Cousins Galore

This past week we had the privilege of having Christel, one of Jeff's cousins from Maine come to visit. Her younger brother Ian and Tom, another one of Jeff's cousins from Philadelphia, has also decided to call Nashville home. Christel and Ian's mom is also originally from the Philippines, which is probably one reason why they get along very well. They all love to eat lumpia! Julianna is very ecstatic about having new "playmates" around. She gets very excited about visiting Mamere and Papa's house especially when Daddy's cousins are there. Here are some pictures during our wonderful week with Christel.

Big kiss for Christel
With Ian
With Tom
Big hug for Christel
Eating cornbread and chili...yummy!

The following pictures were taken using my iPhone and look a little blurry because of the poor lighting in the house...but here they are anyway...

with Christel...

A big, big hug for Ian...

Tom as Julianna's horsie...
Hmmm...I wonder who the favorite cousin of the day is...

Love stinks...

My family has recently had a series of very unfortunate events. Our 3 year old Whirlpool dryer died a week ago followed by Julianna and my mom coming down with the flu plus tornadoes and thunderstorms ripping through Tennessee. If that wasn't bad enough, our DirectTV dish could not find a satellite signal, on Superbowl Sunday! Good thing we really don't watch football...but still, DirectTV charged $80 to have someone come over to re-position our dish again. What a rip-off! You would think that was the end of our disastrous week? NOOO....We woke up yesterday to a very strong burnt plastic smell in the house. Thinking it was our HVAC system, we turned our heat off and called our heating guy to come check it out. Little did we know that February and March is mating season for striped skunks. Yes, while people are busy trying to find a date for Valentine's Day, or planning their romantic evening with their better half, amorous male skunks are busy doing some courting as well. That means "skunk smell" will be at its peak. According to The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), the stinky problem occurs when the male tries to court the female who may not be "in the mood." Unlike the sweet smelling gifts of perfume and flowers, the aroma generated when female skunks spray their rejected suitors is THAT smell that makes them so disliked by people.

When the HVAC guy came to check our unit, he said nothing was wrong with it. But he said that while he was passing by our crawl space door, he could smell a skunk. A male skunk must have been trying to court a female one in our crawl space last night and was rejected. The smell in our house was not intense enough, so I think it was from a female skunk who was not "in the mood". Jeff called a local Animal control group, and they came over and set up some traps for the skunk (or skunks). They charged us $150 for this plus $80 per animal that they will have to get rid of! I used to feel sorry for skunks getting hit by cars on the road, but at this point, I really, really started to hate them! But then I remembered my brother's favorite cartoon character, Pepe Le Pew, the French anthropomorphic skunk who was constantly seeking "l'amour" of his own. After Julianna and I spent some time watching old Pepe Le Pew clips on YouTube tonight, I don't think I completely hate skunks anymore, I just don't want them near my house again.

Our house smelled so bad that we decided to open windows and turn off our heat despite the freezing temperatures outside...but with the help of a little Febreeze and some fresh air, our house doesn't smell so bad anymore.

Our whole week has been such a disaster it is almost hilarious. I really hope that we are going to see the light at the end of the tunnel soon...and hopefully the light is not coming from a train. Aargh!

Trains and children with autism

I had always wondered why Julianna loved trains so much, especially Thomas the train engines. My in-laws bought her the Fisher-Price Geotrax train set one Christmas but it didn't have the same effect on her. Julianna is your typical 5 year old, she loves the Disney princesses and all other pink and fluffy girly stuff. Of all her toys though, her Thomas the tank engines keep her the busiest for the longest time. I know it has been said before that children with autism love trains. I chanced upon this article on the net one day, and it talked about why children on the autism spectrum love trains (especially the ones with faces like Thomas).

According to this article, because autism involves a disabling difficulty in dealing with the social world because it is always changing unpredictably and is different every time;
children with autism are fascinated by trains because compared to people who appear very unpredictable to them, these engines have very predictable motion. The faces on the engines also help them understand emotions better.

Keeping this in mind, as soon as Julianna said she was bored, I played her favorite Thomas the Train DVD, and took out her Thomas the Train toys. It took her an hour to build the track in the picture above, and another hour or two playing with the trains on it. I was so happy because I had to catch up on cleaning the house! Thank you, Thomas! You really are a very useful engine!

Julianna and her trains

Gordon unloading at the Quarry Loader with Ariel onboard :)

Tornado Warnings and Lost Sleep...

Last night was quite exciting for my family. We huddled in the living room, with our flashlights, cellphones and rain jackets, waiting for the worst of the storm system to hit Franklin. The tornado siren was blaring in the background (adding to more tension in the air), and our eyes were glued on the tv watching the StormTracker reports on Channel 2. We got lucky last night because both the big storms at 9 pm and the squall of thunderstorms at midnight missed us all together.

Other residents of Tennessee weren't so lucky though. The picture shown above is of the Hickory Ridge mall in Memphis. The front wall of the Sears store was torn apart by the tornado.
There were 24 people killed during the storms and a couple of people were reported missing after last night's frenzy.

For some reason, my friend Loraine and I were starting to suspect the possibility of tornadoes as soon as I opened the door for her when she came home yesterday afternoon. It was in the 70s outside, too warm for the middle of winter. Usually the warm and cold air mixing together is not a very good sign. I think all those people who are trying to deny that Global warming is real need to reconsider their thoughts on the matter. Just like what Dr. Seuss said in his book The Lorax, I think that unless we all start to care for the other living things around us, we ourselves will be the reason behind our extinction.

Cookie Fun!

Julianna is slowly recovering from the flu, and as luck would have it, my mom tested positive for it yesterday as well. Because Julianna had not been at school for 2 days now, she is a very bored little princess. I bought some Pillsbury Funfetti Cake mix (there is a really good "bake-off" recipe on the side of the box for making cookies)and some icing for it, and told her we were going to make cookies for her Princess Tea Party. That kept her busy for at least an hour which made mommy very happy. The cookies turned out to be really good! Mommy also had at least 2 of them!

I am sorry that the picture quality on these pictures are not very good. The pictures were taken using my iPhone, which doesn't take very good pictures when the lighting in the room is bad.

Thanks for sharing our cookie fun with us!
Decorating with rainbow-colored sprinkles...
Cookie Monster!
Julianna with the finished product...Yummy!

Autism Awareness

Facts about Autism:

Did you know that…

1 in 150 children is diagnosed with autism

1 in 94 boys is on the autism spectrum

67 children are diagnosed per day
A new case is diagnosed almost every 20 minutes

More children will be diagnosed with autism this year than with AIDS, diabetes & cancer combined

Autism is the fastest-growing serious developmental disability in the U.S.

Autism costs the nation over $90 billion per year, a figure expected to double in the next decade

Autism receives less than 5% of the research funding of many less prevalent childhood diseases

Boys are four times more likely than girls to have autism

There is no medical detection or cure for autism

This is an excerpt from the Autism Speaks website. I hope that during your free time, you will take time to visit their site.

Being a parent of a child with autism, my family has had to rely on published materials and professional help to get Julianna to where she is today. I remember reading a lot of books written by Temple Grandin. These books helped me understand what is going on in Julianna's mind. Actually, Temple Grandin's books were a breakthrough for autism research. Most individuals with autism are never good at expressing themselves. No one has ever documented how it was to have autism. Temple Grandin did. Based on personal experience, Grandin advocates early intervention to address autism and supportive teachers who can direct fixations of the autistic child in fruitful directions. She has described her hypersensitivity to noise and other sensory stimuli. She is a primarily visual thinker and has said that language is her second language. She brought autism awareness to a new level.

After reading her books, I knew in my heart that the only thing that could help Julianna was early intervention. Sure, I was grieving and I wanted to believe in my heart that nothing was wrong with my child. She was perfect. But deep inside, I wanted to help her. And the only way I could help her was to overcome my pride and ask for help. I allowed myself to grieve. But after grieving, I learned to accept. With acceptance came the strength to move on. Even if our pediatrician told me to wait and see, I called Diagnostic Centers around Nashville and asked for someone to evaluate my child. Julianna was diagnosed at 18 months. Because of this, she was able to receive therapy right away. By the time she was 3, the signs of autism were fading away. We had won this battle for her, but it is not over yet. With autism, every day is a constant struggle. If there are any parents out there, who are not sure what their children have but feel in their hearts that it might be autism, please push for a diagnosis. Early intervention helped Julianna, and I am sure it will help your children as well. Autism is not something we need to be ashamed of.

Thanks to people like Temple Grandin and the geniuses behind the Autism Speaks organization, individuals with autism and their parents have new hope. The search for the cure is at full tilt and hopefully soon, autism will be something that we only read about in history books.

Disneyworld Adventure

Last Thanksgiving, we decided to skip the traditional Turkey dinner and drove 700 miles down to Orlando, Florida so that Julianna can fulfill her dream of seeing Cinderella's castle in person. Crazy, huh? It was a bit of a nutty drive down to Florida, I think next time we are definitely flying. My sister Kathy and her husband Alex, my bestfriends Loraine, Monica and husband Dave and their little tot Yigo, and my mom and dad shared this wonderful adventure with us. Unfortunately, since we planned this trip around Julianna's Thanksgiving break, we could only visit two of the four theme parks at Disneyworld.

Magic Kingdom:

This was my favorite theme park! I was so excited I almost cried when I saw how happy Julianna was to see Cinderella's castle! Despite some rainshowers, we had a wonderful time. We enjoyed "It's a small world", Tom Sawyer's Island and the Jungle Cruise. Julianna didn't like the Tiki Room at all but loved almost all the other attractions. I think Thanksgiving break was a great time to visit Disneyworld. It is crowded around the holidays, but the Christmas decorations around Main Street USA are a must-see. The lights on Cinderella's castle at night are truly breathtaking.
Main Street USA


Loraine and Cinderella's Castle at night


Be prepared to bring lots of spending money though, there are lots of one of a kind souvenirs through the park. Food is also pricey but the turkey drumstick we had was delicious! It truly was a place where dreams came true!




Short clip from the "It's a Small World" attraction

Julianna with new-found friends at "Pooh's Thoughtful Spot"

Jeff and Julianna on board the raft to Tom Sawyer's Island

Animal Kingdom:

The Tree of Life

This park was a great one for Julianna to visit. It is the largest Disney theme park in the world, covering more than 500 acres of land! They had animals roaming everywhere and some really interesting exhibits. The Kilimanjaro Safari is definitely the best attraction in this park. It's as close to a real African safari as we are ever going to get without leaving the US. We enjoyed it a lot. Julianna thought we really saved a baby elephant! The Tree of Life is the centerpiece for this park (which is not a zoo, it is really a jungle out there...) This man-made tree is 145 ft. tall with 325 animals (and a hidden Mickey) carved on its exterior. Other must-see attractions include: Expedition Everest, Dinoland USA and It's tough to be a bug!....

My parents enjoying the Kilimanjaro Safari

We also visited Downtown Disney while we were there. We did a lot of shopping at downtown Disney especially since we went there on the weekend after Thanksgiving. Mickey's Mart is definitely a place for bargain hunters like me. I got some really good deals from this store.

All in all, it was a wonderful experience for my family. We surely will visit Disneyworld again soon!

Julianna at the Pin Traders (Downtown Disney)

Julianna outside the Once Upon A Toy at Downtown Disney

Blogging 101

I am going to attempt keeping a blog updated while working 40 hours a week, keeping a household running smoothly, still have time for my daughter and husband, and keep my sanity while doing so. You think that is possible? I am not sure either. I had always thought about keeping a blog to share our family adventures with relatives and friends who live far away from us. I have so far been able to share pictures through friendster, but I think something like a photoblog would be better. I will try my very best to keep this blog up to date, but if I couldn't, then you know the reason why...

I do hope though that anyone who reads this blog will enjoy and be inspired by the many adventures of my family. We are just your average American family after all, but we hope that the experiences we share will entertain as well as inspire faithful readers.

I am going to apologize ahead of time, English is not my first language, and I am not a gifted writer as well. Let me start with a brief introduction of my family. For 6 years, I have been blessed to have been married to Jeff. He is a wonderful person, computer geek, little bit of a nerd, but has proven himself to be a great husband and dad. He and I are not perfect, but just as love would have it, we are both just right for each other.


We have a beautiful 5 year old daughter, Julianna. She is what we live for. She keeps us busy and brings purpose to our lives. Julianna was diagnosed with PDD-NOS at the age of 18 months. PDD-NOS means Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified. She is on the milder end of the autism spectrum. Julianna did not start talking until she was 2 and a half years old. She is a gifted child. She started reading the same time she started talking. Her diagnosis has made our lives a lot interesting. Thanks to family and friends, Julianna has made tremendous progress we never thought she would be able to achieve. She is so high-functioning a lot of people really can't tell she has autism. I think it also has helped that we didn't think of her autism as a disability, but as a challenge we needed to overcome.

I am your typical mommy, paranoid and such...born and raised in the Philippines. I work as a genetic technologist for the Molecular ID Lab at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center here in Nashville, Tennessee. Jeff and I actually work for the same hospital. Makes it more convenient because we carpool to work...saves us a lot of money on gas. I love surfing the net; watching movies with Jeff, especially my chick flicks and sappy old movies and animated movies with Julianna (she loves all the Pixar movies)...I can't live without my iPhone! I don't care about all the bad reviews it's been getting. I love all it's features. Sometimes I wish AT&T's EDGE was a little bit faster, but that really isn't the iPhone's fault. I enjoy listening to my music on it (sappy love songs, ever heard of Il Divo? I love them!) and having the internet on my fingertips is a big plus for me because I am always surfing the net.

Well, this shall be all for now, I will be posting more entries soon. Stay tuned!