NOT EASY BUT...

Already started teaching Ethan his First Grade lessons.  It was difficult at first because he doesn’t like to learn the text book way.  I forgot that this boy likes his lessons given to him in a creative plate.  

It’s quite challenging because I need to fin time to prepare his lessons.  Good thing 1. I have the syllabus to follow and 2. Nikki’s Grade 1 books has like 90% of the lessons.  So, I just have to add a creative touch and Ethan learns without complaints.

He still dislikes writing but is getting better with practice.  I just have to give him short writing lessons everyday.  Sometimes he minds, sometimes he doesn’t.  But as long as he gets used to writing, that’s what’s most important.  In the beginning, I let him write his full name.  They were so sloppy but I didn’t say anything.  I let him do it everyday until he got used to it.  Then I added, “My name is …”  And he did that too.  Then now, he’s doing “I am ___ years old”.  And then later on, we’ll do the address.  I hope he doesn’t complain. 

We’re doing okay with Math.  I’m just worried bit about the writing exercises.  I mean, he could read and identify “seven hundred fifty-one or 751″ but to write it?  It takes forever.  But again, I’m just letting him slowly get used to writing.  Hopefully he’ll be writing more and be complaining less in the next few months.

Another worry for me is Filipino.  Ethan speaks in English only and I cannot imagine how to introduce Ethan to Filipino through creative ways.  My best idea is to teach him English then Filipino, sort of ESL style. I guess it’s worth a shot.  I mean, how else can he learn Filipino if we don’t start now, right?

We’re doing okay with Science.  There are so many ways to be creative with pictures and experiments and besides, Science is my favorite.   We did the parts of the body, the parts of the face, the 5 senses and the functions of the 5 senses in one day.  And yes, he understood the lesson.  Goodie!

Like I said, it’s a real challenge teaching Ethan but it’s so fulfilling when he learns and understands his lessons.  I feel like I’m getting through to him, you know.  So even if this takes up a lot of my time (even more than the usual), we’re going to do this.  And finish this. 

Wish us luck!

AWAY FROM HOME

Ruther is in Bohol right now.  He's with his officemates because they have a company outing.  I'm sure he's having a great time there.  I've been to Bohol before with him, Nikki and Ethan and it was fun.  We got to see a lot of things and we enjoyed our stay and of course, our bonding time as a family.  I'm sure this time it will be a different experience for him, since he'll be with friends.

I would have loved to see the beach again but my doctor forbade me from any swimming activities for at least a month after my LASIK.  So I guess beach-going is out of the question right now.  We're hoping though, to be able to go to Puerto Galera for my birthday but until I get the okay from my doctor, we'll have to postpone it.  My next appointment will be around July 2nd so we're keeping our fingers crossed.  I'm quite excited to see the fish underwater though. It's hard to see clearly when all the fish you see are the ones that are a foot from your face.  :P  I know it will be an additional expense for us to hire a banca (outrigger boat) for the snorkeling activity but I SO want to do it now that my eyes are all okay. So I suppose that means, I have to come up with the money for that expense. :P  But really, who cares as long I see the fish while I feed them!!  I'm SO excited!

.....

Ethan celebrated his birthday last Tuesday.  He's now 9 years old.  I can't believe it.  Sometimes, I still think of him as my baby.  Maybe if we didn't have Enzo we'd be babying him all the time so I suppose it's okay that Enzo came after him. :D  Anyway, we just had a simple party. Since Ethan is not very particular about having people over, we just had a quiet, simple celebration at home with cake, photos, fried chicken and spaghetti. Of course, there is always the presents.  

I know some families really go out of their way to have parties and such, but our family is not like that.  It’s not that we dislike parties but that we’d rather spend the day together in family celebration.  We would have loved to bring Ethan somewhere, a place he’d enjoy but Ruther had work today so we’ll just put if off for another day.

I can’t believe Ethan is 9.  My boys are growing so fast. It feels like they are slipping away from me and I can’t stop it.  I know that letting them go is inevitable, so I just want to arm them with life skills so they will be good and ready for whatever comes their way. 

I cannot imagine life without my boys.  Ethan is a pretty special kid and I see it everyday.  I admit, not many people understand him, but I do and as long as he’s happy, healthy and learning, I’m happy. 

I love you Ethan! Happy Birthday!

12 YEARS

Yesterday, Ruther and I celebrated our 12th year anniversary.  Wow. I still can't believe we've been together that long.

It hasn't been easy. We've had our ups and downs.  But what marriage hasn't, right?  There were times when I felt like there was no hope, like it was never going to get better.  There were times when I just wanted to give up.  But because we didn't give up, because we still fought for each other, we're here now.    And I'm glad for that.

Ruther and I aren't perfect people.  We have our flaws and we have our temperaments.  But I think it's because we know each other so well that we could adjust to our craziness. We could read the other and tell when to shut up, when to give advise, when to just let the little misunderstandings go.  I always say, "Pick your battles" and it really works, whether it's with the boys, or Ruther.  You just have to focus your time and energy on the things that matter the most and just let go of the less important ones.  It's still not easy for Ruther sometimes because he's such a control freak but he's learning.  After all, he's not getting any younger.  Who wants to suffer a heart attack from a minor thing like picking up toys?

Twelve years is no joke.  But if it means spending time with this man I call my husband, then I'm sure the years will simply fly by.  We may have crazy fights, but I know he loves me and I think that's all that matters.

ENDED BEFORE IT BEGAN

I didn't even get to the interview and I already knew I wasn't going to get the job.  Turns out, they didn't have an opening for the clinic near home.  They had vacancies for 3 other clinics which were far away!  Sheesh!  Talk about false advertisement.  So anyway, to cut the long story short, I graciously let them know that I will not be applying for the job after all since I would only be considering clinics near home.  They did say they were going to keep my resume should a position open for the clinic near our house.  That was mighty nice of them. :D

.....

My dad and brother are coming home from Canada on the 15th.  I'm feeling sad that they'll be staying for only a short time there especially since my sister will miss them a lot.  I only hope that they will be returning to Canada soon.  My mom will be staying behind and will remain there probably until August.  So that will keep my sister busy. :D

I wish we could go see Canada.  If I want that to happen, that means I have to get myself a job!!!

SOMETHING EXCITING

Yes, and it's happening this Friday.

I have an interview for a job! Isn't that amazing?  Okay, I can hear you ask, "When did THAT happen?" Well, last Sunday, I bought a newspaper.  I got it not to job hunt, but just to read what's happening in the world today.  When I reached the classifieds section, I thought,"what the heck".  So I browsed through it. And then, I happened to see an ad which piqued my interest.  It caught my eye because 1. it's right for me because it's related to my course and 2. it's very near home.  So anyway, I saw a cell phone number in the ad and decided to give it a shot.  I asked if the position was still available and I received a reply asking me to send my resume via email.  It did, the next day and to my surprise, promptly got a request for an interview this Friday!  So now, I'm biting my nails.  Will I take it?  Will they like me?  Will it be good enough?  I'm just a nervous, excited wreck.

Of course, the idea that I'd be away from the boys for longer than 5 hours (when I did part-time work before) scares the crap out of me, especially since I breastfeed Enzo and since I decided to homeschool Ethan (with a homeschool provider).  But, the idea that the job is so close to home and that I have the option of having them come to me when they need me or when I need them is appealing.  Also, the fact that I'll be doing what I studied all these years in college is making me excited.  I mean, should we decide to migrate, my experience in this field will be a great boost.  So I hope I hope I hope the job will be okay - salary-wise and schedule-wise.

I'm sure I'll be able to find ways (and time) in homeschooling the boys. I'm not saying it's going to be easy.  All I'm saying is we'll find a way.  Here are some scenarios:

1.  If everything goes well and I get the job, I'll consider enrolling Ethan with a SPED class to reinforce his learning.  We have a school which is a couple of streets away from home which offers SPED classes for walk-in student.   Just have to find out their rates, though.  I hope it's affordable.

2. I'll have to homeschool Nikki during weekends (if I'm free then) or when I have my day/s off.  I sincerely hope I have 2 days free every week because I just know it will be cutting into our family bonding time and I would just miss them a lot.

3.  We'll have to continue with Ethan's therapy every week just so he'd have a familiarity with a teacher.

4. I'll simply use my free time at work to research learning tools and lessons for the boys.

My main concern regarding work is my time away from the boys of course.  Not only will it separate us for longer hours but I'm concerned about missing out on their important activities like when Nikki has programs in school or Enzo's firsts.  I'm sure it will hurt not to be there, but I'm sure they know that I'm doing this for them.

I know that these are all hypothetical because I don't know if I'll be getting the job but it helps to know that I have a plan should it happen.  I also know I have to ready myself and be strong should the time come when I'll be away from them for hours a day.  It's sad but we need the money.  And that's life.

SEEING IS...

I cannot believe I can see! Without glasses on!  It's just amazing.

I'm not a vain person.  When I needed to wear glasses, I didn't mind.  When it only became a hindrance to my everyday life did it require me to wear contacts.  But because of dryness and inconvenience, I stopped wearing contacts altogether and just wore glasses.  Until now.

I never thought that waking up and seeing everything without having to reach for your glasses was possible.  I mean, sure, I could always opt for corrective surgery, but with 3 boys, a single-income and looming bills, that was never in my book.  Until my parents offered to pay for my LASIK, I never even thought that one day, I would have 20/20 vision.

I has not sunk in yet.  I mean, I still have to wear my protective glasses (for the first week after surgery) so it still feels like I have my prescription glasses on.  I really notice the change when I wake up in the morning because it's just so... NEW.  I mean, usually when the alarm rings, I have to grope for the alarm clock to turn it off, then reach for my glasses so I could get up and prepare Ruther's baon.  But now, I just have to turn off the alarm, get up and go.  When I bathe, I don't need to wear my glasses in the shower just to make sure I shave my legs properly.  I can do that now because I can see.

I'm really looking forward to being able to wear eye make-up (can't do that now yet) because when I wore glasses, I always thought eye make-up was useless.  Why would I wear eye make-up when my glasses covered my eyes?  Now that I'm no longer wearing glasses, I could wear sunglasses.  At last!  I had glasses made before that had tint on them but they weren't too fashionable so I didn't use them all the time.  I'm also looking forward to snorkeling.  It would be so wonderful to finally be able to wear snorkeling gear and see below the water without having to squint and see fish that are up to my nose only.

It's really exciting.  I'm slowing starting to believe that yes, my vision has been restored and that I'm rid of my glasses.  It's just amazing.  I feel like I've been reborn.

Truly.

I CAN SEE

My husband and I went to the eye center yesterday to have my initial screening, just to gauge if I was a good candiate for the LASIK promo my parents got for me.  Anyway, we arrived early for my 1pm appointment.  Enzo was a handful so while they were doing my initial screening and refraction, Ruther and Enzo got a bite to eat. When I was done, the doctor had to review my results and I was so sad to find out that I was not qualified for the traditional LASIK procedure which the promo covered. They said my corneas were "too steep".  They did offer me the more advanced LASIK treatment but I got nervous because it was like P33,000 more (with discount!) and I was so worried because this was not in our plans!   I mean, with tuition fees coming up and other expenses, I was thinking, the P33,000 could go so far!  So I was so undecided.  Ruther wanted me to have the surgery, bless him.  He's always been supportive.  But of course, it was HIS money we were spending so I was so unsure.  Finally, we agreed that we were going to push through with the surgery IF we sell some of our stuff at home to help pay for the unexpected expense.  After we agreed that, I was able to breathe deeply and told the receptionist I was going to have the surgery.

Since I could have it the same day, I was told to eat first.  After that, I was given the pre-surgery instructions, then at a quarter to 5, I was brought into the waiting/recovery room.  I was given a headcap and lab gown and I changed into slippers.  I was given 3 medicines in my eyes (anesthetic, antibiotic and another one I forgot).  After waiting a few more minutes, the doctor was ready.  I went into the excision room.  That's where the flap is made. The doctor was very competent and his hands were very dextrous and light.  It took 31 seconds each eye to make the flap.  I concentrated so hard not to move my eyes I think I was almost meditating.  Anyway, after the flap, I was led into the room where the laser was.  Again, I had to concentrate on not moving my eyes.  When I smelled like burning flesh, I held my breath because I did not want to be scared of it.  The laser treatment took around 20 seconds each eye.  When the doctor OK'd the procedure, the nurses congratulated me, which was so funny.  I felt like I just had a baby.

Anyway, I went back to the waiting/recovery room and was given my protective goggles, my kit with my meds, and the post-op instructions.  I rested for a few minutes then the doctor came into the room for my final check.  He said it "looked great" so I could go home.  By then, it was past 6pm already.  My eyes felt heavy so I just kept them closed as much as I could.

Today when I woke up, I could see a lot more clearly.  It hasn't sunk in yet but I'm sure once the protective glasses are gone, it would feel like I really really am not wearing prescription glasses anymore.  I'm due for my first check-up today. Hopefully, everything is okay. :)