last song syndrome / my american idol fever

i can't shake this song off from my head, kainis! either i keep on humming it's tune or i listen this song's newest version from youtube (take note that i'm charged php 10 per 30 minutes of internet browsing by smart)... unless, somebody will give me an ipod so i can already download adam lambert's version of "mad world" from american idol's website... kasi ang galing... ang ganda! i think am addicted na... hahaha! can you please tell me how to download it even without me having an ipod? =D

may i add, i checked the original version of the song and it sounded like simon and garfunkel's sound of silence, which is one of my favorite songs.

speaking of american idol, i was really surprised to know (through the yahoo news spoiler) that kris allen won over adam lambert because between the two there's no doubt that adam is a better singer. but of course there were other factors and other issues (with adam) which made the americans vote for kris. i'm still happy for kris though as i find him humble and unassuming aside from him being a boy-next-door type. he looks like patrick garcia for me by the way especially when he smiles, while adam lambert has a strong resemblance with my crush during high school... uber-cute but bading din. bwahaha!

that's it for this season. i was hooked to the tv for more than two hours tonight watching the final night of AI (good thing the little boy went to bed early) and was entertained with the performances of the big stars of america's music industry. but i was more entertained with the replays of previous episodes especially the funny ones... especially that of tatiana del toro, the crying lady. =D

iñigo and the tv

i made a little experimentaton lately because i made up this conclusion that iñigo became aggresive and hyperactive now that he had longer tv (more of dvd shows actually) hours. but it wasn't late when i realized the other change in his tv viewing habit--he watches toy story 2 more frequently for the past weeks, everyday actually as he's fond of the characters in the movie. and true enough, after he watched the movie one morning and i observed him to be violent as he kicked me, pulled my hair, attempted to ride my back, etc. i asked him why he was doing it and he answered, "like the donkey in toy story"... bingo! the dvd is now in the trash can.

i now have second thoughts if i will still let watch iñigo the other hollywood-made animated movies which we also have dvds of like chicken little, ratatouille, madagascar 2, and cars (i collect them! haha). though they are marketed for children there are some scenes in these movies which i think my son is not yet ready to see.

now iñigo is back to his old favorites like maisy mouse, pooh, and backyardigans. these are also my favorites for him because i observed that he imitates the characters here and pretends that he's like or among them. but still, i limit his dvd-watching to 2-3 dvd shows a day and that's only less than 2 hours of viewing time, enough time for me to tidy up the house or cook our lunch. hehe.

***

as for tv programs, iñigo isn't much a viewer of these since even me or jude is not fond of watching tv nowadays, except for news or our favorite reality shows. but even with little exposure, iñigo already made up a collection of his favorite commercials, such as...

camella homes - bulilit... bulilit... sanay sa masikip... iñigo fell in love with this commercial, or should i say jingle, the first time he heard it. he puts a smile on his face everytime it's being played or i sing it personally for him. he also tries to sing the song sometimes. but there's nothing more amusing when he tries to copy that boy in the commercial--making small steps sideways as if he's sandwiched between two walls. =D

LBC - spell remittance? =) oh boy... should i be happy with this commercial or not? i didn't know that iñigo likes this commercial only after i turned off the tv while this commercial was being played and iñigo cried to me and said, "watch remittance, mommy." i didnt' get it at first and out of nothing to say i uttered, "what... what do you know about remiitance?"

but iñigo has an answer... "capital L-B-C."

 

 

 

so what's really the best for my kids?

this post is a continuation of my recent blog on the generation of indulgents as i realized that my son is not really one of them and i began to ask myself that question after realizing that my son was not like the other kids who had all the crocs for his footwear, the most expensive toddler's milk as his supplementary food, the grandest party for his first birthday that i can only read in one of the forums i'm a member of, the signature brands for his shirts and pants, and whatever best i can give to him.

i don't even think that we can even give the best and expensive things for our coming second baby and just be like kuya iñigo who has only a second-hand car seat and who never had a try of gerber because mommy preferred to give him real food. some people may pity my children but with all pride, i think we've given our best, particular me. as the old adage goes, the best things in life are free. =)

i breastfed him, and longer than i've should. mother's milk is the best milk. no one can dispute that as all researches made proved that breastmilk can boost the baby's immune system, increase his IQ level (higher than what those milk companies are claiming!) and EQ level as well, decrease the child's risk for life-threating diseases like diabetes and hypertension later on in life, and so much more benefits that not even the most expensive formula milk can give.

and some of you may know it was not easy for me to exclusively breastfeed him as i was still working full-time that time and expressing and stocking up milk was the only option when i was at work. it took me a lot of effort to do it as i wasn't the "dairy farm" type. there were midnights when i worked double-time as my stock in the freezer was running low. there were also moments when i cried over spilled or spoiled milk, or panicked when there's a major blackout while there's still some ounces of expressed milk inside our freezer compartment. jude even received my wrath one time when he forgot to re-plug our ref after a short brownout. i was really that loyal to breastfeeding, and that's because i felt that iñigo deserved nothing else but the "best milk".

we spend more time with him, especially me. i had this book, "the baby book" by dr. sears, which inspired me to be a stay-at-home-mom. there's a whole chapter there that talks about attachment parenting and it says there that there's nothing more important to an infant, and even to a young child, than the time spent by a parent, especially the mom, with her baby. there were some reasons and justifications mentioned but i only appreciated dr. sear's wisdom only when i already stopped working full-time and i already had more time playing and learning with iñigo. and the book was right, no other caregiver will have the same love and concern for the child than his parents; no one but a mom will put aside her chore when the child asked her to read a book because his learning is far more important than the laundry or house-cleaning; and only a mom can comfort the pain of a child who just bumped his head to the wall or bruised his knee while running. just the smile of my son when i instantly act on his requests or sentiments tell me that i did the right thing.

i had nothing against working as i know how hard life is right now but as i have said to jude, if we can afford to live in one income for the meantime while the kids (i was not only thinking of iñigo but one more offspring too) are still young and still need to be properly guided, aside from the fact that we're both praning parents who can't leave them with just a yaya, then i will sacrifice my career. we can adjust our lifestyle and only spend for the essentials if that's what our budget dictates. i heard this from other moms and even from my own mother: that a young child will trade off her new toys or milk just to see her mom more often in the house. they'd just pout when you didn't buy them the toy they liked but when they saw you dressing up for work, the pleadings that you just stay home and crying wouldn't stop. i knew this by experience and i love the fact that to my son i matter more than a new toy. =)

preparing to have them the best education. i am not in a position to talk about this since iñigo is just turning three and i feel that enrolling him in the best preschool will not guarantee a bright future for him. but we know some people who just went to public schools for their primary education but managed to go to harvard for their post-graduate. and this really made me think... what made them excellent on their fields inspite of their poverty? i also remember the news before about a lass from a public school in palawan who topped the NSAT, beating the students from la salle, ateneo, or assumptions--schools with students who have all the books and supplements and who can review for exams without worrying if their tuition has already been paid... what made this poor girl be the best among her batch? she definitely did not go to a good preschool. she was interviewed and she told about her parents being supportive of her studies. if i recall it right, her mother was a public school teacher and had been her "other teacher" since she was young. hmm... she was also homeschooled. again, it boils down to the time and commitment of the parents in raising their kids.

but of course, there's also nothing wrong if i dream of sending my kids to the best colleges abroad and pay for it if we could, don't you think? time now to build the "college education basket"... =)

those are the only best things i can think of giving to my kids, well, aside from prepping them up to be a good christians and citizens who have concerns for other people, society (go to rallies if they must, hehe), environment (their daddy will disown them if they don't), and their country (they must cast their votes every election).

i had nothing to add aside from these.

more expensive than his daddy's...

i’m talking about haircuts here. because for his last two, iñigo had his haircuts done inside a kiddie salon. the first one was in festival mall (i forgot the name of the salon) last february while the latest was done last month in cuts for tots in its glorietta branch. and i was really shocked with to learn that they increased their price to php 285 for a simple haircut. jude could not believe i paid that much for the haircut of his son as he’s just paying php 60 for his own. hmpf… wala naming barney show sa barber shop mo!  kidding aside, perks like this is the reason why i prefer to bring iñigo to a kiddie salon now. he looks forward to his haircut when it’s done there than when we used to bring him to bruno’s or a neighborhood salon where he was terrified of the experience. he also cooperates with the hair cutter in the kiddie salons that’s why he gets a better trim for his hair, and this means it would take a longer time for the hair to grow back. unlike before when only a month passed by since his last haircut and his mane was unruly again. my son is blessed with so much hair even when he’s a newborn. he had his first haircut when he’s five months old and i could no longer count how many more he haircuts he had up to this date.

 

lastly, i get to sit comfortably inside a kiddie salon unlike inside bruno’s or a neighborhood salon where i served as iñigo’s booster chair and entertainer as well and i had no escape from the hair strands that fell off from his head. lucky me if it won’t shoot into my mouth. aghast!

 

you'd never see him smiling like this inside bruno's, hehe.

 

"daddy, bruno's don't have this car."

 

peace sign... that's for mommy as she had it while the little tot was having a haircut.

the following pix were taken inside cuts for tots... see how he charmed with his new do the pretty little girl who was there inside the salon. =)

the party boy and on being in generation of "indulgents"

i find the kids of this generation overly indulged and expensive to raise… you agree? jude and i would sometimes talk about our childhood and there’s already twinkle in our eyes when we speak of visit to luneta park and fiesta carnival, afternoon trysts brought by hopscotch and chinese garter played with other kids, playing under the rain, scramble with hersheys, pretend plays with whatever we can get from our house or garden.  our sources of happiness then are few, simple, and cheap. but it’s a different tune now for this generation’s youngsters. for one, there’s always a wide selection for them of almost anything: to watch, to do, to visit, to play with, etc. iñigo sometimes would take time to decide on what he’s going to watch among the dvds we have at home. having fun for him means going to the mall and having snacks in jollibee, mcdonalds, chowking, or kfc (iñigo knows their signages very well); or riding the carousel in enchanted kingdom. i know the parents are at fault as we were the one who introduced those to him.

 

iñigo also has a standard for birthday parties. he expects to see in every party a cake, balloons, giveaway toys and… who else but jollibee mascot! it’s probably because of the numerous jollibee birthday parties he attended since he’s one year old. again, jude and i would exchange stories of our own birthday parties during our childhood. we had our own share of bonggacious party but it’s only once in a lifetime affair like he had it when he turned one, while the grandest birthday party thrown to me was when i turned seven. my mother even bought a new component before my birthday just to have good music in my party... pang-trip to jerusalem and stop dance lang pala. bwahaha! birthday parties during our time were only done inside the house or yard, even the grandest ones for us, and we’re already happy to see a cake, spaghetti, fried chicken, and hotdogs on sticks on our party table.

hmm… why am i telling all these? i must be probably inggit with my son’s time.  hehe. it was only two weeks ago when jude attended the first birthday party of one of his cousins in bounce in rosario, pasig. iñigo, as usual, was excited even a week before the party and kept on reminding me to buy gift for the celebrator. the day of the party came and we drove to the venue that afternoon. since the location of bounce is a bit far and traffic was also quite heavy that time, iñigo involuntarily fell asleep inside our car. but what’s so funny about him was as soon as jude parked the car in front of bounce and turned the engine, iñigo quickly got up from his nap and shouted “birthday party na!” =D

 

he was not ready to see inflatables and playground equipment in that party but was soooo happy nonetheless when he was already in the play area as it’s probably a different experience for him. we can’t even take a decent shot of him as he was running, jumping, crawling, and tumbling all over the place. i was particularly proud of him as unlike other kids who have nannies to push them up for one of the inflatables, iñigo managed to climb it on his own… well, that’s after looking around if someone is gonna help him but there was none (i was just observing him from a distance). i strongly feel it’s one of the advantages of not having a nanny for my son.

 

iñigo never ran out energy for the two and a half-hours the play area was opened for the kids. he was even one of the last kids who left the place. the daddy too btw enjoyed the facilities offered by bounce and even joined iñigo inside the play area. i let him be… it’s what he missed during his time. =D

 

to rafael—the birthday celebrator: happy birthday again! to tita monette and tito alex: hope you will have another baby and you will celebrate it again in bounce! iñigo who kept on talking about the party that night has already upgraded his standards for birthday parties.

 

so now… any invites coming? =)

 

some of the pix by the way taken from that party... we never had those during our time so enjoy! hahaha.

 

 

iñigo can't wait in these pictures for the play area to open

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

we've moved (the promdis are now back to the metropolis!)

we tried not to move for one month, but that one month was miserable for us when jude was still traveling from cabuyao to his new office in dela rosa, makati, and back while iñigo and i stayed in our house in cabuyao. it’s not only because of the distance (jude used to travel from malate to procter and gamble cabuyao every workday before we moved to cabuyao in 2007) but our plight was made more complicated by the heavy traffic in south luzon expressway and south super highway which jude had to brave almost everyday; and also by his work schedule in shell which is from 3 pm to 12 midnight, which  can be extended up to 3 am! jude drove home sleepy while the pregnant me can’t sleep decently knowing that he’s still on the road. and i had to wake up early to prepare meals as he needed to leave our house between 12 to 1 pm so as not to be caught in the traffic jam.  iñigo, during this time, missed his daddy so much as he’s used of having his lunch and dinner with him.

 

so when jude received sometime in march his first paycheck from shell, we hurriedly paid the downpayment for the flat we’re renting right now and moved some of our things there after two days. we actually wanted to move the next day but there were still some documents that need to be processed. we were that excited! hahaha.

 

our flat by the way is in a building which is just one block away from jude’s office building. jude really wanted that we stay near his work place so it’s very easy for him to check us, and also, so he can still have dinner with us every night. =) we both love the place we’re living in which is at the heart of makati business district as we’re very near to almost everything! glorietta and greenbelt are just few blocks away. makati medical center where i intend to give birth again can be reached in five minutes... by walking… no kidding! restaurants of all kinds, drugstores, laundry shops, convenience stores were just a few meters away. talk about conveniences… and temptations, too. good thing am pregnant--lazy to move my feet and prohibited to eat some foods. hehe.

 

the view from the playground, which is in the penthouse of the building where the condo unit we are renting is located. the playground and the pool are the amenities that we enjoy from time to time.

 

but we do miss our village and house in cabuyao. i particularly miss the tranquility of the place and the big space we have. yes, we’re deprived of these things here in makati and we’re still adjusting especially with the limited space our flat has.

 

i also miss the evening walks we used to do in cabuyao under the moon and the countless stars. and during daytime and the sky is clear, i used to spend my afternoons in our porch and admire the beauty of mt. makiling… and wishing that i can tread again its trails with jude. =)

 

the view from the porch of our house in cabuyao, laguna. mt. makiling should be seen as already big but the camera i used wasn't able to show it in this picture. those are the roads where iñigo biked in the afternoon and where we strolled at night.

 

those are the reasons why we don’t want to rent out the house, or the entire house if ever we decide to have it rented. we still want to touch base with nature and breathe fresh air once in a while.

 

if we could just move our village to makati, we’d do. if convenience, accessibility, tranquility, and big space can be in one place, we’d be most happy. but then, not all things are in our hands and we have to live with trade-offs.