mommyfied

first movie without me

2010-05-24T01:02:00.000+08:00

today hubby and zoie went out to watch Shrek in 3D. baby and dad bonding moment while i walk around aimlessly inside Ikea, Courts and Giant. hubby said zoie suddenly told him she misses me. five months is a big chunk of her growing up period for me to be so away from her.

moving

2010-05-23T01:18:00.001+08:00

tomorrow i will be moving to a new room here in Singapore. this is where my husband and i will stay for a few months and prepare for the downpayment for an hdb apartment. i really missed my daughter today. there was a 2 year old baby girl at my flat and she was like half filipino. she showed all her books and toys to me and seemed to really like me. it gave me a sinking feeling... just a few more months and zoie will be here. a few more months. it's been a month since i last hugged and kissed her. it's been a few days since i talked to her. i wish it's already august.

the many faces of zoie adrienne

2010-05-22T00:32:00.000+08:00

the day I left my daughter

2010-05-21T23:16:00.001+08:00

it's very hard for me as a mother to just pack my bags and leave my daughter behind. i've been very stressed and unhappy with my former job that i've been unable to update any of my blogs. i was thinking about how stressed i was and if i was ever going to give my daughter a bright future. things actually have been happening so fast lately that it felt like a blur.

april 17 - my husband and i took my mom, zoie and her nanny to the bus station. i talked to zoie a few days before and told her no matter what don't look for mama. i told her she will be going to Bicol during school break and to visit her dogs. she was very happy. i heard the sound of glass breaking when she went up the bus and realized it was my heart breaking. but she was there waving goodbye to --- so happy.

my husband and i went home and i was just there --- empty.

april 18 - at about 2 am, my husband took me to the airport. it was the day i left for Singapore. not knowing what the future holds. i was crying to my husband but there was no choice. i wanted to do something else with my life. so i was actually not so sad because first i was nervous that the Singapore immigration will question me on why i wanted to stay for 26 days in Singapore as a tourist.

same day, my friend fetched me at the airport. i was so amazed at how clean Singapore was. i immediately fell in love with the place and thought to myself, i will raise my daughter here.

i went shopping with my friend and her husband. actually, they went shopping and i tagged along. i was so amazed with Singapore that i didn't think much about being so so so very far away from my family. my husband was in manila, zoie was in the province and i was in another country.

the following day i sent my resume to several job openings. we bought a day old newspaper the day before so i was able to look at the job openings. same day i got an interview invitation and the next day i got hired. whew! okay so the next step was to get a pass. my boss who turned out to be so wonderful wanted me to start first week of May and wanted me to start soon. so the events were actually happening almost simultaneously and i was very, very stressed again that my work pass will not get approved. but it did.

step by step but i cannot say things have been happening slowly. in a month's time i've been able to activate my epec which allows me to stay in Singapore to look for a job and i heard not everyone gets approved. woot! also apply for e-extend because i'm also stressed that i might get deported but they say when your pass is approved stay is not an issue and most importantly my pass allows me to get my family to live with me in Singapore.

i am very blessed i should say. even if distance sets me and my daughter apart i can see her going off to college in another country. i can see her having a bright future ahead. i can see her arriving in Singapore this August.

Zoie's Mr. Banana Bird

2009-11-25T11:22:00.003+08:00

my addiction to facebook and all the changes in our lives as a family - a school girl, new yaya etc. - i blame these for the neglect in updating my blog. let me start with the most recent. meaning: last night. i went home late because i searched the mall for a puppet bird that Zoie can use for her presentation on Friday. Nada! Zilch! after wandering about i decided to challenge my creative juices. i bought materials and with images of birds in my head, i went home with high hopes that Zoie and I will be able to make the perfect puppet bird for English Week presentation. And here it is...

Okay, there are still parts of Mr. Banana Bird which looked like he's a dressed chicken. Blame this on my lack of experience in estimating art material - i have extra foam and no more feathers!

It is now that I really am enjoying bonding with Zoie. She expresses her opinion openly and it made my heart swell when she really liked Mr. Banana Bird. Oh, she was the one who named him that.

my schoolgirl

2009-05-25T21:34:00.004+08:00

when i saw the date when i last blogged, i said, wow, it's been that long? i never realized how hooked i was on facebook. everyday i'd check out my friends' status, play games, care for my virtual pet and work on my virtual farm. if facebook was real life, i'd be filthy rich. of course i've been busy with my projects and some things that i can never blog about. anyways, today i enrolled zoie to her first big school. i've been searching for months (er, 2 months) for a good school for her. the teacher at her toddler school told me that my child really needs to move up. she's great in class but she cannot allow me to enroll her again at her school. i asked why she let the other kids re-enroll but then she said it was because my child was ready for bigger things. well, that made my heart soar and my head ache. so, i went in search for that good school. i first considered a montessori but it was too far albeit the fact that it was near my in-laws' house. i can't cause my child any more stress than the fact that my husband and i work like a horse. the haven montessori was okay and they were willing to give kinder education to my child but then i found out that there wouldn't be much interaction because their teaching method was like a tutorial. then i went to AA Learning Center at Bayani Road. the tuition was hmmm okay we can afford it but it's a bit high. problem with the school is the location. only a few jeep pass by. the taxis are always occupied and i'm not too keen about school service vehicles who cram kids like sardines. then i went to Learning Haven. i must admit that i was kind of disappointed. for the tuition that they're asking, the place kinda looked like a fly by night business. maybe the teaching there is great but the place doesn't look like a school at all. but before i went to learning haven, i tried to see if i could get zoie into the newly opened preschool inside our community only to find out that it was full and even if it wasn't it was for less-fortunate kids. so i was kind of embarrassed when i went to inquire because the teacher looked at me as though i was trying to get free education for my kid.

oh i missed FAB Learning Center where the tuition was really affordable and teacher yvette is an ideal teacher to entrust your kid to. when i looked across the street after visiting learning haven, i saw this big school, st. ignatius of loyola whose preschool counterpart is fairyland. the rooms are okay. i talked to a teacher. she seemed very nice. the rooms are airconditioned. the tuition is more than 50% lower than AA and Learning Haven but the kids are twice the size of how many the other two schools are accepting. my hubby was very excited that he took zoie to do a test that very afternoon. the result said that zoie could have been kinder only that her writing is weak. but there is a silver lining on the cloud. they accelerate kids. they said that she's great and very knowledgeable but she's only three. again, heart soar, head ache.

but today i went with zoie and my mom to fairyland and paid a whole year of tuition as i keep my fingers crossed praying that zoie will get a good education there. i was amazed at how many books i was asked to buy. they have to have the same bag. darn! and zoie's mom is a bag fanatic. i guess i'll just buy a great looking baunan. oh wait, they will have the same snacks. grrr!

it was a different experience to line up there and enroll your kid. i felt very adult and a bit sad that my baby was growing too fast. the regular uniform there doesn't even fit her. i need to order a different size. the skirt was either too small or too big. i love their green uniform and the fact that she has a small PE uniform. zoie will really start her formal schooling.

when we went out the building, a tricycle driver offered his services. ayan, i've no problem na. she now has a school service.

super excited mom here. can't wait to buy the rest of her things but i was told she'll get the list on the first day of school.

did i mention that the location of the school was great? there is a police precinct nearby.

A Valentine Rose for Zoie

2009-02-17T06:40:00.002+08:00

My daughter went home yesterday with a fake rose with a tiny teddy bear in her hand. As early as 3, she's already receiving Valentine's Day gifts. She said it was from her boyfriend at school. She wasn't able to attend her makeup class last Feb 14 so it was given to her just yesterday. Calet told me that Zoie prefers to hold the flower giver's hand than the other little guy at school who gets so angry whenever she does this and would do anything to kick the alleged BF. Hahaha! Kids these days...

Zoie's Vday Card for us

2009-02-15T13:47:00.004+08:00

i am so proud.

i wish zoie will get better soon

2008-12-19T10:03:00.003+08:00

i am so worried. i can't think straight. zoie is not feeling well. she had high fever for 3 days and was diagnosed with UTI and an ear infection. these are the 3 letters that really freak me out. i guess i should be thankful that it's not dengue. but she lost weight and she lost all her energy. i hate to see her looking so weak and helpless. i am helpless when she complains that her tummy is aching. we took her to the doctor last wednesday and she had cbc. my daughter was very brave. not a tear was shed during the blood extraction. she also had her urinalysis. i never thought it'll occur again... this UTI. now that she hardly wears diapers... now she's on antibiotics and it'll be a few days before we learn what kind of bacteria is present in her wiwi.

i will be letting her attend her first christmas party later though but they can't attend my office party.

of snow globes and dresses

2008-12-15T07:49:00.005+08:00

zoie and aunty kris

i never realized how much that snow globe meant to zoie until we got home without buying it.

Barbie's Christmas Carol is about a performer who was so full of herself. it took 3 fairies of Christmas past, present and future plus the ghost of her aunt to convince and make her realize what Christmas is all about. Barbie tells this story to her sister and gives her a snow globe (with the fairies in it) which turns out to be the same snow globe in her story.

for days, i have been searching for a nice snow globe. yesterday, we went to MOA to celebrate my SIL's birthday. we walked around the mall and we went inside the department store so i can buy zoie a party dress. all the way to the mall from the parking area, she was already asking me to get her a snow globe and that's so hard to find. anyways, we did find a snow globe and it was quite expensive. it was as big as the one in the Barbie movie. it also plays christmas carols and it had a santa inside it. there were cheap ones but it didn't play a song. i wanted to get her the small one... the affordable one but she wouldn't budge. she wanted the santa snow globe. i left adrian and zoie at a corner seat while she hugged the snow globe close to her. there were a lot of people in the mall. i went to look for a dress since zoie declared that "ayaw ko pants. gusto dress." i brought her 4 dresses, 2 were quite small (who am i kidding?) and one for 4 years old and another for 6 years old. i made her wear the size 6 dress. it fit her! it was a little long but the length was okay. it fit her body. it had puffed sleeves. and she didn't want to remove the dress. i had to force her out of it telling her all the time i had to pay for the dress first. she was crying. adrian took this opportunity to take back the snow globe. after paying for the dress, she wore it and she didn't care if she was wearing Dora rubber shoes. she was so happy with the dress saying all the time that she's a princess that i thought she forgot about the snow globe until such time in front of the carousel she started rummaging through our things looking for it. hay naku talaga! until last night she was crying. later i will be going to the mall to look for a snow globe that plays music. never mind the price. if it will make zoie happy, i'll get it. my mom said that i shouldn't spoil her. but she's only 3. maybe if she's 7 and she's forcing me to buy her stuff, maybe that's the time i'll tell her to stop. zoie is still a baby... our baby.

zoie ballet philippines experience at CCP

2008-12-13T21:15:00.002+08:00

last saturday, zoie and i went to CCP to watch Ballet Philippines perform. adrian couldn't take us so we rode the jeep and the LRT. i promised zoie that we'll ride the train. i wanted us to take a cab but the traffic was impossible plus i already made a promise to zoie. it took us an hour and a half to get there. i was so tired by the time we got to the theater because in places that seemed dirty for zoie i had to carry her. oh where did she get that kaartehan talaga! we got to our box in the nick of time. the national anthem just finished playing and the orchestra was about to begin their first music. i observed zoie while she watched Coppelia. Ballet Philippines dancers are indeed brilliant. there were moments that the dance made us laugh and zoie was clapping along with the people after every wonderful performance. Coppelia was actually a love story. it was really funny how the male character fell in love with a doll and that became an obstacle to their relationship. zoie wanted a better seat so she transferred to my lap. she never slept during the performance or made a noise. we had to go out though because she needed to go to the bathroom even though she was wearing diapers. there were a lot of people in the theater and also i was surprised to find a lot of kids watching the show. i assumed that most of them were taking ballet lessons because i saw some still wearing tights. zoie was moving her hands and legs in time with the music. i did make her dede though because she whispered, "hungry na ako" during one of the 15 minute breaks. after the show, she couldn't stop mentioning the "ballet dancers" that she saw. we again rode the LRT and the MRT because i asked adrian to pick us up in Makati. a lady gave zoie a toy in the MRT. my daughter always gets freebies from people. in birthday parties, she always has a prize even if she lost the game. we had Dairy Queen blizzard at Glorietta before we asked her tatay to come pick us up. in the car, she copied a dance step from the show and at home, she jumped like the dancers. we were laughing while she showed us her "moves" and looked as though she has already decided that she wants to be a ballet dancer when she grows up. she'll be taking up ballet lessons this summer. zoie didn't want to remove her dress. i had to force her to change to pajamas.

Naughty Zoie

2008-12-12T12:29:00.002+08:00

what should a mother do when she finds out that her daughter's teacher asked her daughter to sit because she's one of the naughtiest kids at school? i can't believe that my well-behaved Zoie is now one of the noisiest in class. they were practicing their Christmas presentation and Zoie was dancing her own steps and looking at everything except her teacher. tsk! tsk!

Say Cheese

2008-12-10T17:40:00.005+08:00

zoie with pooh and friends
zoie and tink

Oh, Christmas Tree

2008-12-10T15:13:00.004+08:00

last saturday, i bought a small christmas tree for zoie. our condo unit is fairly small to accommodate a large tree but because my daughter can now appreciate christmas, we decided to get her, her own tree. of cours, she chose the tree that matches her size. i wanted the bigger one but her tatay wanted the small one also. so, two against one... it was a joy buying small christmas balls and tinsels. zoie fell asleep on the way home. she got to decorate the tree in the morning. i woke up and saw a very excited zoie hanging small christmas balls on her tree. she also discovered that she had small candy cane, pine cone and gifts to hang on her tree. we never really hang christmas decors at home. last year, we spent christmas at hk disneyland. the previous year, zoie was too young to appreciate christmas. we were in bicol. this year, we have christmas lights. everyday, zoie watches the Barbie Christmas Carol DVD plus she sings Oh, Christmas Tree like an opera singer. Lol! As for the gifts, at the risk of her making me open her gifts, we've decided to keep it here at my office for the mean time.

techie zoie

2008-12-04T15:14:00.002+08:00

look at our little techie. she gets to use our notebook, ipod and takes one hell of a picture using our digicam.

The Dress

2008-12-02T09:24:00.005+08:00

let me tell you about the dress...

when i was single, i used to condemn parents who dress their kids in color combination that i cannot even begin to describe or let kids wear shoes that are not even suited for the type of clothes the kid is wearing. well, maybe parents of babies are guilty of this but parents of toddlers... i apologize for the thought. Zoie is very color coordinated most of the time. she chooses her own clothes but not wear she's going to wear it. she has this favorite dress - the ice cream dress - which we try to hide from her most of the time because if permitted, she would have worn it every single day. every little girl at some point (unless traumatized) feels that she is Barbie or a Disney Princess. in Zoie's case, she is both. wherever she goes, she has to wear a DRESS. even an out of town trip on a whim, at an early hour in the morning, we argue on what she's going to wear. it has to be a dress. so off we went to Tagaytay with her wearing a dress. to save her bambam from freezing over, i had to make her wear shorts underneath. last night, i found her christening dress and since it was only tied at the back with ribbons, i was able to force it over zoie's tall and slim body. again, she danced. Mama! Princess! sometimes, she's butterfly fairy when she's wearing the butterfly wings that we have at home. she hums a tune she learned from Barbie's 12 Dancing Princesses. what a girly girl my daughter has become.

A Friendship Tag

2008-11-25T07:11:00.005+08:00

Thank you, Shiela, for this friendship tag. Now I am passing this tag over to Irene, Kiten, Che, Joey, Jeng, Laya and Lith

Shiela, these rules I am copying from your blog:

Here are the rules for this tag:

Copy the badge and put it on your blog,
Link back who pass you this tag,
Spread this tag to at least 7 or more bloggers who you think you are friends with.

And lovely are the blossoms
That are tended with great care,
By those who work unselfishly
To make the place more fair.
And, like the garden blossoms,
Friendship’s flower grows more sweet
When watched and tended carefully
By those we know and meet.
And, if the seed of friendship
Is planted deep and true
And watched with understanding,
Friendship’s flower will bloom for you.

Makati Med ER

2008-11-19T09:46:00.005+08:00

zoie gave me pretty much of a scare yesterday. i was in a shoot. i saw my phone ringing and accidentally cancelled a call from our landline phone because i thought i was the one calling. in the middle of the shoot, i got a text from hubby that they're at makati med ER. it's like cold water was splashed on my face. i felt nervous and right away i knew something was wrong with my baby. i called them. hubby said they were observing zoie who suddenly felt normal. she was having tummy aches in the morning and was calling for me, calet said. it's a good thing that my boss is like kidlat in shoots so we finished up early before i excused myself to go to the hospital. a happy zoie ran to me shouting "Mama!" and caused a lot of eyes to look at us. my MIL arrived and i thought, "ano to reunion?" but then i found out SIL is sick also. we took zoie out of the ER and she requested that we go to Jollibee only Mcdo was nearer. my little girl who was complaining of a tummy ache was already ordering sundae. i was so relieved. they dropped me off at the office soon after. hubby and i were talking - umaarte lang kaya si zoie? because both of us are pretty busy lately. haay, guilt-ridden me.

Workaholic Guilt

2008-11-11T06:45:00.005+08:00

Sometimes I just hate myself for having a job as toxic as mine. Of course I will never blame Zoie for asking for milk in between 4 and 6 am or a few minutes before I'm scheduled to wake up and mark it as the start of my day. I will never blame her that she asks for milk just when my head hits the pillow because it's not her fault that her mom just got home at 1 am or just finished transcribing an interview at 5 am. It is my life-long wish to become a stay-at-home mom but then I really am not sure if I could handle it because my body is programmed for a different kind of stress. These days I leave the house with her asleep and I come home finding her already asleep. So, what's new with that? My mom tells me that I should get enough sleep for me to function well. I do function well but sometimes even in sleep I think about my work. This is the reason why sometimes I feel so guilty leaving Zoie under the care of Calet. Sometimes I just wonder if this is all worth it. That I'm only feeding this selfish need to be doing my job and not investing enough time for the family. Zoie will be young only once.

Oh well, I'm off to another set-up... another event. I wish Christmas is here. I will be a full time mom for two whole weeks.

The Next Zoie

2008-11-07T09:50:00.005+08:00

I can't tell you how disappointed my mom was when I told her this morning that she should expect her next apo on 2011. "What? 2011 pa?" The change in her expression almost made me smile and she went to our room to check on Zoie grumbling "matanda na ako at hindi ko na maaalagaan yung susunod. Hindi ka na magkakaanak sa ganyan katagal kasi ang taba mo na... blah... blah..." (in Bicol). Well, Adrian and I have reasons on why having another baby should be carefully planned. Personally, all things aside, I really would like another child asap. I mean, Zoie is now 3 years old and that's the decent gap between siblings according to Family Planning. But then when we were anticipating Zoie, all our thoughts were centered on having a baby and not on how much it would cost to have a baby. When I gave birth to Zoie at St. Luke's Medical Center, our savings was almost wiped out and hubby as the head of the family felt a bit crippled financially. Not to mention the fact that I was on bedrest for two weeks with expensive meds. Hubby was explaining to me this morning on our way to my office that unless we want our finances to suffer and that if I'd like to give birth in a cheaper hospital, then he'd consider it keeping in mind that we're still paying for our car. It's very hard when you really use your head planning these things. Good thing hubby has his in place. Me, I'm so cluttered. Hubby wants our next child to be as comfy as Zoie. Of course, Zoie right now is more than enough but then, being an only child, I don't want her to end up like me, also an only child. I do hope 2011 is a good year for us because by that time Zoie will be studying in a regular school already.

Sandwich Maker

2008-11-06T12:34:00.003+08:00

I taught Zoie how to make sandwiches this morning. She made the peanut butter sandwiches for her tatay's baon. Adrian brings at least three sandwiches for his snacks. Zoie was really into the process of sandwich-making, holding the bread with her little hand, dipping the bread knife into the peanut butter, letting it drip on the bread, spreading and looking at the other bread slice to see if the size matches the other half.

Oh, did I mention that Zoie ate about half a can of Piknik Shoestring Potatoes last night? She eats them like she's eating rice.

My Little Adult

2008-11-05T13:07:00.003+08:00

I don't know why every single time I try to post something new in this blog, I get writer's block. Maybe it's because I'm getting confused on what to write about Zoie. There's just so much I want to write about.

I had a chance to be a full time mom last weekend. Calet went home to the province for the undas and I'm left to take care of my mag-ama. I made a pretty good start by making pancakes for them. Or rather, I mixed the batter and hubby cooked it perfectly. I tend to murder the pancakes and Zoie might end up with memories of her mom's mangled pancakes.

I never realized how much my baby has grown and how she can now keep up with a flowing conversation. She's now a little chatterbox. When she's not talking to me, she's talking to her toys. She only stops talking when hooked on an ipod or when asleep.

We went to Zambales that weekend and I stayed mostly inside the room at the second floor. Zoie wanted to go downstairs. We ate breakfast. Because of the heat and the food, there were flies everywhere. Zoie was grumbling and pointing at the stairs. She pulled at my hand.

Me: Baby, you said you wanted to stay here and now that we're here, why do you want to go up?
Zoie grumbling: Punta na taas.
Zoie looked uncomfortable but didn't want to say why. Suddenly...
Zoie: taas na tayo. ang daming langaw eh.

The caretakers and my MIL heard what she said. Haay, how can Zoie be so maarte? You cannot even make her step on the sand or soil. She came running back to me with that "ewe!" expression when she felt that the soil in the garden was a little soft. She ate ice buko at the cemetery and saw the coconut on the ice drop (maybe she thought they looked like worms), felt the sticky melted ice cream on her fingers and quickly handed it over to me saying, "wipes! wipes! (for the baby wipes)" Is this kind of attitude hereditary? People say she got that kaartehan from me. Me?!

This is a weird thing to say but I really appreciate how Calet takes care of Zoie. She is quite a handful. Sometimes she acts like a little adult. I heard feedback from the school that Zoie is always there to help her classmates.

Movies and Stuff

2008-11-05T11:23:00.000+08:00

Ambition Day

2008-10-30T10:28:00.008+08:00

Yesterday was Ambition Day at FAB Learning Center. Zoie was dressed as a dancer because she told me she wanted to be a dancer. Ken was dressed as a policeman. There were 2 nurses, the very cute Anne looked like she works for Red Cross, 2 doctors, a princess, a race car driver, Drei is really into cars and a teacher. Teacher Yvette was dressed as a cyclist.

They had their usual set of activities but the theme is focused on occupations. Even the story at the end of the school day was about an entrepreneur.

Zoie's worksheet was about the letter B and had a picture of a baker.
The kids had fun playing while in costume. Even the princess was running around.

Zoie's UN Day Celebration

2008-10-27T17:03:00.016+08:00

The kids arrived at school in different costumes. Two kids represent a country and my daughter's country was France. All kids brought food representing their country.
Zoie came as a mime artist from France. I would have made her face whiter if she had permitted it.
The kids had their usual set of activities and I'm quite surprised that Zoie already knows the meaning of "agenda".
Little Zoie is keeping up.
They had a Japanese teacher, Teacher Yoko (I'm not sure if this is her name really) who taught them origami and how to use the chopsticks.
The buffet consisted of food representing different countries.
Corn?
My little mime artist had fun at the monkey bars after snack time.
The kids watched some videos.
Group picture. Too bad Drei didn't make it.
Finally, it's goodbye time. I can't wait for tomorrow. It's their Ambition Day and Zoie's coming as a ballet dancer. I wanted her to come dressed as a photographer but she'd rather be a dancer. She told me so.

lost files?!!

2008-10-27T09:10:00.000+08:00

mini me... only worse

2008-10-24T08:39:00.002+08:00

last night, i bought face paint for zoie. she's going to be my little mime artist later because she's representing France. i bought 3 loaves of french bread at French Baker and had 1 loaf sliced. she was excited with the face paint. i couldn't find an all white palette so i settled for the 4 color makeup. i told her not to touch the white paint. she nodded. i was on the phone talking to my mom and she was looking at me. then i saw her trace her fingers on the other colors then trailed it across the white paint! i was indignant. i asked her why she broke her promise. my mom was laughing at the other end of the line. zoie looked at me defiantly and moved her arms on the sofa and the makeup cover fell on the floor. i asked her to pick it up. she refused. i was staring at a miniature of myself... na mas malala. ever heard of the saying that your child reflects you... only worse. i looked at her angrily. she tried to stare me down then broke into sobs... ran to my cousin, hugged her and told her to pick up the makeup cover. nang-utos pa. i asked calet not to hug her, aabuso. then her tatay went out of the room because he heard her crying ang picked her up. aba, i was the enemy. the three of them against me. but then she went out of the room again and i went to get her and said i was sorry. i know that was wrong but i couldn't just stand her and break her little heart. the ending? calet got the makeup cover, zoie refused to go to the room because she was "nood pa ako" ng TV, i read my book and hubby watched his favorite TV series on the ipod because no one can touch the TV but zoie.

Zoie the Mime Artist

2008-10-23T18:13:00.002+08:00

tomorrow, zoie will be celebrating UN day at school. the country she was assigned to is France. costumes are not required but i'd like her to come to class as a mime artist. i bought her a long sleeved striped shirt and a beret. she will bring with her loaves of french bread or croissant. i'm not sure yet. they have a Japanese guest who will teach them how to use chopsticks. i am going to take the half day off from work. i've thought about this for a few days. i don't want to be the parent who was always present at school but what the heck, it's her first UN day celebration so i will take a lot of pictures. i'm so excited.

how an outfit can generate these reactions

2008-10-22T08:51:00.013+08:00

*and all i did was buy her the leotard and tights... and did you notice the froggy bedroom slippers?

Zoie's House

2008-10-21T15:05:00.008+08:00

this is zoie's doll house and i'm glad that she chose this when her lola took her to toy kingdom and asked her to pick the toy she liked most. if not for this house, zoie will think that a house looks like a building. we live in a building, by the way. i don't want her to have a wrong perception of what a house looks like.

Parental Ambitions

2008-10-21T06:51:00.009+08:00

Okay, so i gave you a scary picture there in my previous post... barney the predator, growl!!! hahaha! Sorry for that! Zoie is scared of Jack O' Lantern and I had to kiss that pumpkin to show her that he's not scary at all. Ssshhh... I was a little freaked out as well.

Last night, I bought Zoie a ballet leotard. Although I haven't enrolled her to any ballet classes yet, I figured this can be her "what I want to be when I grow up" costume because she's always dancing around the house and hey, it was 50% off! personally, i don't want her to be a dancer though. I also don't want her to become a producer like her mom (moi!) and her tatay doesn't want her to become an IT person. Weird ba? But in the end it'll be her decision. I recognize my child's gift in taking pictures. At 2, she learned to use the digicam and now that she's 3, we're allowing her to take pictures of us and of everything from flowers to blank things like the wall. Lol! She takes pictures of her dolls and even reminds me to put the strap around my wrist so the camera won't fall to the ground.

I have a lot of respect for cameramen whether the medium is film, video or the classic - photography. I admire their eye for detail and the way they create the mise-en-scene. In my heart, I hope Zoie will develop her eye for detail. Admit it, some people who are already old still couldn't take good pictures. I know some. Lol! Wait... wait... am I wishing for my kid to become a film maker? Well, I'm not sure really but I hope she'll know what she wants before college.

*Zoie took this picture

Barney the Predator

2008-10-20T07:27:00.008+08:00

Will this picture traumatize your child and damage him/her for life?

Apparently not for Zoie. This was the scene that Zoie witnessed when she entered the bedroom a few days before her birthday. Zoie looked at Barney with wide eyes and a hint of horror... stared at it for a few seconds and then laughed. I didn't know how to react to this. Adrian obviously had fun setting up the scene, introducing Barney as the predator just like his ancestors. A few minutes before that, I was explaining to Zoie that Big Barney was little Barney's father.
Those who know us well would probably just laugh it off but those who don't will probably say, this is one sick family. Lol! But wait, I woke up to this scene this morning and I was a bit traumatized.
Don't blame me. I love Spongebob!

First Ever Global Handwashing Day

2008-10-16T11:45:00.005+08:00

I'm excited about this post that I'm posting it here and allthingschuva.blogspot.com

In my years of experience as a producer, (no, i'm not going to say how many), I've done a lot of projects but only few really had an impact on me. I actually forget that I've been part of a big event as I worked from project to project over the years. The first ever Global Handwashing Day which was held yesterday at the West Rembo Sports Complex was one of those projects that made a mark for me. I won't describe the process of organizing this event because it's just work. It's part of my job. Whatever the hardships I went through... whatever the stress... it doesn't matter. What's important is that the event went well and it was successful.

I learned a lot during GHD production. I learned how to use the digital SLR camera. It's been ages since I last used my film SLR camera and now everything's digital. I learned to direct people during the shoot. I do this in some projects if there's no director but this time I got to ask people to dance and they're not professional talents. The shoots - I enjoyed so much. Two to four companies or groups from both private and public sectors a day for a week was really exhausting but so much fun. I also got to be voice talent. I was one of the germ monsters that cause diseases in the program.

GHD editing went smoothly because my team was working on the videos while I was out shooting. The research for pictures was a bit heartbreaking for me because I got to see a lot of suffering kids. What can I do? I need them for the visuals. I also learned that there were a lot of kids who die of diarrhea, pneumonia, bulate and flu every single year. Knock on wood.

I've never been an advocate of handwashing. Putting my hands under running water was enough or a dab of hand sanitizer would often suffice or even a few splashes of rubbing alcohol. But my child was taught how to wash hands at school and I would often marvel as she counts from 1 to 20 while soaping her hands and she wasn't even 3 years old then. She even tells us Tatay, Mama, wash hands!

This GHD project though opened my eyes to the importance of washing one's hands with soap and clean water. I became aware of the 5 steps in washing one's hands.

1. wet your hands with clean and running water
2. lather and make lots of bubbles using a soap with long-lasting skin germ protection. (Okay. Use Safeguard. this is my blog so i can advertise.)
3. scrub the front and back of your hands
4. clean around and between every finger and under every fingernail
5. rinse and dry hands thoroughly. use clean towel.

Washing of hands should take about 20 seconds or the length of 2 happy birthday songs. No, no, no, not the "sayo ang inuman... sayo ang pulutan" version, just the traditional happy birthday song.

The fact that this project was UNICEF's with Safeguard as sponsor and me being a mom as well made this project meaningful for me. Three hundred Grade 1 kids from Fort Bonifacio Elementary School were invited to the event. Tonipet of Art Angel was a great host and captured the attention of everyone who was there. All the kids were eager to wash their hands at the mobile sinks in the venue. We had giant Disease monsters fabricated and as Senator Gordon, Sec Lapus, DOH NCR Regional Director Anden, Mr. Davis of UNICEF and Mr. Anand of P&G directed their highpowered water jets at the monsters, the mural that featured all the hands with signature of all sectors who support the cause was revealed as the monsters dissolved from the strength of the water from the hoses.

It was a great project for me. These are projects that make me proud to be a producer, a producer who now washes her hands as often as possible with soap and clean water. Lol!

wag ka palo, bad yan!

2008-10-16T07:29:00.002+08:00

it's amazing how much we learn from our kids. i feel that the kids nowadays are more mature and more intelligent than we were before. aminin!

yesterday, the culmination of my almost month-long project has come to an end. yesterday was Global Handwashing Day. the weeks of shoots, editing and stress... it's over. so, i eagerly went home to see Zoie and finally lie down in bed at a respectable time of night. when i entered the room (thankfully the aircon was turned on already) my mag-ama was naghaharutan. i made them come down from the bed so i can straighten the bedsheet. my back becomes itchy on an unmade bed. after straightening the bed out, adrian dived and ayun, sira ulit. i was so pissed off. my voice was loud and i slapped adrian on the arm and this set him off also. Zoie watched in horror and said "Wag ka palo! Wag ka palo, Tatay! Wag ka palo! Bad yan." Honestly, i didn't quite know what to do but my head was swimming and i wanted to lie down and everyone's in the way. I said sorry to zoie but not to adrian. I asked him to put the rubber bands on the canister with the other rubber bands but he threw them on the floor. I hated that. is it so bad if i can't sleep with toys all over the floor, a cabinet or a door open, a closet open, the windows are open, the bed sheet is rumpled and small things like rubber bands are all over the place? i can't even sleep with books under the bed. zoie was rubbing her eyes and wanted to cry but adrian and i kissed her and she asked for dede. after that, as soon as my head hit the pillow, nothing mattered. i fell into a deep sleep.

side kwento. last night while eating dinner.

Calet: baby, nasan si ate tisay (maid from the 5th floor)?
Zoie: Olongapo
Calet: eh si... (some playmate)
Zoie: Pangasinan

i was really surprised as these words rolled out from Zoie's mouth and it's not even bulol!

Party Pictures

2008-10-13T11:15:00.012+08:00

why so serious?

the birthday girl
piñata time

that candle at the center actually plays the happy birthday song
zoie and mamat
they actually asked me to take their picture!

classmates lining up to give gifts to zoie
zoie giving out backpacks to classmates
goodbye song

Zoie's School Party

2008-10-13T08:46:00.007+08:00

zoie's balloon

zoie's cake

zoie's giveaways (inside - barney stickers and barney school supplies)

teacher yvette as the host of the party. me: photographer lang

trip to Jerusalem

the moves

October 11: Zoie's birthday

2008-10-12T17:30:00.002+08:00

After the party and with my body choosing October 10 to be the first day of my period despite all the things I had to do, I was exhausted, leaving me no plans on the official birth date of my daughter. I wearily told hubby that we'll just eat dinner at Savory. My mother-in-law called and said that we should stop by first at Toy Kingdom and let Zoie choose her birthday gift. At 2 pm, we went out to pick hubby's mom and sis at their house. We went first to Megamall and Zoie fell in love with a huge dollhouse (that also has a huge tag price). My MIL bought it for her and Zoie was ecstatic.

We went down to play at World of Fun and then transferred to the SM beside Tiendesitas to eat at Savory. We ate Savory Chicken, Savory fried rice, kangkong with Chinese bagoong, Long Life pansit canton, some drinks and a round of desserts of buko pandan and coffee jelly with cream. At Tiendesitas, we had a shirt customized for hubby at Tshirt Project and we bought basketball shorts and sandals for me.

Zoie couldn't wait to get home. She fell asleep in the car but when I whispered "doll house" she woke up. She even drank dede for a while but warned me not to pack away her toys then went back to play.

Today, we brought her to my in laws and as expected, she asked us to bring that big doll house with us. I will post pictures soon.

Fall 2008 TV: dNeero-ites want to know

2008-10-12T17:22:00.000+08:00

Zoie's 3rd Birthday

2008-10-12T16:19:00.003+08:00

Whew. Look at how busy I am. The last post was dated last week. Starting October 1, I've been out of the office on shoots. The shoot frenzy lasted until the 8th giving me no time to prepare for my daughter's birthday. We finished the shoot early last Sunday, October 5, so i got to sneak in a little time to buy her a birthday dress. My friend delivered to me the giveaways and piñata at 11pm the night prior to the party. I was very thankful because I was supposed to pick up the backpacks from her store that weekend but I had shoots scheduled Saturday and Sunday.

The day of her party, I was on leave at the office. There were a million things on my mind but all project-related things I set aside to be able to prepare for the party. I went home at 2 am but woke up early to go to the market to buy chicken and ground meat for the spaghetti. There weren't a lot of choices at the market compared to a supermarket so I had to make do. I rented a tricycle so i can pick up the balloons. To my horror, the old woman there said that I never ordered any so I made her look for their copy of my receipt. I ordered the balloons end of September. They delivered to me after an hour. One balloon got busted and another one reduced to half its original size. The Barney design looked like a lizard. Oh well...

I cooked the spaghetti. I never realized how hard it is to cook for more than 20 people. I asked Calet to borrow bigger pots and pans from the neighbors. Somehow, I managed to cook the spaghetti. marinate the chicken and make the batter. Hubby was texting me that it was time to pick up the cake. So I took a bath and went to Market! Market! where hubby was supposed to pick me up.

The cake supplier lived in QC so we spent some time stuck in traffic and afraid that the rain will flood the area. After picking up the cake, we went to the mall again to buy a few more things. Would you believe I forgot to buy napkins, spoons and forks and had to drop by the village talipapa to buy them.

We arrived at school 30 minutes late and everybody was there already. Zoie's teacher served as the host and the party turned out fun. There were games and Zoie enjoyed giving out prizes. The cake was okay except for the fact that I broke Barney's leg. It was raining but no one seemed to have trouble with the piñata. We had cake, ice cream, ham and cheese roll (thanks Sam!), spaghetti and fried chicken. The giveaways were backpacks for all the kids with Barney stickers and school supplies inside. I bought toys for the game prizes and Zoie's Barney piñata was full with toys and candies.

I think Zoie enjoyed her party a lot. She was singing happy birthday to herself all the way home. I blamed myself for not having enough time to prepare for the party but no one seemed to believe that it was totally unprepared.

Happy Birthday To Me Also

2008-10-04T17:24:00.009+08:00

Birthdays... whenever i think about birthdays, i get this feeling of foreboding... like an oncoming rain. It's that same feeling when you look at a clear blue sky and somewhere in the horizon, you see a dark cloud. Well, it's okay if you tell me that I'm weird but if you heard my stories about guests not coming because my party happened on the day when all public vehicles at our province decided to go on strike or the Mayon Volcano acting up and threatens to erupt or that one time during my 9th birthday when the storm was so strong that my uncle had to pose as though giving me a mock up gift just for photo op sake... maybe you'll end up saying, uy, kaya pala... This came to a point where my mom finally decided - Hey, let's stop all this bull. Here's some money, go treat your friends out - thus, the birth of my looove for gimmicks/ night outs (college life. yahoo! hello, tequila! come to mama!). it seemed to work though because it's like i've finally found a way to trick nature and all calamities. good weather and rowdy friends - the perfect combi. No more parties at home. New dress, immaculate shoes and stockings but no guests. Well, that's my boohoo story.

When I became a mom, I thought less about myself. I thought about my child. I think about Zoie and my overtime at the office. I think about my guilt days when i leave the house and she's still asleep and i come home and she has gone to bed plus those weekends when i had to work or sleep because i'm dead tired. Look at me, I'm blogging right now while resting after a day out shooting here at the office. A very, very good Mom. So, what's my point? All these cannot interfere with her birthday because when it's her birthday, I feel like it's my birthday also.

The first year of her life, i convinced hubby that a trip to Davao was the best idea for her birthday celebration. So, i made a plan and contacted my relatives there. We left 2 days after her actual birth date. But what did I do on her birthday? I gathered up all her ninangs and ninongs and we ate at Congo Grille in El Pueblo. My hubby said, I thought trip lang ang gagawin but I dragged him to the restaurant and we had dinner. Zoie celebrated her actual birth date with 20 guests at a restaurant whose only indication that it can be for kids was that ugly Gorilla face on the logo. I invited all of them to the Makati branch and when I did an ocular, wow, there was no restaurant. The branch closed down. I had to re-send invites. Sa El Pueblo na lang. It was a fun dinner composed mostly of my friends and hubby's family. No food was kid-friendly. There were no balloons. But there was Zoie sitting like a happy bee on her tall chair.

Zoie's cake was Spongebob's pineapple house but without Spongebob. It was a very delicious cake from Sugarbox.

We left for Davao after 2 days and my relatives were so happy to see us.

They live hours away from the city so we rode their truck to get there. My uncle planned a beach party for Zoie. We stayed at their farm and the scene was truly that of a barrio. It was beautiful. My uncle's house was fairly modern. My uncle owns the vast land. He had his workers roast a pig for Zoie and brought a sack of durian to the beach. I stepped on the durian sack, mind you. The durians were very thorny. So we spent the day swimming in this beautiful beach. Forgetful me forgot the name of the beach.

That's my muro ami.

The next year was a challenge. Zoie understands parties already. She has attended a few and she loved Jollibee. So the busy mom went to book Jollibee Guadalupe branch two weeks before her birthday on a date that is after her birthday. On her birthday, the family ate at North Park and again, after 2 days, we celebrated at Jollibee. The look on my daughter's face was priceless. I'm glad I was able to convince hubby to say yes to my plans. I even went to buy party things at Divisoria leaving my shoulders with bright red marks because of the weight of everything I bought. My budget fund came from my rakets. I don't know what I would have done without it but I'm sure hubby will give me budget. What can I say about the Jollibee party? I'll say that even if the party was at night and ended very late, the host was thankfully full of energy. I had cameramen for friends so I got the coverage for free. I have friends who love her so they all went to the party not to mention all of Zoie's friends from our building.

This year is different. Zoie is now a preschooler. She will be celebrating her birthday with her classmates. I will be cooking a ton of spaghetti, fried chicken and hotdog. I will buy ice cream. My bestfriend, Sam, will bring ham and cheese rolls. Some of my friends will help me out at school. Her teacher will be the host at the party. I've planned for backpacks for giveaways but with an everyday shoot including weekends i'm thinking of a way to sneak all of these into my life. I've ordered the cake. Gosh, gosh, I will pay for it soon, i promise. No time to go to the bank. We're recycling last year's banner. Hubby doesn't want to interfere with my plans. Have to buy that party dress...

Why am I doing this? In the middle of a hectic work week, I sneak in all of these because somehow it's my birthday too. All those missed parties are finally pushing through with good weather, good health and great guests through my Zoie.

UPDiliman Shopping Center

2008-09-29T15:32:00.008+08:00

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...

2008-09-25T17:21:00.002+08:00

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!!!

2008-09-24T09:38:00.003+08:00

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

2008-09-23T15:29:00.001+08:00

i want to go home to see this face.

this child is full of promise

2008-09-22T17:36:00.004+08:00

and this child is mine. hahaha!

azi's birthday party

2008-09-22T07:43:00.004+08:00

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

2008-09-19T07:54:00.003+08:00

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

2008-09-18T07:53:00.004+08:00

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

2008-09-17T15:12:00.001+08:00

torn between two lovers

2008-09-17T07:16:00.003+08:00

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

2008-09-16T14:46:00.004+08:00

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

2008-09-16T10:12:00.005+08:00

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

2008-09-16T09:48:00.003+08:00

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

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

foot for thought

2008-09-15T17:27:00.003+08:00

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?

2008-09-15T12:33:00.002+08:00

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

2008-09-14T11:17:00.008+08:00

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

2008-09-12T09:14:00.001+08:00

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.

de-CAFFE-inated

2006-01-24T21:34:00.000+08:00

i've been drinking more than my share of kapeng barako lately feeling all jittery and looking wild-eyed. i can't imagine when was it that i was able to sleep through the night. ever since i became a mom, sleep was not an option. sleep became a luxury. here i am slaving my a*s off preparing for our client's preview tomorrow... missing my baby like hell and feeling dizzy everytime i pick something off the floor. so why am i still in the office and writing this blog entry? the day i got back from my maternity leave, the boss has lined up two projects for me. enough to steal time away from my beautiful baby till march. can't blame them. for two months, the senior producer savored all the rest she can get. NOT!!! i've yet to write my birthing kwento here. oh... maybe a day in march would be a nice schedule. i've gotta get back to work and in an hour or so call my husband to pick me up here at the office. thank you technology for cars... thank you nature for brewed coffee and thank you Lord for my baby!!!