Papogs' opened gift

Christmas this year was a little different. It was the first Christmas eve in my sisters' new house. It was the longest time that Papogs stayed there. We had to make the most out of the time that Lij is here. It's like everyday is a weekend for three weeks, aside from the fact that I couldn't get away with the usual Christmas traditions: cooking spaghetti (five times for the whole month of December), making refrigerated cake (six times) and mommy's fruit salad recipe (twice! we ran out before New year's eve!).

A highlight this Christmas is our gift to Papogs. Just like Ikoy, a couple of days before Christmas, he had been snooping under the Christmas tree to see which wrapped gift/s is his. But his gift wasn’t there! Until the night before Christmas. At the stroke of midnight, we sat around the big and colorful Christmas tree and started giving gifts to each other. He sat at the corner, impatiently waiting for his gift. When there were no gifts left under the tree, he said he was tried and wanted to go the sleep. It was then that we took our gift from the car and gave it to him. Can you see the smile on his face?

He waited until the boys got it out from the box, and set it up. And he said he was sleepy.
But we were happy.
Disclaimer: my share on Papa’s gift is just a fraction, it was mostly from Lij.

Iko's opened gifts

This boy,or should I say, Woody, is probably the luckiest boy in the whole world. But he deserves it. Because he was a very good boy and he patiently waited for the right time that we said, "Pwede na i-open ang gifts mo." To think that it had been standing there, underneath the Christmas tree for several weeks now. From time to time, he checks if his gifts were still there and accounted for. And he would be a little more excited if he finds out that there are new gifts waiting for him.

Mises Potatohead was unwrapped and finally out of the box. It was not Ikoy who was the happiest. It's Mr. Potatohead.

Another long-awaited for gift is Shashing and Kuya Shosh's--- whole else would be happy but Bumblebee because Optimus Prime is here.

Mama Cherub and Bamba had many extra gifts but the main event was Cars! We had him a Cars racing track which specifically requested when he saw in a magazine once. And, we had completed his Cars collection: Lightning Mcqueen and Mater buddies are now here: Chicks, Guido, Doc Hudson, Sally, The King and the Dinoco Helicopter.


Obviously, we were as happy and as excited as Ikoy. Not only because he was very happy of his new toys, but also because it is also OUR new toys. :)

The Magician Strikes Again

He put on his Krispy Kreme magician hat, (that he personally asked the Kripy Kreme staff for...) got the balloon stick as his magician wand and went in front of all of us and announced that he will be performing his magic tricks.





There isn't really a trick this time, but he deserved an applause for being our little baby, turning out to be our little big baby boy...now.

Newest baby in the house

Our newest baby just got home this week. I was hesitating to get another dog, even a "higher"-maintenance dog, a Shih-Tzu. But my sister was right! When I saw him, I couldn't resist. He looks just like his dad, thus the name, YOQUITO, QUITOfor short. The only dog who will be staying inside the house, unlike his ate's and kuya's. The babiest of our babies, he is so fluffy, but does not shed. He doesn't bark, but cries when left alone. He was quiet the first few days, but he gets very excited when I let him out and play with the other dogs.



I don't think the other dogs are jealous. Gabi, Sam-sam, Casper, Cotton and Ginger are happy to have him. Surprisingly, knowing how playful-jumpful-runful Gabi is, he was very careful playing with Yoquito.


After a few days, Denden tells me, "Sakristan mo pala si Yoquito." He follows me everywhere I go. Welcome to our growing family, baby quito.

The wife of Mr. Potatohead

Since Toy Story 3 and Ikoy getting Mr. Potatohead, he has long been searching for Mrs. Potatohead. For Ikoy, she is "Mises" (pronounced as read).

Last week, Mamacherub finally found her. And she's my Christmas gift for Ikoy. But Mamacherub couldn't resist telling the little boy, thus, he didn't stop until I agree to let him see the "Mises."


He played with the box, with Mr. Potatohead. He asked too many questions and told me to me read what's in the box, meticulously looking at the pictures at the back of the box and the accessories inside. He was happy but contentment will only come when the box is opened, and we have to teach him to be patient.

"Nuni, pwede ba si Mr. Potatohead na lang sa loob ng box tapos si Mises na lang sa labas?"

He had to try...

The Magician

Sa Loyola, magkatapat kaming nakaupo ni Ikoy sa maliit na stool. Si Papa, nasa tabi ni Ikoy.

Parang nagningning ang mga mata ni Ikoy at excited siyang sumigaw,
IKOY: Nuni!!! Magmamagic ako!!!

Pinakita niya ang takip ng mineral water sakin. Nilagay sa isang kamay niya. Pagtapos, nilagay niya ang dalawang kamay niya sa likod. Pagkalabas ng dalawang kamay niya, nakasara itong hinarap sakin.

IKOY: Nasan?
Nuni: Dito? (Tinuro ko ang isang kamay.)
IKOY: (Binuksan ang kamay niya.) Wala. (At inulit ang tanong.) Nasan?
Nuni: Dito? (Tinuro ko ang kabilang kamay nya.)
IKOY: (Binuksan ang kamay na ito.) Wala din! (Sabay tayo at kinuha ang takip sa stool.) Ayun! Magic!!

Natuwa kami at mukhang natuwa siyang natuwa kami.

IKOY: Ulit! Isa pa Nuni, magic ulit ako!

Inulit niya ang ginawa nya, tinanong-tanong ulit ako. Pero kinuha ni Papa ang takip bago pa man siya tumayo.

IKOY: Nawawala ang takip! (Nag-aalala.)
Papa: Ito o… nasa ears mo! (Nilabas ni Papa ang takip, waring nanggaling sa tenga ni Ikoy. Mukang naniwala ang bata.)
IKOY: Oo nga! Isa pa Nuni, magic ulit ako!

Inulit niya ang ginawa nya, tinanong-tanong ulit ako. Kinuha ulit ni Papa ang takip.

IKOY: Nasan na yung takip, Papa?
Papa: Ito o… nalaglag galing sa ears mo! (Nilabas ulit ni Papa ang takip, waring nanggaling sa tenga ni Ikoy, sabay nilaglag sa grass. Pinulot ni Ikoy ang takip.)
IKOY: Oo nga! Isa pa Nuni, magic ulit ako!

Unulit niya ang ginawa niya, pagkatapos ako tanung-tanungin, kinuha ni Papa ang takip pero sa pagkakataong ito, ayaw ilabas ni Papa.

IKOY: Papa, nasan na ang takip?
Papa: Hindi ko alam, hindi ko kinukuha.
IKOY: Ano yang takip na nasa hands mo?
Papa: Hindi ito sayo, takip ito ng water ko!

Naghanap ni Ikoy sa stool, sa grass, sa paligid, hindi niya makita. Humawak siya sa tenga nya, ginalaw galaw ito, tumalon-talon ng hawak ang tenga, nakabaling sa gilid ang ulo, sabay tumingin sa grass.

IKOY: Wala naman sa ears ko. Hindi naman nalaglag sa grass.

Tawa kami ng tawa lahat.

Para sa taong nag-aabang ng susunod na blog entry ko.

Hindi ko alam kung ano ang sasabihin ko sayo.
Hindi ko din alam ang gagawin ko.

Kapag sumigaw ako, lalabas ba ang bigat ng nararamdaman mo?
Kapag nalungkot ba ako, sasaya ka ba kahit konti?
Kapag nasaktan ako, mababawasan ba ang sakit mo?
Kapag umiyak ba ako, konti na lang ba ang iluluha mo?

Marahil,
Hindi.
Pero,
Sana.

Pupuntahan kita.
Makikinig ako.
Sasamahan ka.
Yayakapin kita ng mahigpit.

Happy days are here again..

I got the "Belen" out of its box when the ---ber month started. One by one, I started finding the right gifts for each person on my list. My sister and I were shopping one time and I saw this cute ceramic Christmas tree, and I thought it will be a perfect match to our cute "Belen."


Though Ikoy was worried when he saw the tree, "Nuni, saan mo ilalagay ang gifts? Maliit yung Christmas tree, walang ilalim." I just had to explain to him that I will put the gifts under my sisters' Big Christmas Tree.

It has been a while since I last wrote here. Perhaps because I didn't want to write about not-so-good-stuff. But I promise (to those waiting...) I will try to catch up. I'm starting to smell Christmas air, and lately, I got inspired with Glee's Duets episode,... happy days are here again.

Mother's Day

Ginger gave birth to three baby puppies this Mother's Day morning. This makes her a first-time-mom and thus eligible to be greeted a happy mother's day.

To my mommy Rose who's the best mom in the world, I miss you.

Happy mother's day to all moms!

Universal Studios Singapore

Even though they were only on soft opening and the Battlestar Gallactica had to stop operations, we still decided that after all the trips here, Universal Studios was new so we had to go and see.

For SGD66, it had a 10 dollar meal voucher and a 5 dollar souvenir voucher because of the soft opening. Nice shows: Lights Camera Action Hosted by Steven Spielberg where you get to be in a major hurricane hit movie set. Waterworld, based on the movie, was a different live water show which I found amusing. Also Shrek 4-D Adventure. I had a chance to meet Alex and the gang and took some pictures.

My favorite rides were Revenge of the Mummy, indoor roller coaster like Hongkong Disneyland’s Space Mountain, but better. And Adventure Rapids, like Enchanted Kingdom’s Rio Grande Rapids, but so much better.

Food was affordable, which was unexpected. The 10 dollar voucher could be good for lunch already. Overall, it was a soft opening, there were many people but not too much to cause a queue of more than 50 minutes, at most. The one whole day was almost enough. I thought I’d just want to see it once, but then, we’ll see in the future...

Leaving on a Jet Plane

This is for owner of the elephant.

From Armageddon, one of her favorite movies, one of her favorite songs.

The previous entry is somewhat a prelude to this entry. We have vowed that whatever happens, we will not take jobs outside the country or outside of Metro Manila for that matter. We could go abroad for a few days, to weeks, to at most, a month, but no further. The reason, we do not want to be any more distant apart than the 30 kilometers of Marikina and Paranaque, or Quezon City. ---From Papa, from Mommy and from each other. Whatever happens to our country’s economy, we will not leave the Philippines and migrate somewhere else because we don’t want long distance family relationships, and we can’t leave papa, who wouldn’t want to leave his house in Marikina.

About a few months ago, I received a text message from her, calling for Sisters’ Meeting. I paused for a while, thought what kind of news does she have. After a while, I knew better. We finally got to talk and she confessed that her company wants to send her to Singapore for TWO years!

Yes, two years. That is 24 months and 730 days. Yes, Singapore—that is 3000 kilometers from Manila. Immediately, I didn’t want her to go. Cherub, on the other hand, wanted to be open minded. She explained that the offer was good and she could go home any time. Yeah, I heard that from my best friend. And for the almost five years that she was in Singapore, I just saw her twice or thrice a year.

After a while, she said that she declined the job because their company lowered the salary. So we were happy again. But a few weeks ago, she said that they really wanted to send her and brought back the original salary offer. And she’s going.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooo!!!


She doesn’t even know how to cook rice. All she can cook are: pancakes, fried eggs and hotdog! What about Saturday night sleepovers? Going to malls? Who'll take care of her when she's sick? She couldn’t even wash her clothes without me and Cherub. Ikoy will miss her. She is Papa's favorite. A lot can happen in years and she can’t be home only on special occasions.

After some time, I still do not want her to go. But after this same time, I had to accept it. She didn’t want to go either but she needed this for her job. And she says, for the money, so that she could immediately finish paying off their housing loan.

And now, we are counting the days till all her bags are packed and she sings:

So kiss me and smile for me Tell me that you’ll wait for me Hold me like you’ll never let me go Cause I’m leaving on a jet plane Don’t know when I’ll be back again Baby, I hate to go.

I am just holding on to her promise that she’ll go home as often as she could. I am also hoping that we could get Papa to visit her there. Though I am one hundered percent sure that she'll do just fine, I pray that it won’t be too difficult for her. Or else, it will be more than one Singapore trip this year.

Proud Ate

Ever since I can remember, I was only referred to as an “Ate,” i.e. yung ate ko… But I was never really called one. I think my parents forgot to teach this to my sisters. They just call me by my first name/nickname. I am not ranting though. To be honest, I do not feel an “Ate” at most times, with these two sisters.

We all studied on the same schools during elementary and high school. But these two, they had medals and awards, and they belong to the popular group. They both graduated as scholars in college, after exactly four years. To date, one of them works for a multi-national pharmaceutical company, following, and exceeding the footsteps of our mom, and the other one is on public relations for one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world.

What will be their most recent achievement is buying a new house, adding up their savings for an initial payment, and having the guts to get a loan for the remaining balance. I love the house ++++ plus, the location. I am hoping and praying, and keeping my fingers crossed, that Papa would agree to live with them so that we’ll be nearer to each other.

Yes, I am a proud “Ate.” For the successes and achievements of my sisters. I see a combination of Mommy’s traits on both of them. Lij’s strong will and courage while Cherub’s charisma and wit. I look up to them in most ways.

We lost our mommy nine years ago. We have our dad, who is a constant reminder of our mommy (being the opposite of her). But mommy told us that we should take care of each other. Being the eldest, I did not have to stand as a mother to my sisters. Obviously, there is no need. Aside from the fact that there is no replacement for our mother, having each other, ---supporting each other, being always present in good and bad times, standing by each one's decision--- that is enough to keep our lives going.

I am proud, not only because of my sisters’ accomplishments in life, but also because they are my sisters. Not only because of the same blood that runs through our veins that connects us, but also because of our hearts that are bonded with love.

The Cars Party

1. Cars Cake
2. Balloons
3. Banner
4. Pabitin
5. Pinata
6. Games
7. Lootbags
8. The Cars costumes
9. Playmates
10. Friends
11. Family
12. Jollibee chicken and spaghetti
13. More food
14. Ice cream and fondue

All for the love of Iko, the happiest Lightning McQueen, still and always our baby.

Lightning McQueen’s request

IKO: Pwede ba ako magbirthday party sa bahay ganda nuni?
NUNI: Anong bang gusto mo sa birthday mo?
IKO: Cars na cake.

For his fourth birthday, we wanted to give him more than the Cars cake. A birthday party with our very own CARS costume. Made from cardboard and poster paint, each us of had our own character. Of course, Iko is Lightning McQueen, Papa is Doc Hudson, MamaCherub is Sally while Bamba is The King. Denden and Kuya Shosh are the front and back of Mack. Shashing is Mater and I was Guido.

We spent the last three weekends designing, cutting and taping. And the painting. And here is our finished product. Iko had his share of making the Cars. And we were all excited for his birthday.

New Year, New Baby

As we welcome the new year, we also welcome a new baby to our growing family. He is small(now), handsome, cuddly and black. Cherub and Nikulet named him Gabi. I call him Gab/Gab-gab.

When we got him, he had a wound on his neck, that's why I chose to take him. But he doesn't seem to care because he is so playful, running around with his new brother and sisters. He has bigger toes, than the three, even if he's still a baby. That's why I like bathing him when his wound healed.

A vaccum cleaner, he eats three times more and three times faster than Casper, Cotton and Ginger. An intelligent dog, I like it when he makes eye contact. He knows he's the baby and we can't resist when he wants to come inside the house and sleep with Denden.

Everytime I go home, I open the door of the car and he immediately climbs up on the driver's seat, wanting to be carried to the passenger's seat. Then he keeps on kissing me, as if saying he missed me.

Can't wait for Gab to grow up. I still love Casper and Cotton, and Ginger. But I admit, Gabi's my favorite.