Viva La Vida Mama

Candy Candy

2012-01-30T22:14:00.002+08:00

I don't know if it started when I discovered the high you get when you eat condensed milk straight off the can or because Original Nana allowed us grandkids an all-access pass to her freezer with at least ten different flavors of ice cream or that aha moment when you realize the milk you're forced to drink tasted so much better when you poured Brown Cow syrup all over it. Whatever the case, I will happily devour anything that has way too much sugar. Sick. But true.

I started to notice dessert stations popping up here and there and thought I'd try it.

Here is the one I did for the boys 5th birthday. Nothing Amy Atlas or anything but it was fun putting together all their favorite treats.

This was for Sis in Law's rocker themed baby shower

When I heard my godchild was having a Candyland-themed party a few weeks ago I offered to do her candy station. The instructions were simple enough: pink and yellow and dainty. I haven't had much exposure to anything remotely girly and dainty given all that football talk and Legos and Tonkas I'm constantly surrounded with but I welcomed the break.

So out came the old, reliable candy jars.

Shopping for the candies was the easiest part. Ms. Sweet Tooth, remember? The night before the party I laid everything out on my dining table to figure out what went where.

Made the day itself so much easier and so much more fun. Candy station completed.

Defying Gravity 4.0

2012-01-29T11:58:00.001+08:00

Turning40 tends to bring out existential thoughts. Where am I? Where am I going? Whatdifference am I making? Can you finally stop minding the Negatrons in yourlife?

Youalso get big on Symbolism. So itwas perfectly symbolic for me to have flown off to Singapore with the threecoolest people I know, have a great time, try new things together and watchWicked: The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz.

It'sthe musical celebrating women who are different, who have to deal with peoplelooking down on them and setting limits on what they can do… women who struggleto fit in, struggle more to find their themselves, test friendships, makebold decisions… then eventually start Defying Gravity.

Hit it, Elphaba...

Speakingof gravity, also daring to defy it is Rappler—a social news network testing thelimits of new media in a time when people are still arguing about, Whatexactly is a social news network?

Because I am symbolizing way too much here,my first feature for them happens to be a review of… that Wicked show we caught in Singapore!

While the Lifestyle section is still a work in progress, Philippine news hounds should definitely check out the site. Rappler has a great team covering politics, the economy andbusiness. Glenda Gloria is their Managing Editor. See how she kicks ass here.She also gets Thought Leaders like Theodore Te to enlighten us on the Corona impeachmentproceedings, Gilbert Teodoro to assess disaster preparedness post-Sendong, andMaria Ressa to rap with Mon Jimenez on tourism campaigns for the Internet Age. And more! You can get them on your Facebook news feed here.

In thefuture, I hope to rap more about education, parenting, self-help and culture.Wish Rappler luck Internet! It's a bold experiment in new media. Some peopleare already saying it's bound to fail. Good thing Nikka Version 4.0 is morewilling to try and fail and dust her self up again. I've made quite a fewmistakes in my life, what are a few more as long as they don’t kill me?

Besides... If wedon't risk falling, how else can we Defy Gravity? Let's do this!

A Nice Day

2012-01-26T10:38:00.002+08:00

It's a nice day for a white wedding

It's a nice day to start again

Love that song.

Oh Happy Day

2012-01-20T23:33:00.000+08:00

Just remember, once you're over the hill you begin to pick up speed.

- Charles Schultz

Couldn't have picked a better person to be ~~over~~ on the hill with. Hope you're having the best day, Nona.

In the Loop

2012-01-16T09:29:00.003+08:00

If you've been here a while, you'd know that I found out I had breast cancer twelve years, five months and ten days ago. (yes, keeping count) If you're pretty up-to-date on this part of our cyberworld you'd also know that I finally told the boys I was once diagnosed. I hesitated for a while but felt like a load had come off as soon as I came right out and said it.

Mak, first-born twin, wanted to know the details. Tato, born three minutes later, listened intently then decided "we would not talk about it ever again". I totally respect and get it. The subject hasn't ever really come up again. I'm armed and ready with answers just in case.

Yesterday we were at a birthday party. All the other little girls hounded the glitter tattoo table to get their arms all shimmery with fairy and princess designs. The boys were next and many went for the lightning bolts and dragons. Mak and Tato took their turns but they rushed off to the bouncy castle before I got a chance to see their temporary tats.

When the boys finally emerged from every party's black hole - the bouncy house, I saw a bright pink tat on Tato's arm.

Tato: Look! I got a breast cancer ribbon. It's for you, Mama.

Aww. Sniff. Sniff.

Enjoy the Silence

2012-01-15T13:21:00.000+08:00

My favorite Depeche Mode song refreshed by RAC. Words are very unnecessary, indeed. But I just had to say, this is the perfect soundtrack for this Sunday, while hanging out with the three coolest people I know.

All I ever wanted, all I ever needed is here in my arms… Yes, yes, yes! Love and positive vibes back to all the kind people out there, wherever and whoever you are.

Numbers and Poetry

2012-01-11T15:00:00.001+08:00

DearVico Bear,

Iwas happy to hear from Teacher Steph how eagerly you have been applyingyourself in Math. Way to go doing Optional Work and Extra Challenges! Despitedoing very well the last two terms, when asked your personal goal forTerm 3 you wrote, To be better in Math. I suspect you’ll grow up making good use of your passion for numbers and figures. You are my favorite Visual Spatial Thinker,you! Asthe motto goes… Work Hard. Be Nice. And that’s what you have been doing. And you’vejust turned 8. This serves anyone well, whether age 8, 38 or 88.

Tocelebrate the school portfolio you have been working hard on in the pastmonths, I’m posting some of your work here. One day you might read this when you are all grown upand get a real kick out of it. Thisis you writing as a fictional character.

Withoutrealizing it, you made a “dissertation” this year—researched with some help butwritten independently. In second grade, you and your classmates call it your All About Book. You decided on this thesis statement: "LEGO is epic! Because you can build anything you can imagen." You do love exclamation points!!! And actually, it's i-m-a-g-i-n-e.

Anyway, thanks to your book Teacher Steph and I know facts about LEGO we didn’t know before.

Thisis what you came up with when asked to emulate Shel Silverstein’s poem One Inch Tall. Your poem is called 1 Nano Bite Tall.

Thisone emulates the Zoe Ryder White poem Inside My Heart, but you chose Sadness as a theme.

Thisposterity post is also a reminder to… Keep expressing yourself. Keep the poetry in yourheart. There’s a place for it even inside grown men full of patterns,plans and equations in their head. Your words are who you are. Sometimes you’llfeel like no one is listening. That’s okay. Do it just for yourself. Besides,Mama and Daddy will always want to hear what you have to say and we will alwayswant to read what you write. Always!

Endings and Beginnings

2012-01-09T22:08:00.004+08:00

Christmas came and went. Quick. Just like that. And now we find ourselves in the month not coincidentally named after Janus, ancient Roman mythology's two-faced god that looks both to the past and the future. He is the god of both endings and beginnings, the god of doorways and transitions. Totally appropriate.

All confident I was going to eat 2011 alive I came in with guns blazing, all cocky with my post I had crossed out #1 on my year's bucket list so early in the game. Running a new race distance was just one of the several things I set out to do. And then kaput. First helping of humble pie. #2, for me, just didn't happen. It was a relatively simple goal. Step into the kitchen and make something. Anything really. I stepped into the kitchen a lot (half a check for that) only it was to sort and organize. In all honesty, I'd rather clean the bathroom than cook but I was more determined than ever I'd whip up some new dishes. I joined a cooking class, listened intently, asked a ton of questions, took down notes, went home and replicated the dish that very evening. Just that once. Never again. Remind me next time to resolve not to make any more resolutions. Or maybe I can keep putting it out here so I'm forced to get around to it.

But 2011 was, well, interesting. I found comfort in cancer, in growing old. I discovered what ice cold really feels like, I breathed the same air as Bono, I bitched about insensitive souls. I learned to be thankful, I discovered new places, new spaces, I even told my children my truth.

For starters I've learned not to get too crazy with the list. And so for this year I shall, in no particular order accept, listen, read, embrace and reach out.

I want some parts of me to be like this child again: wide-eyed and eager to face the world, less cynical, less skeptical.

Let's see.

Marketing to the Child of Tomorrow

2012-01-02T12:08:00.003+08:00

Post title and photo are related. Really.

Pico Iyer has an op-ed piece at the New York Timeswith a significant message for all of us who are plugged in. It's called The Joy of Quiet. In light of Facebook,email, web articles, and work that requires meto sit in front of an online computer... I am taking his words to heart.

Theurgency of slowing down — to find the time and space to think — is nothing new,of course, and wiser souls have always reminded us that the more attention wepay to the moment, the less time and energy we have to place it in some largercontext. “Distraction is the only thing that consoles us for our miseries,” theFrench philosopher Blaise Pascal wrote in the 17th century, “and yet it isitself the greatest of our miseries.” He also famously remarked that all ofman’s problems come from his inability to sit quietly in a room alone.

I am not giving up Facebook, blogging andother Internet joys. They are useful, relevant, and too much fun. I love mind-expanding gemsI find on my Facebook feed—including this article I am urging everyone to read. Plus, I can't give up work which requires me to use and mine the Web.

I will, however, take more time cultivating thatability to sit quietly alone in a room. I will allot more time for beingunplugged, connected only to real live people and whatever part of Mother Earthsurrounds me. My 2012 resolution duly noted.

But here's a clincher: While Pico Iyer's Joy of Quiet rings so true, so dothese words from Clay Shirky.

There’sno such thing as information overload — only filter failure.

Onlyten words, but so much truth. It's a quote I had picked up from a Salon interview of David Weinberger, senior researcher at Harvard’s Berkman Centerfor Internet and Society. He talksabout how the Internet has revolutionized knowledge, and how we now have amedium that, finally, matches the breadth of human curiosity. It is a fact that is profoundly awesome, but Pico Iyer reminds us of an equally profound caveat in The Joy of Quiet.

Speakingof curiosity, it's 2012 and I still obnoxiously peddle stuff I've read.Some things will never change. And speaking of obnoxious, if this post'stitle and photo still don't make sense to you, you probably still haven’t readThe Joy of Quiet. Click! Click!

May all our resolutions be fulfilled this 2012!

Love 20x12

2012-01-01T19:44:00.003+08:00

Sharing some moments from the last day of 2011.

You will see more of Her than Him...

Because she just loves to pose...

While he's more a behind-the-scenes sort of guy...

What they both love is cheese, which plays a big part in New Year's Eve gluttony.

This photo I will call, "Mama and Dada by the Tree"

All those photos are meant to go with RAC's remix of Love U More, as sung by Sunday Girl. Although it reminds me of carefree college days when Sunscreem first sang it, I Love It More Now (pun totally intended) when it is cheesily dedicated to all the loves of my life--including those who aren't in the pictures above. All of you, I could not love more. You know who you are. Now click play if you want to dance and be happy!

Isn't that just one of the happiest songs you have ever heard? I am still celebrating the arrival of 2012, so this post is extra mamamushy and indulgent. Thank you very much! Happy New Year, blogosphere!

December Days

2011-12-24T00:22:00.000+08:00

...more like December daze, really.

We've welcomed a new little girl to the clan (my brother's daughter) after a serious shortage of girls. I've turned a year older, sent out the gifts in record time (finally!) and managed to eat every single cookie and cupcake that has crossed my front door. So help me.

The other evening, while hosting friends over at our place, we got a frantic knock at almost midnight. There was a fire in my next door neighbor's house. Yup, for sure it's one of those thoughts that have crossed your mind - the what-would-you-take-with-you-in-case-of-a-fire scenario. I always ~~joked~~ half-joked with MacDaddy that we'd each run off with my two favorite sculptures. It would probably feel like us bench pressing our body weights but I always assured MacDaddy the adrenaline would give us that extra push. Thankfully, with quick thinking on the part of the neighbor and the fire department, no one was hurt, the fire didn't spread and a smoke-filled place was all I had to contend with. It was also a relief to know that both MacDaddy and I, at that point, wanted to take the boys out to safety and absolutely nothing else. Talk about putting Christmas in its proper perspective. It's way too easy to lose sight when you have those crazy carols playing since September, you've wrapped your hundredth gift and you're nowhere near done and Christmas commercialism is out of control. Sometimes, just sometimes a little jolt like this all we ever really need.

Flashback. This is our very first Christmas with the boys. 2005. We're brand new, giddy and wide-eyed all psyched for parenting thinking Easy peasy, lemon squeezy. Perfection.

These are a few other Christmas photos over the years.

Look below. 2009. Am I the only one noticing we're losing our hair? Tato has a bandage on his forehead after sixteen stitches and surgery. Did we really think easy peasy? Really?

It's 2011, I don't have a decent Christmas photo and you're not getting a photo card this year, sorry. If you can get them to sit still long enough without one sticking out his tongue, or looking away or whining or wrestling, I'll give you my arm.

So here we are settling for a booth shot equipped with ample warning and about a twelve-second allowance to get the money shot. We still can't seem to get that done right. But we've learned to both laugh at ourselves and go easy on ourselves because sometimes that is the only way. Easy peasy, my a$$. We are perfectly imperfect at this parenting bit but perfectly happy and blessed we get to have a go at this. And that is viva la vida mama.

Merry Christmas!

Falalalala

2011-12-15T13:54:00.000+08:00

Ten days to go. Getting the Christmas vibe in our little corner of the Internet. Although it's already 2011 and the Richmond Book Drive is over, Deck The Halls Pomplamoose-style still sounds really good. This is my kind of Christmas song.

And by the way… in case you come from a highly dysfunctional family, notice how the season tends to up the crazy ante?

As my Tito Cholo had told me, Just face the music and dance! I'll take that advice. It can be fun and quite a learning experience having Christmas in Space (incidentally the title of Pomplamoose's Christmas album!) with all the aliens around. Shall we dance?

Let's all rock this Christmas!

Giving Back

2011-12-07T17:18:00.001+08:00

I've done the shameless plugs selling my little Christmas card projects here and here so what the heck. I shall be shameless again.

This Holiday Season give the gift that keeps on giving with the ICanServe Contribution Card. We got so many requests to design another ornament to adorn your tree this year we just couldn't refuse.

With your purchase of each card you share our commitment to promote early breast cancer detection. More importantly, you will help subsidize cancer patients on treatment.

For more information about ICanServe Foundation and the work that we do, check us out at www.icanservefoundation.org.

A minimum donation of P200/ card is requested. For orders call 636.5578.

Thank you.

Stop Bullying

2011-12-06T11:14:00.001+08:00

In every lunch and dinner I've had in the last couple weeks the topic of the out-of-control state of bullying always seems to crop up. I've talked about it before. I know a little bit about what it feels like to be bullied. I was six and so was my bully. Looking back now I suspect she was raised thinking she was extra special, a superstar just like her parents and that she could get away with anything. I quietly took in the name calling. I said nothing to anyone when she carried me and threw me across the room. I quietly watched the teachers give in to her at my expense. One day I fought back. I told her she was adopted. Unfortunately for her, the whole world knew but her. I didn't use any physical force to hurt her but I knew by the look on her face that morning that she would have preferred a slap on the face or a yank on her ponytail. I wish I had never done it but she pushed me against the wall. Well, literally that morning up against the classroom door jamb she did but you know what I mean. Bullying in school, at home, in the playground, through social networking sites or anywhere else is a horrible, horrible thing for everyone.

If you aren't already among the three million plus people that have viewed eighth grader Jonah Mowry's video, you should.

Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T22:26:00.001+08:00

There is always, always, always something to be thankful for.

- author unknown

We Were on a Break

2011-11-23T23:11:00.001+08:00

...the two-week We-Time MacDaddy and I promised ourselves we'd find time once a year to do until we're old and grey. Leaving the boys behind still isn't the easiest thing to do even after all these years but it helps they're surprisingly supportive and really cool about the whole deal. Plus MacDaddy is the world's best travel buddy.

Rewind to months before we were off

Me: Mak, Tato, remember Mama and Papa go on a vacation once a year? We're going in November. You'll have fun things to do also here in Manila. You'll go to the beach with Lala, and live some days with Nani and Dada. You're even going to have a sleepover with your cousins. I'll call and I'll email you all the time and Papa will take lots of photos to show you.

Mak: Where are you going?

Me: We're going to Paris and Prague and Munich and ....

Tato: Munich! Munich! Yes!!! Can you buy me the Bayern Munich jersey of Neuer! Yay! Yes!!!

And there I was ready with the "it will be a quick trip" / "we'll be back in no time"/ "we'll miss you but we'll have lots of stories to tell each other after" speeches but I didn't need them. Sweet.

So I guess We-Time was now "We" on a mission to find new football jerseys. Sweet.

Yes!

and the only photos we have together this time

Super 8

2011-11-17T13:32:00.001+08:00

Very early this morning Bear crept into our bed. Half-asleep I said, "good morning birthday boy." To which he replied so sweetly and so earnestly, "thank you mama, thank you…" with the warmest cuddle and hug.

Good Day Sunshine! from Nikka Santos on Vimeo.

Thank YOU baby bear. My heart is much bigger, my mind more open. Hope and happiness are mine… thanks a huge part to YOU.

Hugo Cabret

2011-11-13T21:44:00.001+08:00

It's a picture story...

It's stop motion art... It's a graphic novel...

It's The Invention of Hugo Cabret!

Whatever you choose to call it, this piece of historicalfiction written and illustrated by Brian Selznick is great for kids—one of this year's top favorites for ourresident boy and girl. As in, they themselves would cut down post-dinner TVtime because they couldn't wait for the next installment of the Hugo Cabretweeklong readathon. It was that enthralling.

Apparently, Martin Scorsese was also enthralled. Soonwe'll be able to watch Hugo, The Movie. Directed by Scorsese, himself! This makes sense also because the story touches on early film legend Georges Meliesand Scorsese is quite the passionate film historian. Can you tell someone's a Scorsese fan?

I thought I had to wait years and years before watching a Scorsese movie with my kids. Nope. Behold...

So thegenius behind deeply dark and unflinchingly violent films like Taxi Driver,Casino, The Departed and Mean Streets is finally making a movie forchildren—and in 3D at that. Maybe that format will finally find some meaningful use.Clocks and automatons in 3D sound good to me.

A Very Curious Child

2011-11-01T11:33:00.002+08:00

I'm abouthalfway through Walter Isaacson's very long Steve Jobs biography and I amriveted.

Although thisis Jobs' officially-sanctioned biography, it isn't completely flattering.Apple's founder was a 21st century visionary unlike any other, but he was also astrange, petulant control freak. History can be juicy reading indeed.

It'sfascinating to see how pot-smoking LSD-taking visionaries have shaped how weuse electronics and computers today. Aside from the biggest eccentric Jobshimself, you'll meet the Atari CEO, a mentor to Jobs, who would hold meetings in his hot tub whilesmoking dope. Or that Apple engineer who absent-mindedly drove his car into atruck nearly killing himself trying to figure out how to make those overlappingwindows that are standard in any Mac today.

So far, one ofthe things that stands out for me is how Jobs way of thinking was so out ofsynch with the traditional education system. Of his first years in school he said, "I encountered authority of a different kind than I had ever encounteredbefore, and I did not like it. And they really almost got me. They came reallyclose to beating any curiosity out of me." According to Jobs,both his parents "knew the school was at fault for trying to make mememorize stupid stuff rather than stimulating me."

His father hada passion for restoring old cars and re-selling them for a little profit. He'doften let his son tag along looking and bargaining for parts. Meantime,the young Steve showed an early fascination with electronics indulged byHeathkits—those do-it-yourself kits that would let you build radios oroscilloscopes. Jobs said, "I was very lucky, because when I was a kidboth my dad and the Heathkits made me believe I could build anything." Ah really, there is nothing likeexperiential learning especially for visual learners like Steve Jobs. OrEinstein. Or Oppenheimer, whose mind was allowed to wander and flourish in aprogressive school.

And what atestament to child-centered education when one of the greatest minds of the21st century considers one of his grade school teachers as his mostsignificant. "I learned more from her than any other teacher, and if ithadn't been for her I would have gone to jail."

So if you loveyour iPod, Macbook, iPhone and iPad you should also be grateful to Ms. Imogen"Teddy" Hill. She was Steve Job's 4th grade teacher.

Anyway, back toreading the book!

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-29T09:06:00.001+08:00

with love from

plus the gladiator and the eudimorphodon

Sparing the Rod

2011-10-26T22:32:00.001+08:00

As a mom I often feel like the luckiest person in the world. Other times like a complete and clueless idiot. Tonight I feel like a total jerk AND an ass.

The older generation can't seem to stop reminding us that we are raising our own children completely wrong. That we empower them too much. That we wield too little authority over them. That all that reasoning with our young children is just a one-way ticket to nowhereland. The Because-I- Said-So generation tells us that, like they did with their kids back in the day, we ought to occasionally give our own kids a serious whack in the butt. MacDaddy and I don't have very similar parenting styles. One has a more freestyle fun approach and the other is well, umm , a bit on the strict side. I don't need to tell you who's who. That's not rocket science and that's really not my point. Fortunately, MacDaddy and I are on the same page about most other parenting issues. The one thing we are in total agreement about is that we will not lay a hand on the children. No slipper whacking on their behind, our belts stay securely around our own pants.

Over the last couple of years, I have had bit of a problem with Mak biting his brother. It has happened quite a number of times and he knows that really gets my goat. We sit down and talk about it and he gets serious time out. At the end I put two of my fingers together and press it on his mouth with just enough pressure to show him I will not stand for it but not powerful enough to break my own personal code. I always hate having to do that but I also need him to know some things are just not okay. I find my mom-self on the see-saw again not wanting to bring up future monsters but not wanting to have to be a monster to get that to happen.

Tonight tucked into my bed because MacDaddy is away, and with the lights out because it was well past our bedtime, Mak started to jeer and shout and heckle while Tato was telling us a story. I asked him to stop but I only got more heckling. As I stretched out my arm to put my fingers firmly against his lips I didn't realize he sat up from bed that very instant and my arm forcefully hit him across the neck. It didn't matter that I didn't mean it. Not to either of us. So much for the attempt to silence him. His cry was that type of cry you just knew his heart was hurting way more than anything else. I really did want to cry more. I said my sorries because no one is ever too big to say it and really there was no one sorrier than me.

I know for certain I don't want to have to hit my children to get a point across. I know for certain I want to earn their respect, not demand it. I know for certain I want to bring up secure, kind happy children who will know for certain that they don't need a heavy hand to teach anyone anything. Is that so freaking impossible?

Island Adventure

2011-10-17T15:56:00.002+08:00

MY trip report, this time. First destination was Siargao - a surfer and beach bum's paradise. Next stop: Camiguin, one of the country's most beautiful islands and home to seven volcanoes. We chilled out (literally!) in the cold springs, swam in the falls, then dipped into the hot springs. We drove around one of the most gorgeous coastlines I have seen around here. Final stop was Cagayan de Oro with lots of family to see and lots of catching up to do.

We planned to have a simple birthday dinner for the four celebrants on the eve of their birthday. The actual birthday was going to be a hectic one that entailed waking up at dawn, taking a boat ride and speeding through town after town with barely enough time to spare to catch our second boat ride. The boys already knew they weren't getting A party. We had establshed that early on. But kids are kids and they started asking all day: Where are the loot bags? What's the theme? Will there be balloons? And moms are moms and we semi-cave too. A day before we left Manila I bought an assortment of stuff at the book store. Lots of paper, crafty things, art supplies, stamps. Just in case. They turned out to be perfect "giveaways" for the "party". I pretended we had a theme: Island Amazing Race. It was the only thing I could think up fast. Plus it justified no decorations. With the nipa huts, crashing waves and the surfers in the horizon, who needed decor anyway? I planned a scavenger hunt around the resort and made colorful wired bracelets to wear.

It helped we we had this wonderful oasis all to ourselves and a great ally, the resort's French owner. He helped big time. He found fresh crabs, prawns and lobsters for dinner - GrandadDoc, Mak and MacDaddy's all -time favorites. He made brick fire oven pizza with nothing on it but tomato sauce for Tato. He prepared pasta for the younger cousins.

He even baked a birthday cake from scratch. Who knows where he managed to dig up candles with such little notice, but he did. Merci beaucoup, Fred. You saved the day.

All in all a great way to turn six, fourty-one and eighty-two. See, kids, no balloons necessary.

Camp Adobo

2011-10-12T14:52:00.001+08:00

Someone's ready to go to camp. An honest-to-goodness sleep-away camp. Imagine, three days out-of-town with no mom or dad around. This is nothing revolutionary, I know, but just a flash ago Bear was a BABY. Now he's ready for this…

Semestral break is coming soon, so if you're interested there are still a few slots left for another serving of Camp Adobo. A Filipino flavored adventure in Literature, Arts, and Geography--also involving bonfires, games, sports, climbing trees, bamboo rafts, getting wet, lots of mud, carabaos and crazy cabin bunkmates.

For more information you can call:

Apet Nunez, Camp Director
0917 841 1088

Mocs Javier, Camp Administrator
0917 827 6627

Rosana Evangelista, Camp Coordinator
0916 723 2720

Camp Adobo is also on Facebook.

So excited for my (no longer a Baby) Bear!

Out of the Mouth of Babe(s)

2011-10-11T01:20:00.000+08:00

We're back from our island adventure. Today's guest post is by my brand new six-year old. Mak says he will do the next one.

This is teo. I loved camiguin siargao and cagayan it was my birthday October 3 I rode a Roro. The family sang the Birthday song 8:46 in the boat because that's my real birthday time we sang 8:43 for Mik.

the three islands were the best.

In Siargao we found an island nobody was my Papa left his slippers on that island he had to buy orange slippers from a man after. funny

in camiguin I tried new food called spam super yummy tastes meaty. looks like a red soft pillow. mt.hibok hibok was a volcano when it erupted thirty -four thousand people died. the hotel reustraunt hibok hibok was named after the volcano in hotel paras beach resort.

we had a amazing scavener hunt the first guess was everyones ninang ...........................ninang den next biggest cottage the fifth cottage. amala hot cold teo strech out arm. Teo wins the big bag of treats (school suppies)!!

Bye!

Be Happy

2011-10-09T13:18:00.000+08:00

So says my Chicha…

Just a post on random sweetness and memories. Here's something she recently tacked onto my Kindle. The ID picture she found is awful, but the whole thing is awesome for me anyway.

To go with this Chicha-pachicha post, here's a song she loves because it reminds her of trips to Subic and this year's trip to Coron in Palawan. It was played in the van, the boat, by the beach while the adults were sipping cold beer, while on the hammock, in the cottage, etc.

I agree Chicha, RAC's Armistice remix goes well with these memories...

Remember waking up to the sound of the waves and having the shore just a few steps away?

Remember Kayangan Lake? Where salt and fresh waters meet and make love into the best National Park in Coron.

Remember when we had Bomol Beach all to ourselves?

And so.

Just awhile ago I chanced upon her dancing to that Phoenix song blasting from her room, while big brother Bear was playing Minecraft and belting, "and when the lights are cutting out... and I come down in your room..." Et voila (Phoenix is a French band), a blog post is inspired.

She was in this outfit. Happy on a lazy, rainy Sunday, indeed.

Positive weekend vibes Internet!

Steve Jobs

2011-10-06T19:51:00.001+08:00

Dear Kids,

A man who changed the world died today. He was part Thomas Edison, part Walt Disney. But ultimately, he was the one and only Steve Jobs. You must read more about these people one day. There's a lot to be learned from their life stories. Inspiration is a powerful thing.

To rip-off today's Facebook status, in memory of the man, I say again…

Thank you for for making computers cool; for giving us fonts; for my best running buddy, the iPod; for Pixar; for letting my kids see the world on a Mac screen; for making us learn and imagine things on the iPad and other such awesomeness I fail to mention in this rambling.

Most of all, thank you for thinking this way…

“It’s in Apple’s DNA that technology alone is not enough. It’s technology married with liberal arts, married with the humanities that yields the results that makes our hearts sing.” -Steve Jobs, 2011 iPad 2 launch

When your attention spans can handle this, please watch for more inspiration...

"Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary." -Steve Jobs, 2005 Stanford University Commencement Speech

Rest In Peace, Mr. Jobs.

Aging Schmaging

2011-09-29T21:29:00.002+08:00

Thank you, NY Times

A doctor I go to for the most basic of facials tells me I am looking old. He says age is quickly catching up on me and with a quick botox fix on my forehead, fillers under my eyes and a collagen shot on my upper lip, I should look better. I will try not to begrudge him. He has a trained eye to spot imperfections and to point them out. It is his job after all. He also tells me that beauty is now down to a calculated science. That the distance between your eyes to your nose and something about the size of one's mouth (it is easy to lose your comprehension skills after being told you look ancient) can now determine the perfect face. Calculated beauty, I guess. I personally think it's a whole crock of crap but I don't have the heart to tell him. Ooh wait... if he reads this, I just did. Whooops.

He doesn't need to tell me I am growing old. I already know it. Every couple of weeks, grey hairs pop in to say hello reminding me that they need to be hidden again in a camouflage of brown. Those granny panties I used to laugh about are slowly looking like the perfect fallback plan to tuck in that stubborn flab that no workout on the treadmill or barre class can seem to fix. It is hard not to notice when the make-up artist I've been going to for over a decade seems to be dabbing way more concealer under my eyes than I remember him ever using. While I used to do everything possible to tame my full head of wavy hair, I just brought home a pack of rollers. My hair is suddenly limp and lacks bounce. A sure sign it is growing old along with me too.

I want to tell the doctor that, as crazy as it sounds, the sight of those wrinkles is a sign of personal victory. That, though it's such a pain in the ass they've arrived when I'm not even forty, I secretly rejoice at the sight of grey hair. When you secretly suspect at 26 you aren't going to live past 30, seeing a face slowly losing signs of youth isn't a bad thing altogether. They say each wrinkle is a battle scar for every trial we've faced. The lines on our face are stripes earned for the sacrifices we've made. Amen to that and that. Yes, the sudden sprouting of cellulite on your thighs is annoying and so are those new fine lines at the corner of my eyes. But at the end of the day - some of which involves being stuck under the sun with absolutely no sunblock because the boys decided on an impromptu football game at the park - reverse aging and a flawless complexion just isn't top of my list. I can go on and on about beauty being more than skin deep but we've all heard that before. Not to say either that I'm not getting suckered to keep applying that eye contour balm at night or that Bobbi Brown's peach corrector isn't a godsend.

Age is catching up on me. I'm leaving youth behind. But I can totally live with that.

With that, I'm off in a few hours. Balm, sunblock, moisturizer, night cream. Check.

Birthday Times Four

2011-09-28T19:17:00.000+08:00

I'm not too crazy about birthday parties. At least not the ones where there are hundreds of people with thousands of balloons plus the host and the caterer, the show, the arts and crafts table, the tattoo dude, the face painter, the balloon twister, the bouncy house, the mobile beauty salon, the snack stalls, the works. If you live in Manila, you know exactly what I'm talking about. If you don't, you must come and check one out at least once in your lifetime. Some are just out of this world crazy. Always a lot of fun. Just not my thing.

Mak and Tato both beg every year for the whole circusy-gig. We compromised and agreed we'd celebrate their 5th and their 7th. Still not the far-out levels were used to witnessing but a party nonetheless. (I also told them they were free to party-out on their 50th, 75th, 80th and 100th but that they'd have to plan those themselves) Next week the boys turn six.

Add to that the whole crazy business with Mak andTato sharing the same birth date as their daddy and granddaddy. Two years ago, we celebrated GrandDad Doc's 80th. That was a big one. MacDaddy turned forty last year so we went all out with that too. Then, of course, the boys got their party. It was their 5th after all. I never got around to post the photos so will do that now as proof for Mak and Tato that their corny mom (their word, not mine) who nags them constantly knows how to throw a party too.

Thanks for the photos, Mon

This year will be quiet. Were off for a week with the four celebrants and the whole kaboodle to explore new places down south. We also plan to make an important stop and visit GrandDadDoc's 92-year old brother. We took the boys to see him when they were months old. It would be great for them to see him again. I had been going back and forth over and over with this, not sure if pulling the kids out of school for an entire week was the smartest thing to do. They aren't exactly in play school anymore. But I also know that there is much to learn outside four walls. MacDaddy says he wished he had spent more time with his grandfather. He always makes a good point. Deal sealed then. We are going.

As for birthdays, I hope the boys learn soon enough that precious moments and family adventures trump the parties and everything that goes with it any given day. Hopefully in the next three hundred days. Next year is their 7th.

Silver Lining

2011-09-26T22:09:00.001+08:00

There. I said it. Monkey off my back. I finally got up the nerve to tell my boys that once upon a time, in a galaxy not far, far away, their mother had breast cancer.

It was easier than I had imagined. We were all curled up in my bed all set for lights out because thats what we do on weekends. MacDaddy was still in his dinner and it seemed like the perfect opportunity to come clean.

Remember I told you I'm going to Davao next week? And that I'm going because I will meet hundreds and hundreds of sick people that might need help? I'm doing that because a long time ago Mama was sick just like them. I had breast cancer also. I was scared and didn't know anything about it. And now that I'm okay I want those girls to know that they can get better also.

If you've been reading this blog for some time or actually spent more than five minutes with the boys you would know how different they are. Night and day. Day and night. And I mean it all in a good way. Mak will sit through the scariest, most frightening scenes in a movie. He will ask you every gory detail. I once left him with MacDaddy and he sat through the entire Trainspotting flick. I hear he didn't flinch once. Yes, even that scene with the vomit and the child demon on the ceiling. I know, I know. Censor censor. Whole other post for that one. Tato, on the other hand, needs to know the ending before a movie even begins before he agrees to sit through it. He looks away and even runs away completely when a movie is sad or scary or springs a surprise.

If I made a bet and guessed how each boy would react, I would have won big. I had played the possible scenario in my head over and over again weeks before this and I was spot on. Ha! I do know my boys.

Mak: You were sick before? What else? What did you do?

Me: I did everything I could to get better. I listened to my doctor and followed him. I even took this medicine that was so strong like a superhero fighting the bad guys that my hair fell out.

Mak: Wow! You looked like Papa with no hair? Wow!

Tato: Forget about it. Don't talk about Best Caster again.

Me: Its Breast Cancer. Did someone tell you it was scary?

Tato: No I just know it. Don't say it ever again.

Me: Okay deal. But if you ever want to ask me anything about it, just ask okay?

Bedtime prayers. Bedtime hugs and kisses. End of story. End of discussion. Lights out.

Days later, all set and ready to head to the airport to attend Silver Linings, our foundation's cancer conference and homecoming for over a thousand women diagnosed all over the country, Tato stood beside me and the bag I was packing and spoke in a whisper looking around making sure his brother wasn't around to hear it. His pride gets the better of him lots of times.

Tato: Mama, what if you catch cancer from the girls where you're going?

Me: Cancer isn't like a cold or a cough, Tato. And I'm not sick anymore. I'm well.

He gave me the biggest kiss on the cheek and we each went our way.

My own little silver lining.

Teaching Compassion and Empathy

2011-09-08T10:25:00.001+08:00

When I grow up I want to be fearless like Joan Halifax.

She is a Zen Roshi, anthropologist, ecologist, writer, teacher, LSD researcher, scholar of the US Library of Congress and the only woman and Buddhist on the Advisory Council of the Tony Blair Foundation. Joan Halifax is described in her TED profile as "a driving force of socially engaged Buddhism." Her activism involves helping the sick and dying. In this TED Talk she describes the true meaning of compassion and empathy.

Her talk was enlightening and emotional in many ways. Butaside from her clear description of what compassion truly is, here are myhighlights, paraphrased:

Compassion is an inherent human quality. We are all borncompassionate, but it has to be aroused.

Compassion has three enemies—Pity, Moral Outrage andFear. To which my mind clicked… 1) Pity—Many people think compassion IS pity. This iswhat some dogmatic institutions lead us to believe. 2) Moral Outrage—This is why dogma is dangerous. 3) Fear—Which is why the most enlightened people are theleast worried about outcome, mistakes, failure and loss. Which is why I aspire to be fearless like Joan Halifax.

Those who cultivate compassion feel suffering more, butthey return to baseline a lot sooner. This is resilience. True compassion doesnot drain us, it enlivens us. It compels us to act.

Neuroscientists have seen how cultivating compassion isnot just good for others and humanity in general. Compassion is good for ourhealth. It enhances neural integration—hooking up all parts of the brain andmaking it work better. It also enhances the immune system.

And now the highlight of my highlights is this… she asks, "If compassion is so good for us why don't wetrain our children in compassion?"

The next big query is, and there's already a long thread about it on TED: Exactly how do we train our children in compassion? Ihave my own thoughts, but it’s a great question to throw out there. Think aboutit. I'd love to hear your ideas.

TEDx Diliman

2011-09-05T15:37:00.000+08:00

Something special for TEDtalks fans in Manila… There will be a TEDx event held at the Malcolm Hall of UP Diliman this October 8. The theme is How Art and Culture Can Change Our World. The line-up of speakers is very promising.

TED Talks with local flavor!

For more details and a chance to score an invite, visit TEDx Diliman's official website. Because TED rules allow only 100 participants, you'll have to make a case for wanting to go. In 200 words or less they want to know what you are passionate about in your life, your work and your community.

The deadline for applications may have been August 31, but you can still try. TEDxDiliman just announced on Twitter: 1st set of invites out. So hard to choose & we had to pass on many deserving applicants. If slots open, some may still get in.

Thank you Universe and TEDx Diliman for dropping that invite in my inbox this morning! Confirmed. No, confeeermed!

Getting Ahead of Google

2011-09-03T09:20:00.004+08:00

In a Breast Cancer conference I attended in Orlando early this year, I joined a session called: The ABC's of Talking To Your Child about Breast Cancer. The rest of the conference had us all generally upbeat with yoga classes, chit chat sessions, and good news on the breakthroughs and trends in cancer. This session had us passing around the Kleenex box quite a bit. It is true. Tough as we are and as mighty as we think we can be when we brave these storms, we all turn weak in the knees and marshmallowy-soft when it comes to our children.

Our speaker was a top-notch surgeon who, after years of dealing with her own patients who in turn deal with their own children, discovered she had cancer. With roles reversed all of a sudden she was forced to talk to her own children about her cancer diagnosis. She has since gone on to write several children's books for children that help them understand and cope with the issues that come part and parcel with being a child of a survivor. At the end of the lecture, when it was time for the usual Q&A I asked something I had not thought about initially and then suddenly been thinking about for sometime.

MY QUESTION:

"I am a twelve-year breast cancer survivor. I have five-year old twins. Apart from my real job I work with other breast cancer survivors so my boys are exposed to this, to other survivors and know all about what we do as a foundation. Should I tell them at all I have had cancer myself and if I should when is the right time to do it?"

HER ANSWER:

"To your five year olds? NOW. Now is the time. How would you present it to them? You would say, you know what these women have gone through because you have gone through it yourself. What are you telling your children? Something bad has happened to you but you made something good out of it. Now. "

Now. To think that was seven months ago and I never got around to it. Blame it on real life getting in the way again or conveniently just forgetting or me just being plain old chicken. So why - apart from the fact that the -BER months remind me that breast cancer awareness month is just around the corner and that I need to make that appointment for my annual mammmogram - is this suddenly back into my stream of consciousness?

Because the boys have discovered the wonderful world of GOOGLE.

Tato: Mama, I am only in Google. It's the list with my finishing time when we joined the race. I am not in Google Images. I want to be in Google Images.

It seems they have also discovered the dangerously spectacular world of Vanity Googling.

Ahh.. Vanity Googling. Verb: Searching for one's own name on a search engine to check out what the world wide web has on you. Synonym: egosurfing, egogoogling

And since it seems to be a trend in our own home, I decided to egosurf myself. No humiliating high school photos, thank god. Equally thankful Facebook and Twitter weren't around then to record the bad breakups and the equally bad hair dos. I did discover quite a number of articles and interviews I have done over the years about my own cancer journey.

Tick tock. I better get to it before Google beats me to the punch. And yet, just like vowing you will never ever sit through another excruciating episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians the next time you chance upon it, some things are easier said than done.

The Muppets 2011

2011-08-30T17:40:00.000+08:00

There's a new Muppets movie coming out this November.Hope it’s a good one! Their last few films were duds, but I still watched themwhen they came out. The last one on the big screen even—as I wouldn’t settlefor a DVD copy. I will always be a fan. I grew up with them and RainbowConnection is the song of my childhood. This dates me, I know.

I loved it when they put up their YouTube channel.Remember Bohemian Rhapsody? I alsohad a mini freak-out out when I saw Beaker and Dr. Bunsen Honeydew as mascotsin Disneyland. Yes, Disneyland because apparently The Muppets franchise has beenbought by the Disney Corporation which owns practically everything in Entertainment thesedays.

Hence, this very slick, (and okay, very commercial)reboot of the Muppets Theme done by OK Go—those guys who did that awesometreadmill video and that other one with the MIT-developed Rube Goldberg machinewhich we had gushed over here.

Indiemusic lovers may also want to check out the entire Green Album from where thatcame from. It's basically classicMuppets music sang by alternative rockers. So far, I’m really liking theWishing Song rebooted by The Airborne Toxic Event. The album is really trippy.Fray sings Mahna Mahna, Weezer does Rainbow Connection and Andrew Bird sweetlycroons Bein’ Green. And this isn't even the movie sound track yet.

So…

TheMuppets are now being handled by Disney’s marketing people. I can hear somefolks (“the purists”) saying eeew. Well, I’m still going to get all nostalgic. It’sThe Muppets! Also, I hope Disney makes them more relatable to this generationof kids. That can’t be too bad. I hope.

Oh, and a Spider!

2011-08-26T09:16:00.001+08:00

Still caught up in the excitement that there is now moreto Bear's reading than Tintin, Asterisk, Calvin and Hobbes, Geronimo Stilton,Kzone and DC Kids—I am reading my own First Chapter-Book-of-Note to him and hissister…

I am not exaggerating when I say this is my First TrueLiterary Love. The book that started my love affair with books. The one thatmade me realize words on a page can make you cry, crush your heart and put a knot in yourstomach.

I was in the third grade when Charlotte's Web hit me. I even remember the daymy Tita got it for me at the huge Barnes and Noble in the now gone World TradeCenter. After tagging along on a Saturday morning to her office, we stopped bythe bookstore and as a treat I got a pencil box in my then favorite color Lavender and the E.B.Whiteclassic which I ended up reading all the way until Sunday.

Flash forward to decades later. Now I am relishingmoments reading E.B White's words to two curious children who are loving the story, so far. We're not done yet. I wonder how they will they take the ending! Meanwhile, I look forward tonighttime when we cuddle up in bed and I get to read them beautifully-wrought lines and dialogue like these…

* * *

The crickets felt it was their duty to warn everybodythat summertime cannot last forever. Even on the most beautiful days in thewhole year—the days when summer is changing into fall—the crickets spread therumor of sadness and change.

* * *

"When the words appeared, everyone said they were amiracle. But nobody pointed out that the web itself is a miracle."

"What's miraculous about a spider's web?" saidMrs. Arable. "I don't see why you say a web is a miracle—it's just aweb."

"Ever try to spin one?" asked Dr. Dorian.

Mrs. Arable shifted uneasily in her chair."No," she replied. "But I can crochet a doily and I can knit asock."

"Sure," said the doctor. "But somebodytaught you, didn't they?"

"My mother taught me."

"Well, who taught a spider? A young spider knowshow to spin a web without any instructions from anybody. Don't you regard thatas a miracle?"

"I suppose so," said Mrs. Arable. "Inever looked at it that way before. Still, I don't understand how those wordsgot into the web. I don't understand it, and I don't like what I don'tunderstand."

"None of us do," said Dr. Dorian sighing."I'm a doctor. Doctors are supposed to understand everything. But I don'tunderstand everything, and I don't intend to let it worry me."

* * *

Mrs. Arable fidgeted. "Fern says the animals talkto each other Dr. Dorian, do you believe animals talk?"

"I never heard one say anything," he replied."But that proves nothing. It is possible an animal has spoken civilly tome and that I didn't catch the remark because I wasn't paying attention.Children pay better attention than grownups. If Fern says that the animals inZuckerman's barn talk, I'm quite ready to believe her."

* * *

"Let Fern associate with her friends in the barn if shewants to. I would say, offhand, that spiders and pigs were fully as interestingas Henry Fussy. Yet I predict that the day will come when even Henry will dropsome chance remark that catches Fern's attention. It's amazing how childrenchange from year to year."

* * *

My nightly readings have made me realize this book isnot just a classic, it's a classic that's great to read aloud. Revisiting Charlotte, Wilbur,the Zuckerman barn and the Arables with my own little boy and girl currentlytops my list of Simple Joys.

I love you E.B. White... you and your elegant prose andexistential truths in a most touching and riveting story that is Charlotte’sWeb.

Dragons, a Gun, and a Cricket

2011-08-24T10:27:00.000+08:00

Posterity post!

Bear has entered the age of reading chapter books all on his own—and the kind with literary flavor. Sorry, but I wouldn't count Geronimo Stilton last year, though I think that nerdy little mouse is good at getting kids to read. Anyway... Officially recorded here, his first solo literary adventure at age 7, the year 2011. It was an Amazon freebie I had put on my Kindle, but here's a picture of the children's classic by Ruth Stiles Gannett…

Bear told me there was a “really scary” part—so scary, he “didn't want to read anymore.” But the story was just so good, he had to finish it. He adds that it was “really funny.” I have not read the book myself, but I love it just because it was his first chapter book and because it was so riveting he had faced his fears just to get to the ending. Imagine that.

While he’s anxiously waiting for the sequels (Elmer and The Dragon and The Dragon's of Blueland) I have yet to score, he has also read and enjoyed, so far...

So incidentally...

Psychologist Philip Zimbardo warns us about boys failing to thrive academically and socially in this age of video games and the Internet. Middle school teacher and author John Scieszka is on a mission, going on a "Guys with Books Tour" to make more boys read because not enough of them do.

It doesn't have to be that way.

Bear enjoys his Minecraft, LEGO Star Wars and Pocket God, but he can still get into books written in the 1940s. I’m hopeful literature will be a big part of his life.

I think it's all about giving boys the chance to read. Just the chance, no forcing or bribing or preaching. During No Electronics Time at home, one of the things our Resident Boy chooses to do is pick up a comic, magazine or book. Otherwise, boredom. There's stuff to read, might as well. Tapping into natural interests is another thing. So I chose Newbery winners, but I also clued in on his liking dragons and guns and insects. These are all very much boy things. And it worked. He got into it. The children’s canon of books is so big there's enough to excite every kid, boy or girl.

I have always thought books are like friends. You can't really choose which ones your kids will love. But we're the ones that give them the opportunity to meet them. That's a big deal. Books are some of the best friends we could ever have.

Twin Etiquette 101

2011-08-19T08:15:00.004+08:00

"So which of them is the B-E-S-T?"

Ummm...OHMMM... (deep breath 1..2..3..4..5..6..7..8..9..10..9..8..7..6..5...)

Where do I begin? Seriously?!? First of, we're in one tiny room together. You, me and the twins. Between the two of them, they've got four good ears. Statistics will show at least one is bound to hear that for sure. Add to that the fact that they ARE children. And oh wow don't we all know how they love to play deaf when you ask them to get off the FIFA game on your Iphone to brush their teeth but suddenly all ears when they're in a room full of grown-ups? More importantly they've got two hearts too, in case it didn't occur to you. If I did give you an answer how would that work for you? Will you show preference for the "best" one or go for the underdog? Favoritism never helps anyone. Not the favored one and not the neglected one. No one. Please trust me on this. Oh and have you forgotten? They are almost six. They can spell B-E-S-T. They can even spell T-A-C-T-L-E-S-S. Possibly even I-D-I-O-T-I-C. No, really. They can. Oh and you're asking about my TWO boys right? So the proper question would be: Which one is B-E-T-T-E-R? That's just grammar-wise of course because there's nothing proper about the question itself.

Well you did ask so here you go: They're both really, really great in their own way and they're the B-E-S-T things that ever happened to me.

Thank you for asking.

While I'm at it here are a few more questions NOT to ask a mom of twins:

ARE THEY IVF OR NATURAL?

Not anyone's business unless the information is readily given. Mine were conceived without the aid of fertility drugs or procedures and yet I don’t think they are any more “natural” than those conceived via IVF.

WHY DON’T THEY LOOK ALIKE? WHY IS ONE DARKER THAN THE OTHER?

Because not all twins do. Some twins are fraternal, some are identical and even many identical twins don’t look exactly alike. Same rule applies to skin shades.

WHO DO YOU LOVE MORE?

Please don’t ever make us choose. There is more than enough love to go around.

DON’T YOU WISH THEY WERE GIRL/BOY INSTEAD?

A Girl/ Boy set seems really cool but I am totally in love with my two so let's keep it at that.

WHO IS THE GOOD ONE AND WHO IS THE BAD ONE?

(This one has left me speechless. Still does. Suggestions needed)

Thank you for listening.

Tooth Fairy... you there?

2011-08-17T21:31:00.006+08:00

Dear Tooth Fairy,

We need you tonight. This is Tato's first. He woke up thinking he swallowed his tooth and panicked. Not because of what it might do to his digestive tract but because of the possible loss of income. He drove the house crazy but he found it eventually somewhere in between the sheets. You may need to make a side trip to the bank though. He is leaving his tooth under his pillow in exchange for crisp 2011-issued notes in twenty peso denominations.

We try to raise them as best we can but they just turn out so damn demanding.

love,

Tato's Mommy

P.S. His is the bed on the left.

P.P.S Mak's fourth tooth is just about ready to fall too. Might as well stock up on those new bills. You never know.

In Living Color

2011-08-12T08:35:00.002+08:00

At about the time your child turns five or just when big school is around the corner, your pediatrician will most likely recommend you see an opthalmologist. Nothing alarming. Just a simple, basic, comprehensive eye exam. Off we went.

Mak went first.

"E...H...N...D...F...N...P...T...X...Z..."

Then the doctor pulled out a little hard bound book at the end of the session filled with pages of what looked like colored, pixelized circles with numbers in them. He would be checking for color vision deficiency, he said.

Doc: Tell me the numbers you see in the picture.

Mak: 25...6...45...8...56 and 29.

Doc: Perfect. But try keep the children away as much as you can from all those new gadgets like the Ipad.

Umm yeah sure.. like telling a woman to walk away from a buy-one-take-three shoe sale.

Tato was up next. Same drill. All good too. No sweat. Then the Doc pulled out the same book.

Blank stare.

Doc: There are numbers inside those figures. Can you tell me what they are?

Tato: Huh?

Doc: Can you tell me what numbers you see?

Tato: One?

Doc: There are two numbers in the circle. Can you see them?

By the end of the book, Tato got three out of sixteen plates right even after he carefully studied each. Thanks to Japanese opthalmologist Shinobu Ishihara who developed a test to screen military recruits for abnormalities of color vision together with a color blind assistant while working in the military, we learned that Tato is color blind. Since this is the age of being PC the more appropriate, 21st century term is color vision deficient.

Pubmedhealth has a clearer explanation for all of this:

Color vision deficiency occurs when there is a problem with the color-sensing granules (pigments) in certain nerve cells of the eye. These cells are called cones. They are found in the retina, the light-sensitive layer of tissue that lines the back of the eye.

If just one pigment is missing, you may have trouble telling the difference between red and green. This is the most common type of color blindness. If a different pigment is missing, you may have trouble seeing blue-yellow colors. People with blue-yellow color blindness usually have problems identifying reds and greens, too.

Most color blindness is due to a genetic problem. About 1 in 10 men have some form of color blindness. Very few women are color blind.

No surprises really. Welcome to the family, Tato. You and almost every other male on my dad's side of the family is too. We've had a few laughs over the years hearing how the wives help dress up the color-challenged husbands and all the silly arguments they get into because of colors. We've also had to change things and keep it real simple for our usual color-coordinated family reunions. Red, white and green were the colors one year and a few of those assigned green still came in brown!

The year we chose purple was a bit of a disaster.

We picked black last year. We figured no one could go wrong with that.

Oh Bab(y)ies the Places You'll Go

2011-08-04T09:47:00.008+08:00

"Next thing you know they'll be off to college"

MacDaddy's last words before bed.

It felt like I had just written this post about them entering preschool fifteen minutes ago. Now here we are with first graders all set for their first day of school. No tears on my end this time and none on theirs either. More like tears of joy actually. A five month summer break is no laughing matter. Seriously. Still, I'll miss my almost-daily lunches with them. And the noise at home all day. And the laughing. And the fighting. Oh wait. Maybe not.

On the drive to school they both looked so grown up all of a sudden - all nervous and excited at the same time. Traffic on the road. Cool. Perfect time as any for the Oh Baby the Places You'll Go talk.

You're big boys now. You'll meet a lot of great people. You'll make lots of new friends. These are the best years. It will be so much fun. Your teachers will teach you so many cool things... blah blah blah

Then I thought I'd manage some expectations.

Me: Sometimes your teachers will give you work to do at home. Not a lot but some once in a while.

Mak: I'm NOT doing homework. Only girls do homework.

Me: What?! Mak.. what did you say?

Mak: The girls will do my homework. Boys don't do homework. They make the girls do it for them.

Me: Who told you that?!?!

Mak: Papa.

Darn! Darn! Somebody beat me to THE talk.

Summer Lovin'

2011-08-02T14:25:00.011+08:00

I'm still here. Slacker, slacker. We've been back a while from our trip. Even with an entire month to spare, we didn't waste any time. My three boys are the suck-the-marrow-out-of-life sort and its easy to get caught up in their craziness. First order of business: bucket lists.

The football crazy Mak-Tatos were deadset on watching a major league soccer game and adding to their jersey collection.

Then they wanted to see the Giants play. Thanks to all those summers playing kickball with the cousins I managed to ~~pretend to~~ figure out the mechanics of baseball.

And then of course there was that date with Bono. Watching U2 perform LIVE was always in our must-do-before-we-croak list. Arriving seven hours ahead had its perks. Just a rail between me and Bono.

We all died and went to heaven.

Education in Helsinki

2011-07-24T15:42:00.003+08:00

This post can also be called Progressive Schools 3.0 as I love talking about this issue. I'm practically obnoxious about it. If education reform matters to you too, How Finland Became an Education Leader is an interesting read on Salon. David Sirota interviews Harvard professor Tony Wagner who explains what Finland is doing right.

Apparently, Finland is now considered the best education system in the world, based on PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment), an international standardized assessment of students in participating OECD economies.

Irony of ironies, the top ranking students tested by PISA come from education systems that do not have test-centered education programs. Schools that do not have one-size-fits-all curriculums. Schools that are as far as possible from traditional/industrial model systems.

In this quote, Prof. Wagner compares what he's seen in some US schools versus what's happening in Finland:

"[…] I've been in some of this country's best schools in some of the wealthiest districts, and even some private schools, and I've seen stunningly mediocre teaching there with teachers teaching to the test. And the tests are primarily factual recall, memorization tests where students may pass, but will learn none of the skills that are necessary in the global knowledge economy.

This is what Finland has done that's different -- they've defined what is excellent teaching, not just reasonable teaching, and they have a standard for that. Second, they've defined what is most important to learn, and it's not a memorization-based curriculum, but a thinking-based curriculum."

Note that, memorization and factual recall is still part of what kids have to do in Finnish schools. There is that myth that progressive school kids don't do ANY of that. They do. Its just that... it is not the focus or measuring stick for good performance.

Tony Wagner's book The Global Achievement Gap looks like a good read. I'd also like to watch The Finland Phenomenon: Inside The World's Most Surprising School System.

P.S.

It's a Sunday and here I am talking about school, so let's end this post called Education in Helsinki with a song from Architecture in Helsinki. Harhar. Pardon the lame wit and title rip-off...

Architecture in Helsinki - Escapee from Architecture in Helsinki on Vimeo.

Distant Lights

2011-07-15T21:33:00.003+08:00

I cannot stop listening and bopping my head to this super fresh track from Ivy's upcoming album. "David Lynch stuck in a Greek discotech" indeed... and I am so there. Hope our weekends will be just as much fun as dancing to this.

If you like, here's a free download. You're welcome!

A Tale of Two Lilies

2011-07-10T09:26:00.006+08:00

Lilia Hidalgo born September 15, 1921. My Nona.

Lilia Patris Santos born February 12, 2006. My Pachicha.

My Dear Lilia Patris,

Much has happened in the past days that compelled me to write you. Little Lilia Pachicha... may your own story be that of Compassion, Resilience, Wisdom and Love. That was the story of your great grandmother's life. She had faced some serious struggles, she made her mistakes, but through it all, she showed a great capacity for love. When I was young and foolish and crossing all sorts of boundaries, I could have sworn she was the only one who could still love me. To this day, I miss our conversations. How she listened to me like no one else.

Your Great Grand Nona was a teacher.

I pray your life will be easier than hers, but just as rich--made full by curiosity, an open mind and a big heart. Like her, you will be compassionate, resilient, wise and full of love. I already see it in you. You and your million and one questions, your thoughtfulness, how sweet you are, how very loving.

She was a nerd. I loved that about her.

Your name holds so much meaning because you share it with your great grandmother. It is a powerful symbol. Did you know that the water lily or lotus has the amazing ability to flourish in clear or muddy waters? It can grow in healthy streams or dirty ponds, a thing of beauty rising above the murk. As it flourishes it helps clear polluted waters. Lily petals form into a beautifully delicate flower, but at its center is a hearty seed pod that can pollinate widely. It is enduring. In Buddhism, the lotus symbolizes purity, spiritual growth and enlightenment.

I can't wait until I can talk to you and your brother about all this in earnest--lotus flowers, tragedy, love, family, dysfunction, grief, redemption and how my Nona, once upon a time, saved me. She continues to inspire me as a mother. I would have lived well if I stay true to that legacy.

Love,

Mama

Also known in this blog as...

Suckers for Soccer

2011-06-03T17:19:00.002+08:00

MacDaddy will say it is football. Not soccer, futbol. But my title would have sucked. So there.

Anyway, it's been a fun-filled and crazy summer. And were just getting started. The boys have five full months of summer this year because big school is next on the agenda. Yup, big school. Don't even get me started on that.

So thank you, first half of summer. That was fun. Mak and Tato are living, breathing, sleeping and eating football. It isn't even funny anymore. They're still sporting football jerseys every single minute. I've stopped counting. I think its well over thirty days straight already.

Forget still life. Artwork for their acrylic painting class.

At the beach still in jerseys

Finally out of his jersey to enjoy a gorgeous morning at the beach

Oh wait.. they're drawing football logos

Were off tonight on a really long trip. Hello, Summer Part Two. Major roadtrip planned and amusement park overload together with my Folks, My BigBro and LilBro, the niece and nephew and a little bean on the way (not mine!). We can't remember the last time we were all together like this. It should be a lot of fun. Welcoming some serious family bonding (unless we kill each other first). Plus, plus MacDaddy and I have a date with Bono. That was #2 on our bucket list.

Our bags are packed. Our plane leaves in a few hours. And it doesn't even shock the hell out of me anymore to see these inside Mak and Tato's luggage.

Guess who's geared for vacation? See you in a month!

Return to the Corner

2011-05-22T11:35:00.001+08:00

Excuse the long absence. Bored boys on summer break + extra time I let them use my laptop + their aha moment that all the World Cup matches are on You Tube + the discovery that you can replay every single goal equals a busted computer trackpad and a three-week stay at the shop for some serious repair. These boys are the opposite of Midas. Everything they touch just turns... OLD.

Guess who the boys and I unexpectedly bumped into yesterday when we took a side trip to the bookstore?

I know his music brings back many and all kinds of memories for most of us but for me I got serious flashbacks about brand-new-mommy-sleepless nights, the 1 and 2 and 3am feedings and the constant cradling of that colicky infant that would only sleep in my arms or all swaddled in a bouncing chair. Imagine his face if I walked up to him and told him he reminded me of diapers, and bottles and breast pumps! Priceless. Five and something years ago, when night was as busy as day around here, he was that soothing voice on our CD player with his equally heartwarming lullaby. I sang this song many times to the boys many nights, many years ago. It always seemed like the perfect cure for the crying and the colic.

Here he is. Many, many years ago.

Happy Sunday.