Our Tatay

We call him Tatay. I call him Honey when I'm sweet, Dar when I'm serious and Darwin when I'm angry. Tsk!tsk!tsk! He has and is always my number one critic, my better half, my bestfriend. For his daughters, their other choice when Nanay turns her back on them.


Our Tatay is the simplest person I know. He is unassuming, humble, kind, responsible and most of all a loving father. He is the only breadwinner in our family but that doesn't deter him from providing for not only the needs of the family but also the wants and little luxuries of our kids. Who would think to stay at a hotel across Disneyland so we can visit it anytime during our 5-day stay at California before we jet back to NY? Who would think of buying "gadgets" like PSP and Nintendo DS Lite for a 2 year-old girl? It's all him. But this does not mean that he is spoiling the girls....no,no,no. He is not as lenient as he seems because there are certain limits to all these. He takes joy in seeing his girls dancing, singing, giggling, enjoying themselves and even when they are at their worst fighting and shouting at each other and most especially when telling or rather shouting at him outside our door that he's handsome everytime he leaves the house with all our neighbours hearing it.


He was literally there when I gave birth to Amber holding my hand encouraging me and giving me strength to push, he was there to assist me after coming from work when I had a hard time taking care of our colicky Amber during her first month even when he needs to work the next day, we cried together when we had the down syndrome results for our Ina. In all the milestones, hardships, moments, happiness and blessings, he was always there and for that I am always grateful.


Our Tatay is the Best. He may not be the perfect father for others but he will always be a perfect one for us. He gives a lot for this family and continues to amaze me with all his decisions and great plans for this family.


Happy Birthday, Tatay. Thank you for everything. We will always be your No. 1,2,3 fans. We love you. J

Two for Ina

Ina turns two today. She's growing up to be the charming little girl that she is. She is your typical youngest who makes her mother melt and give in even if you're in your worst or peak of anger with just her "I love you" and miniature hugs and kisses.


She was born at 6:20pm in a public hospital in my province. She weighed 3.21 kgs through nvd (normal vaginal delivery). Looking back, I remembered the two (yes, TWO!) injections of anaesthesia that they gave me in which until now I still believe is the cause of my occasional memory lapse. I also remembered the 5-6 faces (composed of my OB, Pedia, nurse, medical residents, etc.) that were staring at me inside the delivery room and when I say stare, I mean peer and examine that part where my baby will come out. This was an embarrassing and unexpected set-up because it was a far cry from my previous "birthing" experience where only the midwife, doctor and my husband were inside the delivery room. Makes me wonder what the real standard setup should be or if there are different SOPs in different parts of the world. Whew! I guess I just have to try another country next time.


The birth of Ina is something extra special for me and my husband. She was conceived when we weren't really planning to have one although we weren't really exerting much effort to control having another one. When I was on my 14th week of conception, we were asked by my Indian Ob-Gyne, who is a well-known OB in Dubai, if we wanted to test my baby for Down Syndrome. Beats me what her reasons are for randomly asking us to do so. Confidently, we obliged knowing that it would turn out negative. Unfortunately, my blood test came out positive with a 1:200 chance caused us too much sadness and worry. Then, came another blood test for confirmation which turned negative this time. With this, my doctor, my husband and I decided to just have the final and most accurate test which is the amniocentesis to ease our confusion with the two different results. This test will be administered by an ob/amnio specialist trained specifically for this. The test will require no anaesthesia at all and will just take a few minutes. The procedure will require the doctor to insert a huge empty syringe four or five times bigger than your ordinary injection where he gets 10cc of amniotic fluid from my belly with the guidance of the ultrasound closely monitoring my baby Ina. It was my longest 5-minute test and the most painful, physically and mentally maybe because this came with the thought of maybe giving up our baby by abortion. But our agony didn't stop there, we still have to wait for the result after 3 days and this was the most emotionally tiring days in my life because the result might mean not seeing the birth of our youngest.


We were blessed. We did not have to go thru another emotional episode. The result was negative and the go signal was given. After all the emotional rollercoaster that me and my husband went through, the end of it was the sweetest. Then everything went well as God has planned.


We named her Kaitlin Alaina. The initials KA was sorta spin-off from Katherine Amber's, our eldest. Katherine and Kaitlin, are the same in meaning but of different origins. Ina's names are of Irish origin where Kaitlin means Pure while Alaina means Dear Child. For us, after all the ordeal that we had to undergo before her birth, there is no better name to describe our youngest but the above.


.....Dear God, thank you for giving us our dear, dear Ina. In your hands, we took a little angel who will forever be a reminder of Your Grace. With your guidance, protection and love, we promise to nurture, protect and love her for the rest of our lives.J

A Playful Experience

Thursday was a "Jack and the Beanstalk Day." It was something that Amber was looking forward to since she learned that she's going to watch something different. Different from her usual Disney and Nickledeon shows, that is.


We went to watch the play from the Repertory Philippines and Amber had a wonderful time. It wasn't her first time to watch a play but it was the experience of watching it with her Toddler friends and classmates that made it an extra special experience. Preparing her for the play was something that I had to make sure though. Her previous experience was a year ago when she watched Aladdin at Disneyland and it wasn't a pleasant experience because she got scared with all the effects and we had to hug her and carry her on our lap all throughout the play. She also has this habit of asking a lot of questions when watching something from the television and the thought that she might do the same in the theatre might irritate the others. I really have to walk her through with what to expect and how to behave and I was proud of the result.


The play took almost 1 1/2 hours but the colorful, entertaining and interactive play made the kids respond to it positively. It was presented in a more modern twist. The audience, composed mostly of kids, was asked to participate every now and then by the characters by inviting them to help the Giant make a decision, dance and even play baseball with him. It was an effective "set-up" because even my Amber wanted to go onstage and dance with the cast which was very surprising knowing how shy my daughter is and mind you, the theatre wasn't small at all. She was even answering with the kids when asked by the Giant. She was mesmerized by the effects and the characters as well.


So, what did I get from this experience? A lot, actually. It made me realize that my daughter is almost a big girl. She is starting to be considerate to other people. She is starting to learn how to behave properly in a different situation and looking at her enjoying and maybe, just maybe, understanding what she is watching made me realize that I just witnessed another milestone in my eldest's life. For me, a school activity like this is a positive way to introduce the kids to the wonders of visual entertainment other than the tv. It is a fun and enjoyable way to learn about family values rather than reading the book for them. Yes, it is an expensive alternative to reading but the unique experience of watching it will somehow hasten their understanding of how some things are and introducing it to them in a way that they can relate to.J

A Wedge-y Incident

"Natapilok ako!" And my right ankle really hurts but I was lucky that my girls were not badly hurt.

We went to the mall today to do some shopping. As we were walking, I was carrying my Ina with my right arm while I was holding Amber with my left, I tripped with my white wedge shoes pulling Amber with me as I fell on the pavement. Ina was unharmed but Amber has a scrape on her left temple. I almost fainted because of the pain that I felt on my ankle but I didn't notice this at first because my foremost concern were my kids. I had to check if Amber's "booboo" was okay and when I was assured that it was just a scrape, the pain started to sink in. Dar, my husband, was concerned but kept on asking me what happened to me but I just can't explain it because I was still in shock.

Flashback 2005..... Amber was almost two months then when she fell from her stroller at one of the malls in Dubai. I was pushing the stroller when her birds-eye cloth ("lampin") which we use to wipe her fell and of course I have to pick it up but as I did, I mistakenly pulled down the stroller's handle with me which made my daughter fall because she wasn't fatened to her seatbelt. As soon as I saw blood oozing from her left temple, I became hysterical that I was repeatedly saying, "My baby! My Baby!," and just lost it. Instead of having the presence of mind of bringing her to the nearest clinic, I was there sitting on the floor holding Amber while crying. Dar helped me up while my Mom held on to Amber as the mall crew assisted us to a room where we waited for the medics to arrive. I was inconsolable because of shock and worried sick because of the thought of the damage that it might have caused to our daughter's head. The doctor, who was a Local (term for Emirati) and the Filipino male nurse assured me that Amber seemed fine because she was responding and still crying which are good signs after a bad fall. We werent' able to sleep that night because we have to observe her for any unusual signs. Good thing, the following day was her scheduled vaccination/consultation with her doctor. After her pediatrician reassured us that she's okay and can still have her vaccination, I felt relieved. I thought I was going to lose my daughter and worried sick of what the impact of the fall might be. We were blessed.

2009.......The pain is still there but am temporarily "cured" with the meds. Other than the pain in my ankle, it was the thought that I almost put my kids' life in danger (again!!!) that made me realize just how much pain I can endure for my kids. It also made me realize that when you're in a situation that needs your presence of mind, it's just normal to go blank as if everything stopped that you cannot think of anything else except that moment of "weakness." As a mom, this is a no-no but who can blame me for being. I made a promise to myself tonight to always, always have that presence of mind when I'm with my kids. Although I am not totally lacking on that aspect. I just don't want to have a third of this kind to ever happen again.

For now, I just have to apply cold compress and take mefenamic acid. I just might forgo with the wedge thing and just be safe and happy with my good old reliable flats.J