Halloween Costume

I finally purchased the little one's Halloween costume.  This year, she'll go as this:

With a matcing headband with a couple of sparkly balls on the end (we'll see if she'll keep it on while trick or treating).

We really wanted her to go as this:

But we ran out of time as we planned on making it (try finding a shirt with stripes of that color).  Juan was going to sew the shirt and I was just going to buy a pair of denim jumpers and red sneakers; but with the travelling we'd been doing we just ran out of time.  Perhaps next year.

We've been teaching her how to say "Trick or Treat" but with little success.  I think it's still quite a mouthful for my little one who's still in the single word utterance phase.

Costa Rica

Juan had the privelege of doing some business in Costa Rica this past week and Mimi and I had the honor of joining him.  It was a fun trip altogether, except that October is smack dab in the middle of the monsoon season and it just rained all week long.  Regardless, we at least go to do a few things and enjoyed our selves.

Day 1 (2 & 3) - A Bust!

We arrived on Saturday night, the 15th, late, from two 5-hour plane rides; so we were all pooped.  We managed to get up and have breakfast on Sunday, went back to our room, put Wall-E on the wall (it pays to travel with a business man, he brings his cool gadgets such as his projector), and within 10 mins we were all passed out; and it wasn't even the baby's nap time yet!  We proceeded to do this for the next two days:

1. Wake up
2. Get cleaned up and ready for the day
3. Have breakfast
4. Head back to room and nap
5. Wake up
6. Have a super late lunch
7. Walk around for a little bit
8. Have a late dinner
9. Back to room to get bathed/showered
10. Sleep

Yeah, not super exciting, but that's what we did for almost 3 days until Juan had to go to work on Tuesday.

Romina and daddy on day 2 - a bit drizzly, a bit frizzed out, but doing okay 

The view from our balcony at the Double Tree Cariari

Before I end this post, let me tell you a little something about Costa Rica if you ever decide to visit one day.  It's a beautiful tropical paradise (and I didn't even get to go on all the AWESOME tours), the people are just so amazing, and the food is spectacular.  But be prepared to shell out some major cash - this country is expensive!!!

The exchange rate rocks!  $1 = 500 colones; except that the inflation rate is so high in the country that everything costs just too much.  Case in point, we decided to go to the local grocery store to purchase some milk for the baby, a loaf of bread, mayo & mustard, plastic ware, napkins, an extra sippy cup, some grapes, pears, and plums - total cost $50.  Yikes!

Juan's colleague, Don Luis, told us that folks in Costa Rica would go to Miami (which is a 2 hour flight) and spend 2-3 days to go shopping.  It's still cheaper for Costa Ricans to go to the US and buy clothes here than it is to buy it in Costa Rica.

Oh well, to each his own I guess.

Anniversary Weekend

I can't believe I didn't post about my wonderful 10 year wedding anniversary weekend.

This year marked our 10th wedding anniversary.  At the tender age of 23 (yes, I think it's tender looking back at it wistfully) Juan and I married on June 15, 2001.  A provincial girl from the islands had to travel thousands of miles over the ocean to meet her one and only in the desert of eastern Washington.  Everything about Juan felt right and I'm so every happy that I made the right decision and not live with "what if..." and just went with my intuition.

Fast forward 10 years and here we both are, ten years older and wiser, somewhat rotund (but I just attribute it to a good life), fulfilled, content, and parents to a very happy child (and hopefully to one more in the future).  We cannot be any happier.

So to celebrate we decided to take a low key and mellow weekend trip.  We left the baby with Grandma and Grandpa and headed south to Huntington Beach, CA.  It was the best trip ever!

We stayed at the Shorebreak Hotel right on the beach.  It was smack dab in the middle of the action and it was so conveniently located to dining and people watching.  We lazed around for three glorious days; I slept in (which I hadn't been able to do since I had the baby), stayed up late, took naps, ate whenever and whatever, and just enjoyed the precious quiet time with each other.  We of course sat at the beach for a couple of hours and watched the surfers and took in some sun; decided against getting wet - we were just too lazy.

I couldn't think of any better way to celebrate this milestone.  I didn't think I would still be so madly in love with someone after more than a decade of being together; but it's amazing when you meet your soul mate.  In fact, I came across his love letters to me when we were still dating.  It reminded me so much of why he is the love of my life.  So charming, so funny, so passionate, and abandons all inhibitions when we're together.  I cannot imagine spending the rest of my life with anyone.

To you my love, I look forward to growing old and to continue to hold hands when we walk.

My Island Life, Part 3 - Growing Up Filipino

I came across some more pictures of our (my brother's and my) childhood growing up in the PI.  Being two of the only 3 caucasians in school - both grade school and high school - I got teased for being white/pale.  I remember being called "half-cooked" (translation is so poor but it's the closest I can get) quite a bit; and so abhorred  being called "tisay", which is a derivation of "mestiza", a Spanish word that literally means mixed blood, but in this case of Spanish stock - because I was so fair.  I just hated being singled out for being tisay and I was called this by adults when I was growing up.

Anyway, here's a small glimpse of our childhood:

My brother Jake with my dad when Jake was probably a couple years old or so.

 With some of the neighborhood kids all lined up for a picture.  As you can see, so mestizo.  Don't ask me why he's wearing a rosary as a necklace; we were, after all, Catholics.  And we always wore flip flops when we were at home.  We only wore shoes to school, church, or if we're going out for a function or shopping in Manila.

I remember when we were children, I grew up with a dozen or so of my cousins and we all lived next to each other.  It's common courtesy when you go visiting to always remove and leave your flip flops at the front door; it's very rude to walk in a home with your shoes/flip flops.  Anway, when we all get called home, it's a mad rush at the doorway!  A gang load of children scurrying trying to find their flip flops and run home.  Sometimes we go home with mis-matched flip flops or with someone else's altogether.

Ummm...not sure why he's wearing a batman outfit around Christmas time.  We grew up with fake Christmas trees, pines are still hard to come by and you have to pay top dollar (literally) if you want a live one.  We also always dreamed of snow, it was one of those things that any child could just only read about; unless your family is wealthy enough to take you abroad and experience a white Christmas.  I didn't experience my first encounter with snow until I was 19 when I moved here to the US. 

Some grade school performance of some sort.  Again, being mestiza, I was singled out most of the time to be the lead of a group or the head of a procession.  I hated it!

Jake during some boy scout function.  Check out the teacher's outfit - it's got the scout logo printed all over it.

Me when I was in "nursery school", which I think is pre-school here in the US.  Jake and I went to Christian schools all our lives (except for Jake when he went to Uni).  I distinctly remember being taught Mandarin in this school and my best friend Emily was Chinese who went on frequent trips to Hong Kong and always had the coolest stuff.

Jake and I later on as adults.  I never drove, so he always obligingly agreed to "chauffer" me around most of the time.  Especially during my college career.  He wanted to check out all the hot chicks at my university.  It was a win-win situation for all I cared.

Object Attachment

Well, not really; but it's still sad to say good bye.

I was in an automobile accident this weekend.  I'm okay, but my poor little Rav4 isn't.

I was heading to the Beaverton farmer's market this past Saturday and I was so excited since I hadn't gone at all this year. I told Juan that I didn't want to bring Romina with me since I didn't want to struggle with a stroller and a couple of shopping bags full of produce.  In addition, street parking by the market is a nightmare and the Rav4, being a short wheel base, is just so slick to get in and out of tight spots. 

But most importantly, we had the rear facing car seat in this car and I was just so glad I dindn't even needed to bring Mimi or she would have been seriously injured with all the impact and glass everywhere.  I just shudder at the thought!

Besides, it just really annoys me to no end that some families decide to make a full outing to the farmer's market.  I don't mean to be a hater, but now that I have my own child, I so will not bring her to a place where some people actually do some serious shopping (moi included), and I take my produce shopping seriously!  So people, if you want to bring your yacht of a stroller to the tight packed farmer's market and expect every other person to make way for you, well you won't be getting it from me!

I digress. 

Anyway, so I was just less than 3 miles from the market and at 8:15 on Saturday morning, traffic on Canyon Road was kinda slow; I thought "Hmm...weird".  When I was crossing Cedar Hills I noticed that a cop was directing traffic from Farmington Road onto Canyon, which again I thought odd.

When I stole a glance at the cop directing traffic and returned my gaze ahead of me, the mini van in front abruptly came to a stop; so I was forced to step on my brakes.  I will admit I was following a little closely, but I just really wanted to get to the market already.  Before I knew it I was rammed from behind and all I heard was glass shattering and a hard slam.

Long story short, a Ford Ranger rear ended me which caused my entire rear windshield to shatter, damaged the entire back gate and my feelings and pride wounded.  The kicker:  the guy who hit me works for an auto body shop.  I drove home that morning without going to the market and just a little bit more sad because my car's so damaged.

Said body shop assessed the damage today and considered the car totaled (wihch Juan and I already knew going into this), so we now need to purchase another vehicle.

So I'm just sad that we now have to say good bye to a good little car that served us so well these past 8 years or so.  It took us to California and back, El Paso Texas and back, North Central Washington and back, Idaho and back, and hundreds of trips to the Tri Cities Washington.  It was a good car and I hope it gets recycled well.

The High Cost of Sanity

In my sleep deprived mind I find myself sometimes more eloquent than I really need to be.  Maybe because I don't feel any inhibitions with the use of words, or maybe I just don't really mind if my diction is poor or if I'm verbose.  Anyway, the past 24 - 36 hours may have been the worst that I've gone through as a parent.

Never mind the first time home with baby and baby didn't latch right away and couldn't nurse; or the every 2-hour feedings for the first week or so; or the fact that baby just doesn't care what time of day it is, if she's going to sleep or not sleep mum and dad just don't really matter. They're all a walk in the park!

When Mimi turned 13 months I got a brief taste of heaven.  She consistently slept 10 hours a day (sometimes a few hours more), was a total angel to put down, and hardly fussed.  Well, they were a sweet 4 months.

Something happened yesterday and I have just given up on making sense out of it.  Some would say "Oh!  She's just teething!", some would say "She's just going through a phase, she'll get over it"  Whatever it is, I hope damned well it's passed.  Because if I'm to live a sane life, one with a harmonious home and strong marriage, this had really better passed.

She decided yesterday that she was not going to nap.  Twice we tried to put her down and she resisted.  So I figured, fine, she just will skip a nap for the day, no kid died from skipping a nap.  We visited a friend in the afternoon, which entailed a 45 min drive, so she put in 30 mins of nap time.  Fine, whatever.

Then came bed time.

She actually went down with very little fuss, considering she didn't nap, that was to be expected.  Well, 1:30 am rolls around and she starts crying.  Within the span of an hour I got up 5 times to try to get her back to sleep.  Nothing.  At past 2:30 am hubby took his turn, he tried albeit most poorly and with quite disastrous results.  So mummy decides a ride down HW 26 should do the trick.  We've done it once, she passed out before we even reached the on ramp to the highway, this should work.

At 3:20 am as we were well on our way past Troutdale, she was still wide eyed.  WTF!!  I figured, okay, we'll go all the way to Multnomah Falls, that should do the trick.  Hah!  Mum's a sucker!  So all the way to Hood River we went.  When one is driving before the break of dawn one can ruminate like it's no one's business; and I will tell you this, it's not healthy!  Ruminate in the bathroom when you're doing business, or when you're waiting for the light to turn green, but not on a 2 hour drive.  You can work yourself up to hypertension.

Needless to say, she did fall asleep somewhere between Cascade Locks and Hood River, maybe around a little before 4:00 am, and at 5:30 am we pulled up our driveway with little miss moppet all passed out; until 7:45am.

I don't have a moral to this story nor is there even a silver lining to it all.  It just really begs the question:  why do people have children at all?

Adios Chupi!

Now that Mimi's finally growing teeth (and a whole bunch at the same time too), we've decided it's time she quits the chupi (aka pacifier).

It's been exactly two weeks since we've quit giving Romina the chupi  and it wasn't as tough as I tought it would be.  She struggled the first few nights, waking up a couple times or so throughout the night knowing that she was missing something terribly.  She eventually settled in nicely, but the putting her to sleep part got rough.

Before making her quit cold turkey, I would give her her sippy cup of milk, read to her while she's drifting off, give her her chupi (she multi-tasked:  drink her milk with one hand while holding her chupi w/ the other whenever she's ready for it), kiss her goodnight, turn off her lamp, then leave her room quietly.  It worked like a charm.  She always fell asleep.

Now it's a little bit of a debacle.

She always whines and cries when I leave her room.  Of course, only daddy can calm her down; and she always calms down and goes to sleep for him.

Anway, each night is getting better.

We're off to the next adventure.