Turtle Family

My son has never before exhibited a great fondness for stuffed toys. Gifts of the fluffy kind simply serve as displays on exhibit at his bedroom, to be glanced over from time to time, maybe even patted or held briefly on a few occasions, but never really seriously considered as major objects of affection.

I was thus more than mildly surprised when, on a recent trip to the department store, my toddler gravitated towards the toy section and excitedly grabbed a stuffed turtle from one of the shelves.

It was Crush (...or was it his son Squirt? I honestly can't tell the difference...) from "Finding Nemo." His big eyes lit up with pleasure as he held the toy next to him. He even brought the cute and cuddly green thing next to his face and gave it a kiss on the cheek.

From that moment on, he absolutely refused to let go of Crush/Squirt. The cashier had to resort to cutting the price tag off for scanning because my son adamantly refused to hand over his precious find lest it disappear from him forever.

I was hugely amused to see how much he loved his new toy.


As soon as we arrived back at our condo, my litte boy suddenly looked for his real pet turtle, which he received a few months back as a present from his Uncle. He asked his Daddy to take it out of the aquarium and set it down on the floor. When the live turtle was on the floor, our three year-old got his stuffed pet Crush/Squirt and put him down beside it. A few seconds later, my husband and I were flabbergasted to see our son plop down on the floor as well.

Before we could say anything, our wonder kid looked up at us with a big grin on his impish face and said: "Look, we're the same! All turtles....we're family!"

And so that is how we found ourselves with a happy family of turtles living at our home.

i carry your heart

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in

my heart) i am never without it(anywhere

i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done

by only me is your doing, my darling)

i fear

no fate(for you are my fate, my sweet)i want

no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)

and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant

and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows

(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud

and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows

higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)

and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

- ee cummings

Who do you carry in your heart? =)

Retrospective

Tried uploading my photos at yearbookyourself.com. 

And TAH-DAH....these were the results generated....

Don't think I can't hear you laughing your ass off!

BWAHAHAHA!

Okay, now YOU do it! Then share the outcome...so it can be my turn to laugh. 

BWAHAHAHA!

Fabulous Photo Fun

Fooling around with photos has never been this entertaining!

You can try applying the special effects on your pictures at photofunia.com. Enjoy!!!

Checking In

Just when I am feeling a tad uninspired to blog more often, this surprise suddenly arrives for me by mail....

 

Thank you, Google Adsense! Nothing beats your form of motivation. Haha!

Now, excuse me while I go shopping!

McDreamy's Bride

Finally. The seemingly improbable happened. 

I got hitched to McDreamy. 

Woohoo!

A Farewell to Summer

"Summer afternoon - summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language."

- Henry James

"In summer, the song sings itself."

- William Carlos Williams

"The summer night is like a perfection of thought."

- Wallace Stevens

"Then followed that beautiful season...Summer...

Filled was the air with a dreamy and magical light;

And the landscape lay as if new

Created in all the freshness of childhood."

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

"Most persons do not see the sun. At least they have a very superficial seeing. The sun illuminates only the eye of the man, but shines into the eye and heart of the child. The lover of nature is he whose inward and outward senses are still truly adjusted to each other; who has retained the spirit of infancy even into the era of manhood."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"What greater thing is there for human souls than to feel that they are joined for life - to be with each other in silent unspeakable memories."

- George Eliot

 

"There shall be eternal summer in the grateful heart."

- Celia Thaxter

"A life without love is like a year without summer."

- Swedish Proverb 

"When you look at your life, the greatest happinesses are family happinesses."

- Joyce Brothers

"Enjoy yourself. It's later than you think."

- Chinese Proverb

"Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass on a summer day listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is hardly a waste of time."

- John Lubbock

"I question not if thrushes sing,

If roses load the air;

Beyond my heart I need not reach

When all is summer there."

-John Vance Cheney

"In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer."

- Albert Camus

"To see the Summer Sky

Is Poetry, though never in a Book it lie -

True Poems flee."

- Emily Dickinson

"Summer is the time when one sheds one's tensions with one's clothes, and the right kind of day is jeweled balm for the battered spirit. A few of those days and you can become drunk with the belief that all's right with the world."

- Ada Louise Huxtable

"Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it."

-Russel Baker

Birthday Tribute

A mushy missive to the man of the hour...

Dearest Allan,

Despite my occasional loud bursts of protests, whiny complaints and demanding questions of why, how and what now, please know that, in the deepest recesses of my heart and soul, I am always on your side -- rooting for you, believing in you, praying for you, trusting you, loving you every step of the way.

My darling, you simply cannot imagine how proud I am of you.

At 38, you have achieved what many only dream of. Slowly but surely, you grew to become the great man I always knew you would be from the moment I met you.

You have managed to conquer the odds and build a successful, rewarding career that has gifted our family with stability, comfort and freedom. You have proven that life is what you make of it -- that hard work, perseverance, patience, focus, optimism, faith and kindness can transform obstacles into victories, change daunting improbabilities into endless possiblity, and create stunning miracles out of ordinary happenings.

You have truly inspired and moved me to think differently, to focus on the good, to give in order to get back. And for this, I am extremely grateful. Now, I am joyfully convinced that all setbacks are temporary; they happen for a reason, and even help sweeten the feeling of fulfillment in the end.

So THANK YOU - for all that you do and all that you are.

You are an amazing husband, a devoted father, and the perfect best friend.

Happy Birthday, my honey!!!

I love you and I always will.

Your loony muse,

Irene

Reminiscing Rio

"Her name is Rio and she dances on the sand
Just like that river twisting through a dustly land
And when she shines she really shows you all she can
Oh Rio, Rio dance across the Rio Grande..."

Duran Duran played this song as their final encore in their concert Thursday night.

Consequently, it has permeated the inner recesses of my brain so that I continue to sing it over and over again like a broken record. Which is quite a feat, really, given that I have practically lost all command of my vocal chords since yelling myself silly throughout their entire two-hour show.

Duran Duran is one of my all-time favorite eighties' bands.

I loved them before....

And, after finally seeing them peform live, I love them even more now....

Nostalgia overwhelmed me as the amazingly talented English musicians played their fabulously familiar tunes, and the huge Araneta Coliseum crowd collectively shrieked and danced along.

After the twenty or so years that have passed, the group undeniably sounded better than ever.

I saw many familiar faces in the excited audience - some I knew from way back in high school and college.

Flashbacks of prom nights, awkward dates, die-hard crushes, puppy loves, crazy parties, spasmodic bursts of teenage rebellion and sentimental friendships enveloped my being and spurred me to scream my lungs out even harder to the soundtracks that were my life.

I was lost, then found, in the contagious mood of frenetic reminiscence.

I felt old.

And I felt young.

Generally, I felt greater than I had in quite a while.

"Her name is Rio she don't need to understand
And I might find her if I'm looking like I can
Rio, Rio hear them shout across the land
From mountains in the north down to the Rio Grande..."

Beanie Baby

My son loves to dress up, but in his own way.

At three, he seems to have already developed his own sense of fashion. Depending on his mood, he carefully chooses his own outfit from his hat down to his shoes. And, more often than not, his sartorial flair involves dramatic costuming.

Each day our toddler traipses off to school, his teachers are always in for a surprise. They never know when to expect a firefighter, gladiator, cowboy, pirate, or even Bob the Builder to stride proudly into the classroom.

The problem arises when our picky dresser has to wear something that does not catch his fancy. He throws a tantrum and unceremoniously yanks on his undesired piece of clothing until we, the tired, hapless parents, eventually give in and remove the offending piece.

A few weeks back, we were faced with a dilemma when our family had to attend a formal wedding. How in the world were we going to make our headstrong son last more than five minutes in a long-sleeved collared shirt and tie???

I could not help but worry during the entire ride to the venue. I kept trying to sweet-talk him by telling him how handsome he would look wearing the ensemble hanging by our car window, but he would merely shake his head vigorously at me in response.

When we finally arrived at the event, I valiantly attempted to get our boy into the shirt and tie. Just as I predicted and dreaded, he immediately started wailing and pulling hard at his necktie and shirt buttons.

My husband quickly advised me to stop creating a scene and simply let our son go in casually attired. I knew I was losing the accoutrement battle. In the distance, I could see all the little children prancing around in their formalwear.

Out of desperation, I cried out: "MR. BEAN!"

Suddenly, our young bugger completely ceased fidgeting and stood perfectly still. He looked at me, albeit suspiciously, and said, "Mr. Bean?"

And I, latching on at the burst of hope, reiterated, "Yes! Mr. Bean! You're Mr. Bean!"

Lo and behold, a miracle occured. Our hyper nipper slowly took in his garb. Soon after, his previously distressed face broke into a pleased smile. He grabbed my hand and practically pulled me to the gathering.

He ended up contentedly wearing his Mr. Bean "costume" the whole evening. As an added bonus, all the guests we came across enthused that our lad looked so handsome in his get-up.

Whew!

Thank you for saving the day, Mr. Bean!

Welcoming Summer

You know it's really summer when you wake up in a resort one sunny morning to the sight of your smiling toddler suited in a snug silly outfit, slathered in sunblock lotion, shod in rubber thong slippers, singing his merry way to the pool.

The heat is definitely on and this loony mommy is finding herself enjoying every bit of it with her playful child.

Woohoo!