Reading The Little Mermaid Book

I just want to share that after trying for so many years to get Bea to like books and reading, it has finally happened! She now loves, loves, LOVES to read! She reads just about anything! 

Some time ago, she'd often roll her eyes at me whenever I ask (demand) that we go in every bookstore we pass. She'd glare at me whenever I'd purchase another book. She'd hate it even more when I ask for a short break which I call "Mommy Time" and lock myself in our room for some peace and quiet with a book (and some munchies). 

Now she loves books too! I guess the change happened when we got her new glasses. Because of the dog bite, which turned out to be a sort of blessing in disguise, we found out that Bea had terrible eyesight, and badly needed glasses. I guess that's when she started reading properly and started appreciating the words she read. Now she reads a lot! she'd rummage through her old books and read those. When she's done, she'd find more books and read some more! Ahhh! My little mini-me!

Last month, I bought her a set of Disney Princesses Read Along Books. It was actually a set of 5 but I just took out one and hid the rest. This way, she'd appreciate the books more. I let her read Tangled. She just adored the movie and as expected, she loved the book too!

This Christmas, I took out Little Mermaid and wrapped it. I told her it was her Daddy's gift for her. She almost jumped with joy! Although, she is now so good at reading, she finished the book in just one sitting! I remember months before when we'd finish a book in three nights. Now she's just getting better and better at it!

Mommy Lesson Learned: my daughter has her own timeline of learning. I can't impose on her what I expect her to be able to do at a specific time. When she's ready, she'll know and she'd just do it. Patience is a virtue. Thanks baby for reminding me. 

Attending A Minions Party

Last Sunday was a hectic one for our family.  We attended a kiddie party organized by one of the best party and events organizers Apple of Yanple's.  This party was extra special because this was for her youngest son and my inaanak...  Aethan!

This year,  Aethan turned 3. The party theme featured his current favorite: Minions!  It was held in Shakey's Marcos Highway. 

Before going to the party,  we made sure we heard mass first.  We won't have time after the party anymore since proceeded to our barkada Christmas party afterwards.  Told you guys it was a hectic Sunday!

Just before 11am, we arrived at Shaker's and we knew we were just in time.  The party was just about to start.  All our friends plus their respective families were there.  I just love it when we get together with them.  Bea loves playing with the children of my barkada.  They're almost family :)  One time,  she asked me if they were her cousins.  :)

As expected,  there were a lot of games!  Bea got a lot of prizes,  and all of them were minion-themed.  Even adults had a great time.  We also joined in the games.  I joined the balloon relay where we had to pass along a balloon then spell Aethan's name with our butts.  That's me wearing a dark blue shirt,  busy spelling Aethan's name.  The girls' group was so competitive,  we won!  As a consequence,  The boys had to line up and spell Aethan's name with their bottoms facing the audience!  Har har har.  Too bad Berto didn't join the game. 

When the minion mascot came out,  the kids were so happy!  They rushed towards him for a photo op. Here's Bea with her friends.  Of course even adults refused to pass up the opportunity.  My friends and I also had our picture taken with the one-eyed Minion. 

Thanks to Apple and her family for inviting us to Aethan's Minions party.  Bea and our whole family definitely had a grand time!

Happy Birthday to Me! (2013)

Last month I celebrated my birthday by having a simple staycation in a hotel where our not-so-little Bea splashed around in the bath tub till her fingers turned pruny and blue. She didn't mind at all that unlike last year, we didn't get to go to Laguna to dip in the hot springs there. For dinner, we just popped a dvd of a cartoon movie and had Jollibee meals delivered to our room. 

It was as simple as that, but we were all very happy =)

The next day,  on the way home, we dropped by the stores along White Plains and bought Maning's Lechon Pugon, Jacinta's Kutchinta and Pancit Malabon.

Another year has passed, I am very grateful for all my blessings, including the learning experiences that I also encountered along the way. I am so grateful for my family, grateful for the past year, hopeful for the new year ahead of me!

For a more detailed post about my birthday celebration, click the link here!

Rainy Sunday Out

Yesterday, Berto and I had a meeting with a client in Robinson's Ermita. We decided to bring Bea along. It was such a rainy day! We were supposed to go to the memorial park first to light candles for my mom since it's her birthday, but it was raining so hard, we decided not to go anymore since we won't be able to go down the van anyway. We'll just go some other day.

We arrived in Robinson's just in time. We went to the meeting place (Cafe Breton), met the client, said hi then after a few minutes, excused ourselves. Daddy willll do most of the talking anyway so we left him to do what he's good at. =)

While daddy's busy, us girls went window shopping. Although we agreed on just looking, when we passed by the Disney Princess shelf, we saw so many adorable things! There were Disney Princess gowns, bags, pencils, socks and shoes. Then we saw this cute ID lace. I remembered that her ID lace from school just broke, so we bought one. I thought that item was more useful compared to the princess crown that she was begging me to buy. 

After all the walking, Bea and I got hungry. We decided to start our lunch, daddy will surely come in a while, we went to the food court and ordered food from Chin's. This was Bea's first time to try their food. I ordered Garlic Chicken and Chicken Noodles. Just like her dad, Bea is not too keen to try new food. She initially resisted what I got for her, but when she got to taste it, she finally gave her nod. =) Daddy arrived after a few minutes and had lunch with us. Bea kept on telling him to get the same food, assuring him it was good! All the while, it was her dad's turn to be apprehensive to try this new dish. Argh! Like father like daughter. 

After lunch, we walked around for a bit until we met someone tall, soft and yellow: The Happy Lemon mascot! Bea squealed with joy and hurried over for a photo. The mascot was happy to oblige, even though we didn't buy anything from their shop. 

We did take her to the nearby Quickly kiosk so that she can taste one of our favorite drinks. Again, Bea didn't even want to try my Choco Loco Super, but when she  finally did, she simply loved it!  She didn't return the cup we "shared" which is just fine with me. I'm just glad she's now trying to enjoy new tastes and flavors. 

TBT: A Walk in the Park

Ok, so since I have so much backlogged posts about my Bea and her activities, I have decided to launch a brand new portion in our blog ingeniously named as  TBT or Throwback Thursdays. I know, how unique huh? I will still try to think about a new name for it, but in the meantime, I will be using TBT.

This actually happened in 2007. On a Saturday afternoon, we were scheduled to return the vcd's we borrowed. (vcd pa talaga!) We decided to bring Bea along. Whenever she hears her daddy start the van, she panics... She tries to walk to the van to make sure that she gets to go too! Anyway, we stopped by the Evolution Park in front of C & P Mall. Bea shrieked when she saw the cement cows, she started saying "mmmmm" (Moooo) while pointing at each one of them. =) Good thing the park wasn't that crowded... Except for that one kid who was friendly with Bea at first, but then started pulling her arm when he got too excited. grrr...

After our mini pictorial, we were about to go home already but Bea freaked when she saw a Jollibee sign. We had to go in! Daddy and I just couldn't resist, so we stopped by the burger joint for some snack.

Good thing that after severe bouts with GERD, Bea was eating small amounts of solid food again by then. She is finally enjoying the delights of eating out.

Bea ate some spaghetti and burger, and drank some juice... Although feeding she still took so long, we were very grateful for her improvement. At least her food aversion seems to be getting cured; (thank God!) however her milk aversion is still causing trouble for her (she's still terribly underweight and small for her age).

By the time we got home, it was dark already, and Lolo and Yaya were a bit worried, but it was really worth it because our little girl was all smiles!

These are such wonderful memories of her childhood. It was only yesterday that Bea could barely walk and talk and now she has her own passport and everything! Ahhh! How time flies!

Bea's First Trimester Examinations

Today is the last day of Bea's first trime exams, yes it's finally over! Woohoo! I feel it's more of a relief for me than for her. The past three days we've been fetching her from school. School ground looks so chaotic at dismissal time, maybe it's the children's way of letting off steam and stress from their examinations. Girls run all over the place, boys climb whatever they can climb. It was very amusing just to watch them!

Finally we see our little Bea, dragging her Snow White lunch bag and her small bag hanging down her body loosely. Well actually it's my small bag that I've decided to just give to her. After all it's pink! And it's perfect since it is big enough to accommodate her school diary and some notebooks and books. She'll get to use it during examination days.

These were taken last Tuesday, first day of exams.  We saw her from afar looking tired almost dragging her feet, but when Bea saw us, she was all smiles! I think she appreciates that her dad and I were there for her.

I hope she did well on her exams! Oh stop it! I'm sure she did! =)

How to Make a Spoiled Brat

Bratty Girl

They are everywhere. In shoe shops, the restaurants, in public transportations, in churches, but mostly, they lurk in packs… in toy shops. Who hasn’t heard the wailings of a kid demanding from their parent the latest doll (“I don’t care that I have 25 of those already mom!”) or remote controlled whatever. I personally hate it when they unleash their secret weapon, “the tantrum”: sitting on the floor, feet splayed on the ground, arms flailing, howling like you’ve just hit them on the head with a big bat, while the poor red-faced parents, heads hung low, are silently hoping the ground opens up and eat them. Yep, you’ve seen them. They’re everywhere, the spoiled brats.

But how are they made? It is not so hard to turn little bundles of joy into little monsters. Here’s how:

Bribe them, buy their love. In our society where both parents are often working, we are constantly beset with guilt: guilt that we often leave our children to caregivers or grandparents, guilt that we are not there to witness their milestones in life, guilt that there are times when we are not there for them. So how do we compensate? We shower them with expensive gifts, treat them to any toy of their choice, we give in to just about anything they ask for, after all we owe them. Here’s a newsflash, kids are extremely intelligent creatures, believe me they will catch up on what you’re doing. They will try to stir every situation to their advantage, they know that mommy and daddy will eventually give in.

Ignore the work that they’ve done. Not letting the kids know that you appreciate the extra effort they made to make their beds or bring the dishes to the sink will surely nurture the little brat in them. After all, whether they do good today or just slack off, it will all be the same with mommy and daddy. Slacking is much easier.

Be a bad example. How do we act in front of our kids? Do we also act hard to please and demanding? Do we give more importance to the monetary value of the gifts we receive, rather than the thoughtfulness of the giver? Do we constantly berate our household help for the littlest things? Perfect!

Be inconsistent. When trying to discipline our children, we often unleash a torrent of threats: don’t watch tv on a school night or you’ll be grounded for a week; if you hit your sister one more time I will not give you any cookies; if you don’t pass all your subjects this quarter you won’t be allowed to leave the house forever! And when the set rules are not met, we don’t follow through on our threats. Again, kids are really intelligent, after a while they realize that by saying that they are really, really, really, really, really sorry (plus a sad puppy look to boot), you eventually let them off the hook.

Ok, I’ve given you so guys some guidelines on how to make a spoiled brat, now go on and check on your little ones and see how far along they are in making their way into being the next spoiled brat in your neighborhood. Good luck! (you’ll be needing it!)

* Photo from http://www.child-behavior-problems-help.com/

Lactum 3+ and 6+ Disney Freebies

Yesterday while we were at the grocery, Berto and I remembered it was time to buy Bea's milk. We usually buy Lactum's value pack since we find that it have more value for our money since it has 100g of milk free! When we got to the milk aisle, imagine our surprise when we saw that Lactum not only had extra grams of free milk, it also had other freebies featuring Disney Characters! 

The Lactum 6+ 1.2 kg had a free Disney tumbler featuring Goofy or Pluto with it! We chose the orange one. There was no pink tumbler so Bea will have to do with this one. =)

Apparently, this week Lactum 3+ and 6+ offers FREE Disney Mealtime Surprise!

Lactum 3+/6+ 350g/370g: Sticker Set

Lactum 3+ 600g: Pouch

Lactum 3+/6+ 900g: Spoon and Fork

Lactum 3+/6+ 1.2kg: Tumbler

Lactum 3+ 1.6kg: Food Keeper

Go ahead and try to complete them all!

Head on over to their facebook page for more info: https://www.facebook.com/LactumPhilippines

Teacher Yaya: A Workshop for Your Assistant

As much as we'd want to, not all of us parents can really manage without help in the house. In the Philippines, households with children are often with nannies or yayas, especially when parents are working. We reluctantly leave our children at home, sometimes alone with our yayas. Sadly, not all yayas we hire have the same values we have, or at least the values we'd want to impart to our kids. It's not only important that our nannies are competent in taking care of our little ones, it is also vital that they understand their impact to their ward's life. 

Thank goodness for the Teacher Yaya Workshop by the Learning Basket. It is a 2-hour workshop on September 21, a Saturday at 9am-11am. Seminar costs only P400. The Speaker is Ms. Mariel and she will be speaking to our assistants in Filipino, so they'd be more comfortable and can understand the topics better.

You can accompany your yaya for the 2-hour seminar. There is an air conditioned room in the Madela House where you and your kids can comfortably wait for you yaya.

Venue of the seminar is the Madela House, #29 First Street, New Manila QC.

To register click this link! 

For more information hop on over to The Learning Basket's website: http://www.thelearningbasket.com/

Too bad, I don't have a nanny as of the moment. If I did, I would definitely send her to this workshop. It's an investment for my child's well being and good upbringing. =)

Buwan ng Wika Presentation

Last August 30, Bea's school had their Buwan ng Wika culminating activity. This is after more than a week of no classes because of heavy rains because of habagat. She appeared as one of the fishes in their play (and the cutest one at that!). I posted my fishy problem here, and thankfully we were able to borrow this cute fish costume from her cousin. It was too small for her already, but we made do. Look at her, all smiles! In the last picture, she's with Kayla, our neighbor, her classmate and her best friend since they were 3.

In previous years, Buwan ng Wika activities are such pain in the butt. We had to scramble for various costumes: patadyong, baro't saya and ifugao. We have no one to borrow from so we have no choice but the buy. It took such an effort to look for the costumes, prepare the props and not to mention the cost of everything! Prices for Filipino costumes skyrocket every August. This year though, in respect for those affected by the heavy rains by habagat, they were not required to come in costume. Those who already had costume may wear them, but it was ok to wear their PE uniform too. Plus, it was just a few hours presentation, after which they proceeded with regular classes, to make up to the many days they didn't have any. Yey! Kudos to their school for being considerate.

Help for Habagat and Typhoon Maring Victims

Days after Habagat and Typhoon Maring ravaged the country, people are still sick, homeless and stuck in evacuation centers. They need clothes, sleeping mats, blankets, slippers, socks, food, clean drinking water and medicines. I watch families cramped in evacuation centers and I am deeply saddened. Those babies and children! =(

For those who want to help with donations and relief operations for those affected by Habagat and Typhoon Maring:

DSWD needs volunteers to re-pack relief goods. Please go to National Resource Operations Center (NROC) NAIA Chapel Road, Pasay City. Call 851-2681 or 511-1259.

Call the Red Cross chapter nearest you to find out how you can help.

Drop off your donations in kind at the Sagip Kapamilya Headquarters at 13 Examiner St., West Triangle, Quezon City.

Drop off your donations at LBC branches. They will be turned over to Red Cross.

Air21 accepts donations in all Mail and More branches nationwide and will distribute to areas affected by the flood.

There are many more ways to help, just visit your local parish church and ask what you can do to help. Every little bit will go a long way.

The Good and The Bad of Being Nanny-less

We got our nanny from an agency. We paid for the agency fee and everything. And she is supposed to work with us for 6 months, complete with signed contract. Truth be told, our nanny’s salary is higher than the usual pay given to nannies. Even though her pay is really hard on the budget, we decided to take her services because we just couldn’t find any help! Many reacted negatively when we told them that we got the services of an agency, but what are we to do? We were desperate.

Yes, she is the same nanny who gave Bea the chickenpox. Read about it here. Last week, our nanny went out for her day off, she was supposed to return at 5pm. Her deadline came and went, no nanny. At around 9pm, we texted her asking if she will come home because if not, we’re locking the doors and calling it a night. No reply. The next day, we got a call from the OSP agency in Holy Spirit, QC asking innocently if we needed a new nanny. This infuriated us because they knew fully well that we still had a nanny and her contract is still good for a few more months. When we said no, we still had a nanny, that’s when they came clean and said that our nanny went to their office that morning wielding a medical certificate saying that she has a heart ailment and that she is not fit to work.  She will not be coming back to work with us. Really? That was fast! She got the certificate in just a day? She got checked up and got the results in a day? I want to know where her hospital is because their service is UNBELIEVABLY fast!

Long story short, we have no nanny. The agency refuses to replace her, with 4 more months in her contract. (Will do a separate post about the agency matter).  Thankfully, hubby and I are now working from home, in our photography business, with more flexible hours. We are not as panicked as we would’ve been if this happened back when we were still working our 9-5 jobs in Makati.

Thankfully too, we have a reliable cleaning lady whom we called last weekend to look after Bea while we were out covering an event.

Our family

I am trying to look at the bright side of things. Sure our present nanny-less situation will call for more time management skills, but it will also mean more bonding time for our family. The past days, we’ve had to drag our sleepy butts off the bed to prepare Bea for school, which means more time looking into her school affairs, her baon,her bag, her assignments, her projects, her hairdo for the day etc.

Laundry time

I also took care of our laundry for the week. Two weeks ago, in an attempt to cut costs, I decided to stop sending out our clothes to the laundry place. Now, I have no choice but to take care of it. OK, call it pride but I assured hubby that it’s not going to be a problem, so wash and iron clothes I did. I don’t really mind the washing, it’s the folding and putting away of clothes that I hate. Hehe. Anyway, my efforts paid off when I got a compliment from hubby, saying our clothes smell and feel the best when I wash them. *music to my ears* I am thinking about permanently taking on the laundry assignment, even though we already talked to the cleaning lady and she said she’d include the laundry to her weekly tasks. I just like to be more in control of our clothes and our laundry supplies. Our past nannies used detergent and fabric conditioner excessively, not to mention the water consumption. Hmp.

So now, Ariel Detergent soap and Downy Fabric Conditioner are my friends, and we intend to meet once a week. That is the plan. I hope I can stick to it. =)

Fishy Surprise

No nanny for a week. Yes, hubby and I are on nanny duties. Today was my turn to prepare my daughter for school and to walk her there. Actually I try to take on the task everyday but there are just days when I can't get up and hubby thankfully steps up.

Bea was really good this morning, she finished her oatmeal and milk in record time, made no fuss while taking a bath and brushed her teeth with no complaints at all! Simple joys indeed!

 Last week, Bea's teacher wrote in her diary that she has been chosen to play a fish in a presentation, that we should prepare her costume. The teacher didn't put the date of the presentation. I assumed it would be in a few weeks. I didn't prepare anything during the long weekend. As I said, we didn't have a nanny plus hubby and I covered a debut for our photography business.

After I brought Bea to school and I was walking back to the house, I saw her classmate who is also our neighbor. She was carrying a lot of things. When she got nearer, I saw that she was actually carrying her costume! When I asked her about it, she said that she brought it because Teacher said to be ready by August 13, today. TODAY?? What?! I immediately felt panic… and guilt. Oh no! Bea will be the only student there with no costume, she'll feel left out and she'll hate me forever! Waaah!

I rushed in the house, furious with myself. I started rummaging through our stuff, looking for something we might fashion into something that might pass off as a fish costume. Nothing.

Then I remembered that I had her teacher's number. I texted her and asked when the costume is needed, making mental note that I can still rush off to our local dry market, purchase a costume and bring it to Bea's school. I was holding my breath, quietly praying that she replies fast to I can still go out and buy. After a few minutes, she thankfully replied. I felt all my blood rushing back to my blood stream, air filling my lungs and relief soaking my being. "Good morning po. Aug 30 po yung costume." Hay Diyos ko! Panic much!

Note to self: save your sanity, be ready with fish costume by the weekend!

Picture of cute clown fish costume from halloweencostumes.com

Bea at the WPPP Photo Congress 2013

June was a very busy month for the hubby. It is birth month, his wedding photography group, the WPPP,  launched their annual Photo Congress in Megamall, they also had their (post) summer outing in Baler and lastly he attended the Advanced Wedding Seminar by master photographer Lito Sy. Imagine his frustration when our nanny had to go on leave because of an illness. (read about it here)

Hubby had a lot of important assigments in the photo congress, and I was a delegate, which meant I paid a significant fee to be able to attend the seminars given by known people in the photography and video industry. We just couldn't miss this 3 day event, nanny or no nanny.

On the first day, we had no other choice but to bring Bea along to Megamall. She had lots of fun, seeing daddy at work, and seeing his photograph exhibited. I lent her my camera and let her take pictures, just so she can feel she belongs. =)

It was a very tiring day, but we enjoyed it. We hope to share this passion with her. Hopefully she develops her eye for composing good photographs and develop her own skills. =) Who knows, she may join us in our photography gigs soon! =)

Accelerated Because of K-12 Educational System

Last summer, Bea graduated from kindergarten from her school. Last June, she started going to school as a grade two student. Yes, she skipped grade one. Thanks, or no thanks to the K-12 educational system. Apparently, in the new system the child's age is critical. Grade one students should now be six years old unlike before when they should be seven years old. Since Bea celebrated her 7th birthday early this year, technically she should already be in grade two.

This school year, her school implemented a one time acceleration for their students. Bea and her classmates who are already seven or will turn seven within the year were accelerated to grade two, while those who are just six will go on as grade one students.

When we heard this announcement, we weren't quite sure if we like it or not. Sure, we'd be saving one year's worth of tuition fee but we are concerned about whether our daughter's skills are enough to tackle advanced lessons. We weren't alone in this concern, in fact a lot of parents decided to transfer their children to other schools where they will not be forced to skip a grade. Just before enrollment, the school called on the parents to inform us that we are not actually forced to skip a grade, we can choose to enroll our daughter as grade one or grade two. It's entirely up to us.  Obviously its a last ditch effort to prevent even more students from transferring.

We chose to let Bea stay on. She went through assessments set by the government and the school. She passed. She attended summer classes. Her guidance counselor assured us that she will do just fine. We chose to trust her.

It has been almost a month since Bea started 2nd grade. So far so good. =)

Chickenpox Despite Vaccine

While waiting for the pedia

Three weeks ago, our nanny went on leave. She has been with us for only a little over a month. She initially said that she's allergic to chicken and it seems like she's getting some rashes on her back. We didn't mind it much. However, she said it was becoming more and more painful. It came to a point when she couldn't sleep lying down anymore. She'd She'd sleep sitting down. When we had her checked by the nearby clinic,  it was found out that she was suffering from herpes zoster, or a second bout of chickenpox. Too bad. Bea really liked this nanny. We liked her too, but we had no other choice but to let her go on leave. Berto, Bea and I have never had chickenpox before so we were all susceptible.

After a week, we noticed Bea developed some spots on her skin. I immediately thought it was chickenpox but she didn't have any fever and the spots didn't have liquid in them. Just to be sure we decided to go to St. Luke's to bring Bea to her pediatrician . Too bad daddy was out attending a workshop so it was just us girls. We took a cab to the hospital. Thankfully the driver knew the way thru Commonwealth. 

The doctor looked her over but even she was baffled. Apparently, Bea didn't manifest the typical symptoms of chickenpox and this was probably because of the vaccine she got when she was a baby. The doctor said that vaccines don't provide 100% protection. There is still a chance that she will be infected but the symptoms will be slightly different than the usual symptoms. If I didn't mention that Bea got exposed to her sick nanny, she wouldn't have even considered chickenpox.

I asked for the possibility of adult chickenpox vaccines for hubby and me, but the doctor said that if we were already infected by the virus, the vaccine will be useless. And since we all sleep on one bed, there is a very strong possibility that we already caught it. (Thankfully though we didn't manifest any symptoms.)

The pediatrician gave us a prescription for an antiviral medicine. Good thing, the spots that came out weren't that many. It was just less than 20 spots all over and Bea was able to go back to school after just 2 days.

Happy Father's Day Daddy!

Happy father's day Daddy Berns!  Thanks for being such a caring daddy to our Bea.  You have always wanted only the best for Bea and someday when she gets older and more mature I hope she appreciates that.  Kahit ngayon ay galit bati kayong dalawa...  Hahaha.  

We love you! 

Our Little Graduate

Last April 4, our precious Bea graduated from pre-school. Too bad that experience was sullied when my wallet got stolen from my bag but then, we just chose to focus on the good times. =)

Our Bea also got the Most Improved Award. Knowing that Bea did her best to improve her grades, especially in Reading made us so proud of our little princess. Last trime, her teacher talked to us and told us that she needed to practice reading more, that she was a bit behind compared to her other classmates. So we practiced. Bea really did her best, her interest to learn to read better is strong, and her efforts paid off.

It was also announced that in compliance to the K-12 Education System, Bea was going to be accelerated to Grade 2. Yes, she's skipping a year. She turned 7 last January, and according to the new system she's supposed to be in grade 2 already. Her daddy and I are ok with this, however some of her classmates parents were not. A lot of them are transferring their kids to some other school where they will not be forced to attend grade 2. 

Thankfully a window opened for us. The past school year, we have been looking for an academic tutor for Bea. We failed to find one with a schedule that will work. A few days after graduation, I received a text message from her previous teacher, offering to tutor Bea this summer. We grabbed the chance! Teacher L is a very good teacher, someone who is genuinely concerned for Bea. Her rates were a bit steep but I'm sure she's well worth it. =) Hopefully she'd be able to help prepare Bea take the big leap from Kinder to Grade 2.

So far so good...

Thank You Dear Friends!

I woke up this morning to great news... this blog is page ranked! woot woot! Sure it's ranked 1 but this is wonderful news to me! I've had this blog for years. Sure I have not been the most consistent blogger but still,  I put effort in the stuff I write here. Now that my Bea can read simple words, she gets pretty tickled when she sees that she has her own blog. She even gets annoyed when I take pictures of her, she'd say "Mommy don't upload that, my classmates will see!" Hahaha!

Again dear friends, thanks for dropping by our blog. I love sharing our adventures with you. Please continue reading, comments are welcome too!

Eye Check Up, Follow-up Treatment From Bea's Dog Bite

Almost a month ago, my daughter was bitten by a dog on the face. We were so distraught. We rushed her to the San Lazaro Hospital. After she was given her anti-rabies and tetanus shots, the doctor advised us to visit an ophthalmologist since Bea can barely open her eye. It kept on tearing up and she said it hurt. When we got out of the San Lazaro Hospital, we went straight to St. Luke’s Medical Center in E. Rodriguez Quezon City. Since it was a Sunday, we just went to the emergency room. While we were there, they tended to her wounds. We kept on asking for special bandages or stitches for her wound, to prevent or at least lessen scarring, but the doctors refused saying that they don’t stitch up dog bites.

We were then referred to the resident Ophthalmologist, Dra. Roque. She was very kind and Bea warmed up to her immediately. She peeked into Bea’s eye. Then the doctor put an orange-colored dye on Bea’s eye and shone a special light on it then there it was… a long gash right across her retina. My heart was broken. The doctor then proceeded to check Bea’s vision, sadly this further confirmed our fear, her right eye had considerable difficulty seeing the letters on the board. The left one had not problems.

The ophthalmologist gave us a prescription for an ointment to put in her eye, this ointment was also to be used on her wounds. Hopefully, her eyes will heal completely. There was a chance of retinal scarring and this will caused blurry vision that will not be corrected even by wearing glasses.  =( We were advised to visit a pediatric ophthalmologist after 7 days.

After a week we came back to SLMC and thankfully there was a pediatric ophthalmologist available. Dr. Marcial was very kind and eager to make Bea comfortable during our visit. He did the usual eye and vision tests. We almost jumped with joy when we heard the good news, the retina was fully healed, and there was no sign of scarring at all! We’ll have to go back in the future for some more tests, he thinks Bea might need glasses, but this was unrelated to her dog bite accident. Thank you Lord!

Family Bonding over Disney Pixar's Brave and Musicals

The best part of being a WAHM is the chance to spend quality time with my daughter. Recently hubby and I started watching movies with her. When she was younger, we didn’t do this because we felt she wasn’t ready yet. Her attention span was just too short and she would ask so many (irritating) questions. Who is that? Why is she doing that? Where does she go to school? What section is she in? Who are her playmates? Argh!  

Merida

One day, I decided to let her watch Pixar’s animated movie Brave. I read somewhere that this is a must-watch for mothers and daughters. 

Merida with mom Elinor

A few minutes into the movie, the questions started. I was beginning to be irritated again when I realized they were actually relevant questions. Why are they out? Is it her birthday? Why is the bear mad? Why is Brave (Merida) sad? That was when I realized that she understands the movie and can now follow the story flow. Happiness! One more activity we can bond over as a family!

Happy Family

I don’t think Bea has absorbed Brave’s life lessons, but that’s ok. Spending time and doing one of my most favorite things with her is enough for now. Maybe reading next? *wishing and hoping*

Since then, Berto, Bea and I have been watching more movies together. Lately, due to the Les Miserables mania, we have been into musicals. Bea loooves Phantom of the Opera, however instead of singing Christine’s parts she prefers to sing the Phantom’s songs. Oh well…

Phantom of the Opera

A Horrible Dog Bite and a Trip to the San Lazaro Hospital

It was a lazy Sunday morning. Hubby and I were still in bed but Bea was already outside having her breakfast. We suddenly heard shouts and crying coming from outside. Hubby went out to investigate then came back in our room with terrible news. Our friendly and cowardly pet dog bit Bea on the face! And there was blood. I felt my heart shoot up my throat then drop to my feet. I couldn’t move. I can handle a lot of things but I can’t handle blood. Thankfully, hubby stepped in and took care of it, making sure the wound was cleaned before I saw it.

When I finally came out of our room, I saw my Bea standing with a towel on her face. Afraid as I was, I looked at her wound. The blood has almost stopped but I could clearly see the shape of the dog’s teeth as it tore in her flesh. There was also a small wound on her lower eye lid and she can barely open her right eye. I hugged her tight, knowing that she must be so scared at that moment. The dog who has been a constant companion and playmate since her toddler days has betrayed her.

Bea and her dog bite wounds =(

I knew Bea had to get anti-rabies shots. Hubby and I rushed her to the emergency room of the nearest hospital but the nurses and doctor there wouldn’t accept us. They said that since Bea was bitten on the face, she was considered category C (animal bites from neck up) and only San Lazaro Hospital in Manila was authorized to receive and take care of such cases. I asked them if they could at least take a look at the wound but they said we had to rush there NOW, since the bite is near the brain. I felt the panic rise in my body once again.

Since it was a Sunday, it only took us thirty minutes from Marikina to San Lazaro. San Lazaro Hospital is found in Quiricada St., Sta. Cruz, Manila. It is a referral facility for Infectious/ Communicable Diseases. It is less than 10 minute-walk from the two nearest LRT stations along Avenida Rizal,(Bambang/Tayuman). For more detailed directions to San Lazaro Hospital click here.

San Lazaro Hospital usually won’t receive patients who were bitten or scratched by a dog or cat on Sundays except for emergency cases such as children below 2 years old or patients older than 60, people with disability and like Bea’s case, those considered category C.

San Lazaro Hospital Triage

 We were received in the Triage area. Hubby was asked to pay the emergency room fee first (P50). Then we were asked to wait at the waiting section A, section B was assigned for those with cough (TB patients?) After a while we were interviewed by a newbie doctor who wasn’t even sure of the info she needed to ask from us. (She kept on asking her colleagues). Then we wait. After some time, a resident doctor finally looked at Bea. There were 3 doctors on that Sunday. We were given a ½ cardboard paper where our vaccine schedule was written. All these time, no one even bothered to tape up Bea’s wounds. We just kept on wiping the blood with tissues. Her eye was almost completely shut by this time also. Only after hubby shouted at one of the nurses did she cover Bea's wounds.

Bandaged

Several looong lines and a lot of waiting, we finally got all the shots needed, and there were many! I was so proud of Bea, she was so brave! First we had the PVRV, the antirabies vaccine, given on each shoulder. Then the tetanus toxoid came next. The nurses also conducted a skin test, 2 pricks on Bea’s arm then we had to wait for another 30 minutes for the results. Next was 3 vials of ATS and last came the ERIG which was the most expensive medicine. They inject this on both cheeks of Bea’s butt. That emergency room trip cost us more or less P3,500. As a parting word, the doctor just said that we should also visit an ophthalmologist at the Jose Reyes Memorial Hospital nearby, another government hospital with loooong lines. Yes, this warning came from the doctor herself.

I laud the hospital’s staff, they seem to be professional except for neglecting Bea's wounds but I guess the sheer number of patients can get overwhelming.  They make do with whatever resources they have. Don’t look for sympathetic smiles or encouraging words though, I guess you go to private hospitals for that. They were all business there. Medicines were cheaper because they are subsidized by the government, however, be ready for long lines and impersonal personnel. Facilities were clean but incomplete. That Sunday, the emergency room had no electricity. Nurses who administered the meds kept on transferring from one side of the room to another, looking for brighter window light, so they can see their patients better. These are the guys who will stab the needle into your or your child’s arm. Waaah! Don’t forget to bring a facemask too, since this hospital also caters to other communicable diseases like tuberculosis, meningococcemia and others.

We were relieved when we were finally discharged. That trip to the San Lazaro Hospital was quite an experience.

UPDATE:

Bea has finished her 3 shots scheduled a few days apart.

Back in San Lazaro for Shot # 2

Eye is much better, Shot # 3

   Her next one is scheduled next month. Her wounds are slowly healing. I hope scarring will be minimal. Doctors refused to stitch them up because they came from a dog bite. As a doctor said, “mag-make up na lang sya paglaki”. =(