Caroleen’s Treasures

While I was arranging Ella’s photos in her albums, I found this old photographs that I would like to share. Read the rest of this entry »

Today is Saturday and as I have already said, I like this day more than any day of the week because it is “market day”. Since we skipped going to the market last week, we planned in going there today to buy fruits and vegetables that I really need.

Yesterday, I was checking my eon account if the $35 I transferred from my paypal account has already been sent but until this morning I still haven’t received it. I was puzzled how come it took so long for the money trasnfer when it usually takes 3 days for the whole process? So I checked my paypal and I was surprised that the $35 is still there waving at me. What a bummer! Read the rest of this entry »

As I mentioned on my last post, I will be making some more improvement on my blog and I hope I did it better with this new theme. I was hoping for a total make over But I only have a few downloaded themes to choose from. I have found some nice ones but have to send it to my sister Kerslyn for her to upload it and send it back to me. Maybe in a few more days I can finalize my theme….my fourth theme.

Today we spent the day having fun. First thing in the morning, Donald checked our eon account and our earnings from OHJ has been sent so after Ella’s class we all headed to the market. Poor us….we weren’t able to see the world for two weeks now since our earnings was delayed for a couple of weeks. We had a brunch at The Resto, the only snack house which serves burgers, pasta, halo-halo and combo meals. Ella and I both had cheese burgers while Donald had a platter of rice, chicken, pansit miki, banana cake and shrimp fries (their own version of Chowking Lauriat) As usual Ella only ate the bun This is why when she asks for burger, we just buy her a plain bread because the beef patty, cheese and anything else in it will be thrown on my plate and I end up having the biggest and fattest burger there. Read the rest of this entry »

Probably this is the most tiring day for me since school has started. Donald usually goes to school with Ella and was the one who is attending PTA meetings. But today was different. Ella asked me to go with them at school for their Nutrition Month Celebration and won’t accept my alibis that MsE or GE won’t let me end coding because the queue is very high. As early as 6:30 in the morning, I already sent pm to the admin asking for permission to log off at 8 am and stated my reason but it was already quarter before 8 and still no response from them.

Ella: Mommy, sama ka sa amin sa school….please….(Mommy, please go with us to school.)
Me: Baka hindi ako payagan mag-log out eh….(I may not be allowed to log out.)
Ella: Lambingin mo lang si MsE…wag mong biglain para hindi magalit. (Ask MsE in a sweet and  gentle  manner so she won’t get mad…)(It was like-Break it to me Gently)
Me: Eh paano pag ayaw talagang pumayag? (What will I do if she won’t really allow me?.)
Ella: Eh di patayin mo na yang computer mo. (You shut off your computer.)

A 5-year-old does know more than we isn’t it?

Luckily, Crislyn went online a few minutes before 8. maybe she has received my SOS txt message and also MsE has answered my pm because one coder called her about my case. She apologized that she hasn’t responded immidiately because she was also coding that time to help keep the queue low. Ella and Donald went ahead and I followed after an hour. The whole program went fine.

Each level has table to set. There was a table setting contest and the “binignit” cooking contest. Our group, the kinder 2 won. Since it was Nutrition Month Celebration….nutritious foods from the GO, GROW AND GROW food groups were served…..roasted pig and chicken, hotdogs, spaghetti, cake and ice-cream plus there are candies Well, I cannot argue with the master minds of this because I was not there during the meeting. All I can do is grumble why on earth does they have these sort of food in such celebration. Nutrition Month Celebration…so nutritious food should be served. But hey, maybe it was during my time…:lol: It’s generation Z now. Ella was busy pointing who did this, who did that to her…But anyway, the whole program was a success!

In the afternoon we went to Bunawan, a town next to Trento, to follow up about a neighbor’s lot that she was planning to sell (to us). Bye for now, have to rest.

Thank goodness I was out from OHJ seven minutes before 8am. Donald woke up Ella, bathe, dressed, fed and walk her to school. Ella wore her P.E. uniform and I was suprised how she has grown tall in just a month! When we bought it, I made sure it has some allowance so she can wear it longer….but man, this girl sure does in growth spurt! She has literally outgrown ALL her clothes in a span of 5 months! She grows taller than our income OHJ is such a blessing and thanks to my sister Crislyn that she encouraged me to apply as coder. Now we we have something to look forward to each couple of weeks aside from my blogging.

The butterfly is still inside the house and it went inside our bedroom. I was sewing the rest of Ella’s pyjammas when I noticed it was on my back…resting in the curtain. Donald had the uniforms of Ella and I was wrong when I said on my previous post that I am a bit disaapointed because when I examined it closely, I am very devastated. I spent the whole morning until dinner time repairing it. The neckties are such a mess, the embroidered intials of the school was like that of an amateurs work when in facts she has been sewing for over a couple of decades now; the necktie itself is too long; the edges of the uniform has not passed through a serger machine (only zigzaged and really looks like hell); the button holes are not shaped as a button hole but a human eye; the green skirt has a yellow thread in the inside and the skirt is 1½ shorter. I was grumbling why on earth the seamstress has measured Ella when she did not follow the exact measurement especially the length! I unstitched the embroidery in the necktie and the skirt. I sew the skirt and the necktie the length that I wanted. Which is supposed to be and I must say, the right length. What took so much of my time is the initials in the necktie, as it was my first time to do it, I redid it 20+times until I finally got the result I wanted.

Today Ella’s study table was finally delivered from the furniture shop beside us. It took 20 days before it was done but it is worth the waiting because it is finely made. I will post a photo tomorrow.
As some of you know, Ella’s plastic table flipped from the truck when we moved from the city and since then she was writing and drawing and even reading on the floor. This was our first project from my coding job.

Last night Ella watched tv in the neighbor’s house. I do not know why she remembered it. We do not have tv since moved here and she seldom asked us to go over there and watch. She has been so afraid of being locked out at night time especially when we do not want her to go over and watch tv in the neighbor’s house. Thisf amily has no little kid so Ella has been the center of attention. When I saw the butterly came out from the back of the plastic cabinet, I closed the front door so it won’t get out and I can take snaps. Little did I know Ella saw it and came rushing home thinking she has been locked out. She was so thrilled seeing the butterfly too and after a while she went back there. I think it was past 9 in the evening when she called from the neighbor’s porch telling us to lock her out. I asked, “Are you sure????” She wuickly replied, “Yes, I have the key here.” If you thought she was just kidding, you are wrong. We locked the door and she came home and used the key she has with her.

The house has benn packed with kids and a mother. I would really get old earlier when we will live here for good. I get stressed too with the neighbors problems on money, school allowances, debts and even food. Just before lunch, three sibling came over to play with Ella. I know their mother was working in the ricefield and they were left alone by themselves. I asked what they have for lunch, the 8 year-old girl said rice with vinegar and salt The other kids are 3 and 1. We sent her to the store to buy a can of sardines for them to share. Ella now eats whatever on the table knowing that her friends has no food on the table and goes to bed hungry at times.

Been more than 9 hours coding and as usual I was called for back up for graveyard shift. It is so cold last night and more so in the early morning hours. I feel so drowsy at 4 am but the other coders kept me awake by their funny jokes in the chat conference. We are required to join the chat conference for log in, log out, error and status reports but we are also allowed to chat with each other when the queue is not long. I enjoyed working and being there but I dreaded the part when I have to ask permission to log out. For days I can’t log out as quick as I wanted to be because there would be no one to take over my post. So what I did this morning was to ask permission an hour before my eyes will shut off by themselves. Gladly it worked well for me!

I logged out from OHJ at 6:35am, in time to wake up Ella. She went to school at 8am. Donald went back to get some more sleep after he walked Ella to school. He says he is not feeling well since last night. I also did get some sleep and we ended up sleeping past 10 in the morning. A gentle knock on the door awakened me, I knew it was Ella so I quickly jumped out of the bed and it was really our little debater smiling on the door.

I am making this post early so I can still get some sleep or even just a rest before coding. Donald has high fever and colds while I had menstrual cramps :-( Donald should be the one to go out this afternoon but since he is feeling dizzy, I went to the grocery store instead to get some things we needed and to get some medicine. I was too tired when I finally got home ‘cos I walked from here to the grocery store which is almost two miles away. I was planning to get only something for dinner but I ended up putting in the basket other things we needed. If only I knew I’d buy more stuff than I planned, I pushed a cart instead of picking a basket. That would made my food shopping easier.

Our plan on going to Davao was postponed again Maybe it will be on Thursday when the money from my paypal will appear on my bank account. It is better also that it was postponed because Donald and I are not feeling well. I hope they won’t be needing back up for tonight so I can get some rest that I really needed and to attend to my patient who is now on his socks and pyjamas hiding under the covers.

I feel dizzy from my first day trial for OHJ. I started 12 midnight and ended 8:40am. That was the looooongest 8 hours and 40 minutes of my life. I was supposed to end at exactly 8 in the morning but there are still a long queue of captchas so I stayed for 40 more minutes as a labor of love.

An hour before I started, Ella was begging me to feed her. She finished a plate of rice and mushrooms during dinner and has eaten two packets of wafer sticks as her midnight snack yet she feels she is starving. I ignored her at first and continued on my blog hopping but she began on her long litany of “Why won’t you feed a hungry child? I am your daughter….My tummy is really sad now. Please, please feed me!” Who can resist such a cute child? Sides she is the cutest to me ‘cos she is mine So we went outside and I gave her a bowl of Koko Crunch with milk while I cooked instant pancit canton and made a cup of coffee to keep me awake the whole time. I was afraid I cannot make it through 8 hours of coding and doze off on my keyboard.

When Ella was done, I sent her back to the bedroom while I finished my pancit canton and coffee. Then I sat infront of my pc and waited for the clock to strike 12 midnight. I pmed admin that I am starting my training when it hits the 12. The first hour went well as well as the second one. But on the third hour, I started feeling sleepy. I was listening to the Carpenters and was rocking on my chair to keep me awake and I bet the lizards are laughing at me. I feel dizzy on the fourth until the final hour of my trial. I can feel my eyes are rolling involuntarily like I am having seizures I was grinning when at long last the clock struck 8. Glad I survived the longest 8 hours. Whew!

In the morning, Ella and Donald left for school while I was still coding, when Donald went back from there I was done and was dying to flatten my back in bed. I first checked and replied to emails and at 9:30 am, I decided I should be in bed. But guess what? I have not slept at all. The kids were outside the house playing, then Inang and Tatang came to do a little tending of the plants and shoveling dirt around the chapel. Donald gave them a hand but me? I am frozen in bed trying hard to sleep. But all I did was close my eyes and convince myself I can rest with the kid’s noise. 

After luch, I have dozed off with Donald and Ella in bed. I woke up feeling more tired and groggy. Went to shower at 5pm and sat in my pc doing my rounds of blog hopping. I am really hoping I can still make it through tonight until 8am again tomorrow. I think I made this post long again today (I told myself I’d make it short this time) :-) Bye for now! Got to find some good recipes that I can send to my online friend.

EDITED: Julie was asking if we are heading for winter here and Yen also asked if we were abroad now Nope, you are both wrong. We don’t have winter here Julie…we only have the dry season which is the summer and the rainy season. Here in Agusan, the weather makes me crazy Yen. I will be hiding on my blanket yet I wanted to grab another one. Brrrrr……The weather here are both extreme. There are days when the sun will shine and the heat is so intense in the morning until noontime…then it will rain hard in the afternoon. But yesterday, it rained whole day We are hit by the typhoon’s tail. Dunno what is the name of it, kasi ala kaming tv dito.

Early in the morning I woke up feeling fine. As if I got the complete sleep my body requires. I crawled to bed at past two in the morning reading blogs but too tired to comment After Ella and Donald left for School, I sat on my pc and went on Opps hunting but no luck I wish tonight I can grab…even just one.

I did some box wrapping today too. The shoe boxes and other boxes I found around the house I wrapped with gift wrapper to give it a more decent look to store stuffs like Ella’s school supplies, my craft supplies and other abubots. I have done several boxes and went to see some more box in the second room where I put all our stuff from Davao. I saw a box outside the house and asked Ella what is the box doing outside. She said she has nothing to do with it so I asked my other child…I mean my husband about the box sitting on the table on the shed.

I found out that Donald put it there the other night when he caught the rat (named Donald Jr.) and put it inside the shoe box. So yesterday, Donald was grumbling about the rat who escaped from the box. He was saying….”He was such a rat!” What else could he call it aside from rat? So to make the story short…(I hope it will really make it short) He caught the rat in the sink the other night, put it in a box with two holes in it. He covered the box and inserted a lit paper (of course it was smoking) to suffocate the rat. He could not kill it as he feels unhumane to kill a living thing (Remember when he doesn’t want to kill bugs and he would just drop them in the chamber pot to drown instead of squeezing them to death?) After sometime, thinking that the rat have died, he went back inside the house. The following morning when he woke up, he saw the box empty. So the brilliant rat escaped! I told him, “You should be ashamed of yourself. The rat is laughing at you. You didn’t know while you are trying to suffocate him, he went into prone position and covered his mouth and nose?”

So much of the rat story In the afternoon, I and Ella had a nap.  At three pm I went to see a doctor for my chest pains and was advised to have a ECG and x-ray in the city. So this means we are going to Davao again. I was hoping it can wait until next month so I can save money for it.

After the check up, I went to pick up a few items in the grocery store and a little present for a 2-year-old boy who invited us for a small party this afternoon. I also got few wrappers to use for the other boxes and also picked up pencils and erasers sets that i can give to two other kids in my Sunday school class who will be celebrating their birthdays next week. It is not much but I am sure they would be happy to receive a present as they are not used to having some during birthdays. After the quick grocery shopping, I went home to drop the grocery bag and off we went to the party. It is far from here and we are the “guest of honor” Only us came from afar, most of the visitors are relatives and friends nearby. They house is small and you can tell they are struggling financially but hey, the still managed to give the boy a happy birthday We had spaghetti, buko salad, bihon guisado, cake and Coke.

When we are done and full…we sat there chatting for a while when we received a message from Tatang to go to her daughter’s house ASAP ‘cos it is Ate Venus birthday too. Oh this is what I miss…too much food It is getting dark when we left the place. I feel horrified by the dark clouds  as it will pour heavy rain (if I say heavy, it is really heavy) It is a remote place and we are like in the woods in the story The Red Riding Hood. We ran as fast as we could, Ella was on her Daddy’s shoulders while I was following them. Only a few cabs get there and we are just so lucky there was one. As soon as we got on the cab, it rained so hard. When we finally arrived at Ate Venus’ place, Ella had a nice time chatting with the visitors who are two to three decades older than she. Only a few friends were there but we had soooo much fun. The visitors could not help but laugh when after we sang “To God be the Glory” and Donald said a prayer, Tatang began to sing loudly The Birthday Song and two more songs. We sang with him trying not to laugh but the visitors almost fell on their seats in laughter because they assumed they can start filling their plates with food after they said Amen :lol: Since we are full, I had only a little rice and steamed catfish. I also picked puto cheese which I really missed and so are Donald and Ella (this is what we are making back in our hometown before to earn a living). We also had buko salad, choco moist, chicken soup, bam-i and fried quail We left with a bag of food for Bogart who patiently waits for us at home.

It’s getting hotter everyday and I almost can’t stand the summer heat :-( We wanted to go Samal or Talicud Island and spend even a day or two there. I love the white beaches and crystal clear water, grilled fish, chips and coke…..

We just love the fun and excitement. But whenever the thought of beaches sinks in, I couldn’t stop from smiling to myself. It was summer 2005, we went to Samal Island with my sister Crislyn and her husband Ace. I told Donald to buy fresh fish at the wet market just a walking distance from the terminal where we will take a bus. Off he went while the rest of us hopped in the bus. I found a seat on the front just across the driver and my sister on the next. I looked around to see just a few passengers were there. So I was thinking that the bus will leave in 10 minutes or so to wait for the seats to be filled. There’s more time for Donald to get fish and back in the terminal. As I was trying to get settled, the driver started the engine. I asked the driver if we were leaving, he said yes. I told the driver that I will fetch Donald at the market and he agreed. What I did was leave Ella to my sister to get Donald. I walked as fast as I could getting a bit nervous. I don’t want them waiting for us. And I don’t know where to find him. The wet market is quite busy that morning. Thinking all those things, I started running. I am just halfway to the market when I looked around to see the bus just a few yards from me!!!! You must have seen me running to get Donald while I was followed by a bus Whew! I always laugh in embarassment when I remember this. The next time we went swimming, I had everything prepared the night before. Oh I just hope we could have a dip on the beach soon again…soon….

As I promised you, I will write about our dear little princess’ life, her mischiefs and the things she did with pure innocence of a child that made us laugh, cry, worry and hope that she will not grow too fast. I want it to write about it now that I have still it in my memory. So when she is old, she have stories to tell  her grandchildren about how she was as a child.

We got the first scare from her when she was barely 3 days old. We rushed her to the pedia because she wouldn’t cry. The first time that we heard her cry was when she was born, after that we didn’t hear any from her. When we arrived to the clinic, I was asked what’s wrong with the baby and I complained about her do quite. That I think it is not normal for a baby. She let me lay Ella on the bed and checked Babinski reflex, everything  were okay. Then, she struck Ella’s sole with her fingers and that sent her wailing like hell! For that, we paid $15 for her to make Ella cry   At least we went home relieved of the thought that our child might be deaf/mute. The Pedia told me I am just so lucky that my baby isn’t a cry-baby.

After one day after that visit to the Pedia, I rushed to tell Donald that Ella has stopped breathing for a moment and that I noticed it a few times. We came rushing at the center for my midwife to check on her. This time, it is my ignorance That usually occur in babies and is perfectly alright. We went home smiling in relief and a bit embarrassed.

She grew to be a healthy baby, always smiling, she associates with people so well and rarely cries. But I have heard from mothers that babies who are well behaved will grow naughty,  stubborn or strong willed. Ella had the latter trait and she got it from me. Although she has that trait, she is sweet in most ways, thoughtful, smart and seem mature at her age. She just loves to E.A.T. all the time.

 It was almost 4 years ago, when she was a year and a half, my sisters and mother went to the mall with her. At the department store, they saw a mother with her baby on a stroller. The mother gave the baby french fries (which is Ella’s favorite food). She ran to the baby, held its hand and took a bite on the fries. The mother laughed at what she saw and gave Ella one. My mother apologized and they had a short conversation. Good that the mother was friendly. Then the mother put the fries on the side of the stroller and started pushing her way down the alley. But Ella hadn’t been contented for that one stick and so she came running to the baby again and this time grabbed the fries to where the mother has put it. They held Ella tight and bought her fries so she would not harass other people. I just don’t know how will I react if I was there….

When she was a year and 8 months old, we (Donald, Ella and I) went into a clinic at the mall for me to get checked. We are seated on the lounge with our eyes on tv. There were also two old ladies on my left waiting for the doctor. Suddenly, we heard them giggling. I just ignored them thinking that they might have some private conversation that causes them to giggle. I kept my eyes on the screen trying to ignore them. Then the giggles turned into laughter, this time I turned to their side and saw Ella her eyes innocently on the screen while her hand was on their popcorn. Oh, how I must have fainted!

Then again when she was three, we went to Jollibee (this time in the province, without Donald in the scene) as I have promised to Ella. I found a vacant table and get her settled in the chair. I have put the order at the counter, paid and went back to the table to wait. While waiting, a couple came in and got the table next to us. They had their baby with them (maybe a year and a half), put him on a high chair with a cookie and they both went to the counter. Ella, being so fond of babies, went near him saying “wow….ang cute cute mo naman…” (wow….you’re so cute…) and started playing with the baby. The baby seem to like her too. She was tickles the baby and he giggles. They were at that scene when I reached for cellphone to check for messages, it was just a few seconds, when I looked at them….Ella was taking good bite at the cookie that the baby was holding!!!! I called her attention and told her to stop it and reminded her that it isn’t good. Far from the table, the couple have seen all that has transpired…Ella and their baby playing and Ella getting a bite from the cookie. They smiled from the lane and when they came back, I apologized and almost faint (again). The father reached from the bag and gave Ella a pack of cookies that she graciously accepted with a shy thank you

The worst and most embarrassing thing she did was to gate crash during a birthday party. She was already four and we (Donald, Ella, my sisters and brother in law) were at SM having our bonding moment. When we felt we needed something to eat, we all agreed to go to McDonald’s. The place was packed with customers and there’s seem to be a party going on at the rear portion of the store. (They don’t have a separate party area). Upon hearing the voice on the microphone (which surely of the host) giving the mechanics of the game, I felt nervous. That confirmed my guess. I was thinking Ella might go in there and that was the mother’s instinct in me. She had her own birthday party at McDonald’s too. She surely enjoyed it and would want to experince another one. While we were just trying to find a seat, she ran to the party area just as I was about to brief her not to go there. I quickly followed here and tried to coax her to go back to our table. I explained that we didn’t know the people there, she didn’t knew who’s brthday it was and that she was not invited. I held her hand firm but the host told me to let her join the games. I didn’t know if she knew that Ella was not from the guest list after all.  So, I went back to our table feeling amused and embarrassed all the same. Donald and the rest didn’t know what to say. They feel the same as I did (we were all laughing in disbelief) and we almost can’t hold our head high. After we had consumed our orders, we heard the kids sang the birthday song and boy, Ella’s voice was on top of ‘em all. After some short talk; the party ended,  she went to our table and said “Mommy, kilala ko na ‘yong boy. Siya si Stephen…” (Mommy, I know the boy now. His name is Stephen…) Now she knew who’s birthday it was! She was happy to tell us she had a new found friend I can’t wait to tell her privately (so as not to embarrass her) that gate crashing is not a good way to make friends. Needless to say, she enjoyed the party and went home with a lootbag and  five balloons!!!! I ended up giving the boy a Puss in Boots mini storybook with a cd (which I am lucky to have in my bag) and apologized to the mother for the crime my daughter committed.  The mother consoled me and even praised Ella for making the party alive. She said it was good that she did gate crash since the kids there were just sitting and staring. If not for this little gate crasher, the party will be all too boring. She made the party alive

Inspite of her silliness, she is so much like an angel to us. I love her being so sweet, thoughtful, smart and mature at her age. At school, she was always the one who kept peace and order When someone cries, she will wrap the crying child with her arms. After comforting her, she will go to the one who made the kid cry and say in bossy manner ”Bakit mo siya pinaiyak? Alam mo bang hindi maganda ‘yon? Hindi ka ba tinuruan ng Mama mo?” (Why did you make her cry? Did you know that it isn’t good. Didn’t your mother tell you that?). She also makes sure she have more food everyday than she can consume. She have this ready so she can share with her classmates. You know those kids, they want what’s their classmates had for merienda. She was also very helpful. When she hears somebody complain of a missing pencil or an eraser, she will stand from her chair and will look for it. She will only go back to her work when all are settled. Her teacher calls her “Mother Hen” and she surely is.