LETHARGIC

I have been feeling lethargic today. I don't know if it's because of the changing weather (it would be hot one time and cool/rainy the next) or because of all the studying I did today that made me a bit sleepy. But for some reason, I DO feel very tired this day. Maybe a cup of coffee would perk me up.

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Ethan has finally discovered the use of the mouse. Before, when I would teach him how to use it, he would press the right button instead of left-clicking it. But lately, he has been getting the hang of it and last night, he was so engrossed with the games in noggin.com (which are perfect for his age) that he was able to sit in front of the computer for 2 straight hours!! I wanted to halt his studying/playing after the first hour but he didn't want to. I suppose he was making up for all the months he was not able to play on the computer because of difficulty in mouse-clicking. So I let him be. That's one benefit of homeschooling: a flexible schedule. I was really surprised at Ethan's resilience and concentration while he played. Usually, Ethan has a short attention span. He would not be able to keep still for long. Even when he eats, he would pick up the food then walk around while eating. So last night was a really pleasant surprise. He really loved playing at noggin.com that whenever Nikki would approach him to give him some tips, he would protest loudly. I was really proud of Ethan last night. Even if I did lament to Ruther that Ethan would not pay attention to me when I tried reading to him in the past, I'm still happy at this latest development. This tells me that Ethan takes his time in learning and no amount of pushing or prodding from me will help until he is good and ready.

THE SUN

Sun so bright.

Photo taken last month at Baguio.

MARINE DAY

It's a holiday in Japan today. It's called Marine Day or Umi no hi. Despite it being a holiday, Ruther had to drop by the office after lunch to do a few things there. Fortunately, he did not have to stay long so he found time today to rest.

More on this holiday from Wikipedia:

Marine Day (海の日, Umi no hi) is a Japanese national holiday celebrated on the third Monday in July. Many people take advantage of the holiday and summer weather to take a beach trip. As it is a modern secular holiday, there are no traditional ceremonies associated with the day.

BOATMAN

This is a photo of our boatman when we went island hopping at Alaminos.

Photo taken June 2007.

FANTASTIC 4: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER

I know, I know. You don't have to tell me that this movie came out ages ago. I just had the chance to watch it this afternoon and I must say, I really enjoyed it. It was light and nicely done. The story was fun but at the same time, it gave the characters equal exposure. I was happy that Ben Grimm found someone to love because in the first part, it was kind of depressing when his wife left him. Also, at last, a mature Johnny emerged from the egocentricity and rebelliousness. Of course, I am not qualified to review this movie because I'm not a comic book fan nor am I a movie critic, but all I can say is that it was a fun movie to watch and it was highly entertaining. Jessica Alba looked really pretty in the movie and I loved the way she acted there. Very smooth and mature. And can I just say that Chris Evans was so HOT in the movie? Really sizzzzzzling.... =D

It was kind of weird having to consider something so big swallowing the earth up. Weird and disturbing. Anyway, that scene reminded me of the animated Transformers movie when planets were also consumed by a bigger planet (?). I forgot the name. Maybe Ruther can refresh my memory, being a REAL transformers fan. =D

Anyway, I was glad to watch this movie, if only to have an enjoyable and pleasant afternoon.

DALE CARNEGIE SAID...

Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.

TRACKS

Japan's railway tracks. Took this photo while we were on a train so I couldn't very well wait for a train to pass by before taking the photo. =D

SUNDAY

In a nutshell: Today was busy, busy, busy.

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Ruther watched Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix tonight with a few of his friends. He complained a bit about the inconsistencies of the movie from the book. I have yet to watch the movie so I cannot make any more additional comments. Hopefully, I will be able to watch it next weekend when my sis babysits. Will keep you posted.

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I have postponed my studies for the past 2 days from all the work I did laying the vinyl tiles in the boys' room. I have a lot of catching up to do so that was what I basically did this whole day. Tomorrow, I'll be submitting another exam (3rd of 6). Wish me luck!

JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE SAID...

All truly wise thoughts have been thoughts already thousands of times; but to make them truly ours, we must think them over again honestly, till they take root in our personal experience.

TWIRLING

Some dancers performing at the mall. I love their billowy skirts. =D

Photo taken last month.

BONDING

Today my siblings and I spent the afternoon together. I suppose you could say it was like a birthday get-together for the 3 of us. We did not do anything great, mind you. But being together again was nice as my brother and sister could get quite busy even during the weekends.

Anyway, we went to the mall around 3pm. Nikki played in those paddle boats and he had loads of fun. Ethan was cranky as usual because he missed his afternoon nap. After Nikki had his fun, we dropped by Toy Kingdom. Ethan loved the toy trains and we had difficulty dragging him away from the display. Nikki, as usual, stuck close to a boy who was playing a computer game. I got some workbooks for Nikki (Reading and Math) and a puzzle for Ethan. After that, my sis and I checked the secondhand books and I found a nice book for the boys that cost only P55. We then proceeded to Ace Hardware because I had to buy a door bolt (for Ruther's and my room), rubber tips, a couple of frames and some adhesive felt for the furnishings in the boys' room to prevent scratches on the floor. By this time, Ethan fell asleep already. We decided to have an early dinner at Sbarro and my brother got the deep dish pizza and my sis and I shared a caesar's salad and baked ziti with garlic bread. It was quite yummy!

After that, we went home and thus ended our day together. Hopefully, there will be more days like this for my siblings and me. I really do enjoy going out with them. When my brother goes to Cebu (a city in the Visayas region of the Philippines) for 3 months to work there, I will miss our bonding time. By the time he comes back, it will be September and that is a long way away. Hopefully, as soon as he returns to Manila we will have a get-together again. And soon.

SPARKS

This was taken when the workers were welding something on the steps. I wanted to catch the sparks but this was all I captured on the camera. Oh well...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ATE!

It's my sister's birthday today, Friday the 13th. She's 32 years old now. I call her "Ate" (ah-te) because that's how we usually call older female siblings here in the Philippines. It's a sign of respect. Her real name is Sherry. She is a doctor and works at a government hospital here in Manila. I see her in the weekends because she always drops by to see the boys and we hear mass together on Sundays.

I love my sister. She has her quirks but probably because we are both Cancer-born, we have never had big fights or quarrels. We usually get along so well and are attuned to each other than most sisters. I usually know what she's thinking or what would probably irritate her before she says it. I suppose the biggest difference we have is that I'm very fond of animals and she's not. Even dogs, she would not readily approach them. She says, she loves them from a distance. My sister is small. In fact, she is smaller than me or my brother. She got that from my mom's side of th family because my mom is the eldest child but she too, is the smallest.

My sister has been my model when we were growing up. I think because of that, I pushed myself too hard to be like her. I really don't blame her. I just did not have the courage then to discover who I really was. I thought it would be best to be in her shadow. But of course now I know better.

I guess now, looking at our lives, my sister and I have really gone separate ways. She loves her career as a doctor and I am very fulfilled with my family. I still hope that she will have her own family eventually and of course, I would want to have my own career as well but I'm sure it will all come in God's time.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ATE! I love you!

PLAYTIME

Nikki and Ethan at a play center for kids. Photo taken early this month.

LATE NIGHT SCARE

Last night I was scared out of my wits.

During the afternoon, I folded my treadmill because I had to lay the vinyl tiles on the floor. When the treadmill was unfolded, Ethan would play on it and walk on it and climb on it. I should have realized that even if it was folded (it stands upright when I fold it up) Ethan would not leave it alone. And I found that out the hard way.

Last night at around 10pm, I was in the kitchen when Ethan came to me crying. I asked him, "What's wrong, baby?" And he said "Yayay! (Booboo!)" I asked, "Where?" while I carried him to the room. When I saw the treadmill lying flat on the floor, my heart jumped. I checked Ethan's head and there on his forehead was the biggest lump I had ever seen in my life!! It never occurred to me that Ethan stopped crying, that he was his bubbly self, that the lump was not bluish at all. I rushed to my brother-in-law's (Russell) room and asked him to bring us to the nearby hospital (which was 7 minutes away). Then I went to the kitchen to get some ice for the huge lump. Then I ran to the room to dress the boys up, to change my shirt and grab my celphone and wallet. On the way to the hospital I was begging Ethan to let me ice his forehead because he didn't want me to. I persisted though. When we got there, I told them the short version of the story and I said I wanted Ethan to get an x-ray. After filling out a (short) form, I got the slip of paper and proceeded to the radiology department. The man there said I had to pay P500 (approximately US$11) first (hmmm... What if this was a life and death situation? Would they let me pay first rather than treat Ethan?) and so I did. Fortunately it was evening and there was only one woman paying. We went back to the radiology department and Russell and I had to wrestle Ethan down for his x-ray. He got the Anterior-Posterior view first then the Lateral view. Needless to say Russell and I were exposed to the x-ray twice that night. Oh well. All for the love of Ethan.

After several minutes, x-ray results showed that there was no (visible) fracture on the forehead area. That was such a relief but I still brought the x-rays home for my sister to have a look. Just to be sure. (I also teased Ethan that his x-ray film was funny because his mouth was open and the rings on my hands were visible.) She will have a look at it later.

When we got home, I had to tell Ruther about it of course. He was very concerned and worried but I assured him that everything was okay. Ethan did not lose consciousness, did not vomit, and was in no way lethargic. Last night, he was his usual self, running and yelling and tormenting Nikki. So I was quite glad about it although I would still try to ice his forehead from time to time. I said a quick prayer last night and thanked Ethan's guardian angel for watching over him and making sure that he did not get really hurt. Yes, I was really really grateful. I believe in such things; in guardian angels and little miracles. Everytime I look at the treadmill, and imagine the weight of it on Ethan, I cannot imagine how he got out of it with only a bump on his head. It really is a mystery and a miracle. And everytime I kiss my little boy, I will always be grateful.

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Here's a photo of Ethan's lump. I took the photo for documentation.

NIKKI AND RUTHER

A photo of Nikki and his dad, during our last day in Japan.

=D

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BROTHER!

It's my brother's birthday today! =D He is now 27 years old. I was going to post a photo of him here but I couldn't find a nice one. Oh well...

Happy Birthday brother! =D I love you! Mwah!

D.I.Y. (A.K.A. DO IT MYSELF)

I realized that sometimes, impatience can be a good thing. This afternoon, I decided to lay the vinyl tiles in the boys' bedroom myself. It's just taking too long for the workers to do it and I can't very well demand their attention when they have more important things to do (like put walls in the house). So, today, I thought, I can do it myself and so, I cleared part of the room and asked one of the workers to lay the first few tiles so I would know where to proceed. After the worker did 3, I continued on. I worked from 2pm to 6pm and I covered more than half of the room's floor. My work was a bit messy but I was happy and satisfied with the result. I left the areas close to the walls for the workers to do because I don't want to waste the tiles by cutting them the wrong way. At least they will do very little work here. Tomorrow, I am planning to do the rest of the floor (which is the space under the bed) so I'll ask the workers to put out the bedframe so I could work easily. I'm quite excited about that because after I do that, I might be able to bring in the boys' cabinet (it's sitting outside waiting patiently to be let into the room) and then I could start fixing their room at last.

Oooohh... Can't wait for tomorrow... =D