I really love books and I hope I can pass my love for it to my son, Z. So every time we go to the mall I make sure I buy lots of books for him from my favorite bookstore which sells second hand books. I really love that place because it gives more value to our hard earned money. Imagine, I am able to buy hard bound books for $1 or even less. They have a vast collection of chidren's books - from Z's favorite cars and trucks books, to books with flaps that he loves to flip and open, and even colorful sticker books - you name it, it's there. That's why when I'm there I spend at least 30 minutes of our mall time rummaging through their rich collection of children's books and end up buying 5 or more books for Z.
However there are some books that are really hard to find like the this book that I blogged about here. I have looked at different local bookstores but unfortunately it's unavailable here in the Philippines. I finally found it at Amazon.com only to realize that they won't ship the item here. Fortunately, I found MyUS.com website which helps international buyers like me overcome this hurdle by providing a US address - they receive the package on our behalf and then ship it to their international customers. This is internet shopping made really easy. I am so glad I found their service.

I am constantly craving for pizza and my cravings don't get realized because my son loves eating at Jollibee more and I do not think the prize is worth it for one family size pizza so I just give in to my son and repress my cravings. Today was different though and I said this is the last time I am going to say no to my cravings. I have heard about the Pizza Hut's Palm card where they have a buy 1 get 1 promo for every pizza that you order. I always wanted to get one but never got around to getting it because I did not know how. Then I remember that all the things you need to know can be searched on the internet (duh, why didn't I think of that before) so I checked out Pizza Hut's website and was surprised when I saw that I can order their Palm Card online and through phone and have it delivered in 45 minutes. What's more I can use the Palm Card right away. So I called their customer service and verified what I read online (I still couldn't believe it), so when the rep said that I can indeed take advantage of it right away I ordered 1 family meat lover's pizza. Was surprised when she asked me what kind of Pepsi I am going to order, she said I have to order it too so I can get the free pizza. When checked the 1.5 Pepsi costs P65! That's a lot considering I can buy that in the grocery for like P45 (I'm not sure coz I'm not a soda fan), but what the heck my mind's made up and my son and husband both love sodas so I proceeded with the order. So my first bill added up to P862 (they also have a service charge fee and tax) which was higher than I expected but there's no wiping the joy in my face when the pizza and my palm card was delivered. The Palm card (P349) will expire in 6 months but it's fine by me because it will cover the holidays (Christmas and New Year) and the birthdays of my son and husband. Now, we have more pizza than we could eat and oh here's the best part - I don't have to cook for lunch and dinner! We even have enough leftover for S to take as "baon" to his office. So if you are a pizza lover like me check out the palm card (pizza is free only if delivered and taken out, for dine it you only get 10% off). By the way, Shakey's also have their own card, don't know the name because for some reason I can't access their website.

For the nth time, Cars by Disney Pixar is showing again on our TV. My son absolutely loves it and watches it once a day. I also have no choice but to watch it too since we only have one TV in the house. We must have watched it 20 times already, actually I have lost count. Z does not get tired watching it and loves the soundtrack and sings along with it - or try to sing along with it. S and I secretly chuckle whenever we hear his version. I must remember to get another DVD when we go out so maybe we can give Lightning McQueen his long deserved rest. Got any ideas?

It has been a very long time since S and I have been able to watch a movie. Before Z was born, we were avid movie watchers but since Z came to us we were simply too afraid to enter a movie house for fear that Z would cry or make some unwanted noise and we will be forced to exit prematurely. So for 3 ½ years we missed every great movie that was shown, except Spiderman 3 that we simply could not miss. Two weeks ago we decided that maybe it was about the right time that Z watch a movie. He is already toilet trained and you can reason out to him when worse comes to worst. So off we went to Megamall to watch Kung Fu Panda, the line was long but we could not care less – after a 3 year hiatus we were finally back watching a movie. I did not think I miss it that much until we were inside. S missed the popcorn more and proceeded to order one. Z was amazed at the big screen at first and munched happily on the snacks that we brought. But after he was done eating, he started to grow restless. He complained that it was too cold inside, I hugged him as tight as I could to keep him warm but he said he was still cold so I passed him off to his dad. He continued to squirm and when he could not take it anymore he blurted out the magic words, “Mommy, I want to poopoo.” I could not believe it, so I pretended I did not hear. Then I heard some more magic words, “You want to poopoo, Z? Let’s go I’ll take you,” my husband said. Too shocked to even speak, I remained seated watching the movie while S ushered Z to the toilet. It turned out to be false alarm, “Z only peed,” S said as he takes his seat. I breathed a sigh of relief and continued to watch the movie. I was determined to savor every minute of it, I laughed at all the funny scenes and I oohed at all the fight scenes. Z appeared not interested anymore and would just stand and run in front. Then, for the second time that night Z again said that he needed to poo. I held my breath but the ever so gracious S volunteered to take him again. I filled him in on the scenes he missed as he came back. I breathed a sigh of relief because I thought the worst is over, unfortunately it was not because for the third time that night Z wanted to go to the bathroom and again S took him again. So that was how Z spent his first movie ever, but eventhough he missed most of the scenes he was still able to show us some cool kung fu moves in the end.

Remember the ebook I talked about - How to Teach your Child to Read in 90 days? Well, I bought it online and thank goodness the seller promptly delivered the goods. So now Z and I can proceed with our goal - well, mine anyway - of teaching him how to read. I dared S that I can teach him to read by March 2009 - although the book promises my child can read in 90 days, I do not want to pressure ourselves so I am giving us ENOUGH time. I am still thinking what if I fail and my child would not be able to read but on the brighter side I remember back when I was younger I do not even remember myself reading at the age of 4! I remember being able to write my name at age 5 on the second day of school but I think I haven't learned to read by the time I was in kindergarten. My husband pointed out that by the time he was 3 he was already writing his name and wanted me to do the same with Z but that is not my priority, I noticed Z's hands are not strong enough and he writes rather faintly so I will wait till next year to teach him that. I will save ourselves some headache! I prefer for him to read first rather than write because his eyes will open up to more opportunities of learning once he learns how to read. I am already excited to hear him read aloud his first book!
So far, the book is a hit with Z. He already knows some of the letter sounds courtesy of my earlier efforts and starfall.com but the book gave me a better idea on how to teach the sounds by comparing it to sounds of everyday objects. Z has no problem learning that but I do not know how he will fare when it is time to read together the letter sounds. So far with my previous efforts instead of reading he ended up memorizing/guessing which was hilarious because at that time I thought he was really reading the words when he was able to read Dad and Mama successfully but I was brought back to reality when he read a name (Tito Paolo)I have not even taught him - that was when I found out he was just guessing! But looking back, I can not help but think it was even smarter of him to be able to guess - if you find yourself raising you eyebrows just bear with me because I am of course his mother!