Blogging for Elijah and Sam

It seems that the only time I remember to blog is when I feel nostalgic. Despite repeated promises that I'll be blogging more often, I haven't gotten around to actually doing so. Tonight though, after seeing Sam's old pics, and how this rusty old blog has helped chronicle his life, I just had to post again. After all, I want to be able to look back 6 years from now and reminisce not just about Sam's journey, but Elijah's as well.

Here's a few pics to start me off...

Elijah's first day on earth. Feb 16, 2011.


Kuya Sam and Eli's first gimmick together. Pagpapa-araw sa Bago Bantay.


Three+ months and smiling really widely.


Four+ months. Standing really well and learning to take care of Kuya already.

That's it for now. Since may netbook na ko and internet sa bahay, I should be able to post more pics more often.

Manila Zoo

May 1 was family day for us. We went to Manila Zoo and had a really good time. We were surprised at all the improvements, especially since I haven't been there since I was in grade school. Manila Zoo needs even more improvements since the state of the elephant, monkeys, and some horses are abysmal but at least it is improving. There is hope yet. ^_^

I'm thinking we should go out on such family trips more often. Great for quality time. Great for Sam. Great for our local economy. ^_^

Arrival

Tiger

Llama and kittens. The funny cats were all over the place.

A happy Papa Mark and Sam.

Horseback riding. Php 60 only for one round. Sulit!

Inside the Kinder (petting) Zoo. Additional Php 40 entrance fee. Mas sulit!

The ugly ostrich. A chance for me to face my fears. It didn't work.

The other ostrich chased me! Buti di pinalabas ng cage yun!

Cute boa.

Aww.

Parrots. The ones out front pecked Sam's fingers. He loved it!

Time to go home.

More about Manila Zoo:
Address - Manila Zoo Compound M Adriatico St. Malate, Manila, Philippines
Hours - 8am to 5pm daily
Rates - Adults Php 40; Kids Php 20
Website: www.manilazoo.org (Their website looks a lot better than the actual zoo but am glad they have a good site)

Jumpin' juniper it's a jolly January!

So far this year has been a good one for me. Considering that it's just the first month optimists would say that it bodes well for a good year while pessimists would say something like "wait till you see what the rest of the year of holds for you (with accompanying smirk of course)". Today the optimist in me has won and I am looking forward to more blessings, surprises, and little triumphs this year.

Short list (with long detailed explanations/descriptions) of things to be thankful for this January.

Sam's reaction to fireworks. Although we spent New Year's eve in Bay where there weren't that much fireworks Sam enjoyed himself extremely. His reaction to the pops are much faster and he can now spot the fireworks faster when we point them out to him. Yun nga lagn super nabitin cya kasi medyo konti lang fireworks. He ended up turning and twisting everytime he heard a bang eh paputok lang naman or it was too far away to see!

Long Wendy's chikkahan with Angel complete with laughs, a few tears, and lots of fast talking. Got to see Frank Miller's Spirit that night too. Angel and I decided to go for it after Mark read that the director was 300's director. Real reason: the ABS! The first few minutes didn't disappoint us in this regard and since we went in with absolutely no idea what it was about (I thought it was a horror flick...hehe) we were pleasantly surprised with the whole movie. It was a real laugh, though I'm not sure if it was really supposed to be a comedy either.

Cris Tanseco's wedding and reunion with the girls. I absolutely loved everything about Cris' wedding. So far it's the best one I've attended (that includes mine ha...hehe). There really is something to say for intimate weddings. The number of guests were very limited - close friends and family only. The chapel was nice (Jas loved it but am not to huge a fan of white and gold), the priest was a hunk, his message was short, refreshing and insightful, the wedding vows so heartfelt, the food delicious from the soup to the dessert to the martini, and the couple so in love and perfect for each other it will literally make you go awww. The wedding was all about the vows, sharing the happy moment with loved ones, and simply enjoying the moment. It really was the most relaxing wedding I've ever been to. Am going to post pics next time. Ay thank you Gel for letting Jas and I raid your closet. Hehe.

A "new" nephew. A cousin has met his son for the first time and we absolutely love the little boy. He looks so much like Silas and acts like him too! Am glad for my cousin that he's finally met his little boy. Always better late than never. ^_^

Productivity with Sunlife. I am still far from being the most productive Sunlife agent but at least this year started with a couple of settled apps. Here's to being more productive this year and to becoming a better agent ( disipline + courage + persistence = better ). I have the product knowledge and genuinely care about my clients' interest so all I really need to work on is becoming a sales person. Hehe. Big challenge. Doable. Help!

Lost pounds. Am extremely happy that despite not sticking to my diet due to the Christmas vacation I still managed not to go back to heaviest weight and kept the five pounds I lost prior to Christmas. Hurraz!!!!

Relationship with Mark. We're being nicer to each other. That may seem like a funny statement to be thankful for but it is really significant because to me it means that we...

• want to please each other more
• are more concerned about each other's feelings
• have grown a bit more matured
• are learning how to express our love (and frustrations) in a way the other person will understand
• are journeying towards a better marriage each day.

It truly is living more for the other person than yourself. In the end no one loses out because you both end up giving and loving more and more. Sheesh. Seems elementary but those of you who aren't married should just wait to see why it takes more work than batting your eyes at each other and saying sweet nothings (though that is extremely important too!)

Sam at the Beach

This post is a couple of weeks late but I still want to show some Sam pics. We stayed at Tamarraw Beach Resort, which is not the popular choice to stay in Galera, making it perfect for us. The beach was quiet, the resort staff discreet, the place clean, the rooms big, and facilities really good for the price. Am glad my Ate and Jerry found that place. Am sure Sam enjoyed it too.

Enjoying the rocking boat.

Playing in the sand with Kuya Silas and ate Myla.

Sand!

Sun, sand and sam. What more do I need to make me happy?

Lifeguard tower. Too high and too far from the water to go and rescue anyone.

View from the lifeguard tower.

Oma Marina’s Haven of Rest

That is what my mom decided to name her new blog. After months of planning to get a new blog I was finally able to convince my mom and find the time as well to set up a new blog for her. Since she knows zilch about blogging I guess I'll end up typing stuff for her. It'll be quite a problem logistically speaking since she's in LB and I'm in QC. She's pretty excited about it though so I'm excited for her too. She's really makulit and OC about what should be posted though so we'll see what happens.

I'm pretty proud of mommy because she's willing to try to learn something new. She's already planning to do a post on my grandma, Jerry, lots of post about God, her blind right eye, her newly diagnosed sickness (spondylitis something...yes it's related to Nikki's ankylosing spondylitis), and lots of other stuff. I think blogging will be good for her. She just needs to get an internet connection and for me to set the screen resolution on the PC at home really low so she'll be able to type and read.

Friendships drop by her blog and leave a comment ha para ma-encourage naman cya.... My dad keeps on teasing her and smirking but I think he's just envious yet still a little scared to try it out. Next time they come to visit I'll have a pig or motorcycle template ready for my dad to encourage him to try it out.

Here's to grown ups daring to dive into the "scary" world of the internet...

And here's to me learning how to deal with and appreciate my parents better. Hay...someday I hope to be a good daughter :p

Oh btw don't expect to find any deep dark secrets of mine there because I get to moderate EVERYTHING my mom posts!!! Hehe. I told her she can post anything about my sis but can only post nice things about me... Unfair!

Pics with the Kids

As promised here are some pics of the kids . Not exactly at home in these pics but with my sister and Jerry at Eastwood.

Sam imagining the food he'll be seeing on the plate. Yum!

(L-R) Jerry, me, Sam (playing peek-a-boo behind the menu),
Gemmalyn, Silas, Gio

Resting a bit and having dessert before heading home.

Three stooges.

Silas, Gio, Sam and Nana

I Love Having 3 Kids

They're quite a handful and I have to countdown several times a day to get them to do what I want but I'm loving having 3 boys at home (5 if you count Mark and Jamuel). Sam seems to be having a grand time with all the kuyas (titos in truth) showering him attention as well and has been picking up on Silas' and Gio's fights so that he likes to scream and throw mini-tantrums every now and then. Since he's too well behaved I'm actually happy that he can now communicate his unhappiness. Mark and I are also love seeing Sam's cute face scrunch up when he's about to cry after being scolded a little. Haha. Ang sarap magpaiyak ng bata. It's all we can do to resist toying with his emotions. Truthfully we would if it wouldn't have a long lasting negative effect on Sam. But that is not a good thing so we refrain from doing it. Plus we're pretty sure his lolo and lolas will give us hell if they find out. Bad bad parents! I now understand why Luz and her sibs love to make her niece cry. ^_^

Will be posting pics of the three kids together once my sister uploads yesterdays pics.

We Heart Tito Lito

My Tito Lito just had an angiogram which showed the doctor that he has 5 clogged veins/arteries. He needs to have an angioplasty as soon as possible but they're still going out of the hospital to raise money. They only need a deposit of 100K to be admitted at the Heart Center although they need around 1M to cover the entire operation. BTW they do have a health card but it's already maxed out. If you can help, or know of anyone who can, please do contact me.

Tito Lito is Silas' true dad. All my close friends know about their weird family set up between us and the Carpios. Silas is counted as a real bunso of both families. Tito Lito is one of the kindest and mild tempered person in the whole world. He's so nice that he always gets teased as being "under the saya." I've NEVER heard him raise his voice in his whole life except when he's announcing something on the mike during church services though I have seen him irritated several times. I don't want to spill all their family anecdotes over the internet but suffice to say that when he gets mad he just keeps quiet and after a few minutes comes back with eggplants from the veggies section of the grocery and tells my Tita Ni, "Heto love oh...kumuha na ako ng talong."

Right now the two kids are staying with me. They're having a grand time but Gio, who's going to high school understand what this means more than Silas does. I know his mom doesn't want to burden him but I had to tell him not to ask for his money with his mom because I know how little they have right now. He's lying down on the bed right now pretending to be asleep but I know he's trying to be brave not only because his dad is sick but because he knows this probably means he won't be able to go back to his old school come June. I'm proud that he's starting to understand how it is to be responsible and how he can help his parents by not being a crybaby at the same time it breaks my heart to seem him at this point which will help define him as an emerging adult. It sucks to grow up sometimes.

Please please please God let him be alright.

Sisterly Love

Quick plug everyone.

Please visit my sister's relatively new blog Dreamwalker. She's really excited about building up her blog so go ahead and subscribe and link to her blog. She updates a lot more frequently than I do so you'll find lots of interesting anecdotes. Am pretty sure she'll get around to fixing her layout and stuff faster than I did (haha it took me years and stopped tweaking stuff before I even finished!).

Family pic time so that those who doesn't know her will (ripped pic from her blog)...Oh wait. My sister and I are missing! Oh well. That's Mom, Dad, Silas, Mark (carrying Sam), and Jerry at Trinoma. I guess we've been displaced by our hubbies from the family pic.


Here's the two of us at Manila Ocean Park on Good Friday. Deliberately picked this one kasi lumba lumba kami pareho!!! Haha. Who's who?

The husband (& wife) tag

Saw this on Andrea's blog and though I was in the middle of an article I had to pause and answer the questions. Am not tagging anyone but if you do want to answer go ahead. Just make sure you leave a comment so I can go visit your blog to check on your answers. ^_^

1. How long did you date?
I think we officially started dating when we were already together. It's hard pinpointing when we did start "dating" because we've been good friends for so long so we were always together. Feel free to give me an estimate if you remember it at all Mark.

2. How old is he?
Twenty seven

3. Who eats more?
Mark...I still blame him for influencing my bad eating habits (in terms of portion "non-control").

4. Who said “I love you” first?
I honestly can't remember. I'm so bad at this! But I do remember that I told him that I liked him first. Talk about aggressive. In fairness to me it was meant to make him stop giving me the special treatment and ended up having my feelings reciprocated a few days later. :P

5. Who is taller?
Mark.

6. Who sings better?
Definitely me. Yabang or pagduduhagi sa asawa? Take it as you wish. ^_^

7. Who is smarter?
Andrea spelled it out pretty well when she said that "I guess it’s safe to say that I’m glad I married someone who’s at least as smart as me." Seriously though Mark and I have different smarts. He's the geeky textbook and techie type. I'm the geeky bookworm (fiction only please...) who loves puzzles.

8. Whose temper is worse?
Generally mine but when he blows up I think his is.

9. Who does the laundry?
The washing machine. Maybe I shoul start naming our appliances like my sister does so I can give a name in answer to questions like this...

10. Who does the dishes?
Gemmalyn again. I sometimes do it at lunch or after supper if I feel like it or I think Gemmalyn had a tiring day.

11. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed?
Whoever feels like it.

12. Who pays the bills?
Both.

13. Who cooks dinner?
Me.

14. Who drives when you are together?
Dad, Kuya Dowy, taxi driver, bus driver at tricycle driver. Hehe.

15. Who is more stubborn?
Both.

16. Who kissed who first?
Mark kissed me. I just smiled.

17. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong?
It depends.

18. Whose parents do you see the most?
Used to be mine but this year with Mark's parents going back and forth here and the province it seems that I see his parents more.

19. Who proposed?
Sam? :p

20. Who is more sensitive?
A big ME.

21. Who has more friends?
I think I do even though we have a lot of friends in common.

22. Who has more siblings?
Mark.

23. Who wears the pants in the family?
Check the meaning of the word uxorious. Joke lang. Mark is not "ander da saya" although some people thought he was going to be. I guess the person who wears the pants in our family is whoever is in the right frame of mind for the moment.

Yesterday's Miracle

Yesterday turned out to be one of the best days our family had in years. It didn't start out great it didn't end up great either but all the negative aspects doesn't hold a candle to the huge miracle we saw first-hand. SAM TOOK HIS FIRST (assisted) STEPS. Considering the fact that we have a really hard time even getting him to kneel or stand it was totally amazing to see him move his legs in a weird-looking but definitely real small steps with minimal assistance (the therapist was just holding him up by the head).

I almost had no hope of seeing Sam walk within the year but maybe he will. Paul Beelen (a paediatric rehab specialist) is a miracle worker. A single session with him will burn your pockets but what you get in return is priceless. I'll see if Mark can cut the videos we took and share the ones where Sam moved his legs.

Other noticeable improvements that I might not have reported to all my friends lately include:

• Sam feeding himself lunch/dinner using his hands. It's REALLY messy though.
• Sam's one-eyed peek-a-boo. He can't resist peeking so he covers only one eye!
• Sam's ability to kneel from a sitting position with minimal assistance (but only if you know how to prompt him and if he knows he can't manipulate you into thinking he's too weak for it ^_^)
• Sam's ability to keep the quadruped position (all fours) for more than 15 minutes completely unassisted.

If you have a special child you will understand why we consider these seemingly trivial things a really big deal.

I remember something I saw on TV lately. They said that people said that people viewed the survival of a very ill baby to be a miracle but the truth is that we who have children with special needs know that the true miracle is that there are thousands of babies born everyday that are completely healthy and without defect. We are thankful for our miracle boy but I just want to remind all of you who are parents to never forget the miracle you have and be thankful for it.

Have a good day and I hope you see a little miracle in your life today!

Bullet Points

Ack! I posted on the other blog by mistake but I made it!!! Two minutes to spare. Phew..Even with blogging procrastination is something I have to battle with. Anyway here's my first Feb post.

Holiday Recap

• Best Noche Buena in a long time. I will post about our Balagtasclan reunion and the mini-party mom set-up for the kids who were going around next time.
• Great time during New Year too. Spent it with Mark's parents and brother's family in Pacita. This also warrants it's own post complete with pictures.

2008 Enters

• Regrets: I didn't get to download a 2008 background for my old phone like I did last year. I loved the corny 2007 background.
• Goals: Get a little more fit (am at my heaviest weight ever). Lose some girth. Work on my mental state. Become responsible at work. Have a more structured day for me and Sam. Go on real dates with Mark. Start praying and reading the Bible again.
• Issues: Possibility of having an actual office job (part-time).
  
• Pressing questions on my mind: Which scenario do I actually fear? Am I escaping the fact that I'm a failure as a mom if I work or that I'm a failure as a career girl?
  
• Mood: Existentialist mode (which simply means I'm confused). Help! :p

Latest Highlights of My Life

• The holidays
• Sleepover of Ninong Ian's latest luurve and our get-together with BEDMI minus Ian and Mart (plus Cha of course).
• Mark's Mama and me finally opening up to each other about how we felt about me and Mark getting married at first.
• Sam's pa-cute/beautiful eyes mode and other new skills.

Wants

• The next book to the series I am reading.
• Ceramic iron (for my short hair).
• New clothes. Yay!
• Washing machine.
• Oven.
• House decors (Ref magnets whee!)

Characteristics to Cultivate

• Optimism
• Perseverance
• Discipline
• Courage
  

I guess this post turned out to be more eclectic than I intended to but there's just so much going on in my mind and I don't really have time for anything other than bullet points.

Here's to me posting more frequently!!!

P.S. Thanks to everyone who sent gifts to Sam. Wasn't able to say thank you to anyone really. How embarrassing! We (hehe kasama kami sa nag enjoy sa toys) loved them all!!!

2007 Recap

It's just a few minutes before February and I feel the NEED to blog before January ends. Anyway with just a few minutes to to type away here are some of my thoughts and some events in my life.

2007 Recap

• Good in terms of Mark's career move.
• Very good in terms of Sam's improvement health-wise.
• Very good in terms of opportunities opening up to me.
• Very bad in terms of me making the most out of opportunities.
• Very good in terms of starting to have an even better relationship with Mark.
• Very good in terms of finding a good helper.
• Very good in terms of me taking more steps to be closer to my mom and dad.
• Very good in terms of me taking more concrete steps to get my head get screwed back in place. Pretty poor in terms of making significant progress in that regard.

Need to post!!! More by Feb 1! OC!

It's a boy!

We are happy to announce the most recent addition to our family...Chub-Chub.

Chub-Chub is a dwarf hamster (Phodopus roborovskii). I have no cam (We really need one!!!) so i'm just going to post a pic of another roborovski that looks a lot like him.

Mark and I bought him Tuesday night as a gift to Sam. We were prepared to for Sam to snub Chub-Chub but was pleasantly (understatement) surprised when Sam got really excited. Unfortunately we really can't leave Sam alone near the cage because he keeps on hitting the cage really hard, which scares Chub-Chub. We can't let Chub-Chub out either until I find a hamster ball somewhere because he runs soooo fast and is really hard to catch. I'll be giving Chub-Chub until tomorrow to adjust to his new cage and will start taming him the next day. I am so happy about this. It feels like Sam has a little wiggly brother. Chub-Chub seems sad though so I'm asking Mark to go back to the pet shop tomorrow to buy Chub-Chub's brother. Yay!

I'm so happy we found the perfect pet for our family. ^_^

The One Who Gave Me Life...

...is celebrating her birthday today! Yes. Our birthday is just a day apart. My sister and I will be going home this weekend to have a grand clan birthday celebration since there'll be six birthday celebrant this August in our [maternal] clan.

To help my mom celebrate her birthday I'm going to make her a blog this weekend and teach my dad how to blog for her. She still has trouble with her eye (that was operated on and got infected) so she needs my dad to help her out. She told me that she wants to learn to blog so a blogger she will be! That is so cool. Expect to see a link to my mom's blog next week. It'll be pink since it is her favorite color (teehee) and be full of wise words and verses. I hope she ends up being active in the cyberworld.

Happy birthday Ma! And though Ate and I are really stupid for being unable to say it to your face we love you so much and are thankful to have a mom as rigidly God-fearing as you are. We're sorry for all the heart break we keep on causing you. Now if only I can get the guts to actually let her know someday not just through a card....

Sam Update

Sam has been showing some progress lately. It's really a blessing since I've secretly been worrying and feeling a little down because of all the medical complications and his way too slow progress. Since Friday though he's been amazing us with some significant (at least for him it is) improvements. Latest developments include:

1. Ability to tilt forward while sitting until his head reaches his feet and then stretch out a bit so he can lie face flat on the bed. He still gets all muddled up with this one though and ends up with a leg or an arm stuck underneath so I need to push him a bit to help him get going.

2. Ability to hit his telephone toy with the receiver to get it to make sounds. This is a really big deal because it means that he's learning to use tools. The funny thing though is that sometimes he hits the back of the phone but since it's face down the buttons underneath get pushed and it still makes sounds.

3. Even better than number two was when Sam put his tiny fingers together, pointed it towards the phone toy and then tried to push the buttons with his fingers! He finally understands that you are supposed to hit the buttons for the phone to beep and say "Hello!" and "Goodbye"! Woohoo! I've been showing Sam how to play with it since he was 4 months so it really is rewarding to see him playing with it on his own. It's really a good sign too that he is finally developing problem solving skills.

4. And last is his overall behavior. He now knows how to complain by making cute shouting sounds when he's uncomfortable or needs attention. This is really good since he never used to complain even if his nappies are really soaked or full of poop. But though he knows how to complain more he's been very good during the last two therapy sessions and cried very very little and almost never complained. It's really surprising since we've been absent for more than a month due to his bouts of pneumonia. He is so much more alert and active now. I'm so proud of my boy.

And now... pictures! The pictures were taken this morning before Mark left for work. Notice that on the third one Sam is sitting very straight and is slightly leaning forward. His balance is getting really good! ^_^

Still asleep. Look at those arms! I'm glad he's getting thin.

Great wake up call from Mommy and Papa.

See me sit. Hindi pa ako nasusuklayan!

Hunger in the Eyes of a Child with PWS

Hunger exists in this world. I have no idea how parents who are unable to feed their child feels. It must be gut wrenching to see your child starving and just not having anything more to give. This fact is something the world knows about... and it is our crime that this kind of hunger continues for there are resources to help those in need.

The hunger that personally hounds our family is of a different kind though...yet it is equally as heart breaking. How does it feel to let your child go hungry when there is food in the pantry? This is something I don't know yet. The time is coming that I will know though and it is what scares me about PWS the most. Some days I think Mark and I live in denial about how it will really be when "the hunger" arrives. I keep on hoping it won't come or a cure will be found before it happens with Sam. A lot of parents with PWS must have felt this way too. A lot like us dread it. And now it has arrived for a little girl named Juliette. Here's an email from Juliette's father, George, that makes it clear to me that it too will happen to my son... unless a cure is found fast. Oh God please let there be a cure...

Over the weekend, Julie (almost 6 with PWS by UPD for those newcomers) and I had a chance to play a bit. It was about 10AM. Julie had had her breakfast as always at about 6AM. Then a little snack as always at 9AM. Now it's 10 and we're playing a bit and she says "Daddy, is it lunch time yet?" I answer "No, Julie. Not for a while yet. But you just had a snack, you're not hungry again are you?" "Yes I am, Daddy" she says, then adds "Daddy, I always hungry." :>( Great. "Julie, can u use your smart brain to tell your tummy to wait a while, that it's not time to eat again yet?" "I try to, Daddy. I always try but nothing will work."

And an even more poignant one from George again...

Our teenager has a summer job as Baskin-Robbins. Most nights when she works she brings home a cup of ice cream for each family member, special as ordered for each of us. YES - I can hear you all screaming now. The only excuse I can offer is that Juliette's is always no fat or low fat frozen yogurt. She loves it, it aint half bad calorie-wise etc and she doesn't really know the difference right now between it and ice cream. So, one of the deals with her re food is she gets a small treat after lunch and one after dinner. I mean small. Typically it'll be ONE sugar-free cookie. And she is happy as a clam to get it. Well, when we have the FroYo for her, she'll have that. Whitney always takes some out of the little cup and gives it to Julie. Usually 1/3 to 1/2 of what's in the already small cup (holds about one scoop.) So it really isn't much. Julie is always happy about what she gets. Never complains or asks for more. So last night I was on treat duty. There was a new full one-scoop cup of froyo available and I gave it to Julie with a spoon and said "How much do you want to eat?" She said "Half" I said perfect. You eat half and I'll put the rest away for tomorrow. I leave her to it and come out to the computer. 10 mins later, I go in to check on her. She enthusiastically holds the cup out for me to see and there's still more than half left. I say "Great job. Go ahead and eat a few more bites and then put it in the freezer." I left it for her to do. I want SOOO much to trust her. About an hour passed. I had forgotten about it. Julie came out to lay on the sofa where I'm working. After a while she says "Daddy?" "Yes, sweetie" I answered. "Daddy that ice cream not working for me". she says in an apologetic tone. "What do you mean?" "It not working for me" she repeats. My heart starts sinking and I go to the freezer and it's not there. I find the empty cup in the trash. She ate it all. I didn't get mad at her (how CAN I?) I came back and she said "I put it in the trash" "I know Julie I saw it there. You promised me you would only eat half. WHat happened." "I tried Daddy I really tried but it not working for me." And she was sooo sad. She really felt terrible. She then said "I cant do it myself. I need help" She really said that. I told her next time I promise I will help her. So I guess I learned a lesson that Whitney and probably most of you already have learned. I learned it from the mouth of my almost 6 year old. She (and probably all folks with PWS) is aware of the compulsion to eat at some level. She does try to ward it off and fight it, even at the age of 6. But she cant do it alone. I need to help her. I need to be smarter. I need to encourage her and be there every time when she needs help. Like any of our children, only much more so. She wants SOOO much to do it herself. But sadly, she can't. And I can't trust her with food.

Now please excuse me but I must cry.

Hospital Pics

Ever since high school Jas has always been the one you can trust to have a camera with her. When she visited Sam in the hospital on the 27th of course she had one with her pero camera phone na nga lang. Really cool for us who still doesn't have any. So she and Rohel snapped some pictures of Sam. Here's the link to Jas' photo album at Flickr. Looking at her photos though you'd think it was my photo album. Hehe.

Sam playing with Tito Rohel's face.

Oh and today Sam turns two! No birthday parties though some ninangs and ninongs invited themselves over, which is great. Kwentuhan lang and some merienda. Sam just got out of the hospital last night and is still required to rest for one more week. I guess my baby is happy since he still won't be having physical therapy this week.

Hospital Again

If people are wondering why I've been silent the past few days (and I'm pretty sure no one's really wondering since we all seem to be in the habit of simply disappearing every now and then) I have a good excuse this time. Sam's in the hospital again (been there since Thursday). Maxicare clerks have their panties in a twist. They want to declare his penumonia a complication of PWS. Fortunately his geneticist and Maxicare doctor said it wasn't a direct complication and should stillbe covered by the insurance. Hah! Anyway got to get back to the hospital. Justed posted a few entries for my job.

Oh and Sam won't be having a birthday party this Saturday even if we get out before then. We'll probably have a quiet dinner with a cute cake (which he won't be allowed to eat). We don't want Sam to get tired and finances are severely strained.

Pray and cheer for our little trooper.

Quality Time is Just an Excuse

Hi Guys. Just want to plug my latest post in Froodee. The topic has been bugging me for ages now and I finally got it of my chest. Head on to Froodee to read about my take on quality time.