Back in Atlanta with Stephen

My son and I have been back in Georgia for more than a week now. The trip with my 17 month old went easier than I expected. Everyone’s generally nice, understanding, and sypathetic when you’re traveling with a kid. Northwest Airlines flight attendants can always be counted on too.

What was hard though, was his jetlag when we arrived which is understandable since there’s a 12 hour difference in time between Manila and Atlanta. So yeah, I didn’t get much sleep at all for the first couple of days. He would sleep in the middle of the day which I didn’t mind at first since I was able to get things done but then realized his sleeping in the day meant he would be wide awake in the middle of the night! Yep, I still have the dark circles under my eyes to document those first couple of nights. His schedule has been much more forgiving now though. He actually slept around 9 last night (yay!)

It’s hard being apart from Ivan. I feel like I’m a single mom even when I’m not. I kinda feel the same way I did when he was a newborn. My mom and siblings would help me but usually just to watch him while I take a quick nap or clean his bottles. Ultimately, I’m his sole caretaker. Okay, I probably should stop my whining now since I’m well aware that there are moms out there that have a much harder time than I do and probably don’t receive any help AT ALL. My heart goes out to them.

Stephen, who used to always prefer his dad and “yaya” (nanny) over me now prefers me to anybody else here. I know it’s because I’m the only one he knows here but I still feel good about it. He actually calls me “mama” now! He called Ivan “dada” all the time but he just started calling me “mama” a day before we left the Philippines. It was the perfect timing. It’s almost as if I can tolerate all his tantrums and whining as long as I hear “mama” at the end.

Now that his sleep pattern is back to normal, I’d really like his appetite to be the way it was when we were still in the Philippines. He hasn’t been eating since we got here and it’s got me worried.  We ran out of his milk-based formula a couple of days ago and he refuses to drink whole milk. He’d sip a little bit and then throw his bottle back at me. It’s a good thing I was able to find an unopened unexpired can of his soy-based formula. He drinks it but we’re gonna run out of that soon too. Then when it comes to solid food, it’s not any better. He only likes eating crackers and cookies. Anything else, he’d let me spoon it into his mouth but then he’ll spit it right out. My family has been telling me not to worry so much.. that he’ll eat when he’s hungry. I hope this is all just temporary.

We’re going to the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) today to re-apply for his medicaid. I called them yesterday and was told that his case had been closed. We’re gonna go there today to see what I need to do to get it for him again. Then if we have time, we’re gonna go to the Acworth Health Clinic to see if I could get WIC again. I hate having to do all this. If it was just for me, I wouldn’t bother but I have Stephen to think about and until I get a job that offers insurance or a job that will let me afford to pay for insurance, this will have to do. Wish me luck!

Okay, I guess that’s it for now. I meant this post to be about all my experiences so far while back in Georgia but it came out to be all about Stephen. I’ll just post about the other things later.

Final Pay; SM South with Ivan

My husband and I went to DME today to pick up our final pay. We got there around 10 AM and were thankful to be the first ones there. I got to say hi and goodbye to my friends in the BPO department as well as to some people from publishing who were at the office early. I apologized for not bringing our son Stephen like I promised to. My son and I leave for the States early on the 28th.. 10 days from now so understandably, we’re running short on time.

We didn’t have to wait long to be seen which was good. We were also lucky to run into one of our friends who was also there early to pick up his final pay. He was kind enough to give us a ride to the bank to cash our checks and then drove us SM South. All 3 of us had lunch there at a Chinese restaurant called Flavours of China. We were all starving when we arrived so we ordered quite a bit.. Yang Chow Fried Rice, Lumpiang Shanghai, Mapo Tofu, and Grilled fish in garlic sauce. Yummy. Miraculously, we finished all of it but of course, we were stuffed. We thanked our friend and went our separate ways.

Being as full as we were, my husband and I decided to walk around the mall to get rid of our bloatedness hehe. After a couple of hours of window shopping, we went to Centerstage and sang karaoke for an hour. Most of the songs we sang were about love and goodbyes so I was feeling very emotional. I finally cried when Ivan sang Gary Valenciano’s song “How did you know?” I hate it that I’ll have to say goodbye to him in just a little over a week and I it breaks my heart every time I remember. I’m going to miss him so much.. I hope that when we get to be with each other again, it’ll be for good.

We told our yaya that since we got our final pay today that she didn’t have to cook dinner. She said she wanted to eat the “potatoes at Shakey’s” (mojos) again so we got her a basket of mojos and bought a Grand Slam Pizza for all of us. We went home and had a nice and peaceful dinner.

Today was pretty busy but will be nothing compared to what we have lined up this following week. Wish me luck!

Bittersweet Payday

It was the last day of July yesterday and we got our paychecks. I didn’t have any absences recently so there were no deductions. Yepyep, I got all of my 5,420.87 Philippine Pesos! My salary is 6,500 PHP every 15th and last day of the month but after taxes, that’s what I end up with. It’d actually be getting less if I weren’t considered “head of the family” because I filed my son as my dependent. It’s above minimum wage but it’s nowhere near enough. To give you an idea of how measly it is, it’s about $245/month… (1 USD = 44.20 PHP as of 08/01/08 5 PM Manila Time).

The end of the month paycheck always evaporates much faster than the one we get mid-month. Everything’s due at the end of the month.. power, water, phone, cable, the nanny’s salary. We just happened to be out of everything at home too. We needed everything from baby formula to toothpaste to cooking oil to toilet paper. I’m fortunate not to be the only one providing for the family.. there’s two of us and thank God he gets paid more than I do.

Days like this make me look forward to going back to the States. I may be happier here in the Philippines in general but sometimes it just isn’t worth the stress I go through financially. Hell, I could make my monthly salary here in 2 nights of waiting tables in Georgia but of course, I can’t deny that even though I make dollars there, I spend dollars too. I wish I could make as much money here as I make in the States. I’ll be living so comfortably. *sigh*

So yeah, I’ll be going back to Atlanta in 57 days. My flight is on Sept. 28 and I’ll be flying with my little 17-month old toddler. I wonder how I’ll be able to manage him being on my lap for a 17-hour flight. It’ll be quite the experience I’m sure.

Wow, my second post. I’m so proud of myself ^^.