It's Going To Be A Challenge...

A 3 week old and a 3 year old.
Me recovering from a Cesarean operation.
No yaya (nanny).

For 2 weeks.

Will we adjust? Well, I've been rather spoiled actually, being in the Philippines and all, so I haven't really tried that out. But others have been doing it.

And it's not as if I totally don't get any help. There's hubby who can bring our 3 year old to toddler school (about 5 mins. drive away -- or even less). There's my mom, who can -- and wants -- to cook traditional Chinese ge-lai food for me. There's my mother's laundress, who has volunteered to take over washing my kids' clothes and my mother's all around girl, who I can call in when I need some assistance.

And, of course, there's me, who is able bodied and can do mommy tasks. I've been taking care of my baby 99% of the time anyway.

Just need to get my bearings. Just need to simplify our life. Just need to know how to manage our free time. But we'll make it.

Solo Parenting

Parenting is one of the most difficult (but rewarding!) jobs in the world. Imagine being responsible for somebody who's totally dependent on you for everything -- basic needs, education, major decisions, etc. This is a "burden" I gladly share with my husband, my life partner and who's a great daddy. We now have one 3 year old son and a daughter due to be born in less than three months, and we feel blessed to be chosen to be parents to our angels. Of course, we have our ups and downs in parenting but everything is so worth it!

Parenting is doubly difficult when one does not have a partner to share the major parenting responsibilities with. It's great that single parents are no longer maligned and their efforts are appreciated. There's even a single parents chat where they can meet online and chat about everything. I can't even begin to imagine how difficult it is for single moms and dads. I have a great dad for a husband and there are still times that I wonder if we have being doing things right. Kudos to single parents who have taken on the parenting burden willingly, all for the love of their children!

The Other Side Of The Coin...

I remember when I was getting married, most discussions I've had with people who were also preparing for their weddings didn't really take into account the dilemma of parents.

Since I've been down that path before, I truly understand it if the invitation does not include the kids, since reception food is expensive and the wedding couple would not like to spend so much money on kids who would waste their food and run around the venue. The same applies to yayas. Instead of feeding the yaya, the couple would much rather feed another friend or relative who they've had to strike off their guest list because of budget and/or space constraints.

But now that I'm a parent myself, I do understand the dilemma of parents. I've gone to some weddings with my husband but without my kid, and some weddings without both of them. I've attended my brother's wedding where my son is a ring bearer. My brother understood however, that the yaya has to come. Nevertheless, even with the yaya, my son still proved to be quite a handful.

Now we have been invited again to another wedding, and the invite says 3 people. That means my husband, my son and I. My son is a bible bearer so he really has to be there, both for his duty and because the groom happens to be my cousin. However, since only 3 are invited in my little family, that means no yaya. Unfortunately, pregnant me has some contractions whenever I exert too much, so that means no running after the kid and no lifting the kid. I guess that means the Daddy has to exert more patience and more effort. Oh well, I guess that is really part of being a parent.

Trick or Treat!

Last October 27 was the Saturday before November 1. Our village decided to hold our annual Halloween program on this day, since there was a long break after that.

They no longer allowed outsiders unlike the previous years. This was really good for us. What happened before was the outsiders ended up getting all the candy and eating all the food prepared since they all roamed the village trick o' treating while the village children were participating in the program for halloween. Last year, by the time the program finished, we hardly had any snacks left and when we roamed, most houses had already run out of treats! When I looked around, the unfamiliar faces also included adults in costume! Oh well.... We were only able to get 2 pcs of treats from a village of 300+ houses. Imagine that!

We didn't buy any special costume this year. We just decided to work with what we already have. Since Ethan had overalls in his wardrobe, we just decided to dress him in it. His toys included plastic tools (hammer, wrench, saw, drill) so we decided to let him bring it around. Tadahhh!!!! Meet "Bob the Builder"! Well, other people actually didn't think he was in costume, coz he looked like he was just wearing his regular clothes, which he was :). It was pretty "trying hard", if you get what I mean. It would probably be better if we put a hard hat on him, but knowing my son, that hat wouldn't last more than 5 seconds. :)

Oh, yaya was carrying Ethan while I registered at the front desk. When I turned around, I couldn't find them! I was frantic, even if I knew that the place was safe!

It turned out that Marvin Agustin (a local entertainer), made an appearance and people crowded around to have a picture taken with him. That included my star struck yaya who was easily convinced to have their picture taken. But of course since it was not our camera, we don't have a copy of the picture! Oh well, we'll just have to wait for our community paper. The photographers assured us that they will print the pics there.

We went around the village. Ethan had more candy this year! Much much more! His pumpkin basket was full, as well as an extra cloth bag that we brought along. He also got an orange balloon (this was actually his favorite treat). He seemed to enjoy this second Halloween more than the previous one. I guess it's both because of his age (he's now two) and because of the fact that we got more treats this year!

So, are we going to participate again next year? You betcha!