Home Is Where The Heart Is

We are home. FINALLY. The two weeks we spent in Manila was NOT a vacation, and sadly NOT a shopping trip.

Kaden, my mom and I missed our baby Chace tremendously. We were SO glad to see him this morning! and how he's grown in the two weeks that we were gone!

Brothers reunited. :)

I've also missed having WiFi so effin' much! Even though I'm able to access the internet on my phone, it's just not the same [and not as fast] as being home lying in bed, surfing, with the macbook on my stomach. I'm so glad to once again be in touch with the world. I really need internet in my life. I was upset because I only found out about MJ's death at 6 pm yesterday. Talk about being so huli sa balita!!! And it looks like I've got a lot of catching up to do on my blog reading! :) So blog-hopping, here I come!

Kaden was so excited to come home to Zamboanga and bid our "borrowed house" [according to Kaden] farewell. He said he's missed his playroom "so very very much", as much as he's missed his baby brother, Carlos Chace. He ran to his playroom to play [and make a mess] the minute we got home.

Now that we're back home, there are SO many things I have to attend to [aside from my boys, of course]. But one of my major goals for this week is to ORGANIZE MY CLOSET. I wish to get rid of the clothes and bags I no longer use that much. To give space for the ones that are yet to come. Heheh. :)

Wish me luck on that.

A Much Needed Trip To The Salon

At the moment, I'm blogging [in my fone] from Tony & Jackey where I'm getting a series of hair treatments for my severely damaged hair while I sip my green tea.

I haven't had a hair treatment in a long long time... even before I got pregnant. So not only does my hair really deserve this, it really NEEDS this. :)

We are going to be here in Manila for another week because we still have a few more follow ups with Kaden's doctors. I'm relieved though that the bloody stool the doctors found alarming is turning out to be just a bad case of food & milk allergy. Now Kaden is being observed for his snoring. His pedia-gastro heard him snoring once when she was doing her rounds so they referred him to a pedia-ENT. They want to test him for sleep apnea among others.

Thanks to my friend Dyan, whose condo she is renting out to us for the time being. We really like that it is in the same building where my bro's staying. What I like the most about living in the DLSU vicinity is that I'm more comfortable, having lived in the area a good 6 years.

And my point in blogging? None. I'm just happy to be in a salon after a while and I'm bored! I feel that I desperately need a change in hairstyle but right now I'm not yet ready for a short 'do, as I am still on the heavy side and it will just make me seem heavier.

I tried to request for full bangs but apparently, my forehead isn't wide enough so it will do nothing to flatter my face. I'm now abandoning the idea and will settle for getting my old boring hairstyle back, as long as it will no longer look so dry and damaged. At least now my brother won't be able to say that I look like a "bruha!'' when I let my hair down.. That,s good enough for me, for now. .

We Miss Chace

I'm blogging today from St. Lukes Medical Center where Kaden has been confined since Friday. Thank goodness for WiFi!

We consulted with a doctor Friday morning and we were advised to bring Kaden up to see a Pedia-Gastro specialist as soon as possible. So we took the next flight to Manila that very same day and came straight to the hospital from the airport. God is good, because so far Kaden's test results have come back normal.

Friday was a pretty nerve-racking day for me. I couldn't think straight, it's very difficult to especially if the issue is about my sons health. Kaden has been sick on and off the past few months, and I hope we can get to the bottom of what's really wrong on this trip so that we can properly manage whatever the problem is.

As of the moment Kaden's pretty active and back to his makulit-hyper self, I'm very glad. The doctor's said we can already be discharged by tomorrow but we will have to stay in Manila for a bit longer so we can observe Kaden and so it will be easy to come in for consultation every now and then.

It's been 7 months since I was last here in Manila, and that's a pretty long time for me. I've missed the polluted Manila air as well as the bumper-to-bumper traffic. Most of all, I've missed the malls (especially Rockwell and Gb) but this is NOT a pleasure trip so I'll have to pass on that for now.

It also means that it's been 7 months since I've been on a plane. I think my phobia for flying is back. My husband used to tease me about it because I'm on the plane a lot, so he finds it funny that I of all people have this fear of flying. I attribute it to too much of Air Crash Investigation. I think the Air France incident as well as the bad weather is adding to my paranoia.

I had no choice but to leave my little Chace behind. He is now in the loving arms of my mother-in-law because my mom flew with us to Manila because I didn't think I could handle it on my own. We all miss Chace very much, especially Kaden who asked me if he could write his baby brother a letter. So I let him write his "letter" on his draw board.

That's Kaden's handwriting and he wrote what he wanted to say to his little brother. He asked for help though to spell words like, "brother", "carlos chace", "you", and "miss". :)

My Kaden is a very smart boy for a 3-year old, he learned to write (on his own, ha) and spell sometime late last year and now knows letter sounds--on his way to reading already. In fact there are already some words that he can read. A doctor assessed him here, and told us that Kaden's skills are that of a 5-year old boy. Every parent wants to think their child is smart, and I'm not ashamed to say I'm one of them. But I'm not the only person who thinks so. Everyone who comes across him, especially his teachers are awed by him. :)

We can't wait to go back home to our little baby. Hopefully, Kaden's doctor(s) will give us the go signal to go home soon. When they do, it will also mean that everything is fine with Kaden. That's my only prayer right now.

For Today

There are just too many things I want to do, so many places I want to go to, and many other things I want to get. But I have to remind myself to take things:

And if and when I do get the chance or have the means, I sometimes don't know how or where to start. So I try to:

To changes that I want to make and to changes that I wish to see. I tell myself to take:

Of course, it's sometimes confusing because we all have this notion that:

Argh. I hate the lack of blog-worthy material in my life and I swear it won't be for much longer. For now, I'm just living my life one day at a time; learning to prioritize; and trying to take those baby steps.

For today, I leave you with this:

Kaden's First Day Of Nursery School And Other Things

Kaden very excited to go back to school

Today, my boy Kaden started his first day in nursery school. He's still going to the same school (Ferndale International School) he went to for Toddler classes. Because:

1. Kaden's already used to going to the school. Whenever we would pass by the building, he'd [proudly] say "My school!"
2. I like that Kaden's already comfortable there.
   
3. Kaden has friends there from last year.
   
4. We get 50% off the tuition fee. [hmm, this should be #1]
5. Their uniforms are the cutest ones in Zamboanga. :)

I am contemplating on transferring him to Chong Hua (my alma mater) next year when he goes to Kindergarten, but we'll have to cross that bridge when we get there.
Last week, my babies attended two parties in one week. First was Caitlin's 18th at Garden Orchid where Chace was very well behaved and he slept through:

This was also the day that he first met his Uncle Rj.

And where Rj's friends asked him if I was pregnant "again". Grrrrrr. (No picture for that)

Second party for the week was Auntie [Ninang] Linda's & Uncle Ben's Golden (50th) Wedding Anniversary at Summit.
Chace was wide awake during the party and was very behaved. He kept busy charming people left and right. He only slept when it was time to go home.

Rj, the responsible uncle.

I still can't believe I'm now part of my husband's huge family, and I missed him terribly that night. Off topic, I just officially changed my signature this week. But it still needs a little getting used to.

The Eustaquios (Please don't try to find me, thank you)

It was really sweet. I pray hubby and I will get the chance to celebrate our own too, 50 years from now. :)

Auntie Linda & Uncle Ben

Sometimes...

Gawly!

My brother just called to inform us that their classes at DLSU are suspended until June 14 due to a confirmed case of A[H1N1] Virus aka Swine Flu! Kakatakot! According to the news, it's a 21 year old foreign exchange student. My bro said he was walking to school and he was wondering what was up with the world and how come students were suddenly wearing masks today, a few hours later they were given notice about the suspension.

Plus, on the afternoon Zamboangueno news they reported that there is now a suspected case of Swine Flu here in the city. SCARY. This outbreak is making me a paranoid mother. I have to keep my two boys indoors from now on. Buti nalang my out of the country travels don't start until August, hopefully by then it's not as bad anymore. Otherwise, I'm canceling.

One Boring Afternoon

Recently, my friend Alfonso took lessons in Lighting Techniques under Parc Cruz & Borj Meneses. So he was in constant search for "models" to practice his newly learned skills on. If only I were back to my pre-pregnancy state, I wouldn't have minded being under his lens. Teehee :)

One boring afternoon, we decided to use Carlos Chace for his "experimental shots" weheheh, just like a guinea pig. So armed with an emergency light (for source light), his new flash, an illustration board, and a blue blanket [because we had none in black]-- we started our "trial" pictorial. My poor baby Chace didn't know what was coming for him.

Some of the shots he took.

My mom (who was ever supportive and who is a fan of Alfonso's) and I assisted him during the shoot. Carrying Chace, holding up the blanket, the illustration board, the flash, the emergency light, and the most difficult of all--trying to keep Chace from crying.

So there I was, doing all that with my trusty [winky dinky] point-and-shoot hanging on my neck. I couldn't resist taking a few non-SLR shots myself.

We had specific shots in mind, but shooting that particular afternoon made us realize that a baby shoot wasn't that easy after all. In fact, we were not able to do even just one of the kind of shots we were planning. Nonetheless, the shoot turned out nice--especially for a beginner. It took a lot of patience on Alfonso's part, but according to him it made him realize that he'd rather go into landscape photography now. Lol.

My Poor Baby Kaden Is Sick, Again :(

Like I said, I hate it when my kids get sick. Why can't I get sick for them instead? :(

Not his usual overactive self, but still has his sense of humor nonetheless.

In other news, I'm looking forward to my new four wheeled toy courtesy of my DH. :)