Whatchama-CAEHL-it LXII

Last night, I asked Caehl if he knew when their report cards will be given.

 

I don't know, he said.

 

Me: Naku, ano na kaya honor mo? Sabi ni Teacher She, you're makulit na daw. Dati, 2nd ka. Now kaya?

 

Caehl: Wag na nga mag-card.

Whatchama-CAEHL-it LXI

More notes from Caehl:

• Go to school everyday.
• Do not Yakult twice or whole a day; or else your tummy will be full.
• While-a-go is my United Nations. Be happy and relax! Only 2 guests / visitors per child. Because if 3 or more guests / visitors, it is crowded.

In Filipino:

• Kasi nga ang daynahsor hanggang 100 metro. Ang Pilipinas ay maliliit kasi nga hanggang 23 metro. Malaki lang ang Pilipinas kapag titignan namin.

Whatchama-CAEHL-it LX

Notes by Caehl:

•  Oops, I burped! Maybe I am full; because I ate too, too many foods.
•  Then after eating in Shopwise Pacita, I will grocery now.
•  Remember: chupa chups, mentos and other candies are for Halloween pa.
• Trim, slim! After United Nations, I went home first to change my clothes; then Shopwise Pacita first we eat because I am tired. I am tired because there is a sun; because it is a sunny day; it is very / too hot weather. It’s too hot in the Philippines, ok, ok.

Attempts to write in Filipino:

• Kapag Oktubre dalawamput-walo, may Halloween na ako. Pero sa opisina ng aking ina.
• Ang daynahsor ay pinakamatakot. Kasi nga ang daynahsor ay malaki. Ang Pilipinas ay maliliit, kasi nga pitumput-walo ang bilang ng mga probinsya. Maraming salamat po. Mabuhay po.

• 
  

Caehl is Mr. Malaysia

Selamat Pagi!

CKLC UN Day*Oct. 22, 2011

Whatchama-CAEHL-it LIX

As we were about to call it a day last night, Caehl was "pasimple" placing his new toy stegosaurus between us.

M: And what is the dinosaur doing on our bed?

C (patay malisya): Bigay yan ni Mikaela.

M: Ahhhh….but what is he doing here? We cannot fit.

C: Hay nako.

Caehl's 6th Birthday Album 2

Oct. 13, 2011
Max's Restaurant Pacita

Whatchama-CAEHL-it LVII

Just this evening, as I got home (a little bit late coming from my mom's house), I told Caehl, "Caehl, I will go with Mama on Saturday."

 

My mom's aunt, Auntie Crising, passed away at the height of Typhoon Pedring last Sept. 27.

 

"Where?" he asked.

 

"In Tondo," I said.

 

"What funeral?"

 

"The same one I went to, remember?" I said.

 

"What is the name of Mama's tita?"

 

"Lola Crising," I said. "So, wait for me then we'll grocery (sic) in the afternoon."

 

"No, Mommy," he said. "I will make a list and go with Daddy while you're in the dead (sic)."

 

"Are you going to buy our food, even without Mommy?"

 

"Yes, just give me money," he said.

 

Strange but I usually don't let Alex do the grocery-shopping without me, yet I am confident Caehl can really do it.

 

"Samahan mo na lang," I told his Nanay Ev. "He knows what we usually buy anyway. I'll just leave money."

Done deal.

Whatchama-CAEHL-it LVI

Yesterday, Caehl said matter-of-factly, "Mommy, if Ate (Cae) was born in March 1994, then she was in your tummy in July 1993."

 

How did you know that? I asked.

 

I counted backwards, he said.

 

How about you? I asked. When were you in my tummy?

 

February 2005.

 

Tama nga hehe

 

Ikaw, do you know how to count backwards?

Whatchama-CAEHL-it LI

Last Aug. 27, on our way to Ate Cae's dorm, I suddenly felt hungry. I said, "Caehl, do you want to buy McDo? Drive-thru?"

 

"No," the little big boy said. "Later na lang."

 

"You're not hungry?" I asked.

 

"No, later na lang," he said.

 

"No," I insisted. "Let's buy now, you eat later."

 

So I had my way.

 

It turns out that a little after 10:30am, there were no cheeseburgers available yet. Breakfast pa raw, the crew said. I asked for hamdesal but there were only pancake and longganisa meal as available items. 

 

I can't eat that inside the car, I told Alex. I was annoyed at McDonald's. "Wala na pala silang breakfast eh bakit di pa sila mag-prepare ng iba?"

 

The little big boy said, "Sabi sa inyo, later na lang eh."

 

That made me laugh. Oo nga, kulet ko kasi :)

CKLC Pre-School Dept Linggo ng Wika Celebration

August 27, 2011

Whatchama-CAEHL-it XLIX

Sometimes I think I don't know my son.

 

I was munching on a Chowking siopao one afternoon when Caehl entered my room.

 

"Mommy, what's that? What are you eating?"

 

"Sandwich," I replied.

 

"Ah siopao," he said.

 

LOL alam pala niya. Akala ko hindi niya kilala ang siopao eh.

My Daughter the “Dormer”

A daughter may outgrow your lap, but she will never outgrow your heart.  ~Author Unknown

(Of course, there’s no such word. By “dormer,” I'm referring to a dorm resident, or a person staying / living in a dormitory.)

I remember when our eldest sibling, Ate, entered college (FEU) and my parents decided she would stay in my aunt’s apartment in Galas, QC. She has always been my roommate and although we were 4 years apart, we were close to each other. We didn’t have a landline then, and for the first few nights and weeks, I would call her up using a payphone in the nearest sari-sari store, and end up crying and missing her so.

And then it was my turn. Part of my parents’ plan (that’s why they chose UST over UPLB) was for me to stay with my sister. So that they won’t have to travel all the way from Los Baños to QC each time they would make us hatid.  It was more convenient and they felt more comfortable with the set-up, knowing we were together.

I didn’t realize that at that time, I was giving them a heartache or that I was breaking their heart. To me, it was the most practical thing to do. I knew myself, I could take care of myself, I was capable of doing household chores, and I knew how to commute. But for parents, those could never be enough, I learned. I am learning that now.

My daughter is now living in a dorm. It’s a new dormitory, a street away from UST. It’s a four-person room, but currently she is sharing it with Shae, her schoolmate since Grade One and a fellow CTHM sophomore. We wouldn’t have allowed her if it she weren’t with Shae (and Shae’s parents maintain the same stance). Shae’s mom and I have been acquaintances since the girls' grade school days, when we would both stay in the parents’ waiting area in Colegio San Agustin – Biñan. Yes, that’s how far we go back.

Cae is independent, and she is used to sleep-overs. My aunts would take turns borrowing her from us when she was two or three. She is a smart kid, but I must say, we are very protective of her. All through her grade school and high school life, she was hatid-sundo by a trusted tricycle service. She wasn’t allowed to commute and if she did take public transpo, we were uber panicky and worried.  When she studied at UST, that was the only time she commuted big-time. And we were proud of her learning how to ride the MRT or LRT and even the PNR on her own. When she started feeling the pains and challenges of commuting from our place to UST and vice versa, she complained and suggested dorm-living. But I guess we weren’t ready then. We asked her to try it out for the rest of her freshman year and then who knows, things might change. And they did.

With the 2-hour travel time, plus traffic, plus rains and floods, she was such a pity coming home wet with muddy shoes, kinakaladkad ang sarili while walking, plastado na sa gabi, and with a body brace at that. She asked that we revisit the idea of dorm-living and this time, we were cooperative. She prepared a PowerPoint presentation, with a matrix of pros and cons, even if that was just a formality.  At the back of our minds, we knew we were giving in.

It is a big change. For seventeen years, she was just in the next room. But I guess, we have to go with the flow. Alex is stricter though, laying down the rules - No this, no that. Do this, do that. There were so many reminders. And it’s more expensive. Yet we are somehow comforted that she can enjoy a few more winks (she usually wakes up at 4am). She can even take a shower after her Monday AM PE class and put on her brace comfortably. Her last class ends at 7pm and she can still be “home” early. When it rains, she doesn’t have to take on the downpour, fight it out with other commuters, and take the risk of getting sick and yes, ruining her shoes.

I hope she’ll be fine. I know she’ll be ok. Because I am missing her already.

 

 

My "students"

Caehl's first day in prep class...Cae's 2nd week...

Whatchama-CAEHL-it XLVII

Caehl asked me to make a "baby" out of a hankie. "A baby to cuddle," he said.

And so I did.

He put it on the bed and said, "I will put the baby in the river. And with my stick, I will watch my brother. Like Exodus."

Aha, I exclaimed, recognizing the story.

"And then, here comes a princess," he continued. "She said, I will name him Moses."

Whatchama-CAEHL-it XLVI

Playing online trivia quizzes over at www.sporcle.com, Caehl has been memorizing the Top Global Brands of 2010.

One night, he was enumerating the companies / brands when he suddenly mentioned another life insurance company.

I said, "Ooops, don't say that. That's Mommy's competitor."

He looked stricken but I was just joking of course.

The next day, when I came home from work, I found a print-out of the Insular Life Corporate Centre, in full color at that.

"Mommy," he cooed. "I searched (for) Insular Life," as if trying to console me.

"Ikaw talaga," I teased him.

Family Time

Pancake House*Racks

Caehl was watching me tagging the photos.
"Why are you not writing my name?"
"Ay o sige, I will na."
"Wag na lang."
Nagtampo pa :(

Happy Birthday, Tito Deng!

Advance birthday blow-out of Tito Deng

King Bee, Sta. Rosa * Paseo Sta. Rosa * Nuvali

After DFA

SM MOA * April 6, 2011

Whatchama-CAEHL-it XLV (Fetal Attraction)

A week ago, I brought home a print-out of an email I received entitled "Where to go during an earthquake."

Until this afternoon, I didn't realize that Caehl read the print-out and was so serious about it. I think he was really affected by the recent earthquake in Japan. He was playing with Ate Doobs, our all-around angel. I overheard him teaching her the "fetal position."

"Ate Doobs," he tells her, quoting the article, "If an earthquake happens and you cannot easily escape by getting out the door or window, then lie down and curl up in the fetal position next to a sofa, or large chair."

He even wanted her to curl up beside our bed, but Nanay Ev said, "No, don't mess up your room, we just cleaned it." So they had to settle for the living room.

While Nanay Ev was chuckling all the time (I bet you would be, too), Ate Doobs was patiently "obeying" the little master.

I couldn't help but take a photo of this moment. 

CKLC Achievement-Completion Rites

March 26, 2011
Concepcion Kids Learning Center
Shakey's Pacita

2nd Honor and Most Inquisitive