We took Ate Ann's advice and has been going for a walk everyday. The other day we did a 4 mile walk and then spent the rest of the afternoon at a park close by. I brought with me a stroller so J can hop-in now and then if he gets tired during the walk. As for the park, he finds it "really awesome". It is the same park we took the Pastoria boys when they came over here, only this time they replaced the structures with new ones. It now has multiple slides, a climbing structure and tons of monkey bars as well as a hand gliding structure. J has gained a new level of confidence too since he managed to overcome his fear of the "firemen pole". He had a bad experience with the pole two years ago and has then never tried until last Wednesday. He was literally jumping with joy after he did it and so after that he has tried it over and over. He still haven't mastered the art of riding the pole but for me the fact that he has overcomed the fear is a pretty good accomplishment. I have observed too that he is scared of heights and what he does is that he just holds on to every single thing while climbing the stairs until he gets to the slide. He even crawls to get to the highest slide, he's not deterred!
I am glad we went for a walk otherwise we would have not seen all sorts of wonderful things, the trees and the new blooms that are so beautiful and of course discovering the new heaven for J. So, if you call us and we're not around you know where we are.
Friday, March 30, 2007
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Sleep...
Well, it's been three days since we came back and I felt like all those time all we did was sleep. However, it would have been great if we were getting full time sleep but that is not the case. Our body is so unsynchronized with the time changes - it's incredible! Joshua is the most affected so far. Sunday night, both him and Pat were up until 5AM. While Pat had to go to work and didn't have much choice but to shake off sleep, Joshua slept til 3:30PM. It was "my bad" since I should have waken him up much earlier than that. I just felt like he definitely needed some sleep since we were pretty sleep deprived while in the Philippines. So, when the night came Joshua was still bouncing like a ball. Pat and I struggled to get some much needed sleep but then again our boy kept us mostly awake the rest of the night with his sudden calls of "Mama, can I have some Yogo's?"(candy) at 1AM, and "Mama, can you please read me a book?" at 3AM. I felt pretty bad giving him an ultimatum since I knew he was just struggling with the time change and "jet lag". Today, I did wake him up by noon. Then, at 1PM both of us couldn't help it and dozed the afternoon away. I think the allergy medicines doesn't help either in avoiding Mr. Snooze. I have to say this is so far the worse jet lag we have experienced. Ah, I guess we'll have another sleepless night and another sleepy day tomorrow! I hope Mr. Sunshine visits Oregon for a day or two since the weather is not helping either - it has been pretty gloomy here again. Oh well, I hope I am not making you all sleepy or sleepless with my ramblings. Any advice on how to shake off our jet lag?
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Our Mini Vacation
Family dinner during our last night in Baguio at Don Henrico's
At Ocean Adventure, Subic Naval Base in Olongapo City.
Pat with Joshua, Alexeine and Kiel
the show...
The false whales who entertained us that day, don't remember their names though...
Our encounter with the whales and dolphins. We alternately touched and fed the dolphins and whales while the crew took our pictures.
the kids having fun at the beach after watching the shows at Ocean adventure
The great white!
the whole family enjoying the warm waters of the Philippines.
It was a great trip, it'll be a while again before we can go and visit the Philippines. It is time to sleep now since I still feel like I am floating. We had quite an exhausting flight...whew!
At Ocean Adventure, Subic Naval Base in Olongapo City.
Pat with Joshua, Alexeine and Kiel
the show...
The false whales who entertained us that day, don't remember their names though...
Our encounter with the whales and dolphins. We alternately touched and fed the dolphins and whales while the crew took our pictures.
the kids having fun at the beach after watching the shows at Ocean adventure
The great white!
the whole family enjoying the warm waters of the Philippines.
It was a great trip, it'll be a while again before we can go and visit the Philippines. It is time to sleep now since I still feel like I am floating. We had quite an exhausting flight...whew!
The Wedding
The bride with Mom
The bride with little sis Rhiza
The wedding gown...
Allan with Mama and Papa
Deanelle, the little bride
Joshua really did a great job, bearing the ring. He was very well behaved.
The family portrait, unfortunately we didn't check Deanelle's dress and didn't know that there were some pins not removed from her dress thus poking her everytime she moves. Which explains why she cried most of the time during the wedding. Poor thing, she was tortured the whole time.
The newly wed.
Pat and Me with Mama and Papa at the reception
The bride with Kuya Pat and Joshua
Tita Maybel with the ring bearer
The group hug, finally it is over!
The bride with little sis Rhiza
The wedding gown...
Allan with Mama and Papa
Deanelle, the little bride
Joshua really did a great job, bearing the ring. He was very well behaved.
The family portrait, unfortunately we didn't check Deanelle's dress and didn't know that there were some pins not removed from her dress thus poking her everytime she moves. Which explains why she cried most of the time during the wedding. Poor thing, she was tortured the whole time.
The newly wed.
Pat and Me with Mama and Papa at the reception
The bride with Kuya Pat and Joshua
Tita Maybel with the ring bearer
The group hug, finally it is over!
Travel Philippines 2007
The last three weeks came just like a whirlwind. Though tiring and stressful, it was worth it and we really enjoyed the visit.
We spent a few days in Cavite and checked out Taal Volcano since Rhiza haven't seen it yet. It was just 30 minutes away from Maybel's apartment and so it was a pretty easy drive.
Here's Joshua with Lolo Swako
Rhiza now at 13! She is almost taller than me which is no surprise since I am only 4' 11"...
Joshua and me enjoying the really nice and warm weather.
After a couple of days in Cavite we headed to Baguio on Friday, on our way there we met with Richie, Dina and their kids in Pangasinan. The kids went with us while Richie and Dina stayed to settle some business matters first. Sunday came and it was Sam's baptism.
Joshua with Lola Teresita at the church
Richie, Dina, Sam and Deanelle on Sam's baptism day.
The look alike...
The eldest and the youngest...
The Christening...
Joshua with Great Grandma Carling at the restaurant
The Madrid Men (from top left)
Richie, Papa, Kuya Jess, Lemuel, Kuya Froilan,Emmanuel
Uncle Dan,Michael,Salvador and Nathaniel
The next days was spent preparing for the wedding...
We spent a few days in Cavite and checked out Taal Volcano since Rhiza haven't seen it yet. It was just 30 minutes away from Maybel's apartment and so it was a pretty easy drive.
Here's Joshua with Lolo Swako
Rhiza now at 13! She is almost taller than me which is no surprise since I am only 4' 11"...
Joshua and me enjoying the really nice and warm weather.
After a couple of days in Cavite we headed to Baguio on Friday, on our way there we met with Richie, Dina and their kids in Pangasinan. The kids went with us while Richie and Dina stayed to settle some business matters first. Sunday came and it was Sam's baptism.
Joshua with Lola Teresita at the church
Richie, Dina, Sam and Deanelle on Sam's baptism day.
The look alike...
The eldest and the youngest...
The Christening...
Joshua with Great Grandma Carling at the restaurant
The Madrid Men (from top left)
Richie, Papa, Kuya Jess, Lemuel, Kuya Froilan,Emmanuel
Uncle Dan,Michael,Salvador and Nathaniel
The next days was spent preparing for the wedding...
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Vacation Time!
I always read the news local to where I'm going before I take off to know what to expect. I have always wanted to avoid going to visit M's folks during election time because this and that is usually going on. Lucky me, all of this is close (OK, well, close enough for me) to where I'm going and on the road I will be travelling from 11pm - 5am...
At least it isn't like the first time I went when the president was unceremoniously removed (I feel so dirty using wikipedia as a reference) when I was somewhere between Seattle and Tokyo! (sic) Wasn't really sure what I was going to walk into getting off of the plane that night! The "(sic)" was for Ann :)
Never a dull moment! Apparently J was having too much fun playing with all of the kids in the neighborhood. M tried to keep him away from this one kid who was coughing all over him, but was too late. At least the wedding isn't until Saturday, so, there's hope he'll get over it in time. Looking forward to some fun parties and cheap massages! No point in making fun of that comment, I know I just put a target on my back ;) I just hope I don't have to punch anyone while I'm there... ask Mom for details if you can't wait for me to come back to ask. I think some folks are secretly hoping I do... I better make sure I don't get baited! :)
-P
At least it isn't like the first time I went when the president was unceremoniously removed (I feel so dirty using wikipedia as a reference) when I was somewhere between Seattle and Tokyo! (sic) Wasn't really sure what I was going to walk into getting off of the plane that night! The "(sic)" was for Ann :)
Never a dull moment! Apparently J was having too much fun playing with all of the kids in the neighborhood. M tried to keep him away from this one kid who was coughing all over him, but was too late. At least the wedding isn't until Saturday, so, there's hope he'll get over it in time. Looking forward to some fun parties and cheap massages! No point in making fun of that comment, I know I just put a target on my back ;) I just hope I don't have to punch anyone while I'm there... ask Mom for details if you can't wait for me to come back to ask. I think some folks are secretly hoping I do... I better make sure I don't get baited! :)
-P
Monday, March 5, 2007
Very cool series
While killing time, I ran across this piece. I can remember seeing this on PBS at one point in my life, but being a parent, it takes on a little more/different meaning and significance.
If nothing else, watch the first two parts!
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/divided/etc/view.html
-P
If nothing else, watch the first two parts!
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/divided/etc/view.html
-P
Friday, March 2, 2007
Catholic Confusion
I knew the Catholic Church in Oregon was pretty fouled up, but this seems ridiculous. Just when I thought things were getting better, guess again... I'm second guessing sending J to this school. Ineither know all of the details nor what to make of this yet, but this hit M's inbox today:
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I was recently told not return to teaching the Catchism Classes at St.PiusX. I was told not to return because I do not share the liberal point of view held by most of the faith formation staff. I told a story about the real presence of Christ and explained to the children the importance of knowing the difference between it being just a memorial and a truly blessed gift from Christ himself. My delivery was off , but I did not tell them anything that was not completely accepted and encouraged by the Catholic Church. I have been going to St.Pius for over 10 years and have heard many times from the pulpit about how we should be "tolerant and open minded" yet seem to have run into the one thing that can not be tolerated...Traditional Catholic teaching. When I started teaching the classes I fully expected to be removed once my traditionalism was discovered. It does not offend me but does cause me great concern. We as a contry (and in many others) are losing many beautiful and blessed traditions handed down by the Church Fathers.
I urge you all to read the following article and do a little research on your own. The treasures of tradition should not be forgotten or worse changed to suit the wants of our own desires and replaced with lukewarm novelties that minimilize the importance of true sacred worship. I should emphasis that the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist is not a tradition but a FACT of the Catholic faith. It is not a belief but a sacred truth. I was told I was not to come back because of my beliefs. I recite the same Profession of Faith you all do at Mass and believe every word of it.
I found the following article online and also found many, many other sites.
Yours with Christ,
Elaine
Divine heart of Jesus,convert the sinner, save the dying, set free the holy souls in Purgatory!
http://www.ourladyswarriors.org/dissent/defnmdrn.htm
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I was recently told not return to teaching the Catchism Classes at St.PiusX. I was told not to return because I do not share the liberal point of view held by most of the faith formation staff. I told a story about the real presence of Christ and explained to the children the importance of knowing the difference between it being just a memorial and a truly blessed gift from Christ himself. My delivery was off , but I did not tell them anything that was not completely accepted and encouraged by the Catholic Church. I have been going to St.Pius for over 10 years and have heard many times from the pulpit about how we should be "tolerant and open minded" yet seem to have run into the one thing that can not be tolerated...Traditional Catholic teaching. When I started teaching the classes I fully expected to be removed once my traditionalism was discovered. It does not offend me but does cause me great concern. We as a contry (and in many others) are losing many beautiful and blessed traditions handed down by the Church Fathers.
I urge you all to read the following article and do a little research on your own. The treasures of tradition should not be forgotten or worse changed to suit the wants of our own desires and replaced with lukewarm novelties that minimilize the importance of true sacred worship. I should emphasis that the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist is not a tradition but a FACT of the Catholic faith. It is not a belief but a sacred truth. I was told I was not to come back because of my beliefs. I recite the same Profession of Faith you all do at Mass and believe every word of it.
I found the following article online and also found many, many other sites.
Yours with Christ,
Elaine
Divine heart of Jesus,convert the sinner, save the dying, set free the holy souls in Purgatory!
http://www.ourladyswarriors.org/dissent/defnmdrn.htm
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