Thursday, March 29, 2007

Move Up Pics

Last Saturday was my daughter's move-up day at CAP. It's also the graduation of the older kids. They had this playlet entitled "The Owl and The Pussycat". The kids get to show again their various talents. I was again amazed with my daughter's performance. She's so comfortable with the stage that she just performed like no one's watching. Some of her classmates just stand their doing nothing especially when they saw the crowd watching them. I'm proud of her (again!)





The kids also received various awards. Alex was awarded The Most Responsible Award. I don't know why she was awarded as such...maybe, she really is responsible compared to her classmates.





After the play and graduation rites, I treat Alex and my 2 sisters to Casa Verde. We feasted on the famous Brian's Baby Back Ribs and a pitcher of iced tea. The Camwhoring continues for my sis...






Check out more pics here....

Friday, March 23, 2007

KIDS' Exhibit

Today, I went to my daughter's school to view their exhibit. The exhibit showcases arts and crafts done by the kids. It amazes me how these kids can create art works out of inexpensive materials, of course with the help of their teachers.

Here are some of their artworks...I've also displayed some of my daughter's masterpieces.





















Then, we get to write something in their comment board. My sister and I wrote "AMAZING" and "SUPERB". Next school year, I'm planning to enrol Alex to the same school. I am satisfied with the quality of learning and fun the school is providing her.

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Rock My World!

He may not be the world's greatest drummer...

He may not be the world's famous rocker...

And to some, his music is just a noise...

But he sure ROCKS MY WORLD!!!

WARNING: THE MUSIC YOU ARE ABOUT TO HEAR IS NOT GOOD FOR YOUR EARS!!!

Natal Cleft Video 1

Natal Cleft Video 2

Natal Cleft Video 3




Watch out for these guys...they sure could conquer the hardcore metal rock scene!

And hey, that's my husband on drums!

Monday, March 19, 2007

Moving Up

School is almost over for Alex. At least just for this year and she'll have almost 3 months of break. I don't want her to take summer class coz she's getting skinny and all and I just want her to rest. I could also rest for a while sending and picking her up to/from school 3 times a week. Not that I'm complaining...Anyway, I just had a one-on-one conference with her teachers about her development in school. It's usually done every two months and I just had the last one for this year. In the last parent-teacher's conference I've had, her teachers would always say positive comments about her. There's just one thing negative they could say about Alex and that she doesn't know how to assert herself. If she doesn't like to be touched and then somebody would touch her, she wouldn't say no and simply cry. I was a bit worried because she might be bullied in school if she continues to be inhibited. Today, I've learned that she has improved a lot on this aspect and she already knows how to say NO. I'm also proud to share her year-end assessment for SY 2006-2007 (proud momma huh).

NAME: Alessaundrei R. V.
AGE: 4 years and 2 months
DATE: March 2007
CLASS:Peer Group 3

The following are descriptive summaries of Alex's performance in the different developmental areas:

A. Motor Skills

Alex shows good and age-appropriate motor skills. She imitates movements during exercise with accuracy and control. She enjoys walking, running, dancing and playing with the kitchen set during free play. She keeps herself busy by doing fine motor activities such as stacking blocks, scribbling and lacing. She uses tripod prehension whenever she uses a brush, a crayon or a pencil.

B. Socio-emotional Skills

Alex is a sweet, caring and friendly child. She likes to make friends but prefers to play with peers who enjoy less active activities. She enjoys sharing her experiences with her teachers and relating stories about the things that she finds interesting. She also finds it fun joining group activities like singing, dancing and playing together with her peers and teachers.

C. Self-help Skills

Alex displays independence in doing self-help tasks of doffing and donning her shoes, hand washing and drying, taking out and returning things in the proper places, and table setting and cleaning. She can already follow routine and rules without assistance from her teachers.

D. Language

Alex was shy at first but as days passed she has slowly gained confidence and has started to interact with her friends. By now, she likes to relate stories about her experiences at home or from a place she had been to. Alex can produce the sound of most letters of the alphabet and can associte letters with Frieze drawings. She is an attentive learner. She always wants to do something new. She loves to scribble, draw, color and trace letters. She presents and discusses her outputs in class with confidence.

E. Basic Social Studies, Science and Math Concepts

Alex can name and identify numbers 0-10, colors and shapes. She can rote count from 1-20 with minimal assistance. She can sort and classify objects according to size, physical features and colors. She has also acquired the basic thematic concepts studied such as My Family, My Community, My Environment, Transportation, Countries and Universe.

Signed:

Ms. Margaux Myrna Jade CaseƱas/Ms. Cynthia V. Cernal
PROGRAM FACILITATORS

As her mom, I'm super proud of her performance in school. Though I may not be that hands-on when in comes to teaching her, I still felt a sense of fulfillment for taking part in her development. I just hope she continues to love school and learning. She will have her move-up day this Saturday and there'll be presentations from the kids. It's another milestone for her as she move a step higher from where she is now. Kudos to my little girl!

Monday, March 12, 2007

Uptown Girl No More

Having an office at the heart of the city and more so inside the mall is indeed wonderful. You get easy access to the malls, restaurants, banks and other establishments. You are also reachable to people who want to meet up with you anytime. For more than 2 years, I have learned to love working within Mango area. It’s just a ride from home and my husband could just pick me up anytime. Fact is our office is a bit despicable what with poor air-condition system and facilities plus the chaos outside due to the existence of resto-bars. The company has decided to transfer office because the place has turned into an entertainment strip, which is not conducive to the type of business we’re in. Added to it are the events last year, which posed a threat to the closure of the mall and all the establishments inside it.

And just last week, we’ve finally packed our stuff and moved to our new office. It was quite tedious and stressful especially to the Support Group including my team. The ladies have to literally pack and lift heavy equipment, push boxes and get all the dirty stuff together. We were amazed with the great amount of litter we’ve collected. After sorting through all our files, supplies and equipment, we started to pack up and put together everything by batch. Just last Monday, all of our employees except for the Admin team, Cristine (our Management Systems Assistant Manager) and the guards already reported to the new office.

The new office is well --- NICE. Nice is an understatement, it’s actually BEAUTIFUL. But I’ll reserve the details for another post about that.

Here’s a glimpse of our 2-year Mango Square memories…



with all the trash


more thrash


Halloween 2006


Christmas Party 2005

Thursday, March 01, 2007

Confessions of a Working Mom...

Call it pathetic but the past week has been too tough and too overwhelming both at home and in the office. Being yayaless for almost a month now has been really stressful physically and emotionally you don’t’ even wanna know the details. I’m not complaining or something but the stress has taken its toll on my body. I’m feeling an ache on my neck and back. Then I’m starting to become grumpy all the time and my daughter has been the receiving end of my grumpiness. My patience has been put to test and I always fail. I felt terrible after realizing that I raised my voice at my daughter. She has been super-sensitive and demanding lately. She won’t listen and cries easily which makes it even worst. I admit I’ve been mean to her and I’m guilty about it.

And then, there’s the tension in the office. Although, I’m not feeling it directly but there’s some kind of ambiguity in the air. We’re about to move to our new office but we were faced with some difficulties with our current landlord. We started to pack up our things and yet had difficulty bringing them out of the building. They cannot accept the fact that we’re moving to a new and better facility. Being part of the Admin team, I am in some way involved and have been privy to some confidential information. Because some information is limited to a few individuals, others cannot understand the actions and decisions made by top management. In the absence of exact information, employees tend to speculate and react in a negative way. Our team has been bombarded with a lot complaints left and right from our colleagues who don’t seem to know the real score. I wish I have the answers to their questions. All I know is that the management has a plan but whatever it is, I have no knowledge whatsoever. Our CEO is in town for an unscheduled trip along with our Admin director. He recently made an announcement via email that we're keeping both facilities - old and new. I don't know exactly what plans the management has in mind. My boss looked like a wrecked with all the tensions boiling inside her and I pity her. She has been trapped in all these mess and I’m afraid she would simply give-up and leaves this company.

These are times when I wish to settle as SAHM (Stay At Home Mom). The salary I'm earning cannot compensate the lost opportunity to serve my family. Sometimes work gets in the way first and I tend to neglect my role as a mother and wife. I feel so guilty to leave the house unclean, to see our closets in disarray, to serve my family unhealthy food, to leave my daughter with my in-laws, to let my husband pick me up at work an hour before midnight and to be the working mom that I am who is a big failure in balancing career and family. While it’s true that climbing up the corporate ladder is an invigorating experience for a go-getter like me, I still believe that nothing compares to the feeling of being loved and admired by your family. That I think is the most precious thing in this world that neither money nor career can ever replace.

Good thing, I'm back to blogging again.