dati parang wala lang

Akala ko nung una hindi masyado mahalaga ang kasal sa simbahan. Kasal din naman ang huwes kasi eh.Pero nitong nakalilipas, naisip ko na sana naranasan ko rin. Yung maging abala ..namimili ng susuoting damit pangkasal, mga abay, anung handa, saan ang handaan at lahat ng kagulohan.

Gusto ko rin pala lumakad sa mahabang pasilyo na may dalang bulaklak habang naghihintay sa dulo yung mahal mo.

Lalakad din marahil ako ng may bulaklak...sana nga lang ay humihinga pa ako pag mangyari yun. Hahaha

Baking Cinnamon Rolls

Baking is a daunting task to some, including myself. I had my shares of pains too. But like what they said, "no pain, no gain". Baking takes a lot of practice.

I made my first cinnamon roll using a ready mix dough (you know those " add 1 cup water and 2 eggs then bake for 20 minutes" box?). It was hard as a rock, even a miracle won't turn it into bread.

The key to baking is to measure all the ingredients before heading to the mixing part. Line them up in your work table; this will eliminate panic and forgetting essential ingredients.

I am using a food processor with a dough blade. If you've decided to halve the mixture, you may use your hand mixer but make sure to use the dough hooks.

For the dough: (makes 24 swirls)

1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter (115g), preferably unsalted
1 cup water
1 tablespoon active dry yeast (10g)
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
6 cups all purpose flour

Cinnamon mixture:

2-3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 cups dark brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened


Directions:

1. Warm the milk in a saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat.

2. Then add 1/2 cup butter to melt.

3. Melt the butter.

4. Add a cup of water and let the mixture to cool until lukewarm. Be patient.

5. Prepare the other ingredients.

5. Combine the milk mixture, yeast, white sugar, salt, eggs and 2 cups of flour in your mixing bowl. Mix well to combine.

6. Add the remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well each time. Well, you can add 1 cup at a time, the mixer won't mind I suppose.

7. The dough will pull together, as shown. A bit sticky but not wet.

8. Now transfer your dough into a floured surface.

9. Knead the dough mixture. Stretch the dough and press using the heel of your palm as shown below. Kneading gives your final product that elastic and " springy bite"...and some loving touch, so it will taste yummy.

10. Divide the dough and set the other half aside. (You may place this half in a container, let rise for an hour before storing in the fridge for future baking). A half could make 12 pieces of swirls.

11. Roll the dough into 12x9 inch rectangle.

12. In a bowl, mix 2-3 teaspoons of ground cinnamon with 2 cups of dark brown sugar. ( 1 tsp cinnamon to 1 cup dark brown sugar if you are baking only half of the mixture). You can be generous, add more sugar or more of cinnamon. Suit to your taste.

13. Now spread butter generously (about 1/4 cup for each rectangle).

14. Spread the cinnamon mixture.

15. Roll the dough. Just use small amount of water to seal the edges.

16. Cut the dough with a very sharp knife (if not, it will stick to the knife). Or use a CLEAN dental floss. Cut a 10 inch floss, wrap around the dough to cut through. It won't stick to the floss.

17. Cover and seal with cling-wrap. Let the dough rise double its original size. Usually it takes 1 hour for the yeast to work. I make mine 2 hours. (see below how the dough have risen).

18. Meanwhile, preheat your oven for 10 minutes at 375F or 190C oven, or 175C if you are using fan-forced oven. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

19. For the oozy frosting: mix 1 tablespoon of butter to1 cup of confectioners (or icing) sugar and 85 g of cream cheese. Slowly, add 3 tablespoons of milk. Mix until frosting reaches spreading consistency. Add few drops of vanilla essence. Spread over warm cinnamon swirls.

Then make yourself a coffee. Indulge..

Childhood Summer- Part 1

Spending summer nowadays maybe different from how some of us have spent in the early 70s or 80s. Television was just for the privileged; local air travels were expensive, and sea travels would take days to and from.


Growing up in the Philippines, my encounters with nature were few but lingered on with me. During summer (usually from March to May, and school is out), I've spent my days with my grandparents just  barely 6 kilometres of the eastern part of the city. It is not that far yet we call it the "farm" or "bukid". To us, anything outside the city is a farm.


We will spend the whole day either helping minor household chores such as sweeping the yard, cleaning the house, or washing dishes. I was a sickly child and washing the dishes was often assigned to me since it was not considered a task too exhausting. Usually with my youngest uncle Arvin, we washed the dishes at a nearby common pumping well. It was a meeting place for everybody who needs water; we washed our dishes, some did their laundry, and others cover themselves with a "malong" or big  traditional tube skirt made of cotton, just stationed themselves few metres away to bathe. 


We shared simple food cooked by our grandmother. We clean ourselves before heading to bed, of course, we call it "papag". For the little ones like me, we settle on the bamboo floor lined with fresh linens and a soft pillow, underneath a mosquito net. Settling down to sleep, we listened to our grandparent's favorite radio night drama (or opera on air). Until we doze off to a peaceful sleep. It was simple life.


In the mornings, we wake up just before the sun will burst its light. Sounds of crickets and chirping birds will greet us. On some days, my cousins and other siblings would tag along with our uncles and head out to the "forest" to gather branches, twigs, fallen palm leaves, some "uyo" and coconut husks as cooking fuel. It was expensive to use bottled gas back then.


My grandparent home has a small running creek behind it. It was clear and shallow. During humid and warm days, we will just sit in there and cool ourselves with the flowing water. Stacking stones to a level, swinging on tree branches; it was a big event.


Itay and Inay had a small pigpen at the backyard, with 2-3 growing pigs. At times, the mother pig or inahen would give birth to 6-7 suckling pigs. During mother pig's birthing, we were all awake watching the arrival of each cute piglets. Itay had fighting cocks and some laying chickens too. There was a pet dog named Fields (after a popular PBA import Andrew Fields).


My favorite was the 10 feet tall "Kamias" tree (or Camias ginger lilly). The fruit stood proud with all its greenish fruits usually 2-3 inches long. On days, I would chomp on this sour fruits filled with oxalic acid. I just fancy it dipped in salt! My Inay would gather the fruits and cooked heavily in sugar as kamias candies.


During the summer vacations, adults and teenagers would gather a league of basketball players and play in a makeshift basketball court at the heart of the forest. Goals were nailed on coconut trunks, the soil was painted with white to resemble a court, and scores were written down the earth. Later on, they got a blackboard as a scoreboard. 


My grandma had her own table of refreshment. She sold a drink consisting of gulaman cubles and/or sago (tapioca pearls) suspended either in milk, fruit juice or brown-sugar water flavored with pandan leaves. A tray lined with "turon", or Banana Lumpia, which is deep-friend crispy thinly-sliced bananas and jackfruit strips, cooked and dusted with brown sugar, rolled in spring roll wrapper. Sometimes, a mini-stove was set to cook Banana Que, which is deep-fried Cardaba (saba) banana, coated with caramelised brown sugar in bamboo skewer. Another version , grilled banana in bamboo skewer was a popular choice.


Everyone has his or her own favorite team to cheer on. The crowd was electrifying with energy. Teams beating teams after teams until the best was hailed at the Basketball summer league champion. Everyone was ecstatic. At the end of the day,  whether you're rejoicing with the winning team or licking the wounds of losing, we all gather and clean the area before we leave. Then it will start again next summer.

Illusions

I read this quote: " The problem with guys is that they pretend they love you even when they don't." Hmm, sounds sour.

Then it was followed by, "The problem with girls is they pretend they don't care even when they do." Well, the latter is, of course, self-punishing.

The problem with both gender? They assume too much.

Guys don't pretend they love you, they won't. If they do love you, they will tell you , "I love you". Otherwise, they are just really enjoying your "friendship" or your company. The girl just "assume" that he hangs around simply he is having difficulty admitting his feelings. Uh-uh..not the case. Guys could always muster "courage" to say the three-magical words, if they do feel it. So girls, if he is not "verbalising", do not assume and fall into the trap of "Ok, I'll-wait- and-give-him-the-chance-to-say-it.." until..forever?!. Alright, give him some time but not a lifetime.


On the other side of caring, pretending not to care even if you do, is all set for martyrdom. Can you believe a lying self? Can someone lie to oneself? Wasting valuable feeling is waste of time and energy. It should be reciprocated, if not, then learn how to un-learn the feeling. Focus on another hobby, focus on goals, focus on other matter that will generate something beneficial rather than sulking for something that not is existing.

Alright, somehow, we've passed through this "puppy" stage of make-believe; but there is life and reality to wake up with. Do a favor, do not be a big joke to yourself.

Split-second Thoughts

When you are not taken, there is a reason.

Life is a Caterpillar Ride

Royal Perth Agricultural Show

Life is a like a caterpillar ride. It has its ups and downs and a lot of bumps. However, without it, the ride will never be fun. You can never call it life.


Everyone is born with a purpose; one should take time to realise and fulfill his "message" in this short life. As the saying goes, we will never pass this way again, to fulfill our purpose.

Pursuing Happiness

We thought of relaxing...that will be good. My husband and I took our respective lazy boy, and played this DVD.

Wow! The story line amazingly grabbed us the minute the film started. Chris Gardner's story was so gripping, it will pierce your soul. Denzel played the character so well. Aftet the film, I was in tears...I can't believe what this man has gone through without losing his nuts. He got no money, has no real job, lost his partner, lost his home and has to fight every afternoon to have a space at the shelter. Yet he should be tough enough for his boy. He took a training program without a cent-wage nor a promise of a real job. To get the job, he got to beat the other aspirants.

He is tough cookie, overcoming all the turmoils. My story telling won't do justice on the lessons you'll learn when you read (watch) the story yourself.

Can you pursue happiness? Why is it elusive? Can you say you're content and also happy, do they really go together? If you are content and therefore happy, is there anything else to pursue? Once you feel discontent, you start searching for something to make you feel happy again. So is happiness a real thing, or just a positive feeling? Search within.

Go ahead, be inspired.

Double rainbows

My family saw a double rainbow yesterday morning...We've never seen one (or two) before.

It was 730am, still dark and clouds are pregnant with rain. The sun was fighting its way to shine, but not that successful.

My son was so happy seeing two rainbows, "Wow, two rainbows!". I should say so..it was amazing.

The happiest place on Earth..Disneyland

The sign says, " The Happiest place on Earth"...i love that. My 6-year old was so excited, eyes were everywhere. Don't know where to start. We just let him lead us where he wants to go or ride; for us, whatever he likes should make him happy that day.

Carousel ride, can't go wrong with this one.

Balloons! Happy balloons!
A rocket ship ride was fun too.
The Disney castle is so colorful and a sight to behold.

Buzz Lightyear, "to infinity and beyind" at the Astro Blaster. My boy's favorite.
A fire engine ride around the park. He was also the bell ringer.

Aww, i love this shot with Goofy. He is a favorite.

And one with Mickey's dog, Pluto. He is a nice dog.

Alice in Wonderland and the MadHatter.

We watched the colorful parade. It was awesome and spectacular.

Disney is also a sight even at night.

Wave Rock at Hyden WA

Hyden's history showed its resilience, patience and industry. Migrants have lived without electricity, water (except fromthe Hyden dam), telephone nor television. The used push-bikes to generate hydro-power for their town. For a long time, the town uses a generator situated in the town centre (Lynch Street).

The Hippos Yawn is one of the stopping area at Wave Rock trail, it is a cave looking like a yawning Hippos, thus the name.

We spent one weekend (28-29 May 2011) at Hyden WA. Our intention is to see Wave Rock, a popular tourist spot. It gained attention when a tourist's photo was published in National Geographic in 1967. The Rock is amazingly likened to an ocean wave. It is 15 meters high and 100 meters long. So what is it? It is a long granite of natural overhanging wall. The lichens and algae produced the variant color-wave and change colors during different times of the day. The rock is estimated to be over 2700 years old.

It is a magnificent work of nature...of God's wonderful artistry.

Of graduation and reunions; of winners and losers.

The air was filled with excitement and hopes for the future, of sadness regarding separations and anxiety of what tomorrow might bring.

I've sat on several graduations, almost 20 rites, mine included. Every graduation rites came with graduation speeches from various guest speakers. I have listened to everyone of them, but sadly, I don't remember anything in particular, they sounded all the same to me. Maybe graduation speeches were delivered to sedate students before they are let loose into the chaotic professional world.

I don't remember much from those speeches. I just vaguely recall they were flooded and "tsunami-ed" with so much words for hopes and dreams and "individuality" despite everyone being dressed up alike in caps and gowns. They keep on saying education is the key to success. They have to say it to keep us in school until you reach college or university. They have to persuade us to be in school to keep the unemployment rate down. Obviously, we won't find a decent job anywhere as a teenager. Finding a suitable job with a college/uni degree is tough; finding a job as a teener is tougher.

Graduation at any level is officially saying, "Welcome to the unemployed world."

At the end of every speech, they "God bless everyone", or "May your future be bright as your dreams". True enough, they have to "Godspeed" because the best things happen only to some and not to everyone. For every opportunity is unique and has to be identified. As a graduate, you uttered a simple prayer, " I hope it will be the best indeed".

Then reunions will come. Are you attending, or not attending?

You will attend because you are a winner. Maybe brag about it? Brag a bit or brag big. It doesn't matter, it is likely and probable, that you are attending to size up yourself with your previous peers; size up physically and professionally. (Hey, you've grown--wider).

Not attending? Thinking that it will be shameful to be branded or classified as a loser. You've realised that your goal was not achieved the way it was printed in the yearbook, "I want to be a computer programmer."

DO NOT FALL FOR THIS OUTRIGHT FAILURE!

That is the failure which is not really yours but the judgement of other people. People are poor judges of success and failure. Your heart knows what you have achieved. Don't judge each day by the quantity of harvest you've reaped but by the seeds you have planted. For whatever you sow, you shall reap.

"The tragedy of life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goals to reach.” ~ Benjamin Mays

Realities in Life your children should learn*

1. Life is not always fair.

2. The world won't care about your self esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

3. You will NOT make BIG money a year right after HS/university. You will not be a VICE PRESIDENT with a car phone until you earn BIG money.

4. If you think your teacher is tough, wait until you get a boss.

5.If you mess up, it is not your parent's fault, so don't whine about your mistakes--learn from them.

6. Your parents were not boring before you were born. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and running you to and from events. So before you save the rainforest, try cleaning your room.

7. Your school may done away with winners and losers, but LIFE has not!

8. Very few employers are interested in helping you find yourself. Do that on your own time.

9. Reality television is NOT REAL LIFE. Real life is much more exciting and fulfilling.

10. Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

*posted on the Bulletin board of Ken's School.

Ken's Artwork

Kendrich is now 5 years old and nearly finished with pre-primary schooling.

He is described by teachers as shy yet kind and gentle. He disliked loud voices and classmates not following rules. Expect Ken to point his fingers and alarming his teachers about misbehaving classmates.

He is so fond drawing when at home. Whenever we visited office/school supply stores, he would always place a box of crayons or coloured pencils in my shopping baskets. Ken would draw on the back of a printed A4 paper; I am not happy with the thought of wasting too much papers.

Let me show you his artworks for 2010. I have lots of them in a big filing folder.

He is an active boy but not a talkative one (yet). However, he is able to express his feelings and memoirs through his drawings and "colorings" (that's his term).

Yes, like any parent, I am proud of his works..Very, very proud. I remembered myself immersed in drawings when I was in Grade 4 but no one taught me so my drawings didn't progressed. I hope to find a good art tutor for Ken.

My Real Toy Story

Watching all the Toy Story movies was such a treat for me too. My Ken enjoyed it so much; but for me, it brings me lovely and not so lovely memories of my childhood.

My specials toys, let me see. I remember having a second-hand plastic dachshund. It was red and shiny and previously owned by an uncle. I found it in the storage room, no one objected when I took it. I also have a plush teddy bear, so cute and cuddly. It was so pretty that my second-cousin Myra wouldn’t take no for an answer and took my bear away. I was unhappy; but I hated the way she moaned. It was probably the reason why I didn’t like her much even if we’ve all grown.

So I was left with my dachshund. Its life didn’t last longer as one cousin sat on the poor, old toy and broke the plastic.

Mom bought me a set of plastic building blocks (similar to Lego). Hundreds of pieces scattered the floor. It entertained me to no end. I was busy building trucks, houses, bridges, all sorts of creations everyday. I’ve managed to build all samples shown in the accompanying manual.

Then there were countless puzzles, big ones. I was four years and was managing big puzzles effortlessly. I loved them!

Whenever the town fiesta is held, a small fair (“perya”) would be in town. Riding the carousel, ferris wheel, eating tons of chichiria, was a treat. Before heading home, we will be treated by our father, for some toys on display (they call it “cedera”). I’ve collected water guns, army soldiers, noisy cracker toy, tops, and “tirador”. One fiesta day, I got a plastic doll with blue eyes. It has no real, feel-so-nice hair. The hair was part of the moulded doll, but it has a nice yellow dress and white plastic shoe. The doll lasted for a while, two years to be exact. It met its untimely demise when another cousin threw it down the stairs and landed head-first. It cracked.

No, I didn’t throw tantrums those days. I knew that no amount of tears can repair my toys. I just went away crying and buried my toys somewhere in our garden.

I didn’t get much toys as a child, for there were four of us and my parents has to prioritise needs over non-necessities such as toys. As such, we content ourselves making our own. We love playing bahay-kubo. My brother was such a delight with hammer and nails. He managed to build a wooden trolley (remember those with bearing wheels?”) which we tirelessly ride. He even built a wheelie cart for us. We will never exchange the ride on this cart for his little red trike.

Then we got into wooden stilts! It was all fun balancing and falling.

We also grew up near a construction yard, we played on the forklift and the big dump truck. We hid behind the cement mixer, climbed the big crane, slide on the loader machine and endlessly play and sing at the back of the pick up truck.

On some days, we played mixing actual cement and water and made some creations on the ground (cakes, plates, whatever we can think of).

During summer, our father taught us how to make a kite and how to fly it. It was fun watching our creations flying in the sky!

On rainy days, we delighted ourselves catching some frogs, keeping them in a big can and releasing them eventually. During these days, the nearby rice paddies will form big puddles. We would tie our sticks with nylons cord and hook, put some worms at the very end and sat patiently on the fence. We await our catch of the day. Most of the times, we’ll catch dalag or mudfish. The first few catch, our father will grill the fish and had these for dinner. The succeeding fishing days, we just let the fish go off the hook and back to the puddle. We got tired of grilled mudfish.

On school days, I’ve learned jackstones, a very nice indoor/classroom game. Then I discovered I could jump high, I became queen of the Chinese garter. Later on, there was the tumbang preso, syato, patintero and agawan base. I’ve learned to spin the wooden top. On weekends, I played jolen (marbles) with my cousins; sometimes, “jack-en-poy”. One of my all-time favourite games is “piko”.

Although I was sickly, I managed to get some chance of playing with groups of happy children. Occasionally, we invent games and compose songs to accompany it. We were such a lively bunch! We fight as a team, winning was the goal but to end it all, the camaraderie and fun was the best experience.

I might have lacked the toys of my days; but it never made me feel empty. Even today, I could still see the faces of my “kalaro” (playmates), their beaming smiles and dirty faces, the happy laughters and best of all, we end our games buying “turon” (sweet banana rolls) , ice candy and “samalamig”.

What is your toy story?

Remembering loved ones I never met

Every 1st of November, the entire Philippine country marched down to the cemeteries or graveyards, where their loved ones rest. Due to the endless coming and going of people, streets end up as a huge parking lot. Not a single vehicle moving.

As a child, I seldom go to the cemeteries. I complained endlessly of people squeezing me, not minding there is a little person in their midst. I often end up with painful toes constantly stepped on by everyone.

Once settled in our great grandparents' and my two little sister's "puntod" (or grave), my grandmother will lit up candles and everybody, as if coached, bowed their heads and kept silent for a while.

I never met my great grandparents; just saw their pictures on the wall.

I never met my two sisters, I just know their names. My mom had two stillbirths.

Yet, I was told to love them and I did.

Not mindful of my family, my head was busy turning around. My eyes feasted on various floral arrangements, exquisitely and passionately arranged by the relatives as an offering to their loved ones.

Some families brought in food to last the whole night through. There were strumming of guitars and singing to keep them entertained. There were constant buzzing and smiling. All Saints' Day was a day for gathering and time for family reunions at the cemetery.

I eventually stopped going to the public cemetery as I constantly get myself lost trying to find my way through. I always try to keep a landmark in my head so the following year I could remember where our great grandparents were laid. However, maybe due to the inevitable and countless burials every year, those landmarks kept on missing (or moving).

Recently, all saints day (or during all souls day) have been defined differently. Halloween Day (or Night) has been institutionalized and has become Kid's day, with all the costumes (from superheroes to gory outfits) plus tonnes of sweets and lollies on trick-and-treat night. Nights at the cemeteries has become a huge party (I think) with modern sounds coming from techno-machines (Ipods, Iphones). There were also drinking and card games (pokers, tong-its).

I have my own date for All Saints Day; I actually have two. One is February 6 and the other one is July 10. I lost my two beloved babies on those dates; two consecutive years.

I never met my two babies. The first was 11 weeks; the other one was 8 weeks. Their heartbeats stopped and just felt they left me. I was never told to love them; I just did.

On these two dates, I still cry for my babies and wonder how they have looked. I still felt longing to embrace and kiss them. I also imagine playing with them, together with my Ken.

Though I've moved on, I still feel the pain.

I console myself with the thought that I have two lovely angels looking down at us wherever we go.

I love you, my little lost ones.

Kahon ng Sapatos (Christmas Shoe Box)

Nakakatuwang isipin na sa kabila ng kaguluhan ng mundo, laganap na kasamaan at mabilis na takbo ng teknolohiya ay nananaig pa rin ang kabutihan. Tingin-tingin lang, maraming mga sangay ng pamahalaang lokal or mga "foundations" ang may mga gawaing simple pero alam natin na magdadala ng saya.

Pasko na naman...mahirap ang buhay. Pero kahit papaano, may tayo ay nakakaraos.

Naisip nila ang mga bata sa Africa ngayong Pasko...paano kaya sila?

Isang kahon ng sapatos,

laman ay lapis at kwaderno,

suklay at sipilyo para gwapo,

isang berdeng polo,

at isang "teddy bear"

na dati ay yakap ng anak ko.

Sa Paskong darating, ibang bata ang yayakap kay Teddy. Sabi ng anak ko, "That's my Teddy?". "Yes, it WAS."

Charity begins at home.

Unexpected blessing through unexpected experience

Sunday, 17th of October. We just came home from church. As usual, when parked, I turned off the engine.

My son, Ken, said out loud.."Wait, mommy. Listen." whilst pointing to the player. We were listening to Sandi Patti's "Willing to Wait" when I turned off the engine. I obliged to the request and turned the ignition on again. I thought he just wanted to finish this song. When he saw that I was to touch the car key again, he said, "Wait!!". Ah, I got it, he was waiting for the next song.

No problem. I sat there and listened with Ken. As the intro music came through, I saw Ken (in the rear view mirror), lifting his arms up, and said "C'mon, do this..". Without much thinking, I joined him in lifting arms, swaying with the music.

Until it struck me...the song's title is " I lift my Hands to You".

As the melody progressed and Sandi's voice came in, I heard Ken singing the words as best he could. Some were inaudible for he cannot pronounce them all correctly yet, but he knows the tune. As I saw him enjoying and immersed with the singing, a thought made me wonder if he could (deeply) understand the words of this praise song.

I sat back, sang with him and Sandi, as the lyrics came back to my memory, I felt a quickening in my spirit. I felt the Lord's presence. The Lord is here with us, basking in the innocent praise being offered by Ken. My tears flowed, and my heart was overwhelmed with joy.

"My watchman, my keeper

Whose eyes are ever on me

I wander, You find me

And rescue me from danger

My blessed Redeemer

Spared not Your Son to save me

You cleanse me and crown me

With great love and compassion".

The song has stopped, yet my heart is still full of joy from this short and unexpected experience.

Then the word of the Lord came, Romans 10:11 "Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed."

I was still in tears when I led him out of the car, "What's the matter, mommy?" I could only hug him as I thanked God for the encounter.

Someday, he will read through my notes/blogs to find the answer.

NB:

When I was pregnant with Ken, I constantly played this CD on my player for hours. I listened during my long hours of bus rides. I listened at night until I fell asleep and sometimes wake up with the headset still on my ears. I listened whilst reading. I just listened and listened to this CD endlessly. I even placed the headset on my tummy, hoping he will hear the song clear enough.

He listened to other CDs too (whilst in my tummy). I'll write about them, maybe next time. ;)