Repotting and Omicron

 January 7, 2022 seemed like a typical Friday for us. My son P was back to his online classes. While monitoring him, I ran an errand for my sister in the US then re-potted my snake plants and a pothos I got for Christmas. 

 

I also bought a bougainvillea and cherry santan plants for my birthday but ran out of time to take pictures of them as it was lunch time.

Before eating, my son suddenly became cranky. He still ate but when I felt his forehead, he was already hot. So after eating, I gave him some paracetamol. He went to our bedroom to lie down for a nap which he never does. After a while, he woke up and started vomiting. After cleaning up, he went back to sleep.

 

Keep Going ;

 The -ber months have started but we are still getting a lot of rain. One of the upsides to WFH is that I don't have to brave the rains, the commute, and worrying if I will get stranded near the office. 

I would've loved it if my plants can bathe under the rain but our balcony is so protected that even the plants near the railings don't get wet unless it's really really windy. I've been controlling myself not to water the plants when it's not sunny otherwise they will get root rot.

Happy to report that the flowering plants are still a-blooming despite the gloom.

I bought a packet of rocket arugula seeds and it says on the cover that they germinate fast. I scattered them on soil the other day and here they are. Surprised that it was THAT fast.

I love how these plants seem to tell us to keep going ;;; #

State of the Balcony update

I recently did a mini-clean up of my plants in the balcony because hubby has been complaining that I have too much plants *sob*. While my ampalaya plant has been growing with lush leaves, it was not producing fruits anymore so I decided to uproot it. I might do the same to the okra plant which is barely living which means I no longer have vegetable plants. 

I've decided that I will just get flowering plants instead. I ordered a dwarf kalachuchi plant and a small sampaguita plant. The kalachuchi arrived with one flower and while it is still alive, it has not bloomed again. Yikes.

I was a tad worried if the sampaguita will survive because the balcony only gets maybe two hours of direct morning sun. It is still alive though and has bloomed several flowers that I pluck, smell, and place in our tiny altar.

Before the monsoon rains, my trailing plants had a blast growing and showing off. I've made cuttings and propagated them.

I also bought African turtle vine which are the ones hanging from the railing and I shall photo them up close some other time. I think they stopped growing when it was raining all the time. They like the sun too much.

Finally, here's a bonus shot of the sitting area with the solar lights I bought from Lazada. 😀

 

 

 

Grade One

 Here's a mom post for the mom part of "plantitamom". 😁

My firstborn officially started Grade One yesterday. Actually, school started last Wednesday but it was all orientation stuff. His new school is using Google Classroom and we have to familiarize ourselves with it because in Kinder last year we used Zoom and Seesaw. We also have to adjust with waking up early (6:15 A.M.) and of course the Mommy has to wake up early also. I've been accompanying him so far to teach him how to click links as they switch through classrooms.

I am so relieved that I am done studying but also feel bad for my son because frankly, virtual classes for someone so young, sucks (for lack of a better word). School is 50% interacting with friends and even frenemies and he is so missing out on it. He only had a year of face to face school before the pandemic happened. I feel more sorry for my 2-year old daughter, one time we went out and it was raining hard so I carried her and used an umbrella. She started crying so hard like she was really frightened - I realized it was her first time to be out in a downpour under an umbrella. 😔

Anyway, P has a really small class as there are only 10 of them. So far the "real" classes we've had are Music and PE. I can see that the teachers also find it difficult to get the kids' attention especially when they all start talking at the same time. At least in a classroom there's that special teacher look that can make kids go quiet just. like. that.

I was a total nerd growing up and graduated with honors. That said though, I will really really REALLY  try not to go all Tiger Mom mode on my kids. They're free to discover where or what they're good at. My only prayer is that they don't flunk out, to get a college degree, and have a job that would give them a comfortable life. Whoa, thinking so far when we've only just begun with Grade One. LOL.  #

Lantana Flowers

Remember the lantana flowers I got two to three weeks ago that I repotted? Sometime last week I saw the tiny flowers falling off so I was kinda worried they were going to die. But I also noticed new buds so I sort of held my breath.

So happy to see new flowers this morning:

Meanwhile, the pompoms and sunflower are both in the ICU. Gah. You win some, you lose some. #

Pink Super Moon

 

 I love pink things. I know that the pink supermoon won't be literally pink, but I was tickled pink (pun intended) when I looked up and saw a big moon with a pinkish hue.

 

 

 

 

New Flowers

Yesterday was my hubby and I’s wedding anniversary and he said that he forgot to order a bouquet. I replied that I want to go to Mindanao Avenue Garden Center to buy flowering plants na lang.

We went this morning after running a couple of errands. It was our first time to go. We noticed that there was a line of cars going inside the place and my hubby started complaining. 🙄 The center has several stalls but the path for cars is so narrow it was one-way. When we left we had to back up the car. I had to be quick. 

 

I was looking for plants that I can put in my vacant plant boxes. I already have a lantana and it is easy to care for and flowers easily. I bought six pots.

I used to have a pompom plant which died so I bought one. I also liked the dwarf sunflower. It was not my intention to buy mostly yellow flowers but they look so cheery so there. My haul was 400 pesos for eight plants without pots.

I was planning to re-pot them tomorrow morning but I got excited na.

 

Please please please don’t die on me. 🙏🏻 #

Painting with the Kids

 When the lockdown started last year, my son suddenly developed high-grade fever followed by intense coughing. COVID tests were really scarce then and we were scared to go to a hospital. We gave him paracetamol every 4 hours but the fever kept coming back. We had no choice but to bring him to the ER where he was diagnosed with acute respiratory infection and sent home to continue meds. When he and hubby arrived home, he had watery poop. His former pedia said to treat him as if he had COVID. We had no yaya then and my senior citizen MIL was helping us out so we had to send her to my SIL's house so she won't catch what my son had. I became mommy, yaya, cook, lavandera and cleaning lady for 2 weeks so I didn't have the luxury of bingeing on Netflix, decluttering, or taking up a new hobby like the rest. It was the longest 2 weeks of my life and while we never found it if it was COVID, I am now grateful that we managed to survive it.

Alas, we are back on lockdown and mercifully, none of my kids are sick. I finally have the time and mental head space to open the big box of crafts my friend sent my kids last Christmas pa. We discovered that my kids like to paint. Well, more of my daughter, who has appropriated a big box of crayons and markers supposedly gifted to her brother.

Here are my son's works:

Philippine Airlines' Arroz Caldo

 I have not tasted the ubiquitos Philippine Airlines arroz caldo because I have never been to their Mabuhay Lounge. So when I saw on Instagram that they were now selling it in a box, I gave in.

I chose April 5 as the delivery date even if I ordered mid-March and it was already April 7 or 8 when I realized I have not received my order yet. I followed up on @FlyPALcafe and they said they will deliver on April 9.

It arrived at around 6:00 P.M. I ordered two boxes. In a box is a pack of cold arroz caldo, two wooden bowls, two wooden spoons, a salted egg, and small containers of calamansi, dulong (dilis?), green onion, and toasted garlic.

We reheated the arroz caldo for breakfast the next day.

As someone who sort of knows how to cook (naks!), I think the taste was sakto lang. Although the hubby, who is not fond of arroz caldo, said it was delicious. I love more the wooden bowls LOL! #

On Gumamelas

 

Whenever we walk around the condo compound, my son likes to pick gumamelas. So when one of our neighbors started selling plants from Tagaytay and I saw a gumamela plant, I immediately ordered one. 

 When it arrived, I think it had two flowers. Then for the looongest time, it did not grow any buds. My husband wanted to get rid of it because he said it was just taking up space. Its branches were growing but no flowers. 

 Then one day, it just started sprouting flowers...

 

Follow Me on Instagram

 

When you have sooo many plant photos and plant Instagram accounts want to follow your private personal profile, it's time to have a separate plant account LOL.

 Follow Plantita Mommy on Instagram! #

 

 

On Toothing

 If you are also a mommy, you are probably familiar with that "wiggle, wiggle, is it ready?" tooth song of Cocomelon. When my kids watched it for the first time, my 6 year old son was worried when I told him that he eventually lose his tooth like the boy in Cocomelon. He actually cried and asked me, "Pwede pag 7 (years old) na lang ako?" I had to say "okay" just so he will stop crying.

My kids and I brush our teeth together just so I can check if they're doing it right. Sometimes, my son would say that his tooth was wiggling but when I check, it isn't. Today after lunch, he again said that his tooth was wiggling. It wasn't but there's a budding tooth behind it!

 

I sent the photo to the hubby who said his teeth were like that and his baby tooth should be pulled by a dentist. Yegads. I'm scared of going to the dentist nowadays because hello, aerosols. However, I do need a trip to the dentist myself. Wish us luck! #

On Fittonias

Since I titled this blog “Plantita Mom”, it should probably have plant posts, right? Way before everyone started buying (or hoarding) plants, I had a mild interest in growing plants. We have a terrace which gets adequate morning sun so I dabbled in buying plants. However, most plants used to die on me. I managed to kill cacti and euphorbia plants (which are basically cacti also). 

When the pandemic started, my MIL was with us. She has a great green thumb and had a vast garden in the province. I knew she was bored in our tiny unit so I started buying plants, pots, seeds, and soil so she could start sprucing up our balcony. And she did! 

This was our balcony in June 2020:

 Of the (numerous) plants I bought, I was drawn to fittonias because I read they were diva-like: they hate the direct sun, they wilt when thirsty, and perk up when watered. They also have dark green leaves that have white, pink or red veins running through them. I was curious, and I was challenged to keep them alive.

 This was the very first fittonia I bought. I think it was around P650.00. 

 

On Korean Dramas

 I am so late to the Korean drama (Kdramas) frenzy. I was in law school when Koreanovelas first appeared in GMA. The Tagalized shows did not appeal to me. Some of my classmates would buy DVDs in nearby Quiapo but with the amount of reading we did in law school, I said I no longer wanted to read subtitles in my spare time. I did buy and watch "Love Story in Harvard" then but only because one of the characters went to Harvard Law School.

When I signed up to Netflix, I binge-watched the American series I failed to watch when I was younger - Gilmore Girls, Gossip Girl, Friends, and Modern Family. It was during the start of ECQ that I ran out of American series that I clicked on my first Kdrama - Descendants of the Sun. The leads were so good-looking that they even ended up together in real life but then divorced. The story was also interesting even if it seemed incredible at times.

So I started clicking on the Kdramas on Netflix. Here are some that I finished:

Reply 1997 - this was set at the same time that I was finishing high school so I could relate to their growing up angst and puppy love crushes.

 

On Turning 40

 I turned 40 at the beginning of the year. I consider it as a sort of blessing (for lack of a better word) that the lockdown occurred early last year that I have not yet even begun thinking planning for my 40th birthday. I don’t usually celebrate my birthdays in a grand way, since it’s so close to New Year’s, we just lump my birthday feast with New Year’s Day lunch or dinner. I just thought though that turning 40 entailed a grand celebration, but Covid-19 shot all plans to hell.

Whereas I usually celebrated with family and friends, this year’s celebration was much much more quiet because we were unable to go home to the province. We’ve also chosen not to meet up with friends for the meantime. So we just had lunch with my SIL and nephew, sans yayas who were on extended Christmas vacation (buti pa sila).

 One thing about being older is better spending power. I gifted myself with a pre-loved Louis Vuitton Saleya bag. It’s my first one. When hubby asked me what I wanted, I forwarded to him a photo of a Louis Vuitton monogram Victorine wallet. He bought it and even added an Alma BB bag (surprise Neverfull sana but he saw my Saleya and I said I don’t like bags without zippers). From zero LVs to three real quick kung kelan nowhere to go and scary to sanitize luxury items LOL. I really want to use them though because YOLO but still researching how to safely sanitize them.

 Downside naman is that I get tired more easily. I don’t take the elevator to my 4th floor office and I am out of breath when I arrive - or it could be due to the face shield and mask combo. I get lower back aches from time to time that I really miss our weekly home service massages, sob.

 One of my wishes is that Covid be gone really soon so I can relish how life begins at 40. #

 

Welcome to the 90s

 Who else remembers the blogs of the late 90s and early 2000s? The chatty ones with no niche and the bloggers hiding behind screen names? I used to spend hours reading those blogs, and I even kept a few of such blogs of my own.

Now it's all about Facebook and Instagram posts, Youtube vlogs, and broadcasting one's identity. Nothing wrong with that, except that I can't do that. 

Recently, I stumbled upon this blog started in 2011 but the blogger still writes like it's the 90s - she writes about her day, her travels, about everything and nothing. So chatty and no-holds barred, I love it. I'm going through her blog until the beginning LOL.

It made me miss the way I used to blog. Even if I wasn't sure that anyone was reading, but it felt good to release thoughts and words to the Universe. Also, I find myself going through my own old blogs and enjoy reading them.

 So here's to another new blog. How long I can keep it up, I have no idea. #