UP Naming Mahal

I've been meaning to write sooner but things get really depressing when you finally have to leave home and work at your faraway office again. Forty-five minutes going to the office + 8 hours straight work + one to one and a half hours going home. That's ten hours and 15 minutes away from Iñigo. Heartbreaking for a super attached mother like me, I know. So we did a couple of things to bid my one-month work from home arrangement farewell, I bought a blazer and we went to Sunday Car-less Oval at UP Diliman! Being a Malate resident for three years now, it's a real treat for me to go to Quezon City once in a while. With my little family, including a very fun-loving two-year old, it's even more fun to go visit my Alma Mater again.

Iñigo was so well-behaved during the trip. He sat on the car and even let me put on his seatbelt. I say, he was in a really good mood that afternoon. We passed through EDSA and luckily, there was no traffic. I was amazed to see how Quezon Avenue cor. EDSA has changed. There's a new mall there now and lots of establishments. We passed by Quezon Memorial Circle and wished we could be brave enough to pay it a visit soon. I heard there's a nice playground for kids tucked there somewhere.

Being in the UP Campus where I spent four years of college evokes so much good feelings and fond memories. Almost nothing changed, the trees were still luscious green and the smell of grass was addicting.

I suggested we hang out at the park behind the Admin Office and we were not disappointed. It was big enough for our Iñigo to run around and kick the ball we have brought with us. 

We even got to try taho. Iñigo exclaimed, "Eat, eat" upon seeing me and his Dad buying taho from the vendor. So although I have packed some snacks, I let him have some of the delicious soy snack. He loved it but I had to restrict him from having too much as it was a bit on the sweet side. 

 

He loved the grass so much he didn't mind sitting on it. Seeing him enjoying so much in this green background made me wish we lived in a house with a garden, with well-trimmed grass, trees and plants around.  It made me miss my childhood a bit, too.

Thinking he'd get bored from playing, I packed the bubble machine we recently got on sale. It was perfect in this setting. He enjoyed chasing after the bubbles and I didn't have to worry about cleaning up bubble puddles in our room. Haha! Here he is looking so mesmerized with the "Babows".

The bubble solution that went with the machine lasted a good forty-five minutes of not stop bubble blowing.  Sulit na sulit yung two hundred pesos! Hehe. 

Lots of bubbles, eh? After all, the packaging promised a gazillion bubbles.

And because I can, I'm posting my outfit that day. Top from Betty, Shorts from Juana, Sandals from Payless.

Here's what Daddy wore: Top from Gap, Shorts from Robinson's Department Store, Shoes by Nike.

So after an hour we decided to head back to the car. Must I say, it was perfect timing because it rained soon after we got in the car. We took one last photo of the trees before it rained.

We love UP. We promise to be back. (Play UP Naming Mahal in the background. Fade.)

The Working Mom

I was raised by a stay-at-home Mom but I had so much memories of my Dad being at home a lot as well during my childhood. Although I vividly recall being home with my Mom a lot more than my Dad. Maybe these memories were before I even started school, I am not so sure, because I remember being fed caldereta from the nearby carenderia for lunch, our afternoon meriendas of hopia and royal tru-orange, and the smell of adobong liver cooking for dinner. On weekend mornings, I would volunteer to buy pan de sal and liver spread from the nearby bakery! But maybe this was when I was seven or eight already.

Anyway, now that I am a mom myself, a part of me wishes I could be a stay-at-home mom like my own mother. When I gave birth to my son, we asked the hospital to room him in with us right away as this helped us a lot in teaching him how to latch properly and eventually succeed in our wish to breastfeed him exclusively. Since then, Mom and son were inseparable. I remember how I used to sneak in a bath during his naps when he was still very young and rushing back to him before he wakes up. During the first few months, I was attached to him and he was attached to me like a velcro. That's why back then, I couldn't imagine ever going back to work.

My son at two months

But I managed. We managed. Armed with my supportive husband, not to mention my ever-reliable mom and mother-in-law, I jumped back into my normal routine at work. Looking back now, I am truly happy I did. I know this is what God wants our life to be. But mornings will always be ours, My Son. I would just stare at you and let you sleep some more, never mind if it's too late and I'll be caught in traffic. When you wake up with a leaking nappy, I take it off and let you roam around in the room with your cute little butt exposed. We play and sing a little. We eat cereals and drink milk. And that's when I tell you, "Mom is going to the office today". You hug me tight, slowly placing your head on my shoulder. I hug you back. We take a bath (yes, together because that saves us time) and get dressed. Ate Christine comes in the room with your breakfast (yogurt, banana, bread and cheese) and I get ready for my exit. You used to cry when I leave, but your independence is slowly showing. You let me kiss your forehead but you never turn your head. You know that I'll be back and Daddy will be with you soon.