California Road trip..from San Francisco to Las Vegas

We left murky,damp and gloomy New York and landed in sunny California! Although I would not advise travelling with small children for health and mental reasons...we had no choice, unless we can check-in the little critters in a "kid hotel" like they do for pets for 1 week. We had 2 checked in bags and most of it was for the baby. The bottles, milk formulas, bottle sterilizer, little odds and ends, two strollers, two car seats...like I said, after this I need a vacation. Doing NOTHING. Some travellers don't care for young kids, they act like they were never little brats or maybe their parents never travelled with them. It's fun. Like the kind of fun you have in hell. We flew Delta. Cheap snacks, all of us squished like sardines in a can. In real estate lingo...quite cozy. My 3 year old twitching and bouncing around like she had coffee, steroids and candy...all at the same time. Finally she wound down and dropped to sleep, 30 min within landing!

Going through security was also another nightmare worth blogging about. I had to strip the children's shoes, coats, jackets, fold the strollers and the car seats on top of removing my own stuff and putting them in gray boxes. Going through security by yourself is already torture, but going through it with two babies in tow is beyond beyond beyond my imagined idea of hell. The worst thing is..when you get on the plane, it doesn't end there, it is just the start of a 6++ hour torture. I need a drink. But I can't. Need to be sober. Kinda jealous of my neighbors in the plane with earphones and drowning out the baby screams.

Keeping healthy this Flu season

It's kinda scary. You turn on the TV, and everything is about pain, death and the downward spiral of the economy. Sometimes I just have to steel myself, because as a mother, one should be informed of current events. Knowledge is power, information is key! As a mother, one should know what is happening around her, and not just who is dating who in Hollywood all the better to make informed decisions.

I have a lot of friends on facebook posting their dilemnas on the swine flu vaccine. To get? or not to get? (the vaccine)..that is the million dollar question. I try not to impose my will on anyone. But if someone asks, I will try to give my opinion, not just as a pediatric nurse, but also as a concerned and INFORMED mom. Like I said, information is key. ANd mind you, not just any information, the world wide web is a treasure chest of info, but there are also a bunch of sewage floating around. One has to dig and sort through the junk and get the golden nuggets of useful information that is reliable, proven and not hearsay or gossip.

So will I advise to vaccinate a child who is in the high risk group to get it? Yes. Even if the child is not high risk and the pediatrician offers it, I will still advise it. At this point in time, the pros outweigh the cons. I work in an area that exposes me to viruses most of the time. I don't want to bring it home. If 3 yrs from now, my family will turn into one of those characters from the movie "I am Legend", well...at least we didn't get the swine flu. Looking at the bright side, I probably won't care at that point in time. Some would counter that the government is encouraging it coz it's a conspiracy. Oh puleeze. Believe what you want. But I have seen really really sick kids, and it's not a picnic either.

Although I would have to post a disclaimer. I don't work for a pharmaceutical company, there ARE side effects of the vaccine. Getting the vaccine DOES NOT GUARANTEE that you will not get sick with flu since there are a lot of strains out there floating around and those little buggers are just eagerly awaiting being introduced to your nasal passages and mouth. But it would definitely decrease one's chances of being debilitatingly sick and passing it on to more vulnerable targets like pregnant women, children and those with underlying medical condition. I just heard the news. Another 19 children dead from the swine flu. Enough said. Go watch the news then

All Hallow's Eve

It's Halloween again, it's like Christmas for the kids and adults alike. I was the chaperon to several pre-teens and of course my own KK who is dressed up this year as Dora. She was insisting on dressing up as a princess, but I'm like NO NO NO! You will get more candy if you dress up as Dora! So I searched and got a Boots costume for the little sibling. I overestimated her growth rate so the costume was a little bigger..even after 2 months. I ordered the costume 2 months ago. That's how excited mommy was about this one night.

In the Philippines, I remember we did not celebrate the 31st of October, we stayed in the house and did not go out..at all. My mom would scare me with stories of the dead roaming and spirits a-haunting. And it was a solemn occasion for most. We visit our dead relatives, offer prayers and masses. The one time of the year that we come back, clean up the weeds from the headstones and whitewash tombs. Some enterprising kids make money by collecting the candle wax from the forgotten candles left by the well-meaning relatives, they sell it per kilo.

Over the years, it has evolved into a much festive holiday. The cemeteries are packed with people, visitors and hawkers. With radios blaring and tents set up, most had food and it's like one big party.

Initially when we first came to America, we did not participate in these activities but when the kids came, it is more for their benefit rather than us. So we walked..and walked...and walked. Knocked on houses, got treats and continued on. It is really heartening to see, despite all the turmoil in our country, that people do take time to participate in this occasion. It is not just the candy that they get, but most of the house owners wait outside and individually hands out the treats. They get enjoyment from seeing little kids and adults alike dressed in whatever their imaginations can conjure and like I said, for a few hours, forget about the depressing economy.

We walked for over 2 hours, and it was a workout. I was wearing a light vest over a long sleeved shirt and my shirt was soaked. I was carrying an Ikea recyclable bag where my little Dora dumps her haul when her pumpkin gets too heavy to carry. And we had to cut out our foraging coz it started to rain..HARD. It sucks. But maybe deep inside I was thankful..I was tired and hungry and how much freaking candy can one eat? I grabbed Dora and ran for home. We got home, I ate a big plate of spaghetti, five pieces of garlic bread, and of course my lions share of the candy. So much for the calories I burned in the last two hours. I got it all back..with interest. Calories came back like a money lenders high interest rates.

We sorted the stash, I weeded away the small hard candies that can cause choking, took out the bubble gums and kept all the chocolate bars. After that it was trading time! All the cousins and aunts started trading and bartering for their least liked and favorite treats.

All in all, the next day, my daughter already forgot about her hoard, but I try to emphasize to her while we were trick or treating, to appreciate whatever someone gives. Small candy or big choco bar, the act of giving should be enough. Also always remind her to say "thank you" and of course sharing. There are values to be learned even during Halloween. It is not just horror movies and partying.

The holiday is over, costumes in the dirty laundry bin, pictures taken and posted and the candies hidden away, and parents all over the country heave a sigh of relief that their children came home safely, maybe a little sick from eating too much candy, but safe nonetheless. And me, getting that much needed sleep, coz I'm exhausted after that chaperoning bit. Now all that is over..time to plan for Christmas. I just love being a mom