not just another farm story

Fine, let's take a break from my The Happiness Project obsession. I seriously hope I am not boring you with it but just in case, here's a breather. :) So my sissy and I spent half of last week in the farm looking after our little warrior, Marcus. His mom just gave birth to a super fluffehh baby girl and although they have a helper, they wanted us to be around. You see, our little boy has very special needs and there's just no way they'd risk his welfare. In spite of this, I said yes without hesitation. Eheem! I've always loved kids and more often than not, they return the favor. Ang balita ko kasi, kids are more likely to trust pretty faces. Hehehe! Wala na kong ibang sinabi ah!

Day 1

Kuya Marvin and Teigs fetched us from SM Fairview late afternoon of Saturday. It was a long day actually. I'm done with my stuff early morning and ready to go a little past lunchtime. Anit {my sister} and I had to wait for a couple of hours 'cause the farm service malfunctioned or somethin. And when they were finally at the meeting place, it was their turn to wait 'cause we had to run errands with mom. Luckily, Marcus was busy in the play place when we arrived. A little chika chika then off we go.

On our way to Rivercreek, we had to stop at Max's 'cause Marcus was throwing tantrums already. Lesson #1: Never starve the little boy. Got that, sir! Hehe! We were in the farm at around 9pm and we immediately began bugging our nephew. That's when we met Josa too, Koi's nanny. She seemed so serious and medyo scary pa nga at first but boyyy, we were wrong! She made our stay super fun. If it weren't for my nephew, I'm pretty sure we took her home. She was THAT funny!! She came from a remote coast in Samar and she's never been to Manila before. They even shared this hilarious incident of her when they went out once but I don't wanna embarrass her. Pero nakooo, sobrang nakakatawa talaga!

Marcus Peter.. Jose ❤
decided to keep his name tag from the play place in my wallet :)

Day 2

Teigs' schedule was moved from early morning to afternoon of Sunday so they had ample time to prepare lists and to give us reminders. Josa was assigned to prepare meals, kuya Marvin taught Anit all about the switches, and I was handed Marcus' cancer-busting program. It was intimidating at first but I was glad that I had the entire morning to watch them prepare his juices and meds. Later on, I realized that it wasn't as difficult as I thought. You just have to get used to it.

Sunday went on like a breeze. I was so surprised to find out that taking care of Marcus is actually easy. First, he loves to run back and forth in the porch. All we had to do was watch over him -- make sure he doesn't climb up the railings, go down the stairs or throw anything down. He loves to victimize the empty mineral water containers, by the way! Poor containersss, down yah gooo! Bwahaha! 

someone's serious with his morning ritual

Second, whenever he wants to drink his juice, he'll lead us to the fridge and hand us his coconut water jar. We had to be watchful though 'cause he does this even if he's not yet done with his current bottle. We refill only if we won't be changing the meds that we mix. Also, it's important for the kid to have his me-time. Watch out, here's another introvert in the making! Hehe! Whenever it's his meme time, he'd either run to their room and close the door, or lie on his rubber mats in the living room's floor. If it's the latter, it's okay to mess with him. But if it's the first, nakooo, he shoos us away. So we leave right after we have turned on his fan and air filter.

 

Hmm.. Third, he loves to play in his playroom slash Josa's room. It's where all his toys are kept, from huge trucks down to the tiny rubber letters and just like any other kid, he loves biting them. It's impossible to let him play alone! We take turns in looking after him or sometimes when Anit's working and I'm tinkering with their desktop, we'd shout to each other 'nanjan na syaaa' meaning alert alert, it's your turn to watch over the kid. Hahaha! One time I was editing photos and I was silently wishing for our nephew to stay with my sister. Hehehe! I never told you I am perfect, or did I?

From one to surprise to another, he quickly fell asleep during the first night that her mama and deedee weren't around. On a normal day, he'd sleep on his deedee's chest. But for three days, he had to be patient with our chests. Tyaga tyaga muna! Our first real challenge was when he woke up in the middle of the night and started crying. It took more than an hour before Josa succeeded in making him sleep again. I, on the other hand, wasn't able to go back to sleep. Sa sobrang antok ko, I even tweeted that I'll pass on the mommy life. What was I thinking??!

Day 3

The next day, his parents were no longer there to guide us. I'd say this was the most difficult out of the several days that we were there. It started just fine, eto nga't may paaraw araw pa ko, but then our little Kokoi refused to eat! His breakfast and lunch according to our sacred list was supposed to be rice porridge but he didn't like it. We had no choice but to feed him with the leftovers from the day before, banana pancakes and kamote fries. He finished his breakfast but ate so little for lunch and dinner. Our only consolation was that he still seemed to be happy, after all.

getting some tan.. err, vitamin D!

Speaking of being happy, do you know what makes him happy the most? Well aside from food.. it's bath time!! Ewan ko ba why I chose to edit  an emo {did I really just use that word??} photo for this day but there's one more down below that shows how his batya and a little water can make him jump up and down out of joy. Oopss, no peeking!! Hehehe! The most hilarious blooper among all his bloopers also happened during his bath time! Can you guess??! I have no prize to offer but please guess? :) We let him play longer in his batya and then all of a sudden, we noticed these brown thingamajigsss floating! Hahahaha! Yes, he pooped! Josa was quick to take him out of the water but our LOLing time was the complete opposite. It took a long while before we were able to move on. One day I'll use this story and the supporting photos to blackmail my nephew and make him buy me pasalubong. Nahhh, kidding! :)

Day 4

Among the three whole days {Sunday, Monday & Tuesday} that we spent there, I must say the last one's my favorite. Our alaga ate and slept well; no bath time boo-boos too! And although it was the first time that he cried during daytime, it turned out to be for the better 'cause we had an excuse to walk through the rice fields. He threw stones just like when he's with mama and deedee. And mind you, he knows exactly what to do! He remains to be a smart boy despite his condition. ❤ And fret not folks, we washed his hands after. :)

didn't I tell you? bath times are happy times! :))

And oh, everyone, meet the super hilarious Josaaa! Don't get fooled by her antics though, there's more to her than meets the eye. Naks! But seriously, I didn't expect her to be that observant and resourceful. I immediately noticed how she'd watch me every time I prepare Koi's drink and meds. But one time, she didn't catch what medicine bottle I picked out.. Guess what? She asked me! It wasn't expected of her, but still. Nakakatuwa lang isipin that she genuinely cares for my nephew, and to think it's only been a month since they got her. And yes I mentioned resourceful too. Naloka lang kami when she surprised us with a jar of an alternative juice after Koi's coconut water  has run out. No coconut, no problem! Hehehe!

Day 5

At first, the thought of staying in the farm for five freakin days seemed so longgg. But when our farm stint was almost ever, it came to me that it really wasn't. Walang kainip inip at all! Of course it's given that my nephew {and let's not forget Josa} keep me entertained, then there's Instagram, but more than anything.. it was my book, few leaves of my mom's yellow blue pad, and my pen that made the heaviest impact! Cool na cool ako sa pagdadraft ng posts, while my nephew runs back and forth in the veranda. I guess it's the vibe of the farm that makes it easier for me to think and be creative. Nakoo, torn na 'ko between the beach and the farm! San ko na ilalagay yung rest house ko nitooo?!! Mehehe. :3

gotta love this photo the most
be still, my heart ❤

Obviously, we didn't let our farm stint be over without a little pictorial. Just please don't notice my not-so-little outfit boo-boo! :P I loved how our photos turned out to the point I had to literally stop my self from posting yet another one on Instagram. Scroll, scroll and please tell me you love them as much as I do! :)

love thissss

and thissss too! :P

And finally, afternoon of Wednesday, kuya Marvin and his friend sent us home. Josa and Koi hopped on board too! From East Ave, we insisted on taking a cab 'cause we wanted kuya to be home earlier for Teigs and Xana. And speaking of Xana, I have yet to steal a photo of her. And I promise you, the wait is worth her cutenessss. ❤

ELSEWHERE

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