Move over Manny P!

Remember how I wished i was Manny Pacquiao? Well, I know I will never be.

But my boys might...wehehe!

Starting 'em young :)

Firm, strong punches

Determined to win.

I'm kidding, of course!!!

He's just too cute to go into boxing.

Mag-artista nalang. He! He! He!



Sleepy Head

I often hear about mums who complain how hard it is to bring their kids to sleep. On Facebook, my friends post status in the wee hours of the morning, still singing or dancing their babies, hoping to get a few hours of rest before going to work. Lucky for me,  I've never had the same major problems with my boys. With Vince, I sang "You Are My Sunshine" very slowly and quietly and he'd dose off. With Rafa, it's "Oh Holy Night" all nights of the year, kahit hindi pasko. I'm beginning to think I'm a pretty good singer. Nyahaha!

Nah, I don't actually know what is the magic formula here. I guess I just have two sleepy heads with me.

Look at Rafa, he sleeps everywhere.

on the floor while playing

On the couch, feet dangling and holding his favorite blankie.

front view. so deep in sleep, hey!

And this!!! Oh how i love this. Hehe Off to lala-land after eating a bowl of mashed potatoes and pumpkin!


Really, I am not surprised. They have a dad who can sleep in between firing canons in Jolo. Nyahahaha!

Summer Bay/Palm Beach

My sister in law arrived on April 9. Yey! She's staying with us for a few months to help look after the kids. What a relief! 

On April 10, we brought her to Palm Beach or Summer Bay which is where the famous Home and Away soap opera is set. Going there, we passed so many picnic and fishing areas which hubby and I vowed to visit next time. The view was great, winding roads overlooking the beach, huge 'mansionic' houses, beautiful people in skimpy swimsuits. Hehe 

The photos were not great though because it was cloudy that day but here are some of them, anyway.

The sister in law  was busy chasing the kids on the beach.

Kuya Vince trying his tumbling stunt.

Rafa busy picking flowers. Should I be concerned? 

Nah...because he picked them for Mama. Sweet!

The boys took out the kite.


So, where was I???

Here. Sitting on my favorite blue picnic chair, trying to get some readings done :)

On track?

A few days ago, I had one of those days where housechores just get the better of me. I was so tired from work that arriving home and realizing i have to cook dinner, feed the kids, bathe them and supervise my son with his homework then study for my exams hit me so hard, I couldn't stop my tears from falling. Pathetic, i know :) But I bet my entire life's savings (which is not much hehe) that some of you can relate.


Vince, who saw me crying while washing a mountain of dirty pots and pans, came up to me.



Vince: Mama, what's wrong?
Me: Nothing. I'm just tired.
Vince: Okay. Is there anything I can help you with?
Me: No, I'm okay. You can help me by doing your homework now.
Vince: Are you sure? I can wash the plates if you want.
Me: No, that's fine.



This time, I was already sobbing. Not anymore because I was tired, but because I was deeply touched by Vince's gesture.



I might be off-track with housechores sometimes but I'm pretty sure I'm on the right track with parenting :-)

C'mon, Mama!

Our Rafa has been learning some new words lately. He can say shoes, ca (car), train, plane, go and a few more.

But my favorite is the way he sweetly says, "C'mon, Mama"

I drop off everything i do when he says that :-)

Father Rafa?

Last weekend, Rafa saw the bowl of vinegar on the table.

The little boy dipped his fingers and guess what???

He made the sign of the cross :) :) :) :)

He probably saw us doing the same thing with the Holy Water in church on weekends.


Kids!!!!

P is for "Passed"

I am still euphoric over passing my first CPA Australia exams! Yes, folks! Only my first and I have 5 more to go. But I already feel like I finished all of them and worthy to be called a Certified Public Accountant in Australia. Ganito kasi yun...

Other examinees may find the exam easy but for a working mum like me with two active kids and no help other than the hubby who's also clocking in more than 8 hrs of work a day, taking the exam was equivalent to committing suicide. Not the quick poison-induced suicide but the slow and painful kind...torture!

Study time was 3am to 5am and then I have to make breakfast, our lunchboxes, prepare the kids and drop them off to school. Studying at night wasn't possible because when I arrive from work, I still have to feed the kids, supervise Vince with his schoolwork, bring Rafa to sleep, then go back to the kitchen to prepare the next day's meals, clean up the mess and pop in a load of laundry. To make matters worse, hubby was working late nights most of the time. Some nights though, he's off and cook's a week's worth of meals and finish off ironing clothes that I keep pushing to the bottom of the basket. So what about weekends then? I've promised myself that I wouldn't let the exams interfere with our weekend family activities but towards the exam date, I had to log around my books to the beach, the park or wherever the boys decide to go. While they do the barbecue, play ball with their papa, go fishing, I was there sitting on our blue picnic chair, reading my books.

I may not be able to describe in detail the actual experience but suffice it to say that it was the most difficult time of my life. So much more difficult than when I had to do 6 CPA exam subjects all together back in the Phils.

On the brighter side, a few of my Pinoy circle of friends were doing this with me and we helped each other a lot. We exchanged notes and tips and had good laughs sharing our experiences. After the exam, we all went to the Sydney Fish Market to de-stress. Our husbands met us there, too. Talk about moral support :) and then we took a walk around the city, stopped at Max Brenner to have dessert, laugh and just be silly.

On Friday, when I got my result through SMS, it read " CPA Program-Subject- P"

I honestly thought it was the tonque-sticking emoticon :-P
With knees and arms shaking, I had to check online. "P is for Passed"

It sure is! And I am glad :-)

P.S.

I just realized that this experience is the ultimate Balancing Act! Whoooaaa! I'd like to believe that I now have bragging rights but i know in my heart that if it was not through prayers from friends and my family (special mention to hubby, my boys, mama, papa and sisters)- i wouldn't have survived this.

Thank you, Lord!

Funny

Natatawa ako...

(1) Vince: Mama, why are animals called pets when you take care of them?
Me: (Trying so hard to come up with an answer but couldn't) Hmnnn, I really haven't thought about that...
Vince: I know why..because you get to PET them (gesturing a pat)...not smack them! otherwise, they will be called SMACK animals..

NYAHAHAHAHA

(2) One night, i was going through the alphabet application in the Iphone with Rafa when..

Me: "A" is for apple..."B" is for bee...
Vince: (who, I thought was busy drawing..) "B" is for "bee"??????!!! How dumb is that!!!! You can't say that! That's so dumb!

Gosh, what does a mum say to that?

Hilot in Oz

When no amount of doctor's consultations, antibiotics, paracetamol and vaporub can stop a recurring fever, what's a parent to do? I don't know about you, but my husband and I go to the hilot.

So today, upon recommendations from friends who have discovered a Pinoy hilot in the far west of Sydney, we packed our stuff very early and drove about an hour to visit Lola Itang.

We arrived at Lola Itang's house in Yagoona, around 8am. Surprisingly, theirs was a granny flat at the back of a huge beautiful house. Not something I would expect from someone who has been here for more than 30 years.

The old lady was expecting us since I called last night. She was older than I imagined, probably in her seventies and reminded me of my paternal grandma. We exchanged pleasantries and then she ushered us into her room where a small bed was made ready for Rafa to lie on. The hilot was quick and for such an old lady, she had strong hands!

We thanked her and handed her $25, the only money I had in my wallet as we were in such a hurry, we did not have time to scout for an ATM. And then we noticed bottles of bagoong and pickled papaya. Negosyo daw pala nya yun. We lingered a bit in the sala where her ailing husband was slumped in a chair, bingi na ata kasi di sumasagot sa mga tanong ni A.

We did not stay long although I really got curious about this couple and wanted to hear their story. Some other time, perhaps.


On our way home, we checked out a nearby suburb, Auburn famous for cheap items of all sorts. A and I agreed, it was "pirated country", it's like walking on Cogon in Cagayan de Oro or Divisoria in Manila :)

We bought meat at half the price we pay here in our suburb and a huge bag of rice and promised to come back when we have more time.

For now, we're just relieved that we've discovered Lola Itang because Rafa has felt better since Lola's healing hands touched him.

Guilty

I was busy browsing through Facebook (yeah, i know i broke my promise) around lunch time yesterday when Vince started to complain that he was hungry.

I told him to get some biscuits and continue doing his worksheets while I got hooked with photos of acquaintances on FB. At around 1pm, Vince declared, "Mama, I'm really, really hungry now!"

I grumpily asked him what he wanted to eat. He replied, "Can I please have pancit canton?"

I dismissed a nonchalant, "Sure!" and went back to Facebook.

He then came up to me, gave me a hug and said, "You're the best mum in the whole wide world!"

Surprised, I asked why. His reply, "Just because...."

I hurriedly got up and guiltily dashed for the kitchen.

Of tennis, violins and cow manure

It looks like it's going to be a very busy year for Kuya Vince. Today, he started with his tennis lessons. And because the racket brand Head is sponsoring the clinic, each student is given a small racket to use for the entire year. He couldn't stop raving about their first lesson when he came home. Naku, baka puro lang to porma! Next week, he begins violin lessons as they are also encouraged to take an arts class. Sosyal naman, may pa-violin-violin pa si Kuya!

How different his primary years are from mine! Coming from a public school in a small town in Mindanao, all I can remember aside from our regular classes are gardening/cleaning lessons .Everyday, before we start classes, we have to help cut the grasses because our school's only janitor can't keep up with maintaining the huge grounds. And in the afternoons, there was Home Economics where we had to tend to our own plot of veggies- pechay, sibuyas, kamatis, sili at kung anu-ano pa. Grades were dependent on how healthy your plants were. Ang masaklap, we could only use natural fertilizers! Buti nalang, my father has pangsabong na manok so I can easily bring chicken dung to school. On some days, though, our terror-of-a-teacher would require us to bring cow manure only. Eh, dios mio, di naman ganun kadami ang baka sa town namin! I remember having fights with classmates on who gets the cow manure we see on the roads. Sometimes, out of desperation to get additional points, we would wait patiently for a cow to poop. Gross, i know!

Looking back, I would say it was a good learning experience and I wouldn't mind my kids going through the same stuff. But as it is, my boys will have a different story to tell their grandkids and I'm sure it will be as interesting, nevertheless.

On to 2010

Now that I have officially closed 2009, time to list some goals for 2010.

So here goes…

1. Start Rafa's letters

I wrote letters for Vince from when he was 2 yrs old to about 5. I plan to put them in a scrapbook soon and give it to him as a present now that he knows how to read. It is a labor of love, one which he will thank me for when he is old enough to understand. I should really be starting one for Rafa soon.

2. Tone the tummy

A rather huge task after giving life to two boys but one which I am determined to do not only for my self-esteem but also to save on buying new clothes :P

3. Pay off debts

Yeah, like it's on my goals every year! There must be a way to stay out of debt...Or at least not to take anymore while I pay off the old ones. Crossing fingers!


4. Learn how to bake

And I mean, Martha Stewart-baking, and not from pre-mixes. Vince is getting smarter so I don't think I can get away with baking from the box this year. Aaarghhh, wish me luck, lots of it!

5. Explore Aus


We hope to continue our little explorations around Sydney and New South Wales. There are still so many places to visit, plenty of interesting things to do and it does help that we don't have to spend much to enjoy all these. Last year, the Aus government launched the Family Fun Pass which allows families to travel anywhere in NSW for only $2.50. How cool is that?

These are just a few of my goals, though, because the other half are too personal to share here. I keep them safely tucked in a document somewhere which I read everyday without fail. More on that in a separate entry.

Here's to a more fruitful 2010!

Buttercup..err cake!

The little boy asked that we bake again so we scoured the grocery for our next baking project. And lo, we found a box of butter cake mix! This cake is a regular in my son's lunch box as he often winds up getting it when we drop a visit at our favorite bake shop.

As soon as we took the cake out of the oven, the little boy asked if we can bake again to which i readily answered, "Yes!" as I tried to remember where I hid the banana-honey muffin mix.

Apparently, he had other things in mind, "But next time Mama, not from the box anymore, okay?"

Ulk!

Blueberry Muffins

I have promised the little one that we'll try our hand at baking and the perfect opportunity came last Sunday when at the grocery, I found some boxes of blueberry muffin mix. :P

We hurriedly went home, set out the utensils and proceeded to follow the instructions on the box. It was so easy, we were done in less than five minutes!

I know, I cheated by using a ready mix but hey, the little boy had fun! Hehe!

Our little baker concentrating on the task at hand.

The batter set in the pretty little silicon moulds, ready for the oven.

A dozen yummy muffins.

3 little muffins waiting home for Papa who had to work last Sunday.

Old?

A few days ago, Vince and I were walking home from the mall. Earlier, he asked me what my plans were when we reach home. I told him I'll watch a movie.

As we were approaching the house, he asked again,"What are you doing at home, mama?

Mama: Sleep.

Vince: But mama, you said you are going to watch a movie!

Mama:Oh, did I say that? I forgot.

He was silent for a while then blurted out," Mama, when you were small with Tita Chiq and Tita Fran, was it a loooong, long time ago?"

I almost choked. The kid must have thought I am too old because i keep forgetting things. Hehe Can't blame him.

Yesterday, Vince and I were at the mall to while away time while Papa was in school. We were enjoying a light lunch when we heard a band and the people started to gather around the stairs. It was Santa’s band, happily playing Christmas carols and Santa obliging photo ops for the kids. I had mixed feelings, happy that I got to hear Christmas songs but sad that we are spending our first Christmas away from our loved ones.

Vince: Mama, it’s not Santa. That’s only a man, pretending to be Santa!

Mama: Oh? Really? But there is a Santa, diba?

Vince: No mama. They’re just pretending.

Eeeek! How does a mother deal with the fact that her 5 yr old already knows the truth about Santa?
A few weeks ago, I have been eyeing a nice Christmas stocking which I had planned to hang for Vince come Christmas. As a child, I have always looked forward to December 24 when we had to hang my Papa’s office socks and wake up the following day checking the various goodies that were placed inside. It was not much- mostly just junk food like Hi-C, pretzels, cheap chocolates and biscuits but I remember feeling very special receiving them. Even after I found out the truth about Santa, I still enjoyed hanging the stockings and pretended not to know anything for the benefit of my younger sisters.

I am just so disappointed that the little one found out this early. BUT I am not giving up. I’ll find a way to incorporate the ‘stocking’ into our Christmas activity this year…

Sweet

Dear Vince,

One lazy Sunday afternoon, Mama took a short nap while you watched Speed Racer on the laptop for the nth time. I was on my way to dreamland when you bolted out of your seat, spread the blanket on me and announced “Mama, I’ll put the blanket on you.”

Although deeply touched by this gesture, I pretended not to notice and kept my eyes closed- afraid that you will see the tiny tears forming around the corners of my eyes. Haaay Vince, you are such a sweet little boy. Please stay sweet forever...


Mama

Happy Mother's Day

Greetings to all the moms!

And to my mama inday and mother in law mama cande, i love you both. You inspire me to become a better mom myself. Hats off to both of you!

Money lessons

Last night, my son and I decided to open his piggy bank since it was already full. These coins were from his grandparents and titas, hubby and I which we give him to inculcate the value of saving.

We sorted the coins according to denomination which was a great opportunity to teach counting and coin identification.

This morning, he eagerly reminded me to bring the money so that I can put it in the bank. I told him we can get the money later so that he can buy whatever he wants.

Kite-flying

Dear Anak,

After weeks of spending long hours in the office, Mama decided to come home early yesterday. It was a lovely afternoon, with the wind blowing hard and the sky so blue. I took my time walking home, waving, smiling and exchanging pleasantries with neighbors who were also out on their lawns. I guess everybody was just relieved that the sun was finally out.

Earlier this week, I had asked Manong Ben and his son, Dennis, to help us clean up because the grass grew fast during the rainy season. It was a joy to come home to a freshly -mowed lawn and newly trimmed shrubs. Again, i took my sweet time taking in the clean surroundings and fussing over the flowers.

Yaya told me that you had earlier played with our neighbors and had just taken your dinner and finished your bath. But I insisted that we go outside to enjoy what remained of the beautiful afternoon. You happily obliged naman and asked if I wanted to play with the kite Yaya made for you. The strong winds propelled the kite as high as the string will allow while we ran around the house laughing our bellies out.

It was already after sunset when we stopped playing, exhausted but happy.

Thank you, Vince for that wonderful afternoon. It was the best way to cap a very stressful week. Indeed, the best things in life are free.