Go Henry!!! Saturday, October 08, 2011

Yesterday, Henry and I were at the kids' school for their respective Feast Days. During Nicole's program, all the dads were called to play a game similar to what the kids' played, and they were funny and great at the same time. Henry's group won, yay!

Too Young or What? Thursday, October 06, 2011

My eldest daughter Keisha is turning 8 on the 29th, and she wants one of two things: an iPad2, or a laptop that's pink in color. I'm wondering if she's too young to have such gadgets, but I know for a fact that she won't have a hard time using them. She already operates the desktop computer we have and this laptop I'm using like she's been using one for a very, very long time.

I'm just worried that she may be too young to have such things, not to mention the fact that they're quite pricey. She even agreed to not have a birthday party with her classmates just to have an iPad2 or a laptop. So my husband Henry and I are still undecided, although it will mostly be her grandmother who will be buying her the said present. I wish we can decide sooner as it's just 23 days away and it will be her birthday soon.

Just Like Yesterday Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Today is starting to be just like yesterday. While I wait for my eldest daughter Keisha who takes forever to eat breakfast, I sit on my computer and check my emails, log into Facebook as well, and do some other stuff while I enjoy a hot cup of coffee. She's eating Koko Krunch, the same as always, her favorite breakfast meal with fresh milk. I just wish she could start eating it faster so that it doesn't take us a whole hour just to prepare for school.

Sad Monday, August 02, 2010

I really felt bad last night, because Keisha got scolded by her dad. Her scores on her mid quarter exam were quite low, and what made her dad all the more upset was the fact that her dad reviewed all of the questions with her. I was very sad because I hated seeing Henry mad, and of course Keisha was crying because she was afraid of her dad. I grew up being spanked by my parents, and I never understood why as a child how I could learn from it, but when I grew up I knew it was to make sure we didn't forget our mistake and not do it again. I also realized I associated my pain with the mistakes I made, so if I didn't want another sore butt, I better not do what I did the other day. But I still didn't like seeing the people I love mad, angry or hurt. Yesterday wasn't a good day, I guess.

Some Lessons Are Learned Best the Hard Way Friday, June 25, 2010

I always say that some lessons are learned best the hard way, and I've proven this time and again. The other day, this hard truth smacked me hard in the face again.

My eldest daughter Keisha was asking which club she should join for school, as they are required to join one for the whole school year. Her choices were the Art Club, Math Club, Star Scout, and the Young Readers Club. I wanted for her to join either the Art Club so she could be more adept with arts and drawing, and also the Young Readers Club so that her pronunciation skills could be made even better. Henry wanted her to join the Math Club so that she could become even better at Math (something I am admittedly not), but we both disagreed on the Star Scout Club.

A lot of Keisha's classmates were signing up for the Star Scout, but I seriously did not want her to join that club. I felt that she would only become excessively tired if she did, and I was also worried about the strenuous physical activities they might do. Keisha's really not that athletic, and I guess it's partly our fault because everybody treated her like a baby. She was the first grandchild, and both my parents and Henry's mom was crazy about her.

After explaining to Keisha what each club was about, we all three mutually agreed on the Young Readers Club. Keisha does like reading stories, and she agreed to join the club after learning that they would mostly be doing a lot of reading. I signed her notebook with the corresponding club of our choice using a pencil, as I couldn't find a pen at the time. 

Keisha went home from school the following day and told me she erased the check mark on the club we chose and checked the Star Scout because a lot of her classmates were joining there. I was upset not because joined the club we didn't want her to join the most, but because she went behind our back and erased my signature.

I was very mad and hurt for what Keisha did, and although we got everything resolved by night time, I was left with a shocking truth - what Keisha did was very minor compared to the heartaches I caused my parents. I had a hard time imagining how hurt they must have been when I got pregnant and married early. And as I always say, some lessons are learned best the hard way.

Happy Father's Day! Sunday, June 20, 2010

Keisha's First Day in First Grade Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Yesterday, June 15, was Keisha's first day in school as a first grader. Her schedule is really early and long - her classes start at 6:45AM and ends at 12:15PM. I was worried about how she would adjust to staying that long in school as her previous schedules only took about 3 hours at the most.

On her very first day, Keisha came home with a star on her hand and another one today. She said today's star was for finishing what her teacher asked her to write the fastest, and her star for today was for behaving really well.

I'm glad Keisha's adjusting to being in the first grade really well, and I'm looking forward to more stories about the new teachers she will meet in the coming days.

Happy Mother's Day! Sunday, May 09, 2010

Envious? Tuesday, November 17, 2009

I really wanted to watch Manny Pacquiao's fight last Sunday, and I am glad Henry got to watch it live via satellite in a nearby school. He had to pay Php100 I think, and I wanted to go, too. But of course, I had to think of the kids.

Being a parent sometimes has its setbacks, but these are nothing compared to the joy I get whenever I see them smile. Not to mention the fact when they give me a big kiss.

I just wanted to share that I was a bit disappointed that I wasn't even asked, although I know what I would have answered even if I was invited to watch anyway -no. I'm glad I have a lot of time with the kids now, but I guess I just miss the time when I can have my husband just to myself.

In time, I know when the kids are older, I can have more time with Henry, just the two of us. Which is also why I am thinking of not having any more kids - 2 girls is more than enough for me. Lol!

Happy 6th Birthday Keisha! Thursday, October 29, 2009

Happy 6th Birthday Keisha! I love you sweetie!

Arts and Crafts for Kids Friday, October 23, 2009

It is quite usual for parents to provide the best books, toys and games for their children. However, there are other fun and educational activities that parents can add to their schedule such as arts and crafts sessions. These activities are important tools that can help a child’s general development.

Arts and crafts allow youngsters to be in touch with their creative side and give confidence them to discover how things are made up and look for ways to make things work. They learn how to become creative and resourceful.

As parents, we have to take an interest in their art in order to encourage them to take interest in arts and crafts. They will have arts and crafts projects in school and when they present them to us, we need to show them that the results of their efforts are important to us. Otherwise, we will be sending the wrong message that the results of their efforts are not at all important and worthless. We have to show them we care about their efforts.

Helping them appreciate the value of arts and crafts as kids can lead to a better appreciation of other artworks and other types of arts. We also want to them to love literature for example. We can do this by reading to them from the book or accompany them to watch a well made movie based on that book. We can also let them listen to an audio version of the book. These are effective alternative ways to introduce and let children develop a liking for other forms of arts and crafts.

Arts and crafts also teach kids other important values such as determination – they learn to how to focus at a particular task and do it until they have completed it. They also learn to develop concentration – children learn how to sit and stay put and complete their assignment even while in the midst of many distractions.

By providing an area and schedule for arts and crafts for our children, we can help them understand that there are times that they need to wait to get the results of their efforts evident. It is during this time that they learn how to be patient and be more reasonable.

Arts and crafts activities can help children to develop their confidence in their own skills and abilities. We praise them for the tasks they finish and they learn to take pride in what they can do through their own hard work.

OwnADayCare.com gives you all the information you need to start your own daycare business and also has a listing of day care center nationwide.

This is a guest post from Anne Stephanie Cruz of Own A Day Care. Thanks!

Preparing for Keisha's 6th Birthday Sunday, October 18, 2009

For today, I planned on going to Jollibee to inquire about their birthday party packages for Keisha's 6th birthday on the 29th. Inspired by one of her classmates that had the party on their school complete with a character/mascot appearance, I wanted to do the same thing for Keisha and I knew that was what she wanted as well.

I got the kids and myself dressed up and we were going to leave Ron Weasley to our neighbor who also happens to be Henry's aunt. As we were saying our goodbyes to Ron, Henry came home. I knew he was going to come home early, but he is the best when it comes to timing. So we waited for him to change clothes and we all went to the nearest Jollibee.

The Jollibee that is just a few blocks from our house that sank in Typhoon Ondoy (and by sank I mean only the roof was visible and the service crew awaited for rescue and the waters to subside on the roof) was currently not accepting birthday parties as they did not have the materials for it at the moment.

We proceeded to SM Valenzuela and went to the Jollibee there. Sadly, the manager informed me that they no longer accept take out birthday parties beginning this year. Keisha was obviously sad, but there was really nothing we could do. I decided to ask at McDonald's.

Since I am a big fan of McDonald's french fries, we asked about their birthday party packages. We got all the info we needed, and the price including all the invitations, loot bags, thank you cards, party hats, and all of that were included. The only problem is, since the mall opened at 10AM, that would be the time they can accomodate the take out party. Keisha's classes end at 10:30AM, so from 10AM including travel time to their school, there really won't be much time for her party.

As of right now, Henry and I are still thinking about what we can do so that her party at school will be successful. I guess we'll just have food delivered to her school, but having games and prizes would make it extra special for her.

Catching Up! Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Whew!

I totally have some serious catching up to do on my blogs. With everything that's been going on in my life right now, this is one of the things that I have neglected so far.

For starters, there have been so many changes in my life recently. One of them is the fact that my mother in law has already migrated to Hawaii last October 3. She will be able to vacation here after 2 years though.

Since my mother in law has already migrated, I am now officially a full time mom and housewife to my two kids. Being hands-on to them also means I have to be hands off on some things, and obviously my blog is one of them. I also had to let go of some clients that I have for my online writing jobs. I honestly prefer not to work for them anymore instead of me always missing deadlines.

My daily routine at home is pretty much mapped out. On weekdays, I wake up extremely early (and by extremely I mean 6AM) so that I have enough time to make Keisha's breakfast and heat her water for her bath, see her off to school, then clean the house while she's gone and feed and comb our new pet shih tzu Ron Weasley. When Nicole wakes up a few hours later, I attend to her until Keisha comes home.

When Keisha comes home from school, Nicole doesn't fret too much anymore as she already has a playmate with her. Together they play with the puppy as I make our lunch. After feeding them and giving them their vitamins, I give Nicole a nap and we all take our afternoon nap. Sometimes I don't want to sleep in the afternoon but taking care of two kids and a puppy can be really exhausting, so I sleep with them.

When we wake up, we play around with each other and the puppy until it's time for me to cook dinner, wait for their dad to come home, clean them up for bedtime, and then tuck them in. My routine is broken by trips to the mall or a day out with the entire family.

I love taking care of them, but I guess until I learn to properly manage my time, I will have to keep my online career to a minimum.

I Cried Monday, June 15, 2009

I was making Keisha her name plate for school and I just couldn't help but cry. I could have easily printed her name off of the computer and glue it to a piece of cardboard but I didn't. I chose to writer her name on a piece of bond paper over and over again until I got all the letters of her name the same size. The slightest error or smudge also made me start over.

When I finally got her name done, I cut her name and glued it to a piece of green cardboard, covered it with clear plastic like the one used for books, and then punched a hole in it to put her old ID lace. When I looked at what I've done, I cried. I remembered my dad and how he made me a name tag every school year. I imagined how tired he was from work and I'd impatiently bug him to make me a name tag. He'd cover everything with scotch tape to make the cardboard stiff. He could have printed my name off of the computer, but he didn't.

I remember what my mom always says how I'll understand her and dad better when I have kids of my own, and as always she was right. I just realized my dad's efforts when I made Keisha her name plate. Thanks dad, for everything.

June is Here! Sunday, May 31, 2009

Tomorrow is the first day of a new month. June usually marks the start of classes here, and my eldest daughter Keisha is starting her Kinder 2 school on the 3rd. Kinda weird that her school will start on a Wednesday.

With the H1N1 scare, students who have recently gone abroad will not be allowed to go to her school for the first 10 days. Those with fever need to wait as well, until they get better. Some parents think this is an overreaction, but for me, precaution is always better than cure.

Of course, June also marks the rainy season and as expected, today is a pretty rainy day. I wonder how I can finish laundry tomorrow. Tomorrow is also going to be a pretty busy day for me. I have to go to the post office to mail my mom in law's documents and pay the light bill. When I think of all the things I need to do in the following days, I can't help but sigh. But I'm glad that I get to spend the day with my kids.

Moments with Henry Monday, April 27, 2009

Henry, Keisha, and I went to SM Valenzuela yesterday not to go shopping, but to run some errands. One, we had to buy my mom in law a card, two we had to her her beaded bracelet fixed, and three, to buy boneless milkfish. I don't know if I've mentioned this in my blog already but I am hopeless when it comes to eating fish. I don't like having to take out bones and all. I'm more of the person who just likes to chew and chew (lol).

Going back, I asked Henry what he thinks we would be doing if we weren't married yet. We'd still be dating, just not married and living together. Henry then said we'd probably be vacationing in Boracay any time we choose to. Then we both looked at Keisha who was walking with us, happily eating a scoop of chocolate ice cream. Henry looked at me and said "Never mind, I've got a lot more than a Boracay vacation right here," and then he scooped up Keisha as we went for the parking lot.

The Last Day of the Work Week Friday, April 24, 2009

Whew!

I am really glad that tomorrow is the last day of my work week. I work Monday to Friday EST and Tuesday to Saturday on my time.

Listening and grading calls all day can be tiring. Some people think that because you sit in an air conditioned room in a comfortable chair and in front of a 15 inch LCD monitor makes work easier.

No it doesn't.

I have goals to meet - the number of calls I should be able to listen to in a day and in a week. I'm glad that this week, including last week, I didn't have any trouble meeting this goal.

And I am really looking forward to spending my days off at home with the kids.

The -Ber Months are Here! Monday, September 01, 2008

It's just a few winks away until the -ber months are here. I'm referring to September, October, November, and December. I think it was my mom that had the idea of calling these months the -ber months or something, I don't remember exactly.

I recall feeling this exact same feeling a year ago when I wrote a post about September already being near. This month also means that Keisha is turning 5. *sigh* Time flies really fast. Henry and I better start preparing early for Keisha's 5th birthday as she plans on having the party at school.

Nicole's First Tooth Tuesday, March 04, 2008

With all the commotion that happened recently, I forgot to write that Nicole already has 2 little teeth peeping out of her gums. They're what we call her two bottom teeth, since the ones in front haven;t come out yet. Henry was the first one to notice, as Nicole was biting his hand, he felt something sharp. During that time, only 1 tooth was surfacing from her gums, the one on Nicole's left. But after a few days, the second one came out and they're almost the same size now.

I hope Nicole doesn't hate me for this when she grows up, but I wasn't able to remember the exact date when we saw it. All I remember is that it was during the 2nd week of February.

The Blues at Work Friday, December 14, 2007

eTelecare is my third call center, and by now I sort of expected myself to be used to the attrition rate call centers have. I don't know if it's because I stayed at home for a year, or I'm really still not used to it until now.

I really felt sad when a couple of people whom I've made friends with during orientation and training all of a sudden left during out transition phase, or what the company calls the two weeks of Learning Lab. I have to admit, the account is hard, but the system we use makes it all the more harder. I'd consider myself somewhat a tekkie person, but I still fumble every now and then with the system, considering we had a whole month of training for it.

I've been absent from work for two days now, primarily because I don't feel the drive to do so. I miss my kids and Henry a lot, since I've been on the night shift I haven't been able to spend much time with them. I've been having trouble with my pay and whenever I talk to someone about it, I get the runaround. My signing bonus of P15,000 hasn't been paid yet, and we're forced to sell stuff for every call we make. From the months I spent on my first outbound account, I've learned that there are times when you just shouldn't pitch, especially if it's inappropriate.

I don't know if this is just a phase or something, but I seriously do not want to go back to work anymore. Our CST Trainer Donna was right - you can't be a good parent and have a successful career at the same time.