The Year of Piesquare

Year 2008 has been wonderful.  It kicked off with me getting pregnant, the second time around.

It was a year full of Stefan and only Stefan,

Until they become three.

Lots of snow - sucks! 

Four seasons in maternity clothes sucks, too!

And because I was pregnant and breastfeeding, it was a whole year of abstinence from sashimi, that even this bracelet looked yummy to me.

Stefan was finally potty trained.  Better late than never!

We saw a dentist for the first time in Canada, and were charged a whopping $800+ for basic services.  Napakasakit, Kuya Eddie!

But thankfully, this year I became full-time at Citi, so most of it were covered.  Double yipee! 

I kicked off my year-long mat leave a few weeks before my due date. I miss Citi but I’m enjoying my time off with my boys.

‘Twas no sawa to Joshua Radin, a sudden liking to Beyonce, and Britney Spears’ releases. Gimme, gimme… 

Another year never missing Prison Break and Desperate Housewives, and a lot of laugh and dance with Ellen De Generes.

Seeing all of Michael Phelp’s gold medal wins in this year’s Beijing Olympics and got these over-hyped glasses from McDo.

How could I forget - the mesmerizing Beijing 2008 Opening, too.

 

 

Saw Dark Knight in theater. What makes this noteworthy is because the last movie I saw on theater was 5 years ago.

 

At last, Richard Marx concert in Niagara.  It’s in Sherwin’s lifelist… don’t laugh.

 

 

Six straight days of shopping on Boxing week and more online shopping than I have ever done this year. 

 

Another year decorating, decluttering, and redecorating the house.

 

Not seeing my family again.  Boohoohoo!

 

On the other hand, my mom-in-law, sis-in-law and her husband were here for Struan’s birth.

 

And I got to visit Achi again,

 

And go to New York for the first time.

 

Had a relaxing break (as in break from household chores) in Blue Mountain,

 

And just around town.

 

Our first strawberry-picking experience.

 

A year of home-cooked meals,

 

Frequent take out of mostly Filipino dishes, which I eat with gusto, 

And our usual weekly eat-out.

Our birthdays.

 

 

Our first Christmas tree.

Holiday with friends.

 

 

Another year into Chuvaness, Babycenter, Ohdeedoh, PEP, Facebook, Multiply, etc.

 

And another year with you!

 

At the end of each year, I look back on the year that was in pictures, and review the 3 annual lists I come up with the previous year – My Wishlist, Targets, and Prayers.  It’s always good to visually see what I have accomplished for the year, from the annual routine, the must do’s, to the more specific goals.  It's lovely to see which items in my list I have bought or received, those that I’m going to wishlist again the next year, or those that only The Secret or Santa can give.  And it's always a blessing to realize answered prayers, and to accept that some things I have prayed for can wait.

 

This is what I do each year – I count my blessings and wish for a better new year - for me and for all.

Multitasking

 

It’s about 12 noon now.  It’s only a quarter of the day since I woke up and I am already exhausted.  I’m eating my lunch as I type so I am not wasting any time.  I am always in a hurry to finish my meals that I don’t get to enjoy most of them anymore, thinking Struan will be crying in no time for feeding, or changing, or for attention in general.  Speaking of him, he is crying now, for what I have yet to determine.  Pause.

 

I’m back.  Oops, he’s crying again.  Pause. 

 

I’m carrying him now as I type, while giddyapping my legs to make him stop crying, as I'm chewing that big spoonful of lamb and rice that I just shoved into my mouth, while the clothes are on the dryer and his bottles are being sterilized upstairs.  This is typical of my multi-tasking.

 

Everyday I go up and down the stairs – from top floor down to the den 35 steps to be exact, multiplied by the numerous trips I make going up and down each day, total of which I can only calculate with a pedometer.  Not to mention the weight involved, such as that laundry basket that I trudge with me, or those stout feeding bottles of Struan as much as my arms can embrace, or his rocker that I dangle up and down on my back, or Struan himself on one arm and something else on another.  I pass by each floor leaving no stones unturned on spaces I have to declutter, and articles I have to either bring up or down making sure there’s not an idle arm on one trip, that can save me for yet another.

 

Classical music is playing on all floors simultaneously all day because turning the players on and off would take seconds off my precious time.  The other day I have figured out how to manage Struan on one arm while typing with both hands, and just now the ability to take out clothes from the dryer with him on an arm, two more great discoveries added to an earlier one of being able to carry him and eat at the same also with both hands.  Such skills that I have to master to save even more time.  Time that I wish I can bank for myself for the end of the day.

 

But each day never seems to end and the chores seem never ending.  So I savour my every Kitkat break as much as I could, whether it’s an episode of Ellen or Oprah, Chuvaness or PEP, my blog or somebody else's, a fashion or home magz, an email to my family or IM with Sherwin, out shopping or online shopping, a scoop of Häagen Dazs or a piece of Swiss Delice (or a Kitkat, who knows).  Anything that will take me away from it all even just for a while, because longer than that is next to impossible. 

 

For the meantime, it's safe to say that mutitasking has become a talent.

 

Just Let Them Be

On one Babycenter.com article I was reading today, I came across a parent’s comment on why most parents think their child is gifted, which I find truly inspiring and timely in a competitive world we live in today, and I quote:

 

“I don't think parents who question other parent's assertion that their children are "gifted" are rude or juvenile. I think they are responding to a culture of competition and excess, one that does not spare children or even toddlers. I think some parents are so caught up in the wonder of their own children, are so separate from the wide range of child development and want so desperately to have an exceptional child, they will dance over hot coals to insist their Sally's off to Harvard at 2. Both my brother and I tested "gifted" in public school, both were sent to enrichment/gifted stream programs and we're both happy, well adjusted people with good jobs and great lives. Funny thing - both our parents are bright, articulate and interesting human beings with great parenting skills. And my child? Well. Master genius of the universe of course : )) Just keep reading, dancing, playing with bugs and going to galleries. Live your own fantastic, interesting, "gifted" life and right as rain, your little wonder will follow on beside you. I try to ignore most of this stuff, knowing from experience that the kids who make good at the end of the day are the kind ones, the ones that learned to play fairly with true joy and work hard. The ones who were flashcarded, pressured, driven nearly insane by activities, extra-curricular tutoring, language classes, dance recitals, music classes, drawing studios...well. They either rebelled and dropped out, became strangely average or ate their idiotic parents [who were]cooked in a divine wine reduction.”

 

Another parent wrote:

 

“Let me just say this - I was/am gifted. I suprised my mom one day by reading Dr. Suess Mulberry Street. But I have to say this to the "gifted toddler acceleration" debate. Let the kids be kids. You get such a short time in this world to be interested in the intricacies of flowers or the cracks in the sidewalk. Capitalize now on the fascinations that your child will soon be too old to really appreciate. Save the alphabet flash cards for later. That is what I will always thank my mother for - sharing the wonders of the world with me and sparking my exhuberant curiosity in all things. And believe me, you can't possibly be unqualified to teach any 16 month old. A 5 year old can teach a 16 month old, not the same things you will, but things you couldn't. Just enjoy your children. That will be what they would remember.”

 

As I would often say, “to each its own.”  Just let them be!

 

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On a parallel note…

 

Shortly after Stefan had established his routine on his first year, there were no cuddling and lulling necessary to make him sleep.  We were able to just put him down on his bed in his own room and he would fall asleep by himself.  These days, he wants somebody by his side until he falls asleep.  It bothered me for a while thinking that the discipline I have inculcated went down the drain just like that.  But now – what the heck – let him be!  I have sworn to just enjoy those moments in bed with him, talking about his day, making him fly with my legs, riding on his pretend bus, laughing, hugging and kissing, …

 

For he will be a kid only once in his life and mine.