who you calling chicken?

last sunday, our yaya took a day off, but that didn't stop us from going to the mall. we needed a break. since we had to pay for our christmas eve dinner at the peninsula manila in advance, we decided (actually, i did and the rest just followed) to go to glorietta. i actually wanted to go to greenbelt so that the kids could play in the garden and see some green stuff (they're called plants, sweetie...hehe). but jong was able to park at park square 1 so greenbelt's out of the question. (my dear husband wasn't too keen on walking that far).

i should have known...glorietta's jampacked with christmas shoppers - as in the whole family kind of thing. we just checked out a few stores (for our wish list), then i suggested that we watch "chicken little". luckily, everyone was excited, even little elle.

so off we went to g4, paid for our tickets, got some snacks (eljo now requires a bag of popcorn when watching a movie...mabisyo na!) and got inside the theater. it was elle's first big screen movie ever. she wasn't afraid of the dark too much but i think the loud sounds got to her. so i distracted her with eljo's popcorn and when that didn't work, i just let her cuddle and hug me and i assured her that everything's going to be okay. towards the end of the movie, runt (the pig) got into a singing binge (think "i will survive") and elle got into the groove, too. she was dancing her standard "maisy" dance, raising and lowering her arms to the beat of the music.

on the other hand, eljo was totally engrossed by the movie and his popcorn, as in muntik na nyang maubos yung isang bag! but when the aliens started attacking their little town (think "war of the worlds"), eljo started to feel jittery and wanted to go home. (sigh) but fortunately, the scary parts weren't that long, so we got to finish the movie.

as for me and jong, the movie offered some "unsolicited advice" for parents. listen to your children. be there for them when the world isn't on their side, privately and publicly. i hope that when difficult times come, eljo and elle wouldn't feel afraid of telling us about their troubles. and that we would remember this "little" movie's words of wisdom.

christmas and all that jazz

yesterday was the last day of school for the year 2005 for eljo. christmas vacation officially starts today. yehey!

whew! the past two weeks were very hectic for him (and of course, for me, too). for his class' christmas party, i had to get a gift worth p70 for his "monita"(a xylophone and some bubble concoction in bottle), cook spaghetti for 8 children (with the excess going to the teachers) i wonder why they did not ask us to just bring utensils, hehe...did they know i was a great cook (not!). for the christmas program, i had to get him his costume (which was a no-brainer really, just red shirt and red shorts, but of course, i had to do some last-minute shopping for a pair of shorts at SM, which was quite easy actually, except that i bought a size a wee-bit too big for him). then as an afterthought (talk about cramming), i bought gifts for his teachers and teacher assistants in school.

it was the first christmas party for eljo...not that it was any different from any other party he has attended in the past, except of course, it's christmas. and in our religion, we don't celebrate christmas. but i let him enjoy it, for now. sometimes, we just have to make little compromises like that. i think it's okay. it's about sharing and friendship more than anything else, right? after the party, he looked very satisfied with his "loot" - a new toy car from Niccolo, a hanky from Cobi, a piggy-bank from River, and a "Snickers" chocolate bar from Tara. ( later in the week, Tori also gave him a set of Justice League pencils & other school stuff).

these gifts may not be worth much, but the kids don't really care, it's really the "thought" that matters most. at least for now. somehow, based on my observation of my other nephews, there comes a point in time, when what matters is "the gift" itself. it gets harder to please them as they grow up. later on, they become very specific about their gift preferences. and if you don't meet their expectations, they would surely tell you so. in one way, it is good that they really express what they want. on the other hand, i sometimes wish that they are more appreciative of the effort and the thought that came with the gift.

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on the day of the christmas program, eljo didn't want to wear his costume. he doesn't like the color red. (wow! talk about being specific.) but i told him, everybody's wearing the same colors. he said, not everybody. (which turned out to be true, some kids wore white shirts and red shorts. malay ko ba?!)

we were excited to see him perform. it's his father's first time to see him on stage. while i was hoping he would really perform this time (unlike the last time). even his teacher told me (a week ago) that he is more gregarious and participative in class this time.


but, he didn't. he just stood on stage. and scratched his head. hehehe...i told my husband, "sa quiz bee na lang siguro tayo babawi" (implying of course, that our son is more of an intellectual rather than a performer).

honestly, i don't really mind that he didn't perform on stage now. i know someday that day will come. it will just take awhile. a long while. and when that day comes, we'll be there with our cameras (photo and video)! smile! action!