his best birthday EVER

My "little boy" Eduard had his 11th birthday last May 6. Since it was a Friday, I got to celebrate his birthday with him on a Saturday night. (Actually, we bought him shoes Saturday afternoon.) And according to him, he truly had a great time, that is, compared with his other birthdays---his best birthday ever! So where did I bring him and his kuya ian? I brought him to a resto bar (owned by my friend's family).

We started the night with a dinner. We ordered the specialty rice, buttered chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy, and something that tasted like pindang na usa. The food was great!

Eduard really ate a lot!

Then, I urged them drink with me in the bar! They were a bit shy at first...

But eventually learned how to hold a bottle!

Hey! I'm not that cool, you know? All we did in the bar was photo-ops. Dami namin pictures sa bar na yan! hehe. Maybe next time, I'd really teach them how to drink or to trailer hitch or to play pusoy dos, but not at age 11!

Just the three of us bonding

The fun part was when we played billiards. The three of us are novices, so we were all excited to hold a tako. And we were all eager to shoot a ball. But a single 8-ball game took an hour! And we downgraded our goal to this: just hit the ball with that white one!

At about 1 am, we finished playing billiards. We got exhausted after hours of playing and containing our excitement. It felt like we were pros the way we were too keen on shooting a ball. haha. Whenever we shoot a ball (is this even the term used for it?), it was hysteria!

Afterward, we conquered the videoke until 3 am, with yours truly leading the challenge. haha. We wouldn't go home if I hadn't received a text from an angry mother (my mother) telling me to bring the kids home. =)

Happy birthday, Eduard! I love you soooooooooo much!

teenage dirtbag

Ian, the first kid since the first set of grandchildren (kuyang, me, and tootie - only a year apart from each other), turned 17 yesterday. When he was a baby, we were all into him, especially me. He's just so cute, and his smile was so endearing. He took over our world, my world, for a time. When I come home from school (I was in high school then), I'd go straight to his room, look at him, and play with him for a while. During some nights, I sleep over with him and his parents. At times, I really think angels are playing with him, especially when he giggles alone. Eventually, his parents moved out, but they entrusted his care to Lola. So he has become, what you may call, a Lola's boy.

After years of staying in Manila, and going home only for long weekends and holidays, I never really saw him grow up. True, I witnessed the important events in his life, but I never saw his day-to-day life that turned him into what he is now.

He's grown to be the typical teenaged kid, you know, with the usual complaints about them. If he's not on the net, he constantly has all those Apple accessories plugged into his ears, making it very hard to talk with him. And of course, he hates staying at home and prefers spending time with barkadas. I never really guessed he'd be the same way that he is now. But don't we all pass through this phase? Some just pass through it faster than the others, while others almost never pass this stage (take a guess which category I belong to). Still, I know in my heart that he and his siblings and my niece Keng all grow up to be fine adults someday. I am praying for that, every time I pray.

To some extent, I envy Ian. I never had the same liberty he's been experiencing now. My parents, Lola even, were stricter back when we were teenagers. I am home by 6 pm and rarely go out with friends on weekends. And I never, never, experienced sleepovers and out-of-towns. At the same time, I am happy for him---that he has been living the life a teenager should live it. I hope he gets wisdom from the life that he is choosing now. After all, I know he's angel is always still with him.

Happy birthday, Ian. Never forget, ever, that we love you always. You will always be my original favorite. ;)

Note: Teenage Dirtbag is a Wheatus song that I really love.

Gabrielle

In the second floor of my apartment, there lives a 4-year-old girl whom I absolutely adore. She reminds me of my niece keng, who is about her age. And perhaps even more, she reminds me of myself.

When I was little, it was my dad who stays at home and takes care of me. He prepares my breakfast, takes me to school, and brings me home from school. He practically spends the whole day with me. That is the same way with Gabbie now.

At times, Gabbie would stay with me after she comes home from school. She would even eat lunch with me, leaving her father alone upstairs. I wonder why she wants to spend time here, although I have no preschool playground equipment here. I guess she just loves talking with others (her parents don't allow to play her in the streets, unlike the other kids in the neighborhood). She is particularly sweet (one time she asked her mom to buy pasalubong for me!). And she is absolutely brilliant. Hence,

And I am again, another proud Ate. Congrats, Gabbie! =)

what makes my day

For some reason, little kids and I have mutual attraction. Inevitably, we found each other again here. :)

The past 2 weeks, the children grew fond of staying in my apartment, just watching TV, talking to me, or just hanging around. Their favorite activity though is playing with Casper (finally being with him every day is one thing that's keeping me happy these days). At first, they just stay in the terrace. Eventually, they invaded my home. haha.

Because I was really busy finishing law school requirements, the presence of noisy kids was a bit distracting. I don't have mimio toys here or PS3 to keep them occupied (and stop talking to me haha). So, I asked them to write an article, which, they surprisingly agreed to.

Here's what John-John, the chubby boy fit for a hotdog commercial, wrote:

Casper

Casper is a good dog he eats dog food he lives in a big big big big house in nueva ecija [this is not true hehe] he has 1 daughter. Casper daughter's name Nicci casper wifes' name is Katie casper lives in [our address].

Tito xxx Tita xxx and Ate [mordsith] are the owners of Casper. Casper color is white he is small his eyes is big his nose is small his eyes is big his nose is small his face big his mouth sharp casper's body is big he eat's dog food

he is fat Casper has sharp teeth he lives in a house Casper wife's color is white Casper daughter's color is white Casper is friendly Casper's wife is masungit Casper daughter is magulo like me joke.

:D