The Diary Of A Young Wondrous Family: The Aquino-Lazaro: Moments in our Month: NOVEMBER 2013

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It's NOVEMBER, it's almost over (as of writing this entry)! I spent most of my early mornings at work and most of these days I feel like I'm having too many responsibilities with too little time and I hope I could share much of this little time with my superone and megamind 'coz I know though I'm always present, but still it wouldn't be enough for them.

Lately, I’m discovering how to appreciate what I have in each moment, not mourn for what I don’t. Most evening after work Oscar and I are almost always with each other. We go home together, shop and go out together. Apart from that, there's so much autobiographies to write, lessons and trainings to keep up with. With all these work, I still want to do everything for my children and do something for myself while I'm being pulled in different directions.

So much for that...

Today I will talk about having a free spirited kids.

Well, as far as I know a free spirited child is a free spirit. And I Love the term. Someone who doesn't follow the crowd and doesn't really care what other people think. Though a spirited child is an intense child, they’re cute little earthly angels spinning around the yard wearing fairy wings, running and jumping with their bare feet and I would see light, and I would smile and I would laugh. Something spellbinding!

On that note, I too got a 'spirited' child who is far from an uncontrollable brat. But she's far more work to discipline than her brother ever was. Her emotional reactions are much more dynamic. She's more outwardly “bold”. Everything - delight-pain- disappointment, suggests a bigger reaction. She's just more exhausting!

BUT Ora is the sweetest, nicest and best natured kid I've ever met (Not that she came from me), but she's just got a sweet soul. That being said.

She's free spirited in a way that she's got such a wild little attitude and a real enthusiasm and interest for life.She's incredibly inquisitive and loves dancing, singing, movin' and shakin'. She's a free roaming wild child and I love her so much.

And she is also someone who likes to talk to strangers...

I remembered when my mother told me while they're going to school, along the way they came across a stranger, a lady on her casual jeans and shirt. Ora asked her " Hi! Sa'n ka nag-school". Then the stranger replied to her politely.

Beyond that, she is also the captain of anything disastrous at home, she likes hiding our phones on hard to find corners in the house. For most of the days they're enemies but there were times too that Quad becomes the voice of reason of Ora. One morning , on my day off, I was cleaning our room and I let the two of them in the living room play, watch DVD and when I went out to get a microfiber cloth , I saw them removing some of my shoes near the kitchen going to the living room. The next thing they did, " I heard Ora directing Quad: " Baby Quad, talon ka, tapos si Ora." And Quad, as the baby brother, followed her sister's command. Taking turns from jumping. Then all giggles!

Apart from being a disaster at home, she is well mannered most of the time, but her spirit is high, her energy is high. She is just more intense than many children I know.

Recently he too is a disaster. Woke up at 4 am. When I found out he had spread all of his milk like an almost 1 kilo of it, all around the room, and when we woke up we realize we had been sleeping in a bed filled with powdered milk. Then Oscar had to put him on the corner and had to leave the room to look for a broom and mop to clean the floor and before Oscar could leave, there’s Quad feeling so accomplished of what he had done and blurted out his words with a big “ YEEEEY!” and a big , big raise of his arms and hands on air. Then, laughter filled the room instead.

Then for the second time around, once again the disaster happened the next dawn.

Quad is like a kid who instead of asking a bottle of milk, will wake up at 4 am , open the container, grab the scoop and when you realize that someone’s doing something near your head, and when you turn on the lights, and when I’m like, "Quad what are you doing? " And he’s like, Oh! Mama Da, I got hungry and I’m scooping this milk and.. and.. and… spreading it all over my faaaace. Want some?

Quad’s hobbies includes, standing on the table, washing his ball on the toilet, and he is known to sneak away….Hiding in the curtain of my nanay’s little cabinet and we we’re like: “ Asa na si Quad? Quad- Quad?, and I’m like: “ Nay, asa na si Quad, tan-awa sa gawas basig naa nay nikuha ato” (And she would go and look for Quad on the outside street.) and I was in panic and my heart leaps a thousand of leaps and there he was, muching his wafer stick, sitting, eating quietly and again HE DOESN’T CARE! And we were like , “ Naa ra d i ka dira Quad.” And again he’s like, “ Mama Da, want some?”

On a beautiful day, we go out, we held hands and walked across the small street close to our house over twenty times. Back and Forth. Then he would looked up at me, smiled his biggest smile . My beautiful sunshine. :)

Regardless, my little Quad is feisty and insane and amiable and fierce.

YES YES YES! This just reminds me of the moments we experienced with our daughter – and son, was tall and strong and fast and wild and beautiful and crazy exhausting.

I had to learn patience and fortitude and tolerance and creativity - otherwise I would be crying all night, dreading the next day of chaos.

My kids are almost 3 and 5 and they are everything I wasn't as a child.

On the other note, I would like to share some precious things of how we spent our November.

Everyday I talk to strangers. People who I eventually genuinely enjoy of getting to know , to understand who they are and what they want to do in the world. And I love the idea that with my little help, they soon become part of my world.

What I am learning from this everyday experience is that I can choose to respond to each situation with my best self. Recently, I have interacted to every kind of person with the belief that they are good and kind. That like me, are mostly just trying to do their best too. I offered them smile in exchange of a good performance, and a rude response to a frustrating conversation... because these exchanges are about the heart.We would talk about simplifying complicated things and of how to use up that one chance given. That I believe, I can build these people up and help them out to be a better teacher.