Hearts

A day before, I already told the girls over and over that tomorrow is Valentine's Day. I don't want to hear them grumbling that they were not able to prepare for that special day. For us, it has become a tradition to celebrate Valentine's day at home. Actually, it is not as big celebration as in the Philippines.

I know that they would want to see hearts all over the place. Well, I am prepared to indulge them.

Valentine's Day came. I prepared heart-shaped sandwiches for their school snack boxes. They got heart-shaped cake pieces for breakfast.

Lunch time. I cooked pork mixed with potatoes and cabbages. I served it with rice topped with a heart-shaped bell pepper with a side dish of a heart-shaped toast with a heart-shaped cheese slice.

The table decor is filled with hearts, too, which included the heart-shaped perfumed candles and the heart-shaped glass coasters.

For dessert, the kids wanted a heart-shaped scoop of ice cream; which of course, is impossible. At least, they loved the dessert, if not it's shape.

Well, my girls loved the heart-filled lunch. My husband loved that I have a sekt ready. The girls got their kiddie wine while I poured sekt.

My Valentine gifts? The usual :-D

A huge orchid plant from my husband, a mini orchid plant from MC and an unusual no-pot 'real' plant from IC who said, 'Mama, you need to water that plant because I forgot to do it yesterday!!).

But the hearts didn't end there. At night, I discovered a love letter filled with hearts from IC tucked under my pillow, for a heart-filled sweet dreams :-)

MC Deals with a Bully

Today, MC handled a bully.

It seemed that she's been bullied by a certain girl for a long, long time now.

But it was only today that she told us about it.

Casually she said, 'you know what mama, a certain classmate always tell me that I am dumb. That I am stupid. And that is why I am not going in the same high school as she next year, because I am stupid.'

I asked her what her response was. She said nothing. She simply ignores the girl despite the fact that girl comes up to her saying the same words over and over again; almost everyday.

I praised her for just ignoring the girl. MC said she knows she is not stupid. That is why she just ignores the girl.

But apparently, MC decided to tell us today about being bullied because she had had enough.

She confronted the girl who calls her stupid and told her, 'you know what, if you continue being like that, you would loose all your friends. In fact, I know that someone just pretends she likes you because she wants to avoid all your tears, all your dramas.'

Well, that seemed to shock the girl. She stopped teasing and making fun of MC.

I applaud MC for effectively dealing with a bully; for effectively dealing with a bully in a diplomatic way. You go my girl!

P.S. Here's another MC's diplomacy.

Blackberry Shake

Good thing I have enough in our freezer, those blackberries from our garden.

Freshly picked, I placed them in containers and shove them in the freezer drawers. Intended for the cold, winter days. Although it is only the start of autumn, the girls already miss the availability of fresh fruits in the garden.

Now those cherry, apricot, and apple trees are just monkey bars. Those thorny blackberry shrubs just something to avoid. Those strawberry patches just leaves.

No more fresh fruits ready for picking, just some apples; but the girls know about our 'storage'. After all, they helped me pick, wash and package them for the freezer.

Now the girls want a fruit shake. And I am happy to oblige. They have enough choices: greengage, blackberries, yellow plums (mirabelle), and plums.

They settled for the blackberry.

Ingredients for a blackberry shake: frozen blueberry, some milk, a spoonful of sugar, and a small packet of vanilla extract.

Preparation: Let the frozen blackberries thaw a little; then place in a mixer, add the rest of the ingredients. Mix.

Serve immediately.