NO CLASSES

Nikki is staying home. He doesn't have any classes today because they were suspended due to a typhoon that's in the country. I was so bummed about it, not because Nikki won't have any classes today, but because I called the school earlier and they said that "may pasok" (school is open) only to find out once we got there that there was a suspension of classes! Sigh. I suppose the announcement was given after I called but it was just so inconvenient to go all the way to school and then come right back in the rain.

Anyway, we'll just make a day out of it. Nikki already told me he wanted to do an experiment today so we'll do that and some lessons later.

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My sister just told me today that her research papers (2 of them) were published in the Philippine Journal of Internal Medicine! I'm so proud of her! Of course I had to spill it to family and friends. Just hope that she lands a really great job in Canada. She's very dedicated to her career and knows exactly what she wants. The world certainly is her oyster. :)

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I miss Game of Thrones already. It's a new tv series made by HBO and I so love the story. It's based on a book by George R.R. Martin titled "A Song of Fire and Ice". I think the series is simply amazing. The characters are wonderful and there's just so much that this series has to offer. After 10 episodes this first season, I was so sad that the story ended. But at the same time, I am SO looking forward to the next season. For now, I'm going to try reading the books and see how different it is from the tv show. Anyway, if you haven't watched Game of Thrones yet, please do. You might like it as much as I do. :)

FIRST STEP

Enzo just wants to outdo himself all the time. Today, he was trying so hard to walk and he tok his first step!! I was so happy! I know I'm probably sensationalizing it but I don't care. With Enzo being our last baby, I just want to take it all in. He's just so amazing, being able to do things earlier than I expect him to. I'm sure this boy will keep us on our toes all the time. :D

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Today was Rizal's Birth Anniversary. He's the Philippines' national hero. But I'm just glad that Ruther and Nikki are free because of the holiday. So, we went to SM (again, I know!) and Nikki, Ethan and I watched Mr. Popper's Penguins while Enzo and Ruther did the grocery shopping. It was a fun movie. Of course, Jim Carey tended to overdo his acting (think Ace Ventura, Liar Liar, etc.) but the boys had fun watching the movie and that's all that mattered. Next week is Transformers and my boys can't wait! :D

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I got bitten by an ant. On the face. And now I have this nasty swollen bite/rash on the left of my face, near my eye. And it itches like $#&%!! Grrr...

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I'm still trying to get used to this blended learning thing. Nikki and I are still trying to make our schedule work and since I have more chores to do right now (long story), it's not an easy task for me. But I'm still trying to work our way around our chores and classes and blogging (:D) so I hope we get to a regular schedule soon.

MARIO FANS

These boys love Mario. :D Took this photo at Toy Kingdom, SM Megamall last Saturday.

TOY CON

Today was another fun-filled family day for us.

We went to SM Megamall to attend the 2011 Toy Con. Ruther collects Transformers figures (not all, just a select few) and wanted to check it out. Since there was a cosplay show as well, I thought, it might be fun so why not? Fortunately, my in-laws weren't going to use the van so we used it to go to Megamall.

We left around 10 and got there in a hour or so. There were a LOT of people and I had difficulty going around the exhibit hall with Enzo's stroller. So we just stayed on one side while Ruther went around. There was a booth near us selling cellphone accessories, and not just cellphone accessories but cellphone accessories from JAPAN - which I LOVE! So I dove right in and came up with some really cute ones which I am going to keep or use, depending on my mood. I would have loved to buy a lot more than what I picked but that would have been too materialistic of me, so it's okay I just got a few. Anyway, after looking around we just took some photos of and with the cosplayers which was a lot of fun. It made me think, if I were to join an event like that, what would I wear? Hmmm...

Anyway, we went to Toy Kingdom then after that bought a couple of Subway sandwiches and then went home. :D

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Tomorrow, Ruther and I (along with Enzo) will be watching Green Lantern. I hope it's a nice movie because Ruther loves the Green Lantern character. We'll see...

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Before I forget, HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to all the wonderful dads out there!! Here's something for you to ponder:

"Any man can be a Father but it takes someone special to be a dad." -- Anne Geddes

Have a great day you fantabulous men! :D

DAY 2

Today is Nikki's second day in school. I promise this isn't going to be a day by day chronicle of Nikki's school adventures but I just can't help but feel proud and excited. This is his first time in school ever and apparently, he's enjoying it. Today they did a bit of coloring and singing and drawing and stuff like that. All easy-peasy for my Grade 3 boy but I don't care. He's having fun. That's all that matters. I was thinking, we'll do our regular homeschooling stuff after school during the easy days and maybe part of the weekend. I know I have to figure this out yet but I'm sure we'll come up with something that works.

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Enzo simply loves music. Ruther and I watch So You Think You Can Dance and he always shakes his butt during the opening credits (is that called credits too?). We already videoed him dancing to Poker Face which my sister absolutely loved and is now demanding more videos of him. Enzo is growing so fast I won't be surprised if he starts taking steps in a few short months. Sigh. It really really tugs at my heartstrings seeing my boys grow up so fast. One is in school and the other starting to walk! Waah!

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Been having some issues with my mother-in-law's helper. There are just some things I don't agree on when I KNOW that I'm on the right side of things. I'm not one to simply be biased and take my own side. I've been taught to carefully weigh issues and decisions and to do the right thing and as much as possible, not to hurt other people. And believe me, I try my darnest. But when I feel that I am (or my family are) being taken advantaged of, well, that's another matter entirely. Anyway, I know what I have to do and I know what I've decided on. I just hope that in the end, the helper will respect my decision and realize that her situation right now is as good as it gets.

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So, did you get to see the lunar eclipse last night? I was up til 12 midnight but couldn't stay up any longer than that because I had to be awake early the next morning to cook breakfast and Nikki's baon. I did see some of the photos in the news and it's simply too bad I didn't get to see the moon in its reddish glory because it would have been an absolutely great learning experience for the boys. Sigh. That's one thing I will miss about not being able to homeschool at our own time now that Nikki has regular school.

FIRST DAY

It was Nikki's first day in school today. We were late and it was not our fault. Days before, Nikki's adviser told me that school would start at 730. We went there at 730 only to realize that the flag ceremony started at 715! So we were late. But it was no big deal because it was orientation day. I stayed til recess just to check on him and when I did, Nikki said he was okay so I told him I would just go back for him in the afternoon. I did take some photos of him in the classroom. Can you blame me? I'm an excited mom. :D

When Nikki got home, I asked him how his day was. He said they had introductions, they sang songs, and just had an easy day. I'm glad. I met a mom there whose son was Nikki's classmate. So we exchanged numbers. I'm sure I would be meeting even more moms and I hope all of them would be okay. Anyway, am looking forward for school to normalize so Nikki could finally get a feel of it.

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I miss my sister. She's in Canada right now, attending a medical fellowship with the University of Toronto. We write all the time. Even the tiniest thing, the most mundane thing, we talk about it. And I love that. I used to do the same years ago when I would write Ruther back when Skype was not the fad yet. We would exchange emails then tell each other about our day. It was tedious but I so appreciated all the time he spent writing to me (he's not a letter person like me). And now that my sis is far away, I am once more appreciating the written word like never before.

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There's a lunar eclipse tonight. Too bad because we can't stay up late. Oh well...

HAPPY 8th BIRTHDAY ETHAN!

Ethan is now 8! Happy Birthday to our dear boy! We love you so much!

FIRST DAY IN SCHOOL TOMORROW

Tomorrow is Nikki's first day in school!! His first day ever!

In case you didn't know, my boys are homeschoolers. They have been all their lives. I would love to homeschool them but I know my limits. I know I can't give them all the learning that they need so we're going to try blended schooling. We figured, it's simply the best of both worlds. And in case you are wondering if we are torturing our son with too much workload, I would like to assure you that we aren't. Nikki will be entering school as a first grader. And I really don't mind since I am really after the life lessons he'll be learning in school rather than academics. We are already doing Grade 3 lessons so I'm not worried about getting behind. I know Nikki will be able to cope and I know that he'll manage. I just want him to grow up to be well-rounded, independent and good. What more could a mother want? If at the end of the schoolyear Nikki learns so much from this experience, I know we made the right decision.

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We finally had our passports renewed and Enzo's passport made. The DFA passport building is in a new place and it was our first time there. It was pretty orderly than the old place, cleaner and cooler (thank goodness for ACs). The one thing I loved about it was the courtesy lanes for family applications (which was our type of application), minors, and senior citizens. So in a way, we cut our waiting time a lot by going through this lane. I was just not too happy when Ethan had a tantrum while having his photo taken. Golly! It was such a nightmare! But I'm glad that's all over. Since Ruther took the day off for this thing, we decided to go to SM Mall of Asia and make a family day out of it. So we had lunch at Shakey's, then went around, then watched Super 8 (while the boys slept) and then had an early dinner, then went home. And now, we all gotta be up early for Nikki's first day in school!

I'm SO excited!

ETHAN IS 8!

Ethan is 8 years old today.

Before we had Enzo, Ethan was our baby. Now that he's a big brother, I suppose he just had to grow up a little more, a little more abrupt than I would have wanted him to. But he's such a good kuya to Enzo and can be so affectionate. I hope he doesn't change those things about him.

Today was simple yet fun day for Ethan. We got his cake at SM Sucat (we ordered a WALL-E cake from Goldilocks a week ago) and got him presents. When we arrived home, we just had the usual family photos and then we sang the Happy Birthday song and Ethan blew the candle on his cake. Then he opened his presents and that was it. But he was happy, he enjoyed the "party" and that's what matters.

Happy Birthday Ethan! We love you so much!

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Can't believe June is halfway over! It's the middle of the year already! Gosh! On Thursday, Nikki will start traditional school for the very first time! Wow! I think I'm more excited than he is. I hope he enjoys it, and I hope he learns so much from it. Here's looking forward to a good school year! :)

OUR WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

11 years and counting...

Sometimes I can't believe we've lasted this long. Sometimes I wonder how two different people could make a marriage work. But then again, I suppose, it's what made our relationship interesting. Our differences, our uniqueness, our faults, our thoughts, our perceptions, our beliefs... We just try to get over the things that don't work and appreciate the things that do. After all, we are definitely not perfect. But I can't deny the fact that I love my husband and despite all the hurt and sadness and pain that came along with the happiness and elation and wonderment, I still want us to be together. And I suppose that's what matters most.

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We had a wonderful day today. We first went to a water resort not too far from our city. The name of the resort is Watercamp and it's located in Kawit, Cavite. It was our first time there and even if it was cloudy and the water a bit chilly and the food not too yummy, everyone had fun and we enjoyed the swim and frolicking together. Our favorite part was the lazy river where we just had to glide along the water with our floaties because of the current. Even Enzo had loads of fun! Can't wait to see the photos!

After water camp, we had lunch at Jollibee then promptly left for Greenhills. Ruther had to buy more Transformers toys for his collection and since we weren't sure when we would be free to go to Greenhills again, we decided today would be the best day. Once there, Ruther got his toys and I shopped for Ethan's presents. He's very excited to open them tomorrow. For an ADHD kid, he's such a patient boy and I'm just so proud of him.

We got home around 6pm and dropped the boys off while Ruther and I (and Enzo) went to Conti's at BF to have our anniversary dinner there. There were no candles and there was no wine but the food was yummy and I enjoyed their cake so much (could never go wrong with a slice of mango bravo) and Ruther got us Starbucks coffee afterwards so it was a pleasant and wonderful dinner.

When we got home, I had to prepare balloons for Ethan's birthday and for our family photo tomorrow. Even if we won't have a party for him, I hope he still enjoys his day.

Gotta hit the sack. Gonna be another busy day tomorrow! :D

ENZO AT 8 MONTHS

Our little chipmunk. :D

CATCHING UP

I know. There's no excuse. And it's been ages. And I'm sorry.

So I'll jump right in.

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Ruther and I will be celebrating our 11th wedding anniversary tomorrow. Can you believe it? After all the ups and down in our marriage, the laughter and tears, the kisses and hugs, the memorable bonding moments we've had as a couple and a family, the separations and time apart, the taking for granted, the rollercoaster ride... here we are. Eleven years. This man has been my one and only love. And I hope that it will remain so.

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Our baby is no longer a baby!! He's now babbling, and crawling, and trying to stand, and laughing, and clapping, and having separation anxiety (yikes!), and oh yeah, he likes to shake his tushie to the music. He's just growing so fast!! Here's our bundle of joy at 8 months:

Don't you just love his curly hair? Well, I do. I think it's very cute! I'm just not sure Enzo will feel the same way years from now. If he's going to be anything like his dad, he'll wish for straight hair. I just hope that he learns to love his own uniqueness and just love himself the way he is. Because I do.

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There's another typhoon in the country right now. And it's not doing us any good. The other day, when it was raining non-stop, I had to mop the floor in Nikki's room because the drips from the ceiling has been really bad! If I don't check his room when it's raining, a mall pool forms in there and well, we wouldn't want that, would we? Ruther was thinking of having it fixed but we can't because a) the house next door has their roof stuck to our wall and that's where all the water comes from; b) fixing the problem will cost a lot of money and we don't have the luxury right now; and c) this is really not our home but my in-law's so I'd rather we save the money for our future home or for migrating. I just hope that it wouldn't rain as hard next time. (Who am I kidding? It's monsoon season!)

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It's Ethan's birthday on Sunday!! He'll be 8 years old. Yeah, June is a busy month. We'll be going to a water resort tomorrow to celebrate so hopefully the boys will have fun there. Maybe by then the typhoon will be out of the country completely.

Here's hoping our weekend will be a fun one!!

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Oh yeah, and I missed you. Missed blogging too.