Everything is evil

The good news is that my thyrotoxicosis is in remission. The bad news is my cholesterol level is up. And she wants me to take Lipitor 3x a week. What?!?

As I said to Alice, Lipitor is for overweight, middle-aged men; not sexy thirthsomething me! (My apologies to those reading this who are taking Lipitor.)

So here are the stats:
Total cholesterol 203; Normal range 50-200
HDL (good cholesterol) 75; Normal range 40-60
LDL (bad cholesterol) 114; Normal range 0-100

Actually this isn't the first time that she wanted me to go on statins. She prescribed it last December, but after consulting with my cardiologist brother, I decided to just change my diet. That meant eating oatmeal everyday and no more Chickenjoy (leftovers from Miguel's kiddie meal). That's because my bro told me that my numbers were not critical and that I'm better off avoiding the side effects of the drug. Or maybe because I'm the youngest in family and it's also hard for him to accept that I'm approaching middle age.

Anyway all that oatmeal didn't make a dent in my LDL (it only went down 3 points compared to the previous test). So after thinking about it, I decided that I have to take more drastic dietary measures. Goodbye evil carbonara! Goodbye pizza! Just last Saturday I had nothing but carbonara and pizza, and the following day I could swear that I could feel the blood dribbling through a clogged artery! Ack!

Goodbye Jollibee and McDonald's! Funny thing is that I really don't eat much fastfood; only Miguel's leftovers I guess. I pondered over this as I ate evil pork sinigang for lunch. Everything is evil.

But then, my blood sugar is okay. So I can still eat cake.

Also, I considered that I should start exercising. I suppose that I have no excuse anymore since it seems that my hyperthyroidism is in remission.

Oh, and I gained 4 pounds. But I'm okay with that. And my doctor tells me that it's okay too.

First exhibit

His is the still life in the upper right-hand corner. Not bad for a six-year-old, but then mommy has a lot of inside knowledge on the trade.

We never missed a single art lesson and religiously did all the homeworks. Mr. Sena gave him a grade of 97 and told him that he was going to get a trophy. We were glad, although at first we told ourselves that maybe everybody gets a trophy.

On graduation day, a LOT of trophies that were given, although I finally understood what they meant. I like the way Mr. Sena explained it:

"If you get a trophy, you are most outstanding. If you get a medal, you are outstanding. If you get a certificate, you are only standing." Mwahahahaha!

A lot of students got trophies, but not everyone. However, one girl went away with a trophy plus 3 gold medals: one for best in homework, one for best in group work, and one for best card. Those were the additional awards that distinguished the truly excellent ones. This girl, only in her tweens, had a one-woman show that summer and even donated a big amount of the sales to art scholars. She deserves every bit of praise and encouragement.

Another award I enjoyed was one that Mr. Sena made up on the spot. When Miguel's twentysomething classmate Kathy was called to the stage, she came went up in cropped jeans, a brown cotton blouse, and accessories worthy of a gimmick at Greenbelt. Mr. Sena commended her for her outfit and instructed one of his assistants to give her a gold medal for "Best in Costume."

Love that man!

Seriously, he's the best art teacher around, for kids and adults alike. Let me give you another insight as to why:

During his speech, he asked us if we wanted to know the secret of being a good artist. It was so silent, you could hear everybody pricking up their ears to hear a nugget of wisdom from a great master. And he said, "Mahalin mo ang magulang mo. (Love your parents.)" Huh?

"Dahil sila ang magbabayad ng materials mo at magpapaaral sa inyo. (Because they will pay for all your art materials and pay for your lessons as well.)" Wahahahaha!

He really brought the house down.

Disgraced tooth fairy

I blew it.

This morning when Miguel woke up he went to my room carrying a tiny ziploc plastic and asked, "Mommy, why didn't the tooth fairy leave me a gift?"

I blinked. I froze. I didn't say a word. I really am so lousy at lying.

Looking at me straight in the face, he clambered up my bed and asked, "Mommy what are you hiding?'

...

He asked me the same question over and over again, and I looked at him, asking myself if he was ready to handle this. Well, more like I was thinking of how to get myself out of an embarrassing situation. First attempt: "I guess the tooth fairy forgot. Why don't you write her a note and put it under your pillow again tonight?"

But no. He kept asking me the same question, "Mommy, why are you smiling? What are you hiding?"

Sigh.

I hope you other tooth fairies out there won't get mad at me, but I actually told him the truth. Didn't seem like a bad thing to do either because more than once he's already asked me if I was the tooth fairy. But the only bad part is that I didn't just get stripped of my fairy badge; I busted my mom as well. Because she was the one who provided me with a Sudoku book for Miguel one time when he lost his tooth.

For a moment tears welled in his eyes and I asked him, "Are you sad because there is no tooth fairy or because you didn't get a gift this time?" He paused at first, then replied, "Because there isn't a tooth fairy."

"Tell me the truth," I asked.

"Because I didn't get a gift this time." We laughed.

Just like his mom, he's a lousy liar too.

Finally!

Or should I say, finale! After weeks and weeks we finally watched the season-ender for Heroes volume one. I've been addicted to this series ever since my officemate started downloading and sharing the episodes on a regular basis.

For the season ender, we booked the conference room for lunch and connected his laptop to the big screen. Turn out the lights, cue in some chips, and voila! Forty-five minutes of sword-slashing, cranium-slicing action. The most common observation is that the last episode was a major cheesefest. My personal favorite was Ando's parting line to Hiro, "You look badass." :)

Nothing beats episode 20, as in HANEEEEEEP! GRABE TALAGA! This one was just, ah, okay.

But I will always be grateful for episode 20, so yes, I will watch volume two when it comes out. Someone in the office will be downloading it for us; I'm sure of it.

Best Mother's Day gift yet

I gotta hand it to my son, he knows how to make a girl happy.

More than a week ago, he already told me what he wanted to give me: "Mommy, for Mother's Day I'm going to give you a realxing spa." He figured that he can borrow Ninang's foot spa and let me have a treat. No way was I going to stop him.

On the day itself, while the rest of the family was either munching away or swimming after our big Mother's Day lunch, he organized the spa for me. What a delegator! After asking for Ninang's permission to use the foot spa, he asked Aida to get the spa, Yaya to get the hot water, and then asked for a glass of grape juice for me.

And what, you may ask, was his contribution? "It comes with a free car show!" he said. Which meant that as I lay back in his bed, my head propped up with pillows and my feet in a warm foot spa (his is a trundle bed, which is quite low), I watched as he played with his remote-controlled car. After the car show, there was a robot show too - meaning that he tied some ribbons around 2 robots and I watched as he made them fly and crash through the air.

And oh yeah, after my feet soaked for 20 minutes, he handed me a towel and then gave me a foot massage! That was the cutest foot massage I've ever had, if you can call it that :)

By the way, his original plan was to give me the foot spa in Lola's room, so that I can play PS2 while I relaxed. I nixed the idea, but it was a charming thought. I enjoyed the car show much, much more.

Oh, and I know you're going to ask anyway: he got the idea from Cartoon Network, which had a Mother's Day promo, and one of the prizes was...you guessed it...a relaxing spa.

I know what you did this summer

Finally! A picture from Mambusao, thanks to my mom's phone cam. There should have been a lot more, but forgetful me forgot the camera in Manila. This was my second visit to Mambusao after more than 20 years, and while some things have changed, a lot still stayed the same. I recognized the house where we had our first grand reunion in 1983. And while a lot of names sounded familiar, I was able to remember some of the faces too.

One of the biggest changes was - surprise! - I was the adult now. I was the one herding a little kid, giving permission to go and play with the cousins, and introducing the clan onstage. Sheesh. My mom and her cousins are getting older and fewer. Last time I was in Mambusao, my grandmother Flora was the senior; now it's my mom.

Anyway, Miguel had a blast there. So much that he wanted to stay behind - with me, of course. I had forgotten how great it was to be a kid from Manila visiting the province. Take this picture for example. Miguel got a kick out of holding that banner as we walked (or danced) around town.

I remember that somewhere there's a picture of Dennis too, circa early 80s, holding up an arch for the Flores de Mayo in Surigao. Those were the little "perks" that we got from our aunts and uncles. (Aside from unlimited Playstation time from mommy.) They sure know how to show a kid a good time - then and now.

Holy mackerel!

Got Miguel's report card yesterday, and guess what, turns out the little tyke has 2 awards!

Sheesh. If I had known sooner, I would have gotten it on time.

Pardon me for my ignorance; I'm a first time big school mom. I forgot to pick it up last March 30. No big deal, I thought; I can pick it up later. But I didn't realize that you need the last report card to enroll your kid the following year. Oops. So off I march to Ateneo the moment the registrar's office re-opens after its summer break, and...holy cow! 2 awards!

The first was the Guardian Angel award, for academic excellence. I knew that it existed, but I didn't know that he qualified for it. I always thought that you had to have perfect 100's to get that award. (Bang head against wall.) Maybe half the class got the Guardian Angel award, but still! We have to celebrate!

The second was a certificate for being "Well-Behaved and Mild-Mannered" in class. Awww. Yaya was incredulous, because she knows how raucous he - and practically everybody else for that matter - is on the bus. She couldn't believe that he was behaving in the classroom. But yes, my dear Reiza, he really is an angel in class. I've been to their room a few times, and I can say that he is very well-behaved.

Gee. Now I really have to give him an "award shelf." I'm really proud because these are things that he earned completely on his own. Like I said, half the class probably got an award as well. But it's just so great to see his efforts validated this way. Way to go kid!

I believe!

I must say, Marlon has turned me into an instant convert. Girlfriends, don't say that I didn't tell you about it. You really must try Olay Total Effects. It's been only 2 days and I'm totally sold.

You must buy it with the cleanser though. Marlon uses the serum as well, but I haven't gotten around to that yet. Right now I'm just too happy with my new facial cream.

And it has broad spectrum sunscreen too! :)

Couldn't resist

See the rest of the pictures here

Ode to Joy

Gueli had his third recital last Saturday. It was nice seeing the same faces again - Ems his piano teacher, Marion the directress of his old pre-school, the familiar moms and dads, and of course the recitalists. It's become a small community that meets on a yearly basis. We all know each other - some by face, some by name, some by face and name. And it's great to see how much the kids have grown - how much taller, prettier, or better at singing or playing the piano.

There were a lot of new gimmicks for this year's recital. Unbeknownst to us parents, Teacher Ems had the kids videotaped during their lessons. She had each child address his or her parents on cam, thanking the parents for letting them take lessons, and dedicating their recital pieces to them.

Call me a sucker but it was very touching. I've always been glad that Miguel and I stuck it out with Teacher Em's piano lessons. In the beginning we had problems about late or cancelled lessons, and there was a time when I considered looking for a new teacher, but my mom advised that I let Miguel continue because she saw that he enjoyed it.

Then, when Miguel had his first recital, that's where I saw Teacher Em's passion for teaching kids, and I really admired that. You don't find a lot of that these days. In the years that followed the lessons became more regular, and Miguel has really become adept at piano. Sometimes he'd mix together 2 pieces that sound alike, or play the same piece on a higher octave or on a different scale. As Teacher Ems said, he has good musical ears.

And he does practice every day.

Oh by the way: another gimmick Ems had for this year was a competition. Aside from their recital pieces, each child had to play a competition piece. For Miguel's level, it was "Ode to Joy." Miguel knows it by heart and can play it with his eyes closed. I knew it would be a cinch for him, but I just reminded him to play the chorus from piano to forte, repeat the chorus, and do his best. He knows that it's my favorite piece too.

And well what d'you know...he came away with the gold medal! Teacher Ems reminded the kids that it wasn't a serious competition, and it wasn't. But of course we were all proud - me, mom and Mike. Miguel said he didn't think he would win, and that if he didn't, he wouldn't cry. Mom said that after hearing everyone play, she was sure that he would get at least silver.

Me? I just had a feeling he was going to win something. He didn't miss a single note. He remembered to play from piano to forte. And he remembered to repeat the chorus.

Anyway.

It was just such a good day :)

(Miguel asked me later on what she meant that the competition wasn't serious. After a bit of thought, I said that if there was a big prize involved it would be serious. Har har!)

For Ms Santamaria

As with any school day, Miguel was sleepy when I woke him up on February 14. But when I greeted him "Happy Valentine's Day," he bolted right out of bed saying, "I have to make a card for Ms. Santamaria!"

At that point I could have whined, "What about me?" but I didn't. I think that it's sweet that my son's knee-jerk reaction to Valentine's Day is to make a card for his teacher. Unless of course his teacher was a man.

Then he went to his toy shelf, and I asked him what he was doing. "Looking for a gift for Ms. Santamaria," he said. Handing me one of his Kiddie Meal action figures, he said, "Wrap this please." I convinced him to give a wooden puzzle block instead. But then Ninang came in and, being a teacher herself, convinced us both to give his teacher a pack of Hershey's Kissables.

Going back to the card, he insisted on a plain paper board, which he wrote and drew on. I would've been contented with "Happy Valentine's Day" but he wanted to say more. The personal touch. It was only after all this hullaballoo was over that he agreed to get dressed for school.

Even over breakfast, he would ask,"Mommy, where is my gift? Did you wrap it? Did you tape the card on?" Such attention to detail. I hope Ms. Santmaria enjoyed the gesture. I sure did...as if I were on the receiving end of that card.

...

When I got home that night, I had a card from Miguel as well. It read "I love you Mommy even when you stink." Sound familiar?

The smurf smile!

Defined as "smiling without showing teeth," this was taught by none other than Ate Mara during our Christmas eve celebration. Miguel picked it up right away and put it to good use the entire night.








I think, though, that the best smurf smile belongs to Ninang Aly :)

Presenting - Mommy Sandy!

Early this week Miguel got up from his breakfast for no apparent reason and went into a monologue at the foot of the dining table.

Let's talk about Mommy Sandy!

(Assuming a booming announcer's voice:)

Mommy Sandy: Talking to her undies.
Mommy Sandy: Always brushing her teeth after breakfast.
Mommy Sandy: Thinks that she is an animal.
Mommy Sandy: Being chased by the police at night.
Mommy Sandy: Forgetting to pass by the bank.

(Bow)

So according to him I am an obbssessive-compulsive animalistic nighttime fugitive with Alzheimer's who talks to her undies. Don't ask me where he got it from. And no, I don't talk to my undies.

"I'll tell you in song!"

Bedtime is the final frontier of your child's day, your last chance to find out the most significant thing that happened to him in the last 24 hours. In the midst of all the cuddling and kissing and good-nights, he is wont to reveal to you his deepest darkest secrets. I always use it as a time to find out what's really going on in his life. A lot of times Miguel tells me things that reveal something about his character, his wants, or his anxieties. But sometimes he just makes me laugh.

Well last Thursday I wanted to find out how he felt about riding the bus, or more specifically, why he only threw up in the mornings. Here's how our conversation went:

Me: Miguel, do you like riding the bus?
Miguel: No. I mean, I don't know.
Me: Do you like it better in the morning, or the afternoon?
Miguel: I like it better in the afternoon.
Me: Why?
Miguel: I don't know.
Me: I'm trying to find out why you throw up only in the morning and not in the afternoon.
Miguel, suddenly piping up: I'll tell you in song!
(Starts singing, to a tune that sounds suspiciously like "The Yellow Submarine")

In the morning, the bus is stinky
It smells like a pinky
Mrs. Binky!

In the afternoon, it's very fu-un
Games games games
Games games games

I couldn't stop laughing. Like I always tell him, I'm glad that he has a sense of humor. I totally believe him that his nausea is triggered by smell, because he's always been consistent about that. The smell could be an accumulation of the boys' sweat (eww) or the exhaust from the tail pipe, but certainly it's the full stomach that allows this to happen in the mornings.

I also suspect that afternoons are more fun for him because it's just the Prep and Grade 1 kids who ride home with him - a smaller, more homogenized group that is bent on play.

'Course, it could also be that he's unconsciously trying to get my attention. In any case, I'm just glad to know that he's a really happy boy.

Faster than a speeding bullet

Guess who flew in for Halloween. Superman was "it" this year. No amount of persuasion could convince him to change his mind because "Superman is Enoch's favorite." Enoch is as close as you can get to a friend among his busmates.

I would have preferred a home-made costume (see last year's outfit), but since the folks at Binondo are already much better at making Superman costumes, off I went to the mall and bought a set. I was so proud that I had the official outfit, endorsed by the Justice League and Cartoon Network. When I presented this to Miguel, he took one look and said, "I need a red brief."

But of course! A quick trip to the tiangge and I had Superman's brief - or rather, panty - to which I sewed on the requisite yellow belt and buckle. A brief with a buckle. Now that's what I call...anyway.

Had to create the red boots too, and sewed on the cape - both of which satisfied my need for a home-made component to this costume. And to complete the transformation, we put a cowlick on his forehead.

He was the most authentic Superman in the village Halloween party (all 7 of them, excluding the Supergirls!) but of course that's me talking. He was upset that he didn't win a prize, and I had to explain that there are just too many Supermans every year. Well, now he's looking for a prize-winning costume for next year. And I say, go for gold! :)

Overdue

And a happy United Nations Day to you too.

This is Miguel's costume for Guyana, lovingly made by mom just 2 days before the UN "assembly." Not bad, I must say (a little self-patronizing here). Felt cloth is always a heaven-send when it comes to these requirements. Sword not included :)

Take a breath

Adults (that's me) can be so neurotic. What seems so complicated and convoluted to us is actually quite simple to a child's eyes. Maybe I'm just reading too much meaning into motives and social contexts.

I'm glad I survived these last 2 weeks. Marlon was right - maybe I'm the one who needs a psychologist, not my child.

Just taking a breath before I go under again.

Storm Chronicles

(Annotations added October 10)




























That clump of bamboo is as old as the house - about 30 years. "Mommy, you should see this!" Miguel said. "I wish I was here to see it fall." Well not long after he said that we were having lunch (without electricity) and our makeshift china cabinet came crashing down. That's because it was placed against a floor-to-ceiling screen window with wooden grilles. Who'd ever think that the wind could blow it down.














I was saddened about the broken antiques. Not because of their value, but because I honestly feel that they are a part of our heritage. Granted most of these came from China, but then you have to consider that they travelled hundreds of miles to get to our shores. I felt bad that these vessels survived hundreds of years and they finally came to an end in our home. See, these are the things that convince me that I'm a nerd.

At the time I thought that only dad and I were the only ones who appreciated the value of these things. Gee, maybe dad was a nerd too - a sort of cultural nerd. Anyway the other night I was talking to Fr. Tito Caluag about the incident and he expressed the same sadness that I did over the broken shards. I felt validated by his reaction. I'm not so strange after all. Most of my family members shrugged off the breakage. It's true that we still have a lot of other antiques and they do tend to occupy space and gather dust. But I really do see a historical and cultural value in them. Sigh. Only dad would understand. Well at least Fr. Caluag does too.













As it got darker Leslie and Miguel resorted to odd games to distract us from the fact that there was no electricity. Hence the impromptu costumes, and much later - flashlight games. The piggy bank and candle shot is from my room.

Papparazzi

As you may or may not know, parents are not allowed into the grade school during classes. But on the pretext of being head of the decorations committee for Miguel's class salu-salo, I got to go in for an ocular visit.

Rare photo opportunity like this must not be wasted.

Birthday

Late post I know. Eight days late to be exact. But it was a really great day for me - didn't go to work, then surprised Miguel by picking him up from school.

The pic was taken at Dulcinea, which is Miguel's favorite restaurant because of the churros. Mom and Les joined us there for lunch.

Afterward, we went to Timezone to play his latest obssession, Soulcalibur. Little tyke ended up going home with a few prizes. Seemed like it was his birthday.

Had to do a quick change after that and get ready for my dinner date. All in all a good day :)