Tales of Ta To Ti

Losing baby teeth were a part and parcel of one's life - a symbol of growing up, and it is the tooth-fairy that makes this otherwise dreaded and painful processes an exciting one - something to look forward to.   ~ Mansi Maheshwari Photo Courtesy of Pediatric Dentistry of Salem Tato lost his upper central and lateral incisors (as shown in photo) due to baby bottle tooth decay. In layman terms, he doesn’t have his upper front teeth anymore due to tooth decay caused by sugars from liquids taken through his feeding bottles. To be more informed, we visited a dentist last week. My dentist was not around, so we end up in another village dentist and the encounter turned-out well. The female assistant and the male dentist warmly welcomed us, Tato, Toti, me and tita LR, my trustee aid. The clinic was simple and the ambiance was accommodating. Tato carefully sit on the dental chair while the dentist’s assistant put on his cloth. The lamp turned on upon the dentist’s motion of h...

A daughter is a mother's gender partner, her closest ally in the family confederacy, an extension of her self.  And mothers are their daughters' role model, their biological and emotional road map, the arbiter of all their relationships.  ~Victoria Secunda This maybe late for Mother's Day but hey it's still May and to me everyday is a day to thank my Nanay. I am a mother’s daughter and I love my Nanay. She is turning 52 this year and though she feels muscle pains more often, she is still as strong-willed and energetic as she was sixteen. She's a native of Panay Island and migrated to Manila for better opportunities. Once she had an odd job as a bus conductor and she had proven herself to be an alpha female, she can drive a six-passenger type jeep, do carpentry and plumbing jobs and still cook and lull a baby to sleep. She aspire the best for each of her five offspring. From her humble beginnings Nanay instilled to us the values of education, hard work, pers...

"I want my boys to have an understanding of people's emotions, their insecurities, people's distress, and their hopes and dreams. " -- Princess Diana I was in my early twenty’s when I decided to settle down and start a new journey as a wife and mother. It’s too early for some but I’m forward looking that at age forty, my boys will hopefully be in mid-college and by fifty, I may even have a “daughter in-law”. And I just wanted to enjoy myself and hubby even at our golden age and see our sons evolved as men.  Reflecting today, I can say that I am just enjoying the journey with Toto and our boys Tato and Toti. Each of them have a unique character which makes hubby and I so amazed. Tato at 5 loves to be the kuya, he’s the dad and the mom at the same time since both hubby and I are working. He reminds Toti how to behave and helps at light chores. He loves to ask about anything under the sun, one question when answered is followed by another question. And he ...

The sun was warm but the wind was chill. You know how it is with an April day When the sun is out and the wind is still, You're one month on in the middle of May… (An excerpt from Robert Frost’s Two Tramps in Mud Time: 1936) April passed and May came in. Though the heat is unbearable this month of the year, it is also a time to wind up and be invigorated. Feel blessed to have a chance to enjoy the serene waters of Batangas, not just once but twice.   My Other Family First stop was during our unit’s team building at Palm Beach Resort in Bo. Hugom, San Juan, Batangas. It was almost a two to three hour drive from our main hub in Ortigas. Palm Beach was hidden by the mountain slopes of San Juan and the roller coaster like ride was worth it once you’ve seen the inviting sand, sea and infinity pool with jacuzzi.  The casitas was a wonder for us, it was spacious for five people, had big comfy beds and day roofs. I also loved the fact that the facilities are p...

I' m back and I'm here to share the idyllic tales of Ta-To-Ti.   Happy Tato March and April are quite busy months for me, as my two cubs celebrate their birthdays on these months aside from other celebrants such as my father, youngest sister, my mother-in-law and eldest sister-law. I’m a working away from home mom and my 9-6 is loaded but I’m still ecstatic in planning events.   Last March, our eldest Tato requested for a pool party on his birthday, since it was his fifth, we decided to grant his request and headed off to a private pool in Laguna. He enjoyed the pool adorned with colorful balloon and floaters. The party was a hit with videoke for the young at hearts and unlimited swimming for the young ones. April came and Toti also had a blast on his birthday held at the Lachica’s den. Children played pabitin, basagang palayok and musical chair among others. It was also warm celebration of my mother-in-law’s birthday and thanksgiving for my youngest siste...