Cat In The Hat interviewing Batman about his utility belt.

Evan was exactly like that for two weeks. Tell him "no" and he will yell at you. Give him a scolding and he will "blow raspberries" (almost spittinglike) as defiance. Meltdown in the middle of the street for all the neighbors to hear? Yup, we had several of that. I recently browsed a book "Your Three Old: Friend Or Enemy" and that exactly what our relationship for the past month has been like. Now, since last week, we are buddies again.

I nodded sympathetically at what the other mom was saying, then something occurred to me and I shared it with her. "You know, somebody have told me that these moods are like waves. Some weeks they are contrary and other weeks they are very cooperative. But what I have noticed with Evan was that after the days of being difficult he sort of hits a milestone and what follows are really good changes."

Like he is much more calm not when we are outdoors. He actually holds my hand willingly, walks on the sidewalk and enjoy a conversation with me. The first time this happened was when he got bored on the small, deserted playground and I invited him to walk with me in the neighborhood, to wade through fallen leaves and look at decorated houses. And we did that, and we both had fun. We were doing something what grown-ups would do!

There was the other "first times" too the night when I told Evan to put all his toys in a box, left his room and when I came back, there wasn't a single toy on the floor. Or when I handed him his briefs and pants and when I came back he wasn't in his room anymore but in the living room wearing the said underwear and bottoms. Or when I did grocery with him no longer seated at the cart (at his request) but walking along with me and having fun pushing the cart, helping me put the vegetables inside the plastic bag. Or when he didn't go crazy at the toy section in Target but did look at the toys one by one and chose only one of the cheaper toys that I told him that he can have (I told him big, expensive toys are only for birthdays and christmas).

I really thought that Evan would be whining during Halloween with all the other kids in their Superhero costumes, but he didn't at all. What he would do was just follow them around, ask questions about their costumes ("Batman, is that your utility belt?" "Ironman, is that your mask?" "Buzz, are you a superhero?"), complimenting them ("Nice Flash costume!") but he never whined to my relief.

This morning we were at the library's foyer and Evan was putting around 10 books back in the return slot. An older gentleman stopped and jokingly asked me, "how much are you paying him?" I laughed. He complimented, "he is really doing a good job. I wish I taught my daugher how to do that." I do remember another friend bemoaning the fact how her now 9 year old daughter was lazy in fixing her room or even getting water from the fridge. My friend regrets of not training her when she was younger partly because it was faster when the parent's does it themselves, "we treated her like a princess for too long when actually they love to help around the younger they are."

And I can see it in Evan now. Having him underfoot while vacuuming, doing the laundry or dishes, dusting the house may make doing the chores longer but it is play for him. And learning too. Another wave might come in a few weeks or so again but knowing the positive developments that comes after it makes riding out the tough preschooler mood swings all worthwhile.

I told him that if he was going to be Transformers (either Bumblebee or Optimus Prime) or Wolverine or Ironman he will be like many kids and the people handing out candies will say, "weren't you here before?" and not give him candies. Wink.

Eventually he grew to love the idea, the taaaaallll hat, the loooong tail and white gloves. Which was good because it was a chilly afternoon (52F/11C as high), I was able to layer him up inside (4 layers for the top and 2 for the bottom) without covering his costume with a coat.

He even had a sack instead of the generic bucket (that pumpkin face he glued himself) or the pumpkin fabric bag simply because I misplaced the latter.

Tom is just as stage parent as I am, although he's more subtle about it. My husband was complaining of being cold the whole time yet he stuck around, calling out regularly to remind his son to say "trick or treat" and "thank you".

Evan's loot. Since Tom doesn't eat candy bars, and it's a case of out-of-sight-out-of-mind for my son (he has had two half eaten lollipops last night) I'll be the one who's going to be tempted by these candies, they will packed and brought down to storage for the Philippines this January.

I love Halloween, especially after having a child. It's my favorite american tradition. More so this year since I have gotten many compliments from the Halloween costume I made. In fact I overheard three times of it "winning the prize". The best part, Evan proudly told his daddy, "I was the only one!"

Evan kept talking about the Jack O' Lantern in the farm but I couldn't remember seeing one, until he pointed it out in this picture. How could I have forgotten that?

My wards. The pre-schoolers are paired with 4th graders they call their school buddies, as partners for various school activities. Evan idolizes his. And observing Evan's school buddy I think my son got the best one, he's very attentive to Evan and talks to him a lot. I was assigned to keep an eye on Evan and his school buddy and one of Evan's classmate and his own school buddy. Good boys all of them. There were probably 5 other parents in the field trip with around 50 kids total.

Giving mommy a wink/smile while on a muddy and bumpy hayride. One other parent called the field "Lake Mud", while I called it "The Muddy Mud Pits" something I got from Evan's Diego book.

Evan with other classmates and their own school buddies. The hayride was too long for me.

Taking a break and having lunch. See how Evan idolizes Michael? He talks about him at home many times. See the meat roll on Evan's lunch pack? I made them.

 See what I mean about the attentive school buddy and Evan idolizing him? Sometimes I wonder what the 2 would talk about.

At the petting zoo. Evan is scared about the goat feeding from his hand, so Michael tried to make it better by letting the goat eat the corn from the cup, then there was a melee when the goat tried to eat the cup too.

We left at 9 am and came back at 2pm. The bus ride was a good 45 minutes. I tried to make myself scarce and have Evan interact with his friends and I succeeded. In fact about 3 times during the trip when Evan would spot me he would call out and wave his hand, "bye mom!" I guess, he's just not used to see his mommy being around during school time.

Can't wait to see Evan when he goes trick or treatin' :)

A couple of Evan's school art projects, a finger painted apple paper bag and pre-school pointillism.

read and sign Application To Volunteer

read and sign Mandated Reporter Form

fill out and sign CANTS form (Child Abuse and Neglect Tracking System)

read and sign the Code Of Conduct which among other things states:

• Never touch a minor in a sexual way or other inappropriate manner.
• Never be alone with a minor in a residence, rectory, sleeping facility, or any
  other closed room.
• Never share a bed with a minor.
• Never take an overnight trip alone with a minor.

go online to complete a National Criminal Background Check

attend a 3 hour volunteer training and get a certificate for that"

Whew. If it wasn't Evan's school and I didn't want to spend some schooltime with him like chaperoning him in one of their field trips or being a room parent, I would've said "forget it". But it is comforting to know that Evan's school is taking extra measures in ensuring their student's safety and not just allowing any stranger to be around them.

One of my FB Wall Photos was Evan's latest school photo I got last week. This was taken a month ago.

Sept. 8 "my 3 year old says he likes my spinach basil pesto (with rotini sprinkled with tons of parmesan cheese) even if I found it a tad bit too garlicky myself. Well I am only glad that there is somebody who finishes off my kitchen experiments. For dessert he is having watermelon sherbet - another experiment."

Update: I froze a lot of this basil spinach pesto and he still loves it. It's quite convenient for me too.

Sept. 14 "my son is very excited with the new toy his mommy made this morning. A "power ring" made out of paper clip and scotch tape lol"

Update: which was good since he lost this power ring after 10 minutes. Now he has an invisible power ring.

Sept. 14 "just found my sun hat inside the fridge. Quite cold too. Guess who put it there..."

The memory still cracks me up.

Sept. 18 "Evan out-of-the-blue: "Good morning dear Jesus." Something he learned from school I guess."

Update: He has given me a full version of the prayer 3 weeks ago plus another one too, and a song.

Sept. 21 "doing Evan's homework."

For his letter-of-the-week activity. It was the "A" week so I was hunting for acorns. I came up empty handed (our squirrels are greedy) so he took a plastic one from his Happy Meal toy.

Sept. 23 "is giving Evan a haircut."

Surprisingly, he fidgets more now than when he was smaller. He's more curious of the stuff I am doing especially at the back of his neck.

Sept. 25 "my 3 year old just corrected me, Ironman is Tony Stark not Tony Parker. Oo nga naman."

And he has yet to see The Ironman movie. Wish he could, I love that film - pure eye candy!

Sept. 29 "Evan poured a jugful of newly bought detergent in the washing machine this morning. We will have a strong smelling batch of laundry today."

Me: "My $8 dollars down the drain, literally."

Oct. 2 "thought she was going to take Evan to see "Where The Wild Things Are" when it comes out, until I read the movie version book (in the bookstore) and saw that there was a scene that the little boy bites his mom's arm... Uhm, I don't think so."

Still won't. Would rather save it for "Astro Boy". Was even thinking of Michael Jackson's "This Is It" too. Hehe

Oct. 2 " me to Evan: "You're the most adorable boy in the world." Evan to me: " "You're a genius!" True story."

Update: Yesterday after church while I was driving he told me again, "you're a genius!". I asked, "how about daddy?" His answer? "Nah, me and daddy are boys." He has a point.

Oct. 10 "Evan calls this his "Jesus Book". He loves it so much I was able to read the entire 192 page book to him in almost 1 sitting (took a break for his bath). Comes with a 30 minute DVD he watched twice in a row and wanted to watch the 3rd time ...which I had to say "no more". Bought it for $11 at Walmart."

Update: he still loves it. But I avoid being around when he's reading the book because it is 192 pages. I don't want him to get any ideas. He can happily read it on his own.

Oct. 10 "The other day Evan started hitting his head with his hand. We tried to stop him with logic but that didn't work. So we told him that his eyeballs will fall out. He hasn't done it since."

Update: Let me repeat, he hasn't done it since. I also found out the book "The Gingerbread Boy" is also a slightly effective warning when it comes to NOT listening.

Oct. 13 "Evan was fascinated by the cover of this library book (Tom was reading) laying at the back of the car. "The people are naked," he says "they are going home to change their clothes." As I parked on the street and we were about to get out, the little boy asked, "can I take this home?"

Oct. 19 (Today) "watched in amusement while her son affectionately hugged another lady's leg as we waited in line at the Post Office. He thought it was me, lol"

When I started FBing I didn't know that Facebook would be a good and fun memory tool for future blog entries. How convenient. 

But for now, this is our reality car:

An onyx blue (because this is only one of the 4 colors we can choose from the 1.6 models) 2010 Nissan Versa Sedan with power nothing and manual transmission. Why? Because it was one of the cheapest cars. We didn't plan on buying a car this year especially with me not working so we had to compromise.

During the early days while Tom and I were talking about it I wasn't even too keen on the Sedan. I told Tom, based on the first picture I saw of it, it looked like an old man's car, to which Tom would reply, "Well, I am old!" Pilosopo sab. But I did change my mind when I saw one at the dealer, it was kinda cute with modern interiors (well, I have been driving a 15 year old car for 6 years!) plus I was getting tired of seeing the hatchback model almost every second of the day which was my first choice and my friend's Tanya's car which she absolutely loves.

A funny thing, Tom was initially set on buying an automatic transmission since it was more readily available and says he's getting too old (again) for the complicated manual. But when he test drove the manual Versa he changed his mind, he says he never realize how much he liked driving stick. I was so glad to hear that since I had apprehensions of driving an automatic on the snow. It also saved us almost a thousand dollars ($972).

We also considered the Honda Fit which was more expensive by a couple thousand dollars. In fact, I managed to get a good quote for it but for some reason the dealer was hard to get a hold of. So with the other Honda dealers in our area. In fact one salesman was plainly disinterested when I asked about a "Honda Fit manual base". So I took it as a sign that the Honda wasn't for us for now.

I do have apprehensions about the reliability about this Nissan model, but going to a Nissan forum I found several members who were as happy with their Nissans as I was with my Honda of old. So I am hoping their luck will rub off on our own Nissan.

The car will be arriving tomorrow and I hate to say this, I am a little excited.

I may not be much of a cook but I am more on my element when it comes to baking. Maybe because when it comes to bread and cakes (but especially with bread) I know exactly what I want. I am also pretty good with following instructions too.

When I found this delicious banana muffin recipe on the net, I loved it but there was something missing. Inspired by the Power Bar in Einstein's Bagel I added carrots, raisins, flax meal, walnuts to the recipe and voila, it was more like it. I christened this the Power Muffin.

One of the things I miss about the Philippines is the Spanish bread. Part of my growing up years was manning the bakery during our christmas and summer vacations and humility aside we had to most delicious bread in the city for some years. My favorite was our spanish, chinese and mongo bread. I was delighted when I stumbled upon the Spanish Bread recipe on Manang Kusinera's site and didn't waste time making it. And oh boy, my labor of love from the oven transported me back to the Philippines.

I wish I can say the same for the ensaimada, it is not quite like the ones I remember in the Visayas so I am planning to ask my father for the recipes that we had in our bakery. I know he still has it because I saw that notebook during one of my trips back to the Philippines. It will be a painstaking process to convert kilograms to cups since the quantities was made for commercial consumption. But it will be so satisfying and rewarding to eat mongo bread, cheese bread and king roll again. You don't get them at any bakery here, not even in filipino stores.

Even with running I still have to be mindful with how much I eat, with the leftovers I either freeze them or give it away. Next Saturday I will have a baking session with a friend from Cebu. I am glad she has a big family that she can bring home our baked goods to. Having a couple of pieces of freshly baked bread will be more than enough for me, really. Can't wait.

I asked Tom why he didn't get my portrait framed. He replied that I looked too severe in it. Well since I drew myself while looking at the mirror I couldn't very well smile while doing it. I would look very silly to the onlooker, not to mention the aching facial muscles.

Yes, that is how I look like when I am not smiling, now you know why I force myself to smile for the camera.

It was interesting to see the house again, and how it was when we saw it with the real estate agent. No wonder we fell in love with it at first sight. The former owners were architects. Although there are lots of things I would like to do for our home, I would like to think ours has a more homey, lived in feel. The bias is understandable. Of course.

Then last Saturday during my 10 mile run I came across a 2 family yard sale that had this Baby Jogger. Now, I have already stopped going to yard sales since I have been to Salvation Army 3 times this year alone to give away some of our old stuff. Clearly we had more than enough in the house. But the Baby Jogger? It was an answer to my prayers. I bought it for $30. To think I even entertained buying a 2nd hand Maclaren for $50 (the cheapest I found) I saw on Craiglist. Jogging strollers are worth $250-$400++ brand new (this Baby Jogger brand is around $400). It was even in my baby shower wish list. That's how long ago I wanted this stroller but just didn't to buy an item for that kind of money myself.

The woman who sold me the stroller told me that she used it with her six year old. Perfect! I still have 3 years to use for my 30 dollar buy. Then I spied this Dash mug which was perfect for Evan. When I asked the lady how much it was, she said she was throwing it in for free.

Then on another table I saw a heart rate monitor for $5. This usually retails for $50. I have wanted a heart rate monitor way back the mid 1990's. Again, when I came over I wasn't sure if it was if it was practical to pluck down that amount of money for something I don't know I will use that much.

When I did my run that morning, I wasn't sure if I was going to even run that Saturday (I originally scheduled if for Sunday but an invititation for Sunday birthday lunch changed that), if I was going to do 6, 8 or 10 miles (the yard sale was on mile 4 - I plot my running routes in such a way it takes me back to our house), if I was going to bring $10 or a credit card (I brought credit card instead and withdrew money from a mall 1 mile away). Imagine, if I did one thing differently, I wouldn't have had any of these stuff right now.

"Seek and you shall find,"  Gilda quoted when I put a brief summary this story up on Facebook. And it's so true.