The New Lawn Man In The Block

Who would have thought that my husband will be the new guy mowing the lawn? After 3 long weeks of waiting for Jose, the regular lawn man who supposed to come and mow the yard every two weeks, Robin decided to buy a lawn mower, blower, and an edger to call our own. Aside being a teacher, Robin has another task to do. Meaning, that's less break he'll get on the weekend... will he last long as a new lawn man or will he pick up the phone and find a new Jose to do the yard work for him.... hahaha! I am so thrilled about this whole yard thing! Goodluck my dear Robin!

my 20-month-old's social and emotional development

These past few days was a little rough for me. My lil' Sage is, I think, is now on the stage of his life they call TTs(terrible twos). Oh, how I wished it did not exist with him, but unfortunately it does! For instance, the eukelele.... I want to talk about this because Sage and his first "baby guitar" as what I'd like to call it, are just amazingly inseperable things I have ever seen on earth! The first thing he mouthed off when he wakes up is "guitar" and the last thing he wants in bed with him is "guitar." No matter how hard I tried to explain it that the "guitar" cannot go to bed with him is just not good enough for him. No! there was the BIG NO!!!... Here is another sign of TTs that I am seeing right now. Sage is really good in insisting on doing exactly what you've told him not to do or throw himself down on the floor or throw his head back in a fit of temper if he doesn't get his way. I can't believe I am saying this, but his demands just alternately frustrate and amuse me. At times, he likely ask for something that he deosn't even want, just to see if he has enough power to get it. hehehe... so tricky little Sage! Am I in for a big trip? because I think I am in the midst of the so called TTs... Dear Lord, please give me enough strength and patience to deal with this.

On the other side, Sage is really developing and so grown up despite the fact of him, being the uncontrollable one these days. My little toddler likes to try on daddy's shoes and anybody's sandals in the house. By stepping, literally, into the shoes shows that he's aware he is growing bigger and that he wants to be just like daddy. I also notice him pretend playing with his stuffed animals, with the birds, and with our puppy Blitzen. He'll take over the parenting role by feeding his stuffed bear while I am feeding him. Sometimes, I see him put the pacifier on to the stuffed toys mouth. He likes to share his milk with the birds as well. He goes "bird milk bird milk" or say "bird car bird" when he gets a new toy car. It's funny to see him like this but at the same time it is undeniably so cute! Pretend play is just a great example of imitation and a sign that Sage is learning how to empathize with others.

My 20-month-old is very affectionate. He likes to give me and Robin a hug as we watch him play. Sometimes, while I was lazily laying on the couch watching tv, he would run up to me and say "kiss mommy" and after I gave him the kiss he would then say "thank you".... One night, in our bedroom, Sage was trying to let himself fall by the edge of our bed. Robin told him don't or you will get a booboo. first he attempted and then stopped...he then said, "okay daddy, okay mommy, Okay...." hahaha.... things like this make us forget the first part of this entry. Here is a video of Sage just before bedtime.

Updates...

I know I have been off for a while. things have been rough lately. our 12 -year old dog, Kaiser passed away last week. it was really hard to take for my in-laws because the dog was their life. So this past monday, we drove down to Conroe, Tx to get a new puppy. In Kaiser's replacement, we now have a German short-haired Pointer and we named him Blitzen Axel Duerr. sounds like a human being, but that's how we treat our dog in this house. We call him "blitz" in short. things are getting a lil' better around the house since we had the new puppy. sage is getting used to having the puppy running around and actually, he has been pretty good with Blitz.

Summer time has been great so far. It is good to have Robin being home everyday. That makes Sage really happy as well. The kid loves daddy being home because he equates him as play and fun. what about mommy??? mommy is about nap, eat, and learning... it kinda bores him which I can't argue. I bet I wasn't happy myself about nap time and learning time when I was growing up.

Robin is looking for a new job on a different school district. He had an interview yesterday at the school where my mom teaches. and it went pretty well, says he. We are waiting for the decision and we are praying for that. This will be a big transition from teaching elementary to middle school. It will be a big change and a big challenge especially in dealing with older hard-headed kids. so, we will pray for that too if ever he gets the job.

In less than two weeks, I will be celebrating my 27 years of life. yikes! not feeling it... there will be no party, as what we have decided. mom's gonna be in Dallas in that week and my sister will be working night shift on that same week. who wants to have a birthday party without your mother and your sister? count me out! I hope Robin will take me out to dinner or shopping or something...

keeping myself busy

Tonight, my parents are bringing back my son home. As we all know, Sage spends his every weekend at lolo and lola's house. My parents love having Sage and I don't mind it at all for them to have him over the weekend. I'm just glad my parents are always there to look after my son each weekend. it really allows me to do things with my husband (i know what you're thinking, lol....)!

I am proud to say that I did some chores around the house today. I mopped the floor and changed the window drapes as well. Our curtains been up for months, so I figured out it's about time to take them down and give 'em a bath, lol... I re-arranged the setting inside the house and gave it a different look, because it was really becoming a lil' mind-numbing. Refreshing my surroundings is my way of venting off stress, seriously. I am just hoping that Sage will be a lil' friendly especially with the fragile objects, which I know he'll probably won't...

What else??? Oh, Robin and I went out to the track and made some money. On the way home, we stopped by the oriental store to pick up a sack of rice and a pack of tofu. Few days ago, I've made a decision that shocked Robin and that is to abstain myself in consuming beef. I don't know how long this will last because I really like eating the meat! But when I saw how they kill the the poor animal on the kill spot, I can't help myself but feel sorry. I can tell you this much, it is disgusting and very inhumane thing to see...

After this entry, I'm going to give myself a bath as well, just like my curtains... imagine a track with a lot of people, smoking, and horses... that's how I smell like right now. yikes! Since I am expecting Sage to come home tonight, I want to get it done before he'll be home. Oh wait, I just remembered. I need to water my flowers on the front yard. With the Houston weather these days, my flowers are getting sooo dehydrated easy. 'till next time folks and have a great week everyone!

A Star is Born!

A young Filipino singer, Charice once again proved her singing prowess as she got two standing ovations for her performance with musician-record producer David Foster's discoveries for a benefit concert at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas last Friday, May 23rd.For the event entitled "David Foster & Friends" in front of an audience of almost 10,000, Charice sang a medley of Whitney Houston's hits- "I Will Always Love You" and "I Have Nothing". These songs are from the original sound track of "The Bodyguard" which was produced by Foster. "And I Am Telling You" is from the original soundtrack of "Dreamgirls", also produced by Foster.

Charice got two standing ovations. People cried during her performance, and she received loud cheers and applause after each song.Charice said in an interview after her performance that she was really happy and thrilled to be part of Foster's special show."Masaya lang po ako na biglaan po yung napabilang ako sa kanila, lalo na po sa Las Vegas. Mas maraming big stars ang nakasama ko like Mr. Andrea Bocelli. ( "I’m happy with this surprise that I’m one of the performers, especially in Las Vegas. I am with more big stars like Mr. Andrea Bocelli." )Sobrang bait na talagang after ng performance ko nakita ko nasa baba siya nag-stay. Akala ko kung ano ang meron, yun pala iko-congratulate niya ako parang di ako makapaniwala na sila ang kasama ko," Charice said. ("He (Bocelli) was very kind that after I performed, I saw that he stayed below. I thought of what’s in there, only to find out that he’s going to congratulate me. I couldn’t believe that I performed with them (the stars)." )"Basta parang nanaginip lang ako lalo na noong nakita ko 'yung program. Hello pinagitnaan ako ng big star Michael Buble at Josh Groban," Charice added. ( "It’s like I’m just dreaming more so when I saw the program. Hello I was in between big stars Michael Buble and Josh Groban."

Proudly Filipino,the 16-year-old belter said she was emotional after her performance."After ng performance ko, naiiyak ako. Hindi ko lang mailabas kasi may second song pa po pero talagang natutuwa ako na kahit po 'yung mga Amerikano nakikilala po nila ako. Tapos sinasabi nila na ako daw po yung best na nakita nilang may best performance," she said.("I cried after my performance. I couldn’t just let it out because I still have a second song but I’m really happy that even the Americans know me. And they said that my performance is the best among the other great performances.")"Proud po ako, Filipino po ako. Tapos natuwa ako na binanggit ko na taga-Pilipinas ako ang daming nag-chi-cheer nakaka-proud. Sana proud din sa akin ang kapwa Pilipino ko po," said Charice. ("I’m proud, I’m a Filipino. And I’m happy that I mentioned that I’m from the Philippines and a lot of people have cheered. I hope that my fellow Filipinos are also proud of me.")

As for David Foster, he does not have anything but good words for his new discovery -- Charice."Tonight, a star is born," Foster said."I had the great pleasure of being able to stand inside behind the stage when she was performing... she has a beautiful voice," Josh Groban said.During the cast party where no cameras were allowed, people, including the artists flocked to Charice. They were all hugging and congratulating her for a very wonderful performance.The caterer, famous chef Wolfgang Puck who saw the show with his wife could not get enough of Charice. Mrs. Puck said, "I want to be your mother from now on." Charice got a standing invitation from Wolfgang for free dinners with him and his wife every time Charice is in Beverly Hills.

Making Filipinos proud, Charice said she gives her best in every performance to make her fellow Filipinos proud of her."Iniisip ko lang po na ibigay ang best ko sa bawat performance ko, kahit sino ang kasama ko...para maipagmalaki ko sa mga nanonood na pwede din po akong isabay sa mga talagang batikang singers like mga idol ko," she said. ("I always thought to give my best in every performance, whoever sings with me… so that I can be proud to all viewers that I can also sing like the famous singers like my idols.")"Kaya binibigay ko ang best ko. Ito pong malaking oportunity na binibigay nila sa akin yun na po ang sinusukli ko sa kanila. 'Yung best performance ko na masasabi pong karapat-dapat ako sa binigay nilang opportunity." ("That’s why I’m giving my best. The great opportunity that they’re giving me, my best is what I gave back in return. The best performance that one could say I am deserving of the opportunities given me.")

Charice thanked all the people who had faith in her talent and gave her breaks to be recognized."Salamat sa lahat ng pinag-guest-an ko sa Oprah, sa Ellen DeGeneres sa Paul O' Grady siyempre David Foster," Charice said. ("Thank you to all who has invited me to guest in Oprah, Ellen DeGeneres, Paul O’Grady and of course David Foster.")Charice appeared in the Paul O’Grady Show in London, Tuesday, April 8 and on the Ellen DeGeneres show in December 2007.Last April 11, abs-cbnNEWS.com broke the story that she just finished taping a special episode for Oprah. Her special guesting with Oprah was aired May 12th.

a photo of charice and david foster@ Las Vegas

Goodbye Spring... Hello Summer!

It was Memorial Day and Robin was off from work when we had a lil' splashing activity in our backyard. Summer is not quiet here yet. But the weather in Houston makes us feel like it is already summer time. It's completely silly to admit, but it was our lil' boy's first time to play out in the backyard. We have our reasons why we never allowed him to play out there until yesterday. It was a fun and an amazing scene as I keenly gazed at Sage sprinting out in the water. He was lovin' the fact that he's finally limitless to play in a bigger space, and he was free to play with the water as well. I just wanted to remind all my readers that my son is only 19 months old, so he was a little dubious getting in the splash mat at first. It took daddy few efforts to really get him under the splashing water, but it didn't took Sage long enough to get used to it. We noticed that he mumbles a lot lately and his favorite sentence was "I scared." He was scared and at the same time, was having a great moment of his life scampering around our backyard like a mad dog. When do these two things go together? It just doesn't make sense to me, but I guess for my son it meant something. "Yucky" was another word he uttered yesterday. He denoted a bunch of left-over grass from a newly mowed lawn that was stuck on his legs. To him, it's unpleasant! I agree and my son has a point in that matter. It's funny that Sage is learning so much and uses words that I thought were bigger than him. Overall though, we had a blast and what a great activity for a Memorial Day!

They New Journey Has Begun!

The wait is finally over for the legendary band Journey. And who would have thought that the new lead singer of the band is a Filipino? Hailing from Quezon City, Phillipines, Arnel Pineda was welcomed with open arms as a new member by rockers Neal Schon (guitar), Jonathan Cain(keyboards), Ross Valory (bass), and Deen Castronovo (drums). AP(Arnel Pineda) used to sing in a band called Zoo and through posting amazing videos in youtube singing Journey songs, AP's discovery began from there. The new Journey will be releasing REVELATION, a three-disc CD/DVD in June 3 which will be available at Walmart stores. The band will be guesting in Ellen Degeneres show on Wednesday. I am not going to miss that! The most exciting part is, I am going to see AP in a live concert in July 26, 2008 here at the Woodlands Spring, Texas! you heard it right baby! Robin, me and friends are so excited to see him perform. I am so proud of Arnel not because he is a Filipino making other Filipinos proud, but because of his great talent that brought him to the limelight. Goodluck Arnel Pineda and keep making us proud of you!