@blogger.com (Kat) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 14:18:00 +0000

Today is my son's field trip again. This year I was well and healthy, unlike last year when I had this mysterious ailment.

9 year old and I had fun the whole day at a marine theme park, and later, a rides theme park. Unlike last year's field trip when 9 year old kept waiting for me, this year is a year for clearer signals to let him go. He strayed around a lot on his own or with his friends. I'm okay, I'm not really the clingy mom type so I just let him be. He has also declared that this year is the last for field trip companions. Next year, he prefers to wing it on his own. (I think it's also the school norm for 4th graders to not have companions anymore.)

As we headed back to the metro by the end of the day, we settled comfortably in the bus (/coach) as we watched "Knowing" starring Nicholas Cage.

A little later, as the movie got more exciting.... a ringtone from a cellphone blared -->

"Romeo and Juliet is chenelyn de cordova, chuchubells chenebells pakisagot mo na..." "Love Story" by Taylor Swift. Very loud, quite distracting, really. As we watched Nicholas with open mouths, the song strained on. Why won't the young lady answer her phone so we can get on with our movie in peace????

Turns out the "ring tone" wasn't a ring at all, but a song actually being played from her portable whatever! What an inconsiderate jerk-ess (is there a feminine form for jerk?) this young lady was. I had 2 samsung headphones with me, i wanted to shove one up her ears and tie the cords of the second round the young woman's neck but restrained myself.

And because of the loud mp3 playing, up front, I saw a 50-ish dad also whip out his spanking new gadget... and I can see big musical notes flashing from the screen...

When I couldn't take it anymore, I reached across the row and poked the young lady "Excuse me, please shut that thing off. We're all watching the movie..." She complied willingly.

After a minute of enjoying Nicholas again, again:

"Romeo and Juliet is chenelyn de cordova, chuchubells chenebells chuchu chenez chukchak"

from ... guess who? the dad up front!

Turns out its his kid playing the damn gadget... but still.... KANYEEEEEEEEEE!!!! I needju! Please shut Taylor up!

Whoulda thought Kanye has some actual use?

Scout Parent's Honor

noreply@blogger.com (Kat) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 18:19:00 +0000

I attended Jonesy's* Scout honoring program today.

He was honored with level "Explorer." He finally has the sash with patches. It's a nice promotion from the start of his scouting days, wearing the khaki shorts and knee-high green socks. Yikey.

Of course, you don't pass that chance up to connect it with Dora. I told him, during the awarding: You know, the best musical score for this part of the program is dt-dt-dt-dt-dt-dora... he doesn't skip a beat giving me his "mom, you're so corny but since I respect you I will smile wanly." grin.

While we were waiting up the stage for all Explorers to be honored, I asked to take a picture. No, he said. He was having a bad hair day. C'mon... If you don't, I'll sing Dora's "We did it! We did it! We did it! Hooray!" with the matching monkey's choreography. He finally gave in and gave me his best bad hair day look.

- -

As i sat down and watched the program, I noticed how A LOT of scout and parent pairs onstage were actually smiling and talking to each other! I was surprised at how surprised I was. Then I remembered, I've been to several academic honors awarding ceremonies, and for those events, A LOT of honor studes and parent pairs on stage scowl at or ignore each other.

Is it possible? Could there really be a connection? I know scouts are cliched with all these un-machowacho traits of reliability, respect, helpfulness and what not... But could it really be that scouts are just... happy?

So for us parents of scouts, we're happy you're happy. Whenever you invite us to come to your events, we feel pride and joy that you are a happy, organized bunch. And for those raising boys, if your child shows interest, encourage him to join up. I don't think it'll do harm.

Carry on...

* Who is Jonesy? During my absence from blogging, one day I suddenly blurted "(13 year old's first name:) ____________ Jones, come here!" I dunno. It just popped out of my mouth because it had a nice ring to it. So the name stuck, and my nickname of affection for him now is Jonesy. Now I also call 9 yr old ____________ Jones. I call them both the Jones Brothers, it rhymes with Joe and Nick.

Finding Tuna

noreply@blogger.com (Kat) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 23:37:00 +0000

My crazy ass kid (the 9yr old one) was watching this commercial last night

and suddenly said,

"Mom, eat San Marino."

Why?

"So you'll find your true love."

What a psycho kid :-D

Brief absence, different issues

noreply@blogger.com (Kat) — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 09:24:00 +0000

My original intent on putting up this blog is to share parenting/ raising boys issues while putting up for posterity my sons' antics, and mysterious ways of their brains.

Kinda crazy for me to see that my last regular blogging was end of the year last year and already -- I am facing totally different issues now... in just a span of several months!

Well, for one, I already have a high school sophomore so the set of activities has rapidly transformed (bringing with it totally new issues).

And then my 9 year old, still 9 years old, but is displaying the signs of --sigh -- terrible pre-pubescence.

I do hope I can write more regularly now. I admit I've stopped because my mojo wasn't up to it... but let's see now what happens next. ;-)

Treasures You Find When Cleaning the Car

noreply@blogger.com (Kat) — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 13:36:00 +0000

Happy Father's Day Mang Napo! We love you always and miss you always.

- -

Since Lassie was begging for a total body spa, i took the old girl for a thorough wash and nurturing at home. Scrub, scrub, scrub... clean, clean, clean....

Some stuff you pick up in the nooks and crannies of a car:

1) game board pieces that fell off, like, 3 years ago and recovered just now when nobody plays that game anymore.
2) a mineral foundation case that decided to fall off my purse maybe during a turn (been looking all over for it, too!
3) money, also decided to escape my purse while i was driving and not looking.

After an hour of scrubbing the interiors thoroughly, it struck me that my dearest dad Mang Napo also liked cleaning the car on lazy Sunday afternoons, and this got me totally emotionally wracked up.

Smell of grease. Dirt on my hands. Tears.

Flashes in my head:
- Of Mang Napo assigning me to clean the matting. Which I totally felt lazy doing, but did so anyway.
- Of my own perspective, looking through Mang Napo's eyes, seeing this little girl (also me, jsut little), and calling her to help me out scrub those darn mats.
- Of a silly Mang Napo STILL cleaning the car as sunset and darkness came. Silly man.

That's when it occurred to me to scrub Lassie gently. Man and machine are one, after all.

As i scrubbed gentler and gentler, I am reminded of how gentle he had been. He hadn't been mushily affectionate like the dads on tv, but i felt in my heart he is one of the gentlest dads a child can ever want.

I never thought I will find a real treasure in the grease and grime of an automobile: I found my dad again.

Needless to say, now, I will a scrub a gazillion car mats if only I could spend one Sunday afternoon with him in exchange.

- -

to my friends who've been wondering where i've been: i lost my writing mojo. haven't been writing at all (and does micro blogging have a connection with this? hahaha)

Hi!

noreply@blogger.com (Kat) — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 02:34:00 +0000

*Flashes a pre-schooler smile*

Let's rock, let's roll this 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Kat) — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 14:36:00 +0000

Obviously I haven't been up to much blogging...

and I still am not up to blogging.

Maybe next time...

Happy new year to all, though.

Love Notes through the Years

noreply@blogger.com (Kat) — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 03:08:00 +0000

When 8yo was learning to write, we traded "mail" almost everyday.

It was his idea. He would cut out the cereal box, make an arc-shape with a base, and put in a cover and tab for opening. I think the first mailbox he made had a smiley face on it, like the mailbox in Blue's Clues. This lopsided "Mail Box" stayed on my table. Before I left for the office, I would write a note with simple words, fold it, and "mail" it by leaving it in the mailbox.

After I get home from work, I would check the box and 8yo would have a note waiting for me. It would usually have a "hello mama" note. Later the missive will say something about what toy he wanted. Sometimes, I will receive notes with long spellings, like "Happy Valentines Mama" and I would be so proud. Yes, he just copies the spelling from ads and cards lying around the house.

Stupidhead mother didn't save even one note, it woulda been nice to post a photo here. But I believe in travelling lightly and make do with memories.

** FOR THOSE WITH KIDS JUST LEARNING TO WRITE,
HAVING A MAILBOX AROUND THE HOUSE IS A FUN ACTIVITY.

Exchanging notes lets them practice reading and writing.
It also gives them a taste of the classic tradition of writing, reading letters. A dying art.
Also gives you a ton of material to document how they write and think at that age.

- -

We don't write notes anymore after he attended big school.

These days, our notes-exchange has taken a different form.

I registered him with chikka.com, a site that lets you send free sms from your pc to a cellphone. This way, he can text me anytime when I'm out of the house.

Last Saturday, I turned my back from the PC for several seconds. I saw him crawling on the floor, kneel by the keyboard and punch.

I go "PSSHHHT! Go away!"

He crawls away fast, like The Grudge.

My cell rings. I check it.

8yo laughs to himself.

SMS message from his chikka account : "Mama"

I stick my tongue out at him.

That's all.
We don't really exchange lovey-mushy notes.

Whatever message is written, those are all love notes for me because it says "I'm thinking of you."