RL Funnies | BUYING A BIRD!?

We were in the car on the way to Rockwell for a workshop. Yaya J was telling me about her sideline. She has started selling all sorts again, because she will be sending two kids to school next year.

J: "Kanina kasi, kaya di mo ko mahanap, pinatawag ako ni Ma'am Catherine. Bibili kasi siya ng Avon. Regalo daw niya sa sarili niya sa pasko." (When you were looking for me earlier, I was at Ma'am Catherine's. She is going to buy things from Avon as Christmas gifts for herself.)
K: "Nagbebenta ka na ulit ng Avon?" (You're selling Avon stuff again?)
J: "Yup, kasi alam mo na, dalawa na papasok sa school next year, so kailangan kumayod ng extra." (Yup, because I will have two kids in school next year, so I need to make extra money)
RL (interrupts): "What? Tita Catherine is going to buy a bird?!!"

LOLOLOL! All this time, RL was eavesdropping!

If you're reading this and you don't quite get it, the tagalog word for bird is ibon. Hehehe. That's what happens when toddlers eavesdrop on conversations.

I thought this was really funny. Did you think so too?

Yaya Diaries: AY, PERLAS!

Let me interrupt normal programming to bring you another Yaya story. Yes, Yaya J is back (thank goodness!) and so are her quirks.

Yesterday morning, while in the middle of making the bento for A, I had asked Yaya to go get my earrings from the accessory basket in my bedroom.

Photo from: Pearlhours.com on the www.

Kaye: "Ya, palihog naman. Paki-kuha naman yung hikaw ko sa basket sa kwarto. Yung perlas."
Yaya: "Anong klase, yung maliit o yung malaki?"
K: "Yung perlas, iisa lang yun dun. Medium yung size."
She comes down with a pair of silver stud earrings.
Y: "Hindi naman 'to perlas. Wala naman perlas dun."
K: "E sa'n mo yan kinuha? Hindi naman sa basket yan nakalagay e, sa bedside table yan nakalagay. Sabi ko sa basket."
Y: "Ah! Oo nga, sa basket. Sandali lang."
She then proceeds to go back up... as she reached the second floor landing, she yells...
Y: "Ano ba dito yung perlas? Yung bilog o yung dyamante?!"

Yaya, perlas nga. Perlas. LOL.

Yaya Diaries: GATAS PA DIN!

So the other night, after writing the post on Yaya and her "gatas ng bear", I kinda mentioned to her how I blogged about it, and how people found it extremely funny (and ridiculous). She was a tad defensive at first, but later on, laughed because she really did think the milk of that particular brand wasn't really milk-milk.

Later that evening, we had this conversation...

Y: "Kung gatas pa din pala yun ng cow, hindi pala honest ang N" (referring to the company that carries the milk brand).
K: "So teka, di ka na iinom ng Bear Brand?"
Y: "Ay hindi na, kahit yung gatas na choco nila kasi gatas pa din pala ng cow."
K: "Ganon?"
Y: "Alaska nalang iinumin ko next time, kasi yun sure ako, gatas ng tao."

People, this really, really happened.

Ay, ewan talaga.

Yaya Diaries: GATAS NG COW

Our nanny doesn't eat beef. Nor does she drink or eat any beef/cow/cattle/carabao by-product. And that includes milk and selected ice cream. Apparently, this is something associated to a traumatic childhood experience. 

She used to eat this particular ice cream brand, but once, when we were buying a scoop at the mall, she saw a sign that said "made from fresh carabao's milk"... and almost puked.

Two days ago, I saw her drinking milk.

K: "Aba, Ya, nagbagong-buhay ka na?"

Y: "Bakit?"

K: "E gatas yan e. Diba, ayaw mo ng milk kasi gatas ng cow?"

Y: "Hindi naman gatas ng cow 'to! Tingnan niyo, 'Bear Brand'! Gatas ng Bear!"

Bwahahaha! Ay, ewan! 

Yaya Diaries: BOOKING A PROMO FARE

Our nanny is going home this summer to officially get married. She's been with her boyfriend for the past 6 years, have two kids (born a year apart), and have been planning this vacation for months!

Photo from thefineyounggentleman.com

Last week, she had asked me to look out for promo airfare. I had asked why, when it is cheaper for her family of four to take the bus, because they pay for two adults and the kids (a 4 and a 5-year old) just sit on their laps. 

"Matagal pag-traking! Kawawa naman mga bata!" 

So today, upon seeing a promo on Facebook, I called her and asked for her final dates. 

K: "Kailan mo bang balak umuwi?"

Y: "April 20, uwi muna ako Bulacan. Tapos sa 24, lipad na kaming Bohol."

K: "24? Eh, Holy Week yan, wala nang promo fare. Hindi ba pwedeng May 20, kasi ayun o, P5,000+ lang, apat na kayo."

Y: "Mabibitin naman kami. Magpakasal pa ako."

So I told her I'd check another airline, and will her call again. Later...

K: "Ya, meron dito, sa ibang eroplano, may April 21, pero P7,000+!"

Y: "Ay, mamamatay na ako sa utang niyan."

K: "E sabi mo hindi pwedeng March, di din pwedeng May, yan yung pinakamalapit sa April 24 na may promo. Yan na pinakamura."

Y: "Pwede bang isa lang muna bayaran ko?"

K: "Ha? Ikaw lang sagot ko no. Hindi ko na kaya kung tatlo kayo tapos uutang ka pa ng dalawang buwan. Kita mo naman enrollment ng mga bata sa May."

Y: "Hindi nga, pwede bang isang ticket lang bayaran sa eroplano, tapos hulugan yung bayad ko sa kanila?"

K: "Walang utang sa eroplano no. Kailangan mo ng credit card!"

Y: "Magkano ba isang ticket?"

K: "Mga P1,800..."

Y: (Thinks for a while then says) "E ba't P7,000+, dapat wala pang P4,000 kasi kakandungin lang namin si A at D!"

K: "Ya, hindi pwedeng ikandong ang 5 years old at 4 years old."

Y: "Ha! E bakit sa jeep at bus, pwede? Wala bang promo na libre ang bata?"

Ay ewan.

Yaya Stories: Limes.

So the nanny came to me the other night complaining that the little boy wasn't listening to her. She, apparently, had been reprimanding him (and her own kids, who, yes, still live with us), to no avail.

Nanny J: "Pinapagalitan ko na nga, di naman nakikinig. Sige lang laro ng laro, e sinabi ko madumi yun." (I was reprimanding them, and yet they didn't listen. Instead, they kept playing, even when I told them it was dirty.)
K: "Ano ba nilalaro ng mga bata na ayaw mo palaro?"(What were they playing with anyway?)
Nanny J: "Madikit kasi, hindi ko matatanggal sa couch pagdumikit etong 'Limes'." (It's really sticky and I won't be able to get the 'Limes' off if it gets on the couch.)

So I looked at her, and looked at what she was holding. Limes. Too funny. I couldn't stop laughing, because she started laughing too when I told her it was "S-L-I-M-E" and not limes.

Yaya Stories: Baril-Barilan

Disclaimer: I don't allow my kids to play with guns, and stopped them from doing this after I snapped the photo for IG.

Yes, my son needs a haircut.
He is in pigtails!

A and I were in the room studying when we heard the kids making a ruckus downstairs. Turns out, RL and D (our nanny's eldest) were using RL's Chuggington Tracks as guns (!!!), and pretending they were warriors.

RL: "Pow! Pow! Pow!"
D: "Psh! Psh! Psh!"

I went down to investigate, and to later reprimand them for their "violent" play. Our nanny volunteered an explanation...

Nanny J: "Baril-barilan, Ma'am. Si RL naka-45. Si D, naka-water gun!"

Bwahaha! 

Separation Anxiety

Today was a first, after more than two months, for RL to stay home. I suppose he got used to going to the office with me. This morning, as I got ready to leave, he kept pointing to himself, saying... "Me! Me!" Then he pointed at his feet... "Shoes! Wear shoes." Then he did the sign for shoes.

Poor baby. It tugged at my heart that I had to leave him with the new nanny. But A stayed home with him, too. I had to reassure him that mommy will be back, and I sure hope everything worked out well. So far, I've received 4 update calls from A - none of the panic-kind, thank goodness.

Yaya B is only 18. She was in 1st year college, and had to quit after the first semester due to financial difficulties. Computer Science, too! She must be smart, and it pains me that she has to stop. Of course my first reaction to this fact was guilt. I so wanna help her, but I also need a nanny. And the last househelp I had helped send to college left me with not one ounce of gratitude. She left pa when I had needed her the most.

My mom says I shouldn't be too nice to my yayas. But I can't help it. I grew up with one. And I remember crying when she left. And it makes me sad that some are young kids with so much potential! My cousin's nanny is a 4th year college drop-out. She stopped because she needed to help her family. She says she made the right decision though, given that she was able to send ALL her siblings to school after working for more than 20 years as a nanny to expat families.

Yesterday, Yaya B played Monopoly with A. And according to A, she was pretty good (this coming from my uber-competitive daughter who thinks she is best at everything!) Then, I was told Yaya B made a call to her mom in the province. And cried. This is daily chismax for my daughter, who was all too eager to tell me all about her and Yaya B's day when I got home.

"She cried! She misses her mom."

I should think so, it is her first time away from home.

I think back to how clingy I was when my own parents left to train in the US in the 80s. This was right after my brother KW was born. We had to endure 3 whole months without them. I remember sobbing each time they'd call.

I've read up on Separation Anxiety because of the case with RL. And experts say reassurance is key to successful separation. Assure and reassure the child that things will be ok, that mommy will come back, etc. My mom says to just sneak out. LOL. I tried the assurance tactic yesterday and that didn't work. So today, I sneaked out.

Early this morning as I tried to psyche myself to get out of bed, my thoughts wandered and brought me to memories of my earlier woes with R. Each time he left my side, I had panicked. When reassurance should have calmed my nerves, I was doubtful. Woman's Instinct told me there was something up his sleeve.

Looking back, I now feel like I wasted so much time worrying. I could have saved myself with God's assurance that He is in control. That, or I could have sneaked out to freedom. O_o Sigh.

Note: After reading this post, make sure you read this one. ^_^

Quick Update

I have a new helper. (Thank you, Lord!) So she's currently being trained by A! LOL! She feels she has mastered her chores in the past 2 months and has volunteered to stay home to teach Yaya B.

RL has yet to adjust. He insists on going to the office with me still. Weaning is such a heartbreaker! It pains me to see him cry. :( But he has to stay home. I can't get enough work done when the TV in my office is on, blasting Little Einsteins and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Sigh. I'm gonna miss having him around though. I still thank God for giving me this opportunity to bond with my kids.

I haven't been able to update-update the past few days. I keep forgetting to buy a new Smart Bro card. So not used to using a prepaid device. Have to bug Globe to give me my service back! Hassle. I've been DM-ing @Talk2Globe on Twitter for feedback, and they hardly reply. Yesterday, after so many attempts, someone finally gets in touch with me, but still nada! I've also asked the help of my friend J, who works directly with Innove. Sigh. If I weren't tied to this plan, I'd switch.

I attended the party of R's childhood friend T last night. His wife served a mean Kilawin na Bangus, and I'm actually craving for more. I got to take some home and had that for lunch. But I'm still dreaming of it. Argh. I hate it when I crave for something I can't buy or make on my own.

Told R about the party, and he got pissed I went. T and G are my good friends, too. We used to attend the same small group for Church and their youngest is my goddaughter. I don't get it. He calls them "PG" for Patay-Gutom when in fact, they're more well off than he is, more well off than me! Well at least T has real friends who love and support him. And R says he doesn't care.

Sigh. I don't understand how that brain of his works. These people care for him, but he couldn't care less. I suppose he prefers friendships of the fleeting kind.

Have you checked my 2007 Archive? I've re-published some posts already. Taking time, as I'm reading and editing some (make 'em safe), but yea, some are already up.