On Clogged Pipelines and Long Queues

Slow blogs.  Quick poetry.  This Writer is Busy being Mommy.

(I'm working on a series. And I just think my game plan is  doing well.  Meantime, I'll see you guys @ http://loveblender.com ((oh Kirk what do I do without you))

1)  My daughter's US itinerary still a work in progress (... her wardrobe, gadgets, vitamins, etc next).
2)  My unusual gastadora self, haggling with travel agents for cheaper airfare (and i'm kinda losing it arrghhh)
3)  My US besties cramming to adopt my daughter but ...
4)  Me, their best girl, cramming for Pinoy goodies for everyone (and suddenly I'm running out of ideas)
5)  Pre-departure's on this Saturday!  (Roche hopin' I'm not bringin' Ginger lol).
6)  Corporate Mommy moving to her new office (MOA is it ... and my CITEM luvs all excited!)
7) The side effect of asthma, white blood cells up! ... I gotta see my doctor YESTERDAY!  and i still couldn't go anytime sooner :(
8) Oh, BTW, it's CONFIRMED!  

Little Miss Chief

Okay, 'nuff said.  Must be the weather or that time of the month again when the Period Fairy goes  ballistic!

I know the effects so it gotta be short-lived. My goals are met.  My friend's home.  We've exchanged numbers (for the nth time).  Jeffie's  airconditioning is undergoing complete overhaul LOL--- the room's ready for me haha ... my friends they spoil me ;-) --- I said, I have asthma hindi ako pwede sa alikabok at sa walang aircon .  Our itinerary is done, paid vacation leaves have been filed.  We're all set for some vodka nights haha

Moving forward, I got myself thinking happy thoughts lyke this one.  Dameng tawa namin mag nanay sa picture nya nato.  I think she was barely 3 years old in this  photo, and we just moved in with my mother.  Ako na ang pinaka metikulosong nanay, better read as pinaka MAARTENG NANAY.  Ask my cousins, I'm  borderline obsessive compulsive in taking care of babies and toddlers LOL  

Si Sophie nakalusot yan dito eh ahahah ... kasi busy kami ni Mama mag arrange ng house tapos wala pang yaya.  I usually don't let her play outside without adult supervision.  C'mon she was only 3 ... and such a baby still.  Eh nakalusot nga, bagong ulan lang so medyo basa ang kalsada, the club house across our house was surrounded with puddles of mud here and there.  Busy kami ni Mama so akala ko naman she was just in one of the corners of the house, busy with her toys.  I had that Hello Kitty mat (HK original huh, you can only get that from Gift Gate huh,  hindi pa uso nun ang Class A ahahah) all laid down on the floor where she was suppose to do her thing.

When I realized she was not anywhere in the house, I called for her --- like I was practicing my lungs LOL --- then my attention got caught up with something else.  My mom and I we actually felt her sneaking in, without remorse, from the front door, laid down silently on the mat, and naughtily pretended she was sleeping.  See her eyes half close/open, her tiny bangs greasy, her tiny right foot stiff, and hahaha the traces of mud on her pink leggings.  My daughter smelling like a baby eagerly wanting to be a little girl.  

A lovely memory like this successfully flushes out all the negative energies.

Sophie mischief

Baby ko

Missing our baby.  Namiss ko na to katabi matulog  kahit 3AM nagigising for milk at 5 AM pa ulit matutulog :-)  I think am gonna buy this little lady a cowgirl dress for the Halloween.

SLUMBER MODE

thumb suck and leg swings (mana sa tita ... pampatulog hihi) ...

... alam na ang kasunod na eksena.  ayus di ba. :)

lucky teddy

partners in crime

PLAYTIME

ain't she a hungry baby

brush on baby brush on

naglalaro, nakaduster haha .... our baby's busy in her play area, her most fave spot in the house 

FAMILY BONDING

my 45th bday celeb with fam ... some strollin' (pig out dinin, a little shoppin and plenty of Hailey hihi) @Ayala Malls Serin, Tagaytay City

oh my the weight of those cheeks (and chin), too

she's a happy baby, doesn't get overwhelmed too easily 

Hail our Hailey!  Here hugging her daddy as we celebrate her 1st bday party last May at McDo, Tanza. 

photobomb gulong gulong while mommy doin her regular dose of selfie hehe

haha eto sakto ... irita si Hailey sa outfit ni Ate Sophie.  Ate Sophie's mom (ME!!!!) mas irita!!!

MANA SA TITA IRMA ;-)

Tita started with storybooks, too :) 

Such a haven for our Hailey. Cafe Mary Grace in Greenbelt 2 --- a comfy, roomy playpen with lotsa toys and BOOKS! 

a book in hand ... and that (naughty) look up to no good --- so very Tita Irmay-ish

Mommy Diaries: First Flights

Sophie Moments:

Last Thursday was her first flight without mommy. Destination: Cebu and Bohol. In between our SMS and calls, this exchange, loving and funny, between Mommy and her little big girl:

Sophie: Mommmmm ng ganda ganda dito superrrrr!!!! (as she was saying this I imagine her facial expression (her almond eyes, big, round, joyful joyful and that whoaaaa grin lol)

Mom: talaga as in super super like you want to live there and don't want to come home anymore hehe (I AM THE WORLD'S MOST AGITERANG MUDRA EVER LMAO)

Sophie: Ma ... di nga as in super super ganda talaga whoaaaa

Mom: Me inggit (silently  ) ... and jusz missing my nemesis hehe ... suddenly i hate peace and quiet when she's away ... i realized how i love our silly fights 

Sophie: superrrrrrrr Ma ... ang ganda ....

Sophie: ... lalo na yung buffet!!!

Mom: nyahaaaaaa it's all about the food sabi na nga eh ahahahah

Travel Throwback

Sophie's very first airplane ride, with Mommy and Lola Miles

She was trying to give Mommy a wink on-air

... and this was how I kept her busy all through out the flight 

This is BIG BIG VINTAGE LOVE, baby!

Just the two of us in the bedroom. Mommy had nothing to do but play with her little doll. She was barely 4 mos. old.  I needed to put that "jusz-about-her-size" red fluffy pillow for balance --- and tadahhhh capture that picture perfect moment using our ever reliable Olympus camera, one that still uses photographic films :)CLICK LINK to VOTE.  http://woobox.com/q6v4vw/vote/for/4700621

A Gallery of Sweets  --- This --- make me wanna have more babies :( (jusz sayin ... or rantin' may be :(   )

Finding her niche

The middle class syndrome.  The lack of enterprising spirit. A full embrace of employment.  Brain drains.  Pension money.  Retirement uncertainties.  I was raised in that generation.  The height of comfort zones.  

My time is modern day parenting.  There is technology, system and best practices, re-engineering,  more openness, more independence, less of spoon feeding, but none of those sugar coated spoons.  I am not a tiger mom but I practice tough love.

My moral authority kinda falls short in areas of fiscal management J. I was born extravagant, and I actually sincerely plan to die fashionably with it.  I’m a bad example with money but my gifts are different, my skill sets, too.  God perfectly knows how to temper my shortcomings. I yield.

And just may be what she lacks in some other things (from a parent's point of view), this may be her place under the sun, where she commensurates or may be reach much greater heights.

This mom proudly shares the fruit of her daughter's labor. Sophie’sown bank account from her online gig, Sophie Enchanted. 

WATCH OUT SOON:  Some make-up brands from the US ;-) ... Mom's actually trying on her first box by September 11, of primers and glitters.

jusz gettin a lil obsessed with my brows.  splurgin' on colors, highlights, mascara and visits to  upscale brow bar.  This base will somehow help set the drama ;)

about 2 decades ago, i thought Mac had that tiny pink mascara you can actually use to accentuate the tippest of your lashes.  i was desperate in Rustan's, and it was frustrating.  Panyong and I we were trying to date (LOL trying to date haha), and so I wanted to show off.  I settled for a fiercely red Mac lippy instead.  oh well Panyong and I went pfffttt  ... and I still insist to get something purple and shimmering right at the edge of my lashes. 

Sophie Enchanted

She adores Anne Hathaway and loves Ella Enchanted.  She showed mom her preferred design and mom bought it from Tiffany's.  She showed it to her friends and they liked it, too.  She's got good taste and loves to shop like her mother.    The internet is such a huge market highway.  Her reasons may be mundane :) ... but she's only 17, I don't expect her to change the world.

This is her online shop, her first try on being enterprising.  So now this is really a more productive way of putting her shopping skills into good use. More than changing the world ... I am content to know that she's taking on some responsibility and above all she's having fun.

You chance upon the gypsy life, please click on  https://www.facebook.com/SophieEnchanted

 I am a proud mom of a budding entrepreneur.  Bliss ...

Seventeen

I used to carry her in my arms and help her with the candles on her very 1st bday celeb.  I used to do her make-up and re-touch, too on her 7th little debutante's ball :)  ... I used to do many things for her in the last 17 years and (hopefully) in the next 17 more ... she will always be my baby (no matter how much she disagrees lol).

Happy 17th birthday sweetheart.

Six years ago in my bedroom with my 10 year old ...

Monday blues Tuesday therapy expires Wednesday sick ... begging you, please to colour me happi i look back from lilla's blends read this, memories like this, quiet, silly, happi never fails :-)

funny moments with my lil gurl

Lil gurl:  mom why do you drink beer Mom:  its like soda L:  but why do you drink soda and beer instead of water Mom:  for a change Lil gurl: but you hardly drink water so why change Mom:  soda,  beer have water content too Lil gurl:  but still not water Mom:  partly water Lil gurl: not real water Mom: water is boring! Lil gurl: what ….  how can water bore anyone? Mom:  its past your bed time. Go to sleeeepppp Sophia Clarisse

Pixie dusts for Christmas

.

To my Mamang, Lolo Tatay, Lola Meding, Lola Bidang, my in-laws, Betong, Ronnie, Emer and Reden.  Celebrating your memories ...

To my homies ... 'in this together.

To my dearest darling, Sophie ...  i know, for her,  this sucks ... but a mother has to do what it's gotta do ;-)

to my best buds in the whole wide world ... thank you for all the lovin' ... dognuts, bok,  bengbeng, ML, batch, virginie, thermites, abiku, Phiayaya, Lolit Kulit, Lani Gel, Jena Gurl, Mykee, Nettchie, BenT, Fayie, CITEM luvies, GerryB, Minyang, Ca and GMA kiddies, GeloB, Davie, Laine,  Rye, Josh, Roxy Baby

To the love of my life ... love still

Me, cultivating solitude.

A grandmother's love ...

I remember this day at the hospital.  Polymedic's policy allows rooming in only when the mother is functional (at least the basics hehe) ... so i was impatient with myself, and concerned about the delay of breastfeeding my baby --- ive read about colostrum during my entire pregnancy and I was really committed to giving that to my newborn.   The long wait actually made me grouchy, everyone's scared that would trigger post partum LOL (but ive always have legendary mood swings all my life, within and outside pregnancy hahaha ... so there was really nothing spectacular with my hissy fits hehe) .  Mama's excitement made her a bit restless. But then  i had episiotomy during delivery, my perineal muscle was small and rigid, i was exhausted and my opening was taking time to expand so my OB had to cut through (and gladly did not forget to sew it back  arrgghhhhaaaaa) ... it was painful and so i was soooo scared to pee (in fact, until this day, its like a wound that freshens up especially when its colder).  the nurse had to resort in threatening  to put me into urinary catheterization if i still do not use the banyo hayyyy ...   after  24 hours ...  ROOMING IN hurrah!!!!  Catheter was unnecessary, colustrum delivered, our darling Sophie in Lola's sweet arms

*** *** ***

Glued on TV nights ... Soph and I ... we saw this new TVC of McDonald's ... reminded us of my her very young life with Lola Miles ...

In as far as I can remember, in my early 20s, she knowing how involved I was with my career and my travels,and my very looongggg engagement either put in abeyance or on its way to the back door ... my mother explicitly asked me only for 2 things... 1) to get  married   2) to give her an apo ... in that particular order :)

Partially, I was obedient.
I was pregnant at 26 (a condition that made me soooo happy and fulfilled as a woman :) ) ...  uhmmm but was not considering marriage (which shot up my mother's blood pressure to the highest level and was blatant in questioning my set of priorities and my moral values as an educated decent woman arrgghhhh) ... but the plot of this story is not about me and my controversial (at least according to my mother :) )  ways of  prioritization and my unconventional views towards marriage etc etc. My mother knows I've always been radical, as a child, a teenager, an adult .... she put up with that for 36 years :) ... oh well ...

So what does this TVC bring but good old memories of my daughter's childhood well spent with her grandmother.  Lola Miles and Sophie ... Sidekick talaga silang dalawa ... from Day 1 onwards till her last day.  Her last day, hinatid nya pa ang apo nya sa school bus ... Soph was 9 and in Grade 4 at the Montessori.  But the plot of this story is not about that heartbreaking day.  This is not about losses but all that was gained from a grandmother's love of her grandchild.

The last 9 years of my mother's life, and the 1st 9 years of my daughter's they were inseparable.  From NKP to grade school, field trips, school programs,  all Soph's bday celebs, christmases, new years, halloweens, pati flores de mayo ahahah,  Lola Miles was with her in her reading and writing  exercises, swimming lessons, piano lessons, ballet class, vacations in Pangasinan, Baguio, Tanza and Gensan, sa malls, sa resorts, sa Jollibee, sa Mexicali, at sempre pati sa McDo  Umaga hanggang gabi sila ang magkasamang mag-lola. Sa village namin, hindi ako kilala.  Pero silang mag-lola ... landmarks ahaha ... village icons  LOL .... I was Sophie's Mom and Mila's daughter :)

Too bad ... scanner's not working today in time for this entry.  But also not to overpower the TVC, and may be too because all those photos and memories deserve its own page in this journal ... they are just too many prints and imprints ... this mommy is proud to share soon.

Meantime, what can i say ... more than this TVC, but knowing how BIG BIG the LOVE of my Mama to my daughter ... and how beautiful and happy they were together ...  makes me wanna be a (rockstar) Nana, too  some day. ;)

Bracken's Jose Rizal*

*My facebook is active from 12 noon - 12 midnight :) --- Kabitenya time LOL ... jusz add me na lang.  I promise to accept.  :) ... but that's just temporary, pag bumalik na sa dagat ang mga talangka sa utak ko, my FB will  be up and running as it should be.  Don't ask why ... you won't get it anyway, dont sweat, i don't get it myself.  LOL  Luka luka pa din ako.  Hey, 'course I cried over you,  for 6 months, but I've long moved on since then.  People do get over some people, ryte.  Ganun talaga.

(Sometimes, though, too ...  you don't  get over some people.  Ganun talaga.  I've conceded to my destiny.)

***


Here ... memories of you and Sophie ... and us.

This before or after Munich?  Funny, how you always wanted to join me in my trips and, your Visa, Schengen and US, always get declined those days.  But see, how far you've gone now.  Damn, of all places huh, why there!

Tito Denden and Soph at my old office.  Gearing up for CITEM's Kiddie Xmas party.

Answeet,  Lakas mo dyan, ini spoiled mo kasi, hump.  

That's us and my ol' ITSED crew.  Us jusz droppin by at the party.  You my ever persistent school bus. LOL

First grade, and you noticed me. I was an honor student and smelled sunshine, you my friend, was busy playing marbles, and smelled like sun . Remember this class pic, you brought this to CITEM, and showed proudly to Alma and Thelms  ... hey, I miss you, classmate.  God bless. — in Tanza.
***This is posted in my "Past Life" Album in Facebook

*********

eto na yung alaga mo ngayon, 1st year college na Tourism Management sa La Salle.  

Time flies ...

Follow your yellow brick road ...

Sophie's heirlooms

 Some long overdue postings.

Last month, I turned my daughter's room upside down for some major general cleaning.  My penchant for old things ... my talent to safekeep, to document, to archive.   From a trunk of memoirs  i unearthed her sweet gentle days as a baby ...  reminiscin ... 

My pre-natal booklet and her baby record books.   In my attempt to keep both of us in the pinkiest  of health.

This 6 month old chick featured in Baby Magazine September 1997 issue.  Me a proud stage momma LOL

Her first set of tooth bristles:) ... When her first sprouts of  milk teeth started showing up ... I brought her to a pedodontics ... well hehehe me the of kind of obssessive compulsive mom who brings her child to a dentist every 6 months, those regular visits lasted all throughout grade school.  A bit expensive and taxing but worth it.  Sophie's got perfect set of teeth.  Never had toothache.  Never lost one after baby teeth days.  And above all, never afraid of dentists.  So proud of my little girl.  I may be OC, but I think i did a good job here :)  

Mommy the archeologist ... baby's milk teeth catalogued ;)

Her first ballet slippers she wore during class @ St. Paul's, she later continued @ Le Danz :)

Birthday favors ordered from Papemelroti.  Teeny bitsy weeny ring holders in blues and pinks.  Sophie celebrated her "mini debut 7th birthday party" @ Kids at Work, SM City Bacoor.

Top view with my pearl ring inside :)

 Those days ... my daughter, my mama, myself.   My daughter's turning 16 this coming March.  Mama's been gone for  almost 7 years.  When I look at these little things, no longer mundane and mere objects,  it gives a whole lot of meaning, memories of people, events and affection.  

Merry Christmas.