First Quarter, Report Card Grades and PTC

When my cousins and a friend's daughter found out I enrolled Y at her school, their first reaction was "Good luck Achi/Auntie!" Haha! That should scare me right? My cousins graduated from the same school and my friend's daughter is still in Junior High.

I knew about the school's reputation on how hard their Chinese curriculum is but it's one of the reasons why I chose this school. Nursery went by and Y had a fun year. Y now is in Kindergarten 1 and when I saw their quarterly syllabus, I was shocked because it was what I studied when I was in Grade 1 (14 years ago, haha!). I remember my Kindergarten days were all play, sing and dance lang with minimal studying pero iba na pala ngayon! So ito na nga, kelangan ko pala talaga ng luck at mahaba-habang pasensya. I refuse to hire a tutor for Y because their Chinese lessons are still easy and I can still handle teaching Y. I was talking to another co-parent and we both agreed that we never expect that with our daughters only in Kindergarten, it would be this competitive! The mommas feel the pressure! 

Eto na... First quarter exams came. It was the longest two weeks of my life because there's oral then written exam. We studied and studied and I was happy when her test results finally came out. Kebs naman siya sa grades. I think the parents were more nervous and anxious than the kids. Then report card distribution came. Honestly ha, I wanted Y to have honors but I wasn't expecting naman. Her average was 0.06 shy from her getting a Bronze Merit Award. Naturally, I felt sayang, konting konti na lang talaga diba? But I don't want to be a Tiger Mom or a Helicopter Parent, her grades speak for itself. I don't want to pressure her this young. Sabi nga ni BOS: "Hindi nakakain ang honors". Bow! I am more than happy with her grades and how she is loving school. She enjoys school, loves answering worksheets and activity books, she also loves drawing but she hates writing especially if I make her write in Chinese. Haha!

A day after report card distribution was PTC. I already knew what the teachers were going to say: Y is talkative. Haha! Other than that, everything was positive. We just need to work on a few things. I hope it will stay that way until she graduates haha! I also got to meet and chat with some of the moms of Y's classmates. Topics went from how our child's behavior in class to K12 to how boys behave differently and how they're more immature than girls to which I told them why I didn't enroll R who's 3-years old, to school yet this year. He made it to the cut-off, as in super exact, he turned three just a few days before school started this year but decided to enroll him next year na lang because I think R is not ready yet to which this mom answered "Mag mamature din naman yan pag pumasok na, siyempre kelangan niya sumabay kaya hahabol yan." "Alam mo sayang yung one year, malelate siya mag-graduate. Parang ganon. She told me how her son skipped nursery, from toddler class to kindergarten. Kung kaya ng anak niya, that's great! But for me talaga, hindi pa ready si R. Then I asked one question lang, because she mentioned that her other son was in Grade 10, if it wasn't for K12, her son would graduate high school this year. I asked her "If your son is to take any college entrance exams now, would he know what course he would like to take?". She answered "No". I hope by the time Y is in Junior High, may Grade 11 and 12 na nun, I hope I have guided her well that she knows what to take in college.

Ang pray ko lang is for patience. When their studies get harder, I hope I don't turn into a Tiger Mom. Haha!

Yes Mommy! Workshop

Parenting is tricky. Sometimes, well, most of time now, it's hard to get my toddler to understand, listen or follow what I say. It's either she'll ignore me or smile at me, it's frustrating sometimes.

Manila Workshops together with Optimommy are holding a workshop this December 15 called Yes Mommy! Workshop.

Yes Mommy: How to Talk so your Child will Listen and Understand
DETAILS Date: Saturday, December 15, 2012 Time: 9:00 am to 4:45 pm Venue: COWO - Ground Floor, Suntree Tower, #27 Sapphire Road, Ortigas Center, Pasig City Rates: - Regular rate of Php 1,400 / participant - Early bird rate of Php 1,200 / participant (PAID before Dec. 1, 2012 or via Okayokay.com until Dec. 10) - Group discount of Php 1,000 for 3 or more participants *Lunch and afternoon snack are included *Payment may be via Okayokay.com or deposit to a UnionBank or BPI Account or via Paypal (Please add Php 50 for Paypal charges). About the Yes Mommy Workshop At "Yes Mommy" we'll talk about practical tips and tools to build a foundation of good communication with our young children.

Topics include:

• Self Talk for Mommies: Why positive communication begins with you
• How to understand your child's personality
• How to adjust your communication style based on your child's personality
• The Three Elements of Positive Communication: Crucial factors to encourage your children to listen and understand
• How to say "no" by saying "yes"

"Yes Mommy" is called a workshop. But I'd rather call it a sharing session where we can connect with other moms, we can feel safe to share what we know and don't know, and we can have comfort knowing that we are not alone in this parenting journey. I cannot give you expert advice nor can I guarantee that you'll have perfect kids or you'll be a perfect mom after this workshop. But I do intend that you抣l pick up information, encouragement and even inspiration that will help make this lifetime commitment of mothering just a little bit easier for you. You'll gain:

• Tools to start your day with calmness and intention
• Patience in dealing with your children
• Resources to communicate persuasively
• A network of like minded moms who can give encouragement and support

When you find this helpful for you, do join us and sign up through this form. I look forward to meeting you and learning from you. Much love, Jayme Chief Inspiration Officer | Mom in training Optimommy.com 

About Jayme Jayme Gatbonton is the mom behind Optimommy, a blog about positive parenting and intentional motherhood. She is blessed to be called "Mommy" by two girls, 5 - year old Jamaine and 4 - year old Kalia. After working in TV production for 9 years, she gave up her dream to be a newscaster so she can devote more time to her lifetime career: being mom. She underwent training in Neuro Linguistic Programming and became a freelance workshop facilitator. She is now a Mass Communications teacher, blogger and part time work at home mom. Jayme is passionate about raising children with love, patience and positivity. Her "heart work" lies in encouraging and empowering moms to fulfill their life's passions while raising a loving family. 
 
And as a Christmas treat for my dear readers, I'm giving you 50% discount off on the workshop fee, so that means you'll only pay Php500! Fee includes positive parenting insights + mommy bonding + food + goodies! You can sign up now and use this code "Optimommy AD" on this form: http://optimommy.com/workshops/#signup/

*There's a box there before the Payment method section where you'll type in the discount code

Wish I can join this workshop but our schedule for December is full to the brim! Hope you can join, this is a very good deal!

Yayaless

So yesterday morning, the yaya announced that she will leave and go back home. I was surprised, but then, not really.

I already have plans for firing her next month, after she paid her loan. I was looking for her replacement already. Then something happened the other day which I think made her decide to leave yesterday.

This was the third yaya of Y. She was the replacement of her daughter-in-law who got pregnant so I had to let her go. She was ok at first, but eventually her work started to be just so-so. I don't know if it's because of her age, or she's just lazy, she doesn't really want to work anymore... Then she borrowed money for her daughter's tuition which I lent her, then borrowed more for family emergency. At first, I understood her situation which is why I lend her money. But then she started to get lazy... and neglecting her work then Y started getting into (minor) bump accidents which I think is normal for a very active and makulit toddler but it was getting too often... And every time something happens, all she says is "Sorry, hindi na mauulit next time"

Right when I hired this yaya, my mom told me to install a nanny cam so I can monitor the yaya and Y while I'm at the office or while we're not at home. Good thing we did! The other day, on our way home from the office, the BOS told me that my SIL told him Y got into another bumping accident. Nahulog daw sa sofa. Mother's instinct, I felt that this is something serious, something major. The BOS said not to say anything when we get home and see if the yaya would tell us what happened, the truth. When we got home, after a few minutes, the yaya told us that Y fell from the sofa, she told us what happened. I didn't believe her, if she was just sitting beside Y, how can she fall if she was really looking.

This is how our conversation went:
Y: Naglilikot kasi siya. Tumatayo sa sofa. Tapus biglang nahulog, hindi ko na inabot.

Me: Magkatabi na nga kayo, hindi mo pa nahabol?

Y: Hawak ko kasi yun pagkain nya. Pinapakain ko.

Me: Bakit hindi mo binaba o hinagis yun pagkain para masalo mo si Y? Nagtetext ka ba non?

Y: Hinde, pinapakain ko lang.

Me: Malakas ba pagka-untog? Umiyak si Y?

Y: Namula, umiyak. Nilagyan ko ng ice kanina.

What I forgot to ask her was, were they watching TV when that happened. I was really doubting what she said and malakas kutob ko that it was more than that. So when everybody was asleep, the BOS and I reviewed the nanny cam. And yun nga, her eyes was glued to the TV. Y was standing up and being makulit, but she can sit her down naman, and she didn't! Then ayun nga.. nahulog and Y hit her head at the corner of on our sofas. Good thing there was no bruise or bumps and it didn't hurt her eye. It hurts so much for me see what happened. I cried. And makes me want to quit my work already and stay at home to take care of Y.

After watching, the BOS told me to wake the yaya. Ayan na. The BOS never talks or reprimand any of our helpers or yaya. I'm always the one who do it. But this time, na-highblood ng bonggang bongga si BOS. I woke the yaya up and told her to come out. I was stopping myself from crying but I can't so I went inside our room and left the two of them in our sala. The BOS let the yaya watch the nanny cam, and asked her what really happened. Makakapag-sinungaling pa ba siya? Nag speech ang BOS. The yaya said sorry. And this is what the BOS said "Walang kwenta ang sorry, bata yang inaalagaan mo. Pinagkatiwala sayo yun bata para alagaan mo."
Which is true naman. I think the yaya cried after. I didn't really care. Then the next morning she announced that she'll be leaving na and that she can't take care of Y anymore. Hello?! Kung hindi mo kayang alagaan, you should have told me way before so I could find a replacement! Kung kelan nagsalita ang asawa ko, tsaka ka magsasabi na hindi mo na kaya? I didn't really care anymore. Edi umalis ka. She talked to Y din, she was crying while talking to Y. I was getting annoyed with her na. She packed her things, I checked them of course. When she was at the door, Y started crying. I picked her up at binulungan ko "Wag mong iyakan si Y, hindi yun worth it!" Then she stopped crying. Good thing she's not attached to the yaya.

Why is it so hard to find a good yaya nowadays? No joke! It's hard to find someone you can trust. Mahirap pag may cellphone sila, may FB or may boyfriend sila. HAY! Now I'm yaya-less and looking for one. Good thing I have extra help but only til next month... As much as I want to do everything, giving her a bath, feeding her, and all that.. I really can't anymore. I'm big as an elephant! I need a new yaya ASAP!