Covid

The brother of my mom got Covid. 

Even if he is very careful and only goes out every 2 weeks for work, he still catches the virus. His in the hospital now fighting to survive, and his wife is positive too. The kids are quarantined separately from their parents at the quarantine facility. 

But today's sad news is the results that came out... 3 of the kids are positive for the virus too. And so each kid is separated to quarantine alone. It's sad because these young kids are already stressed out with their parents in the hospital. Now they have to fight the virus on their own too. 

May God give my cousins the strength to endure all this and to fight the stress and anxiety that this virus caused to their family. And I pray that they will be healthy and come home to celebrate Christmas as a family.

This is a reminder to stay at home, wash hands, and wear a mask and face shield. Protect yourself, to protect your family.

Thankful. Grateful. Blessed.

 

Our simple Thanksgiving dinner... Sinuglaw (Singuba + Kinilaw) and grilled squid. 😋

The kiddo told me, that we should celebrate Thanksgiving for the continuous blessings that we're receiving.

Thanks to Food Panda for making the celebration possible, coz I'm busy at work and have no time to cook. 

And to our go-to restaurant, Mag SUGBA Ta Seafood & Grill thank you for the delicious food, big serving, and affordable price as always. Sulit kaayo every order! 2 thumbs up and really recommended. 

His Therapist

I was busy working earlier when my son approaches me and ask me, why he isn't as motivated in school now compared to before. So that was the start of our long conversation about motivations and why I always encourage him to try new things. And more other questions... It was a conversation and confession of the things that run in his mind.

Being a single mom and trying my best to provide a good life for my family, I often have things neglected while fulfilling my responsibilities. One of the most I'm guilty of is that... Did I help my son mentally? Am I checking on how he feels and what he struggles with? I do know how he is doing but I don't check on the deeper thoughts that he has.

 
Thankfully, I have established my relationship with him previously that we have these conversations.
Back when he was around 9 years old he experienced bullying that he tried to hide from me, I discovered it when he asked if he can transfer school. So I talk to him and encourage him to never be afraid to say everything to me. Since then, I encourage him to open up to me by asking him what happened at school every time he arrives from school. Even if sometimes it's boring and redundant, I still listen. Until eventually, he gets into it and doesn't wait for me to ask. Every time he arrived from school he opens up everything including his frustrations and problem. And then as he grows he opens up everything besides school-related happenings.

 
And on his 13th birthday, I talked to him and told him, "I know teenager life will be hard. It's full of insecurities and questions that don't make sense, but always know that the same rule applies; Talk to me. Open up to me. I may not have all the answers. I may not know the solutions but I will be here to listen and share my thoughts when you need it and if I have one. I may be lost track of you and don't listen to you but please don't be afraid to remind me that you just need someone to listen and understand you. Because teenage life and puberty mix together can sometimes hard to handle but with someone to support you, you'll get by."

 
So back to our conversation earlier...
We talked and shared a lot of things. And towards the end of the conversation, he said... "You know what you're like my therapist!" I responded, "Yes, I am your therapist today, and whenever you'll need one. I hope I was able to help you with things that are bothering you."

I didn't get to finish the things that supposed to be on my agenda today, but I am glad that I was able to have a conversation with my son and he opens up to me.

How are you doing?

Image Source

Exhausted but grateful for the opportunity to be working at home safe. And knowing that my son is studying at home safe. Although the online home school has an impact on him coz he prefers physical interaction and face-to-face learning at school. 

Our weekdays are chaotic. Thanks to neighbors who cook food and sell at an affordable price with free delivery to our house.

My weekends are spent cleaning the mess but I still insert work in between. 

Right now, I'm seating here planning/thinking for a food to prepare and cook that we can just re-heat over the weekdays.

How are you doing?

Thank you for my productivity

Yesterday, woke up early and only had 4 hours of sleep. Then had a back-to-back video call meeting the whole day. And... Work... Work... Didn't get a chance for a short nap in the afternoon as planned. In the evening, I relied on coffee to keep me awake. Wrong move... because the second cup made me more sleepy. Coffee gave up on me...

Still tried to keep myself awake and finish urgent work. Wrap the day at 11PM.

Today, woke up at 5 and was able to do meditation, do yoga, and sweep the house. Prepared breakfast and then went back to my desk for another day of work.

Tiring but grateful.
Thank you for my productivity.
Thank you for the blessings.

Disposable Face Mask & Mask Storage Box

 

Since wearing face masks is required in going out now to protect us from the virus, I bought a box of disposable face masks on Shopee. I also bought a storage box to securely store extra face masks that we will be bringing in our bag. 

I initially thought I both a good deal of these 2 boxes of face masks.  However, a week when after these items arrive I saw a lot of cheaper face masks sold in Shopee and even in our neighborhood. What bummmer! 

Review...

The face mask is indeed 3 layers. It's breathable and doesn't have any industrial smell. The items were shipped immediately, I ordered on June 4 and I received them on June 13.

The storage box is clean and in good condition, with no scratches. I opted for this small one so it can fit on a small bag. It can fit 3 folded masks but I usually put 2 folded face masks in it.  

 

Here are the details of my Shopee order:

Happy Mother's day!

Happy Mother's day to all fella mommies out there! 🌹

Today I woke up to a breakfast in bed prepared by my son!  He cooked me a pancake that he made on his own from the recipe that he research online. 😍

Now I know why I am banned from entering his room a few days ago because he was working on these artworks that he gifted me.
So he explained each of his gifts...

 Mothers day greeting card with the tree of love and sunrise.
 Flower pot room decor coz he couldn't give real flowers. So he made much effort to make it look realistic. (He said because of this artwork, his now excited to do painting and arts again. )

 Green message card because I love nature.

 And money, because he can't go out to buy me flowers so gave me the money instead. And that money, he earned from mopping the floors and cleaning the house this summer. 
He also added, "Someday mom, ill give you money to help pay the bills. But for now, I'll give you this lang muna." 

Such a talented, sweet and thoughtful kiddo!  I'm one proud mama! 

  

 

I didn't miss the chance to also make the women in my life feel special this Mother's day... 

I initially plan to have everything ordered and then have them delivered via Streetby On-Demand Services... However, I just realized it has been almost 2 months I haven't seen these 3 mommies, that has been my core support, because of the pandemic. So I booked a taxi and decided to surprise them with a gift and have a glimpse of them. 

I tag along with Justine because he begged to see his grandma, whom he missed so much.

 

Didn't get the chance to take a picture of Risa because her sister pick-up the gift instead but I was able to see a glimpse of her and she waved at us through the window. It's literally a glimpse because her house is on the 5th floor. 

I almost thought that we will skip bestie Dee's surprise because no visitors were allowed in their subdivision and it took her long to answer my call. (The epic thrill of surprises. 😅) Good thing Justine was with me because he has a contact number of Wawa (Dee's niece). Whew! 😅

 

Thankfully my surprise was all worth it and success! Sadly, we can only give invisible hugs and kisses.😔

Photo A Day: Fish Ball and Squid Ball

 

Took this photo when my friend and I were dining at Boy Zugba. I ordered this fish ball and squid ball platter.