GRATITUDE JOURNAL

Kyle Kyle, our son in 2nd year high school, received his bronze medal today for his academic performance last year (1st year hs). :) Their population has grown and for his level, there are now 8 sections with about 40 students per section. Getting a medal is getting tougher. Hehe... I once told him to come to me in case he needed help with his assignments, but he insisted on doing it by himself. To tease him, I said, we'll get a tutor so he'd get gold next time. I laughed when I heard him say: "Haaa??? Nooo!!!". LOL. Karinyo-brutal at its best... Today, since the ceremonies were in the morning, this allowed for us and other working parents to grace the occasion and still be back in time for work. Thanks to SHS-ADC, we're able to enjoy the best of both worlds in parenting (being there for the kids while busy with work as well). Kyle with his peers proud ma and pa

The 24-hour holter monitor is nothing more than a portable battery-operated ECG machine attached to the body to check the heart rhythm. It's about the size of a digicam with 3 wires jutting out of it. That's my simplified description of what this contraption is. I was fitted with one today to document my heartbeats for 24 hours while I go about doing my regular activities. The only things I'm not allowed to do are to detach the 3 electrodes from my body or to get any part of the apparatus wet. :). That, in itself, is what I will have to contend with. The other part is the journaling of my activities together with the time these happened and symptoms if any. I initially thought of live twitting my activities to humor myself but decided to just do it using plain old reliable - pen and paper. 1111-1205 car ride from hospital to residence... 1205-1221 lunch at home (chicken tinola - haha!!!). Ah... this is amusing. So yes, I will be on house arrest from now unt

What should have been a free day yesterday turned out to be quite different. Finding myself alone after hubby flew to Singapore for a few days, I decided to clean some closets. Bags were strewn on the bed and some old clothes were being sorted to separate those for charity. Half-way through the mess, I decided to take a break and join the boys for breakfast. It was after I stood up that I felt my heartbeat become irregular. I thought, maybe I was exhausted and that this might return to normal in a few minutes. It did not. Even after breakfast, my chest muscle seemed to be feeling a mild flutter. I became alarmed when it went on for 30 minutes. I requested our househelp to seek assistance from our neighbor who is a surgeon by profession. He checked my pulse and listened to my heartbeat using his stethoscope. He noted two skips in one minute and advised me to take it easy. He even offered to bring me to the hospital he's affiliated with if I wanted to. I didn'

Fried chicken might not be some people's idea of a healthy breakfast but this is one way to wean my 6yo from processed food. Here, he's having home-cooked fried chicken with liver sauce, fresh mango and rice. It could be better, but it's a start.

After ten days in Manila for my father's angioplasty, we all flew back to Cebu for the start of school. Matt, the eldest, was left behind as his first trimester in college started last May 31st, a Monday. It feels different without him at home. The other boys miss him as much as we do. And I guess that's how it's going to be for quite some time. Tomorrow, Kyle's classes will start. On the 15th will be Jake's. The only thing going for me is the thought that with school, all the boys are more productive. All the gaming gadgets and the tv will be put to rest.