PAIN AND PAIN

I was trying to ignore this lower abdomen pain that I am experiencing, partly because I was afraid of the diagnosis it may bring and the bills it may incur us. But lately, its not going away. No matter how I prayed and played, it comes back once I am rested and settled.

Of course, I am afraid. How could not one be. But right now, I am praying that it goes away...again.

And of course, i am praying that there is nothing serious about this, that this is just part of the stress I am experiencing. That the moment I relaxes myself, take the event less seriously and exercise.

I am thinking of going back to my college lifestyle. But is there one? I am thinking of going vegan, but will I endure? There is one thing that I should start doing instead, loosen up and shake my body. I know I am very much lacking with exercise. And I should start sooner than later.

Is aging trying to caught up with me? Am I aging fast or I am just neglecting my body? Right now I feel like 50, although my mind feels like 25.

I better get going.

Coco's Birthday Bash

As fast as Coco's growth, one year seemed just yesterday. I can vividly remember the first time I saw Coco. I had the feeling that he would become bigger than his Kuya. And I am not wrong. Right now he weighs more than 25 lbs. and growing. He eats whatever you give him and screams NANAAAAA, when his tummy needs additional fillings.

He turned one last September 23. With our few handful friends in toe, we celebrated his birthday at Incredible Pizza. To spice up the day, we had hawaiian theme. It was simple one compared to his Kuya's first birthday in Manila. But we promised him that before he turns 4, we will celebrate his birthday with the same if not more than the funfare of his Kuya. He was not seen personally by his grandparents in Manila, so we are looking forward to that day.

Right now, he was suffering from a mild (if there is one that you can call it) bronchitis. The good thing about him is, he drinks his medicine with little resistance, unlike his brother. We hope him to get well before Thanksgiving.

THE NEW TEXANS

The flight was perfect after the short delay in Akron. We were at the Hobby Airport by 1 pm, and 30 minutes later were were at our new home. We became Texans.

We were not only excited when we saw Rommel. We were more excited seeing Sienna. Oh, how we missed her. She was ahead for us for more than 3 weeks.

The family of Karen and Jean prepared our lunch. We had a lot of food to last us a week. They did some shopping. Rommel gave us his two glass tower collection cabinet. There was a bed for us and for the kids. The rooms were clean and we felt exactly home.

And there was a big welcome card on top of the fire place.

From Tramo to Ohio, to Houston. This will be our home. Got to make it better.

PACKING, CLEANING AND PACKING

We have carefully selected our times to be shipped. Those which we deemed salable we tried bringing them either to Once Upon a Child. The rejects were given to the Salvation Army.

We tried selling Gold Eagle but can't get a decent price until we finally donated her to Salvation Army to. Fortunately, they pitched her for $750.00, good enough for us to be satisfied.

Indeed, no matter how we packed and sorted out our things, we always found so many others to be desirable to be left behind. Thanks for the shortage of money, we had to really limit our takes.

Until the day we were about to leave, we were busy cleaning and packing. We made a resolve to clean the apartment so as we could get our deposit whole and intact. I was not even able to sleep for reasons of excitement and fatigue. I was hoping that I could rest when we get to Texas.

Thankfully, Elaine kept here promise. A week after we left, she sent out our deposit check. Money that was able to save us for our first month.

Indeed, even if you promise to pack light, yet with all the stuff you have in life, you can't help but to bring them in. Here, you can't really live simply, unless you deny yourself from most of the things that you really don't need in life.

TEXAS SOJOURN

The trip to Texas was supposed to be a sightseeing. But it turned out to be more serious. although we were looking for a house, yet we never thought of getting it that fast. When Jaz was able to see clearer that she will be employed by St. Luke's, we were left in the position to decide fast. And so we did. Thankfully, two days before we head home, we found a house that fits our vibes, and we bought it. Its a two storey, 4 bedroom, 3 1/2 bath and two car garage house, settled at the center of the cul de sac.it was our first time to buy a home so we have to grapple with anxiety and excitement. In the end we have to live with it, hoping and praying that we were right (else we will be living a life of misery for the next 30 years or so.

We were proud yet discreet. I was personally reserved until we found out that our loan got through. I did not personally showed my excitement until we finally signed the closing papers. Afterwhich we readied ourselves for the next life ahead in Texas.

When we got home to Ohio, we started packing up things, shipping them most by USPS. At the end of it all, we had 10 boxes full of necessary and (hopefully) important stuff.

UPDATE AND UPDATE

Its amazing how time flies so fast. Five months ago, we were quietly living on our own in the little town of Louisville. Zach enjoyed his second summer playing with our neighbor's iguana and daughter. Coco joined the fun in his stroller. We definitely had fun by just running around the apartment building. (It was scary though when times that Zach would test my resolve by running down so fast to the street inspite of my warning that he might stumble.)

Mornings and afternoons were always the same when Mommy has work. There was one scary moment though when Sienna was already been shipped to Texas. We had no choice but use Gold Eagle. For the first 3 times, the ride was flawless, until one afternoon, on our way back, I noticed that Gold Eagle was overheating. Having experience such predicament way back with Greenmile, I immediately looked for a way where we could stop and cool down Gold Eagle's engine. Trouble was, we were on the street where there was an ongoing paving for the upcoming Pro-football Hall of Fame event in Canton. Both of the lanes were bumper to bumper. Although there was a huge parking lot on my left, yet I can't stop to cross, because the moment I stop, I feared the Gold Eagle may overheat and will not run again. Imagine if that happens, traffic would be stalled, and I have two kids with me, one in the car seat and the other in infant seat. For sure, they can't use the other two lanes on our right because they were just newly paved and the bulldozer, asphalt paver, road roller were still there for the finishing touches.

Thanks to luck and keen eyesight, I was able to see an opening before I got stalled. I parked near the ice cream kiosk and immediately call AAA which to my dismay can't find my location. When the operator told me that they could be there in 30 minutes and they could only give us two rides, I took off (without informing them). How in the world are they gonna do with us, leave Zach or Coco in the vehicle while we ride on the AAA truck? That's ridiculous.

When I sensed that Gold Eagle's engine had cool down already, I prayed and drove. Good that it was Sunday afternoon, the traffic was very light, we were able to reached home in 15 min. I was relieved when we got home. Had we towed Gold Eagle, I can't imagine how was I able to bring Zach and Coco home.

The following week, we never took our chance again in driving Gold Eagle to more than 10 miles. We rented a PT Cruiser instead, which to my surprise really amazed me how efficient it can drive.

CHUCK, ZACH AND COCO

Summer is fun for the kids. But it is more fun for Dad and Mom if their kids are having fun. That’s what we hoped for yesterday when we drove Zach and Coco to Chuck E. Cheese’s. We were planning to visit the Cleveland Zoo at first but due to time constraint, we opted for the nearby fun.

Definitely Zach was having fun. The minute after we were stamped, he was out from our hands, excitedly scanning the best game he could play. But as usual, he settled in the bowling lane while from time to time comes back to our table for a zip of apple juice. Even the pizza and the wings won’t make him settle down. He was all over the place but won’t or afraid of hopping the rides.

Coco, on the other hand, unable to walk stayed on our table most of the time. But he had fun with the pizza and wings. He even tried the wing’s hot sauce (sensing probably his hot bikolano blood).

Mommy had fun, Zach had fun, Coco had pizza and wings and me? Well, since Zach was unable to consume most of his tokens, I did the “consuming.”

And I had a blast!

Summer is fun, indeed!

Up, Up and Standing

Coco continously fascinates us. He is indeed very determined to walk before he reaches one year old. Yesterday was an example on how persistent he was to walk. This time though he was only able to stand up by himself. Without our help, he was able to do it. Now we have more reasons to be afraid of leaving him alone. (Aside from the paper, clips and loose staple wire).

This afternoon, we went to the park as usual for our one mile work. It seems that the arrangement is working for us. And it is becoming addictive. As usual Zach made fun of the ducks around the pond.

There is a change of our diet too. If before, I abhor cereal for breakfast, not now. We only eat one full meal at lunch, dinner is usually salad or soap (panera or giant eagle).

Of course, I really have to be careful and watchful of my sugar. In fact, I am being watchful of what I eat or intend to eat.

We had a good day today, the weather is perfect and the two guys were simply tamed.

Walk the Talk

Feeling the bulk of unwanted fats in our bellies, we decided to take a short walk. Instead of burning carbon, we tried burning calories.

Not to waste our time and effort, we brought with us some of the mails, (mom's fingerprints).

Off we go. Zach and Coco on their individual strollers. Destinations: Post Office and sad to say, McDonald's.

As usual, Zach caught the fancy of some old ladies (our Mcdo here is the place were the retirees hang out for their breakfast). Even with his too loose Cleveland Indians shorts (which often times fell off from him), Zach was still the center of fancy of the ladies. And he was not too shy to befriend Alexi, a blue-eyed-three-year-old girl who was there with her hot grandma.

Coco on the othe hand was busy "dreaming". He didn't mind the heat and the business of the street.

At ten after eleven, we started heading home, not after Zach decided to by the Shrek the Third Happy Meal.

That was fun and perfect. Perhaps we can do it again tomorrow.

(I failed to drink my banaba tea, this high sugar is killing me.)

NANNYNOLOGY

We all had nannies, in one way or the other. Poor or privileged we were “nannied”, either by our neighbor or relative. I had Manay Fe, Yaya Toyang, Yaya Letty and “Erlinda.

In the Philippines, having a nanny is a must and is cool. A family can not function well when a nanny is not around. Kids can’t go to school, Mommy and Daddy can’t work and the house would be in chaos. Sad to say, but nanny puts the house in order.

Mothers scour them from all over the country enticing them with the benefit of money and travels. Defending on your budget, they come in many forms. But mostly, the rookies come from the provinces, and fresh from (high) school. They either were sent by their parents or want to escape the harshness of the rural life and would like to see a different world perceived with fallacious promises of prosperity. But they all have in common. Dream and daringness. Even if their salary is very low and sometimes the quarters’ condition are harsher than their home, they would take the job hoping that everything will change for the better.

In the same way that there are stories of employer’s nanny-maltreatments, there are stories too of nanny-crimes. You can find it more from the cities. Hence, one is advised not to get one from the nanny-agency and get one from the province (but often times that is not always a guarantee).

Families are blessed if their nannies are their relatives. The fear of your child being maltreated is lower and the trust is higher. You feel your house is secure and the values that your child may get are not far from the values you want to impart to him/her. You can leave the house in peace and can focus on your job without worrying so much of what is happening inside your house while you are gone.

Why do I write about this? Well, I am a Daddy-Nanny. We have two kids, 2 yrs. and 7 months respectively. It’s my job to be the nanny whenever Jaz is at work. And it drives me loco. Aside from changing channels and diapers, I have to tidy and clean the house, which is not so fun, do the laundry every Friday morning, cook, do the mailing, and baby sit. (While Jaz is working, make no mistake about it.)


What’s my point? Well, sometimes nannying drives you crazy, even if they are your children. No mater how hard I put the house in order; Zach would come out with new and different tricks of messing around. That no matter how many prescription drugs you take for your diabetes and high blood pressure, you will find yourself low in sugar but high in impatience. Nanny’s job is not an easy job as others may have understood.

Nanny’s job should be a high paying job. It is a multi-skilled career. If there is somebody who should have taught us to be a multi-tasker, it would be the nanny. They are the teacher-psychologist-chef-interior decorator-linguist-archeologist-dentist rolled into one, always on call. It is a very tough job that is why nobody stayed until retirement age, most of them opt for early retirement.

Yet they don’t cash in a lot of money, why, because according to us, they are less educated, no college degree, nor have not gone to graduate school. But with the effort they put on their work, they deserve more.

Now compare this: In the recent study here in the US for stay at home mom. The website surveyed 40,000 moms and found that performing 10 typical job functions -like housekeeper, van driver, and psychologist -- would equate to an annual salary of $138,095.

Hence, let us give them decent salary just like those working in the offices or factories, treat them well, and give them their days off. As much as possible, don’t let them stay in your house where they are at your mercy for 24/7.

Go on, give your nannies movie passes and even free coupons to your favorite spa.

HIATUS

Its been a while since I had my last post. The winter really froze me and my mind. My previous intention of regularly updating Coco's growth was nowhere to be found. Things went upside down at the beginning of this year.

Right now Coco is about to be in his 7th month. Zach has celebrated his brithday last Feb. 16 and coco was christined last April 14.

Its practically summer now here (but technically spring). There is a lot of heat ahead of us, and a lot of travelling too. WE have in fact started that by going to Baltimore, MD and DC over the weekend. The trip was cool and we had a good time. But if would be prudent for us to visit the capital next time when Coco is already 4 yr old.

After quitting my job last March, I am right now a full time Nanny. It was tough the first week but I am getting the hang of it. The good side though is, I can see both of them growing.

So from now on, I will faitfully starting to post again in this blog about our two boys growing up and our family journal (weekly, if possible).