halloween ... wallowing ...

... not depressed thoughts, though! just reminiscing the good things that has happened to us as a family. and believe me, there had been plenty. life's merry-go-round kept us on our toes. we pretty much have our own activities to concentrate to - leaving our free days to really enjoy each other's company, like today!

it's mid-term holidays for most schools and i took the option to be free from work myself, just to be with my son and hubby. our day's itinerary is to stroll around Gothenburg Centrum - just get lazy and idle.

we walked the stretch of Avenyn, back and forth - window shopping, people watching, sitting by the bench on a warm autumn day in Gothenburg, which by the way is quite rare. it was pretty obvious to us that on a weekday as this, the city was all abuzz ... we're not the only ones enjoying the generous warmth of the sun and the light breeze.

now and then, i just couldn't help darting in and out of the shops - always ending up with a bag or two as i stepped out of the shop ... and as many of you would guess, my father-and-son-tandem would roll up their eyes in amazement.

towards the end of the day, we ended up in the National Library. soon enough, my hubby disappeared in the motor and car section of the library. alexander could not contain his excitement to go to the children's section. he loved coming to the library as it has a lot of things to offer - there is, of course, the computer and game section, the activity corner (for cartoon drawings, painting, button-making, origami, etc), the reading section where children have their own space - decorated and designed according to their favourite swedish characters and motifs. even parents have their own reading corner with their children - among the clutter of big and small bean bags and wide couches. the library staff are wonderful and very accommodating. and it is rather amazing how they can really get the children abide by the library's sacred rule of "silence". kids would even hush and remind each other to be silent.

yup, that's how we spent our halloween together ... each of us wallowed in our own thoughts and personal need as we enjoyed our own space to do something all on our own, yet still together as a family. we summed up our day together as one great family day ... simply having each other.

on letting go ...

early in the morning today, we've set off my good friend at the airport on her way back to Manila. she'd been with us for almost a week, and it was one lovely reunion. her whirlwind of a visit proved to be too short to really catch up on what has happened in our respective lives or the years that we had been apart from each other. moreso was the time enough for us to show her around Gothenburg and its beautiful archipelago down south of Sweden. but as we've also summed up afterwards, there will surely be visits the next time around ... it's just a matter of planning and organisation - already, i can't wait for it to happen. i wanted so much to keep her with me much longer ... the idea of letting go is truly one difficult thing to do - in whichever way you put it.

our precious gem ...

our alexander never cease to amaze us ... he makes us very proud! his achievements in school is always beyond everyone's expectations - us, as parents and that of the teachers.

today, we have met with his class teacher for his school evaluation and it's really heartwarming to hear how well he has done in school. there are, of course, some areas where he has to work and improve further - but for a boy in his age, we were told that he's special and truly gifted. and we do agree in that particular observation.

it's never a dull moment being around our son. as a parent, i am also challenged on how to deal with his curiosity ... his endless questions ... the way he asks too many hows and whys ... the way he argues his case ... thinking of things all on his own ... the way he interprets things and the way he observes certain situations ... you'd think he's no 6-year old! his loving and charismatic ways of showing how much you mean to him is very touching. not that he's my kid, but i know he's wonderful and he's beautiful inside and out. yes, we are proud parents to our precious gem.

one thing i have learned about parenting our precious gem is to always give him the facts - how ever hard or gory they may be if explained in a very diplomatic way, its true meaning and impact will never escape the mind and understanding of his curious mind. honestly, in more ways than one, he get to teach me a thing or two about myself as i try to get my message across in my own parenting ways. it sure takes two to tango - regardless of one's age!

stockholm rendezvous (summer 2007)

our visits to stockholm is always a welcome treat for us as a family. each visit is always a different experience. for my hubby, it's more of a nostalgia - stockholm is his childhood place. he has so many fond memories of this great city, and it will always be a part of ours as a family as well.

i have been asked too many times to post pictures of stockholm - so, this time i will oblige ... with pleasure! so, now, i am posting choice pictures from our stockholm rendezvous from this summer ... enjoy!

just in passing ...

last night, i found myself a new acquaintance over a chat on the internet. it was a great conversation i had with a total stranger. in the course of our message exchange, we can't help but note that we had some things in common - i'd say we ended up being mutual friends just like that! again, thanks to internet - who never sleeps ....

weekend blues

time really flies! here's another weekend at hand ... and this one's a bit different. my son's best friends, patrick and august, are coming over today at 10 am. alexander's very excited since it's been over two months the last time they got together for a weekend at our place. so, it's going to be a fun-filled day full of activities for the "threee musketeers".

last night, being a friday, we had our usual cozy time as a family - it was video night and we've got plenty on our plate to munch away ... saltines, nuts, dried fruits, chips, M&Ms and assorted marshmallows. we missed the fireplace to complete the ambience - it went kaput and had to be fixed, and very soon!

i have quite a lot of things on my mind as well. we're all excited in the family about the coming visit of my good friend from manila next week - she's to stay with us for a couple of days and enjoy the sights and going ons in Gothenburg. we already made a list of things to do while she's here - we just can't wait!

life, so far, has been treating us good in spite of our erratic and heavy schedules both at work and at home. this weekend is more or less scheduled for clean up in and out of the house. but for today, i made an exception for the "three musketeers" to play and mess things up indoors and have a good time - alexander has promised to help tidy up afterwards when his friends had gone home ... for me, it's a good compromise.

right now, i'm just making a mental note of how much things i have to get done before my friend arrives ... it ain't that much really, but remember my old list? yeah ... that one's very much around ... for better and for worse!

the freedom of choice

can one really forgive and forget? or do you forgive but not forget? or maybe not forgive, but how can you forget?

i have forgiven a lot of people who have wronged me, but it's just difficult not forget each ills and wrong doing they have subjected me to. i always thought, then and now, that it's my prerogative to forgive but not forget. it is not an option for me to forgive and just forget - the combination of these two simply don't add up. perhaps to some, but not to me. however, i have learned to let go of things i have no control of. not totally forgetting, just not let it bother me. how do i do that? i'm not so sure myself.

we all live in the shadows of our pasts - we all have our "ghosts" within our subconciousness. it is always the question of either you let yourself be held captive of your "ghost" in everything you do and everywhere you go, or you put your "ghosts" locked in your subconcious' mental box and leave it there in its own agony and self-destruction to wilt and fade.

we, as human beings, were blessed with the most precious gift of all - the freedom of choice. a lot of opportunities are presented to us in all forms, shapes and sizes - we are given the power and ability to choose. nobody's perfect - that much we all know. no choice is right or wrong. it is a choice ... and what's great about it is that it's something you picked and decided on. its consequence, whether good or bad, is your own doing. you have to deal with it, learn from it and put them into its right perspective. keep in mind that picking the wrong choice will not make your existence in this world crumble - it's a mere wake up call. it gives you another opportunity to correct the picture ... you improvise and make things better. to wallow over the result of your mistake or wrong choice will not help you feel better. get it over and done with - move on to the next challenge at hand.

we all live our lives according to the choices we made ... if you stumble on a heavy block, you should always be able to find ways to get through it - never let it be there in all of your waking hours ... act on it! make a choice .... live by it ... nurture it for your own peace of mind.

forgive and forget? make a choice on what works for you. when you've pick on the choice you want, get on with your life - live it to the fullest ... that's what i always do. i sure hope this would work for you, too.

finally, i met with my doctor!

yes, i met with my doctor today about my troublesome knee (from my scooter accident this summer). surprisingly, he gave me a clean bill of health - no broken bone, no torn ligaments ... just sores muscles, which would take some time to heal - some sort of a trauma to my fragile knee.

i was very relieved to hear that i have nothing to worry about - thank God! however, i was told to exercise my right knee as often as i could in order to build up some muscle activity in the clogged areas of my kneecap. i was told to play football and use my right leg in kicking the ball, or hop around with my right knee as often as i could.

in any case, i have a pretty good idea what to do. and, on a good note, i finally had one thing off my long list of things to do: doctor's appointment - over and done with!

i'm taking time to catch up ...

... in publishing some unfinished blog entries
you probably are receiving entry updates dating back summer, or older.

... writing more blogs
but are not likely to be finished today *sigh*

... reading your e-mail and comments
this is my only time available to do so - at 3.3 am in sweden!

... with gossips from family and friends back home
our dear cyberworld is keeping me company

... reading blogs of my online buddies
i've missed reading them and keeping in touch with what's happening outside my "world"

... with the latest update over the "Desperate Housewives"-brouhaha involving the Philippines and the Filipinos
i can't believe how some filipinos can't separate fiction from reality ... just a bunch of softies?

... with songwriting
yep, those thoughts that pop up in my head get its melodies

i certainly have an awful lot of things that needed my time and attention. how do one cope and catch up with these things? i tend to feel lost yet i try to take things in stride ... i'll get there when i get there ... i'm not one to rush to get there - i might stumbe and fall flat on my face and end up not getting things done, right? all in good time, as one of my friends say ... all in good time.

A Review: Big Brain Academy for Wii

I don't really know who we bought our Wii console for ... all the while I thought it's for our son, but then again it turned out to be just as addictive for grown ups as myself and my husband (playing tennis, golf, baseball, car races, etc) - and that frustrates our 6-year old son. So, we ended up buying extra controls so that we could play them together as a family, to the delight of Alexander (now his friends comes over for a game or two and they're in their own world of Wii).

We find the Big Brain Academy for Wii to be very child friendly and at the same time really stimulating for a very curious 6 year old. My son tends to challenge himself all the more to get better scores and he really strived to get a "gold medal" for each of the activities. This program trains one to count, visualise, identify, analyse and memorise according to the presented logic of interests to really exercise your brain.

The Mii section is particularly interesting for a child as they can create their own face characters to "go to school" in the make believe world of Wii Academy - I'd say, never underestimate the creativity of a child!

For our family, this console is truly an investment - not only for the joy and fun time we get together as a family, but also its help in stimulating the "big brain" inside our little Alexander.

when you are wronged ...

... you either make your voice heard and complain or be silent and keep your frustrations (and anger) to yourself. how to tackle this particular problem is in itself a personal matter - something you design according to your own needs and predicament.

i am writing this in reaction to what i have learned today about my son.

we were called to a meeting with his teacher early this morning. there were no specifics in the notice, and i was one who'd always think of the worse. i asked my son if there's something he'd like to tell me ... if there is something i should know about before i meet with his teacher ... i asked if there had been any incident - good or bad - that involved him in school. well, those line of thoughts are typical concerns of any parents, or at least what i believe.

arriving early in his school, we met a very apologetic teacher - concern written all over her face. and so we were told ....

- that an incident occured in the cloakroom after lunch yesterday
- that a girl punched alexander in the stomach and made him puked in the process
- that there was no provocation whatsoever from alexander's side
- that the girl admitted hurting him but could not explain why she did it

as the teacher was narrating all this to us, i can see the very tight and tensed expression on my husband's face. alexander never told us any of this when he came home yesterday. you can just imagine how surprised we were that it ever happened. we were told by the teacher that they are acting on the incident and they are also meeting with the girl's parents later that day. the children who witnessed the incident were somehow taken care of as they were shocked to see this - they were confused and was said to be very sad and sorry for what had happened to alexander.

the school, i must say, handled the situation exceptionally ... the way the meeting was called and arranged to how they dealt with the incident making sure we, as parents, were informed. we knew that we have to deal with the situation as it is and help him talk about the incident openly at home.

after dinner, we talked to him and asked him about the incident letting him know that we learned about it from his teacher. and so he told us pretty much the same thing as his teacher has told us - and he told us more, especially about the girl. he said that

- he didn't like this girl and has avoided her
- he didn't want to play with this girl because she's too loud
- he don't play with girls who doesn't like cars and trains (they play too much with dolls)

alexander also claimed that he was not really feeling well after lunch yesterday (he'd been ill the week before and it's his first day in school after having been away for a week). he said that while preparing and getting dressed for an outdoor activity in the cloakroom, the girl came up to him and just punched him in his tummy ... "and then everything i just ate for lunch came out" (his words not mine) ... "and i wanted to hit her back, but she's a girl" (again, his words).

listening to him was an eye-opener for us. our child has a character! it was heartwarming to know that my child has taken to heart every "words of wisdom" and teachings we have imparted to him, even if he gets hurt in the process. we always told him to be patient and gentle with girls (never hurt a girl) and never start a fight (just walk away). we somehow felt guilty.

after hearing his side of the story, we have now given him new sets of rules - right or wrong, we gave him the permission to get back, physically, IF, someone caused him physical harm. he promised to remember this next time. i sure hope he does - because no one's going to bully my son ... ever!