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.