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A Daughter’s Crush and Fears

At the iblog 3 Summit, my daughter who was seated beside me whispered “mom, I’m beginning to like *blogger’s name*. He’s cute.”

Surprise! Surprise! Okay, I was surprised at two things :

1. Wow, she’s starting to confide again.
2. I didn’t realize *blogger’s name* is her type.

I turned towards the direction of my daughter’s affection and giggled at her ear “oh yes, I agree. he’s handsome but I didn’t know you liked him. He seems like a nice guy but..I don’t really know him that well. ”

“do you think he likes me?” she caught my wrist, motioning me to keep my voice down.

I shrugged “now why would I have that information? if *blogger’s name* liked you, why in the world would he ever tell me? I’d be the last person he’d confide to. ”

“He’s cute” she continues to gush.

***A few hours later***

She whined “Mom, I don’t think I have a chance with *blogger’s name* . I don’t think he likes me. He didn’t seem interested in a conversation”

“Don’t worry. Men can be clueless. Just be friends for now. Who knows what will happen?” I adviced her.

“Mom, I think he might be afraid of you”

“Now why would he be scared of me? If he has bad intentions, then he ‘d better be scared of me. I bite.”

I don’t blame her for thinking that way. Old feelings probably came rushing on to her.

I had the “NO BOYFRIEND TILL YOU ARE 18” rule. My daughters knew of this rule since they turned 13. I think it stemmed from my own upbringing. My parents instilled the same rule. Butch warned me that Lauren will have boyfriends like his sisters did when they were in high school. I assured my husband “Don’t worry. They won’t have any boyfriends”. So I thought Lauren would be like me , immune to guys. Despite the rule, I allowed my daughters to attend parties, hangout at the mall or receive phone calls from guys. I felt I wasn’t too restrictive despite the rule.

One day, I found out that 14 year old Lauren already had a boyfriend after the mother of the boy called me up. She wanted parental supervision. I flatly refused.

Being a control-freak mother at that time “NO OFFENSE ON YOUR SON, LAUREN CAN’T HAVE A BOYFRIEND.” My voice sounded a notch higher than usual.

That whole summer, she was grounded.

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Adjusting to a New Home

kyleeladyIf you think moving is stressful, imagine what went through our pets’ thoughts when they saw boxes upon boxes being packed, furniture disarranged, and everything in our old home to which they’re accustomed being turned upside down. The family managed to live with the mess for two months. But what about our pets? One of the many considerations of the move was the feelings of our pets. How do we make them feel comfortable towards their new home? Can we teach old cats new tricks? Will they escape and walk back to their old home?

My dear husband refused to bring the pets with him when we drove by convoy to our new home. Humphrey the Boxer pup, Kylee the sassy Siamese Cat, Lady the Royalty Cat, my daughters L and M all rode in my SUV. Humphrey wedged in between the two girls behaved quite well . Kylee and Lady inside one carrier looked like two very pissed tigers. What torture for Lady. She sqwalked all the way from Makati to the other end of Pasig.

“meooooowwwww. meowwwww”

lady the catkylee the siamese catboxer pup

Her wailing meows must have irritated Kylee to his limits that the latter bit Lady’s face. A cat fight ensued. Oh dear. Humphrey ignored the meows as he was being needy. He was still nursing a hurt paw. Despite the pets’ nervous state, my two girls just laughed it off as I continued to drive merrily to our new home.

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I nearly killed our Boxer pup

March 18, the day we had been waiting for so long. We finally moved in to our new home. You know, our new home symbolizes new beginnings. It seemed like an unreachable dream a few months ago. For months, we couldn’t find a property that satisfied our budget and needs. The journey to our new home shows that one can attain a dream if one remains focused and believe that God’s plan works.

The move must have made me so hyper-excited that I lost my focus that morning. As the movers drove in to the garage, they told me to move my car a bit forward. Then I heard a long yelp. Ugh I had forgotten I had tied Humphrey’s leash beside the garage door. Then I heard cries from my 2 girls. Oh no…I killed our boxer. My heart sank. I couldn’t bear to look at the suffering puppy. I turned to the fawn colored pup and felt relief that blood wasn’t spilled all over the garage. My girls were horrifed that I ran over his tiny paw.

“oh mom, let’s bring him to the vet”

It was a dilemma. Should I bring the pup to the vet or not? The movers were piling the boxes on the van and soon we would have to go. Butch was nowhere in sight. So I trusted my instincts. I hugged the whimpering pup close to my chest and he stopped yelping after a few minutes. Phew, I almost thought I ‘d run to the vet for emergency checkup.

The horror of moving day ended there…

It’s our third day since our move and there is 50% semblance of order in our new home. There is still so much to do but I am taking it slowly enjoying every activity in fixing a new home.

Here is a rundown of the day.

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The Princess and her Bay window

bay windowsOnce upon a time a little girl imagined herself as a princess gazing out of her bay window twirling her heart shaped locket. Her dreams specified it had to be a bay window. Dreams do come true after all except the princess bit and the heart shaped locket.

M blissfully relaxes beside her bay window in her bedroom as I putter around our new home. It’s probably a strange coincidence but the last two houses we looked at all had bay windows. I don’t really like bay windows. Its irregular shape is a curtain design nightmare which can be costly. I like simple windows that open wide. Oh well, one can’t be choosy when buying a ready made house that meets the budget.

We haven’t moved yet. The move was to take place last sunday but unfortunately, the floors and the painting are not done yet. Oh and so much cleaning to do. I announced to the family members that we are officially moving on March 18 even if our things will be all brought in on March 19. M asks “What do you mean official?”

I go “Since you have classes on Monday, we can’t all move in as a family.”

M laughs “Oh mom, you and your ceremonies!!!”

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Puppy Love

humphreyMeet the newest member of the family, Humphrey, our cute 7 week old boxer pup. Butch wanted to christen him “Pacquiao” but M shivered with the disgust over the suggestion. So Humphrey it is. My gosh, our [tag]puppy[/tag] has grown over a 4 week period. Five weeks ago, this adorable puppy wasn’t even walking yet. I gushed over Humphrey as he stared at me with puppy dog eyes. His eyes lingered towards his siblings as if wanting to play one more time. And he stared back at me as if saying “let me play, please” . I couldn’t resist those puppy dog looks and stroked his light fawn colored fur. I let him play a few more minutes before it was time to go home. The kennel owner handed over the Philippine Canine Club “Certified Pedigree & Registration Certificate” which showed that Humphrey had 12 red lines of champions in his family tree. Not that I am going to be a breeder but a little intelligence in a dog is a must. It’s not an assurance that a champion line breeds excellent dogs but it might help.

Humphrey seemed resigned to his fate and reluctantly allowed me to carry him to the car. He remained quiet and slept throughout the trip from Cainta to Makati. Hmm. Is he really that well-behaved? The next daunting task is the introduction to the other family members, the two felines. Will they scratch, hiss at Humphrey or better yet feel ignored ?

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Job Hunting

job huntFebruary is Lauren’s last month in college or school at that. Her graduation is still on March though. When she wailed that she had 28 days left before school ended, I wailed along with her. “That means I am old. You’re not my baby”. Every milestone is significant in our children. Their first smile, their first walk, their first day at school and all the first firsts. Did time fly that fast? Wasn’t it just yesterday that I held this adorable little cutie in my bosom? That I held her hand on her first day of school? That I was her whole world. That she could trust me with her future?

That little girl is now a woman , I know. Lauren will be the first grandchild in both sides of our family to graduate. I can feel her confusion over her future. At this stage of her life, she is [tag]job hunting[/tag]. She is on her road to getting her first real job where someone other than me pays for her bills.

“Where will I go? I don’t have a direction.” I often hear her say this.

Just because one doesn’t have a job yet doesn’t mean one doesn’t have a direction. She wants to go into business . I advise her (through years of research with entrepreneurs) that being employed is a training ground before one embarks on a business. Sure , there is the webhosting business but that was so manageable when it was small. (I have since taken over).

Most graduates don’t really know where their field of interests like until they start on their job hunt. My only parental advise is just send resumes, inform friends of your job hunt and grab opportunities when they come.

I held her hand. I assured her that her special gift in creative writing and winning appeal will get her places. She bewails the fact that most job offers are management, accountants or business positions. There is always a market for other careers. It’s just that high paying jobs are in management or Information Technology , none of which interests her.

You could be a lawyer like your dad, if you wanted? If ever, you will be the fourth generation lawyer. Think about it.
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Spring Cleaning

ballerina.jpgAhh [tag]Spring cleaning[/tag] in my mind. A clutter-free existence is something I always look forward to all the time. This time I have the perfect reason to nag family members to get their butt moving because we’re transferring to our new home by the second week of March. Whatever junk they choose to pack will be carried over to their new rooms. It’s their problem. The Lady cat in our home is flustered as she sees stressed-out-old me clearing up the junk and what not. It’s difficult for me to let go of memories as I held the girl’s ballerina tutus in front of me. I decide “This goes to the “For Keeps” corner”. Lady , the cat lies down on the tutu and observes my “Goodbye Gulo” activity. Even if you’re not moving homes, it’s best for everyone to have some semblance of a clutter-free existence. Clutter causes stress, the feeling of not being in control or the absence of peace of mind due to panic searching for needed items. What about dust that settles on useless items.

So what have I tossed out?

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Our Boxer Pup

boxer pups
M and I visited the kennel yesterday to reserve the [tag]boxer[/tag] pup that M discovered through the Dog Tracker forums . There were 4 cute pups to choose from. On the photo above, the female pup is to the leftmost while the rest were male boxer pups. They were only 2 weeks old but they have grown so much. It’s a comforting fact to know that the kennel owner’s Persian cat and his boxer live in peace. We believe the boxer is [tag]right dog breed[/tag] for our family and two felines. We were able to haggle the price a bit lower because I offered more than 50% downpayment. This boxer pup will be a family dog and not a show dog but it’s nice to know that the pups have good genes as they were sired by Philippine Boxer Champion, Solo.

And from among the 4 adorable pups, we chose….

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The Right Dog Breed for Our Family

dals1.jpgThe last time we had a pure bred dog was over seven years ago. The children grew up with frisky dalmatians. My two girls screamed with joy when their Uncle Raul gave them Sindy, the female dal who in turn gave birth to adorable puppies. This was at the height of Disney’s 101 Dalmatians in the early nineties. Can you imagine their delight when 6 puppies scampered about our living room? My maternal instinct yearned for another baby as I helped them take care of the dalmatians. Little did I know that Luijoe was already growing in my womb. Many years later, when we moved to Makati, the village security guards kept giving us a fine of 1,000 pesos ($20) everytime one of the dalmatians broke out of the gate and caused a nuisance to the neighbors. Exasperated, we brought them over to Baguio where they would be free to romp around to their heart’s delight.

Moving to our new home has its risks. Security in the village is not as tight as it is in here. Outsiders are just free to enter in and out of the gate. So my husband thought it’d be best to get a dog for added security measures. I remember how the utility people freaked out whenever our dals came barking at them by the gate. But we didn’t want dalamatians anymore. We didn’t want a guard [tag]dog breed[/tag] like the Doberman because they could be mean. We just wanted a dog that could be a family pet, yet intimidating to strangers and hopefully an intelligent watchdog. Another criteria involved the two precocious kitties who are part of the family. How we love our cats! We don’t want our dog to harm them . They don’t have to be buddies but the cats and the dog need to be civil towards each other.

M took upon the task of researching for the right dog breed for the family. Her first choice was the Siberian Husky
husky.jpg
We found out the Siberain Husky is not quite friendly to small animals. Instinctively they ran after them. The next choice was the Akita
akita.jpg
Then again, M discovered that Akita’s were like the Huskies who ran after small animals. No, that won’t do. M thought that herding dogs or non-sporting dogs would be the better breed. She suggested the Collie but I thought long haired dogs might be difficult to take care in our tropical weather.

I asked “what about the Belgian Malinois?
BelgianMalinios.jpg
The Belgian Malinois , a herding dog closely resembles “the German Shepherd Dog, but upon closer inspection, many differences may be seen including size, bone structure, color, and head and ear shape.” He looks intimidating yet probably kind to cats since the breed is a herding dog. Everyone agreed and the search for the Belgian Malinois began…

Then M showed me an adorable photo of this cat cuddled up with a dog….

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