Chubby Mommy

How to make him understand

2010-02-14T03:53:00.000-08:00

My son and my daughter have been in the same beginners swimming class last term. But unfortunately, my son who is older than my daughter stays in the same class, and my daughter moves one level up. The moment that I've known this last year, I felt it was very difficult for my son to accept it. So we tried our best to make him understand that he shouldn't feel bad and should try harder. But what do you expect from a 6-year old boy, of course it is very hard for him to take this situation. He said he wanted to quit. We've spent the whole summer vacation trying to make him understand and we've tried to bring him more often to the pools so he could practice.

Last Wednesday was his 2nd lesson for this term, and I brought him to class. He didn't want to go his teacher and he was crying and said "Mum, can you find a way that I could move to higher class?" Eventually he went down to the pool and started to do the lessons. I didn't really want to go to the swim schools office to talk to the people there but for my son, I will try to just to give him a chance. So I told them about the situation and asked if my son could be assessed. After the end of the lesson, one of the ladies from the office talked to me and said that my son is still not ready because he is not able to float on his back.

This situation is so heartbreaking for me as well as my son, but I need to tell him again about it. I said that I've done what I could do but still he stays in his class. Then he cried, then I tried to stop myself from crying. He says he wants to quit again. We went home, me and my husband were able to make him promise that he will do his best to swim and try not to cry. Then I burst in to tears.

So, so painful for me. I try to be the best Mum that I can be but at these trying times, I cannot change how my son feels and thinks... I just pray to the Lord that He bless us continually and in time my son would be able to accept and understand everything..

A Stressful Week

2010-02-14T03:49:00.000-08:00

This week that had passed was a stressful one for me. My kids had lots of homework from school and are still adjusting because they've just started school the 1st week of February. They've been complaining of being tired while we do their work, even if they already had a long rest before we start. I wish this coming week would be better for us.

Easy Fish Cake

2010-01-25T03:55:00.000-08:00

Nung bata pa kami, madalas na may nabibiling maliliit na isda sa palengke ang tawag ay dulong. Naalala ko, ang gagawin ng Mama ko, lalagyan nya ng itlog, harina, bawang, paminta at asin, at ipiprito sa mantika.
Dito sa New Zealand may ganung version sila, ang tawag ay white bait, na napakamahal, $10 per 100 grams. So naisip ko canned tuna na lang gamitin ko.. To make it appetizing for my kids, I've named it fish cake.

Eto ang recipe...

Fish Cake

2 cans 185 g sandwich tuna drained
4 cloves garlic chopped
1 small onion chopped
3 eggs
3 heaping tablespoons flour
1/2 tsp. salt
pepper to taste

Mix all the ingredients well. Heat oil in a pan. Put about one heaping tablespoon of the mixture, to make discs big enough to be more than bite size pieces.
Yummy to pair with a dipping sauce made up of vinegar, fish sauce, chopped garlic and pepper....

Ano Ba Talaga Kuya?

2010-01-12T23:41:00.000-08:00

Nakakalito ano po, nung mataba ako, lagi akong sinasabihan, "Ang taba-taba mo, magpapayat ka, hindi mo bagay ang mataba, pangit tingnan" Ngayong pumayat na ako, sabi naman nila "Sobrang payat mo naman, ang pangit mo" Siguro pangit nga talaga ako... :-)

Sometimes I just want to cover my ears and not listen... Ano kaya ang solusyon kapag sinabihan ka ng ganito? I remember Christina Aguilera's Song Beautiful...which says "You are beautiful no matter what they say, words can't bring you down"

Totoo naman eh, no matter how we look, If we feel beautiful, that's enough... What's important is what's inside... Peksman....

The Truth Hurts

2010-01-12T22:57:00.000-08:00

Have you ever experienced not wanting to attend family reunions and get togethers with your former schoolmates? Yes I did, before... I always dread attending these type of gatherings, kasi I know somehow, that most of my relatives would say "Ang taba-taba mo", "Napabayaan ka yata sa kusina" or your classmates would say "Tumataba ka ata".

Hindi naman ako dating mataba, but when I became one, I felt how much it hurts when somebody says the truth. Idagdag mo pa na sabihin nila na ang pangit mo pag mataba ka, parang dinurog na nila ang puso ko. Nananawagan sana ako sa mga madalas magsabi nito sa mga kamag-anak nila o sa mga kaibigan nila, na huwag nyo na po sana sabihin, kasi masakit. Yun taong mataba, alam na nya na mataba sya, hindi na kailangan sabihin sa kanya. Minsan nga nakakadagdag pa yun sa pagtaba, kasi kapag na-depress ako pag sinabihan ako ng ganun, I usually resort to more eating. Para sa akin, kung maganda yung pagkakasabi and they said it out of concern for my health, maluwag kong tatanggapin.

Pumayat na ako ngayon, but there is always a possibility na tataba ako ulit. Since na-experience ko na maging mataba, I have respect for those people who are overweight. Minsan hindi nila yun ginusto, nasa genes nila, or from what I've read people who are trying hard to lose weight, but don't lose any even after exercise and having a balanced diet, may have hormonal problems which prevent them from shedding weight.

Pakiusap po, before you comment on someones appearance, think twice. Your words have a huge effect on them.

Maligayang Pasko at Manigong Bagong Taon

2010-01-12T22:55:00.000-08:00

I hope you all enjoyed the holidays... As we did... Lots of eating and lots of chatting with friends which we now call our family....

Tips to Lose Weight

2009-11-30T06:54:00.000-08:00

Hi Mr. Saint. I was thinking to repost my answer to your question. For those of you who want to lose weight, whenever I feel I just want to overeat, this is what I think in my mind, "Kaya ako naggain ng weight dahil kinain ko lahat ang gusto ko kainin, and that time I am so happy eating those food. Now its time to sacrifice a little bit, for in the end, pag pumayat ako ng konti ulit, I can start eating a little bit more of the food that I really want to eat".
Here is the answer to his question "What is your diet? Give some tips."
ooops. ayaw mapaste.. please refer po muna to the comments box, from the previous post.

Losing Weight

2009-11-21T16:17:00.000-08:00

I have been busy with trying to lose weight that is why I haven't posted for awhile.

Let me give you a brief story about my struggle with losing weight. When I arrived here in New Zealand, that was January 2007, my goal was to lose weight. I was 76 kilograms then. What made me decide to really lose weight was because of the doctor's advice in New Zealand. She said if I lose weight and monitor my blood pressure, I could probably stop taking my hypertension medication.

So I started watching what I ate and exercised. In a span of 4 months I lost 20 kgs. I have maintained this weight for almost 2 years. The start of this year was a bit of stressful for me, because of having to learn how to drive, so I just ate what I wanted to give me comfort and I never exercised as well. Come July, I already gained 10 kgs, and was only able to wear 2 of my pants. So I told myself, this should stop.

Mid July, I started watching what I ate and exercised again. I was very determined, otherwise I will end up weighing 76 kgs again. One of the things that made me want to lose weight was the fact that I wanted to eat a lot at the Christmas season.. :-) After 4 months my efforts have all finally paid off. The 10 kgs were off, but comparing this to my 2007 weight loss, 20 kgs was lost for 4 months. Well, I think the difference was in 2007, my exercise was walking outside and this year I was walking inside the house.

I just need to keep this weight off, then I could enjoy eating on the holidays. Yehey!

Stories that make me Smile

2009-08-16T03:30:00.001-07:00

Story No. 1 Si Ben hindi pababayaan ang tummy nya.
Ben said he would be an inventor. He would be inventing in a 8 story building which is supposed to be his workshop. He said he will do this when he is 33, kaso isip isip sya, compute, sabi nya, mas bata na lang daw nya gagawin, mga bandang 21 years old daw sya. Kasi pag 33 na daw sya, matanda na daw si Dad nya, mahina na at baka hindi sya matulungan. hahahaha...
At tinanong pa ako, sa age daw ba na yun, ipagluluto ko pa daw ba sya, sabi ko oo... Kasi daw baka magutom sya sa kakainvent.... :-)
Story No. 2 Huli si Dad by Ann
Ann was asking me to help her draw, sabi ko after I finish washing the dishes kasi I always have lots of work to do at home. Naisip ko naman tanungin, eh si Dad pag nasa house anong ginagawa nya? Syempre, she would tell the truth, sabi nya always computer daw.... Hahaha, huli si Dad...
Story No. 3 Too Young to Worry
One day, Ben asked me if he had freckles, sabi ko oo konti lang. He suddenly became upset, ayaw daw nya na may freckles sya. Sabi ko ok lang yun kasi konti lang and don't get exposed to the sun too much... Sabi nya, ibili ko daw sya pamahid sa face nya, yung pantanggal ng freckles and wrinkles.... In the back of my mind I was laughing, pano ba naman 6 years old pa lang si Ben, worried na sya sa wrinkles, paano pa kaya ako... So I just told him, he was to young to worry about that,buti nakinig naman...
More stories to come when my kids say something interesting in the future... :-)

The Curry Monster

2009-07-13T05:03:00.000-07:00

My son's favorite, my vegetable curry with freshly baked naan. See him in this video, which i think is so cute and funny... :-)

Healthy Pasta Dish

2009-06-20T19:11:00.000-07:00

I've made my own version of Pasta Primavera. I know I'm not an expert but in my kitchen anything goes... Basta nagustuhan ng mga kids yung mga imbento kong luto, that will do... Especially if it has meat and veggies in it, its a keeper, and they believe me if I tell them it's healthy...

Ingredients:

1 tsp. olive oil or vegetable oil

4 cloves garlic chopped

1 medium sized onion chopped

400 grams shoulder bacon chopped (this one does not have the fat that the middle bacon has)

1/2 head brocolli sliced into small pieces

1/4 head cauliflower sliced into small pieces

1 carrot sliced into small pieces

1/2 cup water

2 x 250 ml pouring cream

salt and pepper to taste

500 grams spaghetti cooked as per package directions

1. In a large non-stick pan, fry the bacon, when a little bit brown, set aside.

2. Heat oil and saute garlic and onions.

3. Put the bacon back and put brocolli, cauliflower, carrot and water.

4. Let simmer for a few minutes until veggies are half cooked.

5. Put the cooked spaghetti into the bacon and veggie mixture.

6. Add the pouring cream and cook, stirring constantly until liquid is reduced to 1/2 or until it looks creamy.

7. Put salt and pepper to taste.

Actually, my kids like it with a little bit of dry rubbed basil on top when I serve it... :-)

Happy Birthday to me!!!!

2009-05-15T04:22:00.000-07:00

Sino po bang tao ang nagbobroadcast na birthday nya.... Itaas ko na kamay ko... Kasi 30 years old na ako... Happy happy birthday to me... :-) Thank you Lord for giving me life....

HELP - Tea Party Etiquette

2009-05-06T14:17:00.000-07:00

Hi guys! Hope you can help me with this. Saan kaya ako makakahanap ng complete resource on how to do a proper tea party. Tagal ko na kasi humahanap sa internet, pero hindi sufficient. Then yung sa library naman, search ako, wala din, pero parang meron kaso lang yung book 2 years ng hindi sinosoli. Mas magaling siguro kayo magsearch sa akin, so patulong naman. And
if you could chance upon a book in a bookstore, na hindi naman mahal, if you could please inform me.

My kids and I have been trying to do tea parties every weekend but I think we haven't followed the right etiquette yet. Nakakatuwang gawin, kasi yung mga naresearch ko na tamang paghawak ng tea cup and how to drink it, sinusunod naman nila. And tea time is a good time for us to discuss anything under the sun, especially those topics concerning what they want to be when they grow up, what they want to improve in themselves, or what they wanted to tell mom or dad. This ritual I want to continue until they grow up...

So please help us... :-)

Mana kay Mommy, Mana kay Daddy

2009-05-06T02:37:00.000-07:00

Eversince my son told me that his goodness comes from me :-) and his sillyness comes from his dad (nalamangan kita dito dad, hindi ko tinuruan si Ben ha...), I wanted to list all the looks and traits that my children got from me and my husband. So here it goes:

Benedict
From Mom:
His mouth and eyebrows
Smart
Good at reading
Matanong
Makulit
Super sweet (gives me a million kisses a day, ok exage ito:-))
Sensitive
Iyakin
Early Riser
From Dad:
Face (pinagbiyak na bunga)
Nose (wish it was from me)
Sillyness (according to Benedict)
Funny
Likes computer games
Laging gutom

Ann
From Mom:
Face? nothing from mom, really :-(
Fat Legs
Smart
Sweet (kisses me whenever she sees her brother kisses me)
Makulit
Pa-cute
Likes sweets

From Dad:
Ears
Nose (wish it was from me again)
Good at drawing
Lovely handwriting
Creative
Matagal Matulog

NO TV

2009-05-06T00:34:00.000-07:00

Ever wondered a world without TV?

Gone were the days that we pacify our kids with watching tv, movies and playing computer just to make them stay put in one place at huwag manggulo. But now almost the whole day, no TV.

What do they do then? From school that is around 315pm when they get home, they eat, then eat and eat. No kidding... They probably eat rice 2-3 times, up until 7pm and have snacks as well. In between that time and before going to sleep at around 8pm, they do their homework, play with each other, read books, play with toys, draw a lot and ask me a lot of things as well.
It works, I think as of now. They only watch a little bit of TV on the weekends, that is if me or my husband turns it on without them even requesting it....

I hope this thing lasts.... :-)

Funny No. 1 - Broken Broken Sleep

2009-04-26T15:13:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, I was trying to make the kids sleep early to get them used to sleeping early and waking up early in preparation for the 1st day of school for the 2nd term on Monday. But my son slept during the 530pm mass,woke up at around 8pm and was having a hard time to sleep. My daughter and I fell asleep at 9pm, and I was surprised to find out that my son was still not asleep and it was around 130 already. So I told him " Ben ha, sirang-sira na ang tulog mo". Then he said" what did you say Mum?" I said "Never mind Ben, just sleep". He said" No Mum I heard you, you said BROKEN BROKEN SLEEP. My mind was saying "Huwat? Tama nga naman ang translation sa English". And we both laugh really hard.

A Lot of Firsts

2009-04-26T14:33:00.000-07:00

Happy First School Day to Ben and Ann... especially to Ann which is her first day in primary school today.
It is also my first time to drive them to school. The kids were telling me that I was going the wrong way... Hahaha... I was actually taking a longer route going to their school because I am still not comfortable with changing lanes. The "shorter way" going to school means that I need to change lanes 2 times going to the left, straight away, when I turn right at the main road. The traffic on the main road doesn't stop when my traffic light turning right turns green. I wouldn't want to risk our safety especially when I know I cannot do it. I have only been driving for 3 months, and atleast once a week..... :-)
Maybe I will take the "shorter route" soon... when I'm ready... :-)

Ann's Birthday continued....

2009-04-26T05:06:00.000-07:00

As promised, I will post Ann's birthday photos. We have used magic birthday candles, kids were amazed, everytime Ann blows the candle, it lights back. :-)

Benedict's Birthday

2009-04-26T04:54:00.000-07:00

This is a so so late post of Benedict's Birthday which was on the 21st of February. He is 6 years old now. My wish for him is to grow up being a good boy and may he have good health.

We've got several family friends that attended. I prepared Filipino Pork Barbeque, Sushi, Pancit Guisado, Baked Macaroni, two cakes- a vanilla and an almond one. My friends brought Fried Chicken and Baked Tahong... Yum.... Thanks to all of you...

Filipino Sweet Style Spaghetti

2009-04-19T20:56:00.000-07:00

Thought that I needed to share my Filipino Spaghetti that my friends really like. Here it goes:
Sauce:
2 tbsps canola oil
5 cloves garlic chopped
1 medium sized onion chopped
1/2 green capsicum chopped
500 grams beef mince
1 tsp. salt, some extra at the end to suit your taste
ground black pepper
750 gram pack Del Monte Sweet Style Spaghetti Sauce
250 gram pack Del Monte original style tomato sauce
4 pcs. Helliers Cheese Kransky, slice
1 can Phoenix Mushroom whole, cut in small pieces
75 grams butter
5 tsps sugar
grated cheese

Heat oil, saute garlic, onions and capsicum. Add beef mince, 1 tsp. salt, a little bit of ground pepper. Cook until beef is a bit brown and renders a bit of its fat. Add the spaghetti sauce and tomato sauce. Put the kransky and mushrooms. Let simmer for 5 mins, with occasional stirring. Add butter, when its melted put in sugar, add salt and pepper to suit your taste.

This sauce would be enough for 750-1000 grams spaghetti( follow packet instructions for cooking spaghetti.)

Mix sauce and cooked spaghetti and top with a lot of grated cheese... Yum.... :-)

Ann's Birthday

2009-04-17T05:18:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Ann! That was already 5 years ago, since you were born...

My daughter is celebrating her birthday tomorrow, although her birthday is 16th of April. I'm preparing a simple dinner for our friends. I have already made my potato and apple salad today, iced black tea lemonade and the cake which I would just put the icing tomorrow. The main courses would be the most requested spaghetti in Filipino sweet style tomato sauce, roasted pork shoulder (a recipe of Jamie Oliver), homemade pizza (wherein the base is a naan recipe), and would just be baking some chicken chipees and fish fingers....

Hope everything turns out well, I am the sole cook again... :-) And while doing all these stuff I hope my children decide to watch movies instead of talking to me and asking me all sorts of questions. Because they always pick the perfect day :-) to chat to me all day, when you want them playing and watching movies. They've done this as well when I was preparing for Benedict's birthday... Hindi lang katawan ko ang sumakit pati ulo ko.hehehe.... But I'm happy they like talking to me a lot. Benedict even told me today, that I look really nice and cool when I'm cooking... And Ann says I'm a good "cooker" :-)

I'm glad I have spent this day with alot of hugs and kisses and I love you's from Ben and Ann....
Nakakatanggal ng pagod.....

Photos of the birthday coming soon....

Driver's License Test

2009-04-15T02:26:00.000-07:00

Sa wakas, nakapasa na rin ako sa restricted driver's license exam ko. It has been a long journey since I started to learn how to drive, not really long pero for me it was the most stressful part of my life.
I've started my lessons 5 January of this year till it ended today 15 April, kasi nakapasa na ako. My teacher is a very good one,very patient, ako lang talaga ang may problema. He has taught me all the right things that I should do. Kaso lang hindi ko magawa. Not only that my mind is so slow, my reactions and movements are so slow as well. Masyado kasi akong kinakabahan, lalo pang lumalala dahil sa high blood pressure ko. After every lesson, mangangapal ang batok ko, masakit talaga ang ulo ko.
I think passing the test, is even much harder than applying to go to New Zealand. But that's just me. Kung sino man ang nagbabalak na matuto magdrive, wag nyo akong gayahin, nerbyosa. Kung magawa ninyong maging relaxed, saludo ako sa inyo.
I am just so relieved today, nabunutan talaga ako ng tinik, malaking tinik.... :-)
To all my friends, thank you so much for your support, kahit madalas ko kayong kulitin sa mga kwentong driving ko. To my husband who has supported me financially in taking my driving lessons(hehehe:-). I am so glad you didn't insist that I get taught by you and for saying that even if I didn't pass my first take, it is still alright with you. To my teacher, P, thank you so so much. And to the Lord, thank you for being there every step of the way. I love you....

I ♥ Food

2009-02-12T18:40:00.000-08:00

When somebody introduces herself and says she is a Capampangan, unang itatanong nila "So magaling ka pala magluto?". Hindi iyon applicable sa lahat ng babaeng Capampangan. Take for example me, hindi ako marunong magluto not until I came to New Zealand. My mom was even questioning my ability to cook and how could I feed my husband when we migrate here.

Actually, kahit hindi ako nakapagpractice masyado magluto sa Pilipinas,pero mahilig akong manood ng food channel dahil gusto ko na matikman ko yung mga iba't ibang masasarap na pagkain. Ang mga una kong niluto dito, sinigang, nilaga, adobo... Yung adobo, dito ko na sa New Zealand first time ko maluto sa tanang buhay ko. Madalas din akong magluto ng mga imbentong pagkain. Kagaya kunwari, gagayahin yung lasa ng korean beef barbeque na nakain ko sa Kimchi (SM foodcourt), beef steak with gravy and mash potatoes and spicy beef strips with capsicum. My husband is the judge, he definitely tells kung masarap o hindi masarap, and says whats wrong with it in a nice way. Hanggang sa nasabi ko na sa sarili ko na marunong na pala ako magluto.

August 2008, my daughter started going to kindy. Sa kanya ako nahilig mag-bake, because almost everyday they bake something at the kindy. I started with baking muffins, scones and cookies. Then came the hard part, which is making ensaymada na request ng husband ko. It uses yeast which is really unpredictable, because you don't know if it will rise or not. Two times akong pumalpak sa ensaymada ko. But at the third time, I said to my self, pag hindi pa rin umalsa, hindi na talaga ako gagawa ng ensaymada. I had asked help from a blogger who loves cooking and baking and she is from the US, salamat at naging successful. And up to now, every week I bake and try some new stuff. Just today, I tried baking garlic naan bread. I paired it with my imbentong Indian food kuno, which is ginisang kalabasa and brocolli with curry and coconut sauce. I didn't expect my 5 year old son to like it kasi as Filipinos hindi natin masyadong ginagamit yung curry. Pero himala, nagustuhan nya.

And how could I say that I really love food? My dream is to travel to many places, and in travelling these places, I dream of eating the specialties of these places. In Italy,authentic pizza and truffles ; Maine,USA, lobsters cooked in different ways; USA, popular ice cream places and hotdogs; China, chicken cooked inside a clay; Singapore, chili crabs and more.....

Sana nga matupad, kasi nakakagutom mag-imagine... :-)

Maala-ala Mo Pa Kaya

2009-02-08T06:39:00.000-08:00

Nung magpunta kami sa New Zealand ng hubby ko, we left the kids in the Philippines. I would like to reminisce the stories that my in-laws told me about the kids nung time na wala kami... Ben was 4 years old and Ann was 3 years old at that time...

Story no. 1. We decided not to bring my kids to the airport with us instead they were brought to SM, baka kasi hindi kumawala sa amin. We thought it was much better, pero hindi pala. When they went back home na wala kami, simula nun, ayaw na ni Ben umalis ng bahay, ayaw ng gumala, kasi daw baka bumalik daw kami, at wala sya sa bahay... Grabe, nadurog ang puso ko...

Story no. 2. At the pc, may screen saver which is a collection of our photos. One time my mother-in-law caught my son, kissing my photos on the monitor.

Story no. 3. Ben and Ann talking. Ann: Kuya, nami-miss mo ba si mommy at daddy? Ben: Oo. Ikaw nami-miss mo din sila? Ann: Oo miss ko din.

Story no. 4. Ben and Ann talking again. Ann: Kuya, love mo ba ako? Ben: Hindi, kasi miss kita... (Huh, gulo ng usapan nilang magkapatid no?)

Parang kailan lang yun, and I'm so glad, nadala na namin sila dito... I hope when they grow up, they still love us the way they do right now... They are such sweet children.... Thank you Lord for my kids...

Hahei and Thames Photos

2009-02-08T04:31:00.000-08:00

Te Mata

At Cathedral Cove lookout

Ann with a huge tahong

Hot Water Beach

Waitangi Day

2009-02-05T22:33:00.000-08:00

It's a long weekend again to celebrate Waitangi day, they say this is the first migration policy that was made in New Zealand, tama ba ako?:-) We grab the very rare opportunity again to enjoy the beach... Since my husband and I have a crazy work schedule. He works 4 days on and 4 days off, his days off I have work. But whenever there is a holiday on his days on, the company lets the employees really take the holiday, which means he has no work... yehey... This schedule works for us, since at any given day, one of us could take care of the kids...
Getting back to enjoying the holiday, we head off to Orewa Beach. Kids upon arriving at the beach straight away, went swimming... After a little while, gutom na ang mga kids, ayun kainan na... I've cooked Filipino style spaghetti and baked vanilla cake with buttercream icing for my friends birthday which was today also... My other friends cooked pancit and bistek... Hmmm, sarap. Then we went to Wenderholm Regional Park/Beach... Hala sige, ligo na naman ang mga kids...
We had a really good time... We finished the trip with taking alot of pictures together. Kaso lang hindi pa ako marunong maglagay ng pictures sa blog na ito. Pag-aaralan ko pa... So tired already now, but tried to write something in my blog...
Happy Waitangi Day to all...

Ben Loves Mom

2009-02-01T08:28:00.000-08:00

We've just been to Hahei Beach, Whitianga on the 28th of January, but still I can't forget what my son Benedict said to me... He was swimming at the beach with his Dad, I wen't at the upper side of the beach to cool off. He came up to me crying "Mom why aren't you at the beach with me?" And I replied "I'm sorry anak but its too hot there, may gusto ka ba?"and he said "Hungry ako mommy"So I grabbed some chips,went down the beach and look for a shady spot. As we were eating, we were both looking at the waves, suddenly he said "Mommy I love you". And I said"I love you too Ben". Such lovely words to come from a 5-year old boy, when you least expect them, I almost wanted to cry. As I think this is a good opportunity for me to tell him something that hopefully he won't forget until he grows up. I said "Ben, pagmalaki ka na, sana good boy ka pa rin ha? Atsaka love mo pa rin si Mom". And he replied with his mouth full of chips"Yes mom".