A Valentines Letter For My Man: That kind of love

Dear Edward,

I love you I love you I love you.

Can I ever say it enough?

I love how you run your fingers through my hair. I love how we walk around, hands entwined. Heck, I even love the way you breath. And I love the kind of love that we make.

But there also many things that i totally dislike about you; such as how you pretend to listen but really not when the NBA is on.

Yet I love you still. I love the way you suck up fatigue after working through out the night, just so you can watch a chick flick movie with me. I love how you massage my feet when it's hurting due to my (unbelievably) high heels, even when yours hurt even more because you were up and about in the laboratory working; and oh, did I tell you how much I love the kind of love that we make?

But I'm still consistently reminded of the things I don't like about you. Like how your mind wanders off while I tell you about my day. Your mind is just out there: perhaps wandering about the gun that you recently purchased.

Yet again, that is nothing compared to how much love I feel for you. I love the way you only sleep for 4 hours then take care of our little  boy Collin, just so I can sleep in. I love how you live your life in the likeliness  of Christ, remembering and keeping His word in everything that you do. Also, I have to point out, in case I haven't mentioned, that I ridiculously love the kind of love that we make.

But man, I don't understand and totally dislike the way you watch the Super Bowl. You watch the whole freak'n game. Don't you know that the half time show is all that matters??!??! That's what Super Bowl is all about. Seriously man.

I'll have to say though, that at end of the day, i just can't help but love you. In spite of all the things that I dislike about you, i still am very much in love with you.

I love you my dear husband;

I love you more than words can ever say;

I love you more than any actions I can ever do;

And I just love love love love making love with you.

Love,

Mahal

How to cuss and get away with it. -By Collin C.

Amidst an 'almost' touchdown in Super Bowl, papa Dward furiously mutters about his disappointment on the game. With fervor as much as his dad's, Collin points at the tv and says "Puchang e-na! Puchang e-na!!" (Your mom is a hoe! Your mom is a hoe!)

Horrified, I started interrogating papa Dward about using foul language. In our house. In front of Collin!! (Can you believe that?)

He, of course, immediately denies my accusations. Then Collin says it again, "Puchang e-na! Puchang e-na"

In desperate attempts to clear his name, and hoping that Collin says something else that may just sound the same, papa Dward confronts Collin.

"What did you say Collin," he asks.

But Collin didn't respond.

Papa Dward then moves closer to Collin, bends down and firmly asks, "what did you say Collin?!?!?! What did you say!!!!"

With the most sincerest look in his eyes, acting confused as to what the fuss is all about, perhaps sensing the imminent 'time out' coming his way, he redeems himself and  exclaims "Amen!! Amen!!"

Apparently, he was only saying "amen?"

16 Fascinating Things About Collin at 16 Months

1. You love leaves. When we go out, you always go under the tree and you pick up the leaves. Then you run and show it to me, like you've found a hidden treasure.

2. You like making the sheep and cow sounds. Your favorite is "baaa" and you want me to read the baa baa black sheep book for 75359765 times and you say "baaa" each time I flip the page.

3. You love love love your swing.

4. You are starting to be a climber. You climb the coffee table and the neighbors gate!

5. You call all fruits apple. I mean, ALL.

6. Once your dad showed you a banana. He prompted you to follow what he says. "BANANA'," he said . Then you replied "apol". "No Collin. This is ba-na-na. Banana," he insisted. You replied, "AAAA-PL." but your dad was persistent. "BAAAAA- NAAAAA-NAAAA." and that upset you Collin. So you leaned forward, gave him a mean look, raised your voice and said, "AAAAA-PL!!!" and then you turned around. Perhaps saying that that conversation was over.

7. You love cars. Whenever a car passes by you get so excited and says "CAHR! Cahr! Cahr!"

8. Going back to the apple. Every morning you open your book where there are pictures of fruits and vegetables, then you excitedly say, "Apol!" But sweetie, there is no apple on the picture. Other fruits have their own names too you know?

9. When we're outside, you consistently look up the sky. Then when an airplane flies by, you point your finger to the sky, jump up and down and yell, "ei-pa! Ei-pa!ei-pa!" Then you wave good bye and blow kisses to it as it flies away.

10. You like to eat noodles! You like it best when we let you feed yourself. You pick up as much noodles as your little hand can hold, then you lift your hand up above your mouth as you look up! Then you let the tip of noodles touch your tongue and slowly suck the noodles in. And you can finish one order of spaghetti from jollibee. All.by.yourself!

11 You love riding carousel. You patiently wait in line and let your dad buckle you up. And once the carousel starts moving, you push your dads hands away and you reach out and pat the head of the animal that you are riding on.

12. When you see elephant on tv, you excitedly exclaim "efa! Efa!!"

13. You don't say mama or papa or dada unless you want something and we're not immediately giving in.

14. You walk away when it's tidy up time. You.always.have.

15. You love slides. At home, you climb up the ladder and slide down all by yourself. At Gym school, you ask your dad to put you at the top of a big slide then you slide. Over and over and over again.

16. You love Basketball! You never tire of picking up the ball, shooting it, then shaking the rim then picks up the ball again.

Miscommunication 101 (or people, from different planets, sort of talking)

Disclaimer: All names have been changed to protect the people involved, while reflecting actual scenarios.

I love everything about California. The weather, the people, the buildings, and the lifestyle.

California is certainly the melting pot of cultures; With residents coming from around the globe; From Filipinos to Mexicans, Indians, Koreans, Chinese, Vietnamese and more.

Having all these nationalities makes life easier for me since I am a Filipino, an alien to this country. Because there is so much diversity, there is barely, if any, racial discrimination around here.

However, there is one disadvantage: The difficulty for us to understand each other due to our strong accents.

Care for some examples?

Below are two conversations I had with our previous gardener and nanny.

Scenario 1:

It was a Friday and it's time to cut a check for the nanny that used to work for us. I wasn't sure how to spell her full name so I went to her with my checkbook and pen on hand.

Can I get your full name for your check please, I asked. Then she gave me a long ass name that I have never heard in my entire life.

Mama nalyn: can you spell out your first name please?
Yaya: ok. It's D
Mama nalyn: D **writes D on the check**
Yaya: O
Mama nalyn: O
Yaya: Aw
Mama nalyn: Aw?
Yaya: AW. Aw For wabit
mama nalyn: wabit?
Yaya: WA-BIT. Wabit!!


Ohhhhhh... Rabbit!


Scenario 2:

I heard the doorbell rang so I went outside. There I saw our gardener, Juan, looking around our lawn.

Juan: "grass dirt leaves tree"
Mama nalyn: "what??? I'm sorry but I'm not understanding you."
Juan: "grass there no?"
Mama nalyn: "yes please. Mow the lawn."
Juan: "si. Si. Grass there noh?"
Mama nalyn: what? Yes cut the grass please
Juan: noh noh noh. Grass dirt leaves tree??

Wwwhhhaaaattttttt?????!!!!!

The Papa Who Cried Wolf

As a lot of you already know, Papa Dward takes everything with humor. We never had a day with out his practical jokes except when we had the worst time of our lives. After we recovered and he was back to normal, I have learned to not take him seriously. Because out of 10 things he says, 11 are merely jokes.

Then last week end, we went hiking at Eaton Canyon.

Then he suddenly started screaming at us.

Papa Dward: "There's a snake! A snake! A rattle snake!"
Mama nalyn and kuya Ray: **smiling back at him**

Then kuya Ray took a step closer, away from the hiking trail, on to the bushes where Papa Dward said the snake was. Then Papa Dward instinctively pushed him away.

Papa Dward: "I'm serious guys! I'm not joking! There's a rattle snake!! "

Then he looked at us one at a time with eyes begging to believe him.

I gave him the benefit of the doubt. But Kuya Ray thought all the more that he was really just joking because Papa Dward said 'seriously' - an adverb Papa Dward uses loosely whenever he does pranks.

Kuya Ray then shrugged, rolled his eye and moved closer to where Papa Dward said the snake was.

Move away from there, I screamed at Kuya Ray. He then moved away and gave me the what-the-heck-do-you-actually-believe-my-dad kind of look.

Then we saw the snake. A rattle snake. For reals.

(L TO R: Papa Dward, Baby Collin Kuya Brenden, Kuya Ray)

Letter to Collin (at 15 months)

Dear Collin,

You just turned 15 months old today and here comes mommy again writing you a letter even though you can't even identify a single letter of the alphabet just yet. But you see my love, I refuse to let this moment pass with out compiling the beautiful life that we share; these moments that you certainly will forget when you grow up but are most definitely worth remembering. There are just so many beautiful things about the past 3 months that made mommy fall in love with you deeper every single day. And I just want to make sure, that when I'm old and my hair is gray, we can breath in the beauty of the past and reminisce the abundance of our love by reading my letters to you.

Oh sweetheart, You always make mommy happy and proud.

I am elated even by the little things that you do. You've shown me how miracles happen every single day.

When you just turned one, I half heartedly decided to wean you from the breast, thinking it will be the best for us. But how can I say no to you my sweetie pie? How can I resist your request as you propel yourself, landing on my chest, nuzzling on my breast, and looking straight in my eyes, saying "MAM..MAM.." My heart melts. So we lie down, your skin against my skin, my arms wrapped around you and yours wrapped around me. And happily, you suckle.

It amazes me how you seem to know your daily routine; like as if you have a watch on your wrist and you know just exactly what you are suppose to do at that hour. But what melts my heart is what you do when I don't noticed that its time to feed you. While I'm very preoccupied with work inside my room, you would walk away from your nanny and bang the door while you're standing outside my room screaming "MAM! MAM! MAM." like as if to say, "dude I'm hungry!! FEED ME!! NOW!!"

I am awed by your love of the water sprinklers. When we're outside, you tell me to turn it on by pointing to the switch (and throwing tantrums when I don't) then you marvel at the water. Blocking the water with your hand. Squeaking in delight when it splashed to you face. That my bratty boy, makes mommy look forward to comming home from work each day. Oh you've always been the highlight of my day.

Just a couple of weeks ago, You learned the sign language for 'milk' and 'more'. But innitially, you only do it for a show instead of using it when you actually want 'more' or 'milk'. Just like when you show close/open with you hands, the lizard look by sticking your tongue out, cutie pie by squinting your eye while showing the world's cutest smile, and dance by basically shaking your shoulders.

Those are just few of the many many wonderful things that you learned to do in the past three months.

Thanks sweetie, for giving me the kind of happiness that I've never had.

I love you so much Collin. More than words can ever say. And more than any action I can ever do. I love you above, over, and beyond anything in my life.




Love,
Mommy

Collin & Mommy

Collin & the Big Bros

Collin's 1st haircut

The men in my life

Collin's favorite ride

Playing at the Mall

A Chance to Let Love Thrive

The boggling Colorado shootout during the "Batman the dark knight rises" movie premiere took the life of 12 people and injured many.

Who would have thought that an innocent movie night could bring a tragic end to the lives of many? Leaving behind their love ones with nothing but fallen hopes and dreams that will never come true; children loosing their parents and parents loosing their children.

I can only imagine the horror; the panic; the pain of seeing their love one be shot and die right next to them, as they hang on to dear life, with nothing with them but just a glimpse of hope that they can all come out of it alive.

This is just one of the many incidents around us that reminds us the value of the people we love; to take the time to slow down and embrace the beauty of life; to stop and say 'I love you'. To kiss and to hug.

This is the time for us to be reminded just how lucky we are for the mere fact that out love ones are alive; giving us a chance to make things right; to live. To Love And let love thrive.

A Public Apology of Some Sort

A week ago, I posted a blog entry I entitled "Post Divorce Forecast." if you haven't read it yet, might as well read it first, then go back to this... But please allow me to explain myself.

When I was writing, not to mention hysterically, that blog, I wondered whether it is offensive to other people or not. Perhaps because even in my own household, we have the 'no cussing rule.' I kid you not, this rule is not just for the kids but for papa dward and myself also. By cussing I mean, cussing of any shape and form. That includes, but is not limited to the following words: fuck, shit, asshole, bitch, whore, stupid, tanga, gago, putang ina, bwisit, leche.. And the list goes on and on. Those words can NOT be used under any circumstances, even as an expression.

In writing that blog however, I decided to use those words. I used it to make a point... And if my point wasn't really obvious, let me sum up what I meant in that blog entry in the first place...

The message that I was trying to convey in that blog was that when my marriage falls apart, I will be in my wits end and the worst of me will be brought out. I will be angry, devastated, bitter, sad and miserable. Oh I will be anything, anything BUT happy. My family, which obviously includes Edward, is everything to me. Thus, when my marriage falls apart, so will my world. I thought that my point was very clear considering what I wrote in number #10: "Lastly, I will cry myself to sleep every night while nobody is watching. Every. Single. Effing. Night"

I guess this goes to say that my assumption was wrong. My point wasn't clear to a few people.

Even though this is my blog, which may mean I can write whatever I want to, I'd like to give my sincerest apology to those who have been offended. I take responsibility for it, because my blog is not only open to public but I also share the links in my Facebook, thus driving traffic to the site. A traffic which includes diversity of views by many.

And although nobody (not even one) actually complained about the cussing, I decided to apologize about it first because that is the part that I thought could be offensive. But what really got me into writing this 'public apology' is because a huge number of people thought it was disturbing and offensive and hurtful for Edward and it made their stomachs churn.

Ok ok ok there were was just two people and it didn't really make their stomachs churn, I hope! (comm'n people, can't I imagine having thousands of readers from different walks of life with varying views and opinions?!?)

Even though there were just two who I know reacted that way, I'm writing this also for those who didn't say anything but may have thought of that blog as hurtful for Edward. (comm'n, with thousands of readers, I'm sure there's more than two who have different views than mine, right??... What?... I don't have thousands of readers??? Ok fine whatever!)

Again, my sincerest apologies to all of you who were not pleased with that blog entry. I suppose I have to remind myself that as a blogger, I have to be sensitive to my reader's (albeit a few) feelings. I have to remind myself before sharing a link to my Facebook account that there are users in it who would be offended by it. There will be people who will not see it the way I or Edward sees it. That goes to say that next time, I should be aware as who sees the links that I share so as to not offend these people, who themselves have every right to react the way they do and the right to have the view that they have.

But before I end this blog entry, I would like to clarify that Edward was not offended by it at all.

I know. We are weird like that. We are actually that kind of couple who like to talk about everything under the sun! We talk about the good, the bad, the ugly and the dirty (*wink* *wink*) and everything in between.

One might think I'm crazy for putting so much thought for something irrelevant.

But you see, there's really not much thought in it. When I blog, I use my cellphone and I type on and on. It's just a hobby that I do every now and then. When you look into it carefully, you'll see so many typos in it because I don't really spend so much time in it. I just ramble on and on. That's why I don't consider it as "putting so much thought." But even if I had, I meant no offense to anyone. Edward and I and a lot of my readers just happen to find my blog as funny. Perhaps, that's ridiculous. But we are who we are.

One might think that it is irrelevant as we are not going through divorce anyway. However, the relevance of the blog does NOT lie on the words that I wrote. If you read the whole thing, the message of that entry is that I'll be devastated when my marriage falls apart.

I guess one might ponder that I should have said it direct to the point, like that. However, I believe that there are many ways to express oneself. And one of that is through humor. And in our house, humor has always been the popular route. (and unfortunately, my blog's approach is like that also.)

And in writing that blog, I made sure that it is obvious that numbers 1-9 are merely jokes. A full blow product of my sarcasm. I mean, do you actually think I'll start a blog named "www.YouAreAFuckingMoronAndASonOfAbitchEdwardTheStupidBastard.com"??? oh common people!! You know me better than that. I'm a smart person that's why I won't use a long domain name like that. I'll just name it something shorter like "www.YouAreAFuckingMoronAndASonOfAbitchEdwardTheStupidGUY.com" Smart, eh???

Ok calm down I'm just joking again ;)

Sorry it's really difficult to stay serious. But let me try again.

I really didn't realize that any of you will think that my spouse will be offended by it. Because if you look at my blog entries closely, I have been very vocal and proud of papa dward. As you can see in "Happy Fathers Day to My Edward", "How to Spot a Douche bag", "An I'm Sorry Note for Father's Day", and "I loose", I have always been proud and even boastful of having him. Even in my blog "A Rant on Edward", I humorously ranted on Edwards behavior but in the end I emphasized that he does anything for me like "vacuum the carpet, cook dinner, Roll on the floor, get the ball with his mouth, jump off a cliff." Given all those, I actually think that my blog is turning into an "Edward's shrine" as it describes what a wonderful person he is. I must admit that there are rants on it about him, but it always ends with how good of a person he is. That is because this blog is an honest look on marriage and parenting... Not some blog saying life is perfect. It's a blog that says there is beauty in a marriage despite its imperfections. Maybe, it may seem like I'm airing out dirty laundry. But if this is what you call 'dirty laundry,' then I guess I'll have to say I'm having fun with this 'dirtiness'. Yeah, it's dirty ;)

I'm sorry you felt that the blog is irrelevant and I'm sorry that you felt that I should have not written that. That's why when I got home that day, I made it a point to speak to my husband.

Mama nalyn: "did my blog entry offend you? Or would you want me to delete that entry?"

Papa dward: **gives me the what the heck are you talking about look** "of course not!!! I think it's funny too. That's why I posted comments myself. It's very clear to me. What you said was you won't be happy when we get divorced. And when we do, you may be angry and do all that, but at the end of the day, you'll still think of me because you love me. You said you'll cry yourself to sleep. That means you love me so much"

(then I was like, "awwww my husband can actually talk with sense sometimes".. LOL I'm just kidding again!! Peace bro!)

But despite that, I apologize to the readers who didn't like it. And thanks for pointing it out so next time I'll be more careful in sharing the link. I definitely respect your opinion. And I'm amazed as to how you can stand up for my husband because you thought it would hurt him.

Ps: To those who liked the entry and to those who sent me emails that they like my blog and find it inspiring and at the same time funny, thanks guys :)

Post divorce forecast

EDIT:
Disclaimer: This blog entry does not mean to insult or offend Edward or Anybody. As it has raised some kind of controversy, I have writen a "Public Apology" for those who have been offended. Also, the divorce is just ficticious. so is the forecast. :)

Having a failed marriage is one of my greatest fears especially now that we have Collin.

Every now and then, papa dward and I talk about the possibility of us getting a divorce. We both agree that so far there doesn't seem to be a possibility as we both are very much willing to handle/bear/tolerate/suffer with each others bothersome-anger-inducing-irritating-sometimes-impossible-to-understand-attitude. Also, we both know that there is just one thing that will lead us straight to that direction. And that is cheating.

I tell him I'll never cheat. So I say, he will not have the reason to leave me.

Then he says he will not do that also. So that means we will then never be divorced.

I know that the possibility of him cheating is slim to none, but if he ever does, HE WILL BE GOING DOWN!!

Do you know what I mean by that?

Allow me to answer that question by giving you my post divorce forecast:

1. I will start a new blog and name it www.YouAreAFuckingMoronAndASonOfAbitchEdwardTheStupidBastard.com and I will blog every day about what an A hole he is. every day. Every.single.effing.day

2. I'll gather up all his Jordan shoes and pour gas on them. I'll call him up and tell him Collin misses him. Then as soon as he arrives, I'll put his shoes on fire. And I'll laugh like a Villain as I watch him moan and groan like a biatch while trying to save his shoes from the ranging fire.

3 I'll call his new girl friend with ass kicking nick names. I think I'll call her curious George. Yeah I'll be bitter like that!!! OK. I'll think of a better name.

4. I will scratch and smash his car and stab all four tires with a knife and will spray paint "SUCKER!!" on it.

5. I will show my friends a picture of his new girlfriend. And we will talk shit about her. About how ugly she is. About how she's a high school drop out. About how her armpit stinks. Regardless of what the truth is.

6. I will drag the divorce papers and will call every girl he dates a mistress, even if we've been separated for 10, 15 or 20 yrs.

7. I will hack his facebook, email, bank account, iphone, corporate portals and the like.

8. I'll tell every one that I never really loved him and that I don't consider our divorce a failure, rather, it's a new beginning or whatever term sounds good and invigorating.

9. I'll flirt around 'till I find the most
handsome and successful man I can ever find. Never mind his attitude nor our feelings for each other, I'll just lie and tell everyone he is such a wonderful man and we are crazy about each other.

10. Lastly, I will cry myself to sleep evey night while nobody is watching. Every. Single. Effing.night.

Murphy's law - mommy's edition

1. When mommy needs to wake up early the next day for important reasons like work, baby fusses all night. But when it's a week end or
A holiday, Collin is in deep slumber all through out the night.

2. When mommy has diapers and wipes in her room, Collin doesn't need
to be changed. But with out diapers, of course he decides to poop at 2 in the morning.

3. During the week days when the nanny is taking care of Collin, he takes a nap for at least an hour and a half long. Every. Single. Day. But on weekends when the nanny is off, I'm lucky when he gets an hour nap.

4. As a sr. software engineer, my hours and workload is not like that of a typical employee. There are occasions that I have to work outside business hours while nobody is using the system. That goes to say that there are nights that I'm working till midnight. And that's all fine by me. What I don't like is when Collin wakes up fully charged at 4 am, thinking that it's morning already. What's wierd is that he only does that when I work really late at night. The later I work, the earlier he wakes up!