Sweet Life With Mary

Mary had mentioned, at one time, after seeing one of her TV shows’ characters have one, that she wanted to have a surprise party for her next birthday.  I told her that we cannot plan it that way or else, it would not be a surprise.  She would just have to wait and see and maybe there would be a surprise party for her someday.

Well, since we were moving and leaving her friends a couple of months before her birthday, I thought about having a party for her with her friends so she would not miss out on one this year.

 And I planned it to be a surprise for her.

I started this blog post, a couple of weeks ago and got as far as that last sentence.  What will all the moving and packing for Iowa and getting ready for our Philippine trip, I did not have much time to post.

I checked out Jack’s blog and he has a post about this event. http://jackbergstrom.com/2008/04/24/an-early-farewell-to-colorado/ Thanks, hon!

1. “Ate Ana” - my sister’s 14-year-old daughter.  They have shared their love for dollhouses, dressing up Mary’s Build-A-Bear stuffed animals (we have taken along “Whooshie”  a stuffed leopard and “Heart” a stuffed Cheetah and about 7 outfits), Pokemon and kids’ websites. 
2. Mangoes!
3. Riding in the front passenger seat.
4. Swinging off the bars, while riding inside the cab of my brother’s L300 minivan.
5. Mango TREES! My sister has one in her backyard.  In two weeks, we should be able to pick off ripe ones.  Right now, it is heavy with unripe, green ones.
6. Family and more family - Lolo, Mama Mer, Ninong Kuya, Ninong Diko, Ate Mom, Ate Nikka, Kuya Jopi and Joe. 

1. Fresh coconut juice, hand delivered to my mom, every morning.  My sister-in-law (my brother and his family lives with  my parents) has a coconut vendor deliver the water and meat of 3 not-so-young coconut, every morning, 3 coconuts on weekdays, 4 on the weekend.  While I’m there, my mom added on 2, for me.  Jack, who for some strange reason, is a big of fan of anything coconut, had mentioned to me that coconut water is alkaline and very good for anyone to have everyday.  I certainly find it very refreshing, better than water to quench  my thirst.  And having it fresh every day? With no added sugar or preservatives? What an indulgence! (An inexpensive one- 20 pesos per coconut, so it amounts to less than $1/day.)
2. Chicken Joy from Jollibee.  Jollibee is a hamburger chain here, much like McDonalds.    I love their fried chicken.  Their 2-piece meal comes with rice and gravy— yummy!  Even Mary likes it!
3. Already ate at Goldilocks.  I was missing their dinuguan (soup/stew made with pig’s blood), fresh lumpia (stir-fried vegetable in an egg crepe). Had them plus a Pandan Jelly iced drink.
4. Having my nephew’s yaya (nanny) bathe Mary (and brush her teeth) in the morning and get her ready for bed (wash-up, get into pajamas, brush teeth, comb out her hair…) in the evening.  What bliss for Mommy!
5. Having mangoes like I remember it, tree-ripened ones, thin peel, very little fibers. Sweet!
6. And, of course, the never-ending chats with my mom, my sister and sister-in-law, my brothers, my Dad.  There’s also my mom cooking breakfast at the crack of dawn (since I am up by this time, I get to have this one-on-one time with her) while she gets the house ready for the day (the water gets turned on, floor gets swept and mopped, the main gate outside gets unlocked, the coconut delivery is received), her preparing tinola (savory soup made out of manok na Tagalog (free-range native chicken), chicken blood pudding, green papayas and pepper tree leaves) the very next day after Mary and I arrived, like I asked, my sister-in-law making pancit canton… What a homecoming!

Mary and I, along with my eldest sister and her daughter drove with my eldest brother to a town outside of Manila this morning to spend some time at their homes.  Aside from our luggage and the food (cooked and otherwise) that our mom sent along with us, we had to take my nephew’s cello.  To accommodate this and ensure that the instrument do not get crushed, Mary and I sat on the front passenger seat.  Consequently, Mary got the full view of the streets and everything going on around us while we were driving.

So, she had her first encounter of a street child this morning.  This little boy pressed his face against the driver side’s window, with packages of face towels in his hand, hoping to make a sale.  I noticed him and called Mary’s attention to him.  After we explained to her that this boy (can’t be more than 7 years old) is trying to make money, she got very sad.  We left the boy at the intersection but the memory of him lingered with Mary.

She wanted to go back and buy something from him.

Which we could not and would not do but we assured her that we would “support” the other kids that we encounter.  She can give them a few pesos if she wanted.

Then, she says, “I saw kids walking around without their parents, two kids younger than me and two teenagers.  Can they do that?”

And indeed, there are a lot of kids walking or playing along the road, without any supervision.  How do you explain this?  Though my brothers and sisters and I were not allowed this “freedom” growing up, it was not unusual and was something we never questioned. 

She was asking because she wanted to be allowed to do the same.

And she also want to be out there selling something.

Finally, gotten over jet lag.  Though, I can’t keep my eyes open at 8 pm and wake up at 5 am.  Could be worse.

Mary is fully adjusted to the time difference. She was having too much fun to think about taking a nap during the day.

I aim to do regular blog posts from now on.  I will strive to do it everyday.  Got a lot going on that I really want to share with you all.  The post following this will be about today and I will backtrack and tell you about the other days later.

Or, still trying to cope with jet lag.

Mary and I are at my parents house, the house I grew up in…

Would love to say more…

But I got to go back to sleep…

We are in Des Moines, Iowa!  Finally, after weeks of packing, cleaning, moving stuff to storage in Colorado, we set out Saturday afternoon for Kearny, Nebraska for the first leg of the trip.  Jack was towing a trailer behind our Volvo station wagon and I was driving our second car with Mary in tow.  Both cars and the trailer were stuffed to the gills.  It took a lot longer than anticipated getting them loaded.

Anyway, we made it here.

And then, Mary and I are leaving for Manila Tuesday morning!  Yep, we are going on an extended vacation with my parents while Jack gets us settled in Iowa.  We will be gone for 3 months. 

This blog will be a way for Jack to share in our experiences in the Philippines.  So, watch out for what Mary thinks of balut, how she copes with the heat (or how I do, for that matter) and the pollution and the traffic and how she enjoys her Lolo and Mama Mer and her cousins.

Mary did not like it much.  But, Jack and I did.

We had kept most of the baby stuff as we were thinking we might have another child after Mary.  Mary is now almost six and the chance of that happening has gone down to 5% (I can still hope, can’t I? Actually, it is probably, down to zero, but I refuse to face that reality…)

But, since we are moving yet again and this time to a different state, it is time to get rid of them.  Of course, we are saving a lot of Mary’s baby clothes and other keepsakes but the car seats (infant and toddler), playpens, crib, three different kinds of strollers, baby swings, all other baby “gear” had to go.

If it was left up to me, I would have just given them all away.  But Jack said we should be able to sell them off thru Craigslist.

Have you all heard of craigslist.org?  In our area, it is a free service where one can post classified ads.  I posted the items, added in images (up to 4, easier to sell stuff when people can look at what you are offering), and waited for Jack to tell me that he had sold something.  We divvied up the work on this— I did the posting and Jack fielded the calls and arrangements for people to come look and buy.

Instead of having to cart off these items to Goodwill, we got a few bucks for them (about $300).  Took about a week to sell off most of them.  Today, there’s only a wooden bassinet frame left to park in front of our driveway with a “Free” sign. 

Mary did not care for Craigslist.  She was not happy about seeing her baby stuff go.  She wanted to save them all for HER babies!

There’s the packing.

And then, there’s the cleaning.

And more packing.

Then, cleaning.

Oh, and selling stuff on Craigslist.

Also, finding “gold”, which, in our case, is a long-lost TV remote controller.  And Mary’s recorder, which was her sister’s and so reminds Mary of her sister and is very precious to her.

Had to operate on the couch for them…

Have I told you yet about the packing?  And the cleaning?….

Time to share what’s been happening behind the scenes.  Mary, Jack and I are pulling up stakes in Colorado and moving to Iowa. 

When Jack and I got married in July of 2001, we decided on Colorado to be close to Jack’s daughter.  As she had graduated from college last May and has since moved to Los Angeles, we feel that we no longer need to be in Colorado, either.  Time to experience a different place.

Why we chose Iowa?  Again, for family.  My mother-in-law lives there, as well Jack’s sister and her extensive family.  It is time for Mary to experience having a grandma and cousins close by.

Planned last day in Louisville?  A week from Friday.  By Saturday, April 26, we are on the road and on the way!