Sweet Life with Mary

This past week, I have been searching for a domain name for this blog as I wanted to move it to a different host and have its own easy-to-remember name. I asked Lolo to help with this and though he had not come up with an original name, he had discussed this with my eldest sister, Ate and she had come up with something original --- batutaynibitay. Translated to English, it means "Child of Bitay" (affectionately).

"Bitay" was one of my nicknames growing up. It is a Tagalog word that literally means "to hang" and I hated being called this name for that reason. It always conjured up an image of being hanged (as in capital punishment "hang" with neck broken, tongue hanging out, legs swaying in the wind...) Happily, it did not stick with my immediate family, though I do have an aunt who to this day still calls me "Bitay" (Thanks, Tita Mila!)

Nicknames are big with Filipinos. If you do not have one or people call you by your real name--- something is wrong with you. When Filipino kids are born, moms and dads think of the name (or names) that goes on the birth certificate and a suitable nickname that matches with this name (or names). Like my Ate's firstborn--- I came up with "Giuseppe Andre" with nickname "Jopi". (Oh, the birth certificate names have to have some legitimate personal reason for being chosen--- in this case, My Ate and her husband's names start with G and A, and the Italian names are a tribute to her husband's musical career). I still consider coming up with my nephew's names one of my more creative moments. Salamat, Ate for letting me help! I love you, Jopi!

Many years later, when I got pregnant, eventually we had chosen to name our child, "Mary Esther" if she is a girl. The names are a tribute to both of her grandmothers (Grandma Esther in Iowa and Mama Mer in Caloocan City). I did choose a nickname from the start "Mimi" but we did not call her this for long. Jack and I both love saying her full name as it constantly remind us of two wonderful women.

As far as my domain name, it is not going to be batutay ni bitay. It would take too much explaining to people when I tell them about it and it would be difficult to remember or spell for someone who does not speak Tagalog.

Spent a little more time browsing through older photos. Came across these two from when Mary and I were in the Philippines in 2004. There's Lolo and Mama Mer with me and little Mary. Mary was almost 2 years old at that time and we have not been back since. It is definitely time go visit them again.

For Mary's Kindergarten session in the morning, I have to pack a snack.

From Mrs. Adams' "Kindergarten Kapers" sheet...

Snacks: Please be sure to send your child with a healthy daily snack. NO NUTS DUE TO ALLERGIES! Also children may bring a water bottle with their name on it, but no juices are allowed due to messes and attraction from bees on the playground. Children staying all day for KE need 2 snacks daily.

What is a healthy snack?
Chips? Cookies? Yogurt candies? At the grocery stores, one would find all these "convenient" packs. I did buy some Cheetos and Doritos that were on sale in the little snack packs. Couldn't resist but I am not packing one in her bag everyday.
Yesterday, I had 6 "fun nuggets" (chicken nuggets that are dinosaur-shaped that I have fully cooked in the over the previous night and stored in a container in the fridge- by the time she eats them at snack time 3 hours later, they would be room temperature or close to it.), melon chunks and water.


Nuggets! That is a lunch item, not snack!
Made her popular with her new friends, everybody wanted her chicken nuggets!
Today, she is taking "Lunchables"


Minus the juice...

Labels: School, Snacks

Mary had gotten into the habit of having a bedtime snack. I know, I developed this habit for her. Somehow, it just makes her sleep better if she had something to eat a half hour before bedtime.
And nine times out of ten, the snack is a "Hot Pocket"--- the breakfast kind with the eggs and cheese and choice of sausage, ham and bacon as the filling. (I know, I have issues about foods that are supposed to be eating at certain times of the day. When I had started living by myself, I had promised myself that I will eat whatever I want WHENEVER I want - dessert at the beginning of the meal, snacks before dinnertime, steak for breakfast andI had told myself that my child or children will have this same freedom. Well, almost the same freedom, I do draw the line on allowing Mary eat candy first thing in the morning.)
And another habit that came along with this is that she eats this snack while watching another "movie" (usually, a half-hour show at Cartoon Network or Jetix).
Last night, because I wanted to have her sleeping by 9 o'clock and since we got the Hot Pocket for her at 8:57 pm, I wanted to hurry her along in consuming this snack. Turning the TV on with a "movie" that will end at 9:30 will not accomplish my goal.
So, I said, "No more TV"
"But I need to eat my snack."
"You're not going to watch TV while you eat your snack."
I got a book for me and started reading it while I wait for her to eat her snack.
"How come you always read and not watch TV?," Mary asks with some belligerence.
"I do, too but I just like to read better. You learn stuff and reading makes you smarter."
"TV makes you smart, too - you get INFORMATION," Mary argued.
I think, "information" is a big word for a five-year-old, which she probably got from TV. She had a point--- but it's bedtime--- and I'm still the boss--- so the TV stayed off.

Labels: Daily, Parenting, TV

Most evenings, weather permitting, Mary Esther and I go to the neighborhood playground and spend at least an hour there.


Usually, there would be maybe one or two other kid(s) there. It is a pretty quiet and very safe neighborhood. To our surprise, this evening there were a lot of people. They were getting set to do a parade. NOt knowing anything else, I encouraged Mary to join them.


It turned out, the other kids had decorated their bikes or scooters.


And, there was judging and prizes.


Mary got o prize, anyway. She showed up.

I have been taking Mary to gymnastics classes since last November and as I have mentioned in a previous blog, I am living my dream through her on this. Again, she enjoys the activity herself so it is not just for me.
She has been promoted to the next program. She was in Rainbow Riders for 3-5 year olds. Now, she is a Gymstar.





I can just see her in 6-8 years, at a competition, with the same enthusiasm and oh-so-proud Mommy and Daddy taking more videos...

Labels: activities, gymnastics

In a typical American household, this would not be served at breakfast. Fried bologna sandwich.
As the schoolyear starts, one would see a proliferation of commercials on TV about PBJ (peanut butter and jelly) sandwiches, bologna sandwiches, "lunchables"--- suggestions on what to pack into lunch boxes for the school-agers.
Not having grown up in America, I had no qualms about making Mary a bologna sandwich for breakfast when she asked for it. After all, in the Philippines, we eat hotdogs, mini hamburgers, fried fish, leftover "ulam" (main dish) with pan de sal (mini bread rolls) or fried rice as our first meal of the day. Protein, carbohydrates--- breakfast of champions!
When I first cooked hotdogs for breakfast for myself and Jack, he was surprised AND did not eat the hotdogs.
Grilled cheese sandwich--- another one that is NOT a typical American breakfast item. But, toast and cheese??? I say, that's breakfast!

Bologna face

P.S. Mary only ate half of the sandwich for breakfast and I wrapped up the rest to take in her lunch box (which she had at snacktime- she only goes to morning kindergarten.) Oh, and the bread was whole-grain and I fried the bologna with no added oil.

"Pick me up at 4 o'clock. Don't do anything before you pick me up. And bring me a present...."

Lately, this has been Mary's litany every weekday morning before I get her to daycare. It would have been fine if she would only repeat it 2 or 3 times in the course of that morning. By the time I have left her at daycare, I would have heard these 3 sentences 10-20 times!!! And it's not just in the mornings. As soon as I get her in the car after I DO pick her up at 4 AND had done nothing before pick her up AND brought a present, it starts all over again. "Remember what you are going to do tomorrow, Mommy - pick me at 4....." And on and on through the course of the evening right to bedtime. It gets tedious at times and when my patience wears thin, in frustration and desperation, I reply back with, "Do you think Mom is stupid? Do you have to remind me 100 times a day?" "No, but I don't want you to forget..." "How can I forget you?"--- from here, we are both engaged, its turned to a full-blown tantrum for her and the blood pressure has risen a few notches for me. Sometimes, Jack would intervene (which I always welcome) or I would distract her by getting her to take her pre-bedtime shower. Usually, the hot shower will calm her down. I know that when she gets in a disagreeable mood and just keep whining and whining, she is T-I-R-E-D (I have to spell this out- when she hears me say, she is tired--- "I'M----NOT----TIRED!!!!" would be her reply, adding sparks to the fire). I struggle to stay calm myself but I am also tired by the end of the day, from my full-time job. So, I really do welcome Jack's intervention at moments like this.

Hope this song does not stick to your head for the rest of the day like I know it would do to me...

Here's Mary dancing (jumping) to Kylie's "Can't get you out of my head". She has recently discovered that this is one of her favorite songs.

We have probably close to 5,000 digital photos now. They are all stored in my computer and I have not have the time to organize them. I had switched digital cameras a few times and switched computers a few times that I have photos stored in different folders and subfolders. I am making it my weekend project to copy selected photos onto a disk and get them printed, have an old-fashioned photo album for each of the five years.
I started on photos taken in 2003.

Today, Mary Esther is off to Kindergarten! First Day of "Real" School.
(She had been attending daycare since she was 18 months old and we call that place "school", too.)
I remember having our picture taken in front of our house on our first day of school. So, I thought I will continue that tradition with Mary.



Since I still work full-time and would rather not face the traffic chaos in the morning dropping her off to school, we have arranged for the same daycare to drop her off and pick her up.


Goodbye


And off she goes....

First time I'm tryng this out on my blog. As she was getting ready for bed, she started to sing a song that she just learned that day, from some older kids who were with her on a field trip. Sorry, about the lighting--- I'm new at this...



This next one, I finally, turned on the overhead light.



ENJOY!

On a hot summer day, a late afternoon shower is always a welcome treat. For about 1/2 an hour, the skies treated us to a downpour. When I noticed it was starting to get light again, I hurried Mary outside as there was bound to be some rainbows out there.

Outside, there were a few spots were water had gathered--- puddles! Who can resist them?




Alas, there were no rainbows. I thought for sure there would be at least one. It is light on this side


And still rain clouds on this side.


Here's where light meets dark...

Two Sundays ago, we were at Elitch Gardens, an amusement park in Denver that was once part of the Six Flags chain. They heavily advertise on the radio from spring to summer and I thought it must be something we need to do this summer. Mary thought so, too whenever we hear the commercial on the radio (which we listen to in my car, so for the 5-7 minutes each day that I drive her to and from daycare, she's heard about Elitch Gardens enough times to be so excited and eager to go.) After the 2-hour visit (we invited one of Mary's friends from daycare along so Mary would have more fun), Elitch Gardens was not worth the over $200 we spent to get there. We had more fun and for much less money at the Boulder County Fair the following week...

But there were a few highlights. One is the Seadragon ride, a "pirate ship" that swings in a pendulum. Normally, I hate rides but I had gone on a similar one in Calgary two months ago and it was not scary at all. This one in Denver swings out to the side much more than the one in Calgary, something that I did not anticipate.

Here is Mary and me at the beginning of the ride.


Note our mutual excitement and enjoyment.

After a few more swings....


Mary still excited and fully enjoying it, not quite as much on my part.

One of the things I try hard to do is not show fear or let Mary feel my fear. I just do not want to influence her against trying new things. If she gets to be fearful about something then its because she has experienced it and has cause to be fearful!

The camel ride at the fair. Normally, I would not have been so gung-ho about going on it myself. Val, my youngest sister, who had gone to Dubai as a contract worker, recently sent me an email about her own camel adventure. She had the chance to go on a REAL camel ride on a REAL desert and she did not take it. I told her that she should go for these experiences when they present themselves, no one else in the family would have the opportunity!

Well, there was my camel. No other thought was in my mind. I knew Mary Esther would go for it--- she has been on ponies and horses and she goes on any amusement park ride that would allow her... I had to go on it if only to show Val how easy it is to seize the moment and go for the adventure.

So we paid the $10 fee (it was $5 per person/per ride). The saddle is a two-seater and as I was getting behind Mary Esther, I realized "8 feet is a lot high off the ground." Still no fear... Then I got settled onto the seat, the saddle seat is a nice polished leather, very smooth and SLIPPERY! I could go sideways and just slide right off this camel! I was looking for some kind of seat belt--- there were none! For a split second, panic was setting in...

But Mary Esther was sitting right in front of me. She had her back to me but I know she would be able to feel my fear if I let on. So, I held on fast to the handles and just asked, "Mary, are you holding on tight? Make sure you are holding on with both hands!!!" Then, the camel was led out and started moving. (Mary: "This is Fun!!!" Mom, muttering to herself, quietly: "Hold on tight. Hold on tight...") It was only going a short distance- about half a block and back, probably no more than 5 minutes. I wished I could have gotten off--- again, I did not want Mary to get scared herself--- so I stayed on. By the time, we had turned around and on our way back, I was having fun! The smile I had on my face as we passed by Jack on the ground was real.

Was I sad that the ride was over? No.
Will I do it again? No. But MARY WOULD.

Today is the day... It is time to revive this blog... My whole purpose of having this blog up is tohave Mary's Lolo and Mama Mer share in Mary's life and I have been remiss in fulfilling that.
Here are some photos from Saturday's trip to the Boulder County Fair. This is our third year going to the fair and it is the first time that I can say that I enjoyed it. Going on the camel ride probably helped (first time they had it on the fair.)