Nevergirl’s

These days, we have been waking up at 5am every morning, regardless of the weather, regardless of what time we called it a night. Charlie, that adorable bundle of gurgling and spit-ups, yells her way out of sleep at 5am. In the grand scheme of things, I suppose a toddler crying her head off at 5am is what you’d call normal. But a toddler yelling with joy? Calling out to everyone happily at 5 in the morning? It’s an anomaly. And, it’s been jolting us out of sleep.

Now that Alex is sick, we’ve been getting even less sleep. I’m not surprised; we expected this when we signed up for parenthood. Sleep, like privacy, is a luxury harried parents like Wett and I would be lucky to catch for two hours after lunch — if we’re lucky. On days when we’re not, we drink tea or Redbull or coffee like crazy and suck it up like Spartans. Because we’re parents. Because we have to keep going like energizer bunnies. And, on days when a sick child + worry + tea keep me up, I like to hole up in my comfort zone. In this house, that would be the stairs outside. I sit there for hours and stare at the world beyond. You’d think this inactivity is retarded. I call it “recharging”.

I like comfort zones. They never close and they will let you stay forever, if you could.

I hope it’s not dengue. We will know for sure, after her CBC tomorrow.

Was it Lionel Kauffman who said, “Children are a great comfort in your old age — and they help you reach it faster, too”?

Well, I can’t remember who said it, and I’m sure it doesn’t matter. What matters is that it’s 8:30 in the morning this morning, and I’m sitting here feeling like I never had any sleep at all. Which is the truth. I didn’t get any sleep at all. And nope, it’s not because I mooned about orlando vacations til morning but because the 5-year-old took sick, and she tossed and turned and cried til 8am.

So, anyway, the equally tired husband and I discussed over breakfast why some couples are better off without kids. Surprise! We came up with quite a lot of reasons!

1. Your sex life will change… and not for the better.
2. Child-rearing requires a fortune.
3. Child-rearing entails never-ending drudgery.
4. The country (okay, the whole planet) is overcrowded as it is.
5. Vacations will turn into nightmares.
6. Your house will smell of diapers, milk, and baby powder — perhaps even in that order, too.
7. You will lose your identity. You will simply become just “dad” or “mama”.

Is any sane human being really ready to give up free time, spontaneous getaways, and an unstructured lifestyle for angry, demanding little dwarves who will cost you thousands of pesos every month, treat you like a servant, and blame you for everything that’s wrong with the world, from an untied shoelace to global warming?

Unfortunately in our case, the answer is yes.

God help me for wanting two children more.

It’s a Monday – that time of the week when things usually go downhill. I don’t hate Mondays even though I usually wake up to depressing news (courtesy of NBC) of workers coming down with mesothelioma, little girls disappearing, or one more Hollywood star getting botox. But really, wouldn’t it be lovely if we could all start our Mondays right with a love list? As I said before, my lists aren’t life-changing or world-changing but they do give me perspective. And, really, isn’t it just wonderful that a list could do that when few things could?

Here are the five things I don’t do often enough, but should… starting this week!

1. Juggle fruits. We always have bananas and mangoes hereabouts. I could start juggling those before progressing to more important things, like the day’s tasks, and then my life goals. The best thing about juggling fruit? I can snack as I juggle. Yum!

2. Walk barefoot. Around the house, check. On the lawn? Not as easy as you think it is. One, we don’t have a lawn. Two, I don’t think the grass downstairs is as sterile as, say, an operating room. I don’t fancy cutting my feet on glass or heavens forbid, getting more tapeworms – I know I have enough!

3. Light candles. This one’s easy. We have a lot of candles in the house. The husband thinks I’m cuckoo to hoard candles. I use the possibility of a power outage my excuse. In truth, I hoard candles because I find them pretty.

4. Drink orange juice without grousing. I’m not sure why I hate orange juice, but I do. I find it too sweet and too fruity. And, because I make faces every time I drink orange juice and then whine about disliking it intensely afterwards, I don’t think drinking orange juice makes me a better person. This should change, though. The husband and the kids LOVE orange juice.

5. Listen to my body. Nope, my body parts aren’t the oracle, but they do tell me certain things sometimes. Right now, my eyes are telling me I need new specs. My stomach is telling me I’ve been eating too much, while my head complains I haven’t been feeding it enough.

What about you? What five things haven’t you been doing enough?

in the first photo folder on my drive is this!

Out to rule the world, one toothy grin at a time

Doesn’t my daughter Charlie look precious? At the rate she’s scrunching up her face, she will need the best eye cream for wrinkles before she turns 20! She may need some orthodontic help in the not too distant future too because she’s growing teeth so big you’d think she had been snacking on plywood!

Now, I love, love, love this photo because this is really what she looks like when she grins. Her eyes disappear, her dimples appear, and she starts to look like some pet you can’t help but adopt.

The cuteness overload aside, aren’t you wondering what happened to her hair? Her parents happened. Ask anyone who’s ever had to give a toddler a haircut and that person will surely tell you it’s a suicide mission of sorts — and it is! Toddlers squirm as much as – if not worse than – worms. They writhe, and wriggle, and try to fall off your grasp in whatever way we can. For this reason, a toddler’s haircut can be a very important milestone, but not for the toddler. It’s a milestone for the parents who will have to see if their love for their flesh and blood can stand the test of the first agonizing haircut. After all, a toddler’s primary job is to rule the universe and terrorize a household. Cooing and looking cute are just hobbies – they do it only when they feel like doing it.

I won’t write about Charlie’s first haircut here because that story deserves a post of its own. I’m only sharing for now this 10th photo in the first photo album in my data drive because

a. I rarely get tagged;
b. I’m not the best person to tag;
c. it must have taken great courage to tag me (hahaha!); that, and patience because it takes me forever to answer.

Enjoy your Friday, everyone!