The Yaya Chronicles

It's inevitable for a Mama's blog to have a post or two about her Yaya encounters. Here's mine.

While I did not constantly have a Yaya/Househelp when I was growing up, I still pretty much experienced a lot of dealing with them, mostly when I was all grown up because of my sisters and their babies and a lot of stories from friends and online communities.

And when Ava finally came, I finally had my very own share of Yaya stories.

The first one who came in was when Ava was just around three months old. Yaya #1 agreed to do the job but she eventually confessed that she was pregnant and she just had to get away so her family won't know. Of course we had to let her go and told her that she needs to let her family know about her situation. Yaya #2 was too young and because of the lack of goal and maturity, she got bored and opted to go back home after two months of stay. Yaya #3, we had to let go after a week because she was totally not fit to take care of a baby. That was also the first time I fired a person. Yaya #4 was a familiar face to us. She was my first niece's previous Yaya and she also became our help at home before Mr. T and I got married. She left because of personal issues and later on we heard news that she eventually had a baby on her own. Conveniently for us, while we were looking, and for the third time, she went back to us and became our Yaya from Ava's fifth month until her eighteenth. She left once again because this time, she needed to take care of her own kid.

The one that followed, Yaya #5 lasted for a little more than two months. She took a weekend off and while she was away, we found out that she's been doing some things that are unacceptable, nothing that involved Ava, thankfully. We understand that it comes with being young and all but I really can't tolerate some things. We told her not to come back anymore.

Teachings from my Daughter

One thing I love the most about motherhood and parenting in general is that I get to learn a lot of things from a pint-sized tot with a cheeky face. :)

Last Tuesday night, Ava felt warm to the touch. But aside from that, she was her usual jolly self - ate dinner with so much enthusiasm and sung and danced like a pro before our sleep routine. When she latched on to me, that's when I knew she has a fever. We checked her temperature and it registered a 38.1°C. Mr. T and I both concluded that her budding molars are causing it. As per our pedia's advice, we gave her a dose of paracetamol and stuck a Koolfever on her forehead. I also applied some teething gel (prescribed by her pedia) to her gums. She started getting fussy and would latch, unlatch, cry and asked to be carried. We were monitoring her temperature every hour, and by midnight her temperature was already 39.1°C. And she was at her crankiest. Mr. T and I were calm and quiet the whole time, we agreed that if her temperature didn't go down on our next checking, we are going straight to the ER. Thankfully, it went back down to 38°C. But she was still fussy and would wake up every hour or two until the morning of Wednesday. It was then when her temperature started going down to 37°C. Late afternoon, she was totally back as if the night before didn't happen.

You wouldn't know that she's still sporting a low-grade fever here. This was the morning after.

I found out later on that Mr. T and I were sharing the same feeling during one moment when Ava was crying (as if in pain) and we couldn't figure out why. As I have said, we were both quiet and calm but the truth was, both of us were really worried, close to panicking thinking it could be something else other than teething. After recalling what happened the previous night, we realized that it wasn't that bad after all. And once again, Ava taught us how to be her parents.

Ava shows us more and more about her character on a daily basis. We are often caught by surprise with how fast she's growing and maturing. Maybe it's today's generation, but we are really seeing how Ava is becoming her own little person everyday - strong and independent yet loving and compassionate.

Our characters as parents are also changing along with her growth. And I just love how Ava continues to teach us to be more patient, understanding and compassionate. She made us see life on a different perspective, through her eyes. Where everything always has a brighter side. Her sense of humor is so contagious making our home filled with laughter all the time. But she also gets frustrated, she also cries and whines thus teaching us to respond more with sensitivity. 

I know this post is going nowhere really but today my heart is just filled with so much joy just thinking about these things and moments that Ava has brought to our lives. :)

A Secret Love

All men be like..

My wife got sick. She was constantly nervous because of problems at work, personal life, her failures and problems with children. She has lost 30 pounds and weighted about 90 pounds in her 35 years.

She got very skinny, and was constantly crying. She was not a happy woman. She had suffered from continuing headaches, heart pain and jammed nerves in her back and ribs. She did not sleep well, falling asleep only in the morning and got tired very quickly during the day.

Our relationship was on the verge of break up. Her beauty was leaving her somewhere, she had bags under her eyes, she was poking her head, and stopped taking care of herself. She refused to shoot the films and rejected any role. I lost hope and thought that we’ll get divorced soon.

But then I decided to act on it. After all, I've got the most beautiful woman on the earth. She is the ideal of more than half of men and women on earth, and I was the one allowed to fall asleep next to her and to hug her shoulders. I began to pepper her with flowers, kisses and complements. I surprised her and pleased every minute. I gave her lots of gifts and lived just for her. I spoke in public only about her. I incorporated all themes in her direction. I praised her in front of her own and our mutual friends.

You won’t believe, but she has blossomed. She became even better than before. She gained weight, was no longer nervous and she loved me even more than ever. I had no clue that she CAN love that much.

And then I realized one thing: “The woman is the reflection of her man!”

This short essay started circulating around emails and Facebook a while back. Some said it was written by Brad Pitt but turned out untrue, leaving the author still unknown up to this date.

It was short and sweet but all men should take notes from this.

7 Days without Facebook

I was disconnected to Facebook for a week. Here are the reasons why:

1. I hated the news. The ratio between the good and the bad was very disappointing. And then you'll see people sharing and reposting. There was even this news about two kids missing. Then someone posted about the details of how they were found, lifeless inside an abandoned car, then people added more details by posting comments. Heartbreaking.
2. People became superficial. Not all but some. And it was irritating. Posting statuses about everything they were doing, posting photos of food they were eating, etc. just for the purpose of having something to post. Creating an image very far from reality. You'll see a big difference between people who just want to share and those who go out of their way just so they'll have something to post.
3. Photos of people with tubes and other medical stuff, looking so frail and weak. See, I get the message. But I don't want to see them looking so helpless over and over again. I'd rather see them full of life, fighting.
4. Narcicists! Lol. Seriously, I have friends on my list posting selfies, album after album. Doing this, doing that.