UPDiliman Shopping Center

i have many memories of UP and now i am sharing it with my family. after an enjoyable isaw "dinner" (wrote about it in my other blog), we walked along nostalgia lane otherwise known as SC or Shopping Center just beside Infirmatay, errr, Infirmary. i saw all the stalls where i used to have whole books photocopied (bad!). G Miranda bookstore, where i nearly puked, because an Indian guy entered the store, was having a paint job. Maroons was closed, much to our chagrin, because I really want to shop for shirts or jackets. Sarabia and Acebedo Opticals are still there. Some of the shops are new. There's a fairly modern internet shop too.



and who can forget Rodic's with its tapsilog whose tapa looked like someone chewed it for you first to help your digestive system probably? i once shared a meal with a special someone (not hubby lol!) there while it was raining hard. i skipped a class for that lunch.



i hope she gets to study there also.

pathetic...

this is absolutely pathetic. my ticker says that it's just 16 days before my daughter's birthday and i have a lot of shooting days to come and haven't done anything for the birthday. i did try contacting a few suppliers. i know i shouldn't panic. it's just a school party and i'm a bad mother.

AT 3, ZOIE CAN READ!!!

well, at least she will be 3 in a few weeks time. her birthday's next month.

last night, Calet was excitedly telling me that Zoie can now read. Her teacher said that Zoie already knows the alphabet and vowel sounds so why not take another step and teach her to read 2 syllable words. i was hesitant because she's still a baby.

when we arrived home last night, there were 4 words written on her blackboard - tasa, kama, pusa and mata and she read them all to me. her voice reduced into a whisper whenever she's not sure. but every word she read to me correctly. i was ecstatic!

when i asked her to read the words again, i got a "'pos na eh." so why should she repeat it? tsk... tsk...

oh and by the way, she can now count up to 100. i should've posted this when she was just 2 and a half.

missing zoie

i want to go home to see this face.

this child is full of promise

and this child is mine. hahaha!

azi's birthday party

last saturday, zoie got to attend azi's 3rd birthday party which was held at Hotel Rembrandt somewhere in Timog. it was her first time to attend a "full-blown" party. it had everything. there were food carts, inflatables, play area, foto loco picture magnet booth, balloon burst, a pinyata, glitter tattoo and face painting booths. the food was great. the entertainment was fantastic. there was even a raffle for the kids and adults. great party, kiten!

i was worried that we were late because of the traffic in Ortigas and C5 but was glad when i saw that the party was just starting when we arrived. there were Thomas the Train decorations everywhere. kids were running around and even though the only people i knew there were the birthday family, we felt right at home.

zoie was very independent. she sat with the kids in front to play games and enjoy the magic show. she got to take home a lot of toys, a shower of balloons, some cupcakes (thanks again, kiten!), photo magnets (we had extra coupons), a glitter tattoo that is still on her arm up to this moment (nope, no one can touch that tattoo) and a hello kitty on her chubby cheek.



she went to the bouncer but couldn't stand up so she slid out. heavy bottom, i guess, so there's no sense of balance just like her mother. hahaha! she settled inside the playhouse and i got news that she wouldn't even let the birthday boy in. i was able to lure zoie out of the playhouse to eat. she ate her spaghetti, cupcake and surprise! chicken with as much gusto as the other kids. zoie normally eats rice. yep, just rice. kanin lang po.

wanlu, the magician and ventriloquist, really cracked us up. he was very good at his craft but zoie maintained a safe distance. i guess she was afraid of the puppet and the illusions. when the unicyclists came out, she was covering her open mouth with her hands and her eyes were a mirror of OHMYGOODNESS-WHAT-IF-THEY-FALL!

when the giveaways were given out, she lined up, spoke to the microphone and said happy birthday azi but no sound came out. in the car, she was singing, happy birthday azi so loudly that i couldn't believe i was looking at the same demure zoie at the party.

when we arrived home, i was tired but zoie insisted on playing with all the toys she got from the party.

Conversations with Zoie

Last night, Zoie was looking at her Princesses flash cards. She ignored all the other cards - the opposites, simple words, letters and numbers but was looking at all her princess cards. She was naming all of the princesses - Jasmine, Belle, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and Ariel. To my surprise, she knew the names of most of their prince partners as well.

Mama: What are the names of these princesses?
Zoie: Belle, Ariel, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and Princess Jasmine!
Mama: Galing ah! and princess...
Zoie: Zoie!
Mama: That's King Tatay (pointing at the sleeping Adrian) and I'm Queen Mama
Zoie: King Tatay? (laughs) a yutiful (Beautiful) castle, a yutiful house and a yutiful farm. (while looking around our small room)
(Honestly, I don't know where she gets all these.)
Mama: B. Beeeaaauuuutiful
Zoie: B? B-ful. Ay, mali. (laughs) yutiful na lang? Mama, gusto mo ah pasok yutiful castle?
Mama: Okay. Saan, baby, yung beautiful castle?
Zoie: Ah... wala eh. (inaasar lang yata ako)
Mama: Ngek!
(zoie goes to the window, sees other building)
Zoie: Ayun! Yutiful castle.
Mama: Psst. Gabi na wag ka na sisilip diyan.
Zoie: Ah, yutiful farm na lang. Old matdonald had a farm. On this farm he had a cow and a boo boo bear... everywhere a boo boo ( i think she meant Moo)
Mama: Hay naku, baduday, matulog ka na nga lang.
Zoie: Pinklang dede. (timplang dede)

horrible horrible news

i saw our messenger standing outside the gate looking out on the street when hubby dropped me off at work. what he told me gave me goosebumps. our office is located at a residential area in Palanan so when i go to work i actually look like going home from work. our building looks like a house outside but it is actually a production house. this was kuya piony's news to me. a woman gave birth under the acacia tree at the wee hours of the morning. about 2 or 3 am daw siguro. and she left her baby there to die. sinuksok sa imburnal yung bata pero nasabit ang paa. nakalublob na ang face sa tubig. tahol ng tahol ang aso kaya yung mga manong sa tapat nag-investigate and found the baby. they brought the baby to the barangay hall. the baby is still alive. that's the good news. nasa hospital na daw. dami daw dugo sa may puno. sorry, graphic!

how can anyone do a monstrous thing like that? you keep the baby in your tummy for 9 months, endure the labor pains, choose the tree and leave the baby there. mas malala pa sa hayop. our dogs look for nice, warm and safe places to give birth in. our cats invade our cabinets. i am so outraged. brings me back to news reports where babies are found in trash cans and even duffel bags either alive or dead, it didn't matter to those heartless mother-effers.

ZOIE'S BIRTHDAY

torn between two lovers

i discovered last night that Zoie likes Mamat more than Drei. she told me so. Calet said that Drei would become really pissed off at Zoie and like what kids do, to show frustration, he attempts to hurt Zoie. Away... Bati... Away... Bati. but my baby girl is not the type who succumbs to such treatments. did i mention that i once caught her sneering at some kid on our way up to our unit and the kid was just there innocently playing with her toys? when i reprimanded her, she acted as if she did no such thing and that i was over-reacting.

this is the normal end of school scenario for Zoie:

she notices that Mamat's still at school so she goes back and makes sure that they are holding each other's hands all the way to the gate. she doesn't care that Drei had left. but when they reach the gate, Drei is there waiting. so the three of them go hand in hand with Zoie at the center all the way to the end of the street where they will separate and go home. on the way, the 2 boys will pick flowers for the little lady who is sometimes very demanding.

but there was a glitch yesterday. Zoie got thirsty, asked for a drink, let go of Drei's hand (coz she likes Mamat more, remember) and drank. Drei got irritated, tried to kick Zoie but his ate caught him and he got really angry.

POTTY-TRAINED

oh, there are still a few accidents here and there. but hey, Zoie is now diaper-free during daytime. Thank you, Lord. The first time we tried training her, she used her potty and didn't want to use it anymore. why? because she thinks the potty's dirty and smelly even after we've washed it and no way was her pwet going to touch it again. i remember the day i bought the potty chair. it looked like the real thing and there's a button that plays the song Lambada when pushed. Zoie ended up pushing the button until it stopped playing entirely. months passed by. Zoie would tell us "wiwi" after she's made wiwi. and then the pressure... the teacher told us that Zoie should be diaper-free before she turns 3. everyone in her class do not wear diapers anymore. the first time she went to school without diapers, she peed at the playground. but now, she tells us whenever she had to go and even made the effort to knock like crazy while i was still inside the bathroom because she had to pee. she still uses diaper at night though. scary! the poo poo... naku, that's another story.

Zoie's Boyfriends

i remember the first time i've ever been majorly bitten by the love bug was when i was already in college. in high school, there were minor bites but hey, I'd be too abnormal if i didn't have crushes then. but my story is MY story. my daughter who will turn 3 next month is another story. is it possible to be bitten by the love bug at 3? when i enrolled her last summer in a pre-preschool summer class, she had a chance to meet other kids her age or rather, almost as old as she is. Zoie was the youngest in the class. she became close to 2 little boys there. one was Zen and the other was Mat. Mat gives her flowers ("gives" because until now the boy's been pretty consistent). Zen called her up at home ("called" because i don't know if he still does). Zen withdrew from their Nursery class a few months ago but Zoie now has another special friend named Drei.

An incident at school...
(characters: me, my mom, calet, mamat, mat's ate and zoie)

me: ma, we'll drop off zoie then we'll head off to the mall for a massage
lola: okay
me: uy, si mamat pala yan. kailan ka umuwi galing singapore?
mamat: namili kami dun ng wallet...
mat's ate: girlfriend niya raw si zoie. tinanong ng teacher yun ang sagot. di ba mat?
me: girlfriend? akala ko bestfriend.
lola: mat, sino girlfriend mo? si zoie ba?
mamat (hiding face but nodding)
me (talking to zoie): boyfriend mo ba si mamat?
zoie (deadma)
calet (laughing)

at home...

zoie standing on the bed

me: baby, sino boyfriend mo?
zoie (smiling and jumping)
me: si mamat ba
zoie: um-um
me: bakit hindi si drei?
zoie: kasseee... hold niya hands ko
me (ngarag)

last night...

calet: te, si zoie binibigyan pareho nina mamat at drei ng flowers
me: what? dalawa na sila?
calet: kakatawa nga kasi gusto ni mamat hold muna sila hands bago bigay flowers. inagaw ni zoie. sabi ni zoie, "akin yan"
me: demanding pa

so there...

Read Back

been wondering why my archive jumped from 2006 to 2008? read back...

http://allthingschuva.blog.friendster.com/

foot for thought

yesterday, i had a footspa and then a pedicure. how often do i get my feet pampered? every two weeks which is actually the advisable time span before you have your foot scrubbed like hell again and massaged like crazy AGAIN. i wish i could have it everyday but i can't. they say people love to have foot massages especially when they're overweight. well, i may be that but i've had this fascination with my feet ever since i can remember so that doesn't qualify, in my opinion. i love it when someone else is rubbing my feet... pinching my toes... applying scented oil on it and having my ingrown nail removed. ooohhhh, the pain... the pain... bwahaha! am i a masochist? i know i am the opposite.

here's to illustrate my love for my feet...

hubby: if we're going to UP to jog, better get ready.
me (my eyes glued to the computer monitor): hmmm... don't you think it's kinda dark outside? is it going to rain?
hubby: no. don't you want to go to UP? it's getting late.
me (the one who wanted to go to UP and suggested/ insisted, rather that we go to UP): i think it's going to rain.

then the sun came out of the clouds...

me: tinatamad ako...
hubby: aren't you at least going to hear mass?
me (eyes still glued to the computer): tinatamad ako...
hubby: hmm. tinatamad ka ba o masisira lang ang pedicure mo? ano ba pinagawa mo?
me: footspa and pedicure
hubby: ok

end of discussion...

Dieting, isn't it fun?

our boss suggested how we (the employees) can lose weight. we've noticed that people who get hired here do not slim down over the years of stay in the company but become just the opposite. take moi, for example. i am several inches bigger than i was before plus the pregnancy weight that i was never able to lose.

the program is simple. we each have just one cup of rice and then gradually lessen the serving. whenever one requests for another serving, he or she will pay up. the pot money will be used for our future inuman. yahoo for that! for the first week, siksik ang rice sa cup and there will be no fines. today was the first day of the first week. the weeks that will follow di na gaanong siksik ang rice. ngarag!

we went down to the dining area for lunch to find my boss still at his place on the table. i bet he was trying to see how much we will eat. to our surprise, there is now a donation bowl. if you can't finish your cup, put some on the bowl. everyone pretended that a cup is more than they can eat. so we all put half or a quarter of our portion on the bowl. but the ulam was chicken with cream sauce. so, where's the diet in that? plus when my boss left, we were all calling each other on our local lines to come down and eat biko, a kakanin... made of... rice! hahaha. get real!

Zoie will soon be THREE

It's barely a month and I have no idea what to do on my daughter's birthday. There's no need for a big celebration but it's her first time to celebrate it at school. What I have accomplished, however, is to decide what to give to her classmates as giveaways. No theme or designs yet in my mind but I do have a vague idea that the theme should be Barney but then, The Backyardigans seems to be a good choice either. I asked Zoie about it and she likes both. What to do... what to do... What to CHOOSE, rather. I'm not so sure if my kid's classmates are familiar with The Backyardigans. Barney is VERY popular. Maybe I'll just take both since it's going to be a small party, anyway. When I said I haven't any plans yet, I meant all these ideas are still jumbled and muddled in my head. For party food menu, spaghetti, fried chicken or nuggets, hotdogs with marshmallow, corn(?) and cake seem to be an okay choice. Do I order pizza? What about ice cream? It's a good thing the mall is right across her school. Where do I get the balloons? the cake? And since the party's going to be a day before her actual birthday, what do we do on her birthday? Do we visit Ocean Park?

Her first birthday... we had it at Congo Grille (very unlikely place to party). It was just an intimate dinner with friends because we went to Davao for her birthday trip. An out of town trip in exchange for a party. For her second birthday, we had a Jollibee party which was really fun. But one can't have a Jollibee party every single year. This year, Zoie's celebrating it as a preschooler and I'm so excited but I don't have a concrete plan yet. PLUS, new projects at work are coming in so I have to plan now because I'm starting to go towards the busy highway. Back to party planning...

I'll definitely have a piñata for her party. What to put inside? I guess it means I'll have to take another trip to Divisoria, the land of milk and honey for cheap party things although I can't say the same about the smell of the whole place. Hehehe...

Wow, posting this really helps me brainstorm.

Party dress?!!! Oh my, this is the first time I've thought of it? Don't I have plans of buying my child a new dress for her birthday? Bad... bad... I'll keep this in mind.

Party plates... I think I'll just put everything in a styro to make it easy to bring everything to school.

Schedule... I do hope I can have a vacation leave for this from the office or else, I'll just NOT or FORGET to report at work.

Guests... just the children, their yayas, some parents and the school staff.

Well, I guess, that's IT. At least, there's a bit of "organization" that's happened while I'm posting this.

Bragging Rights

It's 2008 and my baby's turning 3. What have I done?! Good Lord, I neglected this blog and posted away at my Friendster blog. I'm 3 years delayed. Whadafark! Okay... Okay... I know what you're thinking. So we don't have another baby yet. Don't talk to my father in law please. He wants us to dance at Obando to ask for... wait for it... ANOTHER baby.

So what happened to me these last few years or rather, what happened to Zoie...

1. Zoie is now a certified pre-schooler. Next year, she'll be in Kindergarten. Now she's in Nursery.
2. Hallelujah for potty training and thank you, Calet (her ate). Although education came first in her life, Zoie is now diaper-free during the day. At night, I'm still kinda scared.
3. Zoie can now write her name Z-O-I-E without anything to copy from. FARRALES - just starting. what a long family name naman kasi. Needs help with the Rs and S. Am I pressuring my child?
4. She answers basic information questions like:
What's your name? Zoie Farrales
Where do you live? Gaguig City (wishing that people will get that as Taguig)
Who is your Mama?
Who is your Tatay?
etcetera
4. Ask her anything and you'll get coy replies that starts with "Kaassseee...."
5. She now has a boyfriend. Actually, 2 boyfriends. Too early, ask the kid who calls her at home and another kid who when asked who his gf is says the name Zoie and gives her flowers.
6. She memorized the whole A is for Adorable song and when she was still 1 year old can sing Bahay Kubo. I have videos as proof. Hahaha!
7. She can count up to 100
8. She can solve minor puzzles
9. Won't leave me to dust when asked if she knows some Nursery Rhymes. By the way, she knows a lot. I have recordings as proof. :-P
10. She knows the weather and the days of the week
11. Walked when she turned 11 months

That's it for now. I can't post everything. Plus I'll let you in on a lil secret, I don't remember everything.
I cannot ask for more. Zoie surprises us every single day.