sick mum

i've said it before and i'll say it again--in the last 10-12 years, i have never been as prone to getting sick since i gave birth. true. i imagine its because i am getting older, and because i tend to over extend myself in wanting to do normal "me" things on top of all the housework and childcare. 


so yes, i am sick again, some kind of upper respiratory infection that started with a horribly raw throat and a headache. feeling marginally better tonight but still woozy. and my tastebuds are dead. hardly tasted the katsu-curry don that i had for dinner at banri, our default japanese. LP had a blast eating these seaweed strips soaked in soy sauce and sesame seeds. in fact he ate more sides like that seaweed thing and pickled ginger than actual food. 


but yes, i'm still not feeling well but my brain has kicked in to blog. except i don't want to overextend myself and shall call it a night. 

learning to blow

We adults take many thing for granted. At least I did. Until I became Little Person’s mummy, and came to realize that nearly everything we know to do, we learned consciously at some point in our lives.

Take for example, the simple act of blowing your nose, or blowing a whistle. The first time LP caught a cold, I wished he could blow his nose to clear it up. Not possible. This was nearly a year ago, and he did not understand that nose meant that funny thing sticking out of the middle of his face. Nor did he know that he could push air through it.

Last month, I found a toy pirate whistle from Kiwi’s birthday. LP thought it was amusing if I put the thing in my mouth and it made a sound. He would put it in his mouth but could not make it sound. Even if I told him to “blow.” I don’t know what thought processes babies have, but surely it would’ve been in the neighborhood of “how the heck does mummy make that sound with that thing?”

But you know what? Tonight, he suddenly got it. Tito Fun had bought him a toy with a whistle on top and was showing LP how to make it make noise. LP put it in his mouth and blew, making a sound. His mouth turned into a smile around the whistle and blew again. Now he gets it. Wow. 

mummy fail

Having moved up our LP from level 3 to level 4 (16 months and older) I was so sure our new Gymboree class took place on Thursday afternoon at 2. Off we went last week, only to discover that the class was actually 10am on Thursdays. Mummy fail! The teachers did wonder why we didn’t make it, but since I had said last time that I would call if we were to miss a session, they didn’t call that morning. Just the same, as we wouldn’t have made it anyway.

Not wanting to waste the day and trip, I decided to use one of our gym play cards (1 of 5) that came with the gym membership that I paid for the first time we enrolled. The other option would have been to go to one of the play places in SM, but we would’ve lost another 30 minutes getting there, and the cost of the cab and an hour of play would’ve more or less added up to Php 200 (what it would’ve us if we didn’t have the play card) so I decided to stay put. Hopefully, such a mummy fail is not the beginning of many others. 

review: skinworks sm cebu

happy face. happy feet. that's today's result, when my tired and stressed decided to try out skinworks at sm city cebu. BBB's been away sailing again, so its all me left to cope with the house, the evil cat and LP who decided to have another cough-cold bout. tough is an understatement. 


so we were in SM again to try and play at either dave's funhouse or little1s, but first we had errands to do--bills to pay, stuff to send...by the time i was done, LP was ready for his afternoon nap. when he did doze off in his pushchair, i had the brilliant idea of hightailing it for a facial. with oily sensitive skin that can pick up changes in the weather and internal stress, i just felt that neutrogena's fragrance-free bar wasn't doing a good enough job. 


i was at the basement and remembered skinworks was nearby. a regular facial was Php650, so i asked what promos they had on. they had a facial + vitamin C mask + foot reflex for Php1050, going for about an hour and a half. enough time for BBB's nap. 


+reception was attentive and not pushy. i like. my face shows evidence of a past life of acne and sun-exposure, and i have many times encountered spa/facial staff who are too eager to push their most expensive treatments to a fault. 
+monday afternoons are slow. i think i was the only client when i went in. 
+they were concerned about having space and quiet for the sleeping LP so we were ushered into a two-bed treatment room. glassed in for privacy and quiet. i hate hearing what is going on next door
+therapists were polite. i had two. the main lady who did my facial and another who came in to do my feet. the lady for my feet did not say much other than to check if her pressure was good. the lady who did the facial was chatty in an easy kind of way. let's say it was freud with patient on couch somewhat, except she was picking on blemishes, not past traumas
+facial itself felt good. i couldn't see the items used on me but none smelled too strongly of perfume nor chemicals. my face looked and felt good and clean afterwards
+foot reflex was good. i didn't realize how tired my feet were until after, when i realized they felt softer and not at all tired afterwards. well deserved, for these two that take us far and wide walking
+the place felt relatively fresh and new despite being in the basement of SM.


LP woke up just as i was about to have the 10-minute vitamin c mask brushed on. no worries as he had a new toy (fun with gears! was Php100, on sale for Php50! exactly what i always wanted)


would i go back? sure. not the cheapest deal in the world at Php650 for a regular facial, but like other places, they have promos, such as buy 2 take 1 on facials. the last place i went to charged about Php 600 a go, so not bad. i don't trust facials and massages that are too cheap (as a regular offer) as it makes me think they are scrimping on something.


happy face. happy feet. 

walking upright

this entry title will not do justice to the content, but my brain and my eyes are tired, and i need to synchronize my phone to my laptop so i don't waste time retyping blog entries from my phone. e52, i love you. sorry about your new crack. blame LP. he loves you too.


it was only last halloween when LP decided he really wanted to walk on his own. having discovered that he can be upright, its quite amusing to see him walking with his hands held up near his head--to help him balance i guess. today, he amazed me again.


2 days ago, i taught him that used nappies belong to the bin. i taught him in our bathroom (which he calls ahwah for shower). he is aware that the other bin (the one that is more interesting because it has a swinging lid) is behind the kitchen.


today, we were all hanging out on the bed. BBB had just changed LP out of his poopie nappy. LP kept chattering and pointing at the wrapped dirty nappy that was on the floor by the door (i was going to take it to the kitchen bin later). eventually, LP got off the bed, picked up the nappy and walked out the bedroom door. he put the nappy down to get past the 2 steps down from the hallway to the rest of the house, picked up the nappy again, and walked the rest of the way to the kitchen bin! all that without and prompting or encouragement.  


note to self: shoot video! gah!

return to dave's funhouse

initial review here: http://lucidsimplesane.blogspot.com/2010/10/review-daves-play-place.html


as i did say we would. on a day when there might be fewer children. 


today was the day. decided to swing by instead of making a beeline for Little1s. there were less than 10 children in there, so we went in. 


as i suspected, the place is better appreciated when there is but a small population of gremlins, er, children. 


and again, i must give them an award for the level of detail they went to. their "grocery" shelves included bottles of dishwashing liquid, except instead of liquid, it was filled with green crepe paper giving the illusion that it was filled with something, but not filled with liquid, so no spills. toothpaste tubes were slit at the bottom (then taped shut), filled with rolled paper/cardboard to give it weight. 


so yes, going back there is an option. like slow thursday afternoons. 


cost: i'm sure i didn't misread last time, so yes, they have increased their prices. 30 minutes is now Php65, and hour is Php110. 

showing a dislike for certain people

went to Little1s playground again today and thankfully there were only about 15 kids spread out so it didn't feel crowded at all. it was interesting to watch LP learning to interact with other kids, as he never noticeably did so before. now he stops to take a look at what some kid is doing. or rather, if another child happens to play with a toy he finds interesting, he stops. he does try to take them sometimes. at this stage, he has no concept of ownership other than that he can have/touch/hold things (or not as the case may be sometimes). sometimes the other kid obliges, understanding that LP is younger. sometimes the other kid tries to shield the toy or goes as far as pushing LP away. i react to the pushing, not so much verbally, but to put a hand between them and bar the other kid from touching until i pull LP away. at these instances, it is LP i am talking to, explaining that there are other toys and other things to do. he is happy enough to move away. we are in the very early stages of this bit, so more notes as they happen. 


what i found more interesting is the realization that LP is able to communicate when he "dislikes" someone. "like" is already obvious, as he seeks out certain people, like Ralph & Flai when he is in the room with them, or Emily our housecleaner (her props are fascinating to him--mops, brooms, basins, etc.). dislike is now obvious to me. if such a person talks to him, person gets a dribble shower. if person tries to kiss him, he turn his head away. if person asks LP to walk to him/her, LP starts in the person's direction and then veers away. if person is leaving and says bye-bye, LP (who knows how to wave one or sometimes both hands) will pop his thumb into his mouth. what i haven't figured out is what makes these people unlikeable. some are total random strangers who talk to him then say bye-bye. one is someone we run into on occasion. another works here with us! 

chucky can walk

he can. and he does it better when he's not thinking about it. he did it tonight at auntie gem's halloween party. he was just so focused at getting to the crates of used soda bottles that he kept putting one foot ahead of the other. 10 meters or so. 


how did i survive? tonight he was dressed as chucky from child's play. found a red & black stripey longsleeved tee. he already had denim over-alls. too bad the blue H&M sneakers from tita marie did not fit anymore. i used a non-toxic pen to mark chucky's stitches on his face. i thought they might be better than eyeliner. unfortunately, those markers are not hypoallergenic. left rashy reddish bits behind but nothing to worry about. fortunately halloween only comes once a year and i won't have to draw on his face again anytime soon. 


i digressed. the best thing about that costume was, the straps are handy as a hold-onto device for mothers of babies who are still learning to walk. i held onto those straps ever so lightly, and LP only felt it tighten when he faltered. handy. 


yes, he is walking. we are doomed. 

bugged days

i knew it might happen. went to imperial palace with friends last weekend with friends who did say they had a cold. beso-beso & hung out anyway. tuesday i had a scratchy throat. i was fearing flu-like symptoms, but fortunately strepsils did its job and i only have an occasional couch and irritable throat. 


LP was not as lucky. he started sneezing wednesday. he had a runny nose by thursday. fortunately he was still his own jolly self. however, he did need help with breathing at night so i gave him a dose of nasatapp, which his pedia had prescribed the first time he had a cold. it was that or he would keep waking up irritable because his nose was full. friday was not so much sneezing and runny nose, but i still gave him nasatapp to help him sleep. 


today was almost ok except now he has this irratable throat too and coughing makes him so red in the face. he was being testy about his late afternoon nap and kept insisting a'! to say he wanted out of his playpen. my mother who is here for a few days thinks she should do as he says so i had to take over. he was shouting himself hoarse to coughing, and then he lost the milk he'd just had. fortunately none on the living area carpet. all on himself, a bit on me, and mostly the floor. 


but no nasatapp tonight. hopefully tomorrow it gets even better. me too. 

the vocabulary of a 15 month old

LP turns 15 months tomorrow. that's a year and 3 months. thought this would be a good time to log the words that he actually uses. here we go:


daddy = da
hot = ho'
shower = ahwha
lid = lid 
yes = yes
this is = this is (used when asking for the name of something, as in "this is...?"
out = a!
up = u!
yummy = mmmmmmmm! 


but don't get me wrong. his vocabulary is limited but he understands everything. 

rising costs of birth control

having been on the mini-pill cerazette since the month after i gave birth, i am annoyed to note that its price has been strangely increasing these last couple of months. 


for the longest time, a box of 28 pill was under Php 400 


two months ago, that changed to under Php 500


when i bought a box yesterday, the price is at Php 538 


(whether it is watson's or rose pharmacy or mercury drug makes no difference as prices are more or less uniform across those places for the given time periods)


what is most disappointing is that their manufacturing dates were all 2009, meaning their production costs have nothing to do with the price increase.


this is most annoying. perhaps time to check in with my OB to search for alternatives. 

little1s again

been to the Little1s children's playground in SM two times since i first wrote about it. i must say, on a regular day (read, not monday morning like that first time we went), 


it 
can 
also 
get 
wild. 


20+ children ranging from age 1 to 10, running around, busy in their own little worlds or getting some kid-style interaction. little boys and girls on ride-on plastic cars, a tractor & a train. tossing balls, climbing, walking, running. loud kiddie house music blaring, video games blaring, disney film blaring on the flat screen tv. let's not forget to mention the minders (parents, yayas etc.) who are a.) sleepily ignoring their wards b.) actively ignoring their wards c.) actively involve in their wards--i belong to this last one. 


being a Little Person who can't quite walk yet and who more often that not is engrossed in his own play, i have to watch out for flying balls and stray tractor wheels that might squash LP's fingers. the place is quite full but not claustrophobic like the dave's place. and there is the occasional hey don't grab--directed both at LP who becomes interested in another child's current plaything and at usually older kids who want to play with LP's current plaything.


yes there is enough room and there are enough toys for everyone. 

catfood on a Lanvin saucer

woke up with a scratchy throat today and miserable at the thought that i will get sick. bleah. always worse knowing you are in such close contact with a little person. 

did errands at ayala this afternoon then walked around with LP in the grassy bit between the terraces and marriot. we were practicing his hands-free walking, and he does this annoying-cute thing of biting my arm when he reaches me. not sure why he does that. he is not angry or what. in tagalog, its gigil and i still have to find the english equivalent for that word. it roughly means wanting to bite or pinch someone as a sign of affection. 

the biggest drama today happened when we got home. our fatty black&white cat had been placed on a diet by BBB, wherein instead of getting to eat out of her ice cream tin of dry cat food (usually friskies or whiskas), BBB doles out a small portion on one of my vintage gold-detailed Lanvin saucer. dig that. 

anyway, the drama was, LP insists he is entitled to eat fattykat's food and sits by her, watching her eat, before sneaking a piece for himself. having been caught and made to spit the offensive item out, he tries to turn around to get another piece. a squabble between us ensues--him just generally trying to stay out of my reach so i don't pick him up--me half-picking him up and half-preventing him from hitting his head on the tiled floor. 

it ended in his tears and our raised voices, with me explaining that cat food is yuck! and not for him.

but what should i expect from the child of the little boy who used to eat the dog's biscuits?

review: imperial palace buffet & waterpark

the government declared today a holiday in light of the barangay elections. Tomas of the british contingent declared he was taking the family to Imperial Palace and would we want to join? sure. ideas for LP to enjoy things out of the house are always welcome. 


we left after LP's noon nap and arrived there after 1:30pm. no traffic to mactan and amazingly, the familia buffet was empty except for 3 other tables of 2-4 persons


Familia Buffet
- Imperial guards will bug you if you don't go via the lobby to "check in" to buy your day's pass--whether its just to go for the buffet or for a day pass that allows you access to the waterparkbit. we'd been to IP before and we had walked round the left side from the carpark and had walked to the chinese restaurant without issue, so obviously the rules have changed since then
- restaurant staff can get really anal about what kind of pass you have (buffet or day pass) and can barely function without any proof of payment. granted we were cheeky about not following the rules about paying for the pass first, we had sat down to eat and had to wait until our payments were sorted as the staff could not function to organize our ordered drinks without the right stubs. gag. 
+ our waitress was good and smart about offering to process the payment at the upstairs lobby herself, as i'd said sorry but i wasn't going to abandon my eating LP right then. she was attentive and smiled like she meant it
- the quality of the food is only so-so, and not worth the asking price of Php1,500 (or Php2,000 if you were to use the waterpark). seriously. the food was only ok. the sushi was ok but not banri or mizu qualilty, and we love our japanese food. the crispy pata was bland (someone seriously forgot the salt--and i am not a salty person!). but the cherry-topped cheesecake wasn't cloying and BBB enjoyed the cheese selection. for the price and the distance, i would have happily detoured to shangrila for their Tides buffet, or stayed in my neighborhood and went up to marco polo for the Cafe Marco buffet.
+/- they had a high chair for LP. but the proportions were really weird. the front bar was parallel to the floor and was about 6 inches wide, making LP's attempt to reach the table and food a bit difficult/awkward. it did not have a strap to make sure LP did not jump out


Waterpark
+ the waterpark is great for all ages and sizes. they had shallower pools and the giant pipe rides to suit everyone
+ the life guards are attentive and will call your attention if you are doing the wrong thing or using a feature that is not for your age/weight
+ the day pass ticket includes use of a towel, and the security set up is either a valid ID or Php500. fine by me, and i always carry a valid ID. they said such a system was necessary since they lost quite a lot of towels to souvenir-taking thieving guests
+ they had restaurant staff offering drinks in the water areas but they were polite and not pushy. 


i can't recall any negative issues about the waterpark bit and people were certainly enjoying themselves (including our Little Person). is it worth the Php2,000 for the day pass (inclusive of buffet, towel access, waterpark use, & 20% dinner buffet discount)? for the experience, i'd say yes, especially for water lovers like BBB and LP. however, if there were an option for just waterpark access, i would take that. maribago blue water resort is a hop and skip away and their food is better, so i can imagine resort hopping for lunch. 

clone me

please. clone me. 


i thrive on multi-tasking, but the last couple of months, things have been 
way. 
too. 
much. 
on some days. 


i have backlog thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiissssssss loooooooooooooooong and my work productivity is down to about 15%. read; almost zero personal projects/income since about february this year, pinch-hitting help on our clothing brand with discussions snuck in while having a meal or before going to sleep(!). 


fortunately, running the home-office is still on track as i do take LP out a lot (rather than we all go amok in this home/office) which helps get the bill paying done, the office supplies bought, and the groceries in stock.


LP takes up a lot of my time, but if i were to analyze it, half the amount of time attributed to LP is actually household or chore-related to keep the house ready and LP-proof. case in point--picking up after a wild meal (i.e. messy, sticky hands+hair+face, food bits on the floor, LP's clothes need to be changed) can take up to 20 minutes. that's 20 minutes doing the dishes, wiping the table, high chair and floor, struggling to get the nappy on etc. that's 20 minutes that could've happily been spent playing with something or naming more random objects around the house. 


on second thought, i don't need to be cloned. i just need househelp. 

how to get jet-lagged in the same time zone

fly cebu pacific to hongkong on a friday night. leave cebu at 10:15pm (flight was a bit late). arrive in hongkong around 1am. arrive at central before 2am. 


LP was ok at the airport and fell asleep in my arms on the place despite cebu pacific's unappreciated near midnight onboard game to prove they have fun flights. i did an "if you can't beat them, join them" by answering the movie trivia contest. 


where did this line come from? "life is like a box of chocolates." no-brainer, and i wanted the contest over asap. BBB frowned at the cheap set of travel envelopes that i won (made out of the same material that SM uses for their "green" shopping bags). 


LP woke up when we disembarked, and stayed awake in the cab ride all the way to central. he sucked his thumb and looked at all the lights whizzing by. that's when i realized how brightly lit hongkong is, and was appalled at the electrical consumption. when we got into bed, he had more milk (a bottle and a half more), hiccuped, and promptly lost the milk on the bed. argh. finally feel asleep. 


fly back to cebu from hongkong on a tuesday on cebu pacific's pre-1am flight. this meant leaving central before midnight to catch the airport express. but in our case, we left around 10pm hoping LP would snooze early. he snoozed at 11-ish, slept through boarding and the flight, but woke up when we got off the plane and was awake all the way from mactan to the house. this was 5am. bleah. we had to convince him that it really was still night time and that we all had to go to bed. 

mummy's what to pack for hongkong

between moving to cebu and involuntarily changing my body shape from being pregnant, i have become sloppy about getting dressed. or to rephrase that, i have lost some of my personality when it came to getting dressed. 


a quick trip to hongkong is going to challenge that even further--


~ we do a lot of walking in hongkong so comfy shoes are a must. that counts out heels, even my tsubo maryjanes and the hussein chalayan pumas. sure, they're pumas. with nearly 4-inches of a wedged heel. 
~ i expect some time at tai tam beach coz that's where the sailing is. that means beach entry from a speedboat
~ tropical gauge street clothes are fine, but they prefer freezing air-conditioning, so a balance must be sought
~ oh, i have 1 year old that needs to be alternately carried, pushed (in his pushchair) and encouraged to walk by holding his hand/hands. did i mention heels are counted out?
~ hongkong people tend to dress up more than people in cebu, so i feel a little pressure there. even casual lunch at the yacht club makes me prefer to have something that looks reasonably put together. 


in my bag:
~ hand embroidered sheer india-made top. casual cut, special details
~ plains and prints black cotton blouse with silver details
~ levi's copper jeans. dark wash. oh, all my jeans are dark wash. easier to wear with more variety
~ blood red shorts (black diamond dobby fabric--cool, comfy, subtle and interesting)
~ a couple of casual body fit tees
~ a little jersey dress
~ white cargo pants
~ levi's long-sleeved "bolero" top (for lack of a better description) 
~ new balance trail runners
~ jeweled t-strap sandals that have proven they are worth more than the Php399 that i got them for to rescue me from a day's worth of walking in makati in my tall pumas
~ bright pink velour hoodie


yep, you read that last one right. the funky jackets (a red stripey one by fake london and a black marc jacobs one) i love to travel in don't fit me well thanks to the pregnancy. the black velvet shanghai tang was dirty. the black mango wool blend sweater wasn't washed right and was smelly. i did not want to fiddle with a pashmina wrap with a baby in tow. so it was the bright pink velour hoodie then. sigh. 

review: max's fried chicken

left to our own devices as BBB had decided to play tennis with the British contingent, i decided LP and i should stay in Ayala and have dinner there. 


this was my chance to eat at max's fried chicken. i used to eat there solo before BBB followed me to Cebu, but then the Terraces renovated (or rather, the Terraces area was created) so i kinda forgot about Max's. except we had ice cream at gelatissimo on occasion, and beyond it i could see that Max's had reopened. 


+ i ordered one of their combo meals that consisted of a quarter chicken, rolls (or rice), a drink, soup, and a scoop of ice cream. all for under 200 pesos. 
+ the quality of their food hasn't changed. the serving size is the same. everything was fresh and tasty. LP agreed. 
- the soup of the day was beef and cabbage. it smelled and looked good, but i waited for it to cool then forgot about it. when i remembered, it was room temperature and turned out to be very salty.
+ service was good and with a smile. they asked and remembered to serve the ice cream later. 
+ they had a high chair. a nice one with good height and a strap. most other places might have a high chair but the strap would be missing. not good for a slightly unpredictable one year old


there's not much else i could say except it was a good experience that i would definitely take LP to eat there again.  

what to pack for the Little Person going to hong kong

funny how a little person can take up a good amount of luggage space for a 3-day trip. fortunately, its only hongkong and not scotland. clothes for little boys are fairly easy. if i want him to look dressed up a little, i stick him in a little collared shirt and little person pants (denim, linen, ripstop). the only main thing i had to add were a couple of hooded long-sleeve tees as a layering device against hong kong's frozen interiors. 


what does take up more space are: 
~ nappies (count 4-6 nappies a day)
~ wet wipes
~ milk bottles (avent 4oz bottles x 3)
~ milk (which i measure out into a ziplock bag so the packet shrinks down as the milk is consumed)
~ some standby food (a few cups of ready to eat applesauce, cookies, cereal)
~ hooded bath towel
~ at least one of his favorite books. goodnight moon is not tiny, but its fairly small


oh, plus we decided to take the push chair. i think we're gonna need a lightweight one in the near future. 


and did i mention that since we are flying in and out at nightime, i fully intend to make him travel in his sleepsuits (footed, long-sleeved onesies) to remind him that its supposed to be bedtime? i hope it works!

globe 211 fail

my mobile telecoms provider is Globe. i used to be a smart addict, having proven (after all travel in the philippines that i'd done) that smart reaches the far corners and remote islands of the philippines. however, that changed when BBB lived back in the UK (from belgium) in 2005. my smart could not text his O2, and since his subscription was new and mine was up for renewal, it made sense that i switched providers. 


anyway, i wanted to inquire with globe about reactivating my roaming (for an upcoming trip to hongkong) and to try and kill my globe browsing (since my e52 can detect wifi). i rang globe's mobile hotline 211 and followed the correct dialing procedure to take me to a customer service rep.


i landed in technical support. the insists to give me the correct dialing procedure. i give him a chance to rattle it off, after which, i informed him that that was exactly what i had done. 


he said the system routed me to him. and he is unable to cater to and answer my questions. and he said the only thing to do is for me to dial again, go through the hoops, and hope that the correct type of agent picks up the call. 


f@cking waste of time. globe 211 fail. truth be told, i prefer being informed that all relevant reps are unavailable, and to please hold my line, leave a message yada yada yada yada...

a poopie story

if you are eating or squeamish about poop, do not read further. 

you know what i've been saying about parenting being a 24/7 job? here's another story. 

LP's poop had been on the wet side for a couple of weeks. 3x a day. so when we had the vaccines done last week, our pedia ordered a stool test. chong hua's procedure is:

1. take doctor's order to lab

2. lab prepares an order sheet (ask them to forward to doc's office so doc can let you know the results rather than going back to lab and again to doctor.) lab hands you a container for the sample (i failed to take a picture of this container that rocks).

3. pay for test at the cashier

4. go home and wait for baby to poop

5. when baby poops, take sample to lab within an hour 

6. lab sends results to doctor's office. 

simple?

guess, what, LP decided not to poop the next day!

and when he did, it was always inconvenient:

1. we were about to sit down for a meal

2. rush hour traffic was happening outside (and the 1 hour limit might expire)

3. we were about to start an office meeting

and so on...

tonight he pooped at 10pm. BBB stays to put LP to bed, i get to courier the sample to the hospital.

i typed this going to chong hua and back. fortunately, their lab operates 24 hours. and its only 25 minutes to get there and back. 

cost: cab to chong hua Php 50 (and back so that's 100)

lab test (paid last week) Php 80

beef stew proportion fail

a.k.a. and on to an argh evening. 


i made beef stew late last night. followed a recipe from my Real Simple cookbook. i cut down the ingredients according to proportion, using my beef to say i was going for a recipe for 2-4 instead of 8-10. 


all went smoothly. stew stewed nicely. today i halved it and stuck one half into the freezer for another beef stew day. at 7pm i put the pot on the stove to heat it, adding the frozen peas* as instructed in the recipe. 


come serving time, i discovered a disproportionate amount of meat versus potatoes--i thought i'd done a decent job of halving the stew, assuming it was well mixed. wrong. the heated version contained about 2 cubes of meat and tons of potatoes in amongst the thick sauce. back to the freezer. back to heating. at least it only took 10 minutes.


serving time round 2, proportion issues banished. our poor LP wanted to eat stew, but he'd never had stew before, so the coating of sauce threw him off. oh my agony watching him look knowing he wanted to eat. he did try the peas and some beef but it was too unfamiliar. we resorted to odds and ends. a few raisins. some yogurt. and oh, his default alphabet block cookies from Earth's Best. 


argh.  


at least BBB said the stew was quite like how he would get beef stew at home. good. you see, filipino beef stew tasted nothing like it. 


*having tried fresh from the garden peas in the UK, frozen peas don't even come close. in fact, i am not trying frozen peas again for a very long time. 

another argh afternoon

it was just one of those days when i am sure i am slowly going to go mad from being a full time mother and part time everything else. tuesday afternoons have become ayala afternoons, as BBB can drop us off on his way to school (he teaches at university once a week) and pick us up 3 hours after. its enough time for me and LP to explore a little and do the week's groceries, and maybe for LP to nap a little, depending on what his body clock tells him to do. 


this afternoon, he wasn't quite fully awake as his noon nap only lasted for under an hour instead of two. so i had a sleepy baby who wasn't sure he wanted to sleep or stay awake. after buying replacement nail clippers in rustan's, round and round we went thinking he might go to sleep (he was sucking his thumb, the #1 sign he wanted to snooze). no such luck. having walked all along the upper ground level, i thought we should go outside. the grass was too wet from rain the night before (and the rain was still on and off-ish this morning) so walking on squelchy muddy grass was not what i had in mind. however, walking on pathways was not what he had in mind. he kept going for the sprinklers, the fallen leaves, the soil. argh. 


back inside, we did a few more paseos until i thought to go into metro dept store to look at dress ideas for Kiwi's wedding. on our way in we spot a working display of Thomas the tank engine running on plastic tracks. if there is a character my son has learned to recognize, it is thomas. so we look at the little plastic train for a bit, LP sitting in his pushchair, mummy making a mental note about getting a train that moves by itself (his cool wooden brio set needs manual operation--which he enjoys doing, complete with a soundtrack, sans tracks, and with the train pieces always ending in a wreck). 


inside, i browse, he sucks his thumb. except seeing christmas balls & fake fir trim excites him enough to sit up and point and chatter. damn you capitalist christmas displays in october! i am torn between helping him fall asleep or keeping him awake until its time to do the groceries. it should not be a difficult and complicated decision, but some days i just waffle on. 2 hours after we arrive in ayala, he finally goes to snooze. as the mall is not that big and not that interesting, i head off to do the groceries still feeling argh. 


its really just one of those days. 

review: little1s children's playground

i swear that is how the name of the place is spelled in colored letters above their doorway: Little1s.


anyways... the bills needed paying so i decided to take LP with me to SM to get them done. this was in the morning, so we got there right after the mall had opened. bills done, we proceeded to the third floor, near toy kingdom. i found this place last week, right after leaving the Dave's place. i was really "Oh. there's another place." but then, i'd never checked sm's directory and only knew of Dave's because i noticed it long ago when we passed it.


+ monday morning must be a great time to go--we were the only customers. the staff had nothing to do so they were playing kid's video games. so much for socializing LP with people his own size
+ the place seems huge compared to dave's. seriously 4 times the floor area and twice the ceiling height. lots of room, they laid out their little tikes sets (one for toddlers, a tree house thing for bigger kids, swings, climbing structure) and they also had a little area for books and learning toys, as well as video games and a make-up bureau/doll area
- they had piped in music. kid's songs, but still quite loud enough to be annoying. i don't recall any at the other place. 
+ i haven't been inside, but the tiny door in the corner is actually a toilet. cool. especially since sm's toilets are not the most conveniently located
+ good quality learning toys, a lot made of wood. beads & wires, puzzles, musical instruments. also the other toys (like the pushcars & such) had batteries, so LP pressed away to his delight. now if only they would lower the volume of the piped-in music so we could hear every honk & whistle. i haven't checked out the books but they do have several shelves of them.


cost: same as the other place. Php 60 for 30 minutes, 100 for an hour. also possible to do unlimited, and to leave the child (not sure what age they start allowing that). rates also slightly higher during weekends & holidays


would we go back? sure. i imagine even if it gets full there's still enough toys and things for the kids to tinker with. 


what i did fail to check at both places are: 
~ what is the upper limit capacity-wise? (how many kids can they sanely & safely allow in at any given time?)
~ how often to they clean/sanitize the place?
~ are any of the staff trained for basic emergencies? i imagine the occasional bloodied nose or sprained ankle from jumping off the wrong prop)

LP's bathroom antics

as if to prove that he truly loves water (ahwah for shower being one of his first words), a recent shower session revealed some new antics (usually BBB showers him in the morning and in the evening as i have LP for most of the day).


~ he can "wash" his body. tell him its time to wash his body, drop some body wash on his palm. he rubs his palms together then proceeds to rub his torso. its so cute, i must remember to shoot video of it
~ he can squirt water from the faucet. if he blocks the flow with his palm, he can squirt the water in many directions. so that's how water drops end up in places i'd never seen them at before! he gives a bonus laugh if i shriek when the cold water sprays me
~ he can drink from the faucet. its simple. he holds on with one hand and bends to sip from the flow. and he turns around to make sure i can see. good thing we've had our tap water tested and its all clear
~ he understands that we need to stop the shower first before he can play with the tap. this helps ensure that we are actually done showering (soaping and rinsing) before the play begins. however, being only 1, his impatience overtakes him, ensuing in an argument and a re-explanation that turning the tap on affects the shower pressure, and that we must be done with the job before we play. does he understand all that? i guess so. 

hands free walking

our Little Person has upped the hands-free walking act, managing 4 to 6 steps by himself before "collapsing" into waiting arms. 


it is both exciting and terrifying.  

a vaccine & a bad waiting room day.

yesterday was LP's chicken pox & MMR vaccine day. it was supposed to be a "get in and out there" in an hour as we have done in the past, but murphy stepped in. our doctor's usual secretary was on maternity leave and her temp was. not. good. 


i rang at 10am to make an appointment and she said "maam you can come now. no one is here yet and the doctor is on her way." eager to get the job out of the way, we arrived 15 minutes later, with 3 patients who got there before us (must've been told the same thing) and no pediatrician. we tried to wait, with BBB anxious to have left the office with a million and one things to do. no doctor in sight, we left after 11am, with instructions to the secretary to let us know when the doctor arrives and when there is one patient left before us. 


gah. this is getting boring. the short of it is, temp secretary made another wrong move and we ended up wasting another two hours in the waiting room. which was filthy. dirt visible on the floor. candy wrappers tucked into the crannies behind the seat backs. empty wrappers and a water bottle left on the seats. gah. of course, LP was the expert in uncovering such things. 


and then it turns out, our pediatrician was not too happy with their temp's performance either. oh dear. i hate complaining and i hate thinking complaining might cause someone to lose the job. but gads, must the consumer suffer in silence? 


and about the actual shot, LP was fine. he wondered what the pinprick was (in the upper arm), and made to cry but, we distracted him with the pedia's rattle. 


argh. 


cost: chicken pox & MMR vaccine (a one shot combination) Php 3,500 including doctor's consultation fee 

review: dave's funhouse

its in SM, north wing section, second floor near all the salons and beauty places. perhaps they intended it that way so mommy can leave her kid to play while she goes for her beauty treatments. 


anyways 


- the floor plan is strangely configured, but they made the best of it. however, when you have 20+ kids running without direction, expect a few booboos 
+ they get lots of plus points from me for imagination. its styled like a mini main street with a fast food joint, a hotel, a beauty parlor, police station with corresponding toys, props and costumes, all child sized
- some of the toys that required batteries did not have any, so LP was baffled that some things he suspected could do something did not do anything (he and his magic index finger are now experts at pressing buttons)
+ they have this high-tech thumb print check-in and check out system. the adults (parent, yaya, whoever) who checks the child in gets his thumb scanned. essentially, if the prints don't match, the child is stuck inside. 
+/- there is a hand sanitizer dispenser just by the entrance and kids are told to clean their hands before proceeding to play. not sure how consistent they are about enforcing this because i found the dispenser when we were about to check out!
+ staff are on hand who constantly try to put things back into order (we're talking bajillions of plastic fast food toys, stuffed animals, plastic dinosaurs). no sooner is one section done that the next kid comes to take over). i would loathe to work there. the staff also try to keep some order and do tell the kids off if they are rough-housing too much


cost: Php 60 for 30 minutes. an hour is Php 100. there is a whole day rate as well, and it gets more expensive on weekdays & holidays


other observations: the place is a bit too small (but i am a claustophobe. the kids didn't seem to mind it) that the kids were constantly crossing paths or trying to get out of each other's way or, well, colliding. most small kids do not yet understand the concept of sharing toys and the place is just not big enough to give everyone some decent room. i think LP is too small for such a place.


would we go back? maybe when its not as busy as today.  

review: nokia care

i used to hate hate hate waiting for my turn at nokia care in SM, only to be told that 

~ the unit is irreparable

~ the parts are unavailable

~ the cost is half the price of the actual unit

but i don't like these cellphone repair and modify booths that sprout in every available mall corner. 

so i approached nokia care at ayala with caution, BBB's blacked out phone in hand and LP in tow on a saturday afternoon.

+ only one person before me. wait was 5 minutes. 

+ magazine rack with multiple copies of reader's digest (they had advertised in them) and other magazines that did not look grossly overused. not that i had time to read with LP around. 

+ when it was our turn, 

   #1. the parts were available 

   #2. the price was reasonable (Php 200 for diagnosis, actual part was Php1400, brand new E51 unit was about Php11k)

   #3. they only needed 24hours to fix it and the software upgrade was free if done at the same time (or pay Php 500 the following week)

+ back at home, they rang to inform me that there was an additional part that needed fixing costing Php 68

+ when i rang to check if the unit was ready, the person who answered sounded awake and efficient

- the only minus was they only accept cash payments (i forgot to ask over the phone and they did not discuss method of payment) so LP and i had to skip to an ATM to kidnap some cash. 

but in all, the experience was very good. except, like going to hospitals, you don't really want to go there unless necessary.