The last time I had an epidural free birth was 11 years ago, that was when my eldest was born. All I could remember was that it had been overwhelmingly painful. After several years, my memory of that pain became hazy. After all this time, I cannot really describe my agony in detail. If I had perfect recall of the ordeal I’ve been through, I would have insisted again to take epidural.
Labor is probably the most agonizing kind of pain in the world. Too bad, only women experience it. That is the reason why I opted to try epidural during my second pregnancy. The only scary thing about it is the big needle that they insert in your spine, while you are in fetal position. Good thing I had a good anesthesiologist that’s why I did not experience any after effects. I knew that a natural and anesthesia-free birth would be painful… But given my age and maturity, I thought I was ready for it… I was prepared to take the challenge again… this time, in a more composed manner ( I was wailing and kicking when I was giving birth to my eldest). But you know, nothing can really prepare you for that terrifying and insane blow of pain. You experience this when it’s about to end… like the big climax or something. I wanted to cry, to shout, to bite something or some one. I was terrified because all of a sudden, it’s like I was experiencing all of these for the first time… It was all so new to me! However, amidst all these agony, I am glad because unlike other people, I get to be with my mother again. For the third time, she has watched me, encouraged me, held my hand, and supported me. Having to go through all that ordeal with my mom made everything better somehow. I felt her strength as she firmly held my hand- urging me to be strong and to tough it up. Amazingly, her strength seemed to have radiated towards me- so much so that I decided to end this misery by embracing and accepting it. At this moment, after two pushes, my baby was out. This has been a record breaker for me. I felt so proud of myself. Now, my happiness is not only because I now held a beautiful baby in my arms but also because I have in fact, gotten better in giving birth!
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My Epidural Free Labor and Birth
Tuesday, February 15th, 2011Preschool Worksheets: Animal Friends Theme
Tuesday, November 16th, 2010Animal Friends is a wonderful theme that children truly enjoy! You can inject lots of activities to make the topic more engaging for the kids. In our school, we organized a field trip to Hansa Toys Factory, Animal Show and Tell, and Animal Puppet Show. The kids had a blast!
Here are the coloring and general readiness worksheets I made for my pre-nursery babies!
Worksheet 1: Farm and Farm Animals Coloring Pages
Worksheet 2: Match the Same Farm Animals
Worksheet 3: Animal Coloring Pages from Supercoloring.com
Worksheet 4: Animal Coloring Pages from Supercoloring.com
Worksheet 5: Circle the Correct Number of Animals
Another HP Netbook 2140 Problem Resolved: Thanks to Hubby!
Saturday, November 6th, 2010I love my netbook, I truly do! But frankly, without my husband, I doubt if me and my laptop will have a long and happy working relationship together. Right about now, my adoration towards HP is gradually dwindling. A few months ago, my friend’s HP Pavilion suffered a fatal breakdown… and now, my other pal’s HP Netbook 2133 is in danger of sharing the same fate…
My HP Netbook alone has had its own share of predicaments. A month after we bought it, we had to return it to the shop because it’s not booting properly. They had to install Windows again. Then, the battery got broken causing my laptop to shutdown after 10 minutes,even if fully charged. This I can live with for as long as I have a working charger. Now, my only hope- my charger, succumbed to problems as well! Good thing my husband has been there all the way… otherwise, I would be entirely clueless and helpless! Read http://blog.lopau.com/diy-hp-laptoppower-adapter-repair/ to find out how he successfully fixed my laptop charger! Thanks Pao!
The Silliness of Angeles City’s Cable Operator
Sunday, August 29th, 2010In a few days time, we will be finally moving in to a new apartment. This step has been tiring but exciting as well. However, this post, though related, is not about the experiences I’ve had in this moving in process… rather, it’s all about my pent-up frustrations about the one and only cable provider in our city.
First and foremost, I am wondering why families, who invest a lot of money in modern and cable-ready television sets would be given cable boxes just to have extra channels to view. For the longest time, that has been the practice here. To hell with the fact that your TV is capable of viewing 100++ channels… without a friggin’ and so low tech looking cable box, you can bid goodbye to HBO and Disney channel… On top of this, you can set aside your TV remote because its only function is its on/off and volume button. If you want the added luxury of channel surfing, better head out to your cable operator again and rent a remote control for another additional fee.
We have been tolerating this practice for quite some time now. For one, we do not have a choice. As I have mentioned, monopoly is the name of the game here. We, consumers, are practically helpless. TV is a part of our lives and breaking away from this habit is akin to oxygen deprivation. This cable operator is the only provider we’ve got and we do not really have an option but to dance to their tune. Why I am blogging it now is connected to our moving in preparations. We need to have a cable connection installed and because of that, we are rattled by yet, another surprise from this cable company… the so expensive installation fee which is non-refundable and non-consumable. This put renters like me in an unfortunate situation… we cannot maximize the pricey installation payment not unless we decide to stay in our apartment for a longer period of time… But above all, what is so frustrating is we cannot do anything about it… It’s a take it or leave it situation. The only thing I can do is write about it and pray that somebody from DTI or any government agency would find out about it and hopefully take action.
Gosh, I am really praying for the day when Sky Cable will penetrate the Angeles City market… maybe then, it will be a lot fairer for us consumers.
Picking Up the Pieces
Wednesday, August 18th, 2010We are now in the process of fixing and rebuilding whatever was lost in this site. I am beginning to realize the extent of the damage as I painstakingly re-upload each file, image, and document that was affected by this technical mishap… I realized that despite of the mere stolen moments invested in this site, I have already done so much! This realization gives me feelings of pride… and of course, frustration… to have earned and lost hurts. But just as any hurdle faced, I am ready to bounce back and blog again… I hope my readers will be patient throughout the repair process…
My Apologies to my Loyal Readers
Tuesday, August 17th, 2010Just recently, we’ve had some troubles with my site- causing it to be off line for a while… To my dismay, I found out that we do not have a back up of the site. Anyways, we were able to retrieve and salvage a major part of it but regretfully… without the comments posted by my readers … My apologies to the readers who may have been wondering were their comments went… Rest assured that we have learned from this set-back and henceforth will be doing precautionary measures next time… If you have any concerns… or are looking for a particular article in this blog, please do advise me so I can help you out…
Thanks and do visit again!
The Tinokla Effect
Monday, December 21st, 2009I find the name of this new lay-out funny… Well, I would not expect anything less from the man who named and created it- my super uber talented and hilarious husband- Paulo…. Thank you so much!
I guess, the Tinokla Effect was just something that popped out of nowhere… I told him to modify the information behind this new theme and there it was- the Tinokla Effect… just reading it makes me LMAO… har har har… well just for documentation, this will do..
For the longest time, I have been bugging Pao to design me a new one. Finally, after squeezing this task many times in his loaded work schedule, he finally managed to finish it. The first lay-out of this page was inspired by my true love- preschool teaching. As time went by, my write-ups became as crazy as I was- touching topics that range from fashion to spirituality. That’s why I feel that this current theme is so much more fitting to the kind of person that I am- twisted, eccentric, impulsive, reflective, introvert, girly, etc… etc… Now, I feel that I am liberated from my own invented perception of writing something thoroughly researched and scholarly… I want to be me and that is what this page will be!
Missing the Blogger in Me
Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009OMG! It felt like years since my last entry… What is the matter with me? So many meaningful events have transpired since my last post. As far as I can recall, I was blogging about my 3 day Singapore trip with my husband. But I somehow never had the chance to finish it… Well, I will try to complete my ‘Singapore Article’ one of these days and share my experiences for the sake of other Lion City first timers like I was…
It’s 12 midnight and I should be sleeping right now but my body won’t cooperate. I guess, the three day vacation did its wonders quite well- amply rejuvenating my body and spirit for the impending workload ahead…
As I have said, so many… many… things have happened in the last month or so… SY 2009-2010 has officially started in Noblesse last September 1. I am going to miss Amber since I am not her teacher anymore. I was able to convince Teacher Anji to swap teaching assignments with me- she handled the Pre-Nursery tots while I took charge of the older (and apparently rowdier) nursery kids… Also, we still get to enjoy the added perks of having one class to teach and going home by 3:45… However, the work load is still heavy in many respects since we get to do everything! From worksheets preparation, concept teaching materials production, lesson planning, etc… etc… Now, as an added extra, we have been also requested to form clubs… We are still at a lost as to how we can come up with enticing club titles and programs that will cater to the youngest students in the school… I wanted to start something like a Baby Ballet Club but I feel that I am not competent enough to teach it… Suggestions from preschool teachers out there will be very much appreciated…
Well, I will be trying my best to blog some more in the coming days… Hope to see more visitors soon…
HP Mini 2140- A Part-time Blogger’s BFF
Sunday, July 19th, 2009Nobody gives me the loudest and most pervasive motivation to blog than my husband. His all-out support and encouragement inspire me to write down my thoughts and share them to the world. And, as an expression of his growing fanaticism to keep me writing, he bought me a true blogger’s bestfriend- my very first netbook, an HP Mini 2140. Now, I can write virtually everywhere! This, coupled with my Sony Ericsson cameraphone, are essentially everything I need in this part-time blogging career of mine! Thank you Paulo!
Why an HP? Well, I am not so keen about the many technicalities surrounding these awesome gadgets but my husband says, that it is one of the best netbooks in the market! And now, as I type my first blog using its almost ordinary sized and sleek keypad, I must agree that I do not even feel that I am using a computer that can fit in any ordinary bag of mine… Oh I so love it! If you’d want to know more about the geeky stuff behind the HP mini V2140, check out my husband’s blog site-blog.lopau.com. Ciao!
More pathetic addictions…
Sunday, June 28th, 2009As of now, I am guilty of so many insane addictions in my life. I’m now in the process of self-reflection… probably to see if I am still mentally healthy or not.
My latest on the list are as follows:
1) Twilight Series- I am now reading the series a second time around… I was telling my sister that this Twilight fanaticism seems to be a never ending cycle for us… Watch the movie, read the books, read midnight sun, read the outtakes, watch the New Moon trailer, watch Robert and Kirsten in Youtube, then do everything all over again… crazy, crazy…
2) Boys Over/Before Flowers- Admit it guys, I am not the only one who went gaga over Meteor Garden way back 2003 or 2004… Well, I truly believe that this Korean version is way better… why? well for starters, the F4 here looks cleaner and richer, hehehe (sorry Jerry Yan fans…) I have planned to do marathon viewing over the weekend but ended up being utterly frustrated after purchasing 2 yucky pirated DVD’s of the series. I wish to get an original copy soon.
3) Ebay, Ebay, and more Ebay- My CR and laptop seem to be a package deal nowadays… I have developed a nasty habit of typing and working in my new found comfort zone- My CR… this may gross out other people but I don’t mind. I feel mentally awake inside the restroom- with of course, my coffee and my smokes jolting my brain cells and urging me to think… Well back to ebay, when I am not in the mood to blog, I bid in ebay… let me correct that, I heavily bid in ebay… After an endless stream of packages from Air21, 2go and JRS express, I found myself being financially crippled- with expenses significantly outweighing my net income for the month (and still I’m wondering why my husband is giving me a warning look already…) Now, I am pondering on the idea of selling the piles of material belongings that I have back in ebay.
Well guys, I know we all have our own dirty little pathetic distractions in life but as I have realized… we have to keep our reasonable senses at bay and give ourselves a little nudge on the head if we go overboard already (so so like me)…
