How Does He Know?

I’ve been a mom three times over and yet I still have questions that remain unanswered to this day. Nothing mind-boggling really, just a few things I couldn’t help but wonder. Why is it that kids, at a very young age, get attached to their parents or nanny or a favorite toy? Is there any logical explanation to that? And why do they cry when the mom, dad or sibling is about to go out the house and leave them behind? It couldn’t be a random thing or coincidence since (in our family at least) it happens every time, could it?

At 1 year and 3 months, Jake is one such kid. Jerry and I resort to all forms of distraction just to divert him from noticing if we are about to leave the house for school/office. Most of the time, our attempts don’t work and Jake ends up bawling some more. As a momentary solution, we now let him walk us to the garage where he sees us load the elder boys’ bags in the trunk and then board the car. As he rides the elevator (going down) with us, his happiness is visibly amusing. At least until we part again for the day.


Jake with nanny looks out the balcony as we drive off.


Every week day at 7am, without fail, this is our scenario much like a rerun that you watch on television. I know it’s just a phase, yet, it pains me to see him sadly sending us off with his big round eyes. And his longing gaze rends my heart.

All About Jake

JAKE
~ is 1 year and 3.5 months (already?)
~ likes hotdog, spam, bread, chips, ice cream, corned beef, banana among others (hello junk food!)
~ can finish a bowl of porridge in one meal (imagine the size of a Chowking bowl)
~ has 1 tooth out and several other pearlies ready to erupt (why is it taking forever???)
~ is not afraid to take his medicine and vitamins (he started out liking it, then hating it and back to liking it)
~ hates tissue or table napkin (he would violently squirm, wriggle and cover his face when the object gets within a foot away from him)
~ is more confident to walk around by himself now (never mastered the art of crawling. he seemed to have skipped the crawling stage)
~ carries one object on each hand when he walks (these objects act as his weights and keep him balanced)
~ loves to walk us down the garage on our way to school/office
~ knows how to poop when you prop him on the adult toilet seat (we didn't have to buy potty trainers, yey!)
~ doesn't like to sit/stand still in his tub when bathing (I end up getting soapy and wet before he does. hehe. over ba?)
~ doesn't like to sit on his stroller
~ listens to classical and mellow music
~ dances to rap and fast tunes
~ likes to watch Elmo, Sesame Street, and Little Bill
~ owns very few clothes (I don't buy him much thinking that he will soon outgrow them) BUT
~ kiddie cabinet bursts with Oshkosh, Spin, Baby Guess clothes and Nike shoes mostly given by Tita Erlinda and cousin Michael (See? I didn't have to buy, did I? Thanks Linds and Michael! Keep 'em coming. Hahaha!)
~ says Pa-PAH loudly when he sees Jerry (yup, I guess that's his first word)
~ plays with his brothers' cars and says: "Weee-weee..."
~ wears size XL Pampers
~ drinks 1.2-1.5 liters of NAN2 milk/day (yeah even if he now has a complete solid diet)
~ sleeps straight through the night (to Jerry's delight! heeeheehee)
~ wakes up earliest at 430 am or latest at 700 am
~ is 22 pounds (20 pounds more than his birth weight)
~ loves playing with the cellphone, palm pilot, computer keyboard, digital camera and the steering wheel (he's turning into a technogeek, like me)
~ is a bundle of energy (he rivals the energizer bunny)

And I look forward to seeing him in the morning when he wakes up and at night before he sleeps.

Would I Rather Shop than Watch a Movie?

Or would I enjoy being sick and staying home just to catch the championship game on tv?
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Matthew has been sick since yesterday. His low-grade fever and sore throat were enough reasons we didn’t let him attend his classes.

On hindsight, we suspect he was more glad than worried that he was absent. At home he got to watch the Spurs vs. Pistons championship game.

Perfect excuse.
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Yesterday, on our way home, Jerry suggested and I agreed that we rent some vcd (nah, we haven’t gotten around to buying a dvd player yet), buy some junk food and vegetate in front of the tv. The plan was good since I actually preferred watching movies at home than going to the theater. Saves time and money. And yah, I’m just lazy like that.

Right before dinner, I don’t know what came over me. I ended up snoozing on the couch in the living room! I was deadbeat that Jerry had to wake me up for dinner. Feeling woozy, I got up, had dinner with the boys, walked to the couch again and fell right back to sleep!

What on earth was on that Cheezy snack pack from the supermarket that I finished off??? Oh great…right, MSG has such a deadly effect on me that I ALMOST swore never to touch junk food again.

So the night was soon over without me even seeing the first of 2 movies. Boo!
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This morning, we went to the mall to buy some pillows. On our way to the home décor section, I got sidetracked by the ongoing sale at the men’s department. Hmm… I began looking at the khakis and navy slacks for Jerry. Then at some polos.

In less than an hour, I was leading him to the cashier. I knew Jerry was hesitant to spend on clothes and he felt he didn’t need any new ones. But I was more insistent. I thought it was my way of making up for the bungled movie-date last night.

We ended up with 3 pairs of slacks, 4 polos and NO pillows. I guess we will have to make do with the tattered ones tonight. Hehehe…

Guilt and impulsiveness are a potent mix for the shopaholic in me.


"Looking at store windows is great entertainment because you can see all these things and be really glad it's not home filling up your closets and drawers." (Andy Warhol, America, 1985)
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Are you a smart shopper or just good at guessing? Without going over, how much do you think did I spend for the 3 pairs of slacks and 3 polos for Jerry?

Weekend Here We Come

We pass the Marcelo Fernan bridge everyday on our way home from work. This is the second bridge connecting Cebu Province to Mactan Island.


Marcelo Fernan bridge, a 4-lane cable-stayed bridge spanning the Mactan Channel

Aahh Friday! Don't you just love the weekend? No grand plans are lined up for this one but the free days are much appreciated just the same. Time to sit and laze around the house and just enjoy being with the boys.

TGIF! Have a great weekend to you all as well!

Cluttered Desk, Cluttered Mind?

I occupy about 12 sqm of space in my 2f office. It's sparsely furnished. Tall gray fabric partitions separate me from my General Accounting group and from Sales. Save for the executive table, movable pedestal, a small side table, a black high-back leather chair and 2 guest chairs, it's devoid of anything else. No bulky lateral cabinets, no stacks of folders, no rows of document boxes, nada.

As soon as papers for signature get to my office, they're out again fast. So seldom would you see my desk with piles of paperwork. No frustrating messy buildup. Most of the time, the only things you’d see on my desk are the laptop, a telephone, a calculator, a pen and occasionally, the newspaper (which I read 1st thing in the morning or during lunch break).

I'm finding it a welcome change from my previous job where I seldom see my desk clear of papers and vouchers and files. I think I kind of like it now. Though the pieces of furniture are not spanking new, the whole cube looks clean and clutter-free. Very zen, if there's ever such a thing for office cubicles.

Then, one day, a colleague from Sales craning her neck from the partition, asked me, "Don't you get bored there? You want me to put a framed picture of flowers on your back wall?". "Aw, that's sweet, but no, thank you." I quipped.

Framed picture of flowers on the back wall of my cube? Haha, she must be kidding me, right?

Bloglines

This has no relation to my entry, but I just love the blue sky here, thus I share it with you...

I have a bit of slack at work today and thought of blogging about this nifty site I just found as I was surfing the internet last night. Have you heard of Bloglines.com? Out of curiosity, I clicked on the link that I found on Yahoo and worked with it for a while.

So what does it do for me? Let’s just say it keeps me informed of which blogs have updates. It's not another email notifier, no, no, no, alerts are not via emails (unless you prefer to have it sent to you). I’d hate that. Don't you?

How does it work? You only need to register and create your own feeds that you would like to subscribe to, in my case, my favorite blog links. Believe me it’s painless. All I have to do is login. And during breaks, in between paperwork or when the eyelids get droopy and ready to shut, I just refresh the site. Voila! It shows me if any of my feeds/links have just been updated and off I go to read.

It saves me the trouble of aimlessly checking out my fave sites by clicking all the links and opening them in different windows until the desktop or laptop seems to choke. I only click on those that have updates and pace myself. I know there are other similar tools, aggregator or what-have-you out there, but this is the only one I’ve tried, and fortunately grown to like. Quite clever...

Enough of my yapping already! Go check it out.

Shining Moment

It's hard to actually put in words what I felt as I stood in the school gym this morning listening and singing along with the choir during the mass. Jerry, looking cool and composed, was standing next to me. Hmm, yeah, I could only guess what he was feeling as well.

During moments like this, I turn to mush. I struggle as I keep the tears from rolling down my cheeks. And without sounding too emo about it, my throat really ached. Sigh...

It was the culmination of our sons' academic hard work for schoolyear 2004-2005. Together with other deserving students, they were awarded their gold medals this morning.

And as what Fr. Javier, the Grade School Principal said, it was a fitting close to the past schoolyear and an inspiring opening for the new one.

Great job Matt and Kyle! We love you! And we're SOOO proud of you!

(Now I sound mayabang na. Hehehe)

A Few Random Shots of Firsts

This was taken on one of the intersections at Clark Air Base, Pampanga as Jerry and I were trying to find our way to the duty free shops. Yes we got lost. Believe it or not, it was my first time to be there. Hahaha! Aside from the wide expanse of green and the clean and peaceful surroundings, I particularly enjoyed the goods that we were able to purchase for next to nothing.
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What do these look like to you? Two of these creamy, puffy and delectable Cinnabon rolls wound up in my tummy. It was my first time to try these yummy desserts and, oh dear, I'm such a sucker for sweets. Too bad we don't have Cinnabon in Cebu.
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The "bonne famille"... This was after a scrumptious repast with my rents, sis, BIL and lovely niece Zia.

The Week in Pic Peeks

June 7 - Alas, I was the first one to arrive for the 2nd day of orientation…. Ho-hum...

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I found this capsule-shaped structure of RCBC Plaza quite an interesting subject. Don't you? :P

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June 8 - A shot of the ongoing BPI Appliance Madness sale in Glorietta. The throng of people in the mall is something I don’t really miss about Manila, that next to Manila's road traffic and air/noise pollution. Ick!

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A great shot of Paparazzi and Mamarazzi after a very forgettable and “blah” snack/dinner at Pancake House. Never again will I splurge in this food outlet even if my life depended on it.

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I met up with sistah May for a fajita and pasta dinner at Soul Food. We were a bit gawky making our own fajitas so we ended up just piling everything on a soft tortilla. It added novelty to an otherwise “could-be-better” dining experience. I rate it a 7 on the whole.

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June 9 - Mamarazzi and I posed for a shot while waiting for the meal to be served at Superbowl. Great meal but I ended up feeling drowsy after. Mmm, must be all that MSG.

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My niece, Zia, seemed so engrossed “reading” a book at Powerbooks at 10PM!

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June 10 - Oi!!! I finally saw the MMDA pink fences up close as Jerry and I drove to Subic. We were still on the Coastal Road when this shot was taken.

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Having the NLEX (North Luzon Expressway) privatized proved to be a good decision. In cases of road mishaps, an emergency action team is promptly on the site to assist. Jerry said he wouldn’t mind paying the exorbitant toll fees for as long as they maintain the road network safe and the motorists out of harm's way. This one was before we reached San Fernando Pampanga on our way to Subic for my official hub tour.

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June 11 - In Subic, some people are lucky enough to see monkeys crossing the road. Jerry and I weren't as lucky today.

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Upon entering Subic, you wouldn't miss this short tunnel carved through a hill...

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I wish I knew what this monument in Dinalupihan is called.

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If you ever find yourself in Pampanga, try Guagua’s pride – Razon’s halo-halo and palabok. They serve the best halo-halo this part of Luzon.

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Can't wait to see my kids tomorrow!

Pizza, PAL & Pambansang Awit

Friday, June 3

Jerry and I are trying to establish a pattern of eating out every Friday since I started working again. Today was no exception. This time, we tried La Tegola at Mactan, an Italian restaurant where we shared a plate of seafood pasta (marinara) and bruschetta.

For an Italian restaurant, La Tegola’s pizza wasn’t all that expensive. Our total food bill just amounted to about P300 without drinks.

Now try buying pizza for the same price at Pizza Hut, Greenwich or Shakey’s and I’ll say it’s not even half as good as what we had. Wanna bet?


I couldn't get enough of the mouth-watering appetizer


The pizza!


Sunday, June 5

I flew to Manila this afternoon for a week of training at our company's Paranaque head office. It's been a long time since I went on an official trip and I was quite hesitant to leave my boys, especially Jake, who was still taking his antibiotic for loose BM. But this was something I had to do. Boo. I left after making sure that Jake was a little better and not after Jerry assured me everything would be fine.


Though sick, Jake didn't look it while horseplaying with the steering wheel.


The PAL 747 plane that took me to Manila

Monday, June 6

Today was the 1st day of orientation for new hires. Even if I got on board last May 16, I still had to attend this mandatory course/training like the rest. There were about 50 attendees from the different companies under the group.

There were interesting facts about the company that I learned. And I keep learning about new things and the company's culture as each day at work unravels. With what has been said about the group so far, I think it's safe to say I'm in good hands.


One of very few companies that still gathers its employees for the Pambansang Awit and Panatang Makabayan (Pledge of Allegiance)

Has It Been A Week?

What have I been doing since my last post? See pictures below...

Saturday, May 28

Since I am now back to the corporate world, I thought of sprucing up my wardrobe with a few pieces for work. Hehe, yeah right! That's just my lame excuse to shop, in other words. As I didn't like shopping by myself, I cajoled Matt to honor me with his company as I wove my way through racks and racks of ladies' wear. And such a sweet boy he is for obliging, I didn't have to beg this time.


Here's Matt in Mother's Fried Chicken, my SIL's very own resto in Ayala Mall, where I rewarded him with pork barbecue and 2 cups of rice, er, for snacks.

The same afternoon, I met up with my former colleague from RCPI Manila who was in town for a short vacation. I was happy to see Ms. Irene, as I fondly call her. It's been almost a year since we last saw each other and what juicy "office" chismis we shared!


Ms. Irene and I had a lengthy chat at Oh Georg! over cups of coffee and calamansi. Matt took this shot.

Sunday, May 29

Wala lang. I just felt like posting a pic of me and Jake courtesy of Matt.



Tuesday, May 31

At work, we had the fire drill at 11am complete with mock explosion, smoke, firefighters, a green firetruck and some paramedics.

It wasn't really the highlight of the day, but it sure was a welcome break from our usual routine. Anything to get me out of my cube is good!


This is the compound shared by U-Freight and Airfreight 2100. That white vehicle on the right is where I spend 2 hours of my day driving.

The fire drill lasted until about lunch time. Then I took off to fetch Jerry from the airport that was just a few minutes away from where I work. He arrived (on time via Cathay Pacific!) from a week-long trip to Macau. Thank God for his safe flight!


The shrimp patties at Krua Thai were actually just the appetizer which we had for our main course. Verdict? We were probably better off eating at Sunburst. Heehee!

Thursday, June 2

I was on training for the past 2.5 days. So nothing was worth blogging really. Then on the last day, I was requested to go with two of my colleagues to Fairchild Semicon Corp., one of the company's large accounts.

Impressive... I'll say theirs is one of the best workplaces I've seen in years...


A stolen shot of the company's front logo


Part of the beautifully landscaped grounds at the Fairchild Semicon compound, Mepz1.


Till here peeps! I hope it doesn't take me another week to post my next entry. :D