Getting Ready For School On Her Own (and some mommy musings)

I was feeling under the weather (nah, make that terrible) this morning so I decided to just stay home and rest. The kid was ecstatic to have me linger in bed way past my usual 7am wake up call. We grabbed a quick breakfast with the hubs and went back to bed. I dozed off a little bit more while she grabbed a couple of pens and paper and doodled in bed while watching me sleep.

At around 9am, Ate Inday called out to her to get ready. I was shaken to full-awake mode when I saw her climbed the bed and grabbed a set of her school uniform from the cabinet beside our bed. I stealthily got up to check on where she's taking the uniform and grinned when I saw her place it gently on our sofa and started dressing up.

My 5 year old can now prepare for school on her own! I am one beaming (albeit silently as I do not want to startle her since she tends to be very self-conscious when caught doing something seemingly amazing) momma once again! I tried to recall how I was as a 5 year old and I don't even think I can match her skill set now. Although, growing up with both of my parents working, I learned to become independent at an early age as well. Looking back, I do not regret growing up in that environment. At an early age, I learned the value of hard work. And I think it was one of the values that are very, very important to teach to my kid. Learning the value of hard work also teaches you to be resilient. It teaches you honesty. It teaches you respect. It teaches you honor. 

Okay. I should stop now (I fear I might sound preach-y soon). Ending this post instead with this:

Dear Maia,

Watching you prepare your things for school today and dress up on your own was kind of surreal. I didn't think I will witness you do such things this early. But I'm really happy. (and a bit sad...but really more, more happy). You are growing up to be the little girl that I've always hoped you to be. You always tell me you understand if Mommy cannot take care of you the way she used to and now I see why. You are now learning to do things on your own!!! Amazing you! I love you to bits, my little miss!

Keep it up, Maia! Continue your pursuit to discover what other things you can start to do on your own beginning today. Me and daddy will always remain by your side to serve as your guide. May you always take inspiration on hardwork that is immensely valued in our family. May it teach you the virtues that it taught me growing up. Remember that there may be no shortcuts to success but hard work will always lead you to it. As long as you remain passionate.

We love you very much! We are lucky to be called your parents!

Daddy and Mommy

Baon And Sharing

assembled her baon kit - tuna sandwich and a few pieces of grapes

Kid proudly munched on a piece of lettuce leaf this morning. I didn't notice so she had to call my attention and point it out to me. Healthy ako mommy, kinain ko yung dahon!

Well, it wasn't easy convincing her to try it. I can only count with my 5 fingers those very few instances where Maia gave in to my request for her to share a plate of greens with me. She still remains a picky eater to this day. And she seems to be quite proud at being that judging from how she would always refuse the healthy things I'd offer to her. But some days, she still manages to let us feel that we matter to her by indulging our requests for her to eat the food on her plate.

This morning I offered her that leaf. I tried several times to trick her to eating it but she was adamant. So I just gave up and resolved to just try again some other day. But when I was assembling tuna sandwiches for our baon today, she probably got piqued at my sudden change of mood so being the attention-seeker that she is she just went ahead and munched on a leaf thinking probably that I'll shower her with praises after. But I missed that moment. Lucky me, it didn't seem to bother her at all. What mattered was she finished the leaf. 

After we've high-fived that moment, she went to surprise me even more. She asked that I pack her a sandwich to bring to school as well. "Please slice it into 4 parts, Mommy. I am going to share my sandwich with N and A at lunch later!" Did I hear that right? My normally self-centered kid finally wanting to share something with someone? (cue triumphant cheers in the background). 

Some 4 years ago, my mornings have changed from good to better. But there are days in between where they happen to be one of the BEST! Mornings like today makes my painfully early wake up calls all worth it. And it all started with just a piece of lettuce.

Love Notes

Maia has a new hobby. She makes love notes for me and her dad. In the morning after breakfast, she would hand each of us a piece of rolled scratch paper with scribbles on it.

"Sa yo to Mommy. Sa yo naman to Daddy. Dalhin nyo yan sa office ha?" "Tingnan nyo muna. Sinulat ko yan para sa inyo. Galing galing ko di ba?" (This is for you Mommy. This is for you Daddy. Bring it to the office, okay? Check them out. I wrote them for you. I did great, didn't I?)

too bad I wasn't able to get photos of Tibs' notes

She's been doing this everyday since the beginning of this week. Times like these make me look back and think about what we might have done to deserve this uber-loving and thoughtful little girl. You see, Tibs and I were never showy and affectionate to our respective families (parents, siblings). Although undeniably, we tend to be quite affectionate to each other. I guess, it does pay to model the values that you want your kids to emulate. 

This morning, while I was instructing Ate Inday on their activities for the day, Maia kept interrupting. So I asked her if she likes to contribute as well. She went to point out several activities in her Art Voyage kit so we wrote them down as well. Being a sucker for surprises (even 'planned' ones hahaha pathetic no?), I dropped hints of wanting to get something special for Mother's day and guess what she did? She got a piece of paper and immediately got down to write. With Ate Inday's help, they came up with this.

Of course, she still had to roll it before handing it to me. (I don't know where she got the idea. She rolls it like the paper scrolls in the ancient times lolz)

ISN'T SHE THE SWEETEST?

I miss blogging so much. I have around 50 drafts sitting in this blog alone but I'm still swamped mostly by work that by the time I get home I usually go straight to sleep after putting Maia to bed. 

But....it's a Friday! So let's get those positive vibes going. Advanced HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO US AWESOME ROCKIN' MOMMAS!