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a brief trip to (smelly) Manila Zoo

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Manila Zoo. There was a time a long time ago when the mere mention of Manila Zoo made me feel giddy with excitement. I have committed to memory a childhood picture where I was happily posing in front of a peacock pheasant. Simple joy! I hail from the province and a trip to Manila used to be so special. What I didn't realize until I had children is that I was lucky to have grown up a probinsyana  - to have the fields, vast expanse of free space and hills as my playground. To have flowers to pluck, leaves to gather, dragonflies to catch, trees to climb, free fresh fruits to eat. My kids aren't as lucky. That's why a trip close to nature is a treat for our children. We brought the kids to Manila Zoo yesterday, as reward to our pre-schooler for winning the Interbranch science quiz bee in school. He loves animals and was happy to see the elephant, the birds, the tigers and the crocodiles. He was indifferent to the smell and the dilapidated look of the zoo. ...
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personal milestone: i got published!

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I was required to write an article for the Taxwise or Otherwise column in Business World and got published this week. Here's a link to my article entitled No Trespassing Please which tackles the Revenue Memorandum Circular (RMC) 65-2012 issued by the Bureau of Internal Revenue nearly a year ago, “Clarifying the Taxability of Association Dues, Membership Fees, and Other Assessments/Charges Collected by Condominium Corporations". Here are husband's posts which I would like to save here for posterity. :) Hopefully, by the time we move in to our condo, the VAT on association dues will already be lifted for good. ;) - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
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proud mom to our quiz bee champion!

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Loooong Saturday but I am not complaining. ;) I woke up from an evening nap and am now watching the Ms. World Pageant on TV. As a kid, I have fond memories of my family staying up to watch beauty contests. So somehow, this night gives me some feeling of excitement (we already know that Philippines won, of course). Although I'm alone and unless I give birth to a baby girl, the 'tradition' will mostly likely not live on with me.  photo grabbed from Inquirer Today, our pre-schooler won the Interbranch Science quiz bee in school! He bested 14 other contestants and I am so proud for his efforts. We were afraid he would throw tantrums and won't be able to join the contest. But our prayers and bribes paid off. results of the interbranch quiz bee competition TL#1 has history of not wanting to join school presentations and contests. Although lately, he has also won Best in National Costume during Linggo ng Wika. Here's to hoping he gets over the phase totally. The day his t...
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bedtime goatime

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The kids are playing in the room before bedtime... Me: Look at Tobey's feet. It's so small. TL#1: Why? Me: Because he is still a baby. TL#1: How about me? Me: Yours are bigger. TL#1: Why? Me: Because you're already a kid. TL#1: Huh? The young of a goat is a kid then you call me a kid. That must be silly! Me: Meee-meeee! He is currently reviewing for the upcoming science quiz bee in school and one of the topics is the young of animals. Smart kid! - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
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bedtime joketime: we're going to London someday

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TL#1 was playing with a London mini snowball. Me: Bring that down to daddy. You might break it. Who knows someday we will go to London together. TL#1: Someday? What kind of day is Someday? Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday???? Me: Huh? TL#1: What do you think? Mommy, what do you think? When is that someday? Is it on Monday? Tuesday? Wednesday? Thursday? Friday? Me: (speechless. LOL with matching whopping cough). Both kids are now nursing a fever. Grabe, ang lala ng virus ko! That's 4 down, out of 6 in our household. We'll be fine as long as our ever-reliable head of the family does not get down with the flu, too. The kids though does not seem to care much about their fever. They're playing hide and seek and won't go to sleep. I can't sing them a lullaby. Apart from the fact that I can't sing, I don't get to finish a word without coughing. A-B-ubo-ubo-ubo-C-ubo-D-E-ubo-ubo-ubo-ubo-ubo-Y & Z. TL#2 does not like it at all. He k...
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status update (and complaints) on our compliance with Kasambahay Law

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We have successfully registered as household employers in all government agencies - SSS, Philhealth and HDMF or Pag-ibig, our household helpers now have their SSS, Philhealth and HDMF numbers and we have paid our contributions for the months of July and August. We are just lucky that the husband had time to line up in SSS and Philhealth and I asked a favor from someone who was going to HDMF. The husband told me the queue in HDMF was the worst. Someone said it was because payment of contributions are also coursed through the HDMF office and not through banks or other payment centers. The government imposed an additional burden on us who employ household helpers. The least they can do is to make compliance less burdensome for us working class who don't have the luxury to take weekdays off. I think I have earned the right to complain. We hire helpers because we don't have the luxury of time. Every precious minute counts. It is the hard truth for parents like us whose days are fill...
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bout with flu not yet over

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I woke up today with a splitting headache, aching muscles and whopping cough. Definitely not better than yesterday. I'm envious of how our TL#1 bounced back to his usual active self after his bout with high fever last night. I wish I was still young. He keeps saying, Mommy why are you not feeling better? Me, i'm okay now! And he's off playing ball with his daddy. I kept having bad and weird dreams last night. I dreamt I was being wheeled into the operating room and I was protesting loudly because I just had surgery the past week and the week before that and the week before that. The doctor was arguing with me and I was pleading and crying with all my might. Today, my cough takes a turn for the worst. The rain won't stop pouring. But nothing worst comes after worst, right? :) A blessed Sunday to everyone. Please pray for us sickly ones, including all my colleagues who were afflicted with the same virus. Kailangan mahanap at masingil natin kung sino ang salarin. Charge n...
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