My Little Assistant

Aly takes pride in being "mommy's little assistant".  And she takes that role seriously.  One time, I asked her to get me a pair of scissors.  Richard tried to beat her to it, but she almost got upset.  She said, "Daddy!  I'll get it!  I'm mommy's little assistant!".  Richard had no choice but to retreat.  Heehee!

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She told me the other day that one of the light bulbs in her room needed to be changed so I told her to write me a note so I won't forget.  The next morning, I saw this on our message board at the kitchen:

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Heehee!

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The light bulb has been changed, but I haven't erased her message yet because Richard and I like to look at it and it never fails to make us smile.  For the nth time, our little girl is growing up too fast! 

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I told Richard that I hope her attitude won't change when she grows up.  I hope she will carry on that certain kind of pride and happiness whenever mommy and daddy ask her to do things for us.  I mean, you know how teenagers can be (been there, done that!).  Anyhow, it's too early for me to worry about that.  I will just have to enjoy having the best little assistant as long as I can :)

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The Best Medicine

...is not laughter, but a chat with mom.

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After three days of being sick and stuck at home, I finally woke up today feeling better.  I didn't go to any doctor; I didn't need to.  All I needed was to chat with my mommy.

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So now I'm thinking: was I really sick or just homesick?

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Why I Have the Best Husband and Daughter in the World

I've been sick these past few days.  Nothing serious though, just cough and cold...and aching joints and muscles with a terrible headache...sorta kinda like the flu minus the fever.  Whatever I'm down with, fever or no fever, I still feel like hell.  And I have to tell ya, doing household chores when you're not feeling 100% sucks big time!  

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But I'm hanging in there.  The hubby helps me in any way he can.  He helps me with the dishes at night and he brings Aly to school in the morning.  Having that  luxury of staying in bed for an extra hour is great for me, but it makes Richard late for work which is baaad.  You see, he usually has meetings the moment he steps foot in the office so it's really a big sacrifice for the hubby and I really, really, truly appreciate it.  Thanks, sweetie!  I love you!

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Not to be outdone is my seven-year old who made this for me yesterday:

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A get well soon card :)  Ain't that sweet?

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I wish I can recover soon.  I need to and I want to.  The first thing I'm going to do is go to the grocery so I can grant Richard and Aly's kitchen wishes: brownies for Richard, cheese quesadillas and lemon cupcakes for Aly.  I will make them with so much love they wouldn't know what hit them.  Heehee! I have the best husband and daughter in the world!  I really do :)

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Teaching Awareness

Aly and I wearing matching dresses and masks for a masquerade-themed Christmas party last year.

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Aly likes everything terno with mommy, but motherhood is should be more than wearing matching bags, shoes and dresses.  It's more than helping her with homework, teaching her how to draw, how to take care of her things, teaching table manners...motherhood is so much more that that.  I also want to teach Aly about awareness.

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The other night, we were watching Idol Gives Back on tv and it opened her to concepts like malaria, world hunger and other stuff.  I try to explain things to her in a manner that she would best understand.  Like when the subject of malaria came up, I told her that the mommy who was carrying a baby in her tummy died because she was bit by a sick mosquito.  Lesson: always wear Off lotion especially when we're in far away places so those sick mosquitoes won't bite you.

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I didn't want to give her big concepts just yet.  Only small deeds that she can grasp because she is, after all, only seven years old.  Awareness first; charity will come later.  How I wish my daughter was studying in Assumption instead. That would have made my job easier.   Plus, if we have the same alma mater, then that would be another cool thing that we have in common. Heehee!

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Anyway, I digress.  After explaining malaria and other things to her, I didn't really expect Aly to understand right away.  So after the show, she brushed her teeth, changed into her pajamas and went back to the living room to sit beside me while I watch tv.  Then she told me: "Mommy, I wish those sick mosquitoes will just go away so they won't bite the mommies so the babies can be born and they will grow up and play."

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I want my daughter to grow up to be a good person -- I mean, who doesn't?  And I sometimes ask if I'm doing the right thing in raising her the way that I do.  I guess that statement from Aly is just the kind of affirmation that I need to know if we're going in the right direction.

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Aly's Corner

Note from the mommy: Unlike in our other blog where I do all the talking, I've decided to make my seven-year old more involved in this one because I'm teaching her about gratitude.  I want her to learn to appreciate and to be thankful even for the smallest things.  In our home, we also make it a point to celebrate our achievements, no matter how small they may seem.  Aly's Corner will reflect those blessings and everything else worth mentioning from my little girl's point of view.

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Thank you, Jesus for helping me memorize the Bible verses.  I got 100% in Bible class yesterday.

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A Goddess Moment: The Kiss

I want to share with you some of my experiences when I truly feel like a goddess.  Let's name these Goddess Moments.  This is dedicated to all my fabulous mommy/housewife friends who understand the true meaning of hardwork and who deserve to be treated like royalty all day, every day.

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Be warned, though, that some of what I'm about to say might be a little cheesy :)  Here it goes...

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Two years, seven months and twenty pounds later, I still get kilig when my husband looks into my eyes and tells me I'm beautiful or sexy :)  I mean, let's face it: a lot has changed since the day we got married so it really is something when the husband tells me that.

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I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful husband and I pray that he will always look at me with the same loving eyes no matter how much I weigh or how old I get :)

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Speaking of kilig, this is one of my favorite photos with Richard that was taken during our 2nd wedding anniversary in Hua Hin:

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Moments before the shutter clicked, Richard grabbed and kissed me *kilig*

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That night, as we were strolling at the night market, I saw this painting:

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Gustav Kilmt's The Kiss.  Image via Wikimedia.

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It was love at first sight!  It was the perfect souvenir for our wedding anniversary.  How I'd love to have that in our house to always remind me of that kilig moment in Hua Hin...but  when I looked at the price tag...Thb18,000*gasp*it's too expensive!!  Sigh...I can only wish...someday, you will be mine.

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A Good Start

Good morning, starshine! The earth says hello!

          - Willy Wonka, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

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This is one of Aly's favorite lines from that movie, which we watch practically almost everyday from the day I bought it.  Malapit ko na ma-memorize yung dialogue, promise!  Even so, everytime she hears that line, she can't help but giggle.

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Anyway, this line says a lot about how our morning went today.  Aly finished her breakfast early and that pretty much made the rest of our morning go smoothly.  Most of the time, I have to remind her several times to eat faster because we're running late and that would put our entire morning ritual off.  I hate when that happens because it makes me really stressed and kinda masungit.  We had none of that today.  After her bath, we still had time to cut her nails and we had a little more time to spare so we took a leisurely walk to school --  more often than not, we'd be brisk-walking to school because we're usually running late so today is a good day.

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Even the school seemed to be off with a good start: the flag ceremony went well and that made Mr. Weaver very happy.  By going well, I meant the Thai flag was up even before the national anthem ended.  Yesterday was the worst, because the flag was only halfway up by the time the song was finished.  I mean, really now, how hard can it be?  Well, today it was perfect and that made Mr. Weaver smile and that doesn't happen very often either.

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Yes, today is a good day :)

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The Grateful Domestic Goddess

My real plan was to buy a small notebook where I can jot down things that I want to be thankful for. It doesn’t have to be anything big or life-changing; it can be something trivial like catching the shuttle when I thought I would miss it…or those rare moments when our laundry baskets and clothes hampers are empty which only means that tomorrow I can take a day off from laundry duty…or when Aly comes home from school asking me to make her lemon cupcakes because it means she really loves my baking…those kind of things. It would be like a gratitude journal of sorts. That would be nice now, wouldn’t it? But then I thought: why not come up with another blog instead? It would save paper and I just might be able to inspire other people in the process.

Background kwento: My favorite priests at our parish Church in Ruamrudee are the Nigerian priests because they give the most interesting sermons. There’s one in particular that really got to me and it said something like this: God may not always answer your prayers in the way that you expect, but that doesn’t mean He’s not listening. The first thing that came to my mind was someone I know who has been going through a very difficult time. We are all constantly praying for his problem to be solved, but we're too focused on waiting for this certain solution to come that we failed to see that for him to go through every month with so little even when his needs are very big is a miracle in itself. Without a doubt, God is watching over him.

We sometimes tend to have tunnel vision that we overlook everything else around us. I myself am guilty of being a diva; always asking for things that I forget to appreciate what I already have. It’s time for me to stop complaining and start being grateful even for the smallest things. Join me and my family as we count our blessings and celebrate everything that comes our way, big or small, because being grateful also brings happiness.