Hello September

Lessons with Ethan are coming along nicely.  We're going a bit slower than expected but then again, you can't rush learning, especially with a boy like him.  As always, I don't want him to feel that learning is a chore so I try to be as patient as I can with teaching him and so far, he's doing fine.  We're kind of slow in Filipino but I suppose, that's to be expected since he rarely or hardly ever speaks Filipino. But we're getting by and I guess, as long as we keep at it, he'll pretty soon learn his Filipino lessons.  With Ethan, our "one lesson at a time" motto surely fits him to a T.

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Now that August is over and all the craziness with it gone, I can now focus on other things like (of course), homeschooling Ethan, Enzo's birthday (which is coming up in a few weeks!!), and preparing Nikki's pinata for his birthday.  I think I have to start making my Christmas list as well since it's always easier for me to make purchases with a list on hand.  Besides, I love it when I discover a wonderful present for someone and it's the perfect present for him/her.  Yup.  Christmas list has to be on my to-do list this month.

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We're not celebrating Enzo's birthday this year.  We're just, as usual, going to have a small family gathering here at home and take photos and blow candles and open presents.  We might go out on the weekend for more birthday fun but i'll have to check the best place to go for our family outing. 

We'll see... :)

FAST FORWARD

I know it's been ages but that's what happens when:

1. You're homeschooling more than one kid.

2. You're homeschooling and have a precocious one-year-old who has separation anxiety.

3. Your helper left and you end up with endless chores. 

4. You're living with a harpy who give you a lot of stress.

Anyway, as much as I would love to regale you with the many joyous things that happened since I last posted, I'm sure it would only bore you.  So, let's stick to the interesting stuff, shall we?

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I'm sure you've heard about the freaky (non-)storm that came to the Philippines weeks ago.  Yes, it was pretty scary.  And no, we were fortunately, not affected by floods.  I'm just really thankful for that. We had some droplets of rain in the boys' room though, but I'd have that anyday.  Before Mama had the firewall repaired, the boys had like a waterfall in their room whenever it rained really hard.  So yeah, a few drops are not a problem for me...  I can't say the same about other parts of Manila though...

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I'm putting my plans for Nikki's birthday on hold at the moment since I'm making his costume for Linggo ng Wika. I want his costume to be spectacular.  It will be sort of a tribal/ati-atihan-style costume.  I already made the paper mache base so we could decorate it with coconut fibers and other materials from coconut.  I'm so excited!  We're planning to use red and gold colors to make it really vibrant and then we'll use some shimmer/bronzing powder and apply it to the skin for some tribal regality.  Neat huh. I hope Nikki wins.  Last year he wanted to win a trophy and I told him, only the representatives were qualified to win.  So i'm doing this for him.  Keeping my fingers crossed...

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Like I mentioned earlier, our helper left.  When?  That was on my birthday.  Right after we got back from Puerto Galera, boom!  Surprise!  No maid.  But I can't blame her.  A person here at home (the harpy) treated her really badly during her entire stay and I didn't want her to suffer any longer.  So when she told me that she needed to go, I just couldn't stop her.  I just couldn't.

Anyway, we had to go on with no helper for a few more weeks.  Then last week, we got another helper.  Good news right?  Not.  The helper was great.  But the harpy was at it again.  The helper was only here for 3 days and I had to intervene because the harpy was harboring ill-feelings and was grumbling all the time and muttering complaints about the helper. Of course I had to intervene. It was to exhausting.  Anyway, to make the story short, the helper left yesterday.  Must be a record for the shortest work by a helper in this household.  And all because of the harpy. I don't know how else we can live here with someone like that.  

I hope she leaves before she tests my patience or worse, show her my wrath.

UPDATES

We had a blast at Puerto Galera. I was really worried about the weather because of the constant rains but fortunately, the weather cooperated.  Will post photos soon...

When we got back from Puerto though, the helper at home informed me that she was going home!! It was not completely her fault.  A person here at home was just horrid to her during her entire stay.  Who would want to live here?  So I told her, I understood and she is of course, free to do as she pleased. Good for her but busy for me because now, I have to go back to washing our laundry.  Not that I mind, but it just takes so much of my time and I already feel like Ethan and I don't have enough time for homeschool.  Sigh.  I always tell myself "don't sweat the small stuff" but sometimes, I just feel so much pressure and I couldn't help it. There's just so much to do!  This week, it's Nikki's long test and we'll be reviewing til Thursday. Also, I'm not even done fixing the boys' room downstairs!  And I planned on getting it done by last week.  Sigh.  I know. Life happens and we have to roll with the punches.  Sometimes though, I wish someone would roll with the punches along with me...

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Enzo is growing so fast.  He's starting to say words now like, "light", "ball", "Wii", "Pocoyo" and more.  Sometimes I don't understand him but he finds ways of getting his message across. He still breastfeeds which is both good and bad.  Good because well, we're breastfeeding.  Bad because it's cutting down on my chore time.  But as always, I know I can manage my time still.

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Ruther and I agreed that we will now do Wii Fit every night for at least 30 minutes. We just feel that we should start losing weight now because when are we going to start? Besides it will do us a lot of good.  We're also of course, trying to change our diet.  Hopefully we will see results in a few months.  It's also a nice way of teaching the boys by example to exercise regularly, which, in this day and age, rarely happens. And the best thing about doing this?  It's free.  

Gotta love it. 

TO PUERTO GALERA

So, my family and I are off to Puerto Galera, a popular tourist destination in the island of Mindoro, south of Manila.

Why the suddenness? Well, Ruther wanted us to go there in time for my birthday (which will be next week). I didn’t want to at first because we’ve been having rainy weather these past few days (and even today!) but when we inquired with the travel agency about room availability this weekend, she booked us immediately with the announcement that rebooking was not allowed. As much as I would want to give her a piece of my mind, I thought, might as well push through with it since Nikki will be having exams in a few weeks and we’ll never know what the weather will be like in a few weeks’ time anyway. So, we’re on to another family adventure. Hopefully we’ll be getting some sunshine.

See you next week! 

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!

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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

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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. :)

YOUNG CHEFS

So yesterday was the third and last day of the Young Chefs Cooking Camp.  They made chicken and eggplant nuggets (which tasted yummy!) and buffalo chicken tenders.  Nikki had a lot of fun and even won in the raffle at the end of the session! Since they got certificates, I’m planning on putting them in his portfolio.  Hopefully I’ll be able to make a comprehensive one for him.

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We got our flu shots the other day.  At least that one’s over.  Enzo was a bit fussy and Nikki tried his best to be brave (since we’ve already studied why vaccines are important for our bodies).  I was so worried about Ethan because I know he’s scared of needles.  I asked Ruther to help me hold him down and I thought, “This is it”.  But after he got the shot and we all cheered, all he did was look up and say, “Huh?” I was so wrong.  I was really proud of him that night.  He even said “Thank you!” to the doctor!  My boy is so sweet.  For his reward, he got a band-aid (he LOVES band-aids and used up boxes of those once). Now that it’s over, I am only sorry that I was too worried over Ethan’s reaction to the shot that I forgot to take photos!

YOUNG CHEFS COOKING CAMP

Today was Nikki’s second day at Cooking Camp.  We first discovered about this last week when we were shopping at SM Sucat with my mom and dad.  I showed Nikki the poster and he seemed pretty excited.  Joining was fairly easy (and cheap) so I thought, why not?  It would be another great experience for him.  To join the 3-day event, all we had to do was to show a single-purchase receipt worth P2500 and above from SM hypermart. My mom did her grocery-shopping there so I asked for her receipt for this purpose. I then had to fill out an application form and pay P240 for the ingredients used (it was P80 per day).  The kids get free toques and aprons.  

Yesterday, Nikki made Yummy Pasta and Adobo Pasta.  He was shy at first because there were 5 of them in the group but they were good kids and he spoke to them eventually. I liked that he tried to chat with them despite knowing little Tagalog. I feel that his self-confidence is growing and that is always good in my book. 

Today, they made brownies and pancakes.  Simple, I know but there were young kids there so I suppose it was okay to mix easy with more challenging recipes.  Besides, the kids had fun trying to crack the eggs (some eggshells fell into the mixing bowl and they had to retrieve them) and flip the pancakes.  Some of the other kids (in the other groups) burned their pancakes and had to do them again.  You’d think making pancakes is easy but when you’re a kid and have to do it the first time and do everything yourself, it’s far from easy.  Nikki’s group did great! They had browner-than-usual pancakes but not blackened like the pancakes from other groups.  So, all in all, it was a success.  Not to mention that Nikki won a utility bag in the raffle so that was a perfect end to the day.  Tomorrow is Main Course Galore and I’m sure it will be more exciting!  Can’t wait! 

SAD BUT GLAD

My parents and brother left last Saturday for Canada to be with my sister.  I'll be the only one in the family who's not with them and that makes me sad because I miss them all so much.  But, at the same time, I'm glad for my mom and dad that they are with my sis because they need this vacation badly.

A few months ago, my dad had a gall bladder operation and my mom had to take care of him by herself.  She told me that while they were in the hospital and my dad was in the ICU, she experienced tremendous pain in her belly.  She then asked to be checked and was told she'd need to accomplish forms and payment before being administered to and be given medicine.  She narrated how she had to go from one place to another while the pain in her belly increased.  She said she wanted to faint at one point.  Good thing she met her friend who was a nurse and when she saw mom, she said she'd accomplish the forms and told mom to sit. I felt so bad when I heard her story.  I thought, I should be doing these things for her, after all the things she did for me and my siblings when we were little.  I wish that they didn't have to live so far away.  I wish that they were living in Manila with us and that we could see them frequently.  I just feel so bad that my parents are growing old and we only have snatches of bonding moments. I wish I had the money to give them what they wanted and to let them live the way they should.

My sister is in Canada.  She's planning to work and live there.  I hope that pushes through because if -eventually- my family and my mom, dad, and brother could all be there, it would be so wonderful.  Actually, that's what I want for my boys. I want them to live in a country with many opportunities, with many chances of experiencing the world.  Living in Japan for a time has taught us many things about life and living. It just changes your whole perspective when you immerse yourself in a different country and culture.

So yeah, I hope that in the near future, it will be our turn to go to Canada and hopefully, it won't just be a visit.

DAD AND MOM

My mom and dad are here!! They arrived this morning and I spent Tuesday and the whole of yesterday with them. It’s also a great bonding opportunity for my boys. Been so busy trying to keep up with the shopping, going places and spending time with them that I don’t have time to blog – yet.  Sacrifices have to be made. 

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While my mom was at an optical shop last Tuesday, geting new contacts for herself, my dad and I were having a conversation.  He asked me why I wasn’t wearing contacts now when I used to before.  I told him I had excessive dryness when I wore my contacts and it would irritate my eyes and sometimes turn them red, so I completely stopped wearing them and started wearing glasses.  He then asked me how much LASIK cost as a treatment.  I told him Ruther’s cost around P65,000 and that was back in 2000.  Then I told him that I recently saw a promo for LASIK that cost P29,999 and he said, “Thirty thousand? Okay, I’ll give you the money and you gave your eyes done”.  I was so surprised!  I was like, really?!?!  Goodbye glasses forever?  WOW!!!  I was ecstatic!  Think of the possibilities:  No more kids breaking your glasses accidentally, wearing fashionable sunglasses, snorkeling underwater without squinting and no more looking like I’m 10 years older.  WOW!!!  So exciting!  I showed my parents the promo yesterday and they told me to get it.  This is great!  I’ll be able to have my eyesight back after yeeeeaaarrss of squinting and glasses and contacts.  Woohoo! Makes me wish I could do cartwheels right now.

Thanks Daddy and Mommy! I’m so lucky! Love you guys!! 

INSPIRING

So I went to the Homeschool Conference yesterday.  It was so inspiring.  The speakers were very inspiring, the support was inspiring, the number of people who arrived and attended were inspiring.  I felt so inspired yesterday I think I was glowing.

But seriously, I was very happy with the outcome of the Conference.  Debra Bell was there, by the way, isn’t that amazing?!  I was like, whoa!  This woman could speak in a foreign tongue and I would still be inspired. I only hope to have even a fraction of the success she’s head with homeschooling. Love her talk.  Bo Sanchez, founder of Catholic Filipino Academy, was also one of the speakers.  He moved me to tears because he understood what every homeschooling family goes through.  It was really a validation of everything we’ve experienced over the years.  He’s a very inspiring speaker as well.

After the conference, it made me think on where we are right now as homeschoolers.  It made me reevaluate our purpose in making this choice.  From the moment we left the conference until we got home and got ready for bed, my thoughts have been on our homeschooling.  I will not write them all here because I think the computer will overheat but in summary, these, currently, are the reasons why I want my boys to remain homeschoolers:

For Nikki:

1. To display self-confidence and be willing to take risks.  Nikki has always been a cautious child.  And I mean cautious to a fault.  He’d not want to talk to sales people at the malls because he thinks they would not understand him, or they would talk to him in Tagalog and he’ll not understand them, or he would make a mistake and they would laugh at him.  Yeah, paranoid.

2. To value the quality of work and have good work habits.  Nikki is not a lazy child but it’s not in him to voluntarily clean or fix stuff or do chores.  I want him to be able to do his part and be responsible as a son, a brother and a boy.

3. To show courtesy or consideration. Nikki is not impolite.  It’s just that his cautious and shy behavior makes it seem as though he’s aloof and cold.  He does forget to say “please” and “thank you” but he does not do it with malice.  He’s just very capricious.

4. To build career awareness. It’s never too early to think of the future.  We’re not counting chickens, just trying to visualize where Nikki will be and what he’ll be doing 10 years from now.  I think it’s never too early to dabble in things that interest you so you’d know which one you’re willing to do day in and day out can call it work. 

For Ethan:

1. To have a sense of schedule and routine. Ethan is very flighty and it might be because of his ASD.  I mind it only when it affects his learning.  It’s not easy to coax him sometimes and good thing I have a lot of patience.  We have good days and we have bad days.  I accept that and I know that will always be a part of our homeschooling.  I just want us to have some structure so that we could have a routine that would be helpful for Ethan and that would keep me sane some days.

2. To be able to converse.  Ethan still has a hard time conversing with us.  He usually talk to us because he wants to say something but when we try to make him talk to us like in a conversation, he loses focus and just says what he wants to say regardless of the topic or person talking to.  We hope that, when he’s ready, he’ll be able to talk to us like in a conversation.

3. To build study skills. As an ASD child, Ethan has a lot of catching up to do in terms of lessons and academics.  We’re enrolling him in a school this year and so we hope that he would be more open to the lessons and activities.  Otherwise, I’m screwed. 

For Enzo:

1. To develop a love of learning at his early age.  ’Nuf said.

For now, this will be my focus.  I know other homeschooling families have bigger – much bigger – goals than this, but the good thing about homeschooling is that not every recipe is the same.  You have to find the one that works for you and if it does, good for you.  If it doesn’t, you can always try again.  Another good thing about homeschooling?  There are no failures.

PHILIPPINE HOMESCHOOL CONFERENCE 2012

I’ll be attending the Philippine Homeschool Conference tomorrow at Ortigas. I’m so excited! I hope to see some of my homeschool friends there and at the same time, hope to get some freebies.  Sana meron. I don’t want Ruther rushing me and Enzo stressing me out so I’ll be the only one going and the two of them will stay at a nearby mall.  I hope it will be a very successful day tomorrow. 

Here’s the programme from the HAPI site:

7:30- 8:30 AM REGISTRATION
MORNING SESSION

8:30 AM – AM Session Opens
National Anthem
Invocation

MESSAGES FROM OFFICIALS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Hon. Sec. Arman Luistro, DepEd Secretary
Hon. USec. Tonisito Umali, DepEd Undersecretary for Legal and Admin. Affairs

9:00 AM KEYNOTE MESSAGE 1: Bo SanchezWhy Homeschool?

10:00 AM KEYNOTE MESSAGE 2: Debra Bell (Talk #1)
Why Homeschooling Works

11:30 AM – 1:00 PM
LUNCH
EXHIBIT VIEWING
HOMESCHOOL HELP DESK:Ask Experienced Homeschooling Moms (12:30 – 1:30 pm)

AFTERNOON SESSION1:00 PM – PM Session Opens
Violin Performance
Roi Trawon, former homeschooler

1:15 PM KEYNOTE MESSAGE 3: Debra Bell (Talk #2)
Cultivating a Love for Learning in the Home

2:35 PM HOMESCHOOLING AS LEGACY
A Forum with Homeschoolers

3:30 PM CLOSING REMARKS
Edric Mendoza, HAPI Chairman

*Final Grand Raffle

4:00 PM CONFERENCE ENDS

And here are the exhibitors!

BOOTH	EXHIBITOR
A	TMA Homeschool
B	MSA Academic Advancement Institute
C	Victory Christian International School
a1	(TBA)
a2	(TBA)
a3	(TBA)
a4	(TBA)
1	Edcrisch
2	Mint College
3	F&J De Jesus
4	Galileo
5	Gentle Star Trading
6	Color Mix Corp
7	Hobbes & Landes
8	Abiva Publishing
9	Living Heritage Academy
10	Pru Life UK
11 & 12	CMA
13	Linden Tree Institute
14	Catholic Filipino Academy
15	Filway Marketing
16	Virtual Campus
17	Revicon
18	Magnavision
19	St. Francis Square
20	GPG Bulilit Bookstore
21	Metrobank
22	ParentinTV
23	The One School
24	Fun Ranch
25	Learning Library
26	Citibank
27	Numberworks
28	Medela Moms
29	Mommy Matters
30	International British Academy
31	Lighthouse Educational Corp.
32	Mathemagis
33	Brainfit Studio
34	Hatch and Latch
35	Autism Society of the Philippines
36	iAcademy

SURVIVOR USA IN THE PHILIPPINES!

Well, it's about bloody time!!

For their 25th season, Survivor USA comes to the Philippines!!  Yay! Want another good news?  Season 26 will still be in the Philippines!!  How exciting!

The shoot was in the lovely islands of Caramoan in Camarines Sur.  This location has also been the choice of other Survivor editions from the countries of France (2008), Israel, Bulgaria, Serbia in 2009 and Sweden (2010).  Last year, other Survivor editions from Denmark, Norway and Belgium also picked our beautiful beaches for their location shoot.  Nice!!

I've missed some seasons of Survivor over the years but one thing's for sure, I'm NOT going to miss this coming season and the next!!

This is going to be soooo exciting!!