A New Beginning: A Filipino Mom's Journal

UPDATING THIS BLOG
(Written June 30, 2009)

I have found time for writing new posts here. Since last week, and until the end of this school year, I will be accompanying Theo to school everyday and will have an extra 2 hours of freetime! Whoa! That's a lot of time for blogging, hehe, which is good because I get to fulfill my original purpose here - to record my precious moments as a mom. I have also decided to keep this blog free from "commercial" posts. So from now on, I will only really be writing about Theo, Bong, and myself ... just all personal stuff here! My other blogs will take care of the earnings, hehe.


NAME GAME
(Written June 29, 2009)

I've always called him Thiel in this blog but actually, we used to call him Thiel-Thiel. I think I have already mentioned before that Thiel is short for 'TH'eo [PLUS] ar'IEL'. Times are changing and through the years, the way we call him also changes. We sometimes call him Agu because "ah-goo" was the first word that he spoke. There was a time when we had to call him Stuart because that was the only name that he wanted - that's because he got very fond of Stuart Little, the mouse. There is also a a time when he only wants to be called Cat or Mr. Cat - simply because he loves cats. He always didn't like to be called by his real name, Theo. I don't know why, but my guess was, he just liked to be called by a pet's name like mouse, cat or puppy. So, it was hard to convince him to use his real name. But when he got fond of watching the Chipmunks, I took that opportunity to make him get used to be called "Theo/Theodore" since one of the chipmunks' name was Theodore.

Now, we call him Theo. Our relatives call him Theo. His teachers call him Theo or sometimes, Theo Ariel (he happens to have a namesake among his very few boy classmates.) Only friends from our place in Quezon City still call him Thiel/Thiel-Thiel. So from hereon, I'll be referring to my son in this blog as Theo (pronounced as thee-yow).


THEO CELEBRATES HIS FOURTH BIRTHDAY
(Written June 29, 2009)

Last May 15, it was Theo Ariel's fourth year here on earth. We had a simple birthday party at Jollibee West Avenue, the same place where we held his very first birthday. Unlike his first birthday, Theo enjoyed a lot during the party! He was dressed up in a Superman costume (we just wanted him to stand out as the celebrant and to follow the 'justice league' party theme). He joined the games and was very comfortable with Jollibee, the mascot (he got scared of the mascot and cried during his 1st birthday lol). Thanks to our close friends and relatives who attended the party. Some of them even came from Novaliches, Bulacan and Paranaque but they took the time just to celebrate Theo's special day. Special thanks goes to Theo's Ninang Irene and Ate Roneen for these wonderful photos.


















































A NEW PLACE FOR US
(Written June 29, 2009)

We officially moved to Calumpit, Bulacan last May 23, 2009. Praise God. We now have a safer place for Theo, fresher air, a more convenient house (no more second floor but a lot more spacious), a bigger play-ground and everyday is like a trip to the park because of the wonderful sceneries arround us. We also don't feel like being all alone in an island anymore because three of Bong's siblings and their families are now our neighbors. We're also now nearer to my relatives, both on my mom's and dad's side (Mommy hails from Plaridel, Bulacan while Daddy is from San Simon, Pampanga.) I feel good and blessed with our new home. I believe this is one of the best decisions that we have ever made in our entire family life.


THEO GOES TO SCHOOL
(Written June 26, 2009)

It's Theo's second day at school. I'm here with his Papa in the car parked outside the school. It seems that starting today they are no longer allowing parents to wait inside the school premises. (Shouldn't they just have a waiting area inside? What if it rains? Well it's awfully hot now and I see some parents/yayas/etc. sitting on monoblock chairs just outside the gate.) Anyways, yesterday, first day of nursery school, it was different. The monoblock chairs were lined up along the corridors and I managed to let my bionic ears pick up some sounds coming from Theo's classroom. So I heard it when the teacher was calling his name to answer some questions. And my ears were clapping when I knew that he answered correctly. I also heard it when the teacher asked the whole class to clap for him after he was able to answer a series of questions - actually about the alphabet, like I think the teacher was pointing to a letter and he's supposed to identify what letter it was. Of course that's too easy for him cause he's already able to read even long words. I hope all his lessons won't be that easy or I'll be worried he might get bored. After class, my baby boy was smiling at me from ear to ear. He asked me to accompany him to the washroom to relieve himself. Inside, we saw one of his teachers who said, "hey, Theo, you were very good today, huh!" Wow, that was nice. Not bad for a first timer.

Oh, I almost forgot. Theo was a few minutes late yesterday because when we were about to leave home, Theo had to (excuse me) poop. He's been having LBM since three days ago. Good thing, he's recovering. When he got inside the classroom, there was this boy who had been crying because he wanted to go to his Lola (his guardian) who was sitting with us outside the room. If i'm not mistaken, around 75% of the time, he was crying .. very, very loudly. It's kind of annoying because i think he's distracting the whole class. What was very surprising was the fact that this boy even attended summer classes so he should have already been prepared by now. I'm just too happy that my little boy seems to be acting very maturely. He doesn't look like a first-timer at all.

Halfway through class (their schedule is 1-3pm), a school staff approached to ask me for Theo's hanky. I told her it's with him, but apparently Theo misplaced it somewhere. I asked her what for and she said Theo's face is full of chocolate. (Haha, he had Cream-O for breaktime). So I just gave her my pack of baby wipes. When I saw him after class, it seems not only his face was smeared with chocolate but also his polo shirt!

Very funny. I asked Theo about his classmates - how many were girls and how many were boys, and his answer was: "Mama, plenty of girls there!" with matching chuckle. Hehe.

(Back to present ... ) I just glanced at the direction of the other guardians and it seems they have been allowed to wait inside after all. I wonder what happened to the crying boy. I better take a peek inside and see what's going on. Maybe i can also grab some snacks in their mini-canteen .. didn't have time to eat lunch.

I strongly recommend May Bukas Pa, an abs-cbn teleserye about a boy who was abandoned in a cemetery when he was still a baby, raised by the priests in a monastery and gets to converse personally with Bro/Jesus Christ. He was later used by the Lord to heal the sick and make miracles for the purpose of converting sinners and spreading goodness.

This show presents a lot of good values and moral/spiritual lessons that our kids (and all of us) can learn from. My Thiel loves Santino and Bro and in just a short time, has already been influenced (in a good way) by May Bukas Pa. It is actually the only Tagalog show that I am confident of letting him watch.

May Bukas Pa is aired on abs-cbn channel 2 every weeknights at 7:30 PM right after TV Patrol.

It's obvious. Since I have not posted for quite a while, yeah, I've been busy. Or I might have shifted priorities ... again. Well, I have always been blogging, but again, I'm usually posting to my "other" blogs which, currently, are my 'bread and butter'

Anyways, I just wanted to do a quick post here. What I do want to say is that we're doing quite well so far, praise God. Everything's going great!

We're planning to enroll Thiel this coming school year but not in a regular school. So far, I'm convinced that homeschooling is good for him. We still have to attend a seminar regarding this but I'm almost 100% sure that it's the path we're going to take as far as Thiel's elementary education is concerned. This may help explain why.

When I was still a full-time regular working mom doing a 9-hour office routine, I used to think that when I finally get to settle down as a stay-at-home mom, I can probably have more time. Aside from having more time for my son (which is actually the main thing), I thought, as a bonus, I can also have more time for myself and for the things I love doing like going to malls, etc. Well, I guess I was somehow wrong because I'm still as busy as ever. :( The time that I used to spend in the office has now been replaced by household chores and work on the internet. No, I'm not complaining. Being with my son all day long is still the best choice and it's been heaven ever since.

As for 'malling', well, although I still get to do that once in a while, I've found a more convenient way of "window shopping" right inside the comforts of our home. And what would a mom of a 3-year-old usually shop for? Of course, things for babies and toddlers! Shopwiki's Babies and Toddler Products Buying Guide is simply an excellent alternative to the hustle and bustle of physically going through toy stores, bookstores and clothing stores hundreds of meters apart with a super-duper-hyper Thiel in tow.

You see, Shopwiki has this search feature that is much like how Google functions and more. This means that search results would return everything that's for sale on the internet and not only those stores that have paid for advertisement, which is what usually happens on other traditional shopping sites. What's more is that aside from the stores, Shopwiki even gives very helpful buying tips. Just take a look at their Toddler Clothing Buying Guide . Those tips are already freebies which make internet browsing/shopping a wonderful and valuable experience.

Under Toys and Games Buying Guide, I tried to search for Thiel's favorite toy and typed "tow truck" on the search box. It returned several items but one that, I'm sure, will get Thiel very interested is the "Tow Truck Game". It was so easy to choose from 8 different stores with different prices for exactly the same product. Of course who wouldn't choose the cheapest and it's only worth $6.99 while others sell it for $7.99, $8.48 and $9.99. Wow, talk about convenience!

Well, that's it for my latest online discovery. Just sharing it with busy moms like me ;)

I'm proud of him :)

I have always thought that the Christmas holiday ends during the Feast of the Three Kings. Well, just recently, I read that actually, the Christmas season officially ends on the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, which we celebrated last Sunday, January 11th. Yes, the holidays are over but the memories are not. And the best way of preserving these memories is through pictures.

The CEIVA Digital Photo Frame is a perfect gift for our loved ones, especially those who live miles away from us. It is very convenient to send and receive photos whenever and wherever you or your loved ones are because it connects not only through a PC, but also even with just a phone line or wi-fi. The CEIVA Photo Frame can also receive photos directly either from a computer or a camera phone. What's nice about it is that it displays photos perfectly without having to crop, stretch or squish.

Here's a demo of how I easily sent my picture to 'Santa and his elves' through my PC and it went directly to the CEIVA Photo Frame.

For the complete CEIVA experience, simply do the following 3 easy steps and you can already enjoy all the benefits of the CEIVA Digital Photo Frame:
* Choose a frame.
* Register your CEIVA frame and activate your PicturePlan membership.
* Send photos from your computer or camera phone directly to the frame.

Dec 23 2008, Tuesday

• Woke up feeling very lousy due to stuffy nose and mild fever.


• Couldn't say no to a lunch invitation from 2 former SSS colleagues who are also Thiel's godparents - Evelyn Dy and Manong Rey Venzon


• Brought Thiel with me to the lunch date. He was too excited he couldn't eat well


• Felt even worse the rest of the day

Dec 24 2008, Wednesday

• Last minute shopping with Bong and Thiel.


• Thiel enjoyed riding the power bike where you pay 25.00 per 15 minutes while I sneaked out to buy his Christmas wish from 'Santa'


• Christmas eve - Thiel slept at around 10. He would have wanted to wait for Santa and his reindeers. Bong went out at around 7 PM to buy me medicines. He wasn't back till 1 AM! Little did I know he almost didn't make it home. Thank God he's safe. (I'll try to tell the story next time)

Dec 25 2008, Christmas Day

• Was still sick - cough and cold


• Went to my sis-in-law's place for a family reunion (Bong's side)


• Thiel got to join some of the parlor games. He had a great time playing with his cousins and running around the mini-park nearby.

Dec 31 2008, New Year's Eve
My happiest New Year's eve! The 3 of us were together the whole time. It was rainy but the celebration went on. For the first time I braved the smoke and the noise of the new year - I would usually just hibernate, afraid that the smoke would pollute my lungs, affect my voice and make my cough worse. But this time, I just enjoyed the moment with Thiel and Bong.

... to be continued

The three of us (Bong, Thiel and me) had a wonderful bonding time solving this very nice and subtle escape game. Hope you enjoy it too.


Click to play Christmas Escape 2