Bad News, Good News, Great News, and a Decision to Make

I am still really happy that Lucas is back home. I mentioned here before that Yaya Weng will be taking a short, two-week leave. What I thought would be a week of missing the little boy, turned out to be a month-long agony for moi. It was 1 week plus another three weeks that the Little Jedi had to stay with Mama. Albeit the fact that the little boy was having the time of his life with his Mama, I was missing him so so so bad. Maybe that’s the reason why I didn’t have much motivation to write posts or if I do write posts, they are, errr, a little on the emo side.

Where art thou, Yaya?

How did this happen? Well, Yaya did not come home as she promised. That was the bad news. She decided to stay in their province longer. What’s worse is that we did not receive any messages from her except for the time when I told her through text, that if she doesn’t have plans of coming back, to find a replacement yaya there and refer her to us.

Roughly translated:

Can I just join my sister when she comes back (to Manila)? Nobody is looking after my children here.

If it’s ok with you, I hope I can come back on the 21st with my sister.

After taking a really deep breath, I allowed her. She’s a great yaya to Lucas despite her shortcomings on household chores. I know she cares for our son so I was willing to wait (Parang fastfood). That was the last messages I got from her. I was getting really frustrated simply because we were playing the guessing game. She could send me a message and tell me if she has no plans of coming back and that would be fine with me. I was missing my son, Mama needs to go back to work too, and I am playing Russian Roulette for the date that she will return.

Good thing my best friend referred a new Yaya. That’s the good news. She’s younger than Yaya Weng (even younger than my sister) and yet she has impressed me and Mama. She knows that she is an interim yaya, but I really like her. She had one week OJT with Mama and I am really happy with how she work. I know it’s only been a week but so far, I like what I am seeing. I am crossing my fingers that she will never change and that she also likes working with us. She’s the reason why I am waking beside a not-so-little boy every morning for the past three days.

That’s the great news. I may not be spending 10 hours or more with Lucas but there’s nothing like hugging your son to sleep or waking up with a fist or a foot or, if you’re luckier, a baby butt on your face. It’s pure bliss.

I still don’t know if I should send a message to Yaya Weng and wait for her, or if I should just tell her that we have a new Yaya. Mike’s vote goes to the former. Mama, the latter. I still don’t know what to do. Yaya Weng’s a great yaya but really bad with the chores, plus she has taken care of Lucas since he was three months old. Yaya#2 is wonderful with the chores and has a great potential to be a good yaya. Hmmm. High performer (in the yaya role), or high potential? What do you think, moms?

Back at Home

Yes, I’ve been in absentia due to work (momma woes). I just want to update my blog and say that the Little Jedi is so home! Yay! The Prince is baaaack!

….and looks like somebody else missed him more than I did.

You’re Super, Mom

Dear Mom,

You are a great person. You have a heart of gold and you are willing to share bit of it to your husband and child/children. You are so generous of your love and yet you do not ask for anything in return. It’s amazing how hou used to think only about yourself but now, you are willing to give up everyhing for your family.

You are a strong person. You can laugh at the silliest things and yet still be stern when discipline is needed. You remain strong your son/daughter so they will not see you cry of whatever might be causing you pain. You bravely face the odds to give the best for them. You are willing to fight for them and fight for yourself for them. You fight for a better life or simply fight for life.

You are a personification of humility because you are willing to learn from this incredible journey called motherhood. You are willing to accept failures but never give up. You are ready to say sorry and admit the fact that you are not always right.

You are a great woman capable of building a home, painting the walls with your limitless love. You decorate it with passion, integrity, unselfishness and beauty and inspiration. You are an amazing woman because you are a mother, a wife, a daughter, a sister, a friend. You are a woman and you are great as you are.

This letter is for all the mothers who celebrated being a mom. Mommy, Mama, Mom, Nanay, Inay, Inang, Mami, Mameh, Mother, Ina. You are a wonderful woman. You are your husband’s partner in everything and you are your child’s heroine.

If I am to sum up a message to all mothers of the world, here is a song for all you wonderful moms out there.

Their Special Bond

My Little Jedi is not a baby anymore. He has his preferences already, in food, activity and even people. Since Yaya has been in haiatus and only the odds know when she is coming back, Lucas has been with my Mama for the second straight week. Last week, I wasn’t able to come home to my Mama’s house because I was swampped with work and training programs to run. Sometimes I wish I can travel to the future, clone myself and have her do the things I want her to do so I can do the things I want to do. Yes, Iron Man 3 gave a me that dillusion.

Anyway, going back to Lucas, he and Mama have developed a special bond. I noticed that when I took my sabbatical a couple of weeks ago, he kept on saying Mama’s name. This was after spending a week with her already. After staying for another week, I saw that he has grown a very special affection over her Lola (grandmother). If Mama leaves the room, he goes “Mama!”. During his Gymboree class last Saturday, he would go to the side where Mama was watching him. Whenever he does something like pack the toys away during the class, he’d clap his hands and look at Mama as if saying “Did you see that, Mama? I did it by myself!”. He would even opt to be carried by his Mama rather than by me or his Dadi. Oh and when Mama tells him to do something, he obeys.

So how do I feel about it?

I could never be happier. Mama is the most affectionate, most loving, most generous woman I know. She is the stern disciplinarian, but the kindest person I know. Why would I not want that for my son, right?

My relationship with Mama was a learning and roller coaster of a process. There is love and hate and fear and courage and strength and weakness. We argued about things. We disagreed and agreed on many things too. When I became a mother myself, I knew I wanted to be like her. I appreciate her more now than ever. I appreciate all the things she has done for us throughout the years. For all the things she said to me before, I just want to say that Mama, you were right.

I would like my son to be close to his Lola. I would like him to have fond memories of her when he grows up. I want him to say “Mama” with a special kind of affection. I want to see him bring flowers to Mama during grandmother’s day or bring her favorite Brazo de Mercedes. I want him to dance with her when he gets married and tell his friends and family that Mama is the best grandmother in the world because she is. Yes. I think I’d like that.

Mum’s the Word: Motherhood

Image grabbed from Pinterest

Brasas: Latin American Street Food

When I was still single, I was an adventurous eater. Tagging my best friend along, or vice versa, we’d scout the metro for good eats. I was brave enough to try out the weirdest food. Heck, I’ve eaten camaro in Pampanga before. Enter husband.

Mike isn’t the adventurous eater that I am. He has a sensitive stomach and picky palette so most of the time we end up with usual burgers and fries during dine outs. I also had to be conscious where we eat when the Little Jedi is with us. I cannot be stopped trying out something new but the husband and the little boy are now taken into consideration. Good news is, I have a couple of good restaurants for dine outs with hubby, and family lunch or dinner. I’ll be sharing my restaurant finds in different posts starting with this one.

Brasas: Latin American Street Food

This is my favorite restaurant in Podium. It offers authentic Latin American cuisine. The first time Mike and I tried the food in Brasas, we were surprised by how big the servings were. The food is also really really tasty.

We tried the Chicken Rice Platter (Php 180) and Beef Rice Platter (Php 220). It’s grilled chicken or meat on a bed of Cuban rice with chimichurri sauce and a side of fresh slaw and patacones or fried plantains. The meat is so tender, well grilled and goes perfectly with the chimichurri. The rice is also very tasty. It’s nothing like I have before. Try this with chipotle sauce (you can ask it from the servers). Even if the serving is big, I surprised myself by finishing it every time (oink).

Beef rice platter
Photo grabbed from Brasas Facebook page

We have also tried their pequeño Grilled Beef Wrap (Php 190) and Grilled Chicken Wrap (Php150).

Photo grabbed from Brasas’ Facebook page

The wraps look small, but they are very filling, even the pequeño ones. Just like the rice platter, I finished this off effortlessly (double oink).

I asked my Latin American friends and they told me that Brasas food has the closest taste to the real Latin American street food. I am actually surprised by how affordable, filling and most of all yummy it is.

Brasas is on the 5th floor of Podium. It’s a small space but it looks like they are expanding. It’s hard to miss because it’s packed with people during lunch time. If you plan to have lunch there, better be early or be there at a later time to avoid a long queue.

Recommendation: Best during lunch or dinner or whenever you are really, really hungry.
Will I bring a toddler here? Not when he’s this young.

Brasas
Latin American Street Food
5th floor, The Podium, ADB Ave., Ortigas Center
Tel. 570-5559
Facebook Page

All Dogs Go to Heaven

Last night, our other pet, Archie has gone to Doggie Heaven. If you have been reading my blog, you’re probably wondering, “Who’s Archie?”.

For the longest time, I have been going on and on about Nuggets. We have another pet who’s been with us for more or less seventeen years. Archie has been with us since I was in highschool. He’s the unfriendly, unpopular, big dog but his loyalty can never be measured. He’s big, really big. He’s almost as tall as I am when he’s on his hind legs. He’s the epitome of a guard dog: strong, playful, brave and protective. He and Nuggets were never really friends because Archie was the Alpha dog outside the house, while Nuggets was the Alpha dog inside. Dog lovers would understand what  I mean. They will also understand how devastated I am when we lost him.

He had cancer, the vet told us. This was a couple of months ago. I cried buckets of tears when I learned about it. I thought I had prepared myself, but no. I tried to stop myself from crying last night because my mom and sister were all in tears. When I was alone with Mike, that’s when I broke down. He may be a pet, but he is family and a loyal friend. It is never easy to lose someone, especially a friend. He gave us unconditional love, like all dogs do. We feel so secured when he’s there. He never stopped protecting and loving and being loyal until his final breath, when we heard him groan last night, as if to say goodbye.

Goodbye, Archie. I’d like to believe that all dogs go to heaven. If that is indeed true, then you are probably with your number 1 master, Papa. Not all masters are loyal to their dogs, but all dogs are loyal to their masters. Thank you for the seventeen years of love, loyalty and protection. We’ll miss you.

All dogs go to heaven
(Picture grabbed from Google)