It was my mama’s birthday last Wednesday and since all of us were disappointed when our original plans of a Red Box videoke lunch for my birthday didn’t push through, my mama told us she’s hoping to try again on her birthday. So we got there early and excited. I haven’t gone videoke singing in a very long time and it’s one of those things I love doing even if I’m not that good a singer. Haha!

Their 199PhP lunch special from 12nn to 3pm is a steal. For only 199Php per person, you get to eat all you can. It also includes refillable iced tea and free use of a videoke room. We had a blast and it would have been nicer if we could stay longer. Mateo discovered the joys of hearing himself sing with a microphone. He slept for almost an hour during our stay there and it’s a surprise he was able to sleep amidst all the singing that we were doing.

singing like a pro

‘investigating’ the microphone

He almost broke the microphone like how he broke my brother’s Wayfarer sunglasses, and during the earlier part of our time there, he refused to let go of one of the microphones. No one could sing without him singing ‘bertday o yo’ in the background.

Mateo will be celebrating his birthday in a little over two months. Ramil and I are thinking of how to celebrate his birthday. Now that he’s bigger, we know that he’ll appreciate a small party for him where the main goal is for him to have fun. For his first birthday, we originally had plans of renting a private place with a pool and then just invite people over. We weren’t able to push through with it because the date we wanted was not available anymore. My parents offerred to pay for the rental of the place then and since the offer still stands, we just might take them up on it for Mateo’s second birthday. The place I’m eyeing includes a small house with kitchen so that we could do a lot of cooking also. I’m sure Mateo would love to go swimming and we also plan to invite those whom he knows and interacts with. So it’s going to be a day for him. I hope it pushes through this time around. I hope the swimsuits he used when we went to Boracay would still fit him.

It was my birthday last Saturday. I barely noticed it. I wasn’t even aware it was almost my birthday until some of my students greeted me on the 24th. I told my mama that you really forget your birthday when you have a child already. So Ramil had several ‘surprise’ plans for my birthday, all of which didn’t push through because I sort of ruined all of them because of my own planning. Haha! Seriously, I wasn’t in any mood to celebrate because 1) mateo is still not okay and 2) we are in a really tight budget right now. So I told Ramil and my sister that they could just take me to Red Box since I haven’t sang at a videoke in a looong time.

Unfortunately, most of Saturday was spent waiting in line for Mateo’s pediatrician. She was away for almost two weeks so the line was unbelievably long. We were patient number 23 when we arrived and she was just at patient number 4. Good luck to us. Nevertheless, since she was the mother of my high school friend/classmate, she saw us before taking her lunch break which was around 2:30 pm. So our lunch time videoke session went poof. The line at Red Box was equally long and our stomachs couldn’t stand the wait any longer. We ate at Fish and Co., which was a waste of money. Mateo was so whiny and irritating the whole time, I was wishing that Ramil and I just went on a date by ourselves. Between my empty stomach, my throbbing head, tired arms and legs, and the heat, it wasn’t such a fun day at all.

My mom gave me a pair of earrings, my sister was offering acne treatment, my husband gave me a really good massage, and my son sang me a complete happy birthday song complete with a wet kiss (not to mention that he blew the candle). Those last two was more than enough to put a lazy smile on my face, more than enough to make a happy birthday.

Mateo has been having on-off low-grade fever since Wednesday last week. To say that we’re worried because it’s been more than a week already, is an understatement. The whole thing is made more complicated with the fact that his pedia is out of the country since Wednesday last week also. He started having cough, really bad cough a few days after the onset of fever so we thought we should just wait for it to clear.

Sunday night, he had his highest temperature which was 38.2 degrees Celsius so Ramil and I decided that one of us should bring Mateo to a pedia, any pedia, the next day. So last Monday, I didn’t go to school and I brought Mateo to the nearest hospital and asked for a pedia who’s holding clinic at the time. We got a very friendly lady who prescribed a mild antibiotic (Amoxil) and an anti-asthma/expectorant (Ventolin) for Mateo.

Unfortunately, the fever didn’t let up and after half-way through the medication, Ramil and I decided to do laboratory works on our son. I brought him to a nearby lab today for blood tests and urinalysis. I’m just optimistic because at least Mateo’s pedia will be arriving today and we’ll be able to bring him for a check-up within the next few days. I have yet to get the results of the lab work later this afternoon and I’m hoping he’s clear for anything serious. I’m getting acne just from worrying about him.

I keep hoping that I could just get the brunt of the sickness from him. If only a parent could do that, I’m sure there’ll be a lot of sick parents out there instead of sick children. Nevertheless, he’s such a trooper. If he didn’t have cough I would have brought him ice cream earlier for enduring with the collection of the blood and urine. I’m praying he gets better soon.

Ramil is seriously thinking of selling our almost 4-year-old laptop. When a colleague of ours went to the U.S. this past month, we were debating whether to ask a favor from her so we can get a laptop from there where they’re cheaper. She actually saw a Sony Vaio for less than $500 and it’s a 13″ laptop! I’ve always wanted a smaller one because I wanted to be more mobile and I was so tempted to throw caution to the wind and buy it. Unfortunately (or fortunately?), reason won over impulsiveness and we decided that we just simply couldn’t afford it right now. So we’re giving our 4-year-old laptop a few more months. I’m sure she’s still up for it.

I’m sure all baghags out there would be excited to join this contest. It’s absolutely free and there are 24 handbags to be given away. I’m not a baghag myself, most of the time there are other things I’d rather buy than a bag. I guess one major reason is having a sister who’s a baghag, I get to just borrow bags from her ‘collection’. Which reminds me, I’m sure she’d be thrilled to join this contest too. So if you want a free handbag, go to the handbag planet website.

Ramil and I already bought Mateo’s Christmas gifts, a 5-piece Backyardigan beanie babies. So I’m happy I’ve crossed that little man from my list of Christmas-gifts-to-buy. I still have to think of a gift for my big man though. I only hope I can look at some Sector watches and pick his gift from there. Unfortunately, shopping gets challenging with my limited budget. We’re even planning on just giving the grannies framed pictures of Mateo for Christmas. Talk about a tight budget

Mateo and I were in the library the other day. A grade three student gave him a small ball and I reprimanded Mateo because he kept on throwing the small and semi-shouting ‘throw’. Here’s what happened:

Mateo: THROW! (proceeds to throw and then run after the ball)

Me: (getting the ball from him) Don’t throw the ball, Mateo. Mama will hold onto the ball if you throw it again. No throw. Don’t throw, okay?

Mateo: okay!

(I give the ball back to him)

(Mateo proceeds to throw the ball again but this time…)

Mateo: CATCH! (runs after the ball again after throwing)

Me: Mateo, don’t throw, don’t catch. Sige, mama will hold onto the ball. No throw, no catch. Okay?

(Mateo looked at me with a thoughtful look on his face then he made the act of throwing with his arms then asked me…)

Mateo: PASS?

Me: Don’t throw, don’t catch, don’t pass. Okay?

Mateo: okay

Me: If you throw or catch or pass, mama will not return the ball to you. Okay , you want it back?

Mateo: want

Me: How do you ask for it properly?

Mateo: want po

He then got the ball from my hands and happilly held on to it. I was glad he didn’t throw the ball again. However, after several seconds I saw him put the ball on the floor and then kicked it!

Hay…. kids will be kids and boys will be boys

Now that my sister is living with us, we’ve both gone back to our habit before of borrowing money from each other. When we were both still living with our parents, we’d often borrow money from each other whenever we find ourselves short in cash. Good thing we haven’t had any problems with paying and such. Nowadays, she’s the one who’s frequently borrowing from me. It’s difficult during days when one of us needs money and yet both of us don’t have any to spare. Pay Day Loans might be a good idea and it makes so much more attractive because of Easy Payday Loans. It’s still good to know that when times get a little tough financially, we have more options aside from each other.

Ever since I could remember, I could easily feel stress in my body. Sometimes it shows as an increase in pimples in my face, or weight gain/loss, or bad hair/skin texture, or hyperacidity. I knew that stress could bring about a lot of possible illnesses but I just recently learned of CFS or chronic fatigue syndrome. According to the CDC website, this disorder is characterized by profound fatigue that is not improved by bed rest and may be worsened by physical or mental activity. I know I’m not suffering and have not suffered from CFS but reading about it gave me tips on how to maintain a healthy lifestyle. I was also able to read an article that says that spending three to four hours a day on things that you’re interested in (things that you like to do) can help keep you efficient and healthy. When I read that, I asked myself where to squeeze in those three to four hours…