I got the raw CD copy of the birthday bash pictures the other day. My girls and I already browsed through the more than a 1,000 pictures in the CD. Later, the whole clan (whoever is available) will meet up to view the high resolution pictures projected on a screen. I told everyone to equip themselves with paper and pen so they could jot down what pictures they want enlarged. I have yet to pick 120 pictures for the album. As of now, I am still stumped what pictures to pick as they are all worthy. Here's a set that I have picked out.
Showing posts with label Ethan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ethan. Show all posts
Friday, July 31, 2009
Friday, February 6, 2009
Ethan is really growing up. He refuses to wear "kiddy" clothes - the ones with big pictures of cartoon characters. He once said he wants to wear something "cool". Not a lot of clothing lines carry innovative and hip kids clothing that learning that Jay-Z's Roca Wear has Kids Clothing Roca Wear was a nice surprise. The Rocawear store carries boys and girls apparels from newborn, infants, toddlers, 4-7X and big boys/girls. I checked out the 4-7x shirt line and showed the hip and cool grays, blacks, white and gold colored shirts to Ethan. He wants me to buy them all. So do I.Thursday, November 13, 2008
I am really getting old! As I was combing my hair in front of my dresser mirror, I noticed some small stubs of grayish-silver-ish hair sprouting in perfect symmetry on my hairline. How could that happen? I dyed my hair just a few days ago. That should have covered the gray hair, I thought aloud.
"Mom, you used the cheap-o hair dye and that does not work on gray hair", said one of the daughters.
"A 395 Php bottle of dye is still cheap?" I asked.
"Mom, remember when you used to go to Frank Provost or Basement for a hair dye job? That cost you tons!" added one of the daughters.
Oh well, those were the days... back when diesel was 15.00 Php per liter. I might as well do things cheap for there is a world wide recession and economic crisis going on.
"Ethan, can you please pluck out my gray hair?"
" No mom, that's hard."
"I'll pay you one peso per gray hair that you get". Gosh! This was what my mama used to say to get me into plucking her gray hair.
"What? One peso? I'll do it for 100 pesos per hair" said the enterprising Ethan.
"Okay then. Just pluck out half a gray hair". Fifty pesos is all I can afford.
"Mom, you used the cheap-o hair dye and that does not work on gray hair", said one of the daughters.
"A 395 Php bottle of dye is still cheap?" I asked.
"Mom, remember when you used to go to Frank Provost or Basement for a hair dye job? That cost you tons!" added one of the daughters.
Oh well, those were the days... back when diesel was 15.00 Php per liter. I might as well do things cheap for there is a world wide recession and economic crisis going on.
"Ethan, can you please pluck out my gray hair?"
" No mom, that's hard."
"I'll pay you one peso per gray hair that you get". Gosh! This was what my mama used to say to get me into plucking her gray hair.
"What? One peso? I'll do it for 100 pesos per hair" said the enterprising Ethan.
"Okay then. Just pluck out half a gray hair". Fifty pesos is all I can afford.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
I was surprised to see Ethan wearing a different set of clothes when I picked him up from school yesterday. Red shirt and green shorts. Real Christmas-sy combination care of the school nanny I should say. His teacher said he had a real messy "accident" that he needed to change clothes. I asked Ethan what happened and he said it came too quickly and uncontrollably. I thought nothing of it, changed his clothes and tidied him up then proceeded to EdLink for his therapy. After his therapy, he said his friend made him laughed so hard he farted - and thought it was loaded. It was! His stool was somewhat watery but not foul smelling. Must be something he ate. We went home and I served him dinner at around 6:45 p.m."Kux?! I think I'm sick." Ethan told daughter #3 at around 8:00 p.m. He had a fever with a temperature of 39 deg. Celsius. Daughter #1 just got home and she, together with daughter #3, rushed Ethan to the ER for a urinalysis and blood chemistry. He was also slightly dehydrated so the ER doctor and daughter #1 decided to put an IV line on Ethan for his meds and dextrose. Of course a lot of crying ensued. He's home now but his fever spiked up at 40 deg. Celsius at around 4:30 this morning. His mommy said it might be viral for there were no indications of infections in his lab tests results. Viral infections - no meds. Ethan just have to fight it off with his system.
When problem comes, it pours. I sincerely believe that after the rain, rainbow of blessings!
Sunday, November 2, 2008
First and foremost in my "to do list" is to write the conclusion to Ethan's Story. Ethan has been diagnosed with a learning disability- dyslexia. The condition worried the whole family and everything humanly possible were explored to alleviate Ethan's condition.
It must be noted that dyslexia is not a mental retardation. It is a reading disorder. A child with dyslexia cannot process the written words the normal way. He might see squiggly lines, inverted letters or mirror letters. The spacing between letters might not be consistent, thus the tendency to write without spacing or too much spacing. We decided to enroll Ethan at EdLink for a an hour-twice-weekly therapy. The therapist uses the Slingerland multisensory approach geared to teaching language arts to dyslexic children. It was hard convincing Ethan to do his sessions. It was no fun for him and I guess he was overwhelmed by the seriousness of each therapy session. He used to say "EdLink again? Please mom, no more." Much as his pleadings broke my heart - and knowing that a session is unlike physical torture - I stood fast.
There are different modules for each child. Ethan's first module of 20 sessions were about the words: the, with, in and the consonants c,m,t,g,h,p and the vowel a. After 20 or so sessions, a module is done; the child rated and then would proceed to the next module. Ethan started his therapy in late February this year. He has been through 3 modules and ongoing in his fourth. He has learned to sound letters phonetically, read cvc words and some sight words. This weekend, he did his first book report and I felt like bursting with pride when he read his very simple book. He tended to look at the pictures if he can't read the word, but hey! we all did that at some point of our preschool lives. Ethan has a long way to go but the important thing is something is being done to help him cope with his learning disability. We no longer feel bad or sad about Ethan's dyslexia and most importantly, Ethan does not feel "disabled". One set back though is the cost of the therapy. It is pretty expensive. We are still quite financially disabled but with God's grace I know that we will prevail.
Albert Einstein was a dyslexic. He learned to read at age 9. Tom Cruise, Patrick Dempsey, Kyra Knightly, Whoopi Goldberg... dyslexics. Ethan's learning disability will not be a hindrance. Ethan can be whatever he wants to be.
It must be noted that dyslexia is not a mental retardation. It is a reading disorder. A child with dyslexia cannot process the written words the normal way. He might see squiggly lines, inverted letters or mirror letters. The spacing between letters might not be consistent, thus the tendency to write without spacing or too much spacing. We decided to enroll Ethan at EdLink for a an hour-twice-weekly therapy. The therapist uses the Slingerland multisensory approach geared to teaching language arts to dyslexic children. It was hard convincing Ethan to do his sessions. It was no fun for him and I guess he was overwhelmed by the seriousness of each therapy session. He used to say "EdLink again? Please mom, no more." Much as his pleadings broke my heart - and knowing that a session is unlike physical torture - I stood fast.
There are different modules for each child. Ethan's first module of 20 sessions were about the words: the, with, in and the consonants c,m,t,g,h,p and the vowel a. After 20 or so sessions, a module is done; the child rated and then would proceed to the next module. Ethan started his therapy in late February this year. He has been through 3 modules and ongoing in his fourth. He has learned to sound letters phonetically, read cvc words and some sight words. This weekend, he did his first book report and I felt like bursting with pride when he read his very simple book. He tended to look at the pictures if he can't read the word, but hey! we all did that at some point of our preschool lives. Ethan has a long way to go but the important thing is something is being done to help him cope with his learning disability. We no longer feel bad or sad about Ethan's dyslexia and most importantly, Ethan does not feel "disabled". One set back though is the cost of the therapy. It is pretty expensive. We are still quite financially disabled but with God's grace I know that we will prevail.
Albert Einstein was a dyslexic. He learned to read at age 9. Tom Cruise, Patrick Dempsey, Kyra Knightly, Whoopi Goldberg... dyslexics. Ethan's learning disability will not be a hindrance. Ethan can be whatever he wants to be.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Ethan's school held a Halloween Parade October 24. All the kids came in "friendly" costumes. Most girls came as princesses or fairies. Most boys came as characters: pirates, cowboy, Jedi, even Ben10. Some mommies thought of bringing some treats - ok, two mommies and a grandmom. The kids enjoyed the unexpected treats and had a blast when I said " No limit to the treats. Get as much as you want!"
Ethan's kindergarten class all dressed up for the Halloween parade.
The healthy pirate hanging out with some fairies and princesses
Mommies preparing the treats
A chef, a cowboy and a leopard lining up for the treats
Donut delivery by Mateo of YP class.
The healthy pirate hanging out with some fairies and princesses
Mommies preparing the treats
A chef, a cowboy and a leopard lining up for the treats
Donut delivery by Mateo of YP class.Thursday, October 30, 2008
This is part two of Ethan's Story. You might want to read on part 1 first before you proceed. In a nutshell, Ethan's learning disability was finally diagnosed. He has dyslexia.
"Ethan has some form of dyslexia" said Ms. Beth, the person behind Edlink. "I still can't say the degree of his dyslexia but I'm sure that early intervention by means of learning therapy can help him cope with his disability."
Daughter #1, the doctor and Ethan's mommy, sat there listening to Ms.Beth. I sat too, rigid and wanting to cry. In my mind I was screaming "Nooooooo.... life is hard enough without any disability!" Daughter #1 was composed, of course. She's a doctor and have had much practice being calm and composed. My mind was traveling at such speed that I wasn't able see what my thoughts were. Ms. Beth started showing us the tell-tale signs of dyslexia evident in Ethan's test results. Inverted letters. No sense of line and space in writing. No ear for rhymes and word play. Inverted syllabication when pronouncing some words. Wrong order of letters when copying. I cannot take this.
"Stop!", I silently pleaded. My grandson is dyslexic. My grandson has a learning disability. My grandson might not be able to cope which could ultimately damage him in all aspects.
"It's good that you were able to see early on that Ethan's learning ability is not normal. Most dyslexics are diagnosed at age 8 to 10. I have a new student here at the center, a 13 year old teener, now in high school , but still cannot read. Ethan is so lucky that you saw his problem early" said Ms Beth. Daughter # 1 and I were told that Ethan will have to undergo therapy in the form of the Slingerland Approach. "Slingerwhat?!" I was busy feeling miserable that I missed what Ms Beth was saying.
"Mom, what days will we set for Ethan's therapy?" asked daughter #1. I looked at daughter #1 and Ms. Beth.
"Is it still a possibility for Ethan to be a doctor?", I asked no one in particular.
Ms. Beth smiled and said "Of course. Kids with dyslexia are learning disabled and not academically retarded." We settled on a twice a week therapy after his regular school hours.
We drove home silently. I felt so sad for Ethan. I felt so disappointed and frustrated. My three other daughters and my son were already home when we got there. As soon as we entered the side door of the house, we were bombarded with questions. I was the spoke person and as I rounded up the story, there were five different reactions to Ethan's predicament.
Hubby did not say anything. Despite his many faults he trusted (expected?) me to do everything humanly possible for Ethan. After more than 25 years of marriage he still does not get that I need to be dependent too, at times. Daughters #2, 3 said they'd help support whatever Ethan needs. Daughter #4 kept on testing Ethan by asking him to write b and d, m and w. I shushed #4 and everyone kept quiet. Minutes of silence.
Finally my son said "Mom, come on...don't be sad. Ethan will be fine. I'm handicapped too due to my color confusion. But look at me, I'm in UP Diliman while my perfect sisters were all from DLSU, ... only. "
At this point, I was not able to reply as 3 pairs of feet from DLSU started to run after a pair of feet from UP.
Ethan will be all right. We all will be.....
coming: conclusion
"Ethan has some form of dyslexia" said Ms. Beth, the person behind Edlink. "I still can't say the degree of his dyslexia but I'm sure that early intervention by means of learning therapy can help him cope with his disability."
Daughter #1, the doctor and Ethan's mommy, sat there listening to Ms.Beth. I sat too, rigid and wanting to cry. In my mind I was screaming "Nooooooo.... life is hard enough without any disability!" Daughter #1 was composed, of course. She's a doctor and have had much practice being calm and composed. My mind was traveling at such speed that I wasn't able see what my thoughts were. Ms. Beth started showing us the tell-tale signs of dyslexia evident in Ethan's test results. Inverted letters. No sense of line and space in writing. No ear for rhymes and word play. Inverted syllabication when pronouncing some words. Wrong order of letters when copying. I cannot take this.
"Stop!", I silently pleaded. My grandson is dyslexic. My grandson has a learning disability. My grandson might not be able to cope which could ultimately damage him in all aspects.
"It's good that you were able to see early on that Ethan's learning ability is not normal. Most dyslexics are diagnosed at age 8 to 10. I have a new student here at the center, a 13 year old teener, now in high school , but still cannot read. Ethan is so lucky that you saw his problem early" said Ms Beth. Daughter # 1 and I were told that Ethan will have to undergo therapy in the form of the Slingerland Approach. "Slingerwhat?!" I was busy feeling miserable that I missed what Ms Beth was saying.
"Mom, what days will we set for Ethan's therapy?" asked daughter #1. I looked at daughter #1 and Ms. Beth.
"Is it still a possibility for Ethan to be a doctor?", I asked no one in particular.
Ms. Beth smiled and said "Of course. Kids with dyslexia are learning disabled and not academically retarded." We settled on a twice a week therapy after his regular school hours.
We drove home silently. I felt so sad for Ethan. I felt so disappointed and frustrated. My three other daughters and my son were already home when we got there. As soon as we entered the side door of the house, we were bombarded with questions. I was the spoke person and as I rounded up the story, there were five different reactions to Ethan's predicament.
Hubby did not say anything. Despite his many faults he trusted (expected?) me to do everything humanly possible for Ethan. After more than 25 years of marriage he still does not get that I need to be dependent too, at times. Daughters #2, 3 said they'd help support whatever Ethan needs. Daughter #4 kept on testing Ethan by asking him to write b and d, m and w. I shushed #4 and everyone kept quiet. Minutes of silence.
Finally my son said "Mom, come on...don't be sad. Ethan will be fine. I'm handicapped too due to my color confusion. But look at me, I'm in UP Diliman while my perfect sisters were all from DLSU, ... only. "
At this point, I was not able to reply as 3 pairs of feet from DLSU started to run after a pair of feet from UP.
Ethan will be all right. We all will be.....
coming: conclusion
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Money was tight. My son was in his senior year in high school. His tuition fees alone was 150,000 Php per year. Daughter #1 was in post grad internship in medicine. Daughter # 4 was in her second year in college. Her tuition per year was about 150,000 Php too. Daughter #3 just passed her board exams while #2 was already teaching. It was the year my husband had a heart attack. The angioplasty done to unblock his arteries cost us nearly a million pesos. Ethan was 3.5 years old and needed to be in school. I can't just enroll him in any school. However good schools have stiff tuition fees and that I can't afford. My family and I were in a big financial jam! Daughter #2 and I conferred and decided to enroll Ethan at Kumon just so he can learn phonics and eventually read. Ethan was enrolled to a twice-a-week-thirty-minute-one-on-one session at Kumon.
Kids as young as 3 years old were learning to read at Kumon. After 2 months at Kumon, Ethan was still winging his alphabet. I was quite worried. Ethan can't even remember what letter A is! Is my very smart grandson not smart at all? Is the Kumon method not right for him? After 7 months of twice weekly lessons, I pulled Ethan out. I decided to teach him myself. I bought workbooks and other educational aids and materials to teach Ethan. I taught my three eldest girls how to read phonetically at age 3-4 and surely I could teach Ethan. I was wrong. It was so hard to teach him. His eyes were not focused on the work sheet and he kept on fidgeting. I used multi-sensory aids to teach him. I was progressing a bit but he still cannot consistently write or sound the letters of the alphabet at age 4.5. There were times that I was ready to explode and Ethan sensed these moments. He usually says, "I'm sorry mom. I don't know what's wrong with my mind." That breaks my heart - everytime. Something is definitely wrong. Is my grandson retarded? It can't be! I enrolled him in a summer enrichment program. He was alright except in reading and language.
I and his mommy decided to enroll Ethan in a regular school that academic year. The school was small but the teachers highly skilled and competent. Student-teacher ratio was 5 is to 1. After a month or so, the teacher talked to me regarding Ethan's progress. He was in a class younger than his chronological age but he still can't cope with the lessons. I was silently dying inside. I've long ago noticed his delay in speech but I cast that aside. Daughter #1, his mommy, was not worried because I was doing all the worrying. I told her that it's time to see a developmental pediatrician. Denial time was over.
Ethan's initial consult was short and quick. The developmental pediatrician showed him some letters. At age 5 Ethan still cannot name the letters of the alphabet consistently. The doctor set an appointment for the actual testing, a month and half after the first consult. That was almost a year ago. The initial diagnosis was Ethan seems to have a learning disability. He needed further tests to determine the kind of disability he has. In the Philippines, there is no insurance coverage for this type of "aliment". The bill has now amounted to more than 10,000 Php. Further testing means more bills to pay. We were referred to EdLink, a sort of a special school that offers learning therapy for children with LDs. The test date was set. The test done. The results in. Dyslexia.
Kids as young as 3 years old were learning to read at Kumon. After 2 months at Kumon, Ethan was still winging his alphabet. I was quite worried. Ethan can't even remember what letter A is! Is my very smart grandson not smart at all? Is the Kumon method not right for him? After 7 months of twice weekly lessons, I pulled Ethan out. I decided to teach him myself. I bought workbooks and other educational aids and materials to teach Ethan. I taught my three eldest girls how to read phonetically at age 3-4 and surely I could teach Ethan. I was wrong. It was so hard to teach him. His eyes were not focused on the work sheet and he kept on fidgeting. I used multi-sensory aids to teach him. I was progressing a bit but he still cannot consistently write or sound the letters of the alphabet at age 4.5. There were times that I was ready to explode and Ethan sensed these moments. He usually says, "I'm sorry mom. I don't know what's wrong with my mind." That breaks my heart - everytime. Something is definitely wrong. Is my grandson retarded? It can't be! I enrolled him in a summer enrichment program. He was alright except in reading and language.
I and his mommy decided to enroll Ethan in a regular school that academic year. The school was small but the teachers highly skilled and competent. Student-teacher ratio was 5 is to 1. After a month or so, the teacher talked to me regarding Ethan's progress. He was in a class younger than his chronological age but he still can't cope with the lessons. I was silently dying inside. I've long ago noticed his delay in speech but I cast that aside. Daughter #1, his mommy, was not worried because I was doing all the worrying. I told her that it's time to see a developmental pediatrician. Denial time was over.
Ethan's initial consult was short and quick. The developmental pediatrician showed him some letters. At age 5 Ethan still cannot name the letters of the alphabet consistently. The doctor set an appointment for the actual testing, a month and half after the first consult. That was almost a year ago. The initial diagnosis was Ethan seems to have a learning disability. He needed further tests to determine the kind of disability he has. In the Philippines, there is no insurance coverage for this type of "aliment". The bill has now amounted to more than 10,000 Php. Further testing means more bills to pay. We were referred to EdLink, a sort of a special school that offers learning therapy for children with LDs. The test date was set. The test done. The results in. Dyslexia.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Ethan had a bad afternoon. He threw-up so many times, I lost track. He is presently sleeping, exhausted from his ordeal. He is not sick. He just had a very bad case of motion sickness. Let me start from the beginning.
Manila has three rail transits. LRT 1, Baclaran to Caloocan; LRT 2, Taft Ave. to Santolan; MRT 3, Baclaran to North Avenue. My first and last ride at LRT 1 was in the 80's, back when it was first built. I just have no business riding an LRT or MRT for I always bring my car. Anyway, Ethan has been pestering me, for the longest time, to ride the MRT. He kept saying "Please mom? Can we ride the train?". Finally, after more than a year of planning we've finally decided to ride the MRT. Daughters #3 and 4 decided to tag along. Actually I insisted that they come with us because I am not familiar with the ins and outs of the MRT. We decided to take and park the car in Makati, take the MRT at Ayala Station up to Shaw Station then back again. That we did.
It was a Sunday so the MRT's women's car was not really jam packed; but the seats were all taken anyway. The stations' layout was confusing - not enough signs and instructions to go by. Daughter #4 bought the tickets- 11 pesos, one way. We went through the stile and went down several stairwells to arrive at the loading depot. The loading/unloading dock was stiffing hot! The train came and we boarded. W e arrived at the Shaw station. I can feel the heat and grime around us. We hovered for a few minutes then jumped back on the train going south. I developed a throbbing headache. Ethan developed a pulsating headache. Back at Ayala station I fed Ethan hoping that it would make him feel better. It did not. Fifteen minutes after his meal, he started to throw up. It was good that we were already in the car when it happened. The drive home was a cacophony of retching and wails of "Mom!, I'm dying!" while daughters #3 and 4 were busy rummaging for a container to catch the ejected "food". Upon arrival at home, I carried Ethan and felt his cold sweat. I dried his sweat, gave him a bath, have him sip cold sweet milk and let him have a nap.
I can hear him calling now. "Mom? Where are you? I'm hungry!" I guess he's fine now.
Manila has three rail transits. LRT 1, Baclaran to Caloocan; LRT 2, Taft Ave. to Santolan; MRT 3, Baclaran to North Avenue. My first and last ride at LRT 1 was in the 80's, back when it was first built. I just have no business riding an LRT or MRT for I always bring my car. Anyway, Ethan has been pestering me, for the longest time, to ride the MRT. He kept saying "Please mom? Can we ride the train?". Finally, after more than a year of planning we've finally decided to ride the MRT. Daughters #3 and 4 decided to tag along. Actually I insisted that they come with us because I am not familiar with the ins and outs of the MRT. We decided to take and park the car in Makati, take the MRT at Ayala Station up to Shaw Station then back again. That we did.
It was a Sunday so the MRT's women's car was not really jam packed; but the seats were all taken anyway. The stations' layout was confusing - not enough signs and instructions to go by. Daughter #4 bought the tickets- 11 pesos, one way. We went through the stile and went down several stairwells to arrive at the loading depot. The loading/unloading dock was stiffing hot! The train came and we boarded. W e arrived at the Shaw station. I can feel the heat and grime around us. We hovered for a few minutes then jumped back on the train going south. I developed a throbbing headache. Ethan developed a pulsating headache. Back at Ayala station I fed Ethan hoping that it would make him feel better. It did not. Fifteen minutes after his meal, he started to throw up. It was good that we were already in the car when it happened. The drive home was a cacophony of retching and wails of "Mom!, I'm dying!" while daughters #3 and 4 were busy rummaging for a container to catch the ejected "food". Upon arrival at home, I carried Ethan and felt his cold sweat. I dried his sweat, gave him a bath, have him sip cold sweet milk and let him have a nap.
I can hear him calling now. "Mom? Where are you? I'm hungry!" I guess he's fine now.
Monday, October 13, 2008
I do my groceries and wet market stuff on weekends. I prefer to go to the wet market alone because it's "wet", smelly, and congested there. Actually, none of my kids wants to go with me to the wet market. Going to the supermaket, now that is a different situation. Everyone wants to tag a long, especially Ethan. It is his day to go go crazy to pick stuff for his school snacks et al. So there we were happily picking essentials and non essentials. I was reading the label of one product when I suddenly realized Ethan was not with me. I looked up and down the aisle. Not there. I left my cart and looked into the adjoining aisle. Not there too. I was starting to panic. There were so many people in the grocery and I was fearing the worst! Kidnapping for ransom! I've heard of kids being taken from malls and then ransomed or worst sold! I was ready to scream when I suddenly caught a glimpse of Ethan's g-bits filled crocs. Dang! There in aisle 07-08 was the missing Ethan glued to a digital signage of Halloween stuff and fun. Ethan!, I told you never to stray.....
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Ethan celebrated his birthday in school. He invited the Older Preschool and Kindergarten classes. The food was simple: spaghetti, chicken nuggets, hotdogs and orange juice. After eating, all 20 kids did some kind of friendship bracelets and necklaces. Different colored beads of various shapes and sizes were presented to the kids for them to string. I guess they had fun for at the end of the session, each kid was wearing his/her own creation. My son took time off from school so he could be at Ethan's party. He made animal balloons or at least, tried to do animal balloons that kept popping and bursting.
Ethan with his Kindergarten Class
Ethan with the Older Preschool and Kindergarten
Busy stringing beads
more pictures......
The girls doing their glittery necklaces
I have no idea what they are doing
the PabitinDaughter #1 invited some relatives for dinner. I thought she invited 3-4 people only. I was surprised that about 25 people came so we had an impromptu party. It's good that I cooked enough food.
while playing guitar hero
Erin, Jester, Ethan, Jeshua, Minnie and Pixie
while playing guitar hero
Erin, Jester, Ethan, Jeshua, Minnie and Pixie
Monday, September 29, 2008
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Sunday, August 10, 2008
I was sorting my closet yesterday trying to rid it out of unwanted and unneeded articles of clothing. I am such a sentimental fool that I still have some clothes hanging in my rack dating back to when John Travolta was still strutting to the BeeGees. Ethan was watching me sort through my wardrobe yesterday when out-of-the-blue he asked me what his Halloween costume will be for this year. I said it's too early to think about it but he replied that his best buds in kindergarten, Lucas and Rafa, already have costumes. Ethan's face was showing all the classic signs of frustration and irritation - for me - for I have not gotten his costume yet.
I am what you may call, a costume-oriented person. My children have closets full of costumes - native-international-super heroes-movie personalities and more. I just love costumes. I even have a seamstress to do my costumes. I design the costume, buy the textile and accessories and have the costume made. I know! It's such a tedious job. Last year, Ethan was Obi Wan Kenobi whereas daughter # 4 trick or treated as a vamp witch.div>
Call me obsessed but I do want the proper attire for every occasion, Halloween costumes included. I asked Ethan what he would like to be this year. He thought long and hard and replied "I want to be Ironman!". My seamstress is good but how can she possibly make that costume? Buy a sheet of iron and have it welded? Paint his body as to make it seem like it's made of iron? No, I found a better way, or shall I say a website that specializes in Halloween costumes.
CostumeCauldron.com is an online store for halloween costumes. It has a wide range of costume selections for babies up to adults. I browsed the site and found the perfect costume for Ethan. Now I don't have to worry. I can order online and have the costume delivered right to my doorstep way before Halloween.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
I've been running a fever since Thursday night. I felt so lethargic that I fell asleep inside the car while waiting for daughter #2 last Thursday. When I came home, I felt feverish so I took my temperature. It read 38.5 Celsius. I was officially sick.
Friday morning daughter #1, the doctor, came home to look me over and take Ethan to school. I was having stomach spams - maybe a bout of gastro - the doctor said. I browsed the internet and checked my email and blog for a short time. I had a terrible headache, a grumbling-spasmodic tummy, and an aching body. I wanted to eat but my stomach won't take in food! By evening, I just wanted to be left alone. Ethan was in my bed (of all places) playing and watching TV. He kept on singing, and talking - stressing me out.
Ethan, can you please go to Kux's room. You're stressing me out.
What's stressing?
Just go and stress Kux!
Off Ethan went and brought Kux back.
What is it mom? Do you need anything? daughter #3 asked.
I explained what happened and that brought another strain of stress making my tummy spasm more. I waved Ethan and daughter #3 to get out of my bedroom. After a few minutes, Ethan came back.
Mom, can I just stay in your room. Kux said she does not like stress. I'll take care of you because you're sick, said Ethan.
I agreed for the sake of agreeing. I so wanted to tune out.
Mom, can you get me water? I'm thirsty.
But I'm sick and you said you'll take care of me.
Oh I forgot. Then Ethan continued to watch TV. Thirst forgotten. A moment later he asked,
Mom, can we watch Narnia?
I agreed and changed the channel. As Ethan was watching I commented that we have not watched Narnia 2 yet.
But we are watching Narnia now, Ethan said.
That's Narnia 1. The one that's showing in cinemas is Narnia 2, I commented.
You mean there are many Narnia? What about Narnia 3?
I don't know if and when Narnia 3 will be!
Or what about Narnia 4, 5, or 17! His eyes were all a glow, brimming with excitement.
I turned my back on Ethan and closed my eyes. My tummy's churning again.
Friday morning daughter #1, the doctor, came home to look me over and take Ethan to school. I was having stomach spams - maybe a bout of gastro - the doctor said. I browsed the internet and checked my email and blog for a short time. I had a terrible headache, a grumbling-spasmodic tummy, and an aching body. I wanted to eat but my stomach won't take in food! By evening, I just wanted to be left alone. Ethan was in my bed (of all places) playing and watching TV. He kept on singing, and talking - stressing me out.
Ethan, can you please go to Kux's room. You're stressing me out.
What's stressing?
Just go and stress Kux!
Off Ethan went and brought Kux back.
What is it mom? Do you need anything? daughter #3 asked.
I explained what happened and that brought another strain of stress making my tummy spasm more. I waved Ethan and daughter #3 to get out of my bedroom. After a few minutes, Ethan came back.
Mom, can I just stay in your room. Kux said she does not like stress. I'll take care of you because you're sick, said Ethan.
I agreed for the sake of agreeing. I so wanted to tune out.
Mom, can you get me water? I'm thirsty.
But I'm sick and you said you'll take care of me.
Oh I forgot. Then Ethan continued to watch TV. Thirst forgotten. A moment later he asked,
Mom, can we watch Narnia?
I agreed and changed the channel. As Ethan was watching I commented that we have not watched Narnia 2 yet.
But we are watching Narnia now, Ethan said.
That's Narnia 1. The one that's showing in cinemas is Narnia 2, I commented.
You mean there are many Narnia? What about Narnia 3?
I don't know if and when Narnia 3 will be!
Or what about Narnia 4, 5, or 17! His eyes were all a glow, brimming with excitement.
I turned my back on Ethan and closed my eyes. My tummy's churning again.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Ethan, daughters # 3 &4 and I attended Kyle's birthday party. He is Ethan's best buddy in school. It was a swimming party held at Kyle's grandma's backyard. It was an intimate party for there were less than 10 kids invited. Triple that number- for adults - and that's the total number of guests.Games were played supervised by Teacher Katrina and Marla. Give-aways or party favors were plenty, the kiddie buffet, yummy!
What was really amusing was when Kyle's grandma saw that my two daughters were just sitting doing nothing, she called two masseuses for them. See more photos.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Ethan and my three daughters are back from their vacation. I was late in picking them up at the airport. It was way past lunch time and the boy was mighty hungry and cranky.I was expecting him to greet me with much gusto like mom! i missed you or something.All the fat boy said was Can we go to McDonald's now? I'm so hungry!
Here are some more pictures of Ethan.
Monday, May 12, 2008
The picture on the left has nothing, whatsoever, to do with the content of this post. I just felt like uploading it. This was taken infront of the Iron Man poster at Mall of Asia. No. I was not legless. I was jumping for 'joy'.Today I am officially 'maid-less'. My two maids and an extra went home for 'vacation'. How I envy them. They can just pack their bags, make a salary advance (without interest, of course) and go home for a spell of relaxation. I cannot remember the last time I had a complete-restful vacation. My vacations were just extensions of my daily routine more tiring at that since the routines were done in unfamiiar places. Double boohoo for me if the vacations were spent in places accessible by airplanes only.
Anway, the house is quiet enough. My three other daughters and Ethan are now lolling in the white sands of one of the islands in Visayas.. The ones who are not in vacation are hubby, 4th daughter-doing her on-the-job-training, and only son -in the middle of a league. Before I log off and cry, ooopppss..I mean log of and sleep, let me just say that I am not actually feeling lonesome but I actually miss Ethan's chatter. Oh well.
Friends, forgive me if I can't do the tags you sent me. I'll get to them once I have adjusted to my new routine as a housemaid-laundrywoman-driver-cook-gardener-etc. Sigh!
Saturday, May 10, 2008
I woke up earlier than usual today for it was my turn to drive daughter# 3- the dentist- to her duty. Going to the hospital was a breeze but coming back was not. It will be the town fiesta tomorrow in my adopted-third-world-town in Cavite so traffic snarls were expected. I greeted Ethan when I got back and gave him some crinkles that I bought at Becky's Kitchen. I proceeded to the basement and turned on my desktop.Mom! I can't open the door to your bedroom. Something clicked and now the doorknob is loose! It won't budge! daughter # 2 - the teacher- said. Ethan is inside and can't get out.
Huh!? Again!? For the nth time, that doorknob has been replaced. My bedroom gets the most traffic in our house. Everybody wants to hang out in my bedroom. Watch TV. Sleep on my bed. Eat. Talk. Rant. Rave. Exercise. Do make-overs. Anything. Everything.
Ethan! I've told you millions of times to stop banging and slamming my door. I shouted as I walked or rather galloped towards my bedroom.
But mom, I didn't do anything, countered Ethan. D2 and I tried to open the door. We used keys, screw drivers and a credit card (expired) to try to open the jammed door. Nothing. Okay. Think. I asked one of the maids to get the ladder so I can climb by the window and try to pry it open- bad idea as the French window is barrel bolted. No harm trying.
It is good that my house is a split-level type and my bedroom is just about 8 steps elevated from the ground. As I climbed the ladder, the three maids and daughter #2 were all gawking at me. Right. You might ask why daughter #2 did not climb the ladder herself. She was all dressed up and was about to leave when the incident happened. I can't let her dirty her clothes.
Ethan, get a chair and come by the window. Step on the chair and try to slide the bolt of the window to your right. Of course I lost about a pint of blood explaining what the heck is a bolt, how it looks like and how to align all parts so it might slide freely and finally unlock.
What mom? Ethan is 5 and can't even get near the window much less understand or execute my instructions. Again. I tapped the window and indicated that he lift the blinds -which as you can probably see in the picture, is now broken- and curtains so he can reach the window bolt. Yes! He was able to reach the bolt. Now, slide the bolt to your right as I indicated with my hand where his right is. It's not working mom. Oh shoot! Slide the bolt to your left! He did, finally, and I opened the window from the outside.
Problem 2. The window has grills but I was able to unlock it. The problem was the grills swing-in the bedroom to open which is impossible to do since half of the TV was blocking the window.The TV was heavy and Ethan can't possibly budge it. I got down from the ladder to call my foreman.
Mom?!
What!?
I really have to poo! Great!
Daughter #2 rushed back praying that the door might finally open. Miraculously, it did!
Lessons learned:
for Ethan: do not bang or slam the door.
for daughter#2: miracles do happen in the most tight situations
for me: do not buy that particular brand of doorknob ever again.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
That is the title of Ethan's play, or shall I say operetta. The play tells a story of three fugly caterpillars wondering what their special gift is. They see that the ant's special gift is its strength; the spider its wittiness; the flower, its beauty. Still, the caterpillars were sure that God has special plans and gifts for them so they waited patiently. The moral: Wait patiently for the Lord. Everything will fall in its rightful place in His time. This, indeed, is a beautiful message to instill to children.
Ethan's Self-Portrait. Kinda gearing towards impressionism huh.
Eat your heart out, Vincent!
This is Ethan's picture concept of the play.
The Cast. Encore! Very well done.
Kudos to the never-tiring teachers!
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