A Thousand Floodgates Opened

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Man, my kid just said one of the worst things I’ve heard in the time I’ve been a dad.

“Papa, take away your phone.”

I fucking died.

What's in a picture?

This post is sponsored by The Picture Company.

My wife and I are a couple of saps. We get teary-eyed at the drop of a hat. It’s one of the first things we learned about each other and one of the first things we bonded over. I can’t remember what we were crying about that first time, but I’m quite sure it was something as ridiculous as this.

Big kids playing with little children

I'd never given much thought to the typical kiddie birthday party. You buy some balloons, hire a clown, eat some cake, open some presents, then you go home. Party over. Simple and sweet. But also kind of expected. My wife, who in a former life was a wedding coordinator, has introduced me to the idea that a party, whether it be for a wedding or for a kids' birthday, is not just a party. It can be so much more.

It can be an experience. It can be imaginative, surprising, and even (gasp) fun. It can make you forget about the rough week you had at work. It can make you not mind that chocolate stain on your nice shirt because your taste buds are doing somersaults and high fives. It can make you feel like a kid again.

This might be the best thing you can do today.

This post is sponsored by Philips.

Facebook gets people riled up. They move one icon slightly to the left and the whole internet is up in arms. We gotta set this town ablaze! We gotta write strongly worded status messages that we hope will get hundreds of likes and comments and, and, and, MAKE THEM CHANGE IT BACK.

Cuz dammit that icon belongs on the right.

But that’s not really the point. What I’m interested in is people. People gettin’ riled up. This is an emotional town filled with lots of emotional people. It’s who we are. And I think it’s fantastic. I think it’s powerful. I think it can get people to do things they wouldn’t normally do.

Like fight. Or march. Or forgive. Or laugh. (yes, some people don’t normally laugh, let’s just hug them.) We share and post a lot of things that make us feel.

This is what I have been seeing on my feeds of late. We feel angry. We feel injustice. We feel the inequality of the few VS the many. And unfortunately sometimes, we feel hopeless.

Everyday is the end of the world

This post is sponsored by Walnut Shoes.

One of the things that happen when you become a father is that you remember what it was like being a child. Some people though remain children throughout their adult life but we’re not gonna go there. Let’s just hug them.

Everyday that I’m with my boys, I try to see the world from their perspective, if not from their height. As adults, we live in the big world. With every person we meet, every friend we make, every new place we visit or country we travel to, we continue to stretch our world and make it bigger.

Heart failure

This post is sponsored by Philips Avent.

A few weeks ago my wife and I had a fight. It was our anniversary that day. Ouch, I know. 5 years of marriage and 2 kids later, it seemed like we had stopped moving forward. It’s more complicated than that of course. Marriage is a complicated beast. And most of the time, at least in our case, the things that complicate it are the things that are left unsaid.

My front door was an elevator

This post is sponsored by Avida Land, an Ayala Land company.

I grew up in a building. Back then it was gray and white. Now the façade is a pale green, a dubious color in my mind. It stands 8 stories high, tiny by today’s standards and has a 2-level basement where I learned to ride my skateboard down its ramps when no cars were passing through.

We were walled-in by offices inside buildings much higher than our own. Full of busy people doing busy things. But at night, the city became quiet. The people who came here during the day to work and eat retreated back into their cars and drove away. Night returned the city to the people who call this home. This was Makati in the 80s.

Moms on the Floor

Information for your eyeballs.

Mommy Mundo is having an event called Moms on the Floor. In it, moms (pregnant moms, new moms and moms of kids up to 6 years of age) learn new stuff like preparing for birth, learning how to play with your child, infant massage, prenatal yoga, and kids yoga.

Some people you just can't replace.

The wife and I have been talking a lot lately about our son's upcoming birthday party. Parties actually. Both our children's birthdays are mere days apart from each other. This will be our first joint birthday with them celebrating. My older son is turning 3 and my youngest is turning 1. 

Some guys don't like being involved in the details of party planning. They'd rather leave it to the wife. Normally, that's what I'd do. I'm not good with details, I'm more a broad strokes kind of guy. But ever since I married the missus, she's forcibly dragged persuaded convinced me that planning these things can actually be fun. 

My son the astronaut.

This post is sponsored by AXA Philippines.

My kid scares me sometimes. He tells me when he grows up, he wants to live on Mars. He dreams big. And I don’t know what our world will look like in 5 years, let alone 20 years. I wouldn’t be surprised if tomorrow scientists finally figured out faster-than-light space travel or jumping through wormholes or folding space and time.

These things almost seem inevitable. Science fiction eventually becomes science fact. It’s just a matter of when. And incidentally I’m still waiting for my personal jet-pack, step on it science!

My body speaks and it is not pleased.

This is a sponsored post by CrossFit Manila Kapitolyo.

I heard from a friend some months ago that kids as young as 14 and 15 have started going to the gym. Not for health reasons but for aesthetic ones because for sure, those 14 / 15 years olds can run a marathon without so much as a drink of water. I couldn’t believe it and yet somehow it made sense. Which is different from sensible, but I understood the why of it. Because you know what happens when you turn 14 / 15? Girls happen.

I think there’s a lot more pressure now for young guys to look as good if not better than the girls they are hoping to date. And maybe the girls also expect much more from guys. Either that or we’ve been having a severe shortage of charm and must base our strategy instead on really tight shirts.

Shout out to Jersey.
source: tjhtees.com

The art of breastfeeding

This is a Philips Avent sponsored post.

It’s kind of wonderful to know that my generation is really embracing the act of breastfeeding our children. I’m not saying that the previous generation was wrong in feeding their kids formula. But dude they were wrong.

There’s no reason for you not to research and learn about breastfeeding. That’s one thing we have that our parents didn’t have – the internets. After all, how can you decide if breastfeeding or formula milk is for you if you don’t get all the information? Enlighten yourselves. Only then can you make an informed and responsible decision.

The vast depth of the ocean.

Why do we do the things we do?

You could spend your entire life not fully knowing who you are. Is that how life works? A man on his death bed will discover how he truly will act when faced with the imminent end to his life. Even in his dying moment, who he truly is will rise to the surface, the last gasp of air before returning to the unknowable void.

You can spend your life living as an image, a photocopy of other people’s expectations or you can live as you truly are, an original. Most people live in between. After all, you won’t know yourself fully until your dying day.

Soundtrack for the dreaming.

I’ve been waking up with Barney’s theme song playing in my head. Or Pocoyo’s. Or Mickey’s Hotdog song. Or sometimes, it’s the lullabies we play at night which are a collection of instrumental music set to classic nursery rhymes.

It’ll play in my head several times throughout the day. And I’ll hum these tunes involuntarily, unconsciously. And like some kind of degenerative mental disease, it’s slowly making me lose my mind.

So I made a new playlist. It’s about time the kids' musical education started anyway.

Since this was going to be a lullaby playlist, designed to play all night on repeat, some criteria had to be met.

Eating my feelings: The Fast Diet

Lately I’ve been really feeling my age. You know you’re getting old when you always make a sound when you bend over to pick something up. Like some kind of warning siren alerting the people around you that 'hey in case something happens to me while picking up this pencil from the floor, call emergency services.'

I’ve yet to see the inside of an ambulance but I know I’ve got to live better. Starting with my diet.

Our bodies are incredibly tough, incredibly resilient machines. It continues to function, operate and repair itself all on its own. We take it for granted. And we abuse it. At least I do - with high-sugar, high-fat, high-everything food. I abuse it so much that it can’t keep up with all the frappuccinos, burritos, burgers and most recently, cronuts.

And like a sign from above, this arrived all the way from my sister in London. Because the last thing I would buy is a diet book. 

Tiger Blood!

Personally I love Charlie Sheen. The world is much more interesting with him in it. Also, who doesn't love winning? Tiger's blood... maybe not so much.

My nails have been de-virginized.

No longer am I a mani-pedi virgin. I know, I'm a late bloomer. Always have been. But it took an invitation from Blanca De China Lifestyle Spa for me to open up to the idea. The idea being: guys can prettify their nails too.

I hear it's gaining popularity with men. It's not so uncommon to find a dude sitting beside some ladies, reading a magazine while they all have their nails done. And for some reason I keep imagining David Spade laughing and flipping his hair.

So is this girl-thing now a dude-thing? My nails do look pretty.

The white makes everything feel light and calm.

App Review: Stella and Sam

I just discovered this cool kids app called Stella and Sam Storybook. We kinda stumbled upon this app because it was one of those free for a limited time deals, so we decided to try it out.

In Octopi Sea

So in case you guys missed the big banner there on the side of my site, I am part of the SoMoms and my penis has never felt more alone in its life.

Not that, you know, my penis wants to be around other penises. (plural: penisi?)

Not your father's Crayola

One of the remnants of my childhood is Crayola. There was always Crayola in the house, in drawers, in bags, on the floors, on the walls, on tables and chairs, on almost everything. The world was a canvas for my airplanes, rocket ships, cars, kites, cats, robots, and whatever else was tumbling behind my eyes.

It's that kind of creative freedom that I want the boys to have. Free to make a mess. Free to make their stories. Free to play. And since Crayola is 100% nontoxic I'm free to leave them by themselves. And free to xbox my life away bwahahahahahahhaa! (note to wife: I'm kidding! Please put down that hammer.)

The Hangover: A Post Father's Day uh, post.

Most people say you become a father when your child is born. I think it happens much earlier than that. About 9 months earlier. Give or take. Your baby may still be in her mother's womb but make no mistake, that's your baby. (unless it isn't! oh shi shi!) And you're her dad.

Father's Day Top Ten Countdown

This Father’s Day made me think about the past 3 years. So fast. Too fast. I need my kids to slow down. Before they become teenagers. Ugh. I’m really dreading their teenage years can you tell?

But we’ll worry about the future another day. For now, I want to remember the many unforgettable moments or as I prefer to think of them as - things I can’t unsee.

Father VS Lions

Wow mothers sure are competitive.

I mean, I always knew that they were but it's different when you actually see it in action. It's like how I know on a conscious level that lions are dangerous and wild animals but seeing a lion rip apart its prey using brute strength and savagery just brings everything up a couple of notches. My heart is racing.

So this guy walks into a bar...

I'm learning. I think.

It is now possible to sit with my son and have a conversation with him. When it happens, it's kind of astounding. From birth, all you've heard from your child are gurgles, cries, yelps, a singular mangled word here and there, mama, papa and the like. These days though, he's been talking, really talking. In sentences. He's using words that I have no idea where he learned from and displaying an understanding of self and a greater awareness of the people living around him.

French designed with chinese roots.

There's something really cool about walking in the shoes of a Kung Fu master. No, I didn't steal the shoes of Bruce Lee but I think I may have something that's close enough.

source: http://geektyrant.com/

My breast friend.

Finally after waiting for so long, I can now cross out one more thing on my bucket list. I was invited to a small and intimate gathering to listen and talk about breastfeeding.

Nevermind that I don't have any breasts. Or milk. I have gumption! And an inquisitive mind eager to learn all about the mysteries and wonder of breastfeeding and what it means for us guys.

On with the show!

This episode is brought to you by Philips Avent.

Sunshine on my shoulders.

I've been watching this video for the past few days. 1, it's a beautiful song. And 2, it has this magical calming effect on my baby. No matter how hard my baby is crying, I play this video and .... silence. It's like magic.

Sarap mag OT.

Last night, I was carrying my child to sleep. The lullaby song played for the millionth time in the darkness. That day I was tired. (Well, aren't we all.) But my left arm was beginning to ache even when I wasn't carrying my 20 pound little boy. But this was the homestretch to another long day. Normally, I'd be irritable at this point. Impatiently waiting for the boys to fall asleep so I could have some time with the wife or to myself, if our brains were still functioning.

There's nothing to fix in you.

My wife sometimes tells me she wishes she had her pre-pregnancy, pre-birth body back. It's a sensitive topic no doubt not just to her but to a lot of women. So I do my best to say as little as possible. "mmm" and "uh-huh" are usually safe answers and I'm sticking to 'em. Then I look away as if thinking about something really deep. In reality, I'm just hoping that the topic changes STAT.

Our kids are a mess.

I came across this article that I found really interesting. Here, go read it. It's true though isn't it? We all want people to see only the best side of us. But who are we kidding? That's not making a real connection to someone if you only show a life that's been edited, photoshopped, and filtered.

We're messy creatures. And you only really get to know someone when you're both in the dirt.

Carry On

This road that I'm on, that we're on. It can kill you. In a thousand different ways. It can come at you. From a thousand different angles. But always starts. And ends. With the kids.

This is the first quiet moment I've had all week. But it feels much longer. And I'm tired. To my bones. Both kids have been sick with coughing and colds. They haven't been sleeping well. Neither have we. I'm still waiting for a call back from The Walking Dead. I sent them our audition tapes. I think we're perfect.

O'sonho = Dream

I can hardly fit into my pants. I refuse to buy new clothes. I love good food. I'm screwed.

But my-god-im-a-father-of-two-now-just-let-me-eat.

I'm sure some human expert (an expert on being human) will tell me that I shouldn't reward myself with food, thus turning myself into an animal, much like giving a dog treats for being a good boy. But oh the treats.

Research like a big boy.

We see our pediatrician once a month for baby check-ups and vaccinations. It’s the only time I don’t mind seeing the doctor. I have this unexplainable unnatural fear of doctors. Which is why they can never get an accurate blood pressure reading from me. The thought of an examination gets my heart pumping even if my mind is as quiet as a deserted island. Perhaps because my deserted island is the island in LOST.

image from http://lostpedia.wikia.com/wiki/Lost

You! Me! Impossible shapes!

You know, it took a while. It really did. But I think my wife is starting to get it now. I cannot multi-task. I mean, I can try but usually I cause more damage than accomplishing the actual tasks.

There are times when she forgets. And hilarity ensues. But when she remembers, we return to our presets. Our factory default settings if you will.

I don’t work well with having too many options. I drown under them. I just want to have a few select choices and go from there. Like, if I’m supposed to do something, I just want to do it and not agonize about the bajillion ways on how to do it.

My wife though, is all about the how. GRRRRR!!!!!!!!

And this is the source of a good chunk of our “discussions”. As new parents, all of us, a lot of our anxieties and worries come from not knowing. Because this is our first time. Of course we don’t know. So we research, we read up, we google, we join parenting forums, we read blogs, we WebMD, we post our worries on facebook and hope to god someone, anyone replies with an answer.

And you know what you get? A whole lot of options. There are a millions ways on how to raise your kid and all of them sound valid. Or at least until the 2^nd edition comes out. Then all you know is false.

So yeah, as parents, we’ve agreed that she does certain things her way and I do certain things my way. And we’re still being parents. We’re still dad and mom. We’re still a parental unit. And it’s what makes our parenting different from anyone else’s. And isn’t that how it should be anyway?

My worry is, we live in a society where everything is standardized, starting with our education. We’re learning the same things, taught how to think in the same way. So of course we’d think that we should raise all our children in the same way too.

But it just doesn’t feel natural to me, having to force fit myself or my child into doing things a certain way just because someone in a dentists’ jacket tells me to. And don’t you think that living in a society where all the children were all the same colors and shapes is just a little… children of the corn-ish.

You’d miss out on all the unimaginable colors and all the impossible shapes they could be.

Same thing goes for us. You’re not going to find out who you are as a parent in a book. But this is the part that I like the most, you’re gonna give your child something no one else can, you’re gonna give them you.

Extraterrestrial

The other day I found myself saying something I never thought I'd say.

"Are you going to the Expo Kid thing tomorrow?"

In that moment I felt like a TV dad. The kind of dad you watch on sitcoms. The one who always knows what to do, the one with the unwavering moral compass, the one who's always in the garage fixing the car available for an impromptu pep talk. Well, that moment didn't last long. And while I don't desire to become anything like a TV dad (who in reality, become abusive alcoholics anyway) it was nice sounding like one.

A Marveloos Speculoos Birthday Giveaway!

All this could be in your mouth. Think about it.

I'll cut to the chase. See that up there? It could be yours. Oh yes, I kid you not. To kick off my birthday month, I will be raffling off 2 jars of Speculoos Crunchy Cookie Butter and 1 Trader Joe's Sugar Chocolate & Coffee Bean Grinder.

How do you get the URL of a single Facebook post from your timeline?

Click on the timestamp to go to the post in question from timeline.

Th URL of your post can now be copied from the address bar on your browser.

Just a little prick.

The thing with living in the modern world is that it's full of modern things. I don't know why I'm talking like Mary Poppins right now but I've learned to love myself. Another thing I love is science. Always have. Everything about science to me seems like an adventure. There's always something to be discovered, something to be taken apart and put back together, something to be mastered. Science felt good, in fact one of my favorite magazines growing up was Popular Science magazine. Oooh getting warm fuzzy feelings right now.

So anyway, my eldest, is sooooo into planets. He knows all nine planets. And yes, I still count Pluto as a planet because Pluto has learned to love itself too. Team Pluto! Wow this post is just all over the place. Anyway. Ah! There's what I wanted to say - How can science help me be a better parent for my child?

Like any parent, I want to start with the basics and that is first and foremost the health of your child. Of which I know next to zero. Which is ridiculous because I love science and health is all about science. And every time we go to our pediatrician's office I feel like my wife and the doctor are talking in some ancient long forgotten language that only they and Legolas can understand.

So I went to this thing so I wouldn't feel like frikkin' Gimli cupping his ear to hear the tall-people talk.

This is the thing.

Baby Monitor Battle

I got a chance to test two IP based surveillance cameras, which is a high-tech way of saying baby monitors. I learned a lot about what features to look for and what the various pros and cons are of having these devices. I also learned that surveillance has two L's in it.

I used to think that baby monitors were these toy-like devices with big colorful buttons that allowed you to listen to your baby while you did things in another room or part of the house. So I was quite surprised at how advanced and just plain cool they make these things now. Cuz I love me gadgets.

Two man enter one man leave.

Play, protect, love

I don't know a lot about vaccines except that we need them. Or do we? As the babies get older, our pedia has her own recommendations about what vaccines we should get and which ones we can do without. I figure it'd be good to find out for myself. So I'm going to this thing tomorrow and see what's what.

I am craze.

This post has nothing to do with parenting and everything to do with eating. Just so you know.

I hate it when people use the word craze. It's like they chopped off part of the word. Like if you say, "This day has just been so craze." or "My god that puppy is just so adorbs." or "Isn't she a beaut?" or "I'm so excite, and I just can't hide." I'm not making any sense am I? (What you're actually seeing is the effect of sleep deprivation on the mind.)

I don't really hate the word craze. I'm just too busy picking up my brain cells from the floor to like it. So right now isn't the best time to come at me using the word craze. Right now I really really dislike that word. Craze. It's half a word!

And just so you know, I wrote those two paragraphs above just so I could justify writing the next sentence below.

MANILA SWEPT IN THE IHOP CRAZY.

Because that's what. it. is. crazy.

The crack is the crunchy

HOLY SHIZ.

Believe the hype. There is no more writing. There is only eating.

Kasama ba 'to sa sin tax?

Snake Charmer

I found myself surrounded by at least a hundred children shouting "The Gruffalo, the Gruffalo!" Strangely I didn't run. I was glued to my seat as a mouse took a stroll through the deep dark wood.

A production from London's West End.

Little Monsters

I've been wanting to share this for a while now. It's an app called Chore Monster and I think it's pretty awesome.

Rawr!!!

Crying Crimson Jihad

The wife and the kids are having a playdate with one of our friends for the afternoon, I am completely alone and it feels awesome.

I can finally hear myself think! Now, before you stone me screaming crimson jihad, let me just get this thing straight. I love my family, I love my kids. They are the reason why I want to keep on living. But I haven't heard my own thoughts all week and I am going a little nutty. 

Delayed Reaction

Life's been really hectic and I haven't posted as much as I would like. Unfortunately many things take precedence over this blog. I will rectify that really soon. Apologies!

Real Estate

Music to me is a big deal. I don’t see it as merely being the soundtrack to life, something that plays in the background, occasionally hitting a crescendo during the milestone moments of our lives. It isn’t merely a way of remembering the past the way a song can make certain memories surface and emotions bubble it’s way back to the top, though it does that very well. It isn’t merely your companion in an otherwise lonely ride home or to school or to work or to wherever it is you’re going or whatever it is you’re running from.

Absent

It was my first day at school and I didn’t cry. I know that sounds odd considering I’m a full grown adult and a father but nevertheless it was the truth.

My wife and I planned to have me sit in with my son during one of his days at school, which in truth is really just 2 and a half hours. It’s not even “school” school. More like play school where he can learn how to follow rules and basic things like colors, shapes and numbers. But the main reason why we’re sending our son to school is for him to be able to socialize with other kids and adults not named mom and dad. Also, we were down one yaya.

Self Medication

The wife and I started the new year with a bit of self … help?

It’s funny you know, the term ‘self-help’ is often looked down upon, (at least most guys think so) and the people you catch in the self-help section of the bookstore are perceived as weak or unstable or someone with serious problems. Me too you know, I’ve always been skeptical of people getting inside my head and riding around on the roller coaster of my memories. Myself included. I don’t like rehashing the past. In fact, I’d like to forget it.