Summer Holiday

When I was single, during scheduled vacation leaves from work, I would simply catch a bus or a plane to wherever and play it by ear. It was more fun for me that way - no set itineraries. I did whatever I fancied. I only had to make sure that I have enough money in my wallet to cover all my expenses - lodging, meals, souvenirs, etc.

But now that I am married, with 3 KiDS, playing it by ear during vacation time just does not cut it anymore. Not with 3 children who have different interests. And especially not if I wanted this to be a relaxing vacation. Truly, going on vacation to somewhere you have never been with KiDS aged 6, 8 and 10, can be a daunting task. That is why I always do my research and plan our reservations and activities way before we even buy those plane tickets. One of the sites I like to visit gives good holiday organizing tips for Mums like me.

A dream travel destination for us this year is a trip to Florida, to get a surfeit of the theme parks in Orlando, perfect for my young KiDS. Hopefully, we can go with my brother who lives in Okeechobee, Florida, and his family. So all in all, we would be a big group, so we could certainly use big accommodations. Hmmm...maybe we can rent one of those properties around Disneyworld. That would be fun, and we can come and go and plan our activities as we would like.

I should start planning now, including a visit to my favorite Trip Advisor to get honest opinions from fellow travelers like me regarding accommodations, destinations and various services. A Mum can never be too prepared when it comes to planning the perfect vacation for her family.

KiDS in the Hospital

When talking about caring for their children, Filipino moms always say, "Ni ayaw mong madapuan ng lamok ang anak mo." Roughly translated, Moms take pains not to let a mosquito (or a fly) touch their child's skin.

I am that Mom, too. Really! I wouldn't let anything harm my children, but sometimes, we cannot be with them 24-7, and even if we were, we certainly couldn't always keep them safe from everything. And so it was that one teeny tiny Aedes mosquito slipped through my watchful eyes and bit my Sarah, making her really really sick.

May 29 (Thursday evening) - I came home late from the Venture workshop. When Sarah kissed me hello, I felt that she was hot. True enough, she had a fever so I immediately gave her paracetamol. That night, her fever burned unabated, even if I gave her paracetamol every four hours. I already had a sneaking suspicion it wasn't a regular fever because she didn't have any cough, colds, or tonsilitis that might explain the fever. At least, nothing obvious.

May 30 (Friday afternoon) - Still with high fever. I checked her skin for rashes and there were ugly red welts on her stomach, arms and feet, so I told DH we should bring her to the doctor already. Since we missed her pedia's clinic hours, we went to the emergency room of a hospital and I insisted on a CBC. Her platelet count was above normal at 275 so we were prescribed antihistamine for the rashes, antibiotics, and we were asked to continue with the paracetamol every 4 hours.

That evening, as I was feeding her dinner, I noticed a drop of blood on Sarah's left nostril. Now my KiDS are prone to nose bleeds but given the circumstances, I decided to err at the side of caution and we again went to the ER, this time of another hospital. She had CBC again and urinalysis. Her platelet count was still normal but went down to 250, no cause for alarm, the ER doctor said, as he prescribed a stronger antibiotics. He said Sarah has UTI that's causing the fever. Happy to finally have an explanation for the fever, we brought Sarah home.

May 31 - June 1 (Saturday - Sunday) - Sarah seemed content to take her meds and to watch TV. Despite the fever, she didn't seem out of sorts, so I thought the medicines must be working.

June 2 (Monday morning) - DH and I take Sarah to her pedia since she still had fever and to get a second opinion. It wasn't until we were out in broad daylight that I noticed her pallor. Kinda grayish, even if she was still quite active. Her pedia recommended confinement to the hospital because she suspects Sarah might have dengue. I took this announcement in stride. The pedia would tell me later on that I had a blank face when she said dengue, she believes, from shock. Hmmm....what did she expect, that I would burst into tears, cry "Oh, my God!", panic? I had to focus all my energies on Sarah. I was not about to waste an iota of my strength on a "suspicion."

Between DH and I, it was assumed that I would be staying with Sarah in the hospital. That's what happens when you've become a SAHM too long. People just kinda expect you to always be there for the family. And I must admit that the programming is too ingrained, I forgot about everything else, too, my new job included.

The most difficult part of this ordeal was when they put an IV needle in Sarah and whenever they had to draw blood from her, which they had to do every morning and afternoon. Sarah came to hate those "pricks" as she called them. I could only tell her, "I know, anak. But you have to get used to the pricks. You'll meet alot of them in life later on."

Evening - Kahlo had fever, but since she had a slight cough, we were not so worried. DH and I even jokingly said she was just craving for attention because of course, the focus was on her older sister.

June 3 (Tuesday morning) - My birthday and Sarah's fever had abated and her CBC was normal. The doctor saw red spots on her skin and she said that Sarah had measles so we can already take her home. Not dengue, she said, but we had to come in the next morning for another CBC. I called DH up to tell him the good news that we can go home. After a few minutes, I called him again to tell him that I think we should stay one more night. It will be very difficult to bring Sarah back in the morning for another prick, I said. And besides, sayang yung swero. Kakakabit lang. Seriously, I didn't want that fresh bottle of dextrose to go to waste. So I told the doctor we were staying.

Noontime - Sarah had a nose bleed. And this was not the usual bleeds we have where it stops
by her nostril. This one was continuous. Less than an hour later, she vomited blood. This is the time I would have panicked if we were not in a hospital. Can you imagine how it would have been if I had brought her home? Buti na lang, nanghinayang ako sa swero. Or maybe it was mother's instinct at work all along.

Afternoon - The doctor declares without a doubt that it was indeed dengue because of the petechial raches that were now more prominent on Sarah's arms and legs. Duh?

June 4 (Wednesday) - More pricks which showed that her platelet count was normal, in fact it never went below normal, so I guess the platelet count is not sufficient basis to say a person doesn't have dengue. Her fever was gone and we were just watching out for complications. Glad now that we had her fully hydrated with the IV fluids. We have kinda settled into a routine in the hsopital. DH informs me that Kahlo still had unabated fever. So I said baka meron siyang denggoy.

June 5 (Thursday pm) - Sarah was much better but Kahlo wasn't improving at all so we decided to had her admitted, too. There were no available rooms for two in the hospital, so we had to get her a separate room. DH stayed with Sarah while I stayed with Kahlo. Why do I always get the short end of the stick? Seriously, DH had been taking care of Kahlo at home and she had been crying for me so it was only right I looked after her this time. Kasi, malay mo, hindi pala denggoy. Chest X-rays actually showed she had pneumonia.

June 6 (Friday am) - Sarah goes home while I stay with Kahlo in the hospital. By this time, having had no fresh air and sunshine for the past 4 days, I developed a whopping headache. It didn't help that Kahlo turned out to be a more difficult patient than Sarah. She is more stubborn really. And so we started the same cycle again. Pricks in the mornings and afternoons...difficult trips to the rest room (had to bring the IV with us)...food that no one wanted to eat...I am getting tired just recalling those days.

June 7 (Saturday) - Kahlo's platelet count shows a continuing downward trend, so again, I was glad to be in the hospital to keep her hydrated. Her fever ends.

June 8 (Sunday) - Petechial rashes appear on her legs and arms, but not as prominent as Sarah's. Maybe the darned mosquito bit Sarah first and gave her most of the virus. It was kinda relieved it was dengue and not anything else.

June 9 (Monday) - The doctor declares Kahlo out of danger. And by this time I know we had racked up quite a hospital bill, so no complaints from me, regardless that the nurses had just put in a new IV bottle. Hehe. Seriously, Kahlo looked better and we were all looking forward to home sweet home.

Today, the two girls are fighting with each other over toys again, so I guess they are both well. Alive and kicking...each other.

Stage Mother

Last Friday night, Diego came home rambling on about an audition for a new Disney channel show. He saw the announcements in PETA for 10 - 14 year old talents and since it's Disney, he got interested. The show's premise requires the chosen actors to showcase one talent and two fake talents, and the audience will guess which one is the real talent. Since the list of possible talents include pro-video gamer, Diego got it into his head that he would audition as such. And since we are but doting parents, we agreed we would bring him to his audition. So the night before, he prepared his electronic toys so he could play guitar hero in the audition.

The call was for 1 pm and we arrived at around 12:40 pm to find that there were around 5 people before us. Talk about serious. Some of the kids were in full makeup regalia and costumes. While I only meant to drop Diego off, I soon realized that this was a big deal. While I may find it cute, funny, and scrappable, to my son, this is serious, He really wants this. So I stayed on to support him.

It was a good thing I did because when I asked the organizers if they had a television (Diego needs it to play his game), they said they didn't have any. Oooppps....there goes the talent show. I was lucky a friend of ours was in the office so I was able to borrow a television. The manongs had to bring in this huge TV in the audition room, but one challenge hurdled.

I wanted so much to prepare and practice him for the auditions but this was his thing, and I didn't want to put pressure on him. He was doing this for fun. But it was I who was feeling the pressure. Not that I was afraid he would embarass himself - the boy has talent, if I do say so myself. But we all know how auditions can go, and I was concerned he would be very disappointed if he wasn't picked.

So I sat there, in the heat, waiting patiently in line with the other moms, who I discovered upon making small talk with them, do this regularly. They accompany their children to auditions for shows or commercials and then wait anxiously for a call back which sometimes never happens. So the cycle begins again - they scout for auditions, enlist, wait, hope...I can just hope that it's their wards' idea, not theirs. Because it can be a very trying process. I was bored - and I only waited in line for two hours.

When finally, Diego's name was called, I accompanied him inside the studio. There was one cameraman, and a lady who gave Diego his prompts. He was asked to turn left, look back at the camera and smile...Turn right, look back at the camera and smile. He was instructed to talk to the camera. He was asked to show three talents so he danced, acted, played the guitar. I didn't even think of bringing out my own camera because, I am embarassed to say, I found myself mouthing words to him, coaching him silently, moving on to the beat so he might imitate me. Sigh. I used to laugh when in TV signing competitions the camera pans on parents who are singing the songs together with their children.

I learned a lesson that day. Being a stage mom? It's not about control at all. It's about supporting your child's dream. And trying to protect him from disappointments his pursuit of his dreams might bring. It's not about wanting your child to be famous or popular or to earn money, it's about watching him grow before you and knowing that you have to let him experience success or failure on his own. Most importantly, it's about him knowing that whatever the outcome, you are there for him.

When KiDS Have Had Enough of Photoshoots

They run and hide from Paparazzo Mom. (Apologies for the inverted screen. Things happened way too fast and I didn't have time to adjust.)



Kahlo really has a very easy temperament. I think she just had enough this day.

Battle of Quingua

Today, Kahlo, Sarah and I accompanied Papa Arts to Plaridel, Bulacan for the 109th commemoration of the Battle of Quingua. Quingua used to be the name of Plaridel, which in turn was named after Gregorio del Pilar, the youngest general of the Philippine revolution. Papa Arts was invited to the ceremonies because about ten years ago, he sculpted the mural that now stands on the site where the battle between the American forces and Gregorio del Pilar's men was waged.

I was quite excited to go because the last time I was in Plaridel was during the inauguration of the mural in 2000, and we always take the opportunity to show the KiDS their father's works. Diego didn't come with us because he had a PETA workshop.


We arrived a bit late, just in time in fact to hear Mayor Tess Vistan acknowledging the sculptor. (Talk about a grand entrance.) While I don't usually enjoy programs were politicians take to the stage to promote themselves, I was relieved that most of the speakers kept their speeches relevant. Mayor Vistan and Bulacan Governor Jon-Jon Mendoza talked mostly about the significance of April 23, 1899 in Philippine history. The invited guest speaker, writer/environmental activist Red Constantino gave a very interesting kwento that had me and the audience hanging on to his every word. Of course, there was the pasaway, in this case, the congressman, who enumerated the many schools and roads that he funded. I won't mention his name anymore as it just might add to his publicity mileage.

The Battle of Guingua is historically significant as the American forces suffered major casualties against Gen. del Pilar's men. In the first phase of the battle, the Filipinos successfully routed the Americans. In the second phase, the Americans prevailed, but not before the Filipinos killed two of their officers, including Colonel John M. Stotsenburg, after whom Clark Airbase was originally named.

The Filipinos were not without casualties. Among those who bravely died in battle were Juan Evangelista and Pablo Maniquiz. But their victory in Quingua bolstered the morale of the Filipino soldiers everywhere and also resulted in delaying the Americans' advance in Northern Luzon.

It is strange that for many decades after this historical coup, there was no memorial for the Filipinos who fought that battle. Until 1999 when Papa Arts was commissioned to make the mural, what stood at the site was a memorial to Col. Stotsenberg. It was as if history was silenced regarding the Filipinos' defense of our country, particularly of Maniquiz's and Evangelista's, against foreign invaders. This silence is not only true in this instance but in a larger scale as well. It's like the war for our freedom began and ended with Spain, when in fact it continued on against the U.S.A.

Plaridel is the first and one of the few local government units to erect a memorial about the Philippine-American war. Truly, Papa Arts is privileged to interpret this historical event through a mural. After many years of being neglected, the Filipinos who died in the Battle of Quingua finally receive their due recognition on the fields where they fell. Right behind the Stotsenberg marker stands a beautiful tribute for them, detailing their courage and bravery.

I took this photo below in 2000 when the mural was inaugurated. Look closely at the right side of the photo near the window. Note that this was taken with an Nikon FM2. Even the negative contained these strange lines, as if light burned through it.


Pap Arts would like to believe these are Juan Evangelista and Pablo Maniquiz, manifesting to show their gratitude at finally being remembered. For truly it is a tragedy beyond belief if we will continue to forget.


May their souls rest in peace. And may we continue to fight for what they died for.

What Time Is It? SUMMER TIME!!!

Well, it's the summer time once again, and boy, is it hot! There is no relief from the heat. The KiDS have taken to turning on the aircon each time they are in a room (my electric bill!) or turning on the water hose in the garage (my water bill!) to cool down. There seems to be no escape from the heat...or the added expenses.

As you know, last year, the KiDS didn't attend any summer classes or workshops, but this year we decided to enroll them to children's theater (for Kahlo and Sarah) and children's production (for Diego) workshops handled by one of the Philippines' best theater groups. They are now on their second week and so far, they are enjoying themselves. I am looking forward to watching their final showcase on May 3. If the previous years (Diego is an alumnus of 2 workshops) are any indication, their show will be creative and fun to watch.

Here are some photos from their first day.

Trick or Treat

Each year, we go trick or treating. We started the tradition when Diego was three and Sarah was one year old. We used to do it at SM Megamall. We were there when the gates opened at 10 am so that there will be less people and we got first dibs on the candies. We walked from store to store and floor to floor. Sari-Sari (a clothing store) always had a good display and their staff dressed up in scary costumes. But we loved Marks and Spencer most because they always gave out the best candies. Through the years, however, as more people discovered the joys of trick or treating, SM Megamall, our mecca of free candies, became crowded. Until it just wasn't fun anymore.

It was then that a good family friend invited us to go trick or treating in their village in Makati, where the houses sported Halloween decorations and the residents gave out candies. When we first went trick or treating there, it was an exercise (quite literally for Mommy) in perseverance. The blocks were large, and since the lots were huge, it was quite a walk from house to house. Not all the houses gave out treats (or they had ran out) and we were able to cover only a few houses until we were exhausted. The next years, we did what other parents did. Ferry their costumed kids in their cars or vans.

Really, in this village, few people go trick or treating on foot. It was quite a chore going in and out of our van, but we covered more houses, and thus, got more loot that way. This year though, there weren't too many candies. But that's OK. For the KiDS, it's not the amount of sweets they get, but the fun of putting on costumes and going from house to another, racing other kids for the treats.

In one house, for instance, the owner transformed his garage into a horror house, complete with coffins, candle lights and eerie music. You had to go into the darkened room, and to get the treats you had to open a coffin and grab the candies from the corpse's hands. Hah! Like he would let you have them so easily. There were shrieks of fright from the kids and laughter from the adults as the corpse suddenly came to life. Now, that was fun.

Another house had a cotton candy peddler spinning out the pink sugar treats to everyone. Yet another house gave out dirty ice cream. Sugar overload anyone? After we had made the rounds we would go to Tito Anding's house and have dinner while the KiDS try to outdo or out-count each other's loot.

The KiDS wore regular costumes this time, so they blended in with the crowd.


Diego reprised his Obi-Wan costume, Sarah was a Koreana (a gown from ukay-ukay bought years ago), and Kahlo was a butterfly (courtesy of Manang Marissa, she got it I think for $0.99. Don't you just love off-season sale in the U.S.?)

Halloween Costumes

Okey...I may have neglected this blog, but I assure you, I have not neglected my KiDS.

The KiDS had their pre-Halloween Costume party at their school last October 19. We learned that they have to wear costumes two nights before. I didn't even think of rushing to the nearest mall to buy a costume because 1) they are way too expensive; 2) they are flimsily sewn and constructed; and 3) I was pretty sure many of the busy parents will buy ready-made costumes and I didn't want the KiDS to be a clone of Princess something or the other.

So, we chose to be creative and make our costumes from scratch. The girls were game, Sarah agreed to be a scrapbooking page and Kahlo said she wanted to be a Christmas gift (I got this idea from Manang Marissa. She dressed up Chrissie as a X'mas gift when she was too young to refuse. Hehe.) Diego didn't want any of these DIY costumes so he declared that since he has a lightsaber, he was going as a Jedi. Cool enough.

Papa was able to scrounge up an Obi-Wan cloak and mask and another lightsaber in an unopened box in the BatCave. I had forgotten all about it. I bought the set from K.B. Toys on a trip to the U.S. for $1.99. Diego used my khaki blazer and pants under the cloak, so we got to be a bit creative after all. Hahaha.


Sarah was none too happy to be mistaken for a book cover or an I.D. card. We really thought though that her costume would win the Most Creative Award. (Hey, I slept in the wee hours of the morning just to finish her costume. It was like Scrappin' Moms Idol Challenge all over again.)


But the biggest surprise of all was Kahlo.


She won both Most Creative and Most Unique Awards. I guess in a sea of scary monsters, Spidermen (counted 5), Batmen (at least two), Tinker Bells (three) and Disney Princesses, a merrily wrapped Christmas gift, complete with a big red bow, really stood out.


She didn't get any prizes but the candies they got from the teachers and parents when they went trick or treating to the different classrooms were more than enough reward. Thanks to Papa for constructing the box. I did the gift-wrapping, of course.


She was so cute, everybody wanted to unwrap her. :-)

The Sounds of Summer

This summer we're all taking it easy. No drama classes, no ballet sessions, no sports clinics. It's been pretty much a free for all with the KiDS sleeping and waking up any time they want. I used to wake up to the shrieking call of my alarm clock. But now my alarm clock is the television going full blast on Sponge Bob Squarepants. "I'm a goofy goober yah. You're a goffy goober yah!" I think I prefer it that way.