Quarantine

My gosh. How long has it been? I haven't opened up this space for a long time. You see, life's been busy and my laptop is too slow too process everything. We need an upgrade but we're still saving up for that. The coming months are when we pay fees for school--priorities of course.

It has been 2.5 months of staying at home. I feel bad that our government doesn't really care or prioritize the people. It's like "survival of the fittest" here in our country. When our children ask us how long until we can go out we sugar coat the things we say: "a little more time" "when there are no more sick people" "we're sorry but it looks like it will take a little longer."

Ellie was quite heartbroken because school will be online. You see, it will be her first year going and she was so excited so breaking the news to her was painful for me, too. Bean misses her classmates and still doesn't know how she feels about the situation.

I'm the kind of mother who would build a fairy tale world for my kids but we also give them a dose of reality. Things are dire right now and there's nothing we can do about it. So we live daily doing what we can with the time we have. Mostly our day will be filled with preparing meals, cleaning up, art, Netflix, games and some school activities to prepare Eleanor. She can now write her name.

Bean at 8 years old is more into gaming and reading. She can build fantastic worlds in Minecraft; cute farms in Stardew Valley, and breed different creatures in Pokemon. She loves to read still--now adventure books and short novels.

Ellie is so into painting lately that I hoarded paper online. She paints the rainbow and characters from My Little Pony. She loves it when her work is filled with color. One thing I find different about her is that we have to force her to use an ipad when w have to do something. She'd rather be bored and sing songs than force herself to use it--so we don't have much trouble with her screen time.

Adam spent this whole quarantine working, playing the guitar and games on the Play Station. He is also the one running errands to minimize people who go out of the house. And I am so grateful.

As for me, I've been playing the ukele, trying to translate the songs I know to the guitar. I am also painting again and still doing digital art. I've had two ulcer attacks this quarantine which prompted me to change the way I eat. I have also been doing HIIT workouts which made me stronger.

I know this time in our life isn't the greatest. Adam and I usually talk about our worries and decided to live each day to the fullest and do the things we can at the moment. Hopefully this pandemic ends soon (though I really doubt it because of how the government and many citizens are handling it.) We want to travel, or just get out of the house. 

I really don't want a NEW NORMAL....I just want the old normal back.

New Chapter

It's been exactly three and a half months since I gave birth to Eleanor, 8 months since Bean has been to the beach, 5 months since Adam last surfed and 11 months since I last did. It all feels like another life from what we have now. It indeed is with our newest and littlest member!

I remember clearly how terrified I was before having my second C-section. The doctor kept on prompting me to start and I kept on stalling and making known how anxious I was. To ease my panic my dad kept on telling me that after I got through the operation I will be able to meet my baby. I will be able to surf again. I will be able to do yoga again. And so it was done.

The recovery was a breeze. I was up and about a few days after with minimal pain while taking care of our baby and Bean. I knew that it would take about 8-10 weeks before I could do light exercises but I had no idea when I could resume with the things I used to do before I got pregnant. So after my first post partum checkup I asked how long before I can start my daily yoga practice and when I can get back in the water. The answer wasn't what I wanted to hear: 12 weeks before yoga plus 2 more before surfing. I had no choice but to do light workouts like jogging and basic stretching. The more challenging thing was that I am not used to not exercising everyday because now we have two kids and time for myself is so so precious sometimes I use it to nap, to read, to take a bath....you get the idea.

But after getting into a routine with the littles, life was starting to get its rhythm back. Add to that, we found a nanny that helps me balance my time between Ellie and Bean. And so Adam planned and pushed for our first trip of the year.

Knowing that I am such a worrywart he talked to me about not having any expectations regarding surfing--to forget what I could do before and just focus on the "now." How could I not worry when my core is nowhere to be found? I need help getting up from bed, and the simple "stomach in" command in my brain doesn't connect to my abdominal area. I do not feel anything happening in there. Well, it still must be whacked from the operation and I keep on reminding myself that it will heal in time.

Another concern for me was not liking my post baby body. I am very self-conscious about this having always been the fat kid. But maybe because I am more mature and it has dawned on me that nobody gives a sh*t anyway, I decided not to mind it, too. And that's that. I may or may not lose the extra weight...but I won't let it ruin my fun.

And so we made the trip! I wasn't so worried about the long drive because Ellie is such a trooper. She sleeps automatically in the car. True enough, it was such a breeze because the two kids slept all the way through until we arrived in our destination.

The forecast was perfect for us "oldies" because we haven't surfed for a long time. And with help from our local friends and encouragement from my husband, I was able to catch a wave....after two days and four hours of water time. I felt golden! Until I entertained the thought of the way I used to surf-- how weak and easily tired I already get.

So not to spoil my experience Adam told me not to worry because we have our whole lifetime to regain what progress we used to have...who knows, maybe even better. Right?

Another highlight of our trip is how much Bean enjoyed it. She constantly tells us how much she misses the beach and how she wants to bring her baby sister there. Bean had a blast playing in the shallow water and running around in the sand.

As for Ellie, she is such a sport! She smiles and laughs at anyone who talks to her. She loves being outdoors, and what we are loving right now is how she sleeps through the night! LOL...every new parents' dream.

We know the surf trips we well be having this year wouldn't be as often as before...and that's okay. My family is my home and I wouldn't have it any other way.