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Coleen was excited as ever when I asked her yesterday to “cook” with me.

“I want to help you cook, Mommy.” said Coleen.

“Sure!” I answered.

“So, what do we need?” I asked her, just to check if she still remembered the ingredients we needed in cooking fried chicken.

“Flour, egg and the chicken.” she proudly replied.

“Good! So how do we do it?”

“First, you put the chicken to the flour then put it in the egg then put it in the flour again,” she said while pointing to the flour and beaten egg as she mentioned them.

“Very good! You still remember. OK, so let’s start. But first, we need to wash our hands so the germs will not go to our food,” I explained.

So we took turns washing our hands. Dried them with the paper towel then faced the table. Coleen took a piece of the chicken thigh fillet from the plate. Then, she confidently placed it on the plate of flour she has previously prepared. I was just looking at how she enjoyed “cooking” with me. At first, she did not mind having sticky fingers. She loved it whenever she would cover the chicken with flour. Then, she carefully placed the chicken into the beaten egg.So it was my turn to cover the chicken with egg. Then I asked her to cover the chicken again with flour.

As we were enjoying each other’s company while preparing our dinner, I noticed her getting grossed out with her sticky hands.

“It’s OK to have messy hands while preparing this, Coleen. That’s how cooks are,” I tried to convince her. But she could not help it and said,“Mommy, can I wash my hands?”

“later na lang when we are done,” I answered back.

Then she said, “Mom, can I just put the egg?” meaning can she just put the chicken into the egg bater. “OK. Then I will be the one to put it into the flour,” I replied.

“Oh, so you will be the putter?!”

“Yes, I will be the putter, babe.”

“Yey!”

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Our baby girl has a new name, Babu. Thanks to her brother who could not pronounce ‘baby’ but instead says ‘Babu’ every time he calls her. She is now five months old. How time flies!!!

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My daughter confessed to me the other day that she fell asleep in school. Then, the next day she told my sister-in-law that she takes naps in school! (She is in the afternoon session now and she is still coping with the adjustment of longer school hours. Now they stay in school for 3 and a half hours and since she is already in Kinder , they have more worksheets to do. I guess that’s what she meant with “matagal” in our conversation.) So on the way to Club 650 last night, our conversation went on like this:

“You have to promise me, Coleen, that you will not sleep in school.

Why Mommy?

Because you will not learn if you sleep in school.

But Mommy it’s so ‘matagal’ our snack time!

Why? Do you get hungry in school that’s why you sleep there?

Yes.

So that’s the reason why you should eat a lot before going to school.

Yes na nga but it’s so matagal.

It’s really like that, Coleen. It’s because you are getting bigger.

No. It’s because I’m getting Kinder.“

Funny Ate Coleen! She never fails to amaze me with how she constructs her sentences and how she tries to answer my questions in her own language. Whenever we engage in conversations about anything, she would always have innocent bloopers that are just so cute and real funny.

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This is one of Coleen’s art work that was mounted in their art exhibit when she finished her Creative Arts I Summer Program at CSC last May.

Her art teacher told me that Coleen is a real artist. She is so willing to do art works. She even stayed with her teacher after classes and did not stop helping and doing art stuff with her teacher until she is fetched.

Way to go Coleen! Keep it up! We are so proud of you!

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How time flies so fast! My daughter is now in kindergarten and by next year, she will be in first grade. Wow! I could not imagine myself yet having a grade schooler. It kinda makes me feel a little old.

It was her first day of school last Tuesday. So, I brought her to school together with my mother-in-law and my son. I went down the car and accompanied her to the main entrance of CSC which was packed with yayas and mostly mothers. The place was so hot because it was too crowded. There were parents who, like me, were excited to see their child go back to school. So when we reached the main entrance, Coleen got her lunch box and plastic bag from me and said, “Goodbye mommy, I love you!” I replied her with a hug and said,“I love you too, baby!” So I finally let go of her hand and watched her be escorted by the assistants to her teacher. Then, I looked for a space among the sea of heads that surrounded me where I could still watch my daughter from afar. I tried to squeeze in

“Oh, why are you crying?

“Don’t leave me, mommy!” she cried as she was trying to escape from the arms of the lady guard who was trying to block her way towards me. “I’m not leaving you. I’ll just be here. I will wait for you to go inside, baby.” I tried to console her but it didn’t work. She hugged me tightly as if she wanted to squish my legs. So I bent down and said, “Don’t cry baby girl. It’s OK. You said you miss school, right? So now you are going back to school so please stop crying.”

“But I don’t want you to go, Mommy! Just stay here! Don’t leave me!” I hugged her and assured her that I will be there waiting for her until she leaves their waiting area. So, eventually, she stopped crying and went straight to her teacher and new classmates. As I was standing behind the gate, I saw her looking at me with a sad face. I thought to myself, “Why did she cry?What could be the real reason? She should not be crying anymore.” Then, the bell rang and all the kids stood up and started their short exercise before going to the lunchroom. I looked back at her to see if she was following her teacher. She was, hesitantly. Then, they left for the lunchroom.

I am just surprised that lately, my Coleen has been suffering with separation anxiety. I thought all the while, she has already adjusted to her school. Well, maybe since we transferred her to afternoon session, everything seems new again. Good thing she has one classmate from nursery that also transferred to the afternoon session which made her a bit more comfortable.

Haaay. I sometimes feel pressured or feel scared whether I am on the right track when it comes to parenting. Well, I still consider myself a new learner. I learn each day and I try to remember all the things I need to remember in disciplining and making my kids feel safe and secure. Good luck to me!

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Feb. 21, 2008
6:53am
St. Luke’s Medical Center

Yes. I finally gave birth last Thursday morning, the night before I wrote my previous blog. Bilis no? I first felt the contractions at around 11pm but it was still tolerable so I did not really rush to the hospital yet. I even had the luxury to check my mails, chat with my friend Jeng through YM and write my previous blog entry. The pain was increasing but I just decided to go to sleep so that I will have enough energy just in case I give birth the next day.

So at around 3 o’clock in the morning, I woke up because the contractions were occuring very regularly and were really getting too painful by that time. The interval was every 7 minutes so I woke up myhusband and told him that it’s time to go.

When I arrived at the delivery room at around 4:00am, I was already 6 - 7cm! My God! So the resident doctor and the nurses admitted me to the labor room and monitored the heartbeat of my baby as the other resident doctors and nurses started their routine interviews on me. In between those interviews, I would stop because the contractions were just so painful you could not say any word. All I could do was just close my eyes and pray. But as soon as the pain subsided, I continued answering their questions.

At around 5:00 am, they put my anesthesia but it was not that strong that I could still feel the pain. I was disappointed and kept asking the doctor why I could still feel the pain. She said it would be better to feel a little bit of pain so that I could push the baby out when it’s time. But the contractions were just sooooooooooooooooo, sooooooooooooooo painful by that time. The resident doctor advised me to push while feeling the contractions. So I did. And I pushed so hard that I felt the baby move down! I started to panic and shouted, “Oh my God! She’s coming! She’s coming out!” I really got so worried because I was still at the labor room and I have not seen my attending doctor yet! Yet, I kept on shouting (yes, at the labor room), “She’s coming out! She’s coming out! Why can I still feel the pain?!! Ooouuuch!!! Where is my doctor?!!”

Yes. My cervix was fully dilated. Then they started to move me to the main delivery room
while I was shouting and really freaking out. I was looking for my doctor and kept on asking why I could feel the pain. It was supposed to be “painless” since the anesthesia was injected into my spine. So eventually, they increased the dosage of the anesthesia and all I could remember was I did not feel anything at all and I guess, I fell asleep because when I woke up, I had given birth already.

I was expecting to see my 3rd baby come out but unfortunately I did not see happen. I guess they sedated me because I was too noisy. Hahaha! Oh well, what a relief! It’s done. My baby’s out. And we are now safely home.

Her name is Calista Marie. 6.15 lbs and 51cm. She looks like her Ate Coleen. She has my chinese eyes and got her daddy’s ears and chubby cheeks.

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During the peak of the “nanny-kidnapping news” around two months ago, I told my daughter about saying No to Strangers. I told her that if ever somebody wants to get her or give her something, she should scream or call our attention. She looked scared while I was telling her those important things that she should remember. I also told her about the little girl who was abducted by her own father in the mall and the nanny who kidnapped the little girl. I told her that she should be very careful and be brave when something happens to her.

Our talk was a bit serious until she gave her insights.

“Mommy, you should wear an ID that says, ‘I own Coleen‘ so that the bad men won’t get me. If the bad men sees that the kids hold their mommies, they won’t get them.”

I wanted to laugh but instead I gave her my full smile.

You continue to amaze me, baby girl!

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Before giving my daughter a bath, I saw this tiny mosquito flying around her head. I tried to hit it with my hand but I failed. Then, I tried to catch it instead. And I did catch it. I showed Coleen the dead mosquito in my hand.

“Am I good?” I asked her.

“You’re a good flyer, Mom!” she replied.

“Why flyer? I don’t fly.”

“Oh yeah. You’re a good patay girl, Mom!” she proudly corrected herself.

Hahaha.

Funny how my daughter tries to create her own vocabulary. She is just so amazing.

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Coleen and I had a bet on the gender of the new baby. And guess what? Coleen was right from the very start. Another baby girl coming up!!!

Very good Ate Coleen! I will give you your prize and as I promised, it’s gonna be a big one!

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My daughter had another viral infection just last Thursday. She went home from her field trip very exhausted and sleepy,  that was around 2pm already. She did not have any appetite and energy to eat lunch anymore. She said that she was so sleepy and that she vomited in school. So, I just gave her milk and we went to bed for a nap. I felt her body temperature was not the usual warm it used to be. I checked her temperature and yes, she has fever. Not again!

 So I thought it was just like her viral infection the week before her birthday. But the next day, Friday, she started to have LBM. She complained, “Ouchy my tummy, mommy.” She would just curl herself up into fetal position, trying to ease the pain. Poor baby. Hope I could feel what she was feeling. Moreover, I hope I was the one feeling the pain and not her.

Then Saturday came.  Her bowel movement became more frequent. I was really alarmed when it reached around 12x, counting until 3:30am of the next day, Sunday. My God! I was so scared that she might get dehydrated.

So Sunday early morning, when my daughter woke up at around 6:30am to make her way to the bathroom again, I finally decided to bring her to the ER of Medical City. There, they examined her stool asked her to drink ORS (Oral Rehydration Salts). But my daughter did not like the artificial taste of it (which actually worried me more). After waiting for the result of her stool exam, the resident doctor approached us and told us that the results were normal (Thank God!) and that it was a viral infection, and their diagnosis was acute gastroenteritis. They said that it may last for 3-5 days. They also advised her to take some medications to strengthen her intestinal microorganisms to stop the diarrhoea, increase her fluid intake, take Vitamin C to prevent her from having another viral infection in the coming months. My daughter could eat any food except raw food like sushi and maki (too bad for she loves California Maki).So the following days, my daughter just had to stay home (again) and Thank God her bowel movement lessened from the height of  11x to 3x yesterday.

So, we have decided to let her go to school this morning. Too bad she missed the birthday celebration of two of her classmates (which she was actually excited about since last week) last Monday and Tuesday. She brought her gifts for them this morning anyway. Good thing there is one more birthday celebration of one of her classmates this coming Friday and that is what she has been looking forward to.She missed school but she was happy to be back in school today. Thank God she is recovering well and I pray that my daughter recovers fully and gains her normal weight again.   To the mothers out there, please take care of your children. It is just scary to know that anybody could be infected by these viral diseases we are facing now. And unfortunately, our children are the ones more prone to getting it for their immune systems are not yet fully developed. Let us take extra safety measures to ensure the wellness of our own families.

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