Summer is officially over here in North America. Yes, you read it right. The family has relocated to Canada.

'Twas the longest summer ever for our kids, that started in late March in the Philippines when the school year ended and continued through early September when they enrolled in their new schools halfway around the world.

Indeed, it was again a summer filled with adventures and new experiences for the whole family. You can say that we outdid ourselves again, way beyond our island travel adventure in 2010, because this time we crossed the Pacific Ocean unto a different continent to start a new life.

You might have guessed by now the reason for the long pause in our blogging.  With all the preparations and tying up loose ends prior to the travel, and the adjustments and settling down that followed, it was just nearly impossible for us to sit down and write.  Although documenting and blogging everything we've been through to relocate a family of six would have been great, it was simply beyond our capacity as stress levels were almost always way up there...sky high!

In contrast, exactly six months ago before the peak of activities related to our relocation, Mama Sez was still inspired to write the poem below.  I am belatedly posting it now as it was really intended to be sent out to inform everyone about our big move.  Well, what else can I say but sorry for the delay.  I am hoping for your understanding and continued support for our family and our online efforts.

by Mama Sez, 23 March 2011

Cheers!

This is just to share our brief talk with Rica’s piano teacher as he sends us to the door after the lesson earlier this week. He said, “Rica, continue with your lessons and don’t stop playing the piano for someday you can replace Teacher (pointing his way). Whatever your profession may be, you can always play the piano or give lessons to children like what I do (he is a mathematician by profession who has passion for music). I will have you inherit my collections of books and all that I use to teach piano to children.”

We gave him our warm smile, said thank you and bid goodbye. As we walked home, I felt like crying because I was so touched with Teacher’s words. Consistent with what he told me during their first lesson, he sincerely believes in Rica’s musical giftedness.

I remembered Dr. Leonila Corpuz-Raros, the Mother of Philippine Acarology, my mentor, my friend. She saw me to be the next Acarologist who can continue with what she has started and who can have new beginnings in the field as well. She would also have me inherit her collections of specimens, books and journals…she believes in me.

For people of high standards, whom you look up to with high regard, to tell you they believe in you and in what good you can contribute to humanity is the best compliment you could ever ask for. It can erase any doubt you have in yourself and will motivate you to become better and pave the way in your pursuit of excellence.

As parents, we consciously show to our children our confidence in their capabilities because we understand that believing is being. Yes, we should be someone who believes in them, but we must not fall into the trap of false praising. When the child is made to believe that he is already doing great in something, he might think that no further improvement is necessary and consequently halt the development of his full potential. Another trap we might fall into is becoming delusional (believing into something our child is not and making the child believe in it as well). Start with discovering and enriching your child’s true talents then be someone who appreciates who he/she really is and who believes in his/her unique abilities.

For Rica it's music...and with her participation, we programmed her summer activities to include piano and guitar lessons.  We hope to showcase what she has accomplished by the end of summer in a recital and music video (can't wait to share it with all of you...hehehe).

It’s been two weeks since school days ended. I’m overjoyed with my kids’ progress and daily accomplishments as we all enjoy summer break and the warmth of Mister Sun. The planned summer activities we prepared have been our very useful guide.

Rica is doing great in her piano lessons and truly impressed her teacher right from the first session. Her teacher immediately decided to include Rica in the recital this coming month after observing her progress for two sessions only. Her teacher is very confident that she can beautifully play the piano pieces he’ll assign to her in such a short preparation time. He believes in Rica’s musical giftedness. It is indeed a blessing from God. Rica is also rehearsing several songs with Tito Jay (Lead Guitar) and Tito Ninong (Base) to be video recorded later to showcase her singing prowess. I can’t help it, I’m a proud Mama.

While Rica has written two poems, Leon is progressing well in his Sci-Fi story. Rica can properly wash small clothing and steadily adds to the list of dishes she can cook. Leon, on the other hand, knows how to wash the dishes already. Our scientist-inventor wannabe, Leon, has learned that becoming who he wants to be entails a lot of patience and hard work for until today he is not done yet with his research proposal, but of course he is not giving up.

Zeki is progressing fast with his alphabet with the help of this website I found. Nadine just had her first haircut from Mama Sez’s Salon.

The family had a day in the pool and the kids enjoyed the time with their cousins. While swimming pool resorts are just stone-throw away from our home, we would need to travel for more than 3 hours to reach the finest beach resort and this will happen next week. Punta Fuego here we come!!! The travel will be all worth it I know, because that beach is awesome plus we will be meeting friends and their families as well. Oooh, how I love summer!!!

School has ended and our kids are looking forward to two months of summer fun and learning. Our eldest child, Rica, is 11, and the youngest, Nadine, is 2 years of age. Considering that our four kids have different interests, talents and developmental needs, we are planning a different set of summer activities for each. For a quick view, they are summarized in the table below. Enclosed in parenthesis in the first column is the frequency of the mentioned activity, while the numbers enclosed in parenthesis after our child’s name is their respective age. Expected output for each activity is also indicated whenever applicable.

Papa Sez and I believe in what Stephen Covey (author of Seven Habits of Highly Effective People) has shared - i.e. without involvement there will be no commitment. So we made consultations with them, especially the school-aged kids, before finalizing this table to ensure that the planned activities captured their interests and the targets set are achievable. When asked about activities that they consider FUN to do, ideas from Rica and Leon kept coming.

They decided to discontinue formal art lessons from their Tito Jay because apparently Rica has been contemplating on guitar lessons that she wanted to request from Tito Jay.  They thought that two lessons from their uncle will be too much to ask. They even volunteered the household chores they wanted to learn this summer, so that our helper can relax a bit.  Humility aside, we realized that we have added two considerate beings on earth.

There are activities specific to a child for talent enrichment or skills development. Some activities are interactive while others would require them to work on their own. There are indoor as well as outdoor activities. It is obvious that we are trying to strike a balance among several considerations like fun/excitement, talent enrichment, skills development, learning, family bonding, budget and many others.

We have openly expressed our view about the negative effect of too much television viewing (computer use included) on child development but because we also recognize that in the information age, computer literacy is part of the need of growing children.  Therefore, a regulated computer time is permitted on top of the weekly movie time with the family.

The table may seem overwhelming with activities but please note the frequency of each such that the activities listed will not happen all together in a given week. Swimming lessons, for example, will be over in two weeks and will be replaced by another activity of their choice on the third week.

Rica is already preparing her weekly timetable, awaiting the final schedule of her piano lessons, and this will be featured in the next post. The agreement is for them to have a fun and fruitful summer but not to exhaust themselves too much and forfeit the main goal in the process. Leon’s checklist of activities and applicable expected output will also be prepared so that he is able to track his accomplishments.

The Computer Time Log is posted to effectively regulate computer use...They are already enlisted for their swimming lessons...Leon’s tomato seedlings are almost ready for transplanting...They are energized and eager to start the summer ball rolling!!!

Having a preprogrammed summer activities will help parents ensure a worthwhile summer experience for their kids. This will also help you identify what is expected of you and give you time to prepare. Having a line-up of ready activities will prevent your kids from bugging you with “We are so bored Mom, what do we do now?” Discussing the plan, especially with the older kids, will make them understand what to expect and what is expected of them.  Always remember: No Involvement, No Commitment!

On top of everything, be sure to have fun yourself…Have a happy summer!!!

Today, I am sharing a video made by my sister for my daughter Rica. It consists of Rica’s pictures when they were playing dress up last summer with perfectly matching background music entitled Fashion by Lady Gaga. This is part one only for there are still more pictures yet to be posted. Apparently, they collected so many photos because Tita Tin and Rica love playing dress up and had a number of bonding moments doing it.



People who know me can tell that I am not keen to fashion. For me, the simpler the better and I doll myself up elegantly only when necessity calls for it. What I’m trying to say is that fashion is not my passion. This is contrary to what I observed in my daughter who is naturally and fabulously chic. Rica can confidently wear any type of clothing. She moves with poise and knows how to smile and pose in front of the camera. So from whom did Rica get this trait and influence? From my sister Tin-Tin who has a better fashion sense than I do.

Every time I watch this video I am reminded of God’s glory and generosity. In my every pregnancy, I always pray for a healthy baby but God is so generous that he blessed me not only with a healthy baby but beautiful, intelligent and talented as well…and now I have four. Rica is my first born. Looking at her makes me feel so grateful of God’s love.

I am sure you also have your story of God’s love and generosity. Let us be grateful and expect more to come

by Rica Emmanuele

June 5, 2010 - My summer vacation was so fun because we went to a lot of places in the Philippines. We did not ride a plane but we road our car and two ferry boats.

When we reached Luzon, we even had more fun. We saw Butanding (whale shark) and fireflies in Sorsogon. When we were on the boat going to look at the Butanding, I was so excited! We were going to see a real live whale shark at last! I jumped out of the boat two times because I wanted to see it again.

We also rode a boat along a river going to the fireflies. When we saw them, they were on a tree. They looked so beautiful. And because the fireflies are so plenty and they shine so bright, the tree really looked like a Christmas tree.

We also went to San Pablo City to see our cousins Bea and Kuya Adrian, and their parents, Tita Abbie and Tito Alan. They taught me how to ride a bike and to play Wii.

I know how to ride a bike if it has training wheels but their bike has no training wheels, so they taught me how to balance with only two wheels.

The games in their Wii were Wii Sports, Show King and Dragon ball Z. It was fun playing all of them but the best game for me is Wii Sports, especially tennis.

In Los Baños, we saw Lola Net, Lolo Crispin, Tito Ninong, Tita Tin and Tito Jay. Tito Jay taught me how to draw Manga and now I am getting good at it. Tita Tin taught me how to tie my hair and she taught me how to play dress up with matching picture taking.

I met new friends. Their names are Leanne, Utoy, (Leanne’s brother) and JM. Leanne taught me how to play Chinese Garter and Piko. Once, we even played in the UPLB Freedom Park.

Once, I had a sleepover in Forestry. It is where Tita Bing and Tito Jun live. I stayed there for two nights. There were lots of other kids older than me who were staying there.

Sometimes, we go to the swimming pool and play there. Papa also taught us how to swim.

Once or twice or thrice, hmmm I don’t know how many times, we slept in Ninang Amy’s House. She had an air bed and we slept on it. She also has lots of books. Leon and I enjoyed reading some of her books. She also has a chess board but we did not get to play with it. But all of us four kids did play the keyboards with Ninang Amy one night. Everybody likes to poke his or her fingers on the keys to make a sound, no matter how silly, weird or noisy it may come out.  But it was fun!

When it was almost time for school, we transferred to a house that was small. But then, we transferred to a bigger house beside Lake View Hotel. There, I met more people and friends.

Sometimes we play with them and sometimes I get a chance to play in the computer……… but now it is almost time for school and I can’t play much anymore because I have to get ready for it.

My favorite time in summer was when I swam in the pool with my cousins and the time when I met my Titos, Tita, Lolo and Lola again.

I will really miss my 2010 summer. It was so much fun. But I won’t forget that school is also fun……………☺

There is still another summer yet to come!

Goodbye summer 2010!

Hello school! ☺

Note: More photos of Rica's summer activities will be posted in later blogs. So please come back again soon.

Would you believe that for almost 11 years of our family life, we only had a couple of out-of-town vacations as a family? This is excluding out-of-town day trips that weren't so many anyway. So that's one vacation every five years!

Those who know us personally will believe this statement. Living a frugal lifestyle always prevented us from spending on family vacations far away from where we reside. Thinking that the farther we go the more expensive it becomes, we often get stuck with day trips within or just a little beyond the city limits. My husband and I traveled from time to time but these trips were work related and thus we traveled alone or with co-employees. I have been dreaming of a family getaway for years now and this summer school break comes the realization of all these dreams.

Alas, my husband and I resolved to invest on experiences especially now that our kids are growing up so fast. Before we know it, they'll be away for college. This, we hope, is the start of the many travels we intend to embark as we endeavor to see more of this world together with our children.

We are currently residing in Davao in the island of Mindanao and we plan to visit and spend time with friends and relatives in the other two main island groups in the Philippines: Luzon and Visayas. Happily, this vacation coincided with important family events and milestones.

We bought our Davao to Manila plane tickets early to take advantage of promo seats offered by Cebu Pacific Air. It was a really good deal getting more than 50% discount especially when you consider that we need eight tickets (for me, my husband, our four kids, my father-in-law and a college student under the family scholarship). Our flight schedule is on the 24th of March 2010. The funny thing is that there is a good chance we won’t use these tickets. For better mobility and economy, we are considering driving our vehicle all the way to Luzon rather than flying in and renting another vehicle for those long road trips in Luzon. A third alternative is to send the car via Superferry to Manila and then fly in, so we can use the tickets and use the vehicle in Luzon and in going back to Davao.

Well, we have not decided on this part yet as more information are still being sought by the Head of the Party cum Driver (my hubby). Nonetheless, we are somehow fixed with our intentions (Luzon tour, at least) regardless of how we get there. To get a bird's eye view, I am listing here the main features and general plans (the sequence is with the assumption that we’ll go on the road trip) to ensure we’ll get the most out of this long awaited vacation...sounds like the maximizers are maximizing once again (bad? habits are really hard to break). LOL

1. Explore Surigao.
2. Drive through San Juanico Bridge and see friends in Samar
3. Our 11th wedding anniversary (on the road).
4. Mt Mayon, Pili Nuts and Bicol Express adventure in the Bicol region.
5. Baptismal ceremonies and 1st birthday celebration for our youngest child, Nadine Ysabele. Reunion with college friends.
6. Holy Week with relatives in Laguna. Relaxing afternoons in Freedom Park of the University of the Philippines Los Banos campus.
7. Metro Manila tours (Ocean Park, Mall of Asia, Children’s Museum, etc.)
8. Trip to Tarlac City to visit relatives. We are hoping to see my grandmother and the only living great grandparent of our children.
9. Spend time with relatives in Baguio City. My children are looking forward to spending time and playing with a cousin whom they've been missing for so long.
10. Document the grandiose beauty of the Banaue Rice Terraces on our way to Isabela Province to visit our mentors and friends.
11. Let the children experience farm life in Isabela, while we also play catch up and discuss academic and life issues with our mentors.
12. Back to the University of the Philipines Los Banos for the Graduation ceremonies of my youngest sister. My baby sister will be a degree holder soon.
13. My son Joseph Leonele’s 8th birthday celebration.
14. Chance to exercise our right to vote. We are still registered voters of Laguna.
15. Enjoy the sun, water and white sand of the famous Boracay beach.
16. Visit relatives in Bacolod City and enjoy dining in the seafood capital of the Philipines, Roxas City.
17. And rounding up our travel back to Mindanao is another beach adventure in Dakak, Zamboanga del Norte. We'll also spend time with a college friend residing in Oroquieta City, Misamis Occidental...time to see the beauty of Pines, Philippines.

This expedition might take about 55 days from the day we hit the road till we return home, but rest assured I will be available online to provide updates and post photos. In the list above, there maybe items that we might skip or new activities to add as we go along. In any case, I promise to keep you posted...so ride along with us in our family adventure!

It's still 50 days to go but a lot of preparations are underway. I am so excited, so I expect the days to just breeze through...so let the countdown begin!