60 Things Plus a Comedy of Errors

That is, 60 Things Every Child Should do by Age 10 - one of my articles for the latest issue of Working Mom.

Dec 2009 - Jan 2010 issue, out in news stands now.

Thank you to all the cool parents who contributed to this. Good to think of such things as we enter a new year....

Nana said, "swim with dolphins" and "save for something really awesome and buy it." Mocs said, "play under the rain." Carlo said, "eat fish balls from a cart on the street" and "crack a semi-green joke in tagalog." Tito Cholo said, "learn to be entertained with a blank piece of paper and pencil." Jamie said, "be amazed at your own good looks, just like Dad!" KC said, "pick and cook the first of many harvests." Rone said, "learn to let your parents use the bathroom in peace." Kourtney said, "be unafraid of making mistakes." Debbie said, "ride a bike in the Tour of the Fireflies." Ana said, "voluntarily give some of your toys away to the less fortunate." Kara said, "be the barkada of your lolos and lolas." Sylvia said, "plan a party." I said, "go to Bohol, see a tarsier up close" and "read a book that made you cry."

There's so much more - from the simple, to the profound, to the funny... to the funny and profound. Naaks. Grab a copy for the rest and the usual WM fare of articles for thinking, proactive parents. Promo!

And, and, AND... I should highlight one of the best comedy of errors I have ever been involved in - thanks to friends with a tongue-in-cheek facebook info pages, oh-so-innocent editors (I love ya B!) and the porn industry. Taadaaah...

I nearly spit my coffee when I saw the job description.

Now if you don't know what Vivid Video, Inc. is, I can't help you. Google it na lang. It was my biggest laugh of the week, turned mini facebook sensation. Apology and erratum next issue for cool parent, LOL-funny-friend Ojay. Merry Mix-up to you from The Working Moms!

And I'd like to add to the list item No. 61 - "learn to laugh at yourself!"

Do You Hear What I Hear?

It's literally screaming Christmas over here too. For the last couple of weeks we have been roused from sleep almost every single morning by our very own in-house carollers belting out holiday tunes. Non-stop. No kidding.

Meet the carollers on their make-shift stage captured by our make-shift video camera. Forgive the film quality and the get-up. This was an impromptu act. That or MacDaddy and I weren't informed a concert was in the works. Oh, and excuse the fall early on and some nose-picking mid-way. We are working on our manners. And that would require a whole other post. (Word of caution: To preserve your ear drums you may want to lower the volume at the end. Don't say I didn't warn you.)

To calm your frayed nerves from the ear-splitting performance, here's the same song presented by Sunday school kids using cool black-light effects.

Wishing you all...goodness aaaannd light!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like...

Christmaaas! So here's a look back at a 2007 video mishmash starring Bear at age 4, and Chicha at the cusp of 2. I know, home made videos are cheesy, but it's the season of good cheer and I love cheese... Click play for some holiday love sent your way.

Love and Joy 2007 from Nikka Santos on Vimeo.

I should come up with a 2010 version. We'll see.

A Lesson in Symmetry

Last Friday, Bear and his 5's and 6's classmates had a culminating activity to show us what they learned from their theme investigation on ancestral homes -- studying the bahay kubo, to the bahay na bato, to today's modern house. They were obviously busy these past weeks playing architects, art historians and book authors -- while learning math, science and literacy along the way. Among other things, they built model homes complete with plan/elevation, costing and proposal as to why we should buy their house.

Bear and his "associates" named their firm Builders and Co.

There was so much to see in their exhibit! Like, cool how designing their own callados was also an exercise for math patterns. But here's a project that really caught my eye....

One day, these 5 and 6 year olds may look back at this simple lesson in symmetry and contemplate the depth and meaning of it all. That there is more to Bear's "Robot Skunk" than meets the eye.

From design to name, Bear's Robot Skunk is groovy!

One day kids, remember Robot Skunk and ponder this.... How you can find symmetry in a leaf and a butterfly, to the Greek Parthenon and the Taj Mahal, to religious symbols... and what does all that mean. How you can find symmetry in reciprocity, empathy, apology, dialog, respect and justice... and what does all that involve.

As our Friday school event segued to a weekend at the beach, it was me who had a flashback to Bear's first lesson on this basic - but most profound - principle used in architecture, design and aesthetics. When I snapped this picture by the rocky shore, I thought... equal parts love here and there.

They are my symmetry in motion.

But something more like the symmetry of yin and yang. Balance doesn't necessarily mean exactly the same on both sides.

I love them both equally with all my heart, but as they grow into their own actualized selves... I know that to love them best, I have to love them differently.

Spares and Strikes

The boys just discovered a fun way to spend an otherwise lazy weekend afternoon...duckpin bowling!

Meet the players:

I was the designated scorer and screamer. Though this time it was more of the "Do NOT, I repeat, do NOT throw the ball on top of your brother's head!" than the "Go!Go! You can do it!"

Bowling kicks for rent. Cute huh? MacDaddy had to settle for socks though. That or squeezing into a pair of size twos.

This is Mak, whose style is all about twisting and turning his body. Think telekinesis meets bowling.

This is Tato, our little bundle-of-nerves. You can look now, Tato. You can turn around. You're missing the best part!

The final tally:

The Mak-Tatos' scores were dead-even. I kid you not. Phewww. That sure saved us from some heartbreak. For the time being, anyway. No "Unfair!" on the ride back, no bruised egos to massage. Well.. except maybe for Player #3 (see score sheet).

Mak: "Papa needs a ball teacher, a coach. ".

Strike that out.

Sorority Sisters

For as far back as I can recall, I have always wanted a sister. And when MammaMia was all set to add to the brood when I was five years old, I just knew my wish had come true. Mom did come home from the hospital months later with a bouncing baby... boy. He was adorable and everything you would hope for.. except he was a HE. I called him "my sister" for months. I figured saying it often enough would transform him into a she. It never happened. It wasn't meant to be.

Me and LilBro, circa 1980

Shortly after my cancer diagnosis ten years ago, three other survivors and I sat down and got down to business. Together we made one vow: that we would not let the next woman go through breast cancer in shame or alone.

And ever so slowly I began to understand. The sisters came in due time. I asked for one, but today I have a little under a hundred of the most beautiful, most courageous sisters. I never stopped praying. Someone Up There never stopped listening.

Meet my other family. My sisters:

And now...for the shameless plug. A little project I've been working on: The Gift that Gives Back.

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Thank you for listening.

The Little Prince

Yes, there is a POP-UP version!

Antoine de Saint-Exupery had me enthralled from Chapter 1, and in tears at the end. As the heroic Mak-Tatos just showed Nana, we could all learn a lesson or two from children. Such as...

Boa constrictors eat things whole.

So this is not a hat.

It is a boa that just had an elephant for breakfast.

I hope Bear and Chicha will always feel free to talk about their "boa constrictors, primeval forests and stars"... with me and anyone else who cares to listen.

While the Fox did remind The Little Prince that, "what is essential is invisible to the naked eye"... here is something my naked eyes would really like to feast on, up close....

This would make a fine introduction to a great piece of literature for our own Little Ones! They can enjoy the pop-up feast-for-the-eyes now, and when they're older, they can revel in the book's imagery and veiled meanings, then tear up like the pathetic 8 or 9 year old that I was when I first read it. Sigh.

Holidays and Heroes

Tribute to Andres Bonifacio by Justino Magalona

Most everyone got a free day yesterday as the country celebrated the birthday of one of our national heroes, Andres Bonifacio. The boys included. They love school and wanted to know why they were home yet another day.

Me: We're celebrating the birthday of a hero.

Mak: with cake?

Me: No, Mak. He's already sleeping forever. We just remember him for being a good person, our hero.

Tato: What's a hero?

Me: Someone who makes everyone smile because he does or did a really good thing.

Tato: Mak is my hero. He'll fight the bad people if they fight me.

Me: And you, Mak... who's yours?

Mak: Tato. Because he's my brother.

...And it takes a child to teach me we don't have to do grand things to be heroes. And to have faith in our brothers.