what a night! - a milestone

Last night marks the first night Little M slept through the night. I opened my eyes at 5:45 am and realized he never woke me up. What a feeling! This is also his second night without breastfeeding. The night before last was a noisy one. He woke up and screamed when he realized I was withholding the boobies.  But I can't give in because I am on a stronger antibiotics.

I finished my 10-day antibiotic course to fight off strep throat for the second time. And 5 days later I felt my tonsils was a little tender. By the next morning (Sunday) my throat was starting to hurt. We were going to a friend's house for a pool party  in the evening and I didn't want to ruin it by feeling miserable. So I went to a CVS Minute Clinic and waited 2 hours to be seen. Sure enough, the swab test turned positive for strep. The nurse gave me Zpack since she said the Augmentine (my PCP gave me Augmentine for the past 2x of strep) was not doing the job. My throat was not hurting at all by that evening and by yesterday my throat didn't look so red anymore. But Zpack is a stronger antibiotic. It is category B, which mean a little amount passes through the breastmilk, but since I am already weaning I decided to go ahead and stop breastfeeding completely.

Having seen the nurse at CVS and am now feeling better, I don't know when to talk to my regular doctor about this 3rd bout of strep. He said we need to talk about going to the ENT if I get this again, and here we are. Right now though I am too busy. This is the last week of school for Big M, the girls birthday is on Saturday, and I know I'm forgetting a lot of important things. ARGH.

cute and silly in ballet

Last week was the last week of ballet class for the girls so the teacher allowed all the parents in the room to take pictures and video tape. Some of the kids behaved differently due to the audience of course.

The girls will start ballet/tap again in the fall at a new school.

This is the warm up for the class. K is in all black towards the back and J has black leotard with pink tights. Watch and listen to her sound effects when she tip toes.

K and J loves loves the movie Tangled and know almost all the words to this song. Notice they are the only 2 who turned in the wrong direction. Must be a twin thing.

A date with K

K and I had a date yesterday for her special one-on-one day with me. I took her to chuckEcheese's which was surprisingly not a madhouse like I thought it was going to be. We went an house after it opened. I got coins and let her play whatever she wanted - and she played everything even the cars where she was too short to reach the pedal. We ate when she wanted and then she wanted to go. This may have been because I mentioned that I wanted to go to the store after. But being a girl, she changed her mind and wanted to play some more. So we did. In one game where we could win tickets, she pressed the button in the middle of me explaining to her what she needed to do. She won the jackpot and got 120 tickets. I let her do what she wanted after that. :) She also got a little stingy and wouldn't give me coins to play the games. "This is the last one, Mommy," she said. The little booger.

Of course when we got home the other 2 were jealous. We had to remind J that the me time would be her and Daddy.

Kindergarten celebration

The Kindergarteners had an end of the year celebration yesterday.  The teachers talked about key points they talked about in the year, the kids sang songs, then we were invited to the classrooms for a special gift - a collection of works over the year. It is a great gift because it made it easy to see the difference the year made in the student's writing. Unsuccessfully fighting back emotions, Ms. Shane thanked everyone. The kids are moving on to 1st grade but as far as she was concerned they will always be "her students".

I got a little emotional too. I can't believe a whole year has passed.  The teachers were great and provided a great 1st year experience for the kids. What an excellent school, too. Tons of parents showed up. The line to get into the school was so long, the program was delayed to allow the parents to see the entire thing. The school faculty make the school great, but I think parents help contribute to the greatness. Involved parents make great students, and great students demand a higher level of performance from their teachers making the school great as a whole.

What an awesome year for Big M.

our little actor

Drama Kids had presented a play this weekend and we could not have been prouder of Big M! For an offspring of a painfully shy person, he is not at all like me. He was very comfortable on stage and was excellent. He knew his lines but he still looked to others for his queue though, so in some parts he looks like he doesn't know his line because he is slightly behind the others. I only took pictures in the end, because I am also the videographer and I just can't hold both camera and camcorder. :)

The play is only 20 minutes and this is the middle part. I can't post the whole thing because we were told not to due to the play being original and copyrighted. 

This is at the end with the silly shot. Their wonderful teacher is in the back right.

This is all the Drama Kids from the school - the class is broken down to lower primary (k and 1st graders) and the upper primary is 2nd to 5th. The upper primary's play is Mystery Under the Big Top (hence the background).

Argh, Matey!

At the end of the performances the kids were given medals and trophies. A medal was given to kids who entered mid year and a trophy for those who started from the very beginning. Big M was very proud of his trophy.

K and J were very interested in the play. I think we may have 2 more Drama Kids here. :)

tech savvy baby

My baby is almost 14 months old and already he is very tech savvy. When he sees cell phones and the house phone, he picks them up and brings them to his ear and says, "aloh!"  When he picks up a TV remote control, he holds it up to the TV and starts pressing on the buttons. He knows that the ceiling fan/light remote points out to the ceiling fan. He points the Wii remove to the TV also. And when it comes to the handheld baby video monitor, he holds it up to his mouth and start babbling. He sees us talk through the monitor to talk to the kids when they're in their rooms.

The only thing he is questionable about is the computer mouse. I've seen him use it properly but putting it on the keyboard and moving it around, but one day he brought the mouse out in the backyard. Was he trying to walk the mouse? I just don't know.

Random pictures

I am always with my phone so I catch a lot of memorable moments on photo, but I don't always remember to post them on the blog. So here are some of them in the last month or so.

We planted a few flowers this spring. These are right outside the kitchen window so we have something nice to look at. (J in yellow, K in red.)

Big M is flowering the carpet Lilies I planted in the front yard. Little M is trying to help.

After my new haircut - 7 inches of hair gone. I have no idea why this picture is bigger than the rest - I'm not vain. :)

J tapping into her Filipino blood - eating with her hand.

Big M is playing with a stick he found at the park.

At a lunch date with Daddy at a yummy burrito place! Yum!

The trio getting ready to release a monarch butterfly. These sippy cups are really not used anymore except when someone is sick and needs a drink outside the kitchen. And of course if one uses one, the other girl needs one too. (K with a pink sippy, J with a purple sippy.)

First haircut

Little M had his first haircut today. It was surprisingly easy. Just a few pass of the clipper in the back and a couple of clips with the scissors in the front and it was done. He is very handsome.

little ballerinas

Next week is the girls' last ballet/tap class and they are preparing a mini performance. They are performing to a song from the movie Tangled, which have they have seen many many times and have actually memorized the song. So as they practice, they are both mouthing the words. J turned to K and mouthed something to her. I don't know what it is but I'm pretty sure it's about the song.

(K is wearing all black, J is wearing black top with pink/blue skirt.)

some baby cuteness

We had a guest who used this booster seat, and we just have not put it away. Up until now he is still in his high-chair. He is eating Graham crackers and I was just making him do odd but cute things. I had just taught him how to raise his arms so it's fun to make him do it. He also loves calling Dada. A few months ago he would always call for Mama and now he likes to call for his Dada.

His hair is getting so long. We do need to cut it pretty soon or put a girl clip. As much as the girls would find that cute and funny, we probably shouldn't wait until we HAVE to do that.

the energizer bunny

There is only 2 weeks to go before summer break and Big M is making up for lost time. It's like he reserved his naughtiness until the very end, after being a model student all this time. In all fairness though, he is not actually being naughty. He just has too much energy and no outlet to burn it on.

Soccer ended mid-April and it so happens that the behavior problem at school started at that time. He was used to soccer almost 4x a week when the season started and Drama, too. When the soccer season ended, we decided to go ahead and stop the mini soccer academy. The mini soccer academy is pure 2 hours of energy-draining activity. Now that it's over, Big M doesn't have anything to drain him. He still has Drama (though it is ending this Saturday with a big production) but that hardly taps into his never-ending energy reserves.

Daddy went to Big M's last parent-teacher conference earlier this week and of course there was a mention of Big M's behavior. The Kindergarten teachers are amazed that they they have hardly mentioned Big M's name until several weeks ago. His teacher mentioned that he was always, always remorseful when he gets in trouble. And at home when I ask him about it, he is indeed remorseful. He is actually starting to think that he can't do anything without it ending in disaster (his own words).

Last week Big M explained that he just gets too excited, which makes him talk loudly. I explained to him that he must control himself even though he is excited. He said he tries, he really does. Then today I asked him if he got in any trouble again and he said he did "but only a little". A friend of his was making a gun in one of their activities and he was very interested in it and started chatting with this friend. The teacher caught them and reprimanded them both. They know that they are not to make any gun play at school. Big M told me that he didn't make the gun, but "it ended up in a disaster" anyway. I told him that next time that happens, he should just turn the other way and ignore the classmate who is not following the rules. "But Mommy, they're my friends. I can't stop talking to them!" he explains.

A friend whose son was in soccer with Big M is thinking of enrolling their child in either Martial Arts or swimming this summer. I think it may do us all good if Big M also gets into something similar. And the sooner the better.

conversations

ME: Matty, your behavior report for the week isn't good. We're going to have to take something away. 

MATTHEW: Mommy, I try to have a good day but I get too excited! 

ME: You will have to listen to your teacher even if you are excited. 

MATTHEW: I know what you can do. You buy me a new toy and then you don't have to give it to me for a while.


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K: Mommy, can we have a cat? I love cats.

ME: No. Cats pee on the carpet.

K: What about a dog?

ME: No, dogs pee and poo on the carpet.

K: Awww. But I love dogs. Minnie's (Mouse) cat doesn't pee on the carpet.

ME: Minnie has a cartoon cat.

K: I can take them to the toilet.

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J: Daddy, can I have your car?

Daddy: No, you can't have my car.

J: Can I have Mommy's car?

Daddy: Yes, you can.

J: Can I drive?

Daddy: Yes. Sure. You can drive.

K: Yay! I want to sit by Jordan.

Mommy: You guys can't drive. The police will get us.

K: I'm not drive. I sit beside Jordan. Jordan drives.

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butterflies everywhere!

We went to a Butterfly Exhibit at the mall last weekend. There was a big tent set up and all the butterflies were flying everywhere and landing on everyone. We were given cotton buds dipped in Gatorade in order to attract the butterflies, but really they liked everyone anyway without it.

J wanted to see one on her cotton bud, but not on her. When butterflies kept landing on her head, and anywhere on her, the experience got old really quick. I don't have a picture of K because she was done after 10 minutes.

Enjoying the butterly on his collar. 

M and his friend had a blast. They both love butterflies.

My very "special" husband.

Little M was fascinated by the butterflies but Daddy had to hold him back because he wanted to grab all of them. Poor butterflies.

Holding Little M back.

Big M sports a new hair accessory.

A new body jewelry?

At one point he had butterflies on ALL his fingers. I think he squeezed the Gatorade cotton buds onto his hands.

Little M is contemplating how best to grab the butterfly.

The butterfly boy.

We brought home a pupa and a Monarch came out 2 days later. Another day later and we released it.

a playdate turn dinner date

We were schedule to have Big M's friend and his family spend the afternoon at our house for a playdate. They were in soccer together and have very similar interest; star wars, Lego, etc. On Friday night, I had a craving for ice cream so when I went to fetch one. As I was walking back to the kitchen, I noticed my ice cream cup was sloshing around. That's when I discovered that our freezer lost power probably the day before. The frozen waffles were thawed, and so were most of the meat. All the other things had to be trashed. I had to either throw away the meats, or go ahead and cook them. I decided to cook them so the playdate turned dinner date with all that food.

This was our first visitor to our house other than family. We had fun, though I bet our new friends were not prepared for the noise in our house. Whew! This new friend is just like us, Filipino Mommmy, Caucasian Daddy. They have 2 boys who is the same age as my 2 boys. We had a lot of fun. The girls were fascinated by the little boy.

Playing on th sidewalk

The weather was nice and cool this weekend. It was very much of a springtime weather rather than summer.  The girls wanted to play with their sidewalk chalk. Little M wanted to eat them. Big M and Daddy were inside bonding over a video game that is, in my opinion, really much too old and violent for Big M.


K is in the foreground. Notice Little M on the grass busy with the chalk.

 Little M ate some of the chalk. Eww.


Tired from the day's activities.

dancing baby

Big M was half-day the other day so I decided to take him to the arcade, with Little M. The place was pretty empty so Little M got to have fun, too. Apparently, he's a budding dancer. Notice he turned around when the music stopped and had a big smile when the music started again.

the comedian

I took Big M to the park right after school since Daddy stayed home sick again. He watched over the other kids so Big M could practice biking. He used his bike for a short while, but played in the playground the rest of the time. He made 2 baby friends, a 1-year old and a 2-year old. They just wanted to follow him around and he enjoyed playing with them. I am pleasantly surprised that he is equally attached to older and younger kids.

But the funniest part of the day is this bit on the swing. He was sliding on the swing, but his pants was staying put.  Oh the dilemma.

the thrill of something new

Little M road on the Big Red Car, which was originally his big brother's. It was exciting to watch his awe when he moved the car himself and then he did it on purpose. He loved it! His sisters were inside with Daddy so I was able to spend this little time with him.

It's the little things

As the kids get older, Mother's day gets better. The girls made a tile photo frame at school. They wouldn't let me open them at first, saying they're theirs. Big M made a flower craft with a note that says "I love you because you always pick me up (from school)." And then there is this letter. It's not the message itself, but the message behind the message that gets to me. I love that he likes the laughter we have at home. I love the fact that the silliness is what he remembers and not the yelling that I seem to be doing a lot lately.

Mother's Day is a day for others to show their appreciation for the one that brought them to this world. But to me, Mother's Day is also a day to look inward and reflect on whether I am doing a good job. With Big M's letter, it's nice to know that my short comings seem to be over-shadowed by my good days.

Being a mother is a tough job. It's nice to know I'm doing some things right.

asian festival

We went to an asian festival this weekend (minus Daddy and Little M, because Daddy was sick) with some friends. These little kiddos don't know much about what is to be Filipino so we thought it would be great to take them there. We saw some traditional Filipino dances (as well as other cultural dances) and martial arts demonstrations. J and K called the martial artists Power Rangers. They are heavily into Power Rangers Samurai at the moment.

Big M wanted to buy some traditional chinese Kung Fu shirt, but it was too expensive. It was hot, and the festival is more for adults so they all got bored and wanted to play in the playground. I bought them a tapioca drink which they did not like at all. J drank the fruity drink but she made the weirdest face when she sucked in a tapioca ball and then asked if she could spit it out. Big M didn't mind it, though.

spring soccer is over

Spring soccer is over weeks ago, but somehow I failed to post a picture about it. There is no score keeping on the U6 division but we know our team didn't win any game. But when we did score, we were the happiest parents on the field. Big M, as I've mentioned before, has established a reputation of being a great defensive player. He is actually a great offensive player, but I guess the coach has figured we weren't going to win so why not just prevent the other teams from scoring so many goals!

Here he is with his new friend who just happen to be half Filipino as well.

Busy baby

After finalizing the details for his sisters' birthday party, Little M caught up with Daddy to do lunch. He was quick to point out when Daddy was not fast enough with the food. He also loved pulling Daddy close to him by pulling on his sleeves. There were a couple of ladies he exchanged pleasantries with but he was really too busy eating to have a meaningful conversation.

recovering from strep

Back in the spring of 2009, I managed to get strep throat 4 times in 5 months. How that was possible, I don't know. In the 4th course of that battle against the nasty bug, under 2 very strong antibiotics I got pregnant with Little M. How it was possible that Daddy didn't get strep throat, I don't know either.  So this time around, I was very paranoid. My first symptom was the mild achy throat, then the migraine that never went away. After 4 days of that, the fever came. The next day I hauled my bootie to the doctor and thank goodness I did. That afternoon the misery started: the achy body, the chills, night sweat, the migraine. That lasted until a full 24 hours later when the antibiotic finally kicked in. 

Interestingly enough, I think I got the strep throat from my kids. Big M came home with severe headache one day and vomited that evening. He complained that his throat hurt. A full 24 hours later he was fine, except for the store throat. After that he was completely fine, though mildly tired. On the same day of the headache, J also got it. She had a fever for 2 days and then she was fine. So by the time I went to the doctor and asked weather I should take the kids to the doctor, my doctor said that there was no need because they were already feeling better. I am both amazed and thankful that they seemed to have fought off the strep better than I did.

When I came home Daddy asked if tonsilectomy came up. I didn't bring it up, and the doctor didn't either. This is the first time I have strep throat under his care. I'm praying there wouldn't be a repeat of the spring of 2009. I don't know the down time needed in order to recover from a surgery. Having four kids is not easy when you're sick. Daddy picked up the kids and drove them to school the next day, and handled the night-time duties but that's it. I have take over after that. And what happens after I get better? I have to clean up the mess from when I was sick. 

So many things to do, so little time, and so little energy to do them.

first time at chick-fil-a

I took the girls to school today for their class picture (they don't normally go to school on Tuesdays). When we were done, they didn't want to go home yet so I took them to Chick-Fil-A. They ran around, giggled, played. Little M enjoyed it, too. He wanted to climb up with his sisters but couldn't quite reach his knee over.

And here he is when he finally climbed up the wrong end of the slide with the help of his sisters. We ate when we were done and Little M used his first straw. He is such a big boy!