Size Big.

Jose.  Big heart. Very sensitive. Feels his music and rhthym with his heart. Feels his food too with all his heart. Loves Sunday takuyaki balls. And now cheese ice cream.  

Bed time reading

I type and Jose reads. He reads before i even finish typing. Not much ado. We do it for fun.  

Ziva's Philosophy

Ziva wildling: part frog, part dog or dino, part gremlin, and a bit of an alien. 

Prefers to go barefoot in the sandy, humid and exceedingly dirty flooring of Starbucks. 

An alien who came before all of us. 

Highly developed brain but does not grow- just turns a year older every year.   

For example: this is Ziva at one year cute, weighing 9 pounds in my estimate. 

One year and a half cute weighing 10 pounds. This frog-dog is not really a happy turtle.  People turn their heads twice or thrice to confirm what they saw and heard. 

First look:  oh what a pretty baby!

Second look: did I hear right? She  talks like a colegiala? 

1O lbs. at two?

Hangs out under tables, on top and the edges of any piece of furniture, ledges, rooftops if she can.

First crime: snowboarding on the floor with the intent of escaping through a concrete wall. 

Mark: scar on the right brow. 

Second crime:  mountain escape wearing a pair of big ballet shoes while a uniformed, unarmed guard yaya tried to catch her in slow motion. 

Mark: scar on the forehead

Long tongue and 11 pounds. 

Legs and arms 1-lb. 

Tummy- 4 lbs. 

brain inside the cabeza- 6 lbs. 

Special skills: tricks her mommy and gets away with it.  

Wears goggles and shark's hat for camouflage. 

Looks unbelievably helpless and dependent but can make her daddy and ate cry. 

Weakness: extremely loyal to her organization. She cannot be pirated. Not for overnight or circulation. 

And she is 4!  Oh 4 years resident on this planet. 

11.1 lbs. Pedia auntie Anne is happy for the weight gain. 

Favorite food: lumpia wrapper, chicharon, crispy chicken

Requirements: not to stand on wobbely stool

Sleeping by maself!!!!

Needs to "hydrate"

Charged Ipad of mine that does not really get charged at all. 

Crayons, paints, markers on ANY paper

New ballet shoes

Original idea: calligraphy clouds 

Favorite Movie: Transformers 1 the Revenge of the Fallen

Pet Peeve:  kumon or maybe more of her earth mom's? 

Favorite song: Let It Go

 

Other interests: insects like ipis and langaw that we are prohibited to swat, robots, dinosaurs, boys' games

Spirituality: buddhism/hinduism/christianity + her own

Philosophy: Talk to Strangers (especially cute guys) 

Favorite color:  green forever

Our favorite national day is Ziva's birthday!!! That's today!!!! Yey! Happy happy birthday Vazi! 

Justo talaga!!

Itong si justo ay magaling mang alaska! At di basta-basta. 

Kung minsan nagkakainisan pag naglalaro ang magpipinsan. One week ago ang last playdate nila na kasama ang mestisang brit na si Pebbles bago ito umuwi sa London. 

Huling hirit ni Justo kay Pebbling:

🎶london bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down! 🎶.  Paulit ulit. 

Bakit nya alam yan??? 

Ginawa rin nya ito kay Sofingkay. You know naman pag nag dadrama si Sofia... E di kj na. She complained of being ignored and while she decided to wear her emoticon approp to the feeling of the moment, here goes Justo's serenade to sofia...

🎶 let it go, let it go, let it go🎶

Ito rin ang nangyari kagabi habang si Ors ay impatient na kay Justo on bedtime. 

JUSTO! ! TAMA NA!!MATULOG KA NA!!IUUWI KITA SIGE KA!!!!!!!

I tell you he comes up with something new. This was his response. 

"Nakuu!! Nagagalit na si SIR!!"

Rotfl!! Talaga!

I am sorry to my English speaking readers. There is no better way to write about justo's anecdotes. 

Ka Justo

Today is Ka Justo's birthday number 4. But i really really believe that he was born in the twenties or even earlier. Maybe in the thirties but not later. We almost lost this guy when he was a week old and he totally reinvented himself when he resurrected. 

He prefers to watch live and interactive gatherings or conversations. TV bores him. Yes, i am telling you. He is a kid outside the box!  He can sit through hours of conversations and adult "balitaktakan" and "bidahan" without a wink. I know when he is savoring the moment- it is when he listens with his lips apart and he moves his eyes from person to person engaged in the business of talking. We mostly converse in Tagalog not unless we are driving a scholarly discourse. Once, I guess when he already had a fill of everything he wanted to hear he said: "uwi na tayo. Ilalakad ko pa si Tagpi!" 

Sometimes i would forget that he is only a child. At times I would think he was my Dad or somebody else's Lolo. At times an Uncle or a school principal. 

His birthday wish was shpageti and shicken. Chocolate cake "para masarap may sprinkles" and fish. " maliliit at malutong". 

He speaks in English once in a while but i worry that it is happening more often. 

"You want me to give you a gipt? I will gib you a "tale". ( dog leash is his favorite thing in the world) "you want I give retractable tale?"

He is a regular lodger in my house. He sleeps with us almost everyday. Recently his mommy did not want to give in to this nightly demand so she tried to distract him with long kwentuhan. Finally, before he conked out he said, "tenk yu ha por talking to me."

Happy bertdey Justo. You are endearingly baduy and bery bery kul dude. 

Sabi nya sa akin kagabi after his long battle with excitement for the next day: "good night Ima. You are so lovely!"

And we have a duet by the way:

Ikaw ang mahal ko

Ikaw ang mahal ko

Tunay na tunay 

Sa umaga pati tanghali hanggang gabi. 

Oh si Justo ang mahal ko

Si Kuya at si Koko too

Sofia ziva lucy at robyn

Silang lahat mahal ni Ima!

(Repeat refrain)

Last night nga pala, i showed him Ana's IG posts of Jose and Lloyd preparing his diy homemade give aways for today. 

Na touch!

He told his Ors: "Ors ayaw ko mamatay si koko pag old na kami ha. "

My bed. My bathroom.

After the hospital break, we are home. Home to nature and sweet comfort. 

Thankful for recovery. Ana is back!! 

I believe that the humble tawá-tawá weed gave her platelets the needed boost! 

I looked around my home with a sigh of relief thanking those who wished Ana well   .

The rambutans are ripening nicely but i have not seen Marmalade today.  

After a while, one notices peculiar scents that we get used to once we take a break from it.  The tv room has a woody scent. And the master's bedroom smells like fermented coffee. In other words, it smells old. It could be comforting though especially for the gremlins. I blame it on the big old man whose main diet is coffee and pepsi max.  The combination is his tobacco. 

I missed a few days painting. So i tried to break the lag as soon as i settled comfortably,  still with the rice fields from my short durian vacation in Calapan, fresh on my mind. 

I thought that the aroma of ricefields would be heavenly in a bedroom. 

Last Man Standing

That is a very nice pillow and will be my pillow tonight. I brought my side kick who is sick. 

Our roles were reversed. I never knew how to be admitted in a hospital. I just get sick and they poke me or they make me go in tunnels and subject me to rays. 

I did the opposite today. I went through windows, filled up forms, signed docus and waited.  Last time I was a companion to an infirmed was several years back in Brisbane where I wheeled my son and bumped his newly sawed and sewn knees into walls. Cant blame me. Big baby was a ton too heavy for his mooma. 

This time around, I lost my patient for a while because i was wrestling with the bag cart while a security guard and not an orderly pushed my daughter's wheelchair to the admitting office. They don't have orderlies, none that was visible in the evening, after they have given their best performance in the daytime.  

Finally settling in the room, we waited for the huggers. They have these dehydrated pillows that have to be released from plastic that i tried to wrench open with bare hands.  It needed a big pair of scissors that an able-bodied nurse brought in. 

Thirsty, i realized that i cannot ask my side kick to get me water. She would do all these for me when she had the upper hand. 

I have to get it myself so I did not.  

Anyway, I do not like to go to bed bloated so i decided to just gargle water from the tap but

meanwhile, i am tempted to have some arroz caldo and BLT sandwich from the Island that Floats. THAT SOLVED MY WATER DILEMMA. 

Tomorrow? I leave it to the hands of God and His doctors.  Hoping to take her home and to get her back in soap making very soon, or old mooma will be broke. 

Amen. 

A Recipe for Taking Charge

While sipping this beautiful tea. 

My guests asked me this morning when children outgrow telling on each other or making sumbong. 

Once they are in charge of their affairs. 

When?

It depends. Jacob at 8 is no longer concerned about little things.  

They will learn to settle their differences which can be between the range of fancy to absurd when adults encourage them to decide and find solutions to little disagreements. First is helping them to break the problem or issue into small parts. Fleshing it out for them at first helps them to eliminate big and small stuff to real stuff. It helps them to analyze as well, etc etc etc. 

My final word to my grandchildren and when one has a drama is more of a lesson on quality time.  If there's no real issue,  try to settle things, or decide to choose to continue the fun over moping or nit picking.  Or ruin your day completely.  

Best is to give them the sweet ultimatum.  

"We go in ten minutes".

They choose. 

For Adults Only

Here is a first born son who for the longest time was his mother's right hand. 

Of course he was indulged. Indulged to have had his mother around for 88 years.

He never knew how it is to not to visit her and bring her her favorite fish from the market  week after week until she got mad and told him to stop. Who is he going to annoy now?

Then when she was already weak and sick, he would bring native pinipig suman every Sunday because she liked it. She just stopped eating them one day but he still kept bringing her the same fare.

How is he?

Maybe he is taking it in stride for after all her mom had lived a full life. He played her favorite records for a day then everything seems to be back to normal. 

But I can never tell. What he is going through now that his main connection to his existence is gone, is very personal and private.  Something I cannot fully enter but curious anyhow.  When someone locks the door, you want to know what's going on and you want to be a peeping Tom.   As i am a curious cat, i better be careful. One does not know how deep a quiet river is. 

What goes on in the mind of an old person who lost a parent?  Of course life goes on. He sees his sisters quite regularly in their old house. I would not be a fine substitute because after all, we are not even related. I am glad he can seek them on things that only siblings will understand.   I also do the same. 

I miss the grand lady of the family. She's not mine but she was a reason why I behaved!   And i also miss her for my husband. 

I also entertained the thought that i will return his son to her someday but I should have done that earlier.  I lost my chance. He lost his chance to ship me back to my Mom 30 years ago. 

Peace Mom. Just entertaining myself. 

Another Ant Day

After a birthday getog celebrating the roundedness of a six year old ant, the laziest and coolest in this story house, this is what looks like from outside this morning. 

Husband ant Daddy Lloyd leaves the house at 6 while wife ant Mommy Ana is giving her mommy words to the 3 ants. Busy day ahead, as usual for the ant residents. 

It is a quiet start and promises of return with some pasalubong.  

Just like in all anthomes, the story goes day after day, rain or shine. 

Bedtime story

Ka Justo was angry at his Impo because greatgrandma died.  He declared that he is eating no more!! If he refuses food, he thinks (which is correct) that it will prevent him from growing old.  Mommy told him that yes he will not grow old because he will die young. He sat up on the bed and could not believe that there is no way out.

He asked his mommy if she can watch him sleep and instructed her to go ahead and text and never to fall asleep before him. 

And Oh! Before that, he recommended that his Ors ( grandpa) moves in with them. Because he said that in their house, he will not be able to binge on hotdogs and bacon and sweet ripe mangoes. 

He is an adviser and consultant for hire. I am the manager.