Finding Closure and Moving On

I was supposed to write a post about our Christmas get-together with some of my college bestfriends, but I got home late last night from the village party and got into a petty fight with someone.

So I decide to write a closure-post to conclude my previous one.

Last Friday, I wrote about our ex-yaya who shall not be named. I really hope that will be the last time I have to mention her here. She really doesn't deserve the space.

Majority of the comments said I should file a report once and for all. We're looking into it and just waiting for stronger evidence of rumor-mongering (since she was already warned by the police a couple of months ago).

Some comments said I should block her and, to put it into Filipino, wag nang pumatol. As I mentioned in the post, we already blocked her. I know the best thing to do is to ignore her, but honestly, it's hard to do that when she's just a few houses away.

To make it worse, I suspect that a couple of neighbors, one of whom I mentioned in my previous post, are feeding her with more lies. So we're waiting for someone to come up to prove it.

But here's what God made me realize:

Source: followpics.co

Sooner or later, the people who believe their stories will realize the truth from the lies.

And I think that I should do this:

What Would You Do When Your Ex-Yaya Attacks You?

I was hesitant to write this post a week before Christmas but I just need to let my feelings out.

I'm so mad I'm shaking.

Despite everything she did to us, I never expected her to have the gall to insult us and personally attack us. I thought now that the ex-yaya is gone from our house, we will finally have peace and quiet. But because she's just living a few houses away from us, she's still messing with us!

Okay, before you imagine a physical tulakan and hilahan ng buhok, no, that's not what happened. After everything that happened, I doubt we will go within 5 feet away from her.

(Warning: Long post. Also, please understand if my grammar is flawed. I'm stressed haha. Correct me na lang.)

Here's what happened. We were back from carolling, which the village association does for the prizes for the Christmas party, when I saw my sister in tears at her laptop.

I saw that she was exchanging private messages with the ex-yaya who shall not be named. I quickly saw the latter cursing my 13-year old sister.

Why? Because she got angry when my sister said "LOL."

Don't believe me? Here are screenshots of the first exchange:

Sister: Di ko nga alam saan yun LOL

Ex-yaya: Hoy Coco, ang bata mo pa, wag mo akong ma-LOL LOL

Sister: Ano bang ibig sabihin ng LOL?

Ex-yaya: Matuto ka ng good manners, tumahimik ka.

Sister: ...

Ex-yaya: Ang yabang mo!Porket dati ina-under nyo lang ako, ini-easy easy nyo lang ako

Sister: Lumabas na ang totoo mong ugali, palakpakan.

Ex-yaya: Ah ganun? Sino lang ang totoong (sorry I don't understand nigas). Baka kayo! Sabi ng mga kapitbahay wala daw nagtatagal sa inyo dahil sa ugali nyo. Ikaw ang yabang2 mo na ang bata mo pa.

FACT: She was our only regular helper. She was lying.

(More after the jump.)

Good Riddance: Sending Yaya Away

It's final; we finally sent Honey away. But it wasn't the civil, peaceful sendoff I was hoping for. No, it was the kind of sendoff Honey wanted: dramatic and scandalous, the stuff telenovelas are made of, with matching police presence to boot.

Look Sexy or Be Prudent?

Last Monday, just when I barely recovering (haha oa) from the blogger fiasco that happened last Sunday, I discovered another fiasco.

Itago na lang natin sya sa pangalang Honey.

Old readers would know who she is; for the new stumblers (hello!), Honey is Yuri's yaya.

Yes she's still here (here's the reason why). In fairness to her, other than her usual carelessness and "sabaw" moments, she hasn't done anything drastic since this experience.

Until last Sunday. Can you guess what happened?

I didn't want to write yet another yaya woe, but I'm seriously baffled with this case and I want to know your insights.

HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED.

Last Thursday, she asked me if I could lend her a dress. I asked, what for? She said it's for a cocktail party activity in school, where they are taught how to serve and etiquette I guess. Since it's for school, I immediately said yes. I have no other cocktail dress so I let her borrow this:

This is our batchbook from college; I'm the third one from the left (never mind that I'm the fattest). Now, take a good look at that dress and take note of the length, too. That's short, right?

Then the day after, she also asked to borrow a pair of shoes. The annoying part was that she had already chosen for herself the shoes she wanted before she asked me. But that's not the issue.

On Monday morning, I found out that she arrived home the night before (Sunday) at already 12 midnight. She's usually expected to arrive at before 9pm. What was the reason?

She skipped school and didn't attend her afternoon classes because she wanted to go home to her province in Davao del Norte. Nope she didn't tell us. We only found out when she got home.

Just a few months after we almost sent her away because she went home without asking for our permission and she did it again! Not to mention that she cut classes; nag-aaral kaya talaga to?

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE.

She arrived at our house at 12 midnight still wearing my short cocktail dress.

Choose to be Good

I have a confession to make.

I regret writing all those negative posts about my yaya. Don't get me wrong; they are all true. And it did feel good to finally let the rants out from my system. But afterward, it's still me who has to deal with the negativity, and it's me who indelibly marked my blog with complaints that are better left in my private life.

And most of all, I failed to keep this blog positive (little pieces of happy? seriously, Maan?) and more importantly, God-glorifying.

I tried to uplift the situation by reminding myself that despite her many flaws and offenses, I am extremely blessed to have her as she does truly love my son like her own brother. To be honest, I don't know what I would have done without her. It occurred to me that I might not find another yaya who loves Yuri as much as she does.

But I guess it was too late; negativity has already prevailed.

I shared this with Job the other night. Actually, I kept the details a secret because he knows Honey's offenses, and if he knows I'm referring to her, he would surely take my side. As seeker of his advice, I wanted - needed - him to be neutral.

I told him about it as vaguely as possible. I mentioned that lately, I was being mean and it's disconcerting (for me) how easy it's becoming for me to speak ill of another person.

He wisely chose to not give me a sermon (he never does, actually). Instead, he told me this (translated to English from Filipino):

The truth is that we are given only two choices in life: the good and the bad. As Christians, we should always strive to do what's right in God's eyes, even if most of the time, it's the harder choice.

His words were very simple, but they hit my core. Yes, Job is right. I can only choose to either do good or do bad, and for God, I should strive to always choose good. Do good, speak good, even see good.

Then he gave me a Bible verse. I initially thought it would have to be a sermon or a warning. But I was wrong as Job's verse for me was no other than God's Promise of Restoration:

Image: http://christianvinylwallart.com

I know that context-wise, it was a promise meant for Israel, but heart-wise, I know God also has me in mind during that time. There was truly no verse more perfect than this one that God told Job to give me!

I felt so blessed with the promise that despite my many flaws and offenses (sound familiar?), I will be forgiven as I am loved.

Which reminds me to always choose forgiveness and love, too. Let's choose to do good.

PS: If I happen to have single readers out there, I pray that you find a Christian man who has a personal relationship with the Lord and is strong enough in faith to guide you spiritually. Amen?

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Things I Wish My Yaya Would Stop Doing

So our yaya's here to stay, at least until the semester ends and until she's finally able to pay her debt in full. I explained last time that before, we decided to let her off the hook, but because of her "offenses," we decided to make her pay.

Unlike most of the comments I received, no we're not being too kind employers to let her stay. We just really don't have a choice for now.

And to be honest? I can see Honey's effort to improve herself. Who knows? It's not yet too late for her to change, diba?

Now, I always say that I'm very contented Honey as Yuri's yaya, Honey, and that's true. That's primarily because she really loves and adores Yuri as if he was her own brother. So I'm hoping she'd change the other flaws in her character.

Since it's possible that she'll be remaining with us until the end of the year or early next year, I want to make it as pleasant as possible. For that to happen, there are things I wish she'd stop doing. You must be wondering why I don't just go ahead and tell her. Simple. We tell her about these things many times but she doesn't really follow!

I wish she would stop:

Yuri's Booboo, Victoria Osteen, and Other Stories

Unlike many other girls I know, I really can't say I grew up a tomboy. I would be a disgrace to them if I call myself a tomboy. I don't even know how to play patintero!

I was the kind of child who preferred reading books, going to my friends' houses to "bond" and "talk." You can say that I was (and am) pretty much a sissy.

Which comes as a major disadvantage, I learned, if one becomes a mom to a toddler boy. That's my first story. Here it goes.

1. Yuri's Booboo

I already grew accustomed to my 2-year old's daily antics which came with regular bumps and falls. I've gotten over those already. What I may never get over, though, is blood and broken skin!

Especially when it's mere millimeters from the eyes! Lord, thank you!

They were playing on Friday afternoon in the living room when I heard a bump and a scream. Turns out Honey wasn't looking and Yuri hit the sharp corner of a cabinet. Poor boy! And he was so mabait that after crying a bit and nursing, he just went back to his happy self.

I actually placed a corner cushion there, but it was such an eyesore that we took it off again. Anyway, Yuri knows how to avoid it. How wrong was I? Right after the accident, I had Honey put it back again.

Lesson learned: an eyesore is better than a black eye!

2. Yaya Update: Honey's Still Here

Yaya Woes: Probably the Last Straw

Last week, I talked about how we got so mad at Honey, Yuri's yaya, for insisting to go home (even when she just went home several weeks before) and for insulting us.

Of course, when she got home Monday morning, we scolded her, and because she insulted us - my mom especially - we made the decision to just pull her out from school and let her go.

(What made her and her sister's remarks especially insulting was that we were planning to give her a graduation blowout and completely erase all of her debts. Tapos ganun pala ang sinasabi nila about our efforts?!)

But after seeing her cry, repent, and ask for one more chance (spot the movie lines), we decided to forgive her and let her continue schooling and working.

However, we wanted to talk to her sister and/or mother. But she cried again and begged us not to. Hmmm.

False-Alarm Kidnapping, Firing Yaya, and Other Stories

The past weekend was Kadayawan weekend and we originally planned it to be a weekend of mindless mall-hopping and (window) shopping. But more things happened that made a supposed uneventful weekend, well, eventful!

I'll start with the regular, steady stuff before I tell you about the juicy stories, ah-key?

1. My Only Kadayawan Find

There must be something wrong with me because I am no longer excited by sales. Mas excited pa ako for book sales and garage sales hehe. So despite the many sales all over the city, unsurprisingly, this was the only thing I bought:

Montessori Letter Work

I first discovered this book in my internerd-blackhole, bookdepository.com (you're welcome), and it's unique because it uses the Montessori concepts of textured letters (Google sandpaper letters) and teaching children not letter names but letter sounds. I subscribe to these philosophies so I knew I had to get it.

In the website, it costs $11, free shipping, or around P473. It's quite pricey for a board book, and while I'm willing to invest in it, I just had to shop around. That led me to local bookstore chain, Fully Booked, that sells it for only P398! Almost P100 less! Yay!

So yesterday, first thing we did was go to Fully Booked in Abreeza and when I finally found it, I never let go. Haha!

But the best thing was that when I was paying for it, the cashier told me it was on sale, so it was now just P318! Perfect! Based on the original $11 price, I saved... do the math!

2. The "Stores" I've Been Waiting for are Finally Here!

Yaya Woes: Disrespectful, Ungrateful

I'm supposed to blog about my birthday today but couldn't because I'm in such a high negative emotional state.

Anyone with a yaya or a maid will understand the "woes" that come with their service. I have a fair share of these woes, but I don't usually air them out here on my blog because I want to keep it positive and God-glorifying.

Also, I'm generally a forgiving perso. I don't like to hold grudges. Offense now, forget later. That's what I do to avoid stress and to try to please God. But this time, it's different. The things and values that I so uphold are compromised.

Photo: http://meetville.com/

Before I rant and before you judge me as a really strict and inflexible employer, let me give you some background.

First, Yuri's yaya is not a "full-time" yaya. I'm the one who feeds Yuri all three meals. I'm the one who bathes him. I'm the one who makes him go potty and wash him after. Sometimes it's also me who washes his soiled undies. I'm also the one who gets him to take a nap in the afternoon and cleans him up at night.

His yaya only takes care of him from around 8:30am - 11:45am and 3pm - 5:30pm. You read it right. She's completely free from lunchtime to 3pm. And when Yuri has to go potty during her "shift," I take over.

Second, even if her absences are frequent, there never was a "bawas" in her sweldo. Heck, I don't even subtract from her salary what I lose in mine due to the absences.

I hope you see that she has a lighter workload than most yayas. I treat her sooo well. I couldn't understand why she doesn't reciprocate.

It's Back to Work Monday!!!

Image from Google

Wow, it's Monday! Gah! Did you also have a long vacation? How did you spend it? Mine was spent just at home. We didn't go anywhere because of my father's arthritis, so I have nothing exciting to share. But I will still blog because it's been days since I have last written!

Like you, office-going folks, I also had a three-day vacation last week. It's actually unplanned, and I would still work if I could, but the yaya requested for a vacay so...

Her vacation started on early morning of Friday and I was excited to be a full-time mom to Yuri of course. She was to return on Sunday evening.However, she did not go back last night. She actually sent us a message asking if she could return on Monday instead, but we firmly said no because we know Monday's going to be hectic. I expected her to follow our instructions, but she did not. Instead, she disobediently returned just this morning.

Actually, she even requested to go home on Thursday afternoon. Hay naku, ano ba?

It's just sad that even though she had a long vacation, she was not grateful to have it, and she even went against our request. By the way, just to show you that we're not super strict employers, she already had a 4-day vacation last January. The law states that they're entitled to 5-day vacation leaves per year. Plus, she always uses her day-offs (Sundays) to the max as she doesn't go home until around midnight.

Hay.

It just made this Monday, when I have too much to do, more stressful. But I can manage with God's grace. Thank you, Jesus! And thank you for conquering death and sin more than 2000 years ago. Victory was, is, and will always be yours! You've never been dead since then; you are alive and I proclaim you the Son of God, the true Christ! I will always be singing you praises!

PS: I have sooo much blogging to do! Hopefully, I can publish all of my pending drafts as soon as possible.

PPS: Have you seen the movie, Son of God? I saw it last Thursday, and so far, it's my most favorite film about Jesus. It may not be 100% accurate, as all movies are, but I like it because it gave the message that the Resurrection is not the end of Jesus' mission but only the beginning. Isn't that just wonderful?

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Yaya-less for 4 days!

I'm finally back to the daily grind! I actually started working yesterday, but I wasn't able to do much because the students were still in vacation-mode. I focused instead on creating posts and scheduling them so that I can focus on working in the next weeks.

If you can only hear me, you can tell that I'm giddy. Based on the posts I see on social media, it seems like I'm the only one excited to return to work! My reason is that I've been yaya-less for 4 days, and it's much more tiring than working for 8 hours a day. To housewives and SAHMs, grabe, I salute you!

To some of you, just four days would be sisiw, but please keep in mind that this is single mom speaking! :D

Just to make it clear, I do not not like being with Yuri 24/7. However, I also miss the "rest" that working can provide me. Also, I need to earn money! Buying too many gifts this past Christmas season has seriously taken a toll on my wallet!

I've never felt so tired in my life! Okay, that's an exaggeration, but this time, it's different because I had to be on my feet the entire 4 days. To relive the days I've been without a yaya, here are some photos I took during Day 2. One day lang because on Day 1, which was Sunday, we were out the whole day, Day 3 was New Year's Eve, and Day 4 was January 1st. I was too busy to take photos.

During that day, we stayed inside the house. It was too hot to be outside! It was even humid in the living room, so we resorted to just staying inside the bedroom. Thank you, Lord, for the gift of air-conditioning. Anyway, here are the photos I was able to take:

It's you and me today, momma!

The buckets of toys are on the bed.

 We also read one of Yuri's new books, Sandra Boynton's "Rhinoceros Tap."

And ate snacks. In bed! #breakingtherules #medyobadgirl hahaha!

And practiced playing his puzzles.

It was really hot that day, see. Too hot to be outside - and still too hot to be running inside!

So I committed a major parenting blunder and watched TV with my kid.

What I Overheard from the Weekend

I have plenty of overheard lines during the weekends because that's when everybody is at home. Well, most of the time. This time, naisipan kong i-lista para maipost. Here are the lines I overheard from the past weekend:

Naughty Kids

My 11-year old sister seriously playing with Yuri:

Two rabbits. One girl. One boy. Loving each other. In the middle of the night.

Ha? Ano daw?!

Di bale sintunado, basta tama ang lyrics mo

While playing with Yuri and listening to the radio, Honey always bursts out singing. This time, I had to keep myself from laughing:

Honey:

All I wanted was to break your walls; All you ever did was wreck me; Yeah, you, rikitik me!

At naging comedy bigla ang kanta ni Miley.

Di bale sintunado, basta tama ang lyrics mo part II

Honey: This girl's on the fiiiire!

Good luck, girl!

What Yuri thinks of me

Yuri (points to his lolo): Yayu!
(Points to his lola): Iya!
(Points to his tita): Dinda!

(Points to me): Dede!

What Yuri thinks of Yayu

Yuri: (points to photo of gorilla) Yayu!

What Yuri thinks of dede

Yuri facing my boob AKA dede: Cat!

I don't know why he calls my boobs "cat"! Weird kid. There was also a time when before breastfeeding, he mumbled gibberish, made an attempt to make the sign of the cross (the parentals are Catholic) before he suckled! Okay ka din, Yuri!

Old times, good times

In Facebook, an old classmate of mine suddenly sent me a message. He said the usual kamusta and commented that Yuri was very cute daw. Of course, I was flattered but confused because we don't really talk. After a while, he said:

Would you like to double your income?

Panalo ka, classmate! If you happen to read this, peace! By the way, this reminds me of a WORSE experience from the recent past.

On water and clean jokes

Yuri-isms: Houston, We Have A Problem

I'm proud that Yuri can consistently speak a list of words already. I mentioned here, in fact, that Yuri's first word is "car" or "taw."

Yaya Woes: 

Now, some smart aleck taught Yuri "taxi." There are a few taxis that pass our street, especially in the afternoon. Yuri used to point at them and saw "taw." This smart aleck had the smart idea to say, "No, Yuri, taxi." Wut?

Suffice to say, Yuri got confused. Of course, he'll get confused. He's just 17 months old. Taxis and cars look exactly the same! How can he know which is the regular "taw" and which are "si" (taxi)?

Worse, Yuri now refuses to say "taw." Every car he sees he now calls a taxi or "si"! Oh noes! Lagot ka sa aking yaya ka! I'm spending time now correcting this error para hindi na lumaki ang damage. Ano daw?

On a lighter note:

Yuri has more words in his list now, and they are more meaningful! Chos! He now has a "mama" in his vocabulary, although I'm pretty sure it doesn't pertain to me. Boo! Funnily, I think Yuri says "mama" to refer to his lolo! Hahaha!

Here are the other new words in his list:

ta - cat
tis - cheese
wa - Wow!
tata - chacha (sorry)
do - dog
du - duck
shi - sheep
sawa - sarap
mmmm - not a word, but he always says this when eating hehe
dow - go!
dahti - dirty

And grudgingly,

si - taxi

That's all I remember for now. Aside from mundane words, he also developed two meaningful phrases. These are titu (thank you) and sowi (sorry). Amazingly, he can use them in the proper context:

1. When you give Yuri something, he will say titu! He also says this when he gives you something and you don't say thank you. Hahaha! A warm round of applause for my 17-month old etiquette police!

2. I always say "sorry" whenever I accidentally hit Yuri or spill his water or something like that. I guess Yuri latched on to the habit easily. Whenever he hits me accidentally or spill his food and drink, he also says, "sowi"! The funny thing is that when he accidentally hits himself, he also says, "sowi"!

Yuri the Meat Eater

I have recently started Yuri on his meats. I know that's a bit too late, but I decided not to give him tough meats until his 18th month. Before, I only gave him pork and chicken liver and, occassionally, chicken. Now, I gave him pork. 

I thought he won't like it, but to my surprise, he set the rice aside and only ate meat! OMG. Anak ka nga ng tatay mo. Both of us don't eat much rice but are avid meat eaters. It runs in the blood?

Yuri the Maarte:

One of the words in the list above is "dahti" or dirty. When Yuri sees a spot on our tiled floor, he stops running, points to the spot, and says "dahti"! He is also careful not to step on the spot (or dirt).

One morning, the yaya took him outside the house, just in our yard (yard pertains to the narrow strip of red-cemented area outside the house). Earlier before that, the yaya watered our plants so obviously, basa ang sahig. Yuri refused to take one step on it. He clung to his yaya and pointed to the floor and said:

Dahti!!!

Nakakaloka. Houston, we have a problem.

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Internet and Yaya Woes

God has tested me last week. I thought it was over, but this week, test ulit! My gehd!

Since yesterday pa wala kaming connection. Our provider is PLDT-DSL, by the way. Mom's going to their office today to ask bakit hanggang ngayon wala pa rin kaming internetz.

If you're like me who works from home and tries to maintain a blog, this is bad news talaga. And I haven't seen my Instagram feed in over  a day! #withdrawalsymptoms

Thank goodness we have a Smart Bro plugit stick. I made paload ulit yesterday when I remembered, oo nga pala, di nga pala makaconnect sa laptop ko!!! Buti na lang my mom was at home yesterday. I borrowed her laptop and plugged the Smart Bro stick in and got online. Only to find zero essays in queue. You see, these days, there are only essays in the website in the morning. Sa hapon wala na. Eh yesterday, I only remembered to use the Smart Bro in my mom's laptop in the afternoon. Oh well.

My mom left her laptop today so that I can work using it. I'm squeezing in some blog posts, too. Thanks, mama!

So this is my current setup for the day. Two laptops, one SmartBro stick. One Maan trying to cope. Chos.

What gives, PLDT? Why me? Hahaha. I'm wondering what drivers are needed in my laptop din so that I can use the SmartBro stick in it. Can anyone help me?

I really need these bunch of empanadas right now.

My mom made those yesterday. Really yummy! Come to think about it, the empanadas were the highlight of my day yesterday!

PS: To all well-meaning commenters, here's the update about my yaya's barang situation. 

Good news: Right after I told her to call her relatives to get their mother to the doctor, they apparently did go to the hospital to have her checked up.

Bad news: Apparently, the doctor's findings was that their mother has cancer. As to what kind of cancer I don't know. I didn't ask.

Worse news: I asked Honey what they planned to do. Here's what she said:

Ate, sabi ng doctor cancer daw. Pero ayaw maniwala nila auntie. Sabi ng lahat ng mananambal (albularyo) sa amin, barang daw talaga. Hindi daw totoo sabi ng doctor. Kaya hindi na namin ipapa-ospital. Pupunta daw sila dun sa isang mananambal sa (I forgot where). Gagaling daw sya dun. 

I didn't say anything na after that. I can't go on insisting they get medical help. It's their family, so the decision is up to them. I feel I've done enough. After all, I also don't want to seem nanghihimasok. All I could do is pray for the mother.

I guess I needed that empanada after all.

PS: The header's new again. The About Me widget, too. I got bored again so...

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Yaya Woes: Barang

Image from www.realmagick.com

I'm stressing out now because I don't know how to handle Honey (Yuri's nanny - hey it rhymes!) anymore. She's been causing us a lot of petty problems already. However, I do know that we need her, and that even though she's far from perfect, we're lucky she's not like other yayas.

Just this afternoon, at 1pm, (before I even got to eat my lunch!), when I called her, she went out from her bedroom crying. I asked her bakit. She said wala lang. Now, you need to know that I still haven't eaten lunch already. I told her, Hindi ako tanga. What's wrong with you?!

She said she received a text message from her relatives in her hometown. (That's one of our complaints about her - she's always texting!!!). They told her daw that their mother was nabarang. For the non-Bisayas, it's similar to nakulam. I didn't know how to react because - ugh! - I don't like it when people believe in superstitions especially when it's a serious matter. Like health.

She said lumalaki daw tiyan ng nanay nila. Mamatay daw. I asked if they went to the doctor already. Sabi nila wala pa. That's when I lost my cool already (please take note that I was still in the process of preparing my lunch).

What?! So anong gagawin nyo? 

She didn't answer me. In short, walang ginawa. I was thinking, what are these people thinking? So I prodded, Do you believe in God? 

Oo ate.

So bakit ka naniniwala sa barang? 

My point is that they're acknowledging the power of the devil in their lives by being afraid of the so-called barang. They're not even acknowledging God or healing! My gehd! I told her, May general hospital naman sa inyo diba? She said yes. And you have PhilHealth? Meron daw. So what are you waiting for? Isugod nyo na sa ospital!

My gehd. Nakakastress. These people know that their mother's stomach is getting huge already and they're just sitting there, fearing the mambabarang. 

They don't know that when they acknowledge the power of barang, they're acknowledging the power of the devil, when they should have known that calling Jesus Christ would thwart the devil. And God did give us the blessing and miracle of modern day treatments.

Your thoughts please?

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Yaya Woes: On College and Interview-Phobia

Hey, there! Sorry for the lack of real posts lately. I have been quite busy taking care of Y because the yaya just took a leave of absence for a couple of days. She's still here at home, but she had to go to school for her exams, interview, and enrollment, and she had to buy school supplies as well.

Oh, she's starting college tomorrow. She's now officially enrolled in Assumption College of Davao (where we all graduated elementary and high school). They have kasi Sunday school program for students who need to work in the weekdays. Isn't that nice?

Photo credit: http://www.stmarkscarmel.org/

My parents didn't have this opportunity back then, and they, especially my mom, had to work in the morning and go to school in the evening (or vice versa).

That was why she (my mom) was so mad when Honey (the yaya) told her the other night she does not to go to school anymore.

It all began last Wednesday night. My mom just got home because she made appointments for Honey's exam and interview for the next day. See, my mom is a busy woman, but she made time for this. After knowing that she's going to be interviewed, she started acting fidgety. I dismissed it, thinking that she's nervous for the exams.

The next afternoon, she went to school for her appointments. She left at 1pm. At around 4pm, I discovered she was online on FB. I thought, "Baka tapos na exam and interviews." Finally, at 5pm, she got home. However, she said that she only took the exam but not the interview. "Bakit?!"

Honey: Bukas na lang daw sabi ni ma'am. 

Mama: Pano mangyayari yun eh ako mismo nag-setup ng appointment mo for interview? 

Honey: Hindi ko po alam. Yun po sinabi sa akin kanina.

I thought, Oh no! I have to miss work again tomorrow? I cannot afford to miss work anymore. But we couldn't do anything, so I did not say anything.

Later that night, she talked to my mom:

Honey: Ate, hindi na lang po muna ako mag-aaral.  

Mama: Ha? Last sem ka pa dapat enrolled diba? Tapos sabi mo, this year na lang. Ngayon ayaw mo na naman? Kailan ka pa mag-aaral nyan? 

Honey: Nahihiya na po kasi ako sa inyo. 

Mama: Ngayon ka pa nahiya? Nangitim na ako kakaasikaso ng papers mo? Pati NSO birth certificate mo ako nag-asikaso kasi iniwan mo sa inyo? Gumastos na rin ako? Tapos ngayon sasabihin mo ayaw mo na? Umayos ka ha!

Trust me, my mom is a good woman, but you won't like her when she's mad.

And you know why Honey suddenly decided she doesn't want to go to school anymore? Kasi takot sa interview.

Huwat???!!! Ka-stress, diba???

Hija, chismisan-level lang ang interview with the guidance counsellor. Takot ka na sa enrollment interview, pano ka mag-apply ng trabaho in the future? Hello???

Good thing natauhan naman sya. My mom really "knocked" her into place (figuratively lang ha, not literally, baka naman ma-chismis kami). I'm glad to say she's already done with two exams and an interview, complete na school supplies nya, and I think she's prepared for college na tomorrow. :-)

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Stories over the Weekend

Woah, where did the time go? I compiled all the stories that happened last weekend and saved it for a mid-week post, pero Thursday na pala. #fail

Well, it's not too late, is it? Actually, my weekend was pretty ordinary. It was uneventful, but I guess that's the beauty of it. When you take time to see things more deeply, you turn an ordinary weekend into an extraordinary one. That was deep.

Without further ado, these are the stories that happened over the weekend:

1. Honey the atat yaya

Last Friday, we went to another clinic visit. The night before that, Honey, Y's yaya, asked me whether we would go to the doctor the next day. I said yes. Later, she asked what time we would go. I told her I'm not sure.

On the day of the appointment, in the morning, Honey asked again what time we would go. I told her we would probably go to the doctor after lunch.

Later, the weather became gloomy. I became reluctant to go out and was planning to resched because it was threatening to rain. We decided to just wait it out and see whether the sun would come out by lunch time.

Over lunch:
Me: Mukhang uulan nga. Resched ko na lang appointment with Doc.

(After 10 minutes)
Honey: Ate, maliwanag na. May araw na.
Me: Okay, pero baka ulan sa downtown.

(After another 10 minutes)
Honey: Ate mainit na.
Me: Oo nga, pero baka umuulan sa downtown.

(Later)
Honey: Ate sabi ni ___ mainit daw sa downtown.

Ooookay, may plano ka bang gawin at pinapalayas mo na kami?!

2. Honey the earlybird

Still about Honey haha. Last weekend, she went home to the province kasi fiesta daw sa kanila.

Mama: What time ka uuwi mamaya?
Honey: Depende po kay ate (me).
Me: Pwede kang umuwi mga 4 kasi maaga akong matatapos sa work.
Honey: Okay po, mas maganda po yan kasi po kung late na ako umuuwi, kailangan ko pang sumakay ng tricycle. Sayang pera.

At this point, my mom and I exchanged glances. Bakit, requirement bang umuwi ka every month? Haha joke. Then, may pahabol pa si Honey:

Honey: At tsaka kung late na akong umuwi, nawawala po ako.

Nawawala ka papuntang bahay nyo? Okay ah!

3. Good vibes in Jollibee

Ngayon, good vibes naman tayo. Last Sunday, which was Mother's Day, we ate lunch at the usual place: Jollibee. We went to Gaisano Mall that time and was pleased to see that the supervisors (I assume) were all over the place, assisting customers. They even helped us locate a table with cushioned chairs.

Parang restaurant ang level ng customer service.

What made us even happier was this:

Isa pang chicken joy!

We just ordered one-piece chicken for each of us, but they gave us extra chicken. Happy Mother's Day! :D

4. Lolo loving

While we were eating, I also noticed that Y pala is fond of lolo figures. If you don't know, aside from me. Y's favorite person in the house is my own father, his lolo. Then, on his birthday, he kept clinging to our grandfatherly neighbor, whom he just met that night.

Take note that Y is deathly afraid of strangers.

Now, let's go back to Jollibee. While I was feeding Y, I noticed he kept glancing at the next table and smiling. I looked to see another lolo figure, with glasses on and reading a newspaper. He looked like a professor and a kind grandfather at the same time. He was also playing with Y. :-)

No photo of the Lolo; I was too shy. :P

5. Y's donations

After eating, we trooped to National Bookstore. Actually, they were just waiting for me while I withdrew money from the ATM. However, when I went inside, I saw the cutest photo albums on sale. Perfect because at the age of 13 months, wala talaga kaming photo album! As in nada!

But let's not talk about the album here. Upon paying for it sa counter, I spotted these notebook packs for P25. I found out na donations pala sya. I got a couple and wrote Y's name as the donor. :-)

National Bookstore's Project Aral

Yun lang poe! (I did not vote for Poe, by the way, but well..)

I hope this post brought you good vibes for today! :-)

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12 Things I'm Thankful For This Year

2012 has been a roller coaster ride for me. No kidding. I started the year very clumsy and bloated; I was already 7-months pregnant with Y when January rolled in. And I was blowing chunks, literally. Apparently, pregnancy does not sit well with my body and I had "morning" sickness all throughout the ordeal.

Then, for the first time ever, I gave birth and became a mom. Y's first months with me were very hard because he had to remain admitted in the hospital. I also had postpartum depression. I used to think it was just baby blues, but looking back, I now know it was depression, which was a result of too many factors - which I won't elaborate any longer.

However, the good things that happened to me this year are far too many compared to, well, the not-so-good things. I'm thankful for so many good things that I don't think I even deserve, but I got, because of God's grace. To sum up this year's blessings, here are the 12 things this year that I'm very thankful for:

12 - I'm thankful for being comfortable in my own skin.

I cut my hair this year, and thanks to a misunderstanding with the parlorista, my hair was cut very short, this short:

Not the most flattering photo of me: taken last April, I think

Sure, for the first few days, I spent a lot of time wondering if I can ever go out again. However, logic got the better of me. Who cares how I look like when I go out? Most probably, people will look at Y (who was just almost 2 months at the time) and not at me.

Then, eventually, I started going out by myself. I don't know how but the simple logic got replaced by self-confidence - which stuck to me until now. Now, I can wear dresses, shorts, anything that I usually am too self-conscious to wear. I'm no longer self-conscious ; I can walk knowing that I look good simply because I feel good - maybe because I know I am loved. :-)

11 - I'm thankful for this blog.

I have been blogging since 2008, but it's only this year that I took blogging really seriously. I'm thankful because this blog has been an excellent outlet for me. Working from home discounts me off the benefits of having someone to talk to (read: officemates), so what I did was talk to this blog. I'm also thankful that I was able to buy my own domain name; even though I don't have a huge readership (yet), just seeing my dot com makes me feel like I really, truly, own this nook in cyberspace.

10 - I'm thankful for knowing who my true friends are.

I have spent most of my college life with a lot of friends and org-mates. Then, when I graduated, my circle narrowed down to a trusted few, with whom I shared my utmost feelings and thoughts. Around August this year, a couple of those trusted friends suddenly stopped speaking to us, and I don't even know why. Seriously, I don't even go outside the house. But I let it go already. If they decide to come back, I'll demand for an explanation, but I'll take them back, like I always do. However, I'm thankful for the handful of friends left with me. We may not see each other often, but I know they'll be there for me when I need them - just like how I'll always be here for them.

9 - I'm thankful for having the capacity and desire to give.

For the longest time, I excused myself from giving to others because I thought I needed help, too. I had this "poverty mindset," where I thought I can't possibly give because I can't even afford the things I like. However, God made me realize that by giving, I become richer. Maybe not in the financial sense, but I become richer because I am able to liberate myself from material possessions and even money.

8 - I'm thankful for having a trustworthy Yaya.

I wouldn't have been able to do or experience half of the things I did and experienced this year without Honey, Y's yaya. I'm thankful for being able to find a yaya that is not only trustworthy, but also loves Y as if he's her own little brother. She's still very young and has a lot of flaws (don't we all?), but I'm really very thankful I have her to mind over my baby while I work - and earn.

7 - I'm thankful for being able to bond with my family.

This year, I was able to strengthen my bond with my immediate family. Frankly, from the time I set foot in the university and until I started working, I barely saw my family. I was always too busy with academics, extra-curricular activities, church (not that it's not important), and my boyfriend. Now that I'm working at home and taking care of Y, I see them everyday. More importantly, I'm now able to "treat" them sometimes, which makes me feel better as the oldest daughter in the family.

Right before we left for Cebu: my mom asks for your forgiveness for still wearing pambahay slippers.

6 - I'm thankful for being able to meet my relatives from Cebu.

While most of our relatives (father-side) live in Cebu, we are raised in Davao City. This means we barely see them. In my case, I never even saw most of my relatives before. So when we had a chance to stay in Cebu last October, I couldn't be more thrilled to finally meet the rest of the Laxa clan. And Y, at the tender age of 7 months, was already able to ride a plane for the first time!

With some of my cousins in Cebu's IT park (tama ba?)

5 - I'm thankful for my ability to breastfeed.

Even when I was still a child, I already had my mind set on breastfeeding my children. I didn't know why; my mom didn't even breastfeed us exclusively. So I guess it's DOH's doing. Good job, DOH! Anyway, I'm very thankful that despite Y's birth mishaps, I am able to breastfeed him with virtually no problems. Sure, it hurt like hell the first time, but I was able to adjust soon enough and we never had a problem with latch. :-)

4 - I'm thankful that I have the perfect job.

I can't be more thankful for the job I currently have. If you read my blog regularly, perhaps you've had enough of me saying that it's everything I could ask for. I've been working in Netsourcephil since July 2011, but I only decided to work with them full-time this year, when I resigned from my office job to take care of Y. And now I know it's probably one of the best decisions I have ever made.

3 - I'm thankful that I am able to "spoil" myself sometimes.

Aside from being able to spend as much time as I like with Y, the other perk of my job is that it pays quite nicely. It has already afforded me a few gadgets, which I all bought on cash basis. While none of my gadgets are considered high-end (hello, I don't even have a single Apple gadget), I value them dearly because I paid for them with my own money.

Yes, I succumbed...

Then, I am also able to shop for things that I don't really need but admittedly want. And I am also able to give other people special treats - or something like that. I do need to avoid being overly attached to material possessions, but I am thankful I can finally afford to buy nice things for myself and for other people.

2 - I'm thankful that I can talk to J everyday.

If I can be granted one wish right now, I would wish that J were here instead of there. However, I can't be more thankful that I met someone like him. He never gave up on our relationship, even though it is too complicated. He makes ways to talk to me everyday, even if that means going out in the rain to "make pa-load." Hehehe. But the simple gestures get to me, you know. And I know I wouldn't have to worry about him because I know he loves me and Y too much.

1 - I'm thankful I can be there everyday for Y.

You wouldn't think I can sum up this year without a special entry for Y, would you? I'm a proud mommy, and I think I have all the bragging rights in the world simply because for each of his milestones, I have been there. I never missed any of his firsts, and I plan to remain standing here, watching and supporting Y, while he does more of his firsts. And for this, I am very, very thankful.