The Baby Blog

He now likes to be called Mr. Notre Dame because as of yesterday, May 23, 2008, my Mio is officially finished with pre-school! It was kind of sad for me because yesterday morning was the last am drive to the ELC on campus. After 4.5 years, I no longer have to attend a parenting class, sign in and out, and complete a separate amount of parent volunteer hours. Each boy spent their preschool years there and I have grown to love the teachers (who are actually my colleagues, too)
It was affordable without compromising the quality of teaching or care.

Mio now has his own memory box and certificate. He will be in kindergarten with kuya bear this August! Oh boy, more uniforms...but at least now I only have to keep track of one calendar of holidays, minimum days, etc. Maybe now I will be on time for work---doubt it!

Congratulations Mio

for now I just want to share with the blogging world what my family gave me for Mother's Day.

Damoomoo and I celebrated our 7 year anniversary on the 8th (unfortunately I had to work some MK stuff that night, so we celebrated on the weekend). He had the great idea of testing our salsa (the dancing not the sauce) skills at Cigar Bar in the city. Just as we were crossing the Bay Bridge 'moomoo came up with the idea of having dinner at HOUSE OF PRIME RIB!! woo hoo---- I enjoyed every moment and worth the one hour plus wait for our table. Even as left overs it was still good!! The perfect choice...We definitely needed to work that food off beyond the walk from the car!

Unfortunately the place was so CROWDED that you can barely move, of course not all people think that way, but hey it was good music (sorry can't remember the name of the band). We ran into Mr.Salsa himself outside and just hung out. It was close to 1am and definitely time for us to head home.

Happy Mommy Day
For the most part this day has always been for my mom, 'moomoo's mom, and of course nanay. but you can't help but feel special when your kids make their presents for you. Mio made a beautiful flower arrangement that I shared with our moms. That has to be one of the best ideas I have seen in pre-school.

AJ was so excited when we finally returned home and he handed me this huge pink construction paper envelope with different MOM projects. A picture of me which was one big HUGE head and really short hair, a story of all his most favorite things about me being his mom (the hugs), and a mini pot of flowers.

I did get the hallmark cards thanks to damoomoo, but what made those special was that for the first year, it was really signed by AJ and Mio. I had the most unstressful weekend which was both fun and much needed.

Thank you Damoomoo, AJ, and Mio --- I love you all. To my hubby, seven years has gone by so fast. You are my best friend, my loudest cheerleader, and best support system I could have ever asked for, and definitely more than what I probably deserve. I love you.

Let me start by describing my week...
Work of course, with the added MK meeting, phone calls, scholarship ceremony, grand opening for my team member, and a 3 hour spa day at work where i did 20 make-overs... oh and a flight out to LA on Friday.

I get a text in the middle of a make-over: "we leave out of sfo at 8:45". *crap* that means rush to v-town to drop the kids make sure they are situated, Mio's soccer shoes are there, carseats are there, no crying, etc (actually my kids cry when I pick them up to go home!!)

We arrive into SFO an hour and half early, park the car, and go to the check-in kiosk... *crap* Damoomoo is unable to check-in. I look at the itinerary--- "We are not flying into San Diego"!! my genius dj daddy was working off an OLD itinerary from last AUGUST!!! I knew we were flying out of Oakland! Great... it was now 8pm by then and our flight leaves at 9:15...

Okay, i couldn't help but laugh my ass off... I know that this would be something I would do... well actually no...but it is just FUNNY. d'moomoo drove quite skillfully and got us to OAK safely... but we still had to park!!!

We parked in Terminal 1 and SWA is Terminal 2... running in a skirt and small heels is not fun even if they are Naturlizer...we rushed to check in our baggage with the disclaimer "we will try to get this in on the plane". we tried o rush through security, but it is what it is. We ran to the terminal, luckily not at the end of the airport, got our boarding pass and actually made it!! Oh yeah, and so did our luggage.

This trip was for damoomoo and his new venture. It was fun but LOOOOONG. we had to wait in line to get in, wait almost 40 minutes to get out of the parking garage, and it took us 2o minutes to drive 2miles for dinner. Oh yeah, then we were in a fender bender on our way home from dinner! So much for getting my rest!

Got home safely with no drama. of course the boys cried when it was time to go home. picked up the van from Vallejo and headed home. finally fell asleep about 8pm and struggled to get up the next morning. Tuesday morning I am at the airport again (the right one this time) flying to southern cali again---this time into Orange County. I am here til Friday. good and bad that I am alone without the family.

I plan to sleep soon, but still have to wake up early. No lunches to fix, no baths to give (just mine after spending an hour in the jacuzzi). but at the same time... empty bed--no snoring daddy next to me, no restless sleeping toddlers, no middle of the night bathroom runs and thirst quenchers. but again-- I am alone.

so much to share but I am actually getting close to bedtime.

with MIO

We were at the drive-thru at our nearby McD's, yes Monday is slowly but surely becoming Mickey D dinner night... As we waited for our food at the second window, Mio noticed that it had a "smart" soda fountain (it prepares all the drinks by itself). As we drove away ----

Mio: Wow, mom! did you see that?! The drinks were made by a robot arm! That was soooo cool! Wow, mom, did you see that, huh?!

MM: Wow. that is cool. Would you like your own robot, too? What would you like your robot to do?

Mio: Oh wow... that would be cool. I want my robot to pick me up at the car, move me and take me inside the house. I want the robot to clean my playroom, and brush my teeth the right way.

with AJ

I was getting ready to leave for my weekly MK meeting, and said my goodbyes to the kids.

MM: Bye buddy [AJ], I'll see you later. Mommy will be back.

Mio: Where are you going?

AJ: She's going to a MK meeting. Mommy are you going to get your red jacket back? Are you going to get out of level zero?

MM: that's right baby. mommy is going to her meeting so we can get the red back, and I can learn how to get the FREE car!

AJ: okay, good luck, mom!! Go get your red jacket back! Love you.

Mighty Mom and Damoomoo did it again. We paired up last weekend for a friend's wedding. I coordinated the day's events and he did the dj-ing. It was really hectic because we just finished the holiday, but was fun because it was for two good friends that were great to work with.

For the rehearsal which started at 4pm, was a little hectic but it was something we did as a family. Yes there were complaints and wondering why they were there, but they managed very nicely. In fact we had one of my most favorite conversations:

Kuya: Am I the ring bearer again? I don't want to be the ring bearer anymore!
Mom: Why not? You were so good and handsome
Kuya: Because I get so nervous
Mio: I WANT TO.
Mom: What about for mommy and daddy's wedding? Don't you want to be the ring bearer for us?
Kuya: No.
Mio: I WANT TO. I want to be the RING BURGER!

That is all we have been doing since vacation started! Every morning I wake up to little footsteps running in the hallway, a little body jumping into bed with me, and little whispers ---- "Can I go downstairs to play Rock Band?"

From morning til sleeptime it's Rock Band all the time! Mio has finally moved up and taken his place in the band. He started hitting the "green" drum notes, to singing, to playing the drums. Actually a better description is BANGING on the DRUMS. He is also slowly picking up the guitar. As fun as it is to have a family activity, Mio can also get pretty bossy about his game. We can only play HIS songs over and over and over again! He will also break up your rhythm by pressing pause in the middle of your set just because he wants to.

AJ, following his daddy's rhythmic footsteps has been a natural in all parts -- guitar, singing and drums! It was fun watching him play with one of his schoolmates while we hosted a 'playdate'. He will also coach you on how to "save another bandmate". Oh the joys of vacation time-- too bad it is almost coming to an end. But until then you can count on us to rock hard on ROCK BAND! come out to the double V and join us anytime! Ninang DramaQueen had much fun jumping in and rocking with us. I will admit that the funnest time is watching Uncle Patrick and Uncle Joseph rockin' with my boys until 3 am!!!

No not me cuz I'm not back at work yet -heeheehee... the simple joys of working at a school. But this is actually about Mio.

As we--- I mean "I"-- was preparing the house for our NYE gathering Mio came downstairs complaining about a 'to-mack ache. I told him to go to the bathroom and "poo it out". 5 minutes later, after not hearing the cries of "Mommy, I'm done!" I went to check up on him.

There he was slumped over holding his tummy. I asked if he was done. No response. I picked up his head and he was SLEEPING! I couldn't resist -- i dropped his head back into place and grabbed my camera. *sorry folks this picture is a little too personal. Will be something I share with his prom date!*

Now if you look back into archives or past stories you will know that Mio is the one that would fall asleep just about anywhere. We have found him napping under the table, literally standing and leaning over the recliner or ottoman, and now the toilet!

and long vacations! The only good thing about working for the school is that I get the "extended" vacation from Dec 20th to Jan 7 *2 extra days added in*. The only thing that sucked was getting sick for the first 2 days! Which meant no shopping and no gift wrapping. We were busy the weekend before Christmas which left me with a small window of time to clean the house, finish shopping and wrap all the gifts!

Uncle Patrick came over to help by staying with the kiddies while I went to do last minute shopping (Thank goodness for Kohl's, Target, and Safeway!) The best thing was I arrived at every store before the bigger more frustrated crowds showed up. Then it was back home for some serious cleaning. The boys did their part in their playroom and bedroom, and the rest was up to me!

We were hosting Christmas Eve for my mom, brother and sister and their families so it was getting pretty stressful. Damoomoo did his magic in the kitchen cooking Mitsado, Salmon in 2 different recipes, and garlic mash potato, while I finished deep cleaning the bathrooms and bedrooms. Everyone was arriving and I was in my room wrapping all the gifts (including those from Santa) I finally got a gift for the damoomoo that was a total surprise so that was fun watching his reaction when he opened it--- the throwback Warrior warm-up jacket.

well christmas eve was perfect. family, food, and lots of smiling faces from all the kids. according to AJ it was "the best day ever!" Merry Christmas to all, and an abundant new year!

I almost forgot... over the Thanksgiving holiday I went ahead and CUT MY HAIR---short. As in the shortest it has been since high school! And it includes highlights! hehehe. I have gotten a lot of compliments (feels really nice) unless everyone is just being nice... you know what keep lying to me if you have to!

But seriously, it has brought out a whole new level of confidence. It is my "ready for success" attitude and look combined for a brand new year. I am gearing up for that day when I can turn in my 2 weeks notice. I have lost some my extra weight to match the new look. I am slowly updating the wardrobe (takes a lot more resources) to complete that process. But then again if I had the resources, I still need Damoomoo to help me pick out my wardrobe!

But I am happy with the new meeh! I will post a picture soon

It is actually a pretty mellow celebration. Damomoo actually picked up a last minute gig with ABS-CBN (which will hopefully lead to more), so I am home with the kids enjoying some family time. Being that it is a Wednesday, I am kind of glad that we are just chillin'. We agreed that we will have our family celebration on Friday with some Christmas tree picking and decorating, and of course a chocolate ice cream cake! yummy!

I had a pretty busy day at work. I interviewed the PIO for the State Chancellor's Office for our college tv station--- if you are West CoCo Comcast viewers, you might catch me on the tube sometime next year. Oh yeah, if you ever call my work--- you might even recognize the voice! hehehe...

Life so far has been good. I am waiting for some things to fall in place and have my MK business pick up. But all in all I am thankful for being blessed with a wonderful husband, 2 adorable, healthy boys, and a home... oh and of course family and friends that are caring and supportive. Thank you all for the birthday wishes (email, facebook, etc)... Sorry but if you texted me, I actually can't receive text msgs on my phone! yes, lame i know....

Have a great day everyone...

I was driving a manager and stopped by to pick up Mio, and as we are heading back to the office he manages the following conversation:

Mom: How was school?
Mio: Good.
Mom: Mio this is Donna. Say hi to Donna.
Mio: Hi Donna.
we talk about his picture day, and then he says something else that I couldn't hear.
Mom: I'm sorry Mio I didn't hear that. What did you say?
Mio: I'm not talking to you mom. I'm talking to Donna.
Donna: Oh yes, what was that?!
Mio: I smiled in my picture today. And I have a game that Ms. Stephanie gave me to play on the computer. I'm smart huh, Donna?

Let's just say the "emergency preparedness" workshops that I have been attending really paid off!
On Thursday I had the biggest challenge (read one of the articles) of my working career (okay not that long, but this event made it seem long!) It happened at the church located on the other side of our fence. I was pulled away in the middle of a "going away lunch" for a co-worker (walked out without even paying). A shelter in place was activated, and lifted, but ghetto birds circled until nightfall searching for the suspect(s). Classes were eventually canceled. I still managed to make the Warrior game with hubby, but really couldn't enjoy it. But really appreciated the opportunity to put all the excitement aside even for just a few hours.

I went to work the next day just to decompress. I was there physically but couldn't wrap my mind around anything long enough to complete it. So I pretty much took advantage of quiet office, and a quiet Friday on campus. In addition, on Saturday, I couldn't get excited about shopping! And when we went home I barely made it through the 2nd scene of Harry Potter and fell asleep---- for the rest of the night on the couch!

Well, thankfully our student is recovering nicely. The school has started a fund to help pay for his medical bills, and to help raise money to purchase the protective vests that saved his life.

So there is a lot to learn about my job, especially at a time of "crisis". But I can honestly say that I even surprised myself.

So much has been happening over the last month. But here's the rundown, putting my "Mighty Mom" skillz to the test:

Mio and the Dental Nightmare
Both Mio & AJ had dental check-ups last month. AJ's Report Card was an A, except it turns out that he has an extra baby tooth on the bottom set!

Mio on the otherhand... 2 new cavities were detected and an abscess (puss pocket) formed above his injured tooth. Actually it formed on the other "healthy" front tooth. After additional x-rays, the dentist ordered that his 2 front teeth be removed and thus the nightmare begins...

We were given the choice of 2 oral surgeons, I chose the one across the mall. Scheduled and went to the consultation for a 2 o'clock appointment. We didn't get called into a room until 3! It took another 30 min before the doctor actually walked into our room. damoomoo who used his lunch hour to join us, but had to leave. I sat there pissed out of my mind, and not once did the assistant, receptionist or anyone say "thank you for waiting..." or "we apologize for the delay...". That made me even more mad. But the date was set... Friday October 5th: no food or drink after midnite until the surgery. I had the day off and all was set.

HOWEVER, Mio ended up eating a handful of Goldfish crackers on the way to the appointment. And guess what.. they wouldn't operate and forced to re-schedule! in doing a re-schedule the surgeon was about to go on vacation and everything else conflicted with my work, so the next appointment was not until the 26th. I was done with that office, so I asked for another referral and got his x-rays back. I asked damoomoo to schedule the next appointment cuz I was just livid at that point. We came home and Mio still had a full set of teeth. I didn't bother going into work that day, but instead caught up on lost sleep (mainly from anxiety over the surgery), and cleaned up for the Boxing and BBQ we were hosting the next day.

Well, we are going back to the original surgeon cuz it turns out we would have to sit through another consultation if we switched now, in addition to another payment. Next date is set for October 26th!

Likha
Damoomoo and I have decided to break from dancing to concentrate on family and the house. We realized that with all that we do during the week, we never really get to enjoy or maintain our house, just look at our backyard and laundry! So with weekends, particularly Sundays we will be able to go to Church and enjoy some family time. No work, just play. No more scheduling of side gigs, and rehearsals!

So, after 10 years (15 for 'moomoo) I will be hanging up my sapatilyas--- until we get invited to an alumni show! We would have liked to join in on one more tour... but that just means budgeting and planning our own personal vacations in the future!

If you are free on Saturday, October 20th come watch Likha's 15th Anniversary Show at Cowell Theatre inside Fort Mason.

WORK
agggh, that is a whole other post... I am however desperately looking for other options closer to home until I can really boost my MK business and work entirely from home!

If you know me you know that I am not much of the "outdoorsy" type. After being asked for the last 3 years, Damoomoo and I finally decided it was time to join the Keyopes Houseboat Weekend. We left early Saturday for a 3 hour trip to Lake Shasta, and it was well worth it! Time with family, every water sport and activity you can think of, and memories to last a lifetime....

I was really proud of AJ who rode in the inner tube (without one of us) all by himself or with his cousin. And loved going fast! He even enjoyed his turns on the jetski! He even learned how to swim with the basic strokes and kicking down. He swam with the big kids back to the houseboat once!


Thanks Uncle Bruce the Shark, Grandpa and Uncle Alex who helped my other water baby with floating. I think he looks like a sea lion in this one... Unfortunately with not much fat on his little body he was constantly in and out of the water-- shivering of course.

With jumping in the water first thing in the morning & doing nothing else but swimming it is no wonder both my boys fell asleep fast at night. The cool part is that they got to lay down on the deck up top and see a clear night sky with zillions of stars, including 2 shooting stars, and every now and then you'll catch the kids singing their favorite Disney Channel/Radio Disney songs!!!

I did have to get used to not having electricity at my beck and call. I even let my phone battery go so I was also without a cell phone. But for me the best part about being out of my element was having enough courage to really try something new....



WAKEBOARDING! It took me two days, dozens of falls & tons of water going up my nose, sore arms hands (ahh hell the whole body!!), but I finally got up and stayed up for about 5 seconds. I figure I was so concentrated on how to get up that I really didn't think of what to do once I got there, except fall down again. The bad part was that 'moomoo wasn't there to see, but I do have legit witnesses! This wasn't my most successful moment, but it is a peek at what I put my body through!

We will definitely make it out there again next year! Here's to family, the houseboat, and mah-jong to bring the family together even for just one weekend!

It's almost 4:15 and I know I am one of the few people left on campus this fine Friday afternoon before a 3-day weekend! I don't know if I feel proud to say I am sticking it out as a dedicated worker, or a SUCKA for stickin' it out?

Since Monday, traffic has been really bad for me, worse going home. It didn't help that yesterday morning a truck dumped a box of nails on the freeway causing a row of cars on the side with flat tires, and of course the slow down causes accidents... Thanks truck driver!

Then going home has been a nightmare. It doesn't help any that damoomoo has been working at the hotel more, which means I pick up AJ from him at the hotel on my way home. We get home and it's close to 7pm --still having to make or buy dinner, give baths, and off to bed at 9pm (then I look through AJ's backpack/folders to look for parent letters and homework). And of course all that in 90 to 100 degree weather! Yes, it is that hot throughout the second floor of our house! And as much as I hated doing it, I have had to turn on the AC... AJ woke up 2 mornings in a row with a bloody nose, and I already have them sleeping in sleeveless shirts and their underwear (just like daddy)...*sorry TMI*

Well I am actually headed to Oakland (thankfully) to work my MK business. But I must get home to pack for a fun-filled KEYOPES family houseboat weekend at Lake Shasta! This will be our first time on this annual trip, and I am really looking forward to the outdoors with the boys and my paternal family... I really need to buy some of that motion sickness drug!! This will be the closest to camping for me!

Have a fun and safe holiday weekend!

I have finally made it home from Likha's most recent tour to Toronto, Canada. And as my title states it was the best and worst all in the same trip!

As a performer for Likha it has become a rarity to have an audience that truly enjoys the performance (without being drunk). I guess in the bay area, and most especially SF, there is the "seen it all" mentality. Probably because most of them are former dancers themselves! hehehe

But in Toronto our performance and the festival (think Pistahan-ish) itself was brand new to them, so the audience response was so energizing making me want to give more from the stage (minus almost losing my shoe in Malaguena!) That lead to a fun closing night mini-celebration back at our hotel, until the news erupted....

Flights home were canceled!

Yes, we had no flights to return home!! *long story but it involves the "no show" cancellation policy* Extending my stay was NOT an option... I have no more vacation or sick leave left, AND MY BOYS were starting school on Tuesday (Mio) and Wednesday (AJ)! I started to cry at the thought of missing out on the first day of school, most especially for AJ who was starting 1st grade at a new elementary school! And course my mom's voice ringing in my head with the "you should be ashamed of yourself for leaving your kids behind.... you're so selfish!"

Luckily Ms. United was on the trip with us and gave us "buddy passes" to use. Unfortunately because she was not flying with us it also put us on the bottom of the totem pole on the stand by list: so here is the jist of our "Amazing Race":
1. no sleep bad news breaks at midnight and first flight out of Toronto left at 7am. Left for the airport at 5am!
2. Left Toronto via Denver. Big storms in Chicago and most of midwest= flight delays and diversions.
3. ran gate to gate called Ms. United to get us on the list every single time! Hate to see our cell phone bills!
4. decide to purchase tickets out of Denver (out $250) but we made it home!

To my TEAM LIKHA... we made it home and all together! You truly are a second family to me, and kept me together as I made my journey home to my family! It was hard to be so far away from my boys!! To those still in Toronto, I hope your Amazing Race will soon be over too! Many lessons learned for tours to come! See you on Sunday...