Sometimes things happen all at once and you just wish that they wouldn't. For instance, this May there are a lot of expenses brought by education. You have school supplies and uniforms not to mention the tuition for the three kids. You really have to keep track of the expenses if you want to be able to eat three times a day! LOL
On top of that, we were scheduled to visit the kids' pediatrician for their regularly vaccinations and check-up. It's tough having to bring them together because you can just imagine how much their visit costs LOL But then, when you think about it, you'll still pay for the medicines because you don't want anything bad to happen to them.
But wait, there's more!! Dylan was also scheduled for a visit to his child development specialist to evaluate whether he's improved from his speech therapy the past few months. Each visit costs P2000 for like an hour of evaluation!! Good Grief!! But that's the price you have to pay for you to know about your child's development.. The good news though is that Dylan has definitely shown signs of improvement but he still needs to continue with his therapy for articulation drills. His vocabulary has increased but his motor skills still need some work. He has been told to practice buttoning his shirts. The funny thing is that he rarely wears shirts that need to be buttoned hence the missing skill! LOL
His enrollment in summer preschool certainly paid off. We decided to enroll him in summer school because Teacher Amy (his speech pathologist) noticed some attention deficiency. To me, it wasn't a big deal because aren't kids easily bored anyway? LOL But still, we figured that getting him accclimated in a school setting might change his behavior regarding sitting still and paying attention. It certainly helped that his teacher was very patient and knew how to take care of him. It was also training ground for him entering preschool.
Patrick wasn't also immune to all these health concerns. During the 2nd week of May, he complained about his foot hurting and he suspected gout as he has seen with some of his friends. He ended up buying a cane to help him move about and the kids were teasing him about being like Dr. House :D After taking some painkillers, the pain subsided. But it returned with a vengeance and we ended up going to the UST ER after his office. We stayed there until around 3AM and still not knowing for certain that it was gout. He was prescribed some painkillers, had some blood work and urinalysis done too. It was kind of sad that while we were there in the ER, someone died and it was like watching something on TV when everyone was in a flurry of activity to resuscitate the patient. I could feel the pain of the loved ones who were left behind.
Funny enough, with all these health issues, I got a call from a health provider saying I can claim a discount card for their medical services, especially for lab work. I immediately dragged Patrick with me to claim it LOL because at least the next time that someone is sick, at least there's some discount card I can use to lessen the expenses LOL
Taking care of Stanley
The thing about having a 2nd hand car is the maintenance. It needs more maintenance than new cars but when you don't have enough money to pay for a spanking brand new car then you have to live with the quirks and minor repairs of your 2nd hand car. This is a lesson I'm learning with Stanley, our beloved Subaru Legacy.
Granted that so far, most of the repairs have been minor, like buffing up his paint or replacing his wheels. These minor repairs can still cost you an arm and a leg! LOL The only major repair we've had so far was when his CV joints got busted and we were practically crawling from Pampanga to Manila.. but still, in other cars, their wheels would've just rolled off. Other repairs include aesthetic things like a new sound system (we got the Sony Xplod thingy), grilles and garnishing (yeah, a car term!) and headlights.
One maintenance schedule that we follow is the oil change. Unfortunately, when we had most of Stanley's oil changed last time, Ondoy arrived at our doorstep. Stanley was flooded. Goodbye to all that oil!! It's only now that we're able to finally change his oil, after months of saving up. We went to Speedlab along Quezon Avenue in Quezon City which was owned by Patrick's co-worker. I can sense the difference as soon as we got in and went on our way home. Stanley was practically purring like a cat :)
The next item on our maintenance schedule was the repair of Stanley's aircon. This was looked at by my uncle who owns a car-aircon shop earlier. They made stop-gap measures to keep the car cool. But over the summer, the heat was just too strong that even at the highest setting, Stanley couldn't keep us cool. What's worse, there was a leak somewhere and Stanley's dripping water!!
Patrick thought Stanley's condenser and one other part that I fail to remember now need to be replaced. We took Stanley to Fusion R along E. Rodriguez since they're well-known to Subaru owners for supplying good quality 2nd-hand but original Subaru parts. Turns out, the condenser wasn't the problem but the tubes and fittings needed to be replaced. There was a lot of detail that I didn't understand but all in all it was like I bought a room airconditioner for the price of all those repairs. The bottom line, Stanley was breathing cool, cold air again and that was what's important.
I think next on the agenda will be the replacement of the glass tint. We need to get the tint with more heat-rejection because it gets really hot. If any of you have suggestions as to what tint we should get, feel free to leave a comment :)
Granted that so far, most of the repairs have been minor, like buffing up his paint or replacing his wheels. These minor repairs can still cost you an arm and a leg! LOL The only major repair we've had so far was when his CV joints got busted and we were practically crawling from Pampanga to Manila.. but still, in other cars, their wheels would've just rolled off. Other repairs include aesthetic things like a new sound system (we got the Sony Xplod thingy), grilles and garnishing (yeah, a car term!) and headlights.
One maintenance schedule that we follow is the oil change. Unfortunately, when we had most of Stanley's oil changed last time, Ondoy arrived at our doorstep. Stanley was flooded. Goodbye to all that oil!! It's only now that we're able to finally change his oil, after months of saving up. We went to Speedlab along Quezon Avenue in Quezon City which was owned by Patrick's co-worker. I can sense the difference as soon as we got in and went on our way home. Stanley was practically purring like a cat :)
The next item on our maintenance schedule was the repair of Stanley's aircon. This was looked at by my uncle who owns a car-aircon shop earlier. They made stop-gap measures to keep the car cool. But over the summer, the heat was just too strong that even at the highest setting, Stanley couldn't keep us cool. What's worse, there was a leak somewhere and Stanley's dripping water!!
Patrick thought Stanley's condenser and one other part that I fail to remember now need to be replaced. We took Stanley to Fusion R along E. Rodriguez since they're well-known to Subaru owners for supplying good quality 2nd-hand but original Subaru parts. Turns out, the condenser wasn't the problem but the tubes and fittings needed to be replaced. There was a lot of detail that I didn't understand but all in all it was like I bought a room airconditioner for the price of all those repairs. The bottom line, Stanley was breathing cool, cold air again and that was what's important.
I think next on the agenda will be the replacement of the glass tint. We need to get the tint with more heat-rejection because it gets really hot. If any of you have suggestions as to what tint we should get, feel free to leave a comment :)
Of Moms and Mother's Day
May is usually a hectic month because it's the month before the start of classes in June. It's usually filled with school-related activities like enrollment, buying of school uniforms and school supplies. Not only will you spend time on such but you also need a ton of money to achieve all these LOL
It's funny that while we're going around town buying shoes, socks, bags, paper, notebooks and all that stuff, I can't help but feel nostalgic and a tad lonely because I remember that I used to do all these things with my mom. We used to brave the throngs of people in National Bookstore which only had a few stores then and most would crowd them especially nearing the opening of classes. Mom always brought a Tiger Balm because I would definitely feel nauseous and dizzy because of all the people! LOL
It's nice that Mother's Day is held in May because this is the time that moms really feel close to their kids, not that they're not every day but you get my drift, right? :D There's a lot of bonding that goes into choosing your stuff that you'll be using for a whole year. There's a lot of discussion and debate about buying cheap versus expensive brands. There's a poignant feeling knowing that your little girl is really growing up and sooner, rather than later, she'll be a teenager...
We spent Mother's Day at Robinson's Otis which is only 5 minutes away from our house. Why there you ask? Because they have Mongolian Quick Stop which is one of our favorite restaurants LOL They offer eat all you can Mongolian Barbecue and everything tastes good. You really can forget about dieting when you're eating there! LOL
Celebrating Mother's Day doesn't have to be grand or lavish.. To me, having your family close to you and thinking about you on this day is enough. Having dinner together and enjoying the day is just icing on the cake :)
Speaking of Mother's Day, it won't be complete without a trip to the cemetery. Both Patrick and I have lost our moms and I also can't visit my mother's own grave so a trip to Loyola is like going to visit my mom too. It's always hard for me being there but at the same time it gives me some sense of comfort when confronted with their graves. I do wish I can visit my own mother's grave, that's all I want..
Happy Mother's Day!
It's funny that while we're going around town buying shoes, socks, bags, paper, notebooks and all that stuff, I can't help but feel nostalgic and a tad lonely because I remember that I used to do all these things with my mom. We used to brave the throngs of people in National Bookstore which only had a few stores then and most would crowd them especially nearing the opening of classes. Mom always brought a Tiger Balm because I would definitely feel nauseous and dizzy because of all the people! LOL
It's nice that Mother's Day is held in May because this is the time that moms really feel close to their kids, not that they're not every day but you get my drift, right? :D There's a lot of bonding that goes into choosing your stuff that you'll be using for a whole year. There's a lot of discussion and debate about buying cheap versus expensive brands. There's a poignant feeling knowing that your little girl is really growing up and sooner, rather than later, she'll be a teenager...
We spent Mother's Day at Robinson's Otis which is only 5 minutes away from our house. Why there you ask? Because they have Mongolian Quick Stop which is one of our favorite restaurants LOL They offer eat all you can Mongolian Barbecue and everything tastes good. You really can forget about dieting when you're eating there! LOL
Celebrating Mother's Day doesn't have to be grand or lavish.. To me, having your family close to you and thinking about you on this day is enough. Having dinner together and enjoying the day is just icing on the cake :)
Speaking of Mother's Day, it won't be complete without a trip to the cemetery. Both Patrick and I have lost our moms and I also can't visit my mother's own grave so a trip to Loyola is like going to visit my mom too. It's always hard for me being there but at the same time it gives me some sense of comfort when confronted with their graves. I do wish I can visit my own mother's grave, that's all I want..
Happy Mother's Day!
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