Caroleen’s Treasures

As I was saying on my post yesterday about the toy laptop that I wanted to get for Ella on her 6th birthday, Donald surely got jealous No he doesn’t want toy laptop but a real laptop computer that he long dreamed of. I guess his dream will come true soon as he is telling me to teach him all about blogging and he wants to apply as coder in OHJ same as Crislyn. We are planning to get him a computer so while I am on my computer doing my thing, he will sit infront of his and do his own thing too. Ella got the love of laptop from her Daddy. Here’s a picture of Ella months ago at Crislyn’s PIL place. She was begging Tito Ace and Tita Crislyn to use the lappy of Lolo Tony and she was over the moon when she got a chance to play on it.

I thought there will be no activity here in the church today so we slept like Garfield until almost 9 am We then heard Kuya Jun calling Bro. Donald from the “tora-tora” that he was driving. Wish I have a camera so I could show you how it looks like. All I can say is, when I first saw it I almost peed on my pants! Flipinos are really resourceful ya know! Anyway, they fetched the members in the farm a few miles from here for the music lesson that will be done in the afternoon. Ella was so happy getting a “tora-tora” ride and to see the ricefield and ducks.

In the afternoon, after the music lesson and all the members are gone, we went to the market to buy Caladryl or Benadryl for Ella’s insect bites and some rashes from the weeds around the yard. We tried 7 pharmacies with no luck! I feel like we are in Pluto….cast away…..there is no Public Hospital here, just two small clinics and a funeral parlor We passed by a little resto and we decided we will celebrate Father’s Day earlier so we ordered “halo-halo” (fruit preserves in ground ice and milk with ice cream and cereal on top) for Donald, cheese burger and iced tea for Ella and spaghetti with cheese burger and iced tea for me Before Ella took a bite, she happily greeted her Daddy, “Happy mother’s day Daddy!!!!” She almost made me pee! Then she said she was just kidding and when she had her first bite, she groaned, “Why did they make burger’s head so big? I could hardly bite it!” We are full and happy with our food, it is cheap and good. We left with a full stomach and Ella is so much excited to go to the park. We always made excuses to her for not going there…when she goes with me to the market, I say “Next time when Daddy is with us.” and when she is with her Daddy, he says the other way around. So now me and Daddy are with her there in the market, she was saying “Daddy is here, adn Mommy is here….I can go to the park…” over and over again.

So we walked a few blocks to the park. She and Donald went there ahead while I went to the pharmacy near the park to see if they have Caladryl or Benadryl. Still none….so I got another brand of ointment for insect bites. I hope it will work well. Ella really did enjoy the park, she is really a child….but me, nope…I was looking around and kept telling Donald that the $1,325.581.4 declared budget spent for the construction of the park didn’t went all to it. There is a skating rink which I doubt if it was ever used for skating or if anyone ever owned a roller skates or blades here. Then here comes the swings….there should me 5 but only one is in “good” shape. The other four has its chains but the seats are nowhere to be found. There are slides for kids which should not be called “slides” as kids could not slide from the top….they should push themselves so they can get down because the surface is so rough you could not slide down without pushing yourself. There’s also this silly looking round thing where two kids tried to get on there and spin it but they could not as it is so heavy and I just wonder how this works. Ella had so much fun on the swing and slides while I and Donald sat on a bench. We joined her in the see-saw and we did enjoy it…only our thighs hurts. We finally convinced Ella to go home, so we walked to the front gate so we could also see what is on the other side of the park which makes it a million’s worth. On the front part of the park there are two fountains….with no single drop of water. All in all, I could say the park is not well kept as you can see the weeds all over the ground unmowed. Only the part where the kids play area was kept clean. But the good thing I saw there was the 26 flagpoles with Philippine Flags. Truly they are vey patriotic here…..I have not seen such a number flags being flown in small town like this. At least, there is one thing that impressed me.

When we got home at around 6pm, I have dozed off while Donald sat on my computer and Ella did her own thing (eating…AGAIN). She cleaned herself, washed her face, feet and hands and by the time I woke up she declared she was about to retire. We were surprised as she usually sleeps late. So I asked Donald to wash her again with soap and I applied the ointment on her bites and spots. In no time she was off to dreamland

Since I am now earning a wee bit from blogging galore, I was thinking about buying Ella a toy laptop at best buy on her next birthday Yeah you read it right…on her NEXT birthday. That would be June 2, 2009. I still have plenty of time to save for it. (As if the toy laptop costs a hundred dollars) Well, time flies so fast and you will just be surprised that a year has passed by. Who knows on her 6th birthday I have a Page Rank number 5 with tons of $$ on my paypal….I will not get her a toy laptop but a real one!

It’s Friday, the last day of school. So our Princess went to school earlier than yesterday. She was telling me last night that her classmates’ snacks are more “fun” than her “boring” biscuits. I was like, “Hey, who told you your snacks is boring? See, you got 4 packets of animal biscuits in different colors…that is fun don’t ya know?” (Oh yeah, I was speaking slang) But anyway, as I do not want her to feel sad about her snacks, I told Donald to buy wafer sticks at the store on their way to school. Oh who would have not been bored with the same snacks everyday?

Since three days in a row that she went home alone without her Daddy, (her class ends 30 minutes early) I reminded Donald to go back to the school 30 minutes before the dismissal time so she won’t miss Ella. Although this won’t make Ella happy, her Daddy was there in the school yard after their class. When they arrived, I asked her what happened at school. To my big surprise, she said “Some boys at school likes me.” I said, “What?!!!!”….she repeated “I said, boys likes me at school and they are calling me always trying to get my attention.”….I was trying not to laugh, I asked her “Then what did you say to them?”….she looked disappointed and said “I said my Mommy and Daddy will get mad at them.” Now that is a good reason for her Daddy to be there on time E.V.E.R.Y.D.A.Y. :lol:

In the afternoon Ella had a nice chat with her Tita Crislyn. She and Cheche had seen their niece on webcam with her new hair. Ella was so proud that she looked like Dora and was telling her Tita that she has a one peso coin that she will be sending in Western Union for them to buy a car She was also saying “I will send you some new clothes and shoes….for you, Tito Ace, Tita Cheche, Lolo Tony and Lola Carmen, I will Western Union it.” Oh well, this kid is so thoughtful that she even promised that when she grow up, she would go to manila to buy me a nice set of necklace and earrings.

Today is Lolo Tony’s birthday….my sister Crsilyn’s FIL. To Lolo Tony, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!!!!!! From Ella, Donald and Me We are sad that we missed the party As some of you know, Lolo Tony and Lola Carmen are like our own parents and grandparents to Ella. Ella just loves them so much. They are so warm and their home is like a home for us too. We are looking forward to seeing them again soon.

Donald was so much into cars and motorbikes….his dream of owning even just one is not fading but seemed to grow more as days passes by. I was joking him that in three months time we could get a car. Yes a car same as Bart Simpson’s car If we do have that car, I guess we only pay minimal auto insurance quote.

It’s the 4th day at school of our Princess…Princess Dora Since they have no uniform yet, I let her wear her pair of Princess tops and skirt and her Princess sandals that we bought her last December. I have to let her wear all her clothes so the money we spent to it would be worth it as she may outgrow them all any day soon. I was very suprised last Sunday when I saw her wear the sandals and her feet almost reach both the rear and front end of it. I bought it way too big so she can wear it much longer but boy, it was only 6 months and she’ll outgrow it soon. My oh my….she is on growth spurt! As I have noticed she has grown back her baby fats back which she lost last month and she grows tall very fast! Was it because of cereals? But aside for cereals, she never fails to eat rice and nibble on some finger foods she can find in the cabinet. Have to keep all her food there as some kids will just go inside the house and eye on the food laying on the table, I feel bad not giving them but hey there are 5 of them and sometimes more! So if I’d give them each a packet of cookies, there will be no more for Ella. With my meager earning from blogging, we really need to be frugal and wise. But of course we give the kids some treats whenever we can.

So as usual, Dora…I mean Ella walked home without her Daddy. Donald was about to go when she came calling on the door that she was home. I told Donald to tell the teacher not to let Ella go home when he was not yet around, sides it was 30 minutes earlier again than their dismissal time. I asked Ella who she is with on the way home as I am worried she may get lost. But she answered “I walked with my classmate and her Tita, we are chatting along the way when I realized they are turning to the opposite direction and our house is on the other direction so I took the way home…” Oh well, Ella’s memory is real sharp. She can even remember all the things her Mamang Eling did to her and the gifts she recieved.

After lunch, siesta time! My favorite part of the day! When we woke up from the nap, Ella and Doanld went walking around the block. Ella actually rode her bike without the trainer’s wheel. She is been doing it since last October adn she is pretty good in it now. Good that Donald had repaired the seat AGAIN…with all the wires and thick rubber bands around it to hold in place, it sure does looked like better than the bike we saw last week. Oh you could have been peed on your shorts if you were with us! It was a little bike driven by this little boy…it was a usual bike like the ones I have seen around only the handle bars are replaced by  a steering wheel made of a bike tire and held together by wood. Pinoys are really very resourceful!

Had a nice dinner of sauteed mushroom and about to retire early. Good night to all!

Oh I forgot to tell you about the lizard who has two eggs on her belly! Yes, you read it right! Last night, while I was here doing some blogging and Donald was on the bed, he pointed to me a lizard on the ceiling. You could see clearly that she has two eggs because she was just beside the flourescent light. It was like an ultrasound! I was amazed at what I saw. I think she was about to lay those as it has the size of a regular lizard eggs I see around the house when I clean. How I wish I could see a baby lizard just coming out of its shell. I just love lizard’s tail though. When I was still a child, I would grab a lizard’s tail. Then it will be detached from the body and the will be moving in frenzy on the floor. Oh well I know some of you are reacting violently, but hey, I am not hurting them. I just am helping them grow more beautiful tails

Enough of the lizard thing and we’ll need to talk about real life issues here. Early morning, we woke Ella and prepared for school. As usual me and Donald attended to her like she was a Princess She was as excited as yesterday and hope it won’t fade away as days passes by. I waited for Donald to come home from Ella’s school as we have to tackle a real life issue. The big issue was: today is LAUNDRY DAY. As usual, my assistant seemed to complain but just held it to himself or else his clothes would not have been washed Because we expect the sun will hide again after noon time, he helped me with 5 basins full of laundry. I soaked it last night so we need only to do a mild rubbing. I sent Donald to pick Ella up from school in the middle of taking care of the real life issue Ella seemed to be so tired walking to and from the school but she looked so pretty on her new haircut and Donald teased her that she looked like Dora But hey, Ella is prettier than Dora (she is my daughter remember!) I inspected her paper and she has a “Very Good” in it, better than the “Good” yesterday. They wrote the letter E and draw a picture of a man using the shapes circle, square, rectangle, oblong and circle. I have to tell her that they are still on a review of lessons last school year so she won’t keep telling me she needs to be in “ementary” school. (she’s so cute saying that word)

Today is Ella’s first day of school in Kindergarten II. We woke her up at 7am, Donald prepared her cereal and milk which is her favorite breakfast since her Tita’s brought her a big box of it when they came here last week. The big box was emptied in just 4 days so I have to get her another box as she pleaded to have those when the school starts. Donald bathe her while I prepared her clothes and lunch bag. While we are dressing her (yes WE) Donald was drying her hair while I put on her dress and shoes and Donald was saying “You are the luckiest girl in the whole world! You have two people serving you!” He always say it everytime one combs her hair while the other one put on Ella’s shoes….or lotion and powder….we do this when we are in a hurry and no time for Ella’s little hands to do all those things. But mind you, she is not pleased at all as she is so independent. She wanted to shower alone, dress alone, prepare her milk and cereal alone…and we let her do these things and she always does it pretty good. We agreed last night that Daddy will get her to school which made her pout again as she wanted to go to school alone….I mean alone with Bogart. See, Bogart is her doggie, she gave him last name same as ours, so Bogart is now Bogart Lee.

She was talking to Bogart last night about school. That she will be going to school tomorrow and wanted him to go with her to make sure no one bullies her. So today, as they walked to school, Bogart was following them and when Ella went inside the classroom Bogart found a nice spot there and settled under the teacher’s desk. Sure did he understand what Ella said last night but Donald has to tell him to go home as he might get in trouble with the kids at school that are afraid or hates dogs. And of course we don’t want the school to ask us for additional fee for Bogart While I was trying to rest, I heard Bogart went in the house followed by Donald. The class will end at 10:30 am so Donald went back to sleep as he is too exhausted from the trip and long wait on the line yesterday. He said he will pick Ella up before 10 am and when it was time for him to go, we heard Ella calling “Mommy! I am home!!!”. She was sooooo happy that Daddy wasn’t able to pick her up. She and a neighbor walked home and has a very big grin. I asked her how was school and she said she was bored to death at school because the teacher made them write their names, the letter A and draw and color the different shapes which she says she knew it already and was telling me she could not wait to be in “ementary” school

After lunch we decided to go to the post to mail a card for a friend’s son then went to haunt for a nice and cheap saloon in town. We found one at the new market building which sure looked nice and the sign on the glass door says “Haircut P50″ (around $1.7) so we went in. The plan was me getting a trim there, Donald will go to a barber shop  and Ella will keep her hair long. But we ended up getting all our hair cut there. After me, Ella sat infront of the mirror as she was asking us to cut her hair short like Princess Sarah. So she got a shoulder length hair with a bangs. She looked more pretty now! How I wish I had my camera…. Donald also looked more handsome! Ella kept telling everyone that her Daddy has a new haircut and that he is more handsome now

Whe we got home, Donald worked on the dirt and gravel that was dumped in the church yard. He did the shoveling and Ella went playing around. I agreed she can play so she will exhaust all her energy and will sleep early tonight. Inang went here for a short visit and we helped Donald by picking and throwing stones. The kids saw us and decided it is fun to do what we are doing so they went in the yard and picked and threw stones too. That made the work easier. Oh how I wish those kids will show up here in time for yard work and help ‘cos they always come here to loiter and run around the chapel with their “toy tires”.

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Today is such a tiring day for the three of us. We went to Ella’s school to ask if classes will start tomorrow. I sent Donald last week to get the requirements and schedule but he cannot relied upon that matter I guess. He told me it will be on Friday, so I just relaxed ‘cos I got plenty of time to get Ella’s school fees from my paypal. I have transferred it the other day to my eon account, since it was Saturday, I can probably withdraw the money on Thursday. Oh well, glad that the teacher told me she can come to school tomorrow and the payment will be on Friday. She gave me the list of requirements…the school supplies and uniforms. Guess what? We went straight to Tagum City, 2 hour bus ride from here, to get all the stuffs on the list. School supplies can be bought here but the fabric and other items aren’t. Donald stood on the line for almost 2 hours in the school supplies department and another 1 hour in the fabric department. I was thinking there will be less people shopping for school since classes will start tomorrow, but I was soooo wrong. The queue is so long that you cannot even tell where is the end of it. But anyway, we had a nice time there. Got to go! Had to sleep early for Ella’s first day of school. I will be back for more stories about today. Good night!

Today I woke up feeling so sore on my back, chest and throat Donald with the other members serenaded Ate Aling. I decided last night to stay as Ella has no company. It is raining when they left here. When Donald arrived at around 6 am, I told him I am not feeling alright. So he and Ella prepared themselves for the church while I declared I am on a sick leave The kids has no Sunday School teacher ‘cos no one is willing to teach, so the kids decided it was time for a tour around the church. As much as I want to get up from the bed and get dressed, I could not. Ella was even telling me “Please Mommy, you dress now ‘cos we don’t have a teacher…” Awwww…..poor Ella. She missed Sunday School but I am sure they did enjoy their “field trip” around the yard. I am not feeling well from too much heat exposure yesterday on the wood stove. After I cooked lunch, it rained and I got wet. I thought taking a shower will keep me from getting sick but I was wrong.

After lunch, Donald and Ella went with the rest of the members to the river for a baptismal. I am still not feeling well so I stayed in bed. At 3 pm they came home and Donald prepared again to leave for a bible study. I and Inang had a nice chat in the living room while she was going through the pile of our clothes that needs to have a new home. She was looking for spaghetti strapped tops as she was feeling so hot. Just in time when Tatang was leaving, Ate Edith came with her tail….three daughters and a son who are Ella’s playmate. While we are chatting, I heard some kids yelling in the chapel. I went out and saw a bunch of kids, boys and girls, playing inside the building. I asked them not to bring their “tire toys” ( an old motorcycle tire which they push with a stick to make it roll ) as this is not a playground but a chapel. I told the oldest daughter of Ate Edith to lock the gate when everyone leave. She did lock it. After a while I heard a noise again from the chapel and it sounded the same kids whom I asked to go home. I went there to see them all again in the chapel. I was like “Heck! How did they came in when the gate was locked?” I went near them on the other side of the Chapel only to see one part of the fence was opened to give way to the truck which dumped gravel this moring. Man, if the kids were’t looking at me, I must have laughed out loud at what I have discovered. Such an idiot I asked help from Ate Edith’s daughter to put back the fence to keep the kids out.

In the evening, Donald gave me a very good massage just before we had dinner. He is so good in it and I felt better. Yesterday, when I and Ella were on our way to the grocery store, she said her friends were haunting for steel, nails and tin cans to sell to earn money for the enrollment fees. I said, “Oh really?” then she, in her most innocent look, said “Mommy, I will go and find steel too so I can sell it and pay for my enrollment fee…” Awww….she is such a sweet girl! I told her she doesn’t need to do that as she will go to school without selling steel.

While Ella was in deep sleep, I and Donald are so engrossed watching the You Tube of Moymoy Palaboy. They are so talented! We had so much fun watching their videos. You gotta watch it and see for yourself This is my favorite….entitled GIRLFRIEND.