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.

This Little Human

Oh, Gosh! I can't even begin to say how much I missed this space. You see, life has been knocking me down a few these past few months...but well, we keep on moving! Preschool has been a big adjustment to us as a family. For one, we are so used to having unplanned and relaxed schedules that fitting it around a fixed one for school really stressed me out. Another is how early I wake to prepare everything from Bean's snacks to her school things and her clothes...plus, having to choose whether to convince her to nap in the afternoon or not just to get her to bed earlier during the night. I also do not have much time to make illustrations, write, workout and unwind. Then, there is lesser time to go the sea and to surf.

Not that I am complaining. It is indeed a big adjustment because it dawned on us that instead of Bean's life molded into ours, it is now vice versa. And I knew it was to be all along. Because as much as I love art, yoga and surfing...I love being a mother most of all. And no matter how tired I get at times, I wouldn't trade this for the world! I love doing these things for our girl.

I remember when she was two years old I would jokingly ask her to not grow up too fast...and she would sweetly reply that she promised because she wouldn't like me to grow old, too. But after turning four and a lot of singing and dancing to Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande, she now wants to be a "people" (her term for being grown up which still refuses to correct).

There goes my baby growing up...and us parents growing old! Haha

That's why at this stage I do cherish our afternoons where we get to play together, make art together, and sometimes this is also the time I get to watch some of the shows I love when she chooses to do things by herself.

Still, in my heart I wish time would go slower.


Tutu and mask from Little Human & Co. Go check out their IG! Thank you so much!

where did our baby go

Well, we're here. I never thought babyhood would be over quickly! When Bean was two years old I have already began to feel a little bit blue thinking that in a few years she would be off to school...and now she is.

No more late and relaxed mornings for the majority of the week. Aside from waking our girl early to prepare I wake up earlier to prepare her lunchbox, clothes and things for her classes.

I thought it would be a smooth transition. The school started two weeks of having classes every other day and Bean was doing great. But when school resumed with the normal daily schedule...the crying started. She was doing great last Monday and Tuesday. By Wednesday, I already saw the hesitation on her face during lineup. She was about to cry but she didn't. On Thursday, me and Adam brought her to school and while waiting for the kids to go inside the school, Bean kept hiding behind her dad. When it was time to lineup she burst into tears and cried for me. She held my hand as if the world depended on it. When their class was about to march in, she let go and walked. She walked in even while she was crying. I couldn't hold in my tears much longer so I let them go in the car . Even though our little girl cried she knew well she had to go to school.

At home, we told her how proud we were of her going to school. We told her it's okay to be a little sad. We asked her what was making her cry and i guessed it right! "I miss mama." Oh darn! Well, my heart misses her so much, too. Though a few hours of time for myself is a plus...I can't help but feel empty without her because for years we had a this little world of our own. And now, all of a sudden, something burst the bubble.

But we know that this is the only way to go and all of us can only grow. I have always been a positive parent. I try to be at my best everyday (though there are really bad days, to be honest.)

For the past few days, Bean has been going to school with a smile on her face...and we are just so proud of this little life we've made.

The Beach

This weekend we plan to go the beach.

I hope the weather would improve though, since it has been rainy.

Look who's excited!

She didn't want to take her swimsuit off :)

In One Afternoon

I got a job! Though I'm still under training it makes my daily schedule more hectic. I go around my baby's schedule. I do not think anybody, but mothers, understand this. We are busy being home-makers, wives, and moms all at the same time! Imagine adding a job to that. It takes a lot of work. Mostly if the baby is now walking around the house like a boss! So here are some snaps of this afternoon:

Look who just had breakfast 😃

Sometimes we play dress up! This little miss loves it, honestly. And now that she is walking, she really does exercise her authority 😉 she loves playing! Me and my husband are not rich. We do not buy her super expensive toys (just sometimes), but we make it a point to make her playtime the best. We are quite a simple family.

And I keep her clean and pretty after her bath 😊

No mom is ever too tired, right? 😉

today's accomplishment

we've managed to lessen our little girl's fear of trying to walk. i am just a firm believer that i should not push my baby to do things when she's not ready. she skipped crawling, she just wasn't interested in doing so. her vocabulary skills are great though.

even if she's a little late in her motor development, we're still very proud of her.

(she has learned to pull up into a standing position in just two days)

happy weekend!

our little talker

yep, words are piling up in the little girl's head. It seems that she has new words on a daily basis. out of all the things she can already say, my favorite would be:

"mommy"

it makes my heart melt.

hope everyone had a great thursday. goodnight!