Pasko

Gifts

I spent the last couple of weeks trying to get my Christmas list together. Finally, we are almost done. We spent a couple of weekends going shopping for Christmas gifts and almost all of last week wrapping the gifts. Natapos naman, except for the gift cards that I still need to buy and 1 gift for J's cousin that we still haven't figured out what to get.

Anyway, all in all, I am quite pleased with the gifts we are giving out this year. Gift-giving for me is not grandiose. I prefer to keep it practical. It doesn't have to be expensive, but I like making my gifts personal. I don't know, it might be just me, but I've always subscribed to the idea that inexpensive gifts on a personal level are worth more than big, heavy, expensive ones that most likely tend to be white elephants. I like making the recipient feel that I really spent time thinking about what to get him or her. Which is also why I am most of the time clueless when people ask me for suggestions on what to get someone else.

When I make my list, I usually don't have anything specific in mind for the people I'm putting in my list. I spend time going through the stores looking for something perfect. And I do find them, most of the time. I've learned over the years that it really doesn't take planning that close to find the perfect gift. Sometimes, I might have an idea or two, but I try to be really flexible when I find something else. And then again, I often find stuff that I think really clicks, and that's it.

2 years ago, I spent $2 on gifts for D and A. It was so funny they were so happy they were screaming all over the place as if they won a million dollars in the lottery, never mind that the wrapper probably cost more than what was wrapped themselves. And what were those? Plastic food for the cooking set they got a while back.

Since then, I have gotten a habit for keeping an eye open whenever we go out. I am constantly looking for stuff I can give as gifts later on. Especially with the kids, it's fun to watch them be really surprised with the presents they open.

So now that I am done wrapping them all, I am so looking forward for Christmas to come, if only to see the excitement that comes with the unwrapping.

Bunk Bed

Nung Linggo, nabilhan namin sila ng bunk bed sa Ikea. Mayroon sana kasi kaming mamamanang bunk bed, pero nung ipinasukat na namin, masyado palang malaki. Nagpunta kami sa Ikea, supposedly para lang mag-"scout" ng possibilities, pero dahil me "last chance sale - today only" sale dun sa isang bunk bed na swak na swak din naman sa requirements namin, napabili na din kami. Binibiro ko yung mga bata na walang iihi sa bed. Sabi ko kay D, "Lalo ka na. Wag ka iihi, ikaw pa naman sa taas." Ngumiti lang si D. Sabi ni A, "Waaaaah! Mag-d-drip sa akin yung ihi nya!!!" Hindi naman na naiihi sa kama yung mga bata. Nanggugulo lang ako. Pero kaya ko sinabi yun sa pang-a-asar ko dahil yun din mismo ang gusto kong sabihin.....pina-praning ko lang yung matutulog sa ilalim na sa kanya mag-d-drip pag naihi sa kama yung nasa taas. Natawa lang ako, hindi nakuha ni D yung ibig kong sabihin, pero naintindihan nung mas maliit.

Mantakin mo naman? Sa mura nyang edad, kasing-alanganin ko na mag-isip.

Music

Chasing Cars played on the radio. A asked what that song was and while I was singing in my head to recall the song, she blurted, "Ah, alam ko na! 'If I lay here!'" Geez. The funny thing is that, I thought and almost said that, too!

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Pink's Who Knew played on the radio and she asked me if that was the same person who sang "Since You've Been Gone" and I must admit: Pink does sound like Kelly Clarkson on that one.

Moviewatching

When D was around 3, we took her to watch Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. About an hour into the movie, the power went off. I am not exactly sure what happened, but it just got really dark although the audio continued to play. It took about 2 minutes before they were able to restore everything so, we were kinda hoping they would "rewind" back to the part before the lights went out.

Now, D has always had a good memory of movies we'd seen even when she was younger.

At that age, she'd use to ask people to watch Shrek with her and then spoil the movie by "warning" them of what would happen next. So we had to really tell her not to spoil the movie for other people watching HPCOS for the first time when we rewatched it. She didn't. But that isn't to say it was totally uneventful.

When it got near the part before the lights went out on the first time we saw it, she pulled me close and whispered in her softest voice:

"Ayan na. Dyan na mag-b-brownout!"

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Now that D is bigger, she directs A while they reenact funny scenes they see in movies. One funny scene they did was the scene in Twitches where they find out they're actually twins. Yeah -- they do that with matching screams after saying "we're twins!"

Recently, we watched an old Charlie Chaplin movie, The Circus. There was a funny scene where they were chased by cops and they hid together with animatronic puppets, pretending they are one, too. Charlie Chaplin, moving like an animatronic puppet, would turn towards the other guy, hit him with a bar on the head, turn towards the front, and throw his head back in a soundless laugh. He did that sequence for a number of times before the cops noticed that they were real people. I guess the kids found that really funny. They called my attention one day and reenacted that scene. I wanted to take a video of it but A didn't want me to. I guess I'll have to convince them one day so I can show it to them when they're much older.