Sleeping Arrangements

For the past one and a half years, the whole family’s been sleeping on the floor. It’s the only way I can sleep with a measure of soundness without the fear of hearing the sickening sound of a small body hitting the floor. Every night, we put together two mattresses so the four of us can fit. I told Jun he can continue to sleep on the bed but he insists on sleeping on with us.

We started doing this after Faith fell from the bed when she was around six months old. She’d been sleeping in a crib but after an exhausting night where she kept waking up, I finally transferred her to the bed at 6:30am, and wedged the crib right next to the bed as a precaution. Joshua was still asleep and Jun had moved to the couch when I got up. I had planned to stay awake but I dozed off so to make a long story short, Faith woke up, crawled all around the bed and I was slammed awake by a big thud. We were lucky there was no (lasting) harm done except for her crying bloody murder (thank goodness for wood floors!).

It’s actually more convenient since I never have to worry about anyone falling off if they wake up before I do (which is usually the case). However, they never seem to want to just walk over to where the toys are and play quietly until I wake up. Oh no, they just like to drive me crazy. When Joshua wakes up, he’ll either want to engage in conversation in a loud voice or tell me he needs to make poopoo (still in a loud voice). Faith used to poke me in the face (and shove her finger up my nose). Sometimes, they’d plop down on your tummy and take a horsey ride or, ask for milk at which point I either give up and get up or, tell them to ask their Daddy (teehee!).

Lately, Faith’s been keeping me awake again. For the past five days, she’s been waking up between 2-4 am, coughing up a storm. It’s the dry kind of cough, making me suspect an allergy. Poor dear, she’d keep shifting her position – trying to get back to sleep only to be beset by another round of coughing. She also tries to sleep with half her body draped over the couch only she keeps sliding back to the mattress (it’s actually funny to watch whenever she does this – I’m so rotten to find something funny in all this!). I know there’s nothing much I can do, except to rub her back and chest and pray for it to stop. Time to bother the pediatrician.

I figure this is what I get for sleeping till noon when I was single and BK (before kids). I warned Jun when we got married that he would have to fend for himself in the morning because there is no way I am getting up before 11am on a weekend. Good thing he used to just take oatmeal for breakfast.

So most days, I go around with half my brain fried from lack of sleep. Who knew a human being could still function – coming up with coherent things to say at work, running errands, driving – with less than four hours of sleep? Think about it.

In the meantime, I think I’m going to ….zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Friday 13

1. I have finally organized our closet! Of course, I’ve only done the folded clothes portion and managed a “mini-purge”. Not quite as ruthless as Ces was but at least there’s a bit more space until the next time I go shopping. Ha ha!

2. Fixed my shoe storage system – now I can find exactly what I want to wear without opening half a dozen shoe boxes in the morning and sneezing to death from all the dust.

3. I realized my feet have grown humongous after having two babies. I went from a size 7 to a size 9. The only thing good about this is that my size is always the one available in a shoe sale. So there!

4. Replenished my “To be read” book pile. It used to have 50 books which I’ve whittled down to around 20 and then it’s up to 40 again. Yay!

5. I’ve submitted all the requirements for my kids’ big school application. Now all I have to do is keep my fingers crossed and pray that they get accepted.

6. In light of the past typhoon which caused a lot of damage to the steel structures where advertising billboards are posted, the MMDA are taking it out. Traffic’s been horrendous the past few days, I’ll be glad when everything’s back to normal.

7. I won the most recent scrabble game with Jun. Our current game’s almost done – only 17 tiles left and I’m around 30 points behind. Help!

8. The kids’ trick or treat costumes this year have been settled. Joshua is a recycled Superman (thank goodness the costume still fits) and Faith is a fairy (c/o of my aunt who so thoughtfully sent over a fairy costume from the US),

9. I’ve also fixed the kids’ closets – only the toys and old clothes left to organize for donation on Christmas.

10. Apart from the Halloween costume, my aunt also sent Ghirardelli chocolates! I’m in heaven.

11. It feels strange to be in a new office with a lot of new faces. I’m slowly getting used to it but I miss my old officemates terribly.

12. My aunt also sent a black robe with a cowl for Joshua which is a bit too big for him. Last night my dad put it on along with a freaky shark hat and went outside to the terrace to scare the maids.

13. Only 75 days till Christmas!

Not my day

Jun and I met up with a friend of mine and her boyfriend for lunch at Rockwell last Saturday. I brought the kids with us – figured it’s been a while since we spent time at the mall just chilling. After lunch, browsed (and shopped!) at Zara where we said goodbye to my friend and we proceeded to the bookstore.

After paying for my books, I went straight to the Customer Service counter to borrow a pen and fill out some raffle coupons while Jun brought Joshua to the men’s room. Faith and I were heading out of the bookstore when I realized that I left my purchases at the cashier. Whew!

We passed by a display of Porsches and of course Joshua thought it was Lightning McQueen. I placed the shopping bags in a chair by the display while the kids posed with the cars. I was just about finished with grocery shopping half an hour later when Jun asked where the bags were. Whoops... I left it in the car display. Jun hurriedly went back for it while I paid for the groceries. After paying, I spied Jun walking back and was relieved to see he got the bags back. We were on our way to the parking lot when our yaya pointed out the grocery shopping bag I forgot on the counter. Ay talaga! I was worse than my grandmother. And the piece de resistance, I was laughing my head off at something Jun said while we were walking back to the car when I tripped and fell on my left knee. I was so stunned at finding myself on the floor that it took several seconds before I got up. I now have a large bruise.

Really, when it rains, it pours.

Friday 13: Doing the Movies

Oooh! That time of the week again. I’m really thankful to Maria and KJ for initiating this Friday 13 thing. It’s something I look forward to every week. My last one was about books, this time, my friend Irene got me to do one about movies. Of course, I had to add a few more to get to 13. So here goes:

1. The last movie you saw in a theatre – My Super Ex-Girlfriend.

2. Current release movie you still want to see - Brokeback Mountain.

3. Last movie you rented/purchased for home viewing (and actually watched). I have to add this last part because I buy DVDs and never get to watch them. So for this one, that would be Underworld II.

4. Movie that made you laugh out loud – My Super Ex-Girlfriend. That first bedroom scene was hilarious!

5. Movie that made you cry – Passion of the Christ. I have yet to meet someone who did not get affected by this movie.

6. Movie that was a darling of the critics but you didn’t think lived up to the hype – American Beauty. Really now, the actors were good but the premise and the message wasn’t good enough for and Oscar Best picture.

7. Movie that you thought was better than what the critics thought – Can’t think of any

8. Favorite Pinoy movie – That would be the second part of the first Shake, Rattle and Roll movie – the one with Herbert Bautista and the manananggal. AHAHAHAHAHAHA!

9. Favorite animated movie – The Emperor’s New Groove (super funny!) and Beauty and the Beast.

10. Favorite movie musical – Phantom of the Opera. I didn’t think they would be able to replicate the magic of the play, but they did.

11. Favorite Disney villain – Esme from The Emperor’s New Groove. She’s not totally evil and she and her sidekick made the movie so, so funny!

12. Favorite movie remake – Sabrina. Loved the story and they cast Harrison Ford. How could I not love it? Also Father of the Bride. I actually like the remake than the first version with Elizabeth Taylor.

13. Favorite movies of all time. I base my choices on movies I could never get tired of and watch over and over and over again.
** Ever After – I watch this every time I see it aired on TV. Cinderella story and fabulous
ballgown I wish I wore to my wedding (minus the wings, of course!)
** Father of the Bride
** Gladiator
** Lord of the Rings – The Two Towers. I like this better than the Return of the King
because of the battle scene. You actually didn’t think they were going to win – I think
they portrayed the sense of impending doom very well.
** Indiana Jones Trilogy – I luuuurrvve Harrison Ford.

Quick Update

It feels good to write again after an almost two week hiatus. I mentioned that I was going on a week long vacation and was so ready with my list of things to do. But you know what they say about the best laid plans.

My maternal grandmother passed away last September 24 (Sunday). We had just spent the weekend at our house in Tagaytay and were coming home from lunch with my in-laws when my mother called with the sad news. My lola had lived with us ever since my lolo passed away more than 10 years ago. It was a good move for her in a lot of ways. It allowed her to be close to where all her children lived and also afforded her the companionship of her sister, who’s lived with us since I was a baby. We were able to get to know our lola better – since we never got to spend extended time with her except for summer or weekend visits to the province.

So it was a really sad time for the family. My Lola Mary will be sorely missed – even my kids know she’s gone.

Day after the funeral the typhoon hit and we lost power for three days. Everything was at a standstill. We had no power, no water and then Faith got sick. Imagine trying to sleep during a power outage, the occasional rain not giving enough relief from the heat with a feverish toddler tossing and turning and dripping with sweat that I felt so sorry for her. I think my upper arms got toned from all the paypay I did during those three days.

I’m back at work this week at my new job. The past week was very stressful and I’m looking forward to the next couple of days hopefully with nothing majorly stressful. We’ll miss our Lola forever but the power’s back on, Faith’s recovering, I’ve got an exciting new job so there’s no way to go but up from here and I’m keeping my fingers crossed.