Linggo ng Wika 2006

Wise Kids School of Muntinlupa (WKS) celebrated Linggo ng Wika last week. The pre-schoolers had their Pista at WKS last August 23, 2006 (Wednesday) at the Annex Building. The kids brought a small bilao with assorted Filipino food for identification and tasting. They were all dressed in Filipino costume as well. Click here to view pictures from PISTA SA WKS

Come August 25, 2006 (Friday), the kids performed at the Wise Kids School auditorium for their Linggo ng Wika presentation. The pre-schoolers' time slot was from 9:30-10:30 am. As usual, the parents were more excited and the auditorium was packed!

After the presentation, Mon, my Dad, Chloe and I had lunch at Pizza Hut as a reward for Chloe's successful performance. Click here to view the pictures from LINGGO NG WIKA

Click here to view ASSORTED PICTURES FROM JULY-AUGUST 2006

31

Today, I turned 31 ... My birthday this year is meaningful because I'm going to be a mom again ... 5 years after giving birth to a beautiful daughter, I get to experience what it was like again ... this time around, we're having a baby boy :)

Being pregnant again after 5 years made me feel like it was my first ... not a bad thing but a good thing ... the excitement that Mon and I felt when we found out that I was pregnant with Chloe then was how we felt now with Lance. This time, Mon and I are more confident with ourselves because we've travelled through this road before and now know what to expect and how to prepare.

My family and I stayed at home today ... Chloe had school and the weather was bad ... had been raining almost all day. Wasn't really planning on doing anything today because we have been saving up for my delivery next month.

But because parents will be parents ... my Dad called to tell me that he was coming over and he's going to sponsor the day's celebration. He said that he was able to set aside a little something so we can order some goodies to eat ;9

Lunch, we had pizza delivered and for dinner we had Maxx's deliver kare-kare, chicken sisig and half regular fried chicken.

It was all good ... I think tomorrow Mon's going to do some marketing and cook for me ... He was supposed to do this today but was not feeling well.

We'll see tomorrow ... wink wink!

Nutrition Day 2006

Nutrition Day was celebrated this year by Chloe's class by making an egg sandwich and avocado cream. The children were assigned to bring the different ingredients and assist in making the said food. They had fun and enjoyed eating it afterwards.

Click here to view the pictures ...

We're Having A BABY BOY!

Finally, a new blog about my pregnancy … I know the last entry was when I found out that I was positive and now, am on my 3rd trimester, specifically on my 8th month.

A lot has transpired since then … Let me start with my 1st trimester … I entered this pregnancy with hypertension which made me a high-risk case (plus add the fact that I have a history of pre-eclampsia with my 1st pregnancy during the last trimester). Because of this, my OB-GYNE prescribed Aspilet (aspirin) as well as Aldomet (methyldopa). This trimester was different from my previous pregnancy because I felt nauseus and was always tired and sleepy. Back when I was pregnant with Chloe, I did not undergo this stage of “paglilihi”. However, I had some “spotting” then which was why I had to take Duphaston 3x a day. This time around, my OB did not wait for this to recur so she told me to take Duphaston once daily from the beginning.

Speaking of “paglilihi”, this has been the reason why I have been kept away from the computer for some time now. I could not stand being in front of the monitor for long periods of time … I get headaches from this.

When I was about to enter my 2nd trimester, Aldomet was out of stock for months everywhere. I was shifted to Apresoline (hydralazine) which is safe to take during the 2nd trimester onwards. Unfortunately, I was not “hiyang” with the said medication … I had migraine-like headaches, tingling and numbness in my wrists, my blood pressure would rise to 140/90, and I felt sick (like having the flu). I reported this to my OB and she advised me to discontinue taking the medication. She told me to continue with the aspilet and try modifying my diet. Since then, I went on a fish, chicken, veggies and fruits diet. Miraculously, my blood pressure normalized. Even without taking any medication, my blood pressure would range from 110/70 to 130/80 (even until now). This was a good sign … I was happy because it gave me hope … hope of being able to breastfeed after giving birth.

After giving birth to Chloe, my blood pressure did not normalize the way my OB hoped it would so after a few weeks of observation, I had no choice but to take antihypertensives. I had to stop breastfeeding because of this.

This time around, I am determined to keep my blood pressure normal and let this baby reach full term.

When I was about to enter my 5th month, we had an ultrasound to find out the baby’s gender. Unfortunately, it was still too early to say plus the baby’s position made it harder for the sonographer to see. At this point, he said it seems like a girl but he told us to come back next month.

The following month, exactly 6months, we went back and it was confirmed … WE’RE HAVING A BABY BOY! Of course, Mon was so happy and excited to learn about this wonderful news … Now, we have a pair ... 1 girl and 1 boy. The sonographer (Dr. Dy of San Pedro Polyclinic, San Pedro, Laguna), was kind enough not to charge us anymore and even gave us another print out with a picture of the baby’s gender.

Knowing the baby’s gender now, we finalized a name for him … LANCE was the name Mon and I agreed on. We haven’t thought of a second name for him yet at this point …

On my 7th month, I was already big but I felt even better … I could still bring and fetch Chloe to school … doing some household chores was still okay too. However, when I was nearing my 8th month, things changed … I still prepare Chloe for school but Mon has taken over with bringing and fetching her from school. My household chores are now limited as well … Braxton-hicks contractions were more frequent when I do too much which is why I need to go easy on myself at this point.

During my last prenatal check-up, all my lab test results went fine except for my urinalysis. CBC showed all normal … Hepatitis B was negative … OGCT was also normal. My urinalysis showed I had UTI … I was surprised because I did not have any symptoms of UTI … did not feel anything different. MY OB told me that this was a normal occurrence with pregnant women and so she prescribed Ceporex (cefalexin) 500mg 3x a day for 1 week. I am to get a urinalysis after completing the medication and bring it on my next check-up scheduled on the 19th of Aug 2006.

My check-ups are now scheduled every 2 weeks and by September, it’s going to be on a weekly basis.

Since this was going to be a scheduled cesarean section, I was hoping I could give birth on the 8th of September which is Mama Mary’s birthday and since it falls on a Friday, at least Chloe does not have classes the following day. However, my OB said that unless I was already dilated then it would be best that I wait till I reach 38 weeks which is around the 16th of September onwards.

Enough said, will keep you posted on more details after my next pre-natal check up ...

Kindergarten at Wise Kids School of Muntinlupa

After Chloe’s 5th birthday last June 1st, she entered this school year (2006-2007) as a Senior Casa student (Kindergarten as they called it during my time). Enrolled in the same school as last year, Wise Kids School of Muntinlupa, had more to offer … They surprised us parents with a NEW Annex Building exclusive for their pre-schoolers …

December of last year, the school asked the assistance of the parents so that they could improve the school’s facilities and system. An early reservation fee of Php 1,500 for the following school year meant being given the old tuition fee rate plus 25% discount on books. It was a good incentive so we grabbed the offer. Besides, we were happy with the school and had faith that they will continuously try to improve the system and its facilities.

Summer came by and an improvement in the school facilities were imagined as painting of the school or addition or fixing of tables and chairs … nothing aggressive. However, come the Parent Orientation Day, we were surprised to hear that a New Building has sprung for the pre-schoolers! That made my day :) I was very happy to hear about this and was very excited to see the new building.

The first day of school came, this time, excitement came not from attending classes for the first time but from seeing what the new building had in store for us. It was located across the old building and was a corner lot with a single detached house that was newly renovated to fit a pre-schooler’s needs. It was spacious … high ceilings … well-ventilated with lots of windows where fresh air passed through … surrounded by plants and trees … new tables and chairs, white boards and black boards, airconditioned rooms, bigger wash area and separate bathrooms for girls and boys. These mentioned were the things I observed to be great improvements of the school.

The good news does not end here … these were just physical improvements. System-wise, I am proud to say that the school knows how to “listen”. We parents have made comments and suggestions from last year’s experiences and are now very appreciative to see that the school has taken these into consideration.

Did I mention that the school is not Catholic? Yup, they are NON-SECTARIAN and are being run by Christians. Since I am a Catholic, I have been discouraged from the start by others that it is not good to enroll my daughter in such a school because they teach differently from those of the Catholic practices. On the other hand, I have heard very good feedback from other parents whose children are enrolled there. I decided to give the school a chance …

So far, upto this point in time, I am still satisfied with what I see and one of the plus factors I like about this school is that the administration are very easy to talk to. They truly listen and are action-oriented …

On a different note, Senior Casa is different from Junior Casa. Chloe as a Junior Casa student last year served as a preparation … it was an introduction to the alphabet … its letters and sounds … of numbers from 1-50 … of colors and shapes … of values … and more.

This year, Senior Casa is a follow-up from what the children have learned from the previous year. This time around, the alphabet is mastered with familiarity of the letters, its sound, how it is written, of beginning, medial and last letter sounds of words … ordering of letters … sounding …

Math … numbers 1-100 are now being mastered … the children need to be able to count from 1-100 … know how to identify and write these numbers … know what number comes before and what comes after … know what number is greater than or less than or equal to.

Science … Chloe’s favorite subject … teaches about parts of the body, how to take care of your body, difference of boys and girls, etc …

Values … teaches about the Bible … stories from the Book … what values are learned from these stories and how it is applicable in our daily lives.

Chloe belongs to the afternoon class this year which is from 2-5pm. Last year she belonged to the noon time class (11am-2pm). The afternoon class last year was abolished because there were not enough students to make the quota.

The afternoon class is more beneficial for us. First, there are only 6-7 students per class compared to the 15-18 students per class of the morning and noon time classes. Second, Chloe is not pressured when going to school … she gets to eat breakfast and lunch at home. Third, preparing Chloe for school is also easier for me because I am no longer always in a hurry. Fourth, when she comes home, it is no longer hot because she leaves school by 5pm. Lastly, since we are expecting a baby this year, her new schedule will give me enough time to take care both children without any pressure.

Click here to view our June 2006 photos ...